Crime Of The Heart

by Allie Harrison

  Turning the water off, surprised that it had stayed hot as long as it had, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself with a clean towel. The hot water had worked out his stiffness and he felt fresh and invigorated, ready to face the day. But first he had to face Erin.

  Erin was awake and flipping channels on the ancient portable television in the corner of the room. But all she was getting was snow. Not that Lee cared, as long as he didn’t have to see her with that dreamy, I-just-woke-upand-I-need-love look. “What are you doing?” he asked anyway.

  “Trying to get some news,” she said without looking at him.

  Lee wondered if she even knew he’d spent the night next to her. He wondered even more if he should care. He couldn’t help it. He did care, enough that he couldn’t push the thought of it out of his mind.

  She finally turned around. He wore only his jeans, and the hungry stare she gave his chest made him feel naked. How could she get to him so easily? And why her, of all people? Why couldn’t he have met someone nice and beautiful and kind in all the months she’d been gone? He must have been touched by a thousand different nurses. Why couldn’t one of them have turned him on like the woman before him? This woman who had the power to tear his soul to shreds?

  The top buttons of her blouse had somehow come undone, revealing just a hint of the lace she wore underneath. He mentally swore as he pulled on his shirt and started doing up the buttons, ignoring the pain the movement brought his arm. Erin had done a good job washing most of the blood out, but there was still a faint stain on the sleeve. Nor had the cuffs dried completely. Lee couldn’t take his gaze from Erin, not caring about the shirt just then.

  Clearing his throat, he asked, “Are you hungry?” He wanted out of this dump. He wanted to go someplace where there would be other people around, where he could look at something other than Erin’s beauty, where he could feel he was once again part of a normal world. True, he still had to keep the two of them safe from any more of Burke’s men, but he was tired of feeling so isolated with only Erin to hold on to. He looked away, fighting a battle within himself, for she really was all he wanted to hold on to. He just didn’t want to admit it.

  “Starving,” she answered.

  “Then let’s get out of here and find some place to grab a bite.”

  “What do we do after that?” she asked.

  “Call Tom, but I want to do it from a public phone booth.”

  “What then?” she probed.

  “We’ll worry about it over full stomachs.”

  There wasn’t much to get together and they’d paid in advance, so a short time later, after Erin had had a chance to freshen herself up and wrap strips of a clean sheet around Lee’s arm, they found themselves at a nice little out-of-the-way greasy spoon.

  “I always liked these kinds of places,” Lee muttered as they slid into a booth with smooth red seats. He took a long whiff. “You can raise your cholesterol a few notches just by breathing the air.”

  Erin only offered a smile, watching him closely. He wondered what she was thinking, even though he wished he didn’t. So he continued talking.

  “I mean, just look at that old woman behind the counter. I’ll bet she was here when the place opened. I’ll bet she insists on serving people real food, nothing fast and easy and full of things most of us can’t even pronounce.”

  They ordered a moment later, and it was just as he said—all real food made from fresh ingredients. Golden brown home fried potatoes, creamy scrambled eggs, long strips of crisp bacon. The coffee was fresh and strong and hot, its warmth settling into his bones.

  “What are we going to do, Lee?” Erin asked over a final cup of coffee.

  Lee had known the question was coming and he still had no easy answers. “I know what I’d like to do,” he said. He couldn’t seem to forget the feel of her when he awoke. Nor could he forget the kiss of the day before. The passion of it seemed to overshadow the terror he should be feeling that they could have been shot—that he had been shot. That it could have been so much worse than it was. Yet, he found it comforting, sitting in a greasy spoon where the air was thick with conversation coming from the construction workers at the counter and the sound and aromas of the food frying on the other side of the counter. It was comforting sharing it all with Erin. He knew it made no sense, but he couldn’t help the feeling.

  Lee looked at her across the small table and found that he didn’t want to be out in the world after all. He wanted to take her back to the motel, dump that it was, and make love to her. He wanted the two of them to be all alone in the world. A world where they’d feel safe, where they could lose themselves in each other, free from cares and worries and doubts. Just the two of them.

  “What?” she asked.

  He nearly told her exactly what, but managed to stop himself at the last moment.

  “I’d like to kill Burke, that’s what,” he said instead.

  “Well, you have to get in line,” she replied, taking a sip of coffee.

  A thought hit him so suddenly, he nearly flinched. “That’s what we’ll do,” he said.

  “Kill him?” She almost choked on her coffee.

  “No, but we’ll go to him,” he declared, feeling more in control than he had since this all started.

  “What are you talking about?” she said, setting her cup down with a thud. “When I wanted to go find him, you said no, and Tom said not to—”

  “That was before his men shot up my kitchen and my arm. Listen, do you remember the name of his hometown?” Lee asked, ignoring her objection.

  “Jamesbrook. Why?”

  “Because we’re going there, that’s why. We’re going to flush Burke out.”

  “What about the FBI? What if it messes up their investigation?” she asked.

  “I don’t give a damn about the FBI,” he said. “I’m tired of playing cat and mouse with this man and his thugs. And who knows. If things work out, maybe we’ll be able to find some evidence so that the FBI can nab him.”

  “What if he’s not in Jamesbrook anymore?”

  “Questions, questions, questions,” he muttered. “Don’t you ever get tired of asking questions, Erin?” he teased, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

  “It’s my job, remember?” She smiled, apparently liking the way he had lightened up. “Besides, what about Tom?”

  “Oh, yes, I remember your job,” he returned, not telling her that there was little about her he was able to forget. “I also remember that with the way you probe into things, you’ll be able to find Burke even if he isn’t in Jamesbrook. And if it will ease your mind, I’ll call Tom before we leave here.”

  Her smile grew. “Good. But do you think we could get some clean duds before we head to Jamesbrook?”

  “Duds?” He chuckled. “Sure. Why not? We’ll need a few other things, as well, if we’re going to catch Burke at his own game.”

  The smile he flashed her was brilliant, casting sunshine on the gloomy day.

  Erin realized then that Liam McGrey had safely, securely and easily slipped into the realm of his life where he belonged most. He was back to being more like the man she’d known and lived with, no longer the dark, brooding man who’d opened his door to her a short while ago. But knowing this raised so many questions. Why now? Did his easiness have anything to do with her? Or did it have more to do with doing the job? The sense of needing to protect, that Liam had so strongly, was coming from the need to protect her. It was what he called his protector mode.

  Just looking at him, she could see that mode in full swing. With its coming, the torment that she’d sensed in him seemed to have vanished.

  All Erin could do was return his smile. True, she had no desire at all to die, but if she had to die now, if Burke somehow succeeded in his plans, she felt she would at least die a happy woman. And all it took was knowing that Liam was closer to being the complete man she’d known before he was shot. No, before that—when she’d left him. He was no longer that haunted ma
n who wanted to throw her out of his kitchen.

  Seeing Liam like this, with that gleam in his eyes that she hadn’t seen in the past few days—a gleam she had the feeling hadn’t been there for the past eight months—Erin felt sorry for Forest Burke. He might try to kill them both. He might even succeed, heaven forbid. But she knew Liam McGrey would give him one hell of a fight.

  “Call Tom,” she said. She was still finishing her coffee when Lee came back from the phone at the rear of the restaurant. “What’s wrong?” she asked, taking in his look of frustration.

  “Tom just confirmed that Burke’s still in Jamesbrook, but he ordered me to take you to the safe house and not go after him. He said the two policemen outside my house were shot but not killed and he raked me up one side and down the other for not calling sooner. I think I’d rather quit my job for good than take orders from that man,” he muttered.

  Erin fought the urge to laugh. “He’s your best friend. He’s worried about us.”

  “I know. I shouldn’t have doubted him. I should have called him sooner. Are you finished?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied after taking a final drink.

  “Well,” he said, tossing down several bills to pay for their breakfast, “I guess it’s on to the safe house we go.”

  “If I didn’t know better,” Erin teased, “I’d think you’re disappointed that you don’t get to chase after Burke.”

  “I’m just disappointed that we’re having to be the prisoners while he’s out there running free,” Lee replied.

  The safe house was just as Lee imagined it would be when he found it a short time later. It was a nice, quiet house at the edge of a modest subdivision. Lee pulled into the drive and stopped, letting out a heavy breath. Yes, it looked like a nice house to come home to. It was just that he was coming to it with Erin, and Lee didn’t want to play house with Erin again, not after that earth-shattering kiss in his kitchen.

  Lee didn’t have long to think about it, though, as a dark car pulled up to the curb near the drive and stopped. His first thought was that the two men inside had been sent by Tom.

  “Are they friends of yours?” Erin asked.

  Lee shook his head. “I don’t recognize them, but then I’ve been away from the office for a long time. Stay in the car,” he instructed, reaching for the door handle. His gaze caught movement in the side mirror and he stopped just in time to see the man in the passenger seat shift a gun from one hand to the other. “Get down, Erin,” Lee ordered, starting the car again.

  She did as he said, sliding down in the seat, but she questioned him at the same time. “What is it?”

  “Just stay down!” He put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. His foot slammed down hard on the gas and they went speeding down the street once again, moving past the unknown men who were now out of their own car and starting toward Lee and Erin. One of them yelled and was forced to jump out of the way in order to keep from being hit. The other drew his gun and fired at them. But Lee was already careening around the first corner, avoiding any direct hits.

  Lee made several more turns in an effort to keep the men from following them. Neither spoke, and Erin didn’t even move, staying low in the seat and not looking anywhere but at the dash in front of her and at Lee.

  “Hell,” Lee muttered after a long, frightening silence.

  “How did these men find us, Lee?” Erin asked.

  “Tom,” Lee replied, saying the name slowly. “Tom was the only one who knew where I was taking you.”

  There was nothing Erin could say that would ease the pain she could hear in Lee’s voice. Wordlessly, she sat up, reached over and took his hand. Not only did he let her, but he seemed to grab hold of hers, like a man clinging to a life preserver:

  “What now?” Erin asked.

  “We go back to plan A,” Lee replied tersely.

  A short time later, Lee took Erin to a shop that, like the rest of the places he found, seemed nothing more than a hole in the wall. For the first time, he let go of her hand to get put of the car.

  “Why this place, Liam?” she asked quietly once they were inside, walking past the racks of clothes.

  “You said you wanted some new duds, remember?”

  She could still feel his pain at discovering that Tom had betrayed him. “Yes, but we could get them anywhere,” she countered.

  “It hasn’t been modernized yet,” he replied.

  “Modernized?”

  “No computer system to run a credit card through. So if anyone’s tracking us, they won’t know we’ve been here until the credit card slip actually gets sent in,” he explained. “Pick out whatever you want,” he added without looking at her. He was checking out a rack of men’s shirts.

  “How did you find out about this place?” she asked, pulling off a deep red shirt that she thought would look great on him with his dark hair.

  “One day, after a painful therapy session, I couldn’t stand the thought of going home to an empty house, so I drove around the city for a while. I saw these two boys fighting on the sidewalk and a man from this store came out and broke it up. I don’t really know what possessed me to go in and check the place out, but I found myself liking it. It had an old-fashioned, hometown atmosphere about it, making me feel comfortable, I guess. Or maybe like I’ve stepped back in time. Do you think this would fit me?” he asked, holding up a shirt.

  “Yes,” she replied, looking at the tag.

  “Fine.” He moved on to some jeans. “Find something for yourself so we can get moving.”

  “Moving where?” she asked quietly, already knowing, but having to hear it from Lee.

  “To get Burke,” Lee replied.

  Erin chose a few things and Lee paid for all of it. Then they went down the block to another store, where pieces of electronic equipment and photographic equipment were sold. It’s probably all hot, Erin thought, but didn’t voice her opinion. Instead, she just watched Lee pick out a pair of binoculars and pay for them with cash. He handed Erin one of three large bags. “Ready.”

  “Yes.”

  It was raining again as they exited the store. But with Erin’s slim, but perfectly curved body moving gracefully ahead of him, Lee didn’t feel it.

  “Is there anything else we need?” she asked.

  Lee was glad she didn’t look back at him or she’d catch him watching the subtle movement of her hips. “Just some gas,” he said absently. “And I’m sure I can get a map at the gas station, too.”

  After hours of driving and several cups of coffee from drive-through fast-food places, they reached Jamesbrook in the early afternoon.

  “What a quaint little town,” Erin noted.

  “Doesn’t look much like a place that would harbor a killer or a thief, does it?” Lee returned.

  “No. But then they never do.”

  “I wonder what the locals think of the FBI watching Burke,” Lee mused.

  “Maybe they’ve been so good at their jobs that the locals haven’t noticed,” Erin replied. “Besides, you know there are a lot of different ways to run an investigation. And I doubt Burke’s estate is located anywhere near a populated area.”

  “You’re probably right,” Lee had to agree.

  Even the gloom of the cloudy day couldn’t take away the inviting charm of the rustic houses. Set on the banks of the Illinois River, the place looked like a colonial town set smack-dab in the twentieth century.

  “I wonder where Burke’s estate is,” Erin said, never taking her eyes off the scenery out her window.

  She could feel Lee looking at her, and she turned to meet his glance. “I’m going to leave that up to the roving reporter in you,” he said.

  Erin could only smile. “Thanks, I’ll be glad to find out. Why don’t we stop for a late lunch at the first place we come to. And I’ll bet I have the answer to that question before we even finish our meal.”

  Lee grinned at her. “You’re on,” he said taking the bet. “And if you don’t, you have to bu
y lunch.”

  “With what, my good looks?” she quipped, her voice filled with humor at the way they were suddenly talking just like they used to. It felt so good to let down their guard and be the people they were before she’d left him, before a spray of bullets had found their mark in his leg.

  “I guess we’ll have to settle for doing dishes to earn our lunch,” he teased.

  “Ha-ha,” she said, trying not to laugh. “Besides, I don’t have to worry. I’m not going to lose. I’ll know exactly where Burke’s estate is before you’re halfway done eating your lunch.”

  “Well, you’d better prepare yourself and put your roving-reporter hat on, lady, because we’re here,” he said, his voice still filled with lighthearted amusement. He pulled into a parking place in front of a large brick house that was now converted into the Jamesbrook Inn.

  They had both changed clothes at the gas station earlier, so they were as presentable as they could manage. The rain had stopped hours before, even though the sun didn’t seem to stand a chance of making an appearance today. The air was damp and chilled, touching Erin with something close to cold fingers as she climbed out of the car. A plan to find out the location of Burke’s estate hit her in the same instant, and she smiled.

  It was warm and cozy inside, the atmosphere as inviting as the rest of the town. A plump, older woman with silver hair greeted them just inside the door. “Welcome to the Jamesbrook Inn. This is your first time, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Erin smiled easily. “But we’ve heard how good the food is here, and we thought we’d try it out since we’re taking a small vacation to celebrate.”

  “I’m Jennifer Renolds,” the woman introduced herself. “My husband Frank and I operate the Jamesbrook Inn. What’s the celebration?”

  “Liam—” Erin nodded her head in his direction “—and I just got married.”

  Lee had to bite his lip to keep his mouth from dropping open. He narrowed his eyes at her. Just what the hell was she trying to pull anyway?

  Jennifer Renolds didn’t notice his look, she was too busy shaking Erin’s hand. “Well, congratulations, dear! This does, indeed, call for a celebration. ‘You’ve come to the right place.”