FORBIDDEN LOVE (2 page)

“Go on.” Dani leaned forward, curious where this was going.

“Look, I’m working at separating myself from my father’s interests. He doesn’t know that yet, at least I don’t think he knows, which is part of the reason I’d like to ask you to keep our conversation as private as possible. If you make this part of your official report, he will know within hours. I need a little more time to disentangle myself before he discovers that I don’t intend to continue working for him.”

“Why’s that, Charbonnet? Don’t want to get your hands dirty?”

He winced at that. “Please, sugar, we’re sharing a drink together. Call me Hawk. Permit me to call you Danielle. And if you must know, my hands are plenty dirty. But not in this state, and not recently. Maybe someday I’ll tell you all about my adventures. For now, you need to know that I had nothing to do with this crime.”

“Why, Hawk, you interest me. What reason would I have to think you had anything to do with this murder?” she asked, throwing a bit of sarcasm over top of her honey.

“Because of this.” He reached into his pocket and removed a splash of crimson sealed in a plastic bag. “It’s the tie I was wearing today. I believe your forensics team will be able to match the material to the handkerchief in the crime scene photograph you showed me.”

She hadn’t mentioned the handkerchief earlier, just let the picture speak for itself. He was an observant man. She took the bag, wrote the date and time on it, and slipped it into her purse. She would lock it up as soon as they were finished speaking. “Care to make a statement as to how your handkerchief came to be under the body of a homicide victim, Hawk?”

He blew out a breath. “I wish to God I knew. I don’t even know for sure when I lost it. I noticed it was missing when I took off my suit jacket. A few minutes later, you arrive and show me the photographs, and I caught a glimpse of the red. I admit it gave me a sick feeling, because I was sure it was mine.”

“So why not tell me then? Or better yet, why tell me at all?”

“Look, we don’t know each other, and you have no reason to trust me, but I can promise you, I am not my father. I have no knowledge of this crime, but I believe it may have something to do with me or my father, or both of us.”

“Why’s that?” Dani asked, more than willing to give him enough rope to hang himself.

“Because it’s not the only thing in that photograph that I recognized.” He blew out another breath before he continued. “The knife looks remarkably similar to one I recently purchased through an auction in New York. A Scottish dirk from the seventeenth century. The blade is thirteen inches long; the handle made of boxwood and carved with three rings of Celtic knot work. I recognized the handle in the photograph.”

He leaned forward and said quietly, “Someone is setting me up, Danielle. You’ve got to believe me. I didn’t do this.”

Dani leaned back and thought about what he’d said, weighing the sincerity of his words against what her gut was telling her. Damn if she didn’t want to believe him. But she wouldn’t. Not yet. He was a Charbonnet, and lying came as naturally as breathing.

Neither of them said anything while their food was served. She breathed in the spicy tomato scent of her mémé’s crawfish jambalaya, the house specialty, and then watched with amusement as Hawk eyed her dish suspiciously after cutting his cheeseburger in half.

“What’s the matter, cher? You forget where you be from? You don’ know how to eat ’dem spicy crawfish, no?” Danielle asked, affecting her mémé’s manner of speech.

Hawk laughed, sending a shiver up her spine. “You’re very good at that, sugar.”

“I never forget where I come from,” she said with an easy smile. “Eat up. My mémé might not have cooked your burger personally, but it’s the best in town, I guar-un-tee!”

While they ate in a surprisingly companionable silence, she took advantage of the break in the verbal sparring to think. She was about to take a free pass to poke around the Charbonnet mansion—well, one room in the mansion. Dani finished formulating her plan.

“Okay,” she told him. “I’ll look into this and keep your involvement off the record for now. I’ll need to get into your room and look around. I’ll dust for prints myself, so we don’t need to bring anyone else in on this. But don’t doubt for a minute, Hawk Charbonnet, that I have what it takes to bring you down if I find out you’re lying to me.”

“I’m not, I swear,” he said, looking at her with his deep brown eyes. “I’ll find out who was behind this. And when I do, I’ll k—”

“Kill him? Be careful what you tell me, Hawk,” she warned. “It just might come back to bite you in the ass.”

Nic stood in the fluorescent glare of the clinic hallway, her hand gripping the door handle while the scene from the afternoon played over and over in her mind. “Are you using again?” Nicolette had hissed. She hadn’t needed to ask. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew they were true.
Goddamn it!
Del had worked so hard to break free of his addiction. She closed her eyes. You could never be free from an addiction, just work to hold it at bay. Del hadn’t been able to this time. She’d cleaned him up and got rid of the stained clothes. Then she’d packed his bag and taken him straight to Serenity, the drug rehab facility closest to Généreux.

It wouldn’t have been his grandfather’s choice, but Nicolette was sick of trying to please Constantine. As both her former husband and Del’s grandfather, Constantine refused to accept that she and Del were a genuine couple.

Years earlier, she’d barely been twenty-three when she’d married old man Constantine for his money, so she could hardly blame him for his suspicions, but she wasn’t lying about her feelings for Del. Constantine would blame her for Del’s relapse and send him back to the rehab clinic in Switzerland. She wouldn’t be able to see him.

Well, she’d just discovered she couldn’t see him here, either. At least not for the next fourteen days while he went through what the staff called the detox period. Then it would depend on the specific treatment the doctor designed for Del.

The doctor had permitted her to return to say good-bye for now and to tell Del she would wait for him. The doctor said he would need to hear that. It was
important
she make him believe her. She could wait. As long as they got him off the goddamn drugs.

With a deep breath, Nic opened the door and stepped inside.

Del was a beautiful man, big and strong, with short brown hair and deep brown eyes. Now he looked shrunken, faded. It was as if the few hours in the clinic had already robbed him of his vitality. She watched as he sat on the edge of the bed, head down, hair gripped tightly between his fingers.

Her first instinct was to scream, to hit, to ask how he could do this to her. Instead, she pushed her feelings aside—this wasn’t about her. She had only a moment to wonder at her newfound selflessness before she saw his tears. Del, hurt, lost, vulnerable.

Nicolette’s heart squeezed painfully at the sight of this man who at this moment was so very broken. He’d been her friend from the start—always been there for her, dried her tears, and picked her up after each of her disastrous relationships. It had taken her years to realize he’d been waiting. For her.

This time,
she
would take care of him. His well-being was now her responsibility and for a change, she was going to do what was right for someone beside herself. She stepped closer and cradled his head against her chest as his soft crying turned to weeping.

“Oh, God, Nicolette. I’m sorry, so sorry. What have I done?” Del sobbed.

“Shh, Del. No one knows. No one will ever know. I took care of everything.”

****

Tony Espinoza sat in the dingy hotel room, monitoring the listening devices he’d managed to place in the suspect’s house.
Motherfucker’s been playing outside the law for years
.
I might be working by myself, but I’m gonna be the one to finally stop Julian Charbonnet.

One of the problems he faced was the size of the mansion. How could anybody be sure to cover the rooms where Julian talked about his business? He’d been able to plant two bugs, but he couldn’t stay here and monitor them all the time. He would bring in a couple of recorders tomorrow. All he needed was a little break. A little chink in the Charbonnet code from one of Julian’s thugs. If he got that, he might be able to swing a genuine court order and a surveillance team.

The son was a bit of a wild card. Tony hadn’t been expecting him to show up in Généreux. He did his most of his business and probably all of his crimes overseas. London, if he remembered correctly. He could put some careful feelers out to a friend in Interpol to see if Hawk Charbonnet had a record anywhere in Europe. It didn’t matter. Tony recognized garbage when he saw it, and any kid of Julian’s would be rotten through and through.

God, he was sick of working in this backwater town. He was a fucking FBI special agent, for Christ’s sake. Fucking brass. Banished him just because he’d gotten a little cozy with a witness. All he needed was a break and he’d be back in New York. Hell, when he bagged Charbonnet, he’d be back in Washington.

His actions over the past two days might have been regrettable to some, but Tony knew the end justified the means. Thinking it all over, he knew he’d do the same thing again. Adding Hawk to the mix was a bonus. Julian placed great value on family, so if Tony could get something on the son, he would finally get Julian. The bastard would dance his last dance in a cell.

****

“What do you mean you ‘took care’ of things?” Constantine asked.

“Just what I said,” Evelyn answered. “Things have been taken care of. I don’t like anyone to think I married a fool; therefore, I took it upon myself to eliminate any problems. Oh, no, darling. Don’t bother to thank me. It was the least I could do.” She paused, a look of uncertainty passing over her face. “I suppose that’s not strictly correct. The least I could do would be to do nothing, but of course, we know that’s unlikely.”

“Evelyn, you’re prattling,” Constantine said, growing angry.

“I never prattle.”

“Evelyn!” Constantine shouted, exasperated. “Tell me what you did.”

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, darling. Although, I suppose it’s not exactly pretty…dashing, I think, describes you better. A distinguished gentleman, perhaps—”

Constantine grabbed her, his grip a vise on her wrist. His voice whipped across her words, “What in the hell have you done? If you interfered with my plans—”

Evelyn looked pointedly at her wrist, but he didn’t release her. “Nonsense, Constantine. I just did a little cleaning up of a loose end. Don’t worry. There are no ties to you, no ties to either of us. Although, I wonder. Why did you agree to meet Julian’s man on the Pier and on his terms? Such an unsavory location.” She gave a little shudder.

“Not just Julian’s man, Evelyn. Julian’s son, Hawk, newly arrived from the oil fields of Houston–or was it London? It doesn’t matter. Julian wanted the position of power, I gave it to him,” Constantine said, releasing her arm and walking to the sideboard to pour a drink. “Sometimes appearing weak in an enemy’s eyes gives you the position of greater strength. Letting Julian believe he has the upper hand is giving him nothing but an illusion of control.

“I agreed to the terms as soon as I heard Hawk was in town and would be representing Julian. His children are his greatest weakness. It’s time to exploit that knowledge.”

****

As Danielle started her work in his room at his father’s mansion, Hawk tried to imagine it through her eyes. Heavy wood, rich chocolate and red wine hues, as luxurious as any five-star hotel. It felt ostentatious to him suddenly, and he longed for a place of his own to bring her.

Not that she was interested in him like that. He could tell from the way her eyes moved restlessly over everything, the way she watched him. He knew telling her his story only increased his likelihood as a suspect. What choice had he? He could have covered up, hidden the evidence, but then the real killer would be able to exert control over him.

Danielle worked quickly, coating each flat surface with fingerprint powder, taking photographs, making notes. There was no need for small talk to cover any awkward moments for this woman. She was completely focused on her work.

Danielle had stopped off at her apartment on the way to his father’s house. She’d put a portable crime scene kit into a large satchel-type purse and shifted out of her work clothes. Now she looked more casual, wearing blue jeans and a deep blue sweater that skimmed her breasts and hinted at the lush body underneath. She’d pulled her glossy blonde hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, and he wanted to taste all that exposed flesh. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets, careful not to touch anything, and watched her work.

When she finished with the surfaces, she snapped off the soiled gloves and put on a fresh pair. “May I?” she asked, hands poised above the dresser.

Hawk nodded and then kept his face impassive while she ran her fingers lightly over a stack of his silk boxers. She quickly went through the drawers and the rest of the room. Finally, she removed her gloves and asked to use his bathroom to clean up. “Turn on some music while I’m gone, will you?”

Danielle left the water running in the bathroom when she returned with two damp washcloths and tossed one to him. “Let’s clean up any sign I was here in an official capacity. Just in case someone saw me come in,” she said, speaking softly.

“Did you find anything?” he asked, as he wiped the fingerprint dust from his night table and lamp.

She was quiet for such a long time that he thought maybe she wasn’t going to answer him. Finally, with a sigh, she said, “I didn’t find anything.”

Confused by her answer and tone, he asked, “Nothing? That’s good, isn’t it?”

“I’m not exaggerating, Hawk. I didn’t find one thing. And I should have.”

“What do you mean?”

“There isn’t anything. Not one fingerprint on any surface in your room. I should have at least found yours. Unless your staff is remarkably efficient and dusted your room after you changed clothes and went out tonight.”

“And the music and water? You suspect my room may be under electronic surveillance?” he whispered.

“I think it’s a possibility. I’d get that checked by some electronics sweepers tomorrow if I were you.”

“So you believe me, then. Someone is setting me up?”

“I believe you want me to think that. However, bringing me supposed evidence that someone set you up and letting me search a room you know is clean is also a pretty damned clever way to cover up your involvement.”

He stepped closer and searched her face. “You don’t believe that,” he whispered.

Stepping around him and heading for the bedroom door, she said, “You don’t have the right to know what I believe. I need to go.”

He hurried after her, his heart thudding a little loudly in his chest.

As they moved through the quiet hallway, Hawk wondered how far he could push his luck. So what if she was a cop here on official business? She’d been in his bedroom with her hands in his drawers. They’d shared dinner and a drink. Surely one little kiss couldn’t be all that big of a deal? He’d just about talked himself into trying when he heard a noise behind the door they were passing. His father’s room.

He pulled Danielle back, spun her around in his arms, and covered her mouth with his. Her initial muffled protest died in her throat when the door beside them opened and Julian looked into the hallway.

Hawk gave her credit; she gave as good as she got. She leaned into the kiss, pressing her body against his, sliding her hands along his chest and up into his hair. He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head for a better angle. His lips moved against hers, and then he pressed with his tongue and she opened to him. Their tongues tangled, tasted, explored. A hand reached to cradle the back of her head, while an arm surrounded her waist to pull her tight against him. He rocked slightly, letting her feel the effect she was having on him.

He was lost in the moment, ready to turn her back toward his room, get her naked, and devour her.

****

Dani pulled back, dropped her arms, her chest heaving at the effort of regaining her breath.

“Yes. Well. He’s gone back in his room.” She sucked in air. “Quick thinking, Charbonnet. Come on.” She pulled him down the stairs toward the front door, and stepped from the hushed chill of Charbonnet Hall into a steamy symphony of cicadas, tree frogs, and crickets. As soon as they were outside, Dani dropped Hawk’s hand and hurried to her car.

She wrenched open her car door and slid a foot inside.

He caught her just before she slipped into her seat and pulled her back out.

She quirked a look at his hand and raised an eyebrow in question.

“I’m sorry, I just…” he trailed off.

“Give me a call tomorrow. Let me know what you decide to do,” Dani said.

“What I decide…” he stammered, blinking rapidly.

“Jesus, Hawk. Pull it together. It was just a bit of undercover work. Something to throw Julian off the trail. No need to get so rattled. I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow. You need to get someone to sweep for bugs, at a minimum. Or get a room somewhere else. Let me know what you decide. Don’t leave town.” She grinned as she slipped into her car and drove away.