Not trusting her voice, she just nodded. The fingers gripping her hips moved forward until he was able to pinch her clit at the same time the other hand tweaked her nipples with a hard tug.
Suddenly the tight coils sprung loose and she felt electric jolts firing from her core outward, sending tingling to her extremities. As waves of pleasure washed over her, she heard him shout out a long groaning “fuuuuuuck” as he emptied himself inside, pumping until he was still.
Luke’s heartbeat pounded in an erratic pattern as sweat poured from him. His fingers eased their rough grip and gently smoothed over the skin of her breasts and hips. Concern flew over him as he leaned around to peer into her face. “Are you okay? Was that too rough?”
Her languorous smile greeted his worried face. “Mmmm,” was her response. He plopped his head back on the pillow behind her allowing his heartbeat to steady and his thoughts to wander.
After the karate practice ending so passionately the day before, there had been no question about which bed she would sleep in. As she had come out of the bathroom in one of his t-shirts, her eyes had hesitantly sought his. His grin had met her as he reached out his hand and jerked the covers back, beckoning her to join him.
Now, in the afterglow of their morning coupling, he rubbed circles on her shoulder while planning the day. “We need to go to Jack’s today to work,” he said hesitantly, wondering about her response.
Charlie twisted up to look into his eyes. “How do you feel about that? Do you think Jack will start trusting me?”
Sighing, Luke admitted, “For me? It’s good. It’s not like you’re new to this or to what we’ve worked on some. Jack? I don’t know. But don’t take his non-trust personally. He vetted each of us before we even interviewed with him.” Shifting his body so that he faced her, he continued, “I’m gonna admit that he was probably vetting you yesterday.”
Without blinking, she smiled slightly. “I expected as much. I know how important trust is.” Glancing down at their bodies, still tangled and flushed with sweat, she said, “You hit the shower first while I make coffee.”
Pulling her forward, he kissed her, first gently and then with passion overtaking. “Um mm,” he moaned. “Let me take care of this condom and we’ll both take a shower and then the coffee.”
Grinning under the onslaught of his mouth on hers, she agreed.
*
Hours later, Luke looked over as Charlie sat at a small desk next to his bank of computers in the Saints’ compound. “You get anything?” he asked.
Shaking her head in frustration, she said, “No. I only know someone named Jun was the original client of Eli’s and his encryption was such that I can’t figure it out. How can we know who might be doing what Eli thought?” She turned to face him, her mouth turned down into a frown. “Luke, how can we even be sure that he was on the right trail?”
He lifted his hand to rub her shoulder and said, “We don’t. But he was on to something that got him killed and it is too much of a coincidence that it happened after talking to someone at the FBI.”
“Do you really think that his killer was someone from the FBI?”
He turned his chair so that she was directly in front of him, capturing her knees between his. Taking her cold fingers in his hands, he said, “I don’t know. But this is how we investigate, Charlie. One step at a time, following a trail until we discover what we’re looking for.”
They looked up suddenly as Monty walked into the room, his eyes darting between them. It was not lost on Luke that Charlie was the first outsider allowed into the compound work area other than Mitch Evans, their former FBI contact.
“’Morning,” Monty greeted before stepping over to his tablet as the other Saints filtered in. “Charlie, I’ve got several photographs of some women that I’d like you to look at to see if they are possibilities for Eli’s murderer.” He shifted his gaze to Luke’s in question.
Luke met Monty’s gaze with a tight-lipped grimace, but knew it needed to happen. With a short nod, he stood and walked Charlie over to the table to sit with the other Saints.
She clutched his hand tightly, fingers laced, steadying her breath. Once settled with Luke plastered to her side, she nodded and Monty began his presentation.
First he flashed different types of FBI badges on the screen to see if she could identify any of them. By process of elimination, she was able to dismiss some of them but was unable to discern the exact badge.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, she pursed her lips, as Monty said, “Okay, next I have several pictures of Asian women. Some in uniforms of various kinds, some in plain clothes, and some in outfits similar to what you saw.”
Luke felt his fingers loose circulation as Charlie gripped his hand tighter. “Relax, sweetie,” he whispered, immediately feeling her fingers loosen. “Take your time and focus on eliminating who you can instead of trying to pick out the exact person right now.”
Nodding, she sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, aware of the stares from the other Saints. Monty began the slide show and she quickly realized she was going to be able to dismiss some possibilities.
“No, not her,” she said, looking at a thin, pinched face woman who was much older than Eli’s murderer. “No,” she said again, as a round-cheeked woman appeared. She quickly got into the rhythm of giving a “yes” or “no” answer to each picture.
Pleased with her progress, Jack commented, “You’re doing good, Charlie. It may not seem like it, but you are definitely identifying a body and face type and you’re consistent.”
“You’re also consistent with the description you gave to Faith,” Bart noted, with an encouraging smile.
Monty had specifically held back a photograph of Lin Wang, wanting to see if Charlie was narrowing down the search to someone similar to the FBI agent. “Ready?”
Nodding, they began the next round of pictures, this time the women were much more similar. Charlie’s responses became slower and slower as she gave close attention to each one. Several more she was able to eliminate, but there were still several on her possibility list. When the photograph of Lin Wang was flashed up on the screen, Charlie hesitated, her head cocked to the side, unaware of the others in the room holding their breaths.
She squinted, sucking in her lips, as her eyes devoured the features of the pretty Asian woman wearing a dark jacket over a white blouse. Finally turning her anguished face to Luke, she said, “It could be. I can’t be sure. I can’t mess up someone’s life if I’m not completely sure.”
Luke wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. Tucking her head under his chin, he caught the silent communication from Jack and, after a moment, when she pushed away, he stood. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs for a while and we’re going to keep working.”
Looking over at Jack, she said, “Thank you for allowing me to assist…down here. I know you probably don’t trust me—”
“Charlie, if I didn’t trust you,” Jack stated, holding her attention, “you wouldn’t be down here.”
She pondered his words for a moment, realizing it was a compliment. Nodding toward him, she said, “Thank you. I want to help any way I can.”
“I’m not dismissing you,” Jack said, noting with a smile, Luke’s possessive arm around her. “I want you to keep looking at pictures upstairs while we discuss a few other cases as well as the one you’re assisting with.”
Nodding, she smiled before allowing Luke to lead her up the stairs to the large living room she had been ensconced in previously.
“Make notes on any who seem like possibilities,” Luke instructed. “I’ll be back up when we’re finished.”
Charlie watched him walk away before beginning the task of staring numbly at photograph after photograph.
As Luke rejoined the group downstairs, Monty had him set up the secure video-conference with Lin Wang. Jack glanced at Luke. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I know it’s not the right time for Charlie to see Lin in a live conference now. Especially if
she might recognize her voice. We don’t want to give Charlie away.”
In a few minutes, Lin’s unsmiling face appeared on their screen. “Gentlemen,” she greeted harshly. “I’m not used to secure conferences where I cannot see the whole group.”
“For our own security purposes, you will be able to see only me,” Monty explained.
Barking out a rude snort, Lin said, “And the security of the Bureau is less important?”
Not willing to begin a debate, Monty moved on to the information that they needed. “Ms. Wang, we have not been provided a copy of the initial consultation notes with Eli. Can you tell us when that came in?”
A crease knit her brow as she replied, “I thought you had been given everything you needed.” She looked down at her papers and answered his questions.
Several points were looked at and the Saints noted that she replied to each one succinctly and without hesitation.
Glancing down at her watch, Lin said, “Gentlemen, if that’s all, then I have another meeting to attend.”
“Just one more thing,” Monty said. “Can you tell us which agent first spoke to Eli? Which agent was his point of contact?”
Looking surprised for a second, she stared straight into the video camera and replied, “Yes. That was me. I was his contact.”
Disconnecting the video-conference, Luke looked around the table. “Fuckin’ hell,” he said, gaining nods from the others.
“So, Lin Wang was Eli’s first contact. She was the one who set up the meeting. She would have known where he lived and the exact time of the meeting,” Monty agreed.
“And knowing Eli like we now do,” Jude added, “she would have known he would be at home waiting since he rarely went out.”
“What could her motive be? It would only make sense if she were part of the medical scheme Eli told Charlie about,” Cam said. “I talked to Miriam last night and asked her about organ transplants. She never worked in that area of medicine, but said that there are databases for who needs organs. And she said that once an organ is taken from a body, there’s only so many hours before it must be transplanted or it’s no good.”
Luke, back at his computers, twisted around in his chair to face the others. “One of the largest groups that deal in illegally harvested human organs is the Chinese mafia.”
Those words hung over the group, each Saint considering the possibilities.
“Is there any way to see where their ties are in the US?” Jack asked, his gaze moving between Monty and Luke.
“I can begin searching,” Luke said. “It’ll be general, at first, and then I’ll see what I can determine is in the DC and Baltimore area.”
“Just because Eli lived in Baltimore doesn’t mean the hit was local,” Blaise surmised. “Could have come from anywhere.”
The eyes of the group landed back on Monty, who was rubbing his hand over his face. “Okay, look, I know what you’re thinking. We need a contact in the Bureau and can’t use Lin Wang right now. Not as long as she is possibly involved. I’ve got some former friends still there, but they are going to be very reticent to work against a fellow agent.”
“So don’t tell them right away,” Bart said. “Problem solved.”
Luke looked over at Monty, knowing that of all the Saints, Monty was the most by-the-book. “Man, I know you hate this, but if we can get any inside info at all, it will help my search. But I promise to start digging immediately.”
Jack sat quietly for a moment, pondering the situation. Finally he shifted his gaze around the table landing on Luke. “I’ve been vetting Charlie. You know that. So far, she’s as clean as they come. She’s already involved, so does anyone have an objection if she begins working with Luke…for us?”
The other Saints were quiet for a moment until finally Cam spoke up. “Boss, you never wanted to involve our women before.” He nodded over to Bart and said, “Even when Faith could assist.”
“Faith has continued to help, but in a very limited capacity,” Jack agreed. “We have no need for an involved police artist but, depending on what Luke says, we could use another skilled computer analyst.” He pinned the others with his stare before adding, “The final decision will be mine, but I want to know everyone’s thoughts.”
Marc shifted uncomfortably before responding, “I’ve never objected using whoever could assist us in a case, but does this put her in more danger? I want to know what Luke thinks. It’s his woman, after all.”
Jerking his eyes to his friend, he sat silent. My woman. That sounds so caveman…and yet… “Charlie is already involved.” Sighing heavily, he added, “About as involved as she can get. She’s a witness to a murder and is the only one who could positively identify that person. She’s got Eli’s information and past experience with working on whatever he discovered. I hate like hell to put her at risk, but if she’s working with us then we can protect her more easily.” Twirling his pen in his hand he added, “She’s smart. Tenacious. Driven.” With a final nod, he said, “I’m good with it.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Bart and Jude said simultaneously, with the others nodding in agreement.
“All right, Luke, call her back down,” Jack said. “You two get to work on the Chinese mafia link and finding someone named Jun in the medical field, and Monty, dig more into Lin Wang.”
Chapter 15
As the moon moved across the night sky, Charlie lay nestled in the warmth of Luke’s embrace. She was amazed at how quickly he fell asleep after they made love. But sleep was elusive for her as her mind played over and over the information they uncovered earlier in the day.
Having always worked on computer coding, she was unused to the elements of a criminal investigation that would haunt her dreams. Dreams…if only. I can’t even sleep enough to have my dreams haunted!
The pictures she had looked at during the afternoon were burned into her brain. Since 2006, the Chinese government had been under investigation for using prisoners as unwilling organ donors. A human rights lawyer, who had since been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize, was a central figure in uncovering the horrors. And it’s a billion dollar a year industry!
Knowing sleep was not coming she slid quietly from Luke’s arms and padded barefoot down the hall to the kitchen. She searched but knew that he would not have any herbal tea in his kitchen. No problem…wine will do. Grabbing a bottle, she poured a large glass, taking a sip of the excellent vintage, before slamming down a large swallow.
She looked at her laptop still sitting on the table and wavered in her desire to open it up again. Deciding she had had enough for one day, she moved to the living room, settling on the sofa.
Has it only been a few days since I broke into Luke’s house? As she admired the room, illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window behind her, she felt oddly at home. Taking another large sip of the wine, she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
“Hey,” Luke’s sleepy voice came from the living room entrance and she turned her head toward the sound.
He stepped into the room, his eyes never wavering from the beauty basking in the moonlight on his sofa. Her long hair was flowing across her shoulders. Her legs were tucked up under her body in a way he recognized as her comfortable position. Her eyes had been closed peacefully but he was already able to recognize the tension in her face. “Can’t sleep?”
“How do you do this?” she asked.
Cocking his head to the side, he strode over, so close she had to lean back to keep her eyes on him. Sitting down on the coffee table facing her so that she would be more comfortable, he asked, “Do what?”
“Deal with the things you find out.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, her anguish written clearly on her face, he leaned forward and took the half-empty wine glass from her hands and set it down on the end table. Taking her cold fingers in his hands, he massaged them gently.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I’ve been investigating a long time. I suppose, somewh
ere along the way, I became a bit immune.”
“What did you do before the Saints?” she asked. “You know almost everything there is to know about me and I hardly know you at all.”
Giving her a little tug forward, he kissed her softly. “Oh, I think you know me pretty well after the last couple of days.”
Rolling her eyes at him as he moved back, she said, “Such a typical man. Just because we’ve had sex doesn’t mean I know you.” Huffing, she leaned back and said, “Tell me. Tell me who Luke Costas is.” She watched the hesitation on his face and said, “Please. I really want to know.”
Dropping his chin to his chest, he pondered her request before lifting his head back to hold her gaze. “Okay,” he agreed, but nodded to her wine glass. “Give me a minute ’cause I think I’ll join you in that.”
She smiled as he walked into the kitchen to pour a glass of wine for himself. Admiring the way his draw-string pajama bottoms hung on his tight ass, she was startled as he headed back to her, his naked chest and abs creating just as stunning a view.
Lifting an eyebrow, he said, “What on earth are you thinking?”
“Just admiring the view,” she said with a grin. Patting the sofa next to her, she offered the silent invitation to join her.
After an appreciative sip of the wine, he said, “I don’t think there’s much to tell, to be honest. My parents were scholars. Loving, but a bit absent-minded. I was the typical nerd boy, picked on in school until I finally hit a growth spurt in middle school, and that helped.”
“Helped?” she queried.
“It’s hard…for a boy,” Luke explained. “If you’re big, you have a better chance of being more popular…or at least not being picked on. But if you’re not, and especially if you are different in any way, then you’re much more likely to be bullied.”
Her heart automatically ached for the bullied child he had been, understanding in her eyes. “What happened?”
“I was lucky. We had these great neighbors—he’s the one I told you taught me about karate. With his help, I learned to defend myself and work out. With my pre-adolescent growth spurt, I was more confident.”
Discover Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 12