Page 68 of Above ’N’ Beyond

“Do I get a scratch, too?” Jamie skimmed his fingers down Bella’s spine to the soft globes of her ass, stroking them lightly.

She giggled. “Maybe later. After coffee.”

“Can’t. Gotta go meet Tony.” When the smile on her face faded, he wasn’t sure if it was because he was leaving or because he was meeting Tony. Both, probably. “I’m sorry.” She had no idea just how sorry he really was. Someday, he’d tell her. Today wasn’t the day. He leaned down and dropped another quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you later at the Bistro.”

Seeing the worry and disappointment on her pretty face only added to the anxiety brewing in his gut. With his father’s application for a transfer to Butner denied, the sense of urgency to get him released had just increased exponentially.

Unable to bear the hurt look in Bella’s eyes a moment longer, Jamie stood. “Stay in bed. I’ll take Gnocchi out with Jax.”

Outside, he cued up Special Agent Jenkins on his cell while Jax and Gnocchi trotted around Bella’s tiny yard, sniffing the grass for just the right place to take care of their business. With barely enough time to shower and get to Tony’s, he had to multi-task.

“Where’ve you been?” Jenkins snapped. That seemed to be the question of the day.

“Busy.” When the dogs had finished, Jamie put Gnocchi back in Bella’s level of the house, then went down to his apartment. “I don’t have much time.” As he scooped out Jax’s kibble and poured it into his bowl, he recapped the situation happening at Stewart Airport. “There are other pickups happening at other airports, I just don’t know which airports, and I don’t know if we’re picking up people or contraband. Whatever it is, it has something to do with a big event Paola’s planning at the Bistro next week on Monday. Twenty-five people are coming.”

“When did you hear all this?” Jenkins asked, his tone suspicious.

“Last night.” Jamie cranked on the shower.

“Then why didn’t you tell me this last night?”

“I’m telling you now.”

Jenkins swore under his breath. “This could be it. The big splash we’ve been waiting for.”

“Agreed.” Keeping the volume low, Jamie put the call on speaker while he went into his bedroom and kicked off his boots. “Whatever she’s planning is about rebuilding the family and taking back what she’s lost.”

“Jesus. That sounds like a coup. A freaking big one. What do you think your chances are of getting PC to plant bugs in the Bistro before this big event next week?”

“Yeah, about that.” Jamie pulled his shirt over his head. “We may not even need PC.” As he stripped off his jeans, he told Jenkins about the cameras Bella had hidden in the private banquet room. “All we’ll need is a search warrant to seize the sim cards. You can get a court order to listen to the recordings later.”

“She bugged her own restaurant? Why?”

“Because she’s not involved in this,” Jamie continued. “She’s got nothing to do with Paola and Tony’s operation and never wanted anything to do with it. She’s not a target anymore.”

“Says you.” Jenkins’s tone held a note of sarcasm.

“Yeah, says me,” Jamie snapped, not liking Jenkins’s response. “The only reason she planted those cameras is to get something to bargain with. She’s been trying to convince her aunt to sell her share of the Bistro, but Paola refuses. If she can record something on her aunt, she plans to blackmail her with it.”

“Did you give her the necklace yet?”

“No.”

“Well, gee whiz. Maybe if you had, or if you’d worn a wire, that conversation could have been recorded.”

The man was right, but what a shitty thing to do to Bella.

“Paola will never let the Bistro go,” Jenkins continued. “She needs it to launder her money. The only thing blackmailing Paola Mancuso will get Bella Bianco is dead.”

“Not if I can help it.” He’d kill Paola with his bare hands before he’d allow her to hurt Bella. “I gotta go.”

“Keep me post—” But Jamie had already punched off the call. Two seconds later, he realized he hadn’t gotten around to telling Jenkins the cameras were synced to his phone. For the moment, anyway. Sooner or later, Bella would change the login, and he’d lose access.

Calling his sister back could wait until he had some good news to share. For now, he didn’t. Before jumping into the shower, he cued up one of his best friends, Kade Sampson, a Homeland Security K-9 officer.

“Sampson,” Kade said.

For safety reasons, none of Jamie’s friends’ numbers were programmed into his phone, but he’d long ago memorized all of them.