"Don't answer that, Maia," Jack warned. "Shall we take this into my office?"
Fuck, Jack thought. The story about the rescuer was, at best, very lame. Could anything lead back to Maia? She'd been very thorough, she even thought to take care of the gun powder residue.
When they got into Jack's office, Rick didn't waste time repeating his question. "For the last time, Miss Pierce, is there something else you want to tell me?"
Maia crossed her arms in defiance and just glowered at the detective.
"Back off, Tanner," Jack said. "The Bannings already gave their statements, right?"
"Yes," Rick bit out.
"So what is the problem?"
Without saying another word, Rick pulled out his laptop, switched it on and turned the screen to face them.
"The surveillance cameras in the grocery were shut off," Rick said. "But the ones in the bank across the street were not. And they caught every fucking shot."
CHAPTER SEVEN
"Seven seconds," Rick Tanner said to Maia. "It took you seven fucking seconds to take down Benny and his boys. Who the fuck are you?"
Jack was reeling from what he'd seen on the video. It was grainy because it was super-enhanced, but there was no mistaking that flash of red hair in action. Maia had told him how she took out Benny, Tommy and Syd, but actually seeing the whole bloody scenario unfold was something else. He was seeing her now as the lethal weapon she was.
"It was self-defense," Maia said coldly and reached into the back of her jean skirt. Just like that, she became someone dangerous; Rick tensed and reached for his gun.
"Now wait a minute," Jack barked and got between them. "Rick, holster that, damn it!"
Tanner hesitated for a minute then looked at Jack, "You know who she is? What she is?"
Jack nodded.
"I'm going to reach for my cell and make a call," Maia said carefully realizing she had spooked the detective. "You'll have your answer, agreed?"
Jack clenched his jaw. She was calling Viktor again. Fuck Viktor.
"Viktor," Maia said. "You better have your backup plan. ... yes... Tanner has a video of the whole freaking incident... surveillance across the street... a bank. Well I didn't think about it and besides it'd be worse if I broke into a bank... "
Maia laughed. How could she laugh at a time like this, did she think she was an untouchable? Jack thought.
"... I'll see if I can get you a copy ... yeah... yeah... I owe you for this ... bye."
Maia turned back to Rick. "My associate says five minutes."
"So tell me something," Rick said. "That day at the beach, that was all an act right?"
"Do I really need to answer that?" Maia replied sarcastically.
"Was deadly force necessary or were you paying them back for what they did to you at the beach?" Rick shot back.
"They were armed with assault rifles. They were going to shoot Kyle."
"It looked like you goaded them to strike you."
"Tell me, Rick, would you let a seventeen-year-old boy have his entire life fucked up while you stood by and did nothing? Because that was what's going to happen if they shot out his knee caps."
"I get that, damn it Maia, I get that," Rick muttered. "But I'm trying to figure out how to handle this evidence."
"Has anybody else seen it?" Jack asked.
"No," Rick admitted. "But I can hardly look the other way." To Maia, he asked, "You really thinking your buddy can get you out of this?"
And Jack wondered the same thing. What will the great Viktor Baran pull out of his magic hat now?
Rick Tanner's phone started ringing. His brows furrowed and so did Jack's.
"Tanner," Rick said. His stunned eyes suddenly swiveled across to Maia, who was smirking. "Sir? But sir... "
Jack watched Rick's face turn red while whoever was on the other line lit into him.
Damn, what's going on?
"Ah... yes sir... that might be complicated... no one else at the station has seen it. I'll find a way to take care of it." Rick ended the call and shook his phone aggressively at Maia.
"You knew?" Rick bit out accusingly.
"What the fuck is going on?" Jack asked impatiently.
"Yes, detective, what is going on?" Maia asked sweetly.
Rick glowered at Maia, looking like he wanted to throttle her. Jack knew he'd had the same urge a few times.
"Jig's up anyway," Rick sighed and then looked at Jack. "I'm not a detective. I'm DEA. Name's Richard Grayson."
"What?" Jack whispered incredulously.
Shifting his gaze to Maia, Rick said, "I've been ordered to stand down and clean up this mess since you and I will be partnering against the Russian."
This wiped the smirk off of Maia's face.
Rick grinned, enjoying the swift payback. "I'll see your sweet ass in Baltimore soon. Looking forward to it." Glancing back at Jack who was now seething with displeasure, "Looks like your houseguest here has been keeping too many secrets from you if your reaction is anything to go by. I'll let her explain."
With that, Richard "Rick" Grayson packed up and left.
"What's in Baltimore?" Jack asked Maia softly.
"Rick's got a big mouth," Maia grumbled. "I can't tell you."
"Why didn't you tell me you knew he was DEA?" he pressed, his voice rising.
"It doesn't concern you."
"It doesn't concern me that I knew you were lying to the police?" Jack snarled.
"You have a point."
"What's in Baltimore?"
"Now that I really can't tell you. The less you know about it the better. Believe me: you don't want to mess with these guys," she said.
"Damn you, Maia. You think I'm scared of them?"
"Jack, I know the rumors behind your fiancée's death," Maia said steadily. "You've got a family... Brett. You guys have been through enough. You don't want to be on the Russian mob's grid, believe me."
"That's my fucking decision!"
"Well, in case you missed it. It's not your decision, it's mine. I'm not telling you."
"You told me about Lee." Jack hadn't planned on revealing that bit to Maia yet, but he was so pissed-off he just blurted it out.
"What?"
"You've got a loose mouth when you're shit-faced, babe," he taunted, not caring now that he was riling her up.
"You ass! You questioned me last night?" Maia demanded furiously.
When Jack didn't answer, she hit him hard on the chest sending him back a step.
"How dare you!"
"I dare, because you keep so many secrets from me," Jack yelled. "How can I keep you safe if you don't tell me anything?"
"I don't need you to keep me safe," Maia shouted at him. "Viktor keeps me safe!"
Jack detonated. That was the last straw.
He grabbed Maia, planted her ass on the desk and yanked her legs apart.
"Jack, stop manhandling me, damn it!" Maia squawked as she tried to gain purchase.
How could he be so angry and turned on at the same time? Jack thought, fascinated by the smooth skin of her thighs and mesmerizing tumble of her glorious hair.
He bent over, leaning in and pressing his hardness against her inner thighs.
"It seems the only thing I'm any good for is a quick fuck," Jack muttered thickly. He reached between them to unbutton and unzip his jeans.
"Jack, you're not ..." Maia breathed.
Jack was no longer listening; his need for her was too painful. He needed to be inside her, to feel her around him.
He pulled her head back and kissed down the side of her neck and then moved back up before taking her mouth greedily with his own. He then pushed her skirt up to her waist, tore off her panties, wrapped her legs around him and rocked into her.
***
Jack had just fucked her on his desk. Hard. Fully-clothed. It was raw, it was erotic. Not that their other encounters had not been, but Maia felt a desperation in him that echoed her own.
His face was still buried in the c
urve of her shoulder, they were both breathing hard from their fevered coupling. He glanced up at her now, his blue-grey eyes still dark with something unfathomable.
"I have no control when it comes to you," he whispered. "Are you okay? I was a bit rough."
"I can handle rough," Maia replied tremulously, still descending from her violent orgasm. "But you need to stop behaving like a Neanderthal every time you want to prove a point to me."
Jack grinned.
"You're lucky you give great orgasms," Maia said dryly. His grin got wider.
He pushed himself away and pulled her up. He tucked himself back into his jeans while she, still sitting on the desk, wiggled her skirt back down. Her panties were ruined.
Jack sat on his big leather office chair and gently clasped her left thigh, guiding her to swivel on her buttocks so she faced him.
"We need to talk," he said determinedly.
"Jack, if this is about Isabella it's really pointless."
"Can't we at least pretend not to be fuck-buddies. For one thing it sounds crude to explain especially with Grace's conservative sensibilities."
"Are we arguing about semantics?"
"We can enjoy each other with what time we have."
"Are we not doing that?"
"No, you keep throwing the just-sex card at me," Jack said in exasperation. "It's an awkward reference. And truthfully, it doesn't feel that way to me. I respect you too much to just treat you like a piece of ass. I want to protect you even if you don't want me to. We can pretend that we're seeing each other and act that way."
"You're asking me to be your pretend girlfriend?"
"Yes. Why not enjoy all the benefits?"
"It could get complicated, Jack," Maia frowned.
"You're afraid you'd fall in love with me?" Jack challenged.
"No, you might."
Jack laughed derisively which annoyed Maia. What? The conceited ass thinks he's too good to fall in love with me?
"Maia, I've had relationships for three months at a time, this last one with Isabella lasted eight. I care about them, but I am not in love with them," Jack shrugged. "All I'm saying is it makes for a more enjoyable arrangement if we do not treat each other like an embarrassing one-night-stand."
He had a point, but she felt an odd twinge of sadness for Jack. When Claire died she took his heart with her.
Why was she fighting him on this? Was she protesting too much? Wasn't this how she treated her beach hookups anyway, like it was some grand love affair? Well, that's how it got so fucked up with Lee , an inner voice argued. But that was because they had met up on Bali repeatedly. Was she in danger of falling in love with Jack? He did affect her more than any man she'd met. Maia scoffed inwardly at the idea. He's a player. Viktor already had him cased. And look at poor Isabella.
"What's the drama with Isabella, then?"
"She got it in her head that she was going to be Mrs. Jack McCord," Jack replied dismissively.
"Well, you did string her along for eight months," she reminded him.
"She knew my reputation and I'd never given her any indication that I would marry her," he defended. "I thought she understood that and yes, I may be to blame for that. I should have them sign a fucking contract next time."
"God, you're cold," Maia mocked. "Try spontaneity sometimes."
"Is that what Lee was? An act of spontaneity?" Jack scoffed.
"Can we leave out the jealous-boyfriend act?" Maia suggested dryly.
"Sorry, babe that's part of the deal."
"I won't discuss my past liaisons with you."
"Now, who's cold? Is that what I am to you, a liaison?"
"It's a more mature term than boyfriend or girlfriend. And it sounds illicit and exciting."
"Semantics?" Jack threw her own word back at her.
Maia knew Jack was going to be pig-headed about this. It was typical male behavior, acting irrationally possessive even if the relationship was temporary.
"What I had the first time with Lee was beautiful," Maia explained. "He had the typical rocker appeal, I was in a gorgeous island getaway, the setting was perfect. He crooned to me under bright moonlit nights. What girl wouldn't like that?" She sighed. "It was supposed to be a one time thing. But he kept in touch—very infrequently—like an odd phone call every month. I should have nipped it in the bud, but I told myself I didn't see any harm. They were getting big in Philly, he was busy with his gig with groupies following him everywhere. And then the second time, he tempted me by booking a villa in the same exclusive resort where we had previously stayed."
Jack muttered a string of curses. Maia stopped talking and raised a delicately-arched eyebrow at him.
"Go on," he grunted.
"I knew it was a bad idea," Maia continued. "The second time was as perfect as the first, too perfect that it made me wary. We let ourselves get lost in each other. Then we parted ways same as last time. He called me again making plans for our third getaway. I turned him down twice. The third time he just made the bookings and told me he was going with or without me. Derek warned me I was facing a train-wreck but I didn't listen." Maia released a deep breath. "I was addicted in some way. When Lee told me he had fallen in love with me, I realized how selfish I was. The life I led, it wasn't fair. I should have known by the second rendezvous that it had developed into something more and just cut him loose."
"And you, did you love him?" Jack asked quietly, his face a blank mask.
Maia chewed her bottom lip, contemplating his question. "I was in love with the idea of him," she answered honestly. "If circumstances weren't the way they were, I might have loved him. But then would he be in love with me? Or was my unavailability the appeal for him?"
"You seem to be familiar with the male psyche," Jack said sardonically.
"I'm surrounded with testosterone where I work."
"So what's Lee got to do with the Russian now?"
"Jack, please don't push me on this," Maia said in earnest. "It has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Rick Tanner being DEA. I should have told you that much seeing how that impacts your standing in this community."
Jack stared at her. His face was calm but, his eyes held an underlying anger in them, a frustration.
"I'll let it go for now," Jack relented, and then changed the subject. "So what does my girlfriend want to do for the rest of the day?" He was smiling affectionately at her, his eyes losing their shadows and warming up.
Maia winced at the term girlfriend. "Right now I'm hungry."
Jack gave her that look.
Maia rolled her eyes. "For food. Jeez!"
***
The upscale restaurant was a softly lit, white-linen-covered table, opulent extravaganza. It specialized in modern European cuisine and was always packed with the local gentry or the affluent vacationers who owned million-dollar ocean-front mansions. The Maitre d' led Jack and Maia to a secluded table in one of the numerous rooms that comprised the dining area.
It was Thursday, three days after the detective's visit and Jack figured it was time to take Maia out on a real date. They had settled into an easy routine at the stonehouse. They ran on the beach in the mornings, then Jack hit the gym while Maia practiced some yoga. They would shower together—sometimes having sex in the shower—and then they would do their separate thing. He would check in at work and she would check in with Viktor or do more remote surveillance and analysis of the data coming in from AGS. If their schedules worked out, they would have lunch together but sometimes she would get too engrossed in the control room and wouldn't come out for air until Grace sent some food down to her.
Usually by 3pm they'd both be free and they would go to the weapons room and fire a couple of rounds at the firing range. Then they would hang out on the patio and chat or hang out in the kitchen to talk to Grace. The moment the housekeeper left, they'd be on top of each other.
Jack couldn't deny he had a combustible chemistry with Maia. The sex was incredible. Every time he tho
ught it could not get any better, it did. She was like a drug: every time he took her it sated him momentarily only to stoke his hunger for the next time. There was no end in sight.
He had a little more than a week left with her. He hadn't exactly been eavesdropping on her conversations with Viktor but he occasionally used the control room the same time she was there. He had picked up on enough specifics to conclude that whatever was going down in Baltimore was happening in nine days.
Chaining her to his bed sounded like a brilliant plan, but somehow his housekeeper might not approve. He had to let her go.
Maia had not wanted to go out to dinner tonight, but Jack was able to lure her with the idea of butter-soaked dishes. One thing he had discovered about her was that her stomach was her weakness and the richer the food, the farther she fell. She was so different from most of the women he had dated who wouldn't order past the salad menu.
She looked breathtaking in a little black dress. It was one of the dresses he'd bought for her (well technically Laurie had picked it out). He didn't exactly know what the cut of the dress was called except it hung indecently low in the back and definitely didn't allow her to wear a bra. He had half a mind to call and cancel their dinner reservation and fuck her right at the bottom of the stairs where she stood.
"I don't know how I can keep my hands off of you all night," he had whispered into her ear as he helped her into a light evening coat.
"Why Mr. McCord, I would be disappointed if you did," Maia replied saucily.
Now, looking at her from across the table, he took in her exquisite face. Her clear blue eyes sparkled, her red hair cascading in waves reminded him of old Hollywood glamour and her red-tinged pouty lips, so soft and magnificently kissable under his mouth, had felt fantastic wrapped around his cock early that morning.
Fuck, he was getting hard under the white tablecloth.
The waiter arrived, handed them their menus, and asked, "Can I get you started with some cocktail?"
Jack grimaced at the word cocktail but managed to say, "A Manhattan for me, Maia?"
"I'll have a Kir Royale, thank you," Maia replied. When the waiter left, she leaned in and asked, "Are you okay? You look like you were in pain."
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