Deadly Rumors

by Cheris Hodges

  “Keeping this woman alive is starting to get on my nerves,” Smallwood said. “I’ll send someone over with the car.”

  “Thanks, but keep in mind, this was your idea. What happened in Los Angeles after Wendy found the girl?”

  “The girl was dead. One of Singletary’s henchmen must have gotten to her when they found out she was talking to us.”

  “Damn.”

  “While you’re taking Harrington on this wild-goose chase, see if you can find out how she got her information about Singletary’s operation and what she didn’t tell us after we arrested Natalie. If she knows something that we don’t, we might need that information to see if we can crack this case and neutralize the threat against her.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Give me an update once you two arrive in New Mexico. Chief is not happy about the expense.”

  “I’m sure she isn’t,” Carver said. “But we have to get Singletary by any means.”

  “That’s right. So, I’m working every angle to make sure it happens.”

  After hanging up, Carver hopped in the shower. While the water beat down on him, he thought about seeing Zoe in a few hours. His need for this woman was off the charts and he knew she felt the same way, but acting on those feelings would be a huge mistake with so much on the line.

  “Just business,” he told himself as he dried his chest. If Carver knew one thing, he knew losing sight of the mission would put everyone in danger. From his days in Marine intelligence and working on the terrorism task force in Iraq, he was well aware of how emotions and danger didn’t mix.

  That’s how he lost Monica Curry, a fellow Marine and his ex-fiancée. After an argument, she’d stormed out of the command center and walked into the very ambush they’d been looking to prevent.

  Carver shook the painful memory and forced himself to think about the task at hand—saving Zoe.

  * * *

  The property was quiet and none of the other businesses had opened when he passed through the parking lot. He hated that her door faced the street and that there were cameras on the light poles facing the door. Doing anything at her office would be documented. Unless, he thought, I can get inside the businesses across the street and disable the surveillance. Those cameras weren’t put there by the city. Just need fifteen minutes to rig the door and get out of here.

  He was about to pull into the parking lot of the building when he noticed a black sedan coming his way. That was the kind of car that some sort of law enforcement agent might be driving, he thought as he headed down the street. The last thing he needed was to get caught before his plan was put in motion. One thing he knew for sure, when that building went up in flames with that bitch Zoe Harrington inside, he was going to have a front row seat. Parking across the street, he watched the black sedan park and a man get out of the car. He couldn’t tell if the man was a police officer or some other law enforcement agent. Maybe he was one of the people whose lives Zoe had ruined. Hell, getting rid of Zoe would probably make a lot of people in New York happy. Maybe he’d even get his life back.

  Watching the man roam the property, he wrote him off as some kind of city inspector. He didn’t see a gun or a badge, so he knew he wasn’t NYPD. Those guys always showed a gun and shield, especially these days. Glancing at his watch, he knew she’d be here soon, and he couldn’t let her see him. Not until it was too late. Today wasn’t the day. But soon, the bitch would get everything that she deserved.

  * * *

  Zoe pulled up to her office and wasn’t surprised to see Carver was already there. Easing out of the car, she crossed over to him. “Where’s the coffee and bagels? Or at least a few glazed doughnuts.”

  “You look like you don’t let those things touch your lips,” he quipped. “And I’m not a cop—I prefer apple fritters.”

  Zoe gasped. How could he possibly know that was her sugary weakness? “That’s a stereotype,” she replied. “I didn’t eat doughnuts during my tenure with NYPD.”

  “Only because you weren’t there long enough,” he said as they walked to the front door. Zoe unlocked her office, then punched in the code to her alarm system.

  “I was thinking about the case this morning, and I realized that I have very little information to work with,” she said as she flipped the lights on.

  “I know that’s my fault.” He handed her the folder he had concealed under his arm. “Here’s the FBI file on Dolan’s disappearance and the Bayou Serial Killer. Keep in mind that this is classified information and it’s not to be shared.”

  “What do you think I’m going to do? Run to New York One with the story?” she snapped. “Didn’t you come to me? If you don’t trust me, then why are you here?”

  “Calm down. I know I came to you. Zoe, there may be some things in this case file that offend you, and I know you’re known to fly off the handle.”

  She rolled her eyes as she took the folder from his outstretched hand. Sitting down, Zoe flipped through the file. Carver was right. She was offended about how the FBI had handled the case of the missing black girl.

  “So, if Jessica had been the last girl this creep killed, you-all wouldn’t have found her DNA or anything. Typical.”

  Carver cleared his throat. “There is no justification for how things were handled, and that’s why we want to—”

  “Make things right?” Zoe looked up at Carver’s face. The man was so hard to read. “Do you feel guilty about what happened? Is that why you’re here?”

  “I did my job and followed the evidence. I’m here because the Bureau is trying to give the family closure.” As much as he wanted to pretend he wasn’t affected by reopening this case, he considered never finding Jessica another professional failure.

  Zoe grunted and leaned back in her chair. “Will I be able to talk to the Dolan family?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? I want to get to know who Jessica was, why she was in Santa Fe, and what was the last thing she and her parents talked about.”

  “What difference does that make?” Carver asked as he furrowed his eyebrows.

  “That’s how I work, and if you don’t like how I do things, then we can end this right now.”

  “Zoe, I don’t want to go to the Dolans until we have some real news to give them about their daughter. How cruel would it be to give them false hope when we don’t know if we’re going to find anything.”

  Zoe didn’t want to admit it, but Carver had a point. Going to the family to ask them questions about their child, without any answers as to why they had reopened the investigation, would bring up sad memories. “Fine,” she said, finally. “We don’t have to go to the family. But let me ask you this: Did you-all ever interview the parents?”

  “Not on video,” he said. “I can see if there are some transcripts from the interviews available.”

  “Would’ve been great had you brought all of this with you. Didn’t you think it would be important?”

  Carver folded his arms across his chest. “Keep one thing in mind—you’re still a civilian. We’re not going to open up everything to you. I have to get clearance to bring reports to you.”

  Zoe sucked her teeth. “Why all the bullshit when you-all sought me out?”

  “I’ll tell you what, when I become the FBI director, I’ll open all of the files to the public.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t work like this.”

  “Can you humor me?”

  “Fine,” she said. “But if you plan on handcuffing me from doing my investigation, I will quit.”

  “I won’t handcuff you unless you ask me to.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him as heat rose to her cheeks. Why did every conversation with this man turn sexual? Exhaling, she rose to her feet. “Well, I guess we’d better head for the airport.”

  “Do you need to stop by your place and pick up anything?” he asked.

  Zoe crossed over to a closet in the corner of her office. She quickly filled a bag with the essentials: toothbrush, too
thpaste, underwear, and her PI license. “Think I should pack my gun?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Aww, no.”

  “You’re right, I don’t want to check a bag,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  “Are you licensed in all fifty states?” he asked.

  “Will my answer be held against me in the future?”

  He shook his head.

  “No,” Zoe said. “But I carry in all states, because you never know when death will be coming around the corner. All of my guns were legally purchased in the state of New York, though. You can put that in your notes.”

  “I thought you only took safe cases,” he said.

  “And you said it yourself, husbands don’t like to lose money. I didn’t always spy on the unfaithful.”

  “Why did you become a PI?” he asked as they got into the car.

  “It’s not in the file you and the FBI have on me?”

  “There is no file on you at the Bureau,” he said with a laugh. “Why would you think that we would?”

  “Carver, you were very rude to me during the investigation into the Harlem Madam—after everything else that you’d done to me.”

  “Here we go.”

  “It’s the elephant in the car, and the sooner we get it out of the way, the more effective I’ll be in helping you with this case. You used me.”

  “We had sex and we enjoyed it. You didn’t tell me that you were looking into Alejandro Campos for his future ex-wife. National security was at stake.”

  “Always on the job, aren’t you? I bet you have a family tucked away in Idaho.”

  Carver tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “What was your endgame, Zoe? You wanted dirt on that man. What if I had been his real bodyguard? Would your legs have spread so easily?”

  “Let’s put this to rest for the last time,” Zoe began. “Because you seem to forget that I told you why I was at that party and that I was looking for access to Campos’s financial records. You played the he doesn’t pay me enough bodyguard and said you’d help. So, what part of the game was dancing with me and plying me with alcohol?”

  “You like rewriting history, because you were the one giving me drink after drink,” he said with a chuckle. “Walk away, put a little switch in your hips, then come back with two glasses of champagne.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes, clearly recalling that night Carver started the car and peeled out of the parking lot.

  Sophia Campos had given her a memory stick and the blueprint to Alejandro’s house. The computer room was in the basement, but getting there wasn’t going to be easy. He had three bodyguards and a security detail that roamed the house like the Secret Service. Zoe had been lucky to get in, but a tight dress and a push-up bra was always a good ticket.

  Looking around the room, she caught the eye of what seemed to be Campos’s right-hand man. Everywhere Campos went, that sexy brown-skinned man with the sparkling eyes was at his side.

  What is this guy? A mob boss? What in the hell have I gotten myself into? Zoe thought as she locked eyes with the bodyguard. Walking toward the kitchen, Zoe figured that she could slip down the back stairs she’d seen on the blueprints and get what she needed. The longer she stayed at the party, the more danger she felt she was putting herself in. Just as she was about to enter the kitchen, she felt a hand on her elbow.

  “Excuse me, miss,” a deep voice said. “What are you doing?”

  Turning around, she saw him standing there with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Was looking for some more of those amazing canapés. You know, the ones with the, umm, cheese.”

  “Then why don’t you find a waiter? And I haven’t had a canapé all night. Who are you?”

  “I don’t want any trouble,” she said.

  “You’ve found it. If I were you, I’d leave, right now.”

  “But you’re not me and I have a job to do.”

  He raised his right eyebrow and Zoe knew she was about to be tied up and thrown in the trunk of a car. Then Campos walked over.

  “X, everything good over here?” he asked as he gave Zoe a slow once-over.

  “Yes, sir. I was talking to the young lady about the food. She’s looking for something with cheese.”

  Campos placed his hand on X’s shoulder. “Show the lady a good time.” He nodded toward two women who Zoe assumed were his whores for the night. “I’m about to do the same thing, so you are officially off duty.”

  “All right, boss,” he said, then turned his attention to Zoe.

  “You don’t seem real loyal,” she said when Campos was out of earshot. “I thought you were going to tell him that I was here doing a job.”

  “I’m underpaid. And tired.”

  “His wife feels the same way. I’m just here to help her. Let me do what I need to do and I’ll be out of your hair.”

  X wrapped his arm around Zoe’s waist and brought his lips to her ear. “If I allow you to roam around here doing whatever his wife asked you to do, we’re both going to be killed. Follow my lead and my directions, things will work out for both of us.”

  The heat from his breath sent tingles up and down her spine. And why did his hand feel as if it belonged on her body? “Why should I trust you?”

  “Because you don’t have another choice.” He kissed her on the cheek and Zoe started to elbow him in the stomach until she saw two men in black walk past them.

  “I’ll go get us some champagne,” she said, then sauntered away.

  Zoe fingered her hair, then shrugged. “I was simply following your lead. But you know what, get over it.”

  “I have. You’re the one who keeps going back to the best night of your life,” Carver said as he took the exit for the airport.

  “Harrumph, it wasn’t even in the top five,” she quipped.

  Chapter 5

  Zoe stood in the security line looking enviously at Carver as he flashed his FBI credentials and avoided the pat-down while she raised her arms above her head. This was the reason why clients had to fly her first class when she worked a case. TSA was the devil. Though the folks were doing their job to keep everyone safe, the pat-down always made her feel as if she’d been molested. For a while, Zoe even blamed Carver and the FBI every time she got stopped.

  “I told them I would’ve been happy to pat you down,” Carver said as they walked to their gate.

  “Shut up,” she said. “Once we get to New Mexico, we have to take a train to Santa Fe.”

  “All right,” he said. “That will give me some time to check my email.”

  Zoe gave him a quick glance but didn’t say anything. Carver caught her gaze and asked, “What?”

  Zoe stopped walking and adjusted her belt. “Carver, of all the contacts you have in the world of law enforcement, why did you come to me?”

  “Because you’re good at what you do and you’re a woman.”

  “Sexist much?”

  “You always have to take it there. Since you’re a woman, I figured you’d have some more insight into how Jessica may have been thinking.”

  “That’s such bull . . .”

  “And maybe I wanted to see you again, without the handcuffs and drama.”

  “You didn’t have to take on my brother,” she snapped. “You brought the drama on yourself.”

  “I was following the leads as they unfolded, and it looks like things worked out just fine for Zachary. He’s in North Carolina with a beautiful new wife who doesn’t run a sex ring,” Carver said with a grin. “Is it true what they say about twins?”

  “What do they say?”

  “That there’s some kind of cosmic connection. Does he know when you feel pain and vice versa? What would your brother think if he knew you were crazy in love with me?”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” she said. “He wouldn’t think anything because that is so not the case.”

  “Does he hold grudges like you do?”

  “If you’re asking if Zach still hates your guts, the answer is yes,” she quipped. “Your inve
stigation nearly ruined my family’s company and—”

  “For the last time, I was following the evidence and doing my job. How was I to know that he and Natalie weren’t the happy couple that she led me to believe they were? And I still find it difficult to believe that she was about to pimp those girls while Zach was totally in the dark.”

  “They weren’t even living together and they were divorced. How was he supposed to know that she married him just to get a list of high-end contacts that she could . . . I’m not doing this with you,” she said as she shook her head.

  “Let’s focus on the present and forget about the past. I wasn’t trying to take your family down and be malicious. I wanted to stop the trafficking of those girls, and Natalie was only the tip of the iceberg.”

  “And you thought my brother was the bottom?” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Zach was horrified by what that woman did.”

  “I know. And I’ m—”

  “We’re focusing on the present,” she said, cutting him off. Every time she thought about the investigation and how Zach had lost so much business, it made her angry. Not just at the FBI but at Natalie. How could a woman be cruel enough to trick girls into something as horrific as a sex ring? She wasn’t surprised when she found out that Natalie wasn’t working alone. She wasn’t smart enough to pull that off, just enough of a liar to trick naïve young women.

  “What are you thinking?” Carver asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  “Just . . . since we’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future, we might as well get to know each other better,” she said. “Any siblings?”

  “Nope, only child. My parents perfected childbirth and didn’t want to chance it again.”

  Zoe shook her head. “Your ego knows no bounds.”

  “Don’t have an ego at all. I’m just telling the truth.” Carver’s face grew serious. “My mom had a difficult pregnancy with me, so after I was born, the doctor told her having another baby might be fatal.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said wistfully. Zoe and Zach lost their mother in childbirth. She always wondered if her brother and father wouldn’t have been so overprotective if her mother had been around. “You’re close to your parents?”