Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(21)

Sure enough when she looked around, all eyes were on them. Every cop in the precinct was watching. She wasn’t afraid they would go to the press, but she knew damn well they would talk amongst themselves. That would be uncomfortable for her uncle. “I’m sorry. We’ll leave. I need to make a few things clear to the captain.”

Dax nodded. “Yes, I think we need to talk.”

Uncle Beau waved his arm as though shooing away a couple of unwanted cats. “Go on, then. Holland, honey, why don’t you take him on over to Antoine’s? It’s quiet there this time of day and the staff is discreet.”

And her uncle had a standing dinner reservation there. He didn’t often use it, but Antoine’s had been serving NOLA’s power players for as long as it had been open. She could get a drink and maybe cool the situation down. “What do you say, Captain Awesome?”

He rolled his eyes, but it was obvious she’d managed to deflate his anger. “All right. I could use a drink. Commander, I apologize. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”

“See that you don’t get my niece in trouble, now. You hear?”

Yes, she was right back to feeling like a teenager and her uncle was vetting her boyfriends. It was obvious he didn’t like this one. She sighed and led Dax out into the late afternoon sunlight.


*

He followed Holland and the hostess into the cool back room of Antoine’s. They’d walked past the sunny environs of the front dining room. That was for tourists and families celebrating special occasions. The real politics of New Orleans happened in the back of the establishment, the room where the sunlight didn’t reach.

Once they’d arrived at a corner table, Dax sat across from her and pondered what to say.

He’d fucked up. He’d known she expected to shake a few trees and report back to him. But he’d been itching to do some fact finding of his own and talk to her uncle so he’d have something to bring to the table at their meeting tomorrow. Maybe then she’d see that they could work together. And a part of him hoped that if she could partner with him in the investigation, she’d see that they could partner in other ways.

“I’m sorry about the scene at the police station.” He needed to calm her and talk that horrible cop frown off her face. She wore it like a mask, and Dax wanted to talk to the woman.

“Why were you there?” And she was using her cop voice on him, too. It was bland and impersonal. He was sure she used that voice when she was questioning a suspect.

“You know why I was there.” He wasn’t going to lie. Honesty was his only way out of the mess he’d plopped himself in. “I found out your uncle led the initial civilian investigation and I wanted to ask him a few questions.”

“You didn’t think I could manage that all on my own?” Her frown turned right side up, into a friendly grin, as the waiter approached. “Thanks, I don’t need a menu. I’ll have a Sazerac and for dinner the Poulet sauce Rochambeau with asperges au Beurre.”

Show-off. Her accent was perfect and she had the menu memorized like a good NOLA daughter would. Well, he was a son and he could play that game, too. “I’ll have a Sazerac as well and let’s start with the Huitres Bienville for the table. For my entrée I’ll have the Crabes mous frits and pommes de terre. Merci.”

The waiter nodded and went off to put their orders in.

Holland finally smiled just enough to let him know she was amused. “Really? Oysters?”

Sure they were an aphrodisiac, but they were also quite good. “If you don’t want any, chère, I’ll eat them all myself.”

She pulled the white napkin out, settling it over her lap. “I’ll have a few. I don’t know that you should eat a dozen oysters. God only knows what it will do for your libido.”

He was glad she was finally relaxing after their tense trek to the restaurant. “Your French is excellent.”

“I spent most of my teen years here. My aunt and uncle spoke a lot of French in their home. It was a survival skill. It’s also one of the reasons I got the job here. There are still a lot of people around here who speak Creole or some form of it. Even I can get confused out on the bayou.”

Because some communities out there cut themselves off from the world. They spoke the old languages and didn’t like authorities nosing into their business. “You shouldn’t have to go out there often.”

“More than you’d think. Navy boys can be very adventurous. Now, what exactly did you think you could accomplish with my uncle that I couldn’t?” She was right back to formal, though she accepted her drink from the passing waiter with a gracious smile.

Maybe a Sazerac or two could break through her chilly reserve. And maybe so could honesty. “I wanted to walk into tomorrow’s meeting with something solid to show you.”

“That’s supposed to be my job, Captain.” She took a healthy sip of the whiskey and absinthe cocktail. “I’m the investigator. You asked me to look into it.”

He had to tread carefully here. “Not exactly. I asked you to help me look into it.”

“Then we have a problem, because I’m not taking you everywhere with me. Your presence will do more harm than good. Can’t you see that?”

“All I see is that my family was destroyed and I don’t think I can sit on my hands while someone else finds out why.”