Wine and Roses (3 page)

Slowly, he rose from his lying position. Before straightening to his full height, he grabbed his shades off the table, covered those gorgeous eyes and stretched. She wanted to be a cat and crawl all over him. “Good morning,” he said.

His voice low and a little husky from sleep, but it also sounded exactly the same way the night she’d lost her mind and spent it with him. She shook her head. Not going there.

“Morning,” she repeated, her brain too dull to think of anything else.

He came over to her, his unbound hair brushing over his shoulder and stood watching her at the side of her bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” And she spoke the truth, watching this beautiful man would make anyone better. “I don’t feel like I’m cooking in my own skin any more, more normal. I think I might have turned a corner.”

He smiled. “Good.”

“So when do you think I’ll be released?”

“When the doctor says it’s safe and not a second before.”

She frowned. She couldn’t let him dictate to her. Their one night of togetherness was an aberration, and best he know it. “I’ll decide that.”

His body leaned toward her, like he wanted to say something, yet before he could reply, the door opened, and her doctor walked in.

“Good morning, Ms. Stiles.”

“Good morning, doctor.” A slender and pretty red-headed nurse came in behind him. One she couldn’t remember seeing before, although she’d been out of it the last couple of days. Suddenly, the woman stopped before she reached the bed. Eboni frowned, how odd. Until she realized the woman’s gaze rested not on her but Simon. He stood on the other side of the bed. Yeah. No surprise he attracted women like ants to sugar; she’d seen it both times he’d walked into the salon. The stylists stopped all activity for a second to admire and track the beauty of the man in their midst.

“Nurse,” the doctor said. His voice must have broken the woman out of her stupor because she continued forward to help the doctor and do her job. They examined her and took her temperature. “Well, it looks like your temperature is down to normal.” The antibiotics are doing their jobs. Excellent. You’re still a little congested but nothing worse than you’d have with a cold.”

“Great. So can I get out of here today?”

The doctor smiled. “Let’s see how you do the rest of the day. If your temperature remains steady and your breathing continues to improve, then I don’t see why you can’t be released in the morning.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Simon said.

“You’re welcome. Now there’s a detective standing outside waiting to question you, if you feel up to it.”

“Oh,” she said. “Ah yeah, I guess that would be fine.”

“I think he’s got some pictures for you to look at,” Simon spoke up. “But if you’re not ready, it can wait until tomorrow.”

“No. I need to get this over with. Get this guy off the street.”

“All right,” the doctor said. “I’ll send him in.” The doctor left and the nurse remained. She entered something on the chart at the end of the bed but her gaze kept drifting over to Simon. When the detective walked in, she couldn’t stall anymore.

The man who entered the room was ubber good looking. He and Simon bore or conveyed a similar look and coloring, however he didn’t have Simon’s sensuality. The nurse glanced up at the detective then back and forth between him and Simon. Finally, she sighed and left the room. Eboni noticed all of this and grinned while Simon moved around the bed to shake the detective’s hand.

“Eboni, you remember Detective Jackson?”

“Of course, you questioned me the other night.”

The detective moved closer to the bed to shake her hand. “I also worked on your sister’s harassment case. I hope you’re feeling better, Ms. Stiles.”

“Yes, thank you, I am.” The touch of his hand did nothing for her. Not the way Simon made her want with just a look. Detective Jackson with his dark blue eyes and square jaw was attractive, but on closer inspection with Simon in the room, well, Jackson swam out of his league.

The detective held up the briefcase in his hand. “I’ll like to get a basic description of the person you saw, and we can try some face recognition software, see if we can find a match.”

“Okay. I can do that. Is this in lieu of a sketch artist?” she asked.

“Yes. This program is very good.” Jackson pulled up one of the two chairs in the room closer to the bed. He moved the empty food tray over her lap to rest the computer on. After opening it up he pressed a few buttons. Simon moved around to the other side of the bed near her left side to see the screen.

“What you are looking at are several head and face shapes,” Jackson explained. “Choose the one you think closest resembles the person you saw. Then move on to other features hair color, length, etc. Then on the next page we’ll move on to the various features in the face like shapes, nose, and eyes, and then into facial coloring. If you can identify his build we can add that, too.”

She shifted the laptop and glanced at the images on the screen. “Oh, I get it. Sorta like creating an avatar. Cool. And at the end it will come up with a picture of the guy?” she asked.

“That’s what we hope,” the detective said.

She worked silently for a few minutes to get the hang of the software then another several minutes creating an image. But at all times very aware of both men in the room watching her from either side.

“There,” she finally said. “That’s him. That’s the guy.”

“Are you sure?” Simon asked.

Something in the way he asked the question had her turn toward him. “Yes, positive. Why?”

“Just that he looks familiar.”

Eboni couldn’t hide her shock. “You know him?”

“I think so. Looks a lot like Len Bennis, a mercenary.”

“Hmm, may I?” Detective Jackson asked before reaching for the laptop.

“Oh, of course.” She lifted it off the table tray to hand it to him.

The detective took the laptop and typed something then turned the laptop so she could see the photograph he pulled up. “Is this the man you saw?”

“My God! That is him!”

“Are you sure?” Jackson asked again.

After she nodded, the detective moved the screen back to himself. “Okay, if you’ll excuse me for a moment I need to make a few calls. I’ll be right back.” He turned with the laptop in hand toward the door. Simon followed behind him. “I’ll be back,” he said, closing the door after them.

***

Jackson walked over to the end of the nurse’s station placed the laptop down. “Okay, what’s the deal?” Simon asked.

“If you know this guy then you probably already know.”

“All I know is he’s former military, a hired gun, and a real asshole.”

Jackson looked at the screen. “You didn’t hear this from me, but I know you have access to it. Lenard Gary Bennis, ex-military. Honorable discharge. Seems to have a string of jobs as bodyguard to some interesting people on the FBI watch list. Suspected for years to be involved with questionable activities, one involved a shooting of an American in Jerusalem involved in sensitive talks, another a diplomat, a courier for the Saudi government. The authorities found the courier dead in the bathroom of a plane this Bennis guy happened to be on. The coroner ruled it death by natural causes but the information the courier carried was never found. This guy’s name comes up in connection with two more deaths of foreign nationals in suspicious manners, but he’s never been held for anything. He also conveniently leaves the country at just the right time. So far he’s never been touched. About a year ago, he disappeared off the grid.”

“Can you find out the name of his last employer?” Simon asked.

“Not sure. But I’ll make a few calls.”

“So will I. I might be able to find out faster. I’ll pass it along.”

“How do you know this guy?”

“He was the head of security for a corporate exec a few years ago, and we butted heads. My agency ended up taking over the security job. I didn’t like him then, and now I’m glad.”

“This means we might finally be able to pin something on this bastard,” the detective said.

“It also means Eboni is in danger.”

“Don’t worry. I’m taking care of that.” Jackson pulled out his phone and moved away from Simon, who frowned at the detective’s back. He returned to Eboni’s room.

Chapter Three

“I’m…a witness aren’t I? Am I in danger?” she asked Simon as soon as he opened the door. She’d been scared before, knowing she’d witnessed a murder, but the police presence at the hospital and Simon put her at ease. The fact Simon recognized the guy and both the detective and Simon left the room scared the shit out of her. This wasn’t just a robbery or something gone bad.

“No,” Simon quickly stated. “This guy’s not going to get near you.”

“What did you and the detective talk about? What did he say?”

Simon stared at her for a moment before responding. “This guy is ex-military and is wanted for questioning in several suspicious deaths of government officials. So far he’s never been caught. Always leaving the area, disappearing before he can be questioned. But you have nothing to worry about.”

Detective Jackson entered the room and must have heard Simon’s last statement. “That’s right, Ms. Stiles. You’re going to have round the clock police protection until we catch this suspect.”

“Are you saying he’s some kind of assassin?” she asked Simon.

The men glanced back and forth between each other. “We’re not sure of anything yet,” Detective Jackson answered. “Merely taking precautions.”

“But…if what you’ve said is true and no one’s been able to catch him before, what makes you think you can now?”

Simon grinned. “She has a point. Besides you and I both know sooner or later the feds will become involved. This was no random kill.”

“Well, until I know otherwise I’m treating this as a local matter. I’ve made a few phone calls but I need to get back to the precinct. Start by bringing this guy in for a line up.”

“Do you know who he killed?” Eboni asked.

“Not yet. We’re still working on that. There was no wallet on the man.”

“Okay, can you let us know as soon as you find out?” Simon asked.

“If we can ID him. When will you be released?” Jackson asked Eboni.

“I’m hoping first thing in the morning.”

“Okay. A uniform officer will be stationed at your front door, and there’ll be added drive-bys to your neighborhood.”

“And I will be inside,” Simon said.

She cringed at the thought of being confined in her small space with Simon for an indeterminate amount of time. No way could she be around him and not want him again. The police should be able to handle this. “I don’t think that will be necessary….”

“Like hell it isn’t.” His tone remained firm, insistent.

“What!” She frowned. “You are not speaking to me that way.”

“Ah, I think now might just be a good time for me to go. I’ll give you a call later.” Eboni watched the detective leave; she waited until he shut the door behind him before turning to face Simon. “Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but I’m sure I’ll be fine. The police appear to have this all in hand, and there’s no need for you to waste your time worrying about me.”

He shifted so his entire rather large body frame leaned forward, towering over her. “In case you haven’t been paying attention, this guy has never been caught.”

“But….”

He shook his head, and his hair fell across his face. He quickly brushed it back with his hand, the sight of those long blunt fingers momentarily distracting her. “There is no but,” he stated. “This guy’s been a suspect in other suspicious deaths, wanted for questioning and manages to disappear until after most of the files are closed. He hasn’t even been spotted for a year. And now he pops up, and there’s another death. Look, I like Detective Jackson, but no way are these cops going to find a guy like this, and the feds will become involved as soon as they get wind Len Bennis is a suspect in a murder investigation.”

“Well, won’t that be a good thing. If the local police can’t handle this then perhaps the FBI or somebody should get involved. They would have resources the local cops won’t. Shouldn’t they? So either way I’d still be fine. Besides, like you said he always disappears so he’s probably long gone.”

“Babe, you still don’t get it. This was no random killing; this guy is a hired gun. He is not going to leave behind a witness.”

Her heart raced at his words. At the daunting thought some maniac might really be trying to find her. It all sounded like some suspense movie. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”

Simon straightened up. “I’m sorry.” The tone of his voice softened like he tried to calm her. “You don’t need to worry about this. I will not let him near you. Once he realizes you won’t be that easy to get to he’ll move on. He’ll have no choice because he won’t be able to hang around here for long. The longer he stays the greater the chances that he’ll get caught.”

“Okay that…that makes sense.” She took a deep breath. “What about Ross and Shanna? Should we call them let them know?” They’d gotten back yesterday and spent the day by her side until Simon sent them home.

“Yeah, I’ll call and give Ross an update.” He took out his phone but a nurse walked in, not the younger one who ogled Simon earlier. She appeared to be in her late fifties early sixties, gray hair shot through the brown, and introduced herself as “Barbara.” And yep, she admired Simon, too. In fact, she flirted outrageously with him, but she had a nice pleasant demeanor as she removed the tube feeding medicine through her vein. Barbara told him she’d buried three husbands and if he weren’t already taken, she’d be willing to take him on as her fourth. Confident he’d last more than six months like the others.

“Child,” she addressed Eboni. “I’d put a bag over this one’s head so the nurses don’t see those fine looks. But then again you might need a bigger bag to cover up all of him.” She laughed at her own joke.

“Are you kidding me? I’d need to be ten years younger just to keep up,” Simon said laughing with her.

Since Simon didn’t correct Barbara about the nature of their relationship, Eboni, wasn’t going to either. She laughed, too. She didn’t mind this woman’s flirting. Yet she minded the young pretty red-head. Not because the young nurse seemed attracted to Simon, for that she couldn’t blame her, but she didn’t do her job. Unlike Barbara, who did her job and was also funny.