She breathed a sigh of relief. For a second, she’d thought he was going to talk about what was going on between them outside of the case.
Since going to bed with him, Tessa had been unable to categorize or even define their relationship in her own mind, because too many things were going on. She’d been afraid that he was going to be like the other men she’d known and start pushing her in an effort to formalize things so he could feel better or more secure—or whatever motivated her previous boyfriends to try to tie her down. But Luke seemed to be content to leave things as they were, which was fine with her.
Really.
The fact that she felt like a complete coward for avoiding a discussion of the issue was just something else she’d have to deal with.
When she focused on him again, he was waiting calmly for a response from her. “I believe you, Luke. But I’ve never had a partner on a case before, so you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t know quite how to act.” Tessa hesitated, wondering if Luke would realize that the statement applied as much to her personal life as to the case.
He smiled, almost sadly, and kept his arm around her as they began walking back toward his house. “Neither haveI. But don’t worry, baby—I’m a patient man. We can learn together.”
For some reason, it sounded almost like a warning to Tessa.
After a long walk on the beach, Tessa and Luke returned to his house for a late breakfast. Wanting to do something for Luke after the way he’d taken care of her since the day before, Tessa was frustrated by the constant restrictions of the cast on her left wrist. She’d had to settle for talking Luke through the preparation of her famous blueberry pancakes, Kevin’s favorite special breakfast.
Once they’d eaten, Luke had done the dishes without complaint, then gone outside to get the oversized Sunday edition of the paper from the driveway. He turned on some music, then pulled Tessa down onto the cushions on the living room floor, where they’d amicably argued over who got to read which sections of the paper first. Tessa scored the comic section and graciously turned the main news pages over to Luke.
Which was fine with him, because he wanted to make sure there were no upsetting articles about Ed’s death for Tessa to stumble over and read.
He flipped through his section and kept one eye on her as she lay on her back, holding the folded comics high above her with her good arm as she read. Flipping quickly through his own section, Luke came across a piece buried in the middle of the paper. The article announced that a local city councilman from Los Angeles had formed an exploratory committee to research the possibility of a run for governor of California.
What caught Luke’s eye was the picture of Sledge Aiken and several of his teammates at the councilman’s kickoff cocktail party and fund-raiser. They were presenting the councilman with a team jersey and signed football.
“What?” Tessa asked, looking over at Luke as he flipped onto on his stomach to read the article in depth.
“It looks like Sledge has friends in high places with respect to state politics,” Luke remarked, sliding the article closer so Tessa could read once she rolled over and came to rest against his side.
“We guessed he did, just from the way his lawyer was able to stifle almost every aspect of the initial rape investigation.”
“It seems to me that two things are remarkable about Sledge’s presence at this fund-raiser,” Luke mused.
“And they are…?”
“First of all, it’s obvious no news of the investigation into rape charges against him has made it to the media. Otherwise, the councilman would have dropped Sledge like a sack of shit.”
“Probably,” Tessa agreed. “The judge said he expected us to guard the name of the accused as zealously as we guarded the name of the alleged victim. And we haven’t been doing any investigating of Sledge at all. Our files have effectively been sealed, no warrants were issued, and no official charges were ever pressed, so I’m not surprised that word hasn’t gotten out yet.”
“Give it some time, the media will figure out that something is going on. But the second thing that interests me is this—what is the councilman doing shilling for money with a pro athlete we know has Mafia connections?” Luke asked.
Tessa was silent as she considered the possibilities.
“Exactly,” Luke said. “It’s enough to make me wonder what the hell is going on in local politics.”
“Maybe the councilman doesn’t know what we know,” Tessa pointed out.
Luke slanted her a cynical look.
“Okay,” she laughed. “Maybe that’s exactly why he’s hanging out with Sledge in the first place.”
“That’s more like it. Definitely something we’ll need to follow up on with the FBI.”
“What is this politician’s claim to fame?” Tessa asked. “You know, his pet projects and stuff.”
Luke scanned the article, stopping when he got to the second to last paragraph. “It seems our councilman favors growth initiatives that increase municipal tax revenues. It says here that he’s focused on changing real estate zoning laws and selling off tracts of city land in order to make the existing municipal resources work harder for the taxpayers.”
“City land?” Tessa asked. “You don’t suppose that’s tied into Ricky Hedges’s real estate development business, do you?”
“I have no idea. But that’s something else we’ll have to talk about with Chantal Francoeur. Tomorrow,” he added, folding up the news section and setting it aside. “For the rest of today, I think you should rest.”
Tessa started to get up, but Luke held her back with a gentle hand on her back. “Where are you going?”
“To get my notebook. I want to write this down so I won’t forget. Then I can relax for a while.”
Luke laughed. “You don’t need to write it down. I’m not taking painkillers, so I can promise you I won’t forget.”
She relaxed under his hand, which began a gentle stroking and kneading motion on her lower back. “I haven’t taken one since this morning. That’s actually the worst time, along with late at night. Other than that, I feel pretty good.”
“I’m glad. I still want you to rest, though. How about a nap upstairs—I can open the sliding glass door and let the sea breeze in,” he said, soothing her with visions of dozing in the gentle winter sunlight, lulled by the sound of waves and seagulls.
Tessa closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m not all that eager to go to sleep, to be honest. My dreams have been scaring the crap out of me.”
“What if I slept with you?”
“That might help,” she said softly.
Without another word, she let him help her to her feet and they went upstairs. She changed into his soft, faded sheriff’s department T-shirt and joined him under the covers. After some initial squirming and adjusting of her position, she laid her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.
Two hours later, Tessa jerked awake in an instant. At least it had felt jerky to her, probably because her dreams had been going somewhere she hadn’t wanted to explore. Luke hadn’t noticed, apparently, as he stayed sprawled comfortably on his back, an arm flung over his pillow and the other curved around her.
As she watched, Luke’s eyelids opened, and he immediately focused on her. “Bad dream?”
She nodded solemnly. “But it’s okay. I kind of made myself wake up before it got too hairy.”
He used the arm locked around her to pull her closer to his warmth. “I wish I could make it all better. You’re taking this really well now, but I’m worried how things are going to hit you once the case is over.”
Her insides fluttered, responding to both his soothing touch and the concern in his hazel eyes.
“Just knowing you understand helps,” Tessa said. “And I’m not going to lie—I can’t deal with it all right now. I’m pushing everything to do with Ed to the back of my mind. But knowing that Ed lived a full life, and that somehow he’s together with Mary again…that more than anything is what’s he
lping me get through the day.”
That, and Luke. He’d done everything he could for her, including helping her shower and even eat for the last thirty-six hours. While at first she’d been too deeply in shock to do anything but accept what he offered, now she was beginning to feel very selfish. As if he were the only one giving in the relationship. The idea didn’t sit well with her at all.
“I’m glad you’ve found some comfort in that. I worry about you, Swiss. You’re very good at keeping the pain bottled up inside.”
Too good, sometimes, which made Luke wonder what would happen when that little compartmentalized cerebral storage area filled up.
Tessa smoothed her cheek against his shoulder, realizing the quiet affection he offered was completely new to her. Luke was certainly being honest, letting her know his feelings silently as he showered attention on her, as well telling her what was going on inside his head.
He cared about her.
Her half smile faltered for a moment. At least he was brave enough to admit it. If she were honest, she’d say that she cared for him as well. But as had happened her entire adult life, she choked when it came to expressing her emotions. She was sure this was partially because of her lousy experiences with trusting men. But in this case it was also because she was flat-out terrified to examine her feelings for Luke and see if they went deeper than what she’d already admitted to herself.
And frankly, she hated herself for being afraid. Luke had done nothing to deserve the kind of neurotic insecurities that came to the surface whenever she looked at her own feelings. The problem was her and her issues with trust, but he was the one being punished.
The hell of it was she didn’t know how to change. She just knew that she wanted to try.
With that thought, she rolled over. Under his steady gaze, she hesitantly reached up with her good hand and drew Luke’s head down to hers.
“What?” Luke asked softly, knowing that she was thinking something deep by the look in her eyes.
“Just this,” Tessa said, and kissed him.
Luke closed his eyes and let the sweetness of her wash over him. When she began to pull back, he tightened his grip and deepened the kiss. She hummed a quiet sound of pleasure, deep in her throat, and moved against his body.
The kisses went on and on, until her mouth was wet and throbbing, and Luke’s muscles had taken on the tautness of arousal. He finally pulled his mouth away from hers and dragged it down her throat, using his lips and tongue and teeth against the tendons there. He barely refrained from marking her skin, and instead ground his teeth as he rubbed his face this way and that against her scented neck.
She’d kill him if he gave her a hickey before their upcoming series of business meetings.
Instead of carrying out his possessive fantasies, he brought Tessa’s good hand to his mouth and pressed a hot kiss into the palm, then nibbled the sensitive pad of her thumb. When she moaned softly and moved against his body, he realized that her shirt had ridden up during their nap. And his shorts were no longer containing his cock.
From there, it was a simple matter to pull her hand down and press it against the tented front of his boxers. He watched her cheeks flush a glorious shade of pink. She was breathtakingly beautiful in the full light of the California afternoon sun as she hesitantly reached inside the fly front of his shorts and encountered the potent heat of his erection.
To distract her from her shyness, Luke ran both hands up under her T-shirt and squeezed both cheeks of her bottom hard, then released. Then squeezed. She let out a gasping little cry and tightened her grip, making him grunt in pained pleasure. To retaliate, he traced the crease between the globes of her bottom and found an erotic line of soft, smooth, incredibly sensitive skin. Her eyes slid closed as his fingers moved farther forward, down between her legs, and found her wet and ready for him.
She moaned out loud that she needed him, and that was all it took for Luke’s control to snap.
He pulled off her shirt, ditched his boxers, and grabbed for the box of condoms on the nightstand in a jerky series of moves. As he slowly slid the latex sheath onto his cock, she watched in wonder, too aroused to do anything but stare at the throbbing hardness he handled so matter-of-factly.
She wanted to eat him alive. She reached a bold hand out to cup his testicles and finish adjusting the condom. It took long enough to get the perfect fit that she made Luke throw back his head and pant out loud.
“Watch your cast. Here, lie down.” His urgently whispered instructions had Tessa on her left side, facing him, her broken wrist slid safely under the pillows for the moment. They were face-to-face, breathing heavily, when Luke bent her top leg and raised it to the level of his waist.
Tessa felt his warm hand close over her bottom as he urged her closer, until she could feel him probing her body. She reached down to grab his erection, then hiked her leg higher and thrust forward at the same time, driving him into her. The feel of him sinking to the hilt inside her caused her heartbeat to hesitate, just for a moment, at the glorious shock of being filled.
“It will take a while this way,” Luke whispered as he began a gentle rocking that brought him into contact with her lower body.
Good, Tessa thought as she savored the luxurious slide and friction of his body against hers. Good.
She turned her lips to his and followed his lead, rocking against him slowly, so slowly. Every once in a while, her breathing would accelerate and she’d move more urgently against him, but he kept the steady and purposeful rhythm until the lesser peak had passed. And still he moved, his lips to hers, his body against hers—building the feeling again, starting her out higher each time.
Until silent tears ran down her face, and she cried out loud as she moved against him harder, faster, and he rocked them both into ecstasy.
They stayed wrapped around each other, lying in bed until evening.
Until MacBeth called to report that Kelly hadn’t shown up for work at Club Red for the second night in a row. And no one seemed to know where she was.
Chapter 36
Santa Monica, California
Monday morning, March 15
Chantal Francoeur’s first thought on meeting Tessa Jacobi was that she looked like hell. It was more than the bruises and abrasions on her face, more than the left wrist encased in a new cast. The woman had deep shadows in her eyes and a tightness about her that said she was under extreme stress. It made her appear very pale and fragile. The fact that she was just under average height with a figure more suited to an artist’s model than a deputy district attorney probably didn’t help dispel the initial impression of frailty.
That stress was also evident on Luke Novak’s face, but he was harder to read. She could see he was concerned about Tessa, and as she watched him pour her a glass of water from a nearby pitcher, Chantal began to pick up on the undercurrents passing between the two of them. It set off warning bells in the accountant’s head, because it was never a good idea for team members to be involved with each other.
Sex was so distracting, especially when the people involved had other concerns as well.
And apparently this case was worth concern. Chantal had been told by Luke Novak that a veteran police officer was killed in the incident where Tessa was injured. The investigation was dangerous enough that she didn’t like the combination of personal and professional entanglements she was seeing in front of her.
But as Tessa began to describe the case from the beginning, Chantal was finally able to see the steely resolve, the determination in Tessa’s face as she explained what they knew already and why they needed a forensic accountant. The strength in her voice, and her commitment to solving the case came through loud and clear. Having clawed her way out of the slums of Kingston, Jamaica to earn a double master’s degree from Harvard, Chantal could appreciate determination and commitment. She decided to give the deputy D.A. a chance.
Tessa finished her briefing and waited for a response from Chantal. She was beginning to fe
el like she was the one on trial—the accountant was visibly analyzing Tessa and her summary of the case to date. Looking at Chantal’s power suit, stiletto heels, and the breathtakingly expensive layered haircut, which drew attention to wide-set amber eyes, Tessa was having no trouble at all imagining that the other woman was a top-notch forensic accountant in high demand for her analytical skills.
At the moment, Chantal was undoubtedly weighing everything she’d read in the task force files over the last twenty-four hours versus the case as Tessa had described it. She could almost hear the woman’s brain sorting through the information and finding the parts that interested her.
Finally, Tessa cleared her throat and continued. “So now you can see why we need the help of someone like you. It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to get enough evidence to go to trial on the rape charges anytime soon, and frankly, the other sex crimes are also going to be difficult to prove without a confession. But we can’t let these people get away with what they’ve done to Kelly and Detective Flynn. So we’re going to need some leverage in order to force the defendants into a plea bargain situation.”
Chantal tilted her head. “This whole scenario is incredible. You started with a high-profile case of date rape, then uncovered a forced prostitution scam, and now we’re looking at racketeering, organized crime, illegal gambling, and money laundering going on in a duly licensed establishment?”
“Exactly,” said Tessa. “And I want to use the leverage of federal charges to get certain people in the criminal organization to testify against the others who were responsible for Kelly’s rape and subsequent kidnapping. Plus anything that’s happened to her since. I don’t want a single person to get off the hook or leave his subordinates to take the fall—I want everybody to pay for their role in the operations of Club Red, Inc. as they pertain to Kelly Maarten.”
No Escape Page 25
