Bride On the Run

by Leann Harris

  “Give it your best shot, Counselor.”

  She started toward the main entrance and noticed that he hadn’t followed. “Come on, McGill.”

  “I thought I’d stay here.”

  She strode back to his side and clasped his arm. “You’re coming with me, Detective. I’m going to need you.”

  A frown wrinkled his brow. “For what?”

  A mysterious smile curved her mouth. “Wait and see.”

  From his somber expression, it was obvious he wasn’t eager to discover what she had in store.

  Gail’s office was two floors above Hal Weston’s. Through the clear glass doors, J.D. could see three secretaries at their desks with five offices branching off the main room.

  Studying the women, J.D. asked, “Which one do you think is Gwen’s secretary?”

  “This is your show, J.D. Take a guess.”

  She threw him a disgruntled look. “Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. “Go along with me, no matter what,” she whispered, wrapping her arm around his.

  J.D. didn’t like the gleam that appeared in his eyes, nor the upward turn at the corner of his mouth.

  “May I help you?” the first secretary, a young, pretty brunette, asked.

  J.D. put on her I’m-going-to-charm-the-pants-off-you face. “Yes. I was wondering if Gail Williams was in? I don’t have an appointment, but Gail and I went to high school together. I’m only in Austin for a few hours and wanted her to meet my charming fiancé.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms.—”

  “Campbell. Rita Campbell.”

  Luke’s head jerked around and, without looking at him, she slid her hand up the inside of his arm and pinched him. His elbow flew out, knocking J.D. sideways.

  Luke caught her before she stumbled into the desk. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” he asked in an annoyingly pleasant voice.

  Reaching deep within, J.D. composed herself. “Yes.” The word sounded normal. She threw the secretary an apologetic smile. “I’m not used to high heels.”

  The woman laughed. “I know the feeling, Ms. Campbell. As I was saying, Ms. Williams just left for the day. She won’t be back in the office until Wednesday.”

  “Oh dear, and I so wanted to see her.” Luke better not roll his eyes, she thought, hearing her own inane words. She turned to him. “I guess you won’t be able to meet Gail, sweetheart. We’ll just have to fly back to L.A.”

  “Ms. Campbell, is your flight leaving anytime soon?”

  “Around two,” Luke supplied.

  “Then perhaps you’ll see her at the airport. Maybe you’ll even be on the same flight. I think Ms. Williams’s flight to Las Vegas continues on to L.A.”

  “Oh, what airline?”

  The secretary named the airline.

  “That’s wonderful. That’s the same one we’re taking. Thank you for your help. I’ll be sure to tell Gail what a wonderful help you were.”

  J.D. was beaming as they rode the elevator down to the ground floor.

  “I didn’t know you had it in you, J.D. You should’ve been an actress, if that performance was any indication of your skills.”

  She laughed. “Are you trying to say I’m a terrific liar?”

  “You could’ve fooled me, especially when you called me sweetheart.” His voice was low and intimate.

  Pointing her finger at him, she warned, “Don’t get any ideas, McGill.” And yet, the word sweetheart rolling off her tongue had felt right. As a matter of fact, the entire scenario had felt right.

  J.D. kicked off her shoes. “Turn around.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m going to take off my panty hose.”

  Reluctantly, he turned toward the elevator doors, leaving her at the back.

  “Do you have any particular reason for your actions?”

  “It will make running back to the car easier.”

  The elevator stopped at the second floor and a man tried to get on. J.D. squeaked and moved to the front corner of the elevator. Luke blocked the man’s path. “Sorry, but you’ll have to catch the next one down.”

  J.D. leaned her head back against the control panel. “Thanks, Luke.”

  He glanced at her. Her skirt was halfway up her thighs and her panty hose were bunched around her knees. She made quite a picture. “You’re welcome. Only next time, could you wait until you’re someplace more private to undress?”

  She chuckled and finished taking off her hose.

  “Now, why do we have to run to the car?” Luke asked, trying to ignore her movements.

  The elevator doors opened. J.D. stuffed her panty hose into her purse, gathered up her shoes and ran into the lobby. “I plan to be on that flight to Las Vegas.”

  “That’s crazy,” he yelled at her back.

  He didn’t get a chance to further discuss it with her because she sprinted across the parking lot and down the street. For a little bitty thing, she sure could run. He felt like a fool running after her—an exquisitely dressed woman with bare legs, who ran like a demon. But what could he do? Yell at her to stop? Tackle her on the cement sidewalk?

  He was breathing hard when he reached the car. “Someone ought to spank your butt,” he said between shuddering gasps.

  “Quit with the sermon and unlock the doors.”

  He glared at her over the roof of the car as he inserted the key into the lock. When she slid into the seat next to him, he noticed she was only slightly winded, whereas he couldn’t draw enough oxygen into his lungs. Once he could see straight, he started the car.

  “Now, what is this crazy idea that you have?” he asked, pulling into traffic.

  “This lead is too good to let drop. Gail was obviously going off for some sort of liaison with that man. And I’m sure if we got that guy’s picture and showed it to Steve, he’d tell us Gail’s latest love interest was a member of the legislature.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “Give me a break, McGill. I bet that sixth sense of yours is screaming at you right now that we’ve stumbled onto something important here.”

  Checking his rearview mirror, Luke floored the gas pedal as he merged with the traffic on the highway. As much as he hated to admit it, J.D. was right. “This isn’t some TV cop show, lady, where I can go zipping off to Las Vegas on a whim. I’d have to clear it with my superiors.”

  “And by the time the okay would come back, Gail and her friend will be back in Austin. Well, you may have those constraints, McGill, but I don’t.”

  “Ah, hell, J.D. You go to Las Vegas and my sixth sense tells me you’re going to get into some major-league trouble.”

  That set her off. “As I’ve told you before, I can take care of myself.” Her words were like blocks of ice, chilling and hard.

  He ought to say the hell with her, let her board the plane to Dallas and let her fend for herself. He considered it as he drove to the airport and parked the car. As he watched her stride into the terminal building, he knew he couldn’t abandon her to the trouble that was brewing.

  He muttered a crude word, then followed her. Inside, J.D. wasn’t hard to spot. She was the only person at the ticket counter.

  “Is there any room left on your two-thirty flight to Las Vegas?”

  The man behind the counter typed the information into his keyboard. “Yes, madam, there’s an available seat.”

  “Are there two?” Luke asked.

  The man’s head came up. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t see you standing there. Yes, there are several open seats on the plane. Would you like to purchase two tickets?”

  “Yes,” J.D. answered, slapping down her bank credit card.

  Luke placed his hand over the plastic card. “I can pay.”

  “I don’t doubt that you can, McGill. But I do doubt you have that much cash on you, knowing cops as I do. Let me buy the tickets and you can pay me back later, with interest if that will help soothe your masculine ego. But right now we have to get on that flight.”

&
nbsp; He wanted to argue with her, but, unfortunately, he didn’t own a bank credit card because he didn’t believe in them. He had the cash in a savings account, but that would have to wait until they got back to Dallas.

  “You win, J.D. But I’ll pay interest.” He handed her card to the clerk.

  “I didn’t doubt it for a minute,” she mumbled.

  “Do you have luggage?” the airline clerk asked.

  Luke glared at him. “No, this is a spur-of-the-moment thing.” As if the idiot couldn’t tell. “I’m taking the lady to Las Vegas to get married. Couldn’t you guess from our loving attitude?”

  The man flinched at the tone of Luke’s voice.

  J.D. drove her elbow into his ribs. “Behave yourself, McGill,” she said, accepting their tickets from the clerk.

  They were held up several minutes at the metal detectors while Luke showed the guard his service revolver and badge. After he was okayed, they moved quickly to the gate, where the flight was in the process of boarding.

  J.D. craned her neck but couldn’t see over the crowd of people. “Do you see them?”

  He shook his head.

  “They’d better be on this flight.”

  Luke echoed her sentiment.

  They saw nothing of their quarry until they boarded the plane and walked through first class. On the next to the last row of that section sat Gail Williams with her latest “escort.”

  Luke didn’t know whether to be relieved or depressed. They were on the right plane, but for the next two hours he was going to suffer the same torture that had nearly driven him wild this morning. J.D. would be inches from him, filling his senses, making his body want things that were just flat impossible.

  It was going to be a long afternoon.

  * * *

  J.D. plowed through the throng of people at McCarrin International Airport, panic clawing at her heart. “Where did they go?” The sound of slot machines punctuated her words.

  “They probably had luggage. Let’s try the baggage claim area.”

  Immediately she located the sign, pointing out where they needed to go. It was comforting to have Luke here with her. Throughout the day, he was always sure of his direction. He may not have handled all the people with kid gloves, but his instincts hadn’t been wrong.

  “Do you see them?” she asked, frustrated that she couldn’t see over the sea of bodies. Luke didn’t have that problem. He easily saw over most people’s heads.

  “Yeah, there they are, going out the door.”

  J.D. raced to the glass wall and watched the couple climb into a cab. She memorized the company name and the number of the vehicle. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him outside and flagged down another cab. Two taxis pulled up to the curb. J.D. made a beeline to the second one.

  Luke shrugged his shoulders as if apologizing to the first cabbie and followed her.

  “Where do you want to go?” the driver asked.

  “Well, I have a bit of a problem. You see, we are going to surprise some friends and help them celebrate their anniversary. Gail’s husband arranged the surprise, but in typical male style, he forgot to tell us what hotel they were staying at. But I did see them leave the airport in one of your taxis. Number twenty-seven. Could you call your dispatcher and see where they went?”

  The man rolled his eyes, then shook his head.

  “There’s an extra twenty dollars if you take us to the same hotel,” Luke said, his voice sure and confident.

  The man glanced at Luke, and an understanding look passed between the two men. The driver called and got the name of the hotel.

  Once on the road, J.D. moved closer to Luke. His arm rested along the top of the seat.

  “He didn’t believe me, did he?” she asked, leaning nearer. She had only meant to get close enough to prevent the driver from overhearing her. Instead, J.D. found herself plunged into a heated world of sensation. His body heat surrounded her, making her blood flow faster. His scent, strong and masculine, filled her nostrils, bringing to mind the picture of him standing on the ladder, his bare chest sparkling in the sunlight. Her eyes focused on his mouth. She relived the kiss they shared, and her muscles seemed to melt.

  His arm came down, resting on her shoulders. His mouth moved to her ear. “No, he didn’t.”

  For a moment she had no idea what he was talking about. Her eyes met his. “What?” A frown settled between her brows.

  “The driver didn’t believe the story you made up.”

  “So you bribed him.”

  His other hand came up, and with a gentle touch, he stroked the line of her chin. “I spoke the language he knew.”

  Everything in her body went still except for the nerve endings in the small stretch of skin he touched. Her breathing stopped, her mind ceased functioning and her heart suspended its beating.

  “Oh, no,” the driver said, bringing the real world into focus again.

  She bounded away from Luke, as if she’d been shot from a cannon, and slid across the seat.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

  The cabbie pulled the car to the shoulder of the road. “The engine overheated. I’ll call another unit to come pick you up and take you to your hotel.” He winked at Luke.

  J.D. threw open the door and climbed out. She kept her back to the men, afraid the guilty flush in her cheeks would give away her humiliation to Luke and the driver. What had come over her to act like such a gushing ninny? As she stared out into the desert, she prayed that a hole would open up and swallow her.

  J.D. glanced at her watch. Twenty minutes had passed since they called for a backup cab. She felt a rising sense of panic envelop her. Gail and her victim were going to get away.

  She faced the driver. “What’s taking so long?”

  “He’ll be here any minute.”

  “You said that ten minutes ago.”

  The man shrugged. “Traffic must be bad.”

  She whirled to stare out at the endless horizon. Hugging her waist, she felt her sheer blouse stick to her skin. She glanced down at her five-hundred-dollar suit. The side seam was torn, presumably from her mad dash to the car in Austin. The navy blue material was dirty and rumpled. Her eyes went to her bare legs. What a sight she must be.

  Strong hands settled on her shoulders, turning her. She looked up at Luke. He studied her, his eyes traveling over her face and down her body. His fingers dug into the tight muscles of her neck.

  “Relax, Counselor.” His eyes were tender and his mouth curved into a reassuring smile. “Your worrying yourself sick isn’t going to change a thing. It won’t make that cab get here any quicker. Even if it did, you wouldn’t be any use to me sick. I promise, we’re not going to lose them.”

  She gave herself over to his clever fingers and comforting words.

  His hands moved up her neck, causing several hairpins to fall to the asphalt. Quickly, he picked the other pins from her hair and ran his fingers down the length of it.

  Her heart stopped.

  “You look hot. Why don’t you take off your jacket.”

  Before she could protest, he’d unbuttoned the coat and slipped it from her shoulders. Under the sheer pink shirt with pearl buttons, the lace of her camisole could be seen clearly.

  She glanced down. It wasn’t too bad, she thought, until she looked back at Luke. His amber-colored eyes had turned almost black with heat—a heat she could feel in every fiber of her being. The air around them was charged with clashing emotions.

  A horn blast drew their attention.

  “Your cab is here.”

  J.D. clutched her jacket to her chest and walked to the late-model car. Luke followed.

  They said nothing to each other as the driver started the car and shot into traffic. J.D. squirmed in the seat, trying to free her hair from under her hips. Her mind was reeling from what had happened between her and Luke back on the roadside.

  Knowing she must look like a wanton hussy, she opened her purse and rummaged through it until she found a large silve
r hair clasp. Setting it on her lap, she gathered her hair and twisted it into a tight rope. With a flick of her wrist, she wound the thick rope into an S at the back of her head, securing it with the clasp.

  As she worked, she felt Luke’s gaze on her and knew he regretted her putting up her hair.

  Once her hair was secured, J.D. breathed a sigh of relief. She was in control again and not barreling headlong into an area of sexual intrigue she knew absolutely nothing about.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Luke resting against the door. He looked calm, even relaxed, and she was dying to know what was going on inside his head.

  Why was it that with a single touch, a look, Luke McGill could make her feel things that no other man had? Did her presence have the same effect on him that his had on her?

  Don’t be stupid, J.D.

  Whether or not she had an effect on him, her head told her to keep her distance from the man. If she didn’t, and lost control of the situation, of the relationship, then she would become just another victim, much like her mother. And that, J.D. reassured herself, was a fate that would never befall her.

  * * *

  The cab pulled under the covered driveway, stopping in front of the hotel’s main entrance. After paying the driver, Luke and J.D. walked into the massive lobby.

  “A little overdone.” The words slipped out of J.D.’s mouth as she took in the surroundings.

  One corner of Luke’s mouth kicked up. “A little.” The place looked like something out of a thirties’ movie set.

  “What now?” she asked. “Where do we begin?”

  “Let’s see if Ms. Williams registered under her own name. That will tell us whether the lady wants anonymity or not.”

  It was a long shot, Luke knew. The clerk behind the front desk would balk at letting them know the suspect’s room number, and he didn’t want to flash his badge and have hotel security hot on his heels.

  Luke gave the girl his most charming smile. “We were to meet some friends here and spend the week. I was wondering if they’ve checked in.”

  “Their name, sir.”

  “Gail Williams and party.”

  The girl typed in the name. “I’m sorry, but no Ms. Williams is registered, nor do I see any reservations in her name for this week.”