7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) by et al Phoenix Daniels Sara Allen Read Free Book Online Page A

to see her reactions. His favorite so far was the almost-smile she gave when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. He was a police officer, and she had to realize that not much passed his notice.
    He went into the bathroom to take a much-needed shower. He needed to wash away the fatigue and desire, or he would be too distracted from doing a proper job that night.
    Jones pushed back his shoulder-length hair, which dripped down over his face, covering his slightly crooked nose and the scar on his eyebrow. He wouldn’t win any prizes at a beauty contest, but he wouldn’t come last either. He was a working-man, and beauty wasn’t going to help him catch criminals. 
    He breathed out a frustrated sigh. This damn case was leading them in circles, as though the bastards had a handle on everything they were doing.  He didn’t want to think that one of their own on the inside was passing information out. He couldn’t be sure and he couldn’t dismiss it either. Worse, he couldn’t tell anyone! It was a worst-case scenario, as far as he was concerned.
    To have a suspected leak in that position made their jobs all the more difficult, not to mention, dangerous. Any insider would know exactly what they were doing, the when, why and how of it, leaving them vulnerable, especially as these guys didn’t seem to have a conscience when it came to wiping out their enemies or their friends either. 
    He adjusted the towel he’d wrapped around his waist, opening the door and leaving the bathroom to cross to his bedroom directly opposite. He looked up, coming face to face with Val, standing dumbstruck in the hallway.
    “Uhh… Sorry. I thought you’d left,” she stammered, looking away from his naked chest that was directly at her eye level.
    “I needed a shower to wake myself up,” he explained. “Sorry for the towel. I'm not used to company.”
    “No. My bad. I'm the intruder!” She looked at his feet, gulped and swung her eyes back up to his face. “Plus, I took your room with the en-suite bathroom.”
    “Well, as much as I’d like to stand here and chat. I need to dress... and leave.”
    “Shit… I'm so sorry. Please go on.” Val waved him past her to his room doorway and walked down the corridor to her room. Jones could hear her muttering about being an idiot, from what he could catch of her lowered voice.
    Jones smiled to himself. Yes , he thought, this is going to be interesting .
     

****
    00:45 a.m. October 13, 2004
     
    Jones stepped into his office cubicle, noticing the pile of papers on his desk. The papers hadn’t been there that morning, and a quick glance caused him to groan when he saw that they concerned the incident of the previous night. Looking around his cramped office space, he took in the full-length windows that showed the outside world; a world he had joined the force to help keep under control. But here he was doing absolutely nothing! He wasn’t doing a goddamn thing to fight the crimes he’d signed up to fight and that pissed him off.
    Jones paced to the window, looking out into the darkness of the night, seeing no one moving on the blackened streets. The street lamps alone shared their company with the few nocturnal animals that roamed the inner city streets after dark. He laid his palms flat on the window, scanning, looking for a clue or anything to help clear up the dilemma they had going on.
    He was sick of all the red tape, the constant slapped wrists if he stepped out of line, the black marks and setbacks, the “do nothing” mentality that pervaded the police force in recent years. He had better things to do than stand there scratching his balls for entertainment while the real culprit was out there getting away. As far as he was concerned, this was a fool’s game, and he wasn’t prepared to be a puppet for anyone.
    He and his partner were the lead detectives on this case, and his bosses had him tied to a fucking chair like a toddler!
    “Hey, I see they got you doing paperwork…