High Risk by G.K. Parks (thriller book recommendations txt) 📗

occupied. Brad had downplayed these games as nothing more than a few guys from the precinct tossing a ball around. From the looks of it, this was a big deal. Or maybe that was just because it was the big police versus fire department game. The two departments worked well together, but no one could deny we had a friendly rivalry dating back to the dawn of time, or whenever the city first formed a police and fire department.

“Hey,” Emma called, waving at me from her spot on the bleachers, “where’ve you been?” I bounded up the two steps and took a seat beside her. My best friend handed me a travel cup. “I thought we might have gotten our signals crossed.”

“No, I’m just running late.” I took a sip, pleased Emma had brought me a green smoothie for breakfast. “Have you seen Brad yet?”

“No, but I’ve been distracted.” She jerked her chin toward the dirty blond firefighter currently taking practice swings near the dugout. From the quirk of her lips, I knew devious thoughts were running through her mind. Obviously, her recent hiccup in the dating world hadn’t been traumatic enough to cause her to swear off men. I probably should have been relieved. Instead, I was concerned. She tore her eyes away from him and focused on me. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”

“I don’t know him. Could he be an EMT?”

Emma turned back to the field and tilted her head from side to side. “No, I don’t recognize him from the hospital. We would have crossed paths in the ER. I would have made sure of that.”

I snorted and gulped down more smoothie. Even though I was queasy, I knew the smoothie would help. Water would be good too.

Emma bumped her knee against mine. “Where were you? I thought we were meeting at your parents’ house since they left us in charge of housesitting and dogsitting while they’re on their Mediterranean cruise.”

“I’m sorry about that. Did Gunnie give you any problems?”

“Nah, he’s such a cutie. But he’s so big. He practically walks me. It’s a good thing your dad has him trained.”

“He’s a Bernese mountain dog. They grow fast. You remember the movie Beethoven?”

“Wasn’t that a Saint Bernard?”

“Close enough.”

“At least he doesn’t slobber that much.” She eyed me. “Did you oversleep?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded a few times before saying, “You smell like men’s cologne. Who’s the lucky fella? Did he oversleep too?”

“Em,” I scoped out our surroundings, but we weren’t that close to anyone else, “be quiet.”

She looked at me with disapproval, which she had mastered by observing my mother. “The answer is obviously no, or you’d be in a better mood.”

“I have a headache. Leave me alone.”

“I bet you told him the same thing. Who is he, Liv? You know I’m going to annoy you until you tell me. Is this why you wanted to move out of my apartment? I told you I didn’t mind if you had sleepovers.”

“I was with Logan. We were doing trial prep.”

Emma made a face. “Never mind.”

“Told ya.”

“No wonder you have a headache. I’ll get you a bottle of water from the concession stand. Do you want anything else?”

“No, thanks.”

“I’ll see if they have a banana. You could use something solid in your stomach.”

While Emma was gone, I searched for our team’s dugout. As predicted, our uniforms were blue. At the far end, I spotted my partner loosening up his shoulder. Oh, that’s right. He pitches, I thought. He rotated his shoulder a few times and made some exaggerated throwing gestures.

“Good morning, Liv.” Detective Jake Voletek sauntered over to the fence which separated the stands from the field. He rested his forearm against the chain-link and took off his cap. He used the same hand to rub his forehead and then put the cap back on. “Are you here to cheer me on?”

“I doubt you need any more cheering. You have an entire section dedicated just to you.” I caught sight of several women on the other end who giggled and pointed at my fellow homicide detective.

He crooked his finger for me to come closer, so I climbed down the two rows and stood in front of him. “You understand how badge bunnies work, right? They’ll jump on anyone with a badge. They aren’t here for me. Well, not specifically.” He turned to face them. “Morning, ladies.” A few giggled, and one even did that coquettish wave, waggling each of her fingers separately. He turned back to me. “How come you never do that when I wish you a good morning?”

“Because I have more than one brain cell. But I could always just wave to you with one finger.”

“Ouch.” He took a step back from the fence. “I should warm up. Does Brad know you’re here?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh, this should be fun.”

“Thanks for the heads up about my partner’s secret double life and the invite to the game.”

“Anytime.” Someone called his name. “I’ll catch you later.” Voletek turned and jogged across the field.

As I headed back to my seat, I spotted Emma coming up the steps with some fruit cups and a bottle of water. “Who was that?” she asked, handing me the water.

“Voletek.”

She unfolded a napkin and placed it on my thigh before popping the lid on a fruit cup and handing it to me with a spoon. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing.” I looked down at the fruit cup. “Stop mothering me. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sorry, but you know Maria gave me specific instructions on what to do while she and your dad are on their month-long cruise. That included watching the house, feeding and walking the dog, and taking care of you.”

“She didn’t tell you to feed me too, did she?”

“No, but,” Emma glanced down at the smoothie