Rescue Me

“You know something?” he finally said. “You’re cute.”

Tucker gave a fake gasp. “I’ve never heard that in my entire life.”

Between her small stature, long blond curls and refined facial features, people tended to take one look at her and see sweet and soft. There was a large part of her that delighted in proving those people wrong because she was neither of those things.

Finn, however, simply ignored her sarcasm. “And I wouldn’t touch the stuff if someone was holding a gun to my head. I’ve seen the results firsthand. It’s nasty.”

Tucker could hear the bitterness in his words, but didn’t want to care. She definitely didn’t want to ask.

It didn’t matter anyway. In the next five minutes he was going walk out of her bar and out of her life.

“I have a business to run and a nasty bruise to ice. I’d appreciate it if you and your dog left my premises.”

“Nice way to repay us for the help.”

She shrugged. “My bar, my decisions. The sign outside the front door clearly says I have the right to refuse service to anyone I choose. Your tab’s on me. Have a good life, Finn McAllister.”

3

SITTING ON THE balcony off his bedroom, Finn stared at the sun rising over the flat green landscape and into the wide-open sky. He’d spent years in other places, but San Antonio had always been home. His parents still lived in the suburb he’d grown up in not far away.

One of the main reasons he’d bought this house was for the unencumbered view. Sure, off in the distance he could see the high rises of the city, but here...he’d found some peace. Although, tonight it had done little to settle the jumble of nerves and emotions churning inside him.

His gaze snagged on the baggie of crystal meth that sat on the table in front of him. He’d placed it inside an evidence bag. Later in the morning he’d contact Officers Dade and Simmons, members of the joint task force he and Duchess had been assigned to assist, and turn it over. If they got lucky maybe they’d get some prints and another lead.

Eventually, they’d get back the chemical analysis, which could tie this batch to the others that had been discovered at the scenes of the deaths they were investigating.

The fine crystalline powder stared at him. Mocked him. But he couldn’t look away.

God, he hated that drug. Hated all of them, really, but he hated meth with a fiery passion. He wasn’t lying to Tucker when he said he’d seen the cost of the high it brought. Ultra addictive, it didn’t discriminate in the lives it destroyed.

His sister had been beautiful, popular, intelligent. She’d been in the top of her class, well on her way to an academic scholarship at a good college. No one in her life would’ve imagined she’d become an addict and OD, dying just two months before her high school graduation.

Finn could still see the image of her pale, lifeless body on that cold metal slab in the morgue. He’d been the one to identify her, his parents both too devastated to do it.

That experience had changed the trajectory of his own life. He’d already been in the Air Force, headed to the K9 training unit. When they’d offered him the chance to train with a drug dog instead of a bomb dog he’d jumped at the offer, joining a new mission that specialized in combating the increasing use of illegal drugs among soldiers.

He’d do anything he could to get drugs off the streets and get soldiers proper help for the stress they were under.

Now though, he and Duchess were out of active duty. Transferred to the training center so he could ensure the next crop of K9 handlers had the skills they needed to perform their jobs.

“Duchess, heel.”

The first soldier who’d ODed had been a tragedy. Well, truly, all of them were. But when the third one died, Finn and Duchess, because of their experience and specialized skills, had been temporarily assigned to a team from the drug enforcement unit. The General himself had given Finn a clear directive saying that stopping the flow of meth onto the base was his top priority.

Finn already knew exactly what Dade and Simmons were going to say when he told them what had happened. It was clear someone needed to keep an eye on the Kentucky Rose, and he had every intention of volunteering for the job.

From what Freeman had told them, they were looking for a woman. Thanks to the drugs, the man’s memory was weakened and he hadn’t been able to give them much to go on. He recalled her long hair and the fact that she was shorter than he was, but the rest of the details were fuzzy. They were hoping a couple of days’ rest would help him remember more.

Finn had Googled the fiery blond bar owner and he’d had to wonder, given that Tucker Blackburn fit the admittedly broad description they had, if she might be involved in some way. But either she was an award-worthy actress or her reaction to drugs in her bar was genuine. He’d watched the emotions flit across her face, unguarded and unchecked—bewilderment, irritation, anger and then disgust.

For the moment, he decided to operate under the belief she was unaware. Which, if it was true, only made him angrier. This was not going to be a picnic and there was a part of him that raged on her behalf for being dragged into this mess.

But there was nothing he could do about that. The Kentucky Rose was smack in the middle of it all, and if he had his way the inconvenience was going to get bigger before it got better. The best he could do was try to protect her.

Even if she wasn’t going to like his methods.

* * *

THE NEXT AFTERNOON Tucker stood in the middle of the Rose and tipped her head back. Closing her eyes, she let the silence and scents of the place soak into her. This was her favorite time of day. Before they opened. Before any of the staff arrived. When it was just her and the place she’d built.

Some people didn’t like bars when they were empty. With the lights glaring, you could pick out all the scars on the bar and the rough edges of the walls. The tables were stark instead of inviting. Pretty colors didn’t twirl across the dance floor, beckoning you to take risks and try moves you possibly shouldn’t.

Monique, one of her oldest friends, often said the place was a little creepy when it was empty. Too big and...bare.

Tucker liked it because it was all hers.

An ugly purple and yellow bruise had bloomed over her cheek, but she’d managed to cover up the worst of it with makeup. Not that she particularly cared. She just didn’t want to deal with the questioning looks and raised eyebrows it seemed to cause.

Her ankle was a little more troublesome. She’d bought a thin bandage brace, which was helping, downed several ibuprofen and forsaken her fancy heels—she really missed those extra few inches—for a pair of brown and teal cowboy boots that offered a little more support.

She’d try and take it easy tonight. Last night had been long and crazy. It had felt like everything that could go wrong did, capped off with the realization that the drugs Finn had found were apparently the same ones she’d discovered in the bathroom. The bag must have fallen out of her pocket when she got knocked on her rear in the fight.

Which was both good and bad.

Maybe the problem wasn’t as bad as Finn seemed to think. Either way, he’d taken the drugs and hopefully disposed of them as he’d said he would. At the moment her best option was to view the situation as one less thing on her to-do list. And, with any luck, tonight would be less insane. Although it was a Saturday, so she wasn’t holding her breath.

For right now, she needed to get the place ready. Tucker walked behind the bar and began taking inventory of what she needed to replenish from the back stock room. They’d gone through a ton of whiskey and vodka last night. She also needed several cases of beer.

She was lost in her own world and the familiar minutia when a loud knock echoed through the place.

Tucker frowned. The last thing she wanted to deal with was some idiot who thought she should be open merely because he was ready to start drinking.

Grabbing the stun gun she kept tucked behind the bar, she headed for the front door.

It was made of old, solid wood she’d found at a flea market, and she’d commissioned a local artist to carve it into a door, adding the bar’s logo to the scarred surface. She loved that door. It was one of the first things she’d had made when she decided to open the place.

The only downside was that she couldn’t see who was waiting on the other side. And since it was possibly one of her staff instead of an idiot customer who couldn’t read signs or tell time, she flipped the locks and pulled the door open several inches.

She should have let them pound away.

Standing on the other side, were two officers, their badges already out, ready to flash in her face. And behind them stood Finn McAllister, Duchess sitting prettily at his side.

“Hi, Tucker. Can we come in?”

She should have known he’d come back to haunt her.

“Considering your friends, I’m going to guess I don’t have much choice in the way I answer that question.”

“No, ma’am,” one of the officers said, his voice apologetic. “I’m Officer Dade and this is my partner, Officer Simmons. We have a few questions for you.”

With a sigh, Tucker swept the door open, gesturing them inside with the business end of her stun gun.

“Please put the weapon down, ma’am,” Simmons said, his hand already sitting on the butt of his own gun.

“Don’t worry. I’ll put it away behind the bar. I might not be thrilled to see you standing at my front door, but I’m not about to shock you. A girl can’t be too careful, though.”

“No, ma’am.”

Tucker turned and started walking through the bar, doing everything she could to hide her limp. For some reason, she didn’t want Finn to know her ankle was still bothering her.

“Finn, make yourself useful and lock the door behind you, would you?”

One of the men snorted, but she wasn’t sure which one and didn’t particularly care to find out.

Slipping the stun gun back into its hiding place, she spread her arms wide along the business side of the bar. “Can I offer you gentlemen a drink?”

“We’re on the clock, but appreciate the offer.” Dade declined with a subdued smile.

She hadn’t expected them to accept, but she was wise enough to make the offer anyway. “Then let’s skip straight to why you’re here. I’m sure Mr. McAllister notified you his dog discovered some drugs here last night. It won’t surprise you to hear that happens sometimes in this business, despite my best efforts to eliminate it. I don’t condone drug use. And, unlike other bars, neither I nor my security team look the other way when it happens.”

Officer Dade nodded his head. “That’s good to hear. But this isn’t simply a case of someone partying too much.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

Officer Simmons chimed in. “The bag Duchess discovered contained enough crystal meth to qualify as possession with the intent to distribute.”

A heavy pit opened up in her belly. “You’re telling me this isn’t just college kids looking to have a good time. Someone was dealing inside my bar.”

It wasn’t really a question, but Simmons answered anyway. “We think so, yes.”

Crap, she really hadn’t wanted to hear that. This was a bigger problem than she’d realized.

“We have reason to believe someone has been using the Kentucky Rose to distribute. Any thoughts on who might be doing that? Suspicious regulars? Anyone who’s been hanging out over the last few months, giving you an uncomfortable vibe?”

Maybe they didn’t need a drink, but she did. Scooting down the bar, Tucker grabbed a glass, scooped some ice then filled it with water. The cool liquid eased her suddenly dry throat, but did nothing to soothe the sick churning in her belly.

“No. As I pointed out to Finn last night, I have the right to refuse service to anyone. My guys are trained to spot troublemakers and we bounce them as soon as we identify a problem. Anyone who might’ve raised a red flag wouldn’t have been hanging around for long.”

Finn finally chimed in, “What about your staff?”

For the first time since they’d walked in, Tucker looked at him. And then regretted it. Which was why she’d been avoiding him in the first place.

The stubble covering his chiseled face, the divot right in the center of his chin she wanted to run her tongue over. The way his watchful green eyes skimmed across her face, eliciting a tempting hum of awareness... Yep, pure trouble.

Her body’s reaction was irritating. And unsettling.

Which was probably why she barked out her answer when she really hadn’t meant to. “None of my staff would be that stupid.”

Finn quirked a single eyebrow, calling her statement into question with nothing more than the gesture.

That didn’t help settle her. “They’re loyal, Finn. We’re tight. We look out for each other and they understand how important the Rose is to me. They’d never do anything to jeopardize my business.”

“You hope,” he muttered under his breath.

“I know,” she said, her words ringing with finality. Because even the thought of someone close to her doing this hurt. It couldn’t be her staff.

Tying the Rose to drugs and dealing could have disastrous consequences for her business. The last thing she needed was to headline the six o’clock news with a story about a drug bust at her bar. Contrary to popular belief, not all publicity was good publicity. That kind of story could sink the good reputation she’d built this place on. Marketing was everything in this business, setting her apart from the numerous other bars in the city. With so many options, one bad story would easily send her customers elsewhere.

Not to mention the potential for her to lose her business and liquor licenses.

“Gentlemen, are you sure you’re not jumping to conclusions? The bar was busy last night, as it is most Fridays. We were wall-to-wall people by the time Duchess found the drugs. Not to mention there’d been a fight. I suppose they could have belonged to one of the guys involved, but of course, I can’t say for certain. And I’m not willing to assign blame to someone just because they were acting like a drunken idiot.”

Dade grunted. “Do you have security cameras?”

Crap. Something dark started squirming through her belly. There was no telling what they’d find on her security footage. She normally scanned through the tapes with Wyatt every couple weeks, but they hadn’t had a chance lately. It was entirely possible they’d discover the drugs falling from her pocket in that fight.

There was no good way to explain that, at least not at this point. Anything she said would look like a lie to cover her own ass.

The only way she was turning over the security footage was if she viewed it first.

“Yes, I have cameras, but they don’t cover the entire place,” she hedged. “I record the parking lots, front and back, all entrances, including the one employees use. I have a couple strategically placed on high traffic areas and the back stock room, just in case of theft. But the bar is too big to have cameras covering every square inch, and there’s also a little issue called privacy.”

“Still, we might get lucky and find something useful.”

Tucker tried to keep her posture and voice level. “I’ll ask my head of security to pull the footage together for you. Might take a couple days. Weekends are our busiest time.”

She tried not to squirm, but it was difficult beneath Finn’s strong, steady gaze. She didn’t like the way he was watching her.

Or maybe that was just her own guilty conscience projecting.

Finn shifted. “Listen, Tucker. This isn’t just about a drug dealer. There’s been a trend of deaths from people ODing on crystal meth over the past eight months. A joint task force has been formed to try and find the source of the drugs and shut it down.”

Her eyes flitted to Duchess. “And you’re involved.”

“Duchess and I have some unique skills and we’ve been temporarily assigned to the team. We want to find these guys just as much as the police.”

Tucker let her gaze swing between the three men leaning against her bar. The expressions on their faces made her belly dip. Dade stared hard at her, as if he could force her to do whatever he wanted by sheer force of will. Simmons’s face was half cajoling and half apology.

Finn’s expression was shuttered and unreadable.

Turning to face him, she asked, “What do you want?”

“An airman who was revived after ODing told me he purchased the drugs here. From a woman.”

“Well that narrows it down.” Realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. “That’s why you and Duchess were here last night.”

That pissed her off. Why the hell hadn’t he come to her? Let her know what was going on and why he was there? She wouldn’t have made a fuss about the dog then.

“Yes. This is the first break we’ve had in the case, Tucker. Months of frustrating searches that’ve led nowhere while more men and women die.”

What was she supposed to say to that? No, she didn’t like the idea of people dying. Yes, she wanted to help if she could.

“Again, what do you want?”

Finn leaned across her bar, putting himself closer and making her want to move in the opposite direction. But she didn’t. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he affected her.

“To put someone here undercover.”

A buzz of energy crackled across Tucker’s skin. “And I don’t suppose Dade or Simmons have been tapped for that assignment.”

“Nope,” Finn shook his head. “Duchess and I have.”

Of course. “I don’t like dogs.”

“You don’t say...” His dry tone scraped down her spine.

“And just how do you expect to integrate with my team? Want me to hire you as a new bouncer? Everyone on staff knows I’m not looking.”

“No. We were thinking a little more intimate...more access.” Finn’s eyes flashed, ripping down her body quickly before zeroing back in on her gaze. “You dating anyone, Tucker?”

That rollercoaster ride her tummy was on took a major free fall.

“No.”

“You are now.”

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