Dari’s cell phone rang. At first he didn’t register it. Then he shook his head as if to clear it and slid the device out of his pocket.
Lazarus.
A text followed when he didn’t answer.
Urgent was all it said.
After a couple more minutes of seeking understanding, but only managing to come away with more questions, he thanked his dad for the coffee—and for the truth—then bid him goodbye. Silently, he made a vow to seek out his mother more. Having been through what he had with Megan, he couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her to know his father had loved another woman. It must have nearly driven her insane.
In fact, at times, it had.
And his own narrow-minded understanding of the truth couldn’t have helped any.
Why had she never told him?
Perhaps because she’d protected him.
Protected him when he’d condemned her.
Dari’s heart hurt even harder….
MEGAN PACED THE LENGTH of Lazarus’s conference room, checking to make sure the DVD was cued to the right place before switching the television off and glancing at her watch for the time, anxious for everyone to show. She’d contacted the front office from home and had messages sent out to the main members of the Finley team, requesting their urgent presence.
She’d included Dari. Not that she expected him to come.
Oh, she knew he was back in town. You couldn’t work at a place that specialized in matters of location and security and not know everything going on, no matter how much you might not want to know those things.
It was nearing midnight. A late hour, to be sure, but this couldn’t sit until morning. And neither could she.
Jason was the first to arrive, followed by Linc. They both poured themselves coffee from the pot in the corner, despite the late hour. After five minutes, she was reasonably sure Dari wouldn’t be coming.
“So, let’s begin, shall we?” she said, switching on the television.
To her surprise, Dari walked into the room.
Her heart pitched to her feet and then boomer anged back up to lodge in her throat.
She hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks. In some ways it felt like an eternity. In others, mere minutes ago.
He briefly met her gaze. But the emotion there in his eyes was unfamiliar to her.
Jason cleared his throat. Linc shook Dari’s hand, welcoming him back.
Megan tried to concentrate on the matter at hand. “Okay. Now that we’re, um, all here…”
She turned back to the TV screen where an image of Finley and her scarf was frozen.
“I know who kidnapped Finley,” she said simply, looking at each of them in turn. “And I’m afraid he’s already set his sights on his next victim….”
After receiving Dorothy’s email earlier, and seeing the scarf, she was reminded of what McCain had said to her about Finley’s favorite item being her pink scarf. So she’d checked the missing persons report—there was no mention of her wearing a scarf. Yet when she was found, there it was, tied nicely around her neck.
The same way the scarf had been wrapped around little Daisy.
She’d called Dorothy immediately and discovered that, yes, McCain had given her the gift earlier that day. Without giving anything away, she warned the woman to keep a close watch on her child.
“But the Finley girl has been interviewed extensively,” Dari said. “There’s no reason to believe she was kidnapped.”
The sound of his voice was enough to knock her back off kilter. But the fact that he was talking to her nearly left her speechless.
She forced herself to look at everything but him as she lifted a finger. “That’s the puzzling part of it all,” she said. “You see, I’ve been going through my notes. Of what we’ve been able to piece together of her statement, both when she was found, and what her grandmother shared with me during my visit. She mentioned McCain finding her, and bringing her food…”
“When he found her,” Jason added.
“Yes, but my theory is that he continued to do it throughout her isolation, because—”
“You think he led her out there…” Dari said.
She smiled. “No. I know he did. Because I have a solid connection between a dog coincidentally like the dog Finley followed into the woods and McCain.”
22
THE INSTANT MEGAN finished explaining her theory and presenting her proof, the guys sprang into action. Linc left without saying a word, presumably to consult with his FBI friends. Jason and Dari walked out together to get on the next plane back to Florida—on a private charter if need be.
Just watching the two working together, as if nothing had ever come between them, made Megan’s knees weak. She dropped into the closest chair until she could regain her bearings.
Since leaving Florida, she hadn’t dared allow herself to hope things could ever be anything more than coldly cordial.
If Dari could forgive Jason…
She’d shaken the thought off and gone home. There was nothing more for her to do than keep on top of things from here. And she could do that via her cell and laptop. So there was no need to stay by herself at the compound.
It was just after two in the morning and she was wide awake sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed, her laptop open in front of her, her cell phone at her knee. She’d received a text from Jason saying a charter had been secured. She was glad. Still, she’d have been happier had Dari sent it.
The television was on and an old creature feature played on low. She glanced at it every now and again, but didn’t pay it much mind. What did capture her attention was the fact that her stomach was growling.
She hadn’t taken more than a couple bites of her Chinese takeout earlier, so other than the bowl of ice cream she’d shared with her father, she hadn’t had much of anything all day. Of course, a mere twenty-four hours ago that wouldn’t have made any difference. She wouldn’t have picked up on her body’s signals at all, outside of the breathless ache that was becoming a permanent resident in her chest.
Was this a sign she was beginning the long, slow recovery process?
“No, dummy, it means you’re hungry.”
She sighed and rearranged the items on the bed so she could get up. She was wearing one of Dari’s old T-shirts and plain white panties as she padded down the hall and into the kitchen where she indulged in a long session of refrigerator staring.
Nothing interested her.
She opened and closed drawers, moved items around and then finally began taking out sandwich fixings. She pushed from her mind that this was exactly what she and Dari used to do after a particularly hot and sweaty sack session: get up in the middle of the night for a couple of monster sandwiches…before heading back to bed again to take up where they’d left off.
In fact, they often didn’t even make it back to the bed right away but instead resumed their lovemaking right here in the kitchen. She eyed the counter before slapping the deli meat down on top of it.
Everywhere she looked, she was reminded of him…of them together. If things didn’t improve on that front, a change of residence might be in order—if only so she could move on with her life.
The idea slowed her movements as she took a couple of slices of whole-wheat bread from the loaf bag and put them on a plate.
“Got enough for two?”
The words caused her heart to hopscotch.
Great. Now she was imagining things. For a moment there, she could have sworn that was Dari’s voice.
She should probably start looking into new apartments in the morning.
She layered roast beef on a bread slice and then turned back to the refrigerator to collect cheese, horseradish and green leaf lettuce…and then ran straight into Dari where he stood behind her…
DARI’S MOUTH WAS SO DRY he could barely swallow. Everything that had transpired over the past three weeks sped through his mind like myriad shooting stars: the exploding IED, his treatment, comi
ng to Florida, proposing to Megan, her betrayal.
But just as quickly as it all entered, it exited, leaving him standing in front of her, a man looking at the woman he loved.
Oh, it had always been there. No matter how hurt he was. Or angry. The love his father had spoken of remained. And he sensed it always would. The question was, what was he going to do about it?
“I… You…” Megan finally blinked her big blue eyes, looking more female-sexy than Marine-capable. He’d always loved that intriguing contrast. Soft cries and killer instincts—an irresistible combo.
“How did you get in?” she finally asked.
He raised his hand where her house key was still on his ring. Whether he took it off and offered it back would be up to her.
“I thought you were going to Florida with Jason.”
“He’s a big boy. He can handle it himself.”
She stared at him in a way that told him she probably wasn’t registering half of what he said. Which was okay with him. He wasn’t registering much of anything himself.
Besides, he’d much rather be doing something other than talking. His gaze trailed to her mouth, wanting to kiss her so badly he ached with the need.
“Look…” he began, trying to concentrate even as he wondered if she’d welcome his kiss. The needy shadow on her face told him yes, but he wasn’t convinced. “I…”
Words deserted him. At least any that held meaning.
“I would really like one of those famous sandwiches of yours.” He smiled.
She blinked, openly confused.
Then she half nodded, half shook her head as if incapable of deciding on one or the other. “Okay. Yes. Sure.”
She didn’t ask him what he wanted on it. She already knew.
She turned back toward the counter. He stepped up next to her to help, his arm brushing hers, each time shooting sparks of want down to his groin.
She motioned for him to move so she could get into the drawer he blocked. He did and she removed a knife with which to cut the two, two-inch-thick sandwiches.
She handed him his, not letting go right away as she finally met his gaze again.
“Megan?” he asked after a long moment.
“Huh?”
“Are you going to let go of the plate?”
A heartbeat of a pause. “Oh!” She released it.
He stepped toward the small table with two chairs they’d bought together at a flea market and sat down. It took her slightly longer to follow suit. He watched her pass, the hem of his old T-shirt brushing the top of her toned thighs, the back pulled up slightly so her white panties and the half crescents of her nicely rounded behind tempted his tongue.
They ate in silence for a while, with him motioning for her to continue whenever she stopped and stared at him.
Finally, she slowly brushed the crumbs from her hands and got up to get a couple of beers from the fridge. The instant she sat down again, she asked, “What does this mean?”
He didn’t respond as he reached across and took one of the beers she’d brought over.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s great…wonderful to see you. But, well…” She squinted at him. “What does it mean?”
The question rendered him incapable of eating or drinking.
“I…”
He, what?
“Love isn’t about who you can live with, it’s about who you can’t live without.”
She stared at him harder.
Dari tried for a grin. “Something my father shared with me earlier.” He closed his eyes briefly, emptying his mind of the other information his father had shared. An incredible story he had yet to digest. But not now.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since you left Florida,” he said. “Hell, I haven’t been able to do anything but think…”
She looked down and he watched her pull her bottom lip between her teeth. He’d always been mesmerized by the telltale move. She was a confident woman, skilled at so many things. Yet that sign of inner vulnerability never failed to move him.
“I said some things out of hurt,” he said quietly, wishing he could retract much of what he’d done over the past days. “I’m sorry for that.”
She looked stunned.
Were his words really that implausible?
“Are you apologizing to me?” Her words were so quiet he nearly didn’t hear her.
“Yes.”
She fell silent again. Then she opened and closed her mouth several times, as if she had something to say but couldn’t quite fit her tongue around it.
Dari’s gaze homed in on the movement, his own mouth watering at the idea of kissing hers.
No matter how long they were together, how many times they made love, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. And he was coming to suspect he’d feel that way till his dying day.
And he’d prefer to experience his life with her than without.
“Does that mean… Is it possible…”
He waited for her to finish one of the sentences.
“Do you forgive me?”
It was his turn to look down. “Yes,” he said simply, but kept the rest to himself.
He knew it would take a while for him to forget. But one day he trusted he would. This would all be some long-ago, faded memory, a wound that had healed but left a scar behind as substantial as the one on his leg. But just as he would push forward and not let his physical injuries impede his progress, he didn’t intend to let this emotional one keep him down.
“I love you, Megan. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. And if you still love me…”
He sat looking at her for long moments. And then, as if by mutual consent, they pushed the dishes and bottles in front of them aside and reached for each other. He wasn’t happy until he’d dragged her across the table and had her legs wrapped around his hips.
She kissed him over and over again, running her fingers through his hair. “I love you so much, it’s sometimes hard to breathe,” she said.
That’s all he needed to hear.
As he stripped her of her panties, freed himself of his clothes, and entered her in one long, bone-shuddering stroke, he finally had the sensation that he’d truly come home.
Epilogue
LINCOLN WILLIAMS STOOD back and allowed his colleagues to explain what had taken place over the past day and a half. But as he watched Dari and Megan, he got the distinct impression the case wasn’t the only area in which a breakthrough was made. If he wasn’t mistaken, they’d managed to clear the debris keeping them apart and were now back to being a full-fledged couple. And he was never wrong.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that Megan was wearing a rock any successful rap artist would be envious of. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict wedding bells in their future.
He grimaced at the thought of his friend asking him to participate as a groomsman.
Jason took over the meeting, stepping up in front of the Lazarus crew.
“When Megan shared her theory, we split up. Linc here checked with his, um, contacts, as mysterious and powerful as they may be.” Chuckles. “And I flew back to Florida to handle things from the sheriff’s angle, while Megan and Dari stayed here to, um, coordinate things…”
More chuckles as everyone acknowledged what Linc had just been thinking.
Jason continued. “The FBI staked out McCain’s place, making sure he stayed there until the sheriff could pick him up. The guy confessed almost immediately.”
Megan took over. “Thankfully, this is the first time he’s done something of this nature, but it’s apparent that he’d hoped to do it again. When we happened across the girl’s bike, we got too close for comfort and he panicked, bringing Finley back and acting like her rescuer.”
Dominic shifted in one of the chairs. “Outside his obvious sick intentions, what had he planned to do with her?”
Linc shared a look with the other three, before Dari answered: “He wanted to marry her.”
Groans and profanity
filled the room.
Jason said, “Yeah, I think we all share the same sentiment. Which makes it a good thing Megan refused to accept his story and kept working the case. It seems he already had his next victim picked out. And this time, he just may have gotten it right.”
They all fell silent as they digested that bit of news.
“So, what we’re trying to say—” Dari cleared his throat “—is job well done, team!”
The group indulged in a bit of back patting, celebration obviously the name of the game.
Linc took that as his cue to leave the room, preferring not to participate. Truth was, his reaction was bittersweet. Sweet, in that Lazarus was growing into exactly what they’d hoped it might. Bitter in that there were two principal team members missing from the celebration—Eli Stark, who was a business partner and primary investor but preferred to remain silent in more ways than Linc was comfortable with, and Barry Lazaro, their late friend and inspiration.
Linc tried to shake off the dark thoughts, concentrating instead on the matter at hand, which happened to be a memo he’d received on his BlackBerry that morning—his FBI past had come back to haunt him in the form of one certain Billy Johnson, a serial bank robber he’d put behind bars two years ago. The man had made a daring jailbreak and was now wandering around a free man.
“Good job, Linc,” Dominic said as he came out of the room.
He narrowed his gaze at the young agent, letting him know the hand he was about to use to pat him on the back was not only unwelcome, but may very well get him hurt.
Jason chuckled as he came to stand next to him, and Dominic moved on. “You know, these guys are scared spitless of you.”
“Good.” He cracked a grin.
Dari and Megan came out, his arm draped around her shoulders. “You going to join us for a celebration lunch?”
Linc shook his head. “Pass.”
“Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be at The Barracks,” Megan said.
The threesome left and Linc headed for the door. This case may have been put to bed, but he already had his sights set on the next bedroom. And a certain woman he was sure Billy “the Bank Robber” Johnson would try to seek out.
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