Lethal Bond: Jamie Bond Mysteries Book #3 (21 page)
Read Lethal Bond: Jamie Bond Mysteries Book #3 Online
Authors: Gemma Halliday,Jennifer Fischetto
Tags: #Mystery, #Private Investigators, #Thriller & Suspense, #Cozy, #Literature & Fiction
"Ouch. Poor Danny." Though I had to chuckle. I couldn't imagine any father jumping for joy at little-black-book Danny dating his daughter.
Maya nodded. "Mr. Presley said that Danny didn't seem interested in his princess. That he seemed more interested in her boss." There went that look again.
"Me?" I squeaked out, my mind immediately going to the feel of Danny's lips on mine.
Luckily Maya was saved answering that as my phone rang. Danny's number came up. Oh boy. Talk about timing.
I contemplated ignoring it, waiting for my hormones to calm down and the vision of his perfect mouth to dissipate from my thoughts. But I needed to thank him for calling last night and distracting Miranda. I bit my lip, torn.
Maya took her cue to leave. "I'll find out about Derek."
As she shut my door behind her, I gathered up my courage (and hormones) and answered the phone. "Good morning."
"Seriously? That's all I get," Danny shouted in my ear.
I took a deep breath. What had I done now? "So it's not a good morning. What's wrong, sunshine?"
"I have to find out about you almost dying, again, from the
L.A. Times
?"
Oops.
"You're lucky I'm not allowed to drive or I'd be at your place this minute."
He didn't need to know I wasn't at home in bed resting.
"Sorry. It was a long night, and I crashed." Sorta. "I wasn't keeping you in the dark on purpose."
He sighed. "That's not the worse part, James. I could strangle you for pulling this behind my back."
As if I planned on almost being stabbed to death?
"I don't care what my doctor's orders are. No more physical therapy. From now on…starting Monday I am appointing myself your official bodyguard."
Oh boy.
"I'm not allowing you out of my sight, and there will be no arguments about it."
This time I appreciated his desire to protect me, even if it wasn't necessary. "That may be a little awkward while I'm showering."
"I think I can manage," he answered, a whole new tone in his voice. Deep. Sexy. Dangerous.
My insides went warm. "Uh, Danny, I don't know about—"
"Sorry, no arguments. How about dinner tonight. What time should I pick you up?"
My throat tightened. I glanced at my phone. No text back from Aiden, but maybe he'd answer…warring emotions piled on top of me like a suffocating blanket.
"I have to meet Derek later. We'll see."
* * *
A snooty maître de led Derek and me to a table by the window in an overly-trendy bistro in Studio City. Now this was my idea of eating out. I took the cloth napkin off my bread plate and laid it across my lap.
Derek frowned at the sparkling silverware, the pristine tablecloth, and the small chandelier above our table.
I knew this place would drive him nuts. It was the reason I'd picked it even if I did admit that the food wasn't any better than his taco joint.
A waiter in traditional black pants and white, button-down shirt took our order then walked off with a slight nod.
Derek rolled his eyes and sipped water from his glass goblet. Then he straightened the salt and pepper shaker, rubbed his fingers along the rim of a vase of real daisies, and finally picked up a roll from the basket. After reaching for a pat of butter and lifting his knife he said, "We definitely have different taste, James."
I ignored his comment. "So, how was Palm Springs?"
Derek froze, buttered roll halfway to his mouth. "You knew where I was?"
"Not at first. But after I put Maya on it, she had your whole trip itinerary in minutes. I even know what you had for breakfast yesterday."
Derek grinned. "Damn, I underestimated you, kid."
"Not bad for a bunch of chicks, huh?"
"Not bad, period," he amended.
"So, spill it. What were you doing in Palm Springs? Because I swear to God if you were cheating on Elaine…"
"Jesus, James, I wasn't cheating on her. Where do you get the idea that every guy is a cheat?"
I raised a get-real eyebrow at him.
"Never mind," he said, waving off the obvious answer that growing up in the backseat of his Bonneville on stake-outs might have skewed my idea on relationships just a tad. "All right, you wanna know the truth?" he asked, setting down his roll.
"Please."
"I was…at a doctor."
I froze. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just a little…procedure I had done."
I felt my throat constrict, fear and visions of hospital beds after his shooting flashing back to me. "What kind of procedure?"
"It was nothing," he said, averting my eyes.
"What. Kind," I pressed, converting my paralyzing fear into anger instead.
Derek sighed. "Surgery. Okay? Prostate surgery."
I blinked at him. "God, Derek, why didn't you tell me? Are you okay? Is it…" I trailed off, not able to say the "C" word out loud.
Luckily, he read my mind. "No, no, nothing like that. Just a little…enlarged," he mumbled, fiddling with his roll. "Look I didn't want you to worry. Dr. Murphy at Palm Medical is the best. He says I'll be back to new in no time."
"Why didn't you tell Elaine?"
"Look, it's embarrassing."
"Seriously? What are you, twelve?"
He bit his lip. "It's…well, an enlarged prostate can sometimes make it hard to get the little soldier into battle…"
"Stop!" I said, putting my hand up. "TMI."
"Anyway, that's why I went into the doc in the first place, and he ran some tests and they wanted to do treatment. But I'm fine. I take it easy for a few days, and I'm good as new."
"You sure?" I pressed, knowing full well I intended to have Maya hack into his medical records later and make sure the old geezer was telling me the truth this time.
"Positive," he reassured me. "Doc says my little soldier should be ready for battle in no time."
I rolled my eyes. "You need to tell Elaine."
He grew silent for a moment, then finally nodded. "How's she doing?"
"Okay. She had a few rough patches, afraid of what you were up to." I didn't need to tell him I felt the same way. "But we talked, bonded. She's a great lady."
He smiled. "I told you."
Now that I knew he wasn't cheating, I couldn't help but wonder what this meant for the two of them. Would I one day refer to Elaine as my step-mom? Was Derek possible of committing to one woman?
"Hey, you got dinner plans tonight?" he asked. "Thought maybe you'd want to spend some time on the boat with your old man?"
I opened my mouth to answer when my phone rang.
I paused. Was it Aiden? Danny? And who did I want it to be?
Instead of checking, I reached down and shut off the phone, mid-ring. Then I smiled up at Derek. "I'm all yours, Dad."
* * * * *
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* * * * *
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gemma Halliday is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the
High Heels Mysteries
, the
Hollywood Headlines
Mysteries,
the
Jamie Bond Mysteries,
the
Tahoe Tessie Mysteries,
as well as several other works. Gemma's books have received numerous awards, including a Golden Heart, two National Reader's Choice awards, and three RITA nominations. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her boyfriend,
Jackson Stein
, who writes vampire thrillers, and their three children, who are adorably distracting on a daily basis.
To learn more about Gemma, visit her online at
http://www.gemmahalliday.com
Connect with Gemma on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/gemmahallidayauthor
Jennifer Fischetto is the
National Bestselling Author
of the Jamie Bond Mysteries.
Unbreakable Bond
, her adult debut novel, has received a National Reader's Choice award nomination. She writes dead bodies for ages 13 to six-feet-under. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, singing (off-key), and watching an obscene amount of TV. She also adores trees, thunderstorms, and horror movies—the scarier the better. She lives in Western Mass with her family and is currently working on her next project.
To learn more about Jennifer, visit her online at
http://jenniferfischetto.com
Connect with Jennifer on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/jennfischetto
* * * * *
BOOKS BY GEMMA HALLIDAY
High Heels Mysteries
:
Christmas in High Heels
(short story)
Honeymoon in High Heels
(novella)
Sweetheart in High Heels
(short story)
Hollywood Headlines Mysteries
:
Jamie Bond Mysteries
:
Bond Bombshell
(short story)
Tahoe Tessie Mysteries
:
Hey Big Spender (coming soon!)
Young Adult Books
:
Wicked Games (coming soon!)
Other Works
:
A High Heels Haunting
(novella)
Watching You
(short story)
Confessions of a Bombshell Bandit
(short story)
BOOKS BY JENNIFER FISCHETTO
Jamie Bond Mysteries
:
Disturbia Diaries
:
I Spy Dead People
We Are The Weirdos
* * * * *
SNEAK PEEK
of the first
Tahoe Tessie Mystery
by Gemma Halliday & T.Sue VerSteeg:
LUCK BE A LADY
CHAPTER ONE
When I was ten, my dad taught me how to play blackjack. I'd proudly shown him my fourth grade report card bearing the A I'd earned in math, and he'd said, "Nice work, Tessie. Now let's put those skills to good use." He'd taken me upstairs to the VIP blackjack tables in the back of his casino, set me up with one of his dealers in a crisp, white shirt, and taught me the art of counting to twenty-one. I heard him bragging later to his director of operations what a quick study I was. In two hours, I'd cleaned him out of $600 in chips.
That was almost twenty years ago, but it was still one of my most vivid memories of him. Though, to be honest, I didn't have a whole lot of memories of my father to choose from. Mom and he split when I was just two, and she'd promptly moved me south to Berkeley and away from the high-rolling life my father had carved out for himself here. I'd grown up only seeing him every other Christmas and during summer breaks. Our relationship wasn't what you'd call close, but it wasn't strained either. I guess I'd always looked at Richard King more like one would a fun uncle than a father figure.
Which is why I was surprised at how hard it was to keep tears from running down my face as they lowered his casket into the ground. I sniffed, my nose starting to run as much from the cold as the grief, as I tried to look anywhere but at the polished mahogany surface in front of me.
Across the grass, still spotted with melting snow, stood my father's widow, Britton. Britton was blonde, thanks to her stylist, busty, thanks to her plastic surgeon, and at least twenty years my dad's junior. She was dressed in all black, a skin-tight Donna Karen dress underneath a faux fur that engulfed her petite frame like a giant gorilla suit. While I enjoyed my designer shoes as much as the next girl, Britton took the notion of fashion to a whole new level. One that was bedazzled, bling-ed, and bleached within an inch of its life.
Beside Britton stood Alfonso Malone, or Alfie, my father's Director of Operations and head of security. Tall, grim, and not someone I'd want to meet in a dark alley. A scar ran across his cheek, his nose lay at a crooked angle, and his voice held a deep gravel that spoke of a hard life before donning the expensive suits he wore to be my dad's right-hand man. He had a comforting arm around Britton, but his eyes were firmly fixed on the casket, almost as if he was examining it for proof my dad was really in there.