Free Covert Craving by Jennifer James Page A

flirt with? There’s a real doozy of a hoodoo priestess
down the hall.”
    Dark suit nodded with a small inclination of his
head. If the other man had had hair, it would have been buzzed into a military high-and-tight.
Greiff returned the gesture and pretended to ignore him. Both men knew the
posturing was crap, but they had to do it. Unarmed, and with a woman to take
care of, he wasn’t backing down and letting the goon in all easy-peasy. It took
all his concentration to try and look relaxed and unconcerned.
    Spetrino ignored the dig. “This is Major Rebane.
We need to come inside.”
    “Why?” His partner took a step closer and Greiff
held his ground. Rebane maintained his position to the back and left of Spetrino.
    “This isn’t a conversation to have in a public
hallway, my color-challenged friend.” Spetrino pushed past him into the
apartment.
    Unless Greiff wanted to get physical, he had no
choice but to let the other man pass. Unease wormed its way into his gut. The
tone of the comment didn’t fit with his partner’s normal jabs about his
wardrobe. “So, I can’t match my clothes. Who cares?”
    “We both know it’s more than that.”
    Greiff locked gazes with his partner, who stared
back. Shit was spinning out here in a big way, and without knowing what facts
Spetrino had, silence was the best answer.
    Spetrino put his hands on his hips. “Greiff let
him in, man. This is about you and your new girlfriend. You care about her, you
let him in.”
    “I’ve seen a lot of weird shit recently, and heard
even weirder. You sure I can trust this guy?” He raised one eyebrow and stared
over his shoulder at Spetrino. It put Rebane out of sight, but he needed to see
his partner’s face.
    His partner sighed. “No, I’m not. But—”
    “Detective Greiff, I know everything about you. I
know that you lost your virginity at sixteen to a girl named Holly Marie
Thompson. I know that you are color-blind, divorced, and that you lost both
your parents before you turned thirty. I know your little sister lives in Oklahoma
and works too many hours as a nurse.” Rebane’s low voice sounded like the
darkest part of midnight. “And before you say that anyone could have picked up
that information with a little digging, I also know that you have a couple
hundred bucks stashed under a panel in your closet floor. I even know that you
paid another kid to write all your papers junior year in college,” he dropped
his voice to a whisper and leaned in closer, “and that you can see Chloe
Saunders full color.”
    The bathroom door opened and shut, and then the
bedroom door closed as well. He stood aside and allowed Rebane to pass. The
desire to warn Chloe warred with his need to maintain a defensive position where
he could keep both men in sight.
    “No more posturing. Tell me why the government is
sending their bogeyman here.” Greiff moved to guard the hallway entrance.
    Spetrino popped a piece of his nicotine gum. “I
came with him because I wasn’t letting my partner get into something with some
government spook without backup.”
    He frowned. They’d only been partners for about a
year. “Spetrino, if even a quarter of the things Chloe told me are true, you
might want to get the hell out of here.”
    The bedroom door opened again, and he tensed.
Chloe might think she could take care of herself, but Rebane’s bicep out-sized
her thigh. He glared at the G-man from under his brows and widened his stance.
    Rebane smirked. Bright, white teeth flashed behind
his lips. He kept his hands relaxed at his sides and didn’t so much as clench
his fists, his face schooled into placid, lineless planes.
    Greiff knew that posture for what it was—a
predator’s ready stance. This guy could pretend all he wanted, but Rebane was
dangerous.
    But so was he.
    Chloe’s scent reached him, but it had a discordant
note. He resisted the urge to check on her. The fact she was alone and upright
provided little comfort. There could be something