“I noticed something in the research you did on Natalie Evans from the copies you gave me,” Savage said. “There’s something wrong about her profile that I can’t put my finger on, but my gut is screaming. I’ve passed it along to a guy I know. He should be able to tell me if my hunch is right. And if it is, we’ve got bigger problems facing us then just our government. If they find out what we’re doing, we’re as good as dead.”
“I haven’t had enough coffee today for death threats,” I said.
“I wouldn’t mind dying right about now,” Kate muttered. “Wish they’d hurry it up.”
“You think this goes above and beyond a bunch of stolen gems?” Nick asked, steepling his fingers in front of him. “It makes sense. Whatever Natalie’s goal is has to be worth the risk of getting caught. She’s calling in a lot of favors now that we suspect her.”
“I think we could all have our asses handed to us by the time all this is said and done,” Savage confirmed. “We need to keep our eyes open and stick together for the time being. I’ve put in for a few days vacation time. What are the chances of you doing the same?” he asked Nick.
I was actually surprised that Savage had it in him to be so cordial to Nick and extend the proverbial olive branch so they could work this case. It meant he took his job seriously and didn’t mind using whatever resources he could to solve a case.
“After the weekend I just put in, I could take a couple of days,” Nick said. “What do you have in mind?”
“Something crazy,” Savage said, smiling. He turned to look at me. “Are you up for doing another little job?”
The urge to look at Nick and gauge his reaction was overwhelming, but I somehow restrained. I could feel his anger launching itself at me across the table as soon as the request left Savage’s lips. Probably looking at Nick was a bad idea at the moment.
“Not if it’s like the last little job you had me do,” I told him. “I’m out of tequila.”
“You should be able to do this job without too much liquid courage,” he said.
“Don’t you think it’s a little risky to keep using an untrained civilian for these little jobs you keep coming up with?” Nick asked.
“I think I’m utilizing all of my resources. And you know as well as I do that if I didn’t have her doing these jobs for me, then she’d be out on her own mucking things up. She’s too nosy not to be in the middle of it.”
“Hey, I resent that,” I said, leaning up in my chair and bracing my arms on the table. And maybe it hit a little too close to home. I did have a knack for getting into trouble when left unsupervised.
Nick just sighed and gave me an unreadable look. “You’re right. Go ahead,” he said to Savage.
“I like how y’all are talking around me like I’m not even here,” I said. “There are things I could be doing today, but instead I’m here helping you out of the goodness of my heart.”
“We’re paying you,” Savage said.
“I haven’t seen the money yet. And believe me, I could use it. I need to be moved into my new place before my mother gets home. That’s not going to be a fun conversation, believe me.”
I knew somewhere deep inside that my mother was hoping I was moving home for good. She’d been pretty lonely since my dad died, and she’d missed having someone to take care of. I knew Vince wouldn’t move in for good any time soon because the gossip would be too much for my mother to handle. She’d barely been able to function hearing all the gossip about me recently. It was the hell of small town life. You lived under a constant microscope.
“You’re moving?” Nick asked.
“I didn’t have time to mention it,” I said, blushing even though I told myself I was an adult and shouldn’t be embarrassed if a room full of people knew I’d spent the morning having unbridled sex.
Nick’s grin was slow and intimate. “I’ll help you pack.”
“Maybe if we can get back to business I can have lunch at some point today,” Savage said, not nearly so smug now after seeing the smile Nick just gave me.
I felt kind of bad for Savage, because he was a pretty interesting guy and there was no question he was handsome, but I just didn’t feel the zing with him like I did with Nick. The lack of zing with Savage could be because I hadn’t gotten the chance to get to know him yet. I knew from experience that chemistry wasn’t always instantaneous. Of course, having that instant zing with Nick was obviously getting me nowhere, and there was always the possibility of it dying a slow and painful death.
“Sorry,” I told Savage, not sure what exactly I was apologizing for.
“My men have been keeping tabs on Becca Gonzales and Andi Bachman,” he said. “Now that we have the client list, we can begin to narrow down the suspects of who the girls are escorting and how they’re laundering the stolen gems.”
“How are we supposed to keep track of that?” I asked. “Natalie didn’t write down who she paired her clients with. And she wouldn’t try to sell those gems to just anyone. It’d have to be someone who could keep their mouths shut and who wouldn’t want to risk the exposure of a scandal.”
“I know, and I don’t think Natalie will be so stupid as to put another one of her girls in danger. But she’ll try to unload the gems just the same. They’re a hot ticket now and she’ll want them out of her possession.”
“How are we supposed to catch her?” I asked.
“According to our intel, the girls are informed of their next job by phone. They’re not given names. Only the location of the meet and what the dress for the evening will be. We need to find out who those girls are meeting and catch Natalie in the act of trying to sell the gems. If we can get her on that, then we can bring her in and make a deal with her for the names of who killed Amanda Whitfield and Noelle Price. Of course, we’re going to try to hang her on the murder of Sasha Malakov as well, so she’s not going to have a lot of bargaining room, but we won’t tell her that right away.”
“We need to have access to those girls’ phones,” Kate said. “If they’re using secure phones, there’s no way to listen in on their conversations without tampering with the phones themselves. It’s the only way I know how to intercept their clients.”
“Exactly,” Savage said. “Becca Gonzales has an appointment tomorrow afternoon at The Green Door spa. So do you,” he said, looking at me. “I want you to slip this little device inside her phone. Just pop out her SIM card and replace it with this one. Once you do, we’ll have complete access to her conversations as well as anything she has stored on the phone.”
I’d pretty much stopped listening after he’d told me I had an appointment at The Green Door. First of all, even when I had money, I was too poor to go to The Green Door. And second, they were booked months in advance. I hated to break it to Savage, but this was a plan doomed to failure, even though I’d almost be willing to do anything for it to succeed.
“That’s a lovely plan,” I said on a sigh. “But The Green Door has a waiting list a mile long for clients who aren’t regulars. There’s no way you could get me in.”
“It’s already been taken care of.” The corner of his mouth quirked up in a private smile and his dark eyes melted like chocolate. “I told you when we met yesterday that I had connections.”
I didn’t like how the look in Savage’s eyes made it seem as if we were the only two people in the room. It was too familiar and much too intimate for the short time we’d spent together. He made it sound like we’d been having secret liaisons behind Nick’s back.
And I guess technically, we had been meeting, but the subject of those meetings hadn’t come up the last couple of times I’d seen Nick—mostly because his tongue had been down my throat. And I didn’t accidentally want to let it slip that Savage had kissed me. Though the more I thought about it, if Nick wasn’t up for a serious relationship, then there was no reason why Savage couldn’t kiss me if he wanted to.
This shit was too complicated to figure out and my headache was starting to return.
“I’m telling you no one gets an impromptu reservation at The Green Door,” I insisted. “I don’t care who you are.”
“One of the techs had a miraculous last minute cancellation and was able to squeeze you in. Believe me, your name is on the list. Show up tomorrow at one o’clock and it’ll all work out.”
“And how am I supposed to get to Becca’s cell phone? I’ve heard that place is like Fort Knox when it comes to privacy. They have too many celebrities stripped down to their skivvies on any given day.”
“Let’s just say one of the techs owes us a favor. You should be able to get to Becca’s phone in the changing area where all the lockers are. The attendant will be busy doing something else for the few minutes you need. All you have to do is exchange the SIM cards before you go on to your own treatment room.”
“What treatment did you schedule me for?” I asked. I was hoping like crazy it was a massage. I had so much stress gathered in the back of my neck and shoulders I was beginning to feel like Quasimodo.
“I just told my contact to give you whatever they had available. Beggars can’t be choosers,” Savage said, arching a brow. “You’ll only be there for one treatment. The government doesn’t have the budget for that place.”
“Not many people do. I’m surprised you’re allowed to do this at all.”
“I haven’t turned in my expense report yet. I like for things like this to be a surprise,” he said. “There are several high ranking FBI directors on that client list. I figure they’re going to be so busy cleaning up the mess from the fallout that they won’t even notice my receipts.”
“Good thinking.” I pushed back from the table and grabbed my purse. “Well, if that’s all for the day, I think I’m going to head home. I’ve got packing to do and a couple of things to take care of. Thanks again for finding me the house,” I told Savage. “I talked to your friend on the phone and everything is taken care of. She said I could move in as soon as I wanted.”
“I’m glad it worked out,” Savage said, cutting his eyes to Nick. “And let me know if you need help moving. He’s not the only one who can help you pack.”
My eyes widened in alarm and Kate snickered, but quickly turned it into a cough. I was pretty sure I heard Nick growl from behind me. I thought the best course of action would be to escape before the first blood was shed, but Kate had a different idea.
She caught my hand before I could walk out. “If you work tonight I want you to call me. No matter how late it is. No lame excuses this time.”
The green pallor of her face only stood out more with the directness of her gaze. I’d been giving her nothing but noncommittal answers every time she’d asked about what I’d seen Mike doing. She knew I was stalling, and in truth, I was. I didn’t want to do this particular job, especially since Nick had all but confirmed Mike’s guilt.
I nodded once and continued out to the street. It was then I remembered I’d ridden in with Nick. I heaved out a sigh and turned around to go back in, but he stepped through the door and held my gaze for a minute.
“You know I’m probably going to have to kill that man before this is all said and done.”
“Why? Because he’s poaching on your territory? That doesn’t sound like the reaction of a man who’s sort of involved in a serious relationship.”
We stared each other down, and if I’d had the money I would have headed straight for the nearest Dairy Queen. No wonder people started letting their bodies go after marriage. Stuffing my face has been the only thing I’ve wanted to do since facing the relationship drama. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like living with it twenty-four seven.
“I’ll take you home if we can call a truce for ten minutes,” Nick finally said. “And you’ve got that crazy look about you. I think it’d be a good idea to take a detour by Dairy Queen on the way.”
He had a look in his eye I couldn’t really interpret. It might have been indigestion. Or it could have just been me. I had that effect on a man. But he knew me well enough to know when I needed ice cream. That sounded like a serious relationship to me.
Neither of us spoke after we got our dip cones and drove into Whiskey Bayou. I hunched down in the seat, hoping no one would see me and stare. I’d managed to go three days without being reminded that I’d been fired from the only job I’d ever known. And I’d managed to do it mostly sober.
My mother was bound to get phone calls once she got back home about Nick’s truck being parked in the driveway all night, but that seemed pretty minor in comparison to all the other gossip about me at the moment.
“This has the potential to be an awkward situation,” Nick said, driving right past my mother’s house. If he drove very much further south we’d be up to our wheels in swamp.
“I don’t know why you’d say that,” I said. “Everything seems perfectly normal to me. Where are you going?”
“Just thought we could use a change of scenery. I am on vacation after all. Or at least I will be after I call it in. It’s been three years since I’ve taken any vacation time. I plan to enjoy it.”
He pulled the truck just to the edge of the bank of the bayou under a weeping willow that hid us partially from view. He left the car on so we didn’t die of heat stroke and unbuckled his seat belt so he could turn towards me.
“I’ve changed my mind,” I said. “This is awkward. Especially since it looks like you’ve got a gun in your pocket, even though I know you didn’t put on a weapon this morning.”
“It’s your underwear. I’ve been thinking about it under that dress all day.”
“You seriously can’t be flirting with me right now. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m pissed at you.”
“I noticed, but that’s still hot for some reason. I think it’s because anger makes your nipples hard.”
“Then they must be like tiny knives right now.”
“Come here,” he said, pulling my rigid body against his until I was sprawled across his lap.
“Let me go, you Neanderthal. Why is it that none of the men I know can fight properly? You can’t just manhandle me into submission.”
“You can’t seriously be mad about what happened today. So I panicked a little. Sue me.”
“You panicked a little?” I asked, eyebrows raised.
“It was a gut instinct. I’ve been down that road before.”
Once upon a time when Nick was fresh out of the military and a rookie cop he’d been married to a woman he harbors no warm or nostalgic feelings for at all. I relaxed a little because his reaction in DeLuce’s store was starting to make sense.
“Right, well, maybe it had more to do with you treating me as more of a fuck buddy than a girlfriend.”
He held me tighter when I tried to pull away. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Chalk it up to a moment of insanity. I’m only a man.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to find a comfortable position with the gun in his pocket poking me in the hip. His fingers pulled at the stretchy fabric of the top of my dress, and his eyes got that look that meant we were about to reach the point of no return.
“And what we have between us is serious,” he said. “I’m feeling very serious right now.”
I didn’t want to give in too easily, but I was feeling pretty serious at the moment as well. And he was right. What we had between us was good. We still had a lot of growing to do.
“It’d be almost a sin to not take advantage of this moment,” he said, pushing back the seat so his legs stretched all the way out. “We’ve got a nice secluded spot and I’ve got good shocks on my truck. What more could you ask for?”
“To not have the sheriff become as familiar with my body parts as my gynecologist,” I said automatically. “The sight of Sheriff Rafferty looking through the window is enough to wither me right up.”
He nipped at my lower lip and all the synapses in my brain started to sizzle. I couldn’t remember why I’d been mad or the points I’d wanted to bring up about our relationship. I just wanted his hands o
n me. Now that we’d finally gotten past months of foreplay to the real deal, it seems I was turning into some kind of sex maniac.
“I’m not easy, you know.” I shifted so he could push my dress around my hips and I could straddle his thigh. My flip-flops had fallen to the floorboard and his hands were hot on my waist.
“I’ve waited four months for this. Believe me, I know.”
“It seems to me that if I’m going to risk my reputation by getting caught, the least you can do is help me pack up my stuff and move. Think of all the rooms we’ll have to christen in my new place.”
He pulled the elastic down on my top and hummed low in the back of his throat at the sight of my breasts. My eyes crossed as he took a nipple into his mouth and I ripped frantically at his dress shirt, flinging buttons so I could feel his skin against mine. He was wearing way too many clothes and we both fought to get his belt undone and relieve the pressure behind his zipper.
The glass was appropriately fogged and we were both panting for breath by the time the last of our clothes was shed.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Nick said, his fingers tightening on my hips as I sucked on his earlobe.
“I’m dying here,” I whimpered. “Why are you talking?”
“I’ll help you pack and I’ll pay for a moving company to unload your stuff if you’ll do that thing I like. Otherwise, this is going to last about four seconds.”
I knew how he felt. I was ready to implode and he hadn’t even gotten inside me yet. I think I might have been turned on by the possibility of getting caught. I’m not really sure what that says about me.
I smiled and kissed my way down his chest until my head rested in his lap. “You drive a hard bargain, Detective Dempsey.”
“Sweetheart, you have no idea.”
***
No one could ever say Nick Dempsey wasn’t a man of his word. After our roadside canoodling, followed by a few hours of packing, takeout pizza, and another canoodle, Nick decided he was pretty much spent. He called his captain and arranged to take a few vacation days, not mentioning the fact he was working off the books with a renegade FBI agent, and then he passed out in my bed watching Duck Dynasty.
Whiskey Sour (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 2 (Addison Holmes Mysteries) Page 15