Color of Danger

by Alexa Verde

  He walked to the basket and read the card. “An anonymous sender. She might’ve sampled a cookie. A cookie that was meant for you. It’s probably better to give this to the police.”

  Her lips tightened. “Of course.”

  Was Antonio out to kill his own sister for leaving him for dead?

  Luke took the empty bowls to the kitchen. The moment he came back through the doors, he stopped in his tracks. Mari was sound asleep on the sofa. Her hand was tucked beneath her cheek, and a small smile played on her lips. She looked peaceful and… vulnerable, and it made him want to shield her from all the troubles she’d been facing.

  Something he couldn’t quite name stirred inside him again. He thought his heart had died with Cynthia. He was mistaken, but this was the wrong time and place to find it out. He brushed Mari’s bangs away from her face and covered her with a blanket. Just touching her forehead with his fingertips left a buzzy feeling in his body, and he didn’t like it one bit. He had to learn to control his reaction to her.

  He checked the doors and then read through the files about June’s death. Finally he simply sat and stared at Mari as if she were the most interesting movie with the most fascinating plot.

  She woke up with a start. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”

  “Why not? You went through a shock. You’d been exhausted and sleep deprived to begin with. Or is the problem that you don’t trust me?”

  “It’s not that. Not just that.” Mari stretched. “I need to drop off cookies at the police station. And then I have to get home. To check on Nowa.”

  “I’ll drive you.” He caught her glare. “I’ll follow you home. To make sure you’re safe.”

  “I understand. You don’t want anything to happen to your source of information about Antonio Del Lobo.” She glanced at her clothes. “Fine. That way, I can return your sweatshirt. Thanks, by the way.”

  He followed her to the police station. After she’d left the cookies with Derek, he drove behind her on empty streets.

  What? His eyebrows shot up. Was she pulling into the parking lot of a hospital?

  After parking his car, he caught up with her in the entrance to the ER. “So you decided to check yourself out after all?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not an idiot. Of course I’m going to check myself out. I just don’t like to be told what to do.”

  “Or maybe you like arguing.”

  A light smile danced on her lips. “Must be a habit.”

  Shaking his head, he gathered whatever patience he had left and followed her inside the waiting room. The room was empty. That gave him hope she’d be seen soon.

  Unlike a usual ER wait, this one didn’t take long. Soon Mari emerged with a victorious grin. “I told you I’d pull through.”

  When they were leaving the building, tires brushed against the asphalt nearby, and the growl of a motor followed the sound. A black SUV pulled out of the almost empty parking lot.

  Luke tensed and stepped closer to Mari to shield her from any danger. Had somebody waited for her, hoping to find her alone?

  * * *

  Nowa met her with a joyful bark from the backyard, but Mari tried the door handle slowly anyway. After finding it locked, she unlocked the door and let Goodman go first.

  After he’d rescued her from the freezer, she could let him be the boss for five minutes.

  She moved to the left while he took the right side. She checked the rooms and then the backyard, where Nowa licked her face. Mari took it as a sign there was no intruder hiding in the bushes.

  She met Goodman near the front door. “So far, so good.”

  “Same here. Backyard?”

  “Clear.” She yawned. “I said I owed you. I always pay my debts. I’ll answer your questions about Tony.” She rubbed her eyes that were burning from the lack of sleep. “Well, at least one question for right now.”

  He studied her. “You don’t owe me anything. But I’ll take the opportunity. Who does Antonio trust?”

  “Nobody. But the person he’d probably ask for help… That would be my father.” Her knees weakened, and she leaned against the door. “You’ll want me to talk to him, won’t you?”

  “If possible? I know you said you’re…”

  “Estranged.” The word tasted like blood, and she hurried to swallow its coppery flavor. “But I’ll think about it. You know, Tony was the golden boy of this town. Smart, rich, popular, athletic. The captain of the football team. Of course, the chief would never help him out after what Tony did. But before that Chief Dawson was one of Tony’s biggest fans.”

  “Who was Antonio’s best friend?”

  “For some time, Aidan. That was how I met Aidan in the first place. But then Dad said his son should be hanging out with rich kids, and Tony listened to him. Aidan comes from a poor family.” She wondered if Goodman would ask her to make a list of the friends. Her eyelids drooped. It had been a long night.

  “Thank you. You’re exhausted. I’ll let you rest.”

  For some ridiculous reason, she found herself reluctant to see Luke go. She walked him to the door.

  “Will you try not to get into any more trouble tonight?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I can fit myself in the freezer here.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, I’m planning on going to bed. In my own house. So if there’s any trouble, don’t blame me. It’s other people I can’t be responsible for.”

  “Make sure you lock all the locks, and be careful. Please,” he added, as if remembering her independent streak.

  “I can take of myself.” She closed the door behind him, turned on the light in the backyard, and fed the dog, listening for any suspicious sounds.

  So far, any sounds were what Nowa was making. Mari ruffled her fur, and Nowa jumped and licked her face. Mari threw the stick for Nowa to fetch and made an honest attempt to run after the dog, but her tired muscles screamed in protest.

  So she crawled back inside the house and let Nowa in. “Nowa, hier!”

  It had taken Mari almost as much time as her dog to learn German commands, as German skills of both of them were rather rusty. Nowa ran inside.

  “Bleib,” Mari said.

  The dog stayed, as instructed.

  With everything that had happened that day, Mari wanted to have her dog behind locked doors rather than in the backyard. She unlocked the safe, snatched her trusted .32, and placed it under her pillow. Then she took a quick shower and dropped into bed. Rest. Finally!

  Nowa made herself comfortable on the carpet nearby.

  You deserve to die.

  The message still invaded her thoughts, but she pushed it away.

  “Good night, Nowa.”

  Mari closed her eyes. The handsome face of Luke Goodman appeared uninvited, and her stomach did a little somersault. Why? He wasn’t even her type. She always liked bad boys, rough around the edges, and he was way too nice and polished. And why was he looking for the Smiling Killer? Goodman had admitted he wasn’t a cop.

  What was he hiding from her?

  Though, if he’d wanted to hurt her, why would he save her from the freezer?

  After some tossing and turning, Mari reached for her cell phone and searched the Internet for Dr. Luke Goodman. Okay, so he was a surgeon from a prominent family of doctors residing in Dallas.

  Was there a Mrs. Luke Goodman? There hadn’t been a wedding ring on his finger, but that didn’t tell anything these days. She skimmed through the bio on his website. The universities he’d attended. Innovations he’d invented in the world of orthopedic surgeries. Community contributions he’d made.

  Her head hurt. Could it get any worse? He wasn’t just a talented surgeon, he was kind-hearted to boot. Such perfection to all her imperfections almost made her nauseated.

  Anyway, when the good doctor realized he’d been chasing shadows, he’d be on his merry way. Yawning, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

  Nowa’s growl woke up Mari. She let her eyes adjust
to the darkness while she slid her hand underneath the pillow and wrapped her fingers around the cold, smooth surface of her gun.

  If the intruder was inside the house, Nowa would be barking at least or taking the person down and looking for his jugular vein at the most. Mari peered into the darkness, trying to notice any movement. There was none. She released a breath. It looked like she and Nowa were alone in the room. But why was her dog growling?

  Mari grabbed her cell phone with her left hand, tiptoed in the direction Nowa was looking, and plastered herself against the wall. Carefully she glanced out the window. A shadow moved toward her backyard and jumped over the fence. She sucked in a harsh breath and hit speed dial for Aidan’s number.

  “Mari, what happened?” he asked after several beeps.

  “Somebody is trying to break into my house.” She grimaced, hating to put him in danger.

  “Lock yourself and Nowa in the bathroom and keep your phone on. Oh, who am I kidding? You won’t do it. I’ll be right there.”

  Her heart thudded in her chest as she disconnected and slid the phone into her pocket. Would Aidan arrive in time to stop the intruder? She clicked off the safety on her gun and moved along the hall to the back door, Nowa in tow. The dog’s growl grew louder, her ears stood at high alert, and she let out several furious barks. Nowa seemed to be ready for the attack. While holding the weapon in her right hand, Mari placed her left hand on Nowa’s neck and stopped opposite the door.

  “Nowa, sitz.” Nowa’s muscles tensed under her touch, but the dog did sit down as commanded.

  Adrenaline surging through her veins, Mari pointed the gun at the door and planted her feet firmly apart. She waited for the sound of the lock being tampered with.

  The door flung open. What?

  “Stop where you are. Or I’ll shoot.” She took aim.

  Right at the heart of Dr. Luke Goodman.

  Chapter Four

  Mari stepped forward.

  Slowly Luke placed his gun near the threshold, straightened out, and lifted his hands. “I stopped. I’d rather you didn’t shoot.”

  It wasn’t Mari who did. Nowa shot out like a cannonball and jumped at him. The German shepherd was fifty-seven pounds of mostly muscles. Still, Goodman remained standing. Impressive. Nowa’s sharp teeth were clasping right near his throat.

  “Nowa, platz! I don’t need a corpse on my hands. Besides, raw meat is bad for you.”

  “Well, thank you kindly.” Goodman chuckled. The audacity!

  With a low growl, Nowa moved back and sat. But the dog was obviously on guard. Her dark eyes watched his slightest move, spectacular muscles tense underneath her black and light-brown fur. The dog was giving a quick and loud bark from time to time, as if warning the stranger.

  He made a step forward.

  “I said stop. What are you doing here?” Mari asked.

  Nowa crawled slightly forward. Maybe she didn’t know raw meat was bad for her.

  “I saw somebody crouching in your backyard and then trying to open your lock.”

  “And you happened to be nearby? The hotel is rather far from here. Dr. Goodman, how do I know you’re not the intruder?” Mari swallowed hard. She’d started trusting this guy. Hadn’t her father and her brother taught her better?

  “Please call me Luke. And I didn’t lie to you.” His gaze was open and his voice sincere.

  She had to force herself not to believe him.

  “He’s telling the truth.” Her friend Lydia’s voice came from behind Dr. Goodman, well, Luke. “It would be better to discuss it inside.”

  With her gun, Mari gestured for Luke to come in. He stepped inside, Lydia in tow, holding a rifle in rather unsteady hands. Lydia breathed hard, either from running or from all the excitement. Why Lydia chose to carry such a heavy weapon, given her petite frame, was beyond Mari. The scent of jasmine moved inside with Lydia.

  “It’s a miracle you didn’t shoot each other,” Mari grumbled.

  She gave a quick glance to the lock, closed the door, and locked it. Nowa forgot about her guard duty, took off, and started licking Lydia’s face.

  “Nowa, hier!” Mari didn’t want her dog to knock Lydia down. She also didn’t want Lydia to drop the rifle. It could fire in any possible direction, including hers or Nowa’s. Or the good doctor’s, and for some reason, Mari preferred to see him alive.

  “Lydia, I’d like you to meet Dr. Luke Goodman. Dr. Goodman, please meet my friend Lydia.” She turned to him. “Sit.” She gestured toward the faded sofa in the living room.

  His brows furrowed. “Miss Del Lobo, I’m not your dog.”

  “True. She has lots of fine qualities. Apparently, I’m yet to learn about yours. Okay, okay, please sit down.” She followed him to the living room, with Lydia on her heels. “And call me Mari.” After she’d almost added more ventilation to his chest by putting bullet holes in it, they could be on a first-name basis.

  Mari placed herself so she could see Luke, Lydia, and the back door. “Nowa, bleib!”

  The dog stayed, stretching right in front of her on the carpet, and remained still. The latter probably wasn’t easy for an energetic creature like her. Nowa appeared to also have positioned herself so that she could see Luke and the back door.

  “Great, Nowa.” Mari gave her dog an approving smile and turned to Lydia. “What happened?”

  Her friend paused. “Well, I had a nightmare. About Leda. As usual, I woke up from my own scream. I figured I might as well go to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I looked through the window and saw a man at your back steps.”

  “Lydia is my neighbor,” Mari explained to Luke and turned back to her friend. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “No offense, but you have a tendency to downplay your problems.”

  Mari wasn’t offended. Instead, warmness filled her heart. When you’d grown up in a family that didn’t give a fish tail about you, it was always nice and surprising to find some people cared.

  “Then, um, Dr. Goodman walked toward the backyard. I figure he spooked the guy off.” Lydia touched the rifle she’d placed near herself.

  “But I don’t understand… It looks like Nowa only started to bark when Luke came to the door. How come Nowa didn’t bark at the intruder?” Mari’s veins filled with ice when the realization sank in. “Because she knew the intruder.”

  “And he probably knew you didn’t have a security system.” Luke put his two cents in.

  Mari squared her shoulders. “I’ll get one tomorrow. Or this week.”

  “After the fact.”

  “None of your business. By the way, can I see some ID?” Mari asked. Lydia had confirmed the doctor’s story, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

  He reached into his wallet and gave her his driver’s license. “Would this suffice, or will you need my passport and birth certificate?”

  “Do you have them with you? Okay, fine. This doesn’t look fake.” She handed him his ID back.

  “You sound surprised.”

  She shrugged. “Not much.”

  Obviously, he didn’t need to know about her Internet search. But even if he was a respectable doctor, it didn’t prove anything. Tony had been a business manager for his father’s company. He’d also had a horrifying habit of killing young women in his spare time.

  She crossed her arms on her chest. “You still didn’t explain what you were doing here in the first place, Dr. Goodman.”

  His lips kicked up. “I told you to call me Luke.”

  “Fine, Luke.” She liked how the name tasted on her lips. But if he thought he could charm her with a smile, he had another thought coming. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach. “If you don’t want to answer, I’ll do it myself. You were spying on me. Why?”

  Lydia drew her rifle to her. “That’s a good question.”

  “Okay, I’ll explain it. But you’re not going to like it.”

  The siren wailed in the distance.

  Mari got up. “The police are arriving. So your
answer will have to be a short one.”

  “I wasn’t spying on you. I suspected that Antonio might show up at your place tonight.”

  Lydia’s jaw dropped. “Anything I don’t know?”

  “Luke has reasons to believe Tony escaped from the fire. I don’t think so, but I still want you to be careful from now on. No walking by yourself at night, armed or not. Please.”

  Mari walked toward the door to open it for the police, but a polite cough behind her made her pause.

  “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get my gun,” Luke said.

  “I mind,” she answered, just to see what he’d do.

  “I’m going to get it anyway.”

  “Police! Open the door!” Aidan’s voice bellowed behind the door.

  She opened it. Lydia and Luke stepped beside her.

  Aidan and Derek walked inside.

  “Where’s the intruder?” Aidan asked.

  “Gone. I’m okay now.”

  Relief flashed in his eyes, and for a moment, he hesitated, as if he wanted to give her a hug. Probably if Lydia and Luke had not been there, he would have.

  Derek didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her in a quick hug, which was probably a bit unprofessional for him. Still, it made her smile into his shoulder before she stepped back.

  The good doctor was eyeing Aidan suspiciously, and Aidan returned the glare.

  She hurried to introduce them. “Dr. Goodman, this is my good friend Aidan. Aidan, this is Dr. Luke Goodman from Dallas. He’s in town for the festival, among other things.”

  Straightening his back, Aidan added a half inch to his six-foot frame. He sized up Luke. “He’s the one who got you out of the freezer?”

  Mari nodded. “Yes. According to Lydia, he spooked off the intruder tonight, too. And did CPR on my hostess. Possibly saved her life. The good doctor is pretty busy on his vacation.”

  His broad shoulders a bit relaxed now, Aidan extended his hand. “You seem to be full of wonders, Doctor.” Unlike Derek, Aidan was always clean-shaven, even in the middle of the night.