Cobb by Maryann Jordan
14
After they laid in bed and rested, they went for round two, and then later, Cobb let her suck him off in the shower. By the time they finally left her bedroom it was past dinnertime and Melon was demanding attention. Josie was fixing sandwiches, her long hair hanging about her shoulders.
“Sweetie, would you grab a hairband from my bag on the counter?”
He grinned as he walked over to her large bag. “You trust me to go through your purse?”
Rolling her eyes, she laughed. “I hardly have any secrets in there. But then, I think most men are afraid of women’s purses.”
As he peered inside, his brow knit. “Jesus, babe, where would I find one?”
“Pull out the clear plastic cosmetic bag. There’s one in there.”
He dug out the smaller bag, recognizing two lipsticks, a small compact, a comb, and a pink elastic band. “Is this it?” At her nod, he unzipped the bag and reached his large fingers into the small bag. Pulling out the hairband, his attention was snagged by another object. “Why do you keep a mini drive in your cosmetic bag?”
She glanced up, shook her head slightly, then dropped her gaze back to the sandwiches. “I don’t. In fact, other than my hairbands, I rarely use that bag. I should throw it out, but I never know when I might have the occasion to touch up my lipgloss.”
“Babe, there’s a mini drive in here.”
He reached down toward the bottom of the clear bag, his fingers snagging onto the tiny drive. Holding it up for her to see, he watched her brows lower as she stared, first at the drive and then up at him.
“Jorge, I have no idea where that came from. I don’t use those, and I’ve never seen it.”
“Fuck.”
She jerked at his curse, then sucked in a quick breath. “Oh, my God… do you think Caesar put it there? When he was coming from my office?”
“Don’t know, babe, but it would explain why no one has tossed your office or home. If no one knows he had this or hid it, then they only think you have suspicions, not evidence.”
“Will we look at it now?”
“I’ll look at it.”
She blinked, her chin jerking back slightly. “But Cobb, I might be able to help! There might be something in it that I would understand!”
He twisted so that he was facing her. “If I think that you can help decipher something, then I’ll ask. Otherwise, Josie, my job is to keep you safe, and part of that is to keep you out of this.”
Her pale eyes narrowed. “Out of this? I’m in the middle of this!”
Stalking over to her, he cupped her cheeks, loving the feel of her soft skin. “You’re right, you are in the middle of this. Tell you what, let’s eat and then we’ll see what we have. I’ll send it to my people and they can work on it as well.”
She lifted on her toes, kissing him, and nodded. “Deal.”
While they ate, he slid the drive into his laptop and looked at the financial records that filled the screen. Cobb knew with enough time he could decipher what records they were viewing, but with the ponderous amount of information, it would take too much time. Josie admitted she had no idea what the files were referring to.
Deciding that he’d let LSI work on deciphering the contents of the drive, he downloaded a copy and sent them through his secure line to Josh. Setting the laptop to the side, he joined Josie on the sofa, and they curled up together to watch TV.
As she began to yawn, he had no idea how she wanted to proceed. Would she want him to sleep in the guest room? Or join her in her room? He hated to ask but found himself nervous as he waited to see what her thoughts would be. They flipped out all the lights, and he checked the security before meeting her down at the end of the hall.
She stood in her doorway, her gaze darting all around. “I… don’t know where you want to sleep, Jorge. If you’d prefer to sleep by yourself, that’s fine. But… if you want, I’d really like it if you’d…”
“Just tell me what you want, babe.”
She shrugged as her smile widened. “I’d like it if you slept with me.”
The air rushed from his lungs in relief. He stalked forward, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her into the bathroom. “I’ll let you get ready for bed, and I’ll grab my things from the other bathroom.” Uncertain about sleeping nude, he pulled on boxer shorts.
A few minutes later, they crawled underneath the still-messy covers. She was adorable in her sleep shorts and camisole. With his arms wrapped around her, he tucked her into his embrace, glad when she soon fell asleep.
Cobb lay in bed awake, his mind on overload. Their relationship had changed completely from what they’d shared the day before. He had struggled with his attraction toward her, even with the knowledge that the other Keepers, men and women he held in the highest regard, had fallen for someone on a mission. He’d always wondered if that breached any ethical line. But even Mace, the most upright man he’d ever worked for, had never felt his relationship with Sylvie and her son, David, to be a violation of ethics or a conflict of interest. In fact, none of the Keepers seemed to struggle with the issue. And seeing their relationships, Cobb would never judge them, knowing each of them to be in love.
His father and grandfather had emphasized watching everything he did when he was growing up, knowing the media and constituency would be looking for fault. He knew many people’s opinions of politicians were that they were all unscrupulous. But his father and grandfather, plus many he’d had the distinct pleasure of knowing, were hard-working, concerned civil servants. As far as he knew, Josie’s father was the same.
But regardless of his previous ideas of mixing pleasure and business, the change in his relationship with Josie had blown his doubts right out of his mind. He’d handed the choice to Josie, she chose him, and he was going to go forward with the relationship.
Thinking of her brought a smile to his face. The same smile that had stayed on his face all during the day. He’d had plenty of sexual partners over the years, but not as many recently. When he was young, stupid, newly in the military, and then as a SEAL, women had been easy to get when he was not on a mission. Sex was usually a physical release, emotions not factoring in at all. He had dated a few women over the years, but those relationships ended quickly as soon as he realized nothing was holding them together. Cobb had never wanted to be with a woman once he determined that there was nothing more permanent in their future.
But sex with Josie had been by far the best he’d ever had. She was an unselfish lover, wanting to give as much as she took. Quiet and soft-spoken worked for him. She wasn’t a pushover, but she also wasn’t in his face, and he found himself wanting her in a way he’d never wanted with another woman.
The moonlight filtered through the blinds, casting a soft glow over the bed. His breath halted as he stared at her sleeping face devoid of signs of worry and wanted this for her each night. Pulling her in tighter, he finally found sleep, resting in the comfort of her body tucked into his.
The next morning over breakfast, her brow was furrowed as she nibbled on toast.
“What’s on your mind, babe?”
She blinked, so lost in thought that the words appeared to have startled her, so he continued. “For someone who should have a smile on their face after last night, I may need to rethink my technique.”
She threw her head back and laughed, then reached out with her free hand and laid it on his arm. With a squeeze and her smile still on her face, she said, “Believe me, there’s nothing wrong with your technique.”
He smoothed his finger over her brow. “Then what’s got your forehead crinkled with thoughts?”
“I was just thinking about going into the office today. I know we’ve been riding together, but I have a dilemma this morning. I’ve got a home visit to make with an elderly woman who had been abused for years by her husband. He’s gone now, but she’s very skittish around men. When she comes into the clinic, she won’t even let Mark take a look at her. I have to have Laurie do everything.”
Shrugging, he took another sip of coffee. “That’s okay. I’ll just stay in the car.”
“I’m not sure that will work with her. She always stands at the window and watches as I drive in. If she sees you driving and me getting out of your vehicle, I’m not sure she’ll trust that.”
“What do you suggest? Because I don’t want to leave you without eyes on you.”
“I know it seems a bit ridiculous, but can we drive separately? Separately to the clinic and then separately to her house. I’ll pull into her driveway as usual, and you can just park on the street. I know it’s two cars all day when we really only need one, but I can’t think of another way.”
He hefted his shoulders in a shrug. “Sure.”
She grinned and stepped closer. “You’re always telling me that I’m easy, but you are, too. You didn’t go all alpha-male, not-gonna-do-it-your-way.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “I might be in charge of your security and want you safe, but I’m not going to be unreasonable. You know your clients and their needs. My job is to keep you safe while making sure you can keep doing your job.” With that, he leaned forward and kissed her the way he’d been wanting to since he first walked into the kitchen.
Later, sitting in her office, he tried to force his mind to the financial reports in front of him as well as the information Josh had sent to him. But the task, common enough for Cobb, was proving to be almost impossible. Josie filled his mind.
His phone rang and he glanced at the ID. Recognizing Levi’s code, he answered, “Cobb.”
“This is Floyd Gomez. FBI. Is this a good time?”
“Give me a minute.” He walked out the back door and away from the building, then replied, “Go ahead.”
“I’ve been brought up to speed on the case involving Caesar Castiel by my supervisor and your coworker, Levi. I have also spoken to Senator Rector. My specialty is fraud, and I’ll tell you, this mess stinks of it.”
“Agreed.” Cobb liked the way the agent got right to the point. “I’m working through more of the finances left by Caesar right now. It appears he hid a mini drive in Ms. Rector’s purse that we just found. There is a reference to Carson Wright on the drive, but I checked out the last known office and it was empty.”
“Carson Wright. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while,” Floyd said.
“What have you got on him?”
“The name is tied into organized crime in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Slippery as fuck. Has storefront addresses, but by the time he’s tracked down, he’s in the wind. I can’t even prove he’s a real person. It’s even been surmised that it’s a name used by more than one person. But you say he was mentioned in the records left by Caesar?”
Cobb heard the interest in Floyd’s voice and grinned. He recognized the investigator’s rising scent for blood. “Yeah. Sent it to my people, but I’ve got a copy I can send to you. I have the understanding of the financial records but I don’t have time or the resources here to work on them fully.”
“Send me what you’ve got. How is Ms. Rector?”
“Good. She’s steady under normal circumstances and is still holding everything together, but she’s burying a lot of her nerves. Don’t worry about her… I’ve got her.”
“Good to know. Okay, let me have a chance to look at the drive’s records, and you focus on her safety. We’ll be in touch.”
He disconnected and stalked back inside the clinic, re-settling into Josie’s office. He’d barely sat down when Mark stuck his head in and smiled as he inclined his head toward the papers in front of Cobb. “Hey. You’re here a lot more than Caesar used to be. Maybe now things will run more smoothly for Josie.”
“That’s the idea,” he said noncommittally.
“So, how’s it going?”
“Not bad. Just getting used to the way the former bookkeeper handled things,” he said, still keeping his comments vague.
Mark sauntered into the room and nodded, sipping from a water bottle. “Man, I hated the finance class that med students had to take. Give me anatomy and physiology any day, but save me from rows and columns of numbers.”
Cobb leaned back in his chair, glad to have the chance to scope out Mark on his own. Josh had let him know the young doctor had a lot of medical school debt; not unusual, but it also made him susceptible to a quick money-making scheme. “So, you work at the hospital, also?” Gaining Mark’s nod, he continued, “I guess young doctors don’t get much free time, do you?”
Mark snorted. “You’d be right. Although, it’s not like I do emergency medicine. I thought of that at one time, then knew it was a calling that I didn’t have. Geriatric and internal medicine. I like the patients and getting to know them. And I like the pace.” He continually glanced down at the files on the desk. “So… uh… any idea why Caesar left his job so suddenly?”
Brows lifted, Cobb plastered a surprised expression onto his face. “Nah, I never knew him. Josie just knew that I had the skills to take care of the books, so it works for me. I get to spend more time with my girlfriend.” They were quiet for a moment, then Cobb decided to push for a little more information. “You put in the long haul for medical school. Your education must have set you back.”
Mark scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed heavily. “Yeah, I worked every chance I got and took out loans for the rest of it. My family didn’t have any money for medical school, so it was all on me. But working here helps. I get part of my debt paid off by working at this clinic. Not that it’s the only reason I do it, because I really like the clinic and the patients, but, well… I’ll be honest, having the debt forgiveness is a good thing.”
“Did you know Caesar very well?”
Mark’s gaze shifted down and to the side, his fingers digging into the label on the water bottle in his hand. “I saw him around. He wasn’t in here all that often, but I knew who he was.”
“Oh, I thought maybe you were friends.”
“No, no. We barely spoke when we were here. Our paths just really didn’t cross.” Mark stood and tossed a wave. “Well, my break is over. I’d better get back to work.”
Cobb watched Mark walk out of Josie’s office, Mark’s mannerisms moving through his mind. Josh had informed him that the young doctor’s bank account was fairly steady but his student loans occasionally had a large payment go in. Cobb wondered if that was the money that came from working in the clinic or if there was something else. Shooting Josh another note, he told him to dig for more.
Hearing Mario and Charlene talking in the hall, he leaned to the side, looked out the door, and watched as they walked into the workroom. Standing, he followed, and once inside, offered a chin lift as he went to get water out of the refrigerator. Charlene’s eyes flared with interest as they roved over him, something Cobb noted but made sure not to encourage.
She grinned widely and said, “Jorge, you are so much better looking than our last bookkeeper!”
“Well, I never met Caesar.”
She was seated at the table but leaned forward, her tongue rubbing over her lips. “Oh, that’s a compliment.” She winked, then laughed. “Josie is so lucky.”
Laurie walked in and nodded toward everybody, then looked at Charlene. Shaking her head, she said, “Girl, I don’t know how you do it. I saw you come in with that new Coach bag this morning as well as that Gucci jacket you had on. How the hell you dress like that on your salary, I’ll never know.”
Charlene's smile was tight-lipped, but she offered a one-shoulder shrug. “It just comes from dating the right kind of guy. One who’s got money and doesn’t mind showing me how important I am to him.”
Laurie plopped her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Whatever happened to good, kind, smart, hard-working—”
Charlene threw her head back and laughed. “Honey, that’s all fine, but unless he’s got the money to spend, all those other qualities don’t mean anything. My mom knew how to keep her eye out for the next man to take care of her and she lived well.”
Just then, Josie walked in, glanced around the room at the others, and as her gaze landed on Cobb, she smiled widely. Walking directly to him, she grabbed a water bottle as well and leaned against the counter next to him, mimicking his posture.
Laura piped up and asked, “Did you guys do anything special this weekend?”
“We went to the Mescalero Reservation and had dinner.”
“I love their casino!” Charlene blurted, her eyes bright. “Did you win a lot?”
Josie replied, “We didn’t go to the casino, just dinner.”
Cobb watched with interest as Charlene’s smile fell. “I haven’t been there in a while. I need to see if my boyfriend will take me. The last time I went, I did pretty good.”
Mark stuck his head into the workroom and called for Laurie, who hustled out to see a patient.
Mario had been quiet, munching on his sandwich, but looked over at Charlene. “You’d do a lot better for yourself if you got a boyfriend that was serious about putting a ring on your finger. The way you keep going through them, you’ll end up alone.”
“I’m not ready to settle down! House in the suburbs. Minivan. PTA.” Charlene offered an exaggerated shudder. “I’m all about having a boyfriend who spends money and isn’t afraid to shower me with gifts.”
“How long did you and Cesar go out?” Mario asked. “I can’t imagine him having much money to spend on you.”
Cobb felt Josie stiffen next to him and moved his elbow slightly, hoping she took his nonverbal hint to stay cool.
Charlene huffed, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. “I never dated Caesar! He was so not my type. He asked me to dinner once, and I accepted. That was all. Believe me, that was all!” She stood and swept out of the room, huffing as she left.
Mario held his expression for a moment, then burst out laughing. He stood and looked over at Cobb and Josie. “Sorry, I knew she hadn’t dated him, but I like getting my digs in every once in a while when she gets too full of herself.” He threw away his trash and headed back out, the workroom now empty except for Josie and Cobb.
“I wonder what you have found when investigating the people at my clinic.”
It was a statement, her tone full of curiosity, not outrage. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her front into his side. Peering down, he smiled as she tilted her head back to hold his gaze. “I told you I don’t trust anybody, and I don’t. Plus I didn’t have to ask a lot of questions. Your crew here talks a lot. I just listen and nudge them on occasion.”
She seemed to ponder this, then cocked her head to the side. “Well, did you find out anything?”
He glanced at the clock on the wall and said, “Isn’t it about time we headed out to your last appointment?”
She startled, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then let’s take care of that, stop at the grocery store on the way home, and then we can talk about everything over dinner.”
They walked back into her office where he gathered all the papers and files, and she grabbed her laptop and bag. Waving to the others, they walked out at the same time. As she drove to the small neighborhood, he followed, noting the older houses were decently maintained but not extravagant. As Josie flipped on her blinker and turned into a driveway, he drove to the end of the street, turned around, then came back and parked where he could watch the front door but stayed out of the line of vision of the resident.
Half an hour later, Josie left the house and climbed into her car. She sat there for a moment, and just as he was about to call her, his phone vibrated. “Hey, babe.”
“Was that too long?” she asked.
“Not at all. Was it long enough to do what you needed to do?”
“Oh, yes, she just needed me to go over some of her information, and then I’ve got some referrals to make for her to receive community services. So, are you ready to head to the grocery?”
“Yep, you lead, and I’ll follow.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that,” she laughed.
“Then let’s get the shopping done and get back home. Then I’ll let you show me what you’ve got!”
Her laughter continued to ring out, a sound he hoped to hear a lot more of for a long time.
