Undercover Fiance

by Sheryl Lynn

  He set the lights aside and rose. He swiped his grimy hands on his jeans. “Is she all right?”

  “I think so.” She handed him a cordless telephone. “This whole Pinky business is so very hard on her, isn’t it?”

  “You have no idea, ma’am.” He put the phone to his ear. “Where are you?”

  She chuckled softly. “Gee, Dad, did I miss curfew?” She sighed heavily into the phone. “I’m in the parking lot. I’m—I’m scared to get out of the car.”

  “Be there in a sec.” He hung up and handed the phone to Elise. “She’s waiting outside. I’ll get her.”

  He found Janine seated in the Jeep. He understood why she didn’t want to walk alone. The staff parking lot was next to the dormitory. He heard the door lock click, and she gestured for him to get in.

  A cold front had rolled over the mountains, and after the sun set the temperature had dropped below zero. He scrubbed his arms. “Brrr!”

  “The weather forecast says we might get some snow.” She rested her arms on the steering wheel. Parking lot lights illuminated her profile. Her long lashes cast shadows beneath her eyes. “That would be nice. This place is so pretty when it snows.”

  She sounded tired, distant and very sad. He squeezed his biceps, refusing to give in to the urge to touch her. “Where have you been?”

  “Colorado Springs. I met Elliot. Then—” she jerked a thumb over her shoulder “—I went shopping. Party supplies.”

  His abdominal muscles clenched. Kiss him senseless in her office, drive him wild, then run straight into the arms of her boyfriend. It sounded exactly like something his mother would do. She had called her relationship with Elliot casual. Maybe she meant she was casual about sleeping around.

  “I should have called,” she said.

  “Everyone was worried. Especially your mom.”

  “I know.” She rested her forehead on her arms. “I just had to get away.”

  “To see Elliot.” He winced, wishing he hadn’t said that.

  “That was an impulse.” She laughed ruefully. “I should know better. I’m not so good at improvisation.”

  He perked up, his foolish heart hopeful. “Elliot wasn’t happy to see you?”

  Her shoulders hitched. “That’s an understatement. I interrupted him at work. Then he said Pinky is my fault and I must be leading him on. He all but accused me of having an affair.”

  Daniel brutally shoved aside relief. What Janine did with her life was of no concern to him. As attractive as she was, as much as he desired her, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe people changed. She had hired him for a job, he would do that job, and nothing more. He sensed she needed to talk, but he didn’t have the stomach to listen to complaints about her love life.

  “It’s cold out here. Let’s get your stuff inside.” He opened the door and hopped out, automatically looking around for any potential danger.

  “Daniel?” She leaned over to peer at him through the open passenger door. A thin line appeared between her eyebrows.

  “Come on, Ms. Duke. I can’t do my job with frostbite.”

  She grabbed her purse and left the Jeep.

  Elise Duke met them at the door. She hugged her daughter, relieved Daniel of a few plastic bags and accompanied them upstairs. Janine passed off her mother’s questions with monosyllabic answers. She never mentioned Elliot.

  Kara appeared delighted by Janine’s purchases. She urged Daniel to help her unpack and sort boxes of lightbulbs, craft paper, bundles of fabric flowers, yards of lace and other colorful miscellany.

  “You need to speak to your father,” Elise said. “He’s worried about you.”

  “I doubt that very much.”

  “Janine, please—”

  “He never cuts me any slack! He never lets me forget a mistake, and he treats every screw-up like an act of treason. He blames me for Pinky.”

  “You know how he is when he’s frightened. It’s difficult for him to admit he’s worried about you.”

  Janine snorted disparagingly. “He’s afraid I’ll make him look bad, that’s what he’s afraid of.”

  “You’re being unfair.”

  “So is he!” She met Daniel’s eyes; he recognized torment and looked away. “I’m not apologizing to him, Mom. Not this time. I am sick and tired of begging for his forgiveness.” She thumped her fist between her breasts. “God help me if I can’t live up to his standards. Why can’t he just accept me the way I am?”

  “Oh, dear.” Elise grasped her daughter’s hands. “He loves you more than life itself.”

  “He’s got a funny way of showing it.” Her voice cracked and wavered. “I’m sorry I worried you today. It was stupid. But I’m not apologizing to the colonel. For once in his life, he can apologize to me.” She turned her back on her mother and stared at the floor.

  “Very well,” Elise said with a sigh. “At least you’re home safe.” She hugged her daughter again, smiled wanly at Daniel and Kara, then left the room.

  “Are you okay, Ninny?” Kara asked. She appeared braced for a storm.

  “Fine. Did anything happen that I need to take care of?”

  “Everything is under control.” She patted Daniel’s arm. “He’s been helping me with the decorations.”

  “A man of many talents.” She sank onto a chair and rolled her neck. “Who’s probably regretting he’s smack in the middle of our little family soap opera. I’m sorry you have to keep witnessing our spats.”

  He passed off her concern with a careless wave. “You ought to see my family in action. You Dukes are rank amateurs in the dysfunctional Olympics.”

  Kara perked up. “You have a crazy family? How so? You seem really normal.”

  Before he could indulge her love of gossip, Mike Downes arrived. “Hi.” His smile focused on Kara. “Your mom said you were up here.”

  “You’re in uniform, so it must be official,” Kara said tartly. “Do you have news about Brian?”

  “I brought him back to the resort. He’s waiting downstairs. I figured you’d want to talk to him, Janine.”

  Daniel and Janine rose. She appeared excited, but he knew if the cops had released Brian then the kid hadn’t confessed to arson. “What’s the story?”

  “My opinion? The kid’s guilty as hell. Unfortunately, the state boys can’t charge him. They asked him to take a polygraph, but he refused and demanded a lawyer. When the mouthpiece showed up he made them cut Brian loose.”

  “What about his criminal record?” Janine asked.

  “Property crimes. All of it was handled in juvie court. But we aren’t talking run-of-the-mill kid capers. He set a neighbor’s storage shed on fire. He was only twelve at the time. There were other suspicious fires in the neighborhood, but the cops couldn’t connect them.” He smiled tightly, humorlessly. “Brian’s mommy was real good at protecting her baby from the bad old policemen.”

  “What about the B&E?” Daniel asked.

  “Same neighbor whose shed he torched, a woman living alone. He broke into her house and stole her underwear. When the cops popped him they found quite a stash under his bed.”

  “Eeeyew!” Kara shuddered.

  “Brian spent a year locked up. He got some therapy. Personally, I think juvie hall made him a smarter criminal. He acts like a sniveling little crybaby, but he’s one hard kid. Helmsley couldn’t crack him.” His face crinkled with a smile. “Helmsley is royally PO’d.”

  “What about a handwriting exemplar to match him up with the Pinky letters?” Daniel asked.

  Mike grumbled, looking disgusted. “Nada. The lawyer told him to get a warrant. Figure the odds on that.”

  Janine chuffed indignantly. “But why?”

  “Because no hard evidence connects Pinky to the arson. Judges don’t like fishing expeditions. Unless we find evidence, we won’t get the warrant. Without the warrant, no evidence.” He showed his palms in hapless apology. “It’s the system.”

  “Do you think he’s Pinky, Mike?”

  Mi
ke jutted his chin at Daniel. “Ask the expert. All I can say is I don’t like the kid and I wouldn’t want him working for me. He’s squirrel bait from the get-go.”

  Daniel mulled over the information. “He fits the profile. Harassing a neighbor for so long means he’s prone to obsessive behavior. He lied on his application, so you have to fire him, Janine. But without proof that he’s Pinky we can’t obtain a restraint order under the stalking statutes. The best we can do is pop him for trespassing if he returns to the resort.”

  “He won’t quit stalking, will he?” Mike asked.

  Daniel hated having to say what needed saying. “No. There’s a chance I can intimidate him. But if the cops and the threat of prison don’t scare him, then I don’t know how he’ll react to me. We need to institute some extreme security measures.”

  “Like what?”

  “Buttoning up the lodge for one thing. Install one-way emergency doors in the wings. Lock the main doors after hours. Lock the entrances to the basement. Hire a security-trained doorman.”

  Janine staggered as if he’d punched her. “I’m supposed to turn the lodge into an armed fortress?”

  Mike cleared his throat. “I agree with Daniel. If Brian returns we can get him for trespass, but that’s only if we catch him. You can’t get a restraint order without cause. We can’t prove Brian threatened you.”

  “So I have to act like a prisoner in my own home? Completely disrupt the operation of the resort? Live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?” She pointed a trembling finger at Daniel. “Find another plan!”

  “We still have a few options. The first is, we haven’t found Pinky’s stash yet. I know it exists. It has to exist. There’s sure to be some clue to Pinky’s real identity.”

  “And if there isn’t?”

  He studied Mike. He’d come to the conclusion that the sergeant was a good cop. He was smart and he cared deeply about the Duke family. “I’ll handle Brian.”

  Mike stood taller. A frown furrowed his brow. “If you mean what I think you mean, then you better be very careful. That punk knows the law.”

  Janine shifted her suspicious gaze between the men. “What do you mean? What are you going to do?”

  “Put a tail on him. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I know some guys who’ll give Pinky second thoughts about returning to Elk River. If we catch him mailing pink envelopes or if he starts calling, we can use the law against him.”

  “And when Brian charges you under the stalking statutes?” Mike asked.

  “You let me worry about that.”

  “So we have to wait for him to make another move?” Janine looked as disgusted as Daniel felt.

  Even knowing that falling into the what-if trap was useless, Daniel felt guilty. He wanted to stop Pinky. He wanted Janine to live her life as she wished, without fearing a madman lurking in the shadows. He no longer cared about being a hero in her eyes, but he cared deeply about stopping one more stalker from ruining one more life.

  “Intervention time,” he said grimly. “Mike, mind being somewhere else while I chat to Brian?”

  The sergeant checked his wristwatch. “I’m off shift. Maybe Kara could use some help in here?”

  “Give me your office key, Janine. Wait thirty minutes before you come downstairs. Then follow my lead. I want to convince him the problem is me, not you.” Seeing the protest forming, he raised his right hand. “And no, I will not touch him.”

  She worked a key off a ring and handed it over. Her fingers grazed his. Electric tingling rippled through his skin. He wanted so much to embrace her and assure her he’d keep her safe. He wanted to gaze all night long into her violet eyes.

  He brutally reminded himself he’d fallen in lust before. He’d survived, as he would survive now, sore but undamaged. What he couldn’t survive would be repeating his parents’ idiotic mistakes.

  With the key in hand he headed downstairs. He took his time, formulating what he was about to say and how he was going to say it. He needed to convince the kid that the Daniel Tucker brand of stalker-busting held the power to make Brian’s miserable life unbearable.

  The corridor in front of Janine’s office was deserted. Brian Cadwell was gone.

  Chapter Twelve

  Daniel grasped the door frame and leaned into the room. Janine, Mike and Kara looked surprised to see him. “Brian has disappeared,” he announced.

  Janine dropped a string of lights and jumped to her feet. “What do you mean?”

  “I checked the kitchen. I went through the entire east wing. Asked everybody. Checked the lobby. No one has seen him.”

  “He’s probably in his room.” She grabbed her coat off a chair. She shoved her armed into the sleeves. “You don’t think he ran away, do you, Mike?”

  “Could be,” the deputy replied. “We’ll catch him in the dorm.”

  The three of them hurried down the back stairs. They met the colonel at the rear entrance. He wore a coat, and his cheeks were ruddy from the cold. He looked grimly satisfied. He stopped at the sight of them and snapped into parade rest position. “I see you’ve decided to resume your post, Janine.”

  His coldness broke her heart. She shook off the pain. “We’re looking for Brian Cadwell. Have you seen him?”

  “I have.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief. She’d been imagining Brian disappearing into the bowels of the lodge, going underground to wreak his havoc, committing terrorist acts with impunity. “Is he in the dorm?”

  “You needn’t concern yourself with him any longer. I have mustered him out and personally supervised his departure from the grounds.”

  Janine gave her head a shake, unable to believe what she’d heard. Bad enough her father blamed her for Pinky’s behavior, but to discount the danger? “You didn’t.”

  “I spoke to Mr. Helmsley on the telephone. He informed me about Brian’s criminal record. I will not tolerate lying, nor treason in our midst. I have discharged the boy and forbidden him from ever returning.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “That is not my concern.” He nodded crisply and dropped his arms. “Nor is it yours. I will handle all necessary paperwork first thing in the morning.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Janine whispered. “We think he’s Pinky.”

  “After hearing Mr. Helmsley’s report, so do L You need concern yourself no longer.” He glared down his nose at Daniel. “I’ve had long experience in handling troops, sir. Where young men and trouble are concerned, I’ve seen it all. While I understand where you may think your brand of skullduggery serves its purpose, vast experience proves the best solutions are generally the most obvious. Quick, clean, efficient. Problem solved.”

  “But—”

  “End of discussion, Janine. I expect you to finalize your agreement with Daniel so we may all get back to normal.” He marched away.

  As one, Daniel, Janine and Mike watched his erect back and arm-swinging stride.

  Janine turned to Daniel with such a helpless, frightened look in her beautiful eyes he nearly melted. Confusion racked him. How could she so cavalierly dump a husband, yet care so deeply about her family?

  “We’re right back where we started. Brian will blame my father for firing him.”

  “We can still turn him. Mike, you said he’s a mama’s boy? He’ll probably run to her so he can lick his wounds. We can get her address off—”

  “His mother is deceased,” Mike said. “According to Brian’s shtick, he’s a poor little orphan boy with no one to protect him. I’ll double-check with the office.”

  Daniel didn’t like this one little bit. Throw in stressors like losing a job, getting hassled by the police and having no place to go, and a stalker may as well carry a sign saying, I Am Going to Kill Somebody Now. “I’ll go through his employee file and see what I can pull off it.” He lowered his gaze to the floor, envisioning the labyrinthine basement below. He prayed Brian, with vengeance and betrayal burning up his brain, didn’t worm his w
ay back into the lodge.

  “HIS FORMER EMPLOYERS liked him. Chef liked him.” Safe in her room, Janine sat across the table from Daniel. A late-night talk show played on the television. Wind howled past the windows, giving her chills despite the warmth radiating from the furnace registers. “Fine, he lied on his application, he lied to the police, but he hasn’t been in trouble for years. Maybe he learned his lesson. Maybe the therapy helped. Juvenile records are sealed for a good reason. Most kids who do stupid things grow out of it.”

  “You can’t wish him away,” Daniel said without looking up from Brian’s employee file. “I know you don’t want to lock down the resort, but you can’t take chances.”

  Panic rose in her throat. She envisioned happy, friendly, hospitable Elk River transformed into an armed camp. What came next? Mounting metal detectors at the doors? Going through rooms with bomb-sniffing dogs?

  “I’ll find Brian,” he said. “I’ll put a tail on him. If he pulls anything stupid, I’ll catch him.”

  She clung to the promise in his voice. She pushed away from the table and paced. Her fingertips trailed over a dresser, and she wondered if Brian had stolen underwear from her. She jerked her hand off the dresser and scrubbed the back of it until her bones ached.

  “Get some sleep.” He yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. “There’s no more we can do tonight.”

  “My head hurts,” she complained and looked to him hopefully. She wanted him to massage her scalp...to hold her. Kiss her and comfort her and make her feel safe. The encounter with Elliot had been a wake-up call. She wasted her life by playing it safe in the romance department. Armoring herself against pain kept joy at bay, as well.

  Maybe Daniel Tucker wasn’t the man for her. She’d never know for certain unless she gave them a chance. She edged toward him. He watched her, his gaze steady but unreadable. She mustered a wan smile, the best she could manage. “My neck is stiff, too.”

  His eyes glazed. His hands curled into fists. Then he smiled brightly and jumped to his feet. He took a wide step to the side. “Sleep will help. You look exhausted. We can think more clearly in the morning.” He sat on the couch where he’d already made up his bed.