An appreciative wolf whistle at seeing Sarah Cartwright in a dress for the first time had been enough for Seth to jump his case.
If you werent my partner, my best friendIf my life wasnt still in your hands for the next few days, Id lay you flat out.
Coop raised his hands in surrender. Hey, Im just being an observant detective. So what if your twin sister puts on a little lipstick? I still think of her as the left-fielder who ran down that final out in our co-ed softball game against the fire department last summer. Hitting on your sister is a no-no. I get that.
Thats nonnegotiable, Coop.
Understood.
Sure. Yeah. His brain understood. He understood even better than Seth himself that he wasnt the man for Sarah. Not in his wildest dreams could he make something work with a sweet, wholesome girl like her. Not for long. Shed want kids, roots, picket fencesHe couldnt give her that. She deserved a better man. A whole man.
But sometimes the eyethe hormonesother things deep inside himdidnt always
follow the logic.
So he could look. Maybe he could even lust a little. But he couldnt do anything about it. And he damn straight couldnt tell his partner what a hottie his sister was.
He had to be her big brother, too.
Coop checked his clip, holstered his gun and hooked his badge over his belt before heading to the front door. On the way out, he picked up his blue KCPD ball cap and pulled it on over his clean-shaven head. Is she at home?
Thats the million-dollar question. I cant find her. Shes turned off her cell, and all I get at her apartment is the damn answering machine.
Sarahs a big girl, Seth, Coop tried to reason, climbing into his truck. He started the engine, not particularly thrilled by one obvious possibility. Maybe shes on a date.
At three in the morning?
Um, earth to Seth. Big green eyes? Gorgeous smile? Just because Sarah was pint-sized and favored running shoes over stiletto heels didnt mean any man worth his salt wouldnt notice her. Youve never stayed up late when you were out with a woman you liked?
This isnt about me. You know Sarah and I are cut from different cloth. Im the evil twin. Shes the reliable one. She doesnt do wild and crazy and stay out all night.
Coop shook his head at the self-deprecating comment. He didnt know whether to remind Seth that he had proven himself one of the good guys time and again, or explain that reliable didnt necessarily mean stick-in-the-mud. If Sarah wanted to go out and party all night, she had the right. She was on summer vacation, after all. It wasnt as though she had to get up and teach in the morning.
Instead of arguing either point, Coop turned on the AC and adjusted the truck cabs interior to combat the muggy summer night outside. His job was to take care of Seths needs outside of his assignment, not beat some sense into his stubborn head. It was time he went to work. Has Sarah been seeing anyone? Can you give me the names of some friends I can call?
You know I havent been able to keep in touch with her like I should. Hell, I dont even know if Mom and Eli are back from their honeymoon yet. He could hear Seths frustration. Mom was KCPD Commissioner Shauna Cartwright-Masterson, and Eli Masterson was her new husbandan investigator with the D.A.s office. All I know is Ive seen Sarah at the casino on and off the past couple of weeks. Now tonight, I cant find her. I cant find my dad, either. But I figure whatever trouble hes gotten into, he deserves it.
Growing up in the Cartwright household couldnt have been easy with an absent father whose gambling addiction seemed to cause trouble whenever he did try to be a part of his familys lives. Coop knew all about stepping in to fill a fathers place. Hed lost his own dad, a Marine Corps captain, during the first Gulf War, and had helped his mom raise his three younger siblings. Though Austin Cartwright was still alive and kicking, Seth had assumed a similar role. He might be only twelve minutes older than his sister, but Seth took his big-brother role very seriously.
But if Seth was 27, then so was Sarah. One of these days, he was going to have to accept that. Like I said, shes a big girl.
I just need to know shes all right, Seth insisted. He recited the address, and Coop jotted down the directions. Just check on her for me, okay? Everythings about to blow here. Its too dangerous. And if Wolfe finds out Im still workin for KCPD
He didnt have to finish how deadly those repercussions could be to anyone Seth cared about.
Coop backed into the street and headed across town toward Sarahs apartment, feeling an increased sense of urgency. Talk to me, buddy. Tell me exactly what the situation is.
Seth gave Cooper a concise rundown of the nights events at the Riverboat Casinothe suspected front for Wolfe Internationals money-laundering activities. Thered been a big poker tournament there that night, and Seth believed he had proof of how Teddy Wolfe was filtering drug money through the tournament records and payouts. More than that, a Wolfe enforcer that they knew was good for at least one murder had attacked two womenone of them a leggy reporter named Rebecca Page. She was running some kind of investigation on her own, and she had Seths focus and libido all twisted up into knots. Coop suspected his partners feelings for the reporter ran a lot deeper than even Seth would admit.