On the List

by Patricia Rosemoor

  “So that was the end of the conversation?” she asked. “Nothing about the crime itself?”

  “Nope. That was it, other than my saying he had to get whatever his manuscript was published first. And then Chuck said not necessarily. Now that threw me. I figured he was just whacked.”

  Unless Ackerman/LaRoe really had knowledge that was worth selling, Renata thought. She asked the manager a few more questions, but she could get nothing more promising out of him, so they left.

  But Renata knew they’d stumbled onto at least part of truth.

  Now the challenge was to find the rest of it and figure out how to fit the pieces together so that it all made sense.

  LANDING AT CLUB UNDERCOVER shortly after opening, Renata was glad to have a quick meal and some time to settle down and renew her brain a bit. Time to catch her breath was becoming nonexistent in her world.

  All too soon she and Gabe were meeting with the rest of Team Undercover in the employee lounge, where they quickly shared the various bits of information they’d dug up on Chuck LaRoe and his alter ego. Their big finish was their near disastrous venture into Michigan. Renata was thankful Gabe gave an edited version of the fire, leaving out what they’d been doing when she’d smelled smoke.

  Just thinking about what had been happening between them made her twist in her chair and cross her legs.

  Feeling watched, she turned to meet Cass’s knowing gaze. Renata’s cheeks burned as she turned her attention back to Gideon.

  “You two certainly have had your share of excitement,” the club owner was saying. “You could have been killed.”

  “But we weren’t, which is the important part,” Renata said, trying not to think too closely on how many times her life had been in jeopardy in the past week.

  “You learned more than we did,” Cass said. “We tried following the Michigan connection for the various people on your list and only came up with one.”

  “Chuck LaRoe, right?” Renata asked.

  “Not even close,” Gideon said. “Try Congressman Carl Cooper.”

  She tensed, asking, “What kind of connection?”

  “You’ll appreciate this one in light of everything you just told us about Embry Lake. He was there.”

  “At Embry Lake?” Gabe asked. “When?”

  “At the standoff. He was there to make a firsthand report to the committee on S.A.F.E. activities.”

  Stunned, Renata said, “How in the world…you didn’t find that in the media.”

  “As a matter of fact, I didn’t,” Gideon said. “Cass had some strong feelings about the congressman being connected to a tragedy in Michigan, and when we couldn’t bring up anything in our Internet research, I pulled some strings with a government contact who confirmed that information.”

  Government contact. Renata wanted to ask Gideon who the heck he really was, but she knew he would be no more open about his past and motivations than Gabe. As had been happening to her with increasing frequency lately, she was feeling out of her depth.

  “The Embry Lake massacre seems to be the key to everything,” Gabe mused. “We can tie Mae Chin to Cooper. Same with Heidi Bourne. That makes three of the five victims.”

  Not even wanting to think about the political ramifications if she brought this information to light, Renata said, “But how do Maurice Washington and Gary Hudson fit in? A drug dealer and a lawyer…”

  “No Michigan connections that we could find,” Gideon said. “Sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Renata took a big breath. “Embry Lake happened before I became a S.A.F.E. agent, but I don’t ever remember reading or hearing about Congressman Cooper being there. I wonder why.”

  “He simply could have been trying to lay low after what happened,” Blade said. “I know something about raids going wrong and the cover-ups that follow.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Renata said. “I would hate to think the congressman who sponsored S.A.F.E. in the first place is guilty of murder.”

  The things he already had been accused of were more than enough to discredit him, Renata thought. Or at least they would have been if the prosecution’s chief witness against him hadn’t been murdered.

  “Let’s go back to LaRoe/Ackerman,” Gabe said. “The bookstore manager said he was writing a book about something real that happened.”

  Having come to the same conclusion, Renata said, “Embry Lake. If he had something new to say, of course.” One book had already been published and another was on the way.

  “He boasted about the money it would make…whether or not it got published,” Gabe said.

  “Blackmail.” Cass seemed a little distant, as if she were trying to picture something in her mind.

  “Did anyone ever find a manuscript?”

  “Not to my knowledge,” Renata said.

  “So he was writing a book he thought someone would pay him to destroy.” Gabe’s expression tightened. “What if that someone had him murdered, then destroyed the evidence. Someone tore his place apart; that could be why.”

  Renata mused, “But why? What about Embry Lake made his firsthand account so valuable?”

  “Apparently he saw something at Embry Lake that the murderer didn’t want revealed.”

  “But that could be only one thing I can think of,” Renata said. Pulse racing, she added, “The identity of the person who fired the first shot and started the massacre!”

  “Bingo.”

  “Which means the person who wanted to see Ackerman/LaRoe dead could be one of his own—someone who also survived Embry Lake,” Gideon said.

  “Maybe even Hank Oeland, and maybe not over the widow.” Renata prayed Oeland was the one, because she didn’t want to consider the alternative.

  She didn’t want to look too closely at the people she worked with at S.A.F.E.

  SO, HAD THEY nailed it or what? Gabe wondered, excitement pulsing through him. Soon, justice would be done and Danny could rest a little easier.

  Rather, he could.

  “What if it wasn’t Oeland who fired the first shot?” he asked Renata.

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “No one ever discovered how the massacre started. That smells of a cover-up to me. Congressman Cooper was there, but not as far as the media was concerned. Elliott Mulvihill has to be involved.”

  Gabe watched the color drain from Renata’s face and felt a moment of regret. She wanted so badly to believe in the system, and, he figured, to believe in Mulvihill, no matter how badly her boss had been treating her.

  “Are you saying you think Director Mulvihill took the first shot himself?”

  “Why not?” Gabe asked. “He certainly would have been armed. No particular bullet was identified as being the first shot. What if Mulvihill fired and Ackerman saw him do it? Then Ackerman sees Mulvihill being promoted and knows he could have a pretty sweet deal since Mulvihill wouldn’t want that to be common knowledge.”

  “So you think he blackmailed Mulvihill…and Mulvihill killed him?” Renata said.

  “Why not?”

  Renata stared at him, her expression odd, and Gabe feared she was starting to figure things out.

  But rather than press him, she turned to Blade and asked, “Did you get that list of sharpshooters in the area?”

  “Right here. It’s pretty comprehensive.”

  Blade handed her the list and she quickly scanned it. When she looked up, her expression showed her relief. “Mulvihill’s name isn’t on this list.” She folded the list and put it in her shoulder bag.

  “It wouldn’t take a sharpshooter simply to fire a gun and start a war between a government agency and a militia,” Gabe argued. “The first round could have been from a handgun as easily as a rifle with a scope.”

  “But the City Sniper used a rifle—”

  “We’ve already considered the sniper could have been hired by someone,” Gabe said. “Mulvihill could have done that. Or maybe he directed someone under his command to do his dirty w
ork.”

  Renata shook her head. “But what about the others? Five people were murdered!”

  “Three of whom we can link to Congressman Cooper, who was at Embry Lake,” he reminded her. “And Mulvihill got promoted. Cooper’s recommendation?”

  Renata didn’t argue, though he saw her mind wasn’t made up. Not that Gabe expected it to be, not without proof.

  Once they got it—once he could prove his quest was justified—would she understand and forgive him for deceiving her about his motivation?

  “YOU’RE AWFULLY QUIET,” Gabe said as they entered his apartment.

  Renata hadn’t argued about going home with him. Her only alternative was a hotel room and she didn’t want to be alone. Not tonight, certainly.

  “I’m trying to take it all in,” she admitted.

  Slipping out of her jacket, she let Gabe take it from her. She didn’t want to believe the conclusions she was coming to, but how could she not? Renata thought, removing her holster and hanging her weapon from the back of a chair.

  “The night I met you—” Renata began “—just as I was waiting for the elevator…I saw Director Mulvihill come out of his office with Congressman Cooper. I didn’t really draw any conclusions at the time, since Cooper has that connection with S.A.F.E. Maybe I should have. The way the congressman stared at me…”

  A chill ran down her spine as she remembered his glare and thinking he knew who she was.

  Had that been the start of it all? Mulvihill and Cooper planning her demise?

  Having hung up their jackets, Gabe moved to her and pulled her into his arms. “It’s almost over,” he murmured into her hair. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

  His arms around her felt so good; she wanted to relax. “You can’t be sure of that.”

  “I’m as sure as anyone can be of anything.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I believe in you.” He drew back enough that he could see into her eyes. “I believe in us. Together, we’ll find proof—”

  “You believe in us?” she echoed, her heart thumping against her ribs.

  “We make an unstoppable team.”

  “Oh.”

  And here she thought he was getting to something more private. It certainly felt as if it should be, her being in his arms and all, with his body pressed against hers, hips to hips, breasts to chest. It was a good feeling. A right feeling. A feeling she wanted to grab on to.

  “I thought maybe you meant something more personal,” she said.

  Gabe’s low, sexy voice vibrated through her when he asked, “Do you want it to be more personal?”

  “I kind of thought it already was. I mean, after last night…”

  She let her words trail off because she was afraid to voice her true thoughts.

  “Last night was pretty scary,” Gabe said.

  “I mean before the fire.”

  “So do I. Renata, I’ve never known anyone quite like you.”

  The breath quivered in her throat. Or maybe it was her pulse fluttering. She’d never felt like this before with any other man. Not that she hadn’t had her share of attraction and satisfaction. She just hadn’t wanted to make any of the men before permanent fixtures in her life. But Gabe was different. She’d known him for less than a week and couldn’t imagine life without him.

  Was this what love was like? she wondered, too afraid to put the question into words.

  Instead, she asked with her eyes. From his expression, Gabe understood perfectly.

  “Renata…” he breathed, catching her lips with his.

  She snaked her arms around his neck and snaked her body along his. Wanting more than a kiss, more than a tease, she did her best to seduce him.

  Not that it took much effort.

  Gabe was ready for her. He anticipated her every move. And while they kissed and touched and rubbed against each other, he danced her around the room to turn off the lights, all but a night-light in the kitchen area. For a moment, she thought he was going to get that one, too, but it must have seemed too far away, too much trouble, for he stopped her at the sofa bed and leaned her against the back.

  “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly as he began sliding her narrow skirt upwards.

  His features were taut, intense. “Strip-searching you. Any objections?”

  “Not yet,” she said with an excited laugh.

  His hands slid along her stockings and stopped when they got to the bare flesh of her thighs. “No panty hose,” he murmured. “Did you wear these for me?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Not talking, huh?” he murmured softly. “Then I’ll have to keep up the search, maybe torture you a little.”

  True to his promise, he peeled back her silk panties to one side, his fingers spreading her damp flesh and doing unspeakably exciting things to her. She unbuttoned her blouse and arched her back and magically his mouth found her breasts, his tongue catching one nipple, then the other, beneath the lace edging of her bra.

  She wanted to touch and taste him, too, but suddenly it was all she could do to balance herself against the back of the sofa bed. She didn’t dare let go lest she tumble backward, taking him with her headfirst into the cushions. So for once in her life, at least, she gave up control.

  And Gabe was making the most of every second. He nuzzled her breasts, then made his way down her stomach, his beard stubble raising her flesh where they met. She was coiled tight inside. She needed release. Yet she wouldn’t give up one second of the pleasure he gave her.

  He nipped the soft flesh of her belly, then explored lower, nipping at her thighs, nuzzling the swollen wet flesh between them.

  “Ahh…”

  Renata almost came right then, right at the first touch of his tongue, but she held on, let him draw out the pleasure for as long as he would. But she was only human, and within seconds found herself giving over to the pleasure, hips rocking, breasts heaving, head tossing.

  Just as she began to light from the inside out, he stopped. But before she could protest, he was stretched up over her, prodding her for entrance. She opened for him and he pushed in all the way. A few seconds of in-depth contact and sensual friction and sensation detonated inside her, and she wrapped her legs around his thighs to keep him there, to keep the stunning sensations coming.

  He tried to kiss her, but she wanted to tantalize him now, finding the soft flesh between his neck and shoulder, first sucking, then biting down. As her teeth nicked his flesh, he stiffened and cried out and shuddered against her. She clung tight and shuddered again, too.

  They stayed like that for what seemed like forever—wrapped in each other’s arms, balanced on the back of the sofa bed.

  Then passion faded and Renata realized they were both mostly still dressed and she wondered what she was doing tangled so intimately with a man she really didn’t know.

  But a voice inside her protested that, even though she didn’t know all the details of his life, didn’t know exactly why he was with her, she did know Gabe in the most basic way. She knew he was a good man. She knew he had saved her life. She knew he had put his own in jeopardy for her. What more did she need? What had just happened between them had been inevitable.

  Danger might have pushed them together, but deeper emotions had taken over.

  As Gabe pulled away to give her a soft, lingering kiss, Renata admitted to herself what she’d been afraid to examine too closely.

  She didn’t just care for the man…she was in love with him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Light coming through the window left Renata wide awake, despite the fact that she’d had barely three hours of sleep—she and Gabe had spent the better part of the night and the early morning hours exploring each other. He lay next to her now, snoring softly, his dark hair tousled against the pillow. Her heart skipped a beat just looking at him. She loved his face, wanted to rub her cheek against his dark beard stubble. More, wanted to touch other parts of him intimately.

  But as much
as she wanted all that, she figured she wanted to be able to walk, as well—not to mention needing to concentrate on the case. More intimacy could wait. The killer couldn’t.

  Seeing that it was almost nine, she slid out of bed, put on a pot of coffee and then slipped into the bathroom, where she took a long, relaxing shower before wrapping herself in the robe Gabe had loaned her.

  Part of her anticipated Gabe being awake and waiting for her when she came out of the bathroom, but to her disappointment, he was still asleep. So she poured herself a cup of that coffee. Noise from behind her told her that Gabe was stirring.

  “Coffee?” she asked softly, just in case he wasn’t really awake.

  He grunted an answer in return.

  As she poured, Gabe rolled out of bed and stalked toward her, naked as a jaybird.

  Pulse fluttering, she stared into his eyes and stuck the mug between them.

  “What, no morning kiss?” he asked.

  “Shower first.”

  And put on some clothes, she thought, already imagining the things they would do if he didn’t.

  “You really aren’t a morning person, are you?” he asked, lips quirking as he took the mug from her.

  The grin nearly did her in.

  “Shower,” she groused, fighting her primal urges. “We have work to do.”

  Lives to save. Theirs.

  “What, no soft words for the man you made love to all night?”

  Warmth washed through her at the reminder. “I’m trying to be strong.”

  Gabe laughed, swiped her with a kiss anyway before heading for the bathroom, saying, “You’d better be dressed before I get out of the shower.”

  “Or what?”

  “Stay in that robe and see,” he threatened.

  Ridiculously happy, Renata was tempted. She would like nothing better than to stay in bed with Gabe all day, make mad, passionate love and forget everything else. Forget that her career was teetering, that someone was trying to kill her, that her mother would be a wreck no matter the outcome, because the truth about everything that had happened would come out in the end.

  But she couldn’t forget.

  So as she heard the shower start in the bathroom, she fully dressed except for her holster and jacket. Unable to relax, she thought about all that was riding on their digging out the rest of the truth about the City Sniper. Needing something to keep her occupied, she decided to use Gabe’s computer, which he’d left on. Sitting down before it, she meant to work the Internet and search for information on Congressman Cooper.