LITMIR.BIZ

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I didn’t sleep worth a damn last night.”

      “Right.” Burt let the conversation end there, no doubt knowing how touchy the subject was for his boss. “So...at this point, our report is complete and we’ll await your input.”

      “I think from here on out the chief’s got her security well in hand. I’ll review and sign the report when I get there.”

      Lourdess Securities, known as L Sec by the clients it handled in the private, public and entertainment sectors, had been hired to provide its coveted brand of protection to Sophia Hail following her recent promotion. The detective’s investigation into an ever-increasingly sensational money-laundering scheme had taken root. Threats had also taken root to encourage the insightful detective to back off her inquiries. As a result, Philadelphia DA Paula Starker had sought out Rook and his team to shadow her colleague and friend.

      “The rest of the team is in agreement that Chief Hail’s normal security detail will be enough, but we’re good with maintaining our posts until a certain person of interest is apprehended.”

      Rook knew what Burt was saying. The team had been on hand the previous evening when several arrests were made in the case. The team knew that Sophia’s investigation had led her to Murray Dean.

      “According to what I heard last night, our old friend Dean has a role to play in all this.” Burt told him.

      “Yeah...” Rook’s tone was light, but his agreement on Murray’s involvement was firm.

      “Will this be a new problem for you and Viva, man?”

      Rook laughed. “We’ve had no problems for at least six years, B,” he reminded his friend and business associate.

      “True, and it’d be a shame to have new upsets weighing in when you’re about to pull up stakes for Italy.”

      “Yeah...” Rook voiced his light agreement once more, but offered no further opinion.

      “So I’ll see you later?” Burt seemed to take the cue that his boss was all chatted out.

      “Yeah, B, thanks.” Rook added a goodbye and ended the call.

      Setting aside his mobile, he rubbed tired eyes and yawned for what had to be the fiftieth time since he’d awakened that morning. Smirking, he turned the word over in his head... Awakened. More like arisen from a troubled bout with his bedsheets.

      Dreams had been shoved aside for a night of tossing, turning and images of Viva Hail attacking his subconscious. The sleep he’d hoped to indulge in had flitted away without so much as a toodle-loo when he’d strolled through the quiet, broad space of the condo to the bedroom.

      The bed conjured the first of many images—Viva sprawled out on her stomach and sleeping him off after an enthusiastic session of sex, covers twisted with erotic intricacy about her shapely calves and lush thighs. Sleep for him then had become a wish with no possibility of materializing.

      Her face and body were irrevocably stamped on his brain. They would never be removed and he wouldn’t want them to be. Such a thing was assured when he’d seen her a few weeks earlier rushing into her sister’s place. She’d been staying with Sophia while visiting Philadelphia. The image of her had then been reasserted last night. He recalled seeing her on the terrace, knowing how close he was to reaching out to take her to him before they were interrupted.

      The body, still curvy and lush, was even more alluring. The added muscle tone was attributed to her active career and the physical demands of the roles she secured. The face was a work of natural glamour enhanced by coils of light brown curls surrounding a honey-toned face.

      It was a face that needed no man-made accents. The mouth was a study in erotic art as were the high cheekbones and small nose that upturned just a fraction at the tip. Big brown eyes were offset by ebony flecks that sparkled amid upset or...arousal.

      No, getting to sleep last night was an idiot’s assumption. And what of Italy? Another assumption? The trip was about more than adding a boost to his business. L Sec was a bona fide success. The investment his parents had made in the dream of their only child had been a smart move. The elder Lourdesses had earned back their seed money many times over.

      Rook knew the truth and he suspected most of his executive team knew it, as well. He was running. Two of his best friends had found women with whom they wanted to spend the rest of their lives. It had become too much to remain in the place where he’d lost the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his. The memories that had sustained him for the last six years had at last become a series of ropes knotted into a noose of increasing tightness.

      Yes, he was running. Italy was far enough to ease the memories, even if the distance wouldn’t totally remove them. Italy, for him, signified freedom. Freedom from a past he was desperate to exorcise.

      Of course, all that was before he’d seen Viva again. Rook glimpsed his hand and realized he’d clenched a fist without feeling the move take hold. His temper was elevating to boiling point. It was another of those ropes that were starting to develop choking intensity.

      He was considering some time in the gym to trample the blackness clouding his mind, when his phone chimed, reminding him of the meeting with Sophia.

      Once more Rook studied his hand. Flexing it slightly, he cast a lingering look toward the door at the end of the hall that led to his home gym. Pivoting then, Rook headed away from the door as though he were being hunted.

      * * *

      “Are you sure I can’t bring you anything, Mr. Lourdess? We’ve got soft drinks and an array of bottled waters if you prefer that to the chief’s coffee.”

      “I’m good, but thank you.” Rook’s smile exhibited genuine appreciation when he addressed the attractive brunette from his seat before the wide walnut desk.

      “Well, you be sure to let me know if you change your mind.”

      When the woman left, Rook graced the chief with a look of earnest ease that lent credence to the fact that he had no interest in the magnitude of his appeal.

      Sophia’s grin was equally earnest as she observed him. “I should apologize for my assistant. She’s not always so obvious in her appraisal of my guests.”

      Rook tossed up a hand, another clear indicator that he thought nothing of the assistant’s overt flirting. “It’s good to have a talent for making the guests feel special.”

      “Mmm...” Sophia sipped at her coffee, nodding. “To be on the safe side, I think I’ll tell her your heart belongs to my sister.”

      “Sophia,” Rook groaned, leaning back his head a fraction. “Tell me this isn’t why you wanted to see me.”

      “No, not exactly.” Sophia studied the steaming liquid in her ceramic mug. “But anyone who saw you guys last night would know there’s still love there.”

      “Does it matter?” Rook asked after a moment’s consideration.

      Sophia reared back in the scooping burgundy suede chair set behind a desk of impressive breadth befitting the new chief of detectives. “The way you feel about my sister could matter quite a bit in light of what I’m about to ask you.”

      “Which is?” Shifting a bit in the boxy chair, same color and finish as the one Sophia occupied, Rook felt equal parts expectant and hesitant.

      Sophia left her chair to round the desk and ease her hip down to one corner. “V didn’t come to town just visiting. She wants to make a statement and testify if need be against Murray Dean.”

      “What the hell, Sophia?” Rook’s voice was a ragged whisper. His arresting gaze was hard and fixed on Sophia then.

      “While she’s worked with Murray, she’s witnessed some things. Things that could tie him up nice and snug to some of Philadelphia’s finest who’re tangled in this laundering case.”

      Rook left his chair. Working his

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