Sweet Reward-Last 9
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Before Mia could answer with a suitably vague reason, Jared said, “It’s just a follow-up. We’re trying to see if there’re any similarities between your activities and those of the parents of the other missing children.”
“So you really have no news?” Lara asked. The words sounded more like an accusation than a question.
“No.” Jared’s answer was blunt and fit perfectly with the woman’s attitude.
“If you’re as good as you said you are, why can’t you find her? I—”
“Lara, I’m sure Jared’s doing all he can,” Carter Dennison said.
As if Lara and Carter had not spoken about him personally, Jared said, “Both of you were at the function? Was Mandy with you?”
“No, it was our first outing in days,” Lara answered. “We left her at home with our regular babysitter.”
“Lara wasn’t supposed to come, but she decided at the last minute to attend with me.” Carter grimaced. “Poor Mandy had been so fretful most of the week. Lara needed the break.”
“Not that it was much of a break,” Lara added. “The babysitter called me every few hours. I finally ended up leaving early and returning home.”
“Anything strike you as unusual or strange while you were there? Anyone’s questions get too personal?”
The Dennisons looked at each other and shook their heads. Carter answered for both of them. “No, nothing comes to mind.”
Jared stood. “Okay if we hold on to your calendar for a few days?”
“Yes, that’s fine,” the other man answered. “Whatever we can do to help, we will.”
Mia stood beside Jared. She gave a small nod to Carter Dennison and then looked down at Lara, who was still seated. “We’re going to do everything we can to find your daughter.”
The woman’s gaze shifted to Jared. “That’s what I’ve been hearing for weeks.”
Grieving mother or not, the woman was a bitch.
Mia and Jared made their way silently to the door. Carter Dennison followed behind them, the sad expression on his face reminding Mia of a whipped animal.
As Carter opened the door for them, he said softly, “If you need to reach me, I’m staying at my old apartment close to the hospital.”
“You and Lara have separated?” Jared asked.
He nodded. “We just thought it would be best to give us both some breathing room.”
Breathing room, my ass. If Dennison had left his wife, that raised Mia’s estimation of the man. Living with such a cold woman couldn’t be pleasant.
After Dennison gave them another number where he could be reached, he closed the door behind them. Mia blew out a long, ragged breath and shot a look at the man beside her. “What the hell did you ever see in that woman?”
A small twitch of his mouth almost became a smile, but Jared’s eyes remained serious as he replied, “She’s a lot like me.”
eleven
Ricard Foundation headquarters
Garwood looked down at the notations an entry clerk named Josette Fitzgerald had made. Why couldn’t people mind their own fucking business?
“What do you think?” Paul Raymond, Josette’s supervisor, was a thin, nervous-looking middle-aged man with thick salt-and-pepper hair who had a tendency to be a stickler for following rules. This type of efficiency and follow-up was something Garwood had always appreciated, because it made his job a lot easier. Today, he found himself wishing that Raymond were the exact opposite.
“Do you agree there’s cause for concern?” Raymond asked.
Garwood looked up from the detailed notes and eyed the man sitting in front of his desk. “How many people are aware of this?”
“Right now, just Josette and one of her co-workers, André Baldwin. And you and me, of course.”
The mistake was Garwood’s fault. Instead of entering the funds into the new account his boss had told him to use, he’d been tired that night and had entered it in an old account that was no longer active. As soon as he’d realized his mistake, he’d withdrawn the funds and had given the error little thought until now. Dammit, all of this could blow up in his face. He had no illusions about what the boss man would do to him to keep from getting caught.
Now for some damage control. “I definitely think there’s cause for concern. However, we need to keep this from getting out. If any of our benefactors learn of this, they might pull their funding. We can’t afford to let that happen. There are too many needy people depending upon us for our help. We can’t tarnish our reputation.”
Paul nodded. “I agree. So what should we do?”
“I’m going to conduct a quiet internal audit. The culprit has to be found, and soon.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just keep it to yourself. As soon as I identify who might be responsible, I’ll alert Monsieur Ricard. He’ll know what to do.”
Paul stood and ran his hand through his hair. “Very well.”
“And be sure to let Josette know that she will be rewarded—as will you, my friend.”
Puffing his chest out like a proud rooster, Paul nodded. “Merci, Monsieur Kinsey. I knew I came to the right person.”
As soon as the door closed behind the man, Garwood picked up the phone and made the call that would reward Josette, her friend André, and Paul Raymond in a very special and final way.
LCR headquarters
Jared watched Mia pace back and forth as they waited for McCall to finish up a phone call he’d taken outside his office. She’d been restless ever since they’d left the Dennisons’ house. Of course, Lara wasn’t the type to create calmness—which seemed odd, considering her career choice. However, she was a different person when she was working. That cool demeanor inspired confidence.
That was how they’d met. He’d been working on an old boat he was refurbishing and had cut his hand. He’d doctored it for a week before he’d decided to go to the hospital for a tetanus shot. The inflamed area around the wound had told him it was getting infected, and though he’d just as soon eat nails as to go see a doctor, he’d preferred that to losing his hand. Lara had been there that night. He’d liked her cool, competent manner. Within a month they were living together; three months later, they married.
Their marriage had been peaceful, if not very exciting. Lara worked a lot, and he’d been with Kane Industries at the time. Their hours were long, hers often longer than his. Their days off were spent sleeping, catching up on chores, and making love. Looking back, he realized that even the sex hadn’t been exciting. More of a release of tension than an expression of affection or even intimacy. And the hell of it was, they might still be married if he hadn’t shown his true colors that day.
The heavy sigh across the room, her third in the last five minutes, almost brought a smile to his mouth. He had a feeling he knew the cause for her discontent, but he’d wait her out. He didn’t have to wait much longer.
She collapsed onto the sofa, across from where he sat. “What do you mean you and your ex-wife are a lot alike? You’re nothing like her.”
“She’s under a lot of stress.”
“So she’s not a bitch under normal circumstances?”
His mouth twitched as he again fought a smile. “She’s actually a very cool and calm person.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not a bitch.”
No, it didn’t. But in almost three years of marriage, Lara had rarely gotten upset. They hadn’t argued and almost never disagreed with each other. The one and only time Lara had lost her temper was the day Jared had told her about his past. And he’d learned for the very first time that Lara had a very shrill voice when she was angry.
The passionate woman across from him wouldn’t understand that. Just in the short time they’d known each other, they’d argued more than he had with any other person in memory.
“Sorry it took so long,” McCall said as he came through the door. Sprawling back into his chair across from them, he eyed them both. “So you found someone else?”
McCall’s eyes rapidly scanned the connections Jared had discovered last night between Fuller and Ricard. Seconds later, he blew out a soft curse and looked at Mia. “What do you think?”
Apparently McCall knew about her family’s association with Ricard.
Her shoulders lifted in a half-shrug and she shook her head. “I don’t know him all that well. He and my dad have played golf on occasion. I believe Philippe has a home in Rome, and when he goes there, he has visited my parents.”
So Mia’s parents lived in Rome. Jared added that interesting bit of information to the way-too-short list of what he knew about this woman.
“These associations, while not damning in themselves, are too coincidental not to make Ricard our prime suspect. The other people had one or two connections with Fuller. What we have here wouldn’t convince the police to investigate, especially someone like Ricard, but LCR damn well can.”
McCall looked at Mia again. “You think you can get in and find something for us?”
Hell, he should’ve seen that coming. “Are we ready for undercover?”
“I think we’re going to have to be. I got a call earlier today. A new infant has gone missing. This time in Caen.” His eyes went back to Mia. “It was similar to the case involving your client. Mother was a drug user, only she changed her mind before the transaction could take place. They knocked her out and took the baby.”
“They’re getting more frequent,” Jared said.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. We need to get them stopped asap. Lucas and McKenna and Aidan and Sabrina have concluded their initial interviews in Copenhagen and San Francisco. They’ve learned nothing more than what we originally knew. I’m going to ask them to step back and hand this case over to you two. When and if we can move in on Ricard, I’ll bring them back in.”
Mia nodded. “I’ll call Philippe—let him know I’m in Paris. Since I haven’t seen him in years, I’ll use that as an opportunity to meet with him.”
Jared frowned at her easy acceptance of contacting a man who could well be a dangerous criminal. “And then what?” he growled. “You think he’s going to take you to dinner and tell you about his new business venture of kidnapping and selling babies?”
Her dark eyes gleamed with temper. “No, but I can tell him I’d like to learn how to run a large charity. I can get in and snoop around. Also, Philippe’s not married.”
“So you’re going to romance the information out of him?”
She fluttered her eyes at him. “I’ve been known to make men talk. And I …” She blew out a breath and said, “I went out with him a few times.”
What the hell? “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“Would it have made any difference? I’m telling you now. Besides, it’s not like we had some kind of great romance. Drinks and dinner. That’s it. I haven’t seen him in years.”
He didn’t like where this case was headed … not one damn bit. He gave McCall a hard look. “Seems like a long shot to me.”
“You got any better ideas about how to get in?” McCall asked.
Hell no, he didn’t. At least not yet. “I’ll come up with something.”
“Until you do, I think this is our best bet. Mia having a relationship”—he raised a hand to cut both of them off before they could correct him—“any kind of a relationship, with the man is better than what we have right now.”
Jared wanted to argue, but he wouldn’t. Problem was, he didn’t know why he wanted to argue. This kind of inside track was rare. Still, something about it didn’t feel right to him.
McCall’s gaze took in both Mia’s and Jared’s. “Let me know when you make contact and how it goes.”
Jared stood and waited for Mia to walk toward the door before he growled softly to McCall, “She could be getting into a damn dangerous situation.”
Not looking perturbed in the least, McCall shrugged. “We have a damn dangerous job.”
Turning away from his boss, Jared followed Mia out the door. Yeah, they had a dangerous job, but … but what? Hell, he didn’t know. He just knew he didn’t like it.
Mia stood waiting for the elevator and considered just going on ahead, without Jared. She had ridden over with him on his bike, but she could easily hail a taxi. Well, not easily, since it was a high-traffic time, but her apartment was only fifteen blocks away. Maybe by the time she made it back to her place, she wouldn’t want to smack him.
Why couldn’t he trust her? Admittedly, they had known each other for only a few days, but she’d thought they had at least come to an understanding. Now he was back to doubting her and she was back to being irritated with him.
When she heard him come up behind her, she stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for the first floor, and then turned to look up at him. If he thought she was just going to be quiet about it, he was wrong.
“Before you say anything, hear me out.”
She ground her teeth and waited. If he wanted to go first, fine. But she was not backing down.
“Have you ever gone undercover?”
“Several times. A few for LCR. And then a couple of times since I began my rescue business.”
“And were you successful?”
“Successful at getting the information? Yes, of course I was.” She huffed out an exasperated breath. “Is there a new reason you don’t think I’m qualified? Or is it still that you have a general distrust of my abilities without just cause?”
“It’s not your abilities I doubt. It’s your execution.”
“Excuse me?”
Jared blew out a frustrated sigh, and then he did something even more startling. He punched the elevator’s Stop button and turned back to her. “Okay. You’re undercover. You’re trying to find out if I’m in the baby-selling business. How are you going to get that information from me?”
Resisting the urge to stomp her feet like a child or smack him for the idiot he was, Mia snapped, “Why am I constantly having to prove myself to you? You said you’ve worked with other women before …?”
“Of course I have, but …”
“But what?”
“None of them were like you.”
“Like me … how?”
“I never wanted to do this to them.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her forward and slammed his mouth over hers.
Mia groaned beneath the powerful kiss. She shushed the little voice inside telling her she was letting him get away with insults by seducing her. She’d been dying for Jared to kiss her; she wasn’t about to let their argument get in the way of pleasure.
Her arms twined around his neck, and when his hands cupped her butt and pressed her against his erection, they both groaned at the first contact of fiery heat. Pulsing, throbbing sensations of arousal skyrocketed through her being as Jared’s hands pushed her into him, grinding her lower body against him. Mia forgot where she was. All she knew was how much she wanted his hands all over her, his naked body on top of her, the hard length of his penis thrusting deep inside her.
His hands were under her blouse, gliding toward her aching breasts, her nipples peaked at the anticipation of his mouth sucking them. Mia tugged on his shirt, needing to feel him, dying for that first contact. When she at last met bare skin, she could swear her fingers were singed. He was hot, burning, and so very hard.
A distant buzzing sound started up, like an irritating gnat. Mia ignored the obnoxious noise, seeking an end to the torturous, deliciously pulsating heat washing through her body.
Jared lifted his mouth slightly and growled, “Someone’s trying to get on the elevator.”
Still lost in need, she blinked up at him, confused by his words. “What?”
“The buzzing—someone’s trying to get on the elevator.”
Oh, crap.
Sexual frustration and embarrassment weren’t comfortable companions, and reality returned with a resounding thud. Her only c
onsolation was that Jared’s expression said he wasn’t any happier about the interruption.
She blew out a shaky breath and hit the button to release the car. As the elevator moved downward, she hastily pulled at her blouse and neatened her hair. Though her breathing had slowed, Mia knew her color was high and revealed exactly what’d she been ten seconds or less away from: a mind-blowing orgasm.
The doors slid open and five people stood before them. Mia recognized Aidan Thorne and Lucas Kane, as well as Angela. Two women she’d never seen before, a tall auburn-haired woman and a petite blonde, stood beside the men.
Her cheeks on fire and with no idea how to ease the flames, Mia grinned. “Looks like the rescue squad arrived for us.”
Torn between barking angrily at the operatives for interrupting them and wanting to shield Mia from the obvious embarrassment she was feeling, Jared grabbed her hand and said, “We’ve got an appointment. Introductions will have to wait.”
He pulled her through the building’s front doors. On the street beside his bike, he faced her. Damned if he would go any further until he knew. “I’m not looking for a relationship or, hell, even an affair. But there’s nothing I’d rather do than spend the night inside you. So tell me now … are we going to finish what we started?”
His voice sounded guttural and almost nonhuman … he waited for her to tell him to get the hell away from her.
Instead, without any seeming hesitation, she whispered, “Yes.”
That was all he needed. Straddling a bike with a massive hard-on wasn’t comfortable, but knowing what waited for him made it worth the pain. He held out his hand and took Mia’s, pulling her to sit behind him.
The heavy traffic made it a hell of a trick to get anywhere fast. If he’d been alone, he would’ve had no problem. Of course, if he were alone, he wouldn’t be in such dire need. He refused to risk Mia’s life. Self-discipline had been the cornerstone of his life since he was a kid—damned if he’d lose it now.
Cold wind whipped around them, and Jared groaned when Mia wrapped her arms tighter around him and burrowed against his back. Anytime now, he was expecting her to start questioning what the hell she was doing with him, tap him on the shoulder, and tell him she’d changed her mind. He’d done almost nothing since he’d met her other than insult her abilities and question her competence. And the elevator stunt had been over-the-top insane. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d slugged him. Instead she’d wrapped herself around him and responded with a passion that’d almost blown his head off.