CHAPTER NINE
WHAT IN HELL was wrong with him?
Scott didn’t have a ready answer, but he stood at the threshold of Riley’s bedroom, more physically affected by the sight of her than he should have been. Way more.
She glanced down at the display again, scrolling through her telephone messages. Her wildly curly hair fell forward, covering much of her face. Still, he could see the tight set of her jaw, the delicate profile set in anxious lines.
In that moment there should have been only the two of them. There should have been only relief that the perp hadn’t broken into the house, hadn’t harmed her or given her anything else to worry about. She was already struggling to settle in.
She hadn’t said anything, not to him or Rosie or Joe as far as Scott knew, but tension was all over her. In the way she had to work for smiles that used to come so fast and easy. In the way so much attention from overzealous and well-meaning cops seemed to swallow her up. In the way she looked fragile right now, as if she stood there holding her breath just waiting for something else horrible to come at her.
So what was wrong with him that he was standing here, almost painfully aware of the neatly made bed, the silky blouse hanging from a bedpost, the toiletries scattered over the dresser that seemed so much more personal than if they’d been on a grocer’s shelf?
And why in holy hell was he suddenly hearing the words tending the farm?
Damned kids.
Scott shook his head to clear it. But he didn’t move from that doorway as he swallowed past the lump in his throat and tried to ignore those words.
What was wrong with him? He needed to back up and get out of this room. But he was still standing there when Riley glanced up again, curls tumbling over her shoulders, the tight lines of her face relaxing as sunlight spilled through the window, bathing her in a glow that made her tanned skin seemed cast in gold.
Their gazes met, and a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. His gut gave a hard twist.
“Scott?”
“Yeah,” he forced out.
“Is anything wrong?”
“No. Just need you for the walk-through.” Stupid ass he was. Doing exactly what he didn’t want to do—worry her.
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
He was pushing too hard. “No hurry. No one’s going anywhere.”
A small smile. “No real crime to fight out there, hmm?”
He could only snort.
Her smile widened. “I appreciate everyone responding the way they did. Please tell the chief. I can’t tell you how much better I feel knowing everyone’s got their eyes on us. I mean really, Scott.”
“Everyone’s glad you’re back.” He responded on autopilot. “But seriously, you should take a few extra precautions. Let Roger’s son stay with Brian a few nights. Brian will go along. Do whatever you can to shake up your routine.”
The smile vanished as fast as it had appeared. She sank down onto the side of the bed, a boneless motion that made her look tired. “You’re worried.”
“I’m always worried.”
She lifted her gaze, and those crystal-blue eyes weren’t sparkling. “I mean more than your normal worrying. Things aren’t adding up. I know the look.”
No doubt. “We should pay attention.”
“What else can I do?”
“You know the drill. I’ll have a unit assigned to patrol your place. No problems there. Vary your routine and keep the security system armed even when you’re at home. Any chance of getting your dogs back?”
She gave a wry chuckle that didn’t reach her expression. “Not hardly. Caroline thrives on playing big sister. Her ‘babysitting’ turned into a little more than I expected. Hershel and Oodles Marie are hers now. I wanted to bring them down to Florida once I knew we’d be staying, but she insisted they wouldn’t like the heat.” Riley shrugged. “They’re her only connection left to Mike. I’m trying to be gracious. So, no watchdogs. I can’t handle puppies.”
“Can’t blame you there. I don’t want you to worry, though.” He’d be worrying enough for them both. “PPD’s got your back.”
He sounded a lot more assured than he felt, but his words had the desired effect. Riley visibly relaxed. With a graceful motion, she straightened and stood.
“Thank you,” she said earnestly, an appreciation he didn’t deserve. “I feel a lot better. And that’s saying something. It’s been a rough week.”
“Jake going to be okay?”
She cocked a hip against her dresser and clipped the cell phone to her jeans. “Yeah. He just takes a little more time to settle in than Camille. And I’m never sure if I’m doing everything I should be to help him along.”
Scott wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He had about zero experience with little kids, although he was pretty savvy about the older ones. But when she folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath, Riley gave the impression she just needed to talk. Sure enough…
“Camille’s really excited, you know. She loves school. But when Jake gets upset, she feels bad, like she shouldn’t be so happy about something that bothers him. She doesn’t understand the problem even though I talk with her about it. They’re so different that a lot of the time what works with one doesn’t work with the other, and it’s hard to get any alone time with either of them.” She lifted a hand and rubbed her temples. “My impulse is to fix things, but I can’t always do that. I have to help them learn to cope. But it breaks my heart watching Jake struggle so much.”
Scott nodded. He thought he understood. She was a good mom. She even shoved aside her own feelings to teach her kids. Sure, it might be easier for her if she fixed the situation, but in the long run, Jake wouldn’t have the skills necessary to handle the things that came up in life.
That was exactly what Scott dealt with at Renaissance. Kids whose parents hadn’t prepared them to deal successfully with the world. Sometimes parents died or took off, or their own addictions got in the way of their responsibilities. Sometimes they were still around, but didn’t know any better. Whatever the reason, the result was the same—kids fighting to cope with life and making a lot of wrong choices along the way.
He’d been a kid like that himself once.
Life had taken away all the people who mattered and left him with a family that had been the antithesis of Mike and Riley’s. Scott might have lost a parent—a mother in his case—but the father who’d been left behind hadn’t been the least interested in parenting.
But Scott had been one of the lucky ones—he’d had a decent enough start to realize that he wanted more for himself. He’d been smart enough to figure out how to get it. That hadn’t happened without a fair amount of good people to help him along the way. People like the chief, Mike and, in her way, Riley. He’d been Mike’s friend, never hers. How could he when he’d always been so aware of her, and so ashamed of feeling that way? But he’d made the choice to keep his distance from her long ago, and while Riley might not have known how he felt, she’d always welcomed him unconditionally, always respected the distance he’d kept between them, accepted what he’d had to offer.
“You’re doing your best, Riley.” That much he did know. “What more can you do?”
She shrugged. “It always feels like I could be doing more, like I’m missing something.”
“Trust me on this,” he said softly, denying the urge to share details about his own upbringing to convince her. “Jake and Camille are two cool little people. That speaks for itself. You’re raising good kids.”
She gave a rather lopsided smile, looking sheepish. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she’d needed reassurance. Or maybe because they were talking about personal things in a way they never had before.
Either way, Scott knew she’d not only lost her husband when Mike had died, but her best friend. Sure, she had other friends, but most had taken off after college, heading back home or launching careers elsewhere. Pleasant Valley had been Mike’s town, not Riley’s.
She eyed him thoughtfully. “You know, maybe I should ask Rosie to help me arrange some alone time to spend with each of them. I’m sure she’ll help out.”
“No question there. She’d probably jump at the chance.” As Riley had said, the Angelica family didn’t have many connections left to Mike.
“Hey, man,” Kevin called from down the hallway. “We ready to get this show on the road?”
The moment was over. Pushing away from the dresser, Riley gave a light laugh. “You’re so sweet. Thanks for listening.”
“I’m here, Riley.” It was all he could think to say.
But Scott wasn’t thinking, that much was obvious when he stepped forward and reached for her hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze. Her fingers felt lightweight and warm against his, so alive. So Riley. Had Scott been thinking, he’d have remembered he had no business touching her, not even casually.
He couldn’t be casual with Riley.
“You ready yet?” Kevin asked when he appeared in the doorway.
Scott slipped his hand from Riley’s and turned. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“What do I need to do?” Riley asked.
“Give us the ten-dollar tour.” Kevin seized the chance to take control, even going so far as to loop his arm through Riley’s. “You can double-check that nothing looks disturbed while I get to know you better. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about your family.”
“Good, I hope,” she said.
“Naturally.” Kevin flashed a blinding smile that gave Scott the sudden, and unexpected, impulse to plant a fist in his cosmetically perfect teeth.
Kevin led Riley through the door, forcing Scott to fall in step behind them. This wasn’t going to work.
“Riley, want me to get a jump on the broken glass?” He reached for his cell phone. “I’ll give Tony at Father and Son Glass a call. He’ll send someone out. I don’t want you home alone with that window out.”
She glanced over her shoulder, a smile plastered on her face. A forced one, Scott was pleased to note. She wasn’t stupid enough to fall for Kevin. “I’d appreciate it very much.”
“Done.” He made his way to the foyer to place the call.
By the time he reconvened with Riley and Kevin, he had a glass guy on the way.
“They didn’t make it inside,” Kevin informed him.
“No surprises there.” Scott met Riley’s gaze, found her looking drained. “Not the best way to start the day.”
She only gave a wan smile before accompanying them onto the front porch. She thanked everyone who hadn’t taken off yet and waited inside the open doorway as her driveway cleared. Scott wished she would go inside and lock up, so he would at least know she was safe. But he couldn’t think of any way to tell her to get inside without looking like an overprotective jerk. An overly possessive one, anyway.
So he slipped into his car, barely giving Kevin a chance to get in before he gunned the engine and took off, watching Riley recede in his rearview mirror.
Kevin sank back in the seat and gave a low whistle. “Wow. The widow is everything I heard and a bag of chips.”
Scott shot Kevin a look, not a little surprised he was heading down this road. “You’re an idiot.”
Kevin’s turn to look surprised.
Scott relented. “What’d you hear?”
“That Mike was a seriously lucky man. I didn’t know the dude. Not really. Seen him around the station, but I was new with the department. You two were legendary.”
Scott snorted.
“No, really, man. You two came and went as you pleased, and always had the chief on your side. Looked pretty good from where I was standing.”
What did he even say to that? “Yeah, well, what it looked like and what it was were two different things.”
“Maybe, but not with the widow.” Kevin closed his eyes. “Heard she was a stunner. I’d say so.”
This wasn’t news. Not to anyone who knew Riley. Everyone in the PPD had known Mike was a lucky bastard. They’d ragged him about it endlessly. Mike had always told everyone to take a damn hike. He knew they were jealous.
But not Scott.
He might have had unwanted feelings for Riley, but what kind of person would be jealous of a friend? Especially a friend like Mike.
“So you’ve been keeping your eyes on her,” Kevin said. Not a question. “That’s decent. Not like you’ll go blind, though.”
Another image flashed of what Kevin would look like with a few broken teeth. Scott blinked a few times to erase the vision. The rational part of his brain knew Kevin meant nothing more than to pay Riley a compliment. But that rational part got its ass stomped by the irrational part, which didn’t want to face the fact that Kevin was all too right.
Watching over Riley wasn’t hard. It was easy. Too damned easy.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK, Chief?” Hank Llewellyn emerged from the questioning room wearing a scowl.
“I think you’re up against a player,” Jason said. “The guy told us he didn’t know a thing about guns the first time we questioned him, and he not only hunts but has an NRA membership. Give me a break.”
Hank nodded. “I’m booking him.”
Jason was about to reply when message traffic over the police radio caught his attention.
10-17.
29 Traver Road, Pleasant Valley.
Attempted burglary. Suspect fled the scene.
Jason’s heartbeat upped a notch, though if Hank noticed the frequency for Pleasant Valley’s patrol zone, he gave no clue.
Jason might be looking at Hank, but didn’t hear a word his officer was saying as the radio relayed details of the call.
10-17. PPD had responded to a suspected prowler.
Jason had been monitoring the sheriff’s band, but supposed he shouldn’t be surprised the PPD had taken the call. All it would take was one cop to recognize Mike Angelica’s address. Half the force had probably shown up before the sheriff had gotten there.
Not all towns in the Mid-Hudson Valley had their own police forces. Smaller townships, such as Pleasant Valley and LaGrange, relied upon the County Sheriff’s Department, the state troopers and neighboring departments to serve them.
Jason had been hoping for a little luck today. He’d hoped that when the security company called Riley, she’d assume a false alarm and give her code word. Still, there should be time for Tyrese to find what he was looking for inside the house. “Attempted burglary. Suspect fled the scene.”
“Damn it,” he ground out.
“Chief?” Hank frowned. “You’re not okay with that?”
Jason stared, so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he had to shake his head before seeing Hank again, who was looking at him from not two feet away. He shook off his distraction. “No. It’s all good. You got it, Hank. Good work.”
Jason had no clue what he’d just signed on for, but had to trust Hank’s discretion. The fact that Hank looked pleased by the praise only served to ramp up Jason’s anxiety. Friggin’ domino effect. This grief was taking over his whole life.
He issued a few more statements to get Hank out of his face. Sure enough, no sooner had the door to the questioning room closed when the disposable cell phone in Jason’s pocket rang.
Retrieving the phone, he headed into his office and shut the door. “Give me good news, man.”
“You want good news?” the voice said, gruff and annoyed. “Then you came to the wrong place.”
Tyrese Griffey had been one of the few surprises in Jason’s law-enforcement career. He was old-time 16 Squared—a peewee since long before his voice had changed. Few gang members ever lived to see the opposite side of twenty, especially one like Tyrese with a rap sheet as long as his arm before he’d been old enough to get a driving permit.
The various law agencies around the area had collared him so many times he practically had his own police ten-code. His young age would put him right back on the streets again.
Then, during one night in the Hazar
d Creek lockup, not long after Jason had become chief, Tyrese claimed to have had a divine visitation. He began to witness salvation on street corners, declaring the love of Christ Jesus for all mankind, and becoming another sort of nuisance entirely.
So when he showed up for his day in court, Jason convinced the judge to give him a shot at redemption with the Renaissance program. Chief Levering knew Tyrese personally and didn’t want any part of this serial offender, but Jason had managed to convince him to take a chance.
Tyrese had surprised them all. He hooked up with a church that seemed to appreciate his enthusiasm and abilities. They put him to work as groundskeeper and handy-man, a sort of living testimonial to the love of Christ. Tyrese had been doing what he could to improve the world ever since.
Until the night some neighborhood thug had raped his baby sister and beat her within an inch of her life. He’d gone to preach mercy and forgiveness and wound up killing the guy.
Tyrese had freaked and called Jason. And when Jason had weighed all the good Tyrese had been doing against this thug from Big House…well, Jason wasn’t God or anything, but he thought Tyrese had done the world a public service by taking out one of the bad guys. So he’d given the kid a second chance and helped him make the whole situation vanish.
It had never occurred to Jason that he’d call in the favor.
But now he half sat on the edge of his desk, feeling sick. “What happened?”
“Wasn’t any problem getting the place empty,” Tyrese said. “Broke a window and had cops breathing down my neck before I’d gotten inside. Good thing I had the radio.”
Under any other circumstances, Jason might have complimented the foresight, but not now. Not when he was in way over his head. He needed to know what was on that CD and if it implicated him. He needed to know if Riley knew what was on it.
“Must have had a silent alarm wired straight to PPD dispatch,” Jason said. “It would explain why the cops responded as fast as they did.”
Her Husband’s Partner Page 8
