Dangerous Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #2)(41)

She hesitated. “My feet are disgusting,” she said. “I’ll have to shower before I can even take a bath.”

He smiled. ”Your feet? After all you just went through that’s what’s on your mind?” That’s what’s upsetting you?”

“Now that I’m here and alive, yes. Do have any idea how disgusting those streets are?”

She was tough, tougher than she gave herself credit for. And he was afraid she might need to be a whole lot tougher before this was over.

***

Luke sat on a barstool at Blake’s island kitchen bar, watching his brother pace as he talked on the phone. He ended the call and set his phone on the counter.

“No body found,” he said. “No blood. No signs of struggle.”

Luke gave a slow nod. “So whoever didn’t want the guy to talk didn’t want him identified either.”

“Yeah,” Blake said. “No doubt the dude’s going to end up at the bottom of a river somewhere with concrete blocks on his feet. I imagine that was what would have happened to the two of you. You’d have gone missing. Forever.”

“No body, no murder,” Luke said. “Am I the only one that thinks Moore wouldn’t risk the connection of his soon-to-be ex’s death, and that of his divorce attorney?”

“I’m right there with you, thinking the same thing,” Blake said, sauntering to the fridge to pull out a jug of chocolate milk. He downed a gulp before bringing it with him to sit across from Luke. “So either you were the target, which still is awfully closely linked to Julie, or-”

“Judge Moore wasn’t behind this.”

“Arel might try to kill off Julie if he thinks she knows something she shouldn’t,” Blake suggested. “It makes sense he’d kill off Elizabeth and Julie.”

“Would he want Judge Moore under investigation if Moore is instrumental in the art used for the money laundering? And I keep going back to shooting your own guy and then getting rid of the body. That’s big.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I don’t know but we have a judge involved. We could have law enforcement involved. Someone doesn’t like me and/or Julie in this thing. And who knows just how involved we are?”

“I asked Murphy and Hendrix to keep things on the down low, so maybe five people on the task force make that list, and then Elizabeth’s sister, and anyone else she or Julie told that Julie has the journal.”

“Julie’s too smart to run her mouth,” Luke said. “We should get Diana into a safe house somewhere in case someone decides she has it or she knows too much.”

“We don’t know she’s innocent herself,” Blake said.

“But this way we have her under our watch anyway.”

“Good point. I’ll put someone on it, and I’ll have them pick her brain for anything we can use to protect you and Julie. And you need to consider locking Julie down, too, man. She’s too close to this. Don’t f*ck up like I did with Rebecca and lose her.”

Right. Lock Julie down. Piece of cake. Luke had a feeling he was about to see a war unlike any he’d ever known.

***

Gina stood in front of her full-length mirror and smiled. Dressed in a white lace bra and panty set with matching garter and hose, she looked like the perfect angel she wanted her stranger to believe her to be . At least, when she opened her door.

Soft waves of silky auburn brown hair fell over her shoulders, pink lipstick defined a seductive pout, and she was already getting wet just thinking about showing her sexy French man how bad a good girl could be.

She didn’t make dinner. They could order out when they came up for air. A wicked smile played on her lips.

If they came up for air.

The jangle of the telephone forced her to put her thoughts on hold. With an irritated huff she picked up the receiver from her nightstand.

“Hello,” she said abruptly.

“Such hostility, Gina, dear, and to think I once thought you were sweet.”

Gina frowned and sat on the edge of the bed. “Who is this?”

“You can call me Judge or Master, or whatever you prefer, since we’ll soon be very close friends.”

The voice suddenly rang a bell. “Judge Moore. How did you get this number?”

“That’s not what’s important,” he said. “What’s important is what a blast in the past you were, my dear. Silk sheets and naughty toys do it for you, right honey? Or is it backseats, and dingy motels? H….Yes. That’s it, isn’t it? You never made it to high society call girl.”

Gina’s hand trembled. “What do you want?”

“Come to the El Toronto hotel tomorrow at noon. I’ll show you my cards, if you, shall we say, show me yours. Room 311 will give you a trip to paradise, sugar.”

The line went dead.

Gina grabbed the phone and flung it across the room, tearing it with a force that tore the plug from the wall. This was crap! She had covered her tracks! No way could this be happening.

She paced, she muttered, she cursed. Finally, she calmed. She sat back down on the bed. Somehow, someway, she would turn this around in her favor. Judge Moore was going to regret messing with her. If he thought sex was intimidation, he could go to hell. Sex to her was entertainment, plain and simple.