A Reason to Believe

by Diana Copland

  “You lied to your sister.”

  Kiernan looked confused. “I did?”

  Matt nodded. “I’m convinced you actually are five.”

  Kiernan caught Matt’s elbow with a laugh. “Aw, Matt! I’m so proud. You made a joke.”

  Kiernan laughed again when they pulled into the parking lot of Denny’s. They walked in through the fingerprint-smudged glass doors and were immediately assaulted by the sound of children squealing and the mingled scents of bacon and hot coffee. A hostess showed them to a booth in a far corner.

  Matt removed his coat and tossed it into the booth. Kiernan did the same, shooting Matt a playful look as he reached for the hem of the dark sweater.

  “No,” Matt said sternly. “You leave the sweater right where it is.”

  Kiernan scooted into the seat across from him. “Spoilsport,” he muttered, but his lips were curved in a teasing smile.

  * * *

  Kiernan finished his breakfast first and pushed his dish away, wiping his mouth on a paper napkin. He leaned back in his seat, laying one arm casually along the back. “So, are you going to tell me why you didn’t sleep?”

  Matt’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth, and he met the inquisitive gaze. “What makes you think I didn’t sleep?” His enjoyment diminished, he laid his fork on the plate.

  “Well, let’s see,” Kiernan mused. “You were up, dressed and had finished half a pot of coffee by the time I walked into the kitchen.”

  “Maybe I only made half a pot of coffee.”

  “Nice try. You look like you haven’t slept, all right?” He leaned forward, his arms crossed on the table. “And I don’t think it’s because the couch is uncomfortable.” He arched one brow. “When did she turn up?”

  Matt stared into the knowing eyes and pushed his own plate away. “Not sure. Some time around two, I think. I had just dozed off.”

  “At two?”

  “I had a lot on my mind.”

  “So did I. And I had a nosy sister pestering me about it.”

  Matt grimaced. “I’ll bet.”

  Kiernan’s mouth twitched into a lopsided grin. “She’s seen worse, believe me.”

  “Do I even want to know?”

  “Probably not. Anyway, your social call at 2 a.m. Did she say anything? Actually manifest?”

  “No. But her message was clear. We’re not moving fast enough for her.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because she showed me a newspaper article. When I told her we were doing the best we could, she threw it at my head.”

  Kiernan looked surprised. “Seriously?”

  “Does it sound like I’m kidding?”

  Kiernan leaned back, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully. “What was the article about?”

  “The state of the murder investigation. The headline was referring to the fact her father was soon to be indicted.” Matt ran his fingers through his hair before rubbing at a stiff muscle in the back of his neck. “I can’t say as I blame her. She knows it wasn’t him. She must feel like she’s screaming the truth and no one is listening.”

  Kiernan’s hand came to rest over his on the tabletop. “We’re listening. We just have to get her to tell us the right things.” He reached for his coat. “Come on. I want a look at that article, and we should start going through the names on the guest list. Oh, and we should probably go by the Hilton. If I don’t, Aidan will just nag me half to death until I do.”

  Matt’s muscles stiffened as they approached the hotel, and he searched the streets for any sign of a dark sedan. He pulled into the valet parking area at the Hilton, his eyes avidly scanning the circular drive. When the bright-eyed young valet approached his door, Matt pulled out his badge and held it up to the window. The kid stopped and backed away immediately, eyes wide.

  “So, is there some sort of moratorium on how many times you can flash that thing while you’re on suspension?”

  Matt glanced at Kiernan in irritation, only to see his eyes gleaming with suppressed humor. “I’m going to check out the entrance and the lobby. You will stay in this vehicle until I come back for you.”

  “Yes, sir!” Kiernan saluted.

  “I’m not fucking around here, Kiernan. You either do this my way, or I drive out of here. The last time we were near this place, someone took a shot at you. For all you know, they have the building under surveillance. We will do this my way, or not at all.”

  Briefly, Kiernan looked like he might be going to argue, but ultimately he nodded.

  Matt got out of the SUV and locked it, and then walked to the valet who was watching him with avid eyes. “I’m going to take a look around and then come back. The vehicle is to remain where it is, and no one is to go near it. Am I clear?”

  The boy nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”

  The lobby was crowded, which instantly set Matt’s instincts on alert, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. There was no press loitering, no one acting suspiciously. He considered going to the concierge desk himself, but even he acknowledged it would be high-handed. When he was convinced no one was lingering unnecessarily, he went back to the Bronco and opened the passenger door.

  “You know, all your precautions are just drawing more attention,” Kiernan said as he slid out of the seat. “All these people will wonder if I’m some sort of mafia character with my own bodyguard.”

  There did seem to be a number of people watching them curiously. “At least they know you have a bodyguard. And anyone who might have considered messing with you will think twice.”

  Kiernan looked up at Matt with teasing appraisal. “I’ll bet you could be pretty scary if you put your mind to it.”

  Matt gestured brusquely with his head and remained slightly behind Kiernan as they walked through the sliding doors and to the concierge counter. The clerk on duty was an attractive older woman. She looked up with polite interest as they approached.

  “Hi,” Kiernan said, charming smile in place. “My sister received a call this morning. Something was left for me? My name is…”

  “Mr. Fitzpatrick,” she said smoothly. “Of course, I recognize you. If you’ll wait one moment, please.” She picked up a telephone receiver and spoke softly when it was answered, then smiled at him when she hung up. “It will be brought to you in just a moment.”

  “Where is it now?” Matt asked, stepping forward.

  “The bell captain has it. As I understand it, the item in question was actually in the suite. We assumed it was left behind at check out.”

  “It’s okay,” Kiernan said under his breath, reaching out and touching Matt’s tense arm. “It’s possible. She packed in a hurry.”

  Matt doubted that. He’d watched Aidan over the few days he’d known them, and he didn’t believe something important enough for the hotel to call about had been overlooked when packing. She was too thorough, too detail-oriented to leave items behind. He waited, fighting the impulse to fidget, as Kiernan leaned casually against the counter and watched him with thinly veiled amusement.

  A man in bellman’s livery approached, an envelope in his hand. He handed it to Kiernan with a courteous nod, but Matt’s eyes were fixed on the hotel stationery, with the name Kiernan Fitzpatrick and Important printed neatly across the face.

  Kiernan thanked the woman behind the desk and slipped the envelope into his pocket, heading toward the doors.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Matt asked.

  “Not with her watching me, no.”

  Once in the car, they exchanged a glance before Kiernan pulled out a sheet of stationery and unfolded it casually. From his seat Matt could see a single sentence, written in the same careful hand as Kiernan’s name on the front.

  He knew instantly that something was wrong when the color drained from Kiernan’s face.


  “Let me see it,” Matt said, reaching for it.

  Kiernan shot him an arch look. “What if it’s personal, Matthew?”

  “Is it?”

  Kiernan looked away, fumbling to return the paper to the envelope, his hand trembling. When he didn’t answer, Matt caught his arm.

  “Let me see it.” Kiernan sighed, then put the envelope in Matt’s hand, turning his face away.

  Matt wasn’t nearly as careful removing the note as Kiernan had been. He yanked it free of the envelope and unfolded it quickly, his eyes scanning what was written.

  In neat block printing were five words.

  NEXT TIME I WON’T MISS.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Well, now we’ve handled it, they won’t be able to get any clear prints off of the note,” Matt growled as he navigated the streets back to his house. He’d been seething with anger for most of the drive, but now that he was nearing his house it finally spilled over into words. “I should have gone back in and demanded to see the footage from the security cameras. Goddamn it.” He brought his fist down hard on the steering wheel.

  Kiernan continued to look out the passenger’s window silently, his neck and shoulders tense.

  “I’m going about this all wrong. I should have called it in last night. Then at least someone would be on it already. There would have been surveillance on the hotel, and a security detail on you. I’m taking too many fucking chances with your safety.” Matt pulled the Bronco sharply into his driveway, jerking to a halt and cutting the engine with a sharp flick of his wrist. “Well, it stops right now.” Climbing out of the car, he slammed the door and stalked to the house, Kiernan following behind him more slowly. He unlocked the door and went into his kitchen, yanking off his jacket before reaching for the phone on the wall.

  “Stop.”

  He paused with his hand on the receiver. Kiernan was standing in the middle of the kitchen, a resolved expression on his face.

  “No.” Matt lifted the receiver.

  “Damn it, stop.” Kiernan took a step forward and grabbed his arm.

  “I’ve got six inches and fully fifty pounds on you. You cannot physically stop me.”

  “We’ve already established you won’t hurt me. So, unless you plan to change that, I’m not letting go. I’m not going to let you destroy your career.”

  “I won’t be destroying anything,” Matt shot back.

  “Bullshit,” Kiernan snapped. “You call this in, and they’re going to know we’ve been messing in things you were specifically told to leave alone. How do you explain it? Do you want to lose your job?”

  “For Christ’s sakes. Someone tried to kill you. Last night they shot at you, today they got into a suite where you were staying!”

  “After I checked out. Which either makes them woefully misinformed or just plain stupid.”

  Matt ground his teeth. “They were sending a message. They were letting us know they can get to you, even in a four-star hotel.”

  “Well, they fucked up, huh? Because they didn’t get to me. I wasn’t there.” He released Matt’s arm but remained close. “I was here. Something they clearly didn’t know. Hang up the goddamned phone.”

  Matt studied Kiernan’s resolute expression and felt some of the fight drain out of him. He put the receiver back on the wall. “If we call this in, there are tools the department has I don’t. They can check the tapes and see who went into the suite, they can dust the envelope for prints. If whoever is behind this is a pro—”

  “If whoever is behind this is a pro, they’ll be so heavily disguised on the tape they’ll be unrecognizable, and they’ll have handled the note and envelope with gloves. The only prints anyone will find will be ours. I won’t let you risk losing your badge over this. You’re already in trouble with that captain of yours. He’s just looking for an excuse.”

  Matt exhaled in exasperation and walked into the living room, dropping heavily onto the couch. Kiernan followed and sat beside him.

  “Everything in me is screaming this is the wrong way to handle this.” Matt leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face. “You’ve been shot at, now you’ve been threatened. And I’ve done nothing.”

  Kiernan made an incredulous sound. “What do you mean, you’ve done nothing? For Christ’s sakes, last night you put your body between mine and a bullet. If I were worried for even a moment about my safety, I’d tell you to call it in. But I’m not. And clearly, we must be on to something, or whoever this is wouldn’t be so desperate.”

  “But on to what? We have no fucking idea.”

  “They don’t know that.”

  “This isn’t a game,” Matt said, his voice tight. “Those were real bullets last night, and the note contains a very real threat.”

  “I’m not worried,” Kiernan repeated, an expression of unconcern on his handsome face. “They can threaten all they like. You won’t let them near me.”

  Matt’s mouth fell open at the unwavering trust inherent in the statement. “I’m not infallible.”

  Kiernan made an exasperated sound and got to his feet, pushed Matt’s arms aside and smoothly straddled his lap. Matt drew back, startled at the unexpectedness of it. Kiernan lowered himself to sit on his thighs, tilted his jaw up and their eyes met and held.

  “Kier, for God’s sake…”

  Kiernan’s full lips curved in a soft smile. “I like hearing ‘Kier’ coming from you,” he whispered, his thumbs stroking Matt’s cheekbones. “Listen to me. Give yourself some credit, will you? You had my back last night. Literally. I know you aren’t infallible, none of us are. But I trust you.”

  When Matt’s mouth tightened. Kiernan sighed, sliding his hands to Matt’s neck.

  “I know a lot of what’s happened the last few days has seemed like something straight out of The Twilight Zone, and I understand. Being around me takes weird to a whole new level.”

  Matt couldn’t stop the wry sound of accord that came from his throat.

  Kiernan’s smile ripened. “You didn’t need to agree quite so quickly. And even though we don’t know who we’re dealing with yet, I do know if you go to your department with this right now, Branson is going to use it as an excuse to get rid of you.” Matt opened his mouth to reply, but Kiernan shook his head emphatically. “I know you don’t care, but I do. We can figure it out. Whoever is behind the note, we’ve clearly got them rattled.”

  “Them being rattled is what I’m afraid of. Desperate people aren’t rational. And frightened people are more likely to act impulsively, not less.”

  Kiernan’s answer was a slow, lopsided grin. He stroked the side of Matt’s throat with his thumb, unerringly finding a sensitive spot. Matt felt an almost immediate appreciative stirring between his legs.

  “They’re also more likely to make mistakes, right?”

  Matt acknowledged the truth of the statement with a tight nod.

  Kiernan’s finger, stroking lightly over the sensitive skin, made gooseflesh rise on his arms. “Then all we have to do is wait for them to make one.”

  Matt sighed. “You’re insane,” he muttered, capitulating. “All right, we’ll do this your way. For now. But one more thing happens, one more fucking thing, and I don’t care what you say, I’m calling in reinforcements.”

  “Deal.”

  They stared at each other and, slowly, Kiernan’s smile widened and his eyes heated. He scooted along Matt’s thighs, bringing his body closer.

  “You know, when I sat here, I really was just trying to get your attention.” He eased forward the last few inches, until his groin was pressed against Matt’s. “Have I got it?”

  Matt’s body had been aware of the proximity of Kiernan’s from the moment he’d touched his throat. But now they were pressed together, and his cock took an even more avid interest in the proceedin
gs.

  “Does it feel like it?”

  Kiernan tipped his pelvis forward and made a satisfied sound when he felt Matt’s hardness. He closed his eyes and let his head drop back on a soft sigh. “It feels lovely.” He lifted his head and slid his hands around Matt’s neck.

  “I know you’re just trying to distract me.” Matt’s eyes dropped to Kiernan’s lips.

  “Is it working?” He circled his hips in a slow motion that stole the breath from Matt’s lungs.

  Matt’s hand moved instinctively to Kiernan’s ass. His fingers pressed into the taut flesh and he pulled him in snug.

  Kiernan closed his eyes on a sigh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Matt lifted his other hand around Kiernan’s neck, angling his face closer. “It’s a yes,” he muttered, his voice rough. He kissed away the maddening smile.

  Caution flew out the window, and Matt’s lips parted, his tongue slipping between straight white teeth to fill a welcoming mouth. In response, Kiernan stroked Matt’s tongue with his. The knowledge that there was no one to walk in and interrupt them filled Matt with a swift rush of hunger. He held Kiernan fused against him and thrust up, feeling a tremor race through the smaller body.

  Kiernan broke the kiss, his fingers digging in to the solid muscles on either side of Matt’s neck. “God.” He arched his back as Matt moved against his erection.

  Matt was aroused, swiftly and completely, on a level he couldn’t remember being in a very long time. He surged up, catching Kiernan around the waist and turning, pressing him down onto his back and using his weight to push him into the sofa.

  “Oh, yes,” Kiernan gasped, spreading his legs. Matt settled between.

  Matt kissed him again. Kiernan’s legs tightened around his waist, and he thrust up hard. His fingers slipped into Matt’s hair and pulled, and the sting caused a flash of heat that surged straight into Matt’s cock. He pinned Kiernan’s wrists to the cushion above his head, lifting his upper body to stare down into eyes both wide and opaque with desire. Shifting enough to align the bulges in their trousers, he rolled his hips, and Kiernan’s mouth dropped open on a startled cry.