by Kylie Brant
“I’ll see him in hell first,” J. Walter vowed grimly.
Jacey almost smiled. The man was a warrior, through and through. She’d been concerned when she first noticed him striding toward the car. Just in the short time since they’d begun their association, he had failed, physically. His suit hung more loosely on his tall frame, and strain was evident on his features.
This latest development wouldn’t help his stress level.
“I didn’t expect you to roll over for this guy. But you deserve to know what your options are. If you feel that continuing to retain my services in any way compromises this investigation, you need to tell me now.”
His frown was fiercely impatient. “Don’t be ridiculous. It wouldn’t matter which agency I used. The man obviously thinks he can bully anyone into submission.”
She nodded. “I think so, too. He’ll contact me again, and I plan to allow him to think that he’s succeeded. I’ll tell him I’m preparing dual reports, one with the actual results of the investigation, and another for you, sanitized per his specifications. This allows me to continue my investigation for you, while gathering evidence that will connect one of your relatives to Tomsino.”
J. Walter was silent long enough to have her glancing over at him. “I don’t like it,” he finally said. “What’s the fallout for you when my will designates someone else as the one chosen to run the company? I’ll be gone, but you’ll still be here and the man is going to know, or at least suspect, that you double-crossed him.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She wasn’t going to admit that she hadn’t quite figured out that aspect of the plan yet. But she had every confidence that she and Lucky would come up with something. “I just want to assure you that the investigation won’t be compromised. But if you would feel safer starting over with a fresh company, that might buy you some time from the man.”
He heaved a sigh. “Time is one thing I don’t have, Ms. Wheeler. And not knowing how the man learned of our association makes it near impossible to guarantee he wouldn’t discover if I hired another. No, what you’re suggesting is right up my alley. Double-crossing the bastard and beating him at his own game. But you haven’t convinced me that you won’t be putting yourself in danger by doing so. Charlotte would never let me rest easy in my grave if something happened to you while you worked a case for me.”
Mention of her mother gave her a little jolt. With a dart of guilt she realized she hadn’t spoken to her since the night of Peter’s engagement party. She’d dreaded having another encounter with her over Lucky, especially in light of the recent changes in their relationship.
With effort, she pushed the thought from her mind. She’d contact her mother in the next couple of days, and if their conversation involved yet another disagreement, that wouldn’t be unusual. Nothing was going to make her regret the change in the relationship between her and Lucky. She wasn’t quite sure yet what the future held, but whatever it was would be between the two of them.
Checking the rearview mirror again, she said wryly, “You don’t need to worry. That confidentiality clause precludes even my mother from the details of our association.”
“She’s a determined woman. You’re a lot like her.”
Her brows shot up. She wasn’t sure how to interpret that remark. When the next opportunity arose she turned, headed back in the direction of his building.
He went on. “You’ve got her grit and her determination. More heart, though. That I’d say you got from your father. At any rate, I’m betting on you to be more than a match for Tomsino. I’ll want to be kept apprised of events as they occur, as per our original agreement.”
“You can count on it.”
His next words then had her head swiveling toward him. “If I begin to think at anytime, though, that this investigation is putting you and your operatives in too much danger, I reserve the right to pull the plug on the whole thing. I have enough on my conscience without that, as well.”
There was nothing to be said to that, so she remained silent. But as she drove back to Garvey Enterprises, she was well aware that even if the assignment was pulled from her agency, that wouldn’t necessarily protect them from Tomsino. The only way to do that was, as J. Walter had put it, to beat the man at his own game.
Jacey returned the rental car and headed back toward the office. She found Lucky already in when she got there and as she stood in the doorway of his office, her heart skittered a bit as she looked at him. He’d obviously gone home at some point. Although he hadn’t bothered to shave, he was wearing yet another obnoxious T-shirt, this one announcing that P.I.s did it undercover. She shook her head and refused to comment on it.
Instead she strolled in, shutting the door behind her. Rounding his desk, she said, “So, am I going to lose you to the Sanitation Department anytime soon?”
He looked up from the sheaf of papers he was perusing. There was a glint in his eye when he saw her. “You owe me, big-time, for that.”
“I’m almost certain I prepaid that particular account.”
There was a thread of pure wickedness in his tone. “Mais oui, but I may need to renegotiate. Based on what I’ve discovered, you owe me much, much more.”
Their teasing was abruptly forgotten. “You found something? What was it?”
“A couple things of interest. First of all was this.” He opened a folder and withdrew a sheet of paper. Taking it from him, she saw that it was Mark Garvey’s cell bill. There were some calls circled, twelve in all, to the same number. She checked the date. It was for the current month’s payment.
“And do I have to guess whose number it is?”
“It’s Tomsino’s cell.”
She was about to open her mouth to ask if he was sure, then closed it again. He’d arranged the call that had gotten the man away from the restaurant last night. Given their past relationship, it figured Lucky would have the man’s number.
Studying the dates, she did some calculation. They started well before the time J. Walter had approached her about the case. “What is Tomsino into?”
Lucky lifted a shoulder. “What isn’t he into? Drugs, prostitution, extortion, racketeerin’, loan-sharkin’…he considers himself well diversified.”
She leaned against the corner of his desk facing him, the bill still in her hand. “This is a start, anyway. Involvement in any one of those activities would provide Tomsino with blackmail opportunities. Do you think this is enough to start heavy surveillance on him?”
“It’s only a matter of time until Tomsino contacts you again. He’ll reveal which Garvey he wants sanitized then. If we have to, we can always switch our focus, but for now, this is enough for me.”
She nodded. “It would help to get some of this in place before Tomsino realizes we know who his link is. That way we stay one step ahead of him.” When she saw that Lucky’s interest seemed to be arrowed on her legs, she made an effort to tug her skirt farther down over them. “What do you think about using two dozen operatives?”
He didn’t seem to register her outlandish statement. “Hmm?” His hand came out to cup her calf, and at the firm kneading her temperature shot up ten degrees.
“I was thinking the pig and the cow could drive the first car and we could fill the other with the chickens.”
His tone was distracted. “Good thinkin’.” He stroked a hand up her leg to her thigh, only to have it slapped away. He looked up with a wounded expression on his face. “What? I was listenin’. More operatives. We’ll need them for the covert surveillance.”
“And you just agreed to get them off the nearest farm. Now pay attention.” To make sure he did, she circled the desk and sat in a chair opposite him. “I’d like to place a GPS surveillance device on his car now, today, before Tomsino catches up with me again. Neither of us will be able to be involved in the actual surveillance since Garvey knows me, and Tomsino would recognize both of us. But we can track the GPS device from the computer here, and communicate with the teams by cell phone.”
“Six operatives, three male-female teams.” A male-female combination generally aroused far less suspicion than would two males. Lucky’s attention was firmly back on business. He snuck another peek at Jacey’s legs. Almost firmly. “Which agency are you going with?”
“I think SVS Laboratories. I’ve used their operatives before, and many of them are the right age. Middle-aged couples in the cars attract less attention.”
“LRE Services has the best equipment,” he reminded her.
“We can supplement wherever they’re short. At any rate, it may come down to who has operatives free to begin immediately. Do you want to make the contact?”
He looked at her, his expression shrewd. “Why? What are you going to do?”
“Put the GPS device in place before Garvey leaves work.”
Lucky nodded. “I’ll get operatives over here and brief them. Better make a list now of the equipment they’re going to require. That might take the longest time, getting everything rounded up.” He went to the desk and sat down, taking out a pencil and pen. “Rental cars, plain sedans. Cell phones with car chargers.”
“With rentals it works best if they bring double cigarette lighter plugs so they can be constantly recharging their cell phones.”
“Extra phone batteries,” Lucky noted, jotting everything down. “High-powered binoculars.”
“I’ll take care of getting photos for them of Mark and Tomsino for identification,” Jacey promised. “Each team should have a small digital video recorder with zoom and a digital camera with a zoom lens and a large-capacity chip. I want pictures of Mark Garvey and anyone he’s with.”
“They should probably have a good 35 mm with zoom then,” Lucky said, without looking up. “Identification is going to be essential on this.”
“Extra batteries for everything,” she added, rising to pace. Now that action was near, adrenaline was beginning to course through her. “A laptop so they can download any pictures or video clips right away and burn the DVDs right there.”
“It’d probably be safest to have them go to a twenty-four-hour photo shop and e-mail any pictures to our server at the end of each shift.”
She nodded, still thinking. The GPS device would help ensure that they could always locate Mark’s vehicle even if the operatives lost him. But the team of agents would become imperative when it became time to follow the man on foot.
The ring of her cell interrupted her, and she took it from the pocket of her ivory suit jacket and answered it. At the sound of the voice on the other end of the line, her pulse quickened.
The conversation was brief, and throughout it she was aware of Lucky’s interested gaze on her. When she was finished, she flipped the phone shut with a feeling of excitement. “That was my contact in the FTC. When she was digging around for information on Stephen Garvey’s file from a couple years ago she stumbled on something else. The FTC didn’t drop the investigation when they didn’t make the case then. They continued it, covertly, to gather more evidence.” She knew the sudden look of interest on his face was reflected on her own. “She couldn’t tell me much, but she thinks an arrest is imminent.”
“I knew that the guy workin’ the desk was a helluva lot more than a security guard.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s a cop of some sort. Could be federal, I suppose.” When she tilted her head quizzically, he shrugged. “You spend enough time dodgin’ them, gets to where you can recognize the type.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that. I suppose it’s possible the FTC have some sort of law-enforcement agent inside as part of their investigation.”
“That’s one Garvey grandchild we won’t have to worry about investigatin’,” Lucky observed.
“I’m starting to feel badly for J. Walter.” The man truly hadn’t been fortunate in his relatives. “Mark’s ex-wife seemed to think quite of bit of Stephen. I was hoping he might turn out to be the one we could recommend as J. Walter’s replacement.”
“Somethin’ tells me the old guy won’t be too willin’ to have someone runnin’ the company from behind bars.”
“Suspecting what we do about Mark’s involvement with Tomsino and Jeffrey’s past drug dealing, the prospects are getting limited.” She sighed, then rose. “I’ll meet you back here after I finish planting the device. Hopefully we can line up operatives that quickly.”
“Leave it to me.” He stood and rounded the desk, blocking her path. “But leave somethin’ else with me, before you go.” He tugged on her hand and she went willingly into his arms. His mouth covered hers and sparks sizzled along her nerve endings. When he raised his head, his eyes, those dark wicked eyes, were gleaming at her. “Last night was cut short, n’est ce pas?”
She indulged herself a moment longer by hooking her arms around his neck. “That’s the nice thing about nights. The end of every day brings another.”
A strand of hair had escaped from the intricate knot she’d arranged it in. He reached up and brushed it back, the gesture oddly tender. “Is that an offer?”
She caressed his nape with her fingertips. “I’m not sure I should say. My propositions have a way of scaring you off.”
His expression was pure sin. “I’m not runnin’, darlin’, so you better get used to the fact that you’ll be havin’ some company again tonight.”
Going on tiptoe, she gave him a lingering kiss, one that threatened her insides with combustion. “I’m glad you stopped running. Because I don’t think I ever told you that I was a pretty good sprinter in high school.”
“Really?” He looked intrigued. “I’ve always admired athletic females. All that…bouncin’.”
Because her lips wanted, badly, to curve, she firmed them. Dropping her hands she stepped back. “You have a one-track mind, Boucher.”
“Mais oui. And tonight you’ll be the only thing on it.” With the promise in his voice still ringing in her ears, Jacey went back to her office on legs that were inclined to wobble slightly.
The doorbell rang. Smiling, Jacey put down her pen and looked at her watch. Lucky had called and said he had business to attend to before he stopped over. He must have finished earlier than he had expected. Rising, she strode to the door. The anticipation that was curling inside her was at once pleasant and alarming. It wouldn’t do to allow herself to think of him as a permanent fixture in her life, at least outside the office. Although they hadn’t discussed it since their relationship had changed, it was important to both of them that their friendship remain unaltered once they were no longer lovers. She’d assured him at the beginning that that wouldn’t be a problem, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of a single one of her admittedly limited lovers with whom she was still in contact.
But that was different, she told herself firmly. None of those men had been friends as well as lovers. None of them had been Lucky.
She gave a cursory look out the peephole, and then froze. Her breath strangled in her lungs as anticipation withered, to be replaced with trepidation. The man standing on her front porch was none other than Vinny Tomsino.
Swallowing hard, she thought quickly. Backtracking, she went to her desk and took a mini tape recorder from the drawer. A tape was already installed, so she pressed rewind. Dashing to the bedroom, she replaced the sheer robe she was wearing with a more bulky terry-cloth one. The doorbell rang again. She pressed Record, and dropped the recorder into the pocket of her robe. Then she went to the door and unlocked it, pulled it open.
“Ms. Wheeler.” The man’s smile was unpleasant. “You and I have some unfinished business.”
Looking beyond him, she saw a long black limo parked illegally in front of her home. “You’re a pushy man, Mr. Tomsino.” She glanced back at him grimly. “I don’t like to be pushed.”
“No one does, but it gets results. I don’t want to discuss business standing outside.”
She surveyed him stonily. “And I don’t want you in my home.”
In answer, he slammed the flat of his hand ag
ainst the door, forcing her to step back to avoid having it hit her. He stepped inside, closed the door behind him. “Like I said, the porch is no place to talk business.”
He walked by her to the living room, stood looking around. Her stomach jittered. She didn’t want him here. Didn’t even want the memory of his presence tainting her home. He’d lost the phony civil demeanor he’d donned for the meeting in the restaurant. He’d determined to get exactly what he wanted, and Jacey knew intuitively that he would do whatever it took to accomplish that end.
“Where’s Boucher?”
She lifted a shoulder, watched him roam the room. “Not here yet.” She saw him send a glance toward the stairway and felt a cold chill go down her spine. Her laptop was set up in a spare bedroom she used as an office, tracking the GPS device she’d planted on Mark Garvey’s car. “Does he really seem the type to hide upstairs and let a woman handle something like this?”
He looked back at her then and smirked. “No. He is the type to be found in a woman’s bedroom, though. Must be in another broad’s tonight, huh? What’s the matter? Did he lose interest already?”
The taunt burned, perhaps because there was just enough truth in it to sting. Not that she suspected Lucky was with someone else. He wouldn’t be dishonest in a relationship. But she knew him well enough to realize that he wasn’t the type to stay in one long-term, either.
The reminder made her voice sharp. “You’re a persistent man, Mr. Tomsino. Most would have considered my refusal the other night as final.”
He straightened his suit jacket and seated himself on the couch. This evening he was outfitted in a navy pin-stripe that should have made him look like a banker. But bankers didn’t wear that mask of utter ruthlessness. “No answer is final until it’s the one I want. And yours wasn’t the one I wanted. Before I leave, it will be.”
The scene had to progress much as the man anticipated. That was the only way to protect the integrity of the investigation. But she had a role to play and she stuck to it. He wouldn’t expect her to capitulate easily. Which was fortunate, because that meant in the end, she really wasn’t being called on to pretend much at all.