Deep Cover (13 page)

“I got nowhere with the Carly lead. Angelo said he’d look into it but I don’t know that he will. Nor will he do it on our timeline. Did you have any luck with Big Jane?”

“Sort of. I have Marcus running down the lead. He’s looking up a woman named Darcy Lummox. Apparently she was a dancer before Capri, who only worked here for about a month and then she left. But it’s not clear whether she left or she just disappeared. My gut is telling me that she disappeared.”

“I still can’t quite fathom why someone would want to take out Capri. She seemed like a harmless kid.”

Poppy nodded, agreeing. “Maybe it’s shortsighted of me, but I really want justice for her. I don’t care if it’s unprofessional. I want whoever did this to go down. Even if it’s not connected to our target.”

Their shared belief in catching Capri’s killer bonded them for a second, prompting Shaine to say, “You’re doing a good job.”

“Thank you.”

They both knew that Shaine’s compliment was a big deal. But they both had enough sense not to belabor the point. Maybe neither was ready for what it could mean.

“See what you can find out from Raquel and Brandi but be careful. I don’t trust either of them.”

“Same goes for you about Angelo. When he smiles all I can think of is a snake. He’s the kind of person who would stab you right in the gut and smile while your blood drips down his hand.”

Shaine couldn’t agree more.

But just as Poppy put her hand on the doorknob to leave he stopped her. She looked at him quizzically. “What?”

“If we leave this bathroom without looking like we’ve at least messed around, suspicions are gonna fly.”

Poppy gave a firm nod of understanding. “It’s just for our cover story. Go ahead and do it.”

“Ready to fall on the sword?” he teased, and she graced him with a patronizing look that he immediately silenced with his kiss.

“Let’s make this look convincing,” Shaine murmured against her lips, threading his hands through her hair and pulling at the roots to expose the long column of her neck. He traveled down the soft skin, nipping and tasting, until he made his way back to her mouth.

Their tongues tangled and danced. Time stopped for a brief moment, and for a pleasurable blip, all that existed was Shaine and Poppy as they used to be.

No painful past.

No hidden agenda.

No undercover mission.

Just Poppy and Shaine, as his dreams liked to remind him.

He hardened instantly and he ground his length against her, popping a few sequins on her ridiculous costume in the process, but he didn’t care.

A loud knock on the door startled them both into awareness as Big Jane’s voice on the other side told them Poppy’s set was coming up.

“Saved by the bell,” he murmured, moving away to adjust the raging erection tenting his jeans. Shaine chuckled when there was no hiding what was happening. “Sorry. A little too convincing, I guess.”

But Poppy just gave him a small smile and a coy glance that set his blood on fire before letting herself out of the small bathroom.

Big Jane swatted at Poppy’s behind,
tsking
at the popped sequins, sending her to change quickly, before saying to Shaine, “If you weren’t Angelo’s new favorite, I’d have your ass kicked. No one comes backstage, not even the bartenders. You would do well to remember that, young man, before you find yourself without your favorite part.”

“Duly noted,” Shaine said with a small shudder before getting out of there.

To Big Jane or anyone else, he was just a horny guy looking to get a little sugar, which could be forgiven.

If anyone suspected anything otherwise...they’d both likely be dead by morning.

CHAPTER 15

M
arcus West stepped into Amerine Labs and went straight to the receptionist with a brief smile.

“DEA agent Marcus West to speak with Mateo Hernandez. I have an appointment.”

“Right away, Mr. West. He’ll see you in conference room A, straight down the hall and to the left.”

Marcus nodded his thanks and entered the conference room, where he found a sharp-looking, impeccably dressed man rising to greet him.

“Agent West, a pleasure, please sit. I must say I am a little intrigued by a visit from the Drug Enforcement Administration. We do our best to ensure all of our paperwork is filled out appropriately. What do I owe this visit? Should I have my lawyer present?” he teased with a wink.

Marcus smiled at the man’s charm. “Nothing so dire as that. I think we can accomplish what we need without lawyers. Assuming you have nothing to hide?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Excellent.”

Mateo leaned back in the leather chair and watched as Marcus pulled the customs report from his briefcase.

“Let’s get straight to the point. Your company was listed on the customs manifest for a chemical shipment.”

Mateo shrugged, puzzled. “We are a pharmaceutical company. I fail to see why that would be odd or cause for alarm.”

“Yes, under normal circumstances that would be true, but a funny thing happened with this particular shipment... The name associated with the pickup was a false identity and the phone number listed went nowhere. The only verifiable identity was that of your company. Do you recognize this name?”

Mateo perused the offered document and after a long moment shook his head but added, “Agent West, I run a multibillion-dollar company and I have hundreds of employees. Of course I don’t know each person by name. Perhaps I could run it by our HR department and see if the name pops up?”

“Would you mind? That would be very helpful.”

“Anything to be of service. But to be blunt, Agent West, we are a large company and we have enemies as most pharmaceuticals do. It’s not unfathomable that someone might’ve listed my company in an attempt to smear our name in the press.”

“Are you familiar with a new drug called Bliss, Mr. Hernandez?”

Mateo shifted in his chair, his disarming smile widening with incredulity. “I deal with legal drugs, Agent West. I profess I don’t know what the newest craze on the streets is, nor do I want to know.”

“That’s good to know. I’ll be equally blunt, Mr. Hernandez. Someone with significant capital is shipping chemical compounds to the States through a Chinese pipeline. The fact that this shipment originated from Shenzhen is a red flag.”

Mateo’s smile thinned. “Maybe I do need my lawyer, after all.”

Marcus returned the smile. “Only if you feel it necessary.”

“You play an interesting game, Agent West. If I’m reading you correctly, you think that my company is responsible for an illegal shipment of chemicals used to make this street drug, Bliss—is that what you called it? While I have no idea what it actually is, I’m being accused of it nonetheless. Is that about the right of it?”

Marcus chuckled with amusement at Mateo Hernandez’s upper-crust indignation. He’d done some checking before coming over. Mateo was a regular on the Miami social scene. He enjoyed fine wine, delicate cuisine and had fluid tastes when it came to his lovers.

On the surface it was difficult to imagine Mateo dirtying his fingers with illicit drug production.

However...with the right connections, a well-oiled production machine could produce a tidy, nontaxable profit, which was something he could see interesting Mateo very much.

“I’ve taken enough of your time,” Marcus said, rising. “Thank you for answering my questions. I’ll be in touch.”

Mateo rose as well, but he’d lost his pleasant, even flirtatious, smile. “Next time, it won’t be without my lawyer present.”

Marcus tipped an imaginary hat and let himself out.

Either he’d just rattled the right cage, or he’d just made a huge mistake that could cost him his job.

Go big or go home, West.

* * *

Rosa’s cell phone buzzed to life just as she was leaving the office. Pausing to answer, she was surprised by the identity of the caller.

“Director Ramirez, this is Mayor Bernardo Ferdinand. We have an issue.”

“Good evening, Mayor Ferdinand. What can I do to help you?”

“You can help by keeping your agents from spreading lies about one of our best citizens and the business that employs a large number of people from our community. It’s beyond ridiculous to think that Mateo Hernandez and Amerine Labs is guilty of anything. This drug shipment issue is nothing more than a malicious prank aimed at maligning their good character, and I won’t have it in my city.”

Rosa tried not to take offense, but being dressed down by an elected official with no jurisdiction over her office made her a bit cranky.

“Rest assured our agents are highly trained. If my agent was asking questions of Mr. Hernandez, it’s highly likely he had excellent cause.”

“Amerine Labs has been nothing but generous to this community and we are lucky to have them here in Miami when they could just as easily move to California with their business.”

“I can appreciate that, Mayor Ferdinand—”

“You are Miami born and bred, are you not?” the mayor cut in, overriding her next comment.

“Yes, of course, and very proud of my heritage,” Rosa answered.

“Then you should understand how hard Miami must work to retain good citizens determined to make our community family-friendly with enterprise, good jobs and opportunity. This is not the way to encourage businesses like Amerine Labs to stay and make Miami their home.”

“Mayor Ferdinand, I assure you, if Amerine Labs has nothing to hide, our business with them will be brief and they can continue operations as they always have. But we have to follow all leads, and this particular lead brought us to Amerine Labs,” she explained, wishing she knew more about the reasons her agent had approached a multibillion-dollar company without a warrant. But in the meantime, she would defend her agents against anyone coming at them. Privately, she would kick her agent’s ass if he was wrong. “Surely, you can understand how important it is to keep our community safe from the influx of dangerous drugs imported from other countries using Miami as a hub for their operations.”

“Of course,” huffed the mayor. “But it’s absurd to even think that Amerine Labs is anything but as solid as they come.”

“I’m sure that’s true, but we have to follow all leads, even if it means following them simply to mark them off.” She paused for a moment, then said, “Mayor, I am curious, though. How did you hear that a DEA agent was meeting with Amerine Labs?”

“That’s no secret and nothing I’m ashamed of admitting. I am good friends with the Hernandez family and I can vouch for them personally that they are above reproach. Good people, truly. Mateo came to me upset and, as his friend, I felt compelled to stand up for him.”

“Thank you for sharing your concerns. I will note your objections and, assuming Amerine Labs is cleared of any alleged wrongdoing, I will personally send a note thanking them for their cooperation.”

Mayor Ferdinand grumbled, “This is absolutely absurd. But when you discover you’re wrong, you’ll need to send more than a note to save face.”

“Thank you, Mayor Ferdinand,” Rosa said drily, and when he clicked off, she muttered under her breath, “Blowhard,” only too happy to be done with that call.

She immediately called Marcus West. Her call went to voice mail.

“Call me,” Rosa instructed in a terse tone, then hung up.

Rosa chewed her lip for a moment, digesting the call from the mayor. Either Mateo Hernandez was an entitled jerk and wanted a pound of flesh for his inconvenience, or he was really concerned that the DEA was on to something.

Part of her hoped he was just an entitled jerk because taking on Amerine Labs in court was going to be a real bitch.

They had resources up the wazoo and they kept the best lawyers on retainer.

If the DEA didn’t have every
t
crossed and every
i
dotted, the Amerine Labs team would chew up their discoveries like a T. rex running down sheep.

And that wouldn’t look good on her résumé at all.

CHAPTER 16

R
amirez called an emergency debriefing the following morning, and as everyone arrived, Poppy was the first to notice that Marcus wasn’t there, which was unlike him.

She swiveled around to check the doorway to see if he was running behind, but he wasn’t coming.

Ramirez noticed Marcus’s absence, too. “Call Agent West,” she told Poppy.

Poppy dialed Marcus’s cell. It went straight to voice mail. “Voice mail,” she responded with a frown. “He’s never late. Ever. Marcus is anal-retentive about punctuality. Something is wrong.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Ramirez warned, but there was something in her eyes that made Poppy worry more. “He might be in the shower or something.”

Poppy shook her head. “No. I’ve worked with Marcus for a year. He has intractable habits and punctuality is something he prides himself on. You need to send a car over to see if he’s okay.”

Ramirez nodded, punching in the number for their Miami PD contacts, requesting immediate assistance.

Dispatch sent the information and it took everything in Poppy to sit tight and wait for the police to radio back with information.

But it didn’t take long.

Ramirez’s cell rang and she answered it on the first ring. Her expression dimmed as she listened. “Thank you. I’ll be down in twenty minutes. Secure the scene, please.” She clicked off and met the apprehensive gaze of the group.

Poppy felt sick to her stomach as she voiced everyone’s question. “What’s wrong?”

Ramirez took a moment, then, with a heavy tone, said, “Agent West is dead. There was a sign of a struggle. It appears to be a burglary gone wrong. He was shot at point-blank range.”

“No way,” Poppy said, not believing that story for a second, rage and grief choking her. “This is El Escorpion, I know it. Marcus was on to something and they took him out by making it look like a mugging.”

“We don’t know that. This could be a sad coincidence. Miami can be a dangerous place, even to experienced agents.”

“Bullshit,” Poppy said, her eyes watering as the full import of the situation hit her. Her partner was dead. Someone had killed Marcus. Marcus, the man with his eyes trained on the future, determined to be chief someday. Now none of that would happen. “That’s utter bullshit. Marcus was a black belt and a weapons expert. There’s no way some punk-ass tweaker looking for something to pawn took him out. No. I’m not buying that.”

“That does seem far-fetched,” Shaine agreed. “What happened yesterday? Marcus was supposed to be running background on Raquel as well as interrogating Raven.”

“Apparently, he went to Amerine Labs and made some inquiries that made some people uncomfortable. I received a call from the mayor telling me that I’d needlessly humiliated an esteemed member of the community.”

“I was supposed to chase down the lead at Amerine Labs,” Victoria said, frowning. She looked to Poppy. “Did he tell you he was going to the lab?”

“No.” She shook her head, but it didn’t surprise Poppy. Marcus believed in chasing after opportunity, not waiting for it to land in his lap. If he scented blood on the water, he was like a shark closing in on the kill. “He didn’t tell me he was going there.”

Poppy pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep the tears at bay. “But Marcus didn’t believe in hanging back when action was possible. He must’ve learned something that led him to Amerine Labs. One thing is for certain, if Marcus went there, he was on to something.”

“In light of the situation, I want you all to go home. Let’s huddle up for now. Kelly and Jones, I want you to call in sick, make some excuse, but don’t go into the club tonight.”

“You don’t think that will look suspicious,” Shaine asked.

“No, you’re college kids on break. College kids can be notoriously irresponsible, especially when they don’t have classes to clock in to. They’ll get over it. In the meantime, I will handle arrangements for Marcus’s return to Los Angeles.”

Blinking back the tears that were suddenly too many to hold back, Poppy rapidly exited the building and headed home, needing air and space.

This case was taking so much and giving back so little.

First Capri and now Marcus.

Someone was playing hardball.

And mowing over anyone in their way.

Poppy pressed the gas pedal down harder and turned up the radio until she no longer heard her own cries, only the sound of rock and roll.

* * *

Shaine knew he should leave Poppy to her grief, but he couldn’t do it.

He walked through the adjoining door and found Poppy on her bed, sobbing.

On instinct, he gathered her in his arms and held her while she cried. She didn’t fight him, only clung to him as she soaked his shirt with her tears.

“Were you...close?” Shaine asked as she pulled away, wiping her nose to stare at him in question. “You and Marcus...”

He didn’t want to ask but the question nagged at him.

Poppy wiped her nose, then understanding dawned and she looked irritated. “Marcus was gay, you idiot,” she said, rising to rinse her face. Afterward she returned, looking freshly scrubbed but still angry. “Why would you ask me that? I can’t feel something for a partner unless I’m sleeping with him?”

“No, not at all,” he protested, feeling like a jerk. “I’m sorry. It was inappropriate for me to even ask. I was just...”
Jealous? God, that sounded worse.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

The fire went out of Poppy’s eyes and she sat heavily on the bed beside Shaine. “It’s okay, I’m just...raw.”

“I know.” He gently clasped her hand. “Tell me about Marcus. I want to get to know him as you knew him.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Poppy sniffed and nodded, taking a moment to regroup. “Well, he was superambitious, even more so than me. He had grand designs to be chief someday. In fact, he was hoping this case was going to help him land a position in the New York field office because it was closer to DC than Los Angeles.” The tears started fresh. “But that’s not happening now. I can’t believe he’s gone. I feel like I’m in a fog and I can’t wake up.”

“He sounds like my kind of agent,” Shaine said. “For what it’s worth, I believe you. I think you’re right... This was no accident.”

“I know I’m right.” Poppy said, glad to have Shaine on her side. “Marcus was an expert in self-defense, a top marksman and had a black belt. There’s just no way it went down the way the cops are saying it did.”

“So if he went to Amerine Labs, there must be someone there that felt the heat.”

“But how are we supposed to get near Amerine now? It’s not as if we can walk in there—it’ll blow our covers.”

“And if Victoria tries, it’ll tip off that the FBI and DEA are working together, which will only put more attention on us as newbies at the club.”

Poppy agreed, her eyes welling again. “I can’t help but believe that we somehow caused this. Maybe we should’ve been more cautious, more attentive? I don’t know. What made him go off on his own like that?”

Shaine let her vent, knowing that she wasn’t exactly looking for answers, just someone to listen.

“I should’ve checked in more. I knew he was getting restless. He wasn’t cut out for staying behind the scenes and watching the action from afar. He’d put in for the undercover position but he was denied.”

“Do you think he could’ve handled the pressure of undercover work?”

“I don’t know,” Poppy answered. “He was particular about some things. Very type A. I’m not sure he could bypass that switch in his head to become someone different. But who knows? He was brilliant—he may have found a way. Now he’ll never get the chance.”

Shaine wasn’t going to say something trite such as “everything happens for a reason” because he knew how aggravating it was to hear that when grieving, but he didn’t know what else to say.

But Poppy seemed to understand when he remained silent. “Don’t worry. It’s not the words, but the sentiment. Thank you.”

Shaine nodded, relieved. “When Spencer died, I couldn’t stand the way people would constantly say that, as if a little kid dying was somehow in God’s grand plan. But I was too young to understand that it was just an attempt to make sense of something that didn’t make sense at all.”

Poppy agreed, murmuring, “I know it’s not the same, either. Your brother died before he could really live.”

Shaine didn’t like to talk about Spencer. The youngest Kelly disappeared when Spencer was ten. His body was found a few days later, dumped in Seminole Creek. Spencer’s killer was never found.

Because of Spencer, all the Kelly boys went into the FBI, the thirst for justice their driving need.

Shaine shook off the melancholy that always came when thoughts of Spencer popped up and said, “Marcus sounded like a good man. We’ll find whoever did this and make sure they pay.”

“How?”

Poppy’s plaintive question echoed the concern in his heart. This case was ballooning. No leads, just dead ends. And dead people.

But giving up wasn’t an option. “Any way possible,” Shaine replied, and meant it.

Poppy leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder with a small hiccup. “Thank you for coming over,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

Too bad they couldn’t have worked things out before. He missed Poppy and that was evident by the way he craved to be near her, needed to comfort her when she was sad and wanted to rip people’s heads off when they stared at her breasts.

Was that missing her? Or was he still in love with her?

Two years should be plenty of time to get over someone.

What if Poppy is the kind of woman you never get over?

Shaine knew it wasn’t the time, but he wanted to talk about the past—why she left the way she had; what she’d been up to since leaving.

There were so many questions, so many buried hurts that being around her again had just begun to unearth.

“Are you happy?” he asked instead.

Poppy sighed and shrugged. “I guess. Yeah, I mean, as happy as anyone, I suppose. I have a decent apartment in a good neighborhood and my neighbors aren’t jerks.”

“That’s happiness?”

Poppy pulled away to look at him with a frown. “What’s happiness, Shaine? The definition changes daily. Today, I’m very unhappy, that much I know.”

“Of course,” he murmured, wondering what he was hoping would happen with that line of questioning. He never threw out random questions. So why was he doing it now?

Talk about passive-aggressive...

“The lines have blurred,” Poppy said with a brief smile of understanding. “It’s okay. Going two years without even saying hello, to suddenly pairing up undercover, it’s bound to confuse things. We shouldn’t read too much into it.”

He nodded, seaming his lips before he let slip something else that needed to remain buried. “You’re right,” he agreed, matching her smile. “We’re partners. Here to do a job.”

“Right,” Poppy affirmed. “And we’re going to catch this SOB before he or she manages to ruin more lives.”

“For what it’s worth... I’m glad I’m working with you. You’re a good agent,” Shaine admitted. “Whatever you’ve been doing these last two years has been good for you. I’m impressed.”

Poppy tried to smile in response, but her eyes were welling. She ducked her head to avoid letting him see, but he’d caught it, anyway. “Oh, man, I can’t seem to stop with the waterworks,” she said, wiping at her eyes, trying to blink away the moisture.

Shaine knew why she was crying. He’d struck a raw nerve. There was so much left unsaid between them.

For a long time Shaine had refused to admit the reason Poppy had left. It’d been less shameful to say she’d bailed over a fight, instead of the true reason.

It was hard to look yourself in the eye and admit that you’d been a royal dick.

Love was complicated enough as it was, but then add in their career choices and it became downright impossible to figure out.

The bald truth was simple: he hadn’t been supportive of her career. Fear had pushed him to squash her ambition.

That wasn’t something you could just say “I’m sorry” for and move on. He didn’t blame her for splitting. If anyone had tried to do the same to him, it would’ve been sayonara immediately.

But the time for apologies had passed.

All he could do was respect her as a fellow agent and do his best to work alongside her as he would with anyone else.

And try to forget that they’d slept together.

Again.

Hell, he already knew that would be damn near impossible, but he’d find a way to deal.

That was his job.