The library wasn’t due to open for another twenty minutes, but there was already a large SUV I didn’t recognize in the parking lot. I glanced at the time, just to make sure I wasn’t later than I thought. Sure enough, I was right on time. Shaking my head, wondering just who had such an itch to read, they had to get to the library before it opened. No one was waiting at the door. I glanced back at the dark SUV. No one seemed to be too eager to get inside. I went back to my business and unlocked the door and headed inside. Here was hoping it was a cute blonde waiting for me to open up.
I heard the front door open just as I reached the main desk. “We’re not quite open yet. Please wait outside and we’ll let you know when we’re open.” I hadn’t expected anyone to actually come in behind me.
The voice I heard made me want to turn tail and run as far and as fast as I could.
“You’re a hard man to track down, Archer.”
Bonnie Macchio approached the circulation desk, dressed in what could only be described as hooker chic. She was bad enough, and I didn’t even want to know how she’d managed to get into a locked library, but the guys standing behind her clearly weren’t here to pick up the latest best sellers. Their matching black t-shirts strained over their arms and chests, but their arms weren’t the guns I was worried about.
“I don’t blame you for putting Sergio away, lover,” Bonnie continued as if her being here wasn’t just about the most shocking thing I could’ve imagined. “Really, you saved me the trouble of having him killed.” She stepped forward, each fall of her sky-high stiletto boots steady and sure. “But you don’t have to hide out anymore. You can come back to New York with me. We can give in to all that hot chemistry you pretended we didn’t have. You don’t have to worry, baby. Sergio’s far away, and he won’t stand in the way of our love anymore.”
I kept my eyes on Bonnie, even though my gut was screaming to find a way out, to get as far from the library as I could.
“I’m not your love, Bonnie. I never have been.”
“Only because Sergio was in the way. I know you didn’t understand before. I couldn’t tell you, couldn’t let you in on my little secret, but now that I’ve found you again, and it’s just a matter of days before my marital status changes to single again, we don’t have to hide.”
“What are you talking about?” I glanced at the clock on the wall behind Bonnie. The library was due to open any minute. Lynette would show up and a whole slew of kids from town would be right behind her for our Book Lover’s Day celebration. I needed get Bonnie and her goons out of the library, I didn’t want to think what she would do to them. I didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt.
At least a part of me could hope Veronica would be able to find me again before Bonnie forced me to do something I doubted I would ever recover from.
“Oh, Archer, don’t play dumb. It doesn’t look good on you. We both know why you turned Sergio in. He was in your way.” She reached for me, and as much as it made me want to puke, I let her wrap her arms around me, wrapping mine around her. “But you didn’t have to go through this whole Witness Protection nonsense. Did you really think I would have you hurt for it? Sergio was an idiot. Sloppy in the books and sloppy in bed. Not like you. You’ll be a hell of a boss. I should’ve gone for an accountant all along. You’ll know how to launder the money and not get caught. And,” —she pulled back to drag her gaze down my body, stopping to linger on my crotch— “I bet you always leave a girl satisfied.”
I swallowed hard and forced a smile to my face.
“Then what are we waiting for? I’ve been dying to get out of this shithole of a town. If there’s really no reason to hide, why are we still sticking around here?”
“Eager, are we?” Bonnie’s grin made my skin crawl. She didn’t look like her usual ditzy, burlesque dancer self; there was something maniacal, sinister about her smile that creeped me out more than any of the horror novels on the shelf. “We’ll have to keep our love under wraps for a little while longer, baby, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get started early.”
“Why don’t you head back to New York, and I’ll wrap up a few things here, join you in a couple of days? That way there’s no suspicion.”
“There’s no way in hell you’re staying here,” one of the goons said. “You can either come quietly with us now or I can drag you, but you aren’t tipping off the FBI or that hot little P.I.” His lip curled up into a snarl. “Which is it going to be, Mr. Janson?”
“I have to at least leave a note for my boss here at the library. She’s a worrier. If I don’t make excuses, she’ll call everyone in town.” I just had to figure out how to get her to show it to V, how to tip her off without making Bonnie’s men suspicious. “Unless you want to wait for her to come in. She should be here in less than half an hour, then I wouldn’t be leaving her in the lurch for Book Lover’s Day.” I gestured at the display Veronica had helped me put together, wondering if she was watching the library again, just across the street.
If she’d see me get into the SUV with Bonnie and her men.
“Let him leave a note, Parsons. If you don’t like what he writes, we’ll change it.” Bonnie smiled at me and pet her fingers up and down my arm. “You’re not going to do anything that would get you into trouble, are you, Archer baby?”
“You can read it. I just don’t want her to worry.” I went around the circulation desk and pulled a piece of paper from the printer. Thinking quickly, I tried to come up with something to write, something that would tell Lynette to find Veronica, to let her know I was gone.
Lynette, I had to go back home for a while. I don’t know when or if I’ll be back any time soon. I understand if you can’t hold my job for me. Do me a favor and reshelf this book for me. I don’t think the person who was reading it will be coming back, but if she does, tell her I’m sorry I let it go.
I hated signing the note Daniel, but if I didn’t, it would set off alarm bells, not just for Lynette but for Bonnie and her men as well.
I handed the note to Bonnie who let Parsons read it.
Parsons grunted, “Whatever.”
I tucked the note in the cover of the book Veronica had been reading and left it sitting on the counter.
“Okay, shall we?” I smiled at Bonnie, but I couldn’t help hoping V was outside the door, waiting for me to come out… waiting with a SWAT team.
Somehow, I doubted it.
“Leave your cell phone under the counter,” Parsons snarled.
This was the goon V had been corresponding with? I was definitely glad she took my word over his. The guy looked like a gorilla who knew how to shave.
When I did as he asked, he grabbed my elbow and shoved me toward the doors.
I linked my arm with Bonnie’s and smiled like there was no one else I’d rather be with.
Locking up the library, I dropped my keys back through the book drop and gestured at the SUV. “Our chariot awaits.”
Once we were in the backseat together, Bonnie leaned over, her lips pursed, ready for a kiss. I gently lifted my hand to her shoulder and held her at bay.
“Bonnie, baby,” I mimicked her words, “I think we should wait. Wait until Sergio’s out of the picture entirely. Make it more special.”
“We should get to Omaha, Mrs. Macchio. The sooner we’re on the plane, the better.” Parsons watched us through the rearview mirror, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
Bonnie frowned as she sunk back to her side of the back seat and buckled in. It didn’t take long for her to move her hand back across the small space between us to rest on my knee.
I smiled at her, thinking the entire time about V and how desperately I needed her to realize I was missing and in need of help. I should’ve listened to her and called my handler instead of playing Russian roulette with my life.
V was my only hope.
15
VERONICA
I’d hoped to get back to Archer’s before he woke up.
I didn’t like the
idea of him being at the library alone all day, but I couldn’t very well wear the same clothes I’d worn in the car yesterday. But clearly, my quick trip to the hotel was enough time for Archer to get out the door without me. Wishing I’d spent more time studying his routines and not just studying the way his jeans hugged his ass, I chewed my lip as I drove across town to the library.
Archer’s car was in the parking lot.
I let out a sigh of relief and headed toward the front doors, surprised by the number of people waiting outside. A glance at my watch told me it should’ve opened ten minutes ago, but the doors were still locked, and the lights weren’t on inside.
My stomach turned. If Archer’s car was here, but he wasn’t, that could only mean one thing, right?
Was his cover blown? Was I too late? I should’ve never left him.
I pulled out my cell and sent him a text, trying to keep it light. Maybe I was overreacting, and he was just inside. Maybe he’d just lost track of the time.
Hey, I’m outside the front doors. Let me in. You forgot to open.
Thirty seconds went by without a response.
A minute.
Five.
I started pacing the parking lot, wondering just how much hot water Archer was in right now. Frustrated, I steeled myself and looked up the number for the local police department. I hated getting the locals involved; if this were a federal matter, dragging in the town law enforcement would make things more of a spectacle—more of a circus. Before I called the locals, I brought up Leo’s number.
“V, I told you before, I’m not getting involved in whatever drama you’ve stepped into. If you don’t like it, you can find another FBI agent to torment.”
“Leo, I don’t care if you share any information with me at all. It doesn’t matter now.” I sighed and paced as far from the front of the library as I could. “Archer’s missing, and if he is under WITSEC protection, and you know who his handler is, I need you to call him. Get someone on a plane to Jubilee Falls.”
“Shit, V. Tell me you didn’t do something.”
“No, I didn’t do something. I was following a lead, something that clearly came from a dirty cop, and now Archer’s missing. So, if you know anything or you want to help keep an innocent man from getting killed, help me out. I don’t need your commentary on the way.” I gritted my teeth before adding, “I’m going to call the local PD as soon as I hang up. If this situation really is as bad as I think it is, don’t leave it up to them to find him, Leo.”
I hung up without waiting for an answer, then immediately called the local police.
“Jubilee Falls Police Department, how may I direct your call?” The man on the other end of the phone sounded young, too young to trust with Archer’s life.
“I need to report a missing person.”
“And how long has the person in question been missing?”
“Since this morning. I already know what you’re going to say, but I’m a private investigator. It’s my job to keep him safe, and if he’s not here, something’s happened.”
“Ma’am, calm down. We can’t officially file a report for forty-eight hours. Now, I can send by a patrol car, but there’s really not much else we can do.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “I’m at the public library. Daniel Johnson is missing.” God, why didn’t I know more about his WITSEC persona? I spent so much time getting to know Archer, but I didn’t bother getting to know the man as his Jubilee Falls alter ego.
The officer took down my information, and as I hung up, I started pacing the parking lot again.
How could I have let this happen? I was gone from his apartment for an hour, at most. Hardly enough time for him to get out the door, let alone get abducted.
While I was waiting, Lynette pulled up and parked. I could tell from her furrowed brow and worried eyes, she was confused by the crowd outside the library, and I quickly jogged over to her side.
“Hey, Lynette. Have you heard anything from Daniel?” I tried to keep my tone even, but she would’ve had to be completely blind not to notice my concern.
“No. Where is he? He should’ve been here to open.” She pulled out her keys and unlocked the front door, turning to the crowd. “I’ll just be a minute, then I can let you all in.”
“Can I come in with you? Maybe Daniel left a note or something.” I wasn’t going to take no for an answer, but she didn’t need to know that unless she tried to stop me from coming in.
“Sure.” She waved me in the front door before following behind and locking it again.
At first glance, everything looked normal, but I knew better than to trust first glances.
“Lynette, you should know, I’m not just a random woman. I’m a private investigator. I’ve already called the police, and they’re sending someone over.” I swallowed hard. “I think Daniel’s been abducted. I think he’s in trouble.”
“Daniel? There must be some mistake.” Lynette set her bag down behind the circulation desk, shaking her head at me like I was crazy.
That’s when I noticed the book on the counter.
Rushing over, I pulled a tissue out of my purse and picked up the note.
Skimming it, I internally cringed. If I hadn’t come in with Lynette, she probably would’ve just tossed it, writing it off as a deadbeat employee who would need to be replaced. It was clearly meant more for me than her.
“You have to keep the library closed.”
“Are you crazy?” Lynette’s eyes grew wide. “It’s Book Lover’s Day! We’ve been planning the events for weeks, and without Daniel here, it just makes everything a million times more stressful. I can’t not open the library.”
I held up the note.
“Daniel’s been abducted, Lynette. He’s not the man you think he is, and if these people who took him get away with it, he’s going to be killed. They took him from here, and if you let all those people inside, whatever minimal evidence there might be will be trampled.” I pointed at the security camera by the door. “Tell me that thing works.”
Lynette sunk down onto the stool behind the counter, shaking her head.
“Jubilee Falls is a safe town. It’s there as a deterrent. I’ve never needed footage. It doesn’t record.”
I cursed under my breath.
“Then you better hope whoever took him was loud enough to pick up on my audio recorders.”
Thank goodness for small favors. Archer hadn’t managed to find all my bugs.
“You bugged my library?!” The horror on Lynette’s face mimicked the look of someone who just learned their dog had been run over.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s a huge invasion of privacy and everything, but I needed to for a case. I’ll remove them before I leave town and delete any footage that’s not pertinent.” Except maybe the parts where Archer was talking to only me, but Lynette didn’t need to know about that. I wasn’t quite ready to give up on those moments. And I hoped they wouldn’t be all I had of him.
“Veronica, I think you need to get out of my library. Now.”
“Lynette, I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, and I know this all sounds insane.” Why hadn’t Leo come through with an FBI handler I could speak to? That would’ve made all this so much easier. “Daniel isn’t who you think he is. He’s not just some librarian who showed up in a small town one day looking for a job. Please, Lynette, you have to believe me.” Sirens wailed, getting closer by the second, and I prayed it would be easier to convince the cops it was the librarian.
She shook her head and walked around the counter.
“Daniel’s a good man and a skilled librarian. If you’ve done something to chase him away, or if all this is your doing somehow, you’re not going to be welcome here anymore.” She unlocked the doors as two uniformed cops came up.
“Miss Lynette, you’re looking as lovely as ever.” The first cop smiled, his chiseled jaw and dimpled cheek disarming the tension in Lynette’s shoulders as he walked into the library. “What’s this I hear a
bout a missing librarian?”
“You’ll have to talk to her, Officer Langley.” Lynette pointed at me, and I held up the note Archer left.
“I was the one who called it in. Daniel’s been taken. I’m guessing by some really bad men. If you let me get my laptop from the hotel, I can see if we have any audio feed.”
“Audio feed, huh?” The handsome Officer Langley turned more fully toward me while his partner pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and got out a plastic evidence bag. “Now, why would you have audio feed?”
I looked between the two cops and the librarian—still derisively pursing her lips at me—and sighed.
“I’m a private investigator. I came to Jubilee Falls chasing a lead on a bounty, a young man who was supposedly a bail jumper, due to stand trial for all sorts of accounting fraud charges, but it was a bogus bounty. Daniel, whose real name is Archer Janson, was placed here by WITSEC. If we don’t find him, he’s probably going to end up wearing concrete shoes.”
Officer Langley glanced at his partner, a gorgeous woman whose natural beauty couldn’t be hidden behind a severe ponytail and a frown.
“What do you think, Officer Union?”
“It hasn’t been forty-eight hours. Book says we don’t touch it.” She looked at me. “But if you can prove what you’re saying, and we have just cause to believe he’s missing, we’ll get every cop in the state looking for him.”
“My laptop’s at the hotel just off of Lotus Lane.”
Officer Langley nodded at Lynette. “We’ll accompany Ms.…?” He looked at me expectantly.
“Neptune. Veronica.”
“We’ll accompany Ms. Neptune back to her hotel and see if there’s any proof of foul play. In the meantime, as much as I know you’re going to hate me for saying it, I think we have to keep the library closed a couple more hours.”
Lip Locked in the Library Page 12
