Sex, Lies And Mistletoe - Tawny Weber

Tawny Weber

Sex, Lies And Mistletoe

The first book in the Undercover Operatives series, 2011

Dear Reader,

Do you believe in aphrodisiacs? I love the idea that something delicious can have a little extra punch (especially during the holidays, when there are so many yummy things around!). And when I had two reluctant characters who needed a nudge in the right direction, what else could I do but offer them something irresistible to push them over the sensual edge. In this case, that something included chocolate.

Sex, Lies and Mistletoe features two very special guests: Paulie and Bonnie, cats who live at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter. Find out about them, and all the other Blaze Authors Pet Project pets, on the Blaze Authors blog-http://blazeauthors.com. Please come by and say hi!

And if youre on the web, be sure to drop by my website at www.tawnyweber.com. While youre there, check out my members-only section with its special contests, excerpts and other fun.

Happy holidays!

Tawny Weber

Prologue

IVE MADE THE ARRANGEMENTS. Everything is in place.

As the assurance echoed through his speakerphone, Tobias Black leaned back in his Barcalounger, shifted an unlit cigar between his teeth and grinned.

That was fast. I didnt think youd pull it off.

A lie, of course.

Hed known once the challenge was issued, itd be impossible to resist. Just as hed known that the person hed challenged had the power to make it happen. Tobias Black only worked with the best. Even when the bests main goal in life had once been to arrest him.

Tobias looked at the pictures framed and fading on his study wall. A gap-toothed trio of schoolkids with wicked looks in their golden eyes and hair as black as night.

Damn, he missed them. All three had turned their backs on him eight years ago. Caleb because he rejected what his father stood for. Maya out of disappointment. And Gabriel? Tobias gave the photo of his middle child, his youngest son, a worried frown. Gabriel in fury, determined to prove that he was twice as good and twice as clever as his old man.

Theyd all felt justified in leaving.

And Tobias felt justified in bringing them back. A man spent his life building a legacy, he needed his children to hand it down to.

Youre sure you can handle your part?

Tobias laughed so hard the cigar fell from his lips. Him? Handle a part? That was like asking if the sun was gonna rise in the morning.

Ill play my part like Stevie Ray Vaughan played guitar.

Silence. Tobias rolled his eyes. Maybe it wasnt so farfetched to ask if he could handle the part if he could so easily forget who he was talking to. Let me rephrase that. Ill play my part like Babe Ruth hit the ball.

If youre not careful, cockiness could be your downfall.

Tobias almost brushed that away like an irritating bug. Then he sighed. Only a stupid man ignored a fair warning.

Theres a fine line between confidence and cockiness. Ill watch my step. He glanced at his eldest sons photo. Caleb will take the bait. He wont want to come home, but he will. Loyalty is practically his middle name.

You think hes loyal to you after all these years?

To me? Absolutely not. And that hurt like hell, but it was the price Tobias paid for ignoring his kids to feed his own ego. But hes loyal to Black Oak.

Tobias was gambling everything on Caleb caring about Black Oak. A small town in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Black Oak was in many ways the same as when itd been founded a hundred years ago. A quaint and friendly community.

And now it had a drug problem. Tobias might have no problem skirting the law-or hell, laughing in its face-but he was a man who had zero tolerance for drugs. Especially when those drugs were being dealt in a way that conveniently pointed the finger his way.

It would be smarter to let the locals deal with the drug problem. If the evidence kept pointing at Tobias, they could be more easilyinfluenced. Because the sad truth was, there were still a few outstanding crimes that Tobias could be arrested for, with the right evidence. And there were hints that whoever was pulling off this drug ring had access to the right evidence. So bringing the feds in was a huge risk.

Someone was framing him. And they had enough dirt to do the job well. And it looked as if they were planning it all here in Black Oak.

That little bit of info he wouldnt share with the feebies.

Because he knew he had to offer up a big enough lure to get the FBIs attention, but not so big that theyd insist on coming in and playing it their way.

He wanted control of this venture.

This is a huge undertaking, Black. All indications are that the drugs moving into Black Oak are yours. And now youre planning to play your family, who know you well enough to see the game. Youre talking about playing a townful of people, many of whom depend on you. And more important, youre going to have to play the FBI, who, as a general rule, want nothing more than to arrest you.

He wanted to point out that hed played them all, quite successfully, many times before. But bragging was rude. More important, ego was the first nail in the coffin of a good con.

And your point is? he asked instead.

My point is, youre not as young as you once were. And youve been out of the game for a while. There was a pause, then a soft sigh that made Tobiass smile drop away. Youve got a lot on the line. Are you sure youre willing to risk it all? Because if this goes bad, the FBI is going to reel you in and toss your ass in jail for a good long time.

Tobias rolled the cigar between his fingers, staring at the unlit cylinder.

He considered what hed built here in Black Oak. After a lifetime of running cons, hed settled down and gone legit five years ago. Hed been quietly making reparations over the years, but paying back a few hundred grand wasnt going to stop the FBI from nabbing him if they had a chance. He could opt out, let someone else take point. The risks were huge.

But then, so were the stakes. And every good con knew, it was the high-stakes games that were worth playing.

I can handle it.

And your kids?

Tobias sighed, pushing to his feet and pretending his bones didnt protest at stretching quickly in the damp winter chill. He tossed the cigar on his desk and strode over to stand before the pictures.

Caleb, Maya and Gabriel.

Smart kids. Good-looking, shrewd and nimble-fingered, even as little punks. Once, theyd thought hed spun the sun on the tips of his fingers and carried the moon in his back pocket. Once, theyd believed in him. Once, theyd been in his life.

Now? Now hed settle for one out of three.

I can handle it, he repeated.

And before this game was through, hed know who was behind the drugs, who was trying to set him up. Whatever fledgling crime ring was forming would be busted.

If he won, his kids would be a part of his life again.

And if he lost? At long last, his ass would be locked up in the federal pen.

But Tobias Black didnt lose.

1

DAMN SEX. IT RUINED everything.

I cant believe Im back in Black Oak. Pandora Eastons murmur was somewhere between a sigh and a groan as she dropped a dusty, musty-smelling box on the floor behind the sales counter.

No guy, no matter how good in bed, is worth losing your job, your reputation or your self-respect for, she muttered to herself as she looked around Moonspun Dreams. The morning light played through the dance of the dust motes, adding a slightly dingy air to the struggling New Age store.

Sometimes a girl just needed to come home. Especially when she didnt have a choice.

Even if that home was falling apart.

Two months ago, shed been on top of the world. An up-and-coming pastry chef for a well-known bakery in San Francisco, a gorgeous boyfriend and a strong belief that her life was-finally-pretty freaking awesome.

Then, poof, everything shed worked so hard for the last several years was gone. Destroyed. Because shed fallen for a pretty face, been conned by a smooth line, and worst of all, ruined by a good lay.

Nope. Never again.

Pandora was home now.

Which was really just freaking awesome.

With a heavy sigh, she poked one finger at the box shed rescued from next to a leaking pipe in the back room. It was unlabeled, so shed have to see what was inside before she could figure out where to put it.

To disguise the musty scent, she lit a stick of prosperity incense. Then Pandora rubbed a speck of dust off a leaf on the braided money tree shed brought in this morning to decorate the sales counter, and tidied a row of silken soy wax candles with embedded rose petals.

Not a bad display from a recently fired bakery manager, she commented to Bonnie.

Bonnie just cocked her head to one side, but didnt comment. Since she was one of the two store cats, Pandora hadnt expected much response. Probably a good thing, since the last thing Pandoras ego needed was anyone, human or feline, to point out all the crazy reasons for her thinking returning home to start her life over was going to work.

The cats, like the rest of Moonspun Dreams, were now Pandoras responsibility. She was excited about the felines. But the jury was still out on the quirky New Age store thatd been in Pandoras family for decades. The very store Pandora had wanted to get away from so badly, shed left town the day after shed graduated high school.

Before she could settle into a good pout, the bells rang over the front door. Bringing a bright smile and a burst of fresh air, Kathy Andrews hurried in. One hand held a bakery bag, the other a vat-size cup of coffee.

Im here to celebrate, Kathy sang out. She stepped over the black puddle of fur that was Paulie the cat sunning himself on the braided carpet, and waltzed across the scarred wooden floor.

What are we celebrating?

That youre back in Black Oak. That youre taking over the family store. Not just for the month your mom is in Sedona for that psychic convention, but for good. And, more important, we need to celebrate the news that your best friend had some really great sex last night.

Pandora exchanged looks with Bonnie. There it was, sex again. But this was Kathys sex. It wasnt as if that could mess Pandoras life up.

Im not so sure having to come home because I failed out there in the big bad world is an excuse to party, Pandora said with a rueful laugh as she took the bakery bag and peeked inside. Ooh, my favorite. Mrs. Raes éclairs. I thought shed retired.