She still didn’t understand. “Why would you even care?” she challenged, still in the dark.
Dugan spread his hands wide, as if the answer was self-explanatory. “I’m a Cavanaugh, O’Keefe. We like babies.”
Toni shook her head as she slipped her purse’s shoulder strap onto her shoulder. “You, Dugan Cavanaugh, are a strange, strange man.”
He grew just a shade more serious. “That notwithstanding, I don’t plan to let you out of my sight tonight until this is all over with,” he told her. “Now I’ll follow you in my car—and if you’re thinking of trying to lose me, don’t,” he advised, one step ahead of her. “I already know where you live. I had Valri look it up for me.”
She was unfamiliar with the name. “Valri?” she asked, waiting for more information.
He nodded. “She’s our secret weapon in the computer lab,” he told her. They got into the elevator together and his tone changed for a moment when the doors closed. “You don’t have to go through with this, you know. You can still change your mind.”
She wished he’d stop saying that. Because, even though she wouldn’t admit it, it did tempt her. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”
“No.” He looked at her, catching a glimmer of indecision. She was having second thoughts, he thought. He talked faster. “I can get one of the detectives to take your place. We’ve got one who looks enough like you to pass as your twin—almost,” he qualified. “We put her in your place, and—”
She had to stop him now, before he got carried away—and took her with him.
“No, I’m not about to back out now,” she informed him. “I can handle myself.”
“I’m not worried about you handling yourself,” he told her honestly.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m worried about Oren handling you,” Dugan told her.
That made two of them, she thought. But out loud, she said, “That’s what I have you for. I get into trouble, you’re supposed to come to my rescue, right?”
“That’s good on paper,” Dugan agreed. “But an awful lot can happen in just the blink of an eye,” he pointed out.
“Then I’ll be sure not to blink,” she answered flippantly.
Dugan made no response. Instead, he merely shook his head. He’d had a feeling that she was a handful the first time he laid eyes on her and he hadn’t been wrong—even though he wished differently.
“Let’s go,” he told her, hustling her toward her vehicle. “I’ll be right behind you.”
* * *
Lucinda’s eyes were huge when she opened the front door for Toni and saw the rather tall, handsome detective standing beside her.
“I brought my work home with me, Lucy,” Toni told her baby’s nanny. Lucinda continued standing where she was, staring.
“I see,” Lucinda acknowledged. It took her a full moment to realize that she was blocking the doorway. Coming to, she stepped back, allowing them both to walk into the house. “Hi, I’m Lucy, Heather’s nanny,” she told Dugan.
It was getting late. She had to get ready, Toni thought. “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to. He’s just here to annoy me.”
Lucinda smiled at Dugan. “Can he annoy me?” she asked.
Dugan smiled at the younger woman. It was the kind of smile meant to put her at her ease. “See? Lucy doesn’t find me annoying.”
“She doesn’t know you,” Toni answered. “Stay here,” she ordered, then added the warning, “And behave. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“So, how did you and Toni meet?” he asked Lucy. “Did she advertise for a nanny, or did you know her before then?”
“Before,” Lucinda answered. “I worked in the newspaper office where her father worked. We got friendly. I was his assistant for a while. When I lost that job,” she said, breezing over the particulars on purpose, “she, um, took care of me,” Lucy concluded.
Dugan did a quick assessment of the young woman and what she had just told him. “I see.” She sounded serious, but he wasn’t sure if he actually believed her. “And you decided to pay her back by taking care of her daughter while she’s at work.”
“Yes, yes I did. She was a lifesaver,” Lucinda told him. She was about to say something further to him when she stopped, listening. “Sounds like I’m being summoned. If you’ll excuse me—”
“Mind if I come along?” he asked, falling into step with her. “I’d really like to see Heather again.”
“You’ve seen her before?” Lucinda asked, caught off guard.
“Just the one time,” he answered.
“When?” Lucinda asked, growing suspicious. “I’ve been around Heather every day and sometimes at night, as well. I don’t remember seeing you around.”
“Did Toni ever tell you about the night her daughter was born?” Dugan asked as they went up the stairs to the nursery.
“Not really, just that she went into premature labor and—” Lucinda stopped walking again, her eyes widening as she took a closer look at the handsome detective. “You’re the guy who stopped to deliver Heather?” she asked in complete wonder.
Dugan smiled. “Then she did tell you about me.”
“Well, she never mentioned you by name,” Lucinda told him. “She just said that you came out of nowhere, helped her deliver Heather and then disappeared into the night when your phone rang.”
Dugan laughed, nodding. “I guess that covers the essentials.” They were on the second floor now, drawing closer to the baby’s room. The sound of crying increased two-fold. “I see she still has those lungs,” he commented with a smile.
“That she has,” Lucinda agreed. “I’m thinking she’s going to be an opera singer,” she told Dugan as she walked into the nursery. “You’ve got company, Heather,” Lucinda told the baby as she bent over the crib and picked the baby up into her arms.
He was right beside Lucinda. Unlike most babies, who were close to being bald at this tender age, Heather had a full head of hair, and it was dark. He guessed that the baby took after her father, whoever he was.
For just a moment, he wondered what sort of a man had been able to bed Toni, but then he brushed the thought aside. He didn’t need to go there. It would only mess things up in his head right now.
“Would you mind if I held her?” Dugan asked.
Lucinda was more than happy to turn the baby over to him for a moment.
“Sure. I don’t see why not. But I really hope your eardrums are strong,” she said as she put Heather into his arms.
She expected him to be awkward about the transfer and was really surprised when he took the baby as if he did it all the time. He held her against his chest and looked down at the small face.
Heather’s cries abated almost immediately. Quieting down, she looked at him as if she was trying to remember where she had seen his face before.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Lucinda marveled, impressed. “She usually doesn’t quiet down until I’ve fed her and changed her. You obviously have a magical touch.”
Dugan laughed, patting the baby’s bottom. “She just recognizes me, that’s all,” he said. “Don’t you, Heather?” he asked, looking at the baby.
Heather began to make bubbles, still staring up at him as if he had suddenly become the very center of her universe.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were a baby whisperer,” Lucinda told the handsome detective with a laugh.
“I’m just good with kids,” Dugan answered, still making eye contact with Heather. “So, how’s everything?” he asked the baby. “Any plans for your immediate future? Any flirty boys bothering you that you want me to take care of?”
“She needs her bottle and then she needs to be put to bed,” Toni said firmly, coming out of her bedroom. She was surprised to find Dugan up here with Lucinda, but mana
ged to hide that.
“Sounds like a plan to—” Dugan began saying, only to stop dead as he turned around and took a good look at the woman whose body he was going to be guarding tonight. “Wow,” he pronounced as he made a full assessment of her. His eyes swept over her again.
Toni saw the appreciation in them and a part of her instinctively preened just a little.
“You clean up really, really nicely, O’Keefe,” he told her.
Toni cleared her throat. “I had no idea I was dirty,” she quipped. “Did the big bad man scare you, Heather?” she asked, taking her daughter from Dugan and into her own arms.
“Wait, you’d better give her to me,” Lucinda said quickly, taking charge. “You don’t want her spitting up milk all over your dress, Toni,” she cautioned. Heather was apt to do that without warning or provocation for that matter.
Once she had the baby back in her arms, Lucinda turned back to look at Toni. “You look really nice,” she said with genuine appreciation. Lucinda smiled. “You two must be going somewhere really special tonight.”
Toni suddenly realized what had to be going through the other woman’s head. “It’s not what you think,” Toni told her quickly.
“It’s not my place to think anything,” Lucinda answered innocently. The next moment, she was unable to hold back a really wide smile that played on her lips. “Just like it’s not my place to say that I hope you two have a really nice time together tonight.”
The smile on Dugan’s face was nonthreatening. “Another time and place, I think we really would,” he confided to the young woman. “But tonight isn’t that time.”
Lucinda looked from Dugan to Toni. It was obvious that she was confused. Still, she didn’t seem as if she was about to ask questions.
“Whatever you say,” she told Dugan. “But right now, I have a date with a baby and her bottle. Nice to have met you, detective. I hope you and Toni will have fun doing whatever it is you’ll be doing.”
With that, Lucinda slipped out of the room with the baby.
Toni pressed her lips together and went down the stairs.
“She thinks we’re dating,” Toni told him.
“I think she’s happier thinking that than finding out that I’m actually escorting you into the arms of a drug lord,” Dugan answered, telling himself that it was going to be all right tonight.
“You’re not escorting me,” Toni corrected him. “You’re dropping me off in front of the restaurant. Better yet, a block away from the restaurant so that Oren doesn’t see you.”
Each time he thought about this setup, the worse it sounded to him. “Are you sure that you want to go through with this?”
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turning toward him. “How many times are you going to ask me that?”
“Until I get the right answer, I guess,” Dugan answered.
Toni blew out a breath. “I already gave you the right answer. I said yes.”
“Oh, before I forget,” Dugan said, stopping her before she could get her purse. He dug into his pocket. The next moment, he took out his hand and opened it in front of her. There was a ring in it.
“This is so sudden,” Toni quipped putting her hand to her chest.
“Very funny,” he commented. “I want you to put this on and keep it on at all times,” he told her. “It’ll allow us to keep tabs on you.”
Although she hadn’t seen them, she was aware that there was a whole team of people who were going to be jammed in a van, monitoring her.
Sliding the ring on her third finger, she felt it moving around. “It’s a little loose.”
“Then put it on another finger,” he told her. Rather than wait for her to do it, he took the ring himself and switched it to her index finger. Giving it a tug, he was satisfied. “There, that fits.”
Toni held her hand out and looked critically at the ring. It was a delicate aquamarine stone surrounded by a circle of small diamonds. She had to admit that she liked it, but there was no point in saying that to him, or in getting attached to the ring. She’d be giving it back to him once this was over.
“And this is going to pick up everything I say?” she asked him.
“Every breath you take,” he answered. Building on that, he told her, “If you start hyperventilating, I’ll be there before you can draw another breath.” It was a promise.
“Then I’ll try to remember not to hyperventilate,” she said. She saw the doubtful look on his face and all the fears she’d had earlier—and now—seemed to melt into the background. “Don’t worry,” she assured Dugan. “I can do this. Just let me get him to start talking a little, make him lower his guard a tad. Who knows, I might be able to get your information for you that way. I can be very persuasive if I want and I can do it without raising his suspicions.”
“I sincerely doubt it,” he said flatly. “This is a whole different breed of guy. Rules don’t apply to him. You just get him comfortable and relaxed and the team and I will do the rest. All right?” he asked, looking at her.
She took a deep breath. “All right,” she told him. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 12
As Toni walked into the restaurant, she felt as if she was moving in slow motion, trying to use someone else’s legs.
The thought really bothered her because she thought of herself as being braver than this. Her slow pace almost made her wonder if age was finally catching up to her—except for the fact that she was only thirty years old and that was way too young to be thinking of herself as getting too old for something.
When had fear suddenly played such a major part in the way she regarded things? Toni upbraided herself. She never used to be like this.
But she realized that her parameters had changed. She didn’t just have herself to worry about anymore. She was responsible for someone else now, a little someone else who had no one but Toni to look after her. Yes, there was Lucinda, but that really wasn’t fair of her. Lucy couldn’t be expected to look after Heather permanently if something happened to Toni. At twenty-four, Lucinda was hardly more than a child herself in a lot of ways.
If anything, Toni thought, she was actually responsible for two people, not just one. Heather and Lucy. That sort of a burden pressed down heavily on her shoulders.
For one thing, it meant that she had to be careful not to take too many chances so that she was able to remain alive.
“May I help you?” the pleasant-faced hostess standing at the hostess table asked.
Preoccupied, Toni quickly collected herself and smiled at the woman. “Yes, I’m supposed to be meeting someone here but I don’t see him.”
“What’s the name of the other party?” the hostess asked her.
“Michael Oren.” She was meeting Michael Oren for dinner. Toni couldn’t believe she was actually saying that. This was beginning to feel like a B movie from the 1930s, she thought.
The hostess skimmed the list and then smiled. “Oh, yes, I have a reservation for two right here. It’s for eight o’clock.” She looked up. “He’s not here yet, but you’re a few minutes early,” the hostess pointed out. “Why don’t I seat you, and as soon as Mr. Oren comes in, I’ll bring him to the table.”
Toni nodded. “That would be very nice of you, thank you.”
She followed the woman to a table for two that was off to one side. She sat down and the hostess handed her a menu.
“Would you like some wine to drink while you’re waiting?” the hostess asked.
“Just water, thank you,” Toni responded. Wine always had a way of fogging up her brain and she wanted a clear head. Right now, she needed her A game and that mean steering clear of any alcohol.
“I’ll send a busboy,” the woman promised as she slipped away.
Almost immediately, a busboy approached her table carrying a pitcher. He poured her a glass of water over ice while she
continued looking toward the door.
“Enjoy your water,” the busboy told her quietly.
Something in his voice caught her attention and Toni looked up. She realized that she recognized him from the precinct.
Leaning her head on her hand, she whispered, “You have people here.” Her lips barely moved.
“What did you expect?” Dugan asked, his voice echoing in her ear via an earwig. “I wasn’t about to send you into the lion’s den by yourself.” And then his voice suddenly changed. “Uh-oh, head’s up, O’Keefe. I think your date’s here.”
Toni looked up, scanning the immediate area. She didn’t see Oren.
“Where?” she whispered.
“Just coming in the front door. Showtime, O’Keefe,” he told her.
Just then Toni saw Oren walking in through the front entrance.
She felt her hands grow icy cold as she braced herself. This was it. She would have to give the best performance of her life. Toni thought of standing, then decided against it. Instead, she waited until Oren had taken a few steps into the main room. Watching the drug lord, she waited two beats, then raised her hand and waved at him, catching the dapper-looking man’s attention.
Seeing the movement, Oren smiled and nodded. His step quickened as he headed toward her table. She saw that there was someone with him. Undoubtedly a bodyguard, Toni thought.
And that was when it happened.
Toni saw the whole thing unfolding almost in slow motion right in front of her eyes. A lone, very solemn-looking dark-haired man had entered the restaurant just behind Oren.
She saw the man put his hand into his jacket.
The next second, in one smooth movement, the man was pulling out a gun. He opened fire.
Oren’s bodyguard as well as Oren reacted purely on instinct. As the first bullet whizzed by Oren, he whirled around, simultaneously pulling out his own weapon. His bodyguard had done the same. They started shooting almost at the same time as the other man did.
Complete chaos broke loose.
Cavanaugh's Secret Delivery Page 11