A Good Kind of Trouble (A Trouble in Twin Rivers Novel Book 1) (38 page)

The sensation nearly undid her. Her body bucked as he filled her. Lindsey gasped and wrapped her legs around Ben's waist. She wanted, needed, to keep him as close as possible to her.
 

She raised her face to Ben's, their lips meeting. Every nerve in her body vibrated. Her heart exploded as Ben's hand slid up her back, to the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Their bodies moved together, reaching a peak.
 

"God, Ben," she gasped as the tension built. She could feel herself doing what he wanted, coming undone. Losing control.
 

Ben's breath and pace quickened and sent her over the edge with an explosion that rocked her entire body. Lindsey's eyes shut as she tilted her head back, falling into the sensations.
 

With a low growl, Ben followed, his body shuddering. He collapsed on top of her, his forehead resting against hers. Lindsey tried to catch her breath, collect her thoughts. How could she even think about leaving him? Her heart broke at the thought.
 

She opened her eyes and then traced a finger along his jaw.
 

He pulled back and she reached up to smooth away a lock of hair that fell over his brow. He stared into her eyes and she couldn't look away.
 

"Stay."

Chapter Thirty

Ben hurried across the courtyard in front of City Hall in the fading daylight, trying to make it inside before the clouds overhead finally burst and let loose of the rain they were promising. A breeze, warm and heavy, stirred the branches of the trees overhead and threw a few fat drops of water from the fountain in his direction. The cloudy sky hid the setting sun, and made the early evening light appear as dusk.

He had hoped to be here before the council meeting started, but he and Jude were meeting about Lyle's situation and time had gotten away from him.
 

The nervous assistant city counsel was understandably stressed when Lindsey had dragged him to the law office, telling a story of being followed by armed men. But he was flat-out panicked when he'd called Ben early this morning to report that two FBI agents were at his house wanting to interview him. Ben had roused Jude and they spent the next two hours meeting with Lyle and the federal agents about Mayor Darlington, Councilwoman Rae Waters, and city attorney Teri Schulman, their salaries, and their recent acquisitions of some pricey gifts.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gillespie." A man's voice cut through his thoughts and Ben saw FBI Special Agent Matt Pritchard approaching from the side of the building. He was one of the two agents who interviewed Lyle this morning and Ben wasn't surprised to see him at the council meeting after what he'd gleaned from the FBI's questions.
 

"Can we talk?" Matt asked.

Ben nodded and followed him away from the entrance. He hadn't dealt with federal agents before, but Jude had vouched for Matt Pritchard. They had worked on opposite sides of several federal cases. Though Jude stressed that he didn’t trust the FBI, he seemed to respect Matt Pritchard. That was enough for Ben—for now.
 

Matt gave a quick glance around the courtyard and then, apparently satisfied that they wouldn't be overheard, he relaxed. "You here to see your client?"
 

Ben nodded. "He asked me to come in case 'things went down.' But please, don't ask me what that means."
 

Matt gave him a slight smile. "I feel bad that we scared him.”
 

Ben assured him that Lyle would be fine. "He's just relieved that the armed men chasing him through the park weren't trying to kill him."
 

"We just wanted to talk to him out of the office so we didn't tip off the targets of the investigation," Matt said. “Do you think he can keep this quiet for a few more hours?"

"He's not going to say anything. Don't worry," Ben said.
 

He glanced over Matt's shoulder and saw four men in nondescript suits walking purposefully toward the entrance. "Those guys with you?"
 

Matt grinned. It was the expression of someone who loved his job.
 

"It's about to get interesting," he said. "Stick around."
 

He hurried off to join his colleagues and Ben walked into the lobby of City Hall.
 

He'd never been to a city council meeting before, but he doubted that they were normally this well attended. The article about potential sports teams had been picked up by the local sports talk radio and the DJs had drummed up supporters to come down to City Hall to support the arena proposal.
 

Ben was there for a couple of reasons—mostly because he needed to keep an eye on his fidgety new client. But also, Lindsey hadn't returned his call after their encounter in his office. He wanted to see her. No, he needed to see her. How had that happened? This intense need to be with her. All he knew was it had happened and this was how it was now. He was in love with Lindsey. Sexy, smart, beautiful Lindsey. Impulsive, fearless, possibly a bit crazy, Lindsey.
 

So why wasn't she calling him back? And where was she? Was he imagining that connection they’d shared? She had opened up, trusted him. Was she regretting that now? His shoulders grew tense at that thought. He had no regrets and if she did, well, he was damn sure going to convince her to stay.
 

Ben watched the crowd moving toward the double doors leading to the auditorium and caught a glimpse of blond hair, but a familiar face in the crowd distracted him, stopping him in his tracks.
 

Gregory Stanton scanned the crowd, clearly searching for someone. Ben ducked behind a post to avoid being seen, then peeked out and watched as Stanton wove through the crowd. The man's suit was rumpled, the top button of his shirt undone and his tie was slightly askew. His hair, normally slicked back from his forehead, was mussed. Ben could see a shadow of a beard on Stanton's jaw. In the seven years he'd worked at the firm, he'd never seen Stanton's appearance look anything less than impeccable. Tasteless, but impeccable.
 

He watched as his former boss approached a young woman handing out agendas at the door.
 

"I'm looking for Ms. Schulman, the city attorney," he said. "Where can I find her?"

The girl shrugged. "Like, maybe in there?" she said, pointing to the council chamber where the crowd was lined up to enter.
 

Stanton gave the young woman a dismissive wave, then pushed his way into the chamber, Ben following at a discreet distance. The advantage of being tall was that he could easily keep an eye on the man, spotting his male-pattern baldness in the crowd. The down side was that he'd have no way to hide if Stanton turned.
 

He ducked behind a tall directory as he felt the cell phone in his pocket vibrate. He saw Jude's number on the caller ID and answered the call, still trying to track Stanton through the auditorium.
 

"Hey, I've got about sixty seconds before I have to board this plane. Are you at the council meeting?"
 

"Yeah, I'm looking for Lyle, but haven't found him yet." Ben moved to a corner where he'd have a little more privacy. "Just saw Agent Pritchard, though, and several of his, uh, coworkers."
 

Jude gave a mirthless laugh. "Should be an interesting show, you should stick around."
 

"So I hear," Ben said.
 

"Thanks for taking care of Lyle tonight," Jude said. "I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything, just call and leave me a message. I'll be on the ground in Portland in a couple hours."
 

"Thanks, I appreciate that."
 

"Oh, and I learned who Lindsey's bike messenger is," Jude said.

Ben was surprised. "Who is he?"

"Name's Spider Barlowe. A petty criminal, actual bike messenger, assistant henchman to Lonnie Corcoran. Bad character," Jude said.
 

As one would expect from someone named Spider. "I'll pass that on when I see her. How'd you find that out?"

"Talked to an investigator who used to work with Lonnie. He said Spider was bad news, so be careful."
 

Ben thanked Jude, disconnected the call, and ran a hand over his face. He scanned the auditorium and saw Stanton walking along the side of the large room, still looking for his lover. Then as Ben watched, Stanton froze, then moved quickly toward a man in the front of the room. Ben followed, dodging clusters of sports fans and lobbyists to get near the man Stanton was headed for—the man who had been stalking Lindsey. The man Ben had seen at Lonnie Corcoran’s office with Stanton—Spider Barlowe.
 

Ben slipped into the flow of the crowd and managed to get near the two men. Stanton jabbed a finger into Spider’s chest.
 

"You have to find her," Stanton said, his voice desperate. "The accounts are locked. Frozen! I need to find her."

"I haven't seen her," Spider said. "I told you I would call if I did."
 

Up close, Ben could see that Stanton's eyes were red-rimmed. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. He grabbed at Spider's arm, making the younger man recoil.
 

"Dude, get a grip," Spider said, brushing Stanton's hand aside. "I'll try and talk to her, but just lay off. Be cool."
 

Stanton straightened his jacket, the familiar bluster back after the slip. "Of course, you're right," he said. "I just—I just really need to talk to her. She hasn't called me back and I can't reach her. I'm just concerned, that's all."
 

"Sure, man," Spider said.
 

Ben ducked behind a group of arena supporters in matching green t-shirts and tried to move away, hoping that Spider didn't recognize him and Stanton didn't see him.
 

"Ben!"
 

So much for stealth. Stanton stalked toward him.
 

"Stanton," Ben said.
 

"What are you doing here?"
 

"It's a city council meeting. I'm a city resident," he said. "I care about how my tax dollars are spent."
 

Stanton's eyes were bloodshot but still retained that craven glint of greed or power or whatever it was that drove the man. But there was something else there he'd never seen before. Fear, maybe. Uncertainty. It almost made him look human.
 

"What are you doing here?" Ben asked.
 

"What? I—uh, I'm just looking for someone. A client. No, uh—a colleague," Stanton said, his eyes sliding toward the front of the room.
 

"Who are you looking for?" Ben asked. "Maybe I can help."
 

Stanton jerked back, alarmed at Ben's suggestion. Ben suppressed a smile at the man's barely suppressed panic.
 

"No, no thank you. I'll find her—him! Him. I'll find him later."
 

Ben smiled as Stanton nearly ran from him, fighting the flow of the incoming crowd to get out of the full auditorium. He really hadn't wanted Ben to know who he was looking for. Something was definitely going on here.

Lindsey turned in her chair and took in the crowd. The council room was filled to capacity. She'd never seen it this packed before. There were more people milling about outside the main auditorium, where a loudspeaker would broadcast the council meeting for those who couldn't get a seat.
 

Or it would broadcast the meeting, if it ever started. The seven council members had walked in and promptly called the meeting to order at six o'clock, then immediately adjourned for a private session. Those sessions were reserved for matters where the council had to discuss confidential issues, such as personnel problems, pending lawsuits, or where to build the arena.

Lindsey checked her watch and shifted in her chair. The council had been in their meeting for nearly an hour. While there was a long agenda for tonight's meeting, she knew that the crowd was here to learn about the fate of the arena. The council's approval of the bond financing would signal a new era in Twin Rivers—the era of professional sports.
 

Jeff's stupid fluff piece on the mere possibility of a pro sports team had drummed up a lot of community support. The local sports radio station, which could suddenly have a hometown team to cover and its own financial windfall if the arena were built, had rallied a massive crowd to express support for the project.
 

No one had bothered to check the price tag on the shiny new toy they all wanted. Including the
Beacon
. The editorial board hadn't retracted its prior position and Lindsey's article on the egregious terms was still shelved.
 

A side door opened and a familiar round face peered out and scanned the crowd. Lyle Wilkes' eyes fell on Lindsey and he twitched. She watched him closely as his eyes darted to the left, then he twitched again. He seemed to be having some sort of small seizure. His eyes widened behind his glasses and he jerked his head slightly to the left again and Lindsey realized he was trying to tell her something.
 

She looked around, trying to see what he was motioning to and saw the exit to the hallway was to Lyle's left. Did he want her to meet him?
 

He gave a deep sigh and then focused his gaze on her with an intensity that made him look like he was trying to bend spoons with his mind. She motioned to the door and then put her hands up in a questioning pose. Lyle's eyes widened and he started to back away, then nodded very slightly.
 

All right then. She stood and left her sweater draped over the chair.
 

"Rich, I've got to talk to someone," she said to the photographer in the chair next to her. He nodded and went back to playing a game on his cell phone.
 

She slipped out of the side door and saw Lyle at the end of the hall, his hand on the doorknob to an office. He twitched again and then slipped through the door. She walked down the hall and put her hand on the door that Lyle had just disappeared through, then glanced behind her.