by Misty Evans
That would explain her distraction with the second floor. “Did you call 911?”
“In this neighborhood? Good luck. I called my neighbor and he helped me search the house. Whoever it was left, thank God. Nothing is missing.”
“Are you sure your cat wasn’t digging in the pot?”
“I’ve had that cat five years. She doesn’t dig in my plants, and she’s smart enough not to get near that cactus.”
“Maybe it was Jesse?”
“He has a key, and if he’d been here, he’d have told me. He knows I’m nervous about living alone. He’d have left a note or something. Even if I’d be mad he came here, he wouldn’t want me scared.”
That sounded reasonable enough. “What were they after? Jewelry? Money? Drugs?”
Maria glared at her like she’d just bombed the block. “I don’t do drugs.” Then her gaze shot upstairs again.
“Sorry. I wasn’t insinuating you did. Prescription drugs are all the rage right now and easy to steal.”
“And because I work at the hospital, I have a lot of those lying around, right?” She walked to the door and held it open.
Dammit. Hoping to stall, Caroline stayed put. So close to cracking her. “We can help you.”
“No,” Maria said. “You really can’t.”
Caroline wandered to the door, but didn’t step out. “If you’re right and someone was in the house last night, I don’t want to leave you alone. They could be dangerous. Is there somewhere you can go?”
“Sure. But if I go there, whatever trouble my brother is in will follow me and then the rest of my family is in danger.”
That was probably a safe assumption. And one Caroline refused to ignore. If Maria’s suspicion was correct and someone had searched her house, something worth finding might be here.
Time to kill two birds with one stone.
Mitch would wet his pants when she, supposedly the straight-laced one, suggested he search Maria’s house while Caroline found her a safe place to rest.
“Maria, obviously you’re exhausted. Let me take you somewhere safe so you can sleep.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere with you. Why should I trust you?”
“You have no reason to, other than I know what it feels like to be alone and scared and tired. Your fatigue might be influencing your decision so I’m offering to see you safely to a hotel where you can rest. You can drive your own car and I’ll stay outside your room. Once you get some sleep, hopefully you’ll reconsider and help us. If not, we’ll leave you alone. End of it. All I’m asking is that you think about it.”
“I can’t afford a hotel.”
They’d have to cover it for her, and Caroline couldn’t use her credit cards. She also didn’t want to burn through her cash in case they needed it. She’d be into Brice for a truckload when this was done. “We’ll take care of that. What have you got to lose?”
“I can’t leave my cat.”
Some hotels accepted pets, right? “We’ll figure out a place where you can bring him.”
“Her.” She motioned at the open door. “Tonight will be my first night off in fourteen days. First, I’m going to take a shower and clear my head. I’ll think about your offer, but not until I’ve cleaned up and eaten.”
Better than nothing. Caroline nodded. “I’ll wait outside.”
Mitch stood beside the truck cab while Brice sat in the driver’s seat playing a game on his phone. The heat wave showed no signs of backing off and perspiration dotted Mitch’s forehead. The more he wiped, the faster the sweat came back so he simply gave up.
Maria had opened the door a minute ago but Caroline hadn’t emerged yet. He craned his neck, trying to hear what Maria was saying without looking like he was eavesdropping.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the unmistakable black and white markings of a police car as the vehicle trolled the neighborhood. A glance in that direction and he saw the gold State badge emblem on the door.
Fuck.
The rack lights weren’t on and the car appeared to be doing a simple drive-by. He ducked around to the passenger side and slid in. “Heat on our six,” he said to Brice. “Keep your head down.”
“Shit,” Brice did as he was told and continued to stare down at his phone. “What do you want to do?”
More sweat ran down the back of Mitch’s neck. Was this really a drive-by or had someone in the neighborhood tipped off the police? He slouched in the seat, wishing he had a baseball cap to hide his features. “Sit tight.”
Taking off like a bat out of hell would only bring the cops running, and there was no way he would leave Caroline. If she noticed the car, she’d be smart to stay inside, even if the lights came on and cops brought the wrath of God down on him.
Just as the cruiser drew even with the truck, Caroline popped out of the house.
Ditto on the fuck.
She saw the car, hesitated a second, then looked over her shoulder at Maria, turning slightly so her sidearm was out of view from the street. She raised her hand and waved at the woman. “No rush. See you soon!”
Like they were best friends. Maria cocked her head, shook it like Caroline was a psych ward escapee, and shut the door.
Caroline pretended to be interested in the landscaping—if you could call sand with a few sprouts of grass landscaping—and kept heading for the truck.
The cruiser slowed but then continued down the street, braking at the stop sign.
“Time to go,” Mitch said, sliding over so Caroline could get in.
She sat next to him. “We can’t go.”
“Did you not just see the state police drive by?”
“Maria’s scared. Someone broke into her house last night. She claims she doesn’t know who or why, and she claims nothing was missing, but I know she’s lying about something. I just don’t know what. I offered to take her to a motel so she can sleep. I’ll keep watch on her from the parking lot just in case. Meanwhile, Mitch, you will love this—you and Brice can search her house.”
She motioned at Brice’s cell phone. “Give me that. I need to find a pet-friendly hotel.”
Mitch was still in adrenaline overload. “Are you fucking kidding me? First of all, look at you, encouraging illegal activity when the police might be on my ass. And, hello…you’re looking up pet-friendly hotels?”
“If the police were ‘on your ass,’” she said, punching the screen, “they’d already have you in handcuffs. They were in the neighborhood, that’s all. They probably drive through here on a regular schedule.”
“Yeah, and not at night,” Brice added.
“Here!” Caroline held up the phone. “Two miles away there’s a motel with outside doors. Direct access to the room and they allow one small dog or a cat. Perfect.”
Mitch controlled his pounding pulse by breathing slowly. In. Out. In. Out. “So where is she?”
Caroline made note of the motel’s address on her note pad. “She’s taking a shower and eating. She’ll be out soon, I hope.”
Caroline never said those words. She was always clear cut about everything. “You hope?”
A shrug and she studied the landscaping again. “She’s thinking about it while she showers.”
Perfect. He was stuck in a disgusting old truck during a heat wave while police circled the block and he was forced to sit tight while this gal took a cool, relaxing shower. Even getting laid turned into a bust. “It’s like Christmas in hell,” he mumbled.
Caroline shot him a look, her forehead creasing. “What?”
“Nothing.” He used his shirt sleeve to wipe off the sweat trailing down his cheek. How could she look so unfazed by the heat and law enforcement being within a few feet of them? “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes, why?”
“You’re acting completely out of character.”
A faint grin skipped across her lips. “I know. It’s kind of…exciting. I feel like we’re Bonnie and Clyde without the bank robbing.”
His
heart surged. He couldn’t help it. Grabbing her by the back of the neck, he brought her face to his. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”
Brice made coughing noises. Caroline’s grin turned into a real smile. “I know.”
He kissed her then, hard and fast. There would never be another woman for him. Never.
He just prayed his Clyde to her Bonnie didn’t take her down in a hail of bullets.
Maria made the right choice. At least Caroline thought so as they followed the woman’s not-quite-ancient Toyota to the Desert Sand—how innovative—motel. Hopefully, Maria would get some sleep, clear the stress from her mind, and decide, yes, she would indeed cooperate before her brother wound up spending his life in a federal prison.
Or dead.
Brice swung into the motel’s parking lot and parked in front of the office. Caroline sat forward so she could see Brice beyond Mitch who was still sitting in the middle. “I forgot to mention, you need to pay for the room.”
He craned his head. “Say what? I just paid for our rooms.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I can’t use my credit or ATM cards. Donaldson could be monitoring them. And Mitch…” she glanced at him. “Well, no need to talk about that. You’re the only option. I’ll repay you. I promise.”
Brice jerked the door handle. “Don’t worry about it.”
Dressed as he was in cargo shorts and a T-shirt, he looked like no one in particular. Just a guy needing a room. Exactly what they needed him to look like.
“So,” Mitch said. “Wanna make out?”
Caroline snorted, but moved closer to the door lest he decided to hit her with one of those vagina-melting kisses again. And speaking of which. “What’s with the lip-lock in front of Brice?”
“Uh, he caught us getting busy in a lake last night. Unless he’s blind—and possibly deaf—he’s aware of our personal relationship. If that’s what the hell we’re calling it. What are we calling it?”
O.M.G. Mitch Monroe talking relationships. “Let me borrow your phone. I need to check CNN.”
“Why?”
“Because the world must be coming to an end if you’re talking about a relationship.”
“Hardy, har, Caroline. I’m being serious.”
Seriously! Serious? She didn’t want to even think about that, never mind discuss it. What they needed to discuss was how to figure this mess out and get home. Then they’d talk about a relationship. Or whatever it was. Not that she’d have minded having a conversation about their complicated history and potential future, but sitting in a truck, rushing it, was not happening. When they talked, they’d really talk. It might take hours, and if she had to tie him to a chair until they hashed out whatever this was they were doing, she’d be fine with that.
Hell, he’d probably be fine with it if it included tying him up. Instantly, her boobs started to tingle. Mitch, ropes, relationship. Oh, the things they’d do together.
Beside her, Mitch nudged her with his elbow. “You’re thinking naughty thoughts again.”
And silly him, thought he’d rattle her. Try again, mister. A minute passed with Mitch focused on her and Caroline focused on the back of Maria’s car.
“Caroline, you can’t ignore me.”
Sure, I can.
“Oh, look. Here’s Brice.”
Thank you.
She turned and locked eyes with him just as Brice reached the front bumper of the truck. “Incredibly naughty. It involves ropes. Just so you know.”
She gave him a full-teeth smile as Brice hopped into the truck.
“It’s all good,” he said.
Sure is.
“That’s just mean, Caroline.”
Caroline laughed. A pouting Mitch. Classic.
She took the key Brice handed her. Room 115. Perfect. First floor, probably at the end of the row since the room to her right was 101. “Thanks. Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll keep watch over Maria while you two head back to her place and see what’s what. She’s an eagle eye so don’t mess anything up.”
“Caroline,” Mitch said, “you’re crazy if you think I’m leaving you here alone.”
“I’m crazy then because you have to. It’s the middle of the day. You need to be in and out of Maria’s place fast or risk getting seen by a nosey neighbor. If there are two of you, it’ll take less time. One of you does the first floor, one does the second.”
“No.”
His chivalry was sweet, but incredibly annoying. “All I’m going to do is sit in Maria’s car while she sleeps. She’s just worked fourteen hours. She’ll be out for a while. My gun and I will be fine. Besides, look how busy that main road is. Nobody would be dumb enough to try anything with all those witnesses.”
Brice started the truck and eased out of the parking space to move down to room 115. “I hate to say it, Mitch, but she’s right. We’re losing time and the three of us sitting in this parking lot won’t help.”
Mitch grunted.
After parking, Caroline handed Brice the key back. “Would you mind hopping out a second and showing Maria the room? By the time you get back, we’ll have a decision made.”
Brice took the key. “You have five minutes. Then I don’t give a shit, I’m going back to Maria’s.”
The second Brice hopped out, Mitch swung to face her. “I’m not leaving you.”
Yes, he was. She flattened her hand against his chest and he glanced down. Then she crumpled his T-shirt in her fist. “Listen to me, Mitch Monroe. I get it. I love this alpha-caveman thing on you, but we have an opportunity here. I strongly believe Maria is hiding something in her house. Specifically, on the second floor, but I’m not sure why I think that. Something about the way she looked at the stairs when I was talking to her. Anyway, go find what she’s hiding and maybe we’ll get a lead on what happened to Tommy.”
“I don’t like it.”
Sigh. Time to go to guns. “I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“Would you rather A) spend the rest of your life in prison, or B) come home to me every night and have me screw your brains out?”
He narrowed his eyes sensing her trick. “You know the answer to that, but it’s not in the cards. Even if we figure out what happened to Kemp and Tommy, Donaldson still has that assault charge waiting for me. So humor me. I have to make sure nothing happens to you, and that when this investigation does end, you’ll be okay, with or without me.”
This guy, this one right here, who every once in a while stifled the smart-ass comments and turned serious and thoughtful and well, loving, was why she fell for Mitch Monroe.
She reached up, ran her hand down this warm cheek, the stubble of his beard lightly scraping the inside of her hand. She cupped it under his jaw and squeezed. “I’ll be okay. Without you, I might not be happy, but I’ll be okay. I’ll be the Caroline I’ve been all these months while you were gone. I can survive that. I already have. Maybe I don’t want to just survive, but I will.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to get back to living your life so we can see where we go. Finally. That’s what I want. And I need you to go to Maria’s and search for the evidence that can make that happen. Can you do that for me?”
Mitch grabbed her hand and smacked a kiss against her palm, letting his lips rest there for a second. For once, there was nothing sexual about it. No tongue darting over her hand or prolonged licking. Just a simple kiss filled with affection and Caroline’s chest cracked. Bam. All the pent-up heartache and anger skipped away, leaving her with nothing but a fresh batch of watery, happy tears.
Mitch was back.
The truck door wrenched open and Brice hopped in. Caroline snapped her head to the window and wiped her drippy eyes. Silly girl.
Brice fired the engine. “Maria is locked in. Said she’d call me when she wakes up. Now, I’m going back to her place. Who’s coming with me?”
Chapter Fifteen
Mitch left Brice to search the first floor and he took the second. Ca
roline’s instincts had always been spot on. If she had an inkling that Maria was hiding something on the second floor, he bet odds she was correct.
If only he knew what he was looking for.
Maria might not admit it, but she knew her brother was into some bad shit. Most likely she wasn’t hiding anything per se, only covering her brother’s ass.
The second floor had two bedrooms and a bath. Maria’s room matched the flashy JLo look she’d worn the previous day. The bedspread was black and purple zebra stripes with sparkly beads. The nightstand held a lamp with a fur-trimmed shade.
He visually scanned the contents of the chest of drawers and nightstand, checked under the bed and between the mattresses. Nothing caught his eye or seemed out of place. She had a black desk with a laptop, but he left that alone initially to search the second bedroom.
That room was sparse and done in neutral desert shades…brown, drab green, and more ugly ass brown. Definitely gave off a masculine feel but if Jesse had been sleeping here, the guy had left little behind. A few shirts hung in the closet and two pairs of shoes sat on the floor. There was no dresser and nothing under the bed. The only items in the nightstand were a TV remote and a pack of condoms.
He was in the bathroom checking the medicine cabinet when he heard Brice’s footsteps coming up the stairs at a fast pace. “Dude, we gotta roll.”
Mitch met him in the hall. “What’s up?”
“Ethan texted me. Something happened. He’s freaked out but refuses to talk over the phone.”
“Let me guess, another meeting.”
Brice’s eyes were lit with anticipation. “He said there’s a skatepark near the mall. Two miles south. Said to meet him by the mural.”
Mitch and Brice left the house empty-handed. Whatever Maria might be hiding was still safe. And Caroline wouldn’t be happy.
The skate park was busy for a weekday and music blared from a large boom box one of the dozen teenagers had set up on a picnic table.