A Huge Mistake Read online

  Lola thanked him and told him she’d keep him posted on what was going on. She hung up and looked at her watch. She figured she’d call Jake in an hour if he didn’t call her first, and until then, maybe she’d go grab something to eat out of the kitchen. She didn’t get to finish her sandwich, so maybe she still had something fun Daisy had made last week.

  Lola was about to get up when she heard a text come in. Prince had texted her Jake’s cell phone number. She stuck her cell phone in her back pocket and, hungry as usual, picked up the satellite phone and padded toward the kitchen.

  She had just taken a huge bite of some questionably aged enchiladas when the satellite phone rang. She picked up the phone, chewing rapidly, but finally answered the phone with a mouth full, so her “hello?” sounded more like “Hhhmmmooo?”

  There was dead silence on the other end of the line, then a confused voice said, “Uh, I’m sorry, I’m looking for Ms. Lola Prentiss?”

  Lola had been chewing rapidly trying to swallow what was probably about half an enchilada, but realized it was a losing battle and just spit the mouthful into the sink. “Hey, this is Lola. Is this Jake?”

  She heard a chuckle, and a deep voice with a Southern accent said, “It is, Ms. Lola. My brother tells me you might have gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle. What can I do for you?”

  Whoa. Lola dropped back on the sofa as he was talking. Holy shit, his voice was just about enough to make her drop her drawers and invite him over. Smooth, and deep, kind of growly, totally hot. For a moment, she was so distracted just listening to him that she wasn’t really paying attention. Finally, she got ahold of herself. Remember? Dead guy? Maybe bad guys coming for her? What the hell? That’s what happens when you lose the national championship, you get no sleep, and then have to deal with stuff like dead clients and a man that sounds like sex on a stick.

  She sat up and tried to focus on the conversation. “Yeah, Jake, I might be in a little trouble. Sorry, I was up late last night and I’m not really firing on all cylinders today.”

  He laughed. “Me too. I guess everyone was up too late watching the game.”

  Oh my. Hot voice, college football fan. So far, so good. Until his next words were like a dash of cold water to her face. “It was an amazing game. I couldn’t believe we actually pulled it out. Roll Tide.”

  She pulled back and looked at the phone in disbelief before she put it back to her ear. “Roll Tide? Shit. Your brother didn’t tell me you’re a Bama fan.”

  There was dead silence on the other end, then he started to laugh. “Is that a problem? Would it make it worse to tell you I’m not just a fan? I played football there for two years and I got my undergrad and master’s degrees there?”

  She gritted her teeth. “Hell yes, it’s worse. That’s just how my day’s been going. My client that I can’t stand was murdered at that game right after I saw him and he told me he had information that was a matter of life or death. I think he gave me a flash drive that has all kinds of stuff on it that I don’t know what it means, and I may, or may not, have some pissed off people after me that may, or may not, have already killed my skanky ex-client. And now I need some help and the best guy for the job is a damn Bama fan. I’m having a weird-ass day, Jake.”

  “Well, that is a weird-ass day, Ms. Lola. Why don’t we meet up and see if we can figure out what’s going on? I took the day off, so I can meet you whenever it’s convenient for you.”

  “Fine. Why don’t you come over to my place and I’ll show you the flash drive and maybe we can figure out what’s going on.”

  He didn’t think that was a great idea. “Lola, I think it might be better if we met at my office. I have all kinds of security there on my computers, plus that way I can make sure no one overhears us. For all I know, maybe there are guys after you and they’ve already bugged your place or tapped into your computers. I want to make sure you’re safe. My brother said he’d kick my ass if anything happened to you, so give me a break…I’m trying to do my best to keep my ass as safe as possible.”

  Lola laughed. “Come on over, Jake. I promise you, my place is totally secure and my computers are perfectly safe. I don’t want to leave my house and carry this thing around, and we can talk here without having to worry about anyone being able to overhear us.”

  He was skeptical, but finally agreed. She told him she’d text him the address and for him to call when he got there and she’d buzz him in. He told her he’d see her in the next forty-five minutes, or so, and hung up.

  He sat there for a minute, a little discombobulated. His brother had called him telling him he needed a personal favor, that a friend of his in Atlanta might be in some trouble, and could he please meet with her and give her a hand. As soon as he heard it was a woman, he was immediately suspicious. Ever since Jake had gotten divorced five years ago, his entire family was constantly trying to set him up, as if he were so pathetic that he couldn’t find his own dates.

  Okay, so maybe it was true, he’d been too busy building up his business the past several years to focus on his personal life, but that didn’t make him pathetic. Okay, so maybe it was true that his only official dates the past few years were for charity events that he couldn’t get out of, and maybe he had taken his sister’s best friend, who was a lesbian in a ten-year relationship, but that didn’t mean he was pathetic. It’s not like he didn’t like women. He had a friend from college that enjoyed an occasional friends-with-benefits relationship whenever she crawled out of her CDC lab long enough to realize that a booty call might be a good thing to blow off some steam, so he had even had sex occasionally. He wasn’t pathetic, he was just busy. Mostly he just wished his family would leave him alone.

  Whatever. He was about to grab the keys to his SUV, a 2017 Ford Explorer, but took a second to check outside. He walked out onto his back porch and realized it was sunny and 65 degrees, so he decided to take his convertible. He grabbed the keys, went to the garage, put the address Lola had texted him into his phone, put down the top, and headed to Inman Park.

  3

  It took Jake about an hour to get to Lola’s building. When he called, she told him to come along the side of the building and go to the second door and she’d buzz him into the garage so he could take the elevator to her condo. He did, and when he pulled in, he saw that he was in a private garage with only a big, red, Ford F-150 and a red Mercedes two-seater convertible in the spaces. He parked, got into the elevator, and it started to rise.

  Upstairs, Lola leaned against the island counter in the kitchen and waited for the elevator to get to her floor. She had been in her bedroom when he called up, so she’d buzzed him in from her intercom system, but she hadn’t been near the monitor so she could see what he looked like. And now she could look, but she had to admit she was kind of curious as to whether the rest of him was as hot as his voice, so she just waited for him to appear.

  The truth is, Lola had spent most of her life dating young, dumb, energetic men-boys that liked to go out, liked to have sex, and then would go away and leave her alone. Or as she explained to Daisy and the gang, her ideal man was “young, hot, and dumb who preferably didn’t speak English, except for ‘harder’, ‘faster’, and ‘wait in the car’”. Maybe also “go get the car,” in case it was raining. Her one serious relationship ended so painfully that she had no interest in investing the time and energy it took to sustain a relationship, so she stayed away from anyone who might want something more than a good time. She had a wide social circle with a lot of good friends and then she had Daisy, Mo, Sara, and their husbands, her very best friends, so she always had plenty of love and companionship, so she never felt like she was missing anything. Of course her family worried that she wasn’t married, but at 46, Lola felt like that ship had sailed, and she was perfectly happy with her life.

  That didn’t mean that she wasn’t always interested to see what was out there to have some fun with for a little while. If Jake looked half as good as he sounded, he might make for a little intere
sting entertainment for a while. She heard the beep indicating the elevator had arrived and waited impatiently for the doors to open.

  He was looking down, messing with his phone, when the doors finally opened, so she saw him before he saw her. Apparently, he was in the middle of a conversation so he stepped in the foyer to finish talking. Lola sucked in her breath. Holy shit, she couldn’t really see his face, but his body sure matched the voice. As his conversation continued, he became more irritated, and soon he was stalking back and forth in her foyer as he talked in a low, angry voice. She knew he had to be at least six inches taller than she was, which would put him three or four inches over six feet, because, from where she was standing, his face was actually hidden behind a six-foot ficus but she could still see the entire top of his head. Lola just watched him while she had the chance. He looked like he could still play college football, with wide shoulders, a thick chest, and long, strong legs. Maybe not a six pack, but he looked like he kept himself in great shape. He wore a Henley thermal shirt and a pair of faded Levi’s that hugged his thick thighs and his butt and Lola found herself staring at the front of his jeans to see if that looked as nice as the rest of him.

  Of course, she was still staring at his crotch when he slammed the phone in his pocket and stepped out of the foyer. Crap. Busted. She raised her eyes to his face to find him grinning at her and pointing to his face. “Uh, I assume you’re Lola? Sugar, my eyes are up here.”

  She straightened up and looked him right in the eye with a smirk. “Sugar, I was getting there.” She walked toward him with a smile and her hand outstretched. “Hey Jake. I’m Lola. Thanks for coming over on your day off.” She tilted her head and looked at him speculatively as he folded her hand in his. “Hmmm. You and your brother don’t look anything alike.” She tried to look cool and collected, but the truth was, she felt rattled just holding his hand. What the hell? It felt like an electrical connection between the two of them. So weird. Normally, she was always the one in control when dealing with men, but something about this guy felt different. She wasn’t sure she liked the feeling.

  He hadn’t taken his eyes off her face and said automatically, “We both look exactly like our dads, so we don’t look much alike at all. But we both kind of look like our sister, who looks like our mom.” He shook her hand. “Not important. Very nice to meet you, Lola.”

  They both kept staring at each other, still shaking hands. Jake couldn’t take his eyes off her. Long dark hair, beautiful olive skin, bright blue eyes, tall, and long legs for days. He’d bet those legs would fit pretty nicely wrapped around his waist, or maybe over his shoulders.

  Finally, Lola laughed, having a pretty good idea of where his thoughts had gone. She knew because she was right there with him. Holy crap, that man was potent. Dark, almost black, hair with a little gray at the temples, a lean, boxy jaw, dark skin, bright green eyes below thick, straight dark brows, a beautiful smile, and dimples that were really just overkill in a face like his. A slightly crooked nose and several scars on his chin and one through his eyebrow kept him from looking model handsome, but she actually thought it made him look even more attractive.

  She dropped his hand and backed up a step with a half grin on her face. “So Jake, I have to admit, you’re a fine-looking man, and, despite the fact you’re an Alabama fan, I’d love for us to eventually have some fun together, but how about a little business first? Come with me.” She turned around and started down the hall, assuming he’d follow her, which he did.

  When they got to her living room he stopped to stare at her wall of windows showing the Atlanta skyline. “Damn, Ms. Lola, this is a beautiful place and your view is amazing. Is this yours, or do you rent it?”

  She stopped beside him. “I own the building and my place is the entire top floor. That’s why I have the private garage and my own pool and outside area.” She pointed to the other side of her kitchen where he could see a small pool outside a screened porch and a patio area. “Here, I’ll show you the rest of it.” As she walked him around, she told him how it had been an old lace factory and she’d bought it when the latest owner died and converted it into her unit and thirteen other ones. Her best friend Sara had decorated her condo, and another friend’s company had done the interior design on the rest of the condos. They went out by the pool and Jake stood there with his hands on his hips, looking around her small patio and then out at the skyline.

  While he enjoyed the view of Atlanta, she enjoyed the view of him. He had a great ass and whenever he moved, she could see the muscles in his back shift under his shirt. When he turned to point out a building in the distance, she could see the outline of a gun in a holster in the small of his back. Once a cop, always a cop, she figured.

  His voice interrupted her staring at his ass. “Damn, Ms. Lola, this place is amazing. Your friend is one hell of a designer.” He walked over to the rail and looked down and saw a large pool and patio area on the ground floor. “Is that for the other owners?”

  She nodded. “Yep. They have a pool and patio area and every unit has at least three covered parking spaces underneath. I had the whole thing sold before it was halfway done.” She smiled and leaned back against the railing. “This is my favorite real estate deal, ever, even though I technically lost money by the time it was done because of some custom stuff I did. It cost a freakin’ fortune to put the pool in up here. I don’t care, I still love it. And hell, I’d have to pay money for a place to live anyway, so I consider it a wash.”

  He was confused. His brother told him she was a criminal defense attorney and dabbled in real estate, but this kind of place cost serious bucks. Something wasn’t adding up, and he didn’t like mysteries. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. “So, Ms. Lola, what do you do for a living? You must be one hell of an attorney because this place ain’t cheap. Or else you do more than dabble in real estate. What’s your deal?”

  She looked at him innocently and batted her eyes. “I assume you’re interested because it might help you with my situation? Otherwise, that’s kind of a rude question, and really none of your business, don’t ya think?”

  He shrugged and smirked at her. “Yeah, probably, but truthfully, you and my brother are already friends, so really, that means we’re just about friends and I’m just trying to get to know you better.” The corner of his mouth tipped up in a little smile. “Or it could just be that I’m curious by nature. My brother didn’t say anything about you being some high powered attorney extraordinaire, he just said you were a friend who may need some help. So, again, what’s your deal, friend?”

  She shrugged. “No big deal, Mr. Nosy. I used to prosecute white collar crimes but now I’m a criminal defense lawyer, and I dabble in real estate and whatever else interests me. My family has been in Georgia since the 1700s and they used to have a bunch of businesses and used to own a shitload of downtown Atlanta real estate, and they sold it all and then they died, and now I have a shitload of family money. That’s pretty much it.”

  “Well, okay, then.” He grinned at her and turned to go back inside. “Let’s get to work.”

  Lola shook her head and leaned against the railing with her arms crossed over her chest. “Nope. I showed you mine, so you show me yours. Your turn, friend. What’s your deal?”

  Fair enough. “Mine’s a lot less interesting. I was in the FBI for about ten years and I got shot when I was providing backup during a bank robbery.” Lola felt her eyes get big and looked at him for more details. He shook his head. “It wasn’t a big deal, I got shot in the shoulder, but it did some nerve damage and sometimes if it’s cold or I’m super tired, or if I sleep in a funny position, a couple of my fingers go weak, including my trigger finger, so I quit.” He shrugged. “In the FBI, you can’t qualify on the range when you can’t pull a trigger with either hand, so that was pretty much it.” Lola had a feeling that it was a much bigger deal than he let on, but she just nodded as he continued. “I could’ve stayed in the bureau in some capacity, but I’d been getting tire
d of the bureaucratic crap for a while, so I took it as a sign that it was time to go.”

  Lola was curious. “So you started your own security business?”

  “About fifteen years ago. My Master’s is in computer engineering, and I’d worked in cyber crime for most of my FBI career, so corporate security was a natural fit. It turns out I have a knack for following a computer trail, which was great for tracking down pedophiles, but it’s also great for investigations. Another retired agent and I started the business. I handle all investigations and the computer security side, and he’s in charge of physical security for businesses.”

  “Like bodyguard services?”

  He nodded. “Lots of stuff. We provide bodyguard services, we set up security plans and install systems for buildings and plants, whatever people need. We also have a division where we’ve hired retired SEALS and other special forces guys to test security in government facilities and other businesses that need top notch security and then we fix any problems we find.”

  Lola was impressed. “Wow. That’s really interesting.” She smiled as she looked at him. “I’ll bet you live in a pretty nice place, too.”

  He shrugged and grinned at her. Those dimples popped and Lola felt that smile all the way down to her stomach. Okay, and other lower parts. Damn, he was a fine looking man. “I guess you’ll just have to come see for yourself, Ms. Lola”.

  She nodded and slowly looked him up and down. “I guess I will.” She winked at him and turned to go inside. “Come on, Jake. I have something to show you.”

  He didn’t hear what she said. He had been trying to see if her back view was as nice as her front, but her old sweatshirt was huge and hit right below her hips. It was driving him crazy. Was the rest of her body as amazing as her legs? He’d always been a sucker for long, lean women, and Lola was exactly his type. And those bright blue eyes were amazing. He wondered if she was seeing anyone and if not, if she’d be open to some dinner. Screw dinner. He really just wanted her under him. Or over him.