Dangerous Secrets

by Moira Callahan

  Lucky for her, he slammed his hands to the door behind her, one on each side of her head, to stop himself. Unfortunately, Vincent didn’t have the same luxury. He slammed into Trent’s back, but Trent barely budged. He definitely grunted though.

  “Hi,” she said with a smile, lifting her chin slightly.

  His lips curled into a smile and he lowered his head. “Hi.”

  Biting her lip, she put a hand on his chest and scratched a nail lightly over his shirt.

  “Okay, if you two start making out I’m going to be seriously pissed.”

  Trent rolled his eyes and then turned his head. “Shut up, Vincent.”

  “Just saying,” the other man said.

  “We should get going,” she said with a laugh. Pushing off the door, she looked up into Trent’s eyes. She smiled, then turned and pulled the door open.

  ****

  “Nice place,” Vincent said as they entered the restaurant.

  It was. Mallory shrugged, trying for indifference, but knew the smile on her face gave her away. “It’s a job. An awesome one at that,” she told him. “Come on, the kitchen’s back here, and we can get to my boss’s office through there.”

  Trent’s hand was warm on her back, even through the layer of her jacket and sweater. It was comforting and reassuring to know he was right there.

  “Mallory!” someone called out.

  Mallory lifted a hand and waved. “Hi, Camilla,” she grinned. Stepping forward, she gave the woman a hug and grunted when the woman squeezed too hard. “Careful, that still hurts like a son of a bitch.”

  “Oh, God, sorry,” the hostess stepped back. “How are you doing, hon?”

  “Good, getting better each and every day. I start physical therapy next week and then it’s just the waiting game until I can come back. Listen, David said he had some papers for me for the medical and stuff, is he here?” Not a complete lie, but she wasn’t supposed to pick them up for another week. After her first therapy session, technically.

  “No, he had to run over to the new place. Apparently, the contractor called with an issue on the tile. I thought his head was going to explode,” Camilla said, rolling her eyes. Then she turned her attention to the men with Mallory. “Hello there,” she said, her voice dropping a full octave and picking up a purr. “And who are you two?”

  Groaning, Mallory turned. “Trent, darling, this is Camilla. I’ve mentioned her a time or two during our phone conversations.”

  “Yes, of course,” Trent smiled. Holding out his hand, he shook Camilla’s firmly before letting go. “Nice to meet you finally. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “All good I hope,” Camilla said.

  “And this is Vincent, he works with Trent occasionally. He’s just in town for the night, so we’re heading out to dinner after I grab the papers.”

  “Aww.” Camilla pouted. “That is such a shame. You should come back soon, though.”

  Vincent took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I just might at that, darling.”

  “Camilla,” Mallory said trying to regain the woman’s attention. “Yo, Camilla. I need the keys to David’s office.”

  “Oh, sure,” she said. Digging in her pocket she held them out in a loose grip.

  “Vincent, why don’t you stay and get to know Camilla better. I won’t be but two shakes,” Mallory said.

  Trent gave her a nudge when it became obvious that Vincent was up for keeping the hostess occupied. “We may need to pry him loose when we have to leave,” he commented.

  “More than likely,” she said with a laugh.

  Leading him into the kitchen, she waved to a few people and stopped to get a hug from her fellow chef. Talking for a minute, she slipped free when a batch of orders came in.

  Thankfully, they weren’t stopped again and they were in David’s office quick enough.

  “Any idea where the box could be?” Trent asked.

  “By this time?” She looked to him and made a face. “Not a clue.”

  “Okay, go through his drawers quick and then we’ll do a fast but systematic search of the rest of the room. We need to keep our eyes open just in case he opened the box and set the contents aside without the box still in play.”

  “Right,” she muttered.

  Ten minutes later they had nothing and nowhere else to look.

  “Maybe he took it home?” she asked. Grabbing the disability and health coverage papers, she tucked them into an envelope and headed back to the kitchen with him.

  “Maybe,” he said.

  Not the answer she’d wanted but, since there wasn’t anything in the office, that was the next logical place to look. At least in her opinion.

  “So what now?” she asked after they were back in Trent’s truck with the engine idling. She’d returned the keys to Camilla and pried Vincent from her clutches before they’d retreated to the parking lot. Trent and Vincent were going over the pros and cons of going to David’s house to wait for him.

  They needed to know if he actually had the drive or not. If he didn’t have it, then they were royally screwed. That was her opinion on the matter. But they had their own opinions on everything.

  The main one was how to approach her boss. Trent was of the mind to ease in and ask. Vincent was in favor of being more of a bull in a china shop and getting in David’s face. Go figure.

  While she didn’t know Vincent very well, what she had seen said he was much more an action first, consequences later kind of guy. It definitely had its benefits in the right situation, just not one involving her boss.

  Figuring it might be time to speak up, she slipped forward and stuck her head between the seats. “Hi.” She smiled at them both. “Listen, I’m all for bashing heads now and again but with David, the less violent and harmful path may be better. He’s a great guy, but he has a heart condition so getting up in his face is not the way to go. Just my two cents on this.”

  Vincent shot her an annoyed look. “So what do you suggest?”

  “Ask him about the package,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve never known him to lie. Now, I’m not saying he won’t lie, just that I’ve never known him to. Ask and see what he says.”

  That didn’t make Vincent any happier.

  “Any idea how long he’ll stay at the other place?” Trent asked.

  “Since it’s in the midst of an overhaul, I’m guessing about an hour from when he left here. Any longer than that and his stress levels get too high, from what he’s said in the past. He’ll stop by here briefly, just to peek in and then head home. He always calls the kitchen and they prepare him a meal that he collects. Since he lives alone, he doesn’t tend to cook.”

  “Odd for a guy that owns a restaurant and is opening another,” Vincent said.

  “He loves food, but just never had the inclination to learn to cook,” she explained. “He does know what he’s talking about, though, and has a great head for business. He had Carmela’s running in the black in two years and clearing huge profits by year three.”

  Trent just shrugged at that. “Okay, we’ll go to his place and sit on it until he comes home. Then I will go and talk to him, with Mallory, since he knows her.”

  Happy with that she sat back and buckled her seat belt.

  Chapter Ten

  Mallory lay on the back seat, knees bent and playing a game on her phone. She’d gotten good and bored about ten minutes after they’d parked. Trent didn’t blame her. Stakeouts and the whole waiting game in general was pretty boring.

  Vincent was slouched low in his seat so that anyone walking along wouldn’t see him right off. Just as Trent was doing, all in an effort to ensure some nosey neighbor didn’t go and call the cops on them.

  “Car,” Vincent said, adding a yawn afterward.

  Which of course made him feel the need to yawn, too, but Trent resisted, barely. Squinting into his driver side mirror he shook his head. “Pulled into a driveway three doors down,” he said.

  Checking his watch again, he frowned. Mal
’s boss, David, should be home any time now if she’d been right about his time table. Of course, that didn’t take into account any unforeseen issues at either the new restaurant, the current one or traffic in general.

  “Car,” Vincent said with a sigh.

  Rolling his head against the seat, Trent shot him a look to just shut up. Vincent gave him the single finger salute and a grin. Chuckling at that, he went back to looking in his mirror.

  The car was getting closer, closer and then slowing before pulling into the correct drive. “He’s home,” he said.

  Mallory sat up too fast and nearly slid off the seat in the process. Thankfully, she caught herself on the front seats. Otherwise, he’d have had to figure out a way to pry her out of there.

  She gave him an embarrassed grin and wrinkled her nose. He found that so damned cute.

  Cute? Cute! Damn it, he was getting deeper and deeper in with this woman.

  Okay, he didn’t really mind but, shit, he needed his head in the game. “Come on, Mal. Let’s go and ring the bell before he gets somewhere in the house he might decide to ignore it.”

  Getting out of the truck, he pulled the back door open and helped her out. Keeping her hand in his, Trent led the way to the house and up onto the porch. At the door, he rang the bell before stepping back so that she’d be seen by the man first.

  Hopefully, the guy would open up for one of his employees.

  Luck was on their side and a few moments later, the porch light went on and the inner door opened up.

  “Mallory, whatever are you doing here?” David asked. The man was in his late forties or early fifties, a good twenty pounds overweight, had all his dark brown hair, and had the kind of face that one just trusted.

  “Can we come in for a minute, David? We won’t take up much of your time, but it is important,” she said.

  “Of course, of course.” He unlocked and pushed open the screened door, before waving them inside. “Come on in,” he smiled.

  “David, this is Trent, Trent, this is my boss, David.”

  “Of course, nice to meet you finally, sir,” Trent said, playing his part. “Mallory’s told me a lot about you during our many phone conversations. I hear you’re opening up a second restaurant soon. How’s that going?”

  David shook Trent’s hand and shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Mallory’s never mentioned you before.”

  “She has been keeping me her little secret,” Trent said with a smile at her.

  “I didn’t want to jinx it,” she said, going along with the whole thing. “Trent and I have been dating for a little while now, but with his job always taking him out of the country, I didn’t want to get my hopes up that it could work.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist and hugged her to his side, careful of her shoulder. “I told you right from the start, Mal. You’re the one and there’s no getting rid of me,” he said softly, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips. He was playing with fire kissing her right then and there, but it was worth it when she sighed into the kiss and leaned closer.

  David gave a soft chuckle that broke them apart. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Trent. And yes, the second restaurant will be opening soon. Not soon enough for my stress levels but soon.” He smiled at them both, looking much like a proud parent. “Oh, how rude of me, please come in.” He waved them toward a hall.

  “Would either of you care for a drink?” he asked them. “I was just getting the water ready for my nightly tea if you’d care to join me.”

  “We really won’t be here that long, hopefully,” Mallory said. “I hated having to come and bother you at home but I figured it would be easiest here.”

  “Of course, why did you come?” David asked as he went to take the whistling kettle off the stove.

  “You know about Mallory’s attack,” Trent said quietly.

  “Of course I do, it was a horrible thing. Again, here I am being a horrible host, how are you doing Mallory? Do you need anything?” the other man asked her.

  “I’m doing very well. Physical therapy starts next week,” she said. “It’s still a bit tender and aches first thing in the morning but I’m getting there.”

  “Good, that’s good,” David said with a smile.

  “As it happens, sir, it appears that the man that attacked her was looking for something very specific. We know that Mallory didn’t and doesn’t have it, but we were talking things through, and she thought that maybe it was a case of bad labeling. I understand she tends to sign for all sorts of packages that come to Carmela’s?” Trent said in a leading manner.

  “Yes, she does. Not only is she my head chef, she takes care of all that sort of thing when I’m not around. Which, for the last couple of months, hasn’t honestly been all that much. The new place has been pulling me every which way.”

  “Completely understandable,” Trent said with a nod. “But we got to thinking that maybe the item the man who attacked her was looking for got sent, by mistake obviously, to the restaurant and Mallory signed for it.”

  David frowned, but suddenly had a look of understanding crawl over his face. “Because her name would have been on the shipper’s tracking information at the destination,” he said.

  “Precisely,” Trent nodded. “We were hoping maybe you knew of the package. From what she’s told me it would be a hard drive for a computer. We’re thinking if you do have it, then we, Mallory and I, could take it to the police and hopefully there is something on there that identifies the man behind her attack and maybe tells us why this all happened.”

  David was nodding. After a moment his face fell. “I did have one like that,” he said with an apologetic look to them both. “But after opening it I realized it wasn’t mine so I gave it to Marcel to ship back for me.”

  “Marcel does the accounting and such for the restaurant,” Mallory told him quietly. “He also handles all the returns or shipping we have to go out. Documents and forms and whatnot.”

  “That’s right,” David said. “I can’t promise that he still has it, but I know he was behind and I told him to only do it when he had time. With our year end coming up at Carmela’s, he’s been busy with all the paperwork for the government and such. He likely hasn’t done anything with it yet.”

  “Would you mind terribly calling him, David?” Mallory asked. “I know it’s late but this could be important to solving this whole mess and it would take a load off my mind to know it was in the authorities hands.”

  “I’ll call him right now,” David said as he patted his pockets. “As soon as I remember where I left my phone,” he muttered. After a moment he snapped his fingers and went to the jacket over the back of a chair. Rooting through the pockets he came up with the phone.

  “What are the odds Marcel still has the package?” Trent asked Mallory quietly as David made his call.

  Shrugging, she looked up at him. “David is right, Marcel’s always run fairly ragged any time it comes around to year end. At least, last year he was, and I know he was building to it this year. I’d say relatively good. Especially since David just considered it a mistaken shipment, it wouldn’t register high on his level of importance to attend to immediately.”

  Trent hoped she was right. They needed to find the damned thing and sooner, rather than later.

  David came back with a big smile on his face. “Marcel still has it and is very happy to turn it over to you so you can get it to the authorities. He said that you should stop by his place and he’ll get it to you right now, tonight.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Mallory said. Moving to her boss she gave him a hug. “Thank you, David.”

  The older man blushed and shrugged. “I just hope that the bastard that hurt you is caught and pays.”

  “Believe me, I do, too,” she said with a smile.

  After David gave them the address, they stayed a couple more minutes to chat and then left.

  In the truck, Trent shot Vincent a look. “Jackpot.” All he had to say to have the other man letting
out a relieved breath and grinning.

  Chapter Eleven

  Once they’d gotten the package from Marcel, they returned to Mallory’s apartment. With beers in hand for the guys, and a soda in her own, they all were now peering into the box at the hard drive. It really didn’t look all that important. Mallory knew that first impressions could be very deceiving.

  Vincent had it in hand and was peering at a set of numbers on the side. “I don’t know, bro. This thing is fairly old, technology-wise.”

  Trent took it from him and peered at it. “Yeah, but in theory the guys at the office should be able to get into it and take a look.”

  “In theory,” Vincent allowed.

  Passing it back over to the other man, Trent sat back on the couch. “Take it to them and tell them it’s top priority. We need to know what’s on there. I’m betting that it not only incriminates Mal’s attacker, but someone else.”

  “Gut feeling?” Vincent asked him.

  “Yeah,” Trent said with a slow nod.

  “Well, then,” Vincent said. Tipping his bottle up, he finished off his beer and set the empty on the table. Picking up the drive, he stood and headed for the door. “I’ll call you as soon as I have anything from the geeks.”

  “Thanks, man,” Trent said, before locking up behind him and arming Mallory’s new alarm.

  “Do you think they’ll find anything?” she asked curiously. She wanted to have more hope, but after watching the two men eyeing the drive up and talking about it, she was worried they wouldn’t get what they needed.

  “I think they will. Whether it’s what we need to put a stop to this and throw someone behind bars?” He shook his head and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”

  Not what she wanted to hear, but what she’d been expecting. Sighing, she slouched on the sofa and stared at her toes.

  Trent’s big body and heat settled in next to her before he slid an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll figure this out, Mal, promise,” he said, tugging her toward him.