Mystic Hearts (20 page)

The
front door squeaked open.

“Hey,
Q,” Steve said walking past to Jake’s office. “What’s the word?”

“Not
much on either count. The little we have on Greenwood Manor concerning the
lights is in here.” Jake handed Steve the folder.

“What’s
next? Are you setting up surveillance?” Steve asked, thumbing through the few
pages.

“I
thought you had an assignment in another country?” Jake asked.

Steve
lifted a shoulder. “Not at the moment. Looks like I’m homebound for a while. I
told the Director to cut me some slack. I need to work out issues with Celine.
Still, if the FBI calls, I’m gone.”

“Damn,
another guy’s talking smack,” Quigley chuckled, turned toward the sound of the
door opening, and whistled. “Gotta go.”

“Want
to head to the manor this afternoon?” Larry asked Jake.

“Sure.”

“Hi,
I’m looking for—” a woman’s nervous voice drifted in from the outer office,
“Jake Gibson.”

Larry
bolted upright. “Charlene?”

Chapter Twelve

Charlene
didn’t expect to come face to face with Larry so soon. Still reeling from the
surprising, intense feelings that slammed into her last night, she tried to
keep them in check to get through the day and to get done what she planned
without falling victim to fantasizing about him. Knowing firsthand the
incredible feeling of having Larry touch her made the task difficult.

His
masculine scent mixed with his clean-shaven face aroused her in such a way she
could hardly breathe. But it was his dress pants hugging his butt and thighs,
and his button-down shirt stretching across his broad shoulders, that yanked on
the knot that resided low in her belly, threatening to make her come just by
looking at him. “Hi.”

He
grasped her arm. The unusual gentle grip contrasted with the hardness of his
muscles bunching under his shirt.

“Is
everything okay?” His gaze locked on hers, and crinkles of worry appeared on
the corners of his eyes.

The
sweetness of his voice, his concern, touched her, yet tartness seeped its way
into the sensation, making her a little nervous. Dragging Larry into her
personal vendetta would cross the non-committal, ‘just friends’ line.

The
only reason she came to Jake’s office was to appease her friend. What Pamela
had said about losing Charlene would have made sense if her goal was to
obliterate Andrew. The mere thought of killing someone ran chills up and down
her spine. Despising somebody was on a different playing field than not wanting
them to breathe.

Larry
lifted her chin with a finger. “Charlene.”

“Everything’s
fine.” His intoxicating, charismatic grin that had probably stolen its fair
share of hearts nipped at hers. Larry had no clue how incredibly handsome he
was.

He
kissed the tip of her nose. By tenderness in public, he’d crossed over the
non-committal friends’ line.

Baffled
and not knowing how to respond, she latched onto her purse strap to channel her
awkwardness and adjusted the piece of leather on her shoulder. “Pamela
convinced me to come by to speak with Jake.”

“Charlene,
come on back,” Jake yelled from his office.

Larry
escorted her into the room, stopped at the doorway, and whispered. “Do you want
me to stay?” A hopeful expression crossed his face. In such a short time, he
stopped schooling his features around her and let his face reveal his feelings,
another epiphany she didn’t know how to manage.

“If
you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Jake alone.” And then she did something
that felt like her normal day-to-day routine. She kissed his cheek.

With
his eyes fixed on hers, he pulled in his bottom lip and nodded. She wondered
what Larry thought. The mix signals of kissing him, yet not wanting him to sit
in on her and Jake’s conversation, had to confuse him.

He
placed a hand on the curve of her waist and kissed her lips. Without a word, he
walked out of the office and closed the door behind him.

Charlene
stared at him, mouth agape. “Is he for real?”

Jake’s
chuckle caught her attention, making her realize she spoke out loud. “Oops.”

“No
worries.” He crossed to the front of his desk, rested against it, and motioned
to the couch. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”

“Pamela
insisted I stop by. She’s afraid I’ll do something that will put me in trouble
with the law. I won’t, but I do plan on talking to my ex-husband by myself.”

Jake
studied her for a long moment. Finally, he said, “Okay. It’s your call.”

“Really?
No lecturing to tell me I’m making a huge mistake?”

He
stopped halfway back to his chair. “Why assume I’d give you a lecture?”

Why
indeed. She was used to them. Andrew gave her one after the other. “It’s what—”
she stopped short of saying, “I expect.” Enough was enough of her assuming
other men would mistreat her based on Andrew’s behavior. After all these years,
the light bulb turned on. If she wanted to move forward with her life, she had
to stop assuming all guys were jerks. “I’m mistaken. You wouldn’t have.”

Jake
winked. “I’m glad we had this talk.”

Her
heart filled with gratitude for having the BOFs in her life. “Thank you, Jake,
but nothing’s changed. I have to talk to Andrew alone and I appreciate it if
you’d keep that bit of information quiet.”

He
slumped into his chair, the leather squeaking from the contact, and knocked his
knuckles on the desk’s surface, his eyebrows narrowing to frustrated slashes.
“You want me to keep this from Larry?”

“Yes.”

“Ah,
Charlene,” Jake said on a sigh. “You’re asking a lot out of me. Larry and I
have been friends when I didn’t have anyone else to trust. Asking me not to
tell him something is like suggesting I don’t tell Pamela.” He paused and
rubbed a hand down his face. “You want to keep this from her, too?”

She
nodded.

“You’re
killing me, woman. Flat out killing me. Might as well put a gun to my head.
That’s what’s going to happen, you know, if either of them suspects I know
something concerning you and don’t tell.”

“Well…it’s
not yours to tell. It’s mine. You’re not telling because I asked you not to,
not by choice.”

“You’ve
never been on the receiving end of Larry or my wife if they think they’ve been
kept out of the loop, have you?”

She’d
seen Pamela upset a time or two but couldn’t imagine she’d had it in her to be
that mad. As far as Larry was concerned, he may be a redhead, but she’d never
seen him yell at someone. “No, I guess not.”

“Good.
Let’s keep it that way. Tell them just what you told me. That it’s your choice
and you don’t need them hovering.”

“I
didn’t accuse you of hovering.”

“No,
but adding that bit in there will get their attention.” He stood. “I’ll get
Larry. We can discuss what happened at your place. It’s your choice if you tell
him anymore. But know, if he straight up asks me, I will tell him the truth,
the same with Pamela. Honesty is always best.”

“Do
you talk about your other cases?”

Jake
released the doorknob. “I’m not investigating a case for you.”

“What’s
your fee?”

He
jabbed his hands on his hips. “I can’t and won’t take money from you.”

“Will
you take my case?”

“What
is that, exactly?”

“Find
out any information on Andrew. Where has he been since he left?”

“That’s
easy. He has no history. It’s like he vanished for the last couple of years.”

“You’ve
already investigated?”

“Of
course, so has Larry.”

Men
like them, naturally they investigated. So then, how could she convince Jake to
stay quiet?

“Can
I let Larry in now?” Jake grabbed the doorknob again.

She
slipped a five out of the side pocket of her purse and laid it on Jake’s desk.
“Consider yourself working for me.”

His
head fell forward. “You play hardball. Will you report to me? Tell me every
action you make where Andrew is concerned?”

“Yes.”

“Know
this, if I think you’re in trouble, I will tell Larry.”

“Agreed.”

Jake
opened the door.

Larry
leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, eyeballing them.

“Come
on in,” Jake said. “Steve, Q, wait a sec.”

Larry
strolled into the office, plopped down next to Charlene and without any
questions grabbed her hand.

She
smiled, loving the sense of safety and comfort she felt in his presence. “I
want to fill you in on what happened at my house yesterday.”

Jake
closed the door and returned to his cushioned chair.

“Your
mom filled me in on what she witnessed when she called,” Larry said. “So after
Henry and Doris left, what happened?”

“Andrew
demanded money. He knew about the award and wanted me to give it to him.” A
lump formed in her throat and her eyes stung as she remembered his next words.
“He said if I didn’t, I’d never see Henry again.”

“Do
you think he’d follow through with the threat?” Jake’s tone was firm.

“I
don’t. He’s talking out of his head, idle threats.” She shook her head. “Taking
him from me…no way…he wouldn’t.”

“You’re
sure?” Larry asked, squeezing her hand.

“I
am. Henry would get in his way. Andrew showed me that we weren’t worthy of his
time.” Whatever criminal activity Andrew was caught up in, it was more
important than family.

Larry
rubbed a circle with his thumb over the back of her hand.

Her
nerves went on alert. The soothing action meant either he had bad news to share
or the question he was about to ask she wouldn’t like.

“Do
you know what caused Andrew to hit the Chevelle?”

She
thought back to the fight, the bat hitting his ribs and wrist in particular.
Acid burned her stomach and rose to her throat for the brutality of her
actions. He left her with no alternative and she’d do it again if he backed her
into a corner.

“After
he threatened Henry—” she paused and fought back the mountain of rage forcing
its way to the surface, “—I hit him.”

She
looked from Jake chuckling to Larry pressing his lips together as if trying to
hold back a smirk. The gold specks in his honey-colored eyes sparkled, easing
the tension knotting in her shoulders. “What?”

“Now,
I’m getting the picture,” Jake said. “You got the best of Andrew so he took his
frustrations out on my car.”

Was
that what she’d done? Gotten the
best
of him? “I didn’t think of it those terms.”

Larry
lifted her hands and examined them. “Are your knuckles bruised?”

“Oh,
no. I didn’t use my hands.”

“I’ll
take a guess, you used a bat?” Jake asked, a grin still stretched across his
face.

She
nodded.

“I
understand why you believe Smith won’t come back.” Jake looked at Larry and
nodded his head toward Charlene. “Slugger here is a force to reckon with.”

Larry’s
all-knowing sigh created prickles on her skin.

“In
more ways than one,” he said, next to her ear.

“All
right, I’m out of here.” Jake rose and crossed to the front of the desk. “Don’t
forget what I said.” He kissed Charlene on the cheek and gave Larry a nod.
“I’ll catch up with you later. Oh yeah, Pamela called. There’s a party coming
to The Memory Café tonight, so Cocktail Hour has been pushed from four to
five.”

“Does
she need help?” Charlene tugged out her phone and checked for any missed calls.
“She hasn’t phoned.”

“She
and Marge have it covered.”

A
little ping rushed through Charlene that she couldn’t help. One of the things
she missed most about running a café was the party planning.

When
Jake walked out of the room, she stared at the closed door and tried to think
of how to tell Larry she needed to leave. If Andrew was at his friend’s house
in Colonial Beach, the earlier in the day she arrived, the better chance she
had of catching him. “I should probably—”

Larry
threaded his hands through her hair and tilted her head back and devoured her
in a hot, demanding kiss, sending a thrill of excitement straight to her core.
On a breathless moan, her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside, stroking
and reliving what their bodies did earlier that morning. He tasted of coffee
and sex. She wanted more.

“I
could do this all day,” Larry said around the kiss.

“Me,
too.” Nose-to-nose, mouth-to-mouth, she opened her eyes and gazed into his.
Hope, belonging, and desire stared back at her through cautious eyes.