On Her Six (Under Covers) Read Online Free PDF Page A

another way.
    Rocking back in her chair, she looked up at the drop-tiled ceiling. A hum from the bright halogen lights invaded her ears. “What else? What else? Come on, Sam. Think.” She closed her eyes and white orbs flashed behind her eyelids.
    Opening her eyes, she leaned forward. “Hey, Martinez.”
    The young, dark-haired officer lifted his head from his computer screen, smiling. It was different than his usual smile. One that held an excited hint. The amber in his eyes was brighter, too. He must have been thinking about the impending arrival of the PCP user.
    That look made her want to chuckle. She’d seen officers on probation come and go. They all had that nervous anticipation whenever they had a chance to get their hands dirty. Hell, she felt it, too. “If I want to get information on a guy, but I don’t know a lot about him, what can I do?” The stakeout and Maybel’s contact would tell them more about Mr. Grumpy next door. But she was too impatient to wait until tonight. She wanted info now.
    A grin erupted on Martinez’s face. “Someone catch a case of the Salt Water Pinchers?”
    “The what ?”
    “Crabs. You sleep with some guy and he gave you something nasty down below?” He swirled his hand around his lap.
    “Eww, no!” Her face contorted. “Why would you even go there? You know I’m not like those floozies you hang around with after work.” Martinez was a man-whore, and he flaunted it proudly. “It’s my neighbor—”
    His grin widened to the point of almost touching his ears.
    “—whom I have not slept with. Ever. ” Just to clarify. “I want to find out more about him. Since he’s new and living near my grandma and all. I just want to make sure he’s legit.” Mentioning her grandmother would surely pull Martinez’s mind far away from STDs.
    He shot from his chair and stomped across the room in his black military-grade boots. He stood beside her with his feet spread and shoulders squared. “What do you know about him? Name? Hair and eye color? Type of car? License plate number? Any identifying marks on his body? Tattoos? Piercings?”
    “He’s tall. Well over six foot. Six-four, maybe? Dark hair. Blue eyes. Huge body.”
    Martinez tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. “Come again?”
    “You heard me. Huge body. Real fit. Like, muscles everywhere.”
    Martinez seemed to be fighting another grin. “Okay. Keep going.”
    “He’s got a tattoo on his neck. I could only see the top of it poking out of his collar. Looks like feathers. Maybe it’s a bird or…or one of those Vegas showgirls. You know, the ones in bikinis with feathers strategically placed on their head and body.” Yeah, Big and Brawny looked like the type to have a scantily clad woman tattooed across his bulging biceps.
    When his eyebrows touched his hairline, she clarified. “I’m not saying that’s what it is, I’m just saying that all I saw was feathers. Could be anything. I’ll have to get a closer look next time I see him.”
    “Sounds like it’ll be soon,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
    She turned to meet his gaze. “What do you mean by that?”
    He shrugged. “Just sounds like you wouldn’t mind seeing this guy again is all.”
    “He’s my neighbor, Dan. Of course I’m going to see him again. With my luck, it’ll be all the damn time.”
    She got the sense she and Martinez were having completely different conversations.
    “Anyway,” she said, “He didn’t have piercings or any other identifying marks that I could see.”
    No need to mention her neighbor’s handgun and her almost mugging. Martinez didn’t need a reason to worry.
    “You check Book ’Em yet?”
    She nodded. “Checked that first.”
    “Hmm.” He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “What about NCIC?” he asked, referring to the National Criminal Information Center.
    Bending over her shoulder, he peered at the screen. He was so close she smelled the woodsy scent of his soap.
    Shaking her