by Lynn, Janice
She’d acted nervous.
He’d put it down to the fact he suspected she was married or at the minimal tied to another man. Was it possible she’d known what his day held? He recalled how she kept him from buying a paper. Why? It didn’t make sense that she would be involved. Not really. What possible reason would she have for wanting to destroy him? He’d only met her on Monday.
Monday. The day he’d gotten sick.
Tuesday. The day he’d kissed Angel in a pub hallway.
Wednesday. The day he’d had an allergic reaction.
Thursday. The day he’d made love to an angel.
Friday. The day his world crashed around him.
“Angela.”
“What about her?”
He had to be wrong. “Do you think she could be behind this?”
“What would be her motive?” Marcus echoed Jude’s thoughts. “Unless you were totally lame in bed.”
He wouldn’t go there.
He shrugged. “Kind of odd that she showed up at the time my life went to hell.”
“Love’s like that.”
Love. He’d told Angel he loved her. He’d never felt this way before. Protective and like he could spend the rest of his life waking just to see her face.
His cell rang.
“No temp service was contacted to replace Mrs. Sedwick,” Harriet said. “I stayed late today, because I couldn’t believe it when human resources found no record of a requisition. When nothing turned up, I tracked down Mrs. Sedwick’s cell phone number. She didn’t make the call either.”
“No one hired Angela Greene?”
“Not anyone from Playhouse.”
Oh hell.
Jude hung up his phone.
“You think it was her?”
His heart said it couldn’t be, but his mind, well, his mind said she was connected. It also said Mandy was involved. She’d known about the accounts. His apartment, she’d known that before he had.
Had Angela snuck cockroaches into his apartment last night? Perhaps in her purse?
Jude laughed without humor. What was he thinking? Of course, she hadn’t. The whole idea bordered on insane.
“The temp wasn’t a temp?” Marcus asked, cutting into Jude’s thoughts.
“Nope.”
“Who was she?”
“That is the million dollar question, isn’t it?” Jude finished off his beer and decided a second one wouldn’t hurt. He walked to the fridge and helped himself, then plopped down on the sofa. “I only know of one person who has the answer.”
Marcus ran his hand over his chin and grimaced. “You want to file suit?”
“For what? We have no proof.” Jude took a long drink. “No, I want to know what the hell is going on, and then I want revenge.”
Marcus stared at him through troubled eyes. “You’re going to call Mandy?”
“Yep, and she’s going to tell me what’s going on.” He took a long drink of the fresh longneck. “One way or another, she’ll tell me everything I want to know.”
* * *
Avery lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
It felt good to be home. She missed Tennessee any time she was called away for more than a few days. There was something about the hills, the air, the state itself that had embedded itself in her heart.
Last night, they’d arrived in Nashville, caught up with Courtney, and then resided in their private quarters, each catching up with personal stuff.
Randi on her computer, Cassidy writing on the book she thought none of them knew about although they all did, Courtney working on her cases for the next week, and Avery putting herself through a grueling workout. Which she’d done again first thing this morning while the other three agents went horse back riding over the sixty acre spread they called home.
Avery hadn’t been up for the questions sure to come had she accompanied her friends.
She’d left for the temporary agency long before they’d returned. Holly Hogan, the manager and a former TGEA client, did an excellent job keeping things in tip-top shape, but Avery liked to keep an eye on business.
Because she couldn’t completely relinquish control. Not of the temporary service, not of the agency, not of her heart.
Her door opened and Cassidy walked in.
“Come on,” she said, pulling Avery from her thoughts. “We’re taking you to the Wild Horse for some partying.”
Avery’s favorite place in Nashville to go for good music, dancing, and fun. “I really don’t feel like it tonight, but y’all go ahead.”
“No.” Courtney poked her head into the room. “You have to go because we’re taking you out to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?” Avery asked, confused. Payback Puss leaped onto her bed and seemed to join in with the party. Avery stroked her hand over his back.
“Oh yeah,” Randi chimed from behind Courtney. “We’re going to celebrate good times. Come on.”
All three girls began to dance and shake to imaginary music. Cassidy grabbed Avery’s hand while Randi spun Courtney around. Payback Puss meowed from his perch on the bed.
“Everybody’s gonna have a good time,” Randi sang.
“’Cause Avery got her some,” Courtney added off key.
Avery’s eyes widened. “We’re celebrating that?”
“Honey, it’s been over five years,” Randi reminded, dancing around. “Of course we’re celebrating that.”
“Yeah, we should send Jude Layman a fruit basket or something,” Courtney laughed, still moving to the beat in her head.
“Or something,” Cassidy said on a more serious note, her eyes locked with Avery’s.
“Come on, you two. Let’s go,” Randi demanded. “We have some serious partying to do.”
“Especially since we’ll all be in different parts of the country most of next week.”
Avery allowed Cassidy to pull her to her feet. “I give. I give.” She smiled. “Give me two minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Ooooh, is bad girl Avery planning to primp a bit and possibly get laid again tonight?” Courtney teased.
“I wouldn’t bet on it unless Jude Layman shows up at the Wild Horse.” Cassidy shot a look Avery chose to ignore. She’d talk to her later, in private, and remind that Jude was nothing more than a mark. One whose file had been deleted except for the high security encryption. Avery intended to erase him from her memory just as completely.
“Jude?” Courtney stopped dancing, glanced around at the three women. “We’re through with his case, though, right? We got our man?”
“Yes, we’re finished with Jude Layman.” Avery glanced in the mirror, couldn’t meet her own eyes, and decided she didn’t care what she looked like. “Let’s go. I don’t need two minutes after all.”
* * *
Mandy stepped out of the tub and wrapped her damp body with an over-sized towel. She’d scrubbed and perfumed every inch of her body in preparation for the night ahead.
She’d known Jude would come around to her way of thinking. She really was going to have it all. Her father’s approval, her rightful place as editor-in-chief at the magazine, and Jude in her bed. Too funny that he was reportedly gay. A less gay man had never walked the face of the earth. The man oozed testosterone and adored women.
Just as women adored him.
Now he was going to be hers.
She stared in her bathroom mirror and liked what she saw. Her skin was flawless, her lips full and pink, her eyes large and luminous, her cheekbones high, her nose pert, her breasts large and peeping over the top of the towel. Sure some of the procedures left her looking like a car accident victim for the first few days, but the end product was worth it. She was beautiful. Jude wanted her.
That’s what he’d called earlier to say. That he wanted to see her. Tonight.
She’d had plans, of course. What Saturday night did a woman with her social connections not have plans? But Jude’s silver tongue convinced her she should cancel and let him make better us
e of her time.
Not enough time had passed for her to forget how much better use of her time Jude could be.
She smiled at herself in the mirror as memories of making love with him flooded her mind. He was such an attentive lover, seeming to know what she wanted even before she did.
Heat also flooded. Hot, moist heat that pooled between her legs. Watching herself in the mirror, Mandy dropped the towel and ran her hands over her body.
Tonight was all about making Mandy feel good.
* * *
Jude forced a smile on his face as he offered Mandy a bite of his lobster. He’d taken her to one of Manhattan’s finest restaurants. Not a place where he generally hung out, but Mandy’s crowd could often be found wining and dining there. He’d been wining and dining her for a week now. A whole week and he still didn’t know anything beyond his suspicions.
“Mmmm, this is delicious,” she cooed, making Jude nauseated. He wished he could just strangle the truth out of her. Threatening her wouldn’t work and he might end up with nothing at all. With Mandy, if he gave her enough rope, she’d eventually hang herself.
In Mandy’s case enough rope equaled letting her smugness blind her. Whatever it was she’d done, she’d eventually slip and reveal the truth. Mandy couldn’t keep a secret any better than she could stay away from the nip and tuck set.
“As you are,” he lied, placing a kiss on her cheek.
He hated to think about the lengths he’d gone to regain her trust.
She giggled.
When he called last week, Jude worried she wouldn’t buy that he wanted to take her out since he’d point blank told her he’d never want her back. He’d anticipated having to beg and grovel. She accepted his invitation as if she’d expected nothing less than him wanting her back all along.
Marcus told him he was either a fool or brilliant.
Marcus. What would he have done without his friend? Marcus not only provided a place to stay, cash to spend, but had been right about Jude’s apartment being ransacked. All his financial documents disappeared.
Other than that, his apartment had been clean as a whistle and no trace of any cockroaches. Not that he believed there ever had been.
Marcus also held off on filing a suit of his own since technically they had no proof of anything at this point.
“Jude, love, will you get me another glass of wine?”
Jude nodded and motioned for their waiter.
She’d already drunk several. Perhaps the alcohol would loosen her tongue. Up to this point, nothing else had, although she’d dropped a few hints she knew more than she let on. Enough that he knew he was on the right trail.
Right trail? Hell it was the only trail he had. Angela had disappeared from his life as quickly as she’d shown up.
Part of him wanted to believe it was because she was disillusioned by what happened at Playhouse and the lies the media printed. Unfortunately he couldn’t buy into that belief. There were too many coincidences, too many unanswered questions for him to think her entering his life hadn’t been planned.
Which meant he’d been used.
If he found her, and he would, he didn’t know if he’d strangle her or kiss her senseless. Possibly both. The gaping hole in his chest demanded she pay for whatever her part in all this was.
The waiter filled Mandy’s glass, then hurried on about his business.
She sipped her wine, staring at him with half-closed eyes. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman on the outside, but it was the frigid inside that chilled Jude’s soul.
“You going home with me tonight, love?”
Did she have any idea how much he hated her calling him that? Or how much he hated that he was essentially whoring himself in hopes of gaining access to whatever that pea-sized brain of hers held?
An image of Angela flashed through his mind.
“You sure a woman like you wants a man who’s not yet back on his feet?” he covered, hoping his eyes didn’t convey his thoughts.
Her gaze dropped, running over the expanse of his throat exposed above his button-down shirt. “Oh, I want you,” she purred.
He’d done her before, tried to care for her even, but that had been months ago and before his life went to hell. When he’d respected Simon and carried that respect over to a daughter who deserved nothing. Mandy left him cold.
So cold that he would do her to get what he wanted? God, he hoped it didn’t come to that, hoped he could keep putting her off with comments on how he needed to be back in control of his life prior to restarting their physical relationship.
Anger heated his insides and provided one hell of a motivator.
One way or another, he’d discover the truth, then revenge would be his.
Chapter Eighteen
From across the Dallas club’s table, Avery batted her lashes at the swine she’d been sent to set-up. A jerk who’d cheated on his wife of fifteen years and given her Herpes. Through the buddy system, the well-connected guy had gotten most everything in the divorce settlement, including custody of their two children. The woman wanted vengeance and hopes of regaining custody through proving what an unfit bastard the man really was.
She’d contacted the agency through the regular means, but hadn’t had the funds to pay. They unanimously opted to take the case anyway. They’d never turned a case down based on whether or not a person could pay. Not ever.
Avery had hired a local private investigator to tail the jerk for the past two weeks, done her homework in between her Arizona doctor mark, and then dressed like a high class hooker and wearing a short-cropped blond wig, she’d moved in for the kill.
“Jerry, I wanna go back to your place,” she said in a semi-whine while running her foot up his thigh. Jerry had a penchant for cocaine that he’d somehow managed to hide from his wife and from the judge. It had only taken talking to a few of his ex-girlfriends to discover his habit. She’d already checked his coat pocket and he was packing the white powder. Avery hated drugs, never used them, but she excelled at using men’s weaknesses against them. Jerry’s weaknesses were loose women and coke. “I need a fix.”
She cradled her foot in his crotch, disgusted at how he leered.
“A fix of me?”
Oh yeah, like that would get a woman off. She mentally rolled her eyes and giggled out loud. “Uh-huh.”
Jerry paid their check. “My nanny,” who he was reportedly screwing, “is at my place with my kids. We’ll have to go to your place.”
“My roommates are at my apartment.” Avery leaned forward giving him an unrestricted view down the front of her skintight tank top. His tongue practically dropped out of his mouth.
“A hotel room perhaps?” he suggested, his eyes never lifting from her cleavage. “Unless you think your roommates would like to join us?”
Gag.
“Nope.” She shook her head and ran her gaze over him as if he were dipped in chocolate and not the grossest thing she’d ever come across. How dare the jerk screw around and bring Herpes home to his wife? “I’m not sharing any of you.” She giggled again. “Not tonight, at any rate.”
He licked his lips. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Avery laced her hands with his, mainly to keep him from groping her bottom again. She’d swear the man had more hands than an octopus had arms.
At the cheap motel, a woman who’d smoked one cigarette too many took in Avery’s barely there white mini-skirt and bright red tank top. She caught Avery’s eye and winked.
Avery winked back. Everything was in place.
Thirty minutes later, she stared at the half-comatose jerk while she placed a call to 911.
“Yes,” she drawled in an accent that would make any Texan proud, “you’ve gotta help. My boyfriend’s passed out and I think he might be dead.”
She listened to the operator tell her to remain calm and then ask her location.
“The Cheatin Heart Motel, room 19B. Oh, please send an ambulance. I think he’s dead,” sh
e whined, sounding almost hysterical while she inspected her wig to make sure it was still perfectly in place. “I’ve tried to get him to quit using this stuff for months.”
The operator asked more questions, including what Avery’s name was, which she ignored.
“Cocaine. I think he might have overdosed. Please hurry. Oh, someone’s at the door.” Avery hung the phone up before the woman could ask more.
She slipped out and into the room three doors down where Cassidy watched television.
“Everything set?” she asked, clicking the remote’s mute button.
Avery nodded and pulled off the blond wig. “It’s set. He should come to in about fifteen minutes. Just in time to tell the paramedics why there’s white powder in his nostrils and in his bloodstream. Felicia shouldn’t have any trouble getting custody of her children after this. If she does, we’ll come back.”
Avery walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She stood waiting for the water to warm, rubbing her palms over her bare arms.
“You okay?” Cassidy asked from the open doorway.
“Fine.” She straightened, shot her friend a smile. “Just feel dirty from that slime ball touching me.”
“You didn’t?”
Avery frowned. “Not that. Yuck. The guy was a total creep, besides…”
She didn’t finish. She couldn’t. Cassidy already saw too much.
“Besides he’s not Jude? Is that what you were going to say?”
Just hearing the name out loud caused her heart to squeeze painfully. She shrugged, refusing to give voice to anything that might fuel Cassidy’s inquisition.
“He’s dating again.” Cassidy dropped the words casually but nothing about the way Avery’s head shot around was casual.
“What did you say?” Damn it. She didn’t want to care.
“Jude.” Cassidy looked smug. “He’s dating again.”
Avery snorted, attempting to hide how much the news bothered. “Was there ever any doubt that he would?”
“Actually he started seeing this woman on the day after we left New York.”