All Hallows Thief

by Jade James

  All Hallows Thief

  Jade James © 2006

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All Hallows Thief

  Copyright© 2006 Jade James

  ISBN: 978-1-60088-065-0

  Cover Artist: Croco Designs

  Editor: Leanne Salter

  Excerpt from Rafe’s War by Jade James

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Cobblestone Press, LLC

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Chapter One

  The night before All Hallows Eve.

  Breaking into the company wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. His job guarding the multi-million dollar company made it easy. A couple hundred dollars spent to make sure his security partner called in sick was nothing compared to what he could still lose.

  He made his way to the human resources room, located at the back of the building, and unlocked the door. Guess he should be grateful that a multi-million dollar company hired him for security. The status of his other job ensured him a direct position monitoring the firm.

  He’d heard the company had hired an accountant to look at the files. There was never supposed to be a link. It was supposed to be a clean switch, with no traces left behind. One million dollars in exchange for freedom from his debts. He’d taken every precautionary measure to clean up his tracks. He’d hidden the money in an offshore account behind a dummy company, and had doubted anyone would ever find it. But that wasn’t a sure thing anymore. It terrified him that the threat even existed.

  He sat in the chair behind the desk and booted up the computer. His mind automatically flew to the meeting he’d had with Johnny Venice, head of the biggest mafia family in New York City, four days ago.

  “I don’t have your money right now,” he whispered, terror flooding his bones at the piercing look Johnny threw his way. Johnny nodded his head to one of his henchmen, who suddenly closed in on his back. He felt the gun at the base of his neck, and he trembled in fear of losing his life. The sweat clung to him, like death hovering over his soul for departure. The uniform he wore to work on a day-to-day basis should have ensured his freedom. It didn’t.

  When you sink your claws in deep with crime, nothing ensures your freedom. Especially when you’re dealing with the mafia.

  “You came to me to borrow a huge sum of money. I looked at you, all decked out in your uniform, and conceded that the man behind the shield deserved respect. Now you stand before me shaking in fear, practically pissing in your pants. Did you piss your pants yet? You have one week from today to get me that money, or the cops won’t be able to identify your body.”

  The mechanical sound asking for a password brought him out of his reverie. He shifted and opened the top drawer, instinctively knowing that administrative employees always hid their codes somewhere near.

  Bingo! He pulled the paper out and typed in the codes, accessing human resources, searching for information on the accountant Benjamin hired.

  Shit! The Venice Family wasn’t going to take this lightly. He could almost taste death knocking down his door. The mafia didn’t care about anything except getting their money. Johnny had only given him a week to get the account over. Now all assets were frozen until the CEO, Sheik Benjamin Raja of Gold Fuel & Oil, investigated all of the company and everyone employed by it.

  He wasn’t going to give in easily. There was no way he was giving up his life because of one mistake.

  He hit the Enter key and a dark brunette with piercing blue eyes stared back at him from the screen. All of her information downloaded in an instant. It was a pity she had to be beautiful, but he wasn’t going take a chance on Lacy Adams finding out the truth.

  * * * * *

  Lacy smoothed out her short cocktail dress underneath her coat and proceeded to entire Rosa’s Mexican Restaurant. Located in mid-town Manhattan, it was one of her favorite places to dine. The food was appetizing, and the atmosphere was intimate. Her stomach rumbled, hunger mixing with nervousness. Another date with the obscure Dante DeLuca who always managed to dance himself right out of her reach.

  She entered the cozy restaurant, the warmth and smell of the food hitting her immediately. She scanned the occupants, her gaze coming to rest on the dark, brooding man occupying a corner table. Their gazes clashed. With that sexual hazy-filled look he threw her way, her need for him stirred once more. Lacy found herself wishing, not for the first time, that they were alone when he looked at her that way.

  She broke their eye contact, using the slight reprieve to strengthen her resolve, and made her way to the table. Dante rose, helped her remove her coat, and draped it over the back of her seat. He pulled out her chair and hovered over her till she sat. Then he pushed the chair in and took his seat.

  The short table allowed their knees to touch. Even through clothing, Lacy could feel the heat of his skin blaring down on her. Her pussy softened at the fire they radiated off of each other.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, desire filling her voice.

  Dante’s all-too-knowing eyes assessed her. She supposed the fact that he was detective ingrained these characteristics in him, making him react this way. She fought the strong urge to look under the table, to see if his cock pressed against his pants demonstrating his arousal.

  “How was your day at work?”

  Lacy took the offered conversation, hoping to use it to calm her sexual nervousness. “Fine. I still haven’t found out anything new about the funds. How was your day?”

  “Same old. Chase the bad guys, throw them in jail.” He smirked.

  She looked more beautiful now than the first time he’d seen her, Dante thought. Her shoulders were squared back, and there was an unusual determined gleam to her eye. He’d suffered a severe case of blue balls since the first time he’d seen her, not being able to fuck her like he wanted to. She wouldn’t be just another lay for him.

  Dante was hell bent on getting to know what made the feisty beauty tick. He paused in his thoughts as the waiter came by.

  “Would you care for something to drink before your meal?”

  “Bring a bottle of Merlot, please. I hope you don’t mind, Lacy. I took the liberty of ordering dinner for us both. If that’s okay?” His gaze never left her once. He handled the waiter and kept that all-too-knowing gaze on her at the same time.

  Lacy shrugged. “That’s fine.”

  He supposed he should have expected this, but he couldn’t help the surprised growl that released from his lips at the feel of her hand on his knee. Lacy pushed her chair forward, the wood scraping against the tiled floor. He knew she wanted to get closer, and he had no intentions of stopping her. He wanted to know how far she was willing to take this in a public place.

  Even through the fabric of his pants, he could feel the heat of her palm on his skin. He tried to swallow, but his throat closed up as the lust in him rose to a dangerous, feral point. Her hand continued to crawl up, until they reached their destination.

  Lacy pressed her palm against his jean-covered cock, touching the size and width of him. He was so thick and long, and she half gripped him though his pants. He growled and moved forward, shoving his cock into her hand.

  The waiter arrived, extending his hand to lay the food filled plates in front of them. “Here are your meals.”

  She silently cursed, forced to remove her hand as the waiter f
illed their wine glasses and awaited her taste for approval.

  Lacy sipped, the light flavor bursting in her mouth. “It’s wonderful.”

  Dante nodded, and the waiter departed. “Lacy, let’s eat. Then we need to talk.”

  She couldn’t have imagined that hard cock gripped in her hand. He was attracted to her—there was no question about it. Perplexed as she was, Lacy shoved the thought aside and proceeded to devour her meal. The next ten minutes were spent eating quietly. The sound of a cell phone ringing had her instinctively reaching for hers, only to find out it was Dante’s.

  “Detective DeLuca.”

  Seconds ticked by as Lacy noticed his brows pinching forward in concentration, and his lips turned into a grim line.

  “Is the perimeter secure? I’ll be right there.”

  Lacy already knew the phone call had to do with his job. Since she’d started dating him, she’d known he was a detective. It meant she had to make allowances for his work. It didn’t bother her; he was good at what he did.

  She was just annoyed that he was departing without having the air cleared between them.

  “I have to go. Duty calls. Did you drive in or take a cab?”

  “I have my car.”

  “Good. Stay and enjoy the food. Don’t worry about the meal, I’ll take care of it. I’ll call you, Lacy.”

  With a sigh, she watched him depart from her. Another night without satisfaction from the only man that managed to press her hot buttons.

  Chapter Two

  All Hallows Eve

  The silence in the room didn’t help her concentrate. Lacy stared at the files in front of her, then at the ceiling, silently venting her frustration. She’d been hired by Gold Fuel & Oil for a single purpose. To find the person embezzling money from their accounts.

  Sheik Benjamin Raja had given her unlimited access to his company. It had taken one month of going over the files, but she finally saw a hint of where the error may have occurred. She wasn’t positive yet.

  Nothing could be proven until she did some more investigating, but it looked like someone had added one million dollars to an offshore account. Her unrelenting search through the computer showed no results for a client by the name of Hamaz Fuel based in Switzerland, which led her to believe a dummy account had been set up as a temporary place to hide the money.

  She fired off an email to her brother who worked for the CIA as a secret agent.

  macagent@cia.com:

  Hey Mac. I need your help on a case I’m working on.

  Find out who owns an offshore account by the name of Hamaz Fuel. The

  accounts origins are from Switzerland. Get back to me as soon as possible.

  Love you, Lacy.

  She’d thought this case would be a piece of cake, until she sat down with CEO Sheik Benjamin Raja, and got all of the details. Someone was stealing his money right from under his nose, and in a corporate empire of one thousand employees, it was not an easy thing to figure out who was doing it.

  Ever since high school, Lacy had a fascination for the complexity of numbers. She’d studied criminal law, a different route than her one true desire. She’d combined the two and now worked in finding the holes in complex financial companies, and sometimes doing surveillance on suspects. She always worked freelance, and never took two assignments at one time.

  The mantel clock in her office struck midnight. She should be at home, burrowing under her soft silky sheets. Better yet, she should be at home with Dante having hot, passionate, wild sex. Yeah right!

  Dante was a complete mystery to her. The night before still played itself out in her mind. They had been out on several dates, five to be exact, and he still had yet to make the first move. She took the reins last night and initiated the first precious contact, frustrated at him for waiting. Her palms still burned at the remembered grip she had on his cock.

  Lacy refused to be seen as too eager for any man, but threw that caution to the wind yesterday. Now she sat contemplating what had gone wrong.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy his company. The conversation was wonderful. They laughed, joked around, and talked about everything from work to family. They clicked on several levels, and Lacy found that uniquely refreshing. But it was past time to take it to the next step. The passion between them was obvious, and last night had only reaffirmed it. Lying dormant beneath the quiet conversation, she could feel the sparks between them, that cherished unique sexual attraction so rare between two people. She had only to think of him and her clit began to throb in need for him.

  She noticed that he’d made it a point to never be alone with her, and each time she thought about it she got ticked off. All of their dates had been in public, surrounded by people who ensured them no privacy. She’d never been out with a man who refused to make the first move. It had become a complicated part in there relationship, and she was intent on finding out why.

  Lacy smiled as she remembered how Dante had approached her on the street, asking her out without even knowing her name. It wasn’t a weird thing to do in New York, but as many times as she had been asked out by strangers, this was the first time she’d said yes.

  Something about the way he’d carried himself, all male and arrogance lured her like a bear to honey.

  His black shoulder length hair the color of midnight made her fingers itch with the need to run her fingers through it. His startling sea-blue eyes were vibrant, and the first time he’d turned those babies on her, she was hooked. For her it was instant sexual attraction, and it was only a plus that she’d gotten to know him so well. Dante had a habit of throwing her seductive looks that would set her pussy to throbbing with the need for him. She needed him desperately, and the cat and mouse game they played frustrated her.

  Lacy sighed and tried to refocus on the numbers on her screen. Her vision was clouding up along the edges. She closed her eyes and tightened them. A migraine was coming on. Too much stress, and no sex to relieve it.

  She inserted the floppy disk into the hard drive and downloaded her latest report. Then she picked up the phone and dialed Benjamin’s number. She blew out a breath in aggravation at the sound of the mechanical greeting.

  “Benjamin, this is Lacy. I want to meet with you as soon as possible. I’ve found a discrepancy in one of your accounts. Call me when you get this message.”

  Lacy hung up, grabbed her jacket, and slipped it on. She shut off her computer and put the disk in the inner pocket of her jacket. Her office was on the third floor of a five-story building. A small building in comparison to the huge monstrosities that inhabited Manhattan.

  After shutting the door to her office, she took the elevator to the first floor, and walked the six blocks to her apartment.

  The frigid night air only added to the crazed atmosphere on Halloween night. She had to push her way through the throng of people at the Halloween parade. It was just her luck; the apartment she rented was situated right in the village.

  In a busy city like New York, Lacy had initially thought the rent was a good price. Now she knew why the one bedroom sold for cheap in a city where high rent was normal. The village was a place to party, where everyone could come to drink and dance all night, and that meant no sleep for its inhabitants.

  She clutched her purse tightly to her coat and pushed herself against the herd of costumed revelers in her path. A strong arm suddenly clasped her waist from behind then pulled her back against a hard body.

  Lacy’s body went rigid and on alert, ready to fight if need be.

  “Hey babe, want to spend the night?”

  She twisted her body and looked up at the fool who dared to touch her, a drunk black masked Zorro. Yep, the city was surrounded by fools tonight.

  Lacy put every ounce of strength she had into her leg, and kneed Zorro right in the balls. “No, but thanks for the invitation.”

  Zorro clutched his groin and fell to the ground. Men! They just didn’t get it, and she refused to take the time to explain it to them. Lacy sighe
d and turned, strengthening her resolve to get home.

  The darkness didn’t help the situation, nor did it stop the people from partying the night away. The streets were poorly lit with only one lamppost per corner. People danced and celebrated in the streets, some obviously drunk, others knocking on houses and apartments trick or treating.

  Beer cans and empty liquor bottles already littered the sidewalks. The front of her apartment building didn’t look any better than the street. Rows of people sat on the steps laughing. Lacy looked at the empty liquor bottles in distaste. She doubted the partiers would be cleaning up before they went home.

  Lacy walked up the steps to her home and dug her key out of her bag. Not surprisingly, the door to enter the building was open. She touched the broken lock. Too many crimes were committed because of poor security. She needed to have a talk with the superintendent about installing a new lock. He was probably asleep, so it would have to wait until tomorrow.

  She climbed the steps to her second floor apartment and inserted the key to unlock the door. With a turn of her wrist, the door unlocked, and she stepped inside the foyer. She flipped the switch to turn on the overhead lights. After closing the door, she dropped the key into her bag and was about to put it down on the hallway table, when something in her peripheral vision caught her attention.

  Nothing prepared her for the shock and fear that ran through her body at the sight of a masked man standing in her hallway, holding a gun aimed at her stomach.

  She slowly raised her hand to the doorknob. The masked man’s gaze flew to her arm.

  “Don’t fucking make a move.”

  “What do you want?”

  “What I want doesn’t matter. What I’m going to do does. You should never have taken the job at Gold Fuel & Oil.”

  “Who are you?” This was the first time she’d ever had to deal with someone wanting to harm her. Her anger threatening to burst at the thought of some punk daring to enter her home. The nervousness was there, though, along with the thought that she wouldn’t get out alive.