She joined him, unfurling her long legs in front of her, twisting her hair behind her head into a bun. “Could he be involved?”
Sam crossed his hands behind his head to keep them off Jolene’s body and took a deep breath. He’d been drunk on making love with her, and even though Melody’s text had sobered him up, Jolene’s nearness was more intoxicating than a sip of Chivas.
He closed his eyes, his mind running over his case. The people they’d discovered dead and buried in the desert near San Diego had all died from a single shot to the head—execution style, drug-cartel style, even though their heads were still attached to their bodies. Their deaths had coincided with the appearance of a pure form of meth flooding the streets of southern California, pink meth.
That same meth had made its appearance in Arizona and New Mexico about four years ago—at the same time, a spate of missing persons had been reported in the area. Could El Gringo Viejo be behind the production and distribution of that meth?
He’d been active in Arizona for a number of years—not so much in California, but the appearance of the potent meth in Cali probably coincided with EGV feeling the heat in Rocky Point. Maybe he expanded his business to get out of Arizona where it had gotten too hot for him.
“What are you doing?” Jolene poked his ribs. “Are you sleeping?”
He grabbed her finger and kissed the tip. “I’m thinking.”
“Are you going to let me in on your thoughts or does just talking to me about any subject in bed turn you on?”
Opening one eye, he turned his head. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it, and you’re still topless.”
“I’m hugging a pillow.”
“Lucky pillow.”
She hit him over the head with the pillow and scrambled from the bed. She threw open her closet door, grabbing the first thing in front of her and pulling it on. Then she jumped back on the bed, the loose-fitting blouse floating around her.
“Better?”
His gaze raked her top half and the way the blouse settled around the curve of her breasts, her dusky nipple visible through the light material. “Yep, that’s it, totally turned off.”
Truth was, Jolene could wear a burlap sack and they could be discussing the national debt, and he wouldn’t be totally immune to her charms and the sexual tension that buzzed between them like a living thing—and she knew it.
A rosy blush seeped into her cheeks, as she crossed her legs beneath her. “Okay, let me in on your thoughts about this character.”
He gathered his wits again, and explained the connection between the bodies and the powerful meth hitting the streets. “We had the same occurrence in Arizona about four years back, before I was assigned to this sector but I read all about it. When that meth surfaced in San Diego and it coincided with our discovery of a dumping ground for drug couriers, I remembered what happened in Paradiso. Only difference is, we never found the bodies here.”
“Do you think El Gringo Viejo could be responsible for that meth?” She pinned her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.
“Border Patrol, FBI and DEA thought so at the time, but they could never pin it on him. He’s always been more of a facilitator between the cartels and the suppliers. He wouldn’t want the cartels to know he was selling and encroaching on their business.”
“And you think the dumping ground here for those bodies could be the Desert Sun Casino construction site.”
“It’s similar to the other location in California in many ways. That’s why I went out there the night I ran into you. I’d been looking at a map of the desert, and that site jumped out at me.”
“We need to search that land, Sam.” She rested her chin on her knees. “Now it’s not just my father’s death I have to investigate, it’s Melody’s.”
“That’s what law enforcement is for.” Even as the words left his mouth, he knew Jolene would never accept them.
A light kindled in her dark eyes. “You don’t even have enough proof to justify a search of the land. What chance do I have to convince anyone? That’s why I buried those bones out there. I may be found out soon, but that discovery caused enough of a delay to buy us some time.”
“I’d planned to do the search on my own.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and launched forward to collect the mess of sheets on the floor.
“You wouldn’t even have had the opportunity to get on that property if it hadn’t been for my scheme.” She yanked on the edge of the top sheet as he handed it to her and smoothed it across the bed. “You owe me.”
“Okay, we’ll go out there together, but it has to be at night.” He tucked the edge of the sheet under the mattress. “Now let’s get some sleep before the sun comes up.”
“I’m dreading the day ahead. Gran is going to be devastated by Melody’s death. Do you think Tucker confessed yet?”
“So, now you think he did it?”
“Of course not, but that doesn’t mean the poor soul isn’t going to confess to it.” She rolled out of bed. “I need to brush my teeth...and stuff. Do you want a toothbrush?”
He tapped his front tooth. “Before you got that text, I was in the bathroom rubbing toothpaste over my teeth with my finger.”
“I have extra toothbrushes. You could’ve asked.” She padded to the bathroom, looking sexy as hell with that blouse floating around her.
While she ran the water in the bathroom, he straightened the covers on the bed.
“Here you go.” She tossed him an unwrapped toothbrush as she exited the bathroom, and then pulled the bedroom curtains tight, shrouding the room in darkness.
He brushed his teeth and left the new toothbrush on the edge of the sink. Should he read anything into the toothbrush?
She’d already admitted to him she didn’t know
