dating circuit, but I could have sworn she was giving me flirty kiss-me vibes earlier today.
Fuck, I’m in even more desperate need to get laid than I realized.
After slipping between the sheets of my bed, Phillipa slants her head to the side so she can peer at me with batting lashes. “I’m not a lesbian. But I’m more than happy to pretend I am if it saves my ass from spending another minute on your couch. Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it is habitable, BJ. I paid a fortune for a bonsai garden to fancy up my patio and it died within two weeks.”
Even though I shouldn’t laugh, I can’t help it. I’m so tired, deliriousness is the next logical step to full-blown craziness.
Phillipa waits for my chuckles to settle before nudging her head to my phone. “Are you going to show me what Melody sent you, or should I wait for you to fall asleep then hack into your phone?” When I give her a look as if to say, I’d like to see you try, the smugness on her face triples. “Melody’s birthday, am I right?”
When she scoops up my phone, I snatch it out of her hand, grumbling about how I have a knack for picking up annoying strays. Once I have my message app open, I scroll down so Phillipa can’t see I was unaware of Melody’s private cell phone number until now, then pass her my phone.
“That’s Kwan Turgenev. Why do you have a photo of him?”
The collision of our eyes is almost brutal. I’m desperate to find out how she identified the perp so quickly, and she’s dying to know why I have a photograph of him.
Since Phillipa had a nap, her stableness is more noticeable than mine. I dive over her legs without the teeniest bit of concern my male parts brush her shins on the way by. I need my laptop and I left it on the dining table when I gathered the bedspread for Phillipa.
Phillipa’s craziness jumps up a notch when I yank out a chair from beneath my dining table and take a seat in front of my laptop. “Watcha doing?”
“Running a background search on Kwan Turgenev.” I raise my eyes to hers. “Does his first name start with a K or Q?”
“K…” I stop typing Kwan’s name into the search bar of the bureau’s mainframe when Phillipa adds, “But you won’t find anything on him. He’s a ghost. Has been for years.”
With my lips twisted, I finalize typing his name, certain I have access to channels Phillipa doesn’t know about.
***
Ten minutes later, I’m chewing on my tongue. There’s not a single shred of evidence that a Kwan Turgenev exists, much less had an invitation to the campaign fundraiser I saw flyers for in the backdrop of the photograph Melody sent me.
“I told you he’s a ghost.” Phillipa slumps in the chair across from me before balancing her feet on part of the seat not taken up by her backside so she can cradle her knees with her arms. Melody used to sit in the nook in her window the same way anytime she was tired. “It’s been like that for years. Other than in a handful of long range surveillance photos a few years back, his file is empty. I’m shocked you have an image of him. I doubt you would if he noticed it was being taken.”
Ignoring her underhanded comment that Kwan is dangerous, I ask, “Do you still have access to his surveillance photos?” Although the late hour could be playing havoc with my mind, I’m reasonably sure I’ve seen Kwan before. I just can’t recall where.
Phillipa lowers her legs to the floor before she leans across the table to seize control of my laptop. “How long after a suspension does access to my Bureau email remain?”
I smirk a smug grin. “If you know the right people, your access will never expire.”
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to all the wonderful people who have supported me. Whether from the start, four years ago, last year, last month or last week, I appreciate every single one of you. I am incredibly grateful to have such wonderful and supportive family and friends, and I count my blessings every day.
The time and effort it takes to write a book is immense. I sacrifice a lot of time with my family and friends to produce each book with the hope readers will fall in love with my characters as much as I love them. Considering this is book 41 in a little over four years, I think that is the case.
From my husband who listens to my crazy ideas every night when he returns to work, to my mum who reads my rough drafts, there are a lot of people behind me encouraging me to thrive.
In the past four years, I’ve made author friends, developed close kinship with readers, and corresponded with people all over the world.
How? Books—my books.
It’s crazy, and I’ve loved every goddamn minute of it, but I wouldn’t be here without you—the readers. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading my stories. Thank you for loving my characters as much as I do. And thank you for supporting me.
I wouldn’t be me without you.
Talk soon,
Shandi xx
Also by Shandi Boyes
Perception Series:
Saving Noah
Fighting Jacob
Taming Nick
Redeeming Slater
Saving Emily (Novella)
Wrapped up with Rise Up (Novella - should be read after Bound)
Enigma:
Enigma of Life
Unraveling an Enigma
Enigma: The Mystery Unmasked
Enigma: The Final Chapter
Beneath the Secrets
Beneath the Sheets
Spy Thy Neighbor
The Opposite Effect
I Married a Mob Boss
Second Shot
The Way We Are
The Way We Were
Sugar and Spice
Lady in Waiting
Man in Queue
Couple on Hold
Enigma: The Wedding
Silent Vigilante
Hushed Guardian
Quiet Protector
Bound Series:
Chains
Links
Bound
Restrained
Psycho
Russian Mob Chronicles:
Nikolai: A Mafia Prince Romance
Nikolai: Taking Back What's Mine
Nikolai: What's Left of Me
Nikolai: Mine to Protect
Asher: My Russian Revenge
Nikolai: Through the Devil's Eyes
RomCom Standalones:
Just Playin'
The Drop Zone
Ain't Happenin'
Christmas Trio
Falling for a Stranger
Coming Soon:
Skitzo
Trey