Undercover Attraction, page 8
She went through all the motions again. Answering question after question, until well into the evening. Jenna wanted nothing more than to eat, shower, and curl up in bed after her exhausting day.
Jacob had disappeared when they arrived at the precinct and she hadn’t had so much as a glimpse of him since then.
The detective questioning her had just left, leaving her alone to study the rather drab room. It was almost like the questioning rooms in movies, minus the one-way mirror and with a vase of daisies on the table. The interrogation room for the innocent people, instead of the guilty. The door had a window to it and she could catch people moving about in the hall outside.
There was another window on the outside wall, with bars of course, but she welcomed the distraction that the birds brought her. Several had stopped to perch on one of the many limbs of the tree planted right outside.
She was standing there watching one fat little bird chirp merrily as he hopped back and forth when the door opened again.
“Hi, Ms. Howell, I'm Chief Nichols.”
She stood and shook his hand when he held it out to her and then sat back in her chair. He sat a tall styrofoam cup in front of her then held out a handful of single shot creamers and sugar packets.
“I figured you could use this by now,” Chief Nichols said.
“Thank you.” She took the coffee and mixed in a packet of sugar and cream, thankful that it would at least keep her stomach from growling for a bit longer.
“I just need you to review the reports, and sign them, and we will be finished here. We also want to question your friend about the guy who followed her home, asking about the bag.” Another detective walked in carrying a stack of papers. He set them on the table next to Chief Nichols, whispering something unintelligible and left quietly.
He began again once they were alone. “I figured getting your friend in here would go easier if you mentioned we needed to talk to her. Of course, we will also need to secure her place since the perp actually followed her there. I’d rather have her willing to help us, than just barging in on her. You can see where I’m coming from after today, I’m sure.”
She definitely could, especially since she had no choice in the matter. Nodding, she took another sip of her coffee.
“These are the reports, both your own and Jake’s.” He slid the stack across the table to her. “Please look over them while I go take care of another matter. If everything is correct on yours, sign the top sheet where the X is. I'll be back in a moment.”
With that, she was alone again, a thick stack of papers in front of her. So she began to read.
#
“No, Dad. She isn’t going to go for it.” Jacob sat in his father’s office, his feet propped on a box sitting in front of him, watching the expression on the Chief’s face. It was one argument he agreed with, but he loathed to place Jenna in another uncomfortable situation. Especially since she had been so specific about them going their separate ways.
Of course, as he expected, his father was hearing none of it.
“She will if it means her protection. And aren’t you the one who stated she needed protection in the first place?”
Jacob let out a big sigh, running his fingers through his short hair. “Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean me. Get Alex to do it, or Rhonda. Jenna may feel more comfortable if it’s female, instead of me.”
Police Chief Stewart Nichols just looked at his son. There were very few times that Jacob had ever argued with him over anything, but he could see that Jacob was being rather adamant about not wanting to look over the girl. He could sense something more to the story.
Oh, don’t get him wrong, he knew how Jacob had come to be in her house. He had assigned Jacob to the strip club assignment because his son was the best undercover investigator they had. Well, both his sons, but Alexander was out on something else for him. Granted, he had gotten a good laugh on Jacob’s behalf when he came in cursing after a week of ‘stripping’ and no evidence.
Stewart saw something different about his son when he talked about the girl. And after thirty two years of watching his eldest son become what he is today, he couldn’t wait to watch him fall in love and have tons of grandbabies for him to bounce on his knees.
Frankly, he was getting ready to retire. Of course he had told no one of this. The station would probably burst into flames. But he knew when it was time and by damn, the remaining assignments he sent his sons on would be meaningful, if possible.
“Son, you have already spent the night with her, she knows you already. Alex is on another assignment and Rhonda will still need to be at the club watching her end of the ropes and trying to apprehend Mike. I trust you to watch her better than anyone else.”
“What about when I am working? I can’t take her with me,” Jacob grumbled out, finally conceding he had lost, but trying for a few last pleas.
“You don’t have to come in to the station. Just the club and when you go there, I’ll have someone else on her. Hell, maybe I’ll watch her. She seems nice enough.”
“You haven’t met her cat.”
His father’s brow raised in question.
“Never mind, Dad. I’ll do it, but you have to be the one to tell her.”
The old Chief smiled to himself as his son left his office. This was going to be fun to watch.
#
She was pissed off. Again.
Apparently the stupid stripper she had hired to get the drugs out had botched the orders. She would take care of that minor inconvenience shortly.
First was the task of recovering the drugs and the disc that accompanied them. Unfortunately Mike had lost both of them. She had ordered him to find them as soon as he had left the club last night, but he had reported in this morning that the girl he had followed home wouldn’t give him any information on where the package had gone. Not to mention she had effectively slipped from his grasp by giving him a heavy dose of pepper-spray.
Now she was sitting in her office contemplating her next move. Of course she would have to apprehend the female he had questioned and do it her own way. That should wield some better results. And she would have to listen to police reports to see if anyone had turned in anything she didn’t want known.
That would be a major problem. Especially for anyone who had looked at the disc. Even if it was coded in a rather complex formula.
Mike had told her that one of the girls had left the club with Jacob Nichols. That was rather odd. She knew he wasn’t the type to pick up a one-night fuck. Even if he was undercover at the club. Oh, she understood the horniness and had even taken home a few men after leaving the place, but Jacob wasn’t one to throw his affections around lightly, even to sate his aching balls.
She had been lucky enough to spend two nights in his bed months ago and knew the man could fulfill a woman's every desire, but that had been that. No more invitations had come and she couldn’t help wondering if his fuck last night had been as good as she had been or not.
It was easy enough to find out and she fully intended to when she saw Jacob next, but until then, she would worry about the other girl.
#
As soon as Jenna left the station, she called Mac on her cell phone. Mac had agreed to come in that evening after the situation was explained to her. Jenna thought that Mac was probably somewhat spooked after being followed home and almost attacked. Of course, it was enough to terrify anyone. She herself was afraid and she had the one man she wanted to get rid of protecting her for the rest of the investigation.
She had been rather surprised when the old Chief had informed her that an agent had been assigned to her for protection. Even more so when he informed her it was Jacob. She had adamantly refused until he had asked her if she would rather stay there in precinct for her own protection, or have someone with her at all times. Of course the obvious answer had been to have a- for lack of better terms- bodyguard.
She almost wished she had opted to stay in a cell. Especially since he was changing the station on her radio at the moment. She was enjoying the hits, but he would have none of it. All of a sudden, a loud sports announcer blasted over her speakers. It took a few moments to sort through the boisterous conversation before she picked up that she was being forced to listen to a baseball game. Basically it was like listening to a broadcast in a foreign language.
Opening her mouth, she looked over at him, fully intending to berate him for touching her tuner then decided against it when she remembered she had sworn to ignore him the minute he sat in the passenger seat.
The entire ride home gave her a headache. She was absolutely seething inside. It seemed like her entire life was going to be turned upside down because of a stupid night out.
She parked her car and turned the key off rather forcefully, mainly to shut up the offensive game. She didn’t dare look over at Jacob, mainly because he would see how much he affected her. Climbing out, she gripped her keys in one hand, her purse in the other, and slammed the driver’s side door, wincing when she realized her poor vehicle had nothing to do with pissing her off. That was all because of the man.
Within moments she was back inside her house, which had been turned topsy-turvy during the first half of the worst day ever. She heard Jacob walk in behind her and thought to herself that this might possibly become the worst week ever.
Chuckles bounded up to her and launched himself into her arms. He looked over her shoulder and let out a vicious feline growl. She would have laughed, but the reminder of who was staying with her for a few days dampened her mood even more.
She cuddled Chuckles for a few moments before setting about putting her house to rights again. Jacob conveniently made himself scarce, scouting or whatever they supposedly do when having to protect.
A while later, the grandfather clock chimed seven and she looked around, realizing she had been cleaning for almost two hours. Her kitchen and living room were back to rights and her stomach let out a loud grumble, reminding her that she had been practically starving all day.
She put away her cleaning supplies and had just opened the fridge to see what she could fix when the doorbell rang. Before she could even look out the peephole, rough hands pulled her back.
Jacob had materialized from nowhere. He held a finger to his lips, telling her to remain silent. Jenna realized he had palmed a pistol and was holding it ready in case their guest was unwanted. Ready to shoot someone.
He stood to the side of the door and quickly looked out the hole. Then he smiled and looked at her, “It’s okay. Dinner is here.”
Jenna threw the lock that he had apparently engaged when they made it home, watching as he slid his gun into the waistband of his jeans at his lower back.
So typical cop movie, she thought. She pulled the door open and almost drooled at the man standing there.
He was tall, at least as tall as Jacob, with dirty blond hair, light blue eyes, and a devil-may-care smile. His features were softer than Jacob’s, but he did have a resembling jaw line.
“Hey there, honey. Is Jake taking good care of you? You could always come home with me if he isn’t.” His voice was like a seduction, his lips softly accentuating every syllable.
She didn’t realize she had been staring until Jacob stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the gorgeous stranger.
“Ignore him. He has absolutely no manners to speak of,” Jacob threw over his shoulder to her, and then to the stranger, “Where’s the food?”
The stranger gasped and held a hand to his chest. “What? No ‘nice to see ya’, or ‘how was Cali'? Just a grumpy, nonchalant, ‘where’s the food'.”
Jacob smiled lopsidedly, running a hand through his hair. “You know better. It is good to see you, a surprise though. And we're starving. Had a rather eventful day today.”
The stranger pointed behind him, “It’s in the car. There’s so much, I couldn’t bring it all in at once.”
They both walked out to retrieve the food, Jacob looking back to her in an ‘I’ll be right back’ warning.
So she obediently stood at the door. And even worse was that she involuntarily stared at Jacob as he walked to the car. She had to mentally shake herself when she realized her eyes were ogling his gluteus maximus. Thankfully, the other hot man bent over to get the bags from the car, giving her another fine view of male glutes.
Of course, she had to peel her eyes from that fine scene, also and when she looked up, Jacob was staring at her, his eyes narrowed. If she hadn’t known any better, she would have giggled to herself for feeling like he was jealous.
But I do know better.
They came back carrying two full bags of Chinese food each, something she wasn’t surprised about. After all, she had seen Jacob eat breakfast already. Once on the counter, the bags were quickly being stripped open, the contents spread out along the marble like a giant Chinese buffet.
She stood back, her arms crossed over her chest, silently willing her stomach not to growl once she caught the aroma of good Chinese. The two men went about opening the little oriental boxes, rearranging the food according to some rule she wasn’t privy to.
The blonde slapped Jacob on the back. “Damn, man, how much food did Dad think you need? He sent half of their menu.”
“Wait a minute,” Jenna broke in, confused as to if ‘Dad’ ran a restaurant, or something else.
Jacob turned to her, a quirky smile on his rugged face. “Jenna, meet my brother Alex. Alex, Jenna. Our Dad is the ornery old bastard that assigned me as your bodyguard.”
Jenna let that sink in for a minute, not knowing whether to be outraged that he didn’t want to be there, or that there was a possibility he had told his dad to keep him on the assignment just to irk her.
She walked around them, reaching for a plate and fork that were set at one end of the island counter then stood in awe as the two men dug into the food as if they were starved.
After looking over what was in each container, she set about fixing herself a plate of fried rice with Szechwan beef, and Kung Pao chicken. She sat at the end of the island, on her stool, looking at the two to either side of her.
“So did you ask to be assigned to me, or was it just a whim?” she asked as she watched Jacob chew slowly, his throat muscles working as he swallowed.
“Dad knew you didn’t want me around, so he thought it amusing to put me on the spot. I didn’t choose this to spite you, Jenna.” He stuffed half an egg roll into his mouth.
Alex was looking back and forth between the two, trying to decide if there was more to the situation than Jacob was letting on. From the way his brother was acting, he knew this woman had gotten under Jacob’s skin somehow. And Alex wanted to watch him sweat.
“Jenna, if Jacob is going to cause trouble for you, we can talk to Dad and possibly have our assignments swapped. I wouldn’t mind watching out for you. Hell, I might even like guarding your body from others.” He smiled his seductive smile, almost laughing aloud when Jacob’s face turned to stone.
“That won’t be necessary,” Jacob ground out from between clenched teeth.
Of course, Jenna took the bait, “Well, can you do that? Swap, I mean.” She looked from one brother to the other.
They answered her at the same time, Alex with “Possibly,” and Jacob grunting “No.”
She didn’t know who to believe. She really wanted to trust Jacob since the Chief had told her himself that Jacob was assigned to her, whether they liked it or not. Alex looked like the kind of person who was carefree and liked to pull Jacob’s leg, so she decided to stick with the Chief's orders.
“Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm stuck with Jacob. Your father was rather adamant about that.” She saw Jacob flip Alex off from the corner of her eye and she almost laughed aloud at the boyish playfulness.
Alex pushed Jacob even further, “Well, if you need me to come over for anything,” he winked at her, “don’t hesitate to call for me. I don’t mind taking up Jake’s slack at all.”
Jacob crossed his arms over his chest and sent his brother a look that said, go to hell. Jenna honestly didn’t think there was anything that Jacob was slacking in, especially after their tryst last night. She couldn’t imagine him being unable to hold his own in anything.
Alex reached over and took her hand, lightly cradling it in his own. “I am dead serious, honey, if you need a warm body, or someone to scrub your back, hit me up.”
She heard a faint growling sound coming from her left and realized Jacob had gone primitive. Alex released her hand, placed his little calling card in it and stood to leave. Unfortunately, she couldn’t help staring at the man’s perfect backside as he walked around her chair. Even worse was that Jacob was watching her staring at Alex.
The two men walked to the door together, shook hands, and whispered for a moment, too low for her to even catch more than a tiny syllable or two.
Then Alex left her alone with Jacob. He closed the door behind him with a thud and threw every lock on the frame. Jacob stood there with his back against the door just staring at her.
They stayed that way for a long moment, saying nothing, just looking. Then Jacob moved first, pushing himself from the door.
She watched as he crossed over to her, her heart beating in her chest, her palms sweaty.
He placed a hand on either of her shoulders, and leaned down to her, his lips hypnotizing her, begging her to give in, but her brain saying no. Her head fell back the closer he came to her, until his lips barely grazed her jaw.
“I am taking a shower and getting some sleep. Don’t step out of this house, or open the door without waking me.” His breath teased her earlobe as he softly whispered, but his words were like a bucket of ice water against her heated core.
He released her quickly and turned to the hallway, leaving her to think of a hot male body covered in slick water droplets. She got up to clean the kitchen, deciding that she could possibly distract herself from the sound of the water running.
