Energized

by Mary Behre

  As if he could feel her eyes on him, Niall turned and met her gaze. His wicked green eyes sparkled but he nodded his head to her right. Hannah followed his gaze to the table full of gray- and white-haired people waiting anxiously for the tray of food propped on her shoulder.

  “Oh, good. Is that for us?” a woman in a dress as white as her short hair asked in a voice that was both elegant and southern. “We are famished.”

  “That’s perfect because you’re about to have the best gluten-free meal you’ve ever tasted.” Hannah set the tray on a nearby stand and quickly served the plates of chicken marsala, linguini with red clam sauce, and stuffed peppers. “Enjoy! Do you need anything else?”

  They waved her away and Hannah hustled back to the kitchen to pick up the next table’s order. It had been like that since seven o’clock. By ten thirty, the crowd had started to thin. By eleven thirty, they were cleaning up and Ross was practically dancing in the office.

  “Tell me again, Bro! I know you’re dying to say it. I was right. My change was right. Making all the menu items gluten-free options was the smartest thing we could have done. I told you it was worth the investment to have two separate spaces for cooking and preparing food, one for gluten free and one for regular. Tonight proved it! We have three different requests to cater after the wedding. And not just weddings. We’ve been asked to do an office party, a bar mitzvah, and someone’s fiftieth anniversary.” Ross pumped his fist in the air. “Am I good or what?”

  Niall, who’d been in the tiny office, rose from his seat and moved to stand in the doorway between the office and the kitchen. He patted his brother on the back. “You did good tonight. But you have to admit it was just luck that we got that celiac group tonight. They didn’t even know the Cat existed.”

  “Not luck. Divine intervention.” Ross shook his head, the smile in his eyes dimming. “Call it what you want, we’re on the map now. Just like I said we would be.”

  “You said it would be the wedding this weekend that did that.”

  Ross’s smile vanished. “You can’t say anything positive to me, can you?” He stormed outside, the screen door bouncing against the frame twice before it slammed shut.

  The electric atmosphere was gone. Hannah finished loading the plates into the dishwasher, then came around the half wall to hear Virgil say in a low tone to Niall, “You need to go easier on him. He did a good job tonight.”

  Niall’s lips thinned but he nodded. “Everyone did a good job tonight. He wasn’t alone out there.”

  Niall met her gaze and Hannah’s heart skipped a beat. It was insane. That visceral reaction. When he turned those vivid green eyes on her, she was as malleable as Play-Doh. And yes, that did make her think of having his hands on her body.

  Her cheeks burned and she averted her gaze before he could read the lust in her eyes.

  He was her boss.

  And he had called her a dog.

  Why do I have to be attracted to jerks?

  The kitchen door swung open. Sadie and Dawn came through, followed closely by Detectives O’Dell and Reynolds. One look at their faces and Hannah’s stomach dropped.

  “Miss Halloran,” said Detective O’Dell, “we’re going to need you to come with us.”

  * * *

  BY FOUR IN the morning, Niall had had enough. He’d seen the way those cops had looked at Hannah last night. They hadn’t handcuffed her in the Boxing Cat. They had waited until she was in the parking lot, like that concession lessened her humiliation.

  Fucking assholes. She had cooperated with them and still they had insisted on the full monty arrest, the entire time saying she wasn’t under arrest. Right, like they handcuff witnesses. Sitting in the back of the cruiser, Hannah had hung her head in defeat. And that had seriously pissed him off.

  Without so much as a search or arrest warrant, those cops barged into his restaurant and carted her downtown.

  Only Karma’s promise to call him when Hannah came home kept Niall from following them to the station. And risk getting arrested for kicking some major ass. So he waited. And waited. And fucking waited more.

  Four and a half hours later and Karma still hadn’t called. The sun would be up in less than two hours and Niall had spent half the night in a restless sleep, waking every hour to check his cell phone.

  He couldn’t take it anymore and picked up the phone to dial Karma.

  His phone rang in his hand. It was Karma calling him.

  “Niall, have you heard from Hannah?”

  “Crap. That answers my question. She still hasn’t come home?” Niall sat on the edge of his bed and pulled on his socks and shoes. He’d slept in his jeans and shirt.

  “No. Zig hasn’t come home yet either. Wait, there goes my call waiting.” An eternity passed in the sixty seconds he sat on hold. Finally she came back, her accent thick. “Damn. Zig says they can hold her all day if they want. Something about waiting for the medical examiner to determine the time of death. They need to rule her out as a suspect since she reported the murder in the first place. God, Niall. I was only trying to help. I didn’t think they’d accuse her. But you did, didn’t you? It’s why you tried to stop us, because you think she’s guilty too? She’s not. I swear—”

  “No, I don’t think she’s guilty.” Niall cut her off. “She’s special and unusual and pretty damned scary with her psychic shit, but no, I don’t think she killed anyone. But I have seen what happens when cops get their hands on someone who knows things they shouldn’t.”

  “You’re talking about when I went to the cops. It wasn’t like this when I reported the missing kid to them. They just laughed and ignored me.” Karma sniffed into the phone.

  “You aren’t the only person I know with, um . . . gifts.” He could have explained, but honestly, the whole conversation weirded him out and continuing it wouldn’t help Hannah. “I worried last night that the cops might accuse her. It’s why I drove y’all to the station on Wednesday.”

  And why he’d picked them up after, to make sure Hannah didn’t need an attorney. Now she sat in the station being grilled.

  Not on his watch.

  “I’ll go get her.”

  “That might not be as easy as you think. Hannah’s stuck in an interrogation room with those two jerk detectives from the night before. Zig said he tried to talk to them, but they wouldn’t listen and had him sent out on patrol. He’s just a kid to them. Never mind that he earned the Silver Star earlier this year. Assholes.” She sounded close to tears. “Dev is out of town until this afternoon and I don’t know how to reach Seth. He and Jules are supposed to be picking up relatives from the airport today. I know Hannah said she wanted to reach out to them herself, but I couldn’t just leave her at the station like that, all alone. God, Niall, this sucks.”

  “Karma, I need you to get some rest. I’m going to need you to run the Cat for me this morning. Get to the restaurant by eight. After last night we’re probably low on stock. Get it checked. Get with Virgil to do the shopping. Make sure Miss Renee is on schedule for the wedding cake for tomorrow. And help Ross prepare for the wedding. I’ll go to the station to be with Hannah.”

  “Sorry, Boss, but what can you do that Zig couldn’t?”

  “I’ve got friends in high places. Old Marines buddies.” He wouldn’t pull those strings unless he had to. “Just do what I said. The next time you see me, I’ll have Hannah with me.”

  “You called her special and unusual but not crazy. Does this mean you believe in her visions?”

  “I never said I didn’t.”

  * * *

  NIALL PULLED HIS truck into a parallel spot on the street in front of the station and cut the engine. Two hours. He’d promised Karma that he’d get Hannah out of the station and he’d damned well do it. He just hadn’t dreamed he’d really need to call in a favor from Tommy Parker. Nor had he expected the man to show up at five minutes to s
ix in the morning.

  Tommy pulled his silver 1959 Ferrari GT Spider into the spot behind Niall’s truck. Dressed in an expensive black suit and red tie, the man looked like what he was, powerful. He was also one of the sharpest Marines Niall had ever known.

  On the sidewalk, he extended his hand and Tommy shook it. “Thank you for meeting me.”

  “No problem. You sure this girl’s innocent, Sarge?” Tommy stepped back and stood at parade rest.

  “It’s just Niall here, Marine. And yes, as soon as you meet her you’ll know she couldn’t kill anything. Hell, she shares her sandwiches with stray dogs. She’s a little unique and was trying to do the right thing. All she did was report a murder. Now she’s in over her head.”

  “Tell me again how she witnessed this murder?”

  Niall hesitated then decided to risk the truth. “She had a vision. She touched a knife and saw the murder happen. Sounds nuts, I know, but it’s true. I was there right after her vision. You should have seen her. She was pale and shaking. She didn’t look like a killer. She looked ready to throw up. Trust me, Lucky Charm,” Niall said, using Tommy’s nickname from the Marines. “She was telling the truth.”

  A muscle worked in Tommy’s cheek but otherwise he remained motionless for a moment. Then he blinked his eyes and sighed. “Okay, a vision. Great. How long has she been in town?”

  “Less than three days. She arrived by bus on Tuesday. Since then, she’s been with Karma or me the whole time.”

  “Been with you?” Tommy let the words hang in the air.

  “At the Cat, dirt brain. She works for me. Nothing else.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Niall didn’t glance away from his fellow Marine. He maintained eye contact, trying to ignore the itch at the base of his neck that he got whenever he lied. Not that he was lying now, per se. Hannah was his employee. And there wasn’t anything else between them. Anymore.

  “Let’s say I believe you. You’re just a great boss looking out for his pretty server.”

  “I never said she was pretty,” Niall replied defensively, then immediately snapped his mouth shut when Tommy grinned.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought . . . Leave the talking to me. We’ll get her out of this mess. At least for now.”

  * * *

  THE INSIDE OF the police station made Niall’s throat close. The faux dark-wood-paneled walls lined a narrow walkway between desks, shoved against one another. Pictures of presidents, sailboats, and the raising of the flag at Ground Zero added what was supposed to be character to the room.

  The effect was cramped. Too many desks, chairs, pictures, computers, lamps, and personal crap in the room.

  Niall rolled his shoulders to loosen the knots in his neck, scanning for both Hannah and the exit doors.

  No way could he stay in this building for long. Right now, it was mostly empty of people. In an hour, the place would be overflowing with cops coming on and getting off shift. There would be discussion of cases, fresh coffee, and if the plates and coffeepot on the folding table in the far corner were any indication, food.

  A normal morning.

  Just like in the barracks.

  Sweat trickled down his back as he fought to shove away the memories and remain in the present. He wasn’t overseas. He wasn’t under attack. He was in Tidewater. In the police station.

  For Hannah.

  He exhaled a slow sigh of relief.

  Hannah of the tawny-colored eyes and fairy face needed him.

  “We’re here to see Hannah Halloran. We’re her attorneys,” Tommy said to the rotund uniformed cop with a badge that read Spacey, who came through a side door.

  Niall had worked with Tommy enough to know when the man started talking, to let him lead. The Lucky Charm had gotten him out of deadlier situations.

  The cop frowned, pulling the door closed behind him. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Tom Parker. Her attorney. Now, please take us to her.” Tommy stared intensely at the man until he nodded.

  Officer Spacey knocked on the door he’d just come through, then opened it a degree. “I got Miss Halloran’s attorneys here to see her.”

  The door pushed open to reveal two men seated on one side of a table nearly as wide as the tiny interrogation room and a very pale Hannah on the other. She turned her red-rimmed eyes to him and Niall wanted to yank her out of the room and run until they reached Fincastle. Go back to the beginning, when she didn’t look frightened, or lost, or hopeless.

  “Hi, Hannah,” Tom said striding into the room, his hand extended. “I’m Tom Parker. You know Niall. We’re here to take you home.”

  Hannah glanced from Tommy to Niall, her expression hopeful.

  “You can’t take her anywhere. We’re questioning her.” One of the detectives pushed to his feet. His bushy black mustache quivering and his beady blue eyes snapping fire. “Detective O’Dell, tell Mr. Parker here what Ms. Halloran told us.”

  The second detective, dressed like the first in a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, tan pants, and scuffed brown shoes, looked slightly less rumpled than his partner. “She showed up here night before last talking about a murder. Giving us details only the killer could know. And what do you know, a body was found last night. Murdered in the exact manner she’d described.”

  “Hmmm . . . very interesting.” Tommy sat down on the corner of the table with his back to the detectives. “Is this right, Ms. Halloran? Did you describe the murder?”

  Hannah glanced at Niall. The question in her eyes and the goddamned trust had his chest aching. He nodded at her.

  “Yes, sir. I had a vision of the murder and tried to report it two nights ago.”

  The two detectives erupted in a show of pounding the table with their fists and declarations of “Bullshit. You killed him. Admit it.”

  Niall curled his hands into fists and fought to keep his temper in check. As if he knew it, Tommy gave him a reassuring nod. With a dismissive wave of his hand he said, “You don’t have to respond, Hannah.”

  Tommy met Niall’s gaze and there was no mistaking the banked fury there. That was something else the Lucky Charm could be counted on for: he hated for the innocent to be even verbally abused.

  Niall moved from his anchor in the doorway to stand beside Hannah. He braced a hand on her shoulder and faced his old buddy. “Are we done here?”

  “No,” the detectives said at the same time Tommy replied, “Yes.”

  Niall lifted Hannah’s tie-dyed backpack from the floor and helped her to her feet. He wanted to put his arm around her. Hold her. Comfort her. She looked so fucking frightened. But those red-rimmed eyes held determination, not tears, so he settled for carrying her bag and following her out the door.

  “She requested a lawyer hours ago. Why is it I didn’t get a call until thirty minutes ago?” Tommy’s voice carried into the main room. “You had no right to interrogate my client without my presence after she asked for me. You’re walking a thin line, detectives. Why don’t you go out and try to find the real killer instead of wasting time harassing a young woman who wasn’t even in the Commonwealth when the murder happened? And yes, I already spoke with the M.E. I know the victim died over the weekend. My client hadn’t even arrived in Tidewater until three days ago. The day after, she reported the murder. Had you done just a little checking, you’d have discovered she has an unassailable alibi. We’re done here. If you want to speak to her again, you had better call me first.”

  Then Tommy led the charge out of the building.

  On the sidewalk, he resembled the Lucky Charm he’d been in the desert. Happy, carefree, and damned confident that he was always right.

  Tommy turned his turquoise eyes on Hannah and a strange pinch of something resembling jealousy had Niall’s chest tightening.

  “You have quite a story to tell, Hannah. I can’t
wait to hear it.” Tommy paused, glanced at Niall, then back at Hannah. The carefree look was gone again. He was solemn and all too serious. “But I think you could probably use some rest first. Here’s my card. Call me when you’re ready to talk about what happened. Sooner, if the cops come to find you again. I doubt they will. They know by now that you couldn’t have killed their victim. Or any of the others.”

  “Others?” she squeaked the word.

  “Yeah.” Again Tommy glanced at Niall.

  Recognizing the cue for what it was, Niall stepped up and took Hannah by the hand. Her cool fingers wrapped easily around his rougher ones. “We can talk about that later. Let’s get you home.”

  She smiled, gave Tommy a quick, impersonal hug, then said, “Thank you. I don’t know why you’re helping me. But thank you.”

  Tommy opened the truck’s door. As Niall helped her inside, Tommy said, “Thank Niall. He’s the one who called me.”

  CHAPTER 14

  HANNAH CLUTCHED HER backpack to her chest and willed herself to stop shivering. It didn’t work. She wanted to be brave. She wanted to show Niall she wasn’t some helpless child but she couldn’t quite keep her hands from trembling. Not that he noticed.

  He stood on the sidewalk talking to the attorney. Tom? Don? John? Dammit. She couldn’t remember. And she really should. He’d somehow talked the cops into letting her go.

  Not arresting her. As they had been promising to do for the past six hours.

  Her teeth started to chatter and she bit down.

  Niall and the attorney shook hands, then Niall climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck and started the engine. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  “What’s this for?” She stared at the device uncertainly.

  “I figure you want to call Karma. She’s been really worried.” Niall turned left onto the highway, then added softly, “So have I.”