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Kane had lost his mind. It was the only thing that made any sense at all, because the moment he’d seen Luca standing outside his office smiling sweetly at Mike Williams, he’d felt as though the rug had been pulled out from under him. Not only that, the wariness in Luca’s eyes the moment he’d spotted Kane, had made him sick to his stomach. He’d never wanted to see that expression in Luca’s eyes again. He’d seen it the night before as he’d put him in the cab just like he’d seen the momentary fear in his eyes when he’d yelled at him outside the club. He’d been as confused by his outburst then as he was by the giant erection he was sporting right now.
“Hey! There you are,” Kelly said brightly, surprising Kane so much he felt his heart skip a beat. He glanced up to find her stepping out of the stairwell in the lobby. “Were you leaving?” He realized he was still watching the taillights of the silver Rolls Royce as it pulled out of the parking lot. He shook his head.
“No, actually, I just got here,” Kane said. “I was just headed upstairs but I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk more about our next move with Moore.”
“I’m sorry about that, Delancey. I wish I’d had more time today,” she said as she rode the elevator up to their office with him.
That afternoon, Kelly’s conversation with Brandon Moore had been cut short after only a few minutes when she got a call from her sister and had to rush out to pick up her sick eight-year-old nephew from school. In the rush back to the station to drop Kane off, Kelly had apologized and explained that she was Lila’s emergency contact. Kelly’s sister was a single parent who worked as an oncology nurse and couldn’t leave her patients in the middle of a treatment if the school called. Kelly loved Cameron and she adored playing favorite aunt, even when the little guy was throwing up and feverish.
“It’s okay. I know it couldn’t be helped. We’ll have lunch there tomorrow and you can try again to ingratiate yourself with him,” Kane said, pushing through the double doors to the office.
“I was thinking about it while I waited for Lila’s shift to finish,” Kelly said. “Maybe I can jumpstart his interest.”
She’d hesitated on the last bit and Kane narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Clearly, she wasn’t comfortable with the scenario of spending any more time with Moore than she had to. He realized he was still staring at her as he unclipped his gun and slid it into his top drawer as she plopped into her chair behind the desk across from him.
“I don’t think I like the sound of that.” He looked down and noticed the list of stolen jewelry from the robbery at Auerbach’s Jewelry and the two sketches the sketch artist had drawn sitting on his blotter. He picked the list up and stared for a second when she sighed. He set the list down and looked across their desks at her giving Kelly all his attention. She was frowning.
“What? I don’t know what you’re thinking but I don’t like the idea of you going into his place on a rushed timetable. If you’re even pondering what I think you’re pondering. You can forget trying to seduce any information out of the scumbag.”
She grinned and reached up, twirling a coppery strand of hair around her finger as she cocked her head. “You don’t think I could seduce him into giving me some information, Delancey?”
“About the mob, no. About your bra size, probably,” he said, smirking.
She chuckled. “You have no idea how much that man likes my boobs. He couldn’t take his eyes off my cleavage, Delancey. I bet if you asked him what color my eyes were, he couldn’t tell you.”
“Oh, I noticed but that’s not the way I want this to happen,” he said with all sincerity. “I think it would be playing with fire, Murphy, and there’s no way I’d let you put yourself in danger just to get close to him. It’s better that we build rapport with him another way. We’ll tell him we’re available to protect his business interests. We may even have to do something that looks dirty to get his attention and sell our value to him that way.”
“Don’t you think he’ll be expecting a frontal assault? Come on, Delancey,” she said. “My way will be faster. I can drop some subtle hints that I find him and his money interesting, get him up to his apartment above the bar, maybe drop a bug before his father gets home.”
“The FBI already has his place bugged. They haven’t gotten a damned thing off it. You saw the reports Lincoln Snow sent over.”
“The FBI planted bugs downstairs at the bar but they couldn’t get upstairs inside his apartment which has to be where he does his talking and planning. Trust me, once his father gets home it will be too late since he’ll probably be too sick to leave the place. No doubt that’s where his conversations with his bosses back in Boston go on. We already know he doesn’t use landlines. The Feebs have his home, bar, and cell tapped and there’s nothing going on there except bar business and personal phone calls. Believe me, Delancey, his apartment is where the conversations we want to hear take place.”
Kane frowned even harder. “I don’t like it. What’s your plan for extracting yourself once you’re up there with him, Kelly? How do you think a guy like that is going to take it when you turn him down, especially after leading him on?” Kane shook his head. “It’s a lot of risk to take and besides that, we don’t even know if Enoch Moore is going to be granted compassionate release anyway.”
“Actually, we do.” They both looked up as Mike and Cassidy walked up. Cassidy was frowning as he held out a fax. “Enoch Moore just got compassionate release,” Cassidy said quietly, looking side to side to make sure no one else was listening. “I guess you guys really have to make this undercover thing work now.”
“Son of a bitch,” Kane swore under his breath as he stared at the court order. He passed it to Kelly.
“I thought you’d be happy to have the chance to put the mob out of business,” Mike said. “Isn’t that the goal here?” He waved at Kane.
“We are happy, aren’t we, Delancey?” Kelly replied, making her eyes big for Kane. He smirked at her expression.
“Ultimately,” he growled, looking over at Mike.
“My partner just doesn’t like the way I want to approach them and now that we know for sure that dear old dad will be coming home soon, I don’t see how there’s any other way to do it but to get ears into the apartment Brandon has above the bar where Enoch will be staying until he departs this earthly coil.”
Cassidy snorted. “You want to use yourself as bait and get into his apartment, right?”
She grinned and nodded. “How’d you know?”
“I mean, look at you.” Cassidy replied to Kelly. He turned and glanced at Kane, shrugging his broad shoulders. “It could work, Delancey. It’s the logical place where father and son will be talking. Getting a bug into the apartment isn’t a bad idea at all.”
“So, we’ll put a bug in a box of groceries or something,” Kane grumbled. “We’ll get Brandon to carry it right into his own place without his knowledge. Or, we’ll do without a bug and build a case against him by making him think he’s dealing with dirty cops like we originally planned. We’ll tell him we want to provide protection or something.”
Mike hooked a thumb at Kelly. “Murphy’s way would be faster and with Enoch coming home, it looks like time is now a factor.”
“He’s right,” Cassidy said. “We all know that given time, you guys would be able to ingratiate yourselves with the son. But with Enoch being released in only a few days, maybe Kelly has the right idea, Delancey. Think about it.”
“You know, we can always fake a break-in at the bar once Murphy goes upstairs with Moore or even time a raid to coincide. All she’s gonna need is half a minute to plant a bug,” Mike said. “Cops raiding his bar would sure get Moore back down the stairs quickly. Most of all, you have to trust your partner, Delancey. She was assigned to you for this undercover because she’s good at her job. Cassidy and I have both seen her in action.”
Kane couldn’t fault that logic. He glanced at Kelly, both hating and respecting how willing she
was to put her safety on the line for this case. The truth was, none of them knew how dangerous these men really were. If Brandon Moore was anything remotely like his father, that meant he was a monster too. Kane blew out a long breath and sat back in his desk chair as his three colleagues waited. He knew Kelly wouldn’t do it if Kane didn’t want him to. He finally scrubbed his hand over his face, growling.
“Fine, but we’re going back there tomorrow and see if we can get him to bite at two dirty cops and what we can do for him, first.”
“Good,” Kelly said, sounding more than pleased with herself. “They serve good Guinness and my salad was amazing.”
Kane could do nothing but smirk at the expression on her pretty face.
“Guys, you know Mike and I are there as backup, right?” Cassidy asked.
Kane stared up at him and recognized the sincerity in the detective’s eyes. He nodded. “Yeah, I know, Ryan. Thanks.” He reached out and shook Cassidy and Mike’s hands. He still felt slightly sick inside. He really hoped he hadn’t just agreed to signing Kelly’s death warrant. He hated the very idea of risking her safety like this. He had to find a way to make Moore ask for their help in another way. As Mike and Cassidy walked away, he looked down at his desk and picked up the list of stolen diamonds, glancing at it for a second before leaning across his desk to hand it to Kelly who sat opposite.
“Here’s the list of stolen jewelry from the robbery the other day.”
Kelly grinned widely. “Oh, Luca came through.”
Kane ducked his head. “Yeah, he was here just before you got to the station.”
She frowned and cocked her head before smiling widely. “Oh, that must have been Luca I saw getting into the Rolls parked at the curb. I thought it might be.”
His head snapped up. “You saw that? You saw him getting into that fancy ride with an old guy?”
She smiled at him and when he refused to smile back, she firmed her lips, frowning just a little as she cocked her head. She stared at him for a full minute before finally leaning forward and lowering her voice.
“You gonna tell me what the hell is wrong with you? It’s like you hate that kid. Why? He’s a sweetheart.”
Kane frowned back at her. “Because I think he’s hustling if you want me to be honest. I saw him at a club with a pimp I knew from San Diego. He was dancing with him and even though he claimed to have only just met him, I think he was lying.”
She grinned widely. “You were in a gay dance club, Delancey?”
“That’s all you got from what I just said?” he growled. “Not the pimp thing or the hustling thing?”
She shrugged. “Not all… I just didn’t take you for much of a dancer, Delancey.”
He snorted. “Smart-ass. That’s not why I was there.” He knew he was in big trouble and he prayed she wouldn’t probe further. Sometimes it made no sense having a nosy detective for a partner.
She arched an eyebrow. “Why were you there?”
“Oh, fuck you.” He stood up, needing the conversation to be over. “I gotta hit the head.” He walked by her desk, hearing her quiet chuckle all the way out of the room.
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Luca didn’t know what he’d expected when Stephen had come to pick him up. A kiss on the lips certainly hadn’t been one of his expectations. He knew it was stupid to have accepted his boss’s invitation to dinner but his guard had been down when Stephen called. That and the fact that Luca had been starving. As it was, they’d ended up eating at a private table set up on the terrace at Mar’sel, one of the premier LA eateries serving California cuisine. Mar’sel’s was part of the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes with ocean views and the best rib eye cap steak Luca had ever had in his life. The mushroom gratin and the cabernet sauvignon that Stephen selected from their private collection had been superb.
Luca had dated men with money before but the way Mar’sel’s restaurant staff seemed to materialize from the ether only when required and then evaporate behind the curtains when their service was no longer needed, was quite impressive. It was like eating in a private home with an ocean breeze and breathtaking views. Luca loved that Stephen wanted to impress him but honestly, a double-double burger at In-N-Out would have filled his empty stomach just fine.
“So, Luca, how are you doing?” Stephen asked him as a second bottle of wine was uncorked by their smiling sommelier. “Are you feeling all right after your ordeal?”
Luca watched his boss nod and smile at the wine steward after approving the first sip of wine. After their glasses were poured and the sommelier left the table, Luca turned his attention back to Stephen who was watching him closely. He seemed to be waiting for something and Luca remembered he’d asked him a question. He forgot things a lot. His mother was always telling him he had the attention span of a gnat.
“Oh, I’m fine, sir. Really.”
Stephen frowned and set down his wine glass. He leaned forward and took Luca’s hand. “What will it take for me to get you to call me Stephen, Luca?”
“I’m sorry, sir… ah, I mean, I’m sorry, Stephen. It’s new so it’s hard for me to remember.”
His boss smiled indulgently. “Okay, then. Tell me about your family, Luca. I’d like to learn more about you.” Luca was reminded Stephen hadn’t let go of his hand when the man brushed his thumb across Luca’s palm. He thought of his mom and his older sister who absolutely adored him and he couldn’t stop the smile that crossed his face.
“Well, my dad isn’t in the picture. He left when I was a baby. My mom lives in Miami with my older sister, Lucie.”
“They live together and so far away? You must miss them, Luca.”
“I miss them so much but Miami is home for them—it’s where I was raised. I’m the transplant in the family. I always wanted to live in California so I moved here by myself. Lucie can’t live by herself and they both qualify for government housing. I wanted them to come live close to me but I couldn’t find anywhere in LA that I felt was safe for two women living alone. Truthfully, they’re very happy in Miami and I visit whenever I can.”
Stephen squeezed his hand. “Would you mind if I asked why Lucie can’t live by herself, Luca? If that’s private, I’ll understand.”
Luca smiled at Stephen. He was so kind. Surely, he would understand.
“Lucie developed a silent sinus infection when she was eleven. That was nearly twenty years ago. It moved to her brain after eating through her frontal sinus and settled on her right temporal lobe. She developed a massive abscess called a Pot’s Puffy Tumor. Once it was diagnosed, she had a craniotomy where the neurosurgeon was able to remove the abscess but unfortunately, the underlying organism was an aggressive MRSA so she was left with permanent brain damage and some left hemiparesis—that means…”
“Partial paralysis, I know,” Stephen said softly. “It sounds like you’ve told that story many times, Luca.”
“You could say that,” Luca said with a smile. “I’m a lot younger than Lucie but after my dad left, I used to go with her to therapy on the bus a lot since my mom needed the car for work. Between doctors, nurses, therapists, and government forms, I think I’ve told that story two hundred times or more.” Luca smiled wider. “Anyway, now my mom is retired and she takes Lucie to the doctors and therapists. It’s one of the biggest reasons they still live in Miami. They have a routine and Lucie has the stability of being able to see the same doctors and therapists. Her memory isn’t so good, and they are like family to her.”
“And here you are, all the way across the country, in LA,” Stephen mused.
“I wanted to be there for them but my mom wants me to be where I want to be. She’s always wanted independence for me.”
“She’s always known you were gay?”
Luca appreciated the kind way Stephen asked. Not everyone was so nice about things. He nodded.
“She says she’s known since I was a child. She said I was sensitive and gentle,” he said, realizing how stupid that sounded a
s he flushed red. Stephen gazed at him with such a kind expression.
“You know what? You surprise me more and more, Luca. You surprise the hell out of me.”
“How?”
“You know I’m almost sixty-three, Luca?”
“No, Stephen.” Luca picked up his wine and took a sip, listening intently.
“I have dated a lot of men in my life. For the first thirty years I was deeply closeted. I came out during the height of the AIDS scare and for years, I didn’t date at all… that decision was motivated in large part by fear. I always knew who I was inside but I couldn’t let the world know by openly dating men. My family supported me while I was in school and they would have completely cut me off. They weren’t wealthy but I loved them and didn’t want to disappoint them. They wouldn’t have understood. It was a different generation. We didn’t have the internet. We snuck around at gay bookstores and bought videos to watch our porn.”
“It must have been hard,” Luca said.
“It was hard but I will tell you this, Luca. I was never gentle or sensitive unless I was holding a dear friend who was dying… and there were too many to count.” Stephen cleared his throat. “Anyway, during my hiatus from the gay dating scene, I finished my university degree and then built my business. By the time I was forty, I was a millionaire and by fifty, I was one of the richest men in LA. I tell you this because I have dated my share of men in my life, Luca… and you just surprise me, that’s all.”
Luca watched Stephen’s smile and he could tell that there was something he wasn’t saying. He didn’t want to think too hard about what it could be. He might be young but he knew human nature pretty well. He knew Stephen would tell him what he was holding back when he was ready and not before.
“How do I surprise you, Stephen?”
“It’s rare to find a man who I want to tell those private things to, Luca. In fact, I don’t think I’ve told those things to more than one other man.” Stephen smiled shyly and broke their eye contact, turning away to look out at the sea as he lifted his wine glass to his lips. After a minute, he turned back and caught Luca’s gaze again. His beautiful lips turned up at the corners as he smiled and Luca noted the crinkled laugh lines at the corners of his eyes that he had admired before. Stephen Auerbach was a gorgeous man at sixty-three. Luca couldn’t imagine what he must have looked like at twenty-two like he was.
Stay with Me (The WITSEC series Book 1) Page 12