Hot Contact

by Susan Crosby

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Maybe I would’ve explored it first, then taken it to you. It’s irrelevant, Arianna. We seem destined to work together on this. To know the truth.”

  She cocked her head. “I never would’ve pegged you as a fatalist.”

  “Things happen. If you don’t accept them and move on, you wallow in it. Blaming fate is a good enough excuse.”

  “It’s not good to wallow,” she said, the beginnings of a smile forming.

  “Definitely not.”

  “Okay.” She rubbed her hands along her thighs. “Okay. We’ll partner up. The cop and the P.I. Strange bedfellows, as Scott said.”

  “‘Strange’ isn’t the word I would use.” Extraordinary. Incredible. Premier. For a second he thought she might blush, but she didn’t. She did ignore his comment, however.

  “When do you want to get started?” she asked.

  “You name it. Tomorrow. Tonight. You’re welcome to spend the night.”

  “I can’t,” she said instantly. “I have an early meeting and a full day. I can come after work.”

  “That’s fine. I have plenty to do.”

  She stood, so he did, too. “Is everything done at your parents’ house?”

  “No. But it’s getting there.” He pointed to the packet she still clutched. “I think you should leave that here.”

  She pulled it tighter. “Why?”

  “Because you’ll stay up all night trying to make sense of it. You need some sleep.”

  “If I leave it, you’ll do the same.”

  “I won’t. Put it down, Arianna. It’ll be safe here.”

  “I want to make copies of everything, just in case.”

  “I’ll do that tomorrow.” He slid it from her hands. “Get some rest. I’ll have dinner for you tomorrow.”

  He wanted to ask her if she was okay to drive. He wanted to drive her home himself. Better yet to have her stay with him, sleep beside him. Just sleep. But he knew what her answer would be.

  The moment grew more awkward. They’d made love. Shouldn’t they kiss good-night? She wasn’t wearing an expression that encouraged it. Ah, to hell with it. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She didn’t relax.

  “I’m sorry about your dad,” she said against his shoulder. “I can’t imagine how hard it is on you.”

  “Thank you.”

  He let her go. After a moment she headed to the front door. She looked back over her shoulder as if she wanted to say something, then didn’t. He followed her to her car. She didn’t waste any time taking off. He couldn’t even call to make sure she got home okay. He didn’t have her phone number. He’d slept with her, but he didn’t have her phone number. What kind of sense did that make?

  He locked up his house, stripped off his jeans and lay facedown on his bed where he could smell her in the sheets. He fisted the fabric. Had it only been a one-night stand for her? A way to forget for a little while?

  Did he want more than that, anyway? He was setting himself up for more hurt if he expected more from her. Maybe he didn’t even have it in him to give.

  But he wouldn’t know without trying.

  Arianna stayed in her shower for a long time, her eyes closed, the water pounding her back. Idiot. She’d broken her hard and fast rules. One, never get involved with someone you work with. Two, always keep control of the relationship. Three, never have unprotected sex.

  Well, now what was she supposed to do? First, she’d gotten involved with a man she’d worked with in the past and would likely work with in the future in an official capacity. Just as important, she was going to work with him now—on the most important investigation of her career.

  Second, she’d lost control along the way, of her actions and reactions. He’d not only taken charge at some point, she’d let him. Stop the presses. That was headline material for her.

  Third, it was the first time she hadn’t demanded a man use protection. She was on the Pill, but still….

  Look what she’d done. Broken all the rules. The repercussions were bound to haunt her.

  She finally turned off the shower, grabbed the towel she’d thrown over the glass door and buried her face in it. She was crazy to get involved with him. Crazy and foolish. They were both vulnerable. Not a good time to embark on a relationship, especially a risky one.

  Of course, it wasn’t his fault they’d slept together, but hers. So, she only had herself to blame for the consequences. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him.

  Arianna dried her hair, then slipped into a T-shirt and cotton pajama bottoms. Her neighbors wouldn’t appreciate her playing the piano at this hour, and it was too late to return her mother’s message on her answering machine. Thank goodness. She couldn’t deal with her mother tonight.

  She could deal with Joe, however.

  She grabbed the phone, dialed his number. He answered on the second ring.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said.

  “You didn’t. I’m glad you called. Can’t sleep?”

  “I haven’t tried yet. I needed to tell you something first.”

  “Okay.”

  She couldn’t judge his tone of voice. “If we’re going to work together, we need to forget tonight ever happened.”

  “We do?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “Apparently only to you, Arianna. The way I see it, we reached out to each other. We kissed. We made love. It felt good. It felt great. Didn’t it feel great?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts. We needed each other. We met those needs. We’re adults.”

  He didn’t sound the least bit perturbed. “I’ve never had unprotected sex before,” she said.

  His hesitation seemed to stretch forever. “You’re using birth control?”

  “Of course.”

  “Of course,” he repeated, a smile in his voice. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Okay.” Which fixed only one of the three rules she’d broken. She tried to at least gain control of the relationship. “So, we’re agreed we won’t talk about it.”

  Again he was silent for several seconds, then finally said, “You can try to ignore it all you want. I choose not to.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “I’m not going to ignore it. Or forget it. It meant something to me. Didn’t it mean anything to you?”

  How was she supposed to answer that? Damn him. He knew exactly how to put her on the spot. “It meant something.” I even broke my rules. “But I’m asking you as a gentleman not to hold it against me.”

  He laughed.

  She realized what she’d said. Damn him. “I meant I’m asking you not to remind me of it constantly.”

  “That’s a promise I can’t make.” His voice became gentle. “Nothing that good has happened to me in a long time. I can’t ignore it. But I’ll leave the next move to you, if that makes you more comfortable.”

  He sounded a little bit smug, as if he knew she couldn’t resist him. Well, she would show him. “Deal.”

  “Sweet dreams,” he said.

  “Same to you, Detective.”

  He laughed quietly. “Back to business, are we? Okay. By the way, in case you’re wondering, what happened tonight was only a sprint.”

  She listened to the dial tone for several seconds before she replaced the receiver. Then she smiled.

  Nine

  Arianna kept her focus on the staff meeting the next morning. She had to. She ran them. After the meeting she was scheduled for an appointment with a new client in need of unobtrusive personal protection when he attended a charity ball later in the month. She’d seen a photo of him—fifty-two and easy on the eyes. He was also the target of an animal rights organization which took issue with his pharmaceutical company’s use of lab animals to test potential drugs.

  Whether she had an issue with that or not, she believed no one should be the victim of vio
lence because his belief system was different. So, if she thought the setup was workable, she would take the job, even though she might get caught up in the violence herself. With her posing as his date, he would appear unconcerned about his safety, while being well guarded.

  “Anything else?” Arianna asked the staff assembled in the conference room as business wound down.

  No one added anything. They wandered out of the room, several of them stopping to grab another bagel or muffin. Laughter punctuated the steady hum of conversation. She, Sam and Nate hired well. The group was congenial and collegial. They had differences of opinion, some of them strong, but those differences were respected, and the years of experience each person brought to the company meant they needed little direct supervision. Arianna loved going to work.

  Except for today. Today she wished she were at Joe’s house, analyzing his father’s notes.

  She noticed Sam lingering after the room had emptied. “Any luck locating Doc?” she asked.

  “We’re playing phone tag.” He cocked his head. “You were a little off today.”

  “Long day yesterday.” She gathered her paperwork and stood.

  “Is that all?”

  He watched her closely, but as a friend, with concern in his eyes.

  “Does it have something to do with Joe Vicente?” Sam pressed.

  She leaned a hip against the table. “He’s going to help me try to find my father’s killer.” She explained the basics. “I have to make the effort,” she said finally.

  He nodded. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

  The receptionist, Julie, appeared in the doorway. “Arianna, Joe Vicente is on line three, and I just put your mother in your office.”

  Her mother? Here? She’d come to Arianna’s office probably three times in all the years they’d been in business. “Thank you, Julie.”

  “Want me to go?” Sam asked.

  “No. Hang on a sec.” She punched the line-three button. “Good morning, Detective.”

  “Hi. How’d you sleep?”

  “Great, thanks. What can I do for you?”

  “Ah. All business. Okay. Well, I’ve been going through the file, and I thought you might want to get a head start on tracking down the eyewitness. You have more resources than I do, since I don’t have access to my work computer.”

  “Good idea. What’s the info?”

  “Mary Beth Maxwell. Age twenty-five then.” He gave her the address, birth date and Social Security number.

  “Thanks. Anything else I should know?”

  “Not at this moment. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Around six, okay?”

  “Sure. Bye.”

  After she hung up she made a copy of the information and passed it to Sam. “Would you work your magic and see if you can come up with anything on this woman? She would be fifty years old today. Could’ve been married and remarried a bunch of times by now. May not even be alive.” Which would be another clue that went nowhere, and maybe a clue they shouldn’t pursue the investigation, after all.

  “I’ll get right on it,” Sam said. “What’s Paloma doing here?”

  “Being nosy, I suspect.”

  “A mother’s prerogative, she would say. I’ll stop by your office in a few minutes to say hi.”

  “Interrupt me with something that needs my immediate attention, okay?”

  He smiled. “As mothers go, she’s a good one.”

  “I know. I’m just not in the mood.”

  “Your detective a little harder to manage than you expected?”

  She looked sharply at him. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I’ve always wondered how you would react when you met your match. Now I see. You’re defensive.”

  “I am not.” She grinned, hoping to throw him off course.

  He didn’t take the bait. “See you in a few.”

  Arianna headed for her office. “Mom! What a nice surprise.” She dropped her paperwork on her desk then hugged her mother. “What brings you here?”

  “You didn’t return my call.”

  “I got home too late.”

  “And this morning? Up and gone too early, I suppose.” Paloma took a seat on the sofa. The knuckles on her clenched hands were white.

  “That’s right.” Arianna joined her, noting the stress on her face, as well.

  “So? Did you meet him?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did he tell you?”

  “Nothing.”

  Her mother looked at her lap. “I told you,” she said.

  “It wasn’t that he had nothing new to tell me. Maybe he would have. But he has Alzheimer’s, Mom. He’s in a care home. His memory is gone, for the most part.”

  Was that relief on her mother’s face?

  “So now you’ll let it drop?”

  Arianna leaned forward. She put her hands over her mother’s. “I can’t. Not yet. There are still facts to check and clues to follow. I won’t spend the rest of my life searching, if that’s what you mean. But it’s what I need to do now.”

  Paloma searched her daughter’s eyes. “All right, mija. I will save my breath.”

  “Thank you. You know, it was really odd seeing Mr. Vicente. I had a flashback of when he came to the house after Dad died. You screamed at him. And he was so kind—to both of us.”

  Paloma stiffened. “He had a job to do. He wasn’t doing it well enough or fast enough for me.”

  “In the end he didn’t do it at all. They never found the killer.”

  “Hey, gorgeous.” Sam came into the room.

  Her mother transformed as Sam bent down to kiss her cheek, her expression changing from pinched to pleased, the contrast making Arianna even more starkly aware of how much her mother was upset by Arianna digging for information. She couldn’t help that, however. Her need to know took priority.

  “How was your honeymoon?” Paloma asked Sam.

  “Everything a honeymoon should be.” He looked at Arianna. “I thought you had an appointment.”

  She looked at her watch. “I do. Mom, I’ve really got to run.”

  Arianna walked her mother to her car. Going with her gut instinct, Arianna asked, “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “There is a great deal I haven’t told you, mija.” Her smile was serene.

  “About Dad. About his murder. Are you afraid of something that might come out if I investigate too closely?”

  “I am worried about you. Do not let it become an obsession.”

  Which wasn’t an answer, Arianna thought, but she let it go. For now.

  Arianna made it through the day. She accepted the case to do personal protection for the pharmaceutical CEO. She met with two other clients regarding ongoing cases. Sam hadn’t had any luck locating the eyewitness, Mary Beth Maxwell, as yet.

  Arianna changed into jeans and a peasant blouse in her office then went to her car. She hit the speakerphone button and dialed Joe’s number to tell him she was on her way.

  “Could you pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk on the way?” he asked.

  “Um, sure.”

  He laughed. “I was kidding. I’ve been feeling like a housewife waiting for her husband to come home.”

  “Oh.” She smiled. “Vacation getting to you?”

  “It got to me on the first day. But I’m getting better. See you soon. Bring your appetite. I’ve been slaving away all day.”

  She’d never been wooed before. Well, some had tried, she had to admit, but she had no interest in being courted. “You promised that the next move was mine.”

  “There are moves, and then there are moves.”

  She heard the confident smile in his voice. Smart. She liked that about him. And quick. And attractive. And an amazing sprinter. She’d known from his first kiss that it would be good between them—he knew how to make the most of a moment—still she’d been surprised by the intensity.

  “I have a feeling you can find a fix for any compl
ication,” she said.

  “You think? See you soon. Drive safe.”

  “Always,” she said, then ended the call, suddenly in a much better mood.

  Contrary to what Joe had told Arianna, he hadn’t been slaving in the kitchen all day. He planned to grill hamburgers, and he’d bought salad and dessert from a local deli. She would probably be horrified at the fat and calorie content, but his repertoire of culinary accomplishments was a short list.

  The phone rang. He wondered if she was calling to say she wouldn’t be able to make it, after all.

  It wasn’t Arianna, however, but his lieutenant returning his call.

  “You wanted me to check in once in a while,” Joe said.

  “How’s it going?” Morgan asked.

  “Good.”

  “You keeping busy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How’s your father?”

  “The same. I’m almost done clearing out the house. The new owners take possession next week.”

  “So, it’ll be behind you.”

  Only someone who hadn’t been through what he’d been through would say it like that, like it was easy to give up your history. “Yeah.”

  “Been on a date?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes.” He couldn’t have asked for a better lead into what he wanted to ask Morgan. “With Arianna Alvarado.”

  “The P.I.?”

  “We met at a Halloween party. Did you know her father was LAPD and was killed on the job?” He saw Arianna’s car pull up in front of his house.

  “I did know that. She doesn’t seem like your type.”

  “I was surprised, too. What’s the story with her father, do you know? She says it’s unsolved and my dad was lead on it.” Joe opened the front door as Arianna came up the walkway. She smiled and walked past him then on into the living room. He was distracted by the way she looked in her jeans, so he didn’t notice Morgan’s silence until several seconds had passed.

  “I remember when the shooting took place,” Morgan said. “But I wasn’t a detective yet.”

  “I’d like to come in and take a look at the file.”

  A few beats passed. “I told you four weeks and I meant it, Joe.”

  “This would be different.”