Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (60 page)

I relieved Maddox of
the bag and walked through to the kitchen, Maddox
close
on my heels. "You
really
haven't seen him?"
I asked, glancing over my shoulder.

"No. Not since we wrapped the case up.
I’m back at MPD now the task force is disbanded.
I caught a homicide case. The guy gambled with dudes way out of his league.
I’m working with your brother Garrett on this one.
"

"
Hope you catch them.” I flashed a smile at his pleased face. Catching criminals suited him far better than watching television while he healed
.
I wondered how working with Garrett would suit either of them.
“
Well, I guess
he won't mind me saying. I don't think it's a secret. He's staying in Montgomery. He opened a business."

"Doing?"

I repeated what Solomon told me,
"Privat
e investigations.”
Dang, if that didn't sound mysterious.

"He came to tell you that?"
Maddox
frowned
,
but h
e didn't seem overly surprised
at the news
.

"Yeah. Offered me a job, too. Private investigator."

Maddox’s face darkened as he looked at me sharply.
That
surprised him.
"Seriously? You told him no, of course."
Maddox
stated it simply, like there wasn't even the possibility that I would say anything else.

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head
, feeling strangely possessive of my new job
.
And, I thought, with sudden amusement, the whole Vincent thing had been the world’s worst interview.
"Actually, I said yes."
I grinned. A
big, excited smile
to reflect my inner excitement
.
Me? A P
I? Stranger things have happened.
And as for
Solomon
being on my team; I bet being on his team would be pretty cool too.

Maddox sidled closer.
"Can I persuade you to say no?"

"Why would I say no?"

Maddox’s jaw stiffened
and he ran a hand over it
thoughtfully
,
before
placing
it
on my shoulder, caressing me
right where he knew it didn’t hurt
.
"Because Solomon is scary. No one really knows him.
I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about him
and I just spent the last
four
months with him
every day
.
"

"You
worked with him
. You must have some idea about his character
," I pointed out
, turning back to the grocery bag and unloading the contents on
to
the counter.
“And you’re a detective. Didn’t you find out
anything
?”

"
Only that he was working this job for fun. Miller told me the FBI wanted to give him
something to keep him out of trouble until his
loaner
contract expired.
His words, not mine.
"

It hadn't been a lot of fun for me, but whatever floated his space cruiser. "What did he usually do
when on loan to
the FBI
…
or who
m
ever
?"
I asked, curiosity biting.

"
Beats me.”
Maddox waited.
“So...?"

"I'm going to take the job," I said
decisively
. Like before, when Solomon offered, I didn't even have to think about my answer. I was intrigued and more interested in seeing what Solomon's world had to offer than ending up
as a temp
in another office, doing the same thing day in, day out.
Frankly, filing could bite me.
"I'm not
exactly rolling in offers here,
"
I added. “And lounging around wa
s fun for oh, a day and a half
,
tops. I need to work.”

Plus, Maddox's warning made it sound even more appealing. Working with Solomon would
never
be dull.
I might even learn a bunch of cool stuff.
So long as I didn't get shot again, I was
fine
with that.

Maddox
inched
up to me, his hands snaking around my waist and drawing me to him.
Through the open neck of his button
-
down shirt, I could see the pinkish scar of his wound, now healed
,
but still fresh
and shiny
looking. "I could make you a nice offer,
"
he murmured, his voice smoky.

"It's not a job offer is it?"

"No, but it'll keep you out of trouble for the next few hours."

"Mmm," I purred, my arms going a
round
his neck. "I think you better tell me more."

Enjoyed Armed & Fabulous? Sign up to the mailing list at
www.
c
amillachafer.com
to
find out as soon as
the next Lexi Graves mystery
,
Who Glares Wins
,
is available in June, 2012
.

Who Glares Wins

Only a few weeks into her new job as a private investigator and Lexi Graves thinks she may have bitten off more than she can chew with her first solo cases.

In between going undercover as a plush pony, fending off the advances of a lecherous “Bronie” and following her cheating brother-in-law, she’s got a saboteur turned killer to catch and a missing woman to find. Two of her cases may be connected, but how? There’s no short list of suspects to investigate but as Lexi closes in on the killer, her life is put in jeopardy. Narrowly escaping being framed for a murder she didn’t commit, Lexi knows her luck is running out.

To make matters worse her boyfriend, sexy Detective Adam Maddox, thinks she’s out of the PI game
faster than she got into it
and her boss, the mysterious Solomon, wants nothing more than to get her between the sheets by night as well as solving cases by day, and Lexi’s resolve might not be as strong as she thinks.

All she wants is for them to take her seriously and
there’s only one way she can do
that—solve the case, whatever it takes.

About the author

Author and journalist Camilla Chafer writes for newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the world. She is also the author/ editor of several non-fiction books
as well as the author of the Stella Mayweather urban fantasy series
. She lives in London, UK.

Visit Camilla online at www.camillachafer.com to sign up to her newsletter, find out more about her, plus news on upcoming books and fun stuff including book group guides, playlists, deleted scenes and giveaways.

You can also find Camilla on Twitter @camillawrites and Facebook at
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/#!/CamillaChafer
.

Other books:

Stella Mayweather Series (Urban Fantasy)

Illicit Magic

Unruly Magic

Devious Magic

Magic Rising