He flipped to her photos and saw a pawnshop next to the taco place. Hill was coming out of it carrying a television with maybe a thirty-inch screen. Even in the dim evening light, she’d captured it all. The way he balanced the weight of the set in his arms. How he propped it on the rear fender while he opened the trunk. And, most damning, how he managed to maneuvered it into the trunk without any extraordinary effort.

“The pawnbroker came out to hold the door for him,” she said. “I heard them talking. Wylie had put out the word that he wanted a new TV, and the broker called to tell him the ticket on that one had expired.”

“Case solved.”

“Yeah.” She didn’t look all that happy about it. “I was hoping it would last another couple of days.”

“The price you pay for being good at what you do.” He set down her cell. “It would have been a lot more interesting if you’d had to shoot him.”

“Life can be cruel that way.”

When they reached Hill’s apartment, she took more photos of him unloading the set. It was nearly time for Keith to start work, but Coop made her stop at a Taco Bell where he had a couple of 7-Layer Burritos and she ate half of a steak gordita. Even with the windows down, the car smelled of chili powder, cumin, and lust.

She’d been up front. She’d told him she used men for sex, but she was hardly the picture of a man-eater with those blueberry eyes that looked straight at him. His own scruples about sleeping with an employee had conveniently vanished. Piper was no ordinary employee. Half the time he felt as if he worked for her.

She wiped a dab of sauce from her chin. “This was Duke’s idea of fine dining. Taco Bell and a Big Gulp. You would have liked him.”

That was debatable. Overprotecting a daughter with such an adventurous nature while he also bullied her had been an epic fail on Duke Dove’s part. Coop returned his empty food wrapper to the bag. “Not his taste in football teams.”

She gave him her wicked look. “The Bears are a man’s team—the monsters of the Midway as opposed to you pansy-assed glamour boys from the ’burbs.”

“Despite our winning stats.”

“Duke’s opinions weren’t always supported by facts.”

“Just like yours. I swear, if I see you in that Bears jersey one more time, I’m going to rip it off you.”

The words hung in the air between them. He couldn’t stand it a moment longer, and he reached across the seat. She leaned against him, but only for a second before she pulled away. “Don’t make me cuff you.”

She was such a punk. Such a stubborn, sexy, driven, funny little punk.