Hello!
It's been a rather
trying week on the personal front. It's funny how that happens. Little
annoyances pop up when least expected and sometimes snowball into raging
nightmares. LOL
Seriously, not
quite that bad, and thankfully nothing with immediate family. J
Tonight's post is
from what I'm calling Urban Noir. It's sort of contemporary, but has a noir
feel. At least I hope it does. Gotta Make a Living features Neal and Claire
trying to solve a murder while playing a cat and mouse game of their own. Fun
stuff.
Here's the tagline:
Niles finds Claire standing over a dead body and can't
decide if he should call the cops or haul her into his arms. Claire makes the
choice easy by asking him if he sees any smoking guns. They decide they better
work together to find the killer before they frame Claire for a murder she
didn't commit.
And the preview snippet…
Niles shoved the woman, face
first, against the wall, and jammed his thigh between her legs, effectively
cutting off any chance of escape. "Give me a reason not to call the cops
and turn you in murdering Conrad Pesterman."
A low throaty chuckle escaped
before she answered. "Do you see any smoking guns lying around, detective?
Because I sure don't." She glanced at the body on the floor. "And he
was definitely shot. Twice."
Her cool demeanor threw him. She
had trouble written all over her, but she hadn't offed the chairman of C&P
BioTech. His gut never steered him wrong.
Easing his hold, he stepped back
and she turned, her cobalt blue eyes raking over him with frank assessment.
She'd take a man's measure and cut him off at the knees.
If he let her. Niles didn't plan
to give her the opportunity.
He leaned in, nuzzling her lips
with his. "Like what you see, Miss…" He struck first.
Her mouth curved upward, sexy and
sultry. "Claire Thorpe. No Miss, Mrs, or Ms. Just Claire." She
flicked her gaze toward Conrad. "Doesn't matter if you're easy on the
eyes. I've got too much respect for the dead to dance this close to them."
Her hand shot out and pushed him back.
Niles lifted a brow.
"Respect for a mark? There's a twist I didn't see coming."
Claire sighed. "He's not a
mark, you ass hat. I did a little work for the guy." Meeting his gaze, she
continued. "Hush hush stuff. Hence the late meeting way after hours."
Niles snorted. "Yeah, the
kind of job where you dress up and bump into some poor schmuck at the cocktail
lounge and get him to tell you all about his new product or revolutionary
production method, right?" Industrial espionage had become rampant in the
city.
His disappointment she engaged in
the clandestine activity got shoved aside. He needed answers. Conrad had known
someone wanted him dead. And he hired Neal to find his killer…but he'd been too
late.
Claire shrugged. "Gal's
gotta make a living and it the pay's very good."
He huffed out a breath.
"I'll just bet it is."
Taking in the tailored cut of her
clothes, the silk stockings—probably held up by a lace or satin garter—the
trendy, short and cropped hairstyle, and the scent of expensive perfume, he had
no doubt her compensation for services rendered probably matched his.
Hell, she might even earn more
than he did.
Claire arched an eyebrow.
"Do you always judge a book by its cover?" Her eyes rolled. "How
sadly disappointing."
Niles frowned. "I make
assessments, not jump to conclusions." He glanced toward the phone on the
desk. "If I did, you'd already be on your way to the nearest
precinct."
Claire nodded. "Don't you
mean I'd be on my way to the one-twelve? Because you're Niles Chesterfield, and
the lieutenant happens to be your brother, Nelms."
Niles blinked. She had him
pegged. Made him wonder where she got her information. And why she knew so much
about him.
Niles shrugged, but didn't deny
her words. "Saves time. They know me over there and trust I won't get them
involved in anything less than legit."
Claire tsked. "So I'm legit
now? You get I didn't kill Conrad?" She ducked around Niles and strode
toward the body.
Oddly, Niles did get it, but he
also realized Claire would be in danger. Someone had lured her here for the
meeting and Conrad couldn't have made that call.
Claire turned—the same
understanding clear in her gaze. "Well, damn. There's not a very long list
of people who knew about my arrangement with C&P." She stepped over
the prone form and sank down onto the chair behind the desk, careful not to
disturb anything lying on top. "But one of them wants to see me go down
for this and I'm not gonna go easily." Raising her gaze, she met and held
his. "You wanna help? Maybe work together to find the real killer?"
Niles studied her for a moment.
He liked to work alone, but Claire would need protection. He didn't doubt she
could handle pretty much anything, but every once in a while brute force
accomplished more than subtle subterfuge. He'd become pretty versed in kicking
down doors and throwing punches.
He slowly inclined his head.
"We'd probably get more done that way." He moved forward, sticking
hand out. "For the duration of the investigation, consider me your
partner."
Claire smiled and shook on it.
She went to pull away but Niles held tight. Her eyes narrowed.
He leaned in close. "Let's
get a few things straight, first. Okay?"
Niles
thinks he has the upper hand, but Claire won't take long to prove otherwise.
Seriously? This couple if fun to write. J
That's
it for this week.
Cheers!
Skye
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