Urban Renewal (Urban Elite Book 1)

by Suzanne Steele

  “Well, how about we confirm that?” I don’t wait for an answer as I push the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel. “Call Max,” I command it.

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Max

  “You okay, kiddo?” Spider asks.

  “Not you, too. You can’t possibly look at me like I’m that much younger than you.”

  “Probably easier all around if I look at you like a kid sister,” he solemnly before breaking out a shit eating grin. “Hey, I just held your hair back while you puked. Whether you like it or not, we’ve bonded now.”

  “Really,” I say flatly. “So what are we supposed to do now? Get drunk and belt out ‘I Got You, Babe’ on Karaoke Night? By the way, thanks for giving me a chance to jump in the shower.”

  “I didn’t want to smell your stinky butt.”

  “Me either,” I laugh in spite of myself.

  Getting sick seems to have broken the ice between my nemesis and me and I have to say that I’m relieved. I’ve got enough to be stressed about, I don’t need problems at work too. Some people just can’t work together and I don’t want that to be the case between Spider and me. Yeah, we got off to a crappy start, but I gotta own that. Maybe it doesn’t have to stay that way.

  “Good thing you got finished before the boss man calls. I’m thinking you probably don’t want him to know how much this killer is upsetting you.”

  “Yeah, about that, Spider. How about we just keep our bathroom bonding experience between you and me?”

  “You got it. You can trust me, Max. If you’re ever looking for someone you can trust.” His coal black eyes are burning through me and I can’t be sure if there’s some double meaning in his words.

  “A friend I can trust would be nice, a colleague I can trust would be great, but I don’t believe in looking for relationships.”

  “What do you believe in?” he asks quietly, stretching out his long jean clad legs and interlocking his fingers behind his neck, like now I have his complete attention.

  “I believe in chemistry, Spider. I believe when two people belong together the force between them will assure they end up together, no matter how fucked up or bumpy the ride is.”

  “Well, well. I guess there’s more depth to you than I gave you credit for.”

  “Oh, really? Well, you strike me as a player, so what would you know about true chemistry or depth?”

  He straightens and brings his arms down to rest on the arms of his chair. “Now, you’re judging me because of how I look and we both know it. The same way you didn’t peg me as being a geek, you’re probably assuming I fuck a different woman every night. Now, if I judged you like that, you’d be pissed.”

  Hands on my hips, I jut out my chin and let him have it. “That’s because when a guy sleeps around he’s a ladies man. When a woman does it she’s a whore. You know as well as I do that we live in a world of double standards.”

  “Fair enough. Well, how ‘bout this. We make the unfortunate puking incident our little secret so Jack doesn’t get overprotective. But in return, you let me do my job and protect you like he asked me to.”

  “Okay, you’ve got a deal. You can follow me around – but you can’t tell me where to go or what to do. I’m not asking for your permission – got it?”

  “Nothing’s gonna stop me from giving you my objective opinion if I see you heading for trouble. And what I do about it will depend on what kind of trouble it is. But other than that, fair enough. Oh, and one more thing -- no more judging each other.”

  “Aww, how sweet,” I coo as I bat my eyelashes at him. ‘What’s next, we hold hands and sing Kumbaya?”

  “Seriously, Max,” he drawls with a shake of his head, “what is with you and this desire to sing with me?”

  He turns and saunters out of the room, leaving me to replay the conversation in my head and realize that he didn’t actually agree to anything. I roll my eyes at the sound of him whistling the opening notes of Kumbaya as his footsteps get farther away.

  When he’s long gone, I sit at my desk, staring at the email from The Riddler. Just having his words here in my room is enough to make my skin crawl, as if evil in its purest form has somehow slithered into my personal space.

  He managed to get close enough to me to steal a personal item. I don’t know how he did it, but he did. It’s a lot to take in all at once. I have to admit that this is one time ‘girl power’ isn’t going to be enough to see me through. I need Spider’s protection, as infuriating as that is. But, even if Spider and I aren’t on the exact same page with his bodyguard duties, I’m pretty sure we’re at least operating from the same book now. Then again, maybe not.

  Either way, having an ex-MMA fighter looking out for me will give me some much needed peace of mind. And I’m not sure how I feel about Liam at this point either. The jury is still out on that one.

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  His Dominion

  I finger the pearls as I eye the computer, savoring every word of the email she sent to me. She’s such a little liar. Does she really think I’m stupid enough to meet her? She’s doing what everyone else does by underestimating me. However, I find Max’s naiveté captivating. My dick stirs to life as I think about what it will be like when I have her caged. How very delicious that will be.

  But not yet. First, I need her to help me get my story out. A story that needs to be told.

  In the meantime, I’m going to have such fun playing with her. She has no idea who I am. Even when I’m standing so close to her that I can smell her, she has no idea who I am and how close she is to fulfilling her destiny. With me.

  Yes, I like this one more than the others. Her eyes are so full of hopes and dreams for her future, thinking she can save the world from monsters like me. I’m looking forward to slowly, painstakingly, and systematically dashing her dreams. Little by little, I’ll chip away at her until she’s left with nothing to believe in but my power, my influence. Ultimately she will look to me – the same man who is destroying her – to be her savior.

  The poor little thing doesn’t realize yet that I hold not only her hopes and dreams, but her life, in my hands. But soon enough she’ll know what I know -- that death begins long before the knife’s final plunge. I know these things because I am a student of human nature; I have invested a great deal of time learning about what makes people tick. I don’t look at it as work, no, especially when it concerns someone with so much promise. When they’re so full of life, it’s so much more interesting and far more entertaining.

  My mind wanders back to my previous three. They actually believed me when I told them I was going to eventually release them. I wasn’t able to snuff out the last shred of hope until that final moment of reckoning, that last gasping breath.

  Sometimes I wonder…perhaps if one of them had truly acquiesced, submitted to me utterly -- abandoned every vestige of hope -- perhaps then I might have considered letting her live. Of course I wouldn’t have let her go free, but perhaps there could have been some…long-term arrangement. My terms, of course; always on my terms.

  But even when the three knew they were going to die, they still held out hope that I would change my mind at the last minute. And I suppose I could have. But I didn’t. Oh, yes, that kind of power is indeed intoxicating. It’s my drug of choice and I haven’t had nearly enough. Let the games begin, Max.

  Of course, it’s going to be more of a challenge to get close to her now that I’ve made my intentions clear. It’s that detective’s fault that I’m having to take a different route to accomplish what I set out to do.

  Really, for a man who’s in law enforcement, Heitman isn’t very intelligent. The man has unwittingly put his whole team in danger. But this isn’t defeat for me, only a change of plans. Rather than pursue the lovely Max directly, I’ll simply use her team to get to her. That’s okay, though. After all, the more the merrier.

  Chapter Thirty Nine

  Max

  I answer my phone as I eye the man I now think of
as my frenemy. It fits as far as I’m concerned because even though we’ve agreed to start over, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to really relax around him. This is new territory for me. Normally when I don’t like someone, I cut them off. I don’t believe in the old adage of keeping your enemies closer than your friends. The way I see it, if someone doesn’t like me, I’m damn sure not going to let them get close enough to me to gain ammunition.

  “Hey, Jack,” I say into my phone as I cut my eyes at Spider, reminding him of his promise. He meets my gaze with a slight nod, indicating that I should proceed with no worries. “I’m gonna put you on speaker, okay? Spider’s here with me.”

  “Really. Huh. Well, I’m just checking in, wanted to hear the latest. What’s up, kiddo?”

  “Shit, how much time have you got? He didn’t waste any time responding to my message. You should probably take a look at it since he threatened to abduct or kill me or something like that.” I laugh, deliberately minimizing it. I don’t want him taking me off this case or putting me in his overprotective bubble.

  “He did, did he?” Jack asks in the curt tone that tells me he’s about to go all ‘alpha male’ on me.

  “I’ll give you the quick version and you can read the e-mail when you get here. I hinted at meeting with him, in exchange for the pearls. He wouldn’t go or it. One thing he did do was slip up and give us information he doesn’t realize he parted with. He killed his mother, Jack. Scared her so bad, she put a deadbolt on her bedroom door, but he still got her.”

  I can barely make out Valerie’s voice in the background as she mutters, “Mommy issues. Bingo.”

  “Jesus. Great work, Max. That gives us something—if it’s true. If that’s the case, I wonder why the hell he isn’t behind bars? Either he killed her and never got caught or he convinced the courts he was crazy and pled temporary insanity.”

  “Well, it gives us something to start with, doesn’t it?”

  “It sure does. Well, I do know one thing – the more I think about it, I don’t see how it could be your doctor beau. He’s a licensed surgeon. The American Medical Association would never issue a license to a surgeon with psychological problems that severe.”

  “Jack, that would mean there are no crazy doctors. Even I know better than that,” Spider comments with a laugh.

  “True enough. But if he killed his mother, there must be newspaper articles about the murder. It’s worth a shot.”

  My voice is subdued as I grapple with my thoughts, “I’m still not sure what to think about Liam. Granted, there were a couple of moments when I did get the feeling there was more to him than met the eye, but nothing like this. I never got the feeling that I was talking to some dark, demented serial killer. I mean, just…shit.”

  Jack’s voice is solemn as he responds, “Sickos like this can blend into society, you know that. It’s how they get away with their crimes. After all, when you see darkness, do you ever really know how deep that darkness goes? You and Spider start looking into newspaper archives and see if you can come up with anything that might be relevant.”

  “Are you and Valerie finished at the coroner’s?”

  “Yeah, and now we have to tell Lady she lost her best friend.”

  “Damn, Jack, I’m sorry.” I’m glad Valerie’s with him, it will make it easier on Lady to have some female compassion. Men can be so damn stoic about emotional things.

  “Alright, we’ll see you when you get here.”

  I hang up and look over at Spider. “Thanks for not saying anything.”

  “I told you I wouldn’t.”

  “Yeah, well, people have told me a lot of things.”

  His eyes are still boring into me as if he can see all my secrets. My cell rings again and I answer it without looking to see who it is, welcoming the interruption. Not that it helps because his black eyes remain fixed on me.

  “Dr. Chambers, hi,” I blurt as I scramble to put the call on speaker. I want Spider’s take on the conversation.

  “Please, I told you to call me Liam. The whole doctor thing is too formal.” Spider rolls his eyes and crosses his hands over his heart as he mouths dramatically, “Liam!”

  “Oh, okay…Liam.” I glare at Spider and shake my head for him to stop. My heart is racing at the thought that this could be the man who has engaged me in a game of cat and mouse.

  “Any word on your pearls yet?”

  I swallow the lump in my throat before I answer as convincingly as I can. “No, not a word. It’s very upsetting.”

  “I’m sure. That’s a shame, Max. I do hope they’ll turn up. Listen, I’d love to see you again. How about dinner tonight?”

  I look up and see Spider’s heated glare bearing down on me. My heartbeat thunders in my ears as I try to decide whether or not this charming doctor is a killer. I come up with an idea and answer him.

  “That would be great, actually. But only if it’s casual, no place with reservations, please.” I know my plan will work better in an informal setting where we can blend into the crowd.

  “What about the Corral? You can’t get more casual than a steakhouse.”

  “It’s perfect, I’ll meet you there.”

  “Still don’t trust me enough to get in my car, huh?” he asks with a laugh.

  “No, no, nothing like that, I just have some things to do and it would be easier to meet you there.” I’m lying again, but I have to be careful.

  “Eight-o-clock?”

  “Sounds great, I’ll see you then.” I hang up before he can say anything else.

  Spider wastes no time lighting into me. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Max?” He gives me no time to answer, just continues his verbal onslaught. “Well, fuck it -- I’m coming along. Jack told me to watch you so that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna. Watch. Your. Ass.”

  My stomach flutters a little at the thought of him actually watching my ass. What the hell?

  “Jesus, calm down, caveman. I was going to ask you to come along anyway. You can order a steak as big as your head and watch from across the room.”

  “Damn right. So,” he says as he stares me down, “is this going to be a social call or are you just taking one for the team tonight?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” I answer truthfully. “I guess that’ll depend on whether he’s driving around with a bunch of body parts on ice in his trunk.”

  “Yeah, well, my job is to make sure you don’t end up in this guy’s trunk. Seriously, why do you want to go out with a guy like that?” He scowls at me and crosses his arms over his chest, like he just can’t wait to hear what I have to say.

  “Why do you care?” I sigh, exasperated with him already.

  “He’s not your type, you know.”

  I jam my hands onto my hips and lean forward so I can glare at him up close. “Number one: you don’t know what my type is. Number two: just what are you saying? That I’m not good enough for him? The old adage opposites attract is a cliché for a reason – because it’s true.”

  “What I’m saying is the guy can’t give you what you need and you’re hot as hell when you get fired up.”

  “Just wh-what?! I mean who do you think—arrggghhh!” I sputter. “What makes you think you have any idea what I need?” I hate how my voice has turned to a high pitched shriek, and I think I actually stomped my foot.

  His eyes slowly slide over me from head to toe and back again, until he finally settles his gaze on my face and smirks. “Babe, I can see it in your eyes. You’re the kind of woman who needs a little adversity where it counts. You need a man who will push you to your limits in the bedroom and bring you flowers on Valentine’s Day. This Liam guy can’t give that to you, even if he ends up not being our killer. Face it; you like danger, it’s why you got into this line of work.”

  I’m suddenly out of breath like I’ve run a marathon even though I haven’t moved a muscle since he said the word ‘bedroom’. Whoa... “So now you’ve gone from a hacker to, what, a romance expert?”

&nb
sp; Spider studies my face as he leans back in the chair with just the hint of a smile tilting the corners of his mouth. His voice is husky, barely more than a rumble deep in his chest, when he finally murmurs, “I can be whatever you want me to be, sweetheart.”

  Silence stretches between us for a long moment. We just take each other in, letting our gazes roam where they will until Spider finally breaks the silence. “What can I say? I’m good at what I do. If I can read people who are hiding behind a computer screen, you can be damn sure I can read them face to face.”

  A slow, sexy smile spreads across his rugged features. “Whether you like it or not, Max, I’ve got your number.”

  Chapter Forty

  Jack

  Knowing all the shit that goes down on these city streets, I’m always relieved whenever I cross paths with Lady Luck. Spotting her as she works her corner means she’s made it one more day, and this evening is no different. I see her at her usual intersection and immediately my shoulders loosen up a little and my hands relax their white-knuckle grip on the wheel. But my relief is brief as I remember the solemn task that brings me to this part of town.

  Ask any cop about their least favorite part of the job and they’ll tell you the same thing: death notifications. You take an oath to protect the people who live in your community. Then one night – say, 3 a.m. – you’re sitting in a stranger’s living room as their world falls apart. Hell, as the bearer of the worst possible news, you’re the bastard who’s rocking their world to hell and back. And here’s the kicker: you’re powerless to do a damn thing about it except express your condolences and finish out your shift.

  Lady’s unsavory line of work doesn’t change the fact that she’s got a big ol’ heart – a heart I’m about to break. So, yeah, I’ll do my job. But this is the part of the job I hate.

  Valerie’s hand is warm as she strokes my arm through the fabric of my button down dress shirt. She’s already got a good read on my mood. I reach across my chest, cover her hand with mine and give it a brief squeeze. I drag in a deep breath and Valerie rolls her window down as I pull up next to where Lady’s striking a come-hither pose on the sidewalk.