get the charges dropped. Filing a false report wasn't exactly homicide, after all.
They were out on
Addison Street
now, and she was slicing through the tangle of pedestrians and souvenir vendors to get to
Clark Street
and their parking spot four blocks away. He really didn't feel like chasing her, but he'd do it if he had to.
There she went. She didn't even wait for the light, and now she was directly across the street from him. "Audie! Please!" he yelled over the traffic.
She flipped him off and ran faster.
Quinn made a break across the traffic and nearly got a hold of her arm as she made a hard left and headed into the tree-lined streets of Wrigleyville.
He was right behind her, shouting, "I can run all night, Audie! But I'd rather talk!"
She slammed to a halt and turned toward him, and he bashed into her. A wumph escaped her lips as she fell flat on the sidewalk beneath him. Quinn heard the unmistakable sound of a skull hitting concrete.
Her very female body went limp under him, and for an instant Quinn feared she'd been knocked out. But then she screamed something shrill and unintelligible in his ear, pushed him away, and brought a right fist to the side of his jaw.
Quinn went sprawling, half of him in someone's tiny front lawn and half on the sidewalk.
"You jerk! You idiot!" She was on top of him now, pummeling him in the chest and arms.
Quinn put his hands over his head and absorbed the blows until he could sort out the situation. He couldn't remember the last time he had let a female beat him up.
Without warning, the punching stopped and she went still, sitting on top of his legs. She began to cry.
Quinn was paralyzed by the feel of her body on top of his, softly rocking back and forth with her sobs. He opened one eye to peek at her.
"I didn't write the letters, you dumb ass! I want a different detective on the case—someone with half a brain!" She took a gulp of air and rubbed the back of her head. "You hurt me!"
Quinn felt her begin to rise and suddenly knew exactly how to handle this situation. He sat up, grabbed Audie by the hips, and pulled her down into his lap.
"What are you—?"
His mouth was on hers so fast and hard that she didn't have time to catch her breath. It was beyond a kiss—it was a verdict, a claim, an assault—and he tasted like beer and hot dogs and something else, something powerfully male.
Audie was dizzy. Her head hurt. She was crying. And she felt her body catch fire. She took a quick gulp of air and then gave as good as she got, even as it began to go black around her.
She couldn't help it—if it was the last thing she ever did in her life, she had to open her mouth to this man and take everything he could give her. She pressed hard against him now, clutched at his back, felt his moan fill her mouth and his hands tug on her disheveled hair.
Not a word was exchanged between them, and all Audie wanted was the pushing and seeking and taking. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed the back of his neck. She was suffocating. She had to have more of him. She was blacking out…
"Yo, Romeo and Juliet. This is a family neighborhood." A uniformed officer stood on the sidewalk next to them, trying to hide his amusement with a serious frown.
When Quinn pulled his lips from hers in surprise, Audie lost consciousness. She fell backward in his arms, her head hanging limp.
The patrol officer tensed.
"Area Three Violent Crimes Detective Stacey Quinn," he said, out of breath. "My badge is in my jacket pocket. I can't reach it."
The officer still frowned. "Then you might want to ascertain if you just killed your girlfriend, sir."
Quinn nodded. He rolled with Audie until she lay back in the grass. He pulled out his badge and flipped it open, then put it back in his pocket, all the while running his fingers along her scalp.
"She hit her head on the sidewalk," Quinn said, leaning over her.
The officer squatted on the other side of Audie's lifeless form. "Do you want me to
They were out on
Addison Street
now, and she was slicing through the tangle of pedestrians and souvenir vendors to get to
Clark Street
and their parking spot four blocks away. He really didn't feel like chasing her, but he'd do it if he had to.
There she went. She didn't even wait for the light, and now she was directly across the street from him. "Audie! Please!" he yelled over the traffic.
She flipped him off and ran faster.
Quinn made a break across the traffic and nearly got a hold of her arm as she made a hard left and headed into the tree-lined streets of Wrigleyville.
He was right behind her, shouting, "I can run all night, Audie! But I'd rather talk!"
She slammed to a halt and turned toward him, and he bashed into her. A wumph escaped her lips as she fell flat on the sidewalk beneath him. Quinn heard the unmistakable sound of a skull hitting concrete.
Her very female body went limp under him, and for an instant Quinn feared she'd been knocked out. But then she screamed something shrill and unintelligible in his ear, pushed him away, and brought a right fist to the side of his jaw.
Quinn went sprawling, half of him in someone's tiny front lawn and half on the sidewalk.
"You jerk! You idiot!" She was on top of him now, pummeling him in the chest and arms.
Quinn put his hands over his head and absorbed the blows until he could sort out the situation. He couldn't remember the last time he had let a female beat him up.
Without warning, the punching stopped and she went still, sitting on top of his legs. She began to cry.
Quinn was paralyzed by the feel of her body on top of his, softly rocking back and forth with her sobs. He opened one eye to peek at her.
"I didn't write the letters, you dumb ass! I want a different detective on the case—someone with half a brain!" She took a gulp of air and rubbed the back of her head. "You hurt me!"
Quinn felt her begin to rise and suddenly knew exactly how to handle this situation. He sat up, grabbed Audie by the hips, and pulled her down into his lap.
"What are you—?"
His mouth was on hers so fast and hard that she didn't have time to catch her breath. It was beyond a kiss—it was a verdict, a claim, an assault—and he tasted like beer and hot dogs and something else, something powerfully male.
Audie was dizzy. Her head hurt. She was crying. And she felt her body catch fire. She took a quick gulp of air and then gave as good as she got, even as it began to go black around her.
She couldn't help it—if it was the last thing she ever did in her life, she had to open her mouth to this man and take everything he could give her. She pressed hard against him now, clutched at his back, felt his moan fill her mouth and his hands tug on her disheveled hair.
Not a word was exchanged between them, and all Audie wanted was the pushing and seeking and taking. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed the back of his neck. She was suffocating. She had to have more of him. She was blacking out…
"Yo, Romeo and Juliet. This is a family neighborhood." A uniformed officer stood on the sidewalk next to them, trying to hide his amusement with a serious frown.
When Quinn pulled his lips from hers in surprise, Audie lost consciousness. She fell backward in his arms, her head hanging limp.
The patrol officer tensed.
"Area Three Violent Crimes Detective Stacey Quinn," he said, out of breath. "My badge is in my jacket pocket. I can't reach it."
The officer still frowned. "Then you might want to ascertain if you just killed your girlfriend, sir."
Quinn nodded. He rolled with Audie until she lay back in the grass. He pulled out his badge and flipped it open, then put it back in his pocket, all the while running his fingers along her scalp.
"She hit her head on the sidewalk," Quinn said, leaning over her.
The officer squatted on the other side of Audie's lifeless form. "Do you want me to
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