by Eva Luxe
She set the piece of cake down in front of me, and it looked like ass. I was sure there was some tofu bullshit or whatever binding all this together, but it smelled good enough to try. I took a big forkful and shoved it into my face.
The taste hit my tongue, luscious sweetness and a crunch from the toasted coconut in the cake topping. The cake itself was spongy, but not too soggy.
It was heaven on a fork, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.
“You like?”
“Ugh. It’s better than sex, Kami.”
“Then you’re not having good enough sex,” she said, giggling.
“Okay, so. This case I’m working. I went to meet the client Monday morning, and he handed me a file of shit he’d already researched.”
“So, he did your job for you,” she said.
“I mean, I double and triple-checked everything, but it looks like this guy’s assumptions were right. There’s this young man he thinks is stealing from his company.”
Kami wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Oh, shit. Stealing? I’m sorry, but that’s the worst kind of low.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “I’ve come to you with cheaters, abusers, and manipulators, but theft is what gets you?”
“Look, it took a lot for me to start this business. I went into a considerable amount of debt, not knowing if I’d ever make it out alive. I work sixteen-hour days some days just to make sure I turn a profit, and there have been months where those sixteen-hour days have been my saving grace with rent.”
She paused, shaking her head, before continuing.
“If I even thought someone was stealing from me, it would be game over. This is my life. My livelihood. I can bounce back from a jackass who thinks he can have his cake and eat it, too. I can’t bounce back from someone trying to take the shit that he tried to make his cake with.”
“I think I get it… sort of,” I said. “Anyway. I checked I.P. addresses and run down bank accounts. I pulled up personal information on this guy and tried to figure out a motive. I’m still trying to get some documents unsealed, but for the most part, the guy my client pinned down seems to be it.”
“So, what do you do now?” Kami asked.
“Well, I contacted my client this morning and told him the news. He seemed pleased with himself, which isn’t shocking if I could tell you who the client was. Anyway, now I have to go do surveillance on the guy.”
She nodded. “Ah, to see if you can catch him in the act.”
“More to put some pieces together. I have a lot of questions I need answered before I try to catch him doing anything. For one, this guy’s only stealing, like, a few hundred dollars at a time. It’s not like he’s siphoning off tens of thousands of dollars in one go. Another thing I don’t understand: if the client knows this is happening, why in the world is he keeping the bank account open?”
Kami shook her head, not getting it, either.
“He’s a powerful person in business,” I continued. “He’s got the tech guys to lock this guy out or to get his money back in a shady way. Or even switch the funds altogether so when the guy tries again, he’s drawing off an empty account. And what the hell is their connection? If someone’s trying to steal from you like this over and over again, it’s personal. There’s a great deal that doesn’t add up.”
“What does your gut say?” Kami asked.
“It’s telling me something’s not right with the information I’m finding. I mean, come on. A few hundred dollars at a time? This client of mine had the paperwork right there in the file folder. I get that my client runs a massive business, but when I was interviewing people that oversaw and monitored these financial accounts, they didn’t seem worried.”
“At all?” she asked.
“Not one damn bit. And the people who work for this guy act really weird. I don’t know. There’s just something off about this entire thing. That’s part of the reason why I want to do surveillance. That was the part my client was really keen on.”
“So, you’re going to play into his hand?”
“Exactly. I’ve got just enough circumstantial evidence to warrant staking out this guy, so why not? It’s obvious the client wanted that outcome, so why not give it to him and flush out the reason why later on?”
“Girl, you’re good. If you actually had a passion for this, I’d tell you to open your own damn agency. Okay, so where’s this guy located?”
“That’s the thing,” I said. “He’s in Oregon.”
“Oregon? Some random dude in Oregon is stealing from a business here?”
“Brookings, Oregon to be exact,” I said.
“Where the hell’s that?”
“About nine hours south of here. It’s a town that borders the Oregon-Washington state line.”
“Well, while you’re there, maybe you could enjoy some of your time there and paint or something.”
“Seriously, Kami. We’re doing this now?”
“Or at least, spend some time in the outdoors! Come on. You never get out. You’re either at your apartment, poking around, or in your office, poking around.”
“That’s not true,” I said, grinning. “I poke around here, too.”
“Just use the time wisely. Do your work, but enjoy yourself, too. Your work never takes you anywhere. Enjoy wherever the fuck Brocklings is.”
“Brookings.”
“Whatever,” she said. “So, when do you leave, and how long will you be gone?”
“I’m actually leaving this afternoon. It’s why I came in today. I’ll be gone however long it takes to figure out what the hell’s going on because I feel like I’m being duped. And you know how I feel about that.”
She nodded. “I mean, you said you had proof. Addresses or something?”
“Yeah. The I.P. addresses take me through a pretty plain trail, but it’s easy to duplicate those. With the tech guys this man has on staff, they could easily tailor-make the trail I found.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re working for the client anymore,” she said, grinning. “This guy’s cute, isn’t he?”
“No, but even just looking at his picture tells me something isn’t right. There’s something so familiar about him, and I can’t place it. There’s something I’m missing, and I’m pissed that I can’t see it.”
“Well, take care of yourself. Let me know when you get to Brookbeds, okay? And fill me in on any juicy gossip as you get it.”
“It’s Brookings, and I will,” I said as I turned to leave.
“Oh, and paint me something!”
“How about the crack of my ass?!”
“Love you, too, Paige.”
I got out to my car and revved up the engine. I reached for the manila envelope and pulled out the contents. This whole thing just felt too easy. Mr. Kent had connected all the dots for me and handed the case over to me, all wrapped up in a pretty bow. And the end of our conversation didn’t have anything to do with getting his money back. It had to do with surveillance. I’d been working as a private investigator long enough to know that people close our discussions with what was most meaningful to them.
For Mr. Kent, the money was somewhere in the middle of the conversation, but this surveillance was what he ended with. Watching this suspect was Mr. Kent’s ultimate reason for hiring me.
I was missing something, and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to find it digging into whoever the fuck Zachary Harte was.
A hard knock on my window startled me from my thoughts, and I jumped so violently that papers went flying all over the dashboard of my car.
I rolled down the window. “Holy fuck! Kami! You scared the piss out of me.”
She shoved a bakery box in my hands. “Some of my freshly baked cinnamon rolls for the road. Call me when you get there.”
“Thank you so much. I love these things.”
“I know you do. Are you always such a slob? Your car’s a fucking mess.”
“I hate you.”
“Love you, too,” she said, w
inking.
I gathered up the papers and stuffed them back into the envelope before I buckled my seatbelt. I drove myself out to the highway and set my cruise control so I could think. If this man was stealing from Mr. Kent, then I needed to make sure he couldn’t steal from that man anymore. Kami was right. People who felt that someone else’s hard-earned money was theirs for the taking were some of the worst kinds of people. Maybe not the worst, but they were up there on the worst scale.
But was that happening in this case? If my gut was right, then I needed to do some background research into Mr. Kent as well.
And that meant I’d have to research him without throwing up any red flags. Mr. Kent struck me as the kind of man who kept tabs on that kind of thing, and the last thing I needed was for him to come down onto my boss’s head for my actions.
After all, I still needed this job to pay my bills, no matter how good I’d become at it.
Chapter 9- Zach
Caden clapped me on the back. “All right, man. You owe me a beer.”
“I don’t owe you shit, Caden.”
“Come on,” he said. “You’ve blown me off for days.”
“Because I don’t feel like drinking.”
“Who the hell doesn’t feel like drinking? That’s shit talk, dude. Come on. Just one beer at the bar. Maybe that redheaded teacher’s looking for you.”
I frowned. “I hope not. Besides, it would be the pizza delivery girl chasing after me now.”
His mouth fell open. “What? The pizza girl? You got laid and didn’t tell me?”
“Yeah, I do it all the time. What the hell are you, a high school girl?”
“They had the best fun in high school. Gossiping and poking fun at their own friends. Guys never do that stuff. Anyway, what was she like? Tall? Thin? Massive tits and red lipstick?”
“I don’t fuck the kind of girls you like,” I said.
“You should. They rock in bed.”
“I’d rather be the one doing that,” I said.
“I’m more the type to allow her to explore.”
“You’re a fucking pillow princess.”
“And I work hard!” he said. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
Chuckling, I made my way to my car. Today was batshit crazy at work, and I was ready to get home. I had a marinating steak calling my name, but I had to pick up a few things to go with it. Some more beer to keep in the fridge, a vegetable I could steam up, and maybe some mashed potatoes to go along with it.
I was fucking starving, and I knew I’d come out of the grocery store with more than I needed, but I wasn’t just going to down an entire steak without other shit to eat with it.
“Just come out for one beer,” Caden said. “It’ll be fun.”
“I know you think that,” I said, grinning.
“Fine. I’ll let you off the hook this time. But now, you won’t get to hear my new business proposal. It’s a serious doozy, with lots of cash to be made.”
“I’ll regret it in the morning, I’m sure.”
I slipped into my car, which Caden had taken me to get during a work break, and watched as Caden’s body receded in my rearview mirror. Not long after, I pulled into the grocery store with my stomach growling. I got out and went to grab a small cart, then I made my way around the store. I walked up and down the aisles, trying to think about shit I could cook easily in bulk, then reheat for the next few days.
That was when I saw her.
This beautiful woman came around the corner and caught my stare. She had dark green eyes that reminded me of a stormy night and long blonde hair that draped over her prominent tits. Her waist dipped in sensually before it flared out to a pair of hips, and my hands were already pulsing to trace over her curves. She was short, with toned legs I could see underneath the skinny jeans she was wearing.
And the best part was that she was looking right at me.
She was gorgeous. More beautiful than any woman I’d ever seen in my life. Her curves could knock any man to the ground, and her plump little lips just begged for my cock.
All of a sudden, it was like I forgot the girl from the restaurant, or any other chick that was on my “to fuck” list. My mind was completely stolen by this stranger.
We stood there in the aisle, facing one another as she pushed her cart. Neither of us made a move toward the other, and I could see her eyes roaming over my body. They raked down my form before her eyes danced along the tattoos on my arm. I smirked as I watched her cheeks flush.
Oh, she was going to be mine tonight.
But before I could approach her, she turned away and quickly disappeared around the corner of the aisle. I strode after her to see if I could get her name. I turned the corner and looked down the aisles, trying to find that flutter of beautiful blonde hair I wanted to wrap around my knuckles and tug.
However, she was nowhere to be found.
Disappointed, I finished up my grocery shopping. I picked up a few snacks I’d regret later, then took my haul up to the register. I looked around, my head on a swivel as I tried to find her. The harder I looked, the more it seemed she had just disappeared.
The disappointment sat hard in my stomach.
The woman at the register was ringing up my things as a conversation took place behind me.
“That’ll be fifty-two dollars even, please,” a cashier said.
A sweet little voice rang out behind me. One that prickled the skin on my arms. “Oh, shit. I can’t believe it. Is there any way you could hold this?”
I wanted to turn around and see who the voice belonged to. I wanted to look at the face of the voice that seemed to startle my body awake. So, I did.
It was none other than the sexy blonde with those deep peridot eyes.
The cashier in front of her didn’t seem as enchanted with her as I was. “I’ve gotta ring up these other customers, ma’am. I’ll have to back you out, and you’ll have to get in the back of the line.”
“My purse is just in my car,” the sexy blonde said. “It’ll only take a second.”
“Ma’am, it won’t take long to get back through the line,” the cashier said.
The lines were piling up because the after-work crowd was showing up, and I knew the cashier was lying through her teeth.
“Here,” I said. “Take my card.”
Those deep green eyes whipped over to me, and I could see the shock rolling behind them.
“That’s not necessary. It’s fine.”
“I insist. It’ll get you on your way.” I held out my card for the cashier to take, and she swiped it before the beautiful woman could protest further. The blonde looked at me warily, like there was something she feared. Only fear wasn’t what was floating around in those beautiful green eyes of hers.
It was suspicion.
I could see her eyes scanning me as the cashier ran my card. While that was happening, I handed my credit card to my cashier to pay for my things, hoping I could walk this beautiful woman out to her car. My cashier grinned at me before she handed me my card back. Then I turned around to take my other one as the blonde started loading her groceries into her cart.
“Let me help,” I said.
“I’ve got it.”
“It’ll help things along faster,” I said.
“I’m almost done. It’s fine. And thank you, for the groceries.”
“It’s nothing. It wasn’t much.”
It was like she was eager to get away from me. Like I was making her uncomfortable, even though I could see her scanning my body. She flashed me a taut smile before she pushed her cart quickly toward the exit, her short legs carrying her as fast as she could go. It had been a long time since a woman was that eager to get away from me.
I watched as she made it to her car. She popped her trunk open and threw her groceries in there, her eyes looking over her shoulder every time she turned to grab more. She almost acted as if someone was after her, and my automatic reaction was to protect her and escort her wherever she needed to go.
/> She pulled her purse from the trunk and put it on the roof of her car as she finished loading her groceries.
I walked out to my bike and started putting my groceries in the compartment I had installed on the back of it. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was captivating in a way no woman ever had been, and I wanted to get to know her more.
I wanted to know her name. Her story. Where she came from and where she was going. I knew this town well enough to know she wasn’t a local. She didn’t act or speak or even look like one. I watched as she got into her car and drove out of the parking lot, making her way to the stoplight so she could get back to the main road.
On the ground where her car had been parked was her purse.
Chapter 10- Paige
Holy fucking shit. I almost blew it. He was right there in the grocery aisle. Right there with his stunning body and his chiseled muscles.
And fuck, his tattoos. They cascaded down his arms, hypnotizing me as his sapphire eyes pierced my body.
He had been breathtaking. My target was sexy as hell. I could just picture his strong arms around me, cradling me against his masculine chest as my fingertips rolled down his rock-hard abs. I could feel my fingers winding up in his shaggy black curls and pulling his lips down into mine.
I careened my car onto the road as I tugged my phone out of my pocket. Kami was calling, and I answered.
“Hey, how’s Brookings?” Kami asked.
“I saw him,” I said.
“Saw who? Where? Paige, are you all right?”
“My mark. The guy I’m watching out for. I saw him. I almost fucking blew it, Kami.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just slow down. What are you doing?”
“I’m driving back to my hotel room. I almost got too close to him.”
“Tell me exactly what happened,” she said.
“I was in the grocery store picking up things for the hotel so I wouldn’t have to eat out all the time, and he was right there. I turned to go down the aisle to find rice, and I looked up and boom. He was fucking there, right in front of me.”
“The guy you’re trying to find,” she said.
“Yep.”
“Well, that makes your job easier, right?”
