Marrying the quarterback

Chapter One

I tipped the bottle against my lips, keeping a secret eye on my suspect from afar and pretending to be engaged in the game between the Bengals and the Gold and Black Kings.

My eyes glanced back and forth from the television and over to the VIP section where Marcus de Lucas was seated with most of his accomplices—surrounded by bodyguards and girls which was expected since he is the leader of the cartel.

I’ve been after him for years and this was finally my moment to cuff him and throw him behind bars so no one has to die because of him.

Marcus is known for smuggling illegal firearms, substances that have taken more than 10 lives of youngsters. He recruits teenagers and has them sell his substances for him, he has them on a tight leash and any sign of them wanting to pull out—he kills them.

He has been involved in over thirty cases but we had no solid evidence until earlier today.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” My partner said over into my earpiece.

“I have been waiting for this moment for years. I am not going to waste another minute locking this guy up or wait for another body to show up in the coroner’s office.” I said, taking out my badge and showing it to the bartender.

“I need you to leave and take as many people with you,” I didn’t want extra responsibility on my hands or put the lives of innocent people in jeopardy.

I stood up from the chair and made my way over to where Marcus was seated with a girl on his lap.

His shoulders tensed underneath his shirt when it didn’t take him long to recognize me. “Detective Burgess,” He gestured for the girl to get off his lap. “What a surprise,” He added, leaning back into his seat.

I placed my handcuffs on the small table between us and sat down on the chair, crossing my legs.

“Imagine my surprise when all the evidence finally piled up against you, Marcus.” I enjoyed watching him squirm underneath my steady stare.

“I should really get myself a TRO against you,” He noted with an undelighted smirk.

“No need, the FBI is already here backing me up on your arrest,”

“On what grounds?” Finally, the wolf revealed himself after wearing sheep clothes for years, having everyone fooled by his charms except for me.

“I’ve got you convicted for five cases,” I replied, calmly. “DNA and a witness testimony,”

I lowered my gaze and gave my cuffs a pointed stare. “So, are you going to snap them on you, or should I?”

I waited patiently for a sign of any kind of reaction from him or his men. My team, including the FBI and LAPD, was outside ready to burst in at my command.

He gave me a snarling grin and folded his arms over his chest. “I can kill you right here, right now,”

I shrugged. “Then go for it,”

“You don’t scare me, detective. You suck at poker faces,”

“Maybe all my colleagues will and convince you that this isn’t some kind of joke,”

Doors flew open and officers stormed in with weapons, geared up and shouting orders for everyone to get to their knees. Marcus’ confident look faltered when he was ruffled with the realization of going to jail.

“What about now? Do I scare you now?” I questioned, unfolding my arms and standing up from the couch grabbing my cuffs.

“Let’s go, De Lucas,” I ordered. “You are under arrest,”

He got to his feet—his smirk long gone. He turned around giving me an indication of surrendering and I took it. I snapped one of the cuffs around his wrist when he pivoted bringing up his hand and punching me in the face. He tried to run past me and escape but I grabbed him by the collar, throwing him to the floor after returning the blow. I then got on top of him, pressing him to the floor and twisting his arms behind his back cuffing his wrists.

“I will get out, mark my words,” He yelled.

I smiled, pulling him upfront the floor and shoving him towards an LAPD officer. “Not this time, De Lucas. You are going away for a very long time without parole,”

“You, okay, Burgess?” Kurt asked, gesturing towards my jaw.

“I’m good, the job never gets done without consequences,” I retorted with an unruffled smile.

“Well, that was quite the takedown of gangbanger,” Rick Cardoza, FBI agent complimented smiling at me.

Kurt noticed the encounter and stepped away after excusing himself.

“I’ll see you back at the precinct,” Kurt said, patting me on the shoulder before leaving.

“So, are we going to celebrate your successful arrest over a bottle of champagne at my place?” Rick asked, looking around making sure nobody is eavesdropping.

“What happened to boundaries?” I replied with a smile of my own.

“I thought we were only to keep things on the low while working on this case together?” He noted.

“This between us can cause me to lose my position which I only got a few months ago, and you know how important this is to me,” I remarked with a pointed stare hoping he will understand.

“Am I not important?” He teased.

I concealed a smile. “You are but if you really respect me as you say you do, then you will respect our relationship to be a secret,”

“It’s a relationship now?” He looked wholeheartedly stunned.

I shot him a grin. “Didn’t we discuss this the last time?”

I took a step away from him afraid my colleagues would start to take notice of our small talks and flirtatious smiles.

“We can talk about this later at your place and you are buying dinner,”