Calculated Risk (A Cross Security Investigation Book 2)

by G. K. Parks

  While I was pulling my wallet out, Jade snared the second spoon and sliced off the other side of the ice cream globe. She closed her eyes to savor it, triggering a pain in my chest. This should be just another day for us, not a second goodbye.

  “Where are you applying to school?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “You said you had to get your transcripts. Don’t schools usually send those upon request?”

  “Sometimes, but I needed an unofficial copy.” She finished the rest of the ice cream. “I think I’m going to pop.”

  She didn’t answer my question. My inquisitive nature demanded a response, but I didn’t push. Instead, I paid the check and picked up the bag of leftovers. Knowing Jade, she’d want a snack later tonight, and whatever was left I could take to the office for lunch. Justin would bitch about eating my leftovers, but this was one of the hottest new restaurants and he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample the cuisine.

  “Lucien,” she nudged me as we made our way to the car, “you just disappeared. Where did you go?”

  “I’m right here.”

  “No, you’re not.” She took the bag from my hand and slipped into the car. When I got in on my side, she had one knee up on the seat so she could face me directly. “We can’t keep doing this. We can’t pretend what we have is nothing.”

  “I never said it was nothing. It’s not nothing, but you don’t want to be here. And I won’t ask you to stay.”

  “Why not?”

  “Jade, it’s not fair.”

  “No, it’s not. None of this is fucking fair.” She pressed her fingertips to her eyes to wipe the tears, breaking my heart. “He did this to me. To us. The worst part is I wouldn’t even know you if it hadn’t been for him.”

  My throat felt tight. “I know, but he can’t hurt you. You’re safe. You’re safe here. You’re safe in Colorado. Wherever you go, you’ll be safe. I promise.”

  “A part of me wants to come back. I just… I don’t know.” She turned to face the windshield and put on her seatbelt. “Let’s go home.”

  I pulled into traffic. A light rain had started to fall in sync with Jade’s tears, which she fought against. I paid attention to the rearview, noticing a silver SUV turn when I did. He pulled past me on the next street, and my eye caught a dark blue sedan a few cars back. I wondered if it was an unmarked police car. From here, I couldn’t tell, but I thought I spotted the bars and spotlight.

  “Today was hell, Lucien. After I left your apartment, I went to Mary Beth’s. Her roommate’s going through a similar situation, but her ex isn’t nearly as psychotic or dangerous. He calls a lot. The phone kept ringing. Maybe it was her nervous energy that I picked up on, but after that, I was anxious all day. It felt like people were watching me, following me. I can’t tell you how many times I turned around and thought I saw someone tailing me.”

  Her words worried me. “What did he look like?”

  “Scott.” She laughed. “I know. It’s crazy. And then when I took the train, I saw the cops down in the station, and god, those uniforms, you’d think I was a wanted criminal or something with the way they freaked me out.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. I want to take control of my life. I don’t want to be freaked out for no good reason.”

  “Are you still freaked out?”

  “No. After I got back to the apartment, I didn’t feel like I was being watched anymore. I felt safe. You always make me feel safe. Your apartment feels safe. You let me stay with you a lot after it happened. Your place is like my second home. Maybe my only home in this city. You’re my home, Lucien. This place isn’t.”

  “You can stay with me as long as you like.” Recalling our conversation from yesterday, I asked, “Do you want to live together? I didn’t think that was something you ever wanted to do again.”

  “I…I don’t know.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is that something you want?”

  My hand went through my hair. “This can’t be my decision.”

  “Why not?”

  The dark sedan turned, but the silver SUV which had passed me and parked at a hydrant while I’d been stopped at the red light pulled back in behind me after I passed. It sent an uneasy feeling through me. Then again, this conversation had already spiked my blood pressure and adrenaline, so I couldn’t tell if my reaction had anything to do with the SUV or if it had everything to do with Jade and our relationship status.

  “Why not?” she repeated.

  My gaze flicked from the rearview to the side mirrors. I took the next turn, wondering if the SUV would follow. It did. I took the turn after that.

  “Lucien, where are we going? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  She paled, turning to glance behind us. The SUV had dropped back two car lengths, but its high profile made it easy to spot over the Mazda coupe behind me. I took the next turn. The Mazda went straight, and the SUV turned too. One more turn, and we’d have gone in a complete circle. So I made the last turn, but the SUV didn’t follow. It turned in the opposite direction.

  Letting out a sigh, I checked a few more times to see if anyone else was following me, but we were in the clear. Jade’s paranoia must have been contagious. “We’re okay,” I said, hoping to soothe her. “False alarm.”

  “Who do you think would be following you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. The cops have it out for me, more now than before. And with my clients, you never know who I might piss off.”

  She swallowed, fidgeting with the seatbelt and drumming her fingers against her thighs. At that moment, I knew she couldn’t stay. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She needed to feel safe, and my life wasn’t safe. I wasn’t safe, just ask the angel of death.

  We returned to my apartment without incident and had passionate, life-affirming sex. When I opened my eyes after a brief nap, I found Jade curled up on the window seat with her legs tucked beneath her. She wore my shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

  “It’s still raining.” She scooted forward, so I could slide in between her and the wall. I rested my back against it and placed one foot flat on the window seat beside her. She settled into the space I made with her head resting just beneath my chin. I brushed the soft waves of her red hair with my fingers. She put her hand on my knee. “Maybe I should delay my departure date.”

  “You can. We have tons of Chinese left to eat.”

  She laughed, but her focus remained out the window. We were so high up, it was hard to see much beneath us, especially in the dark. Still, I spotted a large silver sports utility vehicle parked at a hydrant. The bike rack on top reminded me of the one from earlier. A lot of people in this building owned similar vehicles, so I resisted the urge to investigate further. I didn’t want to freak Jade out, and right now, I wanted to spend every remaining moment close to her.

  “Any interest in moving to Colorado?” she asked. “I’m sure they could use privatized policing, security consultants, or private eyes.” She tilted her head to the side to look at me. “What do you even call yourself?”

  “Most days, Lucien. Sometimes, Cross. It just depends on my mood.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “It depends on the client. The guy I’m working for now needed a private eye. So that’s what he got. Miranda needed a security consultant, so that’s what she got.”

  “You’re like a chameleon. They blend in to whatever environment they inhabit. See, you could live in Colorado.”

  “I could.” But I didn’t want to. “Perhaps, one day I’ll be able to expand to the West Coast. Maybe open an L.A. office. What do you think of Los Angeles?”

  “That’d be nice.”

  “One day, but not today or tomorrow.” I cleared my throat. “Jade, I lied to you earlier. I said you were safe here, but I don’t know if that’s true. Being aro
und me is unpredictable. I don’t exactly get paid to find lost dogs.”

  “You’re in the business of making enemies.” She shivered. “I know. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when you piss people off.”

  “I’m not asking you to leave now or tomorrow or ever, but I want you to be aware of what could happen.”

  “I am.” She turned to check the time. “My flight leaves at 1:20. I should be at the airport by 11:30.”

  “You don’t have to go,” I said, but we both knew that wasn’t true.

  “I don’t want you to wait.”

  “At the airport? You want me to just drop you off?”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about you. Your future.”

  “Honey, I’m still getting this office off the ground. I can’t expand yet.”

  “No, Lucien, I meant I don’t want you to wait for me. You should go out, have fun, date. What we’ve been doing since I left hasn’t been healthy for either of us.”

  “What have we been doing? We talk once or twice a week. We’re friends, right?”

  “Friends who have sex.”

  “They call those benefits,” I said.

  She let out a sigh and pulled away from me. “We have to move on. I have to move on. You have to move on.”

  “I didn’t realize I was stopping you.” I fought to keep the anger out of my voice, but I wasn’t sure I succeeded.

  “You haven’t, but you’re stopping yourself. I don’t want to feel guilty or responsible for that. I’m not ready to date yet, but one day, I will be. If you’re still burning a candle for me when that time comes, I don’t know what will happen. But I can’t come back here. I just can’t.”

  Nodding, I got up and went into the kitchen. This conversation required a drink. Several drinks. While I poured a shot of whiskey, Jade went to the fridge, heated some leftovers, took her plate to the table, and sat down.

  “Don’t be mad.” She slid the food around on the plate for something to do.

  “I’m not.” I swallowed the shot and resisted the urge to pour a second one. The last thing she needed was to see me drunk and angry. That would just bring back bad memories from relationships past. “Do I remind you of him?”

  “No.”

  “But when you see me, you think about what happened that night, right?”

  She stared at the table, barely nodding.

  “Well, fuck.” I dropped into the chair across from her, picked up the extra fork she’d grabbed, and skewered a piece of chicken. I didn’t scare her, but I reminded her of all the things she hoped to forget. The city might not be the problem, but I was.

  We sat in silence, picking our way through the chicken and vegetables. Neither of us had an appetite, but it was something to do. The food tasted like wet cement, but it eliminated the need for conversation, apologies, or arguments. When we were done eating our late night snack, I cleaned the kitchen while Jade brushed her teeth and went back to bed.

  After I joined her, she curled up against my chest and fell asleep. I watched her for the longest time, glancing occasionally out the window at the suspicious-looking SUV. Around dawn, my eyelids drooped.

  “I love you,” I whispered before falling asleep.

  Twelve

  By the time we left for the airport, the SUV was gone. I kept an eye out for possible tails, but in the light of day, none of that seemed real. Our conversation from last night had numbed me.

  I pulled to a stop at the end of the drop-off line. Jade leaned over, running a hand over the stubble on my jaw. “Lucien—”

  “I know.” I took her hand and pressed it to my lips. “You have to go. The reason you left was to put this behind you.”

  “Maybe one day I will.”

  “Maybe.”

  She leaned in and kissed me on the mouth. “Don’t wait. Promise me.”

  “I won’t.”

  She swallowed, her lashes wet from the impending tears. “Good, because I’m going to want progress reports.”

  “Some things are best left unsaid.”

  “You’re going to date, whether you like it or not.”

  “Jade, I’m not much of a dater.”

  “Fine, go get laid. I don’t care. Just be safe. And I mean that every which way imaginable.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I watched her reach for the strap on her duffel. “Are you sure you don’t want me to park and walk you inside?”

  “No, it’s time we said goodbye.”

  “Call me when you get home?”

  “I will.” She kissed me again, a desperate, passionate yearning that had me leaning so far over the seatbelt nearly choked me. Then she grabbed her bag and slammed the door.

  I waited until she was safely inside before parking the car and hoping she’d change her mind, even though I knew it was best that she didn’t. After her flight took off, I paid the two hour parking fee and headed back to the office. My mind on nothing but the smell of her shampoo and the taste of her lips.

  “Hey, boss.” Justin looked up when I didn’t mumble back a greeting. “Is everything okay?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Justin exchanged a look with Gloria before following me into my office. He had a stack of files in his arms which he dropped beside my computer. “No hits on your listings on the dark web. I made those calls you asked me to, but none of the other pawn shops had the items I requested.”

  “Did you ask if they could get them?”

  “They were dead ends.”

  Pouring a hefty amount of scotch into my empty coffee cup, I took a sip. “Call Pauley’s and ask about Knox’s basketball collection, but use one of the burner phones we have in the cabinet. I don’t want them to connect that to me.”

  “I can be vague. Anything else?”

  “Did Freddy call?”

  “No.”

  It had been less than twenty-four hours. I had to give the man time to work, but my patience had grown thin. I wanted this case to be over. “Have you set up interviews yet for the new security staff?”

  “They start tomorrow at noon and run through the following day.”

  “What about new applicants?”

  “The posting went out yesterday. I mentioned we’d interview on Friday of next week.”

  “Fine.” I swallowed more scotch, burning the back of my throat. “I’ll get started on the work I promised our two new corporate clients. Once I get the employee background checks out of the way, I’ll move on to their internet security assessment. If I do it myself, we won’t have to hire freelance IT guys.” I waved a dismissive hand in Justin’s direction, not wanting to look up and see the question or concern on his face. But he didn’t move.

  “The last time I saw you like this was two days before you threw our boss’s chair through the window.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m the boss. Now get back to work.”

  The hours went by without me noticing. Background checks were time consuming, but they didn’t require much brain power. Type, skim, print. I could probably do it in my sleep if only I knew how to sleep with my eyes open and fingers moving.

  Justin brought a plate into my office and put it on the edge of my desk. He didn’t say anything, but I thanked him for the pizza. The smell made my stomach growl, even though I hadn’t noticed I was hungry.

  Folding the slice in half, I chewed on the end while I stared out the window. Why was it suddenly so dark out? A glance at the clock told me it was almost ten. No wonder my legs were numb. After I finished the slice, I used the desk to push myself into a standing position and locked my knees, waiting for the blood flow and feeling to return before I tried to walk. Before going home, I’d have to put in some time at the gym or I’d regret it tomorrow.

  A worrisome thought came to mind, and I went into the outer office. “Did I receive any calls?”

  “Nothing.”

  I returned to the office and called a contact I had with Jade’s cell phone carrier. Her phone was turned off. I pulled up her
flight information and found that due to bad weather her return flight had been rerouted to Atlanta and delayed a few hours. Now I felt like a stalker, no better than her previous ex. “This has to stop,” I muttered.

  “What, boss?”

  “Working so late. You should have left hours ago.”

  “Then who would be here to assist you?”

  “Don’t be a smart ass.”

  “I finished writing the reports you wanted and left them in your dropbox to review before you send them to our clients. I also invoiced Mr. Rathbone for next quarter to include the advanced services he requested, and I have three interviews scheduled for new applicants next Friday. As far as Mr. Knox’s case, Pauley’s didn’t bite when I asked about the basketballs. I did some more checking but found nothing. No one has. Whoever stole Knox’s stuff is keeping a low profile. Do you think it’s another collector with no interest in the monetary value?”

  “Could be, but why did he hire a crew to commit the theft and pawn the signed pennant?”

  “Maybe the thieves don’t like baseball.”

  “It’s possible, but it doesn’t seem right.” I leaned my hips against his desk, stretching one leg and then the other. My back pinched, and I bit back the wince. “I checked the intel you sent me on the company, but it was rather vague. Did you dig anything else up on the LLC or Dmitri Lenmere?”

  “Nope.”

  “Me neither. It looks like a reputable business, at least as far as pawn shops go. I even checked the employees, but that didn’t get me far either.”

  “You need to identify their sellers. Perhaps you should try the direct approach.”

  “Too risky. It could tip ‘em off.” I went back to my office, shut down my computer, removed my gun from the drawer, tucked it behind my back, and put on my jacket. “What do we have tomorrow morning?”

  “Not much. A few interviews with prospective clients.”

  “Good. If I’m late, you’re in charge. You know what to do. I trust you can take care of it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Identify the seller and drink myself into a stupor.”

  “I take it she left.”