He held it up to his nose. “Nice. But what are you supposed to do with it?”
“You can place potpourri in a bowl or other decorative container to give the room a nice, fresh scent.”
He scowled down at the price tag. Twenty bucks for stuff he could rake up in his backyard? “I don’t think this is what I’m looking for.”
“Well, we have some nice jewelry.” She pointed to another shelf. “Perhaps a bracelet?”
His last girlfriend had hated those glow-in-the-dark earrings he’d given her. Then his gaze fell on a small box shoved toward the back of the top shelf and he knew he’d found the perfect gift.
Mitch pointed up to it. “That’s what I want.”
The clerk stood up on her tiptoes, then her forehead crinkled. “Are you sure?”
He grinned, already imagining the expression on Elaine’s face. “Positive.”
Ten minutes later, he stood outside the door to her room, the gift bag in his hand and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hated the smell of hospitals. Maybe he should have bought her that potpourri after all. Mitch half turned, ready to head back to the gift shop, but he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. Raising his fist, he rapped on the door.
“Come in.”
He pushed the door open and saw Elaine seated in a chair by the window, wearing bulky gray sweatpants and a Yankees T-shirt. She was ten years his senior, but the freckles on her cheeks made her appear younger. Her ash-blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she looked thinner than she had a week ago. He forced his stiff lips into a smile.
Her green eyes lit up when she saw him standing in the doorway. “Hey, stranger!”
“You’re out of bed.”
“As much as possible. I make a lousy invalid.”
“You look good.” Then he awkwardly stuck out the gift bag in his hand. “I brought you something.”
“Please let it be a six-pack of Moosehead,” she implored, taking it from him.
“I didn’t think you were supposed to drink in here.”
She smiled. “Since when do you ever follow the rules, Malone?”
“Okay, I’ll sneak in some beer on my next visit.”
“Promise?” she asked, pushing the tissue paper aside and reaching into the gift bag.
“Promise,” he replied, waiting to see her reaction.
She stared at the box for a long moment. “A beach ball.”
“Inflatable. I thought it would be good exercise for you to bounce it around the room.”
One corner of her mouth twitched. “Gee, Mitch, I…don’t know what to say.”
“Want me to blow it up for you?”
“Sure.” She tossed him the box.
He removed the flattened plastic ball from inside, then flipped open the air valve and began to blow.
“So what’s new on the case?”
He lifted his head. “I’m working undercover as a bouncer at The Jungle.
Her eyes widened. “I thought the captain nixed that idea when we proposed it three weeks ago.”
“That was before you got hurt.”
She nodded, understanding the intense emotions that surfaced when a fellow officer was injured in the line of duty. Their captain was now committed to solving this case, no matter how much manpower or how many resources it took.
So was Mitch. He’d even temporarily sworn off women—his penance for letting himself be distracted by a pretty face. Although his resolve had certainly been tested yesterday with that hot little number coming onto him in the back alley of The Jungle. He could still see that snug white tank top she wore, damp with perspiration, clinging to her chest in a way that left little to the imagination. But he’d passed the test and was determined to pay more attention to his job and less attention to his hormones until they closed this case.
“Earth to Mitch.”
He blinked, then saw Elaine watching him. “Sorry.”
“What’s her name?”
He puffed a few more times into the beach ball. “Who?”
“The current dish on the Malone buffet.”
“I’m not seeing anyone.” He clamped his mouth on the rubber tube and blew until the ball was fully inflated. Then he pushed the cap in to seal it.
“How is that possible?” she teased. “Women have been falling at your feet since you took your first baby step. I’m married to a wonderful guy, so I’m immune to it, but I’ve seen the effect you have on the female population.”
And she’d paid for it, thanks to that damn alarm clock. He tossed the beach ball to her. “I thought we were talking about the Vandalay case.”
She caught the ball with both hands. “A case that’s been going nowhere. But that might change now that you’re working at The Jungle.”
Mitch nodded. “All we need to do is identify Vandalay’s supplier. Then we can nail the guy and bring the entire operation down.”
He made it sound easy, but Mitch knew all too well how complex a drug ring could be. Growing up on the streets of New York, he’d met his first drug dealer when he was six, and been recruited as a courier a year later. His parents were two of the dealer’s best customers. When they’d been arrested, he’d gone to live with his maternal grandmother. An arrangement that became permanent when his parents jumped bail.
They’d never come back.
Mitch assumed they were dead and he truly believed he might have been too if his grandmother hadn’t stepped in and helped set his life straight.
“I’ll keep working from it on this end,” Elaine promised, breaking into his reverie. “It’s that or go stir crazy in this place. I can’t wait to get back out in the field.”
He couldn’t look at her. Not when he knew her career might never be the same again. It made him more determined than ever to bring Vandalay to justice. To do something, anything, to assuage this guilt roiling around inside of him.
“Hey.” She bounced the beach ball off his forehead. “You keep drifting off on me.”
He stood up. “Sorry. It’s been a long week. One of the bartenders at The Jungle quit, so I’ve been pulling double shifts until Vandalay hires a replacement.”
“The joys of undercover work.” She reached for a file folder on the table beside her. “The other employees at the nightclub check out, by the way. No felony records. No connections with any criminal activity.”
He nodded, then glanced at his watch. “I’d better take off. The Jungle opens in less than an hour.”
She shifted on the chair, a spasm of pain crossing her face. “Okay. Keep me posted.”
“Absolutely,” he said, then waved to her before he walked out the door. Out in the hallway, he sucked in a deep breath of air. So far, this investigation was going nowhere. But Mitch refused to let his partner down again. He’d find a break in this case even if it killed him.
And if he had to resist the charms of another woman like the one in the tank top this afternoon, it just might.
TWO WEEKS AFTER HER arrival in New York City, Claire walked awkwardly into the living room of her apartment, teetering on the three-inch strapless black heels A.J. had lent her