Jake understood family obligation, but he heard genuine love for her father in her voice and felt an unexpected moment of accord with her. Although she was angry with her parent, she’d accepted Jake as a bodyguard to soothe her father.
That feeling of accord evaporated with her next words.
“Do you know what it was like while I was growing up? I didn’t go to school like the other kids. I was driven by a chauffeur. I had two bodyguards hulking in the shadows.” In a gesture similar to his own, she pushed a hand through her hair. “I was never invited to birthday parties. Or anywhere else. I never had a second date, because the boys who asked me out couldn’t face being followed everywhere we went.” She drew herself up. “I don’t like being followed. Or manipulated. Or being treated like some fragile little girl who can’t take care of herself.”
“Poor little rich girl.” He didn’t bother masking the contempt in his voice. He wondered what she’d think of the way he’d grown up, fighting his way out of the slums with nothing but his fists and a fierce determination to make a better life for himself and Shelley.
Her head jerked up. At the same time, her expression went smooth as glass. He could see her rebuild a mask of composure, layer by painstaking layer. “Think what you want.”
The words were said with a studied lack of concern, but he heard the pain behind them. He had no desire to hurt her, but he wasn’t willing to back down from doing his job.
“I have a job to do,” he said, as though to reinforce his thoughts...and his resolve. “It’ll be a lot easier if you cooperate. But I’m here to stay.” To prove his point, Jake cupped her elbow and steered her to his Jeep.
“Have it your way.”
“I usually do.”
TWO
The D.A.’s offices resembled a rabbit warren, with people scurrying down one corridor, up another.
“We might as well get this over with,” Dani said.
Jake heard the resignation in her voice.
It turned out they didn’t need to explain Jake’s presence. “Your father called,” her boss, Leonard Freeman, the district attorney, told her. “He said he’d hired a bodyguard for you.”
Dani sighed. “Of course he did.” She made the introductions.
Jake stored away impressions. There was the D.A. himself, overweight and jowly, who, despite his self-important manner, seemed genuinely concerned about Dani’s safety. Then there were two A.D.A.s, Sarah Whitmore and Trevor Ryan, in the section and, finally, a secretary, Clariss Trenton.
There was little warmth or concern in the gazes they turned on Dani. Instead, there was only a hard-edged gleam of curiosity.
“That everybody?” Jake asked.
“There’re two dozen other prosecutors, but you met the ones I work with on a daily basis.”
“People, listen up,” Freeman said in his foghorn voice. “Dani needs our support, and we’ll give it to her. One hundred percent. We’re a team here. There is no I in team.”
“But there is a me,” Ryan muttered under his breath.
Obviously, he hadn’t meant to be overheard and flushed when Jake raised a brow, letting Ryan know his words hadn’t gone unnoticed.
As the day wore on, Jake took stock of Dani’s colleagues whom he’d met earlier. Sarah Whitmore and Trevor Ryan seemed friendly enough, even if that friendliness came off as a little forced. They both took the opportunity to express their concern over what Dani was going through.
“If you need anything, anything at all,” Whitmore stressed to Dani, “just let me know. I can take over some of your workload if you’re not up to it.”
Translation: I can’t wait to show the boss what I can do. The butter-won’t-melt voice was so sweet as to be dripping with syrup.
Ryan made the same offer. “You know we’re here for you, Dani. Anytime. Any day.”
Dani smiled. “Thanks. Both of you. I know you’ve got my back.”
Jake had done his homework before taking on the job. From what he’d learned, Ryan had been passed over for the next-to-top spot that Dani now occupied and wasn’t happy about it. He couldn’t help wondering if Ryan might want to put a knife in her back, instead of guarding it. And then there was Whitmore, who came off cloying rather than supportive.
If the office reflected the woman, then Dani Barclay was as no-nonsense and straightforward as the plain metal desk that occupied the center of the room. A tired sofa and two equally tired chairs provided dubious seating.
Somehow Jake knew that the less-than-inspired furniture didn’t define her, though, especially when he took in the bold impressionistic painting that dominated the room. Slashes of colors should have jarred but didn’t, inviting the viewer to take a second...and a third look. Only one other item hinted at anything personal, a small plaque propped on her desk.
Intrigued by the message, he murmured the words aloud. “‘Grace happens anyway; the least we can do is be there.’”
Freeman made a point of checking on Dani several times during the afternoon.
“I’d say to take a couple of weeks off, go somewhere this creep can’t find you, but the truth is I can’t afford to let you go right now.” He gestured around, as if to encompass the entire office. “We’re understaffed as it is, and you’re the best I have.”
“Thanks, boss,” Dani said and gave him the same little speech she’d given her two coworkers. “He’s a good guy,” she said to Jake when Freeman took his leave. “A bit self-involved. But he’s dedicated to the job. I’m lucky to work for him. I’ve learned a lot. And he has one of the highest rates of closing cases in the state.”
Jake nodded but reserved making a judgment about the D.A. The man was accustomed to being in the spotlight and didn’t like sharing it. Dani’s troubles had put her on the front page, earning her a notoriety Jake knew she didn’t want.
It had been too much to hope that the stalker’s antics wouldn’t make the news, given that many reporters had connections in the Atlanta Police Department. One reporter in particular, Taryn Starks, had kept the story about Dani’s stalker in the papers, dredging up any bit of information to keep it alive. It didn’t help matters that Dani was young and attractive, making her an appealing victim. An enterprising photographer had scouted up a picture of her attending a society event.
With Dani busy at her desk, Jake did reconnaissance work. He started with Sarah Whitmore. He found her in the break room, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Let me,” he said and took the carafe from her.
“Thank you.” Her mouth twisted in an expression of concern. “It’s awful what’s happening to Dani. Just awful.”
“I’m sure Dani appreciates your support.”
“Anything I can do. Though...” Her voice trailed off suggestively.
“Is there something you know that would help?” he prompted.
“It’s only that Dani’s a bit of a drama queen. When her mother disappeared, she carried on something terrible. Not that it wasn’t perfectly dreadful, of course, but still.”
“And you think that has something to do with the stalking?”
She made a point of lowering her voice. “It’s only that Dani likes to be the center of attention. Is it possible she’s doing this to herself?” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that. Please. It can’t be true.” But her expression made it plain that she didn’t want him to forget it.
Jake filed that away, along with other impressions.
Trevor Ryan was next on his list. With his orthodontically straight teeth and salon-styled hair, the lawyer was handsome enough. Jake supposed he appealed to the ladies, at least on a superficial basis.
“What can I do for you, Rabb?” Ryan asked.
“I’m just trying to get a feel for Dani’s day-to-day life. Anything you can tell me would be help
ful.”
Ryan leaned a hip on his desk and gestured for Jake to take a seat. It wasn’t lost on Jake that the other man had intentionally chosen a position that put Jake at a disadvantage. Some people were into power games. Something else to be filed away.
“Dani’s a good enough lawyer. She carries her own weight—that is, when she’s not preoccupied with personal matters.”
“And has she been? Preoccupied with personal matters, I mean.”
“There’s no denying that this stalking thing has taken up her time. Filing reports, meeting with the police, that kind of thing.” He shrugged, as if to say it wasn’t any of his business.
Jake remained silent, waited for what he knew would come next.
“She does her best, but it’s been hard on the rest of us. You could say we’ve had to carry her. Not that we mind,” Ryan added hastily. “Not at all.”
“Of course not. Do you have any idea who could be doing this to her?”
“No! I mean, why would I?” Ryan’s tone turned hostile.
“Just covering the bases.” Jake rose. “Thanks for your time.”
“Anything I can do to help. Anything at all.”
It didn’t take much to read between the lines. Both Whitmore and Ryan were jealous of Dani. Office politics were one thing, but both coworkers seemed determined to cast her in a bad light. Could be nothing. Then again, people had been known to threaten, even kill, for a job.
Suspicion, along with a healthy dose of paranoia, was part of the job. Sometimes it was a big part, other times, not so much. As discomfiting as it was, he’d be a fool to ignore it. And Jake Rabb was no fool.
He’d learned that the only way to deal with it was to make sure it didn’t paralyze him.
* * *
By the end of the day, Dani was dragging. Her life had taken a one-eighty, and she felt as if it was spinning out of control. Jake Rabb was an unexpected and unwanted complication.
She had initially resisted Jake’s directive that she stay with him and his sister and balked at his insistence that she needed 24/7 protection. After some argument, she’d conceded. The memory of her father’s sorrow after her mother had gone missing made Dani realize that if something happened to her, he’d be totally devastated and might never recover from it.
A strategic move to a different location wasn’t the same as running home to her father and letting him lock her away in an ivory tower. It was a small point, but an important one.
Over Jake’s objections, Dani insisted upon returning to her apartment. “If I’m going to stay with you and your sister, I need clothes.”
“We get in, and we get out,” he said. “Every minute you’re there, you’re at risk.”
His words sounded too much like orders, she thought with annoyance. He was instinctively trying to take control. That was just what she had been wary of, turning her life over to someone else.
He pulled out his phone. “I need to call my sister, let her know we’ll be running late.”
The short conversation revealed little about the man, except when he ended with “death to our enemies.”
When he hung up, Dani slanted a curious look his way. “What was that?”
“A code Shelley and I devised a while back.”
“You need a code to talk with your sister?”
“A safety measure we set up.”
At the lobby to her building, Dani stopped.
“Hi, Ms. Barclay.” The familiar voice of the doorman had her lips lifting in her first real smile of the day. At twenty-two, Barry Thomas was nearly ten years younger than herself. Even so, he was married with a baby on the way.
She knew he and his wife struggled to make ends meet and made it a point to tip him well.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said and folded the bill she slipped him inside his pocket.
His fresh-faced looks and use of the word ma’am made her feel impossibly old. She shook her head at her musings. She was hardly over the hill, but sometimes she felt the years slipping by and at odd moments found herself wishing for someone to share her life with. Resolutely, she pushed that away and gave Barry her attention.
“How’s Suzanne feeling?”
He grimaced. “Tired all the time. Says her feet hurt. But she wants to keep working until the baby comes.” His young face flushed. “I told her to stay home and rest, but we need the money.”
Dani made sympathetic noises and made a mental note to send a gift when the baby arrived.
“Oh, I almost forgot. There’s a package for you,” Barry said and started to hand the gaily wrapped gift to her.
Up until then, Jake had stayed in the background. Now he moved in front of her to intercept the package. “Who delivered this? When? Did you have to sign for it?”
Barry looked confused and more than a little alarmed at the barrage of questions Jake fired at him. “Ms. Barclay?”
Jake jerked the man’s attention back to him. “I’m the one asking the questions.”
“It’s all right, Barry,” Dani said gently. “Just answer the questions the best you can.”
“A messenger showed up about forty-five minutes ago. He gave me the package, asked that I hand deliver it to you.”
“That’s fine,” Dani said. “Thank you.” Once they were out of earshot, she rebuked Jake. “You scared him.” Jake had scared her as well, but she wouldn’t give voice to the words.
“We’ve got to make a detour. We’re taking this to the Atlanta P.D.”
* * *
The police department was a cacophony of voices, the scrape of chairs against the hard linoleum floor and the clatter of keyboards, underlaid with the scent of bad coffee and industrial cleanser. It differed only a little from army barracks, and Jake felt immediately at home.
Dani in her light pink suit and heels earned a few whistles and admiring turns of heads, but she strode through the squad room with a familiarity that impressed Jake and knocked at a door.
Purposeful. That was the way Dani walked, like a woman who knew what needed to be done and got on with it.
She made the introductions with a minimum of words. “Detective Monroe.” She jerked a thumb in Jake’s direction. “Jake Rabb. I’ve acquired a bodyguard,” she said to Monroe. “My father’s idea.”
The two men sized each other up. Jake decided he liked what he saw. With skin the color of a walnut and a beard more gray than black, Monroe had the look of a man who had seen the worst the world had to offer and decided to see what he could do about it.
Monroe nodded in acknowledgment. “It’s a good one. We don’t have the manpower to guard you day and night.”
“I never asked for that.”
“No. That’s why he—” the detective gestured at Jake “—is a good idea. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here.” Donning latex gloves, Monroe opened the package. A dead bird lay nestled in a bed of straw.
Jake had to hand it to Dani. She didn’t gasp or cry out, viewed the contents of the box with stoic calm. Only the tightening of her lips had given any hint as to her feelings.
Detective Monroe took the box, promised he’d have the lab examine it, but didn’t hold out much hope in finding anything. “Whoever’s been doing this has been too careful to leave any prints or anything else we can trace.”
“There’s always a chance he’s slipped up,” Dani said.
“There’s a chance.” But the dismal tone in his voice belied his words.
In the meantime, Jake couldn’t help noticing the easy camaraderie she enjoyed with Monroe, as well as the other men and women who worked there. Despite the strain she was obviously under, she’d made a point of asking about families, smiling when a grizzled officer had shown her pictures of his newest grandchild.
It was apparent that they regarded Dani a
s one of their own. It was also apparent that they were fiercely protective of her.
“I’m glad you’re on the case,” Detective Monroe confided to Jake in a private moment. “We’re doing our best, but we’re spread too thin.” He made a disgusted sound. “Budget cuts. As if it weren’t hard enough to do our jobs, the city fathers decide we need to ‘trim the fat.’ Look around you. You see any fat?” His lips flattened as he gestured to the sparsely furnished squad room with its utilitarian office equipment.
Jake empathized with the older man’s frustration. He’d seen the effects that budget cuts had on the army. Substandard or outdated equipment had cost more than one botched operation.
He cast a glance in Dani’s direction. “What’s your honest opinion of what’s going on?”
Monroe rubbed his chin. “Prosecutors make enemies. No getting around it. Dani handles her share of cases, some of them nasty as all get-out. But, for the most part, the people she prosecutes aren’t stupid. They’re mean, cunning and greedy, but they know that if she’s taken off a case, someone else will be assigned. Scaring her off isn’t going to change anything. Not in the long run.”
Jake had nodded. The detective’s assessment matched his own. Not that he wouldn’t check out the cases she was handling, but these threats didn’t feel as if they were coming from an outsider. They felt personal.
That, in his opinion, made them all the more dangerous.
“What do we do?” Dani asked as she and Jake left the police department, and the first hint of fear slipped into her voice.
Silently he applauded her attitude. She didn’t bury her head in the sand, pretending she wasn’t under attack. No, she wanted to know what they were going to do.
At least she was including him.
“I don’t know.” She deserved honesty from him. At the same time, she needed reassurance. “But I can promise you one thing—whoever is doing this is going to have to go through me to get to you.”
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