by Rosanna Leo
“Are you seriously wasting my time by daydreaming in my office?”
His editor’s reprimand brought him back to harsh awareness.
“I need you to give up this ridiculous idea that Markov is hiding bodies somewhere in his luxury hotel and get me a real story.”
“But it is a real story. I’ve been in touch with the Dean family numerous times. They said—”
“The Dean family needs to move on and so do you. If you do talk to them, maybe suggest some grief counseling or anger management. I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m not in the business of fixing people here.”
“But—”
Leon silenced him with a hand and then opened one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a familiar bottle of vodka.
As a terrible thirst made Bill’s tongue sweat, he dragged his eyes from the bottle and played dumb. “We having a drink?”
“Bill, this was found in your desk.”
“What? No. Not my desk.”
“I found it myself.”
When perspiration erupted on Bill’s forehead, he realized playing dumb might not be the best tactic. He mustered up some righteous indignation. “You went through my stuff?”
“Oh. Did you expect privacy here? Shame. I guess you thought you were working for The Washington Post or something.”
“Give it back.”
“No, my friend.” Leon put the bottle back in his desk drawer. “I need you to understand something and I need you to understand it before you leave this office. This is your last warning. Dry up, forget Markov, and get me a real story. Have I made myself clear?”
“Sure. Clear.”
“Now get out of here.” Leon returned to frowning at his laptop.
His hands shaking, Bill pushed back the chair, cursing that goddamn squeak again. He backed out of Leon’s office, trying to think of something he could say that would salvage his dying career.
But there was nothing to say.
He would have to prove it with his actions.
He knew Markov was hiding something, and he would find it.
***
“The first set of images from your security cameras are grainy,” said Detective Bell. He fanned out an array of photos on the police station desk.
Alex perused the photos. Because they were taken from a distance, he couldn’t make out the facial features of the rogue painter. It was clearly a man. He was dressed in painter’s overalls with a black hoodie underneath. Sure enough, he carried a can of paint. From this vantage point, he looked like half the guys in Facilities.
“But then,” said Detective Bell, “we found this one.”
Finally, a closeup.
Alex gawked. He knew that face.
“Do you know this man?”
“Yeah.” His shoulders slumped. “It’s Gordon Dean, Shannon’s brother.”
Alex hadn’t seen him in person in a long time, but he’d recognize him anywhere. The short brown hair, the beefy features, the crooked nose.
Gordon hadn’t even tried to disguise his appearance. In fact, he seemed to have known exactly where the security camera was. In the photo, he was looking straight at the camera, grinning.
Daring them to recognize him.
“He’s here then and he’s been in my hotel.”
“We’ve been in touch with his parents. Jill and Ned Dean are on vacation. Costa Rica. They were surprised to hear Gordon was in Las Vegas.”
“Yeah, right. They probably put him up to it.”
“How well do you know Shannon’s brother?”
“We weren’t exactly friends. Before Shannon died, I met him a few times but we were never chummy. He lived in Albany so we didn’t see each other often. One or two family events. He’s a consultant. Gordon’s the guy you call when you need to downsize a thousand people. He helps companies with their dismissals.”
“He used to,” corrected Detective Bell. “Gordon Dean was downsized himself about a month ago. We spoke to his employer. He didn’t take it well. They had to call police to escort him out of the building when he was let go.”
“I see.”
“Alex, did he blame you for Shannon’s death?”
“Yeah. They all did. I tried to reach out to the family, to explain. They all made it clear they wanted nothing to do with me. Gordon had a few words for me on the phone about two weeks after she died. That was the last time I spoke to him.”
“Until we can establish his whereabouts, I need you to be very careful. I can assign some plainclothes officers to the hotel.”
“Okay. I guess that would be best.”
“I have every expectation Gordon Dean will try to make another statement. His state of mind is a concern. We’ll be looking for him but I want you to watch your step.”
Alex stood. “Don’t worry. Any funny business, I’ll let you know.”
Chapter Eight
Alex was just about to call it a day on Friday when his assistant buzzed him on his office phone. It had been a long day. After his visit to the police station, he’d been on edge. Everywhere he looked, he expected to see Gordon Dean materialize.
What did Gordon want from him? An apology? An admission of guilt?
As for apologies, Alex had tried. Right from the start, he’d tried. Neither Gordon nor his parents wanted to hear a word from him. He’d tried to explain what happened the night Shannon died, at least as much as he understood himself. They’d made it clear they weren’t open to hearing his interpretation. In their eyes, he’d taken away their baby girl and they would never forgive him.
As for admissions of guilt, if that’s what Gordon wanted, he’d be waiting a long time. Shannon’s death had been ruled accidental. It was a tragedy but nothing about it had been premeditated on either of their parts. The police had made it clear Alex was never even a suspect, even though the rag magazines liked to imply he was one.
Maybe if he’d made more of an effort to get to know Shannon’s family, this wouldn’t be happening now. However, because Alex’s relationship with Shannon had been tempestuous at the best of times, visits with the family had never been on the menu.
It had been hard enough keeping their life on an even keel.
He’d gone so far as to offer to pay for grief counseling for the Deans. They’d thrown his offer back in his face, as if it was an insult. He didn’t like the idea they were still suffering but he couldn’t make them accept his help.
And now Gordon was stalking him.
He felt for the man, he really did. It sounded as if he’d had a shitty year. If Alex had lost his livelihood, he probably would have lost his mind with it. His work was the only thing that had kept him going in those horrible months after Shannon’s death.
Maybe, if he ran into Gordon, he could talk some sense into him. Maybe he was now in a position to accept his help.
The memory of Gordon’s smile in the security footage unnerved Alex. It wasn’t the smile of a man who was crying out for assistance.
It was the smile of a man who had nothing left to lose.
Alex hoped he was wrong, because all the sympathy in the world wouldn’t stop him from protecting what was his.
It wasn’t until his assistant buzzed a second time that Alex remembered he hadn’t responded. “Yes, Trevor?”
“Alex, I have a Ms. Hamill hoping to meet with you. She doesn’t have an appointment.”
“That’s okay. Send her up.”
As Alex walked toward the office elevator, his body tensed. Dana wanted to see him and he knew this meeting had to be some sort of reckoning. He was tired of dancing around her. He’d admitted he wanted her. If she was coming to see him, she would either tell him to take a hike or that she wanted him as well.
He’d thought about her today, hoping she hadn’t suffered too much of a hangover. Did she have any regrets?
Did she miss him like he missed her?
Christ. He’d never been so on edge about a woman before. She had definitely done something to him.
Maybe this stalker situation was heightening his emotions. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to draw Dana close and never let her go.
He didn’t have time to ponder his emotions. The elevator door opened and she took a tentative step into the room. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi.” Everything in the room lit up. It might be night time but she’d managed to bring the sun with her.
“You’re right there. I was expecting some sort of office.”
“This is my office but I also live here. It’s an odd floorplan, I know. My predecessor’s idea. I don’t mind it, though. No one can get up here unless they get escorted by security or buzzed in by Trevor.” He looked her up and down. She looked fresh and sexy in a white blouse, grey dress pants, and low heels, even though regret had placed some shadows under her eyes. “How are you today?”
“I’m all right.”
“Really?”
“Okay. I’ve been better.”
“Rough night?”
“Yeah, you could say that. A rough day too.”
“Can I get you a coffee?” He gestured to the Keurig in the office seating area.
“I can’t even tell you how much I would love a coffee right now. I don’t want to keep you, though. I know you’re busy.”
“I’m never too busy for you.”
Her eyelashes lowered.
As he walked over to the coffee machine, he realized he didn’t even know how she took her coffee. There were so many things he didn’t know, things that now seemed imperative to find out. “How do you take it?”
“Black, please.”
Just like him. For some reason, it made him smile. He prepared a couple of coffees and handed one to her. They sat in the seating area, on either side of the glass coffee table.
Dana took a demure sip and placed her mug on the table. Whatever she had to say, she wasn’t ready to say it.
“I tried to call you this morning.”
“You did?” She whipped out her cell phone and rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that. I turned it off earlier.”
“Too many telemarketers calling?”
“Something like that.” She reddened. “I’m sorry I missed your call.”
“It was nothing important. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after last night.”
“That’s nice of you.” She looked around. “This is a cool office. Very streamlined. Not what I expected. Or maybe it is.”
“I’m a simple man. My needs are basic.”
“Yeah, right.” Her huff held amusement rather than cynicism. “Basic.”
He leaned back on the trim grey sofa, one ankle propped up on his other knee. “You’re looking much better today.”
“Oh, God, Alex. I look like crap. My eyes are red and puffy. I’ve had to hide behind sunglasses all day because the light hurts. My skin is sallow and I’m still not convinced I’m done throwing up. I had no idea I was such a pitiful drunk.”
Was her skin sallow, her eyes puffy? He hadn’t noticed. “You look good to me.”
Dana shifted in her seat and swallowed a gulp of coffee. “I want to apologize. This is turning into a habit. I’m beyond embarrassed.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I ruined your evening and I’m pretty sure I got puke on your shirt.”
“You didn’t ruin my evening or my shirt. Far from it.”
“But you saw me at my worst.”
“That was your worst? You’re going to have to do a lot more than that to scare me away.” His throat grew thick. “Besides, I liked looking after you. I hated leaving you.”
Her eyes grew big and wide.
Alex stood and walked over to the other couch, sitting next to her. “So did Anise lecture you?”
“Yeah. She’s not used to seeing me go off the rails.”
“Are you going off the rails?”
“I haven’t embarrassed myself today yet, so there’s hope. I know my sister means well. It’s just hard to take.”
“She loves you.” He grinned. “And it never hurts to have a bulldog for a sister. We should all be so lucky.”
“I finally told her about Tommy dumping me. I blurted it out at a bad moment and walked off. She’s been avoiding me since.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was my own fault. In trying to spare her any extra pain, I only caused more.”
“She’ll forgive you.”
“We’ll see.” Dana sighed. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No.” Alex paused. “I wish I did, though. My parents were in their forties when they had me. They’d both spent a lot of time concentrating on their careers and when they finally decided to start a family, there were problems. My mom’s never talked a lot about it but she told me there were several miscarriages before I came along. After me, they stopped trying for other children.”
“I can imagine. That must have been hard on your parents.”
“I’m sure it was. To lose a child, at any stage…”
“Are you okay? You spaced out there for a second.”
He grasped her hand. It felt smooth and cool in his own and he enjoyed stroking his thumb over her palm. “I’m all right. Really.”
“I didn’t mean to bring up a difficult topic.”
“You didn’t. Our little family might not be what my parents envisioned, but we were happy. I’m one of the lucky ones. I grew up loved and healthy and supported. If I’m fucked up in any way, it’s my own fault, not my parents’.”
“You’re close to them.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. In fact, my mother calls me at least once a week to ask me when I’m going to give her grandbabies. I’ve assured her at least six of the seven will be named after her.”
“So you do want kids? You know, one day?”
“One day, yeah. Kids would be great.”
Dana’s face turned grey.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She reached for her coffee cup and brought it to her lips. When she sat it down again, it clattered. “Still a bit hung over, I guess.”
“Listen, you didn’t come here for my life story.”
“I just really wanted to apologize for my behavior. I should go.”
When she reached for her handbag, Alex grabbed her hand. “Don’t leave. We need to talk. Please.”
She set her handbag back down.
“I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She stiffened. “That’s a shame. A busy man like you must have lots to do. I’d hate to get in your way.”
“You’re not. I like thinking about you.”
“Alex, don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Please don’t start something I can’t finish.”
“Can’t or won’t? Because there’s a difference.”
“You’re really putting me on the spot here.”
“Maybe, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned,” said Alex, “it’s that people appreciate honesty. They want to know where they stand. I never forgot you after that night at the tiki bar. And now…after what we shared last night, I don’t want to forget you. Not for a minute.”
“I didn’t realize I’d made that much of an impression.”
“Don’t lie to yourself. We have a connection. You feel it too.”
“It doesn’t matter what I feel. We’re from two different worlds. It wouldn’t work.”
“That’s a copout and you know it. I want to unravel you, Dana. I want to get to the heart of you.”
Long lashes blinked over big, brown eyes. The disbelief in those eyes hurt him worse than any rejection he’d ever experienced.
“You said something to me, something I can’t stop thinking about. That you’re broken. What would make you say that?”
“Drunken rambling, that’s all.”
“Boy, lying comes easily to you, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not lying,” she snapped. “It’s just…you wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
&n
bsp; “Look, it’s not a good time for me.”
“Ah. Okay. If it’s convenient, I could circle back to you in another few months or so.”
“Alex.”
“There will never be a perfect time. I wasn’t expecting you to come into my life either, but here we are.” He leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers. “I want you.”
“I—”
“I want to know what makes you tick, what makes you smile. And I really want to know what makes you come.”
“Don’t. You really shouldn’t.” Despite her protest, she didn’t pull away. In fact, she leaned in.
“I don’t play games. Don’t play them with me.”
“I’m not, but…”
“But what? You’re not attracted to me? I think we already ruled that one out. But if that’s the case, we can end this conversation now. I’ll nurse my broken heart and you can go on with your life.”
“Broken heart. Yeah, right. Alex, it’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is.”
He was pushing her, he knew it, but by the end of this discussion, she would be in no doubt as to his feelings. He could hold his cards close and act aloof. God knew he’d employed that tactic in the past. It had even worked several times.
He didn’t want to this time. Something about Dana made him want to come clean, not just about his feelings, but about everything. Even in this short space of time, he found himself wondering about her activities and her thoughts. He wanted to know it all and he didn’t want to wait.
He’d never been good at waiting.
How many times had Shannon called him “cold” and “unfeeling?” So many he’d begun to believe it.
Being with Dana, he felt anything but. When he was with her, his entire body warmed and mellowed. It was scary as hell, but he was willing to give it a try. He would make this work.
“Fine.” She sat up straight. “I am attracted to you. Obviously.”
He fought back a grin. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Easy for you to say.”
“And now,” he said, touching a lock of her hair, smoothing it between his fingers, “we need to decide what to do about it.”