“See that you do,” I say, putting my dad hat back on. Pete waves and walks backward before turning around and hurrying away. “And don’t eat crap. Get a salad or something!” I yell out to him.
When he disappears from sight, I shake my head, hoping my gut feeling was right.
It hits me that I’m standing alone in a dirty alley, in the middle of the Loop, holding a handbag. Shit, Dee!
I make quick work of retracing my steps, and I’m soon rounding the corner near Delish.
“There he is!” Dee says, pointing me out to the cop standing next to her—a cop who looks right at me. His eyes widen before he shakes his head and smirks at me while Dee runs toward me.
“Oh my god, you got it back,” she hurries out, taking her purse from my outstretched hand.
“Are you okay? ’Cause that’s more important.”
She freezes and blinks as if I’ve surprised her. It’s cute as hell. I may be a big man, but that doesn’t make me a Neanderthal.
“Yeah, thanks. Officer Rossi wanted me to go get checked out at the ER, but I’m fine.”
I arch a brow, and her eyes widen.
She holds her hand in the air as if to give me a scout’s honor salute. “I promise. I’m okay. My arm is a bit tender, but otherwise, I’m more embarrassed than anything. I should’ve been paying attention instead of talking on the phone.”
I rest my hand on her forearm. “You did nothing wrong . . .” Dee, I just manage to stop myself from saying.
She blushes, and I think that may be my favorite look on her. Then I mentally kick myself, because it’s way too weird to have a favorite anything about this woman I’ve just met in person but already feel like I know after watching her videos. Am I a stalker now?
We stand there staring at each other, her purse now hanging over her shoulder, my fingers still on her arm, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s almost as if we’re having a moment. God, I’ve been out of the game so long I can’t even be sure anymore.
“Miss Duncan?” Gio Rossi calls out, walking toward us. I jerk my hand away like I’ve been caught breaking the law. He nods my way. “Rhodes,” he says, his lips twitching.
“G.”
“Wait, you know each other?” Dee says, her head shifting between us. “I know Chicago can be a small world sometimes, but what are the odds?”
“Indeed.” Gio muses. “Your vigilante here is our family’s best friend—well, my brothers and I, anyway.”
I open my mouth to explain further, but Dee beats me to it. “Oh, wow. So, it’s serendipity, of sorts.”
“Something like that,” Gio replies. I give him a death glare that thankfully he reads before changing the subject. He looks down at Dee’s purse. “I take it you caught up with the offender?”
“I recovered the bag and came straight back to return it to its rightful owner. How about we leave it at that.”
Gio arches a brow, his expression full of understanding. It’s not the first time I’ve stepped in to try and change the direction of a delinquent teen’s life. “You send him to your dad?”
I nod. “Yeah. Whether he turns up there or not is another question.”
“Wait,” Dee says, speaking up. “You let the mugger go?” Her tone isn’t angry. It’s . . . curious.
“Yeah. I’m sorry if that’s not what you expected. I kind of threw my phone at you, barked out orders, then took off like a bat out of hell. But when I caught up to him, he was just a desperate kid living on a wish and a prayer. He just needed someone to give him a chance.”
“Oh wow,” she whispers. While in the alley with Pete, I hadn’t really thought about how Dee might react to me letting him go, but I didn’t expect her to be looking at me with wonder.
“I’ll check in with Don and keep my finger on the pulse. Ms. Duncan—”
“Dee, Officer. Call me Dee.”
Gio smiles. “Okay, Dee. Are you wanting to press charges?”
“Oh god, no. I’m just grateful Rhodes, here, was able to get it back for me. My keys and phone are in there. It would’ve been a pain in the butt to get the locks changed at the restaurant and home.”
“And is everything still in there?” Gio asks.
“Damn, I didn’t even check. I was too busy thanking my Good Samaritan here.” Dee opens her purse and rummages through the contents inside.
“Rhodes is good like that,” Gio murmurs, and I narrow my eyes at him, which just makes his smirk deepen.
Dee lets out a sigh of relief. “Phew. It’s all here.”
“Okay, Ms.—Dee.” Gio catches himself. “If that’s everything, I’ll leave you both to it.”
I don’t miss his intimation but choose to ignore it. Because Lord knows the Rossi brothers won’t let me live this situation down anytime soon.
“Thank you, Officer. Sorry to waste your time,” Dee says, holding out her hand to Gio and shaking his. “And I meant what I said. Make sure you come down for a meal. I know I can’t give it to you on the house, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give a heavy discount,” she adds with a wink.
“I might just do that, Dee.” He turns to me. “Later, hero,” he says. I’m tempted to flip him the bird, but since Dee is standing next to me, I’m thankfully able to refrain.
Gio and his partner get into their patrol car and soon drive away.
“I should let you—” I say, as Dee holds out her hand, “Here’s your phone back.”
Both our eyes widen before she blushes, and a wry grin curves her plush, pink lips. She pulls my cell out from her back pocket.
“Thanks. I’d kind of forgotten about that in all the drama.”
“I am truly grateful, Rhodes. Not many people would jump in to help a stranger like that.”
I’m suddenly struck with a bit of guilt. Probably not the best time to admit I know who she is, right? “I’m a firefighter. Helping people is my job.”
Her eyes grow soft and warm. “Oh. Well then, I guess I was lucky that one of the CFD’s finest was walking by in my time of need then.” Wait. Is she flirting with me now?
“It’s no trouble, honestly.”
“Handsome, honest, and humble. That’s a dangerous combination, Rhodes.”
Yep. Definitely flirting. “Not sure about the humble part.”
Her hazel eyes crinkle at the sides. “Ah, gotta be impressed by a man who knows his best attributes.”
My cheeks burn hot. What the hell, Rhodes? Man up already. “I’m just glad it turned out for the best.”
“Definitely. Well, I’ll let you go, but you have to come back for a meal on the house. I can’t be seen to be bribing police officers, but since you’re not on duty, I can show my gratitude without getting you in trouble.”
“It’s not necessary—”
“Nope,” she says, shooting me a beaming smile. “Bring the family. Make it a big night out.”
“That’d be me and my son, Jake. He’d probably eat you out of house and home.” I tilt my head toward the building. “Or your restaurant, as the case may be.”