by Serena Zane
“If I want help, I ask for it, not the other way around.” She pushed against his chest. Lucy tried to move him away from her. He didn’t budge. “And,” unable to move him, she kept her hands in place trying to hold him there. Aware of the rock hard muscles under her palms, her voice struggled to remain even, “if I did happen to want help, it wouldn’t be from you.”
“Face it Montgomery,” Kevin stood his ground, “you need someone with you tonight, and I’m already here. So, let’s just make the best of the situation, okay?”
“Fine, just stay out of my way.” Lucy fumed.
How dare he make presumptions about what I need? She tried again to move out of the circle of his arms, her traitorous body reacted to his nearness, her nipples getting hard, pressing against the thin material of her dress. He can just stand there for all I care. Lucy tried not to think about the way his mouth drew her eyes, scant inches away from hers.
A beam of light split the darkness of the street. Sharply turning her head, she caught movement as the front door to Finnegan’s opened. Lucy’s attention returned to her job, she pushed thoughts of Kevin into the back of her mind. Hard as she tried to focus, she found it difficult to forget the irritating man.
Lucy got rewarded. Pushing against Kevin’s arm, she broke through his hold, and turned to face the street. The relief immediate as she moved away from him, her nerve endings started to settle, intense.
Lucy got her first glimpse of Chuck Conner as he stepped out on the stoop. His cream suit spotted with gray as he paused to snap up a black umbrella. A streetlamp in the corner made the cane he carried appear silver as it flashed in the light.
Conner made his way down the few steps of the stoop and onto the sidewalk. His arrogance telling in the way he carried himself as he strutted down the street. Lucy found herself irritated at him, for no real reason, and wondered why she had such a strong reaction. She hovered on the corner of the alley for just a moment before lunging herself into the street.
No time like the present, Lucy mused as she rapidly approached the man supposed to be their mole. Now is as perfect a time to start as any. As she left Kevin behind her, she focused on her mark. If the Kevin hadn’t noticed her as a woman in all these years, he wasn’t about to start to now.
CHAPTER 3
Kevin registered at the last minute that Lucy had taken off across the street right after a guy came out of the pub. If he didn’t miss his guess, the man would be their informant. He doubts about her plan ran through his brain as she approached Conner.
Uneasy, Kevin hustled to catch up. “Honey, wait up. You know I don’t like to walk fast. What’s wrong with you?” He waited as Lucy turned to stare at him incredulously. Kevin reached her right before she got to Conner. “I’m pleased you’re so eager to get back to the apartment. I’m chompin’ at the bit,” drawling in his best Texan accent, he gave a broad smile. Kevin thought he should be wearing a Stetson and a pair of silver tipped Ropers to complete his look. He caught Lucy by the elbow.
She jerked out of his grip as he tried to stop her.
“Sir, excuse me, sir?” Lucy called loudly to get Conner’s attention, “Would you help me please? This obnoxious halfwit,” jerking her thumb at Kevin she moved quickly to Conner’s side, “is making my night miserable and I can’t seem to find a taxi anywhere.” She put on her best helpless female face.
If he falls for that I’m going to be sick, Kevin moaned inwardly.
Conner turned, and Kevin could just imagine what ran through the man’s brain. Any guy with a set of eyes would take advantage of this situation. Lucy appeared to be a small gorgeous female. She looked something like a drenched rat, a really cute rat, with her long strawberry blond hair hanging loose and wet as she tried to get out Kevin’s grasp.
With her looks Conner would be a goner in no time. Against his better judgment as Conner stepped forward, Kevin dropped his hand.
“If I may be of assistance, Miss, I would be glad to help?"
Lucy beamed at Conner and trustingly placed one of her tiny hands in his. Her other hand went over her heart. She offered Conner one of the prettiest grins Kevin had seen from her in a long time. If he didn’t know Lucy so well, he wouldn’t have any idea she’d faked it. Her big green eyes turned up to Conner and the man kissed her hand.
Impossible, Kevin suppressed a groan.
“Thank you sir, I need to get home, and my date here couldn’t understand I meant to go home alone.”
Lucy shot Kevin a look even he couldn’t miss. Aware he almost blew her cover, he understood her anger. But he’d be damned if he would let her go in alone.
“Do you live nearby where I can call a taxi, and get out of this rain?” She laughed and lightened the mood a bit. Lucy pulled at her wet clothing. “I’m soaked.”
The poor man probably couldn’t help himself. As Lucy smiled up at him Conner started grinning like a fool.
“Sure do,” Conner offered her use of his umbrella. “My place is just a block down. If you would like to wait there for a few minutes for the cab it would be fine.”
“Thank you, beats being out in the rain.” She moved to get under the umbrella with Conner and slid her arm through his. Lucy’s small form fit easily under the cover.
Kevin’s nerves went on edge. He moved to pull her away from the offending man. He really didn’t want her to go to Conner’s apartment with him. If this man really was the mole, then she placed herself in danger.
“Now wait a minute here--”
They turned to move away, ignoring him as they headed down the street.
Kevin raised his voice to get their attention, “Me and the li’l lady’re doin’ fine on our own, thank you very much. I don’t rightly appreciate your interference.” He moved to stand in their way.
“I don’t believe the lady wants this date to continue.” Conner placed the umbrella in Lucy’s hand and took a step towards Kevin. Not a likely hero, Conner surprisingly intervened. Kevin knew he certainly would defend her, but it hadn’t seemed as though Conner would. The man stepped forward again. “You best leave before you create a scene.”
“Is this what you want, honey?” Kevin looked at Lucy and made a face.
She placed a hand over her mouth as she suppressed a laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Kevin knew he got on her nerves, and decided to concede. She started to shake her head.
He interrupted, “We’re havin’ such a nice time together.”
“No, you had a nice time. I, on the other hand, just want to go home.” Lucy gave Kevin a look that basically stated that she wanted him to leave and then turned a pleading glance on Conner.
“You heard the lady. Get a move on.” Conner waved his cane in the opposite direction. It took all Kevin’s will power not to grab the cane out of Conner’s hand and shove it somewhere the man wouldn’t like it.
“Don’t think I’ll forget this.” Kevin gave Lucy an admonishing glare. He turned to cross the street, and waited for a break in the traffic. Kevin would stay hidden behind the alley corner until they moved far enough away before following. He pulled the collar up on his trench coat and trudged across the street
Kevin listened over the bug as Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to ditch that guy all night. Nothing seemed to work until you came along. That’s the last time I ever let Linda set me up.”
“No problem,” Conner laughed.
Kevin wanted to shove his umbrella down his throat.
The man continued oblivious to the steaming jealousy running through Kevin’s veins, “Let’s get going, the rain’s coming down hard.” He pulled her under his arm and they started to walk down the wet sidewalk. Rain splattered around them and their conversation was almost obscured by the sound of drops falling on Conner’s umbrella.
Lucy pulled at her waterlogged coat. “Would you mind if I imposed on you for something hot to drink as well? I could really use it after all of this rain.” Lucy gave him her best bedroom eyes, and Kevin
’s fists clenched as he watched her work her magic.
Conner tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I’d love to get you a drink.”
Kevin surveyed the scene from the corner of the alley before starting to follow.
“Killroy, I can’t take much more of this.” Kevin growled into his headset, “She’s too personally involved and she’s going to slip up somewhere.” He pictured Lucy as she tried to rescue her brother from his kidnappers. She would do something rash, and he was worried about her frequent bursts of impulsiveness.
“I know you don’t want to hear this Garrett,” Killroy’s tone held authority over the earpiece, “but she’s the best agent we’ve got for this case. If anyone can find Chase, she can.” Silence met Killroy’s response. The director continued when Kevin didn’t answer, “Keep an eye on her. If she does anything too dangerous, step in. Until then, keep your distance. I mean it Garrett. She’s not a rookie anymore. Trust her.”
“Easy for you to say--” Kevin’s eyes followed them as Lucy and Conner rounded the corner, when he couldn’t see her skirt anymore he began to follow. “She’s moving.” Kevin eased around the edge of the building. He slunk along at a discreet distance on the other side of the street. Kevin stayed to the shadows. He would be hard to spot dressed all in black from his baseball cap to his hiking boots. He never went unprepared. His skeptical gaze pierced the darkness as he followed his quarry.
His eyes tracked Lucy as she dashed through the glass door held open by the informant. Waiting for them to get inside, Kevin crossed the street heading for the entrance. The building looked like all others in New York, tall and impressive with a security lock at the front door. Having no idea which floor Conner would take Lucy, he gave another muffled curse.
“Killroy, we’ve got a problem.” Kevin attempted to figure out the configuration of the lock. He bent over the device studying the layout, complicated. “I can’t get inside unless I disable the lock. It is voice activated with fallback to safety card access.”
“Not a problem Garrett. Wait outside. We’re listening to their conversation as we speak, thanks to that tiny little bug you placed on her hip.” Killroy paused, “She’ll never know there’s backup unless something goes wrong.”
“I’d still feel a lot better if I could get to her easily. I don’t like this.” He’d never be able to figure out the system, the codes just too complex to do manually. Kevin’s mind started to turn to new ideas about how to get to Lucy when Killroy’s voice came over the headset again. He didn’t like to feel useless, and he wanted to be able to get to Lucy if she needed him. Broke glass in the door always worked.
“I’m well aware that you feel protective towards Montgomery.” Another pause as though Killroy contemplated what to say. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for losing her brother.”
Silence descended.
“And I need to move on. Right?” Failure ate at the lining of his stomach. He knew that they’d taken Chase from his apartment and nothing that he could have done would prevent what happened, that didn’t make it any easier. Kevin couldn’t help thinking he should’ve been more aware of the situation.
Killroy put him on the case specifically. Kevin felt unable to forgive himself when he let his guard down. “Thanks for the advice, but you’ve said it a thousand times.” He pulled his hat off, ran a hand through his hair, and took a calming breath. “What’s going on up there?” Kevin moved to tug his coat closer around him and slapped on his cap. Rain still poured down and he quickly became grateful for the awning in the front of the skyscraper. “Keep me updated, okay.”
“Sure, don’t worry too much, Garrett. They haven’t even come through the front door yet.”
Kevin grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
Killroy chuckled on the other end of the line.
CHAPTER 4
Lucy followed Conner into his apartment. She stood with an awed expression on her face at the interior letting herself be impressed. The room was elaborately furnished in an Oriental design. She wanted to play to this man’s ego.
Lucy eyed the large obsidian cat on the mantle and gave a passing thought to the mini-cam she’d installed there earlier in the evening. She regretted defacing such a lovely statue. If things worked properly the camera inside should record everything. The team would recover the tape later to find out if they could glean any information from it.
She turned to face Conner when he spoke. Lucy made sure her smile lightened. He grinned back at her reminding her of an overgrown weasel with blond hair and aqua marine eyes, attractive, yet somehow sneaky.
“Would you like tea, or something stronger?” Conner moved closer to her. “You seem to be having a rough night.” He reached to take her coat. Conner extended a hand, and Lucy passed him the soaked garment.
“I’ll take the something stronger.” She wandered over in front of the fireplace and positioned herself to look around the room. Lucy admired the exotic feel held here and wished someone other than Conner stood across the space as he placed her drenched garment over the railing near a heater vent. That same someone who probably wore a path in front of the building, Kevin wasn’t good at letting her take the lead.
Screw him.
Lucy sighed, and stretched, “This is a beautiful place.”
Conner looked up from his task of spreading her coat on the heater, and leaned one hip against a chair.
“It's hard to find apartments decorated with such taste. I hate to sit down and get your sofa all wet.” She gestured to the ivory suede couch that adorned the corner of the room. “Did a decorator do your place or does good taste come naturally?”
His smile broadened at her attempt at humor.
Lucy patted herself on the back. It wasn’t the first time she’d gone undercover, and Lucy was glad she’d found a hidden talent for acting. In her years with the Agency Lucy had gone undercover seven times. Her lips moved up in a slow motion as she thought of her favorite assignment as an ER doctor. Conner’s voice faded into the background.
Assigned to find the people involved in contract killings for certain patients in the hospital, her team had narrowed the field down to prescription fraud. The four men that were involved killed sixteen people before she’d found their trail. It proved a challenge to bring down people like those men. Men like Conner who thought they got away with everything. It wouldn’t be long before he paid for his choices.
They’d used the hospital system to filter drug “mishaps” through the pharmacies. Her team had overheard the pharmacy attendant as he talked with a nurse about someone being in the medical cabinets the night before. The attendant found an empty bottle of penicillin on the counter the next morning with a chart left there by one of the nurses, or so the young man believed.
Lucy had set up surveillance at the pharmacy like the one in the cat on the mantel. The digital recording caught one of the nurses involved. For a deal with the district attorney he’d squealed on his partners like a stuck pig. She’d loved her work in the ER and had learned a lot about the medical industry.
Her grin widened as she came out of her thoughts. She should have gone into theater.
Conner hadn’t paid any attention to her distant expression as he continued their conversation. He walked over to the wall opposite the fireplace and opened the liquor cabinet to pull out the brandy bottle.
After pouring her a snifter of the amber liquid, he answered her question. “Actually, I do employ a decorator. She defers to me when she’s being indecisive. I hate to be immodest,” turning to her, Conner placed a hand over his heart, “but I’m afraid you’re right. Good taste is natural for me.”
He strode over to where she stood and handed her the snifter in his other hand with a flourish. “Please, take a seat.”
“I really shouldn’t. I’m soaked through.” Lucy once again pulled at her clothes. The damp cloth sucked to her body and outlined her curvaceous form.
Conner’s eyes traveled her lines like a well-modeled statue. His lo
ok said he wanted to reach out and touch her.
“You should get out of those clothes. Let me go get you something to wear. It’s going to be a little big on you, but it’ll be better than being in those wet things.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate it.” Moving a hand to wipe back her hair, more strands fell in her face with the motion.
Conner shifted. “I’ll get you a towel as well. While I’m gone why don’t you start the fire? I know you must be cold.” He pointed to the wall by her head. “There’s the switch.”
His finger indicated a small device on the side of the bricks and she noticed the tiny power switch for the electric generated fireplace.
“I’ll be just a minute.”
As he left the room Lucy started the fire. Flames leapt to life with a flip of the switch, the yellow and orange licks drew her eye. She knelt in front of the heat. Lucy dried her hair by the flames, and waited for Conner to come back. She threw the remainder of her brandy into the fireplace. A quick flare and the alcohol disappeared.
It wouldn’t do good to get tipsy on a job like this.
Conner entered the room with an armful of sweats and a towel. “Here you go.” He handed them over to her. Conner’s gaze shifted to the empty brandy snifter on the mantle. “Looks like you finished your drink. Would you like another?” His brows raised in a hopeful expression.
“I would love one, thank you. Where can I change?” She glanced around for the bathroom letting her eyes move around the room peeking down the hall.
“You can change in here.” Conner opened the sliding door to one of the guest rooms, and motioned her inside.
He didn’t know, but she’d previously familiarized herself with the layout of his apartment. This room contained an ornately carved, full-length mirror positioned across from the door. When she slid the door closed she left it partially open, just enough for Conner to be able to see her. Moving across the room, Lucy placed her things on the bed, then, turned to face the mirror.
