Lucky for her, Drew"s wife had just bought out her aunt"s share of Simply Sensual and she"d taken Audra under her wing. Natasha had mentored her, given her a job both in the boutique and designing lingerie. While Drew had footed the bill, Natasha had helped Audra get into school to get her degree in fashion and design. The more Audra learned, the more Natasha had let her do, until Audra was doing all of the designs in-house.
Natasha has promised if Audra stuck with it and graduated, she"d make it worth her while. There weren"t many people Audra trusted to keep their word. After all, other than Isabel, Bea and Suzi, n.o.body else in her life ever had. But Natasha and Drew had come through for her.
It still amazed her.
Finally, about six months ago, Audra had been comfortable enough to trust the income would last and had settled into her dream apartment. Two bedrooms, a sunken tub and, her secret pa.s.sion, a gourmet kitchen. Not that she could cook more than microwave dinners. But there was something so sensual about food, and places where food was prepared. Like s.e.x, she figured when she learned to cook, she"d be d.a.m.ned good at it.
She forced herself to concentrate on her current design. An oriental-inspired teddy, it was a combination of silk, embroidery and a modified mandarin collar. But she couldn"t focus. Her mind was fogged with exhaustion and she could barely keep her eyes open. With a shrug, she decided she had the rest of the day. She could get it done later.
Audra gave into the decadent lure of her bedroom and cuddled under the downy warmth of her purple velour comforter. After a little nap, she"d be recharged to work on the designs.
THE JANGLING PHONE shrilled in Audra"s ear. She moaned and pulled her pillow over her head, trying to ignore the summons. shrilled in Audra"s ear. She moaned and pulled her pillow over her head, trying to ignore the summons.
Her answering machine, idiotically placed on the bedside table, whirred as it delivered the outgoing message.
"Audra? You have to be around. Where are you?" Natasha"s voice crackled over the line. Not even the thousands of miles between them were enough to dull the sharp, frantic tone of her voice. "I have to talk to you right away. Can you-"
Audra grabbed the phone. "Yeah," she said.
She leaned on one elbow and squinted through the dusk-darkened room at the luminescent numbers of her clock radio. She"d slept two hours. At least she"d had a nice, hot erotic dream to show for it. Images of Jesse, leather wrist straps and decadent delights still flashed through her head as Audra stretched, one hand holding the phone and the other trailing down her body, over her still peaked nipples. Even awake, she could feel the heat, the wet pleasure between her legs.
"I"m here. What"s up, Tash? You sound a little freaked."
"Freaked? Oh, man, that"s putting it lightly. These people are crazy. They want the designs immediately."
Audra winced and sent a squint-eyed look past her bedroom door to the drafting table backlit by the kitchen lights. Okay, no problem. She"d work all night, get the fall designs done and faxed first thing in the morning.
"The fall designs? Um, okay. I"ll get them to you this week. I have the hotel"s fax number, right?"
"Wrong. Hotel address."
"What? You need them expressed or something?"
"No." Panic came through the phone line loud and clear. "They aren"t satisfied with the promise promise of three exclusive designs in addition to the fall line. They want to see what the designs will be." of three exclusive designs in addition to the fall line. They want to see what the designs will be."
"What?" Audra yelped, sitting up so fast her head spun.
"They want to see actual design boards on the custom designs. The real deal. No rough sketches, no samples of past designs to prove our quality. They want, in their demanding little fingers, the actual prototype designs. Fabric swatches, bead samples. The works."
"s.h.i.t." This sucked. Audra threw off the comforter and bounded out of bed. Maybe they could subst.i.tute a few from the fall line she"d been working on? She hurried into the living room and started flipping through her completed designs. Five. Dammit.
She had to do it, though. Natasha had gone all the way to China to court these distributors in person. To take Simply Sensual out of the domestic market and go international. This was their big break.
"How soon do you actually have to have them?"
"The sooner the better. I can send you their preferences, the looks they"re hoping for. You have my appointment schedule. If you can get me the individualized design boards at least a day before each meeting, that"d still work."
"I doubt I can get them ready that fast, Natasha. I thought we had time. I thought you were just presenting ideas, remember. I was waiting to hear what they wanted for their custom look before I even tried to come up with designs."
Audra frowned and set aside the almost-complete design for a lace bridal teddy. Before she could think of another alternative, her sister-in-law was wailing again.
"This was crazy. We jumped before we were ready. I"m going to come home, we"ll regroup, think this through. We might lose these distributors, sure, but we can pick up others."
"No!" Audra exclaimed. "No d.a.m.ned way. We spent a lot of time researching these these distributors. We busted our a.s.ses finding companies that met all our requirements, including your demanding work ethic. That wasn"t easy, Natasha. This is our shot. You"re already there, you"ve had the initial meetings with them. If you leave, we"ve blown it." distributors. We busted our a.s.ses finding companies that met all our requirements, including your demanding work ethic. That wasn"t easy, Natasha. This is our shot. You"re already there, you"ve had the initial meetings with them. If you leave, we"ve blown it."
"I don"t want to leave, either, but I just don"t see how we can do this. There is so much work involved. Work you are going to be stuck doing."
"We"ll make it happen," she vowed. Somehow.
"Are you sure? Because if you can do it, I"m sure we"ll snag at least two of these accounts. And on top of that, I was approached by a different distributor yesterday who"s interested. We"re meeting this week, as well. I need to research them, but it could mean an even bigger order. More success." Natasha sounded giddy and terrified, all at the same time.
Audra pressed a hand to her stomach. She knew how her sister-in-law felt.
"The thing is," Natasha continued, "this puts it all on your shoulders, Audra. That"s four accounts to design for now. Can you handle it?"
Her anxiety came through loud and clear. It had been one thing to leave the boutique in Audra"s hands while she was away for a short trip. But now? Now Audra was responsible for the boutique and and the success of Simply Sensual. the success of Simply Sensual.
The only thing Audra couldn"t tell was whether Natasha felt bad about Audra carrying the extra load or if she simply didn"t have the faith that Audra could pull it off.
Did it matter? Either way, it would take a miracle. But she wasn"t going to tell Natasha that. The last thing she needed to do was confirm she couldn"t handle the responsibility of the shop. Instead, she offered bogus a.s.surances, hurried her sister-in-law through goodbyes and hung up.
"s.h.i.t," she said to the empty room. "Now what?"
Now she proved she was a responsible designer worthy of her new t.i.tle, and not a pity case. Or she confirmed to the world at large, or at least her family, that she would never amount to more than an unreliable bad girl with a flair for design.
JESSE RUBBED his eyes and glared at the computer screen. He was finally getting a solid hook on Dave Larson. The guy had more screen names than Microsoft had patents. So far, though, he"d connected him with the enforcer of his eyes and glared at the computer screen. He was finally getting a solid hook on Dave Larson. The guy had more screen names than Microsoft had patents. So far, though, he"d connected him with the enforcer of Du Bing Li Du Bing Li triad, at least through e-mails, as well as three of the lower-ranking gang lieutenants. A couple were stupidly chatty in their online exchanges, probably thinking Dave"s computer skills would shield them from detection. triad, at least through e-mails, as well as three of the lower-ranking gang lieutenants. A couple were stupidly chatty in their online exchanges, probably thinking Dave"s computer skills would shield them from detection.
Who knew the computer was the communication of choice for up-and-coming gangs?
"Martinez?"
Jesse turned to face his captain.
"Sir?"
"Any breaks on the triad case? Word on the street is they"re moving on something big, but n.o.body can pinpoint what it is. Vice wants in, so give me something to keep this in our department."
Jesse bristled. "This isn"t their arena, it"s ours. From what I"ve tracked so far, we"ll be able to link them to high-level ident.i.ty theft. Possibly credit card fraud and some money laundering, as well."
Shale grunted and took the file Jesse held out. The furrow between his brow deepened as he read through the case notes.
"If you"re right, they"ll be moving on this fast."
"I"d estimate they"ll want to move before the month"s out. I"m surprised they haven"t already. All I can think of is maybe they had some trouble with the information? From what I can tell, Larson is scrambling. It looks like he screwed up somewhere."
"His loss, our gain."
"His loss might be more than he bargained for. He"s always been small potatoes. This screwup, whatever it is, might cost him more than he"d imagined."
"Has a hit been ordered?"
"Not yet, but my narc seems to think it"s in the works."
"Can you use that?"
Jesse considered. "Maybe. I"ve made contact with Larson online in a few different venues using different personas. He must have something else going on, though, since his online activity level is a lot lower than his M.O."
"Like you said, he"s scrambling. Maybe he"s busy trying to rebuild his info?"
"Or trying to recover it," Jesse mused. He had to nail down what had been handed off to Audra. Once he did, he"d have the evidence he needed to pull the guy in. Audra too, unfortunately. As far as he could tell, though, she hadn"t had any further contact with Larson.
At Shale"s look, Jesse shook his head and indicated the file. "Either way, he"s on shaky ground."
"The shakier the better. See if you can set something up with him. Get his trust, see if he"ll turn."
"Turning on anyone connected with Du Bing Li Du Bing Li is dicey. I"d have to have some d.a.m.ned good incentive." is dicey. I"d have to have some d.a.m.ned good incentive."
"If he did screw up, his a.s.s is on the fast track to dead. That might be all the incentive you need."
Jesse nodded. It might. He"d see if he could come up with a little more, though.
"You nail the Walker chick yet?"
Didn"t he wish? Jesse mentally groaned at the memory of Audra"s body beneath his on the couch. The slide of her flesh against the slick leather. The feel of her exploding around his fingers. d.a.m.n.
"Not yet, but the evidence is building. Her business partner is over in China. So far, she"s met with a few different lingerie distributors, which is in keeping with the lady"s business. Nothing hokey until yesterday, when she had a meeting with a new company. A little digging and I found out they"re a money laundering front for the Wo Shing Wo Wo Shing Wo triad." triad."
Shale nodded, obviously unsurprised. Unlike Jesse, who had been a little shocked to have the evidence drop into his lap that easily. He wanted to think it was too easy, but he was pretty sure that was the l.u.s.ting side of his brain talking, not the cop side.
"Did you track the money?" Shale asked, tapping the printout of Simply Sensual"s bank account and the large sum deposited the previous week.
"Not yet, except that it came from an offsh.o.r.e account."
"Both women have clean records, though. They"re probably new," Shale mused.
While his boss focused on the file, Jesse didn"t inform the captain that he"d broken into Audra"s sealed juvie record. His superior would have no interest in the fact that Audra had been arrested for breaking into a dog pound.
Jesse, though, was fascinated. The woman was a ma.s.s of contradictions. Sweet as h.e.l.l, and equally hard. Funny and s.e.xy, and now this humanitarian side? All he could think about was their date on Thursday night. If only he could break the case before then. Because it was going to be pure h.e.l.l resisting her otherwise.
Jesse had never found a woman who appealed to him on so many levels. It was as if she was the answer to all of his most tempting dreams.
It was going to suck when he had to arrest her.
8.
"HEY, AUDRA. You look whipped."
Audra glanced up from the counter, where she"d spread her designs, trim and the ugly tie the geek had tossed at her that night in the club, to see Isabel let the boutique door swing shut behind her.
"Hang on," she muttered. "I"ve almost got this design just right."
Sure, Natasha wanted to stick with the tried and true. But if Audra had to make up design boards to present the exclusive designs these distributors wanted to see, why not offer an interesting option?
She"d woke that morning from a hot dream where Jesse had tied her to the bedposts. All morning, she"d been trying to get the wild dominatrix idea out of her head. She hadn"t been able to pull it from dream to reality until she"d spied the b.u.t.t-ugly tie draped behind her desk. As soon as she"d seen the strip of tacky material, something had clicked. It was the color, the vivid garish rainbow, that she"d used for the wrist straps. The way the straps contrasted with the s.e.xy black leather really made the design pop. It looked even better on paper than it had in her imagination.
She smothered a naughty grin. It wasn"t that she was trying to get her own way by ignoring Natasha"s wish to stick with the sweeter stuff. It was just that she felt sure she knew what was best for her her designs. Wasn"t that what a head designer was for? designs. Wasn"t that what a head designer was for?
"Party hard this weekend?" her friend asked. "You look like you haven"t slept in days.
Dropping her pencil on the counter, Audra rubbed her burning eyes and glanced at the clock. It was only Monday morning and she was ready for the weekend. She"d been in this seat since six and her brain felt as if it were going to explode. She flexed her stiff shoulders and wished for just a thirty-minute nap. She swiveled to face Isabel and pasted a cheeky smile on her face. It was all she could do to keep it there when she got a good look at her friend"s face.
"What"s wrong?"
Isabel"s lip jutted a little, and she tucked a black curl behind her ear as she shrugged. She flicked a finger down the peach lace of a chemise, then met Audra"s eyes.
"I lost the account."
Her mind went blank for a moment. Audra started to ask what account, and then it hit her.
"The mall?" At Isabel"s morose nod, she forced her stiff body off the stool and came around the counter. "What happened? You were meeting with the manager, right?"
"Right. This morning." Shoulders slumped, Isabel made her way toward Audra.
Her eyes still on her friend"s face, Audra moved to grab a Red Bull from the minifridge behind the counter and handed it to her.
"Here, a shot of energy should help you shake it off. Then you can tell me the details."
Still droopy, Isabel popped open the can as she glanced over the sketches spread across the counter.
"See," she said with a sniff. "These designs are like us. The sweet florals are me. The leather and studs are you. Even if it does have those freaky-looking wrist bands."
Her brow wrinkled. What the h.e.l.l was Isabel babbling about?
Audra looked at her little bit of rebellion. The leather teddy, complete with ugly-tie-inspired wrist restraints. Who knew such a blight against design as that piece of neckwear could inspire such a hot idea?