Free Cajun Spice by Desiree Holt Page B

tight voice, he relayed his conversation with Daisy, nearly word for word.
    “And you believe her?” Larry asked.
    “I do.”
    “Well, not being as trusting a soul as you are, I’m going to check out the money he invested for her and see if it’s protected. That will give us an indication she’s not exactly a victim here.”
    “Check all you want, but you won’t find anything except she’s out a bunch of bucks along with everything else. I’ve been in this business long enough to smell out a liar, even an accomplished one.” He picked up a half-full champagne flute and chugged the contents. The fact it was stale didn’t matter. He needed something to calm his nerves.
    “Don’t let her come back to the city by herself,” Larry cautioned. “The condo is off limits, and she won’t have a place to stay.”
    “Exactly how do I accomplish that? She’s made it pretty clear she wants nothing to do with me.”
    The connection hummed with silence. Then his boss spoke again.
    “Well, the credit card is still active, so she’ll be able to get her plane ticket changed and pay any extra fees. I’ll make a hotel reservation for her and have someone meet her at the airport.”
    Marc gave a short laugh. “Good luck with that. She’s liable to kick whoever it is in the nuts.”
    Larry cleared his throat. “Meanwhile, there’s something we still haven’t addressed. You’re one of our best agents. I don’t want to lose you over this.”
    “Lose me how?”
    “You know the rules about fraternizing. We have policies in place. And she still hasn’t been fully cleared.”
    Marc ground his teeth. “I’ve dotted every I and crossed every T my entire career. Would I go against regs just on a whim? I’d walk away from this woman first.”
    More silence.
    “You hear me, boss?”
    Another pause.
    “You really fell for her, didn’t you, Cajun?” Larry said at last.
    “Yes, I did. Enough to walk away from the bureau if it means I have a chance with her.”
    He could hear Larry’s heavy sigh over the connection. “I’ll probably get my ass chewed out for this, but if you’re sure she’s not involved, I’ll take your word.”
    “Thank you.”
    “But if she screws us over, it’s my ass as well as yours. Just keep that in mind”
    “I will,” he agreed. “And…thank you.”
    “Don’t thank me yet. But if you are right, I’ll do whatever I can to patch this up for you.”
    “Good luck with that.” He filled the flute again. “Just keep me in the loop with whatever you find out about Myers and the rest of the money. If we can get our hands on the remaining cash plus the diamonds, we can refund everything his clients lost. At least one good thing will come out of this.”
    He hung up, tossed his cell phone on the bed, and slugged down more stale champagne. He stared at the remnants of the strawberries and chocolate sauce, remembering how a great evening had turned sour.
    Shit!
    He threw the glass against the wall, watching it smash into tiny shards. Too bad. The hotel could put it on his tab. Then he went about the business of getting dressed and packing.
    And planning how to win back the woman he’d fallen so deeply in love with.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Three men were waiting for her at the airport when she deplaned. The one obviously in charge came forward with his hand outstretched.
    “Larry Choate. Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New York FBI field office.”
    Daisy glared at him, ignoring his hand. “Marc’s boss,” she guessed, her voice laced with venom.
    For a moment, she’d wondered how they even knew when she would be arriving. Then she realized the FBI could find out anything it wanted. She was sorry now she hadn’t changed her reservations to first class and stuck them with the bill. She had no intention of paying off that card. She’d send it to the New York office with as nasty a note as she could write.
    He nodded. “I am.”
    “I hope you’re satisfied now that I had