The passion in his voice trilled through me, even more than that first night. Then I’d wanted to tumble the good-looking cop. Tonight, I wanted to be loved by Ethan.
I pulled it over my head in a cascade of shining soft hair.
“You are so damn beautiful.” His hand started where the flowered tattoo spilled over my shoulder and he traced a hot line around my breasts before following it to the waistband of my pants. Tugging the drawstring, he slipped them down as far as they would go and cradled my backside in both hands.
“These too. Get rid of them.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
I slipped off him. He followed me and before I could do anything, he pulled the pants down my legs and tossed them aside.
Ethan’s hands weren’t shy. His calloused fingertips, now soft as butterfly wings, skimmed down the rest of my ink. Hooking his fingers under my knee, he spread my legs and continued the delicate exploration up my inner thighs, caressing ever more sensitive skin.
All the worry and stress of the last week fell away as the heat in my body and mind rose. There was nothing but this moment. I stroked Ethan’s face, tracing his cheekbones and jaw before trailing my hand down his chest to feel his pounding heart.
Then he pulled his hand away.
“Don’t stop” was all I could manage.
“Not on your life. Put your arms around my neck.”
I did so. He grabbed me around the waist and rolled onto his back, carrying me with him. The sensation of my body pressed fully against his was dizzying. I shifted my weight and raised myself, letting my breasts brush across his chest.
At that, he dug his fingers into my hips and guided me onto him. He writhed and arched even deeper until all I felt was the sweetest pressure and fullness. I wanted to do was move with him, faster and harder. Rocking forward, I reached for the headboard to steady myself and the old bed frame shifted and gave a long loud high-pitched creak.
I froze and Ethan was torn between laughter and frustration.
“Do you think Maria heard?” was all I could whisper.
“She’s a Gato. I think she’ll get over it.”
I couldn’t overcome being mortified.
“Oh hell no, Martin, don’t even think about it.” Ethan smacked me on the backside, wrapped his arms around me again, and flipped me on my back.
“I’m taking command of this operation.”
“What about your leg?”
“Baby, I think I’ll live. But I’m more than willing to let you make it up to me.”
CHAPTER 69
Dawn was breaking when I woke up to find Ethan propped up on one elbow and watching me.
“Good morning,” he said, kissing me on the forehead.
“Back at you.” I ran my finger down his face and across his lips.
Normally, I don’t like this part of an encounter. The awkward rumpled sensation when the rush of passion is spent and conversation had to be rebooted from seduction to the harsh light of reality. To me, it was a threshold to get over, not something to prolong. With my fireman boyfriend, he’d usually jetted during the night on an alarm or was up before me and on the phone. With flings, I was the one heading for the door. Not this morning, though. I could stay here forever. One thing was heavy on my mind. I might as well get it over with.
“Ethan, did you mean what you said last night?”
“Which time?”
I smacked him on the chest. “You know what I’m talking about. When you said you thought I wasn’t coming back.”
He broke eye contact, but slipped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.
“Right here and now, it feels like I was paranoid and crazy. But last night, watching you ride off with your arms around that damn biker, I felt lost. What did I have to offer? I was wounded and broken. I know the Gatos have resources I can’t even imagine.”
I thought about it. I could do the chick thing and soothe his ego with the knee-jerk response, or I could be honest.
“They offered me sanctuary. Joaquin said he would personally guarantee my safety.”
The arm under my neck turned to stone.
“I’m sure he did.”
If this wasn’t so serious, I’d be annoyed. We had so little time. I needed to air this out or have it between us for as long as we had together.
“I said no and asked to be brought back here. Ethan, I’m not stupid. Whatever you have cooked up, I know I may never see you again after today. But I came back here when I could have accepted their offer, called Gerald, or any of a half-dozen others I trust. I came back to you. We started this together and are going to finish it together. I don’t think I need to explain myself any more than that.”
He relaxed, but the tension in the room twanged like an over-stretched guitar string. I needed to dial it back.
I walked my fingers up his arm. “Maria told me she had to mickey you.”
Ethan gave a soft laugh and tightened his grip on me.
Bingo.
“Maria tricked me. I was foul, bleeding everywhere, and like my grandma would have said, meaner than a bear with a sore head. She was being so nice, but I wasn’t having any of it. I was also starving. That’s how she got me. It was the damn chicken soup. After I’d emptied the cup in two gulps, everything started getting hazy. She told me that unless I wanted to be stitched up on her kitchen floor, I’d better get in bed. That’s all I remember until I woke up naked with you next to me in the world’s ugliest shirt.”
He kissed me.
“Best chicken soup ever.”
I tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear and enjoyed it when he shivered at my touch.
“What do you have against sequined kittens?”
“Not a thing when they’re on the floor.”
Before I could agree, he changed the subject with another kiss.
CHAPTER 70
While Ethan was in the bathroom, I found my pajamas in the tangle of sheets, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Maria was gone, but a coffee pot waited next a tray with mugs, a small bottle, and a basket of fresh muffins. I felt like we were at some alternate-universe biker bed and breakfast. The biker part of the equation was confirmed when I peeked through the curtains and saw a Gato drinking coffee on the porch.
There was also a note on the table:
Good morning. I had to go to work. Please make yourself at home for as long as you want. Ethan needs to take one white pill every twelve hours for seven days to stop any infection. There are also a couple of blue ones in case the pain gets too bad. Your clothes are clean and in the bathroom.
Joaquin said to keep the bike for as long as you need it. When you’re done, call the shop and they’ll pick it up.
If you could, before you leave, please toss your sheets in the wash, I would appreciate it. Thank you for letting me help and may God bless you in whatever is to come. Also know that you two are always welcome here.
Maria
The simple kindness humbled me and the humorous chide made me blush.
So much for being stealthy.
When I got back with the tray, Ethan was wrapped in a towel and combing his hair. Our clothes were in two neat piles on the bed. She’d given me a soft and worn skinny knit tank top to replace Ethan’s shirt. I recognized it from one of the photos in the hall from Maria’s days as a young biker babe. I was oddly touched.
Ethan favored his left leg, but despite our late-night acrobatics, the dressing was still clean and white.
“Coffee. Martin, you are a goddess.” He also swallowed half a muffin in one bite.
“Thank Maria. It seems that she’s as good a cook as a seamstress. How are you feeling?”
“It’s sore, but not too much of a problem.”
“Oh here, Doc Maria’s orders.” I gave him the antibiotic. “There’s pain meds in there as well, but I doubt you’d be able to ride.”
The wry crooked smile he gave me raised another sixteen-year-old blush.
Why couldn’t
this have happened in my normal life?
Because you would have fucked it up.
Ethan must have caught something in my face.
“It’s your turn in the bathroom. Then we can have breakfast and decide our next move.”
When I got back, Ethan was in his jeans and had arranged the tray on a small table in the sunny alcove. Maria had not only washed the bloodstains out of the black denim, she’d mended the fabric where I’d cut it away from his wound. The earlier tension between us had evaporated. Ethan brushed my hair aside and kissed my neck before he sat down and I made sure I touched his hand every chance I got.
“I’m not even remotely sorry” was all he said.
We’d hadn’t crossed the line we’d been toeing very carefully, we’d blown it away.
To hell with lines. I’m tired of them.
“Me neither. I’m only sorry it wasn’t sooner, back when we had more time. What’s going to happen now?”
Over the last few days, I’d also noticed that food-shredding is another of his stall tactics. A banana-nut muffin got the worst of it while he was thinking.
“We’re over three hours from Dallas and whatever may be stewing there. The San Antonio field office is a little over an hour away. I know the SAC of that operation. Jack Mitchell recruited me from college back in the day. He’s a straight arrow, but not an ass about it. I also know he’s cool with me. I have a standing offer to transfer to his shop any time I want. If we can’t trust him, we can’t trust anyone. Bottom line, I need to either bring you in or let you go. As for me, no matter what’s happened, I’m still an FBI agent. If there’s a leak in my house, other lives and ops may be in danger. I have no choice. I have to report this.”
He went to work on the muffin crumbs while I turned this over in my head. I’d brought many clients in for surrender. The mileage had varied. I had my immunity, but I hadn’t delivered Rockhound. Except for the case, the only smart thing to do was disappear. Simon had a home with Stella and I had nothing left of my old life, except for sense of duty toward a father who was screwing around with terrorists.
Dad.
That was the wild card. Justice had done a nice job stacking the deck. I had to at least go to the next level with this. I thought about calling Gerald, but he would go insane and try to stop me. There was also Ethan and the chance to hold onto this thread between us.
“I’m in. I have immunity signed by the U.S. Attorney and I’m also still a damn bitch-kitty of a Dallas criminal lawyer who is more than capable of negotiating the glide path for my surrender. I trust your judgment and I trust you.”
This time his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m glad one of us does.” He squeezed my hand.
I didn’t like the turn this had taken and didn’t want it polluting our ride to San Antonio. I also hadn’t had near enough of Ethan Price. My opening came when he struggled with his boots because of his injured leg. Kneeling in front of him, I straightened up his sock and eased his foot into the stubborn motorcycle boot.
“You know, as long as I’m here…”
Moods are funny things. Sometimes all it takes to change them is the pull of a zipper.
CHAPTER 71
I was snuggling up to Ethan, molding myself to him on the back of the bike, while he talked with our guard. In response to his poor English, Ethan switched to Spanish and the guy relaxed and shook Ethan’s hand at the end of the exchange. He also followed us for several miles until he saw we were on the highway headed away from Austin.
We stopped about halfway to San Antonio for fuel and coffee. Ethan borrowed my phone and checked that SAC Mitchell was in his office, but didn’t give his name.
“Call me paranoid, but no reason to tip anyone at this point. The fun will come getting through security. My badge is in my desk drawer in Dallas. If they call my office, our friends may find out about it but, by then we’ll be inside.”
Interstate 35 gave way to the early morning commuter crawl on the 1604 loop. With every turn, the tension built in Ethan’s back. He wasn’t in any hurry and didn’t use the bike’s advantage to weave through traffic. Finally, I-10 exit signs started popping up, but Ethan diverted into a maze of access roads that crossed under the behemoth cloverleaf. Ethan paused short of the entrance to the FBI compound bordering the I-10 frontage road. I expected him to make the turn, but without a word, he sped past the driveway and out the south end of the University Heights loop. In a flash we passed under the highway and headed into the residential neighborhoods. I tugged on his shirt as a question, but all he did was pat my hand.
A city bus growled to a stop in front of us and Ethan fidgeted in the seat while an old lady with a walker got on board. When it still wasn’t moving thirty seconds later, he jumped the bike onto the sidewalk on the right and made a ninety-degree turn into a parking lot surrounded by trees. Other than signs for jogging trails and a couple of vehicles, there was no one around. Ethan coasted to the farthest corner behind a monstrous SUV before killing the engine.
“Get off. Jewel, we have to talk. There’s more to this case than you’ve been told. I can’t take you in until you know everything that I do. This is the behind-the-strategic-curtain shit I alluded to earlier. Only you can decide how important it is to your actions. I’m violating about a hundred rules and probably flushing what’s left of my career by telling you this, but let’s just say I don’t really give a crap about the prosecutor’s case right this minute.”
My stomach cratered as I fought to stay calm. Hands clamped on his shoulders like vise grips, I dismounted the bike and faced him.
“Spill it, Price.”
He turned sideways on the seat and rubbed his stiff leg.
“This whole thing has been about the money. Rockhound was a target of opportunity. He was a bonus.”
“What?”
“Baby, don’t be coy, we don’t have time for that. The abridged version is that your dad has had his very own taskforce, joint state and federal, for nearly two years. Nine months ago, they developed a source inside your organization. I swear I don’t know who it is. This source put the task force on the money trail. All the offshore banking arrangements and tax dodges and everything else your dad has cooked up for clients and himself. Early records hinted at tens of billions flowing through these accounts and it wasn’t just the money, it was the power behind it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but crack the cash network and some pretty serious dominoes would start to fall.”
I swallowed, trying to clear my parched throat. I’m not sure what stunned me more—knowing there was a spy, or the magnitude of what had been revealed.
Turning away from him, I thought about the firm’s staff. Is the mole one of the leggy beauty-queen receptionists who rarely lasted six months before snagging millionaire-or-better husbands, the earnest interns, or the status-hungry junior associates? I dismissed this thought. No one in those categories had enough access to betray anything. Even the partners handled the mundane aboveboard law that was the bread and butter of the firm while Dad handled the top-shelf clients. It had to be someone in the back office.
Dad vetted and supervised those clerks personally. Most were colorless, tight-lipped, middle-aged women pulling down six-figure salaries. He paid well for their loyalty, but I knew human nature. A nephew with a drug problem or a hidden gambling debt could push someone into a corner and make them do something stupid. I’d exploited similar weaknesses many times. Gerald would figure it out.
But damn, this was much worse than I thought.
“Ethan, go on. Tell me everything. Please.”
“I don’t know all the details, but the original plan was to file the RICO case and sweat your dad for information on the financial network.”
“He’d take the full rip before giving up the clients.”
“They suspected that. They also had a couple of them under the microscope as well waiting for a thread they could grab and unravel. They weren’t getting much traction, but were willing to be patient. Then they got
lucky.”
“The NSA intercepts.”
“Yes, but they honestly didn’t know who Rockhound really was. I promise you that the surprise around that table was very real. I’m sure they thought going in that they finally had the client who had enough to lose to give up the whole operation. You gave them way more than they bargained for. Those are ambitious men. They went feral at the thought of bringing down a smuggling operation with terrorists ties along with toppling what amounted to a secret banking empire. And then there was the body. I can’t believe you never asked me more about the murder.”
I was distracted.
“Tell me now.”
“Serendipity. The body showed up in a dry wash after those big storms a while back. The rescuers thought she drowned, but the autopsy showed strangulation and something more.”
“Do I want to know?”
He smiled and shifted his weight.
“She had a business card from your firm, belonging to Ian Hooper.”
Hooper, the low-rent party pimp. Fuck my life.
“Some old-fashioned real live police work discovered that she’d bragged to her friends about a big private party and how she was going to score.”
“Dad’s parties were exclusive, but no big secret.”
He pointed at me. “You got it.”
“Yeah, but none of that is evidence. That greasy stuff that keeps the wheels of justice from squeaking.”
“Come on, Martin. I know you’re not that naïve. She’s a prop, something to up the ante and keep you on the hook. If it gets solved, cool. If not, who gives a shit? It worked. If your dad was only facing federal time, would you have come back from the Gatos’ compound?”
“That’s not a fair question and you know it.”
At that, he looked deep into my eyes, like he was searching for something. His had never been bluer or more open, even more than when he told me about Corey. I was the first to look away.
The moment passed. “Now it’s all busted. We had a spy in your shop and evidently our dream target has one in ours. The more I think about it, the more I’m afraid they’re going to turn their attention to you. Otherwise, two years of work is flushed.”
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