“But?” He knew where she was headed and the thought of her leaving here caused a knot to form in his gut.
“But I don’t want to stay here. I want to be alone.”
He knew why she didn’t want to stay. It wasn’t fair of him to try and force her to. “You can’t go back to your house.”
“I know. I was thinking, maybe I’d take you up on the hotel offer, not the Claremont, something much less expensive, so long as you promise me you’ll let me pay you back.”
He scowled. “By stripping?”
“No, not stripping. I have other means of support that don’t involve the club. Just not at the moment.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you stay here? I’ll camp out at a buddy’s house until this case blows over.”
“I don’t think you understand, Flynn. I don’t want to see you again. Ever. When I walk out that door, the one and only contact we’ll ever have again is when I mail you the check to cover the hotel.”
Had she rammed a hot knife into his chest and turned it, he would have suffered less of a shock. For a split second his brain couldn’t process what she was saying. Until it did. He’d never see her again.
He blinked. “I don’t want that,” he said.
She pushed out of the bed, allowing the sheets to fall away from her body. Just a foot away from him, she stood proudly regarding him in all her magnificent naked glory. “It’s what I want.” Then she strode past him and into the bathroom, soundly shutting the door behind her.
Flynn sat still. Stunned. Rooted to the chair unable to process what this meant. If she refused to have him near, how could he protect her? She was vulnerable. Someone was gunning for her. He wanted to know who and why, then exterminate them.
Then there was the matter of Boris and Andre. She wasn’t safe at the club.
When she reemerged, fully clothed in those tattered jeans and a midriff black tee, she moved past him to snatch her cell phone off the nightstand.
She tapped it open, made a few motions, then said, “There’s a text from my handler asking me to have you call him asap.”
She tapped Lover Boy’s number and handed Flynn the phone.
“Hey baby,” Maddox said.
“Hey baby, my ass,” Flynn groused.
“Ah, Ryker. Is our girl in earshot?”
“Yes.”
“Then step away.”
Flynn put his hand over the phone and said, “Give me a sec,” then moved to the other side of the room. “Go ahead.”
“We’re putting the brakes on the thumb drive for the moment. We’ve hit a snag with the court order.”
“How is that? It’s straightforward.”
“Judge is asking for more just cause.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Agreed. But until we get the green light, that exchange is no-go.”
“Then she calls in sick until you get the signature,” Flynn said. It wasn’t a question.
“We want her inside.”
Flynn moved out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. “Fuck that. She shows up without that thumb drive, there’s no telling what Andre will do to her. I won’t risk it.”
“The only reason I’m even discussing this with you, Ryker, is because I know you’ve got a hard-on for her. So listen up: We’ve got it from a good source that Miroslav Bushnik, Sorlov’s Russian liaison, is coming in from Ukraine. Our intel is unclear if he’s already here or on his way. Regardless, we need Miss Fuentes to be our eyes and ears in the club. If he shows, we want her to drop a bug on him.”
Flynn nearly blew his top. “Not going to happen.”
“You don’t have an official voice in this, Ryker. Either stand down or I’ll slap an obstruction charge on you so fast your head’ll spin.”
“You’re not using her as bait.”
“We don’t lose CIs. We’ll have the place filled with UCs.”
Flynn gripped the phone so tightly, his knuckles whitened.
“Flynn,” Maddox said, “I give you my word, I’ll stay close. Those pricks will have to get through me and twenty other guys to get to her.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I, but until we get the drive in Sorlov’s hands, ours are tied. Getting the goods on Bushnik would be a huge blow to Sorlov’s operation. ”
Flynn exhaled. The thumb drive was more than it appeared. It was a GPS and listening device that could be remotely activated without the possessor’s knowledge. Why a judge wouldn’t authorize it was beyond Flynn unless… “Hold up a sec, how did you get the go-ahead for the device to plant on Bushnik, but not for the thumb drive?”
“I wasn’t going to chance Saduki kicking another one back, so I went to Madsen. He signed it right off.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little odd that for this particular investigation, and it being such a routine request, that any judge, especially one like Saduki who is always proactive so long as you give him just cause, would hold you up on this? It’s a legit warrant. Even a hard case would have signed off on it. There’s only one reason Saduki would drag his feet.”
“You think Sorlov has him in his pocket?”
“Yup. I’ll bet he has dirt on the judge and is using it to blackmail him for tip-offs and information. Just like he’ll do to me when he sees the video.”
“If Saduki tipped off Sorlov—”
“We’re fucked. I don’t want Miss Fuentes anywhere near that place, not if Sorlov is on to us.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“Until you know one way or another, she’s not leaving my house.”
“On that we’re agreed. Sit tight until I have more intel.” Maddox hung up.
Flynn stared at the cell phone for a long time before he walked back into the bedroom. Pink was packed and patiently sitting on the chair he had vacated earlier.
Flynn handed her her phone. “There’s been a development, Pink. It’s unclear what the repercussions are, so for the moment, you’ll stay here.”
“What development?”
“I can’t discuss it.”
“Ah, well let me guess. That thumb drive is more than it appears. A listening device, perhaps?”
Flynn scowled.
“And you can’t get a warrant signed to use it as such?”
Flynn didn’t say a word.
“We don’t need it,” she said. “The video is enough. Let me show it to Sorlov and wait until he calls you out with his demands. Then snatch him up. If he cries entrapment or coercion, he won’t have a legal leg to stand on in court. It was a video given to him; he chose to use it for illegal purposes. Case closed.”
Flynn stared at her in shock. Not only was she right, but how the hell did she know that?
“I can’t speak for the task force’s motives or strategy, Pink. For now, I’ve been instructed to keep my eye on you until I receive further instructions.”
She stood. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don’t want a babysitter.”
“Not your call.”
“You can’t force me to stay here.”
“Yes, I can.”
“That’s against the law!”
“I am the law.”
Pink’s jaw dropped, and when it did, Flynn was overcome with the urge to snatch her to his body and shut her up with his lips on hers.
When she started to dial a number on her phone, Flynn snatched it away from her. “Hey!” she cried, lunging against him, grabbing for her phone. He held his hand high over her head. Jumping for it, she dug her nails into his forearm. “Give me my phone, you big bully!”
The warm softness of her body sliding up and down his chest and hips as she tried to get to her phone was Flynn’s undoing. Grasping her around the waist with his free hand, he hoisted her up against his waist and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, imprisoning her against him.