“Good choice in weapon.” He shoved more into his mouth. After he was done chewing, he washed it down with more milk. “So how did you end up in border work?”
“I wanted to make a difference. To make the bad people pay. I have Hispanic heritage and speak Spanish, so it was easy enough to get my original transfer in.”
“Isn’t Puerto Rican Spanish different from Mexican Spanish?”
“It’s like someone from New York trying to speak to someone in Ireland. The words are mostly the same, but very different dialects.”
He took a breath and finally asked the question he’d been holding back since he’d first had his government contact run a background check on her. “So how did it happen?”
“I thought you knew.”
“More information redacted. You should see the amount of black highlighter in your file.”
“If I tell you, will you show me that file? I’d be interested to see what Uncle Sam thinks about me.”
“They think you’re amazing. But deal.”
She bit her lip and looked down. “I was transporting a witness from the police station to a safe house. Somehow they found out and attacked the car. I was t-boned while crossing an intersection. They hit the passenger side, which was probably the one thing that saved me. Once the car was incapacitated, they started shooting. The witness was in the backseat, so that’s where most of the fire was aimed. It was a stray bullet that went into my leg. And, for the record, when people call a bullet wound a flesh wound in the movies and then get up and kick ass for the next twenty minutes, that’s not realistic. This flesh wound did some serious damage to the muscle. Took months of physical therapy for me to walk normally again. I’m still limited the amount of running I can do. It’s why there are so many weights in my apartment. I need to keep my muscles strong and working well. At least, if I want to get back.”
“And the witness?”
She shrugged, but he could tell from her somber expression that the whole thing had affected her deeply. “He didn’t make it. I was able to fire off a few rounds. Hit a few of them too, but they were gone just as quick as they came. I think from start to finish, it was over in two minutes. Hard to tell.”
“You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Lucky,” she scoffed. “I hate luck.”
“Sorry. I guess it was bad luck that got you into the whole mess to begin with.”
“No. Luck implies that you’re not in control. Pinned down in the front seat. Unable to move with only twelve rounds of ammo to protect myself with. I don’t like luck.”
“How did they know you were transporting the witness then and there?” he asked, even though he had a feeling he knew the answer.
“Same reason Longineu knew where I was staying. Knew who I was. One of my own people told him.”
“Did you find out who it was?”
Evelyn met his eyes. “Not officially.”
“Unofficially?”
“I had a few of my old coworkers pay him a visit for me.”
“Old coworkers like Jace?”
“Now there’s some luck.” She smiled.
“How so?”
“If I had been well enough to pay the bastard a visit myself, he would’ve gotten a lot worse than one convenient car crash into that tree. But at least I can walk again.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Evelyn’s face fell. “Damn. I forgot that you’re normal. Did I just freak you out?”
Luke stood and walked around the table to kneel in front of her. He set his hands on her knees, like he’d done back in his apartment, but this time he raised them higher and ran his palms along the outside of her thighs until one of his hands rested over the now healed bullet wound. “Evelyn,” he breathed. “If anyone tries to hurt you again...FBI, Longineu, cartels, anyone...I’ll kill them myself.”
She set her hand over his. “That’s the scariest and sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” The corner of her mouth twisted up.
“Well, that’s what happens when girls make me pancakes. I become their slave for life.”
“Slave, like normal stuff? Or slave like sex stuff?”
“When it comes to you, I prefer the sex stuff.” He winked.
She stroked a finger down his cheek. “Oh, the things I could do with you.”
“We have time. Make a list and I’ll let you do whatever you want to my body.”
Her eyes darkened with desire and his cock was rock hard. “Evelyn?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“Those pancakes will microwave okay, right?”
“They microwave fantastically.”
He gathered her in his arms and she held on with her arms around his shoulders and legs around his waist.
“Good,” he whispered. “Because I’m suddenly not hungry for food anymore.”
“What did you see in Gail’s bank statements?” asked Evelyn, feeling half guilty for even asking the question.
“It was like you thought. There was a ten thousand dollar wire transfer into her account on Friday morning. We’re still trying to track down the source, but that was enough to get a warrant for a wire on her cell phone,” said Hotchins over the phone.
“Shit,” said Evelyn under her breath. She’d suspected but really hoped she’d been wrong. “Does she know you’re suspicious?”
“Not that I can tell, but recently turned agents tend to think everyone suspects them. I’m trying really hard not to spook her until we have something concrete.”
Evelyn thought back to Gail’s apartment. The tiny space where she’d raised three boys. The pictures on the walls of the loving family, all smiling for the camera. What would they do if their mother was arrested? “Why now? Do you think she’s been taking bribes for longer?”
“We don’t know anything for sure. But her youngest just went off to college. Those bills aren’t cheap these days.”
“Have you ever had this happen before?” Evelyn didn’t remember hearing any reports of dirty agents in the New York white-collar division, but it wasn’t something the agency liked to brag about.
“Not under me, personally. I’ve known Gail for a long time and this is...hard. But we’ll figure it out. But we can’t assume she’s the only one. Are you being careful out there? If anything happens to Luke, his brother will not take it lightly.”
Screw Michael. If anything happened to Luke, she wouldn’t take it lightly. “An agent I used to work with in Texas set me up with an IP address. If anyone tries to track our locations based off of emails or Skype conversations, they’ll think we’re in the middle of nowhere Montana. You’re the only one I’ve called using a phone.”
“And Luke hasn’t told anyone where he is?” asked Hotchins.
Evelyn tried not to be offended. Sure, Hotchins hadn’t worked with her long, but she still wished he gave her a bit more credit. “I’ve been making sure he’s been discreet. Cali might know where we are, but she’s the only one, and we thoroughly vetted her back when we first started working with the Devereauxs. So we should be safe here for the time being. But this won’t last long. Michael and Luke need to be back in the city eventually. Do you think we can bring in Longineu any time soon? I feel like I should be doing something, but I’m limited out here.”
There was a silence on the other end, and Evelyn didn’t take that as a good sign. “We’re working on it,” said Hotchins finally. “All we need to do is get him to talk, but we need to have something on him first. We have plenty of proof of affairs, but I have a feeling his wife already knows, so that’s not good enough. We know Joslyn Devereaux was able to convince him she had sensitive information that had him scared, but she refuses to talk to us without a lawyer, and even with the lawyer trying to convince her to cut a deal, she’s keeping quiet.”
And considering how self-serving Joslyn Devereaux was, that probably meant she was scared. “Grayson was their banker and he had something that spooked them. The answe
r has to be in the financials. Just keep digging. Follow all the trails. If we run into something that looks like a dead end, keep digging. We’ll find it. No one can commit this type of financial fraud and not leave any digital footprint in this day and age. Get every CPA we can to dig through bank statements, tax returns, everything. We need to catch Longineu and we need to catch him yesterday.”
“You do know I give the orders, right?” asked Hotchins, a bit of amusement in his voice.
“You do know I’m alone in a cottage with an annoyed Luke Devereaux, right? He’s not happy.” Well, that was slightly an exaggeration. But if name-dropping would motivate Hotchins to throw all available money and resources into this, then she was going to name-drop.
“Consider it done,” said Hotchins. “Are you two okay up there? I’d send more agents so you can get some relief, but...”
“The fewer people who know our location, the better. Keep me updated on what you find. Let me know if I can help on my end. I’m limited, but not useless.”
“Trust me. If I can use you, I will.”
“Thanks for your help, Hotchins,” she said honestly. It was nice to know she wasn’t alone on the case.
“Take care of yourself,” he said. “And, for the love of God, take care of Devereaux. I don’t want a lawsuit after this.”
“I’m taking care of him the best I can,” she assured him. If only he knew exactly how well she was taking care of him.
He said one more good-bye before he hung up. Evelyn wrapped her sweater more tightly around her as a gust of wind whipped through the porch, tangling her hair and chilling her more than the sunshine and beach suggested.
Luke stepped out onto the porch next to her. “Are things progressing in New York?”
“Eavesdropping is rude,” pointed out Evelyn.
“It’s also very smart at times. Depends on the situation.”
She tilted her head in agreement. He wasn’t wrong. She glanced out over the water, squinting at the bright sun reflected on the waves. After the rainy weekend, this was the first day that the sun had come out. It was a breath of fresh air, literally, after her months in the city. Texas didn’t have views like this. The cold air was refreshing and invigorating. Even in the winter, the Texas heat was enough to settle heavy in her lungs. Maybe New York wasn’t all bad. Just the city.
But she supposed Luke didn’t have all the troubles she did. He never had to wait forty minutes for a seat, even at a less desirable restaurant, to open. He didn’t deal with the space limitations that she had to make work in her apartment. Except for traffic. Even the rich had to deal with the crappy traffic.
“What are you thinking?” asked Luke.
“Thinking about how spoiled you are.” She smiled.
“Are you going to hate me again? I thought we were over that.”
“I’m not going to hate you again.”
Luke set his arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close as they looked out over the ocean together. “Good.” He pressed a kiss to her temple.
“But I’m totally going to judge you,” she said with a wicked smile. “And maybe make fun of you.”
“Classist.”
“Got that right,” she said, unashamed.
“I wasn’t always like this, you know.”
“You always had money.”
“Wasn’t raised that way. My father and uncle tried to keep us as grounded as possible.”
“Back in Georgia?”
“Yep. We were as normal as the South gets down there. Michael and I played football. Went hunting in the fall. Would sneak out back and shoot cans on the property when we were probably too young.”
“Jock,” she muttered.
“There’s really no making you happy, is there? Well, what about this. Michael, Rourke, and I would drag out the tent and walk for hours to find some secluded spot on the property to set up camp and we’d make our own fire and everything.”
“Why don’t you talk to Rourke?” she asked.
“I thought you knew why.”
“I know what happened. But you and Michael are so close. Emma too. I don’t really have much family. It seems a shame to have a brother you used to do so much with who you don’t speak to.”
He stiffened next to her. It was a touchy subject obviously, but she’d shared her secrets with him. It only seemed fair that she could pry a bit.
“It’s not my choice.”
“It’s your choice not to reach out.”
“I did. I tried.”
She tightened her lips but forced herself to stay quiet. Luke was one of the most stubborn, persistent men she’d ever met. If he really wanted, he’d push down the doors of wherever Rourke was staying and force him to reconcile.
“The thing is,” said Luke finally, “if the roles were reversed, and Rourke had done to me what I did to him, I’d never talk to me again either.”
“So your guilt is keeping you away.”
Luke abruptly swooped down for a deep, hungry kiss. His lips moved against hers, his tongue just brushing the seam of her lips until she opened for him. Evelyn closed her eyes and let herself fall into the kiss for a brief moment before she pulled away. “You’re changing the subject.”
“I’m changing it to a better subject.” His hands roamed down her back and rested at her hips. “Now it’s getting cold out here. I just had my last work call of the day. So why don’t you come inside and help warm me up?”
“You going to start a fire?”
“I was thinking shower.”
“I always heard shower sex sounds better than it actually is.”
Luke grinned down at her. “Well, that’s because you never had it with me. Now I’m going to go get the water warm. You meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes, completely naked, and I’ll show you exactly how good it can be.”
“Challenge accepted.” Evelyn pushed him away. “I’ll see you in ten.”
“Or less. Really, as soon as you want,” he said as he disappeared in the house.
Even the chill of the setting sun couldn’t detract from the heat that rushed through her veins. She’d had so many orgasms this weekend, it was as though her body was hyper aware of Luke at this point. It took everything in her to keep from running straight into the shower with him, but she forced herself to wait.
Let herself pretend that she still had some measure of control.
She probably lasted five minutes. Then she was inside and stripping as she walked. Her sweater was left on the back of the couch. She left her shoes in the door to the bedroom. Her blouse and tank top came off together and landed on the bed. And she stripped off her leggings at the door to the bathroom.
Luke was in his naked glory, adjusting the temperature, when he turned and saw her leaning against the doorjamb in her white bra and panties. Not technically a set, but in Evelyn’s book, same color counted as a set. And judging from the sudden heat in Luke’s eyes, he didn’t mind.
“I was promised an erotic shower.”
“Get over here,” he ordered and she followed. Who could say no to that command?
She fell into his arms, and she moaned at the feel of his naked body against hers. The skin to skin. He felt warm and hard and secure. His fingers wrapped in her hair, and he tilted her head to access her neck. He started with her ear, nibbling and sucking, the sensations shooting through her body.
Her breathing kicked up as he moved lower, along the cords of her neck, and delicately licked her collarbone. He bit the top of her bra strap and pulled it over her shoulder, lowering the other one with his hand.
She let her eyes fall closed as she soaked in the erotic sensations: the feel of his body against hers, his hands on her back, his breath on her neck as he kissed her there again, then her collarbone, and then the valley between her breasts.
“Luke,” she breathed as he lowered one of her bra cups enough to lightly bite at the taut peak before soothing it.
But instead of giving her more like she wanted, he pulled a
way. “I think the water is warm enough now.”
She forced her eyes open and saw him standing there in all his beauty, erection standing taut and proud. After the first night, they’d stopped using the condoms. She hadn’t been with a man in ages and knew she was clean and on birth control. Luke hadn’t been quite as saintly, but said he used protection for any affair that wasn’t serious. And pretty much all of his weren’t serious. Not to mention she’d seen his personal health files. One of the perks of being with the FBI was invading privacy.
For a moment, she imagined what he would look like in the shower, with warm rivulets of water caressing over his shoulders, chest, abs, and lower...
“Okay.” She nodded as she removed her bra and panties.
Luke opened the glass door of the shower and stepped in, under the water. It was just like Evelyn’s fantasies come to life... When he held out a hand to her, she couldn’t imagine ever turning this man away. It was as if he had cast some sort of strange spell over her that turned her into a sex-crazed nymph, and for some reason she didn’t even care.
She took his hand and he pulled her inside. Their heads were clear of the spray, but from the neck down, she was confronted with the heat of the water on her side and back, while Luke’s heat caressed her from the front.
He caged her head between his big hands and gave her a devastating kiss. His tongue tangled with hers as he inserted a foot between her legs until his thigh was pressed up against her core.
Instinctively, she rubbed against him. Needing some sort of friction. A small shudder raced through her as the sensations between her lips and clit battled within her. She let out a small moan and rubbed against him again, harder.
He laughed softly into her mouth. “Going somewhere without me?”
She tried to smile up at him, but she was too over-sensitized to work one up. But she still had enough sense to give a smart-ass remark. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”
“Oh really? Well, I’m the only one giving you orgasms for tonight.”
“If it’s your leg, it still counts, right?”
“That’s it.” He twisted her around until she was looking at the teal and white tiles. He guided her hands until they braced her against the wall at eye level. Then he skimmed his hands down the sides of her breasts, waist, and then her ass.
Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 44