Vigilante Mine by Cera Daniels

is going behind bars for obstruction."
    Surprised by the rigid edge to his tone, Amanda fought harder to keep her expression bland. This side of Dale was a far cry from the amused tolerance — almost geniality — he'd showered on Ryan in his office the day before.
    Ryan inclined his head. "News 9 likely spotted my car."
    "If they approach you, you'll be silent," Dale said.
    "I'll be discreet." He was all powerful businessman with those words, the confident stance, the unyielding expression, and the way he stood up to her commanding officer made it clear he hadn't maintained control of a major financial institution by inheritance alone. "Silence would make it difficult to get word out about your benefit."
    Dale frowned. "I'm not picking a fight, McLelas. I'm not bargaining, and I'm not asking. I'm telling you how it's going to be. Anything other than 'no comment' about today's adventure and you're done."
    "They won't hear it from me. But you might want to lower your voice." Ryan nodded toward the connecting alley, toward his car and the main road. "If you two will excuse me, I should see to my dinner plans."
    Dinner plans.
    Despite his apparent interest where she was concerned, he walked away. He'd end the night with another woman. Disappointment had an instant to settle in her gut before Amanda caught a slight flick of his gaze over his shoulder, heat in his eyes and a half-smile on his lips as he sought her out. She shook her head. The same mischief in his expression now had brought her out here with him in the first place. Well. The expression, and the near kiss.
    Her pulse bounced, and it shouldn't have. She couldn't have expectations or desire tied up in a man whose "single" status varied by the hour.
    Amanda shoved thoughts of her non-existent personal life from her mind, more than ready for the responsibility Dale would return to her shoulders. "What's the situation at the precinct, Sir? Tell me about the other masked body."
    "No." He gave a sharp shake of his head. "He wasn't one of ours. That's all you need to know."
    No? Amanda's eyes narrowed. Was he joking? She'd had it with "no". Charlie was signing her papers today, and she was taking on this case.
    "When, tomorrow?" She stepped into his personal space. "Sir, with all due respect — "
    "I'll be frank with you, Werner." He ran a hand over day-old stubble. "You're a liability, not an asset."
    Her jaw dropped and kept dropping until she felt like her bottom lip dragged through the snow. Cold, crawling sensations struck her chest and spread from there. "A liability?"
    Oblivious to her shock, he continued louder, "The last time you were on the street, you entered a dangerous situation that nearly got your partner killed. You then not only lost your firearm; it was discharged in the middle of syndicate territory and, by your own admission, triggered a cross-syndicate encounter. We are at war."
    Hurt and frustration turned boiling at the accusations. He couldn't be suggesting she was to blame for the tension on the streets. "Both Psych and Internal Affairs cleared me for active duty. I — "
    "War, Detective," he repeated with a swipe of his hand. "More to the point — and this is important — I can't trust you to obey a direct order."
    He couldn't trust her? Amanda's fingernails dug into her palms. Just the day before he'd touted her loyalty, and now he couldn't count on her?
    Her temples started to throb. "This is about my phone call? What did you want me to do? Ignore the body?"
    "I don't care if you'd found ten bodies. You were to stay home. And where do I find you? Skulking around back streets, working on a sealed case file."
    "I haven't worked a case in months." Her voice came out low and hoarse with suppressed fury. How had this conversation gone so wrong? He was supposed to move her off the bench, not publically take her to task. Dale seemed set on her guilt on every point, and he was the one who'd granted Ryan's access to the file in the first place. She