The Body Hunters (6 page)

 
           "Y-yes."Sebastian stammered before turning to his cameraman. "Erase that footage. We can't use it. I mean erase it now.
"

 
          Danny turned to Gerard, taking his arm. "Shall we go to lunch dear?
"

 
             The ride to the restaurant was a bit quiet. Gerard's Bentley was nice enough, and the sound system played the honeyed tones of Sade's Smooth Operator beautifully, as the expensive vehicle should have. At the restaurant Gerard finally spoke up.

 
          "I just get the feeling that you don't exactly respect what I do." Sullen, Gerard pushed his tilapia around on his plate with his fork
.

 
          Danny pointed her fork at him. "I don't know what you're talking about, Gerard. You know I respect what you do.
"

 
           Dishes and flatware clattered around them as they finished up their lunch at Leo's. The upscale Italian restaurant was a popular lunchtime spot and had been highly recommended by the staff at Gerard's clinic.

 
           "Danielle, we know that's not true. Every chance you get you criticizeour clients and the services we perform. You just threatened to sue the producer of the show! What happens if he decides to cancel the series behind your little tirade? The plan with the reality show is to showcase what we do and to draw more interest to the spa.
"

 
          "They are not going to cancel the show because I told them I didn't want to be on camera. Now who's being dramatic, Gerard?" This is not how she expected this lunch to go
.

 
          He exhaled a frustrated sigh, placed his elbows on the table and crossed his hands in front of his face. "I just get the feeling that you have issues with what I do for a living. And since when is being a surgeon such a bad thing? Sometimes you act like I'm a common criminal.
"

 
          "You feel that way because I expressed my opinion?" She looked at him incredulously. "Honey, we are not always going to share the same opinion. You like the New York Giants and I like the New Orleans Saints. It's not the end of the world. That's just part of being in a relationship. I admit I don't understand elective surgery to change how you look. That's coming from my background of having surgery as a kid to save my life.
"

 
           She indicated the scar that ran between her breasts. "This wasn't a choice. This was something that had to be done to keep me alive. I don't see myself going under the knife unless my life is in danger. If I say something bad about someone having plastic surgery, that in no way is a slight against you. I've seen the differences you've made with children through the Angel Faces Network and I've seen the results of some of your patients when you were working at the hospital. You have a precious gift. With your hands you're able to change lives and make people feel better about themselves.
"

 
          For a few seconds he was silent, considering her words. "That's really how you feel?
"

 
          "Yes." Her hand crossed the span of the table and touched his
.

 
          "I guess you're right. Like you said, we don't have to agree on everything." His eyes softened, seeking hers. "Danielle, I know we spoke about this before, but if you want to get rid of that scar, it would be just a simple procedure.
"

 
           She was a little miffed. This would be the third time he mentioned her surgical scar. It was like he thought she didn't meet his standards or something. "Honey, I'm fine. Without this scar, I wouldn't be who I am. If it makes people uncomfortable to look at, then too damned bad!
"

 
          He nodded. By the way he was mulling over his words, she knew he was thinking about something else. "Dominick asked me again when you were going to be able to have dinner. You know with Cassandra and the other wives.
"

 
          "I'll have to check the weather report and see if Hell froze over yet!" She returned, throwing a little attitude into her neck motions
.

 
          "Danielle." He admonished. "Cassandra, Tricia, and the other girls have been trying for over a month to get you to join in some of their activities. They play tennis. They go to the health club, and a couple of them sit on some local charities. They want to have something to welcome you to Arizona, and they want the chance to get to know you.
"

 
           Gerard may as well have been speaking Mandarin because what he was saying was going in one ear and out the other. There was no way in hell she was going to spend any time with those rich, spoiled bitches. Especially Cassandra Hopkins or Cassie as she now called herself. She had a hard time believing, after the first fiasco of a meeting in New York at the fundraiser, that Cassie would want to be anywhere near her.

 
          "You can tell them that I am the future Mrs. Lone Wolfe. I have no interest in wasting my time with them.
"

 
          "Danielle, I can't exactly tell my colleagues that my fiancée doesn't want to be associated with their wives. How do you think that would look?
"

 
           "Frankly Honey, I don't give a damn how it looks. You remember what those harpies are like. You were listening in on our exchange back on the night we first met. If you think I'm walking into an ambush alone, you've got another thing coming. I love you, but c'mon, berealistic.
"

 
          "So what am I supposed to tell them? What? You hate their wives?
"

 
          "Hate is such a strong word." She considered. "I don't hate anyone. Just tell them that I would not sully my lungs with the same oxygen they breathe.
"

 
          "Danielle." he scolded
.

 
          Danny could see that he was not finding amusement with her snarky attitude. She threw her hands up. "Fine, tell them I'm backlogged with work on the magazine. The editor I replaced left unexpectedly and I've been fighting to keep up with my workload. That ought to keep them content for a while. Although when you mention 'work' to those gold diggers their brains might explode.
"

 
          He couldn't help but chuckle. "Danielle, what am I going to do with you?
"

 
           Her eyes sparkled at him from across the table. "I don't know, but hopefully something particularly nasty when you get home from work tonight."

 
           "Your wish is my command milady! Go ahead and take the Bentley back to the clinic to get your car. I see Dominick at another table. I'll catch a ride back with him. I have to talk shop with him anyway."

 
          She walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll see you at home tonight.
"

 
          She was walking away from the table when he stopped her. She turned back to him
.

 
          "Danielle." He whispered. "Wear that little thing I like tonight, okay.
"

 
          She passed him a wink and was gone
.

 
           Danny decided not to return home to work but instead chose to go to her bat cave, as she called the rented apartment above the bookstore. Everything in the small apartment belonged to her or was inherited from her family. From her Grandmother's antique Tiffany lamp, to the desk that had once belonged to her father, whenever she wanted to feel at home Danny came to her apartment not only to work but relax. Her new job was just the thing she needed to silently declare her independence from Gerard
.

 
           Along with being her little piece of N'awlin's in Arizona, the bat cave was turning out to be a valuable office. She had talked the Bureau into giving her some pretty nice hardware. She had two top of the line computers, a portable laptop so she could work on cases away from her office and a desktop model with lots of hard drive space that stayed at her apartment. For entry into the Fed's servers, the two computers were connected to a wireless connection that was as secure as Fort Knox. A white erase board was erected in what was supposed to be the living room space. The board was used for taping photos and jotting down any info that would be pertinent to cases as she worked through them. She also was given a handy dandy smartphone that could be used to contact the Bureau or if they needed to contact her.

 
           Danny took another stab at the Dizzy J's drive-by shooting case, this time focusing on the whiteboard with the four suspects and Dizzy's death photo. When Danny slipped into the spirit realm, Dizzy was patiently waiting for her.  She stood next to Dizzy in the spirit realm at the virtual recreation of the crime.   He looked at himself on the ground pointing out to her tire tracks amidst the shell casings and spilled blood.  Witnesses had reported seeing a late model Ford Econoline van flee the scene, while Dizzy was now pointing to a tricked out 1980 something or other Monte Carlo hiding out of sight around the corner from the shooting. The vehicle was well known by the victim because it had belonged to his former best friend who had become a vicious enemy when he had joined a rival gang.

 
          Now awake she typed up a letter to her contact in the Los Angeles Police Department with this new information. Danny unconsciously flexed the ring finger on her right hand, where Gerard had placed her engagement ring
.

 
          No matter what she did, the ring was never comfortable on her finger. She had been to several jewelers who had sized it for her to no avail. The garish thing which Gerard insisted she wear was still an irritant to her. It got so bad that sometimes when he was not around, Danny took it off for a little while
.

 
          She removed the ring, placing it on her desk. She was trying to finish her work and didn't need any discomfort to slow her down. Danny finished and looking at her small desk clock it was now after six pm. She slipped the ring back on, locked up shop and went back to the house ready to put that silky black negligee on that the good doctor was expecting her to be wearing
.

Chapter Fiv
e

 
           Aiden Stone's muscular calves begged for mercy as he pushed back against the leg press, but he gave no quarter. The sled-style leg press was killing him, sweat pouring down his brow and face soaking his gray-colored tee shirt and matching shorts. Fire burned from his solid calves all the way to his muscled thighs, but it didn't bother him. It was a good burn. After a few more reps, he decided that he'd had enough punishment for this workout. After mopping his sweaty brow with the end of his tee shirt, he realized he had an admirer
.

 
          A pretty blonde with a pixie cut had been watching him since he had entered the workout room. She had tried her best to look like she wasn't watching him, but being a former Marine turned FBI Special Agent, being watched was one of those things he couldn't miss. Matter of fact, he had seen her watching him for the past few weeks around FBI Headquarters
.

 
           "How you doing?" He asked while wearing a charming smile across his mouth, as she moved up and down the elliptical machine. His large hands were gripping the towel around his neck.

 
           "Good. How about you?"She returned breathlessly, a coy smile working across her face
.

 
          "Not bad at all." He returned, eyeing the way her breasts in the tight fitting leotard bounced in time with the machine's rhythm
.

 
           They took a few minutes talking about the cases they were currently working on, and Aiden managed to charm the essential stats out of her which of course staring into his eyes she gave up freely.  She had been an agent for two years investigating white collar crime at the New York FBI headquarters. She was in the midst of tearing down a massive Ponzi scheme operation. She was headed down south to see if she could gain any more traction in her investigation. The Bureau shipped you where you needed. Such was the life of a special agent
.

 
          Aiden and the female agent made plans to go out to dinner if their schedules allowed, maybe even going back to her hotel room for a little bedroom aerobics he hoped. Neither of them was looking for anything serious and that was just the way he liked it. She would be leaving in a few weeks, and he wouldn't have to worry about the awkwardness of sleeping with a coworker, even if she did work in a completely different division. He wasn't about to let a woman get under his skin, and he wasn't looking for any kind of a steady girlfriend. He was having too much fun being on the loose
.

 
           Aiden was a player, of course, but that didn't mean he hated women. Being the only male child in a family of three sisters, his parents had taught him how to cherish and respect the female gender. He loved women and enjoyed spending time with them, but he wasn't the fall in love and makean ass out of yourself type. Over the years he had made several friends with benefits, and they still remained friends. At nearly thirty-five years old, he was beyond the love thing with the buying flowers, romance and the unicorns farting rainbows shit
.