by Tara Randel
“Sure.” Rico waved him into the cramped office. Inside, the stifling heat enhanced the greasy aroma of French fries sitting on a paper wrapper.
Once again Dante didn’t know how the guy worked in this jumbled mess. Papers were strewn over the desk, the trash can overflowing with empty coffee cups and soda cans. He was surprised a family of rodents hadn’t taken up residence in here.
“So, your wife’s a little uptight?”
Dante stopped in front of Rico’s desk. “What makes you say that?”
“Stella. She mentioned Ellie isn’t comfortable with all the shopping and nightlife.”
Grateful for the direction of the conversation, Dante took advantage of the opening. Running a hand over the back of his neck, he said, “It’s not that she’s uncomfortable. It’s the money.”
“Still harping about that?”
“I feel like it’s all we talk about. Even with the extra work you’ve thrown my way.”
“I thought she has a job.”
Dante dropped his hand. “She does, but her hours just got cut back.”
“Bummer.”
“Yeah.” He shifted his stance. “Listen, you didn’t call me in here to talk about my family problems.”
“Right.” Rico riffled through a mountain of papers. “I need you to run out for some car parts.”
“Now? Dude, I’m in the middle of a rebuild. Got engine parts scattered all over the place. Can’t Ramsey do it?”
A scowl wrinkled Rico’s brow. “You’re the new guy. Honor goes to you.” He rummaged around the desk until he found the list and handed it over.
As he took the paper, Dante realized this was the opportune moment to suggest bringing Eloise in. “You gotta be kidding me. Last place I worked we had a parts runner.”
“I had one, too.”
“What happened?”
“I started making more money and she decided to shop instead of work.” Rico shook his head as if the burden of making lots of money was his alone to bear.
“Stella?”
Rico nodded. “She organized the office. Ran errands.” Rico’s countenance fell as he gazed around the room. “Kept things under control.”
“No offense, man, but you need some help here.”
Rico sighed. “Been putting it off, but you’re right.”
“Hey, I don’t want to sound out of place, but how about hiring Ellie? She can run around for parts. Plus, her office skills are pretty good. Her desk is so tidy it’s ridiculous.”
Rico narrowed his eyes.
Too much? Dante backed off. “Hey, it was just a suggestion.”
“No, it’s okay.” Rico sank into his battered leather chair. “You wouldn’t mind having her around?”
“No. I mean, despite a couple of problems—” like kissing her when he shouldn’t “—we get along pretty good.”
“I would like to free up some time for other projects.”
Yes. He’s warming up to the idea.
“You’d be doing me a big favor,” Dante went on. “If Ellie can get some extra hours, maybe she’ll lay off the money discussions.”
Rico leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, a warning crossing his face. “This is work. No hanging around her and not getting any repairs done.”
Dante held up his hand. “No worries.”
“Then yeah, bring her in with you tomorrow. I’ll talk to her and we’ll go from there.”
“Thanks. You won’t regret it.”
He flashed the enforcer expression Dante recognized as Rico’s way of making a point. A threatening point. “Don’t make me, then we won’t have any problems.”
Not pushing his good luck, Dante held up the list. “I’ll be back soon.”
Rico waved him off. “Go.”
Doing everything he could not to let his pleasure show, Dante weaved through the cluttered garage to pick up his truck keys from his rolling tool cart. He’d been hoping to get Eloise closer to the action. Rico was either tired of working in that pit of an office, or he was warming up to Dante. He’d take the victory.
His good mood sobered when he thought about telling Eloise the news. She’d be happy to be more involved in the op than just relegated to computer searches. But going forward, Dante had to make sure he kept his word like he promised this morning. No more crossing the line, no matter how much Eloise tempted him. What was it about that woman that made him want to throw away this chance of moving up the ranks? Because that’s exactly what he’d be doing. Since he’d decided to work harder toward that promotion, it seemed like Eloise became more attractive than ever before. Or had he just never admitted to himself that he was interested in her?
And what about her goals? She wanted the promotion just as much as he did. So yeah, he had to be on guard now.
Closing his eyes, he recalled how soft her lips were when he brushed against them last night, how her lip gloss tasted of strawberries. How her brown eyes had turned a shade darker when he moved in for the kiss. He craved her scent, like exotic flowers blooming at dawn. When had he ever waxed poetic about a woman before? Never. That’s how he knew he was in trouble.
Eloise agreed they’d made a mistake. Was more than clear that it could not happen again. Still, he had to wonder. He never expected Eloise, by-the-book and professional, would ever lose her composure with him. He wasn’t exactly the kind of guy someone gave up a promising career for.
Shaking off his regret, he headed to his truck parked at the side of the building. He bit back a retort when Mac blocked his way.
“Where you off to?” the big, bald man challenged.
“Parts run.”
“That it?”
“Where else would I go?”
He moved in closer, making sure to let Dante know he had no trouble invading his space. “Not sure. Haven’t decided about you yet.”
“Doesn’t really matter what you think. Rico makes the decisions around here.”
“And you intend to get on his good side?” Mac barked out a laugh. “Good luck with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ramsey ambled over, a greasy carburetor in his hands. “Mac likes to think he’s second in command. Ignore him.”
Mac cut his coworker a dirty look. “You need to butt out.”
“And you need to remember your place.”
What was going on here? The tension between the two men was palpable. And since when had Ramsey become confrontational?
Taut seconds played out until Mac huffed and returned to the car he was tuning. Ramsey’s easygoing demeanor emerged. “Don’t mind him.”
“I won’t.” Dante frowned. “Thanks?”
Ramsey chuckled. “Got your back.”
“I’ll be back soon,” he said, then took off to get the parts his boss needed. As he approached his truck, he noticed Rico walking to a small brick building behind the shop. How had he slipped by without Dante noticing? Rico pulled out a set of keys to unlock the door of the structure Dante had noticed before. What could be in there? The real center of the business? Because his office certainly wasn’t it.
Rico disappeared inside and Dante got moving. With Eloise working with him, maybe they’d be able to figure out a way inside. Discover more about the car theft ring. Finally get some evidence they could use in an arrest.
Once he was on the road, he pulled out his cell and called Eloise. “Guess what, honey. I just got you a job.”
CHAPTER TEN
ONE SNIFF OF Rico’s office and Eloise took a giant step backward.
The tall, olive-skinned man with dark hair and equally dark eyes had the grace to grimace. “Before you say anything, I know. This place has gotten out of hand.”
Eloise tried not to gape, but really? No wonder Stella was no longer working for her husband. If she’d had
to put up with the noxious odor when she worked here, his wife deserved all her recent shopping trips and spa days.
“It’s not so bad,” Dante said beside her.
She shot him an Are you kidding me? look, then focused on her new boss.
“When Stella decided to stay home, I kind of let things go,” Rico explained.
Not sure how to reply nicely, she stepped into the small room to get her bearings. The trash cans overflowed with old food wrappers and what else she didn’t want to imagine. Just like Dante said, the desk was loaded with papers, which actually spilled over to the top of the filing cabinet. File folders had been set on the floor and an ancient computer sat in the corner, turned off. By the sheer volume of paperwork, Eloise wondered if Rico even bothered with the machine.
Rico gathered the mess on the filing cabinet and dumped the pile on the already overflowing desk, then set a small fan on top of the metal cabinet and turned it on. “Sorry it’s hot in here. The wall unit is on the fritz.” He turned to her. “Dan tells me you should have this place in tiptop shape in no time.”
No time? She wasn’t sure, but said, “We’ll see. I should get started.”
“And I need to get back to my work for the day,” Dante said, winking before making his way to a red sports car with the hood up. Eloise knew his gesture was for show, but couldn’t deny the tendril of pleasure.
“Any questions?” Rico asked.
“Not at the moment.”
He fished a plastic bag from the corner and tossed it to her. “Work T-shirts.”
She pulled one out, read Battles Auto Repair silk-screened on front, noticed the large size and held back a sigh.
Rico inched to the open door. “If you need me I’ll be out back.”
She raised a brow.
“I have another office.”
“Oh, my.” Eloise placed her hand over her chest, going for overwhelmed instead of curious.
“It’s in better shape,” Rico said, his deep voice gruff.
“Good, because I won’t be able to get to that one for—” she scanned the room again “—a while.”
“No.”
“No?”
Rico’s expression turned scary serious. “The building out back is off-limits.”
By his reaction, it was clear the office out back was where the real information lay. Now all Eloise had to do was figure out a way to gain access.
“Oh, okay.” She lifted a few papers from the desk. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”
Rico nodded.
“And, Mr. Battles?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks. For the job.”
He cleared his throat. “Sure. Just don’t make me regret having you and your husband under one roof.” His gaze narrowed. “What with you being newlyweds and all.”
She grinned at him. “We can behave.”
With a grunted response, Rico beat a hasty retreat.
Squaring her shoulders, Eloise surveyed the room. For all her organizational skills, she had no idea where to start, but for the sake of the investigation, she’d better figure it out soon.
“These might help.”
Eloise swung around to find a skinny man with stringy hair tossing a box her way. She grabbed it. “Trash bags?”
“You’ll need ’em.” With a chuckle he held out his hand. “Ramsey.”
Shaking his hand, she said, “Ellie. Dan’s told me about you.”
“All good, I hope?”
“So far.”
He chuckled. “Dan’s good people.”
“I think so.”
Returning to the task at hand, she decided to start by emptying the garbage first. The room immediately smelled better. Finding more garbage littered here and there, she filled another bag and then hefted them to the Dumpster. On her way back, a bald guy stopped her. Had to be Mac.
“Since you’re tidying up...” Mac tossed her a dirty work towel.
She caught it.
“You can figure out where that goes.”
“Then so can you.” And she tossed the dirty rag back to him.
Figuring he’d tell her off, she was surprised when all he did was let out a big belly laugh. Yeah, she didn’t like Mac at all.
In the office, her stomach sank at the amount of work that awaited her. Pushing back the sleeves of a cute peasant blouse she’d worn today—mistake—with skinny jeans, she checked the filing cabinet for a place to store the papers. Not much help since she ended up adding the haphazardly stuffed paperwork in the cabinet to her collection on top of the desk. Two hours later, three neat piles replaced the earlier disaster: shop work invoices, vendor bills and what she deemed miscellaneous.
It was the miscellaneous pile that caught her attention. Making sure everyone in the shop was busy, she slowly read through each page. The documents varied from bank notices to insurance reports. She pored over each one, searching for something out of place. Just before she reached the bottom, one page stood out.
The bold letterhead declared Griffin Enterprises. She lifted her head. Why did that seem familiar? She racked her brain, but couldn’t find the connection. Yet for some reason the name stood out.
The contents were random numbers and dates. She couldn’t risk taking the time to decipher it here, so she snapped a quick picture with her phone, then continued scrutinizing the rest of the pile, but nothing jumped out.
Moving to the filing cabinet, she straightened the drawers stuffed with folders. In alphabetical order, each folder was recorded with a neatly printed name. The writing looked female, most likely Stella’s work. How far back did the information in each file go?
She had her answers soon enough. Most files hadn’t been updated in six months, which pretty much lined up with the piles on Rico’s desk. Curious, she fingered through to G and found a vague file heading: GE. She pulled the folder. Empty.
“Shoot.”
Quickly returning it, she checked for any files on Marcus King. Just a few random receipts. Nothing to tie the two men together besides the legitimate side work, which would have been way too easy.
Going back to square one, she patiently read the contents of each folder, but found much of the same garage business. Well, at least she had one name to go on.
Glancing around, she groaned at the folders on the floor. “Not today.”
Ready to discuss her neat piles with her new boss, she looked over her handiwork, hands on her hips. “Not bad.”
Her gaze settled on the computer and, out of curiosity, she switched it on. The old thing took forever to boot up. Once the main page popped up, she hunted for a VIN replacement program, with no luck. No surprise, really. What did she expect? A flashing icon leading her to illegal activity? If there was anything fishy going on, Rico kept the info stored elsewhere.
It didn’t take long to find the business program for the auto shop. She fished out the invoices she’d found around the office and began to enter information.
“What are you doing?”
She glanced over her shoulder to find Rico in the doorway. “Entering invoices.”
“Did I tell you to do that?”
She rose. “I thought it would be helpful. Some of these go back a few months.”
He stepped farther into the room. “I’ve gotten behind. Don’t have the patience to enter numbers.”
“Since I work on computers for my other job, this is a piece of cake.”
“Really. You don’t mind data entry?”
“Not at all.”
He waved his hand toward the computer. “Okay, then. Carry on.”
He turned to leave but Eloise stopped him. “I do have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
With a look of impatience, he nodded. “Shoot.”
She pointed to the miscellaneous pile o
n the desk. “I wasn’t sure how to file or categorize this group of papers.”
Rico riffled through them, a frown creasing his brow. “These are just some old things that got mixed up here. I’ll take them out back.”
“Is there anything else I should be aware of that belongs out back?”
“If you aren’t sure, bring it to me.”
An opening she could use to investigate the other office. Success had her heart racing. “Gotcha.”
He took the papers and left. She’d made a good dent in the invoice pile when Dante stuck his head in the office.
“Anything?” he asked, voice low.
“Not yet,” she mouthed.
He nodded and said with more volume, “Looks good in here.”
Eloise stretched, a grin curving her lips. “I’m surprised I made this much headway.”
“I’m not.” He lowered his voice to a pitch only she could hear. “I’ve seen your desk at the department.”
“And?”
“Nothing. You have great organizational skills.”
“Thanks?”
“It was a compliment.”
“Sometimes I’m not sure with you.”
“And sometimes I tease you too much.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s quitting time for you. Want to grab dinner during my break?”
“Sure.” She powered down the computer and set the work she’d continue tomorrow off to the side.
“Shouldn’t I tell Rico I’m leaving?”
“Yep.” He sent her what she’d deemed his supersecret-undercover grin that not only conveyed undercover code—yes, go see what the boss is up to and report to me—but sent cascades of shivers across her skin. “And it just so happens he’s out back.”
“Imagine that.” She grinned.
Making her way through the stuffy garage, Eloise took a deep breath once she stepped outside, controlling a rush of anticipation along with the pulse-pounding aspect of police work she shared with Dante. Knowing answers might lie ahead. Drawing one step closer to figuring out the puzzles of the case. She balled her fists together to calm down.
The heat of the day had passed; the temperature had dropped and the air was fresh and welcoming. After being stuck in a small office, her nose bombarded by stale food, oil and car parts, the refreshing evening air revived her. Following a worn path through the scraggly grass scattered around the lot, she came to a brick structure. There were no windows, one door and a humming portable air-conditioning unit sticking out of the wall. She knocked on the door. Once. Twice, before it swung open.
