Deadly Rumors

by Cheris Hodges

“I was just following the leader. Can we go now?” Carver nodded and Zoe gripped her car door handle as she watched him cross the parking lot.

  Lord, that walk, she thought. Strong like a lion. Graceful like a black panther. Always on guard. She shivered inside, thinking of his hips with her legs wrapped around them. Stop it!

  “Waiting for someone?” he called out when he noticed she hadn’t gotten into her car.

  “No, just waiting for you to leave.”

  “Start your car and I will.”

  Zoe shook her head. “You think it’s going to explode? No one is out to kill me, Carver.”

  If only you knew, he thought. “You ever wonder if some of those cheating husbands might want revenge?”

  “Paranoid much?” she asked as she clicked the automatic start button on her key chain. “See, no explosion. And if those husbands didn’t want to get caught, then they would’ve kept it zipped and tucked away.”

  “Easier said than done,” he shot back.

  “Spoken like a no-good man,” she said, then opened her driver’s side door.

  “Good night, Zoe.”

  She pressed the remote start button to shut the car off, then crossed the lot to stand in his face. “So, among all the things that I think about you, you’re adding cheater to the list?”

  “For some men, it’s hard to resist temptation.”

  Zoe inched closer to him, then placed her hand on his chest. “How hard is it for you?”

  He grabbed her hand. “Stop playing with me, because you know I’m the one who will always get to you.”

  Carver’s words sent her reeling. Zoe hadn’t realized she’d stepped back until he touched her elbow. “You should go now,” he said. “Wouldn’t want you to find yourself unable to resist temptation.”

  Zoe marched to her car without looking back at him. How could she hate him and yearn for him at the same time? Taking this case was a bad idea.

  Chapter 2

  Carver knew it was a bad idea to follow Zoe home, but he needed to take a look at her place. Find out if her house had any blind spots where someone could hide. He was surprised that she still lived in the Bronx, but it made sense since her family had such a storied history in the borough. Underneath that independent streak was a girl who didn’t want to leave home. That made him smile, until he noticed the bushes in front of her house. They had to go. And while he wanted to set up and watch her house all night, he couldn’t risk Ms. Hothead finding him in the morning and blowing a gasket. After she pulled into her garage, Carver drove away. He headed to the FBI satellite office for a briefing on the search for Joseph Singletary—the man who wanted Zoe dead.

  Singletary had been the mastermind behind the Harlem Madam—Zoe’s ex-sister-in-law. When Zoe and the FBI brought Natalie down, there was a ripple effect in the trafficking organization. The FBI was able to raid trafficking rings in North Carolina, California, and Maryland. But Singletary was always one step ahead of getting captured.

  That’s what worried him. Singletary could be anywhere and no one had a clue. Natalie wasn’t talking, nor were any of the other pimps they’d busted. Pulling into the parking lot, Carver pulled out his cell phone and sent the security text to the receptionist.

  He walked to the front door and pressed in the code that he’d received on his cell phone. Once the door opened, he smiled at the receptionist, then showed him his ID.

  “Agent Banks, they are waiting for you in the back.”

  Nodding, he headed for the conference room for the briefing. He hated these tight offices with no windows that reminded him of Afghan bunkers. But it had to be done if he was going to take down Singletary before he harmed a hair on Zoe’s head.

  “Banks,” the agent in charge, Delvin Smallwood, said when he spotted Carver at the door. “Did you find Harrington?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Just got some intel that Singletary has placed a bounty on her head.”

  Carver leaned against the wall. “She agreed to work on the case with me. At least I can get her out of New York for now. How are we going to find this bastard and put him away?”

  Agent Wendy Covington pointed to an electronic map on the wall. “Two weeks ago, we traced a cell phone call from him in Nebraska. Didn’t make sense that he would be there, so we tried to get a hit on the Internet server used to upload the girls on Backpage and got a hit in New Jersey. By the time we got a physical address, everything was gone.” She folded her arms across her chest. “It’s like he’s freaking Houdini.”

  “What is he, a fucking ghost?” Carver groaned as he glared at the map.

  “We need a crack in his organization,” Wendy said. “Have you taken another stab at Natalie?”

  He shook his head. “She’s not talking, even when I offered immunity.”

  “You did what?” Smallwood boomed. “We don’t have the authority to do that. The federal prosecutor wants to get a pound of flesh, and right now all we have is Natalie. She’s too afraid to talk, so she’s going to be the example.”

  “It was bait, and she didn’t take it,” Carver said with an eye roll. “I told Zoe that we’re reopening the Jessica Dolan case because the family is friends with the former president and they want closure on where their daughter’s body is.”

  “All right. Make sure you keep Zoe away from her family. Last thing we need is for Zachary Harrington to get caught in the cross fire.”

  Carver narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. “It’s bad enough that Singletary’s hurting all of these girls, but now he’s out to kill people.”

  “Zoe did help cripple a large part of his organization,” Wendy said, not hiding her adoration. “I guess she really didn’t like her ex-sister-in-law. Because she did everything in her power to get that woman behind bars.”

  “How are we going to keep her alive, though? All of our efforts to find Singletary have failed. I’m beginning to think that someone is feeding him information about the investigation,” Smallwood said. He picked up a flip phone and handed it to Carver. “This is how we communicate, and you need to make sure Zoe loses her smartphone and other devices that can be traced. One thing we know about Singletary is that he knows technology.”

  Carver nodded as he tucked the old-school phone in his pocket. “I need another car so that I can watch her house tonight. She’s already seen the sedan.”

  Wendy tossed her keys to him. “Take my Challenger,” she said.

  “That purple monster? I don’t want her to see me. How am I going to stay in the background in that thing?”

  “No one is going to suspect that it’s a government car,” she replied, and sucked her teeth. Carver rolled his eyes, but she did have a point. Who would think that an FBI agent would be driving a muscle car? He pocketed the keys.

  “All right,” he said. “Anything else?”

  Smallwood shook his head. “Just make sure that the media doesn’t get wind of the Dolan case. Keep in mind that we’re just using this to keep Singletary off her back and to keep Zoe alive.”

  “Isn’t Jessica Dolan dead?” Wendy asked. “Why are we using this case?”

  “Because,” Smallwood began, “it gives us a reason to relocate Harrington and it isn’t a priority case.”

  Carver nodded. When Smallwood told Carver that Zoe was in danger, the men sat down and came up with the cover story to get her out of New York until Singletary was apprehended, because every time they seemed to get close to capturing the pimp, he’d get away. As much as Carver tried to pretend this was just another case, it was personal for him. Zoe wouldn’t be harmed, and if he had to put his life on the line to save hers, he would.

  “I’m out,” Carver said.

  * * *

  Zoe walked into her kitchen and grabbed a box of oat cereal. She didn’t pour a bowlful or grab milk to go with it; she just took the box and sat on the sofa—eating it dry. Why had she been foolish enough to take Carver’s case, or kiss him? Her body tingled with the thoughts of his hands roaming her
body, his tongue licking her sensitive spot.

  “Stop it,” she muttered, then stuffed a handful of cereal in her mouth. Munching mindlessly, she picked up her cell phone to check that payment for her last case had been received. When she saw it had been, she smiled. “Another satisfied customer,” she said, then closed her box of cereal. Rising to her feet, she headed for the kitchen and put the box away. Sighing, she started to call her brother, but he was a newlywed and it was after ten. Hopefully he and Chante were working on making a niece or nephew for her.

  Work had consumed her life, and in the still of the night, she was bored. It wasn’t that she didn’t have offers for dates and dinners, but after seeing all of the cheating and everything else she investigated, trusting was hard. She couldn’t even go on a date without running a background check on the guy first. And these days, any little thing, from writing a bad check to having overdue parking tickets, was enough for Zoe to decide he wasn’t worth her time.

  And then there was Carver.

  No one compared to that man or made her body hum like a chamber singer. That one night changed her life, and she couldn’t get over it no matter how hard she tried. Instantly, she thought back to the interlude in her office and his words vibrated through her body.

  Stop playing with me, because you know I’m the one who will always get to you.

  Groaning, Zoe headed up to her bedroom to change into her gym clothes. She had energy to burn off. Late-night trips to the gym were becoming a part of her life. A hard workout always put her in the mood to sleep. Though she knew a much better sleep aid—another night with Carver.

  “Ugh!” She tied her sneakers and jogged down the stairs and headed out the door. Maybe Marcus would be there tonight and they could do another burpee challenge. Thinking about her workout partner made her smile. If he was about ten years older and had a real job, he might have a chance. But she had to admit, their “workout dates” were doing wonders for her body. She ran her hand across her toned abs and smiled.

  * * *

  Carver perked up in the front seat of the Challenger as he watched Zoe leave her house. Where in the hell was she going this time of night? Okay, it was eleven thirty, but she’d just gotten off work and she should’ve been preparing for their meeting in the morning. Not. Making. A. Booty. Call. Wait? Was that a gym bag on her shoulder? That made sense, because she surely didn’t get that ass by watching cheating men all day and eating French fries.

  Focus, he thought. Is this a pattern? Does she go to the same gym every night? Glancing around as she got into her car, Carver looked for signs of a stalker. He didn’t see headlights or hear the roar of another engine. He waited for her to pull out of the garage and go two blocks before taking off after her. What he found interesting was that the purple car didn’t draw as much attention as he’d thought it would.

  The moment he arrived at the gym, he understood why. Challengers of all colors seemed to be the norm. There were even two more purple ones parked there. Carver pulled into a spot at the end of the parking lot, where he had a direct line of sight on Zoe’s car and the entrance. She’d already entered the gym before he parked, and he saw her meet a man at the desk. When they hugged, jealousy washed over him like an ocean wave. Who was this muscle-bound clown, and why were they so close? Carver glared at them as they laughed and talked. When the man ran his index finger down her arm, Carver had to stop himself from hopping out of the car and punching him. Even though he had no claim to Zoe, something about watching another man touch her made his skin crawl. Every inch of that woman had been marked as his, and Carver was never a guy who shared anything. And he wasn’t going to share Zoe with anyone.

  Maybe he’s her trainer, Carver thought as he opened the car door. He took two steps toward the entrance, then looked down at his attire, black slacks and a button-down shirt. He didn’t look like a man coming for a workout, and he’d raise suspicion if he walked in there and started following her around. Worse, if Zoe saw him at the gym, it would lead to questions he couldn’t answer.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “Didn’t plan this one out properly. And I’m sure Wendy doesn’t have anything in the trunk that would work.” He checked anyway and was right. Pulling out his binoculars, he watched Zoe and Mr. Muscles walk upstairs. If she wanted to work out, he had some moves for her that she would never forget.

  He decided to walk inside anyway; that way he could get the lay of the land. And if someone, other than him, had been following Zoe, he’d get a chance to see where the person could hide. Carver didn’t like the fact that he didn’t know who was after Zoe. Singletary could have anyone gunning for her.

  Immediately, Carver didn’t like the openness of the gym. Anyone with a long gun could take Zoe out and get away without being seen.

  “Good evening, sir,” the receptionist said. “Do you have your membership card?”

  “I’m not a member. I wanted to see if I could talk to someone about joining the gym?”

  “Our membership coordinators are here between the hours of nine a.m. and six p.m. I do have an application you can fill out and bring back, or you can visit our website.”

  Carver nodded, looking around to see if he could spot Zoe and Mr. Muscles. He saw them upstairs, going stroke for stroke doing burpees. That made him smirk. He was her trainer. Guess he was touching her to see how his work was going. I should’ve known that he isn’t her type. It’s not as if he would have an idea as to how to handle this woman. That’s my job.

  “Sir?” the receptionist said. Carver looked down at her outstretched hand holding the application. “I hope to see you tomorrow.”

  He took the application and nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “Nine a.m., right?”

  She nodded and Carver headed out the door.

  * * *

  “All right, all right, you win!” Marcus fell to the floor. “You’re a beast, woman!”

  Zoe bounced up and down and threw a couple of air punches. “I told you, I have energy to burn tonight.”

  Marcus gave her a sideways glance. “I got a few ideas,” he quipped.

  “Down, boy,” she replied as she knelt beside him. “Guess it’s too late for a spin class, huh?”

  “Yes. What’s going on with you? Win the lottery or something?”

  “No. Took a big job,” she said.

  “And you’re not going to tell me what you do,” he said, and smacked her calf.

  Zoe rolled her eyes. “Nope. But this might be more than I can handle.”

  “Not you. You’re a real-life Wonder Woman. My calves will be crying in the morning and probably for a few days.”

  “Yeah, right,” she said as she pinched his arm. “I’m going to run awhile on the treadmill.”

  “I’m getting a smoothie and going home disappointed. One day, Zoe, you’re going to come with me for some Netflix and chilling.”

  “Keep waiting for that to happen and you will always be going home disappointed and hard.” She hopped on the treadmill and started running. After an hour, she felt worn-out enough to go home and go straight to sleep. Zoe skipped the sauna room because the way she felt, she’d probably go to sleep there and wake up in the morning.

  In the morning, she was going to come face-to-face with him again. What had she been thinking when she agreed to help him with this cold case? He was temptation personified, and Zoe wasn’t sure if she could resist him. Even though she lied to herself often and said that she could.

  As she walked downstairs, she saw Marcus chatting it up with another woman getting her late-night workout on. She hoped he would have better luck with her. When their eyes met, she winked at him and headed out the door. It was quiet in the parking lot, and a gentle wind blew across her, cooling the heat burning in her muscles. But that ache, which had driven her to come work out this time of night, was still there.

  Carver.

  Kissing him was hot. Kissing him was wrong. They needed to find Jessica Dolan sooner rather than later. Did the FBI know for sure tha
t she was dead? She thought about the case from Ohio, where three women had been kidnapped and found a decade later. What if that was the case with Jessica? Deciding that she wanted some answers now and not in the morning, Zoe called Carver.

  “Banks,” he said when he answered the phone, sounding wide-awake. And that pissed her off. She wanted him to feel as uncomfortable as she did when he’d walked into her office earlier tonight.

  “Carver, it’s Zoe. I had some questions about Jessica Dolan that I didn’t ask earlier.”

  “So, you were thinking about me?” he quipped.

  “Thinking about the case and . . . Just answer my question.”

  “You have to ask it first.”

  Smart-ass, she thought. “Did the killer confess to killing Jessica, and if so, where did he say her body was?”

  “He never confessed to killing her, but her DNA was found in his van.”

  “Are we looking for a body, or is it possible that Jessica is still alive?”

  Carver sighed. “That’s highly unlikely. There’s evidence of her murder in with the other murders that we were able to convict him of. He just wouldn’t give us any details about where her body is.”

  “Where are we going to start?”

  “In Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

  “Why Santa Fe?”

  “That’s where Jessica was when she went missing. And if we’re lucky, we might get a lead on where we could find her remains.”

  “What if she’s still alive? Maybe sold into a sex trafficking ring or something like that?” Zoe said.

  “That’s why we need new eyes. I don’t think that’s an aspect that we’ve investigated. Let’s meet for breakfast, after you pack your bag for the flight, unless you want me to come over tonight.”

  Zoe sucked her teeth. Did she want him to come over? Yes. She wanted him to come over, come inside, and make love to her until the whole city knew his name. “Why don’t we meet at my office tomorrow at nine. You bring the coffee and bagels,” she said, then hung up the phone.

  Chapter 3

  Carver looked at his phone, then smiled. He waited just a few moments before he followed her out of the parking lot. Driving along the freeway, he knew that he was going to have to agree with every theory Zoe came up with about this case if he was going to keep her out of danger. The problem was, if she started looking into things on her own, she might figure out the truth about what was going on.