Dead in the Water (DeSantos Book 1)

by A. R. Case

  Tony joined the group at the door. Jonathan made introductions and said goodbye to her again. Then he and the Cohens bundled down the stairs.

  She was left standing in the living room, staring at Tony. He looked very good. The last time he had been head-to-toe leather. The time before that he was in jeans, flannel, and t-shirt. But tonight, he wore black dress pants, a white dress shirt with the collar unbuttoned, and a leather vest under his leather jacket. This wasn’t the same jacket she’d seen Wednesday, but a more streamlined, less “bad-ass biker” style and more of a “I do serious motorcycle racing” style.

  He whistled low in appreciation. “Wow.” His eyes traveled down to her shoes and hesitated around the deep dip in of her waistline, skimmed over her breasts, which surprised her and locked in on her eyes. A smile started at one side of his mouth and spread across his face wickedly. “I like. Do you have a coat?”

  “We’re not riding your bike, are we?”

  He scoffed. “Not on our first date.” His voice was a low rumble.

  “Or is it our second?”

  He thought about that for a moment. “Maybe, probably, but this one you’re not in nurse clothes, so I think that makes it a first. But then again, if you want to argue about it...”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I hadn’t thought of it that way, huh. Okay, first date it is. No arguments here.” She smiled at him. “I need to get my jacket.” She reached in her living room closet, which was on the wrong side of the room if you wanted to take your coat off when you walked in. Because it butted against the area carved out for the bathroom, it was tucked in almost opposite of the door. Luckily she and Jonathan didn’t have much in the way furniture-wise, so it was accessible. Her first apartment during the divorce hadn’t even had its own bathroom.

  She sighed thinking about that and pulling out the beige trench coat she had bought at least twelve years ago. It was reassuring that the coat wasn’t too worn and that it was a classic style. She didn’t feel out of sync with time wearing it. There were at least two coats in that same closet which she only wore when it was god-awful cold, because they just screamed 1992.

  Tony was at her side. “You okay?”

  She pushed her nerves and all the doubts back. He wasn’t classically movie star handsome, but he turned heads. His goatee had been trimmed up and the edges cleanly shaved. With his dark eyes, almost bald haircut, and that dimple, Susan was liking what she saw more each time she looked. His nose had been broken and reset at least once and she saw the pale line of a scar bisecting his eyebrow. The nurse in her wanted to pull him close to take a look to make certain it hadn’t been life-threatening. A smile crossed her face without having to force it. “I’m good. Ready?”

  He crooked out an arm. “My lady, if you please.”

  This week had finally gotten better.

  Chapter eleven

  He took her to Girosole on Pacific. Tony ate out a lot, so knew probably every diner, dive and corner family restaurant in the city, but he wanted to impress her. More than that, he really wanted a chance to show her he wasn’t all biker. While he would never be able to compete with Chris’s seven-hundred dollar suits, he could clean up. On more than one occasion, he’d tried to take one of the bike bunnies to a place like this and ended up knowing before the meal was over that he wouldn’t be taking them out again.

  The little brown dress she wore was sleeveless, so she hadn’t taken her coat off yet. Tony could feel a draft that made him slightly chilled and figured she’d be downright frozen. That pissed him off. The restaurant was classy, but not over the top like some of the casino restaurants, still, they could afford to heat the place. Mostly he wanted to get a look at her figure again. She had more curves than Marilyn Monroe. When he saw how small her waist was, all he could think of was trying to wrap his hands around it to see if they’d touch. The halter also had an open front like a keyhole, displaying those amazing tits and the deep cleavage between.

  To be gentlemanly, he’d tried very hard not to stare. Which really meant he hadn’t gotten a good look at it. Instead, he focused on her eyes. Back in the apartment, they were blue. Now, in the dimmer light, they looked green. He tried to figure out which was the real color.

  “You’re staring.”

  “Trying to figure out if your eyes are green or blue.”

  “Both. The main portion of my iris is green, but the outer ring is blue. Depending on how relaxed I am, the band on the outside becomes more prominent.”

  “So you’re nervous.”

  She blushed and a small smile crept onto her face. “First date, remember?”

  Tony laughed and stretched out a leg, deliberately seeking her legs and brushing against one. Her leg tensed a little then relaxed against his. He counted that as a good thing and let it just hang out there to get her used to the feel of him. If it was warmer, he would have had her on the back of his bike. There was nothing better than the feel of soft, warm woman at your back and free air in your face. He could ride for hours like that. “One of these days, if it stays nice, I’m taking you out on my bike.”

  “John had one for a while.” She frowned, not remembering it fondly.

  Tony watched her face, then snorted. “Riding with a cop is not the same as riding with a...biker.” He almost said Brigand. Damn. Even after Crank had cut him off, proving that he wasn’t one of them anymore, he still felt he was. Whatever. She still wasn’t convinced. “It’s more real.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes flashing blue all of a sudden. “How did you know that?”

  “Know what?”

  “That it felt fake, or somehow… I don’t know, but I just think he was trying too hard to be a…”

  “Be a badass?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, that.”

  “Failed miserably, didn’t he?”

  Her look agreed with him.

  “I’m bad ass.” He joked, only half serious.

  Her smile got soft, imagine that. “I know.”

  Dinner went off without too much angst after that. Tony entertained her with stories of some happier childhood memories of growing up around the Brigand family. She told him about her father and uncle, who she obviously adored. They had a few drinks with dinner, so Tony suggested they walk off the food and wine on the Boardwalk.

  It was a nice night, even if it was a little cold. The waves softened the sounds of the city, and they walked out on the sand away from the lights. She shivered a little in her thin coat so Tony stopped.

  “Come here.” He unzipped his jacket and opened his arms, motioning her inside. She fit naturally under his jacket and chin. Her curves provided just the right niches where his arms came around, so his hands could rub against her back.

  “Hmmm, nice. You’re warm.”

  “Mom called us all hot heads, like Dad.”

  “He died, right?” She didn’t look up at him, but tightened her arms around him in sympathy.

  “Yeah. Shot when I was sixteen.” They were both talking in almost whispers in deference to the night. He let the quiet wrap around them as he kept her warm. A body could get used to this, he thought. Naturally, his hands weren’t fully content to just hold her, they had to explore the feel of her. So Tony caressed her back, smoothing over her coat up to her shoulders then back down, gradually moving closer to her waist, in hopes maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t notice he was about to grope her ass.

  He stopped, his hands resting on her tiny waist. “I wanted to see if my hands would fit around this.” He said and spanned his hands out.

  “If I wasn’t wearing my coat and hadn’t had Jonathan, you might be able to.”

  He looked at her. “Serious?”

  “I had a twenty-one inch waist in high school.”

  Tony couldn’t help himself. “How big were your tits then?”

  She laughed. It was a real laugh, not the soft,
little, self conscious ones he’d been getting. “I wish I knew how many times I’d been asked that.”

  “Sorry.”

  She waved him off. “It’s okay. I know I’m…” She motioned to her body.

  “Sweet?”

  She tilted her head and smirked at him.

  “Beautiful.” That got a different look.

  “I’m stacked, okay. 42-27-36. I know the nickname”

  He whistled. “Damn.” His hands tightened on her waist and inched upwards. He caught himself before he became an ass about it. “So were you forty-two in high school?”

  Her smile changed, but didn’t fade. “It was only a 38 then. After I had Jonathan, I breast fed, but he didn’t really stick with it, so I was kind of left with these.” Susan leaned back so Tony could look.

  His brain went on vacation. His hands slid up to cup her magnificent breasts, and they were magnificent. He froze, knowing he’d just been an ass. Probably as big of an ass as some dumb jock seventeen year old trying to score with her for the first time. He looked at her face.

  Her eyes were closed, and her head tilted slightly back. Fuck yeah! His fingers started caressing again. Nothing so hard that would break the trance they’d created. He watched her face closely in the dim light coming off the street lamps.

  He couldn’t stand it anymore. There was a magnet drawing him to her lips. Open your eyes, he thought. His hands stilled and then slid around her waist to hold her.

  Those blue-green eyes opened just as he got to that perfect sweet spot to silently ask for permission to land.

  Her lips parted. He closed the gap and breathed on her lips.

  She was the one who went up to meet him. Tony stopped thinking for a while and concentrated on keeping her warm, keeping her close and not losing contact with probably the softest lips he’d ever tasted.

  Too soon it got too cold to continue. They broke apart. Her nervous laugh came back. Tony decided to call an end to their date. He managed to keep her close the entire walk back and captured a hand in the car.

  On her doorstep he blurted, “I want number three.”

  “Date two.” She countered, teasing him about whether their first outing at the pub counted. He liked that about her. Despite the fact she’d agreed that it was date one, they could still banter back and forth about this.

  She turned to the door, Tony stopped Susan for one last kiss. It didn’t last nearly long enough before she broke it off, nervously pushing him off, with a soft, “I can’t…” then a soft laugh.

  “Let me come in.”

  She shook her head, then got resolved. “First date.”

  “Second.” He argued. “Third if you count venue.”

  “You.” She laughed and gave him a little tap. “No.” Then she fished her keys out of her purse and started to put them in the door.

  It swung inward, and she hadn’t unlocked it yet.

  Daniel Mills was beginning to wonder what Tony DeSantos did to attract beautiful women who had the misfortune of their house being broken into.

  Susan Schreiber was one hell of a beautiful woman. She was curvy in all the right places, with luscious pink lips, fire-engine red hair almost down to her ass and the perfect sprinkling of freckles across her nose to keep her from looking fake. It brought out the protective streak in him. Those freckles probably brought out the protective streak in DeSantos as well because he sat on the couch, plastered to her side, one arm wrapped possessively around her shoulders.

  Mills had no jurisdiction to be at a crime scene that wasn’t related to his case. The only reason he was here was because right after calling the cops from his phone, Tony called him. For that, he might not try to poach Susan from underneath him. But hell, this wasn’t an FBI case, so there wasn’t any conflict in Daniel’s mind about asking for her number.

  “B-A-U-E-R, Jonathan Bauer, Sr., Dayton, Ohio Police.” She re-told the officer taking her statement.

  Unlike Lisa’s house, there was nothing missing, nothing messed up. But initial inspection by Susan and Tony, confirmed things had been moved. Her wedding set was still in the jewelry box blatantly flaunting itself on her dresser, the TV set and DVD player were still in place, so the police were hesitant to proceed. She insisted on filing a report though because, in her words, this was how the harassment had started before.

  The police were quick to try to reassure her that no officer would want to jeopardize their position by criminally stalking her.

  “How do you explain how he got my phone number then?” She stomped to the answering machine and began to play back numerous messages from her ex. Some of them were mundane, but others, well, Daniel wasn’t a beat cop, but they just stank of malice.

  At least the officers on the scene got a bit more serious about taking her statement.

  DeSantos took the opportunity to stand beside him. “You really think it’s her ex?” He said out of the corner of his mouth.

  “It doesn’t look the same as Lisa’s break in.”

  “I don’t like it. It feels off.”

  Mills looked at him, “Really?” He was crossing over into sarcasm and didn’t care. He’d gotten excited that this might just be the break he’d been looking for, and it was quickly looking like there was nothing to help his case. Again.

  “I don’t know, he may have it with him.” She was running through the list of valuables in the house. She didn’t own much of value, the TV set probably being the most expensive portable thing in the house aside from the rings. Even then, the TV would probably pawn for more if it was suspected the rings were stolen. She’d already mentioned her husband, ex-husband, was meticulous about securing valuables and had the stone laser-marked. Any legitimate dealer, and many of the not so legitimate ones, would balk at taking something in with a mark like that. Of course a petty thief wouldn’t know this.

  Tony left him to follow her and the officer to her son’s room. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Mills calculated the odds of him actually getting her to give him her phone number tonight and knew he needed to get a bit more crafty about things.

  Yeah, he knew they’d been on a date tonight. Even if DeSantos hadn’t said anything, the dress, high heels, and Desantos looking all kinds of uncomfortable in his dress clothes tipped him off. He wasn’t getting a sense that they were intimate yet though. Her body language was all wrong. He’d have to get a feel for her style to know what would make her say yes.

  Her house was nothing fancy, furniture made for comfort rather than looks, so Mills guessed that a fancy restaurant and gifts weren’t her style. There were no frilly nick-knacks, aside from photos and mementos from a few theme parks, and a couple of trophies that were her son’s. Her heart was there, he guessed. She probably appreciated things like taking out the garbage, and changing her oil, or cheering her son’s soccer games, rather than fancy dinners.

  Yeah, DeSantos had it wrong. You didn’t “date” a woman like Susan, you wooed her and did things for her. He smiled thinking how easily he could push Tony out of the picture.

  Susan’s voice carried back into the living room, “No. He usually doesn’t take it with him. He’s been having trouble with some of the gang members at his high school.” The officer’s voice, then Tony’s rumbled. Mills watched the tension increase in Tony’s shoulders.

  The police took their leave, and Tony hung back indicating he wanted to talk to him.

  “They couldn’t find her laptop, or his iPod. She thinks the laptop went with him, but he hasn’t been taking the iPod anywhere because he’s afraid of it getting stolen from him.”

  “Wouldn’t he feel the same about the laptop?”

  Tony shrugged. “I think he uses it for homework, but took it with him tonight because he’s working on a report with the friend he’s staying with.”

  He looked up from the floor, pinning Mills. “Do you think it’s her
ex, or it’s your shit?”

  Mills looked around. There wasn’t the violence of Lisa’s break-in. No this was cold, calculated and intended to frighten more than anger. Nothing seemed to be missing, but just enough was out of place to know the place had been violated. It wasn’t the same work. “I think it’s the ex.”

  Tony cursed and started to walk away, then stopped with his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “She told me she didn’t date.” There were shadows in his eyes. “I’m wondering if I’m the reason for this.”

  Mills suspected Tony had it right. “It wouldn’t be your fault, and it’s not hers.” He pointed at the door where Susan was just wrapping things up and closing the door. He pulled his card out of his pocket and held it out to Susan. “If they catch him doing anything, you can contact me directly. My card.”

  Susan looked at him, “And if he isn’t caught?”

  Mills’ jaw got tight. He hated situations like this. Most of the time he came in after the fact, and it sucked. What sucked worse, was the fact that her husband was supposed to uphold the law, not break it. “I’ll be watching this and him. He won’t touch you.”

  There were tears hanging at the corners of her eyes. She swallowed, “That’s more than I had before. Thank you.”

  He glanced at Tony, who also looked grateful. Damn. So much for his own interests. “Both of you, call me if you need anything.” Then he walked out, without her number.

  Chapter twelve

  Susan waited until the agent walked out before turning on Tony. “You’re not staying.”

  “Then you should pack a bag. We’ll go to my place.”

  “I can’t. Jonathan is being dropped off in the morning. The Cohens have to be somewhere tomorrow.”

  “Then I’m staying.”

  “No.”

  “I am, if only to make sure you don’t have nightmares.”

  “I’m not going to sleep.”

  “There’s that. You need to sleep sometime, what better way than on the couch, with me right there to make sure you’re safe.” He raised an eyebrow, daring her to disagree. “Listen, when Lisa’s house was broken into, I was there for her, too. It’s what I do.”