by Serena Zane
A beam of light split the darkness of the street. Sharply turning her head, she caught movement when the front door to Finnegan’s opened. Lucy’s returned her attention to the job, and she pushed thoughts of Kevin into the back of her mind. Hard as she tried to focus, she found it difficult to forget the irritating man.
Lucy got her reward. Pushing against Kevin’s arm, she broke through his hold, and turned to face the street. She felt immediate relief as she moved away from him, and her nerve endings settled.
Lucy got her first glimpse of Chuck Conner as he stepped out onto the stoop. His cream suit was spotted with gray as he paused to snap up a black umbrella. A streetlamp in the corner made the cane he carried appear silver as it flashed in the light.
Conner made his way down the stoop’s steps and onto the sidewalk, his arrogance obvious as he strutted down the street. Lucy felt irritated at him and wondered why she had such a strong reaction. She hovered on the corner of the alley for a moment longer then launched into the street.
No time like the present, Lucy mused as she rapidly approached the mole. Now was as good a time to start as any. As she left Kevin behind, she focused on her mark. If Kevin hadn’t noticed her as a woman in all these years, he wouldn’t start now.
CHAPTER THREE
Kevin soon realized that Lucy had taken off across the street after a guy came out of the pub. If he didn’t miss his guess, the man was their informant. He doubts about her plan ran through his mind as she approached Conner.
Uneasy, Kevin hustled after her. “Honey, wait up. You know I don’t like to walk fast. What’s wrong with you?” He watched Lucy turn and stare at him incredulously. Kevin reached her right before she got to Conner. “I’m pleased you’re so eager to get back to the apartment. I’m chompin’ at the bit,” he drawled in his best Texan accent, and gave her a broad smile. Kevin thought he should have worn a Stetson and a pair of silver-tipped Ropers to complete his look. He caught Lucy by the elbow.
She jerked out of his grip when he tried to stop her.
“Sir? Excuse me, sir?” Lucy called loudly to get Conner’s attention. “Would you help me please? This obnoxious halfwit,” she explained, jerking her thumb at Kevin, and moved quickly to Conner’s side, “is making my night miserable and I can’t seem to find a taxi anywhere.” She put on her best helpless female face.
If he falls for that I’m going to be sick, Kevin moaned inwardly.
Conner turned, and Kevin could just imagine what ran through the man’s brain. Any guy with a set of eyes would take advantage of the situation. Lucy appeared to be a small gorgeous female. She looked something like a drenched rat—a really cute rat—with her long strawberry-blond hair hanging loose and wet as she tried to get out of Kevin’s grasp.
With her looks, Conner would be a goner in no time. Against his better judgment as Conner stepped forward, Kevin dropped his hand.
“If I may be of assistance, Miss, I would be glad to help.”
Lucy beamed at Conner and trustingly placed one of her tiny hands in his. Her other hand went over her heart. She offered Conner one of the prettiest grins Kevin had seen from her in a long time. If he didn’t know Lucy so well, he wouldn’t have any idea she’d faked it. Her big green eyes turned up to Conner and the man kissed her hand.
Impossible. Kevin suppressed a groan.
“Thank you sir. I need to get home, and my date here couldn’t understand I want to go home alone.”
Lucy shot Kevin a look even he couldn’t miss. Aware that he almost blew her cover, he understood her anger. But he’d be damned if he would let her go in alone.
“Do you live nearby so I can call a taxi, and get out of this rain?” She laughed and lightened the mood a bit. Lucy pulled at her wet clothing. “I’m soaked.”
The poor man probably couldn’t help himself. As Lucy smiled up at him, Conner grinned like a fool.
“Sure do.” Conner offered her the use of his umbrella. “My place is just a block down. If you would like to wait there for the cab, it would be fine.”
“Thank you. It beats waiting in the rain.” She moved to get under the umbrella with Conner and slid her arm through his. Lucy’s small form fit easily under the cover.
Kevin’s nerves went on edge. He moved to pull her away from the offending man. He really didn’t want her to go to Conner’s apartment. If this man really was the mole, then she’d put herself in danger.
“Now wait a minute here—”
They turned to move away, and ignored him as they headed down the street.
Kevin raised his voice to get their attention, “Me and the li’l lady’re doin’ fine on our own, thank you very much. I don’t rightly appreciate your interference.” He moved to stand in their way.
“I don’t believe the lady wants your date to continue.” Conner placed the umbrella in Lucy’s hand and took a step toward Kevin. Not a likely hero, Conner surprisingly intervened. Kevin knew he would defend her, but didn’t think Conner would. The man stepped forward again. “You’d best leave before you create a scene.”
“Is that what you want, honey?” Kevin looked at Lucy and made a face.
She placed a hand over her mouth as she suppressed a laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Kevin knew he got on her nerves, and decided to concede. She started to shake her head.
He interrupted, “We’re havin’ such a nice time together.”
“No, you had a nice time. I, on the other hand, just want to go home.” Lucy gave Kevin a look that she wanted him to leave and then turned a pleading glance on Conner.
“You heard the lady. Get a move on.” Conner waved his cane in the opposite direction. It took all Kevin’s willpower not to grab the cane out of Conner’s hand and shove it somewhere the man wouldn’t like.
“Don’t think I’ll forget this.” Kevin gave Lucy an admonishing glare. He turned to cross the street, and waited for a break in the traffic. Kevin would stay hidden behind the alley corner until they moved far enough away for him to follow without detection. He pulled up the collar of his trench coat and trudged across the street.
Kevin listened over the bug as Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and said to Conner, “Thank you. I’ve been trying to ditch that guy all night. Nothing seemed to work until you came along. That’s the last time I ever let Linda set me up.”
“No problem,” Conner laughed.
Kevin wanted to shove the umbrella down his throat.
The man continued, oblivious to the steaming jealousy running through Kevin’s veins. “Let’s get going. The rain’s coming down hard.” He pulled her under his arm and they started down the wet sidewalk. Rain splattered around them and their conversation was almost obscured by the sound of the drops falling on Conner’s umbrella.
Lucy pulled at her waterlogged coat. “Would you mind if I imposed on you for something hot to drink as well? I could really use it after all of this rain.” Lucy gave him her best bedroom eyes, and Kevin’s fists clenched as he listened to her work her magic.
Conner tugged at his shirt’s collar. “I’d love to get you a drink.”
Kevin surveyed the scene from the corner of the alley before he followed.
“Killroy, I can’t take much more of this,” Kevin growled into his headset. “She’s too personally involved and she’s going to slip up somewhere.” He pictured Lucy as she tried to rescue her brother from his kidnappers. He worried about her frequent bursts of impulsiveness, afraid she would do something rash.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Garrett,” Killroy said in a tone of authority over the earpiece, “but she’s the best agent we’ve got for this case. If anyone can find Chase, she can.” The director continued when Kevin didn’t answer. “Keep an eye on her. If she does anything too dangerous, step in. Until then, keep your distance. I mean it, Garrett. She’s not a rookie anymore. Trust her.”
“Easy for you to say—” Kevin’s eyes followed them as Lucy and Conner rounded the corner. When he couldn’t see her skirt a
nymore, he followed them. “She’s moving.” Kevin eased around the edge of the building. He slunk along at a discreet distance on the other side of the street, and in the shadows. He would be hard to spot dressed all in black from his baseball cap to his hiking boots. He never went unprepared. His skeptical gaze pierced the darkness as he followed his quarry.
His eyes tracked Lucy as she dashed through the glass door held open by the informant. As he waited for them to get inside, Kevin crossed the street, headed for the entrance. The building looked like so many others in New York: tall and impressive with a security lock on the front door. Having no idea which floor Conner would take Lucy to, he gave another muffled curse.
“Killroy, we’ve got a problem.” Kevin attempted to figure out the configuration of the lock. He bent over the device and studied the complicated layout. “I can’t get inside unless I disable the lock. It’s voice-activated with fallback to safety card access.”
“Not a problem Garrett. Wait outside. We’re listening to their conversation as we speak, thanks to that tiny little bug you placed on her hip.” Killroy paused, “She’ll never know there’s backup unless something goes wrong.”
“I’d still feel a lot better if I could get to her easily. I don’t like this.” He’d never be able to figure out the system. The code was too complex to do manually. Kevin’s mind started to turn to new ideas about how to get to Lucy when Killroy’s voice came over the headset again. He didn’t like to feel useless, and he wanted to be able to get to Lucy if she needed him. Broken glass in the door always worked.
“I’m well aware that you feel protective towards Montgomery.” Another pause as though Killroy contemplated what to say. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for losing her brother.”
Silence descended.
“And I need to move on, right?” Failure ate at the lining of his stomach. He knew that they’d taken Chase from his apartment and he couldn’t have done anything to prevent it, but it didn’t make him feel any better. Kevin couldn’t help thinking he should’ve been more aware of the situation.
Killroy purposefully put him on the case. Kevin felt unable to forgive himself when he let his guard down. “Thanks for the advice, but you’ve said it a thousand times.” He pulled his hat off, ran a hand through his hair, and took a calming breath. “What’s going on up there?” Kevin moved to tug his coat closer around him and slapped on his cap. Rain still poured down and he quickly became grateful for the awning over the skyscraper’s door. “Keep me updated, okay?”
“Sure. Don’t worry too much, Garrett. They haven’t even come through the front door yet.”
Kevin grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
Killroy chuckled on the other end of the line.
CHAPTER FOUR
Lucy followed Conner into his apartment, and then stood with an awed expression on her face pretending to be impressed. The room was elaborately decorated with oriental furnishings and she wanted to play to the man’s ego.
Lucy eyed the large obsidian cat on the mantel and gave a passing thought to the mini-cam she’d installed there earlier in the evening. She regretted the need to deface such a lovely statue. If things worked properly, the camera inside should record everything. The team would recover the tape later to determine if they could glean any information from it.
She turned to face Conner when he spoke, and made sure her smile lightened. He grinned back at her, reminding her of an overgrown weasel with blond hair and aquamarine eyes—attractive, yet somehow sneaky.
“Would you like tea, or something stronger?” Conner moved closer to her. “You seem to be having a rough night.” He reached to take her coat, and Lucy passed the soaked garment to him.
“I’ll take the ‘something stronger.’” She wandered over to the fireplace and positioned herself to look around. Lucy admired the exotic feel of the room and wished someone other than Conner stood across the space, placing her drenched garment over the railing to dry. The same someone who probably wore a path in front of the building at that very moment and Kevin wasn’t amiable to her as the lead agent.
Screw him.
Lucy sighed, and stretched. “This is a beautiful place.”
Conner looked up from his task, and leaned one hip against a chair.
“It’s hard to find apartments decorated with such taste. I hate to sit down and get your sofa all wet.” She gestured to the ivory suede couch that adorned a corner of the room. “Did a decorator do your place or does good taste come naturally?”
His smile broadened.
Lucy patted herself on the back. In her years with the Agency, Lucy had gone undercover seven times, and she’d found a hidden talent for acting. She smiled as she thought of her favorite assignment—an ER doctor. Conner’s voice faded into the background.
Assigned to find the people involved in contract killings of certain patients in the hospital, her team narrowed the field down to prescription fraud. The four men involved killed sixteen people before she’d found their trail. It proved a challenge to bring down people like them. Men like Conner who thought they could get away with anything. It wouldn’t be long before he paid for his choices.
They’d used the hospital system to filter drug “mishaps” through the pharmacies. Her team had overheard the pharmacy attendant as he talked with a nurse about someone being in the medical cabinets the night before. The attendant found an empty bottle of penicillin on the counter the next morning with a chart left there by one of the nurses, or so the young man believed.
Lucy had set up surveillance at the pharmacy like the one in the cat on the mantel. The digital recording caught one of the nurses involved. For a deal with the district attorney he’d squealed on his partners like a stuck pig. She’d loved her work in the ER and had learned a lot about the medical industry.
Her grin widened as she came out of her thoughts. She should have become an actress.
Conner didn’t pay any attention to her distant expression as he continued their conversation. He walked over to the wall opposite the fireplace and opened the liquor cabinet to pull out the brandy bottle.
After pouring her a snifter of the amber liquid, he answered her question. “Actually, I do employ a decorator. She defers to me when she’s being indecisive. I hate to be immodest,” he said, turning to her, and placing a hand over his heart, “but I’m afraid you’re right. Good taste is natural for me.”
He strode over to where she stood and handed her the snifter in his other hand with a flourish. “Please, take a seat.”
“I really shouldn’t. I’m soaked through.” Lucy once again pulled at her clothes. The damp cloth stuck to her body and outlined her curvaceous form.
Conner’s eyes traveled her lines as though she was a well-molded statue. His look said he wanted to reach out and touch her.
“You should get out of those clothes. Let me get you something to wear. It’ll be a little big on you, but better than being in those wet things.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate it.” She attempted to push back her hair, but more strands fell in her face with the motion.
Conner shifted. “I’ll get you a towel as well. While I’m gone why don’t you start the fire? I know you must be cold.” He pointed to the wall by her head. “There’s the switch.”
His finger indicated a small device on the side of the bricks and she noticed the tiny power switch for the electric fireplace.
“I’ll be just a minute.”
As he left the room Lucy started the fire. Flames leapt to life with a flip of the switch, the yellow and orange licks drew her eye. She knelt in front of the heat. Lucy dried her hair by the flames, and waited for Conner to come back. She threw the remainder of her brandy into the fireplace. A quick flare and the alcohol disappeared.
It wouldn’t do good to get tipsy on a job like this.
Conner entered the room with an armful of sweats and a towel. “Here you go.” He handed them over to her. Conner’s gaze shifted to the empty brandy snifter on
the mantle. “Looks like you finished your drink. Would you like another?” His brows raised in a hopeful expression.
“I would love one, thank you. Where can I change?” She glanced around for the bathroom letting her eyes scan the room and peek down the hall.
“You can change in here.” Conner opened the sliding door to one of the guest rooms, and motioned her inside.
He didn’t know, but she’d previously familiarized herself with the layout of his apartment. This room contained an ornately carved, full-length mirror positioned across from the door. When she slid the door shut, she left it partially open, enough for Conner to see her. Moving across the room, Lucy placed her things on the bed, then, turned to face the mirror.
She had a view of Conner where he watched her from the couch in the living room. A clear image of her displayed for him in the mirror from where he sat leaning over the back of the couch, just as she planned.
“So, what does a little wet kitten like you do for a living? I don’t suppose you’re a model?” His voice drifted in from the other room.
Lucy stopped herself from groaning as she answered; she didn’t like being referred to as a ‘little’ anything. As she flipped her hair back, she started to undo the buttons on her dress. Her skin exposed to Conner’s gaze as the buttons came undone. Like any man she knew, his brain would go right out the window when she started undressing.
“Oh, not too much, I’m afraid. I’m a curator for the Metropolitan Museum.” She kept watch on him from the corners of her eyes. Conner’s eyelids widened as her dress dropped from her lithe body. She stood there for a moment in her lingerie. “I arrange exhibits and displays for people to view.” She reached back and undid the snaps of her bra.
That would be enough.