Love & Redemption (16 page)

That was what he didn’t understand and had him confused. He tried to tell himself it didn’t matter, that Shelley was just some lady he barely knew. If she decided to sleep with Ken, it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t matter.

But it did. It mattered a lot.

“Is everything okay with Shelley?” Jenessa asked.

“I hope so.” Gavin shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. She was flirting with Ken when I left to lock up the diamonds, and now she’s out with him.”

“Oh.” Jenessa’s eyes widened. “Well, I hate to say anything bad, because I really do like Shelley, but we both know what that means.”

Gavin looked at the ground, willing away the crushing pressure against his heart. He couldn’t feel bad about this, not after only a week. It wasn’t like Shelley didn’t warn him how she was, but he thought they made a real connection. He believed her when she agreed they should wait and see if they had something special between them.

Sadly, it seemed that wasn’t reason enough for her to turn down a date with Sergeant Ken Travers. She had been awfully upset when she learned about the children who died in the mall. Maybe she really did hold Gavin responsible for not letting her shoot Stephen and Terrance in the parking garage.

Whatever her reasons for going with Ken, Jenessa was right.

“Yeah, I guess we do know how she is,” he answered softly. “I just hope she’s careful. I don’t want her hurt.”

“Try not to worry. Shelley can take care of herself.” Jenessa smiled. “How ‘bout we grab some food? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Then, you can drive me back to the hotel. I don’t have my own fancy car, and I hate riding in cabs. I’m always afraid I’ll get some crazed psycho in a false cab instead of a real driver.”

Gavin shrugged. It wasn’t like he had any other plans. He forced a smile. “Sounds good.”

Jenessa grabbed her purse and turned to the agent. “Give me a call if anything suspicious comes up, okay, Dan?

Dan nodded, and Jenessa slipped her arm through Gavin’s, leading him into the hallway.

As they waited for the elevator she said softly, “I’m kind of glad we’ll get a little time alone. You seem like a nice guy, but Nick did ask me to find out about this embezzlement problem you have.”

Chapter Sixteen

Shelley maintained eye contact with Ken, licking her lips and then taking the straw into her mouth. The slight bulge of his eyes said she was having the desired effect. Men like him were all alike. She knew what they wanted.

“The truth is,” she said, twirling hair between her fingers, “Paul has a point in all this, and he sounds convincing. He fooled me for a while. He’s smart and makes good sense when you talk to him.”

Ken leaned into her, caressing her arm with the back of his hand. Shelley tried to tamp down her body’s reaction to his touch. He was handsome, powerful, and interested in her. That fulfilled all the criteria she normally required to take a man immediately to bed.

“Don’t worry.” He moved his hand to her leg, resting it above the knee. “No one on my team works for him. They wouldn’t do that.”

“You’re sure? They’d think they were doing the right thing. Helping people, not hurting them.” She moved closer to him. “There’s no one who suddenly has more money than usual? Or maybe they’ve been more secretive, stopped going out with the others for a beer after their shift?”

“Why don’t we stop talking about work?” Ken’s hand slid up her thigh. “It can wait until later. All I’ve wanted since first meeting you is to find out whether your lips are as soft as they look.”

He leaned into her, angling his mouth toward hers.

Shelley took a deep breath, torn about what to do. How far was she willing to go?

“Sorry to interrupt, but your food’s ready.” Their teenage waitress stood over them, her hands full.

Scooting back from Ken, Shelley smiled at the girl. “No interruption at all. I’m starved, and that smells delicious.”

Ken glared at the plate set in front of him. “Once we’re done eating, we should finish this conversation in your hotel room.”

***

Jenessa wiped a smear of mayonnaise off her chin. “Let’s not beat around the bush, Gavin. Tell me what happened at Graystone Spa and Resorts.”

Gavin chewed his fry thoroughly, trying to cover his surprise. “You guys sure move fast. I didn’t tell Nick where I worked. How did you find all this out?”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “My job is information. I know you were in juvenile detention from the age of fourteen until eighteen, got your GED there, and then went on to college for a degree in business management.”

“How did you...?” Gavin shook his head and took a gulp of soda. His records should have been sealed, but he’d heard rumors about information the government had access to. Besides, from what Shelley said, there were no secrets from Jenessa. She hacked into encrypted computer files as easily as Gavin slipped into locked offices.

“After that,” Jenessa continued around another mouthful of hamburger, “you went to work for Aaron Graystone, and your future looked bright.”

Gavin handed her extra napkins from the dispenser on the table. Good manners obviously weren’t a requirement for everyone at the FBI.

She had the grace to blush and wipe her face, thankfully chewing the remainder of what was in her mouth without speaking.

“It’s always nice to hear my history from someone else,” he said, hoping she didn’t miss the sarcasm. “Especially my sealed juvenile records.”

“What happened at the Graystone? There was a police complaint that was later withdrawn by Aaron Graystone himself, but the initial report says embezzlement.” Jenessa shrugged. “Nick has a good feeling about you, but he won’t bring someone into our group full time that he can’t trust. Care to explain?”

“Some women will cheat and lie to get what they want.” He sighed, staring out the diner window and wondering where Shelley was even as he said this. Had she really gone off with Ken Travers for a date? “I became romantically involved with Aaron Graystone’s daughter, Crystal. She decided to be done with me just when Daddy decided I was the perfect match as partner for his company.”

Jenessa’s eyes went wide. “So you knew he’d fire you when Crystal lost interest, and you embezzled money to get back at them for dropping you?” She almost sounded impressed. “How much did you get away with?”

Breathing deeply, Gavin reminded himself Jenessa didn’t know him. All she knew was he stole diamonds and spent time in juvie. Of course she thought he embezzled money. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t do anything wrong. Aaron planned to make me a partner. He wanted Crystal and I married. She was supposed to dump her...friend and stay with me. I wouldn’t steal from Aaron. He was my mentor. Closest thing I’d had to a father since mine passed away.”

“But then...” Jenessa shook her head. “I don’t get it. Crystal was diddling some other dude and Daddy didn’t like it. How’d you get in trouble?”

“In private, I stopped being with Crystal months earlier, once I found out about the new guy. She didn’t want to leave him. We kept up public appearance, but she wasn’t satisfied by that.” Gavin sighed and took another drink.

He wished he hadn’t trusted her to keep her word. Crystal swore if he kept her secret and didn’t tell Aaron she still had a playmate on the side, she’d make sure Gavin made it to the top of the company. Having lived on the streets and been forced to steal to survive, being on top sounded good. Certainly worth faking a relationship and throwing himself into honest, hard work.

“Crystal had a plan to get me out of the way so Aaron wouldn’t want me around, and she could have her new man. By the time I figured out what happened, it was too late. Her new boy toy was a wiz with computers and finance. He set it up to look like I was prepared to embezzle the money, but hadn’t moved it yet.”

Gavin ran a hand over his face. He still couldn’t believe it sometimes. Everything he worked so hard for came crashing down in seconds when Aaron walked into the hotel lobby with the police officers that afternoon.

He looked back at Jenessa. “Remarkably, Crystal and her guy discovered my deception right before the transaction would take place, saving the day and Daddy’s company.”

“And Aaron believed his daughter, because she was his daughter.”

“Yep. He dropped the charges eventually because he said he cared about me, but then went on to blackball me with every major business in the city. Some father figure.” Gavin was right back to being a thief in everyone’s eyes. Stealing the diamonds was the only way for him to get money. Would Nick and Jenessa understand that and give him a chance in their group? “Without a job and no prospects, I became desperate. When rumors circulated the streets about the diamond job and cash to be made, I figured it was my chance to hit it big and start over somewhere new. I contacted an old associate who made a name for himself in underground trade, and then headed to the opera house.”

All that led him to Shelley. He’d fantasized that it was some cosmic plan to get them together, but that was looking less likely. He never received a return text from her. Gavin’s greatest hope was that she worked on something. Their dinner might be a date in Ken’s mind, but maybe Shelley had a different agenda.

Jenessa clucked her tongue. “People do crazy things for lust.”

Surely Jenessa didn’t mean Shelley wouldn’t answer because of lust. He had to believe in her. Shelley was changing her life, the same way he was.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Jenessa continued, “I looked into Crystal when clues pointed to the two of you being involved.”

Right...she was talking about Crystal. That seemed like a lifetime ago. All that mattered right now was Shelley. As much as it would hurt him if she slept with Ken, he knew it would hurt her even more.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had to forget what Jenessa said earlier and trust Shelley.

“Crystal got what was coming to her.” Jenessa grinned like a cat who found the cream, obviously pleased. “That new guy left her three weeks after you were booted from the company. He’s dating a French model now.” She let out a braying laugh and ate the last bite of her burger.

Somehow, that news didn’t make Gavin feel better. True, Crystal destroyed his life and he couldn’t exactly wish her well, but she was destined to spend a lonely existence unless she changed.

Gavin was determined to make a better life for himself. But was caring about a woman like Shelley just revisiting the mistakes of his past?

***

Shelley fingered the manila envelope Jenessa gave her while Ken looked for a free spot on the street to park the car. “Are you sure we shouldn’t go to your house?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I told you, my place is a bachelor pad. Too messy for a lady of your beauty. I wasn’t expecting to meet someone so fascinating tonight.”

Chewing the inside of her cheek, Shelley leaned back in the seat. That confirmed what she had already thought. “Have you been thinking about who we should watch?” she asked. “I’m sure Paul has more planned besides the attack on the mall. I don’t want to have planning sessions in front of someone who works for him.”

Ken turned into a spot as another car pulled out, and then shoved the gearshift into park. “Why are you so convinced one of my people is corrupt? If the perp’s getting inside information, it’s more likely your department. We didn’t know anything about the diamonds or Agent Hart until this afternoon. How could we feed that information to anyone?”

“Hmmm...” Shelley considered that. How well did Jenessa know the agents working with her at the FBI? Someone tipped Stephen and Terrance off to where Shelley and Gavin went after the opera. What if it wasn’t through their cell phones, but a double agent? “You have a good point.”

“Of course I do.” Ken pulled the keys from the ignition. He leaned into her, slipping his hand down her shoulder and across her chest while his lips brushed her cheek. “Now that that’s settled, which room’s yours, beautiful?”

***

Gavin paced his hotel room after showering. Still no word from Shelley.

Running his hands through his damp hair, he walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light and looking at his reflection. Finally clean shaven, he looked better than he had since meeting Shelley that first night in the opera house. He practiced a smile, flashing his dimple, and then splashed on aftershave that had been waiting in the room. The smell wasn’t too overpowering, and definitely better than nothing.

Then again, if Shelley was in bed with Ken somewhere tonight, she wouldn’t care whether Gavin wore aftershave or not. In his heart, he tried to believe she wasn’t doing that. Shelley must have a reason for going with Ken, even if she chose not to share it with him. Would she really just go to bed with the jerk, especially after Gavin told her Ken was married?

Shelley said she had a hard time with self-control, but she’d controlled herself around him. Could it be that his looks weren’t enough to turn her on?

True, he wasn’t as muscular as Ken, but other girls never had complaints. A thief couldn’t afford bulky muscles. Climbing buildings and hiding in shadows didn’t require him to be one of those men who couldn’t put his arms down comfortably at his sides. Not that he’d done a lot of stealing lately besides the diamond job, but Gavin did work out to keep himself long and lanky, preferring that look versus the over-developed bodies of other guys.

Gavin returned to the bedroom and checked his phone again. Still nothing. He’d like to sleep and pretend it didn’t bother him, but that wouldn’t happen. Even if he could convince himself not to care, the people in the room next to his talked so loud, the girl giggling so much, he doubted he could tune them out and sleep.

Plus, the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach spoke to the fact that he was starting to worry more than be hurt by her continued silence. What if Ken hadn’t taken no for an answer and Shelley was in trouble?

Galvanized by that thought, Gavin slipped on shoes and grabbed his key. He shot into the hallway and ran down five rooms to pound on Jenessa’s door.

It yanked open and her brown eyes met his. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”