by Tessa Bailey
It took every ounce of Bowen’s control not to grab Hogan by the throat when he gave Sera a lustful once-over. “Why don’t we let her get back to work?” Hogan’s features tightened at Bowen’s not-so-subtle command, warning him to reel back his obvious interest in Sera. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
Hogan very deliberately rubbed his jaw. “All right, Driscol.” He turned his hard gaze on Sera. “Enough standing around. You’re downstairs to serve drinks.”
Fists clenched so hard he thought the bones might shatter, Bowen followed Hogan to the bar. He somehow resisted the impulse to turn around and gauge Sera’s expression. Pass on some sort of reassurance that he’d handle Hogan. But not only would she reject such reassurance from him, she didn’t know he was on her side.
And she couldn’t know. He’d agreed to keep his involvement in the investigation from her. Newsom had explained that his niece’s stubborn nature might cause her to make rash decisions if she knew the police were monitoring her, possibly getting ready to swoop in and put an end to her impulsive mission. She’s got nothing to lose, he’d said. No care for her own well-being. Bowen damn well wished he hadn’t agreed to that condition now so he could talk some sense into her.
When he reached the seat he’d left vacant what felt like hours ago, he slid onto the stool and signaled for a whiskey. God only knew how much he needed it.
Hogan took the seat beside him, looking thoughtful. “You know, I hadn’t quite decided not to have her for myself.” One by one, he popped his knuckles. “How was she?”
Stay calm. Stay calm. “I wouldn’t know. You interrupted us before we got to the good part, man.”
The other man smiled tightly. “Are you expecting an apology?” He picked up the shot of top-shelf tequila the bartender had placed in front of him. “I don’t know if I like you coming into my club, handling my waitress. We might be making peace, but that doesn’t mean I have an open-door policy.”
Since he would rather chew nails than apologize, Bowen stayed silent. Eventually, Hogan laughed and slapped him on the back, making him stiffen.
“So let’s talk.” Hogan leaned close. “Everything still in order for next week’s shipment?”
He nodded, the familiar pit opening in his stomach that always came when discussing business. “All set. I need to know what kind of manpower you’re bringing, so I can match it. With that much cargo, we’ll need a decent number, but they’ve all got to be trustworthy. No last-minute additions.”
Hogan rubbed his palms together, turned on by the promise of the upcoming score. “Not a problem. I’ve handpicked every one of them. They know what happens if they talk.” Rapping the bar with one hand, he looked back toward the dining room. “I’m not taking any chances with this one. It’s too big. Which is why I hope you got the waitress out of your system.”
Bowen’s blood ran cold. “Meaning?”
Hogan’s voice dipped low. “I kept her around because one of my guys got his ass shot a couple weeks back. She seemed to know what the fuck she was doing, and I sure as hell didn’t have time to play nurse to anyone. So I brought her here.” He shrugged. “He’s up and around now. And she’s not exactly waitress of the year. In fact, there’s something about her…”
“Besides those legs?” Bowen interjected, wanting to distract Hogan from that suspicious line of thinking.
He acknowledged Bowen’s comment with a cold smirk. “She’s been around too long. I can’t be sure what she’s heard or seen.” A touch of concern laced his tone. “Anyway, in the spirit of taking no chances leading up to this next shipment, I’m not keeping an outsider around longer than necessary.”
The clawing in Bowen’s throat was back. “Seems a little hasty, doesn’t it?”
His comment earned him a jab in the shoulder. Hogan actually had the nerve to look amused after so casually mentioning his decision to get rid of Sera. “Should I take that to mean she’s not out of your system yet?”
Hating the words he was about to say, Bowen made an indifferent gesture. “I wouldn’t mind finishing what we started first.” His stomach turned over. “After that, it’s none of my business.”
Hogan leaned back on his stool, eyes focused sharply on Bowen. “Tell you what. I’m heading to my Jersey club for a week to knock some heads together. Until I get back, she’s your responsibility.” One of his shoulders lifted. “Why not let you have your fun?”
Bowen felt like breaking something. “I got no problem with that.”
“I bet you don’t.” Hogan turned, gesturing Sera closer with a crooked finger. “But just to be safe, I’m going to have my cousin Connor keep an eye on things.”
“You mean keep an eye on me.” Bowen couldn’t soften the harshness of his statement. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Think of it more like insurance. Nothing is going to stand in the way of this job, Driscol, especially your cute piece of ass. You’ve got one week.”
Jesus, how many times would he have that same warning issued in his direction? One week. The world would apparently end in one damn week.
Sera arrived then, splitting a glance between him and Hogan. If she’d shown up a second later, Bowen strongly believed he would have given in to the urge to bury his fist in Hogan’s smug face and blow the whole operation.
“Yes?”
Hogan tossed back his shot of tequila. “Sera, you’ve met Bowen, haven’t you?” He laughed at his own joke. “He’s going to be your host while I’m gone. I have a feeling you’re going to be playing a different kind of nurse.”
“In his dreams, you mean?” She felt, rather than saw, Bowen stiffen. It made little difference. He was about to throw a serious wrench into her engine. “I’m not going anywhere, unless I decide to. Not with him or anyone.”
“Are you sure about that?” A hard glint entered Hogan’s eye. “Right about now, he might just be the lesser of two evils.”
Several things occurred to Sera at the same time.
First and most disturbing, she’d been marked as dispensable. Connor now required minimal medical attention for his wound, apart from the occasional changing of his bandages. If she’d outlived her usefulness in that department and Hogan didn’t feel comfortable letting her remain behind in his absence without a watchdog, then he didn’t trust her. Trust was paramount in his underworld, and she hadn’t been given enough time to earn it. Lack of trust could be tolerated only if he had leverage of some sort on her, and she’d given him none.
Had Bowen somehow convinced Hogan to keep her around as his…plaything? She tried not to have a visceral reaction to that thought, difficult as it was. Just imagining what the sisters at Holy Angels Academy would have to say about her being bartered as a bed partner made her cringe. Moving on.
This new development put a major puzzle piece within her reach. In all the research she’d done, there had always been a giant question mark beside Bowen’s name when it came to the major crime player’s location the night her brother was murdered. Had Bowen been there? Did he have the answers she needed?
In a matter of days, Colin would have been twenty-nine. She owed him answers.
God, she’d just let a hardened criminal turn her into a shivering pile of lady hormones, without even finding out his name. How could she let her guard down like that? This was everything she’d been working toward for months, years if you started the clock when Hogan killed her brother in cold blood.
Her mind traveled back to the alley, when he’d only been a stranger, instead of the man who’d inherited a huge portion of the city and its illegal activities. Nestled against his warmth while the bright, brilliant strains of opera split the cool air. The way he’d looked at her. As if her smile were the most amazing part of the moment, not the woman belting Puccini from the second-floor window. It had felt like magic, but now she saw it was only an illusion. Bowen’s notorious way with women had even made it into his thick police file, and she’d just let herself become another victim.
Unless…
She could use this to her advantage. Her week of personal leave had officially expired, meaning her uncle would start to look for her soon—if he wasn’t already. She needed to take this turn of events and make it work for the investigation. Whether she wanted to accept it or not, Bowen’s interest in her might have bought her the precious time she needed to continue investigating Hogan, while playing another angle at the same time. Namely, Bowen. It would mean using her body to achieve an end. Was she ready for that? Was it worth setting aside her principles and giving away an important part of herself?
Her brother’s face flashed through her mind. Yes, it was worth it. How could she even question that when Colin had given up everything for this job?
When a sliver of excitement breached her resolve, Sera shoved it away.
She had to play this exactly right to ensure she didn’t get made. Keeping her bravado would be key.
“Where are you going?” she asked Hogan, since she wasn’t supposed to know about his trip to New Jersey. She also knew from experience that his employees didn’t usually question him. Unfortunately, thanks to her loss of composure the night they met, he knew she had a backbone. While she might tread carefully, she also couldn’t suddenly start playing meek.
His lips curled. “Aw, what’s wrong? You going to miss me?”
To Sera’s surprise, Hogan reached out as though he were going to touch her face. In the two weeks she’d been there, he hadn’t made a pass at her or even flirted. Why now? Her question was answered when Bowen’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, just before it reached her face.
Hogan threw back his head, laughing as he jerked his hand back. “Someone has a crush on you, cutie. Better get him upstairs before someone makes the mistake of breathing the same air as you.”
Sera glanced at Bowen, who’d managed to keep his temper off his face, but his anger was broadcast through bunched-up fists. “He doesn’t look like he needs a nurse. But if he thinks I’m going home with him, maybe a shrink would be a better idea.”
That set Hogan howling again, but her focus remained on Bowen. For some reason, her insult seemed to calm him down. What sense did that make? “There isn’t a shrink in the world that could figure me out, sweetheart.”
“You won’t know until you try, sweetheart.”
Her boss pushed back his stool and stood. “Good luck, Driscol. You’re going to need it.” As he skirted past them toward the exit, he raised an eyebrow at Bowen and lowered his voice. “Told you…something about her. Use the head on your shoulders.”
Sera pretended not to hear, smoothing a hand down her apron to free it of wrinkles. “I’m going to get back to work,” she said to Bowen. “I’d rather you weren’t here when my shift ends.”
“That’s a shame. I just got comfortable.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Listen, I don’t care what arrangement you made with Hogan. I’m the only one who decides how I spend my time.”
He sipped his whiskey, rolling it around on his tongue before swallowing. “You didn’t mind my company when I had you up against the hallway wall.”
Sera knew her face flushed when he chuckled. “Momentary insanity,” she mumbled.
“You saying I drove you insane, Ladybug?” He winked. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Don’t.”
“I’ll be right here when you finish.”
The double entendre in his voice was so glaringly obvious, she almost laughed. Almost. She worked with cops, after all. She’d quickly grown used to sexual innuendo. Not that she ever participated.
Throughout the remaining three hours of her shift, she had to take several bathroom breaks to cool off, patting her face down with wet paper towels. On the occasions she gave in and looked over at Bowen, he was staring in a way that made her pulse skitter and race. She felt sweaty and hot in an unfamiliar way. The distraction wasn’t appreciated, and yet after a while she began posing under his watchful eye. Angling herself toward him, arching her back when it wasn’t necessary. Flipping her hair over her shoulder like an idiot.
Yes, her goal had changed with Bowen’s unexpected arrival. She’d decided to use this attraction between them to her advantage, but it made her nervous exactly how much the prospect of his hands on her again excited her. The only way to survive was to immerse herself in the role. Stop thinking like Seraphina the cop and simply be Sera, the waitress. Bowen wanted her and she could admit to wanting him back, much as it annoyed her. After all, she had no guarantee he hadn’t had a role in her brother’s murder. That in itself should be enough to eliminate any inconvenient attractions. Why didn’t it?
When ten o’clock rolled around, she untied her apron and tossed it into the waitress station cabinet. With a fortifying breath, she turned, intending to leave through the fire escape exit leading upstairs. She stopped short when she saw Bowen propped against the wall, waiting for her.
This is it, Sera. Too late to turn back now.
He pulled open the door. “After you.”
Choosing to ignore him until he made the first move, Sera ascended the dim staircase, so physically aware of Bowen behind her, her neck prickled with shiver-inducing heat. The exposed skin at her back singed under the gaze she felt resting there. The sound of his work boots landing on each step echoed through the enclosed space, matching her thudding heartbeat. Would he follow her into her room? Probably. Why else would he be tracing a path behind her up the stairs? In a matter of minutes, she could be naked with one of Brooklyn’s most sought-after criminals.
When they reached her door, she tugged the key out of her pocket and turned it in the lock. She pushed the door open to reveal her small, windowless room, half of which was taken up by a twin bed. The clothes that had been lent to her by one of Rush’s waitresses sat in a neat pile on a single chair propped in the corner.
Bowen looked horrified. “Not exactly the lap of luxury, is it?”
“It’s a good thing they didn’t ask me to fill out a comment card,” she muttered, walking inside. “But it’s only temporary, until Connor gets back on his feet.”
He made a thoughtful noise in his throat and reached down to test the doorknob. “You keep this locked at night?”
She frowned. “Yes.”
“Good.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at her hard. “Lock it behind me when I go and don’t open it for anyone.”
He was leaving? Downstairs, he’d given the impression he wanted to sleep with her. Hadn’t he?
“Don’t do that, sweetheart.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “Do what?”
“Look disappointed that I’m taking off. It’s killing me.”
She scoffed at that, holding the door wide for him to pass. “Now who’s temporarily insane?”
“Nothing temporary about my insanity.” He stepped closer, too close, but she held her ground. “I’ll be back in the morning. Have your things ready to go.”
“Why would I do that?”
His laughter held only the barest hint of amusement. “You have no fear, do you?”
“Of you?” She gulped when he closed the distance between them. “Should I fear you?”
His mouth came down on hers, kissing her long and hard. Lips meshed, teeth scraped, tongues tangled. When he pulled back, his breath came in harsh pants. “Why do you think I asked you to lock the door?”
Before she could formulate a response, he’d left, disappearing at the end of the hallway.
Chapter Five
Bowen pulled himself up from the top stair, where he’d spent the night propped against the wall. Not wanting to leave Sera for a second on the chance Hogan changed his mind and decided to take care of her sooner, he’d spent the night in the stairwell, watching her door. He still hadn’t trusted himself enough to bring her home last night. Not when he’d been starving for her. It had taken every measure of willpower to walk out of her room. If he’d taken her back to his place, no doubt she would have ended up on her back. Watching her
move around the dining room for hours on end last night, her firm ass swishing in those jeans, the air-conditioning causing her nipples to bead, he’d been strung so tight by the time her shift ended, his vision had started blurring. Dangerous territory. Especially when despite her protests, she’d clearly wanted him to stay.
He hadn’t exactly gotten the most restful night of sleep on the metal staircase, so he’d had a lot of time to think. Sure, he made a living out of being underhanded, but the kind of deceit it would take to sleep with Sera without her knowing his role in her investigation? Even he didn’t lack enough conscience for that.
Worse, after she’d given him so little protest over entering her room, he had the sneaking suspicion she planned on seducing information out of him. Or distracting him with sex while she continued to pursue Hogan. The physical connection he felt with her couldn’t be faked, but the idea of her using it against him made him undeniably angry.
A hot-to-trot virgin. Wasn’t that just his fucking luck?
He wouldn’t know the first thing about being with someone inexperienced. He’d never been anything but hard and fast with a woman. As soon as they’d been pleasured, he took his own, having already mentally moved on.
Scrubbing a hand over his morning beard, he made his way toward her room. Or more accurately, her prison cell. When they got back to his place, he planned on putting her in a room she could breathe in. A room with a window. Granted, it would be clear on the opposite end of the apartment with plenty of distance between them. Bowen had to laugh at himself. As if it would matter. He would know she was there, sleeping in his sheets, showering in his bathroom. Naked.
This was going to be a long week.
Bowen reached her door, testing the handle to make sure it was still locked. When it opened with little urging, panic rushed in and overwhelmed him. He shoved the door open, his heart stopping when he found her bed empty. Her clothes were still stacked in the same spot as last night; her bed looked slept in. Where the hell was she?
