The deputy
’s eyebrows rose. “Quite the boy scout who carries a SIG P229.”
Alex gave him a cold smile.
“Wouldn’t be alive if I carried a pea shooter.”
“
Agent Rooney never fired a shot?” They both looked toward Mallory.
“
As soon as she heard the injured woman groan she concentrated on saving her.”
The deputy sniffed as if she hadn
’t done her job very well but Alex wasn’t about to tell him he worked better without interference.
“
You been seeing her long?”
Alex eyed the cop. The FBI already knew the answer to that question.
He didn’t know if the cops and feds had made the leap that the PR-killer and their double homicide were related to Payton Rooney’s abduction eighteen years ago. He had. He had no doubt whatsoever. Everything was linked. They just needed to figure out how.
The deputy
’s pen hovered. “Okay, so, what happened next?”
“
You have deputies searching those woods?”
The deputy’s lips tightened
. “Search parties have scoured every inch and we haven’t found a damn thing.”
“
He knows those woods. You need to keep searching the local area.”
The deputy
gave him a flat-eyed stare. “We know how to do our job,
Mr.
Parker.”
Alex
said nothing. This guy would be hard to catch if you followed the rules. Thankfully he didn’t have to. He needed to check that algorithm he’d written to compare cell phone information to the dump zones and kidnap sites. He’d add in the local towers from around here and see what popped. Anxious to get away he hurried over the rest of the story. Mallory was still talking to the sheriff.
“
What made you turn around?”
Alex blinked at
the deputy. Weren’t they done?
“
In the bedroom. You said you were looking out the window and you turned around. Why?” The deputy looked interested.
Alex shrugged.
“I sensed something.”
“
Good instincts.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I got lucky.” He didn’t tell the guy he got lucky a lot.
“
Then you chased him?”
“
Yeah. Are we finished?” Pain shot through Alex’s head. Fucking headaches. He pulled painkillers out of his pocket and helped himself to a drink of water.
Shit
. Mallory’s mother and father arrived. He rolled his eyes, assuming the three-ring circus was following close behind. They swept through into the sheriff’s glass office and gathered Mallory into a protective embrace.
A feeling of
isolation swept over him. It rooted him to the spot like a nail through his spine. Worse than usual because for a few brief hours he’d experienced how great it felt to be part of something. Now he was back on the outside looking in.
Where he liked it.
Where he needed to be.
What he n
eeded to do was rein in his emotions. But there was no way he could back away from Mallory until this asshole was caught. It didn’t mean he had to fool himself into believing he and Mallory got to live Happily Ever After.
“
Why didn’t you follow him into the woods?”
“
I didn’t want to leave Special Agent Rooney alone for too long, nor the injured woman.” Alex was losing patience.
Deputy Chance
’s lip curled. “And when you went back you were confronted by Supervisory Special Agent Frazer. Why’d you resist arrest?”
“
I was never under
arrest
.” Alex forced himself not to bite the man’s head off.
The deputy
’s gaze was disbelieving. “According to the feeb he identified himself as a federal agent and told you ‘to drop the weapon.’”
Alex rubbed his forehead.
The guy was killing him. This was why he’d make a terrible cop. Too much monotonous questioning. “For all I knew the attacker had circled around the house and was wanting me to throw down my gun before he shot me.”
“
So why didn’t you shoot him in the head?” the deputy prodded.
“
The fed or the attacker?”
The deputy grunted out a laugh and threw a glance at where
SSA Frazer was holding court with his team. “Both.”
“
Knowing the attacker was wearing body armor I should have shot him in the leg.”
“
Don’t they teach you to shoot to kill where you’re from?” The West Virginia accent was in full twang now.
Alex didn
’t smile. He’d taken the lives of too many people to consider it a joke. “Mallory wants to know what happened to her sister. Otherwise he’d be dead.” And this whole fuckfest would be over. He’d be free to move on. The knowledge left a gaping hole in his chest.
“
You really think it’s the same guy who took Payton Rooney all those years ago?” The deputy scoffed.
“Y
es.” Alex stood as the Rooney family came out of the sheriff’s office. The senator caught his eye and jerked her head imperiously to indicate he join them.
Whoopee
. “Anything else?” he asked the deputy.
“
Nah, we’re done.” The deputy sprawled back in his chair. “No taking the law into your own hands again, Mr. Parker.”
Sure
. Taking a breath, he walked over to where the Rooneys were talking to the sheriff. He stood behind the group like a shadow, but Mallory reached for his hand and dragged him forward. The casual acceptance in front of her parents stopped his breath.
“
This is Alex Parker.” She introduced him to her father and they shook hands.
“
I want to thank you, son.” The judge’s handshake was firm. “We hear that without you there’s every chance Mallory would have been hurt or kidnapped.” The man’s voice broke. “I know she’s an FBI agent, but I can’t stand the thought of losing another daughter.”
“
Glad I was there, sir.”
Frazer
joined the party and Mallory introduced him to her parents while Alex took a step back. He and Frazer weren’t exactly buddies.
“
What are you doing to ensure my daughter’s safety, SSA Frazer?” This came from the judge.
“
I’m about to send her back to Quantico.”
Mallory opened her mouth to argue and snapped it closed before any words leaked out.
For once, Alex was in full agreement with Frazer, but he’d let the other guy take the heat.
“
You’re too vulnerable and too close to this case to work the evidence.”
“
Kari Regent was abducted from just outside DC.” Mallory’s jaw set at a mutinous angle. “What makes you think I’ll be any safer there?”
“
I wonder if I could have a private word while they battle it out, Mr. Parker?” the senator asked him softly.
“
Use my office.” The sheriff waved them inside, even though he clearly wanted to get on with his job, not be tied up with endless politics.
Alex followed
Senator Tremont inside and closed the door behind them. She paced—just like Mallory had at the hospital. The sensation of being watched pressed against his back.
“
Do you think this killer is the same man who took Payton?”
Alex nodded.
She looked down at her expensive leather pumps. “I want to thank you, for personally looking after my daughter.”
He nodded.
“I didn’t do it because of you.”
Her lips
compressed together and her eyes narrowed. “Then why did you do it?”
There was no way he was confessing his feelings to this woman, even if he understood them himself. He leaned against the desk, shrugged.
“We’re involved.”
Angry
red blotches appeared beneath the flawless foundation. She turned to face the outside window where no one could lip-read the words that passed between them. “I don’t care if you two are sleeping together, but if anything happens to her,” her voice dropped to below a whisper, “I’ll see you back in that Moroccan prison faster than you can spit.”
Anger fused with his marrow. He
slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into a hug. She was as malleable as stone. Her pulse fluttered uneasily in her neck. Good. He put his mouth beside her ear and spoke slowly. “That wasn’t the agreement, Senator. Mallory has nothing to do with our bargain. I have five-hundred and twenty days left that you bought along with my freedom and then I’m done. Forever.” The older woman became even more rigid in his arms. To any observers it would look like an embrace with an emotionally stunted female. His voice dropped lower. “If you renege on your promise I will take you down. If you hurt Mallory...” He drew back and let his soulless gaze do the work. She shivered.
He went to break away but her fingers dug into his triceps. Then her eyes filled with a wash of tears as she morphed from powerful senator to powerless parent.
“Just don’t let anything happen to my baby.” She swallowed. “Please.”
A ball of emotion threatened to choke him but he couldn
’t let this woman see his weakness. “I’ll give my life to see she’s safe, you have my promise.” He didn’t tell her that he’d sacrifice everything to protect Mallory, including The Gateway Project and the senator herself. “Why did you make that call to the FBI about Meacher?” he asked softly.
Her eyes fla
red in alarm and then swept over the people watching them through the glass. “I-I...”
“
To give Mallory the chance to look good?
“Why shouldn’t she be the one to get credit? The animal operated within her jurisdiction.”
Irritation flashed across her features even as she stared fixedly out the window. “I didn’t know Meacher was going to choose that night to take another victim. I didn’t know they were going to launch an immediate assault on his house,” she hissed.
“
Did you make any other calls?” he spoke over her.
“
What? No!” She looked shocked by the suggestion.
He assessed her coldly.
Like most politicians the woman was a damn good liar. “I still don’t trust whoever you have inside the FBI. The warning about the cops going to the Meacher place was so late we almost shook hands in the doorway. Either they’re incompetent or they’re trying to get me caught. Neither is good for you or your fellow players in The Gateway Project.”
She swallowed nervously.
“It must have been a technical error. A glitch.” Her eyes shot to SSA Frazer who watched them through the glass, but Alex didn’t know if he was the inside man or if she was just worried he might overhear something.
It would make sense for it to be Frazer. If the senator had blackmailed the guy into working for the
ir shadowy organization—and Alex wouldn’t put it past her—then putting the senator’s daughter in jeopardy was an effective way to get revenge.
“
Control your dogs, Senator,” he murmured in her ear. “Before they bite you on the ass.” He turned and opened the door for her then and she swept past him like a queen. Mallory watched him with those soft amber eyes of hers.
“
Sorry. What did she want with you?” she asked when he came up beside her.
“
To hire my firm to protect you.”
Mallory shook her head.
“What did you tell her?”
“
It’s already taken care of.” He put his arm on her waist and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m not going anywhere while this guy is out there.”
H
is skin prickled as they left the building. It was probably being so close to the justice system he flouted every time he was sent on a mission. The justice system that would fry his ass if they ever caught him.
D
ecember had bitten down with the ruthlessness of a gin trap. A couple inches of snow covered the ground and dead leaves shattered under his winter boots. Fury boiled low in his gut and almost choked him. His ribs were sore as fuck. He’d strapped them tight, and had been extra careful not to give himself away even though the pain was excruciating.
Mallory’s eyes were the exact same shade as Payton’s had been.
Her hair one shade off black. Too short but it would soon grow out again. Within a year it would be long and silky against his fingers.
H
e followed the other man through the woods. Despite last night’s monumental fuck up, everything was holding together—just. The media was camped out at the town hall; the mayor looked like he was gonna stroke out if the sheriff didn’t solve this thing fast. He liked the sheriff, he was a good man, but he had no intention of easing the guy’s burden.
For one thing, he needed to take care of that bitch Kari before she did any real damage. Word was she was unconscious and likely to stay that way for some time.
“Did this area get searched already?” The guy pushed back his beige hat and swiped at his brow. Despite the cold, he was sweating like a hog on a roasting spit.
“
Twice.” He didn’t hide his irritation. Why couldn’t the asshole just let it go?
Sean
Kennedy breathed out heavily and then squared his shoulders. “One more time for luck.”
“
What
exactly
are we looking for?” He heaved out an impatient sigh. He’d been careful to always be the one searching near the woodpile, but Kennedy was doggedly heading in that direction. Fancied himself quite the detective.
“
Clothes. Footprints. Blood trail. We’ll know if we see it.” The other deputy shrugged a meaty shoulder and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Wouldn’t it be something if we were the ones that found out what happened to Payton Rooney after all these years? Did you know her?”
A knot of grief
twisted his guts. “No, I didn’t know her.” Apprehension rose with each footstep through the snow. “If there was any evidence it’s buried under this snow.”
“
We should get dogs out here—”
“
The killer took the McCaffertys’ car. Dogs ain’t gonna tell us nothing but which road they took.”
“
Yeah, but the killer came back for Mallory Rooney last night so maybe he’s still in the area.”
They were heading ever closer toward the trail to his cabin.
Kennedy was a good officer who was getting too close for comfort and beginning to piss him off. “Let’s go get something to eat and come back when it gets light at dawn.”
“
In a minute,” Kennedy bit back impatiently.
T
he temptation of food usually worked on the guy. Kennedy stopped and looked around at the gathering dusk.
Come on, come on. Turn around.
Then the deputy looked over at the woodpile. “Let’s check out that area and then we’ll call it quits.”
Shit.
He moved cautiously behind his fellow officer, checking his shoulder. The other teams had given up for the night and had all headed home. He surreptitiously unclipped his holster.
They followed the faint trail
of his earlier footprints into the central clearing where he’d been very careful not to go up to the trapdoor, but instead had concentrated on the woodpile itself. The branches overhead shook as wind whistled through them. Lumps of snow splattered the ground. He glanced down and swore. The snow had melted on the metal ring of the trapdoor, leaving a clear circular impression. He saw the exact moment Kennedy spotted it.
Kennedy turned and
caught his eye, excitement filling his gaze. He put his finger to his lips and drew his gun. “Nothing here. Better head back,” Kennedy said loudly, then he added in a whisper, “This is gonna get both of us goddamn commendations.”
He
pulled his gun too, thankful the other officer hadn’t called it in. Kennedy obviously wanted to be a hero rather than follow procedure. The guy reached down for the ring, then threw back the hatch which landed with a soft crunch in the snow. It was pitch black inside and almost impossible to see in the gathering dusk. Kennedy grabbed his flashlight and shone it down the steps. “Sheriff’s officers. Come out with your hands up,” he said loudly.
He
checked his shoulder again. No one was nearby.
Kennedy reached for his radio.
He had two choices. Let Kennedy call it in and go on the run while they ran forensics. Or...
“
You hear that? Like a woman crying?” he whispered urgently, taking a step forward. Kennedy cut in front of him. The guy definitely wanted to be the hero here today.
Kennedy took off his hat and tossed it to the ground before he eased down the wooden stairs,
risers groaning under his weight. All Kennedy’s attention was front and center. On the third step down, he smashed his service weapon hard into the back of Kennedy’s skull. The man crashed to the dirt floor. He scrambled down the stairs, and quickly secured the chain to Kennedy’s meaty wrists while he pocketed the officer’s keys. He grabbed duct tape and efficiently wrapped mouth, wrists and ankles. He lifted Sean’s radio, cell phone, weapon and badge, knowing he should kill him but unwilling to do so just yet. Blood poured down Kennedy’s face and his eyes started to open. They were cloudy with confusion, and silently begged questions as his hands jerked against the chain.
“
Well hell, Seany, you went and solved the goddamn case.” He lifted a couple of things from the shelves. A hairbrush. Kari Regent’s backpack. “I lied by the way, when I said I didn’t know Payton. I knew her better than anyone. I loved her and she loved me. Sorry you had to be the one to figure it all out.” He grimaced wryly. This wasn’t what he wanted to happen, but Kennedy had sealed his own fate. He backed up the steps, keeping a lookout for anyone as he closed the trapdoor on his fellow officer and bolted it shut. He spread snow carefully over the top until it was once again invisible.
Sean
’s disappearance would be one of those unexplained mysteries that people scratched their heads over from time to time.
He headed back to their patrol vehicle,
got in and drove to Deputy Kennedy’s ranch house on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood. He let himself in—the guy had never locked a door in his life—put the gun, badge, radio and cell on his kitchen counter top, carefully wiping his prints and DNA from the items. Then he went into the bedroom and stuffed Kari’s backpack under the bed. He placed the hairbrush on the dressing table, touched it and remembered brushing Payton’s long dark hair until it shone like ebony. He wiped the wooden handle clean and stood back.
What was Kennedy thinking right now? Was he suitably shocked and awed?
He got back in the patrol car and headed to the sheriff’s office. If asked he’d say he dropped Kennedy back home after another fruitless search of the woods. When he didn’t turn up for work tomorrow, someone would be sent around to the house to look for him. When they figured out he’d disappeared he’d go to the top of the suspect list. The hairbrush and backpack and his sudden disappearance should buy him some time. Long enough to kill Kari and snatch Mallory Rooney from under their noses. Alex Parker had stymied him but not for much longer. He intended to repay the guy by taking his woman. The cops around here weren’t exactly rocket scientists and even the FBI was turning out to be a disappointment. But until Kari Regent was dead he needed to start putting together his exit plan, just in case.
Patience, he reminded himself as he drove past all the
TV and media vans. Kari was in ICU and everyone was on high alert. As long as he didn’t panic it’d work out. He looked out the car window as the snow began to fall softly again, covering the tracks he and Sean had made in the woods.
Patience
was his friend.
***
Her parents might be powerful people, but there were no more strings to pull. Eastborne was a crime scene until the feds said otherwise. Mallory had made her parents go home and let the cops do their jobs. Promised to see them for dinner at her mother’s house that weekend.
Now s
he and Alex were back at her father’s apartment in DC, and she was effectively kicked to the curb in terms of the investigation. She set her jaw. She could have helped out, but she’d hardly slept in days and was so tired she could barely stand up. It was starting to take its toll on her ability to think straight. Tomorrow she intended to tell Hanrahan her plan for catching the vigilante, but right now she just wanted to sleep and not worry about a maniac trying to snatch her.
The TV was on in the background
, muted. It threw flickering images against the wall. The rest of the apartment was dark. Alex came into the room after a shower. He leaned down and kissed her, long and slow.
“
You must have better things to do than hang out with me,” she murmured against his mouth.
“
I like hanging out with you.” He pushed her backward until he was stretched out on top of her on the couch. “I like hanging out with you a lot.” He nipped her bottom lip and she groaned and then, unable to resist, wrapped her arms around his neck and savored his taste. The guilt of allowing herself to be happy was eased by the fact that without Alex she might be dead. Her sister wouldn’t have wanted that.
She pulled back and stared into those
pewter eyes. “I can’t believe you came into my life at exactly the right moment.”
He kissed her again and heat uncurled in her belly, and something else.
Something scary. Something amazing. He brushed her hair back from her forehead, framing her face with his hands. “I think I came into your life exactly when it was meant to be.”
Fate
? Mallory had discounted fate as a fickle so-and-so years ago. Emotion welled up but she didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Alex hadn’t been there last night. Instead she licked the inside of his mouth, and took control of the kiss, feeling the heady power as he kissed her back. He tasted like strong healthy male and she wanted that strength. She wanted to play with that power, explore the ways she could make him groan. And she wanted to forget that there was a man out there who wanted her as his own personal plaything.
The apartment was
relatively safe with good security. One of her Glocks was on the coffee table. The other by the front door in the drawer. Alex wore a weapon in a shoulder holster that looked sexy as hell strapped to that ridiculously honed body.
She rolled him and they landed
in a heap on the floor with her on top. They both laughed but the laughter stopped when her fingers moved to the top button of his shirt. He lay unmoving when she worked her way down the length of his torso. He went to touch her but she shook her head.
“
I want to do with you whatever I want.” There was a challenge in her tone. She needed some control in a life that had gone haywire.
One side of his mouth curled up.
“Go for it.”
She straddled his thighs and desire blazed through her, reflected in his eyes.
His fingers tightened on her thighs. “Be gentle with me. Or rough. Whatever...” He said it as a joke but as her eyes fastened on his scars she realized people had hurt him, physically and mentally. She lowered her lips to first one mark, then the next. “One day,” she said between kisses, “I want you to tell me how you got each and every scar.” She pressed two fingers to his lips before he could protest. “Not today. Just one day.”
He held her gaze, eyes vibrant with unspoken emotion
but he finally nodded.
The warmth of his skin singed her fingers as she smoothed them over his lips, down his throat to broad pectorals and flat brown nipples and six-pack abs that rippled as she touched them. She
’d never had a lover so beautiful before. Never touched a body like this. But that wasn’t what made Alex beautiful. He called to something inside her. She didn’t know what it was but they fit. Perfectly. Her lips followed the sprinkling of golden hair that arrowed south of a navel she wanted to taste. So she did. He was warm and clean and smelled of soap from a recent shower.
She popped the button of his jeans then ran her index finger over the ridge of his zipper. His eyes went dark.
“You like that?” she asked.
“
I’m a guy. Touch my dick, I’m happy.”
“
I like the fact you’re a guy.” She undid the top button of her shirt and watched him hold his breath as she flicked the next button free. “I like it a lot.” She’d said she wouldn’t hurt him but she hadn’t said she wouldn’t torment him until he begged for mercy. Next button. So that he got a glimpse of the lacy black bra she’d put on after her shower.
“
You’re going to kill me.”
“
I’m going to try.” She undid the last button and slipped slowly out of her shirt, tossing it behind her.