Covert Exposure, a Nick Spinelli Mystery

by Valerie J. Clarizio

  “Anna, really, him? You’re kidding, right?”

  “Yes him. I’ll tell you right now if I were twenty years younger and single, I’d be stuck to him like smoke on bacon.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Spinelli parked his truck next to Shannon’s vehicle and waited for her. He wanted to check on her and make sure she was okay from her unpleasant encounter in the courtroom with Clarkson. After he’d left her office earlier in the day, he found himself unable to concentrate on anything else other than her. And even though she’d brushed him off, with her words and actions, the look in her eyes had been unmistakable. He knew she wanted him. He wondered why she fought it. It was no secret they’d gotten off to a rocky start, but he thought that things had somewhat come around.

  Glancing in the direction of the building, Spinelli caught Anna’s warm gaze as she walked toward him. She stopped and stood next to his door. He lowered his window. She gave him a wide smile. “Take it you're waiting for Shannon?”

  Spinelli searched her mischievous eyes. “I am.”

  “She’ll be out in just a minute.” Anna shifted her gaze from Spinelli toward the building and then back to him again. “Any plans for tonight?”

  “Not sure yet.”

  “Hmm,” Anna replied with a nod. He could nearly see the wheels turning in her head.

  Anna leaned closer to the window. “She’s got a weakness for Mexican food. She loves El Maya, the place right down the street from her apartment.” Anna chuckled. “Order her a margarita and she might even loosen up a bit.”

  Spinelli smiled. “Thanks for the tip.”

  “Not a problem. Have a nice night.”

  He watched as Anna slid into the car two stalls down, cranked the engine, and drove out of sight. He liked her, and he knew she cared for Shannon.

  Moments later Shannon surfaced in the parking lot. A puzzled look came over her face when she noticed him. She walked up to his door. “Is something wrong? Did you find Roland’s killer?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong, and we’ve got nothing new on the case.” God how he wished he would find the killer. He worried about Shannon and feared for her safety.

  Shannon pulled her eyebrows together. “Then why are you here?”

  He reached over and grabbed a business card from the cupholder, the one with his personal cell number and address written on the back, and held it out to her. “I wanted to give this to you. It’s my personal contact information. Just in case you need it.”

  A jolt of electricity sparked through him as her soft fingers brushed against his when she took the card. The sudden spark of intensity that flashed in her gaze encouraged him to move forward with his intended request.

  “And, I was hoping you’d join me for dinner.”

  She stood silent and appeared to be debating her answer.

  “Do you like Mexican? I know a great place not far from your apartment,” Spinelli chimed before she could say “no” and shatter his heart.

  “El Maya?”

  “Yeah, you know of it?”

  Shannon nodded.

  “I’ll follow you home then we’ll drive over there together.”

  “Okay,” she replied with a small degree of reluctance.

  Spinelli followed Shannon to her place. He debated sending Anna a “thank you” card or perhaps a bouquet of flowers.

  Shannon parked her car and then climbed into his truck. Minutes later, they were being seated at the restaurant. The hostess took their drink order. Spinelli ordered a beer as Shannon glanced over the drink list. “Do you like margaritas?” he asked, remembering what Anna had mentioned to him earlier.

  Shannon smiled. “I love margaritas but it’s a work night.”

  Was she for real, Spinelli wondered, so pure, so naive, and so innocent? God, he had to have her. He’d never met anyone like her before. He couldn’t help but smile at her. “I think just one would be alright.”

  She nodded and ordered the margarita.

  Most of the dinner conversation revolved around the case. On occasion, Shannon would interject with some information about her parents and her sister’s family. He envied her. She appeared to have grown up in a normal family environment, the kind where everyone loves each other and cares for one another. He wondered what that would have felt like. Anna was right. The margarita seemed to loosen Shannon up a bit. He hung on her every word wanting to hear more about her life.

  Spinelli glanced down at their empty plates, and then at his watch. He’d give anything if the clock would just slow down. He wanted more time with her. The waitress came by with the dessert tray, and though he didn’t want any more to eat he ordered dessert in an effort to buy more time.

  Shannon passed on dessert but took a bite of his. His stomach fluttered at the sight of her wrapping her beautiful mouth around his fork. A bit of chocolate clung to her bottom lip. He considered swiping it away with his tongue. He wondered how it would taste mixed with her flavor. She lifted her napkin to her mouth and rid her lip of the chocolate. Damn.

  After milking his dessert for as long as he possibly could, he paid the bill and drove her home. He walked her to her doorway. She turned to face him. “I had a nice time. Thanks for dinner.”

  He scanned her eyes and leaned in. Her breath hitched. She looked nervous. He reached up and swiped his fingers lightly across her bruised cheek. When he’d seen her earlier in the day her cheek was red, from her altercation with Clarkson, but now shades of purple, splashed with yellow, covered her normally pale cheek. “Does it hurt?”

  “A little bit when I talk or smile. It’s not too bad.”

  The thought of Clarkson’s hands on her angered him. “That asshole’s lucky he’s in jail. If he hadn’t been...” Spinelli caught himself and stopped speaking. He’d wanted this moment to be nice. He hoped he hadn’t ruined it. Her soft sweet gaze remained on him. Still good.

  He dipped his head and pressed his lips gently to her bruised cheekbone. She sighed and then tilted her head to the side giving him better access. Her cheek felt warm and soothing to his lips. He eased his kisses over to her mouth. Her incredible scrumptious lips met his. Though he wanted more, he worked to keep the kiss light. He worried that if he rushed her, she’d back off. He figured her for a much slower pace than which he was accustomed.

  It took every bit of strength he could find to end the kiss. He took a step back. Pulling his gaze from her proved even more difficult. It was as though she wouldn’t release him. She ran her tongue across her lips. Did she do that on purpose? He decided if she did it a second time, he would deem it intentional and would kiss her again. But this time he would kiss her like he wanted to in the first place, deep and long. He would explore her lovely mouth, every inch of it. He stared at her beautiful mouth, waiting. She stared back.

  He knew he needed to end this. If he stayed another second, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. The depth of his desire for her scared him. He cleared his throat. “Good night, Shannon. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  He turned and took a step before she spoke. “Wait,” the desperation in her voice was unmistakable.

  He spun around. She stepped toward him, reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him toward her. She pressed her soft moist lips to his. Her lips parted, inviting him in. His tongue caressed hers, slow, and controlled at first, but not for long. She met his quickening pace. She wove her fingers through his hair. He clasped his hands around her waist and pulled her tight to his body. Shock, pleasure, and heat spread through him like wildfire. He kissed her deeper, harder, wetter, and longer. He explored every inch of her mouth absorbing her sweet flavor. His heart raced. He slid his lips from her mouth to her jaw, to her neck. She tilted her head back. A soft groan escaped her lips. He whispered her name and all of a sudden, as if hearing the sound of her name slapped her back into reality, she pulled herself from him and stepped back. She looked confused.

  He stepped toward her, and she stepped back. “Are you okay?�
� Spinelli asked.

  She threw her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that.”

  Spinelli raised an eyebrow. “Did what, kissed me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Spinelli went out on a limb. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I didn’t mind,” he teased, trying to lighten the moment.

  “Damn margaritas.”

  He fought the urge to smile.

  “Didn’t you like the kiss?” Judging from her initial response to his kiss, he was confident it was safe to ask.

  “That’s not the point.”

  “So you did like it.”

  She shifted her eyes to her feet. “Well?” he pressed.

  She lifted her gaze and met his. Her chest rose as she sucked in a breath. “It doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t, it’s not going to happen again.”

  He stared at her, speechless, convinced his ears had deceived him. They’d perhaps just shared the most intimate sensual kiss of his life. Was it possible she could kiss like that and not mean it? Was she afraid, and if so, afraid of what?

  His mind raced for something to say. He came up empty. He inched toward her and reached for her. She stopped him with her hand. “It’s just not going to work. We’re two very different people. I’m sorry,” she stammered.

  Spinelli stood in the hallway, dumbfounded. In silence, he watched as she turned and entered her apartment, shutting the door behind her. That’s it. A crater the size of the Grand Canyon filled his chest where his heart used to be.

  * * * *

  Shannon flopped down on her bed. What had she just done? She knew by the look in Spinelli’s eyes she’d hurt him. She didn’t mean to but she did. She felt sick.

  Damn it. He’s not the type of man she’d planned on falling in love with. They were two very different people and he was messing up her plan. Her brain told her it would never work, her heart argued the opposite.

  Her chest tightened, squeezing the life out of her.

  She pressed her fingers to her lips as she thought about his first kiss.

  It was slow, tender, and sweet. The second kiss, the one in which she nearly threw herself at him, left her breathless and weak. His mouth was so hot, erotic as sin. Never in her life had she felt such desire, need, and passion in a kiss. His lips, his moist possessive lips, were firm, yet soft.

  She ran her tongue through her mouth seeking out every last bit of his flavor. Odd, a man could taste so sweet, especially a man who hunts down killers for a living.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Spinelli taped the wire to Officer Miller’s chest as he and Walker prepped Miller for his first undercover assignment. Miller, a fresh academy graduate, and newcomer to the department landed himself the undercover position as an elf due to his young age and looks. Spinelli tasked Miller to pose as a college student just trying to earn a little extra cash over the holiday season, the same situation as the other elves.

  “We’re almost there. Is he ready?” Marsh yelled from the driver’s seat of the black Chevy police issue van.

  “Yeah, he’s ready,” Spinelli replied as he flashed a look of assurance in Miller’s direction. He could easily see the kid was nervous.

  Spinelli knew Walker and Marsh were of like mind. They all hoped Miller would click with the other elves and work his way into the card game so they could find out exactly what it was all about. Spinelli knew in his gut the card game at the Greek restaurant had something to do with the murders of Hudson and Reed.

  Marsh manned the van and surveillance equipment while Spinelli and Walker moseyed about the mall near the Santa display so they could keep their eyes on Miller.

  Spinelli watched as Miller made his entrance into the Santa display. The night’s crew consisted of an older gentleman playing Santa and three young elves, including Miller. One elf assumed responsibility for crowd control, his job being to control the flow of traffic to Santa. Miller assumed photography duties, taking pictures of the children as they talked with Santa, and the remaining elf assumed the duty of exit strategies, helping the children find their way back to their parents.

  The elves were so busy during the two-hour period in which the Santa display was open they hardly exchanged a word between them. Spinelli had hoped for more of an exchange, maybe the locker room banter would pay off.

  Miller walked with the elves to the locker room. Spinelli watched from a distance. Once in the locker room, Spinelli could no longer see Miller but he captured their conversation through his earpiece. Miller made mention of the fact that he’s coming up a little short for next semester’s tuition, hence the reason he took the job at the mall. In an effort to get them to offer up details about the card game, Miller pointed out that he’s looking for another means to make a little more cash, but the elves offered nothing.

  The subject of conversation turned to women and the elves informed Miller about the awesome-looking babe that sometimes plays Santa’s helper. They described in intricate detail how Shannon looked in her short little red dress, giving particular attention to her pale cleavage.

  Spinelli’s fists clenched. He didn’t like hearing the elves talk about her like she was some sort of female piece of meat to be used and discarded once they were done having their fun with her.

  One of the elves let out a chuckle. ”I really wouldn’t mind tapping that. She looks all innocent like all the time. I bet she’s still a virgin.”

  “Oh yeah, hot and tight,” the other elf commented.

  Spinelli nearly blew a gasket at the sound of those words and it took every bit of strength he could muster not to storm into the locker room and beat some manners into the elves.

  Miller piped in, “What’s the story? Have either of you asked her out?”

  “Nah, she’s hot and all but she’s a little older and I can’t picture her partying and having fun. She’s probably one of those homebodies with four cats or something. I’m guessing she plays scrabble and drinks tea.”

  “But what if she’s not like that at all?” Miller asked. “You could be missing out.”

  The elf thought for a moment, “Nah, I’m pretty sure she’s all pure and innocent like. Plus, it’s no use anyhow. I think she might be going out with that older guy who plays Santa on the weekends.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “She was like waiting for him to come out of the locker room the other night and then they left together. You gotta wonder why she’d go after a loser like that.”

  “What’s with the Santa guy? Why’s he a loser?” Miller couldn’t help but ask.

  “Well, he’s like, I don’t know, at least in his thirties and he’s working as Santa,” the elf replied. “What the hell, can’t he get a real job? And he’s the worst Santa I’ve ever seen. It’s like the kids scare the hell out of him or something.”

  Marsh and Walker roared with laughter as the elf rambled on and on about what a loser Spinelli was. Spinelli, hearing it all through his earpiece, did not see the humor.

  Spinelli lurked behind a marble pillar as Miller and the elves left the locker room.

  “Hey, you guys want to go get a beer?” Miller asked.

  He watched the elves and waited for their response. The elves looked at each other for a moment and then back at Miller. “We can’t. We’ve got a biology final at eight tomorrow morning,” the taller of the two elves replied.

  “Oh, okay. Maybe next time,” Miller replied as he broke away from the elves and headed toward the parking ramp.

  Spinelli continued to tail the elves. Just like the night before they walked up to the security gate at the Greek restaurant and Loukas the Greek’s muscleman opened the gate and let the elves pass through.

  Spinelli entered the van. “Well, that didn’t work. Something’s going on in that restaurant and we need to find out what it is. We’ll try this approach again tomorrow night.”

  Spinelli couldn’t help but notice the shi
t-eating grins on Walker, Marsh, and Miller’s faces. “What? What’s so funny?”

  “Just you. You ’loser’ old man. And what’s this? The mighty Spinelli is afraid of a bunch of four-year-olds,” Walker teased before his uncontrollable laughter echoed throughout the van. Marsh and Miller's laughter chorused Walker’s.

  Spinelli flashed a hard-eyed scowl at Miller. He figured with him being new and all he could somewhat intimidate him. It worked and he stopped laughing.

  “So, I’m going to work undercover again tomorrow night?” Miller asked.

  “Yes,” Spinelli replied.

  Miller’s eyes lit up. “Great, I hope to hell this Shannon chick is working tomorrow. Christ the way the guys were talking she must be freaking hot.”

  Spinelli’s hard-eyed scowl at Miller grew harder. He pointed his finger in Miller’s face. “Listen here, you’re not here to pick up chicks. This is not fun and games. There have been two murders, two lives taken. Furthermore, she is not a chick. Show a little respect.”

  Walker leaned between Spinelli and Miller causing Spinelli to unlatch his glare on Miller. “Hey, the kid didn’t know.”

  Miller’s eyes were as wide as fifty-cent pieces. He cut his glance from Spinelli to Walker.

  Walker glanced at Miller. “He’s just a little protective of Shannon.” Miller shifted his eyes back to Spinelli. “Sorry.”

  “Can we just go? Marsh, get us the hell out of here,” Spinelli snapped.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Spinelli found himself in an unusual situation, home alone on a Friday night watching ESPN while drinking beer and eating pizza. He couldn’t remember the last time he spent a Friday night alone. In fact, he couldn’t recall it ever happening before. On a typical Friday night, he would be out enjoying the company of someone of the opposite sex or shooting pool with his buddies at the very least. But none of that seemed to interest him tonight.