The Body Hunters (28 page)

"Danielle, Agent Stone, good morning." As always, Lucius seemed alert and wide awake. His suit was impeccably tailored with nary a wrinkle to be seen. He always gave off the vibe that he knew more about what was going on than anybody else in the room
.

"Luc."
Danny greeted him with a nod of her head
.

"Agent Johnson."
 Aiden greeted him
.

"Before we get started on the Cavender case, I do have an update for you Danielle." Lucius began. "The LAPD has picked up the rival gang member responsible for the death of Dizzy J. They were able to locate the vehicle that was involved with the drive-by shooting, and the weapons they collected were linked to several gang homicides in the area. The suspect sang like a canary once he was in custody and implicated a rival rapper whose wife was having an affair with Dizzy. They wouldn't have been able to do it without you, so Danielle, kudos to you.
"

Danny beamed. "Thanks, Luc. I appreciate it.
"

Looking at Danny, Lucius' eyes narrowed into slits. His gray eyes seemed to hover over her neck and the open throat of her shirt. His voice went from warm to snappish.

"Danielle, you may want to use some sunscreen." He indicated her neck and chest area. "You really need to watch it. Being in the Texas sun has left you slightly sunburned.
"

Danny's eyes flickered to
 Aiden and she hit him with a nasty glare. He tilted his head and shrugged giving her a helpless look.

After she had gotten dressed earlier that morning she had complained of the whisker burns he had left on her body. She had been a little bashful about wearing her usual tank top and cotton shirt with the marks on her body, but Stone had convinced her that they weren't as red as she thought. Apparently he was wrong because Agent Johnson had noticed them
.

"This investigation must be keeping you away from your fiancé." Lucius continued, probing into Danny's personal life. "You must have your hands full in Phoenix with wedding plans.
"

Danny corrected him. "Um, actually no Luc, I called off the engagement and as soon as I get back to Phoenix I'll be moving out of the house.
"

Surprised for once, Lucius cut Stone a shrewd look as if puzzle pieces were coming together in his head
.

"I won't pry Danielle, but I'm sorry to hear that unfortunate news." Lucius offered. "But, it's his loss. He'd be a fool to let you slip through his fingers."
              "Thank you for saying that, Luc." Danny returned.
              Back in business mode, Lucius turned to Agent Stone. "You have the video?"
             Aiden nodded and handed the camera to his superior. Lucius watched the video at least three times before commenting
.

 
  "Excellent work, agent. This is exactly what we need to get a warrant. I have a team on standby so we'll get that wiretap started as soon as possible."
         Luc directed his attention to Danny again. "Danielle, would you excuse Agent Stone and me for a few minutes please?"
         "Sure, no problem. Excuse me I'll just grab my purse." As she softly closed the door behind her she shifted her eyes uneasily between and Lucius. She felt the tension in Lucius voice and knew there was trouble looming. His attitude had shifted rather quickly after watching the video several times she noticed.
         "Agent, you want to tell me why Danielle was on the stakeout with you last night?" His naked hostility became unbridled.

"How did you…know?"
  Aiden uttered totally confused.
"I could hear her voice on the video, Agent Stone!" Lucius held up the camera as if it were evidence. "Didn't I warn you about keeping her safe, and yet you defied my orders and took her on a possibly dangerous stakeout? What the hell were you thinking! Didn't I threaten to have your job if anything happened to her?" Lucius Johnson's face went from its normal beige tone to beet red.
"Look, she was fine. I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. She was safe with me."
"She was safe with you?" The veins on Lucius' forehead were now prominent as he continued his tirade. "You have her sitting around in the damned ghetto in the middle of the fucking night in a parked vehicle and you have the audacity to say to me she's safe with you! You are unbelievable! This is inexcusable Agent Stone. I have a good mind to strip you of your badge right here, right now!"
Lucius turned his back and walked to the window, his attention now drawn to the Dallas morning skyline. He took a deep breath and regained his composure and continued in a calmer voic
e

 
"But, despite your extreme lack of judgment as far as Ms. Labouleaux is concerned, you are a good agent.
”

Not sure whether to take it as a compliment or be in fear of losing his job,
 he remained stoic and silent. Lucius now turned and stared him in the eyes, almost daring the agent to make any kind of comment. Getting no response from him, Lucius continued his verbal tongue lashing.
             "Take this as your last warning Stone! You'd better watch who you're getting involved with. One slip up is all we need to compromise this investigation, and we don't need to put innocent people in harm's way, even if you think you can protect them. Civilians have no place in stakeouts, besides I have a gut feeling we're getting close on this and we need it to stick. You got that agent?"
             "Yes sir."  Aiden gritted out. "But I got to tell you that she insisted on going along. She's a real stubborn one."
              "Yeah, don't I know it?" Lucius muttered, his focus now back out the window. "You're dismissed agent, except for one other thing."
             "Yes sir?" Aiden questioned, his hands hot on the doorknob.
            Lucius turned, meeting him eye to eye once more. "You may want to shave off that goatee. You look rather scruffy and apparently it's causing a rash.
"

"I don't think I have a rash."
 He put his hand to his face
.

"I didn't say it was on you!" Lucius turned around and glared at him.
Aiden was taken aback and slightly embarrassed not quite knowing what to say. "Ah, yes sir, I’ll take that into account sir.
"

"It's not a suggestion agent!" Lucius remained at the window while Aiden, wanting to escape anymore lacerations from his superior's razor tongue, slipped quickly out the door
.

"I didn't get you into trouble with Luc, did I?" Danny asked, suddenly looking worried. She’d since returned to the Suburban
.

"Nothing I can't get myself out of."
 Aiden returned unbuckling her from the restraints of her safety belt. "Come here.
"

His hand angled her face upward and his lips joined hers in a kiss. His hands toying in her hair, he took his sweet time as if they had all the time in the world.

"Oh yeah!" he sighed, finally coming up for air. "You're definitely worth getting into trouble for!"              
 

 
 Once he had maneuvered the SUV into traffic Danny announced, "I've got to go back to Phoenix." She had called the airline and ordered her ticket while he was in his meeting with Lucius
.

Aiden
 nearly ran the truck into the back of a little red hatchback. "You're going back to Phoenix?
"

"Um… yes.
"

"Why the hell would you wanna do that?
"

"Stone," Danny spoke to him as if he were a three-year-old. "My stuff is in Phoenix. Like it or not, I have to go back eventually and break things off with Gerard face to face. I need to move my things into the bat cave. You guys pretty much have this investigation under control right now. So you don't need me anymore.
"

"We, I still need your help." He offered weakly. He was seconds from telling her that her fiancé might be involved in this whole mess, but the words were immobile on his lips. Other than the video he had no other proof that the man was involved, and he didn't want to come off as a jealous boyfriend wannabe
.

"Stone, you will be fine without me." She patted his knee reassuringly. "If you do need me, Phoenix is only a two and a half hour flight from Dallas.
"

An hour later, Danny was inside her hotel room zipping her suitcase. She had gathered her belongings and was prepared for her flight. Aiden's distinctive heavy-handed knock sounded on her room door
.

"You ready?" He asked, stepping into the room and looking a little forlorn
.

"Yeah.
I'm all packed.
"

Standing over her his index finger found its way to the part of her scar that ran right above her breasts. His roughened finger leisurely traced its way up and down the old wound. The skin-to-skin contact was especially sensual to Danny because Gerard treated the scar like it was a contaminated part of her body.
Hernow ex-fiancé had tried his best to avoid looking at her scar let alone touching it
.

"Hurry back to me." He requested.
His mouth only a kiss distance from her own
.

Mesmerized, she was still standing there seconds after he had retrieved her luggage and headed out the door
.

Chapter 1
6

After disembarking from her plane Danny caught a taxi back to Gerard's house. Looming before her the dwelling didn't at all seem like home, and she felt like she had been away for months, not just a few days. Taking a deep breath she inserted her key and pushed open the door
.

"Honey, why didn't you call me? I could have picked you up from the airport." Gerard met her at the door looking like he had just stepped out of a Calvin Klein photo shoot dressed in a black designer tee shirt and denim slacks. While she was still holding her luggage and messenger bag he encircled her in a hug
.

Unconsciously she found herself comparing him to
 Stone. There was no way he would allow her to stand there holding luggage. She would have a fight on her hands if she even tried
.

After Gerard released her from his embrace, she dropped her suitcase to the floor leaving her computer bag on a nearby chair. Gerard took her by the shoulders and held her at arms’ length
.

"You look beautiful." He said visually appraising her
.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." She said not really feeling the words. "I thought you were going to be busy at the clinic?
"

Gerard sighed and smiled. "Believe it or not, I do get off days. I've been handling surgeries all week so I thought it was time for a break. I have a full plate tomorrow.
"

She found herself reevaluating her emotions as far as Gerard was concerned. As far as her reaction to his touch, there was no spark, no passion, and no fire. It was like her feelings involving him had been severed and cauterized
.

Aiden
 was another story entirely. Whatever was going on between them was perilous and terrifying. It was so combustible that sometimes it felt like there were volatile fumes in the room whenever they were together
.

Before her departure from Dallas, he had insisted on following her through the airport as far as the security checkpoints would allow. He had not given a damn what anyone said or thought about it and the man had planted a scorching, time-consuming kiss on her right there in the middle of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport
.

Finally showing some interest in her career Gerard asked. "So, how's your work coming along?" He took a seat on the leather sofa his hands casually on his knees
.

She
 lifted one shoulder. "Eh, work is coming along fine." She plopped down on a nearby chair suddenly feeling a little out of place and lost. "It's good I guess.
"

Resting his elbows on his knees his hands clasped together Gerard leaned forward. "This isn't easy to say Danny, but I'm sorry. I dragged you out here and I wasn't supportive. The thing is I would really hate to do is lose you.
"

He had already lost her she thought. "Yeah, I know. Gerard, I just need some time to decide what I really want. I know for a fact that I don't want to jump into marriage right now.
"

"And that's fine." He encouraged. "Whatever you want to do is fine.
"

"I just want to get a few of my things and go. Maybe I'll go to New York again and pay Stephania a visit." All the while she was thinking about getting back to Dallas
.

"That's a great idea. Visit with Stephania and have some girl time. See how you feel when you come back. And it will work out perfectly since I have to go to a surgeon’s conference in Vegas. I'll be gone a couple of days anyway. We'll talk more about it all when we get back.
"

After a few more minutes of uncomfortable small talk Gerard retired to his study to catch up on some paperwork. Danny was left alone for much of the afternoon. She took the time to wash the clothes she had worn in Dallas and pack a few more things. Reaching into her suitcase she extracted the shirt she had worn on stakeout with Stone. She brought the garment up to her nose inhaling the lingering scent of his cologne and aftershave, and she felt a twinge of yearning for the agent.