Into The Spirit

by Marie Harte

  Alex watched some kids run around the open field of the park. “They found nothing?”

  “No. It was Jenkins and Wood’s case. They thought it might have been a break and enter and that Rhodes surprised them, but when nothing was found to suggest otherwise, they closed it.” Trevor ran a hand over his bald head. “I wonder if anyone tried calling her.”

  “And why hasn’t anyone from her office reported her missing?” Alex pointed out.

  “Maybe they have. I’ll check with missing persons.”

  Alex nodded. He knew Miles would have called Jillian’s work, and given them some bullshit cover story that would have explained her absence.

  “Okay,” Trevor sighed, resuming the original topic. “The one killer helped Jillian get to a car, where she took off. But she came and saw you first, even though he said not to.”

  Alex really hated being called the killer, but then again what else should he be called? “She was scared.”

  “No doubt. Did you get the make of car and plate number?”

  “Plates didn’t register, I checked local and federal. Nothing.”

  “Shit. So where did Jillian go?”

  “I told her to follow the guy’s instructions. From what she told me, he seemed to know what he was doing, so it only made sense.”

  “And where was that?” Trevor glanced at him.

  “Hey.” Justine suddenly appeared next to him. “How’s it going?”

  Alex shook his head, not only to answer the cop’s question but to show Justine now was not the time for chit-chat.

  “Don’t get in a snit. I’m just checking in.”

  Trevor was clearly annoyed too, but was easier to shut up. “She gave you his description.”

  Alex nodded.

  “And you saw this guy watching the therapist’s house?”

  He nodded again.

  “This therapist broad, where is she now?” Trevor raised his red brows.

  “Broad!” Justine chuckled. “I do love Trevor’s choice in words.”

  “Eve,” Alex clarified sharply. Justine laughed again. “She’s safe. But she’s worried about her daughter and grandmother. Can you send a patrol car to keep an eye on them until this gets cleared up?”

  Trevor nodded. “Why did you go over to Eve’s place to begin with?”

  Alex paused, not knowing what to say. “Use me.” Justine was now standing in front of them. “Say you had a ghostly apparition of me.” She waved her hands in the air. “And I said to go to Eve’s house. Oooooh!”

  It was all Alex could do to keep from laughing out loud.

  “Ha!” Justine put her hands on her hips. “I knew you liked me.”

  Alex bit his tongue and answered Trevor. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He shook his head.

  “Try me,” Trevor suggested seriously.

  Alex stared the cop in the eye. “Justine told me to go.” He waited to see what the reaction would be to his answer. When there was none he continued, “She said I would find her killer, watching a woman and her daughter.”

  “Oh you are good! That was a nice touch.” Justine grinned down at him.

  There was silence while Alex…and Justine waited to hear Trevor’s response. He lifted his sunglasses onto his bald head and nodded. “Okay.”

  Justine clapped her hands. “You see, Cade told you Trevor was a good guy. Now hurry up and get your ass in gear.” And with that said she was gone.

  “And this Eve. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he wants to kill her too?”

  Alex exhaled before telling him the truth. “I told you I saw him watching her house when I followed him. I found out she ran into him when she was working on the seventh floor of Memorial Hospital.”

  “Seventh. My brother was on seven, that’s military only.”

  “Yah. I found that out.” Alex rested his elbows on his knees. “She was there to assess a patient and this other guy came in and started asking her questions. He gave her the name Remy Castillo.”

  “And you think this is the same guy that wants to kill Jillian?”

  “The descriptions match.”

  “I suppose I don’t need to ask if you went to check out the parking garage where this shoot-out happened.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow. He had of course gone back. He’d wanted to see first-hand how Miles had cleaned the area. It had been spotless to the untrained eye, but Alex had known where he had stood and fired his pistol, so he knew where the bullets should have hit the wall behind Miles. And he was right, the holes had been there, just nicely covered up with a filler the same colour as the wall.

  “There was nothing there that I could see.”

  “This patient in the hospital, who is he?” Trevor sat forward on the bench.

  “Eve was given the name…” Alex stopped himself. If Trevor checked into the cover name he would find nothing, but if he checked into his real name it would confirm his story. Alex could feel Trevor’s eyes on him. Alex fought against his training and gave the cop the truth. “Alex Hunter.”

  “Do you think this Hunter is the guy that helped Jillian get away?”

  “I have no idea. But Eve said he was in a coma, so there is no way of finding out the truth until he wakes up.”

  “Or if he wakes up. Did Eve say what caused the coma?”

  The fight was easier this time as he revealed, “She said he had multiple gunshot wounds.”

  Trevor rubbed his chin. “Think his partner did that?”

  Alex flexed the muscles in his jaw. “It would make sense. This guy wanted to kill Jillian because she can identify him. And then his partner, the one person who should have his back, refused and then helped the witness to get away. He was pissed.”

  Trevor nodded. “Okay, I need another recap. We have two possible military guys, one of whom is in a coma and could have possibly helped Jillian escape. The other military guy wants to kill Jillian because she witnessed him murdering Rhodes. He is now after Eve because…” He paused and shrugged. “We’re not sure why. And he is after you because you blew up his apartment?”

  Alex sat up straight. What the hell? How did he know that? “I didn’t blow up his apartment.”

  “We saw footage of you carrying an unidentified woman in a parking garage. After the report of an explosion in the same building.”

  “It blew up when that guy started shooting at me.”

  Trevor’s red brows shot up. “He shot at you.”

  “Yes.”

  He shook his head. “There was no evidence of gunfire. Mind you there was no evidence of anything else either.”

  Good. Alex exhaled slowly. Both he and Eve couldn’t afford to be seen having sex. Jesus, how would it look? A cop, whose wife had been killed less than two weeks before was having sex with another woman. It would raise a lot of questions he didn’t have time to answer. And those cameras in the parking garage. He had forgotten about them and the only excuse he could come up with was that he was worried about Eve. He’d thought she was hurt worse than she was. Still, he needed to be more careful.

  “How did you find that apartment?”

  “Eve got the address from the seventh floor.”

  They sat in silence for a while, both men deciding what the next course of action should be.

  “I don’t think it would be good if you came back to the station. I’ll fill the boss in, check into Remy Castillo and Alex Hunter, and see what I can find out.”

  Alex shook his head. “Don’t tell anyone else. I think the less people that know the better. I don’t think we should trust anyone who is military right now either.”

  “I agree. But the boss is going to want to know why you didn’t come back with me.”

  Alex stared at the cop. What could he say? That he didn’t trust the cops any more than he trusted the members of the Guardian Project? It was ridiculous, he needed to act somewhat like a cop, Cade must have trusted more than just his partner.

  “Okay, tell him. But not
hing about Eve. I don’t want the military knowing her name.”

  Trevor narrowed his eyes and studied him for a moment before agreeing. “Are you going to Jillian today?”

  “No.”

  “Will you tell me when you do?”

  “Yes.” Because I will need your help distracting Miles so I can kill him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Alex didn’t get back to the apartment until late. He watched the ‘shop’ a while longer until Miles came out, then followed him over to the apartment he’d blown up. Miles would be going in to do a sweep, making sure nothing was there for the authorities to find and tie the Guardian Project to the apartment. Once Miles had left, Alex followed him home, where he saw his girls playing in the front yard. Alex still couldn’t believe that Miles had wanted to kill Jillian. It just didn’t make any sense. He was a father, a good father and a good husband. What had made him react the way he had?

  Alex left Miles and knew he wouldn’t be active until his kids were in bed. So he drove over to see Dawn and Noelle. He received a warm hug from Noelle and the cold shoulder from Dawn. He only stayed long enough to tell Dawn about the police car that would be patrolling the area.

  He got a snippy—“About time”—and a container of food shoved at him. After explaining to Noelle that Eve was fine and that he had to go back to her, he accepted another hug and promised to give Eve the picture Noelle had coloured for her.

  He probably should have stayed with them, but he didn’t want to get too close. He was really beginning to like them. He liked how feisty Dawn was and that Noelle was such a sweetheart. It was going to be hard enough to end things with Eve. If he had these two to deal with as well, it would make things even harder when it came time for him to go.

  He stayed in the area watching Dawn’s house until he saw Trevor pull up. He got out and went to talk to the cop.

  “Why no cruiser?” Alex asked, coming to stand next to Trevor.

  The cop shook his head. “There was military at the station when I got back. I didn’t feel it was safe to leave this in the hands of a patrol officer, who might let it slip what I asked him to do.”

  Alex nodded. “You find out anything on Remy Castillo or Alex Hunter?” He asked the question even though he already knew what the answer would be.

  “Not a damn thing. I checked federal and even the Defence Department.” Trevor held out a phone for him.

  “What did they say?” Alex frowned at the phone.

  “Nothing. But they were very polite when they hung up on me.”

  Alex laughed. “What’s this?”

  “Your phone. You left it at the station the day you and Justine went to lunch and got hit…” He stopped, handing him a piece of paper. “Your number and my number, just in case you forgot.”

  “Thanks.” He slid the phone and paper into his pocket. “I can stay if you want to go home and get a few hours sleep first.”

  “I got a couple hours before coming here. You go.”

  Unlocking the door, Alex entered the old converted fire hall. It wasn’t a big hall, which didn’t bode well for the factories in the area should there be a fire, but it was for that reason he got it so cheap. Besides, it was a classic red brick, two-story firehouse and it was easy to convert into what he needed. A place that no one knew about, not even Miles.

  All the lights were off except for a reading lamp above his desk. He closed the door and locked the bolts. Placing Cade’s phone and the picture Noelle had made on the counter, he reached for the fridge with the intent of putting the container of food Dawn had given him inside. He paused when he saw a plate of food covered in plastic wrap with a note resting on top of it. Hungry? Was all the note said.

  He pulled the plate from the fridge and took off the wrap. He found himself smiling like an idiot. It wasn’t a gourmet meal, just a simple sandwich with French fries but it looked delicious and after he had finished it, he wondered how something so simple could taste so good. Was it because he was just that hungry or the fact that Eve had taken the time to make it for him?

  He sat back in the chair and looked up the stairs to where he knew Eve was sleeping in his bed. A disturbing thought occurred to him. Eve might be in love with him. He already knew she was attracted to him. Her eyes gave her away every time they were together. But, she might actually be in love with him.

  He stood, taking the plate to the sink and wondered if he even deserved Eve’s love. He caught his reflection in the window. Brown eyes, blond hair, tanned skin. Jesus, Cade looked like he belonged on a magazine cover. He placed the plate in the sink and gripped the counter. Was it him Eve was in love with or was it this body? Cade’s body? He hadn’t considered that she could be attracted to the body and not the soul. Which meant that she was in love with Cade and not him.

  With anger and a little jealousy running through his veins, he moved to the stairs, taking them two at a time. He needed to know if that was the case. He needed to know if she loved him or this fucking body. He went to her, tossing his shirt on the floor, quickly removed the rest of his clothing and slid under the sheets behind her as she lay on her side. He slid his hand down her waist and over her hip and was annoyed to find she was sleeping in a T-shirt and panties but realised that taking them off her would give him the time he needed to calm down.

  He pulled her shirt up as he kissed the side of her neck. “Eve,” he breathed her name. “Eve, wake up.”

  She allowed him to tug her shirt over her head and he threw it away. She sighed sleepily when he cupped a single round breast. He nipped at her neck and pinched her nipple.

  She clamped her hand down over his. “That hurt,” she whispered back.

  He inhaled a deep breath and kissed the area he had nipped and ran his thumb over her nipple gently. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out on all the fun.”

  “So you’re not worried about breaking my hip tonight?” she teased.

  “No.” He kissed her shoulder.

  “And you’re not bothered by what I told you yesterday…about my…” She stopped.

  “About your age?” he guessed, sliding his hand down to her panties. He hooked his thumb in the side and inched them down. “Your true age and your family tattoo don’t bother me.” He pressed his lips next to her ear. “It was your hiding the truth from me that I didn’t like.” He licked the outside of her ear lightly. “I always want you to tell me the truth.” He dipped his tongue inside her ear as he slid his hand between her legs. She inhaled when he rubbed her core.

  “Say it Eve, say you won’t lie to me.” He slipped his other arm underneath her and rolled her so her back was resting on top of his chest.

  Her head fell back onto his shoulder. “Say you won’t lock me in your house again.”

  He chuckled as he licked the side of her neck, teased the nipple of her large breast and massaged her moist centre. Her hands clamped down over his, holding them in place. He roughly moved them out of the way. “I will not apologise for keeping you safe. Now tell me you won’t lie to me.” He desperately needed to hear the truth from her, that way when the time came and he asked if she was attracted to him or Cade’s body she would have to tell him the truth.

  “I won’t lie to you.” The words mixed with her choppy breath. Her hands covered his again as he tormented her and she began to make little whimpering sounds.

  “Do you want me, Eve?” His voice was raw and his body hurting.

  That was the stupidest question she had ever heard. Of course, she wanted him, she always wanted him and why he found the need to ask her, was beyond her comprehension.

  He pulled his hand from between her legs and asked the question again, his voice a little harder this time. She gripped his hand and tried to tug it back in place but he couldn't be moved.

  “Answer me.” The command was rough.

  There it was again, a dark…anger radiating from him. She thought she was dreaming it at first, not being fully awake, but now she realised it was real. Alex was
angry, and, although he was no longer a median, he was powerful enough that she was able to feel his ferocity surround them.

  She let go of him and answered him clearly and carefully, “Yes. I do want you.”

  Before she could blink she was on her back and Alex was pulling her underwear down her legs and over her feet. He glared at her and she froze when she saw dark brown eyes. Not blue eyes, brown and no scar above his left eye. She scanned his chest, as he moved on top of her. No bullet wounds either.

  No. This wasn’t right. She pushed at his shoulders, struggling to keep him away so she could look at him. She ran her eyes over his face searching for any sign that Alex was there. But she couldn’t see any. She shook her head confused. “Cade?” His face turned expressionless. She asked again, “Cade is that you?”

  No answer, just dark brown eyes staring down at her. She pushed at his shoulders, repulsed by the idea of Cade touching her. “Get off.” He tightened his grip.

  Panic rose fast when he didn’t move. “No.” She fought with everything she had. It seemed silly, she knew Alex was using Cade’s body but, when they made love, it wasn't Cade touching her it was Alex, it was always Alex.

  “Please,” she finally sobbed. He released her instantly and sat back. She flung herself off the bed and backed into the corner of the room. She looked to the door. Damn, why hadn’t she jumped off the other way? Her eyes darted back to Cade and, breathing heavily demanded, “Where’s Alex?”

  “I am Alex.” He turned to face her but remained sitting on the bed.

  She pointed at him. “You are not Alex.”

  He dropped his head into his hands. “It’s me, Eve.” His voice held something different, was that regret?

  “No.” She shook her head. “Alex has blue eyes. I always see his blue eyes.”

  He lifted his head and she was shocked to see blue eyes staring back.

  She inched closer so she could see clearer. She blinked and searched for the scar above his eye. It was there too, as were the bullet wounds. Confused she asked, “What’s going on? I don’t understand.”