Deadly Exposure

by Linda Turner

  Every time he thought about what she was doing to the boy, Tony became angry. How could she be so uncaring? She was his mother, for heaven’s sake. Didn’t it bother her that she was ripping his son away from his father? She knew how close they were. Tony didn’t expect her to care about what that would do to him, but what about Quentin? How could she do this to her only child? Didn’t she realize this would make him hate her?

  Caught up in his musings as he waited on a family of six dining out to celebrate the mother’s fortieth birthday, Tony didn’t notice the woman who’d just stepped through the front door until she was suddenly striding right toward him. He took one look at the outrage burning in her eyes and knew exactly why she was there. She’d been served with the papers announcing he was fighting her for custody of Quentin.

  moved to intercept her before she could cause a scene. “We can talk in Angelo’s office,” he said coolly, and took her arm to steer her away from the rest of the guests.

  “You’re damn right we’re going to talk!” she hissed as she hurried to keep up with his long stride. “How dare you!”

  “Excuse me?” Suddenly as furious as she, Tony followed her through the swinging door of the kitchen and into Angelo’s office, slamming the door behind him. When she whirled to confront him, her blue eyes blazing, he sputtered, “How dare I? How dare I? Maybe you need to take a good look at yourself, sweetheart! I’m trying to save that boy from a childhood of loneliness and unhappiness. What are you trying to do? It sure as hell isn’t what’s right for him!”

  “He’s a child,” she snapped. “He’ll be happy if I’m happy.”

  “Oh, really? Like he’s happy you married Larry? In case you haven’t noticed, he can’t stand the man! And with good reason. He doesn’t like children—including yours!”

  “They just need time to adjust.”

  “It’s been two years, Janice. When do you think they’re going to adjust? How many more years do they need? Three years? Five? Or maybe Larry will like him when he’s eighteen and moves out of the house?”

  “It’s not that bad,” she huffed. “Anyway, my husband is none of your business.”

  “He is when he makes my son miserable,” he retorted. “I’ve been warning you for the last two years that you needed to talk to him, but you thought it would work itself out. It didn’t, and now you want to take Quentin to Florida, where you’ll have no one to leave him with but Larry when you’re working? You can forget it,” he said flatly. “It’s not going to happen.”

  “The hell it isn’t! Nothing’s getting in the way of my moving to Florida or accepting this job, Tony. Nothing! So you can drop your pitiful little custody suit. You’re just wasting your time and money.”

  Disgusted with her, Tony didn’t know why her smug attitude surprised him. She’d been self-centered for as long as he’d known her. “It’s all about you, isn’t it, Janice? If you’d thought about your son instead of yourself, I wouldn’t have had to file a lawsuit.”

  “You’re just being spiteful,” she said coldly. “You’re still furious with me for divorcing you. This is just your way of paying me back.”

  Amazed, Tony couldn’t believe she really thought he was that vindictive. This wasn’t about either one of them, dammit. It was about Quentin. He just wanted what was best for him, and living a thousand miles away from his father with a man who made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like him could irreparably harm his psyche. Why couldn’t Janice see that?

  Because she didn’t want to, he thought in disgust. All she cared about was herself—everything always came back to that. He could talk until he was blue in the face, give her a hundred reasons why it was especially important for a child of divorce to be with people who lov’d be wasting his breath. He’d been married to the lady—he’d learned a long time ago that there was no point in arguing with her when she’d made up her mind about something.

  “I’m not dropping the custody fight,” he said flatly.

  “You’ll lose.”

  “I’d lose even more if I did nothing,” he replied. “I have to protect my son.”

  Livid, she glared at him accusingly. “You act like I’m some kind of monster. I love Quentin, too. I would never do anything to hurt him.”

  “Oh, really?” he drawled, arching a dark eyebrow at her. “What do you think you did when you told him you were taking him away from his father and moving to Florida? Did he feel the love then, Janice? Did he feel the love when you told him that he’d be stuck spending his afternoons and evenings with Larry most of the time because you’d be working? You did tell him that part, didn’t you, Janice?” he growled, knowing damn well she hadn’t. “You told him that he had to be quiet so he wouldn’t disturb Larry while he was writing one of those boring books he writes, didn’t you? Tell the truth. You lied! You made it sound like he’d be going to Walt Disney World every day, and he still doesn’t want to go. And you don’t care!”

  Hot color surged into her cheeks, and if looks could kill, he’d have dropped dead on the spot. She didn’t, however, continue to berate him as he’d expected. Instead, she said coldly, “There’s no use talking to you. You’re totally unreasonable.”

  Outraged, he sputtered, “I’m unreasonable? You’re the one turning your son’s life upside down for a job!”

  “This conversation is over, Tony. Where is he? I’m taking him home.”

  Frustrated, angry as hell, he growled, “He’s upstairs working on his homework. I’ll get him.”

  Stepping around her, he walked out of Angelo’s office and headed upstairs, only to discover too late that she’d followed him. Swearing softly, he could have kicked himself for not anticipating this. He could see it now—she’d follow him right to Lily’s door and jump to all sorts of conclusions about his relationship with her when she realized a woman friend of his was helping Quentin with his homework. And she wouldn’t be shy about voicing her opinion. It wasn’t going to be pretty.

  He told himself he didn’t owe her any explanations. They were divorced and his private life was none of her business. When Quentin was with him, he could leave his son in the care of anyone he felt was suitable. And Lily certainly fit that description—in the short time she’d known Quentin, she’d shown him more concern and caring than his own mother had in years.

  Braced for the inevitable, he reached the upstairs landing and strode over to Lily’s front door. Behind him, Janice stopped in confusion. “Where are you going? That’s not your apartment.”

  “No, it’s not,” he said, and knocked on the door. “Lily?” he called through the door. “It’s me. Quentin’s mother is here to pick him up.”

  The do pulled open almost immediately…by Quentin. His eyes bright with excitement, he cried, “Mom, Dad…look at this! Lily let me take some pictures with her camera, then showed me how to develop the film and print the pictures. It was so cool! Look!”

  When he held the picture out to Janice, she hardly looked at it. “That’s nice,” she said shortly. “Where’s your backpack? It’s time to go home. Tell Miss…?”

  “Fitzgerald,” Tony replied. “Lily, this is my ex-wife, Janice.” Noticing the way Quentin had wilted at his mother’s indifference, he pulled him close for a hug and took the picture he still held. “Here, let me see that. You took this? And developed it and printed it? You’ve got to be kidding! This is great. We’ll go tomorrow and get a frame for it. You can hang it in your bedroom.”

  “I’m picking Quentin up from school the rest of the week,” Janice retorted. “I no longer need you to watch him for me. I’ll make other arrangements. C’mon, Quentin.”

  Jerking up his backpack herself, she stormed out with Quentin following forlornly behind her. Looking over his shoulder, Quentin said glumly, “Bye, Lily. Bye, Dad.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow after school, son,” Tony called after him. “If you need any help with your homework, you make sure you call me, okay?”

  He nodded mutely, then disappeared down the
stairs with his mother, leaving behind a silence that hummed with tension. His mouth compressed in an angry flat line, Tony said, “I’m sorry you got dragged into that. You shouldn’t have had to witness that.”

  Shrugging off Janice’s bad manners, Lily smiled slightly. “Don’t worry about it. She was obviously having a bad hair day.”

  “Oh, it’s more than that,” he retorted. “She just found out that I’m suing her for full custody of Quentin, and she’s furious.”

  “Oh! Well, that explains it. I thought she had a bee in her bonnet about something. Not that it’s anything to joke about,” she added quickly. “I’m sure custody battles aren’t easy for anyone.”

  “I always wanted Quentin,” he confided huskily, “but I knew the odds of me getting full custody when we divorced were slim to none. Quentin was only six at the time, and Janice was a lawyer.” Grimacing at the thought, he said, “She could afford a court fight—on a cop’s salary, I couldn’t. And I didn’t want to put Quentin through any more than he’d already been through with the divorce.”

  “So what changed? She’s still a lawyer, isn’t she?”

  He nodded. “But Quentin’s older, and Janice has accepted a new job in Florida. If I don’t find a way to stop her, she’s going to take my son a thousand miles away from me. Janice has no family there, no friends, no one except Larry, her husband, and he doesn’t like Quentin. Who do you think Quentin’s going to stay with after school when Janice is working late? Larry. And he can be a real jerk. I just can’t let her do that to Quentin.”

  “Of course not,” she said sympathetically. “He’s such a good kid. For both your sakes, I hope you win.”

  “Thanks. Janice isn’t making it easy—you saw how she acted.” Shaking his head over his ex-wife’s behavior, he said, “I was supposed to keep Quentin after school for the next few weeks, but now that’s shot. I don’t know why I’m surprised. She always did find a way to get back at anyone who stood in her way.”

  He looked so miserable that Lily almost stepped forward to give him a hug. But she was still reeling from the kisses they’d shared last night. He’d made her forget her father and Neil and all the years she’d let them control her life, and for no other reason than that, she didn’t dare touch him.

  Still, she couldn’t just let him walk away when he was so worried about Quentin. “Why don’t you come in for a while?” she said. “You look exhausted. You’ve worked all day, haven’t you?”

  He grinned wryly. “Angelo needed the help and I need the money.”

  “That’s why you started working for Angelo,” she said as the light dawned. “You needed the extra money for your legal fees.”

  “I don’t care if it takes everything I’ve got,” he retorted. “I can’t let her take Quentin away from me without fighting for him with everything I’ve got.”

  Touched, Lily had to hug him then. Stepping forward into his arms, she gave him a fierce hug. “You’re doing the right thing, Tony. Regardless of what happens, Quentin knows you love him and you did everything you could.”

  “I know,” he said gruffly, burying his face against her neck. “But I can’t lose him.”

  Her heart beating in time with his, loving the feel of his breath against her neck, Lily could have stood just as she was for the rest of the night and never cared if it was right or wrong. He needed her and nothing else mattered. “You’ve got to be exhausted,” she said. “Have you eaten? I’ve got some clam chowder in the refrigerator I can heat up. Take a break and have dinner with me. Angelo doesn’t expect you to work yourself into the ground.”

  Groaning, he hugged her tighter. “Don’t tempt me.”

  Pressed tight against him, she laughed. “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “You know damn well it is,” he said. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

  He told himself to release her, but he couldn’t. Not yet. When she was in his arms, she made it so damn easy to forget Janice and her threats to take Quentin away from him.

  “Tony?”

  Holding her so close, he could feel her start to shake with laughter and had to laugh. “I’m going. Give me a second.”

  One second led to another, then another, and it was nearly a minute later before he could bring himself to let her go. Drawing back, his arms still loosely locked around her, he smiled down into her eyes. “How about a rain check? My shift ends at nine—I could drop by then.”

  “That’ll be perfect,” she said. “I still have some work to do in the darkroom, so just make sure you knock really loud so I’ll hear you. The door will be locked, of course. I don’t want to take any chances after what happened the other night.”

  Tony frowned, concerned. “Has something happened you haven’t told me about?”

  “No, but he’s still out there, Tony,” she said grimly. “That call wasn’t just a prank. I really believe this man, whoever he is, wants me dead.”

  He didn’t want to agree with her, but he’d seen too much meanness in the world to be naive. “There are a lot of crazies out there, and nine times out of ten, the threats they make are just hot air. But there’s always that one who crosses the line. I’m not trying to scare you, but—”

  “You didn’t. The minute I heard his voice on the phone, I knew he meant every word he said. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it except wait for him to make a move. Since I don’t know who he is or why he would possibly want me dead, I don’t know what direction he’s going to come from next.”

  Wishing he could stay and talk and reassure her, Tony pulled her into a fierce hug. “Just stay close to home if you can. Angelo is always downstairs and I am, too, if I’m not on patrol. If you need help, one of us can be here in five seconds flat. All you have to do is scream.”

  Aching to sink into him, Lily reluctantly pulled back to grin up at him wryly. “Trust me, if there’s a problem, I’ll scream loud enough to wake the dead. The entire neighborhood will hear me. So go back to work. I’m perfectly safe.”

  She wasn’t, of course—not from a man who was determined to go to any lengths to kill her—and they both knew it. But Tony, thankfully, didn’t point out the obvious, and somehow if the words weren’t said, she somehow felt safer.

  “I’ll see you later,” he told her.

  Closing her front door and locking it, Lily listened as his footsteps died away. He was coming back later, she thought as a slow smile curled the edges of her mouth. Deep inside, a tiny voice questioned her sanity. What was she doing? This time, Quentin wouldn’t be here to act as chaperon. Did she really want to go there?

  She should have said no. It would have been the smart thing to do. She had no defenses where he was concerned. When he’d come to her rescue after that awful threatening phone call the other night, then spent hours talking to her on the phone just so she’d feel safe, everything had changed. No one had ever done anything like that for her before. And all the time, his own life was in crisis, and he’d never said a word.

  This was her time to help him. He could talk about his ex if he wanted, unwind, and maybe for a little while forget that he could lose Quentin. Not that he’d ever really be able to forget that he could lose his son, she thought, sadness squeezing her heart. How did he stand it? she wondered. How did he even bear the thought of Quentin living so far away from him? He was such a good kid, and he and Tony were so close.

  If Tony lost the custody battle and Quentin was forced to make the move to Florida with his mother, it would devastate them both. Surely the woman had to know that—anyone with eyes could Tony and Quentin were crazy about each other. How could she be so unsympathetic? She might hate her ex-husband’s guts, but Quentin was her son, for heaven’s sake. How could she not see—or care—what this was doing to him?

  Mystified by that, Lily could only shake her head. Poor Tony. It had to be hell for him, knowing he had to depend on the legal system to keep his son in the same city with him when his ex-wife had the advantage of being part of that same legal system
. Considering the circumstances, he had to be worried sick.

  He was lucky he had two jobs, she thought as she headed for the kitchen. He didn’t have much time to think. Of course, coming home to an empty apartment after a run-in with his ex wouldn’t be easy for him. Maybe she’d make some cookies…and stay up half the night talking to him, she thought with a smile. It wouldn’t solve his problems with the witchy Janice, but hopefully, she could make him forget her for a while.

  Smiling at the thought, she quickly began assembling the ingredients for cookies and completely lost track of time. Two hours later, she’d just taken the last batch from the oven and started cleaning up her mess when there was a loud knock at the door. Startled, Lily felt her heart jump into her throat. Just that easily, she was sick with fear.

  “Lily? Are you still in the darkroom? It’s Tony.”

  Relief left her weak at the knees. Idiot! she chided herself. She’d been so caught up in her cookie making that she’d completely forgotten that she’d told Tony to knock as loud as he could so she’d hear him in the darkroom.

  “I’m coming!” she called shakily, hurrying to the front door to throw open the dead bolt. “Sorry about that. I was in the kitchen.”

  “Hey, I smell cookies,” he said with a grin as he stepped through the door. “Chocolate chip! All right! How did you know that was my—what’s wrong? You’re pale as a ghost.”

  “It’s nothing. Really,” she insisted, forcing a smile. “Your knock just scared me. I was doing the dishes and I forgot I’d told you to knock extra loud…”

  “And you thought it was your caller,” he finished for her.

  She nodded miserably. “I hate this! I’m not normally a scaredy-cat, but now I jump like a scared rabbit every time I hear a noise. It’s ridiculous!”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he chided. “So what if you’re a little jumpy? You’d have to have ice water in your veins not to be. Somebody’s trying to kill you.” When she winced, he swore softly. “Sorry about that. You’re trying to forget it and here I am blasting you with it. Shall we start over?”