“So it seems. Gage agreed to bring Tate in on this. We’ll get a call from Tate, probably this evening.”
Cade proved he was better than average at cooking. The steaks were perfectly broiled, medium rare. Potatoes done to perfection. Frozen broccoli seasoned with a hint of mustard powder, softening the sharp taste.
DeeJay tried to go light on the butter, but finally gave up. She wanted to enjoy this potato, damn it, and this whole meal.
They seemed to reach a silent agreement not to discuss the case while they ate. A good thing, too, because she had been beginning to wonder if the knot in her stomach would ever go away.
The food also gave her an excuse not to look at Cade, which she realized she had begun to do more often than necessary. Not only did he have those amazing aquamarine eyes, but his face was perfectly proportioned with a strong jaw, and just enough weathering to make him appealing to her. He was an awfully attractive man, and her motor hummed a little when she looked at him and wasn’t thinking about the case. Hummed more than a little. It remained, though, that he was a man and therefore couldn’t fully be trusted. Sooner or later, most of them proved to be egotistical idiots. She needed to focus solely on the investigation. It would keep her safe, and, more importantly, kids’ lives were at risk.
“So, generally speaking,” Cade said, “what’s it like being a military cop?”
“Interesting,” she said, which even she realized was a conversation ender, possibly even rude. It said nothing at all. She hesitated, torn between the need to keep her distance and the need to keep this partnership working. “I started out low in the ranks pretty much like everyone else. Doing the standard stuff—guarding, traffic, that kind of thing. But then I took a test and they decided I’d make a great investigator.”
“I thought you were an officer.”
“It doesn’t happen often, but I finished my degree in criminology. There was another test I took, and my CO at the time recommended me for officer training.”
“He must have thought highly of you.”
“I was a pain in the butt to him. You could say I got promoted up instead of out.”
A smile danced across his face, and she allowed herself a dangerous moment to notice how appealing he was. Wrong time, wrong place, but what the hell.
“So were you routinely a pain in the patootie?”
“Mostly. But I kept solving cases so, at least for a while, I was fairly untouchable. I couldn’t let things slide. I’m not the type. I’m cursed with a sense of justice.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“That depends.” She put her fork down and looked squarely at him. “You’ve been a cop for a while. You must have run up against cases that weren’t politically expedient to pursue.”
“Not many. I take it you ran into that a lot.”
“The military is an interesting organization. Everything is about hierarchy and promotions. Not so much in the enlisted ranks, but when you get to the officer corps you learn that some people are important. They’ve got connections, they’ve got rank, they’re being groomed for flag rank, whatever. Very political in a lot of ways. I stepped on those toes.”
“How?”
“I insisted on investigating and pushing for charges against rapists. A lot of ranking officers wanted to sweep it under the rug. It didn’t look good to admit that stuff like that was happening under their command. It looked even worse when they tried to scare the victims into not reporting the rape. When I got wind of it, I wouldn’t let it go. It’s kind of a good-old-boys network, and they weren’t happy with me.”