Until Midnight (9 page)

Adam’s lean fingers opened the lips of her pussy and he sucked in his breath at the sight of the glistening pink flesh. She was already so wet. So goddamn wet. And hot.

When he traced his tongue over the inner lips the heat of her liquid scorched him.

“I’m gonna eat you until you scream,” he promised and thrust his tongue inside

her.

Tiny spasms rocked her at once. He gripped her thighs to hold her in place as he

worked to give her the same pleasure she’d just given him. It was like having his

tongue inside an oven filled with nectar—hot, sweet, addictive. And she was so ready so quickly. Hanging right there on the edge.

He moved one hand up until he found her clit. When he pinched it hard between

thumb and forefinger she screamed and convulsed, pouring into his mouth like a

vessel. He sucked and pulled until he’d drawn the last drop from her before finally sliding out of her still quivering pussy. Lying down next to her, he pulled her into his 65

Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand

arms and took her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss. The mixture of their flavors was

intoxicating, surging through his body like a drug.

His first thought was,
How can I leave her when this is over
?

His next was,
I am so fucked
.

* * * * *

The speedboat they’d picked up at the marina cut through the cerulean water of the Caribbean throwing spray back from the bow. Adam steered as if he’d been doing it

forever. Nicki could only think how incredibly hot and masculine he looked standing at the wheel, the breeze ruffling his thick black hair.

As they approached Paul Henderson’s private island another boat roared out from

a dock to meet them. She could see three men in the boat, two of them making no effort to hide the assault weapons they carried loosely in their arms. The boat headed in a direct line for them, slowing down only when they came close to Adam and Nicki.

Adam throttled back and moved the gear to idle.

“You are in private waters,” the man driving the boat shouted to them. “Turn back

at once.”

“We have an appointment with Mr. Henderson,” Nicki shouted back. “Four

o’clock.”

“Names,” he said.

“Nicole Welles and Adam Molloy. Mr. Henderson is a friend.”

They waited, boat rocking in the gentle waves while the man spoke into a radio he

carried. Finally he nodded.

“Follow us.”

They tied up at the dock next to the other boat and waited patiently while they

were searched for weapons. Then they were led up to the house, the armed men close behind them, the radio man in front.

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The house itself was a massive building of stone and glass rising from a slight hill and surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. They climbed the steps to the door which the man with the radio opened, and they were ushered inside.

“Follow me,” he told Adam and Nicki, indicating to the two armed men that should

also come along.

Paul Henderson was lying on a hospital bed in a room with a wall of windows

overlooking the ocean. He turned his head as they approached, and Nicki was struck by how pale and weak he looked.

“Hello, Nicki.” Even his voice lacked strength.

“Hello, Paul. I didn’t realize you were having such a tough time recovering from

the surgery.”

“Complications.” His smile was wan. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to you about your partners in the Costalegre resort and some rumors I’ve heard.”

His eyelids fluttered closed. “Business, Nicki? I’m on no shape to discuss that.”

“Just a few questions,” she persisted. “Please.”

His eyes opened. “Who is this man with you?”

“This is my friend, Adam Molloy. He’s…helping me.”

Again the eyes closed. “I haven’t paid much attention to what’s going on there,” he protested. “I fear you’ve made your long journey for nothing.”

“Paul.” She let out a slow breath. “I was almost killed.”

His face took on a pinched look and he reached out a hand that trembled. “I am so

sorry you were in danger, but I say again. I have been way out of the loop.”

“So far out you can’t give me an idea of why someone would come onto the

property with a loaded weapon?”

Henderson gave a little shake of his head. “I don’t make my guests go through a

magnetron at the front gate!”

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Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand

Surprised she could get that much vehemence from a man who was supposedly

recuperating far too slowly from a surgical procedure, Nicki nodded. “Or do you keep a supply of weapons and ammo on site for those guests who request such…amenities?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he spat.

Not too ill, are you?
“How well did you check out your manager before you hired him?”

Henderson arched a brow. “Rigorously. Nothing wrong with Abbas. Can’t chance it

with our clientele there. You know how high profile they are.”

Nicki felt Adam tense beside her and reached for his hand, squeezing it hard to

signal him not to say anything. This was turning out to be a dead end and they needed to get out of there.

“Paul, I could really use some input from you here. I know what a tight rein you

keep on things.” She huffed a breath of impatience. “If you could just point me toward someone who could give me the answers I need. Maybe one of your partners? I told

you. There are some rumors circulating about them.”

She really wanted to see if she could pry loose a connection to Calderon but she also wanted to get out of there in one piece.

“I think that’s enough.” The leader of Henderson’s guard stepped forward. “It’s

time for Mr. Henderson’s medication and his nap.”

“But…”

“Let’s go.” Adam’s voice behind her was low and quiet.

She took one last look at the man in the hospital bed and allowed his men to lead

her and Adam away. Neither of them said a word until they were in the boat. Then

Adam turned to Nicki and said, “You know that was a total load of crap.”

“Damn right, that asshole. He knows perfectly well what’s happening, but with that Praetorian Guard around him and his illness as an excuse we could have saved our

energy.”

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“Let’s call Maddie and see if she’s been able to get us in to see LeClerq.”

“Crashing a meeting of the heads of major financial institutions is no small feat. Can she handle it?”

Nicki laughed. “If anyone can, it’s Maddie.”

“That’s good, because now it’s even more important.”

“As soon as we reach the marina I’ll call the hangar and have the pilot get the plane ready. If Maddie’s made contact, we’ll go directly to Washington, D.C.”

They were in the air before Maddie got back to them with confirmation of their

appointment with LeClerq.

“Dan and I will meet you there,” she told Nicki. “You’ll need me in person to open doors for you. Besides, I’m the one with the invitation to the private reception.”

“Can you also conjure up some clothes for us?” Nicki joked.

“I’m making reservations at the Willard for you. Just tell the concierge to send up a personal shopper and she’ll fetch whatever you and Adam need. Isn’t that what you

always do?”

Nicki laughed. “You got it.”

She hung up and explained to Adam what was happening.

“All right. But if we run into trouble, I have a few hole cards I can play.”

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It turned out Adam’s hole card needed to be an ace. Maddie called shortly after

they checked in to the Willard to say that LeClerq refused to talk to them. If they came to the reception to corner him, he’d simply leave. They could save themselves the time.

He had nothing to say to them.

But Adam’s hole card was indeed an ace.

“He owes me big-time,” he told Nicki. “You know, the money laundering thing. If

not for me he’d have ended up in prison.” “Well, then. Time to let him pay up,” Nicki said as she opened the door to permit the bellboy to deliver their clothes in various boxes from local shops. “Got to try these on,” she said as she tore into the packages.

“Mad to be into clean clothes!” She tried on the black dress and heels, then settled on a pink tee-shirt, slim jeans and pink Keds.

As Adam sifted through the concierge’s selections for himself, he tried to get

LeClerq on his secure line.

It took patience and maneuvering to get through to LeClerq, but finally he came on the phone. Adam told him what he needed and why LeClerq was going to help him by

giving any information he could get.

“He promises to call me back on his private cell,” Adam told her as he donned his

khakis, red polo and loafers. Within two minutes, Adam was picking up a ring from his cell. The conversation he and LeClerq had was brief, with Adam mostly listening.

“He wasn’t happy to give me the information,” he told Nicki, shutting closed his

phone. “Client confidentiality and all that. But I got it out of him that Henderson has a separate, personal account in his bank. And, he says it’s growing at a faster than normal rate. Too fast for the funds to come, he thinks, from legitimate enterprises. LeClerq has known about the growth for about six months. Red-flagged by one of the account

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managers who thought it was definitely an indication of some kind of illegal activity and who brought it to LeClerq’s attention.”

“Did he say where he thought the money came from?” Nicki asked.

Adam nodded. “First he warned me that it’s his ass and mine if anyone finds out he told me. But if it is illegal and I can keep his bank out of it, he’ll owe me again.”

“Tell me the name of the company.” Nicki gestured impatiently.

“It appears Henderson has a large number of shares in a pharmaceutical company.

A third of Henderson’s deposits come from that.”

“And it is…”

“Interlock Pharmcorp.”

He studied Nicki, waiting, and in seconds she understood.

“Drug distribution. And the cartel.”

Adam nodded. “Got it in one.”

“But we need to know exactly how they’re distributing it, and…”

He held up a hand. “The other two-thirds of Henderson’s windfall, however, is

coming from a corporation Henri wasn’t familiar with, so he checked it out.”

“And?”

“All the directors are fictitious. It’s nothing but a blind shell.”

Nicki’s eyes widened in amazement. “And LeClerq’s just been sitting on this

information?”

“Look at it from his point of view. He can’t exactly rat out his clients.”

“We need to go back to the Caribbean. Confront Henderson again. Now that we

know what we’re looking for, I think we can be more aggressive with him.”

“Let me make another phone call first.”

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Adam called Mossad headquarters on his encrypted cell phone and talked for a

long time in Hebrew. Nicki watched the lines in his face deepen as he listened. When he hung up, his expression was grim.

“Okay. At least we have more news.”

“Tell me.”

“There have been reports now of deaths similar to Emily’s in Paris, Berlin and

Madrid. Recently in Tel Aviv, too. The better parts of town.”

“Same MO of the victims?” Nicki asked, “Housewives? Office workers? High end

furnishing store clerks?”

“Yes. But according to my boss, the bulk of activity is still here in the Washington metro area. Georgetown. Bethesda. Alexandria. More deaths. More hospitalizations.”

He shook his head.

“Did he say they have any clues how the victims acquire it?”

“We think now they buy it in high end boutiques and shops that sell things like

candles and oils for aromatherapy. And the company that’s selling it?”

“Let me guess. The shell corporation where Henderson’s getting so much money.”

“Yes. Our men had to call in a lot of markers to find that out.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Meanwhile, they’ll hack into LeClerq’s computers and monitor

what’s going on with Henderson and his accounts. Mossad can get into anything.

They’ll also try to see if Pharmcorp has a hand getting the drug into this country. These people can’t take the usual smugglers’ route or they’d never have such open

distribution.” He made a rude noise. “Selling it like some good luck charm right out in the open. What balls.”

“Do you know the names of any of these places? Maybe we can go talk to the

owners, find out how they order it. If it’s through this corporation where Henderson’s getting so much money, we’ll have something to hit him with details.”

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“Headquarters will send me a list of shops to my smartphone. As soon as we get it

we should hit the bricks. Find one close. Talk to the owners.”

“We’re swimming in dangerous waters here, Adam,” Nicki warned.

“I’ve been here plenty of times before. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’m good,” she reassured him. “I don’t run this company on my good looks, you

know.”

He grinned. “At one time, I might have thought so, but now?”

Tension racked his features as he pulled her into his arms for a hard kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth. He held her head tightly as he devoured her, then pulled

back, leaving her breathless. His SMARTPHONE chirped.

“Okay.” He read the list and when he glanced up, his eyes landed on Nicki and his

heart wrenched with fear for her safety. “Let’s go.”

He had a queasy feeling, a sensation that came on him when he knew he was

missing something. When they’d checked in, he had walked the room, scanning for

bugs in the phone, the TV, the lamps. He found nothing. Nicki had doubled down on