Jake grumbled something undecipherable.
What was wrong with him? Dani wondered. He’d been in a strange mood all evening, even growling at his friend. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing you can help with,” he muttered.
Sal, however, didn’t seem upset. If anything, he appeared amused.
The big-city gal in question returned with their orders, once again directing big smiles in Jake and Sal’s direction. Jake, Sal and Dani dug in, sharing dishes, sampling from each other’s plates.
For that hour, Dani’s troubles fell away, the worry that had been so much a part of her faded, and she was simply a woman enjoying dinner with two attractive men.
Not a bad way to end the day. Not bad at all.
* * *
He should have been pleased that Dani and Sal got along so well, Jake thought. He should have. But he wasn’t. The whole jealousy thing was new to him. He’d never had a problem with jealousy before.
What was going on with him anyway? This wasn’t like him. Nothing he’d done or felt in the past couple of weeks was like him, not since he’d first laid eyes on Dani.
The acknowledgment did little to soothe his temper, and he was in a foul mood by the time they returned to the house.
He dropped Sal off at his truck where he’d parked on the street.
“See you tomorrow, Dani,” Sal called as he climbed out of the Jeep.
“Tomorrow,” she echoed. Then she turned to Jake. “What was that all about? We were having a nice dinner and all of a sudden you turn all Delta Force scary.”
“I was Delta Force,” he reminded her.
“But you were never scary. Not this way.”
“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t tell her that he was jealous of his friend. Couldn’t tell her that he had feelings for her way beyond those of a bodyguard for a client. That would be unprofessional at best, not to mention unethical. So he kept his feelings to himself.
She reached for his hand, squeezed it. That sweet, quiet gesture had his heart.
The urge to tell her about his feelings was overwhelming. Dani was everything he’d ever wanted. Smart. Compassionate. Beautiful. He’d never met a woman who lived her faith as Dani did. She brought it to her work, used it to make herself a better D.D.A. and, more, to make herself a better person.
She could no more separate herself from her faith than she could turn away a friend who needed her help. Both were part and parcel of her.
“You’re a good man. You deserve to be happy.”
“I don’t know about that.” That was the most he could say, that he wanted to be a good man. He knew he could do better than he did. Every day, he struggled with the need to forgive those who had cost the lives of his men.
Spending time with Dani, seeing her belief in action, had sparked a kernel of his own faith.
“The things I’ve seen, the things I’ve done...” He shook his head. “I don’t deserve happiness.”
“How can you say that?” Dani’s voice turned urgent. “You do deserve to be happy. More than most.”
He shook his head. “That might have been true once. Not after my last mission. I let down my men. I let down myself.”
“That wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could to save them.”
“It wasn’t enough.”
She reached for his arm, wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “Happiness can be yours, Jake. But you have to want it.”
He summoned a faint smile. “You almost make me believe that. You make me want the happily-ever-after ending in the books I used to read to Shelley.”
“It’s yours for the asking.”
“You mean asking the Lord.”
Her nod confirmed his words, but he wasn’t buying it. Even with the Lord’s help, he didn’t know whether he could find it in him to let go of the anger and bitterness that filled his heart.
“You’re some kind of lady, Dani Barclay.”
“And you’re some kind of man.”
“Looks like we’ve got our own mutual admiration society going on,” he said at last, needing to break the intimacy of the conversation.
Her smile told him that she understood what he was doing. And why. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in that society than you.”
Jake put the Jeep in gear and drove through the dark streets to his home.
* * *
Dani was moved by Jake’s words. And for the first time in a long time, she wanted more than simple friendship from a man. She wanted to get close to someone, to let him into her life, into her heart.
She was so tired of being alone.
In her heart, she’d been alone since her mother had left. Of course she loved her father and knew that he loved her, but he had closed off a part of himself with his wife’s disappearance.
There had been Victor. He’d been there for her at the worst time of her life, and for that, she would always be grateful, but he had never touched her heart the way Jake did.
Jake had the air of a loner. She understood that, as, in many ways, she was also a loner. It was easier sometimes to be alone than to be surrounded by people and still be alone inside, where it counted.
With Jake, she no longer felt alone.
She stole a glance at him in the dark interior of the Jeep. His chiseled profile belied the tenderness he showed on rare occasion.
He turned to her, his face revealing a layer of emotion she hadn’t seen before. “You’re staring.”
Caught, she could only nod.
“Why?”
“Because you’re nice to look at.” That much was true. Jake would never be termed handsome, but he had something more appealing than mere handsomeness. His appeal was that of an honorable man determined to do the right thing, whatever the cost to himself.
His personal code, she’d learned, was one of such innate integrity that she wondered if he was even aware of how rare that was these days. Did he take it for granted because it was so ingrained within him?
Thoughts swirled through her mind during the trip to his home. Jake had worked his way into her life, into her heart. If not for the stalking, they would probably have never met.
No!
Her heart rejected that notion.
Still, she couldn’t deny the unusual circumstances of their relationship. Was that what prompted her feelings for him? The sense of safety she felt when she was with him? A misplaced sense of gratitude?
Once more, she rejected the explanation.
Please, God, she prayed, let me find the strength to resist what I’m feeling.
Her father had loved her mother with his whole being. When she’d disappeared, he’d suffered so intensely and fallen into such a deep despair that Dani had feared she’d lose him, as well.
No, love didn’t always bring happiness. It was a lure for the unwary, rife with pain and misery. She’d be a fool to fall into that trap.
She stiffened her resolve. Jake was a good and honorable man, but he wasn’t for her. Hadn’t she already warned herself about mistaking gratitude for love? She felt safe with Jake. That was all.
TEN
“We’ve got a break.” Monroe’s voice came over the line, the usually slow-talking detective speaking rapidly, almost urgently.
“What is it?” Jake asked. He and Dani were still at his home, the only place where he felt confident she was safe.
“Newton apparently had a change of heart. Or, more likely, she started listening to her lawyer, who pointed out that she wasn’t doing herself any good by not cooperating.”
“What did she say?” Right now, Jake didn’t care about Newton and her angling for a deal.
“You’ll probably want to hear it yourself, but, basically, she said that she got an email wi
th the information about Dani’s peanut allergy, plus where she was going to be that night and how to get hired on by the caterer. Get this—the email contained a job application form. All Newton had to do was fill in the blanks, send it in.” Monroe paused a beat. “You know what this means.”
“Yeah.” Jake’s mind was already jumping two or three steps ahead. Whoever had sent Newton the email knew things about Dani, private things that weren’t readily available to others. “It’s nothing we didn’t already suspect.”
“But here’s the thing—we’ve got the IP address of the email. Now it’s just a matter of tracing it back to its source.” An edge of excitement crested the detective’s normally gravelly voice.
Jake wished he felt more hopeful about their success at that. Anyone sophisticated enough to bypass the video at Dani’s apartment probably knew how to cover his or her electronic tracks. He said as much to Monroe.
“I hear you. But it’s something. More than we had.”
“What about Washington’s financial records?”
“We’ve got them, too. It’s just like we thought. Two large deposits were made into Washington’s checking account. We traced them back to Brooks. Who do you think will turn on the other first? Washington or Brooks?”
“It’s a toss-up. They’re both scum.” And it was certain that neither of those men had anything to do with the email sent to Newton. The individual who had done that was savvy enough to know how to conceal his identity. Brooks and Washington were arrogant enough or stupid enough to not even try to hide the transaction.
Monroe growled. “You’ve got that right. If I had my way, I wouldn’t deal with either of ’em, but if they’ve got information that’ll lead us to the stalker, then I’m willing. This thing has gone on long enough.”
Jake appreciated the detective’s honesty as well as his dislike of working with either Brooks or Newton, but Monroe was right. “Sounds like you’re thinking the same way I am. That Brooks was put up to this, just as Newton was. They’re being used by someone who knows enough about Dani to know how to get to her.”
“It plays for me. I figured it would for you, too. Our stalker knows enough about Dani to know who else has it in for her, whom he could manipulate. All he had to do was tap into those feelings. Revenge is a powerful motive.”
“Something still bothers me,” Jake said, thinking aloud. “What about the security system in Dani’s apartment? Even if someone got by the doorman, he’d still have to deal with the security code.”
“I don’t know.” Jake could hear the frown in the other man’s voice. “We just keep connecting the dots. Pretty soon, we’ll have the whole picture.”
“Yeah.” But would they have it in time? Dani was running on empty. She had held up admirably for weeks, but how much more could she take? The shadows under her eyes grew deeper with every day.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Jake said. He heard Dani stirring. “If you find anything more...”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
When Sal showed up, he made a show of holding up his hands and backing away. “I came bearing gifts.” He dropped the package he carried onto the kitchen table. The aroma of yeast and chocolate wafted from the white bakery bag.
“About last night...” Jake began.
“No problem.” Sal grinned. “I get the picture. You like the lady. Can’t say I blame you.” His grin widened. “You’ve got good taste, buddy.”
For all his teasing, Sal was a good friend, who said more with a look than most people could get out in a thousand words. “Thanks.”
Sal nodded toward Dani’s room. “She up?”
“I heard sounds. Should be a few more minutes before she comes out.” Jake was beginning to know Dani’s routine, knew she liked to take time with her morning prayers.
“Good. ’Cause I wanted to talk to you. Privatelike. When I was with Dani yesterday, I noticed things. That so-called colleague of hers, Sarah something-or-other? She’s got it in for our girl.”
“How so?”
“I saw her sidling up to the big man there, telling him how it is that Dani isn’t pulling her own weight. She was all sugar and honey, saying it wasn’t Dani’s fault and all, that she’d take up any slack caused by ‘Dani’s inattention to work,’ so he shouldn’t worry.” Sal made a disgusted sound.
“You think Sarah’s involved in the stalking?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’d face an enemy soldier any day over a female like that one.”
“You and me both.” At least with the enemy, you knew what you were facing. A backstabbing colleague took the battle to a whole different level.
“Another thing. That A.D.A. He’s not popular with the rest of the office. I got that from one of the secretaries.”
“From Clariss?”
“Yeah. She tells me that Ryan would walk all over Dani if given half a chance. I caught him shooting her daggers when he thought no one was looking.”
“I figured that out for myself. He’s been passed over for the next-to-top spot several times and now Dani has it. She’s not only younger and better liked—she does the job more effectively than he’ll ever hope to. He doesn’t strike me as someone who steps aside for anyone.”
“Looks like we’re on the same page,” Sal said, fishing a doughnut out of the bag. “My great-grandmother would have called a whiner like that a pantywaist.” He took a bite out of the doughnut and sighed in satisfaction. “Goes without saying that I’ll be keeping a close eye on both those characters.” He switched gears. “About that other matter.”
“Dani’s mother’s disappearance?”
“Yeah. I did some searching on the stories about it. Four years ago, it was national news. All the major networks ran stories on it. A sitting United States senator’s wife walks out, just disappears into thin air. There was never any talk about another man. And even if there was someone else in the picture, why would a classy lady like that just disappear, walk away from her daughter? Word was they were tight.”
“That’s what I get from Dani.” Jake knew she still grieved over her mother.
“I did some checking on her from the week before she disappeared. She hadn’t canceled any of her social engagements, and the woman had lots of those—charity stuff, lunches with friends, et cetera. One thing—she was supposed to go to a doctor’s appointment downtown.” Sal paused. “An oncologist.”
“Cancer? Do you know what kind?”
Sal shrugged. “No. I checked with the doctor’s office, explained I was working for the daughter, but got nowhere. You know how doctors are about privacy and stuff like that. The thing is, the appointment was scheduled on the same day the lady did her vanishing act.”
“You’re thinking maybe she was afraid of facing bad news and just took off.”
“Maybe. But she’d still leave a trail. People always leave some kind of trail, especially civilians like that. They don’t know how to cover their tracks. I went down all the usual roads, checked for credit-card activity, variations of her name, like if she’s using her maiden name, even checked with an old girlfriend who works at the DMV.
“The bottom line is I came up with a big fat zero. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Dani’s father hired the best P.I. firm in the South and they couldn’t turn up anything either. It’s like the lady just dropped off the face of the earth.”
“I made a few calls, checked with the guy they put on it. He’s a good man, has a reputation of getting the job done no matter what. He’s still scratching his head over what happened to her.” Sal’s voice dropped. “He’s of a mind that someone offed the woman and buried her somewhere she’d never be found.”
“Did he share his suspicions with the senator?”
“No. There was no proof of foul play, so he couldn’t see any ups
ide in telling the family that he thought the wife and mother was dead.”
Jake had thought the same thing. Someone like Madeline Barclay didn’t just up and leave her family for no reason. “I owe you,” he said seriously. “I owe you big.”
“Hey, we’re buddies. Buddies have each other’s back. You saved my bacon over in the Sandbox.”
“Seems like I remember it the other way around.” Jake recalled Sal pulling him from a pile of rubble while they were taking heavy artillery fire.
“We did right by each other,” Sal agreed. “You know any of the guys would lay it on the line for you. I’ll keep your lady safe. You find out who this polecat is.”
Jake clasped his friend’s arm, a wordless gesture of thanks, and knew that words were unnecessary. Sal had come through for him, just as he always had.
When Dani appeared, both men were chowing down on chocolate-covered doughnuts.
“I hope you saved me one with sprinkles.”
Jake grinned. Another thing he adored about Dani. She had an unquenchable sweet tooth and didn’t mind indulging it. She’d never be one of those women who nibbled on a piece of lettuce and called it dinner.
Though Dani’s eyes had a bruised appearance, she wore a smile that went straight to his heart.
He handed her a heavily sprinkled doughnut. “Saved this one especially for you.”
“Thanks.”
The warmth in the single word stopped him in his tracks, enough so that he had to think about what he said next. “I know the way to this girl’s heart.” He gestured to her, kept it light.
Finally, he was able to get his brain in focus. “Monroe found the financial connection between Brooks and Washington. Those two are going down, for conspiracy, bribery, breaking and entering and a bunch of other stuff.”
Dani’s eyes took on a determined light. “That’s just what I was waiting for. Brooks will be put away for so long, he’ll never have another chance to hurt his wife, Stephanie.”
It was typical of Dani that she would think of another person before herself. He no longer wondered why she’d taken a job with the D.A.’s office when she could have made five or ten times what she was making by working in the private sector. Dani wanted to make a difference and saw her work as a way to do just that.
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