Lavonne cursed Seth Jones. He had always got his back up and doubly so now he was the officer on the case. What he couldn’t figure was why Jones had taken another person, a woman, with him. Was she Adrian Walsh’s girlfriend? The paperwork hadn’t indicated the witness had a wife or a partner, but Lavonne had seen Seth with a woman by the car. Walsh had been inside the vehicle. He couldn’t see her face, but he’d watched from a side street as Jones took them both into safe custody, and he was annoyed that he’d missed a chance. It didn’t matter. He’d simply take down his target at the new safe house, or wherever the fuck Seth had taken them.
He checked the time. It was close to seven, and he had to leave now in order to get back to London and the office. Casting one last glance over the safe house, he left. He’d parked his car five streets away, and he was jogging in that direction when his mobile phone bleeped. Flicking it open, he saw that it was Jason Keane, his contact for the hit. Grimacing, he considered not answering it. He wanted to get on the road, but this might be important. He didn’t want the job to go to someone else because he’d ignored the call.
He answered. “Yes.”
“Progress?”
“I’ll be on the system today. I’ll have the safe house address before the day is out.”
Silence. “You told me you had it already.”
“I want to be sure,” Lavonne lied. He’d reached his parked car and climbed inside, more comfortable now he couldn’t be overheard. “Leave it with me, you won’t be disappointed.”
“There is no room for disappointment.” Keane paused. “Remember that.”
Lavonne gritted his teeth for a moment before allowing himself to respond. “The sooner you hang up, the sooner I can do this.”
“Sure, but I want to meet you.”
Lavonne’s hand tightened on the phone. He sensed Keane was enjoying this. Could he afford the risk of being seen with him? “Why? Is that necessary? It’s all time-wasting.”
“Mr Carlisle asked me to meet with you in person. He’s happy with the arrangement and with the fee you named. I’ll pay you fifty percent now, fifty percent when the job is done.”
“Fair enough.” The money was only a small part of it for Lavonne, but he wasn’t about to admit that. He had his own reasons, and he had inside information. He’d offered to take out the key witness and Keane had taken the bait. He didn’t mention that he’d already made an attempt. There was a chance it would be on the news, but there would be a cover up, given the witness status. He’d taken a chance, tried to hit the target before they left the city. Slight error of judgement there, but there would be another time, and this time he wouldn’t fail.
“Mr Carlisle likes to be kept informed, which means I have to touch base with you every few hours. Believe me, I’d rather do the job myself and not have to deal with you. You’re a cop and I don’t trust cops.”
Lavonne resisted the urge to be sarcastic. Jason Keane was a drug dealer and a jumped up lackey, but he didn’t want to antagonise him. “The target is already off the public radar. The important thing is I’ll take care of it, and quickly.”
“Good, because Mr Carlisle doesn’t like his cell. It’s not up to his usual standards.”
“Trust me, I’m on it.”
“You’d better be, because I’m on you, and you won’t shake me free until we are done with this.”
Mouth twitching with annoyance, Lavonne shut his phone and rammed his keys in the ignition.
* * * *
Seth’s sarcastic “I have faith in you” remark did encourage Lily to venture out of her room, but not until the following morning. She’d spent most of the night alternately fuming, getting aroused, being embarrassed, and brooding on her situation, until eventually she passed out with exhaustion. Around eight she awoke. All was quiet in the building. By the time she had showered and dressed she’d been able to chuckle to herself, having finally seen the funny side of his teasing remark the night before.
Of course she could do it.
She’d been brave enough to meet up with her virtual lover, she’d flirted madly with a stranger who’d subsequently seduced her, and she’d even stuck her tongue out at him when he’d delivered her sandwich the night before. Going out there and facing the pair of them was simply the next step in a catalogue of mistakes and humiliations. Keeping her sense of humour was clearly paramount.
The fact that her curiosity was getting the better of her also proved to be good motivation. What were the two of them doing out there, she constantly wondered as she stared at the door. Late into the night she’d heard the TV, and later on some chatter and laughter. Had they been discussing her? Before she let herself ponder that one too much and lost her nerve as a result, she grabbed the door handle and left her room.
Further down the corridor was a door with a sign that read ‘Residents’ Lounge’. That’s where Seth had emerged from the night before, when she’d tried to grab her phone. The door was open, and she headed over and ducked her head in. It was thankfully empty of attractive men this morning, so she made her way across the gloomy room and peeped through the curtains to have a good look around and get her bearings.
Large French windows overlooked a patio and frost-covered evergreen borders, and the view beyond was postcard-pretty with bare, frosted trees and distant hills dotted with sheep. The room itself was large and comfortable. There were several well-stuffed armchairs and a matching sofa. One wall was lined with books. There was also a TV, a rack of DVDs, and what looked like a well-stocked bar in one corner of the room.
Braving the corridor again, she noticed that the doors to room number one and two were both slightly ajar. The sound of a shower running emerged from at least one doorway. She headed in the opposite direction, towards the staircase. To the left of it she saw an open doorway that led into the kitchen.
Whoa, this place is a dream. Andrea would love it. It was just the sort of thing they wanted for their business, but they couldn’t stretch to it as yet. She walked along the stainless steel cooker tops and work surfaces, running her fingers over them possessively. A massive great breakfast bar ran down the centre of the room, two stainless steel poles reaching from floor to ceiling at either end giving the place a high-tech, all-mod-cons feel that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the house. Whoever did the cooing here liked their gadgets. As she passed, she loosely clasped the pole at one end, pivoting on one heel, imagining what Andrea would say if she could see this fabulous kitchen.
“Oh yes, you like that, don’t you?”
Lily turned on her heel, her hand falling way from the pole.
Adrian was standing in the doorway, elbow up against the frame as he supported his weight on one leg, a walking stick in his other hand. His insinuating gaze was on her shimmying with the pole.
Her skin prickled anxiously and she quickly moved away from the metal pole when she realised what she’d done. Without thought, she had sashayed across the space by instinct, using the pole as her pivoting point.
It was there in his eyes; he remembered everything she’d said—that fantasy about being a pole dancer or a lap dancer for a private audience, one special man. Part of her wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. The other part of her responded to the intimate knowledge held in his gaze. Isn’t that what she wanted, someone who would know her secret desires without her having to say them aloud? Yes, but she hadn’t known then that it would work out like this, that she would be locked into a place and time with him that she couldn’t just get up and walk away from. Flustered, she rebuked his comment. “You’re embarrassing me.”
He smiled, and there was gentleness and fondness there in his expression. “I know, and I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist when I saw you there and remembered.” He was a good man. More subtle than she’d thought he would be. He winked and the tension she felt dissipated a little. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible to embarrass you, not when we were exchanging explicit messages in that chat room.”
Somehow she
felt rooted to the spot, trapped by the amused accusation in his expression. She wanted to be that brave woman who had chatted with him so explicitly, but right now it was hard to muster it up. “It was easier then and we talked about that, we both knew it wouldn’t be as easy when we met.”
There was a defensive tone to her voice that she resented. Glancing back over her shoulder as she walked over to the kettle, she saw that Seth was standing in the doorway, watching them. Could this get any more difficult? Above all she craved to be braver, but it seemed beyond her grasp because they were here and not in London, and Seth was part of the equation she hadn’t bargained on. She took a deep breath in, focusing on the kettle. How long had he been there? How much had he heard? Steeling herself, she grabbed the kettle as she passed. “I guess—seeing as I am the woman in this set up—I should put the kettle on and make us some tea.”
She delivered the statement with a note of sarcasm, eager to move the topic of conversation on. But even as she busied herself at the sink, filling the electric kettle, she felt their eyes on her and she remembered why she had wanted to be a private dancer for a man who wanted her.
It had been on the lead up to Christmas, and she and Andrea and a mixed group of friends had gone to a lap-dancing club in Soho, for a laugh. It had turned into something else for Lily as she watched the dancers shimmy and slide, and she felt the sensual power delivered in their actions. She wanted that, to exhibit her sensuality, to strut and tease and to have a man grow eager for her as she displayed herself. The fantasy had shocked her at first, still did if she was honest, but she hadn’t been able to shrug it off. Inevitably, it had come out during her chats with Adrian.
She heard the clunk of Adrian’s stick behind her. “Remember our agreement?”
She turned to look at him, ignoring the looming presence of Seth beyond him—trying also to ignore the fact Seth had brought her to orgasm so ruthlessly the night before.
Adrian’s eyes were filled with concern, and there was reassurance there, too. “We agreed that if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out. No big deal. I’m sorry you got dragged into this. This situation has taken away the element of choice we discussed, so everything that went before is null and void…unless you say different…”
Looking into his eyes, she saw his kindness. She also saw the blatantly flirtatious nature she knew from the chat rooms. Deeper still, raw desire. He wanted her. He’d met her for real and he still wanted her. Unless you say different. It was a suggestion. He wanted her to say different; he wanted her to act on their connection. In the pit of her belly she acknowledged that, her core growing warm and supple with yearning. Staring at him, her mind flooded with the sexual scenarios she had envisaged on meeting him. This man knows me. This man knows what I want. She nodded, unable to express more right then, not with Seth listening.
“The last thing I want is for you to feel awkward around me. I’m sorry about teasing you. You just looked so good.” He nodded at the pole, and then looked back at her.
She couldn’t bring herself to reply, because he’d remembered what she had said. She’d never met a man who had remembered what she’d said about her desires, not before now. Seth was watching, too. Dense heat was gathering inside her, her pussy fluttering, an ache of need flaring at her core as words flashed through her mind, words she and Adrian had exchanged. Her libido had been well and truly triggered, and she was only pulled out of it when she felt cold water splashing over her hand. She groped for the tap. She hadn’t even realised the kettle was full to overflowing.
Adrian reached across her, dropping his stick to the floor as he took charge and turned off the tap. “It’s my fault that you’re here,” he said as he straightened up. “I’ll never forgive myself for that. No more teasing. I promise.”
She shrugged. It wasn’t really his fault; it was an odd twist of fate. “No, it’s okay. It’s just…weird. This is not what I expected.”
She tried to pull herself together while she put the heavy kettle down. Looking over his shoulder, she saw that Seth had gone. She stared at the empty doorway, desire kindling her whole body. Both of them were attractive men, and now she’d inadvertently got herself involved with them both. “This situation is going to take some getting used to.”
“I understand that, believe me. “ He stroked her shoulder, and she had to resist the urge to move closer and take the physical comfort he offered, trying not to let everything she had told him swamp her. “I’ll try to make this as easy as possible for you,” he added.
She forced herself to nod, but deep down she knew what she wanted, and she didn’t want easy. Which was just as well, because this felt as awkward and complicated as it possibly could be and more.
* * * *
Back off. Don’t get involved, Seth told himself.
It was his policy when it came to women and he repeated it to himself as he strode down the hallway, returning to the room where he’d spent the night in order to clear his head. Get a grip, he told himself. He’d known she was trouble as soon he’d met her, and yet he couldn’t resist. Last night was a mistake, but something about the way she’d looked at him made him lose perspective. It had made him want to taste her and see her lips part in pleasure.
She was different to other women, that’s why. She hadn’t gone all fluttery-eyed on him. Instead, she’d stood up to him, and for some reason that difference meant he’d lost the ability to resist. “Contrary bastard,” he muttered to himself.
The door clicked closed behind him, and he looked around the guest room, remembering how he’d helped his stepfather decorate the place the summer before he’d left for his police training. His old room was at the top of the house, but he hadn’t been up to his parents flat because he felt it was best. He had to stay close to the witness at all times. That was his priority. Why did that seem like task and a half, when it included Miss Hotpants?
When he’d caught sight of her talking with Adrian, in broken whispers, so intimate and close, it had been a timely reminder. She was here because she was a secondary witness, and that was because she was involved with Adrian. He’d had no right to get involved, even though she’d kissed him, and it was a big mistake.
He shook his head. He couldn’t afford the brainpower to even think about it; he was supposed to be working out a way to expose Emery Lavonne in the safest way possible. He had to let his chief know they had a viper in their nest, but he couldn’t put the witness at risk while doing so. It had occurred to him that Lavonne might expose himself, given time. Stephen Ward, their chief, was a clever man. He’d figure out the nature of the reason for the unorthodox behaviour in regard to the witness. It was just a matter of time.
As long as he had the witness safe, that was his primary concern.
Chapter Seven
The witness protection division was in chaos. Emery Lavonne stalked in, using the chaos as cover for the fact he was late. As he did, he caught sight of one of his fellow officers jogging out of Stephen Ward’s office, red in the face and carrying a sheaf of papers. The chief was in bad humour, judging by the overriding sense of urgency in the atmosphere and the raised voices. Seth Jones’s change of plans wasn’t, as he had expected, planned.
“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of going in there,” Janine, an admin support officer, said as he passed her desk.
He paused. Janine was a good source of information. “Problem?”
“Uhu. Seth Jones has gone walkabout with his witness. Nobody seems to know where he is, and Stephen is in a foul mood.”
“Really? Any ideas why Jones has gone off the grid?”
Janine shrugged. “Apparently he wouldn’t explain to his partner, just told him to get lost.”
“Weird.” He peered through the glass frontage of Ward’s office and noticed that Seth Jones’s partner was in the office with the boss. Stephen Ward was pacing up and down. Ward and Jones had some kind of bond, an old friendship from their early days on the force. Ward would be furious about this.
He took a deep breath and tried to decide whether to stay low profile, or jump into the fray. Whilst sitting in traffic on his way back from the midlands he’d got his annoyance under wraps and was freshly determined to find out the alternate location Seth Jones had used. Entering the fray might be the fastest route to gathering that information. He walked closer, and leaned up against the open door frame, listening.
Stephen Ward looked even more stressed than usual. He had three officers in there. Two of them from the internal investigation division. Ward was issuing instructions, rapid fire. “We need to check with the emergency services, look into any car accident or anything unusual that took place between here and the safe house. We can’t rule anything out.” Ward’s frown deepened. “Other than that, all we can do is wait until he makes contact, and he better have a bloody good explanation for this.”
“Anything I can help with?” Lavonne offered.
Ward looked his way and thought about it for a moment. “No. I need you working on your next witness. I had the file sent down yesterday before this kicked off, you need to stick with that case. Janine is organising a safe house for the lead in to the trial. When she gives you the details, do your usual checks on the place. You’ll need to be ready for your one-to-one and the witness relocation in five days time.”
Lavonne ground his teeth. Five days. He had hoped this task wouldn’t drag on past twenty-four hours, but with Jones and the witness on walkabout, who could say how long it would be. The trial wasn’t for another thirteen days. Worst-case scenario, Jones could keep the witness hidden until then. He balked at being penned like this.
Inescapable Page 6
