Red Hot Dragons Steamy 10 Book Collection

by Lisa Daniels

  Devastating to the show, he means. He doesn’t care about me or Blaise. He’s only worried about Con Lair and the ratings.

  “If he hasn’t responded to therapy after another couple of sessions, I will talk to his parole officer.”

  “Maybe you can give me the heads up first,” Ty said nervously and Maria couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. The house master took the motion as acceptance and stepped aside to let her pass.

  Ty is right, she thought, slightly alarmed by the realization. Even if he hasn’t been violent in the past, threatening his freedom could lead him to act dangerously.

  But as she thought it, she realized that’s what she wanted; she was baiting Andrew to behave badly so she could justify her own illegal actions.

  What did I agree to get into? she wondered.

  She did not give herself any time to reconsider what she was about to do. As soon as she stepped into her car, she picked up her cell phone and pulled Luke’s number from her contacts.

  She wanted to tell him everything she remembered while it was still fresh in her mind.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Amberlyn, put that down right now!” Luke screamed at his daughter, but the five-year-old either did not hear him or was purposely ignoring him as she swung his handcuffs around the living room.

  “Amberlyn!” he yelled again. He rushed toward the blonde demon and snatched the silver bracelets from her, deliberately turning away from her crushed expression.

  “I want to be a policeman, too!” the child protested and Luke scowled.

  “Not with Daddy’s stuff, you don’t,” he retorted.

  “Luke, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your shit lying around if you don’t want the kids to touch it?” Jessica snapped, moving to embrace her older child. Amberlyn rushed into her mother’s arms, sniffling, and Luke choked back his anger.

  “How many times do I have to tell the kids not to touch my shit?” he shot back. “They should respect boundaries by now, Jess. It’s not my fault they run around like feral cats.”

  “Actually, yes, yes, it is,” his wife snarled. “If you were around more, they would have a better understanding of what was allowed and what isn’t.”

  Luke was not in the mood to engage with Jessica that night, but it was well on its way.

  I should have followed my gut and gone to the Nickle and Deuce Tail instead of coming home to this.

  It was too late for regrets; he was home with his embittered wife and two unruly children, facing World War Six Hundred Twenty-Six in the Rivers’ house.

  Jessica had been a beat cop when they had met and Luke had been sure that theirs would be a marriage that would last forever. She was a passionate, loving wife and incredible police officer. She understood the hours involved with the job and never complained any more than he did when she went off grid.

  Their union had been based on mutual respect and love for each other and when Jessica became pregnant seven years after they wed, they had both been excited about the prospect of becoming parents. Luke doted on Jessica, tending to her cravings and whims, and as her belly grew, so did his feelings for her.

  But it seemed like from the second Amberlyn was born, everything changed.

  Jessica became obsessed with the tiny girl and while Luke adored his bundle of pink joy, he could not help but notice the way the romance wilted in their relationship. Jessica became solely focused on Amberlyn and when it came time to return to work, Jessica flatly refused to leave her newborn daughter.

  At first, Luke agreed, not realizing what Jessica had in mind.

  “Six weeks maternity leave is ridiculous,” he had initially conceded. “You need to bond with the baby longer than that.”

  “Yes,” she had replied. “I am not going back to work until Amberlyn starts school.”

  The news had been unexpected but not as much of a surprise as the arrival of Connor eighteen months later.

  After the second pregnancy, Luke realized that he had been replaced by the children and that Jessica would never again look at him the way she had before they arrived.

  He tried to reason that it was her maternal instinct and that she would eventually return to him, but as the years slipped by, it became clear that Jessica wouldn’t care if he disappeared completely from the picture.

  “I would love to be around more often, sweetheart,” Luke cooed sarcastically as the kids continued to wreak havoc on their home. “Maybe you could get off your ass and get a job, then, you know, to take the pressure off?”

  Jessica’s face turned crimson as he had known it would and he waited for the inevitable shrieking to ensue.

  “I have a job!” she screamed. “I am raising our children while you’re off doing God knows what with God knows who!”

  Amberlyn began to cry and Jessica rocked her soothingly.

  “Shh, shh, baby. Don’t cry. Daddy is just being mean to Mommy.”

  Enraged, Luke slapped his hand against the doorframe.

  “Don’t tell her shit like that! She is going to think I am the bad guy here!”

  “Aren’t you, Luke? You can pretend to be ‘working’ all you want, but I know what you’re doing. You can’t fool me. I was a cop, too, remember?”

  “Christ, I almost forgot. It was so long ago since you brought any money into this house.”

  “Yeah, keep focusing on money, Luke. That’s what’s important here,” she shot back. “While you chase the almighty dollar, your kids are growing up without a father.”

  “I am chasing the almighty mortgage payment, Jess. It’s easy for you to be so holier than thou when you have a roof over your head. Let’s see how you feel living out of a shelter.”

  “Are you threatening me?” she roared and now Connor began to cry from his playpen.

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Luke yelled, spinning to leave the room. “I can’t live like this. How the hell can anyone be expected to live like this?”

  “Then get out!” Jessica screamed. “Who’s stopping you?”

  In his pocket, his cell began to vibrate and he pulled it from his pants.

  It was Maria Margolis.

  “I have to take this,” he muttered, turning for the stairs to get out of the noise.

  “Great, Luke! Make a mess and leave it for me to clean up. Typical!”

  “You’re the one who told me to get out, remember?” he shot back, wondering how the hell it was always turned around on him.

  “I meant get the hell out of the house, not sneak off into the shadows while I clean up after you!”

  He ignored her, storming up the steps for a moment of silence as he answered the call, but the kids could still be heard sobbing in his wake. Stifling a groan, he answered the phone.

  “Hello, doctor,” he said, trying to force a note of normalcy into his tone. He failed, but Margolis sounded too distracted to notice.

  “Detective, I don’t have much time, but I just had another session with Blaise. He left here quite rattled when I touched a nerve about the robbery. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t reach out to his accomplice soon.”

  Luke paused, his mind racing. He had no one watching Blaise; the man was on parole legally. As long as Andrew continued to abide by the terms of his release, there was absolutely no reason for Rivers to tail him.

  In fact, if I get caught, I will be in a world of trouble. It could cost me my badge.

  The week before Blaise’s release, his staff sergeant had sat Luke down and given him the usual spiel of keeping his nose clean and staying the hell away from Blaise.

  “I know it will be tempting, given the history, Luke, but you have to stay away from him,” Palmerston had warned him. “Particularly now that he’s going to be filmed constantly. If you nose around that house and you’re caught—well, I don’t need to tell you what kind of blemish that would be.”

  “Of course I know that,” Luke had scoffed, but his mind had been working overtime ever since. He knew that Blaise needed detail but
there was no way to do it through the force, not without being caught. Luke was left only with the option of doing it himself.

  I can’t even plead ignorance if I get caught, but I have a golden opportunity here. I can’t let it pass me by.

  “Thank you, Doctor,” he told her gratefully. “I appreciate the heads-up.”

  He ended the call and turned, gasping slightly as Jessica stood glaring at him in the doorway of the bedroom.

  “Who was that?” she demanded icily.

  “It was work-related,” he retorted defensively.

  “I’m sure it was,” she barked back, snorting. “From the Happy Garden Massage Parlor?”

  Luke felt the color drain from his face.

  “Oh, what? You don’t think I know about the whore houses and strip joints? You don’t even have the decency to pay cash.”

  “You also don’t pay the credit card bills,” Luke reminded her, struggling to keep the humiliation out of his face.

  “That’s your justification for banging other women? I don’t pay the credit card bills? You are despicable.”

  “I don’t have time for this, Jessica. I have to follow up on a lead.”

  “Bullshit!” she sang after him, but Luke did not acknowledge her, leaving through the front door.

  He would not be back that night.

  ~ ~ ~

  Despite his better judgment, Luke found himself parked outside Con Lair later that evening.

  He had spent several hours driving around before ultimately pulling up in front of the house, weighing his next move.

  I should have asked Maria where the cameras are in the house, he thought, but even as he did, he knew that he was already putting too much pressure on the woman.

  Darkness finally fell over the city and Luke used it to his advantage, sneaking out of the car, even though every fiber of his being was telling him to retreat and move back.

  He had no business being there and if Palmerston caught wind of what he was doing, a suspension would be inevitable, he was sure.

  But despite all that, he continued to steal along the shadows of the house, his eyes honed for signs of trouble.

  There has to be a weak spot, blind spots where the cameras aren’t, he reasoned as he crouched along the white walls and looked up toward the second-floor balcony.

  What am I doing here? he asked himself. If Blaise sees me, the gig will be up. I can’t let him make me, not before he gives me what I want.

  The words did not stop him, and soon, Luke was standing directly underneath the veranda, craning his neck upward to see through the sliding doors.

  If not for the situation, Luke would have figured out a way to put a GPS on the offender and track him that way.

  But that’s not going to be an easy feat, is it?

  As far as he knew, Blaise did not have a vehicle, but there had to be another way to tail him.

  Luke casually leaned against the wall, his eyes trailing along the side of the house for a way to climb up the side, but there was no easy answer and he knew he was too old to be playing Spider-Man.

  Shit, he thought, but that did not deter him. He was a detective, after all.

  Then, the universe smiled down on him and Luke almost gasped for joy when he heard a familiar voice wafting down from the balcony toward him.

  “…I don’t give a shit what Amanda says. There is no way in hell he hasn’t been in contact with her or his kid. Get him to call me, Alex.”

  There was a slight silence and Luke listened, his mind whirling with the name.

  Alex. He’s talking to his brother. Amanda. Who is Amanda now?

  “And I need another favor, Al… it’s a big one… I have a problem and I think you’ll be much better at handling it.”

  Luke felt the hair on his arms begin to rise.

  Is he going to have Alex contact the accomplice? Is that who they’re discussing right now? Or is Alex his accomplice?

  He silenced his own thoughts and honed in on the conversation.

  “I need you to—”

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  The voice came from Luke’s left and the detective turned in panic to stare at the suspicious cameraman whose device was rolling.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said quickly, flashing the man a disarming smile. “I thought my friend lived here but I think he moved. I just have the wrong house.”

  Luke raced around the side of the building before the man wielding the camera could respond and down the front steps toward his truck. He reversed out of the parking lot, but as he looked in the rear-view mirror, he saw Andrew Blaise standing on the second-floor veranda, staring after him, a scowl on his face.

  Luke had no way of knowing if the felon had seen him or not, but he knew his actions were stupid.

  Now he knows that someone is watching him. He is bound to be more careful. I screwed up everything! Goddamn Jessica. If she hadn’t been on my ass, I wouldn’t have been in such a rush to get out of the house and I would have planned it better.

  Such carelessness was uncharacteristic of him, but the emotional toll of Jessica’s incessant nagging was beginning to grind on him.

  I can’t allow my personal life to mess up my professional life. I have to stay away from home until the matter with Blaise is resolved.

  As he sped toward his office, his heart thudding furiously, he wondered if he had inadvertently placed Maria Margolis in danger also.

  Chapter Seven

  A Twist

  He gritted his teeth as he walked toward the nondescript building, his fists clenching and unclenching as he walked.

  Deep breaths, look her in the eye and turn on the charm. She is not looking forward to this any more than you are, I guarantee it.

  He inhaled sharply and threw open the door to Dr. Margolis’ practice, stepping through the threshold and out of the almost suffocating Phoenix heat. The cool blast of air conditioning was welcome, but nothing compared to the chilling greeting he received at the front desk.

  “Sit down,” the receptionist snapped as soon as she laid eyes upon him, and he bit back a caustic reply about hospitality.

  He had a fairly good idea that he had earned the treatment he was receiving from the blonde.

  Not much I can say in my own defence right now, is there?

  Without a word, he sat on a simple wood armchair and glanced at the clock. The secretary seemed to follow his gaze, her brow furrowing for a minute.

  She seemed perplexed but she did not comment as she returned her face toward the computer sitting stationary on her desk.

  He looked about for a magazine to read, but before he could reach across to grab one from the Ikea coffee table, the inner office door opened and a short, stocky man strolled out, his eyes trained on the ground.

  He looks like his soul was crushed. I wonder if he’s looking for his balls on the floor the way he’s studying it.

  The receptionist rose from her chair and entered through the newly opened door.

  “Andrew Blaise is here,” he heard her say, a hardened note in her voice. There was a long pause before Dr. Margolis spoke.

  “Send him in, Callie,” was the response, and instantly, he was warmed by the throaty tone from inside. Gooseflesh prickled his skin and he waited for the woman to return to the front room.

  “Go in,” she snapped without looking at him. Suddenly, her eyes darted up and she peered at him. “Hey,” she called in a loud whisper.

  He turned to look at her curiously.

  “If you threaten her again, I will have the cops in here so fast your head will spin,” she hissed. “I don’t care what Dr. Margolis says and I don’t give a rat’s ass about confidentiality.”

  His jaw dropped slightly and he nodded.

  “O…kay,” he replied, rising from his chair.

  Quickly, to escape Callie’s glare, he scurried further into building. Pausing in the doorway, he stared at the beautiful doctor as she eyed him through her reading glasses perched at the edge of her ski-jum
p nose.

  “Close the door, Andrew,” she told him and he turned to oblige before turning back to stand uncomfortably.

  “Are you going to sit down or stand there the entire session?”

  Her frigid tone unsettled him slightly, but he wasn’t entirely surprised. She stared at him blankly.

  “Well?” she demanded with some impatience. “What are you going to do?”

  “Where would you like me to sit?”

  She blinked her blue-grey eyes as if stunned by the inquiry.

  “Wherever you feel comfortable, Andrew. You seem to like the sofa at the house. Why don’t you try the settee?”

  She nodded toward the sofa.

  He shrugged his broad shoulders and sauntered over to the green sofa, sitting on the edge, folding his hands before him.

  “Thank you for being on time today,” she told him. “You’re actually early.”

  “Do you want me to come back?” he asked quickly. “I can wait until you’re ready.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she removed the glasses from her face, cocking her head to the side.

  “No,” she replied slowly. “It’s fine. I’m just surprised given your track record so far.”

  “Ah. Right.”

  “Is that because we’re meeting at my office and not in the house today?” she asked gently. “I had a feeling that it might be better for morale if we talked off camera and out of the house for once.”

  He didn’t respond but she seemed to take it in a positive way regardless.

  “In any case, I’m glad you’re here. Did you think about what I said last time?”

  “Yes,” he replied hastily. “I thought about it a lot. I think we got off on the wrong foot. I don’t want to cause any more problems. The last thing I want is to go back inside.”

  Dr. Margolis seemed to physically relax before his eyes and he suddenly felt himself breathing easily.

  “That’s good, Andrew. I’m glad to hear it. Our time together will go much more smoothly if you just remember that we’re on the same team. My only goal is to help you reassimilate into society. Twelve years is a long time to be out of the loop.”

  Again, he nodded and shifted his gaze around the office. His eyes brightened as they fell on his diploma.