She did a double take as he pulled the car from the airport parking lot onto the access road. It had been a while since he’d driven a car with a clutch andneversince he’d driven a car with seven gears. But he wasn’t worried. How hard could it be to drive a Mercedes Benz GT Roadster compared to an F-16?
“Don’t you think we’re going to stand out in this car?”
“Sal will be looking for us at LAX, the warehouse, or your home.” He paused then added, “Or your studio office.”
“I’m not worried about the studio. They have ridiculous security.”
“It’s not inside the studio we’re worried about. If he’s worth his salt, Sal will have someone posted outside watching for you to come or go.”And then he’ll follow us and ambush us.
She studied him without a hint of fear and said, “If we could only communicate to him that I don’t have anything of value.”
“For all you know those so-called love letters are very valuable. They may contain information that will lead Sal to where his father stashed his money. That’s the police detective’s theory.”
“You’ve been doing your homework.”
He said nothing. Homework had been the least he could do. Something he should have been doing the night before if, truth be told, he hadn’t been otherwise occupied.
Damn, she was trouble. And he was in deep.
The drive from the airport in Burbank to the studio in Hollywood wasn’t far, but it was fraught with enough traffic to clog the massive freeway lanes to take forty minutes to travel the ten miles. Once they were off the freeway, Joe had Mae wear the hat and sunglasses he’d arranged for her though she’d insisted they weren’t her style. He pointed out that that was the entire point. The security at the studio was as Mae had billed it.
Joe observed cameras everywhere, of course, and numerous uniformed guards on foot. The guard in the gatehouse was hardly alone in his efforts to keep out the riffraff. Mae pulled out her plastic ID badge with her photo and the man ran it through an electronic card reader as he looked at her.
“Remove the sunglasses please.”
She checked with Joe first before complying and that gave him an inordinate amount of satisfaction, though he didn’t show it. He nodded and she lowered her sunglasses, still reluctant and cautious.
The guard pressed the button that lifted the gate. Once inside, Mae directed him through the maze of whitewashed buildings to an ordinary-looking office building and behind it to where there was a small stand of parked cars.
“We can go in the back door.” She sounded nervous.
He put a hand over hers as she went to open her door. He had no idea what made him do it. When she looked at him, he also had no idea what to say. After a few beats she smiled, then she leaned in and touched her lips to his in a quick, soft, lush enticement. The kiss caused a roll in his gut and the nearly irrepressible instinct to reach out and pull her in, ravage her there and then. But she obviously had no similar inclination because she shoved her door open immediately and got out.
With a massive intake of smoggy air, and an even more massive concentration of will, Joe pushed his door open to join her.