Hard As Ice (Fortis Series 1) (27 page)

The following Tuesday, Emma called Nia from the reception desk. Someone had called into the main number looking for Chris Morton, and was waiting on the bridge.

“This is Nia James. You’re looking for Chris Morton?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, he left a few messages for me a couple weeks ago. He was friends with my boyfriend, Matt.”

Nia took in a sharp breath, trying to think of how to reply.

“Chris isn’t here. What was it regarding?” she finally asked.

“Look, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. But just tell Chris I don’t want to have anything to do with what Matt was into,” the woman stated. “I found the coke and I flushed it down the toilet. And if he calls me again, I’ll go to the police.”

Nia sat back in her chair with surprise, but Matt’s girlfriend hung up the phone abruptly before she could say anything in response. The anxiously spoken words replayed in her head for a few moments until they only created other questions. Could it be that Chris had nothing to do with the robbery? That he was trying to reach Jennifer Coombs for something else completely? Is that why he was killed?

As awkward as it felt to do, Nia picked up the phone and called Evan.

The dream was always the same. It started out perfect, with Nia in his bed, flushed with arousal. Sometimes she was on her back, wearing that pretty pink bra-and-panties set he really liked. The one Evan liked to peel off slowly, revealing all of her warm honey skin, one inch at a time. Other times, she’d be naked, on her stomach, her perfect, round bottom begging for his touch. She was always smiling, her brown, feline eyes sparkling.

Evan would touch her. Anywhere. Everywhere. She was firm, soft, toned, slick, and wet. It felt so real. She would gasp, lick her lips, bite the bottom one. His balls would tighten painfully, deliciously. He was breathless with the need to bury himself inside her, feel her wrapped around him with silken tightness.

He pulled her close, widening her legs so she was ready. Her eyes clung to his, penetrating his soul while her kitten-like moans begged him to take her. One sure stroke and he was there, encased deep. Home.

The word sent a chill down his spine. Evan looked into her eyes, and they were clouded with pain, hurt, distrust. Suddenly, they were standing apart, still naked but distant. Her red lipstick was smudged, staining the side of her face as tears ran down her cheeks.

The moan was his.

Evan gasped, suddenly awake. It was a few seconds before he realized he was at home in Virginia, in his bed alone. His throbbing erection was only one of the things still lingering from the dream. The details sometimes changed a little, but it always ended the same.

He took a moment to catch his breath, try to keep the best parts in his memory, erase the other things. Not that it mattered. He would experience it all again in a couple of days, just as he had repeatedly since he had left Boston. Since he’d left her.

No. Since she had left him.

Evan sighed, looked at the clock. Just after six o’clock. He rolled out of bed, ignoring the inconvenient morning wood. It seemed like his constant companion these days, reminding him of what he wanted but couldn’t have.

He dressed in loose shorts and headed out for his daily run along the river, setting a pace guaranteed to prevent too much analytical thinking beyond a strong breathing pattern. It sounded like his team was starting with a new client today. He needed to get his shit together.

Two hours later, he walked in the Fortis headquarters about six miles south of downtown Alexandria on a four-acre private compound. Lucas was already there, in the main building sitting at his desk engrossed in something on his computer. Evan wondered if his friend and partner sometimes slept there.

“Hey,” Lucas called when he saw Evan walking across the open space in front of the offices held by the three partners. “Did you get my note?”

Evan stopped at the threshold of the spacious room enclosed in glass.

“Yeah, a senator thinks he has a leak in his office?”

Lucas nodded.

“We’re meeting him at ten o’clock this morning. I’m hoping you can be lead on it. I’m taking on that security contract with Magnus Motorsports in Toronto, and Sam’s got some work to do with Clement Media.”

“Clement? We still do work for them?”

It was the newspaper and magazine empire built by Mikayla’s father, George Clement.

“Only for George. He’s not running the company anymore, not day-to-day anyway. But we conduct annual personnel audits for him, with full reviews for all the publishing houses. After that situation a few years ago, he wants to make sure there is no sign of media corruption anywhere in the company.”

“Got it,” Evan stated, nodding. “I can take the new assignment.”

“Great. I’ve sent you and Sam the preliminary details. Let’s meet at nine-thirty to go over it, before Senator Wolfe arrives,” suggested Lucas. “By the way, do you have any plans for tonight?”

“Not really, why?”

“Cierra wants to invite you out for dinner with us,” his friend said, but his mischievous grin said it was more than that.

“Why would she do that?” probed Evan.

Lucas shrugged, pretending to continue working at the computer.

“I may have mentioned that you were brokenhearted.” Evan rolled his eyes. “She has a friend who has a cure for that.”

“Well, tell Cierra thanks but no thanks. I don’t need a cure.”

“Yeah, you do. We’re all sick and tired of your long face and sad eyes. It’s pathetic, my friend. Quite frankly, it is so nauseating that it ruins my appetite.”

“That’s a real problem, Luc. You can’t afford to lose any weight,” Evan shot back.

“What?” Lucas demanded, standing up and looking himself up and down. “What’re you talking about? Just ’cause I’m not the size of the Hulk like you and the Scotsman doesn’t mean I’m skinny!”

It was a running joke between them all.

“Not skinny, just slender. Slim?” Evan added at the look of horror on his friend’s face.
Serves the bastard good for trying to set me up!

“It’s lean!” insisted Lucas.

Evan just laughed, walking away. His office was at the other end of the open space, an add-on to the original office floor plan once he joined Fortis six months ago.

Despite the ribbing, Evan knew his friends were a little worried about him. His moping was very sad, ruining his own appetite. In fact, he was already down eight pounds. He wished the answer was a night out or to date other women. If it was just another ordinary relationship breakup, that would be an easy solution. Just get back on the horse, and all that. What Evan was feeling wasn’t anything resembling ordinary. His life had been altered forever and there was no quick fix for that.

It was now a few days since he had last spoken with Nia. It had been a quick chat, the first time she had answered any of his calls. Now, Evan was struggling to resist phoning her again. Even just to say hello. But the day was a busy one. He quickly got wrapped up in the charge of a new mission, and managed to put her out of his mind for a few hours.

He was working a surveillance plan for the senator’s office when his cell phone rang. It was Nia, and his first thought was that something was wrong.

“Nia? Hi,” he stated, trying to seem casual, unaffected.

“Hi, Evan. I hope I’m not interrupting you at work,” she stated politely.

“No, not at all. I’m just sitting around eating bonbons, counting my limitless cash supply,” he quipped, missing the freedom to tease her.

“Ha-ha, very cute,” she shot back, though he could hear the smile in her voice. “Jokes like that are only funny when poor people make them. It’s called irony.”

“Hey, I’m a working man. I earn a paycheck like everyone else. I’m allowed.” It wasn’t exactly accurate, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Whatever,” she dismissed.

There was a small pause.

“What’s going on, Nia?” he finally asked, sitting back in his chair.

“I just got a very strange phone call that I thought I should tell you about. It was from Matt Flannigan’s girlfriend.”

Evan sat up straighter, caught off guard by her statement.

“Jennifer Coombs. Why was she calling you?” he asked.

“She just called the office looking for Chris.”

“What did she want?”

“That’s the strange part,” Nia explained. “Do you remember the call I told you I overheard? Where Chris said he was trying to find her to get something back?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“I think it was cocaine. She said to tell Chris that she flushed the coke down the toilet and to never call her again.”

“That’s everything?” he asked, now walking out of his office toward the bull pen where Raymond and the other agents on the team sat.

“That’s all. She just hung up after that.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know, Nia.”

“Okay. But there’s one more thing.”

Evan stopped midstride.

“I have some preliminary estimates for your collection,” she stated.

He clenched his jaw. She only wanted to talk about business.

“I wondered how you would like to review it. I can just e-mail it to you, then you can let me know if you have any questions. The options are well outlined, in terms of how you can sell or auction them off,” she continued.

Then what? His dad’s art collection was the last thing that connected them.

“I’d like to review them with you if that’s okay,” he replied.

“Over the phone?” asked Nia.

He looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes to three.

“No, in person. Tomorrow. How about nine o’clock in the morning?”

There was silence in response.

“Evan,” she finally whispered.

“In fact, I’ll be in Boston this evening. We can have dinner tonight and finish off my contract tomorrow.”

She paused again and Evan suddenly felt as though he had to see her. As though if they didn’t meet tonight, he might never see her again. He couldn’t explain the irrational thought but his heart started beating like a drum in his chest.

“I’ll pick you up at the gallery later. Let’s say, at six o’clock?” he pressed.

“Aren’t you in Alexandria? How can you possibly be here by then?” she questioned.

“Don’t worry about it. Six o’clock, Nia.”

“No.” His heart stopped, painfully. “Pick me up at home. I’ll be there by then.”

Evan grinned, feeling the adrenaline now coursing through his veins.

“It’s a date,” he confirmed before disconnecting.

Evan jogged over to Raymond’s desk to give him the update. The agent looked relieved to see him.

“Hey, looks like we can finally cross Chris Morton and Coombs off the list on the Worthington mission,” Evan announced. “Turns out Morton was only chasing Flannigan’s girlfriend for some lost drugs.”

He repeated what Nia had told him about the cocaine. But Raymond just nodded and waved his hand dismissively.

“Good, but Ice, I was just about to call you. I think I have something on Walsh.”

“That’s great! Go ahead and send me the details,” Evan replied as he turned away, already thinking about everything he needed to do to get one of the choppers in the air within the next thirty minutes. “I’m headed for an overnight trip to Boston, so I’ll read it when I land.”

He was back across the office floor to his office before Raymond could respond. Within another fifteen minutes, he had everything he needed for the trip. That included a packed duffel bag in his office that was always ready and stocked with two extra sets of clothes and toiletries. It was an old habit from the agency, one he was grateful he hadn’t let slide.

With his bag strung across his chest, Evan found both his partners sitting in one of the smaller boardrooms, reviewing some files.

“You going somewhere?” Sam asked with a sardonic lift of his brow.

“I’m taking chopper two,” he stated.

“Okay,” Lucas replied simply. Fortis had two leased helicopters, ready to fly at all times to support their missions.

“Anything you care to share with us?” added Sam.

“I’m going to Boston. I’ll be working there tomorrow, but I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be back. Monday morning at the latest to start the senator’s case on the ground,” Evan explained, very aware that he sounded a little off the hinges. He didn’t care.

“All right then. Go get your woman,” Sam ordered, almost cracking a smile.

“Keep us posted,” added Lucas, grinning like a fool, and looking a little like Evan felt. “No details or anything. I’m not into that. Just the highlights. Sam needs tips.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Evan chided.

His two friends continued to provoke each other as he left the building.

The hangar and landing pad were at the rear of the Fortis property. Evan had one of the machines started up and inspected by three-fifteen. He remembered the private heliport about ten minutes from Nia’s place. Before takeoff, he sent a note to Sandra Blake asking her to arrange landing approval, and for a car to meet him on the ground in Boston. She acknowledged his request in less than a minute, proving that his interim CEO title at DaCosta Solutions certainly had it perks.

With everything in place, Evan lifted the powerful machine into the air to start the two and a half hour flight at top speed. Hopefully, it was enough time to figure out a game plan to convince Nia they should be together. By the time he landed the chopper, Evan had it all worked out. Nia was afraid of love, scared to trust him. So, they would date, like at the beginning, for as long as needed. He just had to remind her of how much fun they had, when they were just two people getting to know each other, before his Fortis role was uncovered. And Evan would be there for as long as it took, without expecting her to make any changes in her life. If that meant rethinking his life, then so be it.

Maybe Fortis needed an office in Boston. Or he could accept the DaCosta CEO role permanently and run the company from Massachusetts. There were plenty of feasible scenarios, with nothing to stop him from doing whatever he wanted. For once in his life, Evan was truly grateful for the financial security that made the various options possible.

Sandra came through, and there was a car and driver waiting near the landing pad. At five-fifty, Evan was on his way through South Boston with a few minutes to spare. He sent the executive assistant an e-mail to say thanks, followed by a text message to Lucas confirming his touchdown. When the driver pulled the car up to the curb in front of Nia’s apartment, the lights were out suggesting he had managed to beat her to the finish line. Jogging up to the door, Evan knocked, not surprised when there was no answer. He went back to the car to wait for her arrival.

Almost fifteen minutes later, he was still waiting and was now concerned. Particularly since her cell phone and work phone rang unanswered. Nia James was punctual to a fault and he had no doubt she would have called if she were running behind schedule.