Pleasure Bound (Hard to Get 2)

by Anne Rainey

  “You heard Ray?”

  “Yeah. Poor guy’s an emotional wreck.”

  Jonas swiped a hand over his face. “He doesn’t deserve this shit. Valdez’s days are numbered. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Wade sighed. “Are you going to do anything illegal?”

  He bobbed his eyebrows. “Nothing that’ll get me the chair.”

  “Well, I managed to find out a few tidbits that might come in handy.”

  “Yeah?”

  “My source tells me that Valdez has a few quirks. Seems our friendly neighborhood lowlife doesn’t allow anyone in his house if he’s not there. Which means that even though he’s loaded, Valdez has used the same woman to clean up after him for the last eleven years. And she’s never there past six at night.”

  “No bodyguards or personal assistants?”

  He shook his head. “Nada. He doesn’t trust anyone to get that close.”

  That was damn good intel, considering what Jonas had planned. “Who’s the source?”

  “A kid I helped out once. It was before you and I set up shop. Long story short, he needed a fix so he tried to rob me. Now he’s a counselor at the youth center.”

  “No shit? How come you never told me about this?”

  Wade quirked a brow at him. “What, are we married?”

  Jonas gave him the finger. “You’re not my type,” he said as he went back to his computer and got to work.

  Jonas searched every database he knew in an attempt to gather information on one Terrance Valdez of Rolling Hills Avenue. Nothing incriminating came back. “The only thing I can find on the prick is a few newspaper articles talking about his fan-fucking-tastic business deals and his driver’s license picture.” Jonas clicked the PRINT button. “He has no criminal record and no other pictures that I can find.”

  “Is the driver’s license photo clear enough?”

  Jonas nodded as he stared at the computer screen. “I saw him once. I was in court testifying for Williamson.” Jonas glanced up at Wade. “Remember him?”

  “Williamson,” Wade repeated, as if attempting to recall the case. “Wasn’t he the guy getting ripped off? His friend was stealing money from his business or something like that, right?”

  “He was taking computer parts and selling them on the side. Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment,” Jonas said as he stood and went to the printer to retrieve the driver’s license image. “I had to be up at the courthouse when the case went to trial. Valdez was coming out of the bathroom when I was going in. He looked familiar to me at the time, but I didn’t really know anything about the guy then. There were a couple of cops in the bathroom, though, and they were going on and on about what a loser Valdez was.” Jonas folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket.

  “The driver’s license will be enough to convince Deanna to find another client, but how can we get any decent proof for Ray? Shit just rolls off Valdez.”

  “I’ll find a way.”

  “You need me to do anything?”

  “Not yet. I’ll let you know.”

  Wade nodded and grabbed his keys off his desk, then waved them in the air. “I’m going to see how the phone call went between Gracie and her sister. I’ll probably take her to dinner or something.” He paused, then asked, “You’ve got Deanna covered, right?”

  “If I have to hog-tie her, she’s not going anywhere near Valdez,” he assured him.

  Wade chuckled. “Most men wouldn’t even attempt something like that with Deanna, but I think if anybody could manage it, you could.” He frowned. “Which is both reassuring and unsettling at the same time.” Wade headed for the connecting door to his home. “Don’t wait up, dear,” he said.

  “Hugs and kisses, princess,” Jonas shot right back.

  19

  Once Jonas was alone, he was free to think of the dark-haired, brown-eyed siren. He recalled how she had looked when he’d left, standing in the kitchen, tears filling her eyes. That image was killing him. He needed to hear her voice. He needed to see her looking all flushed from arousal, with a sleepy smile on her face and her hair all mussed from his hands.

  Hell, he just needed her.

  He picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone. She answered after two rings. “Hello?”

  “Hi, kitten, you busy?”

  “Just finished a late lunch.” There was a pause, and then, “A really late lunch now that I look at the clock. I have a few minutes, but then I need to go. I’m meeting with a potential new client.”

  Jonas heard the excitement in her voice and he smiled. “You’re going to be rich if this keeps up.”

  Deanna laughed. “Hardly, but it’s nice to have work. This woman was referred by another of my clients.”

  “Oh, yeah? What does she want done?”

  “It’s a bathroom redesign. I’m going to be using Dean’s construction business for this one, I think. She wants a wall knocked out and a bigger tub installed.”

  He whistled low. “That sounds like a big project.”

  “In some ways it will be. But I love doing bathrooms, so it should be fun.” There was a beat of silence, and then, “So, uh, did you find out anything about Terrance?”

  “I’ve got a driver’s license picture. I’ll bring it over tomorrow so you can see if he’s the same guy.”

  “Oh, that sounds good.”

  Jonas didn’t want to talk about drug dealers. Instead, he admitted, “I miss you, kitten. I needed to hear your voice.”

  Her soft, husky laugh filtered through the phone line and vibrated clear through to his bones. “I just saw you this morning, Jonas. Speaking of that, did you find out whether that woman claiming to be Gracie’s sister is for real?”

  “She’s definitely her sister. Actually, she could be Gracie’s twin.” He paused, then added, “And it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a few hours or an entire week, I still miss you.”

  She was quiet a moment, and then said, “I miss you too.”

  Jonas perked up at her small confession. “Does that mean you’re not still mad at me?”

  “I’m not mad. Frustrated, but not mad.”

  “Can I come over tonight?”

  “No, and don’t push,” she chastised. “I just need a little breathing room. Okay?”

  “Okay. One more question and I’ll let you go so you can get to your appointment.”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “Do you have a webcam and Skype?”

  “Uh, yeah, why?”

  “You’ll see tonight,” he growled. “What’s your user name?”

  “Deanna dot Harrison twenty-nine.”

  “Got it. I’m going to add you to my contacts,” he growled. “Talk to you tonight. Take care, kitten.”

  “You, too, Jonas,” she said, her voice a little unsteady.

  After they hung up, Jonas went into the storeroom and grabbed the small wireless camera, complete with audio, off a shelf, and a few other supplies, then headed for the door. With any luck, Jonas would be able to catch Valdez doing something illegal. It wouldn’t be admissible in court since he’d be obtaining the information by illegal means, but it would be a place to start. Anything was better than the nothing he had now.

  Ray’s son, Cade, was a little trickier. Jonas had a feeling that the only way the kid was going to keep away from the allure of Valdez’s money was to have his life or freedom threatened. Jonas would have to tread carefully there. He couldn’t let Cade meet with Valdez on Friday. One way or the other, Jonas had to teach the kid a hard lesson.

  He had an idea about Cade, but for now, Jonas had a house to break into.

  Jonas’s back was cramping up and he had pine needles sticking into his ass. “Damn it,” he mumbled as he checked his watch. “I freaking hate surveillance work.”

  He wanted to get the job done so he could go home and wait for Deanna’s phone call. Hiding behind Valdez’s evergreen bushes wasn’t his idea of a good time. He had plans for Deanna. Hot, erotic plans. H
e might not be able to see the woman in person, but Jonas was nothing if not creative. Hell, with today’s technology, there was more than one way to go on a date.

  After Jonas had left the office, he’d gone home to change and grabbed his knife; then he’d driven to the address he’d gotten from the DMV database. But he’d been sitting in pine needles for the last two hours watching the man’s house, hoping for an opportunity to slip inside and plant the camera.

  Jonas was just about to give up and head home for the night when a balding man with a potbelly walked out of the front door, a woman on each arm—both of whom looked half the guy’s age—and got into a black BMW. Valdez. Once the car pulled out of the driveway, Jonas stepped into action.

  Jonas found the house perfect—secluded on a two-acre lot; no snooping neighbors around to see him and call the police. The place Valdez called home sweet home happened to be a massive three-story estate large enough to house three families. A beautiful structure, no doubt about it, but to Jonas’s way of thinking, built on the backs of the innocent kids he’d addicted to his damn drugs.

  It was dark as Jonas moved across the neatly trimmed lawn and slipped onto the back porch. All the money the guy had and no cameras or spotlights in sight? Jonas shook his head in disgust. What a dumbass. The man was so confident he couldn’t be touched that he’d left himself completely vulnerable. That’s what having an inflated ego did for you, Jonas thought, made you feel invincible.

  It took only a few minutes to bypass the alarm system. Within seconds, Jonas slipped into the living room. He looked around until he found what he needed along the south wall near the ceiling—an air-return vent, the perfect place for a hidden camera. Jonas took out a small pack of tools and the pinhole camera he’d brought along and went to work.

  After Jonas had Valdez wired for video, he looked at his watch—eight minutes and twenty-two seconds. Not bad. Not his best time ever, but nothing to laugh at either. Jonas went out the way he came in, through the back entrance, then sprinted back across the yard to his car. He’d parked half a mile down the road to keep Valdez from noticing anything suspicious. By the time he reached the sleek, black machine and got in behind the wheel, Jonas’s adrenaline was pumping hard. Nothing new there, but Jonas didn’t think it had anything to do with the job. This time his blood was pumping hot in anticipation of Deanna’s phone call.

  Picking up the monitor that came with the camera, Jonas took a moment to test the feed. When Valdez’s living room came into view, Jonas was satisfied he’d done all he could for one night. Unfortunately, having the camera in place was only the first step in the plan. He still needed to stay close in order to capture the feed, which meant more surveillance work, and more time away from Deanna. As his cell phone started to ring to the tune “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” thoughts of drug dealers quickly disappeared.

  He picked it up off the dash where he’d left it, flipped it open, and said, “Hi, kitten.”

  “Hi,” she said in that throaty, bedroom voice that Jonas loved so much. “Sorry I’m late calling. I got busy talking with that client and lost track of time.”

  “No problem. I was doing some surveillance work anyway.” He took his keys out of his pocket and revved the engine. “Where are you?”

  “In bed working on the computer.”

  Jonas thought of Deanna in bed and asked, “Are you wearing those little black pajama shorts you had on this morning? The ones with the tiny red hearts all over them?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  He had to suppress a groan as an image of Deanna in the barely there pj’s sprang to mind. “You’re killing me, woman.”

  She was quiet a moment, and Jonas was afraid the call had dropped. “Do you like my pajamas, Jonas?” she asked finally.

  “Yes, a little too much,” Jonas growled as he took off down the street.

  “Hmm, good to know.”

  “Little tease,” he murmured as his cock stood at attention. “Are you tired?”

  “Not really. I’m sort of wired from my meeting. It’s always exciting to start a new project.”

  “Do you have to give her a bid, or did she hire you right out?”

  “She hired me because she liked what I’d done with her friend’s living room. She kept going on and on about it.”

  A shot of pride burned through Jonas. “You’re going to get a reputation soon. It won’t be long and you’ll be turning down clients because your schedule is so full.”

  Deanna laughed. “I don’t know about that, but it’s a nice dream.”

  “So, are you still frustrated with me, kitten?”

  “That depends.”

  “On?” he gently prodded.

  “Do you intend to tell me which clients I can take and which ones I can’t?”

  Jonas’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. “That seems like one of those questions that could get me into trouble.”

  Deanna sighed. “It’s a simple yes-or-no question, Jonas.”

  “Then, no, I don’t intend to pick your clients for you.”

  “But?” she asked. “Do I hear a but?”

  “But,” he confirmed, “I do think I have a right to know who they are. And I do think I have a right to protect you from danger. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, Deanna.”

  “No, it’s not. I just don’t want to be ordered about.”

  He relaxed at once, glad that she appeared to be softening toward him. “By the way,” he said, remembering the printout he still had tucked in his pocket, “I have a picture of Valdez. I’ll bring it by tomorrow.”

  “That’s what you said earlier. By the way, I have an apology to make about that.”

  That shocked him so much he nearly ran a red light. He slammed on his brakes and barely kept from ending up in the middle of the intersection. “You do?” he asked.

  “Yes. Don’t let this go to your head, but you were right when you said it’s highly unlikely that there are two Terrance Valdezes living in Zanesville. I did a quick search and only one popped up.”

  Jonas couldn’t have been more surprised if someone had yelled fire. “You ran a search on him?”

  “Nothing fancy like you. Just an online search engine. And don’t laugh, Mister Computer Genius.”

  “I’m not laughing,” he murmured. The light turned green and he hit the gas. “That’s the first thing I do. Amazing what you can find out about people when you Google them, huh?”

  “Yeah. I think I might be doing that more often too. Still, I do want to see the picture, just in case.”

  “No problem.” He turned down his street and wished like hell he was heading to her house instead of his cold, lonely bed.

  “Jonas?”

  “Yeah, kitten?”

  “Earlier, you asked if I had Skype. I got your friend request and accepted.”

  “Thanks,” Jonas said as he pulled into the parking lot to his apartment. “Can I call you back in about fifteen minutes?”

  There was a beat of silence, and then, “I’ll be waiting.”

  Damn, he liked the thought of that. Jonas kept his voice gentle when he ordered, “Have your Skype up, kitten. I’m going to call you on that.”

  “Okay.”

  Jonas sucked in a breath at her one-word reply. Already he could picture her all tucked under the covers and looking sexy as hell. His dick urged him to move his ass along already. “Do you know how turned on I am right now?”

  “I think I can imagine it, yes.”

  He turned off his car and yanked out the key. “It?”

  “You,” she answered in a soft voice.

  “Good,” he gritted out, “hold that thought. Fifteen minutes, kitten.”

  Jonas heard a small laugh. “I’ll be here, Jonas.”

  The idea of Deanna waiting in bed for him sent a bolt of lightning through his bloodstream. Christ, how he wished he could go there now, strip her naked, and make slow, sweet love to her the rest of the night. Instead, he was going to have to rely on a webcam,
a poor fucking substitute for Deanna’s warm, curvy body.

  20

  He was the most voracious man Deanna had ever known. Even from a distance, Jonas managed to have her panting and ready. It was humbling how effortlessly the man could get to her. As Deanna waited for him to call, she opened her Skype account and stared at Jonas’s status, willing it to change from offline to online. When it turned green, her heartbeat sped up. She looked at the clock on the right corner of her monitor. Fifteen minutes exactly. Well, of course he was on time; this was Jonas she was talking about. The man was perfect, and she was in love with him. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that morsel of data. What if he never felt the same way about her? A part of her was afraid he’d get bored with her and move on. For Deanna there wouldn’t be any moving on. What she felt for Jonas was the real deal. She ought to know, because she’d never felt it before.

  The ringing over the computer speaker jarred her out of her love-struck musings. She hit the little answer button, and instantly she could see Jonas. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of black boxer-briefs. Holy mother, he was hot. His tanned, muscular chest and shaggy, unkempt hair stared her in the face. A lick, was it so much to ask?

  “H-hi,” she said. Crap, she’d stuttered. Real sophisticated.

  “Hi, kitten,” he murmured as he looked her over. “Don’t get pissed, but did you lock up?”

  She laughed. “Yes, I locked up. And I’m only going to get pissed if you make decisions for me or treat me like I’m a two-year-old. Being concerned is sweet, Jonas.”

  “Sweet?” he snorted. “That’s new. I’ve never been accused of that before.”

  “You can also be annoying,” she said as she shifted her pillow to get more comfortable.

  He chuckled and leaned back against what appeared to be a headboard. She couldn’t see much more than his face and chest. “Now, that I’ve heard.”

  Curious about his surroundings, she asked, “Where are you right now? Your bedroom?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, want to see?”

  She wasn’t about to pass up that opportunity. “Yes.”

  The camera moved as he started to stand. Deanna saw a black comforter; then he pointed the computer away from him so she could see the rest of the room. He moved it in a slow arc. Plain white walls, black-and-white striped curtains on the window, and a large wooden desk against one wall. When it stopped on what appeared to be a couple of computer monitors and a black metal tower of some sort, Deanna asked, “What is all that?”