Fallen: Celeste Read Free Page B

how
she felt about it. He didn't want any regrets.
    She sighed. "I really have no choice, Adam. You're the only
one with the resources to help me. I'll pay your price without regret if this
helps me catch Tomas."
    "My place or yours?"
    "We'll meet somewhere neutral first."
    "Sure. I own a restaurant on Woodward. It's a couple blocks
down from the Fox. I can pick you up."
    "No, I'll meet you there about seven. It's going to be hard
driving downtown tonight. The Wings are playing at home again."
    "At seven." Adam agreed and hung up. "Jakar,"
he called as he walked out of his office.
    "No need to bellow, Montgomery. I'm right here." Jakar
came up to him.
    "Make sure there are a dozen red roses and a bottle of
champagne chilling at my house around ten."
    Adam could have sworn he heard Jakar hiss as the man turned to
glare at him. "You're bringing her home tonight."
    Adam nodded. "She might as well start paying for my services
tonight. Don't worry, old man. She won't be staying around long after the
killer's caught." He reached out to pat Jakar's shoulder.
    Jakar dodged his hand. "I'll have everything ready, but don't
expect me to like it."
    "That's fine. You're not the one who's going to be fucking
her tonight." Adam walked out the door, missing Jakar's shiver of fear and
disgust.
    * * * *
    Adam was glad he had a napkin. It was useful to wipe the drool
from his chin. He had never found a woman more attractive than he found
Celeste.
    Her blonde hair was pulled up in a complex knot with tendrils of
curls lying on her neck and forehead. Her body was lovingly encased in a sky
blue silk sheath that matched her eyes, covering her to the neck in front but
plunging deep in the back, exposing her creamy skin to his heated gaze. As
tightly as the dress hugged her body, he knew she wasn't wearing anything
underneath. It was obvious Celeste had decided to get the payment over with.
Little did she know that it wasn't going to be a one-night payout.
    "I've got all my guys out looking for witnesses. They'll
scour all the areas where the bodies were found and talk to the people who
won't say a word to the police. If he can be found by sheer manpower, we'll get
him." Adam sipped from his crystal wineglass.
    Celeste's gaze slid over his face. He wondered if she saw the lust
burning in his eyes. He would have thought she would be nervous about the
upcoming change in their relationship, considering how hard she had fought it
before. But when he looked at her, he didn't see nervousness. He saw a rather
weary acceptance on her face as if she had always known this was going to
happen.
    He leaned over and covered her hand with his. "You know what
my price is, Celeste. What made you decide to pay it?"
    "As I said, I have no other choice. There is no one else who
can help me find Tomas. So, I'll use the best I have available to me. Being the
crime boss of Detroit, you have avenues open to you that I don't. Even though
you are a criminal and a ruthless businessman, I know when you give me your
word, you'll keep it."
    "Honor among thieves then, Celeste."
    She shrugged and looked away. "Honor among the fallen, I
think is a better term for it."
    Puzzled by her cryptic statement, he filed it away to think on
later. "I want you to know that you will be my lover for the duration of
the case. This isn't a one night thing, Celeste. Until we put Tomas behind
bars, you're mine."
    Again, Celeste didn't look surprised. "From the moment I met
you, I knew we couldn't have just one night together. Until the end of the
case, you are mine. I don't share either."
    He acknowledged her right to make that demand as he stood and led
her outside to where a sleek black limo was waiting.
    "Trying to make a good impression, Adam?" she asked as she
slid in.
    "I don't want to be distracted by driving tonight. I want it
to be a memorable night. If we ended up dead, it would put a damper on the
evening."
    "Ending up dead is the least of my worries," Celeste
mumbled.
    Adam pulled her