Dirty Deeds (20 page)

Long story short, McDonald had been a royal pain in the ass since the arrest. Shooting the little bastard in front of his famous big brother had been…well, fun. The third shot was the kill shot; the other two were for show. He was an artist, after all, and every artist needed to be admired. He'd have loved to be able to stay and observe their admiration for his skill except that while he was skilled, he wasn't foolish. As soon as he saw McDonald go down, he'd made tracks for Spokane. Besides, he'd endured a long night waiting for the man to get back with the missing tire and wheel. Pathetic Jamie McDonald couldn't even get an escape right. As much as he hated the thought of finding a replacement for the bumbling McDonald, he hated the thought of being caught even more. James McDonald had become a liability and liabilities couldn't be allowed to remain. The threat they posed to him wasn't acceptable.

The roar of a powerful engine brought his attention back to the here and now. From the parking lot outside her office, Russell drove away in the powerful convertible, her shiny hair catching the wind, her eyes hidden by the dark glasses. She was quite a sight in that automobile, the kind of car most guys would give a testicle to own.

Though she passed very close to where he stood, she didn't glance his way. He suspected her mind was far away on another man, one with red hair and green eyes. What drew women to guys like that? Never understood it himself. The things he could do with a gun were far more admirable than anything hockey boy could do with a stick. But women were women and there was no accounting for taste.

He stayed in the shadows until he could no longer see the taillights of her car. He would have to keep an eye on her; she could cause him real trouble. He'd like to think this little matter was all tidied up. The only reason he'd stayed alive and in business this long was because he was a careful man. He paid attention to all the details and right now, Louie Russell was a detail that would have to be watched. He couldn't afford to get sloppy at this point. He'd hate to have to take down a woman as attractive and intriguing as Russell. He'd do it though, if he was forced to. Life was all about choices, and getting caught was not a choice he'd make. If it came down to a choice between her life and his freedom, she'd lose.

For tonight, there was little more he could do and little she could do to harm him or disrupt his careful plans. She was going home, which for him opened up the night to indulge in his favorite pastime. He was whistling as he left the shadows and strode across the almost empty parking lot.

"Hey, dude, can you spare a couple bucks?"

The man who approached him was missing most of his teeth and his hair was a long matted mess. The pan-handling street person smelled worse than he looked.

He tried not to breathe as the man came near. "You need money for some food, right?"

The walking mess scrunched up his face, his eyes red-rimmed and watery. "Fuck no, I need a bottle, man. Do I look like I need to eat?"

He respected an honest man who embraced his vice. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He held it out and the dirty face lit up.

"Thanks, dude. You're all right." He grabbed the bill with grubby fingers and it disappeared into the folds of the filthy clothes. With the movement came another wave of fetid odor.

He wouldn't have believed the man he could move that fast. After that ten dollar bill was tucked away, the guy made tracks like a long-distance runner. He wondered how much that ten spot would get the grungy man at the liquor store a few blocks away. He was in a good mood tonight, so why not share the love? He continued whistling as he walked away.

He spared only a passing glance for the petite black woman with the little silver grocery cart standing in the shadows of the building, watching him with wise and understanding eyes. When he drove away, she turned and trod slowly up the stairs and to the little apartment where she kept a telephone number right next to the phone.

* * * *

"So," Louie told the unmoving Chris, "it's a huge screwed-up mess. I mean, the good part is that Harry doesn't have to cough up the bond. The bad part is several people have been killed. I wish you were here, Christopher, I could use your input. You'd see whatever it is I'm missing. You always could."

She held his hand, her warm fingers wrapped around his cool ones. What, Chris wondered, was she talking about? And, why was she babbling on and on? He was really tired. Didn't she realize a bullet punched through his head not more than a day ago? His silly little sister always did like to jabber. Even she ought to be smart enough to realize he needed a chance to recoup before she wore him out with stories about her latest exploits with that crazy dog of hers.

When he thought about it, Louie and that dog were natural partners. She'd done well enough as a patrol cop. He'd been incredibly proud of his little sister, even if he failed to tell her so. When she'd started on the K9 unit and found that goofy dog, she bloomed. She was a natural and everyone around could see it. Given time, she was bound to be the top dog in Spokane's K9 squad. No doubt about it.

He did love her stories. She could make him laugh like nobody else. Still, right now he was so incredibly tired. His whole body felt drugged and heavy. He supposed it had to do with the shot at the warehouse. Taking a hit like that was guaranteed to take a guy down for a while.

He honestly didn't feel like going over her latest raid with the dog and hearing how many they arrested. He wanted to sleep. Usually his sister had better sense. She was attuned to people and that was one of the reasons she made such a great cop. That being the case, why was she having so much trouble seeing he was exhausted and wanted to sleep?

Maybe if he just kept his eyes closed, she'd get the hint. He hoped so anyway, except that it didn't seem to be working despite his closed eyes. Maybe he should snore?

"If I had to guess, I'd say he could very well be working with the Medicine Man. I wish you'd have taken him down that night, Chris. Maybe this whole mess could have been avoided. I really wish you would wake up, bro, I really do. I need you."

She stood and fiddled with his covers, taking his hand and putting her lips to it. The soft kiss against the back of his hand was nice. His tough little sister who never wanted anyone to know she was a softie at heart. He couldn't imagine his life without Louie around. After all, these days they only had each other. She put his hand down and tucked it beneath the blanket. Such a mother hen.

"I'm probably way off base." She kept talking even as she moved around. "Paul's brother may have a whole different group of dirtballs in his racket."

Who in the world was Paul? Chris didn't recall Louie ever talking about somebody with that name. Maybe Paul was one of the new recruits. She had that way about her and made friends of everyone. Not that Chris would know who they were. Despite both of them being in law enforcement, their worlds were very different.

"I've got to go, Chris. I should let this thing with James McDonald go, but I can't and it's more than falling in lust with his brother."

Lust? That was new for little sis. About time too. It'd be nice to have some nieces and nephews, and heaven knows he wasn't making much progress in the love department. One of them ought to be thinking about marriage and kids. Maybe he could find himself a nice nurse here at the hospital. Play up the wounded agent routine. It could work for him. Well, maybe after he got enough sleep he'd actually open his eyes and scope out the field in those sexy blue scrubs. Now, that sounded like a plan. All he needed was some rest.

Louie was still talking as the weariness he couldn't seem to shake dragged him down once again into the blackness.

* * * *

What a mess. Paul had been gone for less than twenty-four hours, and it was like he'd been missing in action for a month or more. There were times when running this hockey team was more like running a giant daycare. Two players with shaky grades, two players battling with each other, and another patched up after a dislocated shoulder. All in one day. Before he could head up to Surrey to help his parents make the arrangements for Jamie, he had to meet with the team, lay down the law, and put the fear of God into a roster of players with an average age of seventeen. What'd he been thinking when he bought this team? The beginnings of a headache began to tap at his skull.

Paul sat at his desk and leaned his head into his hands. He rubbed his scalp with his fingertips. He knew exactly what he was thinking when he purchased the franchise, and on any other day he could have taken these latest developments in stride. It was all part of a young team, one just like he played on years ago. This wasn't any other day, however, and he was at loss on just about everything.

His heart literally ached over Jamie's death. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Jamie had been a screw-up of colossal proportions. Nobody with an ounce of intelligence could argue the fact. A screw-up was one thing, but evil was another altogether. Jamie never had been a bad guy. Stupid, yes. Evil, never. As long as he lived, Paul would never forget the moment when he felt Jamie's life ebb away. He'd never in his entire life felt as helpless and hoped to God he never did again.

He should go home and get some rest except the last thing he felt was tired. It was more than Jamie's death or the problems with the team. It had a great deal to do with tall and beautiful. Two nights they'd spent together. Two crazy nights and he felt like he found what he'd been looking for all his life without even realizing he'd been searching. He closed his eyes and he saw her face. He took a breath and he smelled her perfume. He opened his hand and he felt her breast against his fingertips.

Paul had never been in love before and wondered if it felt something like this. Not that he was in love with Louie Russell. That would be impossible. He only met her a few days ago and people, rational people, didn't fall in love over the course of a couple of days.

Still, he missed her and wished he could see her or talk to her. That too would be improbable. She'd been on the job looking for Jamie so that she could turn him over to the authorities. It had been a job for her and the job was now done. She'd collect her pay and move on to the next case. He'd be surprised if he ever saw her again.

The thought made his stomach lurch. He hadn't really thought about it like that before and it made him frown. It shouldn't. It wasn't like he hadn't done that himself a time or two. He'd played professional hockey for years. Women waited outside the locker rooms everywhere he'd played. Was this how those puck bunnies had felt? He suspected they had, and the shame he should have felt at the time now washed him over like dirty bath water. Cold, dirty bath water.

He pushed the guilt aside and thought instead of Louie. He didn't want the magic they created under the stars to be all there was to their relationship. He didn't want that one night to be the only night and yet he didn't know how to go from here. He didn't know if Louie cared one way or the other. Maybe she didn't want to see him again. Maybe it wasn't as special for her as it felt to him.

This train of thought was driving him crazy. He had many other things to worry about. He didn't have the time or the energy to waste on a woman right now. Even if she was the most special woman he ever met. Silken hair and ivory skin…He could imagine how beautiful their children would be.

Enough already. Paul shoved his chair back and kicked off his shoes. They landed on the far side of the room with a thud. He reached for his skates and jammed them on his feet. The ice never failed him. Most of the team was gone for the day and so far Bill hadn't run the Zamboni over the ice yet. This would be a great time to work off a little of the stress that had him wired. At least this time, Bill wouldn't scowl at him for messing up his pristine ice.

Today, he left his stick in the office. He hit the ice like a sprinter, moving as fast as his legs could push him. He circled the rink again and again, each loop faster than the one before it. His breath came quicker, his heart thumped and the muscles in his legs burned more with every pass. He focused only on the skating. His body buzzed and his lungs were on fire. Still he pushed harder and faster until nothing existed except the scrape of ice beneath his skates.

He didn't want to feel anything except the burning of his muscles. When he looked up and saw Louie, he came close to crashing into the nearest board. He didn't know how long she'd been standing there, his concentration so intent on pushing his body to the absolute limit. At least she wouldn't wonder why he wasn't in the pros any longer.

He didn't crash and recovered with what he hoped was at least a little grace. His breathing was still heavy when he skated to the nearest door, stepped off the ice and onto the rubber pad with shaky legs.

"Hi." She looked a little tired and a little sad.

She looked beautiful.

He meant to say hello back and then did something that surprised him. He reached out, pulled her close, and kissed her hard and deep.

And he wasn't one bit sorry.

Chapter Thirteen

Okay, now this was just plain nuts. They were far from alone in the huge building and anybody could walk in to see them sucking face like a couple of teenagers. So, would Louie back off? Not a chance. She returned his passion and upped the ante. His lips were sweet against hers, the taste of his sweat salty against her tongue.

Her face was flushed and her breathing ragged when Paul pulled away. She could have gone on kissing him like that for hours.

"I'm s-sorry," he stuttered. "That was out of line."

"Are you really sorry?" Louie raised an eyebrow.

He blinked and then smiled. "No."

"Me either." She returned the smile and took him by the hand, leading him back to the office she sat in the first day they'd met. They'd have privacy there.

With his skates on, Paul towered over her. Once they were in the office with the door shut, he pulled her into his arms again, his body hot and sticky. He smelled all man. "I'm glad you're here."