“Thank God,” I said as we entered the bedroom.
The air conditioning was on full blast, and I took a minute to lean against the wall and let the sweat on my skin turn to chills while Kate locked the French doors behind us and went to check the security system.
The green light was on, letting us know it was disengaged, and she gave me a thumbs up signal to show everything was good. I would have returned the gesture, but it seemed like a lot of energy to move my thumbs at this point.
She moved to the bedroom door that led into the house and knelt down so she could see through the crack at the bottom of the door. Savage had managed to get us a set of blueprints for the house, and we’d already mapped out our route to get to Natalie’s office on the second floor.
I joined Kate at the door and held my breath as she turned the doorknob slowly, easing it open a crack without making a sound. I already knew I wasn’t cut out for the life of a criminal. Butterflies were dive-bombing in my stomach and I had to pee like a racehorse.
We hunched over and made our way through the long corridor. There was staff moving all over the damned house and we barely ducked into a dark room as a man in a black suit jacket walked by.
The steady pressure Kate was putting on my arm let me know more than anything that now wouldn’t be a good time to make a sound. We were hiding behind a love seat, our view obstructed so the only thing we could see were his shoes as he made a second pass down the hall.
“He’s security,” Kate finally said. “And he’s carrying.”
“Carrying what?” I asked.
I could see the whites of her eyes rolling in the dark. “A gun. Try to stay out of his way.”
“Right,” I nodded.
Kate took a gleaming black weapon from her bag and shoved it in the front of her pants. This was going from bad to worse with every passing second. We’d now upgraded from just burglary to armed robbery.
I grabbed Kate by the shoulder before she could move back toward the door, and I shook my head frantically, trying to get her to see reason. When she decided to go off the deep end, she did it with style.
“Relax, it’s a tranquilizer gun.” The words were barely a whisper, floating on the air.
“I knew that,” I said, relieved.
I followed her back to the doorway, and we went out quickly, heading for the second set of stairs towards the kitchen. Savage’s contact had told him they were the least travelled at this time of night because most of the live in staff was in their private quarters.
I was sweating bullets—despite the air conditioning—by the time we made it to the second floor. The stairs went up even higher, but we broke off and slipped down the long hallway to the last room on the left. I kept watch while Kate worked her magic on the locked door, and then we were inside and Kate was shoving things into my hands to put away in her bag. Apparently, I was the equivalent of a thief’s personal assistant.
I relocked the door and took out the small tool Kate had showed me how to use back at my place. It was like a miniature version of a submarine periscope, and I lay down on the floor and stuck one end under the crack in the door, curving it gently so I could see the entire length of the hallway when I put the other end to my eye.
I was too scared to watch Kate diddle with the safe she’d found behind the abstract painting of a naked woman with five breasts. Time slowed to the point that I could hear every thud of my heart and count the seconds we were inside.
“Bingo,” Kate whispered. “I’ve got it.”
The words barely registered because I saw and recognized the shoes standing at the top of the landing. The security guard was back and he was making his way up the hall, poking his head in each of the rooms like he had downstairs. I had no idea if he had orders to stay out of Natalie’s office, but I wasn’t about to stick around and find out.
I jumped up and shoved everything back in Kate’s bag, waving my hands around in indiscernible hand gestures that she couldn’t possibly interpret, but I think my urgency got through just the same because she tossed me the small, leather bound book in her hands and went back to closing the safe and putting the painting back on the wall.
I put the little book in the bag and slung it across my body, and I bit my lip to make sure no stray noises of fear escaped. Kate went to the large picture window and motioned me over as she unlatched it and pushed it open with only a minimal squeak of the hinges. It was enough to have both of us pausing as we heard the doorknob rattle.
We gave each other identical oh, shit looks and Kate shoved me out the window and onto a steep patch of roof. A huge magnolia tree covered our escape, but it wouldn’t for long. We were on the front side of the house nearest the street, and I was thinking now would be a great time for Savage to lend us a helping hand.
Kate hopped out behind me and reclosed the window, and then she grabbed my hand and we ran, using the steep pitch of the roof to climb up to the third story so there was less chance of being seen if the guard looked out the window. We scaled the widow’s walk and crouched low beneath a dormer, waiting to see if we’d been spotted.
I was almost ready to declare surrender and let them cart me away. Our only option down from such a height was to jump across to the closest tree and climb down. I’d already had my fair share of experiences with tree climbing, and none of them had ended well. I wasn’t expecting this time to be any different.
I could see Savage’s Tahoe from where we were sitting, and I dug around in Kate’s bag until I came out with a pair of small binoculars. I looked through them and saw the incredulous expression on Savage’s face as he stared back at me. I waved and he dropped his head on the steering wheel, banging it hard enough that I thought he might do some damage.
“Savage says hi,” I told Kate, replacing the binoculars. “So what’s the plan? I’m assuming it has something to do with that tree.”
“Looks like the only way,” she said.
Neither of us were in a hurry, but I saw Savage get out of his Tahoe and move like a shadow through the neighborhood until he stood below us.
“He’s very stealthy,” I commented. “That’s kind of hot.”
“It is. I guess we’d better go. He doesn’t seem to be in all that good of a mood.”
“This was his dumb idea in the first place. And it’s not like we didn’t get what we came for.”
Savage climbed the tree like a stealth monkey until we were almost eye-to-eye.
“You go first,” I said, nudging Kate.
It was a hell of a jump from the roof to the sturdiest branch, and I wasn’t all that confident in my abilities. My limbs were stiff from sitting so long and my full bladder was weighing me down.
Savage gave Kate the all clear and she made a flying leap toward the thick branch. She wrapped her arms and legs around the branch and scooted towards the safety of the trunk. She shimmied halfway down the tree, staying hidden in the branches while she waited for me to take my turn.
“You’re up, Addison,” Savage called out quietly.
I looked down the three stories below me and looked back at Savage with sheer terror in my eyes. There was no way I could kamikaze myself onto that branch. I shook my head no, even as he scooted further out onto the branch, holding out his hand.
“I can’t do it,” I said back. “Y’all go on without me. Save yourselves.”
He rolled his eyes and said, “Get a grip. It’s twelve minutes until midnight. I don’t think you want to still be here when the alarms go back on. Now jump, dammit.”
I chewed on my bottom lip and did a few stretches. Maybe I should have worn my Nikes instead of my Chuck’s. Not a lot of bounce in Chuck’s, but they were the only all black thief shoes I had.
“This is going to have to go into my report,” Savage said. “It’ll say chicken in big red letters right next to your name.”
I narrowed my eyes and made a flying leap for the branch, catching Savage by surprise. I wrapped my arms and legs around like I’d watched Kate do
, but I ended up sliding sideways until I was hanging upside down like an opossum.
“Christ,” Savage muttered as his strong arms pulled me from certain death. “It’s like going on a mission with Gomer Pyle.”
“Excuse me,” I hissed. “Not all of us can be Green Berets. And I bet you looked really stupid in the hat.”
I heard Kate snort out a laugh and I watched as Savage’s mouth tightened to a thin line.
“Respect the beret,” he finally said.
He wrapped his arm around my ribs and squeezed a little tighter than was necessary, in my opinion, and then he made easy work of getting both of us onto solid ground. The urge to kiss the grass was fleeting as the party from down the street began to let out and traffic picked up.
“I’ll follow you back to your place,” he said as we ran for cover. “I want to see that book.”
I didn’t tell him there was no way in hell he was getting a look at that book tonight. I just ran back with Kate to her car and hopped in, taking a pit stop by a gas station along the way so I could use the restroom.
When we got to my house, Kate and I ran inside, laughing like lunatics before Savage could get out of his car and stop us. I bolted the door behind us. Kate and I had a date with a bottle of tequila to finish.
I’d just set out the bottle and two shot glasses when Kate dropped a bomb. “So how long are you going to wait to tell me if my husband is cheating on me?”
CHAPTER TEN
Monday
The wild blast of Baby Got Back blaring in my ear had my head jerking up and smacking on the underside of the dining room table. The details of getting under the table were hazy, but since I had a rolled up towel for a pillow and my high school letter jacket for a blanket, I was assuming I’d decided to use the table as a tent of sorts. I’m sure it made sense at one point.
I reached blindly for the phone and didn’t even bother to look at the screen to see who was calling.
“Lo,” I mumbled, trying to decide how to navigate through the maze of chairs surrounding me. It seemed like a lot of effort, so I laid my head back down on the towel. I might have dozed for a few minutes because I woke again to the buzz of Savage’s voice nattering in my ear.
“Addison. Answer me now or I’m going to be there in the next ten minutes to put my foot through your door.”
“I’m here. Don’t get your panties in a twist. And stop talking so loud. My head hurts.” My voice sounded like I’d spent the night swallowing shards of glass instead of tequila.
His sigh was audible from the other end, and even that felt like ball peen hammers rocketing through my skull.
“Did you get a chance to look through the client list?” he finally asked after several seconds of silence.
“Yeah, Kate and I read through the whole thing last night. We made it a drinking game.” Which, as it turns out, was a bad idea. “You wouldn’t believe some of the names in there. It just goes to show that the men in Hollywood don’t take their marriages seriously.”
“You needed a little black book to tell you that?”
“I at least had the illusion,” I defended. “I assume you want to see it for yourself?”
“Yeah, but I’m tied up at the moment. Can you meet me in Kate’s office at three o’clock? I want to look through that list and check out the background you’ve done so far. Maybe something will click and we can take a fresh look at this thing.”
“Three o’clock,” I mumbled. I calculated the time in my head and figured I could make myself mostly presentable by then. “Sure, I can do that.”
“Keep that list safe,” he said. “If anyone finds out you have it, you could be in danger.”
He hung up with that ominous warning, and I decided maybe I should put the book somewhere safe until three o’clock. I navigated my way past the labyrinth of dining room chairs, knocking a couple over as I finally crawled from beneath the table and managed to stand.
An empty bottle of tequila sat on the coffee table and the remnants of a bag of Oreos accompanied it. No wonder I felt so bad. Just the thought of all those Oreos sloshing around in a bath of tequila was enough to make me turn green.
I downed a couple of aspirin and got into the shower, and by the time I got out again I was semi-human and ready for a cup of coffee. I wrapped my head in a towel and my bathrobe around my body and headed into the kitchen.
I eeped out what could only pass for a scream with my damaged vocal cords at the sight of a stranger putting dishes in the dishwasher. He looked a little startled at my appearance, and he immediately handed me a cup of coffee. I breathed in the aroma and felt the tension drain from my body.
“You’re a godsend,” I finally said. “The best man I know.”
“Remember that,” Nick said, smiling. “Kate doesn’t look much better than you. I stopped into the office this morning to see if she had anything new for me, and it was like being met by the swamp creature.”
He shuddered at the memory and I tried to smile, the corners of my mouth working their way up slowly. I finished the coffee and handed my cup to him silently, letting him refill it so I could start the process all over again.
My brain finally started to function and I took a good look around. The kitchen was spotless, and Nick stood with his back to the counter and his arms crossed over his chest. He was dressed in the suit he often wore when he had to speak to the media and a blue and gold striped tie. His jacket was draped over the kitchen chair, and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, exposing the sexiest forearms I’d ever had the privilege of being acquainted with.
It was starting to get hot in the kitchen all of a sudden. And very crowded.
“I—umm—I thought you had the day off. What’s up with the suit?”
“I had a meeting with the mayor this morning and a press conference. The rest of the day is mine to do as I wish.”
He loosened the tie at his throat, pulling it from beneath the collar with one long swipe, and he unbuttoned the top button of his white dress shirt, exposing a dark expanse of throat and a small amount of chest hair. I clenched my thighs together and tried to think of something to say, but I was pretty much brain dead at that point.
“I know just the thing for that hangover,” he said.
His voice was pure silk and sex. I could hear the smile and wanted to return it, but all I could do was stare, mesmerized as his fingers undid the rest of his buttons.
“Are you trying to make me crazy?” I managed to croak out.
“How am I doing?”
“Pretty damned good. My headache’s gone.”
He pulled the shirt from the waistband of his slacks and had his fingers poised at his belt buckle when I couldn’t stand it any longer and pounced. His lips met mine, and I forgot that I was trying to be mad at him for not calling after the last time. I didn’t even think too much about the fact that I’d eaten all of those cinnamon rolls the morning before, and now Nick was about to see me naked. At least I didn’t think about it too much.
Things got pretty hazy from that point on, but we actually made it to the bed this time. All I knew was that three hours later, all signs of my hangover were gone and I couldn’t feel my feet. After another shower—which involved more messing around—and a quick sandwich, I was back in top form and ready to get to work. I filled Nick in on everything I’d found out about the case, and showed him the little black book we’d retrieved from Natalie Evans’ home the night before.
“I don’t suppose you want to tell me where you got this,” he said, flipping through the pages and letting out a soft whistle between his teeth at some of the names written there.
“It’s probably best if you don’t know. You wouldn’t get sex if I was in prison.”
“I’m a cop,” he said, not bothering to look up. “I’d make sure you got conjugal visits.”
“Thoughtful of you,” I said, looking over his shoulder. “What we have is politicians, A-list actors, eight princes, twelve rock stars, two opera singers
, an underage pop star, a sultan, the governor of Georgia, and the police commissioner. Not to mention the billionaires and philanthropists. That’s a long list of potential murderers.”
“Fuck,” Nick said, rubbing his hands over his face. “This isn’t good. In fact, this is really, really bad. This morning at the press conference, I was asked about the murder of Sasha Malakov and if the gems he’d been transporting had been recovered. The mayor stepped in and gave a bullshit answer about professional thieves who’d been following the auction sites, making it sound like it was the same group of people who pulled off that diamond heist in Luxembourg last year. Christian DeLuce is making a public nuisance of himself, making it sound like we’re all twiddling our thumbs while a murderer goes free, and it looks like he might be right.”
“So what do we do?”
“What you’ve been doing. I’ll help out however I can, but with this many officials involved, I’ve got to be careful. I’ll assume it’s going the same way for Agent Savage, since he’s got you doing stupid ass things like breaking into Natalie Evans’ private office to steal her client list.”
I tried to look innocent, but I could feel the heat of guilt rushing to my face.
“Jesus, Addison. I can’t believe you’d take a risk like that. I hate to even imagine how he talked you into doing it.”
“Hey, that’s uncalled for. Besides, Kate was with me the whole time. We were perfectly safe.”
I tried not to think about the random kisses and the blackmail date I’d agreed to just in case Nick had become a mind reader since I saw him last. I pinched my lips together with indignant anger.
“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better. And what the hell was Kate thinking going along with a stunt like that? That doesn’t sound like her at all.”
“She’s having a personal crisis. I was hoping she’d decline Savage’s invitation, but she kind of ran with it.”
“What kind of personal crisis?” Nick asked. His eyes were narrowed and I could see the anger he was trying to hide smoldering in his eyes.
Whiskey Sour (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 2 (Addison Holmes Mysteries) Page 13