by Tawny Weber
Sex, Lies And Mistletoe
Tawny Weber
Undercover DEA agent Caleb Black is home for the holidays – possibly to bust his own father. But maybe Caleb's con-man dad isn't the one running drugs through the small town of Black Oak. Maybe it's the green-eyed goddess who runs the New Age shop and has Caleb under her sultry spell.
Pandora Easton saved the family store with two words: sex sells. And her delectable aphrodisiacs really work, as she's proven with notorious bad boy Caleb again and again and again.
Little does she guess that, in the end, her most potent potion will be the truth…
Tawny Weber
Sex, Lies And Mistletoe
The first book in the Undercover Operatives series, 2011
Dear Reader,
Do you believe in aphrodisiacs? I love the idea that something delicious can have a little extra punch (especially during the holidays, when there are so many yummy things around!). And when I had two reluctant characters who needed a nudge in the right direction, what else could I do but offer them something irresistible to push them over the sensual edge. In this case, that something included chocolate.
Sex, Lies and Mistletoe features two very special guests: Paulie and Bonnie, cats who live at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter. Find out about them, and all the other Blaze Authors’ Pet Project pets, on the Blaze Authors’ blog-http://blazeauthors.com. Please come by and say hi!
And if you’re on the web, be sure to drop by my website at www.tawnyweber.com. While you’re there, check out my members-only section with its special contests, excerpts and other fun.
Happy holidays!
Tawny Weber
To all the wonderful people who read my books.
You bring untold joy to my life. Thank you!
Prologue
“I’VE MADE THE ARRANGEMENTS. Everything is in place.”
As the assurance echoed through his speakerphone, Tobias Black leaned back in his Barcalounger, shifted an unlit cigar between his teeth and grinned.
“That was fast. I didn’t think you’d pull it off.”
A lie, of course.
He’d known once the challenge was issued, it’d be impossible to resist. Just as he’d known that the person he’d challenged had the power to make it happen. Tobias Black only worked with the best. Even when the best’s main goal in life had once been to arrest him.
Tobias looked at the pictures framed and fading on his study wall. A gap-toothed trio of schoolkids with wicked looks in their golden eyes and hair as black as night.
Damn, he missed them. All three had turned their backs on him eight years ago. Caleb because he rejected what his father stood for. Maya out of disappointment. And Gabriel? Tobias gave the photo of his middle child, his youngest son, a worried frown. Gabriel in fury, determined to prove that he was twice as good and twice as clever as his old man.
They’d all felt justified in leaving.
And Tobias felt justified in bringing them back. A man spent his life building a legacy, he needed his children to hand it down to.
“You’re sure you can handle your part?”
Tobias laughed so hard the cigar fell from his lips. Him? Handle a part? That was like asking if the sun was gonna rise in the morning.
“I’ll play my part like Stevie Ray Vaughan played guitar.”
Silence. Tobias rolled his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t so farfetched to ask if he could handle the part if he could so easily forget who he was talking to. “Let me rephrase that. I’ll play my part like Babe Ruth hit the ball.”
“If you’re not careful, cockiness could be your downfall.”
Tobias almost brushed that away like an irritating bug. Then he sighed. Only a stupid man ignored a fair warning.
“There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness. I’ll watch my step.” He glanced at his eldest son’s photo. “Caleb will take the bait. He won’t want to come home, but he will. Loyalty is practically his middle name.”
“You think he’s loyal to you after all these years?”
“To me? Absolutely not.” And that hurt like hell, but it was the price Tobias paid for ignoring his kids to feed his own ego. “But he’s loyal to Black Oak.”
Tobias was gambling everything on Caleb caring about Black Oak. A small town in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Black Oak was in many ways the same as when it’d been founded a hundred years ago. A quaint and friendly community.
And now it had a drug problem. Tobias might have no problem skirting the law-or hell, laughing in its face-but he was a man who had zero tolerance for drugs. Especially when those drugs were being dealt in a way that conveniently pointed the finger his way.
It would be smarter to let the locals deal with the drug problem. If the evidence kept pointing at Tobias, they could be more easily…influenced. Because the sad truth was, there were still a few outstanding crimes that Tobias could be arrested for, with the right evidence. And there were hints that whoever was pulling off this drug ring had access to the right evidence. So bringing the feds in was a huge risk.
Someone was framing him. And they had enough dirt to do the job well. And it looked as if they were planning it all here in Black Oak.
That little bit of info he wouldn’t share with the feebies.
Because he knew he had to offer up a big enough lure to get the FBI’s attention, but not so big that they’d insist on coming in and playing it their way.
He wanted control of this venture.
“This is a huge undertaking, Black. All indications are that the drugs moving into Black Oak are yours. And now you’re planning to play your family, who know you well enough to see the game. You’re talking about playing a townful of people, many of whom depend on you. And more important, you’re going to have to play the FBI, who, as a general rule, want nothing more than to arrest you.”
He wanted to point out that he’d played them all, quite successfully, many times before. But bragging was rude. More important, ego was the first nail in the coffin of a good con.
“And your point is?” he asked instead.
“My point is, you’re not as young as you once were. And you’ve been out of the game for a while.” There was a pause, then a soft sigh that made Tobias’s smile drop away. “You’ve got a lot on the line. Are you sure you’re willing to risk it all? Because if this goes bad, the FBI is going to reel you in and toss your ass in jail for a good long time.”
Tobias rolled the cigar between his fingers, staring at the unlit cylinder.
He considered what he’d built here in Black Oak. After a lifetime of running cons, he’d settled down and gone legit five years ago. He’d been quietly making reparations over the years, but paying back a few hundred grand wasn’t going to stop the FBI from nabbing him if they had a chance. He could opt out, let someone else take point. The risks were huge.
But then, so were the stakes. And every good con knew, it was the high-stakes games that were worth playing.
“I can handle it.”
“And your kids?”
Tobias sighed, pushing to his feet and pretending his bones didn’t protest at stretching quickly in the damp winter chill. He tossed the cigar on his desk and strode over to stand before the pictures.
Caleb, Maya and Gabriel.
Smart kids. Good-looking, shrewd and nimble-fingered, even as little punks. Once, they’d thought he’d spun the sun on the tips of his fingers and carried the moon in his back pocket. Once, they’d believed in him. Once, they’d been in his life.
Now? Now he’d settle for one out of three.
“I can handle it,” he repeated.
And before this game was through, he’d know who was behind the drugs, who was trying to set him
up. Whatever fledgling crime ring was forming would be busted.
If he won, his kids would be a part of his life again.
And if he lost? At long last, his ass would be locked up in the federal pen.
But Tobias Black didn’t lose.
1
DAMN SEX. IT RUINED everything.
“I can’t believe I’m back in Black Oak.” Pandora Easton’s murmur was somewhere between a sigh and a groan as she dropped a dusty, musty-smelling box on the floor behind the sales counter.
“No guy, no matter how good in bed, is worth losing your job, your reputation or your self-respect for,” she muttered to herself as she looked around Moonspun Dreams. The morning light played through the dance of the dust motes, adding a slightly dingy air to the struggling New Age store.
Sometimes a girl just needed to come home. Especially when she didn’t have a choice.
Even if that home was falling apart.
Two months ago, she’d been on top of the world. An up-and-coming pastry chef for a well-known bakery in San Francisco, a gorgeous boyfriend and a strong belief that her life was-finally-pretty freaking awesome.
Then, poof, everything she’d worked so hard for the last several years was gone. Destroyed. Because she’d fallen for a pretty face, been conned by a smooth line, and worst of all, ruined by a good lay.
Nope. Never again.
Pandora was home now.
Which was really just freaking awesome.
With a heavy sigh, she poked one finger at the box she’d rescued from next to a leaking pipe in the back room. It was unlabeled, so she’d have to see what was inside before she could figure out where to put it.
To disguise the musty scent, she lit a stick of prosperity incense. Then Pandora rubbed a speck of dust off a leaf on the braided money tree she’d brought in this morning to decorate the sales counter, and tidied a row of silken soy wax candles with embedded rose petals.
“Not a bad display from a recently fired bakery manager,” she commented to Bonnie.
Bonnie just cocked her head to one side, but didn’t comment. Since she was one of the two store cats, Pandora hadn’t expected much response. Probably a good thing, since the last thing Pandora’s ego needed was anyone, human or feline, to point out all the crazy reasons for her thinking returning home to start her life over was going to work.
The cats, like the rest of Moonspun Dreams, were now Pandora’s responsibility. She was excited about the felines. But the jury was still out on the quirky New Age store that’d been in Pandora’s family for decades. The very store Pandora had wanted to get away from so badly, she’d left town the day after she’d graduated high school.
Before she could settle into a good pout, the bells rang over the front door. Bringing a bright smile and a burst of fresh air, Kathy Andrews hurried in. One hand held a bakery bag, the other a vat-size cup of coffee.
“I’m here to celebrate,” Kathy sang out. She stepped over the black puddle of fur that was Paulie the cat sunning himself on the braided carpet, and waltzed across the scarred wooden floor.
“What are we celebrating?”
“That you’re back in Black Oak. That you’re taking over the family store. Not just for the month your mom is in Sedona for that psychic convention, but for good. And, more important, we need to celebrate the news that your best friend had some really great sex last night.”
Pandora exchanged looks with Bonnie. There it was, sex again. But this was Kathy’s sex. It wasn’t as if that could mess Pandora’s life up.
“I’m not so sure having to come home because I failed out there in the big bad world is an excuse to party,” Pandora said with a rueful laugh as she took the bakery bag and peeked inside. “Ooh, my favorite. Mrs. Rae’s éclairs. I thought she’d retired.”
“Mr. Rae’s off competing in some pumpkin-carving contest until next Saturday, leaving Mrs. Rae home alone for their anniversary week. Cecilia said her mom dropped off four dozen éclairs this morning with notice that she’d be making pies, too.”
One of the joys and irritations about living in a small town was knowing everyone, and everyone knowing your business. In this case, both women knew Mrs. Rae’s irritation meant cherry pie by dinner.
“Cecilia seemed surprised when I mentioned I was coming here,” Kathy said, not meeting Pandora’s eyes as she took back the bag and selected an éclair. “She said she thought Moonspun Dreams was doing so bad, your mom had given up keeping it open on weekends. I know I should have given her a smackdown, but the éclairs smelled too good.”
While Kathy dived into her éclair with an enthusiastic moan, Pandora sighed, looking around the store. When she’d been little, her grandmother had stood behind this counter. The store had been filled with herbs and tinctures, all handmade by Grammy Leda. She’d sold clothes woven by locals with wool from their own sheep, she’d taught classes on composting and lunar gardening, led women’s circles and poured her own candles. Grammy had been, Pandora admitted, a total hippie.
Then, when Pandora had been thirteen, Granny Leda had retired to a little cabin up in Humboldt County to raise chin-chillas. And it’d been Cassiopeia’s turn.
Her mother’s intuitive talents, the surge of interest in all things New Age, and her savvy use of the internet had turned a quirky small-town store into a major player in the New Age market. Moonspun Dreams had thrived.
But now that the economy had tanked and New Age had lost its luster, it was almost imploding. Leaving Pandora with the choice of trying to save it. Or letting it fade into oblivion.
“Cecilia was right. Things are really bad,” Pandora said. “No point in risking the best éclairs in the Santa Cruz Mountains over the truth.”
“And now Moonspun Dreams is yours. Are you going to give up?” Kathy asked quietly, holding out a fingerful of the rich cream for the cat. They both watched Bonnie take a delicate taste while Pandora mulled over the slim choices available.
Her mother had said that she’d run out of ideas. She’d told Pandora before she left to be the keynote speaker at the annual Scenic Psychics conference that the store was hers now. And it was up to her to decide what to do with it.
After sixty years in the family, close up shop and sell the property.
Or fight to keep it going.
Her stomach pitched, but of the two, she knew there was only one she could live with.
“I can’t give up. This is all I have, Kath. Not just my heritage, given that Moonspun Dreams has been in the family for four generations. But it’s all I’ve got now.”
“What are you going to do? And what can I do to help?” Both questions were typical of Kathy. And both warmed Pandora to the soul, shoving the fears and stress of trying to save a failing business back a bit.
“I don’t know. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure something out.” Her smile quirked as she gestured to the small table in the corner. Rich rosewood inset with stars and moons, part of the table was covered by a brocade cloth and a handful of vividly painted cards. “I’ve finally reached the point of desperation.”
Kathy’s eyes widened. Pandora had sworn off all things metaphysical back in high school, claiming that she didn’t have the talent or skill. The reality was that Cassiopeia was so good at it, nothing Pandora did could measure up. And she’d hated knowing she’d never, ever be good enough.
“What’d the reading say?”
“Tarot really isn’t my forte,” she excused, filling her mouth with the sweet decadence of her éclair.
“Quit stalling. Even if you don’t have that psychic edge like your mom, you still know how to read.”
That psychic edge. The family gift. Her heritage.
Her failure.
“The cards weren’t any help,” she dismissed. “The Lovers, Three of Swords, the Tower, Four of Wands and the Seven of Swords.”
The éclair halfway to her lips, Kathy scrunched her nose and shrugged. “I don’t understand any of that.”
“I don’t, ei
ther.” Pandora’s shoulders drooped. “I mean, I know what each card means-I was memorizing tarot definitions before I was conjugating verbs. But I don’t have a clue how it applies to Moonspun Dreams. It doesn’t help me figure out how to save the business.”
Yet more proof that she was a failure when it came to the family gift. Handed down from mother to daughter, that little something extra manifested differently in each generation. Leda, Pandora’s grandmother, had prophetic dreams. Cassiopeia’s gift was psychic intuition.
And Pandora’s? Somewhere around her seventeenth birth day, her mother had decided Pandora’s gift was reading people. Sensing their energy, for good or bad. In other words, she’d glommed desperately onto her daughter’s skill at reading body language and tried to convince everyone that it was some sort of gift.
Despite popular belief, it hadn’t been her mother’s overdramatic lifestyle that had sent Pandora scurrying out of Black Oak as soon as she was legally able. It’d been her disappointment that she was just an average person with no special talent. All she’d wanted was to get away. To build a nice normal life for herself. One where she wasn’t always judged, always found lacking.
Then she’d had to scurry right back when that nice normal life idea had blown up in her face.
“You’re going to figure it out,” Kathy said, her words ringing with loyal assurance. “Your mom wouldn’t have trusted you with the store if she didn’t have faith, too.”
“The store is failing. We’ll be closing the doors by the end of the year. I don’t think it’s as much a matter of trusting me as it is figuring I can’t make things any worse.”
Pandora eyed the last three cream-filled pastries, debating calories versus comfort.
Comfort, and the lure of sugary goodness, won.
“These are so good,” she murmured as she bit into the chocolate-drenched creamy goodness.
“They are. Too bad Mrs. Rae only bakes when she’s pissed at her husband. Black Oak has a severe sugar shortage now that she’s retired.” Kathy gave her a long, considering look. “You worked in a bakery for the last few years, right? Maybe you can take over the task of keeping Black Oak supplied with sweet treats. You know, open a bakery or something.”
