Drinking a beer at the San Antonio Clawed and Dangerous Kitty Cat Club, Howard Armstrong looked more relaxed than Val had ever seen him. Although she’d only seen him working vigorously in training exercises. Why was he here? She should have known she’d run into him again—they were working for the same jaguar police force, after all. He made her think of long, hot nights and impossibly sexy dreams.
She had been astonished to learn he had left the Enforcer branch to work with the JAG’s new United Shifter Force unit. And a little disappointed. She’d thought she might see him again during training. She had wondered if he’d gotten as much ribbing about her taking him down as she had.
“He let you so he could get close and personal.” A couple of the women she worked with had made that comment or something similar. “Good move to take him down as if we were in the field and not in training,” one of the guys had told her, impressed with her wiliness. “He must be getting soft,” another male Enforcer had joked.
Howard was all hard muscle, nothing soft about him.
The Enforcer branch was a specialized jaguar policing force that eliminated jaguar shifters who were guilty of committing violent, deadly crimes against humans and shifters alike. The agents of the USF worked as a combined force of wolves and jaguars. Howard had made a great Enforcer because he did things on his own, a loner. Many of the Enforcers were like that, which was why Val couldn’t understand why he changed jobs to be a team player with a mix of shifter types.
Howard still worked out of the Houston office, as far as she knew. She’d wondered if he was working on a case in San Antonio. When she’d spied his vehicle here for days with no sign of him, she’d asked her boss—and Howard’s—if he was on a mission. They’d both denied it. She didn’t think the USF agents went solo on missions. Was he really just on vacation?
Sipping a margarita at a table across the club from him, Val watched Howard snack on chips. Then he was joined by a brunette—pretty, petite, and wearing a short red dress and low red heels. Was the woman a jaguar or a wolf? Maybe a date?
When Val had seen Howard’s black pickup truck with the distinct jaguar in a jungle painted on both sides and smelled his scent around the vehicle, she’d figured he still owned it. Even so, she had run his license plate to make sure someone else hadn’t bought it. She had learned it was still his truck. She suspected Howard was after someone. But this was the first time she’d actually seen him or the woman, which meant he had to be undercover.
The jungle music made Val involuntarily tap her boot on the tile floor, and she had the greatest urge to get up and dance. The smell of sweet mixed drinks, beer, humans, jaguars, and a few wolves drifted to her. Palm trees in pots, vines stretching to the ceiling, and a skylight way above simulated a jungle scene like most jaguars loved. The summer sun was still high enough to spread sunlight through the windows filtering down through the living foliage.
Since she couldn’t get away to the jungle very often, she enjoyed going to these places to immerse herself in the jungle feel from time to time, more so when she wasn’t on a mission. Here it was air-conditioned, with a light mist spraying the plants and water droplets collecting on the leaves. Jaguar shifters wearing leopard-print fabric danced on elevated stages, and bright lights flashed across the stages and dance floor, making the scene appear otherworldly.
She glanced again at the tables that were cast more in the dark, in case Benny Canton had already arrived and she’d missed seeing him when she had walked through the place earlier searching for him. This was the kind of job she loved. Eliminating rogue jaguars, the murdering kind. She hadn’t heard of a case like this in a good long while—a jaguar who’d murdered his wife, just because she threatened to leave him. That was one of the differences between the wolf shifters and jaguars. The wolves mated for life; jaguars could divorce.
She watched the door open when someone new arrived—two single males, neither of them her perp. Benny was known to frequent this club, having left his job as a construction worker after murdering his wife. He had no family, and she hadn’t found any other place he could have holed up. So she’d staked out the club for the past three days, watching for him or some of his friends, who’d proven to be just as elusive as he was. She’d had no luck running into him or the others. But this club was the only lead she had.
She’d considered that he might have gone across the border, because the shifters often did so to play in the jungle as wild jaguars. And for a rogue, he would have extra incentive to leave the country.
* * *
Taking another swig of his beer while the jungle beat seemed to raise the roof of the club, with its loud drums pounding and the surround-sound amplifying the effect, Howard tried his darnedest not to look in Valerie Chambers’s direction. Not that he ever would have revealed that he’d been attracted to her from the first time he’d actually seen her in advanced training as an Enforcer a year earlier. He still couldn’t believe his boss had asked him and gray wolf Jillian Greystoke to watch Val’s back surreptitiously. He’d much rather be up-front about what he was doing when helping out other agents.
As soon as he’d seen the striking redhead again, he was reminded of how she’d pinned him down during training. She’d cast him the wickedest smile. With his back on the floor and her on top of him, he couldn’t help smiling back at her. Of course, after her unorthodox move, the testers had made a new rule—no one was to move before the bell rang—because they were afraid they’d have chaos otherwise. When they’d mentioned the new rules, Howard had glanced in Val’s direction, and she’d given him a cat-that-ate-the-mouse look similar to the one he’d given her when she was lying on top of him at the training. He’d smiled back at her, thinking they might really have had a chance to date.
The three branches—the Enforcers, JAG, and Guardians—all had a common mission: deal with jaguar shifters who posed a threat to humans and shifters alike, though each handled different situations. The Guardians focused more on providing aid to injured jaguars, while the JAG went after the rogues, or humans who were dealing in jaguars. The end result—incarceration or death for the rogues—depended on the situation. The Enforcers were sent to terminate murdering jaguars. Period. They didn’t consider jail time for the offender.
Howard and Jillian were now with the USF, a special section of the JAG that took care of jaguars and wolves creating trouble or in trouble. They were currently the only two agents who had a break between cases. Since Howard was a former Enforcer, his boss felt he would be right for the job. The branches worked together when necessary, but usually all the agents involved would be well aware of the situation.
Jillian was mated to Vaughn, a gray wolf SEAL who was busy tracking down a murderous wolf with the two other jaguar team members of the USF. They hadn’t needed Jillian and Howard too.
Jillian got another text, the fourth one in a half hour. She texted back.
Howard didn’t have to guess who it was from. “Vaughn should have taken you with him.”
“This guy that Val is trying to neutralize is supposed to be a lot less violent than the one Vaughn’s team is trying to track down. At least as far as the general population is concerned. Benny’s wife was a different story.”
“I still wish Martin had allowed us to tell Val we are here watching her back.”
“The boss said she doesn’t like working with anyone else. Since many Enforcers work alone, she’d think her boss felt she couldn’t handle the case on her own. How well do you know her?” Jillian asked.
“I’ve been in training with her. Never worked with her though. She’s got some kick-ass moves, and I have to say she’s extremely quick-witted.”
Jillian smiled at him. “Did she ever get the best of you?”
He gave her a dark smile back. “Not that I’d ever admit to.” He ordered another beer. “You know, her mother, Gladys, was the first female Enforcer we had, and she and her mate, Jasper, are still on the force.”
“Wow. They don’t want to leave all the excitement behind?”
“That’s about it. They’re both good people, wanting to right the wrong and deal with the bad guys. And Gladys wanted to prove to her dad, who was an Enforcer, that she could do as good a job as any man. She and her mate have one of the highest success rates for eliminating rogue jaguars. They make a great team. But there has to be a time when Enforcers need to retire, when they might not be as quick to react or as strong as they had once been. Their boss just doesn’t want to force retirement on them. Not while they’ve been so successful, despite being in their golden years.”
“I think it’s great. Better to die doing what you love than live to an old age wishing you were still fighting the good fight.”
He smiled at Jillian. “Easy for you to say. Your kind lives much longer than we do. What a deal.”
“True. You know, Val’s been watching you. And she’s been watching the entrance. Do you think she’s onto us?”
“I doubt it. What would the odds be that Martin would send two of his USF agents to protect an Enforcer in a simple takedown operation without her being informed?”
“Not likely. Do you want to dance?” Jillian grabbed Howard’s hand before he could object.
“Hell, do you want this to get back to Vaughn? As a SEAL wolf, he’d kill me.”
Jillian laughed. “He knows we’re undercover, and this is just for fun. You never dated Val?”
“No. I never dated anyone in the Enforcer branch. How do you know she’s been watching me?” he asked as they danced to the loud beat, the lights flashing all over the dance floor. “Wait. It was when you went to the ladies’ room. That’s why you took so long to return. You were observing her.”
“And others. And you.”
“Me? I wasn’t about to blow our cover. What if she had a meltdown because we’re here to protect her?”
“You did good. You only looked her way five times and only when she was busy ordering a drink, telling a patron to bug off, and looking around at other people at the time. If you had caught her eye though, then what?”
“I would have waved. She knows me. I know her. It would be foolish to pretend I didn’t recognize her.”
They continued to dance to the faster beat, which Howard was glad for. He really didn’t want Vaughn to get any ideas about him and Jillian.
“You ought to ask her to dance. You’re no longer an Enforcer. Then she’ll know we’re not together in a boyfriend/girlfriend way. It might help our mission if it looks like we’re just here to have fun.”
“She’s on a job.”
“Right. But you aren’t supposed to know that. You’d be her cover too, though she wouldn’t realize it.”
“All right. You just don’t want it to get back to your mate that I only danced with you.”
Jillian laughed.
He led her back to the table, but the next dance was a slow dance, and he wasn’t going to ask Val then. Not that he didn’t want to, but he hated being here under false pretenses, as far as Val was concerned. What if they got a little too hot and heavy on the dance floor, as he’d like to with her, and then she learned he was only there on an assignment?
He sat down across from Jillian.
She smiled. “Coward.”
“Next dance.” But it was a slow one too. “Next fast dance,” he clarified.
Then again, Val might wonder who Jillian was. A date? Even though that would work for a cover, he didn’t want Val to think he was on a date. So much for really getting into this assignment. And here he was, always a professional when it came to his missions.
The next dance was fast-paced, so he rose from his chair and saw some guy trying to take a seat at Val’s table. Howard headed for the table, though he told himself he wasn’t in rescue mode. Not when he was sure she wouldn’t appreciate it. So why was he making a beeline straight through dancers in his path, his gaze hard on the man at her table, and why was he walking so damn fast?
Maybe she wanted to be with the guy, but he suspected not from the way her brows furrowed and how she was motioning for him to get lost. She’d probably do the same with Howard.
The guy suddenly noticed Howard advancing. The guy had had too much to drink, smelled of whiskey, and was unsteady on his feet, finally planting a hand on the chair back next to her as if to keep from falling down.
“Hey, Val,” Howard said in greeting. “Is this guy hassling you?”
The human glanced at her, then turned his attention to Howard.
Howard had dealt with enough ugly drunks to know the guy was trouble.
“What’s it to you?” the human asked before he tried to shove Howard, but Howard didn’t budge and gave him his growliest look. Though he would have preferred to do so as a jaguar. That would have gotten the guy’s attention. “Get. Lost. Now,” Howard growled.
The drunk glowered at him. Howard made a move for him, his posture threatening, and the drunk quickly backed off, then headed for another table.
Val folded her arms and focused on Howard, raising a brow as if to ask what his problem was.
He wasn’t surprised. He knew she could have handled the drunk, but it still bothered him enough that he wanted to step in and protect her.
“Did you ditch your date already?” Val asked.
He didn’t offer her his hand in greeting or an explanation but just asked, “Do you wanna dance?”
“I’ve heard you’re a high guardian. Or noble watchman.” Val toyed with her glass.
“You’ve totally lost me.”
“Your name. Howard. Suits an Enforcer more than a Guardian.” She frowned. “Why USF?”
He’d never looked up the meaning of his name. Probably a good thing, as he normally saw himself as an Enforcer. Though he did serve in more of a guardian role on this assignment. He shrugged. “I guess I just got in with the right people, and I’m still up for terminating the bad guys when I need to.” He wondered how she would know what his name meant, unless she’d been interested in him just a little bit. Maybe not so much now that he was no longer an Enforcer though.
She gave him a half smile, then motioned to Jillian. “Your date must be getting lonely.” Then she eyed him with speculation. “Unless you’re here on a mission.” She glanced back at Jillian, considering her for some time. “I’ve never seen her before. Wolf? Jaguar? Human?”
“Wolf, mated.” He still hadn’t blown his cover, but he wanted her to know they were looking after her, whether she liked it or not.
Val raised both eyebrows this time.
“Her mate is a SEAL wolf. Jillian and I are on a job.”
Val leaned her head back and smiled. “Okay. And you’re undercover so you want to dance with me in case her mate gets upset with you for not dancing with anyone else.” Then she frowned again. “You don’t suspect me of anything, right?” she joked.
He shook his head. The only thing she was guilty of was being stubborn when it came to having a partner on a mission. At least, that’s what his former boss, Sylvan, had said about her when he’d briefed them on their mission.
To Howard’s surprise, Val rose from her seat and moved toward the dance floor. “What’s your case? Jaguar murdered wolf? Wolf murdered jaguar?”
Howard hurried to join her. So she didn’t realize he was here because of her. He could understand what she thought they were looking for, because those were the kinds of cases they normally handled. Still, he really didn’t want to have to lie about this. Her attention switched from him to someone to their left. Howard turned to look, and sure enough, it was Benny, the guy she was after. Shaggy blond hair, blue eyes, wearing jeans and a muscle shirt, showing off a lot of bicep. He was into construction work, and he looked like he did some heavy lifting on the job.
“Problem?” Howard asked. She had to know he suspected the guy was her case.
“Have to take a rain check on the dance.”
When she frowned, Howard looked to see what was going on. Benny was dancing with a blond-haired woman who looked similar to his former wife. The music changed to a slow dance.
“Can I help you with anything?” Howard asked Val.
“Still an Enforcer at heart?” She pulled Howard into her arms and began dancing with him, not rubbing her body against him in a way that said she wanted more of this, but just to add a bit of realism, he thought.
He smiled, glanced over at Benny, and realized why Val was dancing with him. The perp and the blond were close by. “You’d better believe it.”
“And Jillian?”
“Absolutely. And the truth is you are our mission.”
Val patted him on the chest. “Good to know you’re ready to come clean.”
“You already knew?”
“I saw your truck parked near the club three days ago. It made me suspicious that you were here every night that I was, yet…weren’t here. Once I called your plate number in to ensure you still owned the vehicle, I did consider you were here on a vacation. Or a case. But I wanted to learn the truth.”
Howard figured where this was going. She didn’t seem to be upset about it, so that was good.
“I contacted my boss, and he said in no uncertain terms that he hadn’t sent anyone to watch my back. Which surprised the hell out of me, because I really didn’t think you were here because of me. I thought you were on another case. I told him who you were and that you were USF. And he said he didn’t know anything about the USF agents’ cases. Except that he would, if he and your boss were in collusion. I called your boss. He gave me the same song and dance. Only it was way too similar. When my boss has something to hide, he says, ‘Let me make it perfectly clear and in no uncertain terms…’ When your boss does, he says—”
“‘The truth of the matter is—’”
“Right. So they were in agreement. But I still didn’t know what you were doing down here. Were you on some secret mission that had nothing to do with mine, and they didn’t want to break your cover? Maybe, but then I thought it would be too much of a coincidence, particularly with the way our bosses responded to my inquiries. I didn’t think they’d be so underhanded as to have other agents take down my perp.”
“We’re not here to take over your case. We’re strictly here to provide backup. Your boss was worried about this guy and about you.”
She looked relieved, sighed, and pulled Howard closer to her. This time, Benny was dancing farther away from them, and Howard fit her even more snugly against his body. He was taking protecting her to heart, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“You must already know the situation. Benny murdered his wife in cold blood for the insurance money and to stop her from divorcing him. He’d turned her six months earlier, so the consensus is that she wasn’t dealing well with the changes. Maybe he felt he couldn’t handle her like he thought he could. And living with her was getting out of control. For whatever reason, he murdered her, and he’s going down.”
Howard couldn’t believe it. “Who all knew she was human to begin with?” No one had told them that bit of news.
“It wasn’t something we knew until after he’d murdered her. You can’t tell when someone’s newly turned, unless they have the urge to shift and don’t have any control over it. He must have kept her locked up so no one would know about her. Every jaguar who knew him thought he had mated a jaguar. But when I began interviewing her friends and family, learned they were all human and she hadn’t been adopted, we put two and two together. It all fit.
“She had frequented this club, then dropped out of her family and friends’ lives as soon as she met Benny and they were married. Everyone worried about her, thinking he was keeping her hostage, controlling her. But he couldn’t let her out of his sight for fear she’d shift into a jaguar at any time. At their home, claw marks were all over the place, doors mainly. The arm of one of the chairs was crushed, so it looked like she had been one angry cat. Who could blame her, really.”
A jaguar’s bite could crush a tortoise’s shell, so Howard could visualize the whole scenario perfectly. “But it was her saliva on the crushed arm of the chair, not his?”
“Correct. You sure don’t know much about the case, do you?”
“We’re here strictly to be your protection.”
“Why are you undercover?”
“According to your boss, you refuse to work with—”
“He’s on the move.”
The blond Benny had been dancing with was leaving the club with him, but Jillian was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s your partner?” Val asked, sounding annoyed.
Howard was already on his phone, texting Jillian.
Howard: Where are you?
Jillian: I’m in your truck, getting ready to follow the perp if he leaves the… He’s leaving the club.
Howard: We’re right behind him.
Howard was trying not to crowd Benny and the woman, though he was attempting to smell their scents. Jaguar and…hell, human? Planning to take a new human wife and see if she did better with the change?
Jillian: He’s headed north toward the parking lot up the street. At least I assume that’s where he’s going.
“Where’s your vehicle?” Howard asked Val.
“Where he seems to be headed. Up in that parking lot.”
Howard: Jillian, I’m sticking with Val. You follow his vehicle if he gets in one and takes off. We’re heading toward Val’s car in that same parking area.
Jillian: OK
He and Val quickly exited the club, pausing outside to find their target. Benny and the woman had turned into the parking lot, but now Howard and the others couldn’t see them for the buildings. Howard and Val sprinted for the parking lot, but they didn’t hear the sound of any vehicle’s engine starting up.
“Do you know what else is back there?” Howard asked Val.
“An alley leading through the buildings to the next street.”
He got on his phone to Jillian. “No engine starting up. He might know we’re after him and have taken off through a back alley.”
“Do you want me to drive down the other street?”
“No. Stay there in case he suddenly leaves the parking area. I’ll keep the phone open in case I need to talk to you fast.”
When they reached the edge of the building, Howard and Val slowed their run to a fast walk. She grabbed his hand and pulled him close, wrapping his arm around her waist as they moved around the side of the building. She chuckled and pulled him down for a kiss. He knew it was all for show, like two lovers having a tryst. But damn, she tasted good: of sweet margarita mix, tequila, and limes, and hot, sexy jaguar.
Hell, who said Val didn’t work well with others? He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss back, which she allowed, even playing with his tongue with hers for a moment again, wanting to have done that the day she’d taken him to the mat in training.
And then she pulled him into the parking lot. “Ha! Can’t remember where I parked the car. Can you?”
“No. I wasn’t paying any attention.” He was glad she gave them the perfect reason for sniffing around the cars, if the jaguar was nearby watching them.
They looked at each of the cars, trying to see if there was movement in any of them. But they didn’t see anyone.
Jillian asked on the phone, “Hey, what do you want me to do?”
“Go to the next street over. I think we might have lost him.” Howard hated that they had, if they had, but his mission was to protect Val at all costs.
They began following Benny’s and the woman’s scent weaving around the cars, down one row, and then the next. Either Benny couldn’t find where he’d parked or he’d been attempting to lead them astray.
Howard heard his own truck driving onto the next street, and he and Val headed through the narrow brick alley to the other street. They continued to follow Benny’s and the woman’s scent. They saw no one walking anywhere. Howard glanced up at the brick buildings, many of them warehouses converted into condos.
“Would he be living in one of those?” he asked.
“He had money, but I wouldn’t think he’d be able to buy one of those so soon after his wife’s death. Unless he owned one already under another name, or he rented one. The only place he owned was the home he murdered her in. And since it was in both of their names, it’s tied up for now.”
They kept walking, down another narrow alleyway and onto the next street. They followed Benny’s and the woman’s scents a few blocks, and then lost them at another parking lot.
Howard said to Jillian on his phone, “We’ve lost him. They probably took a vehicle from the parking lot we’re standing in. We’re on Sycamore.”
Val got a call, and she said, “Yeah, Mom? No, lost him.” She glanced at Howard. “You and dad were behind this? Sheesh, Mom. Yeah, I know about it. They’re not really that great at undercover work.” She gave Howard a cocky smile.
It depended on the kind of undercover work she was talking about. Howard smiled back at her.
Jillian drove around the block and pulled up in front of them.
“No, we lost him, Mom. So, see? It didn’t help to have them watching my back. With so many of us after him, we probably spooked him. I’m returning to headquarters. Where are you going to be? Belize? Tell me you are going down there for a vacation this time. You and Dad need to retire.” She rolled her eyes. “Be…careful. All right? Okay, talk to you later.”
“You’re headed back to Houston?” Howard asked Val. He was surprised.
“I could stake out the club and keep searching this area, but I’m afraid he won’t return now. I’m worried about the new woman he’s hooked up with. What if he turns her too, and she doesn’t like it any more than his wife did? Maybe he won’t marry this time though. Just see if it works or not. Though it makes me wonder if he’s done this before. Turned human females and killed them when it didn’t work out.”
“That would be bad news.”
“It sure would. I’ll just walk through the alleyway and back to the parking lot.”
“I’ll go with you.” Howard wasn’t about to let her roam around in the dark by herself. Streetlamps only lighted so much of the street; the shadows darkened in the alleyways. Sure, because of their jaguar genes, their night vision was phenomenal. Their hearing and scenting abilities were vastly superior to those of ordinary humans too. But his job was to watch out for Val.
He was afraid she meant to continue to look for Benny and the woman on her own, believing—as she’d told her mom—there had been too many of them looking for him.
“All right. Fine. You can drop me off.” Val climbed into the front passenger’s seat, leaving Howard to take the back seat.
Jillian glanced over the seat back. “Did you want to drive?”
He shook his head. He decided right then and there that he didn’t trust Val one little bit. She’d agreed too readily to accept their help as backup. She didn’t even seem to be bothered that she’d lost Benny. He thought she had some clue as to where Benny might have gone.
“Are you leaving for Houston tonight?” he asked Val.
“It’s nearly midnight. I’ll stay at my hotel another night and leave in the morning. So what case will you be working on next?”
“Nothing on the agenda, as far as we know,” Howard said. Nothing except continuing to provide Val protection. And that wouldn’t end with her leaving for Houston.
“Why don’t you go by the name of Thorsen? God of thunder? Or Thor?” Val suddenly asked.
“How in the world do you know my middle name is Thorsen?” Howard was really surprised. He didn’t share it with anyone if he could help it.
Jillian chuckled. “I like it. God of thunder. Suits you, Howard.”
“One of your friends called to you during one of the training exercises,” Val said. “And then another said, ‘Yeah, the mighty Thor, who has lost his hammer.’ You quickly took the one down to the mat and then the other. They were laughing their heads off but in good fun. I was impressed. Especially when I had the god of thunder under my control shortly thereafter. I asked the boss, and he told me your name was Thorsen but some called you Thor for short.”
He’d known that would come back to haunt him, but he hadn’t expected her to mention it in front of Jillian, who chuckled. “Next time, I will have you right where I want you,” Howard said to Val.
“Oh?” Val’s comment was a challenge. She was a challenge.
“Next training session.”
“You no longer work for the Enforcer branch.”
“I’ll be there. Just for you.”
She smiled.
Jillian pulled into the parking lot near the club, and Val got out. “Thanks for the ride.”
Howard left the truck and climbed into the front passenger’s seat. “We’ll follow you to the hotel.”
“Naturally.” Val crossed the parking lot and climbed into a red Subaru.
He shut his door, and Jillian and he watched Val as she drove to the entrance to the parking lot.
“Do you think she’s still going to search for the perp?” Jillian asked Howard, following Val’s car as she pulled onto the street.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Are we following her back to Houston tomorrow?” Jillian sounded concerned for Val’s welfare.
“Yeah. Until we’ve been reassigned to another case, we continue to do our mission and watch her back. I don’t trust her. I think she believes we caused Benny to run and she wants to do this on her own, just like her boss said she would.”
Jillian turned onto the next road. “What if Benny knows she’s out to get him now? She puts herself at more risk by not having us to watch out for her.”
“I agree. Which is why we’re sticking to her.” The training exercise reminded him of how unpredictable Val could be. Which might be why she was so successful on her own.
“Do you think she knows of some other place he could have gone?”
“Maybe. Which means we need to take turns watching her vehicle tonight.” Howard gave Jillian the choice of whether she would stay up first to keep an eye on Val’s car. He had no intention of losing track of Ms. Valerie Chambers.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have told her we were her backup. I take it that’s what happened in the club when you danced with her.”
“She had seen my truck parked out here several nights. She hadn’t seen us, but she checked my plate and called the boss to see what I was doing down here.”
Jillian laughed. “Maybe she just wanted to see you again.”
“I doubt it. She guessed we were here because of a job, despite our bosses denying it.”
Smiling, Jillian shook her head. “So much for our undercover work, if even our chiefs couldn’t convince her otherwise.”
Once they arrived at the hotel, Jillian went up to their suite of adjoining rooms while Howard followed Val to her room to ensure they knew which one she was really staying in.
“Don’t you trust me?” Val pulled out her key card.
He just smiled and waited for her to use the key on her room.
“See?” The green light flashed, indicating it was her room. She pushed open the door. “I’ll call you if I get another lead.”
He wouldn’t hold his breath. “It’s not that late. Do you have a swimsuit? Do you want to go for a dip in the pool?”
“Nope—to the swimsuit.” Then she gave him an interested smile. “But yeah. What jaguar wouldn’t want to try out the pool?”
Her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. “Yeah, Mom? Are you still up?”
“See you in a few minutes here?” Howard asked.
She smiled at him, nodded, and shut her door.
He left for his room on the next floor up. He would have preferred being right next door to Val, but the hotel hadn’t had any rooms available on this floor. Jillian would be watching Val’s car from her window after Howard and Val went swimming, just in case Val tried a disappearing act.