Task Force Bride

by Julie Miller

  Pike glanced back at the screen. Animal cruelty? The idea of such an atrocity left a bitter taste in his mouth, especially if that sort of heartless violence had anything to do with Hope’s fear.

  Pike felt a nudge at his elbow and looked down at the petite crime scene investigator who worked the task force with him. Annie Hermann pointed to the same group he’d been watching. “Why is he here?”

  He assumed she was talking about her fiancé, Detective Fensom. “Nick? He and Detective Montgomery were the first two detectives on the scene of LaDonna Chambers’s rape and murder.”

  Annie’s dark curls bounced around her face as she shook her head. “No, I mean Adam Matuszak. My tall, blond, ambitious ex.” She made no effort to mask her sarcasm. Pike liked Annie. She might be a bit of a flake in the personality department, but far and away, she was the smartest, sharpest thinker on their team. She’d been the first to get them a lead on their unsub by identifying his blood type and confirming they were looking for both a rapist and an accomplice who cleaned up after his crimes. “I dodged a bullet when Adam dumped me. She’s the bridal shop owner, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah. Hope Lockhart.”

  “Does she need an attorney?” Annie asked. “I thought Nick said she was a witness.”

  “Potential witness,” Pike clarified, liking Hope’s friends less and less. “Do you know Brian Elliott, too?” The one who kept touching Hope’s arm and shoulder, despite the way she subtly shifted posture or pulled away each time.

  “He owns most of those buildings in our target neighborhood. He remodels and sells them. If I remember rightly, he invested money to help Miss Lockhart set up her bridal shop. Adam is his personal attorney—Nick and I met them at a crime scene in one of the buildings Elliott was converting. We thought it might be the location where our unsub was taking his victims to sexually assault them.” Annie’s voice trailed away and Pike looked down to see where her thoughts had taken her.

  “It turned out to be a staged crime scene, right?”

  Annie nodded. “It was a trap. If Nick hadn’t been there, I could have died.”

  His attention shifted back to Detective Montgomery’s desk, and Pike saw Nick Fensom grab his leather jacket off the back of his chair and excuse himself from the conversation. Hope turned to see where he was going and her gaze locked on to Pike’s across the room—for about two seconds before Elliott touched her shoulder and forced her attention back to whatever their attorney was saying to Spencer Montgomery. Hope nodded and answered a question. And then she was pointing to a picture in a book of vehicle makes and models on Montgomery’s desk

  But in those two seconds, Pike had read a plea in those lake-gray eyes. The fatigue of working through the night melted away and he stood a little straighter, leaned a little closer, felt a little more protective. She was part of the neighborhood he guarded; that made Hope his responsibility. And though she’d made it clear she hadn’t wanted his help at her apartment, and she wasn’t too comfortable having him touch her, her eyes had sent him a different message just now. Help.

  Just like with Hans, it had been bred into every fiber of his being to answer that call. But help her with what? How? What did she need him to do? Or was he just imagining her distress? He hadn’t read any other nonverbal cues she’d been giving off correctly. Shy—not snooty. Afraid of Hans—not him.

  This is too much, please come bail me out—or what the heck are you still doing there staring at me when whatever interest you have in me isn’t as mutual as you’d like it to be?

  There was a reason Pike worked with dogs. Communication with them was so much less complicated. Eat. Sleep. Pet. Play. Work.

  While Pike debated the mystery of Hope Lockhart and how he should respond, Nick circled around the counter. He shrugged into his jacket before brushing a curl off Annie’s forehead. “Everything okay? Matuszak isn’t giving you fits, is he?”

  With their opposite personalities, Nick and Annie were the last two people Pike would ever have imagined as a couple. But together, they worked. Annie shook her head and smiled. “I don’t even notice him when you’re here.”

  Nick grinned. “Good.” He shifted his gaze up to Pike. “Seems like Matuszak ought to be answering some questions instead of keeping her from talking. All we want are details about what she saw last night, and her observations of activities in that neighborhood. But as her business mentor, Elliott claims he knows her better than anybody. He says she’s ‘sensitive and suggestible’ and wants to make sure we’re not taking advantage of her or scaring her more than she needs to be. It’s like facing off against a pair of big brothers.”

  Sensitive and suggestible? The woman had stood up to what was probably an abusive father and pulled a knife to defend herself from the things that frightened her. She’d gone to the scene of a homicide to confirm the identity of someone she knew. Pike punched Hank Lockhart’s prison record off the computer screen and turned toward Nick. “Hope may not look like it on the outside, but she’s tough. She’s a survivor.”

  “I hope so. I’d still like to get her in a room without her entourage to see what she has to say.” Nick’s shift was long over, too, but he had nothing but a smile when he reached for Annie’s hand. “Come on, slugger. I’ll drive you to the lab.” With a nod to Pike, the couple walked toward the elevators. “See you at the briefing tomorrow morning. Try to get a couple hours of sleep.”

  “Yeah,” Pike answered. “You, too.”

  Pike groaned when the elevator door opened and three of the five members of SWAT Team 1 stepped out, including Pike’s older brother Alex Taylor. Pike greeted Trip Jones and Holden Kincaid, each of whom towered over his vertically challenged, muscle-bound sibling. As adopted brothers, Alex and Pike couldn’t look more different, but they couldn’t be closer, either. Growing up in foster care together had forged a bond as strong as blood between them.

  And Alex took his role as big brother very seriously. He knew Pike should be home at his apartment getting some shut-eye right now.

  After sending his buddies on to roll call, Alex combed his fingers through his curly black hair and stretched up on tiptoe to look over the counter where Pike stood. “Where’s your better-lookin’ sidekick?”

  “Aren’t you the funny guy.” Logging out of the computer terminal, Pike grabbed his ball cap and joined his brother around the front of the desk. “Hans is in his kennel, getting some R & R.”

  “Looks like you had a long night, too.”

  Pike scratched at the stubble that shaded his jaw and nodded. “We had another Rose Red rape.”

  “Ah, hell.” Although the task force was specifically dedicated to solving the string of assaults and related deaths, there wasn’t a cop on the force who didn’t care about catching the perp. “Did the victim survive?”

  Pike shook his head. “Looks like the Cleaner got to her. Shot the vic. CSI Hermann thinks LaDonna Chambers was dead before the body was dumped this time.” There had been too many innocent victims. He smacked his cap against his thigh and looked across the room to Hope again. A woman like that shouldn’t have to live in fear of walking the streets or going to work. “I don’t understand why we can’t catch these bastards. He hasn’t left a single fingerprint at any crime scene, but we’ve got the accomplice’s on file. We’ve got the rapist’s DNA, but there’s no match in the system. According to the CSI I was just talking to, the only blood at this scene belonged to the vic. We can’t figure out where he takes them to commit the assault or why this Cleaner goes to so much trouble to destroy any evidence of the crimes. It’s a sick relationship.”

  “I don’t know what color they were.” Was that Hope raising her voice? “He was going too fast. If I had known who he was, of course I would have...” Her hands squeezed into fists on top of Detective Montgomery’s desk. “He wore a hat and a surgical mask. His eyes were in the shadows.” Matuszak moved in behind her chair, warning the detective not to press his client.

  Alex turned to track the object of Pike�
��s wandering gaze. “What’s she got to do with it? Montgomery is lookin’ intense.”

  “I know. They’re being pretty hard on her. The woman hasn’t had any sleep.”

  Alex tilted him a curious look. “Is she part of your task force investigation?”

  “We think she saw the van our rapist uses to abduct his victims. She may even have seen the guy, but didn’t get a clear look at him.”

  “I thought you were a K-9 cop, not a detective. Have you been asking her questions, too?”

  Pike studied the toe of his boot for a moment, recalling that unexpected urge to kiss her. But he remembered the stark fear he’d seen in her apartment just as clearly. The knife and the wild eyes had reflected how well his attempt to develop a rapport with her had gone. He raised his head, wondering again if he’d misread her silent plea for help a few minutes ago. She was hanging in there with Montgomery. “Her shop and apartment are on my beat. I answered a call there last night.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Alex leaned back against the counter beside Pike. “Why don’t you go over there and do something about it instead of standing here staring like a moon-eyed teenager?”

  “What do you mean, do something? I’m not...” Ah, damn. Had Alex picked up on that weird attraction vibe? Without paying any mind to the flak vest and SWAT uniform his brother wore, Pike quipped back, “I can squash you, you know.”

  “Hey, I’m older than you—show some respect.”

  “Don’t have to.”

  “I’ll tell Mom.”

  “Mom likes me better.”

  Alex shook his head and laughed. “Go over there and say something. Offer her a cup of coffee or a ride home. Give her a break from the Inquisition and she’ll be grateful. Is she nice?”

  “Are you matchmaking?” Pike accused. “Hope and I aren’t even friends. She’s not my type.”

  He preferred getting to know a woman who might actually like him.

  “You don’t have a type. Besides, I don’t buy that ‘she means nothing to me’ line. You’re about to crawl out of your skin with worry, so why don’t you go over there and do something about it?”

  “Alex—”

  “You can handle her.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I know how suave you are with the ladies,” he teased, intimating just the opposite. “At the rate you’re going, Matt and Mark will be married before you.”

  “They’re still in school.”

  “That’s why I’m helping you out.” Alex gave him enough of a push that Pike had to plant both feet to keep his balance. “What are you waiting for, Casanova?”

  “Shut up.” Pike returned the shove, pushing Alex beyond arm’s reach but returning his teasing grin. “It’s a wonder you ever got Audrey to say yes to you.”

  “And yet she did.” Alex flashed his wedding ring and cut Pike a break on the teasing. “Follow your instincts, little brother. There’s no other way to figure a woman out. I’ll see you in a week at Sunday dinner. Grandma and Grandpa will be back from their fiftieth anniversary trip. I warn you—Grandma said there’d be pictures.” Alex doffed him a salute and headed toward the conference room. “Good luck.”

  “Yeah. See ya Sunday.”

  After he watched Alex rejoin his SWAT teammates, Pike looked across the desks to Hope again. He could do this without his older brother’s help. He started walking before he talked himself out of the idea of taking one more stab at proving to Hope that he was one of the good guys. Besides, she’d been up as long as he had, and if he was this tired, she must be exhausted after the emotional ups and downs she’d been through in the past several hours. He’d be doing her a favor to interrupt the grill-fest of questions.

  “Yes, LaDonna worked in my office, and yes, I want answers,” Matuszak was explaining as Pike approached. “But I don’t intend to let any woman I know be hurt like that again. Hope has told you everything she knows more than once. I won’t let you put her through anything else, especially something that’s not even admissible in court—like this ludicrous idea of hypnosis.”

  “But if it could clarify some detail from what I saw, then I’d—” Hope began.

  “It won’t.” Matuszak shut her down and squeezed her shoulder at the same time. “You’ve done enough. If this...animal...gets wind that you’re any kind of witness to what he’s done, then he might well come after you next.”

  Sizing up the tailored cut of the attorney’s tan suit and his willingness to scare his client in order to keep her mouth shut, Pike circled around him. Someone here was wearing some serious cologne, too. But he remembered Hope’s scent was sweet and subtle. And Spencer Montgomery wasn’t the cologne type. Another reason not to like these two.

  Detective Montgomery acknowledged him as he joined them. “Pike?”

  Hope’s face was too pale for his liking. The urge to rescue her and change her perception of him flowed even stronger through his blood now. “I was wondering how much longer you’ll need Miss Lockhart, sir. My shift’s over and I’d be happy to give her a ride back to her apartment.”

  Hope’s head shot up and those long tendrils danced away from her confused expression. “You would?”

  “Anytime.”

  The wealthy entrepreneur Pike already knew to be Brian Elliott stood up to introduce himself. “And you are?”

  “Officer Taylor.” They clasped hands in front of Hope’s face, and when he glanced down at her with a friendly wink, her pale cheeks dotted with color. Was that embarrassment at his teasing show of support or discomfort that he’d forced his way into a conversation that had already gone on too long for her? Pike forged ahead. “Hope and I have a habit of running into each other.”

  “Yes. I saw how you ran into her in the elevator.” Scowling as if displeased by the half embrace he’d witnessed, Elliott diverted Pike’s attention to the other man. “This is my attorney, Adam Matuszak.”

  “We’ve met.”

  They shook hands while Brian Elliott continued. “Thank you, but Hope and I are friends. I’ve known her for several years now. I was the first to notice her talents as a business woman with impeccable taste. I’ve nurtured that talent and supported her ever since. Adam and I will take her home.”

  Although Elliott’s tone was polite enough, Pike got the idea that some sort of claim was being made. Were these GQ and Forbes cover models the kind of men Hope preferred to hang out with? The kind of men who made her feel safe? That didn’t bode well for a Field & Stream kind of guy like him.

  Still, he wasn’t looking forward to letting Alex know he’d struck out with Hope Lockhart. Again. He made one last valiant effort, dropping his gaze down to Hope’s. “Is that what you want? I’ll take you out of here right now. Just say the word.”

  “I...” She glanced up at both her friend and her attorney before adjusting her glasses on her nose and narrowing her gaze at Pike. “It would be more convenient for Brian to take me. He lives in the same neighborhood.”

  “I drove Mr. Elliott here,” Matuszak added, settling his hand on Hope’s shoulder. “It’s no problem to drive her, too.”

  Convenient. Not what he’d asked. But the dismissal was clear. She’d made her choice.

  So much for Alex’s matchmaking. So much for winning Hope’s trust.

  “Then I’m headin’ home myself.” He put his cap on and tipped the bill to her. “Ma’am. See you next time I’m on patrol.”

  Her gaze dropped to the middle of his chest before she nodded. No thank-you. No goodbye. No appreciate your concern.

  A nod.

  Pike turned away, strolling toward the elevators and trying to figure out what that woman had against him—and why it bothered him so much that she did.

  Chapter Five

  A solid night’s sleep, a run with Hans, a shower and a shave had refreshed Pike enough to stay focused during the task force meeting early Monday morning.

  At least, he was physically alert. Unfortunately, there were so many thoughts running a
round inside his head that he was distracted, anyway.

  The graphic crime scene photos that Annie Hermann passed around indicated that the Rose Red Rapist’s level of violence had escalated, and that his habitual routine was growing more erratic. It was disturbing enough that LaDonna Chambers had been abducted and sexually assaulted. But there’d barely been any defensive marks on her. Had the initial blow to the head when she’d been blitz attacked and kidnapped rendered her unconscious through the whole ordeal? If so, then why kill her?

  Had something upset the rapist’s routine and he’d fired the kill shot out of rage? Had the Cleaner, a female accomplice who destroyed evidence of his crimes, upped her game to the extent that she now intended to murder every victim? Was the assault no longer enough violence to sate these perverts’ sick needs?

  And then there was the guilt Pike had to deal with. CSI Hermann’s timeline indicated that Ms. Chambers’s abduction had happened during his patrol shift with Hans, just a block away from his location at the time. She’d been taken from his territory. On his watch. She’d been a woman working in the neighborhood he’d sworn to protect. A law student, LaDonna had been taken from the parking lot outside the firm where she’d been doing her internship.

  Adam Matuszak’s law firm.

  First impressions of the arrogant blond attorney lingered in the mix of Pike’s thoughts, too.

  Pike reached down to where Hans dozed on the floor beside his chair and stroked the dog’s warm flank, automatically seeking that grounding, don’t-stress-unless-you-have-to feeling that working with the clever German shepherd gave him. But that first encounter with Matuszak and Brian Elliott still irritated him. Both men had shut down Hope’s efforts to speak for herself. And while that might have been a legal thing to protect her from volunteering to say or do anything that might be upsetting or unnecessary or even potentially incriminating, it stuck in Pike’s craw to think that she’d tried to make herself heard and no one was listening.