Courting Suspicion

by Kimberly Dean

  He walked out of the room to make the call, and Nina answered before the second ring. He’d known she wouldn’t go back to sleep.

  ‘Did you find the ibuprofen?’ he asked. ‘My knees act up every once and a while. From baseball, you know.’

  ‘Your medicine cabinet is safe, Morgan.’ She sighed, and he heard the mattress creak. He felt a sense of victory that she was still in his bed.

  ‘What did you find?’ she asked.

  He looked around the place. He wasn’t quite sure. Maybe Simons was onto something. Genieve had gone into hiding, and all the news stations in DC had reported not being able to contact her for comment. If somebody knew where she lived, it would be a tempting time to make themselves at home. It was the same principle as putting your vacation plans out there on social media. It was asking for trouble.

  ‘There’s not that much damage, but Genieve is going to have to identify what was taken. Do you have any way to get in touch with her?’

  ‘She doesn’t know yet?’ Nina let out a soft groan. ‘Brody could probably bring her over.’

  Josh zeroed in. ‘She’s staying with Haynes?’

  There was a long pause. ‘Damn.’

  He smiled softly. He’d scored a rare point.

  Turning, he walked down the hallway a few steps to look in the guest bedroom. It had fared better. ‘He can’t bring her here. The reporters are still circling.’

  ‘She can’t come home? Then how is she going to be able to tell you what was taken?’

  ‘You are tired.’ Josh chuckled. ‘The senator just announced their break-up. Haynes probably doesn’t want her to be seen in the middle of the night with another man – even if it’s him.’

  Nina went quiet. ‘You’re thinking like me now.’

  He leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs. He was aware of that, and, if he thought about it too much, it made his badge itch in his pocket.

  ‘I’m sorry, Josh,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Have them meet me at the Apple Tree Grille.’ It was open all night. ‘I’ll bring her over here. We’ll figure out what to do after that.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘And, Nina?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I like it when you drop your guard enough to trust me.’ He ended the call before she could answer.

  Let her think about that.

  * * *

  Josh made it to the restaurant first. It was slow going in the late hours, but a few night owls were in the place. Most were sampling the apple pancakes the restaurant was known for, but he settled for a black coffee to go. He chose a booth near the front door to wait. Haynes shouldn’t have a problem with parking, at least.

  He glanced at his watch. This swing-shift work was killing him, and it wasn’t doing his love life any favours, either. Damn, but he wanted to get back to her.

  His coffee showed up, and he took an appreciative swig. He was just about to take another when he saw a flash of red hair. He sat up straighter. Brody and Genieve had arrived. The door opened and a cool night breeze rushed in. Haynes held the door so the redhead could pass, but kept it open for someone else.

  Josh stiffened when Nina walked in.

  What the hell?

  His gaze connected with hers, and his fingers clenched around the paper cup.

  ‘Take any seat you want,’ a waitress said as she walked past with a steaming plate of pancakes.

  Genieve pointed in his direction. ‘We’re with him.’

  Nina hesitated, but then squared her shoulders. Her heels clipped against the flooring as the group made its way towards him.

  Josh was not happy. They had to have stopped by his place to get her, and the encroachment rubbed the wrong way. A cop’s home was kept separate from the job. Protected. And they’d not only invaded his home, they’d entered his personal life. He knew that he and Nina had just talked about this. She worried about her worlds overlapping, but this went beyond gossip and innuendo. He’d tried to keep her safe, but they’d just brought her into the thick of the mix.

  She lifted an eyebrow before she slipped into the booth beside him. It was the middle of the night, and she was still wearing her heels and that hot number pink dress.

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck. What did he expect her to wear? It was the same dress she’d worn to his house, and it was the same one he’d taken off her not so long ago.

  ‘Detective, I believe you’ve met Genieve Hart and Brody Haynes.’

  Detective. His back teeth set. Had they even known whose house she was leaving when they picked her up at the kerb?

  ‘I have.’ He didn’t extend his hand, and they didn’t reciprocate.

  For some reason, seeing her with these two put her on their side – if they were even taking sides here.

  ‘Thanks for offering to meet us,’ Haynes said.

  Josh levelled his look at the younger man. He hadn’t done it for them.

  ‘It seems like we’ve come full circle,’ he replied. ‘Every time I catch a B&E, you two are involved.’

  The duo shifted in their seats. Good, they were uncomfortable. Maybe he’d start to get some answers.

  ‘And Genieve has been the victim both times,’ Nina responded crisply.

  Her back was straight against the bench, her legs were crossed and her top foot was rolling. The look she sent him was one of warning.

  Genieve folded her hands on top of the table. ‘How bad is it?’

  She looked pale and worried, but just as beautiful as ever. How could two women look as good as they did in the middle of the night?

  Josh eased up a bit. ‘The damage isn’t that bad.’

  Doubt filled the redhead’s big green eyes.

  ‘Really.’ He’d seen crime scenes that were a lot more dishevelled, including one at the Emissary Hotel …

  ‘What did they take?’ she asked.

  He shrugged. ‘It’s hard to tell. That’s why we need you to come look at it, but the focus seemed to be on your bedroom.’

  Nina flinched at that.

  Josh leaned back from the table, trying to ease his impact. He’d studied body language, and he knew the signals he was giving off. She was right, Genieve was the injured party here. He needed to treat her more carefully.

  The redhead’s hand shook as she raked it through the tumble of her hair. ‘It’s not so much what they might have stolen. It’s the idea of someone in my place, going through my things.’ She shuddered. ‘It creeps me out.’

  Haynes extended his arm across the booth’s backrest, but hesitated in touching her. He looked across the table with his eyes flaring and his jaw set in stone. ‘Did you get any fingerprints? Did anyone see it happening? Did they get a licence-plate number?’

  Josh took a drink of his coffee. ‘Slow down, Hoss. It’s not like on TV. It takes time.’

  ‘How long?’

  The man’s expression was fierce, and Josh looked pointedly back and forth between him and Genieve. ‘Sorry to hear about your break-up with the senator, by the way.’

  They wanted to talk about time? She was with this too good-looking guy on the same night she’d ended a high-profile relationship with a senator?

  Was nobody even going to try to pretend around him any more?

  Haynes’ hand fisted on the seat rest, but Genieve rolled her eyes. ‘Thanks,’ she said dryly. ‘It’s been a bad day.’

  Beneath the table, Josh felt Nina’s hand slide into his. He looked at her, only to find her shaking her head.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked quietly.

  ‘They were scared of you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why.’

  He let out a long breath and settled their joined hands higher on his thigh. The touch mollified him somewhat. He was tired. Maybe they weren’t on opposite sides, but he still didn’t like that she’d been involved.

  ‘Do you have any suspects in mind?’ he asked. ‘Either of you?’

  ‘No,’ Genieve said miserably.

  Brody just shoo
k his head.

  Josh looked at his watch again. ‘Genieve, you and I need to get over there. I’ve got a patrolman holding the scene.’

  ‘OK.’ She gathered up her purse. Brody stood away from the booth and, when she slid over, offered her his hand.

  She took it.

  Josh noticed that neither let go.

  Nina squeezed his own hand before uncrossing her legs. She stood too and smoothed her skirt. Josh saw a guy across the way take interest and glowered at him. That damn dress was like a beacon. He stepped around her and established his presence.

  He looked at their little foursome and did the math. The last thing he wanted to do was propose a swap, but they’d left him no other option.

  He looked at Nina. ‘Where are you heading?’

  She waited a heartbeat and licked her lips. ‘My penthouse.’

  It made sense. He was going to be a while, and she needed to get to work in the morning. Still, he took it like a fist to his gut.

  He drilled Haynes with a look. ‘Can you take her?’

  Safely, without delay and without getting into any more trouble?

  The guy returned a look that was just as unyielding. ‘You won’t leave Jenny’s side?’

  So they had an understanding.

  Josh nodded. ‘I guarantee it.’

  They left the restaurant. Most of the vehicles parked along the street were trucks and service vehicles. Josh gestured at his car on the kerb. ‘This is me.’

  Haynes pointed at the black car just two spaces down. Josh got the door for Genieve, but watched Nina walk down the sidewalk at Haynes’ side. She glanced back over her shoulder.

  He didn’t know how to take that.

  Screwing his head on right, he circled the car and got in behind the wheel. Genieve put on her seatbelt as he pulled out into traffic. For a few blocks, everything inside the car was silent except for the pens in the catch-all compartment of the centre console. The clicking sound began to get annoying, and he reached down to muffle them.

  ‘You must not think much of me,’ Genieve said quietly.

  He glanced away from traffic. ‘Excuse me?’

  She shrugged. ‘You know. Dating like I do.’

  He knew she was very careful what terms she chose when speaking with a cop, but he got the drift. ‘Actually, you make me curious. I remember you from the office.’

  ‘I remember you from there, too. I remember you and Nina … I remember.’

  Had they been that obvious? He remembered lots of standoffs and way too much friction. Then again, someone in the escort business probably knew how to read those things.

  He signalled and took a left. ‘People like you. You seemed to be good on the phone, and you got even me not to barge into Nina’s office.’

  ‘Once.’

  ‘Once,’ he agreed. ‘You’re smart, and you seemed like a good receptionist. So why –’

  Her head whipped around. ‘You think I’m smart?’

  He stopped at a light and stared at her. ‘I know it. I’ve seen it.’

  She was also cool under pressure. The way she’d handled things at the Emissary had left him with no charges to press.

  The light coming from the stoplight was red, but it didn’t account for the colour that spread across her cheekbones.

  ‘What?’ he said.

  She toyed with the seatbelt. ‘When you look the way I do, people don’t often realise that.’

  She gestured at the way the restraint clutched the curves of her body. She wasn’t flaunting anything, it was just matter of fact.

  ‘Then they’re idiots,’ Josh said.

  She blinked, but then grinned. ‘Nina picked a good one.’

  Josh wasn’t so sure Nina had picked anything. He twisted his hand around the steering wheel. She’d left his bed and had gone home. She’d walked away with another man.

  Hell. He knew he wasn’t thinking right, but she’d been playing with his head for a while.

  Lady Nina.

  He remembered Darien’s advice in the bar and decided to push a little further. ‘So why not be a receptionist?’ he asked.

  The look his passenger levelled at him told him how truly smart she was. ‘You’re asking why I’m an escort.’

  Well, when a spade was a spade … ‘Yeah.’

  She pushed her hair over her shoulder.

  ‘I’ve done the best with what I have,’ she said frankly, ‘and it’s taken me further than anyone suspected. I have a beautiful home, a nice car, money in the bank and great friends. I’ve been a lot of places and seen a lot of things. I owe Nina a lot.’

  Josh stared straight down the road. ‘She’s a good … boss?’

  ‘She’s a good everything, Morgan. Boss, listener, protector, friend …’ The redhead turned in the bucket seat to face him. ‘You passed, by the way.’

  He frowned. ‘Passed what?’

  ‘The vote we took on you at Luxxor.’

  ‘You took a vote?’

  ‘On whether we approve of you.’ The woman ran her gaze over him deliberately and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. ‘Don’t tell Nina. She’s strong and fierce, but we’re protective of her. We’ve got our eyes on you, Detective. She’d hobble you if she didn’t like you, but it’s clear that she does.’

  Josh shifted in his seat. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘What I think doesn’t matter, but I like you too. Just don’t hurt her.’

  The flashing lights of Simons’ patrol car were just ahead, and Josh pulled up behind it. He shifted into park and looked at the woman.

  She opened the passenger door and got out. ‘And don’t arrest her.’

  He couldn’t swear he’d heard her correctly, but she was already walking up the sidewalk. He hustled to catch up with her.

  ‘Careful.’ He touched his hand to her back. ‘I should have warned you that reporters are still here.’

  He saw a patrolman cordoning them behind a yellow stream of tape.

  She wrapped both arms around her waist. ‘Don’t worry. I know what to do.’

  On cue, she teared up, and the way she walked changed. The brisk, determined stride became shuffling and uncertain. Josh did a double-take, but he heard the cameras start clicking. Flashes nearly blinded him.

  He moved her quickly to the house. She reached for her keys, but Simons and the forensics team were inside. The patrolman opened the front door and let them in.

  ‘Thanks,’ Genieve said. She recognised the cop. ‘Hi.’

  Simons nearly fell over himself ushering her through the entryway. Josh shook his head. The woman was not only smart, she had some kind of magical power.

  She looked around the lower level of her home. Her eyebrows were raised when she glanced back at him. ‘It really isn’t that bad.’

  He surveyed the scene. ‘Just don’t look at your back door.’

  She winced, and he held up his hands. ‘We’ll make sure you have help getting it secure for the night. You’ll need to work with contractors and insurance from there. Your friend Brody can probably get all that moving for you.’

  She rubbed her lips as she considered that.

  Josh shrugged. So he’d thrown the guy a bone. It was clear he’d wanted to help her.

  And it would keep the fixer from getting in his way as he tried to figure out just what the hell was going on here.

  ‘Let’s go upstairs.’

  The dampness in her eyes cleared.

  ‘OK.’ Her voice was steadier, in control, and showing more than a tinge of anger.

  Josh nodded in approval.

  She led the way upstairs, and the people working the scene stopped when she entered the bedroom. Josh watched her from the doorway. She instinctively stuffed her hands in her pockets and looked around the room from the empty spot on the wall to her closet and dresser drawers. She hovered over the jewellery box for a long moment.

  It didn’t take long before she stepped back. ‘Well, that’s easy enough. Everything that Samuel ever gave me is go
ne.’

  ‘Samuel? As in Gunderson?’

  She gestured about the room. ‘The artwork, jewellery, clothes and fake fur? Gone. All of it.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Nina tried to work, but she couldn’t focus. She was running on adrenalin and nerves. She hadn’t slept since the call about the break-in had woken her and Josh. She’d hoped that coming in to the office would give her something else to think about, but in some ways it was making things worse.

  Congressman Craft had contacted Luxxor after the Capitol event, requesting someone to accompany him to the DC Dragon Boat Festival. She was trying to pair him with the right escort, but her database kept blurring before her eyes. She’d start wondering if she’d done a thorough enough background check on him or if she was putting another escort in jeopardy by matching her with a member of Congress.

  Was someone watching her people?

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Even more, she worried about Josh. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d texted her to make sure she’d gotten home safely.

  She’d made a mistake going to the diner last night. She’d realised that too late.

  Rielle greeted someone in the lobby, and Nina sat up straighter. She hadn’t heard the door, but Congressman Craft must be early. She patted her cheeks to give them some colour. She wasn’t quite ready, but she could talk through the short list she’d compiled and –

  She pushed herself to her feet when Josh strode in. It had been so long since he’d barged into her office unannounced. Out of habit, her adrenalin flared, preparing for battle.

  But fighting was the last thing on her mind.

  ‘There you are,’ she said in relief. ‘I’ve been wanting to call you, but I didn’t want to get in the way. Do you have any news? Did you work all night?’

  He’d at least changed clothes. He was wearing an MPD T-shirt and jeans. Her hand stroked along the edge of her desk. In her office, amongst all the expensive furniture and delicate trinkets, he looked big, tough and sexy.

  She rocked back slightly on her heels to rein herself in. He hadn’t closed the door behind him. She had to be careful. Anyone in the office could be listening.

  And probably was.

  ‘Most of it. We canvassed the neighbourhood, looking for anyone who might have heard or seen anything, but no luck so far. We began contacting local pawnshops this morning.’ He crossed his arms over his chest and spread his feet wide. ‘I can’t stay long. I just came by to give you an update and ask you a few questions.’