by Jen Talty
She shuddered, lacing her fingers through his hair.
“You’re a dangerous woman.” He stiffened, then turned her and bent her over the counter, spreading her legs, sliding into her with one powerful thrust.
“Oh God, yes,” she said, looking over her shoulder. She braced herself, pushing back toward him.
He growled, slamming into her over and over again. Reaching around her body, he ripped open her blouse, toying with her nipple, twisting and turning. His other hand found her hard nub, and he flicked it with his index and middle fingers.
Her breathing came in rough pants. She slammed her hands on the counter, calling out his name as she tightened around him, convulsing.
Gritting his teeth, he pumped one last time, spilling his climax into her with a groan. He bent over, kissing the back of her neck and taking a deep breath.
Neither one moved for a good five minutes, other than to breathe, which was ragged for most of that time.
He smoothed out her hair and pulled her skirt down over her soft round ass. After he managed to pull himself together, he snagged one of the egg sandwiches and shoved half of it in his mouth. “I’m starving.”
She let out a short laugh. “Scarf it down, babe. We’ve got to go. Rachel wants to see you ASAP, and I told her that I’d gotten ahold of you this morning and that I’d be bringing you in first thing.”
“You certainly got ahold of me, and good.”
She reached out and snagged his sandwich and took a huge bite.
“Hey,” he said. “That’s my meat.”
“Your meat is mine.” She winked. “Let’s roll.”
He laughed. “I’m happy to share it with you again tonight.”
“We might be able to arrange that.”
Serenity swirled in her chair, gnawing on the end of her pen. Cove had spent forty-five minutes with Rachel, and she seemed to be satisfied with his statement, but she still wasn’t thrilled with how the events of the evening went down.
But what was done was done.
After the interview, Serenity had walked Cove to the door where they decided to meet up after work for a drink and dinner at Freeforms around the corner from her place.
Damn. She was in deep.
Too deep.
She blinked a few times, trying to get the flashbacks of her overly aggressive sexual prowess both last night and in the kitchen out of her mind. When she decided she might do it with Cove, she told herself she’d keep it tame. However, he had such a raw energy about him that there was no way she’d be able to do anything but ravish him every way she could.
“Earth to Serenity,” Andrew Bosley said, waving his hand in front of her face.
“Sorry,” she said, unaware he’d stepped into her office. “What’s up?”
Agent Bosley had been with the FBI for a good twenty years and in this office for at least ten of them. He worked mostly with the terrorism unit, but anytime a bomb was involved, so was Bosley, and their paths crossed on many an occasion. He was a good agent and an even better man. He’d taken her under his wing when she’d first been transferred to the city. He was like a favorite uncle, and he always had her back, especially when it came to Rachel.
Bosley tossed a file on her desk before leaning his ass against it. “We got the report back on the bomb. The C4 was traced back to a robbery of a construction company in New Rochelle six months ago. There are no leads, and this is the first time the explosive has shown up.” Bosley tapped the file. “Not that this means anything, but that robbery went down right after the bank heist went bad that Nimitz fucked up, but our bomb from last night is nothing like what Big Mike’s crew used. Besides the C4 being from a different source, Big Mike’s crew was much more sophisticated. They really knew what they were doing and how to control an explosion.”
“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t him,” she said. “We broke up his crew that day.”
“The person responsible for all the crap is behind bars,” Bosley said. “Which brings me to another interesting thing I found out.”
“Yeah. What’s that?”
“Someone has been putting extra money in Roger Nimitz’s commissary account. No one thought anything of it, and I only found out because I went poking around this morning when all this happened.”
“Who’s the donor?” Serenity asked as she opened the report. “That can’t be done anonymously.”
“It’s under the name of Miliana Farms. I’m doing a run on the name now. But the funds are being deposited directly, once a month. There is no record of any Miliana Farms making appearances at the prison.”
“Does he have any visitors?”
“Just his lawyer,” Bosley said.
She pulled up a web browser and typed in Miliana Farms into a search. A couple dozen women came up, but none matched the description that Jessica had given her. “I’m struggling with how these could possibly be connected or how anyone knew where I had gone on a date.”
“I’m struggling with the fact you were on a date with the man that was in here this morning. Who the hell was that guy anyway?”
“Someone I knew from high school,” she admitted but had no desire to continue that conversation, especially with Bosley. “I had the cyber unit check my email and my cell for breaches. They are issuing me a new phone to be safe.”
“Okay, is there any chance the bomber was gunning for the dude that you went out with? He’s in the Army, right?”
“Combat engineer and yes, he knows his way around explosives, but no, that bomb was meant for me.”
“Then we have to believe it was meant to bring you back to that location, and therefore it has to be tied to the Big Mike robberies or Nimitz’s fuck up. When was the last time you talked to his wife?”
“She filed for divorce. She’s gotten over the shock, and now she’s just angry at everything he’s done. I still can’t believe he was in on the heist,” Serenity said.
“I know. That was a huge blow to the Bureau. Maybe this Miliana Farms is somehow related to Big Mike.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Serenity said. “But every time I run all this through my brain, it always comes back to if Nimitz was in on it, because he still denies it, he wouldn’t want it to go sideways like that, jeopardizing his career.”
“Unless he was collateral damage, and once things went to shit, Big Mike let him take the fall, pulling the focus from him.”
That was a very good point. The second the first hostage was killed, Nimitz lost control of the situation. He’d been acting strangely before that, but something snapped in him, and he started breaking protocol to the point Serenity had to step in and take over. However, it had been too late, and two innocent people had died, and they still had no idea who Big Mike really was or where he was holed up. “It’s still not jellin’ with me. I have Penn doing a deep dive into all my cases since I landed in this office and cross-referencing them to Big Mike as well as ones that might have doubled-dipped with Nimitz.”
“That’s a good idea,” Bosley said. “I worry about you, kiddo. Maybe that Army dude can be your personal bodyguard?”
She did her best to keep from smiling. “Cove? Yeah. He’s all brawn, that’s for damn sure.”
“Cove? That’s an interesting name.”
“His parents first met in Swindler Cove, and it’s where his dad proposed to his mother. They couldn’t name him Swindler, so they went with Cove.” She shook her head, laughing. “His sister, who was my best friend in high school, thinks that’s where he was conceived too.”
“That’s a cute story. Better than where all your family names came from.”
“Hey, don’t knock peace, love, and tranquility when it comes to picking names for your kids.”
He pushed from his desk. “You forget, I let my wife name our kids after mountains that she and I hiked in college, so I get it.” He knocked his knuckles on the wood top. “Watch your back. Let me know if I can be of service.”
“Will do.” She stiffened her spine
and rested her fingers over her keyboard and finished filling out her report. After she hit send, she picked up her desk phone and dialed the number for Sarah Nimitz.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Sarah, It’s Serenity. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing pretty good, but I’d be a hell of a lot better if my asshole of a husband would sign the damn papers,” Sarah said with a sigh. “He said he won’t do it until I go visit.”
“It might be worth it just to be free of him.” Serenity leaned back and crossed her legs, almost wishing she’d worn slacks so she could kick her feet up on her desk, but she had to appear in court at three, so best to dress the part. “I’d be happy to come with you for support if you’d like.”
“You’d do that for me?” Sarah asked with a slight quiver to her voice. For the most part, Sarah had a strong independent streak, but she’d been through the ringer. Not everyone believed she had no idea what her husband had been up to, including some from the Bureau and at the head of that line was Rachel. “Your boss wouldn’t like it.”
“I’m not concerned about that,” Serenity said. “Just say the word and I’ll clear a day and drive up with you.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it. My lawyer is going to try one more time to get him to sign it. We just don’t want him to keep emotionally blackmailing me, which is what this feels like, and then he just doesn’t sign it anyway.”
“Have you actually spoken with him?” Serenity asked.
“No. I refuse his calls. All communication goes through my attorney.”
Serenity fiddled with the curled phone wire. She glanced out her glass wall into the busy main room filled with twenty desks all used by new field agents and support staff. She spent a year and half out in that pen, and in the last six months, part of her missed the noise out there, but she also really enjoyed being able to shut her door and distance herself from the insanity of everything that happened on a daily basis on the main floor.
“What about letters? Does he send you any?”
“Why are you asking me this?”
Serenity had to be careful how much information she gave to Sarah about this current case. Not that Sarah would say anything to anyone, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. “We’re tracking some possible movement of the organization that we believe Roger was involved with, and I’m looking for anything that might tell me more.”
“Roger never spoke to me about that. I didn’t know anything,” Sarah said with a screech. “I feel like such a fool for not knowing. Who the hell doesn’t know their husband is mixed up in a bank heist?” A fair amount of resentment was laced in every word.
“Hey, we worked with him, and we didn’t see it, so don’t beat yourself up, but if he has sent you letters, would it be possible for me to see them?”
“I suppose. I can scan them in and email them to you,” Sarah said.
“I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.” Out of the corner of Serenity’s eye, she saw Rachel making a beeline for Serenity’s office. “I have to go, Sarah. I’ll be in touch.”
“Take care.”
Serenity set the phone in the cradle and braced herself for Rachel’s wrath.
“Do you have a few minutes?” Rachel asked as she stepped in and closed the door.
“Of course.”
Rachel made herself comfortable on the chair across from Serenity. She crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest. She tapped her toe on the floor, something she didn’t do often, and when she did, it usually meant bad news. “I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Serenity said. “I know I shouldn’t have let—”
“It has nothing to do with Cove,” Rachel said. “Based on his background, I would have done the same thing.”
Holy shit. Did Rachel just give her a pass? And admit to being willing to break protocol? Miracles did happen. “Okay. If it’s not that, then what?”
“Roger Nimitz is dead.”
Serenity’s jaw slacked open. She slammed it shut and cleared her throat. “I literally just got off the phone with Sarah. What happened?”
“A shiv in the yard. The warden thinks it was an ordered hit, but no one is talking.”
“Jesus.” Serenity pinched the bridge of her nose. Well, now Sarah was finally free of the asshole. “That’s weird coming on the heels of what happened last night.”
“Oh, it gets even weirder,” Rachel said. “The warden said there was a note pinned on Roger’s chest that read: this one is for Serenity.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Serenity’s heart pounded in her throat. As a negotiator, her job was to save hostages. She did her best to gain the trust of the person holding the gun and get him as many things as she could until a plan was in place to take the motherfucker down, ensuring no loss of life.
It didn’t always happen that way.
But in all her years doing this job, not a single criminal fixated on her.
Until now.
“Why would someone kill Roger and say it was for me?” Serenity asked.
“That’s the million-dollar question. You weren’t brought in until halfway through that hostage situation, and I only made that call because Bosley said Roger was falling apart at the seams.”
“Roger was pissed the second I showed up,” Serenity said. “He’s never liked me.”
“Don’t take that personally. He has issues with women in authority. He had a shit fit when I came here as the agent in charge, and it wasn’t because of my father, though he used that to hide the fact he’s a misogynistic pig.”
This was a side of Rachel that Serenity had never seen before, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. For now, she’d just roll with it.
“But we need to figure out how all this is connected, and I’m concerned for your safety,” Rachel said. “You’re one of my best agents, and someone out there seems to have it in for you. We can’t have that. Not when you’re in line to take my job when I leave.”
That was the second time she’d heard that rumor, but she wasn’t about to give it legs, especially when it came right out of Rachel’s mouth.
“I’m still struggling with why anyone would kill Roger and tie it to me,” Serenity said.
Rachel stood. “Well, you’re going to have to find out. You’ve got Penn at your disposal as well as Ross Greene. He’s more than familiar with the case and Big Mike.” She made her way to the door and pulled it open. “You’re lucky your boyfriend is stateside for a few more weeks. I’d suggest wrapping this up before he has to leave. I feel better with him as your bodyguard.”
“I’m a highly trained federal agent. I am a bodyguard,” Serenity said with an arched brow.
Rachel smiled. “Perhaps, but who wouldn’t want that man hanging around. How the hell did you snag him?”
Serenity opened her mouth to set the record straight but then decided to let her boss think whatever she wanted. “I best get to work.”
5
Cove normally didn’t care when anyone cancelled plans. Shit happened and Serenity’s job wasn’t a typical nine to five.
But he wished she hadn’t blown him off completely, telling him not to wait for her at her place because she was going to be late. He’d spent the night tossing and turning in his studio apartment. He spent the day working out and running errands for his mom, and now he waited for a text from Serenity about whether or not she was going to make it an impromptu dinner party at his parents’ house, which included hers.
How that happened, he wasn’t sure, but he suspected Leah had something to do with it.
He sat on his parents’ back porch and sipped his beer, watching the sun hover over the horizon. The slider screeched behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hey, Dad,” he said.
His father placed a tray of cheese and crackers on the table and settled into a lounge chair, crossing his legs. He lifted his beer. “So, you and Serenity, huh?”
“No,” Cove said as he covere
d his mouth and coughed. “You’ve been talking with Leah, I take it.”
“Isn’t that why we’re all getting together tonight for dinner? Because you and Serenity are a couple?”
“Not even close, Dad.” Cove chuckled. “Mom and Leah are playing matchmaker again. But Serenity and I are just friends.” With insanely wicked benefits. He took a gulp of his beverage, letting the bubbles tickle the back of his throat.
“Friends? You two haven’t seen each other in years,” his father said, not hiding his amusement. “I heard the two of you went on a date the other night.”
“I took her to dinner because my sister tricked me. However, Serenity and I had a good time. She’s a nice girl, but as soon as the doctor signs off on my medical leave, I’m out of here.”
“I’m shocked you even keep an apartment in the city.”
He shrugged. “It’s where I’m technically stationed.”
“You’re here maybe fifty days a year. Don’t you think it’s time to maybe rethink this career of yours?”
“You’re the one who forced West Point on me.”
His father held up his hand. “I don’t mean leaving the Army; I just think it’s time you settled down.”
“Oh no, not you too,” Cove said.
“Son, you’re almost thirty-two years old. You really scared your mother and me last month when you were injured. There are millions of other jobs you could do in the military that might be more conducive to having a family.”
Ever since his sister had gotten married and had her first kid, Cove had been listening to his mother discuss the importance of finding a good woman and having a family. Cove just wasn’t cut out to be a husband. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could do the one-woman thing; he was sure he could.
But it wouldn’t be fair to anyone to be in a long-term relationship with him, and in the end, it wouldn’t last.
“I don’t know that having a wife and kids is for me.”
