Undercover Attraction (10 page)

“How do you know the owner wasn’t in on it?”
she asked quietly.

“She's the one who called us when she
realized something was going on, and tipped us off once we began
our investigation. Anyway, last night began our third week with no
info, or anything really, until I saw Mike slip the CD into your
bag. Even then I thought it was just something for Mackenzie. Now I
know otherwise. This is the information we have been waiting on.
The drugs are carried out by someone hired to come in and take a
gift, then return it once the drugs are safely off the premises.
The disc, well, it’s as ‘Ace’ said, a compilation of information of
the drugs, who wants them, and even worse, our dealer is into
selling illegal weapons.”

He saw her brain working, taking it all in,
processing it and storing it away in the recesses of her mind. “So
what’s going to happen to me, and Amy, and everyone else?” Her
voice was small, almost as if she was afraid of the answers to her
question.

“We are going to do our jobs, and keep you
all safe. There will probably be a security agent here 24-7 to
watch over you, they will go where you go, making sure these people
don’t get their hands on you, even though I doubt they have any
clue who you are. I have to call in to the station, and get
everything in order, turn in the drugs, and write a report. But I’m
not going anywhere until all this is cleared up.”

Jenna nodded, trying to stay calm when all
she wanted to do was panic. She watched as he rose, then caught
sign of his back and let out a loud giggle. He still hadn’t changed
his shirt after Chuckles had ripped it to shreds.

She had
what seemed like one hundred people swarming in her house. Jacob
had done what he said he would, collecting the drugs in zip-locks
for evidence, writing what each was on the outside of the bags with
a sharpie. When finished, he called his department. Within fifteen
minutes, her home had gone from small to miniscule once his people
filed in.

Jacob, of course, started barking orders to
secure the premises, check the perimeter to make sure no one had
been snooping, and all other sorts of commands Jenna thought were
ridiculous.

Jenna just sat on her couch clutching
Chuckles to her chest, grateful the cat let her keep him out from
beneath everyone’s feet, and watched Jacob take control of her life
as if he had every right. He had told her that she had to go to the
precinct for questioning, even though she had answered all their
questions repeatedly. Standard procedure, he had stated with a
shrug. She had also seen him make a copy of the disc when he
thought she wasn’t looking then stick it in his duffel before
anyone had arrived earlier.

She figured he knew what he was doing, but
whatever had pressed him to make an extra copy was anyone’s
guess.

Then again, I basically had done the same
thing.

After another hour had passed, Jacob sat
next to her. He had gone from playful and teasing to serious in
about one second, and she didn’t know this side of him. It was
rather daunting, knowing that he had this hard side, all business
and no laughter. And she was slightly terrified of him like this.
He was intense, driving all the happy and rainbow colored thoughts
from her head, replacing them with ones of murder and all the bad
things she had seen in the old mafia movies.

He turned to her with his dark eyes piercing
into her. “We have to go to headquarters now for questioning and to
file a report. You can either ride in a squad car, or drive, with
one of us as a passenger. It’s a bit invasive and ridiculous, but
that’s how it is.”

She considered her options for a moment.
Hmm, go in like a convict, or like an innocent woman
. It
didn’t take much thought on her part, and before long, she was
packed in her Camry, with Jacob tucked into the passenger seat, his
duffel bag in the back seat, headed to the station for God knows
what kind of experience.

The thirty minute drive seemed to take
forever. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable in his
presence. Not because he was so intense, but mainly due to the fact
that she never brought men home, and she didn’t know how to deal
with the ‘day after’ a one night stand.

His silence was only making the apprehension
thicker. He hadn’t muttered so much as a single syllable since
leaving her house and she was somewhat grateful that he wasn’t
trying to do the cop thing and tell her everything was going to be
fine.

Nope, he did that earlier, right after he
changed his massacred shirt.

So now, here they were, in a Camry, in
Vegas, silently making their way to his station. She bravely risked
a glance at him every so often, the urge to just look at him
overwhelming while he sat so close to her, his arm bumping hers,
his presence taking up every bit of space in her car.

And she wanted him again. Even after the
slight soreness lingering where he had so thoroughly ravished her.
She couldn’t deny it. Her eyes were continuously drawn to his
sculpted mouth, and she could feel herself clench, warmth and
wetness following in its wake.

But it couldn’t continue. She knew that
better than anything else. Cops were generally reluctant to settle
down. Whether because of the danger they could bring to a family,
or because of the hours required, she didn’t know. She just wasn’t
the type of girl a guy would be willing to have more than a fling
with. College taught her that lesson.

Last night would be a fond memory, tucked
deep inside a box in her mind, only to be brought out when she was
alone and feeling sorry for herself.

He had offered her more this morning, a
second- or third-round of amazing sex, but she hadn’t taken him up
on it. She rather thought that he wanted as much as he could get
from her before going their separate ways. Eventually he would tire
of her and leave anyway, so she would rather not prolong the
inevitable.

She wanted no broken heart in this deal.

He was thinking pretty hard when she looked
at him again, but she refused to let the issue drop without making
sure he knew it was over.

“Look, I never do the kind of thing I did
last night. And now I’m tied up in this mess. I wanted to make sure
you understood that last night was just that- last night. No today,
no tomorrow, just last night. I’m sure you aren’t looking for a
relationship and I’m not exactly your type if you were.”
Wish I
were, though
. She took a deep breath and continued, “Thanks for
last night, but it won’t happen again. I don’t want to make it out
to be anything more than what it is.”
Please keep this
simple,
she said inside, knowing that he could make this much
more awkward than it already was.

He just sat there silently studying her. He
had already resolved himself to the fact that he would probably
never see her again, but her stated finality of it made him want to
plead with her. Last night had been the best sex of his life and he
hated leaving it at that. But he could tell she was determined to
be done with him, had convinced herself he wouldn’t want anything
other than a one night stand.

Finally he nodded. “If that’s the way you
feel.”

She released her breath in a whoosh and
smiled at him. “Thanks for not making this difficult.” Even though
on one secret level, she wanted him to deny everything she had said
and demand more, another chance, but she knew it was for the best.
I mean, who could really fall in love overnight
?

Jacob just inclined his head and turned to
stare out the window for the rest of the ride.

#

She went through all the motions again.
Answering question after question, until well into the evening.
Jenna wanted nothing more than to eat, shower, and curl up in bed
after her exhausting day.

Jacob had disappeared when they arrived at
the precinct and she hadn’t had so much as a glimpse of him since
then.

The detective questioning her had just left,
leaving her alone to study the rather drab room. It was almost like
the questioning rooms in movies, minus the one-way mirror and with
a vase of daisies on the table.
The interrogation room for the
innocent people, instead of the guilty.
The door had a window
to it and she could catch people moving about in the hall
outside.

There was another window on the outside
wall, with bars of course, but she welcomed the distraction that
the birds brought her. Several had stopped to perch on one of the
many limbs of the tree planted right outside.

She was standing there watching one fat
little bird chirp merrily as he hopped back and forth when the door
opened again.

“Hi, Ms. Howell, I'm Chief Nichols.”

She stood and shook his hand when he held it
out to her and then sat back in her chair. He sat a tall styrofoam
cup in front of her then held out a handful of single shot creamers
and sugar packets.

“I figured you could use this by now,” Chief
Nichols said.

“Thank you.” She took the coffee and mixed
in a packet of sugar and cream, thankful that it would at least
keep her stomach from growling for a bit longer.

“I just need you to review the reports, and
sign them, and we will be finished here. We also want to question
your friend about the guy who followed her home, asking about the
bag.” Another detective walked in carrying a stack of papers. He
set them on the table next to Chief Nichols, whispering something
unintelligible and left quietly.

He began again once they were alone. “I
figured getting your friend in here would go easier if you
mentioned we needed to talk to her. Of course, we will also need to
secure her place since the perp actually followed her there. I’d
rather have her willing to help us, than just barging in on her.
You can see where I’m coming from after today, I’m sure.”

She definitely could, especially since she
had no choice in the matter. Nodding, she took another sip of her
coffee.

“These are the reports, both your own and
Jake’s.” He slid the stack across the table to her. “Please look
over them while I go take care of another matter. If everything is
correct on yours, sign the top sheet where the X is. I'll be back
in a moment.”

With that, she was alone again, a thick
stack of papers in front of her. So she began to read.

#

“No, Dad. She isn’t going to go for it.”
Jacob sat in his father’s office, his feet propped on a box sitting
in front of him, watching the expression on the Chief’s face. It
was one argument he agreed with, but he loathed to place Jenna in
another uncomfortable situation. Especially since she had been so
specific about them going their separate ways.

Of course, as he expected, his father was
hearing none of it.

“She will if it means her protection. And
aren’t you the one who stated she needed protection in the first
place?”

Jacob let out a big sigh, running his
fingers through his short hair. “Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean me.
Get Alex to do it, or Rhonda. Jenna may feel more comfortable if
it’s female, instead of me.”

Police Chief Stewart Nichols just looked at
his son. There were very few times that Jacob had ever argued with
him over anything, but he could see that Jacob was being rather
adamant about not wanting to look over the girl. He could sense
something more to the story.

Oh, don’t get him wrong, he knew how Jacob
had come to be in her house. He had assigned Jacob to the strip
club assignment because his son was the best undercover
investigator they had. Well, both his sons, but Alexander was out
on something else for him. Granted, he had gotten a good laugh on
Jacob’s behalf when he came in cursing after a week of ‘stripping’
and no evidence.

Stewart saw something different about his
son when he talked about the girl. And after thirty two years of
watching his eldest son become what he is today, he couldn’t wait
to watch him fall in love and have tons of grandbabies for him to
bounce on his knees.

Frankly, he was getting ready to retire. Of
course he had told no one of this. The station would probably burst
into flames. But he knew when it was time and by damn, the
remaining assignments he sent his sons on would be meaningful, if
possible.

“Son, you have already spent the night with
her, she knows you already. Alex is on another assignment and
Rhonda will still need to be at the club watching her end of the
ropes and trying to apprehend Mike. I trust you to watch her better
than anyone else.”

“What about when I am working? I can’t take
her with me,” Jacob grumbled out, finally conceding he had lost,
but trying for a few last pleas.

“You don’t have to come in to the station.
Just the club and when you go there, I’ll have someone else on her.
Hell, maybe I’ll watch her. She seems nice enough.”

“You haven’t met her cat.”

His father’s brow raised in question.

“Never mind, Dad. I’ll do it, but you have
to be the one to tell her.”

The old Chief smiled to himself as his son
left his office. This was going to be fun to watch.

#

She was pissed off. Again.

Apparently the stupid stripper she had hired
to get the drugs out had botched the orders. She would take care of
that minor inconvenience shortly.

First was the task of recovering the drugs
and the disc that accompanied them. Unfortunately Mike had lost
both of them. She had ordered him to find them as soon as he had
left the club last night, but he had reported in this morning that
the girl he had followed home wouldn’t give him any information on
where the package had gone. Not to mention she had effectively
slipped from his grasp by giving him a heavy dose of
pepper-spray.