Sex, Lies and Surveillance

by Stephanie Julian

Then he made sure he left the same way he’d come in.

  Christ, what a cluster fuck.

  Leaving Jimmy’s mad-scientist lab behind him as fast as he could, he wished like hell he hadn’t found anything. That he could call his boss and tell him there was nothing here and he was getting the hell out.

  But every time he turned, he found another puzzle piece that didn’t fit.

  Or maybe he just didn’t want to make it fit. And he didn’t want to bring the wrong people down when he did.

  ***

  Curb-to-curb traffic filled Vine Street and a horrendous symphony of beeping horns and machine noise made Janey’s head throb.

  Pressing a hand to her temple, she tried to ease some of the pain. The doctor had said her dad’s blood pressure was elevated. Not a lot, and nothing to be worried about.

  Yet.

  “You okay, hon? You keep rubbing your head.”

  “I’m fine.” She dropped her hand and turned to her dad. “Are the doctors sure you don’t need to have your prescription adjusted? Maybe we should get another opinion.”

  “I don’t need another opinion. The doctors said it’s not that high.”

  “Yeah, but how high is high enough to worry about?”

  “Honey, I’m fine. End of discussion.”

  She wanted to argue with him, but she knew that look. He’d had enough and no matter what else she said, he wasn’t going to listen.

  She bit her tongue for the rest of the trip.

  By the time she’d dropped her father at home and barreled through the front door of the office, she was ready to attack whatever problem she encountered head-on.

  She wasn’t prepared to find herself alone with Mal. No brothers, no mother, no clients. Just Mal, sitting in his office, tapping away at the keyboard.

  She knocked on his door, even though it was open, and watched that wary look he wore whenever she was around cross his face. But he did stop typing.

  “Hey, Mal. Anything happen while I was gone?”

  Like the network crashed and she needed to rip through it. Or the city codes enforcement office called to pick a fight over their last building inspection. Damn it, she hated that she couldn’t do anything for her dad. And she hated that she couldn’t figure out this man either.

  With each kiss, each touch, she’d felt the world shudder to a stop. They hadn’t spoken since he’d made her come with only his fingers. And she couldn’t help but think maybe the reason he hadn’t called her yesterday was because he’d thought Saturday night was a mistake.

  “No. All quiet. How’d the appointment go?”

  “Fine. Dad’s fine.” He is.

  “And you? You’re okay?”

  Genuine concern lit in his eyes, as if he could read her anxiety. Here she thought she’d been covering it so well.

  “I’m fine. No luck yesterday following Bennett?”

  “No.” He gestured toward the screen. “I’ve been analyzing the last few letters, trying to find something. Jimmy wasn’t able to lift any prints, so I’m working forward from when they started.”

  “I haven’t seen the letter he got last week. Want me to look over it?”

  He blinked. “No. No, really, that’s okay. I’m sure you’ve got enough of your own work to do.”

  Hmm. He really didn’t want her to see that letter.

  She moved closer to his desk, closer to the open file on top. “Are you sure? I’ve got some time, if you need me for something.”

  “Hey, Janey. Mal.” Jimmy stuck his head through the open door, startling her. “They called me halfway to Washington and canceled the meeting, so I’m gonna do some work. How was Dad’s appointment?”

  “The doctor says he’s fine, though his blood pressure is a little elevated.”

  Jimmy’s indulgent expression raised her blood pressure. “Janey, if the doctor said he’s okay, then he’s okay. Quit worrying about things you can’t change.”

  Jimmy turned to Mal and gave him an apologetic shrug. “Sorry to rile her up and leave, but I’ve got an explosive to play with downstairs. See you later.”

  Steam should be coming out of her ears. Damn her family for making her feel like a paranoid child.

  And damn Mal for the smile she caught him wiping off his face.

  “What are you laughing at?” She crossed her arms over her breasts and watched Mal drop his gaze for a brief second.

  “I’m not laughing at you, Janey.”

  “Fine, then how about you let me read that letter you don’t want me see?”

  Mal’s expression closed off faster than she could crack a commercial firewall. “Maybe you should tell me why you want to read the letter. Is there’s something you don’t want me to know about your relationship with Bennett?”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she found herself moving around the desk until there was nothing between them. With him still in his chair, she towered over him. Of all the jackass— “I do not have a relationship with Bennett. But I certainly expect to be kept apprised of all developments in our cases.”

  His gaze narrowed and his mouth drew into a thin line. He wasn’t happy but that was too damn bad.

  “I am so sick of the men—”

  She didn’t know what she expected him to do. But standing and grabbing her around the waist certainly wasn’t it.

  When he bent toward her and fastened his lips on hers, reality faded and she didn’t even notice its absence.

  Mal figured he had about two seconds before Janey began to fight him. He hadn’t really planned to kiss her, but it’d seemed like the fastest way to change the subject.

  Now, though… now, he couldn’t remember what they’d been discussing.

  Her lips, after a frozen moment, began to warm and soften and her arms linked around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

  The heat in their kiss began to implode, drawing him in. He couldn’t have pulled away if he’d wanted. She clung to him, her head tilting to the perfect angle for her mouth to welcome his tongue.

  His temperature ratcheted up to about one hundred and five degrees and his body responded with a surge of desire that gave him an instant erection. She had to be able to feel it. And she did, if the thrust of her hips was any indication.

  He let his tongue glide into her mouth and nearly lost his resolve as she sucked on it gently. When she chased his tongue back with her own, he nearly lost his mind. He lifted her off her feet so he didn’t have to bend, until she was slightly above him. He kept one arm around her waist to hold her there and thrust the other under her blouse, tearing it out of the waistband.

  When he met warm skin, he groaned into her mouth, felt her arch more heavily against him.

  And the floor literally moved beneath his feet.

  She slid down his body, breathing heavily. Mal realized at the exact moment Janey did that something was wrong.

  She gasped. “Oh my God. Jimmy.”

  He released her at the same time she tried to scramble free and she twisted her ankle as she stumbled. But it didn’t stop her from running toward the lab.

  He grabbed her before she could open the door.

  “Stand back, Janey. I don’t want you to get burned.”

  The doorknob didn’t feel hot and, when he cracked open the door, there was no smoke, only an acrid odor.

  “Jimmy!” Janey yelled over his shoulder. “Jimmy, are you all right?”

  No answer.

  “Stay here.” He turned to see her wide eyes quickly filling with tears. “I’ll be right back.”

  He ran down the stairs, not at all surprised to find her following on his heels. When they hit the ground floor, she beat him to her brother, who was lying on the ground by the nearest worktable, out cold.

  Mal didn’t see any blood, but a broken container lay next to his body and a clear liquid that looked like water pooled next to it.

  “Jimmy, oh my God.” Her breaths sounded like sobs. “You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

 
“Janey, go call 9-1-1.” When she didn’t move immediately, he yelled at her like she was a raw recruit. “Right now, Janey. Right now!”

  She turned wide eyes on him that flashed—first with anger, then with gratitude. She rose from her knees and hurried to the nearest phone.

  Mal knelt beside Jimmy. He was splayed flat out at a right angle to the table. His breathing was shallow and he looked like he’d taken a hit to the chest by the faint scorch marks on his T-shirt. Listening with half an ear to Janey talk to the 9-1-1 operator, Mal started with Jimmy’s arms, feeling for broken bones. By the time he got to his legs, he was pretty sure Jimmy didn’t have any fractures.

  “Hey, man. You know, I like you and all, but this is a little farther than I typically go on a first date.”

  Mal found Jimmy staring at him with heavy-lidded eyes and a faint smirk.

  “Don’t move, Jimmy. We’ve got an ambulance coming—”

  “Guess I got that explosive to work a little too well. Shit, Mom’s gonna have my ass for the mess. I think…” Jimmy’s eyes started to close.

  “Hey, buddy.” Mal squeezed Jimmy’s hand and relief crashed through him when Jimmy returned the gesture. “No sleeping. Wait till the ambulance gets here.”

  “What happened?” Jimmy’s voice was scratchy.

  “I don’t know. What do you remember?”

  “I remember picking up the bottle, getting ready to take it over to the bomb case. I must have shaken it too much, though, because the next thing I know I’m on the floor and you’re feeling me up.”

  Mal grinned, relieved as all hell that Jimmy felt well enough to make a joke. “You’re not my type.”

  “You idiot.” Janey knelt on the other side of Jimmy and took his hand. “I’m going to force you to do your own reports for a week if you scare me like this again.”

  “Janey, I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt…that bad,” he said through a grimace.

  She snorted. “Yeah, right. Just for lying, I’m going to make you do your own filing too.”

  Mal heard the faint sound of a siren and turned for the stairs to let the paramedics in.

  Jimmy tightened his hand on Mal’s. “Hey, man, don’t get any ideas, but I’m gonna need you to help me up the stairs. Can’t have…anyone down here. Clearance issues.”

  “Jimmy—”

  “Got the wind knocked out of me. That’s all. Come on, just help me up.”

  Mal looked at Janey, sure she’d tell Jimmy to stay put, but she was already bending down to help her brother.

  So many secrets in this building. Maybe too many.

  Shaking his head, Mal slung Jimmy’s arm around his shoulders and carried him up the stairs.

  ***

  “Janey, you okay?”

  For a second, she considered not answering Mal’s quiet question, perhaps feigning sleep, but dismissed it as the coward’s way out. And she was no coward.

  She sat up straight and shook back her hair, longing for a ponytail holder. She’d lost hers somewhere between that kiss in her office and the hospital. “Is the doctor coming?”

  Mal shook his head. “Not yet. I got your mom. She’s on her way back. Nic’s still in Jersey. Your mom said she’d call your dad.”

  They had let her stay with Jimmy until a doctor had seen him. He was going to be fine, the stupid idiot. But it looked like he’d be staying at Mom and Dad’s for a while. He needed to be watched for concussion.

  Mal had offered to make phone calls and she’d gratefully taken him up on it. But now it was just the two of them—in a crowded inner-city emergency room. And still, nothing else intruded on her world when she stared into Mal’s hazel eyes. He broke that mesmerizing contact when he turned to gesture toward the hallway behind him.

  “You want me to get you some coffee?”

  He seemed determined to stay away from her, retreating into his shy routine, but she was beginning to see it for the cover it was.

  He’d been the one to take charge when all she could see was Jimmy lying on the floor. To make sure everything that needed to get done was done.

  She touched a fingertip to her aching right temple and closed her eyes.

  Mal brushed a hand over the top of her head. “Are you okay? Janey—”

  “My God, Janey. We came as soon as we heard. When the police scanner relayed the address to the office, we knew something had happened.”

  Janey looked up to find Olive and Stella DeMarco bustling into the waiting room like a pair of bulldogs on the hunt.

  Her father’s aunts, at seventy-five and seventy-three respectively, had always reminded Janey of tornados in the form of dowager widows. While age had slowed them, they still had the ability to fell stalwart politicians and hardheaded business executives at fifty paces.

  Janey rose, but by the time she’d started to move, her aunts were by her side.

  “You didn’t have to make the trip down here from Manayunk.” Janey held out a hand to each aunt. They both grabbed her at the same time and pulled her to them for a group hug. Janey kissed each of their powdered cheeks in turn. “Jimmy’s going to be fine. He knocked himself out with a new explosive. But you know Jimmy. His head’s almost as thick as Nic’s.”

  “Oh, we were so worried.” Redheaded Olive patted her cheek and drew her back to the bank of chairs along the wall. “I kind of figured it was Jimmy. He messes around with all that dangerous stuff.”

  Black-haired Stella plopped down in the chair on her other side. “Have you seen the doctors? Do you know who’s treating him? Sam’s kid is on staff here, you know. Works in the surgery unit. I think I’ll just go find out who’s the doctor on call.” She popped up again and marched over to the counter.

  “Something you need, young man?” Aunt Olive’s gaze shifted to her left.

  “How do you do, ma’am?” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Mal Laughlin.”

  Janey looked up to see Mal hovering in front of her.

  Olive’s eyes narrowed as she looked from Janey to Mal before shaking. “You’re the new guy, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances.”

  Olive’s penciled brows rose. “Well now, nobody’s dead. And I’ve been in more than a few emergency rooms before. You’re a former government employee, aren’t you?”

  “Um, Mal, I think I could use some water, if you can find some, and maybe some Tylenol.” Janey recognized the look on Olive’s face and jumped in before her aunt could get going on her favorite subject—politics. “I’ve got a headache.”

  The relief on his face was almost laughable. “Sure, I’ll ask over at the nurse’s station.”

  She tried not to watch him walk away but couldn’t help herself, all the while thinking baggy khakis shouldn’t look that good on anyone.

  ***

  Mal sat with Janey for two hours, watching as she coordinated the visiting DeMarco clan. They had descended en masse, nearly twenty aunts, uncles and cousins in and out of Jimmy’s room.

  But when the last one left, a nurse approached Mal and said Jimmy had asked to see him.

  “Hey, man. How’s the head?”

  Jimmy looked away from the TV, where a CNN anchor droned on about falling stock prices. “I’ve been knocked on my ass more than a few times. I’ll survive.”

  “Anything I can do? I need to go back to the office for some files. Anything you need done in the lab?”

  “No. The company already had a cleaning crew in to make sure everything’s taken care of.”

  Which meant Jimmy’s explosive was government work.

  “Thought I had the mix right this time.”

  Mal snorted. “Obviously not. You heading home with your parents?”

  “As soon as they cut me loose. My mom’s probably not gonna let me out of her sight for a couple days, at least. Hell, I’m thirty-three. She’s treating me like I’m ten. Guess I’ll be getting a few home-cooked meals. There are advantages to being injured. Still…” Jimmy gave Mal a look he�
�d learned to be wary of around the DeMarcos.

  “What?”

  “Ah, it’s just a little thing. Never mind. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

  Mal stilled, like prey that knew it was being stalked. “What kind of trouble?”

  Jimmy grinned. “You wanna learn some of the DeMarco surveillance techniques?”

  Chapter Ten

  By the time the doctor released Jimmy, the entire extended DeMarco family had checked in or stopped by.

  Hoarse from handling nearly fifty phone calls, Janey wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a quiet night with a book or the TV and a bottle of wine.

  Luckily, she found a space only a couple of feet from her front door. By the time she shut off the car, she wasn’t surprised to see Annie heading across the street from her home.

  A chill wind bit through her shirt, and she realized she’d forgotten her coat somewhere along the line. Probably back at the office because she didn’t remember grabbing it on her way to the hospital.

  “Hey.” Annie rushed over to her. “I got your call, but I was in meetings all day. How’s Jimmy? Everything okay?”

  Janey nodded, digging for her keys. At least she’d remembered her purse. “He’s fine. Just another knock on his hard head. You want to come in? I’m going to order Chinese and open a bottle of wine.”

  “Count me in. I don’t have plans for tonight.”

  Janey feigned shocked surprise as she opened the heavy steel door that led into her building. “Oh my God. You’re dateless?”

  Annie gave her a rap on the shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t be a smart-ass. I had a bad day. The women’s shelter has been happy to have me volunteer since I quit but all those meetings drive me crazy. It just sucked dealing with all the bureaucratic bullshit today.”

  “Well, mine wasn’t much better.”

  After opening the second, original wooden door, she kicked off her shoes and sank her feet into the plush carpet defining the living room.

  “So, did you figure out what happened?” Annie fell onto the purple chenille couch.

  “Not yet.” Janey headed for the bathroom at the rear of the space, passing by the kitchen area and dropping her purse on the table. A frosted glass wall separated the bathroom, formerly the plant manager’s office, from the rest of the living area. “He thinks he mixed up his bottles. Sometimes I think Jimmy’s missing the common-sense gene.”