Page 33 of Romancing the Rumrunner
Tony watched her closely, not sure if she was being honest or not. Was she trying to protect him? He couldn’t figure her out. She dallied with mobsters, but seemed so innocent. She had every reason to mistrust him yet she was admitting she’d been sent by the Phoenix.
Then again, he didn’t see how shecouldknow anything else about him. She obviously didn’t know he was working for the Feds or she wouldn’t be sitting beside him. Nor would she have allowed him to take such liberties. Just the thought of that kiss had him fighting the urge to haul her against him and finish what he’d started. But that course of action seemed even more unwise in light of what she’d just told him. His little Miss Harlan wasn’t exactly as she seemed.
Still, he didn’t like that she was in the middle of all this. She shouldn’t be the pawn in a game she had no business being in. And playing both sides was a good way to double her chances of getting hurt.
“He can’t be happy if that’s all you’ve told him.”
Jessie shrugged again. “That’s all I know. Why do you care if the Phoenix is happy or not?”
Tony stared at her, unsure of how to answer. He wasn’t sure himself why he cared so much. But he did.
He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I don’t want you in danger.”
For a sweet moment, she closed her eyes and leaned her face against his palm. His heart clenched at the sight. And when she turned slightly so her lips barely brushed against his skin, he wanted nothing more than to bury his fingers in her hair and pull her to him so he could taste that sweet mouth.
“There’s no help for that now,” she said quietly, drawing away from him.
She was right. She’d made her bed, as they say, and now she’d have to live with the consequences. She couldn’t associate with criminals and expect to come away unscathed.
But for the first time, Tony wished that circumstances were different. That he could somehow get the information he needed without using her. Find a way to get her out of the whole mess. Away from the Phoenixandthe Feds. Before it was too late.
Chapter Eleven
Jessie threw herself face down on her bed and groaned into her pillow. Maude perched on the end of the mattress, filing her nails. She waited until Jessie came up for air before she zinged her with, “I told you so.”
Jessie glared at her. “That’s incredibly unhelpful.”
Maude shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got for you, ducky. I’m not sure what you expected to happen.”
“Well I didn’t expect that I’d…that he’d…that I…”
Maude laughed. “That you’d like him?”
Jessie did another face dive into her pillows. When she flipped onto her back, Maude was still patiently filing her nails and watching her.
“I don’t like him,” Jessie said.
Maude snorted.
“I don’t!”
“Then what is all this about?” Maude asked, waving at Jessie with her nail file. “Women do not act like this over men who mean nothing to them. Mind you, I don’t blame you one bit. He is the absolute cat’s meow. If I’d have seen him first, I’d have abandoned you and The Red Phoenix and hightailed it over to The Corkscrew the first chance I got.”
Jessie ignored her, knowing her friend didn’t mean it. Or only half meant it, anyway. Maude loved handsome men and wasn’t shy about who knew it. And Tony was definitely handsome.
Jessie flung her arm over her eyes. “You know he only wants me in his club so he can get information on the Phoenix.”
Maude shrugged. “You only took the job because you wanted information on him. Fair’s fair, I say.”
Jessie knew she had no right to be mad at Tony for doing what she was doing herself, but still, it stung to think he might only be interested in her for what she knew about the Phoenix.
“What is it?” Maude pressed again.
“I don’t know,” Jessie sighed.
“He’s not Mario, doll. You can’t judge every man by that piece of filth.”
Jessie jerked up at the mention of her ex’s name. “I know that. And I’m not, I swear. But…It’s just…it doesn’t seem like that’s all he wants. I mean, he does ask me about the Phoenix, but sometimes, I swear that…that he…”
