by Tawny Weber
He took his time answering her, sipping his own coffee first. “We don’t. You’re staying here. I’ll find your sister.”
“Wait a minute.” He couldn’t be serious. “I want to come with you.”
“No,”
“No?” She tightened her grip on the cup and her temper. “Just like that? No discussion? Just no?”
“That’s what I said.”
She pushed the cup away and knit her fingers together on top of the table. Then, with what she thought was remarkable calm, she said, “You seem to have forgotten that you’re working for me.”
He took another sip of coffee, holding her gaze above the rim before setting down the cup. “I don’t work for you. You can’t afford me, remember?”
“No, I don’t remember.” She deserted her chair, paced the small distance to the counter and turned, her arms folded across her middle. “And what makes you so sure I can’t afford you?”
He shrugged.
It infuriated her. He infuriated her. “I can’t just sit around here twiddling my thumbs while you go off looking for Nicole.”
“Look, Jessie, we do it my way or not at all.”
“I can help. I know Nicole—”
“You’ll be in my way.”
“I know her habits, her . . .” She stopped midsentence, realizing that arguing with him was pointless. He wasn’t listening. He’d made up his mind. Well, so had she.
“What about my car?” she asked. “It’s still over near Robert and Nicole’s. I need to pick it up.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“What do you mean, you’ve taken care of it?”
“One of my associates will pick it up and move it.”
“Move it?” She couldn’t believe this. “Where?”
“Somewhere safe but out of the way.”
Obviously, he was used to being in charge and giving orders. “What if I need it?”
“You’re not going to need it because you’re not going anywhere. You’ll be staying here for the next couple of days.”
“I’m not staying here.” Just the idea of being stuck for another night in this apartment with him unsettled her.
Sighing, he pushed himself out of his chair, walked to the sink and dumped the last of his coffee down the drain. “Whoever followed us last night isn’t playing games, Jessie. They either meant to warn us off or they think you know something.” Then, turning back to face her, he added, “Either way, you could be in danger.” He paused, letting his words sink in. They did, sending a ripple of fear down her spine.
She steeled herself against it.
“The best thing for you to do,” he added, “is hole up here for a while. I’ll find your sister.”
What he said made sense. After all, she’d come to him because Jacob Anderson had said Cooper was the best. Yet she knew herself. She’d go crazy sitting around here waiting for news.
“You win,” she said finally.
He looked skeptical. “You’re going to stay put?”
“That’s not what I said.” He may be used to giving orders, but she wasn’t used to taking them. “If you won’t take me with you, I’ll do some investigating on my own.”
“Like you did last night?”
A wave of heat touched her cheeks. Common sense told her to listen to him. Fear for her sister made her hold her ground. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t do what you want. You go do what you have to do. I’ll do what I need to do.”
He met her gaze for what seemed an eternity, and it took all her willpower to keep from turning away from those steely blue eyes. Finally, he said, “Okay. I’ll take you with me. But we do things my way. You’ll keep your room at the hotel, but you’ll stay here. You don’t use your own car. You don’t go anywhere on your own. And you do everything I say. Got it?”
“I need some clean clothes.”
“We’ll stop by your hotel and pick them up. And . . .” He paused, obviously to emphasize his last point. “At the first sign of trouble, you’re out of it. Understand?”
Jessie nodded, though she had no intention of letting him leave her out of it. No matter what happened.
Cooper wasn’t happy about having Jessie along with him. He’d feel a hell of a lot better if she were tucked safely away in the condo. But he’d seen that look on her face before and wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. On her own, she’d get herself into more trouble. At least this way he could keep an eye on her.
Of course, that was part of the problem. She was a distraction. One he couldn’t afford while working a case. Especially when he had no idea what he was up against or whether they were in any real danger. Of course, with one woman already missing and another stirring things up, odds were against this being a simple day at the beach.
He pulled off I-95 and headed toward downtown Fort Lauderdale. “Before we go over to your hotel,” he said, “we need to get rid of this car.”
“Is this a P.I. thing? Changing cars once a day?”
He ignored the barb. “Your friends are probably watching for us. They’ve already made the Porsche. I wouldn’t want to disappoint them.”
“Will you stop calling them that?” she snapped. “They’re not my friends.”
Cooper grinned despite himself. Damn spunky woman. Would he never learn? “I figure they’ll pick us up at your hotel.”
“You want them to spot us?”
“As long as they’re following us, I know what they’re up to.”
With that, he pulled into the parking garage where they’d switched cars the previous night. Within minutes, they were back in the Porsche, heading toward the airport hotel where Jessie was supposedly staying.
When they drove up to the front of the building, all of Cooper’s senses went on alert. There was a white, late-model Camaro parked off to one side. He figured there had to be a thousand cars just like it in South Florida. This could be any one of them. Too bad he didn’t believe in coincidence.
Reaching under his jacket, he released the safety strap on his shoulder holster.
“My God,” Jessie said, her eyes fixed on his left side where the gun rested beneath his jacket. “I didn’t know you had that on you. Is it really necessary?”
He considered reassuring her that it wasn’t, but decided he wouldn’t be doing her a favor. She needed to know just how dangerous this could get. Maybe then she’d go back to the safe house and wait for him. “I’m not taking any chances.” He opened the door and climbed out. “Come on.”
A valet hurried toward them. “Can I park your car, sir?”
“We’ll just be a few minutes.” Cooper slipped the guy a twenty-dollar bill. “Watch it for me.”
The valet grinned and pocketed the bill. “Yes, sir. Take your time.”
Cooper draped his arm casually about Jessie’s shoulders and headed for the door. “How long will it take you to pack what you need?”
“About five minutes.”
“Good. I’ve got a funny feeling about this place.” He glanced back at the Camaro. “I want to get in and out as quickly as possible.”
Jessie nodded and led him to the bank of elevators. While waiting for one to arrive, he scanned the lobby for anyone who looked out of place. Everything seemed quiet. A couple of kids were working the front desk, a single bellhop manned the bell station, and an older couple sat reading newspapers in the lobby waiting area. Still, the spot in his gut that always warned him of trouble continued to burn.
The elevator arrived, and he followed Jessie inside. A couple of seconds later they stepped out on the eighth floor, and Cooper’s uneasiness grew.
“What’s your room number?” he asked.
“Eight twelve.”
“Give me the key and get behind me.”
She did as he asked, her hand shaking when she handed him the plastic card key. “Cooper, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“Hopefully nothing.”
As they approached the corner of the ha
ll where they would turn toward Jessie’s room, they heard the sound of a door closing, followed by hurried footsteps. Cooper stopped abruptly, motioned for Jessie to stay put, and then inched forward, slipping his hand into his jacket. He looked around the corner just as two men disappeared through the stairwell exit at the end of the hall.
“Wait here,” he said to Jessie, taking off down the hall toward her room. The door was locked, but he was pretty sure what he’d find on the other side. Flattening himself against the wall, he pulled out his gun and slipped the card key into the lock. Then, with one hard kick, he sent the door flying open, waited a moment and went in, gun ready.
Empty.
Except for Jessie’s things. Her suitcase was lying open, face down on the floor, its contents strewn about the room as if they’d been caught in a whirlwind. Cooper wondered if the men had found what they were looking for.
Quickly, he checked the bathroom and closet. They were empty.
“Oh, my God!”
Cooper spun around at the sound of Jessie’s voice. “I told you to wait.”
“This time listen to me and stay put.” He was already heading out the door. “Double lock this behind me and call the police. Don’t open up for anyone until I return.”
“Where—” But he was running toward the stairwell before she could complete her sentence.
He knew he couldn’t catch them, but he needed to see if he’d been right about the car out front. And maybe he could catch sight of the men themselves. He pounded down the stairs two at a time, raced across the lobby and was out the front door of the hotel in a matter of minutes. Just in time to see a dark blue Ford Bronco peel out of the driveway.
He zeroed in on the valet. “Who was in that car?”
“Don’t know. Just a couple of guys.” The kid shrugged. “In a hurry, though.”
Cooper spun back around. The white Camaro still sat at one end of the portico. The queasiness in his gut turned to acid. Whoever had followed them last night . . .
“Damn!” He took off, back inside before he could even complete the thought. They were still here—the men who’d followed them last night—and he’d left Jessie upstairs alone.
Chapter 5
Jessie stood frozen in the middle of the room.
She hadn’t brought much from Chicago, but what she had lay strewn about in total disarray. Jeans and slacks—the pockets turned out—blouses and T-shirts, a dress, a nightgown, underwear and toiletries, all riffled through and tossed carelessly aside.
What had they been looking for?
She considered straightening up. She wanted her personal possessions put away before Cooper returned. Then she remembered that he’d told her to call the police.
Picking her way over to the phone by the bed, she lifted the receiver and dialed zero. “This is Jessica Burkett in Room 812,” she said when the operator answered. “Call the police. Someone has broken into my room.” She didn’t wait for an answer but returned the phone to its cradle and lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed.
Again, she looked at her things, and this time a sliver of fear slipped past the shock and slid down her spine. If whoever had done this had meant to frighten her, they’d succeeded. They’d gone through everything, pawing at her underclothes, violating her most personal possessions.
A loud knock startled her, bringing her to her feet. Automatically, she hurried toward the door, but then stopped, noticing that she’d forgotten to double lock it.
The knock came again, louder this time.
She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting here, but she knew the police couldn’t have possibly gotten here this quickly. She inched toward the door, reaching for the lock. “Who is it?”
“Miss Burkett?” called a gruff male voice from the hallway. “You in there?”
She threw the bolt just as the man inserted a card key and pushed hard on the door.
Jessie backed up.
“Miss Burkett?” he called again. “Open up. Hotel security.”
She wanted to believe him, but had no intention of unlocking the door to find out for sure. Cooper had said not to let anyone in until he returned, and for once she planned to follow orders.
“Okay, pal,” said a second male voice. “Back away from that door.”
“Cooper.” She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God.
“Hey, mister,” growled the stranger. “I don’t know who—”
“You okay, Jessie?”
“Yes.” Releasing the bolt, she opened the door.
Tension filled the hallway.
Cooper held a gun on a large, thickset man who looked like he belonged in a boxing ring rather than a hotel hallway claiming to be a security guard. But it wasn’t the stranger who frightened her, it was Cooper. His facade had been stripped away, exposing the deadly dangerous man beneath. He was all coiled strength and controlled menace, and even if he hadn’t had the gun, the big boxer would have been no match for him, she suspected.
“Stay in the room, Jess.” The command in his voice brooked no argument. “Until we figure out who this guy is.”
“I got a call about a break-in. I just came up to check it out.”
“You got any ID?”
The man turned sideways to reveal the plastic card clipped to his pocket. Cooper glanced at it without moving any closer. “Doesn’t look like you.”
“So I’ve gained a few pounds. Big deal.”
“Seems to me,” Cooper said, “it’d be real easy to put one of those things together.”
“Look, just call the front desk.”
Cooper nodded toward Jessie, who headed for the phone to call downstairs. A few minutes later the hotel manager arrived and verified the security guard’s identity.
Only then did Cooper slip the gun back under his jacket.
“What about you?” demanded the security guard. Without the weapon pointed at him, he made a stab at regaining his authority. “You got a license to carry that thing?”
“Feel free to check it out.”
The man glowered, but the manager interrupted before anything else could be said, though he glanced nervously at the spot where Cooper’s gun had disappeared beneath his jacket. “Could we step out of the hall? Please?”
Inside, both the guard and manager donned appropriate expressions of shock at the state of Jessie’s room. “I do apologize, Miss Burkett,” said the manager. “I certainly hope you don’t think this is a common occurrence. In fact, it’s unheard of here. We pride ourselves on our excellent security.”
“I’m sure you do.” She couldn’t blame this on the hotel. The men who’d done this wanted something from her, and she suspected it wouldn’t have mattered where she’d been staying.
“We’ll gladly reimburse you for any damages,” the manager continued. “And, of course, there’s no charge for the room.”
“Thank you.” He couldn’t do anything about the real damage that had been done here, she knew. Somehow, when Cooper had told her she might be in danger, she hadn’t understood what that meant. She’d heard his words, but the reality was something else again.
“Is anything missing?”
The manager’s question pulled her out of her thoughts, and she shook her head. “Not that I can tell. But I didn’t have anything of value with me.”
“Well, that’s good at least.” He beamed his relief. “The police have been notified, and they should be here shortly.”
Jessie nodded and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. As if sensing her mood, Cooper stepped forward and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “How about giving us a few minutes alone?”
The manager took the hint and motioned to the guard. “Of course. We’ll wait outside until the police arrive.” With that, they stepped into the hall and pulled the door partially closed behind them.
When they were gone, Cooper released her. “You sure you’re okay, Jess?”
She nodded, wanting nothing more than to step back into his arms. But she wasn
’t about to repeat that particular mistake. Instead, she moved over to one of the beds and sank onto its edge. “I just don’t get it,” she said. “What were they looking for?”
“Whoever did this”—Cooper paused until he had her full attention—“searched this room with a fine-tooth comb. They think you know something about Nicole.”
Jessie hesitated, pulling her thoughts together, afraid to grasp the hope that Cooper offered, but unable to see another explanation. “Nicole must be alive, then.”
“Looks that way.” Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the dresser. “And my money says she’s gone into hiding.”
“But why? Because of what she told me about Robert being in some kind of trouble?”
“Could be she stumbled onto something incriminating, and things got heated.” Cooper shrugged. “So she took off.”
“Or someone kidnapped her to keep her quiet.”
“It’s possible. But then why are there two sets of lowlifes looking for her?”
“Two?”
“The men who trashed this room weren’t the same ones who followed us last night.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“Sure?” He let out a short laugh. “None of this is for sure, Jess. I’m making educated guesses. That’s what I do.”
“But why wouldn’t she call the police?”
“Maybe she didn’t know who to trust. So she didn’t trust anyone.”
Jessie got up off the bed and paced to the far side of the room before turning back to face Cooper. “No. I don’t believe it. If she were in trouble, she’d come to me.” Jessie had always taken care of Nicole.
“Even if it meant putting you in danger?”
She had no answer to that.
“If I’m right,” Cooper added, “we need to find her before anyone else does.”
Jessie still couldn’t imagine Nicole running off on her own. But what if she were wrong? What if her sister was out there alone, frightened, hiding for whatever reason, afraid of her own husband? They had to find her.
“Okay,” she said finally. “So where do we go from here?”