by Kat Martin
“I’ve been doing some thinking,” she said. “Mark wants me to go along with the theory the police have come up with and maybe he’s right. David’s dead. There’s no need for this to drag out any longer.”
Collin’s interest sharpened. “If you’re serious, I think you’re making a very wise decision. I’m sure Mark will be glad to hear it.”
“There’s only one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I feel like I should be compensated. I’m doing this to help Mark get reelected. I deserve something for my trouble. You’re the finance director. You can make it happen.”
Collin’s features shifted and turned to granite. “You want money?”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It only seems fair.”
“I can talk to Mark, see what he says.”
“Maybe you don’t need to go to that much trouble.” She took a sip of champagne. “I bet you could make the decision yourself.”
Collin glanced off into the distance. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “Maybe we can work something out.”
“All right. If you’re interested, I’ll expect a call no later than noon tomorrow.”
“Fine, I’ll be in touch.” Collin emptied his glass of champagne and blended into the crowd. April made her way back to Jonah. She could feel his eyes on her though he seemed to be conversing with an older couple.
Jonah ended the conversation and broke away. “How did it go?”
“Too easy. Collin seems to think it would be worth paying me off to help Mark get reelected.”
“Interesting. From what the polls are showing, it doesn’t appear the murder of the mayor’s campaign manager for attempted rape has caused him that much political trouble.”
“I don’t think it has. Which is why I can’t believe Collin is actually considering the idea. He’s supposed to let me know tomorrow.”
They moved through the crowd together, April continuing to introduce Jonah, who had a surprising knack for handling people. Not far away, Chase mingled. He was a charming man and women clearly loved him, but no matter where he was, she could always feel him watching her. As if he had eyes in the back of his head.
“Peggy is over there. I’m going to see what she has to say. I won’t be long.”
Jonah nodded. He was drinking a scotch rocks. So far the volume in the glass had barely gone down. He was staying alert just in case.
She made her way up to Peggy Watt. “Got a minute?”
“Sure.” The little blonde glanced around. “Everything seems to be running smoothly.”
“Yes. Mark’s campaign is definitely moving in the right direction—which got me to thinking. Maybe I should go along with the results of the police investigation. It would certainly be a benefit to Mark.”
“Yes, it would.”
“If I do, it seems to me he should compensate me for the trauma I’ve suffered. After all, David was his campaign manager.”
Peggy looked intrigued. “You’re saying money would convince you to let the matter go?”
“That’s right. I’d have to know by noon tomorrow.”
Peggy sipped her drink. “Maybe there’s a way it could work.”
Interesting. April spotted Jonah in the crowd. “I’d better go before my date gets bored.”
Peggy’s pale eyebrows arched up. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. I saw him when you walked in.” She winked. “Yummy.” Peggy took off, and April returned to Jonah.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Why not?”
“Because Collin and Peggy both think blackmailing Mark into paying me is a good idea. I have a hunch if I ask Mark, he won’t hesitate to find the money to keep me quiet, either.”
“What about Brad Schweitzer?”
“He’s over there. Cocktail hour is almost over. I’ll go talk to him.”
She headed in that direction, felt a little better when Brad became indignant at her suggestion.
“I can’t believe you’d be willing to lie about something like that. You don’t even remember what happened. You realize that’s blackmail.”
“I don’t see it that way.”
“If David was murdered, his real killer needs to be brought to justice.”
She gave him a smile. “I think you’re right, Brad.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. Moment of weakness. Have a good night.”
As she headed toward Jonah, Brad’s assessing gaze followed her. She wondered what he was thinking.
“How’d it go?” Jonah asked.
“He wasn’t happy with me. He isn’t sure David drugged me and he wants the real murderer found.”
“So we’re left with Collin and Peggy.”
“I can talk to Mark but I don’t think he’ll balk at whatever figure I come up with.” She sighed. “I can’t believe people can be so low. Don’t they care about getting justice for David?”
“Not enough, apparently. Since they don’t seem to care, maybe you shouldn’t either.”
“Unfortunately, my conscience doesn’t work that way.” She glanced around. They were calling everyone in to dinner.
As she took Jonah’s arm, she couldn’t help noticing the glances he was receiving from the women. She told herself it was a warning she needed to heed. Instead she walked beside him to their table, her heart beating a little faster than it usually did.
As the campaign speeches started, she caught a glimpse of Chase sitting next to a beautiful blonde not far away. Collin sat next to Peggy, and April wondered if they were discussing her proposal.
They were both attractive people. She wondered if they could be having an affair. If they were, they kept it under wraps. She noticed Collin excusing himself and heading out of the ballroom toward the men’s room, but he wasn’t gone long.
The speeches droned on. Or maybe it was just that she had heard them so many times. Her eyelids felt heavy by the time Jonah helped her up from her chair an hour later.
“Thank God it’s over,” she said, stifling a yawn.
“Come on. I’ll tell Chase we’re leaving.”
They were going home. As a condition of setting the trap, Jonah would be going with her.
It occurred to April that the most dangerous thing that was likely to happen to her was Jonah spending the night in her living room.
CHAPTER NINE
JONAH TEXTED CHASE and Reggie, letting them know he and April were on their way out of the ballroom. The limo was waiting when they arrived out front, Reggie holding open the rear door.
“No problems?” the big man asked.
“Not so far.” Jonah settled April inside the plush interior and Reggie slid in behind the wheel. He cranked the engine, put the car in gear and pulled into the street.
He was rolling through an intersection three blocks away when an old black SUV shot out of nowhere, roaring up beside them. Bullets smashed into the passenger window on April’s side of the car. Glass flew and April screamed.
“Get down!” Jonah shoved her down on the floor, jerked out his weapon and started firing out through the broken window. “Hang on!” he shouted as Reggie punched down on the gas and raced ahead of the SUV, jerking the vehicle from side to side to throw off the shooter’s aim.
Two more bullets smashed through the rear window, shards of glass flying. Jonah returned fire, shooting out the front windshield of the black SUV bearing down on them.
April made a sound in her throat, but she was smart enough to stay out of the line of fire. Halfway down the block, Reggie cranked the wheel, sending the limo into a sidespin. He straightened the wheel, steering out of the slide, and the car barreled into an alley.
The black SUV made the turn, but lost precious time. The limo rolled through the alley like a cannonball and
out the other side, took a sharp turn and shot down the street.
A silver Mercedes 550S coupe raced up beside them, Chase behind the wheel. He cut in behind the limo, putting the Mercedes in front of the SUV. Chase leaned out and fired off a couple of rounds, shooting out one of the SUV’s tires.
The pursuing car hit the brakes, swerved then hit the gas, racing forward once more, but the vehicle was losing ground. Reggie drove through a parking garage and came out the entrance on the opposite side.
Jonah lost sight of Chase and the black SUV, but Reggie kept making defensive moves, blowing through a red light, then a yellow, making one turn after another. Finally, the SUV was gone.
April eased back up into the seat. She was trembling. Jonah ignored the urge to pull her against him, let her know she was safe.
“What...what about Chase?” she asked. “Do you think he’s all right?”
Jonah holstered his Glock. “He only has himself to worry about. He’ll be fine.” Proof of that came in a text message a few seconds later.
OK here. Bad guys got away.
Jonah texted back. Going off the grid. Talk tomorrow.
10-4
What he had in mind was safer than returning to April’s apartment where would-be assassins might be waiting.
“You need to take the battery out of your phone. We don’t know what level of sophistication we’re dealing with. We don’t want them tracking you.”
She pulled her phone out of her purse with a shaky hand and took out the battery. Jonah did the same.
He spoke to Reggie. “Head for my house.” He rattled off the address. “I need to get my car.”
“On my way.”
April leaned back against the seat. In the soft interior lighting inside the limo, her face looked pale. “Well... I guess you could say our trap worked,” she said.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” But the last thing he wanted was for April to be in more danger.
“At least we know how far whoever is involved is willing to go to keep their secret.”
Jonah sliced her a glance. “That’s right. They’ve stopped playing games. You threatened them. You know the whole rape/self-defense story was a ruse and that makes you dangerous. They figure they’re better off taking you out and dealing with the consequences later.”
“There were two people in the SUV. Who were they? Where do you find someone you can hire to kill someone?”
“These guys aren’t pros. If they were, you’d be dead. They’re scumbags willing to do just about anything for money. They’re not that hard to find if you know where to look.”
Her eyes found his, big and blue and worried. “What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to figure a way to keep you alive while we find out exactly why David Dean was killed, exactly who was behind the murder, and get the evidence we need to prove it.”
* * *
JONAH LIVED IN a decent apartment on Belmont Street. As a PI, he made good money, but living alone, he didn’t need fancy.
He checked the area to make sure the place wasn’t being watched, then went inside to strip off his tux and grab his go bag while April waited in the limo with Reggie.
Just to be safe, he checked the Land Rover for any sort of explosives, retrieved it from the single-car garage that came with the apartment, drove around and pulled up next to the limo.
“Thanks for the help,” he said to Reggie as he assisted April into the Rover. “You really came through out there.”
“Not a problem. You got my number. Let me know if you need me.”
“Will do.” Jonah surveyed the area again, saw no sign of anyone, but still took precautions to make sure he wasn’t being tailed.
“I have to go by my house,” April said as he drove out of the neighborhood. “I need something to wear besides a long formal gown.”
“Not a good idea. There’s a Walmart near where we’re headed. I’ll get you something there.”
“Where are we going?”
“I keep a safe house, share it with a couple of guys from my office. One of us runs into trouble, he’s got a safe place to go.”
He made his way up onto I-30 and headed east out of town. In Rockwall, he pulled into a Super Walmart, found a space in the lot and turned off the engine.
Since the gun he’d loaned April was still at her house, he raised his pant leg, pulled his ankle gun—a lightweight .38 snub-nose revolver—and handed it over. “I’ll be right back.”
“You think I’ll need this?”
“No. Nobody followed us.” His mouth edged up. “The gun’s just to make you feel better.”
April relaxed, smiled slightly. She rattled off her clothes sizes but he didn’t really need them for the generic jeans and T-shirts he meant to buy her. Her shoe size would be a help.
He took off at a lope across the parking lot, dashed through the women’s department, grabbed what he needed, found her a pair of sneakers, and returned to the car with an armload of merchandise. He handed April the bag as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“I’d rather you kept this.” She handed him back the pistol, which he returned to his ankle holster.
He didn’t have to be a shrink to know what was going on. April hadn’t killed Dean, but she felt responsible. Finding yourself in bed with a dead guy had a way of messing with your head.
“Jeans and T-shirts,” he said as she started prowling through the plastic bag. He drove back onto the highway. “There’s also a pair of sneakers.”
April began pulling clothes out of the bag. She cast him a sideways glance. “How much of a gentleman are you?”
Just thinking about the sexy redhead stripping off her clothes sent a shot of lust straight through him.
His gaze slid to hers. “Depends on my motivation. I’d prefer you in nothing at all, but I’m trying to keep you alive. Which means I can’t afford to drive distracted, and you, lady, are a major distraction.”
Her cheeks warmed and a soft sound slipped from her throat. She turned away and he heard her zipper buzzing down. She peeled out of the evening dress and slipped the yellow T-shirt on over her head.
Jonah caught a glimpse of smooth bare skin and realized how little she must have had on under the gown. No bra for sure. Probably just a pair of thong panties.
His mouth went dry. “We can go back to the store tomorrow if you need something else.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Fine she most definitely was.
He drove another three miles, heading into a rural area, pulling down a single-lane road, then a long dirt driveway, up to a small, white wood-framed farmhouse.
“Home sweet home.” Shoving the car into Park, he turned off the engine. “Let me check the place out before we go in. I’ll be right back.”
He exited the Rover, pulled his Glock, climbed the front steps to a screened-in porch and went inside. When he came back out, April joined him at the bottom of the stairs and they went into the house.
The place was simple but clean, a bedroom and bath, a living room furnished with a basic brown tweed sofa and chair, and an eat-in kitchen. There was a fireplace with an insert for heat but he’d never used it. He hadn’t been there in the winter and this time of year it was way too hot.
He turned on the air-conditioning, the single modern convenience, and cold air began to circulate through the rooms.
“You must be exhausted,” he said. “There’s a queen-size bed in the bedroom. I’ll sleep out here on the sofa.”
She looked at him with those big blue eyes and his blood heated. April walked over to where he stood, leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “Thank you for being there tonight.”
“Just doing my—”
She pressed a finger over his mouth to stop the words. “Don’t say it. Let me believe it was more than that.
” She started to walk away, but Jonah caught her arm.
“It is more than that, April.” Then he broke his cardinal rule—never get involved with a client—hauled her into his arms, slid his hands into her heavy red hair and very thoroughly kissed her.
It’s only a kiss, April told herself. They both knew it couldn’t go any further. She was a client. He was her hired detective. Men were out to kill her and Jonah was there to find and stop them.
But as his mouth moved hotly over hers, as she felt the rush of heat and the streak of longing, she opened to him, inviting him in. Hard bands of muscle pressed into her unfettered breasts and hot need burned through her. Liquid heat slid into the place between her legs and her nipples peaked beneath the T-shirt.
Jonah’s big hands cupped the back of her head, holding her in place as he ravaged her mouth, and she molded her body full-length against his. She could feel his erection, thick and hard, feel his hunger.
“We can’t do this,” he whispered between scorching kisses, but he didn’t stop, just kept kissing her, first one way and then another.
“We’re safe here,” she pointed out. “No one knows about this place.”
Jonah kissed the side of her neck. “No,” he softly conceded. “No one knows.” For a moment she was sure he would stop. Instead, he pulled the T-shirt off over her head and his dark gaze roamed over her, the hunger in his eyes making her tremble.
“Beautiful,” he said, cupping a plump breast, scraping his fingertip across her stiff nipple. Lowering his head, he took the fullness into his mouth and her knees went weak.
“Jonah...”
Hot, wet kisses trailed over her throat and shoulders. “I want you so damn much.” He took her mouth again, tasting and sampling, his tongue sliding over hers, making her burn.
“Tell me to stop,” he said. “Remind me who you are and why this can’t happen.”
She slid her fingers into the silky black hair curling at the nape of his neck and leaned into him. “I don’t want you to stop. We don’t know what might happen tomorrow. We both want this. We deserve tonight.”
