by Sandra Brown
“Talia.” He bent his head lower and nuzzled her just below her ear. “This isn’t only doing my job.” He caught the lobe of her ear between his teeth.
She stirred and whimpered his name. He followed the soft expulsion of breath to its source, her parted lips, and covered them with his. Her mouth was hot and wet and receptive when he pressed his tongue inside.
Unlike when he’d kissed her before, this time she didn’t turn her head aside and angle away. Instead she leaned into the kiss, not just with her mouth but with her body.
They shifted instinctually, matching up parts that had been created to complement each other. Still, it was a tease to what it could be. He had believed there wasn’t room enough to reposition themselves, but he discovered there was, as he curved his arm around her waist.
In doing so, his elbow knocked against the wall. The giveaway sound would have alarmed him earlier, but now he disregarded it and focused only on splaying his hand over Talia’s ass and pulling her closer, up, onto him. She responded by arching up even higher until—God!—the fit stole their breath. Until then they hadn’t broken the mad kiss, but they did now, gasping in unison.
A heartbeat later, their mouths fused, and, again they were governed by carnal instinct. His palm followed her shape from her waist to the top of her thigh, caressing bare skin that felt like warm silk against his hand, although he didn’t even remember sliding it inside her pajama bottoms.
He couldn’t say when she had raised her hand to his head, yet her fingers were imbedded in his hair, urgently tugging on it to pull him closer.
Beneath his circling thumb, her nipple was hard, but how had he found it beneath her pajama top? He didn’t know, but he loved the feel of it, of her, of her excitement, and knowing he had kindled it.
He hadn’t thought to thrust against the welcoming V between her thighs, but he was, and it was killing him not to be inside her.
These incredible sensations coalesced in an instant of clarity, and he realized that if he didn’t stop now, there would be no stopping.
He lifted his mouth away from her hungry kiss and clasped her head between his hands. “Talia, Talia.” With his forehead pressed to hers, he kept repeating her name on gusts of breath until she stilled against him. “God knows I want to,” he groaned. “But I can’t. Not under his roof.”
He let go of her, fumbled behind his back for that son of a bitching handle, and flipped it up. The wall popped open behind him. He ducked his head and stumbled backward out of the enclosure and into the room. Reaching for her hand, he guided her out of their hiding place.
The house was silent and, he sensed, empty save for the two of them. It was another gray day. The blinds were partially shut. The room was dim. He thought it was probably best that they couldn’t see each other clearly. She couldn’t have missed his erection. He’d never been this hard without having a woman under him or straddling him or sucking him.
In her dishevelment, Talia had never looked so sexy. Her lips plump and damp. Hair a mess. One side of her shapeless robe was hanging off her shoulder. Her nipples were peaked beneath her pajama top. She looked ravishing. Ravished. If only. Jesus, was he crazy?
No. He’d been right to stop.
“I had to,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I would never have gotten over being with you here. In his house.”
She swallowed with apparent difficulty and drew her robe back into place, then crossed her arms over her front. “I understand. I do. I probably would have hated myself afterward, too. I shouldn’t have let it go that far.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Right. And besides all that, I’ve placed us in a serious situation. It’s not too late for you to change your mind. You could stay here, wait for Locke and company, tell them that I had talked you into splitting but then you saw the light.”
“No. I’m going with you.”
“I have your trust now?”
“It was hard-earned, but yes.”
He took a deep breath, dropped his head forward, and for several seconds stared at the floor. When he raised his head, he spoke with unmitigated gravity. “Also trust this, Talia. If given an opportunity to kill him, I’m going to.”
“I hope so,” she said gruffly. “Because if you don’t, he will surely kill me.”
Chapter 28
As Drex had gathered, there was no one inside the house, but a police unit was parked at the curb with two officers keeping watch.
“I hope Rudkowski didn’t want fast food for lunch,” he whispered as he turned away from the window. “No lights, no unnecessary sound, and we’ve got to make these minutes count. Where should we start? I’ve already searched the master bedroom.”
“When?”
“Yesterday after you left for the airport.”
“It was you who set off the alarm.”
“Thought I was so clever to know the new code. Jasper laid that trap for me. Were you aware of the app on his phone?”
“App?”
“Never mind. Doesn’t matter now.” He thought for a moment. “Any other spaces like that safe room?”
“No. Until today, there’s never been cause to use it.”
“Whatever Jasper’s trophies are, they’re small, easily hidden, and he would keep them close to him, not where you would have better access. Where does he spend most of his time?”
She led him upstairs to a room at the end of the hallway. It was similar in proportion to her study. It was furnished with a desk and computer, a leather recliner, and a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Like any ol’ man cave. Except that it was sterile, a stage setting lacking enough props to make it look lived in.
The hardwood floor was bare of carpet or rugs. Drex didn’t have time to see if any of the planks were loose, but he didn’t detect any cracks that would suggest a hidey-hole underneath. And, anyway, Jasper wouldn’t be that mundane.
He pulled the chair from beneath the desk and powered up the computer. “Do you know his password?”
Talia gave it to him. He typed it in. “If he gave you his password, we won’t find anything. Is this the only computer he has?”
“That I know of.”
Drex accessed Jasper’s email. Talia identified the names she recognized, most of whom were vendors they used for various services or acquaintances from the country club.
“Friends of Jasper’s?”
“Sometimes he plays doubles tennis and will have lunch with the group afterward. That’s about the extent of it. He’s not a mingler.”
He’d had several exchanges with Elaine, but they didn’t amount to anything. The most recent email from her had come in on yesterday morning, the day of her death. She’d thanked him for drinks and dinner the night before. There was no mention of an evening excursion on her yacht.
Drex went to the history of websites Jasper had visited. Most were for foodies or wine enthusiasts. Nothing exotic or noteworthy.
He was shutting down the computer when, from behind him, Talia said, “Drex, our picture is missing.” She was looking down on a round cocktail table next to the recliner. “Jasper made a ceremony of putting our wedding photo on that table the day we moved in.”
“Touching.”
“I thought so at the time.”
“Who had the picture framed, you or him?”
“I did. Why?”
“It could be significant that he took it with him. His souvenirs would be stashed in something portable, like a picture frame. Unless he hid his collection inside the walls for retrieval later.”
“If he’d torn into walls, I would have known.”
“When you were having the house decorated?”
“We didn’t make structural changes.”
“While you were out of town? He never had any ‘repair’ done, anything like that?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Any other pictures?”
“Of me. None of him.”
“Figures. The only one I know of in exis
tence was the one taken on Marian’s yacht. I doubt he knew he was in the shot.”
He asked Talia to check the front of the house. Keeping out of sight, she peered through the louvered blinds. “They’re still there. Just sitting. No other cars on the street.”
Drex, who’d been surveying the Spartan room, noted all the bare shelves. “He doesn’t like clutter, does he?” he asked wryly. “DVDs? Books? Coffee mugs with funny sayings?”
“I told you, he didn’t bring much with him.”
“Yeah, but who doesn’t have stuff?” Then he realized that he didn’t. Mike and Gif were on him all the time about how barren his apartment was. Shaking off the thought that he had anything in common with Jasper, he asked Talia where the attic access was.
“In the garage. A ladder pulls down from the ceiling.”
“No time for that.”
“I need to put some clothes on,” she reminded him.
He nodded. “Wear something dark. Nothing fancy. Comfy.”
“Can I bring some things with me?”
“If you pack them in a bag you can carry in one hand or on your shoulder. Go. I’ll finish in here.”
She rushed out. Aware of the clock, Drex checked the closet but found only a couple of tennis racquets and a pair of swimming flippers, all hanging from the rod by specialized hooks. He tapped the back wall of the closet. It didn’t sound particularly hollow, and even if it were, he didn’t have any way to tear into it. There was nothing on the closet floor, not even a pair of sneakers past their prime.
In frustration over the shortage of time, he gave the room one last scan, then crossed the hall and entered the master suite. Since Talia hadn’t slept in here last night, everything appeared to be exactly as it had been when he’d searched it yesterday. The crystal tray holding Talia’s jewelry was still on her nightstand.
On the outside chance that Jasper had returned undetected, Drex checked his night table drawers again. All were still empty. Underwear, socks, the artistically folded handkerchiefs—nothing had been disturbed in the bureau. Nor had anything in the closet.
Staring into it, Drex muttered, “Fucking whack job.”
“What’s that?” Talia had moved up behind him.
“I was saying this looks exactly like my closet.”
She laughed, but it lacked mirth. “When we first married, I teased him about being such a stickler for order.” She ran her hand along the sleeves of the jackets so precisely hung. Drex figured she enjoyed disturbing the perfection. “Actually I’m surprised he was willing to leave this wardrobe behind,” she said. “He’s so particular about it. He changes it frequently. Almost everything is custom made. He keeps his tailor in business.”
“Custom made for Jasper Ford. Another of his incarnations wore blue jeans, flannel shirts, and cowboy boots. He went horseback riding and fly fishing.”
“How do you know all that?”
“I know a lot more. What I know right now is that we’ve got to get the hell out of here.”
“How do you propose we do it?”
“I have a route out the back.”
“They could see us.”
“They’re guarding against someone coming in, not going out.” While talking, he’d been tapping in Gif’s cell number.
He answered immediately. “Well, well. We’d about given up on you.”
“I need you to come pick us up.”
“Us? So she’s still with you?”
“Yes. Remember how to get to the mini-mart?”
“Sure.”
“How long will it take you to get there?”
“About forty-five seconds.”
Drex thought about it, then chuckled. “Who figured it out?”
“Mike. Said you had to be inside the house because a woman couldn’t possibly have dressed that fast.”
Talia had changed into jeans, a black t-shirt, and a rain jacket with a hood. A small bag hung from her shoulder. “You’d be surprised,” Drex said and winked at her. “We’ll meet you at the mini-mart.”
“You don’t have to go there. We’re on the next street. Where you and Talia had a four-minute chat that morning after I let you out at the mini-mart.”
“You sly dog.”
“Don’t get caught.”
They clicked off. Drex motioned to Talia’s bag. “I hope you chose well. I don’t know when you’ll be able to come back.”
She walked over to the nightstand and worked her wedding ring off her finger. With a plink, it landed on the crystal tray. “I’ll never come back.”
As they exited through the kitchen door onto the screened porch, Drex paused to set the alarm.
“Why are you doing that?”
“To piss off Rudkowski when he comes back.”
“He’ll know you’ve been in here.”
“That’s the beauty of it.”
“What’s with the two of you?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you sometime.”
He wasn’t as confident of making an escape unseen as he’d made out to be to Talia, but it had begun to rain harder. That helped. Plus he had cut through the lawn and the green belt enough times to know what areas of the back of the property were visible from the street in front.
Gif’s sedan was parked where he’d said it would be. He and Talia scrambled into the back seat, shaking off rainwater. “In the nick of time,” Gif said. “A convoy of squad cars just went through that intersection behind us.” He headed in the opposite direction. “Where to?”
“Just away,” Drex said. “Let me think.”
“We got a room at a suite hotel,” Mike said. “Within minutes of checking in, I figured out you’d never left the house. Where did you hide?”
Drex told them.
Mike grumbled, “Should’ve remembered that space from the floor plan.”
As though sparked by that comment, Talia spoke for the first time. “I’ve remembered something.” She turned on the seat toward Drex. “Were you watching us that day before we went to the airport?”
“Like a hawk.”
“Jasper went to the country club to swim that morning.”
“He left at ten something.”
“The time isn’t so important. Did you see him return?”
“I saw him pull into the garage, around—”
“But you didn’t see him?”
“Only the car.”
“I don’t think he came back with his gym bag.”
“Maybe he left it in the trunk of his car.”
“He didn’t. I was with him when he loaded our suitcases for the airport. The bag wasn’t there.” She leaned forward and said to Gif, “Do you know where the country club is?”
“No, but I can take directions.”
She told him the first turn to take, then said to Drex, “I have the code to his locker. He left his wristwatch in it once. I was at the club having lunch with a couple of girlfriends. He called and asked me to retrieve his watch. He didn’t trust the attendant with the code to his locker, so he gave it to me, then alerted the attendant that I would need brief access when no one was in there.”
“He might have changed the code since then.” That from Mike.
Talia said, “It’s worth a try.”
“How will you get into the men’s locker room?” Drex asked.
“Can’t you tell that I’m on the verge of a meltdown, worried sick over what’s become of my husband, frantic over the failure of the authorities to find him? Possibly there’s something in his locker that would prove helpful to the search. Who’s going to deny me access?”
Mike harrumphed his opinion of the plan. Gif raised his eyebrows in the mirror. Drex grinned. “I’m rubbing off on you.”
“God help us,” Mike grumbled.
She insisted on going in alone. “If we all go, it’ll look like a parade and call attention.”
“Not all of us have to go. Just me,” Drex said. “If I’m with you, and someone denies you access, all I have to do is flash my
—” He broke off.
Talia gave him an arch look.
Gif offered to go in with her. “If the occasion calls for it, I’ll use my badge.”
“Since you’re not stupid enough to have surrendered it,” Mike said, turning his head to glower at Drex. “Still, somebody should go with her.”
She addressed the back of Mike’s head. “So I won’t skip out on you?”
“Just sayin’. Somebody should go.”
By the time they’d reached the country club, it had been decided that Gif would accompany her into the clubhouse. As she got out at the entrance, Drex wished her good luck and squeezed her hand. He waved off the valet and took Gif’s place behind the wheel. “I’ll park over there.” He pointed out an area of the lot.
Talia was recognized by staff, but all seemed shocked to see her looking so bedraggled. Her trek through the green belt in the rain had contributed to the overall impression of a woman in desperation.
The attendant on duty at the desk outside the men’s locker room seemed downright alarmed. “Mrs. Ford?”
“Hi, Todd. It is Todd, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He was young. Gauging by his physique, he availed himself of the club’s weight room often and for hours at a time. “Any word about Mr. Ford?”
“No. Which is why I’m here. Is anyone in there?”
“In the—?”
“The locker room, the locker room.” With impatience she thumped the countertop in beat with her words. “I need to go in there.” For good measure, she made her voice thready. “I want to check my husband’s locker. Maybe something he left in it will—”
“It was empty.”
“What?” Talia said with genuine dismay.
“Two detectives already came.”
“When?”
Todd scrunched up is face. “About an hour ago, I guess. They had the club manager open your husband’s locker. It was empty. Saw inside it myself.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Gif stepped forward and laid a cautioning hand on her shoulder. “They explained that to her, Todd. Or tried to. Sergeants Locke and Menundez?”
“I never got their—”
“Was Special Agent Rudkowski with them?”