by Ellle Parker
That worked too, and we raised the garage door. Seth let out the kind of low moan he usually reserved for sightseeing in bars. The door was barely halfway up when he ducked inside to explore.
“A motherfucking Z-four,” he groaned, running his hands along the sides of a gleaming black convertible two-seater sports car, top down. “Three point oh liter, two hundred twenty-five horsepower, dual overhead cam. Twenty-four valve, inline six cylinder engine with double-VANOS variable valve timing. Shit, Dino, have you ever seen anything so gorgeous in your entire life?”
“Yes, I have, and she’s right behind us so watch your mouth.”
He went back to fondling the car, muttering things about struts and transmissions. When he made his way around to the driver’s side, he reached in and popped the hood. As soon as he lifted it and disappeared from view, the moaning started again.
I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. “You two want to be left alone for a while?”
“Yeah. About ten minutes will do just fine. Wait, better make it fifteen, I want it to last.”
“Shut up and see if this key goes to that car,” I said.
He dropped the hood and practically danced back to the driver’s door as I tossed him the keys. The way he jumped in and slid down into the driver’s seat, I felt like I should be averting my eyes. Three seconds later, when the car roared to life, I’d forgotten any such concerns.
“This is excellent,” I said, going over to the side of the car. “I’m willing to bet we’re looking a decent chunk of McCann’s stash right here. He’s probably gonna have a shit fit.”
“I wouldn’t say that McCann having a shit fit was excellent, Dino,” Seth said, looking up me.
“Well, I don’t give a rat’s ass. I didn’t spend his money. This is good for us.”
“Why?”
“Because now we don’t have to run around Miami with a pile of drugs in a car that’s registered in my name, that’s why.” I stopped and waited for the implication to hit Seth.
He froze in the middle of stroking the steering wheel and turned to gaze up at me over the top of his sunglasses. The gleam in his eye was complete, unadulterated lust. He opened his mouth to say something, but was speechless for the first time since I’d known him.
I grinned. “Yep. You get to ride in this car tonight.”
“Ride?” The gleam turned instantly cold. “What the fuck do you mean ‘ride,’ Dino?”
“Okay, okay,” I said holding up my hands. “You can drive. You didn’t really think I would try to get between you and a hot car, did you?”
He eyed me sharply for a long moment. “I would hope not.”
I had to laugh. “You are so fucking easy…”
“Look who’s talkin’, baby.”
For a few minutes, we were able to forget about the trouble we were in and toss shit back and forth like we were in Ed’s garage changing Matilda’s oil. It was refreshing, and I needed it. In spite of the spectacular progress we’d made, there were still quite a few details I hadn’t worked out yet, not the least of which was how this adventure ended. That had been nagging at me all day. I was struggling with my impression of McCann as a practical man, versus the risk of letting us go knowing what we did.
“All right, listen,” I said, checking my watch, “it’s getting late, and we have a couple of things to take care of before tonight. I think we should get moving.”
“No problem, I could really use some dinner soon.”
“Yeah, we don’t want you starving to death. You really should eat more. Growing boy like you.”
“Har, har,” Seth said, climbing out of the car. He slipped the keys into his pocket and readjusted his sunglasses.
We pulled the unit door shut, and I secured it with the padlock only. We had the key, and I didn’t want to have to screw around with a combination in the dark. Then Seth took us back to the hotel.
Chapter 25
Halfway between the car and the door of the hotel, Seth brushed up against me and said in a low voice, “I could use a little bit of that TLC right about now…”
I glanced at him and he was looking up at me through his eyelashes with the barest hint of a grin on his face. It was one of the damnedest looks I’d ever seen.
“Absolutely not,” I told him. I sincerely hoped I’d see it again sometime in the near future when I’d be able to enjoy it.
“Why the hell not?” Seth frowned at me. “We’ve got to kill a few hours before we can even think of getting started on the job.”
“Because I’m pretty sure that room is bugged, and there is no way we’re screwing around in there.”
“Oh dear God,” he said, snorting with exasperation and looking up at the sky. “Do we really give a fuck if McCann hears us gettin’ all hot and sweaty?”
“Yes, we do, and it’s not because I’m a prude.” I cut him off with a look and went on, “He used our friendship as leverage against me. How dangerous do you think it would be for you if he knew how things really stand?”
“This sucks,” he said, kicking a plastic bottle cap on the ground. I wasn’t sure if he actually agreed with me, but it seemed he wasn’t planning to argue, and for that I was grateful. I’d already fucked up and landed him in a lot of trouble, I wasn’t going to do it again if I could help it.
“We both could use some rest anyway,” I said. I held the side door open for him. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us, and we’re gonna need to be sharp.”
In the hotel room, I arranged what we’d need for the job, and packed up my computer and briefcase to stash in the car when we left. I didn’t want anything left behind we’d have to come back for. The minute we handed over McCann’s stuff, I planned to hit the road and get out of Miami as quickly as possible.
Seth lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow and watching me quietly. When I was finished, I draped my jacket over a chair, kicked off my shoes, and went to join him. He smiled and shifted to make room for me.
When I settled my head on the pillow, he leaned over me with a grin and put a finger to his lips in a silent “shh,” before he kissed me long and slow. He edged closer and slid a leg up over mine. Every move he made was deliberate, intent on not making a sound.
The experience was surreal, and he was obviously pushing it after the conversation we’d just had, but after everything that happened in the past few days, I wasn’t about to let go of him. I’d spent too much time fearing I’d lost him, one way or the other, and it was good to have him right there with me.
He went too far, though, when he slipped open the button of his jeans and eased the zipper down, quiet as a mouse. I narrowed my eyes in warning, but he took my hand and pulled it to his straining hard-on. I shook my head and started to pull away, but the look on his face stopped me. There was no trace of cocky game playing, or any kind of challenge, just plain and simple need. He looked tired and beat up and tense, and I realized he was only looking for some release and a chance to wind down.
That I could do for him, and I kissed him softly as I slid my hand into his underwear and caressed his cock. He was hot and hard, damp in the confines of his jeans. When I started stroking him, he blew out a ragged breath and bit his lip. His mouth fascinated me, and the lines of concentration on his brow. I watched his face until he curled in closer, muffling his thick panting against my shoulder as he struggled to keep quiet. He wrapped an arm around my waist and thrust erratically when I worked him faster, trying to up the tension as much as possible.
In spite of the circumstances, or maybe because of them, it was one of the most erotic moments I could remember. I was hard, and I wanted him so much, every instinct I had was urging me to push him down and take him. My heart and my mind may have struggled with the concept of dating Seth, but my body had been on board from the first moment he touched me.
When he seemed close to coming, I tightened my hand and pumped him hard and fast. He pressed closer still, rubbing his body against mine, and trapping my hand between us. Moving was somewhat awkward, but
it blocked the noise, which was good. When Seth came, his body jerked, and his mouth fell open in silent moans that ghosted hot breath against my neck.
I stroked him lightly until he calmed down and finally slumped against me. He let his head roll back so he could smile lazily at me, still breathing hard. I was pleased to see no traces of tension left on his face. I met his gaze and held it, trying to show him I’d meant it when I said I could easily love him.
He rubbed a hand down across my erection and back to my belt buckle, but I stopped him and shook my head. He frowned and looked at me quizzically, raising an eyebrow. I leaned to whisper in his ear. “You can owe me.”
I kissed him to show him I meant it, and he seemed to accept that, because he got up and went into the bathroom. I was too concerned with the events ahead of us to have enjoyed it, and I still thought it was taking a hell of a risk, so I was just as willing to wait until we were home.
When Seth came back, his jeans were buttoned and he was carrying a wet washcloth, which he used to wipe traces of come off the front of my shirt. When he was done, it barely showed at all. I took the washcloth and tossed it into the corner.
“You really should try to get some sleep,” I said quietly, pulling him down next to me.
He settled in with one arm wrapped around his stomach and the other hanging loosely over me, his head resting on my shoulder. Within five minutes he was asleep.
Around eight o’clock that night, I lay on the bed staring up at the hotel ceiling, watching the blinking red light on the smoke detector. I never did get any sleep. My mind was too busy replaying the day’s events and running potential scenarios for the outcome. I forced myself to lie there anyway, figuring some rest was better than nothing at all. Seth appeared to be out cold, but it was hard to tell because he was so quiet.
At eight fifteen, I couldn’t take it anymore and got up. We’d set the alarm clock for nine, which would leave us plenty of time to go out for dinner and get ready.
On impulse, I grabbed my cellphone and my cigarettes and let myself into the hallway as quietly as I could. I took the long way around and went out through the lobby, away from the prying eyes of McCann’s thug. They were only making a token showing of it anyway.
In front of the hotel was a matching pair of huge potted palms, and on either side of those were cement benches. I chose one and sat down, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. I smoked about half of it and tried to clear my head, which was easier with a nicotine buzz going. Accomplishing that for a full two minutes probably did more for me than the couple hours I laid on the bed.
I flipped open my phone and dialed Ruth’s number, taking another drag while it rang. An airplane roared overhead and curved toward the runways.
On the fourth ring, she picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Ruth, it’s Dino,” I said, blowing out smoke.
“Dino! How nice to hear from you.” I heard a squeal of delight in the background and Ruth said, “Della’s here. She says to tell you hello.”
I smiled. “Say hi for me.”
Ruth chuckled and said, “I think you’ll get to yourself. She’d like to talk to you when we’re finished.”
“Sure,” I said. “That’d be great. Listen, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay there.”
“Well, of course it is. Is something worrying you?”
“No, not really,” I lied. “I was just wondering how the garden party went and if I can look forward to fresh veggies or bouquets of flowers.”
“You’ll have both,” she told me. “We’re going to have plenty of space, so we reached a compromise.”
“That’s great. Everything else like normal around there?”
“Yes. Dino, is there something going on we should know about?”
“No, no, I’m sure everything’s fine.” I reached over and crushed out the butt of my cigarette in the sand of a small garbage can. “I’m down in Miami and just wanted to check up on things. It’s what I do, don’t sound so suspicious. Della would eat this up with a spoon.”
“Mmm,” Ruth agreed, sounding mildly amused. I could hear chatter as she passed the information along. Then she said, “The police were here looking for you today.”
Damn it. She’d been waiting to spring that on me, I could tell.
“Female?” I asked. “A detective?”
“Yes.” She sounded surprised that I’d guessed.
“That’s Teresa, she’s a friend of mine. It’s okay, we’ve just been trying to touch base and haven’t had much luck lately. I’ll call her when I get back.”
“I think you should. She didn’t seem very happy about missing you,” Ruth said. “She also seemed to be acting in an official capacity. She asked me quite a lot of questions about you and where you’ve been the last couple of days. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Nah,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible. “We’re working on a case together, and she’s ticked because I haven’t had time to meet with her about it.”
“I see,” she said, which in my experience is female for ‘I don’t believe a word of that crap.’ Ruth was a shrewd one, all right.
“Everything’s fine, Ruth. Just take care of yourself, okay?”
Her tone was quite a bit warmer when she said, “I’ll say the same to you, Dino.”
“Yes, ma’am, I will.”
She said goodbye and handed the phone over to Della who immediately gushed, “Dino, darling, how are you? Are you enjoying Miami? I just adore Miami. All those barely dressed boys on the beach, I could just sit there for days and days.”
“You can have them, Della. I hate Miami. I can’t wait to come home.”
She laughed and asked, “When will that be, sugar?”
“Tomorrow, I hope. That’s the plan anyway.”
“Well then, I’ll make sure to have something hot and steamy waiting for you,” she said, and then added saucily, “And maybe I’ll bake too.”
“Della, you slay me.”
When I finished talking with them, I hung up and lit another cigarette. It made me feel better to know things were going all right there. It was also good to get a reminder of why I was doing this. A little something to strengthen my resolve.
After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and dialed Seth’s cellphone number. McCann answered immediately. “Dino. I was beginning to wonder when I’d hear from you.”
“Oh, cut the crap. You know where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to.”
“Yes, I do,” he said smoothly. “And I understand things are going well. I really am quite impressed. You’re saving me a great deal of trouble.”
“I’m just that kind of guy,” I said, although I really didn’t have it in me to banter with the asshole. “We’ll get started in a few hours. I figure we’ll probably be done around two or so, depending on how things go. I got one condition, though.”
“Really. And what is that?”
“No tail for this. I don’t want your guy fuckin’ things up and blowing this for me.”
“My men are very professional—”
“Bullshit. At least one of your men screwed up enough to put all of us in this position to begin with. Seth and I are on our own, or we’re not doing it at all, and we’ll find some other way to keep you off my neighbors.”
I heard McCann take a deep breath, and I knew it galled him to give in. “All right. We’ll do this your way. It would be safer to distance myself from it anyway.”
“Good,” I said. “Make sure you’re ready when we are. I’m not dragging this out any longer than necessary.”
“Just return to the hotel when you’re finished. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
“Fine,” I said, and I hung up on him.
I finished my cigarette, and on my way back through the lobby, I stopped at the hospitality table and got a cup of coffee. It was old, but it was the restaurant coffee, and it wasn’t too bad. Plus, it was hot, which can’t always be said for coffee that’s been
sitting around a while. I sipped it carefully as I went back to the room.
Inside, Seth was up and moving and had evidently been to the vending machines, because he was chugging down a green energy drink and eating a candy bar.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“Out front having a smoke. I called and gave a report to McCann, and I told him to call off the tail.”
While I spoke, I grabbed the pad of paper off the table and jotted down: Called Ruth, everyone’s fine. Not that I figured McCann would care, but I didn’t like the idea of him listening to anything involving my neighbors. I showed it to Seth.
“Excellent,” he said with a nod. “I was thinking about dinner. There’s this great little Cuban restaurant I’ve been to a few times. Teofilo’s. It’s down in South Beach, and the food is incredible.”
“My favorite part of town.”
Seth grinned. “You can’t deny the scenery’s nice, and it beats the hell out of fast food, right? You’ll like it, trust me. My treat even.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Twice in one month? You must be getting soft.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You in or not?”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I’m in. I’m starving. That sandwich was crap.”
Chapter 26
Teofilo’s was a small, rundown place with green stained-glass windows. The floor and furniture were all bare wood, giving the room a rustic look. Two large ceiling fans hung down on poles, turning slowly to keep the spiced air moving. It smelled like heaven. There was still a decent sized crowd, but we were able to get a table right away, and soon we had a couple of beers.
Lively music played in the background, along with the usual restaurant noise of a dozen conversations, the clattering of silverware, and the occasional hiss and sizzle from the kitchen. It was almost possible to forget the situation we were in, save for the apprehension sitting in my gut and the guy in the corner. McCann’s thug had slunk in right behind us to grab some dinner while the getting was good. I sincerely hoped McCann planned on keeping his word and pulling the guy when things got started. For the time being, I was willing to ignore him.