Witches of Three: Charlene Read Online Free PDF Page A

ask too much. I’ll even pay a little extra if she keeps the uniform on while we do it.”
    Geronimo slapped the back of his fist against the wire divider. The boys jumped and settled back in the seat.
    “I never had me a cop,” the ringleader said defiantly. “You change your mind, let me know.”
    Charlie remained silent during this exchange. She knew the kid was just venting his frustration and hoping to cause an incident that would lend him some leverage once they got to their destination. Silence was the best way to handle such things.
    Once they had their perps lodged in the holding cell, they settled down to do the paperwork. Charlie heard a familiar voice and glanced up. Nick stood at the other end of the room, chatting with another officer. Her heart contracted, and she frowned, trying to concentrate on her paperwork, but his voice worked its magic, reminding her of how husky and sexy it had sounded last night. She wrinkled her forehead in an effort to ignore him and his voice. Suddenly, he was there, standing beside her desk.
    “Everything all right, Officer Spencer?” he asked and leaned over to look at what she was working on, his weight braced on both hands on her desk.
    “Ye-yes, sir,” she stammered. “We just brought in some kids who were robbing a grocer.”
    His hand rested near hers, and one finger came out to lightly brush against hers. The touch was electrifying for all its lightness. She glanced up at him and caught his gaze. Oh, those sexy eyes. They held a message just for her, and it had nothing to do with work. It was all about the two of them.
    “Any problems bringing them in?” he asked, and to the world around them, he sounded professional and impersonal. Only she could feel the touch of his finger against hers and the heat in his gaze.
    “N-no, sir. Geronimo was with me.”
    “Good.” He nodded, straightened and walked away, his bearing straight, his pace brisk as always.
    She couldn’t help noticing the trim butt and the long thighs. She thought about having a peek without his clothes, but she might give herself away. And they were supposed to be circumspect, that word again, which she was beginning to hate already.
    She was grateful when she and her partner went back out on patrol. This time, she let him drive and sat hunched in her seat thinking about Nick Hilliard. A bank robbery could have occurred right outside her window, and she wouldn’t have noticed. Geronimo talked about his wife, Adelina, and Charlie grunted her responses in the appropriate spaces. By the end of her shift, she was a bundle of nerves. She couldn’t do this. If it was this bad now, how would it be if they started an affair? On impulse, she stopped by Nick’s office.
    “What’s up, Spencer?” he asked, not looking up at her.
    She hated that. How did he always know it was her?
    “Uh, about tonight?” she began.
    He looked up then. “Getting cold feet?”
    “No, I mean, this is just not going to work.”
    He regarded her for a long moment while she tried to center her attention on a spot three inches to the left of his ear.
    “I just think we should forget it,” she said with more conviction than she felt.
    “Is that what you want me to do?” he asked. He’d put aside all pretense of paperwork and gazed at her with that same intensity he’d shown the night before.
    “Yes, I mean…” She paused and hung there like a tongue-tied girl who’d just been asked out by the school jock. She hesitated so long that Nick drew the obvious solution.
    “We’ll talk tonight,” he said softly. “I won’t try to coerce you into something you don’t want.” He smiled with a tenderness that swept away all her concerns.
    “Eight o’clock?” she said breathlessly, and without waiting for his response, she walked out of the office and headed for the exit, her demeanor no different than it had ever been, but inside herself, she was a quivering pile of conflicted emotions. She wanted him, oh yeah, that