Secrets and Lies (Crimson Romance) (18 page)

He smiled. “I wish I could, but what would your father say?”

“He’s not my spokesman. What would
I
say?”

“You’d say call those DEA agents and set everything up.”

Juliana hid her disappointment. Charlie avoided any talk of commitment. Now that he knew there wasn’t going to be a sting, he’d lost some of his animation. It had meant something to him, represented something to him. She knew what it had meant to her. She wished with all her heart he could do the sting, because when he’d thought he was going to conquer villains, he’d wanted her by his side.

He wanted her now, desperately, with a palpable need, but he held back. Not his body, God, no. Not his neediness. He couldn’t stop touching her, mating with her. It was so much more than sex between them. He tried to brand her, possess her, consume her, make them one. But then he’d retreat.

She didn’t understand. He wanted that unity so badly, but he pulled back afterward. And then he sought it with her again. She ached from the number of times they’d made love last night. And that last time had taken them nearly an hour to come.

Juliana laid her head on his shoulder. He nuzzled her face and lifted the phone again. His voice rumbled through her body as he asked for Agent Fuentes. She accepted his kiss.

“Agent Fuentes, it’s Charlie Ziffkin. I’m set to meet Jordan Hessler at four today.”

He listened. She could faintly hear a man’s voice.

“Sure. We’ll look for you at three.” Then he hung up.

“We have three hours. What would you like to do in that time?” Charlie waggled his eyebrows. His erection was growing under her bottom.

“As much as I’d like to rip your pants off and bury you deep inside me, I’m hungry and you don’t have much to eat in the house.”

He nuzzled beneath her ear. “I could be persuaded to feed your appetite if you feed mine.”

Juliana pulled away from his wicked lips. “You should be sated. I lost track of the times I fed yours.”

Charlie tried to tug her back to him. “I’ll never be sated. How about a quickie before we find food?”

“Charlie, once you get my clothes off we’re not going to stop until the DEA agents knock on the door.” His erection was a hard insistence now.

“Party pooper. It’s been hours since we made love.”

“We were asleep,” Juliana pointed out. “Exhausted. Worn out.”

“I’ve got my second wind.”

“Food. Then I swear you can do whatever you want.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Anything?”

Juliana felt her eyes widen. What did he want to do that they hadn’t tried already? She was intrigued. He’d lived in California for more than a decade. They were on the cutting edge out here. He’d probably learned a lot of sexual tricks before he became a born-again virgin.

“Yes. You can do anything.”

The aphrodisiac massage oils Charlie bought at a sex shop on the way back from the fast food restaurant had the unfortunate side effect of giving them an itch they couldn’t scratch. They were still trying to appease their sexual hunger when the DEA agents arrived.

“Oh, God, they’re here,” Charlie groaned. The sound vibrated across her clit.

“Why didn’t you tell me that stuff lasted for hours? Right there. Please. Oh, Charlie.” She gripped his butt as he brought her close to climax with his plundering tongue.

The doorbell pealed again. He lifted his head and she squawked her protest. She was so close.

“We have to do this.” Charlie climbed off the bed. He pulled up his jeans over his thick erection.

“You have to do
me
. You did this to me!”

“I’ll let them in. Or send them away.” He ran a distracted hand through his wild waves, threw on his shirt without buttoning it, and headed out of the bedroom.

Juliana should never have promised him anything. She shouldn’t have agreed to the aphrodisiac. She smiled despite her burning clitoris and aching pussy. They’d had a really good time.

She heard male voices and then Charlie was back. He closed the bedroom door, dropped his jeans and shirt, and climbed onto the bed. He mounted her, entering her hard.

“Charlie,” she protested. “They’re downstairs!”

“I said we had an aphrodisiac mishap. They gave me fifteen minutes.” He grunted quietly as he thrust.

Juliana gritted her teeth and ground herself into him. “Mishap.”

His smile flashed again. “Be thankful the bed doesn’t squeak.”

They strained and twisted and pressed together until they came.

“I’m still horny,” Juliana complained as she gripped him to her.

“Tough. Welcome to my life,” Charlie said. “Time’s up.”

They dressed, hid the sculpture, and went to meet the agents. Juliana’s face felt as hot as her clit. She could barely stand still while they taped a mike to Charlie’s bare chest.

“Tape,” Charlie grumbled.

“It should only hurt a little coming off,” Agent Fuentes said.

Charlie snorted.

“What’s this bruise and red abrasion?” the agent asked.

“The Miami narcs got a little rough when I wouldn’t let them arrest me.”

Fuentes lifted both brows. “I haven’t heard that story.”

“I don’t need further humiliation right now,” Charlie responded, which made the agents smile.

Charlie led the way to Hessler’s mansion on Coldwater Canyon Drive north of Beverly Hills. It was a modern sprawling structure made of lots of glass, one of many houses jutting out on the hillside.

Juliana rode with the DEA agents in their plain white van. They drove on a little way past Hessler’s driveway before stopping. Then Fuentes and Steiger climbed out and entered the back of the van, where the electronic surveillance equipment was, and where Juliana sat on the floor. They donned headsets and gave her one.

A man’s smooth baritone spoke clearly. “Charlie, glad you’re back. Come into my office so we can talk.”

Traffic sounds ceased as Charlie moved indoors. Hessler asked, “How was your trip?”

“The flight out was uneventful, but I brought my high school girlfriend back with me. We reconnected after all these years. I’ve got you to thank for that.”

“Glad to hear it. Have a seat.” A door closed. “So where’s my sculpture?”

Cloth rubbed against the microphone as Charlie sat. “I shipped it. It’ll be here tomorrow morning. I didn’t want to take it on the plane.”

“You know how important it is for me to get it back.” Hessler sounded a little impatient.

“I know what you told me. You should have warned me there’d be drug dealers after it and it would be dangerous.”

“I didn’t know about that.” Hessler sounded shocked.

“Cut the crap,” Charlie snapped. “I hear rumors. I know actors get drugs at your parties.”

A chair creaked. “I can’t help what my guests give each other.”

“Right, you don’t provide any of it, do you?”

“Of course not. Drugs are illegal.”

Charlie snorted. “I charge extra for dangerous assignments.”

The chair squeaked again. “I’ll pay the additional when you bring me the sculpture.”

“Fine.” Rustling cloth indicated Charlie was moving. “Mr. Hessler, why did you hire me? You could have hired a big name.” The sound came from two difference sources, so Charlie must have planted the bug.

“You needed the money. And I thought you’d be discreet. You don’t hang out much with the acting crowd any more I hear.”

“No, not anymore.”

“You’ll call me as soon as the sculpture arrives?”

“First thing,” Charlie agreed.

“Great.” Hessler’s voice moved closer. “I’ll see you out.”

The two men were silent as they walked to the door. The door opened. “I’ll expect your call,” Hessler said. The door closed.

Back in the van, Fuentes sighed. “Nothing.”

“You warned him,” Steiger said.

Juliana ached for Charlie, knowing he’d wanted the sting so badly. She couldn’t imagine him handing over the sculpture to Hessler tomorrow. It was going to haunt him.

She watched through the back window as Charlie drove his car back down the way they’d come.

Through her headphones Juliana heard Hessler sigh as he sank into a chair in his office. A drawer opened. Then there was a pause, followed by, “It’s Jordan Hessler. I need to speak to Mr. Gutierrez.”

Agents Fuentes and Steiger exchanged a wide-eyed, excited look.

“Miguel,” Hessler dropped into Spanish, which Juliana spoke fluently. It appeared the DEA agents did as well. “My agent has recovered the item. How do you wish to proceed? The day after tomorrow? And my first shipment? The sixteenth. Good. You can count on me, Mr. Gutierrez.
Adios
.”

“Jesus Christ,” Fuentes exclaimed, pulling off his headphones. “We have to find out how the drugs are coming in.”

Steiger removed his own headphones. “I think we have enough to get a wire tap.” His grin nearly split his face.

Juliana handed her headphones to Fuentes. “Surely the man coming to pick up the sculpture knows the details. Grab him and make him talk.”

“We can’t grab him without just cause,” Fuentes explained, as to a child.

“Besides,” Steiger added, “we can’t do anything to tip off Gutierrez. We won’t interfere with the courier.”

“You’d rather allow the drugs into the country,” Juliana accused.

“It allows us to arrest people,” Fuentes explained. “It also allows us to try to get a man inside and work back to Gutierrez.”

“That takes years, years of drugs flooding the country, killing our citizens and our cops, and ruining millions of lives.”

“We don’t create the need for drugs,” Steiger snapped.

“No, you just ride the supply chain. Take me down the road to Charlie. He should hear this.”

The agents scowled, then slid into the front to drive down to the pre-arranged rendezvous point. Charlie’s black sedan sat at the gas station. Fuentes signaled him over. The back door opened and he stepped in, followed by Fuentes. Charlie reached for her hand and she gripped his. He sat in the chair beside her and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. She felt his tension.

“Did you get anything you can use to arrest Hessler?” Charlie asked.

“No. That only happens on TV or in the movies. But listen to this.” Fuentes gave Charlie a set of headphones and played back the recording of Hessler’s phone call.

Charlie’s face lit up. “We’ve got ’em! You can arrest Hessler picking up his drugs and this guy coming in can lead you right back to Gutierrez.”

“We’re not going to be able to trail Gutierrez’s representative without tipping him off and blowing a bust. We won’t risk that.”

“You’re just going to let Gutierrez get away? He’s the prize, not Hessler.”

“We have to work within the law. Gutierrez doesn’t.”

“Damn!” Charlie jerked off the headphones.

Juliana touched his thigh. He covered her hand with his and looked at her with pain-filled eyes. She ached for him. He’d said he wanted to make a difference, but he couldn’t.

He squeezed her hand. “Let’s go home.”

“Yes,” she agreed with alacrity.

Charlie climbed out of the van and helped her down. Agent Fuentes followed them out and shut the door. He held out his hand and Charlie shook it.

“You did good planting the bug. It gave us a chance for a bust. It was a good day.”

“Sure.”

“Call us when the package arrives.”

“Yeah.”

Charlie took her hand and they walked to his car. The white van headed for the road with a wave from Fuentes.

Charlie stood a minute watching it drive away. “There must be something we can do to catch Gutierrez. They may have to work within the law, but I don’t.”

Charlie jerked awake, his heart pounding. He stilled, listening for whatever had woken him. Juliana slept tucked against his body. Her soft breaths weren’t the sound he’d heard.

There. A soft thud. He covered Juliana’s mouth with his hand and placed his lips against her ear. “Jules, wake up.” He shook her with his other hand. “Jules.”

She made a muffled sound against his hand. “Jules, someone’s downstairs.”

Her eyes snapped open. In the faint moonlight they were wide with fear.

“I’m going downstairs.” He let go of her.

Juliana grabbed his arm. “No! It’s too dangerous.” Her whisper throbbed with fear.

“I have to. If anything happens, climb out the window. You can slide down close to the ground and jump. Take the sculpture. Run. Get on the next plane home to your father.”

“No. Not without you.”

“Jules, I have to do this.”

He snatched his blue jeans from the floor and tugged them on. Juliana slid out of bed. Grabbing the baseball bat he kept stashed next to the bedroom door, he slipped out into the short hallway. His heart pounded hard as he crept down the stairs, avoiding the places that creaked. His palms felt sweaty on the bat. Whoever was downstairs wasn’t getting to Juliana. He’d meant it when he said he’d die to protect her. But he hoped he wouldn’t have to do that.

A dark silhouette appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Charlie’s heart jumped into his throat. The figure raised something that gleamed. A gun! Charlie’s launched himself toward the man. He heard a whooshing sound and felt a hot brand slice his side.

He hit the man with all his weight. They tumbled on the ground together, and bumped into something that grunted. A second man! Charlie scrambled off the first man and came up swinging toward the second intruder. The bat connected with a satisfying thud. The man yowled in pain and stumbled back.

The shooter grabbed Charlie from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Charlie twisted, trying to throw him off. They careened into a bookshelf. Plastic DVD cases made a clattering ruckus as they flew in all directions. Books thumped to the floor.

Charlie and the shooter flung each other one way and then another, running into the wall. But the man clung like a burr. Suddenly, a dark shadow rose in front of Charlie. The second intruder. Charlie rammed the intruder in the abdomen with the bat. The man made a strangled inhalation and dropped to the floor.

Pain tore through Charlie’s wounded arm. The son of a bitch shooter had ripped the stitches open. Charlie felt wetness as the wound bled. If he didn’t break free soon this bastard would wear him down. Had Juliana escaped yet? He couldn’t hear anything from upstairs. He slammed the shooter into the kitchen counter. The man’s hold slipped on the blood. Charlie spun free, swinging the bat with all his might. There was a sickening crack and the shooter crumpled.