“Kady, get down!” I hiss.
“Why?” she squeals happily. “He’s not looking.”
“Because if he sees you looking at him, he’ll know we’re following him.”
“We’re about to follow him into a club—”
“No shit? But right now, we’re the only people in the parking lot, and we’re hiding in my damned car while he talks to some badass outside. You don’t think he’ll find us slightly suspicious if he looks over and sees us peeking through my windshield at him!” I hiss.
Kady scoffs and waves her hand. “Chill out, lady. You asked me along.”
“Yes,” I say, tugging the back of her dress. “Now, down!”
She drops down. “You’re no fun. This stakeout business is supposed to be fun.”
I roll my eyes. “You watch too much television.”
She flashes me a grin. “Are you going to peek? What if he’s gone?”
“Stay still.”
I lift my head slightly and see Raide still talking to a large, dark man. They’re close, discussing something that has Raide’s hands clenching. Kady and I have spent the last three hours following him from a gun shop to this club. Luckily, we came prepared and are dressed for a night out. Seduce Raide, here we come.
“He’s still there.”
“I have an idea,” she cries. “You should just get out and wrestle him to the ground.”
I turn and glare at her. “Have you missed how huge he is?”
“Let me look again.”
She lifts her head, sighs, and murmurs, “So fine. Lick him while he’s on the floor.”
Yes, Kady couldn’t be a bounty hunter to save her life.
“Jesus, Kady, get down. If he looks, he’s going to get an eyeful of boob.”
She leans back, adjusting her boobs in her slinky red dress. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Kady, giving him a hard-on is not part of the plan. Not yet, anyway.”
“Oh, look—he’s moving!”
I lift my head again and see Raide scanning the lot. “Get down.”
We both drop down and my heart is pounding. I hope he hasn’t seen us. After a few minutes, I lift my head to see him tucking a cell phone into his pants and disappearing into the club. “He’s going in. Let’s do this.”
We both pile out of the car and I take a moment to straighten my short black dress that Kady insisted on picking out for me. It’s low at the front, showing a good amount of cleavage, and the back dips down just enough to let the imagination run wild. I did a light dusting of makeup and left my hair down and straight, figuring it would be easier to fix when the time came. I was right.
Kady and I link arms and enter the club after him.
* * *
Kady holds my hand tightly as we weave through the people, looking for Raide. We finally reach the bar, and a handsome man leans over the counter and smiles at as. “What can I get you lovely ladies?”
Kady giggles and orders us both a vodka sunrise. As we sip, I let my eyes scan the crowd. I notice Raide in the corner, talking to another man. He’s got his mouth down close to the other guy’s ear, and whatever he’s saying has this particular man’s jaw clenching in either frustration or anger, I don’t know which.
When they finally separate and Raide makes his way through the crowd, I turn back to Kady casually. “Tell me if he comes close.”
She nods, keeping her eye on him. “He’s noticed you. Don’t look.”
I nod back and laugh at absolutely nothing, causing the bartender to give me a strange look.
Kady’s eyes clearly follow Raide, because they’re moving slowly across the room. “I have an idea,” she says.
“What?”
“Let’s dance. No better way to get someone to notice you than to dance. Come on.”
She takes my hand and we shimmy our way out onto the dance floor. We start wiggling with the twenty or so other dancers confident enough to shake their asses.
“Is he looking?” I ask after a few minutes of my best attempt at sexy dancing.
“No, he’s talking to a bartender. He’s sitting, though. So he’s obviously comfortable. Now is your chance to get his attention.”
“It would seem I have to strip to get his damned attention!”
Kady giggles.
“Screw it.”
I turn and start shimmying toward the bar. I notice Raide as soon as I turn, and Kady is right: he is sitting at the bar. A blonde has shimmied up to his side first and is whispering something in his ear. Competition. Great. As I get closer, Raide’s eyes flicker over me, and then the arrogant jerk turns away, like he doesn’t even notice me. Say what? This man is testing my nerves. Who doesn’t like this dress? Everyone likes this freaking dress!
“Can I get you another drink?” the bartender asks.
I jerk and turn to him. “Ah, yeah, vodka.”
My eyes are still on Raide, who is grinning at the gorgeous D-cupped blonde. I am not cut out for this, it’s killing my inner badass and maybe my ego. A drink is slid across the bar and I take it, swallowing it down before stepping back out onto the dance floor. I give it all I’ve got, wiggling and shaking my booty. I’m in Raide’s clear view, I know I am, because he looks every now and then, but it would seem the blonde he’s with is doing better at holding his attention.
“He’s proving hard to get!” I yell to Kady.
She wiggles beside me. “Then get over there and make him notice.”
“What do you want me to do? Jump him?”
“If you have to.” She shrugs, slipping back onto the dance floor.
With an angry sigh, I start swinging my hips as I shimmy through the crowd once more. Just before I reach Raide, I trip—on purpose, of course—and stumble into him and his woman. He reaches down, catching me before I hit the floor. Thank God for that. His hand is curled around my arm as he steadies me. “Careful there,” he murmurs, eyes holding mine for a split second before he turns back to Barbie.
Seriously? I want to stomp my foot.
Just then a short guy with a popped collar steps in front of me. “Hey, baby, I noticed you dancing out there. Maybe you and your friend can come home with me tonight. I can show you a few new moves.”
With a frustrated growl, I turn away from Tiny Dancer and see Raide disappearing through the crowd with his woman. Well, then. This seduction thing isn’t proving to be very easy. At all.
Back to square one.
* * *
I’m leaning as far back in my seat as I can, watching as Raide walks toward a large apartment building. I’ve been following him for the past two days. Using the resources provided by the company, I’ve managed to find his location. I had to follow him from a nearby coffee shop and around the block a few times, but we’re finally at an apartment now. I don’t think it’s his, but still. It’s obviously the home of someone he knows.
I’m in my car, sitting outside the large complex. He hasn’t noticed me, thank God. Fortunately I’m better at the stakeout business than at the art of seduction. Still, it’s not exactly fun. I peer through the windshield, watching him take a phone call. He stops before he enters the gate, and I can see that whoever is on the line is making him angry, because his entire body is rigid, and damn, his jaw is tight. Plus he’s waving a hand around like a conductor who can’t quite control his orchestra.
My phone vibrates and I jump. I find it and press it to my ear, whispering, “Hello?”
“Gracie?” It’s Vance.
“Vance.”
“Why are you whispering?” he whispers back at me.
“I’m on a stakeout.”
He chuckles. “A stakeout?”
“Yes, Vance, a stakeout. I’m trying to find where Raide hangs out so I can get my plan into action.”
“You do know I could just come and take him in, right?”
I frown. “Yeah, and if that doesn’t work, he runs and I blow my only chance. This is my case, and I have a few months to get him in. I’m going to do it right. Don’t spoil my big chance—”
He sighs. “You know I wouldn’t, Gracie. But a stakeout—”
“What?”
“You’re not a cop.”
I scowl. “So?”
“I thought you were going to seduce him.”
I don’t know how to make Vance understand what I’ve already discovered. That a man like Raide is not just going to let me seduce him. He enjoys playing games with me. I need to know his movements. I need to know all of this so I can follow him, and just so happen to pop up in the places he frequents. Then when I get my opportunity and he’s not suspecting it, I’ll take him down.
“Because he’s a smart man, and I may or may not have told him girls like me don’t go for men like him.”
Vance chuckles. “That makes your game a whole lot harder.”
I huff, still keeping my eye on Raide, who is still waving his hands around in the air, yelling at someone on the phone. “I’d use my legs, but it appears Raide isn’t interested. I’m going to have to up my game.”
Vance is silent. Then he warns, “Be careful with this, Grace.” Grace. Someone is getting serious.
“I can do this, Vance.”
He sighs, long and deep. “All right, well, I was just calling to check how you are. You coming into work tomorrow?”
“Yep, see you then.”
“Later.”
He hangs up and I continue to watch Raide for a while. He finally disappears inside but I’m still guessing the apartment isn’t his. He wouldn’t be renting, because that would make it too easy to track him down. I wonder who lives there. I write down the address and then decide to wait a little longer. If I can catch him going to a bar or somewhere more public, this will be far easier.
I can hardly go and knock on the front door.
I wait for three hours. Jesus. How do cops do this? It is boring as all hell. I decide I’ll give it another hour, but I’m desperate for a coffee. I glance with longing at the coffee shop on the corner. I could run over and get one, right? He wouldn’t notice me, he’s inside the apartment complex. Deciding that’s exactly what I’m going to do, I get out of the car and run across the road, toward the coffee shop.
I quickly order a latte and grab a big chocolate cupcake, then I head back out toward my car. I’ve just stepped outside when I see Raide coming out of the apartment. Holy Mother. He’s turning my way. Without thinking, I launch myself into the bushes beside the coffee shop. I land with a thump, and my coffee explodes everywhere. “Motherfucker,” I hiss, desperately patting at my skirt as the hot liquid sinks in and burns my legs.
I shuffle backwards when footsteps near. I hear Raide’s voice; he’s on the phone again. “Yeah,” he mutters. “I’m hearing you, but he wasn’t there. I waited. Nothing. You gave me false information. I thought you were supposed to be good at this?”
Silence now, and Raide stops right beside the bush I’m hiding pathetically behind. I hold my breath and try not to move. It really wouldn’t look good if he found me like this. I close my eyes. I hope my cupcake is okay. Dammit, I really wanted it.
“Yeah, well, you got twenty-four hours to get me a new location.”
Then he obviously hangs up, because his footsteps pick up and he disappears. An interesting conversation indeed. I wait a few moments and then stand, shuffling out of the bushes.
“Are you okay?”
I squeal and spin around to see an elderly man staring at me.
“What are you doing in the bushes?”
“Ah, I had an emergency … of a personal nature.”
He narrows his eyes.
“Bladder problems—they happen to the best of us!”
Then I give him a lame wave and run across the road to my car. When I get back into my car, I drop my head onto the wheel and exhale loudly.
This isn’t going well.
* * *
“How’s the case going, Grace?” Don asks when I arrive at the office the next morning.
I yawn and wave my hand. “Fine.”
“Fine? Have you gotten any leads? Any sightings?” he questions.
“Yes.” I smile. “I have quite a few.” Liar.
He nods, pleased. “Then I’ll expect to see him brought in soon.”
“Yes, you will.”
“Good. Got a small job for you. Any time free today?”
I nod. “Sure, bring me the file.”
He removes a file I didn’t even notice was tucked under his arm and hands it to me. “Five grand. Easy.”
“Thanks, Don.”
I turn and head into my office, passing Julio on the way. He scowls at me, running his hand over his shiny, slicked-back hair. Such a jerk.
“Morning, Julio,” I chirp happily.
“Don’t rub it in, Grace. You’ll fail—and when you do, it’ll be me with the smirk.”
I laugh softly. “Okay, buddy, nice chatting.”
I lock myself in my office and flop down into my chair, flicking on my computer. I have this bounty to bring in, but I’ll do it this afternoon. First I have paperwork to do from other cases, as well as research to do on Raide’s case. I want to find out more about him. I want to know exactly what he did. I’ve studied his file, but there has to be more. I run his name through the database we can access while I filter through e-mails.
When my computer dings, I click on the links provided. It gives me more detail about Raide’s case. Assault leading to severe bodily harm of a man aged twenty-four years old. Suspected of murdering his—I gasp—his sister. His own sister. My face scrunches up as I read the articles provided. There is great detail about his sister and how she was found with multiple stab wounds to her chest and stomach. She was dead. Raide was found at the scene, knife in hand, towering over her boyfriend’s body, which was badly beaten. The boyfriend pressed charges, saying Raide killed his sister out of pure rage and came after him when he tried to defend her.
Why? It makes no sense. It says Raide had somewhat of a difficult upbringing; his father was a junkie, jailed when Raide was twelve. His mother left Raide and his sister when he was fourteen and she was only eleven. They were put into foster care together. Did something happen there? Why would he want to murder his own sister? It just doesn’t add up.
My chest clenches with an unfamiliar emotion. I can’t pretend I know Raide well enough to know if he’d do something like that, but he just doesn’t seem like the type. He’s got an arrogant side, sure, but there’s something else in his eyes, too. Something that expresses a hurt he’s lived with in the past. Could that hurt be because he actually did kill his sister? Or is he living with the fact that someone else murdered her and he couldn’t save her? That makes so much more sense.
Part of me doesn’t want to believe Raide did it, because that means the man I’ve been playing with is genuinely dangerous. The very thought has my heart constricting. Why should it matter, anyway? If he did it or he didn’t, my job is to bring him in regardless. I shouldn’t care if he’s being wronged, or attempt to decipher my feelings toward the whole thing. I force myself back to the here and now, pushing my emotions about it aside.
Raide could only be charged with assault due to the fact that right now he’s only a suspect for the murder. A good friend of his paid the bail money and Raide was let out to await trial. He was meant to show up for his trial, but he didn’t. So that’s when we were called in. It’s our job to hunt him down and bring him in so he can stand trial. We get paid, they get their trial. It also means Raide will face more time behind bars, because he chose to do a runner.
Tap tap.
I lift my head to see Vance at my window. I stand up with a smile and unlock my door, letting him in. He’s got a bag of Chinese food in one hand and soda in the other. Lifesaver.
“How’s it going, Gracie?” he asks, flopping down in the chair across from me.
“Good. Only you know to bring me Chinese food for breakfast.”
He grins. “Only you can eat Chinese food for breakfast.”
That’s true. Most people are grossed out by it, but whatever. It’s my thing.
“I’m just looking over Raide’s case,” I say, reaching for the soda. “It doesn’t quite add up.”
“How do you mean?” he asks, unwrapping the Chinese and sliding a box toward me.
“Thanks,” I say, taking it. “Well, it says he was found with a knife in his hand, his sister dead, her boyfriend badly beaten…”
“And?”
“And that he killed her and was going to kill him.”
Vance shrugs. “So what doesn’t make any sense?”
I narrow my eyes and purse my lips. “Firstly, why would he beat him so badly before attempting to kill him?”
Vance frowns. “Rage?”
“But why?” I rub my jaw. “Why would he have so much rage? There’s nothing about previous issues with the sister and her boyfriend. It doesn’t make sense. And if he just wanted to kill them, why beat him but not her? Why not stab him too and leave?”
“Maybe the boyfriend did something to him, or the boyfriend and the sister. Maybe something bad happened and he wanted revenge on both of them.”
“So why stab her but beat him first?”
Vance narrows his eyes. “Maybe the boyfriend was the one who instigated it … maybe he was trying to defend his sister … there are plenty of reasons.”
“It just doesn’t seem right.”
“Grace,” Vance warns, “don’t get caught up in this. You have a job to do, and that job is to bring Raide in. It’s not your job to be a pretend cop and try to figure out what went down. He was arrested, and there was obviously good reason.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s right, Vance.”
He reaches across the desk, taking my hands and pulling me close. “Don’t get caught up in this,” he repeats. “Not only could you lose your job but you could end up in danger, too. Just bring him in, Grace.”
I nod, knowing he’s not going to understand or even try to. I force a smile and unwrap the Chinese food. As I eat, I try to push thoughts of Raide out of my mind. He didn’t seem like a bad person. Arrogant, sure—but a murderer? That just doesn’t fit. But then, who am I to try to analyze? Some of the best killers are the ones you least suspect.
I just have a feeling there’s more to Raide’s story than meets the eye.
And I’m determined to find out.