Sex, Lies and Midnight (24 page)

That was as much opinion as fact, but Hunter just nodded.

“He employs three people. Two salesmen and a mechanic. His girlfriend appears to be an unpaid helper. About the same time the drug accusations started, he began dating said girlfriend, who is his own daughter’s age. That doesn’t speak to the crime itself, except that from what I’ve heard, he’s only dated once since his wife died twenty-some years ago. That liaison exploded after destroying his relationship with his children and he vowed to stay single.”

“You think the girlfriend is involved? Or working for him?”

“I think she’s a problem and that she has an agenda that has nothing to do with dating a guy twice her age.”

Hunter nodded again, this time relaxing enough to take a drink of his coffee.

“Caleb Black is a question mark. He conveniently stepped into the sheriff’s job after arresting the man who previously held that position. He’s hiding things, but doesn’t have a criminal vibe. There’s tension between him and his father, just as there is between Tobias and Maya.”

“And Maya Black?”

“Is innocent.”

Hunter’s brow rose and he slowly set the coffee cup back on the table.

“There’s no reason to suspect otherwise,” Simon defended.

“There’s
always
reason for suspicion,” Hunter returned. “Of anyone.”

Simon agreed. At least, he’d agreed before he’d met Maya. But now he knew her. He believed in her. And in her innocence.

His feelings must have shown on his face, which was disconcerting to say the least. Because Hunter gave him a long, pitying sort of look then shook his head.

“A week ago someone reminded me that Maya Black had a criminal record. And that was reason enough to hold her under suspicion, to believe she was culpable and should be under surveillance. Ringing any bells for you?”

Simon grimaced.

“You’ve lost objectivity, Barton.”

Simon’s grimace turned to panic.

“Pulling me would be a mistake. My cover is solid. You know it’s solid, or whoever you have on the inside would have taken me out already. Let me close this case.”

“You’re not on this case.”

The hell he’d be booted out. He was the one who’d found the guns. He’d made contact with all of the players, had a solid cover. And more importantly, he wasn’t leaving Maya. Not like this. Tapping one finger on the table, Simon didn’t say a word, though. He just leaned back and waited.

Thankfully, Hunter wasn’t big on playing head games. After a painfully long minute, he nodded.

“You’re on backup,” Hunter decreed, sliding from the booth. “Wait for orders, keep guard on Maya Black, and watch your ass. If you see a chance to break this case, you take it. Regardless of how it’ll affect whatever it is that isn’t going on between you and the daughter of a suspect.”

He stood next to the table, waiting. Watching.

Testing.

Simon forced himself to shut up and wait.

“If you stay on my team, you’ll find out that I’m not a stickler for protocol. But I’m adamant about loyalty.”

Working with Hunter, being on his team, was a huge career leap. The man’s reputation was legend in the FBI.

“You won’t question my loyalty again,” Simon promised.

Hunter nodded and without another word, left.

Simon swigged down the last of his coffee.

He’d fucked up. Simon stared out the window blankly, thinking of all the reasons he loved his career. His job was his life. Everything he was came down to what he did. And he’d worked hard to make his career a success. Damned hard.

He’d dreamed of being with the FBI since he was a kid. He’d actually dreamed that his dad was FBI, the job being the reason he’d had to leave his wife and young son. By his teens, he’d come to accept the truth, that his father was simply a deadbeat loser. But the FBI dream had stuck.

It was all he’d ever wanted.

It was all he really was.

And he couldn’t give it up. Or do anything further to jeopardize it. Not even to protect the woman he was falling in love with.

The bottom line? He had to choose between his career and Maya.

12

SIMON STRODE THROUGH the town square, looking for Maya’s car. They were supposed to meet for lunch, so he’d had the cab drop him off just outside Black Oak. He needed the walking time to think, to strategize.

This was the case of a lifetime. Even now, with multiple people involved and Hunter calling the shots, the bust would still skyrocket Simon’s career.

And Maya was the woman of a lifetime. Amazing and sexy. Funny and sweet. Strong, with deep layers of vulnerability that made him wish he were a superhero who could fix all her problems and make her happy. See her smile.

Simon shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked a rock out of his path. Lucky him, getting to choose between two dreams-of-a-lifetime.

Lost in thought, he paused by the statue at the center of the square and took a deep breath. He didn’t have answers. He didn’t know what he wanted more. So he’d do what he always did when faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem.

He’d wing it.

“Hey, there, big boy.”

It wasn’t until the greeting was followed by a pat to his ass that Simon realized the woman was talking to him.

“What the…” He spun on his heel to glare. So much for lightning fast reflexes and being in the prime of his career. Thank God he’d chosen his ankle holster over holstering his gun at his back as usual. Now that he was officially on the case, he was armed. But he’d been worried about Maya getting too close.

Apparently he should have been more worried about Lilah.

“Happy New Year,” Lilah said, her smile just this side of wicked. “I can’t believe you’re spending the first day of the year alone. What’s up? Did Maya desert you?”

“She’s spending the morning with her dad,” Simon said. And from the tight look on Lilah’s face, she knew that. He had to wonder how Maya’s presence had shifted Lilah’s cushy position. From what he’d seen at the party the previous night, their relationship was starting to fray a bit. “I’m meeting her at Moonspun Dreams for lunch in about twenty minutes, though.”

The friendly look in Lilah’s eyes changed. Became more calculating. She glanced over her shoulder toward Pandora’s café. When she looked back at Simon, she looked a little harder.

“Okay, fine,” she agreed. “You have lunch plans. But you have a little bit of time. How about I show you something?”

He wasn’t big on offending women, but this was getting ridiculous.

“I already told you—”

“Not that,” she interrupted with an eye roll and a playful swipe at his shoulder. “Tobias finished up a gorgeous custom bike. The tank is airbrushed with a really sexy image over the flag of Texas. You’ll love it. The image is my silhouette, naked. And then there’s the Texas thing and you being from there and all.”

He tried to ignore the naked part of her description and focused on the flag. Baffled, he shook his head. “I’m not from Texas.”

“No? But you have the accent and boots. That says cowboy to me.”

Right. Because there were no other Southern states. Simon debated. Not about correcting her. That was pointless. But over the invitation.

Gut aching, his muscles tensed as he struggled with a decision he’d secretly been hoping to avoid. If he went with Lilah, he had no idea if it’d lead to a break in the case. If it did, everything would be out in the open. That he wasn’t who he’d told Maya. That he wasn’t what he’d pretended to be. And that he’d used her in his quest to arrest her father.

In other words, he’d lose Maya.

But Hunter trusted him to do his job. To follow the law he’d sworn to uphold. To give one hundred percent to the job he loved, the career that had forged his identity.

What a freaking choice.

Then again, he realized, now that Hunter was here, the truth was going to come out one way or the other. Eventually, Maya would know he’d lied.

So really, there wasn’t any choice.

Miserable, Simon did the only thing he could do. He gestured in the direction of the bike shop and said, “Sure. Let’s go see that bike.”

He kept a careful eye out, knowing if he caught sight of Maya that he’d abandon the investigation without a second thought.

But luckily, or unluckily, by the time they reached the door of Black Custom Bikes, he hadn’t seen even a hint of her, or her car.

“After you,” he said with a grimace, holding the door open for Lilah.

“Hey, Jason,” she said as she waltzed into the storeroom. “I’ll cover now if you want to take your lunch.”

The salesman’s teeth flashed bright and white as he gave her a knowing look. He slid his gaze to Simon and offered a pitying sort of shake of his head.

“Sure enough. I’ll head out for a while. Don’t leave the shop unattended, though,” he said as he headed for the door.

“He do that often?” Simon wondered. “Just leave the shop in your hands?”

Which would make it extremely convenient for Lilah to use the shop for whatever games she liked. Whether they were sexual, or criminal, Simon still wasn’t sure.

Lilah sauntered over and flipped the Open sign to Closed, then locked the door.

“Didn’t he ask you to keep the shop open?”

“Nope. He said not to leave it unattended. I’ll be attending just fine. But in the back.”

He frowned. Time to go. He’d figured on customers, employees, things like that to distract Lilah while he poked around. He had no desire to be in an empty shop with her, though. Especially when she was clearly up to something.

“Oh, look. It’s just you and me,” she said as she turned a circle with her arms outstretched to indicate the empty room.

The radio in the corner was on, playing Top Forties. The orange light on the coffeepot glowed bright and there was a half-eaten sandwich on the small table in the corner.

Obviously Jason had lied about needing to get lunch.

There were a couple bikes in various states of repair, but nothing sporting a state flag.

“I thought we were here to see a bike,” he said, making a show of looking around. But instead of searching for a bike, he was checking for crates, automatic weapons or any other sign of criminal activity that he could report to Hunter.

“Oopsie. It looks like someone’s out test-driving the bike.”

“Right,” he said, since it was clear that she’d known the bike would be gone. He didn’t see the crates at first glance either. He strode over to the expanse of windows flanking the back of the shop facing the alley and Pandora’s café, and said, “Hey, this is convenient. I can go out this way and meet Maya.”

As soon as the words were out, something caught his eye. A large red four-wheel-drive truck all tricked out with shiny chrome was parked at the end of the alley. In the back were at least eight crates, just like the one he’d saw the other day.

Instincts humming, he memorized the license plate number. He knew there were weapons on those crates. And someone was cocky enough to leave them sitting there in the open like that. Hell, even if it were just bike parts, that’d be a pretty dumb move, leaving them out there for anyone to snag.

Which meant whoever it was had to be close by. Probably getting ready to leave. To deliver the guns. Hell, yeah. Excitement surged as Simon realized he could blow this case wide open.

He weighed the options. It’d be a bigger bust, a stronger one, if he could find out where they were taking the weapons. Who they were delivering them to. If he stowed away in that truck, he could find out. Or he could text Hunter and wait for orders. Or, preferably, do both.

Adrenaline zinging, he was ready to rock. He just had to get rid of Lilah.

He turned to ask her if she knew someone who drove a red diesel. As soon as he saw her, though, his jaw dropped and he forgot the question.

“What the hell?”

She was half-naked. Her jacket, shirt and boots were tossed aside so she stood there in unbuttoned jeans and a bra that was putting its elastic to the test.