“What kind of noncommittal bullshit is that?”
“I have solid leads, but I don’t know who planted the ammo or why. I do think, however, I have enough information to turn the ATF’s attention away from Ms. English and her crew.”
“Who do you think’s responsible?”
“In digging into the backgrounds of the subcontractors and their crews, I found a connection with one of the framers back to a shipyard in Norfolk. The same shipyard the ATF thinks the ammo came through.”
“Why hasn’t the ATF found out about this?” asked Luke.
“It isn’t a straightforward connection. The guy’s second cousin is the one who works at the yard. I doubt the ATF has had time to check that far down everyone’s family tree yet. And I was motivated.”
Luke couldn’t help but smile, although he was sure it came out as more of a smirk. He’d been on Jackson’s case every night for the past three weeks to find a way to get Claire and her crew out from under the microscope.
“Will it be enough?”
“Who knows? If nothing else it will spread the ATF’s attention around. None of this has made any sense to me but even less so with one of the electricians keeping the ammo in the trailer they used almost exclusively. It was like whoever was responsible painted a bull’s-eye on themselves.” Jackson leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “And the phone in tip made even more sense. Combined with the vandalism at Chestnut Street and the death of Mr. Lester, it seemed less and less likely that Ms. English’s crew was involved and more like someone was trying to make trouble for her. Hopefully the ATF will see it that way, too.”
Luke hit a button for an outside line and waited for a moment until Mason Jeffries picked up the phone.
“Speak of the devil.”
“I need you to meet us at the station. Jackson has information we need to share with the ATF.”
“Hello, Luke. It’s nice to hear from you. Hope the weather’s pleasant where you are.”
“Fuck you, Jeffries.”
“No thank you,” said the attorney. “As a matter of fact I’m on my way to the station now. Ms. English has been called back in for questioning and she asked me to go with her. We’re going to negotiate my retainer. She’s an attractive woman, and so I’m feeling flexible.”
“The fuck you are. It’s my building, send your overpriced invoices to me.”
“If you insist. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go meet Ms. English.”
Claire would be there. If he left right now and drove downtown, Claire would be there. She’d asked him to walk away and he’d done it. But being away from her was killing him. He was beyond caring about anything but her anymore, and if she turned him away, it couldn’t hurt any worse than it did already.
“Wait for us. Don’t tell her I’m coming,” he added as an afterthought. “Just wait for us. We’re on our way.” He hung up the phone and turned to Jackson. “Come on. We’re going.”
Grabbing his coat, he strode out the door with more purpose than he’d had in weeks.
NOT AGAIN. CLAIRE couldn’t believe they’d called her down to the station for more questions. She didn’t know anything, and it meant she’d had to call Mason Jeffries. God knew how much that was going to cost her. Jeffries had been cagey about his rates, and Claire knew she probably couldn’t afford him, but she trusted him to keep the problems from getting any bigger.
She pulled into the spot in the parking garage and climbed out of her car. At least this time she’d had a chance to change out of her work clothes and into her nice pencil skirt and sexy librarian blouse. She’d even managed a few swipes of makeup so she wouldn’t look like a homeless waif standing next to Jeffries in her grubby steel toed boots. She snagged her bag from the front seat and started toward the walkway connecting the garage to the station. She was almost there when Luke stepped from around the corner, shocking her so much she stumbled in her heels.
He rushed toward her, hands out to steady her and she froze. In the face of this man whom she loved but couldn’t have, she simply did not know what to do. It had taken everything she had, every bit of emotional control to stay away from him for the past few weeks. She didn’t have any resistance left. She turned toward the walkway, but he intercepted her.
“Please, Luke,” she said around a throat gone dry. “I have to go talk to the police.”
He looked as good as she knew he would if she ever saw him again, his strong body in a suit that fit him like it was made for him, which it probably was. His hair was a little long and his eyes looked older than they had, but just seeing him brought her body roaring back to life.
“Mason and Jackson are in talking to them now. They think they’ve found something that will take the focus off you and your crew.”
Claire let out her breath in relief. It would be so nice not to worry that the ATF was going to show up and haul her or one of her guys off the job at any minute.
“Are you sure?” she asked, hardly daring to believe it could be true.
“They seemed pretty sure. You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
The compliment made her flinch. She was too raw, too vulnerable to be this close to him. From the first time he kissed her at Comme Ci the day they met she hadn’t been able to resist him. Time and heartache hadn’t made things any easier. She still wanted him like she wanted the air she breathed, and it hurt as much to deny herself as it did to hold her breath too long.
“I can’t,” she said, turning to make a last ditch attempt to save herself.
“Wait,” he said, grabbing her arm, his hand scorching through the thin silk of her blouse.
When she tried to pull away, he fell to his knees, not in the way most women hoped to see a man on their knees in front of them. More in desperation. Supplication
“I love you, Claire. I know I fucked up and I will again,” he said kneeling on the greased stained concrete in his custom made suit, offering himself to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she had to blink furiously to clear her eyes. “I’ve never loved anyone before, but I love you. I can’t lose you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
He reached for her, his eyes shining. Before her mind made the choice, her body moved, and she held her hands out to him. Breathing deeply for the first time in weeks the moment their fingers touched.
