Closing my eyes, I could feel the ghost of him pressing against my body, caging me against that brick wall like a hungry lion. What would his lips taste like? I wondered if he could kiss as well as he fought. A guy like him would’ve had a lot of practice—he was as handsome as he was deadly.

If there was one thing I took from my meeting the guy, it was that he was full of his own self-importance. He thought he could point a finger at me and that would be it? I’d strip naked and spread wide for him on the spot? What a dick.

Maybe one of those cage bitches would do it in the center of that ring for a live audience, but I had more respect for myself than that. I wasn’t easy. I was also a cop and if they found out I wasn’t going to be bought? Fuck, I couldn’t beat it into my head enough. I was walking a fine line between life and death.

If I was going to have any chance at busting this thing, I had to get inside. Rebel could get me in. I’d be using the guy, but he’d be using me. What was a little sex? Could I let it get that far? He didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d put up with teasing. Eventually he’d just take.

“Croft’s daydreaming about a boy.”

I glanced up with a scowl as three male detectives burst out laughing and made kissy faces at me. Sires, Howard, and Frommer. I should’ve known. They made it their life’s mission to give me a hard time, the chauvinistic assholes.

“Piss off,” I snapped, turning back to my computer.

“Boyfriend got you all worked up?” Former taunted.

“Na, she doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Howard added.

Rolling my eyes, I tried to tune them out. They’d be sorry when I wiped the entire floor with what was left of The Underground.

“Do you think she’s into chicks?” Sires asked.

Spinning in my chair, I scowled at the lot of them. “Why do you give a fuck? Want a front row seat?”

They stared at me, taken aback for a moment and then burst out into laughter. Awkward laughter, which covered the fact that I’d thrown them for a moment. Just a single second, but I’d gotten to them. They didn’t think they’d actually get a bite, the bloody cowards. Power trippers.

“Maybe if you put as much effort into your case work as you did demeaning me, then maybe one of you assholes would actually be Senior Sargent by now.”

Howard slapped Sires in the chest. “Oooh, burn.”

Turning back around to my computer, where I had a screen open with a map of Abbotsford, I shook my head. It was like getting through to a bunch of three year olds. How they made it to detective in the first place was beyond me. Actually, I could take a stab at it. Boot licking and ass kissing.

The sound of a door slamming open didn’t catch my attention until I heard my name being barked across the office. Oh, shit.

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Hunter, the take-no-prisoners boss of this whole operation.

“Croft.” The Boss wiggled his finger at me, a signal to come hither. “A word.”

“Oooh, Croft’s in trouble,” Sires taunted from his desk.

As I strode across the office, I gave the three idiots the finger.

‘The Boss’ was really called Thomas Hunter, and he’d been in charge around here for at least as long as I’d been a cop. He was tough, street hardened and drew a tough line. At fifty years of age, he’d seen a lot of action, and the lines on his face and the grey hairs were more like badges of honor than signs of age. I was partially afraid of him for a reason, and right now, I knew I’d done something.

“Have a seat,” he said, nodding to the chair at his desk as he sat opposite.

Perching on the edge, I knew it had everything to do with the files I’d accessed that morning. Computer usage was monitored and files had logs as to who had requested them. I should’ve used Sires’ login. I bet his password was giantdick99.

“I assume you know why you’re here,” Hunter said, watching me. “People usually do.”

I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“The case against The Underground is off limits,” he said simply.

“Why?”

“Because I say so.”

I rolled my eyes. At least he didn’t say ‘because it was classified’, that would’ve been a right pisser. “The only reason that place exists is because they’re paying everyone off.”

“We’ve investigated The Underground thoroughly, Croft,” Hunter said. “We’ve found no evidence that suggests widespread bribery.”

“That’s a lie,” I declared.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his eyes widening.

Talking back to a superior wasn’t exactly the thing I was known for. In fact, I’d never ever done it.

“I think that’s a lie, Sir, and you know it.”

“Croft—”

“You and I both know that place runs because they line everyone’s pockets. Cops, judges, politicians—”

Hunter held up a hand to stop me, his expression hard. “I’d stop right there if I were you, Croft. This is dangerous ground you’re treading on. We’re well aware of The Underground and the players. You need to back off. Your investigation is unsanctioned.”

I rose to my feet, thoroughly pissed off. “But—”

“If you think you can single-handedly take down an operation of that size, you’ve got another thing coming. You’re a good cop, Croft, I’d hate to see you out because of something stupid like disobeying a direct order. This is your first and last warning,” he barked, his eyes cold. “Drop the case or you’re suspended.”

“Suspended?” I gasped. The thought crossed my mind that he was being paid to keep it quiet, too.

Hunter leaned back in is posh leather chair and adjusted his tie. “Now, get the hell outta here, Croft, before I change my mind to termination.”

Turning sharply on my heel, I pushed out of his office, letting the door slam behind me. The boys began to laugh, talking amongst one another. Ignoring them, I sat heavily at my desk and began rummaging through the drawers, pulling out my keys, badge, and phone. Assholes.

Hunter would fire me? Fucking hell it made me mad. It also made me more determined than ever to prove them all wrong.

We’d see about being the weak little girl. They’d choke on it when they find out I’d cracked the hardest nut in town.

I’d wipe the floor with the lot of them.

Chapter 6

Rebel

Charlotte didn’t turn up to The Underground last night.

Nobody knew who she was and nobody remembered even seeing her. It seemed like a hard stretch considering how fucking beautiful she was, but maybe she was trying to keep a low profile. It was hard to say why she was there at all, but something deep inside me wondered if I hadn’t been a part of her equation.

I had eyes and ears out, so if she turned up again, someone would let me know. Didn’t mean I had stopped thinking about her…or palming my cock while doing it.

Opening the posh glass doors to the newest gym in the neighborhood, Pulse Fitness, I stood inside the door, scanning the inside for the mate I was meeting here. This was his regular and it was a hundred steps up from where I was used to training out in the suburbs.

Running my gaze over the equipment, I could smell the stink of cash. Everything was the best of the best, but I’d expect nothing less from an ex-Underground fighter. Those guys knew quality and had the coin to spend on it.

Pulse Fitness was the gym that the guy from The Underground had opened. In the cage, he’d called himself Maverick, but out here, he was Ash Fuller. He’d never cared who knew his real name and that gave him huge balls in my book. The guy was kinda my hero.

Glancing around the gym, I could see I had a lot to live up to. The place was un-fucking-believable. He had a goal and a purpose—I was still trying to work mine out. First, I had to get my hands on the cash, and then I could think about what I wanted to do with it.