Page 56 of Jack of Hearts
Alex slipped back into Madison’s bedroom, watching through the crack in the door as Lauren’s boyfriend walked by. Where had he seen the man before? He punched Nate’s number into his phone.
“See what you can find out about Nelson Lopez,” he said when Nate answered. He gave his older bother the license plate number he’d memorized the night before.
“It’s six fucking o’clock in the morning, bro. Either call me back at a reasonable hour or text me all that.”
When Nate hung up on him, Alex texted his brother the license plate number. After Lauren’s bedroom door closed behind Nelson, Alex headed for the kitchen. “Do I smell bacon?” he said, walking around the corner.
“You do.” She picked up a piece, holding it out to him.
He locked eyes with her as he approached, lowering his head when he reached her, letting her feed him. The green in her eyes darkened when he sucked her thumb into his mouth.
“Alex.”
That breathy way she said his name sent him over the edge. He reached over and turned off the stove before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“You’re insane,” she said, laughter flowing from her as he carried her down the hall.
“That’s what you do to me, so don’t blame me.”
He almost dropped her when she grabbed his ass cheeks with her hands, letting out a low moan as she kneaded them with her fingers.
“Mad, you’re playing with fire again.” He dropped her on the bed.
“I know. I’m such a bad girl.” She blinked far-too-innocent eyes at him. “Are you going to punish me?”
“Oh, yeah. I sure am.” This girl was either going to be his doom or his lifeline. Right then, as he lowered his body over hers, he didn’t care which.
“The file he was looking at was somewhere in the middle of this drawer,” Alex said, flipping through the folders.
Madison sat at the desk, twirling a pen around her fingers. “I can’t imagine what he was looking for.”
“Here.” He pulled out a folder, memorizing the bank account numbers as he handed it to her. “I’m guessing this.”
“Why would he be interested in our bank statements?”
“Good question.” He needed to talk to his brothers and bring them up to speed. By the time he got home, Nate and Court would have the background on Nelson Lopez.
“I’m going to head home. Do some investigating on the man.”
“You mean google him? What will that tell you besides he’s a model and some pictures of him pop up? I can do that right now.”
He had to stop slipping, saying things that raised her curiosity about him. “No, I mean I’ll ask around. Put some feelers out on the street with some dudes I know.”
She didn’t know he and his brothers were FBI with unlimited resources available to them. As far as she was concerned, he was a friend of Ramon’s, maybe even involved in the Alonzos’ drug business. Although knowing that, he had to question her intelligence for letting him anywhere near her. What did that say? That she had deep feelings for him, enough to overlook everything she thought she knew about him?
Damn, he wished he could come clean, tell her everything, but that wasn’t wise. She could easily blow the operation, intentionally or unintentionally. More worrisome, if Ramon learned who he was, it could put her in danger. Her cousin would be suspicious that she was passing on information. And, his brothers would kill him if he did.
“I’ll come back tonight when I can get away. It might be late, so I’ll come in through your bedroom window.” He walked to her, took the pen away, dropping it on the desk, and leaned down and kissed her. “See you tonight, Grasshopper.” He meant to only give her a quick kiss before leaving, but just one taste of her, and he was lost. When he finally pulled away, he thought his eyes were probably as glazed over as hers.
“Keep your window locked until I signal you, okay?”
At her dazed nod, he grinned. He liked that his kisses zoned her out.
“I remember where I saw him before,” Alex said, tapping the computer screen as his brothers looked on. “The night I met Ramon at Rage, Nelson Lopez was there. He was with a woman, and the only reason I noticed him was because they stood not far from Ramon’s table. The dude kept glancing at me.”
They were in the office at Aces & Eights. Nate went to the wall and pushed the button that lowered a whiteboard. On it were pictures of Jose Alonzo, Ramon, his minions, and a timeline of events since they’d started the undercover investigation.
This was primarily Alex’s show, his first lead on an operation, and he was determined to prove himself not only to the FBI, but also to his brothers. It was an understatement to say that his involvement with Madison was a complication they hadn’t prepared for. Tough. The bureau and his brothers could just deal with it because he wasn’t giving her up. On the plus side, because of her, they were getting intel they might not have otherwise.
