Ree opened her eyes to a quiet apartment. She felt around for Quint, searching for his warm body. He wasn’t there. She heard a noise coming from the living room area, the click-click-clack of fingers on a keyboard. Did this man never sleep?
She lost count of how many rounds of sex they’d had as she stretched out her arms, feeling more relaxed than she had in too long. Waking up after multiple rounds of sex with her work partner should make her feel different...right? Nervous to be around him? Unsure of what this did to their partnership, maybe? Instead, all she could think about was seeing his gorgeous face again. And coffee. Definitely coffee. She’d already let two cups get cold today and, despite not being able to erase the silly smile from her face, needed a caffeine boost.
“Hey,” she said after throwing on her robe and walking past him on her way to the kitchen.
“I’d say good morning, but it’s a little late for that,” he said, shifting the laptop onto the sofa and joining her in the kitchen. He wasted no time kissing her, and a little sense of relief washed over her that he wasn’t going to pretend like the last few hours hadn’t happened.
“Good afternoon or whatever,” she said, looping her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss and need welled up inside her. How? She’d already had more orgasms today than she could count. How on earth could her body rally, asking for more?
Quint’s flat palm splayed against the small of her back caused her stomach to free-fall again. What could she say? The man did things to her body she never knew were possible.
He pulled away first and took a step back, leaning his slender hip against the counter. His shirtless chest was temptation on a stick, but she stopped her fingers from reaching out to him. She had enough time for coffee and an update before she needed to get ready for her shift.
“We got some interesting news,” he said as he waited for her to pour her coffee and then take the first sip.
“Oh, yeah?” She gave a little mewl of pleasure that seemed to spark Quint’s interest.
“The person Esteban was meeting with has been identified as Constantin’s brother Baptiste,” he stated.
“It would make sense that Esteban might be running illegal operations, since he’s under the government’s radar,” Ree reasoned.
“Same with Constantin’s brother. He isn’t listed on any of the company paperwork and flies back and forth to Europe rotating names. He’s also been John and Ian,” he said.
“Isn’t Ian the same thing as John in other countries?” she asked.
Quint rocked his head.
“Let me guess, his nickname is John the Baptist,” she said.
“You would be correct. Turns out he likes to dump bodies in rivers,” he informed.
Ree shivered. Yes, her job was dangerous, but a lot of times she was busting gunrunners who moved a lot of merchandise at gun shows pretending to be “collectors,” which fell under special rules in Texas and didn’t require a license, and not this level of evil.
“And he was the one meeting with Esteban?” she asked, already sensing the answer.
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“This casts Lola in a whole new light, doesn’t it?” she asked.
“If you follow the evidence and take out personal opinion, then yes,” he said. “But you know what? Something has been bothering me, and I finally figured out what it is.”
She took a sip of coffee, very interested in his revelation. Quint wasn’t just a legend at the agency, he was a damn good agent.
“Criminals are usually suspicious of everyone around them,” he pointed out. “Right?”
“Seems to come with the territory,” she agreed.
“Why wouldn’t she have suspected spyware on her laptop?” he asked.
“She was genuinely surprised by the news and looked a little panicked,” she admitted.
“Not exactly the actions of an experienced criminal,” he stated.
“No, they are not.” She took another sip and contemplated the new perspective. “Maybe she’ll open up to me a little bit more tonight. I wish I could get her out of the bar for a girls’ night out but I’m guessing Constantin keeps a pretty tight grip on her outside of work.”
Quint nodded.
“Do you have a picture of Baptiste to show me in case he comes into the bar?” She wanted to know who she was dealing with and be able to monitor who interacted with Lola.
Quint exited the small kitchen, returning a few moments later with the laptop. “The picture is grainy, but here you go.”
She memorized his features, which was easy considering he looked like a slightly younger, slightly darker-haired version of his big brother. “I do see the family resemblance.”
Quint nodded.
“It’s unmistakable,” he said.
She took a step closer and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. “Be careful tonight going to Galveston without me.” What she really meant to say was “without backup,” but figured he probably knew what she was trying to say.
“Always am,” he said with a spark in his eyes. “But you can keep kissing me all you want until I fully comprehend the message.”
“I keep kissing you and I’ll never make it to my shift on time,” she stated, and she wasn’t kidding. She could stand there and kiss Quint all day long. Since that wasn’t an option, she chugged her coffee instead. “In fact, I should probably get ready.”
“Killjoy,” he said, tugging at her arm as she walked past and he balanced the laptop with his free hand.
“You have no idea how difficult it is for me to go to work today,” she said with a smile.
“Same.” He dipped his head down and kissed her. It was tender with a hint of so much more. She’d had “so much more” earlier today and had to say that she wouldn’t mind a few more rounds.
“We should probably think about getting serious,” she said after he pulled back and they both took in a deep breath.
“It may be too late for that,” he practically mumbled.
She reminded herself not to ask for clarification as to whether or not he was still talking about work.
Ree dressed in her uniform and returned to the kitchen half an hour later.
“There’s a salad in the fridge if you’re hungry. I’d volunteer to bring you dinner at work, but I doubt I’ll be around,” he said. Those words sat a little heavy on her chest. This seemed like a good time to remind herself just how stellar an agent Quint was and how capable he was of taking care of himself in potentially dangerous situations.
“I’m still not thrilled that you’ll be going to Galveston without backup,” she admitted, pulling a Caesar salad from the fridge.
“It’s just me getting the lay of the land. Nothing more. There won’t be any engagement,” he reassured.
So why was she still stressed about him leaving? Galveston was only a forty-five-minute drive without traffic. He could be there and back before her shift was over. Whatever was bothering her, Ree needed to shake it off.
“ARE YOU READY?” Ree stood in the hallway looking a little too good.
“Let’s do this.” Quint would be ready to go to Galveston the minute after he returned from walking Ree to the bar. “And don’t worry about me. I’ll be careful.”
“I know you will. You’re important to me,” she said by way of explanation, giving him a kiss before they headed out the door.
Partners relied on each other in life-and-death situations. Was their personal relationship clouding their objectivity?
Quint didn’t want to put a whole lot of stock into the thought as they stepped inside the waiting elevator. Instead, he reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. The move had become habit in a short time, and the link more reassuring than it probably should be.
Neither spoke or seemed to feel the need to fill the air with words. Instead, she squeezed his hand like it was a life raft.
“I could hold off on making the trip if it—”
“No. Go ahead,” she reassured him as they hit the lobby floor. “You’ll be fine without me.”
“You’re pretty amazing,” he said to her, and meant every word.
“I know.” She smirked. The playfulness was back in full force as they walked outside into the Texas heat.
He shook his head and smiled.
Ree nudged him and gave an almost imperceptible nod to the right. He glanced over and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Baptiste holding a little dark-haired girl’s hand and walking toward the building. The kid was unmistakable... Lili. She had a small ice-cream cone in her other hand.
He squeezed Ree’s hand to acknowledge he saw them. Baptiste the babysitter? This whole scenario didn’t sit well.
“Interesting” was all Ree said.
“Isn’t it?”
There was no use trying to talk about it here in the open. It did make Quint wonder if he should stick around here rather than head down to Galveston. Then again, this might be exactly the time to make the trip. If Baptiste was here, then Constantin might be as well. Quint could nose around at their home base without too much concern for being caught.
Ree stopped short of the front door of the bar.
“It sure is hot outside today,” she said.
“I do feel the temperature heating up,” he agreed. There’d been no sign of Matias, so Quint would check to see if Grappell had any intel on his movements.
“Drive safe.” She gave him a quick kiss and then a look that stirred something deep in the center of his chest.
“See you at the end of your shift,” he promised.
“I’m holding you to that,” she said before turning around and walking inside the glass doors.
He saw Lola waving Ree over and figured she was ready to dig into conversation. Again, Lola didn’t seem the drug-running, weapons-trading type. Was she that good at fooling people? At tricking him? It had been a long time since anyone had snowed him to that degree. There’d been questionable folks in the past he could put on either side of the equation and not think twice if he’d put them in the wrong bucket.
Maybe Ree could get information from Lola and they could get a break in the case. There were a lot of random dots that needed connecting. The most disturbing piece of information was Baptiste with Lola’s daughter.
Quint hoofed it back to the building, truck key in hand. True to Bjorn’s word, the vehicle had arrived with new tires this morning. She’d threatened to personally charge him for the expensive set after hearing from the DEA director.
He hopped in the truck and made the drive to Galveston in record time, noting the Fish Shack at the entrance to Constantin’s neighborhood. Constantin’s home was on the bay side. It was painted a teal blue and looked like something he’d expect to see in Key West, complete with a mounted sailfish hanging on one of the outside walls.
There were no vehicles parked underneath or on the parking pad, which didn’t mean no one had eyes on the place. In fact, from where he stood at the house next door, he’d already noted two cameras. Did Constantin live here? This was his address of record. It was possible he had another place in Houston closer to his business that might be rented under someone else’s name. His brother’s? There could also be a cash-only deal going on without a paper trail. Criminals had plenty of tools at their disposal to help them stay under the radar. A large part of law enforcement was trying to stay one step ahead. Or at the very least not falling too far behind.
There was a light on in the kitchen of Constantin’s house and light flickering as though a TV was on. Someone could be there to watch the place. On second thought, the person would most likely have transportation. A housekeeper might make sense. Someone to cook and clean for Constantin and his brother, and basically look after the place while they were gone.
Not much seemed to be going on here, but he pitched a listening device toward the place, nailing a pillar. He moved toward the water, checking for a boat. The main reason to live bayside was to have a place with direct water access. A boat was secured, so nothing to report there. The thought occurred to him to hop into the water and swim over, dropping a listening device and tracker onto the boat. Another set of cameras would make going undetected next to impossible.
Constantin and his brother must stay here at least part of the time. Lola had mentioned going to Galveston on her day off.
Since this trip was turning out to be a dud, he hopped back inside his truck and visited the nearest restaurant. If Constantin wanted to go somewhere for a meeting, the Fish Shack would be the perfect place. It had a dive-bar feel with dim lights and lots of privacy in the booths. The bar took up one side of the place, running along the right wall. A few folks dotted the long counter.
“Table for one?” the twenty-ish hostess asked. “Or will you be sitting at the bar tonight?”
Quint patted down his pockets. “You know what? I just realized that I left my wallet in my truck. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” The hostess practically beamed.
Quint walked out, hopped in his truck and got back on the highway running toward the city. There was no use spending much more time in Galveston. This seemed like Constantin’s private residence, where he took Lola and Lili, and not where he did business. Good to know. If anything was going on worth knowing here, the listening device should help find it.
The drive home went by fast as Quint turned the radio to a country-and-western station. Randy Travis was on, so Quint rolled down the windows and turned up the sound. As he got closer to his building, he rolled the windows back up, turned off the radio. There was something about a warm late-summer night and the sound of Randy Travis’s voice that gave Quint the feeling everything was right in the world.
Or was the feeling coming from the thought that Ree would be off work soon? He parked in their spot and then headed up to the seventh floor. Her shift didn’t end for another couple of hours, so he opened the laptop and grabbed a power bar to tide him over while he fiddled around.
Esteban’s connection to Constantin and Baptiste wasn’t a stretch. After all, Lola and Constantin were in a serious relationship. Matias’s being in Houston shouldn’t surprise anyone considering he was Lili’s father. Quint made a note in the case file asking if Matias had been involved with Lili her entire life or if he’d recently found out about his daughter. He wished he could just ask Lola outright, but getting too personal would look suspicious. He’d won some trust by telling her about the spyware. There was no need to blow it now.
Quint requested as much DEA information about Matias as they were willing to give. Somehow, he doubted Driver would pony up information, but Shelly might see the question. She’d made it clear she wanted to cooperate and didn’t share her partner’s views. In fact, she was the one person who seemed more put off by having to work with Driver than they were. Rightfully so. As much as Driver annoyed Quint, at least they weren’t partners. He couldn’t imagine working side by side with Wonder Boy.
That being said, Quint figured he could ask Ree to reach out to Shelly now that her number was on Ree’s cell phone. The numbers were phantom if anyone tried to trace them from the outside. They would link to a made-up identity.
Quint took a power nap before freshening up and heading out to the bar. Once there, he stood, arms crossed, leaning against a barricade blocking vehicles from driving in front of the pedestrian area and glanced around. Constantin sat in his Lamborghini, the engine idling. Either the transport business was incredibly lucrative, or crime paid. His money was on the latter.
Lola stepped out with Ree, who smiled at him the second she spotted him. There was something extra special about her smile tonight. A piece of him wanted it to be about what had happened earlier between them. Instinct said she got information from Lola. Then again, maybe it was both. He could only hope that was true. Either way, he was about to find out.