Chapter Text
Jack glanced down at his watch, and huffedーexasperated. Shifting his body, he rubbed neck. This stakeout had been a last ditch effort to catch their suspect, but after five hours they still hadn’t seen anything. His gaze shifted to the still form beside him, her chest slowly rising and falling. She had fought it for a while, but eventually sleep had won. Even though he had tried to convince her that she didn’t need to come, he was glad that she had been there. Stakeouts were always moreーhe couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at the corner of his mouthーinteresting when she came along.
His eyes caught movement highlighted by the moon’s glow in the alley they were watching. A door had opened. He sat up a little straighter seeing a man walking away from them, his dark form sticking to the shadows. From this distance, there was no way to know if it was who they were after, but at this point he needed to get out of the car.
With a soft hand on her shoulder, Jack whispered Phryne’s name not wanting to jump her.
“Why did you let me fall asleep?” Her head turned to look out the window. “Did he show up?”
“I’m not sure. Someone came out of the building. I am going to follow him.”
She didn’t speak, but opened the car door quietly and followed him across the street. They tailed the man at a safe distance until he slipped around a corner. Jack stopped short. He felt Phryne’s body bump into his and a tiny gasp escape her lips.
Pulling them both back out of sight, his heart started racing. Had they been spotted? He felt himself falling backwards, his hands involuntarily grabbing onto her waist as he tried to regain his balance before realizing that she was pushing him against the brick wall. Her body leaning into his, and her hot breath against his neck sending a shock through his limbs.
“Phrー”
She placed her index finger on his mouth and her lips nearly touched his ear. “Shhh.”
He could feel all her wonderful curves pressed against him and warm beneath his hands. The smell of her perfume, which had been distracting enough while sitting in the car, was now making it almost impossible to think. His fingers splayed across her hips and pulled her closer as her nose slid along his jaw. His eyes fluttered and he tilted his face, his lips grazing her cheekbone. It took all the will he had to make his hands remain where they were instead of moving up her body and into her hair. This was not the timeーor placeーto be doing this.
With a slow steady breath he stood a bit straighter, the pounding in his ears beginning to subside as he forced himself to remember why they were here. It had taken him longer than he would care to admit to realize that her pushing him against the wall was not merely one of her shameless acts to get close to him. Rather, she was trying to provide a reason for them to be sneaking around an alley in the dark in case they had been spottedーthough she was obviously more than happy to take advantage of the situation, her body still firm and warm against him.
He moved one hand from her waist and desperately sought the cool brick to bring his mind back to the jobーthe suspect around the corner. Two men’s voices could be heard, and Jack was now sure that one of them was the man they were looking for. His eyes made contact with Phryne’s, and she nodded, pushing away from him slightly and holding up her pistol. He couldn’t keep the smile off his faceーof course she had come prepared. Still, even with her as his backup, he didn’t really want to have to confront two men in the dark.
Options began running through his head, but before he could come up with a good plan, the whispered conversation around the corner ended. The sound of footsteps walking away echoed through the alley, but it was just one set of footprints. Phryne gave Jack some space, a shiver running over his overheated body that was now exposed to the cool night air. He stepped away from the wall and refocused. Would the other man come this way? There was no way to tell which man it would be, but either way they would have someone to talk to.
Their suspect came around the corner and stopped short at the sight of the gold pistol glistening in the moonlight. They finally had him.