“Well, I guess I should rephrase that,” he laughed. “Each night, when I’m holding you, there is nothing more peaceful; and when I’m making love to you, there is nothing more satisfying. We’re right together, Stephanie. Everything about our love is perfect.”
“Even when we disagree?”
“Yes—even when we disagree. Do you know why?”
“Hmm?” She sighed as his hand slipped under her sweater and lightly rubbed her back.
“Because nothing is stronger than destiny; nothing can ever break us.” He kissed the side of her neck. “We’re a team, Stephanie. Everything we do as a team makes us stronger.”
“Then why didn’t you take the promotion?”
“Because I would have been doing what was best for the FBI without being able to do what’s best for us as a family. Being a team means being together, right? We can survive being apart—we’ve proven that—but being apart isn’t what’s best for us.” He kissed her neck again. “I need you to understand that I’m totally comfortable with my decision.”
Stephanie leaned back and ran a finger lightly along the edge of his jaw.
“Déjà vu,” she whispered with a smile.
And just like that, the closeness between them seemed to intensify.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The team working on the brothel sting operation met on a Tuesday afternoon. Present were Roy, Steve, Chaz, and Darren Chang, who would be the other analyst continually checking and cross-referencing information uncovered by the field agents.
“Today, we need to go over the personnel files of the agent and State Police officers who are assigned to this case. No detail is off limits.” Steve was running the meeting since he would be in charge of coordinating the case. “I also need to ask a few questions about intel that has already been gathered—but we’ll get to that in a minute.” He slid folders across the table to the two analysts.
Kentucky State Police officer Austin Marks: Nine-year veteran of the police force. Senior officer of the current undercover operation. Primary contact for Damien Granger, the point man for establishing this illegal brothel for the Travis family. Undercover for 18 months.
Kentucky State Police officer Chris Jenkins: Four-year veteran of the police force. Former U. S. Army Corporal. New to undercover work. Junior partner of the current undercover operation. Is supposed to be Austin’s younger brother from North Carolina who is a wiz at electronic security. Undercover for 18 months.
FBI Agent Vanessa Long: Five-year veteran of the Agency’s Louisville office. Has been undercover as Austin’s girlfriend for the past year.
Steve’s team spent nearly an hour dissecting the law enforcement officers’ work histories, their cover identities, and reports filed until everyone was certain they could anticipate how each person might function.
“We’ve had almost a month to bring ourselves up-to-date on this case. What do we know about the relationships this team has established with Granger’s people?” Steve listened while Chaz and Darren gave specific details about who associated with who and the types of situations members of the undercover team had found themselves in. Steve remained silent after the two analysts had stopped talking, but Chaz didn’t miss the quick flash of his gaze or the shift in position that alerted him that Steve thought something wasn’t adding up. In that moment, Chaz was grateful for having a professional relationship with his team leader that was strong enough for him to read subtle signals.
“On to the intel.”
Again, Steve was quiet while the analysts summarized the scope and relevance of the information they would need to collect if the team was going to finish building this case. He asked a few questions about how the team was able to pass information before ending the meeting.
When Chaz returned to his cubicle, he immediately logged into his email account. As expected, there was a message from Steve.
Chaz had noticed several minor inconsistencies in what the police officers had reported a couple of weeks ago. Either one of them was providing inaccurate data or Darren was skewing his reports. For what purpose, Steve still didn’t know. But since Chaz was the one who had pointed out a red flag a week ago, Steve wanted Chaz to watch closely for any additional problems. Steve would do the same and they would make sure no mistake was ignored. Neither of them automatically assumed that minor inconsistencies were accidental or insignificant.
Steve’s message was actually only one word: Concur.
No one could know what the pair of them suspected. Lives could be in danger if they were right. Their FBI agent could get blindsided. Chaz drummed his fingers on the mouse pad before moving the cursor to the DELETE button.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Chaz, wake up!” Stephanie bolted upright and shook her husband’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” He was fully alert the second he saw the concern on her face. He immediately pulled her against him.
“You don’t have a choice any longer,” she said in a soft but firm voice. “Steve is sick. You’re going to have to take his place.”
“Baby, we’ve talked about this. I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to, Chaz. Without you, the operation will fail. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but that impression was very clear.” She nodded her head against his chest as his brow wrinkled.
“What did you see?”
“You and Steve were sitting in his car talking. He told you that he has cancer; it’s treatable but he’ll be off work for at least two months. He’s not looking forward to radiation treatments five days a week for six weeks, but his doctor is optimistic that they can shrink the tumor. In the meantime, you’ll have to take on the role of Team Leader. He suspects one of the State Police officers is deliberately manipulating information, possibly to protect one of the suspects, and you’re the only person Steve trusts to put the pieces together.” She lifted her head and looked into his eyes with determination. “I’ve always completely trusted Steve. I got such an overwhelming feeling of rightness that there must be something the two of you have already discussed that no one else knows. He needs you to figure this out, Chaz.”
He cradled her face in both of his hands and let out a deep sigh. “What about you, sweetheart? What about my responsibility to our family?”
“This case won’t last as long as everyone thinks it will. I don’t have details to back up what I just said—it’s simply something I know. Trust me. Everything will be all right.” He closed his eyes when she put both of her hands on top of his and pressed her forehead to his.
“Okay.” His arms slid around her waist again. Knowing that his wife’s gift was almost never wrong did nothing to alleviate the frustration at being forced into something he didn’t want to do. He’d have to make it clear to Roy and Steve that his role would be temporary.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Steve was sitting in Chaz’s chair when he arrived that next morning and insisted they go for a walk. As Stephanie had seen, they walked to the parking garage and sat in Steve’s car so that they could have complete privacy. The conversation went as Stephanie had said it would. Although Steve didn’t seem too concerned about the investigation, a small wrinkling of his brow indicated his frustration with being sick. Chaz was frustrated by all of it.
“I want to be very clear that I’m only filling this position on a temporary basis,” Chaz expressed to Roy when they met an hour later.
“Understood,” was the supervisor’s only reply.
A meeting was scheduled for that afternoon with the rest of the task force, including the lieutenant and sergeant overseeing the officers of the Kentucky State Police, announcing the change of roles for Chaz. Roy explained Chaz’s deep involvement with the details of the case and experience on other task forces as his qualifications to be the temporary Team Leader. Since everyone at the FBI was confident that this change in leadership would not impact the schedule or scope of the plans that had already been made, the meeting went smoothly.
Officer Austin Marks (using the last name Par
ker) had overseen the transformation of a small office building into a jazz club and hidden brothel. Sitting on its own lot with plenty of parking, the three-story building was perfect for renovating the upstairs into rooms where patrons would have privacy with the ladies. From the outside, the upper floors would appear to be regular office space being used by legitimate businesses that were actually non-existent. The stairs were sealed off by gates that could be easily opened in the case of an emergency, and only body guards would have the key to unlock the elevator to the upper floors.
Officer Chris Jenkins (also using the last name Parker) had been in charge of installing and monitoring the electronic security system along with assisting with the hiring of security guards.
Agent Vanessa Long (using the last name Mitchell) would continue to supply information to her handler in the Louisville office but would have one meeting with Chaz so that they would be familiar with each other in order to complete his team’s assignment. She would remain undercover after this case until Damien Granger could be arrested and convicted.
Everything was set.
In two days, Chaz would move into an extended-stay hotel in Covington that would be his residence for the duration of the operation. Chris Jenkins/Parker had set up the brothel’s surveillance equipment so that a feed would be recording at the safe house. Technicians from the Cincinnati office would work 12-hour shifts to monitor the activity within the business. Since the brothel was expected to open within the next week, there would be plenty of errands to run where none of the operatives would be missed, and they could make time to check in with Chaz.
Although Chaz would be within an hour of reaching the Cincinnati FBI office, he had no intentions of going home during this assignment. There were too many uncertainties regarding the possible involvement of Paul Watkins. So, Chaz compiled a checklist of everything he needed to have with him at the safe-house and would be available to the undercover team 24 hours a day. Even though he didn’t want to be away from Stephanie, he also didn’t want to risk putting her, or the mission, in danger by coming home during the assignment—just in case anything went wrong. They could video-chat and speak on the phone; that would have to suffice. Besides, she didn’t believe the case would last several months, as projected. She was certain her husband would return home sooner than that.
As Chaz pushed his suitcase over so that he could load the box of supplies into the back of the SUV that had been rented for him, he hoped his wife was right.
CHAPTER 5
Stephanie changed the linens on the bed in the master bedroom and set aside Chaz’s pillow case. She wouldn’t wash it until he returned—or until his scent was so faint that she couldn’t detect him any longer. As she moved around the bedroom taking care of mundane chores, she wondered how she would sleep without him beside her. Except for that week in December when Chaz had been sequestered at a safe house during the trial of Evan Moseley, they hadn’t spent a night apart in the six months she’d been living in Cincinnati.
She understood why he had to leave. She also understood that the link between them was different than it had been the last time he was working undercover. It was much stronger. From her most recent dreams, she was also certain that there was a role for her to play in solving this case. She didn’t know what it was. Still, as it had been when she had dreams during Chaz’s case in Erie where they met, Stephanie was open to whatever she needed to do to keep her husband safe.
Her dreams and her intuition would lead her. They always had.
At 10:00, she climbed into the freshly made bed, sat back against the headboard, and sipped a cup of tea that would hopefully relax her enough to sleep through the night. She’d already spent half an hour meditating. Less than fifteen minutes later, Stephanie turned off the bedside lamp, pulled Chaz’s empty pillow case from beneath his pillow to smooth it out over hers, and settled in for the night. Her left hand, with its gorgeous set of wedding rings, rested on his side of the bed where his chest would normally be beneath her face. She could imagine him there.
She was calm.
Her morning alarm buzzed at 6:45. She had made it through the first night. Chaz would be calling or texting her in a few minutes, as was their agreement. Taking her cell phone with her, she went to the bathroom and then the walk-in closet to choose her outfit for the day. Just as she was laying out her undergarments, the phone notified her that a Skype call was coming through.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Chaz said as soon as he saw her face on the screen.
“Good morning to you, too.” Her smile was as bright as his. “Did you miss me?”
“You can’t believe how much.” He yawned and stretched. “I kept waking up wondering why the bed was so cold, and each time it took me a moment to realize that I wasn’t home with a beautiful woman curled against me.”
“Well, I slept just fine. I don’t think I woke up at all.” She laughed when he frowned. “I slept on top of your pillow case and fooled my senses into thinking you were here. The scent of your cologne mixed with the last time we made love is something I’ll never get tired of.”
“Clever lady.” There was a long pause while he simply looked at her. “You know, I’m totally in love with you, Stephanie.”
“I feel the same way, Chaz.” She gave him a confident smile.
“I’m assuming you didn’t have any dreams last night.”
“Nope. None.”
“You’re clear on what to do if there’s something you need to tell me, right?”
“Yes, sir. I’m supposed to send you a text message with the word ‘dream’ and you’ll call me the moment you get it, or as soon as you can.”
“That’s right. No matter what time it is, okay?” His wife nodded. He kissed his finger and pressed it to the screen. She did the same.
“Have a good day,” she said softly.
“You, too.”
A moment later, Stephanie was turning on the shower and stepping into the steam. She’d had a dream, but like the walk-in shower, it was foggy. She wouldn’t mention it until she knew more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The files forwarded from the Louisville FBI office didn’t add much to the information already collected by the undercover Kentucky State Police officers. What it did was give Chaz greater insight into the personality of Damien Granger. The undercover FBI agent, Vanessa, had been meticulous in describing incidents in such a detailed way that Chaz felt like he was discovering their target for the first time. No, he wouldn’t discount what his office had already gathered, but he definitely wasn’t going to dismiss the observations of someone who interacted with the target on a daily basis.
He glanced at his watch. Vanessa should arrive soon. She was supposed to shop for dresses to wear to the opening night of the jazz club, and that would provide an opportunity for her to slip away to meet with him.
Chaz studied her photos and profile: lean but still nice curves, oval-shaped face with high cheekbones, large brown eyes, long lashes, auburn hair that hung in gentle curls halfway down her back, deep bronze skin tone, 5’7”. Chaz couldn’t determine her ethnicity other than to assume that at least part of her heritage was of a light African American or dark Asian origin. She was beautiful; apparently Granger favored an exotic look. Damien Granger had met Vanessa at a restaurant—a seemingly random encounter where she was alone at a table in the bar area and just happened to be caught surreptitiously checking him out. Chaz could see how she would be a distraction from whatever business had brought the target to that restaurant on that evening. His eyebrows wrinkled as he wondered how much of a role she was playing in getting women settled into the brothel.
Just as he walked around the counter to put his coffee cup in the sink, someone knocked on the door. He placed his hand on the gun that was concealed in the back of his waistband before approaching.
“Who is it?” he called out as he stood to the side of the door frame.
“Little Bo Peep.” The codeword identified Vanessa. Chaz swung the
door open and stepped aside so that she could move in quickly.
“Chaz Lawson,” he said as he stuck his hand out.
“Vanessa,” she responded. “Creds?”
“Oh, yeah.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his FBI credentials. “I’m glad you’re cautious.” When he stepped aside to let her move fully into the common area, he got a whiff of a perfume similar to what Stephanie wears. Obviously, Vanessa had good taste.
The suite at the extended-stay hotel consisted of an open-concept floor plan with a large seating area, a kitchen, and an eating area on the first floor with the bedroom on the loft. Vanessa took a quick assessment before settling on the edge of an overstuffed chair by the faux fireplace. Deciding it would be best to let her get comfortable around him, Chaz chose to casually lean against the counter that separated that room from the kitchen.
“I’ve read your file and your reports,” was how he started their conversation. “I’m impressed that you’ve been able to get so much information, considering most men in Granger’s position are cautious with their pillow talk.” He made sure his words didn’t sound judgmental since he didn’t know how she would respond. “Let me tell you a little about myself.” He proceeded to give her a brief history of his years with the Bureau and his goals as Team Leader. Finally, she relaxed and settled more fully into the chair. Chaz took that as his cue that it was okay to move to the sofa. He sat and leisurely crossed one leg over the other.
“Now, there’s an issue we need to discuss that has to stay strictly between you and me.” Vanessa’s eyes lit with a bit of curiosity. “There are two undercover police officers who don’t know you exist and I plan to keep it that way. You’re the Bureau’s most valuable asset and there is no way we want to rely on anyone else to protect your cover. So, I’m making the call that you should know about my guys but they can’t know about you. If at all possible, I’d like you to stay out of their way.” He nodded at a folder on the coffee table. “Those are photos of them.”
Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 Page 4
