She lay flat on the couch and stared at the ceiling, coming down from the froth he’d worked her into. Who was he talking to? He was so quiet. Did he not want her to overhear?
Throwing her arm over her eyes, she sighed. Weariness settled over her and she knew her mood was ruined for the night. It was late and she had to be at work early.
Secretly, Janelle hoped Nate would stay the night.
She finally heard him say goodbye and he set the phone on the counter, releasing a harsh breath. Letting her arm drop, she turned to look at him. He stood naked by the kitchen counter, his hands on his hips, his expression grim.
“That was Greg.”
His partner. “What did he want?”
“A major bust went down at Billy D’s—by the DEA. Guess they’ve been working a giant sting for over six months and told no one. Billy’s going down, once they find him.” Nate strode into the living room and grabbed his pants, yanking them on.
Janelle’s mouth dropped open. “He wasn’t there?”
“Nope.” Nate shook his head, letting out a growl of frustration as he tugged on his shirt, leaving it open. “I swear this is the case that’ll never end.”
She scrambled up from the couch and went to him, slipped her arms around his waist. Pressing her head against his bare chest, she felt the steady beat of his heart. It reassured her and she dropped the lightest kiss between his pecs. “It’ll be okay. They’ll find him. He’s not your problem anymore.”
“They want Ginger too, Janelle. Greg told me they’ve put out a warrant for her arrest.” Their gazes met and held. “She could go to prison for this.”
Janelle squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears that threatened to flee. She would not cry. She needed to be strong. “Oh, no,” she whispered.
He hauled her close, his fingers tangling in her hair. “We’ll try not to let that happen. Greg’s already set a plan in motion.”
“I’m scared,” she murmured, her voice muffled. “I’m afraid for Ginger.”
“That’s why it’s more important than ever we find her.” His hand felt heavy against her hair and she welcomed the weight. It meant he was real, holding her, offering her comfort. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of everything.”
And when his lips met hers in a sweetly hot kiss, she believed him.
Chapter Ten
An incessant ringing wound itself through Janelle’s brain and she groaned, her already closed eyes scrunching tighter. It was Sunday, her last day off and she had nothing planned but lazing around. The Passion for Fashion charity event was ten days away. She needed as much sleep as she could get.
Between the long days at work planning, and the long nights in bed with Nate, she should be beyond exhausted. Yet she’d never felt better in her life.
“Janelle.” His husky, sleep-filled voice washed over her and he nudged her on the shoulder with warm, firm fingers. “It’s your cell phone.”
They’d stayed the night at his condo last night after spending the entire day together. She was enjoying this, spending more time with him. They kept talk of the investigation minimal. She knew he worked hard behind the scenes trying to find both Billy and Ginger. But his work stayed where it belonged—at work. It was better that way.
The whereabouts of her sister was like a firm smack of reality in her face. She worried about Ginger, was sick over her disappearance and hoped like hell Billy didn’t find her first. But for once, she was too busy with her own life and problems to be concerned about her sister’s.
Was she cold hearted for thinking that way? She didn’t mean to be. Ginger would come around again. She always did.
The ringing stopped for a moment, going to voice mail and she breathed a sigh of relief. Nate nudged her again.
“It’s going to start ringing again soon. It’s done it three times already. Whoever it is really wants to talk to you.”
His quiet, grave voice made her eyes snap open to find him propped up on one arm, watching her. She gazed at him, immediately figuring out who he thought was calling.
Ginger.
The phone started to ring and she snatched it from her purse on the floor, checking the caller ID. Dread and excitement filled her when she saw the name flashing.
“It’s Ginger,” she whispered to a waiting Nate before she answered. “Hi, how are you?”
“Not good.” Ginger’s voice was tiny, as if she were far, far away and concern filled Janelle.
“What’s wrong?”
Ginger released a shuddering breath. “I’m sick. I thought by leaving this crappy town I could get better but it didn’t work. I need you, J.”
Janelle closed her eyes for the briefest moment, hating the sound of her sister’s tortured voice. “Why are you sick?”
“I need help, okay? I’m sick, I can’t get off this shit and it’s screwing with my brain, my body. I went looking for her but I can’t find Mom and I refuse to go back to my boyfriend. He’s the one who got me on this stuff in the first place. I don’t have anyone else, Janelle.”
“What do you want me to do?” She glanced up, caught Nate watching her intently.
“Ask her where she’s at. Tell her you’ll meet her somewhere,” he whispered, his expression fierce, his eyes anxious.
Janelle shushed him and waved him away, not wanting Ginger to hear.
“I need medical help. I want to go into rehab or something. I can’t do this anymore, I feel like I’m gonna die.” A soft sob escaped Ginger and Janelle’s heart lurched.
“What are you on? You sound awful.”
Ginger sighed. “I don’t know. Everything? Nothing? All of it? I can’t do this on my own. I need you.”
“I can’t afford to put you through rehab. I can barely survive on my paycheck as it is.” It was true. She’d been living hand to mouth for far too long and rehabilitation centers, though worth it, were expensive.
Nate gestured excitedly at her and she couldn’t ignore it. She turned to him, tilting her head. “Don’t turn her away. Tell her you’ll take care of it. We’ll figure that part out later,” he murmured.
Dread filled her. He wanted to lure Ginger in so he could question her. Once he had her, he had a better chance of finding Billy Diaz. This was his golden opportunity. Janelle couldn’t help but feel like she was being used. That she’d been used all along.
She didn’t like it.
“Fine, go ahead and ignore me like usual. When they find my body in a gutter I hope you feel guilty because it’ll be all your fault.” Ginger’s tone took on a sulky quality.
“Wait! Listen, uh, I’m sure we can figure out something. I’ll make it work. You’re my sister. I promised I’d always be there for you, but you need to give me a little time. Tell me where you’re at.”
“I don’t know.” Ginger sniffed, sounding sad and lost and completely strung out. “Some crappy hotel in downtown Los Angeles. It’s cheap and besides, I couldn’t find Billy. I just got back from Vegas.”
Janelle shook her head. Her sister had never been known for making smart decisions. Las Vegas was, after all, Sin City. “I thought you didn’t want to find your boyfriend.” She bit her lip the moment the words left her. She wasn’t supposed to know Ginger and Billy were involved.
Thank goodness, Ginger was oblivious. “J, you can’t tell anyone I called you. That we’re going to meet. People are, uh, looking for me and I don’t want them to find out I’m here,” Ginger continued, her voice dropping to a husky whisper.
“Who’s looking for you?” Janelle asked, keeping her voice neutral.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to freak you out.” Ginger breathed deep, exhaling loudly over the phone. “I need...I need money. Can we meet for breakfast? There’s a little restaurant down the street from here.”
“Okay, where?” Janelle gestured at Nate and he handed her a notepad and pen. She scribbled the restaurant’s address on a piece of paper as Ginger recited it. “You want to meet say, in an hour? Ten o’clock?”
<
br /> “Yeah, that works. Bye.”
“See you soon.” Janelle hung up in stunned silence. She could feel Nate behind her, knew he was waiting for her to say something, but she remained quiet.
“What’s going on?”
His quiet question brought her back to reality and Janelle turned to face him. She couldn’t help noticing the expectant expression on his face.
The sight of it made her stomach sour.
“I’m meeting her in an hour. I need to take a shower.” She started to get up but he gripped her by the shoulder. “What?”
“No way in hell you’re meeting her alone. I’m going in with you.” His voice was quiet, and she knew he was dead serious.
Janelle shook her head. “No, Nate. I can’t do that to her. She’d freak out if I brought a stranger with me. She’s probably freaking out right now over meeting me and I’m her sister for God’s sake.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s not safe. What if Diaz shows up? What will you do then?”
“Nothing’s happened since that one time. You called off the tail a week ago. Let me do this.” Janelle smiled, trying to reassure him, reassure herself but he didn’t look so convinced.
And really, she wasn’t that convinced either. He did have a point. Billy Diaz was dangerous and on the run, as was her sister.
“He’s desperate, Janelle. She’s his weakness, the one thing he wants but can’t have.” He paused, rubbed a hand against his stubble covered jaw. “We’ve uncovered more information about the two of them. They have some sort of sick co-dependency on each other. If he finds her, he’ll do anything to get her back. He’s still looking for her. Trust me.”
“Look, I know he thinks he’s in love with my sister or whatever, but even he’s not that stupid. The feds are looking for him. Why would he be searching for Ginger? I bet he’s long gone.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll have breakfast with her and then I’ll bring her here. She’ll be safe with me—and you.”
He sighed. “I’ll need to call the DEA and let them know what’s going on once you bring her back here.”
“Of course. But she needs to be approached carefully. She’s scared, strung out and a little bit desperate.” Janelle moved closer to him, resting her hand on his bristly cheek. He remained quiet, studying her and despair suddenly consumed her. Would this be the last time she touched him like this, slept in his bed?
Would he turn her away once he had what he truly wanted?
“I’ve been handling Ginger for years, you know.” Janelle tried to smile but her mouth felt broken. It was silly, she asked for his trust when she didn’t trust him.
At the very least, she didn’t trust her silly, sick heart.
“I know, but this is different. It’s more dangerous. You don’t understand who you’re messing with. Billy is a cold blooded murderer. And now he’s desperate and on the run.” He rubbed his cheek against the palm of her hand and her eyes slid closed for the quickest moment.
“I know.” Her voice was an aching whisper, her heart hurt for him, but she wasn’t going to back down.
“Ginger said she doesn’t want to see Billy ever again. I believe her.” God, she hoped what Ginger said was true.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Nate.” Her voice grew firm and she dropped her hand from his cheek. “I can’t have you going into the café with me. She’ll leave the second she spots you by my side and then we’re back to square one.”
He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Okay. I’ll wait for you out in the parking lot and I won’t let her see me. You’ll have your cell on you so I can call if anything goes down.”
Relief flooded her. He was right. She couldn’t do this completely alone. “I never leave home without it.” Pressing a quick kiss to his mouth, she climbed out of bed, heading toward her bathroom. “That should work. I’m going to take a shower,” she tossed over her shoulder.
She padded into the bathroom toward the shower stall and twisted the faucet on full blast, waiting for the water to warm. Nerves tickled her stomach like a thousand butterflies beating their wings at once and she pressed a hand to her front.
Everything will be fine. You’ll talk Ginger into coming back here. Nate will keep her safe. And you. He promised.
God, she hoped that was true.
Stripping off her thin cotton nightgown Janelle stepped into the stall and stood under the hot spray of water, letting it sluice over her head. It was going to be all right. Ginger would get help, Nate would get her off of the DEA charges and they’ll eventually find Billy. It won’t be his problem anymore.
It was a win-win for everyone.
* * * *
Instinct told Nate something wasn’t right. Over the years, he’d become dependent on his intuition and at the moment, it was going off like a bazillion car alarms in a packed parking lot.
Janelle didn’t seem worried in the least. She’d gotten ready for her meeting with her sister in record time. Tossing her still damp blonde hair into a ponytail, she dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, no makeup on her beautiful face. She looked fresh, clean, natural.
He didn’t want to leave. The yearning to coax her back into bed, strip her clothing off and sample her sweet, shower-clean flesh was so strong he clenched his fists to control himself.
Damn it, he shouldn’t feel this way. His partner’s killer was that much closer to captivity. He should be thrilled everything was finally coming together. Once Janelle brought Ginger home, he’d call Greg and the both of them could question her. Pump her for information and get her to spill completely about Billy’s prostitution business.
He hoped he could get the federal charges dismissed. They’d need her to testify against Billy to make the charges stick against him—if they ever found him. So the DEA might be lenient on her. Hopefully they’d offer her immunity for her testimony.
“Ready?” Nate asked, watching as she gathered her purse and slung it over her shoulder.
“Yes.” She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead and he grabbed her, cupping her cheek, holding her there so he could kiss her properly. His mouth lingered, his tongue swiped against hers and when she pulled away from him, she released a shaky breath.
“Then let’s go.” Standing, he cleared his throat, wondered at the sudden thickness there.
Hell, he was falling in love with her. Hard to face when he’d never been in love before.
He hurriedly got dressed, didn’t bother with a shower or even underwear. He slipped on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, shoved shoes on his feet and grabbed his gun.
“You’re going to bring that?”
Glancing at her, he saw her blue eyes had gone wide, her mouth parted as she stared at the gun dangling from his hand.
“Yeah. We have to be safe, Janelle. Besides, it’s always with me.” He shoved the gun into the back waistband of his jeans, would stash it in a safer place once he got into his car.
“Right, okay I get it.” She smiled though he noticed a faint tremor to her lips. “Guns make me nervous.”
Nate pulled her to him, smoothing his hands up and down her slim back. “Baby, get used to them. I’m a cop. They’re a part of the trade.”
“I know. And it scares me.” She slipped her arms around him, nuzzling her face against his chest. “Your job is so dangerous.”
“Don’t worry about me. We need to concentrate on Ginger.” Reluctantly he released her, checking the clock on the bedside table. “We gotta go or you’re going to be late.”
“Let’s go.”
His hands shook as he climbed into his car and Nate willed them to stop. He couldn’t afford to be nervous. Everything important to him was on the line and he needed to be in tip-top shape. He couldn’t let anything get past him.
He’d put in a quick call to Greg when Janelle was in the shower, letting him know what was happening. Greg had been eager to meet him there, but he’d told him to cool it. They couldn’t scare Ginger, things needed to look normal
.
The thought of anything happening to Janelle made his gut clench. He needed to confess his feelings. Tell her he was in love with her. Imagining the moment made him feel both euphoric and nauseous.
Get through today and they were home free. Get the information from Ginger to nail Billy Diaz to the wall—the prostitution business, the drug ring, all of it, would be a satisfying relief.
The smugness wore off quick and he shook his head. This wasn’t really his case anymore. He didn’t need to care as much. But he did. For Janelle – and for her sister.
A trickle of fear spilled down his spine. Billy wanted Ginger badly. Did he really have feelings for her, or was it because she knew too much? If Ginger was at risk, then Janelle was at risk too. How he hated that.
Nate was more determined than ever to protect Janelle and her sister. No one hurt what he considered his. He’d suffered enough from the loss of his partner. He didn’t plan on losing anyone else anytime soon.
* * * *
The restaurant was old, small and not very clean. A sparse amount of customers occupied a few booths, but otherwise it was empty. The stench of burning grease assaulted Janelle as she walked inside and she wrinkled her nose.
Thank goodness, she was too nervous to eat.
“Sit anywhere you like,” the bored looking waitress told her from behind the counter, a pot of pitch black coffee dangling from her hand. A grizzled old man sitting at the counter turned to look at Janelle, his watery eyes doing a slow perusal up and down her body, his mouth jerking into an obvious leer.
Leave it to her sister to find the sleaziest diner in Los Angeles.
Glancing about the restaurant, she spotted Ginger sitting at a booth in the deepest corner of the room. Heading toward her, nerves tickled Janelle’s stomach and she slid into the booth seat opposite her sister.
Ginger lifted her head and Janelle contained the gasp that wanted to escape. She looked terrible. Pale, pasty skin with dark bruising shadows under her eyes and her cheeks were sunken in. Her mouth, so similar to Janelle’s, was chapped, the center of her bottom lip cracked and split and so painful looking.
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