Southern Comfort - Fern Michaels [65]
Sandy squatted next to her on the pebbled ground beneath the window. “I think I know who our visitors are. From what I could see, I swear it looked like our neighbors.”
“It’s pitch-black, Sandy! How could you tell?” Kate hissed.
“Unlike you, I pay attention to things. Like the shape of a man’s ass, the width of his shoulders, the length of his hair. I’ll lay odds our competition is our sexy hunkified neighbors. As a matter of fact, I’m so sure that’s who’s in there that I’m going inside to see what the hell they’re up to.” Without waiting for Kate to respond, Sandy jumped and ran around to the front of the mansion. Kate raced to catch up with her.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just walk in there like you want to borrow some sugar or something! This isn’t like you. We’re trained not to do this kind of thing without calling for backup. We’re off the book, remember? I guess the heat is getting to you.”
“For once, will you just trust me? Let me take the lead. If we weren’t off the book, neither of us would be here,” Sandy pleaded.
Not wanting to give in, but knowing Sandy wasn’t dumb enough to do something totally stupid, she nodded. “If Jelly gives me any crap over this, it’s your ass on the line, okay?”
“Yep. Now come on. I want to see what those two are up to.” Sandy crawled in through the window they’d used earlier even though she knew there were doors that were unlocked. She never did anything the easy way. Without thinking, Kate followed her through the window. With Sandy in the lead, they sneaked down the long hallway where the four bedrooms were located without incident. So far so good, Kate thought. We can do this, she told herself over and over. Sandy was smart, plus Kate trusted her with her very life.
“Listen,” Sandy said, coming to a stop outside one of the bedroom doors.
Kate strained, trying to hear the muffled voices coming from the bedroom. A few seconds passed, and she let out a sigh of relief. Sandy was right on the money. She heard the one who called himself Tick speaking in low tones. Both women jumped when their neighbor’s parrot swooped through the doorway before them.
“I should’ve known that wacky bird had tagged along,” Sandy hissed.
“I think it’s a spy. Let’s go inside, Sandy. You were right on the money. I want to know just what those two think they’re doing, interfering in our investigation.” Kate stepped inside the room, ready to chew out the brothers, when she stopped dead in her tracks. The redheaded brother, Pete, was holding a little girl. Kate thought she might be eight or nine—she wasn’t sure of her age—but she was sure of one thing—the child was frightened, big-time. The parrot flew back into the room and sat on top of Tick’s head. If this weren’t a serious situation, Kate would’ve cracked up laughing at the sight.
“What are you guys doing here? This is private property,” Kate said, all the while taking in the child, who looked as though she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in forever and was scared out of her wits.
Tick took charge. “We could ask you two”—he motioned to Sandy standing in the doorway—“the same thing, but we know who you are and why you’re here. Something tells me this isn’t where we were supposed to meet for that late-night weenie roast.”
“You would be correct. No fires being built tonight. For the record, we’re here on official DEA business. Drug Enforcement Administration business,” Kate snapped.
“Then I would say you’re in the wrong place. There are no drugs here, or any to be found tonight,” Tick shot back.
“That you know about,” Kate shot back smartly.
She observed her temporary neighbor. Damn, he was a fine-looking specimen, she’d give him that. He was dressed in a rippedup T-shirt and khaki shorts that had seen better days, and the dark hair matted to his head and a smoky five-o’clock shadow didn’t distract from his good looks in the least. If anything, Kate thought the scruffy look made him appear sexier than ever. Add the parrot perched on top of his head, and he’d pass for a modern-day pirate. A slightly younger, sexier