A Man Like No Other (6 page)

“Really?” she growled. “Can you sit
there and tell me each op isn’t
just
a bit personal? Honestly? Especially when you joined the DEA because of a
friend’s death. Don’t you
dare
presume to tell me I have to share secrets because it may be personal. I know
my job and unlike someone else in this car, I’ve not ruined an op.”

Before he could do anything, she jumped
out and slammed the door. Horns honked behind him but he didn’t move until she
had stepped onto the sidewalk. Then he drove on with reluctance.

Great
job, Taber.
He couldn’t help it. There was neither rhyme nor reason for his
acting like a boor. But he itched to hit something when he thought of Sean and
Serefina having a past.
Sean would be a
good start for a place to hit.

Circling the block, he parked down the
street from the restaurant and waited for all parties to arrive. He sat up
slightly when Serefina walked into view. Her beauty made him ache. Painfully.
He couldn’t explain what it was about her that had him so damn intoxicated. It
just was. Being in her presence soothed him.

The other two arrived and they sat down
at an outside table. Had he not been paying as close attention as he had to all
Serefina’s actions, he would have missed it. She never even looked at Sean when
she did it but he saw her put the device onto a square in his tweed newsboy cap
which sat between them on the table. He doubted Agent Kline—Rochelle—even
noticed. Serefina was good. Damn good. Hell, the only way he knew it was the
bug was how she made sure to keep their attention off what that one hand was
doing. Not obviously, but very smoothly and with the ease of someone who’d been
doing such things for a long while.

Although Sean did a good job of
pretending to be in love with his ‘wife’, for Taber, his gaze fell to Serefina
a few too many times. When they finished, Taber watched her hug Rochelle then
turn to Roger. The smile on her face was bright, friendly, perfect for the
part, and again, all wrong for his gut.

A low growl filled the car when he
noticed her almost sink into Roger. The action had been slight but he’d seen it
before she pulled away. Serefina waved and glided off without looking back. In
fact, she didn’t look anywhere. When she turned a corner, her cell was in her
hand. He longed to follow her but he had to remain until they were sure Roger
and Rochelle got away clean.

He hated spying on his own but one
didn’t argue with Tobias. A smile cracked his visage. Well, not unless your name
was Serefina LeBenoit. The car door opened and in slid Shania.

“Mornin’, darlin’,” he said
affectionately.

“Hey, hot stuff.” She whistled low.
“You look like hell. Are you getting enough sleep?”

Not even close. When he closed his
eyes, his thoughts went to Serefina; after which, sleep was nigh impossible.
Hard to rest when you have a hard-on you could drive railroad spikes with.

“Sleep. What’s that?”

“Woman troubles?” Shania asked, swiftly
braiding her red hair into a French braid.

“I think one has to have a woman
first.” He ignored the fact it continually bothered him that Serefina seemed
content to keep him at a distance.

“Losing your touch, Taber? I don’t
believe I’ve ever met a woman who could resist your charms.”

He shifted on the seat. His relationship
with another woman was not even remotely what he wanted to discuss with a past
lover. “Let it go, Shania.”

She faced him, blue-green eyes shrewd. “She’s
the one, isn't she?”

It wasn’t a question, really, but a
statement. One he couldn’t even begin to dispute.

“Have you…?”

He nodded.

“And her response?”

He bristled. “She doesn’t
do
my kind.”

“What does that mean?” Shania rumbled
dangerously.

“DEA, she doesn’t do DEA.”

“But she knew you were… How… I’m
confused.”

“Welcome to my world, darlin’.”
Confused was the least of his worries. How to keep Serefina in his life, how to
keep her safe on this op, things like that took precedence over his worry. At
least for the moment.

“You know I’m here for you, Taber. For
whatever. But I have to tell you, Tobias wants you back at the warehouse. I’ll
stay here and watch. Before you ask, no, I don’t know why.”

Damn. He wanted to go after Serefina
then get some shuteye.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

She reached over and squeezed his hand
before sliding out. He drove away, content in the knowledge Shania had it now. He
parked the car and jogged up to the door and let himself in. The mood in the
warehouse was sombre. Tobias waved him over.

“I want to know what the hell happened
last night,” Tobias snapped.

“With what?”

“Sean Forrest being in LeBenoit’s
room.”

“He wasn’t. Sebastian checked. The man
wasn’t there.”

“Well, at some point, that tracker went
from Sean to LeBenoit and back again.”

He’d suspected that but kept his mouth
shut. It could have been something else she put on Sean’s hat. “I wouldn’t know
about that.”

“Really? Because after your night with
her, I thought maybe you’d have a bit more insight as to her character.”

Without batting an eye, Taber
responded, “We spoke a little on family and how we got into our lines of work.
Not that you didn’t know that already considering the room was bugged.”

“Hmmm.” Tobias scratched his chin. “Not
the night I was talking about. I’m talking when you were in a hotel room in
New Mexico
with her.”

How
the fuck does he know about that?
Holding his boss’s gaze, he uttered,
“Stay out of my personal life.”

“I have no desire to get in it. Just
make sure you keep acting professional if you work with her again.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘if’?”

“The deal goes down tonight. Her
expertise was no longer needed so we sent her on her way.”

Gone? He wanted to roar in fury.

“Okay,” he said without inflection,
despite the anger raging within him. “Mind if I get some shuteye before it
then?”

“There’s a bed in the back.”

“I have a room at the hotel.”

“Whatever.” Tobias walked away.

He hurried back to the hotel and
checked in with Tucker.

“Everything okay here?”

“Sure. Well, we lost Serefina. She
headed back from wherever she came.”

“Too bad.” He never realised how much
that would bother him to know she was gone.

“Yes, she was sure sweet.”

“Sweet?”

Tucker blushed. “She was to me. Reminds
me a lot of my wife, Judi. She’ll make someone a great wife someday.”

Me!
He half expected that revelation to bother him but found it didn’t. It felt
right.
What have you done to me,
Serefina?

“I see. Glad you liked her. I’m off to
grab some sack time.”

“Later, man.”

He slipped up to his room and entered.
It was as dark as could be and he turned on a light. All blood in his body
headed towards his groin as he spotted an article of clothing on the floor and
saw a body under the blankets. He had his shirt halfway up his torso before he
froze.

Something didn’t feel right. He lowered
his shirt and reached behind him for his weapon. At his side, his phone
vibrated. He ignored it, moving closer to the bed. Grabbing the blanket, he
jerked hard with one hand, gun aimed with the other. He swore hard and fast.
Lying there in a pool of blood was none other than Shania Dodd.

Fuck.

His phone went off again. “What?” he
snapped, making sure there was no one in the bathroom.

“Am I bothering you, Kysenzki?” Tobias
asked.

“Goddamn it, Shania is dead in my
room.”

Tobias released a litany of curses.
“Don’t move, and for God’s sake, touch
nothing.
”
He hung up.

Staring at her, Taber checked for a
pulse, just in case. Nothing. “Damn you, Shania. What the fuck happened?”

She was a good agent. For this to
happen… He didn’t want to think about it and passed the time pacing the floor
until the others arrived, doing his damndest to adhere to Feeney’s order to not
touch anything. The door swung open to admit Tobias and some others. He watched
helpless as they took pictures and placed her on a gurney only to cover her
with a sheet.

Tobias waved a hand and the people in
the room moved to one side, giving them some privacy. “This doesn’t look good,
Taber.”

“I know.”

“I have to put you on administrative
leave until we get this sorted out.”

Shania. Upbeat. Effervescent. Never
down. Lying in her own blood, stabbed numerous times. In his hotel room, his
ex-lover lay dead.

“Taber!”

“I know,” he muttered, snapped back to
reality. “She came to talk to me this morning.”

“I know, damn it. I sent her. Look,
come give a statement, then… I don’t know, go home. Just one thing.” Tobias
grabbed his arm and stared at him, his expression serious.

“What?” he asked.

“Leave this alone.” He frowned and
Tobias shook his head. “I mean it, Kysenzki. You steer clear of this until
you’re cleared to come back to work. Then find the fucker if we haven’t. I need
your word on that.”

“I’ll leave it alone.” He boiled with
rage. His fingers curled into his palms, nails digging into the skin. He itched
to hit something. This was personal and it irked the hell out of him he was
told to stay out of it. Stay away from it and not to seek any answers. Shania
had been his friend too; she was one of their own. How was he supposed to sit
this out on the sidelines?

“Let’s go then.”

Two hours later, a statement from him,
and he was at the airport waiting for the plane to take him back to
Texas
. He did his best
to focus on something else, but all he could see was Shania lying there, dead.

Chapter Six

Serefina started at the doorbell
pealing through her home. Although soft and welcoming, the sound had been
unexpected. With a sigh, she stared at the object before her briefly, then
swung off the stool and headed for the front door, wiping her hands off on the
towel which had secured a spot on her shoulder.

“Yes?” she questioned, swinging the
heavy door open.

Any further thought got whisked away.
Taber stood there, a bag slung over one shoulder, looking fine as hell in a
black shirt, BDU’s and black boots. His hair showed proof of being run through
as if he were worried and unsure. Perhaps harried would be a better word. His
large truck parked beside her Xterra. Staring back at his face, she noticed the
strain. He appeared exhausted.

“Come on in,” she said.

He opened the screen door and proceeded
in, his inherent swagger making her think things she shouldn’t. Taber dropped
his duffel and stared at her. She cocked her head and did the same. Waiting.
For him to make his reason for being there known.

“I’m on administrative leave.”

Okay,
not what I expected.

“And you’re here, why?”

There it was. Her answer. Need flashed
in his gaze and she knew it wasn’t just a sexual one. He didn’t answer. Instead,
he countered with his own question.

“Can I stay?”

Could he? She didn’t really know him.
And yet in another way, she truly did. Trusting him wasn’t the issue. On some
deeper level, she already knew she did.

“Of course.” She gestured with her
hand. “Rooms are upstairs. I’ll be back down this hall when you want to talk.”
One final glance and she walked away.

Back in her room, which had been
converted to a studio, she sat back on the bench and picked up a trowel. With
deliberate careful marks, she cut out symmetrical diamonds all around the top.
When the last one fell free, she said, “Gonna tell me why you’re on administrative
leave?”

She’d known he had been in the doorway
but had ignored him the best she could until she’d finished the task at hand.

“I didn’t know you made pottery,” he
uttered, stepping farther in to view.

She glanced at him and swallowed hard.
He’d changed into jeans, a T-shirt and wore socks.
Damn, he’s just too good-looking for my own sanity.

Focusing back on the vase before her,
she picked up another tool and drew lines below the diamonds. “Now you do.
Pottery relaxes me. Stop trying to throw me off.”

“The body of an agent—Shania—turned up
in my hotel room. Dead. They’re searching for suspects.”

“And needed you out of the way of the
case?” she asked, not believing for a second he would be the one who had killed
an agent. Why a female agent was in his room, however, that made her a bit
curious.
Stop it, LeBenoit; we have no
claim on him.
She realised she wanted some claim on him.

“Yes.” He materialised beside her,
drawing up another stool.

She’d never had anyone in her shop with
her before. It was
her
place, but
having him there didn’t feel all that bad. Kind of nice, actually.

“Do they know where you are?”

He captured her chin and forced an eye
connection. “Do you want me to leave?”

She smiled. “Tired of being here
already?”

His gaze was haunted. “That’s not what
I meant and you know it. Do you feel uncomfortable with me here because of
that?”

Placing the tool down, she rotated her
seat until her entire body faced him, not just her head. “Taber, I don’t
believe you killed a co-worker. Trust me; what makes me nervous isn’t that. So
you are more than welcome to stay.”

Those amazing eyes sparkled. “Thank you
for believing in me, angel. Now, let’s talk about what does make you
uncomfortable.”

“Let’s not,” she retorted with a snort.

“Can we re-enact the scene from
Ghost
?”

She burst out laughing. “I suppose
you’d be Patrick Swayze.” Taber nodded. “Do I get to be Willie and shoot you?”
she asked with a sugary sweet voice.

He harrumphed. “Not quite the scene I
was hoping for.”

“Sorry. I have to finish this vase. You
want something to do. Whip up some lunch.”

“It’s almost four.”

Dang.
Time got away from me.
“Supper then.”

He brushed his lips along her cheek and
left. She remained alone until she finished. With a groan, she stood and
decided to apply the glaze later. After washing up, she trotted up the hall,
only to be met by country music and the smell of steaks on the grill.

Country?
Oy. This is the first time country music has been on at my house.

She moved closer and saw him on the
back patio in front of the grill. Resting a hip on the counter, she took a
moment and just stared at him through the opened sliding glass door.

A slight wind ruffled his
shoulder-length hair and what little free material there was of his shirt. He
sang along with the music and she smiled at the almost boyish expression he
had.
He seems much more relaxed now than
when he first arrived.

Almost like he sensed her eyes upon
him, Taber lifted his head. In a millisecond, his expression changed from
innocent and carefree to predatory.

“Almost done,” he said.

“Smells wonderful.”

She glided closer to him. Casually, he
held out one arm and, when she settled along his side, he kissed her temple.

“Get your vase done?”

“Almost. I have to glaze then fire it.”

“You do beautiful work. I looked at the
stuff around the house. Very impressive.”

She blushed. “Thank you.” Closing her
eyes, she rested her head against him. The strong steady beat of his heart
played out near her ear.

“Why’d you come here?”

“It made sense to me.”

He checked the steaks. His words made
her glad. While he finished up at the grill, she set the table on her porch. It
was perfect weather to eat out under the glow of the setting sun. There wasn’t
much talk over dinner but afterward, he swept her up in his arms and carried
her to the gliding loveseat. Pressed tightly against him, she relaxed and
allowed herself to feel.

Taber kissed her, gently at first. His
lips covered hers and he slowly swept through her mouth. He brought with him
his own taste and the combination of steak and beer.

Her skin pebbled, her breasts felt
heavy with want and her panties grew damp. She whimpered and wound her arms
around him, sinking her fingers into his hair. She loved his thick, luxurious
hair and could spend hours playing with it. She still had the tie she’d ripped
from his hair the first time they kissed.

Without breaking contact, she altered
her body so she straddled him, and her crotch settled against the ridge in his
jeans. With a purr, she began to slide back and forth along his erection. He
growled deeply in response. And the kiss changed. No longer gentle, it demanded.
He gripped her waist before slipping up under her T-shirt. His calloused hands
sent more shivers through her.

“Serefina,” he rumbled into her mouth.

Drawing back, she stared at him. “More
of that talking thing?”

His brows converged and a frown turned
down his lips. “Why are you so content to not talk?”

“What do we have to talk about? This
isn’t anything permanent here. “

Anger flashed in those gorgeous eyes.
He positioned his hands on her hips, her shirt between his skin and her own.
“Do you ever wish for something more?”

Sean Forrest flitted unbidden through
her mind. Disgusted with herself for even allowing Sean a thought, she forced
the ex-fiancé from her mind. “Not anymore,” she stated with staunch conviction.

“You did at one time?”

She knew her smile was strained. “Of
course. But now, I’m all about my career. Like you.” In the depths of his gaze,
she could see something which told her he needed to just let go. With a deep
breath, she moved so she sat next to him, her lust back under control, and
draped her legs over his lap. “What happened?”

His fingertips trailed up and down her
legs, teasing her skin and causing goosebumps to pop up as her stomach clenched
with anticipation. “I can’t get the image out of my mind.”

Despite the jealousy which swamped her
at the thought of another woman in his hotel room, she wanted to help. “It’s
never easy to lose an agent, especially one you’ve worked with and are friends
with.”

“I’ve seen lots but that… It was so
personal.”

Personal. A jealous lover who knew they
were together, perhaps? Damn it, she needed to focus and stay on target. This
wasn’t about whom he was with. “You knew her well?”

He nodded. “She was a damn good agent.
There were no defensive wounds.”

Her own mind worked fast. “So she knew
her attacker or was incapacitated.”

“I counted fifteen stab wounds and that
was just on her back. There were more present when they turned her.”

She sat up, legs tumbled to the floor.
“She was stabbed?”

“Didn’t I say that before?”

A chill skirted up and down her spine.
“Have you checked to see how the sting went?”

“No. They put me on leave.” His words
were coloured with frustration at being sidelined for this.

“You need to call them.” She got up
from his lap and the swing, heading inside, Taber on her heels.

“Why?”

“Just do it.” She had a bad feeling. A
very bad feeling.

The moment his cell was in his hand,
she dashed up the hallway to her office and headed to her computer. His loud
curse didn’t surprise her at all, and yet, she’d hoped to hell she was wrong.
By the time he reached the doorway, she faced it, waiting. Rage sat etched into
each line of his face.

“He got away, didn’t he?” she asked,
even though she knew the answer in the pit of her stomach.

“Yes.” The single word was laced with
anger. “How did you know?”

“One of Thurgood’s MO’s is stabbing.
Everything against him is taken so personally. I bet when they run a tox on
her, they’ll not find any trace of anything. He likes to use a poison that
metabolises quickly so it’s gone by the time the body has bled out or is found.
I’d hazard a guess, while there were numerous wounds, none to major organs.”

He stepped closer and she fought the
urge to lean back out of the way of his fury. It streamed from every pore in
his body, submerging her in its wrath. “How the hell do you know all of this?
And why weren’t we told?”

She bristled and got to her feet in a
single motion. “I know you’re upset at what happened to your friend but don’t
you dare try to put this on me. Why the hell do you think I was called in? I
gave what I knew about this; what your department did with it is y’all’s deal.”

The man before her had transformed.
Lightning sparked in his gaze, adding an eerie look to his countenance. A tic
in his clenched jaw made her wish never to be on this side of him.

“Where would he go? And what about the
two agents undercover with him?”

“I don’t know. If I did, that bastard
would have been off the streets a long time ago. Part of what makes Thurgood so
powerful is his ability to seemingly vanish like this.”

“But you have an idea,” he stated.

He was right. She did have an idea.

“I do.” Spinning back to her computer,
she printed off the page on the screen, went to her printer and grabbed it.
“Let’s get packed to go.”

He enclosed a hand about her wrist.
“Why would you do this?”

“I don’t think Dillard should be on the
streets any longer than necessary.”

Those eyes changed from angry to
knowledgeable. “You could be risking your career going after him, especially
with me.”

“Why? You’re on administrative leave.
I’m on leave. They can’t tell us where to go. I feel like a vacation. You can
either come with me or not. Your call.”

He arched a blond brow. “A vacation? Be
careful, angel. Sounds like we’re almost a couple.”

It was true. And she’d been thinking of
him like that. Not that she’d tell him or how having him call her angel made
her feel like a crushing girl. But from the smirk on his face, he was way ahead
of her in her line of thought.

“Then don’t come. I just thought you
may want a crack at getting the one who did, or knows who did, this to your
friend
.” She couldn’t help the way the
word ‘friend’ left her mouth, a bit snappish.

Taber stared down at the brown-skinned
vixen before him.
She’s jealous
.
Serefina LeBenoit was jealous over a woman she’d never officially met. Sure,
they’d seen one another but they never spoke. Serefina may not realise it yet
but he did. She was good and jealous and he’d bet there was more to it than
that. Perhaps even deeper feelings. He didn’t say a word as she moved around
him, steps angry and abrupt. By the time she vanished from view, he leaned
against the doorjamb with a smile on his face.

Tobias had ordered him to stay out of
it. This wasn’t his battle and he was still on leave. The rage resurfaced when
he thought of Shania dead. He would exact revenge on this man and it seemed,
for all intents and purposes, that Serefina was his best bet on doing just
that.
Yeah, that’s the
only
reason you’re grinnin’ like a fool… Right.

He ran up to the room he’d put his bag
in hours earlier and made sure he had everything. Standing partially in the
closet, he bumped a large box with his shoulder and when it toppled, he reached
out to halt it. A cursory glance over the top had him backing out and kneeling
to place the box on the thick carpet, the colour of rich fertile earth.

A large binder sat haphazardly on the
top.
My Wedding Planner
. He frowned
and reached for it, only to hesitate briefly picking it up. It was heavy and
had loose paper stuck throughout it.