Karl wasn’t all too sure what files he'd gotten. He just knew they had something to do with his dad's work and they were important. Beyond that, it didn’t really interest him to know, so he'd never bothered to find out. He didn’t bother to find out why his friend wanted them, or how they'd known about his dad's work in the first place.
He didn’t care. He just wanted out from under his dad's thumb and to have his fun. But he did know, that if he didn’t have those papers the next time he went to meet Randy, he'd be meeting the other guy his buddy worked with, the guy he didn’t want Karl hanging around. Karl had no idea who he was, just that the guy was dangerous, and he had more interest in the papers than Randy did.
So Karl absolutely had to find those papers. Right after he found his weed.
But why the hell was there so much stuff to sift through?
Laurie somewhat noticed her brother was swearing and moving things around a lot in his room. When she thought she heard it, she froze and listened carefully. Of course, every noise he ended up making made no sense to her, so she didn’t really know what he was trying to do.
Was he trying to clean up his room? Laurie scoffed at the thought. More like throw everything around a different way. It couldn’t count as cleaning, but he'd told her not to go in there, and save the couple of times she'd gone in to get her computer when she caught him using it without permission, she'd stayed away. It had almost hurt to allow it. The place probably smelled like a pig sty, or would soon, and she was just grateful it hadn't spread to the rest of the rooms yet. Eventually, though, it would. And she would have to put her foot down and make him clean the room, make him let her do it, or toss him out along with his trash and return the room to how it had been before he arrived.
But Laurie wasn’t thinking of any of those options, not right then. Whatever her brother was doing, she doubted it would be anything productive. No, he would probably call her and have her do it for him. She figured he'd just lost his bong again.
In any case, it was none of her business. He hadn't run out of his room screaming for her to do something, so she didn’t have to get involved. The argument from earlier, while he was injured, still hung heavily on her. Laurie still couldn’t believe she had been so callous. Her brother had barely escaped death, and instead of helping him out, she chatted to the driver of the car and proceeded to pick an argument with him. She'd known he wouldn’t take the argument well. She'd known, as soon as he'd stood near her, that he was high and not in his right mind, the smell hung so heavily around him. And still, she hadn't followed common sense. She wasn’t proud of herself that it had happened, and in front of Mickey, no less.
But she was determined to forget it. Laurie decided to focus on getting ready for her date instead of worrying about being roped into whatever Karl's drama was. It changed so often, it was seriously a pain having to try and keep up with it. After what she'd had to put up with from him so far, she deserved the break.
It took some effort because he wasn’t just making a mess out of his room, but her home. Still, she managed to ignore him.
Meanwhile, Mickey was all ready. He'd been feeling a little excited, partly because he thought he was getting closer to closing the case, and mostly because of the planned date with Laurie.
It had been a while for him. Before his wife, he could hardly remember any dates he'd gone on. So, he was a little nervous about the date, for more than one reason. It wasn’t the best thing he could do, considering he was on a case, Although, he could argue he wasn’t deviating much from the parameters. He was supposed to get close to both siblings. Karl had been his priority, but Laurie was still the number one target because she was the easier target, and she was the access he needed into the house.
Still, when he proposed the date, it had just been a reaction to seeing Laurie in distress. He hadn't been thinking about the job at all. He just wanted her to feel better, and he'd said the first thing that came to mind.
Hell, he hadn't really thought about what he'd done until he'd settled down to do a little more spying and got the new information pertinent to the case.
He'd worried that he'd made a hasty decision, earlier. As he'd listened to Karl have his chat with his buddy, Randy, Mickey now had some more information confirming him as someone of definite interest. Karl had completely lost his head after the call, throwing stuff around in his room, probably looking for drugs he'd lost in all the mess. He could barely see through the window from his vantage point, and even Mickey knew the boy had made a mess of his space.
It had been interesting, for a couple of seconds, to watch him run around in a panic. Mickey took sadistic pleasure in it, and though it was nowhere near enough for what he'd put his sister through, at least he was feeling some pressure.
But after a while when nothing more interesting happened, Mickey realized he would be late for his date if he didn’t get a move on. There was some hesitation, wondering what he would miss while he was outside. But that was what all the equipment he'd placed in their house was for.
He made sure that everything was set up to record conversations in the house and any cell phone calls that were made in the vicinity.
Fingers crossed that he wouldn’t miss anything too important, he went over to greet Laurie and took her out on their date.
Chapter 13
Mickey and Laurie ended up going to a barbecue place for dinner on Mickey's dime.
"I hope this is okay with you," he murmured almost apologetically as he led her inside the establishment.
Mickey hadn't had enough time to properly scope out the area. Well, he had, but when he did he'd had something other than personal entertainment in mind when he'd done it. He knew the convenient take out places that would get food to him fast when he needed it, and he only knew the barbecue place because it wasn’t so far from their homes, though still a bit of a distance. He couldn’t exactly ask her to take a bike ride at night, so he'd brought out his car for the first time since he'd had it moved there.
Laurie didn’t seem to mind their destination, though, smiling up at him as she preceded him into the building.
"It's no problem. I'm always so busy with work that I don’t get out as much as I'd like. I haven't been here in a while and the food is simply too amazing to pass up on."
They were led to a table for two and given some minutes before they ordered.
"I can give you some recommendations, if you'd like," Laurie offered as they both picked up their menus.
He looked through the options. "How long has it been since you were last here, anyway?" he asked, curious.
Laurie hummed, tapping a finger on her chin as her eyes rolled to the ceiling. He watched her think, his own thoughts running to how pretty she looked.
She'd gone all out. The woman in front of him looked so different from how she'd been both times he'd seen her, he would have been tempted to think it was a different woman if he'd been a casual observer.
She was wearing a black and red dress that wrapped nicely around her curves, giving just a hint of cleavage and reaching down to just above her knees. The sleeves were made of mesh material so he could glimpse the pale skin of her arms, without the option of having skin contact. Her hair had been fixed in a casual updo that had strands of her hair falling around her face. Three-inch heels finished the ensemble, putting them at almost the same height, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how hot that was.
Of course, he'd tried to make himself presentable as well. When he wasn’t in his work clothes, he liked being in comfortable, workout clothes. But he'd gone with something that fit neither mold, a simple dress shirt and black slacks, forgoing a jacket because the weather wasn’t nearly so cold to bother him yet, though he did have a thick undershirt beneath the dress shirt. He'd noticed the look of appreciation she'd sent his way, so there was at least the assurance that she liked how he was dressed.
"I don’t even remember, really," Laurie suddenly said, breaking him out of his thoughts.
H
is eyes jumped back to her face, meeting hers, and he hoped she hadn't noticed how he'd been staring at her. She didn’t seem to have, though.
"Honestly, it's been too long ago to remember. It was definitely before I started on my thesis, and I was alone anyway. I can't give you an exact date, but nothing on the menu seems to have changed. I could probably still get something you might like…"
He watched as she bit her lip, her head lowering slightly so she was staring at him from under her lashes. He found himself wondering if she realized just how appealing she looked when she did that.
"I trust you," he told her honestly, ignoring the voice in his head that said he didn’t deserve her trust.
They talked while waiting for their food and as they ate. He didn’t do it to try to pry any information out of her. Laurie wasn’t involved with the mess going on, and Mickey was going to try and keep it that way for as long as he was able.
He just wanted to get to know her; details about her life that had no bearing on the case. Any other time, he would have been berating himself for doing this kind of thing when he was technically on company time. But all he could think of as he sat across from Laurie was how beautiful she looked with her face all lit up as she lost herself in conversation.
Because she'd been there before, Mickey let Laurie order for them. And she was right, the food was simply too good. He didn’t indulge himself a lot, actually. Because of the nature of his job, he had to remain fit. He hoped to keep his job and remain fit for a while, so he usually watched what he ate. He was spoiling himself just this one night, though. The habit was a carryover from his time with his wife, take-out was simply a necessary evil when he had too much going on to make himself a proper meal.
He barely thought about it as he and Laurie laughed over innocuous stuff, stories she'd recounted from her high school, then undergrad days.
Then, when they left they went to Howl at The Moon, a party-themed piano bar. It had been Laurie's recommendation when he felt he didn’t want the night to be over, and she'd had the same idea, and they split some of their extremely strong Bucket Drinks.
Afterward, they walked the Promenade until they were sober enough for Mickey to drive, talking, flirting, and holding hands.
Mickey spent most of the night in a pleasant haze, just going with the flow and enjoying the atmosphere. Laurie was wonderful, and Mickey couldn’t remember the last time he'd been this interested in a woman. Had he been this interested in his ex, back when they first met? He could barely think to remember, Laurie was taking up most of his mind, but he doubted it.
Unexpectedly, they were confronted by a mugger.
But Mickey wasn’t really one to judge, was he? He'd forgotten himself, forgotten his objective, and that was why he found himself in such a ridiculous position.
"Give me all of your money and your phones, now!"
The shout seemed to come out of nowhere because he wasn’t watching the front. No, his eyes were all for Laurie Nash. But then the shout came, and he looked ahead, probably with this stupid look on his face, because getting mugged may be something that happened to a lot of people, but not to Mickey.
He didn’t have a weapon on him, but even that wouldn’t be a problem. Laurie hadn't made much noise, thankfully, just a short scream that she'd cut off quickly when she noticed the man in front of them held a gun in his hands. His hands were steady, eyes intent on them, so this was something he'd done enough times not to give into nerves. That or the man had nerves of steel.
Mickey pushed Laurie behind him. She clutched at his arm but didn’t try to stop him as he stepped forward, arms held up and out.
"Hey, man. We don’t have anything left on us, I swear. We were just gonna head home—"
"I don’t give a shit! I didn’t ask how your date went, I'm telling you to give me all the money you have on you. Better yet, just drop your wallet, and have the pretty lady throw her purse with it. I want to see both your phones, too."
The man actually sneered at them. Whatever experience he'd had, though, the guy was still an amateur. Mickey got close enough, and then he pulled the slide off the mugger's gun and tossed it in the harbor before the man even noticed he'd moved. He then proceeded to beat the snot out of him for being so careless in choosing his victim.
If Mickey had been in his right mind, he would have apprehended the culprit and called the police to come pick him up. But he wasn’t in his right mind. Later, he would try to think of why he'd acted like he did. Was he just so full of rage, because the idiot had actually pointed a gun at Laurie with him there? Was he trying to impress her? Either way, the mugger got scared enough to run, and he couldn’t exactly follow after him, so he just stood there and watched the guy run.
Laurie just stood by and watched the whole thing. Even if she'd decided to jump in, there wasn’t any good she would have been able to do. Watching Mickey handle himself, she was pretty sure she would have just gotten in the way, anyway.
She'd never seen anything like it before. Laurie was amazed, intimidated, grateful… and a bit turned on.
When the guy ran, Laurie didn’t even bother looking at him, her eyes remaining trained on Mickey. After a moment, he turned back to her, mouth open to say something, probably ask if she was all right. Whatever look she had on her face, in her eyes, seemed to stop him in his tracks, his mouth snapping shut.
Her feet drifted closer to him without her being conscious about it. They were suddenly toe-to-toe, and she had a feeling Mickey hadn't been the one that moved. He actually stood rigidly, hands fisted at his sides, jaw tight. But Laurie saw something in his eyes that made her body warm and tighten deliciously. She knew she was attracted to Mickey. More importantly, he seemed to be attracted to her, too.
They ended up kissing intensely, then turned to hurry back to the car.
Chapter 14
Mickey took Laurie back to his place, not wanting her to have to deal with Karl.
That wasn’t his only reason, though. If he was being honest with himself, he was driving her to his place because he wanted her there, for a lot of different things. But one thing in particular.
After that kiss they'd just shared, there was no way he would let her go back home, at least not alone. Only her brother was at her place, and Mickey didn’t want to deal with him, so his own house was the more convenient. He felt like he had to have her like it was physically painful to have her separated from him by the small space in between the car seats. It was stupid, but it was how he felt.
He fought with himself the whole drive back.
This was a bad idea. He knew, and yet he had every intention of going ahead with it. He didn’t want to hold himself back, no matter how much the still rational side of him told him that he had to. This wasn’t just foolish, it was dangerous, for so many reasons.
But with the high from that kiss, the intensity of it still making his blood sing—though, arguably, that could have been the adrenaline still coursing through his body—it was all he could do not to break the speed limit to get back. It wasn’t so long a drive, they hadn't gone all that far, but it felt like way too long as his foot kept inching toward the accelerator.
He glanced over at her. She was sitting stiffly in her seat, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her legs fidgeting almost every second.
For about a second, he thought his heart stopped. There could have been any number of reasons why she was acting that way, but his mind jumped to the worst conclusion. She was regretting the kiss. She might not even want to go back to his place. She probably thought he was just taking her home, they were neighbors after all.
"Laurie?"
She jumped when he called her name, her head snapping in his direction. He could only look at her out of his peripheral vision. He was pretty sure he was sober, and it was a late night in a usually quiet area, but there was no need to court disaster. Also, he didn’t really want to meet her eyes. He didn't want her to notice his reaction if it turned out he was right.
"What is it?" her voice came out hoarsely, and she coughed discreetly.
"Would you like to come home with me?" he asked. It hadn't occurred to him until just then that he'd made the decision on his own. But now that the question was out there, he felt his heart squeeze in his chest, his breath catch in his throat, as he waited for her answer.
"I'd love to," she murmured, voice sounding breathless, turning to look out her window, a light flush on her cheeks.
His anxiety died down, but it only made him more excited. Thankfully, they were already there. He parked the car in his drive, he'd take it into the garage later, and jumped out of his seat. He jogged around to open the door for Laurie, taking her arm to help her out. He led her to the door, then inside his house. The second they stepped inside, he felt like his body lit up.
He was so impatient to get in her pants that he only made a cursory effort to clean up anything that might tip her off about his real job. He waited at the bottom of the stairs, holding out a hand to her so there would be no misunderstanding of his intentions. She hesitated for a moment, but she stepped forward and placed her hand in his.
His breath stuttered in his throat. He tightened his hand around hers as he led her up the stairs to his room. Luckily, he hadn't set anything up in his bedroom, it had all gone in the extra room.
As soon as he had the door closed behind them, he pushed her up against it, plastering his body against hers, and touching his lips to hers again. Laurie practically melted against him, her arms winding around his neck as she returned the kiss, fingers sliding into his hair and tugging lightly, making him moan against her mouth.
He brushed his tongue over her lower lip, his body shivering when her lips parted, and he slid his tongue between them to trace the inside of her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers. His hands mapped her body, starting at her hips and sliding slowly up. He hesitated with his hands on her ribs, wanting to touch her breasts, but slid his hands around her back to bring her closer to him instead. He wanted her to be comfortable, and that meant not going too fast.
Deadly Seduction (Romantic Secret Agents Series Book 2) Page 7
