When she breezed into his apartment building on time for once, she hoped to find him pleasantly surprised. But when he opened the door, his first reaction was bafflement. He greeted her with a hug and a brief kiss. “You’re early.”
“I thought you said six?” With a frown, she glanced at the clock on the bookshelf. “It’s six o’clock now.”
“Yeah, but for you, that usually means six-fifteen at the earliest.”
She gave him a sour look. “I can leave and come back if you want.”
He herded her through the threshold. “Not necessary. How was your meeting with Tess?”
When Autumn had left work early to meet with the neurologist, she hadn’t harbored high hopes. It turned out to be a good thing. “She looked through the files and did some basic tests. She didn’t say anything I haven’t already heard. Summer has a closed-head injury, and they don’t know enough about how the brain works to know why she’s in the coma or how to wake her up. She said she wanted to look into a few options, but she didn’t want to make promises. Thanks for trying, though.”
His face fell, which surprised Autumn.
She put her hand on his cheek. “Sir, it was a long shot, really. Every few months, they do a fresh workup on Summer—brain scans, blood tests, everything—but they never find anything new. I used to get my hopes up, but I’ve learned not to. It’s just too disappointing.”
“But you were excited when I told you she was coming.” He kissed her palm and held her hand.
True. She had let her hopes elevate a little, but sometime in the next day, she’d reasoned with herself. “I was mostly excited that you cared enough to ask a friend for a huge favor like this—for me. I—It’s—Nobody had ever done something like this for me. Which brings me to something I wanted to talk to you about before we go.” She glanced around the apartment. “Where is your dad? I thought he was going to the game?”
“He is. He’ll be meeting us there. Malcolm and Darcy weren’t able to make it, but Keith and Katrina will meet us there as well. I’ll get my keys.” Dropping her hand, he turned away and went to the kitchen counter. “That’s what you wanted to talk to me about? You thought I told my dad not to come?”
The thought had crossed her mind more than once, but she didn’t think he’d go through with it. “No, actually, I wanted to apologize.” She followed him and dropped her purse on the dining room table. “I was out of line Monday. I flew off the handle when I really shouldn’t have. I overreacted.”
He tapped a key on the granite surface as he thought. “You were upset, and you had reason to be. Someone cut your brakes lines. That’s serious shit. I’ve been sneaking out of the office every day to make sure they’re okay, but that doesn’t cover when you’re at Sunshine Acres.”
All her office friends had been shocked to hear about the car accident, and they’d been so supportive since then. She hadn’t shared more details. Nobody needed to know that the accident hadn’t been an accident. “I meant the other stuff. You don’t demean me or make me feel devalued. I know you want to take care of me. That’s part of who you are, and I like that about you, but I grew up learning to take care of myself. It’s going to take me some time to get used to letting you protect me.”
He came closer and took her hands in his. “Still, you made some good points. I shouldn’t call you pet names at work. It’s unprofessional, and it can create problems in the way people perceive your skills.”
Okay, it was nice that he recognized and acknowledged the line between their professional and personal relationships. But she had to be more honest. Isn’t that what he’d asked her to do? It wasn’t an easy path to navigate, and she took a careful step. “I also am a little afraid, Sir. I don’t want to come to rely on you too much. You’re not from around here, and you’ll be leaving. I’m okay with the built-in expiration date—I went into this without blinders on—but I think if I let myself depend on you the way you want, I’m just going to get my heart broken. This is supposed to be fun, not serious. Some of the things you’re asking from me—those are serious things.” Not to mention that she’d already slipped up and fallen for him. And then she’d stupidly uttered those three dumb words during a scene. At least he seemed to have forgotten them.
Though he didn’t release her hands, he stared out the fabulous floor-to-ceiling windows that let him look out upon the cityscape. His mind was probably back home, imagining what it would be like to return to his normal daily routine. Then he pressed his lips together, firmly resolute, and met her gaze. “Maybe this started off that way, but it’s not like that anymore. Not for me. When this case is done, I don’t want to leave you here. I’ve hated not being able to spend time with you for the past two days. I can’t imagine not seeing you or hearing your voice. This doesn’t have to end when the case is over, not unless you want it to, because I don’t, Autumn. I don’t want to walk away from you and what we have.”
She launched herself at him, and he held her tightly. Once again, she felt the enormity of what he hadn’t said. One day soon, he would find the courage to take that step, just as she would find the courage to come clean about the side of her life she was keeping from him.
They met up with Keith and Katrina at the huge tiger statue where Darcy had made them all take pictures. This time, Keith was the sentimental one, insisting they get pictures in all sorts of combinations—both women, both men, all four, and individual. David cooperated enthusiastically, though Autumn thought it was overkill.
She pulled David aside on the way in. “Is he doing surveillance or something, and the person he wanted pictures of was in the background?”
He laughed. “I think he’s one of those record-the-moment people. It’s okay. I like having more pictures of you on my phone. This way I can rotate which shot of your gorgeous self is my wallpaper. I should get a picture of your ass.” He stopped, and when she stopped with him, he motioned for her to continue. “Keep walking, Sugar. That skirt hugs your curves in a very dangerous way.”
She couldn’t believe she was doing it, but she resumed walking along the concourse. As outlandish as the idea sounded, she put a little extra wiggle in her walk. Moments later, he caught up. “Did you get what you want?”
“Yep.”
“Can I see?”
“Maybe later.”
“Why not now?”
The impishness of his expression glassed over. “Hi, Dad.”
“David.” Mr. Calder shook his son’s hand before greeting Autumn. “Autumn, it’s a pleasure.”
David introduced Keith and Katrina, and more cordial handshaking happened before they entered the suite. Tonight, it was set up differently. Last time, David had ordered food delivered halfway through the game, but this time, a caterer had already visited. Drinks and platters of hors d’oeuvres were set along a buffet counter on the side. Like Katrina and Keith, Autumn slowly scanned the room, taking it all in.
“Dad, you didn’t have to do this. Thanks. It was thoughtful.” Some of David’s neutral demeanor vanished, and it made Autumn’s heart sing.
“Yes, Bill, thank you so much. It’s very generous.” Keith smiled, which meant he looked a lot less dangerous. Luckily he seemed happy most of the time.
Autumn and Katrina echoed the sentiment.
Mr. Calder flashed a benevolent smile, and Autumn wondered if he’d done this to be manipulative. It fit with the way David talked about him. Then she shook the thought away. She was letting his negative attitude taint her impression of the situation, and she needed the opposite to happen—she needed David to recognize and appreciate the good in his father.
“Go ahead and dig in. Opening pitch is in ten minutes.” Mr. Calder took the first plate, and began filling it.
Autumn looked to David, who took two plates and held one out, but when she went to take it, he didn’t release his grip. “Unless you’re okay with me choosing for you?”
Lowering her gaze, she let go of the plate. Joy vibrated through her body. “I’d like that
, Sir. Would you like me to get you a drink?”
“I’ll have a beer. Get yourself something, Sugar, but no alcohol. The doctor said to avoid it for a few weeks.” He kissed her cheek and turned away to fill the plates.
Outside the suite, in the box seats, they sat in a line, with Autumn between David and Katrina. Mr. Calder sat on David’s other side, and Keith guarded the aisle.
Katrina set her plate on her lap, threw her head back, and sighed with pleasure. “I love my kids, but it’s so nice to not have little fingers grabbing food off my plate.” Keith tried snagging a chicken wing, but Katrina slapped his hand—hard. “Get your own.”
With a smartass smirk curving his lips, he took the wing anyway. “I love it when you think you’re in charge. It’s cute.”
“For every wing you take, I’m pushing the wedding back one month.”
Keith shrugged. “I’ll tell Mama L everything, and you’ll get one of those lectures that start with ‘Katrina Marie.’ See how well that plan works for you.”
Katrina sighed and turned to Autumn. “I swear my parents like him better than me sometimes. My mom will spontaneously bring over one of her famous Italian dishes or homemade ice cream, and it turns out that Keith had called earlier to rave about her cooking.”
They seemed like a happy couple. Autumn smiled. “It’s great that your parents like him. Are you close with his as well?”
Keith laughed, the highly amused kind that indicated trouble.
“No,” Katrina said. “They like me, though, especially his mom. She helped save my life one time, and ever since then, she likes to keep in touch to make sure we’re all doing well.”
“She’s happy that we’ve adopted Angie and Corey, my sister’s biological kids.” Keith and Katrina exchanged a significant look, and Autumn concentrated on eating her dinner of finger foods.
David put his hand on her leg, but he continued discussing baseball with his father. The in-depth analysis was beyond her, and that was okay. David was reconnecting with his father over a shared love.
“The adoption was finalized yesterday,” Katrina continued. “It was the first time I ever cried in court. When the judge pronounced us a family, I couldn’t help it. Angie is almost five, and Corey is sixteen months. Anyway, she hugged me so tightly and petted my hair—and she called me ‘Mom’ for the first time.”
“And she called me ‘Daddy.’” Keith beamed. “If she didn’t already have me wrapped around her cute little finger, that would have done it. Katrina’s family was there, and we took a ton of pictures. God—even my parents showed up. I was shocked.”
Katrina turned to Autumn. “It was one of the best moments of my life. I know Corey won’t remember, but I hope Angie will. My first memory is from when I was about that age—four-and-a-half. I was wearing a dress with a long tulle skirt, and so were my older brothers. They had agreed to be backup dancers for me, and I remember being so ecstatic. They couldn’t dance for shit, but they tried so hard.” She chuckled, most likely picturing it in her head. Then she smiled at Autumn. “What is your earliest memory?”
Always content to let people talk about themselves, Autumn had to scramble to answer that unexpected question. She had planned to congratulate them, not share her own experience. She tried that route first. “Congratulations. I’m sure she’ll remember it. I mean, it’s a huge deal. Does she remember her mother?” Okay, maybe that interested her more. Autumn not only lacked memories of her mother, she didn’t have pictures to look at and wonder what her mother was like.
“My sister is in prison for the next decade or so. We take the kids to visit every month,” Keith said. “But my sister wasn’t a great mom, so Angie doesn’t really want anything to do with her. I don’t blame her. My earliest memories are of Savannah, and they aren’t pleasant. Corey doesn’t remember her at all. He’ll usually interact with her freely.”
Katrina put a hand on Autumn’s arm. “David tells me that you’re close with your sister like I was with my brothers before they decided little sisters were passé. I bet your first memory involves her.”
Now that she had some time to consider, Autumn remembered. “I was in a room that my dad had rented, and I couldn’t sleep. My sister, Summer, and I were sharing a bed, and I snuggled into her because I was always afraid in a new place. I remember her hugging me close and telling me that everything was going to be all right. And it was.”
David squeezed her hand, and when she looked at him, sympathy and understanding blazed from his eyes. Like Summer’s hug, it made her feel better, like she’d be safe as long as he was around. She liked that feeling.
The rest of the night was filled with friendly and fun conversation. Autumn left feeling as if she’d made a new friend in Katrina. On the way home, she held David’s hand.
“Stay the night,” he said.
“I can’t.” She wanted very badly to stay with him. “I’m exhausted, and I didn’t bring my things. How about tomorrow? I can come over after work, and we can spend the whole evening together. Alone.”
“What about Summer? Don’t you want to stop off and see her?”
Autumn had planned to call in sick, but she couldn’t tell him that now. He’d never leave her side. He’d probably drag her back to the ER for more scans. She shrugged. “I’ll take a long lunch and eat it with her—if that’s okay with my boss?”
He kissed her passionately. “It’s okay with your boss.”
Autumn dragged herself from bed well before dawn. Though she didn’t hold out hope for money being in the gallery’s safe—all transactions were likely done electronically—she needed there to be. Ben might be able to fence the goods they’d steal, but Autumn couldn’t afford to be part of that. Plus she didn’t trust Ben enough to part company without her payment for services rendered. There was no honor among thieves.
This was going to have to go toward rent. Her landlord had served the final warning with a date for eviction proceedings, so that meant she needed to catch up. If she didn’t get enough from this job, she would need to take another, and it would have to be one with a larger payout. After that, she’d start thinking about paying David back for the repairs on her car.
The drive to Royal Oak didn’t take as long because rush hour was still two hours away. By that time, she planned to be on her way home. She’d call off work, pay her rent, and go see Summer. Later, she’d contact Ms. B. to see if she had any Domina jobs available. To be honest, Autumn was finding that she really loved being in the submissive role with David as her Dom. She didn’t relish having to pick up a flogger and be the boss again. It had always been a role for her, an act that she hadn’t minded until now.
She parked at a meter, but she didn’t feed it quarters. It wouldn’t be enforced until six, and she’d be gone by then. Several other cars were there, workers from the coffee shops and bakeries in the area. Ben met her at the back door of the gallery. It was around the corner from the main strip, and access to the secured rear door was off the small alley and next to an industrial-sized trash bin.
“Good to see you. Any problems?” He greeted her with a brief smile, and his gaze never stopped scanning the area.
“Nope. Let’s do this.” She extracted a torsion wrench and a hook pick. Inserting the torsion wrench a little, she tested the give to see whether the lock opened clockwise or counterclockwise. It had a firmer stop when she wiggled it clockwise, so that meant she needed to work it in the opposite direction. She applied a constant, slight force, and carefully inserted the hook pick.
Slowly, she counted the pins and tested their give, adjusting her torque a little so that she could push them up and have them spring back down. Next, she pushed the last pin—the most stubborn one—until the faint click told her that it had set. Then she tested it to make sure it had set correctly. The lock had six pins, so she repeated the process five more times. With all the pins set, her torsion wrench turned easily, and the door opened.
The guard, as expected, was sound asleep in the br
eak room. Next to the door, a keypad counted down the seconds until the alarm would sound. Ben punched in a code, and the small red warning light turned green. They crept down a short hall and into the storage room.
Autumn quietly closed the door to dampen any sound they might make. Ben’s target was in the safe, so she got out her stethoscope and set her pad and pencil on the floor. The pad showed two line graphs, which she’d need a little later. This safe was made of an alloy that didn’t conduct sounds as well as a safe made of metal, but that really only mattered to beginners. Though she estimated, based on the make and model of the safe, that it had five numbers in the combination, she needed to test it to make sure. She placed her stethoscope near the dial surface and twirled the dial. As she did so, she moved the bell end around to find the best amplification.
Turning the dial counterclockwise, she listened for two clicks close together. Once she found the spot, she repeated this twice more to verify it. Then she parked the wheels, positioning the dial 180 degrees opposite so that she could pick them up to find out if there were actually five numbers in the combination. Ben hovered nearby, giving her the signal to get moving. She ignored him. Breaking into a safe like this was a precision operation. She needed silence and no distractions. His part had been easy—reconnaissance. Plus, he was the one who wanted the item. Beyond the fact it was a painting by an up-and-coming Phoenix artist, Autumn didn’t know anything about it. Not only did she not need to know, but she didn’t care.
After she confirmed there were five numbers in the combination, she prepared to figure out what they were. Setting the dial to zero, she listened for clicks and recorded them on the graph. When watching people crack safes on the big screen, Autumn was always amazed that they never showed the math part of safecracking. She’d always excelled at math.
Re/Leased (Doms of the FBI Book 5) Page 21
