Private Eye

by Katrina Jackson

  “So,” Kenny said in his deep, matter-of-fact, professional voice. Maya crossed her arms and wrapped her robe tighter around herself, hoping no one noticed her shudder. “Any action in the chatroom?”

  There was a brief moment of silence before everyone, including Kenny laughed. “You know what I mean.”

  “We know,” Monica said in a surprisingly light voice. And then it got serious. “Joseph Mehmeti was in your room just at the tail end of the broadcast. But we’ll only know if our bait worked if he comes back.”

  The reality that their plan might immediately return dividends seemed to sober them all.

  “Okay, so what does that mean?” Maya asked in a small voice.

  “For you,” Lane said, “Nothing. You don’t need to do anything different.”

  “What if he… what if he contacts me? What if he asks for a private session?”

  “That’s what we want.”

  “If he contacts you, you contact me,” Kenny cut off Lane to say, answering her actual question. His voice drew Maya’s eyes to him. His gaze was intense. Her throat closed with emotion. She nodded and shifted her eyes away.

  “Who’s in the TV spy movie now?” Lane mumbled under his breath.

  “Lane,” Monica barked.

  Lane smiled and put his hands up in surrender. “Oops.”

  “Let’s go debrief officially,” Monica said. “We’ll go across the hall and talk to Chanté about any flagged profiles.”

  “The fuck do you mean across the hall?” Maya asked, squinting her eyes at Monica.

  “Oh yeah,” Lane offered matter-of-factly, “Kenny and Chanté are moving into the vacant apartment across the way.”

  “The meth dealer’s place?” Kierra and Chanté yelled.

  “Uh… sure? We wanted you to have some backup close by, just in case.”

  Kierra moved out of Monica’s hold to stand next to Maya. Her eyes were hard, her jaw clenched. “When were you going to tell me this?”

  “Would you believe me if I said we forgot?” Lane asked.

  “Not at all,” she hissed.

  But Maya didn’t focus on them. She turned to Kenny and glared.

  “I have orders,” he said simply.

  She rolled her eyes and was about to yell that if he was holding out hope for her to forgive him, keeping yet another thing from her was a great way to not achieve that goal. But he spoke before she could.

  “But I would camp out close by even if I didn’t have to.”

  The words died on her lips.

  He nodded at her and turned to leave.

  They stood in silence, listening to his footsteps and the opening and closing door. Maya was ready to yell just in case he slammed her door again. He didn’t. It closed softly. She tried to be angry that he hadn’t even given her an appropriate outlet for the emotion swelling in her chest; the inconvenient warmth she’d spent all day trying to keep at bay.

  “Fuck,” she breathed.

  Lane chuckled.

  Monica sighed, walking out of the kitchen. She turned toward Kierra. “I take it you’re even more angry than before.”

  Kierra crossed her arms over her chest. “I wouldn’t plan on even holding my hand any time soon.”

  Monica nodded and turned away. Maya could have sworn her lips had tipped up on the right side of her mouth into an almost smile.

  But Lane’s smile was big and toothy. He nodded to Maya and winked at Kierra. “Sweet dreams.”

  When it was just the two of them alone in their apartment, huddled together in their kitchen, Kierra put her head on Maya’s shoulder. “We’re so fucked,” she breathed.

  “I wish,” Maya replied irritably.

  six

  Maya was pissed. She put on her most boring outfit, black leggings and an oversized black t-shirt that hid the perfection of her hips and ass. She wrapped her hair in a plain head wrap and slipped the biggest pair of sunglasses she owned onto her face. She grabbed her biggest tote – which, if need be, she could use to cover the still visible part of her face. She put her ear to the front door, listening for any movement in the hallway. When she didn’t hear anything, she peered through the peephole for a few minutes, staring at a blank wall. Finally, she inched the door open and stuck her head out into the hallway, looking left toward the former meth lab turned apartment of her former client, current fake boyfriend, and right toward the elevator. Everything was quiet, still.

  She hurried down the hall and pressed the button to call the elevator a dozen times in quick succession. But she gave up waiting after barely thirty seconds and decided to take the stairs instead. She couldn’t risk being in one place for too long or she might run into him. And since she wasn’t sure if running into him would be a good thing or not, she thought it best to avoid him altogether. Out on the street, she pushed her sunglasses further up the bridge of her nose and walked briskly, eyes alert, to the grocery store. This was what her life had become over the past few days. Every time she left her apartment, she felt exposed, as if Kenny was hiding behind every shrub or around every corner.

  When she’d agreed to help set a trap for this Albanian criminal, Maya had admittedly not thought it entirely through. She’d been so focused on watching her debt shrink and her credit score rise and all of the ways that would make her life – and Jerome and Kaya’s lives, by extension – easier. She’d been thinking about the benefits in the far future and forgot to consider all she’d have to endure to get there. She ducked into the storefront of a closed design firm when she spotted a man walking out of a coffee shop across the street who kind of resembled Kenny. She lowered her sunglasses, squinted – made a mental note to go see her optometrist, geez – and realized that it wasn’t actually him.

  Normally, Maya was anal about thinking through all of the possibilities, but not this time. Of course she knew why she’d rushed past all of the particulars, even if she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. But if she’d thought about what it would be like to be so close to someone she’d spent six months slowly opening up to – even though she knew she absolutely shouldn’t – she’d have said no. If she’d given even a scrap of consideration to the perils of finally having the object of her internet affections reclining on her bed, a steely presence blanketing her barely clothed body and what that would do to her, she absolutely would have declined. But she’d said yes. Because she hadn’t wanted the first and last time she saw Kenny to be red-faced and spluttering at her front door.

  Although now she was holed up in her apartment feeling like a prisoner, terrified that the next time she saw him she wouldn’t be able to deny her own desires. And he didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve to know how badly she wanted him still. He certainly didn’t deserve to be forgiven even if her heart was pleading his case with every beat and her pussy was trying desperately to remind her of the way his dick had looked the one time she’d seen it, hard and angry. For her.

  She exhaled as she entered the grocery store, feeling some relief that she’d made it to her destination with only the one close call. Relief that was quickly overtaken by annoyance. She’d forgotten her damn shopping list.

  She spent the next twenty minutes trying – and failing – to remember what she’d come to the grocery store to get and then buying random things she passed that looked good instead. By the time her handcart was full of maybe one thing she absolutely needed, dish soap, and five things she definitely knew she didn’t, including her favorite peach gummy candies and a paperback mystery she maybe already owned, she was more annoyed than when she’d arrived. She walked to the self-checkout line with a frown on her face.

  The frown only deepened when she saw Kenny at one of the checkout lanes. She knew it was him, poor eyesight and all. She’d known him in person less than a week but she’d apparently seared his body into her brain so thoroughly that she’d recognize his broad shoulders and back that tapered into a lean waist, with a nice high, firm ass anywhere. Also the back of his head was cute. Or whatever.


  She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him, hoping that he would pay for his – she peeked around him to see – bananas, energy drinks and brown rice, and leave without noticing her. She only let herself turn his way again once she’d scanned, bagged and paid for all of her items. She exhaled happily. He was nowhere in sight. She let her body relax as she walked out of the store, deciding that she could go without her sunglasses on the way home. Since it was actually a pretty gray day.

  Just outside the grocery store’s exit, she jumped in surprise.

  “Do you need a hand?” His voice was deep and rich and, when she turned to face him, she was very unhappy to see that he hadn’t shaved since Tuesday. And his thicker facial hair was even sexier than it had been when they first met.

  She exhaled angrily and gave up, extending her arms and her reusable bags to him. He took them both in one hand as if they weighed nothing, and given the size of his biceps they probably did.

  He gestured toward her – their – route home, indicating that he would follow.

  She squinted at him. “Don’t look at my ass?” She’d meant it as a joke to alleviate her surprise and frustration and anger and lust.

  But he moved his gaze slowly down her body and then back up to her face. “Whatever you want.”

  It was in that moment that Maya became sure of three things:

  She wanted more money for this operation. She’d call it emotional hazard pay.

  She needed to fuck Kenny soon. There was no way around it as far as she could see. It just had to be done, hard and fast and preferably all night long.

  He’d still have to work for it.

  She only thought of the fourth thing as they began walking toward their apartments, his silent presence to her right, between her and the street, his eyes darting about, watching for threats. It was a devastating realization:

  She really could have fallen in love with him.

  ***

  Kenny didn’t know Maya’s schedule in the real world. He’d only done digital surveillance. So while he had a very good picture of her general nighttime routine from about 9pm until 3am, he had no idea what she did all day. And he was desperate for all of those details now that she lived just down the hall and he’d endured a frustrating Thursday night without her for the first time in months.

  He’d spent the past three days trying not to pore over every millisecond from Tuesday night. He woke up just before sunrise as usual and went for a run, using his regular workout to canvas the neighborhood and get a feel for its character so he would have some baseline should a threat become apparent. Standard undercover protocol. He usually returned from his run and walked by Maya’s door – with either a longing look or a determined forward stare, depending on his mood – just after Chanté got off her late shift at the local strip club. She was a featured dancer on a special, extended engagement; her usual cover. They ate breakfast and talked – about everything but the mission and Maya – before she started yawning and headed off to bed. He used that as his own cue to shower, change and head into the office – passing by Maya’s apartment door one more time.

  No matter how many times he came and went, he never saw her and only ran into Kierra twice; once in passing in the hallway after a run and once in Command while Lane and Monica were meeting with an asset offsite. It took him a couple of days but he accepted that chances were incredibly high she was avoiding him.

  So when he saw her in the grocery store, chewing her bottom lip, deep in thought, as she absently swiped a box of gluten free pasta from a shelf, he’d had to take a few deep breaths in the breakfast aisle to calm his nerves. He considered – really considered – shadowing her around the grocery store. But as soon as the thought formed fully in his mind, he heard Chanté’s voice in his head screaming “STALKER.” And considering how they’d met and the hurt in her eyes when he’d revealed his online identity, he’d abandoned that dumb idea as quickly as it formed.

  He’d headed to the self-checkout hoping to slip out of the store before she noticed him. Even when he turned to see her bagging her own groceries just a few machines away, he thought he could leave, take the long route home and spare her the confrontation she clearly didn’t want. But back on the street he’d been unable to leave. He found himself rooted to the spot just to the right of the exit until she appeared.

  "Do you need a hand?” He asked, legitimately shocked that his voice sounded strong and sure when his insides felt like jelly.

  “Don’t look at my ass,” she said and he couldn’t help but look her over. It had been so long since he’d seen her, actually these past three days had been the longest time in months. Her plain outfit was clearly an attempt to hide – from him – but what seemed nondescript to Maya was sexy as fuck. He would have noticed her in any crowd. He wondered if she realized that the leggings only accentuated her thick thighs and strong calves and delicate ankles. And while the shirt covered her butt, it also accentuated the shelf of her hips and nothing she wore would ever take away from how truly beautiful her breasts were. And even with the large sunglasses, currently perched on top of her head, Maya’s face was beautiful, round, full, soft cheeks, plump lips, and her perfectly arched eyebrows that scrutinized and judged him and everything around him with a graceful lift. She was perfect.

  “Whatever you want,” he said. Her ass was wonderful, but not nearly the best part of her. Not by a long shot.

  It was only a few blocks back to their apartment building. They walked in silence until Maya stopped him and rooted around in one of the bags he carried for her. She pulled out a small bag of gummy candy, ripped it open, and popped one into her mouth.

  “These are my favorite candies when I’m stressed,” she said. Her jaw froze and he knew she wished she hadn’t said that.

  He could have pretended not to have heard her and let her off the hook, but he didn’t. “I’ve never had ‘em,” he said. “I don’t eat candy.”

  She stopped and turned toward him. “Say what now?”

  He shrugged, “My parents didn’t believe in candy.”

  “Who doesn’t believe in candy? Candy is,” Maya said in shock.

  Kenny smiled. “They were both in the army. They believed in balanced meals and no empty calories. No snacking. No candy.”

  “I-”

  Kenny’s smile widened and he chuckled at Maya actually at a loss for words. He’d never seen that before.

  She shook her head and dug into the bag. “Can’t have that,” she mumbled to herself and then raised her hand to his mouth.

  His eyes went wide but he opened his mouth to her automatically. He assumed she’d toss the piece of candy in when she reached a close distance, but she didn’t. Her hand kept moving until she was placing the piece of candy directly onto his tongue, her fingers just grazing his lips. Kenny should have stopped there. He should have considered this a win he didn’t deserve and couldn’t have fathomed. Because it was. But he pushed his luck and closed his mouth to suck on her fingers as she slowly pulled her hand away.

  She watched him chew on the candy as he watched her absentmindedly reach back into the bag, pull out another piece and slip it into her mouth. He wondered if she even realized she sucked on the same fingers he’d had in his mouth.

  They both swallowed.

  “So what do you think?” She asked, her eyes still focused on his mouth.

  He grimaced, “Too sweet for me.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned to continue walking. “No accounting for terrible taste,” she said, annoyed.

  He walked beside her, closer than he had been, and leaned down to whisper into her ear. “Your fingers were the perfect amount of sweet though,” he said with a smile.

  She didn’t turn to look at him, but he could see the grin on her face. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

  He gulped and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Leave it to Maya to seduce him better than he could have ever seduced her.

  seven

  Kenny was
trying to focus on Chanté’s presentation but he couldn’t. His left leg was jumping, he was gripping one hand in the other and his eyes kept drifting to the clock on the wall to his right. Every time he checked the time he made eye contact with Lane, who seemed to have one eyebrow permanently lifted to mock him, as if he knew what Kenny was thinking.

  It was Sunday.

  After running into her yesterday morning at the grocery store, she’d taken an even stronger grip on his thoughts. When they’d reached her apartment she’d unlocked her door, grabbed her bags from him and slipped inside with a soft, whispered “thanks.” He’d gone straight down the hall and stroked himself furiously to a much-needed release, calling up every image of her clothed and naked. But he only came when he remembered the feel of her fingers in his mouth. It was so pathetic.

  For the past day, he’d felt restless, counting down the minutes until he could see her again. This morning he’d woken up, gone for his regular jog around the neighborhood, showered and dressed, the entire time consumed with that same feeling of anticipation that used to be reserved for Thursdays. Because he was going to see Maya today; not by accident and for longer than a walk from the grocery store.

  She had a broadcast tonight. They had a broadcast tonight.

  “Okay,” Chanté’s high-pitched voice cut through his mental meanderings. “Now that we’re done with the boring stuff, let’s get to the good shit.”

  “Great. You hear that, Kenny?” Lane said in a mocking tone.

  Kenny refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledgement.

  Chanté smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Kenny, I’ll have you out of here in plenty of time.”

  “Let’s stay on track,” Monica said and Kenny was grateful for that, but he refused to look her way either. He was still too worried to face her. He was holding out hope that if he just didn’t rock the boat or break any new rules then maybe she might still want to train him.