Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(56)

“It’s not a relationship, so there’s really nothing to talk about.”

Maryse raised her eyebrows. “Looked relationshippy to me when I walked in on you two naked. I couldn’t help but notice the cleared area on one of the folding tables and that the bed wasn’t rumpled in the least. That says something.”

“That says hot, wild sex, and that’s all there is to it.”

“You sure?”

Raissa sighed. “How can I not be? Even if this all turns out for the best, and Melissa is safely back with her parents—even if the kidnapper is caught and jailed—that doesn’t remove my biggest threat. As soon as this is over, I’ll have to leave, whether the FBI takes part in it or not. I’m not safe in New Orleans any longer, and if I stay, I put everyone I care about at risk.”

Maryse frowned. “So can you just not testify?”

Raissa shrugged. “They can subpoena me anyway. Then the price of freedom would be lying under oath, and that’s if I manage to make it to court alive, which is questionable, given the FBI’s inability to protect me in the past.”

“That sucks, but it’s only for another six months, right? I mean you could hide out until the statute of limitations has passed, and then you’re in the clear.”

“If Sonny lets it go. Remember, I was his confidante for two years. He chose me. He trusted me. This isn’t just business for him—it’s personal.”

“But wouldn’t your death just bring the heat on him all over again? I mean, if you’ve passed the time limit on what you could testify to, doesn’t it make more sense to just leave you alone?”

“Mob business isn’t always about common sense, although I have to admit that Sonny’s more controlled than most. But six months is still a long time. Long enough for people to realize what they had was a flash in the pan due to a highly emotional situation. Six months after the fact, all that emotion and stress is gone. Things are normal.”

“So what makes you think you and Zach can’t do normal?”

Raissa laughed. “I don’t know the first thing about normal, and I get the impression that Zach is trying to manage it but failing dreadfully. My less-than-conventional ways of handling things would only make things tougher for him, especially given his job. His captain is already watching him closely and if he knew half of the things Zach’s already done for me against orders, he’d be fired in a heartbeat. I’m a huge liability, no matter what.”

“Do you think you’ll ever go back to law enforcement?”

“I will never go back to the FBI, and based on Zach’s description, the police department appears a bit too stringent for my methods, too. But I have to admit that even though this entire situation with the abductions is very serious, I find myself enjoying it on some level.”

Maryse nodded. “It’s like my research. Even though I’ve lost people I love to cancer, I can’t help getting excited when I’m working. The disease is still out there, and it’s still killing people, but I get a personal thrill from things that would appear very minor to anyone else. A guilty pleasure, almost.”

“Exactly. And don’t get me wrong, between my business and the security gigs, I still got to use some of those skills—the hacking, surveillance. It was all part of the game, but it’s not the same as doing it full-time and in the open.”

“Maybe you should go solo, like Beau. Heck, he may even consider a partnership of some sort. You two would be a deadly combination.”

Raissa momentarily considered Sabine’s husband, Beau, and his private-investigation service. It wasn’t the worst idea she’d ever heard, even if she did it alone in another state with another name. Despite what was logical, Raissa still doubted her ability to remain in New Orleans much longer or to ever return. It was simply too dangerous for everyone around her, but the last thing she wanted to do was press Maryse to accept that when they were up to their neck in things. “It’s a thought.”

“Did you ever have anyone to rely on, or who was dependent on you before? I mean, I figured if you did, they’d either have to go into protective custody with you or you’d have to leave them, right?”

Raissa nodded. “Those are the choices, but fortunately for me, my parents were already gone before I went undercover. I was so focused through high school and college, I didn’t give men a second thought.” She stared past Maryse and looked out the hotel-room window. “There was a guy once. We met at the FBI Academy.”

“What happened?”

“He died.”

Maryse’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything bad.”

“You didn’t. My relationship with him was all good. He was a great guy—dedicated to his job and an assortment of nieces and nephews. Sturdy, but not in a boring way, you know?”

Maryse nodded.

“He was interesting and funny and I really enjoyed spending time with him. He always made me laugh, even when the academy training was getting the best of me.”

“What happened?”

“He was on a special task force for missing kids.”

Maryse gasped. “The missing girls…that’s how you knew about the cases. He was the agent on them.”

Raissa nodded, her mind flashing back to the night Ben had told her about his case. “We met at an all-night diner, in a part of town that Sonny’s men wouldn’t be likely to enter. Ben had flown in from D.C. for the day—that’s all the time he could afford to take off. The latest kidnapping had happened two days before, and he wanted my advice.”