by Gerri Hill
Andrea sipped from her water, trying to contain a smile. This was the first time she’d even spoken to Eric one-on-one and already they were co-conspirators. She chanced a glance across the table, only to find Cameron’s attention wrapped up in Carina.
“Do you know her?”
He followed her gaze. “Yes, I know her. She’s a vixen,” he said. “She knows you and Cameron are together, yet she’s going to do everything she can to bed her.”
“Really? Why?”
He shrugged. “That’s what she does. Men or women, she doesn’t care. It’s her game. But she’s damn good at her job. Top-notch, when she’s on the clock. When she’s off the clock, she likes to party. And now she’s set her sights on your partner. Of course, they do have a history, I’m assuming.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter and Andrea joined everyone else in ordering a steak. Most ordered wine or something stronger, but she decided to join Eric and ordered a beer instead.
“Are you seeing anyone? Married?” she asked after their beer was served.
“No. Marriage isn’t conducive to this line of work,” he said. “You have a case, you may have a couple of days in between, maybe a week. It’s hard to jet back home to a wife and kids.”
“Don’t you want that?”
“I don’t know. I always thought someday I’d have that, but this is what I’m used to. Military. You move around all the time.”
“You never learn to put down roots?”
“No, you keep moving. What about you?”
She shook her head. “Not military, no.”
“Really? I thought that was a prerequisite.”
“LAPD. Then I was a deputy in Sedona. That’s where I met Cameron.”
“On a case?”
“Yes. Patrick Doe.”
“Oh. The one where Collie—”
“Yeah,” she said quickly. The image of Collie sprawled out on the rocks, his throat sliced open, was something she could still vividly picture. Thankfully, he did not ask any questions.
“I was in Sedona once,” he said. “Years ago. Lovely place.”
“Vacation?”
“No. Furlough. I was in between tours.” He smiled and she again thought how handsome he was. “I was on my way to visit my parents and I met this girl. She was all into the spiritual stuff and Sedona had all these places where, what do they call them?”
“Vortex,” she supplied.
“Yeah, that’s it. There were different spots where the vortex energy was supposed to be very high.” He grinned and finished off his beer. “Don’t know about that, but she was plenty full of energy.”
“Ditched your parents, huh?”
“Yep. Spent a week in Sedona with her.” He paused as the waiter came around. “I’ll have another beer. Andrea?”
“Yes, I’ll have another,” she said, taking the opportunity to glance at Cameron. Even though Cameron was pretending to listen to Carina, Andrea knew she was keeping an eye on her and Eric.
“If I was at a place in my life to settle down, I would have chased her,” he continued. “She was unique. She brought out a side of me that no one has before. Or since.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Oh, six or seven years ago, I guess. Never saw her again after that.” He leaned closer. “Even though Carina is all over her, Cameron is keeping a close watch on us.”
“Yes. Carina is practically in her lap,” she said quietly. “I think I hate her.”
He smiled. “Are you jealous?”
Andrea glanced again at the pair. “I’m not sure. I should be, shouldn’t I? She’s a beautiful woman who’s an ex-lover of hers. I should be.”
“I think Cameron only has eyes for you. But it has to drive you crazy. It would me,” he said.
“Don’t think I haven’t considered shooting her already.”
He laughed again, and again conversation ceased around the table as all eyes were on them. They were spared having to explain as dinner was thankfully served.
Surprisingly, discussion of the case was put on hold as everyone seemed content to make small talk over dinner. The steak was very good and Andrea enjoyed Eric’s company, managing to ignore the chattering couple across from her. Actually, Carina was chattering. Cameron was quietly eating her dinner, glancing up occasionally.
As their eyes held across the table, Andrea wondered which of them was more jealous. Cameron’s eyes seemed to be full of questions.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The drive back to the rig was made in silence and Cameron didn’t know if it was her doing or Andrea’s. She, for one, was afraid of what Andrea’s reaction was to the evening. Carina had monopolized her time and attention throughout the meal, so much so that she and Andrea hadn’t even exchanged words. Of course, Andrea wasn’t lacking for conversation. Pretty boy Eric had apparently kept her amused, judging by the laughter the two of them shared. She was nearly embarrassed to admit that she had been jealous of the good time they seemed to be having.
She sighed as she disabled the alarm, letting Andrea go first up the steps. Lola was waiting for them and Andrea scooped her up, cuddling her against her neck as she walked inside. Cameron locked the door, then went to the fridge and got a bottle of water, the silence finally getting to her.
“So, you and Eric seemed to get along well,” she said as she followed Andrea down the hall.
“Yeah. He’s a nice guy. I really like him.” Andrea stopped at the bathroom door. “And you and Carina looked like you were getting along really well too. Catch up, did you?”
Cameron swallowed. “Some.”
“Good. She’s very beautiful. I’m sure you enjoyed having her sitting practically in your lap.”
“Look, Carina is Carina. I promise you there’s nothing there. Nothing at all.”
Andrea smiled. “I know. I’m just teasing you.”
Cameron was confused by how easily Andrea dismissed it. Maybe Andrea didn’t care that Carina was throwing herself at her. While Andrea brushed her teeth, Cameron leaned against the door.
“So tell me about Eric,” she said, hating the pang of jealousy—and insecurity—she felt.
Andrea looked up, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “What about him?”
“Well, he’s an attractive guy, he obviously likes you.”
“Likes me? Seriously, Cameron?” Andrea wiped her mouth. “He’s a guy. I’m a lesbian. You do know what that means, right?”
“Yes, but he’s a really attractive guy. What better way to say ‘Hey, I’m good. I nailed a lesbian’.” As soon as she said the words, she wanted to take them back. She was acting like a damn teenager and she knew it.
“Nailed? Did you just say nailed?”
“You know what I mean.”
Andrea shook her head and smiled. “You’re way off base here, sweetheart. He actually reminds me of Mark. He’s so easy to talk to.”
“Oh, I...oh,” she said, now embarrassed. Mark had been her best friend, her buddy. How silly of her to think something romantic might occur with Eric.
Andrea came over and touched her arm, rubbing her fingers lightly across her skin. “Get ready for bed, okay?”
She nodded, her gaze lingering on Andrea as she left. She didn’t know why she was feeling insecure all of a sudden. What she and Andrea had, it was good, it was true. Carina could dance naked in front of her, and Cameron knew she wouldn’t even be tempted. Andrea held her heart. She finally pushed off the door, taking her turn in the bathroom. As she was drying her face, she heard Andrea in the kitchen, talking softly to Lola as she readied the coffeemaker for morning. Cameron met her own eyes in the mirror and smiled. Little domestic things like that made her so content, so happy...made her realize that it had been missing for so many years. Missing and she didn’t even know it.
She looked past her shoulder, seeing Andrea lounging in the doorway, much as she’d done earlier. She turned around, wanting nothing more than to take Andrea to bed. There was a bit
of a hungry look in Andrea’s eyes that thrilled her. But that must wait.
“Listen,” she said, “I think we should split up.”
Andrea’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “What?”
Cameron frowned, seeing the look of disbelief and panic on Andrea’s face. “What? No, no. God, Andi, no,” she said quickly. “The case. That’s all.”
“Jesus, Cameron,” she said as she let out a deep breath. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I’m sorry. No, I mean when we’re out. I don’t trust them. Reynolds and Jack were trained by Collie. You can tell by their questions, their attitude, they don’t like the way we’re running this,” she said. She raised her eyebrows. “You think I’m overreacting?”
Andrea shook her head. “No. You’re probably right.”
Cameron ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it back on the sides, trying to split up everyone in her mind. “Two teams,” she said finally. “I can’t believe I’m even thinking this but, we could let Rowan come in here and play with the computers. He could coordinate us through phone and email.” She paused. “I’ll take...I’ll take Eric and Reynolds. You take Jack and Carina.”
Andrea raised both eyebrows in surprise, then shook her head. “No way,” she said.
“Why?”
“I’m not taking Carina.”
Again, Cameron was confused. “I thought you’d like it better if she was with you instead of me. I mean, you think she’s trying to get in my pants, right?”
Andrea laughed. “She is trying to get in your pants. But I don’t want her with me. There’s a chance I might shoot her. No, I’ll take Eric and Jack.”
Now it was Cameron’s turn to pause. Eric was a guy—albeit a very attractive guy—and that should give her no reason to be jealous that they might spend time together. Really, did she think Eric was a threat to her relationship with Andrea? Really? A straight guy?
“What’s going through that pretty head of yours now?” Andrea asked as she closed the distance between them.
“Nothing,” Cameron lied.
“You know I don’t believe you.” Her hands rested at Cameron’s waist. “But that’s enough talk. I think we’re off duty now.”
Cameron nodded, recognizing the look in Andrea’s eyes, knowing that soon she would be naked and giving herself to Andrea. It was a hungry, possessive look, one that she loved.
“With all that flirting Carina did with you,” she said, her hands pulling Cameron’s shirt out of her jeans, “I think I need to remind you that...you belong to me.”
Andrea pulled her shirt off in one motion then made quick work of her bra, the cool hum of the AC chilling her skin. Cameron felt her pulse pounding in her ears as Andrea lowered her head, her lips capturing a nipple. Cameron’s head fell back as Andrea’s tongue and teeth tugged at it and she couldn’t contain a moan.
“You’re mine,” Andrea murmured, her mouth moving against the scar on her chest, finding her lips just as her hand slid between their bodies, cupping her, pressing the seam of her jeans against her center.
“Yes,” Cameron hissed, her breathing labored now as she pushed against Andrea’s hand. But Andrea’s hand stilled, moving again to cup her breasts.
“Come to bed,” Andrea said against her lips. “I have a long night planned.”
Cameron’s shirt and bra lay where they’d fallen as she followed her blindly into the bedroom, their hands clasped tightly together.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Don’t screw up anything.”
“Can I call Jason if I do?”
Handing the number, along with Jason’s email address to Rowan was something Cameron might live to regret as he clutched it tightly in his hand like a prized diamond.
“And don’t let Lola out.”
“Who names a cat Lola?” Reynolds asked as he stared at the ball of fur curled up on her usual spot on the loveseat.
Cameron ignored him, more concerned with Rowan as his fingers flew across the keyboard.
“You have access to everything with this,” he said in awe. “Are you sure I can get clearance?”
“Murdock said he’d clear it. I told him to call you directly.” She looked around, seeing Carina inspecting the rig. She’d made her way into the bedroom and Cameron was thankful she and Andrea had tidied up that morning. Their clothes had been strewn about, the bed a rumpled mess as Andrea had indeed made Cameron hers last night. Cameron felt the now familiar flutter in her stomach as she remembered Andrea taking her, leaving her mark upon her breast as she did.
“Nice,” Carina said as she caught Cameron watching her.
Cameron turned back to Rowan. “Look for Monica Riddle. She must have used a street name. Find out what it was and where she worked.”
He nodded. “I’ll access her police records. They would have known aliases.”
“If we find out where she worked then our next step is to start pulling credit card receipts and see how many matches we get for both the stop in Needles and the one where she worked.” She raised an eyebrow. “Can you hack?”
He grinned. “Well, yeah.”
“No way, Ross,” Reynolds said. “We do this by the book.”
“When you have your own case to work, you can do it by the book. We don’t have the time it would take to get a subpoena to access credit card accounts.”
“And there’s a reason for that. Privacy,” he said. “And Rowan works for me, not you.”
She was about to point out the obvious, that Rowan was right now sitting—drooling—at her computers, taking instruction from her, but she could still hear Andrea’s whispered words from earlier that morning. Be nice. So, she simply gave him a smirk of a smile and turned and winked at Rowan instead. “Let’s hit the road then.”
Carina took the backseat, letting Reynolds ride shotgun. The plan was to hit the big truck stop in Barstow again and show Monica’s picture around and hopefully get some of the girls to talk. Now that the sheriff’s department had officially released the case to them, they were free to work it without stepping on anyone’s toes. The picture was a mug shot from five years ago when Monica was eighteen, but it was all they had. Andrea and her group were heading to Needles to do the same.
“How long have you and Agent Sullivan been partners?” Carina asked from the back.
Cameron refrained from glancing in the mirror to look at her. Carina was baiting her, nothing more. “A few months,” she said evasively.
“Not counting the time in Sedona?” Reynolds asked.
“Oh, yes, Patrick Doe,” Carina said. “Reynolds has told us all about it.” She leaned forward and put an arm along the backrest. “Did you really jump off a cliff?”
Cameron flicked her eyes at Reynolds who gave her a coy smile. “It was more like a high ledge than a cliff,” she said.
“Still taking risks, I see.”
Carina had monopolized the conversation at dinner the other night, filling Cameron in on her exploits since the last time they’d seen each other. Cameron, on the other hand, had shared very little. That wasn’t going to change, so she ignored Carina’s comment.
“So if we find traces of Monica, what then is our plan?” Reynolds asked.
“Credit card receipts.”
“I told you—”
“And I told you this was my case,” she said. “If you want to play by all the rules, then get off of Murdock’s team. You should know by now we have more leeway than most.”
“Collie—”
“Jesus Christ, Reynolds, not Collie again.”
“I’m just saying, we’re not above the law. And arbitrarily gathering credit card receipts is a breach of privacy.”
“And I don’t care. I’m trying to stop a serial killer who is raping his victims then cutting off their goddamn heads. I don’t care about privacy,” she said.
“That evidence won’t stand up in court.”
She laughed. “You really think this will make it to court? He’s a dead man the mi
nute I see him.”
Reynolds stared at her, slowly shaking his head. “Now I know why Collie wanted to distance himself from you. You’re dangerous, Ross. Out of control.”
She laughed again. “No, Collie wanted to distance himself from me because he disliked me. It had nothing to do with the job and everything to do with a raven-haired beauty in Greece who chose me over him.”
Carina laughed from the back. “Do tell, Cameron. This sounds like fun. Maybe she was someone I know.”
She glanced in the mirror and smiled. Yeah, there were some fun times during her military days. She was young and reckless, everything was a thrill. She hadn’t really lied to Andrea, but she never told her the extent of her adventures...or how many lovers she’d had. Nameless, faceless lovers, most. Carina being one of them.
“And for the record, I’m not out of control.”
“What exactly is it we’re hoping to accomplish?” Jack asked as they sped through the desert, just on the outskirts of Joshua Tree. Instead of taking I-10 all the way to Blythe and up Highway 95 to Needles, the GPS was taking them through the desert where they would intersect with Highway 95 just south of Needles. It was still over a two-hour drive.
Andrea turned in her seat and glanced at Eric with a frown. It was the third time Jack had asked the question. Eric leaned forward and tapped Jack on the shoulder.
“You didn’t like her answers the first couple times you asked that question?” Eric laughed. “Or are you getting forgetful in your old age.”
“So we show her picture around. Then what? So what if someone recognizes her? I deal in facts and concrete evidence. Neither of which seem very abundant.”
“If someone knows her, or can remember a date, we pull security video. Or someone may remember the guy she was with.” Andrea tried not to lose her patience with Jack, reminding herself that they all had military training, not police. Sometimes snooping for clues and asking questions was all you had. Like now.
“Or maybe someone remembers what his truck looked like,” Eric added.
“At least it gives us a timeframe,” Andrea continued. “We don’t know if he holds them somewhere for days before killing them or if he kills them the same night. All we know about Linda Blake is that she hadn’t been seen around there for a few weeks. That’s way too vague to do us any good.”
