Despite working as a police officer and the bureau, she was still a romantic. To her marriage was something that was done for life and not something to be taken lightly. She had made a grievous error by actually moving out here with him.
Unbidden her thoughts once again wandered over to Agent Stone's neighborhood. She had been thinking a lot about the island Adonis over the last couple days. Not that she wanted to think about the man. He was egotistical and brash, exactly the type of man she should avoid. However, the bad girl deep down in her wanted to trace her fingers along that dangerous looking tattoo on his bicep. She speculated as to what type of lover he would be. Was he the wham bam thank you ma'am type out to just get his own or was he the type of man to take his time and discover every facet of a woman's body during his lovemaking?
Sexually frustrated Danny twisted her engagement ring around her finger, contemplating the right time to remove it forever. Then she continued her online research into the Sherry Cavender murder. A sharp rap on her apartment door broke her concentration yet again. Since Gerard didn't know about the apartment she figured a visitor may have gotten her apartment mixed up.
"Agent Stone, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in Dallas?" She asked, swinging open the door.
In his usual denim jeans and polo, the FBI agent stood at Danny's doorstep. Her heart stammered in her chest, and she experienced that familiar fluttering in her belly that always happened when she was in his presence.
"I still need your help." He admitted. His imposing figure stepped into the studio apartment, his large shadow falling over her.
"Where's Agent Ramirez?" she asked locking the door behind him.
Danny immediately felt him invade her personal space. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but he had a tendency to make her nervous. As far as her body's treacherous reaction to Agent Stone was concerned, she was missing his partner's presence because he acted as a shock absorber.
"I left him in Dallas. He's narrowing down some leads with the Dallas FBI."
A light bulb turned on in her brain, and she softly clapped her hands together. "Speaking of leads, I've got some more information for you."
She went over to the desktop computer and shook the mouse, rousing it from sleep mode. Agent Stone hovered closely over her as she sat at the desk, his hands on the back of her chair. His proximity to her made her even more edgy than before! She mustered the strength to ignore the sensation and continued working.
"I did some online research on Highland Clinic." She moved the pointer over the screen bringing up a Google search website. "There are actually several of these clinics across the country"
She showed him the list she had assembled and printed it off the internet. Leaning on the corner of her desk, Aiden studied the printout. The gears in his head started to turn. "They're all located in cities where the Jane Does were found." He mused, absently scratching his head.
"Exactly." Danny was on a roll and could not be stopped. This is where she excelled.
She walked over to her map on the white board where new blue magnets had been posted.
"The clinics are only in locations where the women were found murdered. Some states even have several of these clinics. The farthest a victim was located outside the radius of a clinic was fifteen miles. It's too much to be a coincidence."
"I had a feeling there was something going on with that clinic." He said. He quickly gave Danny a rundown of the visit he and Alejandro had with the clinic the day before. He told her about the two possible hookers in the lobby, the tattooed medical assistant and the doctor who wasn't very forthcoming with information. Of course, he skipped over his return visit and the video with her fiancé possibly manhandling Sherry Cavender. He wasn't quite sure how he wanted to handle that nugget of information yet. However, he did want to get her away from the doctor. Her safety was his primary reason for coming back out to Phoenix.
As Aiden followed, she returned to her computer and pulled up more information she had amassed. She sat down in the chair, tucking one leg under her bottom. "I called every clinic on the list and they go straight to the same answering service. If you're a reputable doctor's office wouldn't you have a receptionist to pick up the calls?"
"Unless you don't want anyone on the outside to talk to a doctor.The answering service could be used for relaying messages back and forth. It sounds like we may be dealing with a prostitution ring or human trafficking. I've seen them before, just not anything this complex and well thought out."
"That doesn't explain why these women are being killed. Why would you want to get rid of the product that you're using to make money?"
He shrugged one solid shoulder. "It may be something to keep the other women in line. Maybe they got too close and knew too much."
"This just keeps getting deeper and deeper. It's just a bottomless pit." Twirling in her chair she wearily ran her palms down her face. She had lacked sleep for the past few days trying to get to the bottom of this murder because As soon as she thought she had a lead going somewhere it unraveled and went in a completely different direction.
"Come with me." Aiden proposed.
"Huh?" Thinking she hadn't heard him correctly she scrunched her nose. He found the facial expression adorable.
"Come with me." He suggested again. "I could use your help. So far you are the only one coming up with leads in this case. You can teach them a thing or two about detective work in Dallas."
"Agent Stone, I can't just jump up and leave!"
"Leave what?" He fired back, his arms folded across his chest. "A man who doesn't even care to know how special you really are?What's there to think about?"
Danny flinched and Stone could have kicked himself for the offence he caused her. If he could take the words and stuff them back down his throat, he would. His thoughts continued of what kind of fool would leave this beautiful woman alone most nights. He ventured if he was in the doctor's place he’d never have a night where he’d let her out of his arms and bed, let alone out of his sight. Jealousy had reared its head and it had spoken on his behalf.
“What the hell was that about? As if it’s any of your business Agent Stone, Gerard is not what I’m concerned about!” Danny said feeling the flush on her face. “We’re all but over at this point. It’s just a matter of giving him his ring back.”
“So what’s stopping you, Ms. Labouleaux?" Figured if she was going to chastise him formally then he would equally give back. He arched his brow as he continued his cross arm stance that demanded an answer whether it was his business or not.
“He’s just been so damned busy, with the clinic and setting up the reality show, he’s hardly home that’s all!” She countered in her own stance. “Are you satisfied with that answer?”
“The real question is Ms. Labouleaux, are you happy with your answer?” Aiden uncrossed his arms and relaxed his stance and face. He came here to protect her, not pick a fight. He had no right to delve into her love life.
Truth was Danny wasn’t happy with her answer she knew she had been putting off the inevitable. She had been sleeping in the guest room for the past week. She’d come to a conclusion that their relationship was irretrievably broken. She wasn’t the arm candy, housewife hostess he wanted and he wasn’t what she needed. It was just the matter of moving out and she’d be out of his house. In the coming weeks she’d been planning on retreating into her bat cave until she could find more suitable arrangements.
“I’m making plans to move out of the house” Danielle finally admitted
“Oh.” Stone muttered meekly not really wanting to aggravate her even more.
"What I was saying was that I can't just jump up and leave my research." She pointed at her computer equipment. "All my leads are here."
"Don't worry about it. We'll send Ramirez or another agent to work from your apartment. Ramirez was in the computer crimes division of the bureau so he'll have no problem following your research. The bureau will cover your expenses."
Danny
silently considered his invitation, swiveling from side to side in her chair. It wasn't like she had any shackles keeping her here in Phoenix. She blew out a breath, ruffling her bangs on her forehead.
"Fine, I'll go with you. But I need to go home and pick up some things."
After verifying that her unofficially ex-fiancé was still deep in a facial reconstructive surgery, she had Aiden follow her home in his bucar while she parked her hot rod in the home's attached garage. Her excuse to Gerard for her departure was that an emergency had come up at the magazine and she had to leave for New York to fix things.
Like a suitor waiting on his date to get ready, Aiden was relaxed on the sofa while she was packing for the trip. He was thankful that she had agreed to accompany him to Dallas without any further explanation. As long as she was with him, he could protect her from Dr. Wolfe. Eventually, he would have to disclose the truth about the man, the shadowy figure in the video with Sherry, but he would wait. He wasn't looking forward to wounding her with the news that her just recent former flame may have possibly had something to do with Sherry's murder.
"Okay, I'm ready." She called from the top of the stairs, gracefully maneuvering a large suitcase.
She had changed from her flirty cotton dress into tight skinny jeans, a heather gray tank top and lightweight chambray shirt tied around her middle. The tank top exhibited her smooth shoulders and well defined arms. Midnight blue pumps covered her feet and her ebony hair was pulled away from her face in a ponytail that he could see himself boyishly tugging on. Once again, he was noticing the faint scar that bisected her chest. She made no attempt to conceal it, and he admired her for it.
"I'll take that." He offered, moving to take the suitcase from her grasp.
"It's okay, I've got it." She pulled away from him, now holding the luggage with a two handed death grip.
"Woman, would you please give me the suitcase?" He had been raised a gentleman and there was no way he would let her carry a heavy suitcase he was perfectly capable of carrying for her.
"Fine."She mumbled, rolling her eyes and reluctantly handing over the luggage.
Theatrically, He pretended to struggle with the baggage, dragging it to the bottom of the steps. "Oh, Baby, what do you have in this thing? Bricks?"
"You died to carry it, so deal with it, macho man." She returned, dismissing the fact that he had just called her 'baby'. More than likely the endearment was just a figure of speech.
Forty minutes later, they were in the air above Phoenix aboard a bureau sanctioned jet. The pilot and co-pilot were busy keeping the plane in the air, leaving Danny and Agent Stone to themselves. They were sitting across from each other, each daydreaming in their own worlds.
"Tell me about yourself, Agent." She requested, taking her eyes away from the clouds. She knew that he knew quite a bit about her life, but to her he was still a man of mystery.
The question had obviously taken him by surprise, telling by his upraised eyebrows. "Me?"
"No, the gremlin on the wing."She ragged. "Who else do you think I'm talking to?"
"OK smart ass what do you wanna know?"
"Anything, it doesn't matter. How about your first name for starters?"
"It's Aiden." He said dryly.
"I know that! I mean why Aiden, no offense but it sounds preppie."
"I was named after my uncle. He was shot down over Vietnam."
"Oh, sorry!"Danny felt stupid at that moment feeling guilty for calling it preppie. She tried to cover up the awkwardness with more questions.
"What about your family? Any kids, ex-wife, baby mama drama?"
He relaxed against the cushioned back of his seat and gave a conceited smirk, his husky voice an enticing invitation. "If you must know Ms. Labouleaux, I am single and available if ever you should need me."
"No thanks, Stone." She irritably waved her hand at him. "What about your parents?"
"My parents?"Again he repeated her question.
"Are you a parrot? Yes, your parents. That is I assume you have parents unless you were grown out of a lab somewhere, which given your behavior isn't entirely unlikely."
"Ha, funny." he mumbled through gnashed teeth. "My family is from Hawaii. Dad's ex-Navy and runs the family restaurant and a tourist entertainment company. Mom was a nurse. She passed away a few years ago."
Danny slipped out of her heels and curled her feet into her chair. "Sorry to hear. How did they meet?"
"Mom was visiting the island with her friends, spring break from college or something. Dad took them on a helicopter ride around the island. Love at first sight as they call it." Aiden dismissed the notion with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Are you the only child?" Danny inquired.
"Nope, there are four of us. I have one older sister and two younger sisters."
"Well, no wonder you have issues, boy, you're the only boy in a family full of girls." She giggled. "What do your sisters do?"
Taking out his smartphone, Stone took the seat next to her and showed her the family pictures stored on it. He slid his finger across the screen, moving through the photos. With their similar features, Danny could definitely tell they were related.
"Kim, the oldest is a high school physics teacher. She and her husband live in Atlanta and have a couple kids. Tara was born after me and lives on the big island with her fiancé and helps Dad run the company. She and her boyfriend both retired from the Navy a few years ago."
His finger slid across the screen again showing him wearing a pout. "This is my baby sister, Lydia. She was named after the last queen of Hawaii. Right now she's modeling in Paris."
Danny could tell in Stone's tone of voice the affection he held for his sisters. For a moment she envied him. Her childhood had been a bit lonely with just her and her parents. It would have been fun to have someone to share her innermost secrets with.
"Do any of your sisters have your gift?" She asked.
He shook his head in a negative. "Not that I'm aware of. It seems my special talent was a little souvenir from my time in Afghanistan."
"You were a marine." It was a statement not a question. She had noticed the Marine tattoo on his biceps when they first met.
He nodded an affirmative, his eyes focusing on nothing as if he were looking into the past. "Our convoy was on the way back to base when our Humvee was attacked. Everyone in my vehicle was killed except for me. I crawled out, but I could swear my dead teammates were talking to me as plain as you and I are talking right now. I thought I may have had PTSD, but I found out that it was a little more than that."
Reaching to the back of her neck, Danny removed her grandmother's cross. "OK Here's what we're going to do. I'm gonna show you how to work with the spirit realm."
His protests died on his lips when she placed the gold cross in his palm, covering his hand with hers.
"Close your eyes." She ordered.
"You know," He began, his eyes closed as she had requested, "If you're trying to seduce me and enroll me into the mile high club, I'm all for it."
Danny pinched his firm biceps. "Boy shut up and concentrate."
"Ooh, Baby, that hurt." Using his other hand he rubbed his sore arm.
"Close your eyes and focus on my voice. Clear your mind, relax and let yourself go."
Listening to her soothing voice he slipped into a tranquil state, purposely slowing his breathing and heart rate.
"You don't want to look at the big picture. You're looking at the little details. They may come as pictures like a postcard. Don't try to focus on one. Just let them come."
Those were the last words he heard before he slipped under, a chill covering his body.
He found himself in an outdated but cozy kitchen. As if he were truly there, the unmistakable aroma of home cooked southern food wafted around him. He turned, feeling a light touch on his shoulder and coming face to face with who he assumed was Danny's beloved grand mere.
The older woman's eyes were the same whiskey gold as her granddaughter's, and her
smile just as warm. She and Danny shared the same height and the golden brown complexion. In her presence he felt soothed and at ease.
In front of him the scene unfolded in the kitchen. A duplicate of grand mere was in the kitchen working her culinary sorcery. A pot with her special jambalaya brew steamed on the antique stove. Grand mere stirred the pot with a large wooden spoon filling the kitchen with the perfume.
Abruptly the swinging kitchen door was pushed open and a skinny little whirlwind of activity flew in the kitchen. At five years old, Danny was adorable, nothing but skinny arms and legs. She grinned up at the older woman, revealing a snaggle toothed smile. Apparently she had just gotten back from school because there was a My Little Pony backpack hanging off her shoulder.
Grand’Mere picked up the child and helped her wash her hands in the kitchen sink. Together the two of them shaped peanut butter cookies, rolling them into balls before they mashed them on a cookie sheet with a fork. The old woman smiled and wagged a stern finger at Danny when the kid ate a finger full of cookie dough.
Like VCR tape, things in the vision fast forwarded, the pictures moving too fast for him to track. It felt like being on the inside of a kaleidoscope, the imagery distorted. He now found himself in a bland, sterile hospital, the smell of disinfectant and sickness hanging in the air. Grand’Mere lay in a hospital bed, her life hanging by i.v.lines, respirators, and heart monitoring machines. Frail and shrunken looking, the old woman lay in the hospital bed with death looming over her.
In the hallway, a now adult Danny consulted with two physicians who were obviously giving her bad news. A light rain of tears sprinkled her cheeks. Defeated and weary, Danny re-entered the hospital room, taking her chair and laying her head on her grandmother's lap.
At his name being called he turned his head. Feeling a sudden tug he opened his eyes, immediately meeting Danny's concerned gaze.
"You OK?" She asked, her hand gripping his arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He shook the cobwebs from his head, reacquainting himself with his surroundings. Even though he was a little disoriented he could remember things more clearly than he had with his previous visions.
The Body Hunters Page 13