“Adorable?” Micah hissed, ignoring the rest of her psychotic babble. “More like an overbearing asshole. Can you believe he thinks he can tell me what to do?”

“Yeah, well, he also thinks you’re a prostitute – and he’s worried about you. I’m seriously melting here. I mean, the window you were sat in front of was pretty blurry, but even from across the street, I could see him making heart eyes at you. He’s going to be devastated when you don’t come back.”

“More like relieved his moral compass doesn’t have to figure out what to do with an underaged prostitute anymore.” Even Micah didn’t believe his own words. For whatever reason, the guy was genuinely concerned. “Besides, how else am I going to get out of this?”

“You could always tell him the truth. You know, that you’re undercover,” she offered.

Micah scoffed, even as he started contorting himself to fit his upper half through the window. “Yeah. Youngest criminal detective on the force, blowing his cover on the very first day of the biggest case he’s ever been assigned to. How does that look?”

Micah could picture the woman wincing in his mind’s eye. “Not great, admittedly, but probably worth it if you got laid by that out of the deal.”

Micah glowered at nothing. “You are the worst.”

“No, I’m just married – and living vicariously through you. There’s a difference.”

“You love Jasper,” Micah protested.

Tessa sighed, like she was disappointed to agree with him. “That I do. But I’m betting even he would understand if he saw the guy.”

“Exactly! And let me tell you, that stubbled jaw is even more absurd up close. There’s no way he’s actually attracted to me – he just pities me. Probably thinks of me as his next rich-guy community service project, helping the poor, little hooker he found being assaulted in the alley.”

Tessa hummed. “Yeah, well, I’d do him even if it was a pity lay.”

Micah snorted, choking on his spit, and as a result, nearly fell off the dumpster located conveniently on the other side of the bathroom window. He hopped down, hustling through the alley. “I’m nearly back to the front of El Taco Rosa. Do you have eyes on Damon? Is he still in the booth?”

“Affirmative, but I can tell he’s getting agitated.”

That was Micah’s signal to speed walk away from the building, in the opposite direction he’d originally been loitering at a block away from the restaurant. “Pick me up at the next crosswalk?”

Tessa sighed. “Sure, but I think we’re going to have to call it. We’ve only cleared one spot for tonight, and I have a feeling tall, dark, and handsome might come looking if we go back to it.”

Tessa was right, unfortunately. Disappointment churned in Micah’s gut.

By the time he and Tessa returned to the precinct, he’d managed to convince himself that the disconcerting feeling had everything to do with being unable to complete his job for the night, and nothing at all to do with the fact Micah would probably never see the guy – his knight in shining Armani, Damon – ever again.