Lies Lovers Tell (10 page)

Sean was not a happy man. Once again his instincts had paid off and the negative feelings he’d felt about Rosenthal and the ulterior motives for hiring Sean had been accurate. Joseph Rosenthal wanted not only to destroy Brennan & Associates the company, he wanted to destroy Zeke Brennan the man. He stood abruptly, walked out onto the patio and stared across the marina, recalling the conversation with Neil that verified what he’d already uncovered.

After a few brief pleasantries, Sean had gotten right to the point. “You have any new information on Rosenthal for me?”

There was a chuckle on the other line. “How much time you got?”

He’d gone on to verify that Rosenthal had friends in high places just like Brennan: an ex in-law on the city council, a college buddy on the state’s Zoning and Planning committee, and a silent partner who was helping The Rosenthal Group quietly buy up the main corridor of Century City, a high-end residential and business district popular with law firms and movie industry executive offices. Sean’s contact had uncovered sizeable amounts of properties on Olympic, Pico and Santa Monica boulevards, the main arteries through the west Los Angeles community that was purchased by a front but actually belonged to the Rosenthal Group. It was no coincidence that a crony of Rosenthal’s, one who belonged to the same exclusive business club as he and other top-level Rosenthal Group executives, was mayor of Century City. What was surprising was discovering possible shadier connections into L.A.’s notorious drug and gang world, where Rosenthal had purportedly turned when he needed muscle or fire power. Joseph P. Rosenthal was not without his share of buried bodies on his way to the top; more than one smaller firm had bit the bankruptcy dust behind their not being able to keep up with the big boys, namely Rosenthal and Brennan. Sean prayed that the deaths at Rosenthal’s hands were limited to mergers, not murders. Joseph had once said he’d do anything to get the Angel’s Way contract. Did that include putting a contract out on someone’s life?

Sean had to find out, and until he did he was more determined than ever to protect Maya. If Zeke was in danger, then she was too, as was Zeke’s family, top executives, and everyone else close to him. It would be a tricky road to navigate but he had no choice but head down it. Years of discipline normally allowed a clear separation where matters of the head and heart were concerned but when it came to Maya, both his head and his heart was in turmoil. It would kill him to have to be less than truthful with her, but he couldn’t risk telling her that he was Sam Walters, not yet. He’d seen trained military men break down under intense interrogation. He wouldn’t put her in a position to have to cover for him.

That said, he could think of several other positions and ways he’d like to cover her. His body warmed at the thought, even as he reached for the phone. He hadn’t worked it all out in his head, how he would keep his professional and personal lives compartmentalized in a way that kept Maya safe but he was sure of one thing: he couldn’t live another moment without her. With gritty determination, he reached for his phone.

It rang just as he picked it up. His heart jumped at the unexpected sound, and at the number.

“I was just getting ready to call you. I miss you, Maya.”

Maya swallowed the lump in her throat. His voice was like syrup over pancakes, warm and sweet. She tried to maintain a professional demeanor and keep her mind focused on the business at hand. “I need to talk to you, Sean.”

“Of course. Where should we meet?”

“I’m in my car now and can be at the Ritz in thirty minutes. Are you there?”

“Waiting for you,” he said softly.

The call ended without a good-bye.

Sean looked at the phone as he flipped it closed. This was going to be an interesting meeting, to say the least. There was hurt, anger, and mistrust on both sides. But there was also intense desire and mutual appreciation. He’d hoped in the end the last two traits would still be standing.

Thirty minutes later, he answered a firm knock at the door. He opened it and pure loveliness walked in. It had only been a few days since their encounter in Zeke’s office, but it had seemed a lifetime ago. He inhaled her beauty as if it were the very air he needed to breathe, and forced out the fire that blazed in his loins within seconds of seeing her. He needed answers, not ardor. And he would get them now.

“I’m glad you called.”

“We need to talk.” She faced away from him as she spoke, her eyes focused on flying birds and ocean waves. She couldn’t look at him, not yet. She thought her anger would prevent her from feeling anything else, anything such as longing or desire. She’d been wrong.

Sean took a couple steps toward her and then stopped as he saw her shoulders tense. His hands clenched and unclenched with the desire to touch her, but he refrained.

“To say I was angry to discover that Macy Williams was Maya Jamison is an understatement,” he said at last. “I battled with whether or not to ever speak to you again, but in the end, I knew that what we had between us was at least worthy of an explanation.”

“Oh,
at least
,” Maya spat out mockingly as she spun around. “It was
at least
worthy of a word or two between us to find out why you have been spying on my company, and probably me in the process, at the behest of our adversary, Joseph Rosenthal.”

Maya walked toward Sean as she continued her tirade. “You’re angry? Well, suck it up brother because you’re not the only one. Are you going to stand there and tell me you, Mr. Hot Shot from London Private I, didn’t know I worked at B&A, that I was Zeke’s top assistant? And if you can tell me that, then tell me this: who was the jolly Black giant, your new female friend you brought back up to your room the night of your
discovery?
That it took you less than eight hours to find my replacement speaks volumes about what we had between us.”

Her breath was hot on Sean’s chest as she finished, and her eyes shot daggers. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Sean Wynn. I can’t believe I ever thought that coming here was a good idea!” She moved to walk around him, out the door and out of his life.

How does she know about Tangier?
That was only one of many questions he was determined to have answered before he allowed her to leave. His hand was an iron grip on her arm as he stopped her, his voice low and deadly.

“You’ve had your say, and now I will have mine.”

They stared each other down for a moment, chests heaving, hot breath mingling. The anger was like fire, stirring, burning, and it mixed with a fire of desire, unwanted yet unstoppable. Each fought to quell the flames from both sources, even as they longed to quench their thirst.

Maya took a deep breath and broke eye contact. Sean loosened his grip from her arm and took a step back.

“No, I did not know that you were both Macy and Maya, and therefore I did not know you worked for Zeke. And yes, I was initially hired by Rosenthal to investigate B&A. But because of information uncovered as the investigation unfolded, along with an unexpected development that has put this whole operation on another level for me personally, I decided to expand my investigation to include both Zeke and Joseph. It still does.”

Maya remained quiet as she absorbed what Sean had told her. Purposely avoiding the bed, she instead chose a chair at the table, sat down and crossed her arms. “So you’re admitting to continuing to investigate Zeke even as you claim to work for him?”

Sean joined Maya at the table. “It’s complicated, Maya, but yes, I’m still checking out B&A and Zeke’s dealings with the state, and specifically with the Angel’s Way project. But it isn’t to help Joseph Rosenthal bring him down. There are billions of dollars at stake here, and those two aren’t the only ones who want to claim Angel’s Way as their own. I believe there will come a time when I can tell you more than that, but client confidentiality prevents me from doing so now.”

“Does it prevent you from telling me about you and Sam Walters?”

Sean hid his surprise at the abrupt subject change. This is where it got tricky and he called upon years of investigative discipline to keep his cool. He would be as truthful with her as he could, while not revealing any information that could come back to haunt either of them.

He leaned back in his chair and studied Maya, unconsciously licking his lips in the process.
Damn, you are fine, girl. The things I want to do to you…
He looked past her to the darkening sky outside to redirect his thoughts back to her question.

“You know how I know him,” he answered casually. “Our paths crossed back in London.”

“And here too, correct?”

Sean nodded slowly. “Correct.”

“Just how close are the two of you?”

“Damn girl, you sound like I’m on trial or something.” He picked up the room service menu lying on the table. “Hey, are you hungry? I can order up a light dinner.”

Maya had barely eaten all day, but the knots in her stomach choked her appetite. “Are you trying to avoid my question?” she asked with sista-girl attitude.

“No,” he answered calmly. “I’m trying to be polite.” He continued to eye her as he placed the menu down, and answered as truthfully as he felt possible. “Sam Walters is part of my investigation.”

“How so?”

“Maya, believe me, there’s nothing I want to hide from you. But at the same time, this is a very delicate investigation of some very powerful and sometimes unscrupulous people. I don’t expect you to fully understand this, but there are some things I simply can’t share. I will say this though,” Sean reached for Maya’s hand which rested on the table. He stroked it softly. “I would never do anything to hurt you, or jeopardize your safety. You can trust me on that.”

Maya jerked back her hand. “Is that why you invited another woman to your room? I know we haven’t been intimate long, and I have no claims on you, but is that how you show how much I mean to you, how much you care? You didn’t even call me after leaving Zeke’s office.”

“Would you have answered if I did? And the phone works both ways you know. Until today, I hadn’t received a call from you either.”

“Yeah, well my life is complicated and it’s not all about you.”

“I wish it were,” he said softly. His demeanor changed abruptly as he continued. “Tangier Reed is who you saw two nights ago, the night after we ‘met again for the first time’ in Zeke’s office. She’s a friend of mine from London, who flew over uninvited. I was as surprised as you to find her here.”

Maya’s eyes threatened to water but she clamped down on the pain. “A friend, huh?”

“Yes, Maya,” his dark brown eyes bore into hers as he continued. “She’s a friend.”

Maya rose from the table and walked to a large, exotic floral arrangement adorning the dresser top. She fiddled with a lush bird of paradise stem as she continued. “It’s probably silly to ask what kind…the answer’s pretty obvious.”

“Not as obvious as it seems. I’ve known Tangier for a couple years and we had what I guess you could call an agreement, a no-strings-attached relationship where both she and I were free to come and go as we pleased. Both of us travel quite a bit, and she has a second home in France so…we’d see each other when we were both in London.”

Maya turned to face him. “That doesn’t sound like the type of understanding that would have a woman flying all the way from London to see you, uninvited.”

Sean then told Maya what had happened since he’d been here, the repeated phone calls from Tangier, his explicit instructions that she not come over; how it had been three months since he’d been intimate with Tangier and how there had been no one else since he met Maya. He even told her about the time when he’d mistakenly posed a question meant for Maya to Tangier, after their call had been disconnected.

“Remember that,” he asked. “When I asked if you were ready for my tongue?”

His voice caressed her soul as she remembered—both the conversation and the feel of his tongue. But she couldn’t think about that now, she had to stay focused.

Finally she nodded her head and answered simply, “Yes, I remember.”

A quiet moment passed between them and then Sean spoke. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

That question immediately changed the atmosphere for Maya. She’d been on the offensive but now the tables were turned. There was much she wanted to tell Sean, but little she could actually share. That was a common reality between them; if only he knew.

“Yes, there are many things I want to share but like you, I can’t right now.” Without thinking, she went and sat on the bed. Her hand brushed the silky comforter as she offered what little she could: her desire to build up enough contacts to strike out on her own, the mentorship Zeke had provided and how that relationship was now complicated and convoluted by his sexual liaison with her nemesis, Jade. Finally, she told him about Stretch, his jail woes and Zeke’s financial intervention. She hoped this information would help him understand that whatever she did she felt she had to do. Her future depended on it.

Sean came to stand beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Baby,” he said softly. “You’re as tight as a drum. Here, lay down.”

“No, Sean, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I still haven’t told you why I came over. It’s because I need your help. It may be a conflict, but I have to ask if there’s anything you know about Sam Walters that can help me and B&A secure Angel’s Way?”

“There are many ways I can help you,” he answered, as he lay her face down across his bed. “And I’ll do whatever I can, within the confines of my own investigation.” He expertly kneaded her shoulders and massaged the tension from the base of her neck. His fingers felt like heaven as he massaged her scalp, then massaged his way across her shoulders and down her back. He stopped only long enough to slide off her sandals and continue massaging her calves and feet. He forced his mind to stay neutral, his thoughts focused solely on easing her stress.

Maya wanted to stop him, knew she should stop him, but what he was doing felt so good. She could feel her stomach unknotting even as the tension left her back. As soon as he finished rubbing her last pinky toe she’d get up and leave. They could finish the conversation later, in a public place where she wasn’t in danger. That’s right, as soon as he finished with the pinky she would…