by Susanna Carr
He should have known better than to give her a second chance. It had been a moment of weakness.
Eric’s mouth sagged open as Zack moved in on Julie. He couldn’t see what the guy said. Julie had a bored look on her face as she shrugged and gestured at the seat next to her. Zack gratefully sat down.
Wow. She knew exactly how to manipulate Zack. He had been wrong about Julie. Perhaps she didn’t need his constant supervision. Maybe he should give her a little leeway.
He saw her attention divert to Mercedes and Tiffany.
Or maybe not.
* * *
“SO?” ZACK DRAWLED, his mouth too close to her ear for comfort.
Julie jerked her head back and swatted his hand as he slid his fingers under her dress. The guy was getting bolder with every minute she stayed. “I’m sorry?”
She compulsively snuck another look at Mercedes and Tiffany. They definitely followed a procedure. She knew that in a few minutes they would visit the restroom to download information onto their phones.
She wondered if the two unsuspecting computer geeks they were with were employees of Z-Ray. Nothing on their T-shirts revealed where they worked. All she could tell is that the men looked as if they had won some cosmic jackpot.
“Come on, baby. What do you think?” Zack asked with a knowing laugh.
She wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol. What did she think? She thought their client was wasting her money and time on this louse. Zack wasn’t worth the trouble. “Think about what?”
He licked his lips as he stared at her chest. “Let’s go somewhere private.”
It was amazing. She hadn’t been kind to Zack and practically ignored him as she did surveillance on Mercedes and Tiffany. Yet he thought she was ready to jump into bed with him. The man was delusional. “Where do you suggest?” she asked.
“There’s a classy hotel next door.”
Julie shook her head, dismissing the idea. “I hear there’s a conference going on. No way could we get a room.”
Zack pulled out a hotel key card from his jeans pocket with a flourish. “I have one,” he said with a triumphant grin.
She didn’t expect that. “Well, aren’t you prepared?”
“Let’s go,” Zack said as he stood up.
She heard the crackle of static in her ear before Asia spoke. “Okay, Julie, I think we have enough. Wrap it up.”
“I’m sorry, Zack, but you’re just not my type.” She looked over his shoulder and her gaze clashed with Eric’s. “I like to tie up men and then lick every inch of them.”
Zack looked as if he was going to swallow his tongue.
Asia hooted with laughter. “Do you really think that’s going to make him back down?”
“I’m into that,” Zack insisted as sweat beaded on his upper lip.
“Ri-i-i-ight.” She drew the word out. “You look like a beginner. You wouldn’t last an hour as my sex slave.”
“Sweetie,” Asia’s voice crackled in her ear, “you just challenged his masculinity. We need to talk about how to repel a man.”
Zack slid his hands over her legs and cupped her ass. “Believe me, babe, I could last all night.”
“Good to know.” She saw Mercedes and Tiffany head for the restroom. Time was of the essence. “But first I need to make a phone call to my parole officer.”
Zack withdrew his hands. “P-parole officer?”
“It’s no big deal,” she said as she backed away. She couldn’t tell if the women had taken a couple of USB sticks or not. “I found out this guy I was sleeping with had a girlfriend. I kind of went all Fatal Attraction on him.”
“What?” His voice was a high squeak.
“That’s good, Julie,” Asia encouraged her. “Nothing freaks a man out more than a bunny boiler.”
“Oh, and I need to make a quick stop at the restroom. I have to take my antibiotics for my rash,” Julie announced. “I’ll be right back.”
She hurried to follow Mercedes and Tiffany. “Asia, do you think we have enough? I don’t think he’ll still be there when I return.”
“We have enough. If the pictures of how he kept grabbing you don’t do it for the girlfriend, the hotel key card should be enough evidence that he planned to cheat.”
Julie glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, look at that. Zack is already making his escape.”
“And Eric is calling me,” Asia said. “I bet he wants to know what you said to Zack that made him run.”
“Tell him to use his imagination,” she suggested. “I’m going to take out my earpiece and turn my phone on now.”
“You did great, Julie. I’ll see you in the hotel bar to celebrate.”
“Thanks.” She slowly removed her earpiece and dropped it in her tiny evening purse. As she stepped into the restroom and approached the mirrors, she thought about what her friend had said.
She got what she came for. She showed her colleagues that she could do the job. She got her target using strategy and a sexy alias. So why wasn’t she pumping her fist in the air and doing a victory dance?
Last week she had been disappointed when she didn’t entrap her man. Tonight she didn’t have anything to prove. She trusted her observation skills and her instincts. But it was more than that. She felt powerful and sexy.
Her confidence wasn’t from her alias. When she was around Eric, she felt strong and desirable. She was at the top of her game because he brought out the best of her.
Julie fished in her purse for her cell phone. She turned it on, wondering how many messages she’d received from Eric when she saw Mercedes and Tiffany out of the corner of her eye.
She looked at her phone and then at the women as an idea popped into her head. Forget protocol. Why investigate when a picture said a thousand words?
Mercedes and Tiffany were huddled together, their heads bent over their phones. She couldn’t tell if they were connecting the USB sticks to their phones or if they were simply texting. She needed the right angle to get a good picture of the women and what they were doing.
Julie quietly positioned the cell phone. She tried for a tight shot of their faces and the phones in their hands. She pushed the button.
The camera flash went wild. It reflected on the mirror, the bright tiles and the shiny fixtures.
Oh, shoot. She held the phone against her leg. Make it stop, make it stop!
“What the hell was that?” Mercedes whirled around and saw her. Her attention zeroed in on the phone. “Were you taking pictures? Of us?”
“In the bathroom?” Tiffany asked with outrage.
“I’m…I’m so sorry.” Julie watched as the women unplugged the USB sticks, stuffing phones and cords into their designer purses.
“What is wrong with you?” Mercedes took a threatening step toward her.
She had to come up with a convincing excuse. Julie went with the first thing that popped in her head. “I love the dress you’re wearing.”
Mercedes, Tiffany and Julie stared at the tiny velvet dress that had a bold mix of patterns and animal prints.
Julie nervously licked her dry lips as she took a cautious step back. “I wanted to take a picture for the next time I go to the thrift store.”
“The thrift store?” Mercedes’ face turned red with anger. “I’ll have you know that this is Versace.”
“Huh. You don’t say. Well, that’s way out of my price range.”
“No kidding.” Tiffany gave a disparaging look at Julie’s dress as they walked past her. “Now get your thrift-store ass away from us.”
“All right. All right.” She raised her hands in surrender. She didn’t want them to take her phone or start a fight. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Julie watched the two women march out of the bathroom before she slumped against
the mirror. She felt shaky, almost nauseated, as her blood pumped hard through her veins.
That had been a close one. Still, the next time she was cornered, she would know to act like a dumb party girl with a taste for designer clothes.
She wasn’t sure where she came up with that strategy. Definitely not the Sapphire books. Maybe she was getting better at this. Julie slowly smiled as she started to follow. Today a decoy, tomorrow a private detective.
* * *
ERIC HELD BACK AS HE watched the door to the women’s restroom. He was concerned when he saw Julie follow Mercedes and Tiffany. It was a simple surveillance maneuver, but he couldn’t back up Julie.
When Mercedes and Tiffany returned to the bar, he noticed their expressions. He knew Julie had made a move. A confrontation? A mistake? Eric couldn’t tell. He knew the redhead was angry. The blonde had a haunted look in her eyes.
That was never good. A pursued criminal was a dangerous creature. Unpredictable, violent and defensive.
He didn’t see Julie anywhere. It was difficult to determine if she was keeping a safe distance or if she was in trouble. Eric was about to storm into the women’s restroom when he saw Julie. His relief was short-lived. Eric saw the determined set to her jaw and her gaze was focused intently on the women.
Every instinct warned him to go for Julie. She was being ruled by her emotions. He needed to get her out of there before she made a scene.
He moved for her. The music and voices faded as the beat of his heart pounded in his ears. Everything felt as if it was going in slow motion. Eric saw Julie raise her hand. Only then did he notice the cell phone.
Eric checked the position of Mercedes and Tiffany. The redhead was kissing a man, her hands all over his body. The blonde was a little more reserved. He saw her put her hand in the guy’s jeans pocket.
Mercedes was returning the guy’s key chain just when a bright flash reflected against the chrome and glass.
Mercedes whirled around and he knew the moment she saw Julie. The look in the blonde’s eyes made him lurch into action.
He reached Julie but he sensed Mercedes approach. He grabbed Julie by her shoulders and pushed her in the direction of the exit. “Go, go, go!”
“I got it!” she squealed excitedly.
“I know.” He saw the quickest route to the exit and slalomed through the crowd. “Mercedes and Tiffany know. The whole damn nightclub saw you take that picture.”
“And I got one in the bathroom while they were downloading the information.”
“Of course you did.” They burst through the doors of the nightclub and looked around the empty mezzanine. He considered his choices.
They needed to hide. Fast. “Take the back stairs.”
Julie scoffed at the idea. “In these shoes?”
He was already rushing her past the elevators. “I have a bad feeling those women aren’t working alone. They have people watching out for them.”
Her gasp rang against the pale marble that surrounded them. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“It only just occurred to me.” He should have considered the possibility immediately. “They’re coming after us and they will split up to find us. They’ll first go for the most obvious places.”
“The stairs are the slowest way out of here.”
“Which is why they’ll spend most of their resources on the escalators and elevators.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll take the stairs.” She kicked off her shoes, scooped them up in her hands and followed him barefoot.
He found the stairs in the far corner of the building. He raised his head when he heard footsteps. He motioned for her to go up to the next level.
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“To my room.”
She shook her head. “We should go to the hotel bar. Everyone is waiting for us and there’s safety in numbers.”
“The less Mercedes and her gang know about our colleagues, the better.” He placed his hand against her back and encouraged her to move faster.
“So, we’re hiding out?” Her face lit up as she gave a brilliant smile. “This is so exciting!”
Eric looked over his shoulder. “Not if they catch us.”
12
ERIC HURRIED JULIE into his hotel suite. From the corner of his eye he saw Julie fling her purse onto the table and toss her shoes underneath. He checked the hallway one last time to make sure they had not been followed.
He shut the door and locked it. When he slid the security bolt home, he didn’t feel any relief. If anything, he felt cornered. Trapped. Hiding wasn’t his usual strategy. He pursued and attacked.
His blood pounded and every instinct called for him to hunt down the enemy. But he couldn’t take the risk. He had Julie to protect. He had to hide her as far away from the danger as he could.
Eric leaned back against the door and found Julie smiling as she twirled around the room with her arms outstretched.
He shook his head. Unbelievable. “You’re enjoying this?”
Julie stopped to hug him. “Absolutely! Aren’t you?”
“I’d rather chase than be chased,” he said, but from the glow on Julie’s face, she didn’t have a preference as long as she got to be in the game. “They know you took pictures of them.”
“Wasn’t that great?” Her eyes sparkled. “If only I knew who they worked for.”
The idea of her investigating more made his blood run cold. “You’ve done enough. It’s time to stop poking around and give what you have to Z-Ray.”
“I’m not done yet,” Julie said as she flattened her hands against his chest.
He grabbed her wrists and held her hands still. “Those women know they’re being watched. They know you have incriminating evidence.”
“How awesome is that?” She was about to burst with joy. “They think I’m a threat. No one has thought of me as that before.”
She was kidding, right? Julie had been a threat to his peace of mind ever since he’d met her. “They aren’t going to take any more risks. In fact, they probably went under,” he lied.
“They don’t seem the type,” she murmured as she leaned into him, her hips snuggled against his. “They’re more of the kind who would strike when crossed.”
“And yet, you went after them with no plan, no backup?” His chest tightened as he considered what all could have gone wrong. “What were you thinking?”
She rested her head against his shoulders. “I had backup. I had you.”
He let go of her wrists and held her close. Eric closed his eyes and pressed his mouth against her hair. He liked that she trusted him completely. She had no doubt that he would look after her. But Julie’s blind faith in his abilities made him nervous. She thought he could do anything.
“I’m not invincible,” he said quietly. The scar running down his side was testament to that. “What if I didn’t get to you in time?”
“I would have held them off until you got there.”
Okay, now she was overestimating her abilities. He knew it was the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She had taken a risk and narrowly escaped. She felt powerful and violently alive.
“I want you to quit,” he said. He felt her flinch and gently stroked her hair. “I’m leaving this weekend.”
“I know.” He felt her exhale before she moved away. “We don’t need to talk about it now.”
He wanted to keep holding her but he let his hands fall to his sides. “I won’t be able to help when you try to pull another stunt like this.”
She looked down at the floor. “Eric, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Obviously, I do.”
“I know that I’m no expert,” she said and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I need a lot more training, and years of ap
prenticing before I strike out on my own.”
He was glad she was aware of her limitations, but she didn’t say she would back down. “So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I won’t pursue this once you’re gone.” It was a reluctant but earnest promise. “I don’t want you to worry about me.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.” Her safety would always be his top concern.
“But I want to thank you.” She cupped her hands against his jaw. “For believing in me. For being at my side. It meant a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome,” he said gruffly. He didn’t like the finality of her tone. As if this was already goodbye. He hadn’t left for D.C. yet.
Julie brushed her lips against his mouth. He felt a wave of emotion behind the seemingly light touch.
“I love you, Eric.”
He flinched. No, that couldn’t be true. Julie was warm and affectionate, but she couldn’t love him. He’d had relationships in the past, but they never lasted for long. Eric never wanted anyone to get too close and see why his parents couldn’t love him. But Julie thought she was in love with him. What did she see that no one else could?
Eric held her by the shoulders and made her take a step back. “Julie, that’s the adrenaline talking.”
She frowned. “No, it’s not.”
“It’s okay.” He held up his hands. “The rush makes you do crazy things. Say things that feel true at that moment. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hold you to it.”
But he wanted to. He wanted to believe it was real and lasting. He knew that once Julie gave her heart, it would be forever.
“I think I know how I feel.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Stop making excuses for me.”
“You sound very sure of yourself. But believe me, it’s only temporary. This feeling will pass.”
“Is that what you want?” Her voice cracked. “Do you want my feelings to just disappear?”
Eric looked away and slowly shook his head. He knew she would regret her declaration. One day she would discover that he wasn’t the man, the hero, she needed. He didn’t want to disappoint her but it was inevitable.
