14

Twenty

B aldwin watched Charlotte Douglas pace as she talked on her cell phone. She was wearing a slim, cream-colored sheath of some silky material that swished every time she took a step. He glanced at his watch-nearly 8:00 p.m. It was time to get out of this hotel room, get on with his life. Taylor and the rest of the crew would be at VIBE, waiting for him. He needed to get this done and get out of Dodge.

She’d called him here, to her suite, refusing to meet him at the field office. He knew exactly what she was about, wasn’t going to fall for it. He wanted her gone, the sooner the better. He had his whole life in front of him, and Charlotte damn Douglas wasn’t a part of any scenario he could imagine.

Charlotte was stalking in front of the plate-glass window, obviously upset. “You really need to work with me here. There’s nothing else I can do at the moment. That’s right. Yes, sir. Yes. I’ll be back this evening. Good. I’ll talk to you later.”

Charlotte hung up the cell phone and stopped dead in the middle of the room. She looked at Baldwin and smiled, cocking a hip forward, her legs tensed so the calf muscles stood out and her arms folded behind her back. He knew this pose. She’d used it too many times in the past for him to fall for it. It made her look like a predator, not a sex kitten.

“Baldwin,” she began, her voice husky. He knew that trick, too.

He held up a hand. “Charlotte, why are you still here? You’ve delivered your presentation. There’s nothing we have at the field office that you don’t have back in Quantico. I don’t see you putting forth any resolutions to this case.” He nodded at the cell phone, still clutched in her hand. “Obviously Quantico is calling you home. Why aren’t you gone already?”

She glanced at the phone, then smiled. “That wasn’t who you think, and I’ll get on a plane when I’m good and ready, Baldwin. I have some business to conclude here with the field office, if you don’t mind.”

“Who do you need to conclude your business with, Charlotte? The field office or me?”

“Ooh, Dr. Baldwin. Always the insightful man. Conceited, too. What in the world makes you think any of this has to do with you?”

“It’s your MO, Charlotte. I’ve been there with you, remember? I know what you’re up to, and it won’t work. You need to leave, now. I don’t want to have anything more to do with you.”

She turned and looked out the window, the lights flickering across her face. “There was a time, John Baldwin, you wanted everything to do with me. Have you told your darling bride that?”

“Do not call me that. And yes, Charlotte, Taylor is fully aware that we’ve been intimate. And she couldn’t care less. You don’t threaten her, not in the least.”

“I don’t?” She turned slowly, edging her way toward Baldwin. He stood in the middle of the room, shaking his head as he watched her approach. An overgrown feral cat caught in a housecat’s body, that was Charlotte on the prowl. She’d just as soon tear out your throat as curl up in your lap.

“Leave it alone. You mean nothing to me. Now, tell me what I can do to get you out of my hair? Permanently, preferably.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, you are the poor, put-upon man, aren’t you? Can’t take a little bit of teasing. I thought you’d at least be civil, for old times’ sake.”

She was within two feet now, stalking him with her eyes, her arms loose at her side. He stood his ground, damned if he was going to back down from her.

“Listen, I need to go. What is it you so desperately needed to see me about?”

The faint scent of gardenias wheeled into his senses, and he cursed his body as it responded, albeit briefly, to the aroma. There was a time when things were good between them, and those were the moments the flowery scent reminded him of. She was there, against him now, her hips brushing his gently, her face tipped up, those lips full and inviting. He leaned in for half a second, then stepped back.

“No. Stop right now. I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to happen.”

“Ah, shucks, Mr. Profiler. You’re just so big and hard.” She started to reach for his crotch, but he caught her hand, twisted her arm hard so she was forced to turn away from him to keep it in the socket. He shoved once, and she sprawled away, stumbling into the chair.

“Bastard,” she hissed.

There, that was more like it. Seductress though she may be, the operative word with Charlotte was always evil.

“You ever come near me or Taylor again, you will regret it, Charlotte. Mark my words.” The tone of his voice surprised even him, and Charlotte flinched back as if she’d been hit when he spoke.

He left the room, left her behind, her eyes round with disbelief. The threat was real, and they both knew it. He didn’t care.

The door slammed and Charlotte took a moment to recover. A shadow came from the bathroom.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’ll murder him for the way he just treated you. Though I must admit, I’m a bit disappointed. I would have enjoyed watching you fuck him. He’s quite a…large man. He’d be hard to take down without a fight.” He flexed his hands, opening the palms wide, then curling his fingers in slowly, one by one.

“Shut the fuck up.” She whirled away, went to the window again and stared into the night.