Her Unlikely Protector

by Regan Black

  “He’s not going home, is he?”

  “I doubt it,” Aubrey replied. “At least not anytime soon. I’ve been asked to keep a confidence, so I do understand your reluctance to share if Lara asked the same of you.”

  The designated spokeswoman glanced at her companions. Poker faces all around. This group wasn’t moved by Leo and they weren’t moved by Aubrey. “One quick question,” she said, changing tactics. “Do any of you know of a reason Leo should be worried about his sister?”

  “No.” The answer came from all five of them.

  “We’re confident she’s fine,” the spokeswoman added.

  It was more than she had. “Good. I’ll pass that along. If your confidence wavers for any reason, please reach out to me or someone on the PPD.” She reached into her pocket, but she didn’t have any business cards in this coat.

  Each of the five nodded an agreement and that would have to be enough for tonight. As satisfied as she could be with the conversation, Aubrey headed for the door, eager to get home.

  Her path through the pub was momentarily blocked by a bigger man in a black leather coat. He reeked of cigarette smoke. A quick visual inventory matched this man with the description Jason had given her. Great. She couldn’t do anything to figure out why he’d been asking about Lara, not with Leo watching her like a hawk.

  She mumbled an “excuse me” and did a little side to side until he brushed past her with a curse. The man was a real charmer. As he passed her, she noticed the unmistakable bulge of a shoulder holster under his coat.

  She dismissed all but one of the options that rushed through her mind. Outside, she texted Jason, warning him about the gun. Odds were good he’d picked up on the guy’s concealed weapon already. His training as both a first responder and bartender would have covered how to spot that kind of trouble.

  Her mind on how best to follow up with Jason tomorrow, she didn’t pay any attention to the rush of footsteps behind her until it was too late.

  A hard grip caught her elbow, arresting her momentum. Her first instinct was to jerk around and go on the offensive, but she hesitated. The last thing her personnel record needed was a misguided assault charge if she struck out when she wasn’t actually in any danger.

  “Leo.” She was tempted to shove him just to release some of this pent-up energy that seemed to go from simmer to boil whenever he was near. “Release me.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Nothing,” she admitted. “If they had given me anything helpful, I would’ve walked back and shared it with you.”

  “I’m supposed to believe you? Just take your word on that?”

  A passerby jostled her shoulder and Leo scowled. Clearly, he, too, was bucking for a way to burn off this restless sense of helplessness. “Go back to your hotel,” she said.

  He focused all that desperate attention at her, nudging her out of the path of others and moving his body to shelter her. His coat was open and she caught a whiff of the crisp, woodsy scent of his soap or cologne.

  The fragrance punched through her and she locked her hands at her sides when she wanted to reach out and pull him closer. She was a professional, damn it. This wasn’t how a cop should feel about anyone linked to a case.

  “You need to step back.” Her voice quavered. She pulled herself together and raised her gaze to his only to find him staring at her mouth.

  Her tongue slipped over her chilled lips before she could stop herself. “Leo, did you hear me?”

  “I did.” He didn’t step back. He leaned closer, his arm braced against the wall, over her head. How was it they weren’t already touching?

  The street noise faded away. She’d never felt so removed from the city she loved. Tucked under the shelter of his body she found warmth, a place where the bleakness of winter could give way to the hope of spring.

  He was going to kiss her. Or try. Unless she kissed him first. She was caught in the middle of that harsh internal debate when at last he dragged his gaze from her mouth to her eyes. Something in those warm brown depths shifted and snapped, breaking the delicious anticipation.

  No, no, no. Not delicious. Foolish. Inappropriate. She could not afford to see him as a man. He was a case. A stranger in town on a quest that probably wouldn’t end well.

  He pushed away from the wall, far too late for her to consider the movement obedient or cooperative. Eyes still locked on her, he shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

  A cold blast of air filled the now-respectable distance between them while a voice in her head screamed about lost opportunities. The only missed opportunity that mattered was that she hadn’t found a way to interview the slick guy with the concealed weapon asking about Lara.

  “I’ll walk you back to your hotel,” she said.

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” he grumbled, stalking away.

  She fell into step beside him. “Prove it.”

  He trudged on, shoulders hunched against the wind, in the general direction of the hotel.

  “You can’t convince me that the flyers will pay off.”

  “Then I won’t try.” Unless they’d already brought out a possible lead she’d left behind in the pub. If she tried to explain that to Leo, he’d turn around and confront the man himself. “Tell me about her.”

  He shot her a hard look. “I already gave you a description. Her habits and everything I know about her life here.”

  He hadn’t mentioned her friends or knowing that she visited Pomeroy’s. Pointing out the obvious felt petty. He was hurting enough already. “Come on,” she coaxed. They had blocks to go on a cold night and he didn’t seem inclined to call for a ride or grab a taxi. “Does she love to read or go rock climbing? Is she dating anyone? What about a secret passion for knitting?”

  “If she knits in secret, how would I know?”

  “So you do have a sense of humor.”

  “Not much of one lately.” He moved to block her from a sudden gust of wind. She trembled again, but not because of the weather. “We should find a car. You’re cold.”

  She was. Just like every other person silly enough to walk on a wintry night. “I’ll survive.” She had every intention of calling for a ride from his hotel to her apartment.

  “Lara is a complete and total bookworm,” he said suddenly. “Always has been. I would read to her at night when she was little and I’d replace the batteries in her flashlight when she would burn them out from reading past her bedtime.”

  “That sounds...” Sweet and warm. All the things she’d want an older sibling to be if she’d been lucky enough to have one. “You’re a good brother,” she said.

  He scowled, apparently uncomfortable with the compliment. “Did you read past your bedtime?” he asked.

  “I did. Before I was old enough to change the batteries in my flashlight, I’d swap out the dead one with the flashlight in the kitchen drawer. That’s how Mom caught me. Though I’m pretty sure she knew what was happening all along.”

  “No siblings to blame?”

  She shook her head. “And the dog slept in their room, so they knew it wasn’t him.”

  His low, rusty chuckle made her feel like a heavyweight champion throwing a winning knockout punch in round one.

  Her cheeks were nearly frozen and his were wind-chapped by the time they reached his hotel. “Will you stay put for tonight?” she asked when they were inside the warmth of the lobby.

  “I will. I promise,” he said.

  “Good. Because I’m off duty. If you raise a ruckus again and drag an officer out of the warm station and into this weather, that officer will not be patient with you.”

  His lips twitched as if he was trying not to smile. “Noted.”

  “What?” She could see him losing the battle with that smile and couldn’t think of a reason for the change. Though it would be nice to see that striking face at
ease and happy rather than tense and worried.

  “Nothing,” he insisted.

  She waited, a duel of wills.

  “Fine.” He choked back a laugh. “You look like Rudolph with the red nose and everything.”

  The comment was so unexpectedly flirtatious, she was left speechless. This glimpse into the man behind the anxiety only attracted her more.

  “You made me say it,” he pointed out.

  “I did. Go get warm,” she ordered. “Get some sleep, too. I have a few things to run down in the morning and then I’ll touch base.”

  “Let me come with you,” he said eagerly. “Assuming those things pertain to Lara.”

  The things she wanted to follow up on did pertain to Lara’s case. “No.” Having Leo around would complicate her attempts to find a lead on his sister...and with her personally.

  “Please.”

  “No.” She said it more firmly because she wanted to cave to his pleading gaze. “I’d get slammed for allowing you to tag along. My partner and I can handle it. If I find anything, I’ll come straight over and fill you in.”

  “That’s just a sneaky way of trying to keep me in the hotel.”

  “I’m trying to do my job and keep my pocket of the city safe.”

  He snorted. “I’m no threat to your city.”

  “Not from where I’m standing,” she said. “I know it isn’t easy to be patient but interfering with the standard protocol won’t help anything.” Especially not his sister or Aubrey’s own reputation at the precinct.

  She folded her arms, waiting for him to leave the lobby.

  “You plan to stand guard down here?”

  “No,” she fibbed. “Just humor me and go up to your room so I can more easily convince myself that you’ll keep your word.”

  “I won’t go out looking for her anymore tonight.”

  “Mm-hmm.” She shooed him away.

  With a shake of his head, he stalked toward the elevators. She waited a few minutes before moving to the front desk and asking to speak with their head of security.

  She hadn’t had much cause to work directly with hotel security, but there was respect and cooperation on both sides of the tourism industry and the PPD. After a quick explanation, she asked for an assist, requesting a text message if the staff noticed Leo leaving. It was no guarantee that they’d spot him, and she didn’t want him to feel watched. But a warning if he decided to go back out would sure be nice.

  Chapter 3

  After a restless night, Leo woke up as weary and frustrated as when he’d fallen asleep. His dreams had flipped incongruently between worst-case scenarios for Lara and snow-melting kisses with the lovely Officer Rawlins. She’d seemed so different out of uniform last night in the pub. Softer, warmer and even more tempting. The sweater had been rather shapeless, but the snug jeans had hugged her lean legs perfectly, giving his imagination plenty of fuel.

  Since she was his best hope for finding Lara, he couldn’t allow his misguided hormones to impede her motivation to help. He blamed the outrageous dreamscape on stress and went down to the hotel gym to burn it off. But an hour of weights and a hard run on the treadmill underscored by the morning news did nothing to improve his mood or outlook.

  Back in his room, he showered and dressed for the day, downing the two available cups of coffee while he debated his best move today. Still no action on Lara’s bank accounts. No replies to his voice messages or texts. The walls closed in on him, the weight of failure impossible to ignore.

  What would Lara need to hide from him?

  He bolted from the room and got as far as the front desk before a burst of guilt had him turning back to the restaurant. He’d promised to stay put. A meal would keep him in place as Officer Rawlins had asked. He might not like the waiting game, but she knew her city far better than he did. He could eat, make some calls, check in at work and pretend to be whole.

  Technically, he didn’t owe Officer Rawlins an explanation for his behavior. Sure, the scene he’d made at the soup kitchen had crossed a line and he’d made a nuisance of himself, but he hadn’t broken any laws. Last night in the bar he’d behaved while talking to Lara’s friends.

  Well, he’d behaved until he was outside on the street with Aubrey. He still regretted stepping back when every fiber of his being had wanted to close the distance and learn the taste of her lips. He was sure it would’ve been an excellent diversion from the situation of his missing sister.

  Part of him kept expecting Aubrey to pop out from behind a potted palm or stroll casually into view. He couldn’t decide if he was happy or disappointed when she didn’t. Was he missing a woman he just met or simply relieved that she trusted him to keep his word?

  He was sleep-deprived and his thoughts were bugging him. Maybe it was best to stay here rather than attempt any direct search efforts today. As scrambled as his thoughts were, he was likely to make matters worse.

  Hoping a good breakfast and more coffee would straighten him out, he chose a table near the window and tried not to think about where Lara might be or what Aubrey was doing to find her.

  More than anything, he wanted to get back over to the campus and find this Professor Whitten Amy from the library had mentioned. If not today, definitely tomorrow. He didn’t recall Lara mentioning Whitten by name, though she had expressed frustration with her program curriculum occasionally. He’d chalked up those complaints as a typical student desire to get through prerequisites to the more relevant classwork.

  Despite Aubrey’s wishes, Leo couldn’t sit here twiddling his thumbs indefinitely. It was one thing to take time off work to actively search for his sister. Staying in Philly just to enjoy the hotel’s amenities in the dead of winter wasn’t his idea of time well spent.

  The waitress brought him a pot of coffee and he opted for the buffet. As he loaded his plate with savory hash browns, eggs, bacon and a slice of toast, he wondered what Lara was eating. Where she was eating. The thought nearly felled him, turning his knees weak. He couldn’t bear not knowing if she was safe or not, alive or dead. The longer he went without any word, the more he feared the worst.

  Taking a minute to pull himself together, Leo used his cell phone for a quick search on the professor. The sites where students posted ratings gave him a mixed view of the man. Overall, the ratings were positive, though there were frequent comments about the way he challenged his students. Leo got the impression he encouraged his pupils to get involved with the community and to step outside their comfort zones, taking action for the things they believed in.

  That sounded like a positive approach to Leo. While he ate, he kept digging. He read a few articles Whitten had written for campus publications and a city newspaper. Whitten was lauded as a man who developed people to become leaders in both small and far-reaching endeavors. The man had a track record as well as what appeared to be a full speaking schedule.

  Leo agreed that making real change in a community involved more than throwing money at a problem. Time and effort stretched monetary donations to make the maximum difference. Lara had a heart of gold, often too big for practical purposes.

  Their relationship, her persistent affection and care for him was evidence of that. She wanted to make an impact, to create positive changes, and she’d chosen her college and poli-sci major for that express purpose.

  Walking away from those soul-deep, heartfelt goals, even for a semester, didn’t add up. She’d been applying for internships and researching various opportunities over the winter break. He’d proofed another round of cover letters for her. How could he believe she’d simply changed her mind when she was only three semesters from graduating?

  Leo poked at his breakfast without tasting much of it. His first stay here had been for Lara’s college visit. They’d sat at the table near the window, watching Philly wake up and move by on the street. He smiled, recalling how she’d been too excited to
eat much on touring day, but she’d made up for it on the day after.

  Once she’d moved in for her first semester, all of Cincinnati had felt empty. His work was great, his house was great, even with her stuff wedged into the second bedroom and half the basement. But he only felt balanced when she was home on breaks.

  She was his little sister and his best friend. He realized that would naturally change as she stretched toward her goals and needed him less for advice or a sounding board. Preparing for that day, he’d been forcing himself out of his shell, expanding his circle of friends and dating more. It remained a work in progress. Some emotional and geographical distance was healthy for them, but this sudden silence cut to the quick. She’d trusted him with everything in the past. Why not whatever she was going through now?

  He stared at his nearly full plate, his appetite long gone. He knew there wasn’t really anything more he could do here to find Lara except wander and nag the police. But the idea of going back to Cincinnati without any word, without answers, tested the steel spine and rigid independence he thought he’d forged so long ago.

  Lara shouldn’t love him at all after what happened. His mother had cut him loose after the disaster, but not his baby sister. Nothing, not even the brutal facts when she’d been old enough to understand them, fazed Lara. She just kept on loving him as if he really was the greatest big brother in the world.

  He still had the silly gold plastic trophy with the “greatest big brother” title stamped onto the false wood base on his bookshelf at home. A Christmas gift from Lara when she’d been in fourth grade. He kept it out, a daily reminder that he was more than one epic mistake, at least to her.

  He wouldn’t rest until he knew his sister was all right. Campus security might not get it, the police might label him grief-stricken or obsessed, but he didn’t have any other choice. Without Lara he wasn’t sure about the man he faced in the mirror every morning. People waxed poetic about love making life full and worthwhile and Leo knew those people were right. His memories of a happy, loving home burned bright against the years that followed when his only light had been Lara’s unrelenting joy despite the cloud of grief.