Harper slept fitfully, a certain blonde invading his dreams whenever he drifted off. He woke up each time in a cold sweat with a raging erection.
Why couldn’t he shake her?
Her reaction last night had been downright rage. She thought—no, she knew—she was clean.
He couldn’t ever really know the truth. He had to choose to believe her. He had to have faith in his heart that she would not lie about this.
When his alarm went off at seven a.m., he felt like he’d spent the night in a torture chamber—physically and emotionally exhausted and in pain.
He was still lying in bed when his cell phone buzzed at seven thirty on the dot. Larry.
“What’s the word, Lar?”
“I don’t know a whole lot yet. I won’t be able to do any thorough investigation until I come down there, but here’s what I was able to uncover overnight. I was able to hack into their mainframe and the first security level. Still don’t have access to the real good stuff. I can tell you that Rachel’s definitely does some shady business on the side, including the web site you told me about. They’ve also done some smuggling. Some of their women are illegals who do more than just dance, if you get my drift.”
Harper got the drift all right. “Are they in league with Donetto?”
“Not from what I can tell. In fact, it doesn’t look like Donetto even knows what they’re up to. If he did, he’d want his piece for sure.”
Hmm. Good. Harper could use that.
“The manager, Leon, seems to be innocent. I couldn’t find him associated with any of the underground dealings. The woman, Marta, is originally from Austria. She’s not a U.S. citizen, but she’s here legally and has a green card.”
“When did she come over?”
“About ten years ago. She married a cowboy but they divorced two years later. Might have been a marriage of convenience, who knows? But it was never questioned. After her marriage failed, she found work at Rachel’s.”
“Can we tie her to the shady stuff?”
“Not yet. She does pose for other sites, though. I’ll e-mail you the URLs.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“You want some advice?” Larry asked.
“Sure. What the hell.”
“Bring the cops in on this. These people are most likely dangerous.”
“You just said Donetto’s not involved.”
“I said from what I can tell, he’s not involved. Paul Donetto’s not the only dangerous man in San Antonio.”
Harper threw the comforter off and sat up in bed. “Point taken. Thanks, Lar.”
“I won’t be able to get out there for a few days. I’ve got stuff going on.”
“Yeah, I know. I understand. Keep doing what you’re doing. If you find anything new, give me a call.”
“Will do.”
Harper clicked off his phone, rose, and started the shower.
Amber’s image popped into his mind. Amber’s platinum hair falling in soft waves over her milky shoulders. Amber’s full red lips, swollen from his kisses. Amber’s hard nipples, pink and wanting, her skin silky smooth under his tongue.
Amber’s wetness on his fingers, sweet and tangy as he brought them to his mouth.
He sighed and turned the faucet to cold.