Knock Out (A Reynolds Security Novel) (14 page)

“
That’s… weird.”

When the rest of the team arrived they were all surprised to see the necklace.

“Well that was the easiest assignment ever.” Charlie joked.

“
Yeah way too easy.” Sam grumbled.

“
Tell me about it. How long until you figure an anonymous tip leads the Edgepark PD to bust down my door with a search warrant?” Lou grumbled. She was sitting on the floor with Cooper’s head in her lap and Jace found himself wishing he could change places with the dog. Though given the fact that their shouting match had in no way resolved anything he doubted he would be in that position anytime soon.

“
We’re not going to let it go that far.” Jace said. “We’re going to call in the FBI.”

“
I thought the client didn’t want the authorities involved.” Brent said.

“
At this point I don’t give a rat’s ass what the client wants. We aren’t going to chance Lou or any one of us getting busted for being in possession of stolen property. I have a friend in the San Francisco field office. I’ll give him a call. He might let us work with him on this. But until we are officially told to back off we’re going to stay on it. I want someone to talk to the hotel staff, mostly the cleaning crew. See if they have noticed anything. They are invisible to people like Castillo. Bribe them if you have to, all expenses will be reimbursed. I want someone sitting on this apartment round the clock. Whoever got in here was a professional. They didn’t leave a trace of entry, forced or otherwise.”

“
Ah hello, I am here. I can sit on this place.” Lou spoke up. Not that she relished playing sitting duck.

“
You are the target, you are not staying here.”

“
Excuse me? I can take care of myself.”

“
You will go to a safe house.” He continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

“
I will not. I am a member of this team too.” The tension was fairly crackling between them.

“
Lou makes damn good bait.” Charlie put in.

“
She is not going to be the damn bait. We are talking about millions in diamonds. People kill for a hell of a lot less.” He roared. Everyone was staring at him and he knew it but he wasn’t relenting.

“
Right now let’s call the FBI and arrange to get the millions in jewels taken off our hands. Then we can figure out who is behind this and what in the world it has to do with Lou.” Colby said calmly.

“
I’ll make the call.” Jace grumbled and walked away.

“
You have anyone holding a grudge against you, Lou?”

“
Only Charlie.” She muttered and they all laughed. She thought of all the people she had pissed off. Of course her former CO and his brother in law were at the top of the list but they didn’t have the knowhow to put something like this together. “I have pissed a few people off but no one that could pull off a jewel heist like this. We’re not talking about shop lifting here.”

“
You’ve pissed off shop lifters?” Colby asked and she laughed relieving the tension that was building inside her.

“
Alright Frank is on his way. I want someone to set up discreet surveillance outside. We’ll get cameras up tomorrow. Work out a rotation schedule until we do. The rest of you go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

“
Hey boss I have some extra cameras from my last install in my car. You want me to put them up?”

“
Yes, that would be perfect.” 

The rest of the men worked out a schedule of who would be doing what in the next twenty four hours. As they prepared to leave she realized she was going to be left alone with Jace. She turned pleading eyes to Colby and he smiled sympathetically.

“You want to stay at my place?”

“
She needs to be here to talk to the FBI.” Jace said before she had a chance to respond. Lou glared at him.

“
Aren’t you the one who said I needed to be in a safe house?”

“
You’ll be safe until the FBI gets here.”

“
How do you know?”

“
Because I will protect you.” She rolled her eyes and Colby smirked.

“
Clearly you two have things to talk about. I will see you in the morning.” Lou turned her glare on Colby, the traitor.

Chapter 18

It was quiet once they left. Lou was determined not to give in to Jace. But it was hard when he leveled that penetrating stare on her.

“
What is this all about?”

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
Yes you do.”

“
I swear I haven’t pissed off any international jewel thieves that I know of.”

“
That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“
Look Jace, no strings means I can end it anytime that I want to. I don’t need to give you an explanation.”

“
You’re wrong.”

“
How?”

“
No strings means you don’t spend the night. You don’t curl up on the couch and watch movies. You don’t go grocery shopping. You don’t lay awake talking about your favorite Christmas movie. No strings doesn’t care about your favorite color or your family or your fighting style. What we have is not no strings. What we have is special.” A fat tear rolled out of her eye and it pissed her off. She surged to her feet.

“
Fuck you Jace.” She said and turned away but he was too quick for her he grabbed her elbow and turned her back. She swung at him a hard right cross but he pulled back and she barely missed him.

“
I think that would’ve done some damage had it connected. Good thing you’re still telegraphing your punches.” She really wanted to swing at him again but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“
Get out of my apartment.”

“
Tell me what I did to make you cry.”

“
You know what you did you lying SOB. If what we had was so special why the hell would you have your arms around some blond bimbo the second I am gone?” His mouth dropped open in surprise and it was all the confirmation she needed. “Get out.” She said again and turned away again.

“
Wait.” This time he caught her around the waist. She fought against him but he lifted her off the ground. “I was not with some blond bimbo.”

“
Liar! I saw you!” She screeched kicking at him. “Let me go!” Cooper stood up and began to growl.

“
She’s not a bimbo.”

“
Go ahead stick up for your girlfriend. I don’t care. You can sleep with whomever you want. No strings remember.”

“
It was Savannah.” Lou stopped struggling. “My sister Savannah. She’s in town. She’s been staying with me the last couple days. She is there still if you’d like to meet her.”

“
Your sister?” She said weakly and he lowered her to the floor.

“
With you in my bed I don’t want anyone else.” He whispered right in her ear. “Not ever. You are everything I’ve ever wanted and a whole lot more.” Her breath caught at the softly spoken statement and her eyes filled with tears.

“
No strings is not jealous Louellen. What we have is not no strings. What we have is I am head over heels in love with you and about to lose my mind at the thought of losing you.” He whispered. She gasped and craned her neck to look at him.

“
You love me?”

“
Yeah I do.”

“
You can’t love me. I am so screwed up.”

“
We’re all screwed up in our own way.

“
I am scared.”

“
Me too. I’ve never said that to a woman before and you kinda left me hanging.” She let out a watery giggle at that admission.

“
I think I love you too.”

“
Good.” He bent and kissed her despite the odd angle.

“
Now what?”  Before he could answer they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Chapter 19

Frank Sinclair was not what she expected an FBI agent to look like. The TV shows all showed young GQ looking guys in suits. Not that Frank wasn’t young, he was thirtyish but he wasn’t wearing a suit and he didn’t look like he just stepped off a GQ cover. He looked like a regular guy. Someone she would pass in the grocery store. Someone with a wife and 2.5 kids. He whistled low when he saw the diamonds.

“
Those are real?”

“
Well I’m no expert but I assume so. If they aren’t then they are exact replicas of the necklaces we saw at the exhibit.” Jace said.

“
I bet it wasn’t easy to steal these.”

“
Probably not.”

“
So why leave them here?” Frank directed the question at her and she spoke up for the first time since they had been introduced.

“
That is a good question. They were pretty badly hidden too. Granted I wasn’t planning on wearing those shoes anytime soon so who knows how long it would’ve taken me to find them but for someone that was looking it would’ve been pretty easy to find them.”

“
So who has grudge against you?” Lou shrugged. She had already asked and answered this question.

“
Maybe it is against the company.” Jace volunteered.

“
What do you mean?”

“
Well we foiled the robbery the first time. Maybe this is to implicate Lou and make the company look bad.”

“
That would mean that the same people who attempted the first time pulled it off the second.”

“
Yeah.”

“
But they left their spoils.” They all looked around at each other. They were all thinking the same thing.

“
There is one other thing that is bothering me about this. The second necklace. Castillo hired us to find the first. Does he know the second is missing? How could he not? And if he is the one trying to implicate Lou, why the second? The first would be enough.” Jace rubbed his eyes and Lou yawned.

“
I am going to call a couple of crime scene techs to dust for prints and document everything. It will take a couple of hours. Is there somewhere you can stay for the night? I hate to keep you up.”

“
She is staying at my place. Can she pack a bag?”

“
It would really be better if she left everything just as it is.”

“
All right.” Jace sighed. “Are you going to sit on the apartment?”

“
Can’t. Don’t have the manpower since this isn’t an official case until the owner reports them stolen.”

“
I have people watching the apartment. I am not going to pull them off.”

“
Sounds good.”

Lou thought she really should put up more of a fight since the men were just making decisions for her but she was too tired and emotionally drained to argue.  Jace led her out of the apartment and put her into his range rover and she was asleep before he
’d gone a block.

When they reached his house she
didn’t wake so he carried her inside and laid her on his bed. He took off her shoes and pants but left her t-shirt and panties. They were once again white cotton and the sight made him smile. It also reminded him what she had said about Colby telling her to get new underwear. He felt a sharp stab of jealousy. He contemplated that as he stripped out of his own clothes and slid into the bed beside her. Colby had said they hadn’t slept together, that they were friends. Friends, isn’t that what they had started out as. Truth be told he had used that as a foot in the door to get exactly where he was right now. He had to wonder if Colby wasn’t working the same angle. Discussing underwear was a little closer than he wanted her to be with any friend.

Lou stirred and felt something warm and solid behind her. Thinking it was Cooper she automatically reached back to pet him. Her hand
didn’t encounter soft fur. Instead it encountered hard warm flesh. She looked and saw a mouth watering sight. Jace lying on his back naked to the waist where the blanket covered him. He was softly snoring. She didn’t remember how she got in bed. She realized he must have put her to bed and her heart melted just a bit. She was still wearing a few clothes but he had clearly tried to make her comfortable. She looked at him in the gray predawn light and sighed. He was beautiful. And he loved her. At least he said he did. Even now the memory of him whispering in her ear made her knees weak.

Could she really do it? Could she have a real relationship? The idea was scary. The full disclosure was scarier. Would he see her as tainted? Would he still want her? The idea that she would see disgust in his eyes terrified her. She slowly moved up against him and laid her head on his shoulder. She had to tell him, she
couldn’t keep her secrets forever. But until the time was right to tell him and potentially end their relationship, she would make the most of every minute.

Gathering her courage she
slid her hand over his peck and down his abdomen. She kissed his neck running her tongue under his ear lobe. He sighed and it was all the encouragement she needed. She lifted onto her knees and began kissing his chest. She licked and sucked each of his nipples until they stiffened into peaks but she didn’t linger there. Her destination was farther south. She traced his abdominals with her fingertips and her lips. By the time she reached the bottom of his oblique’s. He was fully aroused. She touched him gently tracing the blue lines of veins on the shaft. Feeling the softness of the mushroom shaped head. She could feel the tension in his thighs but he didn’t rush her. He patiently let her continue her exploration. When bead of clear liquid rose from the top she tentatively lapped it away with her tongue. He sucked air in through his teeth but still he didn’t move. She had only attempted this one other time and she hadn’t liked it but it was different with Jace. Everything was different with Jace. She swept her tongue down the line of skin and then swirled around the head. Finally she took the head into her mouth and he moaned. She saw his hands clench in the sheets.

Empowered by his obvious enjoyment, she pushed farther. He tasted good, sweet and nutty. Using her tongue to smooth the way she drew him deep into her mouth. She gently worked him across the back of her tongue until she adjusted to the sensation and could suppress her gag reflex. She pushed him in as far as she could and then she swallowed.

“Oh man.” He rasped and goose bumps rose up on her arms. Feeling a fierce feminine pride that she could turn the big man into the quivering mass of flesh before her. She increased her rhythm swallowing against him intermittently.

“
Oh man Lou you’re killing me. You have to stop or I won’t be able too.” She didn’t stop she continued swallowing against him twice as often and felt him swell. He let out a loud moan and spurts of hot salty fluid filled her mouth. She swallowed it down as quickly as she could. She continued gently soothing him until he softened. He was panting as he relaxed back into the bed. 

“
Holy hell.” He breathed and she laughed. “Comere Darlin’.” He pulled her onto him until she was half laying on him. He kissed her deeply only pausing to sweep her shirt off. For someone that was just sated he was surprisingly passionate. He devoured her and his enthusiasm made her giggle.

Dawn was breaking when they both finally dozed off again. Lou only slept for an hour when her growling stomach woke her. She remembered she had never gotten around to eating the night before. She eased away from Jace not wanting to wake him. How embarrassing would it be to wake your lover with a growling
stomach. She pulled on his t-shirt taking a deep breath. It smelled like him. She was tempted to wake him again but her stomach growled again reminding her of the task at hand. She swam in the t-shirt that was several sizes too big but she liked the feeling of wearing his shirt. It felt intimate. She padded to the kitchen and Cooper got up from his bed and followed her. She rummaged through the fridge. She found some juice and bread for toast. Cooper’s tail began to wag. She looked expecting to see Jace but what she saw was a pretty blond woman in a bright yellow tank top and matching shorts. The sight caused her to pull up short.

“
Hi there.” The woman grinned. “You must be Lou.”

“
Ah yeah.” Lou stammered suddenly wishing she were wearing her own clothes instead of Jace’s shirt. “And you are Savannah?”

“
Jace has told me a lot about you. I am so glad I got to meet you.” The woman practically bounced onto the bar stool and leaned on her elbows.

“
Um yeah me too. I just wish I was wearing a few more clothes.”

“
Oh don’t worry ‘bout me hun I’m no prude.” Lou had to smile, Savannah’s accent was more pronounced than Jace’s.

“
No you’ve been a liberated woman since you were sneaking Johnny Renslow into your bedroom at sixteen.” Jace said padding into the kitchen. He was wearing only a pair of flannel pants and Lou’s mouth went dry at the sight. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly. Her brain was momentarily scrambled.

“
Ah Johnny Renslow,” she sighed, “He was a tall drink of water.”

“
Is that a good thing?”

“
That is southern speak for hot, honey.” Savannah explained. “You know he’s a firefighter now. He just got divorced. I should call him.” Lou’s toast popped up and Jace pulled it from the toaster and put them on a plate.

“
What do you want on your toast Darlin’?”

“
Peanut butter if you’ve got it.”

“
Who doesn’t have peanut butter?” Lou looked back from the exchange with Jace only to find Savannah staring at them grinning.

“
What?”

“
You guys are so cute.” She sighed.

“
Oh that reminds me I owe you a muffin basket or something. You and your sisters.”

“
What for?”

“
For training Jace so well.”

“
Training him?”

“
Yeah, foot rubs and chocolate and tea and…” She trailed off at Savannah’s confused expression. “You didn’t train him?”

“
I wish. He tormented us, drove us completely insane with all his practical jokes and spying. He knows about Johnny Renslow because he sawed the legs on my bed just enough so that they would all break at a very inopportune time. Everyone came rushing in to see what the crash was. I thought I would die of embarrassment. Trust me you don’t know embarrassment until you and your boyfriend have gotten the safe sex lecture from the woman who looks and sounds like a thin Paula Dean! I am telling you butter wouldn’t melt in this woman’s mouth and she made us prove we knew how to use a condom by suiting up a banana.” Jace’s shoulders were shaking with laughter as he put peanut butter on the toast.

“
It’s not funny Jason! I still can’t look at a banana the same way.”

“
Your name is Jason?” Lou asked surprised.

“
No.” He said immediately.

“
When he was in Kindergarten he declared his name to be Jason because some idiot boy told him Jace wasn’t a real name. It didn’t take him long to revert back to Jace.”

“
Yes, but by that time the damage was done and my sisters won’t let me forget it. They have memories like elephants.” He handed her the toast.

“
Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “I am surprised you would let me meet your sister. It seems that she is going to tell me all your secrets.”

“
So it seems, whatever happened to family loyalty?”

“
Sugar I have been waitin nearly thirty years for you to bring a woman home so I could embarrass you the way you always embarrassed me. I have a lot of time to make up for.”

Suddenly the peanut butter felt too thick to swallow. Had she just said thirty years? Jace had never brought a woman home? Never introduced one to his sisters? He had told Savannah all about her. He had told her he wanted them to meet. She had the sinking feeling that she might not be ready for what came next. Or maybe she
wasn’t ready to come so close only to have it crash around her.

“
Much as I love letting you embarrass me, we have a busy day and weren’t you just going for a run?”

“
Oh fine spoil sport. It was a pleasure to meet you Lou. I hope we can get together again real soon.”

“
I’d like that.” Lou said non-committally.

“
I told you she was bright and loud.” He said after they heard the front door close.

“
You told me a lot of things I am not too sure about now.”

His brow furrowed into a concerned frown.
“What do you mean?”

“
What about all of that stuff about being trained by them?”

“
Oh that.” He laughed. “Well I learned all I know about women from them. That doesn’t mean I ever felt the need to charm them.”