by Rebecca Deel
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyebrows soaring at her question. “Sure. Why?”
“Camouflage. Beckett or Jones will be banging on the door any minute. If I’m not finished, hold them off.” Lacey snatched the scissors from his hand and hurried to her bathroom. She needed to do this fast, then change her shirt at least. She had to cover up the bandage on her arm. Seeing that would raise questions she and Jake didn’t want to answer.
In front of the bathroom mirror, Lacey grabbed a comb from her makeup bag and set to work. Within two minutes, she had changed her hairstyle to create long bangs, covering the injury to her forehead. She gathered the remnants of her hair from the sink and flushed it. Can’t have Beckett or his buddies realizing she had given herself a new hairstyle in the past two minutes.
When she heard a pounding on Jake’s door, Lacey ran to her suitcase and grabbed another shirt, this one a long-sleeved black t-shirt. She retreated to the bathroom as a rumble of male voices reached her ears. She changed her shirt and checked her hair again to be sure her handiwork was still in place. After a quick spritz of hair spray, Lacey returned to Jake’s room. To his credit, he’d held the cops in the hallway despite their obvious frustration and increasing ire. She walked further into the room and noticed all signs of him treating her injuries had vanished. The two operatives had cleared away everything that might generate questions, including her torn and bloody shirt.
Cade turned, stared a moment, and nodded in approval. He coughed softly.
“You either let us in, Davenport, or we’ll just haul you and your buddy down to the station along with Lacey. It’s where you all belong anyway.”
Will Beckett. Of course. Who else would enjoy flaunting his authority more than the chief’s son?
Jake spread his hands and stepped back. Will surged into the room, followed by two more officers, all with weapons drawn.
Todd Jones brought up the rear. He scanned the room, his gaze landing on Lacey. Although he narrowed his eyes, he didn’t comment on her change in appearance.
Will’s gaze slowly dropped from her head to her feet, a gleam growing as his attention lingered on certain places. “Looking good, baby,” he said, his voice deeper than normal. “You should keep better company than these two yahoos.”
“You don’t have the right to call me that,” she snapped. “I don’t want anything to do with you, and you mean nothing to me.”
Anger flared in his eyes. His hands fisted as he lunged toward her.
Cade moved in front of her, and before his coworkers could react to stop whatever he planned to do, Jake collared the belligerent cop and shoved him against the wall, arm pressed against Will’s throat.
When the others moved to intervene, Todd ordered them to stand down.
“You already laid hands on my woman once. You will not touch her again. Do I make myself clear, Beckett?” Jake’s voice was pitched low, but every word could be heard by all the room’s occupants.
“You’re under arrest for assaulting an officer,” he croaked.
“No, he’s not,” Todd said. “When Jake lets you go, you’re walking out of here without another word.”
“He assaulted me.”
“He protected his girlfriend from an abusive cop. I know what he’s capable of, Beckett. You’re lucky you’re still breathing. You want to try and press charges against Davenport? There are six people in this room who will swear Lacey was afraid and her boyfriend neutralized the threat to her safety.” He tapped Jake on the shoulder. “Let him go. Beckett’s going back on patrol.”
Another minute passed with Will’s face growing redder by the second before Jake stepped back.
“You’ll pay for that,” the furious cop muttered and shoved past Jake. A moment later, the elevator signal indicated Will had left the floor.
Jake signaled Cade and his fellow operative slipped from the room.
“Where’s he going?” Todd asked.
“To make sure Beckett leaves the premises.” Jake walked to Lacey’s side and brushed her lips with his.
She smiled. “That’s three,” Lacey whispered.
“Keeping count, are you?”
“You bet. I’m looking forward to the real thing.”
His eyes glittered. “So am I. More than you know.”
Todd cleared his throat. “Can we sit down, please? I have to ask you where you’ve been since you left the police station.”
Jake wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to one of the two chairs in the room. “Why?”
The detective ignored his question. “Have you been to your mother’s place, Lacey?” His eyes held a silent warning to be careful what she said.
He already knew she and Jake had been at the house. They had told him earlier in the interrogation room. Her mother’s neighbors had been at work so that left Will Beckett as the one who was pointing fingers at her. But what was he accusing her of?
“Jake and I went to Mom’s right after we left the coffee shop this morning. The coffee was horrible, in case you were wondering.”
One of the cops at the door grinned. “Ain’t that the truth? Tastes like runoff from the city dump.”
Cade returned to the room, key card in his hand. He looked at Jake and nodded.
Good. At least one of their problems was out of the way for now. She was sure Will would pop up again when they least wanted him as was his habit of late.
“Why were you at Yvonne’s place?”
“As I told Officer Beckett at the time, I own the house. I let Mom stay there so that it’s occupied, but she’s not paying the mortgage or the utilities. I do. Jake and I went to house to see if we could find anything to indicate where she might have gone. Most people think she took off with a john. I don’t believe that for one minute.”
The uniformed cops shifted their weight.
“Did you find anything to indicate where she went?”
Lacey was careful not to look at Jake. What could she say? She was a terrible liar and under most circumstances, that was a good thing. Now, though, she didn’t need to incriminate either of them. Jake had found the paper with the mysterious notation on it, but they didn’t know if the notation meant anything. It might be for a different appointment reminder, one on a later date. Her mother had a habit of forgetting appointments so she routinely made notes like that ahead of time to remind herself of what was coming. “If we had, we would have called you.”
“Officer Beckett believes you removed something from the house that belonged to your mother.”
“Really? Did he say what he thinks I took?”
“Will you give me permission to look through your belongings?”
“Hold up,” Jake said. “I think Lacey should call her lawyer.”
Todd inclined his head. “That’s up to you. I don’t have a warrant at this time, but I won’t have a problem obtaining one.”
Cade snorted. “I’ll bet,” he murmured.
Thankful for Jake’s forethought in preparing her for this eventuality, Lacey said, “You have my permission as long as you search my bags in my presence.”
He nodded in agreement and looked at Jake, shifting his inquiry to the Fortress operative without verbalizing the question again. “Only if I unload the bags. You can watch, but no touching my supplies.”
“Unusual restriction, but I agree to your terms. Let’s start with your bags, Lacey.”
She led Todd into her room with Jake following a step behind. Motioning to the detective to go ahead, Lacey sat on the opposite bed while the policeman pawed through her suitcase. Jake sat beside her, his hand wrapped around hers.
“Is this the only bag you have?”
“Aside from my purse.”
“May I search that?”
“Go ahead.”
Todd dumped the contents of her purse on the bed and sifted through everything. “Thank you. Jake, you’re next.”
Cade, who had remained in the other room with the two uniformed officers, moved away from Jake’s ba
gs at their approach. The medic hauled his bags to the bed and systematically unpacked everything, starting with his mike bag.
Lacey was astonished at the amount of medical supplies Jake hauled around. That bag must weigh a ton and she knew he also carried heavy weaponry as well.
“Incredible.” Todd stared at all the medical supplies. “This is your normal stash?”
Jake grinned as he repacked. “This is a scaled down version. If I was going on deployment, there would be more.”
“Why did you insist on unpacking that yourself?” One of the cops by the door asked. “Looks like a bunch of bandages and stuff.”
“I have to be able to put my hands on these supplies in seconds. In the field, I don’t have time to hunt for the right bandage or a suture kit.”
“You actually stitch people up in the field?”
“Some of our missions are in remote locations. If injuries are severe enough, a teammate could die before we reach medical help. Fortress medics are almost as well trained as doctors.”
“Impressive.” Todd indicated the next large bag. “What’s in that one?”
The medic unzipped his black bag and started pulling guns and knives from the darkened interior until there was a pile on the bed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jake stood back as the three cops surrounded the bed, shock and envy in their gazes as they stared at his weapons stash. He smiled. “This is also a scaled down version of what I carry on deployment.”
“What else would you pack?” Todd asked.
“RPG plus several grenades, more ammunition, a rifle, C-4, detonator, flashbangs, concussion grenades.”
A soft whistle from the detective. “Nice. Must weigh a ton.”
Cade leaned one shoulder against the wall, seeming at ease. Lacey didn’t buy the illusion for one minute. She had a feeling the operative could react to a threat in a split second.
“Easily fifty pounds or more.” Jake started to repack his bag. “Depending on where we’re deployed, my teammates and I carry as much as 100 pounds of gear.”
“Man, you guys must train like demons to carry out maneuvers with that much added weight.”
“It pays to be in better shape than the terrorists,” Cade said. “Keeps us alive.”
“In our business, being fit saves our hide, too.” When the bag was secured again, Todd nodded at the third bag on the bed. “What’s in there?”
“Clothes and shaving kit.” He went through the same routine, unpacking the contents and spreading it out on the bed for the officers to see, then stored his gear again.
“Know anything about an explosion and fire at the Martin place?”
And there it was. The real reason for this friendly visit. Todd was fishing for information. “Why would I?”
“If there was something that incriminated your girlfriend in that old cabin, you might be inclined to set a bomb to destroy the evidence.”
He reconsidered the idea of fishing. Maybe a witness had spotted them in the area. “I’m a medic, not an EOD guy, and as you’ve seen I’m also not carrying C-4.”
“If you were carrying, I doubt you would have agreed to the search of your belongings so easily. Mind if we search your rooms?” Todd asked.
“Knock yourselves out. Same stipulation applies. We have to be in the room to watch.” Prevented the possibility of one of the cops planting evidence, a less likely occurrence now that Beckett was out of the room.
The search took a matter of minutes since neither he nor Lacey had stored anything outside their luggage. Finally, Todd held out his hand. “I appreciate your cooperation. We’ll get out of your way.”
Jake shook the detective’s hand, then shoved his hand in his pocket. “We want to hear the minute you find out anything about Yvonne.”
“I’ll be in touch.” After a brief handclasp with Lacey, he and the other policemen left.
Cade eased the door open an inch and watched through the opening. A moment later, he secured the door. “You think Beckett put them up to this stunt?”
“I’d bet on it.”
Lacey sat on the edge of the bed. “How did Will know we took something from the house?”
“He’ll be disappointed Todd didn’t find anything incriminating in our possession.” Could be the surly cop just took a shot in the dark to see if he hit anything.
Cade returned to his position against the wall. “What did you take?”
“Ten thousand dollars in cash and a piece of paper with a meeting time and the letter M on it.”
He frowned. “Does your mother routinely keep that much cash on hand, Lacey?”
“She works in a diner. Mom never had that much money on hand in her life. She also has a house full of new furniture that I can’t explain either.”
“Cops have an explanation?”
She sighed. “Mom’s past is colorful, to say the least. She was arrested several times for public intoxication and prostitution.”
“Ah. The cops think she’s gone back to her old habits.”
“That’s the prevailing theory.” Jake grabbed a few dollars from his wallet and handed them to Cade. “Vending machine is down the hall to the left.”
“What do you want?”
“Three bottles of water and a soft drink. Lacey needs to take pain meds and replenish her fluid level.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
Jake crouched in front of his girl. “I like the haircut.” He brushed back her bangs to check her forehead. “Smart move. Hides your bruise and helps us avoid scrutiny. Headache worse?”
She laughed softly. “How did you know?”
“I can see it in your eyes.”
“Sounds like the lyrics to a love song.”
“It also happens to be true. You handled yourself like a pro with the police, Lacey.” He trailed his fingertips down her cheek. “Did I scare you?”
“When?”
“The confrontation with Will.”
“Of course not.”
“Good. I don’t want to do that. I would never hurt you.”
“I know, Jake.”
“Do you? Frank was a poor excuse for a man. I don’t want you to lump me in with him as a lout who can’t control himself or his temper.”
“Never.” She entwined their fingers. “You don’t have to convince me. Besides, if you ever touched me in anger, Brent and Adam would tear you apart.”
Oh, yeah. Should Jake ever hurt Lacey, he wouldn’t live to regret such a boneheaded move. His boss and his team leader had a soft spot for Lacey Coleman. The truth was, though, their affection for the lady was mild compared to the depth of emotion he felt. He was just beginning to realize how much he cared about her. “I want a promise from you.”
“What kind?”
“If I ever do anything that scares you or makes you uncomfortable, tell me so we can talk about it.”
“I promise.”
“Lacey, you’ll have some bad moments when memories of what you went through with Frank will surface.”
Her cheeks flushed. “They told you.”
Jake squeezed her fingers. “Not directly. I heard enough to put the pieces together for myself. When we’re alone and you’re ready, I’d like you to tell me about Frank and your relationship with him. In the meantime, when those bad moments come, we’ll handle them together.”
“Okay. When do I get the first of those kisses you owe me?”
He chuckled. “Patience. Soon.”
Cade returned with water and soft drinks. His eyebrows raised. “Should I come back later?”
Jake kissed the back of Lacey’s hand and rose. “Not necessary. When do you have to leave?”
“I’m not. I talked to Z, told him we would overnight the blood sample to the lab. You need someone to watch your back.”
“Appreciate it, Cade.”
“Yep. Okay if I bunk in here with you?”
“Sure.”
The other operative dropped onto the first bed and propped hims
elf against the headboard. “We didn’t have much time before the cops interrupted the party. Bring me up to speed.”
Between them, he and Lacey gave Cade the information they cobbled together since arriving in town, precious little in light of what they needed to know to find Yvonne.
Cade scowled. “You’re telling me there’s a serial killer on the loose in Winston and the local cops haven’t called in outside help?”
“No bodies according to the detective, but that’s the gist of it.”
“How many years has this guy been hunting?”
“Todd didn’t say anything about the women being taken by a man,” Lacey pointed out. “And there’s no proof the women are dead.”
“The first woman taken still hasn’t been found. Odds are she and the rest are dead. Statistics say most serial killers are men. I just can’t see a woman being guilty of the crime.”
Lacey stared at Cade. “You think my mother is dead?”
Jake shot his coworker a warning look. He didn’t disagree with Cade’s assumption, but wanted to spare Lacey the anguish of believing something that hadn’t yet been proved.
“Every hour she’s gone makes the chance of finding her alive more remote.”
Another glare at Cade. “The point is, Lacey, we need to find your mother, fast.”
“But how? We don’t have anything to go on.”
“I wouldn’t say that. We have the injuries to prove we stumbled onto a kill house.”
Lacey straightened. “Your burns. Let me see.”
Cade straightened. “You’re hurt, Jake?”
“It’s nothing.”
“I want to see,” Lacey insisted. “You took great care of me. Let me help you.”
He started to refuse and reconsidered. His girlfriend needed this, he realized, and reached for the hem of his black t-shirt. While Jake yanked his shirt over his head, Cade opened the mike bag.
“Turn around so I can look at your back.” Lacey’s soft hands gripped his upper arms and exerted pressure. She drew in a ragged breath. “Oh, Jake. You have several burns back here and a couple on your arms.”
Yeah, now that she mentioned them, he could feel the ache and constant throbbing. Amazing what symptoms adrenaline dump masked. “I have burn ointment in the mike bag.”
