Conversations stopped and heads swiveled toward her as Erin
Powell walked into the meeting room on the third floor of
the Lakewood Police Department. Since she was the first
citizen to arrive for the Citizen's Police Academy
program, the people staring at her were men and women "in
blue." The Lakewood, Michigan, police department, however,
wore black uniforms, which she believed matched one
particular officer's soul.
Despite all the stares, her gaze was drawn to his.
Sergeant Kent Terlecki's steely-gray eyes must have
been how he'd earned his nickname Bullet. She had asked the
blond-haired man a couple of times for an explanation of his
moniker, but he had shrugged off that question, just as he'd
shrugged off most of her others. Some public information
officer he'd proved to be for the department— a media
liaison who wouldn't deal with the media.
Ignoring the unwelcoming looks and the awkward silence, Erin
squared her shoulders and walked across the room toward
where all the officers stood against the far wall. She
dropped her organizer onto a table, the thud echoing in the
large space.
As if he intended to cite her for disturbing the peace,
Terlecki stalked over to her. His long-legged strides closed
the distance between them in short order.
"Speak of the devil," she murmured.
"I'm not, but that doesn't stop you from demonizing me," he
accused as he held out a folded section of the Lakewood
Chronicle.
Satisfaction filled her as she stared down at the article
she had written—about him. She wanted everyone to
see Kent Terlecki as the fraud he really was, and so she had
titled her article, Public Information Officer's
Desperate PR Ploy.
"Did I hit a nerve?" she asked, tipping up her chin to meet
that hard gaze of his. While she was above average height,
he was taller, with broad shoulders. But he didn't
intimidate her, although she suspected he tried.
"You'd have to actually write a grain of truth to hit a
nerve, so I don't think there's any chance that you'll ever
do that, Ms. Powell."
Ignoring the sting of his insult, Erin smiled and asked, "If
you think I'm such a hack, why did you let me into the class?"
The paper rustled as he clenched his hand into a fist.
"Despite what your article claims, I'm not in charge of the
Citizen's Police Academy—not as a desperate maneuver to
improve the department's image or my own. Neither needs
improving."
"Really?" She lifted a brow skeptically. "According to the
last poll in the Chronicle, the public believes the
Lakewood PD could use some improvement."
"That poll was hardly fair," he griped. "There was no option
for 'no improvement necessary.'"
"Of course you would think no improvement was
necessary."
He lifted the paper. "Instead of writing about me, you
should have written about the true purpose of this program."
"And what is that?" Although she had signed up to
participate, she wasn't entirely certain what the academy
did offer.
"Watch Commander Lieutenant Patrick O'Donnell started the
program three years ago so that interested members of the
community could learn more about the department, about
police procedure and about the challenges officers face
while doing their job."
His words grated her nerves. Whenever Terlecki actually
deigned to speak, it was always in the form of a press
release. To irritate him, she arched a brow and scoffed,
"You have challenges?"
He sighed. "I have you, Ms. Powell."
"Oh, so if it was up to you, I wouldn't be here." She had
already guessed as much.
The sergeant planted his palms on the table between them and
leaned forward until his face nearly touched hers. With his
square jaw clenched, he lowered his voice and murmured, "If
it was up to me…"
Erin drew in a shaky breath and braced herself as a rush of
adrenaline quickened her pulse and warmed her skin. It had
to be adrenaline; she could not be attracted to this
man.
"If it was up to you?" she pressed.
His pupils widened until black swallowed the gray irises. "I'd—"
"I hope I didn't miss anything," a woman interrupted as she
rushed up to join them.
Sergeant Terlecki stepped back. "Not at all. Class hasn't
started yet," he assured her, before turning and walking
back to his fellow officers.
Erin released the breath she'd been holding, as the other
woman emitted a lusty sigh.
"Oh, I think I did miss something," the newcomer insisted,
staring after Terlecki.
Erin pushed her organizer farther down the table and settled
onto a chair away from the younger woman. Erin was the one
who'd missed something—hearing about whatever Sergeant Kent
Terlecki wanted to do to her. But given the articles she
wrote about how inept he was at his job, at keeping the
public informed, she could guess….
He wanted to wring her pretty little neck. Kent
relaxed his fingers, which had clutched the Chronicle
so tightly the newsprint had torn. He tossed it on the
table behind which most of the officers were talking amongst
themselves, as the citizens filed in for class.
The watch commander, Lieutenant Patrick O'Donnell, glanced
up from marking notes on index cards. "So what's her deal
with you?" he asked, nodding toward Erin Powell. "Did you
break her heart?"
Kent snorted. "I doubt she actually has a heart. Or a soul."
Paddy, as he was called by his friends, chuckled. "How do
you really feel about her?"
Kent wished he knew. She was so damn infuriating, yet she
fascinated him, too. "I think I need my head examined for
agreeing to let her join the academy."
Paddy narrowed his eyes, which were nearly the same reddish
brown color of his hair, and scrutinized Kent. "I left it up
to you. I would have been happy to decline her application."
Paddy had begun the Lakewood Citizen's Police Academy before
he'd been promoted to watch commander, but even after his
promotion, he continued as lead instructor. The program was
his pet project and meant a lot to the lieutenant.
"I'm sorry about her article," Kent murmured.
Paddy shrugged. "Why? You can't control what she writes."
No, he couldn't, despite his best efforts. She always found
something wrong with his press releases about accidents or
shootings. She always accused him of hiding something from
the public no matter how open he was with information. "She
didn't give you the credit you deserve."
The lieutenant chuckled again. "I'm perfectly happy with her
not writing about me."
"That's why I okayed her joining," Kent admitted. "I'd hate
to think what she would have written if you'd turned down
her application." Chances are she would have accused them of
conspiring against her.
He glanced over, to find her scribbling something on her
ever-present pad. Since class hadn't started yet, he doubted
she was jotting down notes on the CPA. She was probably
working on another article about how incompetent he was in
his undeserved position.
A lock of silky brown hair slid across her cheek until she
pushed it behind her ear. Her eyes were the same
chocolate-brown. And her figure… it was tall and slender,
with curves in all the right places. How could she be so
damn pretty, yet such a witch?
"I'm really not worried about her writing about me," Paddy
assured him. "She seems pretty focused on you"
"Too focused." Since Erin had been hired at the
Chronicle a year ago, Kent had often been the
subject of her articles. She was young, ambitious and
obviously trying to make a name for herself, so he tried not
to take it personally, but he couldn't help thinking that it
was personal.
Again he looked toward the table where she sat. While the
young girl who'd interrupted them waved, Erin glared at him.
"I don't know what I could have done to her," he murmured.
Paddy followed his gaze. "You're sure you didn't break her
heart?"
Kent shook his head. He would have remembered if he'd ever
dated Erin Powell. Her dark hair skimmed the edge of her
delicate jaw, emphasizing those wide brown eyes and sharp
cheekbones. She was really beautiful, but he'd rather date
one of the K9s than her. The police dogs were less likely to
bite.
Frustration set Erin's nerves on edge. She hadn't expected
much from the Citizen's Police Academy, since she was
convinced that Terlecki had started it to promote the
glowing image he constantly tried to sell of the police
department. He had some reporters convinced he was
great and wonderful; the local television networks fawned
over him.
Erin had intended to make the most of joining the program,
but even when the district captains and the chief had
introduced the officers of the Lakewood Police Department,
the public information officer had been the one who'd
answered or evaded her questions.
"Chief," she called out as she followed the giant of a man
down the corridor leading away from the conference room.
After the chief had given his speech, the watch commander
had called for a break.
Chief Archer stopped midstride and glanced at Erin over his
broad shoulder. "Ms. Powell, can I help you?"
"Yes," she said, some of her frustration easing now that she
had him alone. "You can answer some of my questions."
Archer grinned the infamous trust-inspiring grin that had
probably helped him earn the top spot in the department at a
relatively young age. "You have more? It seems Sergeant
Terlecki answered everything you asked during class."
"Not the ones about him," she pointed out.
The chief tilted his head, studying her. "What would you
like to know about the sergeant?"
"How did he get his cushy job as your public information
officer?"
The chief's grin faded. "He earned it, Ms. Powell."
"How? What did he have to do to become your golden boy?"
she persisted. The nickname she'd given Terlecki fit
him more aptly than Bullet. "How many innocent people did he
have to arrest?" Besides her brother.
The chief's jaw grew taut. "You really know nothing about
the sergeant, Ms. Powell."
She knew more than they thought she did. Even if Terlecki
remembered Mitchell, he wouldn't connect her to her half
brother because of their different last names. Despite the
year she'd spent scrutinizing the sergeant's reports, she
hadn't found the proof she needed to free Mitchell. "He
didn't hold the Lake-wood Police Department arrest record
before his promotion?"
"Ms. Powell, the sergeant is—"
"The one who's supposed to be answering your questions,"
Terlecki interjected as he joined them in the hallway.
"Thank you, sir. I know you're in a hurry, so I'll handle
Ms. Powell."
The chief sighed. "Kent, you should just tell her—"
Terlecki interrupted again with a shake of his head, then
waved off his boss as if Kent was the superior officer.
"Tell me what?" Erin asked as he wrapped his fingers around
her wrist and drew her down the hall.
"Nothing you need to know," he said dismissively.
Since she'd started at the Chronicle, he had been
trying to dismiss her. She tugged on her wrist, but his
grasp tightened. "So this is how you're going to 'handle' me?"
After leading her into an empty room, Kent closed the door,
then released her. "I'd hardly risk an accusation of police
brutality, Ms. Powell. I simply thought you'd like some
privacy for your interview."
Shut inside a small room with no furniture, only cardboard
boxes sitting about, Erin realized how completely alone they
were. Terlecki stood between her and the door, blocking her
escape. Unnerved, she licked her lips and repeated his last
word. "Interview?"
"You were asking the chief about me," he said, his deep
voice vibrating with a hint of innuendo, as if her interest
in him was personal.
Which it was, but not in the way his ego must have led him
to believe.
"I—I…" she stammered, heat rushing to her face with shame
and annoyance that she had let him rattle her.
"You don't want to ask me about me?" he asked, his
gray eyes glinting with amusement.
"You don't answer my questions, Sergeant," she reminded him.
"Because they're not pertinent."
"That's not for you to decide," she pointed out.
"That you're impertinent?"
She bit her lip to hold in a reaction to his insult. She
couldn't let him get to her anymore; he was already much too
arrogant. "It's not for you to decide what the public needs
to know."
"The public?" He arched a blond brow. "I don't think the
public cares how I came by my cushy job." He
stepped closer. "Why do you care, Ms. Powell?"
Despite the adrenaline causing her legs to tremble, Erin
refused to back away. "I'm a reporter, Sergeant."
"You don't need to remind me of that." Kent wasn't
likely to forget, when all she'd ever done was fire
questions at him. But sometimes, noticing how her eyes
sparkled and her skin flushed when she argued with him, he
forgot that she was a reporter who seemed to hate his guts,
and he saw her as an exciting woman.
"Being a reporter, I have certain instincts," she continued,
as if he hadn't spoken, "which are screaming at me that
there's a story behind your made-up position in the department."
"Made-up?"
"Public information officer?" she scoffed. "That
hardly sounds like a real job."
He stepped closer, until his badge brushed her shoulder. She
was tall, even without the low heels she wore, and slender,
in black pants and a lightweight red sweater. Pitching his
voice low, he asked, "What do you know about positions, Ms.
Powell?"
Her eyes widening, Erin stumbled back. "Sergeant!"
"Positions within the department," he explained, as if he
hadn't baited her, as if he didn't enjoy rattling her cage.
Hell, that was the most exciting part of his cushy
job. Although she was a pain in the ass, she wasn't
boring. "What did you think I meant?"
"I'm never sure," she admitted. "You talk out of both sides
of your mouth."
He grinned at her insult. "Then I guess I'm good at my
made-up position."
"So you admit it was?"
Kent swallowed a groan. He probably shouldn't have talked to
her at all, let alone dragged her into an empty room. "And
you wonder why I don't answer your questions…."
"Since you're not going to, let me out of here." Erin pushed
past him to open the door and step into the hall. Beyond the
conference room, in the atrium, the elevator dinged. She
watched the doors close on most of the CPA participants, on
their way to the ground floor.
"Look what you made me do," she declared. "I missed the last
part of the class."
"Just tonight's," he reminded her. "You have fourteen more
to go."
"You're not going to get me kicked out of the program?"
After what he'd heard her asking the chief, he admitted,
"I'd love to."