We dont start serving until eleven, Pandora said, glancing at the clock shaped like a cat wearing a wizard hat. Most of the food was already prepped and ready in the kitchen, but she still needed to put the finishing touches on the asparagus salad and whip a fresh bowl of cream. Thats an hour away.
I know, but Ive had three people ask if wed consider it. They need to be other places but really want your saffron chicken special.
Itd be cool to bump up our income with an extra hour of lunch, Pandora mused, glancing at the beaded doorway leading to the café. But I dont think we can. The store is too busy, I cant afford for one of us off the floor that much longer.
Maybe we should hire holiday help? Fifi said, her voice lifting in excitement. I mean, even if its only for the holidays. Things are so busy now, we could use another set of hands. I have a friend whod be great. Russ. Youve met him, right? He could come in during café hours. Maybe just until the new year when things slow down again?
Hire help? Pandora bit her lip. What did she know about choosing employees? Fifi had worked at the store off and on for years, so it hadnt been as if Pandora had hired her so much as rehired her. But someone totally new? With her lousy judgment in people? She shuddered.
You remember Russ? Kinda geeky guy whos been hanging around the store the last few weeks. Hes a nice guy. Sweet and great at math, Fifi prodded. Want me to give him a call?
Pandora took a deep breath, looking around again. Her stomach was churning and she wanted to go hide in the office, make a list of pros and cons and debate the idea for a few hours.
But Fifi and Kathy were giving her expectant looks, and she had a store to run.
Sure, she decided. Then realizing that she needed to be a businesswoman, not a wimp, she added, Ill talk to him and see if I think hed fit in well here at Moonspun Dreams.
Oh, I think he will. Hes fascinated by all things mystical and really wants to learn, Fifi said with an excited clap of her hands. And he knows a lot of people. So Im sure hell be talking up the store and how great youre doing here, too.
Great, Pandora thought. Someone else talking about her. Just what she needed.
CALEB STRETCHED OUT on his hotel bed, staring in satisfaction at his stockinged feet. When the hell was the last time hed taken a nap, let alone lounged around without his boots on?
Always being properly shod was a necessary component of always being ready to run. And hed spent the past eight years, hell, his entire life, actually, ready to hit the road at a moments notice.
A job gone wrong. A drugged-out dealer breaking in to kill him. A fight with one of his siblings. One of his dads cons turning sour. All required footwear.
Wasnt it just a little ironic that the first taste hed had of the ultimate deliciousness that was Pandora, hed had his boots on? Or maybe it was some kind of cosmic payback for all his years of running.
He was still grinning a sappy, dork-ass grin when his cell rang.
Black, he answered.
Report?
Happy holidays, Hunter. Hows the shopping coming along? Do you feebies do the secret Santa thing? Or do you buy for the entire task force? If so, dont forget my favorite color is gray.
Not black?
Too obvious.
Something you never are.
Exactly.
Are we finished?
Caleb considered the white cotton of his stocking-clad toes for a few seconds, then nodded.
Yep, sure. Were finished. Whats up?
Im calling for your status report.
Is this how you handle your minions? Formal report requests? This businesslike tone that says, Dude, Im in charge!?
Is this how you talk to your superiors? With total disregard for authority? Your smart-ass mouth running on fast-forward?
Caleb wiggled his toes, then nodded. Yep. Guess thats why they arent crying too hard over me retiring, huh?
I have trouble believing you actually think you can retire, Hunter said, now sounding more like Calebs old roommate and beer buddy than an uptight FBI agent. Youre an adrenaline junky. You might be sick of the streets, but youre not going to be able to give up the job. Not totally.
Calebs toes werent looking so appealing anymore. Tension, as familiar as his own face, shot through his shoulders as he swung his feet to the floor.
I could get used to not having people shoot at me. Im thinking Id like a life spent not dealing with strung-out hookers and South American drug lords with their zombie army of addicts.
Youd just let them all go free?
Im not the only guy out there, Hunter. Therere plenty of DEA agents who can bring them down.
As good as you?
Of course not.
Neither of them were kidding, Caleb knew. Hunter, because he didnt know how. And himself, because, well, he was damn good. But that didnt mean he wasnt finished.
Whatd you call for? he asked, not willing to keep circling the same useless point hed already discussed with his boss four times since hed hit Black Oak for his fake vacation.
Just what I said. Im calling for your report.
No, youre not. Youre not a micromanager. If I had something to report, Id have called you myself. And you know that. So whats the deal?
The other mans hesitation was a physical thing. If hed been in the room, Caleb knew hed see the calculation in his old friends eyes as he decided the best way to handle the situation. Good ole Hunter, always strategizing.
Your father has some odd activity going on. A lot of major part orders, hiring a couple guys with dealing records, parties in the shop after hours.
Stonefaced, Caleb analyzed that info as objectively as possible. Then he shrugged. Its the holidays-from what Ive heard, he has a lot of big holiday orders. He probably needs mechanics to meet them, and isnt that picky about their backgrounds.
Hes dating some hottie in town. She was in your sisters graduating class.
Wincing, Caleb hunched his shoulders. Just when he thought his father couldnt embarrass him anymore
So my old man is snacking on a Twinkie. So what?
You know sex is one of the prime motivators. Have you checked this woman out?
Im not checking out my fathers old lady.
In the first place, the idea was gross. In the second, it would up the chances that hed actually have to speak with his father. In the week hed been in town, hed managed to duck the guys calls and avoid actually being in the same breathing space. He was calling it deep undercover. So deep, he wasnt even coming into contact with the suspect.
Shes the stepdaughter of a known South American dealer. Shes reputed to be estranged from her family, but the connection cant be ignored.
Lilah Gomez?
God, this was like some twisted soap opera. Striding over to the window, Caleb shoved his hand through his hair. This day had started out so nice. Incredible sex, a woman who filled his head with crazy thoughts of tomorrow and, dammit, relaxing in his stocking feet.
You know her?
He wasnt about to admit that after that first day when he hadnt recognized her, shed gone on to hit on him three more times since hed come to town. He grimaced. Especially since that he didnt know if her thing with his father was new or not.
She and my sister were tight growing up. They hung out, had sleepovers, that kind of thing. Then Lilah went over to the wild side, and she and Maya went their separate ways.
Caleb waited, but Hunter didnt say anything about Lilahs current sleepover choices. And that, friends, was why he was still Calebs best buddy.
Look, Im sorry, Hunter said instead.
Staring out the window at the frosty cold coating the bare tree branches, Caleb grunted.
Id hoped youd find someone else. Another suspect or connection.
Even if my old mans acting like a hound dog, theres still nothing to tie him to this, Caleb argued.
Theres nothing to point the finger in any other direction, Hunter rebutted. Is there?
Caleb sighed. The case is moving slow. Ive been connecting my way up the food chain. Im cozying up to one of the midlevel dealers. He knows names, clearly has the inside track. But hes not sharing. Yet.
Any hint about whos on top?
Any hint about whos on top?
Caleb grimaced. These guys are cocky, sure they are untouchable. So its someone with pull. Someone who can influence the law.
He waited, but again, Hunter didnt take the obvious opening. Gotta love the guy.
I saw one of the couriers last night from a distance. Hes familiar. As soon as I figure out where Ive seen him before, Ill have the break we need.
Youve seen him on another case?
Caleb thought back to the brown shaggy hair, all hed been able to identify from two blocks away. No, hes local. Ill do the rounds again, figure it out.
Good job, Hunter said. In the meantime, I have a remote, wildly impossible thread that if tugged could disintegrate instantly.
Sounds promising.
He could handle delicate. Hell, if it meant keeping his old man out of jail, he could handle delicate while juggling porcelain and wearing roller skates.
Intel shows that a new citizen to Black Oak has some connections. A relationship with a pharmacist busted for a prescription scam. She was implicated but skated.
So why are you grudging after my old man? Why arent you pounding on her door instead?
In the first place, its not a grudge. Your old man has a record longer than I am tall.
A record of suspicions. No convictions.
Minor detail.
Major legality.
Whatever, Hunter dismissed. And in the second place, while there is enough here to warrant a first glance, its pretty much a waste of a second look. Other than this one relationship, the woman has a spotless rep. No record, no connections, no history to support drug suspicions.
Once is all it takes. Especially if that once was the hook he needed to prove his old mans innocence. Just because he had issues with his upbringing, a lack of respect for his fathers choices and a whole lot of pent-up anger toward the past, that didnt mean he wanted the old man in jail.
Look, give me the name and Ill look into it, he told Hunter.
Even though the sigh was silent, Caleb knew his friend heaved one. Patience with avoidance had never been the guys strong suit.
Fine. Check on a Pandora Easton. Ill email you the deets of her record.
Sucker punched, stars swirled in front of his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. Caleb had been in bed with a pole dancer once, both of them buck naked and sweaty, when shed pulled a gun on him. To this day, he had no idea where itd come from.