Constant Craving (Task Force Hawaii #3) Read online

  “What?”

  “You have a target on you, and while it isn’t a big one, we can’t risk his health. And we have to make him think that it is to help you.”

  She frowned. “I get that, but I don’t know if I like it.”

  “He isn’t going to like it,” Emma said.

  “He can just get used to it,” TJ said.

  Emma smiled. “I had a feeling that was going to be your response. I think we can work it out though. Our condo is empty for a few months, and I need someone there. It’s always good to have someone living there, you know. We’ll guilt him into it.”

  “Yeah, he’ll do it if he thinks that you and the boss need the help. I don’t know about a security detail. If I am being watched, we need to make sure it looks normal. Having a black and white, or one of the TFH folks out there is going to draw attention. The building has a good security system.”

  “I’ll be staying there.”

  All three of them turned their attention to TJ.

  “I don’t think you have a say in this,” Charity said.

  “I think I do. Besides, I can report back that I am romancing you. If we have someone watching dispatches at the FBI, it would work.”

  “I have to agree with him,” Del said. Irritated, she rounded on him, but he held up his hands. “Listen, I know you aren’t happy with it. But you’ll have a free room, and no one will know that he is in there. Plus, he can help you keep a lid on any surveillance of the technical kind. We are dealing with a bastard of a hacker—or at least someone who likes to hire them—and we need you two to be careful about phone calls.”

  As if on cue, her cell rang with her mother’s tune. She rolled her eyes.

  “Are you going to answer that?” Del asked.

  “No. It’s my mom. She can wait.”

  “I’ll talk to Drew for you. He will feel sorry for me because of junior,” Emma said, brushing her hand over her belly.

  “Guilt does work well on him.”

  “We’ll do dinner tonight. Duke’s.”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll want to talk to you later, Callahan.”

  TJ nodded, as the couple left them alone.

  “Are you having problems at home?”

  She glanced at him. “You mean with Drew? No, he’ll move for Emma.”

  “No. Your mom.”

  “Oh, the phone call? No, not much. Not really.”

  “I guess I need to talk to Del. What time do you think you’ll be at your apartment tonight?”

  She studied him for a long moment, then she said, “Why don’t you come to dinner with us?”

  The lines of his face softened, and she tried to fight the need to soothe him. “You really want me to come?”

  She heard the need, the desire to be with her. It gave her heart a bit of a jolt but she crushed the hopeful ping. She did not need to be romanced by the agent. They needed to solve the case and get him out of her hair.

  “Yes, but it will also give us an excuse.”

  “And excuse for what?”

  “For whomever might be watching me.”

  “Is that all?”

  “Yes.”

  But even to her own ears, it did not ring true. His mouth curved, telling her that he knew she was fibbing. “Okay. You got it. I’ll pick you up.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll just grab a ride.”

  It was his turn to deny her. “No. It’s a date. I pick my dates up.” He leaned forward and brushed his mouth over hers.

  “What was that for?”

  “Down payment.”

  Then, before she could smack him, he left. She wanted to deny him, but her body was still humming with need. It had been a long time since a man had messed her up so much—if ever. Her phone started ringing again, and she knew this time, her mother would not wait. She pushed thoughts of TJ away and answered. It was enough to deal with this right now.

  Chapter Ten

  Charity rushed through her apartment tidying up. It figured the day she needed to be home and ready to take on a challenge, her phone rang off the hook at work. The result was that she had hit traffic on the way home. Even as close as she lived to work, things had moved a snail’s pace. Half way home, she had realized it would have been faster to walk than drive.

  After she changed the sheets on the guest bed, she changed into a comfortable Hawaiian dress. After freshening up, she did one last check of her bedroom. Charity heard the doorbell just as she stepped out of her bedroom. Jess and Luke followed her. She wanted to be dressed and ready to leave as soon as TJ arrived. She had achieved that, but she was flustered and didn’t want him to know.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she counted backwards from ten. When she felt she had calmed down enough, she walked to the door, her sandals in her hand. Opening it up, the first thing she noticed was the bags. He had a backpack and two duffle bags. Then, the way he was dressed. Her gaze traveled up, over his tanned legs to the black shorts and then the black and gold Hawaiian shirt.

  “What?” he asked.

  She shook her head and stepped back. “Come on in.”

  He did as she requested.

  “That looks like a lot of stuff.”

  “I didn’t want to keep running out to Waimanalo every day for clothes.”

  She said nothing as they stood there. The moment stretched out and awkwardness set in. The situation was odd enough. He was practically moving in with her. Other than Drew, she had never lived with a man outside of family members. And while it was just for the case, Charity felt as if the world was shifting beneath her feet. She had lost control of her life.

  “Where does this go?” he asked holding up his duffle bag.

  She blinked at him, then looked at the bag. “What?”

  He frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”

  Mentally, she shook herself out of her stupor. “Sorry. Yeah, this way.”

  She led him to the room Drew had occupied just a few hours earlier. Her friend hadn’t been happy with the arrangement, but he understood. Luke and Jess, not so much. Her cats had meowed their displeasure, and had tried to make off in Drew’s bag. In the end, when they had been left with only Charity, they had given her a look of disdain, before disappearing back into the guest room. Traitors.

  “Here you go,” she said, stepping aside and letting him enter the room. “Living in one room will probably not be as nice as a house.”

  He shrugged. “The kitchen at the house won’t be done for a couple of weeks, so cooking on a hot plate or grilling is the only way. Nice to be able to nuke something in the microwave.”

  He set is bag on the bed. Luke and Jess easily jumped on the bed to inspect the new item. TJ turned to face Charity.

  “Are we going to talk about this?” he asked.

  “I can’t.”

  “We need to.”

  She wasn’t ready for this. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and cocked her head to the side. “Isn’t that the woman’s line?”

  “First, that’s damned sexist. And second, it’ll just fester and get worse.”

  “So, now our relationship, what little there is, is like a rotting, oozing wound?”

  “You’re being deliberately obtuse.”

  She shrugged. “I just want to make sure we are clear where we stand and how we both view the relationship.”

  “I think I made my views on our relationship clear earlier in your office.”

  She fought the shiver that wanted to run through her body. She had pushed the memory to the back of her mind and tried to work all day. Unfortunately, thoughts of his mouth on her flesh, the way his heat had surrounded her had plagued her throughout the day. If she could, she would take some leave and go see her family, or go to Vegas with some friends. She needed something to work him out of her system and make her sane again.

  “We have too much on our plates right now, TJ.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but her phone went off. She glanced down.

  “We h
ave to go. Most of them are already there.”

  He didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded. “We will finish this discussion someday, Charity.”

  “I consider it done now.”

  He shook his head. “Not by a long shot.”

  As the sun started to dip below the horizon, TJ found himself sitting at a table with the TFH team. It was an odd experience, to say the least. Half of the table were still giving him the evil eye, and the other half seemed to be reserving judgment. And then there was Drew, who was openly hostile to TJ. From the moment he arrived, Drew had been ready with the barbs. First, he attacked the FBI, and then he made disparaging remarks about Texas.

  TJ really didn’t give a fuck. What he cared about was sitting next to him. Who would be the better term. She was all that is important to him now. Clearing her name and setting things right. Then, he would work on them.

  He used the case to get into her apartment. He should feel ashamed, but he wasn’t. A man had to do what he needed to do to win a woman’s affections. If that meant sleeping in the room next to hers with a case of the blue balls, then that was what he would do.

  He sipped his water and winced. The noise level was starting to get to TJ. They were not a quiet bunch that was for sure. He understood family dinners, and that was definitely what this was. They all interacted as he did with his brothers and parents.

  They had a long table, which took up most of the back of the restaurant. Delano sat at the head of the table, which made sense, since he was the patriarch. Emma sat on his right and Adam, who didn’t look like he wanted to be there, was on the left.

  Emma leaned over and, not too quietly, asked Charity, “What is the fed doing here?”

  Charity shrugged. “I figured it was better that he was close to keep an eye on him.”

  “Do you always talk about people in front of them as if they weren’t there?” he asked.

  “Take it as a good sign, Callahan,” Delano said. “When they are talking behind your back, they are betting on you.”

  “Betting?”

  Emma shot her husband a dirty look. “Don’t say anything about that to the fed. He could arrest us.”

  “I’m not looking to arrest anyone.”

  “Not now,” Drew said.

  “Drew, behave,” Charity said, with no menace in her voice.

  Drew’s features softened. “I still don’t get why we are letting him get away with it.”

  TJ opened his mouth to defend himself, but Charity intervened. “We never said he got away with anything.”

  The warning in her tone had TJ swinging his attention to her. Her gaze did not move from his, as she sipped her Cosmo. Oh, it was an evil smile, that was for sure. The hum of conversation around him seemed to fade away, as she drew her tongue over the rim of the glass, then smacked her lips.

  When he made eye contact again, her eyes were sparkling with amusement. She had done that on purpose.

  He leaned closer and said, “Watch yourself, Charity.”

  “Don’t worry, Callahan. I know just how to handle myself.”

  Then, Adam, who was sitting next to TJ, tapped his arm and asked him a question. He did his best to concentrate on the question about his family history with the Texas Rangers, but in the back of his mind, he formulated his next move with Charity.

  Charity was feeling pleasantly buzzed by the time their food arrived. She hadn’t really been in the mood for a family dinner, but she was glad she had been left with no choice. Del had made sure she had known that before she left work.

  She glanced at her companion from the corner of her eye. He had been handling himself just fine. Drew had settled down, and talk had moved onto work. Anyone watching them would assume they were out for the night and TJ was her date.

  “You know, you’re supposed to eat the food,” he said. He had leaned closer and his breath warmed her earlobe.

  Before she could think, she turned to face him. It brought them nose to nose.

  “I was just enjoying the moment.”

  His mouth curved. “Is that a fact?”

  She nodded.

  “You should eat. You had a few drinks.”

  Normally, she would tell him to mind his own damned business. But, she thought it might be a good idea. She needed something to soak up the alcohol.

  She turned back to her plate and started to eat just as Graeme’s voice raised in anger.

  “I don’t understand how you can be so bloody beautiful and such a pigheaded Sassenach.”

  “I cannot believe you just said that,” Dr. Middleton said.

  “Well, what do you expect? When I talked to your father yesterday, I had to say we were waiting. It is the third bloody time he’s asked. It’s bloody embarrassing.”

  Elle glanced down the table, and was aware of the audience. She looked back at her lover.

  “Can we discuss this later?”

  “How much later? Are we going to wait until that child you’re carrying is born a bastard?”

  There was another beat of silence, then everyone started to congratulate them. But they were overruled by the doctor.

  “I told you to wait three months.”

  “It’s been three months.”

  Elle looked down the table and at the people in the restaurant who were staring at her. Then, she turned her wrath toward her lover.

  “You Scottish goat. No. That is an insult to goats. I don’t have a word for you. You are the worst.”

  Elle jumped out of her seat and hurried away. McGregor got up to follow her, but Charity got up.

  “Graeme, sit down. She’s in the ladies’ bathroom.”

  He gave her a mulish look. “I don’t care.”

  “Well, Elle will, and I can calm her down.”

  He didn’t like it. He was beyond furious with the situation, but it was hard to be mad at the man. He was in love and excited about a baby.

  “Okay. But, you have five minutes, then I’m invading.”

  She smiled and rose to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Congratulations, Daddy.”

  He smiled. “Thanks. Please, go check on her.”

  She nodded and made her way to the bathrooms. Charity found Elle standing at the vanity crying.

  “Oh, sweetie, what’s the matter?” she asked as she stepped up to stand next to the doctor. Charity put her arm around her.

  Elle sniffed into a tissue. “That man has the manners of a pig.”

  Charity chuckled. “Yes, but you knew that before you fell in love with him, so that’s on you.”

  Elle shook her head. “I must be mental.”

  “Don’t tell anyone that. We could have a lot of cases overturned.”

  Her friend chuckled, but it ended on a sob. It was so out of character for her, Charity was not sure what to do, so she let her friend cry for a little bit.

  “So, you’re pregnant?” Charity asked after a few minutes.

  She nodded. “I lost my first child, and I didn’t want anyone to know this time around, not until we passed that magical twelve-week mark.”

  “And? You turned that big, bad Scot down?”

  The door opened and Emma waddled in with Cat behind her.

  “So, where are we at?” Emma asked.

  “Elle is pregnant. Graeme proposed.”

  “Well, of course he did. He’s in love with you,” Cat said.

  “I don’t want to get married because I’m pregnant.”

  “Don’t. Get married because you love him.” This came from Emma, who said it in a tone that said she thought Elle had lost her mind.

  “I do love him.”

  “There you go,” Emma said. “Another wedding and another baby. And now I have to pee. That’s what I spend the majority of my time doing these days.”

  Emma wandered down to the stalls. Elle laughed.

  “Sure, be amused. Your day shall come,” she called out from behind the locked door.

  For the first time since Graeme announced her pregnancy, Elle smiled.
“Yeah, it will.”

  “Now, you need to tell the Scottish goat,” Cat said with a laugh.

  “I can’t believe I called him that.”

  “I can. He was being one,” Charity said.

  Emma came out and washed her hands. “Come on. Let’s go enjoy the announcement.”

  The four women made their way out to the dining area.

  “So, what’s going on with you and the fed?” Emma asked.

  “Nothing.”

  The other three women stopped and turned to face her.

  “What?”

  “Nothing is going on?” Cat asked. “You looked like you were about to kiss just a few minutes ago.”

  “You’re insane,” she said. Even to her own ears, she sounded defensive.

  “Sure. Although, he keeps watching everything you do,” Cat said with a smirk.

  She opened her mouth to refute them, but Emma stopped her. “No more denials. Just tell us something. Are his bags in your guest room or in your room?”

  “They are in the guest room.”

  That she could say without lying. For now. Even though, right now, she was trying to remember why she had him put them there. Because it was the smart thing to do, that’s why.

  “What a waste. I would have moved him right into my room,” Emma said.

  “Do you want us to tell Del that?”

  “Why would he be offended or threatened by that? It’s true. Listen, I messed around with Del and wasted a lot of time. He’s hardheaded, so that is the only reason we are together. Thank God. He’s the only person who can handle me.”

  “That was a different situation than mine.”

  Emma shook her head and looked like she was going to argue, but Charity stopped her.

  “No more arguing. Graeme is going to storm back here if we don’t get back there. We can argue about my love life later.”

  Charity watched the numbers illuminate as they rode the elevator up to her floor.

  “Do y’all do that a lot?” TJ asked.

  She glanced at him just as the door opened. She stepped off the lift before she answered. “Not as often as we would like. Work keeps us busy, and a lot of times plans are cancelled. So, when we get a chance, we take advantage of it.”

  He nodded as she opened her door. She was feeling really good, she thought. Really, really good. Okay, it might have something to do with the three Cosmos she’d had. She had never been a heavy drinker, and the bartender had been generous with his concoctions.