I empty the miniature bottle of vodka into a plastic glass and hand it to her. She swallows the shot and takes a deep breath.
“Okay, I’m ready. Tell me what you know.”
“Go for it, sugar.” Suds, dwarfing the small space between the dresser and the bed, nods.
Sitting back down beside the gray-haired woman, I take her hand. “Have you been following the murder of Sylvia Bannerman?”
“The congressman’s wife? What has she got to do with me?” Her mouth drops open and her cold hands shake.
“We think Agro-grow hired someone to murder her. When we checked, you were the one who transferred the funds.”
Her clear blue eyes widen. “Surely, you don’t think I had anything to do with it?”
“No, of course not. We do need to know who asked you to move ten thousand dollars into an offshore account.” I hold my breath as frown lines by her mouth deepen.
“Good heavens… When? I do a lot of large transactions every day.”
“This one was to an account, here in the Bahamas.”
“Huh. I remember thinking at the time. It was a bit strange. He said it was for expenses… You have to understand, I’m one of many accountants and not very high up the food chain. Generally, all I do is help with expense reports and make sure spreadsheets add up.” She stares up at Suds, then me, shaking her head back and forth.
Suddenly, her face lights up. “Simon Rivera! That’s who asked me… I never did like the snaky bastard. He’s too slick, if you get my drift.”
Slate gets out his phone and steps out into the hall. “Be right back.”
Chapter 23
Suds
Finally, a break. Before calling, I check up and down the hall, and reach for my gun. Normally I’d have it tucked into the back of my khaki shorts, hiding under my oversized Hawaiian shirt. I forgot I had to leave it with TSA before we took off.
“What’s up?” Slate answers on the first ring, his voice unusually uptight.
“Simon Rivera.” That’s who asked for the transfer of funds.
“Give me a second.” I hear keys click in the background, then a deep breath. “Well, I’ll be damned. It’s their Chief Operations Officer, COO if you will.”
“I’m guessing he’s heavily invested in Agro-grow?” I wander to the end of the hall and glance out the large picture window where clouds gather in the sky and palm trees sway.
“I’ll have our people check it out. Do you need backup?”
It would be awesome to spend a couple days in paradise alone with Sam but not if there’s a hired gun with our name on his dance card. There’s also Mrs. Graham to get home safely.
“No. I’ll book us all the next flight home and text you the details. Can you have someone meet us at the airport? I’d feel safer in one of our SUV’s.”
“Yeah, sure. Anything else?”
“A weapon would be helpful. Perhaps you could deliver it to the concierge in a pretty box with a bow?”
“Done. We good?”
“Yup.”
“You and Sam?”
“Workin’ shit out.”
“Excellent. You two make a good team. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
When we hang up, I don’t know whether to be pleased or scared shitless. I haven’t had a partner since Lucky went and got himself married. He and I went through a lot of shit together overseas.
What about Sam? She’s a green, somewhat naïve analyst but hell, she helped solve this case and no doubt a bonus is in our future.
After checking up and down the hall and the stairwells, I knock lightly on their room. “It’s me, Suds.”
Sam cracks open the door, then slides across the chain to let me in and I give Mrs. Graham a reassuring smile. “We’re going to get you back to the states. My company is working for the congressman’s defense team. I’m sure they’ll place a guard on you until the trial is finished. You’re going to be a key witness.”
“Shit. I was counting on staying at Agro-grow for just a couple of more years, then retiring. I guess that won’t be happening, now.” When lightning flashes, she walks over to a window to stare out at the dark clouds where wind whips the ocean into white caps and the palm trees bend.
I pat her back. “It could go either way. It depends on how high up the corruption goes.”
“Even so, they won’t trust me.” She sighs. “At least I got a few days in the sun.”
“Maybe you can come back, after it’s all over.” Sam joins us at the window when the sky opens up all at once, falling in a sheet of water.
“That would be nice.” Mrs. Graham smiles sadly and I feel bad for ruining her vacation.
“How about you get packed up? Sam and I will be out in the hall.” I take Sam’s hand and while we wait, I call Patten’s travel agent who books all three of us on the first flight out, tomorrow morning.
“Not until then?” Sam asks when I hang up.
“What? Afraid to spend the night with me?”
She snickers. “Not hardly. I’m guessing me, you and Amanda will all be in the same room.”
“Sorry, sugar. It’s the only way to guard you both.” I lower my voice and whisper in her ear, “Otherwise I would fuck you all night long and not worry about falling asleep.”
Her face blooms bright red. To be honest, I was hoping it would take a couple days to find the accountant so I could sink into Sam’s sweet folds and get to know her better. Now, it all will need to wait.
After I get Amanda and Sam settled into our room, I head downstairs.
The concierge says, “Happy Birthday,” and hands me a package wrapped in colorful paper tied with helium balloons.
I grin at Slate’s sense of humor then get an itch in the center of my back. It’s a second sense, how I know someone is watching me. A middle-aged guy quickly lowers his gaze from where he sits in the lobby. Dressed in Bermuda shorts, polo shirt, and sunglasses, he blends in well. Not many would notice the bulge under his bulky windbreaker.
“Thank you.” I smile at the man behind the desk and slowly make my way to the elevator.
When the door closes, I tear off the wrappings and open the box. I snap in the clip and slide the weapon into my waistband such that I can pull it out in an instant.
I need to get the women out of this hotel, now.
Upstairs, I knock rapidly. “We’re going.”
Sam opens the door ready to go but Mrs. Graham pales and looks around confused. “What about my-“
“Leave it. I’ll send for it later.” I usher them to the stairwell. “Move.”
The older woman surprises me as she dashes down the stairs. Sam runs behind her with me at the rear. When we hit the main floor, a door overhead opens and shuts.
I glance up as the man I had seen in the lobby looks down.
Fuck. I shove the ladies forward as he fires.
The silencer mutes the bang as a bullet zings the floor behind my heel.
“Shit.” Jumping through the door and into the main floor, I put an arm behind each of the women and dash outside where only one cab waits.
The driver could easily have been bribed by the gunman so I rush down the street, and put a gun to some random guy stopped at a light. “Y’all should get out of the car, now.”
He does and thank God Sam has the wherewithal to open the back door and push in Amanda. From there, I drive us to the airport. We need off the island, even if I need to charter a private plane.
Glancing in my rearview, I see the man yelling at the cab driver who points down the street. He curses but doesn’t move forward.
“Lost him.” I unclench the wheel.
“Who?” In the rearview mirror, Mrs. Graham joins Sam who’s on her knees and staring out the back window.
“Someone we didn’t want to meet, face to face.” I turn onto a local road and use the GPS to find my way to the airport.
I figure I got maybe thirty minutes before the local police locate the car. By then, it will be in
the parking lot and we should be in the air.
When I see a yellow cab in my rearview, I curse. “Everyone buckle the fuck up!”
Chapter 24
Sam
Holy shit. The cab from the hotel is closing in on us. It has a whole lot more engine than the one whining under us.
Mrs. Graham clutches the seat, eyes wide and I pat her hands. “Don’t worry. Suds is the best.”
He grins at me in the rearview and I smile back with more confidence than I feel, never having been chased by a gunman in the Bahamas before.
Sam Russo, private detective, partnered with Suds Sutcliff, races through paradise. I type out the story in my mind’s eye. Someday, I’ll write books about our adventures. They’d have to be fiction. No one would believe this shit.
Too bad I’m not on speaking terms with my ex, the novelist, he might have contacts.
As the car squeals around the corner and races up the next block, gut-wrenching fear drags me back into the present.
Suds grimaces, one eye in the mirror, the other on the dock at the end of the dead end road. For a moment it looks like we’re going for a swim and I put my hand on the door handle to make sure I can open it under water.
Then, gravity forces me into Mrs. Graham, as breaks squeal and the smell of burning rubber hits my nostrils. The outside swirls like a kaleidoscope and when it stops, we’re facing the opposite direction.
Suds bounces over the grass, finds another road, and manages to leave the cab behind.
The Google Maps lady, unaware of the danger, announces us new directions and the screen in the dash indicates there’s only three more miles to the airport.
“Give me your phone.”
He lifts his butt off the seat, eyes on the road. “Grab it.”
I slide it out of his back pocket, find Slate as a contact, and dial. “We need a charter off the island, like now.”
“Download. Now!”
When I check out the back, the cab is nowhere, so I take a deep breath. Private detectives do not get rattled by a little car chase.
“Yes sir. Suds noticed a tail when he picked up his weapon in the lobby. He rushed us down the back stairwell and stole a car. We were followed but he lost them and now we are approximately thirteen minutes from getting off the island.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“No sir, all three of us are fine.” I say it rather proudly.
“Good. Stand by.”
“Yes sir.”
Suds glances in the rearview. “All good?”
“Peachy.”
He chuckles. “Excellent.”
We leave the car in the short term lot then rush into the tiny terminal. With nothing but our ID’s we’re met by a pilot who takes us through a VIP security line.
Amanda jogs and I skip to keep up with Suds. “This must cost a fortune.”
“Client is paying. Trust me, he can afford it.”
The pilot, about the age of Amanda winks at her. “Welcome aboard.”
She blushes and pushes her hair out of her eyes. “Thank you. Are you our pilot?”
“Yes ma’am. Captain Desmond at your service.” He takes her hand and leads her to one of six seats.”
Me and Suds sit together on the opposite row.
If I thought the first plane was small, well this one could be a toy. I clutch Sebastian’s knee as the motor buzzes drone-like.
“We’ll be fine.” He loosens my grip and holds my hand and as we taxi to the runway. I point out the window to where a police car speeds into the parking lot.
“Y’all better get this off the tarmac or we ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Suds shouts toward the cockpit.
The captain curses, the plane jerks forward, and when the engine grinds, the whole cabin rattles.
“Oh fuck. We are going to die.” I whisper then pray. “Sorry for all the sinning, God. I was planning on doing better once I got settled in.”
The ground under us falls away, we level off, and I say amen.
We made it.
After almost dying, all I want to do is celebrate life, tear off my clothes and make love to this magnificent man beside me.
As if he can read my mind, he grins, kisses my cheek, and blows in my ear. “Soon.”
“Mrs. Graham? There’s a bedroom in the back if you’d like to rest.”
“Thank you. That is so kind.” She unbuckles her belt and hesitates at the back door. “Here?”
“Yes ma’am. We’ll wake you when we’re about to land.” When she shuts the door, Suds glances down into his lap where my eyes go. He swells as I dream of my mouth around him.
“Dammit Sam.” His heated gaze drifts to my cleavage while mine glues onto his beautiful brown eyes, the centers growing black.
My lips part and his come crashing down, palms at my cheeks. When his tongue enters, I open wide, wishing again we were truly alone.
His kiss holds so much passion, my heart almost explodes. Closing my eyes I dream of him entering me, filling me, and exploding into pleasure.
One hand slips to my knee and he squeezes until pleasure shoots to my core and my body responds. I slip my palms up his firm arms to his shoulders and lock my hands behind his neck.
When he angles to take the kiss deeper, I’m so close to orgasm, I moan. One nibble on my lip, a squeeze higher up my thigh, and I go off.
Breathing hard, I pop open my eyes, and he’s staring, smiling.
He knows. Holy shit, I never came from a kiss, not even in high school with hormones raging out of control. What the hell do I say? My mind turns to gravy.
With a hand cupping my cheek, his mouth brushes across mine. Then, he whispers in my ear, “You’re mine. Understand?”
I’ve been hooked on him since my first taste. Even so, I grin, and try to make light of the heat between us. “Uncle Vinny and my dad may have something to say about that.”
He smiles, too. “Y’all underestimate my southern charm. I’ll win them over.”
“No doubt.” I bite my lower lip and look away, wondering what to do with the man sitting beside me, oozing testosterone.
What if he’s just rebound man?
What if I’m in love?
And how can I tell the difference?
Chapter 25
Suds
Her mind is racing a thousand miles an hour and I’m not sure if it’s good or bad.
I totally fucked up but somehow, I’ve been given a second chance. Hell, I never had a woman orgasm from one of my kisses and it blows my mind.
My cock refuses to understand there’s no way he’s getting satisfaction until we land. I close my eyes and think of shit that usually shrinks my size to normal. Thoughts of my grandmother’s teeth on her nightstand usually works but doesn’t this time. Neither does how me and Lucky once puked our guts out after a night of partying.
I picture her Dad and Vincent Vitale staring down barrels of their shotguns, pointed straight at my groin.
That works.
Well, I’ll be dipped in shit. How the hell am I going to get my life together enough to include a woman? Patten sends me all over the world to guard the rich and famous. I’m not leaving her alone for months only to come home to find Vinny married her off to some goon.
Worse, I could find out she got in over her head working her new career as a private detective.
I squeeze her close and sigh. She’s mine and I protect what’s mine. Somehow, I’ll have to figure it out.
When the plane lands, Slate greets us at the gate and I shake hands with two new guys, obviously special forces. “I’m Suds, she’s Sam.”
“Mac and he’s Cheese.” The bigger of the two nods and takes Mrs. Graham’s arm.
Sam giggles. “Seriously?”
“As a heart attack, ma’am.” The large man winks as we march out the front door to a waiting limo where my pal, Jack Taylor drives.
Woah, he’s taking out the big guns.
“We’re taking you to a safe place.” Slate helps Amanda into the
limo then slides in beside her.
Eyes wide, she takes in Patten’s employees. “Thank you. Such very large… men.”
Jack glances at her in the rearview mirror. “Yes ma’am.”
Then his gaze catches mine. “Lucky has the congressman. I’ll take charge of Mrs. Graham and you guard Samantha.”
“Me?” Sam shakes her head. “What? Why?”
Slate, sitting in the front seat, turns around and lowers his sunglasses so she can see his fierce protective look. “Jason got word you’ve been targeted. Revenge. Pure and simple.”
She smiles. “No shit? That is so awesome.”
Both me and the rest of the men, even Mac and Cheese roll their eyes.
I have to ask. “And that’s a good thing why?”
“It means my name is getting known. No such thing as bad publicity, right?”
There’s no point in arguing. I’ll set her straight later, when she’s thoroughly sated from me loving her all night.
My heart stops at the thought. I won’t be able to fall asleep in her arms. I’ll have to be careful. Shit.
“Problem, Suds?” Slate catches the small shift in my facial features which I quickly put back in place.
“No sir. Just wondering where I should take Samantha.”
She laughs. “My apartment, of course. There’s no safer neighborhood in all five boroughs.
Slate chuckles, no doubt enjoying my horrified look. “Do it.”
Well, I found one other thing that can shrink my cock in an instant, her cousin Joey pounding on the ceiling as I cum. I guess I should thank Slate for the help.
Mac raises his eyebrows in question and I answer as directly as I can. “Bensonhurst. Her uncle is Vincent Vitale.”
“No shit.” He glances at Sam. “Why not work for him?”
“My dad is Police Chief Russo. It’s complicated.”
Mac purses his lips, working to keep a straight face and Cheese guffaws outright. “This is priceless.”
“Yeah,” Mac chimes in, “you can’t make this shit up.”
Jack drives the limo around the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and into the heart of Brooklyn. He drops us off in front of her apartment where Slate hops out of the car with us.
Suds and Sam Page 12
