by Sheila Kell
“Could he…” she stopped and cleared her throat. “Could he have been dirty?”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about since you told me who he worked for. I wouldn’t have thought so, but to go straight from the bureau to this? It’s possible. Maybe that’s where he’d been when he disappeared for that time before he quit. Maybe he had been setting this life up for himself.”
Oh God. And she’d freely had sex with him. “Will it be a problem if the person you have to protect me from is your friend?”
Trent answered without hesitation. “No.”
It couldn’t come to that. If AJ had only turned not very long ago, there was a chance she could turn him back to a law-abiding citizen. Why the heck had that popped into her mind? He’d been a quick screw, plain and simple.
She cleared her throat. “Why did you leave the FBI?”
Trent’s face turned to a mask of stone. “A woman, that’s all I’ll say about it.”
Another person with relationship baggage, she almost snorted aloud.
They spoke and lightly flirted before she officially hired him. He explained that he’d be with her during the daytime and his partner, Jeremy, would protect her in the evenings. Should things change and he felt it necessary, he would bring in a few friends to increase her protective detail.
She hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.
Once hired, Trent took over. He’d already checked her windows, doors, security system and any nook and cranny that he felt necessary. When he excused himself to speak on the phone outside, she hadn’t expected him to return with a duffel bag.
“Is that stuff for more security?”
He flashed his incredibly seductive smile and chuckled. “No, that’s my bag. I sleep in the spare room.”
She panicked. Flirting for fun was one thing, but it could give him the wrong impression of her feelings for him. And if he were here at night, he might try to progress things.
“Whoa. You don’t need to stay here. Didn’t you say your partner would keep watch at night? Couldn’t you just accompany me during the day?”
“Look, doll. . . ”
She normally wouldn’t care for that endearment but from him, the way he said it with a drawl and a lop-sided smile made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl.
“You just had a visit at your home. You hired me to keep you safe. This is how I’ll do it.” He stepped closer to her and lightly caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry. I won’t be in your room at night.” He chuckled and walked away, tossing over his shoulder, “Unless you ask.”
Megan closed her eyes and rubbed her temples to ward off a building headache. She needed to clear her mind and direct her thoughts to her investigation.
She walked into the kitchen she’d renovated. It always made her smile. She ran her fingers lightly over the almost black, granite countertop with mixed specks of gold, white and rusted orange. Gold flecks had danced in AJ’s eyes when they’d been…Ugh! Forget him.
Bob’s pitiful meow brought her out of thoughts she didn’t want to have. “You are too heavy to be toted around like a baby. I bet you’re hungry? Dry food not good enough?” She waited for the inevitable strong, deep meow when he begged for his treat. Hearing it she laughed. “Okay.”
“Do you always talk to your cat?”
Busted. Crazy cat lady is most likely what he thought. “Only so long as he doesn’t talk back except with a meow.”
“Cheeky. I like you, doll. Now what about dinner?” He opened the refrigerator and peeked in.
Oh no. Coming in, taking over and expecting her to cook for him. No way. Protection was one thing. Catering to him was another.
“Looks like you have the makings of Chicken Parmesan. I can throw it together if you’d make us a salad?”
She assessed him. He was good looking, had a great personality, protects women and cooks. There must be something terribly wrong with the woman who hurt him.
“Great, you have a gas stove. Don’t you love the extra burner? I don’t use all of mine that often but it comes in handy when you entertain.”
First he loved the fireplace, now the stove. Next he’d be singing the praises of her tub, and she’d need to marry him because it couldn’t get much better than that.
She pointed over her shoulder. “I’ll just, um, go change.”
After eating an excellent dinner and jointly cleaning the dishes, she settled down on her comfy chair in the living room while Trent conferred with his partner who’d been outside.
She preferred her overstuffed, oversized, flowery chair to the plush, pale green sofa or love seat in her living room. Kevin had laughed when she’d moved it with her from Biloxi. She’d bought it at a second-hand store her junior year in college and it showed its age.
She slouched down, put her feet on the coffee table and then covered herself with her favorite burgundy throw. Sighing, she needed only one more thing to help relax her enough to get to work and blank out that meeting with the sexy enforcer. Background noise. She turned the television on, switching it to the news. They were reporting on the recent prison escape. She couldn’t resist. She opened her laptop and began to research it.
Her search results had just appeared when her cell phone rang. Aggravated, she snatched up the phone, and answered without checking the caller ID.
“Hello,” she said tersely.
“Hi, baby.”
Dang it all to hell and back! “Hello, Marcus. What do you want? I don’t recall our having anything to say to each other,” she managed through tight lips.
“Reading your articles and seeing how much danger you put yourself in, made me want all the more to tell you that I still love you and want a second chance. You’re my girl, the only one for me.”
She snorted. Yeah right she’s the only one for him.
“Megan, did you hear me? I want that second chance. You’re the only one for me.”
She shook her head to rid herself of the force of his betrayal. She no longer hurt. Wrong, she still hurt. A tooth pulled without Novocain hurt less than the pain imprinted in her heart.
“Baby, I’ve cleaned up my ways. I miss you.” He used the suave voice that originally had her turning his way. No longer.
“You want to get back with me?” The thought made her sick, her stomach turned over. How could he not realize she’d never take the cheater back? She thought she’d been clear the day her world collapsed. But she’d had to repeat it to him over and over since then.
“Someone needs to take care of you. Why not me?”
“You know why not you.”
Trent walked into the room and raised an eyebrow.
She shook her head, but he stayed nearby.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I never meant it to happen. I promise it won’t happen again. I need you.”
Why was she still having this conversation? “We’re not getting back together.” Her firm tone should put an end to this. Why couldn’t she just be rude and hang up? Dang Southern manners her mother instilled in her.
“I’m not going to give up. I love you.”
“Goodbye, Marcus. Don’t call me again.”
“Wait, Megan,” he said hurriedly. “No matter how you feel about me, I care about you. Leave this story. It’s too dangerous. Didn’t your brother’s disappearance prove that? I may not get to be with you, but I still want you to live.”
Who planned to try to scare her off the story next, the Pope? “Goodbye, Marcus.” She ended the call before he could respond.Talking with her ex, hearing his voice, brought it all back. Her blood boiled. How dare he?
“Anyone I should know about?”
She frowned. “My ex-fiancé. He’s not a threat except to my sanity.”
“Tell me about him.” He settled on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other knee, leaned back and rested an arm across the back.
He’d been followed and his shadow jumped on his lap purring. He smiled and petted Bob. Trent must’ve overcome that fear of animals.
“There’s not much to tell. We were getting married and now we’re not.”
“Megan, I told you earlier you have to tell me everything and about everyone. Now is the perfect time.”
She closed her laptop and dropped her feet from the coffee table. “All right.”
She recapped her experience with Marcus and detailed her co-workers. When she mentioned that Merissa, the woman who had cheated with her ex-fiancé, was now her co-worker, his brows almost hit his hairline. After he finished asking questions, he watched the news. She opened her laptop again.
Trent had tried to sway her to drop the story. It’d make his job a lot easier he’d joked. She refused. Maybe it wasn’t the smart thing to do, but she would do it. She should’ve hired Trent a long time ago. Then AJ would never have made it in the door and deep inside her.
“Ugh!”
“Everything okay?” Trent’s face seemed stuck between a smile and concern.
She couldn’t afford to be sidetracked. She had to keep her mind on her current story, not the curious prison escape. She had to solve this and something told her she had to do it soon. Exactly how she’d accomplish that when the police have been at it for years still stumped her. But she’d find a way.
She tapped her finger to her chin wondering how many police officers were in the Magician’s employ. There had to be good police officers who feared crossing him and eventually caved to support him, especially after an officer disappeared last year. The word on the street was that the crime boss was responsible. It was his message to law enforcement. Since then, Magic Shop hadn’t had any major problems from the police.
She didn’t care if she angered the police department more. She would expose as many of their corrupt officers as she could. They turned their back on crime and received payment for it. It disgusted her.
“Trent.”
He glanced at her then turned his gaze back to the television, remote in hand. “What’s up?”
“You said you were FBI. Did you know anything about Magic Shop?” Maybe he would be her best source. He had no ties to the bureau any longer so he should be free to share his information.
“I know of them, sure. I never worked on any cases that involved them.”
She rose and Trent followed her to the dining room table where her notes and photos were spread out. She could figure this out. She separated the photos where someone interacted with the dealers but didn’t purchase drugs. She hoped she’d captured at least one boss in the pile. Not knowing for certain irritated her.
“I know a few of these people if that’s what you need.”
“That’d be great if you wouldn’t mind.”
He identified a few dealers and, most importantly, the two police officers. He also provided her names of a few suspicious officers on the force. Thankfully, Detectives Cooper and Kelvin weren’t mentioned.
To help her better understand what she was up against, actually what they were up against since he was her new shadow, he sketched out a crude organizational chart explaining that most criminal organizations were run similar to businesses.
He started with Magic Shop’s boss, of course, added at the top as a CEO of sorts. His top men fell below him. Trent listed out the groupings, drugs, prostitution, enforcers and money laundering. She learned a great deal when he went into detail on how the lower levels would probably be staffed. She needed to share the prostitution information with Victoria.
She and Victoria had four bosses to identify who would eventually lead them to the head of the organization. Megan needed more help. Her sources hadn’t seen the new photos so she called and scheduled meetings with them. She’d never felt a stronger pull in her stomach about a story. In here would be someone who could lead her where she needed to go.
She had a plan for tomorrow, and it would move her forward. If her photos turned out to be a bust, she’d hit the streets again. She would not give up.
“You do realize you aren’t attending these meetings without me, don’t you?”
She pulled her shoulders back. “These are anonymous sources. You can’t be there,” she responded indignantly.
“Doll, you have a lot to learn about having personal protection.”
* * * * *
Lying in deep, hot water helped release the relentless chill out of Megan’s body. Tonight she soaked in a pomegranate scented bath to help rid her of the tensions of the day. Tensions named AJ and Trent. Situations like this made her wish she cursed. Another thing her mother had instilled in her.
Growing up she heard “a Southern lady does this.” “A Southern lady doesn’t do that.” She’d taken to most everything to please her mother. All except the rule that a woman should be pure for her wedding night.
Today would’ve been Kevin’s thirtieth birthday, and he’d been due to marry next week. Jenny Grant, her brother’s fiancée had been three months pregnant when Kevin disappeared.
She’d vanished the same day as he had. Megan hoped she and the baby were fine. Perhaps they’d left town to hide, instead of enduring the same fate as her brother. She closed her eyes and said another silent prayer that they were safe.
The day Kevin disappeared he’d told Megan he was developing a source. Raven said the talk was that Kevin had witnessed something he shouldn’t have, and Magic Shop took care of him.
Of course, the police hadn’t cared, deciding that he and his girlfriend left town. She argued that he’d been murdered by Magic Shop. The police claimed that with no body there was no murder.
After Kevin’s disappearance, she took over his investigation before Kristen gave her the go ahead. And that had been a hard fought approval to work the story for the paper. She would finish Kevin’s work and make them pay for killing him, no matter how long it took.
She believed they’d killed him. There was no other explanation. He wouldn’t go without talking with someone in his family or leave Jenny and his baby.
Things weren’t moving as fast as Megan liked, but she wouldn’t give up. The theft of his notes shouldn’t have surprised her. She wished she’d been able to decipher what leads he’d been following or who the new source had been. That individual might know what happened. He might have even set up her brother.
Her head ached considering the possibilities.
An image of AJ’s lust filled eyes as he rode her to bliss popped into her head. He might be her brother’s killer. He’d admitted that he’d be the one to return if punishment was ordered.
She slid deeper in the water in an attempt to drown out the crawling sensation that ran over her skin. God, she was such a traitor to her brother.
Kevin would’ve insisted she stop investigating after she’d received that threat. Of course, if it had been him, he’d have kept working on the story. He’d be right to tell her that she should be worried. He’d never published a story on Magic Shop. He’d been waiting until he had it all. She’d, however, published several articles, and they’d sent someone to stop her. Not kill her.
If they hadn’t called in the death threat to her, who had?
It no longer mattered. She now had Trent, the bodyguard who would protect her and help her continue to investigate.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Megan grumbled as she emerged from her home. It’s Sunday, dang it. Why Kristen had called the team in no longer mattered. It just angered Megan, kept her temper short.
She slid a look at Trent. His unkempt blond hair, just a hint of stubble, as though he’d been too lazy to shave this morning and ocean blue eyes, mmm, was all she could muster. Definite eye candy. They’d had fun with their banter back and forth the night before. Maybe he could help remove AJ from her mind.
Trent constantly scanned the street, and she fought the urge to do the sa
me. She couldn’t control her racing heart when she noticed new faces. Had Magic Shop decided to watch her? If they had she couldn’t put her sources at risk which meant she couldn’t ask them about the photos. The men were too valuable to her.
Dang it!
She took in a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves, but instead the cold air sent a shiver travelling through her. She couldn’t afford to be paranoid. It was a holiday. People had relatives over. That’s probably who most of the people were. She had Trent beside her. She trusted him to protect her. The racing thoughts in her mind slowed but didn’t completely disappear. He didn’t hide the fact that he was armed. Or that he wasn’t letting anyone near her.
To her relief, he drove them to work in her SUV.
During the quiet drive, her mind wondered about her hunky bad boy and their meeting. Dreaming about him last night brought thoughts of their hot, sweaty sex to the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t gain her balance with him. How could she lust after a man she feared?
The thought that he would prevent anyone from hurting her floated through her mind. Why would he disobey his boss for her? They’d just met. It was only a quick jump in the sack between strangers.
What was his deal? He stood there while Keyshawn took a beating and then acted like he didn’t want to return to hurt her. Did he draw the line at hurting women? Oh, she hoped so.
Why had he left the FBI? How did a good man get tangled with a gang? The curious need in her to learn about him was even more startling than the lust she experienced, and her desire for another bout of wild sex. She didn’t understand how these feelings came about considering their brief time together.
She didn’t expect to see him again. A slight pressure rested on her chest. She had to remember he was an enforcer for a drug lord who she planned to expose, possibly her brother’s killer, not a regular bed partner.
She strolled into the newsroom to her friends crowded around her desk, ready to ambush her. They parted when they noticed Trent shadowing her.
She groaned in frustration, loudly. Not again. A beautiful bouquet of white orchids sat on her desk. Marcus. He wouldn’t give up. Wait, how did he know she’d be at work today?