Jaded (6 page)

“Detective, isn’t it inappropriate for a police officer to proposition a suspect?”

He leaned in closer, and her nipples dug into his chest. “I never said you were a suspect.”

“No, you didn’t, but I can see the wheels turning in that cop head of yours.” She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her face close to his. In a quick move, she nipped at his bottom lip. “It’s too bad, Officer.”

When she retreated, Jase’s hand slid around her waist, just as he had wanted to do moments before. Her body stiffened. He yanked her against him. “If you can dish it out, my little prick tease, be prepared for some payback.” He swept his lips across hers in a hard kiss before letting her go. She grabbed the chairback next to her. Her wide eyes spoke the truth. He’d shocked her. He grinned, and swept her with a hot gaze, his eyes settling on her hard nipples. He’d stake his retirement it had been a long time since she’d had a man. His body heated up at the prospect of being the one to tune her up. But caution cooled his blood. She was, at this juncture of his investigation, shaping up to be his prime suspect.

Jase followed her gaze to the silent room. Every eye, from Mac’s to Ricco’s to the other girls’, was open in naked surprise.

Her warm body trembled and she quickly changed tact. “Detective Vaughn, touch me again and I’ll break your hand.”

Jase raised a brow, amused. His gaze raked her tall curvy form. “It would be worth it.”

She opened her mouth to retort but another female of a very determined kind slipped effortlessly between them. Jase’s body, being every bit male and on sensory overload as it was, responded to the hand that slid down his thigh. A warm floral scent enveloped him. He like it, a lot, but if he had to choose, he’d pick the scent of the other woman, the one who stood several feet away from him, looking as if she would reduce him to a eunuch on the spot.

“Jason Vaughn, you never called me back,” a soft, purring, vaguely familiar voice whispered in his ear. Full breasts pressed against his arm. He ran his hands down soft warm skin and pulled slightly away. Warm whiskey-colored eyes smiled up at him and full pink lips pouted. “You hurt my feelings.”

Holy shit!
A vague memory of a bender two years ago after he’d come out of a deep-cover operation sprung into his head. “Shannon?”

She smiled. “I’m Dominique here.”

Jase glanced at Jade, who continued to watch with interest. “I like the name. It fits. What brings you here,
Dominique?
”

“Stanford Law isn’t cheap. I work here two nights a week.”

“Oh, really? Were you here last night?”

She slid her right arm through his left arm and tugged him away from Jade. “Buy me a drink and we can catch up.”

“I’d be happy to.” Without giving Jade another look, Jase steered Dominique to the bar, where Mac stood with a perplexed expression on his face. “What’s with him?” Jase asked. “Mac have it for Jade?”

Dominique stiffened just enough for Jase to detect. “Every man in this place has it for her. You’d think she had buried treasure between her legs.”

Jase squeezed her hand and smiled. “Jealous?”

Dominique pouted. She had great lips, but he’d seen better. Just a few moments ago, in fact. “Not like you think. I have a one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-dollar student loan to repay, and she cramps my style. I try to work the nights she isn’t here, but those are few and far between.”

“Do you normally work Saturday nights?”

“Not usually, but I’d heard Jade was going to take a couple of days off, so I came in.”

Jase gave Mac a nod and asked Dominique, “What would you like to drink?”

She smiled and nuzzled into his chest. She’d never been shy and from what he remembered of her in bed she was quite the contortionist. “Don’t you remember?”

Jase pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. Those were soon-forgotten details. And if the truth be known, their brief but intense affair lasted less than a week. And it was several years ago. How was he supposed to remember what she liked to drink?

“It’s been a long time, Shan—ah, Dominique.”

She pouted more profusely, then turned to Mac. “I’ll have my usual, Mac.”

He nodded and proceeded to make her a lemon drop. And he went real easy on the Grey Goose. Jase suspected that while the ladies encouraged the gents to throw down and consume alcohol, they kept their wits about them. After all, it was easier to seduce a drunk man than a sober one.

“I’ll have another coffee, Mac,” Jase said. He nodded, not looking up from squeezing a fresh lemon.

Several minutes later, drinks in hand, Dominique led Jase into one of the alcoves just off the main lounge.

Dominique slid intimately up against Jase and sipped her martini. “So, are you still chasing bad guys through the badlands of California?”

“Yep.” Jase sipped his coffee and set the cup down on the table. He turned and faced his companion. “I need answers about last night.”

Dominique smiled and sipped her drink again. “I’ll give you more than answers.”

She slid her hand along his thigh. His skin tingled. But when the sensation hit him it wasn’t the sexy blonde glued to him he thought of. He clenched his jaw and slid his hand over hers, halting her groping. “Shannon, I’m on the clock.”

She giggled. “So am I. But when I get off later tonight, I’d really like to pick up where we left off.”

Jase put her hand in her lap and moved slightly away. He didn’t want to upset her, he just wanted information.

“Did you see Jade with Andrew Townsend last night?”

“I did.”

“And? What were they doing? How were they acting? Did you see or overhear anything unusual?”

“Why are you so interested in Jade and Mr. Townsend?”

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Townsend was found dead this morning, several blocks from here.”

Dominique’s hand shook as she set her glass down on the table. “I’d heard something.”

“Something? I figured everyone here would be talking about it.”

“Jade doesn’t like us to gossip.”

“It’s not gossip when it’s a fact. What else doesn’t Jade like?”

“She didn’t like Mr. Townsend.”

“Did she tell you that?”

Dominique shook her head and reached for her drink, this time her hand was steady. It seemed the women in Townsend’s life were shocked to hear about his death but recovered fast. “She didn’t have to. Jade doesn’t like
any
man.”

“Why do you suppose that is?”

Dominique shrugged. “Us girls have our ideas.”

Jase smiled and leaned in closer to her. “Care to share?”

Dominique squinted her eyes but smiled. “Why? So you can use it against me and get me fired?”

Jase frowned and put his hands over his heart. “That hurts, Shannon. It’s not how I roll. You know that.”

Her face softened and she leaned into him, running her hand up between his thighs, then stopping at the hard juncture, she pressed into him. His little head responded. “I remember exactly how you roll. And I haven’t had a roll like that since. Come to my place later.”

“Tell me why your boss hates men.”

Shannon moved away and eyed him with a glare, then shook it off. “She’s frigid and hates to be touched. We think she was raped or something. You’d think we had the clap or something, the way she keeps herself away from human contact.”

An unexpected jab of anger caught Jase off guard. He knew she’d been damaged. Her body language screamed it. But frigid? No way. Heat burned beneath her icy veneer. “Did she like Townsend less than the average guy?”

Shannon shrugged and sipped her drink. “God, I’d give my right arm right now for a real drink.” She set the glass down and looked Jase straight in the eye. “He wanted more from her, just like every other cock in this henhouse. She wasn’t interested. They fought. He left.”

“A verbal fight, or did he put his hands on her?”

“I was a wee bit occupied myself, but now that I think about it, he did grab her.”

“Why didn’t Mac come to the rescue?”

Shannon laughed. “Jase, if that gorilla jumped across the bar every time a guy came on strong with one of us, he’d be a damn rabbit. We
are
trained professionals.” She smiled and moved in closer. “We know just how to diffuse a man’s sexual tension.”

“Is that what Jade did? ‘Diffused his sexual tension’?”

Shannon laughed out loud. “I told you, she doesn’t let a man that close. She probably talked to him with that honey voice of hers, and calmed him down enough to not cause more of a scene. Had he pushed, Mac or Thomas would have handled him.”

“Tell me about Genevieve.”

Dominique pouted. Jase had to admit, her full pink lips were a distraction. “She’s new, she’s blonde, she’s stacked.”

“Does she like her job?”

Dominique had the audacity to look affronted. “We
all
love our job!”

“Really? You like coming on to men for a living?”

“We’re not prostitutes, Jase. And in case you haven’t noticed, I happen to like men. A lot. I get paid to meet some fabulous movers and shakers. Don’t knock what I do.”

Jase sat back and chewed on her answer. The fact that she enjoyed what she did didn’t soften his view of it. His mother and sister liked it, too, all that male attention, but at the end of the day these women used their bodies for gain, just like his mother and sister had all his life, and he had a problem with that on a basic level.

The thought of subjecting himself to another human being, and allowing them to touch him because they purchased the right to do it, made him feel like he needed a shower. He could think of a lot of other ways to earn an income than getting paid to be groped, or, as he suspected of these women, for straight-up sex.

“When did you become a prude, Jase?”

He shook his head. “I’m not a prude.”

She smiled and tossed the rest of her drink down. “Okay, poor choice of words. How about, don’t judge me until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes?”

He focused on her and nodded. “Did you see Townsend leave with anyone?”

“I don’t know if he left with anyone. I can ask around.”

Jase sipped his coffee and frowned. Cold. “I’d really appreciate that, Shannon.”

“Can I see you later?”

He smiled and squeezed her hand. “When this case is wrapped up, we’ll talk about it.”

She pouted prettily and called to his retreating back. “I want to do more than talk.”

Jase smiled, then walked out of the room, glad for fresher air, when he collided with something warm and soft. He reached out to catch the body he nearly flattened, and looked down into two flashing green eyes. Instead of taunting her by keeping his hands on her, Jase righted Jade and released her. “Are you all right?” he asked, wanting to touch her again.

Her brief perplexed expression puzzled him. “Did you get what you wanted out of Dominique?”

Jase grinned. “And then some.”

In a smooth, effortless gesture, Jade brushed her long hair over her shoulders. “Then she is up to her usual stellar work ethic.”

Jase moved in closer, careful not to touch. “I thought you said this place wasn’t a brothel.”

“Did you offer Dominique money for sex?”

“No.”

“Did she offer you sex for money?”

“No.”

“Then why ask me that question? I told you, Detective: What my employees do after hours in the privacy of their own homes is none of my concern.”

“Maybe there is an unspoken perk that comes with the inflated membership fee you charge?”

“Prove it.”

“I intend to.”

“I’m sure you will try, Detective. Now, while you’re busy at your job, please allow me to do mine.”

A
calm commotion caught their attention. Jade’s eyes looked over Jase’s shoulder and a smile flashed across her face. He thought it looked artificial, but to the average eye it looked genuine enough. He turned and followed her gaze. Jade swept past him, her perfume wafting around his senses. As if a string attached him to her, he followed.

“Mr. Hiro,” Jade said, her voice light and airy. She bowed deeply, showing her respect and no doubt giving her guest a nice shot of her tits.

Jase focused on the man. He looked familiar. When Jade spoke again, this time in animated Japanese, Hiro grinned. Returning the banter, the man took Jade’s hand and kissed it. Jase could almost feel her body stiffen. Her features tightened. Politely, Jade withdrew her hand.

Jase wasn’t sure which action he was more surprised by: Hiro’s public display of affection to a woman or the fact that Jade allowed him to take her hand and kiss it.

Hiro looked perplexed. “Have…I offended you, Jade?”

Her smile could have melted snow in the arctic. And so the show continued.

“Your girl is just full of surprises, isn’t she?” Ricco asked from behind Jase.

“I think I’m in lust,” Jase answered and watched, fascinated, as Jade morphed from the cool package she had been with him to a smooth, sultry siren with the other man. Touching his shoulder with her fingertips, Jade walked the businessman over to an intimate grouping of chairs in the corner near the blazing fireplace.

“Be careful you don’t fall into the crack, brother,” Ricco warned, as he strode past Jase and closer to the women.

Jase didn’t give Ricco’s words much credence. He’d been attracted to a lot of suspects, and he’d never lost sight of his case. He wasn’t about to lose it here.

Magically, drinks arrived and Jase watched Jade lean toward Hiro and say something. It must have been a toast because they raised their glasses and clinked them. Irritation rose and Jase looked around the room. In the space of only a few minutes several more men arrived. He glanced at his watch: 8:03.

They must have been fighting one another to gain entrance at the front door. He understood all too well. He found release in the soft hotness of women. And he liked smart, classy women. Here they abounded. Sure beat bar-hopping. Not that he did much of that. Like Ricco, women seemed to fall from trees around him.

His gaze swept back across the large inviting room. He was relieved to see Shannon attempting to entertain one of the two newcomers who hovered around Jade and Mr. Hiro. A redhead clung like a vine to Ricco, who didn’t seem to mind much.

Sure reminded him of a high-class brothel.

“They can’t resist her,” Mac said as Jase sat at the bar. “She’s like a bright light and when those moths get too close, they get their wings burned.”

Jase took the bourbon Mac offered. “How about you, Mac? Have you ever wanted in on the action?”

Mac’s face darkened. “A woman like Jade Devereaux doesn’t notice a man like me.”

“Did she burn Townsend?”

Mac stepped back from the bar. “Andrew Townsend isn’t our typical member.” He uncorked a bottle of the vintage Opus and began to decant it. “What happened to him, anyway?”

“Someone killed him.”

Mac scowled. “I heard that part. How?”

“Coroner’s working on it.”

“I get it, you can’t divulge details only the killer would know.”

“Something like that.”

Jase sipped his drink. The smooth liquid gold of the single-barrel bourbon caressed his tongue like warm velvet. “Nice.” He raised his glass toward Mac.

“Blanton’s, my compliments.”

He glanced back across the room and scowled. Nearly a dozen men in the salon had gravitated toward Jade. For someone who was purportedly a man-hater, she maneuvered around them seamlessly.

“Do you think your boss hates men?”

“I think if you want the answer you need to ask the right person.”

“Did Jade date Townsend?”

“Yeah. Once or twice.”

“For such a man-hater, was that unusual?”

Mac laughed, inclining his head toward the salon where Jade was nearly concealed by the group of men surrounding her. Her soft laughter wafted through the room like music. “Does that sound like a man-hater to you?”

“An act.”

“Maybe. But like I said, she rarely dates these days and when she does, she goes for the passive men like Mr. Hiro there. Townsend was not passive.”

Mac was contradicting himself. “You tell me Jade doesn’t date, but she goes out with Townsend. You tell me she doesn’t care for aggressive men, yet Townsend, from what I hear, thought he was god’s gift to every female on the planet, and you also tell me Townsend wasn’t the normal trade here. So what gives?”

Mac didn’t speak for a moment, and when he did his words were low and measured.

“I hear the new owner is hard up for cash. Two months ago Townsend’s type needed connections, a pedigree,
and
bank. Now all you need is bank.” He shook his head. “Like I said, he isn’t our usual clientele. Callahan’s has always catered to old money, blue bloods and the dignitary type. Not the car salesmen.”

“Do you know who opened the door, and why?”

“Not my job. Jade would know.”

Jase made a mental note to ask her. The ever-benign majordomo Thomas escorted another man from the vestibule into the salon. “Looks like more fresh meat,” Mac said. The scorn in his voice was not lost on Jase. He had to hand it to the barkeep. The guy had class and resented the likes of the new flash coming in. Jase took a double take at Mac. Just how much did he resent the new flash?

Like every other man in the place, this one was dressed in classic casual evening attire, and he strutted around as if he owned the place. Money did that to a lot of people, gave them false impressions of themselves.

Jase watched the newcomer scan the room. He didn’t need to follow the stranger’s gaze to understand his body language. His body stiffened, like a dog hitting on a bone. Jase watched with interest the color drain from the man’s ruddy complexion, then slowly refill. The guy took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his glistening brow. The room was not warm.

Jase glanced at Jade, who hadn’t looked up from her conversation with a tall Latino gentleman, and walked toward the newcomer.

Thomas walked toward them. “Mr. MacDonald, I’d like to introduce Mr. Otis Thibodeaux.”

Mac extended his hand and smiled. “Welcome to Callahan’s, Mr. Thibodeaux. What’s your pleasure this evening?”

The man’s muddy eyes darted to Jade. Jase’s followed, and just at that moment Jade looked up. Her eyes clashed with the man’s next to him. He saw an expression cross her face so fast he wasn’t sure he had witnessed it. Sheer terror. Just as quickly she recovered, and a veil of impassive acknowledgment glazed her eyes.

Jase’s antennae hummed. She knew this guy.

Jade made polite noises to her gathered admirers and stood. In long seductive strides she crossed the room toward them.

While she smiled warmly at the newcomer and said, “Welcome to Callahan’s,” Jade did not extend her hand.

Thomas smiled and began the introduction. “Miss Devereaux, please make the acquaintance of Mr. Otis Thibodeaux. He is a special guest of Mr. Morton’s.”

She continued to smile, the gesture not lighting her face; instead, her cheeks looked stiff, as if the gesture was forced. “Again, welcome to Callahan’s, Mr. Thibodeaux.”

Thibodeaux grinned, grabbed her wrists, and yanked her close to him. Jade’s body went so rigid so fast Jase thought she’d snap in half. “Suga, just like down in Lusiana, you can call me ‘Big Daddy,’” he drawled.

Jase watched the color drain from Jade’s cheeks, but other than that she remained as cool and gracious as a Southern morning. Except when she attempted to withdraw her hands. Thibodeaux’s tightened. Her arms trembled.

“Mr. Thibodeaux,” she softly suggested, “why don’t you let Mac know what you’d like from the bar, one of the servers will bring it to you, and come join our little gathering in the corner. I’ll be happy to introduce you.”

Again, she attempted to pull her hands from his but he held them firm. Jase watched closely, more than intrigued. Thibodeaux moved in closer to Jade. “I don’t want to meet anyone else. I want a private party, with you.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Thibodeaux—”

“Call me ‘Daddy.’”

Jade looked perplexed. “Mr. Thibodeaux, I don’t think I understand your request for a private party.”

The good ol’ boy moved closer and let go of her hand, but ran his fingertips up Jade’s arm. Her skin flinched, and an imperceptible shudder ran through her. “C’mon now, suga, you know what I mean.”

Jade stood stock-still, her back rigid, her color even. “I’m sure I don’t.”

Otis gave Mac and Jase a knowing smirk. “Excuse us, gentlemen.”

He inclined his head away from them.

The two moved over to an alcove at the back of the room. Jade pulled a heavy velvet curtain, obscuring them from nosy eyes. Jase followed, determined to hear as much of their conversation as possible. Casually, he pressed up against the wall just outside the drawn curtain.

“Well, well, well, if the colonel could see you now, Ruby Leigh, he’d come back from the dead,” Thibodeaux mocked.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Thibodeaux, but what are you talking about?”

He laughed low. “Still think you’re better than everybody else, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about. Perhaps you have me confused with someone else?”

“You did a good job hiding, Ruby Leigh, but I’ve found you. Now, you got something I want, and I’m not leaving until you give it to me.”

“Sir, I’m sorry, but—”

“Do you know what Sheriff Taylor dug up in that burned-out trailer of your mama’s?”

“Mr. Thibodeaux, I assure you, you have me confused with someone else.” Jade pulled back the curtain and her gaze clashed with Jase’s.

She turned to Otis, who looked as if he were about to explode. “But allow me to buy you a drink. Your trip won’t be for naught.”

As she walked past Jase, Otis grabbed her and shook her. Something in Jase snapped. He grabbed Otis by the shoulder. “No touching the merchandise, man,” Jase growled, his voice dark, low, and close. Otis jerked around.

“Bug off, man. I didn’t come here to take no for an answer,” Otis charged back.

In a quick subtle gesture, Jase clasped Otis around his thick neck with his right hand. He pulled the man’s face toward his. Low and menacingly, he said, “No touching the lady. Do it again and I’ll kick your ass all the way back to Lusiana,
Big Daddy.”

He released the miscreant, and Otis had the good sense to skulk off to a corner and lick his wounded pride. Jade stood rigid. The only clue to her mood was the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She pivoted on her heels and walked over to where Mr. Hiro watched with a concerned look on his brow.

Several minutes later, Jase watched Jade leave with the businessman. Jase caught Ricco’s eye across the room and inclined his head toward the door.

When the men met, Jase said, “I’m following her, stick around and pump for more info.”

A moment later he was out the door. He wasn’t sold on the place not being a clearinghouse for high-priced whores. In fact, he was sure Jade had mastered the art of pulling the wool over the local PD’s eyes. Maybe Townsend had threatened to expose her and the club? As motives for murder went, it sounded like a good one.

As Jase followed the large black stretch with Jade inside of it, he called in to the PD to get the paperwork for a GPS device started so he could watch Miss Jade’s comings and goings from his laptop. The lady was hiding a lot behind those big green eyes and he was going to dig until her secrets were revealed.

The stretch rolled up in front of La Hacienda Rosa. He’d been there just a few weeks ago with…hell. Jase racked his memory. She was tall, buxom, and blonde, but damn if he could remember her name. The food wasn’t bad, but he suspected what most people were paying for was the Barcelona villa ambiance. It was a nice place. And it had private dining rooms.

He smiled as Jade exited the limo, towering over Hiro. He watched the man’s arm slip around Jade’s waist as he guided her under the high arch of the entrance. For someone who didn’t like to be touched, she didn’t push his hand away. Once the stretch was gone, Jase pulled his unmarked to the curb, flashed his badge, and said to the attendant. “Don’t move it.”

Jase made his way into the first of three dining rooms. While there were many tables tucked into alcoves, none of them were occupied by his number one suspect or her “date.” He came up empty in the second and third dining rooms.

Jase walked back to the maître d’, who did his best to ignore him. He flashed his badge. “The Japanese gentleman and his date, where are they?”

“I’m sorry, Officer, but when our guests step into our house, their privacy is assured.”

“How private is your resident status?”

The man’s caramel-colored skin blanched to white.

“They are in a private dining room. I cannot allow you to interrupt them.”

“I don’t want to interrupt them, just—observe.”

“As I said, it’s private.”

“Just show me where, I won’t disturb the occupants.”

Grudgingly, the man strode through the main dining room and into a second atrium dining room, then turned down a short hallway that led to a wide arched entryway with a fountain in the middle like a courtyard. Surrounding the courtyard were four doors with hand-painted roses on them, each a different shade of red. “The couple you speak of is in the
rojo
dining room.”

Jase glance up, and in the alcove above was a small balcony. “How do I get up there?”

The maître d’ scowled and gave him directions.

Situating himself up in the alcove on a stool, Jase could see straight down into the courtyard, a perfect view without being seen.

He noted the time, 10:30 p.m., and sat back to wait. It wasn’t long before Jade came out of the room. If he wasn’t mistaken she looked a little—disheveled. He scowled at the implication. Looked liked the gent was getting his money’s worth.