Covert Exposure (13 page)

Shannon followed Spinelli into his house,
through the kitchen and into the small hallway which opened the way
to two bedrooms, a small office, and a bathroom. He stopped in the
middle of the hallway and pointed to his right. “That’s my bedroom
at the end of the hall and then there’s my office.”

He resumed walking in the opposite direction
of his bedroom. He opened another door. “Here’s the bathroom,” he
said as he continued walking, “and here’s the spare bedroom.”

He pushed his way through the doorway and set
her duffel bag on the bed. He looked around the room and then fixed
his gaze on her. “Think you’ll be okay in here?” he asked, hoping
she’d say no and ask to share his room.

Shannon nodded. She wasn’t much for talking
the past several hours.

Spinelli glanced down at his watch. “Wow, its
2:00 a.m. already. You must be exhausted.”

She nodded again.

“I’ll get out of here so you can get some
rest. I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything.”

He got the same response. A nod.

Spinelli left Shannon alone in the spare
bedroom, closing the door behind him as he left. He made sure to
lock both the front and back door. He peeked through the living
room blinds and stared out onto the street in front of his house
looking for anything out of the ordinary. A hint of unease coiled
around his chest at the thought of Loukas the Greek’s muscleman
paying her a visit. He double-checked the front and back doors,
making sure they were locked.

He glanced through the blinds once again then
he straightened them out and turned off the lights in the living
room and kitchen. He stepped into the hallway and glanced to his
left. He could see the light still shining under Shannon’s bedroom
door. He turned and headed toward his bedroom.

Spinelli pulled his Beretta 9mm from his
holster and tucked it into the drawer of his nightstand along with
his badge. He pulled his shirt over his head as he walked toward
the master bathroom and flung it over the bedpost. He unbuttoned
his jeans and kicked them off along the way as well.

He couldn’t wait to climb into bed, he felt
dead tired. As he brushed and flossed his teeth he thought about
Jarrod’s apprehension as he and Walker and Marsh questioned him. He
recalled how Jarrod intentionally seemed to avoid looking him in
the eye as he spoke with him and how his left eye twitched
uncontrollably. Deep down he knew whatever or whoever Jarrod was
involved with scared him. The questions still remained, who’s
involved and what’s it about?

Spinelli flung the covers back on his bed and
climbed between the crisp cool sheets. They felt good against his
weary skin. He pulled the covers up around his neck and rolled onto
his left side. He lay there staring at the backside of the door
leading to the hallway. Spinelli wondered if Shannon was asleep, he
speculated about what she wore when she slept, and he fantasized
about what they would be doing if she were in his bed right now. He
visualized her naked, her soft smooth silky white skin touching
his. He imagined cupping her small round breasts in his hands and
teasing her nipples with his thumb and forefinger, and then perhaps
his mouth, he grew hot and hard at the thought. He envisioned
entering her, knowing she would be soft as velvet. His fantasy felt
so vivid he actually felt her warmth surrounding him.

Eventually Spinelli cleared his mind enough
to drift off to sleep and he slept uninterrupted until he heard the
shower running in his spare bathroom. He forced his still weary
eyes open and glanced at the clock. “8:00 a.m. What is she doing up
so early?” he whispered.

He blew out a sigh, flung the covers back,
and swung his tired legs over the side of the bed. He sat there
thinking that he could really use a couple more hours of sleep,
five to six hours just didn’t cut it for him. He forced himself off
the bed and put on a pair of jeans. Barefoot and shirtless he
wandered to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Needing a
kick-start he dumped four heaping scoops of coffee grounds into the
filter rather than the usual three. The shower still ran.

Spinelli wandered into his office and logged
onto his computer, his normal Saturday routine. First things first,
he would check his usual sports websites, then take in a little
local and national news, and when fully awake he would do a little
research on Loukas the Greek.

As the computer booted up he walked back to
the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. The shower still ran. He leaned
against the kitchen counter and sipped on his coffee. He glanced up
at the clock. It read 8:20. He knew from experience that his old
water heater didn’t allow for a hot twenty minute shower. He’d been
meaning to get a new water heater but hadn’t checked it off his
list yet.

A few more minutes passed and the shower
still ran. A wave of concern rippled throughout his body. He set
his coffee cup on the kitchen countertop and walked over to the
bathroom door. Pressing his ear to the door, he could only hear the
shower running. He knocked on the door but Shannon didn’t respond.
His heart began to race. He debated barging into the bathroom to
check on her. He knocked on the door again, and again no response.
“Shannon, are you okay?” he asked, still no response.

He opened the door and glanced in the
direction of the tub to find the shower curtain pulled shut.
“Shannon, are you okay? If you don’t answer I’m going to open the
curtain.”

Hearing no response, he flung the shower
curtain back to find her sitting in the tub with her knees pulled
to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. She’d pressed
her face against the top of her knees and her long curly wet red
hair clung to her legs and back.

Spinelli reached into the shower and shut off
the freezing cold water. The water stopped pelting her shivering
body. He grabbed a towel and flung it over her shoulders. He used
his hands to rub her shoulders and arms in an effort to warm her
then he wrapped his hands around the upper part of her arms and
lifted upward, but she didn’t budge. “Come on Sweetheart, let’s get
you out of here, and warm you up.”

Shannon lifted her head and looked at him.
His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her red-stained eyes. He
shifted his gaze from her eyes to her lips, which displayed the
bluest color he’d ever seen on a person. He edged one of his arms
under her knees and the other under her arms and lifted her cold
wet body out of the tub. He carried her to his bedroom. He sat down
on the edge of his bed with her on his lap and he pulled the heavy
quilt from the bed and wrapped it around them.

She rested her head on his shoulder and
buried her face in the crook of his neck. He rubbed her arms,
hands, and feet in an attempt to warm them. Her toes felt cold as
ice cubes. After a few minutes, he could feel her frigid body start
to warm and her shivering stopped.

Spinelli lifted his hand and stroked her damp
hair. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. Everything will be okay.”

Shannon lifted her head and looked at him.
“No it won’t, that’s just it. They won’t let it end. I know these
kinds of people. I see it every day at work. They won’t stop until
they get what they want.”

“Who and what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know who for sure. I can only assume
it’s the guy I saw in the elevator with Jarrod who called me.”

“Someone called you, when?”

“This morning on my cell. The call woke me
up.”

“What did he say?” Spinelli asked in a voice
a bit more frantic than he’d wished.

Shannon chewed on her lower lip for a moment.
Her eyes flooded with tears.

Spinelli calmed and softened his voice.
“Sweetheart, I need to know what he said.”

Shannon released her lips from her teeth. “He
said as long as I keep my mouth shut no one around me will get
hurt, including the three little red-headed boys in the photo on my
bookshelf.”

She paused and sucked her lips back into her
mouth. Waves of tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her
cheeks.

“Is there more?”

Shannon nodded and used the back of her hand
to clear the tears from her cheeks then she released her lips from
her teeth again. “He said that if I go to the police I’ve seen my
nephews for the last time.”

Spinelli tightened his grip on her and held
her until she stopped crying. He pressed his lips lightly to the
top of her head then he scooted her off his lap and rose to his
feet. “Why don’t you lie down and get some more rest.”

“No, I’m okay. What are you going to do?” she
asked as she placed the palms of her hands on the bed and started
to lift herself up.

Spinelli quickly rested his hand on her
shoulder to ease her down. He squatted down and lifted her legs
onto the bed, gently forcing her to lie down. He knelt next to the
bed, reached up, and snugged the quilt around her neck. She looked
like a curled up mummy all snuggly wrapped.

“You rest. I’m going to call Walker and Marsh
and we’re going to figure this out,” Spinelli said and then he
leaned over and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. On his
way out of the bedroom, he grabbed a T-shirt and flung it over his
head.

Chapter
Eighteen

While Shannon rested, Spinelli, Walker and
Marsh discussed their game plan. The plan was almost completely in
order before Spinelli heard Shannon stirring about in the hall.
Then her cell phone rang. He and the other two fixed their eyes on
the phone on the kitchen countertop. He reached for the phone but
Shannon appeared between him and Walker and snatched it up. She
looked at the display and then looked at Spinelli. “It’s just
Anna.”

“Oh, okay,” he replied as if giving her
permission to answer the call.

“Hi Anna…I’m sorry I forgot we planned on
going. Can you hold on a second?” Shannon glanced at the three of
them. “I’m just going to take this in the other room.”

Spinelli nodded and she walked away. He
stared after her. The sight of her wearing his red plaid robe
caused his sexual juices to flow and beg for release.

“Christ, she’s freaking hot when she’s not
wearing those drab business suits,” Marsh commented as he stared
after her with the look of a starving wolf.

Spinelli’s jealousy took over and he stepped
into Marsh’s sightline to block his view of her. Spinelli opened
his mouth to speak but before a word could be released, Walker
quickly stepped between Spinelli and Marsh. “Let’s go Marsh. We’ve
got work to do.”

Walker and Marsh left and Spinelli went into
his office to do a little internet research on Loukas the Greek.
The thin walls of his old house allowed him to hear part of
Shannon’s phone conversation. Hearing his name roll off her tongue
sparked his interest so he stepped lightly over to the doorway of
his office so he could hear her better. The hallway acoustics
allowed him to hear nearly every word exchanged between Shannon and
Anna.

“Your voice sounds like its echoing. Did you
flip me on speaker?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, I’m changing.”

“What?”

“I’m changing.”

“I thought you weren’t home,” Anna
replied.

Spinelli waited out the long pause that
followed Anna’s reply. He wondered how sweet little naïve Shannon
would respond.

As if a light bulb came on within her Anna
ended the silence. ”My God, you’re at his house aren’t you? Hot
damn, it’s about freaking time.”

“No, it’s not what you think. I’m not, we
didn’t,” Shannon mumbled before Anna piped in again.

“Hey, you don’t need to lie to me. You’re an
adult. For God’s sake it’s okay to have some fun. And come on,
throw the old lady a bone here, just tell me one thing—is he as
good as he looks?” Anna asked as she let out a girlish giggle.

Spinelli continued to listen for Shannon’s
response. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop but he just couldn’t help
himself. And much to his surprise her tongue loosened.

“Okay, okay, if you must know, honestly I did
not sleep with him.”

“But you spent the night,” Anna
interjected.

Shannon snapped back, “Hey, if you want
details don’t interrupt me.”

“Okay, sorry.”

“It’s a long story but we didn’t have sex.
Though I must admit when I saw him this morning wearing just a pair
of jeans and no shirt it took about every piece of strength I could
muster not to jump his bones right then and there. What he did for
that pair of jeans should be illegal.”

“Christ, I can imagine,” Anna cut in.

“Hey, stop interrupting.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyhow, you should see him without a shirt
on, my God, I just wanted to take my hands, and rub them over his
washboard ripples they looked so firm and inviting. And when he
looks at me with those dark charcoal eyes I nearly melt right there
on the spot. Every intelligent thought in my head disappears and
all I can think about is him taking me. I’ve never wanted, no
needed, a man so bad in my life. It actually hurts.”

Spinelli stood in the hallway dumfounded and
hard as a rock. An urgency for release flowed through him. He
debated crashing through her bedroom door and taking her right
where she stood.

Anna’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Shannon, why on earth are you on the phone telling me about this
rather than in his bed?”

“Well, I don’t want him to think I’m a slut
or something. We hardly know each other, and what if he doesn’t
feel as strongly for me as I do for him?”

Anna chuckled. “Where do you come from? Don’t
tell me you haven’t noticed how he looks at you. And for God’s sake
you’re the furthest thing from a slut I’ve ever seen. When was the
last time you had sex?”

Spinelli continued to listen, nearly bursting
at the seams.

“When?” Anna pressed.

Shannon blew out a sigh. “It’s been so long I
don’t really remember.”