Knock Out (A Reynolds Security Novel) Read online

  “She is staying at my place. Can she pack a bag?”

  “It would really be better if she left everything just as it is.”

  “All right.” Jace sighed. “Are you going to sit on the apartment?”

  “Can’t. Don’t have the manpower since this isn’t an official case until the owner reports them stolen.”

  “I have people watching the apartment. I am not going to pull them off.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Lou thought she really should put up more of a fight since the men were just making decisions for her but she was too tired and emotionally drained to argue. Jace led her out of the apartment and put her into his range rover and she was asleep before he’d gone a block.

  When they reached his house she didn’t wake so he carried her inside and laid her on his bed. He took off her shoes and pants but left her t-shirt and panties. They were once again white cotton and the sight made him smile. It also reminded him what she had said about Colby telling her to get new underwear. He felt a sharp stab of jealousy. He contemplated that as he stripped out of his own clothes and slid into the bed beside her. Colby had said they hadn’t slept together, that they were friends. Friends, isn’t that what they had started out as. Truth be told he had used that as a foot in the door to get exactly where he was right now. He had to wonder if Colby wasn’t working the same angle. Discussing underwear was a little closer than he wanted her to be with any friend.

  Lou stirred and felt something warm and solid behind her. Thinking it was Cooper she automatically reached back to pet him. Her hand didn’t encounter soft fur. Instead it encountered hard warm flesh. She looked and saw a mouth watering sight. Jace lying on his back naked to the waist where the blanket covered him. He was softly snoring. She didn’t remember how she got in bed. She realized he must have put her to bed and her heart melted just a bit. She was still wearing a few clothes but he had clearly tried to make her comfortable. She looked at him in the gray predawn light and sighed. He was beautiful. And he loved her. At least he said he did. Even now the memory of him whispering in her ear made her knees weak.

  Could she really do it? Could she have a real relationship? The idea was scary. The full disclosure was scarier. Would he see her as tainted? Would he still want her? The idea that she would see disgust in his eyes terrified her. She slowly moved up against him and laid her head on his shoulder. She had to tell him, she couldn’t keep her secrets forever. But until the time was right to tell him and potentially end their relationship, she would make the most of every minute.

  Gathering her courage she slid her hand over his peck and down his abdomen. She kissed his neck running her tongue under his ear lobe. He sighed and it was all the encouragement she needed. She lifted onto her knees and began kissing his chest. She licked and sucked each of his nipples until they stiffened into peaks but she didn’t linger there. Her destination was farther south. She traced his abdominals with her fingertips and her lips. By the time she reached the bottom of his oblique’s. He was fully aroused. She touched him gently tracing the blue lines of veins on the shaft. Feeling the softness of the mushroom shaped head. She could feel the tension in his thighs but he didn’t rush her. He patiently let her continue her exploration. When bead of clear liquid rose from the top she tentatively lapped it away with her tongue. He sucked air in through his teeth but still he didn’t move. She had only attempted this one other time and she hadn’t liked it but it was different with Jace. Everything was different with Jace. She swept her tongue down the line of skin and then swirled around the head. Finally she took the head into her mouth and he moaned. She saw his hands clench in the sheets.

  Empowered by his obvious enjoyment, she pushed farther. He tasted good, sweet and nutty. Using her tongue to smooth the way she drew him deep into her mouth. She gently worked him across the back of her tongue until she adjusted to the sensation and could suppress her gag reflex. She pushed him in as far as she could and then she swallowed.

  “Oh man.” He rasped and goose bumps rose up on her arms. Feeling a fierce feminine pride that she could turn the big man into the quivering mass of flesh before her. She increased her rhythm swallowing against him intermittently.

  “Oh man Lou you’re killing me. You have to stop or I won’t be able too.” She didn’t stop she continued swallowing against him twice as often and felt him swell. He let out a loud moan and spurts of hot salty fluid filled her mouth. She swallowed it down as quickly as she could. She continued gently soothing him until he softened. He was panting as he relaxed back into the bed.

  “Holy hell.” He breathed and she laughed. “Comere Darlin’.” He pulled her onto him until she was half laying on him. He kissed her deeply only pausing to sweep her shirt off. For someone that was just sated he was surprisingly passionate. He devoured her and his enthusiasm made her giggle.

  Dawn was breaking when they both finally dozed off again. Lou only slept for an hour when her growling stomach woke her. She remembered she had never gotten around to eating the night before. She eased away from Jace not wanting to wake him. How embarrassing would it be to wake your lover with a growling stomach. She pulled on his t-shirt taking a deep breath. It smelled like him. She was tempted to wake him again but her stomach growled again reminding her of the task at hand. She swam in the t-shirt that was several sizes too big but she liked the feeling of wearing his shirt. It felt intimate. She padded to the kitchen and Cooper got up from his bed and followed her. She rummaged through the fridge. She found some juice and bread for toast. Cooper’s tail began to wag. She looked expecting to see Jace but what she saw was a pretty blond woman in a bright yellow tank top and matching shorts. The sight caused her to pull up short.

  “Hi there.” The woman grinned. “You must be Lou.”

  “Ah yeah.” Lou stammered suddenly wishing she were wearing her own clothes instead of Jace’s shirt. “And you are Savannah?”

  “Jace has told me a lot about you. I am so glad I got to meet you.” The woman practically bounced onto the bar stool and leaned on her elbows.

  “Um yeah me too. I just wish I was wearing a few more clothes.”

  “Oh don’t worry ‘bout me hun I’m no prude.” Lou had to smile, Savannah’s accent was more pronounced than Jace’s.

  “No you’ve been a liberated woman since you were sneaking Johnny Renslow into your bedroom at sixteen.” Jace said padding into the kitchen. He was wearing only a pair of flannel pants and Lou’s mouth went dry at the sight. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly. Her brain was momentarily scrambled.

  “Ah Johnny Renslow,” she sighed, “He was a tall drink of water.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “That is southern speak for hot, honey.” Savannah explained. “You know he’s a firefighter now. He just got divorced. I should call him.” Lou’s toast popped up and Jace pulled it from the toaster and put them on a plate.

  “What do you want on your toast Darlin’?”

  “Peanut butter if you’ve got it.”

  “Who doesn’t have peanut butter?” Lou looked back from the exchange with Jace only to find Savannah staring at them grinning.

  “What?”

  “You guys are so cute.” She sighed.

  “Oh that reminds me I owe you a muffin basket or something. You and your sisters.”

  “What for?”

  “For training Jace so well.”

  “Training him?”

  “Yeah, foot rubs and chocolate and tea and…” She trailed off at Savannah’s confused expression. “You didn’t train him?”

  “I wish. He tormented us, drove us completely insane with all his practical jokes and spying. He knows about Johnny Renslow because he sawed the legs on my bed just enough so that they would all break at a very inopportune time. Everyone came rushing in to see what the crash was. I thought I would die of embarrassment. Trust me you don’t know embarrassment until you and your boyfriend have gotten the safe sex lecture from the woman who
looks and sounds like a thin Paula Dean! I am telling you butter wouldn’t melt in this woman’s mouth and she made us prove we knew how to use a condom by suiting up a banana.” Jace’s shoulders were shaking with laughter as he put peanut butter on the toast.

  “It’s not funny Jason! I still can’t look at a banana the same way.”

  “Your name is Jason?” Lou asked surprised.

  “No.” He said immediately.

  “When he was in Kindergarten he declared his name to be Jason because some idiot boy told him Jace wasn’t a real name. It didn’t take him long to revert back to Jace.”

  “Yes, but by that time the damage was done and my sisters won’t let me forget it. They have memories like elephants.” He handed her the toast.

  “Thank you.” She smiled up at him. “I am surprised you would let me meet your sister. It seems that she is going to tell me all your secrets.”

  “So it seems, whatever happened to family loyalty?”

  “Sugar I have been waitin nearly thirty years for you to bring a woman home so I could embarrass you the way you always embarrassed me. I have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Suddenly the peanut butter felt too thick to swallow. Had she just said thirty years? Jace had never brought a woman home? Never introduced one to his sisters? He had told Savannah all about her. He had told her he wanted them to meet. She had the sinking feeling that she might not be ready for what came next. Or maybe she wasn’t ready to come so close only to have it crash around her.

  “Much as I love letting you embarrass me, we have a busy day and weren’t you just going for a run?”

  “Oh fine spoil sport. It was a pleasure to meet you Lou. I hope we can get together again real soon.”

  “I’d like that.” Lou said non-committally.

  “I told you she was bright and loud.” He said after they heard the front door close.

  “You told me a lot of things I am not too sure about now.”

  His brow furrowed into a concerned frown. “What do you mean?”

  “What about all of that stuff about being trained by them?”

  “Oh that.” He laughed. “Well I learned all I know about women from them. That doesn’t mean I ever felt the need to charm them.”

  “But you did feel the need to charm me?” Jace stepped closer and ran his thumb along the lower edge of her lip.

  “Darlin’ you inspire all sorts of things in me. Being charming and attentive is the least of it.”

  “I’m not ready for this Jace.” She whispered panic rising up in her chest.

  “For what? Nothing has changed it is still one day at a time.”

  “It doesn’t feel like one day at a time.”

  “What is the big deal? I love you, you love me. We are just moving forward.” Lou felt cold like she suddenly had ice racing through her veins. She straightened up needing some physical space.

  “Jace I can’t, I just… there are things about me, my life, that I am not ready to share. I’m sorry.”

  “What? What is there that you can’t share with me? I don’t care about your neurotic habits. I already know that you hog the covers and talk in your sleep.” He was trying to make her laugh, she could tell by his smirk but she didn’t find it funny. Now she was worried about what she could’ve possibly said while sleeping. What if she had a nightmare? She wasn’t ready to explain she certainly didn’t want to explain in that situation. Her heart was pounding and she began to shake her head.

  “I can’t… I just can’t do this.” She fled the kitchen rushing back to the bedroom she gathered up her clothes and went into the bathroom and locked the door. She prayed he wouldn’t come in. She already had issues with the bathroom and shower she couldn’t deal with him in here at all. She dressed as quickly as she could, trying to get a hold on her raging emotions. She kind of wished she’d asked Savannah if she could run with her.

  Chapter 20

  Lou was surprised to find Jace dressed and waiting when she went back to the kitchen.

  “I just talked to Frank. There were no prints at all on the necklaces. Only yours and Colby’s on the box.” Jace’s tone was all business. It seemed he was going to pretend that the mini meltdown she’d just had about their personal relationship had never happened. That was fine with her, the less awkward personal conversations the better.

  Unfortunately, without the personal conversation there was no conversation at all. The ride to where she had left her car was a quiet one. There was a cool remoteness in Jace’s eyes that she had never seen there before. She tried reminding herself that it was for the best. She reminded herself so many times it was almost a mantra running through her head. When they got to her car Jace got out and looked the whole thing over and even had Cooper check it, before he let her touch it.

  “I’ll follow you back.” He said before walking back to the range rover. She sighed and continued her mantra as she slid behind the wheel.

  The team met back at headquarters to regroup. Brent brought up the cameras in place on her apartment on monitors in the conference room they had affectionately dubbed the war room.

  “That is really creepy.” She said looking at the perfectly clear pictures of her apartment inside and out. “Every one of those cameras had better come down when this is over.” The men snickered at that. Everyone except Jace who’s mood hadn’t improved at all.

  Colby reported back that the housekeeping staff at the Radisson had been somewhat enlightening. The display Jewels were all kept in the hotel vault but the Heart of Africa gem had stayed in Mrs. Castillo’s room until the night before the apparent robbery. Also, the robbery hadn’t been reported even to the hotel staff and apparently nothing else was missing from the vault.

  “They have separate rooms?” Lou questioned when Colby finished his report.

  “Different suites in different wings on different floors.” Colby smirked.

  “Hmm trouble in paradise.” Lance muttered. Something in the back of Lou’s brain ticked.

  “I need a computer.” She started to head back to her desk but Jace stopped her. He called his assistant and had a laptop brought to the war room.

  “He is cute.” She whispered to Jace after he left but Jace just rolled his eyes.

  “I agree.” Colby whispered apparently having heard her and she giggled earning both of them a glare from Jace.

  “You think his marital problems have something to do with this?” Charlie asked watching her rapidly typing.

  “No, but what if it’s her necklace they are after? It is one of the largest diamonds in the world. No matter how many you put together it’s not the same as a big one.”

  “Whatever happened to what’s yours is mine?” Lance asked.

  “Prenumps and a sixty percent divorce rate happened. If they are sleeping in separate rooms maybe that giant diamond is slipping out of his grasp. Ah-ha here it is. I knew I had read this. Her maiden name is Jwana her family founded one of the largest diamond mines in the world. They held it for decades until the blood diamond controversy. Even though they weren’t supplying conflict diamonds, her family lost everything including the Heart of Africa which had been in her family for generations. To the Karakas family. When she married Viktor he gave her the Heart of Africa as a wedding present.”

  “Talk about your hostile takeover.” Sam muttered.

  “So he has both necklaces stolen… but why stash them at your place?” Colby asked.

  “Maybe he thought that was the last place anyone would look for them.” Brent said.

  “Maybe it’s a way to get closer to Lou.” It was the first time Jace had spoken and they all looked at him. “He made a point of saying he didn’t want the authorities involved. He doesn’t know she’s one of us. Or even if he does, he stashes them at her place, we find them, he is gracious enough not to press charges and she is… grateful.”

  “Not that grateful.” Lou snorted.

  “He did have quite a hard on for her at the party.” Charlie put in.
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  “Come on he is old enough to be my… well my father for sure, maybe my grandfather.”

  “As if that ever mattered to a guy.” Lance snickered. They were all quiet for a minute while they mulled the idea over.

  “Oh come on!” Lou said exasperated. “You guys really think he would go this far just to get in my pants?”

  “Yes.” Several of them said at the same time and Lou rolled her eyes. “Men, you have to do everything the hard way. Stage a fake jewel heist instead of just picking up the phone and saying, Hey you wanna grab a pizza and a Giants game?” The men in the room all laughed at that.

  “I don’t know a single woman that would work on.” One of them said.

  “Man I couldn’t even get my wife to agree to that.” Another laughed. Lou crossed her arms and huffed while they all continued to crack jokes. She glanced over at Jace and caught his eye, he actually smiled for the first time all day.

  “Didn’t Viktor say there was a woman caught on the surveillance footage?” She said loudly trying to get the men to focus again.

  “Could’ve been to point us in your direction.”

  “But we know I didn’t take the necklaces, so shouldn’t we take a look at that footage?”

  “Yes we should.” Jace pulled his phone from his pocket. “Ethan, have we got that security footage from the Radisson yet? Well call and light a fire under ‘em would ya?”

  “So what is our next play?” Colby asked as Jace disconnected.

  “We wait.”

  “Just wait?” Colby questioned.

  “Yeah, whoever planted the diamonds in my apartment is bound to come back for them. If it was Viktor he’ll have to do something eventually. It’s like calling his bluff. He is going to have to either implicate me or come for the diamonds himself.”

  “I have your apartment wired. No one is getting near it without us knowing.” Brent said proudly. Jace glanced at his watch.

  “All right, set up a schedule to watch the apartment. For the time being I don’t want to bring anyone else in on this so we’ll each take a shift as a camera watchman. We’ll go with four hour shifts for now. I am going to check in with Sinclair and see if the feds have anything to add.” Jace left the room and they quickly wrote up a schedule. Lou volunteered to take the first half of the night shift since she’d likely be there to work out anyway. Then she and Colby volunteered to go pick up lunch for the rest of the team.