ENTANGLED PURSUITS (MEN OF ACTION Book 1) Page 8

  He’d had the guys from work over for cards a few times, but it was his true friends—the ones he had served time with at Glenworth Prison—that he wanted the house for, in case they had a chance to get together.

  Men like Stonewall Courson, Quasar Patterson, and Lamar “Striker” Jennings. Then there was Ryker Valentine, Locke Dangerfield, Shogun Duke, and Macayle Wasilla. He’d seen most of them at Stonewall’s wedding and figured he would see them again in a few months at Shep’s birthday party. He saw Ryker more often than the others, since he lived in D.C. Upon his release from prison, Ryker Valentine returned to his home state of California, entered politics, and was now a United States Senator.

  Andrew glanced around his home. It was the first thing of value he had ever owned, and was proud of the place he called home. He had saved for years to fund this house and had it built from the ground up. It was roomy, maybe a little too spacious for one person, but the square footage had been what he wanted. It was definitely an improvement from the tight cubby-hole of a cell he’d shared first with Ryker, and then with Locke.

  This home had five bedrooms—one he used for an office, four-and-a-half baths, a living room, a huge family room, dining room, and an eat-in kitchen. He’d even indulged and modified the plan to include a theater room upstairs. He’d wanted two floors with the split concept on the first. The plan came with a mother-in-law suite, which was great whenever any of the guys came to town.

  Getting a shot glass off the shelf, he reached for the bottle of scotch, then poured some into the glass and immediately downed it. He’d needed it. Being around Toni all day had played havoc with his libido. When he’d seen her at Stonewall’s wedding, he couldn’t believe how much more beautiful she’d become. Today, he’d thought the same thing. She was even more beautiful than she’d been close to five years ago.

  His reaction to her today was a reminder of just how into her he had been for those ten months they were together. And even after all those years, he still hadn’t moved on. That didn’t mean he hadn’t dated and engaged in short, meaningless flings. But seeing her today and being around her had reminded him of just how long he’d gone without a woman in his life.

  And now she was here. In Alexandria and invading his space.

  Putting the shot glass aside, he poured an ample amount of scotch into a whiskey glass. He then moved toward the family room and eased down on the sofa that faced the fireplace. This time, instead of gulping the liquor down, he would savor it the way he should, rolling it around in his mouth before easing it down his throat.

  The bottle had been a housewarming gift from Locke, who had known scotch was his drink of choice when he needed to drown out whatever bothered him. Right now, it was Toni.

  How was he supposed to work with her every day, knowing what they’d once shared? What they had once meant to each other? In a way, that was the crux of the problem. To her, they hadn’t meant anything to each other. Nothing had changed since that day she declared they were sex-buddies and nothing more. He got just what he deserved for thinking there could be more.

  Forcing Toni from his mind, he switched his thoughts to someone else. Natalie. He hadn’t been surprised to see her when he’d gotten off work, waiting by his car. Of course, she had wanted to ask him about the Tindal case. Natalie was always looking for an inside scoop.

  He soon discovered the Tindal case hadn’t been the only thing she was interested in. She had heard about his new partner and had seen Toni for herself at the crime site. She wanted to know all about her. Unfortunately, Natalie quickly found out that he wasn’t the person to ask about Toni.

  Throughout Natalie’s interrogation, Andrew had played dumb. He had no problem lying, saying he knew little about Toni. However, he did tell Natalie that Toni wasn’t the talkative kind. He hoped she’d take the hint, but wasn’t surprised when she didn’t.

  Natalie was still pissed that he’d been in his home for more than a year now and hadn’t invited her over. Of course, he had no intention of doing that. But that hadn’t stopped her from trying to invite herself over tonight.

  Natalie had been a one-night stand a couple of years ago—and that one time had been enough.

  He was about to take another swallow of scotch when his phone rang. Recognizing the ring tone, he picked it up. “Yeah, Locke?”

  “You are going to Shep’s party, right?”

  He leaned back against the cushions. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it. What about you guys?” His former inmates, Locke, Shogun, and Macayle, were attorneys and partners in their law firm of Dangerfield, Duke, and Wasilla. Their choice of vocation didn’t surprise Andrew—they were nothing if not argumentative.

  “Yes, we’ll be there. It will be good to see everyone. Only Sheppard could get me back down south.”

  He knew what Locke meant. Although he was a native of Atlanta, he had joined Shogun and Macayle in Portland, Oregon. That’s where their law office was located.

  “How are things going at work, Drew?”

  Andrew didn’t say anything for a minute. He’d never mentioned his affair with Toni to anyone other than Norm, and that was only after Norm had met her. They had decided at the beginning of their relationship not to get family and friends involved, since theirs would not be that sort of relationship. As a result, she had never met any of his friends, and he had not met any of hers…except for Joy. He had still never met her grandparents, even though he’d known how close she was to them. Still, in the past few years, some of his friends had figured it out, and he’d had to admit what an idiot he’d been for letting a woman get too close. Then eight months ago they had officially met his mystery woman at Stonewall’s wedding.

  “Drew? You still there?”

  “Yeah, man, sorry. I’ve got a new partner,” he finally said. “She started today.”

  “She? You’ve never had a female partner before.”

  “She transferred in from another state. After working with her today, I could tell she’s competent, observant, attentive to detail, and patient. So far, she’s everything I expect in a good detective. But…”

  “Umm, let me guess,” Locke said. “She’s a looker and you don’t like mixing business with pleasure.”

  “I don’t?”

  “Well, I assume you don’t, but then again, I don’t think you’ve ever been tested. At least you’ve never mentioned dating anyone at work before.”

  “I never have.”

  “I didn’t think you had, so what’s the problem?”

  Andrew took another swallow of his scotch, then said, “It’s Toni.”

  There was a pause. “Toni?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your Toni?

  She wasn’t his anything. Had she been his, he wouldn’t be wasting his time talking to Locke on the phone but would be somewhere in a bed with Toni right this minute. “She’s not mine.”

  “Then, let me rephase that. Are you talking about the Toni from Stonewall’s wedding? The woman you couldn’t keep your eyes off of? The one you were involved with a few years ago that none of your friends knew anything about at the time? What is she doing in Alexandria? I thought she worked in Miami.”

  “She did.” And then Andrew told Locke why Toni had relocated to Alexandria.

  “Wow, man, that’s whack. She was merely doing her job.”

  “Yes, she was,” Andrew agreed. “It wasn’t her fault that the man’s son had issues. He was going to serve time anyway for killing his wife. That particular thing seems to be getting buried.”

  “Sounds that way to me, too, Drew.”

  Andrew did not say anything for a minute, and then asked, “Does Duan Jeffries still handle the private investigations for your law firm?’’

  “Yes. Peachtree Private Investigations still investigate all our cases.”

  Locke had introduced Andrew to Duan Jeffries, a former police detective in Atlanta, a few years ago. Locke and Duan’s younger brother Terrence, a former NFL football player who’d been nicknamed
the Holy Terror by sportscasters, had been best friends growing up in Atlanta.

  Unfortunately, it had only taken one mistake on Locke’s part to get him sent to Glenworth for five years. However, neither Terrence nor the Jeffries family forgot Locke, and would visit him often. It was always a big deal whenever the Holy Terror came to see him.

  “Why are you asking about Peachtree Private Investigations?” Locke asked, intruding into Andrew’s thoughts.

  “Something about that hostage situation sounds suspect to me. What if the man was deliberately placing attention on Toni to shift the focus from the murder his son committed? If that’s true, I want to know why.”

  “I’ll have Duan contact you. In the meantime, what do you plan to do with Toni as your partner?”

  Locke’s question made several scenarios play around in Drew’s head. He would have loved to have brought her home for lunch today and engaged in an hour of absolute physical pleasure, rekindling their roles as sex-buddies. “I will continue to do my job. What was between me and Toni ended close to five years ago. She means nothing to me.”

  “Is that why you gave me, Shogun, and Macayle the evil eye when we said we would flip to see which one of us would hit on her?”

  “I gave you guys the evil eye because what you three were suggesting was crazy as hell.”

  “Whatever. After meeting her, I happen to think Toni is a nice person. Tell her I said hello.”

  Moments later, after Andrew ended the call with Locke, he finished off the last of his scotch. Standing, he stretched his body, then decided to take a shower. He wouldn’t even bother watching one of the basketball games on television. Instead, he would go to bed and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow he and Toni had a full day.

  Someone murdered Maria Tindal, a woman he had met and immediately liked. Now she was dead, and he intended to find the person responsible.

  • • •

  Toni had showered, put on her pjs and was about to grab the novel she’d been reading off the nightstand when her cell phone rang. She smiled, recognizing the ringtone. “Hello, Joy.”

  “I was wondering if you were going to let me know how your first day went. Did you see Drew? What did he say when he saw you? What did you say when you saw him? Is he avoiding you the way he did at my wedding? Is he—?”

  “Whoa, time out, Joy. Stop throwing out questions like a detective in an interrogation room. One question at a time, please,” she said, laughing.

  “You’re laughing and that’s good,” Joy said.

  “Not necessarily.”

  “Oh.”

  “Before I answer your questions, I want to know where Stonewall is. I don’t want to infringe on any of his time. It hasn’t been a year yet—the two of you are basically still newlyweds.’’

  “Yes, we are. I honestly didn’t think I could ever be this happy. Stonewall is the best.”

  Toni smiled. “I believe you. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t get to meet Stonewall before the wedding.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I got a chance to form my own opinion about him. Of course, I had known how he looked since his image was plastered on a number of magazines and across social media after he rescued that mother and baby.”

  Toni shifted positions in bed, then continued. “That photo that was seen around the world—the one where he’s shirtless, displaying all those big, strong muscles and looking sexy as hell, while carrying the mother and baby like they’d weighed nothing. The headlines had dubbed him, The Hero.”

  “Yes, and he’s my forever hero.”

  Toni heard all the love in Joy’s voice, and Toni smiled. No one had been as happy as Toni when Joy had finally decided to kick her fiancé to the curb. “You deserve this happiness, Joy.”

  “Thanks, but I didn’t call to talk about me and Stonewall. He’s not here, by the way. His grandmother baked us a cake and he went to pick it up. So how did your day go?”

  Toni hesitated for a moment before admitting, “I can answer all of your questions with one response.”

  “Which is?”

  “I’m Drew’s partner.”

  There was a long pause. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Umm...no.”

  “What happened to his old partner?”

  “Norm got married and moved to Wisconsin. Can you imagine my surprise when I walked into the chief’s office and saw Drew?”

  Joy let out a deep sigh. “Well, you were trying to prepare yourself if your paths crossed, but being his partner is a game changer, Toni. How did you and Drew handle it?”

  “As best we could. I think the chief suspects something, but he didn’t say anything. I believe he’s letting us work out whatever kinks there might be.”

  “And can the two of you work out the kinks, Toni?”

  “We’re going to try.”

  “I hope so. Being his partner means the two of you will be spending a lot of time together. You’ll practically be in his pocket and he’ll be in yours.”

  “I know, Joy. Still, there were a couple of hiccups today.”

  “Oh, boy. What were they?”

  She told Joy about her crazy bout of jealousy and what she’d said to Drew about an alibi, and how she questioned their ME procedure.

  “You learn from your mistakes, Toni.”

  “I apologized about the alibi, kind of. At least, I tried to explain myself.”

  “Could you do that without admitting to jealousy?”

  “No, and that’s something I need to deal with, Joy. Especially since I think he has a steady girl.”

  “He does?”

  “It looks like it. She’s a television reporter. She met him after work in the parking lot, and she was touching him in a way that made it seem as if they’d been intimate before. I watched them from the window behind my desk.”

  “If he is dating someone else, he has that right, you know.”

  “Yes, I know,” Toni grudgingly agreed. “But…”

  “But you love him.”

  Her feelings for Drew were something she had not openly admitted to anyone but Joy. “Yes. I love him.”

  Joy paused for a moment. “I think you need to tell Andrew everything, Toni. You broke things off with him because you were afraid of falling in love.”

  “What good would admitting anything do now, Joy? That was almost five years ago. Besides, he didn’t love me back.”

  “How do you know? You never told Drew how you felt, you just ended things. I believe you meant more to him than you thought, Toni. If he didn’t have any problem with the breakup, he would not have taken it personally.”

  Toni heard what Joy was saying, but she didn’t agree. “It’s not the fact that I broke up with him that pissed him off, Joy. It’s the way I did it.”

  “But you said the two of you had an agreement. The fact that he got upset about it tells me it meant something to him. Besides, in the past few months, you’ve gotten help in dealing with the issues you never shared with Drew.”

  That much was true, Toni thought. After the failed hostage situation, she had to comply with the department’s requirement that she undergo counseling with the department’s psychologist. The woman, Dr. Barbara Tolbert, had been wonderful. Not only had she been able to help Toni deal with that hostage crisis, but Barbara had dug deeper and helped Toni through the issues she’d had regarding her mother’s suicide.

  That had meant finding closure with her father. Toni had done that, also, by paying him a visit before moving from Miami. Taking the job in Alexandria was to be a fresh start for her. She certainly had not counted on becoming Drew’s partner.

  “It doesn’t matter now. Like I told you, I think he’s involved with someone. A woman named Natalie.”

  “May I ask you something, Toni?”

  “Sure.”

  “You and Drew will be spending a lot of time together during work hours. What if you can’t ignore the sexual chemistry?”

  “We had to deal with it today, Joy, and it w
asn’t easy. We will just have to continue to work at it.”

  “What if Drew gives you some sign that he cares for you more than he’s letting on?”

  “What kind of sign?”

  “Hmm, I don’t know. You know him, so I think you’d recognize one. Like he might act jealous if you start dating.”

  Toni rolled her eyes. “I just arrived in town, Joy, and I’m already involved in a murder case. A young woman, my own age, was needlessly killed. And I intend to find the person who did it. I won’t have time for a social life.”

  “But if you eventually find the time and Drew seemed jealous, how would you handle it?”

  Toni drew in a deep breath. “If I honestly thought he was jealous, that would give me hope. If there was a chance Drew actually cared more for me than what I assumed, then I would…”

  “You would what, Toni?”

  “I would consider letting him know how I feel. Not all at once, but it would be something I could build into something more.”

  “Now you’re talking sense, girlfriend.”

  Toni shook her head, grinning. “And you’re talking about a scenario that won’t be happening, Joy.”

  “You never know. If anyone would have told me five years ago that my ex-fiancé would be out of my life, and I would be married to a man who’s his complete opposite, I would not have believed them.”

  Joy paused a moment. “For years you’ve been afraid to love someone, Toni. Now that the fear is gone, it’s time to take a leap of faith and claim the man you love.”

  AS THEY LEFT THE building and headed toward the cruiser, Toni said, “I can’t believe how nice everyone is.” She’d been sitting at her desk, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a breakfast sandwich while going over yesterday’s investigative notes, when Drew had arrived to work.

  She’d never known until today that he wasn’t a morning person. During their ten months together, she’d given him a reason to wake up in a good mood. Obviously, Natalie wasn’t doing her job.