Page 105 of Gluttony
The night had takena cold turn, and Liza’s flimsy and torn dress did little to protect her from the elements, but she was determined to stay at the orangutan enclosure until she knew everything there was to know. It had been a strange conclusion to an even weirder show. She had to be there to ensure no trace of her family involvement was found; it was the least she could do since she’d been unable to help in the big fight.
Assisted suicide. Whatever. It hurt her head to think about.
The forensics crew had already set up spotlights and cordoned off the area with tape. A few uniformed officers guarded the area and placed evidence markers down wherever they found plant matter or weird blobs of ash. The poor orangutans had to be moved to another containment area and tranquilized due to stress, but thanks to Sloan, she’d managed to get them out before Tony’s explosion.
Liza glanced up at the metal climbing frame where it had all gone down. It was once a hut, but now a charred skeleton. Scorch marks blended with the dented and warped metal sculpture. There was no way to explain it. She had to go with the cops and pretend she was as marveled as the rest of them. At least Bailey was safe. It could have gone the other way. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose someone you loved so close to finally connecting with them.
She couldn’t imagine it because it was never something she had to worry about. She felt sick every time she fucked, so it was not exactly high on her to do list, despite the lies she’d told her family. Shifting the dirt with her bare foot, she winced at the throb in her ankle. The damned venom still worked its way out of her system. She bent down low and rubbed the welt, trying to help the process along. She could be making it worse, but whatevs. It felt better when she rubbed.
A sensation uncurled in her stomach, blossoming like a sick flower. Without having to look, she knew the forensics officer behind her was staring, thinking lustful thoughts, probably ogling her ass as she’d bent down. Stupid dress. Sure enough, when she straightened and turned around, a man in a bio-hazard mask shifted his eyes from her rear up to her face. She scowled at him, and those eyes quickly skated away, suddenly becoming very interested in the bio-matter he’d discovered from the creature.
“Nice dress.” A deep male voice behind her had her twirling.
Someone she’d never expected to see in this city again stood before her, dressed in FBI tactical attire. He’d left the state four years ago when he’d joined the feds. Joey Luciano was her closest, nay,onlymale friend since high school. She hadn’t seen him for the years she studied the Art of War, but they reconnected when she realized they were both in the Police Academy together.
The six-foot-three man had an amused look in his eyes and a slight curve to his lips as he took in her outfit.
Suddenly taken by surprise, her mind defaulted to her usual detective’s inquiry. She studied him back. The five o’clock shadow covering his steel cut jaw was thick and dark. The Joey Liza had known was meticulous about keeping himself trimmed. This man was behind. A little scruffy. His tactical attire also looked disheveled, and he wore an FBI baseball cap over his head, even though it was night. He only wore a cap when his thick unruly Italian hair needed a cut.
So he’d been busy.
His intense gaze didn’t let up.
“Yeah, I’d bet your boyfriend would love it,” she quipped.
Joey’s jaw flexed, and his eyes turned hard. “Why do you always joke about me having a boyfriend?”
“Because you’re gay.” She’d thought he’d have admitted it by now. “It’s okay.”
“No, I’m not. I have a girlfriend.”
“You do?”
“For two years.”
Oh. She always thought he was gay. Why else would he not feel lust around her? Unless he thought of her as a sister. Ew. Maybe that was it.
Except she’d never felt his lust, ever. Even as a teenager when boys were meant to have raging hormones. Even when they used to swim together, and she’d caught him ogling her tiny bikini. He certainly wasn’t her mate. They’d touched plenty of times during high school. Nothing. He’d never dated. Neither men nor women. Maybe he was asexual.
But she hadn’t seen him face to face for years. His job had taken him across the country. What did she know anymore?
His scowl drilled into her, and she squirmed. “Good to see you, Joey. What are the feds doing here?”
“Nobody calls me Joey anymore. It’s Joe.” He shifted his gaze to the mess. “We’ve been tracking this...thingacross state lines for weeks.”
Shit. Fucking shit. She looked away to hide the alarm in her eyes. There went any chance she had of covering it up with some ridiculous story. How the hell was she going to explain her way out of this? She swallowed hard.
“And what exactly do you think this thing is?”
Those penetrating eyes landed on her again. “You tell me.”
This wasnotthe Joey she knew. He never used to be so blunt with her. It threw her off.
“Aren’t you in the anti-terrorism unit, AgentJoeLuciano?”
“It’s Special Agent. And I’m in violent crimes now.”
“Violent crimes. That’s heavy.”
