Page 59 of All Twisted Up
Chapter Sixteen
NASH
I woke to the sound of my phone ringing and as I reached for it, only then realized a warm body was pressed along the length of my back. It took me a few seconds to orient myself with where I was and who I was with before I heard the sleepy voice behind me.
“Who the hell is calling so early?”
Joshua. “Let’s see.” I reached back around and held him to me as I picked up the phone, spotting Candy’s number. “Shit,” I moaned, sitting up and dislodging the man as I swiped to answer the call, making the mistake of looking back at the delectable sight beside me. “Captain?”
“It’s me, Hampstead. Something’s happened and we’re on our way to talk to you and Calder. Stay put.”
I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Especially when I was enjoying the way Joshua looked at me with an amused smile on his inviting lips and in those sultry eyes as he stretched muscled arms over his head and arched his back in the bed beside me. There was something so sexy about the dark blond hair in his pits that made me want to hurl the phone across the room and urge him back down into the covers where I could lick it.
Instead, I dragged my attention off the tantalizing sight and slid my legs over the side of the bed. “Yes, sir,” I said as the call disconnected. The covers rustled behind me seconds before I felt a hand on my back. I glanced over at Joshua. “Gotta get up. Candy and the guys are on the way over and we both need showers.”
“What’s going on?” He sounded slightly concerned as he rolled and pushed out of bed beside me.
“Dunno. He just said something happened and he’s on the way.” I started walking to the bathroom as he followed close at my heels.
“Well, did he sound worried, upset, determined, what?”
I turned on the shower taps so the water would heat before answering. “I couldn’t say but if it wasn’t important, he wouldn’t have bothered us this early.”
I took his hand and pulled him into the shower with me, taking note of his surprised look before closing my eyes and ducking under the spray. I opened them when he wrapped his arms around my middle and pulled me close. When he lifted his face to mine, I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped my arms around him and lowered my mouth to his. I kissed him slowly, loving the feel of his wet body pressed to mine, ignoring the fact that I didn’t normally share showers with lovers. Joshua already felt like more than a lover to me and for the first time in my life, I didn’t shy away from that idea.
I broke the kiss seconds later, reaching for the shampoo as he reached for the soap. I hadn’t had a chance to unpack my favorite sandalwood scented bodywash. Rubbing myself down with Dial soap really didn’t do it for me. We cleaned up and toweled off before grabbing clean clothes from our duffels as I went to put the coffee on. Joshua stood beside me, cleaning up the dishes we’d left soaking in the sink last night—too tired to do them. Just as the coffee beeped, the doorbell rang.
On instinct, I grabbed my gun, holding it to my side as I looked through the peephole. I was surprised to see Judy Mendez, our new computer genius, standing beside the boss with Patsy and Napoleon behind them. I opened the door.“Hey…good morning,” I said, shaking their hands as they came through the front door. “We weren’t expecting you, Judy.” I smiled at her to show she was welcome, and she returned the smile as she stepped into the house.
“I showed Captain Sorensen something I found, and he thought it best that I share it with you two in person,” she said, hefting the laptop bag she carried a little higher.
“Good. Come in and have some coffee. Joshua just put a pot on.” I led them to the large dining room table just as the man in question came out of the kitchen holding a tray of coffee mugs. The smile he sent in our direction made me stop in my tracks. Every time I saw it, it took my breath away.
“Good morning,” he said with a bright smile, setting the tray down on the table.
“Hi,” Judy said, holding out her hand. “We haven’t met.”
“No, we haven’t. I’m Joshua,” he said shaking her hand, then Candy’s.
“Mr. Calder, this is Judy Mendez, our computer whiz from the office. I wanted to bring her along so she could show you both something she dug up on the cartel and what’s been going on.”
Candy looked pensive and my stomach did a slow roll. I didn’t like the way the captain’s words foreshadowed doom in whatever Judy had found. After last night, the last thing I wanted to do was discuss this fucking case. First thing in the morning, I wanted to forget all about the men who were determined to kill Joshua, especially after the way we’d spent last night wrapped up in each other’s arms making love.
Making love?I tried and failed to push the unbidden words out of my head. I’d never made love to anyone in my life, muchpreferring nameless hook ups to anything involving feelings. The very idea of them made me shudder, but when I looked into Joshua’s eyes, I knew I was lying to myself.
“Judy has been working tirelessly on a project, and now that it’s produced results, I thought it best that you get a visual to better understand what’s going on,” Candy said, waving our techie into a chair. She sat down at the table and powered on her laptop as we gathered around.
On the screen was what appeared to be a long list of phone numbers and corresponding timestamps. Judy reached out and dragged her finger down the screen. “These are all the cell phone calls which were made in the immediate neighborhood of the building where the cartel was holed up during the raid, which would of course, include those made into and out of the building.”
“What did you find?” Joshua asked, giving her his full attention.
“These calls actually represent a broader time frame than just during the raid. I pulled up all calls in the twenty-four hours before, during, and then immediately after the operation.”
I focused on the screen, clearing my throat. “That’s impressive, Judy, but it’s a hell of a lot of calls. I assume you pulled these from a cell tower nearby?”
“Yes, these are from the tower nearest the building, but remember, they’re only the mobile calls. Landlines are a separate tab.” She immediately switched the screen showing another page of numbers. It was a surprisingly long list considering people don’t use landlines the way they used to.
“But what Judy found in the mobile phone coms, is what Candy will be wantin’ you to see,” Patsy said, gesturing to the laptop.
