Copycat by Erica Spindler Page A

loosen up.”
    â€œLooks to me like you’re loose enough for both of us.” The bartender set her wineglass in front of her. After paying for it, she turned back to him. “Is your wife with you? I’d love to tell her hello.”
    â€œNope. She’s having a girls’ night out. I’m a free man.”
    Oh, brother. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for his lines, naive rookie or not. “Lucky her. Excuse me, Lieutenant, I have—”
    He caught her arm. “I need to talk to you, M.C. Privately.”
    â€œCan’t it wait? I’m beat. And as you said, it’s Friday night.”
    â€œIt’s about the SAK case.”
    She frowned. “What about it?”
    â€œNot here.” He motioned toward the back of the bar, the hall that led to the restrooms.
    Although she didn’t like it, she nodded and followed him.
    He stopped at the end of the corridor and faced her. “You still totally do it for me. I wanted you to know that.”
    She stared at him, not quite believing what she knew she had heard. “Are you hitting on me?”
    â€œI’m just being honest.” He caught her hand. “Putting myself out there. For you.”
    She made a sound of disgust. Apparently, they had very different definitions of honest. Her definition didn’t include tricks or infidelity.
    She jerked her hand away. “This is sexual harassment, Lieutenant. I don’t think you want to go there.”
    â€œWhatever happened to us?” he asked, leaning toward her, forcing her backward. “We were good together, weren’t we?”
    She realized then just how inebriated he was. Too inebriated to listen to reason. “You were married. You still are.”
    â€œBut it was good, wasn’t it?”
    â€œBack off, Brian. You’re drunk.”
    â€œNot that drunk.” His voice took on a whiny tone. “Come on, it could be good again.”
    â€œThere you are, M.C.,” Lance Castrogiovanni said, coming up behind Brian. “Sorry I’m late.”
    She gratefully grabbed the out. “My date,” she said, ducking past the startled lieutenant. “Brian, you know Lance. Excuse us.”
    The comedian put his arm around her and steered her out of the hallway. She leaned toward him. “Thanks, that was getting uncomfortable.”
    â€œThought you looked like you could use saving.” He pointed toward a table in the corner. “For a moment, I thought he was going to pulverize me.”
    â€œBrian’s big but harmless.”
    â€œDidn’t look so harmless to me.” They reached the table. He held out a chair and she sat. “Aren’t you two colleagues?”
    â€œWe are. He’s also a superior officer—and a mistake from my days as a rookie.”
    â€œOuch.”
    â€œNo joke. Of course, he wasn’t a lieutenant back then. But I wasn’t a detective, either.”
    â€œYoung people make mistakes. I made my share, that’s for sure.”
    She held her glass up. “To mistakes and lucky breaks.”
    â€œLucky breaks?” he asked.
    â€œThat you were here. Because of my past relationship with Brian and his position on the force, I have to be very careful.”
    â€œSo kneeing him in the balls would have been a bad thing?”
    She laughed. “A very bad thing, yes.”
    He leaned toward her, expression amused. “You really weren’t that lucky, Detective Riggio.”
    â€œNo?”
    He shook his head. “Typically, when I’m not working, I avoid these places like the plague. Too much smoke and desperation.”
    â€œWhich would make me unusually lucky to find you here.”
    â€œExcept…I was here looking for you.”
    â€œFunny.”
    He met her gaze, his serious now. “That’s not part of my act. It’s true. In fact, this is my third time in. If you were a no-show tonight, I was moving on to plan