Claire turned to leave, and it took everything in him not to slap her butt as she went.
Claire and Jax left the school together and sat in on a conference call while they drove to their Tarzana home.
“Just the bullet points, team. It’s been a long day for all of us. There’s a full report in your inboxes.” Neil took a breath and continued. “Eastman kept the conversation with Sasha Claire-centric. Nothing incriminating. The entire conversation is on audio file for you to go over. When Sasha left the school, Eastman followed her like he’d been trained to do so. She drove home, changed, and left for her long haul with a layover. Eastman then followed her to the airport until she turned into the extended stay parking lot. He waited for over an hour before he left. As you will hear in the audio file, Sasha set up that Claire was spending the long weekend with a friend until she came home.”
Claire turned to Jax. “Yes!” she said in a forceful whisper. She couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed.
“Isaac followed Brian to the strip mall where he disappeared inside a mailbox location and stayed for two hours. He left with Gorge and continued to the Sanders home, where they’re still located.”
“Any other activity at that house we should know about?”
“Nothing that isn’t expected. We’ve planted a front driveway surveillance camera for now and will increase if needed.”
Claire rolled her head back in her seat, thankful Jax was driving.
“Any new details on your end that we may have missed?” Neil asked.
“You saw what I did all day,” Cooper said from his car.
“Claire?”
“I played high school athlete. Nothing new on the field.”
“Jax, your audio wasn’t ideal. We will change the setup in the future. Anything to report?”
“Elsie wants to break up with her boyfriend, but is afraid she won’t have a prom date.” Jax turned to Claire and giggled. “I asked her about algebra and her tutor, but she didn’t offer a name. I’m not sure if that was by design or indifference. Ally was grounded for a party she went to the night before. When I started asking about the party, her grandmother got on her phone and said Ally’s phone privileges were revoked until further notice. I’ll get more information when we’re back in school.”
“Okay . . .”
Claire waited for the words Have a nice weekend.
“Jax, enjoy your weekend.”
“Oh, no.” All Claire wanted right now was a stiff drink, a bathtub, and a good night’s sleep.
“Claire, Cooper, there is a five a.m. charter flight at LAX with your names on it.”
Suddenly sleep didn’t sound so needed. “The Bahamas?” Claire asked.
Neil was silent when he was annoyed.
Claire filled that silence with images of a beach and sand . . . and Cooper finding second base.
“Seattle. Marie Nickerson showed back up.”
The Bahamas dream would have to wait. Claire sat forward. “Is she in jail?”
“She’s in a hospital. In protective custody. They have her under the name Hope Boyer to throw off anyone looking for her. Claire, I need you to interview her as a PI, so bring your identification. Cooper, I need you to keep Claire safe. You both know the players we’ve identified. If any of them are seen, your identities need to change, so bring backup ID and any disguise you need to go with them. All other travel details will be on the plane.”
“Hey, Boss?” Cooper started.
“Yeah.”
“This protective custody, is this Warren’s doing?”
“Yes. He’s working with the commander in the precinct Marie was found. A detective in homicide will meet you at the hospital.”
“Did she kill someone?” Claire asked.
“No, but someone nearly killed her after taking two other young lives. The commander is giving us and Warren a shot before he takes this to the feds.”
“Has anyone interviewed her yet?”
“She’s not talking. I’m hoping you can change that, Claire.”
“Copy that.”
“Be safe. No unnecessary risks.” Neil disconnected the call.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Cooper pulled into Claire’s driveway long before the sun even thought of coming up.
Dim lights were on inside the house, and Claire’s silhouette filtered through the closed drapes. Much as he didn’t like the thought of working, or the danger level of that work, he couldn’t be happier to be at her side.
He cut the engine and walked through the misty morning to her front door and knocked.
“Almost ready,” she said in a low voice after letting him in. Claire walked back toward the kitchen.
He followed her into the quiet house, mindful that Jax was probably as dead tired as they were.
Claire buzzed around the kitchen, pulled down two travel mugs, and proceeded to fill them with coffee. “I’m going to need a gallon of this today,” she pointed out.
Cooper simply watched her with unabashed joy.
She wore tan linen pants with a cream silk blouse. She had heels on her feet, but not the sky-high ones she wore when going to a club. Her hair was down, but styled more like Claire the PI and not Claire the high school senior. And her perfume . . . He’d forgotten the scent but remembered it now. She hadn’t worn it in his presence since before the assignment started. It wasn’t floral, or some essential-oil type thing. It smelled like the dark woods on a moonlit night with just a hint of jasmine musk.
“Boy, I’m tired.” She turned around and stopped with his stare.
Cooper stepped forward, took both mugs from her hands, and set them on the counter before pulling her into his arms. He pressed his lips to hers and savored the softness of them. So much strength in every inch of her body, but here, like this, she wilted and let him hold her.
He enjoyed her kiss for as long as he could without turning a morning greeting into more.
When he pulled away, her eyes fluttered open, and that frantic woman who was busy working her way out of the house was replaced with dreamy eyes and a giant sigh. “Good morning,” she whispered.
“I wish we were going to the Bahamas.”
“Me too.”
He handed her back one of the filled mugs and took the other for himself.
Claire set the house alarm and locked the door behind them.
After she was safely tucked into the passenger seat, Cooper pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the airport.
She sipped her coffee and slowly started to wake up. “Did you get any sleep?” she asked him.
“Yeah, but not enough.”
“What are the chances of Neil giving us a charter with a bedroom?”
Cooper laughed. “Slim to none.”
She reached over and placed her hand on his arm as if she’d done so a thousand times. He wondered if she knew just what that did to him. She started to laugh softly.
“What?”
“I remember the first time Neil put me on a private plane. We were headed back from London. I remember the plane being huge. Bedroom in the back, big reclining seats in the main cabin with a giant TV, and a sofa equipped with seatbelts. It was impressive. Sasha and AJ were this bundle of sexual frustration. When they went in the bedroom, I put my headphones on in case they were loud.” She laughed at the memory. “They didn’t do anything. Or if they did . . . AJ was much too quick for Sasha to have stayed with the man.”