The Intelligence Unit Series

Ryan arrived at the Thirty-Third precinct with two boxes of donuts and a plan. Making his way to the front desk, he met Sergeant Riordan's grumpy stare with as big a smile as he could muster without the guy throwing him out on principle alone.

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me from the other day, but-"

"Too many extra words," Riordan said, and right. Okay then.

"Ryan Dempsey. I'd like to see Detective Hale, please. And I, um, brought you this." He placed the box containing a pair of Boston cream donuts on the counter, watching the sergeant's bushy brows rise.

"What makes you think she's here at the a*s-crack of dawn?" Riordan asked, popping the box open and scooping up one of the donuts to take an overlarge bite.

"Just a hunch," Ryan said. He was well-acquainted with Addison's work ethic by now. "But I can wait if she's not."

Riordan harrumphed past another bite of his donut and wiped some chocolate from his lip. "Have a seat."

The next few minutes took about a year to pass, but finally, the echo of footsteps sounded off from down the corridor.

"Ryan?" Addison's hair was piled on top of her head in a loose knot, the shadows beneath her eyes suggesting she'd been here for a hell of a lot longer than Riordan had implied. "What are you doing here? Is Chloe okay?"

"Chloe's fine," he said, standing up to meet her halfway across the linoleum. "I dropped her off at our parents' place about an hour ago." His heartbeat thumped faster in his chest, but screw it, he hadn't come here to be less than brazenly honest. "And, to answer your other question, I'm here to give you this."

Her eyes went round as she took the box he offered her. "What is it?"

"An apology."

Addison opened the lid to reveal a pink frosted donut loaded with rainbow-colored sprinkles, staring at it for a beat before repeating, "An apology."

"Yep." Ryan nodded, and here went nothing. "I f****d up, Addison. I promised you something-a big something-and I didn't keep my word. It wasn't on purpose, and it was with the intention of keeping Chloe safe, but that doesn't really matter. I still acted impulsively by going after Bishop. It put the case at risk, it broke your trust, and I'm sorry."

"Let me get this straight," Addison said, her expression impossible to read. "Your apology for recklessly putting yourself in danger and potentially jeopardizing an active case is...a donut."

Oh, hell. "I thought you said it was an occupational pre-requisite for cops to like donuts," Ryan tried.

"To be fair, he brought me donuts, too," Riordan piped up.

"His screw-up was the size of Jupiter," she volleyed back.

Not to be outdone, Riordan said, "If it was that bad, you'd have handcuffed him by now."

Addison scowled but-thankfully-didn't argue as she turned back to Ryan and lifted the box. "Is this the best you've got, then?"

It was a gamble, he knew, but he threw on his very best smile and said, "Please. I've met you. This was just to get you to not arrest me while I ask you to a proper breakfast, during which I'll alternately feed you world-famous pancakes and grovel until you have mercy on me. What do you say?"

A smile twitched at the edges of her mouth, microscopic, but there. "I don't turn down food. But I'm driving and you're buying. And the groveling thing? You'd better make it good."

Ryan battled the urge to let his grin get out of control. "Understood."

She led the way out of the precinct, popping the locks on an unmarked Dodge Charger and sliding into the driver's seat. He got situated beside her, waiting until they'd made their way out of the parking lot before saying, "You're here awfully early." "If you want to get technical, I never left."

"At all?" Ryan asked, and she gave up a sheepish head shake.

"I came back here after I left Chloe's last night to file the report and ask Sinclair to reopen the case. Then, I called Tara to get her up to speed and proceed with an emergency protective order. By the time we finished, it was super late. Or, early, I guess? Anyway, I didn't want to drive that tired, so I crashed on the couch in Sinclair's office for a few hours. Then, you showed up, and here we are. Sorry I don't smell as good as you do."

So, so much to unspool there. His idiot brain went with, "You think I smell good?"

Addison winced. "Clearly, I shouldn't speak on less than four hours of sleep."

He guessed that was a yes, and funny, the knowledge gave him far more gratification than it should have. "So, ah. What happens now, with the protective order?"

"Tara should be able to finalize it with the magistrate this morning and Bishop will be served notice as soon as that's done," Addison said, looking grateful to get back to business. "It essentially says that he can't go anywhere near her, nor can he contact her, until she can get a court date for the next step. But it won't go into effect until he's served in person."

Dread leaked into Ryan's chest. "So he could just dodge the server and the order won't mean a thing?"

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Addison said. "As soon as Bishop is served, the emergency order lasts for seventy-two hours, during which time Chloe will go in front of a judge to request a preliminary protective order."

Oh, look. More dread. "Will Bishop be there?"

"Not yet."

Ryan took a breath, trying to keep all the steps straight in his head. "Okay, so what happens after that? He has to stay away from her forever?"

"It's a process," Addison said gently. "The preliminary protective order is a lot like the emergency order, only it lasts for fifteen days. It's the next step toward a permanent protective order that would make it illegal for Bishop to contact Chloe in any way for a lot longer term." "Do you think she'll get it?" Ryan asked. "This, what's it called? Preliminary order?"

Addison nodded. "Tara felt good about her chances, although she did say it will depend on the judge. We don't have a whole lot of hard evidence that he's stalking her, which isn't great, but Chloe is very believable, and I think her testimony will go far. Tara's going to argue that Bishop is acting in a calculated manner and covering his tracks, which is why there's no proof. It should be enough to move forward. Plus, now that Capelli is on those texts, we're hoping we can link them to Bishop before Chloe's court date for the final protective order."

"That's the one Bishop would be at?" Ryan asked. The thought of him in the same room as Chloe made Ryan's bile churn, but at least they'd be in a courtroom, and he'd be right there with her.

"Yes. That's essentially like a trial, so he'd be there to defend himself. That's also when witnesses would be called to give testimony, so I'd be there, too."

A thought occurred to Ryan. "If you're able to trace those texts back to Bishop, that would not only make it so Chloe could get the final protective order, but then you'd be able to pursue criminal charges, too, right?"

"Yes, and it's my absolute intention to do everything in my power to make that happen. I'm not going to lie, Ryan. It's going to take some time, and Bishop is very smart. But we're headed in the best direction, and now that we have the texts, we can take concrete action to keep Chloe safe." A minute or two of silence passed, not uncomfortably, before Addison switched tack. "So, how is she, for real?"

The question was so genuine that it sent a pang right to Ryan's gut. "Freaked out. Trying not to show it, because she knows it worries me. But she's hanging in there. She's going to stay with our parents for a couple of days, and I think that will make her feel better. Jack and Miguel and Grace and I worked out a rotation for after that."

"She's lucky to have a good support system," Addison said.

"She's lucky to have you fighting for her, too."

Addison pulled up in front of The Fork in the Road diner, turning to blink at him. "I'm just doing my job."

"You're doing far more than your job." The words barged out of his mouth impulsively. Still, they were true, so he didn't try to soften them or pull them back. "You've pursued the case from the beginning. You've kept Chloe calm. You've put up with me being a pretty big pain in the a*s. Hell, you slept at the precinct last night just to make sure the emergency protective order went in as soon as possible. I think it's safe to say you've gone above and beyond."

"Oh," Addison breathed. "Well, Chloe's safety is important to me." After a beat, she smiled and added, "And you've been a very big pain in the a*s. But since you seem to have realized the error of your ways and you're all about bribing me with breakfast food, I'm willing to start over with a clean slate."

"Really?" Ryan asked, his blood heating as she laughed.

"You had me at the donut, Dempsey. Now, let's go. I'm going to need all the fuel I can get to dig back into this case, and I don't intend to stop until Bishop is charged."

***

"I've gotten bucks that says there's no way you finish that."

Addison arched a brow over the steaming stack of pancakes and side order of bacon that she fully intended to eat every last bite of. "I'm happy to take your money," she said, reaching for the raspberry syrup with a smile.

Ryan shook his head, digging into a plate of the biscuits and gravy that The Fork in the Road was known for citywide. "I swear, not even Faurier can polish off a full stack of those, and I don't know anyone who eats more than that guy."

"I can't help it that these pancakes are too delicious not to finish," Addison said, forking up a bite so she wouldn't have to elaborate. The truth was, as mouthwateringly good as the pancakes were, what she wanted above all was to erase the last of the tension that had been freeloading in her system ever since Chloe had called her last night. Between her uncharacteristic feelings-fest at the notion that Ryan might have been hurt and the anger she'd felt after she'd realized he wasn't, the adrenaline hangover left over from the call, and the limited shuteye she'd snagged on Sinclair's office couch, she'd woken up just shy of a breakdown. Addison knew from experience that a solid meal of protein and carbs usually went a long way toward righting her equilibrium.

Apparently, so did apologies. Especially ones offered up by sincere, sexy-as-hell, donut-bearing firefighters that she shouldn't want to fall back into bed with, yet totally (totally) did.

"So," Addison chirped, trying to choke her treasonous libido with an overlarge bite of her breakfast. "How's the, ah..." She tapped her cheekbone, indicating the cut in the corresponding spot on Ryan's face.

He winced, but just slightly. "Stings, but I'll live. Anyway, it was worth it. I know I probably shouldn't say that out loud, seeing as how you literally just forgave me ten minutes ago," he added. "But even though I am sorry for breaking your trust, I can't apologize for wanting Chloe safe."

"I want her safe, too," Addison pointed out, and Ryan nodded, looking at his breakfast in contemplation.

"I know. I really do. It's just...the thought of Bishop stalking her, of how he might be really dangerous? Of how he might hurt her? It just makes me so mad that I lose all reason."

Oh, the irony. "Believe me, I get it."

Addison realized the words would escape only after they had, and-damn it! Ryan's chin hiked, his green eyes turning round with surprise.

"You get it? No offense, but you're like an ice princess when it comes to this shit."

She arched a brow, unable to lock down her tart response. "I do have feelings, you know."

"You do control them insanely well, you know," Ryan flipped back. "I'm actually kind of envious. At least when it comes to things like last night."

Her laugh diffused the tension threatening to gather between her shoulder blades. "You're envious."

"Sure." One gorgeous shoulder lifted and lowered, the picture of ease. "That surprises you."

"A little," she admitted. "You just seem very happy to be impulsive."

His grin made a direct hit with her solar plexus before heading south. "Oh, I am. Most of the time, anyway. But there are times when I wish I could reel it in like you do." "That has its drawbacks, too."

"Really?" Ryan's brows traveled toward his hairline. "Like what?"

Ugh, her mouth must be suffering the residual effects of adrenaline letdown plus little sleep, because the words had just slid past her lips. But she'd said them, and no matter how much she might want to, she couldn't haul them back now, so she said, "I see some pretty terrible things on the job. I'm sure you do, too." "Yeah," he said, his voice softening over the single syllable.

"So, I compartmentalize, because otherwise, it would wreck me." It had been the first lesson she'd learned as a patrol cop. Distance yourself from what might ruin you. Luckily for Addison, she'd arrived at the academy with that particular skill already down cold. "I learned how to take myself out of the bad shit so I won't fry my motherboard, and I stay calm because that helps keep the people around me be calm, too."

At some point, Ryan had lowered his fork to offer one hundred percent of his attention to what she was saying, and rather than make her want to clam up, it only eased the rest right out.

"But every once in a while, something happens that hits too close to home, and all those emotions that I can usually set aside get so big, I don't know what to do with them. Like last night." "Last night," he repeated slowly. "You were scared for Chloe."

The memory of her fear, of how deeply she'd felt it in her blood and bones, surfaced again, ushering out the truth. "I was scared for you, Ryan. I just...I know it sounds crazy, but last night, when I thought you might be hurt, they got kind of...I don't know. Big. Or something. And I wanted to be mad. I was mad. But I was also scared and relieved and a lot of other things, and it's just crazy, because I shouldn't feel so much for you-I tried so hard not to. But I do."

God, she was murdering this. She opened her mouth to tell him to forget it, that she was temporarily insane from a lack of sleep, that she'd been abducted by aliens who had current control of her mouth, anything that would put this conversation out of its misery. But then, Ryan reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "That doesn't sound crazy."

"Trust me. It's very crazy," Addison said, making him laugh.

"Well, if it is, then I guess we're crazy together, because I feel the same way about you."

She stared, replaying his words three times in her head before coming up with an ineloquent, "You do?"

"Yup," Ryan said. "I do."

"All these feelings could get really complicated," she whispered.

But rather than make a huge deal out of the moment, he simply squeezed her hand. His fingers were steady and sure as that cocky little smile she was quickly becoming addicted to found its way over his mouth, and oh, this would be dangerous if it didn't feel so safe and good and right.

"Nah," Ryan said with ease. "I promised you it wouldn't."

"That's it?" Addison asked. For God's sake, they had feelings for each other. It couldn't be that easy to just decide something that big wouldn't get weird and have that be that.

Could it?

"Yeah, that's it. Look"-he brushed his thumb over her knuckles, the simple contact sending warmth all the way through her. "I know I have to earn my way back into your good graces when it comes to promises. But that's okay. I don't mind the work." "What about the rest?" she whispered.

"The rest doesn't have to be anything we don't want it to be," he said, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go. "Now eat your pancakes before they get cold. After all, a bet is a bet, and like you said, you're going to need a good breakfast if you want to break this case."