Page 25 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind
“La la la la la, I can’t hear you, Betty,” Ryan sang into the phone. “I don’t want to hear any of that.”
“Right, I forgot how anal you are about that stuff. Oh, and speaking of, did you know that they make these special vibrating—”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Fine! Be that way. I’m going to leave Rosie in charge and crash for a couple hours anyway. I’ll call you later and share all the kinky deets.”
“Please don’t.”
Still laughing, Ryan hung up the phone when the captain poked his head out of his office and barked, “Winslet! In my office.”
The appearance of her direct superior and his perpetual scowl put an immediate end to her laughter. For a moment, Ryan wondered if the captain had somehow overheard some of her conversation with Betty. Then she realized it was just a case of poor timing. The man always looked pissed off.
She closed the files she’d been reviewing and put them in her desk before heading over to see what the captain wanted.
“You wanted to see me, Captain?”
He waved her in. “Winslet, come in and close the door.”
Ryan did as he asked.
“Winslet, I wanted to give you a heads-up. We’ve received information that Atsa Nez is coming to town,” Captain Carter started without preamble.
Ryan’s head jerked back in surprise, the name ringing an all too familiar bell.
Atsa Nez, otherwise known by the street name Black Eagle, was the one black mark on her otherwise spotless record. She had been a rookie at the time, fresh out of the academy, but she had never forgotten or forgiven herself for letting him get away.
Nez was the worst of the worst, involved in everything from supplying opiates in the Southeastern region to abducting and smuggling young women as part of a human trafficking ring. He was as slippery and elusive as an eel, and worked through an extensive, complex network of bottom feeders that kept him just under the radar. That was why it was so important to take full advantage of those rare occasions when hedidsurface, and why her mistake cut so deeply.
“Count me in, Captain. Whatever you need. Nights, weekends—”
“Easy, Winslet. I’m only telling you this because I know you have a history with Nez. The Feds are whipping out their dicks on this one, claiming jurisdiction since Nez’s crimes cross state lines. Not to mention one of the girls they tried to snatch was a US Senator’s daughter vacationing with her college friends in the Keys.”
Ryan frowned. “There must be something we can do. SomethingIcan do.”
Carter leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. “Well, the way I see it, these G-men might think they’re hot shit, but they don’t know the area or have the local contacts we do. If you happen to see or hear anything that might be helpful, bring it to me and I’ll pass it along. But,” he said, pinning her with a stern look, “you are not to interfere in the official investigation unless requested to do so. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly, Captain.”
Ryan left her superior’s office, her head swimming. Carter’s words of warning were already fading to a dull white noise in the back of her mind. Why was Atsa Nez coming to Golden Beach? Why now? What was important enough for him to crawl out from whatever rock he was hiding under and make a personal appearance?
Hours later, she still didn’t have any answers, but her instincts told her Nez’s uncharacteristic resurfacing had something to do with the mysteriousSharkthat Drew had alluded to. If this Shark guy really had muscled in on some of Nez’s territory, then Nez might feel compelled to make a personal appearance to put a stop to it and discourage others from thinking they could do the same. Guys like him relied on fear and intimidation to stay on top, and anyone who presented a credible threat had to be dealt with swiftly and decisively. Cred was everything, and Nez’s was on the line. That meant whatever was going to go down was going to happen soon, and more likely than not, it was going to be big enough to get the message across.
Ryan sat back from her laptop and rubbed her eyes. The lack of sleep was catching up to her, and the dull ache at the back of her skull reminded her that she had forgotten to eat.
She closed her laptop, slipped it into her functional purse/tote, along with some hardcopy files, and stepped out into the dusky evening. First order of business was picking up some takeout on the way home. Then she was going to take a hot shower, slip into some comfy clothes, and eat said takeout while she tried to figure out what she was missing.
She had just settled on her couch when her phone chimed. She briefly considered not answering it. She had lots of information to wade through and wasn’t in the proper frame of mind to listen to Betty’s detailed account of last night’s sex-capades. When she looked at the caller ID, however, it wasn’t Betty, but an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Ryan.”
Those two simple words, spoken in that deep, delicious voice, sent zinging tingles of awareness throughout her tired body. “Tiberius?”
“Yes. You sound surprised.”
“I am,” she answered honestly.
