Long, Lean and Lethal

by O'Clare, Lorie

  Rain straightened, looking down her nose at him. “No one else?”

  “Just you,” he growled, grabbing her by the side of the neck and pulling her face to his. “Does that surprise you?”

  “No.” Rain covered his hand with hers but then slipped out of his hold on her. She then nodded at the screen between them on the dash. “What’s happening?”

  “I’m not sure.” He glanced up at the house. The people inside appeared to be moving toward the back door. “Looks like they might be leaving together.”

  “We’ve got a patrol car parked right around the corner,” she reminded him. “What are they doing now?”

  “It looks like they’re just standing outside.” Noah reached over, stretching over the seat, and pulled out the electronic listening device.

  Rain took it from him when he straightened, and placed the small satellite dish in front of her on the dash. Noah untangled the headphones and slid them over his head while Rain adjusted the dish toward the house.

  “You hear anything?”

  “As if they were in the car with us,” he told her, grinning. He nodded at the listening device. “It only records a couple minutes of actual time. Be ready in case we need to capture anything.”

  Rain nodded and turned the knob next to the small screen that also allowed them to see what they were hearing. Except that the house was in the way. She focused the device on the edge of the house and then looked at him.

  “I want to hear, too.”

  Noah reached for her and pulled her up against him. She turned, adjusting herself, so that her back leaned against his chest and her face was next to his. Then moving the headset, he turned one side so that she could hear, too.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen after this case was over. Noah didn’t mind his life. Showing up at a crime scene and entering an investigation when no one else could nab the perp were highs that he lived for. Not once during the three years he was with Laurel did he consider changing his line of work to be with her more. Laurel never suggested it, either. He never felt a moment of regret even when he jumped on a plane and went straight to the next case.

  Which was why the longing to figure out a way to keep Rain in his life should really be bugging him. But it wasn’t. With every hour, every day, that he spent time with her, he knew beyond any doubt he didn’t want to let her go. Worse yet, he didn’t want the type of relationship with Rain that he had with Laurel, calling each other every night, going days, often weeks, without seeing each other.

  Noah had trusted Laurel, and it turned out he shouldn’t have. If she hadn’t approached him about entering into an open marriage, she would have cheated on him. Laurel pretty much made that clear with her proposition.

  But Rain wasn’t Laurel. Without knowing she was doing it, Rain had made it very clear to him that having sex with anyone, just for the sake of fucking, wasn’t her style. And she didn’t fuck Noah; she made love to him, passionately and with every inch of her soul. Noah rubbed his thumb over the curve of her shoulder, imagining working case after case with her. They were the perfect team in more than one way.

  “They aren’t saying anything,” Rain whispered, pulling him out of his thoughts.

  He leaned forward, keeping his arm around her so that she stayed secure at his side, and looked at the equipment on the dash. “They’re still standing in the backyard.”

  “There they go.” Rain didn’t fight when he adjusted her closer to him.

  “Why are you hesitating?” Susie demanded, her voice crisp and clear through the headphone. “You know that I’m going to give him grief about switching the barrel on the gun, don’t you?”

  Rain almost snapped forward. Noah was right there with her. He quickly grabbed the headphone, turning one side out so that they could both hear. Rain turned to look at him, her eyes wide in the darkness and her face close enough that he felt her breath on his cheeks. She placed her finger on the record button and he nodded.

  “I never gave a thought to switching the barrel,” Joanna said tightly. “Steve thought the gun was wearing out, so I helped him by picking up a new gun and fixing it for him. Would you rather he’d used new parts?”

  “Guns don’t impress me,” Susie said in her usual tone. “They are for people who are too weak to fight their own battles.”

  “Sometimes they are very effective.”

  “What times are those?” Susie demanded.

  “When the only way a battle can be won is by eliminating someone.”

  “Eliminating someone means you aren’t strong enough to control them.” Susie sounded annoyed. “Are you going to open my door for me, or do I have to do it myself?”

  “What is it about controlling people that turns you on so much?” Joanna spoke with a harsh edge to her voice that she didn’t usually use, especially with Susie. “Don’t you realize that most people do what you say because they want you to be quiet? It doesn’t have anything to do with them being intimidated by you, or you controlling them.”

  Noah waited for the response, imagining it would be a good one, and knew Rain held her breath as well. They heard a car door shut and the sound of shoes crunching over gravel. Another door opened and closed and then an engine started.

  “Well hell,” Rain said, and leaned forward.

  Noah moved with her, taking his arm from around her shoulder and holding the headphones to his ear in one hand while messing with the equipment with the other.

  “I can’t pick up their conversation in the car.” Which really sucked. That conversation had the potential to go places.

  “But they’re in the Miata.” Rain pointed to the screen that tracked the GPS device that she’d put on it the other day. “I’m going to notify backup to hold off. If they or one of them are planning anything, I don’t want them thinking they’re being followed.”

  “Joanna might not suspect anything, unless Susie’s told her that Steve is in jail. But Susie will have her eyes peeled to her mirror. What do you want to bet?”

  Rain nodded and pulled out her cell. After a quick call to dispatch, she again focused on the screen. “We need to be within at least a few blocks of them, wherever they’re going.”

  “Yup.” He finished wrapping the cord around the headphones and then placed them in the console between them. “Pull down everything but our GPS detection screen.”

  She gave him a mock salute. “Aye, sir!”

  Noah started the car and then reached over and yanked on her already-loose bun behind her head. The clasp came out in his hand, and he held on to it, keeping it in his fingers while putting the car into gear and pulling away from the curb.

  “I need that,” she informed him, but didn’t have time to tuck the wave of hair that fell over part of her face while she pulled down the small satellite dish that tracked activity in the house.

  “I don’t know. I might prefer it down.” He grinned over at her while she struggled with equipment while managing to shove her hair behind her shoulder.

  “And I might prefer it up,” she countered, pursing her lips into one hell of a sexy pout as she glared at him. “Not to mention, some of us don’t have the liberty of breaking dress code just to prove we’re rebels.”

  “We’ll see.” He focused on the round green light that slowly moved along an outlined road map detailed out on the small monitor fixed to the dash.

  Rain grumbled something as she turned and placed the other equipment on the floor of the backseat. Then pulling her seat belt around her, she gave him her attention.

  “I can’t chase after anyone with my hair blinding me.”

  Noah handed her the clasp and watched her when she took it and then twisted her hair at her nape.

  “Then you can wear it down when we aren’t working.” He wasn’t sure why he said that, since technically they were working every minute they were together. Her long dark silky locks were so captivating, he hated seeing them wrapped up and hidden behind her head.

  “We’ll
see.”

  “I figured they would be headed to Joanna’s,” he said, changing the subject before it entered waters they weren’t ready to explore yet.

  “Same here. That’s weird. They’re headed toward campus.”

  “Why would they go on campus?” he mused, knowing Rain didn’t have the answer any more than he did.

  “Oh crap!” Rain grabbed her phone and at the same time pointed ahead of them. “Hurry up. Get to that booth and then stop.”

  “What’s up?” He scowled, accelerating slightly, but not following why Rain suddenly punched numbers on her phone. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “They just ran the campus booth. They’ll get their stupid asses pulled over by campus police and we really don’t want to have to make a scene and get the cops up here to back off.” She leaned forward as she explained and then tightened her grip on her phone when dispatch answered. “Betty, put a call into campus PD. A silver Miata, soft top, just ran the booth on the north side off Salt Creek Roadway. Advise: do not interfere. Inform campus police to stand by but, I repeat, do not interfere.”

  Noah stopped at the booth and pulled his badge. The kid at the booth gawked at him, his eyes damn near bugging out of his head as his jaw dropped. Noah didn’t wait for explanations.

  “Better let them know we just passed the booth.” He glanced at the monitor and then slowed at the next turn. “Looks like they’re headed toward those dorms.”

  Rain hung up the phone with Betty but then groaned when campus police slowed in the intersection and stopped, waiting for them to go through.

  “Better stop for just a second. We might be smart to just relay information firsthand here.”

  Noah frowned at the officer, who waited, not proceeding through the intersection, but watched both of them closely. “Wait,” Noah hissed when Rain jumped out of the car. “God damn it.” He slammed the car into park, then shot a quick look at his rearview mirror before hurrying after her.

  As Rain hurried to the rent-a-cop, Noah watched the young man’s expression change. He obviously recognized her and rolled down his window.

  “Detective Huxtable,” the campus cop said, shooting Noah a wary look but then focusing on Rain.

  “Hi, Robert. We’ve got a possible situation here. I just requested dispatch to advise.”

  “What’s going on?” Robert again shot Noah a furtive glance.

  “Not sure yet.” Rain backed up and started to turn back to their car. “We’re watching a silver Miata, convertible with the top up. Female redhead driving and passenger is female, petite, and blond. Both in early thirties. If you could put a call in that we need a bit of space, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “You bet, Detective.” He grinned at her like he had a hard case of puppy love. “Just holler if you need me. I’ve got your back.”

  Rain waved at him and turned to jog back to their car. “He better stay back,” she grumbled, jumping into the car.

  “Looks like they’ve parked.” Noah decided not to give her shit on the obvious case of infatuation that the young cop had with her. Instead, Noah nodded to the cop, who gave him a stern look and quick pop of the head in response. The kid wouldn’t get anywhere near badass for the next ten years at least. “Let’s pull in here and see what we’ve got. I’m not sure yet if I want us on foot.”

  “If they get out of the car at least we can figure out what they’re about.” Rain already reached behind her, disregarding her seat belt, and pulled the small satellite forward. She held the headphones in her other hand when she balanced the listening device on her lap. “Why in the hell are they up here?”

  “We’re about to find out.”

  He watched Joanna park the car and then the Miata lurched forward and died when she took her foot off the clutch too soon.

  “Come on, you two, get out of the car, open the door, something,” Rain encouraged, and turned the listener on as she placed it on the dash. Quickly unwrapping the cord from around the headphones that were between them, she lowered her head, anxious to hear the first thing they might say.

  And Noah was right there with her. He parked along the street, grateful for a large tree offering a dark shadow and protection from the bright streetlights that flooded the area with light.

  “Have you been here before?” Joanna sounded nervous and looked it, too, as she got out of the car and glanced around them. For a moment she stared in Noah and Rain’s direction before looking down into the car. “For crap’s sake,” she hissed as she shut her car door.

  Joanna marched around to the other side of the Miata and opened Susie’s door for her.

  “What is that woman’s problem?” Rain whispered.

  “God only knows.” Noah stared at the Miata, waiting for Susie to get out of the car.

  “And to answer your question,” Susie began in an almost bored tone. “I haven’t been here before.”

  “How do you know where to go?” Joanna stood back from the car and scowled at Susie.

  “She told him on the Internet, my dear. We’ve got it in writing forever.”

  “Who is he?” Noah whispered.

  Rain shrugged, but her focus was glued to the scene in front of them, as if she had been dragged into a great movie and the climax was about to happen.

  “And he knows that you know that he’s here?” Joanna continued, again looking around them and then twisting her hair over her shoulder and playing with the ends with her fingers.

  “I was sitting right next to him at the computer when he agreed to meet her,” Susie snapped. “How dare you imply that I would tell you something untrue.”

  “I’m sorry.” Joanna sincerely sounded it. “This just all seems a bit strange to me. Would Steve really want the two of us showing up while he’s banging some girl?”

  “What?” Rain and Noah whispered at the same time.

  “Would you like to call and ask him?”

  “No. I would not,” Joanna hissed, and put her hands on her hips. “And why aren’t you getting out of the car? Do you want me to hold your hand for you, too, while you stand?”

  Rain let out a snort, then covered her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh more.

  “You belittle me one more time and you’ll walk home in those high heels of yours.” Susie sounded colder than ice.

  “You’ve got me standing outside, and it’s cold, and dark.”

  “Goddamn. I swear I don’t have a clue what Steve sees in you.” Susie slowly stood, ignoring the fact that Joanna looked like she wanted to belt her one. “I take that back. He sees you for what you are, a little slut and a damned good fuck.”

  “Susie, why are you being mean?” Joanna’s tone hit a dead calm that sounded almost borderline hysterical. “I’ve never done anything to hurt you.”

  “Oh really,” Susie hissed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Susie waved her hand dismissively. “Steve is inside that dorm there, second floor, third door on the left.”

  Rain glanced at Noah, confusion written all over her face. He didn’t have a clue what was going on, either, but hoped to hell that neither one of them stormed in on some poor college kid.

  “You’re not going in?” Joanna’s hands dropped to her sides.

  “This is your show, darling.”

  “No way.” Joanna turned and looked at the dorm, then back at Susie. “I can’t walk in on Steve while he’s doing someone else. He’d kill me.” But then her jaw dropped. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want him pissed off at me.”

  “You’re starting to create a scene.” Susie slipped back into the car. “Never mind then. Let’s go.”

  Susie closed her door and Joanna stared at her for a moment before sucking in a breath loud enough that it sounded like she inhaled in the car right next to them.

  “What the hell is going on?” Rain sounded as exasperated as Noah felt. “Why would Susie bring her all the way out here for nothing?”

  Joanna opened her car door. “You know I re
ally don’t get you,” she said.

  “That makes two of us,” Noah whispered.

  “I tried to give us something fun to do.” Susie’s calm tone was barely audible.

  Rain lifted the headphones and Noah placed his hand under hers, bracing it, so they could press their heads together and hear what was being said.

  “Maybe I’m being selfish, though. Steve and I share special pastimes that others might not appreciate.”

  “I see,” Joanna said, sounding cold.

  “You said that pawnshop where you bought that gun for the barrel for Steve’s gun was the College Pawnshop. That’s right down the road. Why don’t we go there?”

  “What did she just say?” Noah felt an icy chill climb his spine. Every muscle tightened and he gripped Rain’s hand. She looked at him wide-eyed. “She bought a gun for the barrel for Steve’s gun?”

  “From a pawnshop,” Rain finished. “Holy fucking crap!”

  “Why in the world would you want to go to a pawnshop?” Joanna asked, climbing into the car. She closed her door and the audio disappeared.

  “Okay. Wait a minute.” Noah straightened, staring into Rain’s blue eyes.

  “Duck.” Rain didn’t elaborate but instead wrapped her arm around Noah’s neck.

  He understood, though. Joanna turned around at the end of the street and drove straight toward them, her headlights glowing in their faces. Noah pulled Rain toward him and kissed her, dragging her over the console between them and raising his arm, draping it over her shoulder, and blocking her face as he devoured her mouth.

  A second, maybe two, or five, passed before he stopped impaling her mouth. They were shrouded in darkness and silence. The Miata was gone. His heart thudded heavily while his body screamed for more of her. His mind cleared quickly, though. Glancing at the GPS monitor helped. He turned and looked at Rain and her swollen, moist lips.

  Reaching for her, he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip until she looked at him. “Sometime here soon we’re going to talk about how those are starting to not feel like we’re acting.”

  Her jaw would have dropped if he weren’t bracing it with his hand. But the color that appeared in her cheeks, visible even in the darkness that shrouded them, told him what he wanted to know. They weren’t acting. He meant something to her, too.