Maite squeezed her arm to confirm she'd understood. “Thanks. I'd better get back to Ricardo.” Then she turned around and sent a dazzling smile at Trent. “I'd love to see your gallery. I really mean it. Give me a call.” She laid the half-empty martini glass on the bar and floated her way across the floor back to the table, where she sat down next to Rick.
"Is this something else you owe me commission for?” Georgina said, watching as Trent slipped a paper napkin with a scribbled string of numbers into his jacket pocket.
Trent laughed. He only made a soft sound, but his eyes crinkled, and his shoulders heaved. Suddenly Georgina felt giddy with pleasure. Life wasn't a bad place, once you stopped trying to control everything and accepted whatever came your way.
"Come on,” she said. “Where's my drink? I want to take it downstairs with me."
Georgina arrived home in good time before eleven. She settled down to wait for the storm to break. She made a cup of tea and curled up on the sofa, without bothering to change out of her evening clothes. She kicked off her shoes and pulled up her feet, and tried to draw some courage from the hot liquid warming her insides.
The cup almost tumbled out of her hands when the doorbell burst into life. Georgina laid the tea on the table and scampered out to the hall. The doorbell buzzed all the way there. Someone was holding their finger on the button and not letting go.
She undid the lock and moved out of the way.
"What the fuck were you doing?” Rick shouted as he burst through the door. “Don't you ever listen?"
"I listen, but I regard it as my civil right to ignore stupid instructions,” Georgina said evenly. She'd been practicing for the last hour. How to keep her cool in the face of the inevitable attack. She strolled back into the living room, aware that Rick followed close behind.
"My instructions weren't stupid,” Rick said. “Unlike your actions."
"Think about it,” Georgina told him, whirling to face him. “You said they might be watching? Correct?"
"Correct.” Rick glared at her. His expression became guarded, as though he suspected some kind of a trap.
"And you kissed Maite while I stood at the bar?” Georgina pressed on. “Correct?"
"Correct,” Rick said slowly.
"In that case, you couldn't introduce me as your girlfriend. I watched you kissing Maite. Do I look like the kind of woman who would just sit there and smile, right after having caught her boyfriend canoodling with another woman?” Georgina lost her cool despite her careful preparation. “Do I?” she screamed.
"Simmer down,” Rick said.
"Do I?” Georgina yelled.
"No, you damn well don't,” Rick shouted back. “You're the sort of woman who would clip me over the ear or toss a drink into my face."
"Good,” Georgina said grimly. “I was worried that anyone watching us would have reached the same conclusion. It wasn't sensible to say that I was your girlfriend."
"I was supposed to be there with my woman and you were sitting next to me,” Rick muttered.
"It's all right,” Georgina said. “I fixed it. Now I can catch him for you, if you want me to."
"What are you talking about?” Rick ceased scrubbing his face with his hands. He lowered his arms and stared at her.
"Al Capone,” Georgina said. “We can do an Al Capone on him."
"Would you mind explaining?"
"In 1931, Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion. The authorities couldn't get enough evidence to convict him of any other crimes, so they got him for not paying his income taxes. In the US, even illegal earnings are subject to income tax rules."
Rick thought for a minute, staring at the dark balcony window behind Georgina. “How would it work?” he asked finally.
"You get him to contact me. I'll set him up with a money laundering scheme. With luck, we'll get enough evidence to have him convicted of that. But if we can't, we should at least be able to get him on tax evasion. I'll create a record of his wealth. As he will not have declared his illegal earnings, he'll be in breach of the Tax Code."
"No,” Rick said. “It will be too dangerous."
"It's your best bet,” Georgina argued. “The conviction rate for money laundering indictments runs at over 50%. And almost 90% of those convicted go to prison. The average term is over five years."
Rick gave her a surprised glance. “How do you know all this?"
"That's what I do,” Georgina explained. “It's part of my job to make sure Pacific Bank doesn't unwittingly facilitate illegal transactions.
"You never told me before,” Rick complained.
"It didn't come up in the conversation.” Georgina made an impatient gesture with her hand. “So, did Mr. Diaz ask for my number?"
Rick stood in silence for a few seconds.
"He did.” The way Georgina said it was not a question but a fact. “What did you tell him?"
Rick shrugged his shoulders. “I said I didn't have it on me. I told him I'd call him back with it."
"Do it,” Georgina urged him. “I can help you catch him."
"There would be too many problems to resolve."
"Such as?"
"I'd need to go into deep cover."
"Deep cover.” Georgina frowned. “What does that mean?"
"At the moment, Rick Camacho only exists on paper. He has a Mexican passport and a US driver's license, and a green card. But he lives nowhere, and only exists for a few hours at a time. I'd have to change that."
"What, like become him full-time?"
"Or at least part-time. And Rick Matisse would have to disappear. If Domenico Diaz decides to use you, he'll have you checked out. We can't risk someone following you home and recognizing me. I'd have to move out of here, and I'd have to keep away from you."
"What about Andy?” Georgina asked.
"I've been thinking of sending her out to visit my mother,” Rick said slowly. “They've never met."
Georgina stared at him. “Andy's been with you more than two years and she's never met her grandmother?"
"There are ... complications,” Rick told her. “I didn't want to stir things up until the custody case was settled."
"Oh."
Rick reached out and took both of her hands into his. “If we go ahead with this, you have to promise to listen to me. You'll do as I say, without any questions. Is that understood?"
Georgina fidgeted. She tried to pull her hands loose, but that only made Rick grip them tighter. “All right,” she blurted out. “I promise."
"Good girl.” Rick yanked her closer, sending Georgina careering against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hard kiss full of anger and frustration. Then he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Now, let's get you out of that dress."
"I'm not interested in making love to you tonight,” Georgina said. “Not with the mood you're in."
"There's two ways we can do this,” Rick said bluntly. “Either you take off that dress, or I take it off you. The difference is that the first way you get to wear it again. Which is it going to be?” By the time he finished talking, his jacket lay in a heap on the floor and he stood balancing on one leg, kicking off his trousers.
"I'll be sore from last night,” Georgina said. But she reached behind her to pull down the zip on the back of her dress.
"Why should that worry me?” Rick asked.
Georgina pushed the fabric down her shoulders and wriggled to get it past her hips. By now Rick stood naked in front of her, his erection pushing into the space between them.
"Was this expensive,” he asked, sliding the back of his hand down the pale grey silk teddy that covered her breasts.
"Yes."
"Too bad,” Rick said. He curled his fingers over the bodice and ripped it open. Then he did the same with her panties, leaving grey silk rags scattered on the floor.
"Stop,” Georgina said. She gasped at the sensations bursting into life inside her. Desire. That was the only label that fit. The feeling scorched her so fiercely it surprised her not to see flames leaping from her skin.
"Why?” Rick pushed her backwards until she toppled down on the sofa. “My civil rights allow me to ignore stupid instructions. I don't see any reason to stop."
"Go to hell,” Georgina said.
"That's not a good enough reason.” Rick bent down to pick up his trousers. He fished a condom out of a pocket and sheathed himself. Then he climbed on top of her and wedged her legs apart with his knee.
"I'm withdrawing my cooperation at this point,” Georgina said primly.
Rick froze above her. For a second, amusement flashed in his eyes. “We'll see about that,” he said. Then he slowly eased himself inside her, holding her gaze with his.
Georgina bit into her lip, trying to stifle the little sounds of pleasure that rose in her throat. She felt the hard invasion deep in her center, but she also felt Rick straining his arms as he propped them on either side of her head, taking care not to crush her with his weight. His eyes searched her face, looking for any signs of distress.
Another soft moan escaped from her mouth, and her hips began to rock back and forth. The knowing smile that passed over Rick's face made her furious at him. That smug confidence. It doubled her determination to remain in control, to keep her body still.
She would just lie there and ignore him. Put a dent in that male ego. Georgina shut her eyes tight. She wouldn't watch. The solid curve of shoulders above her, the dark hair curling against the dampening skin. The eyes that sought to catch hers, have her reaffirm that he wasn't hurting her.
She'd ignore it all.
But she couldn't ignore the steady strokes pushing in and out of her most sensitive part. They made her body ratchet tighter and tighter, until she forgot it was supposed to be a battle of wills, and her hips began to rise up and meet him.
"That's it, sweetheart,” Rick murmured. “No point in denying the pleasure."
"Go to hell,” Georgina muttered. Her hands fisted in the fabric that covered the sofa as she fought to keep them from reaching up to him.
"Only if you come with me,” Rick told her. Then he pushed all the way into her, sending her over the edge into a frenzy that was made of both the darkest darkness and the brightest light.
"I don't like it,” Rick said. It troubled him to discuss Georgina's suggestion that she try to trap Domenico Diaz as if it was a serious plan. He couldn't imagine an untrained civilian taking a leading role in an operation. Least of all a female.
They lay tucked under covers in Georgina's bed. Rick lounged on his back, one arm wrapped around Georgina, holding her tight against his side. Her head rested against his shoulder, where it rocked up and down with his steady breathing. Her fingers played with the hairs on his chest. It ought to have annoyed the hell out of him, but instead it felt just right.
"Why don't you like it?” Georgina said. “It will work. There'll be no problems."
"I won't be able to keep an eye on you. You'll be alone. You won't know what to do if something goes wrong."
"Nothing will go wrong. I'll be doing exactly what I tell him that I'll be doing. And I'll keep out of the way when you move in to arrest him."
Rick craned his neck to look at her, but her hair blocked his view. He lowered his head again. “How long would it take?"
"A few months. We'd need a substantial amount. Say, half a million dollars in illegal funds. It would be hard to explain that kind of amount in undeclared earnings."
"And you wouldn't be dealing directly with him?"
Georgina nodded. Rick felt the brush of her soft skin against his shoulder.
"I'll only meet with him once, to sell him the scheme, and agree how to set it up. Then I'll find a middle-man to take care of the implementation."
"Who? Do you have someone in mind?"
"My secretary can help me find someone. She has the right contacts. We'd have to tell them what we're doing. We want someone we can trust, and no honest man would be willing to do something like this without asking questions."
"Why would anyone want to do it? I think we need an undercover cop."
"No.” Georgina's tone was firm. “It has to be someone in the construction business. It has to be real. We'll offer our middle-man a financial incentive. That will be their reason for participating."
"I don't have a budget for that,” Rick said. “I'm a public servant, remember.” He tightened his arm around her.
"That's the best part.” Georgina leaned into him. “Mr. Diaz would be paying."
"You'd have to learn to follow instructions."
"All right.” She rolled her eyes at him, but he could see laughter in the blue-green depths.
"You won't be able to call me,” he warned her. “I'll have to leave you a number to call for instructions."
Georgina leaned up on one elbow. “Why can't I call you?” she combed his hair with her fingers. “I like this. Don't cut it any more."
Rick flexed his arm until Georgina rolled on top of him. “Diaz may put you under surveillance."
"What?” Georgina laid her hands flat over Rick's chest and arched her back to look into his face. “Spy on me?"
"Tap your phone, bug your apartment, follow you around. Park a car outside the bank and wait for you to come out after work. Any or all of the above."
She nodded her head slowly. “I can handle that. But I'll need someone to talk to. Someone for guidance."
"I'll put another cop in my apartment. Roy Harris. He's single, so it won't mess up his home life. We'll make out I've moved on, and he's taking over the lease."
"Is he the man who brought my flowers?"
"Yeah. That's the son of a bitch."
"Is he nice?"
Rick slid his hands under Georgina's arms and yanked her higher along his body. “Keep away from Roy. He gets through women as easily as he changes his socks."
Georgina let out a soft chuckle. “I don't think I'm ready to diversify yet.” She lowered her head and reached out to nibble his ear. “Is this nice?” she mumbled against him.
"What do you think?” He ran his hands along her spine down to her buttocks and moved her into position.
"Your ear is not pierced,” she observed, ignoring the probing pressure between her legs. “How come you wore an earring in the restaurant?"