Virgin in Disguise Read online

  Without a word, she shed the rest of her clothes, then rummaged in her briefcase.

  No, not this time, not Elf.

  She wanted him to think it hadn’t meant anything. But her body told a different story. A soft flush tinted her skin.

  “It’s not going to work a second time.” He wouldn’t let her do this.

  She looked over her shoulder but didn’t meet his eyes. “What?”

  “Using your body to distract me.”

  She shook out the bundle she’d dug from her briefcase. “I only needed the once.”

  He watched as she pulled on a sport bra and leggings. “Why?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” She stomped into her running shoes.

  “What I’m asking is, why cheapen yourself like that?”

  The color drained from her face. She refused to look at him, focusing, instead, on her gun as she clipped it inside her waistband.

  “I think I deserve an answer.”

  “Why? Because you think I was a virgin?” She opened his closet door and pulled out one of his white dress shirts. “Like that gives you some special rights?”

  “Think? Uh-uh.” Anger laid a sharp edge on his tone. “I know, and you aren’t going to take that away. Even without the sex, what we had was different, special. And I want to know why you’re doing your damnedest to destroy it.”

  “Don’t you get it?” She slipped his shirt on and tied the tails in a loose knot at her waist, covering her revolver. “This is what I do.”

  He shook his head.

  “Yes.” She squared her shoulders and faced him. “I put on a disguise and play to people’s expectations. They see what they want and I use that to get what I want.” She held her arms wide. “This is who I am.”

  “No. Not this time. Not with me.”

  “We both knew from the start this would be short-term. Don’t try to make it more than it could ever have been.”

  He couldn’t deny that and it was his own damn fault. They never talked about the future, about what would happen after they closed the case.

  The one thing he knew without question was that he wanted her to be a permanent part of his life. And she was about to walk out the door and leave him chained to the bed.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Stop Dex.”

  “How?” He couldn’t let her go after Dex alone. He’d tear the bed apart bare-handed if he had to. She was not going out the door without him.

  She rested her hand at her waist, over her gun.

  “Don’t.” Ice-cold dread settled in his chest. If the worst happened, her actions would haunt her for the rest of her life. “You’re better than that.”

  “Am I?” Doubt darkened her eyes.

  “Your mother believes so.”

  “My mother doesn’t live in the real world.”

  “I do.” He held out his free hand.

  She turned away from him.

  Her rejection hit him with the force of a bullet. This was a nightmare. Worse. At least if he slept, he might wake up and find her lying beside him. He’d tell her he loved her. Everything would be okay.

  Instead, her drive for justice would destroy them.

  Justice. Maybe that was the key.

  He packed away his pain and took a deep breath. “Your father set out to put an end to Dexter’s arson scam. He believed in the legal system enough to follow the rules.”

  “Look where it got him.”

  “This is your opportunity to prove him right. Honor Patrick Donovan’s memory and finish the job his way—legally.”

  “What makes you think I’ll have any better luck than he did?”

  “You have something he didn’t—me as backup.”

  She raised one eyebrow as she looked at his cuffed wrist.

  “Present evidence to the contrary, I’m a good man to have at your back.”

  “So you keep telling me.”

  “Your mother knew you were headed for a face-off with Dex someday. She didn’t want you to be alone. She’s afraid she’ll lose you, like she did your father.”

  “He underestimated Dex. I won’t make the same mistake.”

  “Are you sure?” He needed her to see the similarities, see she really was headed down the same wrong path her father had taken. “Your father didn’t want to believe Dexter was unredeemable. You’ve been fighting that same truth about him from the beginning.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve seen the light.”

  “Your father went without backup. What are you planning on doing?”

  She dug her fingers through her hair, leaving it spiked in every direction. “I’ll have the element of surprise on my side.”

  “You think so? Like when he had the cabin blown up?”

  “We’ve managed to stay ahead of him.”

  “Yes, we have.” It wasn’t much, but he’d take any opening he could get. “We make a good team.” C’mon Elf. Give us another chance.

  “How long is that going—” The ring of her cell phone interrupted her. She frowned at the display window and flipped the phone open. “Mom?”

  Her eyes widened and she mouthed something that looked like “Omaha.” “When?” she asked aloud.

  She dug out the handcuff key and threw it in his direction as she peppered her caller with a series of questions. He managed to pull on a pair of jeans and dodge her pacing circuit of the room. Getting a read on what had her near panic proved more difficult.

  She ended the call. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “What happened?”

  “Corie was mowing the lawn. When she came in, Mom had disappeared.”

  “No sign of her in the neighborhood?” He pulled a T-shirt over his head.

  “No. There was a message on the answering machine, from Dex, asking me to meet him at some warehouse. Corie seemed to think…”

  “What?” He strapped on his ankle holster and tied his shoes.

  “Corie said Mom has been talking about the past a lot the last few days. She’s confusing the past and present. Dex’s message said something about Dad. Mom might think she’s going to meet him.”

  “Then we’ve got a starting point for our search.”

  “No.” She closed her eyes and he wanted to shield her from the raw pain etched across her face. “When Corie tried to replay the message, to get the address, she hit the wrong button.”

  “Erased?”

  She nodded.

  “Your mother can’t have gotten too far without her car—”

  “She took Rusty.”

  Angel’s eyes burned as she stared at her cell phone.

  She needed to call someone. Who? Her fingers trembled. Calm down. Think. She breathed in and out—deep, calming breaths.

  “How long has she been missing?” Cabrini stood beside her.

  “Corie didn’t know. Maybe an hour. She was outside at least that long.” She tried swallowing to dislodge her heart from where it had stuck in her throat.

  The room closed in and she paced off the narrow width. “Other than doctor’s appointments and an occasional weekend drive, Mom almost never leaves the house. When she does, either Corie or I drive.”

  She stopped and faced him across the room. He had no obligation to help her, especially after what she’d just done. She had no right to ask and wouldn’t blame him if he refused. “I need wheels.”

  “Not a problem.”

  “No?” A few minutes ago, they were through working together. She’d done her best to burn that bridge. Now… “You’ll let me use your car?”

  “On one condition.”

  She needed his car and would go along with just about anything.

  “I go with you.”

  Anything but that. It hurt too much, loving him and knowing they had no future. She wanted to get away from him.

  She needed to find her mother.

  Her heart finally came loose from her throat and fell all the way to the pit of her stomach.

  In the battle of need an
d want, need won. This time. “Let’s go.”

  She followed him to the street where he’d parked his navy blue Ford Taurus. After weeks of tailing him, she recognized the car before he said anything.

  “Where should we start?” Cabrini’s question gave her something to focus on for a brief moment.

  She gave her scalp a furious itching. “We could cruise through some of the streets between here and home, but I have a bad feeling about what kind of luck we’ll have.”

  As Cabrini drove, she searched, twisting and turning to look down cross streets, praying she’d catch a glimpse of her car.

  “Do you think she’s in danger?” Cabrini put her shadowy fear into words.

  “She hasn’t driven in years. If she makes it to wherever she’s going, she’ll have survived the worst of it.”

  “What about Dexter?”

  “No. He won’t hurt her.”

  “She hired The Diamond Group. If he makes the connection, you don’t think he’d perceive her as a threat to his plans?”

  “Not Mom.” Fading light made it difficult to distinguish vehicles from any distance. She gave up trying. “He’s already proved the lengths he’ll go to to protect her. We’re the threat he’s concerned about.”

  “How do you think he’ll react when she shows up instead of us?”

  “I don’t know. If he’s preoccupied with her, it might work to our advantage.”

  “Same holds true in reverse. He could use her presence as a shield, protect himself from us.”

  Frustration gnawed at her nerves. She wanted to scream, to beat on something, do anything, as long as she could be in control for a few minutes. “This is useless. We’re driving in circles and getting nowhere.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “Too bad we don’t have a tracking device on Rusty.”

  She thumped her forehead with her hand. “Mush for brains,” she mumbled.

  Cabrini may have been joking, but he was closer than he could have guessed. “I installed a radio tracker last year.” She dialed her phone again.

  “Way to go, Elf.”

  Her buddy in the cold case division picked up on the third ring. “McDonough.”

  “George, it’s Angel. Are you on today?”

  “I’m always on, you know that. What’s happening?”

  “My car’s gone AWOL and I need your help.”

  “You know I’ll do anything for you, but it’d be quicker to call the regular number.”

  “I think my mom took Rusty.”

  A soft whistle came over the phone. “Yeah, I can see where that would be a concern. Does she even have a driver’s license anymore?”

  “That’d be the least of the problems. I don’t want the cops to descend on her. It’d push her over the edge.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Can you activate the tracker and call me when you have the location? Without alerting the whole precinct?”

  “No problem, kiddo. I’m on it. I’ll call as soon as I get something you can use.”

  “You’re the best. Thanks.” She disconnected.

  Cabrini rolled to a stop at a traffic light. “Now what?”

  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “We wait for him to call with the location of the car. Then we hope Mom’s somewhere nearby and safe.”

  “Who was he?”

  “A buddy.”

  “That much I gathered. I’m not trying to steal a source, Elf. I’d just like to know who’s in the game.”

  “George McDonough. We met in college, had some criminal justice classes together, kept in touch.”

  “Now?”

  “He works cold cases.”

  “You trust him?”

  “He’s a good man.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “He’s been able to provide some leads on different cases for me.”

  “What does he get in return?”

  “A pretty good closure rate.”

  “That’s all?” The light changed and he drove through the intersection.

  “It’s to everyone’s benefit to get some of the old cases settled.”

  “Is your father’s murder one of those cases?”

  “Yes.” She glanced at her watch, wishing George would call back. Not nearly enough time had elapsed yet. But it was the top of the hour.

  She turned on the radio, tuning in to the all-news KNOW. The latest report filled the silence and eliminated conversation, at least for a few minutes.

  Very few possible conversation topics held any interest at the moment. Cabrini had a bad habit of making her talk about things she’d just as soon leave unexplored. Any subject he might bring up would, no doubt, force her to unwanted introspection.

  He turned the radio off. “I’ve been thinking, Elf.”

  “That’ll get you in trouble.”

  She could just make out his grin in the evening light. “Be that as it may… What I’m wondering is why your cold case buddy feeds you information when you’re a bounty—bond enforcer, not a P.I.?”

  “After he’d been on the force for a few years, he started to hear rumors about my father’s case. We’d talked about it a lot in college, so he passed on what he could. Primarily, he lets me know of any leads. Sometimes things spill over into other cases. If I can help out, no harm done.”

  “Still, you’re not a licensed investigator.”

  “Even on a straight bail jumper, I do plenty of investigation. It’s not a foreign territory to me.” He couldn’t be questioning her ability, could he? “Information I’m able to pass back to George tends to be more reliable than that of the typical private citizen who might call a lead into the tip line.”

  “Do you like the investigating part?”

  “Sure.” She studied him. What game was he playing at? “Thinking of taking up career counseling, Cabrini?”

  “Just wondering what you’re going to do when we solve your father’s murder.”

  Oh. Her brain froze on the thought for a second. “I never gave it much consideration.” And now that he’d planted the question, she couldn’t escape thinking about it. After all these years, what would she do? “There’s no reason for me to not continue what I’m doing.”

  “Is there any motivation to continue?”

  “Right now, all I’m motivated to do is find my mother and make sure she’s safe. There’ll be plenty of time to worry about the rest of my life later.”

  “Spoken like a true ostrich.”

  She ignored him, but she couldn’t ignore the question. If ever she hoped for a timely phone call, now would be it.

  On cue, her cell rang. The exchange matched that of the police department. “Donovan.”

  “It’s George.”

  “You’ve got it?”

  “Yeah, and I’m not liking what I see. You know that warehouse fire last week?”

  “On the north side?”

  “That’s the one. Rusty’s sitting on the front doorstep of what’s left.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “Angel, be careful. That place isn’t safe.”

  “I know. Thanks.”

  “What you don’t know is they’re going to announce the preliminary results of the investigation tomorrow.”

  A chill traced over her skin at his tone. “What are they going to say?” She held her breath.

  “There are similarities between this fire and others. Including some old cases in my files. They believe they’re related.”

  “Serial arson.” She met Cabrini’s questioning look.

  “And homicide.” George’s voice disappeared behind the rushing in her ears.

  Arson. Homicide. And her mother parked at the scene.

  Frank covered Elf’s shaking hand with his. She never noticed when he pried the cell phone from her grip. All color had drained from her face, and she seemed to struggle for each breath she took.

  He flipped the turn signal and pulled to the side of the street.

  “Don’t stop.” Panic shar
pened her voice. “Why are you stopping?”

  “Because you’re about to hyperventilate.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. We need to get to the warehouse.”

  “We will, but first you have to tell me what your friend told you.”

  Between her hyperspeed recap of the details and what he’d been able to glean from listening to her side of the conversation, he didn’t like the picture forming.

  “Will you get this heap back on the road. We need to get to that warehouse.”

  “What do you think we’re going to be able to do once we’re there?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to get there.”

  “We need a plan.”

  “We can come up with one while you’re driving.”

  “I’m not liking this, Elf. Not one bit.”

  “You think I am? My mother is there.” Her voice cracked.

  “All the more reason to proceed with caution. We don’t want to put her in danger.”

  “Just drive. Can you do that? Can you just drive? We can talk all you want on the way there. Please.”

  He studied her face for a moment, then shifted the car into gear. “Fine. Where are we going?” If he wanted to protect her, the best way to start would be helping to keep her mother safe.

  She directed him to an area north of downtown Minneapolis, where warehouses mingled with railroad tracks.

  “What do you think we’ll find there?”

  “I’m praying my mother sitting in my car.”

  “Okay, that’s the best-case scenario. What’s the worst?”

  She took a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. “I’m not sure how much of the structure survived the fire. She may be walking around inside the ruins.”

  “There’s a flashlight in the glove box. We’ll need it if we have to follow her.”

  Elf dug in the compartment and pulled out the heavy-duty flashlight. She clicked it on and off a couple of times, making sure the batteries had some juice. “You just have the one?”

  “One is all we’ll need. We’re not splitting up.”

  In the dim light, he could see the white of her knuckles as she clutched the flashlight.

  He squeezed her hand, trying to relay some comfort. “How much farther?”

  “We’re almost there. Another block—there.”

  He pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. He met Elf by the passenger door.