Jaded (15 page)

“She does when a murder is involved.”

Genny sat back and crossed her arms. “Dominique says we don’t have to talk to you if we don’t have a lawyer with us.”

Jase cocked a brow and smiled. “Does she now?”

Genny swallowed hard and nodded, not certain she should have let that slip.

Jase stood and flipped his notepad closed. “Don’t leave town, Miss Monroe.”

He opened the door for the lying little blonde and allowed her to pass through. Several moments later, he exited the room, only to come face-to-face with the hottest thing to hit NorCal in his lifetime.

“Was Genevieve helpful?” Jade asked.

Jase stopped and couldn’t help an appreciative glance at her. “Helpful enough.”

He didn’t fool her. Jade read the heat in his eyes, the slight acceleration in his breath, the way his wide chest moved deeper against the tailored black jacket.

“Nice threads,” she said.

He nodded. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

She batted her eyelashes and said in her native Southern drawl, “Why, this little ol’ thing?”

Jase moved a step closer. They were semisecluded in the vestibule outside her office. He moved her back against the wall. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to touch her. His body flared with the heat of a furnace. He bent his head a fraction down to hers, his lips hovering just an inch above hers.

He could smell her. If he were blindfolded and thrust among a thousand women, he’d be able to pick her out by her sultry scent alone. It hit him between the eyes and his cock stirred. His gaze did not waver. Nor did hers. When she licked her lips and the tip of her pink tongue touched his bottom lip, Jase was sure the floor moved beneath him. He groaned and put his hands on the wall on either side of her head. He dipped his lips to hers, only the barest breath of air separating them now. When he spoke, his lips brushed hers. “Now, Miss Scarlett, that sounded just a might too natural to me.”

He felt Jade’s body swell the minute he spoke. Her breasts pressed against his chest and she closed her eyes and moaned. The smooth skin of her neck beckoned him and it was too much to resist. Jase laved her jugular with his teeth. Jade cried out, her hands grabbed his biceps, her fingers digging into him, she moved hotly against him. “I practice,” she breathed against his chin.

Jase’s teeth bit into her skin and his tongue licked her. His body pressed firmly against hers, the contact electrifying. “Stop messing with me, Miss Devereaux, or you’ll have more on your hands than you can handle.”

Jase moved back, the cool air of the hallway swirling into the hot swelter they had manufactured. “Besides, I can’t afford you.”

Jade slapped him. Jase caught her hand and jerked her hard against him. On a second thought, he pulled her toward her office, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind them with his foot. He turned the lock and stalked toward her.

“Let’s stop dancing around each other, Miss Devereaux. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll leave you alone.”

“I’ve told you everything.”

As he moved closer, she stood firm, her arms folded across her chest, her desk to her back.

“Why are you playing the prick tease with me?”

“Because I can.”

“Am I such an easy target?”

“All men are.”

“And I’m just like any other man?”

“Yes.”

He moved closer, only inches from her. He stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “Am I really?”

Jade nodded, the movement jerky.

“Do all men have to pay to touch you, Jade, or do you give some for free?”

His finger had the misfortune of being near her mouth when he’d insulted her. She nipped the tip and held on to it. He ignored the pain and moved closer. Her teeth bit harder. He invaded her space so that now she could either meet him chest to chest or bend back over her desk away from him. She bent. He pushed. She bit harder. He growled. In one quick motion, he pushed her back onto her desk, his left hand swiping away any impediments.

Jade gasped, letting go of his finger. He put a knee on the desk between her legs and leaned over her, his hands on either side of her head. “You’ll discover, Miss Devereaux, that I am like no other man you’ve met.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He dug his fingers into her intricate hairdo, not caring that he would ruin it. His lips swept down over hers and blood shot to his cock. He swelled so suddenly and so quickly it hurt. He groaned against her parted lips. He knew she felt him against her thigh; she’d have to be dead not to.

What he didn’t expect was for her body to go rigid beneath his.

Holding his body over hers, he pulled away from her lips. Her expression stymied him. It wasn’t angry, nor was it wanting. Was it regret?

He smiled. “I think, Jade, you have a big problem.”

“Oh?”

He dug his fingers deeper into her hair and pressed ever so slightly against hers. He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, “You want me, and you can’t find a way to justify it.” He laughed low, the sound not gentlemanly.

“You’re wrong on both accounts, Detective. If I wanted you, I would have you.”

“What if I didn’t want you?”

As she swept the palm of her hand down his burgeoning shaft, he flinched in her hand. He hissed in a hard breath. “That isn’t the case.”

Jase grinned. He loved playing these kinds of games. Holding her gaze, he pulled his right hand from her hair and slid it down her shoulder to her arm, then over to her hip. He squeezed. Her body tensed. She knew exactly what his intentions were, and yet she didn’t stop him. His body thrummed. His hand slid across her hip and slowly down to her thigh. The heat of her skin surprised him. He sniffed the humid air and smelled her essence. In a slow gesture, he slid his fingers beneath the fabric of her dress and made slow circles upward. Her body trembled. He bent his mouth closer to hers, just as his fingertip touched the opening of her core. Her hips jerked and she cried out. Hot moist heat hit him. In a slow slide, he dipped a finger between her drenched lips. He bit her neck and pressed against her, sliding his finger into her hot wet depths. Jade cried out, grabbing his shoulders. Her head pressed against him. “You lied to me again, Jade,” he whispered against her throat.

Her thighs clamped around his hand and he looked down at her. Her eyes were screwed shut and she bit her bottom lip. Jase almost came in his pants. He’d never seen anything so sexy in his life.

“You’re a naughty girl, Jade Devereaux. Not wearing panties.”

His fingers slowly began to withdraw from her, but she moaned, her hips chasing his hand. He had no intention of letting her go, not yet. He’d just begun. But when he finally took her it would not be here, on top of a desk.

No, when he took her it would be on his terms, and his terms included multiple orgasms, for them both.

His finger slid around her hard creamy nub. She shuddered. His lips moved to her lips. His tongue lapped her swallow lips, as his finger did a slow slide back into her. Jade cried out under his lips, her hips rocking, her fingers digging into his arms. A spasm racked her. Then another. And another. Jase nearly came where he stood, barely able to contain himself.

When her body stopped shuddering, her eyes flashed open. Jase didn’t move. God he wanted her. He smiled instead and said, “A body doesn’t lie.”

She smiled slowly. “Are you so blind?”

“About what?”

“Why, Detective, this is what I get paid to do, isn’t it? To act? Let my johns know they are the only men on earth who can make me come?”

Jase moved off her and rearranged his erection. “You’re lying.”

Jade slid off the desk, the movement slow and fluid, like thick syrup over pancakes. Her dress slid down her thighs, covering her swollen pink lips. His hard-on twitched. Lies or not, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever encountered. And he wanted more.

She didn’t waste a movement or stop for a gesture. Jade moved right into his space, her eyes never wavering. Stopping in front of him, she threw her head back and moaned, the deep sexy huskiness of it sending shivers down his back. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, her moans intensified, her hand slid down her belly to her mound. Her hips moved ever so slightly. “Oh,” she moaned, “that feels so good, don’t stop.”

As her hand increased its pressure, Jase stood rooted to the floor, the picture in front of him almost more than he could bear. In quick succession, her body shuddered and her hand moved faster across her mound. Her breaths increased in velocity and her low sounds of enjoyment climbed in time. Just when she was about to come, or pretend to, he grabbed her hand and replaced it with his.

He pressed hard against her mound and she cried out. Her eyes were wide open in shock. His hand cupped her and his other hand grabbed her ass, pushing her hard against his hips. “Now fake it again.”

Jade tried to twist away, but he held her firm. “C’mon, Jade,
fake
it again.”

“Stop it, leave me alone!”

Immediately, he let go of her. Her breasts heaved hard against the fabric of her dress. His eyes bored hard into her. He quirked a smile and slowly brought his right hand to his nose and sniffed. “That doesn’t smell fake to me.”

“Get out.”

“I’m on my way.”

Disheveled, her body throbbing, Jade stood, staring at the door. Anger collided with longing. Humiliation engulfed her. When had the tables turned? How had they turned so quickly? One minute she was in charge of Jase, and the next she was having an orgasm. What the hell had happened? And what the hell was she going to do about it? She wanted him, dammit, but on her terms. His powerful personality made it hard. How could she control a man who was uncontrollable?

She moved into the small bathroom off her office and stared in the mirror. Her makeup was a mess, her hair beyond repair, and along her neck small bruises began to erupt. In no hurry to go back into the club, Jade took her time repairing Jase’s damage while trying not to think of the man who just ravaged her.

Thirty minutes later, half-expecting and half-hoping he was still in the club, Jade came out of her office, feeling once more in control. Mac gave her a quick “Are you okay?” look. She smiled and glanced around the lounge. No sign of Jase. The excited swirl in her stomach plummeted.

“How are our guests tonight, Mac?”

“Thirsty, but in good spirits.”

“Let’s keep them happy and their glasses full.” Jade went into hostess mode, the act so common she hardly noticed the switch anymore.

Jase pulled up in front of Stacey’s house a half hour early. He was horny, angry, and needed to get laid. He didn’t care if she was ready, what he had in mind would only take a few minutes. He strode up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell. Immediately, the door opened and Stacey, tall, golden, and wearing only a shimmery negligee, opened the door wide for him. He grabbed her and kicked the door shut with the heel of his shoe, not wasting a minute. He carried her back into her bedroom, where he tossed her on the bed and began to unbuckle his belt.

Stacey’s brown eyes glowed in excitement. “Jase, I missed you, too.”

“Shut up and strip,” he commanded. She did.

He didn’t bother taking his clothes off, he just pushed his pants down and pulled her ankles toward him. He looked at the core of her, her pink lips weeping in anticipation. He hesitated. The vision of Jade as she slid off the desk, the skirt part of her dress hiding what he so desperately wanted, flashed before him. Jase straightened. A whiff of Stacey teased him. His nose twitched. It wasn’t the scent he wanted. He backed away from the bed, his erection beginning to wane.

“What’s wrong, Jase?” Stacey asked, jumping from the bed.

“It—I—shit, Stacey, I don’t know, but I can’t do this tonight.”

“What do you mean, you can’t do this tonight? What is
this
anyway, a quick roll in the sheets?”

He hiked up his pants, zipped up, and began to buckle his belt. “Whatever it is, I’m out.”

He turned and hurried out of the room, but not before one of her spiked slippers hit him in the back. He supposed he deserved that.

Jase found himself parked back at the club. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. One curse chased another. He would not go in. He would not show her he wanted her. He’d been played a fool once by her, he would not be played again. If she wanted him, she’d have to come find him. That way there would be no question about faking it.

Jase put his car in gear and was just about to pull away when he saw a familiar face pull up. Otis what’s-his-name. The next instant his cell phone rang.

“Vaughn.”

“Hey, Lucy, your girl has some esplainin’ to do.”

Jase laughed. Ricco. “What do you mean, Ricky?”

“Katsuo Hiro. Hog-tied in his hotel room, like her other boy toy, Townsend. Guess what SJPD found in his mouth?”

“His balls.”

“Bingo. Guess what else?”

“Jade was seen leaving his hotel room?”

“Bingo again.”

“Shit!”

“What do you mean? Looks like we have enough to bring her in. SJPD is gonna be all over her. I’m surprised they haven’t gotten over there yet.”

“Do they know where she works?”

“They do now.”

“Shit, Ricco, why didn’t you tell me first?”

“I’m telling you now, man, what’s the problem? She’s a fucking black widow. Let’s get her off the street.”

“Fuck, give me the name of the detective in charge.”

“You’re too close to the crack, man.”

“Just give me the damn name and number!”

“I
want a private moment with you, Miss Devereaux.” Otis Thibodeaux wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Why, good evening, Mr. Thibodeaux. Of course. I’m sure we can find a quiet corner in the salon,” Jade easily said.

She kept the smile pasted across her face and her heartbeat at a steady rhythm, and squelched the fear that laced around her lungs, squeezing the breath from her. She doubted Otis would assault her here. But if he so much as laid a hand on her, there was a panic button in each alcove.

The salon had several small alcoves built in especially for private conversation, or other private interactions. She showed him into one to the immediate right. Slowly she turned, prepared to be barraged by threats. Instead, she was met with a slow smile. He didn’t fool her. She knew exactly what was behind it. Otis Thibodeaux had been a nasty boy and was now a nastier man.

She pulled the discreet heavy curtain. Instead of sliding into the round-table booth, she remained standing. “How can I help you, Mr. Thibodeaux?”

Otis pulled a sheaf of papers from the inside of his jacket pocket. “Sign these papers, Ruby Leigh, sign them and I’ll disappear.”

“I’ve explained to you I’m not—”

He raised his hand to slap her. She didn’t flinch. “You got ice in those veins.”

She stepped into his personal space and poked him in the chest with a finger. “I’m not going to tell you this again, Mr. Thibodeaux. I’m not Ruby Leigh Gentry. My name is Jade Devereaux; I was born and raised here in California. If you continue to harass me, I will be forced to call the authorities. Now please, leave me alone.”

She turned to pull back the curtain, but he yanked her away from it. “You gonna tell the cops how you killed your mama, then burned down her trailer to cover it up?”

Her lungs constricted, the noose tightening. Jade yanked her arm away from him, but his fingers dug deep into her skin. “I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave me alone!”

The curtain opened and Jase stepped in, putting his hand on Otis’s left shoulder. “The lady said back off.”

Otis sneered and looked from the cop to her. “I see you’re hedging your bets, Ruby Leigh. You always knew how to make a man think with his dick.” He stepped past her, then turned back to her. “I was always on to you. The colonel thought it was something else. But you and me know the truth.”

He walked away and Jade felt a sudden chill encase her body.

“What the hell is he talking about?” Jase demanded.

Jade shook her head, wanting to look away. “I have no idea. He’s crazy. He has me confused with someone else.”

Jase flashed her a sharp stare. It bored deep into her heart. Her lungs constricted more. She felt smothered, her breath labored, the tightening in her chest sharp, hot, and painful. The thought of this man knowing her dirty past disturbed her more deeply than Otis’s presence.

“I swear it! He’s lying.” The one lesson she’d learned from her mama was that desperate people do desperate things. And right now Jade was desperate. As much as she hated the lie her life had become, if she told the truth now it would shatter what life she did have and that of her only living kin, her baby sister.

“Katsuo Hiro is dead.”

Jade gasped. Her knees quivered, then shook. She needed to sit down. Jase helped her to a chair.

“Oh my god, how? When?”

“Same way as Townsend. And you were seen leaving his room today.”

“I—I didn’t kill him!”

“What were you doing in his room?”

Moment of truth. She glared up at him. “What do you think?”

“I’m done guessing with you. You need to tell me what you were doing in that room and whether he was alive when you left him.”

“Yes, yes, he was alive!” Jade grabbed his hand. “I didn’t kill him, I swear.”

“You swear an awful lot of things, Jade. I don’t know what to believe.” He removed his hand from hers.

“I didn’t kill Mr. Hiro. He was alive and well when I left that room.”

“You’re going to have to tell that to the San Jose PD.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re their number one suspect.”

Her skin chilled. “Now?”

Jase nodded. “Detective Kowalski is on his way over.”

Wildly she looked around. “No, not here.”

“I can take you to him. And, Jade?”

Her big green eyes looked up at him and his stomach rolled. She looked like a scared little girl. “Yes?”

“Call your attorney.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

She hurried past him and Jase pulled out his cell phone and called Kowalski. “I’m bringing her to you.”

Slowly, Jase flipped the phone closed and wondered just what the hell he’d done.

Jade was grateful Branford Pettigrew was waiting for her when Jase escorted her into the Twelfth Precinct. He was the first membership she’d sold when she began at Callahan’s five years ago, and for that first year they spent many hours together. He had been quiet and awkward. But slowly he had opened up into the confident man standing before her. Not much older than she, Branford was forever in her debt for getting him over his fear of women.

“I’d like to speak privately with my client,” he said as he strode up to her, putting his arm out and bringing her into the protective fold of a half hug. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern lacing his words and face.

“Yes,” she lied.

“Just a minute,” a voice boomed from behind them. Jade, Branford, Ricco, and Jase turned to the loud voice. A large man in a bad suit with a ruddy complexion, Detective Kowalski, filled the doorway leading to a hallway.

“Miss Jade Devereaux?” he asked.

Jade nodded.

“Who are you?” Branford asked.

“Detective Kowalski,” he boasted.

Kowalski looked at Jade, his wary gaze sweeping up, then down, his contempt obvious. “Miss Devereaux, you have the right to remain silent.” He smiled when Jade gasped, but Branford squeezed her arm. “Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them?”

Jade nodded.

“I can’t hear you,
Miss
Devereaux.”

Jade stiffened. She glanced over to Jase, who stood next to his partner as stoic as an oak. He refused to look at her but she could see the muscles clench and unclench in his jaw. “Yes, Detective, I understand my rights as you have explained them to me.”

Before Kowalski could comment, Branford stepped forward. “Is my client under arrest?”

“We’ll decide that after we talk to her.”

Branford laughed. “There’s nothing to discuss. Either arrest her now or we walk.” When none of the cops made the necessary moves, Branford took Jade’s hand and started for the door.

“Hold on a minute!” Kowalski bellowed.

Everyone in the room stopped and stared at the frustrated detective. “I might not have physical evidence right now, the lab is as usual decades behind, but I got a body and your client was the last known person to see him alive. I got a cop who puts her there, and she admitted it to him. Now, I can charge her and make you both miserable until arraignment tomorrow morning, or your client can talk to me.”

Branford nodded. “I’d like to speak to my client for a moment.” He pulled Jade away from the detectives.

Her heart thudded against her chest. Was she going to be arrested and put in jail?

“What the hell is going on, Jade?” he softly asked.

“I don’t know, Bran. Mr. Hiro is dead.”

“Where you with him today?”

Jade swallowed hard and nodded.

“Did you kill him?”

“No!”

Branford smiled and kissed her on the forehead. Taking her hand again, he walked back to the three detectives.

“Unless you produce physical evidence, my old Stanford Law professor and the current DA, Stanton Wilcox, will toss the charges against Miss Devereaux out the window. I’ll request him personally to oversee this case, and while the three of you have your doubts about Miss Devereaux’s innocence, I do not. I will strongly argue that point to Stanton.”

Kowalski looked as if his blood pressure was about to erupt. Jase stood quietly watching her, a snide smirk twisting his lips. His partner, Ricco, was not readable. Jade held her breath. She did not want to be arrested.

“Miss Devereaux,” Kowalski said, his beady black eyes fixed on her, “do not leave the area.”

Jade looked up at Branford. He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. “Good day, gentlemen.” He tugged her hand and drew Jade from the cold sterile building.

Once they exited the building, Branford stopped at the top step leading to the precinct and turned to face her. He smoothed a strand of hair from her cheek and smiled. Lightly, he kissed her on the forehead. “Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

Jade shivered and shook her head. “I don’t know, Bran. Two of the club members are dead in less than a week, and I saw both of them shortly before they were killed.”

“Was the first Andrew Townsend?”

She nodded.

“I read about it.” His eyes softened and he smoothed more hair from her face. “I have to ask you, Jade. Did you have anything to do with Townsend’s death?”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t think so.” God, she hoped not.

He squinted his eyes. “You either did or you didn’t, Jade.”

She took a deep breath. She could not go to jail. Not yet. “I didn’t.”

He hugged her to him. “Okay. C’mon, angel, let’s get you home.”

“No, take me back to the club. My house was broken into; I’m not going back until my housekeeper cleans all of that mess.”

“Your house got tossed? Why didn’t you tell me?”

And once again, she trusted no one with her secret. “A simple breaking and entering, the cops said. The guy got some jewelry and stuff. Random.”

Branford stared at her for a long minute, then continued to walk toward his car. “C’mon.”

Jase watched the tender moment between Jade and her
attorney.
Disgust mingling with a sharp stab of jealousy wrestled inside his gut like two terriers going at it over a bone. He turned to Kowalski. “What do you have?”

Kowalski grinned and shook his head, his fleshy jowls swishing in the air. “You hot for that piece?”

“Hardly.”

Kowalski snorted. “You gotta be dead not to get wood over that.”

“Not my type. Now, tell me what you have.”

“Asian male, Katsuo Hiro. Hog-tied, his balls cut off and shoved down his throat. My guess is he choked on his nads.”

Jase nodded.

“Your boy Maza says you had one like this Sunday?”

“Yes, same MO, and both members of Callahan’s.”

“I’m aware of Callahan’s. Don’t tell me that fine piece that just left here was the last one to see your boy alive?”

“No, she wasn’t. At least I can’t place her as the last. I interviewed a Genevieve Monroe this evening, she was the last to admit to seeing him alive. She had a drink with him at Delicato’s a few blocks from Callahan’s. She said she called a cab for him, he was too drunk for anything. His BAC supports it. The guy had enough alcohol to float a boat. Cause of death, asphyxiation. He choked to death on his balls.”

Kowalski nodded. “Your girl there could have run into him again, maybe when he stumbled out of the bar.”

“Ricco will be heading over there shortly to question the employees. We’ll know when Townsend left and how.”

“Okay, so let’s say he stumbled back to the club. Runs into that harpy and she whacks him,” Kowalski suggested.

“Motive?” Jase asked.

“You tell me.”

Jase shrugged. “So far, other than the fact that the guy was a scumbag, no motive. And while I’m sure Miss Devereaux works out, she doesn’t have it in her to hog-tie a guy.”

“What if she had help?” Ricco asked.

Jase narrowed his eyes. “Okay, so she had help. Why? Was Hiro missing his wallet?”

“No,” Kowalski said. “Over five grand in his wallet and he had enough jewelry to make my wife happy for decades. But the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is, what was your girlie doing there before Hiro was whacked?”

Jase scowled and his blood pressure jumped. “I have a hunch.”

Kowalski waved a hand in front of Jase’s face. “Earth to Vaughn, murder investigation in progress.”

Jase’s scowl deepened. “I think she was turning a trick.” As he said the words, he thought he was going to be sick.

“Ah, so man-hater hooker whacks john. Classic.”

The truth bit Jase sharply in the ass. “Call me an idiot, but my gut says she’s telling the truth.”

Ricco shook his head. Kowalski chortled. “Vaughn, you are way off base. She’s a black widow, and she has your dick in her mouth right now. If she confessed, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“No shit,” Ricco muttered.

Jase shot his partner a hard glare. “I haven’t lost my objectivity.”

Both Kowalski and Ricco hooted over that one. Were they right?

“Tell you what, Vaughn,” Kowalski said. “Since you seem to be so cozy with her, why don’t you turn up the charm and find out for us poor slobs what she’s hiding under that thousand-dollar dress of hers.”

Jase nodded. He’d worked too many years of undercover not to know how to work a suspect for information. The thought of getting between Jade’s thighs for information made him feel like he needed a shower. His head snapped up and he grinned. Jase slapped Kowalski on the shoulder, pulled a card from his breast pocket, and handed it to him. “Will do. Keep us posted and we’ll return the favor.”

Kowalski nodded, and Jase left him and his partner staring after him.

As Jase pulled out from the precinct his mind ran rampant. What the hell was going on? He knew Jade was hiding information from him regarding Townsend. She knew something and was not telling him. And Hiro? If she wasn’t the last person to see him alive, who was? And why all of a sudden were two of Callahan’s club members ritualistically killed? Had they crossed a line? Was their death revenge for some wrong? He gripped the steering wheel so tightly, his hands cramped. The common denominator was Jade Devereaux.