by Ladew, Lisa
Aria took a deep, shuddery breath. She hadn’t admitted that to anyone in two years. In fact, it was the first time she’d said it out loud. She hadn’t taken Jason’s name when they got married so she didn’t need to consider whether to change it when they got divorced. She hadn’t bothered to change her marital status with HR yet. They didn’t need to know. She’d been deeply ashamed of this development in her life, enough to bury herself in her work and not come up for air in years, but now it was out. Someone knew.
Coleton turned to her, and his soft eyes told her she had said the right thing. His anger had fled, leaving compassion in its wake. But she didn’t see pity there. Which was good. Pity would have destroyed her.
Coleton looked at her and she looked back, letting his eyes say things to her. Things she didn’t want to hear aloud. Finally, she couldn’t take anymore.
“Let’s get off the street,” she said, turning and heading back the way she had come.
He followed.
***
Aria pulled into the apartment parking lot and parked their car in front of the wrong building, knowing it was only a tiny bit of subterfuge, and hoping it wasn’t needed at all. If the people who were looking for Coleton traced them as far as this building, their chances of getting out unscathed were slim.
A few people were in the parking lot, drinking from bottles wrapped in paper bags, yelling at children, laughing and cussing in rough voices. She scanned them all and found them fine, then nodded to Coleton. He jumped out and grabbed as many bags from the trunk as he could hold, pushing a few up onto his wrists.
She watched him, bemused. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a few trips.”
“There is if we don’t need them,” he said, grabbing another bag.
She watched him finally admit defeat and head towards the door, then grabbed a few bags of her own, following him. The tension had melted on the way back, and now she felt worn out, defeated, tired. She hadn’t asked him about her sister again and knew she wouldn’t. He would tell her when he was ready. Sharing the truth had done that much for her.
She unlocked the door and they dropped bags in the entryway, then retrieved the rest of them from the car. When they entered the apartment the second time, Coleton took a few of the bags straight into the kitchen.
“I’ll start dinner,” he called over his shoulder, not looking at her.
“OK,” she muttered under her breath, actually glad he was heading in there so quickly. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that had been almost twelve hours ago. Normally she loved days like today, but this one was proving to be an emotional roller coaster.
She eyed the bags and decided what to do next. Prepare the bed and the couch. She ripped into plastic bags and removed bedding and pillows, and by the time she had everything done, a rich smell wafted from the kitchen.
She wandered in and sat down at the tiny, circular table just as Coleton closed the oven.
He glanced at her. “It won’t be done for forty-five minutes.”
Aria pressed her lips together. Her stomach was clamoring for food.
Coleton noticed her look. “Want to start on salad now?”
“I would love to start on salad now,” she said, trying to keep the eagerness out of her voice.
Coleton chuckled and pulled a bowl out of the fridge, then handed her two different dressing choices. She chose vinaigrette and he put a plate in front of her. Aria piled it high, trying not to think about Coleton’s face when she’d said Ava was her twin sister. What could Ava had done to him?
She started eating and tried to remember her promise to let him tell her when he was ready. She didn’t think he would deliberately draw things out. But whatever had happened had obviously been difficult for him. Her mind raced. It couldn’t have been a romantic relationship because Ava was married to Jason now, right?
Aria shook her head and kept eating, and then the clock on the stove caught her attention. Almost seven.
“Damn,” she muttered and hurried into the living room to see if the ancient TV worked. She heard Coleton following her but was too busy to explain anything to him. Turning on the TV didn’t get her any sort of signal, and the box on the top made it look like it only caught local channels. She flipped through the buttons and finally figured out they had exactly three channels. At least they were clear.
All three were showing the news so she just settled on one and watched it intently. Wildfires in the south. The presidential debate was heating up. Christian ministers were refusing to marry gay couples. Then a picture of the Westwood Harbor Police Department filled the screen. She shushed Coleton even though he hadn’t said a word, and leaned forward, listening intently.
A grim-looking anchor woman talked quickly, the camera panning past her to the wreckage of Coleton’s car. She outlined what they knew, which was almost nothing, but then said what Aria had been waiting to hear. “The owner of the car has not been identified. All we have been told is that he was twenty-nine years old, a local resident, and was declared dead on the scene.”
Aria felt a smile break over her face.
“I’m dead?” Coleton asked, wonder in his voice.
“Yep,” she said firmly.
“Wow, that’s smart,” he responded, in that same dreamy manner.
“Don’t get too excited. Remember that a half a dozen people saw you in the office after the explosion. If your father really has a mole in the department he might already know that you aren’t really dead. But it was worth a try.”
Coleton’s eyes locked on hers, and she saw hope and optimism in them, despite her words.
In the kitchen the dinger dinged and Aria felt her mouth water instantly. She snapped off the TV and rushed back into the kitchen.
Coleton took the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on the table. “We really should let this rest for thirty minutes, but I’m not going to do that to you.”
“Thanks,” Aria said, watching his hands closely as he uncovered the lasagna and then spooned some out for her. She took a bite-sized piece on her fork and blew on it three times, then shoved it in her mouth, burning her tongue but unable to stop herself.
“Mmm,” she said around forkfuls, not caring that Coleton was watching her, his lasagna whole and untouched. “This is wonderful,” she gushed, meaning it. Frozen TV dinner lasagna couldn’t compare for a moment.
A smile grew on Coleton's face, and he finally dug into his piece, eating like this was nothing new - he got food this good every night. He probably did. He could cook, after all.
Aria finished her piece and dug into the pan for another one. She finished that one too and sat back, full to bursting, her thoughts returning straight to her sister now that her stomach was taken care of. Coleton’s eyes were hooded, contemplative. He ate in studious silence and when he finished his piece, he stood up immediately and washed their dishes.
“I’ll let this cool and put it in the fridge before I go to sleep,” he said in her direction, motioning to the pan of lasagna, then heading out of the room. Aria jumped up, meaning to beat him to the couch, but he was already there.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said. “You take the bed.”
“Absolutely not,” Coleton replied firmly, his voice low and commanding, and Aria felt a shiver go down her spine. She ignored it and looked at his back as he sat down, still not looking at her.
Fine, she thought. She’d be more comfortable on the bed anyway. She stalked down the hallway and flopped into bed, fully clothed, her gun still in its holster around her waist, her ears on full alert even as her eyes slipped closed. She fell into a light sleep quickly, her mind barely registering the baby crying in the unit next door.
Chapter 9
Hunter Foley looked through his pants pockets one more time, then ran outside and searched his car again. It was hopeless. He knew he had taken his phone to work yesterday, and that was where it disappeared, but he couldn’t help being thorough. It was in his blood. He walked slowly back
into the house, going over yesterday’s activities in his mind one more time. When he entered the kitchen, Jen came out of the bedroom, looking tight in her uniform, with her hair slicked back.
“You still can’t find it?”
He shook his head balefully, almost sick at the thought of it being gone. People were depending on him. People who had that number. He had to be at the airport in two hours. He hoped the day didn’t get any worse.
“Sorry babe,” Jen said, slipping her arms around his waist.
“Not your fault,” Hunter said, planting a tender kiss on the corner of her mouth. “I’ll get another one at work. I’ll text you the number as soon as I can.”
Jen nodded and reluctantly let him go. “When will you be back?”
“Friday night if everything goes well.”
“OK, I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but it’s only a few days. Stay focused.”
Jen smiled, a twinkle in her eye. “Yes Assistant Chief. Anything you say Assistant Chief.”
“Don’t you forget it,” Hunter growled, his mind casting back to last night, when she’d said exactly those words, just before giving him exquisite, mind-blowing pleasure. God a man could get used to that kind of thing. His life had never been so amazing as during the last few months. He couldn’t wait until she finished recruit class. He was planning on taking her on a vacation to the Caribbean as a graduation gift, and maybe asking her to marry him. He’d never known anyone who made him feel so wonderful, who completed his life in such a big way.
He pulled her close again and wound his fingers in her hair, messing it slightly, but unable to help himself.
“Hey big boy, fingers off the merchandise," she told him, but her words had no bite. She slipped closer to him and rubbed against him, making him groan.
“God if only I had three minutes,” he complained, and she laughed.
“Three minutes!” Come see me when you’ve got thirty," she admonished him, then pulled away with finality, leaving him slightly saddened.
“Now I’m going to be late,” Jen said, grabbing her lunch and waving at him as she rushed out the door. Hunter watched her go, saying a silent prayer for her safety, as he always did.
Hunter took one last look through the house and finally gave up. The phone was gone.
***
Assistant Chief Dick Harrison stalked through the halls of the police department, an uneasy feeling following him. He felt like he was forgetting something. But what? He knew who was protecting Coleton Savoy. Sgt. Gale. That was bad because she was incorruptible, but good because he was certain he could outsmart her. She wasn’t quite as high and mighty as she thought she was and he was going to prove it. Plus she was new school, so he didn’t care if she ended up as collateral damage. Her dad had been old school, but still not one you wanted to stray too far outside the lines with. Harrison had always hated that old bastard but never felt one way or the other about his daughter. Until now.
Harrison fingered the phone in his pocket. He’d stolen it off of Assistant Chief Foley’s desk the day before, at great personal danger to himself. Foley already suspected him of not being 100% clean. If he knew that Harrison had his phone, that would push him over the edge - he’d go straight to the chief and get him investigated. Harrison swore under his breath about the unfortunate circumstances that had gotten the last chief arrested and how the flow of bribery money that had been coming into the station from Fiore Savoy stopped. But then Savoy had contacted him directly and offered him twice as much money if Harrison helped find and eliminate Savoy’s son. Harrison had his eye on a number of business investments that he would be able to buy once this was all finished. He was exactly the right guy to pull this off.
With any luck Gale would call soon and he could get her location. Then this all would be almost over, quickly. But just in case, he had one more errand to run first. He turned to the door marked Dispatch and pushed it open, glad to see the dispatch sergeant right there waiting for him.
“All set?” he asked, not liking this man enough to try to make any small talk.
“Yep, we’ve got the traces set and everyone knows if she calls from any other number the call is to be forwarded immediately to you.”
“Perfect,” Harrison said, and showed his teeth in an approximate smile. “Anytime day or night, it doesn’t matter.”
The other man nodded. “Got it. We’re ready for her.”
“You better be,” Harrison replied and retreated back out the door. That was the last thing he could do in house for now. The next step was to get out on the road and start talking to people. Spread the word that Coleton Savoy was alive and well and there was a bounty on his head. Get some eyes on the street. He would find them, no matter where they had gone.
Once he was certain that Foley was out of the city limits he would come back and go through his files. With any luck the idiot had it written down where Gale took Savoy. That would make all of this double easy. But he knew not to expect too much. Besides being suspicious, Foley was smart and careful, which meant the chances of Harrison finding a location in Foley’s file were slim.
No matter. He knew how to grind. He would find them. He had over a million dollars riding on this, and that made a man very innovative.
Chapter 10
Aria opened her eyes quickly and took in the room around her. Quiet. All was well. She got out of bed silently and headed towards the tiny living room to check on Coleton. Sounds of exertion drifted her way and she stopped, her hand going automatically to her gun. But the sounds weren’t menacing. Two more steps took her far enough that she could see Coleton, on the living room floor doing pushups, facing away from her. His shirt was off and she could clearly see the muscles in his back and along his sides bunching and clenching as he lifted and lowered his weight.
Aria watched for a long time, strangely fascinated. She hadn’t realized he was so muscular, or that he worked out this way. Something in his manner struck her as incredibly brutish and masculine, as he punished his body with push up after push up - he had to be over one hundred by now. Yesterday, he’d seemed soft-spoken, mostly thoughtful and mellow, but right now he looked raw, powerful, ready to attack and assail. Sweat glistened off of his back and she watched a clear drop traverse the path of least resistance between two defined muscles.
Aria stood in the hallway, lost to herself, her body suddenly thrumming with heat. She bit the inside of her lip but felt nothing. With a heaving grunt, Coleton dropped to the ground and Aria realized where she was and what she was doing. She was in the hallway, staring at her charge without him knowing, like some sort of a female pervert.
Quickly, she backed up and retreated into the room, silently climbing back onto the bed to feign sleep until he was done. For some reason she didn’t want him to know she had seen.
She heard the bathroom door open and, in another moment, the shower turned on. She breathed a sigh of relief and headed out into the living room. He had neatly folded his sheets and blankets and stacked them in the corner. She sat on the couch and snapped on the TV, hoping to catch some news. Nothing but game shows. Somewhere, a baby cried again, long lusty wails that were enough to break a mother’s heart.
She heard the shower snap off and tried to prepare herself for him to come out in a towel. She would die. But she would look.
Lucky for her, he came out fully clothed, wearing cowboy-jeans he had bought the day before and a simple, deep-blue shirt that stretched over his muscles invitingly. She looked at his face, suddenly feeling awkward.
He smiled at her, then plucked at his shirt, noticing where her eyes had been. “I guess they run small,” he said apologetically.
“Oh,” she breathed, unable to say anything else.
“I watched the 5 a.m. news,” he told her, heading into the kitchen. “They didn’t say anything new about the explosion or me.”
“You’ve been up since 5 a.m.?” she asked.
His voice drifted out of the kitchen,
along with the sound of pots banging. “Yeah, I’ve had a hard time sleeping for the last several months. I’m only managing a few hours a night.”
Aria stood and walked into the kitchen to talk to him easier. “That’s awful. How do you manage?”
He had his back to her and was breaking eggs into a pan. “Once a week I take a sleeping pill and try to catch up, but mostly I just drink a lot of coffee.”
“Is it because of your father coming after you?”
As soon as the words were out of Aria’s mouth, she winced and wanted to take them back. What a stupid thing to say.
Coleton turned and looked at her, and she expected to see reproach in his eyes. Instead, they were bright and calm. “Yes, it is. He’s scared me since I was a little boy and I guess he still scares me. Well, maybe he scares me even more now that he’s tried to kill me twice.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed. “What? There was another time?”
Coleton scrubbed his face with his hands. “Yeah," he said sheepishly, like it was his fault.
“Tell me,” she said, all business in an instant, the image of his shirtless chest finally pushed from her brain.
“There’s not much to tell really. Before I went to New York I tried to hide out in Atlanta, Georgia, but they found me there quickly. I had to use my atm card a few times on the way there and I guess that’s how they traced me. I was walking in the park and two men grabbed me and tried to push me into a van. I fought them and got away. They shot at me but missed. I was lucky they didn’t just shoot me while I was walking down the path - not even give me a chance to fight back.”
Aria nodded. “You were. Did you report the incident to the police?”
Coleton turned back to the stove and stirred the eggs, then began chopping something on the counter. “No, I just took off and went to New York. And I didn’t use my bank cards again.”