by Carol Storm
"What makes you so mean to people, Agent Gold?" The soft voice had a hillbilly twang. Walking towards his table with a pot of hot coffee was the girl he'd spanked two weeks ago. The light blue uniform was new, but she still had that look—country innocence mixed with allure.
"You've got a knack for picking the wrong kind of friends, Crystal May." Matt watched as the golden-haired girl poured his coffee, her figure displayed to full advantage in the frilly uniform. "You think that guy hired you out of the goodness of his heart?"
"He hired me because I work hard," the blonde shot back. She gave Matt Gold a steady look, her blue eyes full of firm self-control. "My daddy taught me to work hard and to respect myself."
"Good for him," Matt grunted. "My daddy taught me that everyone has a secret. He told me always look for the hidden weakness. Of course, my old man had a few secrets of his own."
"That's mighty interesting," Crystal May replied. "But I've been on my feet since seven this morning and I'm right tired. And as far as I know, Agent Gold, I haven't committed any crimes, so if you'll drink up your coffee and pay your bill, my boss and I can get back to closing up for the night."
"Sit down and take a look at this." Matt Gold tossed a photograph on the table.
"Oh, my!" Crystal May forgot all about how angry she was. She sagged into the soft cushions and touched the photograph with her finger tips. "That poor man."
"Is that the man you saw kissing Carla Brunelli the night she ran away?"
The pretty blonde nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "He was so good-looking."
"He's not going to die. He has a black eye and a few cracked ribs, but those injuries will heal." Matt Gold studied the pale beauty sitting across from him in the cheap diner. "You really think Steve was in love with Carla? You think that's why he busted her out of Madame's place?"
"I do," Crystal May said softly. "They were going to run away together and get married."
"Well, they didn't make it. The night they ran off, Steve and Carla checked into a cheap motel. I don't know why, when his family is so loaded. I guess you could say they wanted to be alone. Anyway, it looks like somebody found out where they were. When they left the motel the next morning, Nevada Highway Patrol found Steve's green custom Corvette run off the road about two miles down the highway. Steve was lying in a ditch, and his face was worked over pretty good. But there was no sign of a passenger in the car. Looks like the sexy Italian girl vanished without a trace."
"Carla's missing?" Alarm and panic instantly replaced the gentle sadness on the country girl's delicate features. "Agent Gold, we've got to find her!" Crystal May's long legs moved restlessly under the table. Her knees brushed Matt's, but she was too agitated to even notice.
Matt relaxed in his seat, glad to see he'd gotten the her attention. "That's what I want to do," he said softly. "The problem is we don't have any leads. The major crime families in these parts have been at peace for years. And on top of that, Steve and his father aren't really speaking to each other on account of Steve going straight and becoming a lawyer. So if someone did this to send a message, it's not one of the old families. It's got to be outsiders, probably one of the new drug cartels. And if they took your friend Carla ..."
"They want her for sex," Crystal May said bluntly, not caring how the words sounded. "You know more than you're letting on, Agent Gold. You've already got a line on what kind of sex fiends would want a girl like Carla, don't you?"
"I know a couple of places," the dark, sexy FBI agent acknowledged, with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. "Clubs that cater to a very special kind of clientele. Places that are just like Madame Madeline's, only not so clean, not so well run. Not so good to the girls."
"Hmph." Crystal May stuck her nose in the air. "I imagine you've spent quite a lot of time in clubs like those. All in the line of duty, of course."
Matt Gold grinned at her. "You've got to hand it to Madame Madeline. When you tilt your chin just so, and look down your nose at us lustful males, you really do look like a duchess."
"It's obvious you don't have any moral standards of your own," Crystal May grumbled. "Naturally you imagine mine are just an act. But I knew right from wrong before I left the hills back home. Do you imagine my concern for Carla is an act as well?"
"No," Matt said seriously. "I know how much you care about your friend. That's not an act. But the tea-party manners and the disdain for sex ... that's an act."
"I don't have any disdain for sex," Crystal May said, blushing. "Just for you."
"The hell you do." Matt Gold stared deep into her eyes, and to her dismay Crystal May realized that her flushed cheeks were really starting to burn, getting hotter and hotter.
Just like her ass when he spanked her.
"Why did you come here tonight?" she squeaked, making a mighty strong effort and pushing the disturbing image of Matt Gold spanking her fanny clean out of her thoughts. "Thanks to all your dirty research, you've got a good idea of where to look for Carla, and you've even got a witness who saw the kidnappers. Steve saw the guys who beat him up, right?"
"Oh, yeah. The trick is to get him to believe that it's in his best interests to talk. He's not a big fan of cops, you understand. We have to convince him that this is more than just law enforcement as usual, that the Bureau cares about Carla and we're going to make every effort to find her."
"Well, how are you going to convince him of that?" Crystal May asked.
"I'm not," Matt Gold said quietly. "You are."
"Oh." Crystal May felt downright sick. She hated being used. But Carla was a friend, a very special friend, and she was in big trouble. And when a friend was in trouble, there was no choice.
* * * * *
It wasn't the usual kind of nightmare she had as a little girl, where she was lost in the woods at night being chased by a wolf or a bear. In this dream, Crystal May was back at Madame Madeline's house, sitting on the sofa in a sexy night gown. Matt Gold came in and wanted to know where Steve and Carla were hiding. Crystal May told him they were gone, long gone, even though they were hiding in the closet right behind her. The two of them were making love, and she could hear the noises right through the closet door. That would be funny if it were really happening, but it wasn't funny in the dream. Carla's stifled gasps and moans made it sound like she was being hurt, like she was being choked to death behind the door. And then the moans turned into screams ...
"Wake up, beautiful. Wake up!"
"Is this the place?" Crystal May blinked her eyes, astonished at the sheer size of the Carson City Medical Center. When Pa died in the mine cave-in she'd gone to the county hospital, but that little old place was a mud puddle compared to an ocean. The Carson City hospital was a city all by itself. The shining, silver buildings rose up almost as high as the mountains behind them.
"This is the place." Matt Gold had been here plenty of times before. After pulling his car into the hospital lot, he killed the engine and turned to face his young companion. His dark brown eyes studied her closely. Crystal May was ghostly pale. "You need a few minutes to pull yourself together?"
"No, I'm fine. Let's go!" After a dream like that, where she felt like crying out for help, Crystal May was anxious to prove she wasn't afraid. And she was mad at herself for falling asleep. Matt wasn't dragging his tail. The FBI agent had been up late last night just like her. But he didn't show it, not when he came to pick her up first thing in the morning. He was wide awake, bright-eyed and cheerful, while she could not stop yawning after a sleepless night worrying about Carla. Listening to country music in the morning usually woke her up, but in the car Matt switched to another station. It was a talk station, and the murmur of important-sounding male voices soon put her to sleep. The one thing she couldn't figure out was why her dream had gone from Carla making love and moaning with pleasure to Carla screaming for help. Was that what was in store for her too?
"You know those lilies cost a fortune, darling," Matt said, in a loud and hearty voice, as they rode u
p on the crowded elevator together. Stopping for flowers at a fancy florist had been his idea. So was pretending to be man and wife just in case the drug cartel had spies watching the hospital.
"Yes, well heaven knows you can afford it ... darling!" Crystal May was waking up now, and it felt mighty good to give Matt Gold a taste of his own medicine. He certainly was good at putting on an act, wrapping his arm around her good and tight when they stepped off the elevator. Crystal May felt annoyed with herself for responding to the warmth and even returning his embrace.
It was all just make believe, she reminded herself, burying her nose in the expensive bouquet. Even in the car, Matt had been acting a part, turning off her favorite song about a cowgirl in love and putting on the all-talk financial channel instead. He was acting as if he really was a rich young businessman with tons of money to invest. Crystal May got even by acting the part of the bored wife. Of course she was only pretending to doze at first. But Matt didn't seem to notice. And so she fell asleep. That was a mistake, because dreams of Carla in terrible danger filled her with icy fear. Nothing in dreams was real, not really, but the fear felt real. And it stuck to her when she awoke.
"Here we go," Matt said, opening the door to the private hospital bedroom.
Steven Tallarico was sitting up in bed, looking like a heavyweight boxer at the end of a fifteen-round bout. Even under all the bruises and bandages, with one eye swollen shut, Crystal May could see his mind was sharp. He took one look at her companion and he knew what was going on.
"Matt Gold! Looking for a snitch by any chance?" There was a male challenge in the air. Crystal May sensed that these two men had gone head to head plenty of times in the past.
"Looking for a girl," Matt grunted. He pulled a chair up next to the bed like the two of them were old friends, even though it was obvious they were anything but.
"Looks like you've already got one." Steve's good eye lit up when he looked at Crystal May. "You're the hillbilly girl, aren't you? Carla was crazy about you. She wanted us to break you out of Madame Madeline's as soon as we were married!"
"What happened to Carla?" Crystal May cut right in front of Matt, claiming the chair he had just grabbed for himself. Maybe it was rude behavior, though Madame always said the gentleman was supposed to pull out the lady's chair. But that didn't matter to Crystal May. She had to show Steve she was for real. She got a little sizzle of satisfaction from making Matt look silly, too.
"You're not a cop too, are you honey?" Steve's battered face was wearing a smile.
Crystal May shook her head, straightening out her skirt as she sat down. "I'm Carla's friend, that's why I'm here. Anything you tell me stays between you and me."
"Hey!" Matt's meaty paw gripped Crystal May's slim shoulder. Her cheeks colored as she felt the heat of his touch and heard the mocking tenderness in his words. "We're in this together, darling, remember? We're just a couple of rich newlyweds exploring adventurous lifestyles."
"That's your cover?" Steve Tallarico gave a snort of laughter, and then a wince of pain. "Maybe that'll work for you, down there in the Valley of the Sun. But then again, maybe it'll get you both killed."
"Killed?" The color fled from Crystal May's cheeks. Her slim white hand flew to her throat. "You don't think Carla's been killed, do you Steve?"
Steve's face looked grim. "My baby's tough," he said. "She'll survive this. We already know where she is. And my family and I will take whatever steps are necessary to get her back."
"Like hell you will," Matt growled. "Kidnapping is a matter for the FBI."
"The dirty agents?" Steve asked innocently. "Or the ones who aren't crooks?"
"That's good, coming from you. How many guys did your father whack this year, Steve?"
"Darling, why don't you go down to the hospital cafeteria and get yourself a cup of coffee?" Crystal May knew she had to take hold of the situation, before the men folk did something stupid. She leaned back in her chair, and put on the voice of the bored, sexy wife just like she had in the elevator. "Go read the sports page, or the financial page, or something. Steve and I need to talk."
"You just saved that guy a real beating," growled the tough mobster's son, as soon as Matt was out of the room.
"I wish I could have saved you one," Crystal May said softly. "Steve, anyone can see how much you love Carla. You got beaten half to death trying to protect her. But if she's been captured by the drug cartel, we have to get her back. And we can't wait until you're healed up."
"Honey, Matt Gold doesn't care what happens to Carla. Or to you. All he wants is a high profile collar. Once he's got the bad guys he'll turn you and Carla right back over to Madeline."
Crystal May bit her lip. Steven Tallarico had just nailed the worry that nagged her. "Lawmen can be good or bad, just like ordinary folks," she said, her brow furrowed in thought. "Back home we had a sheriff who was just plain mean. But I think deep down Matt is different. I think the reason he hangs around Madame Madeline's is because he wants to make sure the girls get treated right."
"Yeah? Well, I think he gets a cut of the profits from Madame Madeline's private shows." The battered man in the hospital bed turned his bruised face away from the slim, lovely blonde. "Maybe a girl like you doesn't mind being disciplined by a stern schoolmistress or a cop. With your prom-queen looks and that soft country voice, you're a natural at playing the fairy-tale princess. Guys love to spank your ass so they can be nice to you afterwards. It's like rescuing the damsel in distress. But Carla's different. Deep down those games don't make her happy. Believe me, I know."
"I am not a damsel in distress!" Crystal May nearly lost her temper, but Steve's sad face made her check herself. "Honey, I may not look like Carla on the outside, but on the inside we're the same. And you best believe I have just as much guts as she does. Tell me where she is, Steve. Tell me what we're up against. If we can get her back, I promise I won't let Matt take her away from you."
"I believe you." Steve looked her over. Sized her up. And all of a sudden he began to laugh.
Crystal May joined right in.
* * * * *
"So I take it you have something for me?" Matt tossed aside the sports page, annoyed because his team had lost. He felt even more annoyed at the frantic, urgent way his body reacted to the sight of Crystal May Snow. Just walking across the hospital cafeteria at a brisk pace, her skirt swishing and her high heels clicking on the polished floor, she put on a show that was both devastatingly sexy and completely natural. Matt stood up, remembering his good-boy manners for the first time in years. He knew his growing arousal was visible. His pulse began to hammer and his mouth went dry.
"Matt, honey, do you think we could have a late breakfast? I declare I'm perfectly famished!" Crystal May shot her companion a sunny smile as she seated herself right across from him. Matt had grabbed a secluded booth in a quiet corner of the cafeteria, so they could have some privacy. It was a surprisingly intimate setting. Right now they were so close their knees were almost touching.
"I'll get you some lunch," Matt growled. He was hungry too, for Crystal May's incredible body. His need for her was rapidly overpowering his need to remain in control. Agent Gold didn't like that one bit. "We'll both have something to eat," he gritted out, "but we can't waste too much time stuffing our faces. The sooner you tell me where Carla is, the sooner we can get her back."
"That's right." Crystal May was suddenly all business, giving Matt her lunch order and sending him off to round up food for the two of them. While they were eating, she filled him in on the information she had gotten from Steve.
"... and he said both of the men who beat him up had that same tattoo, the sun with rays shooting out all over, right here." Crystal May touched her slender neck with one finger, then went right back to devouring her tiny little garden salad.
"The Valley of the Sun." Matt nodded, chewing on a leg of fried chicken. "The cartel has a major presence near here. We know the canyon they're using as a base. We can get two or three helicopt
ers, maybe a squad or two of men ... infiltrating the base shouldn't be that big a problem."
"Only that won't help get Carla back," Crystal May said softly. "Because she's not there."
"What?" Matt stopped chewing. "But the cartel guys took her, didn't they? And Steve saw the tattoos on their necks?"
"He did," she confirmed. "But he told me a whole lot more that you don't know. It seems like the Sun cartel traded Carla to a certain very important politician. Steve knows that because this Senator or whatever he is happens to be an old friend of his daddy. The man is using cartel drug money to finance his next campaign, but he wanted to show respect by letting Steve's daddy know about the girl. They know how much Steve wants Carla back."
"What's the politician's name?" Matt demanded. "Where is he keeping Carla?"
Crystal May made a face. "He's having a private party at his ski lodge next Friday. Sort of like a secret fundraiser where sex is on the menu and big money gets traded for political favors. If the Tallarico family gets Carla back, they agree to let the Sun cartel take over the drug business. And in return, the cartel will pay all of the Senator's old debts to Steve's family."
"Names," Matt insisted. "I need names, and I need to know the exact location of the lodge."
"I've got both," Crystal May said, snatching a chicken leg right out from under Matt's nose. "But there's not going to be an FBI raid. I don't want men with machine guns firing all over the place and maybe hurting Carla by mistake. It has to be just the two of us, Matt. Alone. Undercover."
CHAPTER FOUR
"So then I told him, I don't want the FBI involved – just you and me. And everything has to be exactly the way I say from now on or else!" Crystal May grinned as she finished up her story, soaking up the admiration of the fresh-scrubbed girls lounging around the parlor in pajamas. She felt sort of like a movie star or a visiting celebrity, especially because she was wearing a white lace nightgown while everyone else was still wearing those old blue cotton pajamas she remembered.
