Courting Gossip. Kimberly Dean

warning radar went off. He knew that voice. It was the one she used when she was wheedling to get her way. He’d yet to see a man who could fight the call of the siren, but he was at least onto her. He looked for her purse as he tried to figure out what she was up to.

      An officer handed her the leather bag, and Brody’s forehead furrowed when she carried it directly to the detective. Morgan opened it to check it. The police couldn’t let people go off on their own when a scene wasn’t secured, but, instead of letting the detective paw through her things, she deliberately spilled the contents onto the bed.

      ‘Here, allow me.’

      ‘Jenny,’ Brody choked out.

      She didn’t even hesitate in opening her pocketbook.

      He let out a long breath when understanding dawned. Brilliant. The woman was freaking brilliant. She didn’t have any cash on her. Even with a video recording of her and the senator’s actions, nobody could prove that money had exchanged hands. He’d worried about how to squash that part of the story, but she’d just effectively made it a moot point for Metro PD. All they had evidence for was the break-in. Anything more was conjecture.

      From the looks of Detective Morgan, he didn’t go for that.

      ‘Oh, there it is,’ she said sweetly as she picked up a tube of lipstick. ‘This is all I needed.’

      She swished by everyone in her over-large robe and knelt to pick up the black bra that Brody hadn’t been able to ignore. He stared at the floor and shook his head. He couldn’t believe it. After everything that had gone down tonight, she’d found a way to effectively squash what could have been the worst of it.

      That was supposed to be his job.

      He rubbed the back of his neck. If the senator had had to pick an escort, at least he’d chosen one who was smarter than all of them – although he doubted the senator had chosen her for her brain.

      Not saying a word, he went to the bed and began shoving her things back into the purse.

      When she came back into the room, Brody stared at her like all the rest of the men in the place. The little black dress covered her in all the right spots. It was short and simple, but with her curves it turned into something else. She actually looked sexier fully dressed than she had in that skin-flaunting robe.

      His lips tightened. There was no way he was going to fly her out of here under the radar. Men three floors down were stirring in their sleep, sensing a redheaded bombshell in the vicinity.

      The senator passed along her shoes. ‘Here, darling.’

      Brody simmered. Every time the man called her that, it scraped against his last nerve.

      ‘Let’s go,’ Gunderson said.

      As much as Brody was down with that idea, he wasn’t ready. They were missing one important detail. His jaw set as he stepped to the bed. He fluffed the covers and looked underneath them. He wasn’t going to leave without them.

      ‘Hey,’ Morgan snapped.

      Brody ignored him as he searched alongside the bed. He found what he was looking for under the nightstand. A little scrap of black silk. Jenny’s panties. He swept them up and jammed them into his pocket. He was not leaving that kind of evidence behind for anyone to use.

      ‘That video,’ he said, his voice clipped. ‘Anything beyond the breaking and entering portion is not to be used.’

      Morgan slowly cocked his head. ‘I just collect the evidence. It’s up to the DA how to use it.’

      Brody heard the ‘fuck you’ in the answer, but he didn’t give a shit. Genieve was on that tape. Incidentally, so was his client. He was going to get it back, one way or the other.

      The detective met his stare. ‘Ms Hart,’ he said calmly. ‘Do you need a ride home?’

      The vein in Brody’s neck bulged. ‘I’ll get her to safety.’

      The detective’s eyebrows rose.

      Think of it what he would, they were done here. Without a word, Brody turned. For once, his client picked up on the message he was sending. With his arm around Genieve’s waist, the senator guided her out of the hotel room. Brody walked at their side as they headed down the hallway. Cops, hotel staff and a few hotel guests stopped to watch. Gunderson was talking softly to his date, apologising to her and asking if she was truly all right.

      Brody’s gaze dropped down to where the senator was caressing her hip.

      ‘You,’ he snapped at a man in a green jacket that matched the carpeting.

      The manager stepped back, sensing danger.

      Brody reached into his pocket. ‘The senator appreciates your people providing aid tonight, but you need to assure me that your hotel values discretion as much as they do their guests’ safety.’

      He handed the man a large folded-up bill. ‘Because we both know it was your lack of security measures that let those men into that room.’

      He teased the bill away. ‘The room of a US senator and his girlfriend.’

      The hotel manager nodded like a bobble-headed doll. ‘Yes. Yes, sir. We understand each other perfectly.’

      He tucked the money away, and Brody caught up with his problem client just as the doors of the elevator were closing. He stopped them and pushed them back open. ‘Wrong way.’

      They followed him down to the other end of the hallway to the freight elevator. It was quiet and out of the way, but the ride down was tense.

      ‘Brody, I—’

      ‘Not here,’ he said sharply. He and the senator would have lots of words about this later, but not here.

      They arrived on the ground floor. Avoiding the lobby, he led them to the side entrance to the hotel. The car he’d called for the senator was waiting at the curb. ‘That’s for you, Samuel.’

      Gunderson rubbed his hand up and down Genieve’s side, tucking her up close. ‘Let’s get you home, darling.’

      ‘No.’ Brody caught her by the elbow, and her big green eyes turned on him. ‘She’s with me.’

      Gunderson’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

      ‘Go home and don’t take any calls,’ Brody instructed. ‘I’ll contact you in the morning with instructions on how to handle this.’

      The senator nodded. The moon had lowered on the horizon and his hair looked grey now instead of silver. His adrenalin was waning and the stress of the night showed in the drooping set of his shoulders.

      He patted Genieve’s waist. ‘Brody knows best, darling.’

      Brody drew her away. ‘My car’s down here.’

      ***

      Genieve hesitated, digging in her heels. Wait. What had just happened? ‘I’m coming with you?’

      ‘Yes, and tonight, if you don’t mind. I’d like to be gone by the time the real reporters show up.’

      But…but…she was going to be alone with him?

      She looked at his stern, handsome face until the light finally came on in her tired brain. Of course. He wanted to yell at her and tell her how this was all her fault. But no…Brody didn’t yell. He frowned and scowled and clenched his fists a lot. She always knew something was up when his fingers started tapping.

      Like they’d been tapping when she’d been talking with the detective…

      The senator’s car pulled away from the curb, and the decision was made for her. If she didn’t want to get left behind, she’d better get walking.

      Her heels sounded loud on the sidewalk as Brody led her down the block. His hand was warm on her arm, and he felt tall beside her. Tall and