12

Bianca

I recalled fumbling toward the bedroom last night as Jager kissed my neck, but I couldn’t remember what the room looked like. That explained why my brain needed a few minutes to register where I was when I opened my eyes the next morning. My bedroom at home definitely didn’t have floor-to-ceiling windows, nor did it have the thickest duvet and mattress cover I’d ever slept in. It felt as though I’d slept on a bed of clouds.

“What are you smiling about?”

I turned toward his voice. He stood in the bathroom door frame, wearing only a towel around his waist, and his hair shiny and wet. The contours of his chest were even more visible in this light that I blushed, thinking of my lips pressed up against each ridge and muscle.

“Damn, if you’re smiling because you’re thinking what I’m thinking right now, I’m definitely going to be late.”

Turning to my phone on the nightstand, I tapped it to see the time. “It’s only seven. And isn’t it Sunday?”

“It is. But I promised Detectives Khan and Chaudhary I’d meet with them today.”

I groaned and fell back onto the bed. “I’m going back to sleep.”

With my eyes closed, his body hovered over me. Then his lips brushed against my mouth. “Get some rest. I have plans for you later.”

“You do?”

“Definitely.”

A fresh scent of eucalyptus and lemon filled the air, and I decided then I would take a bath in this room while he was away.

“What time is check-out?”

“What time do you want it to be?”

I chuckled. “Be serious.”

“I am. I’ll pay for another night, and you can stay for as long as you wish.” He pulled on a pair of black dress pants, probably the ones he wore last night, and a white shirt. He tucked his tie into the pocket of his jacket and lifted the white collar over it. I sat and watched the whole thing as though it was the most fascinating show I’d ever seen.

“I’m sorry to run out, but I do have to go.”

“Of course.”

He walked back to the bed and kissed me again. His lips lingered this time, and he groaned when he pulled away. “If this wasn’t a matter of safety, I would never leave your bedside.”

“Mmm…I’m starting to think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion. Perhaps you don’t have to go after all.”

He grinned and kissed my lips quickly this time. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t rush. I’ll take a bath while you’re away.”

“Those two sentences are quite contradictory. If you don’t want me to rush, it’s best I don’t know you’re waiting here wet and naked.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Go.”

“Bye, babe.”

He left, and I stayed for a few minutes, just smiling at the ceiling like a fool. Funny enough, his words made me want to text Ruby. I turned and grabbed my phone and noticed the six missed calls from my brother and three from Lizzie.

Crap .

I called Lizzie first.

“Oh, thank God, you’re alive.”

“Why wouldn’t I be alive?

“Bianca, we’ve been calling you since you left the wedding upset last night and didn’t come home. We were worried about you.”

“Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

There was a pause. “I was really scared. I’ve never seen you like that.”

“I know. I try to hide what I feel most times, but it’s hard around her. It’s just so overwhelming and I can’t control my emotions.”

“Are you better today? Are you all right now?”

“Lizzie, I’m more than all right. I am fabulous.”

“Wait…what…uh…what happened after you left with Jager?”

I waited, not saying a word, and smiled as I heard Lizzie piece it together.

“Did you and Jager…did you guys…?”

“Yes.”

She squealed, and I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Well, I didn’t think you’d take it that well.”

“If you and Jager had a fabulous night, then I couldn’t be happier for you. You deserve some fun, girl.”

“I do. It’s been a while for sure.”

“So, what are you guys doing today? Are you staying at his place?”

“No, we stayed at a hotel last night.”

“Oh, that’s romantic.”

“It was.”

“Hold up.” There was a muffled sound on the other end of the line. “Yes, I’m talking to Bianca. She’s fine. Well, I’d say better than fine.”

I chuckled.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lizzie admonished.

“What did River say?”

“That it was irresponsible of you…blah, blah, blah. It’s fine. You’re fine. That’s all that matters.”

“I should have answered my phone. But no, I don’t regret leaving. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I feel like it’s not my place to say anything to your mom.”

“I get it, Lizzie. There’s nothing for anyone to say. It’s between her and me. We’re the only two people who can fix this. But I realized a long time ago that you need two willing participants to want it to change.”

“Do you think you will ever patch things up?”

“No. But I’m starting to realize that I’m better off without her in my life.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m here for you if you need me.”

“Thank you. Hug my brother for me and tell him he shouldn’t worry so much.”

“I will. See you at work tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

I was just about to put my phone down when I remembered the reason I’d reached for it in the first place.

I typed out a message for Ruby. ‘Hey, had the best time last night.’

‘Me, too.’

‘Lol, can’t wait to hear about your night. Did you have a date?’

‘Yes.’

‘Awesome. How was it?’

‘Awesome.’

I chuckled. Ruby was usually chattier than this. ‘Is there someone in the room with you now?’ Shit. I was probably ruining morning cuddles or something.

‘Yes. Sorry. Can’t talk now.’

‘K,k. Chat later.’

‘Later, babe.’

As I rolled over to put my phone away, my stomach growled. The enormous stainless-steel stove stared at me through the open bedroom door. But I grabbed the telephone receiver next to the bed and pressed the button for room service.

Jager

I’d been in Detective Khan’s office for fifteen minutes before he finally made an appearance. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said as he walked in, holding his laptop.

“Are we still waiting for your partner?”

“No. Chaudhary is checking out an alibi.”

“Is it the guy I told you about?”

“Please, take a seat.”

I was in a hurry to get back to Bianca, but I pulled out the chair in front of his desk as I felt he was the sort of guy who’d find it disrespectful for me to stand while he sat.

“So, are you looking into Jeremy Tagert?” I texted Khan yesterday after I’d done some research on Tagert and found some suspicious information.

“Detective Chaudhary is speaking now to someone who can corroborate his story.”

“This guy called in sick the day the package was delivered, and I found out that his brother owns a farm. He had the means and opportunity to do the crime.”

“Yes. But what is his motive?”

My research only took me so far. I hadn’t had time to theorize a motive yet. “Does it matter? If we can link him to the farm in the days leading up to the delivery, we can worry about the motive later.”

“That may be how special ops works, Jager, but it’s not how we work here.”

“That’s right. You wait until someone gets hurt or killed to make an arrest.”

We stared each other down, but there was no animosity there—only frustration.

I sighed. “Fine. What do you suggest we do next?”

“Chaudhary is speaking to the barista where Tagert buys his morning coffee. We ran some surveillance on him, and he doesn’t miss a day. When we spoke to him, he said he went for a coffee that morning and then drove to Central Park for a walk.”

“He lives in Queens. Why would he go to Central Park? Doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe not. But we’ve got to check it out.”

“When do you expect Chaudhary back?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll call you when we find him.”

“Fine. Anything else?”

“Yes. I didn’t just ask you to come here for an update. I could have done that by telephone.” He pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. “Tagert must have paid that delivery guy a substantial amount of money to deliver his package. I don’t think he accepted a check. We’d need to subpoena his bank statements to see if any large withdrawals occurred leading up to that day.”

“Right.”

“Well, we don’t know who Tagert is working with or what capabilities they have, so I’m afraid showing up with a subpoena will make Tagert jumpy. He makes one phone call and with the press of a button, all his transactions are erased.”

“It doesn’t work like that. There’s always a footprint. But what are you asking me?”

“The word in the office is you’ve got the skills to hack into anything, even private bank records. Do you think you can do that with Tagert’s account?”

“Of course I could. But it would be illegal and inadmissible in court.”

“I’ll worry about getting a warrant for the search. You hack into that account.”

“You got it, Detective.”

“Good.”

Khan’s phone rang. “It’s Chaudhary.” He swiped on the screen. “Hello?”

“Yeah.” He listened as his partner communicated what he’d learned. “All right. We’ll have to figure something else out.”

He hung up the phone, and I nodded once. “So, what did he say?”

“The barista doesn’t remember if he came in that day or not. He said he’s there every day, so he doesn’t see why he wouldn’t have been there that day.”

“Not exactly a solid alibi.”

“Not exactly.”

“What about the park? Can anyone place him there?”

“We’ll send some officers with Tagert’s photo there this afternoon. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

I stood from the chair, but just as I turned around, a thought popped into my head. “What’s Tagert’s order? At the coffee shop? What does he get?”

Khan picked up a notebook on his desk and flipped through the pages. “A double espresso macchiato.”

I nodded and walked out of the office. I had a lot of work to do. I had an idea, and I didn’t think it could wait.

My laptop was at home, but I’d left my woman at the hotel. I needed to remedy that as soon as possible.

I dialed her number and Bianca answered on the second ring.

“You caught me at a very bad time,” she said in a sultry voice.

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m relaxing in a tub filled with Epsom salt and lilac-scented bubbles.”

A groan escaped my lips. “You’re making this harder than it already is.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll be tied up for the next couple of hours, but I’m arranging a body massage and pedicure at the spa in the hotel for you while you wait.”

She didn’t say anything, and I worried she was upset that I was bailing on her. “I’m sorry, B. If I didn’t think this was important, I wouldn’t neglect you like this.”

“Neglect me?” she scoffed. “Jager, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Not just the massage, that’s great, of course, but your consideration of my needs.”

“I will always think of your needs first. Especially when you take care of mine so well.”

She laughed, and I could listen to that sound all day. “So, you’re good with the plan?”

“Definitely.”

“Then consider it done. I’ll have the concierge call you with the arrangements.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

After ending the call with Bianca, I dialed the hotel and conveyed my instructions to the concierge. He was more than happy to help when I told him to add a significant tip for himself to the services.

With that taken care of, I could now focus on the task at hand, discovering if Tagert was the man behind this whole scheme.