by Debra Webb
During the past thirty minutes, Mitch had, for Alex’s benefit, walked Phillip and Nadine back through those last weeks with Marija, all the way to the day they took her to the airport. The Malloys presented a picture-perfect relationship and fond farewell.
But Alex didn’t swallow it for a moment.
“They’re certain the young woman they found is her then?” Nadine inquired, dabbing at her eyes with her husband’s handkerchief.
Mitch nodded. “Her identity was verified by dental records, and her driver’s license was found at the scene.”
He’d failed to tell Alex the part about the driver’s license. Why would Gill have left her ID lying around? According to Talkington’s files he never had before. What else was Mitch leaving out?
“Does this wind up your investigation then, Ms. Preston?” Phillip Malloy asked.
Alex snapped to attention. She’d lost the thread of conversation. “I’m…not sure,” she said slowly. Was that apprehension in the man’s expression? Did he hope Alex would stop looking into Marija’s disappearance now?
“We should be going,” Mitch said, clearly anxious to separate Alex from his relatives. “I just wanted you to hear the news from me.”
“Thank you, Mitch.” Phillip shook his hand and slapped him on the back. “It was good of you to come by.”
“There is one more thing,” Alex interjected before Mitch could usher her from the room.
All eyes shifted to her. Mitch arrowed a warning in her direction. He’d said she could ask a question.
“Were either of you aware that Marija was pregnant?” she asked point-blank, going for the shock value.
Phillip Malloy steadied his wife who looked as if she might just faint. He looked to Mitch. “What is she saying?” he demanded, his face pale.
“Alex,” Mitch said, his tone deadly, “this is not the time.”
She glared back at him. She wasn’t about to back off now. “Why not? I would think that Mr. Malloy would want to clear himself of any connection by submitting to DNA comparison testing.”
The Malloys’ collective gasps echoed in the room.
“Let’s go.” Mitch snagged her by the elbow and started toward the door. The look in his eyes was unforgiving. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“How could you bring her here like this?” Nadine shrieked. “She’s trying to destroy our family!”
“Wait.”
Phillip’s soft plea stopped both Mitch and Alex in their tracks.
Mitch turned to his uncle. “I shouldn’t have let this happen. I was wrong to let her come.”
“No.” Phillip shook his head. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Phillip!” Nadine commanded. “Don’t say another word to this…this woman.”
“What the hell’s going on here?”
Alex swung around to find Roy Becker standing in the doorway. What was he doing here? What did he have to do with the Malloys?
“Somebody tell me what’s happened?” Roy demanded.
Nadine stabbed a finger in Alex’s direction. “She just accused your stepfather of getting that whore Marija pregnant.”
Stepfather? Alex looked from Phillip to Roy, who wore a murderous expression.
“Get her out of here,” Roy bellowed at Mitch. “I don’t want her hurting my family. Haven’t you let her do enough damage already?” he roared.
Roy was part of this family? Alex was stunned. How had she missed that? Or had she? Maybe she just didn’t remember what she’d discovered about Roy.
“This is all her fault!” Roy added. “I should have let her die and then this wouldn’t be happening.”
Let her die? Had Roy saved her life somehow?
Chapter Eight
Mitch had not spoken a word to Alex since they left the Malloy residence. He had banished her the moment they returned to his office. Deputy Willis stood guard outside Dixon’s office where she was to do whatever she wanted, as long as she didn’t leave the room. Willis had relayed that emphatic message with more official import than she’d seen the man display in the three days that she’d been hanging out at the sheriff’s department.
She pushed her casebook aside, rested her chin in her hand and sighed. It bothered her that Mitch was so angry that he wouldn’t even speak to her. That was a sure sign that he didn’t trust himself to broach the subject without doing something he’d regret…like strangling her.
God, she was so confused. How had she allowed things to go so far south so fast? It wasn’t bad enough that someone had messed up her head, she had to get involved with Mitch. She never allowed these kinds of mistakes.
Mitch and Roy were going at it in his office. Though she couldn’t hear them with his door closed, she could see the emphatic gestures and angry expressions. There was no way to tell which one was the more furious. Both looked ready to battle to the death, and she hated that she was the reason.
Though she tried hard not to, her hungry gaze followed Mitch’s every gesture, his every look. The moss-green, button-up shirt and faded jeans fit his body as if someone had designed the worn comfortable items especially for him. But the attire wasn’t what had Alex mesmerized at the moment. It was the memory of that sculpted body. The smooth, tanned skin stretched over well-defined masculine muscle.
Mitch flared his hands in clear frustration at something Roy said, and Alex immediately recalled the way those skilled hands had touched her body. She shivered as warmth pooled inside her. The way he’d looked at her, touched and tasted her stole her breath even now. She couldn’t explain it, couldn’t even understand it, but somehow they connected on a level that transcended all else. There had definitely been something between them before she lost her memory, he just hadn’t elaborated on it yet. And her brain apparently wasn’t ready to go there.
She straightened and forced her gaze away from the man making her heart beat a little too fast. Alex stared at the casebook before her. Now that she’d had a chance to look it over more carefully, she realized that a great deal more was missing than she’d first thought. It was pretty much useless now, she’d gleaned about all she could from the few notes.
She looked over at her new notes from her conversation with Talkington. As usual Mitch had stood by his word. Talkington had called Alex to discuss Marija Bukovak about an hour after their arrival back at the office. Alex blinked back the moisture in her eyes. The body they’d found was that of Marija, Alex didn’t doubt it. Not only did the dental records match, but she was wearing the silver necklace that matched her sister’s. The scene indicated Gill’s handiwork, but Alex still didn’t buy it. Due to the extremely deteriorated condition of the body, the autopsy report would be a while in coming. Alex was surprised that Mitch had already told Talkington that the Bukovak girl might have been pregnant.
The man never ceased to amaze her. Her gaze went immediately to him. Whatever he’d just said to Roy, he wasn’t happy about it. Roy stormed out of Mitch’s office, slamming the door behind him. A chill of uneasiness slivered over her. Everyone in the reception area stopped and watched as he stamped away. Alex shifted her attention back to Mitch who was staring out the window behind his desk. For the first time in her entire career, she regretted having made a tactical maneuver. Had she not made that startling announcement—
Alex stopped midthought. What was she thinking? She shook off the confusing emotions muddling her thoughts. Her client might be dead, but Alex owed it to Jasna and Marija to find out what happened. To bring their murderer to justice. Not to mention she had to clear her own name. How could she regret a move in that direction?
She couldn’t.
She drew in a deep, bolstering breath. She would not let Mitch Hayden, or her crazy infatuation with him, keep her from finding the truth.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, she decided it was time to check in with Victoria. Alex needed that anchor right now more than ever. She’d touch base with Ethan, too, and see if he had anything on the Malloys just yet. Work, tha
t was the key to staying grounded. She had to remember that in this investigation she and Mitch were not on the same team. His loyalty lay with his family, hers with the Bukovak sisters. Time and hard work would reveal the winner.
Too bad there could only be one.
MITCH PICKED UP a shop cloth and wiped his hands. He stared through the darkness toward the house, or more specifically the kitchen window where he could see Alex putting away their dinner dishes. He threw the cloth onto the workbench and lowered the hood of his Jeep. There was nothing left to do but go inside. He’d put it off as long as he could.
He’d changed the oil in his Jeep and straightened up the garage. All in an effort to work off the fury he felt as much at himself as at Alex. But his efforts failed miserably. He still wanted to go in there and shake her. He hadn’t said a word to her since leaving his uncle’s house. Mitch had known that he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions so he had avoided her all afternoon.
He switched off the garage light and started toward the house. He stalled after only a few steps and just stood there watching her graceful movements as she dried the pots and pans. Scenes from last night’s lovemaking taunted him. Even now he could smell her skin, could taste her lips…and he wanted to do it all over again. He’d almost lost control when he sank into her that first time. He shook his head and averted his gaze from the woman playing havoc with his life.
Sex had never been like that before. Their bodies had meshed on a level that went soul deep. Alex had touched him like no one else ever had. She’d lied to him, tricked him into liking her, made him want to protect her and then she’d struck where it would hurt him most—his family. Family had always been extremely important to Mitch. The loss of his mother and father had devastated both him and his brother. Phillip and Nadine had been there when he needed them. Alex threatened that precious link.
And still he couldn’t turn off his feelings for her…or his need to be with her. Somehow he would have to avoid falling into last night’s tender trap again. But right now he had to go inside. He couldn’t stay out here all night.
Taking his time, he trudged the rest of the way to the house, went inside and locked the door behind him. Automatically he stopped at the hall table and listened to his phone messages. Nothing important. Before he could escape to the bathroom for a much-needed shower, Alex appeared. Her arms were folded over her chest in a protective but determined manner and her eyes carried a haunted look.
“If you have a minute, I’d like to talk.”
“We have nothing to discuss.” Renewed anger made his voice more gruff than he’d intended.
“Mitch,” she implored, “don’t do this. We have to talk about what happened. It’s going to take both of us to solve this case. Acting childish isn’t going to facilitate that end.”
He glared at her. “Childish?” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “I don’t think you want to hear what I have to say,” he warned.
“Yell at me!” she demanded. “Do whatever you need to do, but just don’t shut me out like this.”
Need clawed at him. Need to do just as she asked and yell at her. Need to hold her. But he ignored it. “I don’t have anything to say.” He focused his gaze on the end of the hall and started in that direction.
“Wait.” She snagged him by the arm and halted his determined exit. “Even if you don’t have anything to say to me, I have something to say to you.”
He told himself that he didn’t want to hear anything she had to say, but he stood stock-still just the same. He couldn’t force his feet to take the necessary steps away from her.
“I had to see Phillip’s reaction to Marija’s pregnancy. Giving him the news any other way would have lessened the impact. I had to know his first, true gut reaction.”
Mitch glowered at the hand still resting on his arm, then at her. “And what was your analysis?”
She winced at his bitter tone. “Your uncle is hiding something. It may have nothing to do with Marija, but he’s definitely hiding something relative to this case.”
A new blast of fury hit Mitch. He snatched his arm away from her. “And just how the hell did you come to that conclusion? Because I damned sure didn’t see it that way.”
“You’re too close. You can’t be objective.”
Mitch gritted his teeth and counted to ten.
It didn’t help.
He braced his fists on his hips and glared down at her. Though she looked uneasy, she didn’t retreat. “Why are you so determined to prove a connection between my uncle and Marija’s disappearance?”
“I’m sorry this hurts you, Mitch, but—”
Holding his palms out stop sign fashion he silenced her. “Don’t patronize me. Just tell me the truth. Let’s put aside for a moment the fact that the TBI believes Gill murdered the girl, and the fact that Phillip Malloy is a good, law-abiding citizen of this county, and you show me how you reached this conclusion.”
She sucked in an unsteady breath. He watched the jerky rise and fall of her chest. He turned away. How the hell did she get to him so easy?
“I can’t give you the answer you want. Whatever I knew is lost for the moment, along with most of my notes. But I know what I feel, and he’s hiding something.” She stepped around him to look directly into his eyes. “If he has nothing to hide, then submitting to a DNA comparison test shouldn’t hurt anything but his pride.”
Why did her words have to sound so reasonable? “I’ve heard all I want to on the subject,” he said wearily. “Just drop it for now.”
Mitch managed one step before she stopped him yet again. “Just tell me I’m right about that last part and I’ll be happy.”
He faced her, and admitted defeat when those big amber eyes reached out to him for some sort of reassurance. “I’ll admit that if he has nothing to hide he shouldn’t have a problem with the test. But—” he added when her expression lifted too much “—I can understand how betrayed they feel by me walking in there and allowing you to make that kind of allegation.”
“I see your point there. They are your family,” she conceded. “I should have warned you about what I had planned, but if I had, you wouldn’t have allowed me to go.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have.”
“And then we would never have seen the horrified look on his face or the fear in his eyes.”
Mitch exhaled noisily. He would not go quite that far. “It’s done. I don’t want to discuss it any further tonight.”
“You didn’t set this up,” she offered. “I’ll tell him that. It was me. It was all me.”
Mitch closed his eyes and fought that same old battle. Part of him wanted to reach out to her and the other part, the saner, wiser part, wanted to turn away.
“Don’t worry,” she added anxiously. “I’ll make him understand that you had nothing to do with it.”
He laughed. “If that makes you feel bad, here’s another news flash—Roy tried to resign this afternoon,” Mitch ground out the words. “Said he didn’t want to work for a man who would turn on his own family.”
That really made her feel like pond scum. Mitch could see the remorse written all over her face. “Did you talk him out of it?” she asked in a small voice.
God, she knew just how to get to him.
Mitch shrugged. “For the time being.”
She frowned suddenly. “What did Roy mean when he said he should have let me die?”
He’d wondered when she would get around to that. “I told you he’d stayed right by your side at the scene until the paramedics arrived.”
She nodded, lines of confusion marring her smooth brow.
“According to Willis, you stopped breathing at one point and Roy resuscitated you.”
Alex jerked with the flash of memory that accompanied Mitch’s words. She couldn’t breathe. She gasped. Hey, man, what’s wrong? A mouth closed over hers and forced air into her hungry lungs.
Mitch was speaking to her. She could see his m
outh moving, but she couldn’t make out his words. Alex shook her head in an attempt to clear the other voices and images.
“Are you all right?” Mitch was shaking her now.
She pushed his hands away. “I’m okay.” But she wasn’t. Not really. Why had she stopped breathing? Her injuries hadn’t been that severe. Or was it possible for the body just to shut down after a head trauma?
“We’re not talking about this anymore tonight,” Mitch snapped. “Neither one of us is up to it. Let’s just give it a rest.”
Alex nodded. “I had to know what he meant.” The voice she’d remembered that had demanded to know what was wrong belonged to Willis. “Was Willis there with him the whole time?”
“Yeah. He and Roy were the first to the scene.”
“Who called it in?” Alex didn’t know why she bothered asking, or what it mattered, but she suddenly wanted to know.
Mitch shrugged those broad shoulders. “A group of teenagers who’d camped out that night. They stumbled onto the scene the next morning.”
“Did you interview them?” Why hadn’t he told her this before?
“Each and every one of them.” His expression told her he wasn’t pleased she’d felt it necessary to ask that question.
Ire lit inside Alex. “I’d like to interview them myself.”
He sighed, impatient. “What’s the point? They don’t know anything.”
That ire climbed in the direction of outrage. “You’re shutting me out of this investigation,” she accused. He was supposed to keep her fully informed. Obviously, he had as selective a memory as she unfortunately had at the moment.
“There’s nothing to tell you,” he said sharply. He glared at her with those icy blue eyes. “We don’t have anything. No prints. No evidence, nothing. Except the stuff that points to you. Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to hit the shower.”
Before he could turn away, she asked, “What about the other?” She screwed up her courage. “The thing between you and me. You said that my dream was real. You’re sure nothing was going on between us…before?”
