Courting Suspicion

‘How about you?’ he asked.

She reached up to touch her earring. It was a little thing, but the question unsettled her more than he liked. ‘Not that I know of.’

‘Would you tell me if you did?’

She didn’t answer.

Suddenly the tension in the room pissed Josh off.

‘Nina, the reporters got an anonymous tip.’

‘From someone obviously very hurtful.’

‘That’s what worries me.’ The energy he’d been missing for most of the night returned with a surge. He turned in his seat and leaned towards her until he was in her space and in her way. ‘Just tell me, is there anything I need to know?’

She concentrated on her coffee, but the pulse at her temple fluttered wildly. ‘No.’

‘Do you trust me?’ he asked.

The tip of her tongue darted out to run across her lips, but she kept her silence.

Apparently, not enough.

The spurt of energy left him, and the weight of the night jumped on Josh’s back. If she’d just shared a little, he might have been able to let it go. But now? Now he had to keep digging, and in places she might not like.

Wearily, he pushed himself to his feet. She looked up at him, her beautiful face pale.

He wanted to touch her so badly, his fingers ached. To stop himself, he planted his hands on his hips. ‘I knew some new scandal would eventually bring me back here. I just wasn’t expecting this.’

‘Detective …’

He shook his head. ‘Get some rest, Nina.’

He had a feeling they both were going to need it.

Chapter Three (#u7df92a9e-1b68-5886-bbd2-e10bd2e5c5e5)

Nina wasn’t ready when her employees flew into the breakroom seconds after the main office door clicked shut. It was such a quiet sound after all that energy Josh had been giving off – and somehow so much worse than if he’d yelled or broken something. She set down her coffee cup. Her hand was trembling so badly, some of it sloshed onto the cherrywood table.

‘What just happened?’ Rielle asked. Her hair streamed out behind her as she spun around the corner.

Sienna was hot on her heels. ‘Are you OK? What did he want?’

‘More importantly, what does he know?’ Rielle asked.

Nina carefully mopped up her spill with a napkin from the holder on the table. ‘He suspects too much. He just has no proof.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ Sienna asked.

‘Mmmm,’ Rielle hummed worriedly. She was involved with a man who worked in the shadows. She knew better than anyone that it wasn’t good to arouse that kind of person’s curiosity.

Josh wasn’t that different from Darien, in a lot of ways. He was just more conscious of what was right and what was wrong. Did he even see the shades of grey between the two?

Nina felt her coffee settling in her gut like a witch’s brew. She’d disappointed him; she knew she had. It had been a long time since she’d cared what anybody else thought, but this? It hurt.

She brushed her hand across her cheek. He’d called her a knockout.

Images from her dream returned. It seemed as if it had been ages ago rather than hours, but the ache was even more intense after seeing him … and feeling that snap in the air between them … She crossed her legs and bit her lip. He’d looked so tired. There had been dark circles beneath his eyes, and his five o’clock shadow had been rough and sexy. When she’d first seen him, her immediate impulse had been to take him home and take care of him. In every way possible …

In every way a madam could …

She closed her eyes. She couldn’t let him find out the worst, no matter how much guilt pulled at her. That would only seal his opinion of her and put her in an even worse spot. She needed to protect Genieve, Sienna, Rielle, Mr Howard and the rest of her staff. ‘It’s war room time.’

They needed to develop a strategy. They needed to get on top of this early.

Her cheeks heated. Pun strictly unintended.

She gathered up the sopping napkin and threw it away in the trashcan under the sink. She rinsed her hands and patted them dry. ‘Rielle, please lock the door to the offices and have Security let us know if any visitors arrive.’

There shouldn’t be any – at least none she wanted to see. She’d already cleared her schedule for the day.

‘Sienna, could you please turn on the television and check if the local channels are reporting anything yet?’ There had been nothing on the national morning news shows. She’d missed the early news because she’d been out, taking care of an important task.

Sienna crossed the room and turned on the flatscreen TV that hung on the wall. The tall blonde flipped through channels and muted the sound when she found nothing pertinent to their situation. ‘I haven’t seen anything about the senator. I can’t believe they’re not reporting the hotel break-in yet.’

Haynes had gotten on it early.

‘It’s inevitable,’ Nina said, her voice steady.

They just needed to be ready to react when it did.

With a sigh, Sienna took an orange from the fruit basket and a plate from the cupboard. She sat in the seat where Josh had just been and began to peel the fruit. ‘I’ve changed the pick-up and drop-off points to the back-up location tonight, as you requested. If anyone arrives here, Security will redirect them.’

‘Good.’ Nina glanced out the window at the DC skyline. The morning was bright and sunny, much too pretty for the ugly machinations they were going through. But that was DC now, wasn’t it? All the grit and grime of the city were hidden behind the pomp and circumstance. ‘Hopefully nobody will be followed.’

Rielle returned and poured herself a glass of water from the filtered pitcher in the refrigerator. ‘Security says they haven’t seen any reporters.’

The office manager’s expression turned rueful. ‘Your detective has been the only cop.’

Her detective.

She’d told him it couldn’t work between them.

‘Let’s keep it that way.’ Nina hooked her hair behind her ear. Her hand was steadier. She needed to keep busy. She needed to stay one step ahead. ‘Other than Morgan’s curiosity, Genieve’s place of work should be just a footnote to this whole story.’

‘Unless the reporters’ claims about her being a callgirl get out,’ Sienna warned.

Nina’s back teeth ground. To call those two reporters was being generous. She’d looked into them. They were GWU dropouts trying to make a go of it as an Internet company. ‘She’s not a callgirl. She’s an escort. There’s a difference.’