Jonathan’s POV

Pulling into the precinct car park, I let out a sigh. This is the last place I wanted to be and definitely not how I saw today going. 

My final moments with Camilla outside her building were nothing short of perfect. I can still feel her lips on mine, and the scent of her perfume lingers on my clothes. I would give anything to be back with her on those stairs, but duty calls. Reaching for the glovebox, I pull out my badge and my weapon lockbox. I saddle up and get out of my car. Within minutes of exiting, a motorbike pulls in next to me. It catches me off guard, no one that works here owns a motorbike and certainly not one this nice.

The rider swings their leg off the bike and unzips their dark brown leather jacket instantly revealing it is indeed a woman. She’s wearing a black button-up shirt underneath the jacket, skinny black jeans with black ankle boots on. Her badge is clipped to the waist of her jeans, and her weapon is on the other side. She pulls the helmet off, and her long red hair falls out over her shoulders. She looks me up and down as she hangs her helmet on the handlebar.

“Can I help you?” She spits at me.
“Ummm-” I stutter out.

She shakes her head at me, turns, and walks off.

“Close ya damn mouth before you catch flies,” she calls over her shoulder.

I quickly run after her, managing to catch her before she pushes the door open.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to stare, can we start again?” I smile, putting my hand out.

She looks at me from the corner of her eye then reluctantly takes my hand.

“I’m Detective Jonathan Harris,” I say, shaking her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Detective Harris, I’m Detective Renee Rossi.” A small smile pulls at the corner of her mouth.
“Nice to meet you, Detective Rossi.” I smile warmly at her. “Nice bike, Yamaha R1?”
“Yep.” She reaches for the door again.
“Let me,” I say as I open the door.
“Thanks.” She winks at me as she walks past.

We walk in silence, she’s ten steps ahead of me and is by no means concerned with her environment or those around her. I can still feel her sizing me up, and I make a point of always smiling when she glances back. As we approach the counter, Mara is sitting behind the glass with a massive smile on her face.

“Good afternoon, Detective Harris,” she beams at me.
“Afternoon Mara.” I nod my head at her.
“And who are you?” She says cautiously.
“This-” Renee cuts me off.
“Detective Renee Rossi from Chicago.”

“Oh, you’re the new detective.” Mara stammers. “Captain Holton is waiting for you in his office, please let me buzz you in.” She jumps from her chair, scurries over to the scanner, and swipes her card. The light goes green, and Renee wastes no time in pushing the door open.

“Catch ya later, Harris,” she calls over her shoulder as the door closes behind her.
“Yeah, see ya,” I say quietly.

I stumble backward a little, that woman is something else. Standing there, I stare at the door for a few moments before I feel a slap on the back. I’d know that slap anywhere. It’s my partner Anthony. He’s been my partner for just over a year now, and he’s the best partner I could have asked for. He’s unbelievably smart and has an eye for detail like no other. He never lets his personal life interfere with the job and is always the first in and the last out. I admire him a great deal. He’s a good man and a good detective.

“Wassup man?” he says cheerfully “Sup’ Mara, you are looking beautiful today,” he winks at her.

Miller is wearing his classic look; light brown leather jacket, collar up, white v-neck shirt, badge hanging around his neck, his gun in the shoulder holster, dark blue washed-out jeans, and boots. The sight of him makes Mara instantly turn red. 

“Leave the poor girl alone, Miller.” I roll my eyes at him.
“What?” He throws his hands up in the air, a massive smile plastered over his face.

I shake my head and begin chuckling.

“So tell me, why are you staring at the door like a creeper, man?”
“Fuck off, Miller!” I reply sarcastically.
“Wow, it’s the attitude for me,” he chuckles.

“For your information, I wasn’t ‘staring’ at the door like a creeper” I roll my eyes at him. “I just met the new transfer, and she is something else, brother.” 

“Well, buzz us in and fill me in on the way to our office,” he smirks at me.

I swipe my card and push the door open, letting Miller go first. I turn and wave goodbye to Mara before trying to catch up to Miller, who is almost at our office.

“Dude! Slow down!” I shout to him.
“You’re getting slow in your old age, man,” he says sarcastically, opening the door to our office.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer, arsehole.” I push past him and plonk myself down at my desk.

“Testy testy,” he says under his breath.
“Heard that!” I snap back at him as he sits down at his desk.
“You were meant to,” he replies sarcastically.

He swings his chair around, and facing me, he shoots me his classic smart arse smile. I shake my head at him.

Shit head! I think to myself.

“So… Tell me about the new transfer.” He stands, striding up to my desk, and perches himself on the corner.
“Fire engine red hair, motorbike and sassy.”
“Red hair, you say?” He asks curiously.
“Yeah, why?” I reply, confused.
“What’s her name?”
“Detec-“, once again, Renee cuts me off.
“Detective Renee Rossi,” she says in a boastful tone.

Anthony’s jaw drops open. He immediately swings around and is now facing a smirking Renee. I sit in my chair, confused by the situation. 

Did I miss something? I think to myself.

“How are you, Amore?” She says softly.

“Es-”
“I’m sorry, how do you two know each other?” I ask curiously, getting up from my chair and making my way next to Anthony.

“Oh, I’m sorry. We used to fuck.” A smirk appears across her face as her gaze flicks from me to Anthony.

Anthony immediately begins to choke. “ESMERALDA!” He shouts harshly.

“What, Amore?” She shrugs her shoulders, smirk still written all over her face.

I can’t help but laugh, I have never seen Anthony turn that bright red the entire time I’ve worked with him.

“Well,” I say, rubbing my hands together in amusement, “now that the introductions have been made, shall we get down to business?”

“Absolutely,” Renee replies, shifting her gaze from Anthony to me.

Anthony flops back on my desk as Renee walks past us both and takes a seat at my desk. She pulls the file out from under her arm and places it on the desk. 

“This file contains everything we have on the Sinaloa Mafia. There has been a shift in power with Maximus Sinaloa stepping down and handing the reins over to his eldest Teodoro Sinaloa, making him the new Capo Dei Capi.” She begins placing the surveillance pictures out in front of us. “They are now moving their weapons and drugs out of Red Hook.” 

I lean forward and place my hand on the desk in front of her trying to get a better look at the pictures. Anthony finally gets his shit together and sits down in a chair in front of my desk. 

“The Commissioner wants this resolved quickly and quietly. That’s why I’m here, boys.” she smiles.
“How many are we looking at?” I ask.
“Two at the top, Teodoro and his second in command, Ciro Ferrari.”
“What about the rest of his men?” Anthony asks.

“We don’t have an accurate number at the moment; it could be as small as 50 or as high as 1000. They shift and move their people regularly so as not to raise any alarms.” Renee sighs in frustration.

“Ok, let’s start at the top and work our way down.”
“Perfect!” Renee replies cheerfully.

We spent the rest of the afternoon going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. The who of who, what, and when things were being brought in. Scoured our database for anyone that had any dealings or knowledge of Sinaloa. To bring the big players down, you need to take out the smaller people. Like a pyramid, undermine its foundation, and it crumbles.

“Right, that’s all I have in me,” I yawn out while leaning back and stretching.
“Me too, man,” Anthony yawns.
“Babies!” Renee teases.

We both scowl at Renee as she gets up from the chair, throws her coat over her shoulder, and heads for the door. Anthony jumps to his feet. “Where are you going?” He shouts to her as she opens the office door.

“On a date, Amore,” she calls over her shoulder as the door closes behind her.

“Like hell, you are,” He mumbles under his breath. “Dude, I’m taking your car.” he grabs my keys off the desk and makes a run for the door.

“Can I borrow your car, Jon? Oh, of course, Anthony,” I mumble as I shake my head. “Well, I guess I’m taking a squad car home tonight” I huff.

Looking at my watch, I realise it’s still early. I wonder if Camilla would be interested in a movie night? I’m going to text her.

DON’T! My inner voice screams.

The internal battle begins. I want to see her, spend time with her but at the same time does it come across as creepy? Or, worse obsessive?

“Damn it!” I huff, leaning against my desk.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and pull up our last text, I re-read it over and over. I begin to type the message only to delete it. Fuck it! I’m going for it! I type the message and before my brain has time to stop me I send it.

What’s the worst that could happen, she says no? I think to myself.

I hurriedly clean my desk up and make my way out of my office. Walking down the hall, I go to push the door open to reception when I hear the Captain from behind me.

“Harris!” He shouts.

No, no, no, NO! I think to myself.

Letting out a quiet sigh, I stop dead in my tracks and turn around. “Yes, sir?”
“Take tomorrow off, okay?” He says as he takes his glasses off.
“Thank you, sir,” I smile at him.

“Oh, and can you let Miller and Rossi know? They took off so fast I didn’t get a chance to tell them,” pointing his glasses at me.

“Absolutely, sir.”
“Have a good evening, Detective Harris,” he calls over his shoulder as he turns and heads back to his office.
“You too, sir.”

I make short work of getting out into reception, I would usually stop and talk to Mara, but I have a movie date with my Melek. I rush past her, give her a quick wave, and head for the lifts. 

“Could you take any longer!” I mutter in frustration as I hit the down button repeatedly.

The lift finally arrives, and I dash in quickly hitting, “basement”. 

“Come on, come on,” I impatiently mumble.

The doors ping open and I dash over to Liam, the squad car attendant.

“Liam, I need a car for tonight.” I puff, leaning against the counter.
“Take 19, Detective.” He laughs.
“Thank you, man,” I call out to him as I run over to the car.
“No worries, Detective. Have a good evening!” He calls back.

I don’t reply, I jump in the car and head out.

Camilla’s POV
6:40 pm Saturday evening.

Pulling up outside Jonathan’s apartment building, it’s slightly intimidating but exactly where I pictured Jon living. It’s not modern, quite an old building with its grey bricks and the occasional old air conditioning box popping out the large windows covering the outside. It screams old Brooklyn but is nothing unusual for this side of town. Outside, there isn’t your usual doorman but an intercom with the names of the people living in the apartments or lofts. 

“I’m loving the old Brooklyn feels,” Kay says, leaning over her steering wheel and looking up at the building.

“Me too!” my words sounded more excited than I anticipated.
“Ok, get the fuck out,” Kay orders, handing me the beer I brought along.

“Wow! I love you too, bitch,” I reply sarcastically, snatching the beer from her hand and undoing my seatbelt. 

Kay shoots me a cheeky wink as I open the door. “Text me when you want to be picked up, ok?” 

“Yep,” I quickly reply.
“Have fun, boo,” she shouts to me as I walk towards the building doors.

I wave her off as she pulls away and I approach the doors of the building. Scanning over the names on the intercom, I spot Jonathan’s name. My nerves build as I press the button and wait for him to respond.

“Hello?” He beams down the intercom.
“Uh… hey,” I stutter. “It’s Camilla.”
“Melek, you’re here. Let me buzz you in.”

I stand back from the intercom as the buzzer sounds and the door unlocks. I grab the handle and go to pull the door open. It takes me a few moments to realise it’s a push door. I quickly look around for cameras but can’t see any.

Oh no! What if they are in the intercom? I think to myself.

You look so stupid right now, my inner voice mocks.

I mumble some explicated words under my breath before pushing the door open and heading for the lifts. I fidget with my hands as I watch the numbers count down. The lift finally arrives and it’s an old-style elevator that does nothing to soothe my nerves with its clunky buttons and manual brass cage doors. 

“Fuck my life!” I mumble out, rolling my eyes.

I grab ahold of the door and pull with all my strength, to my surprise, it moves smoothly, and I almost lose my balance.

Hahahahaha! My inner voice laughs at me. 

I shake my head in disbelief and complete embarrassment.

Could this go any worse right now? I think to myself.

Pressing the button, I make sure to listen to every single sound as the lift begins to move. It sounds like it’s about to drop its arse out.

“Please don’t let me die in this thing,” I sigh as the bell rings and the lift comes to a stop on Jonathan’s floor.

I slide the doors open and step out of the lift. The floors are beautifully modern; some old brick is showing, but for the most part, it is an off-white colour that lines the walls. The ceiling is black and has exposed wood, probably the original wood. Soft downlights are lining it and giving the hallway a soft glow about it. In front of me is a small hall table that has a gorgeous floral arrangement on it in a Chinese-style vase. The smell of the flowers is intoxicating but not at all overpowering. The floor is covered in a plush grey carpet that makes you want to take your shoes off and sink your toes in. 

I could get used to coming here, I think to myself as I make my way down the hallway looking at the apartment doors for Jon’s number.

Fright hits me. Am I wearing the right thing for a movie date? I stop dead in my tracks and look down at my outfit. I went with a red and black plaid button-up shirt, black leggings, knee-high tan boots, and kept my hair down. When Jon texted me, I had already taken my makeup off, so I quickly threw on some peach lip balm and dashed out the door. For some reason, I began rummaging through my bag for what I don’t know. There isn’t a change of clothes in here and even if there were, where the hell would I change? The hall?

“Jesus!” I huff loudly.

I quickly remind myself that Jon has seen me in ugg boots, a far too big grey jumper, and a very messy bun on top of my head and that didn’t put him off. So I think I’m in the clear. Before I know it, I find myself standing outside his door, I take a deep breath and go to knock, but before my hand makes contact, the door swings open. There he is, my heart skips a beat, and my stomach starts to flutter. His hair is down and wet.

Yuuuuuuum. My inner voice purrs.

He’s wearing a white, collared button-up shirt that is only done up to the middle, showing off the top of his chest. The sleeves are rolled up to just underneath his elbow. His signature necklaces adorn his neck while his grey trousers hug his hips in all the right places. I bite my lip at the sight of him. A soft smile appears across his face as I stand there very clearly eye-fucking him. 

He gestures for me to come in, immediately wrapping his arms around me and kissing my forehead before moving to my lips. His kiss is needy but sweet, almost like he couldn’t breathe, and now he finally could. The feeling of his lips on mine, his tongue invading my mouth sends my mind numb and chills down my spine. I bring one of my hands to the side of his, which is now cupping my face, and wrap it over his wrist. The ground begins to feel like it’s about to collapse underneath us, if it does I’ll happily fall with him.

When he breaks the kiss, I unconsciously let out a small whimper, he catches it and immediately chuckles under his breath as he studies my face.

“Hey,” he softly says.
“Hey.” I smile at him.