Chapter 1

 

 

Secret agent, Luke Adams, was sent from New York to London to work for MI5. He couldn't have been partnered with anyone more different to him; a rich, stunning aristocrat, who had joined MI5 as a spy. Together, Charlotte and him had been unstoppable, but their differences made sparks fly. Then a twist of fate separated them. Luke had returned to New York to help someone he thought of as his brother, who was in danger, but being impetuous, he had failed to tell anyone that he had left until two days later. By that time, he had lost his job. Luke had spent the next seven years in New York, trying to bring to justice the Mafia family who had killed his loved one. But now things had become too dangerous for him in New York, so he was back in London. Time to find Charlie and see if the sparks could turn to flames.

 

"It's a fine, fine day!" sang the smiling American to himself in his rented convertible.

 

Finally, Luke had untangled himself from the inner city London traffic and found the freedom of the more rural B road. For once, the weather was wonderfully warm in London, and he could feel the strength of the sun on his head and shoulders. The sunshine only enhanced his good mood. It was as though England was welcoming him back. He tried to think of a time when he had enjoyed the sun in New York lately. He used to before all the trouble had started for him there, he was sure. He'd enjoyed going to Central Park, particularly for a picnic with a sexy woman... lying on a blanket next to her... glasses of wine... wondering if he was going to get lucky later that evening. But that was before his vendetta against the Borelli Mafia Mob had taken up every minute of his waking day...before it was dangerous to do something as simple as go on a picnic... before the only women he met in that seedy underworld were loud and brash and only really cared about money and power... before he had ever even gone to the UK... a lifetime ago.

 

Now, for the first time in so long, he felt completely free. Why the hell hadn't he escaped back to the UK sooner? Okay, so he had wanted to avenge Danny's murder and there was no way he was letting the Borelli Mob get away with what they had done, but seven years away from the UK was too long. The stupid thing was, when he'd first been transferred to the UK as a special agent, he'd hated living there. It had rained constantly that first winter, and the food was weird, as were the people… the way they spoke and their funny little traditions. But slowly it had grown on him. His work had been the best part of it all to start with. It had been so rewarding and, let's face it, he'd done pretty damn well on all the assignments he'd been given… well, him and Charlie had. And there was the other attraction of living in the UK, Charlie, his assigned partner.

 

Again, at first, he'd thought having Charlie as a partner was going to be a disaster. The idea of having to babysit a woman in the kind of cutthroat world he was used to had not exactly thrilled him. And even worse was when he'd actually first met her. She was the complete and utter opposite to him; a snobby, upper-class heiress who looked and dressed like a damn glamour girl. But it wasn't long before he'd had to admit, to himself at least, that he'd been wrong about her. She was one hell of an agent and a damn good partner. Far from babysitting her, she could take care of herself, and had saved his life on more than one occasion. She knew how to use a firearm, that was for sure.

 

But, if he was honest with himself, there was another reason why he had enjoyed working with Charlie so much; she was so damn gorgeous and sexy! He'd have had to be made of stone not to be affected by that. Okay, so she had been snobby and standoffish at times, and trying to get her into bed had proved to be an impossibility; she hadn't even let him so much as kiss her. But despite that, there were moments between them that were so intense. There was something there, a spark, a connection, something simmering, just waiting to explode; he'd felt it so strongly. And now he was back, he was going to find her. He just had to.

 

His only worry however, was how she would react to seeing him again. They hadn't exactly left on the best of terms. She'd been so fuming with him for leaving for New York without telling her, that when he'd phoned a few days later to explain why he'd had to rush back to the USA, she had refused to even speak to him. Okay, so he should have told his boss, and Charlie, before he'd left that he was going, but he had been too focused on protecting Danny before the Mafia could get to him. Then, by the time he'd finally phoned them, he'd already lost his job in London. There was nothing his boss could do, he'd told him, it was out of his hands.

 

So he had spent the next seven years obsessing about bringing down the Borelli mob in New York. After all,  Charlie had left MI5 and he had no job in London anymore anyway. He'd well and truly messed everything up! But now was his opportunity to at least speak to Charlie about why he had left and try to make her understand… that was, if he could find her. Besides, even if he couldn't, he knew that it had been time to leave New York; it had become far too dangerous there for him lately.

 

So there he was, pulling into the exclusive Country Club in the hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd catch her there that day. How often did members go to English country clubs anyway? At least he knew for sure that she was still a member there. It hadn't been too difficult for him to find that out, and her name had been down on all number of organizations related to the club, so she must be there quite a lot. His heart began quickening the closer he got to the entrance at the thought of actually seeing her again that very day.

 

Then an unsettling thought entered his head; what if, God forbid, she'd got married and she was with her husband...or children! Why hadn't he thought of that? How awkward would that be? He paused at the entrance. Maybe he hadn't thought this thing through properly. What should he do?

 

He was seriously considering turning around and leaving, when a young couple suddenly emerged through the front doors, passing him with questioning looks.

 

"Afternoon," he smiled, strolling past them and finally entering. He had come here to see her; he couldn't leave now. Besides, maybe she had done himself and his libido a favour and grown fat and ugly.

 

The interior of the Club was considerably cooler and darker, compared to the bright sunshine he had left outside. It was set in one of those old, historic buildings, like Luke had sometimes seen on the History Channel when he'd flicked through to find something interesting to watch in the evenings, and stopped to see if they would show somewhere in England that he'd been to. It looked like most of the stuff in there, the rugs, paintings, chairs and tables, were antiques. Charlie loved all that kind of stuff.

 

Luke scanned the reception area, which only had a few people wandering through it, apart from a small group of people at the desk who were chatting to the receptionist. He saw no signs of Charlie there and so move swiftly past the reception area to the sunnier garden room, with patio windows which opened onto the lawn at the back. He remembered this place from before. He had picked Charlie up from there in the past. They had used the extensive outer premises for all kinds of weird and wonderful English sporting activities. Today however, most people seemed to be sitting at the white, wrought iron tables and chairs arranged on the lawn, and enjoying afternoon snacks.

 

Luke couldn't help but smile as he observed the scene. He'd been transported from something out of "American Gangster" to something out of a Jane Austen novel! Okay, so he was starting to stand out now. He'd sit at one of those tables and order something; give himself a chance to talk to the waitress or someone about Charlie.

 

It was as he walked across the lawn, heading for one of the empty tables, that his eyes picked out a head of dark shimmering hair amongst the diners and his heart did a little leap of hope. The head turned, and once in profile, he realized in an instant that it was her. Adrenalin coursed through him, freezing him to the spot when, for one moment, he thought she had seen him. She turned again however, back to the man she was sitting with. Damn. That could be awkward. He was hoping to find her alone, or with friends. Then again, of course she would have been with a guy; he should have expected that. Well, he'd come that far, he may as well see it through. He'd take a seat and wait for her to spot him. Then he'd have time to judge her reaction.

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

"Did you see Eddie's face when he lost that last game?" Charlie laughed.

 

The tall, blonde man sitting across the table from Charlie laughed with her. "Sure. He was almost as surprised as Linda was for winning," he replied in an American accent.

 

Charlie closed her eyes and shook her head, bursting into laughter again. "I can just see his wiggle as he rolled his ball across the green."

 

"And his expression when Linda knocked the jack out," the man added.

 

"Who'd have thought a few games of bowls could be so much fun," she giggled.

 

"Yeah, it is when they're playing."

 

Charlie finished her glass of champagne and placed it on the table in front of her, folding her arms on the table top. "Well Richard, I can honestly say that I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Thanks for today," she smiled.

 

"No problem," he replied, searching her face thoughtfully. "Oh what the hell," he said suddenly standing up.

 

Charlie watched with dismay as he pulled a small, black box out of his trouser pocket and got down on one knee.

 

Not again! How many times did she have to make excuses for turning him down? He was persistent; she had to give him that. Maybe she should just give in and accept. Hmm, no, she wasn't ready for marriage again... not now anyway.

 

"Charlie..." he began.

 

"Richie," she interrupted, covering her hands with his and closing the box in the process, "we've had quite a lot to drink today; maybe this isn't the right time." Richie's smile slowly faded. Charlie felt awful, but she just wasn't ready to accept, as much as she did like being with him. "You might change your mind when you sober up tomorrow," she joked. Okay, that didn't work. "I'm sorry," she said, withdrawing her hands. "Please don't be upset."

 

"Who me?" he shrugged, standing up again, brushing off his trouser leg and taking his seat once more. "Never. But I'll ask you again you know. And I won't stop until you say yes."

 

She smiled reassuringly at him. "We could have one more glass of champagne though," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

 

"Why not?" he smiled back.

 

Charlie turned then to summon a waitress and that was when she saw him.

 

What? No, she must be seeing things; too much champagne.

 

She abandoned her effort to order the champagne and turned back to Richie, her face swiftly losing its colour.

 

"You alright?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm.

 

She cleared her throat. "Err, yes, urm..." She turned her head quickly to see if she had just been imagining things, but no. The rest of the colour left her face. It was him. He was looking straight at her. She swung her head back.

 

"Charlie, what's up?" Richie asked.

 

"Well, it's just that," her head turned again, just in case she had in fact been wrong.

 

Luke gave her a small wave of his fingers.

 

No, it was definitely him.

 

"Charlie?"

 

She shook her head. "Sorry Richie, there's someone sitting over there..." she gestured towards Luke, "He used to be my partner... when I was working as an agent. I haven't seen him for years. In fact, he should be in New York..."

 

"Oh," Richie turned to look.

 

"Anyway, what were we saying?" Charlie went on, trying to refocus.

 

"Champagne?"

 

"Oh yes." She turned again, but again caught sight of Luke, who waved yet again.

 

She growled and turned back to Richie. "I'm so sorry, but he obviously wants something and he's not the kind of person to just go away. Would you mind?"

 

Richie smiled, seeming not to be affected by her request. "No, go speak to him. I'll see if I can order that champagne."

 

"Thanks Richie. I'll not be long," she replied, taking a deep breath before rising out of her seat and beginning the nerve racking walk towards Luke.

 

A sudden strange sensation shot through the pit of Luke's stomach as he watched Charlie stand and walk towards him. He'd forgotten what an impact just the sight of her could sometimes have. He'd seen the effect in other people too. She drew attention to her with her poise, figure and looks... and something else, something which just made it impossible for people not to look. One thing was for sure, she was nowhere near to being fat and ugly... he'd known she wouldn't be... and he was very much afraid for his libido at that moment! But he wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to think about the way her hips swayed as she walked... about the knockout white dress she was wearing that clung to her waist and hips and stopped above the knee, exposing a smooth pair of tanned Charlie legs... or about the way, as she got closer still, he could see that the material fell in folds and dipped daringly down her front... and that, although nothing was exposed beneath the folds, the fun of the dress was to wonder how the folds stayed strategically placed so as not to revel a single thing. Did she do that on purpose, or was she just a natural tease without knowing it?

 

What the hell was he doing there? And how dare he be looking at her like that, making her feel all strange again... her legs all jelly-like. Damn it, he was watching every step she made, and in the most sinful of ways. Couldn't he see what was happening just now; she was about to become engaged... wasn't she? Well, anyway, he wasn't to know that she hadn't made up her mind yet. What right had he to look her up and down like that, in that slow, arrogant, Luke way of his? She'd forgotten about Luke's looks. Nobody she had ever known had looked at her like that, in such an outrageous way. Nobody else had that much cheek! He hadn't changed one bit... but she had. She had moved on. She had a new life now and she was happy with it thank you very much. If he thought he could come back as if nothing had changed and pick up where they left off, he was very much mistaken. Anyway, there was no reason for them to see each other now as they were no longer work colleagues, so that was an end to it.

 

She stopped in front of his table and placed her hands on her hips.

 

Wow! It was most definitely Charlie... in all her upper class, sexy, a little annoyed and bordering on sexually frustrated, glory.

 

"Hiyya Charlie," he grinned, lifting the tea cup in front of him to his lips and taking a sip, whilst his eyes continued to assess her with interest. Apart from her hair, which was now shoulder length, smoother and sleeker, she looked exactly the same. Same bright, intelligent blue eyes, same baby nose, same peaches and cream skin, but most of all, same incredibly inviting, glossy pink lips.

 

"Adams... what?" she began, holding out her hands as she found herself suddenly speechless.

 

"What?" he echoed.

 

She shook her head to clear it. This was absurd. He was sitting there as if seven years had been seven minutes since the last time they saw each other.. as if it was perfectly normal for him to be there. She had so many questions, but the shock of seeing him had jumbled them up in her head. Finally she settled for,

 

"Err, is there any particular reason why you are sitting here in my country club... in England by the way?" she stressed.

 

He pretended to think about the question momentarily before he replied. "Yes, there is."

 

Was he trying to wind her up?

 

"And?" she questioned, her voice rising in pitch as she felt her stress levels increase.

 

He glanced down at his teacup and picked it up with his forefinger and thumb, raising it again, before looking from the cup to Charlie.

 

"I'm having a cup of tea," he grinned, taking another sip to demonstrate.

 

A frown of rising annoyance wrinkled her brow. "Don't they have tea in New York, Adams?"

 

Ok, he needed her in a reasonable mood. He dropped the pretence.

 

"Can we go somewhere to talk?" he asked, lowering the tea cup down into the saucer with a clunk.

 

She folded her arms. "I'm a little busy at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed," she replied incredulously, gesturing behind her to Richie.

 

"Oh yes, such a touching scene," he commented sarcastically. "Can I take a look at the ring?" he asked.

 

She narrowed her eyes at him and gritted her teeth with annoyance. He knew she hadn't accepted it. He must have seen.

 

"Why don't you just tell me what it is you want so we can get this over with?" she replied, avoiding his request.

 

"Now, that's no way to talk to your partner is it Charlie? Don't I get a welcome back kiss or something?" he said, his voice a little harder now too as he reacted to her tone.

 

"You might have done, yes... seven years ago... if you'd have told me you were going in the first place!"

 

Luke noted that she had kept count; she knew it had been seven years. So she wasn't as damn cold as she was acting. Although he was beginning to wonder.

 

"Excuse me if my brother had been kidnapped and murdered by Mafia and I didn't think to phone right away," he retorted, under his breath, aware that heads were turning towards them.

 

She paused for a moment and searched his face suspiciously. "You don't have any brothers."

 

Luke tutted. "He was as good as."

 

"Excuse me..."

 

Charlie felt a hand on the small of her back and swung around a little guiltily. Had she been raising her voice a little too much? It was Richie.

 

"Sorry Charlie, I'm going to have to leave that extra glass of champagne; I said I'd help Eddie out after lunch. You stay here and catch up..." he glanced at Luke "... and I'll phone you later," he finished, passing her handbag to her.

 

Charlie's guy was American. What the hell was she doing with an American?

 

She took hold of his arm however before he had a chance to leave.

 

"No, really, I'll come too. Just give me two seconds..."

 

"Don't be silly; stay and enjoy yourself. We'll speak later, Yes?" he said, lifting a hand to place it in her hair whilst he leant forward to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

 

Luke wriggled in his chair and glanced away.

 

"Well, okay but..."

 

Richie was already heading towards the building. "I'll phone tonight," he said, turning briefly before striding away.

 

"Great. Thank you very much Adams!" she said, throwing her bag down onto the table and sinking into the chair. Well, she wasn't going to stay there arguing with him. Fumbling in her bag, she searched for her mobile phone. She was going to phone for a taxi.

 

"What've I done wrong now?" he snapped back.

 

"What have you done wrong? I was having a perfectly wonderful afternoon before you came and messed it all up. Why are you here Luke?" she asked again, exasperated.

 

"Now you come to mention it, I wanted an explanation. How come you never phoned? No goodbye, nothing?" he accused. "We were partners. You owed me that at least!"

 

"I owed you!" her voice was bordering on a screech. She took a deep breath or else she wasn't going to be able to say what she wanted to without exploding. "First of all, what made you think you were so special that you could just leave for weeks...disappear without a word...flouting all the rules and ignoring your obligations here... and then come back and everything would be the same? What made you think that, hmmm? And secondly..."

 

"You're all about rules and regulations," he barked out, standing suddenly. "What about people who go by their gut instincts," he said, thumping his chest with one fist. "People who don't have time to sit down and write a damn list of the pros and cons before they do anything. People who know whether they want to marry someone or not," he said, gesturing to the table that Charlie and Richie had been sharing. "You want to know something, you can't make no decisions in life 'cause you ain't got no heart lady!"

 

And with that, he turned and strode angrily away.

 

She stared after him in shock. How dare he! There was no way he was leaving her like that, not before she had finished having her say.

 

"Adams! Adams, I haven't finished with you yet!" she shouted, running across the lawn after him.

 

Rather than walking back through the building, Luke headed straight for the car park around the front of the club. Charlie caught up with him just as he reached his car and she slipped between him and the door, preventing him from opening it. Her handbag fell from her shoulder to the floor with a thud. She stood with her back to his hand that was still on the handle of the car door. He could feel that the dress was backless as his hand was in contact with her bare skin.

 

"I haven't finished yet Adams!" she shouted somewhat breathlessly.

 

"Oh really. Do go on then Charlie; I'm going to love to hear this," he replied, observing the effects of her exertions...the redness of her cheeks, the rise and fall of her chest as she fought to regain her breath, the fact that, rather disappointingly, the folds at the front of her dress had not moved at all and were teasing him with what was beneath them.

 

"What do you think I thought when you disappeared for two days?" she asked him.

 

He stood motionless for a few moments, his eyes moving over her face.

 

"Well?" she pushed.

 

More silence.

 

"That I'd gone somewhere," he finally replied. He was surprised to realize that he had actually struggled to answer that question. He hadn't thought of that before, only that she had been mad at him for not being there when he should have.

 

"No Luke," her eyes were burning into his. She tilted her head. "I thought you were dead."

 

Luke frowned.

 

"Someone works in that kind of job and then disappears for days, what did you think I would think? We were partners," she stressed emotionally, "we'd faced death together time and time again. We relied on each other to keep ourselves alive, and I could handle that...but you go off without telling anyone...I..."

 

She paused for a moment and dipped her head, taking a steadying breath.

 

Luke's frown deepened as he watched her and, without him being fully aware of it, his fingers on the hand that was pressed against her back uncurled and began to stroke the bare skin of her back.

 

"... I went out of my mind. Each hour that passed was like torture, not knowing... Thinking that you were dead." She sighed and glanced away.

 

"Charlie," he said softly.

 

She turned her head to him again slowly, her eyes wary.

 

"I'm sorry." Pain flickered across his face. "It was a mistake. A damn stupid one. If I could change it all..." he faded out, as it suddenly hit him that if had he not made that mistake, he wouldn't have had to go through all the pain and misery of the last seven years.

 

He ran his left hand through his hair and glanced around, as if trying to find an answer. Charlie watched him. He looked so lost.

 

"So, what are you doing here now then?" she asked.

 

"Remember I had heat on me in New York the first time?" he replied.

She nodded.

 

"Well, it's an inferno now."

 

"Are you back at MI5?" she asked, surprised.

 

He shook his head.

 

Confusion swept across her face. "So?"

 

"I just had to get away from them, simple."

 

"I think you need a visa, or work permit or something Luke. You can't just move here like that," she pointed out.

 

"Yeah, I know, but I can't go back, that's for sure," he stressed.

 

She thought for a moment and then gave a half-hearted laugh. "I had such a simple, uncomplicated life until you crashed back into it."

 

"You mean 'boring'," he summed up.

 

"No Luke, normal," she replied.

 

"That's what I said. Same thing."

 

A half smile hovered around his mouth. His fingers resumed stroking small circles on her back.

 

She was more aware of them this time, and of the silence that was stretching, and his eyes that were searching hers. Her heart skittered and her skin warmed. His eyes were scrutinizing her face and the slow smile that developed across his acknowledged her rising colour.

 

She broke eye contact with him suddenly. What was she doing?

 

"Well, this has been scintillating, but I really should get back to Richie now," she said, turning and bending to retrieve her handbag from off the floor. As she crouched down, Luke had a very stimulating view down the curve of her back. She stood again, but instead of turning around, she remained facing the car for some reason. Luke didn't care, he was still mesmerized by the sight of her bare back and the curve of her body underneath. It wouldn't take much to slip that dress off. The thought snuck into his head.

 

"Adams?"

 

"Hmm," he responded, leaning closer to her, his face hovering by her hair, her perfume teasing his nostrils. If she didn't move soon, his libido would get the better of him. Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately, he couldn't decide which, her following question broke his spell.

 

"Why is there a dead body in the back of your car?"

 

Chapter 2

She must be out of her mind.

"Adams," she began.

"What?" he said, accelerating out of the driveway.

"If I end up in prison because of this, I will be extremely upset with you!"

 

"What?"

 

Luke stepped around Charlie to peer into his car and she was right, there was indeed a dead body slumped in the back. Not just any dead body either, Luke was flabbergasted to see that the dead man was no other than Roberto Borelli! What the hell was going on?

 

"Oh this ain't good," Luke said, beginning to pace and run his hands through his hair as he wracked his brains, trying to figure out what to do.

 

"You don't say," Charlie replied sarcastically.

 

"I know that man."

 

"You know him?"

 

"He's one of the Borelli brothers," Luke informed her, as if that explained everything.

 

"Adams, dare I ask, who are the Borelli brothers?"

 

He stopped pacing for a moment and stared at Roberto's body. "Mafia," he replied.

 

Charlie threw her hands in the air. "Oh great! This day is just getting better and better. So you've brought Mafia back from New York with you," she stated.

 

"He's one of the guys I've been trying to bring down since I went back," he informed her, still staring at the body.

 

"Well, it looks like someone beat you to it," she replied.

 

Luke frowned. "But who, and why?"

 

Charlie sighed. "I don't know." She opened her bag and pulled out her mobile phone. Luke turned suddenly.

 

"What you doing?" he asked, looking suspiciously at the phone in her hand.

 

"I'm phoning the police," she told him, opening her phone.

 

"Are you kidding me? You can't do that; I'll be the number one suspect," he replied in a panic.

 

She looked down at her phone and then up at Luke. "What do you intend to do then?"

 

He moved around the car, as though searching for something. "I need time, time to figure out what's going on," he said, bending to take a look underneath the car.

 

She ducked to talk to him from the other side. "Right, and in the meantime, what on earth are you going to do about the body?" she asked.

 

He rose, as did she. "I'll have to hide it," he announced.

 

She laughed. "Are you mad?"

 

He swiftly walked around the car and over to her, grabbing her by the arms. "You don't realize Charlie; he's American, I'm American, they will extradite me back to the USA."

 

"It can't be as bad as having to hide a dead body for goodness sake; how guilty will that make you look?" she pointed out.

 

"It can be as bad... when they put me on Death Row!" he exclaimed.

 

Her eyes widened. "Death Row?" She snapped her phone shut.

 

He sighed deeply, dropping his arms. "Yeah, they don't take so kindly to murder in the US."

 

"Well they don’t exactly take kindly to it here," she commented, "Still, prison is better than... oh, never mind. Luke, I don’t know what to say to you... other than that, nobody has a life this complicated. Most people who find a dead body phone the police." What was she saying? "Most people don't find dead bodies!" she amended.

 

"Yeah well, I have, and I've gotta get it outta here quick," he said, reaching around her to open the car door. She stepped aside and watched him slide into the seat. "Get in." he said.

 

She laughed. "Err no Luke, I'm not coming with you."

 

"Charlie, you're implicated now too; you were at the crime scene," he pointed out. "Plus, if the Borelli's are here, you could be in big danger."

 

"Adams, there's no way I'm coming with you. I'm going back to find Richie," she replied adamantly.

 

"Look," he began in his most appealing voice, "can ya just get in so I can drive outta the way or something, ‘cause if someone sees this," he made a thumb gesture to the back seat, "it ain't gonna look too good. I'll put the stiff in the trunk, think about what I'm gonna do and then you can go back to Richie boy if that's what you want."

 

"No Adams, this has nothing to do with me. You don't tell me what to do anymore. If I want to go back to find Richie, I'll go back now."

 

"Fine," he barked out, "Go back now then. I don't need you. I'll figure out what to do without you. I've been through worse. Have a nice life," he said, slamming the car into reverse ready to speed off.

 

The words 'Death Row' popped back into her head. Damn him! He wasn't capable of sorting this out himself, not without ending up worse off. How was she going to just go back to the club as if nothing had happened, knowing that Luke was harbouring a dead body? She had to at least find out what he planned to do next, if only for her own peace of mind.

 

"Adams!" she called after him.

 

He sped forward, and for a moment, she thought that he wasn't going to stop. At the end of the driveway however, he changed his mind and pulled to a halt. She ran over to the car, opened the door and slid into the seat.

 

"There's an area of woodland about a mile from here. It's quite remote. We will stop there, you will tell me what exactly you intend to do, and then I'm coming back here," she informed him.

 

"Okay, fine," he replied, trying not to look or sound relieved.

 

"Okay," she confirmed.

 

She must be out of her mind.

 

"Adams," she began.

 

"What?" he said, accelerating out of the driveway.

 

"If I end up in prison because of this, I will be extremely upset with you!" she said, pointing a finger at him.

 

"What, you don't like the black and white stripe look?" he grinned.

 

She tutted and he sped down the road.

Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

 "Listen to me Adams," she said, moving her face closer to his, "And listen very carefully."

He was listening! She had his attention alright! He wondered if it was wrong to be extremely aroused at that point.

 

"It's just down here on the right. If you follow the path to the end, you can continue into the woodland for a bit," Charlie informed Luke, wondering why on earth she was being so matter of fact about giving directions when they had a dead body in the back of the car!

 

Sitting in that car next to Luke after seven years, Charlie had mixed feelings. She had wanted to avoid seeing him again; it was just easier all round on her sanity. However, she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit imagining him turning up one day. Although, after around the first year, she had begun to believe that he'd gone for good out of her life. And even if he did turn up, by then, too much would have changed in both of their lives to make seeing him matter.

 

She hadn't expected this though. Nothing had changed at all really, not in the way they fell into the same ridiculous banter, the same heated shouting matches, the same...grrrr... he was so annoying and conceited and... She'd had seven years free from all those sexist comments, and outrageous innuendos, and downright shameless looks, and it had been... much better. Yes, her life was now just as she liked it: calm and organized, not boring, what a cheek! And it was proper, as it should be...

 

"He had it comin' to him ya know," Luke broke her train of thought. She frowned. "The stiff in the back," he explained.

 

Hmm, she may have spoken too soon! She guessed that calm, organized and proper were on hold in her life for the time being.

 

The problem was that trouble just never failed to find him... or was it the other way around? Anyway, now he'd brought trouble into her life and she felt... strange, she didn't feel anxious about it, although she bloody well should! See what a bad influence he was already having on her? Well, she'd just have to keep him well and truly in check, help to sort out this mess, and then send him on his way again. Yes, that's what she was going to do.

 

He pulled the car to a halt with a jerk and they both felt a thud from the back seat, an unsettling reminder of what was there.

 

Charlie put her hands to her face. Oh, God, what the hell was she doing?

 

"You aren't gonna go to bits on me now, are you?" Luke asked, watching her suspiciously.

 

She dropped her hands. "No Luke, don't worry about me. I'm used to this kind of thing. I become accessory to murder on a regular basis."

 

Oh hell, she was working herself up; he'd seen the signs before.

 

"Look," he said, getting out of the car and leaning on the open door to talk to her, "I didn't exactly plan this ya know."

 

He disappeared from sight and then reappeared a moment later. "You fancy giving me a hand with the stiff?" he asked.

 

"Oooh yes Luke," she said, opening the door and sliding out, "such a treat. You really know how to show a girl a good time, don't you?"

 

Luke had opened the boot of the car and was already struggling to lift the body from under the arms by the time Charlie joined him near the back seat. The man had been of medium height, dark gelled hair, in his thirties she would say, black bomber jacket and jeans, and he bore the lone, red hole to the head of the bullet that had killed him.

 

Charlie grabbed hold of the man's legs and guided them out of the back seat, whilst Luke pulled him out. Finally, she had hold of his shins as they carried him to the boot of the car.

 

"Ya see Charlie, with me you get excitement, intrigue, mystery..."

 

"And prison," she finished for him.

 

"See, there you go again Charlie. With you it's all negative, negative, negative."

 

"Well... I'm positive that I don't ever want to do this again. Is that positive enough for you?" she said, finally positioning the legs into the boot.

 

They both stood, staring down at the body.

 

"So, now what?" she asked, gesturing to the corpse.

 

Luke took a deep breath, pondering the dilemma. Amusement bubbled up inside him then as he had a thought.

 

"Charlie," he began, placing an arm around her shoulder.

 

"What?" she asked dubiously, glaring down at his hand with a frown.

 

Luke took the opportunity of their close quarters and her distraction to glance down at her dress. From that position, he could at least see more skin down the folds of material, and the slight suggestion of cleavage in their somewhere.

 

"I don't suppose you have a big chest..."

 

He paused and she swung her head to him, her eyes widening. His gaze swiftly rose to her face.

 

"...freezer," he finished with an innocent look.

 

She smiled sarcastically and calmly took hold of the hand on her shoulder, peeling it from her.

 

"Adams, if I did have a chest freezer, I wouldn't let you put your body into it," she smiled sweetly.

 

Luke lost his battle to stop a grin from developing across his face. That sounded so funny, especially coming from Charlie.

 

His eyes, full of fun and amusement, moved over her face.

 

God, she liked his eyes.

 

No! No! No she didn't!

 

Charlie abruptly moved to slam the boot shut. "So, you're on your own on this one I'm afraid. Now, I'm going back to find Richie," she announced.

 

The smile quickly slid from his face.

 

"Wait," he said, placing a hand on her arm as she turned to move away. "Listen Charlie, seriously, it looks like the Borelli's are behind this. If that's the case, they must know I came to see you. It aint safe. These men are monsters."

 

She sighed. "Okay, well I'll be sure to sleep with a gun under my bed then," she replied, moving to turn from him again. Again, he halted her.

 

"With the Borelli's, a gun won't be enough," he insisted.

 

She growled. "Fine," she said, shrugging his hand off her arm. "What do you suggest then?"

 

He gave her a look as if she should know.

 

"You're going to be my body guard are you?" she laughed, leaning with one hand against the boot of the car and placing one hand on her hip. "Adams, I'm not putting you under my bed!"

 

"I'd rather be on it." The words had come out before he could stop them. Charlie didn't look amused, but Luke couldn't stop himself from continuing.

 

"Course, it'd be a bit of a squash ... what with the three of us in there," he said, feathering two fingers down her arm that was outstretched towards the car. "I take it Richie boy would be in there?"

 

He was unbelievable! He was trying to find out if her and Richie were sleeping together! Right, she'd had enough.

 

In one swift movement, she'd caught hold of the hand that was fondling her arm, twisted it behind his back, which forced him to turn with his back to the car, where she pinned him, his arm still bent in her grip.

 

"Wooaa!" he exclaimed in shocked surprise.

 

God, he'd forgotten about feisty Charlie. Hmmm, but he could definitely get used to her!

 

"Listen to me Adams," she said, moving her face closer to his, "And listen very carefully."

 

He was listening! She had his attention alright! He wondered if it was wrong to be extremely aroused at that point.

 

"First of all, you respect my relationship with Richie." She stopped to look for some kind of confirmation. He glared back at her. What did that mean? Did he agree?

 

Luke was trying his hardest not to show in his expression how much he was being affected by the feel of her thigh between his legs, her torso pressed against his stomach and her chest inches from his.

 

"And secondly," she went on, "You let me know every, tiny, single solitary detail about this investigation. You go off on your own on the warpath with this and I swear, I'll go to the police with everything I know. Got it?"

 

"Got ya," he agreed.

 

"And lastly, I help you out with this and then we say goodbye and go our separate ways," she finished, finally releasing him and walking back to the front of the car.

 

He felt suddenly bereft from her withdrawal, not only her sudden physical absence, but the thought that she really wanted to say goodbye to him.

 

He watched the incredibly smooth skin of her back disappear as she slid into the car seat again.

 

There was not a chance in hell he was letting them say goodbye! He'd bring her round eventually, somehow.

Chapter 4

Her heart raced and her body began to tingle the more their eyes remained on each other. He really was enjoying himself.

 

"You know, I was thinking, the club has surveillance," Charlie pointed out when Luke got back into the car. “It’s not the most up to date equipment, but they do keep the footage on discs.”

 

Luke's face lit up with hope. "Well, let's go check out the discs then," he said, starting up the car and moving slowly back down the track. “You know where the equipment is?" he asked.

 

"Yes, it's in the director's office," she replied.

 

"You know where that is?" he questioned.

 

"Of course," she said, as if he should have known that.

 

By the time they returned to the club, the sky was beginning to darken and the reception area was practically deserted. The receptionist looked up when they entered, but Charlie simply waved to her and led Luke past her desk and down a corridor, to the end where the lifts were located.

 

"Well, that wasn't too difficult," Charlie said, as they entered the lift and she pushed the button for the top floor.

 

Emerging, she led Luke down another corridor towards the only door on the top floor, at the far end.

 

"It's just up here," she said, pointing ahead.

 

"This director guy, won't he be in there?" Luke asked.

 

"No, he's not here on Sundays," she informed him, reaching into her bag to pull out a set of keys as she walked.

 

Luke eyed the keys with surprise. "You have keys to his office?"

 

She turned briefly to glance at him. "Yes, we're friends."

 

"Friends?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Yes Luke friends, I'm with Richie, remember?" She tutted, turning her head back.

 

"Hey, I never said nothing," he replied defensively.

 

"Hmm, but I can just imagine what was going through that overly active brain of yours Adams," she reprimanded.

 

"Oh, I have all sorts of thoughts you don't know about Charlie," he came back, running his eyes up and down the sight of her in that backless dress right in front of him. Hell, that dress was going to be the death of him!

 

"I bet. Please keep them to yourself," she said, finally stopping at the door and slotting the key into the lock.

 

They entered a large room, which was dominated by a heavy wooden desk, leather sofas and all number of sporting motifs and photographs decorating the wall. Charlie threw her bag down onto the desk but moved past it to open the door of an adjoining room. Luke followed.

 

"It's over there," she said, gesturing to another smaller desk with the surveillance equipment on it.

 

Charlie hovered by the door, nervously eyeing the first door for evidence of anyone approaching.

 

Mindful of how important the surveillance evidence could be to him, Luke rushed to the desk. He quickly found the eject button on the equipment and pressed it, but turned his attention to an open folder of other discs while he waited for the equipment to respond. He flicked through the pages of the folder, slipping out the last few discs.

 

"Hurry up," she urged.

 

"Right, let's get outta here," he said, minutes later, but looking up in confusion to see Charlie backing into the room.

 

"Charlie?" he questioned.

 

She stopped, frozen to the spot in the middle of the room. Lifting a finger to her lips, she indicated for him to be silent.

 

"What?" he mouthed to her.

 

"I'm sure there are people out there?" she mouthed back.

 

From behind the desk, Luke pointed to the adjoining door, hoping that she would get there first. She began to move slowly towards it, with the aim of closing it without the people who were clearly heading down the corridor seeing. Pushing it, so as to leave just a crack to look through, Charlie cautiously peered into the first office. It couldn't be the director; who on earth was it? She knew this would happen. It was just typical! The last thing she wanted was to get caught sneaking around the director's office. Eager to also see, Luke stood behind her. Placing one hand on the wall, and the other on the door frame, he reached to look over her head.

 

There was a man and woman in the other room, speaking in hushed voices. Sounded like they were up to something. Maybe they had something to do with the murder? Probably not, but you never knew. Luke strained to hear what they were saying and quickly realized why they were there.

 

"What if we are caught?" the woman whispered.

 

"Makes it all the more exciting, don't you think?" the man replied, pulling the woman to him and kissing her passionately.

 

Charlie abruptly leant away from the door and collided backwards into Luke. She turned her head, her face a picture of shock, and whispered to him,

 

"They're kissing each other."

 

He stifled a laugh. "We'll make a detective out of you yet Charlotte."

 

"But he's married," she whispered back.

 

"I assume not to her," he replied, leaning to peer through the door again. "Tut, tut, looks like he's a dirty boy then," he said, placing his hand over Charlie's eyes suddenly. "Lady Charlotte... " he whispered into her ear, "you probably shouldn't look right now."

 

"Why, what's happening?" she asked.

 

"Looks like they are about to do more than just kissing, " he chuckled.

 

"What?" She swept his hand away and was shocked to see the man unzipping the woman's dress from behind. She stepped out of it, to reveal black lacy underwear, stockings and suspenders!

 

Charlie swung her head around to see Luke grinning from ear to ear. "Hmm, not bad," he said, observing the semi naked woman. His eyes dropped to Charlie, sparkling mischievously. "Luke!" She covered his eyes this time. He could smell some kind of perfume or hand lotion. "I think you've seen enough. All I need now is for you to get overly..." she faltered. He moved her hand away.

 

"Overly what?" he whispered, watching her with an amusement.

 

"You know what I mean," she replied, turning her head from his disturbing expression, but averting her eyes from whatever on earth was happening in the adjacent room. Things were definitely 'developing' if the noises she was hearing were anything to go by: soft female murmurs and the sounds of the man's rapidly developing arousal.

 

"Oh Lord," she muttered, placing a hand over her face.

 

Luke chuckled, and moved his mouth closer to her ear to whisper intimately... and so that the man and woman wouldn't hear of course. "It's only sex Charlie. You should try it sometime; you might like it."

 

She turned her head slowly and glared at him. "Very funny Adams," she said, before turning back to face the door.

 

Luke watched the profile of Charlie's face thoughtfully, a slight smile on his lips. She wasn't going to look he noticed, or would she?

 

Charlie was always so secretive about her sex life; he assumed she had one, she had to, surely. Funny, as hot as she always appeared visually, Luke had a real annoying problem imagining Charlie all worked up sexually, and the more he tried, the more he couldn't imagine it, making him want to make it happen all the more.

 

Still, it was going to be interesting to see how she would deal with this little dilemma.

 

Luke's attention turned to the adjoining room. "Hate to say it Charlie, but I really do think they're gonna do it," he warned.

 

"Yes, I got that impression from the sounds Adams."

 

The slight movement of Charlie's head in front of his nose made him look down to see, to his amusement, that she was taking a hesitant look.

 

Well, who would have thought it? Maybe she wasn't as reserved as he'd suspected.

 

Charlie's eyes cautiously lifted to peer through the gap. She needed to know what was going on and when they'd be leaving so Luke and her could get out of there.

 

She could see that the man was still wearing his suit at least, but he was standing behind the woman, pressing her against the opposite wall and grinding his hips!

 

Oh Lord, they really were having sex! Charlie took all the comfort she could out of the fact that at least they both hadn't stripped naked!

 

But the sounds were getting louder and bolder. She focused with determination on the door handle.

 

Luke, however, watched the action, and was unashamed to do so. The man was grabbing the woman's arm at that point and pulling her across to the desk chair, where he seated her on it. He positioned himself and renewed his onslaught. The woman appeared to be thrilled by the new position and shifted eagerly. Luke's eyes widened. He reached in front of Charlie and covered her eyes again just in case, despite them being diverted. Laughing softly into her ear, he whispered, "Err, they're kinda showing too much right now Charlie. Trust me on this."

 

"I've no intention of looking," she replied, brushing his hand away. "Maybe you should do the same. Just a thought."

 

"I'm having a thought now too Charlie," he whispered back.

 

"Not that again," she replied. He'd been bad enough that day without having further stimulation!

 

Hold on, what did he mean exactly?

 

She made the mistake of turning inquisitively. Why did she do that? Not a good move. His gaze dropped to hers the moment he sensed her head shifting towards him, and she was at the mercy of his full attention. Yes, he was definitely far too stimulated already! Those shameless eyes of his took their time assessing her. They were everywhere. God they were stripping her naked! She hated herself for the heat that crept into her face and seeped downwards, affecting every part of her as it went. He was insufferable! He should look away, be a gentleman, but this was Luke Adams. There was no chance of that and she knew it. Her heart raced and her body began to tingle the more their eyes remained on each other. He really was enjoying himself. Well, she wasn't. No she was not! No! No! She didn't want this to be happening. It was scandalous. She would look away, but she didn't want to see anything in the other room. It was justifiable.

 

Luke was surprised at Charlie's boldness. He wanted to keep her eyes on him while the events happening in the room next door affected them both. His expression filled with some sort of triumph, daring her not to look away. He was enjoying this intensely and was going to take every advantage of knowing exactly how her mind worked. Her competitiveness would take over, leaving him free to revel in the arousal that she probably didn't know was written all over her face. It was something in the years he'd known her that he'd never seen before and it was probably the biggest aphrodisiac he'd ever experienced. No, correction, he could honestly say that he was actually more aroused then than he had ever been before in his life just by looking at her at that moment. Her flushed face just seemed to intensify the blue of her eyes and make her expression more explicit than ever.

 

Where was this going? He wasn't sure, but he wanted to know that very second! Okay, so he instinctively knew that he wasn't going to find out then, but whatever reason she still had her eyes on him, he didn't care too much because he was watching something in her that he'd been waiting, and hoping to see for years, something that may have been cut short by him having to leave for New York. He'd never known for sure, but he'd always wondered. Damn it, he was kidding himself, he did want to know now! She was the epitome of frustration!

 

The two people in the other room suddenly began to get louder and more explicit in their utterances, causing the atmosphere in both rooms to intensify.

 

Luke's smile grew in response as he continued to search Charlie's eyes. She began to weaken under his scrutiny and his smile that spoke volumes.

 

Charlie was forced to admit to herself that she was in trouble. It was an unfortunate situation to find herself in. What were the chances of that happening? With Luke turning up out of the blue and then this on top. But, like it or not, she was rapidly losing her cool. When were they going to bloody well finish?

 

She couldn't take it anymore and broke the tension with a small laugh.

 

"Luke?" she chastised.

 

Hearing his name from those lips of hers in that situation, however, only made that moment more arousing for him.

 

"What?" he feigned innocence but his smile gave him away.

 

"Stop it." She was now smiling too.

 

"Stop what?"

 

Oh good Lord, they were smiling at each other like flipping school children. She had to get a grip.

 

"You know exactly what," she came back.

 

"Hey, you're looking at me," he challenged.

 

"Where else am I supposed to look?" she asked, finally turning her head back to scrutinize the door handle again.

 

He chuckled from behind her. "Don't worry Charlie, I'll let you know when it's safe to look out there," he assured her.

 

"I bet you will," she replied, not doubting that he was brazen enough to continue observing the scene unfolding in the next room.

 

"He's moved her onto the office chair," Luke whispered to her.

 

"Yes, thank you Adams, I don't need a running commentary."

 

Since he had last looked, the woman had become even bolder. She was certainly working herself up, and the man too. Their husky voices could clearly be heard, making the whole scene even more erotic, with the woman letting the man know exactly what she wanted him to do, and the man obviously becoming more aroused as he encouraged the woman further. What was also evidently heightening their excitement was their fascination with the thought of being discovered like that!

 

Luke's excitement was quickly approaching that of the man's in the other room. His eyes flicked to Charlie, and back to the scene, and Charlie again.

 

"Wooor... they're horny," Luke observed, his voice thick and gravelly in her ear.

 

Charlie closed her eyes in torment. It was getting awfully hot in there. "State the extremely obvious Adams," she whispered, not daring to turn her head again. God he was so bloody oversexed all the time! It didn't exactly make working with him easy. Had the heating been turned on that afternoon or something?

 

Luke was actually beginning to hate that guy for all the action he was obviously getting. If Luke had been frustrated before, he was ten times worse now. It had been bad enough having to deal with Charlie in that dress, and her telling off against that car had been downright torment, but having her there, in that situation, without being able to do anything was bordering on torture. With the low moans, panting and groaning from the other room floating into theirs, Luke simply gazed down at Charlie helplessly, throbbing with unspent desire.

 

Charlie groaned, which didn't help Luke's predicament at all, and rested her head against the doorframe. Her breathing was becoming more laboured the hotter she got.

 

"I wish they'd hurry up about it," she whispered, almost to herself.

 

She clung onto the doorframe for dear life and waited a painstakingly slow few more minutes until all the moaning and panting built to a crescendo and finally stopped.

 

Charlie put her hands together, looked up and mouthed, "Thank you God."

 

Luke chucked to himself, despite the throbbing that he knew was going to last maybe for the rest of his frustrated life if Charlie had anything to do with it.

 

He tapped her arm and she turned.

 

"Was that good for you?" he mouthed, grinning.

 

"Shut up," she whispered, her eyes suddenly widening in panic.

 

She grabbed his arm, pulling him away abruptly from the door as footsteps could be heard approaching.

 

The door creaked as it moved, and they both held their breath with anticipation.

 

Oh God, please don't let them be caught there like that by the club members. Charlie frantically tried to come up with a reason for them being there.

 

The door closed however, and she let out a sigh of relief as the footsteps and muttering finally faded into the distance.

 

"Phew, I thought we were busted then," Luke commented.

 

Charlie moved to the door, eager to leave.

 

"Luke," she said moments later. "I think we might have a slight problem."

 

"What?" he smiled. Maybe the problem was that she was so horny, she had to make him do to her what that man had done to that woman?

 

"They appear to have locked us in."

 

Okay, not exactly what he'd expected.

 

 

 

Chapter 5

"And what about you, Charlie?" he finally said, reaching out with one hand towards her face. Her heart rate accelerated suddenly. What was he going to do? Sliding his fingers gently into her hair that was neatly tucked behind one ear again, he freed it, letting it fall around her face. "Are you happy?" he asked.

 

 

 

In the back of his mind, Luke was aware of the fact that being locked in there could be a huge problem for him considering that there was a corpse outside in the trunk of his car! However, he was still struggling to recover from the after effects of extreme arousal, and his brain wasn't functioning on practical matters properly. See, that was why having women around in criminal cases was a real bad idea!

"You sure?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course I'm sure," she replied, running a frustrated hand through her hair.

He followed her movement with his eyes. She wore her hair tucked behind one ear, he'd noticed. Somehow, it never seemed to move from there. As her fingers ran through the perfectly sleek strands, however, her hair fell from her ear and tangled slightly. It left it more ruffled looking. It was more her, the her he used to know anyway. That was one thing he'd noticed about Charlie since he'd returned: she seemed more… neat and perfect, too much so. He knew she was before, but not this much. Even this neat and tidy life of hers in the Country Club, organizing…whatever it was that she organized, and that guy she had hanging round her, Richie, he was conveniently there, even though she couldn't really want to stay with him ...it just didn't ring true to the Charlie he knew before. Sure, she liked things by the book, but she got her kicks out of showing she was as good as any guy in MI5, and if that meant getting down and dirty, she never turned down the challenge. She had dealt with the lowest of scum on a daily basis, and pushed herself more than she probably should have. She thrived off that. How could her life now, without being an agent, satisfy her?

What was he thinking? He had to focus.

Charlie had moved to the desk and was searching through the drawers for something.

Luke strode to the window, peering out over the sheer drop of a flat brick wall.

"We'll never get out of there," Charlie said, glancing in Luke's direction.

"Okay, you seem to know this place. How we gonna get out then?" he asked.

"We aren't," she replied, giving up on her search and throwing the paper she had found down on the desk with annoyance. "Well, not unless someone happens to check in on this office tonight."

"And how likely is that?"

"Not very likely on a Sunday."

"Hmm." Luke momentarily attempted to piece together ideas in his head. "So what's that?" he asked, pointing to the paper she had thrown down on the desk.

"Doug's schedule. He's away for the weekend. It has his contact number on it," she informed him.

"Doug?"

She nodded. "The director."

"So, phone him."

"Can't," she replied, sinking into the office chair. "My mobile is out there." She turned to stare at the wooden panelled door, biting her lip.

"Mobile?"

"Phone," she supplied for him, still staring at the door.

He groaned.

"Along with the keys," she added.

"Great, what d'ya leave them out there for?"

She turned to him with a frown. "Don't start Adams. I didn't know that Sue and Dennis were going to sneak in here for outrageous fornication!"

A grin developed on Luke's face at the memory. "Yeah, it was kinda 'outrageous'," he quoted her.

She rolled her eyes. "So that's that then, we're stuck here now until the cleaners arrive tomorrow morning. Bloody brilliant!" She stood up abruptly and the chair skidded backwards on its wheels as the strode over to a mini fridge in a shelving unit that ran along one side of the room. She opened the door and took out a decanter of water, picking up a crystal whiskey glass from off the shelf, and placing it down with an angry thud before pouring herself a glass of water.

Luke watched her movements but his mind was elsewhere. "Charlie, the car's out there. You think someone will impound it?" he asked, glancing out of the window anxiously.

She laughed. "We're not in America now Luke. This is rural Kent. The car won't be 'impounded'," she assured him, "Not…"

"…on a Sunday," he said in unison with her. "What is it with you people here on Sundays?" he asked.

She smiled, wouldn't he like to know. "Doug is always away on a Sunday," she informed him.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Ahh, and while the cat's away…"

"Precisely," she grinned.

"Hmm, and how those mice have been playing," he grinned back, his eyes twinkling at her.

"Hmm." Her eyes remained on his for a few seconds, before they returned to the closed door, as she leant back against the shelving unit and sipped her water thoughtfully.

"Charlie," Luke began moments later, "you don't suppose one of them 'country club mice' murdered Roberto, do you?" he asked, moving to the desk and beginning to flick through the surveillance discs.

She frowned. "I doubt it. What would they want to kill some random American for?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? I've said it before, these aristocratic types are nuts most of the time." He laid a set of discs out across the desk to better study them.

"Oh, and that would include me then, would it?" she replied with annoyance. Her family were aristocrats and he knew it. "On second thoughts, I can quite understand someone wanting to kill a random American. I've had the same feeling many times before," she said sarcastically. He wasn't listening though. His face fell as his eyes frantically scanned the discs. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"They're gone," he said, hitting the desk top with the back of four fingers.

"What are gone?"

"The discs for today," he said, his voice rising. "All of them; they're gone."

"What?" she said, moving towards the desk. "They can't be."

"I'm telling you Charlie, they aint here," he insisted, gesturing to a gap in the row of discs. "They're all labelled, times and dates, but there aint none from today. Somethin' aint right," he said, shaking his head and staring suspiciously at the discs on the desk. "Could the killer have got in here?" he asked.

"No," she frowned, "this door is always kept locked."

"So who has keys?"

"Only two other people, Doug and I…oh, and the cleaners," she added.

He thought for a moment, a finger on his lip. "Those two other people, they wouldn't be Sue and Denny, would they?"

"Dennis," she corrected. "No, at least I didn't think they had keys. Why would they?"

"I dunno, but they must have, 'cause they locked us in here for starters. Ahh," his face lit up with realization, "Maybe Sue and Denny…"

"Dennis," she corrected again.

"Dennis, whoever, maybe they've not just been doing it in here. Maybe they've been fornicating all over the club!"

She pointed at him. "And they took the discs to hide the fact."

He grinned. "Or maybe for further stimulation."

She looked taken aback at the thought of them taking the discs to watch themselves. Good grief, maybe they hadn't taken them for that reason and it was just Luke's dirty imagination. "Adams, you have a filthy mind," she concluded, turning to walk away.

"Me? Hey, I'm not the guy who's got some obsession with giving women one in public places, then watching the footage," he laughed, "the randy little…"

"You're 'randy' enough too," she interrupted, turning back abruptly and glaring at him.

Amusement danced in his eyes. He leant back against the window sill, crossing his arms. "Yeah? Howd'you know?"

She held his challenging gaze and refused to let the smile that threatened develop. "We worked together for years; I know the signs."

Luke, on the other hand smiled openly, studying her with interest. "Well, Charlotte, you can't have been 'randy' for any of those years at all, 'cause I never saw no signs from you."

It took all the effort she had to stop that smile. "So, as soon as we get out of here, we go to see Dennis, get the discs, and you'll be exonerated," she said, purposely changing the subject.

She was such a tease.

"Yeah. And Denny boy is gonna hand those discs over if he wants to keep his little secret safe," Luke pointed out.

"Exactly." She sighed and walked to the office chair, taking a seat again. "We just have to get through a night locked in here first."

Then, to make matters worse, she slowly became aware of a ringing sound that could be heard coming from the office outside.

"Oh no," she put a hand to her head, "Richie."

"Ahh, shame," Luke commented.

She dropped her hand and turned to him with a frown. "What's wrong with you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing'."

Her expression softened slightly. "You two would probably get along you know."

"Why? Because he's American?"

"Well, yes," she answered a little uncertainly. "You could talk about…I don't know, New York or something."

He stared at her then for a few moments disconcertingly. She felt suddenly uneasy. "What?" she asked.

"How long you been seeing this guy Charlie?"

"Almost a year, why?"

"Not even a year," his eyes widened. "Not even a year and the guy proposes?"

What was wrong with that? "It has been known before," she replied, "Anyway, he tends to do that a lot," she shrugged. "I don't take it too seriously. I'm not ready for marriage again… at the moment," she emphasised.

"Well, he must be quite serious if he carries a ring around with him," he pointed out.

"Hmm. Why are you asking anyway?"

He laughed. "Because he's not from anywhere near New York. Thought you'd have known that about him," he challenged.

She thought for a moment before replying defensively. "Just because he's not from New York, that doesn't mean he's never visited it."

She didn't understand, and she didn't know this guy that well either, he concluded.

"What's this guy do?" he asked.

"He's a philanthropist," she answered, knowing that he would have something to say about that too. Why was he being like this?

"A what?" he laughed.

"He works with charities, financing projects," she explained. "Helping people," she stressed.

"That ain't no job," he commented.

"Can we stop this interrogation now please Luke?" She stood again, and walked back to the shelving unit, her back turned to him. Being locked in there with him seemed suddenly stifling, with no way of putting space between them.

What kind of guy didn't work? And where did he get the money from anyway?

"Sorry," he said suddenly, watching her withdrawal. "It aint none of my business."

She swung back to him. "If we have to spend the night in here together, at least we can try to get along."

"Sure we can," he said, his face breaking into a reassuring smile.

She sighed before a sudden shudder overtook her. She was getting cold.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, moving towards a cupboard at the far end of the shelving unit. "I'm just a bit chilly, that's all. I think there is a blanket in here somewhere from the club picnic," she said, fumbling in the cupboard and eventually pulling out a bright blue blanket. "Thank goodness," she exclaimed, unfolding it, draping it around her shoulders and heading for the tea and coffee making facilities, which were on a tray on one of the shelves. "Do you want a cup of tea?" she asked.

"You got coffee?" he questioned.

She knew he was going to say that. "Yes," she smiled, preparing the drinks.

"So, the fact that this Roberto has been murdered over here," she began, voicing a concern that had been niggling at her, "won't that bring more trouble across The Pond for you?"

"Maybe," he replied, "but Roberto was one of the most powerful guys in that gang, along with his brother, Tony. Now he's dead, they're gonna have troubles of their own in the city. Rival gangs will try to take territory from them," he explained.

She abandoned the drink making for a second, and turned to him. "What on earth have you gone and got yourself tangled up in now? Gangsters? Mafia? And by the way, who's working with you on this?" she asked suspiciously, waving a teaspoon at him.

He fell silent, simply staring at her.

"Luke? Don't tell me that you've been doing this all on your own. Are you mad?" she said, shocked.

"I just started investigating stuff. Thought I could get enough evidence to put them away," he explained.

"And they found you out," she remarked.

He ran both hands through his hair. "Yeah," he replied, a little dejectedly. "They sent some woman to me, a Bella Jackson..." The look on his face told her he wasn't impressed with the woman. "... She was pretendin' she wanted my services as a private investigator, that's what I was doin' as a side line to fund my investigations into the Borelli's. Anyway, turns out she was working with the Borelli's. The message was that they wanted me to join forces with them." He laughed. "Bullshit! So I decided I'd had enough, and that's when I left to come back here."

She returned to the mugs and poured the boiling water from a kettle into them.

"Who was the man you returned to New York for, the person you regarded as your brother?" she asked, finishing the drink making and approaching the desk. She placed his mug on the desk top for him and turned to take a seat on the maroon coloured sofa, which was against the opposite wall to the shelving units. She sunk into the soft cushions gratefully, cupping her hands around her mug and taking a warming sip of tea. "And how come you haven't mentioned him before?" she added.

He shrugged, and reached out for the mug, leaning back against the window sill to drink it. "Never came up in conversation. Besides, he moved out of New York for a few years so we kinda lost touch for a while. Then I came here," he replied.

"So, how do you know him? Who is he?" she pushed.

His face fell deathly serious and he glanced out of the window for a moment before he began to explain.

"His name was Danny. He was a half-brother to Tony and Roberto, only they didn't get on too well with him…"

So Danny's family were mafia.

"…Don't think they considered him a true Borelli. When they was kids, Tony and Roberto got mixed up in one of the Lower East Side gangs, real heavy handed guys. They started off running errands for them, being look out, you know, small stuff, but before they knew it, they were in over their heads. Well, the top guy, he wanted Danny too. Told them to persuade Danny to work for them. Danny wasn't interested, but the top guy thought Danny knew too much so, to prove their loyalty, he ordered Tony and Roberto to murder their brother."

He glanced sadly out of the window again, sipping his coffee.

She watched, transfixed, processing the information and waiting for him to continue in his own time.

"They was only kids really. They must have been nervous see because they shot him but never checked that he was dead. Some cop found him, left to die, bleeding out in a backstreet, but he was still alive, only just, but he was alive. It took him years to recover fully, but the cop who found him, he helped him out, gave him a new identity, you know, made sure the brothers never found out he was still alive, and helped him look after himself."

Her eyes flickered around the profile of his averted face and a soft smile touched her lips. "Luke, the cop years ago, the one who found Danny, it was you, wasn't it?"

He stilled for a second, but then nodded.

Now she had a greater appreciation for both why he cared so much about Danny and why he wanted to bring the brothers to justice so badly.

"He lived with us for a while, Ma and me, when he was recovering," he went on, "but then we decided he should move outta state, for his own safety. I didn't see him for some time, and then I moved out here. Only somehow, the brothers did find out about him…seven years ago. That was when I got the phone call and flew back. You know the rest," he finished.

He was gazing out of the window again. "Luke," she said softly. He didn't seem to hear. Placing her mug on the coffee table, she rose off the sofa and moved to stand in front of him, leaning back on the desk. He finished his coffee, and placed the mug down, glancing across at her with questioning eyes.

"I appreciate how much you cared for Danny, but facing the Borelli's alone was simply suicidal. Whatever made you do it?" she asked as gently as possible.

Why had he? He had to admit that his actions had been impetuous even for him. Well, his partner hadn't been there. Who else did he have that he could trust as much? He'd not only lost Charlie, but his friend, and probably the one person who had it in them to prevent him from going off the rails. But she was thousands of miles away, and even if he could have found her again, he'd been cut off from his life in the UK, so what good was it? She was hardly going to move to the USA to help him bring down the Borelli's. So, he'd lost his partner, he'd lost his job, he'd lost Danny, and the following year, he lost his mother; he had no one. Okay, well there was the odd woman here and there; he wasn't a saint. But he hadn't encouraged any of them to stick around. It was a risky business he'd chosen to get mixed up in, risky and lonely, but worst of all was the danger he was to himself because, after all, he'd had nothing whatsoever to lose.

"Luke?" she questioned.

He struggled to answer her and finally blurted out, with frustration, the only thing he could think of. "I dunno, I just had to do it."

She searched his face, looking for answers. Reaching out towards him, she placed her hands gently over his.

"Luke, you have to stop this…this vendetta. You'll never win it because," she titled her head slightly, willing him to take note of what she was saying, "even if you go after the other brother and succeed, there will be more and more people coming out of the woodwork after you. It will never end," she stressed. "You can't live like that. I'm sure Danny wouldn't want you to; anyone who cares about you wouldn't want that."

Do you care?

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask it, but nah, that would sound stupid.

He glanced down at her hands on his. They seemed so much smaller. He could feel the smoothness of her skin.

When he lifted his eyes, she was gazing at him, a slight frown wrinkling her brow, her eyes soft with concern.

"You deserve to find happiness," she went on, unable to stop herself, "everyone does," she said, finally withdrawing her hands when she felt her emotions threatening to take over. She'd said enough. She just hoped he had listened. But now he was staring at her with a strange expression that she couldn't read. It unnerved her. Maybe she'd said too much?

"And what about you, Charlie?" he finally said, reaching out with one hand towards her face. Her heart rate accelerated suddenly. What was he going to do? Sliding his fingers gently into her hair that was neatly tucked behind one ear again, he freed it, letting it fall around her face. "Are you happy?" he asked. She felt her cheeks warm at his nearness. Smiling, he brushed her flushed cheek with his thumb before he dropped his hand.

She hesitated as if to think, and then nodded.

He wasn't convinced. Okay, so she wasn't unhappy, but she wasn't satisfied either. He knew it, even if she didn't. And there lay the problem. Charlie could be incredibly stubborn when she wanted to be. If she thought that everything in her life was neatly arranged, trying to talk her into ruffling things up a bit was going to be difficult. He wondered how she would react to the thought of working for MI5 again. He wasn't going to broach that subject with her though, not then anyway.

"Has he got anything stronger over there?" he asked suddenly, moving towards the drinks cabinet. She followed his path with a wary expression. He could see that there was alcohol there. "What?" he questioned, after glancing back at her, "If we're gonna be here for the night, we may as well make ourselves at home, right?"

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

His hand moved from her wrist then to clasp hers, whilst his other hand slid onto her bare back. That touch felt so intimate; she found herself struggling to catch her breath at the feel of it.

 

 

 

 

While Luke was invading the drinks cabinet, Charlie moved back to the desk, and studied the surveillance discs with interest.

 

Luke's eyes flicked to her, in between assessing the contents of the fridge. There was a lot of alcohol there on the shelves, from whiskeys to wine, but there wasn't that much in the form of food. He hadn't eaten since he'd been on the plane, and that food had been so bad, he hadn't eaten all of that either.

 

"You see anything of interest there?" he enquired, moving wine glasses, a bottle of wine he had opened and a selection of snacks he had found in the fridge onto the coffee table. "Any discs there that you wanna hide Charlie?" he grinned.

 

Her eyes widened and she turned slowly to him, not even humouring him with an answer to that question. He didn't expect one. "Guess not, eh."

 

Luke was far too excitable that evening for her liking, especially considering that she was stuck there in that room with him. How on earth was she going to calm him down? She felt a nervous anticipation of comments like that one. Not that she wasn't more than capable of coming up with some kind of appropriately witty reply, but it was the way he watched and waited for a reaction, as if trying to read something into her response. Sometimes he seemed to know too much…or at least he thought he did. And worst of all, sometimes she gave into laughter, which only encouraged him more. Well, he was so outrageous, she just couldn't help it.

 

"I really think you ought not empty Doug's fridge Luke," she said, heading back to the sofa, seating herself in front of the 'picnic' he'd arranged on the coffee table and eyeing it with uncertainty.

 

"What, are you kiddin' me? Old Douggie boy aint gonna miss this. He's probably having his own dirty little weekend," he laughed.

 

"No actually," she replied primly, "He's away on business."

 

"Ahh, poor old Douggie," he answered. "So," he said, clapping his hands and gesturing to the table, "We have a total of, some kindda weird lookin' nuts…"

 

"They are sunflower seeds," she informed him, "Doug is trying to lose weight."

 

He grinned. "Ahh, Douggie boy's gotta cut down on the old spare tire if he's gonna get the ladies in bed."

 

She laughed. He was incorrigible.

 

"Yeah well, you can keep them," he said, passing her the saucer of seeds. "Bird seed ain't my thing. But we do have some kinda cheeses here, some bread, some ham and some of the smallest sausages I ever saw," he finished, assessing the food wryly.

 

"Cocktail sausages," she informed him. "It's the remains of the Club picnic."

 

He pulled a face. "Who had sausages in cocktails? Aint it supposed to be olives?"

 

She chuckled. "Yes Luke."

 

"And," he went on, performing a fake drum roll, "the crème de la crème, a bottle of most excellent Cotes de Beaune wine," he said in a ridiculous French accent.

 

She laughed. "Very nice Adams, but I have had enough to drink today."

 

He face fell. "Ah, c'mon Charlie, we gotta get through a whole night in here. What else we got to do? There aint no TV, not much food, we can sit here twiddling our thumbs if you like, or…" He smiled as a thought hit him. "…Or, we could have…"

 

"What?" she asked.

 

"Sex," he grinned, "Whatd'ya say Charlie?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

 

She paused for a second. "Pass me that wine," she said suddenly.

 

He laughed, pouring her a glass and passing her it.

 

She laughed also, taking a sip.

 

He poured a glass for himself too, but before he sat down to enjoy it, along with the nibbles he had found, he headed for the CD player he had spotted on a shelf to the side of the desk.

 

Charlie began to pick at the cheese and bread while Luke spent some time searching for music to put on. He chose an easy listening CD and turned the music down to a soft background noise. The gentle tunes seemed to warm the room with their dreamy notes. If she didn't know better, she would think that Luke was trying to romance her.

 

They enjoyed the snacks more than either of them had thought they would. Charlie hadn't realized that she was peckish, and Luke hadn't realized what good quality the cheeses and hams were. The conversation remained light, with Luke entertaining her with ridiculous jokes and innuendos. At some point during the conversation, they both became aware of rain falling outside, and they commented on how strange it was, considering the sunshine earlier that day.

 

Finally, somehow, the bottle of red wine had disappeared, but Luke wasted no time rising off the sofa to go search for another one. She watched him with some reservations. She really shouldn't drink much more.

 

Whilst hunting down another bottle, something on one of the shelves caught Luke's eye and he smiled with pleasure, placing the bottle on the desk while he bent to take a closer look. He turned to Charlie. She was watching him.

 

"Do you play?" he asked hopefully, gesturing to the board on the shelf.

 

"Chess?" she said with surprise. "Of course. Do you?"

 

"You bet I do," he replied, taking hold of the edges of the board and pulling it out. "You wanna play?" he asked. "Could be an interesting game."

 

"Okay, why not," she smiled, taking up his challenge and standing to move a small table under the board that he was carrying.

 

"Alright!" he responded with excitement, arranging two chairs for them and pouring two more glasses of wine, which he transferred next to the board. "I warn you though Charlie, I always win," he grinned, taking his seat.

 

"We'll see," she smiled back.

 

As she took her eat opposite him, it occurred to her then how important it was that she beat him. They had been competitive before, but they had always basically been on the same side. In a game of chess, it was each for their own. She was facing a huge competition, but she couldn't lose to him; he would be unbearable. The thought of the game was unnerving, but it was challenging too, and when was the last time shed been challenged like this? She’d forgotten. What was she feeling right now? Anxiety yes, but something much more interesting than that, something that went hand in hand with that type of anxiety: excitement.

 

"Let the battle commence," Luke announced, rubbing his hands together smugly.

 

Glancing down at the board, he paused for a moment, and then looked up at her. "Hey, you wanna go first?" he asked, gesturing to the board.

 

What made him think she needed an advantage? "No, no, you go ahead," she insisted.

 

He smiled but shook his head, swivelling the board around so that the white pieces were on her side. "Ladies first," he grinned. "Ladies always first," he stressed suggestively.

 

She smiled and gave a small nod of acknowledgement, her eyes falling to the pieces. Reaching out, her hand hovered above the middle pawns for a moment while she summed up her options. Then she swiftly seized one and moved it forward decisively. The game had begun.

 

Luke's first move was instant. She knew that he would move quickly; it befitted his arrogance. She played chess more cautiously however, assessing every option. His over arrogance could quite easily trip him up, but she wasn't foolish enough to underestimate him either.

 

It was an odd counter move; he had advanced his King's pawn, leaving it open to be taken by the Queen's pawn she had just moved. What was his thinking behind that? It was too early to tell, but now she had to make the decision of whether to take his pawn, or not to waste valuable moves, and free her more powerful pieces as soon as she could. If she didn't take it though, would he take her pawn afterwards? Tradition told her not to waste time on pawns this early in the game, however, it went against the grain to leave the two pawns there, challenging each other.

 

He watched her with amusement as her eyes lingered on the two pawns. There wasn't that much he could do with the move; he'd just done it more to throw her off, knowing that it would niggle at her sense of neatness. He wondered how she would finally react.

 

She had to make a decision. This was ridiculous, it was only the third move of the game! She took a hesitant glance at Luke. His eyes moved from the board to her, sensing that her attention had shifted. He smiled. She smiled back and returned her eyes to the board. Damn it, she couldn't resist. Having made a decision, she quickly grasped her pawn with one hand, and took his with the other. There, she'd done it.

 

"Hmm, interesting," he commented, with a knowing grin. "Different," he added.

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. She knew full well what he was trying to do. Smiling sweetly, she picked up her wine glass and took a slow sip, holding his gaze, until he was forced to refocus on the board to continue play.

 

She predicted that he would rely heavily on his knights and would want to free them quickly. The knights were powerful pieces when played well, being unpredictable in the way they could move in multiple directions and the fact that they could jump other pieces, which might otherwise act as barriers. She could also use knights effectively, but more often used the power of bishops, aligning them with each other, and then strengthening their potential with the use of the Queen.

 

He moved, and she'd been right. He jumped his knight into the board.

 

She smiled in response; her prediction had been spot on. He also smiled smugly, raising his glass to her.

 

She felt confidence flooding into her at that point however, and it lifted her spirits considerably. At that moment, she was certain that she could use the fact that she knew him so well to her advantage. Holding her glass up, about to drink, she considered her next move.

 

The moments ticked by as Charlie examined the board. Luke wasn't the most patient of people, but he wasn't going to let the fact that she was stalling put him off. In the absence of anything else to do, he found himself transfixed on the glass at Charlie's lips. She sipped, once, twice, three times, her lips slightly reddened by the time she had finished. Was it the colour of the wine that shimmered there still, or something else that had reddened them?

 

Her next instinct was to get one of her bishops out fast. She'd keep an eye on his knight however, knowing how quickly it could cause her trouble, but this time her move was swift: bishop into the middle of the board, to rest behind the first pawn she'd moved. At least the bishop was now protecting her pawn. Okay, so she was now limited in what she could do with the bishop, since it was being blocked by her own piece, but there were ways around that dilemma, and she had her bishop in quite a powerful position now.

 

Her eyes rose to his confidently. He dipped his gaze momentarily, before raising it again and lifting a questioning eyebrow.

 

"Are you sure about that Charlie?" he asked.

 

She smiled sweetly. "Yes, perfectly sure."

 

His next move was bold, and she could see from the satisfaction on his face after he'd moved it that he thought she'd overlooked that possibility.

 

Like hell she had! She never overlooked anything in chess, least of all this early in the game, and even less so when it involved her King. She had just dismissed the idea of him making that move for how simply she could use it to her advantage.

 

His bishop into the board, putting her into check.

 

She already knew what she would do, move her pawn forward to block the check and threaten his bishop at the same time. Reaching out, she took hold of the head of the pawn but clung onto it for a few seconds while she did a final check of the board to see that she hadn't missed anything. Still holding onto the pawn, her gaze flicked upwards to him. His eyes moved from her face to her hand and back to her face again. She studied the pawn one last time before finally moving it forward, leaning her chin on her hands and smiling with satisfaction at him.

 

His eyes darted downwards and then moved with lightning speed all over the board. He reached out blindly, picking up his wine glass and taking a sip, while still considering the pieces. Then, putting down his glass decisively, he moved his bishop back one square in defence.

 

With Luke though, no move was purely defensive; she knew it instinctively. There was an attack in there somewhere at the same time. She scrutinised the board for it. Okay, so he had the potential to threaten her king now from another angle, if he managed to back up the bishop with a knight, to prevent her king from taking it. But she really didn't like relying on her king to take pieces, it made her nervous. So, she needed to get more pieces out to pose more of a threat. She'd move her knight out to the edge of the board, not only freeing one of her pieces, but defending the square that his bishop would have to next move to if it were to threaten her King. Perfect. She was still anxious about that bishop of his though.

 

His next move puzzled her yet again. Damn Americans! She had to admit that she was nervous of him playing by different rules that she wasn't aware of. No, but she knew her game. She spent the next few minutes scrutinizing his move, going through every possible reason for it, but still not coming up with a motive. Well, it can't prove any great threat to her, not yet. She focused on her game plan. She would now move her second knight into the middle of the board; that would trouble him as he valued knights, but best of all, there was another motive behind her move.

 

Then something occurred to her. Would he sacrifice pieces? If he knew that he could take her knight, would he sacrifice his bishop? In a way, she hoped so; she didn't like his bishop where it was. She could stand to lose a knight that hadn't gone anywhere far yet. Now, if it was her, she'd never sacrifice a piece if she could help it, but this was Luke we were talking about. She was quite happy to keep her knight too though, and carry on attacking. But this wasn't the average game that she had played.

 

He stared long and hard at the board after her move. Then his eyes were on her again, wondering, searching, smiling knowingly…at what, she wasn't sure. Hell, she actually didn't care if he took her or not at that point. If he did, she would use that advantage, if he didn't , she would have moved a piece further into the board.

 

Then he seemed to mirror her earlier action, taking hold of his bishop but not letting it go. He hadn't even moved it out of its square though. Would he take her knight with it or not? It hovered ominously there. She began to feel her heart rate accelerating. Why, she didn't know. It made no difference to her, but she'd just like him to make a decision. He'd always moved his pieces quickly before.

 

At last the piece moved past its square, in the direction of her knight, but to her annoyance, it stopped again, half way between her knight and its original square. She glanced up at him. He was watching her, smiling, obviously playing games with her. Okay, but he couldn't do this forever; he'd have to move eventually. Then, to her consternation, he moved the piece back to its original square and let it go! What on earth was he doing? She sighed and looked up at him. He was still staring at the board, however, she was sure that he knew she was watching him. Again he reached out and took hold of the bishop, but this time he lifted it completely off the board and held it on the table in front of him. She'd lost her patience.

 

"Oh, for goodness sake Luke, just take me if you want to!"

 

His eyes widened; an amused smile quickly developed. "Oooh, an interesting proposition. Can we wait till after the game though? 'Cause I'm winning at the moment," he replied.

 

She gave a small laugh. The cheek of him! "Really? I don't think so, but nobody is going to win if you don't move one piece or another soon," she pointed out, exasperated.

 

He smiled, apparently pleased with himself about something, and picked up his bishop again, finally making his move.

 

Once again, she'd predicted him right: he took her knight with his bishop.

 

She wasted no time, taking his bishop in return.

 

There followed a frenzy of taking pieces. She tried to slow it down, alarmed at how quickly the board was clearing and aware that, although she was keeping up with him, she was also getting carried away at a pace he was more at home with.

 

Now they were both at the stage when they were each desperate to claim an advantage by taking a piece of the other's that wasn't involved in a trade. Only that would determine who was going to dominate the board.

 

Luke was considering a complicated plan, but it meant that in five moves ahead, he could get her into checkmate. He became excited at the prospect. But the way she was playing, she would probably predict his moves. He had to resort to more unconventional means. He grasped his Queen, the piece that he knew she valued to the hilt, and moved it into harms way. He watched the slight widening of her eyes as she looked down at the board. Placing it onto the square that would result in its demise, he lifted his fingers slightly, seeming to release the Queen.

 

Her eyes flicked to his. "You seem to have let go of that piece," she observed.

 

"No," he challenged, lifting his hand enough for her to see his little finger still touching it. "I never stop touching until I'm through," he said mischievously.

 

She sighed. "Do you really feel the need to resort to all these childish games?" she asked him.

 

He returned his Queen then and moved his knight, putting his plan into action.

 

"Games?" he responded innocently.

 

She frowned though after assessing his move. How could she have missed that? He was playing with her, trying his hardest to put her off. Well, two could play that game; if he could distract her like that, then she could do the same, threefold.

 

She took her time over her next move, making him wait as only the beginning of her counter strategy. Firstly, she toyed with her wine glass, running her fingers slowly up the stem. She drew his attention to it by moving hers away from the board. She sighed, seeming to be contemplating her next move, whilst her fingers slid up and down the stem of that glass, teasing it, teasing him. Then, when she had his full attention, she lifted it, excruciatingly slowly to her lips. She held it there before she took a sip, so that her lips were clinging to the edge of the glass, her eyes apparently contemplating the board.

 

He was losing control again; those lips of hers were driving him to distraction! They touched the glass softly, while the red liquid seeped past them and disappeared. She swallowed and lowered the glass, her eyes closing slightly, seeming to enjoy the warming taste. The fingertips of her other hand, however, toyed with her mouth, one finger slipping in, her teeth biting down indecisively as she scanned the board with suspicion. Luke had problems moving his eyes off those glossy lips of hers. He was throbbing again… badly…in a daze of her fingers and lips, shiny and wet. God he could plunder those lips right now!

 

As his eyes lingered on her mouth, he was vaguely aware of her moving a piece.

 

It seemed irrelevant though. Suddenly disbelief hit him, seeing her like that. Disbelief that he was sitting there in front of Charlie after all those years and there was something...something between them, something really damn hot! Things had happened so fast that day; he could hardly get it through his head. And now, damn it, he was at her mercy yet again because his libido was most definitely taking over rapidly. He was aware that it was jeopardising his game, but part of him was starting to not care. She was playing with him, he knew it, but what the hell, let her keep on playing!

 

She sighed as if too hot. His attention flicked from the board to her once again. She ran the fingers of one hand down the folds at the front of her dress, grasping them and wafting them lightly as if to generate some air. The board was calling him but there was no way he was missing a moment of that wafting! She leant forward slightly, resting her chin on one hand. His gaze avoided her face and snuck a look down the front of her dress. Her fingers were still there, edging into the place that his burned to be. He shifted uncomfortably on his chair and lowered his eyes to the board. He was going to move his bishop…no, knight, then his bishop…or was it the other way round?

 

He tried to fix his eyes on the board; he willed them to stay there, but then she was moving again, ducking down for some reason. Curiosity tore his attention away.

 

She had swivelled to one side of her seat and bent, leaning forward over one knee to loosen the strap on her shoe. Appreciating her ankles and calves was one thing, but the view of her dress, or lack of it, down her back was something else at that angle. He could barely see the edge of the back of her dress, and if he focused just on that area, he could almost imagine her not wearing that dress at all! His mouth was suddenly dry. He licked his lips. Then she was taking her shoe off. His mind began wandering. After she had taken both shoes off, she would be naked… apart from that dress. Well, she definitely had no bra on anyway, he could tell. Okay, so she probably had panties on… grrr, he had to stop thinking of her panties!

 

Right, that was it, he had to move now. If he remembered the plan correctly, he needed to move his knight…yes, then on the next move, she would be in check. And after that it was just a matter of bringing his remaining bishop into play.

 

He made his move.

 

Having dispensed of her shoes, she rose again to glance at the board. She assessed the effect that his knight would have on her game, noting that she would be in check on the following move. But then something odd happened. She suspected what he'd inadvertently done, but had to check and recheck to see if she was in fact right. A smile grew the more she checked their pieces, until she broke out into laughter.

 

"What?" he frowned.

 

She glanced up at him, but burst out laughing again.

 

"C'mon Charlie, what's up?" he said impatiently.

 

She took in a deep breath to calm herself in order to answer. "Take a look at the board Luke."

 

His eyes shot down to it, but he saw nothing unusual; he wasn't in check, but in one more move, she would be. He was winning, so why was she so amused about that?

 

"What's so funny?" he asked.

 

"No," she insisted, "really take a look at it."

 

He had really taken a look at it!

 

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong or not?"

 

She leant back in her chair, as if she had finished, draping her arm casually over the back.

 

"Stalemate," she said slowly but clearly, her eyes glittering with amusement. The word echoed around the room.

 

"What?" he asked, searching the board for answers.

 

"It's stalemate. Nobody wins; it's a draw," she emphasised.

 

"Ahh no, no, no, no, no," he responded, shaking his head, "I don't play stalemate; someone's gotta win, and one more move, and you're in check…soon to be checkmate," he informed her.

 

She chuckled. "You have no choice but to accept stalemate Adams; look, I can't move any of my pieces at all. And if I can't move any of my pieces, then you won't get your turn, hence, stalemate."

 

He stared at the board in dismay, as what she had said sunk in.

 

"That aint how we play it in the States!" he finally responded dismissively. "Stalemate, that just aint right!"

 

She smiled, rose off her chair and moved to the half bottle of wine that had been left on the desk, refilling her glass.

 

"Face it Luke, you can't beat me because I am your equal. I'm equal to you, and you're equal to me. And don't think for one minute that I didn't see your five move plan," she laughed. "That attempt to put me off with the Queen," she shook her head, "pitiful!"

 

"What about you?" he pointed to her accusingly. "What was all that sighing and touching? And that thing with the lips, eh? What was all that about? And the shoes," he added.

 

"Shoes?" she laughed, "I took my shoes off Luke; my feet were hurting."

 

Hmm, well, his body was still buzzing from the memory of it. She'd been playing him; that was for sure.

 

He stared at her, leaning nonchalantly back against that desk, smiling triumphantly at him. Silence fell upon the room, apart from the sound of raindrops on the window panes and the soft sound of background music. He stood slowly and she watched with growing curiosity the closer he got to her. What was he going to do? He only hesitated a second when he reached her however, and stepped to her right. She turned with surprise to see him flicking through the songs on the CD. He had found one that he apparently liked, nodding his approval. Then his head turned to her. His eyes began to mould to hers in the silence that had fallen between them, and she wondered what on earth was going through his head.

 

Then, without warning, his hand shot out, grasping her by the wrist, and before she knew what was happening, he'd pulled her with a sharp tug, into the hard wall of his chest. She gasped and looked up at him in shock.

 

"I like this song; let's dance," he smiled challengingly.

 

It looked like she hadn't got much choice; he clearly wasn't taking no for an answer.

 

His hand moved from her wrist then to clasp hers, whilst his other hand slid onto her bare back. That touch felt so intimate; she found herself struggling to catch her breath at the feel of it. The only thing she could do to distract herself from the sensations she was feeling was to talk.

 

"Rainy Night In Georgia," she nodded, "fitting choice." Her voice didn't sound as steady as she would have liked, but that was the least of her worries at that moment. She had the distinct feeling that this dance was going to be her punishment for putting him off his game. He wasn't going to win though. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction.

 

"I thought so," he answered.

 

As they began to sway to the music, Luke took full advantage of having access to her bare skin. He'd been fascinated by it all day, and now he had an excuse to feel the long expanse of soft, silkiness against the palm of his hand.

 

When Luke's hand began to wander, trailing his fingers up and down her spine, up and down, up and down… Charlie's head became slightly fuzzy. She had a vague thought: she might now have some understanding of why Luke hadn't been able to concentrate on his game.

 

"You been to Georgia Charlie?" he whispered into her ear, his warm breath caressing her senses.

 

It was an odd question, but she answered automatically, her head stuck in a drowsy haze. "No." Then, forcing the word out, she asked, "You?"

 

"No," he replied, his breath leaving a tingling trail from her earlobe upwards to her temple, where his lips then hovered. "Wanna go some day?" he sighed, his lips brushing her temple with the slightest of touches. It was a crazy conversation, but there they were, having it.

 

"Why not?" she laughed.

 

She could feel his smile from the movement of his lips at the side of her face.

 

Slowly then, she began to register that his hand on her back had lowered, tracing circular paths, over a wider area than just her spine. He was exploring, but how far would he go? His fingers had reached the material of one side at the back of her dress now, they hesitated there. She seemed to have stopped breathing. Then his fingers crept past the material to the even softer skin beneath it, skin that he had never even seen before, let alone touched. It felt thrilling and dangerous to him, and for a few seconds, both daring and exhilarating to her. His palm was now on her naked hip, and it ran boldly, and so very sensually, upwards over her waist, up, up… He was now also holding his breath, on tender hooks, wondering if she would let him move his hand to where it had burned to be.

 

He spoke to her then, praying that his comment would distract her for long enough.

 

"I miss the MI5 days, don't you?" he asked softly.

 

He'd made a fatal mistake. The mention of MI5 was like a bucket of cold water over her as realisation of what she was doing suddenly hit her. She had been letting him seduce her for God sake, what was she thinking?

 

Abruptly stepping back away from him, she left his arms outstretched, empty and confused.

 

"Don't think you can just come back after all these years and everything will be the same Adams, because it isn't," she said, turning and striding to the other side of the room.

Chapter 7

He couldn't believe she was suggesting that she never wanted to see him again! What never? Ever?

Finally, he put an end to the silence. "Just 'cause I was in New York, it don't mean I didn't want to see you…or wasn't thinkin' 'bout you...

 

 

 

 

 

 

What the hell had she been thinking? To dance with him like that, let him touch her…when she was with Richie…when she hadn't seen him for seven years… and he turns up out of the blue… and on the first evening, only hours after she'd seen him again, she behaves like that! Was she out of her mind? He'd swan off back to New York again and she'd be left there with her relationship with Richie in tatters. Okay, so she wasn't ready to marry Richie yet but there was something there between them. He made her feel good. She hadn't really been looking for a relationship at the time either, but he'd made her feel so good and they had laughed and talked…that night at the Montgomery charity function… there had been some kind of spark between them. Hadn't there?

 

What had happened? One minute everything was just…just…so damn good! They were melting together. Him and Charlie. They were even going to Georgia together…and then, bam! What did she mean, is wasn't the same? Well, okay, it wasn't exactly the same, cause they weren't working for MI5, but in a way, it was just the same… no correction, it was even better! Or so he'd thought.

 

"What's wrong?" he asked, holding his hands out to her, his face filled with uncertainty and confusion.

 

Seeing him like that, looking so at a loss, just made her more anxious. She couldn't handle it when he made her feel like that. She had moved her life on from all this…or so she had thought.

 

"It's been seven years Luke, but you're acting as if nothing is different!" she exclaimed, in a panic, edging back from him.

 

Where had all this suddenly come from?

 

"So are you," he came back instinctively defending himself. He changed his tack however when he saw her expression. "Look, I know stuff is different, but we are the same, you and me; we're the same people," he reasoned.

 

"No we're not!" she argued, her voice rising in pitch.

 

"Well, who are we then?" he snapped back.

 

She groaned, forced to answer, "We are two people playing this game until we get out of here tomorrow morning and find the surveillance discs. Then I go back to my charity work, and you go back to," she hesitated, "I don't know Adams, finding more criminals to put away I suppose. We live completely different lives now," she stressed.

 

A frown played about his brow as though her words had stung him. He studied her face, searching for something. The moments passed until he finally blurted out in frustration,

 

"Okay, I made a mistake! Aint you ever made a mistake Charlie? So what you gonna do, punish me forever for it?"

 

She put her hand to her head. "It's not about that. I'm not trying to punish you. I've just moved on," she insisted.

 

She had to be strong, she just had to be, because there was no future between them, and just him being there then was making her unhappy. God, she needed to get out of there.

 

"What, so that's it then?" he said, his eyes boring into hers.

 

The room seemed to hold its breath suddenly. As though something had just been said that couldn't be taken back. He was waiting for an answer and she had the feeling that her response would make or break everything between them. The finality of the situation hit her then, leaving a churning feeling in her stomach. But why? She had already made the decision that she didn't want to see him again seven years ago after he'd left. "But he left you then, so you had no control. Now you do," a voice in her head whispered. She hadn't had to face him then either. Time had just passed; it had been easier. Now he was there asking the question, forcing her to answer.

 

What was she going to say? She stood, her eyes clinging to his, eyes she might not ever look into again if she chose to push her point. Moments passed. The song came to an end and the disc stopped, throwing the room into a tense silence.

 

He couldn't believe she was suggesting that she never wanted to see him again! What never? Ever?

 

Finally, he put an end to the silence. "Just 'cause I was in New York, it don't mean I didn't want to see you…or wasn't thinking 'bout you," he added, unsure of what else to say.

 

After seven years, she'd assumed that she had faded from his thoughts. She wasn't sure why or how the next question had slipped out, but it had. "Were you?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," he replied, grasping at hope, "all the time. You were my partner; I always missed that. Every time I was on a case, it wasn't the same."

 

Luke was relieved that he seemed to be getting somewhere with Charlie at last… that was until her expression hardened very abruptly after his last comment.

 

"Well, you'll find other partners no doubt," she said, turning from him.

 

What was she thinking of? She should have known the answer! The only way to stop this madness was to put some space between them, like she had before. She paced to the door but stopped in front of it with nowhere else to go.

 

He stared at her back, his heart sinking. He just didn't understand what was going through her head. But he had to try to get through to her. It didn't make any difference if he had new partners or not; he'd missed her.

 

"But we had some good times, didn't we?" he pushed with an uncertainty that simply tore at her further. "You and me, Charlie? Eh, Charlie? C'mon."

 

Yes they'd had good times… and bad too. But more than anything, they'd been some of the most intense moments of her life. She hated having to acknowledge to herself though that yes, she wanted those times back again. Damn it, she did! If she had a choice, she would swap her life now for the life she had then…before she used to get cold sweats at the thought of finding Luke dead one day, or standing and watching him being shot to death in front of her…before he'd disappeared and she'd convinced herself that her fears had come true… and definitely before three years after he'd left, when she'd realised that Luke leaving was nothing compared to the shock and pain she'd found herself in. That was the worst time of her life and there were moments when she had seriously doubted her ability to pull herself through.

 

But pull herself through she had. Okay, so she was never going to be quite the same again, but she had accepted that and found peace… that was until he'd turned up out of the blue earlier that day, reminding her of happier times and making her want those back again!

 

"Charlie?" he questioned once more.

 

She finally turned back to him, both hands in her hair, her head feeling as if it were about to explode.

 

"Yes, okay, we had some good times Luke, but you're not seeing my point!" she shouted, beginning to pace the room, holding her head.

 

"Well, what is your point then?" he shouted back, watching her pace to and fro, her eyes squeezed shut, her hands at her temples. There was something she wasn't telling him; he could sense it.

 

"I can't do this now; I'm not doing this now," she said to herself.

 

He caught her then in mid pace, grabbing hold of her elbow to halt her. "Doing what?" he asked with growing concern. Her face was a mask of pain.

 

"This," she replied, snatching her arm out of his grasp and backing away, "any of this." She turned, scanning the room through watery eyes for somewhere to go to get away from him. There was nowhere. She was trapped.

 

In desperation, she strode over to the window, fumbling blindly with the handle in an attempt to open it.

 

In seconds Luke was beside her, trying to catch hold of her hands. "Woa, wait a minute," he said, "what you trying to do?"

 

She pushed his hands away and resumed her effort to free the catch. "I just want some fresh air, alright?" she replied, trying her hardest to sound reasonable.

 

"Hold on a second will ya?" he said, grabbing both her hands and turning her to him.

 

"Get off me Adams," she demanded.

 

"Hey look, I'm just checking you aint gonna throw yourself outta there the way you're reacting."

 

"I'm not going to throw myself out of there," she said through gritted teeth. He failed to release her hands however and simply searched her face, taking in the dampness of her eyes with confusion and concern. "Oh good Lord!" she exclaimed, tugging at her hands. "When are you going to get the message Adams? I want you to go away and leave me!"

 

Did she mean forever, or just in that room? To hell with it, fine! He'd leave her to jump out the damn window if she wanted to!

 

Abruptly releasing her hands, he turned and strode away from her.

 

She finally found sanctuary in the icy cold night air after having dealt with the catch, thrown open the window and leant out as far as she could. Hanging her head, she gave into her emotions and sobbed.

 

With the sounds of her distress ringing in his ears, Luke charged over to the drinks cabinet to find something as strong as possible. He settled on a whiskey, grabbed a glass, along with the entire bottle, and strode over to the chess table to take a seat. Sweeping a hand angrily across the few remaining pieces on the board, they clattered to the ground whilst he planted his whiskey glass and bottle in the middle and began to drink. Stalemate.

Chapter 8

He uncurled her fingers with his and they held onto that small contact, their fingers clinging to each other's as the moments passed, both hesitant and unsure, until a single tear spilt out over her lashes and dripped down her cheek. It was all the prompting he needed.

 

 

 

After the second glass of whiskey, Luke had expected to feel at least a little better. He didn't. Neither apparently did Charlie, as her tears hadn't subsided at all. She'd been sobbing now constantly for the past ten minutes at least. It was torturous for Luke, particularly considering that he was forced to just sit there and listen to her without being able to do anything. He sighed and went to turn to take a look at her, but changed his mind and poured himself another drink. Maybe the third one would work?

Nope, but at least Charlie's sobs had faded by then. He'd seen her cry before, but never like that. Something was badly wrong. But what should he do now? She'd told him in no uncertain terms that she didn't want him anywhere near her, so how could he find out what was wrong? He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. He groaned, and turned to glance back at her. Her head was leaning against the frame of the window and she was staring outside. She stood there so still, just staring.

Contemplating the whiskey bottle again momentarily, he finally gave up on that idea and stood. He'd go and try to talk to her. He took a few steps in her direction but stopped, not having a clue what to say, and still not entirely sure how she would react to him either. He returned to his seat. Toying with his empty whiskey glass, he sat in the silence, cringing at his own inability to do anything.

Time ticked by and the silence stretched on. Still she was standing by that window, staring into space. Damn it, this was unbearable. Enough was enough!

"Charlie, you gonna tell me what's wrong now?" he asked.

No reply.

"Charlie, c'mon," he said, rising again from his seat, but this time not stopping until he was standing beside her. "Charlie?" he placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. She closed her eyes. His voice softened. "Charlie," he insisted, "you gotta tell me what's wrong… c'mon…you gotta," he stressed.

Finally, she took in a deep breath, turned her head slightly and opened her eyes. The light from the room lit the profile of her face, revealing her pain in the red rawness of her eyes and tear soaked cheeks… but she still refused to look at him.

"Charlie, speak to me damn it!" he shouted out, suddenly losing his patience.

The harshness of his voice seemed to shake her out of her trance then. Wiping the excess of tears from her cheeks with two hands, she turned to him at last, looking almost surprised to see him there. He searched her face with a frown.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. It was a shaky sound. "I don't know why…" she trailed off, lifting her eyes to the ceiling. He could see tears forming again as she blinked a few times at an attempt to disperse them. "I don't know where all that came from," she finished, her voice overly cheery as she lowered her gaze to him again.

"Are you kiddin me?" he replied incredulously. "You don't cry like that and not know why!"

She groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Look, I just wanted to be alone, but we're locked in this bloody office!" she said, dropping her hands. "If we weren't, then you wouldn't have had to witness that. Can we just drop the subject please and try to get some sleep?"

He shook his head. "No! No we aint dropin' the subject. I wanna know what's wrong!"

She stared at him in dismay. She'd have to tell him something. He'd not leave it alone otherwise.

"I urm…" She fiddled with one earlobe. "I suppose seeing you again brought back memories… of before…" Suddenly her throat began to ache and the words got stuck there.

"Before what?" he asked, still at a loss.

Her heart started to beat with anxiety, and with the adrenalin came the threat of more tears. God, she couldn't start crying again! Her mouth became dry though, making it difficult for her to swallow back her emotion. She glanced down at the desk to her right, if only to focus on something.

"Bef…before…" she struggled.

"Before what!" he shouted.

She turned to him then, her watery eyes pleading with him, until she eventually spoke again. "Before my father… before he..." she faded off, unable to finish the sentence.

It only took a few seconds until his eyes widened as realisation hit him. He had a sudden vivid picture in his head of Charlie and her father embracing each other affectionately. He knew, from just seeing them together in the past, what a close relationship she'd had with her father. The pain of losing his own mother was also not a distant memory for him either.

He glanced away from her. "I'm sorry," he said, a little awkwardly. "There any tissues in here?" he asked, suddenly realizing that there was at least something practical he could do for her. It didn't take long for him to find some in one of the desk drawers. He picked up the box and plucked out a few tissues, handing them to her and placing the rest on the desktop beside her.

She wiped her eyes and cheeks, and pushed her hair back off her face, inhaling deeply. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Like I said, I think it was remembering the MI5 years, when he was still here." She bit down on her quivering lip.

"When did he pass away?" Luke asked gently.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Four years ago. Like I said, I don't know why I'm like this now."

He watched her for a moment before speaking. "You know, sometimes people can't grieve proper at the time. Then their bodies kinda take over later. It's all gotta come out eventually," he shrugged.

She gave a weak laugh. "Well, I'd rather it hadn't all come out now…" She paused then and thought for a moment. "…how do you know all of that anyway?"

He leant back against the desk with his hands in his pockets. "When I was workin' for the NYPD, you know, before they sent me here, some jerk upstairs said I hadda go see a shrink after my father died." He rolled his eyes.

For a moment, a slight frown flickered across her brow, that was until she envisaged him with the shrink and suddenly burst out laughing.

Amusement lit up his face. "What?" he smiled.

"I'm sorry," she said, half laughing, half crying, "I just had a vision of your face as the shrink tried to psychoanalyse you."

He laughed. "Yeah, think I gave him a hard time. I only went twice. Then he recommended I see another shrink. They never pushed it after that."

"I bet."

Okay, so she still had tears streaming down her face but she was smiling now at least. That was a relief. Eventually the laughter in the room faded however, and there ensued an awkward silence, where Charlie averted her face from him, staring at the desktop, and Luke watched silent tears still falling down her face. She'd been through all this and he hadn't even known.

It suddenly hit him then that she was right, seven years was a long time, and a lot had changed. Then doubts flooded his head. They only knew each other because of MI5. Not in a million years would their paths have crossed otherwise. They came from completely different backgrounds. What she'd said had been true; they did live different lives. Working for MI5 was the one thing that had brought them together, wasn't it? But now she wasn't working there anymore, and neither was he. So where did they go from there?

They could be friends. What, see each other every now and then for a coffee? Nah. He wanted to see her every day, like he had before. He wanted the thrill of not knowing what each day would bring working with her, who they would foil, him and Charlie. They had been unbreakable. How could they bring two totally different lives together now though? So what if they found the surveillance discs tomorrow and that was it? What was he going to do? He couldn't just turn and walk away from her forever.

He felt that dilemma even more intensely witnessing her tears. He hated seeing her like that. She always seemed so strong; she was strong enough to deal with hardened criminals for goodness sake! But seeing her so distraught like that made him suddenly realize her vulnerability. If he could just think of the right thing to do or say, maybe it would make everything right again between them. He knew what he wanted to do, but the physical contact hadn't exactly gone too well earlier that evening.

Despite that however, he instinctively took one hand out of his pocket and reached a hesitant arm out to her, catching hold of one of her hands. She lifted questioning eyes to him but the expression of concern on his face took away any caution she might have felt. He uncurled her fingers with his and they held onto that small contact, their fingers clinging to each other's as the moments passed, both hesitant and unsure, until a single tear spilt out over her lashes and dripped down her cheek. It was all the prompting he needed.

"Come here," he said finally, taking his other hand out of his pocket and standing up. She was drawn to him as he placed an arm around her shoulder.

It was meant as the friendly gesture of an ex work colleague, who he had shared a lot with, wanting to provide some comfort during a difficult time. But as soon as he felt her near, and her body shaking with grief, his instinct was to hold her closer, to take that pain away if there was any way he could. He felt her cling on to his shirt and that was enough for him to move his other arm around her waist. Now their chests and stomachs were touching in an incredibly warm and intimate way, emphasizing their closeness. God he'd missed her! He could feel her stomach shudder as her grief poured out and he tightened his hold on her, unsure of which he wanted more: to comfort her, or to stop her from slipping out of his life again. He felt her arms creep around his waist and he knew, for at least that moment, that she wanted him there.

Maybe she shouldn't have taken his hand and accepted his embrace, but it seemed silly not to. He knew her; he'd known her for a long time, and, no matter how long he'd been gone for, nothing changed that. There was something so familiar about him, something comforting. Forget all the flirting and innuendos, this was something tangible and real. In whatever unconventional, backhanded way, they could confide in each other. It worked, and it made her feel better…

"Luke, he was just…he was the person who loved me the most in this world," she said, feeling the panic of her father's absence. "I'm afraid now that he's gone," she confided tearfully.

What if everyone left her and she was completely alone?

His arms held her to him a little more closely then. "You don't have to be afraid," he whispered into her ear. "And, I do know too," he assured her. "Charlie…" he hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to say what was in his head. He decided to risk sharing. "I lost my mother also."

"What?" she pulled away from him then with a frown and covered her mouth. "Oh God, and here I am going on about…"

He shook his head and pulled her back to him. "It's okay. I just wanted to let you know you aint on your own in this." After a short silence he spoke up again. "It's weird, I always just thought she'd be there. Dumb eh."

She felt a sudden pang of guilt for focusing only on her own fears and loneliness, prompting her to verbalise the thing that had haunted her the most about her father's death.

"He was alone…" she admitted, "when it happened. I should have been there. I can't bear to think of him alone," she sobbed. "I don't know how to cope with that."

He had no answers either, his only answer was to lean his head towards hers, brushing his cheek against her temple and resting it there, willing his presence to take away some of her pain.

Her head fell against his shoulder then as she gave into her grief and accepted the support he was giving her.

Now that he felt so close to her, again his fears about them parting came back. There was another reason though why he couldn't just walk away from her. He wasn't leaving her with that Richie guy. For a start, he didn't trust him. There had been something bugging him about the guy and the whole situation for a while. And anyway, even if he was genuine, would he know what made her tick? Would he know when she was being too stubborn and proud to show any weaknesses, when she really needed comforting? Would he sense when there was something wrong and not give up until he found out what it was? Would he know her like her partner did, the person who had faced so much with her, the person who knew her probably more than she knew herself?

His hand lifted to her head then as she rested it against him. He brushed her hair aside, so that his fingers could find her neck, where he caressed her gently in soft comforting strokes.

She really should move away now. He didn't seem inclined to move anytime soon though. Well, a few more moments wouldn't hurt. She should just accept tonight for what it was and not think too much about it. It was neither of their faults that they had been locked in there after all. And anyway, after they had sorted out this murder, she'd probably not see him again. He'd disappear somewhere. She was okay with that…

She reached for him then, grasping onto his arm, and he glanced down at her for a moment, reacting by tightening his hold on her in return. He wanted so much at that moment to know every way that he could comfort her most. He sighed, his breath warm on her neck. He bent his head so that it was next to hers again, his lips hovering on her neck where his fingers had been. He ached to feel her skin against his lips, he suddenly couldn't think about anything else. They were so close to her neck, her soft skin, it was so incredibly hard for him to hold back, but his fear of her withdrawal from their physical contact earlier stopped him.

He held her there in silence for as long as he could, until finally, begrudgingly, he was forced to release her. His embrace lightened and his arms slipped to her waist as he stepped back, still reluctant to give up that last contact.

His eyes were soft and smoky, and when he spoke, his voice was not much more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," he said.

She knew that had come from his heart and it brought fresh tears to her eyes.

"And me for you," she replied, suddenly regretting the loss of those seven years.

He reached out and wiped a tear away with his thumb. "And I know it aint makin' up for nothin' Charlie, but I'm here for you now," he said.

Chapter 9

 

There must have been an inch between them at best... an inch of air that quickly warmed, so much so that she was no longer sure if his body was in fact touching hers or not. She could hear him, almost feel him, breathing.

 

 

 

"Good Lord, think we should tidy up a bit," Charlie said suddenly, glancing around the room and anticipating the cleaners' reaction in the morning when they opened the door.

 

She moved away from him then, busying herself with clearing away the food and replacing the chess set. Besides, if she stayed where she was for any longer, she'd be in tears again.

 

So, what would happen next? She'd make the room as spotless as she could and then settle down on the sofa for the night. Then it would be morning. He wasn't sure he was ready for that... ready for the whole Borelli mess to rear its ugly head again, or ready for what to do about the Charlie situation. Besides, he did most of his thinking at night lately, sleeping only when it was necessary.

 

He watched her systematically gear them closer to departure.

 

"You want a drink?" he asked her, holding up the whiskey bottle as she swept past him.

 

She glanced down at it briefly, contemplating their assault on Doug's alcohol reserves.

 

"Luke, we really oughtn't…"

 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, poor old Doug. So you want a drink or not?" he asked.

 

He thought she was being uptight. Well, if she didn't want a drink, she wasn't going to have one. But… considering… it hadn't exactly been an easy night.

 

"I'll have one," she stressed, slipping the chess set back onto the shelf, picking up another whiskey glass, moving back to the desk and taking a seat on the office chair.

 

Thank God! He poured her a drink and leant back against the window ledge on the other side of the desk opposite her.

 

"So," she began, taking a sip of the whiskey and trying not to wince at its effects, " do you have any ideas as to who would want to murder Roberto?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," he replied, "me."

 

"Very funny Adams, apart from you?" she pushed.

 

He sighed and shook his head. "No. You have any ideas?"

 

She thought for a moment. "Well, someone from your neck of the woods I would think," she replied. "Someone from the same mob who probably wanted to take control?"

 

"That don't make no sense," he contradicted.

 

She took a sip of the whiskey and thought for a moment. "But who else would have motive?"

 

"Donno," he replied, "but if they wanted to hit Roberto, they sure as hell wouldn't come here to do it. They'd want to do it on their own turf, and let everyone there know about it," he reasoned.

 

"Okay, then who?" she asked.

 

"Someone here?" he questioned.

 

"But who? Why?" she came back.

 

He had some ideas but he wasn't going to air them at that moment.

 

"Look," she began, "chances are that it's someone from that mob, and maybe they thought he was an easier target here."

 

"Nah, it don't work like that. It's all about territory and showing you're in control out there; they wouldn't want him to be an easier target. Aint no glory in that," he replied.

 

She considered his comment and thought for a moment. "No," she shook her head, "I refuse point-blank to believe that it would have been someone from the club. I've known everyone here for years."

 

Luke became suddenly very still, and stared strangely at Charlie, his eyes distant though. Her words, "I refuse point-blank..." rewound in his head.

 

"What?" she asked, noticing his distraction.

 

He shook his head and refocused on her. "I know one way of proving if it was someone from the Borelli mob. We need to study the crime scene more though, and the body."

 

"What are we looking for?" she asked, sipping her drink.

 

"Evidence that he was or wasn't shot at point- blank range. If it was anyone from the Borelli mob, that's how they would have finished him. It was a pride thing, after the brothers failed to kill Danny. Every murder connected with the Borelli's since they found out he was still alive was done at point-blank range... to make sure the job was done right," he explained.

 

She nodded and took another sip of her drink. "Oh, something else," she pointed to him, "how did they get here, the murderer and Roberto I mean?"

 

"If it was someone from the club, they were already here," he pointed out.

 

Why was he so convinced that it was someone from the club? The thought was ridiculous.

 

"So, how did Roberto get here then?" she asked.

 

"Look, I dunno; maybe they moved the car or something. What we need is to get hold of those surveillance discs to find out anything for sure."

 

"I've been thinking about that too..." she began.

 

Luke had the feeling he wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

 

"... how exactly are we going to get our hands on those discs?"

 

Luke frowned. What was her problem now? "We ask Denny... Dennis, whatever his name is. We've been through this; he will hand them over or people are gonna find out about his little indiscretions."

 

She shook her head. "Adams, I was joking. Dennis is a married man, and I've got to still socialize with these people you know; I'm not having you ride roughshod into this, causing all sorts of trouble. Besides, it's most likely that she has the discs, if either of them do. I can't imagine him leaving that sort of thing lying around for his wife to see."

 

He sighed. "Right, so we go see her then. You know where she lives?"

 

She nodded. "But.."

 

"But what?" he came back impatiently.

 

She shifted in her seat, crossing her legs. "How are we going to approach this?"

 

"What d'ya mean? We go ask her for the discs!" Why did women have to complicate everything?

 

"Err right. And what reason are we going to give for knowing that she has them? Do you intend to tell her that you were watching her have sex with Dennis?"

 

"Yeah, too right...if it means…" he stopped to think for a second, "…Well, not letting her know we watched exactly," he backtracked.

 

"You watched," she corrected.

 

His eyes narrowed at her.

 

"But..." he paused for thought again, "…we could say... we knew because...ok," he gave up, "we don't ask for them; we go break into her house and take a look around."

 

"We are not breaking into Sue's house," she came back adamantly.

 

A pulse on Luke's temple began to twitch.

 

"But," she put a finger up to stop him from exploding, "What we do is pay her a visit and you can distract her while I take a look around."

 

"Alright, already; we do that then." He took a sip of his whiskey thoughtfully. "How well you know this Sue woman anyway?" he asked, a little out of the blue.

 

She shrugged. "We're not best friends or anything like that, but she's been coming to the club for years, so we're not exactly strangers either."

 

"'Cause you know everyone in the club, right?" he replied.

 

She bristled slightly at his tone. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do."

 

"You spend a lot of time here then," he observed.

 

"The club provides a venue for quite a lot of the charity functions; Doug has really helped us out a lot," she said defensively. "Adams, is there a point to this conversation?"

 

"Is this Doug guy married?" he asked, completely ignoring her previous question.

 

She frowned. "He's divorced. Why?"

 

He nodded, as if that information had confirmed something. What on earth was going through his head?

 

"You said 'us'," he went on, "that Doug had helped 'us' out a lot..."

 

"Richie and I," she supplied.

 

His eyes widened slightly. "So you work with Richie then?"

 

"Sometimes, yes."

 

He nodded. "And how long has Richie boy been coming to the club?" he asked.

 

She placed her whiskey glass down on the desk in front of her and folded her arms.

 

He made a mental note to cool it on the questions. Charlie wasn't happy.

 

"Do you think I don't know what you're doing?" she asked.

 

"What?" he replied innocently. "Just taking an interest in your new life."

 

"No you're not," she contradicted, "You're mentally investigating my club... and my fiancé too!" she added.

 

"Your club?" he quoted her with surprise. "And anyway, you aint engaged to the guy; you turned him down," he reminded her.

 

"Well, the club that I belong to," she corrected. "And I didn't turn him down, I..."

 

"You what?" he jumped in, noting her hesitation.

 

"I... postponed it," she finished.

 

He smiled but said nothing. Eww, he was beginning to annoy her now.

 

"I really don't see what business it is of yours anyway," she said, picking her whiskey glass back up, swivelling on the chair and feigning interest in a magazine on the desk. She turned the pages with a little more vigour than was needed.

 

"Pipe down will ya," he replied, watching her hands and wondering if one of the pages was going to rip in them. "You're probably right; it's most likely someone from New York."

 

She glanced up at him then, narrowing her eyes.

 

But he didn't really believe that ; he was giving in way too easily. Well, he could believe what he wanted. He'd find out the truth in the end soon enough.

 

"So, what d'ya do exactly... this charity work?" he asked, finishing his drink and reaching out for the bottle to pour another. A frown flickered across her face. He seemed to be drinking more than usual.

 

"I organize functions, approach businesses for donations and sponsorship, that kind of thing," she replied casually, her focus still hovering on the magazine.

 

He contemplated her for a moment. "And you enjoy that job?" he asked.

 

She glanced across at him and nodded. "Yes, yes I do. I like knowing that I'm helping people."

 

He sipped his whiskey. "Course you do, 'cause that's you Charlie, but you were helping people at MI5 too," he pointed out.

 

She sighed. "I know, but now I'm helping people in different ways."

 

He turned to glance out of the window for a while before turning back to her. "I know it's a sore subject for you, but don't you ever miss MI5?" he asked, "just a bit?"

 

Her expression softened. "Of course I do, but I've moved on now. It doesn't mean that I don't have many fond memories of working there though," she added.

 

His face lightened. "Yeah, what?"

 

She stared at him in silence for a second. "What, what?"

 

"What 'fond' memories do you have?" he pushed.

 

"Specifically?" she asked with surprise.

 

"Yeah, specifically," he answered.

 

"Err…" She thought for a moment, contemplating memories, whilst feeling the pressure to say the appropriate thing. Then she chuckled as one popped into her head. "We had a lot of fun doing some of that undercover work. I seem to remember you playing a gay art dealer once; that was very entertaining."

 

He smiled. "Yeah, I thought you were gonna bust our cover on that one."

 

She laughed. "I very nearly did!"

 

His eyes smiled at her across the room. "Yeah, we had some fun doing the undercover jobs,” he agreed. “… I thought we did Cindy and Jake Carlton exceptionally well," he grinned, holding her gaze.

 

Hmm, Cindy and Jake were supposed to have met undercover as strangers, but Luke had them supposedly falling in love at first sight and sharing a bed in the house of the target on that very same night! She’d always wondered if he’d actually thought that she might give in and have sex with him in that bed. Not a chance. Still, the evening had been… interesting.

 

She held his gaze in return. "Ah yes, Mr Carlton, I remember him."

 

The private joke kept the amusement in their expressions and fused them together in the moment. Her smile lingered for probably longer than it should have. Then she came to her senses, finally standing.

 

"Well, I'm going to at least attempt some sleep. You should too," she advised, clearing up the last few glasses and plates.

 

"Yeah, well it aint exactly the Park Lane," he said, glancing at the sofa and jumping up suddenly as a thought hit him. In three strides he was there, throwing himself down across its length, his hands underneath his head, a smile on his face.

 

She swung her head towards the sudden commotion.

 

"Turn the light out will ya?" he said.

 

She approached the sofa and crossed her arms, glaring down at him. "Err, and where do you propose I sleep?" she asked.

 

He patted the column of sofa space next to him.

 

"Oh no," she shook her head. "I hardly think it appropriate, do you?"

 

"Appropriate for what? We gotta sleep aint we?" he replied, rolling over onto his side, punching the cushion under his head and closing his eyes.

 

Great! Such a gentleman.

 

She stood there for a moment in the vague hope that he would actually change his mind and move over to one side of the sofa for her. Nope, not a chance! Grrr.

 

Retrieving the blanket, which she had left on the back of the chair, she stomped over to the sofa, grabbed hold of his legs and yanked them off, claiming the corner for herself. Seconds later however, his legs moved back, covering her lap and clamping her to the seat. He shrugged his shoes off.

 

"Adams? Feet!" she exclaimed.

 

No response.

 

Of all the pig headed, arrogant!

 

Pushing his legs away, she stood again, ready to move to the undoubted, extreme discomfort of the desk chair. She only got two steps away however before she heard a frustrated growl,

 

"Where you going?"

 

After which his hand shot out, grabbing her arm and hurling her back to the sofa, where she fell unceremoniously into the space next to him.

 

"Adams!" she began.

 

"Stop being so uptight will ya?" he cut in, watching her lie stiffly on her back, "what d'ya think I'm gonna do?" he asked, his eyes lifting to her face beside his.

 

"Well, nothing, but..."

 

"We gotta sleep, right? There's only one sofa, and I sure as hell aint sleeping sitting up," he stressed.

 

Hmm, she hated it when he sounded so reasonable.

 

She sighed and shot him a suspicious look.

 

He ignored her and wriggled himself deeper into the sofa cushions, closing his eyes again.

 

Well, she guessed that she didn't exactly have much choice. And she really didn't relish the thought of attempting sleep on that office chair either.

 

Slowly, and a little stiffly, with gradual acceptance of her situation, she turned on the sofa, so that her back was facing Luke, and set to the task of attempting sleep.

 

This was weird. She hadn't seen him for seven years and now she was suddenly lying down next to him.

 

The longer she lay there too, the more aware of him she became. They weren't actually touching at all, but they might as well have been. There must have been an inch between them at best... an inch of air that quickly warmed, so much so that she was no longer sure if his body was in fact touching hers or not. She could hear him, almost feel him, breathing. It was a concentrated breathing, as though he was thinking about something.

 

Luke's attention was fixed with fascination down the gap in the blanket. It was that damn dress again! He couldn't seem to keep his eyes from it. He ran his gaze down over her bare shoulder and arm, which was draped along her hip...her hand resting on her thigh. There his eyes lingered for a while on her hand...her fingers touching the hem of her dress... before they moved up his favourite fascination for that day, her naked back. He took his time, unashamedly caressing her with his eyes, imagining his fingers replacing them... sending shivers down her spine, then his lips... minute kisses, teasing,... she arches her back., her willpower crumbling... His gaze had travelled up over the arch of her back by then, to her shoulder blades, and then back down to the furthest her dress would allow him to view. Still, he continued his journey over her dress nonetheless, to appreciate the roundness that he had no hope of ever seeing, apart from in his mind's eye, which was frustratingly never clear enough.

 

He definitely wasn't asleep. She could just tell. She could sense that he was still alert. God, what was he doing? She had a clue. Without even looking, she could feel his eyes on her, and the more she realized it, the more aware of him being behind her she became. Her dress wasn't transparent, was it? She had the crazy notion then that his eyes could make it so. And she only had the scantiest pair of lacy briefs on too. For goodness sake, he couldn't see them! Although, knowing Adams, maybe he could. Good grief, how was she ever going to get any sleep like this, with her heart beating a million miles a minute?

 

Luke's imagination was running away with him. Well, he wasn't going to get any sleep, that was for sure, so he might as well fill the time with making the most of the situation. Now the removal of the dress. That would be incredibly easy. She'd be putty in his hands at that point anyway... yes she would! Hey this was his fantasy, so in his fantasy she would! She'd be lying there bursting for him to go further. So, anyway, he'd simply run his hands up her back to her shoulder blades and then over her shoulders, taking the straps of the dress with them... then down her arms, slipping the material down her front. Oooh and he'd forgotten about the fact that she had to be braless, so, since his hands were there at that point, it would be a crime for him not to 'appreciate' those womanly attributes too. Grrr, touching Charlie for the first time, he'd take his time with that; she'd be purring by the time he'd finished! Luke shifted slightly on the sofa, getting more and more restless by the minute.

 

What was going through his head now? And why couldn't he stay still? Oh well, at least he hadn't tried to touch her; that was a relief. Actually, why hadn't he tried to touch her? Hmm, maybe he knew he'd get a telling off. But whatever the reason was, she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that Luke was like a coiled spring back there. But surely he had to fall asleep soon. How long could one man look at a woman's back for? Now she couldn't sleep without knowing why he couldn't sleep! Okay, she could read Luke's mind well enough; what would Luke be thinking at a time like this? Oh God, he'd be bored with the 'looking' stage by now; he'd have gone on to the 'imagining' stage. He'd be taking her clothes off!

 

Now he was at the really good bit, easing the dress over her hips, he'd reach down to relieve her of the dress completely. He shifted again.

 

Was he kissing her in his mind, his hands in her hair, his lips on hers...hot and demanding? Had his touch moved down her back? Reached under the material... or slipped it off, giving his hands free reign! She shivered slightly, readjusting the blanket.

 

Luke was now downright uncomfortable, and it had nothing to do with being cramped!

 

"You asleep?" he asked. Clearly she wasn't.

 

"Yes," she replied, closing her eyes.

 

He growled and tried to turn away from her, but this only brought their backs into contact. He had to face it, there was no way he was getting any sleep anytime soon. Giving up on lying next to her and having to suffer any more aching frustration, he threw back the blanket and climbed over her.

 

She sat up, draping the blanket over her shoulders and tilting her head to see what he was doing.

 

He headed straight for the drinks cabinet and the half bottle of whiskey. Picking up a glass and the bottle, he made for the desk, where he poured himself a drink. He had to clear his head and stop thinking about stripping Charlie!

 

"You alright?" she asked.

 

He looked up at her from his whiskey glass.

 

"Thought you were asleep?" he replied.

 

"I am; I was just wondered if you were okay. You must be tired and jetlagged," she pointed out.

 

"Funny, can't get to sleep," he answered wryly. He gestured to the sofa with his whiskey glass hand, "Make the most of having all the sofa though Charlie; cause after this, if I'm feeling sleepy, you never know, I might be coming back there."

Chapter 10

Heading for the sofa, she plucked up the blanket, laying it out and slipping underneath it. She raised herself up on one elbow, with the blanket clinging to her front, and her back exposed in Luke's direction. Turning her head to speak over her shoulder, she called out to him... 

 

An ice cold shiver shot across Charlie's back and her heart kick-started into treble its regular pace, as that terrifying sound assaulted her ears and brought her out of her sleep with frightening speed. It was the sound of pure terror; a holler of jumbled unintelligible sounds emanating from someone in intense pain and fear.

 

"Adams!" she shouted out instinctively, bolting off the sofa and searching the room with confusion through blurry eyes.

 

He was sitting on the desk chair, the whiskey glass still in his hand, his feet up on the desk, his head slumped to one side, resting against the wall which the back of the chair was pressed against. Okay, so he wasn't being attacked. Her heart began to resume its usual rhythm.

 

"Let him go," he mumbled.

 

Oh God, he was having a nightmare.

 

"Give me the knife," he urged, his head jerking to the other side.

 

"Luke," she said gently, approaching the desk.

 

"Take me; don't touch him," he went on, oblivious of both Charlie and where he was.

 

"Luke," she said a little louder. "Wake up."

 

This time he appeared to have registered the sound in the room as his head moved in the direction of her voice, but his eyes remained closed. She reached the chair where he was sitting, crouching down to his level and holding onto his hand, which was clenched onto the chair arm.

 

"Luke, wake up," she repeated.

 

"Don't cut him. I aint afraid, cut me, just let him go!" he shouted in pure panic.

 

"Luke," she said firmly this time, shaking his arms. "Wake up, you're dreaming."

 

He finally woke with a roar, his red eyes flying open as he jerked forward suddenly on his chair. The abrupt movement of his hands sent the whiskey glass crashing onto the chair arm, smashing the glass in the process. He stood, looking around him in bewilderment, holding out a blood streaked hand.

 

"Are you alright? Let me take a look," Charlie said, reaching for his injured hand.

 

He pulled it back and turned from her, a deep frown on his face as he flung the window open for some fresh air.

 

"Luke, let me see to your hand," she reprimanded him.

 

"Stop fussin'," he replied, his back still turned to her. "Go back to sleep."

 

"I want to know that you are alright," she pushed.

 

"I'm fine; just go back to sleep," he repeated.

 

He wasn't fine at all. She had attributed the fact that he'd looked so tired to his jet lag, but having witnessed first-hand that nightmare, and considering how much whiskey he seemed to be getting through, she was now certain that he was having problems sleeping. This Borelli business had really taken its toll.

 

Charlie bent to open the bottom desk drawer and pulled out a First Aid kit. She placed it on the desk and opened it, pulling out bandages, cotton wool and a small bottle of iodine. Then she approached Luke again, determined to check his hand. She moved to stand by the window so that he was almost facing her, and she took hold of his arm, lifting it. He immediately twisted it out of her grip.

 

"Adams," she began angrily, "Stop being a child and let me see to your hand!"

 

He tutted, but reluctantly held his hand out for her.

 

She took hold of it, turning it over to examine his palm. There was a small, but fairly deep cut just below his thumb.

 

"Keep it there; I'll be back in a moment," she said, moving to the fridge and picking up a small bottle of mineral water. On her way past the desk, she grabbed the cotton wool, unscrewed the water bottle and wetted the soft pleat. She proceeded to clean the streaks of blood from off his hand and wrist, gently cleansing the sensitive area around the cut. Luke gazed down at her hands with fascination. Then she turned to the desk again and picked up the bottle of iodine, soaking another piece of cotton wool with the brown liquid. She returned to him, caught hold of his hand again, turning it round and holding the cotton wool to his cut.

 

"Hey! Awww!" he exclaimed, snatching his hand back. "What is that stuff?"

 

"Iodine," she answered. "Don't be a baby," she said, taking hold of his hand once more. "It will disinfect the cut."

 

"Stings like hell," he commented, wincing as she reapplied the iodine soaked cotton wool. Soon the burning sensation eased however, and he was able to bear the disinfection process without wanting to snatch his hand away again.

 

"You're a regular Florence Nightingale," Luke observed, watching her dress his wound.

 

She proceeded to wrap his hand with a bandage which she'd retrieved from the first aid box.

 

"Yes, well, I'm not having you bleeding all over this office," she replied sternly, aware that this kind of approach seemed to be working well. Next she would broach the subject of his nightmares, hopefully with some kind of success. "When did you last have a Tetanus injection?" she went on.

 

He frowned, "I dunno."

 

"In that case, you should have one," she advised, finally releasing his hand, satisfied that it was suitably dressed.

 

"Yes, mam," he came back with a half-smile.

 

"Now, how long have you been having those nightmares for?" she asked him as matter of factly as she could.

 

His smile faded, and he busied himself with studying the work she had done on his hand.

 

"I dunno," he shrugged.

 

"How long Adams?" she asked again.

 

"I dunno, alright!" he snapped. "A while I guess," he added.

 

She studied him paying way too much attention to his hand.

 

"It's the fact that you are sleep deprived that's worrying me at the moment, especially with what you have been dealing with lately. You need a clear head," she warned.

 

He gave a small fake sounding laugh, finally looking up at her. "Hey, sleep is for the weak; I don't need no sleep," he joked.

 

"Yes, you do," she countered firmly. "Well, at least your hand is clean and bandaged now."

 

He turned it over and studied it both sides, before dropping it. "Yeah, thanks."

 

She began to tidy away the cotton wool and first aid materials while he just stood there watching her. Finally, she looked across at him, after having replaced the first aid box back in the desk drawer.

 

"Are you coming back on the sofa?" she asked.

 

Fear of reoccurring nightmares and making a fool of himself in front of her again made him reluctant.

 

"I ain't tired," he replied, turning to glance out of the window.

 

"Luke, you need sleep. Why don't you just try?" she suggested. "If you can't sleep, then get up again, but leave the whiskey alone," she added.

 

"I ain't tired Charlie," he repeated. "I'll come when I'm tired."

 

Damn it. She'd make him get some sleep if it killed her.

 

Heading for the sofa, she plucked up the blanket, laying it out and slipping underneath it. She raised herself up on one elbow, with the blanket clinging to her front, and her back exposed in Luke's direction. Turning her head to speak over her shoulder, she called out to him,

 

"Luke…" There was something extremely suggestive in the way she voiced his name, making him turn from the window the moment he heard her.

 

"Will you come and share my blanket with me?" she asked.

 

He stared at her in surprise, quickly warming to the idea. For the next few moments, he made a pretence out of thinking about it, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip as if in contemplation.

 

"Seems like I could do with some sleep after all," he finally answered, striding across the room to the sofa. She moved across to make space for him but he just stood, grinning down at her. Then, without warning, he dived onto the sofa, scooping her up and rolling them both around, with the sounds of her shocked protest in his ears, until she was lying on top of him, his arms around her waist and a pair of astonished blue eyes gazing down into pair of amused brown ones.

 

"Now, now Charlie, don't be takin' advantage of me tonight," he teased.

 

She pressed her lips together in a tight lipped smile. "Adams, when I said about sharing the blanket, I meant so that you could get some sleep," she emphasized.

 

"Yeah well, I had another idea. I was kinda picturing the blanket on a bed. Don't get me wrong, this sofa aint bad, but with a bed, there's more room to… roll around, you know, get into different positions. You know what I mean?" he grinned.

 

She shook her head at him. He was completely incorrigible.

 

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. You have an over active imagination Adams, now sleep," she stressed, waiting for him to lighten his hold on her.

 

Luke's grip remained steadfast however for a few moments while he enjoyed searching her face so close to his. He reached up with one hand and swept her hair back softly. The gesture changed the mood suddenly as the air began to crackle between them, and the longer their eyes clung, the more the air crackled. Suddenly the playful atmosphere was gone, replaced with something else. His eyes instinctively fell to her mouth, contemplating her glossy lips… wondering, imagining… She knew what he was doing. She needed to move but she suddenly felt frozen in the moment; nonetheless, acutely aware of how important it was that her next move be appropriate. As his eyes smouldered over her face however, she did the very thing she had told her brain not to do; her gaze lowered to his lips in return. Luke hadn't missed where her attention had moved to and his eyes widened, his heart racing with surprised excitement in response. Maybe he stood more of a chance than he realized.

 

Was she mad? What had she done that for? She shook her head to clear it and finally untangled herself from him, sliding into the space between Luke and the back of the sofa.

 

Luke lay for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, buzzing, with a million thoughts racing through his head, all of them involving Charlie. If she wanted him to kiss her, boy could he oblige! He wasn't going to push it then though. He'd have to find the right time. Maybe she'd reject him, but then again, maybe she'd really wanted him to kiss her all along. With that exciting thought still in his head, he finally turned to see what Charlie was doing. She was lying with her back to him again. To hell with that; he slid and arm underneath her and turned her, pulling her suddenly towards him.

 

"Luke?" she protested.

 

He was ready with a reply. "This sofa's too small to sleep like that; it aint comfortable."

 

She narrowed her eyes at him.

 

"I can't get to sleep like that," he added. After all, that was what she had wanted him to do: get some sleep.

 

She sighed and contemplated her next move. Damn it, she was tired too and it simply seemed petty to protest any more. Slowly she lowered her head onto his chest. He tightened his arm around her waist slightly in return, and pulled the blanket more snuggly around them, before studying her shining hair below his nose. It was hard to believe that he had spent seven years without her. Laying his head back onto the cushion behind his neck, he suddenly felt extremely warm and contented, and surprisingly enough, sleepy.

 

Having her there after the darkest of nightmares seemed to soothe his troubled mind and, for the first time in years, he slipped into a peaceful sleep, comforted by the warmth of her presence.

 

 

Chapter 11

 Then suddenly she flooded with heat and all there was in her entire world were his hands

 

 

Charlie slowly became aware of being entangled in someone else. It wasn't something she was used to waking up to …hold on!

Memories of yesterday came seeping into her head. Had that all really happened? Was it really her egotistical, overly sexed, American ex-partner that was wrapped around her, or had she imagined the whole thing?

She lifted her head and opened one eye cautiously.

Oh no, she truly hadn't. Oh dear Lord, it was Luke!

Just above her, slap bang in her line of vision, was an arrogantly jutting nose, ruffled head of hair, soft, slightly lopsided smile… whatever he was dreaming about this time, he seemed to be enjoying it. She was relieved to realize that there was not a sign of tension in his whole body; he was fast asleep, and contentedly so.

Okay, so now probably her biggest worry at that point in time was the fact that she suddenly realized his hand had somehow found itself extremely far down the back of her dress! That was something new. Now, either it was only because he'd been a gentleman- not likely- that it hadn't slid past the edge of her underwear, or the fact that he'd done it unconsciously in his sleep. If so, then she couldn't very well berate him, considering that her own treacherous hand had ventured underneath his shirt! It lay rested on the hard surface of his chest, rising and falling with each breath he took. They must have both unintentionally just wanted to get warmer; yes, that was it.

The leg entanglement was unfortunate though. She'd never experienced the muscles of his thigh in quite that intimate a place before... what was she thinking, in any place before! But then again, her leg had been just as uninhibited, having flung itself over his, with his hand resting on her knee, keeping it in place there. Typical, just a few hours back from New York and he'd wangled himself into this kind of a position with her. What was it about Luke that he managed this kind of thing when no other man under such circumstances got anywhere close to this? Circumstances had just seemed to fall into his lap.

This was just a little too close for comfort though. She didn't remember them ever being quite so intimate before, certainly not on a sofa, laid out together for hours...hands and legs and bodies pressed against each other all night, and her unconscious of it. But she was more than conscious of it now, that was the problem, more than conscious of that hand of his right at the base of her back, his fingers splayed out, fingertips resting on the tender, sensitive skin just edging the lace of her underwear.

Oh Lord! Luke had nearly got his hands on her underwear! Things were getting out of hand. After seven years they should be more distant from each other, not getting more intimate by the minute! Mind you, Luke had been even more suggestive than he was before, if that was at all possible. Maybe it was watching that little x rated scene earlier that had started him off.

What happened if he moved his hand further down? What was she thinking that for?

There it was again, Luke and his bad influence. He just strolled into her life and all his erotic, inappropriate thoughts had rubbed off on her! Well, they really weren't the kind of thoughts that should be running through a lady's head...least of all an engaged lady's head...well, nearly engaged...perhaps going to be engaged.

What time was it anyway? As much as she wanted him to get that sleep he needed, if the cleaners were anywhere near to entering the office, she had to wake him up now. The last thing she wanted was for them to find her and Luke in that compromising position! Wriggling her arm from underneath her, she glanced down at her watch. It was only seven thirty. Normally the cleaners would be there by then but this was a Monday morning and since Doug was still away, the cleaners never came in till later. She could maybe doze there for a little longer. She shifted to move her arm into a more comfortable position, but, in his sleep, Luke must have sensed her movement and he also shifted in response. She glanced up at him to see if he was waking. His eyes were still closed though and the regular rhythm of his breathing told her that he was still in a dream world, despite the fact that he seemed to be a little more restless now. It didn't seem a nightmarish restlessness though, thank goodness, as that slight smile was till on his face. Maybe he was simply having nice, peaceful dreams.

She, on the other hand, was now wide awake, and the arm that she had moved was beginning to experience pins and needles. She shifted again, trying not to wake him.

"Mmm," he responded, turning his head towards the top of hers and, to her consternation, exactly as she had imagined, slipping that hand further down her dress and over the top of her lacy briefs!

She froze, not having a clue what to do, her heart racing in her chest.

'Move now,' the angel in her head told her.

'You don't want to wake him,' the devil answered. 'Wait to see what happens next.'

'It's totally inappropriate.'

'Quite exciting though. Besides, who will ever know?'

'You will know. You're practically engaged.'

'But you turned Richie down. And anyway, it's not like you're having an affair or anything; you just don't want to wake Luke.'

Then Luke's hand on her knee began to wander and she looked up at him again, convinced that he must be awake. He wasn't though, she could just sense it. Besides, from her earlier experience with him on the sofa, if he was conscious of where his hands were on her, his breathing would be quite different; she instinctively knew his alert state. This dream he was having was definitely an erotic one though.

The hand began to inch up her leg, his fingers seemingly enjoying the feel of her skin.

'Right, that's it; now you really do have to move.'

'He's not even awake; he doesn't know what he's doing. Don't punish him when he hasn't even done anything wrong.'

'But if he doesn't know what he's doing, then how do you know where he will stop?'

'Okay, so if he goes too far, stop him and then and wake him up. For now, leave him to enjoy his dream.'

The hand reached the barrier of her dress hem and hesitated. She held her breath.

'Stop him now.'

'Let him carry on.'

He sighed again, moving his head on the cushion and his hand too, pushing past the material. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure it was going to wake him.

Then suddenly she flooded with heat and all there was in her entire world were his hands, the one causing havoc on the very base of her back, and the one easing up her leg. No other thoughts could penetrate the haze in her head apart from how his hands felt on her and where they were going to move to next.

The hand down the back of her dress had stilled, but was it there, she could feel the heat of his palm and fingers, a constant reminder of how far they had reached. But it was his other hand that was burning her up, inching higher and taking the material of her dress slowly with it.

'You have to stop this.'

'It's too late; if you wake him now, he will see by your face that you're aroused.'

Oh God, that was true! She couldn't wake him; he'd know immediately. She couldn't do anything. But what would happen if he touched her intimately? Then, to her utter astonishment, she realized that her body was actually burning for him to do just that! And worse, the more that thought hit her, the more her body burned for him to do it!

Oh God, it was too long since she'd had sex!

She should stop putting Richie off. Okay so the proposals were freaking her out somewhat, but clearly lack of sex was doing something crazy to her mind!

His hand abruptly stopped then. His wrist had come into contact with his own leg that was entangled with hers. His leg flinched in reaction to the feel of sudden contact with his wrist, and the muscle in his thigh flexed against her, the tiny movement heightening her pleasure to ridiculous proportions now. Damn it, she was aching so much! Oh my God, maybe she would just wake him up and tell him to touch her all over with those hands …everywhere!

As if reading her mind, Luke did wake up moments later. He was definitely awake as she felt him suddenly jolt and move his head to look down at her. She kept her eyes firmly closed and prayed that he couldn't feel her burning up. In reality, letting him know how she was feeling at that moment was probably asking for more trouble than she could handle.

Wooah, how did his hands get there? Luke grinned. Even in his sleep, his body's instincts were spot on! He was itching to move his hands though, feel more …explore. But Charlie would murder him if he tried and woke her up. He could feel lace panties underneath one hand, Charlie's lace panties! Grrrr. He wondered what colour they were. And then there was the softest flesh of one inner thigh underneath the other. Luke's sex drive always worked overtime in the morning, but this was enough to send it through the roof! Thank everything that was good for Gina and Dennis… for secret office sex, for locked doors, chess games, slow dances to songs when it's rainin', but most of all, thank goodness for sofas!

Then pandemonium hit, when the clear sound of voices could be heard in the adjoining room.

No! The cleaners! They were early!

Charlie sprang into action, pushing at Luke in an attempt to untangle herself from him.

"The cleaners Luke, move, now!"

Luke was just as keen to move, as he really didn't want to be caught looking as randy as hell if the cleaners saw them lying on the sofa together. If that were the case, when he stood, they would see evidence of his randiness! If he was lucky though, and quick enough, he could be up and ready to walk past them, hopefully before they noticed.

He grabbed Charlie by the waist and practically lifted her off the sofa and onto the floor. She scrambled to stand, hanging onto the sofa arm for support. By the time the door began opening, both of them were standing and ready to get out of there as soon as humanly possible!

Chapter 12

 

"Oh really, a double date. Would have been nice to be consulted about it Richie. Hmm, Luke suggested it, did he…

 

 

"I can't wait to take a long, hot bath," Charlie sighed, slipping into the front seat of Luke's hire car.

 

Luke grinned as he turned on the ignition. "Yeah, I can imagine that."

 

Charlie turned her head and glared at him. Okay, so she could hardly be angry at him for comments like that, considering her shocking behaviour back there. But it was just instinctive for her to react to his remarks. Besides, Luke knew nothing of what had happened, so everything was as normal, right?

 

"I mean, imagine that you can't wait for the bath," he clarified, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

 

She tutted, but then closed her eyes again. "Before I do anything else, I'm getting out of this dress and getting into that bath," she said.

 

That image didn't stop Luke from grinning either.

 

In the process of backing out of the driveway however, Luke abruptly pulled to a halt. Charlie's eyes opened. What was happening?

 

"Spoke too soon Charlie, aint that Sue there?" he said, pointing to the woman who was making her way up the front steps of the club.

 

Oh God, yes it was.

 

"Yes, but…"

 

"Well, let's go talk to her; we gotta find out about those discs," he stressed.

 

She lifted her head and turned to him, not looking entirely happy he noticed. "Adams, I have been locked in a room with you all night; I haven't had a wash and I'm still wearing the same clothes as I was yesterday lunch time. I am not going in there with yesterday's clothes on!"

 

"Charlie," he replied, with rising impatience, "I've got a stiff in the back of my car. This thing aint gonna wait; a little help here would be appreciated."

 

"Adams, there will probably be people in there who saw me yesterday. What do you imagine they will think when they see me still in this dress?" she put to him.

 

"Look," he began in a softer tone, "the place was almost empty just now. Those people from yesterday are probably at home in bed, nursin' hangovers from the Sunday blow out. Let's go find Sue while we know where she is. C'mon Charlie, my neck's on the line here," he reasoned.

 

She glanced anxiously at the entrance to the club. Damn him and his dead body!

 

"You're really going to make me go in there, aren't you?" she growled, "Okay, but we had better be quick, and if anyone asks, the story is that I haven't moved all of my clothes back to my house yet, okay?"

 

"What?" he frowned with confusion.

 

"It's being decorated. I moved some of my things into Richie's place," she explained.

 

"Whatever," he shrugged, "Let's go."

 

Once inside the reception area of the club, Charlie was keen to avoid Hannah at the reception desk, since she had seen Luke and Charlie just before they had got locked in the room the evening before. On their way out, Charlie had made use of the fire exit around the back of the building, avoiding that embarrassment. She wasn't so lucky this time though; as soon as they entered, Hannah looked up from her desk and stood, calling out to her and approaching them.

 

"Charlie, are you okay? Richie has been here looking for you. Apparently your mobile phone is off," she said, glancing at Luke inquisitively.

 

Oh great! Well, at least she knew that out of all the people at the club, Hannah was discrete. She would talk to her later and explain… well, at least she'd have to come up with some reasonable explanation.

 

"Is it?" she said innocently, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone. "Oh, silly me," she chuckled, looking at the screen, "it's run out of charge. Where is Richie now then?" she asked anxiously.

 

"He left about ten minutes ago," Hannah replied.

 

"Okay, well, thanks Han. Listen, we have to dash, got some things to do," she said vaguely, "We'll speak later, yes?"

 

"Okay, no problem Charlie. See you later," Hannah said, returning to her desk.

 

Phew, now to find Sue quick smart. Charlie turned to Luke then, only to find, to her consternation, that he wasn't there!

 

Great! Things were going from bad to worse; now she had an Adams loose about the Club!

 

XxXxXxXxXxXx

 

Outside, on the lawn, five of the regular club members were just finishing their weekly Monday morning meeting, along with breakfast and the obligatory Bucks Fizz. After all, Doug was never back until later that evening.

 

"Okay, now that's sorted, what say we have one more of these lovely bubbly bubblies to set us up for the day," suggested one blonde, muscular but very flamboyant male club member.

 

"Eddie, you are a terrible influence," one woman responded, laughing.

 

"Don't you know it sweetheart. Come on, pass that bottle over," he replied, to the encouragement of the other four.

 

"Hello, who's this?" Eddie said in mid pour, watching as a dark haired woman, in a short skirt, belt and the tightest top he'd ever seen… at least in that club… approached them from around the side of the building. "Adrian, have you been frequenting the local strip bars again?" he joked.

 

"There are no strip bars local to here Eddie. Where have you been the last ten years?" he came back.

 

Eddie sighed. "At home, waiting for Mr Gorgeous to knock on my door. Ooh, don't look now; she's coming this way."

 

As the woman got closer, it was even more apparent that she stood out like a sore thumb; she was more dressed for the evening than a Monday morning, and even in the evening, the people in the club didn't dress quite like that.

 

"Hiya you guys." The woman's voice seemed to emanate every part of that garden with the brashness of its American accent. It was as out of place as her clothes were.

 

The five club members looked up at her in astonishment. Were they supposed to know her?

 

Eddie, being forever accommodating and open to new acquaintances, stood from his chair to welcome her. The others watched him as though he had lost his mind.

 

"Hi there lovely lady. Welcome to the madhouse," he joked, gesturing to the table. "Oh goodness, may I say how much I love that bag," he went on.

 

The woman smiled, lapping up the attention and taking her bag off her shoulder to display it better.

 

"Thaaanks hunny," she replied. "Got it from Bloomingdales; it's a Gucci original ya know."

 

"Is it?" Eddie answered in apparent awe. "It's marvellous."

 

"Geee thanks." She placed her bag on the table, and looked around the group. "I was wonderin', have any of you guys seen Richie around? I was kinda hoping to catch him here this mornin'," she went on. "I'm Bella, Bella Jackson," she said, holding her hand out for Eddie to shake. "Richie's girl, flown in from New York to surprise him."

 

A shocked silence fell upon the garden. Five pairs of eyes stared at the woman before Adrian finally spoke out.

 

"Wasn't he here looking for Charlie?"

 

The remaining four pairs of eyes turned to glare at him in horror.

 

"Who's Charlie?" the woman asked, her unshaken hand slowly falling to her side.

 

More silence.

 

Eddie's brain went into overdrive, coming up with the perfect answer; he was always at his best under pressure. "Oh, he's just some guy who comes to the club," he replied. "I'm afraid Richie has left for the day sweetie… actually, he's away on business. He'll not be back until…Wednesday," he said, impressing himself with his own lies. "But if you come back then, I'm sure you'll find him."

 

Well, at least that would give them time, plus, Richie was never there on a Wednesday.

 

"Oh damn it," she said, sinking onto one of the seats. "And I had such plans for us tonight. Never mind," she went on, waving a dismissive hand, "I'll get to see him Wednesday then. So this looks nice." The woman took in the sight of the breakfast foods left over on the table, and the Bucks Fizz. "Mind if I stay and chat with you guys for a while? Now that I'm here," she said.

 

Yes, they did mind. One, because she was annoying, two, because she was interrupting their Monday morning fun, and three because one of the girls was sure she'd seen Charlie in the club only five or so minutes ago! The girl reached into her bag, pulled out her mobile phone and proceeded to surreptitiously type in a text message underneath the table.

 

"So, do you guys get many Americans visiting this place?" she asked.

 

Strange question.

 

"No," someone finally spoke up.

 

"Ah, that's a shame. Really? You haven't seen any Americans lately?" Mrs Jackson asked again.

 

"No Americans sugar, just Richie," Eddie answered, reaching into his pocket when he felt his phone vibrate. He checked the waiting message.

 

Charlie is in the club somewhere! If we keep this nutter woman here, you go and find Charlie. Try to get her out of the club, or at least, make sure she avoids the gardens at all costs! Don't want them bumping into each other. Go Eddie, operation save Charlie!

 

Oh my God, Charlie!

 

Eddie coughed. "Right, well, I must be going now, got lots to do," he said, backing away from the table and turning around after the first few steps, to break into almost a run across the lawn towards the building.

 

Oh Charlie, sweet princess! He was going to wring Richie's gorgeous, not so little, neck for him… the lying, cheating rat bag! Oh my God, where was she?

 

Eddie flew into the club, through the patio doors, and glanced around the reception area in a panic.

 

Which way? Which way?

 

He looked from right to left, to right again, down the corridors that lead from the reception.

 

Right, he'd go right.

 

He rushed past the reception, and a startled looking Hannah, to the lifts.

 

Which floor, which floor?

 

Eddie prodded the button for the lifts vigorously, over and over again.

 

Start with the first. Go from there. Stay where you are Charlie, Eddie was coming for you angel!

 

Finally, the lift arrived and he jumped in, assaulting the button for the first floor in the hope that the lift would take him there faster.

 

Come on, come on, stupid lift. Oh my Lord, he couldn't believe this was happening! He was going to make it all better for Charlie though. He was going to find her a prince, and there would be the most marvellous wedding, and he would be the wedding planner, and she would be the Queen of all the land. Happy ever after. Richie, the rotten American millionaire!

 

At last, the lift doors opened. Eddie burst out, and rushed down the first floor corridor, checking the rooms as he went.

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

 

Luke had spotted Sue and followed her up some stairs to the first floor, where she had headed for the function hall. She wore her dark hair up, twisted at the back and secured with a gold clip. This, together with the smart black skirted suit, made her look a lot different to the last time he had seen her!

 

As she entered the function hall, Luke held back for a moment, watching her from the doorway. There was clearly going to be some sort of function in there and Sue was rearranging the chairs. After considering his next move, he knocked at the door with one knuckle and entered.

 

Sue glanced up in the process of carrying one chair across the hall from a stack at the side.

 

"Hiya, err sorry to interrupt," he said politely, "but I was just wonderin' if you'd seen Charlie around?"

 

Well, that was one way to get talking to her.

 

"Oh, no sorry, I haven't seen her today," she replied, her bright blue eyes assessing Luke with interest.

 

A sudden recollection of her locked together with Dennis on that desk chair hit him, along with her voice, demanding and husky, which was triggered by the sound of her voice now. So this was weird; she sure as hell behaved differently with her clothes on!

 

He ventured further into the room. "You want some help with those?" he asked, gesturing to the stacks of chairs.

 

"Oh, yes…thanks," she answered with surprise.

 

"No problem," he said, heading for the stacks whilst she was also returning for another chair.

 

As they both arrived at the same time, she turned to him before attending to the chairs, holding her hand out and saying, "I don't think we've been introduced. My name Susan."

 

He shook her hand. "Luke Adams."

 

She smiled, hesitated a moment, and then broke hand contact to return to the chairs.

 

"So are you a friend of Charlie's then?" she asked as she and Luke began to align the seats.

 

"Yeah, we worked as partners in an undercover unit," he replied, glancing up at her. "You know what work she did before?"

 

"Yes, it's hard to keep anything secret here; I'd heard rumours," she said over her shoulder.

 

"What's all the chairs for?" he questioned.

 

"There's a charity conference going on here tomorrow. I've been roped into helping out," she explained.

 

XxXxX

 

A very flustered Eddie could hear Luke and Sue's voices from the other end of the corridor and was heading towards the hall. He was just about to burst into the room, looking for Charlie, when he stopped abruptly at the door, and sprang back behind it.

 

Luke and Sue's conversation inside was suddenly cut short by the entrance, through a door at the back of the hall, of, none other than, Richie.

 

No! No, no, no, this couldn't be! Richie shouldn't still be here! Oh no, Eddie's head began to thump. He must be coming down with a migraine!

 

"Sue, I forgot to ask you…" Richie said, hesitating when he noticed Luke standing there. "Oh, hi," he said with surprise.

 

Ooh, Richie was supposed to have left. This could be awkward for Luke. He hoped in earnest that Charlie wouldn't find him at that point. After all, they couldn't very well explain why they had spent the night together… it could lead to questions as to why they were in the office in the first place.

 

"Hi," Luke replied, resuming his work on the chairs with renewed vigour. He had to get this done quickly now, somehow arrange to meet Sue again, find Charlie before Richie did, and get out of there!

 

XxXxXxXxX

 

Eddie listened in on the conversation, unsure of what to do next.

 

Hey, that was Charlie's police officer friend. Another American. Hmm, that woman was right after all; there did seem to be a lot more Americans around the place lately.

 

XxXxXxXxXxX

 

"Sorry Sue," Richie went on, "I forgot to ask if you wanted me to put aside tickets for you tonight for the meal and jazz band? I meant to ask you earlier."

 

XxXxXxXxXx

 

Charlie, finally!

 

Eddie rushed down the corridor to Charlie as she made her way towards him…

 

XxXXXxXxXxX

 

"Well," Sue said, placing a chair down and fiddling with one ear, "I would love to go, but I've no one to go with, and I'm not playing gooseberry to all you lot."

 

Brilliant! Things couldn't have worked out better. If Luke could get her on a date, he would go back to her place and have access to her house so that he could search for the discs.

 

"Hey, I'm doin' nothin' tonight, what d'ya say we go together?" Luke piped up.

 

Sue studied him for a few moments. "But we don't know each other," she replied, a grin playing at her mouth.

 

Luke glanced at Richie. "You know Charlie and Richie, right?" he said to Sue.

 

"Yes," she answered.

 

"Right, well, if you two are going tonight also," he said, addressing Richie, "Then how about we all go together…like a double date," he smiled.

 

"Would that be alright with you?" Sue asked Richie.

 

"I don't see why not," Richie replied. "So, I'll put another two tickets aside then. I'll leave them at the entrance for you. Right, now, I really do have to go, I'm late." He turned to leave then but stopped and turned back to Luke, pointing at him, "have you by any chance seen Charlie?" he asked.

 

"No," Luke replied, shaking his head. Well, he didn't ask when he hadn't seen her. He hadn't seen her in the last five minutes anyway.

 

"Okay, well, see you later tonight," he said, disappearing again through the back door.

 

"Where are you staying?" Sue asked Luke…

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

 

"Charlie," Eddie cried out as he reached her, throwing his arms around her dramatically.

 

"Goodness! What on earth is wrong with you Eddie?" Charlie replied.

 

He had to stop himself from blurting the whole drama out to her.

 

Focus, focus, got to keep her away from mad woman downstairs.

 

"Well, I..err, it's…" Eddie struggled desperately for something to say that would distract her enough. "It's… my edge," he finally plumped for, now frantic just to say anything. "I've lost it."

 

Charlie laughed. "I very much doubt that."

 

"No," he went on, "it's true. I feel like a wilted flower…" Then Eddie noticed what she was wearing. He gasped, "Charlotte! You dark horse. Did you stay out all night long last night?"

 

She bit her lip. "Not exactly."

 

"Oooh, you did! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, but I must warn you, if it wasn't Richie you were with, he is in the hall down there," he said, pointing back down the corridor.

 

Charlie's heart lurched nervously. She thought Hannah had said that Richie had left!

 

Eddie grinned as realization hit him. "Was it that rather delicious agent friend of yours you were with?"

 

And does she know that he's chatting with Richie in the hall? Oh dear, Eddie's head was now pounding…nerves in tatters!

 

At that point, Eddie was rather confused as to who was supposed to know what, and who was avoiding who.

 

Charlie couldn't stay there chatting to Eddie either; Richie might find her.

 

"Eddie," she began, a hand on his back, leading him into a nearby room, "Tell me more about this problem of yours."

 

XxXxXxXxX

 

In the hall, Luke and Sue had finally finished arranging the chairs.

 

"So you wanna meet here then?" Luke reconfirmed, "seven thirty, right?"

 

"Yes," sue smiled. "Looking forward to it."

 

"Alright, see you seven thirty," Luke said, turning to leave.

 

"Oh, and thanks for the help," she called after him.

 

"No problem," he called back.

 

By sheer coincidence, as he was walking back down the corridor, he happened to hear a mobile phone ringing from inside one of the rooms that he passed. It was only when the phone was answered that Luke recognised Charlie's voice.

 

He slowly pushed open the door. Her eyes flicked up to his as he entered. She glared at him as she spoke on the phone.

 

"Oh really, a double date. Would have been nice to be consulted about it Richie. Hmm, Luke suggested it, did he…with Sue, right. Yes, okay, see you at seven," she said, hanging up. "Where did you disappear to, or do I need to ask?" she said to Luke wryly. He hadn't changed at all; no doubt he'd been flirting with Sue.

Chapter 13

She was soaping herself now with a sponge which she had covered with shower gel and worked into a lather. Stepping back under the stream of water, she pressed the sponge to her neck and squeezed, allowing the soap suds to side down her body.

 

 

 

 "Just out of interest," Luke said, opening the car door and sliding into the driver's seat of his hire car yet again, "When is Doug due back?"

 

"Not until tonight. He will be at the function," Charlie replied. "Why?"

 

"Just wonderin'," Luke answered vaguely. "So, where's home?" he asked.

 

Charlie watched him thoughtfully for a moment before she replied. Luke was busy starting up the car.

 

"It's actually not far," she finally answered, "just past the turning we made for the dirt track; I'll direct you from there."

 

"No problem," he replied, speeding out of the driveway.

 

"You're truly livin' the country life now then," he observed, glancing out of the car door window.

 

"Well, I suppose so, although I do visit civilisation occasionally, Luke," she joked.

 

"Is this where you moved to after you left MI5?" He'd always been curious about where she had disappeared to.

 

"Mmm," she nodded.

 

"I didn't know you had two houses," he pointed out.

 

She remained silent.

 

She was being very vague. Luke's curiosity was roused further.

 

"Was this your house then?" he pushed.

 

"Not mine at the time," she answered a little reluctantly.

 

Luke's attention flicked from the road to Charlie. "Is this a secret or somethin'?"

 

Damn it. Why couldn't he just leave it? "No, don't be silly," she replied casually. "I bought the house off a friend later that year."

 

She still hadn't answered his question. "Anyone I know?" he went on. "Anyone from the Club?" he added as an afterthought.

 

Another quick glance in her direction and Charlie was staring out of the side window, biting her thumb nail.

 

"Charlie?"

 

"What?"

 

"Anyone from the club?" he repeated, determined to find out who now.

 

She shifted in her seat. "It's the third road on the right from here," she said, pointing out of the window before adding quickly. "Just Doug."

 

Hmm, Doug again. So maybe Luke wouldn't even have thought that much about her buying the house off Doug if she hadn't been so reluctant to give away that information. But then again, maybe he would; there was something about this whole Doug situation that intrigued him.

 

They spent the next few moments in silence, each with their own thoughts, until just before they reached Charlie's house when she sighed, and turned in her seat to him.

 

"Luke, about tonight, do you really think it is a good idea? I mean, first of all, you can't just leave the body in the back of here. We can't wait until tonight to find those discs," she put to him.

 

"Gettin' back to Sue's house is the perfect way for me to find them," he replied. "And besides, I'm gonna have to do something with the stiff anyway, 'cause who's to say the discs will clear me for sure… if she has them at her place at all," he added.

 

"Right," she huffed, turning back to stare straight ahead of her with her arms crossed. "So, are you going to sleep with her?" she asked abruptly.

 

His eyes flicked to Charlie. "Would it bother you if I did?" he replied.

 

It sprung to her lips to deny that, but she changed her mind at the last minute, turning back to him once more.

 

"You know what Luke, yes, yes it would. Here I am risking prison to help you, and all you can think about is getting Sue into bed! If the discs are probably not going to be there, then why waste time with tonight?"

 

"Calm down; we gotta start somewhere…" Plus, he had the gut feeling that it was at the Club where he would find all the answers he needed, so spending time there, talking to the members, was where his priorities lay. Of course, he couldn't tell Charlie that; she was too damn touchy about her precious Club! "... besides, my main priority tonight is getting' my hands on those discs," he added.

 

"Hmm," she responded, eyeing him suspiciously.

 

But what else did he want to get his hands on?

 

"So, what do you plan on doing with the body then?"

 

"Oh, I plan on makin' the most of that in Doug's office tonight; I'm hopin' Doug won't be around… or Dennis," he grinned, glancing sideways at her. "Oh, you meant the body in the trunk," he said, feigning innocence. She gritted her teeth. He chuckled. "Only one thing to do," he replied, "bury it."

 

"Ha, really?" She knew he'd say that. "If you think I'm helping you to bury a body you must be out of your mind."

 

"Oooh, Lady Charlotte gets so cranky when she hasn't had her beauty sleep," he taunted. "Don't worry, I'll see to it. I also need somewhere to stay. I saw some small place advertising rooms down the road from the club back there. Think I'll go check that place out," he informed her.

"They have hotels in town you know," she pointed out.

 

"Nah, think I'll stay back there," he said decisively.

 

She sighed. "My house is on the right here."

 

The irony of it; she had actually left her old job and moved houses to ensure that he was out of her life. Now he was staying in the bed and breakfast down the road!

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

 

"Right, I'm gonna go find a room for tonight, and I'll take another look at the body..." Luke said after pulling up in Charlie's front drive.

 

Charlie glanced at him dubiously. Goodness knows what state the body was in now!

 

"...I know, I'll deal with the body," he said, reading her mind, "but I need to look for clues first. Then we gotta to go back to the club to take another look around the crime scene. I'll pick you up in say, an hour," he informed her, glancing at his watch.

 

"What? What about my bath?" she came back.

 

"You got an hour," he repeated.

 

"Ohh, no, no, an hour is not nearly enough time for a bath, particularly considering last night," she stressed.

 

"Charlie, c'mon, I gotta take a look around and I need you there or people might ask questions. Look, take a shower and then after, I promise I'll leave you to take the longest bath you want," he assured her.

 

She sighed. "We have a look around; I'll take my car this time. Then I'll drop you off and I'll see you at the club later, no sooner," she emphasised, opening the car door and slipping out of the seat. "That is unless we come up with enough evidence to not warrant you going tonight," she added, bending to speak to him through the open car door.

 

"Ain't gonna find conclusive proof without those discs," he replied, his attention diverted to the loose folds at the front of her dress as she bent.

 

She tutted and stood, taking a step backwards to say, "Go, so I can have my shower!" Then she slammed the car door shut and strolled away.

 

He watched the way her hips swayed as she walked, before calling out,

 

"Hey, Charlie..."

 

She turned at her front door. "What now?"

 

"You got a shed round the back?"

 

"Yes, why?" she answered.

 

"Mind if I take a look?" he asked.

 

She frowned. "I don't even want to know," she replied, turning back to unlock the door.

 

Before getting out of the car, he took one last, longing glance at that backless dress. He really had grown quite attached to it.

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 

Luke drove straight back to the house he had seen advertising rooms. It was a quaint whitewashed building, with ivy and flowers climbing up the walls and a small front garden. He rang the front door bell a few times before a frail, smiling, elderly lady answered.

 

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," he smiled. "I was lookin' for a room."

 

"Then you came to the right place young man," she replied, showing him into the house.

 

The lady chatted away to him as he filled in a registration form. She explained that her son helped with the upkeep but that she had run the bed and breakfast for thirty years and didn't really need his help. Luke doubted it, but admired the woman's resolve.

 

The room she allocated him was small but clean and bright, if not a little flowery. It over looked the front of the house, and the fields surrounding it. Luke could just about see the Club building if he leant out of the window.

 

He had intended to deal with the body in the truck as soon as he had secured a room, however, on seeing the on suite bathroom, he changed his mind and decided to take a quick shower. Like Charlie, he was pretty keen to shed the clothes he had been wearing for over twenty four hours now. Besides, he wasn't exactly looking forward to checking the body over. A shower would prepare him more for the ordeal.

 

The hot stream of water was a welcome relief, easing the tension from his muscles that had built up from the cramped conditions on the flight, and later on that sofa. He let his mind wander from the daunting task ahead of him and marvelled at just how much had unfolded between Charlie and himself over the space of just one day and night. Not only had he found Charlie again, which he hadn't been entirely sure that he would be able to do so fast, but things between them were just as hot… possibly even more. It wasn't just one sided on his part either. Okay, so he couldn't be one hundred per cent sure of that, but he was fairly certain that she was feeling some kind of spark there too. The question was, what, if anything, would she do about it?

 

Damn, but now, since spending the night with her in that room, he had this constant aching inside of him; he'd forgotten that feeling he got when he was around her. But right at that moment it was even worse. The aching he'd experienced when working with her before was his body telling him that he wanted what was continually flaunted in front of him, but refused. The aching he had now was of a burning intensity brought on by something that had been started and then abruptly stopped. His brain had processed the feel of Charlie's panties and thighs as 'sex time'. Not just any old 'sex time' either, but 'sex time' with the woman he'd craved for for years. The seven years apart, knock out white dress and night on a sofa with her had finally threatened to take away all his control; he was like an alcoholic in a liquor store. It was probably a good job those cleaners had come in when they did, because if she'd woken up and he'd seen anything close to the smallest sign from her that she wanted his hands where they were, he'd have become like a beast unleashed.

 

Finally, once thinking about those early morning minutes on the sofa, and the fact that Charlie was at that moment also showering, had driven his body to its limits, Luke was forced to jump out of the shower, get changed and focus on the task ahead of him.

 

Luckily, Charlie had kept a shovel in that shed of hers. Luke drove back to the clearing that Charlie had directed him to the day before. He drove deeper into the woodland, found a remote spot and got out of the car.

 

Looking at the body, the face now white, the lips blue, he almost felt guilty, as though he had been the murderer himself. He had to remind himself of the atrocities he had discovered at the hands of the Borelli brothers to continue with what he knew must be done.

 

He searched the pockets of the thick, padded coat Roberto was wearing, pulling out an aeroplane ticket, which Luke folded and slipped into his pocket to examine later, a passport, and a wallet. There was nothing else there that Luke needed. He sure as hell didn't want the wedge of bank notes; Roberto could be buried with his own blood money.

 

Before Luke closed the trunk door, in order to begin the grim task of digging a hole, he noticed a tear in the coat at Roberto's side. Unzipping the coat, he revealed a bullet injury in Robertos abdomen. Why hadn't he thought of checking the body better before? Okay, so he was shot twice; it looked like some sort of struggle. It proved one thing however, Roberto wasn't killed at point -blank range. Luke was even more convinced now that there must have been someone from the club involved. He slammed the trunk door shut, and the disturbing sight of Roberto's body disappeared. Now he had some serious physical work ahead of him.

 

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

 

Luke screeched to a halt on Charlie's front drive and bolted out of the car, rushing to the front door and searching for a doorbell. He was seriously late and anticipated a furious looking Charlie waiting for him. To his surprise though, he heard no sign of life at the other side of the door. He banged again. Still no answer. Hmm.

 

Making his way around the side of her house, he headed for the back door he'd noticed whilst raiding her garden shed. It didn't look too difficult to break into. Charlie should really fix that. The door opened after not very much coaxing and Luke cautiously entered. Well, it wasn't as if he hadn't broken into Charlie's house before.

 

"Charlie?" he called out, searching the downstairs rooms for her.

 

No reply.

 

Luke headed up the stairs, wondering if she'd finally lost all patience with him and gone out somewhere. He was to be proved wrong however, the first sign being Charlie's white dress, which she had stepped out of and left discarded on the landing. He came to an abrupt halt in front of it, a sudden wave of excitement hitting him at seeing that dress now off her body…the dress that he'd imagined slipping off her so many times the previous night. Wow, she really had been desperate to get out of that dress; it was quite unlike Charlie to be so slapdash. He smiled at the thought of a private Charlie, a little careless, without the need to put on airs and graces for the people around her… uninhibited. It was hard for him to imagine a Charlie like that. Then he lifted his eyes from the dress and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

 

For a moment, until he realized better, he thought he was actually seeing Charlie completely naked! The door of the room almost directly in front of him was ajar and, through the crack, he had a clear view of a bath, a frosted glass shower screen and Charlie's head and shoulders. Her head was leaning on her hand, her elbow resting on the edge of the shower screen, her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face as she let the steamy water tumble down her back. Luke became aroused just by observing the look on Charlie's face; it was a picture of pure bliss. She really did love bathing, showers or baths, she seemed to enjoy taking just as long for both to enjoy them. The thought of that appealed to him. He wasn't entirely sure why; maybe it was because it involved Charlie being naked for long periods of time… she always did say that given half the chance, she could bathe for hours. And speaking of Charlie being completely naked… his eyes lowered.

 

He knew beforehand, from his peripheral vision and the initial glance he'd got, that he wasn't going to be able to see her clearly, but the thought that the pink, fleshy, blurry outline of her body indicated that a naked Charlie was behind there, just feet away… with just a sheet of glass between his eyes and her body, was enough to tip Luke into 'beast' mode. The ache was turning into a furious throb.

 

He blinked his eyes a few times, in the vain hope that it would enable him to see more. Despite this failing to bring any more clarity to the shower screen, which was probably obscuring Charlie even further from the coating of steam it had collected, Luke was more than happy to stand there all day watching her, with the added excitement that he might get at least a quick peek of something at any point. Besides, it was quite fascinating getting this rare glimpse into the private world of Charlie… not to mention the excitement Luke felt from doing something that he really shouldn't be doing. He should look away. Would he? Like hell he would! All's fair in love and war… and that must also include raging frustration too. If she wasn't going to go to bed with him, it was only fair that take advantage of this unexpected pleasure. Anyway, it wasn't his fault that she'd left the door ajar; how could he help but see? So okay, it also wasn't her fault that he'd broken into her house through the back and she'd thought she was alone, but… small details.

 

She tilted her head from side to side, her eyes still closed, stretching her aching muscles and allowing the hot water to ease them. Luke ran his eyes over the skin that he could see clearly above the glass screen: tanned shoulders and arms, shining and glossy with a sheen of water. She had gorgeous skin.

 

Then she suddenly moved forward out of the stream of water, and Luke's heart lurched nervously. Her eyes were open now. She had picked up a bottle of shower gel; he could see the bright yellow contents of it shining through the frosted glass as she poured some into her hand. She turned then and his heart thundered, with both nervousness for the possibility of being caught out, but even more so for the fact the spray from the shower had hit the glass when she'd moved, clearing some of the steam and giving him a more defined view. Now he was as hot as she looked, his temperature shooting up at the sight of Charlie's body in profile. Still he could not see a completely unobstructed view, the frosted glass denied that, however, from that angle, he could see the way her body curved and boy was that sight stimulating! The length of her legs… the slight curve of her back… her flat stomach… then soft roundedness... Damn it, his eyes couldn't take enough in! It was a good job she couldn't see the look in his eyes though as they trailed paths all over the frosted outline of her body, drinking in the sight of her; pure, uninhibited, mischievous lust twinkled there.

 

That ache had gone way beyond an ache at that moment. It was almost unbearable. He just wanted to storm in there, feast his greedy eyes on her properly, scoop that fantastic body into his arms and carry her into the bedroom, where he'd make her want him and lock them in there for days, so he could show her just how much he wanted her! Why the hell had his hunger for her become so damn intense since he'd seen her again? It was a real struggle to concentrate on anything else. This sight in front of him wasn't helping either…not that he would, or could, stop looking.

 

She was soaping herself now with a sponge which she had covered with shower gel and worked into a lather. Stepping back under the stream of water, she pressed the sponge to her neck and squeezed, allowing the soap suds to side down her body. As they slid down her neck, past her collar bone, and disappeared beneath the screen, he pictured them caressing her intimately as they fell… like his hands would. Well, he was as randy as could possibly be already; he may as well just give into it.

 

She was so sensual; why had he not realized that fully until now? The way she luxuriated in the steamy water, the perfumed soap suds, the slow pleasure she took out of the feel of both on her body. How could he have ever thought she was cold and uptight? She was creating her very own steam in there! Besides, for him to feel the way he did about her, she had to be sensual for there to be a spark there in the first place... and there always had been that spark. Weird, he'd never figured all of this out before. Maybe because she did such a good job of hiding this side of herself so well.

 

Then she shifted again and a foot appeared on the side of the bath from behind the glass. With one leg resting there, she continued to use the sponge to soap her leg, beginning at her ankle and slowly working her way upwards.

 

Wooah! That's it; keep doing that. Higher, higher…

 

Luke was waiting with bated breath to see how high up her leg she would sponge, when suddenly he realized that she had stopped in mid sponging, her hand stilled on her upper leg. His attention rose to her face that was just visible above the screen. For some reason, she now had her eyes closed again. Weird, why had she just stopped like that? Then he heard her groan. To his ears, the sound was a strange mixture between annoyance and pleasure, he couldn't work out which. She moved again and she must have dropped the sponge because, with her back now pressed against the tiles, she ran both hands through her wet hair and held them there. She almost looked in distress. What the hell was she thinking about now? No time to worry about that though; she had abruptly decided to end her shower and was reaching for a towel. He backed, as quietly as he could, down the stairs again until he reached the bottom.

 

"Charlie!" he called out again.

 

She appeared at the top of the stairs, descending, wrapped in a towelling dressing gown.

 

"Adams!" she replied, "you're absolutely filthy!"

 

Oh hell, he'd been caught out!

 

"Hey, it weren't my fault; the door was open," he came back defensively.

 

"What?" she frowned in confusion. "Adams, why are you covered in mud, what door was open, and why are you in my house?"

 

Oh, she meant that he was dirty from digging! Phew!

 

"Yeah, that's what I was sayin'," he replied quickly, "The door round the back of ya house was open."

 

"Open?" she said with concern.

 

"Well, as good as. You really gotta take better care of security in here," he chastised.

 

 

Chapter 14

She went to stand then decisively to close her bedroom door, but before she could rise from the stool, her legs failed her as the focus of her thoughts was staring directly at her from across the bathroom. Adrenalin shot through her at the expression on his face, and she was rendered motionless. 

 

 

 

Charlie hung up the phone after a tense conversation with Richie. She hated having to lie to him about where she had been the previous night, most of all because she was afraid of being found out and making everything appear that much more circumspect. But she could hardly explain why they had got locked in Doug's office either. Glancing at her watch, she tried to remember when Luke and she had arrived back at her house, and how much longer she had until Luke would be back again. Oh well, she had a life too and she bloody well needed a shower; he'd have to wait.

Running up the stairs, she stripped off her dress on the landing, desperate to free herself from the material which now felt so uncomfortable next to her skin.

The shower had felt unbelievably good when she first stepped under it, and she simply stood beneath the steaming water for a while, letting it wash away her tension. Her mind was happy to empty itself for those moments, while her body enjoyed the luxury that the water afforded her. This didn't last long however, as soon her thoughts strayed back to Luke, and the corpse in his car. This whole Borelli business was a real can of worms and Luke was in it up to his neck. She ran a hand through her damp hair; goodness knows what he'd put himself through over the last seven years. He never had known when to stop. At least he'd had some sleep last night though... even if she had been forced to sell her soul to the devil to help him rest.

She couldn't do that again though. Getting that close to Luke was dangerous. Thank goodness he had been asleep, but then what of her actions... or lack of them? She'd always been in control before... okay, maybe there had been the odd, fleeting moment of weakness, but nothing like what she'd experienced on that sofa... weak wasn't the word for it; she'd been practically wanton!

She sighed and leant against the side of the shower screen, allowing the water to continue tumbling over her weary body, too tired to force her train of thoughts in any other direction than where they instinctively wanted to go.

There had been times in the past when the atmosphere between Luke and herself had somehow spiralled; the result of built up intensity... times when she'd caught him watching her and found it difficult to breathe from the look in his eyes. But she had always somehow managed to keep her cool, if only on the outside.

Then, occasionally, she'd been mortified after waking to realize that he'd even invaded her dreams, …. dreams when he'd broken the unspoken rules they had established between themselves as work colleagues, and thrown caution to the wind by catching her to him and devouring her mouth and body both. She'd woken reluctantly, her heart still racing with excitement, her body aching to be back in the dream, but her brain unwilling to face the reality of what her unconscious mind had forced on her. She had been furious with herself. Only immersing herself in work had forced the dreams from her mind.

A physical relationship between herself and Luke had always been unthinkable to her. She couldn't deal with it. She had become uncomfortably aware of that after, for a few frightening moments, she had thought that a drunken evening with him once had ended in a night of reckless abandon. After that amount of tequila, she rarely remembered a thing the morning after. The relief she had felt when she found out that it hadn't happened was something she constantly reminded herself of. She'd had a very lucky escape. Things were just too intense between them at work with everything they had to face together, and the idea of still having to carry on partnering him after any physical fling between them had run its course was unbearable.

But then there was last night. That time she wasn't dreaming though. That time the hands trailing fiery tingles all over her skin were real, and they were Luke's... and what's more, she hadn't stopped him either. That frightened her. Excitement had taken over, or something... something had definitely taken over. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't awake that had allowed her brain to give in to her baser urges... to experience for real what her mind had envisaged in her dreams. Either way, she had to get her brain to behave itself, and her body too!

Tired with trying to figure herself out, she reached for the yellow perfumed shower gel and poured some onto a sponge, working up a lather. She always luxuriated in bathing, however, on that particular day, perhaps teasing her already overly sensitised skin with the foamy softness of that sponge was a mistake. Even more so for the fact that her mind had been hovering on those moments during the early hours of the morning, and the feel of Luke's mischievous hands on her thigh. Once the sponge had reached the soft skin on the inside of her leg, she was suddenly back on that sofa, burning up and aching unbearably. Damn it! What was the matter with her?

Dropping the sponge, she backed towards the ice cold surface of the tiles, hoping to at least shock her body into some semblance of normality. Enough was enough; she was getting out of that shower!

Her emotional turmoil wasn't at all eased, however, by watching the subject of her torment ascending the staircase as she came out of the bathroom. She halted on her way to her bedroom, feeling exceedingly vulnerable in just her robe and nothing else. Focusing on his dirty shirt as a means of distracting her wayward mind, she wasn't entirely surprised when he revealed that he had broken into her house again; nothing had changed.

"I'm assuming that the state you're in has something to do with the reason you have been loitering around in my shed," Charlie said. He still hadn't explained why he was covered with dirt.

"Yeah. Mind if I take another shower?" he asked, eyeing the door to the bathroom from which she had just emerged. He climbed the final few stairs and joined her on the landing. "Was gonna go back to the guest house to get one but I got to kinda runnin' late," he explained.

Hmm, did she really want him to also undress in her house? If anything, clothes should be put on, not taken off!

She reverted to the more comfortable state of mild annoyance to mask her unease. Leaning against the banister, and crossing her arms over the tie of her towelling robe, she answered, "So, I probably could have taken a bath then after all."

Luke observed her for a moment, his gaze flitting over her robe while he contemplated something. She tolerated the path of his eyes, willing herself not to be affected by it.

"Charlie..." he said finally, a slight smile on his face as he moved slowly towards her. "We could always..."

Oh God, she'd seen that look before. Control Charlie, keep control!

"Ewww," she halted him with a two fingers on his chest, pushing him back. "Don't come near me like that. Your shirt is filthy, and I've just had a shower remember; I'm all clean."

Luke's smile quickly grew and he reacted by yanking his shirt out of his trousers and reaching to the top button.

Charlie stared at him, taken aback, and watching disconcertingly as, one by one, the buttons on his shirt became swiftly unfastened. Oh Lord! This was the last thing she needed.

"Adams, what are you doing?" she asked, her anxiety rising.

"What does it look like?" he replied, finally shrugging the shirt off down over his shoulders and catching it in one hand. "There, problem fixed. Now, about this bath..." he said, moving towards her again.

She attempted to calm herself with the thought that he surely wouldn't try anything serious on with her there, not after all that time apart, and certainly not considering that she was with Richie now... But who was she kidding? This was Luke she was dealing with. Arms and shoulders and an imposing chest were advancing. She wasn't thinking about that chest, she wasn't looking at it. She would keep her eyes on his face! What on earth was he planning on doing anyway?

Her pulse raced uncontrollably however, as he moved heartstoppingly close to her whilst reaching to hang his shirt over the bannister she was leaning against. Hmm, a cunning ploy to move closer to her. Did he think she didn't know what he was up to?

Finally she found her voice. "Go and get in that shower, before I change my mind," she said, ducking away from him and heading for her bedroom door.

"Change your mind?" he questioned, his face lighting up with surprised hope, despite her imminent departure.

"About you having a shower here," she stressed, disappearing behind her bedroom door.

Ah, damn it!

She was just chastising herself only moments later when she heard heavy footsteps rushing down the stairs. What was he doing now? Diving out of her bedroom, she leant over the banister to see him open her front door, bare chest and all!

Oh good Lord, the neighbours!

Rushing back into her bedroom, she headed straight for the window. Unbelievable! He was parading around her front garden half naked! She watched as he opened one of the back doors of his car and pulled out a bag, presumably containing a change of clothes. He could have thought of that before he'd undressed!

Growing ever more annoyed by his cavalier attitude, she stormed back down the stairs, ready to give him a much needed lesson on the do's and don'ts of neighbourhood behaviour. She had just rounded the bannister on the last step however, when she flew slap bang into Luke, who was on his way back up.

"Hey, what's the rush?" he chuckled, catching her around the waist to steady her.

Mmm, actually that was quite nice, having a freshly washed, robed, but probably naked under that robe, Charlie in his arms… all be it accidentally.

He glanced down at the top of her head, not far from his nose. Something wasn't right; he could feel her tension. What had he done now?

Charlie found herself suddenly and quite unexpectedly thrown against the man she'd been trying to keep her distance from, and she felt instantly overwhelmed by his close proximity. She could feel the warm skin of his chest beneath her palms, which she had put up in front of her when they had collided… his breath above her… his hands on her waist… Somehow it felt closer physically than they had ever been before, particularly considering both of their states of undress.

"Charlie?" he questioned.

He had said something; what had he said? More to the point, what had she been going to say?

"Hmm?"

Luke wondered about Charlie's sudden stillness. Had she been tempted for one miniscule second maybe? Nah. He'd tried to tempt her only minutes earlier and, as always, she had brushed him off.

He watched her hands, which had been pressed against his chest, abruptly spring away from him as if they had been stung.

His hands, nevertheless, didn't seem to want to relinquish their hold on her waist. He was close enough at that moment to experience a waft of some exotic bodywash she had obviously used in the shower. He recalled watching her pouring it onto that sponge and had a flashback to the sight of her showering behind that frosted glass screen.

"Luke?"

What was he doing?

"Hmm?" he echoed her earlier response.

She lifted her face to him.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be seen in my front garden like this," she said, glancing down again at his chest, still much too close for comfort.

Damn it, she had meant that to come out a hell of a lot more firmly. Instead, her voice had seemed far too soft to be reprimanding.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, gazing down at her.

Eh? What did that mean? Charlie was beginning to lose track of the whole conversation. For goodness sake, she should just forget it and get back upstairs.

"Hadn't you better take that shower?" she said, forcing herself to sound more in control as she returned her attention to his face again.

"Hmm," he replied again vaguely, caught in her gaze.

Man her eyes were blue... real blue!

"Adams? Move then," she said, trying her hardest to focus under his scrutiny.

"You move," he challenged.

She searched his face with confusion. "You'll have to let go."

He'd forgotten that he still had hold of her waist. Finally, he seemed to shake himself out of his trance. "Oh yeah, sure," he replied, dropping his hands.

Charlie made a quick dash for the stairs again, feeling Luke's eyes burning into her back as she climbed each step.

At last, she reached the sanctuary of her bedroom door and, with relief, turned to see Luke enter the bathroom.

Right, she had to force her chaotic mind back to practicalities. She had to get changed, go back to the club with Luke and then get back there to meet Richie later that afternoon.

Her bedroom was decidedly colder than usual that day, as the heating hadn't been used for a few days now, and Charlie's damp robe was becoming uncomfortably chilly. Searching through her drawers for a nightgown to pop on whilst she dried her hair and found appropriate clothes to wear, she was dismayed to realize that all of her practical nightwear had been moved to Richie's house earlier that week; all that remained were the flimsy, lacy lingerie that she rarely had occasion to wear. Oh well, it was better than nothing. Picking out a deep burgundy satin and lace night dress, she discarded her robe and slipped on the dry garment.

Strolling over to her dressing table, she picked up a brush and began untangling her hair. Once having eased the brush smoothly through one side of her hair, she turned her head to tackle the other. It was then that she caught a glimpse of Luke in her bathroom across the hallway, through her half open bedroom door. The sudden image of him in there half naked, about to strip completely, shocked her. Okay, she'd known he was in there, but actually seeing him in her bathroom ...it pressed home that Luke was back in her life, and in a more personal capacity than he had been before. Now they were no longer work colleagues; any time they spent together was because there was a willingness on both of their parts. So why was it again that she had been so willing? She had thought that she wanted him out of her life... hadn't she?

Why the bloody hell couldn't he have shut the door?

Turning from that disturbing sight, she tried, not for the first time that day, to bring her thoughts back to reality. He had been going to ask her to shower with him before by the banister. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried a similar thing again and again before. Of course, she'd always turned him down. Worryingly though, at that moment, she found her mind tiptoeing around the idea, like some trespasser, treading on ground that it shouldn't be going anywhere near. The idea was preposterous. If he could make her burn up by just the way he looked at her, how the hell would she cope with even a passionate kiss, let alone the intimacy of lovemaking! And he'd make the very most of her surrender too; she just knew it. He'd kiss her and tease her and drive her close to insanity with his touches. She'd be lost and utterly at his mercy. It could never happen.

She went to stand then decisively to close her bedroom door, but before she could rise from the stool, her legs failed her as the focus of her thoughts was staring directly at her from across the bathroom. Adrenalin shot through her at the expression on his face, and she was rendered motionless. Had he seen her watching him moments before? He couldn't have, surely. But then why was he staring at her like that? She had to break eye contact. She had to get up and close the bedroom door, but the nightslip she was wearing was so revealing. Too much for her to cope with Luke's gaze on her in it.

She turned her head then, breaking their gaze and busying herself with brushing the rest of her hair. She would shut the door when he got in the shower and wasn't looking.

Had Charlie really been watching him just then?

Luke's head had too many thoughts racing around it. It didn't help that, the moment he stepped under the steamy water of the shower, the scent of Charlie hit him like a tonne of bricks. It was as if she were all around him, there in the shower, the steam intensifying the scent of her. She had after all, only just left not so many minutes before, and he had, after all, got a fairly good picture of what she might look like if she was there with him. Not a perfectly clear picture, but his imagination was doing pretty well at that moment filling in the missing details!

Hoping to clear his head, he ducked it under the stream of water, smoothing his hair back afterwards and turning around to douse the rest of his body. That was the second shower he had taken that day, and the second time that he'd spent most of it with Charlie dominating his thoughts. He was confused though.

When he'd flown back, he had known he would try to find Charlie immediately. There were too many things left in the air in the way that he'd been forced to leave, and besides which, he just wanted to see her again. But he hadn't been under any illusions that she would want anything more than just a casual friendship with him, if that. She had been given the opportunity to contact him when he had left a phone number with the boss, but she had chosen not to. It had hurt, but he had grown to accept it in the years that had followed.

In the time before he realized that she wasn't going to contact him however, he had thought many times about that conversation between himself and the boss the first time she had left MI5. Those couple of months before he left for New York had been pretty damn good. He'd somehow been more aware of every little touch, every time their gazes had crossed, the smiles between them. The thought that the boss could have been right, and that she might actually really care for him deeply, had been beyond exciting. This was why he was so shocked that she hadn't tried to phone him. Obviously the boss had been wrong all along. That was the reason he hadn't returned to the UK sooner, but, with the Borelli situation worsening, it made sense to return and at least try to patch things up with her.

During those seven years apart though, and with the thought that she hadn't wanted contact with him, he must have forgotten what it felt like to be in her company. He had been totally unprepared for the effect seeing her again would have on him...and what's more, he was sure it wasn't one-sided either. That was what confused him so much. But to him, all the chemistry between them was still there, the same as before, as if no time had passed at all. He hadn't expected that. Was he just going nuts and imagining all of this, or what?

Right, he had to look at the evidence. The chess game. She had been seriously flirting with him then. Okay, so maybe she was just trying to put him off but... alright, alright, not concrete evidence. So, what else? The dance. She'd let him touch her quite boldly before she'd suddenly freaked, but she hadn't moved away immediately; he'd got his hand down her dress for goodness sake. Damn it, he was beginning to ache again at the thought of it. The invitation to share the sofa with her too; that had been pretty hot. Not to mention the way they had woken up in the morning, and he was sure that she had been awake sooner than she had let on. He sensed her alertness; it was only because the cleaners had interrupted that he didn't get the chance to find out if she really had been awake or not. Then there was when they had bumped into each other just before and she hadn't moved away; she sort of froze and everything went kind of fuzzy, the way it sometimes did for a moment or two when they were close.

Weighing up all that evidence, together with the fact that she was, at that moment, in her bedroom dressed in that sexy lingerie, grrrr, hesitant eyes taking sneaky little glances at him, the little minx...wait a minute, with all that evidence, any cop, agent, PI...guy...whatever, anyone would be nuts not to conclude that she wasn't hot for him. Knowing Charlie though, she was probably trying her best not to let it get the better of her. She always followed the rules, and was most likely thinking of Richie. Clearly she didn't want him though, or she wouldn't have turned him down and be flirting with Luke.

What should he do? Then other instances from the day before kept popping up in his head, strengthening his conviction that Charlie really was hot for him. The time when she'd glanced at his lips and he was sure she'd wanted him to kiss her. Adrenalin began to pump the more excited he got at these thoughts... hell, how could he have forgotten the way she'd looked at him when Sue and whatever his name was, were having sex in the other room? She'd been burning up, real turned on. Damn it, he knew how she felt! This was nuts…

Turning off the shower suddenly, Luke grabbed a towel from off the rail and climbed out of the bath, briefly drying himself before wrapping the towel around his waist.

He was going to face Charlie once and for all and make her admit the heat between them! Then they'd share that bath she'd been so keen on having!

Chapter 15

...watching his gaze burning over the sight of her before him in that skimpy satin and lace lingerie, she realized that secretly she wanted to affect him like that; it thrilled her.

 

 

Charlie was sitting at her dressing table, lost in thought, when a loud knock on the door startled her. She sprung off her seat and grabbed her robe in a panic, holding it up in front of her when the door began to open.

It wasn't as if she didn't know who it was though, and she wasn't exactly surprised to see Luke at the door either. He couldn't have finished showering that quickly though, surely.

"Luke?" she questioned.

His eyes flicked over her briefly before returning to her face as he leant one shoulder casually against the door frame, his torso naked, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Charlie," he replied, his heart now beating vigorously, "I was kinda thinkin'..." he paused.

She eyed him questioningly. "What?"

Damn it, one look at Charlie and all his earlier caveman resolutions had deserted him.

"Err, you see," he turned from her for a second to stare at the door frame, running his thumbnail down the grain of the wood before turning back to her. "Well, I was thinkin'... since you wanted that bath, and since we aint in that much of a hurry," he shrugged, "why don't we just take a bath together?" he finished.

Damn it! He'd just sounded the same as he always sounded when he asked her that kind of thing, and now she was going to put him off as she always did. This was ridiculous; he needed to take control of matters.

Charlie laughed. "I don't think so Luke."

He knew it!

He searched her face for a few moments. "Why not?" he pushed.

She frowned. Why not? What a silly question. Despite being silly though, for the life of her she suddenly couldn't think of how to answer it. Finally she settled on, "I hardly think it's appropriate."

"Appropriate?" he laughed. "Look, it aint as if we're strangers."

What did that matter? What the hell were they taking about here anyway? Were they honestly having a serious conversation about taking a bath together, or were they having just as much of a serious conversation about having sex? Both were ridiculous.

"C'mon Charlie, I haven't seen you for seven years…" Luke was aware suddenly that he had to take a risk if he had any chance of persuading her; it could be worth it. "I missed ya," he admitted.

Despite herself, she actually felt quite flattered by hearing that. She smiled. "Well, that's all very nice Luke, but it does not mean that I'm going to have a bath with you!"

"C'mon, you never know, you might like it," he grinned. "Besides, you wouldn't do it before because of the whole 'workin' together' thing. We aint working together now," he pointed out.

She shook her head at him incredulously and laughed. "What are we actually talking about here Luke? Because I get the feeling it isn't just a bath."

His grin widened, his eyes seeming to sparkle that much more. Her heart suddenly raced.

"Why don't we start with a bath and see where that takes us?" he asked, his body now buzzing with excitement.

Her expression sobered then; she had to get control of this conversation. "I've told you before Luke, I don't do casual sex."

He folded his arms across his chest, his eyes glued to hers. Time to up the ante. "What makes you think it would be casual?"

Confusion flickered across her brow then, and she found herself a little lost for words, her head struggling to believe what she was hearing from him. Was he being serious? Then her answer hit her. What was she thinking?

"Err, in case you've forgotten, I'm with Richie now."

She should have made that point earlier.

Since they were being so open, Luke replied, "C'mon Charlie, you an' him aint workin'. Be honest."

Charlie was shocked at how direct Luke was being, and it threw her for a moment.

Charlie's hesitance spurred Luke on; he could feel her weakening.

He watched her for a moment, a smile playing about his mouth. "Why don't you just go crazy for once, Charlie? Don't think about it, and just say yes," he said, matter of factly.

She stared at him, her mind in a whirl at where this conversation had gone, and where it might go next. Anxious at that thought, she took a step backwards suddenly and ran her fingers through her damp hair, still clutching onto her robe with the other.

"You're mad," she replied simply.

In response to her step backwards, he took one forwards into the room. "But you just thought about it...for a moment, didn't you?" he pointed out.

Her pulse leapt in response to his advance into the room. She gave a small nervous laugh and took another step back. In some ways, it was her own weakness that she feared the most.

"No, I didn't."

"Sure you did," he contradicted, moving forwards again. "I know you Charlie, I can sense these things."

Could he? The idea made her decidedly more nervous.

"Well, your sensors are well off this time Adams," she came back.

But if that were so, she would have shouted at him and made him leave. She hadn't, and the atmosphere in the room between them was positively sizzling. Anyone in their right mind could sense it.

"I don't think so," he countered, moving a few more steps towards her, "underneath, you're just a little bit excited about all of this, am I right, or am I right?" he said, hoping to God he was right.

She laughed. "You're delusional. And that's far enough," she said, putting a hand up in front of her as she sensed him about to advance further. "You can turn around right now and leave."

"I'm gettin' mixed signals here Charlie, I gotta tell you, I've been gettin' them all day from you. You really want me to go?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she replied... but to her horror, the voice that came was not at all convincing. Why was that? She did want him to go, didn't she?

He wasn't fooled for one second. If he wanted this to go further though, he had to break her resolve. Hesitating only for a moment then, he tilted his head as he observed her.

"Charlie, I can see your lips movin', and words are comin' out, but everythin' else about you is tellin' a different story," he insisted, closing the gap even more before reaching out and taking hold of the robe she was clutching against herself. To his delight, he managed to take it from her far more easily than he had imagined. Her eyes had lowered to his hand and watched in almost a trance as he had eased it out of her grasp, before discarding it on the bed behind them.

Something weird was happening to her. She knew she should stop him, her words had tried to again and again, but a part of her was so fascinated with seeing what would happen next, that her actions were betraying her. He could see that too. It didn't matter at that moment though, because watching his gaze burning over the sight of her before him in that skimpy satin and lace lingerie, she realized that secretly she wanted to affect him like that; it thrilled her. She guessed that was why women bought and wore lingerie like that: for the thrill of the response it drew from a man. His gaze homed in on the edges of lace which dipped down her cleavage, and then lowered to the split up her leg. He could have ripped that thing right off her, right then, if he hadn't thought it would frighten her.

He exhaled suddenly, his breath coming out in a rush. "By the way, you look..." he struggled to find the right word, "bloody fantastic," he settled for, his expression telling her just how fantastic he thought she looked.

Despite the excitement she was feeling at witnessing his obvious pleasure, she couldn't let him think that she'd put the lingerie on for his benefit. She put her hands on her hips defensively, trying to appear a lot more in control than she felt.

"Don't get any ideas Adams; I only have this on because all my other nightwear is at Richie's."

A smile slowly developed across his face then, his eyes twinkling triumphant delight at her. "Funny, you leave your sexiest lingerie here and take everythin' else to his place," he said.

Damn it; he'd got a point. She wasn't going to let him get the better of her though.

"Luke, come on; I need to get dressed," she replied, changing the conversation.

Why wasn't he moving? He was making her feel decidedly edgy just standing there, assessing her…contemplating. She'd already turned him down so what did he plan on doing next?

She stood there with nowhere left to go, having backed herself against the wall, unsure of whether she was excited, or anxious, or a bit of both. Whatever she felt though, she had to get him to leave… or at least, that was her last thought before his hand reached out to cup her face, and move it to his. She hadn't actually expected him to do that, he never had before, and she wasn't prepared. All she could do was to turn her head to avoid his kiss and utter a weak,

"Luke, we can't do this."

"Sure we can," he whispered softly in her ear, nuzzling gently against the side of her face, his eyes lowering to her neck. "You're a girl, and I'm a guy, and we get on pretty good together," he reasoned.

She gave a small laugh, her eyes flicking sideways, wondering what he was doing. "We argue incessantly," she pointed out.

He watched the pulse in her neck racing… "Sure we do, it's called passion Charlie," he replied, swiftly dipping his head to press his lips to the soft, pulsating skin.

She inhaled deeply with shock and pulled her head backwards, resting it against the wall. He followed her though, determined not to stop as he began to feather small kisses down her neck, sending waves of tingles throughout her body.

"I can't do this," she repeated, in a shaky voice.

"Yes you can," he contradicted against her neck, his voice suddenly deadly serious.

He reached out for her then, placing his hands around her waist to pull her closer to him. As soon as his hands touched her, he felt her trembling with the effort to hold back from him and he raised his head to look at her with surprise, the revelation filling him with an excitement the like of which he'd never experienced before.

"Charlie," he uttered, the word rushing from his lips on a wave of emotion. He had to make her his. He'd never wanted anything so much.

He moved again to take her lips with his, but again she turned away before he had the chance. He watched her for a moment in confusion, her head averted. Then his eyes fell to his hands on her waist, and he began to move one, sliding his palm up the satin of her nightslip.

"I can't do this," she repeated, "I can't, I…I…c…I…can't…" she whimpered.

"You can, yes you can," he insisted, finding her shoulder and slipping down the thin strap of her nightslip, before renewing the onslaught of her neck and collarbone with ever growing hunger. She arched helplessly against the sensations he was creating with his lips, her head falling back.

"No," she said to herself, somehow finding the strength to push away from him. He watched as she fought for control with shaky breaths, biting her lip and looking to the ceiling. He'd never seen her like that before. It was then that he realised she'd been holding back on him, and probably for a long time. He hadn't even started to really pleasure her either although he'd had enough time to think of a thousand ways to do it.

"Let me kiss ya Charlie," he implored.

She put the back of a shaky hand to her mouth. He pulled it away, grasping her hand and drawing her to him again.

Again, she avoided his lips, driving him almost mad with frustration. He ran urgent hands up her back, pressing her to his heated body and feeling her own heated curves.

"Oh God, just let it happen Charlie," he begged. "You want to, and God knows how much I want you to! This thing between us has been goin' on for too long now; it aint goin' away," he said, sliding one hand from her back, around her waist to her front and trailing fingertips over her ribcage. She glanced down at his hand through a heated haze, watching its progression and wondering if it would end where she suspected. She knew she had to stop this, but fascination took over. Would he do it? What would it feel like, those hands of his?

She was suddenly so still; his eyes flicked to her face, his hand still rising slowly, seductively, until it reached its goal and feathered over her breast, feeling the evidence of her desire for him beneath the satin. This broke his control completely, and suddenly he pulled her hard against him, his mouth devouring a path from her neck, to the lace edge down the front of her nightslip.

If she didn't stop him now, there would be no turning back and it would be wrong. He'd only just come back a day ago and he just wanted sex, nothing else. In a panic, she said the only thing that she could think of which might put him off.

"Luke, I can't; I'm in love with Richie."

Her words hit him like a bullet. He froze, but his breath still came in great gasps of desire for her, even as his body began to register the hurt of what she had said.

He let her go suddenly, moving backwards from her with a wary, agonized expression.

He laughed bitterly. "Hey, don't let me get between you and the man ya love Charlie," he said, turning and leaving the room abruptly.

She watched him go, an expression of sympathy for him and regret on her face.

 

Chapter 16

She turned around then to suggest leaving, but without warning, it happened again. She suddenly couldn't move, or think, and the words simply got stuck in her throat when she caught Luke watching her.

 

 

Damn it! He'd almost had her then. Lady Charlotte; he'd almost broken down her defences and finally, finally, maybe something would have…grrr! Luke paced the bathroom in frustration. She'd been crumbling quicker than Machu Picchu in an earthquake, and he'd blown it by walking out! And he considered himself a great agent. It didn't take a detective to work out that she didn't love Richie! What a dunce he'd been. She'd said it to put him off, and he'd fallen for it. The only question now was, why was she that desperate to put him off? There was no denying now that there was one hell of a lot of attraction there between them, so what was her problem? Well, whatever it was, he'd figure it out. If she thought she could outsmart him with that feeble attempt, she'd soon find out that he too could work things to his advantage. There was not a chance in hell though that he was going to go after her like that again anytime soon. He'd bide his time.

Feeling considerably better than he had after first storming out of Charlotte's bedroom, Luke dressed and was ready to go check out the club premises again.

Charlie, on the other hand, was seriously considering locking herself in her room and not leaving it until Luke had gone. Okay, she couldn't do that, but she could cancel tonight. Let Luke go date Sue and get the discs himself. She didn't have to be there. Damn, damn, she couldn't cancel and give Luke that satisfaction though.

With as much composure as she could muster, Charlie dressed and prepared herself to face Luke again.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door handle down and pulled open her bedroom door. She emerged, prepared, calm, in control… that was, until she realised that at the very same time, Luke was emerging from the bathroom opposite her. He halted, as if surprised to see her there. She also stood motionless for a moment.

"Hi," he said, regretting it immediately. What had he said that for? And why, considering that he had worked out everything in the bathroom… how he was going to get the better of Charlie… did he now have a thousand miniature creatures running round his insides at just the sight of her again?

Charlie was also clearly not as prepared as she had thought she was.

Charlotte, don't you dare start this again. Pull yourself together!

"Let's go," she said, abruptly releasing the door handle and striding towards the stairs.

Chastising herself all the way down the stairs and across the hallway, she grabbed her bag containing her car keys from off the hall table, and headed for the front door, closely followed by a similarly self-reprimanding Luke. At the door, she paused and fumbled in her bag for the keys. She was so aware of Luke hovering behind her however, that she took what seemed like eon to find the damn things. Finally, feeling flustered and annoyed with herself, she reached out to open the front door, the elusive keys grasped in her hand, but found her pathway blocked by another hand which was reaching for the door at the same time, Luke's. The two hands touched briefly, but swiftly pulled apart, leaving the door still closed and both of them standing there awkwardly.

Charlie felt Luke's presence so acutely behind her. Luke found his eyes being pulled to the nape of Charlie's neck, just above the collar of the white cotton shirt she was wearing. He felt kinda fuzzy all of a sudden. He just wanted more than anything else at that moment to kiss her all over. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why the hell wouldn't she just let him do it?

Clearly Luke wasn't going to try to open the door again, so she should stop standing there like a complete idiot, and move.

Once in her car, Charlie decided that the only way to get through this incredible awkwardness was to focus on the case…to be professional and impersonal. After all, that was why they had spent the last couple of days together, to solve the case and get Luke out of this bloody fix!

"So, did you find out anything more after seeing the body again?" she asked him as she pulled out of her driveway.

"Yeah, he replied, staring absentmindedly out of the passenger window."It wasn't a Borelli that did it."

And he hadn't thought of mentioning that before now? Then again, she shouldn't put that to him considering the fact that they had been somewhat distracted with other things! Okay, she had to keep her mind off that and focus.

"How can you be sure?"

Luke put one finger underneath the sun guard over the window above him and seemed to be scrutinizing it. "He was wounded in the abdomen. Missed that when we moved him since it was under his coat." He turned to her then to conclude, "So, he was shot twice, not at point blank range."

"And you're sure about this 'point blank range' theory?" she questioned.

"It aint a theory, and it's for sure; it weren't no Borelli," he replied adamantly.

"So who?" she asked. "If the body was placed in your car to set you up, nobody else knows you here, at the club at least, do they?"

"Not at the club, but people know me here of course from before."

"Are you suggesting that it could be someone with a grudge from the MI5 years?" she answered.

He sighed. "Maybe, we can't rule out nothin', but it aint likely. Nah, there's somethin' we're missin' here. Some other people involved. You know, I was thinkin' that it aint likely that Roberto was shot there; the person would have been riskin' too much out in the open like that. He could have been shot anywhere though and brought here," he pondered.

"Okay so, we can assume the reason why Roberto ended up here was because he was following you," she reasoned. "Now, someone must have also been following him, maybe someone who had a grudge against both of you," she suggested, glancing sideways at him, "Someone from New York."

"Nah," he shook his head, "None of it adds up…unless…" he paused.

"Unless what?" she asked.

"Unless, like you said, I'd been followed by Roberto, then someone at the club spotted him and there was a struggle…" Luke was getting more and more carried away with his theory, the clearer the picture formed in his head. "Roberto gets shot and the killer didn't want to face murder charges. Yeah, so he…"

Charlie put a hand up. "Hold it right there. There is no one in the club who would have shot Roberto and then framed it on you. I'm telling you Luke; you're way off track."

Luke stared at her hard for a few seconds before turning back to stare out of the passenger window again.

When they arrived back at the club, after another quick inspection of the driveway and noting where the security cameras were positioned, Luke urged Charlie to think of any areas on the premises where someone in a car could watch the entrance, or car park, without themselves being spotted. As far as she knew however, there was nowhere like that; the whole driveway was so open. Despite this, they circled the entire front of the building and its grounds twice before Charlie suddenly halted and turned to Luke with excitement.

"I think I've got it," she said, grabbing him by the arm and twisting him around to head in the opposite direction, away from the building. Stepping in front of him, she led him across the driveway. "There's an old house up here, sort of bordering the club premises. I completely forgot about it since it's been empty for years… some legal problems with a will has made it almost impossible to sell the house on," she explained. "It has a fairly large garden though and it's hidden behind hedges. I'm sure you can cut through just up here," she said, approaching one side of the driveway and crossing the grass to make for the long hedgerow at the far end. Turning to her left, where she had thought they could cut through, she realised that what had once been a gate was now completely overgrown with bushes and nettles. She stopped suddenly, placing her hands on her hips and frowning at the blockade. "There's a gate in there somewhere," she assured him.

"You sure?" he grinned.

She turned to him. "Yes. We used to dare each other to enter the garden and…well, you know… that sort of thing, when I was a teenager. The place was apparently haunted. Just the local children making up rumours," she informed him. "But we always used to get into the garden through this gate," she said, gesturing to the tangle of brambles and nettles.

"You came here to the club when you were a kid?" Luke asked suddenly, surprised.

Charlie nodded, whilst chewing thoughtfully on her thumb. Then she moved decisively to her left, searching for a place where the hedge was low enough to peer over into the garden. Luke joined her, and together they realised with disappointment that there was no way a car had been parked in that garden for a long time. The grass was completely overgrown, showing no evidence of being disturbed by cars people, or anything of the like. Charlie sighed, running an agitated hand through her hair. It would have been the perfect place for anyone nefarious to hide too.

Turning away from the sight of that house, and taking a few steps to move off the lawn, her eyes scanned the entire area of the club driveway and entrance again and again, her mind searching for answers, or something they had missed which would lead them to discovering more about the murderer. There was simply nothing there though; they would have to follow other leads. They may as well go now.

She turned around then to suggest leaving, but without warning, it happened again. She suddenly couldn't move, or think, and the words simply got stuck in her throat when she caught Luke watching her. Her stomach immediately tightened in response. It was a strange expression on his face; intense, but not purposely so (she didn't think that he had expected her to catch him out) but there was a softness there, almost a vulnerability and maybe a little confusion, or even annoyance, she couldn't work out which. She kept her eyes on him for a few moments, trying to figure out what could have been going through his head, but then she became aware that she too was staring at him, and she wondered what she was giving away in her own expression.

"We might as well go now," she said softly. "I need to get back."

 

Chapter 17

 Charlie became more edgy the closer Luke got. She'd forgotten what he looked like in a tux; Sue would be all over him.

 

 

Charlie spent a few relaxing hours with Richie that afternoon. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed that time with him. Part of her had expected questions from him about why he hadn't been able to contact her last night, but she needn't have worried. He turned up on her doorstep with a huge bunch of flowers for her and that sweet smile on his face. She wasn't usually the kind of person to be won over by such gestures, but that day, the flowers had lightened her mood. One thing was for sure, Richie really cared about her and he wasn't afraid to show it. She'd be a fool if she didn't fall in love with him.

Later, after Richie had left, standing in front of her open wardrobe and wondering what to wear, her earlier good mood began to diminish when she contemplated the ensuing evening. Normally, she would enjoy such an occasion, but with Luke there observing everything, and her wondering what he was going to say next, not to mention the way that he was clearly going to make the most of his date with Sue… under those circumstances, she could quite easily give the evening a miss.

She had been looking forward to that evening for a while now too. It was going to be a great night: fine food, good music and drinks with friends. She had already decided on what she was going to wear, but now, she wasn't so sure. She had bought the dress on a whim; it had called to her from the boutique window. But, until this night had been planned, she hadn't yet had the opportunity to wear such a dress. Now though, after having tried it on again, it somehow looked...like it was making too much of a statement or something. For a start, it showed an awful lot of leg. When she had first tried it on, she hadn't particularly noticed how much of one thigh it revealed as the long length of the dress didn't seem to emphasise the side split so much. She also hadn't minded the way that the bodice supported and lifted to emphasise her assets, but now, were they too emphasised? Why was she thinking so much about this tonight though? She never normally did.

No, she had decided that she was going to wear that dress, and that dress she would wear. It wasn't that showy, just plain black, a classic number; but the length and the addition of small, shimmering crystals on the bodice and edging the split, was enough to make her stand out from the crowd. Oh damn, would she stand out too much? Would he think she was dressing for him? This was ridiculous. There was nothing else in that wardrobe that jumped out at her anyway. She was wearing what she had originally planned to wear and she would ooze confidence that night too.

A couple of hours later, and Charlie was standing at the garden bar, assessing the patio and lawn, which had been prepared for the evening's events. There was already a buzz of excitement in the air and a building atmosphere from the short snippets that the jazz band were playing to test the sound system for later that evening. A few of the Club's regulars were mulling around the garden, or inside the reception area, but most of the guests had yet to arrive. It had been deduced that for once the English weather was going to behave itself that night, and they had decided upon round and rectangular tables, with pristine white tablecloths, placed on the lawn. The jazz band was set up at the back, the bar to the right, and, just in case, a marquee area with another bar was set up in the far corner. Candles on the tables and in the garden rockeries, and fairy lights in the trees, gave the whole scene that added feeling that the night was going to be something special.

If only Charlie didn't have that niggling feeling in her stomach so that she could relax and enjoy it.

"Here, a glass of bubbly for a sparkling lady," Eddie said to Charlie from behind the bar, handing her a tall glass of champagne. "So, it's a double date for you tonight litll lady," he said, leaning towards her, resting one elbow on the bar and assessing her appearance. "And girly are you going to be fencing off the men this evening… lucky you."

Charlie was about to take a sip of champagne but stopped with the glass half way to her mouth. "What do you mean?" she frowned.

"Come on, it's me you're talking to. There'll be at least two American's I can think of, and the boss of course," he grinned.

"You can stop right there," she pointed at him, "Luke is a work colleague and Doug is…" she paused, "a friend of the family. You and I are going to have serious words if you start saying ridiculous things tonight," she warned him.

"Hey," he held up his hands in surrender, "you know me; I'll be my usual discrete self."

"Hmm," she watched him warily, "make sure you are." In truth though, she knew that Eddie would never do anything intentionally to upset her. She sighed. "To be honest Ed, I'm really not looking forward to tonight that much."

He thought he'd sensed that there was something not quite right with her that night.

"Why baby?" he said, reaching forward sympathetically to rest his cheek on her free hand that was on the bar top. "Tell your friend all about it," he coaxed, gazing up at her.

"Well, for a start, I need you on side," she confided.

"I'm always on your side sweetie," he assured her, lifting his head but holding onto her hand. "What's troubling you?"

She finally sipped her champagne, giving herself time to consider his question.

"To start with, I don't know how well Luke and Richie will get along. They may be both American's but," she shook her head, "they aren't exactly from the same side of the track, if you know what I mean."

"You mean that Richie is boring and your New York Secret Agent is exciting and dangerous, in a rugged and daring kind of way?" he replied with an enthusiastic smile.

Charlie looked taken aback with Eddie's frank assessment. "What do you mean 'boring'? When you first met him, you said Richie was an enigmatic stranger with the body of an Adonis, and that he should be snapped up at the first opportunity!"

"I said that?" he replied.

Yeah, but that was before he found out that Richie was a lying, cheating, ratbag, who's eyes should be pecked out by a thousand ravenous crows!

"Hey, don't listen to me hunny, I'm as fickle as they come."

Charlie tutted.

Eddie leant a little closer to whisper, "But he is pretty hot though, don't you think?"

"Richie?" she asked.

"No, that Agent of yours. You must have been thrown into some close situations together; fighting crime... partners through it all," he grinned.

Oh great, this was all she needed tonight: people making assumptions about Luke and her.

"Firstly, he's not 'my Agent'" she quoted, "And secondly, we were partners in a professional capacity only," she assured him. "Thought you said you were going to behave tonight?"

He sighed. "I will, I will."

"Why on earth are you trying to match-make me with someone you don't even know anyway? And what has Richie done to fall out of your favour?" she asked.

Ooops, he wasn't going there. He'd forgotten how Charlie never missed a thing. Maybe she would just get fed up with Richie and dump him of her own accord. She seemed to have cooled off a lot with him anyway since he started proposing every chance he got.

"I wasn't exactly matchmaking," he came back casually, "I was just wondering if Richie is really your type after all, and thinking that you and the Agent might have more in common."

What was he talking about? That was ridiculous. She laughed. "We're completely different Ed; you couldn't get more different if you tried."

Eddie was not to be put off. "Well, you know what they say, 'opposites attract.'"

She thought for a moment. "Birds of a feather, flock together," she countered.

He frowned. "Yeah, crows."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Forget a load of old birds, you have to have an attraction, or it's all just..." he gave a dismissive hand gesture, "...boring."

She shook her head at him incredulously. "Thank you for that Casanova ,but, I would just like to point out… you have customers waiting," she prompted, her eyes flicking down the bar.

He jumped up then and swung his head to the customers in question, only pausing briefly before he left her, to whisper, "Here comes Mr Rugged himself. And is that a gun I see in his pocket? Or is it something else?" he chuckled.

Charlie glanced behind her to see Luke hovering by the patio doors, searching the garden area. Her eyes widened at Eddie's audacity, and she turned back to the bar with just about enough time to reach across and slap him on the arm as he walked away. He turned, laughing at her primness.

Luke figured that he would head straight for the bar until Sue had finished organizing upstairs for tomorrow. It would give him time to assess the people at the club, maybe even get talking to some. Then he had the feeling that Sue would want his attention, which he needed to keep if he was going to get his hands on those discs... and if he was going to maybe get under Charlie's skin a little.

Right, gotta figure out these glitzy Brits. Can't be that hard; they're just like Charlie, right? Gotta infiltrate them, 'cause that glitzy Brit who set me up is goin' down.

Luke was heading for the marquee when he caught sight of what could be Charlie standing at another bar at the other end of the garden. He changed his mind then and did an about turn. As he made his way past the dining tables and across the garden, Charlie turned and he realized immediately that it was her. Who else would be standing there so elegantly, looking utterly, and annoyingly as hot as ever?

Charlie became more edgy the closer Luke got. She'd forgotten what he looked like in a tux; Sue would be all over him.

"Hiyya Charlie," he said, the epitome of Luke and, most annoyingly, it made her insides contract.

Eddie stood behind the bar, observing the interaction from one to the other with delight.

"Hello," she replied, leaning to look behind him. "Where's Sue?"

Never mind about Sue; forget Sue. Charlie needed this guy...and to ditch her cheating boyfriend.

"She's gone to check on something. Where's Richie?" he asked in return.

"Gone to check on something," she echoed.

"Everyone's gone to check on something," Eddie laughed, glancing from Luke to Charlie and back.

"Seems so," Charlie commented.

Oooh, that seemed a bit cold coming from Charlie. What was up with her?

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked Luke cheerfully, trying to lighten the odd mood.

"Sure, a drink would be great," he replied.

"You know what," Eddie began excitedly, "I had a bit of free time this afternoon and I was kind of experimenting... "

Charlie's eyes flicked to Eddie dubiously.

"... I created some unbelievably impressive drinks; I surpassed even myself. You just have to try my 'Sugar Kiss' cocktail; it's to die for," he said, some of his initial enthusiasm fading when he noticed the look on Luke's face. Mmm, maybe not. "Then again, you must be more of a... beer man, eh?" he amended.

"Yeah, beer's more my thing," Luke admitted.

Eddie rethought. "Got it," he said, clicking his fingers at Luke, "Whiskey?" he suggested again. "I bet you'd prefer a whiskey, right?"

A smile lit up Luke's face.

"Whiskey it is then. Not a cocktail man, no problemo," Eddie said, glancing at Charlie, who was actually now looking almost cheerful, an amused smile threatening. He turned to collect a glass, which he placed on the bar, "On the rocks?" he asked.

"Sure," Luke nodded.

"Knew it," Eddie grinned, placing ice in the glass. "So, I read this book once, 'What Does Your Drink Say About You?'" Eddie went on. "A whiskey man," he said, pouring the liquor onto the ice, "Smooth, smoky, distinct, like the drink itself, a little rough around the edges, a whiskey man is a tough cookie. Men and women alike admire them, but they can probably kick your ass, so don't mess with them.' Was I close?"

Charlie tried not to burst out laughing, she was still not entirely happy about that evening, but to his credit, Eddie had summed up Luke to a tee!

Luke picked up the glass, observed it and then and took a sip. "Pretty damn good," he smiled.

Eddie appeared delighted, until he leant towards Charlie to ask under his breath, "Was he talking about the whiskey, or me?"

Charlie shrugged.

"He was talking about me," Eddie concluded, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Charlie couldn't help it; the laughter slipped out as her eyes flicked from Eddie to Luke. It appeared that Luke had found himself another admirer.

Charlie's amusement didn't last long however when she noticed Sue making a beeline towards the bar, and Luke.

Here we go. Charlie had no doubt that Sue would make a play for Luke, and that Luke would love all that attention. Why had he invaded her life like this? If he was going to pick up women left, right and centre, he could bloody well do it somewhere else, and at a time when she wasn't risking everything to help him too!

"Hi again, so sorry I had to leave you," Sue said, kissing Luke on the cheek.

Bit over the top wasn't it? Considering that they barely knew each other.

"No problem," he replied, standing for her, "here, take my seat."

Hmm, Luke being such a gentleman, and it hadn't gone unnoticed that his arm had slipped around her waist.

"Hi Charlie," Sue said, glancing around Luke.

"Sue," she acknowledged. "How are you?"

"Great," she replied. "Looks like it should be a fabulous night." Sue turned to smile at Luke.

He smiled back.

Fabulous, everything was fabulous... just fabulous. Only... just one thing... if Luke disappeared upstairs with Sue that night, there was going to be another murder in the Club!

Sue was hanging off Luke now like he was her new catch. Luke, of course, was looking as smug as ever. Charlie had had enough of this already; how the hell was she going to last the night?

Just as Charlie was contemplating informing them that she was going to find Richie, so that she could make a quick escape and leave them to their ridiculous flirting, she noticed Luke looking quizzically in her direction. A moment later, and she was startled to feel a hand on her waist and a kiss planting itself softly on her cheek. She knew even before turning that it wasn't Richie. She could sense who it was, and became alarmed at the nervous acceleration of her pulse. Oh God, she wished that Doug wouldn't do that in front of people, even more so in front of Luke! She had to keep her cool all the more that evening, or Luke would pick up on something incredibly quickly.

"Hello Charlotte, you're looking very lovely tonight," he said, his deep voice seeming to draw the attention of everyone around him. This man's attention however, was well and truly on Charlie.

Now that was unexpected! Who the hell was this guy? Obviously someone else who was hot for Charlie. Luke really needed to catch up on seven years of Charlie's private life.

"Hi Doug. How was your weekend?" Charlie asked politely, swivelling further around on her stool to face him.

"Productive," he smiled at her. "Business went well, and I also managed to get the Hampton club on board. That could be very good for us."

"Oh, that's great news. I'm really pleased," she replied, a smile lighting up her face.

"Edward," he called out. Eddie was chatting to another club member and hadn't noticed that Doug was at the bar. He nearly jumped out of his skin, and rushed down the bar to them.

"Some champagne here please," Doug said.

"Of course," Eddie replied, slinking away to find the bottles and glasses.

Doug? Another surprise. Luke had not pictured Doug to look like that at all. He had envisaged a short, balding man with a huge stomach. Wasn't he supposed to be on a diet? Well, he didn't need to be; he was tall, broad and imposing in his dark, pin striped suit, dark hair, with just a little grey showing, and intensely blue eyes. Unlike Luke had assumed, this guy demanded respect and seemed to have total control over his staff. They all appeared to busy themselves about, or sit up straight, like soldiers standing to attention, as soon as his presence was felt. Luke had thought that their antics on Sundays and Monday mornings had been due to the fact that Doug had little control over his Club. Now he suspected it was the other way around; the only time they could get away with anything was when Doug wasn't there; he didn't seem the kind of person to let them off lightly when he was.

Okay, so what was the deal between him and Charlie then? Now Luke was doubly curious, and ever so slightly uneasy too.

Right, so there was no avoiding it. If she tried, it would only make her appear to be acting oddly. Charlie turned again towards Luke and Sue. "Doug, this is Luke Adams, an ex-work colleague of mine. Luke, this is Doug, the owner of the Club," Charlie said by way of an introduction.

So, she'd probably known Doug for some time, considering he was the owner of the Club and she had been going there since she was young, and yet she clearly hadn't even mentioned Luke to him before.

Doug rose an inquisitive eyebrow at Luke and reached out to shake his hand. Luke shook it firmly, whilst also observing at the same time, the way that Doug's other hand had found itself on the small of Charlie's back as he leant forward. Luke wondered what Richie made of the interaction between Doug and Charlie. Doug seemed almost possessive of her.

"You two used to work together then?" Doug said, turning his attention from Luke for a moment to pick up his drink.

"Yeah, that's right; we were partners," Luke stressed.

Doug's glass halted half way to his mouth. "Partners?" he questioned, swinging his head to Charlie.

"At work only," Charlie added in a slight panic.

Doug turned back to contemplate Luke for a second whilst he sipped his drink. "Charlie seems to attract Americans," he observed.

Oh God! This was awkward.

Charlie gave a slightly nervous laugh. "Hardly. Luke and I were forced to work together... under duress I might add. We disagreed on almost everything."

"Oh I dunno about that," Luke interjected, "we had our moments," he said, a smile slowly developing.

Charlie daren't look at Doug, and found her gaze awkwardly trapped with Luke's. She could feel Doug's eyes burning into her and needed to look somewhere else, anywhere but at Luke or Doug. She knew that moving her eyes from Luke would make her appear awkward but what else could she do? She opted for turning back to the bar and picking up her drink again to take a sip. Suddenly, she wished they would both leave. They didn't, but to her relief, Richie came to the rescue.

Luke was amazed when Richie approached to see that, even with his imminent presence, Doug kept his hand on Charlie, and it was only because she moved awkwardly off her stool to greet Richie that his hand was forced to relinquish its hold.

Charlie walked forward to Richie and there was a brief moment when, with her hands resting lightly on his forearms, they spoke softly to each other about something. Then the contact was broken and they both walked back to the bar, hand in hand. Luke's head was buzzing. He was so damn confused.

Once all their drinks had arrived, Doug suggested that they move to their table which was located just in front of the bar anyway. Sue and Luke sat with their backs to the bar, Richie and Charlie opposite them, and Doug seemed to hover by the table, assessing the room whilst also chipping into their conversation from time to time.

"So," Sue began, eager to find out more about Luke. "I hardly know anything about you, apart from that you and Charlie used to do some kind of top secret work together. What do you do now Luke?" she asked.

Hmm, that was going to be a hard one for him to answer. Charlie imagined how Sue would cope with the reply, "I have spent the last seven years pursuing the New York Mafia."

"Oh, I've been workin' on a few projects in New York," he replied vaguely, "but I've moved back here to London now; aint plannin' on leavin' here for a while," he said, his eyes instinctively flicking from Sue to Charlie across the table. For a fleeting moment both Charlie and Luke's expressions were frozen, until Charlie smiled politely and rose her glass to take another sip of her champagne.

Luke smiled in return and turned back to Sue to smile at her also. Sue was smiling, Charlie was smiling, Luke was smiling, great, everyone was being so polite!

"Well, there must be something here you like that keeps bringing you back," Sue commented.

Luke thought about that for a second. "Yeah, there must be."

"So," Sue went on, "have you caught many bad villains?" she asked, gazing sideways at Luke.

Could Sue be any more obvious with her flirting?

"Sure, keep puttin' them behind bars so you ladies can sleep safe in your beds at night," Luke replied with a grin.

Oh please!

Sue looked delighted with Luke's answer, and was quite probably contemplating dragging Luke into her bed with her.

"Well then, I guess I should be eternally grateful," she replied, her eyes dancing about his face.

"I guess you should," he answered.

For goodness sake!

"I for one am glad that Charlie is no longer working in that field," Richie cut in.

Charlie turned to him with a frown.

"Or else we wouldn't have met," he smiled.

Hmm, at least he hadn't said because it was too dangerous for her. She hated being mollycoddled.

"What made you leave the field Charlie?" Sue piped up.

"Yeah," Luke added, "I always wondered that."

Charlie's heart sank suddenly; she felt as if the four walls, if there had been any, were closing in on her.

"I'd just had enough of dealing with criminals," she answered vaguely, fiddling with the stem of her champagne glass.

"But you..." Sue began. She never did know when to leave something alone.

Doug interrupted her, his deep, authoritative voice cutting in, "Charlotte wanted to pursue more charity work Susanna. Here," he said, picking up a champagne bottle, "your glass needs refilling."

As Doug filled Sue's glass with champagne, he glanced briefly at Charlie, a look of concern on his face.

Oh, so it was Doug to the rescue then, Luke noted.

"What do you do for work?" Luke asked, turning his attention to Sue.

"I'm an artist…painter and sculptor," she informed him.

"Really?" Luke appeared to be impressed.

"Yes. I should paint you; you have great bone structure," she said, assessing his face.

"Luke, sit still for any more than two seconds," Charlie laughed, "I can't imagine it."

"I dunno; I might give it a shot… long as you get my best side," he said, turning his face for her to view his profile.

Right, this was actually making Charlie feel nauseous! When would the food be served she wondered, anything for a distraction from this unbearable situation she had found herself in!

Chapter 18

The foot was persistent though and determined to push its mischievous luck as it found the sensitive inside of her thigh, stroking the soft skin.

 

Luke and Sue flirted their way through the first two courses of the meal, and by desert, they were deep in conversation. Richie had gone somewhere to answer a phone call, leaving Charlie contemplating if Luke was doing all this flirting to get into Sue's bed. He needed those discs, so he did need to get back to her house, but how was he going to not sleep with her if she wanted to do it? It would seem strange if he turned her down, particularly after all the flirting he'd been doing that evening. Then again, being completely realistic, if Sue did offer herself on a plate, like she had to Dennis, to a man with a sex drive like Luke's, it would be highly unlikely that he would want to turn her down.

She didn't care anyway.

He needed to get those discs to clear himself of the murder. She wanted him to do that, of course, so what did it matter if he slept with Sue?

But… what if it turned out to be more than a one night stand?

She noticed their animated faces, the way they were laughing together.

They were quite similar. Sue was carefree and enjoyed the good things in life. She disliked rules and constraints…so did Luke.

Then she'd see them all the time in the club. She could do without that.

One thing was for sure; it was a bloody good job she hadn't given into Luke earlier, because he would still be there, flirting with Sue to get those discs, and she would still be there, wondering how far Luke would go to get them.

Suddenly her spirits fell as she tried to enjoy her chocolate desert, only to find herself swallowing it in uncomfortable lumps.

Why had she been feeling so down over the last couple of days? Ok, so it was in the back of her head that she and Richie were not working out and she would probably have to go through the heart wrenching process of splitting with him. But also, this was making her feel a little lost. Where was she going with her life? All the focus, whilst she had been with Richie, had been on the club and charity events. Was she really satisfied with that anyway though? And if not, where would she go from there?

Okay, so Luke was getting a little bit tired now with all this flirting; besides, this woman was coming on pretty strong. After having seen what she was like upstairs, he'd end up having to fight her off. He needed those discs, yes, but he hadn't planned on having to control a nympho, nutty woman into the bargain.

Finally, Sue had shut up for a moment then to eat her desert. Luke took the opportunity to glance up at Charlie and Richie to see what they were doing, only to realize that Richie had disappeared somewhere and Charlie was sitting alone, apparently lost in thought… her desert left half-finished as she played with the stem of her champagne glass.

With her eyes lowered, her mind elsewhere, Luke watched her for a moment. Some kind of light was reflecting off the glasses on the tables or something, because her face and shoulders were dancing with shimmering lights. It was weird because, watching her sitting there, all glamorous and so damn composed, he would never have thought he'd be attracted to that kind of woman. But then how dumb; she was gorgeous, so why wouldn't he be? It was more to do with the type of women he always went for before. They were the opposite of Charlie… usually loud, completely open with all their passions and wants, and not afraid of asking for them. They always indulged. A bit like Sue actually…

Charlie often frustrated him intensely with the way she held everything back, following the rules verbatim. But despite this being so exasperating, to the same extent, it also attracted him… weird. The fact that she never let him get away with anything, and that she could stand her ground so adamantly, was actually very hot. Plus, on the rare occasion that she did relax, boy was that exciting! It was kind of a challenge to get her to do it more often.

With his mind wandering as much as hers, he had found himself focusing on the champagne glass in her hand. When it suddenly stopped moving, however, he realized that she had come out of her reverie and her eyes were lifting. Her gaze collided with his immediately. She frowned slightly. He smiled though and gave her a wink.

She stared at him for a moment, her face almost void of expression, and he thought for a split second that she was angry with him. Then a small smile crept over her face and his smile grew in response, but the moment was then abruptly lost as quick as it came when she swiftly lifted her glass, emptied it and then stood, turning to head for the bar.

"You want another drink?" Luke asked Sue.

Sue glanced at the bottles on the table which had now been emptied.

"Yes, that would be nice," she replied.

"More champagne?"

"What else?" she answered with a smile.

He nodded and rose to walk to the bar.

When he reached Charlie, he just caught the tail end of something that Eddie had said to her, finishing with,

"I know what will cheer you up…"

Charlie looked a little startled to see Luke there suddenly beside her and she glanced at Eddie with an expression of something like mild panic. Eddie seemed unperturbed however and simply said to Luke,

"You have to like tequila; it makes you happy. You're having one too," he insisted.

Luke nodded a vague approval. "Tequila aint bad. Can you get someone to send some more champagne over to our table also?"

So, what was wrong with Charlie then? Maybe he'd gone a bit over the top with all the flirting with Sue. Considering that he'd been trying to seduce Charlie earlier, he supposed that it made him look a bit fickle.

"Eddie," Charlie called out, "leave the drink for me; I'm going to find Richie."

Eddie turned with a frown. "Come on Charlie, I've poured it now." He approached her again, saying in a whisper, "Please have just one with me…pretty please, just for me," he pouted.

She sighed, and seemed to begrudgingly toy with the idea.

"Please Charlie," Eddie repeated, "if you don't, I'll cry."

She tutted and her hand shot out then decisively to finally take hold of the glass. Eddie raised his to hers and then Luke's; they all chinked and drank.

Luke put his shot glass down with a smile and turned to Charlie, leaning towards her to say,

"Sleep with me Charlie, or I'll cry."

Eddie's eyes widened with surprised delight.

Charlie came back snootily with, "Thought you were going to sleep with Sue tonight."

Luke countered, "Thought you were going to sleep with Richie."

Charlie ignored his comment and went on, "You could use that line on her… although, knowing Sue, you probably won't need to."

"Oooh! Meow. Go tiger!" Eddie commented, crossing his arms and observing Charlie with a grin.

"Anyway," she said, standing from her stool, "I'm going to see what happened to Richie."

Luke turned to watch her stroll away. She didn't have to go far to find Richie though, as he was returning to the table, so they simply exchanged a few words before taking their seats once more.

"You want another one of these?" Eddie asked Luke, holding up his shot glass.

"Nah," he replied, rising to join his table again until a thought hit him and he changed his mind. "Okay then, I will have another. You want one also?" he asked, pointing to Eddie.

"I'd love to, but…" he glanced around him "… the boss won't approve if he catches me."

Luke glanced around too. "Well, I don't see no sign of the boss. I won't tell no one if ya have another."

Eddie's eyes lit up. "Go on then. Ooh, you're such a bad influence; I love it."

As Eddie poured the drinks on the bar for them, Luke asked, "So this Doug guy, your boss, what's he like?"

Eddie looked up with surprise. "Oh he's alright; he's just hot on rules and order, that sort of thing. I can't say anything bad about him though; he's helped me out a lot in my time here."

Hmm, that wasn't the answer Luke had wanted to hear.

"How long you been here?" Luke asked.

"Five years now."

"And how long has Doug been here?" Luke went on.

"A lot longer than I have. I think Charlie was only a teenager when she first came here with her father, and Doug was here then," Eddie informed him.

So, Charlie has known him since she was a teenager. Luke wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.

Eddie finally handed Luke the tequila shot, they clicked and drank again.

Damn it; he had to ask.

"Eddie, you know Charlie and Doug… are they… did they… have they ever, you know…"

Eddie did know what Luke was asking, but he wasn't going to help him out. He was rather hoping that Luke wouldn't get around to asking that question.

Luke ran a hand through his hair and then leant closer to Eddie to finish,

"Did they ever get it together?"

Eddie groaned, and replied under his breath, "That's the sixty four thousand dollar question. Rumours began circling a few years ago. I don't know; she insists they are just friends, but she's so evasive when someone asks anything about it. Here's some advice for you though: don't broach the subject with Charlie. I did once and I thought she was never going to speak to me again! It's a bloody sensitive subject."

Luke stared at Eddie for a moment.

Right… okay… So there was something between them then. No one reacts like that if there was nothing going on. The whole thing was unsettling.

Luke glanced at his empty shot glass. "Might as well have one more," he said, handing it over to Eddie.

Eddie glanced around for signs of Doug, but seeing none, he refilled their glasses. They clinked and drank again.

"You two," Eddie began, pointing at Luke with his empty shot glass still in his hand, "you're great together though. You make me laugh."

Luke cringed slightly as the third tequila hit the back of his throat. "Laugh?" he questioned, "Why?"

"You're…" Eddie thought for a moment, "Spirited together."

Luke contemplated that. "Yeah, spirited," he repeated, seeming to like Eddie's assessment. He turned to look at Charlie then, but quickly turned back to warn Eddie,

"Playtime's over, the boss is on his way back."

Eddie whipped the shot glasses off the bar and hid them from sight.

"I'll see ya later," Luke said, standing.

"Yeah, and thanks for the drinks," Eddie whispered back before Luke left him.

Damn it, if only Luke wasn't perfect for Charlie… oh and if only he just happened to be gay too. Too much to ask for, but one could dream.

"You've been chatting to Eddie for a while," Sue observed when Luke returned to the table.

Was she keeping tabs on him already?

"Yeah," he laughed. "You get the champagne?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks," she smiled, picking up one of the bottles and filling a glass for him. "Cheers," she said, handing him the glass and holding hers up to clink.

He smiled. "Cheers."

"So, we should do the sitting next week," she said.

"Sitting?"

"Yes, so that I can paint you," she clarified.

What? He was kidding when he'd said that.

"Err," he laughed, his awkwardness trebling when he felt her hand slip down his leg.

He moved suddenly and his chair scraped on the floor, causing everyone on the table to look up.

Charlie was watching him with amusement. She'd seen; there was no doubt about it.

"I have a busy schedule," he replied to Sue. "I'll get back to you on that."

Unfortunately, this didn't put Sue off, and she went on, planning the painting and describing in detail what paints and utensils she was going to use. Luke nodded every now and then, whist contemplating how difficult it was going to be to get into her home without having to stay that night. Then boredom set in and Luke was considering reverting back to his first instinct: to break into her house and steal the discs.

Richie was discussing the charity conference with another club member who had joined their table, while Charlie was watching Luke with amusement. Maybe Sue was too much for him after all. Served him right. Then Doug appeared, seating himself opposite Charlie and next to Luke. He smiled at her, his eyes intensifying, the way they always did when he looked at her. She smiled back, but was then mortified moments later to feel a foot touch her ankle, and slide up and down her shin. She pulled her leg away and mouthed,

"Doug?" disapprovingly, her face beginning to heat up.

"What?" he mouthed back.

What on earth was he thinking, doing something like that there? Then she felt the foot again and it suddenly hit her; he wouldn't do something like that there, but she knew someone who would.

Her eyes flicked in Luke's direction. His face was still diverted as he appeared to be still listening to Sue, however, now his face had a grin on it. Of all the cheeky…

"Are you okay?" Doug asked.

"Yes," she replied, feeling decidedly not okay when the foot returned to her leg and slid further up. It tickled the back of her knee. She shifted away from it and crossed her legs, hoping to God that Doug wouldn't pick up on what was happening. The foot was persistent though and determined to push its mischievous luck as it found the sensitive inside of her thigh, stroking the soft skin.

"Charlie?" Doug questioned, noticing her lack of composure.

A small laugh escaped her mouth as she pushed her chair backwards, standing. "I…er, I think I'll just go and powder my nose," she said, turning to head for the Club building. On her way, she snuck a look back at the table. Luke was grinning at her. He winked.

Chapter 19

 

Now their torsos and legs were touching as they moved to the music, and it hit her hard: the smell of him, the nearness of him, the sound of his voice in her ear, and suddenly her treacherous senses were screaming, "it's Luke!"

 

 

Luke was discovering many new and interesting ways to get under Charlie's skin, and he was loving every minute of it. Most interesting of all was the way that she had reacted to him at her house earlier. Then there were the comments thrown his way when he'd been flirting with Sue, and now there was Doug. She really was edgy with Doug around, and Luke being there too seemed to make her all the more edgy. Funny, she didn't seem to mind Richie and Doug being in the same space together though.

So this was fun. What next? A thought had occurred to Luke earlier, but he had dismissed it in favour of flirting more with Sue. Now however, he had changed his mind; he wanted a dance with Charlie. Okay, so the plan had been not to come on to her again, but it was just a dance. During an evening like that, it was perfectly acceptable. But if he was honest with himself, there was an underlying reason for wanting a dance with her. It was another opportunity to feel Charlie's body close to his, and any opportunity that presented itself, let's face it, he was going to take it. Who knew when it would come again, or if it would? Yeah, he was definitely getting a dance with her. He buzzed with the anticipation of it.

Luckily, Sue was being monopolized by a number of other club members at that point, leaving Luke free to spend that time with Charlie on the dance floor… that was, if she was ever going to return after his little foot play under the table. That had been very… stimulating; he smiled at the memory. But now he'd been left alone for a while, he realized that everyone seemed to have someone to talk to apart from himself. He glanced around to find, to his dismay, that the only person who was standing alone, hovering around the bar, was Doug. On second thoughts though, maybe he could use this to his advantage; after all, better the devil you know, right? Anyway, if all else failed, he got the distinct feeling that Eddie wouldn't turn down another tequila and chat with him. He wasn't a bad person to have on side either.

Luke stood and moved from the table to the bar, leaning across it to order a whiskey. He glanced sideways at Doug, who he was surprised to see was staring at him.

"So, you and Charlotte worked together before then?" Doug said.

"Yeah," Luke replied, removing his arms from off the bar and crossing them over his chest. "We were partners."

"Strange, she's never mentioned you before," Doug commented.

Luke assessed him before replying, "She never mentioned you neither."

The two of them watched each other for a moment until Luke turned to reach for the whiskey that Eddie handed him.

"When did you leave the field here?" Doug asked.

Luke shrugged. "Round seven years ago."

Doug's eyes intensified as though that number struck a chord.

"What made you decide to go back?" Doug went on.

Luke was unsure whether he intended to answer that question. Then again, there was something about this guy that, although Luke didn't give a damn what anyone thought, he didn't want to seem as though he were backing away from a challenge, or trying to hide anything.

"A friend needed help," he replied.

Doug gave a curt nod…whatever that meant.

"Edd," Doug called, gesturing him over. Eddie scuttled towards him. "A whiskey," he ordered.

Luke sipped his drink, watching thoughtfully as Eddie poured Doug's whiskey.

"Didn't intend to go back for good," Luke suddenly said, " but...sometimes things just don't turn out the way ya think."

Doug took the tumbler from Eddie and sipped before speaking up.

"And now you're back," he pointed out, waiting for Luke to offer and explanation.

Luke gave a small laugh. "Yeah."

But Doug clearly wasn't satisfied with that. "What brought you back here?" he asked.

This guy was straight to the point. There were worse ways to be.

Luke took another sip of his drink.

"Workin' in New York undercover, doin' what I was doin', its real tough sometimes… real tough," he stressed, his face falling deadly serious.

The next few moments fell silent between the two of them. Doug played with his whiskey glass, swirling the amber liquid around in the tumbler before taking another swig.

"It's a tough job," Doug finally said, "tough and dangerous."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

Doug sighed deeply and took another sip. "There were times… times when I wondered if it was too dangerous for her."

"Tell me about it," Luke replied. "And she's damn stubborn too."

Doug laughed. "Oh yes."

Luke gave a knowing grin.

"See, what it is," Luke went on, leaning on the bar again, "the way I see it, is that it's a man's job to protect a woman. I know all about the way women think these days," he said with a dismissive gesture, "but what they don't understand is that it aint right. If they like it or not, guys are stronger than women and more cut out for that kinda thing. Now don't get me wrong," he continued, "she's the best female agent I've ever known… better than most male agants I know sometimes…" he admitted, "but…" He suddenly realised that he might have been talking too much, and that he might have also, somewhere along the line, contradicted himself.

"It's an admirable thing to want to protect a woman," Doug interjected.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "That's what I think." He finished his whiskey then before saying, "But then she was…she was so damn good at her job. Too damn good," he laughed.

Doug smiled, taking a few moments to consider Luke's comments. He finished his drink slowly.

"I've known Charlotte for a long time. I know that type of work fulfilled her," he said simply.

Luke nodded. He had not really wanted Doug to be one of the good guys, but from what he had observed and heard from him, he got the feeling that he was and therefore he was no longer high on Luke's list of suspects anymore. Well at the very least, he seemed to care about Charlie. Besides, if her father trusted him enough to bring his teenage daughter to the Club, then he must be bona fide.

Charlie emerged from the building then, after being stopped by several Club members to gossip about the weather, the latest fashions and the upcoming charity conference… the usual chit chat.

She entered the garden from the building and glanced towards their table, only to see that there was nobody left sitting at it. Then she saw them; Doug and Luke sitting at the bar deep in conversation! What on earth could they be talking about? She dreaded to think. Heading swiftly to the bar, she placed herself between them, seating herself on a bar stool and looking from one to the other.

"Where has everyone gone?" she asked.

Luke shrugged.

Silence ensued.

Charlie glanced at Doug. He smiled, amused. He knew that she didn't want him to talk with Luke.

Luke coughed and she turned then to see that he had stood.

"You wannna dance?" he asked, holding a hand out to her.

Charlie looked up at him with surprise, and then it hit her what he was asking. The last thing she wanted to do was dance with Luke with both Richie somewhere and Doug sitting right beside her...not to mention all the other club members watching.

"Err…I think Richie was…" she said glancing around her, only to find to her great annoyance that Richie was of course nowhere to be seen. Great!

As she turned back, she caught Doug's eye. He was sitting, watching, waiting to see what she would do. What could she do? Luke was holding out his hand to her, urging her to accept it. Damn it! Dancing was so bloody… personal. Well, dancing with Luke certainly was!

But she couldn't turn him down; that would look really strange.

With many reservations, she finally took his hand and stood.

As he led her to the dance floor, he realised that, although it had only been a few hours ago since he'd felt Charlie against him that afternoon, and he had run through those moments in his head over and over again, being in his head was just not enough. He needed to experience her again in reality. It was unnerving how much he needed that. Just the thought that in a few seconds time, he'd be able to feel Charlie pressed against him was causing his body to come alive with excited anticipation.

Oh God, no, she was going to have to dance with him, and dancing meant standing close…way too close for comfort as far as Charlie was concerned. And the nearer she got to the dance floor, the more her wayward body realized it. She had to keep control, she just had to! Especially there in the Club.

At the dance floor, Charlie experienced that slightly awkward moment when they both turned towards each other and had to make contact. For a second, she wondered exactly how he intended to hold her and, not only that, but they also had the music to contend with. Moving in time with each other, whilst she also tried her hardest to keep some kind of gap between their bodies, was proving to be more difficult than she had first imagined. Of course, the inevitable happened, she had known that it would; the pressure on Luke's hand, which was positioned on her back, slowly increased, bringing her second by second, heartstoppingly closer to him. She had no way of avoiding it, and, with the sound of his breath just above her head and the warm presence of his arm moving to possessively encircle her waist, their bodies edged into each other.

Now their torsos and legs were touching as they moved to the music, and it hit her hard: the smell of him, the nearness of him, the sound of his voice in her ear, and suddenly her treacherous senses were screaming, "it's Luke!" Her body's reaction was beyond her control at that moment, as the small flame that leapt in the pit of her stomach, swiftly spread like wildfire throughout her whole body. This is what she had been dreading, only it was worse than she had anticipated. Why did this keep happening to her lately? There was no way that she could let him know though, certainly not after the weaknesses she had shown him earlier.

Luke placed his hand on Charlie's waist and he was immediately back in that bedroom with her… her warm body beneath his hands, her curves driving him to distraction, she oozed a femininity that was like a drug to him. He was on fire and, unlike Charlie, he didn't give a damn who knew it. He had no doubt that many people's eyes were on them, probably mostly men's... men who had no idea what it was like to dance with a woman like Charlie, to feel her slim, feminine body against them, to glance down at the curve of her cheek as it deepened in colour, to watch her eyes lashes lower, to feel her breath quicken, to know the sweet torture of unspent desire for her.

But she was feeling it too now, the knowledge of which was the most potent aphrodisiac of them all for him. If only they were somewhere more private; he wouldn't be able to resist another attempt at seducing her senseless, no matter what his previous resolutions had been. Instead though, he settled for feathering his fingers up her spine, from her waist, over the material of her dress, to the 'v' at the back, where they trailed leisurely across the exposed skin, from the centre of her shoulder blades to her neck. As soon as he touched her bare skin she shuddered and arched away from his fingers. He smiled down at her, thrilled at her reaction to him.

"Luke," she warned, glancing up.

"What?" he shrugged innocently, his fingers hovering. "We're only dancin'."

His eyes told her another story though. He was making love with his eyes and his hands, and if anyone could see his face at that moment, they would know it immediately. Her own face would probably tell them far too much as well. But then again, what could she say to him? Turning to stare over his shoulder, she prayed for the song to finish soon. Then his fingers returned to her spine, and again she shuddered.

"Luke, come on," she appealed.

He grinned down at her, before edging her back to him and whispering into her ear,

"Seems like I've found a sensitive spot eh Charlie."

The sensual sound of his warm voice in her ear, and his face so close to hers, did nothing to improve her lack of composure.

She edged her head back slightly to glance up at him. "Would you mind keeping your hands still, Luke?" she whispered.

He grinned guiltily, but replied matter of factly, "calm down." Pulling her to him again, he settled back into the rhythm, "you sure are uptight tonight."

She replied with a whisper in the direction of his ear. "Maybe that's because I should be dancing with Richie this evening, not you."

"Yeah well, Richie aint around, is he?" he came back.

In fact, Luke then realized that Richie hadn't been around much at all since they had finished their meal.

"That's not the point, everyone else is," she stressed.

He leant in to speak into her ear again. "Don't worry, they aint gonna know nothin' just 'cause we're dancin' together."

"I should hope not," she answered before reassessing what he had said. "Hold on," she looked up at him suddenly, "What do you mean 'know nothing'? There's nothing to know!"

He grinned. "Whatever you say Charlotte dear," he replied in a fake British accent, which sounded decidedly like he was poking fun at the people in the Club.

Grrr, he was getting far too big for his boots.

"So," he went on, glancing down and watching the spit in her skirt reveal a tempting expanse of thigh as they moved in time to the music, "you was here as a teenager. You ever get a dance with the boys here back then?" he asked.

Despite herself, a small smile developed. "Yes actually, my first ever dance."

"Really?" he grinned. "who was the lucky guy?" He moved closer to ask, "Was it the owner?"

"No!" she answered in shock. "of course not. Why would you say such a thing? Doug was a friend of my father's, and a married man then I might add."

"Ah, sorry, my mistake," he replied.

Why did he look so damn amused?

"So, who then?" he pushed.

"His name was Robert actually," she answered primly.

"Oh, Robert," he replied, laying on the British accent again. "Hey, he aint gonna pop outta the woodwork is he?" Luke said, glancing around as if to look for him, "Don't tell me I got more competition."

She laughed. "Competition? Don't be silly; you make it sound as if I'm surrounded by suitors or something."

He frowned. "No, I was takin' 'bout competition for a dance."

"Oh," she turned her face away and bit her lip. Boy did she feel silly now. Then she heard his soft laugh and looked up at him to see him grinning at her again. He was playing with her.

"Stop it," she laughed, slapping him on the arm. "You're being extremely cheeky tonight," she observed.

"Oh, I can be far more cheeky than that," he answered.

"Hmm, I know…" she replied. But this time she held his gaze… and this time the smile that developed across his face did so slowly…knowingly.

Oh dear, maybe she'd been playing with fire by bringing that up again.

His eyes began to deepen in colour right before her and suddenly she was heating up again rapidly. Despite this though, her eyes refused to move from his. Their gazes were speaking some silent language as their bodies moved together. It was a language that neither of them were ready to voice yet, but it was as if every battle they had won together, every terror they had faced, every smile and all the laughter, the excitement, the thrills, all of it over the years they had worked together as partners, suddenly took over and was reflected in that moment they were dancing, and gazing, and touching. In that moment, some concept of just how strong the feeling between them could develop hit them both. The thought was exciting and unnerving at the same time. Charlie felt like running… although her pride kept her from doing so. Luke, on the other hand, surrendered to the excitement of it and laced his fingers with hers, his eyes still watching her intently. Charlie could feel her face reddening, her body coming alive once more with sensations she couldn't control; but still her eyes refused to admit defeat by glancing away from him. He lifted their hands then and brought them to rest between them on his chest, a gesture that made her feel strangely emotional all of a sudden. He held her hand there, encased in his, as if it belonged to him.

Finally, he was the first person to break eye contact with her by narrowing the gap between them, their clasped hands still against him, as his cheek hovered next to hers, contemplating resting itself there. He could now actually hear her unsteady breath they were so close.

Charlie felt overwhelmed by Luke's essence as he stroked and warmed and held her tenderly against him. Did he really know what he was doing at that moment… how he was making her feel? If he did, would he continue? How much was she being played by him that night she wondered, and how much of it was genuine? It felt so real though. How could this feel so intense if it wasn't?

"Boy, I love this dress," he whispered, running his hand over the material, his voice strangely soft and quiet for Luke "…with you in it," he added.

Every time he whispered to her it send shudders of pleasure around her body; it almost didn't matter what he said. She found her hand hesitantly straying from his shoulder upwards to the back of his neck, where her fingers made light contact with his skin.

He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for an instant before releasing his breath. She couldn't help the feeling she got from knowing that she could affect him in that way. Glancing sideways, without turning her head completely, she was aware of his face next to hers, his eyes contemplating her. She could sense his gaze lowering, fixing on her mouth. She turned slightly, intrigued. He was openly gazing upon what he wanted. She watched in fascination as he fought to hold back from turning his head just the last few inches that would bring their lips together.

She was no longer thinking about the people around her, her head was a haze. Her mind was only hovering on what it would feel like to have his lips on hers.

He exhaled suddenly, almost in pain, settling for resting his cheek against hers, his arm pulling her hips into his, ironically intensifying the torment even further. She was lost, all out of control with heat, and tingles and breathlessness. He was beyond lost, feeling her heat and knowing that, if he really wanted to, he could push her to surrender.

Then, from the corner of her mind, she realized that something had changed. It was quiet all of a sudden. The music had stopped.

Eddie stood behind the bar watching them with starry eyes. "Oh my, there's a lot more to them two than I thought," he said to Eric, who was more than slightly inebriated, slumped on a bar stool.

"Who?" Eric slurred.

"I've got it!" Eddie said in a eureka moment. "I never could quite work Charlie out... you know, why she could never commit to a relationship, but now it all makes sense."

Eric looked up in interest. "It does?"

"Yes, it's him," he said, pointing to Luke, "He's the missing link."

Chapter 20

The amused smile continued to play across his face but his eyes began to darken as he observed her. She had seen that look before and backed towards the counter top in response.

 

 

As the song drew to a close and Luke and Charlie stilled, he gave her a light kiss on the cheek and whispered softly, "Thanks for dancin' with me princess."

Her head was a mass of feeling rather than thoughts on the walk back, but halfway there, after having caught sight of Doug and Eddie, she suddenly realised that she had to focus and bring herself into reality again. Goodness knows what she looked like, but she could feel her cheeks glowing and her body still tingling. As she neared the bar, she searched for something...anything... that would occupy her enough to avoid people's scrutiny. On their table, which had at that point been deserted in favour of the bar, she found that distraction.

"Good grief, just look at all these glasses," she exclaimed, proceeding to collect a hand full of champagne flutes.

Luke took a seat at the bar a few stools away from Doug, and both of them watched, a little bewildered, as Charlie suddenly fell into a frenzy of collecting glasses and transporting them across to a similarly bemused Eddie. Somewhere amongst all this action, Charlie became aware of Luke and Doug falling into casual conversation just before the glasses ran out. Handing the last whiskey tumblers across, she finally took a seat at the bar herself. Eddie placed another glass of champagne in front of her with a rueful grin.

"Here, drink this and relax... before you spot anything else to clear away."

Charlie threw him a look, but picked up the glass for a sip shortly afterwards.

Right, she had to focus now on how they were going to exonerate Luke. Between all the tension of the evening, and the dance they had just shared, somehow the fact that there was a dead body to be accounted for had slipped to the back of her mind.

First of all, Luke needed to pay a bit more attention to Sue if he was going to get his hands on those discs... but then again, would that mean he would get his hands on Sue as well? And in any case, they didn't even know for certain that she had the discs. Maybe they could find out another way? Sue had disappeared somewhere now anyway... perhaps she had seen them dancing and been put off?

"Don't worry, they aint gonna know nothin' just 'cause we're dancin' together."

His words came back to her, along with a vivid recollection of feeling his lips by her ear and his hands roaming over her back.

She took another sip of champagne.

'There's nothing to know!' she had replied. But deep down, she knew there was... there was a whole lot to know, even if, at that stage, everything was all in their minds. There were those hours they had spent locked in Doug's office last night... the chess game... sleeping on the sofa together... then in her bedroom, him in only a towel, her in just that silky lingerie... and that dance, with both their hormones running badly out of control. Something had happened within the time he had returned to run roughshod all over their control; they were barely holding onto it during a simple dance!

"Charlie?"

Doug's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up at him abruptly.

"Sorry?" she frowned.

What had he said?

He laughed. "You were in a world of your own then. I was just saying to Luke that I've been having a few issues lately with security in the Club."

Security? His office! Sue and Dennis... Herself and Luke! Charlie bit back her panic and answered,

"What sort of issues?"

"People wandering onto the premises, that kind of thing. Brian from across the road has updated his security since he's had similar problems. I was wondering, considering both of your expertise, if you two might put your heads together and come up with some kind of solution for the Club," he replied.

Charlie exhaled with a smile of relief. "We'll look into it."

"Great. It would take a weight off my mind. We never needed any kind of security when I first took over. I suppose times are changing," he sighed, "Even all the way out here."

"That's the way of the world," Luke commented.

"Yes, well, I appreciate your help, and now," Doug finished his drink and stood, "I have to go and sort out a few things for tomorrow. We'll talk later," he said, placing his hand briefly over Charlie's before turning to smile at Luke and walking away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Charlie jumped up from her stool.

"We have to replace that drink from his office!" she said to Luke, leaning across the bar to call for Eddie.

"What can I do for you?" Eddie replied, bringing his head closer to add in a whisper behind one hand, "I'm finishing in two seconds sweetie. We have the booze stashed as usual inside; join us for a quick drink or two if you can get away. Oh, and I've vetted your undercover agent over there; he's one of us now. Bring him with you," he winked.

She glanced sideways at Luke to see him grinning.

"Okay, err, anyway, would you do me a favour without asking any questions?" she put to him.

Eddie's eyes widened slightly. "Of course, why?"

Charlie tutted.

Eddie chuckled. "Ooops, that's a question. Alright, what would you like me to do? But if it's illegal, I want in." He laughed again. "Probably shouldn't say that, what with you two having been secret government officials and everything. Anyway..." Eddie always got overly excited when he'd finished work and secret drinks were on the cards. Charlie was waiting for Eddie to stop rambling. "Fire away, how can I be of assistance?" he finished.

"When you leave for the kitchen, could you take a bottle of whiskey and a couple of bottles of wine over with you? Put them on my bill, and I'll meet you there afterwards."

Eddie's face lit up with interest. "Oooh, you do know that we already have a hidden stash, but if you two are in for a monstrous session then..."

"Eddie," she interjected, "It's not for us to drink. No questions, remember?" she pointed at him.

"Hmm," he folded his arms, "So secretive. Is it a top secret mission?"

Charlie held in her laughter. Eddie would love the thought of that. How ironic; he wasn't that far from the truth. "Yes, Eddie, top secret, so not a word," she said, placing her finger over her lips.

"Oh, okay," he mouthed, creeping off down the bar.

Luke halted him briefly by placing one hand on his arm as he passed.

"Put those on my bill," he said under his breath.

Oh, right," Eddie whispered back. "Top secret?"

"Yeah," Luke confirmed, "top secret."

Eddie floated away with a pleasant tingling feeling in his arm.

"What was that all about?" Charlie asked.

Luke shrugged, resting one elbow on the bar. "Nothin'."

Charlie moved a little closer to Luke to speak in a hushed voice.

"Perhaps it was one of those people who have been wandering on and off the grounds who 'caused the trouble'," she said, purposely avoiding the mention of any dead bodies.

"Maybe, but I don't see no motive," Luke replied vaguely.

"Hmm..." Charlie thought for a moment before sighing. "Right, I had better replace that alcohol," she finally said, standing and turning to leave.

Luke stood with her, causing her to pause and look back at him over her shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

He frowned. "Comin' with you to the office."

She turned around and placed one hand on the bar, blocking his way.

"No you're not," she replied. "If someone finds me in there, I'm not being discovered with you."

"Yeah, but I've been thinkin' 'bout somethin'," he said, avoiding her comment. "if Doug hasnt noticed the missing drink, then he hasn't been up to his office since he got back, right?"

"Right, and?" she replied.

"Then there's a good chance that those discs have been put back. It's worth checkin' that one out," he said, moving forward. She stood her ground.

"Okay, I'll check for the discs while I'm up there," she said, turning once more. Again he went to follow her. "Luke..." she began.

"What? I'm one of you now," he quoted Eddie, "I'm comin' for some illicit drinkin'," he grinned.

She tutted. "Don't you think you should be more focused on finding out who the..." she glanced around her, "...'you know who' is?"

"Sure, I'll come to the office then!" he replied with frustration.

"Hold on," she said, running a hand through her hair, "if the discs are there, we will need to look at them immediately, but not in Doug's office; I don't want to stay in there..."

"We could go back to your place," he suggested. Now there was a good idea! Hmm, and he could try a little more seduction on her.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. What on earth would I tell Richie? And besides, I don't have a DVD player."

"You ain't?" Luke replied.

"No, I don't have a television."

"No television?" he frowned, confused. How could she not have a TV?

"No, but Eddie has both... Right," she said decisively, "you come to the kitchen and keep the staff in there. They usually move to Eddie's room for more drinks afterwards. You need to keep them away for long enough for me to take a look at the discs, that is if they have been put back of course."

"C'mon Charlie, let's just go get the discs and watch them. I gotta see. Who cares where we watch them?" he replied impatiently.

"I care," she came back. "And I hardly think it's going to help you if someone finds us and starts asking questions." She sighed and rethought. "Okay, if they are there, I'll come back for you. We'll just have to come up with something to keep them away for a while," she said, finally turning to head for the building.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Charlie and Luke entered the kitchen to find that Eddie was already there with two other female staff. Charlie was relieved to see that the others had not yet joined them and so it would probably be a while until they moved to Eddie's flat in the staff block.

The three of them turned with excitement to see who had entered the kitchen.

"Yay, you made it for drinks," one of the girls enthused, filling glasses from a bottle of white wine she was holding.

"Of course she has; never lets us down when there are secret drinking parties, eh Charlie," Eddie said, taking two glasses and handing them over to Charlie and Luke. "Welcome to the madness," he said, smiling at Luke as he took the glass on offer.

"Well, I'm afraid it will only be one or two drinks tonight; Richie seems to have gone missing, and if I don't get back out there fairly soon, Doug will wonder where I am and probably come looking for me in here. Then your secret drinks will be a secret no more," she warned.

"You can have a few drinks though," the girl smiled, "besides, I seem to remember that you still have a dare outstanding from our last 'Truth or Dare' session."

Charlie laughed. "I'll have to save that for another night Debbie."

"Don't think we'll let you off that one," Eddie grinned.

"Hmm, I'm sure you won't," she replied.

They all turned then as the door opened and another girl stuck her head around it to whisper, "Hey you lot, you can't start yet; the other staff are making a fuss that we need to clear more tables before we clock off."

The three of them groaned, placing their drinks back on the counter top.

"We'll be back in a bit. Bottles are over there," Eddie said, gesturing to a plastic bag on the counter top as he passed Charlie.

"Thanks," she smiled.

Before Debbie exited the door, she turned to say, "Don't leave; we'll be back soon. It's so much fun when you stop for drinks Charlie," she said excitedly.

Charlie laughed to herself after they had left and looked up to see Luke grinning at her.

"What?" she asked.

The amused smile continued to play across his face but his eyes began to darken as he observed her. She had seen that look before and backed towards the counter top in response. He moved at the same time, closing the gap between them that she had created. She suddenly realised that she had little space to move.

"Yeah, I remember us havin' a hell of a lot of fun after a few drinks before," he said, placing one hand on the countertop at her side.

Her stomach filled with butterflies once again at his nearness and the way that his eyes made a slow assessment of her.

"So," he said softly, his voice smoky, that slight smile on his face, "How darin' you feelin' tonight Charlie?"

She took a breath to answer but stopped, letting him wait and wonder.

The next thing she knew however, someone was bursting in through the door. Charlie's head swung around and she sprung away from Luke when she realised that it was Richie standing in the doorway. He watched both of them, his eyes cold, hard and angry, before he moved into the room.

"I need to talk to Charlie," he said to Luke.

Luke crossed his arms over his chest and watched Richie suspiciously. He didn't like the tone of this guy's voice all of a sudden, or the vibes he was giving out.

"Sure," he gestured to her, "go ahead."

"Alone," Richie grated out.

"I aint…" Luke began, only to be interrupted by Charlie.

"Luke, I'll see you back out there."

He turned to her with an expression bordering on anger. Then he turned back to Richie, his face a mass of resentment and distrust. Finally he moved to leave.

"I'll be outside," he stressed to Charlie, giving Richie one last warning look before he left.

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Luke headed straight back to the bar in search of Doug. He found him chatting with a group of people that Luke didn't know, but one look at the expression on Luke's face and Doug excused himself and approached him.

"Is everything okay? Where is Charlie?" he asked.

"She's inside, taking to Richie," he replied, glancing back towards the building.

A pulse throbbed in Luke's temple.

"Is something wrong?" Doug asked, observing him.

Luke turned back to Doug. "How well d'ya know this Richie guy?"

Doug looked taken aback for a moment. "I've known him for a few years. He donates quite large sums of money to charities and uses the clubs facilities for meetings," he summed up. "Why?"

Luke shrugged, not wanting to say too much. "Just kinda strange, him turnin' up here, proposin' to Charlie so quickly. Kinda makes me wonder where he got all that money from too."

Doug smiled. "Well, I don't think Charlie is any rush to accept his proposal. As for the money, I've had him checked out; he's genuine," he assured Luke.

A frown flicked across Luke's face and he turned to cast a glance around the garden area at the other guests.

"You know all these people here well?" he asked.

"All of them," Doug replied confidently. "I make it my business to know everyone."

Doug wasn't giving Luke the answers that he wanted.

"You seem a little uneasy," Doug observed. "Anything I should know about?"

Luke laughed and shrugged casually, the seriousness of his expression masked.

"Guess it must be bein' an agent; don't trust no one," he answered.

Doug wasn't fooled; something wasn't right. "If you'll excuse me, I still have arrangements to make for tomorrow," he said, leaving the bar.

Luke had little time to think over Doug's words before Sue reappeared.

"Hey stranger, I wondered where you were," she said, slipping an arm through his.

"Just been gettin' to know people," he replied vaguely.

"I've been waiting for a dance," she said, smiling sweetly up at him.

He didn't need this right now.

"You know what, I don't dance that good," he said by way of an excuse.

"Yes you do," she contradicted. "I saw you and Charlie dancing together. Come on," she urged, tugging at his arm.

He looked up then, contemplating the dance floor, and then his whole world seemed to slow to a stop. He could hear his own heart beating, the blood rushing to his head.

It was her, there in the Club. That woman the Borelli's had sent to him in New York. If she was there, there were Borelli's nearby!

He broke free from Sue's hold immediately with a rough twist of his arm. He was vaguely aware of her protest as he lunged forward into the crowd towards Bella Jackson.

To his intense frustration though, by the time he had managed to push through the people, he had lost sight of her. Standing on the edge of the dance floor, he scanned the garden helplessly.

 

chapter 21

 In defence she resorted to anger. "When Luke asked me to dance, I told him that I was going to dance with you. And then I looked around and... where the bloody hell were you?" she shouted.
He growled and turned on her. "I was doing anything to avoid having to watch other men make a play for you!" he shouted back.
"You're out of your mind! Who exactly was supposedly making a play for me then Richie, who?"
He pointed again towards the window. "Him! The Yankee, for a start."

 

"Was that really necessary?" Charlie asked Richie crossly as soon as Luke had left the kitchen.
"So sorry to interrupt your little tete a tete," he replied with bitter sarcasm, pacing around the table. "You obviously care more about your ex 'partner' than you do your present one!"
"What are you talking about?" she snapped back. "He was not my partner, not in that sense, and my 'present one' hasn't exactly been around much this evening. Where on earth have you been?"
Richie stopped pacing suddenly and turned to her, his impatience clear in his face.
"You know what? I can't stand it anymore, seeing you with them. It was bad enough with Doug, but now there's a new guy on the scene as well!"
She growled with frustration and ran her hands through her hair. "Not this again. How many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing between me and Doug?"
"Ah, but there is; everyone knows it. You might be in a relationship with me, but there will always be something between you two," he said, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"For goodness sake Rich, I am allowed to have other people in my life! I've known Doug for years; he's a family friend. And I used to work with Luke. What do you expect me to do; ignore them because we are in a relationship?"
"It's not about that," he replied with a dismissive hand gesture as he turned from her again to resume pacing, "it's the way you react to them, look at them, everything. You don't act like that with me."
She shook her head with a frown. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He stopped to face her once more. "I saw you dancing with him." He pointed in the general direction of the garden outside. "Okay, even if I buy the fact you only see Doug as a family friend, don't tell me there is nothing between you and that Agent guy. At least be honest enough to admit that."
She faltered, unsure of what to say next. "But... but... we were never in a relationship!"
"That's not the point though, is it?" he came back.
In defence she resorted to anger. "When he asked me to dance, I told him that I was going to dance with you. And then I looked around and... where the bloody hell were you?" she shouted.
He growled and turned on her. "I was doing anything to avoid having to watch other men make a play for you!" he shouted back.
"You're out of your mind! Who exactly was supposedly making a play for me then Rich, who?"
He pointed again towards the window. "Him! The Yankee, for a start."
She laughed sarcastically. "He was with Sue! Surely to God you're not that blind to have missed the flirting between those two tonight."
He stilled suddenly, watching her closely for a moment before observing, "That bothers you, doesn't it?"
"Oh good Lord!" she exclaimed, turning from him and beginning her own pacing, her hands in her hair. "I can't go on like this!"
"Me neither," he said, too softly for her liking as the atmosphere took an abrupt turn for the worse.
She stopped, her back still turned to him, her heart rapidly accelerating with anxiety. Suddenly she could see a huge, overwhelming void in her life ahead of her which, depending on what she said next, she might be forced to step into. But did she want to take that risk? Would she be letting an opportunity for happiness slip away without Richie? All she did know at that moment was that she wasn't ready to make that decision then; she wasn't thinking clearly enough.
She turned to him, her eyes shimmering with emotion. "We had a nice time together today, didn't we? I thought we did."
His face filled suddenly with pain. "We did; it was almost like old times," he said sadly.
She approached him then, her demeanour suddenly more determined. "It was like old times Rich; I loved the old times. Why can't it be like that now?"
He reached out and took her hand in his. "Say you'll marry me, and it will."
She fought to stop from pulling her hand away then. "I'm not ready for marriage again yet."
He sighed and dropped her hand. "I can't go backwards Charlie. I love you and I want you to be mine."
Tears of panic and emotion began to threaten. "Is that why you asked me to marry you; because you think that every man I speak to will whisk me away from you? Because if so, that's absurd..."
"It's not that." He ran a hand over his face. "I'm in love with you," he finished simply.
She'd never told Richie that she loved him. He had told her on numerous occasions and she had felt awkward, acutely aware that he probably expected the same declaration back. She couldn't say it though; she just didn't feel that way about him... not then anyway. She had thought that with time her feelings would deepen, but at that moment, she couldn't lie to him.
With each passing moment of Charlie's silence, she could feel their relationship slipping away; his face told her so.
Finally, he broke eye contact and turned for the door.
"I'm sorry Charlie, I can't do this anymore."
At the door he paused to ask, "Are you okay to get home?"
She nodded, her throat aching too much for her to risk speaking.
He left then, shutting the door behind him.
Silence filled the room, and loneliness filled her heart. She suddenly had the most awful fearful, sinking feeling as she leant back against the counter top and let her sadness pour out unchecked, her hands covering her face as she wept. Would she ever find the right man for her? She had the horrible feeling that she was going to be alone for the rest of her life. Everything was falling apart. She had anticipated this breakup, but now it had happened, she wasn't ready for it. Within the space of two days, the happy, comfortable life that she had finally managed to find for herself was slipping away from her, and she was back to how she was before: yearning for Luke, the man she could never have, and scrambling to keep him from self-destructing.
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Luke barged back through the crowd, receiving disapproving looks from people, until he was at the bar once more.
"Eddie," he called loudly.
Eddie had his back to him as he placed glasses into a sink to wash. He swung around on hearing Luke's voice.
"Hey," he smiled, "you left. Where's Charlie?" he asked.
Luke ignored his question. "There was a woman over there just now," he said, pointing out across the garden, "Dark hair, American, kinda looks out of place here. Did you see where she went?"
Eddie went slightly pale. "Is she from New York?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's her! Where did she go?" he asked desperately.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her tonight. Didn't think she'd come back here tonight," he replied.
"She's been here before?" he barked out.
Eddie was becoming more and more anxious by Luke's reactions. "Yes, she was here earlier this morning. I guess you know then," he lowered his voice, "about her… and…" he coughed, "…and Richie."
In truth, Eddie was sort of relieved to have someone else who cared about Charlie knowing. Maybe he would do something about the cheating ratbag?
Luke had stilled, his eyes boring into Eddie's as he asked in a slow deliberate voice.
"What about this woman and Richie?"
Eddie began to regret saying anything. Luke looked like a volcano about to explode.
"Err…"
"What about them!" he yelled.
Eddie's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "She's his other girlfriend," he whispered, bracing himself for the onslaught.
Charlie was in danger.
Seconds later and Luke was gone, leaving a crowd of mystified people looking over their shoulders.
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After several minutes of indulging herself with tears, Charlie realised that she at least had to move from the kitchen or the staff would be returning, and plus, she needed to put that alcohol back in Doug's office.
Grabbing the plastic bag with the bottles in, she left the kitchen and headed down the corridor to the lifts, her vision swimming with the remains of the tears… her eyes red and puffy.
As she exited the lift on the top floor and made her way down the corridor to Doug's office at the end, to her horror she heard a familiar voice behind her and turned to see Doug approaching. She simply stood there, her hand tightening nervously on the plastic bag, and all energy to find excuses seeping out of her.
"Charlie, wait up," he called, his face draining of colour when he saw the distress in hers. "What is it? What's happened?" he said, the panic clear in his voice.
With a shaking hand and tears now falling again down her cheeks, she held out the bag to him. "I borrowed some drink from your office. I'm sorry."
He frowned at the bag and took it from her with bewilderment. "Never mind about that, what's wrong?" he asked again urgently. "What did Richie do?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, it was me, I…I…"
Relief swept over Doug then. For one moment, he had thought that maybe Luke's mistrust of Richie might have been justified.
"Come on," he said, turning her around and leading her to his office. "I'll get you another drink and you can talk, if you feel up to it."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"Here," Doug said, handing Charlie a glass of wine, and taking a seat on the sofa. She joined him, placing the glass down on a side table so that she could wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm assuming that you and Richie have argued tonight," he said, testing the water.
She nodded. "We've split up," she replied, fresh tears seeping from her eyes. She attempted to stop their path down her cheeks but gave up and took comfort in her wine glass instead.
Doug looked to the floor. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Are you?" she asked. "I mean, I know that you don't exactly like Richie."
He looked up at her. "I don't dislike him. I just didn't think he was right for you. And I am sorry because I can see that you are upset. But, I hope you don't mind me saying, you turned down his proposals over and over again. You have good instincts Charlie; trust them," he advised.
The tears started falling afresh now but for another reason: relief. Having Doug tell her that Richie wasn't right for her meant that she now had less regrets about splitting up with him.
"Hey," he said, reaching out to wipe her tears with the back of his fingers, "break ups are never nice but you'll be okay," he assured her, standing to move to his desk in search of some tissues for her.
"I know," she sighed. "But working with him on the charity projects is unfortunate."
He returned with a box of tissues, offering them to her. She took a couple, dried her tears and blew her nose.
Doug became silent for a moment and thoughtful before he replied,
"Tell me something sweetheart, truthfully now, why did you join MI5?"
Charlie looked taken aback by the seemingly random question. "I'm sure we've had this conversation before sometime," she laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. "Why do you ask?"
"We did," he replied, "you said something vague like, 'to work for Queen and country' because you didn't know how else to reply, but that was a long time ago. I'm asking you now for a different reason."
She shrugged. "What reason?"
She was being evasive. He wasn't at all surprised. He wanted to know if she knew herself why she had joined.
"Go with me on this Charlie," he appealed.
She thought about it for a moment and realised to her surprise that the answer wasn't coming to her that easily. A slight frown of confusion passed over her brow. She had the distinct feeling that he already knew, so then why on earth didn't she? It should have been an easy enough question to answer.
His face filled with wry amusement watching her. "Come on, it's not a trick question. This is me you're talking to. Just be honest," he urged.
"I…I wanted to help people," she finally said.
He smiled affectionately at her. "I know, but there are many ways of doing that; you do that here now with the work you do, and you did it here before you joined MI5," he pointed out.
Then why? Why couldn't she think? Her mind wandered back to how she used to feel.
"I wanted…" she paused for a moment before answering, "a challenge," she came up with. As soon as she had uttered the words, it became startlingly clear to her how accurate that was.
His smile grew. "That's closer to the truth."
She gave a small laugh in response. "You know what it was like Doug, everyone used to treat me with kid gloves just because of who I am. I wasn't experiencing life."
"Exactly. So now I have one more question. If that were the case, why did you come back here?"
She sighed and sat back against the sofa cushions behind her, running a hand through her hair and holding it on top of her head. She supposed that he had a good point.
She just stared at him, unable to come up with a reply.
He didn't really expect one; he had just wanted her to think about it.
"Look," he said, reaching out to take her hand that was resting on top of her head to hold it in his, "Don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than to have you here, but you're not living life properly, you're…hiding from something," he said, giving her a knowing look.
She laughed nervously.
"Yes, you are," he pushed, "I know you well enough by now. I'm not going to pry by asking why or what, but all I know is that it frightens you more than the mobsters and murderers you used to face every day, and that's a lot of fear."
Fresh tears sprung to her eyes then. How could he see everything so clearly?
He reached out to her again and cupped her face with one hand.
"Listen sweetheart, don't you think you might be happier if you faced it...whatever it is...and moved on from here? I don't want you stuck here going through the motions of life, and certainly not with someone like Richie," he frowned, dropping his hand. "He wasn't right for you."
She laughed, with tears falling down her face at the same time. "Thank you, I actually feel surprisingly better now," she said, her tears contradicting her words.
"Hey, hey," Doug stood then, pulling Charlie up and into his arms to comfort her. " I just want you to be happy sweetheart. Whatever you decide to do, I'll always be here if you need me," he assured her.
She took in a shuddery breath and looked up at him with a pained expression. "I want you to be happy too. I'm…I'm sorry," she said.
"What for?" he frowned.
She lowered her eyes. "You know."
He stared down at her for a moment. "I'm not sorry," he smiled. "Life is too short for that."
She nodded, pulling away from him, running her hands over her face and taking in a steadying breath. She had to pull herself together.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes. And thank you Doug."
"You don't have to thank me," he smiled. "I just have to get some paperwork from out there," he said, gesturing to the outside office, "and then we can go back downstairs. I assume that Richie has left now then."
She nodded.
"When you're ready to leave, I'll order you a taxi," he said, before disappearing into the adjacent room.
Charlie sat back on the sofa and reached for her wine again but then a thought hit her; she had to check for those discs.
Turning, she glanced nervously at the open door, but saw no signs of Doug returning.
She stood quickly and moved to the desk, scanning it for the disc file. Her heart thudded anxiously as she found it, opened the folder and searched the dates on the discs. She hated doing this to Doug; it felt as if she were going behind his back. But there was no sense in getting him involved. Turning the next page in the folder, to her amazement, yesterday's discs were there! With shaking hands, she slipped them out of the pockets and turned to find her handbag. She half expected Doug to be standing behind, watching her, but he wasn't. Returning to the sofa, she placed the discs into her handbag and reached for her wine glass again. Thank goodness, maybe now they had the proof they needed to clear Luke of suspicion.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Luke burst through the kitchen door downstairs, only to find both Charlie and Richie gone, replaced with a small group of staff who were finally enjoying their after work drinks. They looked up at him with surprise.
"Anyone know where Richie went?" he asked urgently.
"Think I saw him leaving," one of the girls replied.
Then Luke was gone again, bolting across the reception area and out into the darkness of the front driveway. He paused in the shadows only long enough to reach under his trouser leg and pull out a firearm from his ankle holster.
He could see Richie approaching his car from across the driveway. Luke stuck to the shadows and headed for Richie.
The cold, hard barrel of Luke's gun made its indent in the side of Richie's head. Richie froze.
"You and me are gonna go for a little ride Richie boy. You know what the Borelli's did to Danny? Well, that's gonna be more like a walk in the park compared to what I'm gonna do to you."
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Earlier that morning.
Bella Jackson entered the reception area of The Club and glanced around at the opulent surroundings.
These people sure had some money.
She was drawn to the garden room straight ahead of her but was halted by Hannah, the receptionist, before she could get there.
"Can I help you?" Hannah asked.
"Oh sure, I was just gonna take a look around hunny," she replied.
"I'm sorry but this is for members only," Hannah said.
"Right. I wanna be a member then," she answered.
"Unfortunately there are no memberships available at this time," Hannah came back.
Bella assessed Hannah for a moment before shrugging and turning to leave. On her way however, Bella paused for a moment when a suited man passed her, and Hannah called out,
"Richie, I thought you'd left. She came back a few minutes ago. You keep missing each other," she laughed.
Richie replied, "I forgot to ask Sue about tonight. Where is Charlie now then?"
Heading out into the driveway once again, Bella took a quick look behind her before slipping around the side of the building.
Another American. What had that woman called him? Richie. Bella could use this to her advantage.
She bet that nobody would ask Richie's girlfriend from New York to leave. She was going to find out what she needed to know and no snooty receptionist was going to stop her!

Chapter 22

It was easier than Luke had thought to break into that garage, even with Richie raving on about how he knew Luke was bad news all along. Bad news for him, yes. Now he was going to make Richie lead him to Tony Borelli and finish this thing once and for all.
He had found an old broken washing line in a stack of boxes, using it to tie Richie to a chair.
Richie glared furious resentment at Luke. "Right, so I've seen this in the movies; now you're going to do what? Torture me to tell you stuff. Well then, it's going to be a messy business, 'cause, how many times do I need to tell you, I don't know anything!" Richie yelled desperately.
It was a good job that Mrs Bennett's hearing left a lot to be desired, and that there was nobody else presently staying in that guest house.
Luke grabbed another kitchen chair, pulled it in front of Richie, turned it around and straddled it backwards, leaning on the back of the chair with one arm, while the other hand kept the firearm pointed in Richie's direction.
"You know this thing could be over with in seconds; you just gotta answer one simple question and we're through. Just one question," he stressed.
"Damn it, if I know the answer, which I doubt… but if I do, I'll tell you…" then Richie paused for a moment, eyeing Luke with suspicion as a thought occurred to him "…There's only one thing I won't do; you can do or say what you like, but I won't say nothing about Charlie. If this is to do with her, forget it. I'll throw anyone else to the wolves," he announced.
Luke was confused for a second. Why was Richie so focused on Charlie? It had to be a decoy. He was messing with him.
"Good, so I got a whole pack of wolves waitin' for Tony Borelli right now. Where is he?" Luke replied.
Richie closed his eyes momentarily and sighed. As he had thought, he wasn't going to be able to answer Luke's questions. Now his only hope was to convince this lunatic that he really did know nothing about these random people he kept mentioning.
"Read my lips," he replied, slowly but surely, "I have never heard of a Tony, or a Danny, or a Bella. I've never even been to New York in my life."
"Wrong answer," Luke replied, reapplying the barrel of his gun to Richie's head before he rethought, glancing around the garage for inspiration.
There were two things that Luke was sure of at that point: firstly, that Richie was connected to the Borelli's as he had suspected all along, and secondly, that this was Luke's only chance to finally get to Tony and end this torturous situation. Besides, this was most definitely the end of the line, because now Charlie was involved. This thing had to be sorted, and now, that minute… before it was too late.
Luke's eyes scanned the shelving units and homed in on a couple of tools hanging from the wall: a hammer, a chisel, and set of garden sheers.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
"Ed, have you seen Luke anywhere? He seems to have gone missing," Charlie said.
Eddie was flitting from table to table, trying to clear the bottles, glasses, and litter in as quick a time as possible in order to get back to the after work party. He stilled suddenly with his back to Charlie, and thought for a moment before slowly turning to face her.
This was going to be a tricky one.
Before he had chance to answer however, one of the younger staff, who enjoyed nothing more than knowing absolutely everything about other people's lives, chipped in and said,
"Did he find that woman? What a tart! Did you see what she was wearing? I thought Luke was going to blow a gasket when Eddie mentioned her..." she said to Charlie, trailing off when she realised what she had said.
Eddie glared at the girl, who subsequently snuck away guilty.
"What woman?" Charlie asked Eddie, feeling suddenly very edgy.
"Err, I'm not sure," he replied, busying himself again.
Charlie could read him like a book; he was trying to cover something up. She grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stop and look at her.
"Edward, what woman was Luke looking for?" she repeated sternly.
Eddie squirmed, trying to figure out how to reply.
"Well… there was some woman here from New York," he finally said.
New York? Mafia?
She frowned, her mind working overtime. "Why would you not want to tell me that?" she asked suspiciously.
Damn it, Eddie couldn't hide a thing from Charlie.
"Why Eddie?" she pushed, now doubly wary from his reluctance to answer her.
He sighed, dumping all the bottles and glasses he was holding down on the table before grabbing her hand, leading her across the garden and down the hill to the wrought iron benches below; a considerably more private place to discuss what he was dreading having to tell her. Well, it would be better coming from him than her finding out on the grapevine.
"What on earth is going on?" she asked.
"Come and sit next to me hunny," he replied, seating himself on one of the benches.
She sat next to him. "You're really worrying me now Eddie. Just spit it out."
"How have you and Richie been getting on lately, sugar?" he asked.
"Not that great at the moment actually, why?" she replied.
"You know how you keep turning down his proposals? Well, that must mean that you don't see yourself with him in the long term, right?"
"Hmm, Eddie where are you going with this?" she asked, frustrated with Eddie's inability tell her what she needed to know.
"And you probably don't really like him as much as you had originally thought you were going to, right?" he went on.
"Eddie, if you don't get to the point, I'm not going to like you as much as I had originally thought!"
"Okay, okay," he answered, "the woman that Luke was looking for was … Richie's other girlfriend from New York," he finished quickly, cringing in preparation for her reaction.
She stared at him for one moment and then to his surprise, she burst out laughing.
"Who told you that?" she asked, chuckling to herself.
"She did," he replied with a frown.
""Hmm, then she had an ulterior motive, because she is most definitely not Richie's girlfriend."
"How can you be so sure?" he asked.
"Because I know Richie, and besides, he's very particular about the women he dates. There's not a chance he would date a 'tart' from New York. Anyway, there is more to this than you know," she said, standing suddenly. "Come on Ed, I'm going to need your help."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Luke placed the dubious looking objects in a row on the workbench next to Richie.
Richie eyed them with terror. "Look, I'm telling you, I don't know a Tony 'whatever his name is' for God sake!"
Luke's hand shot out and he grabbed the hammer.
"I swear, I don't know him! You want me to make something up?"
"Okay, let's talk about Jackson, your girlfriend," he stressed, laying the hammer across his lap.
"Charlie's my girlfriend," he replied. "I've told you, I don't know any of these people."
Luke leant across and picked up the chisel.
"I swear, I don't know them, I don't know them!" Richie shouted, wracking his brains to think of a way out of this situation.
"Funny she turned up from New York today, aint it? I don't see there bein' too many of us Americans in Doug's English Country club, an' suddenly, here we all are," Luke commented.
Luke's words whizzed through Richie's head on fast forward. He paused, and rewound.
"Hold on, maybe I do know who this woman is you're talking about," he said.
"Yeah," Luke replied, picking up the hammer and toying with it in his hand. "Start talkin'."
"I passed a woman in the club this morning, she was American," he blurted out, "I don't know her though; I never even spoke to her. But phone the club, you can ask Hannah at reception about it because Hannah threw her out. That's it," he exclaimed in a eureka moment," she wanted to get into the Club for some reason."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"We have to find this woman Ed. Where is she?" Charlie asked, scanning the garden area after dragging Eddie back up the hill.
"Err, I can't see her," he replied, trying to catch his breath.
"Ed, I can't stress how important it is that we find her. Come on," she said, urging him forward to search through the groups of people.
"No, I can't see her," he repeated, "oh wait," he exclaimed, straining to see through the crowds, "No. Thought that might have been her," he said, pointing to a woman sitting at one of the tables. He sighed, taking a last look around. "I think she might have left. People are beginning to leave now, sorry hunny."
Charlie ran a hand through her hair in frustration and slid onto a nearby chair. Eddie pulled up a chair next to her and sat also.
"Charlie," Eddie began after a short silence.
"Hmm," she answered, her mind elsewhere.
"Are you and Luke on another case or something? Is that why he came back?"
She turned to him then. "Not exactly, but we do need to find this woman Ed."
"Sorry," he replied, feeling that he'd let her down somehow. "I can't imagine you being a secret agent," he said out of the blue. "I've heard people say how amazing you were. I wish I'd known you then."
She laughed. "I'm the same person you know, Ed."
"I know, but it's a big part of your life that I didn't see," he replied.
She was very tempted then to share something with him that she had kept a secret from everyone there at the Club. It wasn't as if she didn't trust him, or if she had told him, it wouldn't have been the end of the world, but something made her hesitant.
"Sorry, I'm being silly, but I think the world of you," he said emotionally, reaching out to give her a hug.
She hugged him back, feeling quite emotional in return.
It was then, when Eddie glanced over Charlie's shoulder, that he spotted her.
"Charlie," he said, pulling back suddenly, "she's over there, by the desert table."
Charlie swung her head around to see who she knew must be the woman from New York, standing assessing a row of left over gateaux. She jumped up and headed in her direction. Eddie followed, intrigued.
"Hello there," Charlie said, approaching the woman.
Bella turned guiltily.
"They look good, don't they?" Charlie commented, glancing down at the deserts.
"Sure do," Bella replied. "Aint eaten all day neither. Sure could do with a drink too."
"Hmm, the problem is," Charlie wrinkled up her nose, "some of the people here are a bit… well, sticklers for the rules. If they catch you here, they will escort you out for being a non-member."
Bella scanned the garden nervously. "But I'm Richie's girl from New York," she said.
Charlie sighed and shook her head. "It makes no difference I'm afraid, non-members are non-members. I'm a friend of Richie's though so I tell you what, we are going to be moving this food back into the kitchens now, but come with us and you can have some cake and champagne in there. How does that sound?"
Bella's face lit up. "Sounds real good to me, I'm hungry as hell."
Charlie picked up one of the gateaux and gestured for Eddie to do the same. He followed her lead, bewildered with what she was doing.
Instead of heading for the main kitchen, which Charlie knew at that point would be full of staff ready to party, she turned away from that door and continued further down to the end of the corridor, where there was a second smaller kitchen, used when the larger kitchen was being overstretched.
They entered. Charlie placed the gateaux down on the kitchen counter and invited Bella to take a seat at the small wooden table in the centre of the room.
"Eddie, would you like to do the honours?" she said. "There's some champagne in the fridge. Could you open a bottle for us?"
"Champagne," Bella smiled, "You guys are livin' the high life here, eh."
Eddie pulled out a bottle from the fridge and spent the next few minutes struggling with the cork. Charlie stood tensely behind Bella.
Pop!
Finally the cork exploded out of the bottle to the cheers of Bella, closely followed by a shout of, "Hey! What's goin' on?" when she found herself unexpectedly handcuffed to the table leg.
Eddie's eyes widened and he looked up at Charlie with confusion.
Charlie moved around the table to stand in front of Bella and reached into her bag to pull out her MI5 ID card, showing it to Bella. Eddie focused on the card, his eyes glued to it with surprise.
Bella's face had suddenly lost all colour, a tell-tale sign in itself.
"We are currently investigating the murder of one Mr Roberto Borelli and we have reason to believe that you have information regarding this," she announced.
"I know nothin'," Bella replied immediately.
Hmm, well, it seemed unlikely that this woman herself was the murderer, as surely she wouldn't have set up Luke and then returned to the scene of her own crime. She clearly did know something though, from her reaction.
"We have reason to believe that you do," Charlie replied. "I suggest you tell us what you know or you yourself will become a suspect."
"Are you gonna arrest me?" she asked.
"At the moment, we are just following up lines of enquiry, lines which lead us to you."
Bella shook the handcuffs, which made a loud rattling sound. "What's with these then? You can't keep me here like this."
"Look," Charlie said suddenly, leaning across the table towards her, "As you can see," she gestured to her clothes, "I don't work for the Met. I am carrying out an elite unit investigation into international crime; if I want to keep you here for questioning, I have the authority to do so."
Eddie listened to Charlie with mouth agape.
"Well, what if I don't say nothin', eh? If I claim the fifth? What happens then?"
Damn it, this woman was stubborn.
Charlie laughed. "The fifth? Isn't that some kind of American thing Ed? You ever heard of that before?"
Eddie shook his head. "No, never."
"No, not sure what that is. You're in Great Britain now, remember. We have many, many different rules here," she stressed threateningly.
"Listen, I anit sayin' nothing; my life wouldn't be worth livin' if I did," Bella replied adamantly.
"Well, we have all the time in the world," Charlie answered, glancing across to Eddie. "You hungry Ed? Fancy some extra rich, luxury chocolate gateaux, or how about a piece of the summer strawberry variety?"
"Mmm, they sound divine," he replied. "Think I'll have a piece of each," he smiled, reaching into a cupboard for some plates.
"Me too," she said, joining him.
Bella's eyes followed Charlie and Eddie's movements as they cut huge pieces of gateaux and proceeded to dig into them.
"Woah, this one is to die for," Eddie exclaimed, his mouth full.
"Fancy a drink too?" Charlie said.
"Great idea; I forgot about the champers. It's going to go down a treat with this," he replied, placing his plate overflowing with gateaux down to reach for the champagne bottle.
Bella watched intently but remained silent.
Sometime later, as Eddie began to dig into his forth piece of gateaux, Charlie put her plate down and called him for a word outside of the room.
"You think this is working?" Eddie whispered to her once outside the kitchen door.
"Not a chance. Was worth a try though. We are going to have to let her go. But I was thinking, she must have got here in a car; if I can get her number plate, I could use it to track her down perhaps."
"Is all of that true?" he asked with interest, "what you said in there."
"About working for an elite unit, yes. About her being under investigation, no," she replied.
"But I thought you said that you and Luke weren't doing that kind of work anymore," Eddie pointed out.
"We aren't… well, not in an official capacity anyway. Between you and me only Ed, when I told everyone that I had given up the MI5, I wasn't entirely telling the truth. I help out with investigations every now and then when they need me," she explained. "As far as this woman is concerned, though, it is unofficial; I'm just helping Luke out. She doesn't have to know that though…oh and neither does Luke… need to know what I have just told you I mean. As far as he's concerned, I no longer do agent work."
Eddie scratched his head. "Bloody Nora Charlie, I can't keep up with your life at all. So you are a charity worker by day, secret agent by night? They could write books about this!"
She laughed. "Come on, let's release her."
Before she pushed open the door again though she stopped and turned to speak to him over her shoulder.
"Is it me, or do you feel slightly nauseous, Ed?" she asked.
"So nauseous!" he replied. "I never want to see another gateaux as long as I live!"

Chapter 23

He ran his eyes over her face, shining from the sheen of rainwater; they moved then, hovering briefly on the v in the bodice of her dress as she leant forward, before moving to the length of thigh that was exposed from the slit of her evening gown.

 

Charlie was standing in the reception area, staring out of the front entrance at the taxis pulling up to take guests home and wondering what to do about Luke's disappearing act, when finally he emerged through the darkness, strolling down the driveway towards her.
Exiting the building, she approached him.
"Where on earth have you been?" she asked with annoyance. "I've found the discs but I was about to go home."
Then, as she scanned his face, which looked decidedly and worryingly sheepish, she noticed his black eye.
"Luke, what the hell have you been up to?" she reprimanded him.
"Err," he ran a hand through his hair and glanced nervously around himself. "You got the discs, great," he said, changing the subject. "Let's get in a cab. We can watch them at the guest house; Mrs Bennett has a player and TV," he said, grabbing her by the arm and urging her towards one of the taxis.
She resisted. "Wait, what have you done, Luke? And where is your car?"
He glanced briefly back at her but seemed more concerned with getting the attention of a taxi driver.
"Let's go. I'll tell ya on the way," he replied.
During the ride however, which only took five minutes or so, Luke seemed reluctant to say anything within earshot of the driver and so Charlie waited until they were inside the guest house to broach the subject again.
Luke immediately led Charlie into Mrs Bennett's lounge where all was dark and quiet, apart from the ticking of the mantelpiece clock. He went straight to the television and turned it on at the wall, along with the DVD player. After lowering the volume of the television with a remote control that had been resting on top of the DVD player, he turned to Charlie to ask for the discs.
She was staring at him; her expression firm and stern.
"Are you going to tell me what you've done?" she asked.
He didn't like that tone. It made him feel like he was back at school and had been caught smoking in the restrooms. But on second thoughts, he dreaded Charlie's reactions to his misdemeanours far more than he had ever dreaded the school Principal's.
"C'mon Charlie, we gotta look at those discs," he appealed.
She stood her ground. "No, not until you have told me what has happened."
He sighed, thought for a moment and then moved towards the sofa, taking a seat. "Maybe we should sit for this one."
She watched him suspiciously for a few seconds before joining him.
"I kindda got somethin' wrong," he said, turning towards her, his hands attempting to explain with gestures of appeal. The room fell silent again as he tried to think of how to explain.
"What, Luke? What did you get wrong?" she asked.
"Well, err, it's like this… I kindda thought that… that… that Richie was… err… Mafia," he quickly finished, his eyes lowering to the black and white floral carpet. "But before ya go nuts on me," he went on, raising his head again, "I had good reason."
He risked a glance across at her. She was deadly still, staring disconcertingly at him. He waited for her to say something but she remained silent, unnerving him even more.
He went on. "There was this woman, Bella Jackson. The Borelli's sent her to me with threats before I decided on comin' back here. Anyway, she turned up at the Club tonight, and Eddie said she was there earlier today too."
More silence.
"And?" she prompted.
He sighed again. "Look, Eddie said she'd been telling people that she was… err," he ran a hand through his hair again awkwardly, "that she was Richie's girl from New York."
His eyes flicked to hers, waiting for a reaction. Her expression never changed, she simply tilted her head slightly and continued staring at him.
"Look, what was I supposed to think? Anyway, turns out she's not. She was just tryin' to get into the Club to find out some info. Dunno what. She heard Richie speakin' and spoke to the staff under the guise of bein' his girl."
Charlie nodded. "So, what did you do to Richie?" she asked, deliberately slowly, her eyes never leaving him.
"I didn't do nothin'," he answered.
She rose a disbelieving eyebrow.
"I'm tellin' you Charlie, I never touched the guy."
"Oh, so I suppose you just had a friendly chat about this then, did you?" she said sarcastically.
He groaned. "I hadda find out where Tony Borelli was," he appealed. "Now they know about the club and me bein' here an' all, it aint safe for you now neither."
"What did you do to him?" she repeated.
He growled. "I just threatened him, that's all. Then when I realized, I untied him…"
"Untied?" she questioned.
"Yeah, and then he threw a punch at me, stole my car keys and took off."
"You can hardly blame him Luke; I've seen your methods of interrogation before remember," she came back.
"Yeah. Yeah. You wanna get this over with an' take a swing for the other eye now?" he asked, pointing to his face and trying not to smile at the same time.
She didn't look amused. "No Luke; I wouldn't lower myself to your levels. As it happens, I have spoken to Bella Jackson already, which you would have known if you hadn't gone off on your own rampage without me." Her tone told him that she was slowly working herself up to a simmering rage. "What did I say to you about us sharing everything?"
He grinned and couldn't resist slipping in, "I wanna share everything with you Charlie, but you won't let me."
"That's not even funny," she snapped back, pointing a finger at him. "You know what I mean. We agreed that you would let me in on everything you know. You promised that you wouldn't go off on one of your vendettas on your own. I'm involved in this now you know; the things that you do have consequences for me too. Did you ever think of that, eh Luke?"
"Yeah I thought of that!" he replied defensively, a little louder than he had intended. He glanced towards the door, and then continued in a whisper, "What was I gonna do, eh? Come tell ya that the guy you're supposedly in love with is Mafia? Oh, and that, by the way, he's also cheatin' on ya."
"If that were the case, don't you think I would have wanted to know?" she replied.
"Look," he glanced to the door and back again, leaning closer to her to whisper, "I needed to find Tony. You don't know what the Borellis are capable of. It aint safe for you. I saw the opportunity to end this an' I took it. You bein' Richie's girl confused things. If it hadn't been that way, I wudda come to you," he assured her.
"Hmm." She wasn't entirely convinced, and she wasn't going to let him off that easily either. From now on, she was going to take things into her own hands if she couldn't rely on him to act rationally.
"Anyway, what d'ya get outta Jackson?" he asked.
"Not much," she replied.
"What d'ya mean, 'not much'? She's key to this ya know," he came back.
"Luke, she wouldn't talk, and I am not going to get myself arrested for this; I have a life to live too you know. I don't resort to your tactics. I got her car registration; that was as much as I could do," she told him.
The beginnings of a smile could be seen on Luke's face. At least she didn't seem too furious at him for what he'd done to Richie. But now he was intrigued as to Charlie's persuasive techniques when it came to Bella. Charlie was fantastic at solving crimes and pretty damn good with a firearm, but when it came to interrogation, she was far too soft.
"What d'ya do to try get information outta her?" he asked.
She tutted. "What does it matter?"
The smile then emerged. "What d'ya do?" he repeated.
She sighed. "She hadn't eaten all day. She was hungry. She wanted some gateaux," she said, stopping when she felt a giggle rising in her at the ridiculousness of the situation.
He grinned. "Gateaux," he taunted, "And?"
"Oh for goodness sake, she nearly cracked. I ate it in front of her," she admitted.
Luke burst out laughing. "Undercover detective threatens London with gateaux!" he exclaimed, barely getting out the words in between laughter. "They'll have to close all the bakeries now Charlotte, all the patisseries… no more tea rooms. You'll bring London to its knees!"
"Shut up you idiot! Are we going to watch these discs or not?" she came back.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
They spent the next tense half an hour or so searching through the discs to find the period after Luke had first arrived at the Club.
"Wait, that's it! That's Tony!" Luke exclaimed, "Rewind that last part. Keep going, okay, stop there."
They played the disc and watched as a huge, tattooed, bald headed man emerged from around a hedge, dragging Roberto's dead body with him. After struggling to move the body across the driveway and manoeuvre it into Luke's car, the man took one last look around before sprinting across the gravel and disappearing once more.
"So, it was the Borelli's then," Charlie commented, stopping the disc and standing to remove it from Mrs Bennett's DVD player.
"That don't prove nothin'," Luke replied. "Only that Tony moved the body. I'm tellin' ya Charlie, if it weren't done at point-blank range, it weren't a Borelli who did it. Besides, he wouldn't kill his own brother."
"Really?" She rose a disbelieving eyebrow. "But they tried to kill Danny, and he was their brother," she pointed out.
"That was different," he replied. "Roberto was one of their mob; he was key to everythin'."
She sighed. "Well, wherever Roberto was murdered, it wasn't far from there. There has to be some clues near here somewhere."
"Yeah, an' we gotta find them…fast," Luke added.
"Well, not tonight. I'm going home; I haven't had a proper night's sleep since you reinvaded my life," she yawned, reaching for her bag to leave.
Luke stood with her. "I'll walk you back."
She stopped and turned at the lounge door. "Why? There's no need," she shrugged.
"Are you kiddin'?" he replied, "What d'I tell ya? It ain't safe."
She moved into the entrance hall and headed for the front door, opening it, but pausing on the threshold.
"Luke, I'm a trained secret agent; I can handle anyone between here and home," she assured him.
Luke followed her out of the house however, closing the door behind him. "Aint noone can handle these guys we're dealin' with darlin', not on their own. I aint leavin' you alone out here, an' that's final."
She tutted, and began walking. "Quite honestly Luke, I'm too tired to argue right now."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"Oh wonderful," Charlie exclaimed, as only a few minutes into the walk back to her house she began to feel spots of rain on her bare arms. She quickened her pace, although it wasn't easy considering the high heeled shoes she was wearing and the fact the they only had the verge of the road to walk on. Beside them were the dark stretches of farmland behind the hedge which ran the length of the country road. The rain became quickly heavier, and the wind began to chill her to the bone as her evening dress became slowly damp.
"Great British weather we're havin'," Luke commented.
"It was fine until you came back," she replied. "We were in the middle of a lovely sunny spell."
The sound of the rain hitting the road then suddenly became considerably louder, increasing gradually until it reached a roar of raindrops pelting down around them. Charlie stopped walking then, her breath suddenly taken away by the fierce icy downpour that was drenching them.
Despite her earlier annoyance, at that point, with the rain taking away all of her composure, she couldn't help but laugh at the intensity of the downpour. "This isn't how I imagined ending tonight Luke," she shouted over the noise.
"No?" he shouted back, watching as she attempted to brush the sodden hair from her face. "How d'ya imagine it?" He rose a suggestive eyebrow.
She yelped then as a stream of water trickled down her back. "A lot dryer than this, that's for certain. Think there's a shelter over there," she said, pointing across the road to an opening in the hedge which revealed some sort of basic corrugated metal construction. "Come on."
They both ran, laughing at the ferocity of the rain, until they reached the opposite side of the road, where Charlie was forced to tread more carefully across the muddy entrance to the field for fear of slipping over. Finally they made it to the shelter, still laughing and shivering and shaking the rain from themselves.
"I have to hand it to you Luke," Charlie chuckled, "Things certainly aren't boring with you around."
"Too right," he grinned back.
At the rear of the shelter Charlie noticed a concrete slab and moved towards it, only to find that her shoe had sunk into the mud, causing her to stumble. Luke grabbed hold of her arm to steady her.
"I'm sinking here," she laughed, using his support to leave her shoe in the mud in order to jump across to the more stable ground that the concrete afforded.
"You okay?" he asked, joining her.
"Yes, but," she crouched down then, reaching across the gap for her deserted shoe.
He crouched with her, but ventured one foot back onto the mud to reach the shoe before she could.
"Here," he said, holding it out to her, "Think you're gonna need this."
"Thanks," she smiled, taking his offering.
They paused for a moment then, both still crouching beside each other. He ran his eyes over her face, shining from the sheen of rainwater; they moved then, hovering briefly on the v in the bodice of her dress as she leant forward, before moving to the length of thigh that was exposed from the slit of her evening gown. She became aware of his scrutiny and for some reason suddenly felt self-conscious. Again she tried to smooth the wayward tendrils of hair back from her face as she stood.
"This isn't my best look," she laughed.
He rose with her, placing a hand in his pocket as he continued to watch her, his eyes sparkling in the darkness.
"You look great to me Charlie," he smiled.
She gave a small laugh.
"Here," he said suddenly, unbuttoning his tuxedo jacket, "you gotta be cold." He shrugged it off and moved behind her to place it around her shoulders.
"Such a gentleman Luke," she teased. "Thank you."
"No problem," he replied, observing the way her hair had begun to curl with the rain water. There was something he liked about this dishevelled, natural sight of Charlie.
From behind her, he moved then decisively to wrap his arms around her body, holding her to him around her middle.
She glanced back at him dubiously.
"I'm kinda cold myself now Charlie," he said. "it's survival techniques."
"Oh really," she answered.
"Sure," he came back. "Brrr," he shivered, tightening his hold on her.
She rolled her eyes but a smile developed across her face.
They stood like that for a few moments, looking out across the dark deserted field.
"Ya know, I never really saw much of the country when I was livin' here," Luke said. "I kinda like it. Makes a change from New York anyway."
"I bet," she replied.
"It's peaceful," he observed.
She sighed, deep down touched that he liked her beloved countryside, but wary as always of the future. "Luke, it might be peaceful now but… aren't you afraid, about the body you buried and the consequences of that? Because I am. I'm afraid for you," she admitted.
He laughed softly. "Nah, I've been through worse. I aint doin' so bad right now, not bad at all," he replied, resting his head against hers.
She didn't know whether to give in and believe him, or be doubly worried about his lack of concern.
"The rain has died down now, we should go," she said, pulling slowly away from him.
He let her go reluctantly.
She moved forward then but paused at the edge of the concrete, her foot hovering above the mud as it tried to figure out the best way forward.
Then, before she knew what was happening, she felt an arm clamp around her waist, and her legs lift off the floor as Luke swept her up off the ground, his other arm under her knees.
She gave a small shout in shock and grabbed onto his neck for support. "This really isn't necessary," she laughed.
"What, are you kiddin'? Can't have my princess covered in mud," he smiled, wading out into the field again.
They made it back to the road without incident, and he lowered her to the ground gently.
She smiled coyly at him. "Thank you."
It was a good ten minutes later when they reached Charlie's house, by which time both of them were frozen to the bone.
She turned to him at her door and was about to say goodnight when the vision of his soaking face and shirt made her hesitate. She felt torn between what she knew to be appropriate, and how she felt about sending Luke back out into the cold night again.
"Err," she scratched her head. "Would you like a hot drink before you go back?" she offered.
"Well, I am kinda cold," he admitted.

Chapter 24

 "Damn it Luke," she said suddenly in frustration, "I feel bad leaving you to sleep on that chair! Are you warm enough?" she asked.
His eyes flew open then. He had been attempting sleep, but was too aware of her tossing and turning to achieve it.
"Hmm, I aint exactly hot here," he admitted, suddenly full of hope.
She growled, throwing the duvet back from her. "Right, if you want to, you can sleep in here with me…

Charlie turned and unlocked her front door, saying,
"I'm afraid we will have to search for seats; everything is rather topsy-turvy in here while I'm redecorating."
As she entered her house, she shrugged off Luke's jacket and reached to flick the light switch near to the front door. She was surprised, however, to find that no light was produced.
"That's odd," she commented, utilizing the light from the outside of her house to find her way to a nearby table lamp, only to realize that it was also failing to turn on. "I don't believe this; I seem to have no power."
Luke walked through the hallway to check the light switch in the kitchen ahead.
"No, you definitely aint got power. Where's your fuse box?" he asked, "I'll take a look."
She closed the front door to keep the rain and cold out, but found that this only made the house darker. Having moved halfway across the hallway by then though, finding her way back seemed as difficult as forging forward.
"It's in the garage," she replied, now unable to see Luke at all though the darkness.
"Luke, where are you?" she asked.
"In the kitchen," he shouted back, having moved since they last spoke.
"Wait there for a minute," she replied, feeling her way to the kitchen door. "I'll come with you. My electrics have been a little temperamental lately." She strained to pick out any light in the Kitchen but couldn't work out where anything was at all. "Where are you?" she asked, fumbling through her bag for her mobile phone.
"Here," he said, taking hold of her shoulder and frightening the living daylights out of her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"You startled me," she said, taking hold of his hand.
"D'ya have a torch or somethin'?"
"Somewhere, but I can't remember where I put it," she replied. "We can use the light from my phone though," she said, pulling it out of her bag and holding it up ahead of them. It didn't help very much, but at least they could now see enough to avoid obstacles. "The garage is through here," she said, leading Luke across the kitchen to a door which connected it with the garage.
Luke and Charlie didn't take long to realize that, not only did they not really have enough light to figure out the electrics, but the problem didn't seem to be a simple one.
"I'll take another look tomorrow for ya, if you like, when it's light, but ya might need to get in an electrician," he informed her.
"Could anything else go wrong tonight?" she sighed, heading back into the kitchen, mobile phone still in hand. Luke followed, locking the connecting garage door behind him. "Don't answer that," she added, not wanting to tempt fate. "Well," she said, turning to him and glancing around the half lit kitchen, "I'm not going to be able to offer you that hot drink after all, sorry."
He shrugged.
"But... I could offer you a towel at least to dry off," she went on, holding up her phone again to move out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "Maybe the rain is dying off."
He followed her careful progress up the stairs and paused at the top when the light from her phone suddenly disappeared as it turned itself onto standby. She opened a door however, and the outside streetlight, which was shining in through the window of the room, provided him with some sense of orientation.
He moved to the doorway, recognizing the room immediately from earlier; it was her bedroom. As she searched through one of the cupboards for towels, his mind was immediately thrown back to their encounter earlier that day in that same room... he watched her reaching up into the cupboard, his eyes hovering on the bare expanse of her back and the outline of her figure in that black evening dress. His thoughts then returned to the events of the evening: the intimacy of their dance, the secret foot play under the table, the glances and flirting. Nights like that shouldn't end, not with two people apart anyhow.
Finally, she closed the cupboard door and held out a towel for him. He stepped into the room to take it from her.
Charlie took her own towel and began to dry her hair, her heart thudding at the look on Luke's face when he had stepped into the room. They both stood there for a while in silence, drying off, with Charlie wondering what to do next. Could she really send him back out again? But then again, she doubted the wisdom of allowing him to stay.
Luke was very tempted to make some kind of suggestion at that point; he really didn't want to go back to the guest house, and it had nothing to do with the rain. Damn, it had been so hot between them earlier; it was arousing him then just at the thought of it. And by the way Charlie's eyes had darted away from his, he was certain that she too was thinking about what had happened between them in there that afternoon.
"Is it still raining?" she finally said, walking to the window to glance outside. Oh no, it was indeed still pouring down. She gazed thoughtfully out at the night sky for a moment before turning decisively at last and saying,
"Luke I've been thinking, if it's dangerous for me to be walking around tonight, it must be twice as dangerous for you. The last thing I need is to wake up to your dead body in my car!"
He liked the way this conversation was going. Luke was getting more excited by the second.
"We have a problem though," she went on.
Damn.
"I don't really have anywhere for you to sleep. The spare room is empty now and the lounge furniture is all piled up in the middle of the room ready for when we decorate…"
Oooh, that's a problem that can easily be sorted. Luke glanced around the half lit room, his eyes hovering on Charlie's bed.
"I suppose we could try to move everything off the sofa for you."
Nah, that was a bad idea, a real bad idea.
Before Charlie set her mind on that decision, Luke decided to cut his losses and settled for,
"I'll take the chair." He gestured to a soft seated arm chair in the corner of the room.
She frowned. "It won't be very comfortable."
"Are you kiddin'? When I was in New York, I fell asleep most nights on my office chair. It was probably a lot less comfortable that that," he pointed out.
"Did you ever get any sleep in New York, Luke?"
"Not much," he replied.
She tutted. "I have a blanket somewhere, I'll find it for you," she said, returning to her bedroom cupboards.
Well, if he was in the same room as her, there was at least a minute shred of hope.
"Here," she said, handing him a blanket, "I'm going to use the bathroom."
She turned then and began fumbling in one of the cupboards again before having found what she was looking for and leaving the room.
Luke threw the blanket on the bed and stripped out of his damp shirt and trousers, grateful to shed the uncomfortably wet clothes. Retrieving the blanket, he unfolded it and settled himself on the chair, covering his frozen body.
As he waited for Charlie to return, he heard her voice from the other room and strained to hear what she was saying.
"…It's Charlie. Where are you and why is your phone off? I'm worried about you. I'll phone you tomorrow. Take care…"
Hmm, she must have been trying to contact Richie. Luke figured that perhaps he hadn't done himself any favours by kidnapping Charlie's boyfriend. Still, what else would he have done, under the circumstances?
In the bathroom, Charlie changed into the nightslip which was unfortunately the only nightwear she had in the house. Hmm, after their earlier encounter with her wearing it, she could do with something a lot less revealing right now. Well, at least the room was fairly dark.
Entering her bedroom again, she was relieved to see that Luke had already settled himself in the chair. This didn't stop her feeling ever so slightly guilty though, slipping under the fluffy duvet on her spacious double bed.
"Well, night," she said.
"Good night Charlie," he replied.
She turned onto her side and found a comfortable position for her head on the pillow. Then all was silent.
She lay, waiting for sleep to come. She waited some more. Then she turned onto her other side, hoping that the new position would bring sleep. The problem was that her body was still cold. She pulled the duvet more snugly around her and waited some more. She swore that she could hear Luke breathing! She wished he would stop doing that so loudly. Now she was too aware of him lying in that chair. Damn it, and why was she still so cold?
Then a thought crept uninvited into her head, 'if she was still cold, how much colder must Luke be after having walked back with no jacket on, and now with only the covering of a thin blanket?' Was she being unthoughtful and unkind, making him sleep on that chair? He had leant her his jacket, leaving himself with no source of warmth. And he had walked her home, which he hadn't needed to do, just to make sure that she was safe. Okay, but what could she do about this situation? She could hardly have him sleeping in her bed!
She twisted again under the duvet in search of a more comfortable position. Right, she would just lie there and not move a muscle; she would have to fall asleep eventually. Go to sleep! What the hell was wrong with her? Sleep, sleep, sleep. She was going to sleep if it killed her!
"Damn it Luke," she said suddenly in frustration, "I feel bad leaving you to sleep on that chair! Are you warm enough?" she asked.
His eyes flew open then. He had been attempting sleep, but was too aware of her tossing and turning to achieve it.
"Hmm, I aint exactly hot here," he admitted, suddenly full of hope.
She growled, throwing the duvet back from her. "Right, if you want to, you can sleep in here with me…"
His heart raced.
"…but," she stressed, "may I make this clear, this is an invitation for you to sleep more comfortably, nothing else, alright?"
"Sure," he replied, jumping up off the chair. "I get ya Charlie."
With huge reservations, she moved across to one side of the bed, making room for him.
He got in beside her.
Maybe this was a mistake. Now her heart was thudding; sleep was probably going to be even more difficult now.
"Goodnight Luke," she said again, turning away from him.
"Night," he replied.
Silence lasted for a while before Luke broke it with,
"Charlie."
Oh no, what now?
"Hmm?"
"Did you and Richie fight?" he asked.
She paused briefly before answering, "We had some cross words," she admitted.
"Did ya make up?" he went on.
She thought for a moment. "I will see him tomorrow and arrange for the return of your car."
Damn, he had thought that maybe they had broken up.
It was some minutes later before he spoke again.
"Charlie."
"What Luke?"
"I was kinda thinkin'…"
"What were you thinking?" she asked suspiciously.
"Well, ya know last night…"
"Hmm."
"We slept together on the sofa, right? An' there was no room, so we hadda sleep closer. Well, there aint really no difference between that and now. And… well, I'm still kinda cold. There's only really one way to get warm," he reasoned.
She hated herself for the smile that crept across her face.
"Luke, you should have been a lawyer, not a agent," she laughed.
Right, he was risking it. Reaching out for her, he slid one arm underneath her pillow and the other around her waist, pulling her back into him.
She yelped, and he was worried for a moment that he had misunderstood the situation, until she exclaimed,
"You're freezing!"
Phew.
"Just wait a bit Charlie, we'll both soon be warm."
In more ways than one if he didn't behave himself!
She felt totally encompassed by him, and she hated to admit it, blissfully comfortable and warm now. His hand lay at that moment, on her stomach, his arms holding her tightly to him. Okay, maybe this was acceptable. She needed to make one thing clear though.
"Luke, if your hands move to anywhere else apart from where they are now, I'll chop them off."
He chuckled. "Oooh, so violent Charlie. What will you do after that? Gateaux torture?"
She laughed. "Shut up and go to sleep."
As they lay there, Charlie's treacherous mind slipped back to that morning, and Luke's erotic dream… his hands moving up her thigh… Luke's mind was well and truly on what it would have been like if Charlie had given in to him earlier and they had had mad passionate sex before the evening out.
He slowly became aware then of Charlie's breathing quickening from the hand that he'd placed on her stomach. Oh God, it made him want to take all her remaining clothes off and kiss every part of her to see just how much that would affect her breathing! He couldn't risk pushing his luck that night though, but this didn't stop his mind from pondering every way possible of trying to affect her without it being construed as sexual.
Charlie was just beginning to think that maybe he had fallen asleep, when she felt him move his arm. If he was going to push it, she would tell him to get out of her bed.
He lifted his free hand though and made the fairly innocent gesture of sweeping back her hair with two fingers. His eyes caressed her neck and he just couldn't stop himself from brushing those fingers gently along the length of it.
She should say something.
Then he moved his hand again, trailing his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm.
"Luke," she said with a warning in her voice.
"What? It's only an arm," he replied.
Hmm, but it was the 'touching' that was worrying her…and the tingles that it was creating.
"I gotta say Charlie…" he whispered in her ear. Damn, that always got to her. His hand was caressing her arm still. "… you have the smoothest skin of any woman I've ever known."
If it weren't for the sense of awe she could detect in his voice, she would have interpreted that as a line. This was getting dangerous.
"Luke, don't make me force you back onto that chair," she appealed.
His hand stilled then in mid stroke. Then it returned to her stomach and he nestled into her again.
"Alright," he conceded, but then added, "Don't ya just love the good old British weather?"
She laughed. "Go to sleep Luke!"

Chapter 25

"What?" she said, when he refused to take his excited gaze away from hers.
"Nothin'," he replied, "…apart from the fact that I wanna do unspeakably erotic things to you right now." 

 

Luke awoke to a warm weight on his chest. Before he even opened his eyes, he smiled to himself; he knew what had happened during the night. He had suspected and hoped it would. He could feel her hair fanned out against his skin, her head below his chin, her arm along his side and her hand claiming his shoulder. He just lay lazily for a few moments, enjoying the knowledge that she was there and the inevitable way that his body slowly started to register her nearness. As it did so, it began with an acute awareness of the gentle rise and fall of her chest against his, with only the barrier of her nightdress between them. Then his mind kicked into gear and his eyes wanted to see; he opened them.
There she was, Charlie, sleeping so peacefully in his arms in that rather stimulating lingerie. Of course, without it would be much better, but he couldn't really complain. He let his eyes wander over the exposed, tanned skin of her shoulders and back until instincts overtook and he raised one hand to lightly touch her skin. He wanted to feel it… and he probably also wanted her to wake up now… now it was morning time, his body was telling him it was time to frolic. He ran his fingers from her shoulder blade to her shoulder, and then began the journey down her arm, not really concentrating on exactly where they would go next or end up; he was just enjoying the way they slid, smoothly over Charlie's skin.
She began to stir, burying her sleepy head into his chest to shut out the world. Now she was in the state between consciousness and sleep, but content to lie there like that until her eyes decided they wanted to open. The tingles on her skin prompted her into a more wakeful state though, until finally, she lifted her head towards Luke and her eyes slowly opened. He could tell that her mind still wasn't entirely alert from the drowsiness of her eyes, and then, on instinct, a soft, warm smile lit up her face. It filled him with a feeling he hadn't expected and couldn't explain, but then just as quickly, she abruptly flew into full consciousness, throwing back the duvet cover and exclaiming, "What time is it?"
"Hey!" he answered, grabbing the duvet back and covering them again. "Calm down. It aint that late, and it's damn cold!"
She groaned and relented, lying back down next to Luke for warmth. He was right, it was freezing cold.
"I forgot, no electrics means no heating, no hot bath, no…"
"I'll take a look in a while, but it's still early yet. If we need an electrician, we aint gonna get one at this hour," he replied, rearranging the duvet cover around them. "Now, where was I?" he went on, "here," he said, returning his fingertips to her shoulder. She turned her head and watched them suspiciously. "And maybe here," he continued, this time taking advantage of the skin of her back that was open to his touch above her nightdress. She couldn't strain her head that far to watch what he was doing now, but she was alert and ready to halt him if needs be.
His touch remained soft and unobtrusive however, and she was actually quite enjoying the rhythmic movement of his fingers. If he kept doing that, she'd be asleep again. Then he found it. She hadn't even thought of stopping him from caressing her in that place because his fingers had moved over the top of her nightdress and so seemed even safer there. But the spot at the base of her back was a different story, a weakness he had found during their dance. He must have remembered, the sneaky horror! He took great advantage of his find, feathering his fingers over it again and again. He knew he'd found her sensitive spot when she immediately arched her back, pressing herself more firmly against him. Hmm, that was nice.
She knew she was in trouble when the gentle tingles began to develop into a slowly simmering heat. She lay completely still, waiting for it to pass. It only got worse when his other hand joined in, causing shivers of pleasure to spread all over her.
He smiled to himself.
"You wanna know where my sensitive spots are?" he asked.
Hmm, she could imagine. "No thank you, Luke."
He chuckled. "Chicken," he taunted, his hand leaving her back and heading suddenly downwards to find the hem of her nightdress. His fingertips made contact with the skin of the back of her leg, just below the material. She panicked and immediately went to move away.
"Hey, what ya doin'? I told ya I wouldn't do nothing last night, didn't I? Just relax," he urged her.
Fine, if he says he won't do anything, then he won't…or if he does, she'll make sure he knows it. But deep down, she knew that it made no difference if he went no further than what he was doing right then because that was enough to take away most of her control. All she could do was will herself not to move or speak as his fingers traced circles around and around on her thigh. She was aching unbearably and found herself gritting her teeth in an effort hold herself in check. When his touch reached the soft skin of her inner thigh though, she was lost and a small groan of frustration escaped her lips. The sound was so erotic to him that it was as frustrating as his fingers were to her. Suddenly he knew he had to stop or else his hands would venture past the hem of her nightdress before he could control them. At the exact moment when his desire got too much for him, he forced his fingers away from her skin and simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his throbbing body.
She lifted her head to look at him. She had no idea why; surely that was tempting fate? Both of them were too aroused to speak, they simply watched each other for a while in a silent acknowledgement of the feelings between them. He could clearly see the emotions running through her head: the shock of not knowing what to do about the physical desire she was forced to realize. He could see her struggling with the dilemma. He simply kept his eyes on her, waiting for…he wasn't sure what, but waiting and wanting all the same.
Finally, all she could do was rest her had back on his chest and wait for her senses to return to some sort of normality.
After a while, their breathing calmed and she found her thoughts returning, not for the first time since he had come back into her life, to his future there in the UK.
"Luke," she began.
"Hmm?" he responded lazily.
"When this whole mess is cleared up, what will you do? I mean, for a job?" she asked.
"I have some money put aside," he replied vaguely.
"Yes, but that won't last forever," she pointed out.
"I'll figure somethin' out," he assured her.
"Do you have a visa?" she asked.
"Don't need one," he came back.
"You do if you plan on staying," she answered.
"Charlie, do you ever relax for longer than a few minutes?" he replied.
"Never mind," she finished defensively.
There was a short silence then before he started the next conversation.
"Charlie," he said.
"What?"
"You gonna marry this Richie guy?"
She went silent for a second. "I'm not ready for marriage."
"Yeah, but if you're still with him, you must be thinkin' 'bout it," he said.
She didn't know how to answer that but luckily he went on. "I don't think you should if you aint sure."
"No?"
"Nah, you gotta care a lot about someone if you're gonna spend the rest of ya life with them," he said.
"I do care about him Luke," she replied.
"Yeah, but I mean, you gotta really care, a lot, about them," he explained.
She laughed and rolled away from him onto her side to face him. "Do you mean that I have to 'love' him?" she asked. "You can use the word you know Luke." She watched him thoughtfully for a reaction.
His eyes flitted from hers. "Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean," he said, moving onto his side also, leaning his elbow into the pillow and resting his head on his hand.
"You've loved people before, surely?" she went on. "Your father and mother, and Danny, the person who you regarded as your brother…the person you've risked your life for over the last seven years," she stressed.
He stilled, his eyes searching hers, wondering where she was going with this. "Yeah," he replied.
"So say it then," she pushed.
He frowned with confusion. "Say what?"
"Say that you love him, your brother, Danny."
"Why?" he asked.
"Why not?" she countered. "That's clearly how you feel…unless you're incapable of using the word," she added.
"I aint incapable. You wanna hear me say the word, eh?" he observed.
Now it was she who avoided his disturbing gaze. "Well yes, just because you have a problem with uttering it. It can't be good for you."
She returned her eyes to his, waiting for him to speak.
He laughed.
"Go on then, say it," she urged.
"Alright, alright, I… loved Danny. There, I said it."
She smiled in triumph.
"Now it's your turn," he continued with a grin.
She frowned. "My turn for what?"
"To say somethin' that makes you feel uncomfortable," he said.
She laughed. "No, no…"
"Yes, I think it is."
Dare she ask. "What then?"
"I want you to say," he paused, enjoying the moment, "this exactly, 'I enjoy sex.'"
She laughed again, shaking her head. "That's not the same."
"Yeah it is," he replied adamantly. "Now were bein' honest. Everyone likes sex, right, so you gotta say it."
She smiled before rolling away from him. "I'm getting up now."
"No, no you're not," he replied, moving over her to stop her path. He placed both of his hands either side of her, barring her way.
She stared up at him, her eyes widening as she glanced down at their compromising position.
"Just say it," he urged, "an' then I'll go check the electrics."
"Come on Luke," she appealed.
"You come on Charlie, you got a problem utterin' the words? It can't be good for you," he said, reflecting what she had said earlier.
"Oh, very funny," she replied.
"Who's laughin? Come on Charlie, say it."
Damn it, he was serious.
She groaned, glancing away from him. "I enjoy…"
"Nah, you gotta look at me," he interrupted.
"What? Why do I have to do that?" she asked.
"Why d'ya not want to?" he came back with a grin.
"Touché," she replied. She was caught, well and truly, in a trap of her own making.
"So?" he went on.
She growled, making a point of staring into his eyes, despite her glowing cheeks.
"I … I enjoy sex. There, I said it."
A smile grew across his face and he waited for a moment, just enjoying the victory and the sparks that were flying between them.
"What?" she said, when he refused to take his excited gaze away from hers.
"Nothin'," he replied, "…apart from the fact that I wanna do unspeakably erotic things to you right now."
And with that, he rolled off her, got out of the bed and left the room.
She watched him go, laughing.
"Unspeakably erotic, eh? The mind boggles!" she said to herself.

 

Chapter 26

 

Charlie!" The shout of fear and panic echoed throughout the house.

Charlie froze, registering Luke's distress and trying to decide if she had time enough to pull on her clothes, or if she should just grab her nightgown and remain undressed underneath. She was still wet from her attempts to freshen up at the bathroom sink, rather than face a full blown freezing cold shower.

Sounds of panic stricken crashing through the downstairs rooms soon followed and she decided upon the nightgown, opening the bathroom door just as Luke was thundering up the stairs.

"Luke, what on earth…"

He ignored her, storming through the upstairs rooms as she followed him, demanding answers. At least he wasn't being followed by a gang of Mafia!

Finally, after checking every room in the house, he came to a halt on the upstairs landing.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on? And what's more, where the bloody hell did you get that from?" she said, eyeing the gun in his hand with suspicion. The look of distress on his face made her prickle with anxiety.

"Someone broke in here last night. They cut the power," he informed her, holding a hand to his head as he glanced about himself nervously.

"What? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure!" he yelled back, beginning to pace as he tried to gather his thoughts.

She watched his restless movements. "Calm down Luke. If someone had meant to harm us, don't you think they'd have done it last night?" she pointed out, before a thought hit her, causing her to jump into action, turn abruptly and bolt down the stairs.

This did nothing to calm Luke's already tumultuous mind. He raced after her.

Charlie was certain before she even reached the kitchen that her evening bag, which she had left on the kitchen table, would not be there.

"Damn it!" she cursed. "My bag is gone."

"Would you like to tell me next time before you go runnin' off like that?" Luke reprimanded her, seemingly not as concerned about the bag as she was.

"Did you hear what I said? Someone took my bag… with the discs in it," she stressed.

This made him hesitate for a moment, but still he didn't seem overly troubled about the bag. "Aint nothing incriminatin' enough on them anyway. Listen, it aint safe here now; they know where you live," he said, moving towards the kitchen window and taking a quick glance out before lowering the blind.

She threw her hands up in the air, frustrated with herself for not having taken the evidence upstairs with her the night before. "Well, it's obviously Jackson," she concluded. "That must have been why she was at the Club; she wanted the discs."

"Who cares!" Luke snapped suddenly, swinging around and announcing adamantly. "You aint stayin' here until Tony's found. You gotta find somewhere else to stay."

She laughed. "Don't be ridiculous."

Luke's instincts had told him already that she might react with resistance, and this made him all the more frustrated and determined.

He strode towards her, grabbing both of her arms in an attempt at forcing her to hear what he was saying. She felt the hard metal of the gun in his hand against the back of her arm. "Do you understand what I said? Have ya any concept of what this means? The mafia know you are here; you aint safe!"

"Luke," she began in a soft and overly reasonable voice, "it's like I said; it was Jackson. And besides, we were sitting targets last night; if they had wanted to harm us, they would have done it then."

He growled, shaking her slightly as if this would instil some common sense into her.

"It don't matter if it was Jackson last night or not. Fact is, Jackson is working for Tony, so if Jackson knows where you live now, so does Tony!"

She shook her head with a frown. "It doesn't make sense; Tony wants you dead, right? So they had the perfect opportunity to take the evidence and finish you off last night," she pointed out.

Luke's face became distorted with barely concealed rage. "What? What the hell ya talkin' about? Who cares what happened last night or why. Who knows? All I know is it aint safe here now!" He took a deep breath to calm himself and let go of her arms to begin pacing again, trying to order his thoughts. "So, where ya gonna stay?" Already he was running through her options in his head. "You could stay with me at the guest house," he suggested. That was his preferred choice as he would be able to keep an eye on her best there. One look at her face however suggested that she wasn't impressed. Okay, maybe that wasn't such a practical idea; not the most comfortable place to stay for any length of time. Well, as long as she moved out somewhere, he didn't mind. "Or go stay with someone for a while… anyone."

"Luke," she began calmly but adamantly, "I'm not moving out of here."

He turned on her and pointed with a firm finger. "Yes you damn well are!"

She laughed. "No I'm not. This is my home and I'm staying here, where I live Luke. Now," she went on, in an annoyingly calm way… Luke was chewing on his temper. "I'm going upstairs to finish getting changed, sort out an electrician and then I'm going to see Richie and bring back your car. I'll pick up Eddie to drive it and give you a lift back to the guest house on the way," she announced, heading towards the hallway. "Do you think you could try and stay out of trouble until I get back?" She stopped at the kitchen door and turned to an infuriated looking Luke. "And you can put that thing away," she said, gesturing to his gun. "You really shouldn't have it at all, considering your present predicament. It doesn't do much to prove your innocence," she said before disappearing behind the door.

Yeah right, ever heard of protection ya dumb broad!

If she thought he was leaving it at that, she was out of her mind. These were the Borelli's they were dealing with. She hadn't got a clue as far as they were concerned, not a damn clue!

Charlie strolled through the hallway, trying to figure out what had overcome Luke.

Good grief, talk about overreacting. Nothing had happened last night and nothing was going to happen… not in her house. Anyway, it had to have been Jackson and she was harmless enough.

She paused then suddenly, not entirely sure why, but her senses felt uneasy. This was crazy. She had to stop being ridiculous and letting Luke's paranoia get to her.

Without even glancing behind her, she continued towards the stairs.

Right, she had to get dressed and get over to Richie's quickly in case he decided to leave the house. She wasn't much looking forward to that visit, but it had to be done.

The figure that had been awaiting her then came out of the shadows and fast approached.

Everything happened so fast then that she really had no time to think. She was being held so firmly against the iron wall of a male body that she felt almost paralysed, and, with the hand clamped over her mouth, no sound could escape her lips. Then she was being dragged backwards.

Chapter 27

As Charlie found herself being forcibly moved into the garage, she slowly became aware of something that transformed her fear swiftly into fury and disbelief. After the door was shut, and locked, she was finally released.

"You bastard!" she shouted. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? I'm leaving now, this minute," she said, stepping around Luke to reach for the door.

"No you aint," he replied emotionlessly, slipping the key into his pocket with one hand and grabbing her by the shoulder with the other to shove her back away from him.

"Like hell I'm not!" she yelled, forcing herself forwards again with her eye on his trouser pocket.

Luke pre-empted her however and blocked her way. He took told of her wrists then, grasping them firmly in his hands to prevent her from attempting to take the key from him.

How dare he! She could feel her anger building and building.

She twisted her arms abruptly, forcing him to relinquish his hold, before lunging for him once more. She had been trained in these situations and there was no way that she was putting up with this! Again, he took hold of her wrists, but this time, to ensure that he kept hold of her, he turned quickly, looping their arms over her head, with his grip still on her wrists, as he moved behind her. By bringing both of their arms down, she found herself clamped against him, with her arms crossed around her middle. He had also been trained, and he wasn't going to let her go until he was ready. He had to make her understand the danger… somehow.

She sensed his head just above hers but was far too infuriated to even turn and look at him.

"Luke," she began, through gritted teeth, "If you don't let go of me now, you will be out of my life for good," she threatened. "You can sort out your messed up life yourself."

"Can't let go of ya Charlie, not till ya see sense," he replied, seemingly unaffected by her declaration.

"Me see sense?" she exclaimed, outraged. "You've completely lost your mind! Get the hell off me!" she shouted, thrashing out, "Let me go Luke!" She continued by twisting, pulling, kicking, even attempting to bite him, so enraged was she, but he blocked her every move and still kept her restrained; he was simply stronger than her.

She hated him… hated him with a vengeance for the fact that she was so damn physically helpless against him. She just couldn't get free until he chose to let her go. Damn him!

Finally, almost beside herself with frustration and anger still, she had no choice however but to stop struggling; it simply wasn't going to help. Now, words were her only means of escape.

"Well done Luke, does this make you feel more of a man or something, that you can physically hold me here against my will?" she said bitterly.

"It aint about that, an' you know it," he replied.

"I know that you're losing your mind. What do you want from me exactly, huh? What do you plan on achieving from this?" she asked, finally turning to look him in the face. His expression was unreadable, his face a blank mask.

"Keeping you alive," he replied simply.

"Oh really? So, what are you going to do? Keep me locked up in here forever?" she came back.

"If that's what it takes," he replied, irrationally.

She laughed with incredulity and turned her head away from him again. "You're insane. You're so far out of your depth; you don't know what you're doing. You do realize that, don't you?"

He groaned. It was the first sign of a crack in this cold, hard emotionless attitude he'd adopted.

"I need time to think… to decide what to do without you bolting for the damn door," he explained.

At least he was making a bit more sense now. Not much, but a bit.

"And I have no say in this at all then?" she answered.

"You would have done, if you'd have shown me that ya understood the danger you're in now," he came back.

"You haven't listened to a word I said, have you? You're not listening to reason," she replied with frustration.

"What about listening to my concerns eh?" he snapped back. "How d'ya think I'd feel if you left today an' I never saw you alive again? You ever think of that?" he accused, his emotions beginning to break his mask of control.

"Don't put that on me Luke. That's no excuse for this behaviour. Besides, whatever happened to, 'life is hard; then you die'?" she said sarcastically.

There followed a short silence before he broke it. "Is that supposed to be funny or somethin'? Cause I aint laughin'. This aint no joke!" he replied angrily.

"Well, what about respect then, eh? I was your partner. How many times have we been through this kind of thing together, and you always at least showed me respect before. I'm not stupid Luke. I'm a damn good agent and I deserve your respect!" she said, struggling once more to free her arms as her feelings began to fuel her anger again. Still he refused to release her. "For God's sake Luke, I'm undressed under here; just take your hands off me at least!"

"I wouldn't care if you were butt naked right now; I aint letting go to have you leavin here without protection. You can despise me as much as ya like; but at least you'll be alive while ya doin it!"

The last thing she wanted at that moment, with the fury she was feeling towards him, was to be pressed so tightly up against his body. She hated herself almost as much as she hated him at that point. She hated how she had reacted to him the night before, and the night before that, and that morning, because now, all she desperately wanted was to be as far away from him as possible!

"I can defend myself for God's sake!" she shouted out. "I did it all the time we were working together; you never locked me up then? Why the hell now?"

"It's different now," he admitted.

"Oh really? Why Luke? Why is it different now?" she challenged, twisting her head to try to get a glance of his face again. It was harder this time though; he had shifted position.

He wasn't prepared to admit even to himself the real reason why things were different then, but there were other reasons that also sprung to mind.

"Because we aint dealt with people like this before," he replied.

"Oh come on, we've dealt with Mafia in the past," she countered.

"It's different ya hear me! It's just different!" he exclaimed.

"Why?" she pushed. "Why Luke?"

"Because…because I lost Danny through this God damn it! I aint losing you too!" he shouted, tightening his grip on her. "I can't deal with that," he added more quietly. "I just can't."

Suddenly, it no longer felt as if he were restraining her, more like he was holding on to her for dear life. He was afraid, afraid enough to do something as crazy as this. It was that realization, and the break in his voice, a sound of helpless desperation, that finally, gradually cut through her anger.

She sighed and leant back against him.

"How many times have you said to me that emotions and MI5 work don't mix?" she pointed out in the most accommodating voice she could muster. Shouting the odds at each other, when essentially they were on the same side here, was getting them nowhere. "You're letting your fears rule your reasoning. The only way we are going to get through this is by working together, can't you see that?" She waited for a reply but he seemed to have fallen silent, so she went on. "I don't mean to devalue the work you've done on this case Luke but you tried on your own for seven years to bring down the Borelli's and it didn't work. We need to be together on this. Won't you trust me?" she appealed.

"I trust ya Charlie," he finally replied, "but you got no way of protecting yourself and you're gonna go rushin' out there oblivious. Just look how easily I overpowered you," he pointed out.

"Okay, I understand where you're coming from on this, but can you please just release me so we can talk about it rationally?" she reasoned.

He supposed that he couldn't really hold her there indefinitely. But he wasn't going to let her leave that garage until he had some idea of how he could protect her. At least she had calmed down now though. Really, he guessed that the best way to protect her was to get her on side. With this in mind, at last, he reluctantly let go of her arms.

She moved forward and turned to him, taking a few steps backwards and tying the belt of her nightgown more firmly around her middle as she did so.

"Okay," she sighed. "I need to be more careful."

"A hell of a lot more careful. These guys are animals!" he exclaimed.

She searched his face for a few moments, trying to think of a way of reassuring him. One way sprang to mind. She didn't really want to disclose that but, at this stage, she really had no choice.

"I have a firearm," she admitted.

This surprised him. "Ya do?"

"Yes. It's upstairs. So you see, I can protect myself," she replied.

This did serve as some kind of a reassurance to him, but he still wasn't entirely at ease.

"Can't ya just stay with someone for a few days?"

"Luke," she groaned. "No, I can't."

"What's wrong with stayin' with Richie," he frowned. "Thought you'd be staying with him anyway."

Great. How was she going to get out of that one? To her relief, he continued before she had to come up with an excuse.

"On second thoughts, he aint no good," he said, remembering how defenceless Richie had been when he had abducted him earlier. "Go stay with Doug if ya must. Yeah, he's the best option." Luke had the feeling that Doug was the only option. His instincts told him that if she wouldn't stay at the guest house, or allow him to stay with her, she would be safest with Doug.

"Luke, you can't just palm me off on other people like that."

"What? Doug wouldn't let ya stay?" he questioned.

She sighed, "Yes, he probably would, but I'm not going to ask him. Besides, he'd have questions I couldn't answer. He'd know there was something wrong. Look, I'll carry my firearm with me at all times, okay. You can even replace my locks with more secure ones if you like, for goodness sake, but will you please let me out of here now or we won't get your car back from Richie if I don't get to his house before he leaves." She hoped that maybe getting the car back would convince him. It didn't, but knowing that realistically, he wasn't going to completely alienate and anger her further by keeping her there, and the fact that she had a weapon was enough to make him reach into his pocket for the key. Besides, after having thought about it, he'd damn well keep surveillance on her house twenty four hours a day if he had to.

He turned to the door to unlock it and she slipped past him into the kitchen, stopping before she headed upstairs again to throw him a disapproving look. Enough was enough. She needed more help with this; after she had seen Richie, she was going to Barker.

"Don't ever pull a stunt like that on me again!" she exclaimed.

Chapter 28

After a very tense and awkward time spent with Richie, when neither he nor Charlie broached the subject of anything that had happened the night before, but both were excruciatingly aware of it, Richie and Eddie finally returned to the Club in Luke's car, whilst Charlie informed them that she had some more errands to run.

She had intended to explain Luke's actions, or to apologize for them or something, but Richie hadn't seemed at all in the mood for any conversation let alone one like that, and so Charlie had left it alone, contenting herself with at least seeing that he hadn't been completely traumatized by Luke.

During the journey from Richie's house into the city, Charlie's thoughts hovered on Luke's actions that morning towards her. It wasn't long, however, before she was chastising herself for overthinking what had happened. It wasn't out of character for Luke to be concerned over her safety, or anyone else's for that matter; that was just his way. Okay, so he had overreacted more than usual, but then as he said, he'd lost Danny because of this mob and, knowing Luke, he probably felt a fair amount of guilt over that. She could well understand his panic at the thought of also losing her, particularly since he appeared to have practically led the Borelli's to her front door. But something didn't ring true about that theory: that it was the Borelli's who had been behind the break in last night. Charlie had the feeling that if this had been the case, neither Luke nor her would be alive that morning to tell the tale.

Still, she also had the sense that time was running out for them and something had to be done soon to incriminate Tony before it was too late. With this is mind, her car automatically found itself heading in the direction of MI5. Her biggest concern was how she was going to broach this with Barking and how much she was going to tell him. If she didn't play this right, not only could Barking refuse to help, but he could insist on bringing Luke in. She had concluded however, that the benefits of involving MI5 did actually outweigh the risks. Firstly, With MI5 at her disposal, she could investigate the case far more quickly and thoroughly than she could on her own. And secondly, she did believe deep down that Barking cared enough about Luke to help as much as he could if things were not to go Luke's way in the end.

Yes, all of this made perfect sense to her, so why then had she been sitting in her parked car for the past fifteen minutes, a couple of hundred metres from MI5? Was she really doing the right thing? What would happen if it all backfired? Luke had a lot to lose. She went over the conversation she would have with Barking over and over again in her head, trying to anticipate every way he might react and every question he could have for her. Finally, she was driving herself to distraction and admitted defeat, starting up her car and driving the final stretch to MI5. She would just have to dive right in and hope for the best.

Walking across the MI5 car park always gave her a certain feeling of excitement in the pit of her stomach. What would that morning bring? Would she be up to the challenge? And, in the 'Luke' days, what mischief would she have to deal with that day?

As she strolled down the corridor towards the office, she smiled at the familiar sound of Barking's voice booming out.

"What the bloody hell is going on here then? We've got a major drug ring, two murders and a kidnapping on our hands, and you lot are acting like it's feeding time at the zoo! Get some bloody work done!"

Charlie stood at the door, waiting for Barking to finish his outburst. Finally, he looked up and noticed her.

“Charlotte," he said with surprise. She rarely came into MI5 unless he called her in for a case. "I hope you're here to tell me you're coming back full time. Maybe you can get some work out of this lot!"

She smiled. "Can I have a word, Sir?" she asked.

He gave a curt nod, his eyes motioning towards his office. She followed him.

"Well, well, well, can't stay away from us after all Charlie," he said, closing the door after her.

She laughed. He moved around his desk and took a seat. She sat opposite him.

"Have you given any more thought to returning full time?" he pushed.

"Of course, but it's a big decision," she said by way of an excuse.

"Hmm, we certainly have enough work at the moment. Seems like the thugs and villains are having a field day these days," he replied wryly.

"Well, I've stumbled across my own criminals this time sir; think I've found more work for you," she answered.

He groaned. "Go on. What kind of criminals?"

"Mafia," she replied cautiously.

"Mafia?" he repeated with surprise. "Not more mobsters! We have units all over London working on Mafia cases lately. Someone's going to have to consolidate this whole mess soon." He went on in a hushed voice. "Word is, there is an international crime ring forming and every bloody aspiring gangster is coming out of the woodwork."

Charlie listened thoughtfully, taking in what Barking had said.

"Hmm, interesting. Shall we have a small whiskey, Sir?" she said, out of the blue.

Barking wasn't averse to the odd tipple now and again when the stresses of the job dictated it, but it was unlike Charlie to suggest it.

He eyed her suspiciously. "Everything alright, Charlotte?" he asked.

She nodded. "Sort of, but think you might need the drink for this one, Sir."

A frown wrinkled his brow, but he stood and opened the cupboard door which concealed his secret whiskey bottle, pouring two drinks for them, and handing her one before taking his seat again.

He took a sip of the liquid, his eyes not leaving her face as he did so. Her heart beat nervously. God, she hoped that he wasn't going to explode and take out half of MI5 with him!

"Go on then, what is it?" he urged her.

She inhaled deeply. "Thing is Sir, I had a visitor the other day… a visitor from..." Here went nothing. "… across 'The Pond'," she said, testing the water.

He stared at her for a moment, his expression blank, before his whole face abruptly changed with recognition.

"Are you suggesting that that unruly, irresponsible, trigger-happy, Yankee Doodle Dandy is back here in the UK?"

"Afraid so, Sir," she cringed.

He threw his hands up in the air. "Bloody marvellous! Come on then, what's he done now?"

"Err, he hasn't exactly done anything," she began, trying to soften the blow. "You know what he's like," she went on, wrinkling up her nose, "he just attracts trouble."

"And when you say 'trouble', I take it you mean Mafia, right?" he responded.

She nodded. "He's been investigating a New York mob for years…"

Barking groaned again, running a hand over his head.

"… and well, when things got too hot for him there, he decided to come back here. Only, he sort of… brought the Mafia with him."

"We have enough of our own Mafia here thank you Charlotte. Tell him to take them back!"

"Well, that's another thing," she went on, "Maybe they didn't just come here after Luke. I mean, maybe that wasn't the main reason. I was thinking that was odd," she admitted. "Why would the two brothers, the two bosses, come out here just for Luke? Perhaps they were here to meet with other mobsters?" she suggested.

Barking nodded, his mind seeming to wander for a moment, before he answered,

"Where's he staying?"

She was slightly thrown for a moment by his sudden change of subject.

"In the guest house just at the bottom of my road," she admitted.

Barking grinned, as though not entirely surprised with her answer.

"Sir?" she queried, wondering what had amused him.

"Hmm, well, that's good," he went on, "you can keep an eye on him there then." He went then to move out of his chair but stopped and seated himself again, adding , as an afterthought, "He knows he can't stay there for long though, doesn't he? If he thinks he can just waltz back here as though nothing has changed, he's going to be very disappointed."

She finished a sip of her drink and placed the glass back on the desk. "I know sir, those were almost my exact words to him."

His grin grew.

Charlie always did know how to put him in his place.

"Once…" Barking pointed twice towards the ceiling, "… they get wind of this, they'll send him packing; they weren't exactly over the moon about his last little stunt," Barking stressed.

"I shall relay that message to him again," she answered.

Nevertheless, Charlie didn't really want to dwell on the thought of Luke disappearing out of her life again. All she needed to focus on now was getting him out of this mess. Anyway, Luke was anything but predictable. What he was going to end up doing after all this was sorted out, was anyone's guess.

"About these mobsters, Sir," she pushed, "if the Borelli's, the mob from New York, are involved with them, then arresting Borelli could prove to be a considerable chink in their armour."

Barking was already ahead of her on that. His only concern now however, was keeping Luke under control.

"Do you think you could get enough evidence to bring these Yankee Mafia down?" he asked.

She nodded, "I think I could, Sir."

"Hmm," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't want Luke anywhere near this though," he pointed to her. "You find these men, and Luke is not to know where they are, under any circumstances," he stressed. "I'm not having Luke go rushing in there like Raging Bull!"

"Of course not Sir, that goes without saying."

"Right, well, you get working on this then Charlie. If this all ends nicely," he continued, smiling, "with a little luck, they might put more Mafia cases our way."

Charlie pointed out tentatively, "Wouldn't that stretch your already rather heavy workload, Sir?"

"That lot out there could do with some stretching," he replied. "And besides, cases of this high priority could be just what this branch needs right now. Who knows, this little section might even go international," he winked at her, holding up his glass.

She looked impressed, picked up her glass and clinked with him.

Charlie was amazed at how well Barking had finally taken this. She wondered if he would feel quite the same, however, when he found out about the buried body!

 

Chapter 29

 Luke was frustrated. He needed to go hunt down Jackson, and quickly before any more trouble erupted, but instead he was stuck there at the guest house with no car. What was taking them so long? Okay, so they had only been gone fifteen minutes or so but… He pulled back the curtains once more and scanned the fields and surrounding countryside. Somewhere out there, Roberto had been murdered. Then a thought hit him as he remembered something that Doug had said the night before. That was it; he was going back to the club. At least he could find his way there without a car and maybe get a step closer to getting his hands on the evidence he so badly needed. 
On his way out, he bumped into Mrs Bennett in the hallway and she stopped him by placing a light hand on his arm. 
"Hello Mr Luke. I haven't seen much of you at all since you arrived. You haven't even tasted my home cooking yet young man," she reprimanded playfully. 
He gave a small laugh. It had been a while since someone had referred to him as a 'young man.' 
"Yeah, sorry Mrs B. I've been busy visiting a friend who lives nearby. We've been catchin' up; you know how it is." 
She grinned. "Yes, I know. This friend, it wouldn't be Miss Charlotte, would it?" 
Luke was slightly thrown for a moment. How did Mrs Bennett know? 
"This is a small village Mr Luke; not much goes unnoticed," she went on. "And didn't I hear a female voice last night?" She gave him a knowing look. "Against the rules of course, but," she sighed, "I was never one to spoil a bit of romance. She's a lovely lady." 
Phew, seems like Mrs B was still oblivious as to what they had really been doing. 
He nodded. "Yeah, she is," he agreed. 
"How long will you be visiting for?" she asked. 
"Dunno. Actually, I was kinda thinking of stickin' round here for a while…" 
Mrs Bennett's grin developed again. 
"… Gonna need somewhere more permanent to stay though. You know of anywhere close by?" he asked. 
"Well, as you can see, there isn't much around here. Most of the buildings in this vicinity are owned by the proprietor of the Country Club down the road. He's a good friend of Miss Charlotte's actually," she answered. 
Of course, he remembered Charlie saying that she had bought her house off Doug. 
"Does he own any houses round here he rents?" he asked. 
She smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact he rents two houses nearby to holidaymakers; one is opposite the post office about a mile from here, and the other…" There was that cheeky grin again. "… is next door to Miss Charlotte's house." 
Luke's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Living next door to Charlie? Yeah, now that was an interesting prospect. 
A smile developed from him to match Mrs Bennett's. 
Besides, just the thought of how much that would bug Charlie in itself was enough for him to want to move in there. 
"Now, I can't guarantee he will agree to rent you that house though Mr Luke because he likes to reserve it for visitors to The Club, but perhaps you could get Miss Charlotte to persuade him," she went on. 
Nah, he'd sort it out himself, and he knew just the bargaining chip to use too. 
"Thanks Mrs B, you're an angel," he said, reaching forward to plant a kiss on her cheek before he turned to leave. 
She smiled and touched her cheek. 
At the door, he paused for a second and turned to shout out, "I'll be back lunchtime to try that home cookin' of yours, Mrs B." And then he was gone. 
"Such a nice gentleman," she said to herself. "Aah, young love," she whispered wistfully. 
XxXxXxXxX 
When Luke entered The Club, he headed straight for the garden area, since it was the place he knew best and seemed to be where people congregated. 
There were a few people sitting at the tables where he had first seen Charlie a couple of days ago, and across the lawn, near the bar area, there were some members of staff busily clearing up the last remnants of the evening before. He decided to head towards them to ask if anyone knew where Doug was. 
As he approached the bar, he became aware of a guy slumped over it, his head resting on his arms. On closer inspection, he realized that the guy was Eddie. 
Luke placed on hand on his back. "Hey, you okay?" he asked. 
Eddie jumped up and turned to see Luke standing next to him. Eddie's face lit up with surprise. 
"Hi, yes I'm okay thanks sweetie, well, sort of. Just a tinsy bit hungover," he sighed, reaching wearily for a bottle of water that was on the bar in front of him. 
"Good night last night then?" Luke replied. 
"Yeah, after work parties, great at the time, not so great the next day," he came back. 
"You gotta work today?" 
"Unfortunately yes, but I'm counting the hours till I clock off later and then I have the whole of tomorrow off. I'm going to lock myself away and do absolutely nothing. No booze involved!" Eddie exclaimed. 
Luke laughed. "Good plan. Listen, I'm looking for Doug, you know where I can find him?" he asked. 
Eddie looked up at him inquisitively. "He's probably in his office. Ask Hannah at the reception and she'll call him for you." 
Luke smiled. "Thanks, keep drinkin' that water," he advised as he turned to head for the building again. 
Hannah informed Doug that Luke was there to see him and Luke was told to wait in the garden café for Doug; he would be there shortly. 
On his way back out, he passed Eddie again carrying a tray full of glasses. 
"We have to stop meeting like this," Eddie laughed. "Did you find him?" 
Luke took a seat at a nearby table. 
"Yeah, he's comin' down," Luke replied. 
Eddie balanced the tray on the table. 
"Where's Charlie?" he asked. Luke reached across to pull the precarious looking tray further onto the table. Eddie gave up and fell onto a seat with a groan. "I will get some work done at some point. Is she okay?" he went on. 
"Yeah, she's gone to see Richie," Luke informed him. 
Eddie pulled a face as though he wasn't impressed. "How long you staying here for?" he asked. 
"I dunno, I might stick around for a while," he replied, glancing about the gardens. 
Eddie smiled. "That will be nice; Charlie and you can spend some time together, catching up. I'd have loved to have known her when she was an agent, such an exciting life," Eddie replied dreamily. 
"Yeah, but it aint all a bed of roses; it can be dangerous too," Luke answered. 
"Yes, I suppose, but exciting too, eh? I'd like to be a cop. What do you think?" Eddie said, sitting upright and straightening his ruffled clothes, "would they let me into the force?" 
Luke didn't look convinced and replied, "You'd have to do a hell of a lot of training first." 
He sighed and seemed to wilt in his chair again, "Yeah, they said the same about being a firefighter. Ooops, got to go; here comes Doug," he said, jumping up suddenly and reaching for the tray. "Catch you later." 
As he watched the comical Eddie rush away, he laughed to himself. 
Luke stood to greet Doug as he approached the table. He held out a hand to him and they shook before sitting. 
"Thanks for comin' down," Luke said. 
"Not a problem," Doug answered, "I could do with a break anyway. Would you like a coffee?" he offered. 
"Sure," Luke replied. 
Doug beckoned over a waitress and ordered two coffees. 
"What can I do for you?" Doug said, turning back to Luke. 
"Well, I've kinda got some free time on my hands and I got to thinkin' 'bout the security issue you got here. I guess, I just can't stop workin'," he laughed, " never off duty." 
Damn it, he was trying to give a reason for being so interested in Doug's security but he had the awful sense that he was sounding kind of dumb in front of Doug. 
Doug didn't seem to react to Luke's comment and simply watched him thoughtfully, waiting for him to continue. 
"Yeah, so anyway, I don't think this place is secure enough at all. Anyone can just wander onto the premises," he warned. 
"Hmm, you could be right there; we had a stranger here last night. Did you know anything about that?" Doug asked. 
Woa, Luke had to be careful here. Was Doug testing him? 
"Yeah, I did hear people talkin' 'bout that," he said vaguely. "So that's my point. I was thinkin', I could take a look at your security here and help ya out. I remember you mentioned about the guy over the road who had recently updated his security. He must have had problems too. Maybe I could talk to him. Check on his security and see how he's dealin' with it." 
Doug nodded, but Luke still wasn't sure if he was convinced. Maybe that was just his way. 
Their conversation was briefly interrupted then by the arrival of the coffees. 
"Have you and Charlie spoken about this?" Doug asked, thanking the waitress and picking up his coffee cup. 
Damn, no, he hadn't let Charlie in on the plan, but he was certain she would go along with it. 
"Sure. But Charlie's gone to see Richie now, so I thought I'd come see you this mornin'," he answered. 
Finally, some kind of expression swept over Doug's face. "Charlie is with Richie?" he asked with surprise. 
"Yeah." 
"Right." He fell silent for a moment and Luke wondered what was going through his head. "Okay, well I do need to sort this problem out," Doug admitted finally. "Perhaps you and Charlie can work on this together. I'll set up a meeting with you and Brian; he's the farmer from across the road. I'll pay you and Charlie for your time of course," he assured him. 
Luke shook his head. "I don't need payin'. But I am lookin' for somewhere more permanent to stay. I'm at the guest house down the road at the moment but there aint much room there. Mrs Bennett said that you rent the house next to Charlie's. I'd appreciate it if you'd rent it to me for a few months. Means I'd be nearby too for workin' with Charlie on the security," he pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee and mentally crossing his fingers. 
Doug searched Luke's face for a moment before nodding. "I'll try and get in touch with Brian about meeting you. Let me think about the house; I need to check the bookings," he replied. "Give me a contact number and I'll get back to you later today." 
Luke knew that Doug was going to check up on him, most likely with Charlie. But if she was okay with everything, knowing how highly Doug regarded Charlie, he'd agree to at least the meeting with the farmer… and that, after all, was the most important thing. 

 
 

Chapter 30

Charlotte was following a lead from having tracked down Jackson's registration number to a car hire company, when her mobile phone on her desk rang out. She looked down with surprise to see that it was Doug. 
"Hi Doug, how are you?" she asked. 
"I'm fine sweetheart. How are you? Hope I'm not interrupting; I heard that you went to see Richie," he replied. 
Eddie must have said something. "Yes, I just wanted to see if he was alright," she explained. "And I'm fine." 
"Good. Listen, I had a visit from your friend James today. He wants to work on the security at The Club. He said he spoke to you about it. Do you think it wise for me to allow him access to the security?" he asked. 
Okay, she should have known that left alone with no transport Luke would try to work more on the case from that end. Well, it wasn't actually a bad thing. If she could locate Borelli and bring him in for questioning relating to his involvement with other UK Mafia, then she could only hold him for so long. She would need more concrete evidence of his part in the shooting of Roberto to have a chance at charging him for murder whilst she had him there. She couldn't be in two places at once though, so she needed Luke to play his part that end. 
"Yes, if there's one thing I can say about Luke, he is hot on security," she answered, remembering the events of that morning. "I know that he can come across as the brash, arrogant American at times Doug, but underneath, he really does have a good heart," she assured him. 
Doug went silent for a moment. "Right, well, the security has been on my mind lately. So I'll let him go ahead then." 
"He will do a thorough job. Thanks Doug," she replied. 
"For what?" he came back. 
She paused for thought. "Just for being there," came her reply. 
"Always sweetheart," he said, "Speak later." 
As she hung up the call, Barking emerged from his office and beckoned for her to join him. 
"Found anything yet?" he asked, closing the door. 
"Well," she folded her arms, "I've been working on tracking down a Bella Jackson. Luke had dealings with her in New York. Seems she was working for the Borelli's, and then, out of the blue, she turned up, err… here… yesterday." 
Barking picked up on Charlotte's hesitancy. "Here?" he questioned. 
"Hmm, at …" Charlotte was aware that she had to be careful what she said at that moment "…the Country Club," she replied, glancing down at Barking's desk. 
"Your Country Club?" he said with surprise. "Douglas Anderson's Country Club?" he corrected. 
She nodded. 
"What was this Jackson woman doing there?" he asked. 
"Looks like she was following Luke." 
"And what was Luke doing there?" he went on. 
She glanced up at him. "Looking for me." 
Barking gave a curt nod. He wasn't exactly surprised at that, but he was slightly concerned about what kind of trouble Luke had now involved Charlotte in. Thank heaven she hadn't tried to deal with this on her own. "So what exactly do you think she wants from Luke?" 
Charlotte shrugged. "Actually sir, I'm not entirely sure. The way Luke tells it, there is a vendetta between Luke and the Borelli's, and maybe they think Luke knows too much. But…" she hesitated. 
"But what?" Barking prompted. 
She sighed. "I don't know; I don't see where Jackson fits into all of this. If they wanted Luke, I'm sure there were ample opportunities to catch him off guard here before now. And why send her? She just seems to be loitering around; I'm not at all certain why. But," she pointed a finger, "there is definitely some sort of connection. If we can find her, there is a fair chance that she will lead us to them." 
"Hmm." Barking digested the information. "So how do you plan on finding this woman?" 
"Well, I caught her car registration last night at The Club. I've just managed to trace it to the car hire company. I'll press them for information on where she is staying," she explained. 
"Yes, you do that," Barking replied, turning to pick up a sheet of paper from off his desk, "because I've been making a few phone calls of my own." He handed the paper to her. "Turns out this isn't the first visit we've had from the Borelli brothers. Four times they've been over here in the past year alone," he said, pointing to the sheet. "Another department has been working on this, but now we're in on it too. You'll have the full cooperation from them; number's written on the bottom there," he gestured to the sheet in her hand. 
"Thanks," she smiled, turning to leave. 
"Oh and Charlotte," he said before she reached the door. 
"Yes Sir?" 
"Let me know as soon as you find out where she is. You can take Bates with you for the surveillance," he informed her. 
"Is that necessary? Just for surveillance?" she asked. Involving Bates in this might just complicate things further. 
"Yes, this is a Mafia mob we're tracking down now," he warned, "it's not quite the same as hunting grouse in the English countryside." 
She gave a sarcastic smile. Not the Country Club gibes again! 
XxXxXxXxXxXxX 
Luke sat down to a feast of a roast dinner in front of him. Plates of vegetables, potatoes, roast beef and other strange foods he hadn't seen before were spread out over the dining table. 
"Wow Mrs B, is this all just for you and me?" 
"Yes of course, don't stand on ceremony, dig in. A young man needs a good meal inside him," she replied. 
Luke began to pile his plate up with food as Mrs Bennett sat next to him, watching. 
"Don't forget the Yorkshire puddings Mr Luke," she urged. "It's a crime not to have Yorkshire puddings with roast beef." 
"Puddings?" he questioned. 
"Yorkshire puddings," she stressed, reaching across to pick one up with her fork and place it on Luke's plate. 
He looked at it slightly dubiously. 
"They are good," she assured him. "I'm famous for my Yorkshire puddings Mr Luke. Here, you need lots of gravy over it," she said, picking up the gravy boat. 
He shrugged and decided to give it a go, digging into the Yorkshire pudding with gusto. 
He took a mouthful and glanced up at her after a few chews. "Mmm, not bad. Yorkshire puddings eh," he said, returning to his dinner. 
Mrs Bennett smiled and began to transfer food to her own plate. 
"Looks like I'll be leaving you soon," he said regretfully. 
"But you'll be staying locally, won't you?" 
"Hopefully," he replied. 
"Well then, you must come back for Sunday dinner with Miss Charlotte. I haven't seen her for a while," she said. 
He smiled. "That'd be great." 
The roast dinner was going down a treat with Luke. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a home cooked meal so much. 
"Now, this is what you call a real English welcome," Luke commented. 
Mrs Bennett glowed with the compliment. "There's pudding for afters too," she said. 
He paused, and looked up at her. "Mrs B, you're spoiling me!" 
She smiled and patted his arm. 
So that's what it was like to have an English mother. 
He smiled back and began eating again. "At this rate though, I'm gonna need to find the nearest gym!" he chuckled. 
Just as he was considering helping himself to another Yorkshire pudding, a phone call came through on his cell phone. He checked the number before answering; it was Doug. 
"I'm just gonna take this call out here Mrs B," he said, rising from his seat and heading for the hallway. "Save me some more of those Yorkshire puddings though, will ya?" 
He left the kitchen and climbed the stairs, opening his cell phone and answering it on the way up. 
"Luke." 
"This is Doug," came the reply, "I've managed to arrange for you to meet with Brian at the farm this afternoon at five. Does that suit?" he asked. 
"Yeah," Luke's face lit up with a smile. 
"When would you like to move into the house?" Doug went on. 
Wow, things were really going his way. "Today?" 
Doug went silent for a moment before he replied. "I'm busy until three. I can meet you at the house around half past, run through everything with you and hand over the keys then." 
"Sure. Great. Appreciate it," Luke answered. 
"Not a problem," Doug replied, and then the phone went dead. 
"Comin' back for those Yorkshire puddings now Mrs B!" Luke shouted out enthusiastically, bounding back down the stairs. 
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx 
By mid afternoon, Charlotte had got her hands on the name and location of the hotel where Jackson was staying, and was pulling up outside the building with Bates by her side. 
The hotel was situated on a fairly narrow backstreet, just off a busy main road lined with shops and restaurants. It was a small, family owned business with its own Italian restaurant at the front. Although the hotel was nothing much to look at, it seemed clean and well-kept. 
"Well, I can't go in; I might bump into Jackson. Over to you Bates; see if you can find out where her room is, but be discrete for now," Charlotte warned. Bates got out of the car and turned at the open car door to speak to her. 
"What about you? She could spot you here," he pointed out. 
She wrinkled her nose. "It's unlikely, besides," she reached across the dashboard to pick up a pair of sunglasses, "I'll wear these." 
"You're a master of disguise Charlotte," Bates teased, closing the car door and heading towards the hotel entrance. 
While Bates was inside the hotel, Charlotte checked on the camera equipment and took some time to examine the front of the building. They would have a fairly good view of both the entrance and the windows of the hotel rooms... at the front of the hotel anyway. She just hoped that Jackson was staying in one of those front rooms. 
When Bates returned however, she was to be disappointed. 
He had entered the reception area and assessed the front desk while waiting to speak to the receptionist. Seeing his chance to take a look at the register, he had sent the woman on an errand into the back room to look for a spare iron, before reaching over the desk to take a quick note of Jackson's room number. After a swift scan of the key pegs, he had also noted that Jackson's key was unfortunately missing; they wouldn't have a chance to search her room as she was obviously still in it. Bates had then familiarized himself with the layout of the hotel rooms and the location of the one in which Jackson was staying, before returning to Charlotte. 
"She's in the room but it's not this side. There's a car park around the back; we should get a good view from there," he informed her. 
The car park was however, not that big and only had two cars in it at that point. This would leave them extremely exposed and suspicious looking if they were to sit in the car for any length of time. 
"Hmm, any ideas?" Charlotte asked Bates. 
"Leave the surveillance to me," he suggested. "At least then if I'm spotted, they won't know who I am." 
"Not a chance," she replied, scanning the back windows of the building and the surrounding area. She had to get started on this today at least. They needed to figure out Jackson's comings and goings, and hopefully find out who she was collaborating with. Okay, what would Luke do? She had to think outside the box. Then she spotted inspiration and, while in one respect her mind was working overtime to bring her plan to fruition, another part of her brain was telling herself that she was out of her mind. The former won; she abruptly got out of the car. 
"Stay here; I'll be back shortly. I've had an idea," she said to Bates. 
"Do you think that's wise?" he asked, watching as she rushed across the car park and disappeared around the front of the hotel. "Guess so," he concluded wryly. 
It was nearly another twenty minutes before Charlotte returned and slipped back into the driver's seat a little sheepishly. 
"What have you done?" Bates asked, watching her. 
She took in a deep breath. "Well, put it this way, I think we won't be alone in this car park for long." 
Charlotte was right; within the next half an hour, cars began filling up the spaces in the car park. An hour later, and the whole car park was practically full with cars conveniently concealing their presence. 
"How did you do it?" Bates asked, intrigued. 
Charlotte just smiled at him mysteriously. 
The curtains in Jackson's room had been drawn now since Charlotte and Bates had arrived a few hours ago. 
"What on earth is she doing in there?" Charlotte said with frustration. 
"Do you think she knows we're here?" Bates asked. 
"I doubt it. There's been no evidence of movement at all coming from that room," she answered. 
"Maybe she had a late night last night and is still sleeping," he suggested. 
Charlotte checked her watch. It seemed very late for her to still be in bed. "Or maybe she's keeping a low profile for some reason." 
It was over another hour before they finally saw the curtains move. The car park had become so packed with cars that, when more arrived and found there were no free spaces, there was chaos as they tried to turn around in the confined space of the entrance. This led ultimately to a shouting match between two drivers. The curtains opened and, to their delight, it was a man who glanced out of the window angrily. Charlotte grabbed the camera and took a series of shots. 
"Did you get any good pictures?" Bates asked. 
"Yes," she replied excitedly. "All we need now is a positive ID of a Borelli. Let's get these back to the office," she said, beginning the tedious task of untangling themselves from the barricade of cars. 
As they left the car park and joined the main road, Bates noticed a sign stuck to a wall. On it was written, in bold black marker pen, 
"FREE PARKING, THIS WAY." 

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.07.2014

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