“If you don’t like being dismissed like a child, then don’t act like one, and yes, we are finished.” LD removed his holster and gun, dropping them on the bed. Looking her in the eyes, he grinned. “If you want to watch that’s fine, but I’m getting in the shower.”
She hadn’t raised two younger siblings and run her own business by being a pushover. She might not have stood her ground extremely well yesterday, but it wasn’t every day a gun was held to her head. Besides, she’d seen every part of the male anatomy while raising her brother, and doubted he would show her anything new. “I’m not leaving.”
“Suit yourself.” LD bent over and his shirt stretched tight across lean muscle and wide shoulders. He removed his shoes and socks, rolling the dirty socks before placing them on the bed. As he straightened, he picked the shoes up and placed them in line with a pair of well-worn running shoes and black wingtips. Lord, the man was neurotic.
“Just so you know, I went and viewed the van. It’s nothing but a burned-out shell.”
Marie watched as LD pulled his shirttail free of his trousers before unbuttoning the rest of his shirt with those long, strong fingers. Pulling her robe tighter around herself, she forced her eyes back to his face. “You did?”
“Yeah. I wanted to see it for myself.” The fabric slid off his muscled torso. Taking the shirt, he carefully folded it before placing it on the bed, with military precision, next to the rolled socks.
“Closure?” Her throat was suddenly dry, causing the word to catch as she spoke. The man must be as obsessed about working out as he was about keeping his items in order to have a six-pack like he did. But that was a habit one could live with, especially when it produced those results.
“Something like that.”
Marie’s attention stayed glued to LD’s hands as they worked to free the button at his waist. She knew she should say something intelligent and wise, but when the zipper went down, all coherent thought abandoned her. “Huh?”
The pants piled at his feet.
Blue boxers.
“It’s over, Marie. Go back to your room and get ready to go home. When you do, leave the bad stuff here.”
The man wore navy blue silk boxers. Marie blinked and only then realized LD had left her standing alone as he went to take his shower. He’d said something to her, but she hadn’t a clue what.
Fanning the collar of her robe, Marie realized the room was suddenly quite warm and she’d become distracted. Enough. She had an important point to make and she wasn’t about to be put off so easily. Taking a deep breath, she moved toward the bathroom door, reminding herself one naked body wasn’t that different from another.
“You don’t give up, do you?” LD stood leaning into the shower, adjusting the water temperature, a towel wrapped around his hips. The blue boxers lay neatly folded on the vanity.
Oh, my. “No, not when it’s something important to me.” Marie stated, more than a little unfocused by the sight of this near-naked man.
“Fine.” LD turned until he was facing her. “You can stay here and explain it to me, okay?” With that, he whipped the towel off, making sure she saw her fill before tossing the towel to her. Then he casually pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped in.
The towel hit her in the chest, before falling to the ground, as Marie stood frozen in place. There was only one thought running through her mind. He looked nothing like her baby brother and she was in big trouble.
LD turned the shower to cold and prayed it would clear his mind. Not to mention relieve some unwanted and untimely body tension thanks to the vision Marie created in her pale pink gown and lavender robe. Her wide-eyed stare as he’d disrobed hadn’t helped any. When her tongue darted out to touch her lips, it had almost been his undoing. The woman was killing him, and she didn’t even know it. Or did she?
Deciding to change the direction of his thoughts, he mentally reviewed the information he’d gathered during his long sleepless night. He’d traveled to the impound yard to check out the burned van. After that, he’d gone to the morgue and studied the bodies for himself. The evidence was there and it alone should have been enough to convince him Black was dead. But…
“LD.”
LD propped his head against the cool tile wall. He deserved this. He could have let her stay in her room or insisted harder the local office provide protection. But no, for some insane reason he chose to bring her here. He was pretty sure he needed a psychiatric exam. “What, Marie?”
“I really need you to listen to me. My feelings, instinct, sixth sense or whatever you want to call it, doesn’t come with solid facts like the van and bodies, but I’m seldom wrong.”
After adjusting the water back to steamy, LD pushed away from the wall. He then lathered his body, rinsed, and washed his hair before answering her. He needed the time to carefully word his response. “I believe you may have some sort of intuitive sense. My grandmother claimed to have the second sight and she was accurate more times than not. Don’t you think it’s possible yesterday’s events might have impacted you more than you imagine? I saw the van. There is no way anyone survived the wreck.”
LD rinsed his hair and the silence made him wonder if she’d gone.
“Were you able to recognize Black’s body?”
No such luck. The images of the charred bodies were stark in his mind. “No, but trust me. There is no way to visually identify those bodies.”
Shutting off the water, LD drew back the corner of the curtain. Marie leaned against the counter, nibbling her lower lip as the steam from the shower caused her hair to wave. The vision was not what he needed at the moment. “Marie.”
“Hum?”
The look on her face when she turned to him reminded him of a lost soul. “Towel, please.”
“What?”
“A towel, unless you want to come in here and wash my back. Afterwards, we can dry each other off.”
A deep pink blush worked its way down her face and chest, but she never looked away as she handed him the towel. God, she was killing him.
After wrapping the towel around himself, LD moved the curtain aside and stepped out. “You better go get ready, you’re on an early flight.”
Marie shook her head as if to clear it, then sighed. “You’re right, I’d better get moving.”
He followed her out of the bathroom as the door to the hall opened and Rob walked in. Marie came to an abrupt halt and LD bumped into her.
This couldn’t get any worse, LD thought as the towel slipped from his waist to puddle at his feet.
“And who do we have here?”
LD snapped his head around to see Randall Harrison, Ambassador O’Donnel’s private security team leader, walk in behind Rob. He stifled the curse that threatened to erupt as he bent and retrieved his wayward towel. He and Harrison had a history, a bad history.
“Marie Bernard,” she introduced herself in a voice that sounded all too breathless. The situation was bad enough, must the woman stand there and drool? Just because Harrison looked more like a Roman statue than a human didn’t mean she had to ogle the man.
LD waited for Harrison to finish introducing himself before speaking. “Why don’t you go on back to your room now, Marie.”
“Oh, yes, I have a flight to catch. Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Harrison.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Bernard.” Harrison replied in a voice that was overly sweet, LD thought as he watched the door between the two rooms close behind Marie.
“Funny, LD, I thought that was your room,” Harrison stated with the confidence of a man who knew he now wielded the power to ruin another man’s life.
LD was in big trouble and he didn’t need a black-haired fortuneteller to enlighten him to that fact.
Chapter Three
Governor’s Office
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
“The Millennium Corporation is petitioning to open another casino.” Lt. Governor Ken Schelling crossed his legs as he waited for the Governor
’s response.
“Where?”
The moon, Ken thought, clutching the folder in his lap. The man was an idiot. They’d only been discussing this topic for the last month. Every time the governor said no, the Millennium Corporation upped the offer. But they, like he, were running out of patience. “Shreveport.”
“No way. There are already too many casinos in the area. The parish is drowning, trying to keep up with the population growth and the influx of tourists. Hell, it’ll be another decade before road construction can support the area as it is now.”
You’re always worried about the little people—what’s best for them. What about me? You self-righteous old fool. “True, but opening another casino would bring in more jobs and increase tax revenues.”
“The new jobs and additional tax revenues aren’t enough to offset the cost of the additional city, police and fire personnel required to support the rapid growth. Not to mention what the increase in crime, drugs and other illegal activities will do to the community.”
This coming from a man who’s never been unemployed or done without. The governor’s holier-than-thou attitude was enough to make Ken want to throw up. “The Millennium Corporation is willing to pay for a large new city park on the town’s east side. They are offering state-of-the-art playground equipment, wetlands area and a new arboretum. You have to admit that’s a plus.”
The governor laughed. “Of course they’re offering to do so much. They need the existing park land adjacent to their proposed casino site for parking.”
Ken looked across the desk at his elected superior and wondered again how the man could be so stupid. The reason the Millennium Corporation was willing to build a park three times larger than the one they needed was called business. They were also willing to share their wealth with those individuals who helped smooth the way. “This new park would be a beautiful addition to Shreveport.”
The Governor shook his head. “At what cost? The park they want to pave over is the only one available for the children and families on that side of town.”
“But…”
“No, I’ve made my decision and it stands.”
The Governor closed his briefcase then stood, marking the end of the conversation. “I’m letting the Gaming Commission know I don’t support this proposal.” He paused. “I know you don’t agree with me on this.”
No joke, you sanctimonious ass, Ken thought as he stood. With great effort he controlled his facial expression.
“But I expect your support, as always.”
“You have it.” For now, Ken thought as he walked to the office door behind the governor.
“I’m leaving this afternoon for home. You know how to get in touch with me.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be there tomorrow night?”
Like a puppet on a string. “Wouldn’t miss it.” With one last glance into the Governor’s office, Ken closed the door. Soon, very soon, it’ll be mine.
* * * * *
FBI Headquarters
Quantico, Virginia
LD watched his superior, Alan Conrad, flip through his personnel file, feeling like a kid in the principal’s office. He’d screwed up and he knew it. If his father taught him anything, it was to face one’s mistakes head-on. Then again, this advice came from a man who never made a mistake.
A little more than twenty-four hours ago, LD watched Marie Bernard get on a plane bound for New Orleans, hoping that was the end, but it wasn’t. Harrison wasted no time telling Ambassador O’Donnel what he’d witnessed. From there, it was only a matter of time before the news reached Alan.
“What were you thinking? Don’t answer that.” Alan glared at him from across the battered desk. LD ignored the urge to wipe his sweaty palms down the side of his trousers.
“You moved Ms. Bernard to a room on the same floor with the Ambassador and his family. And not to just any room, to your room. You, the AIC, broke procedures that are put in place to keep people safe. Ambassador O’Donnel is, at this very moment, broadcasting our lack of professionalism to my superiors. Need I point out this is not good for my blood pressure? Or your career? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Guilty.” This wasn’t the first time he’d been taken to task over a breach in protocol. It was, however, the first time he was guilty as charged and he was acutely aware of Alan’s disapproval.
The mere fact he’d been relieved from his current assignment and called back to Quantico was a clear indication of the trouble he was in.
As the silence stretched between them, LD glanced out the window behind Alan’s desk. Snow was starting to fall. Damn, he hated snow. The stuff was beautiful for about the first thirty minutes, then it was nothing but a dirty, cold pain-in-the-ass.
LD brought his attention back to Alan as the older man closed the folder he’d been reviewing. Alan pinned LD with his legendary I’m-about-to-eat-you–for-lunch glare. After five years of working for the man, Alan was still capable of making him squirm, but LD refused to react to the impulse. This wasn’t going to be good.
“Explain yourself.”
“Ms. Bernard stayed in my room while I bunked in the adjoining room with Agent Jackson.”
“You were in charge of O’Donnel’s security, not Ms. Bernard’s.”
“I believed the two were related. The incident with Black and Ms. Bernard could be connected to O’Donnel. There was the possibility it was a ruse to distract us from our assignment.” The odds were slim to none, but hey, a sinking man grabs any lifeline he can find, no matter how flimsy. “After all, we don’t know why Black and his men were in Boston.”
Alan removed his glasses, tossing them on the scarred desktop, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He only did that when he was really irritated. “You had to pull this stunt on the O’Donnel assignment, didn’t you? My phone hasn’t stopped ringing this morning.”
“Everyone knows O’Donnel is a complainer.”
“True, but this time you were in the wrong and you know it. O’Donnel is bad enough alone, but now he has Harrison behind him, urging him on. Harrison is determined to nail your ass to the wall and you handed him the hammer and nails to do it with.”
LD turned his attention back to the falling snow, deciding the best response was no response.
“I spoke with Ms. Bernard this morning.”
“Really.” He tried to sound nonchalant as he looked back at Alan and ignored the acceleration of his heart rate.
“Very nice lady. Told me the whole story. She’s extremely appreciative of what you did. Said she would have been dreadfully uncomfortable staying the night without you and Agent Jackson watching over her.”
Unsure of his position with this new development, LD remained silent, allowing Alan to continue.
“The woman positively sang your praises, LD. To listen to her, you’d think you walked on water.”
This time he did squirm under Alan’s scrutiny.
“Opinionated little thing, too.” Alan went on, shaking his head. LD coughed into his hand to cover a smile and wondered what else had been discussed. Alan didn’t keep him in suspense for long. “After I finished questioning her about the Black episode, she lit into me about the man not being dead.”
“Know how that feels,” LD stated with a slight sigh.
“The woman wouldn’t drop it.”
“Been there, done that.”
“Every time I got ready to hang up, she’d start in again. Thought I’d never get off the phone.”
LD looked Alan in the eyes. “Luckily for you, you were on the phone with her. She followed me into the bathroom.”
“I believe you, after the conversation I had with her. So, what do you think about her intuition?” Alan leaned back in his chair and waited for an answer.
LD took a moment to compose his thoughts. “Having a grandmother with the uncanny ability to predict the future, I respect Ms. Bernard’s instincts.”
“So you think there’s merit to them?”
&
nbsp; “Without knowing her better, there’s nothing for me to judge against. I wish we had a DNA sample from Black to compare against those bodies.”
“That would be nice but we don’t have the luxury.”
LD leaned back in his chair feeling more confident than when he first entered the office. “So, where do we go from here?”
“Not we. You. Vacation. Starting today.”
“What?” LD bounded from the chair and began pacing the office in an effort to vent his frustration. “Black and his men surface after five years and you’re sending me away? I came closer to catching them than anyone else.”
“That’s the point. You’re too close to this case. It’s become too personal. I’m afraid you’ve lost your objectivity. I need someone who can look at the big picture, bring a new perspective to the case and not run in with guns blazing.”
“Don’t do this to me, Alan. Don’t send me away.” LD dropped back into his chair and leaned forward. “If Black is still out there, I’ll get him. If not, I’ll bring in his men, then I’ll take a vacation.”
“Damn it, LD, that attitude is exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t make me suspend you.”
LD opened his mouth to argue again, but Alan held up a hand silencing him. “Case closed. As for O’Donnel, he wants you off the team. My compromise is this vacation. I want you to pack your bags and leave town. Go relax. Have some fun. But be warned if I find out you’re contacting anyone about work, I will suspend you.”
LD rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension. He knew he’d lost this argument. Black was dead, so what did it matter? “Guess I’d better go.”
“Call me in a couple of weeks. I’ll let you know then if the storm has cleared.”
LD dropped his bag on the terminal floor and leaned his head back against the wall to wait for his boarding call. He was still irritated about being put on vacation, but at least if he was going to be sent away, it was going to be some place warm.
Bayou Treasure Page 3
