Chloe pushed her fingers into Darice’s hair as she deepened the kiss. “Mmm. I love you, Dari,” she murmured rubbing her nose against Darice’s. “Hold me?”
“All night,” she said.
They lay down, and Chloe snuggled against her, drawing comfort from Darice’s strong body and savoring the feel of her arms around her.
“I’ll have a baby with you, but I want to see some of the world with you first,” she said. “Let’s go take cruises and fall in love all over again every time.”
Darice chuckled. “That sounds like fun. Why don’t we take a cruise for our honeymoon?”
“Norway? I’d love to see Scandinavia. I could probably do a few stories of successful lesbians there, too.”
“Maybe,” Darice agreed. “But sure, why not. I’d love to take some pictures there.”
“Then, it’s all settled.”
“Can you get two weeks off?” Darice asked. “I’d prefer a long slow cruise with you.” She playfully bit the side of Chloe’s neck, and Chloe laughed.
“I don’t know. Maybe if you ask.” She slanted a look over her shoulder at Darice.
“Done.” Darice sighed as she pressed tighter against Chloe. “This is truly the life. You in my arms, my bed, my world.”
“I feel the same about you,” Chloe said, eyelids lowering. “Goodnight, Dari.”
“Night, honey.”
****
Darice took a sip of the coffee she’d ordered from room service the next morning. Chloe was in the shower while she and Cattail were in the sitting room with Cattail catching her up on things.
“Devin put it out there that Marie had set the flock up for the kill,” Ace said. “I can’t believe she’d be so devious. She even made sure they got into the dining room at the club.”
Darice snorted in amusement. “How?”
“I don’t know. She said she had a friend who works there, which means a woman she slept with,” Cattail said with a snicker. “I would love to have seen that.”
“It looked pretty much the same as when they attacked us, so you didn’t miss much,” Darice replied.
“Zyra said it went off without a hitch last night.”
“Pretty much, but we’ll see.” She’d learned early in her career as an assassin not to leave a fingerprint unless it was intentional. As a result, Darice wasn’t worried about last night or yesterday at the club.
Supposition might drive the police, but it wouldn’t get them a grand jury indictment, let alone a conviction.
The door burst open, and Slate stepped in. “Cops. Those detectives from the house the other night are on their way.”
“So?” Darice asked, wondering how she knew that when she was standing post outside the door not down in the lobby.
“Should I call Ace?” Slate demanded.
“Why?” Darice asked with the arch of a brow.
Before Cattail or Slate could reply, a rap at the door filled the brief silence. Slate opened the door and the two detectives strode in stony faced.
“Detectives,” Darice said congenially. “To what do we owe this morning visit? Have you found anything?”
“We have a warrant to search your room. We’ve already searched your house.”
“For?” Darice asked innocently.
“Poison.”
“Can you wait a minute? Chloe is in the shower, and she might come into the bedroom naked while you’re searching.”
Nothing specific, just poison. Odd since there was nothing to tie her to Marie’s murder. The damned birds had marked her up good enough to hide the wound site. Even if a tox screen had been done for drugs.
And the dead weren’t routinely checked for poison. So, maybe this was more about the cop, but this was no time to lose her cool.
“Call her,” Detective Whitehurst ordered.
“Why are you looking for poison?” Darice asked instead.
“Marie St. Claire died from poisoning, not bird attack,” Detective Ritzcheck muttered. “I did a little digging yesterday and found you two had a little bad blood between you. She apparently was interested in you.”
“She was, but that was all over,” Darice retorted.
“A friend of hers said you did something to interfere with her business,” Detective Ritzcheck went on. “What did you do?”
Darice gave him an amused smile. “I didn’t do anything to her then or now. I’ll get Chloe.” She rose and walked to the bedroom door.
“Leave it open,” Detective Whitehurst ordered.
“Chloe?”
Chloe stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, hair in a single braid. “What’s going on?”
“We’re leaving. We’ll buy what we need for the tri—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Detective Ritzcheck snapped. “St. Claire wanted you back, and she was the one who hired someone to kill your girlfriend. When did you know? When you beat the assassin to death night before last?”
Chloe went to Darice. “Darice defended me, protected me. That woman broke into our home, but she never told Darice who was behind it. Darice asked.”
“It’s funny that the man who was killed at the Feminine Confidence office was that woman’s lover,” Detective Ritzcheck said coldly. “You killed them, McMasters, and we’re going to prove it.”
“Do it,” she said simply. “And unless I’m under arrest—”
“We can arrest your ass and hold you for forty-eight hours,” Detective Ritzcheck broke in. “In fact, that’s what I have a mind to do. That way we can have time to check out your office for that poison.”
Darice snorted in amusement. “Check. You won’t find any poison unless the cleaning crew left their cleaning supplies behind.”
“You smart ass,” Detective Ritzcheck said and reached for her, but his partner stopped him. “Let’s just do what we came here to do while we’re waiting for that warrant for the office.”
“You don’t need it,” Darice said. “What do you need to search? My employees have their own workspaces, and I have mine. Then, there’s the studios. I shoot commercials at whatever sites the client specifies, but you’re welcome to look around.”
“Just like that?” Detective Whitehurst asked suspiciously.
“I have nothing to hide and if you wait until close you can look all over without any hindrance.”
“We’ll close it down,” Detective Ritzcheck told her acerbically.
“In that case, you better get that warrant,” Darice said. “In the meantime, we’re going out.”
“Don’t leave town,” Detective Whitehurst advised.
Darice grabbed her wallet and keys before getting Chloe’s purse.
Detective Ritzcheck jerked the purse from her hand, and Darice was about to slug him when Cattail restrained her. She flicked out a thread of electricity, and he jumped, dropping the bag.
“You better be glad your buddy was here,” he said with a sneer as he bent to pick it up.
Darice glared at him. He’d better be glad, or she’d have fried his ass and his partner’s, too.
He searched Chloe’s purse and tossed it at Darice. She caught it, her power so tightly leashed from years of experience that she didn’t light him up as she wanted to.
“Let’s go,” Slate urged. “We’ll get our stuff and another hotel room later.”
Darice pulled free of Cattail and took Chloe’s hand. She gave both men another look and led Chloe from the room.
“Darice,” Chloe said once they were in the elevator. “What are they going to find?”
“Zip it, Coe,” she ordered.
Chloe glared at her. “Darice, I—”
“Why would they find anything? Do you think I killed her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then take a moment and think it over,” Darice told her icily.
Once they were out in the parking lot, Darice let out a sigh. “Chloe, listen to me,” she said gripping both of her fiancée’s arms. “This isn’t the time or the place to
talk. I’m not feeling it. Okay?”
She nodded slowly. “For now.”
“Cattail, call Ace,” Darice ordered. “I’m sure your line is secure, unlike mine. I need a ride.”
“Already on the way,” Cattail told her.
“It’s just the cops. It’s not like they’re out here spying on you over this,” Slate muttered.
“Enough, baby girl,” Darice snapped, pointing at Slate. “No more.”
Slate frowned and exchanged looks with Cattail before walking a few steps away.
Darice led Chloe to the hotel’s parking garage, and Cattail and Slate followed. They were only there ten minutes before an electric blue SUV with tinted windows rolled in and came to a stop in front of them.
The window on the passenger side rolled own. “Hop in,” Blade ordered.
They all got in and Blade pulled out.
“Okay, so what’s up?” Cattail asked.
“I just have a bad feeling,” Darice replied. Her feeling had gone from bad to worse as things progressed, and she was glad she’d never talked to anyone about her plans, but her instincts were screaming at her to be silent, so she was.
Chapter Twenty-One
When they reached the apartment complex Ace owned and housed the operatives in, they all climbed out. Darice looped an arm around Chloe’s waist and pulled her close as they headed to Ace’s office.
Blade and Cattail led the way after Cattail dismissed Slate.
“I don’t see why I can’t be present,” Slate had said. “It’s my case, too.”
“Just back off,” Cattail told her, and Slate gave a disgruntled glare and strode away with a huff.
Ace was standing next to her desk with Jasmia at her side when they arrived.
“Cattail, take care of the ladies,” Ace ordered.
“Go with Cat, Chloe,” Darice said. “We’ll talk later.”
Chloe hesitated, but didn’t argue. She headed out with the other two women.
“There was an agent at the ball last night,” Ace told her. “He was keeping an eye on the Chief.”
“I know,” Darice told her. “But they won’t find anything. This whole busting my ass isn’t about Marie.”
“What precautions did you take?” Blade asked. “The usual?”
“I’d have been a fool not to,” she said. “This’ll blow over unless someone plants evidence, but I did warn you, Ace, this could be some kind game to draw you guys in.”
Ace nodded. “The client wasn’t the problem,” Ace said tightly. “Do you think Slate is?”
“I don’t know. I think she killed at my place because her cat’s natural instincts to defend herself took over. She was too slow on the draw when the guy attacked at Sabrina’s to say she was a Mojo girl.”
“Blade, make sure all comm from her quarters is monitored. Have Jo find out whatever she can about who Slate really is,” Ace said. “The only person who could have put her undercover is someone who knows us well enough to know what we’d look for in the background check.”
“We know who,” Blade said. “We should have gone after him before.”
“We will,” Ace promised. “For now, though, we’ll keep this all covert. I want her fed a steady diet of false intel to test her. When she slips up, I’ll take her out.”
“The FBI will more than likely question me,” Darice said. “But all they’ll ever get is what they’re going to give me.”
“What’s that?” Blade demanded.
“Smoke blown up their ass.”
****
Over the next three days, Darice was subject to intense police interrogation about Marie’s death as well as about what happened at the policeman’s ball.
No evidence had turned up, but Chloe was still on edge. She was worried Darice’s life of crime would come back to haunt them both.
Darice on the other hand, seemed unconcerned and certain the cops would back off once they realized there was nothing to find and she wasn’t going to run.
Chloe hated to go back to work with this unsettled, but Darice had told her she had to. She had said it would look suspicious if she didn’t.
So, she sat behind her desk Tuesday morning trying to force herself to focus when someone knocked on her door.
“Come in.” She looked up to find Detective Whitehurst coming in alone. His somber expression put her on her guard.
“Good morning, Chloe,” he said conversationally. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, but then no has tried to kill me in the last few days,” she said. “How are you?”
“Tired,” he said and cast a look around the room. “Where is your friend, Slate?”
“Darice had called off the bodyguards,” she replied.”
“I read the file on your near rape,” he said. “Marie wasn’t connected to that attack. They guy said he was in it on his own.”
She frowned. “Okay.”
“Did you know Darice had done time for killing her own family members? Her father and she was suspected of killing her uncle too, but they could never prove it.”
“She told me.”
“I’m surprised,” he commented.
“About what?”
“That she would tell you,” he said. “Marie died from cyanide and belladonna poisoning. The cop at the ball died of cyanide poisoning. Where would she keep them and why would Darice kill to innocent people?”
This was one of the things Chloe had been afraid of. She didn’t want to face interrogation alone for fear she might get all tangled up and say the wrong thing.
“Just tell the truth. We can protect you from her,” he murmured.
“I don’t need to be protected,” she said icily. “When I did, the cops said they couldn’t help me unless I was being harmed.”
“She knows you know something,” he said sitting down on her desk facing her. “She’ll kill you soon enough.”
Chloe shook her head, anger rampaging through her. “Really? What could I know?” she demanded. “If Darice had killed someone and in a crowded room no less, what do you think she would tell me?”
Nothing, thank god.
“If she didn’t tell you, then she doesn’t trust you. If she doesn’t trust you, she knows you can be broken.”
She shook her head. “That’s so rich,” she muttered. “She’s done nothing to hurt me. In fact, she protected me when you couldn’t by hiring the best protection money could buy. So, why kill anyone herself? And she didn’t even know the cop.”
“Maybe she works for Mojo,” he said.
“Enough,” Chloe snapped, leaping to her feet. “I don’t know anything.”
“Detective,” Sabrina said from the doorway. “I think you should leave. You’re disrupting my workplace, and I know Chloe isn’t under arrest.”
“No.” He rose easily. “Not today, but maybe in the future of accessory after the fact. Could you survive in jail, Chloe.”
A shiver ran down her spine and she glared at him. His eyes glittered with promise before he turned away.
“Isn’t intimidation against the law?” Sabrina asked calmly.
“Be careful, Cain. I might start investigating you too,”
“My tax dollars at work,” she murmured with a smile.
Once he was gone, Sabrina closed the door and came to give her a hug.
“Relax,” she said in a low tone. “You’re untouchable and so is Darice.”
Somehow, Chloe doubted that. She knew Whitehurst wasn’t simply going to let this go.
****
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Darice was a little tired from the lack of sleep. She’d finished a commercial that morning and a shoot an hour ago, so she decided to rest on the couch in her office for a bit.
She had just closed her eyes when a rap on the door drew a groan from her. “Come in.” Darice sat up and straightened her tie before standing.
“Ms. McMasters.” A man in a suit strode in, short hair combed back from his face. His calculating brown eyes held hers. The
re was an envelope in his right hand. “I’m Special Agent McInnis.”
“Agent, what can I do for you?” she asked calmly, moving to stand behind her desk.
“I want to talk to you about a criminal.” He opened the envelope and spread several pictures out on her desk. “These are agents who were killed by Mojo,” he said. “We know they handle murder for hire and run weapons.”
“What’s it to do with me?”
He put the cop’s picture on the table. “We’re aware that one of their agents was working the policeman’s ball Friday night. We want her and Mojo.”
“Begs the same question.” She lifted her brows. As if she’d give up her sisters.
Darice doubted many people knew Ace had put someone undercover at the ball. Only someone who worked for the agency could have known.
“Why did you hire them to protect your girlfriend?”
“When you need the best, you hire them if you can afford it. Clearly, I can.”
“This is the agent who was at the event.” He tossed a picture on the table. “She was serving when the Chief was killed. She was, in fact, right behind you.”
“So?”
“She could have killed you instead.”
“I’d be dead.” Darice shrugged. “I wouldn’t know the difference. As for the Chief, I heard that girl who’s suing the city for wrongful death has a case. The Chief was a scumbag.”
“Whether he was or not doesn’t justify murder for hire,” he snapped.
“If you’re sure Mojo did this, tell your mole inside their operation to get you the proof, because I’m just a photographer. I plan to stay that way.”
His expression changed only slightly, bearing a hint of surprise before he had his game face back on.
Agent McInnis tossed a few other pictures down. “I know you know them.”
“I do.” She said glancing down at the shots taken Saturday of her coming out of the office with Chloe.
“You know them better than you initially let on,” he said coldly. “Don’t make me charge you with accessory.”
“I paid for a service, and I got it,” Darice replied sharply. “Beyond that, I don’t know anything about Mojo’s business operations, and I’m not going to allow you to force me into infiltrating and finding out.”
Blood for Her Page 12
