Jane Doe's Return

by Jen Talty

  “So? Everyone has them.”

  “You screamed, I came running. I didn’t leave.” He shrugged.

  “So much for being a gentleman.” She had to bite her tongue, when what she really wanted to do was laugh. So much about this man intrigued her, and not just professionally.

  “I was a gentleman.” He inched closer. “I didn’t do anything but this.” His soft lips barely brushed against her temple. “But I wanted to do this.” Cupping her face, he pressed his mouth hotly against hers.

  She inhaled sharply, then gripped his shoulders, feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes and glided her hands down his strong, bare chest. Clasping her fingers around his back, she welcomed his tongue in her mouth.

  Abruptly, he pried his lips from hers, hands still cupping her face. “We can’t do this.” His voice sounded dark and low. “My job. Our jobs.” His hands dropped to his sides.

  “You should have thought of that five minutes ago.” Shauna touched her lips. She’d never felt like this before. How could his kiss tell her that he would understand?

  She sidestepped him and headed out of his room.

  “Shauna? Your dream…who hurt you?”

  “What?” She stopped at his door, but didn’t turn around.

  “In your dream, you begged someone not to hurt you.”

  She felt his breath on her neck before his hands gently touched her shoulders, turning her to face him.

  Her eyes burned. What did he know? Or think he knew? She’d had bad dreams before, but they didn’t plague her. And she didn’t remember having one last night.

  When she looked into his eyes, she knew she would never be able to directly lie to him. “I was raped as a teenager.”

  “By who?”

  “A stranger, and no, he was never caught.”

  “Are you looking for him?” he asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  Her stomach leaped into her throat. She swallowed and turned from him. “I never really saw his face, but he’s part of the reason I became an agent.” She paused, then turned. “He’s why I studied your sister’s case and some others. I wanted to understand him, but there is no understanding.” She forced back the tears that threatened to drip down her checks.

  “What did he do to you?” His voice rang out full of anger and contempt.

  “He raped me,” she answered truthfully.

  “Trust me, murder would come easily to me if anyone tried to hurt you again.” He lowered his chin.

  She believed him and that scared her. Even more so, that his words comforted her. No way should the idea of murder comfort her in any way. Yet there it was, and she felt safe. So safe, she wrapped her arms around his solid middle

  and rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling her lips against his neck. “I can’t change what happened, but I can move past it and live my life.”

  “Are you sure this is living?”

  “I’m helping other people like me. I call that living.”

  “All right,” he said. “If you ever want to talk about it—”

  “I’m fine, really. I’ve had therapy, and in many ways, this job is therapeutic.”

  “Running my ass off is therapeutic. Want to join me?”

  “Definitely.” On impulse, she flicked her fingers through his hair.

  He grabbed her wrist, kissing her hand. “Watch it, sweetheart.” He winked. “You’re going to get me fired. Get out so I can change.” He shoved her out the door.

  Fumbling with her laces, she couldn’t get the image of Travis wrapped in only a sheet out of her head. He had to be naked under that white cloth. That meant he had to have been just as naked when he slept next to her.

  She should have been mad as hell, but she wasn’t. And she didn’t understand why. She stretched her back making a mental note that her first phone call of the day would be to the rental office. She had to know if she got that apartment down the street. She hoped Travis would feel that was close enough because right now, they were way too close.

  ****

  By Friday, Travis couldn’t take much more. He had Shauna and her damn scent following him wherever he went. The fresh smell of violets filled his office, his bathroom and even his damn truck. Thank God they had been scheduled for court that afternoon. The sport coat helped hide the mounting pressure below his waist.

  “You ready?” He stood behind his desk and barked at her. He didn’t mean to sound so demanding, but she’d climbed deep into his skin. And he had to work with her. Not going to be easy without ripping her clothes off.

  “What crawled up your ass?” She gave him a pointed look.

  “You don’t want me to elaborate here.” He turned toward the door.

  Steve leaned against the doorjamb, looking at his fingernails. “Trouble in paradise?” He gave Travis a smug grin.

  “What’s up?” Travis moved to stand in front of him. Steve was a moron and a jerk. Not to mention crude and insulting and should never be trusted with a lady. Get a grip. Travis mentally shook himself.

  “Heard over the radio they found a teenage girl in Washington Park.” Travis caught a hint of sorrow in Steve’s eyes. “Looks like your man.” He squeezed Travis’s shoulder.

  Travis glanced at the hand on his shoulder, blinked, and then looked at Shauna. She stood, but fear lurked behind her eyes.

  “Brown. Morgan,” Scott called as he maneuvered his way around Steve. “I need you two in Washington Park. Steve, you cover for Travis in court.”

  “Sure.” Steve glanced at Shauna. “It’s ugly out there. No place for a woman.”

  “I am an FBI Agent,” she said confidently.

  Travis had to stand back when he really wanted to deck the ignorant ass. “What happened?”

  “They actually think it’s the Princess Killer, even though there’s no dress or crown.”

  “Then how are the police linking it to our guy?” Shauna asked.

  “A note.”

  “I take it we’re on the case,” she asked.

  “You’re there as part of the Joint Task Force. You let the police do their job. Give them what we have, officially. Later, I’ll look at what you’ve dug up. I take it you didn’t listen to me and brought her in on this anyway.”

  Travis looked from Shauna to Scott and smiled. “I figured. Go. Then go home. It’s late. Bring what you have in on Monday morning.” ****

  Travis reflected on the crime scene during the drive home. It didn’t have much, except the note. The note disturbed him. The first part had been identical to the last one, except it added a line that said, ‘Not everyone is who they say they are. Some of us are living a lie.’

  But who was the killer talking about? The killer himself? Or someone else?

  He glanced at Shauna. Something didn’t add up. Whatever it was she hid, he figured it had to do with this case. He needed to get it from her without alienating her. He turned to see her looking out the window, deep in thought.

  “I can hear you thinking over there. What’s up?” The truck jerked as he pulled up in front of his favorite little store.

  “You’re not going to like this.”

  “I don’t like rapists and murders much anyway.”

  “The paper the note was on is the same paper that’s in my journals.” She shifted in the seat.

  “Huh?” He blinked and then started again. “How can you be sure?”

  “I’m not sure it’s from one of my journals, but

  it’s the same brand. The lines, the colors, and the numbers all match. Even the perforation is doubled like mine.”

  Travis slammed the truck back in gear, glanced over his shoulder and punched the gas pedal.

  “What are you doing?” She touched his forearm.

  “We’re going to go back to my place, collect all our stuff and head to the lake for the weekend. I need to talk with my buddy Jake. A fresh set of eyes might help.”

  “I can’t go away with you for the weekend. What if we get called in or something?”

 
“Then it will be good that we are together.”

  The drive to lake had been quiet, but that was okay with Travis. He’d been having crazy thoughts that Shauna might actually know where Jane Doe was hiding.

  “Don’t your parents live down that road?” Shauna pointed as they passed Rockefeller Road.

  “We’re going to Jake’s place first. I’d like to give him what we’ve got, that way, by Sunday, maybe he’ll have an angle on what we might have missed.” God, Travis hoped so. He had a sick feeling that the killings would just keep coming now. For some reason, the killer chose this time to get nervy. Hopefully, that meant he would get caught, and soon. Travis really didn’t want to see another dead body.

  “Nice place,” Shauna commented.

  He nodded, taking her arm as they headed down a pathway to Jake’s home. “Hey there, Katie.”

  “Gumby!” Katie jumped from Lana’s arms and ran out the door toward them.

  “Gumby?” Shauna lifted a brow.

  “Don’t ask.” Travis picked Katie up and

  twirled her around. “Does she even know my name?” He glanced from Katie to Lana. “Lana, this is my partner, Shauna Morgan. Shauna, this is Lana, Jake’s wife, and my cousin.” Travis kissed Lana’s cheek.

  “Nice to meet you. Come on in. Jake’s in the family room with the twins.”

  “I show ‘em, Mommy.” Katie tugged at Travis. “She’s pretty.” Katie winked. “Daddy say you need girfrend.”

  “That’s enough, pumpkin.” Jake scooped up Katie. “Welcome to the nut house. This is Brent and Kyle.” Jake pointed to a playpen that housed two babies.

  “Oh, my. They’re adorable.” Shauna leaned over the playpen.

  Travis bent over and lifted one of the boys in his arms. “How old?”

  “Three months now.” Jake put Katie down.

  Travis blew raspberries on the baby’s belly, and the baby roared, laughing. The other one cried.

  “Brent gets jealous. I gotcha, little buddy.” Jake lifted the other boy in his arms.

  “May I?” Shauna stretched out her hands.

  “Sure.” Jake handed her the baby, giving Travis an inquisitive glance.

  She cooed with him, tickling the little boy making him belly laugh. She looked at Travis and smiled, then gave her attention back to the baby.

  His heart jumped and tightened with a rush of an overwhelming sense of connectedness to her. It raged through his body and mind giving into ideas he thought he’d buried. Watching her with the little boy sent him down a path where he’d placed a roadblock. She made him want to knock it down.

  He couldn’t take that fork and certainly not with her. Right now they were too good together as partners. She was smart and added things to his investigation that were invaluable in tracking down Jane Doe, which would lead him to his sister’s killer.

  “Okay, who goes to bed first?” Lana asked, entering the room. “Looks like Brent made himself a friend.”

  “He’s got good taste,” Jake commented.

  “Just like his father.” Lana planted a wet kiss on her husband.

  Travis cleared his throat.

  “Get over yourself, Gumby Boy, and give me my baby back,” Lana teased. He gave Kyle a kiss and handed him to his mother.

  “Can I help?” Shauna asked as the baby in her arms smiled and squealed in delight.

  “If you want. But I’ll warn you, they can be stubborn mules, just like their father.”

  “Oh, I can handle stubborn.” Shauna glanced at Travis.

  “I bet you can.” Lana laughed, motioning Shauna toward the stairs.

  “Nothing going on, my ass.” Jake nodded toward his office. “Thought I might have to lift your jaw up off the floor.”

  “Knock it off, okay?” Travis cracked his neck, then sat in the chair across from a big old wooden desk. He dumped a file down in front of Jake.

  “That bad?”

  “I’d lose my job. I won’t risk it.”

  “I think you already have.” Jake opened the file.

  “Have not. I haven’t touched her.”

  Jake’s eyes lifted from the paper he held in his hands. “I see.”

  “Can we just focus on that file and not my love life?”

  Jake dipped his eyes back to the paper. Silence filled the room. He just kept flipping through the file. “Looks like your killer’s getting antsy.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “You know him.”

  “So he keeps telling me.” Travis stood and paced.

  Jake pushed his chair back. “He knows you’ll be called, so he’s leaving you hints. I doubt he’s at the scene when you are, but he knows you’re coming. What I can’t figure out is how Shauna fits into this.”

  “What are you thinking?” Travis made eye contact.

  “I’m thinking he knows her, too. And I mean personally. I have nothing but my gut reaction, but it seems since you two started working together, he’s started playing games with you— both of you. That bothers the shit out of me.”

  Jake hadn’t told him anything he wasn’t already thinking. But Jake’s opinion meant a lot to Travis and his validation took away the guilt that he had about checking out his partner. “Any info from Saratoga?”

  “Just basic facts. Her parents are divorced. Father remarried. Town drunk. Brother disappeared. Believed to be involved in drugs. That’s about it for now. He’s still digging.”

  Travis could hear Lana and Shauna coming toward the office, so he stopped talking. Thus far, all he had was validation that he was moving on the right track. That was enough for him.

  Now to figure out how in God’s name he was going to spend the night in one of the most sensual places on earth, with the hottest woman on the planet, and not touch her.

  ****

  A few hours later, Shauna sat on the front deck of Travis’s family home and stared at the sky. There were so many stars that the lake rippled with the bright glow, making the moon dance softly across the tiny waves as they gently crashed against the shoreline. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She could still smell the babies. God, she loved babies.

  She opened her eyes in anger. Her rapist still had so much control over her life. Hate was too mild a word to describe her feelings for the monster who took away not only her innocence, but her womanhood. Her entire self. Her therapist had warned her about coming home and how her inner demons would resurface. It was important she pull back all the control and take charge. Live her life. The only problem, by coming back here and working with Travis, her life ended up back in the past. Or maybe she’d never really left.

  “I hope you’re not thinking about me?” Travis pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, two beers in hand. “It’s been a long day, want one?”

  She took the beer and swigged it. Swallowing hard, she held back a cough. It had been a long time since she had a beer. She forgot how bad it tasted, but she needed to relax. “Thanks.”

  “I’ve got wine if you’d prefer.”

  She turned to him. The moonlight hit his eyes and knocked her senseless. “Next time, tell me that before I start on this.” She held the beer up and studied him as he turned and sipped his beer. “You like kids, don’t you?” she asked, taking another sip of courage.

  “What’s not to like about them?” He cracked his knuckles.

  “I hate that.”

  He did it again and smiled.

  Damn him. She smiled back. He was way too cute. “Want any? Kids, I mean.” She turned and felt her cheeks flush. Why would she get so personal with him? Personal was dangerous.

  He took a sip of beer and seemed to ponder the question. “I did once.” His sip became a chug.

  “What happened to change your mind?”

  “My fiancée decided that the timing was off and had an abortion.” He tipped his beer and finished it.

  “Without your knowledge?” She swung her feet to the side of the lounge chair, putting her elbows on her knees
and resting her chin in her hands.

  “Oh, she told me. But I couldn’t change her mind. She had this plan.” He tilted his chin. “We were supposed to get married when she finished law school, first kid two years after she made partner, then maybe a second two years after that, but she wasn’t sold on having more than one.” Travis tried not to laugh.

  “You asked this woman to marry you?” Shauna’s voice went up an octave.

  Travis batted her nose. “Nope.”

  “Now I’m really confused.”

  “The plan. It was all a part of her plan. I thought I loved her, so the plan seemed to be okay with me. I just thought when she got pregnant ‘The Plan’ would be adjusted. She didn’t.”

  “Where’s she now?” Shauna looked down at her lap. Travis’s finger danced on her knee.

  “Working as a lawyer in New York City. She married another lawyer, and I’m sure as soon as she makes partner, she might have a kid.”

  “She’s a fool,” Shauna said.

  “No fool. Her plan’s working just fine for her. I just wasn’t the right guy. Too bad for me I found that out too late.” Travis stood, placing his hands on the railing and looking out over the lake.

  Shauna joined him, leaning slightly against his arm. “Because of her, you no longer want to have a family?”

  “It’s not entirely her fault. Gina and I knew each other in high school. She knew my sister and I thought she understood my drive.” He rubbed his jaw. “I need to find Jane Doe.” He shot Shauna a cold stare that shocked her system. All the kindness he usually carried had been replaced with pure rage and anguish. She looked into the depths of a man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

  “She holds the key. We need to flush her out.”

  “Leave the ‘we’ out of it.” Her stomach churned with the beer hitting the back of her throat. “I know what it’s like to walk around and wonder if your attacker is following you, waiting for the right time to do it again. I won’t put her in that position.” First lie, she thought to herself.

  “She’s already out there, and we have the power to protect her.” Travis’s voice changed. She hated it when he used the voice of reason without knowing the effect he had on her.