GUILTY OR HOT Read online

  “I do not scream in my sleep,” she insisted hotly and pushed to her feet.

  “Me and the cat beg to differ.” He watched her carefully as she stomped to the kitchen and pulled out a beer. She held the cold bottle to her forehead first before popping the cap off and chugging half of it. “Care to share?”

  “Not on your life,” she seethed. “Go back to sleep.”

  “No,” he challenged. “What were you dreaming about?”

  “I’m not going to tell you, so give up now. You won’t win, remember?”

  “You’re scared, Chris, I can see it.”

  She bristled. “Am not.”

  “Your face is so white it matches the countertop,” he pointed out, “and your hands are shaking. Talk to me, please.”

  “Why should I?” she yelled, slamming the beer down on the counter so hard it flowed out the top, splashing over the counter. “You think you’re so different from all the others? You think you’re going to fix me? Make me feel better?”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve already started that process,” he said smugly, folding his arms across his chest.

  Her mouth fell open, but a flicker of hunger appeared in her eyes again. “You bastard.”

  “I have my moments,” he agreed. “I am different. And so are you, which is why I would like to keep getting to know you better. I know you like me, even if it’s only a little. Why else would your boss threaten to tear me a new one if I hurt you?”

  Her eyes widened and her free hand curled into a fist. “He did what?” she sputtered.

  “You clearly have people who care about you if they’re willing to confront someone like me about dating you.”

  “I’m going to kill him,” she whispered and chugged her beer until it was empty.

  “He’s only looking out for you, which is what I’d be willing to do if you let me.”

  “I’m the one with the gun, remember?”

  “I didn’t mean like that and you know it!” he ranted, losing the control she’d given him on his temper of late. “You need someone to help you mentally before you plummet back into whatever darkness your boss seems to think you’re headed for fast.”

  “That is none of your business,” she yelled, but the intensity of her words faltered.

  “It can be and it should be,” he badgered. “We like each other, there’s no getting around there’s something between us.”

  “So what? I’m supposed to open up, share my life story with you?”

  “Yes, because that’s what people do when they care for each other! They help them out, even if it means listening to a crazy rant at four in the morning.”

  She shook her head furiously, storming past him. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

  “I think I do,” he said and caught her around the waist. He drew her against his body, capturing her mouth with his before she could run off and hide. She struggled at first, but then her arms wrapped around his neck and he picked her up off her feet, backing her into the closest thing he could find. The kitchen table worked perfectly. His tongue licked her bottom lip, and her mouth opened to him. He grabbed her hips, grinding his body against hers as she moaned with the same want eating him alive. His blood pumping and heart racing, Tim reached for the hem of her shirt, ready to yank it over her head, when suddenly, she pulled back.

  “Chris?” he asked, confused by the panic on her face. He let his hands fall, and she scrambled to get away from him. He reached for her hand, but she yanked it out of his and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. “Shit.”

  He stood at the kitchen table for half an hour as he waited for his erection to fade and his emotions to calm down again. What the hell just happened? He scratched his beard, then ran his fingers over his lips still tingling from her frenzied kiss. Behind the panic in her eyes there had been something else: fear. She was afraid, but afraid of what? Being with him? Letting her guard down? More awake than before, Tim resigned himself to the couch as Mini hopped over to lay on his chest.

  “I think we fucked things up again, girl,” he whispered, scratching the cat behind the ears. “Or I did. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.”

  Chapter 9

  Monday broke over the city, and the tension between Chris and Tim refused to break with it. They moved around her tiny apart in a well-practiced dance of avoidance, barely uttering greetings to each other. She maintained her distance, not trusting herself to get too close and lose control as she had that morning.

  She’d been emotional, that was it. The urge to jump his bones came from waking up from a terrible nightmare. If only she believed it herself, maybe her libido would calm down instead of driving her closer to crazy town than she already was. Mini seemed to know something was wrong between them and jumped from his lap to hers constantly, purring and meowing until they would smile and laugh. But then she would remember that kiss and how it nearly went so much further and fear shut her down again. If she could leave the apartment, things would be better, but she was trapped there with him until this shit blew over. Today, she was supposed to go the Jones building with him and poke around the system, but Merriweather called first thing that morning to shut her down. Manny was going instead, and she would walk him through what she was looking for on the phone.

  A heavy knock pounded on her front door, and she leapt up to grab it. “Manny,” she said, happy to see him. “Did you bring food?”

  “Yes, here’re your groceries for a few days,” he said, setting two paper sacks down on the kitchen island. He winked at Tim across the room. “Should be enough donuts and coffee in there to get you through.”

  “Donuts and coffee,” Tim repeated, smirking. “Figures.”

  “Don’t worry, there’s Pop-Tarts in there too, and some scones.”

  “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Chris asked him.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. This isn’t my first time, you know.”

  “Whatever. Tim will direct you where to go, and I’ll tell you what to look for. You sure I can’t sneak out with you? Sarge doesn’t have to know.”

  “Sarge will know because Sarge is here,” the man himself growled as he entered her apartment.

  Chris groaned, tossing her head back and rolling her eyes. “And you’re here because?”

  “Because I wanted to make sure you hadn’t lost it yet.”

  “Clearly, I haven’t, so can I go? Please?”

  Sarge’s glare told her it was a big fat no without him even having to say it. “I’m following up a lead on the stolen car today. I thought I would update you.”

  “You never told me who it belonged to,” she pushed, but he turned around and headed for the apartment door, calling for Manny to hurry up. “Manny, come on—put me under your coat. He’ll never notice.”

  Manny laughed loudly and patted her on the head as she scrunched her face in annoyance. “I’ll call you when I get there. Keep your phone handy.”

  Once he left, she locked the door behind him and held her new cell in her hand as she paced around the living room. Tim unpacked the bags, whispering to himself about cops and donuts as he fed Mini part of a glazed donut. Chris smiled until his gaze darted to hers, and she immediately turned away. At some point, they would have to discuss what happened, but she was not ready.

  Focus on the case, that’s what you have to do. Just stay focused.

  After what felt like an eternity later, her cell rang and she answered on speaker, laying it on the kitchen counter so Tim could help Manny get where he needed to be. The guard at the building had let him inside, but it was up to Tim to help them find who was behind the money transfers.

  “The main server room is on the fifth floor,” he told Manny. “You have the keys I gave you?”

  “Right here,” Manny replied, jingling them on the other end of the line. A few minutes later, he announced he was there and inside the room. “Now what?”

  “There’s a mainframe computer console towards the back
. I’ll text you my assistant’s log-in since mine won’t work right now.”

  “Even now when the partners know someone’s trying to kill you?”

  “Actually, we’re keeping that a secret,” Chris said. “If one of them is involved, I want to draw them out, make them nervous when they still see Tim walking around.”

  Manny waited for Tim to send the information, and they heard keys clicking. “I’m in.”

  It took a few minutes, but Tim managed to guide Manny deeper into the system to see the transfers in and out of the company, dating back to the main one that landed him in so much trouble to begin with. “There should be a record of an override. Each partner must approve, but somehow, this person did it without our authorization. Do you see it?”

  “I see something, but there are no authorizations from seven people. There’s only one.”

  “From who?”

  “Let me see… it doesn’t give me a name, but an employee number.” He rattled it off. Chris watched Tim’s face turn red as his eyes narrowed in anger.

  “Whose is it?”

  “Maya Thomas,” he snapped. “She’s the woman I told you about.”

  “The one you dated?” Chris asked, jealousy shooting white-hot through her chest. “Manny, can you see how she managed to do it?”

  “I’m working on it. Give me a sec.” Chris tapped her fingers impatiently on the countertop. “I can hear and it’s not helping,” Manny grunted.

  Chris’ fingers stilled. “Sorry. I hate not being there.”

  “I know, but this might be just what we need… right, she hacked into the system, but this is some high-level shit. I might have to get one of our techs out here to look at it.”

  “Can you send it to them?” Tim asked.

  “I can try,” Manny told him. “What does this Maya do here anyway?”

  “She’s an accountant, but I never thought her skills with computers were impressive,” he grumbled.

  “Maybe she was faking so people wouldn’t look to her,” Chris said. “It happens. You don’t always know people as well as you think.”

  Tim’s brow arched at her words, but she turned away from him. Now was not the time to drag out their emotions and have at each other.

  “Manny, can you do me a favor?” she asked him, needing to distract herself from Tim’s intense stare and how he kept shifting closer to her. “Manny?”

  “Bring her in and pick you two up?”

  “You read my mind. We’ll be waiting.” Manny hung up, and she picked up her boots, slipping her feet into them. “You have to come, too,” she told Tim. “I can’t leave you here alone.”

  He nodded and pulled his shoes on, ran his hands through his hair, and attempted to tame his beard. She watched each movement, wanting to run her fingers through his beard and tug it as she kissed him as hot and hard as they had done the other night. Sadly, there was no time. She had a suspect to question and hopefully, a lead as to why Maya—or whomever she worked with—wanted Tim dead.

  And you… don’t forget the phone call was about you, too. Her foot slipped off the coffee table, hitting the floor hard.

  “Chris, are you all right?” Tim asked with a worried frown.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” she lied. He mentioned not being able to save Jeff… is Maya working with him? No, no it’s not him, it can’t be. There’s no way he would wait four years to come after you.

  But the idea was firmly planted in her mind. She was no longer only tracking down the person framing Tim, but the man who had ruined her life. The man who had killed Jeff Carson and left her a broken shell of her former self.

  ***

  Chris watched as Manny dragged a very confused woman into the station. She wasn’t in handcuffs because they hadn’t arrested her yet. All they had so far was she’d hacked into the computer system at Tim’s company and may or may not have overrode the authorization process. They found no other connection to the accounts the money was placed in before disappearing altogether.

  “You’re going to stay in here,” she told Tim, standing on the other side of the two-way mirror.

  “Gladly,” he sneered, glaring at the woman as she sat calmly in the interrogation room.

  “No overreacting,” she warned him. “Whatever she says, remember to stay calm. There’s a button here. Manny can show you how to use it so if she says anything in there—lies to me—I’ll have an earpiece in and I need you to tell me. Understand?”

  He nodded, the muscles in his neck straining.

  “Good. Manny, he’s all yours.” She gave Tim one last worried glance before leaving the room and walking the short distance towards the interrogation room. Sarge passed her on the way, headed to the other room to watch. Chris entered with a smile for Maya. “Hello, Ms. Thomas. Thanks for coming in to speak with us today.”

  The woman turned her brilliant white grin towards Chris, and she saw through it instantly. This woman was a piece of work. “Of course, anything to help out. I can’t believe Mr. Jones would be involved in something like this.”

  “Yes, that’s what several other employees have said as well. I spoke with Tim just this morning.”

  Her smile faltered a hair, but Chris spotted it as she took her seat. “You did? How’s he…um, holding up? I’m sure the stress is horrible.”

  Chris reached under the table for the buttons controlling the sound and cameras, and another used to point out something to whomever watched. She clicked the first one and knew a beep would sound on the other side of the glass.

  “He’s doing well. We brought you here today to ask what you do for Mr. Jones. You’re an accountant, yes?”

  “Yes, that’s right. I’ve worked there for the past four years.”

  Chris nibbled her tongue, nodding once. “And in that time, you have grown close to Mr. Jones?”

  Maya laughed nervously, but the sound was fake. “Yes. The company doesn’t have a policy against employees dating so long as it doesn’t interfere with our work. It didn’t last very long, though. Tim is a very business-oriented man.”

  “Some would say that’s a good quality in a man.”

  “It is, don’t get me wrong, but I was looking for someone who was more attentive.”

  “Ask her about Salvador Ginghum,” Tim’s voice sounded in her ear.

  “And is that why you are currently with Salvador Ginghum?”

  Maya’s smile vanished completely. “I’m sorry, what?”

  Chris flipped open the file in her hand, acting as if she was reading something off the papers. “Yes or no, Ms. Thomas. I’m merely trying to understand how you function at this company. Dating two different partners—my, my, you are an ambitious woman, are you not? I would think he would be the same as Tim, as serious about his job and all.”

  “He is,” she snapped, “which is why I’m not seeing him. I’m dating his brother.”

  Chris flipped to another page containing the information on Sal. There was no mention of a brother on the sheet. “Brother? Younger or older?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I suppose not. When did you meet his brother?” she asked, unwilling to let this discovery go.

  “Chris, what are you doing?” Sarge asked in her ear.

  She ignored him and repeated her question to Maya.

  “I don’t know. When I started at the company, I guess. Why does it matter?’

  “Is his connection to Mr. Ginghum what led you to land your job? I don’t see much as far as your experience or background to land such a high-level accounting job so early.”

  That was a lie, but she wanted to push Maya’s buttons. Her hands flattened on the tabletop and her cooperative demeanor dropped with every passing second. “I interviewed with every partner to get my job. Mr. Ginghum’s brother wrote me a letter of recommendation, but only because I did some freelance accounting work for him.”

  “And what business does he run, then?”

  Maya leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her ch
est. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

  Chris snapped the folder closed. “Is that so? Ms. Thomas, if you withhold information, I will be forced to book you for obstruction of justice. Answer my question. What business does the other Mr. Ginghum run?”

  “His name is not the same as his brother’s,” she snapped then clamped her lips shut.

  Chris set the folder down and studied Maya’s change in posture and the snarl on her lips. “Then what is his name?” She shook her head, looking anywhere but at Chris. “Ms. Thomas, what is his name? Does he have anything to do with the money currently missing from Mr. Jones’ company? If you have anything to do with this embezzlement, I will find out.”

  “Like you tracked down Jeff’s killer, you mean?” Maya mocked. “That’s rich. You think you can solve this case and you couldn’t even solve the murder of your own partner.”

  The switch in personalities caught Chris off-guard. Her hands curled into fists. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, you do, just like you should know the last name of Mr. Ginghum’s brother.”

  A distant gunshot rang out in Chris’ mind followed by her screams as Jeff died in her arms. “No. No, you don’t know anything about that.”

  “Oh, but I do. I know everything and I can tell you right now, he’s far from finished—”

  Chris’ fist connected with Maya’s face before she even had a chance to finish speaking. She grabbed the woman by her shirtfront and hoisted her out of her chair, hitting her again and again as the woman struggled to fight back. They wound up on the floor, Maya scratching her nails down Chris’ cheek before they rolled back over and Chris let her have it. For Jeff and for everything that had happened to her since that horrible day.

  The door flew open behind her in what was really only seconds later and strong arms hauled her off. She kicked and flailed, struggling to get free as Maya taunted her from the floor, grinning through her bloodied face.

  “Let go of me! She knows where he is! She knows!”

  “Chris, calm the fuck down!” Sarge yelled in her ear as he and Manny dragged her away. “Stop fighting us or I’m going to deck you myself!”