Undercover Lover (10 page)

Chapter Thirteen

D
rake slept like the dead and was still out like a light the next morning when Pam’s alarm went off. She kissed him, trailing her fingers down his muscled chest and over the muscles of his arms. He was all hers. She resisted the urge to fling herself over him and beg him to make love to her again. For one, they were out of condoms, and for two, she had Oksana coming in today for a Reiki appointment.

That fact hit her like a cold shower, and she went to take a warmer one.

The smell of coffee made her smile when she got out. Drake was out of bed and apparently making breakfast with nothing but an apron on.

“That’s a good look for you,” she said, admiring his muscled backside.

“I like yours, too. I don’t suppose you’d consider letting me borrow that towel?”

Pam opened it up and did a little wiggle, then closed it again when he came after her with the spatula.

“You’ll burn the eggs,” she squealed as he moved in to kiss her good morning with enthusiasm.

“Good morning,” she said, watching as he turned off the eggs. “We don’t have any protection,” she reminded him as he pulled the apron off and strode toward her with his appreciation of her towel flash very evident.

“We won’t need any.” He picked her up and laid her across the table.Being on time was overrated anyway, she thought as his mouth kissed her belly and began to move lower.

About an hour later, Pam scolded him for making her late for work and hurried back into the bedroom to get dressed. Drake took a long shower, feeling the stress of the past week slough off, along with most of his troubles.

Pam was brushing her teeth when he got out of the shower, and all he wanted to do was strip the prissy suit off her and have his way with her again.

“No, you don’t,” she told him after rinsing her mouth. “Dry off before you come near me.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to make you all wet…again,” he said.

“Stop at the drug store tonight,” she said.

“Don’t leave without me. I want to drive you to work as long as Vadim is out there.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

“That wasn’t a request,” he said, toweling himself off.

“Then hurry up. I’m going to be late.”

“You weren’t complaining an hour ago,” he said.

“I didn’t even know my own name an hour ago,” she said, kissing him again.

His cell phone rang. “I’d better get that.”

“And put on your pants while you’re at it. I’ll make us some coffee to go.”

“I could get used to this,” Drake said and then answered his phone. “Yeah?”

“Got a break on your godfather’s case,” Johansson said.

“Go ahead.” Drake methodically got dressed as his body tensed.

“Looks like a new jailbird is in town with
vor
ties. His name is Dmitry Krupin. Get this. His sister is that hot doctor that Nikolai was seeing.”

“Yeah?” Drake said, buttoning his shirt. “What’s the break?”

“I got two eye witnesses that put the jailbird on the scene around the time of Nikolai’s death. We got people looking for him, but I wanted to give you the heads-up. We’re making progress.”

“Thanks,” Drake said and cut off the conversation. Rubbing his face, he tried to reconcile his feelings. The woman he’d just made love to, her brother may have killed his godfather.

By the time he got on his jacket and tie, Pam was at the door handing him a Styrofoam to go cup. “It’s now or never,” she told him.

“I’m coming,” he said.

“Are you feeling all right? You look like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

He shook his head. “Have you seen your brother lately?”

Pam’s eyes slid away, and alarm bells started going off in his head. “Yeah,” she said as they walked out the door.

“Where?”

“At the hospital last night.”

“I told you not to go back there.”

“Well, you were right. He made short work of the locks.”

“Did he threaten you?”

“No, he was looking for something he thought Nikolai might have given me.”

“Did he say what?”

“He didn’t know himself.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Drake demanded.

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“Breaking and entering is important.”

“He didn’t take anything,” Pam said. “He just wanted to talk to me.” She got into his car when he held the passenger side door open for her. Any other time, she’d be glad to be chauffeured around, especially since hers was still in the shop. But this meant she had to listen to Drake all the way to work.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t have a point. She just didn’t like being pulled in two directions. On one arm was the brother she hadn’t seen in ten years, and the other was her new lover, the man who wanted to put him back in prison. The fact that Darren was a criminal and Drake had every reason to arrest him just made her more confused and guilty.

“I don’t want you talking to him again. Not without me there,” Drake said, starting the car.

“Why?”

“He’s a dangerous man.”

“He’s my brother,” she said.

“Don’t trust him. I think he’s got something to do with Nikolai’s death.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I don’t know,” Drake said. “He’s wanted for selling drugs. You should have called the cops.”

“I wanted to talk to my brother,” she said.

“There’s a warrant out for his arrest.”

“How the heck would I know that?”

“I told you.”

“When?”

“At Nikolai’s funeral,” he said.

Pam frowned. “Did you? We talked about it, but I don’t remember you specifically saying.”

“Don’t split hairs. This is a good way to get charged with aiding and abetting.”

Pam held out her wrists. “Book me, Dano.”

“I don’t want to arrest you.”

“Then knock it off.”

“I want to talk to your brother about where he was the night Nikolai died.”

“Is it because he’s an ex-con?”

“That’s part of it.”

Pam didn’t talk to him on the way to the hospital. She couldn’t bear the thought that Darren had hurt Nikolai. She couldn’t even think that he might have killed him. She shook her head and looked out the window. This couldn’t be happening

“Thanks for the ride,” she said when Drake pulled up to the hospital’s main doors to drop her off.

“Hey.” Drake popped his head out the window. “Are we still on for tonight?”

She turned around and regarded him in exasperation. Hadn’t they just had a fight?
Then she looked into his sizzling green eyes, and that charmer’s smile got to her. “Yeah.” She smiled. “I still think you’re wrong about Darren, but I’m looking forward to changing your mind.”

Drake waved his hand and watched her go into the hospital. He could have reminded her that they had her brother on tape walking out of the hospital with stolen drugs. But he didn’t. In the end, they shouldn’t be letting that affect their relationship.

Relationship? Whoa, where did that come from?

He couldn’t let her cloud his mind, but damn, did he want to. She had burrowed under his skin. Now that he was between cases, he really should book a vacation. Maybe steal away with her to the Caribbean, or somewhere she could wear really skimpy bikinis and drink rum with him. A horn blasted behind him, and he resisted giving them the finger, since he was technically not supposed to be parked there. As he was pulling away though, a flash of black caught his eye, and he saw a man with a black trench coat dart into the hospital.

Drake double-parked and showed his shield to the car behind him and to the security guard who moved in to tell him to move his car. He crossed the lobby in time to see the man get into the elevator and face out. No question. It was Darren—Dmitry...whatever he wanted to call himself—and he was headed up toward his sister’s office.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Drake called in his partner. “Yeah, I’m about to take Dmitry Krupin in for questioning. Can you clear a room for me?”

“Will do. Are you taking in the sister too?”

“No,” Drake snapped. “Why would I do that?”

“Seems convenient. Nikolai’s her patient. Her brother shows up in town, and suddenly Nikolai’s dead,” Mark said.

“Just get the interrogation room ready,” Drake growled and pocketed the phone.

What a stupid thing for Mark to say. Just because it scanned didn’t mean it made it true. Just because she’d slept with him and they’d had mind-blowing sex didn’t mean she was playing him, did it? He hoped not, because he was pretty sure he was half in love with her, and that would break his heart.

“She’s just a chick,” he told himself.

Drake walked into Pam’s office.

“Can I help you?” her secretary said.

He flashed his badge and opened the closed door to the office.

Pam was making coffee and turned at the door. Dmitry sprang to his feet even as Drake lunged for him.

“What are you doing?” Pam screeched as the two men went down on the floor, wrestling.

“Your brother is under arrest for stealing drugs, and he’s a person of interest in regards to my godfather’s murder. I’m bringing him in for questioning,” Drake said.

Dmitry rolled on top and blocked Drake from hitting him. “I’m innocent, you stupid cop.”

“Drake, stop this. We can settle this rationally.”

“Get off me.” Drake bucked, and Dmitry was thrown. He made to run for the door, but Drake tackled him against the wall and landed a vicious punch on Dmitry’s jaw.

“That’s enough.” Pam grabbed his arm.

For a moment, Drake saw her as the enemy. She let him go and backed away from him. He cuffed Dmitry, who had been massaging his jaw. He pulled him to his feet.

“I’d better not find that you are involved in Nikolai’s death,” Drake said to her before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

“How dare you?” she said, looking mad enough to chuck the coffee cup at him.

Dmitry laughed. “He’s a stupid pig. He’s got nothing, and now he’s trying to frame me.”

“Shut up,” Drake said and hauled him out of the office.

Pam followed. “Don’t you hurt him. Darren, do you want me to call a lawyer?”

“
Nyet
,” he said. “Don’t do me any more favors.”

“Drake,” she said, but he couldn’t look at her. Not now. Not when the words were still between them. He couldn’t begin to take them back. What if they were true? What if he’d just given his heart away to a beautiful woman who was playing him like a fiddle?

“You’re an idiot,” Dmitry said.

“Shut up.”

He walked Dmitry out past a few gawkers and patted him down for weapons against the car. He came away with a nine millimeter and a nine-inch knife.

“Well, what do we have here?” Drake said. “I’m pretty sure that violates your parole.”

“Blow me,” he said.

“Nice mouth.” Drake secured him in the back seat and drove him to the station. He walked him past the bull pen and had a uniform book him while he logged in the pistol and knife.

“Do I get a phone call?” Dmitry asked.

“You going to lawyer up?”

“You haven’t read me my rights yet.”

“I haven’t charged you with anything,” Drake said.

“Could have fooled me.”

“Why don’t we have a nice conversation first?” Drake led him into the conference room that Mark was standing in front of.

“If you insist,” Dmitry said. “Are you going to uncuff me?”

“If you’re cooperative.”

“We’re in a cop shop. What are you expecting me to do?”

“Sit down and tell me what you know about Nikolai Egorov,” Johansson said, sitting at the conference table next to his partner.

“Let me guess,” Dmitry said as Drake and Mark also sat at the table. “You’re the good cops to their bad cops.”

“There won’t be any good cops if you don’t answer the question,” McNally said.

“Nikolai was a frequent visitor to Russia. He imported a great many things. Not all of them were vodka.”

“Are you
vor
?” Johansson asked.