Page 36 of Romancing the Rumrunner
“Doesn’t seem like you are doing the job you were hired for out there, either.”
Tony glared at him, angry that there was more than a little truth to that. Jameson exhaled and leaned back, crossing his hands over his stomach. “Fine.”
Tony stood to go but Jameson stopped him. “Just a minute. There’s one other matter we need to discuss.”
Tony sat back down and linked his fingers over his chest, waiting for Jameson to get to the point. Jameson pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it in front of him. Tony glanced at it but didn’t pick it up.
“Care to explain why you spent almost $100 on a bunch of dresses?”
Tony kept his amusement to himself. He’d wondered when Jameson would bring it up. “I thought I was free to use the money at my disposal as I saw fit.”
Jameson’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “To a point. That money is only to be used to maintain your cover, to keep the speakeasy running.”
“I hired a new singer for the club. She needed something to wear.”
Jameson’s eyebrow twitched. “That’s quite a few somethings.”
“If my club is going to be popular enough to rival The Red Phoenix, then we need to step up our game. We’ll never draw the Phoenix out unless we make this look realistic.”
Jameson downed the rest of his coffee, his patience for the subject obviously at an end. Tony stood to go but Jameson’s voice stopped him again.
“Wait. Who is this singer you’ve hired?”
Tony inwardly swore. He’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to divulge Jessie’s identity just yet. He turned around, braced himself for Jameson’s explosion, and said, “Jessica Harlan.”
“Excuse me?”
Tony didn’t repeat himself. Jameson had heard.
Jameson threw a few bills on the table and stood. “Well, that’s one way of keeping her close to you. That’s one hell of a large development and a definite stride in the right direction. You didn’t think it important enough to mention to me?”
Jameson’s voice was low, controlled, but that didn’t fool Tony. The man was probably two seconds away from popping a few holes in him. And understandably so. But Tony had his reasons for wanting to keep Jessie a secret. Reasons he didn’t intend to share with Jameson.
“I didn’t want to say anything until I had something concrete to tell you. She’s only just started and I haven’t been able to gather any information from her yet. I’m not so sure she knows anything at all. She works all day in that butcher shop, and from what I can gather, she rarely ventures out at night. If she’s still the Phoenix’s broad, which I’m beginning to doubt, then they are awfully secretive about meeting.”
Jameson scowled. “Don’t let that sweet little face of hers distract you, Solomon. She knows a lot more than she’s letting on. And if she’s agreed to work for you it can only be so she can spy on you for him. Did that ever occur to you?”
Tony glared at Jameson in disgust. “Of course it did. You might not be happy with my methods at the moment, but I know what I’m doing.”
“Really? And what is it that you are doing, aside from letting the enemy in your front door?”
“We haven’t been able to draw the Phoenix out with the club’s success alone but he should be poking around by now. The Corkscrew is making a nice little dent in his bottom line, but until Jessie agreed to work at my club, there hadn’t been one incident that pointed to the Phoenix caring a whit for me stealing his clientele. Now that I’ve got Jessie, maybe we can draw him out a little faster.”
Jameson studied Tony for a moment, then finally sat back in his chair with a slow smile. “Excellent. Very smart. If he doesn’t care about you stealing his business, or his girlfriend getting romanced out from under him, maybe he’ll care if she leaves his team to work for yours. Well done. Well, far be it from me to get in your way. Carry on, Solomon.”
Tony turned and stalked out, his gut turning at the admiration in Jameson’s voice. He also shoved away the twinge of unease that crept in every time he thought of the information he did know that he wasn’t sharing. Such as the fact that the nights Jessie wasn’t at The Corkscrew were very likely the nights The Red Phoenix was up and running. Really, Jameson should have known enough to ask about that on his own. How the man had made it into the Bureau was beyond Tony. And Tony would tell him…soon.
He blew out a breath and picked up his pace, ignoring his surroundings and the people he brushed past in his hurry. In the beginning, this had all seemed like a good idea. But now…the thought of using her to get to her rum running boyfriend sat like a bad egg in the pit of his stomach. She obviously knew more about the Phoenix’s business than she wanted to let on. She’d be useful, even instrumental, in taking down the Phoenix. But while Tony knew it was the best way, the whole plan still stuck in his craw.
Especially now that things between them had escalated. He’d never intended to lay a hand on her, let alone his lips or…anything else. He might use a little romance to get what he needed every now and then, but he drew the line at seducing a girl. If he had any smarts, he’d get out now before things got worse.
No help for it now, though, and he had no choice. He’d started on this path and he would have to see it through. He just needed to make sure nothing like that little scene in the car ever happened again. Jessie was off-limits, end of story. Tony sucked in a deep breath, trying to ease the sudden tightness in his chest. The thought of never touching Jessie again, of doing his job and walking away forever, bothered him more than it should. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
Maybe a reminder of why he was doing this would make everything more palatable. He doubted it, but it was worth a shot.
Chapter Twelve
Jessie watched Tony leave the diner, followed only seconds later by Jameson. The man was an idiot. If he had any intention of keeping his connection to Tony a secret, he’d just blown it. Though the arrogant stooge probably didn’t care.
