Without waiting for Steve’s reply, she replaced the telephone receiver, then called out, “Just a minute.”
She ran into her bathroom, flushed the toilet and rinsed her hands. Then she went and opened the door, hoping her guilt over the charade wasn’t written all over her face for Scott to see. He gave her an appraising look then said, “Grandma asked me to see if you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugged. “You’ve been gone a while.”
“Tell her I’ll be right out. I just have one more thing to do.”
Scott hesitated a moment, then shrugged again and headed down the hall. Jenny leaned against the doorframe and took a few deep breaths to steady her emotions. If she had her game face on maybe she could get through the rest of the visit without probing questions from her mother.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jenny pulled into the parking lot at Billy Bob’s, turned off her engine and doused her lights. It had been ages since she’d been here, but she wasn’t surprised the lot was packed on a Wednesday evening. As one of the “must see” places in Fort Worth, it was always busy no matter the day of the week.
The front of the building was a blaze of Christmas lights, and a giant Santa and sleigh were mounted on the roof. Man, I do not need another reminder that Christmas is swiftly approaching.
Jenny stepped through the heavy wooden doors to see a crowd of people jamming the entry area. The wail of country music drifted in from the main dance area, and a haze of smoke hovered over the bar.
It took a minute for her to recognize Steve in his jeans, suede jacket, and white Stetson. Should’a known he’d be the guy in the white hat. A woman all in denim, wearing enough turquoise jewelry to open a boutique, stood next to him. As she talked, she gestured expansively and her face was so animated it could have been lit from inside.
Jenny watched for a moment until she recognized the feeling that stirred deep inside. Cool it, girl. You have nothing to be jealous of.
Steve glanced over and she gave a little wave. He said something to the woman, then approached with a smile.
“Thanks for rescuing me,” Steve said.
“Rescue?” Jenny glanced at the woman.
“Yeah. I think she was here all through happy-hour, had a few snacks and was looking for desert to take home.”
“Do you mean...?
“Exactly.” He took her arm and led her toward the bar area.
“We could always reschedule again if you’d like to accept her offer.”
He stopped so suddenly, Jenny had to laugh.
“Not on your life,” he said. “I told her you were my main squeeze.”
Something serious flashed through his eyes for just a second, then the exaggerated smile returned. “Undercover work makes you a good liar.”
“Guess that must take a few years to master.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t always come easy.” He gestured to a small table near the entrance to the dance floor. “Why don’t you snag that, and I’ll get us drinks.”
“I’ll take a beer. Something dark.”
Jenny took off her jacket and hung it across the back of a chair, then sat down and watched Steve weave through the crowd to the bar. She couldn’t help but notice the fit of his jeans on an incredibly sexy butt and the way he carried himself with a fluid grace.
And are you going to ask him home for desert, too? Jenny stifled a laugh. Better not let him see you looking at him that way. This is business. Purely business. She glanced over the dance-floor where several couples were line dancing.
She took a deep breath to relax, but even the environment seemed charged with an edict to make her heart pound and her blood race. The music was loud, throbbing, and voices were raised to shrill levels in competition.
“I can’t believe you suggested this place,” she said when Steve came back, a long-neck in one hand and a frosty mug in the other.
“It’s perfect.” He handed her the mug of beer and sat down. “No one can hear a word we say.”
“I’m not sure I can hear a word we say.”
He set his bottle down on the table. “I can fix that.”
He stood, took the beer out of her hand and led her around the railing to the dance floor. Almost as if cued, the music segued into a slow number, but the volume dropped only slightly. He pulled her close enough that she could see a small cluster of whiskers just under his jaw that had been missed by his razor.
“This works,” he said. “It has something to do with distance and proximity. But don’t ask for details. I never was much good at science.”
For the rest of the dance, Jenny again entertained the fantasy that this was a regular date - with a not-so-regular guy. She had to admit being this close reminded her of how many years had passed since last she’d been in someone’s arms.
And they seemed to fit together so well, like two ends of the same piece of fabric.
The fantasy was shattered when Steve spoke. “Tell me again what happened the other night, detail by detail.”
So, unlike the condensed version she’d given him on the phone the night it happened, Jenny replayed her little adventure with Frank and Leon. And again, she edited out the fact that she’d recognized George. She still hadn’t figured out what to do about that, but it didn’t seem right to turn him in. Not yet, anyway. And there was the little problem of her loyalty to Carol to consider.
“They never explained what happened to Chico?”
“No.”
“Hmmmm.”
It was such a benign response, Jenny wished she could believe that it wasn’t bothering him that Chico had gone missing. Hell, she wished it wasn’t bothering her so much.
The music ended and Steve led her back to the table. He pulled his chair around and sat so close his knee brushed hers. “You okay about going ahead?”
“Yeah. If I didn’t blow it the other day.”
“I doubt it. They don’t want to walk away from an extra hundred grand.” Steve took a pull on his longneck, then set the bottle down. “Call them and say your people want the deal done in two days. See what reaction you get.”
“And if they say ‘no’?”
“We come up with a plan B.”
Jenny fiddled with the edge of her napkin and tried to think of what an alternative plan could be. Something that wouldn’t involve her? And would she like for the final scene to play without her? On one hand, it would be a relief to be out of this whole mess. Then again, it would be a huge disappointment not to be there for the big showdown.
Somewhere along the line, proving herself had become almost as important as getting the bad guys. Maybe it had something to do with that first look of skepticism on Chief Gonzales’ face that was still crystal clear in her memory.
“Jenny?”
She looked over at Steve. “Sorry.”
He smiled. “You were off somewhere.”
“Bad habit, I guess. Comes with living alone for so long. I tend to go inward.”
He hesitated a moment as if considering his next question. “How long have you been divorced?”
“Seven years.” She took a swallow of her beer, acutely aware of his leg touching hers every time he shifted.
“Would you rather not talk about it?”
“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “Not much to talk about. My Ex has pretty much been out of our lives since then.”
Steve studied her for a moment, the dim lights turning his eyes almost black. “What’s his reaction to all this.”
By ‘all this’ she assumed he meant her walk on the dark side. She smiled. “He’s done some blustering. I think I told you.”
Steve nodded.
“Then it was okay for several weeks until recently. He’s put a little heat on me again.”
“As in?”
Jenny took a sip of her beer, then set the mug down. “Apparently Scott has dumped on him a few times about Mom not being home much. Since Ralph doesn’t know any other way, his response is
to attack me.”
Steve looked at her intently. “You talking physical?”
Jenny laughed. “Pretty hard to do long distance. No. Just threats to seek custody.”
“You think he’d really do it?”
“I’m not sure.” Jenny mopped a few drops of condensation off the side of her mug. “He’s never been the devoted father. On the other hand, he’d do anything to hurt me.”
“What about Scott?”
Good question. What about Scott? She couldn’t remember the last time they’d managed to move beyond cool civility. She sighed, hoping for the truth in what she was going to say.
“I think I can handle him. He’s just going through that horrible mid-teen time. Michael...” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Michael did the same thing at that age. Eventually he grew out of it. And I made a deal with Scott to give me some time.”
Steve seemed to take a minute to think about all that, then leaned back. “Maybe Ralph is all bluster.”
Jenny wanted to grab the assurance, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure about Ralph at all. And despite the temporary truce with Scott, she knew that could blow up any day.
As if sensing her inner anxiety, Steve touched her hand lightly. “If he’s planning some legal action, that takes time. We could have this all wrapped up even before any papers are filed.”
The words were comforting, but the touch was disconcerting: Too much warmth tempting her. Jenny pulled her hand away. “Maybe we should be going.”
She couldn’t read the expression on Steve’s face. Was it disappointment? Could it be that he noticed her now and then as a woman and not just the CI he was responsible for?
“Maybe we should have one more dance,” he said. “People might wonder if we leave too soon.”
He followed that comment with a smile, and Jenny couldn’t resist. “You’re the expert.”
The fact that another slow tune was playing at just the right moment made her wonder if Steve had somehow arranged all this. Then she touched her mouth to hold back a laugh. How ludicrous to think he would have gone to that kind of trouble.
This time they didn’t talk as they danced, allowing Jenny to savor the feel of him and the rhythm of the music. He danced as fluidly as he walked and held her just close enough that she could feel the warmth of his chest and smell the musk from his aftershave.
Halfway through the number she realized that they’d somehow become closer. She didn’t know if she’d stepped in to him, or the other way around, but now she was aware of more about his body than was probably appropriate for their relationship.
She pulled back, and he stopped in the middle of the floor with the oddest expression. He studied her face for what seemed like an eternity, and she wondered what thoughts were spinning through his mind. Then he shifted his gaze. “Maybe you’re right. We should go.”
Well. That was certainly abrupt. She tried to figure out what might be driving him as he led them back to the table. Did he think she was coming on to him like that ditzy lady in the lounge? Or was he embarrassed about having a physical reaction to her? Perhaps worried about what she thought?
Not giving her time to ponder that for more than two seconds, he dropped some bills on the table. “I’ll walk you out.”
He was two steps ahead of her as she slipped into her jacket and followed, part of her still shell-shocked and another part getting angry. Talk about the bum’s rush.
She finally managed to catch up to him just outside the door. She grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong?
”
“Nothing.” He shrugged out of her grasp.
“It was only a dance.”
He stopped but didn’t turn around. “Yeah. But for a moment...”
He started walking again, and Jenny had to hustle to keep up. For a moment… what?
He stopped again. “Where’s your car.”
“Over there.” She pointed to a far corner where her Taurus reflected the lights strung around the perimeter of the lot. “I can find my own way.”
She took a step forward and he touched her arm. “Listen. I’m sorry.”
Turning, she met his gaze and wondered what exactly he was sorry for. The dance? That moment of awareness they had felt? The breach of professionalism?
He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “Sometimes I forget that you’re...”
“What? A woman?”
“Oh, no. I don’t ever forget that.” He glanced at her quickly, then averted his gaze. “We can’t afford to complicate things, Jenny.”
Of course he was right. But they couldn’t undo what was done. And when her mind wasn’t clouded with grief and anxiety, she recognized a comfort level that had settled between them that went beyond the ease of working together. It wasn’t really chemistry, not the kind that had first drawn her to Ralph a hundred years ago, but something connected between them each time they met. She’d been aware of it even that very first time when he’d been so kind about Michael.
If only they could get past this minor little issue of professional ethics.
Suddenly he leaned forward and brushed her lips with his, the contact so light she wasn’t sure for a moment that it was real. Then he kissed her again. This time there was no doubt, and Jenny responded with an intensity that surprised her.
When he pulled back, he held her gaze for an eternity, then lightly caressed her cheek. “This never happened.”
Breathless, she could hardly speak. “Uh...right.”
“Go on.” He motioned toward her car. “I’ll wait until you get in.”
“Steve, we should—”
“We can’t.”
“—talk.”
“Not now.” He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. “Go.”
Jenny walked to her car, her mind whirling. What on earth had that all been about? And how was she supposed to act now? Pretend it didn’t happen?
Just before getting in the car, she glanced back and saw him still standing there, backlit by the lights. The silhouette effect caught her up short, and she suddenly understood the appeal of all the cowboy heroes in the popular romance novels.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Steve knocked on the door and heard Gonzales call, “Come in.”
He stepped through the doorway, noticing a pronounced haggard look about the Chief who was elbow-deep in papers strewn across his desk. The room smelled of stale coffee and sweat with a hint of onion from the take-out bag on top of the bulging trashcan.
“Sit down.” Gonzales motioned to the visitor’s chair and leaned back in his own.
Steve paused with a hand on the back of the chair. “You look like shit.”
“Isn’t that insubordination?”
Steve laughed. “Want me to get fresh coffee?”
“I’m fine. Sit.”
He did, crossing his legs at the ankles and waiting. He knew his boss would get to the purpose of this impromptu meeting soon enough.
“Heard from Burroughs.”
Steve didn’t like the somber tone of that statement. “And?”
“Seems like this Chico guy wasn’t the only one to go missing.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments exactly.” Gonzales took a swig of the sludge in his coffee mug, then made a face. “There’s been another change of command in Denton.”
“You mean since that first guy disappeared?”
“Yeah. And it’s only been, what? A little over a month?”
Steve uncrossed his legs and sat forward. “What is Burroughs thinking?”
“He’s not sure. There’d been problems in Denton for a while now. Has a pretty reliable snitch who said there’d been some skimming going on. But Burroughs thought that was only with the first guy. It was no surprise when he took a walk. Possibly to nowhere.”
“The snitch say the skimming is still happening?”
“He doesn’t know.” Gonzales bounced a pencil on the edge of his desk in a rhythmic tap
, tap, tap. “That whole operation out there seems to be too loose. Lots of distrust and quick tempers. No telling what’s behind it.”
Steve rubbed a hand across the stubble of late-afternoon beard and considered the implications of the unrest. Nothing that came to mind was good; especially not for their operation. There was a good chance Chico was dead. And probably those other dealers, too. How much risk did that create for Jenny?
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