by Gina Ardito
Perturbed, were you? You ain’t seen nothing yet, buddy boy. I’ll show you perturbed.
Shane ignored the man’s attempt at civility, and Pha dropped his hand back to his side.
“Actually,” he said with a nonchalance far from the impotent anger coursing through him, “we had a sentry posted outside your door. We assumed that if you were under twenty-four hour surveillance, Adara would be perfectly safe here.”
Pha never blinked, never flinched, just sat there, staring with that reptilian gaze. “Fortunately, despite both our errors in judgment, Adara was, indeed, safe.”
“Uh-huh. So, ah, tell me, Mr. Pha. Where were you around midnight last night?”
Arms akimbo, Adara stepped between the two combatants, an exasperated mommy separating her battling children. “He was here all night, Shane. Why? What happened?”
“Someone set fire to the Seven Knights Motel,” he told her, though his eyes watched Ted for any hint of subterfuge in his reaction.
Adara gasped. “Oh, my God. Was anyone hurt?”
“No. The only person in the place was the desk clerk, and he managed to escape without injury.”
“Then, consider it urban renewal,” she retorted. “Fire was the only way to cleanse that dump.”
Shane was not amused. “You’re missing the point, Adara.”
“Which is?”
“I believe the detective suspects someone set fire to the ‘dump,’ as you so delicately put it,” Pha said, his bland face revealing no deceit, “thinking you were inside at the time. Isn’t that right, Detective?”
His eyes never left Pha’s face, but still saw no subterfuge in the blond man’s continuously impassive expression. “Yes.”
“Surely you don’t suspect Ted had anything to do with it?”
“That depends.” Folding his arms over his chest, he glared at Pha with open animosity. “Where were you yesterday afternoon around three?”
The infuriating man’s smile never faltered. He barely blinked. “As a matter of fact, I was with your partner, Detective Gennaro. I stopped by your office to find out where Adara had been taken after she was removed from that second healing center. I was there when Adara called and only left after speaking with your commander. By that time, Detective Gennaro had already left for Adara’s apartment. Does that satisfy your suspicions?”
It would have to for now. He certainly couldn’t get a more ironclad alibi than that. But Shane hated the idea of giving up Pha as a suspect. He was too convenient, too annoying, and too often at the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, he couldn’t ignore the truth, no matter how he wished it otherwise.
Adara was right; if Pha wanted to kill her, he’d had ample opportunity. Shane inwardly cringed, owning up to his responsibility for several of those open chances.
Could Pha be legitimate? Was it merely coincidence that he appeared in Adara’s life just when Cherry’s sentence was revoked?
Shane supposed it was possible. After all, his instincts had failed him once before. With the woman to whom he’d been closest: his sister, Cassia. Perhaps, Adara jammed his bad-guy-radar in a similar fashion. Still, he wouldn’t give up Pha without a fight.
“How exactly did you know to find Adara here?” Especially since no one else, including Lou, knew he’d set her up in this place?
Pha traced a finger along the countertop in a façade of disinterest. “I could tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
The finger stopped. “Very well. I have a psychic connection to Adara. Whither she goes, so goest I.”
Uh-huh. And I’m the Crown Prince of Romania.
“I told you that you would not believe me,” Pha drawled.
Adara slowly sank into a chair then, drawing his concern. During the time he’d concentrated on Pha, her complexion had turned ashen, and a tremor had taken residence in her overburdened frame. “C-could we get back to that fire for a minute, please? What makes you think it was intended for me?”
Damn. He really didn’t mean to terrify her. He simply wanted her to appreciate the gravity of her situation. To stop making jokes, and to stop taking chances, like letting Pha into her room without absolute certainty he wouldn’t harm her. If anything happened to her, he’d go berserk. The mere thought of never seeing her smile again caused a hole to bore its way into the pit of his stomach.
“Detective?” Pha’s prompt drew him back into the conversation.
“According to the Fire Commissioner’s initial report, the blaze looks like it started in Room 112.”
“The room the desk clerk assigned me.”
Her statement, said with such defeat, nearly cracked his heart in half. “I’m afraid so.”
“So I’m still not safe.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Adara. No one else knows you’re here.”
“No one knew about the Seven Knights Motel, either.”
His cell phone buzzed on his hip. “Hold that thought for a sec.”
Quick hands grabbed the phone and depressed the “Talk” button. “Griffin here.”
“You’ve got a nice family,” a gravelly voice husked through the earpiece. “It’d be a shame if something happened to that little boy, doncha think?”
“Who is this?”
“Bring the Berros bitch to the south entrance of the Westlake Mall by one o’clock today, or you can say goodbye to Mom and the kid.”
Click.
Bile rose into his throat, and he swallowed it back with a burning gulp. Tyler. Jeez, and his mother, too.
He managed to keep his voice from shaking when he turned back to Adara and Pha. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”
The expression on his face was obviously harder to hide. “Shane?” Adara leaned closer to peer into his eyes. “Is everything okay? Who was on the phone?”
He shook his head then quickly stepped outside to make his call. The phone rang five times. Each unanswered ring was a knife thrust into his chest. Come on, come on. Answer it already.
At last, he heard the distinctive fumble of the receiver. “Hello?”
“Mom.” Thank God. In one long whoosh, he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he held. “Where’s Tyler?”
“And good morning to you, too, Shane. Tyler’s fine. He’s right here helping me pack our lunch. Remember? We’re going to the animal park today.”
“Change in plans, Mom. I want you to drop what you’re doing, and get in the car right now. Get in the car, and go to Aunt Jenny’s house. Stay there ‘til I get there. In about a half-hour or so.”
“Shane, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later. Just go. Don’t wait. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Just go. Please.”
Before she could argue, he flipped the phone closed, simultaneously disconnecting the line. Pausing only long enough to run a shaky hand through his hair, he reentered the motel room and found two pairs of eyes staring at him intently.
“What’s wrong?” Adara asked.
“Someone just threatened my family.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. Over me?”
He nodded, his mind too abuzz with theories to force words from his constricting throat.
Contrary to Adara’s earlier statement, several people knew about the Seven Knights Motel. Unfortunately, every single one of them was a cop—people he’d known and trusted for years. And those same individuals knew about his mother and Tyler. Could his trust have been misguided?
His mind flashed on individual faces, possible suspects. Lou, pastrami routinely dripping from his lips, became his partner after the gas station sniper killed Kevin. Since then, they’d worked side by side, growing so close one could finish the other’s sentences. Shane had been invited to Lou’s daughter’s wedding, for Chrissake.
The Commander. Jake knew about the Seven Knights Motel, too; he set it up.
Arnie and Stan who worked the nightshift also knew. Each had covered a stint outside Adara�
�s hospital room and would have eventually served time guarding her here as well.
Could any one of these honorable men be working for Cherry? Money had a strange effect on people. History had shown that the right enticement could turn even the straightest cop crooked.
His mind whirled at the consequences.
“Detective?” Pha’s inquisitive tone shattered visions of gavels falling on not guilty verdicts all over the Island while witnesses’ bodies stacked up in the county morgue. “She can’t stay here, can she?”
“What do you mean I can’t stay here?” Adara demanded, hands fisted on her hips. “I only got here fourteen hours ago. Now I’m moving again?”
He exchanged a quick glance of concern with Pha and sighed. “I’m afraid so.”
“Try not to be afraid, Shane,” she snapped. “You’re a police officer, remember?”
“Adara,” Pha interjected. “Sarcasm won’t help.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” She chewed on a fingernail on her left hand. “I’m frazzled, you know? I feel like a gypsy. In three days, I’ve had four temporary homes. I just finished unpacking this morning, and now, I’m moving again.”
“I’m sorry too, Adara,” Shane said. “I wish I had a perfect answer for you, but I don’t.” He turned his gaze to Pha. “Mr. Pha, I’m going to ask you to leave now, please.”
“Still don’t trust me, Detective?”
“I’m beginning to think I can’t trust anyone.”
~~~~
Numb from the neck up, Adara watched the two men discuss their plans for her. She sat helpless, mouth agape, while Ted and Shane debated options. Disbelief stole her ability to speak, to think with any form of logic, to come up with any sane argument at all.
“Wherever Adara goes, I go,” Ted said, stamping his foot like an irate hausfrau.
“No way,” Shane replied. “I can’t be responsible for your safety.”
“I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, Detective. Believe me when I say no one can harm me. But Adara is another story. This Cherry fiend will obviously stop at nothing to keep her from testifying. I need to be certain she’s safe.”
“What makes you think you can keep her safer than I can?”
“Your past record thus far.”
Shane’s eyes simmered with repressed anger. “So, what do you propose we do?”
“I can take her to Cyprus. She would be safe there.”
“No dice. She can’t leave the country. She’s a material witness to a murder. I’m calling in the FBI. She can be placed in the Federal Protection Program.”
“And how soon before your FBI discusses Adara’s location with other members of your precinct?” Ted demanded. “How safe will she remain when her whereabouts are known to more than you and me? You wish her to flee because you believe there is a flaw somewhere in your organization, do you not? A colleague who may be playing both sides. Isn’t that correct?”
Shane sighed. “Yes.”
“Are you willing to risk losing your job and your very life to keep her safe?”
Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, Adara watched Shane, waiting for his answer.
“Yes.”
“Why, Detective?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Ted waved a hand. “Never mind. I’m certain you don’t realize the answer to that question yet yourself. However, it does make for an interesting quandary. I need a moment to think, please.”
Minutes passed while Ted’s gaze swerved from Shane to Adara and back again. He stroked his chin, shook his head, then turned away from them. A mumbled incantation reached Adara’s ears, but she could discern nothing coherent in the clicking and singsong sounds. At long last, Ted’s attention and gaze returned to the two other occupants in the room.
“You’ll need cash. An untraceable form of payment for hotels, restaurants, everything.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a billfold, and handed it to Shane. “Take this. The money enclosed within will sustain you for as long as you need. Take your nephew and mother with you. Go to a place tourists frequent in droves, and you will blend into the crowds as just another American family on vacation.”
At the thought of endangering an innocent child, Adara finally found her voice. “No, Ted. We can’t take the boy with us. Wouldn’t he be safer here? If I’m gone, they won’t bother to chase Shane, will they?”
Ted smiled and traced a finger along her jawline. The flickery contact sent butterflies into her throat, and she swallowed hard. “No, my dearest. These men will use whatever means lie at their disposal to find you. Besides, the child needs this escape as much as you do. He lives in a world of nightmares. This excursion will give him an opportunity to walk in sunlight again. I promise you, nothing will harm him.”
“But what about you?”
“For now, I shall remain here and learn what I can about Mr. Cherry’s influence.”
“That’s not a good idea, Pha,” Shane said. “Cherry’s a dangerous guy.”
“I am touched to hear your concern, Detective, but Cherry and his ilk cannot harm me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Take Adara, retrieve your family, and go. I shall follow along when I have news for you.”
“How?” Adara asked. “You don’t even know where we’re going.”
“I have already told you, my angel. I shall always be able to find you. We are connected, you and I.” He kissed her forehead, a benediction. “Go now. Be good to the child. He needs a loving woman to heal him. And perhaps, you need him to heal the wounds in your own heart.”
Chapter Eighteen
Shane made the necessary introductions while his mother climbed into the back seat of the car. “Mom, this is Adara Berros. Adara, my mom, Pauline Griffin.”
“Wait, Mrs. Griffin,” Adara replied, opening her door. “Why don’t you sit in the front?”
Mom placed a staying hand on Adara’s shoulder. “No, no, dear. Stay there. I’m quite content to sit in the back with Tyler. And please, call me Pauline.”
Shane bit back a smile at their easy exchange. In seventeen years of dating, not one of his girlfriends ever made it past the “Mrs. Griffin” stage. Yet Adara earned that privilege on her very first meeting. He knew she was something special. Apparently, Mom noticed it, too.
Swooping up Tyler in his arms, he told Adara, “And this is Tyler.” He slipped the wriggly boy into his booster seat and buckled him in. “Tyler, this is Miss Berros.”
Adara held her hand out. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Tyler.”
The little boy, apparently thrilled to be treated as a grown-up, shook her hand, his expression solemn. “Nice to meet you, too, Miss Berros.”
“Adara,” she corrected. “I have a feeling we’re going to be fast friends.”
Tyler flashed his trademark jack o’lantern grin—the tooth fairy had paid him for his two bottom front teeth only a week ago. “Are you the lady who beat up the bad guys like Prufrock?”
She cast a confused glance at Shane. “Prufrock?”
He closed Tyler’s door and slid into the driver’s seat before replying, “Prufrock is a taco-eating stegosaurus on KidTV. He fights crime with his stunning karate moves and fiery tongue.”
“Oh. That Prufrock.”
“Did you really beat up a bad guy who was twice as big as you? With karate?”
She stole another glance in Shane’s direction. He read the question in her eyes and nodded to let her know it was okay to tell the boy the truth. “Yes, I did.”
“Do you think you could teach me to do that?”
“Well, I could show you a few tricks, I suppose. When we get to our destination.”
“Which reminds me, Shane,” Mom chimed in. “What is our destination? What exactly is going on?”
“I just thought it was time we took a family vacation. We’re going to KidLand in Florida.”
Tyler could barely keep his little body still inside the booster seat’s restraints. He bounc
ed crazily, his feet kicking the back of Shane’s seat. “Really?”
“Really. I had some accrued vacation coming and decided now was the perfect time to see Prufrock and all his crime-fighting friends in person.”
“Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Nana, did you hear that? I’m gonna meet Prufrock in person.”
His mother offered an indulgent smile. “So I hear.”
“Did you pack my Prufrock doll?”
A glance in the rearview mirror at his mother’s quick frown told him the answer to Tyler’s innocent question.
“Actually,” he said, “I thought we’d buy you a brand new one.”
“Maybe bigger?”
“Absolutely. Let’s get off the Island first, and we’ll find a toy store somewhere in Jersey, okay, pal?”
“You bet, Uncle Shane.”
Shane breathed a heavy sigh of relief. They really dodged a bullet there. He probably should have told his mother to pack a few things, but his concern for their safety overrode all logical thought. Of course, the next dilemma was just as imperative to solve quickly. Not one of them had any clothing or luggage with them. With luck, the toy store they found would be in a mall, or at least near a department store. Thank God money wasn’t an issue.
Disconcerting as it might be to admit, he owed Tedior Pha a tremendous debt of gratitude. The billfold Pha had so easily handed over contained a little more than five thousand dollars in cash. As to any monies they spent on this trip, however, he’d keep an accurate account and repay it all as soon as possible.
He hated owing anyone anything, but most particularly the irksome Mr. Pha. Yet, he had to admit he might have underestimated the pretty boy from Cyprus. Adara had insisted the man was harmless, and true, when the proverbial shit hit the fan, only Tedior Pha came through to help.
God, I hope I haven’t made a mistake in trusting him…
~~~~
After stops at a toy store, a department store, and a fast food place for dinner, the miles flew by for Adara. Nothing filled the void but an endless stream of streetlights and highways and Tyler’s nonsensical chatter about his favorite superhero. By the time they reached the border of New Jersey and Delaware, Adara considered herself the foremost authority on Prufrock the Nuclear Stegosaurus and his band of Wasteoids, even though she’d never seen the television show.