The District (6 page)

Chapter Six

Eric still had her by the waist where he’d grabbed her just as the car whooshed past them, spewing exhaust and burning rubber into the air.

Several pedestrians shook their heads and one man yelled an obscenity after the speeding car.

Christina had stumbled back against Eric’s chest, and he pulled her tightly against his body. “Are you okay?”

“That was close.” Her voice shook and she cleared her throat. “What’s the matter with that guy? Didn’t he see us?”

“He saw us, Christina.”

She spun around, her nose almost touching his. “Are you sure?”

“I waved at him. Didn’t you hear the car take off? Zero to fifty.”

“Okay, what are you saying, Eric?” She placed her hands on his solid chest and leaned away from him. “Do you think he was aiming for us?”

“Sure seems that way.”

Her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. “Then it’s no coincidence. I know there are some bad drivers in this city, but they usually don’t aim for pedestrians.”

“Unless those pedestrians are investigating a series of murders and are getting too close for comfort.”

Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath came out in short spurts. “That’s crazy. We’re the FBI for God’s sake.”

“Do you think that exempts us from people taking potshots at us? We just lost an agent in South America. Someone blew his cover and the cartel executed him, beheaded him.”

She shivered and hugged her waist. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

“Me either.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s get back to the car. We don’t want to give him a second chance.”

“Do you think it’s our killer? Do you think he plans to strike again in San Francisco?”

“I hope he tries and we’re there to stop him this time.”

“We need to report this to Rich.”

“We have no proof that the guy driving that car has anything to do with this case.”

“There’s the symbol on my rental car. Someone’s following us, someone who’s aware we’re here to investigate these murders.”

“I’ll put it in my report to Rich and the P.D.” He held out his hand. “Do you want me to drive? Your hands are trembling.”

She dropped the keys into his palm without a word. If he wanted to play the big strong protector, who was she to argue?

When she slid into the passenger seat, she leaned back to get a view of the side mirror. “I’m going to make sure we’re not being followed.”

“Why? That would be great. Let him come to us.”

“Easy for you to say. Those weren’t your toes he almost ran over with a two-ton car.”

Drawing his brows together, he adjusted the rearview mirror. “Did you feel like he was aiming the car toward you? We were both in that crosswalk.”

“I don’t know. Maybe just because I was in front of you. Scary stuff.” She wriggled deeper into her seat and stuffed her hands beneath her thighs. Tonight had been a roller coaster ride. Maybe she should try to call Vivi and see what she had to say about the matter. Of course, every time she talked to her sister, Vivi tried to recruit her to the dark side.

“Are you okay?” Eric reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

“I’d be better if I thought the hot tub at the hotel would be open when we got back.” He removed his hand too soon and steered into the hotel parking lot.

Despite being outed as a witch and almost getting run over, this night had exceeded all her expectations. Eric had forgiven her for taking secret notes on his family tragedy and didn’t believe she’d been in league with Ray Lopez to write a book. He’d softened toward her, and it felt so good she’d almost forgotten that she had a bigger secret—one that would torpedo their tentative truce.

But she had to tell him.

He parked the car, and she scrambled out before she could blurt out the truth. This needed careful planning. He was already suspicious about her move to San Miguel with her mother. Mom was hardly old or sickly.

She blinked as they walked into the glare of the lobby.

Eric called across the room to the hotel clerk. “Is the hot tub still open?”

She responded. “Midnight.”

“Perfect.” Eric took her arm. “The witching hour.”

“Would you stop with that?” She shook off his hand. “I already told you. Midnight is not the witching hour.”

“Like I said, you should know.” He punched the elevator button. “Are you really going to the hot tub? Did you even bring a suit?”

“I always do.”

They reached their adjoining rooms, and she slid her card in the slot and turned, but he already had his own door open.

“I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning at eight?”

“Sure.”

The stab of disappointment almost took her breath away. Not that she was expecting a good-night kiss or anything, but something more than a door in the face would’ve been nice after their breakthrough tonight.

She let her own door slam behind her. Maybe Eric didn’t consider what had happened tonight a breakthrough.

And it wasn’t. The breakthrough would come when she told him about Kendall. Or not.

After she tugged on her one-piece suit, she crouched in front of the minibar and grabbed a mini bottle of chilled white wine. She didn’t have to drive anywhere now.

She slipped the white terry cloth robe from the hanger in the closet and wrapped it around her body. She dropped the wine in her pocket, followed by a plastic cup. She padded barefoot down the carpeted hallway to the elevator. She stabbed the button for the basement floor a couple of times.

She slid her key card into the slot next to the glass door leading to the pool. She nodded at the couple dog-paddling around the shallow end. Probably thrilled to see her.

Steam rose from the hot tub, which was tucked in the corner of the room and she cruised toward it, shedding her robe along the way.

A head stuck up above the edge, and she tripped to a stop. Awkward. She was hoping to have it to herself. Maybe he’d leave.

As she approached the enclosure, the person in the hot tub turned his head and she almost tripped again.

“Took you long enough.” Eric sat up straight and the hot water sluiced from his broad shoulders and steam rose from his back.

She had to snap her mouth shut and just hope no drool had made it to her chin. “You.”

He ran a hand across his hair, and his biceps bunched. “Sounded like a good idea. Hop in. It’s nice and hot.”

She had to peel her tongue from the roof of her mouth to speak and she still managed only a gurgle.

She entered the enclosure and dipped a toe into the bubbling water. “Yep, it’s hot.”

Eric lifted one corner of his mouth, and the heat spread to her cheeks. Idiot.

She stepped into the tub and sank onto the tile seat across from him. Her foot touched his and she jerked it back. His presence here did not bode well for a relaxing soak.

Sighing, she scooted farther into the water and rested the back of her head on the edge of the pool. She shifted so that the jets pounded between her shoulder blades. “Ahh.”

He lowered his body back beneath the surface of the frothing water. “Feels good. Thanks for the suggestion. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. It’s a good way to unwind after work. Beats booze.”

“Apparently not.” He pointed to the little bottle of wine perched on the deck with the plastic cup snug over the top.

“I—I...just a little nightcap.”

“Christina,” he said as he cupped some water in his hand and tipped it over, “you don’t have to pretend to be a teetotaler for me. I ordered two drinks at dinner, remember?”

“I know. It’s just that your mom...”

“Was an alcoholic and a prescription drug addict. That was my mom. I don’t put a black check mark next to someone’s name just because they like a social drink now and then.”

“I know. It’s silly.” To prove her point, she grabbed the bottle and twisted off the cap.

“A twist cap? Only the best, huh?”

She turned the bottle in her hand and studied the dark blue label. “It’s actually a decent chardonnay from a good little winery in Sonoma—not that I would know one from the other.”

“Of course not. Leave a little in the bottle for me. I’d like to try it.”

She poured most of the golden liquid into the plastic cup, leaving a gulp for Eric.

“Here you go.” She handed him the bottle through the steam, and it promptly beaded up with moisture.

He took it and tipped the neck toward her. “Here’s to finding our guy.”

“To finding our guy.” She tapped the rim of her cup with the bottle and took a sip. The cool liquid ran down her throat, contrasting with the heat on her skin, made hotter by the man lounging across from her. “There is one hot tub rule I have to ask you to follow.”

“What’s that? No nudity?”

His grin melted her insides even more, and she splashed him. “That goes without saying. Those are the hotel rules, anyway. This is my personal rule for hot tub time.”

“I’m listening.” He wrapped his lips around the bottle and tipped his head back.

“No shoptalk. This is time to relax, not rehash.”

“You got it.” He touched the bottle to his forehead, and then aimed it at her chest. “You used to favor bikinis. What happened?”

She smothered a cough and almost snorted wine out of her nose. “I always like a one-piece at the hotel pools. Stays on better when I want to do a little swimming.”

She’d just started feeling comfortable in a bikini after her pregnancy and giving birth to Kendall, but she couldn’t explain that to Eric. This craziness had to stop. She couldn’t continue to work with him and keep the most important part of her life a secret.

“Yeah, I guess I remember you always did wear a one-piece in the ocean.”

She took another sip of wine and cupped its sweetness on her tongue before swallowing it. Was it time to get personal? “So you never came back to the city after South America?”

“They sent me to D.C. I’ve been homebasing it there.”

“Do you miss the city? Your brothers?”

“Yes and sort of. I was kind of relieved when I found out Sean was on an extended vacation. He’s so damned controlling.”

“At least he’s not a witch.”

“Yeah, he’s got that going for him.” He made a cross over his heart and said, “Not to bring up work, but speaking of siblings, when is the last time you saw your sister Vivi?”

“About a month ago, but you know what’s funny?”

“Besides your father being a brujo and your sister being a witch? What?”

“I had a dream about Vivi a few weeks ago.”

“Good? Bad?”

She massaged her temple with her fingertips. “It just came to me. I had forgotten all about it.”

“Do you remember what it was about?”

He had stretched out his legs and wedged his feet against her seat, too close to her thigh for comfort.

She scooted over a little. “I don’t remember now. Just Vivi being Vivi, yapping up a storm about something. Maybe she was at the front of a classroom and I was a student. Something like that.”

“Is she much younger than you? Five years?”

“About six. I think my father groomed her like he wanted to do with me had my mom allowed it.”

“I think your mom made a wise decision.”

“You think I should contact Vivi about this coven stuff, don’t you?” She tucked a few damp tendrils of hair behind her ear.

He raised his shoulders out of the water. “Couldn’t hurt, could it? Are you two on good terms?”

“Sure. She’s a crazy kid, but she means well.” Actually, they’d had an argument over Kendall the last time they’d seen each other. Vivi had gotten the nutty idea that they should test Kendall for psychic ability. A
baby.

Of course, she couldn’t reveal any of this to Eric, and if she did contact Vivi she’d have to keep her away from Eric so her sister wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag. Her head began to pound with the thought of keeping her lies straight.

“I’ll leave it up to you, and I promise I won’t break the rule again, or at least that rule.”

He pushed up with his arms and his body floated to the right. Shifting into position, he closed his eyes. “Right there. My lower back has been killing me.”

The jets gurgled as the water shot against his back, and Christina’s fingers tingled as she thought about digging them into his skin to relieve his pain as she’d done so many times before.

He used to tell her she had magic hands, better than any masseuse or chiropractor, but she knew her ability to relieve his pain had nothing to do with her talents and everything to do with love. Because she’d loved this man with every fiber of her being.

And still did.

“I have some ibuprofen in my room.”

“That would help. It’s that old football injury acting up. It was better on my previous assignment because I wasn’t sitting at a desk so much.”

The couple from the pool were making their way toward the hot tub and Eric murmured under his breath. “Uh-oh. I hate communal hot tubs.”

The woman put her foot on the first step. “Mind if we join you?”

“You can have it to yourselves.” Christina stood up and the air caused a rash of goose pimples to rush across her skin. “We were getting ready to leave anyway.”

Eric rose from the water looking like a Greek god. If that’s the body he got from sitting in a chair too much, she’d like to patent that chair.

The other woman missed her step and splashed into the hot tub.

Eric caught her arm. “Careful.”

She laughed. “Didn’t even see that second step.”

Christina’s lip curled.
Yeah, because you were staring at my man.

Her possessive feelings toward Eric punched her in the gut. This case was going to take a toll on her in more ways than one. What had Rich been thinking putting the two of them together?

She bent at the knees to snatch up her cup and then tossed it in the trash can. She toweled off and draped her body in the oversize robe.

Eric stuffed the wine bottle into the trash and swiped his towel across his back and then flung it over one shoulder. “Ready?”

“Do you still want that ibuprofen?”

“Yep. The jets helped but not as much as—other things.”

Was he thinking about her magic hands? All he had to do was say the word and she’d be all over him.