Sex, Lies and Surveillance (17 page)

“Mal. Oh, God, don’t stop. Don’t stop.” It became a litany, imprinting itself on his brain. “Don’t stop.”

He tried his damnedest, but he couldn’t hold on any longer. He fell over her, still lodged within her, her limbs twined around him.

With her teeth clamped on his earlobe, she lifted into his next thrust. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he lifted her even more. On his next thrust, her fingers bit into his shoulder and her climax hit hard, urging his. He felt his own build until he couldn’t stop it.

Then he just let go. Poured himself into her and followed her into bliss.

When she woke, Janey found Mal propped on his elbow beside her, watching her in the pale light from the bathroom. He was fully dressed.

“Hey.” Her voice felt rough with sleep. “What time is it?”

“Around one. I didn’t want to wake you, but I should get going.”

Her heart stumbled over a beat. Okay, this was where he’d say this was a mistake and it never should have happened. And she was going to have to agree with him even though she’d just had the best sex of her life. So many complications…

He must have been able to read some of her emotions on her face because he shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t want to leave, but knowing your family, they’d just happen to stop by in the morning and I don’t want to cause any problems.”

Her lips curved at his wry tone. She’d half expected him not to be here when she woke, but she should’ve known better. Mal wouldn’t run. But he was probably right. Her family had an uncanny knack of showing up when she least expected or wanted them.

“Seems you’ve gotten to know them pretty well in the past month.”

Nodding, never taking his gaze from hers, he lifted his hand and brushed her hair away from her bare shoulder. “I like them. I just don’t know that I’m ready to have them string me up by my toes for defiling their baby girl.”

The look on his face was priceless and she laughed until her eyes watered. “Yeah, well, what you don’t know is they’re constantly telling me I should find a nice guy.”

She didn’t add the rest of that statement, which was “and settle down.” She didn’t want to freak him out completely. And he did seem just a little freaked. She guessed that was to be expected.

“Yeah, well. I’m not really a nice guy.”

Before she could respond, he leaned over and kissed her.

“I’ll see you at work, Janey.”

And he walked away, leaving her breathless. And with even more questions.

***

Son, I think you’ve crossed the line to certifiable
.

Mal certainly couldn’t argue with a dead man but he did have a point.

Deciding to walk the mile or so back to his apartment from Janey’s Bainbridge Street home, he cursed himself up one side and down the other. He’d let his libido off its short leash last night and—though he wouldn’t trade the memories for anything in the world—it might have caused a serious breach in his investigation.

Because now that he’d had her, he wouldn’t be able to keep his emotions out of this.

He was already halfway in love with her. All right, maybe more than halfway.

But there were too many angles to consider pulling out now. Hell, the DeMarcos actually needed his help. He didn’t want to leave in the middle of Bennett’s case, didn’t want to leave the DeMarcos in the lurch. Didn’t want to leave while Janey was in danger.

Son, that’s just an excuse.

Yeah, well, it’s a damn good one.

Besides, he had to find out exactly how Janey tied into the Carabini case. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew. He owed Dev at least that much.

***

“Someone’s been getting a little too curious, Mal.”

It was Wednesday morning at ten, and Mal figured there must have been a serious security breach for Gallagher to call him at the office. He glanced at his closed office door for the hundredth time.

“How far in did they get?”

“Well, she was able to access the first level of your classified files. You any closer to tying her to the Carabini case?”

Shit, Gallagher was going to pull him out. Mal could hear it in his voice.

“I’ve got an angle I’m working.”

“Want to clue me in, since you haven’t made a report since last week?” Mal heard the order in Gallagher’s voice even if he didn’t word it that way.

But the knock on his office door saved him. He snapped the cell shut and slipped it in his pocket. “Come in.”

He wasn’t expecting Grace. His expression must have said as much because she smiled.

“Good morning, Mal.”

“Good morning, Mrs. DeMarco. How’s Jimmy?”

She looked relieved as she slid into the only uncluttered chair in the room. “That boy has a hard head. Thank God. Though he’s still not sure what happened. I trust he’ll figure it out. And your aunt? How is she?”

“Better, thank you. She’s going to spend some time in a rehab before going home but she’s doing fine, thanks.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. I was wondering if you’d made any progress on Bennett’s case.”

He shook his head, frustration evident in the sharp movement. “No, ma’am. I haven’t turned up anything yet.”

“Bennett called this morning. Told me he’d had an impromptu meeting with you Saturday.”

Hell, he’d nearly forgotten about that. “Yes, ma’am. I was tailing him, seeing if there was anyone else doing the same. We, ah, had a few words.”

“So I understand. Would you like to tell me what about?”

Good question. But Mal had a pretty good idea that whatever Bennett had told Grace hadn’t involved Janey at all. And Mal was afraid that if he said anything about Janey, Grace would be able to tell he had the serious hots for her daughter. Which she probably already knew anyway.

Every time he talked about Janey or, hell, even thought about her, heat poured through him like he was a teenager. Merri had picked up on it right away. He didn’t stand a chance against Grace. “He was miffed at me for interrupting his date. But I believed I had credible information—”

“And he was hitting on Janey.”

He could have kicked himself for not realizing Grace would know exactly what had gone down.

“Don’t look so surprised.” Grace patted his hand. “I know where Bennett took his so-called date. Janey and Annie go to that restaurant nearly every weekend. That man is one canny SOB. He’s been hitting on Janey since she started working for us but he’s smart enough never to do it while her family’s around. And he knows how to play Janey. He knows she won’t tell us what’s going on with him. She thinks she can handle him. And she can. We raised her to be strong—able to take care of herself.”

“And from what I’ve seen, she’s all that.”
And more.

Shit. He hoped like hell he hadn’t said that last bit out loud. Or that Grace could read his mind. He wouldn’t put it past her.

“Yes, she is. She’s also my baby, which means I get to worry about her, even when she doesn’t think I need to. There’s just something about these letters that’s different from the others. Whoever’s writing them knows things they shouldn’t be able to know. Bennett’s continued pursuit of Janey just paints a target on her back. And if the bastard so much as touches her, Frank’s going to have another heart attack and her brothers are going to beat the bastard bloody.”

Would they do the same to Mal if they knew he’d slept with her last night? Hell, maybe Grace already knew.

No, she couldn’t or they wouldn’t be sitting here having a sane conversation. If Grace knew what had happened between him and Janey, Frank would bury him where no one would ever find him.

Get your head out of your ass, son, or she will know.

Okay, then.

For a half hour, he and Grace talked through various scenarios. Grace had a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. She spared no one, least of all herself, and Mal respected that.

She was going to flay him alive when she found out what he was really doing here.

“I think you’re on the right track, Mal, but we need to close this case soon. Do whatever you think is necessary to bring this to an end. I don’t want Bennett around my daughter any longer than necessary.”

Grace rose and headed toward the door. “When she was younger, Janey was often the target of threats against our family. Being the youngest, she was the obvious weak link. When she was five, she was kidnapped for two days.”

Grace paused as Mal’s jaw dropped open. That hadn’t been in any of the DeMarcos’ records.

“It was the longest two days of my life.” Her eyes closed for a few seconds, and he was sure Grace was holding off tears, though none fell. “Obviously, we got her back. But afterwards, we were a little more protective of Janey than we probably should have been. As she grew older, it became harder for us to find ways to keep her in the safe little box we wanted. College was a real challenge.

“I’d prefer she didn’t have anything to do with this case, Mal. I know that puts you in a tenuous position, but…just because they become adults doesn’t mean you stop thinking about them like they’re children. Actually, I think you can worry about them more because you can’t protect them as you once did.”

That void opened in his chest again. “I understand, ma’am.”

Grace nodded. “Thank you, Mal. I appreciate it.”

She closed the door behind her.

His chest began to ache and that ache became a pain.

Now, son, you’ve got a job to do.

He shook his head, trying to shut down the voice of his father—who’d gotten himself killed trying to save a young recruit who’d botched his parachute jump. The recruit had lived. Mal’s dad hadn’t been as lucky. And Dev had died because he’d wanted Mal to be able to spend a few last minutes with his dad.

The voice of Mal’s conscience had always been his father’s and that hadn’t changed with his death.

God, he missed his dad’s take-no-prisoners approach to life. He could have used a good, swift, literal kick in the ass.

Dropping his arms, then this head, on his desk with a thump, Mal groaned silently. He was involved too deeply here and someone was going to get hurt.

Mal suppressed the urge to hit something as Bennett walked into yet another bar.

Didn’t the guy ever work?

He’d been following Bennett for hours and the only thing he’d discovered was the asshole’s predilection for young blondes and expensive whiskey.

God, the guy was a creep.

Mal had been careful to stay out of sight as he followed Bennett down South Street’s boisterous sidewalks with its trendy bars and eclectic shops. The street hummed with activity, even though it was only seven o’clock.

He’d grabbed a cheesesteak from the window at Pat’s around six, when Bennett stopped for appetizers and drinks at a bar just down the street with a girl who looked young enough to be his daughter. Now, sitting at the third bar, Mal still hadn’t identified anyone who seemed remotely interested in the guy.

Maybe you’re losing your touch, son.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” His mutter drew a curious stare from the woman seated next to him at the bar.

Great, now
he
was the freak.

This stakeout had given him way too much time to think about Janey, to replay every moment of last night. Like a coward, he’d avoided her most of the day, even if he’d had legitimate excuses like interviewing Bennett’s local friends and business partners.

Still, he felt like a jerk for not even having the time to say hello this morning, at the very least.

With a sigh, he watched Bennett stand and pat his newest blonde on the head—like a dog, for chrissake—then make his way out to the street, where he caught a taxi.

Mal did the same.

“I need you to follow that cab.”

The young man behind the wheel looked at him with huge dark eyes and an even darker face. His braided hair jangled with beads when he turned and his teeth gleamed, though he was missing one in the front.

“Get out, man. You really just say that?”

Mal grinned at the excitement in the man’s voice. “Yeah. I need you to follow that cab.” He pointed to the one Bennett had gotten into and the driver shot off.

“All right. You a cop or something?”

“Or something.”

“Cool. This guy a murderer, a rapist, what?”

Mal swallowed a laugh. “Sorry, nothing like that. I’m security. I’m shadowing him. Stay a couple of cars behind.”

“No problem, man. Have any idea where he’s going?”

“Not a clue.”

“No problem, man. Wait’ll I tell the guys what I did tonight.”

For the ten minutes it took Bennett to reach his destination, Shawn Freeman—according to his license—had given Mal his rap sheet as if interviewing for a job. And Mal had to admit it was impressive. Juvie time for boosting cars, a stint at Graterford at twenty for passing counterfeit, and a few other side ventures for which he hadn’t been caught.

Mal wondered what the guy’s face would look like if he told Shawn he was a federal agent, but he was enjoying the ride too much to worry about it.

You’re starting to slack off, son. What the hell’s gotten into you?

Damn good question.

He was almost sorry when Bennett’s taxi stopped beside a nondescript brownstone in a deserted block on George Street.

“Keep going and pull over a block up,” Mal told Shawn.

From there, Mal watched Bennett walk into the building. His cab stayed at the curb, and so did his bodyguard. Man, what a fricking idiot.

“Hey, secret agent man, this ain’t such a good part of town to be walking around by yourself, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that feeling.”

Mal studied the building, noted the lights blazing in several of the windows, all of which were unbroken. The building seemed to be in pretty decent shape compared to the others around it. Unless you counted the charred front steps.

“Wait for me, will you?” Mal passed a fifty through the glass divider. “There’s another one of those if you’re here when I come out.”

Shawn took the bill and shut off the car. “You got it. Ain’t had this much fun for a while.”

Mal crossed the street to the building, only then noticing a woman approaching from the other end of the dark street. Slipping into the shadows of the adjoining building’s broken doorway, he watched. She was dark-haired with dusky skin, short and round—had to be at least thirty. Not Bennett’s usual type.

Stalker?

He needed to be in the building.

***

“Okay, listen up. Here’s the deal for next week. I want discs in my hand the minute I get here. I will not accept them if you hand them in at the end of class. I will not accept them if you are late to class.”

Mal could hear Janey’s voice coming from somewhere on the first floor. He could hear other voices as well, but they didn’t interest him.

She sounded like a schoolteacher he remembered from high school. She’d been a real ball-buster, but her persistence had been the reason he’d gotten an A in her English class—until then his worst subject.

“You know how to reach me if you need me. Everyone’s laptop running okay?”

Several young voices answered in the affirmative.

Now he knew what Bennett was doing here. And there stood the creep, lounging against the wall in the hallway.

Bennett had a shit-eating grin on his face, which Mal was very happily about to wipe off. But not yet.

The woman who had entered the building after Bennett also stood in the hallway, reeking of pine cleaner. She was careful to keep her attention on the scuffed floor, her attitude projecting “stay away” as if in bold neon. Bennett didn’t seem to have noticed her or Mal.

“Miss Janey, you promised we’d get to work on our website tonight.”

“Yes, I did and we’ve got another half hour. But we can’t be screwing around if we’re going to have it ready in time for the competition. If I don’t have everyone’s one hundred percent effort on this, it’s not worth it. Javier, do you understand me?”

A boy’s sulky voice answered. “Yes, ma’am.”

“All right, everybody over here.”

Bennett checked his watch and huffed. Apparently he wasn’t pleased that Janey would be tied up another thirty minutes. In fact, the man looked ready to barge in and interrupt.

Mal sneaked up behind him and waited until Bennett realized he was there. The older man gasped as Mal gave him a steady stare.

“Laughlin, what the hell are you doing here?” At least Bennett kept his voice low.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Well, actually, you’re my business at the moment, so try again.”

A smug look settled over Bennett’s face. “I need to talk to Janey.”

“Oh yeah, about what?”

With a sigh, Bennett pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I wanted to talk to her about this latest letter. I got it this morning.”

Mal ripped the sheet of paper out of Bennett’s hands. His heart rate tripled as he read it.

She’s not good enough for you. She’ll never be good enough for you and I’ll make sure of it. She can’t have you. I won’t let her.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this right away?”

Bennett’s gaze shifted away. “I’ve been busy.”

Yeah, hitting on every blonde skirt in a twenty-mile radius. “Not busy enough to follow Janey?”

Bennett bristled. “I was in this area of town and I know that Janey teaches here on Wednesdays.” Which was more than Mal had known, making his temper flare. “I wanted to talk to her about this, wanted her take on the situation.”

That was just never going to happen. He’d made a promise to Grace.

Mal put his face right in Bennett’s and grinned when the older man flinched away. “You will not speak to Janey. Not a word. You won’t come anywhere near her. If you do, I’ll make you live to regret it.”

***

Janey watched from the doorway, fascinated by the scene unfolding in the hallway.

She could just make out what they were saying, knew it had something to do with her. And, unfortunately, Bennett. She shuddered. God, the guy was such a creep. He made her skin crawl.

And Mal was acting like a jealous lover. Well, now, that wasn’t so bad.

“You will go back out to the taxi and have your bodyguard escort you back to your hotel, and I expect you to stay there until morning.”

“Now, look here, Laughlin, just because—”

Mal never raised his voice, but Janey could hear the anger in his tone and Bennett wasn’t stupid enough to disregard that. “Go. Now.”

After a few seconds of staring, Bennett pushed past Mal with a disgusted huff. Mal started to swear under his breath. Until he caught sight of her. His expression blanked in one second flat.

“Janey—”

She held up a hand like a traffic cop, and he shut his mouth. “What’s going on?”

Mal shook his head. “Nothing. He’s an ass. He had no good reason to be here except to harass you and you sure as hell don’t need that.”

The look she gave him could have blistered paint. “You know, even though it pisses me off, I understand why my mom treats me like I’m a child. What I can’t figure out is why you do. Do you think I can’t take care of myself?”

Shit. He’d stepped right into this. “Of course you can.”

“Then why did you just warn Bennett off like you were my father?”

“I’m not your father, Janey. But I’m not going to stand around and let the guy harass you, either.” He took a deep breath, as if trying to control his temper, then took a deliberate look around. “What is this place, anyway?”

She let him wait for her answer, not really sure if she wanted to let him off the hook. She loved macho guys, but not ones who thought they could run her life. Still, Mal was acting under orders from her mother.

Shaking her head, she turned back into the room. “Come in and I’ll introduce you.”

Knowing Janey had just given him a reprieve, Mal followed, then stopped in the doorway as ten kids, mostly teenagers huddled around a desk in a corner of the room, looked up at her voice. Then they turned their gazes on him. Every one of those kids had hard eyes. Eyes that took his measure in seconds and dismissed him as insignificant. When they looked back at Janey, however, their expressions were reverent.

“Everybody, I’d like you to meet Mal Laughlin. He’s the new investigator at my family’s firm. He’s going to hang out until the end of class. Just ignore him.” She flashed him a sharp look and nodded toward a desk at the front of the room. He sat.

And watched her work.

She and the kids were building a website. He couldn’t really see what they were working on, but he caught enough of their conversation to know they were working well ahead of their age level.

Janey let them do the work, didn’t jump in to do things for them. She let them fight about a few things, let them work it out, even let them make a few mistakes.

She was damn good with them and they adored her. He could see it in the kids’ smiles. From the gangly boy with his hair dyed white, black and purple to the blonde girl with tattoos running up both arms and across her back, bared by a halter top.

At precisely 9:00 p.m., she said, “All right, guys. Time’s up.”

The kids groaned but started back to their seats, all except for a short pregnant girl, who was shutting down the main computer.

“Don’t forget, your projects are due next week and I will only accept them when you walk through the door, not at the end of class.”

There were no grumbles from the kids, just a few nods, a few “Yes, ma’ams.”

As the students began shuffling toward the door, Mal realized other people had arrived and were standing at the back of the room, obviously waiting for the kids to be released.

Janey spoke to each of the adults in turn, shaking hands and smiling, even at those who didn’t return it. And there were one or two of them.

When all of the students had left, Janey walked back to her desk and started to gather her materials.

Since he was sitting there already, he let himself watch her walk toward him. “So, what is this place?”

“The Benjamin Overton Institute. Among other things, it serves as an alternative learning center for the city school district.”

After she’d packed everything into her oversized tote bag and backpack, she wheeled the computer cart into a closet near the back of the room and locked it with a state-of-the-art magnetic lock he was pretty sure Jimmy had made.

“What do you teach?”

“Well, the official name of the class is Advanced At-Risk Recovery. But that’s just a title. My kids have been kicked out of school for one reason or another, but they all test in the genius range.”

Just like she had at their age. He moved the chair back when she shooed him with her hands so she could get to her purse under the desk.

Then she hopped up onto the desk right in front of him, primly crossing her legs, the swish of her silk stockings making his mouth dry.

He swallowed before he asked, “How long have you been teaching here?”

“Since I graduated from college and came back to work with Mom and Dad.”

“Those kids love you.”

There, now she looked flustered. “No. They’re just eager to learn and I don’t talk to them like they’re crazed delinquents.”

“You’re good with them.”

Her mouth curved. “I could have been one of them.”

His face must have shown his disbelief, because she laughed. “I was just smart enough to be completely bored. The fact that I went to an all-girl high school didn’t help. I was constantly in trouble for pulling pranks. I hacked the school records a couple of times, made a mess of everyone’s grades. Of course, I kept a copy of the originals because I knew my parents would figure out I’d done it. One year, I reconfigured the security system so my friends and I could sneak in and use the pool at night.”

She gazed down at him, dark hair falling over her shoulder, bright eyes sparkling, and his stomach twisted. He knew exactly why her parents had put her in an all-girls school. She would have caused riots among teenage boys.

“Sounds like you were too smart for your own good.”

She laughed again but shook her head as she slid off the desk, grabbed her bags from the desk and headed for the door. “At least I never really screwed up anything so badly I couldn’t fix it.”