Running With the Devil (12 page)

Later, as Drake conferred with Geo and Bobby, Kenna alternately read and dozed. She’d been unnaturally quiet all afternoon. He’d almost convinced himself her nervousness about the meeting had caused her wariness. Yet he had a sneaking suspicion he’d made a tactical error on the relationship front.

Drake snorted. What relationship? Guard and prisoner? When he had the information he needed on Diablo he’d be on a plane for Florida. Kenna knew the score and wouldn’t expect anything more…would she?

He glanced at her sleeping in the chair.

“The reports you asked for came back,” Geo said.

“Anything?”

“Surprisingly, yes. Got a hit on two of them. Whose do you want to hear first?”

“Read me Trent’s.”

Geo slid on his reading glasses. “Our buddy Trent was arrested in Ohio for unlawful discharge of a firearm within city limits a few years back.”

So despite Kenna’s denial, Trent could’ve been the one who’d shot at them. “He do any time?”

“Slap on the wrist.”

“Anything else?”

“Brought in a couple of times for suspected gang activity. Released without being charged. Nothing since he moved here, except a couple of speeding tickets. His credit report is a nightmare. Guy doesn’t have a pot to piss in.”

Definitely a motive there. “Marissa?”

“Clean as a whistle except for a few parking violations.” Geo frowned and scrolled down.

“And the girl?”

“Shawnee? Beautiful woman, at least in this picture.” He passed the photo to Drake. “Doesn’t she look like an Indian princess? Tiny little thing. She can’t weigh more than a hundred pounds—”

“I don’t want her measurements, Geo.”

Geo scowled and tucked the picture back in the manila folder. “Ah sure. Anyway, that’s not the interesting part. Seems the Indian princess has a criminal record. She’d been in and out of juvenile on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Since those records are sealed I don’t have a clue why she spent time in there. Then at age eighteen, she did a year in the county jail on an accessory with intent to distribute charge. She skated by without being charged a felony because she cut a deal with the Feds and testified against her co-defendant.”

“You shitting me?” Kenna’s roommate was a convicted drug dealer? God, did she even know about that?

“No. And it gets better. Know who Shawnee’s co-defendant was?”

“Who?”

“Her father, Royal Good Shield. After she rolled on him he got twenty-five years in the state pen.”

Drake whistled. “Anything since?”

“Nope. Kept her nose clean, according to the report. Finished college. Works freelance for the BIA and the South Dakota Department of Transportation in mapping Sioux burial sites.” Geo tossed his glasses on the table and sighed. “But we both know how hard it is to resist going back to a normal life once they get a taste of a bigger payoff.”

Kenna’s angry voice broke the silence. “You had no right. You had no fucking right to run your nasty little report on my friends.”

Drake’s head whipped in her direction. “You
knew
Shawnee had done time?”

“Yes, I knew. And one thing your slice of shit report doesn’t tell you is what really happened ten years ago. And why Shawnee became a sacrificial lamb to save the rest of her family from their abusive father.”

“Kenna—”

“Shawnee would never do anything to hurt me. Never. So cross her off your list. Besides, she’s in Harding County on a dig. There’s no way she could’ve shot at us.”

Geo shook his head. “She’s not at the site. We checked with her supervisor. No one has seen her for two days.”

Kenna fidgeted and glanced at her hands.

Drake’s gaze locked on her. “But you did. When did you see her last, Kenna?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because you’re making me think you’re covering for her.”

“I’m not covering for her. I’ve got no reason to. Neither of us has done anything wrong.”

“Then answer the question.”

“Fine. I saw her yesterday in Sturgis when you left me outside the bar.”

Son of a bitch. He clenched his hands into fists. Counted to ten. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kenna shrugged. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to her before she took off.”

“You don’t think it’s coincidence you got mugged when she was skulking around?”

“Doesn’t matter. I trust Shawnee
way
more than I trust you so just drop it, Agent March.” Her angry gaze flicked back to him. “Why didn’t you just ask me about her?”

Drake leaned against the wall. “I did. You didn’t say one goddamn word about her being a former dealer, Kenna.”

“She’s not a former dealer! She’s an archeologist!”

“Explain why you didn’t think her criminal record was relevant information after someone tried to kill you?”

Kenna didn’t say a word.

“As for your buddy Trent, who you assured me didn’t have the balls to fire a gun, well, surprise, surprise. He’s been arrested for that very thing. So, I don’t care if Shawnee is your roommate, best friend, or what. When she shows up she’s got a lot to answer for.”

“And Trent?”

He pointed his head toward the bathroom door. “Bobby’s about to check that out.”

“What am I supposed to do? Sit here and nap while you pick apart my life?”

“Yes.”

She glared at him before sadness set in. She turned her head away and closed her eyes.

Kenna hadn’t uttered a sound in hours. Drake and Geo worked. Bobby returned without any information on Trent’s recent whereabouts. He knew better than to ask Kenna.

Drake controlled his burst of anger when Bobby told him Trent also lived in Kenna’s condo complex.

Why hadn’t she told him?

Because you’ve been a bully and she’s got a reason not to trust you.

Shit. He’d fucked this up every possible way.

“Takes me awhile to get ready so I should go get started,” Kenna said.

He rose to his feet. “I’ll come with you.”

“Not necessary.”

Their gazes met. Clashed.

Defiant, she lifted her stubborn chin higher. “Relax, Agent March. I won’t run out on you. I’m fully versed in the consequences.” She held out her hands. “You gonna cuff me again?”

The little snot had the audacity to throw that in his face? “No.”

“Then the key, please.”

Drake fished the old-fashioned fob from his pocket and tossed it to her. “I’ll be over in a little bit. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I know you don’t trust me,
boss.
But remember the sooner you get your information the sooner I can get back to my real life.
”
With a haughty toss of her head, she exited the room.

He sagged against the paneling, somewhat reassured to see her temper had returned.

“You stupid son-of-a-bitch. Did you have to sleep with her?” Geo demanded.

“Yes,” Drake snapped, “I did.”

Silence.

“Shit, Drake, this ain’t no run of the mill case. You’re in deep trouble with her, aren’t you?”

Drake merely nodded.

Geo stared at Drake thoughtfully. “What are you going to do?”

“My goddamn job.”

“But you’ve never messed around with an informant. You’ve never stepped over that professional line. What is so special about her that makes you act so—”

“Drop it. I’ll deal with it—and her—later.”

The toilet flushed.

Bobby stepped out of the bathroom. “Did I hear the door slam?”

“You’d better deal with it now. If your judgment is off even a little, you could be putting us all in the middle of a shitstorm.”

Confused, Bobby asked, “Deal with what? What’d I miss?”

Geo sighed. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, kid. Let’s get back to work.”

Drake managed to stay away from Kenna for another hour. Since she’d taken his key, he was forced to ask the front desk for a spare. He’d be damned if he’d stand in front of their room, knocking like a fool in the doghouse, knowing damn well she’d refuse to open the door.

Inside the cool, dark room, he noticed the maid had come and gone. Everything appeared neat and tidy.

His eyes narrowed. Too neat and tidy. No clothes strewn on the floor. No frou-frou female toiletries spread across every horizontal surface. No big bulky purse. No duffle bag. No sign of Kenna at all.

His heart rate kicked double-time. Fury rose as he crossed the few feet to the bathroom door and pounded on it. “Kenna? You in there?”

No answer.

When he grabbed the doorknob, and twisted, he found it locked.

“Keep your pants on,” she said irritably. “I’m almost done.”

Relief swept through him like a calming breeze.

He rested his forehead on the doorjamb. “No hurry.”

While he waited, he dug out his own clothes, jeans, T-shirt, leather vest.

He didn’t hear Kenna leave the bathroom. When he turned around and saw her, he about swallowed his tongue.

Shiny red lips. Blonde wig. Blue contacts. Some tight pink leather contraption that bared her slender shoulders, showcased her tits and hugged her flat stomach. Next came a matching black leather mini-skirt, which reached mid-thigh. No stockings. Just smooth, sexy, mouth-watering skin. She’d finished the ensemble with black and pink stilettos.

“Jesus Christ,” he croaked.

“You like?” She twirled, slowly.

He groaned when he saw how the skirt accentuated the curve of her tight little ass. That outfit should be illegal. If he had his way, no one would ever see her dressed like that but him.

Kenna dragged her duffle bag from the bathroom to the side of her bed. “How long before we have to leave?”

Long enough for me to bang your brains out.

Shit. Stop. It wasn’t helping the already tense situation. But the greedy male section of his brain didn’t give a rat’s ass. It was fascinated by the thought of those cherry lips leaving red lipstick stains down the length of his cock as he thrust in and out of her delectable mouth.

“Drake?”

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “An hour. Give or take.”

She snagged the room key from the table and shoved it in the purse that never left her possession. “I’ll go down to Geo and Bobby’s room and let you get dressed in private.”

“Kenna—”

But she’d scooted out the door before he could stop her.

He sighed and called Geo. “She’s on her way. Have Bobby distract her while you tag her.”

“Won’t she get suspicious?”

“Not if you do it right.”

Geo laughed. “If she finds out she’s gonna kick your ass, boss.”

Drake smirked when he thought of Kenna’s eyes, dark with fury and her sharp tongue. Oh yeah. If he got caught he had plenty of ways to help her work out her anger.

“She’s welcome to try.”

Kenna’s heels clicked as she stormed down the sidewalk.

Shouldn’t have surprised her that Drake preferred the slutty look. He’d certainly preferred her slutty behavior last night. He’d fucked her three times. And first thing this morning.

Lord. What had she gotten herself into with this man? She stopped and rested her backside against the fake log siding, pressing her hand against her racing heart.

He’d run a criminal background check on her roommate! No matter what he thought or his stupid report said, there was no way Shawnee would be involved in something like Diablo.

But a niggling fear arose anyway. Why had Shawnee been in downtown Sturgis? What prompted Shawnee to leave Kenna such a cryptic message on their answering machine?

Kenna would have to warn her. She quickly crossed to the pay phone, dropped in fifty cents and dialed her own number. When the answering machine kicked on, she left Shawnee a detailed message about what was going down. After she hung up, she blinked back tears. She wouldn’t blame Shawnee for being pissed and moving out. And it’d be Agent March’s fault.

What had happened in twelve short hours? Drake had been so unbelievably tender when he’d made love to her this morning.

But dammit, it hurt, his cool dismissal when she’d appeared in her normal clothes. As opposed to the raw hunger in his eyes when she looked like someone else.

After all they’d shared last night he still didn’t trust her?

Of course he didn’t.

The truth blasted her like cold water. By his own admission it hadn’t been Drake March, DEA Agent in bed with her last night. But it appeared Agent March was back on duty today.

Well she had news for him. It’d been Kaye Anne doing the mattress dancing with him last night, not Kenna. If he wanted to play the split personality game, take-no-shit Kenna was more than up for the challenge.

Kenna rapped on the door. She sucked the disappointment down deep inside her soul, hoping it’d stay there so she could get through this night.

Tall, dark and handsome Geo opened the door.

God he was so gorgeous. And sweet. And thoughtful. Why couldn’t she have fallen for him instead of Drake?

She pasted on a wide smile. “Hey, sugar, we ready to blow this joint?”

“You bet. But first Bobby has something to show you.”