Flirting with Danger - Bev Hardy (my miracle luna book free read .txt) 📗

said vaguely. "So that's my point. I was thinkin', I could take a look at your security here and help ya out. I remember you mentioned about the guy over the road who had recently updated his security. He must have had problems too. Maybe I could talk to him. Check on his security and see how he's dealin' with it." 
Doug nodded, but Luke still wasn't sure if he was convinced. Maybe that was just his way. 
Their conversation was briefly interrupted then by the arrival of the coffees. 
"Have you and Charlie spoken about this?" Doug asked, thanking the waitress and picking up his coffee cup. 
Damn, no, he hadn't let Charlie in on the plan, but he was certain she would go along with it. 
"Sure. But Charlie's gone to see Richie now, so I thought I'd come see you this mornin'," he answered. 
Finally, some kind of expression swept over Doug's face. "Charlie is with Richie?" he asked with surprise. 
"Yeah." 
"Right." He fell silent for a moment and Luke wondered what was going through his head. "Okay, well I do need to sort this problem out," Doug admitted finally. "Perhaps you and Charlie can work on this together. I'll set up a meeting with you and Brian; he's the farmer from across the road. I'll pay you and Charlie for your time of course," he assured him. 
Luke shook his head. "I don't need payin'. But I am lookin' for somewhere more permanent to stay. I'm at the guest house down the road at the moment but there aint much room there. Mrs Bennett said that you rent the house next to Charlie's. I'd appreciate it if you'd rent it to me for a few months. Means I'd be nearby too for workin' with Charlie on the security," he pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee and mentally crossing his fingers. 
Doug searched Luke's face for a moment before nodding. "I'll try and get in touch with Brian about meeting you. Let me think about the house; I need to check the bookings," he replied. "Give me a contact number and I'll get back to you later today." 
Luke knew that Doug was going to check up on him, most likely with Charlie. But if she was okay with everything, knowing how highly Doug regarded Charlie, he'd agree to at least the meeting with the farmer… and that, after all, was the most important thing. 

 
  Chapter 30

Charlotte was following a lead from having tracked down Jackson's registration number to a car hire company, when her mobile phone on her desk rang out. She looked down with surprise to see that it was Doug. 
"Hi Doug, how are you?" she asked. 
"I'm fine sweetheart. How are you? Hope I'm not interrupting; I heard that you went to see Richie," he replied. 
Eddie must have said something. "Yes, I just wanted to see if he was alright," she explained. "And I'm fine." 
"Good. Listen, I had a visit from your friend James today. He wants to work on the security at The Club. He said he spoke to you about it. Do you think it wise for me to allow him access to the security?" he asked. 
Okay, she should have known that left alone with no transport Luke would try to work more on the case from that end. Well, it wasn't actually a bad thing. If she could locate Borelli and bring him in for questioning relating to his involvement with other UK Mafia, then she could only hold him for so long. She would need more concrete evidence of his part in the shooting of Roberto to have a chance at charging him for murder whilst she had him there. She couldn't be in two places at once though, so she needed Luke to play his part that end. 
"Yes, if there's one thing I can say about Luke, he is hot on security," she answered, remembering the events of that morning. "I know that he can come across as the brash, arrogant American at times Doug, but underneath, he really does have a good heart," she assured him. 
Doug went silent for a moment. "Right, well, the security has been on my mind lately. So I'll let him go ahead then." 
"He will do a thorough job. Thanks Doug," she replied. 
"For what?" he came back. 
She paused for thought. "Just for being there," came her reply. 
"Always sweetheart," he said, "Speak later." 
As she hung up the call, Barking emerged from his office and beckoned for her to join him. 
"Found anything yet?" he asked, closing the door. 
"Well," she folded her arms, "I've been working on tracking down a Bella Jackson. Luke had dealings with her in New York. Seems she was working for the Borelli's, and then, out of the blue, she turned up, err… here… yesterday." 
Barking picked up on Charlotte's hesitancy. "Here?" he questioned. 
"Hmm, at …" Charlotte was aware that she had to be careful what she said at that moment "…the Country Club," she replied, glancing down at Barking's desk. 
"Your Country Club?" he said with surprise. "Douglas Anderson's Country Club?" he corrected. 
She nodded. 
"What was this Jackson woman doing there?" he asked. 
"Looks like she was following Luke." 
"And what was Luke doing there?" he went on. 
She glanced up at him. "Looking for me." 
Barking gave a curt nod. He wasn't exactly surprised at that, but he was slightly concerned about what kind of trouble Luke had now involved Charlotte in. Thank heaven she hadn't tried to deal with this on her own. "So what exactly do you think she wants from Luke?" 
Charlotte shrugged. "Actually sir, I'm not entirely sure. The way Luke tells it, there is a vendetta between Luke and the Borelli's, and maybe they think Luke knows too much. But…" she hesitated. 
"But what?" Barking prompted. 
She sighed. "I don't know; I don't see where Jackson fits into all of this. If they wanted Luke, I'm sure there were ample opportunities to catch him off guard here before now. And why send her? She just seems to be loitering around; I'm not at all certain why. But," she pointed a finger, "there is definitely some sort of connection. If we can find her, there is a fair chance that she will lead us to them." 
"Hmm." Barking digested the information. "So how do you plan on finding this woman?" 
"Well, I caught her car registration last night at The Club. I've just managed to trace it to the car hire company. I'll press them for information on where she is staying," she explained. 
"Yes, you do that," Barking replied, turning to pick up a sheet of paper from off his desk, "because I've been making a few phone calls of my own." He handed the paper to her. "Turns out this isn't the first visit we've had from the Borelli brothers. Four times they've been over here in the past year alone," he said, pointing to the sheet. "Another department has been working on this, but now we're in on it too. You'll have the full cooperation from them; number's written on the bottom there," he gestured to the sheet in her hand. 
"Thanks," she smiled, turning to leave. 
"Oh and Charlotte," he said before she reached the door. 
"Yes Sir?" 
"Let me know as soon as you find out where she is. You can take Bates with you for the surveillance," he informed her. 
"Is that necessary? Just for surveillance?" she asked. Involving Bates in this might just complicate things further. 
"Yes, this is a Mafia mob we're tracking down now," he warned, "it's not quite the same as hunting grouse in the English countryside." 
She gave a sarcastic smile. Not the Country Club gibes again! 
XxXxXxXxXxXxX 
Luke sat down to a feast of a roast dinner in front of him. Plates of vegetables, potatoes, roast beef and other strange foods he hadn't seen before were spread out over the dining table. 
"Wow Mrs B, is this all just for you and me?" 
"Yes of course, don't stand on ceremony, dig in. A young man needs a good meal inside him," she replied. 
Luke began to pile his plate up with food as Mrs Bennett sat next to him, watching. 
"Don't forget the Yorkshire puddings Mr Luke," she urged. "It's a crime not to have Yorkshire puddings with roast beef." 
"Puddings?" he questioned. 
"Yorkshire puddings," she stressed, reaching across to pick one up with her fork and place it on Luke's plate. 
He looked at it slightly dubiously. 
"They are good," she assured him. "I'm famous for my Yorkshire puddings Mr Luke. Here, you need lots of gravy over it," she said, picking up the gravy boat. 
He shrugged and decided to give it a go, digging into the Yorkshire pudding with gusto. 
He took a mouthful and glanced up at her after a few chews. "Mmm, not bad. Yorkshire puddings eh," he said, returning to his dinner. 
Mrs Bennett smiled and began to transfer food to her own plate. 
"Looks like I'll be leaving you soon," he said regretfully. 
"But you'll be staying locally, won't you?" 
"Hopefully," he replied. 
"Well then, you must come back for Sunday dinner with Miss Charlotte. I haven't seen her for a while," she said. 
He smiled. "That'd be great." 
The roast dinner was going down a treat with Luke. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a home cooked meal so much. 
"Now, this is what you call a real English welcome," Luke commented. 
Mrs Bennett glowed with the compliment. "There's pudding for afters too," she said. 
He paused, and looked up at her. "Mrs B, you're spoiling me!" 
She smiled and patted his arm. 
So that's what it was like to have an English mother. 
He smiled back and began eating again. "At this rate though, I'm gonna need to find the nearest gym!" he chuckled. 
Just as he was considering helping himself to another Yorkshire pudding, a phone call came through on his cell phone. He checked the number before answering; it was Doug. 
"I'm just gonna take this call out here Mrs B," he said, rising from his seat and heading for the hallway. "Save me some more of those Yorkshire puddings though, will ya?" 
He left the kitchen and climbed the stairs, opening his cell phone and answering it on the way up. 
"Luke." 
"This is Doug," came the reply, "I've managed to arrange for you to meet with Brian at the farm this afternoon at five. Does that suit?" he asked. 
"Yeah," Luke's face lit up with a smile. 
"When would you like to move into the house?" Doug went on. 
Wow, things were really going his way. "Today?" 
Doug went silent for a moment before he replied. "I'm busy until three. I can meet you at the house around half past, run through everything with you and hand over the keys then." 
"Sure. Great. Appreciate it," Luke answered. 
"Not a problem," Doug replied, and then the phone went dead. 
"Comin' back for those Yorkshire puddings now Mrs B!" Luke shouted out enthusiastically, bounding back down the stairs. 
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx 
By mid afternoon, Charlotte had got her hands on the name and location of the hotel where Jackson was staying, and was pulling up outside the building with Bates by her side. 
The hotel was situated on a fairly narrow backstreet, just off a busy main road lined with shops and restaurants. It was a small, family owned business with its own Italian restaurant at the front. Although the hotel was nothing much to look at, it seemed clean and well-kept. 
"Well, I can't go in; I might bump into