by Mimi Barbour
“Okay. Let’s go. And then we’ll stop at the Pink Pussycat and ask a few questions. I know they won’t be very forthcoming there, but if we rattle the cage a little, who knows what kind of vermin we might shake up?”
Since the nightclub was closer, they parked in the empty lot and made their way to the front entrance. The show didn’t start for a few hours so there wasn’t much action at all. Seeing as how the front door stood open for a beer delivery, Maya boldly stepped into the dim interior and waited until her eyes became adjusted.
The stench of cigarette smoke from years past, stale beer and the soiled carpet got to Maya, and without all the lights on and the mob of booze-happy people, the place looked rather scummy and sad.
Having done her research, Maya knew the club had changed hands just recently. It was now owned by a multinational company with a murky background they were still digging into. This holding company called M&L—which by itself rang bells— had recently bought up a lot of properties in New Orleans, and this particular nightclub was managed by Glen Lister.
Maya sauntered ahead with Nik following. She sensed his body behind her like a shield. It felt kind of good knowing the man had her back. Stopping a paunchy delivery fellow, his thin, gray, straggly beard hanging a foot down from his face, she said politely, “I’m Agent Barnes, and this is my partner, Agent Foster.” Maya moved her jacket so the man could see her badge. He leaned close as if his eyes were bad, but he’d gotten into her personal space and no one did that without paying. Before Nik could interfere, which she knew he wanted to do from the hiss she’d just heard, she lifted her arm, belting the idiot on the chin enough to throw his head back. “Oops! Sorry. Look, do you know where I can find the manager?”
Sheepishly, he backed up, rubbed his chin and swore under his breath. “Yeah! He’s probably the asshole in the back office, yelling at his secretary, just through that hallway.” A beefy finger pointed her in the direction where cuss words, followed by a slap and a scream, could be heard.
Moving swiftly, Nik striding by her side, they entered the room together. A quick glance and she took in the situation. The secretary holding her cheek, tears pouring over her heavily made-up face, cowered in the corner, while a short, wiry prick in black slacks and a yellow golf shirt advanced on her threateningly.
“Back off, mister. You’ve had your fun.” Maya threatened Lister with her badge obvious and her hand on her weapon.
Too stupid to know when the game was up, rage still riding him, Lister swung at her instead and ended up flying through the air. Nik had seen her warning hand motion to back off and she’d give him a gold star later for listening. This guy was hers and she fully intended to teach the scumbag a lesson.
His temper fueled with pain and embarrassment, the dickhead just didn’t know when to stop. He rolled to his feet and lunged at her, intending to use his body like a battering-ram.
Oh, goody! I love this move… Using his bent knee as her stepping stool, she literally ran up his body flipped over and rammed her feet in his chest, then ended up in a crouch. Hearing Nik’s laugh made her insides glow. Her various step-daddies sure did come in handy.
A short time later, Maya and Nik sat in chairs across from Lister, waiting for him to regain his senses. They had agreed to hear what the man had to say before setting anything in motion. After all, they had him over a lawbreaking barrel, and just maybe he’d be more forthcoming if he thought they might loosen up and make a deal.
Quitting her job, and now long-gone, the disgusted secretary didn’t help them very much. She’d known nothing of any activities around the joint that might not be honest. And Maya believed her since she’d exhibited her utmost desire to get back at the bastard for messing up her face. That, plus the fact that she’d only been on the job for a few days, made her declaration reasonable.
Nik stood, paced from one end of the room to the other, his countenance indicating his unrest. “Sure is taking his time.” They both glanced at the sad sucker propped up in his chair, head lolling to the side and saliva drooling from his slack mouth. “You must have put a lot more wallop into that incredible kick than it looked like from where I was standing.”
“It is pretty effective.”
“It’s just damn pretty, period.”
Not wanting to wait any longer, Nik went to the sink in the corner by the coffee area and came back with a carafe of cold water, which he threw into Lister’s face. Sputtering, his red face dripping and registering shock, the coward cringed in his chair and looked first at Nik and then Maya. “What the hell do you want?”
Voice chirpy with glee totally fueled by satisfaction, Maya responded, “I’m Agent Barnes, the person you tried to assault a little while ago. And this is my partner, Agent Foster. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Wiping the water from his face with a hand shaking from the reaction of being injured, Lister spoke, or maybe groused would be a better description for the way he answered. “I got nothing to say. You broke into my place and harassed me. I’m thinking to call the police.”
Maya shook her head, an expression of who-do-you-think-you’re-talking-to? in her grim smile. “Hey, how about this? We charge you with assault against Marion Glendale, your former secretary, who, by the way, deserves full wages and a six-week hardship bonus. Add to that, attacking a federal officer in the line of duty—”
Lister ran his wet fingers through his comb-over, smoothing the greasy mass to the side. “Fine. You’re blackmailing me. What do you want?”
“Just a few answers.”
“About what?” Lister, now sitting straight in his chair, although his hand still rubbed his stomach, listened carefully. His glance skipped from Maya to Nik and back to who he considered to be in charge. “I have nothing to hide. Ask away.”
Nik slowly moved over to sit on the edge of the desk closer to Lister’s chair and leaned over the man threateningly. He didn’t say a word. Maya loved the clever maneuver and nodded toward him. He’s good…
“I’d think before answering because I don’t have a lot of patience right now. When I look at any degenerate who likes to hit women and then calls himself a man, I just want to throw up. You know? So don’t try me. Tell me about the shipment of young girls that arrived here on July fourteenth. We know they were brought to the basement and then disappeared—”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Aggressive again, Lister tried to push past her, but Nik made sure that didn’t happen. Thrusting the idiot back into his seat, he motioned for Maya to continue.
“You sure do like to interrupt, don’t you? That’s not only rude, but it’s also damned annoying.”
“Can you blame me? I don’t know anything about a shipment of girls. And they sure as hell never came to my nightclub. Chrissakes, I don’t even have the fucking keys to the basement.” He added that last sentence as if that was the final vindication to his story.
What got to Maya was—the man was telling the truth.
Chapter 40
Nik knew he’d done right by standing down and letting Maya take on Lister, but it ranked up there as one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. As if she knew he’d step in, her waving him down before he could leap had stopped his forward momentum and left him with his heart in his throat, choking the spit right out of him. When she’d handled the asshole with all the aplomb of a veteran warrior and proved her ability to take care of herself, he’d had only one thought in his rattled head.
Thank-you-Lord!
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known plenty of women in the forces who could take care of trouble just as well as any male, but in those situations, he’d never had his heart tied up in their welfare—not like he felt when he thought of Maya in danger. With no time to delve into his predicament right now, he instead faked being a relaxed partner. Meanwhile, his insides were being ripped into shreds from the shock and the recurring trauma symptoms from his PTSD.
He covered it up well, he thought. Hunching over an agita
ted Lister helped him grip onto his control. Playing the bad cop to Maya’s opposite role also calmed him enough that he was pretty sure she’d missed his reactions. One thing he did notice, though, was that the length of time had shortened before he was able to feel the erratic panic receding so he could breathe easier.
***
“He was telling the truth.” Maya ground out the words, along with her annoyance.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Intelligence training, it’s pretty darn thorough.”
“I bet.” Maya had noticed Nik’s face change just before she’d stepped in to deal with Lister. Galvanized to react, she’d motioned him to back off. But she’d been aware of the impact her brawl had made on him. Just thinking about it made her heart slip into the rhythm of a rumba, beating fast and furious.
He cared.
She’d seen it plainly. His acting all nonchalant had covered it up, but she’d sensed the toll it had taken and she wanted to wrap her arms around the man and squeeze him as hard as she had her favorite, child-sized, teddy bear that had withstood the brunt of many exuberant hugs.
It was time to relax, let go of the mad. “Wanna get something to eat and bring it to the motel? See if your buddy shows up? Maybe we’ll be lucky and he’ll be there.”
“Maybe we’ll be even luckier and he won’t.” Nik’s steady gaze caught her eye and she didn’t try to look away. Instead, heart starting to dance again, she smiled her acceptance.
Full-on seduction, the man knew how to stir it well. No playing games, he showed her clearly that he wanted her. And she was hot, wet and ready for him too.
Taking his hand, she led him to their vehicle. “Let’s hope…”
Chapter 41
Once in the room, they both breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was empty. Nik set the sushi down on the table and advanced to where Maya had kicked off her shoes and settled back, with her elbows resting on the bed.
She straightened and her hands came up. “Hold it, partner. We need to talk.” Maya had this conversation with all of her lovers, not that there had been scads, but she believed it better to get the business side of the relationship over before any hanky-panky begun. That way, both parties knew what to expect from their…ah…friendship.
Nik lowered himself onto the edge of the mattress next to her and relaxed. “Okay. What did you want to discuss?”
“Do you know where Max is?” Where did that come from?
Shocked and defensive, Nik straightened. “Now why the hell would you ask me something like that? And at a time like this! All I want to do is get your clothes off, kiss you everywhere my lips will fit and bury myself inside that luscious body of yours and you… well, shit, I’ll never understand he female mind. I thought you were with me on this.”
Mad at herself for letting her tongue bypass her brain—yet again—she backed down from her question and apologized. “Look, for a minute there, when you were taking off your suit jacket, you looked so much like him that he popped into my mind and I didn’t stop to think. I know you’d tell me if you had any information. I’m sorry.” Crawling toward him, she nestled close and offered her lips in apology.
Nik pulled his head back and looked at her at the same time as he loosened his tie and undid the buttons on his shirt. “You wanted to talk. If so, you’d better say what you have to, because when I get my hands on you there’ll be very little talking other than ‘Oh God!’, ‘Now!’, ‘Don’t stop!’ and maybe ‘Please!’.” His smile, slow and mesmerizing, drew her into his web and she realized that there were no questions waiting, only exclamations to be uttered. Without hesitation, she started.
“Please! Now!”
Slowly he reached for her face, slid his hand under her hair and lowered his lips to hers. Teasing, he nipped at her bottom lip, then the sides of her mouth until, with a groan, he kissed her fully. Hard, then soft, and with another stifled sound, hard again, he kissed her until she felt like she was drowning in his seduction.
Her needs as strong as his, she returned his loving assault. Opening to him, she let her tongue intertwine with his in a routine as old as time. “Oh, God!” The words broke free before she could stop them and they seemed to spur him on.
Laying her backwards on the mattress, he pulled his shirt the rest of the way off then followed her down. He searched for her hands, then he lifted them above her head, holding her hostage while his lips ate at the pebbled skin of her throat, under her ears, breathing there on purpose to ramp up her excitement.
“You smell good.” His voice, rough with passion, made her smile, her eyes connecting with his, loving…
“It’s perfumed soap.”
“I’ll buy you a truckload if you use it whenever we’re together.”
“I wash my whole body with it.”
“Oh, God!”
Undoing the buttons of her shirt seemed to take forever, but his kisses after each opening soothed her somewhat. Finally her chest was bared like his and he ground himself against her, breathing harshly, her body thrashing to bring him closer. She wanted him inside her.
His hands stroked everywhere, squeezing her breasts, fondling the nipples and caressing the skin. Parting her legs with his knee, he introduced his hard, throbbing need, his desire.
She answered by thrusting her pelvis upward, hugging him, stroking his back, his head, kissing his neck. Breathing loudly, unevenly, her whimpering sobs were probably enough evidence that she was ready for him, but just in case she added, “Yes.” And then… “Please, take my pants off. Now…!” And to be absolutely sure he’d get the message, she moaned his name, “Nik! Oh God!”
That’s when her cell phone rang. And two seconds later, so did Max’s, which was stashed in Nik’s back pocket.
He stiffened. So did she. They both groaned. You’ve got to be kidding me…
Chapter 42
Nik pulled away, put his on speaker and they both listened to the excited voice of Henry Lassiter talking fast and low. “Hey, something weird’s going on at the Smith & Son office. You might want to get down here. Can you find Maya? Conley’s with me and he’s calling her, but she’s not answering her phone.”
“Sure, we’re together having dinner. She’s in the bathroom and her phone’s here. What’s up?” He reached over and rested his palm against the side of her face, then he winked.
She nodded her thanks.
“First a black SUV pulled up outside the office building and a couple of big brutes forced a young girl out of the back seat. We contemplated going in to see what the devil was going on, but before we’d made up our minds about how to handle it, we saw this smaller person in a hoodie, figured it was another girl by the build, sneaking around through the gate and into the yard. We weren’t sure what we should do. The boss told us surveillance only. We didn’t want to screw with someone else’s ongoing investigation—you know?”
Nik watched Maya’s hand signals and followed her directives. “You’re doing right. Stand down and just observe. We’ll be there shortly. Leave the van doors unlocked.”
He pushed the off button and exhaled louder than necessary, revealing his resentment. “Oh, baby, you have no idea how much I want to say fuck it, close out the world and pull you back onto that bed. I guess it’s not gonna happen, though, is it?”
Grimacing, she answered, her voice filled with disgust. “Nope!”
Shrugging, Nik stood, grabbed his shirt off the floor and stopped what he was doing to watch her putting her bra back on. Another loud sigh escaped and made her smile.
“Hold that thought, sugar. We’ll get back to it later. Do you happen to have a black T-shirt I can borrow?”
“Seriously?”
“In case we have to do any snooping around. My white blouse is… ” Her raised eyebrow said it all.
“Right!” He dug into his bag and pulled one out and held it up, then he changed his mind. “Julian has clothes hanging in the bathroom that will fit better. I’m sure there was a b
lack shirt in there.”
Sure enough, there was one with a big green, glow-in-the-dark, happy-faced marijuana leaf splattered over the front. Maya grinned, turned it inside out and slipped it on, sadly watching as Nik’s gorgeous physique disappeared inside his own T-shirt.
Her remorseful sigh equaled his. Shaking her head in sorrow, she went to step out of the room and Nik’s hands reached past her to hold the door closed.
Turning to face him, she knew her hunger for him was still obvious enough to read clearly. The rampaging desires he’d set loose couldn’t be stopped by a phone call—no matter how urgent. Dammit, she wanted this man with an intensity she’d never felt before.
Gripping her head in both his hands, he kissed her hard. “Be careful tonight. My instincts are telling me something is going to happen.”
“Always. You too. We still have a date for later, right?” She instigated another kiss and broke it off before it could carry them away. Then she spun around, opened the door and led the way to Max’s Lexus.
“Oh, no!” Nik took two steps back, his hands up. He already had some repair work to get done on the rear bumper.
“Yes. They’ll make our FBI issue, you know they will. Just get in and let’s go.”
“They know Max’s car too.”
“Not in the dark. It just looks like any car. Quit arguing and get in.”
***
They arrived in record time and snuck into the reconnaissance van. Lassiter and Conley were both there, avidly watching the screen. Lassiter turned to face them with a grin. “Wow, you were right, it didn’t take any time at all for you folks to get here. What kind of a diner were you at? Funny no one noticed your T-shirt was on inside out.”
Conley snickered and earned a dirty look from Nik—clearly an unspoken message to wipe the grin off his face.
Maya chuckled. “Didn’t think you had such good observation skills, Lassie.” First she pissed off Lassiter with a nickname he hated, and then she lifted her t-shirt up to give them an eyeful of bra-clad boobs and a big green happy-face. “We stopped at a nearby place to get me a dark shirt, in case we needed to get closer. They didn’t have plain ones. You satisfied?”