Promise Renewed by Mitzi Pool Bridges

sweet floral scent wafted over him. When this was over, he intended to tell her to knock it off. They couldn’t be put in danger because of something as simple and as basic as perfume.
    The doors of a Ford Explorer opened. Three men stepped out. He didn’t recognize them. They walked to the side door of the warehouse, stepped inside.
    Then a dark brown or black Hummer drove up. This time two guys, who looked as if they could hold their own in boxing ring, climbed out. One went inside, the other stood guard at the car.
    Still not the head man. Damn!
    Darin held his breath.
    The man was close enough to see clearly in the car’s headlights. His eyes darted toward Darin and Gina’s hiding place, then shifted away. They couldn’t be seen. Still, it was unnerving.
    One of the thugs stuck his head out and waved the guy in. He pulled a suitcase out of the back seat and took it inside.
    “Drugs or money?” he whispered to Gina when the door shut.
    “Money,” she whispered back.
    Together, they stepped toward the door and slipped inside. Leya and Hank were right behind them.
    A dull light glowed from the front. Quietly, searching the area closely for a lookout, they made their way toward it. Once there, they watched the deal go down.
    “I want to get closer,” Darin whispered in Gina’s ear, her scent a minor distraction as he crept forward. He felt her behind him as he edged around boxes and barrels, briefly wondering what was in them.
    When they were close enough, he stopped. Listened.
    “We ordered more goods than this,” one of the guys said.
    “We have all you want and then some,” another promised. “This is just a sample of what we can deliver.”
    Just what Darin wanted to hear. “It’s a go,” he whispered into his mike.
    He took the lead as four members of the squad, guns drawn, made their way to the front and surrounded the group. One of the thugs made the mistake of reaching for his gun. Standing at a safe distance, Gina had hers to his head before he could finish the draw.
    Knowing it would be suicide to fight, both the buyers and the sellers threw their hands in the air.
    In minutes they were handcuffed.
    With an all clear, Joe and Melanie walked in to help with the arrests.
    Darin motioned for Hank and Dwanda to open the cases and verify the contents. One was filled with money, the other with heroin. Good haul. Except it wasn’t as big as Darin’s snitch had led him to believe. And not one of the drug lords under suspicion had showed up.
    He looked around for Gina, saw her walking around with her hand on the brooch she always wore. He called her over. “This is much less than I expected.”
    “Maybe your snitch was wrong.”
    More cops showed up to take the suspects in. “I want these creeps kept on ice until I talk to them,” Darin ordered. At least he’d find out which cartel they belonged to.
    They put the drugs and money in the van.
    Then they were back at the station. With Gina on his heels, Darin followed the drugs and money to the evidence room and watched as they were documented and locked up.
    “Good night’s work,” he said. The disappointment he kept to himself. His snitch had implied more, much more, had even hinted a big shot would be involved in the deal. Something had scared him off. A niggling worry formed in the back of Darin’s head.
    “The best,” she agreed as they made their way back to the squad room.
    After the tension, relief took the form of antics. After the high-fiving was over the squad members relived every minute of the takedown.
    Darin watched from his desk. Thinking.
    “Good job,” Captain Wells said as he and Darin shook hands. “Always good when you make an arrest without a shot being fired.”
    “Yes, sir. It is,” Darin agreed. “But we didn’t get the one we wanted.” His glance slid to Gina. He wondered if she would have pulled the trigger earlier if it proved necessary. From the look on her face at the time, he’d guess that she would. “I