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As the train pulled out over the tracks, she got a clear shot of the front of the station, where the van was still parked against the curb. With shaky hands she pulled her phone from her purse and took several pictures of the van as it started to move in the same direction as the train. As the distance between them began to lengthen, Izzy stopped taking pictures relieved to know that unless the van had an underwater package, she couldn’t be followed into San Francisco. As she reassured herself that it was just some weirdo, her phone rang to the tune of Bad Boys. Her gut did a whole different anxiety roll this time.
It was Fly
“Answer the damn phone, Isadora!” Fly
Angrily, he tossed the phone onto the passenger seat of his car. Giving the car more gas, he roared through the streets of Oakland until he pulled up in front of the little bungalow on 34th Street. The same silver Honda Civic that was parked in the driveway when he’d dropped Pink off last night hadn’t moved. He surmised it belonged to the roommate, since there wasn’t a car in the driveway when he’d been there with Pink. Surely she had a car. He glanced at the empty street. Last night, cars had been lined up, but today everyone was at work.
He pulled the key from the ignition and opened the car door. He sat there for a long moment with one foot on the asphalt, the other in the car. Nervous energy rumbled through his belly. He knew that the minute he laid eyes on her, smelled her, he was going to want to touch her. If he touched her, he’d lose it. He couldn’t lose it. He was there for one reason: To deliver a message.
“Fuck it all to hell,” he cursed. He slid out of the car and slammed the door shut, then strode toward the front door. He knocked loudly. A minute later, the door opened slowly.
Instead of Pink, the same lanky man who had told him off last night stood wrapped in a red silk kimono-style robe. The roommate, Charlie, he presumed.
Setting his hand on his hip, Charlie cocked it, and with a raised brow and a bored voice said, “Can I help you, cherry thief?”
Fly
“Would you tell Miss Fuentes that Fly
“Oh, would he now?” Charlie said flippantly.
“Yes. It’s an urgent matter, so if you could tell her now, I’d appreciate it.”
“Urgent as in you’re going to apologize?”
The question caught Fly
“Yes, simpleton, for popping her cherry, then breaking her heart!” Charlie opened the door and moved to the threshold. He was angry. “Who does that to my sweet girl?”
“I—she wanted me to,” Fly
“But you took it knowing what she does for a living and then turned around and treated her like something you wiped off your shoe!” Charlie poked a finger in Fly
“A guy like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He wasn’t some slob off the streets.
“An asshole like her absentee father. Loaded, arrogant, thinks he can do anyone or anything because he’s co
Now Fly
Charlie’s arm shot out across the doorway, blocking Fly
“She’s not here. And even if she was, I highly doubt I’d tell her you were at the door. You have zero right to act like you have a right to be here.”
Fly
Charlie smirked and stood back, opening the door. “See for yourself, Special Agent Dick.”
Fly
When he’d first seen her face minus the heavy makeup and false eyelashes, he’d thought he’d never seen such a natural beauty. That still held true. Since that moment, he’d discovered there was so much more to her than the hot surface.
Jamming his hand through his hair, Fly
“You see, Special Agent, as I said, she’s not here. I’d tell her you came looking for her, but I don’t want her to think you’re not still a dick when you are.”
Fly
“I never meant to hurt her,” Fly
“She’s worth ten thousand nights, you moron. If you’d given her half a chance, you’d know that by now.”
Fly
“Just because you can’t handle her working there?”
“What she does is her business, but she’s in danger, and that’s my business.”
Fly
“Yes, damn it. She won’t answer my calls. Where is she?”
“On her way to the club. Something about getting her tips and talking to a guy named Boris.”
“Shit. Call her on your cell, she’ll answer for you.”
Charlie turned and ran into the kitchen. He snatched his cell off his charger and called her. He held it up immediately. “It went directly to voice mail. Either she’s in the tu
“In the tu
“BART. She doesn’t have a car.”
Fly