In the Still of the Night:Sexy Romantic Suspense (Book 2 The Blonde Barracuda's Sizzling Suspense Series)

by Lee, Taylor

  Ignoring Ming’s gasp, she sauntered to the door and gave her colleague a little shove, pushing her through the doorway ahead of her. When Ming started to speak, Lexie shook her head and smiled at the police officer who held open the door for them. Walking to the elevator she hummed a little tune waiting for the automatic doors to open. When they were safely inside and the doors had closed, she turned to Ming and shrugged.

  “Don’t even say it, Ming. How else are we going to get the information we need? Do you honestly think that Dan Rourke would tell me both Sun-ja’s name and where she worked?” She gave an indignant sniff. “Obviously, he and Jake are in cahoots. Can you believe that Dan had the audacity to call Jake yesterday and tattle on me? As if Jake is my father or my keeper.” She squared her shoulders as the doors to the elevator opened and muttered, “Men! It’s their own fault that we have to use surreptitious means to get the information we need. If they were more above board like we are, it wouldn’t be necessary.”

  Ming looked at her as if she’d just arrived from another planet.

  “That was us being above board, Jai Li? Good grief. Remind me not to ask what we are going to do when we are being devious. Poor Mark. I can just hear Dan yelling at him now.”

  Lexie laughed one of her glorious melodic peals that made heads turn to see where the wonderful sound originated. At least all of the men who turned did a double-take acknowledging the stunning young woman who was even more gorgeous than her laughter.

  ~~~

  Glaring at the pudgy woman’s face, Lexie managed to stuff down her anger. She couldn’t help it if the woman clearly hadn’t had sex for the last millennium. And yes she supposed she should feel badly, given the five rocketing orgasms the sexiest man who walked the earth had given her last night. Remembering Jake’s husky drawl and whispered promises of the naughty things he planned to do to her tonight was almost enough to lessen her annoyance at the haughty bureaucrat’s refusal to answer her simple question.

  She dug out her sweetest smile and pretended ignorance.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Jensen. I didn’t realize that it isn’t public record whether an establishment is licensed by the city. I assumed that was public information.”

  Her smile and pleasant request might have worked if Ms. Jensen were Mr. Jensen and the self-appointed gate-keeper didn’t automatically despise beautiful young women who obviously knew their way around the public policy apparatus.

  Instead of acknowledging a legitimate request, Ms. Jensen yanked open a drawer and leafed through a series of files. Pulling out a sheet of paper, she smacked it on the counter in front of Lexie.

  “This is a request for information. Please fill it out and drop it in that wooden box by the door. Someone will notify you when they have time to answer your question.”

  Lexie ignored Ming’s cautionary tug on her arm. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at the woman. In a cloyingly sweet and patently insincere voice, she said, “Thank you, Ms. Jensen. I appreciate your help. I misunderstood. I assumed that if information is in the public domain, it is available to the public.”

  Ms. Jensen reddened then fastened a hostile glare on Lexie not attempting to keep the anger out of her voice.

  “It is available. But even you have to go through the proper channels. And by the way, my name is Mrs. Jensen.”

  Lexie knew she shouldn’t, but it had been a long morning. She smiled. Ceremoniously folding the piece of paper in quarters, she dropped it in the wastepaper basket by the offensive woman’s desk. “I see. My condolences to Mr. Jensen.”

  Ignoring the gasps from the cadre of other women sitting at institutionally anonymous desks in the large anteroom she winked at the one closest to her. Linking arms with Ming they strolled out the door and then ran down the hallway laughing wildly.

  Chapter 7

  “Whooeee! Nothing like adding a little spice to our lives, Jake, my man.”

  Brady’s eyes danced with laughter while he and Jake waited for Dalila and Peter to join them at the elevator.

  Pretending not to understand, Jake pinned him with a glare.

  “What is that supposed to mean, Brady?”

  Then reconsidering, he tossed his friend a rueful grin. “Never mind. I’m not stupid. I guess I forgot how ‘overt’ Dalila is.”

  Brady roared. “Ah, yeah, man. If you call coming on to a guy with headlights blaring, ‘overt,’ guess that’s one way to describe it. Now if it was up to me to provide the description, I might call it the ‘How can we get rid of these two yahoos so that you can screw my ass to the top of this desk’ look.”

  Jake groaned. “C’mon, Brady, it wasn’t that bad.”

  Seeing his friend’s disbelief, Jake ran his hands though his already tousled hair. “Well, at some point she’ll meet Lexie and understand that I’m no longer that horny-assed buck sniffing at every doe within miles. She’ll see that I’m a claimed man. “

  Brady shrugged. “Not to be disagreeable, but I dunno, Jake. Dalila seems like the kind of woman who goes after what she wants. And little man, that little princess wants you!”

  Jake didn’t hide his annoyance. “Just remember, Brady. Wanting something and getting it are two different things. But forget about me. How do you feel about dark-haired, green-eyed Egyptian seductresses?”

  “Hey, she’s a woman, isn’t she? And a gorgeous one. So yeah, I’m all for it. As long as ‘said babe’ isn’t lusting after my best friend and buddy, I’d be all over it. Besides, given where she comes from, I like the idea of being the one doing the fucking considering how many times you and I have been fucked over in that part of the world.”

  Jake groaned at Brady’s coarse joke, but on one level he agreed. You didn’t have to spend much time in the Middle East to wonder why the hell we were even trying to right some long-standing wrongs. It was clear the natives sure as hell didn’t appreciate our efforts. Thinking back over the meeting, Jake agreed that Brady was right about Dalila. Taking out his phone, he punched up Lexie’s number.

  “Hi Darlin’. Brady and I just finished our meeting. We’re gonna grab some lunch with our colleagues. Oh and by the way, it looks like we’re a shoe-in to get this gig. Just have to meet with the head of the agency to confirm the financial end of it. I know you said you were going to be downtown. Any chance you’re near the Federal building? It’d be great if you can join us.”

  “Lexie, you couldn’t look bad if you tried. And it doesn’t matter if you are casual. We’re going to a little Indonesian restaurant, The Bali. Grab a cab, baby, and join us. The driver will know where it is. It’s been far too long since I saw you.”

  “No, just come when you can. I’ll order something I know you’ll like.”

  Jake laughed at her pert response, before continuing.

  “But, it’s true, isn’t it? Have you ever been disappointed by what I suggest?”

  He put his phone back in his pocket feeling a wave of relief at the sound of Lexie’s voice. Until he looked up to see Brady frowning.

  “Now, what’s wrong?”

  Brady blew out a deep breath. “Sure that’s what you want to do, big guy? Hell, I’m all for entertainment when I eat and I guess a cat fight qualifies.”

  Jake glowered at him. “Dammit, Brady. Don’t even kid around like that about Lexie. And yeah, I think it is a hell of a good idea that Dalila meets Lexie now before she gets the idea that I’m the same guy she used to know.”

  Brady raised an expressive brow. “For your sake, buddy, I wish that knowing bit hadn’t been in the biblical sense. Dalila seems like the kinda woman who might just rub that in.”

  Jake turned at the sound of Dalila’s sultry voice. He heard Brady’s quick intake of air and followed his gaze. Wouldn’t you know that Brady would pick up on the fact that Dalila had opened the top button on her silk blouse—the blouse that was already straining against her memorable breasts? But then, he’d noticed it as well.

  ~~~

  Lexie indicated to the maître di that she was meeting
someone. Scanning the restaurant she tugged at her cropped t-shirt but it would only go down so far. Likewise tugging at her hip hugger jeans was a lost cause. They were meant to be worn low on her hips and that’s as far up as she could get them. Damn, leave it to a man to say it didn’t matter if she was dressed casually. At least her four inch stiletto boots completed the picture perfectly. If only the picture wasn’t a total mismatch to the professionally dressed lunch crowd.

  She realized that the small dark skinned man was speaking to her.

  “You are meeting the three gentlemen and the lady, yes?”

  Lexie flipped her long sun streaked hair back over her shoulder and shrugged.

  “I guess so. I thought it was four men.”

  “Very good. Very good. My hostess is just seating them now.” The maître di pointed to the group preparing to sit at the table by the window. Lexie immediately saw Jake and as always, her heart thrummed in response. His tall broad-shouldered physique sent flutters of heat racing to her core. But her excitement was short lived. The shivers turned to shards of ice when she saw the “lady” beside Jake.

  It wasn’t so much that she was stunningly beautiful. Long black hair flowed in shiny waves over her shoulders. Even from this distance, her wide eyes sparkled, precisely matching the emerald pendant at her neck. Lexie was sure that little jewel cost as much as her car before she tricked it up. The pendant nestled between the woman’s lush breasts that seemed intent on bursting out of the white silk blouse that was opened one button too many to carry off the professional look. But it was perfectly consistent with the dark green skirt that stopped at least five inches above her knees. All of this was bad enough if this woman was the “colleague” Jake had referred to. But what hit Lexie in the gut was the way the woman was looking at Jake. Her green cat-like eyes were lowered as if she’d just whispered a very soft, very intimate invitation that Jake had to bend low to hear.

  Lexie hesitated, then made a decision. She could still leave, if she were quick enough, but her hesitation cost her. At that moment Jake saw her. If she hadn’t been so shocked at the woman who was still gazing up at her man, Lexie would have thrilled at the way Jake’s expression lit when he saw her. He moved toward her and tugged on her elbow then pulled her up close to him. His eyes twinkled as he murmured in her ear.

  “Damn, Darlin’. You are the best thing that I’ve seen since I left you four hours ago. Come, Lexie, let me introduce you to our friends.”

  Lexie pulled at his arm.

  “Jake, I’m… I’m not dressed appropriately. I told you I was in jeans. I feel—”

  “Darlin’, don’t be silly. You look beautiful. Ignore these people, honey. They are all little office mice relegated to cubicles in sterile high rise buildings. Be glad you have a job where you can wear what you want and be who you are.” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “Which in case you haven’t noticed is a woman who has me rolling on the ground like an eager puppy begging to have his tummy scratched.”

  Lexie would have laughed at his crazy Southernism except that she caught the eye of the gorgeous woman who minutes before had been attaching herself to Jake’s leg. The look was so full of venom it shocked Lexie. And damn, she wasn’t easily shocked. But, if the witch had intended to frighten her she chose the wrong tactic. While she’d been schooled by Master Wan never to look for a fight, Lexie never avoided one either. And seeing the way this woman was looking at her and at Jake—a fight was inevitable.

  Jake led her over to the table. Brady and the other man leapt to their feet. The chair between the two men was open as was the one beside the woman. Lexie accepted Brady’s kiss on her cheek and prepared to sit beside him. Jake frowned as though just noticing the awkward arrangement of the chairs. Lexie leaned into Brady and sat down in the chair next to him. Seeing Jake’s frown, she gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head and murmured, “It’s okay, Jake, this way I can keep an eye on you.”

  Jake chuckled, his relief at her response apparent. “That’s not necessary, Darlin’, but I do like having clear shot at Brady if he oversteps his boundaries.”

  Nodding to the others, he started to introduce them. “Lexie, this is Paul Prentiss and Dalila Minyawi. Paul and Dalila are both agents in the Office of Immigration Enforcement. They’re the folks I told you about. As long as their boss can afford to pay Brady’s and my outrageous fees, we will be working with them on a couple of projects.”

  Paul stood staring at Lexie, clearly dumbstruck. When she smiled up at him he flushed to the roots of his reddish blond hair. He seemed to realize that he was still standing when Jake motioned to his chair. In his hurry to sit, he stumbled against the edge of the table tipping his water glass precariously. Without Lexie’s quick catch, he would have dumped it in her lap.

  Jake chuckled and nuzzled her ear.

  “Good save, Darlin’. Sit down, Paul before you drench this beautiful woman.”

  Paul visibly swallowed and muttered his apologies.

  Jake laughed as he pushed in Lexie’s chair and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “No need to apologize, Paul. Lexie has that effect on men.” He looked from Paul to the women at the other side of the table then continued with his introductions.

  “Paul, Dalila, I’d like you to meet Alexis Beloi. With her permission you may call her Lexie as we do. Lexie is—”

  Before he could continue, Dalila interrupted.

  “You must be Anthony’s sister. I was sorry to hear about his death. You look just like him.” She gave Lexie an appraising once over. “I knew Anthony had a younger sister, but I had no idea you were as young as you are. Anthony was your age, wasn’t he, Jake?”

  Jake’s hands clamped on Lexie’s shoulders and Brady’s hand grabbed her knee. Lexie pushed them both away and focused on the green-eyed witch across the table.

  If Dalila noticed the stormy looks Jake and Brady were throwing her way, she ignored them—instead taking a delicate sip of water.

  Lexie sucked in a deep breath of air. If she had been standing, her fighting stance would have been apparent. As it was, Brady noticed and winked at her. She motioned to Jake to sit down. He frowned and hesitated but she smiled at him and said softly, “At ease, Jake. I like a clear view of the target.”

  He gave her a forced grin then nodded and reluctantly took his place beside Dalila.

  Dalila turned her attention to Lexie.

  “Are you a fighter like your brother was?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Lexie’s curt response was purposeful. She was grateful that neither Jake nor Brady jumped in to amplify. It was an acknowledgment that she could handle this situation without their help.

  Dalila replied, “All of you are?” She gazed up at Jake and added with a sly smile, “How interesting. It makes for some interesting nights.”

  In the silence that followed, Jake moved back in his chair obviously preparing a response. But before he could speak, Dalila brushed against his arm and gave Lexie an understanding if patronizing glance.

  “I’m not surprised that you want to associate with Jake. He is popular for many reasons, not the least of which is that he is a true hero. I’m sure you know that he singlehandedly took down the drug cartel that had taken over the Army base in Yuma.”

  Jake laughed his infectious laugh, and shook his head.

  “You’ve got that one wrong, Dalila. The true hero of that adventure was Lexie. If it wasn’t for Lexie and the fact that she throws a mean knife, I wouldn’t be here.” He winked at Brady and added, “Oh, and Brady played a role as well.”

  Dalila’s lip curled at the corner. “How sweet. No wonder you feel as though you owe her something. I know how protective you were of Anthony. I’m not surprised you feel the need to protect his little sister.”

  At that moment the waitress appeared and they were saved from further conversation by the ordering process. As they were deciding, Dalila smiled up at Jake.

  “I don’t think I’ve had Indonesi
an food since the last time that you and I were in Cairo, Jake. I remember how charmed we were to find an Indonesian restaurant in the heart of the capital of Egypt. But then it is a more cosmopolitan city then many of the places we were stationed.”

  Lexie reached for Brady’s hand but he beat her to it. It was on her knee before she could grab for it. He grasped hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. Lexie struggled not to bite her bottom lip but the habit was too entrenched. Through the roar in her ears, she heard Jake’s laconic reply.

  “Hmm, Dalila, I didn’t remember that you were on that mission. But then there were at least forty CID agents at that dinner. I didn’t have time to meet them all. That’s the challenge of being both the commander and the dinner speaker. Hard to be social.”

  Lexie looked up in time to see Jake gazing at her. Clearly his response was meant for her, not the woman at his side who had the decency to flush. Even so, Lexie knew it was unlikely that she would be able to eat and wondered if she shouldn’t just leave now. Dalila seemed to sense the opening and said in a patronizing voice stroking the emerald at her neck, “Is that a diamond you are wearing in your navel, Alexis? How quaint. The only people who wear jewels in their navels in my country are belly dancers.”

  Her emphasis on ‘belly dancers’ underscored that at least in Dalila’s view they were tantamount to prostitutes.

  Lexie smiled. “No, it isn’t a diamond. It is a dimestore bauble. I only wish I were like the belly dancers. They are much more skilled than I am. They’re able to keep their jewelry in place when they dance. I’m not nearly that accomplished.”

  Dalila’s eyes widened as though in shock. “You don’t mean to tell me that you have pierced your navel.”

  Lexie gave her a casual nod. “Mm hmm. To match the piercings on my nipples.”

  Brady choked on his beer, spraying a mouthful across the table. Lexie pounded him helpfully on his back. Brady knew full well that she didn’t have pierced nipples. She glanced over to see Jake looking at her through narrowed eyes. His lips were twitching clearly holding back a hoot of laughter. But as he continued to gaze at her he slowly licked his lips. The gesture was so blatantly sexual that Lexie felt the heat on her cheeks hit between her thighs. She trembled, knowing that it would serve her right if their next stop was the tattoo parlor. Of course, Jake would love it if she pierced her nipples. The more for him to play with.