Caribbean Rain (22 page)

His pulse pounded in his head as he ran down the hall. The scream had come from Sophie’s room.

Chapter-41

As he reached Sophie’s door, pulling the Glock 22 from his holster, Manny vaguely, somewhere in the confusion, heard at least two other doors open, but that was the least of his concerns. Whatever had happened, whatever had caused Sophie to scream, had been meant for him because he was supposed to be in 509, not her. His mind sprinted to one name the way those intuitions do until you acknowledge them to be pure truth.

Fogerty.

“Sophie!”

The door swung open as he rattled the door knob, pulling his hand away.

After one quick glance, he wondered where his willpower not to laugh came from. Even without knowing for sure what had happened, he knew his partner was pissed. That meant she was okay.

Her long, black hair was mussed, and her bangs were partially on her forehead, dripping down to her eyes. Her blouse was untucked on the left side, and there was a smattering of blood on her tan skirt. All of that added to the priceless expression that was displayed on her face. Her eyes were flaming arrows that were directed at everyone and no one. The scowl on her face wasn’t really a scowl, was it? It was a snarl gone wild. That small vein above her right temple was throbbing a beat that would make any doctor nervous.

“What the hell is so funny? You ain’t that good, Williams. I saw that asshole smirk when I opened the door.”

“Sorry about that, but what the hell were you screaming about? You gave me a freaking heart attack and—.”

“Let me guess,” she interrupted. “You thought it was your fault. Well, this time, damn you, it was, and I’m not lettin’ you off the hook.”

She shivered, shook it off, and then grabbed his shirt. “Come on in, I’ll show you why I screamed. And you can put the gun away. I took care of it.”

By then, Chloe and Dean had bracketed the door, and he saw Alex staggering down the hall.

Dean was garbed in blue silk Captain America pajamas that were a tad too small and bare feet. Manny wasn’t sure Alex realized he was standing there in the hall in just a tee shirt and red boxers. Chloe wore a robe, covering something lacy, at least that’s what it looked like near her soft neck. But they all had their weapons drawn. Manny wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

Sophie pulled at him and he followed, after taking a second look at Chloe.

The bright-orange suitcase sat askew on the king-sized bed, a few clothes were scattered near the pillows like she’d been startled and tossed them in the air. Her black loafers were sitting exactly where she’d slipped them off. Nothing too distressing; until he saw the dots of blood splattered against the pale wall. Sophie was standing, arms folded and tapping her foot, staring at something below the crimson pattern. The rest of the team came in behind him. Manny took two more steps, then felt his mouth drop open. Pinned to the wide baseboard was a small, slim, brown animal, maybe two feet long, adorned with a long tail. Its eyes were staring at nothing. Just below the animal’s head, right at the base of the neck, shined two points of a Chinese throwing star. Three inches below that was another one, showing less steel through the critter’s brown coat.

“What the hell?”

“What the hell is right. Damn. A girl can’t even unpack in peace.”

“What is it?” asked Chloe.

“It’s a mongoose. Bigger than the ones I saw growing up in the city, but it looks like the same freaking species,” answered Sophie.

“A mongoose? In your room? How?” asked Alex.

The blood dripping from Fogerty’s mouth came into full view as Manny pondered the shark eyes the drug lord wore so well.

“It was Fogerty. I’m guessing he didn’t like his reception at the SJPD headquarters,” said Manny.

“But why Sophie?” asked Chloe.

“I was supposed to be in this room, but we got the keys mixed up so Sophie took this one.”

By then Dean had bent over the animal with a curiosity that reminded Manny of an eight-year-old who had just picked up his first frog. He poked it with the pen he lifted from the desk, and then turned his attention towards its mouth; the razor-like teeth, still looking like they could do some serious damage.

“You did this?” asked Dean, not even attempting to cover the admiration in his tone.

“Of course. I told you, I’m bad. When that little peckerhead jumped at me, I tossed my clothes at it. I guess that’s when I screamed. I jumped on the table. He tried to follow, but hit the edge of the chair, like he hadn’t seen it, and it seemed to stun him. He didn’t look too steady. Then I pulled a couple of stars from my garter, flicked them at him, and it was all over but the bitching. And there’s going to be more of that, just hang tight.”

She gave Manny one of her evil-eye looks.

“You wear garters?” stammered Dean.

“Yeesss,” she said slowly. “Would you like to see?”

The CSI swallowed hard and turned away. Manny thought that was a yes.

Josh came into the room, looking a little more harried than the others. God knew he needed the sleep even more than the rest of them, but he was here, and that’s what Manny loved about his new boss.

“Did I hear mongoose, Fogerty, and garters in the same conversation?” Josh asked.

Manny expected Sophie to run to Josh and say something totally off color and act like she needed him to protect her. It didn’t happen. Instead, she’d fixed her gaze intently on Dean, watching his every movement. In a sense, maybe she thought she was protecting him, or . . .

We’re going to talk about this one later.

“Yeah. I think Fogerty meant this little reception for me.”

“But why? Mongoose attacks aren’t deadly, at least as far as I know. It’d hurt like hell, but that’s it,” said Alex.

Before Manny could answer, Sophie and Dean began to speak at once. Dean stood, doffed an imaginary hat, and deferred to Sophie. She accepted.

“I know a little about these rodents. They catch and carry rabies with the best of them. My mom almost died from an attack back in the late nineties. She got a nasty bite from one when she went to the market. One had escaped from a vendor who didn’t know it was sick,” she said.

Running his hand through his hair, Manny spoke. “I read that. They were brought to San Juan to control the black rat population, I think.”

“Maybe they can team up with Detective Crouse and do a real job on those rats,” said Alex.

“Good one, Dough Boy, good one,” grinned Sophie, regaining most of her old verve. “But what I’m saying is that maybe this one has rabies.”

“No need to speculate on that,” said Dean. “It definitely had rabies.”

“Let me guess; foaming at the mouth? That could be several other disorders.” said Alex.

“That’s true, but combined with the erratic behavior it seemed to display while going after Sophie, I’d say it was a sure thing. Of course, the tag on its ear that says ‘Rabies Virus,’ clinches it.”

Squinting, Manny looked to where Dean was pointing and noticed the round white tag clipped to its tiny ear. He glanced at the teeth again and a thought flashed about how bad this could have gone. But then again, the mongoose had no clue with whom he was dealing.

“Great. That brings on a question or two. Not the least is; where in hell did it come from and how did Fogerty get his hands on it?” asked Manny.

“I’d say some research lab, and, a guy with his connections, well it’s not hard to put that one together,” said Chloe.

“We’re not going to be able to trace this animal, are we?” asked Josh.

“I’m guessing no, but we’ll get this thing boxed up and check it out. Most research viruses have a genetic identifier specific to their lab. Maybe we’ll get lucky. I mean, how many labs can there be in San Juan?” said Alex.

Somewhere, Manny could swear he heard Fogerty laughing.

“I know there’s a series of shots to treat rabies, so I don’t think his point was to kill me, just to cause some pain and give me a scare. To show me who was really in control, but we can deal with that later. There’s another question, maybe even a bigger one,” said Manny.

He looked at Sophie, and she puckered her brow.

“Who put the damn thing in the room?” asked Sophie.

“That’s the one. It could mean connecting Fogerty with some criminal intent. We’ll see if we can get a security shot of anyone going into the room, in the morning,” said Manny.

“Good idea, but my bet is that it was an employee, or an employee who conveniently lost his keys, or some shit like that,” said Sophie.

“Sounds like a good theory, but I’m tired of those today. I’m going back to bed,” said Josh.

“Okay. Let’s pick this up in the morning. I’ll call security and make sure the animal gets sent to the lab, and they’ll want to clean this room up,” said Manny.

Dean folded his hands together and glanced at Sophie. “Well, if you want, you can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor, unless you need me to hold you. You know, because of how traumatic the night’s been?” offered Dean.

Rolling her eyes, Sophie looked at Dean. “Don’t be stealing my lines, Mucus.”

“It’s
Mikus
.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. No worries there. Williams is going to give me the key to his room, right after he checks it out for mangy-ass critters, so I can get some beauty sleep. But it was a nice first shot.”

“I’m a little hurt,” said Josh. “Does that mean the thrill is gone?”

“Never gone, just trying to control myself, but . . .”

“You can have the key, but I’ll need a place to crash, and soon,” said Manny. “The problem is that the manager said the hotel is full.”

Glancing at Chloe, then back to Manny, Sophie raised her hands to the ceiling. “Damn Williams, you really don’t get it sometimes, do you? I’m going to bed. Figure it out.”

“Me too. Tired don’t cover it,” said Alex. “And she’s right. Figure it out.”

Manny handed Sophie his key and watched as the others left the room behind her, leaving Chloe and him alone. She slipped her hand in his and led him into the hall.

“I’ll take care of the room part,” said Chloe. “You can bunk with me, don’t ya know?”

He pulled at the collar of his shirt. It was definitely getting warmer.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’ve been thinking about you way more than I should, and I’m only human.”

“That’s always good to hear, especially the human part,” she whispered.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him gently, then again, with more purpose. Much more. For a moment, however short, he let himself go, falling deep into the essence that was Chloe Franson, God’s gift to him. The kiss was—brilliant. He scrambled for control, and for the first time since he’d met her, had none. He scooped her up and headed for her room.

“Why Mr. Williams, whatever are you doing?” she laughed.

Manny didn’t answer because he didn’t know what he was doing. He only knew that he wanted her, in every way. Not just the physical—God knew that was overpoweringly true— but the intimacy. It was the final step in making a relationship what it should be: permanent.

Why
Mr. Williams, whatever are you doing?

The question ran around in his head even as he pushed the door open and laid Chloe on the bed. He bent over her and kissed her like men in love should. But it wasn’t just love. The desire for her was somewhere between a roaring fire and a super nova.

Opening her robe, he saw that she was wearing a short, white negligee that shadowed her curves in such detail that it forced him to take another hungry look. He couldn’t help himself and didn’t want to.

He cupped her breast and heard the accompanying moan, as she unbuttoned his shirt. The sound cheered him on like the crowd at Comerica Park rooting on the Tigers. He kissed her again and again. Small little butterfly kisses that raised the temperature even higher and caused Chloe’s cheeks to burn red.

A moment later, she spoke to him, softly, lovingly. “Manny?” she breathed. “Is this what you want? God knows ya can have me, you always could, but I love you and don’t want any regrets.”

Her words struck home. Not just the “rethink this” part, but the fact she was willing to give up what she really wanted—for him. To make sure this wasn’t going to be something he’d regret.

Maybe he would have gotten there on his own, maybe not. Doubt clouded his thoughts as he stared at Chloe. She was so beautiful and was in need, but doing the right thing, at least sometimes, carried a deep cost. He was about to indulge in that conundrum.

“You’re right. This has to be perfect and I
would
regret it tomorrow, mostly.”

“My mum would think her daughter crazy. I finally have you where I’ve been dreaming about for two years, and I spoil the moment. You must be rubbing off on me, Agent Williams.”

“Good thing, I don’t know if I could have stopped,” he sighed.

It was Chloe’s turn to sigh as she ran her hand through the hair on his chest. “You better make me an honest woman soon, or I just might go mad.”

Flopping over to the other side of the bed, he grinned. “I’m going to need a cold shower, but it’ll be a minute before I can stand up.”

She laughed and poked him, then laughed again. “I’ll go with ya.”

Her laughter forced the idea he’d had, just before they’d left Cleveland, to come roaring back. He reached for the phonebook on the desk, thumbed through, and tore out the page.

“What are ya doing?”

“What I should have done three months ago.”

Pulling out the cell phone in his pocket, he dialed the first number on the page and waited for an answer.

Chapter-42

Braxton rolled down the window of the limo, feeling the warm Puerto Rican night caress his face. It was late, but it was part of the job, and he didn’t actually mind being away from the boss for a few hours. The man was crazy, but so was he.

He turned his focus on the front of the hotel and strained to see what he needed to.

It seemed his work was never done, but it would be soon, then maybe he’d get some real sleep. But then again, he wasn’t paid to sleep, just to take care of what he was told to take care of. Something he was damned good at, always had been. He grinned a toothy grin.