by Sue Brown
“To throw us off the scent long enough to dispose of Michaels and the money,” Susan suggested.
“So you still think Michaels went into the Thames?” Josh queried.
She shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Nobody else seemed bothered about the issue of Michael’s car or how he disappeared. They just kept talking about the missing money. Round and round. Where did the money go? What did Barton do with the money?
Josh wasn’t interested in the missing money. “I need to look at the CCTV where the car was dumped.”
“We’ve already checked it,” Susan said.
Josh nodded. “I know, but maybe I’ll see something different.”
Susan pressed her lips together but nodded. “I’ll get it sent to you.”
When the coffee turned up and everyone’s attention was diverted, Cal leaned over to Josh. “What did you do to Dirk?”
“What makes you think I did anything?” Josh lowered his voice in case, but everyone was gathered around the coffee pot and not paying them attention. Except for Landry. Josh saw him watching them with a faint frown.
“Because the man’s had a boner ever since he walked in the room.”
Josh played innocent. “He could have the hard-on for Susan.” Cal flicked the end of his nose. “Ow! What was that for?”
“I know Brenner. He’s a prick but he’s a good detective. Today he’s behaving like a teenage girl. So what did you do?”
“We had a hook up—nothing more—last time I was here. I met him in a club.”
Cal barked out a laugh and sat back in his chair. “I assume he was hoping for something more than a one-night stand?”
“One night is being a bit generous. It was a fuck, nothing more.” Josh didn’t add that it wasn’t a particularly good fuck.
Cal looked far too satisfied.
Josh raised an eyebrow. “You?”
“Me what?”
“Have you fucked Dirk?”
Cal shrugged. “A couple of times. He thinks he’s better than he is.”
Josh smirked as Cal confirmed his opinion of Brenner’s lack of sexual prowess. “Ouch! So you’re gay?”
“What gave me away?” Cal returned Josh’s smirk with interest and Josh suddenly realized he was beginning to like this guy. He still had the plummy accent but Josh could forgive that for his sense of humor. Josh had always been a sucker for a man who made him smile. It was one of the reasons he liked Charlie.
“You didn’t punch me when you caught me staring at your ass this morning.”
Cal opened his eyes wide. “Liked what you saw, huh?”
“Now you’re fishing.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Cal pointed out.
Josh leaned in closer because people were returning to the table. “You’ve got a great ass.”
Cal looked pleased with the answer. Dirk gave them both a sour look when he sat down. It must have been hard for him to see two ex-hook ups getting it on without him. Cal didn’t hide his ‘cat got the cream’ expression. Landry caught Josh’s gaze and huffed. Josh stared back blandly.
Seemingly oblivious to the tensions around the table, Jesse started the meeting again. Josh listened, but something was nagging at his hind brain and he needed time to think about it. At the end of the meeting, he, Gil and Landry made their escape as quickly as possible, although Josh noticed the hint of disappointment Cal threw his way as they left. Another night Josh might have pursued the flirting but he needed to pursue what was bothering him first.
The car was waiting for them, but Josh took a step back. Gil looked at him curiously.
“What’s up?”
“I’m gonna take a walk,” Josh said. “I need to clear my brain.”
“Want company?” Gil asked.
“No, I need to think. I’ll walk back to the hotel.”
Gil was used to Josh’s need for solitude when a case was bothering him so he nodded. “Okay, see you later. Don’t forget to call Dominic.”
“He can wait till tomorrow. Dinner at eight?”
“Steak?” Landry asked hopefully.
“I was thinking vegetarian.” Josh chuckled at the horrified look on the twins’ faces. “Steak it is.”
“Dick!” Gil muttered. “Piss off. We’ll see you later.”
“What are you two going to do?” Josh asked.
“I’ve got coffee with Kora before her evening shift,” Gil said with a grin.
“The waitress?”
“No, the Bulgarian heiress.” Gil scowled. “Yes, the waitress.”
Josh looked at Landry. “What about you?”
“Finding a quiet bar and having a drink while I talk to my girl.”
Gil squeezed his brother’s shoulder. It was no secret that Landry missed his girlfriend. Josh knew that Landry was thinking of leaving CDR for a job that didn’t take him away as much. He also knew that Gil didn’t want to leave the agency and it was putting a strain on the twins’ relationship.
“You know where to go?” Landry asked. Josh gave him the look and Landry held his hands up in surrender. “Just checking.”
Notting Hill Gate, left, six blocks, right, eighty-six. Mrs. Jones.
Josh had been to London a few times and he’d memorized the tube map. It came in useful when he needed to escape from a boring fuck.
They went their separate ways; Gil to chat up the pretty waitress, Landry to talk to the love of his life and Josh to think about all the issues that were bothering him with this goddamn case. It was chilly but, for once, not raining as he walked down to the Thames, dodging tourists and evening commuters. Josh sucked in a lungful of London’s exhaust fumes, appreciating the chance to be alone for a few hours.
Josh found a quiet spot along the Thames Embankment. Well, quiet except for the flow of traffic behind him. It was dark now and the river was lit along both sides. Ignoring the noise of the rush hour, he looked down the Thames in the direction of Butler’s Wharf and thought about what they’d discovered so far. Everyone seemed to think Jonathan Michaels was alive, whether he’d been kidnapped or was living the life of Riley on a beach with hot cabana boys. Wait—that was his dream.
Josh indulged in a few minutes of thinking about tanned twenty-year-olds in tight shorts then snorted out loud. They wouldn’t pay any attention to him now anyway. He was over thirty. O.L.D. Still, there were plenty of older men who looked great in shorts. With that ass, Cal would look phenomenal in real short shorts. And why exactly did that wayward thought make him feel guilty about Charlie? Josh closed his eyes and remembered his start to the morning. Merely imagining sex with Charlie was enough to make him hard again. Charlie was in control of their relationship—he had been from the start—and that was fine with Josh, except when it wasn’t. He was getting more frustrated by the limitations Charlie imposed on them. This morning proved Charlie wanted to take it a step further, but Josh wasn’t content to keep it to light cyber flirting. He wanted more. He needed more than a ready ass and a fuck. He could get that anywhere. Hell, he could probably get that from Cal if he asked nicely. Even in the midst of Josh’s angst about Charlie he took a moment to think about Cal taking him over the desk again. Was he cut or uncut? Did he have a furry chest or smooth? Josh decided he was furry and uncut, considering what he knew about Europeans. Having sorted out the housekeeping he got on with the fucking, until the sounded of a car horn disturbed his decidedly filthy and involved dream of riding Charlie’s cock. Cal’s cock.
Cal. Charlie. Charlie. Cal
Christ, focus, Josh. Focus! He was supposed to be thinking about the case, not his dick.
Determined to ignore his flourishing hard-on, Josh dug out his notebook and made a few notes, squinting in the low light. He wasn’t convinced Jonathan Michaels was alive despite the lack of a body. The whole thing smelled like a three-day-old corpse but Josh suspected Michaels had discovered the missing money and was probably killed for it.
“Who did you speak to, Jonathan?” Josh said out l
oud, startling the man walking past. He gave Josh a suspicious scowl and hurried on by.
Numero uno on the list of suspects was Philip Barton, although he did seem genuinely upset by his friend’s disappearance. Still the guy had a less than pristine background and he needed the money. Next on the list was Barton’s PA, Eric Adlington. He knew from past experience that assistants knew everything and more. Josh paused, his pen hovering above the paper. Assistants knew everything… so who worked directly for Jonathan Michaels? Josh scratched a note to remind himself to talk to this assistant tomorrow. Could it be a conspiracy involving the widow/wife? Again, she seemed genuine enough, but Josh couldn’t rule her out.
He checked his watch. He needed to get a move on if he was going to make dinner. Josh shivered, not realizing how cold he’d gotten in the few minutes he’d been standing still. Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, he walked further along the embankment.
“Excuse me?”
A polite voice disturbed his thoughts and, amused, Josh looked over his shoulder. Everyone was so goddamn polite here. Then something stung his neck. Josh didn’t even have time to register what had happened before he toppled forward, unconscious.
Chapter 7
Thursday, 24th November
Waking up was not a pleasant experience. Wherever they’d stashed Josh stank to high heaven and he tried not to breathe as the stench assaulted his nostrils. It was also wet and he could feel the moisture seeping up through his clothes. He couldn’t move or open his eyes. Josh sent commands to his arms and legs but they may as well have taken a fucking vacation for all the good it did. At least for the moment Josh was paralyzed. He used the senses that were back online to try and figure out where he was. His hearing and sense of smell seemed to be the only things working at the moment. There was a thrum from beneath him, the sound of voices in the distance and lapping water. He could also hear engines. Boat engines? So he was still close to the Thames. Not that he cared. He’d been compromised and he needed to get away. He tried to focus on Jesse’s instructions.
Notting Hill Gate, left, six blocks….
Josh didn’t manage to reach the end of the thought before darkness dragged him under again.
Josh regained consciousness at the sound of a loud shout in his ear. He wished whoever it was would shut up because Freddie Mercury was doing the fandango inside his skull. Then a large, warm hand cupped his jaw, and Freddie was blissfully quieted, the world narrowing down to that one touch.
“It’s Josh!”
Who did you expect it to be?
“Come on, my angel, show me your gorgeous eyes.”
“Charlie?” Josh’s throat was dry, raspy and it was a struggle to make his lips form the words.
“Josh, you need to wake up. He’s here! Gil, he’s down here! He’s freezing cold, but he’s still alive.”
Despite the fact he seemed to be lying in water Josh’s body was still off-line and didn’t seem in a hurry to wake.
“Is he all right?”
If Josh could’ve rolled his eyes he would’ve at voice number two’s stupid question. As he was lying, zip-tied, in a puddle of water, he’d go with no. Not fucking all right. He felt warm fingers at the base of his neck.
Of course, I’m fucking alive, dipshit.
“Huh?” Josh’s head rolled back like a rag dolls, his mouth as dry as a bone. He smacked his lips in a futile attempt to generate some saliva.
“Wake the fuck up, princess!”
Josh could hear the concern that threaded through the yell, but his head throbbed and he didn’t feel like opening his eyes, even if he could. “Fuck off.”
He heard a snort, followed by, “He’s all right.”
Josh recognized Gil’s voice and made an effort to open his eyes. It was a struggle, because his eyelids had their own agenda. “Wanna sit up.” His voice sounded raw.
“You are sitting up, cupcake.” Now Josh recognized voice number one. Not Charlie. Disappointment took a hold of his gut. He’d been sure he’d called him his angel. Not just angel, but my angel. It must have been an hallucination.
He blinked and, slowly, Cal and Gil came into focus. “Wha—? Where am I?” It was dark, freezing cold and everything below his neck was still numb.
“About to get very wet,” Gil said grimly. “The tide’s coming in fast. We’ve got to move or we’ll be caught on the foreshore.”
Shore? Tide? Where the fuck was he? “Where are the seagulls?”
“Seagulls? What the bloody hell are you talking about? Let’s get you out of here.” Cal picked Josh up as though he was a sack of potatoes, hauled him over his shoulder and ran to the stairs. Water splashed up in Josh’s face as Cal pounded over the stones. From his undignified position he could see Gil hard on his heels. He felt increasingly nauseated with each bouncing step.
“I’m going to hurl down your back unless you put me down,” Josh warned. Hanging upside down over Cal’s shoulder was a really bad idea for his stomach.
“Hold on,” Cal barked at him.
Josh was about to show Cal what he could do with his order—even if his tone of voice did do strange things to Josh’s insides—when Cal reached street level and put Josh down on the sidewalk, resting him against a stone wall. Gil knelt and sliced through the zip-ties with a knife. Josh stretched his arms and legs, relieved to be able to move although he wasn’t happy at the abrasions around his wrists. He didn’t mind being tied up as much as the next kink-fiend but he preferred it to be with a safe word. The ground felt like ice beneath him and he couldn’t control his shivers. His teeth chattered and Cal stripped off Josh’s soaking coat, wrapping his own coat around Josh’s shoulders. Josh looked around and discovered he was exactly where he was before. Cal held Josh’s arm tight as if he was never going to let it go. He and Gil looked angry, scared and relieved at the same time, all bundled up in muscles and brawn.
“What the hell just happened?” Josh asked as he tried to remember… anything.
“When you didn’t turn up for dinner we got worried,” Gil said grimly. “Dominic tracked your phone. This was its last location so we called Cal and got here as fast as we could.”
“They left my phone on?” These people were amateurs.
Cal shook his head. “It was off, they probably threw it in the Thames, but this was the last known location. It was pure luck that Gil spotted you on the shore. What do you remember?”
“They drugged me.” Josh sought out the mark on his neck with his fingertips.
Cal gently pushed his fingers away, brushing against his skin until he found the needle mark. “Where were you before they got you?”
“Right here.” Josh moved his head slowly to confirm the location. “I was looking over the Thames and making notes. My notebook – have you found my notebook?”
Cal shot him an odd look. “You make notes on paper? It was dark.”
“No one can hack it,” Josh pointed out. “They won’t be able to read it and I had a light on my phone.”
“It’s true,” Gil agreed. “No one’s been able to crack Josh’s code. For a start his handwriting is shit.”
From his disbelieving expression, Cal obviously thought Gil and Josh were talking out of their asses, but it was true. No one at CDR had been able to crack the code Josh used to make notes. He fully intended to keep it that way so he changed the code on a regular basis. Not that they needed to know that. Josh’s stomach gave up trying to settle down. He gave one massive shudder and retched miserably.
“I’ll get water,” Gil said and jogged away, but Cal stayed where he was, tracing soothing circles on Josh’s back.
Josh was aware of more than a few disgusted looks as people walk by. They probably thought he was drunk. He didn’t care. When he finally managed to get his stomach under control, Cal pulled Josh against him and drew Josh’s head to his chest. He was only wearing a dark green sweater over his shirt but the cold didn’t seem to bother him.
“What were you doing here?” Cal mutter
ed.
Josh sighed, appreciating the softness of the sweater beneath his cheek. “Just thinking. I needed some time to myself.”
“It’s November and freezing cold. You couldn’t think somewhere warm, like your hotel?”
Josh tried to shrug but Cal was holding him too tightly for the gesture to be anything more than a squirm. “I needed the fresh air and I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“You’re not going anywhere in future without Gil and Landry, or Ryan and Dave.”
Josh scowled as Cal tried to give him orders again. “I can look after myself.”
“Someone just drugged you and laid you on the bank of the Thames to drown,” Cal pointed out.
“Why didn’t they just shoot me?”
“This is London, not Chicago. We don’t tend to shoot the tourists.”
“I’m not a tourist,” Josh snapped.
“Stop wriggling,” Cal said. “What are you looking for?”
Josh had been trying to loosen Cal’s grip so he could access his suit jacket pockets.
“I need a cigarette.”
“Those things will kill you.”
“A moot point after this evening,” Josh snapped.
Gil returned with the water, distracting him. Josh swilled his mouth with the cold liquid and spat it out to get rid of the taste of vomit. The cold and damp penetrated his bones and Josh shivered, unable to stop his teeth chattering.
“Let’s get you back to your hotel.” Cal helped Josh to his feet and guided him to the SUV. Josh sighed with relief as he settled on the seat. He did grumble, however, and tried to slap Cal’s hands away as he buckled him in like a child, but Cal ignored him. Josh saw the amused look on Gil’s face before he turned away. He was enjoying every moment of this – Bastard!
“Turn the heat up,” Cal said as Gil slipped into the driver’s seat. “Josh is freezing.”
Josh didn’t argue with that because he was too busy shivering. The SUV pumped out enough heat so that, within a few minutes, his teeth quit their uncontrollable tango and he could relax, although he kept Cal’s coat around him. No one seemed to want to talk and Josh closed his eyes for a moment while he warmed up.