A Wanted Man (Cold Case Detectives Book 1)

by Jennifer Morey

  “Yeah,” Penny replied as though Jax had nailed what she’d tried to say. “He’s desperate to keep the account, but...he just seems...”

  “Overly motivated to please?” Jax helped her out again.

  “Yes.” Kadin pictured Penny’s beautiful, oval face tilted in interest. Jax had noticed something about Mark...

  “Your boss and Dane have known each other for years,” Jax said. “Hasn’t Mark told you that?”

  “No. He never mentioned it.”

  Dane and Mark were friends? Did Mark’s embezzling have anything to do with that friendship?

  “They met in high school. Mark was always jealous of Dane.” Jax grunted a derisive laugh. “Who isn’t jealous of my brother? He’s smart. Successful. Ambitious.”

  “Mark’s not exactly failing,” Penny reminded him. “He runs Avenue One.”

  “You really don’t think Mark is failing?”

  Kadin heard Penny take a breath and then exhale as though deciding not to say what she’d almost said.

  “Dane gave him our ad account to help Mark,” Jax continued. “I fought the decision, but as usual, Dane had to have his way.”

  He said the last with a notable tone of disdain. Jax didn’t like playing second fiddle to Dane. He didn’t like taking orders. He wanted to be in control.

  “You wouldn’t have chosen Avenue One?” Penny asked curiously.

  “I wouldn’t have.” Jax paused and Kadin imagined he might be sending Penny a warm look. “But I can’t say I regret my brother’s choice.”

  Even now? Even after she had turned him over to the police?

  “Avenue One is one of the leading agencies in the country,” Penny said.

  “Yeah, but Mark is in trouble. He’s not the businessman Dane is, even though he tries awfully hard to be. Dane uses that to his advantage at times. You see, when it comes to business, my brother can be a ruthless son of a bitch.”

  Dane used his friendship with Mark to further his own agenda? How? By threatening to take away the account? He didn’t sound like much of a friend to Kadin.

  “Why do you say Mark is in trouble?” Penny pushed for more.

  Good girl. Exactly as he’d hoped, Mark’s trouble was leading to a connection to the Ballard brothers.

  “Why do you think he puts so much pressure on you?” Jax asked. “You delivered that Super Bowl ad and now you’re his superhero.”

  “But...”

  “Oh, come on, Penny, you can’t tell me you didn’t know Mark is driving that agency into the ground.”

  “No. I mean, he’s made comments alluding to that, but I had no idea we were in that much trouble.”

  Their food arrived and for several long moments only the sound of other diners and silverware against plates could be heard.

  “How did you find out Mark isn’t doing well at the agency? Did Dane tell you?”

  After a notable pause, Jax said, “Dane hasn’t told me anything.”

  Whatever he’d learned, he’d done so on his own, without Mark or Dane’s knowledge.

  “What is Mark doing to jeopardize the business?” she pressed.

  “Find whatever Mark was looking for on your computer and maybe you’ll have your answer. Do you have any idea?”

  Penny didn’t respond and when Kadin heard her glass gently touch the table, he wondered if Jax could recognize her tactical hesitation.

  “I’m guessing something financial he may have accidentally sent me. I’ve looked, but I haven’t found anything definitive.”

  Jax’s lengthy silence wasn’t tactical. “Why are you telling me all this?”

  Why indeed? To gain his trust. To fish for information. But did Jax see that? Hopefully her stunning beauty blinded him. Kadin had firsthand experience with that.

  “You asked me out to dinner.” Kadin could see her flirtatious smile and felt the urge to go in there and drag her away from Jax.

  “I did.” He sounded equally teasing. “To talk business.”

  “We are talking business.”

  Jax chuckled. “I confess I did that more for me than business.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. I didn’t kill that girl, Penny. I’d hate something that ugly to ruin us. I understand why you did what you did. If I’d been the one to find that truck like that, I’d probably have done what you did, maybe go straight to the police. Point is, I don’t blame you. I was angry at first, and I’m sorry for that.”

  “Jax—”

  “I’m not saying we should pick up where we left off. I just...want to see you on occasion.”

  Would Jax have said that if Penny hadn’t revealed her suspicion of Mark? Kadin didn’t think so. She’d gotten back in his favor again, or had begun to. While Kadin admired her for that, he didn’t relish the prospect of her spending more time with an ex-boyfriend, one she’d likely still be seeing if she hadn’t stumbled upon the truck.

  * * *

  Penny left the restaurant satisfied that she’d won Jax’s trust again. Hopefully his motives weren’t to stay close to the investigation so that he could take preemptive measures.

  “Where did you park?” Jax asked.

  She’d driven with Kadin and he was in the Charger. “Way in the back.”

  “I’ll walk you.”

  “No. I’m fine. The lot is well lit.” Several people were visible, too.

  “A single woman shouldn’t be out at night alone.”

  She breathed a laugh. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was eighteen. I don’t need a man.”

  Jax chuckled, half sincere. “You are independent. Something I admire about you.”

  She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Good night, Jax. I enjoyed the evening. Most of all, thank you for your understanding.”

  She waved and walked toward the far end of the lot, spotting Kadin in the driver’s seat and wondering how he’d fared through the dinner, hoping he’d suffered at least a little.

  Movement to her left made her turn. A man wearing a hoodie pushed off the side of a car where he’d stood in the shadows, out of the range of the nearest lamppost.

  Maybe having Kadin so close gave her courage. She stopped.

  The man threw down a cigarette and turned, walking away.

  Penny followed.

  “Penny! No!” she heard Kadin shout.

  She kept on the man’s tail, running to the edge of the parking lot and into a stand of trees.

  “Stop!” she shouted.

  The man glanced back and took up a jog. He didn’t seem worried about her following him.

  “Wait! Who are you?”

  He kept going.

  After eight, the sun would set soon. Meager light filtered through the canopy. On the other side of this group of trees, a park stretched to a neighborhood. She reached the edge of the trees and searched the deserted area.

  Behind her, a twig snapped. Penny whirled and scanned the darkness but saw no one. Following the sound, she walked quietly. Another sound came, this more like boots scraping dry dirt as someone walked away, in the direction of the restaurant.

  She caught sight of a form moving ahead. The hoodie man headed straight down the stand of trees. They bordered the park all the way around, but she recalled a parking area for park-goers near enough to the restaurant that the hoodie man could have used. Listening for sounds and watching for movement, she made her way through the trees.

  Then, suddenly, the man appeared. He strolled leisurely along, unaware of her behind him.

  Penny took note of his appearance. The dark gray hoodie still covered his head. It fell to just below his waist and he wore dark blue jeans. One or two inches shy of six feet, his lean frame moved with ease through the forest.

  “Hey!”
she shouted again. “Stop!”

  The man did stop this time. Abruptly. She’d surprised him. He turned.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  He looked back and all around and then to her.

  “Are you following me?” she demanded.

  Apprehension zapped her then. What was she doing? He’d obviously been spying on her and had tried to get away. Now she’d caught him heading for the park parking lot. Kadin was probably looking for her, but he wasn’t here. Only she was here, alone.

  Thirty or forty feet from her, the forest cast the man in shadows. She couldn’t make out his facial features. He was no one familiar to her, though.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked.

  He drew a gun, a good enough answer for her.

  Shocked and then berating herself for being so stupid, Penny ducked behind a tree. A bullet hit the tree next to where she’d taken cover. Before going after him, she should have considered the possibility that the man would turn on her.

  Hearing him running toward her, Penny dashed away from the tree, glancing back and seeing him aiming. Tree trunks whizzed past her. She zigzagged to keep them at her back and a barrier if he fired again.

  Looking forward, she nearly ran into another tree. Dodging that, she ran into something warmer but not much softer.

  “Oomph.”

  Strong arms wrapped around her. “Shh. Don’t say a word.” She stared up at Kadin’s face as he moved behind the tree, his back pressed to the bark.

  Penny quieted her breathing so she could listen for the hoodie man. The forest was silent.

  After a few minutes, she peeked around the trunk.

  “He’s gone,” Kadin said.

  She stepped back from him. “How do you know?”

  “I saw him when you barreled into me. He turned and ran the other way.”

  One look at Kadin and he’d raced off. Kadin did have an imposing presence.

  “What the hell were you thinking, going after him like that?” he demanded.

  Penny swallowed hard. Chasing after the hoodie man had been impulsive on her part. Her only goal had been to find out his identity. But, in hindsight, she realized it hadn’t been the smartest move.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

  “I wanted to know who he was.”

  “And you thought he’d tell you if you asked?”

  She lowered her head. “I know... I shouldn’t have risked that. I wasn’t thinking.” Put her in an office and she dared anything. Outside, she never shied from adventure. But this was no adventure. This was real. Someone had tried to kill her. Again.

  “From now on you do what I tell you. No more chasing after strangers without me. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  With his dark brow shading his eyes, he took her hand and led her in the direction the hoodie man had gone. A few minutes later, they reached the parking area. There were three cars there, all of them empty. Hoodie Man had gotten away.

  * * *

  Kadin brooded all the way back to Penny’s apartment and she suspected the cause had nothing to do with her running after a stranger. He’d listened to every word of her conversation with Jax.

  “Everything all right?” Maybe she could ease him into talking.

  “Fine,” came his terse response.

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  “I didn’t anticipate having to save you from a killer. Again.” He put down his keys and removed his T-shirt.

  For a moment, all she could do was stare. All that smooth, bronze skin molded to hard muscle captivated her senses. He caught her noticing him that way and Penny faltered, flustered over whether to continue probing or turn and leave the room.

  “I’m going to take a shower.” He turned instead.

  “Now?” She followed him down the hall to the bathroom, going back to what he’d said earlier. “My going after the man in the hoodie isn’t why you’re acting like this,” she accused.

  He stopped and faced her in the doorway.

  Startled, she stepped back before nearly bumping into him. She leaned against the opposite wall, his naked chest interfering with her purpose. And what was her purpose, to make him admit he was jealous? Why did she want to do that?

  “Are you taking a shower with me?” he asked gruffly.

  He felt something for her. He had to. Otherwise, why the kiss before she went to have dinner with another man, and why the brooding afterward—after hearing Jax say he still wanted her?

  “I should say yes.” The return of her brazen personality felt good. Because she did want to take a shower with him. Because she wanted to do a lot more than that with him.

  As her desire lit into a simmer, on its way to a searing boil, she checked herself. She might be a fool to test her heart with this man. Any other, she wouldn’t hesitate. But Kadin? He presented new challenges. Once again, instinct reared up and warned not to discard caution. And once again, the idea of holding back struck her as foreign. Inconceivable. She had never had to deny herself like this before, never felt the need to until Kadin came along.

  “Why don’t you?” He angled his head as though coaxing.

  Did he want her to take a shower with him? Was he daring her? Did he intend to carry on this affair? And then what?

  Penny feared the and then what would be to her disadvantage. She was on unfamiliar ground, facing a big unknown. While the unknown had never intimidated her before, she took heed now. Big unknown changed the playing field.

  “You were jealous tonight,” she said, not caring if she sounded defensive.

  His seductive look turned more shrewd. “I thought we were talking about a shower.”

  “I didn’t start out talking about a shower.” She wanted him to admit the truth.

  “I’m not jealous.”

  Pushing off the wall, feeling more in control, she moved closer. “Then what would you call it?”

  “Concern for your safety.”

  She scoffed at that excuse, amused and frustrated at the same time. “You were jealous.”

  “Of what? Jax?”

  Her ex was still attracted to her. He must have picked that up from his side of the dinner conversation. “Of any man who desires me.”

  “Are you still interested in Jax?” he asked more as a test. His tone indicated as much, as did the challenge in the way he regarded her, that slightly lifted brow and faint upward curve of his lips.

  “Not anymore.”

  He leaned his forearm on the door frame, biceps flexing, hip cocking in a sexy pose. “Then there you have it. Nothing to be jealous of.”

  Damn, he just refused to bend! He would not admit her dinner with an ex-boyfriend had bothered him. Why? Did he fear a budding relationship? No. Penny doubted much, if anything, scared this man. He’d made the decision to avoid serious relationships.

  She faltered as his big, powerful arm distracted her, following the firm outline of muscle under golden skin from his shoulders to his chest and abdomen. When she began to grow too warm, she met his eyes again. He’d noticed her admiration and had partaken in a sampling of his own. Now warming passion hummed from him, making her hum in response.

  Bizarre, how he took her on roller-coaster rides of passionate highs and cautious lows.

  “Can I ask you something personal?” she asked.

  “Why stop now?”

  She liked that he could still let humor through his dark shield. “Do you ever see yourself falling in love again?”

  He observed her through hooded eyes, trying to read why she’d asked. For herself. Out of curiosity.

  “No,” he finally answered. “I don’t want to fall in love. And I don’t want to have any more children
. Nothing can replace the family I had.”

  Disconcerting, how sure he sounded. And he didn’t even consider starting over with a new family. He didn’t have to replace the one he’d had.

  “Not even, like, ten years from now? Never?” she asked, unable to believe he’d actually go the rest of his life without finding someone to love. He might not think he would now, but maybe after more time passed, he’d change his mind.

  “Once was enough for me. In ten years I’ll be forty-seven. Too old for me to be a father.”

  “That’s debatable,” she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “Men can father children later in life.”

  “Yes, but not all of them want that.”

  Penny recalled the way he’d been after they had sex. The same as her. Troubled by how good they were together. Troubled even more over the unknown lurking in the future. Where this affair would lead. Withdrawing from the possibility. Protecting their hearts. A ride of highs and lows.

  Penny had never felt the need to protect herself from any man. She liked herself better when she let her inhibitions go. Her instinct and desires had never failed her before, never led her into scandal or heartbreak. As long as she accepted that this might not lead to anything permanent, she’d be fine. Since when did she want to permanently attach herself to any man, anyway? She didn’t, not yet, maybe not ever.

  Why, then, did she keep having these internal deliberations? Did she need convincing to go after Kadin the way she went after any other man? Or did she need convincing not to?

  “What about you?” he asked. “You don’t seem to want to get married, either.”

  Boy, he’d nailed her thoughts down, hadn’t he?

  “My philosophy is not to force it to happen. The time and the man, if there is one, have to be right. In perfect harmony spiritually and for both involved.”

  “What if the time or the man is never right?”

  Did he believe he’d had his one true love and no more would follow?

  “What if the time and a woman you meet are right for you?” she countered. “Why not look for happiness again? I mean, maybe not now, but someday. I can’t imagine why anyone would stop trying to find love.”

  “Maybe because they’ve already had it and that’s enough.”