Wild About The Bodyguard Read Online Free Page B

pot, he mulled over the stained glass project.
He’d always been a pedantic type. Nothing was ever good enough
unless it was perfect, and to be perfect, a man needed to put his
all into the task at hand.
    Lately,
however, more and more, he’d felt his feet dragging at the club.
Laser target practice aside, renovating gave him the distraction he
needed—particularly since finding Samantha Mayne in that locker
room last week.
    Chase was
inhaling the aroma of freshly brewed beans, listening to his
cousins in the next room debate the call on that last out, when his
cell phone rang. He took the call from Tim Fielding of the San
Francisco Police Department.
    “ I have that
information,” Tim said down the line. “It’ll cost you a
beer.”
    “ I’ll throw
in a steak, too. Whatcha got?”
    “ Your contact
is right on the money. That particular robbery was reported in the
Tenderloin district ten years ago this month. A ring matching your
description was the only item lifted.”
    “ A ruby
surrounded by gold lips.”
    “ Kinky, if
you ask me. My wife would refuse to wear something like that. My
girlfriend? Well, now. She’s another matter.”
    Chase grinned.
All talk. Tim was the most devoted family man he’d ever met. “Name
of the complainant?” he asked.
    “ A young
woman, last name Mayne. The report says she was visibly shaken, but
the detective didn’t discount an insurance job.”
    “ Which was
for how much?”
    “ Doesn’t
say.”
    “ I know the
money was paid out so they must have bought the story.”
    “ My take?
That area’s knee-deep in crime. Those girls were lucky they weren’t
home when the perp broke in. No signs of forced entry, by the way.
Doesn’t mean a lock wasn’t picked or window jimmied.”
    Chase
nodded. Child’s play .
    He heard a
creak as Tim Fielding leaned back in the chair his butt had been
close friends with for fifteen years.
    “ So, buddy,”
Tim went on, “sounds like you’re getting itchy feet. You thinking
about getting back in the game?” He paused, lowered his voice.
“What happened to your partner was a tough break. But you can’t
blame yourself. You’ve got a natural talent where this kind
of—”
    “ I’m just
making some inquiries for a friend,” Chase cut in. He wouldn’t
point out that his “natural talent” hadn’t helped Will Spencer that
night a year ago.
    “ Okay. Sure.”
Tim muttered under his breath, “That’s how it begins.”
    “ Suspects
questioned?” Chase asked, ignoring that last comment. He was not getting back in the
game. Not on a professional level at least.
    “ The woman’s
boyfriend. The building super and some tenants. A couple of
friends. A David Green, Charles Roberts—”
    “ Whoa . Hold up. That
name…”
    Silence echoed
down the line. “Chase, Green is a common name.”
    Chase
shrugged, nodded. Kneejerk reaction. There were thousands of Greens
in the phonebook.
    After
disconnecting, Chase poured a big, steaming mug. He dumped in three
sugars and stirred all the while rolling the facts around in his
head. From a police report perspective, Samantha Mayne’s story
checked out. Now he wanted to know more. Only following this thing
through would mean reuniting with a woman who was inquisitive and
pushy and, let’s not forget, flat-out sexy. If he did delve deeper
on her behalf, could they keep it professional? Getting involved
that way with a client wasn’t wise.
    At least until
after the case was solved.
     
    Sammy was
standing in her condo’s living room, going over some lines for a
daytime drama part she would kill to land, when she noticed the
luxury sedan parked out front. Then she recognized the driver and
her heart began to pound.
    The acting
role was for a twenty-five-year-old who, in this scene, was
speaking with a male friend she secretly crushed on. The friend was
moving to New York to follow his dreams. Swallowing her tears,
Sammy’s character decides to be gracious and support her friend’s
decision;