Surrogate Dad

by Marion Smith Collins

  “I’m fine. Can you believe the nerve of those guys?” He slammed his fist into his palm. “What the hell were they trying to do?”

  “I don’t think you want to know. And you’d better not let your mother hear you cuss.”

  “The creeps tried to kidnap me, didn’t they? Thanks for coming along, Luke.”

  “You’re welcome.” Luke grinned. This kid continually amazed him. “I saw that shin-kick that had one of them hopping. Good job.” He gave the boy’s shoulder a brief squeeze. “Come on. Let’s get back to your mom.”

  Alexandra had already dismissed the area near the track as a target for their search. Much of the crowd had thinned and that area was almost deserted. She stepped up onto the bumper of a pickup. Her gaze scanned back and forth in the direction Luke had taken.

  She spotted the red shirt immediately. She set off running, leaving Maggie staring after her.

  When she reached her son, she clasped him to her breast, murmuring his name over and over. “Thank God, you’re all right!”

  David bore the display of affection stoically for a minute, then he tried to squirm free. “I’m fine, Mom.” Then in a softer voice, “Mom, please.” She released him reluctantly.

  But when David stepped back, and saw what his mother’s condition was, he threw himself into her arms again. “God, Mom, your knees are scraped. Your face—did they get you, too?” he cried.

  She smoothed his hair back and forced herself to smile. “No, honey. They tried to scare me but they didn’t really hurt me.”

  “Then why is your arm swollen?”

  She saw that her forearm and elbow were indeed puffy, but she hadn’t noticed. “I’m fine.” She gave him another hug. “We’re both fine. Thanks to Luke.”

  Luke shifted restively as she looked up at him, her gratitude—and something else—in her expression.

  “How can I ever thank you?” she asked. For this brief second, her beautiful sea green eyes with their thick lashes spoke to him alone. The honeyed richness of her voice poured over, into and around only him, undermining his will to resist, sapping his strength. And making him feel like the most powerful man in the world. She was Circe.

  Hell, why struggle?

  “Oh, I’m sure Luke will think of a way,” said David perceptively.

  Both adults frowned at him but his smile didn’t falter.

  Morris and Maggie agreed to take care of getting Luke’s car, the trailer and the racer back to the city, so that Luke could drive David and Alexandra.

  She was deeply grateful; her hands had not yet stopped shaking.

  * * *

  Making sure Alexandra had fastened the dead-bolt lock behind her, Luke headed for his condo long enough to shower and change out of his racing gear. Then he rejoined them to wait for the FBI agent to arrive.

  She had vetoed a trip to the emergency room to have her arm x-rayed. “It isn’t broken. Just bruised. I’ll put some ice on it.”

  David watched television. Alexandra wandered aimlessly round the room, holding her arm in a makeshift sling Luke had improvised to hold the ice bag to her elbow.

  Restless, she needed something to fill this time. She offered Luke and David food, which they both declined. She stopped occasionally to touch David’s hair or his hand.

  David finally spoke. “Don’t you think you’d feel better if you sat down, Mom?”

  Alexandra sat on the edge of a chair. “I’m sorry you missed your party,” she said to Luke.

  He glared at her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  She rose and began to pace again.

  David decided that he could watch TV better in her bedroom.

  “I’m making him nervous, aren’t I?” she asked Luke. “Do I make you nervous, too?”

  “Hell, yes, but not in the same way at all.” Luke drew her down onto the sofa beside him. He held her hand, palm up, in his larger one. Her fingers were slightly curled. One by one he straightened them, leaving a warm, moist kiss at the base of each.

  By the time he finished, Alexandra felt like a melting heap of candle wax, and the heat from his mouth had traveled up her arm and across her shoulders. She let her head fall back against the cushions and rolled her face toward him like a newly opened rose seeking the sustenance of the sun.

  He was an exciting collection of contradictions. The planes of his face, the ones in shadow, were a dark contrast to the lighted side of his face. His mouth was beautiful, a strong, masculine combination of straight lines and curves. His jaw was square, trustworthy and a bit ruthless.

  He was still studying the hand he held. His thick, black lashes hid his eyes from her; but, as she watched, mesmerized, he raised his gaze to hers. She caught her breath when she saw the fire, kindled in those silvery depths.

  Her hand moved of its own accord to touch his cheek. The day’s growth of whiskers rasped under her fingers. The sensation was not at all unpleasant; she smiled.

  Luke felt the effect of Alexandra’s beautiful smile all through his body. It sealed the breath in his throat, weakened his limbs, warmed the area around his heart and stoked the fire in his belly. “You’re a delicate thing to pack such a powerful punch,” he said.

  “You said that to me once before.”

  “And I meant every word of it. You leave me reeling.” His voice sounded like a truck with transmission problems. He cleared his throat. “Alex, I still want you. And somehow, we’re going to be together. You can take that as a warning or a promise, either one.”

  She hesitated, her gaze dropping away from his.

  “Don’t say no. God, if you knew how much—”

  She touched his mouth with the tips of her fingers. “I’m not saying no, Luke,” she told him softly. “I’m just saying that I have to think about it for a while.” She paused. “It won’t be easy.”

  His heart leapt within his chest.

  And the doorbell rang.

  When David answered the door, Zarcone apologized for the delay. He laid his hat on the coffee table. “I stopped by to pick up a copy of the mug shot.” He held it out to Luke. He also carried Alexandra’s sketchbook. This he gave to her. “I promised I would return it.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “That’s the man,” Luke said. He had already given the story to Zarcone on the telephone. “No doubt about it.” He handed the picture to David.

  “Yes, sir. That’s him. The creep. And he had a dark van just like we saw the other night when they broke in here.”

  Zarcone looked at Alexandra. She had bathed and dressed in a clean shirt and walking shorts, but the visible symbols of the attack were there on her legs, her face, her arm and, most dominantly, in her expression. “Can you identify him, too, Mrs. Prescott?”

  “They put a blanket over my head. I didn’t see either of the men.”

  “That’s Ned Austin,” Zarcone said.

  Luke spoke up; his words were carefully chosen. “The van is a very dark navy blue with a thin gold stripe down each side. The same stripe outlines the tire wells. There is a chrome luggage rack on top and a spare-tire case on the back door, right-hand side. The last three numbers of the license are six-eight-three. Most of it was muddy, but I think it was a Georgia tag. The windows were smoked. I don’t know much about vans but it looked to me like a pricey model.”

  By the time he finished, all three of them were gawking at him.

  “I can’t believe it,” said David with an awed expression.

  “Great job,” said Zarcone finally. “May I use your phone?” he asked Alexandra.

  “Surely. You’ll have more privacy in the kitchen,” she said, never taking her eyes off Luke.

  “I was a lot closer to the van than you were and I didn’t see all that,” David said, now clearly put out with himself.

  Luke reached over and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You had other things to think about. Like drop-kicking some creep’s shin.”

  “Oh, yeah.” David grinned.

  Chapter 7

  Zarc
one was back from the telephone in a few minutes. For the first time, the dapper man looked frazzled, an unusual sight. “The police are putting out an APB on the van immediately.”

  “Are they sending protection for Mrs. Prescott?” asked Luke.

  Zarcone nodded. “A marked car will sit out front all night. They’re assigning two men to her.”

  Luke nodded. “I’ll be going, then.”

  “This is bad business, Quinlan. I don’t mind telling you that I don’t see much hope of getting the man behind the smuggling scheme. Ned Austin is just hired muscle. We may be able to get him on the attempted kidnapping charge and keep him in for a while. But he’s been caught before. He’s never broken. Just taken his prison time.”

  When Luke left Alexandra’s, he noted with satisfaction that the police car was already on the street. He knocked on West’s door.

  West had been out when they returned from the track, but this time he answered. He was dressed in tuxedo pants and a shirt. “Hey, Luke. Come on in.”

  “I can’t stay, West,” Luke said grimly. “But I wanted to fill you in on what’s happening.” Luke watched the other man’s face grow hard as he related the story of the afternoon. He could tell that West was truly shaken by the news. Some of the hardness eased when Luke explained about the police car.

  “Attempted kidnapping is a serious charge.”

  “The men who locked Alexandra in the garage and tried to take David told her to stall the authorities for a week. They planned to keep David at least that long.”

  “If they ever planned to let him go. I didn’t have any luck with the voice mail, but I decided to check out our illustrious client’s address. I realized when I drove by that I happen to be very well-acquainted with a neighbor of Henderson’s.”

  Luke could tell from his colleague’s fiendish smile that this was news. “A girlfriend, I presume. Did you get anything from her?”

  “She confirmed that the Hendersons are out of town. But when they get back, she’s going to pry. She tells me she’s exceptionally good at prying.”

  Luke chuckled. “Okay. And we’ll call his office in the morning.” He moved away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, West.”

  “Hey, Luke?” West said as he was reaching for his key.

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you win?”

  A pleased feeling skated through him and skimmed a smile across his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. Thanks for asking.”

  “Congratulations.” He crossed his arms. “You know, there may be hope for you yet.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The way you’ve loosened up lately. Less robotic. Since you began to pay attention to our neighbor, you’ve become almost human.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said dryly. “You’re not as obnoxious, yourself, when you’re out of the office. Good night.”

  “Did you get a trophy to show off?”

  Luke’s face fell. “Hell, I forgot to pick it up.”

  * * *

  “No!” Luke snapped. “Absolutely not!” He was suddenly, inexplicably outraged at the mere thought of Alexandra’s being in danger again. His skin crawled; the hair on the back of his neck rose. He fought for control, unable to explain this dramatic response, even to himself.

  “I beg your pardon?” Alexandra replied mildly.

  “You’re not going to make a target of yourself.” He spun away from her and confronted the FBI agent. “What the hell are you thinking of, Zarcone?”

  The agent had called him last night and asked him to meet at Alexandra’s for coffee at 7:00 a.m. Now he said, “We’ll still be watching her, naturally. The only difference is that we’ll stay out of sight. It was her idea, Quinlan.”

  She began to pace, using the edge of an Oriental rug as a boundary. “Yes, it was my idea and it’s my decision.” A soft knit dress of buttercup yellow swirled around her knees as she turned, drawing Luke’s gaze to her long shapely legs. “One week, that’s what the men said,” she said. “Maybe someone, maybe a murderer, will get away if something isn’t done immediately.”

  “Let the police and the FBI handle it. That’s what they get paid for.”

  “I want it over with. Our lives aren’t our own anymore. I can’t stand living like this. A policeman sitting on my doorstep. The calls—” She broke off the words, but it was too late.

  “What calls?” both men demanded in unison. “Who?” Luke added.

  Alexandra looked quickly at David, who was dressed and ready for school. She hated for him to hear this. But he didn’t seem surprised. She wondered if he’d taken some calls himself.

  “I don’t know who. A voice I can barely hear whispers cusswords. The calls are probably not important.”

  “They bother you enough to mention them, and they’re probably not important?” Zarcone pointed out the discrepancy in a mild tone.

  She came to a chair and sat down hard. Some of the air seemed to go out of her. “You’re right,” she admitted. “After what happened yesterday, I can see that I should have told you.”

  Zarcone tactfully kept his mouth shut.

  Luke returned to the original dispute. “Okay, so you want it over with. What about David? Are you willing to put the safety of your son on the line?” Luke demanded, gesturing toward the boy.

  That was a low blow. She glared at him. “Of course I’m not. I’ll make arrangements for David to visit a friend.”

  At that, David set his books aside and stood. “I want to stay here and help,” David protested. “Mom, you need me.”

  “David, we’ll talk about this later.”

  “No, Mom. Later will be too late.” David’s protest became as vehement as Luke’s had been. He began to pace within the same boundaries that she’d used. “You aren’t going to send me away.”

  “David, be careful what you say.” Alexandra’s voice held a warning note.

  Luke could see the argument brewing and he took a long breath, wondering how best to diffuse the skirmish before it became a battle. Even with his own agitation, he could understand David’s need to be involved. The boy’s father was dead; his mother was all the family he had.

  Luke had been down that road when he was not much older than David. As a male, albeit a juvenile one, the instinct to protect and defend was strong.

  Alexandra’s maternal urge to protect was equally strong. And she would not want an argument to cloud the issue for David.

  “David, would you trust me to take care of your mother for you?” Luke asked the boy.

  Alexandra frowned at his interruption. She opened her mouth, but Luke forestalled her protest with a gesture. “Would that ease your mind?” he asked, wanting to know.

  “Ease his...” Alexandra shook her head in exasperation and faced Luke. She crossed her arms. “You are missing the point here. I’m his mother. I say he’s going and that’s final.”

  “Yes, if you give me your word,” David said to Luke.

  “You have it,” Luke answered.

  “Okay.”

  Luke turned to Alexandra, expecting to see impatience, even anger. What he did not expect to see was a complete shutting down of emotion. Her expression was blank, unreadable. He knew the reasons. He’d trampled on her territory without her consent. “I need to use your phone,” he said abruptly.

  “Certainly.” She turned her back on him. He noted the stiff shoulders, the crossed arms.

  He called West, caught him just as he was leaving for the office. He had started to disclose why he was going to be late this morning, when West interrupted. “I’m coming over,” he said.

  “David can stay with my folks,” West said when the situation had been explained to him.

  “We couldn’t impose,” Alexandra protested.

  West persisted. “No one would ever think of looking for David at their house. Dad has a driver who can get David to school and back safely. Marvin’s built like a Mack truck.”

  “I think it’s a good idea.” Zarcone spoke for the first ti
me since the dispute had begun. “There is certainly no connection to tie Mr. Chadwick’s parents to this case. It might be the safest place for the boy.”

  Alexandra looked from David to West to Luke. She didn’t know what to do. But her first priority was David’s safety. At last she sighed. “If you’re sure they won’t mind.”

  “I’m sure,” West said. “I’ll call them now and you can talk to them. They’ll reassure you.”

  “We can use the phone in the kitchen.” The two of them disappeared.

  Zarcone turned to Luke. “It will take me several hours to get this set up. We’ll leave the two men on duty outside for now.”

  Luke hesitated. “Are you sure you won’t pull them off for a few hours?”

  “I’m sure. I won’t leave her unprotected, Quinlan. You have my word.”

  Luke didn’t stop to ask himself why the agent deferred to him on the matter of Alexandra’s safety. “I have some things to do at the office, pick up files to work on, turn others over to someone else. Do me a favor? Make certain I’m back before they leave?”

  “I can do that,” Zarcone said, nodding slowly. “So you’ll be here with her, too.”

  “Yes,” Luke said in a purposeful tone. “Chadwick has agreed to cover for me at the office. If I need to, I can use my vacation time.”

  The next few minutes passed with a flurry of activity. Alexandra and David went to his room to pack. West would drop him off at his parents’ house and come back for Luke. They figured it would be more effective if they went to see Henderson together.

  Besides, Luke remembered at the last minute that Maggie had his car.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he told Alexandra. “Will you promise me that you’ll stay inside?”

  “Zarcone’s men are around somewhere. You don’t have to come back at all.”

  “I know that,” he said sharply. “I want to. Okay?”

  She didn’t answer and he gave a heavy sigh. Without thinking what he was doing, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. To his surprise, she didn’t protest but relaxed against him, tucking her head under his chin. He inhaled the fresh, floral scent that rose from her hair and closed his eyes for a minute, enjoying the sensation.