Fight Or Flight by Amy Shojai

Author:Amy Shojai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amy Shojai
Published: 2018-07-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

Combs dreaded leaving the AC in his car, and ran his hand through hair already wet with sweat. He stared at his cell phone with frustration. September’s anguished recriminations still echoed in his ear. She blamed him, and rightly so. She’d never forgive him if something happened to Shadow. Hell, he’d never forgive himself if the big black shepherd got hurt. What was he thinking, involving her? With their relationship turned rocky, anything could tip the balance in the wrong direction. Combs loved her, but trouble followed September in everything she did.

His attention shifted to the petite police officer waiting outside on the road. Officer Pilikia Teves intrigued him. Her square face boasted a natural tan. A few freckles on her bare arms matched the soot-colored curly hair that framed her strong features. Tiny gold turtle earrings offered the single nod to fashion. Slim jeans and a tank top hugged her compact 5’4” athletic build. She cultivated a hard-as-nails attitude, but he sensed she hid something more fragile underneath. None of that mattered to him at the moment. She was here to consult on the missing Hawaiian girls.

She crossed to Combs when he climbed out of the car. “News?” Her oval, slightly tilted hazel eyes gave her an exotic look.

“A complication. The tracking dog we sent after Karma—that’s the Corazon girl’s Rottweiler pup—just spooked and took off. Now I got two pissed off handlers, two dogs and an abused kid in the wind.” At least Gonzales had managed to keep September from going after Shadow, although he didn’t know how.

“A dog named Karma? Hope it’s not the bad kind. I’ve had enough of that.” She offered a tight smile. “Pilikia is Hawaiian for trouble.”

“You’re here to help, but you follow my orders, understand? I don’t need more trouble, Officer Teves.” He wasn’t in the mood for eager beaver banter. A sudden gust blew so hard he nearly lost his hat. At least it kept mosquitos at bay. Mostly. He slapped his neck. Despite sundown, triple-digit temps elevated tempers and boosted bugs. The intermittent wind made his eyes water and feel gritty.

“Understood, Detective Combs.”

“Just call me Combs.”

She nodded. “Back in Chicago they call me Tee. I only cause trouble for bad guys.” She dimpled again, and then turned serious. “I’m here to learn, and help any way I can, yeah?”

They needed a breakthrough on the case, and Combs would take it any way he could, even from someone as green as this officer. “I got a tentative ID on the body. She’s Vicki Kala, seventeen years old but with a long history of arrests for solicitation. The vice guys say she was a bottom girl used to recruit and train the newbies.”

Tee sucked in a breath. “She’s a minor, too. Using kids like that, making them sell themselves. There’s a special hell for pimps.” Her nostrils flared. “Let me guess. Vicki paid for the rooms and delivered the girls to get a little extra something from her pimp?”

Combs could tell the subject struck a nerve.

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