Bounty Hunters: 03 Stay Hungry (33 page)

Chapter Eighteen

"We're headed back to Mandela's place." Jake took her hands in his, lifting them, then holding them as he squeezed. "Your sister is there somewhere."

"It's a crime scene. No way are we going to get in there." His enthusiasm was contagious, and she searched his face, wanting to understand everything he was thinking at the moment. "What makes you think Marianna is there?"

"It might not be marked as a crime scene. Mandela hasn't been arrested and there are two more members of the game who will disappear and never be found if they get wind that the FBI is crawling around Mandela." Jake rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, his calloused thumb igniting sparks as he caressed her flesh. "And you played him very well, my dear. It's an old trick but never fails. Make them believe you know more than they do and they always give out more information."

"What did he say that makes you think she's at Mandela's house?"

"The day before we met with your father, there was a news clip about two men driving into the wall of a popular nightclub. It grabbed our attention because it referred to slave juice. Natasha, who is my cousin and our office manager," he added quickly, as if he suspected mentioning another woman's name would upset Angela, "watched the news clip with me. When did you say your sister arrived in L.A.?"

"On Sunday," she said, frowning.

Jake released one of her hands but guided her to her couch. When he sat, he pulled her in next to him but adjusted both of them so they faced each other. "Bobby just told us Mandela was responsible for that terrible accident. He made two members of his army that he didn't think were good enough for whatever reasons drive into that wall and kill themselves."

"Seems a bit dramatic." She shook her head, doubting she'd ever get accustomed to the level of evil that existed inside Mario. "If they weren't performing the way he wanted them to, why didn't he just kill them instead of making such a public scene over their deaths?"

Jake's smile was absolutely wicked. His eyes glowed as if he'd just solved everything. "Maybe because he was testing out a new member of his army he'd just picked up."

Angela stared at Jake a moment before understanding kicked in. "You think he kidnapped Marianna from the airport and made her kill those two men?" Angela almost jumped off the couch suddenly incredibly sick to her stomach.

"It's a running theory. Bobby was lying to us and feeding us half-truths. I'm anxious to find out why."

"What is your plan?" Angela's heart was pounding so hard she could barely catch her breath. "And why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" he asked, with an innocent purr that sounded dangerous as hell. He intentionally gave her a slow once-over before staring into her eyes. "Darling, I'm sure every man with a heartbeat would look at you like is," he added.

"What is your plan?" she asked, trying to look stern.

"Anyone ever tell you how adorable you are when you're dying to dive into a hunt?"

Oddly enough, her father had told her that more than once over the years to get under her skin. He hadn't used the word "hunt," but the meaning had been the same.

"Is there a reason you aren't telling me this plan?" she said, giving Jake a cool look although her insides were starting to boil.

"Maybe I like teasing and torturing you." His grin turned roguish and he flicked his finger at her nipple.

An electric current zapped from her breast straight through her until it swelled between her legs. Angela grabbed his wrist, damn near growling at him. He'd told her regardless of how this case ended, they were going to keep working together. She didn't know if he meant in her town or his. Would she be able to handle going out to L.A., where so many women obviously sniffed after him like bitches in heat? It seemed a lot more logical to her for him to remain here. That wasn't something they were going to discuss right now, though. All that mattered now was finding her sister and ending the game.

When she'd remained quiet another moment, Jake began explaining: "Let's lock this place up and head over to Mandela's. I'm not convinced your cover has been blown with him, but we'll find out."

"I'd hate to find out the hard way," she said, moving to stand.

Jake grabbed her and yanked her up against his muscular chest. "You've got the best backup in the world, sweetheart," he growled, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his mouth against hers. The kiss added to the torture already ransacking her body and ended too soon. "I will never let anything happen to you."

"I've got your back, too." She initiated the next kiss.

Jake was possessive, aggressive, demanding--traits she'd always believed she would find annoying in a man. Fantasies of men in shining armor dragging a lady into their lair and demanding her submission were hot but only if they remained fantasies. In real life Angela wanted more control.

At the moment, though, she could barely move. Muscles as solid as steel and stronger than she was trapped her against the most virile body she'd ever known. Hell, that she'd ever fantasized about. Jake went beyond commanding submission. He took her where he wanted her faster than her brain had time to react.

Every inch of her sizzled in response. If she could have moved her hands, raised her arms, and wrapped them around him, Angela probably would have tried pulling him closer. As it was, the kiss was hot, sensual, and filled with heated promises that made her insides swell and pulse with need.

Jake sighed when he ended the kiss. Angela blinked, opening her eyes in time to see his heavily hooded gaze. His actions had been rough but ended with a soft sigh that sounded so gentle. He was a man of extremes, offering everything from hot, aggressive, feverish moments to gentle, soothing, and sensual gestures. This was a man who walked into her life with a stream of women chasing after him. He came across as rough and larger than life, with his incredibly muscular weight lifter's body and a stature so much taller than most men. Yet he was capable of slinking through yards and dark shadows and spying on others without being seen. Jake was well-rounded, intelligent, with a craving for the hunt and solving a mystery.

She sucked in a deep breath, tasting him on her lips and inhaling his unique smell, one of soap and that all-man aroma that turned her on as much as the rest of him did. Looking away before he could make eye contact, Angela feared she was falling hard for him. It scared her to death and she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it if she learned that it was just the hunt that turned Jake on. Once he caught what he chased down, though, would he still be interested?

"Better get going," she said, whispering, since his face was still mere inches from hers. "What are we doing once we get there?"

Jake moved his hand and rubbed his thumb along her jawline. "We're going on a hunt. You've got your gun?"

Half an hour later the sun shone brightly on the horizon, giving promises of another hot and muggy day. She was grateful to be able to wear her hair up again, which was how she usually wore it while staking out a property. Wearing it down to impress Mario had damn near driven her crazy, although not as bad as Mario had. Jake slowed in Angela's small midnight blue Probe, which she'd been impressed he was able to drive considering his size. It had been parked at her home while she'd been undercover at the Drake. Jake's rental car had probably already been acknowledged as his. No one would know her Probe, though, unless they ran the tags.

Jake slowed as he and Angela rounded the corner by Mario's mansion. He parked on the edge of the blacktop road a couple houses down from Mario's. Angela got out on her side before Jake was around the front of the car.

"Let's go." He pulled her toward the house directly across the street.

"Why are we going this way?"

"To confuse anyone who might be watching."

Angela was continually impressed by how easily and fluidly Jake moved for a man well over six foot. They remained alongside each other, moving between Mario's rod iron fence and a tight row of spruce trees that lined the neighbor's property. Angela had to break into a pretty good sprint to keep up with Jake and didn't slow until he did after reaching the back side of Mario's home.

Jake pulled her to the ground when one of three garage doors began opening.

"I think it's Marco," she whispered, lying flat in the grass next to Jake, propped up on her elbows and with her chin resting in her hands.

Jake had assumed the same position. "If he leaves, how many would still be in the house?"

"Well," she began, giving it some thought. "If Bobby isn't in there and Marco leaves it might very well just be Mario inside."

"Perfect." Jake kept his attention narrowly focused on the back of the house as he spoke. "And even more perfect if Marco leaves the garage door up when he leaves."

"If there are FBI watching I bet they aren't back here." Angela glanced around her and Jake, taking in the tall trees between the homes and the large yards that separated each property. "They would be watching the garage, though."

"Let's go!" Jake hissed, leaping off the ground and grabbing her as he sprang to his feet.

"What?" Angela stumbled, trying to keep up and maintain her footing when Jake hurried toward the open garage door. Marco wasn't even halfway down the driveway, although the way the drive curved around and headed to the front of the house and the street, he wouldn't see them by now. "That was a bit of a close call," she hissed under her breath when they slid into the garage.

"I wanted to hurry in case the door was on an automatic timer." Jake moved to the sidewall of the garage.

As if to prove him right, a humming kicked on, then the garage door began closing. Angela would be damned if she'd let Jake see how on edge her nerves were. She hadn't spent a lot of the four years she'd been a private investigator breaking into people's homes. The urge to leap toward Jake, ensure her safety, was a hard one to stifle. Angela moved quickly but then stepped in front of him, looking at the closed door that would lead into the house.

She'd never seen or heard of anyone else being in the house other than the few men Mario had waiting on him. Things could have changed since his army had been busted. In spite of her heart pounding in her chest, Angela had to show Jake she didn't cower when things got scary. Not to mention, if Marianna was somewhere in this house she'd endured a lot more terror than anything Angela was about to experience sneaking through Mario's home.

When she gripped the doorknob to the door leading into the house, Jake put his hand on her shoulder. "Which way are you headed?"

"I've never been in the kitchen. Most garage doors open into a kitchen or utility room. I won't know until I'm inside."

"We head inside, but I'm going first. No offense, sweetheart, but if we have company on the other side of the door, I can take them down easier than you can." He was still whispering, but the gentle way he spoke to her made her think he'd guessed her determination to show him she could handle this kind of situation as well as he could.

Angela realized he probably did a lot more sneaking around as a bounty hunter than she did investigating. And he had a point: Jake
could
take someone down a lot easier than she could. She nodded once, stepped to the side, and stuck close to his backside when he opened the door and entered the house.

It was quiet, almost too quiet. The times she'd been here with Mario he had spent a lot of time yelling at his hired help. Her nerves had always been frazzled, and she'd focused most of her attention on making sure his hands weren't on her any more than she could tolerate. But now, as she and Jake walked through a very large kitchen, complete with two stoves and ovens and large, deep sinks on both sides of the room, she would have sworn there wasn't a soul around.

Jake glanced over his shoulder, nodding at her. It was time for her to take the lead. She knew the layout of the house, and he didn't. Angela stepped lightly, although the house was well built and floorboards didn't squeak under the soft, thick carpet when they moved down a hallway. Although she'd had a tour, she wasn't sure where they were until they entered the large room with the sliding glass doors. She paused a moment to stare at the outbuilding, which looked as it always did, visible through the doors.

Angela looked away first. "Mario's room is upstairs," she whispered,

"Is that where you want to start?"

For some reason, she hadn't thought of starting anywhere else. Angela wasn't sure what drew her to his room, but she nodded and turned to the stairs. They were halfway up them when someone opened a door downstairs.

Angela's heart exploded in her chest, and she froze, suddenly incapable of lifting her foot to continue climbing the stairs. Jake grabbed her, almost lifting her up the remaining steps, then pressed her flat against the wall at the top of the stairs next to him.

"God damn, it's hot out there." A male's voice boomed through the downstairs, and heavy footsteps sounded against bare wood floors. It was Bobby.

Angela's nerves twisted into painful knots inside her as a moist sheen of perspiration broke out over her flesh. She swore she heard someone else say something, but if she did that person was whispering. When Bobby responded with a sharper, hissing whisper, she tried to keep her legs from trembling.

"Mario? You here?" Again Bobby yelled into the house, his voice creating an echo as it boomed off walls.

No one answered and the whispering resumed. They were getting closer.

"Check his room first." Bobby was at the bottom of the stairs.

She looked wide-eyed up at Jake when he turned his head and stared down at her. He didn't speak but instead mouthed the words,
Don't move.

Angela wouldn't have guessed his next move. She also didn't understand why he didn't want her moving, especially when a couple sets of footsteps began ascending the stairs. She was trembling so hard it would have been impossible to move. Her tongue was stuck to the top of her mouth as her heart throbbed in her head, her chest, and throughout the rest of her body. Her eyes burned from staring wide-eyed in Jake's direction, not daring to move.