Chapter 7
"Are you sure about this?" Amy asked.
"Of course I'm sure." Carla pulled on a black sweater and checked herself in the mirror. "I'm not wading into a full-out war. I'm just going to be taking some pictures."
Amy shook her head. She had come over half an hour before to help Carla prepare for her surveillance of the meeting that was happening on the beach that evening. She was loaning her camera to Carla, something Carla was appreciative about since she would have to sign out a camera at work and she wasn't going to explain what she needed it for.
Carla felt like she was lighter than normal. She couldn't believe she had fucked Jason in a maintenance closet with people walking past a few feet away. And she had found it exhilarating. Jason was a thorough lover; Carla's pussy was still throbbing from the encounter. It wanted more.
So did Carla. But what did that mean for them? Would Jason want to take their relationship further? Or would he say he had now got her out of his system and to say their goodbyes?
Or should she remember that he was an assignment and to focus on the job?
Despite her lightness, she was confused about her feelings and what she wanted. This was a mess.
Amy leaned against the door frame as she watched Carla put on her leather jacket.
"And you really think Jason is going to realize that he's doing something stupid when you show him the pictures?"
That sounded stupid when being said by somebody else. Carla closed her eyes and sighed.
"No."
"Then why are you going? It could be a hoax for all you know."
"Because I'm curious." Carla opened her eyes and zipped up her jacket. "I want to see what's going on and see what I can find when I get there."
"Do you honestly believe he's not done anything?"
Carla moved past Amy into the lounge. She picked up her gun, which lay on the coffee table, and checked the magazine. It felt better knowing she was going armed. At least she wouldn't be stuck without protection.
"I still believe he's innocent." She sat on the couch and put her gun into it holster, which she slotted onto her waistband. "Going tonight will confirm what I know; that he's not involved."
She looked up. Amy was staring at her like she was mad.
"What?"
"Are you really thinking clearly?" She demanded. "Or are you struggling to separate your feelings from your job?"
Carla didn't need to be a genius to know what she was talking about. While Amy didn't know about her having sex with Jason she knew how Carla felt about the man.
"You mean am I in denial that Jason's done something bad because I have feelings for him? Maybe. But I also stand by my original belief that he's innocent."
Amy shook her head. Like Luke she believed Jason had been up to something illegal.
"Well, it's your funeral."
"Charming."
Amy dropped into the armchair with a heavy sigh just as a cell phone started ringing. Amy held up her hands.
"Not mine."
Carla's phone was on the counter in the kitchen. Standing, she went into the kitchen and picked it up, answering as soon as she realized who was calling.
"Joanie? What's wrong?"
"It's Jason." Joanie sounded frantic, breathing fast. "He's just been here."
"What?"
Carla glanced at Amy, who had sat up and was watching with interest.
"He came to my house and started banging on the door. I didn't let him in but I heard him threatening me." Joanie was now starting to sound hysterical. "I'm scared, Carla."
"Okay, calm down." Carla put her phone on loudspeaker as Amy came to join her. "Have you called the police? They can drive by and make sure he's not there anymore."
"No. You told me to call you."
Carla sighed and closed her eyes. Things were getting more and more conflicting in her head and it was giving her a headache.
"Call them and ask if they can check. Then lock all your doors and windows and I'll be around later tonight."
"Okay."
Carla hung up and pressed the cell phone against her forehead, trying to push the headache back. Jason had been threatening Joanie? She didn't believe it, didn't want to believe it, but Joanie was claiming it had happened.
What was going on?
*****
It was colder than Carla had anticipated. The wind came in off the sea and whipped around her, making her eyes water. She wished she had brought her shades along but if anyone had happened to come along they would have wondered why she was wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night.
They would be here any minute now. She had decided to get there early and find the best hiding place where she could watch everything without being seen. There was a perfect place amongst the rocks just overlooking the spot so Carla had gone there. Now she was lying flat on a salt-soaked rock, sharp bits digging into her stomach, with Amy's camera in her hands.
While it wasn't the most comfortable spot Carla knew that this wasn't the worst she had had to endure before. She had followed one cheating husband into the Everglades once and thought the spot she had found was perfect until a crocodile had come along and decided it wanted a human for tea. Carla still had the scars from its teeth on her calf but they had been superficial; she had given it a good few kicks before it got a good grip.
The time came and went. Carla glanced at her watch, her agitation rising. If there was no definite time span, she was happy to lie in wait for hours without complaining. But put a time stamp on something and Carla expected everything to go like clockwork. If someone was a minute late she was jittery and getting angry. Everything was as it was for a reason and timekeeping was something that was seriously lacking in the world.
And these people were seriously lacking in punctuality. If Carla was their boss she would be kicking them out into the street.
Suddenly someone grabbed the back of her collar and hauled her up. In stunned surprise Carla dropped Amy's camera and reached back, trying to get a grip on the strong arm that lifted her up and turned her around. She barely had time to get her bearings before she felt something hit her in the face. Her nose exploded in pain and Carla sagged to the ground, steadying herself against a rock.
Her attacker grabbed her around the throat and pulled her to her feet. Carla tried to gasp for breath as someone leaned in, their foul breath wafting across her face.
"You should really mind your own business." She heard a soft whisper against her ear. "Back off or you'll end up like your apartment. Ripped to pieces."
Then everything went dark.
*****
Jason was furious. Carla had lied to him. She had smiled at him and lied to him. She wasn't what she claimed to be at all. He had asked his brother Edmund to check again but Edmund had insisted that he had already checked it twice and it didn't change what he had found.
Carla Romaine was a lie.
Maybe everything they had shared together was a lie as well. Maybe her feelings were false. All so she could get close to Jason and get the dirt on him.
Now he was feeling cheated. The first woman he had begun to open up to and feel love for the first time in his life and she had betrayed him. He wondered what else she had lied about.
Jason was going to have it out with her, see how long she could live up to the lie. But when he went to her apartment and managed to get in and up to her floor she wouldn't answer the door. He banged on the door with his fist.
"Carla? Carla, open up!"
But still nothing. Jason decided to check if her car was in the parking lot. He should've checked when he first arrived but he was too angry to think clearly.
Amazing what happened when you were thrown off your game.
Jason took the elevator down, still seething at how he had been cheated. But his thoughts on confronting Carla disappeared when the elevator doors opened and he saw Carla leaning against the wall. He stared at her bloody face, the cut eye and the ripped jacket. One sleeve had been pulled out of its seam at the shoulder and her left hand was bloody.
"Carla." Jason hurried forward and grabbed at her as Carla tried to stand and swayed. "My God, what happened to you?"
"I had a run in with a few fists." Carla winced and gingerly held her stomach. "And a few kicks."
"It looks like more than a few." Jason reached for her bag, which she was clutching against her chest. "Give me your key. I'll get you in."
"No!" Carla pulled away from him. "Don't touch me."
Jason stared. Something had happened to Carla; that much was evident. What wasn't evident was why she was suddenly shunning his touch.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"You think?" Carla snapped.
Jason wasn't in the mood to deal with her mood right now. Whether he liked it or not he loved this woman and she was hurt. He was going to make sure she was okay. Then she was going to do some explaining.
Snatching her bag away, Jason found the key card and opened the elevator doors. Pulling Carla in, they stood in stony silence as they rode up to Carla's floor. Still dragging Carla along behind him, Jason unlocked her apartment and pushed her inside, following her in. Carla switched the lights on and went into the kitchen, putting her bag on the counter. Then she burrowed under the sink for the first aid kit.
Jason looked around the apartment with a frown. Something was different. For a moment he thought they were in the wrong apartment. Then he blinked and realized it was Carla's apartment. It was just that everything inside had changed.
"What happened to your apartment? Wasn't there different furniture here last time?"
"There was." Carla banged the first aid kit down and opened it. "Until some of your goons tore the place up and destroyed everything I had when I was on that date with you in Boca Raton."
"You what?" Jason swung around and stared at her. "Someone destroyed your apartment?" Then something she had said sunk in. "Hang on, why do you think I did it?"
"I don't know." Carla huffed, sending him a glare and she leaned on the counter with her hands. "Maybe because I was snooping around and would find out you were laundering money through your publishing house."
"Excuse me? Laundering money?"
Jason thought he had entered an alternate dimension. Was Carla, his Carla, standing there accusing him of a crime he had never committed? This wasn't real, surely?
"You heard me." Carla snapped. "You're doing business with Taga and you found out I was poking my nose in. So you told your goons to draw me out with a fake meeting and beat me up to make me back off. Or were they Taga's goons?"
Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was confused and angry all at once. He glared at her.
"You're mad."
"Am I?"
From her expression, Carla was furious. Whether it was at him or her Jason didn't know. But they had their wires crossed somewhere and Jason was desperate for her to know that he had never done anything criminal in his life.
He narrowed his eyes, deciding to play what he knew.
"Who's your client?" He demanded as he advanced on the counter, mirroring Carla's stance as he leaned on it from the other side. "Agent Whitely? I know he's investigating me for money laundering."
"I was on this before Agent Whitely came on the scene." Carla shot back.
"And you really think I've been engaging in criminal activity?"
"You're hiding something.”
"Just like you with your private eye business?" Jason watched as Carla's eyes widened in shock. "When were you going to tell me you're a private investigator, Carla?"
*****
Carla was flummoxed. Jason knew what she was? She hadn't been expecting him to find out at all; despite her popularity there were still a lot of people who didn't know what she worked as. Jason had been one of those people.
Until now. Carla gulped.
"How did you find out about that?" She stammered.
"I did a background check on you." Jason held up a hand before Carla could open her mouth. "It's nothing on you. I do it on everyone. When you're as high-profile as I am you can never be too careful. I also know that Joanie Oldham was the one who hired you." His eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't trust her, Carla. She fed you lies because she's angry with me."
"You fired her. I'm not surprised."
"I fired her because she was a lousy editor and she was stalking me."
Carla watched in stunned amazement as Jason sagged onto a stool and buried his face in his hands, the fight suddenly gone out of him. Her anger also dissipated. She wanted to go to him and comfort him but knew that Jason would push her away.
She waited as Jason took a deep breath and lowered his hands, not looking at her. He suddenly seemed dejected.
"I kept her on because she was pretty and she showed interest in me. I'm a shallow bastard and I'm not afraid to admit that. I asked her on a date when she'd been there about six weeks." Jason sighed. "That was a big mistake. She was all over me before we'd even finished the meal. In the middle of the restaurant. Then she practically dragged me to her car and begged me to take her home and have sex with her." He grunted as he stared at his hands. "She wasn't exactly subtle about it."
"I bet she said she'd wear her kimono as well." Carla muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Jason closed his eyes for a moment, opening them to stare against at his hands.
"She asked me when the next date would be and I told her we didn't click so there wouldn't be any more dates. This is where I learned that you should never date an employee. I had never done that before but I thought I could bend the rules just this once because she was pretty." His jaw clenched. "I tried to let her down as gently as I could. But she didn't take it well. She attacked me in my office, accusing me of leading her on. I fired her on the spot and security took her away. Even if I hadn't dated her she would have been receiving severance pay before long, she was that bad at her job." He looked up at Carla, his face pained but his eyes still sparking his anger. "The only crime I've committed here is being stupid enough to date an employee who was unstable."
Carla felt really bad now. But she also felt angry. Joanie had lied to her. There was no doubt about it. Joanie had lied about what had really happened. She had never mentioned having a date with Jason.
She didn't know if it was because she was in love with Jason or something else but she believed him. And she felt bad for believing for one second that he was behind her attack.
They were staring at each other when Carla's phone went off in her bag. Tearing her eyes away from Jason's, Carla dug into her bag and retrieved her cell phone, glancing at the caller ID.
"It's Joanie."
Jason stood up and moved around to stand at her side. The heat of his body felt good but Carla didn't touch; they were still angry at each other.
"Put her on loudspeaker." Jason murmured.
Carla put her phone on the counter and answered the call, switching to loudspeaker.
"Joanie? You okay? What's the matter?"
"You've got to come here now, Carla." Joanie was crying. "Jason's here."
Carla did a double-take. She stared at Jason, who was giving her a look that said 'now do you believe me'. Carla focused on the call.
"Jason is?"
"Yes. He's demanding to be let in. He wants sex and he said he'll kill me if I don't let him in." Joanie sounded like she was hyperventilating. "I don't know what to do! The police are not coming out because they say he's not dangerous but I'm sure I saw him carrying a sword."
Jason raised an eyebrow. Carla took one look at him and knew for certain who the real liar was.
"Sit tight, Joanie." She said quietly. "I'm coming over."