Page 90 of Triggered By Love
“Except their way of getting it. Predators. Like you.”
“I feel rather like a fish on a hook for you.” His winning smile was entirely incongruous with that sentiment.
“I can’t picture you a fishman,” she said. “That’s Richie.”
“What kind of fish? Shark?”
“No, more like pufferfish.” She puffed her face in an imitation of the pufferfish he had in his aquarium. They were spiny fish that swelled up like balloons when threatened by enemies. “He has a round face, bulging eyes, and is harmless unless threatened. Then he gets prickly.”
“Deceptive, like a forked tongue.” Jason picked up the lizard scale arms. “Who is this? Larry Leach?”
She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. His head was already overblown.
Same as his little head. Yikes, I’ve already blown that one.
She yanked her thoughts from the gutter. “I have to find Ivanna’s notes and the list of models to match each one to what he or she is supposed to wear.”
“I’m not stopping you.” He kept too close to her for comfort, especially with the hormones ping-ponging between them.
“Then help me help you with the investigation.” Avery tightened her voice to keep her lust at bay. “We have to find Ivanna’s notes so we can correlate model with animal. Remember, you can’t talk about this to anyone. This has to be a surprise at the show, or it will be worthless. It’s all about the shock and awe. The unpredictable generates the biggest buzz.”
“My lips are sealed.” He lunged at her, quick as a cobra striking, and sucked the breath out of her. Just as quickly, he let her go. “Start searching, deputy.”
Chapter Thirty-One
While Avery lookedunder the bed and inside the closet, Jason opened Ivanna’s dresser—top drawer first and flipped through the contents. That kiss he’d lobbed at Avery had been quick and dirty, and she’d passed the test. She was clearly attracted to him but reluctant to let her guard down. Talk about being prickly, she was the paragon of porcupine.
Except he’d have to shut it down for now. A young woman had been put in a coma, possibly because of something she knew, and whether Avery was aware of it or not, she, too, was in the line of danger.
Somebody was getting desperate—hence the attack to silence Ivanna, perhaps permanently.
Jason pushed aside the flesh-colored underwear and raised an eyebrow at what he saw.
“Why are you so fixated on lingerie?” Avery asked with a side-eyed look of disapproval. “Is this the reason you became an investigator? To get to dig around a woman’s panty drawer?”
He picked up a black thong. “Fringe benefits. But yes, the underwear drawer tells me a lot about a woman. There was the case of the hotel magnate’s daughter with holey and stretched out panties.”
“What did that show about her?” Avery sniffed, half lifting the mattress and sliding her hand where bedbugs might have taken residence.
He shrugged. “Personality disorder. A tendency to hoard. I knew she’d never throw away a clue.”
“Was she guilty?”
“Let’s just say she incriminated someone by keeping too much.” Jason swept his hand underneath a stack of sports bras. “Your Ivanna is a tomboy. Nothing lacy or frilly. No underwire or pads. Let me guess. She’s no nonsense.”
“Pretty much. Very efficient but keeps close tabs.”
“If she’s organized, she might keep her notes in her head.”
“I doubt it,” Avery said. “She checks and double-checks everything.”
“Doesn’t seem OCD,” Jason remarked. “Colors and shapes are mixed up in here. Has she made mistakes?”
“Nope. She has a great memory and is very observant. That’s why I have her wrangling the models. They’re like baby ducks. You have to wake them up the morning of the show, remind them where to meet, which outfit they’re wearing, what mood they’re in, and line them up. You’ve been to a show, and you know how fast it goes.”
“All the months of planning for fifteen minutes of walking.” Jason shook his head.
“What can I say? The models walk fast. It’s the overall impression and mood. The energy and emotion that imprints in the heart and soul of the audience.” Avery’s gaze lifted to the ceiling and grew pensive. “Brando wanted that show to have a perfect ending, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
