Hidden Fate

by Tara Thomas

  “Yes, of course I will.”

  “Well, in that case, I definitely need your opinion on where I’ll be living.”

  She leaned over and kissed him briefly. “Okay, I’ll go. When do we leave?”

  “Friday morning around ten?”

  “Sure, I mean, it’s not like I’m working or anything.” Though she probably meant for her statement to be lighthearted, it didn’t come across that way.

  Bea was a lawyer. Brent had been hopeful that she would be able to look over Janie’s case and find a way to get her reinstated at the police department. He didn’t have a chance to talk to her tonight, not with everything that was going on, but he didn’t think it looked that hopeful. He would need to call her in the morning, though, just to make sure.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. He couldn’t help but feel partly responsible. After all, she had been placed on probation because she was seeing him. At the time, when they first met, he had been a suspect in multiple kidnappings, along with one murder.

  Janie’s boss hadn’t taken too kindly to one of his top investigators having an affair with a potential suspect. Brent couldn’t fault him on that, but he didn’t like the outcome. He especially didn’t like that Janie was without a job because he knew how much she enjoyed being a cop. It was her passion. And she was damn good at it.

  His mind drifted away. He couldn’t help but think that if he moved to DC, and he happened to convince Janie to move with him, she could find employment in Washington.

  “What was item number two?” she asked, bringing him back to the moment.

  He took a deep breath, “I’d like for you move in with me.”

  Her expression grew serious; even with the low light in the bedroom he could tell. He pushed a lock of hair back from her forehead. “Thinking?”

  “If I hadn’t received the roses tonight, would you still be asking me to move in?”

  She had him there.

  “Eventually.” It was the most honest thing he could say. The truth was, he hadn’t planned to ask her to move in tonight. Not before she got the roses. “But you did, and the way I look at it, the roses are like a catalyst. I was going to eventually ask you to move in, I just did it quicker than planned. I can’t be in Washington knowing you’re here alone. I need you and I couldn’t stand myself if something happened and I wasn’t able to protect you.”

  She sighed and rolled over to her back.” Thank you for being honest.”

  “Janie,” he said, sitting up so he could look at her and she could see his eyes. “I will always be honest with you. Was it my plan to ask you to move in with me tonight? No. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. And it doesn’t mean that I don’t want it.”

  “I see what you’re saying. But part of me takes issue with being asked to move in only because someone is after me.” She held up a finger when he started to protest. “Or that you didn’t realize you wanted me to move in until someone came after me.”

  Of course she would take issue. What person wouldn’t?

  “I can’t fault you for that,” he said. “How about this? Don’t make any decision tonight. Just sleep on it. Take a few days to think about it. Maybe take the weekend. You might find yourself unable to live without me after spending the weekend with me.”

  That actually got him a smile. “Okay, Mr. Big Head. I’ll take the weekend to think about it.”

  “Mr. Big Head?” he repeated, glad to hear her joking.

  “It was the best I could come up with on short notice.”

  Her hand stroked his chest and he realized he was wide awake. On the upside, it appeared Janie was as well.

  “I’m not sleepy at all,” he said.

  She stretched against him, lazy, like a cat enjoying the sun. “Me neither, but I’m not about to get out of this bed.”

  “I wasn’t about to suggest anything remotely related to getting out of bed,” he assured her, settling back down on the bed, this time taking her with him and rolling them so she was on top.

  “Oh, yes.” She looked marvelous above him. Fierce and strong and sexy. “This is so much better than either sleeping or getting out of bed.”

  As it turned out, it was much, much later before they finally made it to sleep.

  * * *

  After Brent left the next morning, Janie called Alyssa. Taking a sip of coffee, she waited for her friend to pick up the phone. Hopefully, she’d be in a better mood this morning.

  “Hey,” Alyssa said after she answered the phone. “I was just getting ready to call you.”

  “You have any information?” Janie didn’t think that it had been enough time for the fingerprints to be run, but with Alyssa so excited to hear from her, maybe she was wrong. She debated bringing up the cologne Mac said her partner wore. Just to see if she’d smelled it and to potentially ask if she thought her co-worker could be involved. In the end, she didn’t because she didn’t want to jump to conclusions without the proper facts.

  “No,” Alyssa said. “But we’ll at least know if there’s a match with the next hour or so.” She paused before continuing. “I want to apologize for my behavior last night.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. Mac and I had a fight, and I was completely out of place to take it out on you and Brent. I just don’t know what got into him.”

  Janie was shocked. She never heard of Alyssa and Mac having issues before; they had always seemed like the perfect couple. Of course she knew all couples argued, but the two of them never seemed to have much to fight about. “Are you and Mac okay now?”

  “We will be when he gets home,” Alyssa said with a laugh.

  “Going to make up, huh?”

  “Something like that.” She said the words, but still sounded frustrated.

  “I’m sure after he’s home for about five minutes, you two won’t even remember what you were fighting about last night.”

  “I hope you’re right. We’ve been fighting a lot lately.”

  This was news to her. “About what?”

  “He’s been spending a lot of time working. A lot more than normal, that is. Last night was the first night in a week that he hasn’t gone to the office.”

  * * *

  Janie recalled he was a CPA, but she didn’t think it was anything that required that much time when it wasn’t tax season. She wondered if he was having an affair; it would certainly explain all his overtime.

  “Is it a project that he’s working on?” Janie asked.

  “No, he said that there have been several people who have left the company recently. Apparently, everybody’s required to stay late.” Alyssa sighed. “I don’t know what my problem is. I mean, I know he’s not cheating on me.”

  Janie was curious as to how she knew with certainty that Mac wasn’t cheating, but she didn’t think that was the kind of talk her friend needed right now. “Anything I can do?”

  “No, just take my apology for last night. If I act like an ass again, call me on it.”

  “Deal.”

  Both women laughed. When they stopped, Alyssa asked, “Any plans for today?”

  “Yes. I’m going to run by my apartment. There are a few items I left when I packed to come to Brent’s.”

  “Okay. I’m going to get off here and run these prints downstairs. I’ll call you when the results come in.”

  They said their good-byes. Janie knew the odds of getting any usable prints were slim to none, but she felt a little better. At least something was being done to figure out who was behind all this.

  * * *

  Brent decided to stop by Bea’s office in the morning instead of calling. He yawned as he pulled into the old historic home that had been turned into a law office. Bea was a practicing attorney, but she had plans to run for Congress in the next election.

  There were no other cars besides Bea’s in the parking lot, so he was surprised when he heard voices coming from her office. Even more surprising was it didn’t exactly sound like a business meeting. It was
definitely Bea, though, and she was with a man. Not only that, but she was giggling. He didn’t think he’d heard her giggle like that since she was in middle school.

  He loved her, but she had always been very studious, even as a young child. He had grown concerned in recent years that she was all work and no play. While she would date on occasion, she never seemed serious about anyone.

  It had actually been one of the reasons he’d hesitated on taking the DC job. If he left town, who would make sure she got out of the office every once in a while? Their mother had passed away years ago, and while her father was still nearby, he was a very conservative minister. Brent couldn’t see him telling his daughter to get out on the town more often.

  But if Bea was in a relationship, he could move to DC without that worry hanging over his head.

  At the moment, though, she didn’t expect him to drop by and she’d be embarrassed if he heard too much. He walked to the closed door and knocked. “Bea? Are you in there? I saw your car.”

  From the other side of the door, the giggles stopped, followed by hurried whispers. Damn, what had he interrupted? He changed his mind; he was definitely going to tease her about this.

  “Just a second!” Bea called out.

  “I’ll go get us coffee. Be back in ten.”

  When he returned, closer to fifteen minutes later, she was alone. Waiting.

  He followed his sister into her office, and took a seat across from her large wooden desk. She sat on the other side, straightening papers, and still refusing to meet his eyes.

  “Did you need something?” she asked.

  “I want to talk about Janie.”

  She nodded, switching to all-business mode. “I looked over everything that you gave me, and unfortunately, there’s nothing that can be done to get her job back.”

  He was afraid of that, actually, but felt he owed it to Janie to at least try. “Thank you for checking it out.” He drummed his finger on the desk and across from him Bea lifted an eyebrow. “I’m also interested in your take on what happened last night.”

  Bea shifted in her seat, leaning back and eyeing him carefully. “About what?”

  “What do you think about that Mac guy?”

  She shrugged. “He seemed friendly enough. His girlfriend had a major attitude, though.”

  “I’ve met Alyssa before and last night was definitely not indicative of her normal personality,” he said, and then added, “I can’t help wonder if it has anything to do with Mac being around?”

  Not only that, but he couldn’t get out of his mind the way Janie looked when she asked Mac about his cologne. It was more than idle curiosity. She looked fearful. The biggest issue being that Alyssa’s partner also wore it. Did that mean both men were involved? Was that even possible with both men being so close to Alyssa? He needed to think about it more. He did not share any of that with his sister.

  “Maybe,” she said. “But usually you’d think she would have been more professional around people she didn’t know very well.”

  “I think I’ll mention checking him out to Janie.”

  “Wow,” Bea said. “Big jump much?”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Just playing devil’s advocate here.” She said it with a hint of mischief in her expression. It had been a favorite game of hers growing up. It used to drive him mad that she would argue so vehemently for a position she didn’t even believe in. Looking back now, he could see it was an excellent game to play in preparation for her career in law.

  He crossed his arms. “Go ahead.”

  “I was just thinking, you say Mac’s a nice enough guy and it’s not like Alyssa has only been dating him for a short period of time. Surely if there was something peculiar or questionable about him, Janie would have seen it, assuming Alyssa didn’t.”

  “I see your point, but the truth is, maybe I’m not expecting to find anything. Maybe I’m ninety-eight percent certain he has nothing to hide, but there’s that two-percent chance he is hiding something. I have to know.”

  “There are plenty of people with more than a two-percent chance that they’re hiding something. Are you going to look into them, too?”

  He gave her a grin. “I just might.”

  She put her hands up in mock defeat. “Okay, okay. Just be careful. I’m gone for a couple days and won’t be around to bail you out.”

  Brent exaggerated his shocked face. “You? Taking a vacation? A real one? I think I should play the lottery.”

  “Stop.”

  It hit him then, where she was going. Or maybe not where, but at least with whom.

  “Is that guy who was here going with you?”

  “I told you I’m not discussing him with you right now. All you need to know is that I’m going away for a few days. I’ll call you when I’m back.”

  “Just as well,” he said. “Janie and I are heading to DC for the weekend. I have to find something if I’m going to take the position.”

  “When are you making the final decision?”

  “This weekend.” After he discussed it with Janie.

  As if reading his thoughts, Bea added, “I like her. She’s a keeper.”

  “I think so, too.” But it made his day that his sister felt the same.

  * * *

  He couldn’t help it. He had to stay and watch. They thought they were being so smart, keeping Janie at her lover’s house. He laughed. Right. Like he couldn’t figure that one out. Like she was safe there.

  He might let her think that for a bit. Then when her lover took her to DC, he could show them just how unsafe she was.

  He was enjoying this more than he thought he would when The Gentleman gave him the assignment. He’d especially liked what he’d done today.

  He was actually surprised when he saw her pull up to her apartment moments after he left. Good thing he’d worked quickly. The downside was the kill was still fresh and it would have been so much more dramatic if it could have decomposed a few days. But still, this way he was able to watch for her reaction.

  She was unlocking her door now. He pictured the layout of her apartment in his mind. The living area with the kitchen in the back of the open-concept style. She’d pass through that area none the wiser. But when she turned and entered her bedroom—

  His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill scream.

  Yup, just like that.

  He despaired that he couldn’t wait around for Brent and the police to show up, but it was better for him not to take that risk. But that was okay. No matter what, he’e accomplished what he wanted. Janie could pretend she was tough and strong. She might even have fooled a few people in her past. Now everyone knew the truth. She could be broken by the sight of dead cat. He almost laughed, but didn’t. After all, there was no way to tell who was watching.

  He slipped around to the back of the apartments and across the nearby neighborhood park where he’d parked his car, whistling as he went.

  Chapter Two

  “It’s fortunate you didn’t arrive any sooner than you did,” the officer was telling a still shaken Janie. “From the looks of it, that cat hadn’t been dead for very long.”

  “Was that necessary?” Brent asked as Janie dry heaved again. They were outside her front door. He took a wet cloth one of Janie’s neighbors had brought out and pressed it to her forehead. “Deep breaths, baby. It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. Not as long as there’s a breath in my body.”

  He had just left Bea’s office and was heading out to Janie’s favorite seafood restaurant to pick up some soup for her to have for lunch when she’d called him.

  Why she’d decided to stop by her apartment without telling him, he wasn’t sure, but when she’d arrived, she’d found a dead cat on her bed. Worse, its throat had been cut and blood was damn near everywhere.

  He’d kept her on the line as he broke every speed limit in Charleston to get to her. By the time he’d arrived, the police were already on site.

  He was su
rprised Alyssa hadn’t shown up. Surely, her best friend would have heard about the call and would check on her?

  Brent rubbed Janie’s back. “Do you need anything out of your apartment?” He looked at the officer. “Is it okay to go inside?”

  “I don’t need anything,” Janie whispered. “I don’t want anything in there. You can burn it all. I’ve never stepping foot in there again.”

  It was probably the shock talking. Brent had already made up his mind he was going to have the apartment cleaned while they were in DC. Maybe after some distance and a thorough cleaning, she’d be able to face it better.

  But she didn’t need to know that now. “It’s okay. You don’t have to go back inside. We’ll go back to my place and you can rest.”

  “I don’t want to rest. I want to find this sadistic son of a bitch and rip his balls off.”

  “Ah, there’s my girl.” Brent brought his hand up to her cheek. “Still on for DC, though, right?” he said with a smile.

  His heart cracked when she gave him a small smile. “Yes.”

  He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. She nearly hummed as she snuggled in close.

  “Do you need us for anything else?” he asked the officer. “I’d like to get her home.”

  The officer assured him that they could leave and they’d be notified if anything was found. Brent couldn’t help but think they had to find something. Whoever left the cat had done it in broad daylight. Didn’t it stand to reason someone would have seen the culprit?

  He kept his arm around her as he led her to his car. He got her settled into the passenger seat before getting in the car himself. Once he closed the door, he snuck a quick glance to make sure she was okay.

  From all appearances, she was. She had some of her color back and there was a curious expression on her face.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I liked what you said back there,” she said. “That you’d like to get me home.”

  “My home is your home.” He reached out to put his hand on her knee. “I meant what I said, I’d like for you to at least consider moving in with me.”