Wanting (27 page)

Purchase orders for
people.

He snapped a few
photographs with his camera, then closed the files and the lid,
leaving it like he’d found it. He was damned lucky Benito Jr.
hadn’t opened the closet door. That would have been too damned
close.

He’d give the photographs
to Carrie, then he’d see about getting an extended warrant. He’d
found enough to convince even the strictest judge that they’d found
what they were looking for.

Less than a minute later he
stepped out into the hall behind Benito Jr.’s office.

And came face-to-face with
Benito Jr.

“
What the hell were you
doing in my office? I know your girl wasn’t in there.”

“
Nothing. I thought I
heard arguing in there. A woman saying ‘help’.” Sebastian tried to
push past the other man. It was a weak excuse and he knew it. And
Benito Jr. wasn’t buying.

“
Hearing voices?” Lonnie
Victorino stood behind Benito Jr., as did their pal Riley. “I think
you’re crazy if you think we’ll believe that. Lonnie, take lover
boy here out back. I have a few questions for him.”

Sebastian thought about
resisting—creating a fight that would draw the attention of the
rest of the PAVAD agents, but the men didn’t give him the
opportunity. And it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. The band
was playing and he could hear Carrie singing about the pain of love
and the burn of attraction.

Carrie. Sebastian fought
harder then. If Benito made him for a cop, it wasn’t a far stretch
for him to look at Carrie, Paige, and the rest.

Silently, even desperately,
he fought; but no matter which way he turned, someone was always
there to block his options. They dragged him out the back door and
into the alley. Before he could retaliate Lonnie had his arms
stretched over his head.

Two booted feet—from two
different owners—hit his ribs from opposing sides. They pummeled
him. They’d obviously beaten the shit out of people before. They
were damned skilled at it. Even his years at martial arts wasn’t
enough to get them off of him.

Blood ran into his eyes as
he pulled one hand free; he ignored it, as he grabbed loose gravel
and slammed it into one face. He jabbed with his newly freed elbow,
hitting the smallest guy in the throat. The prick backed
down.

The whole exchange
continued, him at a complete disadvantage but refusing to go down,
in an almost macabre silence.

Sebastian cursed as a sharp
pain went across his arm—Riley had pulled a knife.

He wouldn’t be able to hold
out much longer.

***

Carrie was never more
grateful for ten minute breaks in her life. She’d sang on stage
before—and on the streets of New Orleans for one unforgettable
summer. Never for five straight hours, days on end, with a bar full
of men staring at her.

Josh and Dan wouldn’t like
it, but she needed a minute outside of the club to reboot. She had
her gun, strapped to the inside of her hip, so she wasn’t
completely defenseless. She didn’t need a babysitter and between
those two and Sebastian, she’d barely been able to go to the
restroom unaccompanied since Benito’s return. How was she supposed
to do her job with those three cavemen hovering?

She nodded at the stage
manager as she sneaked down the corridor to the rear exit. “Hey
Kem, if my dad asks, I’m taking a breather, ‘kay?”

“
Sure little doll.” The
black man smiled, and Carrie wondered once again what had suckered
him into working at this nasty place. “Five minutes, and I’ll be
looking for you myself. Back alleys are no place for a girl like
you.”

Carrie thought back to all
those cold nights and days when back alleys had been her sanctum.
If he only knew…She pushed open the back loading door and paused a
moment, inhaling the familiar scent of urban life that only one
familiar with those back alleys would ever know. The scent was one
that visited her in her dreams nearly every night—and was one she’d
never forget.

She’d not been outside a
full minute when a strange sound bounced off the dark bricks of the
buildings that formed the alley. Carrie removed the small gun from
where she carried it and flipped it quickly from safety. She moved
like the experienced field agent that she was.

Her feet, aching in the
ridiculous heels Alessandra had made her wear, she placed carefully
to prevent an echo betraying her position. She peered around the
corner.

The man on the ground was
easily recognizable to Carrie, and only years on the streets and
her time in the Bureau kept her from crying out when Benito Jr.
delivered a particularly vicious kick to Sebastian’s
stomach.

But it was the flash of
metal slicing through Sebastian’s skin that nearly stopped her
heart.

She cataloged the
situation, before taking aim.

She was almost too late, as
the smaller guy, one she didn’t recognize, slashed at Sebastian
again. Carrie fired, taking him down with one well-placed shot. She
turned toward the other two men, her weapon aimed steadily in their
direction. Her hands didn’t shake, though her insides
did.

“
Now, Red. Why’d you go and
do that for?” Benito asked. “This isn’t your problem. This guy,
well, he seemed to think he had the right to look into things he
shouldn’t.”

He stepped closer to
Carrie; she held her gun steady as she stared him down. The other
two men moved away from Sebastian, who was still on the ground.
Carrie knew they thought she presented the bigger threat, with a
loaded weapon pointed at them. But she, at least, knew Sebastian
wasn’t defenseless. She stepped back, hoping they’d mimic the
movement and come closer to her.

They did. And Sebastian was
now behind them.

***

For a man who’d been
beaten, Carrie had to admit he moved well. Too quick for her to
really watch, and faster than the three men could prevent. He had
two on the ground within seconds. The third, he brought to his
knees, not three feet from Carrie.

Sirens were just being
heard in the background when Dan and Josh rounded the corner,
probably in search of her. They were steps ahead of Kem and the
rest of the club’s security staff.

Before Carrie could say
anything the first squad car squealed to a stop at the mouth of the
alley. Another barricaded the opposite end. Then Hellbrook and the
rest of the teams were swarming the area. Soon the two men were
arrested, as was the bar owner and half his employees. Kem wasn’t,
thank goodness. Benito, Jr.’s body lay in the middle of the alley,
with agents and the M.E.—Dr. Jules—around him.

Carrie’s shoot was ruled a
good, clean shoot, but she had to give Hellbrook her weapon
anyway.

***

Sebastian’s arm ached like
a bitch, but he waited for the stitches to be finished on
scene—he’d refused transport—with no complaint. Dr. Bellows sewed
him up with a similar silence. Pain was a good indicator that he
was still alive, so he could live with that and the petite doctor
was good enough at what she did that he didn’t feel
much.

His mind was consumed with
thoughts of Carrie. His mind pictured her as he’d seen her when
she’s first rounded the corner—black dress, creamy skin exposed to
every man’s eyes, her weapon drawn and steady as she’d stared down
two bastards over the body of the third.

She hadn’t even flinched.
Just proceeded with textbook precision, managing to save his sorry
ass in the process. Sebastian wasn’t used to that. He’d never had a
woman ride to his rescue before, and he wasn’t sure he liked that
it was one ten years his junior, with only a few years field
experience. One that he wanted to see him as strong and brave. One
he wanted, period. And he wasn’t sure he could wait any longer to
have her.

Chapter 61

*****

Should he? Talk to the
woman he knew was a friend of Caroline’s?

Kevin mulled over the
questions after forcing himself to look away from the redheaded
connection to his daughter. No, it wouldn’t be fair to anyone to
involve strangers in the situation. He forced his attention to the
television that little Smokey Jo had playing over the corner
tables. It was hard to hear the news reel, but he had no difficulty
reading the banner that scrolled across the bottom of the
page.

He felt a moment’s anger
and sadness when he realized the news was reporting the
unidentified body found down by the river three nights ago had been
that of a police officer with the Missouri State Police. He’d been
dead at least a week before being found.

No one had realized the man
was missing.

Kevin couldn’t understand
that—what kind of police officer went missing for close to a week
and a half and no one realized he was gone? What kind of colleagues
did the man have?

The rest of the bar went
silent, even the band stopping their playing at a call from little
Smokey Jo—the blonde woman he’d spoken with his first time in the
club. It was a touching salute to the fallen officer, comrade to
many of the bar’s patrons, Kevin realized. He removed his own hat
and lifted his bottle toward the television as the fallen officer’s
photograph suddenly flashed on the screen.

Kevin choked on the beer
he’d just swallowed, pulling multiple gazes in his
direction.

The fallen police officer,
identified as Police Lieutenant Robert Thompson. He’d been at the
St. Louis police post for less than three weeks.

And Lt. Robert Thompson was
a dead fucking ringer—literally—for Minton Rush.

The newscast—now loud
enough for the entire club to hear—continued with the information
that there were currently no leads into who or why the lieutenant
was killed.

But Kevin knew differently.
Melody had emailed him some startling news that morning. Rush, his
old partner, had been paroled less than two weeks ago.

Rush had had to have
happened upon the lieutenant and seized the opportunity as soon as
it presented itself. What a better cover for whatever it was he was
up to than as one of the city’s finest?

That bastard.

He was out there somewhere,
with a police officer’s uniform, badge, and weapon.

And as an ex-cop, Minton
Rush knew exactly how to use them.

But what in the hell did he
want with Caroline?

Chapter 62

*****

Carrie was packing the rest
of her clothing, including the seductive dresses she’d been forced
to wear when the knock sounded on the bedroom door. She opened it
and stared at the man waiting. “Sebastian? What are you doing here?
Does Hell need me?”

“
No. Nothing’s wrong. I
just needed to see for myself that you were ok.”

Carrie frowned. “I’m fine.
You were the one that was hurt.” The white bandage over the knife
wound in his arm glared white against his warm tan skin. Reminded
her of how vulnerable they all were. She’d never been so afraid,
and had been thankful she’d been able to detach from her feelings
for him long enough to do what had to be done. “They could have
killed you.”

“
Probably would have, if
you hadn't been there.” Sebastian wrapped warm hands around her
arms and pulled her closer. Like he had so many times in the past
week.

Had it all been
pretend?

Carrie didn't know. “Where
is everyone else?”

“
Dan, Josh, and Hell are
still on scene, supervising the serving of the last few warrants.
Interviewing Kem and the rest of the staff. Dennis and Bellows have
already headed back to PAVAD with the seized documents.”

“
Where are Alessandra and
Paige?”

“
Already headed home. Said
they'd be by tomorrow to pick up their things. I didn't want you
here alone.”

“
I'm ok. I can take care of
myself. I think I proved that tonight.”

“
Yes, you did. Took care of
me, too. Are you planning on heading back to PAVAD
tonight?”

“
I need to. I should file
my report. Hell told me I could wait until tomorrow,
but...”

“
I'll drive you. I need to
hit my office for a bit anyway. Then I'll give you a ride home,
ok?”

Was that what she
wanted?

There were things she
wanted to talk to him about; she couldn't deny that.

So much had happened
between them in just a week. His hands had been all over her body,
they'd kissed so many times, in ways that weren't just because of
the story they were trying to create. No, he meant the things he'd
said to her, told her. And now that the case was over, they were
free to explore whatever it was going on between them.

***

Sebastian tried not to look
at the woman in the passenger seat too often. It was so damned hard
to do.

She was a bundle of
contradictions and he’d be the first to admit that. From the very
beginning she’d fascinated him. And he strongly suspected she
always would.

She’d looked so damned good
in that damned dress, black straps that crossed creamed shoulders,
red hair tumbling down her back as if some man had buried his hands
deep in it. And he had before—when they’d danced and when he’d held
her on a Louisville street. That vanilla scented hair was soft as
red silk. A sexy siren with the voice of the mythical creatures,
housed in the body of Carrie Sparks? Contradictory. Sebastian had
always been bothered by contradictions, needing to tear them into
the smallest component until he had a grasp of what they truly
were. He didn’t know if he’d be able to do that with this woman.
But damned if he didn’t want to try. And try. Spend the rest of his
life trying.