Some Like It in Handcuffs by Christine Warner Page B

Sunny lifted her chin. “You don’t think much of my abilities.”
    “It remains to be seen.” Judson fastened his hands over his hips.
    They stood regarding each other for several tense moments, and then Sunny cleared her throat. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.” She rested her weight on one foot, while the other tapped the wooden floor in perfect rhythm. “I thought we’d get together sooner than this. We’re working a case where every second counts, and if you can’t let me know when you’re going to be here, then we have a problem.”
    “Hey, don’t go all boss lady on me.” Judson lifted one brow and stepped toward her, humor dancing in his eyes. “Next you’ll be cuffing me to drag down to the station like a common perp.”
    “Not funny, Judson.” Her voice rose. “If you’re going to treat this like a joke, let’s forget it. You can go back to the precinct, and I’ll continue with what I was doing in the first place, before everyone decided to run my life.”
    “Don’t make me regret my decision to help you.”
    “Please. You act like you’re doing me a favor, like I’d be lost without you.” She waved him away with a flick of her wrist.
    “Whoa, Wildcat, you’re acting like I hand-picked you to work with.”
    “I’m serious about my work—and quit calling me Wildcat. ” She walked to the small round antique table in the corner and tossed the envelope in the center. “It’s been five days since I heard from you. What am I supposed to think?”
    “You have my number.” He rocked on his heels. “If you were so concerned, you could’ve called.”
    “Why should I be the one to call? You said you’d be in touch.”
    “Well, if you had called you’d know I was finishing up some paperwork so I could devote all of my attention to this.” His hand encompassed the room.
    “Is that your attempt at an apology?” She raised her chin.
    “Will that make you calm down?”
    “It’ll be a start.”
    “In that case, I’ll go one step farther. I apologize for not keeping you better informed.” He grinned.
    Her posture relaxed. It would be next to impossible to stay angry after he’d apologized, even though it wasn’t the best apology she’d ever heard, but topping it off with his knee melting grin pushed her over the edge. She blew out her breath; apologies aside she needed him to have access to the information at the precinct, especially the evidence box. “When I didn’t hear from you I thought you backed out on me.”
    “Why would you think that?”
    “Not that I’m admitting I own these traits, but you might think I have a bossy attitude and a big mouth.” A sliver of a smile curved her lips.
    “Wildcat, your attitude and mouth don’t scare me.” His long hair fell over his forehead. “I should’ve known better. Whenever I work with a girl— woman— I should check in more often.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her brow creased.
    He shook his head and pushed the hair from his eyes. “You’re just like my last partner.”
    “We are not partners.”
    “Call it whatever you want. Either way I had a bad habit of not keeping her up to date on my whereabouts. It was a sore spot between us.”
    They sounded close. Her stomach tossed and tightened. “Smart woman.”
    “She was.” His voice lowered. “She was the best.”
    Sunny’s heart thumped against her chest. His face hardened, his eyes dulled. It didn’t take a detective to realize there would be no discussion about his last partner. She wouldn’t push the issue, at least for the moment.
    “Okay, let’s start over.” Sunny lowered her eyes to the package on the table. “I’m sorry, you’re sorry, we’re square. Sound like a deal?”
    “Deal.” His husky voice eased the weight on her heart.
    “Let’s check this out.” Sunny smiled at him. “I’m dying to know if any of these pictures will help us.”
    “Glen said they’re all shots from outside of Karina’s apartment complex. He