Chapter 20
The phone startled Mackenna. She didn’t recognize her surroundings and sweat broke out on the back of her neck as she panicked. The screen from the ringing phone cast the slightest beam of light and she honed in on it. Her heartbeat switched from panic-mode to excitement. Jake.
“Hey, sugar. Did I wake you?”
“Yes, but that’s okay. Is everything all right?”
The breath Jake released filled her ear. “Yeah, I, ah, I just thought I’d check on you. I shouldn’t have called this late.”
Mackenna sat up in the dark. “No, it’s fine. I’m glad you called.” Glad was an understatement. She’d crawled into this huge bed wishing he waited for her under the covers and now, hearing his voice, her thighs tingled. “How was work tonight?”
“Not the best night tonight. I couldn’t keep my mind on what I was supposed to do. A certain homeless brunette kept creeping into my thoughts. You all settled in?”
She was grateful he couldn’t see the grin that erupted on her face. He’d been thinking about her. As much as she’d been unable to think about anything else besides him? “Pretty much. I still can’t believe I’m staying in this apartment. It’s like a palace. This king-sized bed is huge. I’m lost in it all by myself.”
Did Jake just catch his breath? It sounded like it through the phone. Seconds of silence ticked off between them before he spoke, his voice a chord tighter. “Well, I’m only two floors away if you need anything.”
Him. She needed him. Even if it was only for one more night. “Two floors. That’s rather far away. What if the elevator doesn’t come quick enough? And you get a cramp and can’t climb the stairs?” Her hand throbbed a silent protest at her tight grip on the phone. She wasn’t usually this coy. Why didn’t she simply invite him up? That’s what she wanted.
As always, Jake was on her wavelength, even via an electronic connection. His voice was low and suggestive when he asked, “You want some company in that big ole bed?”
She purred her answer. “Know anybody on their best behavior? No strings attached.”
Jake laughed. “Give me ten minutes to shower and I’ll be up. Wait for my knock before you unlock the door, please.” He disconnected the call, not giving her the chance to ask why.
An intercom system secured this building against unwanted visitors, and residents had individual ID numbers they punched into the keypad. She’d never considered that anyone other than people who lived here could gain entrance to the building. Would Mr. Gleaner know how to get in if he discovered where she was? Obviously Jake considered it a possibility.
Mackenna suppressed a shiver and jumped out of bed, splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth. She tossed the oversized sleep shirt in the hamper and evaluated the contents of the underwear drawer. She couldn’t answer the door in a bra and panties and she didn’t own any sexy lingerie. Arthur scoffed at such displays. Sexy wasn’t the look she wanted anyway, was it? She didn’t want Jake to think she was cheap. Or easy. Or too eager. But the mere thought of his hands on her titillated her.
Slamming the first drawer closed and searching the second, she scowled. The pair of pale-blue cotton boxer shorts and matching tank top were hardly suggestive. Arthur hated the pajama set, claiming it made her look like a young boy. He’d used the word ridiculous, which likely meant it was bland enough to wear in front of Jake. Let him decide how the next few hours would progress.
When she opened the door and stepped back to let him inside Jake’s jaw dropped. His eyes raked over her before he stepped over the threshold, kicked the door closed and cupped her face, just as he’d done that day in the department store. “Jesus, Kenna, how am I supposed to be on good behavior when you open the door looking like this?” His mouth swooped down to capture hers in a kiss so hot with longing it could reshape steel. Never had anyone made her feel so desired.
His arms wrapped around her and she melted into his embrace, her body reacting to his touch and taste. The muscles in his back bulged when he tightened his hold. She ran her fingers through his hair, still damp from the shower, to press her mouth tighter to his. It would be better if she could crawl under his skin, or have him slip beneath hers.
Like a sponge, she was ready to soak up and absorb all the sensual water he poured over her. She wanted to drown in this craving.
A pang of disappointment shot through her when Jake ended the kiss and drew back an inch from her mouth. “I’m sorry,” he said, hoarsely, “you didn’t invite me up to manhandle you.”
He made to step backward out of her arms, but she clung to him. “Shut up, Jake.”
~ ~ ~
Was it possible to reach a higher level of satisfaction than their first encounter? Mackenna wouldn’t have thought so but, sweet Lord, Jake sent her on an outer space mission, soaring to heights she hadn’t known she was capable of. His lovemaking was a combination of tough and tender. Sometimes he barely touched her, and she begged for more. Other times the thinnest of threads couldn’t weave itself between them when he pressed closer than she thought humanly possible. And still, she wanted him nearer.
When he finally brought her to orgasm she screamed his name and burst into tears. Never had she surrendered to a man so completely and yet felt so empowered. Even then Jake cradled her, kissing her wet eyelashes and licking the tears from her cheeks, gently rocking them both. They drifted off to sleep like that.
She’d always hated Mondays but this morning she dressed for work with an eagerness to start the day. Mostly because she hoped Jake would be at the end of it.
Standing at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of coffee, she felt her cheeks grow warm and her thighs tingle when Jake strolled out of the bedroom shirtless and barefoot, wearing only blue jeans. She could get used to this picture. Wordlessly he took her face in his hands and softly kissed her. She was beginning to like that habit. It felt like he wanted to hold on to her.
“Good morning, sugar. I didn’t hear you wake up.”
“I tried to be quiet. You must be tired. You didn’t get much sleep.”
He hadn’t moved away and he delivered one more playful kiss to her mouth. “Sleep is the last thing I want to do in bed with you. How soon do you have to leave?”
She checked her watch as she poured him a cup of coffee. “About now. I’m not sure what traffic will be like. Remember, I’m heading across town to the Ninth Street branch today, out of Mr. Gleaner’s clutches. That will be my new home for who knows how long. I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
Leaning against the opposite counter, Jake nodded. “Call me if you have any problems.”
“What’s your day going to be like? Do you have to work tonight? Will I see you?”
His face turned serious and he locked his lips. Setting his cup down he moved toward her, reaching for her shoulders. “Do me a favor, will you, sugar? Have faith in me. No matter what you read or what you hear. Believe in me, okay?”
She raised her hands to his biceps, loving the feel of his stone hard muscles beneath her fingertips. “I don’t understand, Jake. What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “It’s one more thing I can’t explain, Kenna. I’ll get out of here now. And you better get moving.”
~ ~ ~
The Ninth Street bank felt different. She hadn’t dealt with any of the employees in this branch so each name was new and every face regarded her suspiciously. Did they know why she’d been transferred here? Filing an HR complaint was supposed to be confidential but every company had its rumor mill. Was she today’s grist?
At least the banking procedures were identical and she was able to do her job efficiently. She headed to the lunchroom with her cell phone in hand, ready to call Jake and let him know her new assignment was going smoothly. Butterflies danced in her stomach in anticipation of hearing his voice.
But a breaking news report playing on the flat screen TV made that impossible. The minute she viewed the screen the butterflies morphed into dive-bombing moths that soured her appetite and ruined her mood. A list of names crawled along the waist line of a news reporter speaking to the camera in front of the same FBI building that she’d been summoned to for the photo identification session.
The morning’s activities involved a series of major arrests in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from the city, the reporter informed her audience, and it promised to have a rippling effect through several government agencies on the local and state levels. The TV station replayed a film clip of the agents, bright yellow FBI letters emblazoned on the backs of their jackets, walking out of City Hall with more than a dozen executives in handcuffs. And there he was. Jake.
His chin was lowered to his chest and his hair partially covered his face. But she’d already read his name in the news scrawl at the bottom of the screen. Jake Manfred. Wasn’t it Manettia? He wore a blue shirt and tie over blue jeans and his hands were cuffed behind his back. She’d never seen Jake wear a tie.
Where was his security guard uniform? Why had agents arrested him? What was he doing at City Hall today when he worked nights? Who exactly was the man she was falling in love with?
~ ~ ~
The takedown by the FBI agents came off without a snag. But Jake wasn’t one bit pleased about it.
First off, some pissant in the corner immediately whipped out his cell phone to record the action and post it live to his social media account. That tipped off the news stations and reporters swarmed City Hall. Naively, he’d hoped the raid might go unnoticed until he was out of the building and in custody.
Secondly, out of deference to the deputy sheriffs permanently assigned to City Hall, the FBI informed them of the arrests minutes before they occurred and the deputies accompanied the agents to the various offices. Jake was supposed to mouth off to the agent who confronted him, thereby removing him separately and safely from the bigger mix. But the deputy sheriff didn’t know that and when Jake insulted the agent and attempted to resist, the deputy punched him on the left side of his head. The kid was obviously on a power trip, puffing out his chest like a bull leaving the barn. The square gold ring the deputy wore inflicted a one-inch cut over Jake’s eyebrow and his eye would likely be black and blue in hours.
It was all Jake could do not to fight back. He made a note of the deputy’s name on the badge over his pocket though. He’d come back some other time and deal with the jackass.
Jake didn’t have to fake embarrassment at being paraded out the front door like a criminal because he truly was humiliated. He belonged on the right side of the law, where Mackenna suggested he stood, and this experience affirmed it. At least she was at work today and wouldn’t see any news broadcasts.
But thanks to his meddling, she now resided in an apartment with two perfectly good working televisions. She was bound to see the reports tonight. Dammit.
On the flip side, the coverage might reach Vinny’s eyes and ears and add to Jake’s credibility as a criminal. The FBI already had fabricated a criminal history for him prior to parachuting him into Courtney’s public corruption case. That was standard operating procedure because the underworld always checked. When Vinny Cabacolli befriended Jake, there was no concern that his true identity would be uncovered, no matter how many contacts Old Man Cabacolli had on the inside.
In all, the first round of arrests netted about a dozen city employees and two elected officials. They sat in chairs lining the walls of a caged holding area in the bowels of the federal courthouse, most of them silent. Someone was in the men’s room puking his guts out. Two women whimpered into balled tissues in their hands. No one spoke.
One by one, agents accompanied by public defenders escorted someone out of the room to what Jake knew were interview rooms. Each person would be questioned, arraigned before a federal judge, and allowed to make bond arrangements if the judge permitted it. Jake would be the last one released.
Courtney was among the agents at the courthouse guarding the prisoners and Jake made a show of yanking out of her grasp when she approached him and raised his face to assess the gash over his eye. “You okay?” Her question was gruff but the concern in her eyes was genuine.
Despite a headache starting to take hold, he was fine. “Piss off,” he spat. The slightest upturn to the corners of her mouth let him know she read him loud and clear. She crinkled her nose like a bunny before walking away.
He must have dozed off in the chair because the next thing he knew, hot stings cut through his dreams. His arms flung out like a wild man and he jumped up. Courtney laughed and he eyed a cotton ball in one hand and bottle of alcohol in the other.
“Relax, Jake. That blood is dried over your eye. It needs to be cleaned so I can see it better.”
He gratefully accepted a cold bottle of water, only then realizing that his hands were no longer locked in handcuffs. The aroma of takeout wafted through the air and he followed his nose to a bag from his favorite burger joint. Courtney nodded.
“I figured you’d be hungry.”
Reaching for the bag he asked for a status report. Everyone arrested today had been interviewed and arraigned and other than the two top dogs, had already posted bail. Per the plan, Jake was last. As a formality, he’d appear before the judge who already was keyed into the specifics of this corruption case and aware of Jake’s role. Once paperwork was in place establishing a bail amount, Jake would call Vinny.
It had been Jake’s idea to reach out to Vinny once he was arrested and claim he didn’t have money for bail and Vinny owed him for saving his life. That ensured that the Cabacolli family knew Jake Manfred was dirty.
“Unless he’s living in a vacuum, he’s already seen the news reports,” Courtney told him as he devoured the burger and onion rings. “It’s the top story on every channel. You shouldn’t have to explain anything.” She held up a butterfly bandage. “I don’t think you need this but let’s apply it to that wound anyway. It will enhance your boyish looks.”
He’d love a shower but that was out of the question. He couldn’t be released from federal custody smelling fresh and clean. He also wished he could call Mackenna. Again, not possible. It was close to four o’clock. She’d be leaving the bank soon. Had she seen the news yet? What must she be thinking? Jake didn’t have a safe way to get a message to her, at least not until Vinny arranged for his release. And at that he wasn’t comfortable talking to Mackenna in Vinny’s presence. He had to let it go and hope for the best. Whatever that turned out to be.
Surrounded by agents and a recording device, Jake dialed Vinny from a courthouse desk phone, knowing Vinny wouldn’t recognize the number.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Jake. I need some help.”
“So I’ve heard. Stay put.” To everyone’s surprise, Vinny ended the call. No need for an explanation. Not even an inquiry into Jake’s location. Was he blowing Jake off? Or was this confirmation that Cabacolli had a mole inside?
Less than a half-hour later, Courtney locked the handcuffs behind Jake’s back and held his elbow as they took an elevator to the first floor. A tall blonde in a dress that cinched at the waist and hugged her curves offered him a practiced smile, dark red lips outlining whitened teeth. “Mr. Manfred? I’m your lawyer. Please don’t say anything.” She scowled at Courtney.
“Get those off of him now! He’s been released.”
She didn’t see Courtney give Jake’s fingers a quick squeeze before unlocking the handcuffs. Jake extended his hand toward the attorney and she shook it with a firm grip. She reached for the briefcase positioned beside her four-inch heels and pivoted. “The car is waiting.”
Jake followed his new lawyer like a child walking behind a parent, wanting to ask where they were going but too afraid of the reprimand the question might spawn. He wondered who this woman was and how legitimate her connection to the Cabacolli family was. She was stunning and way too classy for Vinny. The association had to be through the Old Man. A driver held the rear door open and she slipped inside and slid across the seat. Jake stepped in and sat beside her.
The car eased away from the curb into traffic and she regarded him, nodding toward his eye. “Does that hurt?”
“Not anymore. They sprayed it with something so it’s numb.” He knew better than to ask their destination. The tiny tracking device in his watch would keep him on the FBI’s radar. He leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. No turning back now.