A Little Harmless Lie 4 (7 page)

“Sure, come in. Just trying to run a security agency here.”

She frowned at him and dipped her wire- rimmed glasses down her nose to peer over them. “One of these days, I’m going to shoot you with your gun. Because of my superior intelligence, I’ll be able to work out a way to make it look like it was Zeke. Then I’ll be super rich because of all your hard work, Zeke will be in jail, and I will cry false tears at your funeral.”

He laughed. “My partner wouldn’t let you frame him.”

“He’s not that bright.”

“What do you have?” he asked with a chuckle.

“I have something you’ve been looking for for a while. Of course, it’s because of my face recognition software, so you do owe me a trip to Alaska.”

He shook his head. “Why anyone would want to go to Alaska is beyond me, especially when you live in Florida.”

“It’s hot here, there are bugs and well, you and Zeke. But I will settle for a weekend in New Orleans, during the winter.”

“I knew my ears were burning for a reason,” Zeke said as he came through the opened door. The tall half- Jamaican/half- Irish man smiled as he said it, but Conner knew better. He was raring for a fight.

Conner saw the look in his sister’s eyes and knew if he didn’t cut this off at the knees, it would end up in another shouting match between his sister and his business partner.

“Listen, I love both of you, but I have a business to run.”

With one fulminating look at his business partner, Maura turned to him. “I found her.”

He didn’t have to ask who. He knew from the way she said it.

Marjorie Rizzoli
.

“Where?”

She slapped a piece of paper down in front of him. It was an ad for a BDSM club. “Hawaii.”

He looked over the ad, searching for the face that had haunted him for ten years. He had let her down, left her open for an attack, and that is just what had happened. Worse, he had lost his best friend and partner because of it.

“She’s a whore?” Zeke asked.

His sister sighed. “No, you jackass. It’s a BDSM club. They don’t pay people for sex there. People pay to be members to hook up. It’s a safe environment for people to explore their desires.”

“Well, I do believe our little Maura knows a little more about BDSM clubs than she should,” Zeke said, irritation and something else Dillon didn’t want to even think about humming in his tone.

“Would you two shut the fuck up?” He looked through the pictures. It was a full- page ad, four different pictures, all tasteful. But he didn’t see her there.

“Where?”

His sister sighed, as she often did with him, and moved to behind his desk. “Right here, behind the bar. Looks like she’s one of the bartenders from the way she is dressed.”

He squinted and then grabbed his magnifier. Zeke stepped up on his other side and leaned over his shoulder. “How did you see her in that?”

“I used that new program I came up with. Remember, I came in and said that I used it?” She said it as if he were an idiot. “I can set it up to scan sites looking for pictures to fit.”

“I knew there was a reason we kept you around here,” Zeke said, but Conner barely heard him. He was zeroed in on the petite blonde behind the bar. Her hair was no longer curly or golden brown. Blonde straight locks dripped over her shoulders, giving her a more chic look. She was always a clever girl, smarter than her father or brother gave her credit for.

“Damn, it is her. Do you know her name?”

Maura shook her head. “I thought about calling, but my worry is that if we do, and it gets back to her... ”

Conner nodded. “She’ll run. And if she hears her father’s trial is heating up, she’ll definitely go underground.”

“I thought I could go.”

He glanced at his sister, surprised. “What?”

“I mean, she doesn’t know me, right? I checked out the club, and they allow you to pay a one- night fee to explore. I could do that, find out what name she’s using. She’ll be easier to track that way.”

Conner sat back in his chair as Zeke shook his head. “You can’t let her do it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, she’s not trained.”

She huffed out an irritated sigh. “First, I am trained. You guys use me all the time when you need someone to go in and check things out.”

“That’s here. Not at some BDSM club.”

“Zeke’s right. I want to make sure this is done right.” He looked from one to the other. “You guys will go together.”

“What.”

They both yelled it together.

“Zeke, you just finished up with the Markinson case. So why don’t you just go along, make sure Maura stays out of trouble.” He turned toward his sister. “You’re the best observer I know. You can watch with Zeke there to make sure nothing goes wrong. Make the arrangements.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment, but he knew they understood they had no choice. He couldn’t go. Marjorie would freak out and run. This way they would get out of his hair and find out everything he needed. And they both knew when he had made a final decision.

“I’m flying first class,” Maura tossed over her shoulder as she stomped out of the room. “And I am not sharing a room with him.”

She slammed the door and Zeke sighed. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend. Or I might find a way to lose your sister over the Pacific.”

He glanced up at his friend. “I trust you to protect her. I know Maura can be a pain, but you know she’s good. You wouldn’t have closed the Markinson’s case without her. Just try to keep the beatings to a minimum.”

Zeke sighed. “I’ll try, but it won’t be easy.”

Once Zeke left him alone, Conner stood and walked to his windows. The buzz of the Miami rush hour was just getting started as he looked down at the stop- and- go traffic. He couldn’t believe they’d found her.

Ten years. Because of his obsession, of his stupidity, he had lost her and his career. He knew she wasn’t dead, had actually gotten a few leads on her, but the trail had died and the FBI had been happy to sweep the whole fuckup under the rug, along with his career. He probably could have salvaged it, if it had not been for his insistence that they look more closely from within the bureau. He knew it had been an inside job.

With a sigh, he turned back to his desk. No use thinking about what he should have done. He would fix his mistakes, give Marjorie back her life, and then get back to his.

He just hoped they were the only ones who noticed her in that ad. If not, there was a good chance her brother or father would kill her.

Chapter Five

You never know what each day will bring. It was the only thing that came to mind when she stepped over the threshold of Dupree’s on Micah’s arm. She had learned it early enough in life that was for sure. It was one reason she never planned, never even thought about the future, other than the next name she needed to use. She noticed a few people look in their direction, but she knew it wasn’t her they were looking at. It was the man now causing her whole body to simmer.

She didn’t blame them. Micah was a man who commanded attention. Most women at least turned their heads to watch him walk by. Being so tall, with the waterfall of black hair down his back and his lean, sculpted body, it was easy to understand the female infatuation with him.

Someone other than May was working tonight, and she led them to the back table, one of the prized places to eat in Dupree’s. Of course, since Micah was good friends with Chris, the owner, she knew it had all been arranged. Not that she was complaining. It had been so long since she’d been on a real date, she was happy just for the experience. He waited for her to slide into the round booth, then he followed, scooting close enough for her to feel his heat, but without touching her. She glanced at him and he gave her a knowing smile.

After the hostess took their drink orders, they were left alone.

“So, what’s your favorite here?” he asked.

She stared at him for a moment longer. “I like the Kahlua Pig Pizza.”

He smiled but didn’t look up. As the silence stretched, she looked around the restaurant. It wasn’t that busy tonight, but they always had customers at Dupree’s. It was gaining a reputation as one of the best places to eat in Honolulu, for price and quality of food. As she returned her attention to the man in front of her, she frowned. He still had said nothing, and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Is there something wrong?”

He glanced at her and then back down at the menu. “No. Just deciding what to eat.”

More silence. It was definitely making her self- conscious. “It’s just that you’re acting like you don’t care if I’m here with you.”

He looked at her now, his gaze capturing hers and his nostrils flaring. This was not the nice guy who had picked her up.

“If I spend too much time looking at you in that outfit, I’m going to throw you on the nearest table and fuck you.”

Every word was bit out as if he was barely controlling himself. The waiter arrived with their drink order as she tried to catch her breath. When he asked what they wanted, they both ordered the pizza. When they were finally alone, she glanced down at her clothes, then back up at Micah who was spending a lot of time on his iced tea.

“What do you mean dressed like that?”

He gave her a glance out of the side of his eyes. “You really don’t know?”

She shook her head. She knew she looked good. In her life before, she’d had the ability to shop at the finest stores and had been taught at her mother’s knee just what to wear and when. But she didn’t think she looked particularly sexy.

He sighed and then faced her, sliding his arm behind her. “I’m used to you in your work outfit. This is different. Your uniform pants aren’t as snug. And while most women would look boring in a pair of jeans and a black T- shirt, you make it... sexy.”

She opened her mouth, but he shook his head.

“I should have never said anything and I wouldn’t have if I had thought you knew what the hell you did to me.”

She felt a bubble of laughter threaten to spill out. She cleared her throat. His eyes narrowed.

“Oh, you definitely deserve a spanking for that insubordination.”

His words flashed out, and they should have irritated her. Instead, the slow steady beat of arousal thrummed through her blood. She licked her lips.

“Ah, I have a feeling you would like spanking.” His voice was low, intimate, seductive.

Her nipples tightened as his tone deepened. His anticipation of something so naughty, so forbidden, had arousal flaring in her tummy. The idea that both of them were aroused turned her on even more.

“But it will have to wait. You aren’t ready, and well, Chris would be pissed if I gave a public display in his restaurant.”

He leaned back against the booth and, odd as it felt, she laughed. He smiled in reaction.

“Yeah, I have a feeling Chris might not like that.”

“And I’m assuming since you didn’t even look at the menu, that you come here often.”

“Yeah. I like the variety of food. Plus, it is one of my favorite places for the pig pizza. You just can’t find anything like that back where I’m from.”

“Oh? I guess that’s the mainland. I’ve been here so many years I forget that they don’t have those things there. Until I have to go back for a visit.”

“You have family back on the mainland?”

He shook his head. “No family. You?”

She sighed. “Nope. Well, I do, but we aren’t speaking. Haven’t for years.”

He nodded and didn’t push. She could feel he wanted to, and that should scare her. Anytime a guy tried to find out her background beyond what she wanted him to know, she broke it off. Men could easily be bought off.

With Micah, she wanted him to want to know more. She was pretty sure he did, but there was a part of her that thought he still thought of this as some kind of game. And just what the hell was she thinking? Wanting a man was simple. That she had dealt with. This was different. Especially when she yearned to tell him everything.

The rest of dinner went without incident, both of them being surprised by how much they had in common. Both had been on their own a very long time and both had a thing for Striker Force One, a computer game. As they strolled down the sidewalk at Waikiki, she breathed in the warm fresh night, and Micah.

“I would have never guessed that you liked to play games like that.”

She shrugged and was brought aware of the fact they were holding hands. It was odd to be walking along the beach, like a normal person on a regular date. Especially knowing the things he wanted to do to her. The things she wanted him to do to her.

“What is going on in that quick mind of yours?”

She looked up, surprised at his description.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s just odd. My family never thought I was that bright. Well, except my brother.” Even thinking of Mark made her sad. The reports of his death came about two years after she’d started running.

“What happened to him?”

“How do you know something happened to him?”

He stopped and looked down at her. “You’re estranged from your family, but I have a feeling this brother and you were closer? There was something in your voice.”

She nodded, thinking of Mark. “We were twins. He died a couple of years after I left home.”

“I’m sorry.”

She glanced up at him and noticed for the first time ever someone was offering her real sympathy.

“Thank you.”

“And your father has to be an idiot not to see how smart you are.”

She smiled and started walking again, tugging him along. “Yeah, well, I’m dyslexic, but I didn’t know it at the time. It took some work to finally understand why I didn’t see words right.”

“Still say he was stupid. You’re pretty clever.”

She smiled at him. “And now why would you say that?”

“One, you know how to manage well, and you know just when someone has had too much to drink.”

“That’s not smarts. That’s just years of working in bars, most of them not near as nice as Rough ’n Ready.”

“Two, you add things in your head.”

Again, he’d surprised her. “How do you know that?”

“I watch my employees. I noticed right away that you could add up a large and complicated order without using the register.”