It was hard enough to keep quiet in the shadows while Xander did his thing but now that they had some serious leads, the three-hour drive back to their crap motel was torture.
“As soon as we get back to the motel, I need to run a few names through the database and see what pops up. That Wakefield deal was shady as hell. Why is it that politicians always end up with dirty fingers?”
“Because they’re always poking them where they don’t belong,” Xander answered. “Yeah, I agree. That’s a solid lead. The saying ‘money is the root of all evil’ didn’t get the reputation for nothing. We’re probably talking millions in kickbacks on the line.”
“You know, I’ve heard about Wakefield and what that reporter said was true. Wakefield was busted twenty years ago on their environmental waste storage, racked up a huge fine and then picked up and left for Mexico where the hazardous waste rules were less tough.”
“But why return to the States? Even with a hefty tax credit, it couldn’t possibly have measured up against what they were getting in Mexico.”
“It could be that the violence in certain parts of Mexico has gotten out of hand?” Scarlett speculated. “When Hershey moved their plant to Monterrey, Mexico, they had to hire a private security detail for on-site protection from the drug lords that have claimed that area. I know this because Red Wolf had put in a bid for the assignment. That kind of protection gets expensive.”
Xander was surprised. “Yeah? A detail in Mexico could’ve been nice. I love Cabo.”
“It wouldn’t have been a picnic. It’s a legitimate war zone down there. The cartels are equipped with semi-automatics and there’s more of them than there are of law enforcement. Plus, a lot of the cops are on the take so you can’t really trust them, either. Honestly, there’s no beach in the world that would’ve made that detail any fun. I’m glad we got outbid.”
Xander nodded, thinking. “If it’s as bad as you say it is, a return to the States could warrant a second look.”
Scarlett agreed. “And if there’s a politician willing to grease the wheels for a little extra green...could really sweeten the prospect.”
Xander grinned, pleased. “That’s a solid lead. Can you run Wakefield Industries through the Red Wolf database without tripping any alarms?”
“Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Xander nodded, visibly appreciative of Scarlett’s help. He would’ve had a bitch of a time getting the same information that Scarlett could get with a few keystrokes.
But she would have Zak run Sheffton and Williams through the database to see what popped up. Red Wolf had one of the most extensive background-check programs, borderline-illegal in the intel it could glean from a few queries.
“I still think we should look into the intern angle. I know it seems small in comparison to the Wakefield deal but I don’t feel comfortable leaving any stone unturned,” Scarlett said, pleased when Xander readily agreed.
“Greed is a solid motivator but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a jealous wife. Although, blowing a man up for messing around, even if she felt humiliated, seems a little harsh.”
Scarlett shrugged. “Women can be vicious.”
“No argument there.”
She laughed, sensing a story. Feeling far more at ease now that they had a direction to head into, she asked, “Were you ever on the receiving end of a jealous woman?”
“What man hasn’t?” he quipped, shrugging as he added, “Let’s just say I seem to pick the ones all wrong for me.”
“Oh, so you’re a cheater?”
“I didn’t say that. I just have a bad habit of attracting the crazy ones and they tend to overreact when I flirt a bit.” He graced her with a quizzical look. “So how about you? What are you like as a girlfriend? The crazy kind, I bet.”
“I don’t let anyone in long enough to make me crazy,” she answered coolly. That was the truth. If Xander thought he was bad at relationships, he didn’t have anything on her. Her career choice had led to some ill-fated partnerships, which had then led to the epiphany that she wasn’t cut out for the his-and-her matching towel set. “Red Wolf is my life. I don’t need anything else.”
If that came out sounding as hollow as it felt, she wasn’t sure but Xander seemed to understand. “Yeah, people like us, we’re just made for the job. Civilians couldn’t possibly understand the rush, the adrenaline high that comes from what we do. It’s addictive.”
“No argument there,” she said, grinning. “Remember that detail in Morocco with the prime minister’s son? Holy crap, I thought we were going to eat a bullet on that one.”
“Damn straight. I thought so, too. That kid needed a muzzle to shut his trap. By the end of the detail, I was half tempted to hand the kid over to the nearest terrorist group just to be done with him. That kid sure as hell wasn’t worth dying for.”
Scarlett laughed, remembering when Xander shoved the lanky young man against the wall, his fists curled into the silk of his shirt after the kid had mouthed off one too many times. “I confess I was kinda hoping you were going to pop him in the mouth. It would’ve cost us the job but it would’ve been worth it.”
Xander shared her laughter, his gaze dancing at the memory. “You have no idea how close I was, but Zak was the cool head and pulled me back. The kid didn’t realize how lucky he was. I was about to rearrange his teeth for what he’d said.”
“He was a stupid spoiled brat,” Scarlett recalled, adding wistfully, “But his daddy paid well and we all got bonuses for keeping his spoiled ass safe until the threat was neutralized.”
Yeah, and by neutralized, she meant a bullet put squarely between the eyes of the man behind the terrorist cell threatening to kidnap the kid for ransom.
Afterward, a few days spent on Legzira Beach hadn’t sucked. Now that she recalled, she and Xander nearly shared a moment then, too, but she’d pulled back just in time—possibly before he’d even noticed the intent in her eyes.
Thank God, she hadn’t kissed him.
“Good times,” Xander said, nodding.
“Yeah,” she murmured, casting her gaze out the window. Maybe that night at the bar had been destined to happen at some point or another. The attraction between them had always been like a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the right opportunity to blow.
And now that they were on their own, playing by a new set of rules...did that mean she was willing to return to his bed?
Scarlett drummed the window lightly in time to the thoughts in her head.
She already knew the answer—possibly had known all along.
It was just time to stop fighting it.
Xander was eager to put what they’d learned into play but by the time they’d returned to their motel, it was too late to make calls and they were both starving. They couldn’t risk a restaurant so it was another dinner of burgers and fries.
“With a steady diet of fast food, I’m getting a jump on my future Dad bod,” he joked, rubbing his stomach. “Nothing says you’re getting older than discovering your metabolism has slowed to turtle speed.”
Scarlett scoffed at his complaint. “Men have it easy. All you have to do to drop a few pounds is stop eating carbs and drinking beer for a few days and you’ll be back to fighting weight. Women are biologically engineered to gain weight for the good of the species.”
Xander grinned. “Thanks for taking one for the team.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” she retorted, finishing her fries. “Well, I don’t plan on having kids so if my ovaries could stop sending the estrogen overload straight to my hips, that’d be great.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with your hips,” Xander said, holding her gaze, daring her to shut him down. “If I recall...your hips were perfect for gripping with two hands...”
She flushed and he knew they were both remembering that night. Hot damn, the memories were scorchers.
But he throttled himself down. As much as he wanted a repeat of that night, he would respect her boundaries.
Scarlett deliberately unbuckled her holster belt and placed it on the table, her nimble fingers moving to her belt and zipper. The spit dried in his mouth as she shimmied out of her jeans. He managed to quip, “I don’t want to get the wrong impression but...” before she stripped off her shirt and tossed her bra. “Okay, now I’m confused but in a good way.”
Scarlett smiled and pushed him to the bed, straddling him. “Let’s just say you make a persuasive argument,” she said, right before sealing her mouth to his. That was all the encouragement he needed. He slid his hands up her bare back to grip the back of her neck, moving to caress her face and it was like putting gasoline on an ember. Within seconds, he was struggling to get out of his clothes but right at the worst possible moment, his back spasmed, punching the air from his lungs and all he could do was stiffen and gasp. He hadn’t had a chance to take a painkiller with Scarlett around and the piper was coming for his due.
“Xander?” Scarlett climbed off him, concerned, but he couldn’t move, his muscles were contracting in a cataclysmic symphony of complete agony. “What’s wrong?” she asked, the urgency in her voice climbing.
He managed to gasp, “Over there, in my jacket pocket...”
She scrambled off the bed and rifled through his pocket to find his pill bottle. Her gaze narrowed at the narcotic but shook out two pills and returned to Xander with water, helping him get the medicine down his throat.
It would take about fifteen minutes for his body to metabolize the meds but he was sweating from the pain.
Scarlett quietly put her shirt back on and leaned back against the headboard, watching him. He could practically feel the questions building in her sharp mind but he couldn’t focus on much more than the pain racking his body.
To her credit, she waited until the meds kicked in before her interrogation began.
“There’s nothing in your file that says you’re on narcotic pain meds,” she said.
“I didn’t get them from a Red Wolf physician,” Xander said gruffly as he slowly rolled to a seated position, the pain finally subsiding to a dull roar. “For that precise reason.”
“You know that’s a violation of protocol,” she said.
“Of course I know that.”
“Which begs the question, why would you do it if you knew it went against the rules.”
He sighed, not ready to have this conversation. Scarlett absolutely deserved the truth but he didn’t have the balls to go the full Monty just yet. In the interest of self-preservation, he went with a variation of the truth. “Look, don’t make a mountain out of this. Here’s the deal, I jacked up my back about six weeks ago doing something stupid at home and I knew I wouldn’t qualify for any benefits through Red Wolf, so I just went to my private doc for some pain meds to get me through. I’m almost out of my prescription and once it’s gone, I won’t refill it. I’d already decided on that but I’m in the process of weaning myself off the shit right now and that means dealing with the occasional temper tantrum from my back.”
Some of the suspicion faded from her gaze. His explanation made sense, even if some of it was embellished.
True, he’d messed up his back off-hours and knew he couldn’t turn in the claim to Red Wolf. He never figured the meds would turn him into a junkie. Hell, he’d truly thought that a few weeks on the stuff would help heal his back and then he’d be done.
But that wasn’t the case.
And his injury wasn’t six weeks ago... More like six months ago. A person didn’t turn into a full-blown addict without sufficient time to settle in properly to the new reality.
He rose stiffly to grab some more water. “Look, I don’t want you to worry that I can’t handle myself. I’m almost back to my regular messed-up self. I can promise you that.”
More lies.
For damn’s sake, he needed to just shut up.
When backed against the wall, use humor to defuse the situation—that was his MO.
“Give me a few minutes to redeem myself and we can resume what we were doing,” he said, casting a hopeful look her way but he could tell that ship had sailed, at least for tonight. “Or maybe a rain check on that booty?”
By way of answer, Scarlett swung her legs over the side of the bed and popped up with the curt announcement, “I need to shower,” leaving Xander hunched over like an old man, feeling like a total shit for not having the courage to be truly honest.
Lying was a crappy way of showing his appreciation for her help, but he knew how that conversation would go and he couldn’t afford the luxury of honesty right now.
He needed Scarlett on his side or else he was truly screwed.
When this was all said and done, he’d level with her and let the chips fall where they may.
Until then...he had to stay the course.
And be much more diligent about hiding his dirty little secret.