by Donna Hill
Elliot shrugged. “Your call. I think you look fine, but I guess it’s not for me to say.” He turned and walked away.
Ashley stood there for moment vacillating between feeling utterly ridiculous and aggravated once again. It was totally exhausting trying to figure out Elliot Morgan. She headed off toward her room in search of something to put on.
Nearly a half hour later, Ashley emerged in a new outfit. She’d selected a long-sleeved white oxford blouse and a pair of tight-fitting black jeans belted at the waist with a black-and-silver scarf that was knotted and hung down to her knees running along her left side. Since he said they’d be walking she decided to put on her sneakers instead of her boots. She wasn’t one to generally use makeup, but she did decide to brighten her eyes with a brush of mascara and bring out her full lips with a touch of gloss. She’d run her fingers through her hair to get the wild and carefree look that she liked. A double-stranded silver chain hung from her slender neck.
“Ready,” she announced. Elliot turned from his perusal of the CDs that were stacked up on the entertainment unit. For an instant his eyes widened when he saw her.
She waited for him to comment on her appearance. But he didn’t utter a word.
“You need a jacket,” he said offhandedly and headed toward the door.
Ashley rolled her eyes, snatched up her jacket from the hall closet and followed him out.
“If I remember the neighborhood,” Elliot said, once they’d stepped outside, “there’s a Baskin-Robbins about three blocks away.”
“I can wait,” she said, falling into step next to him.
“I just don’t want you to think I’m not a man of my word.”
“You haven’t given me a reason to think that—at least not yet.”
“And I don’t plan to.” He took her hand and his large fingers wrapped around hers. Her heart felt as if it had short-circuited in her chest. For an instant her knees wobbled. She tried to pretend that holding Elliot’s hand was something that she always did.
“We might as well look like the happy married couple. Shouldn’t we?” He stole a look at her.
“Of course,” she said, her voice sounding almost unrecognizable to her ears. “We have to keep up appearances.”
“Exactly,” he said, tightening his grasp around her hand.
As they walked, the tension that had taken hold of Ashley’s body slowly began to loosen. She felt herself begin to relax and enjoy the closeness of Elliot next to her.
“This is an amazing city,” he said. “There’s always something to do, stores open twenty-four hours a day, night clubs, restaurants, anything that you could possibly want is contained on this tiny little island of Manhattan.”
“Yep, the city that never sleeps.”
“Do you get to go out much?” he asked.
“Not as much as I would like. What about you?”
“I’ve been away so long I feel like a tourist.” He paused a moment. “About last night…”
“Listen, you’re a big boy. You don’t have to explain anything to me.”
“I know I don’t, but I want to.”
Ashley glanced up at him. He looked straight ahead.
“This is all new to me. This whole thing about working with a partner. Moving in with somebody. It’s not something that I’m used to or what I expected—started to rub me the wrong way, and I didn’t want to take it out on you. I needed a little space and some breathing room. So I went uptown to see a friend of mine from back in my Special Op days. Maybe you’ll get to meet her one day.” So it was a woman, she thought. “As long as you’re feeling better, that’s what’s important.” She pulled her hand away from his and made busywork of looking in her purse—for what, she didn’t know. The only thing she was sure of at the moment was that she didn’t want him to touch her. She found a pack of gum at the bottom of her purse and pulled it out. “What one?” she asked, offering him a stick. “Sure. Thanks.”
Ashley put a piece of gum in her mouth to keep her from saying something utterly ridiculous.
“It should be up on this next block,” he said, tossing the foil wrapper in the corner trash basket.
They reached Baskin-Robbins and Elliot placed their orders for two butter pecan cones then they continued on their walk.
“If I remember correctly from the notes,” Ashley said. “I think one of those adoption agencies is about two blocks away.” She took her PDA out of her purse, turned it on and pulled up the data that she’d recently updated. She scrolled down the list of adoption agencies. “Here it is. Happy Homes Adoption Agency. It’s two blocks away on 119th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.”
“Let’s take a look,” Elliot said.
“It’s probably closed.”
“No harm in trying. We might get lucky.”
They picked up their pace and quickly covered the distance to the agency. When they arrived they were surprised to see it was open. A young couple was walking out just as they approached.
Ashley and Elliot gave each other a questioning look.
“I’m game, if you are,” Ashley said.
Elliot held up his ring finger and the gold band sparkled in the light.
Ashley pinched her lips together and dug in her purse for her wallet. She took her ring out and slipped it on. Damn, it fit perfectly. “I was a Girl Scout,” she quipped. “Always prepared.”
The right corner of his mouth curved upward. “Then you do the talking. I’ll follow your lead,” he said, surprising himself with his impromptu willingness to give up control.
Ashley gave a short nod of her head, tried to visualize what she would encounter on the other side of the revolving doors. They hadn’t had time to run through what their cover story was going to be or practice their conversation strategy. But now she’d see if Elliot was as good as he claimed to be. “Ready?” she asked, looking up at him and not expecting the jolt that danced in her veins.
He took her hand. “Let’s pretend we like each other,” he said before moving toward the front door.
Ashley started to snap back a tart retort but he was holding the door open and smiling as if he treated her with kid gloves every day.
She crossed the threshold and felt Elliot’s heat right behind her.
“Reception, twelve o’clock,” he whispered into her hair.
She turned and spoke to him through clenched teeth. “Don’t start talking like that. It’s ridiculous,” she said before she noticed the barely controlled merriment on his face. He was determined to make her crazy. That’s all there was to it.
Elliot put his arm possessively around her waist and drew her close so that their hips bumped when they walked.
“It’s okay, baby, we’re just going to ask some questions,” he said, catching her off guard but loud enough to catch the attention of the young woman behind the desk, which was apparently his intention. What happened to her taking the lead?
“Good afternoon. How can I help you?” the young blonde asked from behind the security of the horseshoe-shaped desk.
The front reception area was warm and inviting. The off-white walls were dotted with framed photographs of loving-looking couples with chubby-cheeked babies. The desk was adorned with small racks of brochures featuring information on adoption, options and referral services.
Elliot tightened his hold around Ashley’s waist. “My wife and I—” he gazed lovingly at Ashley “—wanted to get some information,” he said, playing the uncertain-but-doting husband to perfection.
“Of course.” She stood up and plucked several brochures from the racks on her desk and handed them to Ashley. “I’m sure you would want to speak with one of our counselors who could explain what we do here and everything that’s involved.”
“Can we do that today, or do we need an appointment?”
“Yes, you would have to make an appointment. I can do that for you now if you want.”
Ashley and Elliot looked at each other for marital confirmation.
“Yes,
” Ashley said, “we’d like to make an appointment.”
“Certainly.” She settled back in her seat and stroked a few keys on the computer keyboard. She asked them the basic questions: name, address, insurance information and the reason for the visit. She entered the information into the computer, then looked up at them. “We have Tuesday open. There is a morning at ten, and an evening at six-thirty available with our counselor, Ms. Hastings.”
“Evening?” Elliot asked, looking at Ashley for confirmation.
“Evening is fine,” she agreed.
The receptionist filled out an appointment card and handed it to Ashley.
“You’re all set. Tuesday at six-thirty. Oh, the first visit is consultation. We accept all major credit cards and cash of course, but no personal checks. The consultation is a minimum of one hour, sometimes longer. It’s two-hundred and fifty dollars. You’ll need to pay that before you see the counselor. So I always suggest that first-timers come at least fifteen minutes early to get any paperwork out of the way.” She smiled brightly. “Any questions?”
“No. We’re good. Thanks,” Elliot said.
“Great then we’ll see you on Tuesday.”
“Would it be okay if we took a look around?” Ashley asked.
“Not much to see. A few offices, the lab, video room, record room.” She shrugged. “That’s pretty much it. But if you want to look around feel free. Most of the offices are locked. We only have one doctor on call today.”
“I just want to feel comfortable,” Ashley said, offering an explanation.
“I can’t go with you. I need to cover the front. But you can walk around.”
“Thanks.” They strolled down the hall.
“Good move asking for a tour,” Elliot said.
“Thanks. I figured it was a good opportunity for us to get a sense of the place without all of the foot traffic.”
“Do you have your kit with you?” he asked.
“I don’t leave home without it,” she said referring to her jewels of the trade that included a micro listening device, computer disk, a video camera the size of a pot of lip gloss and of course the standard burglary tools.
Elliot took a few quick pictures of the layout with his cell phone and e-mailed them to himself to upload later.
“Pretty simple space,” Ashley said as they retraced their steps to the front desk.
“Thanks a lot,” Elliot said when they’d returned.
“Sure,” the receptionist said. “If you have any questions, we need to reschedule your appointment. Give us a call. My name is Bernice, by the way. I’ll probably see you on Tuesday. It’s my late night.”
“Thanks for everything, Bernice,” Ashley said. “See you Tuesday.”
Elliot and Ashley walked out.
“One down,” Elliot murmured when they stepped outside.
“We’ve barely scratched the surface,” Ashley said, thinking about the long list of possibilities.
“Don’t remind me. What’s going to help us put a major dent in this is gaining access to the files.”
“I know,” she agreed. “It’ll be tricky.”
“You were really good in there,” he said, catching her attention.
She glanced at him briefly as they continued down the street and back to the apartment.
“We make a good team.”
Elliot hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, we do.”
They returned to the apartment, both feeling very proud of themselves.
“At least we have an idea of the setup,” Elliot said as he tossed his jacket across the back of the couch.
Ashley unconsciously picked up the jacket and hung it in the hall closet. “It will definitely make things a little easier.” She shut the closet door.
Elliot reserved comment but made a mental note to not leave his clothes laying around in plain sight. It was obviously a pet peeve of hers.
“We should talk about this living arrangement before we get too far into it and really get on each other’s nerves,” Ashley said. “Now?”
She raised and lowered her shoulder. “Unless you have plans,” she said chuckling to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
“So talk.” He dropped down into a side chair and zeroed in on her, giving her his full attention.
“Well…I like my privacy,” she began, suddenly unsure what she wanted to say, especially with him staring at her like that.
“No problem. So do I.”
“I like order.” She folded her arms to ward off the shiver of delight that ran along her limbs when she looked at the fullness of his mouth.
“Uh-huh, what else?”
“I like to play my music. It relaxes me.”
“Cool. I like music.”
She stiffened. He was patronizing her, and she realized the more she spoke, the more ridiculous she sounded. “Forget it.” She spun away in the direction of her room. Before she took a step, the strength and seductive touch of his large hand held her shoulder.
“Wait.” Her heart thundered in her chest. She dared to glanced at him over her shoulder. For an instant she saw something soft in his eyes, but just as quickly it was gone.
“I don’t like this scenario any more than you do,” he said. “But for the time being, we’re stuck with each other. The quicker we can get this case resolved, the sooner we can go back to our lives. This place is big enough for us to stay out of each other’s way.”
Ashley swallowed over the sudden knot in her throat. She lifted her chin. “Fine. My sentiments exactly.” She pulled away from him and walked into her room. She plopped down across her bed. She was trembling all over. The heat of his touch still burned her shoulder. What was wrong with her? One minute she couldn’t stand the thought of him. The next, she wanted him to kiss or touch her in all the places that had gone unexplored in for far too long.
She pulled herself upright. She knew that part of her frustration and trepidation went beyond Elliot. It was the case itself. It brought to bear the pain that she hadn’t shared with anyone. Her family didn’t talk about it anymore, but the haunted look still remained in their eyes. The same look was reflected in the eyes of the victimized parents the Cartel was now working for. She wanted to tell him that this was no ordinary case—at least not for her. It was personal. Yet she knew that above all, she could not let her own issues overshadow what she was assigned to do.
She got up and went to the dresser, dove beneath her lingerie and pulled out the twenty-three-year-old photograph.
It was one of those hospital photos. The ones they take of the infants. It was only one of two pictures of Layla. Her parents had one and she had the other.
She ran the tip of her finger over the tiny face. Her chest tightened. Where was she? Was she among the stolen children? Was she happy? Was she still alive? Where was her baby sister?
Chapter 10
Elliot sat on the couch, his long legs splayed out in front of him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Instantly Ashley’s face came to life behind his closed lids. The soft angles of her face, the wild cotton of her hair, her lips, the scent of her. It was all making him crazy, throwing him off his stride. After Lynn, he’d vowed that he would never again allow himself to become emotional about any woman. It had been eight long years. He stuck by his mantra. Then out of the blue, Ashley Temple gets thrown into his life and suddenly all bets are off.
From the moment he met her all the warning bells started to ring. Since they’d first met he hadn’t been able to sleep without thoughts and images of Ashley invading his dreams.
They were powerful, potent, waking him from his sleep with an erection hard enough to break wood. It took everything in him to keep from acting upon all the things that ran through his head. Thankfully prudence always won out. It was dangerous to mix business with pleasure. As a result he did everything in his power to turn his feelings off and push her away.
So far it had been working until a few minutes ago when he touched her just as she turned to look at
him. The overwhelming desire to take her in his arms was nearly his undoing. Instead, he resorted to what he knew best, cold indifference. But it wasn’t working. The throb between his thighs and the unyielding longing were testaments to that.
His jaw clenched. He pushed himself up from the couch with the intention of taking a cold shower, when what he believed sounded like soft sobs caught his attention. He stopped. Listened. It was crying.
Slowly, he walked toward Ashley’s room. There it was again. Had he been that much of a bastard that he caused her to cry? His stomach tightened. He stood there for a moment, uncertain of what to do.
Gently, he knocked on the partially opened door. He heard some rustling and sniffling. “Ashley…is it okay if I come in?”
A moment of silence hung between them.
“Come in,” she said softly.
Elliot eased open the door. Ashley’s back was slightly turned from him as she swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“What is it?”
He took a tentative step farther into the room and it was as if an alarm went off. Her body jerked in his direction.
Tears still hung in her eyes. Her cinnamon skin was flushed. The depths of her pain rose up from her center, crossed the space between them and grabbed at his heart.
Whatever reservations he may have had dissolved, replaced by his innate instinct to protect. He didn’t think about it. His feet moved on their own. He was at her side. His arms were around her. Her heart thumped against his chest. Her sobs wracked her body, and he held her tighter. She seemed to mold herself to him, allowing his strength to become hers.
The walls that they’d erected between them began to crumble, brick by brick until they were exposed, breathing the same air, to the same rhythm of their hearts, wanting the same thing, each other.
Tenderly, Elliot stroked her hair, the strength of her slender neck, the gentle curve of her spine. She sighed at his touch. The trembling slowed and turned into something else. Her fingers pressed into the muscles of his thighs as he held and stroked her.
Neither dared to say a word for fear of breaking whatever magic spell had been cast upon them.