by Julie Miller
“Don’t push your luck. Baking’s a hobby of mine, but one I rarely have the time for.” She set a steaming mug in front of Eli and sat across the table from him. “It seemed like I was fixing food around the clock when Seth was a teenager. But once he left for college and moved out of the house, I had to cut back on keeping all those goodies around with no one to eat them but me. The older I get, the harder it is to keep the pounds off.”
Eli hadn’t noticed any trouble spots. He buried his nose in the frothy, fragrant brew before his thoughts could form words and get him into trouble. While the aroma distracted him, the coffee needed a moment to cool off. So did he.
He supposed work was the best way to do it. “I know you want everything to be strictly business between us, but I have to ask about your ex.”
Shauna glanced up from stirring sugar into her coffee. “He’s not related to the investigation.”
“He tried to back you into a corner tonight, and you told him no.” Eli nodded toward the phone on the wall with the blinking red light indicating the two messages. “I take it this isn’t the first time you haven’t given him what he wanted?”
“Where are you going with this?”
“Maybe Yours Truly is Austin—or someone else with a personal beef against you. He could be using the Baby Jane Doe case as an excuse to make your life hell. It wouldn’t be the first time a man stalked a woman, hoping she’d turn to him for comfort and protection.”
“You think he wants the two of us to get back together?” She cupped her mug between both hands and blew on it before taking a sip.
Eli turned his eyes from the thoughtful pout on her pink lips. He should have asked for an iced drink instead. But he was stuck with hot coffee and a slow simmer that was stirring things to life behind his zipper. Smooth, Masterson. He leaned back to put some more distance between them. “He could be using the threats to keep you off your game so that he can talk you into signing that loan he wants.”
“Baby Jane’s murder is definitely a case that pushes my buttons. He knows that crimes involving children are the hardest ones for me. An unsolved one eats at me until it’s put to rest.” As soon as she considered the idea, she discarded it. “But I can’t see Austin planning that far ahead, staying with one thing for as long as those notes have been coming. And his problem is with money. He wouldn’t have hurt that little girl.”
Maybe the guy’s timing sucked and the visit and calls tonight were motivated by weakness or greed, not vengeance. After what he’d seen at Shauna’s door tonight, though, Eli wasn’t quite ready to cross Austin Cartwright off his list of suspects. “We shouldn’t automatically assume the killer is the person sending the threats. Anyone else have a personal gripe against you?”
“I’m sure a few criminals out there think I personify the establishment that sent them to jail. But no one in particular comes to mind.” She laughed behind her mug. “Betty Mills.”
“Your secretary?”
“Executive assistant,” Shauna clarified. “I think she’s always had a thing for Edward Brent, and resents that I took his place. Or maybe she just doesn’t like answering to a woman.”
“She did seem kind of old-school.”
Shauna lowered her mug and propped her elbows on the table. “I can’t believe she’d do anything disloyal to KCPD. Even if she does have a personal grudge, she’s been a team player for thirty-five years. She wouldn’t criticize how we handled a case.”
“It’s not like Yours Truly has made a public announcement.”
“Betty didn’t follow me to that parking garage.”
Eli leaned forward and mirrored Shauna’s position. “She has access to your office, your e-mail and your personal schedule.”
“She wouldn’t have misspelled the words in those notes.”
“Unless she wanted to throw you off her trail.”
Shauna retreated as though an invisible referee had rung a bell and separated them. “Enough of this. It’s after one. Making-nice time is done. I handpicked you to dig into the Baby Jane Doe case, not my life.” She grabbed both their mugs and dumped the coffee down the sink, sending a clear message that she was done talking. “You don’t need to report to me again until you know something about her murder or the task force investigation.”
Eli stood, nudging aside the dog that had been dozing beside his chair. “Yes, ma’am. But if I decide my investigation requires nosing around into Betty Mills’s or your ex’s or anyone else’s background, I will. That’s how I do my job.”
The telephone rang, adding a jarring punctuation to his defiant claim.
He watched the jolt of being startled tighten Shauna’s shoulders. “This is ridiculous.” She stormed across the kitchen and eyed the offending appliance. “‘Out of area’ again.” She snatched the receiver off its hook. “Dammit, Austin. Give it a rest. You can call me tomor—”
Everything in Shauna stilled.
Everything in Eli went on alert.
“Excuse me?” Her body came back to life on a deep, sharp breath. “Who is this?”
Eli circled the table so she could see him as he approached. “Let me talk to him,” he whispered, knowing damn well who was on the other end of that line, but only able to imagine what vile threats were being uttered this time. “Shauna.”
She warned him off with a shake of her head and punched a button on the answering machine. “I’m recording this conversation, you coward. If you have a problem with…” Her cheeks blanched a dangerous shade of pale. “Hello?”
Eli pried the phone from her grasp. “This is KCPD…”
Silence.
The bastard had nothing to say to him.
“How did he get this number? It’s unlisted.” With her arms hugged tight around her waist, Shauna backed away. “How the hell did he get my number?” Her face flushed with color. She paced off the length of the kitchen, with a worried Sadie trotting along in her wake. “He asked why I was entertaining men at my house tonight. He said I should be saving my strength for what’s coming, that I wasn’t as smart as he gave me credit for.” Her footsteps stuttered, along with her breath. “He knows what I’m wearing.”
While she peeled off her apron and threw it onto the counter, Eli punched the play button to hear the last words of a tinny, mechanically altered voice. “…don’t get it, do you, Ms. Cartwright? You’ve had your last warning. I’m not playing anymore.”
Eli wanted a black-and-white unit here. Now.
He hung up the phone, removed the tape and pulled his personal cell off his belt. He punched in a nine and a one before Shauna wheeled around on him and snapped the phone shut.
“No! You can’t call anyone.”
“Dammit, Shauna, he can’t make a threat like that and get away with it.”
Sometime in the past hour, he’d stopped thinking of her as the commissioner of police and had simply seen a woman being tortured for no good reason. A woman he cared about. There was no boss or chain of command that applied here. Eli had to protect her.
But the woman he wanted to protect was dashing down the hall. “He may still be out there.”
“Whoa.” Eli caught her in three long strides. “You’re unarmed. Unprepared.”
“Let go of me!” She twisted out of his grip. “I’m sick of him having the advantage. I want to see his face.”
“Shauna.” He reached for the back of her robe as she switched directions and headed up the carpeted stairs. To get her gun? To get some clothes? “Stay put and let me go out and check the block. Call in a cop you trust—your son—to do a drive-through of the neighborhood.”
He couldn’t hang on to the silk, either. “I can’t call Seth.”
“Why not? Because he has the sense to worry about your safety when you won’t?”
She turned on him and marched back down the stairs. “That creep said…that you and I…oh, God, he was crude.” She whipped her twisted robe from between her knees and spun around. “I need to get dressed.”
Alarm
ed by her mistress’s distress, Sadie bolted past Eli. Shauna stepped on a paw and stumbled as Sadie yelped. “Stupid dog! Get out of my way!”
That was not normal.
“Hey.” Eli snugged an arm around her waist, easily absorbing the brunt of her fall. Sadie ducked for cover.
Shauna dug her fingers into his forearm and twisted against his hip. “Let go of me.”
“I’m not the enemy here.”
“Let go!” She kicked against the stairs to push him off balance. “I need to find him. I have to stop him.”
“Hey!” Eli lifted Shauna off her feet and carried her away from the leverage of the stairs. He cinched his arms around her flailing body, squeezing her tightly until she stopped struggling.
Once he was fairly certain she wouldn’t do any harm to him or herself, Eli altered his grip and turned her in his arms.
“You’re scaring the dog,” he whispered into her ear.
Shauna laughed against his collar. Or maybe that hiccupping sound was the tightly controlled sound of a sob escaping. What Eli did understand was that her hands were sliding up between them, curling beneath his lapels as they sought something to hold on to.
“I’m sorry.” Her lips tickled the base of his throat and the desire to do more than soothe and protect heated his blood. “Is Sadie okay? I didn’t mean…”
“She’s fine.”
Eli shifted to accommodate their difference in heights. Ignoring the friction of Shauna’s soft curves sliding along his harder frame, he widened his stance and lowered her onto her tiptoes. Curling his shoulders and arms around her, he found the flat of her back with one hand, the nip of her waist with the other. Then he buried his nose in the crown of her soft, short curls and held her, really held her, until her breathing returned to an even rhythm, until the feverish panic passed—until she wound her arms inside his jacket and held on to him.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed against the middle button of his shirt. Eli suspected that unnecessary apology was for him.
A warm, furry head pressed against his thigh and Eli reached down to pet the dog. “Mama’s okay, girl.”
“No, she’s not.” Shauna linked her hands behind his waist and snuggled closer. The dampness of tears warmed his skin through the front of his shirt. “I never fall apart like this.” Sheer will could only get a person so far. And she was entitled. “I’m more tired than I thought, I guess. I’ll be able to handle this logically and professionally once I get some sleep.”
“I know you will.” He rubbed soothing circles across her back, trying to ignore the other two things he felt perking through the front of his shirt. Double layers of silk and cotton left little to his imagination. Did she have any idea of just how thoroughly she could get his juices flowing? His attraction to her was completely wrong, and yet, holding her like this—being held—felt completely right.
Her fingertips stroked his spine above his belt, as if trying to placate him. But at her gentle touch, a deep, illicit longing surged inside him. God, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do other things, too. But he’d be content if he could just keep her in his arms throughout the night. If he could touch her and know she was safe, know she was with him. He pressed his lips against her hair, taunting himself with what he couldn’t have and shouldn’t want.
“If you tell anyone that Shauna Cartwright is…”
What? Beautiful? Tough? Sexy? “Human?”
Her nod was a caress against his chest. “I’ll put a reprimand in your file if you let that one slip.”
Eli grinned. “Your secret’s safe with me, boss lady.”
“Thanks.” He felt her posture tighten and knew the mood had changed. She pulled away, tucking her robe around her neck and crossing her arms as though hiding her body could make him forget the womanly shape he’d already memorized. “You’re a good sport.”
“A good sport?” He’d been thinking about getting in her pants, thinking about ways to make her break out in a sweat. Thinking about how he was going to survive the night on her couch or in his car, knowing she was sleeping upstairs in nothing more than that peachy, silky second skin. And all she had for him was a “good sport”?
“Yes. I keep everything locked inside pretty much. But when the emotions finally erupt…well, I’m sorry you had to bear the brunt of it tonight. I needed a minute to regroup. I’m grateful. But I can’t lean on you like that. KCPD—Kansas City—needs to know I can stand on my own two feet.” Damn, she was sincere. She was blowing off whatever had just passed between them. “I won’t allow it to happen again.”
“You can control it like that?” Sarcasm dripped from his tongue.
The tilt of one golden eyebrow showed that she knew he wasn’t referring to the few tears she’d shed. “Goodnight, Eli.”
“No way am I leaving you. Not with this kook on the loose.”
“Please.” She padded to the front door and typed in the code to release the alarm system. “Yours Truly has already seen you here. So has Austin. My kids have seen you. I think it’s time to do a little damage control.”
“You really want to be alone, with that guy out there somewhere, watching you all the time?” He regretted causing the shiver that rippled across her back, but she needed to understand that playing with her safety wasn’t a debatable issue. “Shauna, I’m trying to look out for you. Especially since you seem bound and determined not to do it for yourself. I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt.”
“What you like or dislike isn’t the issue.” He saw the steel in her shoulders when she turned around and knew she was asserting the cop in her again. “We can’t be feeling these things. It isn’t right.”
Their gazes locked, closing the distance between them without moving a muscle. “So why are we feeling them?”
“Stress? Proximity? Because we’re both a couple of outcasts? Hell, Eli, I don’t know. I’ve been divorced for ten years. I’m still no expert on dating. I can’t tell when you’re flirting and when you’re really arguing with me. Yes, you ooze testosterone and I’m attracted to you, but it’s just…hormones.” She threw her hands in the air. “At my age, mine are all screwed up, anyway, so I’m not going to trust them.”
“There’s not a damn thing wrong with your age or how anything’s holding up.”
“Stop saying things like that.” Though her cheeks dotted with color, she came back to link her arm through his and walk him to the door. Her pat on the back when she released him was as patronizing as the tone of her voice. “You work for me. We both work for the people of Kansas City. You probably feel a responsibility to me because I singled you out for an assignment. That’s admirable, but it doesn’t mean there’s anything personal going on here.”
“You think I’m naive?” Had she not paid attention to anything he’d said or done over the past few days? “You’ll have to do better than that.”
“We have to hold ourselves to high standards, Eli. I won’t have anyone questioning my character or my ability to do my job.”
“All right.” He’d give her that excuse. He could put his libido on hold if he had to. But he wouldn’t compromise on the job he had to do. “I’ll do a walk around the house and the block. Then I’ll be parked out front.”
“I want you to go home and rest.”
“Are you going to report that bastard?”
“Give me the tape. I’ll keep it in case—”
Her excuses equaled a no. “I will be parked outside.”
She tipped her chin for a fiery stare-down, but any protest died on her lips. “Fine. Do what you have to. But don’t let playing hero get in the way of your investigation. Finding out the truth is the only kind of help I want from you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Eli looked beyond her to the golden pile of fur curled up in the archway to the kitchen. “Guard the place, Sadie,” he ordered, as if the dog understood. Then he reached for Shauna.
He slid his palm along her jaw and tunneled his fingers into the wisps of her hair. He angled her mou
th up to his and covered her startled gasp with a kiss.
Another protest hummed in her throat. But when she braced her hands against his chest to push him away, she curled her fingers into his lapels and held on. Tugged him closer. Their noses bumped and the minty scent of her skin teased his senses. She stretched up onto her toes and Eli framed her face between both hands and deepened the kiss.
Her cool lips warmed beneath his exploration. The soft curves parted and he thrust his tongue inside to slide against hers. He tasted the heat that was her, and the coffee they’d shared. He knew there was a reason he had such a craving for the stuff. Now it would forever remind him of Shauna and this kiss.
That was it. Just hands and lips and tongues. But it was sweet, it was potent, it was perfect.
And it was time to get out while he still could.
Eli pulled away, relieved to see he wasn’t the only one breathing a little unsteadily after that kiss. Worried that he wasn’t the only one breathing a little unsteadily after that kiss.
“Making a point?” Shauna’s husky taunt danced across every sensitized nerve in his body.
“Yeah.” He reached for the door latch behind him, needing the cool air of the night, and the dangers hiding there, to purge the need from his body. “I’m glad you don’t feel anything, either.”
Chapter Six
“Call never happened. Kiss never happened.” Shauna huffed the cleansing mantra in rhythm with every stride, letting the tension on Sadie’s leash pull her an extra half mile on their morning run. “Last night went away. Shauna rules today.” She inhaled deeply and buzzed her lips on the exhale. “Shauna rules today.”
If she ran long enough, pushed hard enough, said the words often enough, she might start to believe that her world hadn’t been tilted on its axis half a dozen times in the past few days. Maybe she couldn’t control the events, but she could control her reaction to them.
Seth was a well-trained cop. He was smart and strong. He’d be just fine on his first deep-cover assignment. She had faith in KCPD. She had faith in her son.