Bound by Moonlight (2 page)

She’d never fit into the home scene, anyway. Too many rules and regs. But lately she’d been thinking about maybe giving the folks and school another chance. Probably because of the weird shit.

She paced in front of the clinic, her feet pinched by her new boots, then tried the door again. Cupping her hands by her eyes to lessen the glare, she peered inside. No lights were on, just the familiar soft fluorescent
glow. Damn, where was the doc? If she didn’t hurry she’d miss her bus, and she couldn’t afford a cab.

Maybe she could call home, just this once. They’d come get her. She was sure of it.

She straightened and glanced about her gritty surroundings. It looked like a scene from one of those end-of-the-world movies. Steam roiling out of the alleyways, swirls of white over oppressive gray, the empty streets bled dry of all life. In the grainy light she could see her reflection in the grated window: a cold, frightened little girl with teased auburn hair, hiding behind heavy makeup and garish clothes. Alone.

Then she heard a noise from around the corner of the building. The doctor—good.

“About damned time.”

She dropped her cigarette and ground it out under the toe of her platform boot, then stepped off the curb to check the alley. A vehicle was parked at the far end, squat and dark in the shadows and mist. She started walking toward it. She should have gone to the side door instead of waiting out front like an idiot.

Suddenly the headlights came on, bright and blinding. Shielding her eyes, she kept walking. “Hey, Doc, it’s me, Kikki. Turn those off, will ya?”

She heard the low purr of the engine coming to life, and stones crunched as the car moved toward her at a slow, stalking pace.

She froze, then started backing toward the street, hearing the girls’ whispers warning her to be careful, warning of the danger. She scrambled and ran, darting to the safety of the sidewalk. She fumbled in her purse, looking for her pepper spray.

The car edged into view, turning onto the street to stop in front of her. Then the passenger window slowly rolled down.

She exhaled a shaky breath. Probably just a john looking for some early action. She straightened, cocking her hip and tossing her head. Maybe he’d be willing to give her a ride to the bus station if she threw in a little extra. These new boots were
not
made for walking.

“Hey there. Lookin’ for a party?” she asked.

She started toward the car with an exaggerated roll of her hips to begin the bartering. The door opened. The figure bent toward her, and she started to smile.

“You nearly scared me to death, turning on the headlights like that. What—”

Strong fingers gripped her upper arm, pulling her inside the car before she could think to struggle. Her temple hit the door molding, making everything go bright and glittery like the New Orleans nightlife she loved. A sharp sting at the base of her throat, a flare of burning heat. Then nothing.

The door closed and the car moved in no hurry into the morning mists.

O
NE GLANCE TOLD
Charlotte Caissie what she’d feared from the start. The situation was high risk and potentially dangerous.

She visually swept the area, studying the scene with a cop’s attention to detail. The press were everywhere, seeking scraps to tantalize the public’s hunger for information. The more sensational, the better.

She scowled, wishing she had the authority to make the vultures scatter. Unfortunately, she wasn’t here in an official capacity, couldn’t brush them off with a flick of her badge.
What the hell am I doing here?

The most controversial criminal figure in New Orleans stepped out of a sleek, dark town car, coming toward her with lethal grace and fixed intensity. A shiver rode across her skin.
This
was why she was here. Max Savoie had taken the place of crime kingpin Jimmy Legere, his dead mentor, with frightening competence and control. He’d built his reputation as Jimmy’s unflinchingly loyal enforcer upon tales of gruesome deeds. Rumors, because no one really had a clue as to who—or
what
—Max really was. Except her.

Savoie, with his dark, forbidding looks and ferocious silences, had become her obsession. A smaller prize wouldn’t have drawn her out into this terrifying
arena. Less important stakes wouldn’t bring her to the most daunting endeavor of her career without backup. She cursed him under her breath, yet was unable to take her eyes off him.

Sleek, powerful, and deadly, he still provoked all her senses the same way he had eight years ago, when she’d seen him walk handcuffed through the station as if nothing could touch him.

Tonight he was the sophisticated image of a wealthy businessman, but tailored Armani couldn’t disguise his harshly cut features. A bristle of dark hair arranged by the drag of fingers, the solemn black brows above eyes like pale, impenetrable jade, added to his ruthless mystique.

Unblinking, unsmiling, he stepped right inside her guarded circle of personal space, and offered his arm. “Ready?”

Her hesitation brought no change to his expression. “If you want to get back into your cab, I’ll understand. I would be the last one to fault you for it.” He softly added, “Coward.”

Her spine stiffened. “I said I’d come with you, and I’ll stick it out.”

“Heroically spoken.”

“Now’s not a smart time to be amused at my expense,” she growled. “I’m only doing this for you.”

“I know.” He lifted her hand, pressing her palm to his freshly shaven cheek. “And that means everything to me. You mean everything to me.”

She swallowed hard, her fingertips tenderly stroking his jaw.

He leaned down slowly, making her breath catch,
her eyes flutter shut. At the sound of his quiet chuckle, they flashed open again.

“You’re trying to distract me,
cher.
It won’t work. I’m not leaving.”

She shoved away from him to glare at the gauntlet before them. “Give me one reason why I put up with you.”

He smiled, heat kindling in his gaze. “Because you know that while everyone here is admiring how beautiful you look in that dress, I’ll be anticipating how beautiful you’ll look as I’m taking it off you.”

She eyed him thoughtfully. “Damned good reason. Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“Your enthusiasm is underwhelming, but the reward of seeing you naked will sustain me.”

She laughed and finally relaxed as her hand rested in the crook of his elbow. “Let the bastards do their worst. I’m ready for them.”

“Spoken like one of NOLA’s finest. Chin up,
sha
. Don’t let them see what frauds we are. The tough homicide cop and her mobster-beast boyfriend milling with the city’s best. Shall we?”

She hesitated, then said, “I love you, Max.”

His breath hitched as if she’d shot a round into his chest. Then his free hand slid over hers and pressed lightly. “That sustains me, too.”

And together they breached the society that shunned them.

She’d say one thing for her least favorite politician. Simon Cummings sure knew how to throw a wing-ding. He’d pulled strings all over the Crescent City to commandeer the streets surrounding Jackson Square for his block-party-style fund-raiser. The pre-ticketed
event promised plenty of good PR for those contributing to the launch of his new foundation. Security was high to separate the curious from the guests and to protect the celebs from being mobbed by fans.

Charlotte groaned as they were approached by one of the off-duty cops hired to keep things under control. Donner, from Robbery. His smooth, dark face betrayed no emotion as his palm slapped against Max’s shirt-front.

“Sorry. Private party.”

“Sorry. Invited.”

Without breaking from the man’s challenging glare, Max carefully reached into his jacket, keeping one hand visible, and produced the embossed card. When the officer refused to look at it, he tapped it with one finger.

“That would be me.”

“I know who you are,” Donner snarled. “
What
you are.”

“And I believe you know my date. Who and what she is.”

Donner’s gaze flickered to acknowledge her. “Caissie.”

“Donner. Are you finished, or are you going to piss me off even more by asking to see my identification, too?”

He stepped aside with a grim, “Have a nice evening.”

“Like that’s going to happen now,” she muttered to herself.

The instant they entered the roped-off area, the press swarmed them. Each garnered headlines on their own,
but stepping out as a couple for the first time in public, they were media magnets. Scowling, Cee Cee fielded the rapid-fire questions with a crisp, “No comment.” Max never spared them a glance as he towed her into the fray, until Karen Crawford planted her microphone in his face. Before the Terror of Tabloid Journalism could begin her barrage, Cee Cee pushed between them.

“Back off, Crawford. I’m not on the clock and I don’t have to be polite.”

Her nemesis arched a penciled-in brow. Refusing to let age force her out of her youth-obsessed profession, Crawford now relied on pure shock value to sell herself. Her questions were precisely lobbed grenades. “Detective, this is a glamorous look for you. Obviously you’re enjoying the spoils of Jimmy Legere’s ill-gotten fortune.”

Direct hit.

“I buy my own clothes, Ms. Crawford. A job that you give very little credit to pays for them.”

“I hadn’t credited you with having good taste.” Crafty eyes swept over her escort. “Until recently.”

Max’s arm curled protectively about Cee Cee’s waist, protecting the reporter. “Ladies, play nice. This is a charity event, after all.” He smiled at the news-woman. “You’re looking very elegant yourself, Ms. Crawford. Putting our faces under your byline along with your lies must have paid you well.”

She grinned like a shark. “Not as well as an exclusive would.”

“Dream on, Crawford,” Cee Cee growled. “The only thing exclusive about him is me.”

The reporter chuckled. “Can I quote you? At five
hundred dollars per ticket, you’ve come out as a couple in a big way.”

Cee Cee gaped up at Max. “Five—”

He gave her a warning squeeze and answered the reporter. “It’s an important cause to both of us. Let’s focus there, can we?”

Crawford pounced on the opportunity. “Important why?”

“We both lost our mamas when we were young. We were lucky to have good, strong influences step in to raise us. Others aren’t that fortunate.”

“The Cummings Foundation targets homeless or exploited children,” Crawford pressed. “I know the detective owes much of her rearing to Father Furness and St. Bartholomew’s. But when Jimmy Legere took you in, wouldn’t you consider that more exploitation than salvation?”

His eyes went flat and cold. “No. ’Cuse us, please.” He propelled Cee Cee forward, making her hurry in her four-inch heels to keep up with his long strides.

He was here to make a statement, and when Max set his mind to something he was as subtle as a bulldozer: get out of his way or get plowed under. And she was crazy enough to ride shotgun as he strode into the limelight.

At first glance, Michael Furness appeared more a man given to spirits than the spiritual. His big, coarse figure should have appeared imposing behind the clerical collar, but something in his eyes and smile showed an inner compassion that reached out to the lost and those in need. He’d founded a small church in a rundown neighborhood and opened its doors to all. They
flocked to him, those of bruised heart and soul and body, and he gathered them close. Charlotte had considered St. Bart’s home while her top cop father was working the streets undercover. She and her best friend, Mary Kate Malone, who was the light yang to her dark yin, grew up inside the humble embrace of kindness and care, Mary Kate an orphan, Cee Cee left on her own. She owed the priest more than she could ever express, and Max knew it. Which is why he headed straight for that calm man of God, in spite of—or because of—who was standing next to him.

Father Furness stood on the steps of St. Louis Cathedral speaking with NOPD chief Byron Atcliff.

“I was hoping Max would bring you,” the priest murmured in a surprisingly gentle baritone as he swallowed her in his embrace. “It’s good to see you, Lottie. And Max.” He put out a big hand. “I wish you’d let me give you the proper accolades for what you’ve given to the church.”

“No thanks needed, Father. I wish there was more I could have done.”

Furness patted his hand and released it before Max grew uncomfortable enough to tug away. Praise made him restless, so the priest doled it out in small doses.

“Looks like you’ll have no trouble raising the rest of what you need.” Cee Cee glanced around at the crowd. “A lot of deep pockets here looking for good press.”

“And speaking of deep pockets, I see one I need to fleece.” Father Furness winked at her. “For a good cause, of course. Come see me, Lottie.”

She promised she would, but they both knew she probably wouldn’t unless work brought her to his
door. He gave her another hug and left her to deal with the two very opposite, and at the moment confrontational, men who meant the world to her.

Byron Atcliff was more than just Cee Cee’s superior. She’d practically grown up on the seat of the squad car between him and her father when they were partners on the force. A wiry man, as relentless as Furness was forgiving, Atcliff despised crime in any form. And in his eyes, Savoie was its bold embodiment.

As police chief, he worried over the career of his most decorated detective because of her association with Max. As her godfather, he fretted over the happiness of his best friend’s only child.

He regarded Charlotte with a disapproving frown as she pushed her unacceptable escort in front of him. To his credit, Savoie met his gun-barrel glare without flinching.

“Uncle Byron,” Cee Cee said, trying to soften him up as she linked her arm through the rigid figure’s at her side, “Max Savoie. Max, Chief Byron Atcliff.”

“I believe we know one another by reputation,” Max said.

“Yes, we do,” Atcliff returned just as stiffly. No hand was offered. None was expected, considering At-cliff had spent his career trying to put Savoie and those like him in prison. Or the morgue.