Big Easy Temptation (4 page)

“You listened to your gut and you were right. I know my father was incapable of committing
suicide.” Now Dax had proof. “Before he died, Dad left me a letter—not a suicide note.”

She frowned. “I didn’t see anything about that in the file.”

“Because I didn’t find it until right before I had to rejoin my ship. My dad didn’t
like e-mail. He felt it was impersonal. He wrote a note asking me not to make any
judgments until we talked. He told me he had something important he wanted to tell
me and asked me to please come home so we could talk. After I really thought about
it, I realized my father wouldn’t have been contemplating suicide if he’d written
that note.”

He’d found the letter while cleaning out his father’s desk. His mother couldn’t stand
to go into the room, so it sat untouched, right down to the glass half full of Scotch
his father had been drinking. Another clue. That ridiculously expensive Scotch had
been a gift from a friend. If his father had been planning on killing himself, he
would have at least finished his damn drink. But he didn’t use that logic on Holland.
He hoped the letter would be enough.

She shrugged. “Dax, he didn’t mail it.”

At least she wasn’t calling him by his rank or last name. He would take every little
victory he could. “It was stamped and ready to go. My father didn’t make decisions
on a whim. He wouldn’t have written asking me to come home and later that night blow
his brains out. My father was a fighter.”

“The vile crime he was accused of could make anyone want to die.”

He leaned forward, looking her right in the eyes. “Holland, I want you to take everything
you know about my father and listen to your
instincts. Think about who he was when you read that file. If you can still tell me
you believe one hundred percent that he was guilty and that he killed himself, I won’t
bother you again.”

Dax would find another way to clear his father’s name. He wouldn’t stop, but he prayed
she was still the same woman he’d known before, the woman Gus and his mother believed
in.

“All right. I’ll look through it. Then we can talk. Eat your gumbo. I made a chess
pie for dessert. So tell me how the boys are doing. I haven’t talked to Zack in a
while.”

It was his cue to back off. She was going to read his file and make a judgment call.

He found it very interesting that she’d just happened to bake his favorite pie. Maybe
she hadn’t forgotten him, either. “He’s drowning himself in work, but Roman is watching
out for him. Now, if we want to change the subject to something more pleasant, I could
tell you about how Mad got his ass kicked by a Parisian prostitute last month.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, please do.”

He smiled as he started his tale, happy to make her laugh for once.

*   *   *

H
olland eased out onto her balcony, closing the door behind her as silently as possible
since she had an unexpected overnight guest. After dessert, Dax had helped her do
dishes. Afterward she’d told him to wait in the living room while she put on a pot
of coffee. She should have shown him the door because it had been almost ten, but
she’d enjoyed the evening with him. After they’d gotten the business out of the way,
he’d told her stories about his friends and talked about some of the antics of his
crew. She’d laughed and laughed.

It was the nicest evening she’d had in a long time. When she’d walked out with his
coffee, the captain had been asleep on her couch. She hadn’t had the heart to wake
him. He was likely jet-lagged as hell and probably hadn’t slept much. So she’d eased
off his shoes and covered him with a blanket.

Then she’d sat at her kitchen table with the cup of coffee and his file. And she’d
read.

Now as morning dawned, she looked out over the city. Even the Quarter was quiet. She
liked this time, right before the sun came up. The streets had been cleaned from the
nightly debauchery, and just for a moment everything seemed fresh and new again.

The sky was beginning to light with pinks and oranges as she thought about the man
sleeping on her sofa. From what she could tell, he hadn’t moved an inch. He must have
been exhausted. After reading his file, she’d tried to get some sleep herself. Instead,
she’d dreamed of him and of what might have been if she hadn’t walked away.

Holland didn’t regret it exactly. She liked her life. It was filled with good work
and good people, so why did she feel restless the minute she thought of Daxton Spencer?
Why did she want more simply because he walked through her door?

“Do you ever think about it?” he asked behind her suddenly.

It was as though her thoughts had awakened him. Holland hadn’t heard him open the
door, but now she could sense him behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know
he would look adorable slightly rumpled. It wouldn’t make him any less sexy.

“Yes.” She knew what he was asking and she didn’t bother to prevaricate.

He moved in behind her, cupping her shoulders with his warm, solid hands. She wanted
nothing more than to lean back into the strength of his body. “I think about it all
the time, Holland. Why did you run away from me?”

“I wasn’t ready for anything serious,” she replied honestly. “I also wasn’t sure I
could handle your lifestyle.”

“The military lifestyle? You grew up in it.”

She didn’t turn to look at him because this conversation had grown so intimate so
quickly. “Yes. I watched my mom pine for my father every day until she died. I then
watched my father turn bitter and angry because he didn’t get the life he’d been promised.
He was
supposed to work hard and then one day he could come home and be with her. But she
wasn’t around for the good part. Regardless, she never complained. I guess some women
are built for life as a military wife. I’m not.”

Dax turned her to face him. He’d taken off his dress shirt and stood there wearing
a tight tee that clung to his every bulging muscle, along with his khaki pants from
the night before. She’d been right. He looked rumpled and adorable and delicious all
at once. He’d definitely filled out, and she couldn’t help but sneak a peek at his
sculpted, bronzed shoulders. He practically made her mouth water.

“That’s ridiculous,” he shot back with a shake of his head. “When two people want
each other, they work it out. Holland, I’ve never stopped wanting you.”

She had to smile. “Even when you were dating that supermodel?”

He sighed. “She needed a date to an awards show. Mad and Gabe were escorting her friends.
I happened to be in town so I agreed to help out.”

He’d looked gorgeous in his dress whites escorting the stunning model to the Oscars.
The pictures had been everywhere, and she’d felt a truly illogical tug of jealousy.
“So it was just a favor and you didn’t sleep with her or anything.”

Even in the low light of dawn, she could see the way he flushed. “I haven’t been a
saint, but then, you walked away from me.”

And he’d walked into the arms of god only knew how many women. This was another facet
of his life she wasn’t sure she could handle. He would always have women hitting on
him, trying to tempt him. The fact that he had a girlfriend or a wife would simply
make them try harder.

“I wasn’t judging you, Spencer. I was simply pointing out that our lifestyles couldn’t
be more different. You date supermodels and actresses. I date cops.”

When she dated at all.

He shook his head. “Yes, you date cops. Many of whom used to be
military. I find it funny that seven years have passed and we’re right back to where
we started. Except this time, there’s nowhere to run. I’m going to be around, Holland.”

Oh, but she was still safe from him. “Yes. You’re going to be around and I’m going
to be investigating your father’s death, so now we have a conflict of interest. We’re
not going to date and I’m not going to kiss you again.”

She knew what that would lead to and she wasn’t sure she could afford the price to
her heart. He might stay around for a while, but he would ship out again and she would
be alone. That arrangement might work with another man. She might be able to live
in the moment and enjoy the time they had together. But she would always want more
from Dax Spencer.

His eyes lit up. “You read the file.”

“I did and I’m not promising anything except that I’ll ask a few questions and see
what I can come up with.”

Dax was right. No one had put much work into the case. Holland tended to think it
was because the whole office had been sidetracked by the whirlwind of the press at
the time. When the thick of the story had blown over, there had been no reason to
further investigate. Admiral Spencer had been dead, and dragging his family through
more mud seemed both unnecessary and unkind.

But so many loose threads and coincidences made her uneasy. Too many skirted this
case. One of the two main witnesses was dead. The second had been shipped out almost
immediately following the admiral’s suicide. And the girl at the center of everything
was missing—and had been since almost the beginning.

How could she not be suspicious?

And when she’d really thought about the admiral, truly listened to her instincts,
she had to agree that he hadn’t seemed like a man capable of killing himself in that
manner.

“You’re making the right call.”

She could practically feel the satisfaction pouring off him. “I
thought about everything you said and it stirred up something I’d forgotten. Something
Gus told me afterward.”

His jaw tightened. “Gus found him. I wish she hadn’t seen that.”

“But he would have known that Gus would be the one to find him,” she pointed out.
“His office was set back far enough that it’s possible no one would have heard the
gunshot.”

Dax nodded. “Dad often worked late at night. Mom can be a light sleeper. He had the
office insulated so he could play music, regardless of the hour. He preferred Chopin
and Liszt. He didn’t like quiet. I think he spent too much time on ships. The quiet
bugged him.”

“Gus told me that was why she’d found the scene so eerie before she even stepped into
the room. His office had been quiet. She told me that she’d taken to bringing him
coffee and beignets after her morning run, at around nine. She said he and your mother
were arguing a lot so he’d been spending more time in the office. Gus had been trying
to ease him into a routine to help steady him. She was the first person he saw every
morning. And he knew that.”

“My father would never have willingly allowed his baby girl to find his body. He loved
Gus with all his heart,” Dax said passionately. “He wouldn’t hurt her like that.”

Holland agreed with him. With some cases, the devil was in the details. A good investigator
had to know how to ask the right questions of the right people, how to filter through
their emotions to find the truth. “I’m going to talk to some people I know on the
civilian side. See what they know.”

All she could really do was shake a few trees and see what fell out of them.

Dax eased toward her. “I can’t thank you enough. I knew you would listen to me.”

He was moving in too close. She stepped back, holding up a hand. “I said I would look
into it. That means we’re working together, and I don’t date where I work.”

He stopped, holding up his hands to signal that he wouldn’t push
the issue. “We don’t really work together and there’s absolutely no reason not to
explore this chemistry we have. I’ve thought about you for years. Tell me you don’t
feel the same and I’ll back off.”

She couldn’t make herself lie to him. It would be worse than admitting the truth.
“I think about you, too. But that’s my rule. You want me to look into this, I do it
my way.”

“So I get justice or you?”

So arrogant. “No. Even if I wasn’t investigating your father’s case, I probably wouldn’t
date you.”

He stared at her for a minute before the sexiest smile crossed his face. “Yeah, you
would. You wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”

“You think a lot of yourself, Spencer.”

When he grinned, he lit up the world. “That’s Captain Awesome to you, sweetheart,
and I’ll take your rules. But you should understand that I’m famous for bending the
rules from time to time.”

“And you should know I enforce them.” It was pretty much her job.

“We’ll have to agree to disagree about where we stand. For now I’ll make us some coffee.”
He stopped, his hand on the doorknob. “Did I say thank you for letting me sleep? I
haven’t slept that well in months.”

“I don’t see how you did it. You’re too big for my couch.” His feet had hung off the
side. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d thought about waking him up and taking
him to her bed. Deeming it too dangerous a prospect, she’d forced herself to walk
away.

“I think it was the company,” he replied, his face softening. “I knew I was right
to come to you, Holland. I knew you would be a safe haven. I might joke with you,
but thank you. No one else is willing to listen to me. I knew you would.”

“Because of that kiss?” Did he really think he had that much of a hold over her?

He shook his head. “No. Because I’ve always known you were the best woman I’ve ever
met.”

He slipped back into the apartment, and she was left with the
beauty of the sun rising over the French Quarter and his words ringing in her ears.

She could resist the “Perfect Gentlemen” part of Dax Spencer. Even if it might be
a bit tougher, she could also refuse Captain Awesome. She wasn’t so sure about the
man who’d just shown her his vulnerable, sincere side.

With a sigh, Holland stared out at the city and prayed for strength, because if she
intended to resist that man, she was going to need
it.

D
ax was feeling unaccountably optimistic as he hopped off the Saint Charles Avenue
streetcar and began to make his way home. Well, his parents’ place. He wasn’t truly
certain he could call anywhere home. Since the time he’d shipped off to Creighton
Academy, home had become a collection of people rather than a place. Home meant his
friends, his family.

Seeing Holland again had put him in a reflective mood. Or maybe it was coming back
to New Orleans. The last time he’d been in town had been for his father’s funeral.
He’d been so angry he couldn’t see or think straight. Time and distance had made him
calmer, more rational.

But there was nothing calm or rational about the way he felt when he looked at Holland
Kirk. A part of him had hoped that his hunger for her had been a memory, embellished
by time and his lingering fondness until the feeling had become too big to be true.
Nope. Instead, Dax was more convinced than ever that she was the one. Holland made
him want more from life, made him want to be better. She was the one woman for whom
he would fold his six-foot-four body in two and sleep on that god-awful couch just
to be close to her.

He strolled past tourists staring up at the gorgeous antebellum mansions that made
the Garden District an attraction. They came in pairs and trios. Later, the large,
guided groups would follow, eager to see a slice of New Orleans history and the beauty
of the neighborhood his mother had lived in all her life.

Dax ducked his head and meandered to the other side of the street to give the tourists
a wide berth. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him. He’d really
tried to keep a low profile . . . until his friends dragged him into stupid crap like
that date with the anorexic supermodel.

His cell phone trilled and he smiled as he answered it. He’d been on assignment for
months without talking to his friends or family. He’d exchanged some e-mails with
them, but hearing a friendly voice was a different thing. “My man. What’s going on,
super spy?”

“Seriously? You know that would get me killed if I really was a spy?” Connor shot
back, though he was chuckling. “How was your flight?”

“Long and rough.” He’d hitched a ride on a transport plane. It was a long way from
the private jets his buddies took. If he’d called Gabe, Bond Aeronautics would have
sent a plane for him, but he’d wanted to move as quickly as possible. Mad would have
sent him a Crawford jet, but it also would have been filled with Mad, three hookers,
and more liquor than anyone should ever drink. And herpes. He was pretty sure Mad’s
jet had herpes.

“Ah, you have to love the military. Well, I suppose you’ll have some comfort now that
you’re in New Orleans. Tell me you’re staying with your mother and not in some barracks.”

He was kind of hoping that after a while he’d be staying with Holland. Despite what
she’d said, he had no intentions of playing fair. If she didn’t think she could handle
his lifestyle, he would show her differently.

“I’m staying with Mom. Gus is on a short vacation, too. It’ll be nice to spend some
time with them.” He let out another breath. “And I’ve convinced NCIS to take another
look.”

Connor paused. “Don’t you mean you convinced Holland Kirk to take another look?”

He hadn’t mentioned that he would be seeing her again, but he should have known Connor
would figure it out. “Yes.”

“Good. I just want you to be careful with her. She’s not a good-time girl.”

He’d never once thought she was. “You’re right. She’s an intriguing woman and I’ve
been serious about her for years. You know, I wish just once someone would warn her
about hurting my tender feelings. She’s the one who walked away.”

“I’ll be sure to tell everyone,” Connor said, sounding terribly amused. “Now, I’ve
got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

His mother’s house was another block down, but Dax slowed his pace. He wasn’t talking
about his father’s death in front of his mother or Gus unless he had a reason. As
far as they knew, he was in town to work on the new training manuals and spend some
time with family. He didn’t want to get their hopes up. “Give me the bad news.”

“The girl is a ghost. I can’t find a trace of her anywhere. Amber Taylor dropped off
the face of the earth roughly three weeks after your father was killed.” Connor was
one hundred percent on Dax’s side. None of his friends referred to his father’s death
as a suicide. “She never went back to her high school after winter break. Her mother
apparently told the administrators she would be home schooling after the new year.
I’m trying to track the woman down. The house they lived in has been rented to someone
else. The landlord said the mom and her daughter walked away one day and left everything
behind. He hasn’t seen her since.”

Another dead end. “Keep trying.”

“I will, but I have to put this on the back burner for a little bit. I’ve been asked
to look into another matter. It’s important, Dax. You know I wouldn’t let this lie
unless it was.”

If Connor said it was important, then it likely had something to do
with national security, and Dax couldn’t argue with that. “I do. Don’t worry about
it. I’m here now and I’ve got Holland. We’ll work it from this angle. Do what you
need to do. Are you going to be out of touch?”

“Yes. It could be a while. I’m sorry,” Connor said over the line.

“Don’t be, buddy. You have a job to do. Go and get it done.”

“And now the good news . . . I hope. I didn’t leave you to your own devices,” Connor
continued. “I wasn’t sure you should look into this by yourself and I didn’t know
you would recruit Holland. I thought you needed some backup.”

Dax stopped in front of the massive house that had been in his family since before
the Civil War. “What do you mean, backup?”

The front door opened and his jaw dropped.

Maddox Crawford held a bottle of champagne in one hand and waved at the tourists shuffling
behind him with the other. “Hello, lovely ladies. Welcome to New Orleans. The first
drink’s on me.” Mad glanced at a group of older women, who started fluttering like
teenagers when he winked their way. Mad flirted regardless of age, beauty, and in
some cases sanity. He gave Dax a broad smile. “My brother, welcome back! We expected
you in hours ago. I guess someone got lucky last night. By the way, your mother is
still as hot as she was when we were teenagers. And she’s making us breakfast. Well,
she told the housekeeper to make us breakfast which is totally the same thing.”

“Don’t hate me,” Connor said in his ear. “I’m sure they’ll be helpful. Well, one of
them will. Mad will be fun. Gabe, however, has a file for you, which should help.
I’ve spent weeks putting that together. It’s everything we know about the case including
my thoughts on where we should continue the investigation.”

It was a good thing he’d left it in Gabe’s hands. Mad would likely use it for writing
down the phone numbers of women he would never actually call. Still, Connor had meant
well. “Thank you for everything. And stay safe wherever you are.”

“Later, brother.”

“Sooner, I hope,” Dax said as he hung up.

Life had been so much easier when they all shared a house while attending Yale. Most
of them could have afforded their own places, but it had been so much more fun to
live together. They’d all grown up since then, gone about their own lives. It would
be good to spend some time with a couple of his best buddies.

Still, having Mad around for anything other than a party seemed like a bad idea now.

Gabe strolled onto the front porch, a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry. I tried
to come alone, but Mad stowed away on the plane. The good news is I tossed off the
three strippers he tried to bring.”

“He’s lost all sense of humor since he started working at Bond Aeronautics. Does anyone
have orange juice we could borrow?” Mad shook his head. “Screw it. I never liked orange
juice anyway. I need something stronger. Bloody Marys all around.”

“Yeah, he’s going to be a ton of fun. Your mother is a gracious hostess, by the way.
She gave us each rooms in the east wing. I hope it’s all right. Connor didn’t think
you should be alone. He also sent this.” Gabe held out a file.

Mad strode back toward the house. “Hey, Spencer, when is your sister getting in?”

“Leave my sister alone, Mad.” Like that was going to happen. He was well aware that
Mad wasn’t the only problem. Gus tended to have a mind of her own and she wasn’t shy
about what she wanted.

“I promise only to not make the first move but I never like to let a lady down, you
know. God, that bacon smells good.” Mad disappeared behind the door as it swung closed.

“Don’t mind him. Since his dad died, he’s been at Crawford pretty much twenty-four
seven. This is the first time he’s taken off since, well . . .”

He knew where Gabe was going. “Since Dad’s funeral.” He was going to cut Mad some
slack. Mad had always been there when Dax needed him. “How are things at Crawford?”

“Good as far as I can tell.” Gabe walked next to him up to the
house. “The stock is doing surprisingly well. Despite all his bad behavior, Mad has
a business degree from Yale. He knows what he’s doing. But there’s a lot at stake.
I think he needs to be out of New York for a couple of weeks. I could use the time
away, too. I need to be in the boardroom but I’d rather concentrate on research and
development. I’ve got all these ideas on how to streamline the new luxury choppers.
Sometimes I think I should have followed you into the Navy. At least I would be in
the air.”

He likely would have been. Gabe had been flying planes since it was slightly legal
for him to do so. He would have made a great fighter pilot.

“I would have loved to see you deal with the training.” Dax slapped his friend on
the back.

“Yes, there’s a reason I only think of it from time to time,” Gabe admitted. “So tell
me everything that’s been going on.”

He stopped Gabe before they made it inside. “First, you should know I’m trying to
keep my mother out of this as much as possible.”

Gabe nodded. “I haven’t said a word, but she’s going to figure it out. And honestly,
she’s got information you need.”

“I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I’m trying to walk delicately around
her and Gus. Is she really taking that new position at the White House?”

Gabe grinned. “Oh, I think Roman’s insisting on it. Liz is an amazing press secretary,
but she’s got to have someone who can run the office so she can worry about Zack and
stop playing two roles.”

“It’s hard for me to imagine Gus running something so important. I remember when she
couldn’t keep Kool-Aid in a cup.”

Gabe shook his head. “That’s because you still see her as your little sister and not
the man-mangling, tear-inducing, mega shark with a perfect blowout she’s become. Everyone
at the White House is afraid of her. She’ll keep those damn reporters in line. I heard
she made the head of ABC News cry last week.”

“My sister is a sweetheart.”

“She is to you and her family,” Gabe agreed. “She’s a man-eating T. rex to everyone
else. But you should know Roman swears he stopped sleeping with her when they started
working together.”

“Jeez, I don’t need to know that.” He took the file from Gabe’s hand.

“Yeah, well, you should also know Mad’s hot to see her again. I swear, I’m so happy
my sister has zero interest in my friends. Sara thinks you’re walking venereal diseases.
Take a look at the notes in the back. Everything else you can go over in your leisure
time.”

He flipped to the back and found Connor’s list of recommendations for how to proceed.
One name stood out.

“Beau Kirk? I’ve never heard his name mentioned in conjunction with my father’s case.”

“Because you’ve only been working it from the Navy’s perspective. Connor found out
the case was largely handled in the civilian world. They only relinquished control
to NCIS when it became clear the news was going to explode,” Gabe explained. “Holland’s
uncle works for NOLA PD and he handled the civilian side of the investigation. If
anyone is going to know how to look into this, it will be him.”

Dax had a name. It was really all he could ask for right now. Though at some point
he intended to sit down with Holland and ask why she’d never mentioned her uncle had
kicked off the investigation. “Let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

For the first time in months, he meant that.

*   *   *

H
olland sighed gratefully as the bartender passed her an ice-cold beer. It had been
a shitty day. She’d had to arrest a lieutenant junior grade for beating the crap out
of his wife. The whole time the wife had pleaded with her not to take her husband,
crying and begging and trying to say the whole thing had been her fault.

The Threat Management Unit usually handled cases like this, but the agent’s partner
had called in sick and agents didn’t go in without backup. Holland had agreed to assist,
even though she hated cases like
this. She hoped the lieutenant’s wife got the help she needed, but the likelihood
was she would follow her abusive husband right out of the military.