Deadly Rumors

by Cheris Hodges

  “That’s not true.”

  “Do you even know what the truth is? What it feels like?”

  Carver crossed over to her and touched her cheek. “Yes. I. Do.” He captured her mouth in a soft kiss, begging her for forgiveness, pleading for her to believe in his love. She pressed her hands against his chest, and when Carver thought she was going to push him away, Zoe gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. He said a silent thank-you to God. Maybe he and Zoe still had a chance to make this thing work.

  * * *

  Why am I kissing him? Zoe ripped her mouth from Carver’s and stared into his eyes. Could she forgive him? Did he really love her? Could she ever trust him?

  “Zoe.”

  “Carver, you really hurt me. I don’t want to always wonder if you’re being honest with me.”

  “I’ll never lie to you again, even if it is to save your life.”

  “That’s no excuse. You don’t think we could’ve caught Singletary together? I find people for a living. And I’m not going to stop until I find this son of a bitch. If he wants me, he can come and get me.”

  Carver shook his head. “This is why I didn’t come to your office and tell you what was going on. Zoe, he’s dangerous, and if you think I’m going to allow you to paint a target on—”

  “Babe,” she said. “You don’t have a choice. We’ve tried it your way, now it’s my turn.”

  “At least work with me and the Shadow Team.”

  “It’s my life, Carver. You’ve had me waste weeks of it, and I’m taking it back right now. If you and your shadow crew want to work with me, I’m cool with it.”

  “Hardheaded.”

  “Whatever.”

  He stroked her cheek. “Zoe, if something happens to you, I wouldn’t . . .”

  “Working together, we can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  Carver sat beside her, and Zoe leaned her head on his shoulder. While she could understand what he had done, she still didn’t like it—but she wasn’t going to write him off for loving her that much.

  “Is there anything else you’re keeping from me about killers that I should know about?”

  “No. But what do you know about Singletary?”

  She pulled her phone out of her purse and opened the file she’d been keeping on him. “I was going to share this with Smallwood, but things got hectic in my life, and when the news died down after Natalie’s arrest, I figured the FBI had its pound of flesh.”

  Carver read over Zoe’s detailed file and rubbed his forehead. “And you never wanted to work for the Bureau? I mean, this has more detail into his organization than our task force ever got.”

  “It helps that I wasn’t working for Smallwood. How much evidence do you think the double agent got rid of to help Singletary stay out of the reach of authorities?”

  “Looking at this, a lot. I wish you’d come to me with this.”

  She raised her right eyebrow at him. “You do realize that I was still pissed at you for arresting me when I started this, and I went above your head for a reason.”

  “Cold. Just cold.”

  “You know what else is cold? Handcuffs, a suspended PI license, and being trotted out in front of cameras as a person of interest in a sex-trafficking ring.” Zoe smiled sardonically. “I was pissed. And you’re the last person I wanted to talk to or share anything with.”

  “Well, we’re going to have to work on your sharing skills.”

  “I’m sorry, pot, what did you say?”

  “Hush, woman.” Carver kissed her on the cheek. “When we get to DC, we’re going to rest at my place for a little bit before heading to meet with the team.”

  “And resting is all we’re going to do.”

  “What about eating?”

  “Eating food is allowed. Carver, we have to get serious about finding Singletary, and I don’t need you distracting me.”

  “Here’s my promise: Until we find Singletary, that’s going to be our focus. But once he’s no longer a threat, I’m taking back every minute I missed making love to you.”

  Zoe’s lip trembled. “Is that so?”

  He nodded. “Sure is.”

  “How much time do we have before we land?”

  “About another three and a half hours or so.”

  Zoe stroked his knee. “This is the part where we make up, right?”

  “Yes, it is.” Carver brought his mouth down on Zoe’s. This time the kiss was hot, wet, and filled with passion. She sucked his tongue as he lifted her leg to gain access to her wetness. And Zoe was dripping wet, filled with need and want.

  “Carver,” she moaned as he fingered her slit. Her desire dripped like warm honey. “That feels so good.”

  “I can make you feel better,” he said as he slid her panties off. Then he eased between her legs, lapping her sweet juices. Zoe pressed her hips into his lips and Carver deepened his kiss. His tongue danced across her throbbing bud. Just as her thighs started to shiver and she was about explode, Carver pulled away. Zoe gasped, wondering why he’d stopped at that moment.

  In a flash, Carver had discarded his shorts and lifted Zoe from her seat. He drove into her, whispering in her ear how much he loved and needed to be inside her.

  “Carver. Carver!” They matched each other thrust for thrust—as if they were trying to disappear inside each other. Zoe gripped his neck as she bounced up and down on his erection until she did explode. Her hot juices dripped down his thighs. Carver’s climax came right after. They fell back on the seat and Zoe placed her hand on his chest.

  “We’re definitely going to need a few hours of sleep before we dive into finding Singletary,” she said.

  “Umm-huh.”

  Before too long, they’d both gotten a head start on the rest they needed as the couple drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 26

  Zoe woke up with a start when the jet hit a pocket of turbulence. “Oh, God!”

  “What’s wrong?” Carver asked, his voice groggy.

  “I thought we were about to crash. Jesus, I’m not getting on another plane anytime soon.”

  “It’s going to be fine. We’re not going to crash and I got you.” Carver kissed her forehead.

  “I need to call Zach and let him know what’s going on.”

  Carver shook his head. “Zoe, the fewer people who know about this, the better. I know you and your twin are close, but he doesn’t need to know what we’re doing.”

  She nodded, realizing that Zach had been through enough because of Natalie and Singletary. “I’ll keep him out of this.”

  Carver nodded. “Besides, you’re the one Singletary is trying to get.”

  “Then I need to stop hiding. If he wants me, he can come and try to get me. If you and this shadow group are big and bad, then you guys can protect me.”

  “I’m not willing to take that risk, Zoe.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s my life, and we’re doing it. Let him know where I am. If he’s in Virginia, then I need to make myself seen in Washington. He probably has more than one mole in the FBI.”

  Carver sighed, though he figured Zoe was wrong about that. He’d hoped that she would settle down a little, but he should’ve known better. Zoe’s fuse was lit and she was poised to explode. “Let me make a call.” He glanced at his watch. “We should be landing in about thirty-five minutes.”

  She nodded and walked over to the bar to pour herself a drink. Landings were another thing she hated about flying. Planes crashed on the runway all the time—at least in her mind.

  “Are you all right over there?” he asked after watching her down her second bourbon.

  “I’ll be fine. I think we should skip resting and head straight to your crew. I have a plan, and you’re just going to have to go along with it.”

  “That’s still up for debate,” Carver said as he walked over to her and drew Zoe into his arms.

  Charlotte, North Carolina

  Chante was in heaven as she lounged on the sofa. Zach massa
ged her swollen feet and she moaned in delight. Dinner had been delicious, but she was sure her doctor would frown on her putting French fries on top of that greasy pizza. But it seemed to calm the baby down.

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so thankful,” she said.

  “Please, I’m the lucky one. I think there are two babies in there, if your dinner is any indication.” Zach kissed her big toe.

  “Oh, hush. This is just one little girl who was hungry.”

  “If you say so. Are you feeling better?”

  Chante nodded. “I think you’re right about me doing too much. I’m going to hand off some of my cases to my associates and get used to the changes in my body.”

  “Not you.”

  “I’m finally listening, but forgive me for not knowing how being pregnant would change my life.”

  “But in a good way, right?”

  “Of course.” She placed her hand on her belly. “I love our baby already, and I can’t wait to welcome her into the world.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him, either. Chante, I love you so much.” Zach scooped his wife up in his arms. “Now, let’s go to bed.”

  “I’m not sleepy.”

  “Who said anything about going to sleep?”

  * * *

  Lewis sat in the ratty motel room waiting for Joe. He made sure to tuck the ransom note away. Both men were frustrated that the plan for the kidnapping had stalled. Joe burst into the room with a scowl on his face.

  “This is taking too long.”

  “I know that, but I’m going to take the cameras out and—”

  “No,” Joe said. “Grab her from the house. You’ve been over there long enough to know how they operate. When you get her, bring her to this address.” He handed him a piece of paper. “It’s an abandoned warehouse. I’ve set up a meeting with Zachary at seven a.m. to talk about one of his properties. He should leave home before she does. That will give you time to bring her to the warehouse. We don’t have any room for errors. Make sure you don’t get caught.”

  “Got it.” Lewis smiled, thinking that the ransom note was going to drive Zach crazy. His wife was probably the most important thing in his life.

  “Zoe’s PI agency has an answering service, and once we have her sister-in-law, I’m going to leave her a message.”

  “What happens when she shows up?”

  “The bitch dies.” Joe headed for the door. “It’s time to get our revenge.”

  * * *

  Landing in Washington, Carver didn’t want to go through with Zoe’s plan to mark herself as Singletary’s target, but his woman was determined. He could tell by the way she marched off the jet and stood on the tarmac with her arms folded across her chest. Whether he liked it or not, she was going to do everything he was trying to keep her from doing.

  He never wanted her to be a target for this man. How was he going to make sure she didn’t end up like Monica?

  “Come on,” Zoe said as she locked eyes with Carver as he stood at the top of the stairs leading from the plane.

  “Here we go,” he said as bounded down the steps. “I called a car service and it should be here shortly, but if you want to walk about twenty blocks, we can do that, too.”

  “Just hush,” she said as she squeezed his arm. “I’m not walking. But I did post that I just landed in DC on Facebook. If Joe is really stalking me, he’s watching my social media.”

  “Can you slow down?”

  “I’ve been in a holding pattern for weeks,” she said. “Fine, I’ll meet with your people before I do anything else.”

  “Thanks.” Carver wrapped his arm around her waist. “Looks like that’s our car, or a hit man.”

  She hip checked him. “Will you stop it?”

  “Not until he shows me some identification.” Carver walked up to the car and spoke with the driver for about five minutes before he waved Zoe over.

  “He’s not a killer, right?”

  “That’s right. I’ll get our bags. You can get in the car, get off your feet.”

  She offered him a mock salute. “Sir, yes, sir!”

  Carver grabbed the bags and joined Zoe in the car. She turned and looked at him. “Where are we heading?”

  “If I tell you, are you going to tweet it?” Carver quipped.

  “No.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “I’m just ready to get this thing off the ground and put this man behind bars or in a grave. He’s going to learn that I’m not one to mess with.”

  “He should be afraid.”

  “Yes, he should.”

  They rode in silence for the next twenty minutes; then the car pulled up at a white building that reminded her of a doctor’s office.

  “Let’s go,” Carver said as he opened the door.

  “What is this place?”

  “Just an office building.” Carver pulled the bags out of the car and smiled.

  “Don’t say a word about social media.”

  “I wasn’t.” They walked to the building, and he punched in a code, then opened the door. When they walked into the building, Zoe looked around at the computers and equipment lining the walls.

  “Control central?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Banks,” Sarah called out.

  “Sarah,” he said as he crossed over to the statuesque woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Where’s the gun?”

  She lifted her pant leg and showed him her holstered. 22. “I’m always strapped.” She glanced at Zoe. “Miss Harrington?”

  “Just call me Zoe.”

  Sarah walked over to her and shook her hand. “You’re beautiful.”

  Carver cleared his throat. “Can we get down to business? And where are the others?”

  “Ray went to get some food and Kenneth is following up on a lead on Singletary in Richmond.”

  “How many people are involved in this?” Zoe asked.

  “There are only four of us,” Sarah said. “One thing that we’ve learned is that you have to be careful who you trust these days. We’ve all been though the fire together and have each other’s backs.”

  Carver nodded. “War creates family.”

  “Or destroys it,” Sarah said.

  “That’s all well and good,” Zoe began as she looked from Carver to Sarah. “But this man wants me dead, and I don’t plan on letting him get what he wants. So, how are we going to find this bastard?”

  Sarah smiled, then nudged Carver. “I like her, Banks.” She led them to a set of monitors in the back of the room. She sat down in front of the monitors. “We’ve been tracking Singletary’s financials and we see that he withdrew about ten thousand dollars from an offshore account. We ran his face through the facial recognition system and got a hit in New York.”

  “That son of a bitch,” Zoe muttered. “He really wanted to get me on my home turf?”

  “Zoe, this man is dangerous. He killed two FBI agents and he may be behind the death of your former sister-in-law.”

  Carver shook his head. “She was going to be the linchpin in the case against him.”

  Sarah nodded. “I’m guessing Wendy told him that, and that’s why she was killed in prison.”

  Zoe started pacing and Carver wanted to draw her into his arms. Maybe now she was starting to understand how brutal Singletary was. Sarah glanced at him, then rose from the monitor.

  “I’m going to get some water. You guys need anything?”

  “No, thank you,” Zoe said.

  Sarah left the room and Carver pulled Zoe into his arms. “Are you starting to see why I—”

  She placed a finger to his lips. “I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want to hear it. I can’t believe he killed Natalie.”

  “And didn’t even get his hands dirty. Zoe, we have to be careful.”

  “Forget being careful, we have to capture him.”

  Carver sighed and dropped his arms from Zoe’s waist. “Hardheaded and reckless. That’s going to be on your tombstone
.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Carver,” she said, “I’m tired of people telling me what to do and how I’m supposed to do it. That’s why I work for myself. That’s why I don’t work with my brother. Don’t let your need to control things be the reason I walk away from you.”

  Carver folded his arms across his chest. “Let me be clear about this situation. Joe Singletary is a killer who doesn’t give a damn who he hurts. He thinks that you cost him millions of dollars because you took Natalie down and unraveled his organization. Whatever I have to do to keep you safe, to keep you alive, I’m going to do it. You can love it or hate it, but I’d rather you walk away from me than see you buried.”

  * * *

  Zoe’s mouth fell open and nothing came out. She’d never been shut down so fiercely in her life. Carver lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. “You’re going to do what we say to keep you safe and get Singletary.”

  “All right,” she said.

  “No more going rogue and broadcasting your location to the world,” he said, then held his hand out. “Give me your phone.”

  “If you break it . . .” She held the phone out to him.

  “Not going to break it, just turning off your location services.” Carver entered the setting and turned it off, and deleted her Facebook app. “You should turn the phone off. So if you need to call your brother, do it.”

  “I’ll call him in the morning,” she said, stifling a yawn.

  “Tired?”

  She nodded. “But we have to find him. Sleep can wait.”

  “Tired Zoe isn’t going to be a lot of help. There is a room in the back where you can take a quick nap and join us later.”

  As much as she didn’t want to, Zoe headed to the room where Carver told her she could rest. She took a seat on the soft sofa and smiled. At least he was including her in the search for Singletary. But she was still a bit miffed that he’d wasted so much time on a wild-goose chase when they could’ve been looking for Singletary. She leaned back on the sofa and grabbed her phone. Before turning it off, she sent Zach a text message.