by Regan Black
She pursed her lips, gaze on the door as she considered. “I heard him slam the door. It didn’t seem to end well.” Her long fingers reached for her radio, but she didn’t use it. “My partner might be able to get through.”
“Go for it.” He shrugged and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “The professor and I could only agree that we don’t like each other.”
Aubrey rocked back on her heels. “Any chance you’d wait out here if we tried to talk to him?” Leo snorted. “That’s what I thought. I’ll just give him time to cool down.”
“There was one patch of common ground,” Leo said grudgingly. “Both of us think the world of Lara.”
“That’s good.” Her smile sparkled with hope.
“I suppose.” Restless, he cracked his knuckles as the only available outlet. “So why doesn’t he care that she disappeared?”
“You’re suspicious of everyone,” Aubrey said.
“Everyone but you,” he admitted without thinking. He cleared his throat. “Have you found out anything helpful this morning?” If she had, she would’ve told him already. In his pocket, his fingers found the outline of the matchbook from the Escape Club. It couldn’t hurt to head out to the pier and ask for more help searching for his sister.
“Not so far,” she replied. “It would help to have the actual note instead of just a picture.” She reached out and pushed the call button for the elevator.
He hadn’t noticed her leading him away from Whitten’s office. That strange prickling of need slid along his skin. “I’d rather take the stairs,” he said, heading toward the door in the corner.
Being in a small space with her would be too tempting. He couldn’t sort out why he was so drawn to her. Wasn’t sure knowing would make him feel any better about himself. Last night he’d seen her as a woman separate from the officer who’d filed his missing person case. Yes, in a normal social setting, he would’ve asked her out without any concern about motives. He might even have tried to make a few dates into something more lasting, if she’d felt the same way. Now there was no way for him to separate why they met from why he wanted her.
“Leo, wait.”
He kept moving. Edgy, his thoughts a tangle, this wasn’t the best time to test his self-control or resolve. Her footsteps followed him down the stairs and she caught up to him on the second landing.
“We are working the case, Leo.”
He paused, sighed. “Do you want to see the note?”
“Yes,” she said. “Preferably at the station.”
“As evidence.” Her nod should have made him feel better. Instead, he feared losing the only scrap of proof he had that Lara was still in town. He continued down the stairs, Aubrey beside him. “Do you have anywhere else to check for Lara?” he asked, thinking of the Escape Club again.
“Not yet. Calvin and I are talking with people around campus who interacted with her.” She held out a printout of Lara’s class schedule and official activities.
“Campus security plays favorites,” he muttered. It made sense, but he didn’t like it. He stopped abruptly and turned. She halted on the last step, her lips parted as if she’d been about to ask him a question.
Her mouth was right there within reach and he couldn’t drag his gaze away from that full lower lip, the sexy bow of the upper. He could close the distance and finally know the taste of her. Why did he keep putting himself in this position? In the past he’d had no problem focusing on Lara’s needs. During his senior year of college, she’d broken her arm and he’d cancelled a spring break trip with his girlfriend to help his sister through the surgery and recovery. This was an all-new level of trouble and the worst time for him to be distracted.
Aubrey was a cop who had the misfortune of being on duty when he’d gone off the rails. She was stuck with him and he was being pulled like taffy, the search for his sister all twisted up with his attraction to the woman assigned to help him.
“We won’t find her, will we?” He yanked his gaze back to her clear blue eyes just in time to catch her staring at his mouth. His lips tingled. “Will we?”
“I...” She swallowed. “I want to tell you yes,” she finished in a whisper.
But she couldn’t. The raw honesty blasted through him as cold and unrelenting as the wind outside. As much as he wanted to hear those comforting words, he knew the truth was better. “I’m not giving up.” He marched out of the stairwell and back onto the street.
Chapter 4
On quaking knees, Aubrey watched him go, her thoughts jumbled up with emotions that had to take a backseat to logic and procedure. Cold air flooded the stairwell, doing nothing for the heat that had gathered when they were eye to eye and nearly lip to lip. Again.
She had to stop thinking about kissing that man.
Using her radio to let Calvin know where they were, she rushed after Leo. Aubrey ordered her heart to return to its rightful place in her chest. She could not let herself get knotted up over the new guy in town.
Those seconds left her nerves sizzling and proved last night hadn’t been a fluke. Why couldn’t the man be a toad, rather than a walking temptation who wore the caring, determined big-brother role to an advantage?
She tried once more to blame her only-child issues. If she’d had a sibling of the older variety, she would’ve wanted one like Leo. “Lara is lucky to have you,” she said, catching up to him. She had to do something to keep her mind on the job rather than those long legs and that great jawline.
“Drop it,” he said. “I know you think this is a lost cause.”
“I don’t,” she insisted. The note he’d received had ramped up both her concern and her optimism. “Someone will come forward if she’s in town.” Aubrey was confident Mary-Tea would share more information soon. Part of her wondered, based on the tone of the note, if the older woman had written it.
“Now you don’t even think she’s in town?” He stopped at the edge of the courtyard and stared her down. “Should I remind you her bank accounts and credit cards haven’t been touched?”
Her heart fluttered, the foolish, uncooperative organ. “No.” She squared her shoulders, relieved to see Calvin hustling up the walk. “We’re out here, gathering information as quickly as possible.”
“We need a bigger team,” he snapped. “A search party.”
“She isn’t a five-year-old lost in the woods,” Aubrey countered. Her patience was fraying and it had nothing to do with the case. Deep inside, where all of her secret hopes and doubts lived, she sighed. There had to be a better place for her to meet people than work. “Let me take the note to the station and get it processed.”
Leo seemed to deflate and she worried he’d drop.
“Everything good?” Calvin aimed an irritated look at Leo that went completely unnoticed.
“I’m running out of places to look,” Leo said.
“We’re just getting started.” She reached out and patted his shoulder, ignoring Calvin’s silent assessment. “We’ll retrace her steps and keep asking questions. We’ll scour social media for any insight into her associations or recent activity. Every business on the block has her picture posted.” Despite Mary-Tea’s warning. “Something will break our way.”
“Great.” He clutched his chest and winced. “I’ll just wait here.”
Calvin moved first, guiding Leo to a bench. “You’re too young for a heart attack.” He shot her another look and she was braced to call an ambulance. “Just breathe a minute,” he said.
“I’m all right.”
He still looked too pale. “Just take your time,” she encouraged.
Leo scrubbed some color into his cheeks. “Here.” He reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. “Take it. I hope it helps.” He leaned back and stared up at the sky. “I asked the hotel if I could see the security feed, but they won’t let me.”
“I’m not surp
rised,” Calvin said. “We’re more likely to get approval for that.”
“And you might actually recognize someone,” Leo said.
That worried her more than it should. She took the small envelope, tapping it gently against her palm. He’d sent her a picture of the note by text and she knew what she’d find inside. Still, she opened it to confirm. “We’ll take this, handle it the right way and update her file.”
He rolled his eyes. “Right. Will you tell me if you discover who dropped it off?”
“We’ll keep you informed about every development,” Calvin said, his sobering voice ending further discussion.
She was grateful for that, despite the sympathy for him that wound through her chest. “You can get back to your hotel?” she asked.
Leo nodded. “I’ll behave.”
Calvin snorted and Aubrey shot him a quelling look.
“Officer Rawlins?”
“Yes?”
“You know this city,” Leo said. “Who would possibly need my sister more than me?”
Calvin urged her along, but Aubrey couldn’t leave him without an answer. She considered what Mary-Tea had told her about the flyers making Lara, a helpful person, unsafe. Doubt niggled at her for keeping the information from Leo.
Until she remembered he would leap into action and stir up more trouble.
“You know who sent it,” Leo said, rising from the bench.
She held up a hand, thankful Calvin didn’t move between her and Leo. She might get ribbed from her peers about her soft heart and trusting outlook, but Calvin did trust her to handle herself as a professional.
“The picture we’re getting is that Lara was compassionate and a willing volunteer. Lots of people would benefit from her assistance.”
“That’s not an answer,” Leo challenged.
Aubrey couldn’t imagine the older woman going close enough to a busy hotel to deliver that note, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t ask someone else to do it for her. “It’s the best I have right now. Give us time to investigate thoroughly.”
She tipped her head, urging him to come along with them. Leaving him out here in the elements, even if he wasn’t as distressed as yesterday, still didn’t feel right. At last, he fell into step with them.
“For what it’s worth, it sounds like you hit the jackpot when it comes to sisters,” Calvin said.
“You have no idea,” Leo said.
When they arrived at the precinct, he paused as Calvin walked through the doors. “Aren’t you coming in?” she asked.
“No. I’ve decided to visit the Escape Club.”
She flinched and felt her cheeks go hot with frustration.
“You shouldn’t play poker.” Leo’s mouth slanted. “Why are you so against me talking with them? I was told they often helped with stuff the police couldn’t tackle head-on.”
An army of ants marched up and down her spine at the pure hope in his voice. She guided him away from the front door of the station. “This isn’t the place to have this conversation.”
“Then let’s not have it,” Leo said. “You work on the note and I’ll go out to the club and see if they’re willing to help me search.”
“We’re doing all we can, Leo.”
“But is it enough?”
She met the challenge in his eyes with some grit of her own. “I believe in the system and the rapport I’ve built in this neighborhood. If your sister is out here in the area or anywhere else in my city, we will find her. You have to give us time to work.”
“Take all the time you need,” he said. “I don’t see the problem calling on this Escape Club.”
She was sure he would hear her teeth grinding. “Grant Sullivan and the people who helped him are not legally authorized to get involved in an active case. Do you understand?”
“I’m still going.”
Mentally, she stomped her foot and cuffed him to the nearest building. Then the cuff idea sent her overactive imagination in the wrong direction. “Why are you being so stubborn?”
“Because she’s all I have!”
His outburst bulleted through the air and ricocheted off the stonework. It couldn’t be true, unless he was this obnoxious about everything in life and pushed everyone except his family away. No. If he was this unbearable as a general rule, something else would’ve popped on the background check. Instead, he was clean.
“Fine. I’ll go with you.” She couldn’t believe she’d said that, but she wouldn’t take the words back. Better to be there than to wonder.
“You’d do that?” He stared at her for a long moment. “No. You only want to go along to disrupt the meeting.”
“Not true. I’d appreciate it if you waited until after my shift.” Going in uniform would only make an errand she was already dreading that much worse. “Calvin and I need to be out here and visible.”
“I understand,” he said, studying her closely.
“Then you’ll wait?”
He shook his head. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Leo!” Once more she was chasing him, if only for a few steps. “You’re making it exceedingly difficult to help you. What will it take for you to believe I’m on your side?”
His frown said it all. Nothing shy of her raising a citywide search party would be enough. “Come on,” she said. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Is seeking help a crime now?”
“No.” Many of her peers disagreed with her about the value of the Escape Club and Sullivan’s approach. She found the independent methods too risky, but grudgingly admitted its success rate spoke volumes. “You’ve proven you can get into trouble,” she replied. “Let’s go.” She took a step toward the precinct and waited for him to make his decision. “Don’t push me. I will cuff you if necessary.”
One eyebrow arched, creating an interesting swirl low in her belly, but he eventually followed her. The precinct was humming and everyone around her seemed way too distracted to notice Leo was with her two days running.
She sat him down and found a coffee for him while she added the information about the note to the file on Lara. Calvin had spoken with the security team at the hotel and the two of them were welcome anytime.
“See,” she said to Leo when Calvin walked off. “Progress.”
He raised his coffee cup. “To progress.”
If only he’d shown a bit of enthusiasm. “The club isn’t even open yet,” she said in another attempt to discourage his plan.
“The number works.” He raised his cell phone. “I’ve been texting with someone.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and counted to ten. Twice. The effort futile, she met Leo’s gaze. “About Lara?”
“Not yet. Not specifically. Apparently, the man I should speak with won’t be available until closer to four.”
Inside, she did a little happy dance over the reprieve. Based on the scowl, Leo wasn’t nearly as pleased. “That gives us plenty of time to visit with hotel security,” she said. She’d also be able to complete her shift and handle what seemed to be an inevitable meeting with Grant Sullivan off duty.
“I suppose you’re right. I’ll wait and you can join me.”
It would be rude to rub it in. “It’s all progress,” she said quietly. “Not as fast as you hoped, but it is progress.”
Leo shrugged. His phone lit up with an incoming call and he muttered something about work as he stepped away to answer. She kept an eye on him throughout the afternoon, half expecting him to leave. He didn’t. Though he wasn’t in the way and didn’t interfere with her or any fellow officers, he distracted her, constantly present at the edge of her vision. Of course, he was front and center of her awareness as she and Calvin worked their shift and the search for Lara.
Once they arrived at the hotel, Leo went to his room. She was grateful he hadn’t
pushed to sit in on the meeting with hotel security. The review of the security camera footage wasn’t as helpful as she’d hoped. The person who’d dropped off the note was bundled up into a nondescript blob of old coat and hunched shoulders.
The overnight attendant for the hotel’s front desk who had accepted the note and put it into an envelope for Leo claimed it had been a man in his midtwenties under the layers. Aubrey let Calvin ask a few more questions while she reviewed the grainy black-and-white images over and over.
Her hopes of making any kind of identification faded. It had been a longshot to start with, but whoever had left the note had taken every precaution, deftly evading revealing camera angles. Someone had walked into the hotel with full awareness of the security setup. Someone knew Leo by name. Progress, she reminded herself.
She sent a text message to Leo that they were done and promised to meet him in front of the hotel as soon as her shift was over. Meeting Sullivan in civilian clothing seemed better in her mind than going in uniform. He had cops and first responders in and out of the club all the time and no one gave it a second thought. Her situation was different, with IA judging her every move.
“All good?” Calvin asked.
“Yes.” She tucked her phone away and pulled on her gloves as they walked out.
“Hot date tonight?”
She nearly tripped over her feet. “What? No. Why would you ask?”
Calvin gave her an arch look. “I’d rather assume it’s a hot date rather than Butler that puts that look on your face. He’s part of the case. You can’t go there.”
“Stop,” she said. “There’s no date and no look.” Curiosity, maybe, but that was it. “Leo is insisting on a visit to the Escape Club. I made him agree to let me go along.”
Calvin’s dark eyebrows snapped together. “Then I really don’t get the expression.”
Her partner was the only person in the precinct who knew just how little Aubrey cared for Sullivan and his self-appointed role of helping people outside normal legal channels. Successes aside, she believed working within the system was better for the community as a whole. “I’m just happy to finish the shift and I’m looking forward to changing clothes, especially my socks. My feet have been cold all day.”