Chapter 26
Roman
Roman was in a foul mood.
He was tense to the point of snapping at the thought of Elenie becoming a confidential informant. When she’d messaged to say things had gone as smoothly at home as could be expected, he’d relaxed just a fraction. And then she’d hit him with the news about dating the fucking Brit.
He wished he had the right to tell her not to do it, even though he understood the reasoning. He’d discussed it with Dougie, who’d heard about Perry from Summer. They chewed it over together, neither of them happy with the development. But Elenie insisted it made sense and he could see what she meant. If it helped her cover with Frank, he’d let it go for now. But Perry was in his sights, alongside Dax, and every single move he made would be under Roman’s scrutiny.
His initial contact with the County Sheriff’s Office had led to a preliminary meeting with Chief Deputy Shawn Booth. Unfortunately, Booth, subjected to a barrage of anti-Dax rantings from Chief Roberts over the years, proved a hard sell on Elenie’s suitability as a CI. They’d butted heads with icy politeness—goddam bureaucratic paper-pushers—until Booth reluctantly agreed to pass the details through to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Roman suspected the current fentanyl crisis was the tipping point; there was pressure from higher up to show steps were being taken to deal with the sharp increase in fentanyl-related deaths.
Subject to a successful background dive and a positive first meet-up, which Roman wouldn’t be allowed to attend, it looked like Elenie might be in.
He hadn’t seen her for more than a week while he worked behind the scenes on setting everything in motion. The niggling need to be somewhere near her rubbed awkwardly in his rib cage.
Pushing open the door of the diner, he scanned the busy hub inside with a casual glance. Otto raised his coffee cup in greeting, a welcoming smile on his lips. Roman strode over and slid onto the opposite bench seat.
“Good to see you, sir,”
Otto twinkled.
“It’s been a little while.”
“It has. I’m sorry. Things keep cropping up.”
He could swear he smelled her before he saw her.
“What can I get you, Chief?”
Elenie’s voice was polite and low. He heard the hesitance behind her reserve.
“Just a hot tea, please.”
Roman tried not to look at her but his eyes were traitors who flipped him off and sought her face regardless. However flat he kept his gaze, however impersonal he made his words, just a glance at her eased the tightness inside his chest and he soaked her up.
“Coming right up. And Otto—can I get you a refill?”
She mastered the perfect blend of awkward and stilted, so far removed from the more relaxed Elenie of pizza night on Otto’s deck.
“No, I’m fine, thank you.”
Otto smiled but he was too sharp to miss their tense exchange. The older man sent him a searching look.
They chatted about the weather, the proposed plans for the new business center, local politics, and neighbors. Elenie delivered Roman’s tea, setting it gently on the table without saying a word. He didn’t thank her. When she walked away, he watched her go.
Otto laid surprisingly strong fingers on his forearm and squeezed.
“Roman. I’m asking as a friend. Please don’t let that girl down. I think she needs you.”
“Sometimes people let themselves down.”
He took a long swig of tea and raised his eyes to Otto’s.
“I’ll tell you what I told Elenie. As long as she stays on the right side of the law, she’ll have my support.”
The old man examined his face. Roman wasn’t sure what he saw, but Otto nodded and the frown lines that had wrinkled his brow smoothed out. It was too tempting to hold back the question.
“How long have you known her?”
With a smile in his eyes, Otto leaned forward. He ran a gnarled finger over an old mark on the table.
“It’s been about three years now, I guess. I was getting lonely at home and decided to make more of an effort to get out of the house, so I started coming in regularly for breakfast. I lost my wife, Bea, two years before that. Bea was the best friend a man could want in a wife. We used to talk all the time. Not about anything important—just ordinary stuff. I missed the sound of her voice in our home so much.”
Roman gave him a sympathetic chin lift.
“I’m lucky to have shared my life with her and the memories are happy ones. But it was the right decision to get out more. The exercise is good for me and the company is even better. It’s become a part of my routine. Elenie wasn’t chatty to start with but we always exchanged a few words. The first time I earned one of her smiles was a golden day for me.”
Roman knew exactly what Otto meant. He glanced her way automatically, his eyes following her easy strides across the room.
The old man chuckled.
“Don’t tell her I said this, but Elenie reminds me of a stray cat—all wary and distrustful, poised to scratch or hiss. Yet it only takes the smallest iota of kindness to unlock all the sweetness she has to offer.”
Roman was hit by an image of himself gently stroking Elenie’s skin like a cat. Heat bloomed in his chest and he shifted in his chair.
“Probably not the most flattering compliment to pay a lovely young lady and I’ll deny it if you tell her.”
Otto’s smile was mischievous.
“She’s clever too. I’ve read a lot in my time but she gobbles up books like cinnamon buns. Her capacity to remember facts is amazing—the more obscure the better. I find her so interesting to talk to. Did you know she can speak four languages fluently? And insult you in about fifty!”
Roman grunted. There was too much about Elenie he didn’t know, and he didn’t like it.
Otto’s eyes turned distant.
“Bea and I never had children. We worked, we travelled, we were too selfish to share each other or make any compromises. I have no regrets.”
He lifted his coffee and drained it.
“But if I had a daughter, I’d have been very proud to have one like Elenie.”
Of all the people he might have expected to see on the afternoon of the gala dinner, his ex-fiancée wasn’t one of them. She followed Maggie into Roman’s office just after lunchtime.
“Visitor for you, Chief.”
Glancing up from a case report, he blinked and blinked again. Maggie harnessed her curiosity and left them alone.
“Hello, Roman.”
Zena folded herself elegantly into one of the chairs.
“Uh. Hey.”
He shook his head to clear it. What the hell was she doing here.
“You got business in Pine Springs?”
“Hardly.”
She gave a polite little laugh.
“We didn’t get anywhere when I called, so I finished up a contract I was working on and decided to pay you a visit.”
She flashed him a confident smile.
“I’m here for the weekend. You can show me around.”
Zena ran her eyes over his office with interest and he didn’t doubt for a minute she was registering its small size, minimal technology, and lack of bustle. She was immaculately dressed as always—cropped black pants and a black satin strappy top, pale green tailored blazer and flat shoes, just the right amount of makeup and tiny, tasteful jewelry. Most likely a lot of time and money had gone into the outfit, but Roman only noticed the lack of warmth on her face.
“Did you listen to anything I said on the phone?”
He tried to keep his voice mild but heard the edge of irritation when it crept in.
“Yes, I did. I just don’t think you’ve thought it through properly. Maybe we could go out for dinner, chat things over, and you might feel different when we’ve spent a little time together again.”
Zena lowered her voice to a persuasive purr.
“I’ve given you space, Roman. I’ve given you time. I was hoping you might have laid some ghosts to rest by now.”
He flinched at the phrase. Then cursed himself for the reaction.
“I’m out tonight. There’s a business dinner I have to attend.”
Roman opened the top drawer of his desk and rummaged for a pen.
“The one at the Elite Lodge?”
“How the hell do you—”
Roman stifled a groan.
“That’s where you’re staying, isn’t it?”
“It is. There wasn’t a wide choice.”
Zena smiled.
“I could be your date.”
He leaned back in his chair and actually considered it. Florence had laughed in his face when he’d asked her to go with him. There wasn’t anyone else he felt comfortable using just to provide him with the cover he needed for one night, now that Elenie would be there with Craig Perry. Zena was a different matter. And she was offering. It would help to cement the impression with Perry that he had other irons in the fire. That Elenie wasn’t of any importance to him. Some extra camouflage would be a good thing. And yet his skin prickled at the idea of taking Zena anywhere as his date.
“Well?”
Roman didn’t miss the annoyance in her voice when he took his time answering. “OK,”
he said finally.
“If warm white wine floats your boat, you’re welcome to join us.”
Zena smirked.
“But it’s a one-off thing, for old times’ sake. Nothing more.” It seemed best to spell it out again. “I meant what I said on the phone.”
She stood up to leave.
“Seven o’clock in the lobby?”
Roman gave her a brief nod.
“Wonderful. I look forward to it.”
It took the rest of the afternoon and two open windows for Zena’s sultry perfume to disappear.
“That’s the dress you brought with you in case we went out for dinner?”
Roman raised one eyebrow.
“Well, I know this town lacks classy restaurants but I thought we might find somewhere less backward. I like to be prepared.”
Zena’s silver evening gown swept to mid-calf with a tasteful slit at the side. A diamanté clasp held it securely on one milky white collarbone. Her sleek blond hair lay ruler-straight. She’d already made several wearisome comments about the facilities at the Elite Lodge, the cleanliness of her room, and the smell inside the elevator on her way downstairs.
The evening stretched ahead, a polar trek to be navigated in sliders.
Roman broke it to Thea and Luke that Zena was his date when he picked them up on his way to the hotel. They were far from impressed. Milo whispered .
“Seriously, Ro?”
in his ear when Zena’s head was turned, and he wasn’t looking forward to Caitlyn cornering him on his own. Safe to say his ex was far from a hit with his friends or his family. He felt foolish for not fully realizing it before. But then his head hadn’t exactly been in the game for a while there.
The lobby, tired and in need of a revamp like the rest of the hotel, led through to the bar area and spacious conference room where the dinner was taking place. Old-fashioned swags and tails dressed the windows, with some of the braiding hanging loose. The carpet, once a rich shade of blue, was now faded and patchy, suspicious stains drowned out in the main by a gaudy pattern. There hadn’t been money spent here for some time.
“Charlie, Charlie, Charlie—persons of interest have entered the building.”
Caitlyn’s hiss came from somewhere behind him. Roman turned, calmly, casually, with a studied lack of interest.
Inside the main door, Elenie paused, her path blocked by a gaggle of newcomers. Perry ushered her onward with an impatient gesture. She shrugged a thin black jacket from her shoulders and Roman’s conscious thought process short-circuited and died. His ears buzzed. His mouth opened and moved but didn’t produce any words.
Unveiled, Elenie was a riot of sparkles. She wore a scarlet body-hugging, off-the-shoulder mini dress, so wantonly erotic the heat surged to his groin. He almost groaned. Edged with a wide band of lace, it dipped low across her chest, the swell of her breasts curving suggestively over the top of the neckline. The glittering material hugged her bottom, ending obscenely high on her thighs. Black high heels drew his eyes down her slim, bare legs. In all, it was just the wrong side of tasteful but Elenie carried it off.
Her hair was loose, curling gently above her shoulders, with one side pulled back and held above her ear with a jeweled clip. Roman swallowed as he soaked her in.
“Who’s the hooker?”
Zena’s voice held amusement as she followed his gaze.
He couldn’t answer.
“Well, I think we can guess who chose the dress,”
Milo murmured.
“Someone get the girl a cardigan.”
Thea was part-horrified, part-awestruck.
Roman dragged his eyes away and ignored the contemplative look Zena shot in his direction.
“Do we know this couple?”
she pressed again.
“She works in town,”
said Caitlyn.
“And her boyfriend’s a bit of a creep.”
Roman’s mouth clamped into a tight line. He caught the sympathetic glance Luke threw his way as his brother-in-law steered Zena toward their table.
Goddammit, this is going to be a long night.
“How are we playing this?”
Thea asked quietly in Roman’s ear.
“I’m scared I’m going to mess up.”
“Just keep it as natural as possible. He knows she’s been out with Caitlyn, but it’s best if he doesn’t realize she’s met you and Luke as well.”
“He’s an egotistical douchebag with the sensitivity of a slug so I doubt he’ll pick up on any subtle undercurrents.”
Caitlyn’s head bobbed between them. She pulled a sour face before sailing onward like a pint-size torpedo.
“Jesus, this is painful.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’ll get the drinks in,”
said Milo.
“It might help.”
“I’ll give you a hand,”
Roman growled.
“If I see you looking like you’re gonna kill him—or even her,”
Thea watched Zena pass her shrug to Luke as if he was there to serve her.
“maybe I could get Cait to go into fake labor or something.”
“Probably still wouldn’t stop me,”
Roman muttered grimly, as he stalked toward the bar.