Big Easy Temptation (24 page)

“I’m a fucking cop, Dax.”

“Yes, and you’ve seen enough to know that most men in this situation are guilty as
sin. You made the call to protect the innocent. I don’t put the blame on you, sweetheart.
None of us does. We do need your help, though. This is growing and getting bigger
every day.”

She wasn’t sure she would ever forgive herself, but she sank into his embrace and
reveled in being this close to him again. So perfect and right. It was like she’d
been in the cold shadows for so long and was finally seeing sunlight again, illuminating
her path home.

His kindness and coaxing were an illusion like everything else. He needed her for
now. Maybe he was even thinking that since she wasn’t guilty, she would make a good
sexual companion. Dax didn’t go for long without getting some. If he was going to
be in New Orleans, he would want someone in his bed. They’d been good together. She
would do.

And that’s bad, why?

Holland slammed the lid on that line of thinking. He’d seen her cry enough. He wasn’t
going to see her beg.

She forced herself to step out of the comfort of his arms. “I’m so sorry about Maddox.
No matter what you say, I’ll always blame myself. But I’m off this case now. I’m not
involved and that’s for the best. I wish you all the luck in the world, Dax, but I’m
not going to work with you on this. It’s best if we go our separate ways.”

His jaw hardened and for a moment she thought he was going to grab her and haul her
into his arms again. He took a careful step back. “I’m afraid that’s not an option,
Special Agent Kirk. You’ve got a new assignment. You’ll be working with a Naval officer
on a special case.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve received no notification of that. That lie won’t work,
Dax.”

Her cell phone started to vibrate on the bar, the sound jarring.

Dax strolled into her kitchen, helping himself to a glass and pouring a couple of
fingers of whiskey. “You should get that. It’s important and he doesn’t like to be
kept waiting.”

She looked down at the number.
UNKNOWN
.

With trembling fingers, she pressed the button to answer the phone. What had Dax done
to her now? “This is Special Agent Kirk.”

“Please hold for the president of the United States,” a competent female voice said.

Shit.

Dax gave her a grin and poured her a glass of wine. “You’re going to need this.”

Yes. Yes, she was.

S
ometimes having the president of the United States on his side was a definite advantage.

Dax watched as Holland brought out a set of sheets and what looked to be her lumpiest
pillow. The blanket she’d brought him was superthin and she seemed to have turned
the air conditioner to an arctic setting.

She dumped it all on the couch, then turned to him, her glance challenging him to
say a word. Yes, that was one pissed-off female.

Since the moment Zack had explained that she was now on special assignment and under
the charge of Captain Dax Spencer, Holland had frozen up. She’d downed a glass of
wine, but then corked the bottle, claiming she didn’t drink on the job.

When he’d explained they didn’t have to be on the clock tonight, she’d pointed to
the door. Dax had promptly gone back on the clock. Luckily for him, he didn’t have
her very prim views about imbibing while working, because he’d definitely needed that
whiskey.

She’d fought like hell, even calling her supervisor, who explained
that yes, indeed, the president could in fact do this to her and the only way to refuse
the assignment was to quit NCIS.

He had her backed in a corner and she was furious about it.

He’d rather go back to that moment when she’d held on to him like he was a life raft.
For just a moment, he felt as if they had reconnected. And Dax had recalled all over
again what he’d truly missed during this dark period. It hadn’t been support, because
he’d always had that from his friends and family.

He’d missed
her
. So very badly.

All the anger he’d carried like a weight on his chest was gone. She’d truly believed
she had done the right thing. He would likely have made the same choice in her shoes.
She was a warrior, his woman. She didn’t back down from a fight and she protected
the people she loved.

She’d loved him. She’d sacrificed for him. Could she ever forgive him?

One thing he knew for sure, she wasn’t ready to forgive him tonight.

He also wasn’t giving her any reason to kick him out. He was exactly where he needed
to be. “Why yes, Holland, I’ll make up the couch myself. I know just how I like it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “There is zero reason for you to sleep here tonight.”

He bit back a groan because they’d already been over this a few times. “There’s every
reason and you know it. They’ll have had someone watching you. Even after all this
time, the Russian mob knows what you’re doing. They’ll know you saw me today. Hell,
they may even know I’m here now. There’s no reason to believe they won’t come after
you again.”

“That’s where your logic sucks, Spencer. They didn’t come after me in the first place.
They came after you. You’re endangering me by being here. Don’t you have a megamansion
in the Garden District to go home to?” She gasped. “Your mother. Dax, your mother
is there all alone.”

Before she could start for the door, he stood. “No, my mother is being protected by
two bodyguards, and I’m fairly certain one of them
moonlights as a male model. She and the housekeeper are also taking turns in sniper
positions around the house. God save me from Southern women.”

Holland calmed a bit. “Good. Gus is being protected at the White House?”

“Yes, she’s got Secret Service and security around her pretty much twenty-four seven.
I’m not worried about Gus.” Roman had promised he would watch over her. He’d also
had to promise that their mother would mind the guards or Gus would have been on the
first plane back, cracking open the gun case alongside their momma.

“But you haven’t explained why you think I’m a target and in need of protection,”
she replied. “Like I said, they were after you and the people you love.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one, but you’re not at all ready to hear the answer, sweetheart.”
He’d never loved anyone the way he loved Holland. The deep, sure feeling had flooded
back the minute he had realized she’d lied to him three years ago. Even when he’d
been at his most angry and disillusioned, his devotion had never really gone away.
He’d just done his stubborn best to banish it.

She shook her head, her mouth a flat line. “Don’t even say it. I told you. I’ll talk
about the case. I’ll talk about what’s going on with your friends. Hell, I’ll talk
about the weather if you want me to, boss. But the minute you try to make this personal,
I’ll complain to anyone who will listen to me. The White House doesn’t want a sexual
harassment complaint.”

He sighed. Naturally she would go there. “Yeah, you’re definitely not ready. But the
answer to your question is easy. If the
Bratva
thinks for a second that you’re helping me, they’ll eliminate you. Especially if
they think you’re vulnerable.”

She brushed back her blond hair. “I’ve been vulnerable for years, Dax. They haven’t
come after me yet. They’ve had three years to take care of me. They could have arranged
for a convenient accident. I’m a single woman who lives alone.”

“But you haven’t been single. You’ve been dating that cop, right? What’s his name?
Charles? Chazz?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, his name is Chazz. A very traditional New Orleans name.”

So he wasn’t going to fool her. “Fine. Chad. I know his name. I’ve memorized a whole
lot of things about that asshole.”

“Why would you know anything about him?”

Confession time
 . . . “Because I’ve watched you ever since I woke up in a Vegas hotel room and realized
I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I’ve kept up with your social media.”

She huffed, sounding shocked. “I unfriended your ass.”

“Yeah, well, I might or might not have made up another identity.” It wasn’t something
he was proud of.

“Stalker.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, I thought you would view it that way, but I needed to know you were all right.”
He wasn’t telling her the whole truth. In the beginning, he’d wanted to see if she
was as miserable as he’d been. He’d been desperate to know that he wasn’t alone in
his agony. “I didn’t talk to you or anything, just sent you a friend request as a
second cousin on your mother’s side.”

She looked at him like he’d lost his damn mind. “You’re Sissie Mae who raises labradoodles?
You send out an awful lot of cat videos, too.”

Damn his friends. “Yeah, Mad set that sucker up. I was back on my boat and it was
easier for him to do it. I asked him to make me a male cousin. Someone with a job.
Naturally, I become Sissie Mae, lover of all animals and reader of cat mysteries.
Did you know there’s such a thing as cat mysteries? It’s apparently a whole genre.
I haven’t figured out if the cat solves the mystery or is the mystery. Mad had a weird
sense of humor.”

“Unbelievable,” she breathed. “You know I could accuse you of stalking me and ruin
your career.”

She could, but he knew her. She wouldn’t. “Like I said. I never contacted you personally
after the initial friend request. I just wanted to see what you were up to.”

“Or you wanted to monitor me to make sure I didn’t come after your family again.”

How long would it be before she stopped putting the worst spin on his every move?
“Maybe in the beginning, but you made me believe that. You painted yourself as someone
who would ruin everyone I cared about. You can’t blame me for that. I even argued
with you. I told you I thought you were innocent.”

For a moment she looked as if she might snap out a rebuttal, but she heaved a long
sigh. “I know I did. You’re right. I can’t blame you for that. But I need you to keep
some distance from me now, Spencer. I admit that I want to catch these guys, too.
I want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for
me to be around you.”

All he wanted was a chance. “We start over again.”

“I can’t do it,” she said, her voice small.

He wanted to haul her close but maintained his distance. “Holland, at one point in
time we were friends. Pretty good friends. And you trusted me. Can we forget about
what happened this afternoon? I was bitter and angry and I lashed out at the one person
I should never hurt. Let’s try again. Hey, Holland. How have you been?”

She laughed, though he couldn’t call it a happy sound. “That is never going to work,
but you’re not going to give up, are you?”

It was so funny that he’d come to New Orleans thinking that he could get back at her.
Now he only wanted to get her back. “I can’t. It’s too important. But if it makes
you feel better, I’ll concentrate on the case. I’ll sleep out here on the couch like
a good boy, but I’m not leaving you alone. Tomorrow, we sit down and figure out where
to go from here. I’ll give you access to everything I’ve learned and you now have
clearance that would make your boss’s head spin.”

That finally got her to smile. “Okay, that does sound kind of fun, but no funny business,
Spencer.”

He held his hands up in a likely useless gesture of innocence. “Promise. It’s nothing
but business from here on out. I will warn you, though, that at some point we’re probably
going to have to meet up
with a . . . what should I call Freddy? A conspiracy enthusiast? A doomsday prepper?
Mostly he’s a complete lunatic who thinks nothing of nearly deballing a simple intruder,
but apparently he’s really handy at uncovering whether a piece of film is authentic
or faked. Connor wants him to take a look at the video from the motel and the pictures
in your uncle’s file. And speaking of your uncle . . .”

Dax didn’t want to get into this with her, but he didn’t see a way to avoid it.

She shook her head. “He wasn’t the only one with access to the file. Most of it can
be found in the police records. He kept the photos out of the press. He didn’t have
to use them since there wasn’t going to be a prosecution.”

“Was he the only one who knew about them?”

“Not at all. He wasn’t even the one who originally discovered the photos. Sue Carlyle
brought them in. She was the one who figured out there was a camera on her daughter’s
purse. She simply didn’t know how to get them off the drive. The pictures themselves
were wirelessly pulled from the small camera that was really a microcomputer. Once
Sue realized what it was, she thought the police would give her money for the camera.
She was deeply disappointed, to say the least.”

He was still interested in her uncle. Someone had tipped off the Russians that she’d
obtained the file and seen the images. “Where did you go after you visited your uncle
that day?”

She frowned. “You think someone in my uncle’s office could have known? You’re looking
for a mole.”

“Yes. Someone tipped off your dead
Bratva
lawyer.”

She was quiet for a moment, seeming to think. “He didn’t have to know I had the photos.
All he had to do was plant them with the press or put the idea out there.”

“No, he actually gave a reporter the photos and they appeared to have come from you.
We’ve tracked down this lead.” He briefly went over what Roman and Connor had discovered.
“The reporter received information about the photos from an e-mail account set up
in your
name. It originated from a computer at a public library in New Orleans. As soon as
the photos-for-cash deal was sealed, the account was shut down. Same with the book
deal. The publishing house received a proposal for a tell-all book about the scandal
and my family from that same e-mail account. They made sure all roads led back to
you. But what I find interesting is that you actually had the photos they said you
did.”

He didn’t believe in coincidences anymore. She’d had the photos, and someone had known
it.

“All right. I’ll ask my uncle if he told anyone,” she conceded. “Obviously everyone
saw me go in that day. After I went back to my office, I studied the file at my desk.”

“Did you leave it there for any reason?”

She nodded. “I got upset. I went to the bathroom for a few minutes to calm down because
I saw those pictures. It was on my desk, but you can’t think one of my coworkers is
a plant for the Russian mob.”

He didn’t like to think about what she’d gone through that day. “Not a plant, but
the government pays crap. An unscrupulous someone could have made a little money on
the side. I’ll have Connor scope that out.”

Her cheeks flushed, her shoulders straightening. Her mouth flattened into a stubborn
line. She was ready to do battle. “Don’t mess with my coworkers.”

The time had come for Dax to explain just how the situation had changed, because apparently
she hadn’t internalized it yet. “Special Agent, they are no longer your coworkers.
For the rest of this assignment you work for the White House and the White House alone.
This is no longer about someone coming after my family. Someone is coming after my
president. I took an oath a long time ago to defend this country from all invaders
foreign and domestic, and if that includes one of your former coworkers, then you
better believe I will take them down with extreme prejudice. If your loyalty is deeper
to the people you once shared an office with than to your country, then let me know
because you’re not the woman I thought you were.”