by Sharon Sala
Neil leaned closer to Caitlin, briefly touching her knee to draw her wavering attention.
At his touch, Caitlin turned, her focus shifting to the detective.
“Were you talking to me?”
Neil nodded.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Satisfied that, once again, he had her undivided attention, he continued. “I know this is difficult, but did you happen to see anyone lingering around the lobby when you and Mr. McKee came back from your walk?”
“Mike was the only person in the lobby.”
Neil’s focus shifted to Connor.
“Mr. McKee, during your outing with Miss Bennett, did you happen to notice anything out of the ordinary…like seeing the same person several times or—”
“No.”
“Are you certain? Think back. Was there anyone who—”
“Detective…I used to be a cop,” Mac said shortly. “I would have known if we were being followed.”
Neil’s expression didn’t change.
“Out of curiosity, what precinct did you work in?” Kowalksi asked.
“Not here. I live in Atlanta. I worked for the Atlanta PD for almost fifteen years before I started my own business.”
“Why did you leave the force?” Neil asked.
Mac glanced back at the detective and frowned.
“I wasn’t kicked off, if that’s what you’re getting at,” he said shortly. “Besides, what possible difference could it make what my career changes have been? You’re supposed to be investigating Caitlin’s background, not me.”
“Just covering all the angles,” Neil countered.
But Mac wasn’t through making his point. He resented the familiarity in the detective’s manner toward Caitlin and the condescension in his behavior toward him.
“I was at my ski lodge in Vail when I got the call that Caitlin had been hurt. Where the hell were you?”
Neil flinched, reeling from the unexpected attack as Kowalski stepped in.
“It’s not personal, Mr. McKee, and with your background, you should understand that.”
Mac turned a cool glance on the woman. “Detective Kowalski, isn’t it?”
She nodded.
“Ever been on the receiving end of an interrogation?”
“No, but—”
“Neither had I until now, and I’ll tell you flat out, it’s an insult.”
“I’m sorry?” Kowalski said.
“The questions you’re asking…the way in which they’re asked…they’re insulting. Four times in four different ways, you and your partner have questioned Miss Bennett’s memory and sanity. If she said she didn’t see anyone, she didn’t see anyone. If she doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember. If someone had been following us…trust me, I would have noticed.”
Then he stood and pointed to the padded envelope at Kowalski’s feet.
“Some son of a bitch wasted hours of his life catching and butchering a stupid rodent just to scare an innocent woman. Personally I think he’s watched too damned many horror movies. I also think he’s trying to take her down, both mentally and physically, because he knows he’ll never be able to rise to her level. Now, if there are no new questions, I’ll show you to the door. You’ll be wanting to interview the security guard, as well as check out the building. Oh…you might want to make a note of this. The security system inside Miss Bennett’s apartment is impenetrable. I know, because I designed it and had it installed. So…the nut can mail all the crap he wants, but he’s never going to touch her. Understand?”
“Bombs have been mailed,” Neil countered.
“People who hack up rats don’t have the intelligence to make a bomb. Besides, then the game would be over, wouldn’t it? And the game is what it’s all about.”
Caitlin had been silent throughout the conversation until Mac’s last statement. But she couldn’t let this pass.
“Mac?”
He turned. “What, honey?”
“What do you mean, the game is what it’s all about?”
He threw his hands up in frustration.
“Think about it, Caitie. I’m betting that since those letters began, he could have killed you a hundred times over, but he hasn’t. He’s getting off on your fear.”
Caitlin’s eyes widened as Mac’s words sank in.
“You’re right,” she said softly. “You’re absolutely right. I’ve been out on the streets alone countless times. The opportunity has been there at every turn. And still, what does he do? He writes letters. Maybe the police were right all along!” She jumped to her feet. “Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe it was an accident when I fell into the street. Maybe my only contact with this nut has been the letters after all.”
Now everyone, including Aaron, was staring at Caitlin as if she’d just lost what was left of her mind.
“What are you talking about?” Mac asked.
“You said it. He writes. I write. But he only writes letters. I write books. It isn’t the subject matter of my books that sets him off. It’s the fact that I can create something more than fear.” Then she shook her head, trying to make herself understood. “It’s like this,” she said, as she began to pace. “When a writer begins a new book, he or she is creating a whole world, populated with characters with a varying set of conflicts and problems. And during the story, we the writers are in control of everything. Oh…sometimes the characters take over, but that’s beside the point. What I mean is…from a skewed point of view, we give life…though only to our stories. This man, whoever he is, has no power. No control. The only thing he can create is fear, and although the letters can’t hurt me, I’ve given him control by giving into the fear.” She slapped the table with the flat of her hand. “But no more! I will not be frightened anymore.”
Neil stood, following Caitlin across the room. “Please, Miss Bennett, I urge you to reconsider your attitude. Complacency is dangerous. Don’t bet your life on such a far-fetched theory. You don’t know what a man like this might do.”
“My partner is right,” Kowalski said.
Mac frowned. Both detectives were pushing Caitlin pretty hard. The look on her face was somewhere between frustrated and cornered. Without thinking, he stepped between them, breaking their focus and giving Caitlin some breathing room.
“Look,” he said, “right now, it’s a toss-up as to what will happen next. The only sure thing is if the little bastard tries to get to Caitlin, he’s going to have to come through me first.”
Caitlin’s gasp was soft, but Aaron heard it just the same. He started to tease his brother about his unexpected show of chivalry, then saw the look on her face. It occurred to him that there were far too many people in the room. Now it was time for the other brother to come to her aid.
“I’ll see you to the door,” Aaron announced, then waved to the detectives and sailed out of the room, giving them no option but to follow, and leaving Mac and Caitlin alone.
Caitlin was still in shock. She’d heard what he’d said, but the enormity of the vow was just starting to sink in. When she saw his expression and the cold anger in his eyes, her heart started to pound.
“Mac?”
The grim lines softened slightly around his mouth as he answered. “What, honey?”
“Just now, when you said he would have to come through you to get to me? You were serious, weren’t you?”
His nostrils flared. “Damn right.”
“But why? I’ve been nothing but rude to you since you came. Until a day or two ago, I wasn’t even sure that you liked me.”
He took a deep breath, as if considering his answer, and then he smiled ruefully. “Until a day or two ago, I wasn’t sure if I liked you, either.”
“What changed?” she asked.
“Us.”
“But how—”
“It’s like this,” he said. “I’m not too crazy about your choice of foods, but I like your honesty. I think you have more guts than any woman I’ve ever met, you’re beautiful a
nd sexy, and I like to kiss you.” His voice softened. “I like it a whole damn lot.”
Now her hands were trembling so hard she clasped them together in hopes he wouldn’t notice.
“I don’t see how you could think I’m sexy. My face is black-and-blue.”
“And a little bit green,” he said, pointing toward her eyebrow. “Especially around the stitches.”
She rolled her eyes. “Such a sweet-talking man. No wonder the women flock to you.”
“I’m not interested in women, just you.”
“I don’t want you to be interested,” she said quietly.
Mac took a step toward her, then cupped her face with both hands.
“Why, Caitie? Why don’t you want me to care?”
She looked up at him then, her heart in her eyes.
“Because it won’t last. It can’t. We’re too different. Besides, I don’t want to be hurt.”
“I would never hurt you,” he said softly, rubbing his thumbs across the edge of her lower lip.
A longing hit Caitlin in the pit of her stomach as his fingers grazed her lips, then her cheeks, and she shuddered, wondering, if she let this happen, how long it would take her to go up in smoke.
“You wouldn’t mean to, but you would. It couldn’t be any other way,” she said.
“I would never hurt you,” he repeated, and then lowered his head.
His mouth was warm, bathing her lips in tenderness; then the pressure intensified. Caitlin reached for him then, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into his strength. He felt the trembling in her body and the hesitance in her kiss, and ached for so much more.
Suddenly aware of footsteps, they broke apart. When Aaron came back into the room, Caitlin was on her way into the kitchen and Mac was standing at the window with his hands in his pockets.
“What did I miss?” Aaron asked.
Mac turned, his expression blank. “What did you say?”
“Don’t play innocent with me,” Aaron said. “I saw the look that passed between you two. I may not be straight, but I know lust when I see it.”
“It’s not lust,” Mac said before he thought, and then cursed beneath his breath. “Oh God, Aaron, I’m in over my head.”
“What do you mean?”
“Caitlin. I do not want this to be happening.”
Aaron resisted the urge to clap his hands and continued to play dumb. “I’m not following you,” he said. “What don’t you want to happen?”
Mac turned then, glaring pointedly at his brother’s smirk.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think you set this whole thing up just to get us together. You’ve talked about it incessantly for years.”
Aaron’s smirk blossomed. “Is it working?”
Mac’s glare darkened. “If by working, you mean am I going out of my mind worrying about her, then yes. This needs to be over—and soon. We’ve got to find out who’s threatening her and stop it before I do something I might regret.”
The smirk faded, leaving Aaron with a worried frown.
“Stop speaking in riddles, damn it. For once, can’t you just say what you mean?”
Mac sighed. “I’m attracted to Caitlin.”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “I fail to see the problem there,” he said. “She’s a wonderful woman. Why is that bad?”
“Because I don’t do commitments, and you know it.”
“Well…I’ve heard you say that for years now, but frankly, I think that’s been your safety net. Sarah has been gone for years and now you date airheads who can’t even spell commitment. That precludes you having to invest anything of yourself in them.” He punched Mac playfully on the arm. “Hot damn, big brother, I think it’s finally happened.”
“What?” Mac muttered.
“You’re falling in love. Now I’m going to tell Caitlin goodbye and leave you two alone.”
Mac’s stomach knotted. “Come on, Aaron. Don’t leave now. Stay and have dinner with us tonight.”
Aaron hesitated, then shook his head. “I’ve got an appointment in less than an hour. As for dinner, I can’t do that, either. I have a date.”
Mac shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “Have fun,” he muttered.
“You, too,” Aaron said. “And be nice, while you’re at it.”
“That’s just it,” he said. “Being nice and having fun have never been synonymous.”
Aaron laughed. “It’s a shame you’re so damned tall.”
Mac frowned. “What the hell does my height have to do with anything?”
“It’s just that much farther for you to fall.”
Mac sighed in defeat. “Weren’t you leaving?”
“On my way,” Aaron said. “Oh…just in case you want to do something to impress her, she likes—”
Mac interrupted. “It doesn’t matter what she likes,” he said. “This isn’t going to happen, no matter what you think. I’ll call you if anything breaks on the case. See yourself out. I’m going to make some calls. God only knows what’s happening to my business.”
“If you were so reluctant to have anything to do with Caitlin, then how come you dropped everything the moment I said she was in trouble?” Aaron held up his hands. “Never mind. You don’t have to answer. But think about it, will you? You know what they say about the fine line between love and hate. Personally I think there’s been something between you two all along, but you were both too afraid to acknowledge it.”
Aaron left with a flourish. Mac heard him calling out a goodbye to Caitlin and then heard the front door slam. Seconds later, the phone rang. He waited, knowing Caitlin would answer. A few moments later, he heard footsteps coming down the hall from her office. Holding his breath, he waited. She came into the room carrying the phone.
“It’s Atlanta…for you.”
“Caitlin, I—”
“I’ll be working in my office for the next few hours. Order up if you get hungry.”
He’d been dismissed without fanfare. Glaring at her backside, he shoved the phone to his ear.
Ten
“How do I look?” Caitlin asked as she exited the doctor’s office. The stitches were gone, and two tiny butterfly bandages had been left in their place.
Mac glanced at her eyebrow and then into her eyes.
“You’ve been crying.”
She grimaced. “It hurt when he took the stitches out. I’m fine. How does it look?”
“Fine.”
“Right answer, wrong tone of voice,” Caitlin said. “Just for that, you have to take me shopping.”
“Shopping? I thought we were—”
“It’s almost Christmas. I still don’t have Aaron’s gift, and I want to buy something for Uncle John and Mike.”
Mac frowned. “I didn’t think your father had any living relatives.”
“He didn’t.”
“Then who’s Uncle John?”
Caitlin smiled. “John Steiner. He was Daddy’s chauffeur for years. After Daddy’s death, he refused retirement to work for me. He isn’t really a relative, but he feels like it in my heart.”
Envious of the tender way in which she spoke of the man, Mac popped off before he thought.
“So you inspire loyalty,” Mac said. “I am surprised.”
Caitlin waggled her finger in his face. “Strike two, mister. Now you have to buy me dinner, as well.”
“Don’t push your luck, honey, or you’ll be the one furnishing dessert,” he said, taking some measure of satisfaction in the blush on her face as he helped her into her coat. “So…where to first?”
“FAO Schwartz.”
“For Aaron?”
“Are you going to argue with me the whole evening? Because if you are, you can just take yourself back to my apartment. I’ll do my shopping and eat dinner by myself. It’s not like it will be the first time a man has let me down.”
Mac glared. She’d been perverse all day. He suspected it had something to do with the kiss. Well, he had ne
ws for her. He felt like picking a fight with someone, too. She might not know it, but she wasn’t the only one floundering for footing in the turn their relationship had taken.
They reached the elevator in silence. Mac pushed the button and then, as they waited, noticed that the top two buttons of her coat were undone.
“You missed a couple,” he said, and gently turned her to face him, then did up the buttons. “It’s cold out. You don’t want to get sick on top of everything else now, do you?”
Suddenly the antagonism between them was gone.
“No,” she said, quietly watching the concentration on his face as he fastened her coat and noticing that there were tiny gold flecks in the blue of his eyes.
“There, that’s better,” he said, and then the elevator opened and he ushered her on.
As they exited the office building onto the street, Mac felt Caitlin slip her hand beneath his elbow.
“Do we take a cab?” he asked.
“No. FAO Schwartz is only a few blocks away.”
They started walking, sometimes moving with, sometimes against, the crowds on the street. Mac soon noticed Caitlin’s unusual silence, but when he glanced down at her, he knew something was wrong. Her face was chalk-white, her eyes wide and fixed upon the face of everyone they met. It hit him then that this was Caitlin’s first venture out in public since the rat had been delivered.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded without answering.
A block passed, and then a second, before they hit a red light. They reached the curb and stood within the gathering crowd, waiting for the light to change. As they did, Mac could feel her trembling. Without comment, he lifted his arm and slipped it around her shoulder in a sheltering manner, pulling her close against his side.
It was his gentleness that was her undoing. Caitlin started to cry. Softly, without sound, she turned in his arms and buried her face against his chest, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.
