Page 92 of Back in Black

Drew intended to contact the man. He couldn’t do anything about the car or the sentimental loss. Drew knew he wasn’t personally responsible, but the man had been affected because of some nut-job’s vendetta against him, so he’d touch base to see if the man needed anything.

“Is that it?” he asked Marcus.

“Not quite. You know that woman you wanted us to do the background check on?”

“Millie Christian. What about her?”

At the mention of Millie’s name, Gillian paused, but not for long. As if she refused to let it bother her, she returned to her breakfast preparations.

“Well, the cursory check sparked some interest, so I went ahead and dug a little more. I figured you’d want that.”

“Damn right.” Drew watched the innate, feminine movements of Gillian’s body as she stood at the counter mixing eggs in a bowl.

Today she wore a vintage-looking dress with a portrait collar that showed off her throat, collarbone, and a tantalizing amount of cleavage. The waist cinched in, emphasizing the fullness of her breasts and hips, and the skirt hung loose to her knees. The light blue color brought out the bluer shade of her eyes. She’d pulled her shiny black hair into a simple twist and fastened it with a clip.

For so early in the day, she looked downright edible. It hadn’t been that long since they made love, but Drew was starting to think he could have sex with her ten times a day and it wouldn’t be enough to keep the lust at bay.

He turned away from her. “I’m listening.”

“Christian has a criminal record a mile long. Dated. Nothing new for a couple of years now, and nothing too serious. Petty theft, harassment, driving under a suspended license, and some drug use. Also, probation a few times, and one court-ordered stint through anger-management classes.”

Drew whistled low. “Anger management?”

“It’s sketchy, but apparently she flipped out on a friend when they had a disagreement. She slugged her several times in the face and then kicked her when she went down.”

“Damn.” He could barely picture it. To him, Millie looked like a tall, redheaded frump. “Some friend.”

“I thought you’d be interested in all this.”

“There’s nothing recent, huh?”

“Not for the last two years. The thing is, she moves around a lot. I’ve had to gather this stuff from three different states. If there is anything more recent, I haven’t found it—yet.”

“Keep digging. And try to find out where she was last night.”

“You think Christian had something to do with that photographer?”

“Makes as much sense as anything else. The woman makes no bones about thinking I’m the devil incarnate.” Wouldn’t that be a kicker, if it was Millie Christian causing all the trouble? Talk about vindicating himself . . . “How far does she live from where the car was stolen?”

There was a pause and a rustling of papers, and then: “Huh. Less than five miles.”

“Interesting, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’ll get right on this, and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything. In the meantime, given how things are escalating, I think it’d be a good idea to put a tail on Ms. Christian. How do you feel about that?”

It’d raise his bill astronomically, but what the hell. “Do it. And while you’re at it, you have someone you can put on my house to keep an eye on things?”

“I have some very discreet people I work with. Consider it done. What about your lady friend?”

“She’s going to be staying with me.” And Drew knew he sounded possessive when he said, “I’ll watch over her.”

“Ah, got it. Okay, then. I’ll be in touch.”

When Drew turned back around, Gillian had crossed her arms and was watching him.

“Who are you talking about?”

Ignoring yet another call from Fran, he closed the phone. “None other than Ms. Millie Christian.”

---