by Robin Perini
“I wonder if I’ll ever see my home again,” she said, finally breaking the silence.
“I don’t know.” He wouldn’t stop being honest. At least about some things. “If all the bad guys wanted was your research, they got that.”
“The whole thing is so bizarre. Nothing was disturbed in the rest of the house. If we hadn’t gone into the dining room, we wouldn’t even have known.”
“Since they took your research, you either found something or came close to exposing someone. Whoever did this thought you died in the explosion, or else emptied the house right after we left. If he’d succeeded in killing you, the cops wouldn’t have known there was a home invasion or that anything was missing.”
Emily sighed. “Very few people know about the room. If I died, there’d be no one to look for Joshua anymore.”
She shivered, her eyes huge in her pale face.
Mitch’s heart twisted as he thought of just how close she’d come to getting killed on his watch. Again. “I’ll always look, Emily. No matter what.”
She drew out the photo of an infant, gently touching the face. “Perry told me he would find Joshua. He had a lead, and he sounded very confident this time.” She glanced at Mitch. “What was your phone call about?”
“Nothing helpful. Tanner letting me know that Ghost is still at large. There have been alleged sightings downtown and one near Sister Kate’s, but nothing concrete.”
“What if we can’t find Ghost? All the evidence was back at my house.”
“Not everything. We didn’t take Perry’s box inside.” Mitch cocked his head. “Our luck could be changing.”
Emily sank into the soft leather seats. “Where are we going? Your place?”
“Not secure enough, especially if there’s a cop informant like Perry said. We’ll head to my brother Noah’s house. He loaned us the car. Might as well put us up, too. What he doesn’t know when he’s traveling to every corner of the world won’t hurt him.”
“What if they find us?” she said softly. “I don’t want to cause trouble for you or your family.”
Mitch exited toward Boulder. “Noah’s place is like Fort Knox. Gated community, high-tech alarm system, video surveillance around the perimeter. No one can get in. Not without us being aware.”
“Maybe I should find my own—”
“Do you have somewhere you can go that would be safe?” He said the words gently.
“Sister Kate,” she said, her voice hesitating.
“Not with Ghost on the loose. Besides, the threats on your life started after you began working with Sister Kate’s girls, right?”
Emily nodded.
“Enough said.” Mitch pulled up at a booth to a gated community, and the guard waved him past.
“He let you in without showing an ID,” she said.
“I watch Noah’s place when he’s gone. And play with some of his toys. He’s got a killer man cave. Don’t worry. No one else gets in.”
Mitch pulled onto a long drive past a series of oaks and flicked open the SUV’s console. He pressed a remote control and one of five garage doors rose. “I don’t want any sign someone’s home,” he said as the door closed behind them.
He escorted her into the house, past a large interior courtyard with an Olympic-size pool. At her dropped jaw, he laughed. “Yeah, Noah went a little overboard on the decoration. You should see the hot tub. Looks like it’s in the middle of Belize.”
He placed the box they’d taken from Perry’s house on a huge dining table, then started toward the kitchen. “You hungry?”
They could both use some food. And a distraction.
He turned, and Emily held the two photos and the teddy bear with its unique one blue eye and one brown eye tightly in her arms. She looked lost.
“You don’t think we’ll find Joshua, do you? Not really.” She took in a shuddering breath. “I need the truth.”
The vulnerability in her words shook him. He wanted to tell her yes, more than anything. Instead, he settled for the truth. “We have a chance.” He walked to her, then gently tucked some errant strands of hair behind her ear. “And we will explore every lead we find, no matter who wants us to stop. That, I promise you, Emily, is the truth.” He cupped her cheek and looked directly into her eyes, unblinking. “We can relax, have a good meal, do whatever we want. No one will bother us here.”
She nodded as he tugged her toward an overstuffed sofa that looked like it might swallow her up. She settled on the edge, awkward and tense. He rested his hand on her back and circled in slow, deliberate movements. Her back stiffened, muscles tightening, but she didn’t pull away.
“We’re safe here? Really?” she asked.
Mitch nodded. “Yes.”
“I could use a shower....” Her voice trailed off. “Except I don’t have clothes or a nightgown or a toothbrush. Or anything.” She looked at Mitch. “I feel like I’m drifting…rudderless,” she said finally.
Mitch couldn’t bear it. He reached for her hand and held it tight. “Look at what’s happened in the past two days. Most people would’ve broken, but you’ve been astonishing. Strong. Tough.”
She pulled away from him. “I don’t feel tough. I feel as if I could shatter into a million pieces. That’s not like me. I need to pull it together.”
Mitch leaned toward her and twisted the soft strands of her hair, taking in the dark circles beneath her cobalt eyes, the strain around her mouth, the tension in her neck. “You need food and sleep.”
He brushed his thumb against the soft skin of her temple, and she closed her eyes.
“Not yet,” she whispered. “Can you just…be with me…quietly for a minute? ’Til I relax.”
He shifted and lay down on the huge soft cushions with her tucked against him. “Like this?”
With a sigh, she sagged against him, her softness pressed close. “Yes.”
They lay there silently for several minutes. He relished just holding her. Any other time, he would’ve been desperate to kiss her, to have her beneath him, passionately holding him, but he simply studied her features and enjoyed the feel of her against him.
How long had it been since he’d cuddled next to a woman and said absolutely nothing? How comfortable. How strange.
And yet, intense desire throbbed just beneath the craving he now had for her. One touch, one kiss, one seductive glance and his instincts would take over.
He shifted his hips away from her so she wouldn’t feel the power of his desire. She didn’t need anything but to feel safe.
She opened her eyes and stared at him.
“I’ve thought a few times that you might kiss me,” she said softly.
“Have you wanted me to?”
“Sometimes,” she said. “But my emotions are all over the place. I’ve been alone so long, I’m not sure I remember how to handle any of this. Or to know if you’re even interested in me.”
He shifted his body, and her eyes widened as he let her feel his need. “Don’t ever doubt that I want you, Emily.”
Nervous, she raised her hand to his cheek. “You need a shave. That will tickle.”
“Let’s check.” Mitch nuzzled her neck, and she giggled. Within moments, her laughter gave way to sighs as he let his lips softly explore her jaw, her cheek, until his lips finally found hers. His body sang as she opened to him and he delved inside, exploring her sweet honey. It was as if he’d been waiting to taste her for his entire life.
She eased beneath him, and his hips settled into the cradle of her.
He raised his head and stared into her eyes. She wanted him, but something made him pull away.
He touched her hair and closed his eyes and the silky strands slid through his fingertips. With a gentle kiss he rose from the couch and held out his hand.
“The shower’s down the hall, second door on the right. Go.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, Emily, and I don’t want to, either, so take a hot shower. I’ll take a cold one.”
Her gaze dropped down his body, and he knew he couldn’t hide his reaction to her. Her cheeks blossomed, and she quickly headed for Noah’s hallway.
“Mitch?” she said, turning back to him. “I still don’t have anything to wear.”
“I’ll find some of my sister Sierra’s clothes and leave them beside the door. Towels are in the bathroom.” He nodded toward the guest room. “Go on. Afterward, help yourself to whatever is in the fridge. I’ll probably soak in the hot tub for a while.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Emily’s gaze slid southward again, triggering another response from Mitch, and she all but ran down the hall.
Cursing his suddenly chivalrous streak, Mitch turned away. He could’ve seduced her. Why hadn’t he? She could be beneath him right now, writhing under his caress. He knew how to please a woman, make her want him, make her glad she’d spent the night with him as her lover. And he’d pushed her away. Why?
Because she’s not ready.
And she’s not a woman to make love to for fun. She was a forever kind of woman.
Off-limits. Unless he wanted more.
He clutched at his leg and massaged the sore thigh muscle. He couldn’t want more. Not until he was whole again.
Not until he discovered who was after her. Not until he found her son.
Not until he could tell her the truth.
From the guest room, a shower turned on. Emily was in there, undressed, wet, waiting. And off-limits.
EMILY LET THE STEAMING water sluice over her, relaxing her neck, her back, her arms. Finally, she’d eliminated the smell of burning plastic from her nostrils. As she soaped her body, she remembered Mitch’s hands on her, his gentle touch, his tenderness.
He was a good man. She’d seen the flare of desire in his eyes, but he’d let her take the lead. Part of her wished he hadn’t. What if he’d simply stripped away her clothes and seduced her with all of the skill she knew he possessed.
She would have melted in his arms. She knew it.
And maybe regretted it. Something he’d been fully aware of. So, he’d hidden his passion with sensitivity, and doing so made her heart race for him all the more.
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her body in a towel. When she entered the guest room, several sets of jeans, turtlenecks and sweaters had miraculously appeared on the satin-covered bed, along with a nightshirt. The idea that Mitch had been that close to her while she’d been naked in the shower did funny things to her stomach. What would she have done if he’d opened the bathroom door and come in? Would she have been brave enough to open the curtain? Ask him to join her?
Oh, my, what was she thinking?
She laid the extra clothes on a chair and slipped into the nightshirt. The feeling of the cloth on her sensitized skin let her know she’d better get herself under control before she did something stupid. She should be exhausted, but her mind whirled with crazy thoughts. She couldn’t imagine even trying to sleep. She didn’t want to be alone. And yet, she knew what would happen if she searched out Mitch. The very thing she wanted, and probably shouldn’t have.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the door and slowly pulled it open. Silence and shadows greeted her. She could barely make out Perry’s box on the dining-room table. She picked it up and carried it into the guest room.
Moving the satin comforter to the side, Emily tugged off the lid. She pulled out the wine bottle she’d seen earlier. Sealed. She grabbed a half-full flask and sighed with the knowledge that Perry’s demons had clearly been with him constantly. She scanned several pages of barely decipherable handwritten notes that had to do with following some guy to Florida.
Several minutes later she picked up a receipt from a wine shop, and the memory of a story Perry had told her recently clicked. Yes! This could be the clue they needed to move on.
Unable to contain her excitement, she ran out of her room. Where was Mitch? She knocked softly on a bedroom door just down from her own. No answer. Then she heard music drifting from beyond the swimming pool.
She followed the sound until she reached the infamous hot tub. And Mitch. His dark head rested against the tile edge. The bubbling water was nestled among tropical plants, palms, orchids and other brightly colored flowers she’d never seen before. Mitch’s brother had created a jungle paradise inside his house, but when she studied Mitch’s face, expecting to see pure pleasure, she found tight lines of pain around his mouth, a furrow in his brow.
She’d known he was stoic, but he obviously had no intention of letting anyone know the true extent of his pain. After all the activity, his leg had to be hurting badly, because he looked like he was in agony. Well, he wasn’t the only stubborn person around here.
She walked across the tile and slipped into the water, her nightgown clinging to her frame.
“The water feels good,” she said quietly. “Is it helping your muscles?”
Mitch snapped upright, his hands dragging a towel into the water and covering his lap. “I thought you’d gone to bed.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I looked through Perry’s box. I found a receipt, Mitch. For a wine-storage facility.” She couldn’t stop the grin.
Mitch shifted in the water, maneuvering himself so he sat directly opposite her. “Another lead. That’s good.”
She slid around the edge of the water. “Your leg’s giving you trouble?”
“Not really. Just trying to relax.”
“I could help.”
“Emily,” Mitch warned, “I used up most of my self-restraint when I let you go the last time.”
She moved closer and closer, until she was within arm’s length. This time, he didn’t back away. Cautiously, she placed her hands on his right thigh. The muscles rippled beneath her touch. “You’ve saved my life, you’re helping me find my son.”
“It’s my job.”
“Ouch. Okay, if that’s the way we’re going to play it, I’m your therapist. This is my job. Now shut up and let me do this.”
She moved closer, and with small circular movements, Emily worked the muscles, nightgown floating around her. His skin was taut beneath her fingers, his thigh firm and strong, even as she felt the damaged fibers knot and tug in resistance to her ministrations. Gradually, the tensions began to ease a bit. Emily was very aware of every breath Mitch took. Of the way his strong dark hands gripped the edge of the hot tub as if he fought not to reach for her.
Her movements grew slower, then stopped. She took in a deep breath, and Mitch moved, lightning fast, his own breathing shallow and more rapid than before.
Silently, Mitch grabbed the material of her nightgown and slid it back through the water until his hands rested on the wall on either side of her waist, the wet cloth of her gown pressed against her. She looked down and realized the thin material left no covering at all. She was practically nude.
Her heart pounded, and she lifted her gaze to his. His chocolate eyes had gone hooded and black. She could feel the desire pulsing through him. As her hands moved over his thigh, she brushed against the towel in his lap, and unintentionally the hardness beneath it. He sucked in a sharp breath.
“My leg is better, Emily. And if you don’t plan on taking this all the way, you need to leave. Now. I’m not a slave to my anatomy, but even I have my limits, and you just reached them.”
Emily bit her lip. He was giving her a choice. Was she ready? She so wanted to be. She wanted to feel alive again. Could she take a chance? She searched his passion-filled face, full of question, anticipation and desire. “I want—”
Mitch’s phone vibrated on the alcove just left of his shoulder. He groaned. “You have got to be kidding,” Mitch said crossly. He glanced at the screen, then back at her with regret. “This is work. Another case. I have to take it.”
He turned his back and pulled himself out of the water. His back and arm muscles rippled. She averted her gaze, but not before she saw one very toned backside.
He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist, though it couldn’t hid
e his body’s response to her. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You’ll never know how much. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Mitch walked away from the hot tub and the temptation that was Emily. He watched as she got up and left, never once looking back. He’d very nearly succumbed to her seduction. She’d wanted him. And yet, he’d resisted. Had he gone completely crazy?
Mitch tapped the mute off button. “If you’re not calling with something important, you’re a dead man, Ian.”
His best friend was silent for a moment. “Guess there’s no point in asking if I can come over and get in some game time while Noah’s away.” He cleared his throat. “I have the girl’s identity. I thought you’d want to know.”
Mitch’s jaw clenched, and he prayed silently. “Who?”
“Vanessa Colby. She ran away from home about seven months ago.”
Mitch let relief wash over him, followed immediately by guilt. “When she found out she was pregnant?”
“Bingo. She wasn’t a street girl. At least not until recently.”
Mitch breathed out a harsh curse. “That fits with what I learned at the shelter. Any idea what killed her?”
“No obvious injuries, though I found one injection site with some bruising. Could indicate a minor struggle. Toxicology’s our last chance to determine cause of death.”
Mitch would bet nothing would come of the testing, either. These people were smart. They tried to make murder look like accidents. But he still couldn’t quite pinpoint the connection to Emily. She broke the pattern. “Still no sign of Vanessa’s baby?”
“Not in the morgue. Unless something’s turned up in your department.”
Mitch paced the poolroom, his body still throbbing with unfilled desire.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Fine,” he said, irritated. “Who do you trust in the police department?”
“Besides you?”
Ian didn’t even seem surprised Mitch was alluding to corruption in the Denver PD. Not a good sign. His friend didn’t speak for a moment. Mitch waited.
Finally, Ian sighed. “Honestly? If you’re wondering about corruption, I’d call your dad.”