Wanting (PAVAD) Page 15

  “Probably. If I don’t go now, I’m going to have a damned hard time leaving at all. Lock your doors.” He pulled away and Carrie wanted to protest.

  “I will...well...good night.”

  Carrie unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her quickly. If she didn’t, she was afraid of what she would say next.

  ***

  Carrie spent a restless night, unable to sleep soundly. She didn’t know if it was because of the burglary and vandalism or because of the way she felt fidgety and unfulfilled. She’d spent most of the night petting and talking out with Linux her feelings on a relationship with Lorcan. The cat hadn’t responded—he rarely did—but it always helped her to verbalize what she felt in any situation.

  By the time she finally fell asleep she’d worked out a few things, mainly the idea that she did want to spend more time with him. She wasn’t certain she was ready for sex with him, although her body certainly seemed to think so.

  But one thing was vitally clear to her—whatever happened with her and Sebastian Lorcan—it could not interfere with her ability to do her job. Her job was her life, and she couldn’t jeopardize that.

  ***

  She reiterated that vow as she settled in at her desk in the corner of the CCU bullpen early the next morning. She was usually the first of her team to arrive and today was no exception. Only Malachi Brockman, Alessandra’s brother, was in the bank of offices that were directly behind the bullpen desks. Lorcan’s office was dark and she couldn’t help but feel a rush of both relief and disappointment.

  What was she supposed to say to him here? She’d seen Hell and Georgia and Fin and Ana interact with each other numerous times since they’d formed relationships, but what she had with Lorcan was completely different.

  She wasn’t even sure what to call it. They’d kissed a few times, that was it. It wasn’t like he’d proposed or anything like that.

  She’d just keep things professional between them until they were completely alone, someplace other than work.

  With that thought foremost in her mind, her discomfort slipped away and she was able to focus on checking her email messages and getting settled into her desk and back into her routine.

  Her plans were ruined when Hellbrook and Lorcan and the rest of the team entered. She could tell by looking at the two team leaders that something was about to happen. She focused her attention entirely on her own team leader.

  “Lorcan’s team, my team—conference room A now,” Hell said.

  Lorcan put a hand on Carrie’s shoulder when she walked past him and pulled her aside. “We’ve pulled the human trafficking case. We’re conferencing now.”

  Carrie grabbed her things. This was old hat to her; she couldn’t count the number of times that Hellbrook had said similar. It felt good to be back in the swing of things. No one looked at her oddly or stared at her and Lorcan. They were just part of the team, agents on the hunt for the bad guys.

  “Carrie, I need you to run every possible path surrounding the club Benito’s in the eastside,” Hell told her.

  Carrie mentally ran over everything that she would need to do to trace the club Hellbrook indicated. This was what her software was designed to do, to make everything easier for members of her team and for the PAVAD division itself.

  “How did you sleep last night?” Lorcan asked, his tone soft and intimate.

  “It took a while but Linny and I were fine.” Carrie kept her words just as low. She hadn’t missed how both of their teams pretended not to be watching them. She wasn’t comfortable being the center of attention, and she knew he knew that.

  Still, his body was warm and comforting beside her. “Why this club?”

  “We’re not entirely sure yet. Courtney had several credit card receipts to this club over the past sixty days, at least weekly.”

  “We started running everything we could on Benito’s, and found several inconsistencies. I want you to take a look to see if you can find anything else.”

  “I will.” Carrie imputed all the information she had on the club into her computer program. Ten minutes later, it beeped. She studied the results. “Lorcan, are you sure this club is the link? I’m not finding anything that sets it off.”

  “No, but it is the only lead we have. Tonight, we’ll send a team in to take a look around. Probably just a couple of agents to get a feel for the place. If you can get us more information before we get there, that will greatly help.”

  Carrie said nothing else, just continued to search for information on the club while everyone else discussed possibilities. Either the club was completely innocent of Courtney’s killings or someone on the other end of things was very, very careful in what they wrote about the club. All she found was a single help wanted ad in a free circular. The ad asked for an experienced band to play in the club Tuesday through Saturday nights. Tonight was Friday. She turned to the person sitting closest to her.

  “Lorcan...look at this.”

  She turned her laptop so that he could see the screen. He studied it for a moment. “It might just work. If we have enough musically inclined people on these teams to form an experienced band.”

  Carrie took a moment to study each member of PAVAD at the conference table. Alessandra and Paige both sang, and danced, and played a variety of instruments. Dan played guitar and Josh could play the drums, if needed. Carrie, herself, could play all of those instruments, as well as the piano. They could form a band, quite easily from the agents present. She, Al, Paige, Dan, and Josh had all played together before on numerous occasions at Smokey’s, just for fun. They’d never had cause to use their talents on an operation before, though. Could they do it? She knew she and Paige could. They’d earned most of their money performing as teens. “We can do it. We have enough people that have played together before right here; with a few hours’ practice time we can pull it off. That is, if you and Hellbrook say so.”

  Chapter 51

  *****

  “I think they can do it,” Hellbrook said. Sebastian agreed. He’d left his seat by Carrie to run the plan by the other team leader. “They’ve performed together dozens of times in the last two years. Including at Bureau fund raisers for the St. Louis community. And they are damned talented, too. If we can get them an audition for Monday, they could probably start Tuesday. That would give them all weekend to practice.”

  “We’ll need to setup identities for them all. Back story, of course.” Sebastian’s mine ran through all the strategies. He wasn’t too happy with the idea of Carrie being involved in the undercover, but she was not his agent. She was Hellbrook’s, and he would have to remember that. She wouldn’t appreciate him trying to protect her from the dangerous aspects of their job. No matter how much he wanted to. “We let them handle the rest of the details.”

  Hellbrook nodded. “And we can have a few agents in the crowd or at the bar. That should cover all angles of things. But first, I think we should have a couple of agents check it out and get a feel for the place. Perhaps you, Josh, and Paige? I think you three can blend in down in the Eastside, don’t you?”

  “I think we can handle it. In the meantime, you find the instruments and clothing we’ll need. Also, have someone get a list together of all the key players we’ll find at Benito’s. We’ll check out the club as soon as we can.”

  An hour after the plan was finalized Sebastian, Paige, and Josh and changed into club appropriate clothing. They took a bus to Benito’s.

  “So how are we going to play this, boss man?” Paige asked, as the three of them walked toward the club from the bus stop half a mile away.

  “It depends on the look of things,” Sebastian said. He thought for a moment. What kind of back story would explain the three of them if they were questioned?

  “I think Paige here should be my girl.” Compton wrapped his fingers around Paige’s arm and pulled her closer. He made teasing leering eyes at her. “We don’t know what kind of a club we’re going to here; it can be pretty rough do
wn here and a pretty woman like Paige could potentially make us a target.”

  Sebastian thought for a moment; it could work. “Beautiful women will always draw attention. We can use that, within reason. You all will be performers and you take yourselves seriously. Professional, but struggling. Perhaps Josh and Carrie are siblings, Dan, their father and manager. You and Paige, together. That leaves Al. With red streaks added, and contacts, she can also be Dan’s daughter. So it would be a family thing. Which would give a slightly added layer of protection to all of you—women, especially.”

  Paige looked at him. “And you? I have a feeling you’ll be ten feet away from Carrie the whole time.”

  Compton’s face darkened.

  Sebastian had often wondered if the younger man had feelings for Carrie that weren’t just platonic. If he did, too bad. Compton had had more than ample opportunity. “I may not even be in the club. It could be Hellbrook.”

  “Somehow, I don’t see Mr. GQ Hellbrook fitting in here.” Paige pointed to the club sign fifty feet away. When they’d said it could be a rough place, they hadn’t expected something like what they were looking at. “I think you’ll have a better time under. Know what I mean?”

  Sebastian swore again as they got closer. The club they were about to enter was rough in every meaning of the word, despite the fact that someone had obviously funneled some serious cash into it. Dread filled him; this...this was probably the most dangerous place he’d ever even contemplated sending his team.

  Half the club’s windows were boarded up with plywood. The other half had steel bars running the length of them. Barred windows on a club that was operational? It didn’t give a good impression. As they got closer to the door, Sebastian’s experienced gaze had no difficulty identifying the chinks in the faded brick exterior as bullet holes. Large caliber bullet holes close enough in succession to be from a semi- or even automatic weapon. “You all go in armed. Every last one of you.”

  “Gotcha, boss,” Paige whispered as the doorman asked her what they wanted there. She raised her voice as she spoke to the big, bald man at the door. Her tone changed, hardened. “Hey man, we heard you are in need of an act for this joint.”

  “You three an act, chickie?”

  “Me, my man, and the rest of his family. Who we have to see to get an audition?”

  ***

  Carrie and Al were put in charge of gathering everything they’d need for an ‘experienced’ band audition. Carrie knew exactly what she would need and she and Al spent most of the day researching what types of acts had played at Benito’s and determining what songs they’d have in their repertoire. The songs would have to be practiced until they could perform them flawlessly. They had to nail the audition, period. They had various copies of sheet music spread over the conference room’s table. Hell had given her and Al their assignments.

  They had to nail the audition for the rest of the “plan” to work, and she knew how hard auditions could be. She and Paige had played a few clubs when they were around seventeen. They’d traded a few favors—mostly Carrie circumventing a few databases—in exchange for fake IDs that had made it possible for them to earn a bit more cash in clubs singing. The money had often meant the difference between a cheap hotel room and sleeping in alleys for them. They’d learned to nail auditions pretty quickly.

  Carrie would leave the clothes to someone else, probably Alessandra and Georgia, and hope they didn’t make her out to look sleazy. Unless it was necessary, of course. If the case called for it, Carrie would do it. And she would do it as best she could. By the time she and Al quit working for lunch they’d decided on twenty various songs just for the audition alone, including four original songs Paige had written. It should work; Carrie had found several videos of bands that had played at Benito’s, and she knew the songs they’d chosen matched the tone and style of the club.

  Now they were just waiting for Sebastian, Josh, and Paige to get back from scouting out the club. Then they’d spend the rest of the afternoon and evening practicing until they can hit each note perfectly. It would be a long day, but Carrie knew they could do it.

  “So...” Alessandra sorted copies of each song for the various instruments. They’d have Dan on a traditional five-string guitar, Josh on the drums, Carrie on the keyboard, Paige on bass guitar and Alessandra on electric lead. It was enough, Carrie thought, to give the appearance that they were serious about their art.

  “So?”

  “You and Lorcan?”

  “What about us?”

  “Carrie! Spill. You haven’t to admit the man is one of the hottest to set foot in the division. And from what I heard, you have locked lips with him. So, spill. Is he any good at it?”

  Carrie let a smile stretch across her lips. Al was so funny at times. Wickedly funny—though Carrie often didn’t get her jokes until later—but extremely smart, too. And beautiful. Most of all, she was a genuinely nice person. “I didn’t exactly think to rate him on a scale of one to ten.”

  The blonde woman shrugged. “So do it now.”

  “Eleven thirteen. At least.” Carrie smiled at her friend again. She was always so relaxed with Al. “It was that good. I’m thinking of sleeping with him.”

  “Oh, boy!” Al wheeled her desk chair closer to Carrie’s and leaned her chin on her palm less than a foot from Carrie’s elbow. She reminded Carrie of an overeager puppy, just then. “When, where, how? Please tell me!”

  “Wow.” Carrie laughed, before looking out the conference room window to make sure no one was nearby. “I haven’t planned it out, you know? And I think he may have something to say about it, too.”

  “Naw, I have a feeling all you have to do is crook your finger like this and boss man will fall to his knees panting.”

  A moment’s uncertainty hit her. “Do you?”

  Al’s face turned serious. “Don’t doubt it. He’s watched you from that first week. I’ve seen him staring when he didn’t think anyone was watching. Interested, from the very beginning.”

  That was similar to what he had said. “He said it was because he wanted me. But I thought it was because he thought I didn’t belong or was weird, or something.”

  “You are weird, Care. In your own way. But so are all of us. I mean, look at Georgia—she’s got two degrees, knows judo, and speaks how many languages? Look at Josh. He’s also got two degrees, is all-buttoned-up conservative, yet plays the drums and piano. Then there’s Jules. Bona fide girl genius who wears pencils in her hair and talks to herself. Hell, look at me. No don’t. I look like a freakin’ plastic doll, was a college cheerleader, and look like I’d have bubblegum between my ears. Yet I have my doctorate in Urban and Cultural Studies. We are who we are for a very good reason. And those reasons make us pretty kick-ass at our jobs! So...back to Hotlips Lorcan.”

  “Well, the things I hear when you don’t think I’m around.” Paige stood in the open door, a smirk on her face. Carrie handed her a stack of papers when Paige sank into a chair next to Alessandra. “So...Hotlips? Are we evaluating?”

  “We’re discussing whether Carrie should sleep with him.”

  “I’m against it, personally.” Paige shuffled the sheet music then looked at Carrie. “I don’t think she should risk it. Getting involved with someone with even the smallest bit of power over you is crazy. This job is your life; I don’t think you should do anything to jeopardize that. And if he screws something up—and he will, he’s a man after all and they can’t help it—I’ll have to mess him up. And I actually would hate to do that.”

  “I think you’re being melodramatic, P.J.,” Al said. “So she has a flaming hot affair with him. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. They both move on. They’re not on the same team, and they are both professionals and can behave as such. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

  “I do. Power corrupts.”

  Carrie knew what Paige was saying. Paige always spoke out against those with even the least little bit of control over someone else. But Carr
ie knew something Paige had never seemed to realize—every relationship anyone had with another involved power. Each participant did have a power over the other. Healthy sexual relationships there was equal power. It had taken Carrie a while to realize that, after what had happened with Jeremy. What had happened between them when she was fifteen had not been healthy, though she had no real regrets about it. She could regret that she was so gullible, but if she did, then she had to admit she wouldn’t be where she was right now. She wouldn’t have met Paige, and knew for a fact the other girl would be dead if that hadn’t happened. How could she regret what the end results of that first relationship were?

  The two relationships she’d had since Jeremy were right. She had no regrets with them, either, despite the fact that she’d chosen not to continue them.

  If she chose to get involved with Sebastian further, would she be able to look back and think that that involvement had been right for her right now?

  She would have to think on that.

  “Care? Carrie? Are you in there? What do you think about rearranging this right here? You take the solo? You have a deeper range than Al. I think it will work better in the club’s acoustics if you carry it here.”

  Carrie forced herself to focus on Paige rather than the thoughts of Sebastian still in her head. She would have time to deal with him later. Right now she had to focus on her job. “I think I can do it. What was the club like?”

  “Dirty, even though it seemed to be run well. It just had that feel. You know what I mean? Kem—he’s this big black guy—runs the place for Benito Sr. and he seems kind of cool. The rest of the people are the typical bar employees. But it was down time, so we’ll see.”

  “So when is the audition?” Al asked. “And what do we wear?”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “Clothes, Barbie. Clothes. And the audition is tomorrow afternoon, three o’clock. That give us enough time?”

  “It’s cutting it close on wardrobe.” Al frowned before pulling out her phone. “This is going to call for the big guns. I’ll have George and Jules get shopping on the clothes angle. Carrie, what size?”