Watch Your Back

by Rose, Karen

  ‘No, but you can borrow it anyway.’ Emma took the scarf off Stevie’s neck and shook her head. ‘How could you not know Clay did that to you?’

  ‘I was busy.’ Orgasming. ‘Just . . . fix it, okay? And stop grinning at me.’

  ‘Sorry. I’m glad you had fun.’ But when Stevie didn’t reply, Emma stopped rummaging through her bag and turned with a frown. ‘You didn’t have fun. Did he . . . Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m fine. He just . . .’ Stevie sighed. ‘He’s got issues. Can you let me leave it at that?’

  ‘For now,’ Emma said softly. ‘As long as you don’t shut me out forever.’

  ‘I don’t shut people out.’

  Emma laughed bitterly. ‘Oh right. And I’m a basketball star.’ She tossed a sweater on the bed. ‘Take off your shirt.’

  Stevie scowled. ‘I can dress myself, Mom.’

  ‘You’re bleeding, Stevie. Let me fix you. I don’t want you bleeding all over my sweater,’ she added lightly, but Stevie heard the underlying concern.

  Silently, Stevie pulled the shirt over her head, not letting herself think about doing so in front of Clay. She was so not thinking about it. Hell. Now that’s all she could think about.

  Emma made a distressed noise. ‘You pulled out two stitches. Are you sure you’re okay?’

  ‘Emma,’ she murmured wearily. ‘Please.’

  Emma muttered something about Stevie not having the sense to come in out of the rain. ‘Stay here. I have to get the peroxide.’ She was back in less than a minute and proceeded to change Stevie’s bandage with capable hands, all humor gone.

  ‘You’re sure you’re not a medical doctor?’ Stevie asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  ‘I’ve got two boys that love to wrestle. I know all about bandages.’ She grabbed the Kevlar vest that Hyatt had given Stevie the night before and guided Stevie’s injured arm into one sleeve, waiting while Stevie shoved her good arm in the other, then fastening the vest’s Velcro ties.

  ‘What if I bleed on your sweater?’

  ‘Goddamn you, Stevie,’ Emma said, her teeth clenched. ‘You’re an idiot.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You’re going out there where people are trying to kill you while you’re not thinking clearly. You’re upset by Clay, which has left you off-balance. You’ve already accepted that you’ll bleed again. Damn you. You are not bullet-proof and I don’t want to bury you.’

  Emma was crying and Stevie blew out a breath, stared at the cashmere sweater in her hands, then frowned, her focus shifting. ‘You didn’t have that suitcase last night.’

  Emma blinked at her through her tears, her expression incredulous. ‘You ignored everything I just said.’

  Yes, she had. Because something wasn’t right. ‘Where did the suitcase come from, Emma?’

  Emma shook her head. ‘If you’re so desperate not to face your own mortality, fine. We’ll talk about stupid suitcases. Joseph’s agents brought it this morning when they changed shifts. Paige sent it with them. She stayed in my hotel room last night and repacked my things.’

  Stevie’s brain started to click. ‘Hold on. Paige was in your room last night before you met me on the road. She discovered the mess in your hotel room, not you. Where were you?’

  Emma’s eyes snapped with fury. ‘Clay and I went straight from your house to the gun range. Clay wanted me to prove I could handle a firearm so that I could guard your child. Which I did prove, thank you very much. Paige dropped us off there, then dropped Alec at their office, then went to my hotel to pack my things. She found my room had been broken into.’

  ‘When? When did you do all of this?’

  ‘While JD was driving you around, ensuring you lost any tails and giving all of your friends time to get together in one place.’

  Stevie heard the rage in Emma’s voice and ignored it. ‘You planned to come with me all along, even though I told you to go the hell home. And Clay knew. He manipulated me. Again.’

  ‘Uh-huh, he did.’ Emma’s chin came up, her eyes narrowed. ‘He’s also responsible for the adoration of Justin Bieber. He’s a freaking mind control expert.’

  Stevie clenched her cane, pushed herself to her feet. ‘I’m serious.’

  ‘You’re also wrong.’ Emma got in her face until they were nose to nose. ‘Nobody manipulates you into doing anything. You do exactly what you want to do. Did we obey your orders? No. Did we try to support you? Help you? Guilty as charged, so beat me senseless. But we did not manipulate you. Anything you’ve done for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted to do, and if anyone tries to help you, you push them away.’

  Stevie was trembling again, which made her even angrier. She pulled the cashmere sweater over the Kevlar vest, adjusting the collar so that it covered the hickey. ‘I’m sorry I upset you,’ she said rigidly. ‘I’ll be back later this evening and we can discuss it then.’

  Not waiting for a reply, she shouldered her backpack and made it down the stairs where she found the Escalade’s keys on the kitchen counter where Clay had left them the night before.

  ‘Cordelia?’ she called. ‘Where are you?’

  Cordelia ran in from the laundry room, her smile big. ‘Right here, Mom. Playing with the puppies.’ Her smile abruptly disappeared. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To meet with Uncle JD. It’s not dangerous and I’ll be back before you know it.’ She pulled Cordelia close. ‘I have to make things safe for us again. So we can go home.’

  Cordelia launched herself at Stevie, holding on hard. ‘Mama, I don’t want to go home.’

  Stevie closed her eyes. She didn’t have time for this. But how could she not have time for this? ‘I know you like it here, and I know you like Mr Maynard, but we can’t stay here forever.’

  ‘I know. But I don’t want to go home. Can we get a new home?’

  ‘A different house?’ Stevie asked, surprised.

  ‘Yes. Can we?’

  I hate that kitchen. In her mind Stevie could hear Cordelia’s whispered confession to Clay the night before and his murmured response. I’d hate that kitchen, too, if I were you.

  Stevie felt the panic grip her chest. She and Paul had chosen that house together, scrimping and saving for the down payment. They’d worked hard to renovate, repair. He was all over that house. She couldn’t lose it. It would be like losing him, all over again.

  But her baby was shaking. ‘Yes, we can. We can get a different house.’

  Cordelia drew back, stunned disbelief in her eyes. She’d thought I’d say no. That I’d choose the house over her. ‘Really?’

  ‘Really. You are more important than any old house. It has a lot of memories, good and bad. We’ll find a new house and make new memories. You and me. When I get back from the city, we’ll go online and look at houses, okay?’

  Cordelia beamed. ‘Can Aunt Izzy come, too?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Cordelia’s brows lifted. ‘Can we get a dog?’

  Stevie laughed, stunned that she still could. ‘Now you’re pushin’ it. Give me a kiss.’

  Cordelia smacked a loud one on her cheek. ‘That should hold me for a while. Get Mr Tanner to lock the door behind me. Tell him I had to go into the city, but I’ll be back soon. I love you.’

  ‘Love you, too, Mama.’

  ‘Stevie.’ Tanner thundered down the stairs. ‘Wait. Do not leave this house.’

  Stevie glared at the ceiling. Emma, you damn tattletale. ‘Can’t wait,’ she called. ‘Gotta go.’

  Hurrying into the garage, Stevie climbed into the Escalade, adjusted the seat, fully aware she’d been holding her breath. Get it over with. When she inhaled, she smelled Clay, like she’d known she would. The scent of his aftershave had lingered.

  I can smell you. She clenched her thighs when the war
mth between them began to throb. She could see his face, intent in its passion, then . . . Nothing. His expression had gone blank. Like he’d been zapped with the freeze-frame button on a remote. Why are you here?

  Why had she been? Had she been manipulated? Or had she been in complete control of her actions the entire time? ‘I don’t push people away,’ she said to the quiet interior of the SUV.

  But she sounded unconvinced, even to herself. With a tired sigh, she pushed the button to activate the garage door. Time to go to work. So why did it seem like she was running away?

  When the door had fully opened, she started the engine and began to pull out of the garage. Only to have the door come back down. Bracing for an argument with Clay’s father, she turned in her seat . . . and froze.

  Not the father, but the son. Clay opened the passenger door, got in and slammed the door hard enough to shake the SUV. His expression was furious, his face as hard as stone. He hit the garage door control button and stared straight ahead as the door went up again.

  ‘Drive, Detective. As fast as you can.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Baltimore, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 12.30 P.M.

  Sam Hudson stared at his cell phone as it vibrated its way across the dining room table in his apartment. After dropping the gun off at Ballistics, he’d gone to check on his mother. Then he’d come home, knowing if he stayed at his mother’s house long enough, she’d sense his disquiet and nag him until he told her what was bothering him.

  He couldn’t say the words out loud to anyone, least of all to his mother. I may have killed your worthless junkie husband, Mom.

  No, he couldn’t be around his mother today.

  Instead he’d sat in his apartment watching the phone that now buzzed with an incoming call. From within the police department. Probably from Ballistics.

  Paralyzed, Sam watched his phone skitter across the table until the call went to voicemail. He picked the phone up, connected with his voicemail and listened, holding his breath.

  ‘Sam, it’s Dina. I got a hit on that gun. Call me or stop by. I’m here ’til four.’

  Damn. Until now, he’d been able to compartmentalize the gun as being simply ‘recently fired’. Now, it was ‘used in the commission of a crime’.

  Be a man, Sam. Get off your ass and go to Dina’s office. Find out who or from what they’d pulled the bullet that matched . . . that gun. And if the crime committed was a homicide?

  I’ll deal with that when I come to it.

  Wight’s Landing, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 12.40 P.M.

  Drive, Detective. As fast as you can.

  Stevie considered making Clay explain, but a glance at his profile made her nix the idea. He was tense, little white lines bracketing his mouth, and somehow she knew this wasn’t about them.

  She pulled around the FBI agents’ vehicle and headed for the main road. ‘I’ll drive as fast as I can, but I can’t legally use the flashers, Clay. I’m on disability. I don’t even have my badge. If we get stopped, we’ll be screwed.’

  ‘We’ll have a police escort. Just get to the highway.’

  What the . . . ? ‘Okay. Figure out which of these switches works the dash flashers. Then check the glove box and see if Joseph has a portable.’

  Ten seconds later, he’d activated the emergency flashing lights built into Joseph’s dash. A minute later, he’d smacked a portable flashing blue light on the roof.

  The side roads were deserted, so Stevie increased their speed, way over the legal limit. ‘Who’s our escort and where will they meet us?’

  ‘Lou Moore. She’s on her way toward Queen Anne Highway. She’ll lead us from there.’

  Of course it would be Sheriff Moore. Let it go, Mazzetti. Just let it go. ‘Lead us where?’

  ‘Across the Bay Bridge, back to Baltimore. Once we get over the bridge, we’ll get another escort. I don’t know who yet,’ he added brusquely, before she could ask.

  ‘Okay. Tell me what’s happened.’

  ‘Somebody broke into my place.’

  She flicked him a surprised glance. ‘Home or your office?’

  ‘My house. I have a silent alarm that goes to my cell. If I don’t respond, it alerts my backup. That’s Paige. She’s called the cops and is on her way to my place right now.’

  ‘First Emma’s hotel room, now your house. They’re looking for me.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  I’m sorry, she wanted to say, but didn’t. He’d find some way of bending an apology to his advantage. ‘Given the James Bond setup here, I’m surprised anyone got into your house.’

  ‘Me, too.’

  Okay. It appeared she’d have to work for any information. ‘How was the alarm tripped?’

  ‘One or more of three ways.’

  She blew out a frustrated breath. ‘Which are what?’

  ‘A cell phone signal that isn’t mine, body heat, or a simple breaking of the contacts on the door or windows.’

  ‘Do you have one of those fancy security doors?’

  ‘I do.’

  She started to snap at him, but knew that wouldn’t help. ‘If it was their cell phone, can your system access its drive? Get a name, provider, contacts? Anything that might help us ID him?’

  She felt him shift, turn to look at her. She kept her eyes on the road.

  ‘Maybe,’ he said, finally. He sound grudgingly impressed.

  ‘Do they have to make a call to trigger the alarm, or is it just the signal itself?’

  ‘Just the signal.’ He turned back to the window, silent again.

  Stevie drove like a demon for another ten minutes, but had to slow when they approached the city limits of Wight’s Landing. Traffic parted when drivers saw the Escalade’s flashers, but being a beautiful Sunday afternoon, it seemed all the town’s residents had gathered on Main Street. Finally they cleared the town and saw the sheriff’s car waiting.

  Sheriff Moore took the lead and they were off again.

  He made a quick move, answering his cell phone. ‘Paige,’ he said. ‘I’m in the car with Stevie. I’m going to put you on speaker.’

  ‘I’m at your place,’ Paige said, slamming a car door. ‘Peabody, with me. And no comments about me taking my drooling dog into your house.’

  ‘I wasn’t going to,’ Clay said evenly. ‘If somebody’s broken in, I want you to have all the protection you can get.’

  ‘Now I’m at your front door and . . . I don’t hear a thing. No cops, no nothing.’

  ‘I thought you called the cops a half-hour ago.’

  ‘I did,’ Paige said. ‘There’s a cruiser parked on the curb.’ A beat of silence, a jangle of keys, then a tight exhale. ‘Oh, no,’ she whispered.

  Oh God, Stevie thought. Now what?

  ‘What is it, Paige?’ Clay demanded when his partner said no more.

  Paige cleared her throat. ‘The officers appear to be dead. Two of them.’

  Clay paled. ‘Get out of the house, Paige,’ he said, teeth clenched.

  ‘I never went in. I’m headed back to my truck. I’ll lock myself in and I have a gun. I have to call 911 now. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.’

  Paige disconnected, leaving Stevie and Clay in utter, stunned silence.

  Then Stevie leaned on the accelerator. ‘Call Sheriff Moore. Tell her we need to go faster.’

  Baltimore, Maryland, Sunday, March 16, 1.18 P.M.

  Paige was waiting in front of Clay’s house. ‘Both cops are confirmed dead. CSU’s in there now, along with Joseph, Hyatt, and the ME. A few of Joseph’s people are around back.’

  ‘How did they die?’ Clay asked, after making sure that Stevie was on the front porch where she was sheltered on three sides by the house. His body blocked her from the street so that she was completely p
rotected. That this had been a ruse to lure him home – with Stevie in tow – had occurred to him right away.

  ‘I saw slit throats,’ Paige said. ‘I don’t know anything else. Hyatt took my statement and said I was free to leave.’ She regarded Clay with a concerned eye. ‘Are you okay?’

  His partner knew him too well. ‘I’m fine. Just tired. I didn’t sleep much last night.’

  ‘Well, you’re not gonna sleep here tonight. I imagine they’ll have this place tied up as a crime scene for several days. Are you going back tonight to wherever you were last night?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes. I’ll keep the Mazzettis safe until this is over.’

  ‘Well, if you need a place to stay later on, our house is always open. You know that.’ Paige looked at Stevie. ‘You, too. Grayson and I are worried about you guys.’

  ‘We’re okay,’ Stevie said quietly. ‘But thanks.’

  She wasn’t okay, Clay was certain of that. When he’d climbed into the Escalade back at his dad’s house, she’d been furious, but instantly became a professional when she realized what was needed. More of a professional than Clay had been. He’d been sullen, uncommunicative.

  Because it hurt. Being in the same vehicle with her for those forty minutes had sent acid churning through his gut and started a dull throbbing behind his eyes. But he had bigger problems than his gut, his head, or even his heart.

  Two men were dead. Added to the three women from yesterday . . .

  ‘You shouldn’t go into the office until we know it’s safe,’ he said. ‘If they broke in here, they may have tried to break into the office, too.’

  Paige shook her head. ‘They haven’t yet. I asked Hyatt to send a cruiser to check the office. It hasn’t been touched. I imagine the uniforms will stay there for a while, in case whoever did this does try to break in. With Alyssa out of town and Alec up at Daphne’s place, none of us need to go into the office right now. I texted them both, though, and told them to stay away. Just covering the bases.’