Courting Gossip

by Kimberly Dean

  The line went dead without so much as a goodbye, but for some reason Genieve’s breaths came a bit easier. Her stomach was still knotted, and she knew this was going to be a really bad night. Brody was stoic and cold as Siberia, but he was solid. She just had to hold on until he could get here.

  Yet, before she could even make a call to Luxxor, someone was knocking on the bathroom door.

  ‘Ma’am, this is hotel security. All you all right? Can you come out of the bathroom?’

  After what she’d just promised the ice man? ‘No.’

  ‘We need to talk to you so we can figure this whole thing out.’

  ‘So talk.’ She held fast, refusing to budge.

  Things only went from bad to worse when Metro PD arrived on the scene. That was when she started considering the smoke detector on the ceiling as a viable distraction. If she set it off, could she slip out of the hotel with the rest of the crowd without anyone noticing?

  Her toes curled into the bath rug. Despite what the reporters kept saying, she wasn’t a whore. She was an escort, albeit one with an exclusive client…who paid her for sex…She doubted the police would care to split hairs, but she’d never been picked up before. She’d never even come close. She couldn’t be arrested for prostitution. She couldn’t bring down Luxxor. She was with a US senator!

  ‘Ma’am, you need to come out of the bathroom.’

  There was the sound of a key in the lock. She stepped back and bumped up against the shower as a policeman stepped inside. He was a young cop, handsome and wary. His jaw dropped a notch when he saw her. She rubbed her bare feet together. Sometimes the attention she got for her looks was fun, but other times it was a problem.

  ‘Ma’am, are you OK? Are you hurt?’

  ‘I’m scared.’ It was the truth. She was scared to death that the truth would come out.

  His demeanour changed on a dime. ‘Everything’s OK. You’re safe now.’

  He held out his hand. ‘Could you join us?’

  She pulled the belt of her robe tighter around her waist. ‘Are they gone? Did you take their camera?’

  ‘They’re in the other room. I promise you, you won’t have to deal with them.’

  Genieve thought fast. It wouldn’t be good to get on the police’s wrong side. Brody had told her not to leave the bathroom, but she was left to her own devices now. She needed to play this right. Tilting her head, she gave the young officer a helpless, fearful look. ‘Thank you for coming to our rescue.’

  Our rescue. Hers and Samuel’s. They were together, a couple. At least on paper…

  Reluctantly, she stepped into the bathroom doorway. There were still loud voices and way too many people in the room where, only a few moments ago, she and the senator had been getting down to an entirely different kind of busy. She pushed a shaky hand through her hair. When she saw another cop’s head snap around, she took her time combing her fingers through the strands.

  Instinctively, she fell back on the training that Luxxor had given her. Say as little as possible, stay out of the limelight and wait for the company lawyer to show up. She didn’t need to tell the police her name, but she wasn’t to fight their requests.

  ‘Genieve, darling. Are you OK?’

  She fought not to roll her eyes. So much for not identifying herself. She took one look at Samuel and knew she had to go into protective mode for him, too. Brody wouldn’t want shots getting out of the senator wearing nothing but a bed sheet. She grabbed another robe off the shelf and handed it to him. ‘I called your lawyer,’ she said, looking at him steadily. ‘He should be here soon.’

  ‘My law— Oh, yes. Good. He’s needed.’

  Samuel knotted the belt of the robe around his waist. His cheeks were flushed and his famous, perfect silver hair was mussed. It was hard to tell if that had come from her hands or the altercation.

  Genieve’s cheeks warmed. There wasn’t much about sex that made her shy any more, but the situation here was downright mortifying. The bed where they’d lain was rumpled, clothes were strewn about the room and, worst of all, she still felt that ache of need deep down in her core.

  She’d been close. With the fantasy she’d had going, really close.

  Her skin crawled when she caught a glance of the two men who’d broken in through the open door to the front room, and she hurriedly stepped out of their line of sight. She had to keep as little attention on herself as she could, although that was easier said than done. She tiptoed her way through the mess of clothes and bedding and settled onto a hard stuffed chair in the corner of the room. The large robe gaped open when she crossed her legs, but she let it. She needed to have everyone on her side right now, however she could get them.

  ‘Are you OK, ma’am? Can I get you anything?’ the officer asked.

  A magic carpet ride out of here?

  ‘Could you bring me a glass of water?’ she asked, her voice throaty.

  She ended up with three of them. Every cop and hotel associate in earshot moved to get her a cup. She smiled gratefully as she evaluated the scene. The young cop seemed to be the one trying to wrangle everything. He had a notepad out and was writing everything down.

  ‘Ma’am, I’m Officer Simons. Would you mind answering a few questions?’

  ‘She’s not a ma’am, she’s a call girl,’ someone in the next room called.

  Genieve winced.

  ‘What are they still doing here?’ Samuel bellowed. ‘Why haven’t those two been arrested yet? Do you know who I am?’

  Genieve rubbed her temple. Where was Brody?

  ‘They just barged in,’ she told the policeman. ‘I was so scared. I thought they were going to hurt us. I started screaming. Thank goodness someone heard.’

  She let tears well up in her eyes and let out a sniffle. She whipped a Kleenex out of the box on the table beside her and blotted her cheeks. ‘I really…Can we talk about this later?’

  Simons patted the air. ‘Of course, ma’am. If you could just sit right there, I’ll get this sorted out as quickly as possible.’

  The cop headed back into the front room. The wait was excruciating, but Genieve tried to contain her nerves. The senator wasn’t having much luck with his. He was in a huff. The police and hotel staff were trying to calm him down, but nothing worked until a change suddenly swept through the air. The cops in the room stood up straighter, and the hotel manager started wringing his hands.

  ‘Hey, you. Are you in charge here?’ she heard someone ask in the front room of the suite.

  She sat a bit straighter in her chair. Brody?

  Her heart started beating faster. She was actually glad to see him. He was grumpy and bossy, but he’d know better how to handle this mess.

  But would he protect her? Or let her take the fall?

  Her fingers wrapped tightly around the arms of the uncomfortable chair as the noise out in the front room increased. She heard the reporters – she didn’t think she’d ever forget their voices – but then she heard sighs and moans that made her blush.

  ‘I want that video burned,’ Samuel yelled. ‘They broke in here. That’s private.’

  Genieve felt ill, but then someone was in the doorway. Her anticipation rose, but then recognition hit and her stomach dropped to somewhere down near her feet. The tall, well-built man who’d entered the room wasn’t Brody Haynes.

  It was Detective Morgan, Nina’s detective.

  Genieve tried to make herself disappear, but the detective’s gaze locked onto her. She was the centre of attention in the room, red hair or not. He recognised her, too, and the gears in his head started turning. He was a handsome devil, and sharp. The man had been poking around Luxxor for months. He had a serious thing for her boss, and he was more than a little curious about what her company did. Genieve watched him, frozen and unable to stop him as he connected the dots.

  Oh, God. Even if she made it out of this room without being arrested, Nina was going to kill her.

  Fight-or-flight kicked in, and Genieve judged the dista
nce to the door. Yet movement in the doorway pushed her right back into her chair. Another man had arrived at the worst possible moment. Her heart that was already beating too fast kicked into overdrive. It was the no-nonsense fixer – and also the sexy man from her fantasies.

  Brody was finally here.

  * * *

  Brody’s blood was pumping and his jaw was set when he arrived at the Emissary Hotel. He’d nearly flown through DC’s empty late-night streets and the tyres of his car had left skidmarks in the parking spot he’d found outside on the curb. He’d known this arrangement would cause problems. He’d tried to stop the senator’s ‘relationship’, but Gunderson was infatuated with the shapely redhead he paid to keep in his bed.

  Genieve Hart played with a lot of men’s heads, but Gunderson was an elected public official. He should have better self-control, no matter how mesmerising the woman was.

  Brody’s focus was laser-like as he strode through the lobby to the elevators, but he picked up on everything going on around him. Word was already getting around to the hotel staff. He heard the cleaning crew whispering at the bell stand as a maid stood with her vacuum turned off. Two squad cars were parked outside and a harried hotel security man was punching at the keyboard of a computer at the check-in desk. The only good thing so far was that the network news teams hadn’t picked up the scent yet.

  Only one rogue crew had crashed into the senator’s private party. TMI was an internet news site, from what he’d been able to pull up on the WiFi connection in his car. He’d never heard of them, but, if this story got out, they were going to go viral.

  At the thought, his vision went a little red. It was never good when he got a call in the middle of the night, but this one was a special kind of hell. The so-called reporters’ careers would be the first casualty of this burgeoning scandal, he’d make sure of that. From what Genieve had told him, they’d crossed every line there was for the press. They’d broken into a private hotel room. They’d invaded a couple’s privacy, and they’d taped…they’d taped something he didn’t even want to think about.

  He blew out a breath as he stepped into the elevator and jabbed the button for the seventh floor. She’d better still be locked safe, sound and hidden away in that bathroom.

  A muscle in his jaw popped.

  The elevator was slow, but it gave him time to rein himself in. By the time the door opened on the seventh floor, he was ready for whatever he had to face. He evaluated the situation as he strode down the hallway. He ticked off the security cameras, the number of cops on the scene and the number of doors that were opened for people to look out and gawk. The scene wasn’t good. It was way too loud for the middle of the night and only drawing more attention. The crowd gathered near Room 740 was too big, and he’d already heard the term ‘Senator’ being thrown around.

  Damn it. Either somebody had recognised Gunderson or he’d volunteered his identity. Did the man ever listen to a word he said? How many times had he extricated him from uncomfortable situations like this? Brody scowled. His hourly rate was about to go up, that was for sure.

  A cop stopped him when he tried to pass. ‘Sir, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you by right now.’

  ‘My client called me. I’m here to represent him.’

  The statement had shades of the truth. He had a law degree, and he was licensed to practice in DC. He just put his legal mind to use in different ways. Trials and lawsuits weren’t his thing. His specialty was more in the area of…advice.

  And Senator Gunderson hadn’t followed it.

  With a nod, the cop let him pass. Brody continued on his way, but his steps slowed. His gut inclination was to get in there as fast as he could, but he heard voices. He stopped to listen. In his game, information was ammunition, and right now he was nearly out.

  When a cop in the hallway gave him the stink eye, he pulled out his phone to call for a car for the senator, but his ear was on the conversation inside the hotel room. He needed to find out what had led to this. How had the reporters known that the senator would be here? Who had told them about his…special friend? Had the video already gotten out?

  His teeth ground at the thought. Just how much work was it going to take to clean up this mess? Was there still time to get out in front of it?

  As he was eavesdropping, a new alertness ran through the cops on duty. With his ear to his phone, Brody watched as a new cop arrived on the scene. Definitely higher level. Detective, maybe? He looked grizzled, tired and capable in the hardcore, old-school way.

  Shit. If there’d been any chance of him slipping his client out quickly and quietly, it was gone now. The guy in charge had just showed up.

  It was like throwing a light switch. The noise dissipated, people became more vigilant and the chaotic situation suddenly felt like it was under control. He heard the name Morgan, and it rang a bell. The guy had been on the Jason Sloan assault case, where, once again, a reporter had gone beyond the line. From what Brody had heard, Morgan was tough as nails and a rock-solid cop.

  In this situation, he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

  He looked into the room, trying to see Genieve or Samuel, but neither were in view. Staying on the periphery, he listened as the detective began to grill the reporters with the same questions that were pinging around inside his own head.

  He liked the way the conversation was going until he was hit with a sucker punch.

  In an effort to prove their motive, the reporters offered up their camera. Before Brody could react, the detective started playing back what they’d taped – and it wasn’t PG-rated. Silky feminine sex sounds filled the air, along with male grunts of ‘Darling’. Brody’s belly cinched up tight, and his air left his lungs with a whoosh. There on the tiny screen over the detective’s shoulder, he saw the flash of red hair against a white pillow and the silver-haired rider on top of her.

  The headache that came on was full-blown. A GoPro. Team TMI’s video equipment was a GoPro, but it had done the trick.

  ‘Bag that,’ the detective told one of the uniformed cops.

  ‘Yeah.’ The reporters grinned at each other. ‘All right.’

  ‘You can’t use that,’ Brody said, his voice like ice. ‘It was obtained illegally. My client will fight it.’

  He watched the camera as the policeman handled it as evidence, and his fingers itched. He needed to get his hands on that thing. He needed to erase what he’d seen and then smash the memory card into little pieces.

  The big detective turned and lifted an eyebrow. ‘And – as I was about to say – arrest them.’

  The two millennials squeaked in protest. The geniuses hadn’t realised the detective had wound all the way back to the beginning of the tape to see them break into the room. They looked bewildered as they were read their rights. One even started crying when cuffs were slapped on his wrists.

  The reporter in the hoodie talked right over the cop who was Mirandising him. ‘You can’t stop the flow of information, man. This guy is running to represent the American people. They have a right to know that he’s not only screwing the system but whores too.’

  Brody heard a gasp from the next room. Soft. Feminine. Jenny.

  Grit rumbled in his throat, and he stepped forward. ‘Watch it.’

  The detective stopped him with a bar arm and his eyes narrowed. Brody met the icy look with one of his own. He knew he’d just made a mistake. He’d stepped out of the background and had brought attention to himself, but right now he didn’t care. Samuel and Genieve were victims here. Their…arrangement…was immaterial.

  For this case, anyway.

  ‘Were you involved here?’ the detective asked. ‘Why are you in my crime scene?’

  Brody smoothed his tie and straightened his jacket. ‘I was called here by my client in the next room.’

  The detective’s lip twisted in distaste at a lawyer on the scene. ‘Then let me do my work and don’t interfere with police actions.’

  Taking a step back, Brody fold
ed his arms over his chest. Patience wasn’t one of his virtues. He liked to work fast and quiet, but neither of those was an option now.

  The detective went at the reporters again, drilling them with more questions that they answered, forgetting entirely about their right to be silent. Brody soaked up the answers like a sponge, but one in particular rang in his head.

  They’d gotten an anonymous tip.

  Luxxor had done a good job establishing the senator and Genieve as a couple, but somebody knew what her true line of work was. His fingers dug into his arms. That was a problem – one he needed to fix.

  At last, the detective had the reporters taken away, and he moved on to the bedroom. Brody followed, steeling himself.

  He kept his gaze determinedly off the bed. Covers were on the floor, and a shoe had made it as far as the door. Samuel stood in the middle of the room wearing one of the Emissary’s complimentary bathrobes. At least he wasn’t wearing a bed sheet. The senator was talking more than he should, and Brody’s teeth ground. The man was his client. He should jump in to shut down the conversation, but instead his gaze went to the bathroom door.

  It stood wide open.

  His blood began to hum. His gaze swept the space, skimming over the bed before locking with wide emerald-green eyes. Jenny was sitting in a chair wrapped in a robe identical to the senator’s. Brody hated it on sight, but at least it covered her.

  If you could call it that.

  The terrycloth was too big for her, but, instead of swarming her, it gaped open to show cleavage that nearly gave him an aneurysm. Her bright hair was sexily mussed, and the split in the robe showed a mile-long length of leg. He followed the line of smooth skin all the way down to her painted toenails.

  The electricity in the air snapped.

  She shifted on the chair and pulled the robe together, but it was too late. She curled her toes into the carpet, but the splash of red was still enough. Out in the open like this, there wasn’t a red-blooded man who would forget her.

  She hadn’t listened to his advice either.

  Chapter Two