She Who Dares, Wins

by Candace Havens

  She knocked again.

  Still no answer.

  She opened the door gently. He wasn’t in his bed.

  “Mac?”

  “I’ll be out in a sec.”

  She noticed his backside reflected in the bathroom mirror as he stooped to put on his jeans. He was covered in bruises.

  “Oh, Mac. Are you all right?” Part of her wanted to go to him, but she knew that wouldn’t do any good.

  “I’m fine. A little beat up, but it looks worse than it feels, I promise,” he said as he walked out of the bathroom. He grabbed a T-shirt off the end of the bed and pulled it over his head. “I sure could use some of that coffee I smell.”

  She stared at him and then turned away. She had to, in order to keep from kissing him. Mac was hurt and it was her fault.

  He followed her into the living room, where she handed him his cup, her hand so shaky she almost dropped it.

  He took the coffee in one hand and her hand in his other. “Stop it,” he said. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for this. No one saw it coming, least of all me. The only person I blame is the idiot driving the car…well, and Caroline. I can’t help but think she had another accomplice.”

  Katie moved away from him and took a seat. “I’ve come to the same conclusion. Though I can’t, from the information we have so far, figure out who.”

  Mac sat down across from her. “I can’t help you there, either. I’ve been trying to remember if I’ve seen her with anyone else, but no one comes to mind.”

  Katie tapped her finger on the arm of the chair.

  “Before we get into that, I want to apologize to you again,” she said, her voice tight with nerves.

  Mac leaned forward to speak, but she help up a hand.

  “I should have trusted you yesterday when you told me the truth about Megan. I wanted to believe you, I promise you that. It’s—it’s my own issue and it’s one I don’t see me conquering any time soon.”

  Mac tried to interrupt, but she held up her hand again.

  “No, please. Let me finish. I should have been there last night to protect you. My gut told me everything wasn’t as easy as it all seemed, and I ignored it. I just don’t seem to be able to see straight where you’re concerned. I think it might be a good idea for me to bring in another detective, one who can be more objective.”

  That would be the best solution. Mac needed good protection and she was no longer the right woman for the job.

  “Are you finished?” He eyed her warily.

  She shrugged. “I’ve put in a call to the agency to see who is available. I also checked with Scotland Yard. They’ve talked with Megan again, but she didn’t know anything about another accomplice. Caroline is refusing to speak.”

  Mac leaned forward on his elbows. “I don’t want anyone else protecting me,” he said.

  “You—” Katie started to interject.

  “It’s my turn,” he insisted. “I honestly don’t want any protection, but if I have to have it, you’re the only one I want.”

  The way he said want, there was no way she could fail to understand his meaning.

  He still wanted her.

  “This guilt you feel is just part of you, Katie, and there isn’t much I can say to keep you from feeling that way. But you need to know that I don’t blame you for anything. It makes sense why you had trouble trusting me. As much as it hurt when it happened, I’ve had some time to think about it. You’d only known me for a few days, and as you said that’s one of your issues. I honestly don’t know how I would have felt if the tables had been turned. So who am I to judge?”

  Could he possibly be that understanding?

  “I believe I can help you with the investigation. I’m good with problem solving if I know what kind of equation we’re looking at. I won’t hinder you in any way, but I would like to be involved. And I would appreciate it if you’d call your agency and cancel the arrangements to bring someone else in. Now, maybe you can tell me what else the police have discovered since last night.”

  He stood then and took her face in his hands. He kissed her lightly on the lips and then sat back down.

  Katie was breathless.

  She watched him reach down and pick up a file folder. He wanted to move ahead, and it was time she did the same.

  “The car that hit you was a rental. They’d paid in cash and gave a fake driver’s license. We do have a description from the rental owner. He’s a white male between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five, professional looking with a slight paunch around the middle. They’ve got a sketch artist working with him this morning, but those don’t always work out.

  “The owner said the man seemed fidgety. The car was found in an alley a mile from where he hit you. No one seems to have seen the driver exiting the vehicle.”

  Katie scanned the photos Roland had sent to her via computer, her mind back on the case. “There’s something that’s been bothering me since we were at the scene yesterday.”

  “What’s that?” Mac moved so that he could see the photos.

  “Look at these skid marks and how they curve. I—I don’t know. The driver wasn’t going more than five miles an hour. If he wanted to kill you, well, he would have been going much faster.”

  Mac put his hand under his chin. “The angle is wrong, too. I was on the other side of the post. You might be right. I don’t think he was trying to hit me so much as I stepped into him trying to correct the car at the last minute. And the light—look at that.”

  Mac pointed at the snow in the second picture. “Do you think he was blinded by the sun hitting the snow?”

  “The glare on the camera is pretty strong, so that’s a real possibility. But if it were only an accident, why would he run? And the cash rental is highly suspicious.”

  Mac frowned. “I can’t help you there.”

  Katie continued, “The witnesses didn’t mention that the car seemed out of control. In fact, they thought he was heading straight for you.”

  Mac shrugged. “Yes, but if he couldn’t see me because of the glare…”

  She tapped her finger on the screen. “The pieces just don’t fit. I wouldn’t mind taking another look at the scene. Would you mind coming with me? If you don’t want to, I can have one of Roland’s men stand guard. He did offer.”

  Mac shook his head. “Actually, I need to run an errand and I was hoping you would come with me. I know you don’t think it’s too safe to go out, but this concerns my work and I really need to see something.”

  His lab was the most secure place for him, so that wasn’t a bad idea. Then she could follow up some of the leads on the case. “I can get you to the lab and—”

  “No,” he interrupted her. “I do need to go to the lab later, but I also need to check on my greenhouses. They’re about an hour and half from here.”

  That was a lot of time away from London, and she really needed to work on the case. She could send someone from Scotland Yard, but would they protect him as well as she could?

  “Is it something that can wait until tomorrow?”

  “No. I promise this is important. I need to make sure everything survived the blizzard. A temperature of five degrees one way or another can make a difference in the health of the plants. If we leave now, we can be back here by two. You can then take me to my lab and do whatever you need to.”

  Two o’clock wouldn’t be that bad, and he seemed earnest about it being important. But they’d be trapped in a car for an hour and a half.

  Oh, come on, the guy needed to check his plants. She could handle a few hours in a car.

  Katie’s gut said something completely different, but she chose to ignore it—again.

  17

  KATIE ALERTED ROLAND that they were leaving the city for a few hours, and then she called for a car. The driver was to meet them on the third floor of the parking structure. She still questioned whether they should be leaving town, but Mac reassured her. Evidently his excitement about seeing his plants had ultimately
convinced her.

  Mac put the car in Drive and followed Katie’s instructions on what to do once they left the parking garage. They had decided he would drive so she could keep a lookout.

  It was hard for him to believe everything that had happened.

  Right now, though, he wanted to focus on Katie. If she had any idea how he really felt about her, she’d run away as fast as her gorgeous legs would carry her. He had to show her that they had something worth fighting for.

  He’d seen the fear in her eyes. This was uncharted territory for him, too, but he refused to be fearful. Whatever the risk, it was worth it where Katie was concerned.

  She knew him as some geek-head scientist. Mac needed her to realize there was more to him than his work. Albeit he was the first to admit his job had consumed him the past few years, that was about to change. His teaching and research would continue, but Katie would also be a part of his life.

  While they were driving, she was making calls to her office, checking out the window every other minute or so. They hadn’t seen another car for the past ten miles, but she was ever vigilant.

  Time passed quickly and finally Mac pulled into a long drive, stopping at the gate. He rolled down the window to announce himself on the intercom. “Dr. Douglas and guest,” he said.

  The gates opened.

  “Is this someone’s home?”

  “It was,” Mac replied. “Sir Winston was kind enough to bequeath it to the university. The house was built in the early eighteen hundreds and is considered historically significant. The school uses it for a variety of functions. My contributions are there to the left.” He pointed to a large glass conservatory.

  “Holy cow. Look at the flowers.”

  Mac grinned. He hadn’t met a woman yet who didn’t love flowers. Even tough Bronx cops.

  “Did you grow these?” she asked as they moved from the car to the door of the conservatory. The snow began, and he quickly slid his security card across the access eye so they could enter. Mac ushered her into the warmth of the building.

  He watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “This is heaven,” she said on a big sigh.

  Mac squeezed her shoulders. “I won’t get too eggheaded on you, but we are growing these flowers in a variety of soils. Some of them are a part of my research.”

  “Are these snap peas?”

  “Yes,” Mac said, amazed that those were the first things she noticed. The peas were a key element of his research, and the reason he was so close to a major breakthrough. Maybe he couldn’t tell her the specifics, but he could show her.

  “But there’s no soil, only sand.” She glanced up at him, her eyes wide with surprise.

  Mac shrugged.

  “You—oh. So.” She understood now. His research had everything to do with growing food in all types of terrain. It wouldn’t be long before he could turn arid deserts into lush farms.

  He held a finger to his lips and pointed to the security monitors.

  She reached out and squeezed his arms. “Have I mentioned how amazing you are?”

  “I’m not sure I can hear those words enough,” he said as he took her hand and kissed her fingers.

  They toured the rest of the conservatory as well as a couple of greenhouses. Every time he thought she might get bored, she’d grab his hand and beg to see more. They ended in the greenhouse where he grew a variety of roses and orchids.

  “I thought the first place smelled like heaven, but this is a feast for my nose,” she said as they strolled through the room. “I’m not sure how you ever leave this place, it’s so beautiful. My mom would cry with joy over all these roses. We have a small backyard where she grows several varieties, but nothing like this. I’m a city girl, but I’m also a big fan of nature. That probably comes from watching too much Discovery channel with my brothers, and being so deprived of green spaces in the Bronx.”

  Mac took some shears and clipped one of the roses. “This is for you,” he said as he gave it to her. It was a black red rose, with purple shading within the petals. Roses were his hobby. He’d been working on this one for several years.

  “It’s lovely,” she said. “It looks like some kind of surreal painting of a rose. I’ve never seen anything like it. Almost too beautiful to be real.”

  “So you like it?”

  She nodded. “I love it—thank you.”

  Mac smiled with satisfaction. “That’s good, since I’ve decided to name it after you.”

  She lifted her face to his. “What?” Her cheeks turned the beautiful shade of pink Mac had come to love. “Can you do that?”

  Mac laughed. “Yes. I usually give them numbers for names. But it only seems right that this one bear the name of my new passion. You.”

  Katie bowed her head.

  Mac lifted her chin. “What’s wrong?”

  He watched as she took a breath.

  “It’s too much. I mean, you’re naming a rose after me. You’ve only known me for a few days.”

  Mac took the rose from her and brought her into his arms.

  “Katie, I don’t want to scare you, but I feel like I’ve known you my entire life. Naming a rose after you is the least I can do.”

  She gently pulled on his ear. “Well, when you put it all romantic like that, makes it kind of hard for a girl to say no. Besides, what girl wouldn’t want to have a friggin’ rose named after her? My friends back home are going to be so jealous.”

  She took the rose from him and sniffed it. “I wonder if someone can make me a perfume from this thing. It smells like a garden in spring. I want to bathe in it.”

  Mac squeezed her to him. How in the hell was he ever going to let this woman go?

  “I guess we’d better get back to the city, though I’d rather stay here with you.”

  She took the hand he offered. “My brain needed this. I feel like we have a fresh start for everything. I’m anxious to get back and talk to Roland and his team. They should have a sketch done soon.”

  Mac wasn’t ready for all of that. He’d meant what he said about staying here with her. She was relaxed and happy, if only for a few minutes. He kissed the top of her head, wishing they could stay in the protective bubble of the greenhouses a little longer. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she solved the case.

  Then she would be gone.

  18

  THEY WERE STUCK IN TRAFFIC just outside London, but Katie didn’t care. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember feeling so light and free as she had in those greenhouses.

  When he gave her the rose and named it after her…well, it was the most romantic gesture anyone had made for her. Katie had seen a lot in her days as a police detective. It had hardened her against the world, forced her to put up shields she hadn’t even known were there.

  Seeing the world through Mac’s eyes had changed that. The lightness in her heart was addictive and she craved more of it.

  “Can I ask you a question?” They were stopped at a traffic light and Mac turned toward her. “Why did you leave your job as a cop?”

  She chuckled. “What, you can read my mind now?”

  He gave her a questioning glance.

  “It’s weird because I was just thinking about that.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  Shifting in her seat, she faced him. “Today was… Well, I’ve been working so hard for so long that it was like coming up for air after being underwater for a really long time. I left my job four years in because I was already burned out. Grandpa Joe and my dad have been cops all their lives, but it wore me down. I don’t think I realized how much until today.”

  “Huh. If you needed to get away from that kind of work why did you go to the Stonegate Agency? Seems like more of the same to me.”

  “No. Not at all.”

  Mac moved the car forward in traffic and they almost made it to the light that time.

  “When I was a cop, most of what I saw was the dark side of humanity. Stonegate, well, it�
�s been insanely busy, but we have really interesting cases—everything from corporate espionage to finding lost people. I’d say eight out of ten cases end up being incredibly rewarding. That sounds like a lame commercial, but it’s true.

  “My problem is I came down to help bring Mar, who inherited the agency from her mom, up to speed. She’s brilliant, but was just out of graduate school. She hadn’t done a lot of fieldwork and suddenly this entire multimillion-dollar business was dumped in her lap. She was drowning. There were case files and billing, and I was so caught up in helping her keep things afloat, my life once again became the job.”

  Mac squeezed her hand.

  “If nothing else comes out of this, you’ve helped me to remember I need balance. I’m going to be an old woman before I’m thirty if I don’t stop it.”

  Mac laughed. “Katie, one thing you’ll never be is old.”

  She leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for that. So how does a hot guy like you end up working with flowers?”

  He chuckled again. “You never hold back, that’s for sure. Uh…” He turned the wheel and finally were on a street without traffic. “My family, I guess. My mom was a botanist who taught at the university near where we lived in SoCal. My dad was a corporate landscape designer. I kind of rebelled in my teens and decided I would be a rock musician. I even had my own garage band.”

  Now it was Katie’s chance to laugh. “Oh, no. What was the name?”

  “Black Satan.” Mac rolled his eyes.

  Katie couldn’t imagine the man beside her in a band with that name. She couldn’t stop laughing. Finally she caught her breath. “I remember you mentioning this before, but you never explained the situation. So, what happened with the band?”

  “You know.” He affected a cool rock-star voice. “We just couldn’t keep it together creatively. And by that I mean the drummer was making out with the bass player’s girlfriend behind his back.”

  Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing again. “And which one were you?”

  Mac gave a dramatic sigh. “The bass. I caught them in my backyard out in the gazebo. I busted up his drum set pretty bad. He told my mom, and I was grounded for a month. Plus I had to work in her gardens and greenhouse for two months to help pay back the damage. Every minute was pure torture.