Dangerous Illusions (Steel Hawk Book 3)

by Sarah Ballance

  She clicked to the next image and found it to be of his birth certificate, issued by the state of California to David and Ellen Long. According to the document, David had been forty-nine when Edward was born, and Ellen had been forty-six. Definitely late bloomers. Then the date caught her eye. It had been issued a full year after his birth. She didn’t have any children, so her experience was a bit short in the area, but she thought a birth certificate was something that happened immediately. She made a note to follow up with Social Security records to see if there was a discrepancy, though answers would be a long time coming. Her network of contacts didn’t extend to that particular government agency, which meant she’d have to get in line with the rest of the country to get any information out of them.

  The next image was of a faded, somewhat tattered document. She had to zoom in to make out the writing. The first thing that caught her attention was a date. June 2… Edward’s birthday, and the year of birth matched that of his birth certificate. The document appeared to be a birth letter of some type—handwritten, though with the Zarrenburg seal at the top, she could only assume it had originated there.

  Sophie stared in surprise. Had Edward been adopted out of Europe? The fact he was an only child to older parents seemed to support the theory of adoption, but what were the chances he’d come from there, of all places? Steel Hawk had ties to Zarrenburg that dated back a hundred and fifty years. Was it possible that their full-time staff attorney coincidentally came from the same small European principality? The odds had to be astronomical—if it was a coincidence at all.

  If Edward had come to the United States from Zarrenburg, there would be a record of his passport. She could request it from the Department of State, but she didn’t have any contacts to speed along what would likely be an interminable process. The fact that the request had to be sent through snail mail was indicator enough of that.

  Once again, her investigation seemed to yield more questions than answers.

  The next file was yet another photograph of a news article. Foul Play Determined in Deaths of Stockton Couple. The article was long, the print tiny. Fortunately, the image was high resolution, a fact she discovered when she zoomed in with hopes she’d be able to make out the text.

  Investigators have determined that the deaths of seventy-nine-year-old David Long and his seventy-six-year-old wife, Ellen Long, both of Stockton, were the result of criminal foul play. She read on to discover the brake lines on the couple’s 2009 Chrysler 300 had been cut.

  Sophie frowned. What could anyone possibly have against an elderly couple in a Chrysler? She switched to her browser and searched their names, but found nothing more on the accident. By all accounts, they appeared to be a quiet, well-respected pair who gardened and volunteered at the local hospital. She found the article photographed in Edward’s files, and without exception the comments reflected shock and an outpouring of support.

  Two words stuck with her. Illegal adoption.

  She didn’t know why Edward would have information on illegal adoptions unless he suspected he might be the victim of one, but that wouldn’t get someone killed thirty years after the fact… Would it?

  She took another swig of her Coke, then leaned back against the pillows to ice her eye. Should she mention her findings to Edward? Perhaps the better question was whether she’d mention them to any other suspect in any other case, and the answer was a resounding no. There was no way she’d go out of her way to inform someone else she’d dug through their files, so why would she even consider telling him? Because you’re an idiot.

  Fortunately, she was an idiot with half a brain left. Telling him was the only way to get the truth out of him. It wasn’t stupidity…it was strategy. If he’d lied, she’d be hurt, but she wasn’t there to tiptoe around her own feelings. She had a job to do.

  Whatever she learned would be for the better.

  * * * * *

  Monique stared at her computer, watching as the minutes ticked by. Rufus was late, and her worry and impatience had boiled over into anger. Their routine had done more than shift—it had splintered. He’d never been late. And until their last phone call, he’d never been early. He’d never rejected her body before then either. Now that tenuous thread of intimacy had been broken, and with every minute that passed, the pieces seemed to fall in greater earnest.

  Finally, the call came. Twelve minutes late. A minor inconvenience for most, it fractured her. For all of her adult life, Rufus had been her everything. She was only just realizing how much she depended on his direction. His loyalty. And now everything was changing.

  This day, she cared not for her hair or the buttons on her blouse. And Rufus didn’t seem to notice.

  Rufus regarded her with dark, distracted eyes. “What does my friend say?”

  “He says to tell you his price went up. That he had trouble with the girl.”

  “That imbecile.”

  If he’d noticed the difference in her tone, it didn’t seem to affect him. “He said you have someone else.”

  The cold darkness in his stare turned brittle. “You’re lying.”

  “No, I am not. He said you gave orders, but you did not give them to me. If it was not true, how would he have known to…what did he do? Attack the girl?”

  It seemed impossible, but his glare drew darker and even more forbidding than before. “You need to mind your own business, Monique. Do your job.”

  “How long have you misled me?”

  “I have done no such thing.”

  She swallowed her fears. Rufus had betrayed her. That stung, and while she knew his wrath could tear her apart, she shouldn’t be the only one wounded. “I spoke to her, you know. She seems quite…nice.”

  “Damn you, Monique. Don’t you defy me.”

  “I have been loyal. Loyal to a fault. You are the one who broke our agreement. You—”

  “Stop right now.” His tone could have splintered steel and turned diamonds to dust. “How dare you throw accusations at me? How’s your drink?”

  Monique’s hands shook so hard, she felt the tremble in her jaw. “You will not distract me from the knowledge you have someone else. After everything I’ve done for you—”

  “And you will do the next thing, and the next.” His furious, twisted face filled the screen. “I know you, Monique. I own you.”

  She stared into the cold eyes of the man for whom she’d have done anything. For whom she had done everything. The stolen jewels. The book that had threatened to destroy Steel Hawk. The days she’d spent sitting in that stupid café, waiting.

  And she was losing him anyway.

  “No, you don’t,” she said quietly.

  “What did you say?” He didn’t even try to hide the threat in his voice. He’d become a different man, and it hit her just how far beyond repair this chasm between them was.

  She straightened and stared into the eyes that had long ago lost their familiarity. “You don’t own me, Rufus. Not anymore.”

  “You bitch. How dare you speak to me in such a way?” His face twisted into rage.

  It was the last thing she saw before she slammed the computer shut. He’d kill her for her defiance, but so be it. It was the only way she’d ever be free.

  But he’d have to find her first.

  Chapter Ten

  Sophie realized the second she walked into the café the next morning that something was different. The dark-haired woman was there, but today she didn’t hide behind her computer. Instead, the woman looked Sophie directly in the eye.

  Sophie returned the scrutiny. She bore a slight resemblance in the face to Honeysuckle, but could it be that simple? As Sophie stood in line and collected her cappuccino, she racked her brain for some other recognition. It couldn’t be only from her visits to the café. Something else was nagging at her… She didn’t know what, but she had an idea that might help her find out.

  She pulled out her cell phone, then borrowed Edward’s trick and grabbed a napkin. She dabbed at her mouth and, sta
ring into her phone as did every other person on the planet, walked over to the trash can near the woman’s table and threw away the paper. When she turned, she lifted the device just enough to get a good facial view and took a photo of the woman, who’d watched her the whole time. Sophie hoped the camera hadn’t been too obvious when she captured the image, but it probably didn’t matter.

  From the corner of her eye, she noted the woman staring.

  The woman cleared her throat. “You are friends with the lawyer.”

  Sophie didn’t have to pretend to be startled by the woman’s attention, as the volume of her voice came as a shock. “The lawyer?”

  “The one who comes in here. Edward Long.”

  She nodded. “Yes, we know one another.”

  “He and I know one another too,” the woman said, her voice softly accented.

  Taken aback by the woman’s intense tone, Sophie froze. “He’s in here a lot,” she said slowly. “I’m sure he’s made quite a few friends.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  What. The. Heck. “What do you mean, then?”

  “Just stay away from him.”

  Sophie found herself completely incapable of walking away from such a bizarre conversation. The woman appeared…possessive. Yet when Edward had stopped by her table the day before, she hadn’t even looked at him. “How long have you… Wait. You’re from Europe, aren’t you?”

  The woman’s eyes grew wide.

  “Where in Europe?” Sophie asked.

  “I have to go.” The woman stood, collected her bag, and rushed for the door, nearly plowing over Edward, who was on his way in.

  He stepped back and held up his hands, allowed the woman to pass unimpeded. Then he looked up and caught Sophie’s eye. He walked straight toward her. “Good morning.”

  Sophie took a sip of her cappuccino, buying time before she answered. She could have misread the woman’s accent, but it sounded too much like another piece falling into place. But what place? Increasingly, she felt like she needed a road map to find it.

  Too much had changed. Her brief acquaintance with Edward had twisted more times than she could count, and after being spun around so often she’d lost her sense of direction. On one hand, they shared some kind of connection…but was that all in her head? Edward was an attorney…being able to sway the jury was in his job description. Only he wasn’t a trial lawyer, and Sophie hadn’t spent years honing her instincts only to throw them all out on a guy with a disarming smile and a lethal tongue.

  “Do you know her?” she asked.

  He stared blankly. “Who?”

  Sophie gestured with her cappuccino. “The woman who nearly ran you over in her rush to get out of here.”

  Edward glanced at the table the woman favored, leaving no doubt in Sophie’s mind he knew exactly of whom she spoke. “Honestly, before today, I wasn’t sure she had legs. I’ve never seen her do anything but sit at that table.”

  “She sure seems to know you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why? What did she say?”

  “She told me to stay away from you.”

  He frowned. “She doesn’t know me. Why would she do that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Sophie glanced around, but no one seemed to pay them any mind. “I was in here when you dropped those papers. What was that about?” Were you sending along information? She spoke in a low voice…low enough for him to lean dangerously close so he could hear.

  She half expected him to respond defensively, but instead he just gave a sheepish smile. “I wanted to get a closer look at her. She’s always behind that computer, and I hoped to draw her out a little. Something about her gets to me.”

  Like I do? Sophie worried her lip, unsure whether she should lay down a few more cards. “What was on the pages?”

  “They were blank. I just grabbed them out of the supply cabinet.”

  “Did you notice she took a couple of them?” she asked, watching carefully for a reaction.

  All the amusement fled his face. “What?”

  Sophie turned and lifted her cup toward the back of the café. “I was sitting back there. I saw the whole thing.”

  He tugged her aside, nearer the back corner. It wasn’t exactly private, but farther from the cashier, they were less likely to be overheard. “Why would she do that?”

  “You tell me.”

  “I don’t know. I know how this looks, but I promise I had no idea she’d taken any.” He was convincing, but whoever was behind all this trouble at Steel Hawk hadn’t caused it by being obvious.

  Sophie whipped out her cell phone and brought up the picture of the woman holding the papers behind her back. The setting was unmistakable—from where they stood, they had nearly the same view pictured in the photo. She held the device out for his inspection.

  His brow knit. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “How long has she been hanging out here?”

  “A few weeks, I guess. I was in Europe for a while, so I can’t speak for that time period, but you can ask Sheila. She owns the café.”

  Edward was in Europe. The woman’s accent sounded faintly European. Granted, that could be indicative of any number of countries, but Sophie’s livelihood existed in the realm of connecting these so-called coincidences, drawing lines that revealed the facts. “Let me check a few things first. I’ll meet you at the office.”

  “Sophie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is your eye okay?”

  She forced a grin. “Like I told you, you should see the other guy.”

  * * * * *

  Edward watched with a little too much interest as Sophie crossed the street and disappeared down the sidewalk. Then he ordered his coffee and stared at the dark-haired woman’s empty table while he waited.

  “It looks kind of funny vacant, doesn’t it?” the barista asked, startling him.

  He looked over to see the young woman smiling at him. “How long has she been coming in here?” he asked.

  “A few months, but she took a hiatus a couple of weeks ago. Actually, about the time you did, and returned around the same time as you. Curious timing. Anything you need to share with us, Mr. Long?” she teased.

  He grunted and shook his head. When had everyone decided it was okay to beleaguer him? Clearly he’d gotten soft in the last few days…in every way but one. Maybe he was just feeling better now that the finger of justice was no longer a knife at his throat. The news hadn’t been all good for Steel Hawk, but at least it was feasible that it wasn’t Edward who had betrayed them.

  But with the deactivated alarms, it was clear someone had. And now this woman had disappeared the same time he had? He didn’t buy into that as a coincidence.

  Fortunately, the barista moved on from her unanswered question. “Anything else I can get for you?”

  “Yeah. How about a chocolate-covered donut and one of those cream cheese Danishes?”

  “You’ve got it,” she said, just as Willie Bishop walked through the door. “Good morning,” she greeted him.

  Willie waved. “It is now.”

  “Break time already?” Edward asked.

  “I didn’t know you came out in the daylight,” he joked.

  “I figured I’d give it a try. How’s your latest project coming?”

  “I should have something to show Adam when he gets back from Europe.”

  “Good to know. I’m pulling for you.”

  “Thanks, man.” Willie glanced in the direction of the vacant table. Turning back to Edward, he said, “I guess hell finally froze over.”

  Catching his reference to the missing woman, Edward said, “No kidding. Did you ever talk to her?”

  Willie gave a knowing smile. “When was the last time you saw me ignore a beautiful woman?”

  “I think the more pressing question might be when the last one didn’t ignore you.”

  “Funny guy.” He tossed a five on the counter. “Gimme a Coke. You can keep the change.”

  “Bi
g spender.” It didn’t have to mean anything, but considering the massive pay cut Willie had taken—and in an expensive city like San Francisco—every dollar counted. Or it should.

  “Just think of all the good deeds I’ll do when I get that promotion.”

  Edward grinned. “You’re next in line.”

  “Yeah, you mentioned that a time or ten.”

  “It’s worth waiting for,” Edward assured him.

  Willie smirked. “Must be why I’m waiting.”

  “Don’t get so busy waiting that you forget to get back to work.” Edward hadn’t forgotten the way Sophie had questioned his personal connection to Willie, whose eyes suddenly lit.

  “Speaking of waiting and not working, who’s that hot little number you have holed up in your office?”

  Cue the rumor mill. “She’s a consultant.”

  “I bet.”

  Edward started to deny it, but he settled instead for the truth. “I wish,” he said in response to the innuendo.

  The surprise on Willie’s face was tangible. “I guess you’re human after all.”

  “Don’t let it get out. I’ve got to get back. When is your break over?”

  “As soon as I get back across the street.”

  “That’s a little open to interpretation,” Edward said dryly.

  Willie laughed. “Stick with the favorable version. I have one less woman to hit on, so it won’t be long.”

  Edward shook his head. When he left, Willie was chatting up the barista. Probably trying to sweet-talk her into a dinner and a movie.

  Back at headquarters, the receptionist smiled as he walked in. “Good morning, Mr. Long.”

  “Good morning.” He paused. “Did anyone leave early yesterday?”

  “Not to my knowledge. Just the usual lunch runs.” She nodded to the cup in Edward’s hand. “Sometimes I think we keep that café in business.”

  “We aren’t the only ones. That place stays packed. Have a good day, Ms. Abbot.” He hadn’t gotten far before she called after him.

  “Oh, wait,” she called after him. “Sam Johnson was gone for a couple of hours midafternoon. He said he went with his wife to a doctor’s appointment for his babies. Have you seen them? They’re just adorable. Anyway, he returned as everyone else was leaving. I asked him why he was coming back in so late, and he said he needed the solitude.” She gave a short laugh. “I bet his wife wishes she had a go-to spot for solitude.”