Beautiful Storm (Lightning Strikes Book 1)

by Barbara Freethy

  "This is a beautiful bar with beautiful people," Alicia murmured. "Not really my scene."

  He raised an eyebrow at her words. "You don't like beautiful?"

  "Not when it feels fake. I prefer raw, natural beauty, the kind that's unexpected."

  "Like the kind you find in lightning."

  She smiled back at him. "Exactly. There's nothing more incredible than nature showing what it can do."

  "A lot of what nature does is destructive."

  "I know."

  "Do you?" he challenged. "Because it seems to me like you have a rather idealized view of storms. The aftermath of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding can be devastating. Or maybe you don't stick around long enough to see what the lightning brings with it."

  She frowned and set her glass down on the table. "I stick around. I've volunteered many times to help people displaced by storms. I don't just take my pictures and vanish into the wind. I wouldn't do that. I couldn't do that. And you should know that better than anyone."

  "I do. Sorry. I definitely know that you don't disappear when someone is in trouble. I don't know why I said that."

  "Because you think my obsession with storms is a little weird, and that's okay, because it is. But it's part of me, and I'm not interested in pretending that it's not. I already tried that, and it didn't work."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I lost a pretty serious boyfriend because he didn't like the way I dropped everything when the weather changed. I hid my passion at first. I didn't rush off when the weather changed. I tried not to care. I stopped taking as many photographs. I just went to work and tried to be a good girlfriend. But I wasn't happy. I wasn't me. There's something about the lightning that speaks to me. It calls me to come. It wants to show me something. I really believe that."

  He was beginning to believe it, too. "So you broke up with your boyfriend so you could chase storms?"

  "No, he broke up with me. I left him in the middle of a party, and he didn't like it."

  "Well, you can see why he wouldn't."

  "It was a hurricane, Michael. It wasn't just any storm—it was the storm of a decade."

  "I didn't think lightning came with hurricanes."

  "Not usually, but sometimes it does. And besides that, my boyfriend had left me plenty of times when he needed to work. He just didn't view my lightning photography as work. He thought it was a stupid hobby. But you know I actually make more money selling my photographs at the gallery than I do working at the newspaper."

  "That's impressive. And the boyfriend doesn't sound like he was the right man for you."

  "He wasn't. Not that I know who the right man is," she said with a little sigh. "It's so difficult to find someone you really connect with, where it's instantly easy. You're not trying to talk yourself into anything. It's just good."

  He nodded, her words resonating within him. He hadn't felt that kind of connection in a very long time…until now.

  The unexpected realization unsettled him. He chugged down the rest of his beer.

  "So what about you, Michael? I know you've had some bad dates, but what about serious relationships? When was the last time you had a girlfriend?"

  He had to think about that. "Three years ago."

  "What happened?"

  "The usual stuff."

  "As in…"

  "She thought I cared about my work more than her. And she wasn't wrong. I've spent the last several years committed to getting ahead in my grandfather's company. I was usually thinking about my job instead of her."

  "Or maybe she just wasn't the woman to make you think about her instead of work," Alicia suggested.

  He met her gaze, thinking that he hadn't thought about work at all since he'd met Alicia. "You're right."

  "Did you always want to be a builder?"

  "No. When I was a lot younger, I wanted to be a baseball player. I was a great Little League shortstop."

  "That's a hard position."

  "I liked the challenge. But baseball wasn't really an option at prep school. And summers after that were spent working at one of my grandfather's job sites. I ended up getting a master's degree in construction management and then worked my way up through his company. It's good. I like building things out of nothing. Every project has different challenges, and my grandfather's company has sent me all over the world."

  "That sounds great, but it's still just a job, and you know what they say—a job won't keep you warm at night."

  "I could probably say that about lightning, too," he said dryly.

  A smile entered her dark eyes and spread across her face. "Actually, lightning can be kind of a turn-on for me."

  His body stiffened at that piece of information. "Really?"

  She laughed and nodded. "All that magnificent power gets your heart pumping."

  She got his heart pumping. Not just with her words but also the look in her eyes. He had a feeling when Alicia let go, she would be pretty magnificent, too.

  "You're staring at me," she said, her cheeks warming under his gaze.

  "You're beautiful, Alicia."

  "Today?" she said, doubt in her eyes. "I can look good, but that usually involves makeup and hair products."

  He laughed at her candor. "You don't need anything, Alicia. Not when you have raw, natural beauty, not like the other women in this bar."

  She grinned back at him. "You're in a better mood. What was in that beer?"

  "I can't give the beer any credit; that goes to you."

  "What have I done?"

  "You believed me."

  Their gazes clung together for a long moment, and he couldn't stop himself from putting his hand over hers. A jolt of heat moved between them. It wasn't lightning, but it felt a little like it. His fingers curled around hers and he very much wanted to lean across the small table and see if her lips tasted as sweet as they looked.

  But Alicia suddenly started. "Brad's here."

  He'd almost forgotten why they were in the bar. He let go of her hand and got to his feet as Brad approached the table.

  Brad looked nervous with beads of sweat dotting his brow.

  "Thanks for coming," Michael said.

  "You didn't give me much choice. I figured if I didn't meet you, you'd come back to the dealership, and I couldn't have that."

  "Probably right." He took his seat while Brad sat down across from them. "So, we might as well get straight to it. What do you know about Liliana's disappearance?"

  "All I know is what I heard on the news and around town."

  "Then why wouldn't you talk to us before? Why set up this meeting if you have nothing to say?" he challenged.

  "I didn't want to talk about Liliana in front of my wife. She gets jealous. I'd told her that I cut off all contact with Liliana years ago."

  "But you hadn't?"

  "Not exactly. I mean, nothing was going on with us," he amended quickly. "But we kept in touch over the years. I think you know I was in love with Liliana. We almost got married. And even though that didn't happen, I've always cared about her."

  "She told me back in high school that you'd asked her to marry you," Michael said.

  "I had to propose. I was terrified of losing her. I knew she was going to enlist. She wanted to go to college, and there wasn't any money in the family to pay for it. I thought if we got married, she would put that idea out of her head. We'd take care of each other, and we'd both find our way to a better life. But she turned me down." Brad took a quick breath, painful emotion running through his eyes. "I really loved her. I would have tried to make her happy, if she'd given me a chance."

  "You said you kept in touch. How often did you talk to her?" Alicia asked.

  "We didn't speak for about six years after we broke up. Then I ran into her one day and we started talking. After that, we'd email or text, occasionally meet for coffee. I liked having her back in my life, but my girlfriend at the time, who later became my wife, found out I was talking to Liliana and asked me to stop.
I told her I would, but I didn't, because honestly there was nothing more going on than friendship."

  "Why didn't you tell your wife that?" Alicia interjected. "Why lie about it?"

  "I did tell her we were just friends, but she didn't believe me. She'd read a couple of my texts and thought that I sounded too admiring of Liliana. She accused me of still being in love with her. And maybe I was—a little—but I wasn't doing anything about it. I was faithful."

  "When did you last speak to Liliana?" Michael asked.

  "The day she arrived in Miami for her sister's wedding. She came by the shop, and we spoke for a few minutes."

  "I assume your wife wasn't there."

  "No, it was after we closed. She'd gone home for the day."

  "What did you talk about?"

  "The wedding, Liliana's job—we were just catching up."

  "Did the police speak to you about your chat?" Michael asked.

  "No."

  "They never came by or called you?"

  Brad shook his head. "I guess they didn't know we met."

  "Why didn't you tell them after she disappeared?"

  "Because I didn't have any information. Liliana and I met on Tuesday afternoon for about a half hour. She disappeared Friday night, and I didn't know anything about that."

  Michael didn't like Brad's answer. He knew why Brad hadn't said anything; he wanted to protect himself. He wanted to keep his friendship secret.

  Why the police hadn't figured out that Brad and Liliana had met was another question. He'd thought they'd constructed a timeline from when Liliana got off the plane, but they'd obviously missed that stop. What else had they missed?

  "Look, I'm sorry about Liliana. I've been shaken up since it happened, but I don’t know anything that can help."

  "Do you know why she wanted to talk to me?" Michael asked. "Did she tell you that she was going to try to set up a meeting with me?"

  Brad hesitated. "I've thought about that question a lot, especially when I heard you were a person of interest. I was surprised the police considered you a suspect. You and Liliana were good friends when you were kids. Then again, things change, people change. I hadn't seen you in years."

  "I didn't hurt Liliana," he said sharply. "Can you say the same?"

  "Of course," Brad said quickly. "You think I had something to do with it?"

  "It crossed my mind. You were still in love with someone who didn't love you. Maybe that bothered you more than anyone knew."

  Brad's face paled. "I would never hurt Liliana. I cared about her, yes. But I'm in love with my wife."

  "Are you? She seems like your second choice."

  "I knew I shouldn't have come here. You want to get yourself off the hot seat by pinning this on me."

  "I'm just asking questions."

  "You're accusing me of doing something unspeakable."

  "He's not doing that," Alicia interrupted. "You both need to calm down and work together. This is about finding Liliana, remember?"

  Michael nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Sorry for the accusation, Brad. Getting back to my question, did Liliana tell you that she wanted to see me while she was in town?"

  "Yes. She said she was excited you'd come back to Miami and that she hoped you would make peace with your family."

  "Was that it?"

  "I remember her saying she wanted to talk to you about something, that maybe your grandfather could help."

  "My grandfather?" he echoed, surprised at that piece of news. "What could my grandfather know?"

  Brad gave a shrug. "No idea. I thought it might have something to do with her job. She said she was working on a case that had a lot of twists and turns. She was pretty excited about it. She said she felt like a detective more than a lawyer, and you know she always liked a good mystery."

  "What was the case?"

  "She didn't get specific, and I didn’t ask. I didn't want to waste the time we had talking about her job."

  "Do you know what she was working on, Michael?" Alicia asked, turning to him. "Do the police?"

  "They went to Texas. They interviewed her employer, her coworkers, a few of her neighbors. As far as I know, they didn't feel there was any link between her life there and what happened here. But I am now curious to find out what she was working on, especially if it was something she wanted to talk to me or my grandfather about."

  "Did she have a relationship with your grandfather?" Alicia asked.

  "No. She never met him, but I talked about him a lot."

  "What's going on?" Brad interrupted. "I thought Liliana's disappearance was random. Are you saying you think someone deliberately kidnapped her?"

  Michael looked into Brad's eyes and saw what appeared to be genuine curiosity. Or was Brad just playing them to see what they knew?

  "No scenario is off the table," he replied. "What do you know about David Kenner?"

  "David?" Brad echoed in surprise. "We have some mutual friends. Why?"

  "Isabel said that David and Liliana didn't get along, that David was very critical of the Navy," he said. "Did you know that?"

  "Yes. David has a lot of resentment toward the Navy. He talked about his father's case all the time. I haven't seen him in over a year so I don't know what his relationship was with Liliana. Obviously, he was going to marry her sister, so I assume everything was all right." He paused. "Are we done?"

  "One second. I'm confused as to how Liliana met with you without anyone knowing about it. She must have contacted you in some way, but the police have her cell phone records, and they've followed up with everyone who had texted or met with Liliana that week."

  "She called me before she left Texas. Maybe it was on her home phone or office phone. I have no idea. She told me she'd come by on her way home from the airport. That was it." Brad slid out of his chair. "I have to go. I'd appreciate it if you didn't come by the shop again. I don't need problems with my wife, and I really don't know anything else. I hope Liliana is found soon and that she's well," he said, taking a deep breath at the end of his sentence. "She's a special woman. I can't imagine this world without her in it."

  "He's still in love with her," Alicia said, as Brad left the restaurant.

  "But she wasn't in love with him. I can't help but wonder if the realization of that didn't send him over the edge."

  "Now? After all these years?" she asked skeptically. "Seems like a reach."

  "He hadn't seen her in a long time. Maybe he had hopes when she agreed to meet him the Tuesday before the wedding that he could get her back."

  Alicia's steady gaze clung to his. "It's a possibility. Should we tell the police to talk to Brad? Although, like you, I'm a little surprised they weren't able to figure out she met with him. That doesn't sound like very good police work. What else did they miss?"

  "I have the same question." He paused. "But to be honest, I wouldn't have even thought of Brad if you hadn't asked me so many questions about Liliana and her past. You've definitely stirred things up, Alicia."

  "The dust is flying, but we still don't know where Liliana is."

  "We should call it a night. You're exhausted." The shadows under her eyes were getting darker. "Let's sleep on what we've learned and talk about it tomorrow. Maybe one of us will have another brainstorm. I'd rather not contact Kellerman until we have something solid to tell him." He picked up the billfold and slipped a twenty-dollar bill into it.

  "I can pay for my drink," she protested.

  "Don't worry about it."

  The drive back to Alicia's apartment was quiet. He was mulling over what Brad had told them, and he suspected Alicia was doing the same. He double-parked in front of her building and pulled out his phone. "Give me your number. I'll call you in the morning."

  They exchanged numbers and then she got out of the car. As she was about to shut the door, something inside him turned over. He was afraid to let her go, to break the connection between them. The feeling was so strong, he said, "Alicia, wait."

  "What?
"

  "You're not done with this, are you? You're not going to wake up tomorrow and decide you're through? I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to get back to your life, but I would be disappointed."

  She met his gaze and shook her head. "I'm not done, Michael."

  "Are you sure? This isn't your fight."

  "It became my fight the minute I saw Liliana in the lightning. And besides, we're partners. Call me in the morning. We'll figure out what to do next. I already have a thought, but it's probably crazy."

  "What is it?"

  "I'll tell you tomorrow. I need to sleep on the idea, see if it sounds better in the morning."

  He had a feeling he knew exactly what her idea was, and it did merit some serious thought. He watched her get safely inside and then headed for home.

  Ten

  Alicia got up Sunday morning with the same outlandish thought that had been running around her head the night before. She tried to tell herself that she was getting carried away. It was one thing to ask questions, to try to help, but was she seriously considering taking vacation time to continue searching for a woman she had never met?

  She was in the thick of a mystery, and she really wanted to solve it. Still, she needed to think about it, and today was a good day for that. She had no pressing obligations, just her usual weekend catch-up stuff.

  After starting some laundry, she tidied up her apartment, made some breakfast, and then went on her computer to answer emails.

  There was a note from her mom asking her how she was doing and saying she hoped that Alicia would consider coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The suggestion made her feel guilty. She'd missed the holidays last year because of work commitments and a series of big storms over the Southeast.

  She really should try to stay in better touch with her family, but the truth was she felt very disconnected from her mother and even her siblings. The break with her mom had come with her father's death, and the distance between herself and her siblings had grown when she moved to Florida.

  Her phone rang, startling her. She thought it might be Michael, but it was her assignment editor at the Miami Chronicle.

  "Hi, Ron, what's up?"

  "Are you free this evening? Jamie's kid is sick with the flu, and I need a photographer."