Chapter 7
Her seat dropped out from underneath her, and Charlie smacked her hands to the armrest with the same force her ass hit the cushion. Dammit. She clicked her seatbelt together and jerked on the strap. Whatever idiot had been in charge of delaying the flight instead of canceling it altogether should be fired.
“Give me two seconds, Chuck.”
Swiveling her head toward Xander’s aisle seat, she darted a frown between the concentration creasing his brow and the weird letter-number-symbol combo that had been scrolling across the screen of his open laptop ever since the wheels had left the tarmac.
And what, exactly, was he planning to do? Part the storm with a wave of his hand? “I didn’t realize your super powers came with the ability to control the weather.”
One side of his low-down dirty mouth curled in a devilish smile, but his focus stayed glued to the monitor. “It’s important or I wouldn’t even be on. Hold tight. Almost done.”
And then what? He could get all grabby like he’d been inside the airport? Try calming her fears by insisting they hold hands or perhaps tucking her arm through his?
Hey, great idea. She squinted at him out of the corner of her eye. While he was at it, why not put his arm around her? Maybe he could play with her hair as he leaned in for a kiss.
Then he could yank her against his rock-hard body like he’d done outside the hospital, and set about liquefying her bones until she kissed him right back.
God. She pulled a measured breath and slowly exhaled. As if she wasn’t already walking on enough pins and needles to rip out every seam in her wardrobe.
The plane shimmied like it had hit a set of railroad tracks. A few passengers traded nervous glances and adjusted uncomfortably in their seats.
The second Xander had taken control of that kiss, every tectonic plate on the planet had shifted under her feet. If she’d had any doubts, those had vanished the moment they’d returned to her apartment and found the door hanging open, everything inside ransacked from the resulting quake.
Broken dishes, dislodged mattress, clothes strewn all over the place and furniture upturned.
Charlie closed her eyes, but the only thing that accomplished was setting the perfect back drop for the post-apocalyptic images flashing through her head. Coming home to that catastrophe had been like walking into a war zone. She blinked and stared down at her lap, the seatbelt cinched so tight the tension threatened to cut off the circulation to her legs.
One step inside, and Xander had freaked, and it would’ve been an outright lie if she didn’t admit so had she. All night, she’d struggled to keep her panic in check while the two of them had dealt with the clean-up, reminding herself that at least whoever had been there hadn’t found the laptop. For once, her luck had held out and she’d been smart enough to slip the flash drive in her pocket before heading out the door.
But Xander… Lifting her head, she sighed. Every defensive instinct the man owned had screamed into hyper drive. Always keeping her within sight. Wearing out the floorboards as he paced between the windows and door. And the worst part was, there was no longer any denying he was right. Not after being clobbered over the head with that mess.
Whoever was after her was growing desperate, and stealing that laptop from Ryan’s penthouse had put her in the middle of something that was beyond bad. If she hoped to survive in one piece, her only choice was to cut her loses and get the hell out of New York.
So, fine. She’d followed his orders and changed for the funeral, packed whatever she could grab, and they’d headed for the airport the second they were ready. Now, if she could just get him to knock off the stupid, over-protective charade of them as a couple, maybe she could get her head together and formulate what came next.
Honest to God, who did he think he was fooling?
No one was buying it, and neither was she.
“I didn’t know you were afraid of flying.”
She slowly turned. Leveled an arched eyebrow at the side of his clean-shaven face. Seriously. Why were men so dumb? “This isn’t flying. This is us being tossed around in a lotto wheel like a ping-pong ball.”
He grunted a laugh, but his eyes kept scanning. And come to think of it, where did he get off acting so chillaxed? Yes, she’d agreed to go with him, but the way he slouched in the seat, he may as well have been enjoying a flick in his living room. Thighs spread, one long leg sprawled into her foot zone. Elbow pinned beside her white-knuckle grip as he dragged his index finger across the seam of his lips.
A jarring bump clacked her teeth together, and she muttered a curse.
Okay, the moron who’d cleared them for takeoff—he was fired.
She drew a deep breath against the stifling fit of her full-body girdle and re-crossed her legs. The garter clips dug into the backs of her thighs. The zipper-pull pinched the tender skin under her arm. Lightning strobed outside the window, and a wall of driving sleet flashed past the end of the wing like static from an old RCA television.
And the dumbass who’d agreed to pilot the plane—get him off payroll, too.
The double row of black fringe sewn around the hem of her dress parted over her knee, and she fidgeted in her seat. She’d only meant for the moment to last a few seconds, dammit. For Xander to do his job and help her draw enough attention, whoever was following her would get the hint and back off.
He knew that. He’d admitted it right to her face. No, wait, he’d admitted it against her lips. Yeah, smooth move, Rico Suave. And then, without giving one thought to their friendship or what it would mean moving forward, he’d gone ahead and turned that kiss into something they could never take back. Never forget.
For a card-toting member of Mensa, he’d sure let his membership lapse. Didn’t he know the next three days were going to be long and hard enough? Like, reciting Homer’s Iliad long enough? How was she supposed to work with the guy, spend all her time with him, with that panty-melting kisstastrophe hanging over their heads?
No. Absolutely not. If the man knew what was good for him, he’d learn how to keep his yummy, sensuous, someone-has-to-be-frickin’-kidding-her lips to himself.
A bing sounded throughout the cabin as the fasten seatbelt sign winked on.
Dear God. She slumped. Someone please tell her the crew was not just getting that now.
The curtain parted, and a tall, willowy flight attendant sashayed down the aisle, her steps even despite the see-sawing floor. Looking left then right, she doled out reassuring smiles, the same as those miniscule cookie packets she’d handed to the passengers after liftoff.
“Excuse me, sir?” She stopped at Xander’s elbow and draped her palm along his shoulder. “We’re preparing for our approach into Chicago. You’ll need to shut down your device.”
“Yep, just finished.” He tapped a few keys, jabbed the power button and closed his laptop with a decisive snap. “Sorry about that.”
“Not a problem.” Her fingers slipped to the hard curve of his bicep, straining against the weave of his midnight blue dress shirt. “Is there anything I can get you before we land?”
He faced Charlie and cocked a brow. “Need anything?”
Yeah, she needed that skinny bitch fired. “I’m fine.”
The flight attendant’s gaze slid to Charlie and a tiny crease formed between her brows. She glanced at Xander. Back to Charlie.
Exactly. Charlie crossed her arms. That was the look right there. The hesitant disbelief that explained everything down to a tee.
Schooling her features in a mask of polite professionalism, the flight attendant faked a smile. “We should be on the ground in a few minutes.” The tips of her nails whitened as she squeezed Xander’s arm. “Thank you for your patience.”
“Sure thing.” He leaned forward to snag his laptop case off the floor.
Charlie huffed as the woman sauntered away. At this point, maybe she should just try to get used to it. Pretend those little signals went right over her head. God knew, this wasn’t the first or even the fifth time someone had skipped a beat.
Checking in at the airport, standing in line at security, waiting for the all clear to board the plane. Everywhere they went, it seemed folks paused, their brows lifting in appreciation the moment their gazes landed on Xander, and then dropping in confusion as soon as their focus shifted to her.
And the best part? Charlie rolled her eyes. The guy drew so much attention, it was impossible to get a bead on who was looking to make some idiotic judgment call on their Facebook status, and who might be checking them out for other, more nefarious reasons. A couple curious glances from the blue-haired grandma sitting in seat #4A, and Charlie had been ready to call the woman out for being a terrorist.
Her jaw firmed, nostrils flared. Without question, biting her lip while Xander tried faking everyone out had to be one of the dumbest decisions she’d ever made. From the very beginning, she should’ve known shamming it up right along with him would do nothing but make her insecurities rush to the surface.
Yeah, yeah, she got it. She already knew. A girl like her didn’t belong with a guy like him. And this was a newsflash since when?
He stood to stow his laptop in the overhead compartment, and every female head in the cabin swiveled in his direction. Righto. Have some of that hotness hypnosis, ladies. With those shirt sleeves rolled past his elbows, dark slacks perfectly tailored to showcase the tension in his ass and thighs. The way he’d unbuttoned his collar and loosened that striped silver tie to expose the thick muscles in his neck. Coupled with the snug gray vest emphasizing the masculine vee of his torso, the way he’d darkened his hair to a natural blond and slicked it back in place, the dude came off like some dangerous, smexy, James Bond doppelgänger.
Tipping to the side, she peeked past Xander’s waist at the woman across the aisle, her attention locked on the flex and shift of Xander’s fully snackable glutes. Loudly clearing her throat, Charlie smiled and twiddled her fingers. The woman’s eyes snapped up, widened, and she quickly refocused on her Kindle.
Uh-huh. Good luck getting that image out of your head. Xander filled out clothes in way that made most women weep.
She, on the other hand, resembled a stuffed sausage. The casing charred black.
Xander resettled in his seat and secured his seatbelt, stretched his left arm in front of him and shoved his shirt sleeve down to his wrist. Turbulence jostled her boobs like a plate of Jell-O Jigglers, and she slapped her death grip back to the armrest.
Sweet baby Jesus. They could not get on solid ground fast enough.
Working his second sleeve, he snuck a peek toward her and shook his head. “Okay, you’ve been stewing ever since we got on the plane. Did I do something wrong?”
Wonderful. They were careening toward their deaths, and he’d chosen this moment to pretend they were in couples’ therapy. Then again, whenever and wherever he picked probably wouldn’t have made a difference. She was just too upset. Everything inside her was all mixed up. And trying to pick out one specific item so she could dust it off, hold it up and formulate a rational explanation was bound to make her sound like a psycho.
That kiss, the potential harm it could bring to their friendship. The constant threat of some unknown asshole watching her every move, and her worries about what lay ahead…
Shit, she was a total hot mess.
“No.” She stayed focused on the tray table in front of her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just…” Terrified, confused, in the middle of a nervous breakdown—he could take his pick. “Not in a good place. And on top of everything else, I’m pissed the weather is making us late for the funeral.”
She knew herself, dammit. Had spent a ton of time and effort growing comfortable in her own skin. After she’d left her brother, she’d sworn her days inside a cell of inadequacy were over and she’d never let anyone lock her back in.
A sarcastic blast of air shot from her nose. Well, she could tell herself that as much as she wanted to, couldn’t she? She could go ahead and pound her fist on that pulpit all goddamned day.
Bottom line was, Danny had been right. Their rat bastard of a stepfather was still inside her head. Even after fifteen years, his line of bullshit continued to mess with her self-image, and no matter how much she wanted to blame the world or Xander or anyone else, the fault for that was on no one but her.
“Hey.” Xander pried the rigor mortis from her hand and flutters pin-wheeled through her stomach as he threaded her fingers through his. “Eden will understand why we’re late. And I’ll stick close during the reception, Chuck. Through the whole thing, I promise.”
But that was just it. A confirmation of the shortcomings that had been beaten into her since she was old enough to remember.
Regardless of whether that kiss was real or faked for the benefit of her stalkers, it was clear Xander had conquered whatever issues his time on the streets had dealt him. For that alone, he’d earned someone who wasn’t carting around so much baggage. Someone who hadn’t invited a headache into his life by repeating the same dumb mistakes she’d made as a kid.
Friendship, yes. That was something she could do and would fight for if she had to. Anything more, and he’d be opening himself up to a world of hurt he didn’t deserve.
“Listen, I need to tell you something.” He lowered their hands to his thigh and she zeroed in on his knee as it started bouncing.
No. Please, by everything that was holy, no more. If he was prepping to spew some heartfelt confession all over her lap, odds were good she’d lose her shit.
His gaze met hers, and she braced. Stopped breathing. “I haven’t been totally honest with you, but I plan to change that moving forward.”
Oh. She studied his face, the unease flickering in his amazing sea-blue eyes. Oh-h-h… She nodded.
He was referring to that kiss. And thank God he was willing to put the whole thing behind them. To hear he honestly hadn’t intended it to go that far was a load off. “You’re forgiven.”
His brow twitched. A beat later, the side of his mouth curled in the same lopsided smile that had always been her undoing, and he tightened his grip on her hand. “You don’t even know what I’m talking about.”
Yes, she did. And even if she’d misread his meaning, she wasn’t sure it mattered. He wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. The laptop, Ryan’s formula, Ellis, Danny, and all the hurts she carried from her past. Whatever skeletons Xander had in his closet, she’d bet her last thin dime they didn’t hold a candle to hers. “Trust me when I say you don’t need to worry about it. If you’re looking for absolution, it’s yours.”
“God, woman.” He chuckled, searching the front of the plane, lifted her hand and pressed a hard kiss to her knuckles. “You slay me, you know that? Hell, Chuck, you just gave me a big ol’ less than three.”
She frowned. Less than three as in…a heart emoticon?
Oh, damn.
He repeatedly bumped the back of her hand against the solid wall of his chest, grinned at her and shook his head as if she’d somehow unlocked the mysteries of the universe.
Her stomach sank as she jerked her face forward. But it was too late. Something about the happy shine in his eyes told her she’d just stumbled straight into Xander Dade’s delicious, inescapable trap.
The door to Smith Manor swung open, and Charlie’s brows jacked under her bangs at the gorgeous hunk of man flesh standing on the opposite side of the stoop.
Holy hell. She slumped. Time to put her out of her misery because she’d already had more than enough.
She hurried up and smiled. As bad as the flight had been, the drive from the airport had been worse. The awkward tension inside the town car Xander reserved had been thicker than pea soup, and she knew damn well most of it had come from her.
Yes, he’d done his best to reassure her. Kept repeating she didn’t need to worry. They were almost at the house and he’d stick with her every step of the way. But with the heavy sleet icing the back windshield, it’d been impossible to tell if they were being followed.
Not that the limited visibility had stopped her from repeatedly checking over her shoulder. Or from fighting a serious case of the willies as if a hot, thick breath panted against the back of her neck.
And now a cop. Answering the door of Smith Manor.
For God’s sake, what was next? Asteroid shower? Alien invasion? “Hi. Is Eden Smith here?”
Though not as tall as Xander, the dude came off just as buff. Dark wavy hair nearly grazing the black suit jacket idolizing his broad shoulders, thick five o’clock shadow and a set of piercing blue eyes that belonged in glossy spread advertising men’s high-end cologne. Toss in that easy cool he was rocking, and most people probably assumed he was the front man for whatever band hovered near the Billboard Top Ten.
Too bad for him, when it came to sniffing out someone with a badge, her nose was more reliable than a Best in Class Bloodhound.
He crossed his arms. “What’s the password?”
Oh, come on. She hesitated. Wait, was he for real?
“I swear to God, you really need to let that go.” Eden entered the front hall behind him, slender and gorgeous as ever in a black, turtleneck sweater dress, her shiny, auburn coils bouncing against her shoulders, black stiletto boots hugging her calves just below the hem.
Xander dodged onto the recessed front stoop and out from under the rain as she neared, his army duffle slung over one shoulder and Charlie’s bags dangling from his hands.
Eden’s focus flicked between them and her face broke into a wide grin. Slipping past cop-rocker guy, she yanked Charlie over the threshold and straight into her arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Tears threatened as her light floral perfume wafted past Charlie’s cheeks, filled with memories as hauntingly familiar as Eden’s hug. Well, damn…What was it about being reunited with old friends that consistently turned her into a blubbering pile of goo?
Charlie’s eyes slipped closed as she drew a deep breath, regret, nostalgia, admiration and a whole cluster of other girly emotions she couldn’t name joining hands and squatting at the base of her throat. “Me too, E. I’m so sorry about Malcolm.” She hugged Eden tighter. “And Viv. Are you okay?”
“I’m good. Actually, I’m better than good.” Eden spoke quietly, her hold on Charlie firming every bit as hard before she stepped back, the watery shine in her jade eyes a complete contradiction to her smile. “But I’m really glad it’s over.”
“I bet.” Geez, she was right. Charlie ran her gaze over Eden’s face. She was doing better than good. In fact, the woman was practically glowing.
A blink, and the glittering moisture in Eden’s eyes grew even more pronounced. She clenched Charlie’s shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “It’s been too damn long, Charlie. I mean it. Promise me now that you’re here, you won’t wait another ten years to come back.”
Whoa. That was a tad gushy. Especially considering the source. “Okay, now you’re just freaking me out.”
Eden had never been the sentimental type. If anything that had been Charlie’s department, and generally speaking, only when things got crazy bad and someone’s pain closed in on critical mass. “Wait, are we having a moment?” Charlie pointed at the tiled floor between them. “Is that what’s happening here?”
Eden laughed again, her palms slipping down Charlie’s arms. “I think so. Weird, huh?”
“Super weird.” Yep, something about Eden was definitely different. Something Charlie couldn’t quite put her finger on, and the really confusing part was she didn’t know if she should be concerned. Or jealous.
A frown creased Eden’s brow, and she tipped her head. “You still have those same fantastic eyes. God, I always hated the way they gave you an unfair advantage. I swear, all you ever had to do was bat your lashes, and people got so distracted you could take whatever you wanted.”
Charlie smirked. Now that sounded like the Eden she’d always known.
“Careful, E. Staring into those beauties continues to bring on all sorts of trouble.” Xander eased Charlie’s coat off her shoulders, and tingles flooded her skin as he gathered her hair and smoothed it down her back.
He handed her coat to the cop along with his leather jacket, who then draped both garments over the bags they’d stacked by the stairs.
So-o-o did that make Sergeant Sexy Pants a guest? Charlie chewed the inside of her cheek. Security for the funeral or maybe a personal bodyguard Eden had hired after Malcolm’s murder?
“Holy shit, X. Getta load of you.” Propping her hands on her hips, Eden stood back and scanned Xander from head to toe. “Damn, you sure filled out nice.”
The cop crossed his arms, but when Charlie glanced his way, he winked. Whoever he was, Eden sure seemed comfortable enough around him to speak without a filter.
Hold on a second… Charlie took a second, better look at him through her lowered lashes, formulating and discarding several different options. Xander had said Eden was involved with someone. Like, seriously involved.
But a member of the Chicago Police Force? Hell to the no. That concept cart-wheeled straight from weird into Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
“Thanks, E.” A grin crinkled the corners of Xander’s eyes. “It’s amazing what regular meals and clean living can do for a guy.”
“Well, get in here and give me a hug.” She waved him forward and Charlie’s jaw nearly hit the floor as light refracted off the three-carat diamond solitaire weighing down the ring finger of her left hand.
Panic jabbed her stomach, and Charlie snapped her eyes back to the cop. And the way he bobbed his chin, the deep chuckle rumbling in his chest… Damn, forget Ripley’s. They’d just veered into release the kraken territory.
“I can’t wait to introduce you to the gang.” Squeezing Xander’s upper arms, Eden eased out of their hug and opened her hand toward the main attraction of Charlie’s guessing game. “Starting with my fiancé, Detective Kelly Riordan.”
Xander jerked as if a puppet master had yanked on his strings, but Charlie was having a hard enough time just feeling her legs.
Wow, the poor thing. Over a decade of pretending to be all those women in her closet, and Eden had finally lost her damn mind.
“That’s great, E.” Nice. Charlie cleared her throat. Her words couldn’t have come off more plastic had she slipped a quarter into a toy-filled bubble gum machine and cranked out her response. “I’m so happy for you.”
Canting to the side, she jammed her elbow into Xander’s ribs.
“Oh, right, right.” He smiled and thrust his hand toward the detective. “Congratulations. To you both.”
Eden’s husband-to-be accepted Xander’s handshake, eyes on Eden as the two of them shared a quiet laugh. “You nailed it, all right.” Shifting his attention back to Charlie, he left off pumping Xander’s arm. “She had it a few seconds ago, just like you said.”
“That’s because women are smarter than men, Detective. Especially at reading relationship cues.” Eden grinned and wound her arm through Charlie’s, turning her toward the living room. “Come on. There are some important people I want you to meet. A lot has changed since the last time we spoke.”
And a ghost pepper was just a tad spicy.
“Really.” Charlie lifted a brow. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Adder show up?”
Eden glanced at Xander, trailing behind them and shoulder to shoulder with her fiancé. “I initiated contact, but never heard back.” She waved off his question. “I would love it if he surprised us but, at this point, I’m not even sure if he got my message.”
They stepped inside the room, and Charlie’s breath caught so quick a strangled squeak eked from her throat.
Oh, no. No, no, her crazy had already been maxed out for the day.
Two…three…at least five officers of varying rank mingled near the buffet table, standing before the picture window on the left side of the room.
So, what? Eden hadn’t just gotten engaged to a cop, she’d invited the whole damn precinct to the funeral? Why?
Asteroid shower…asteroid shower…
But no such luck.
Eden’s wrist caught on Charlie’s elbow, and she turned, locking onto Charlie’s face. But that couldn’t be right. Dammit all, Smith Manor was the one place Charlie had been counting on to be safe. Where she could disappear for a while and not have to worry about what nightmare might show up next. They were supposed to be friends and, instead, Eden had brought them face to face with the enemy?
“Before you go postal, I swear, I haven’t snapped.” Eden blocked Charlie’s view of the guests, holding up her palm as if Charlie was about to spout a bunch of wild accusations. Which she totally was. “I know what you’re thinking but, I promise you, everyone here is on our side.”
Yeah, right. Charlie rolled her eyes. That comment was not only ridiculous, it flew so wide of its target, it pinged around like a stray bullet, ricocheting back and forth inside her head.
The woman needed to get real. Even if, by some fat chance, she’d decided to hit the straight and narrow, Xander hadn’t. Eden knew that, so why would she set him up this way? Charlie gritted her teeth. Not to mention, only three short days ago, she could’ve easily been charged with breaking and entering. For crying out loud, the carry-on Xander had stacked near the stairs held a portable drive containing Ryan’s latest formula and a stolen laptop worth over five grand.
Xander’s index finger wound around her pinkie, and Charlie peeked up at him as he squeezed a warning.
This was bad. It was very, very bad.
“Listen, I didn’t have a choice, or I would’ve gone about this a completely different way.” Eden’s eyes darted between them. “But I trust these people. More than you know. They won’t judge you and I ask that you don’t judge them. Just give it some time and you’ll see.”
How nice for them. Everyone here could take from now until the next millennium for their little love-in and it wouldn’t change a thing. They caught wind of what she’d been up to, and Charlie could say goodbye to ever seeing Ellis again.
That wasn’t happening. Not while she held the power to change it.
She spun for the hall just as Eden’s detective appeared on her right, settling his palm on her lower back. He bumped his chin toward an older woman occupying a wingback chair in the corner—half-glasses perched on the end of her nose, short gray hair framing her cheekbones and her crisp black suit creased to within an inch of its life.
“The cap knows what Eden does for a living, and if she was gonna have anyone arrested, it’s guaranteed she would’ve already done so a few weeks back.” He eased his hand around Eden’s waist and pulled her to his side. “But I’m not gonna let that happen. And neither is anyone else.” He nodded first at Xander, then at Charlie. “You’re safe here. If you don’t believe me, believe in Eden’s abilities. We’ve all seen what she can do and none of us are itching to piss her off.”
Smart move on their part. Charlie read the resolve in his eyes, and she couldn’t deny he seemed to be telling the truth. But what they’d all seemed to have conveniently forgotten, was that the man at her side was every bit as lethal, twice as pissed, and about eighteen times smarter than the combined intelligence of everyone in this room.
Charlie turned to Xander, his jaw set sharp enough to cut paper, poker-faced as the Sphinx. Hell, when it came to those she loved, she was no slouch, herself.
His focus inched toward her, and Charlie jolted in her heels. Geez, again with the sub-zero blast in his gaze. The one that stripped her bare and made her nipples peak, every follicle from her head on down lifting from the chill.
Damn. The way his irises could go from warm to icy at the drop of a hat had to be some sort of genetic anomaly. Her body both cooled and heated as he stared into her eyes, and she locked her knees against a shiver. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve sworn that dangerous edge in his gaze was filled with…possession.
He tugged her hand and her pulse tripped as he brought his lips to her ear. “You stick close. Don’t say anything to anyone.”
His warm breath drifted across her throat, and a shudder wracked her shoulders, so stark and penetrating she couldn’t have suppressed it if she’d tried.
God. Talk about having no control whenever he got close.
“Okay, then.” Eden smiled, but the clever sparkle in her eyes nearly had Charlie spinning right back for the door. Whatever the woman had up her sleeve, she didn’t need a history lesson to know it was not good. “Now that we got that settled, follow me.”
Great. Charlie mentally tossed her hand in the air, following at Xander’s side as Eden and her fiancé started them around the room. Not that her plotting mattered. One more surprise, and Charlie was heading for the nearest closet. Xander would find her stuffing her face with shrimp cocktail and humming the theme song to Jeopardy.
The thick, heavy glasses distorting Nick DeFranco’s brown eyes immediately secured his spot in her memory, as if being the Medical Examiner who’d been unlucky enough to perform Viv and Malcolm’s autopsies wasn’t enough. His petite blond wife, Maggie, stood beside him, smiling and chatting a mile a minute as she shook Charlie’s hand.
Tanner Jones’s tough outer shell came off every bit as thick and heavy as the chip Charlie lugged around on her shoulder, and screamed of someone who’d done time on the streets. Add in her defensive stance and the defiant glint in her huge blue eyes, and Charlie wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear Eden had brought Tanner on as the next line of defense ala Dirty Deeds.
Homicide Detective and Kelly’s best friend, Ben Archer, stood solo near the fireplace, though from his buzzed blond hair and apparent pissed off inability to stand at ease, it was clear the dude had served a few tours in some branch of the military prior to joining the force.
Or maybe his bad attitude had more to do with how he kept glancing at Tanner, and she appeared to be doing everything in her power to ignore him. Charlie made a mental note to ask Eden what that was about at some point in the near future and shook his hand.
Before Archer and Xander had finished saying hello, a young woman sporting a set of blonde, glitter-coated ponytails strode up between them and shoved her palm in Xander’s direction. “Molly Simmons, Lead AV Tech. I’ve been dying to meet you ever since we closed the case.”
Charlie blinked, repeatedly, trying—and failing—to assimilate the glammed-up accessories accenting the woman’s floral sundress, and how in the world they were meant to complement the black combat boots on her feet. Heck, had she known it was kosher to dress for a Grateful Dead concert, she would’ve jumped right on that bandwagon.
The slant of Eden’s lips went from polite to out-and-out calculating as she glanced from Charlie to Xander, and the cool fingers of detached awareness danced up Charlie’s spine.
Uh-oh… Eden was up to something, all right.
“Molly’s the one who decrypted your algorithm, X. Turns out, the program she wrote was able to triangulate Dirty Deeds’ location in a matter of days.” She lifted a brow. “Makes me wonder if you’re losing your touch.”
“Really?” Xander squinted, ignoring Molly’s outstretched hand in favor of crossing his arms. But nothing in the entire world could’ve hidden the flicker of interest in his gaze. Hell, a blind woman could’ve picked up on his curiosity. “How’d you decode the base?”
“Child’s play.” Molly crossed her arms right back. “I checked the length to determine the block size of the cipher.”
“That wouldn’t have been enough. I modified the stream. You would’ve needed the initialization vector and salt values.”
Um, sprechen Sie Deutsch? Charlie braced her knees against impulse to step between them. Maybe wave a white flag in surrender. Nothing like debarking on foreign soil where no one spoke a lick of English.
She pursed her lips. On the other hand… Even though Molly’s appearance trended toward Japanese anime meets befuddled flower child, she was definitely pretty, slender, and tall. With one of those cute upturned noses Charlie had always envied and a set of cool hazel eyes that probably changed color with her mood. Considering her wardrobe choice, it seemed clear Molly was comfortable letting her quirky style speak for itself and overall, she appeared on par with Xander’s area of expertise.
Huh. Given their mutual interests, maybe she was the kind of woman he should be dating.
Her stupid stomach flipped at the thought, and Charlie waved off a gloved member of the catering staff as he offered a tray of sparkling champagne flutes toward her and Xander.
Eden chuckled, low and quiet, and Charlie hesitated over the knowing glint in her gaze.
Aha! Her perception pulled a one-eighty, and she hiked her chin as the pieces finally clicked into place.
In typical Dirty Deeds fashion, Eden had suspected all along Xander and Molly would hit it off, and had hedged her bets the two of them hooking up would make Charlie jealous.
Please. The guy had every right to flirt with whomever he wanted.
Smacking her lips at the sour taste that notion left on her tongue, Charlie turned from the conversation to survey the room. A…person smiled at her from across the floor, standing near the closed door to Malcolm’s office, his dark weave teased into a bouffant cascade, spiked stilettos stacked so high, Charlie’s three-inch heels were downgraded to flats.
He waved her over with a flash of his neon-pink nails, and she frowned. Did they know each other? Hell, did it matter? Given the spring-loaded trap she’d stepped on, she gladly would’ve gnawed her foot off to escape.
Leaving Eden to her usual tricks, Charlie walked over and introduced herself.
“We’ve talked several times on the phone, hon.” He kissed the air around her cheeks with a pair of frosted pink lips, tugging her to his generous cleavage for a hug. “I’m Mocha.”
Tossing her head back with a laugh, Charlie hugged him just as tight in return. Sure enough, his was the voice that had asked for the password those few times she’d been gripped with longing for the good old days and called Dirty Deeds to catch up with Eden. “I’m thrilled to finally meet you in person.”
“Me too, girl.” He nodded toward Eden and Charlie pivoted to face the room. “I can’t tell you how excited she was for you to get here. It’s been a trying few weeks.”
Eden’s dark-haired detective approached her side and leaned close, his lips moving near her ear. Eden lifted her chin and stepped aside to search the guests.
“Seems to have worked out well for her, though. All things considered.” Charlie followed Eden’s line of sight to a young man framed by the wide doorway to the front hall, spotless brown suit and shoes, briefcase in one hand and cell phone in the other.
Xander laughed and her attention jumped the track straight back to him. A sneer almost curled her lip as Molly chuckled along with whatever had cracked him up, but Charlie quickly swept that hiccup under the two-hundred-thousand-dollar Persian rug beneath her feet.
No. She wasn’t about to give Eden the satisfaction. It was good Xander and Molly were enjoying a little flirtationship. Yep, it was definitely all good he’d finally met someone who spoke his same language.
A jarring twang plucked her heartstrings, and Charlie crossed her arms against the sting. And she was not jealous. For God’s sake, it had only been one kiss. One kiss that had meant nothing. If not, Xander would’ve never apologized on the plane.
Eden placed her hand on his arm and said something. Molly smiled up at him as Xander nodded and spoke a few words in return.
“How long have you and that tall drink of water been dating?”
Charlie startled and refocused on Mocha. “Who? Me and X-ray? No, no, we’re not dating.” She bobbled her head at the whole silly idea. “I mean, look at the guy. He’s lobster smothered in garlic-butter sauce. I’m more peanut butter and jelly on week-old bread.”
Xander located her from across the room, muttered something to Molly and closed the distance with a long-legged stride that could’ve easily been mistaken as foreplay. “Hey, Malcolm’s attorney is here and I need to step out for a few.”
And? No need to report in or anything. The man could do whatever he wanted. She really didn’t care. “So, go ahead.”
He nodded a hello to Mocha before catching Charlie’s gaze a second time. “You’ll be okay?”
Well, of course, she’d be okay. What, did he think she needed a babysitter? “Xander, I’m not exactly sure what you expect me to—”
He jammed his hand under her hair and jerked her to his lips so fast her mouth was parted on contact.
Dammit, why? The tip of his tongue darted and teased, coaxing her for more, and any resistance she might’ve thought to offer dissolved in a puddle at her feet.
Good God, the man knew how to kiss. His full bottom lip brushed up once, then twice. The callused tip of his thumb skimmed her jaw to her chin. Her hand found the front of his vest, and she curled her fingers around his silky tie to urge him closer. Deeper.
But this was wrong. Plain and simple. Especially in front of everyone they’d just met.
“I didn’t want you to be upset.” He nibbled the corner of her mouth and her thighs clenched.
God, did he have any clue how whispering against her lips like that made her want to yank him inside Malcolm’s office? Slam the door and strip off his clothes so she could climb him like a tree?
An aching pulse moistened her panties. She sighed into his mouth as his thumb swept the side of her throat.
“I’ll be back.” Another soft kiss, and her balance took off for parts unknown. She nearly fell into him as he stepped back. “Don’t go anywhere.”
He met Eden halfway toward the front hall, but not before she waggled her brows, expressing her cleversomeness at winning the round.
And wasn’t she just livin’ the dream?
Charlie squinted and then glanced around the room in a weak attempt at trying to catch her breath.
“Peanut butter and jelly, huh?” Mocha swiveled back to their conversation, slanted away from her and looked her up and down. “You go right on ahead telling yourself that, sweet cheeks.” He fanned his face with his hand. “Good Lord Almighty. That man thinks you’re a chocolate soufflé.”