Sex, Lies and Surveillance

by Stephanie Julian

  Thank God, she smelled coffee. Mal must have started it.

  Now her eyes were open.

  Last night replayed in a rush. Someone had tried to kill her. And she and Mal had spent another night in her bed.

  She looked at the clock and gasped. It was already seven-thirty. Usually by this time she was on her way to the office.

  Tearing off the sheets, she jumped out of bed, then peeked around the partition. Dressed in the sweats and T-shirt from last night, Mal sat at her kitchen table, reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. She took a moment and simply stared.

  He looked so solemn. So still. So intensely sexy with his mussed hair and sleep-rumpled clothes.

  Not at all her ideal. No, she’d always thought her perfect man would be funny, light-hearted like Jimmy, not overbearing like Nic. But with Nic’s all-consuming attention and none of Jimmy’s absentmindedness.

  So she wanted a man just like her brothers? God, she was certifiable.

  After grabbing clean underwear—she debated between red silk and white cotton for far too long before choosing the red silk—a long skirt and tailored white shirt, she dashed into the bathroom and emerged fifteen minutes later, feeling only marginally ready to handle the day.

  “Good morning.” Damn, she sounded so unsure, which happened to be how she felt. Still, she didn’t like hearing it in her voice.

  Mal looked up from paper, his expression carefully blank. “I made coffee.”

  “I guess you found everything okay.”

  He stood and took his cup to the sink, rinsing it before placing it carefully in her dishwasher. He walked with only a slight limp.

  Turning, he leaned against the counter as she walked over to pour a cup of coffee. Why did it always taste so much better when someone else made it?

  “Yeah. Listen, we need to talk about what we’re going to tell your parents and your brothers. I figure you don’t want to tell them what happened.”

  It hadn’t even crossed her mind. “No, of course not. I don’t want anything to upset my dad.”

  Mal nodded, as if that was exactly what he thought she’d say. “I don’t figure your mom will be in the office much because of the kidnapping, but I don’t want Bennett bothering her. I’ll go talk to him this morning, convince him it’s in his best interests not to say anything about last night.”

  Taking another sip of coffee, she watched his gorgeous mouth tilt up slightly.

  She frowned at him. “What?”

  “Your mom’s gonna have my head on a platter when she finds out about this.”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, she won’t, Mal. I’ll make sure of it. My parents need to learn I’m not a child anymore who needs their protection.”

  His grin twisted. “Yeah, well, after last night—”

  “Don’t even go there.” Irritation began to replace anxiety. “I do not need another man hovering over me like my father or my brothers. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  “I’m not your brother.” The softly spoken words made every hair on her body stand at attention, dissipating her irritation. The look in his eyes nearly melted the buttons on her shirt. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get enough air. And all she could smell was him. The coffee on his breath and the musky scent of his skin.

  She turned away before she gave in to temptation and kissed him. They had too much to do to be distracted by that right now.

  But later…

  “So, what are you suggesting?”

  He leaned away infinitesimally. “With the two of us working together, we should be able to close this case in a few days.”

  He wanted her help with the case? “Okay.”

  “And I want to be with you again tonight.”

  Whoa. That hadn’t been at all what she’d been expecting, but butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she struggled not to break into a goofy grin “I want that too.”

  His grin resurfaced and she heard him take a not quite steady breath, as if he’d been worried she’s say no. “Good. That’s good.”

  He surprised her into laughing and it felt great. It made her hopeful for what would come.

  “I do think,” she said, “that we shouldn’t tell my parents or my brothers, though. Not yet.” Who knew what would happen? “But—”

  The doorbell rang.

  “You remember Annie lives across the street, right?”

  It was his turn to laugh, but it wasn’t amused.

  “Never a dull moment with the DeMarcos, is there?” He pointed a thumb toward the door. “You gonna let her in?”

  Janey pressed the button to open the outside door. “Do you want to—” She didn’t want to say hide. She was an adult and Annie was her best friend. If she asked Annie to keep their relationship under her hat, she would. But maybe Mal didn’t want anyone else to know.

  His eyebrows raised. “Do you want me to?”

  “No, Mal. I don’t want you to. Let me get the door.”

  “Hey, you got any coffee? I’m all out and—” Annie stopped in midstream, her eyes nearly comically large when she caught sight of Mal. Then she turned Janey with a big grin and a wink.

  “Ooh-kay. You didn’t tell me you had company. I wouldn’t have knocked, but the paper was gone from the step so I figured you were up and about. I’ll just head downtown—”

  Janey grabbed Annie’s arm before she could make a break for it, embarrassing them all further. “Don’t be ridiculous. Come on in and I’ll tell you what happened last night.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Annie’s expression had gone from amused to horrified.

  “No, you’re absolutely right.” Annie shook her head. “You can’t tell your dad. Or your mom or your brothers. Do you even think you can do that?”

  Good question. Her family was close. They were also extremely overprotective.

  “I can do it.” And then she had her first great idea for the day. “And you’re going to help.”

  ***

  Mal hadn’t thought the day could get any worse.

  He’d woken up with an erection and a headache after getting about three hours of sleep. Usually not a problem, but with Janey pressed against him, it made him feel like a caged wild animal, ready to gnaw at the walls.

  Last night had been better than the time before. If they continued to have sex, he just might die from pleasure. And he couldn’t afford that. So, he’d eased away from her before she woke and hunted down coffee.

  Then some demon in his brain had suggested they continue their relationship. It would allow him to stay close to her and clear his NSA case against the DeMarcos and watch over her while he cleared this threat against Bennett. And damn if she hadn’t agreed.

  But she’d countered with a proposal of her own.

  And that had been the signature on his death warrant.

  Now in his office, he still had the headache, but the erection was gone. Only a severe ache remained to remind him of it.

  He, Janey and Annie had taken a taxi to his apartment after they’d left Janey’s. They’d waited for him in his bare living room while he showered and dressed. Now they were ensconced in Janey’s office, and he was hiding in his.

  “Hey, Mal, you got a minute?”

  Nic stood in his doorway, tall and dark and faintly menacing.

  It took everything in him to keep his expression open. “Sure.”

  Nic stepped through and closed the door behind him. And for a brief moment, Mal was sure Nic had found out he’d slept at Janey’s last night. The guy was going to pummel him and Mal would let him.

  “I’m taking off again for this kidnapping and I need to ask you a favor.”

  “Okay.”

  Nic’s expression got even darker. “Make sure Janey’s not alone with Bennett. The guy’s an asshole, and I don’t want her to have to deal with him.”

  In his head, his father’s hearty laughter was nearly deafening.

  He wanted to laugh himself. “No problem.”

 
Nic nodded. “Thanks.” He paused, as if considering something else. “And since Annie’s gonna be here now, maybe you could keep an eye on her too.”

  “No problem.” Really—considering the women lived across the street from each other and he was planning on spending a lot of time with Janey—it was no problem.

  Nic didn’t look satisfied with that answer. “You okay, Mal? You don’t look too good this morning.”

  Go ahead, tell him about last night. Maybe he’ll take a swing at you and you can get this itch for violence out of your system. Always seemed to help in high school. ’Course, you usually got the shit kicked out of you then, son.

  “I’m fine. Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

  Go ahead. Tell him why.

  No fucking way. I don’t have a death wish.

  “Mom said you’re handling Bennett’s case. No pressure, but I’ll be glad when you clear that one so we can get rid of that creep. Talk to you later.”

  As the door closed behind Nic, the walls started to close in.

  Dug yourself a nice hole, son. Kinda like that time in Reno with that showgirl you were working for information.

  That had ended badly. The girl—she’s only been about twenty at the time—was now doing federal time for robbery. He’d thought about warning her, thought about getting her help. But he hadn’t. She’d been guilty and that had been all that mattered.

  What if you find out Janey was involved in Dev’s death, son? What then?

  Hell if he knew.

  ***

  “Janey, I’m not so sure about this. This has the makings of disaster written all over it.”

  “Yeah, well, you know how you’re always trying to set me up with people, get me to go out more, have a life beyond work?” Janey passed Annie a file. “Consider this payback. You owe me. If I’m going to help Mal with this case, then I need you to help me with the office work.”

  “You saw the way Nic looked at me this morning.” Annie shook her head, and Janey saw a flash of despair in her eyes before she got angry. “He’s going to make my life miserable.”

  Annie had been in love with Nic since forever. Nic, being the idiot male that he was, had no clue.

  “Please.” Janey placed her hand on Annie’s shoulder and squeezed. “Give it a try. Just for a few days. Then if you don’t want to stay, I won’t say another word about it.”

  Annie glanced at the door again and froze.

  Nic stood there, watching. Janey wasn’t sure how much he’d heard because his expression showed nothing.

  “I’m gonna be gone for a few days.” He walked forward and held out a yellow legal pad to Annie, which she took after a few seconds. “The kidnapping. I’ll check in tonight.”

  Then he left without another word.

  Annie’s shaky smile made Janey’s heart ache. “Guess that solves that problem.” She took a deep breath and her entire demeanor changed, hardened. “So, teach me the ropes. I’m all yours for the next few days.”

  Annie had a tough shell that Janey admired, but Janey didn’t want to be like Annie, pining after a man she couldn’t have or who didn’t want her.

  But Mal did want her. Those kisses weren’t faked. She’d been kissed by practiced liars. And now that she knew some of what he was hiding, the pieces of his personality were starting to fall into place.

  Sure, there were still a lot of holes. She didn’t know his favorite food or what music he liked to listen to.

  But they were going to be spending a lot of time together. Surely she had enough of her mother in her to find out what she needed to know.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I shouldn’t be eating this stuff.” Janey gave the greasy cheese fry in her hand a dirty look before she bit into it. “Especially since I’m missing the gym tonight.”

  Janey and Mal were parked outside a row home in Northern Liberties. Bennett was visiting his parents, hard as it was to believe he had parents. She was sure he’d been hatched from some vulture’s nest somewhere.

  “You go to the gym a lot?” Mal leaned against the driver’s side door of the company car, looking completely relaxed in jeans and a black T-shirt though his gaze was always searching.

  “I try to go at least three times a week.”

  She popped another fry into her mouth, then wrapped the carton in the bag and set it on the floor. She hoped Bennett would be leaving soon so she could get rid of the greasy bag. It certainly wasn’t conducive to seduction. Even though she really shouldn’t be thinking about that. They were working.

  “So what else do you do for fun?” Mal trained his gaze back onto the darkening street. The streetlamps were just starting to buzz on and the street was in the eerie place between dark and light.

  “I like to travel. You traveled a lot too, didn’t you?”

  Mal answered immediately, without thinking. “Yeah, my dad and I traveled pretty much all over the world.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  He nodded, his lips curving. “I thrived on it. It was like getting a new start every couple of years. A new place to conquer, new people to meet. Like getting a new identity. Every now and then, though, Dad would ship me back to the states for a few months to live with my aunt ’cause he always got the worst assignments. I hated it. Aunt Gert wanted to civilize me, and I had no intentions of ever doing anything other than being in the navy. You don’t need to be real civilized to be a sailor.”

  “So why did you leave?”

  “Because I wanted to do something more with my life, make more of a difference, and computers were my ticket to doing that.”

  “Mine too. My computer skills are my contribution to the family business. And I was always much more comfortable in the office.”

  Gee, wasn’t that just the most boring thing she could have said?

  “Was?”

  Mal’s question startled her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You said ‘I was more comfortable in the office.’ Aren’t you anymore?”

  “Yes. Yes, of course I am. It’s just…”

  Not enough anymore. She liked helping Luke, loved the thrill of digging out hidden information, of tracking down leads. She liked the anonymity but also the feeling that she was giving back more than support to her parents or brothers. That she was actually making a difference in the fight against crime. She grimaced. Okay, that even sounded hokey when she said it in her head.

  “Just what?”

  She wanted to tell Mal about her work with Luke, wanted to be honest with him. But she couldn’t until she’d talked to Luke. She owed him that, since he had followed her dictate that no one know she was helping him.

  Mal’s gaze slid away to watch the street when she didn’t answer right away.

  “I just… I wish Nic would learn to type and Jimmy wouldn’t blow up the basement on a regular basis. I wish my dad was out of the woods and that my parents would stop pushing me toward totally inappropriate men.”

  There, that got his attention.

  “Inappropriate men?”

  Because none of them are you.

  She returned her gaze to Bennett’s parents’ front door. “My dad actually set me up with a priest once. Well, not a true priest. He was a seminary student.”

  Mal snorted. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m not.” She shrugged. “He was a nice guy, but he just…” Didn’t do a thing for her. Not like Mal. “It’s just been too hard to date lately, what with my dad’s heart troubles and all the work we’ve had. I get tired of making small talk about nothing. Most of the cases we handle, I can’t even discuss outside the office.”

  She felt a tug on the end of her braid and found Mal’s fingers curled around it, resting just above her breast. Her heart started to thud. “I know what you mean. Most of my life, I couldn’t tell the women I dated what I was doing or where I’d been. Most women I’ve met don’t understand that when I say I can’t talk about it, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”


  She nodded. “It’s hard. I can’t even tell my best friend what we’re up to half the time. She knows not to push, though. There aren’t a lot of people who would know those boundaries.”

  “No, there aren’t. It’s nice to meet one.”

  Janey stared into his eyes as if hypnotized. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted him to take her in his arms and pull her against him—

  Mal’s gaze sliced away and he dropped her braid. “Damn, that man has awful timing.”

  She laughed, unable to do anything else as Bennett left his parents’ house. “I’ve heard that said about his movies too.”

  Mal started the car and let it idle as Bennett left the porch. “Yeah, well, someone should make him pay for those movies, but let’s make sure it’s not on our watch.”

  Bennett stopped to speak to a middle-aged woman who came out onto the porch of the neighboring house. After a short conversation, Bennett waved and left in the limousine that had brought him, the bodyguard in the front seat.

  They followed Bennett back to his hotel and parked until they’d watched him enter, his bodyguard following behind. A heavy silence settled into the car after they made sure no one had followed the director.

  Janey gave a surreptitious glance into the backseat, where Mal’s duffel bag sat. It’d been there all night, like a sarcastic little chaperone.

  She pulled up the sleeve of her dark sweatshirt and glanced at her watch. “So, you want to get something to eat and take it back to my house, or do you want to go somewhere to eat or we could—”

  Mal didn’t look at her. “Why don’t we just pick up a pizza and head back to your place?”

  “Okay, yeah, that’s fine. Then we can check out the neighbor.”

  Now she had his attention. “Why?”

  She shrugged but didn’t look at him. “Just a hunch. It was the way she looked at him.”

  Kind of how Janey imagined she looked at Mal. Starved for more.

  They stopped for a pizza at Sal’s on the way back to her building, then settled it on a clean space on her desk before starting to investigate the neighbor.

  Okay, this was good, Janey thought. She could pretend they were at work. She could try to forget that her bed was only a few feet away.