For His Daughter

by Dani Sinclair

  “No.”

  “If I’d been holding a gun, I probably would have shot you.”

  “The feeling is mutual, I assure you. Who did shoot?”

  Lee sighed. “I don’t know, he didn’t stick around for introductions. We’ve got to get out of here.” He nudged her in the direction of the front door.

  “But what about the person who fired the gun?”

  “He took off through the trees.”

  “Aren’t you going after him?”

  “No.” He stripped off the tight rubber gloves.

  Kayla looked outraged. “That might have been the person who killed Fay!”

  “Good bet. Get those gloves off and let’s get out of here.”

  “Why aren’t you chasing him?”

  He took her arm and tugged, resisting an urge to shake her. The woman would drive a saint nuts and he’d never been a candidate for a halo. “In case it slipped your mind, he’s armed. I’m not.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.” He reached for her hand to remove her gloves, but she batted him away.

  “I can do it.”

  “Fine.” He handed her his gloves. “Shove them in your purse and let’s go. But act casual. We need to look like we have every right to be here.”

  Amazingly, she bit back another retort and did as he ordered, trailing him outside. Lee wasn’t sure if she was furious with him or scared, but he was grateful either way.

  On the sidewalk, he again took her arm. Kayla tried to pull free, but he didn’t give her that option. “Easy,” he cautioned. “A neighbor just pulled into the driveway diagonally across the street. Paste a smile on your face and start talking.”

  “About what?”

  Her color was entirely too pale, Lee decided. “If you faint on me, I’m going to be annoyed.”

  Her gaze snapped up. “Well, heaven forbid I should annoy you. Will you let go of my arm?”

  The neighbor had gone around to open the trunk of her car. She hadn’t seen them yet.

  “No,” he told Kayla.

  The woman lifted two bags of groceries and started to turn in their direction. Lee stopped walking, took Kayla’s face in both hands and kissed her astonished lips.

  What should have been a hard and fast assault to obscure their features, became sidetracked the moment he touched her. Her mouth had parted for another salvo and their breath mingled as he touched his lips to hers. She stood completely still, her head tilted back, unwittingly allowing him better access to her warm, inviting mouth.

  Hunger flared. For a fleeting heartbeat, she kissed him back, then her body went rigid. She started to jerk away, so Lee took her arm in a come-along grip that held her firmly against his side.

  To any watching neighbor, it would look like they were lovers. Kayla faltered as he propelled her forward, but she couldn’t fall or pull away from him.

  “You’re hurting me!”

  Instantly he eased his hold. “Stop struggling and don’t cause a scene. Just pretend we’re lovers, walking down the street.”

  Her look would have drilled holes in a lesser man. “I’d rather be flogged!”

  “Really? I wouldn’t have taken you for the bondage type.”

  For a moment, he thought her anger might explode louder than the gunshots. Instead, she took a calming deep breath. Her expression promised retribution, but at least color had returned to her pale face and they were closing the distance on her car.

  “When you let me go, I’m going to turn you into a soprano,” she warned in a surprisingly even voice.

  “Talk about an incentive to keep holding you.” But he relaxed his grip further as he picked up their pace.

  “You’re insane.”

  “I’m beginning to agree with you.”

  She scowled.

  “Look, Kayla, can we please get in the car before the police arrive?”

  “I don’t get it. Why don’t you stay and tell them what happened? You’re a cop, too.”

  “I’m also the victim’s ex-husband. That makes me the prime suspect in Fay’s murder.”

  “So what? Cops always stick together.”

  “Not when it comes to murder.”

  “Ha.”

  “One of these days I’m going to figure out why you hate the police so much. Give me your keys. I’ll drive.”

  Her eyes flashed. “Don’t you trust me?”

  “To turn me in at your earliest convenience? Sure. Now, get in and slide over.”

  Amazingly she complied.

  “I don’t suppose you’d like to give me directions to your brother’s place?”

  She folded her hands across her chest in answer. At least she made no move to go out the opposite door. “Didn’t think so,” he said in resignation. He put her car in gear, and turned right onto Jones Lane as two police cars tore down Perry Road, lights flashing.

  “Do you think they saw us?” Kayla asked, swiveling to see if she could spot them.

  Lee shrugged. “I doubt it, but put your seat belt on. I’d hate to have to find out what this little car has under the hood.”

  She jerked back around. “You’d try to outrun them?”

  Lee patted her thigh to distract her. “Relax. The only thing this four-cylinder could outrun is a bicycle. I’m counting on the break-in back there to buy us some time.”

  “Move the hand.”

  Lee nearly chuckled as he placed his hand back on the steering wheel.

  “Time for what?” she demanded, reaching for her seat belt.

  “To find out what happened last night and why someone used me for target practice this afternoon. We cops are a little funny about that sort of thing.”

  Her features tightened to match her voice. “I know.”

  Lee considered her bleak expression as he headed for the highway. “Sooner or later, I’m going to find out what makes you tick, Kayla Coughlin.”

  “Ha.” She settled back against the seat and closed her eyes. No doubt her way of shutting him out.

  “You must have mules in your ancestral line somewhere.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t open her eyes.

  Lee tried not to smile. She might be stubborn, but she also had the most inviting mouth he’d ever tasted. It probably wasn’t smart, but he really wanted another taste.

  “DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME why we’ve been driving around in circles all this time?” Kayla finally asked as Lee pulled off the busy highway and stopped at an empty rest area they’d passed before.

  “I thought you’d fallen asleep.”

  “Hardly. I’ve been waiting for the car to run out of gas or the police to come and arrest you.”

  His lips lifted at the corner. “Hopefully, they’re busy trying to prove my innocence.”

  She made a gentle snorting sound. “They certainly have their work cut out for them, don’t they?”

  Kayla watched warily as Lee suddenly unsnapped his seat belt. His expression was decidedly predatory and the memory of his lips on hers quickened her pulse as he leaned toward her.

  “You really enjoy baiting me, don’t you?”

  “N...no.” He filled her vision. Her heart danced against her chest in wicked, almost forgotten ways as his stormy gray eyes pinned her against the seat. “W...what are you doing?”

  His hand spanned the side of her face. The last time he’d touched her like this, he’d kissed her. Was he about to do it again? Her eyes focused on his lips. Lips that could be hard and demanding, yet compellingly tender.

  He moved closer. Close enough to drain away the car’s supply of oxygen. Was he going to kiss her again? Would she fight him if he tried, or would she give in to this crazy impulse to satisfy her body’s traitorous curiosity?

  Her body tightened in anticipation. Despite the mental alarms clanging away in her head, she knew she wasn’t going to resist him.

  Lee slid his palm slowly down the side of her face, watching her closely. She held that look even when he moved his hand across her throat in a sub
tle yet alarming caress. Her nipples budded as his fingers glided across the expanse of skin bared by the vee of her neckline. His hand stopped, coming to rest just short of cupping her left breast. Her breathing stopped with his hand.

  Her body was aroused, unconcerned with who he was and why it shouldn’t be responding. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he wasn’t unaffected. A pulse point jumped in his neck. His lips parted enough to allow his breath to drift across her skin, raising each one of her nerve endings to exquisite awareness. Slowly his fingers slid inside the front pocket of her blouse over her left breast.

  “What are you doing?” Her body tingled with forbidden energy as his fingers probed, lightly grazing her nipple.

  “You know what I’m doing.”

  He removed his hand from the pocket and placed a butterfly kiss against her jaw and another on her bared neck.

  Hot longing swept her. A tiny sound of need escaped her lips as his hand covered her breast and the pointed thrust of her nipple.

  “So responsive.”

  His husky words barely registered. She waited, wanting him to assuage the terrible yearning building inside her. His hand moved lower, stroking across her rib cage.

  She shifted automatically to allow him better access and his lips brushed hers, so fleetingly they barely touched. Instead, he lined kisses along her neck, lightly sucking at the sensitive skin.

  “Oh.”

  A smile lit his eyes, softening his expression. “I suspected you’d be a passionate lover,” he murmured, biting gently on her earlobe as his hand moved lower, across her belly. “You’re so passionate about everything else.”

  Kayla shuddered. His touch incited a craving deep within her, but his words slowly penetrated the sensual haze he was inducing. She mustn’t do this. Not with Lee.

  “Stop.”

  She wasn’t sure where she found the ability to give voice to the word, but the sound enabled her hand to push against his hard chest when all it really wanted to do was curl there or explore.

  Lee stilled. “Do you mean that?”

  No! her body protested vehemently. “Yes.”

  He didn’t remove his hand from her hip, but the smoky look of desire faded from his expression. “All right.” His eyes became expressionless. “What did you take from Fay’s jewelry box?”

  Kayla gave an involuntary start at the question. “Nothing.” The word came out breathless. It sounded like the lie that it was.

  His hand moved again. This time, the movement wasn’t a caress as it crossed her thigh and plunged inside her pants pocket. Too late, Kayla understood. Lee hadn’t wanted her. He’d been searching for the locket.

  Anger and humiliation made her struggle, even though his fingers had already closed over the necklace. He sat back abruptly, the long silver chain dangling from his hand. If he’d looked smug, she might have given in to a childish impulse to hit him.

  “Give me that back!”

  He stared at the expensive silver heart.

  “It’s a locket,” she said quickly. “My brother sent it to me for my birthday.”

  Lee flicked it open one-handed. Her breath caught as he exposed the picture of Alex inside. A look that might have been regret came and went before the expressionless mask settled back into place.

  “I bought this for Fay on our first wedding anniversary.” -

  The quiet words made her flinch. Kayla slumped back in her seat. “I didn’t know. I just didn’t want you to think exactly what you’re thinking.”

  He closed the locket and dropped it into her lap. Without a word, he settled behind the steering wheel and reached for his seat belt.

  “Alex didn’t kill Fay,” she said, praying that it was true.

  “Your loyalty is commendable,” he said without emotion. “No wonder you’d like to turn me in. You want the cops to nail me for her murder instead of your brother.”

  “No! Not if you didn’t do it,” she amended.

  He started the engine without looking at her. “You aren’t sure of that?”

  “How can I be? You don’t even seem to know.”

  He steered the car down Interstate 270 again. “I’ve been thinking about that. Admittedly, the thought is belated, but it occurred to me that I probably wasn’t drunk last night.”

  Blood pounded inside her head. His calm voice and the strange look on his face frightened her. “Are you saying you were drugged?”

  Lee shrugged, moving quickly around the heavy traffic. “You did say your brother was in the restaurant last night, didn’t you?”

  The pounding threatened to shut down her hearing completely as fear tried to become panic. “Half the town and a million other people were in that restaurant last night.”

  “A slight exaggeration, but I’m only interested in the ones who knew Fay.”

  “That would be everyone. Fay grew up here.”

  His lips coiled cynically. “I doubt if even Fay was sleeping with everyone in town.”

  Kayla tried for some of his calm instead of reacting to his inflammatory words. She had to think rationally. “Look, just because my brother’s picture is inside that locket doesn’t mean he was having an affair with your wife.”

  “Ex-wife. And no, it doesn’t.” Lee changed lanes easily to avoid more merging traffic. “What was her relationship to the Ruckles?”

  The new topic stopped Kayla for a second before she seized on it. “You think one of them drugged you?” She reached to clasp his arm, feeling the muscles corded with tension. “But I smelled the beer on your breath, Lee. You were weaving when you walked away from us.”

  He glanced at her hand and she dropped it to her lap, embarrassed.

  “Ever hear of the date rape drug?”

  New fear silenced the drumming of her heart.

  Television and newspaper stories had given the drug prominence all over the country. It made the taker open to any suggestion then erased the memory of actions made under the influence. Was it possible? Could Lee have been drugged last night? Alex didn’t use drugs, but he was running with some scary people. The sort of people who might know how to obtain an illegal drug like that.

  No. She would not believe her brother capable of murder.

  “Are you going to tell me you were raped, Lee?” She tried for a note of levity to ease the horrible tension, but the lines bracketing Lee’s mouth only deepened.

  “Maybe. At least in the sense that I was taken somewhere without my consent. I’ve drunk two beers before without feeling like I was going to pass out. Alcohol generally just makes me sick.”

  “Two beers?” Shock held her motionless. “That’s all you’d had?”

  “Two. I was livid and feeling pretty bitter yesterday. When I finally decided to eat something, I found the only restaurant in town crowded with families. You know, fathers and their children?”

  Kayla felt the sting of tears in the back of her throat. He loved his daughter so much. His shrug didn’t mask the pain that underscored his words.

  “Since I didn’t know where my daughter was, I went into the bar and ordered a beer. It gave me a nice buzz, so I ordered a second one. I knew it would make me sick, but I didn’t care at that point.”

  “But how could anyone have—”

  “Tampered with my beer? I left it sitting on the table when I went to snag a bowl of pretzels. A customer collided with one of the waiters holding a tray full of drinks.”

  The entire restaurant had heard that crash. She remembered she and the Ruckles had been waiting for Fay to come back from the ladies’ room so they could get the check and leave.

  “I watched the commotion before sitting back down.”

  “And you think... someone—” she refused to say a name “—put something in your drink while you weren’t looking?”

  “I’m liking the idea more and more by the second.”

  “Then tell the police,” she said decisively. “Aren’t there tests they can do?”

  “Not now. To tell you the
truth, I don’t know much about the drug, but I do know they would have needed blood and urine samples first thing this morning to test for drug absorption. And if my head hadn’t been so muzzy, maybe the possibility would have occurred to me. It should have.” He kept his focus on the road in front of them. Only the way he gripped the steering wheel told her how upset he was.

  “How do you think I got from the parking lot to the motel last night, Kayla?” Lee continued in a low rumble that was almost a growl. “I sure didn’t walk there. Only a man could have carried me inside. A big man.”

  The locket singed her mind with its implications. Alex was a big man.

  “Tell me about the Ruckles.”

  She seized on his abrupt question. “Elizabeth and Jason went to school with us. Elizabeth was Fay’s friend before I was.”

  “And Jason? Could Fay have been having an affair with him?”

  “Of course not!”

  His eyebrows lifted in question.

  “Jason’s married to Elizabeth,” she added.

  Lee bared his teeth in a smile that held no humor. “Let me tell you something about my sainted ex-wife, Kayla. Fay didn’t respect marriage. Not hers or anyone else’s. She had lovers the entire time we were married. She told me as much when I saw her coming out of a motel room one morning.”

  Kayla started to reach out in sympathy, but stopped at his dark expression.

  “Frankly, I was glad,” he told her. “I was fed up by then and so was she. She promised to file for divorce that day. She did...after cleaning out our joint savings account. Know what? I didn’t care, I just wanted to be rid of her. So tell me about her relationship with Jason Ruckles. Does she flirt with him?”

  “No!”

  “Does he dislike her?”

  Kayla pushed at her bangs, considering the question. Lee had unconsciously used the present tense when referring to Fay. Kayla found that reassuring. She didn’t believe a cold-blooded murderer would think of his victim in the present tense once he’d killed the person.

  “No. Jason was almost protective of Fay.”

  “They were sleeping together,” Lee stated calmly.

  Words of protest never made it to her lips. She decided he could be right. Normally she didn’t cross paths with Jason or Elizabeth. In fact, Fay’s invitation to join them for dinner last night had come as a surprise. There’d been a layer of strain at the table all evening that she hadn’t understood, but she’d thought it was because Elizabeth was drinking so much. She even decided that was why Fay had invited Kayla along, for her to act as a buffer.