Blood & Lace Read online

  Actually it’s Special Agent,” he clarified with a wink.

  Chloe couldn’t help but smile. Was he flirting with her? She had no idea.

  Focus, Chloe.

  “If I don’t hear from you soon, would it be okay if I checked in? Just to see if anything Eden-related has turned up?”

  Special Agent Pierce nodded. “I wouldn’t expect any different.”

  God, his voice was a powerful rumble of thunder that seemed to have a direct effect on her—maybe not like thunder, more like lightning striking down her spine. She nodded her grateful appreciation while working hard to breathe normally. She had a high-stress job, so panic attacks weren’t all that unusual.

  But this was . . . different.

  “Hey, um, in Alexis’s article I read about your partner,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as breathy to him as it did in her head. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  For a moment, she saw something flicker in his gaze, as if his mask had slipped and a vulnerable side of Gage Pierce was temporarily exposed. But the moment passed as quickly as it had come.

  “Thank you,” he said evenly. “I appreciate that.”

  She reached out to touch his arm, to connect in some way. If she lost her sister, the pain would be a chasm she’d never close. So she could only imagine how losing his partner had felt.

  Alexis’s notes had said they were close friends as well as partners. Special Agent Pierce looked at where her hand rested on his arm.

  When the silence grew loud between them, she tried her best to fill it.

  “I know I probably come off like a pushy pain in the ass showing up like this, and I guess I kind of am. I just want my sister found, and I know time is of the essence.” She felt her eyes begin to tear, even though she couldn’t remember crying in front of anyone since her mother’s funeral, when she was barely a teenager. “Sorry. I just . . . I know you have a lot of cases to work, and I—”

  “Chloe?” Agent Pierce said softly as he opened the door of her rental car for her.

  She turned her face to his, realizing a second too late how close in proximity this placed his mouth to hers. “Yes?”

  “I know you’re worried about your sister. Like I said, I can’t make any promises. But what I can do is assure you that if there really is foul play involved, I will find out. If it’s any consolation, I have a great deal more stamina than most agents, and I am very, very good at what I do.”

  The obscene images of him driving his body into hers again and again raced to the forefront of her mind once more. More vividly and demanding this time. A throbbing sensation began to make itself known at the apex of her thighs while her core clenched from his assurance.

  Did he do that on purpose? Say those words in a way that made her want him to prove them to be true right this very second?

  She wasn’t sure. She stammered out another thank-you and slid into the driver’s seat. She didn’t regain her ability to breathe normally and think straight until she was out of his sight.

  Even then, and even hours later, when she tossed in the plush bed in her sister’s guest room that night, her mind continued to conjure his stare—zeroing in on the brief, vulnerable moments she still wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined.

  After calling CJ and updating her on the situation, minus the details on Special Agent Pierce, she lay awake most of the night contemplating the startling realization that even if Special Agent Pierce hadn’t been thinking of her that way, despite her concerns about her sister’s whereabouts, she was definitely entertaining some very dirty thoughts about him.

  4

  It must’ve been that damn sweatshirt.

  That’s what Special Agent Pierce told himself, anyway. If it hadn’t kept distracting him by sliding off her shoulder the way it had, revealing more of her perfect creamy complexion and the sexiest damn collarbone he’d seen in his entire life, he would’ve been fine.

  Clavicles weren’t typically a huge turn-on for him. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever noticing them unless they contained evidence on the bodies of victims. But Chloe Sterling was no victim. She was a dangerously beautiful woman who could probably entice him straight to his own demise.

  He suspected it might be worth it.

  I want you, she’d said boldly. Of course, she’d meant, “I want you to help me find my sister,” but his dick had stopped listening after the you part. He’d spent most of his night replaying their encounter over in his mind instead of sleeping, and he was paying for it today.

  She’d caught him looking—staring was more like it.

  He’d wanted to kick his own ass when she’d busted him checking her out. It was unlike him, and unprofessional. The last woman he’d gotten close to was dead because he’d let his emotions outrun his good sense.

  That wouldn’t happen again.

  Chloe Sterling would escape him unscathed, even if it killed him to keep from touching her.

  With a job like his, pornography was out of the question. For relief he had to rely on his hand and his imagination or a real, live one-night stand from a bar two towns over where no one knew him. He rarely had the time for either, but he was going to have to make time because he couldn’t see her again until he’d found an outlet for the swirling storm of sexual tension she’d stirred up inside of him.

  He struggled to put her out of his mind, but on his lunch break he began researching Eden, and the identical-twin thing pretty much made it impossible to keep his promise without Chloe coming to mind.

  He’d always suspected models were airbrushed until nearly unrecognizable. But after seeing Chloe Sterling up close, he knew her twin sister probably hadn’t needed much touching up.

  He’d never met a woman that appealing and unassuming. It wasn’t exactly a popular combination. Most attractive women he was acquainted with knew they were attractive and wanted to make sure everyone else took note as well.

  But Chloe was different.

  He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what made her different, but he knew that he wanted to figure out what made her her. And what made her moan. And come. And cry out in pleasure, preferably calling out his name.

  He adjusted himself before the tightness behind his zipper became unbearable.

  Focus, Pierce. Stop acting like a sex-starved teenager.

  As he sat at his desk, scrolling through Eden’s social media profiles, he began to notice the slight differences between the two sisters.

  Chloe’s upper lip was a tiny bit fuller than her bottom one, and Eden’s wasn’t. Chloe had a small freckle under her left eye and a deep dip between her nose and upper lip. Chloe’s hair was a slightly darker shade of blond and she wore little to no makeup, whereas it seemed Eden had never been photographed without it.

  And as much as he tried to force himself to focus on Eden, Chloe continued dominating Pierce’s subconscious.

  The way she’d wrapped her arms around herself, the way her pupils had widened and her lips had parted slightly when she’d caught him staring. And God help him, she’d sunk her teeth into her lush bottom lip as if she were riding on the same train of thought that had taken him to this place he couldn’t seem to escape.

  “Not acceptable, Pierce. Get your fucking shit together,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “What was that?” Agent Lydia Ramirez asked from across the small office they shared.

  “Nothing. Sorry.”

  Agent Ramirez turned in her chair and glanced over his shoulder at his screen. “You’re working a missing supermodel case? Bet that’s going to be a real struggle for you. Tough break, man. Supermodels all over the place just might do you in, huh?” She snorted out a laugh before returning to her own computer.

  He responded only under his breath. “You have no idea.”

  It wasn’t the models he was worried about doing him in.

  Not in the least.

  5

  The first thing Chloe saw were breasts.

  Breasts everywhere.


  Perky, large, small, round—they came in all shapes and sizes, but they were all various versions of perfect.

  Either the Provocative Inc. bras really were that amazing or every model was required to have a naturally or surgically enhanced flawless rack.

  Multicolored, shimmery sequined bra and panty sets barely covered the handful of models parading past them when she and Agent Pierce entered the corperate headquarters downtown. He’d called her that morning and told her he was using his afternoon break to meet with the president of the company Eden worked for. She was thankful he’d agreed to let her join him.

  Most of the models marched right past without giving them a second glance. Where they had to be half-dressed in such a hurry, Chloe had no idea. But she was grateful for the ones who didn’t notice them, because the ones who did eyed Agent Pierce appreciatively. And a few eyed him suggestively.

  If he noticed, he showed no indication. But he was a dude, so who was she kidding? Of course he noticed.

  She tried not to let this bother her as they were introduced to Karen Kingston, the president of Provocative Inc. The woman wore a pale pink three-piece skirt suit that matched her manicure perfectly. Long chestnut hair was swept elegantly back in a low ponytail that Chloe envied. She never could pull off fancy ponytails. When she pulled her hair back she looked like one of the founding fathers.

  Karen extended a hand to each of them. “We are all big fans of Eden around here,” she said gently. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but please know we are all devastated right along with you.”

  “Thank you.” Chloe stepped to the side and took a seat while Agent Pierce did the same.

  “The local police did come by and ask my girls a few questions, but, to the best of my knowledge, they never followed up.” Chloe and Agent Pierce waited while Karen made her way to the seat adjacent to them. “What can I do to help?”

  Once she was seated, Agent Pierce flipped a notepad open. “When was the last time you saw Eden Sterling, Ms. Kingston?”

  “Karen is fine,” she informed him. “And let’s see . . . I haven’t actually laid eyes on her since our ovarian cancer awareness gala with Ciao Bella—a cosmetics company we partnered with for the event.” She frowned but her brow didn’t crease, making Chloe wonder if Karen was a fan of Botox. Chloe imagined it was necessary when your job included being surrounded by models day in and day out. “That was in May, I believe. But she showed up for all her bookings and shoots right up until two weeks ago.”

  He jotted a few quick notes in his notepad. “Did Eden seem okay at the gala?”

  Karen nodded. “She seemed fine to me. Of course, she was quiet. She’d been very quiet ever since Caroline disappeared.”

  Chloe nearly jumped out of her seat at the startling news. There was another missing model?

  Agent Pierce looked up from his notepad. “Caroline?”

  Chloe racked her brain. The name sounded familiar. Eden had mentioned shopping with someone named Caroline something. And going to lunch and out for birthday dinners. She wished she’d paid better attention.

  “Caroline Isla,” Karen continued. “She came to work here about a year after Eden. They were competitive at first. Caroline was slightly younger, so there was some tension between them. But somewhere along the way they grew close and became friends. Eden was somewhat of a mentor for Caroline.”

  “When exactly did Caroline go missing?”

  Karen looked at her desk calendar and flipped a few pages backward. “Right around two months ago. She just stopped showing up. But she’d reconnected with an old boyfriend everyone said was trouble. I never caught his name. The girls thought maybe they’d run off together. Caroline didn’t have much family to contact, but I let her aunt in Santa Barbara know she’d broken her contract. She didn’t seem too concerned. Said it wasn’t unusual for Caroline to flake when she was caught up with the guy she was dating.”

  Agent Pierce’s pen moved quickly across the paper. “And Eden? Did she go looking for Caroline that you know of?”

  Karen nodded. “Now that you mention it, she did have an altercation with the boyfriend, I believe. Eden, I mean. Something about Caroline having to work another job to pay his debts. I didn’t want to get involved. I try to keep my relationship with the girls professional. Anything beyond that and I would be constantly getting accused of showing favoritism.”

  “Do you know where the second job was?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t.”

  “That’s all right. Did she have any other issues or incidents with anyone else? Other models? Photographers? Fans?”

  Karen leaned forward in her seat and tapped her chin with her index finger. “Come to think of it, one of our photographers, Paulo, mentioned some guys coming to see Caroline a few times on location. She knew that was strictly against our policy, but Paulo said it didn’t look like they were welcome visitors and she was visibly upset after.”

  Agent Pierce paused with his pen poised just above the paper. “No idea who those visitors were?”

  “I’m sorry. No. It was only that once that I knew of.”

  “Anyone else bothering Caroline or Eden? Any models have conflicts with either of them?”

  Karen sighed deeply. “Just the Elliot Epstein incident. But I’m sure Eden mentioned that to you.” She smiled sympathetically at Chloe.

  A quick sting of pain stabbed Chloe in the chest. “No, actually, she didn’t. Who’s Elliot Epstein?”

  Karen stood and retrieved a file from a nearby cabinet. “Bless his heart, Elliot has been Eden’s biggest fan since she started working for us. We ended up having to block him from her and the company’s social media accounts because he was so . . . obsessed.” She handed the file to Agent Pierce and it took everything in Chloe’s power not to snatch it from him. “He thought Eden was his soul mate and was constantly waxing poetic about it to anyone who would listen.”

  Gage held up the file, which contained a photo of a heavyset, middle-aged bald man with glasses.

  Chloe glared at the picture. “And you didn’t report him when she went missing? Has anyone questioned him about her disappearance?”

  Karen blanched. “I told the police about the department store opening and gave them all the information we had on him.”

  Agent Pierce glanced up from the file. “What department store opening?”

  “Ours. We had a few models signing autographs when we got our own location in the midtown mall. Elliot showed up.” Karen ran her fingers across her forehead right at her hairline. “He leaped at Eden. Security had to pull him away from her. He said he just wanted a hug, but she was unsettled. Took a while for her to recover from the episode.”

  “How so?” Gage inquired before Chloe could.

  “She saw a doctor. Moved in with Paulo for a while. Had trouble sleeping, according to our makeup artist, who was struggling to cover up her under-eye bags.”

  That explained the sleeping pills Chloe had found in the medicine cabinet. She’d never known Eden to take prescription medication before. She listened intently as Agent Pierce continued making his way through his list of questions.

  “She moved in with Paulo? The photographer? When exactly was this?”

  “Five or six months ago, give or take a few weeks.”

  “Paulo got a last name?”

  “Sebastian.” Karen rolled her eyes. “Thinks he’s God’s gift to women. He’s dated several of my models. Talented photographer, but a douchebag and a half. Like I told the police officers though, he’s harmless. Just your regular run-of-the-mill womanizing ass.”

  “Did Epstein make any effort to contact Eden after that, that you know of?”

  Karen shook her head. “Not that I know of. I had security keeping an eye out for him. Eden actually told some of the girls he’d been committed to a mental hospital and she felt bad and was thinking of visiting him. I think someone in his family had contacted her.”

  “And how long ago was that?”

&nbs
p; “Um, maybe a month or two. I’m not sure exactly. I wish I could be of more help. But I stay out of their business for the most part, and Eden was a private person. Some of the girls come to me with personal problems or just to chat. Eden was never one of those. We had a formal meeting with our attorney about the Epstein situation, and that was the only time I really spoke with her about any of it. Even then she didn’t say much.”

  Agent Pierce stood. “Thank you, Ms. Kingston. If you’ll fax over the names and phone numbers of the models and all the photographers Eden worked with, like we discussed on the phone, I think we’ll have everything we need. But I’ll be in touch if I have any more questions.”

  “Absolutely. I’ve got my assistant working on that already. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

  “You were extremely helpful. Thank you for your time.” Gage waited for Chloe to follow him out of the office. She did so reluctantly.

  Chloe gaped at him. That was it? She had questions. Plenty of questions. Like how long did Eden stay with this Paulo guy, and why hadn’t her sister told her about the crazed fan who attacked her?

  “She doesn’t have the answers to the kinds of questions you have,” Agent Pierce said evenly when they reached the elevators.

  “How do you know what questions I have?”

  He tilted his head as they stepped into the elevator. “You want to know why Eden didn’t tell you about Epstein. Why she didn’t call you instead of some random photographer when she needed someone.”

  Chloe looked away. Was he a mind reader now?

  “Kingston can’t answer any of that for you, Chloe. Only Eden can.”

  And therein lay her biggest fear.

  She did have questions for her sister.

  Ones she feared she’d never get the answers to.

  6

  It was well after the time to clock out once Gage actually left headquarters. And he still had an entire evening’s worth of work to do before he could sleep. He climbed into his black GMC pickup and pulled up the notes he’d made on Eden’s case in his notepad.