Her heart felt like it was breaking, and she turned away. Tom had been right. He’d warned her not to get involved with him, told her that he didn’t know who he was. He wasn’t a criminal, but he sure wasn’t an ordinary joe, either.
She was happy he’d regained his memory. His face had softened and his eyes had warmed when he’d talked about his parents and brothers and sisters. They were important to him, and she was glad he had them back. And listening to him now with the two detectives, she realized how good he was at his job.
“The truck is registered to Wade, all right,” Richardson had said. “We’ve got a bulletin out on it, so we’ll have to see if anything turns up.”
“I called the FBI, and they confirmed you were one of their men.” Bob Jones held out his hand. “Sorry I suspected you.”
Tom shook his hand vigorously. “You did the right thing, Jones. I would have suspected me, too. You did some nice police work.”
Tina thought the tough detective actually blushed.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
“We need to canvas the town, see if anyone has seen Wade,” said Tom. “If he’s staying around here, he has to eat.”
“When I called the FBI, they knew who you were chasing. They’re going to fax us a picture of Wade, then follow up with delivery of several more in the morning. We’ll start by checking at all the restaurants and the grocery stores to see if anyone can identify him.”
“Good.” Tom nodded, and Tina thought she saw him wince. “Let’s not waste any time. We should get started right now.”
“Let’s go, then,” Richardson said.
Tom turned to her. “Will you be all right here by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine.” Her heart would be breaking, but she wasn’t about to tell Tom. “I’ll lock all the doors and windows.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be back. If we get some information, it could be a while.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she forced herself to say. “I have to work tomorrow, anyway.”
Tom broke away from the other two detectives and came over to her. “Don’t take any chances,” he said in a low voice, cupping her face in his hands. “Go to work, come home, and don’t open the door to anyone.”
“I’ll be fine, Tom,” she said. She smiled at him, although it was an effort. “You have enough to worry about. You don’t need to worry about me, too.”
“I’ll try not to. But I’ll be thinking about you.”
He kissed her deeply, and she couldn’t stop herself from melting into him. Finally, too soon, Tom broke away. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, his voice husky.
“I’ll be here.” Her hands dropped away from him and she watched him walk out the door with the other two detectives. When they shut the door, she hurried over to lock it behind them. Then she checked all the other doors and windows. When she was sure everything was locked, she stood in the kitchen, her heart full of pain.
Of course, she was glad that Tom had gotten his memory back, that he was no longer under a cloud of suspicion. How could she feel otherwise? But her heart splintered when she thought about the future. Did they have a future together? She wasn’t sure.
It wouldn’t be fair to hold Tom to any promises he’d made before he regained his memory. And to be fair, he’d never really made any promises in the first place. She was the one who had imagined that they’d have a life together.
But just because it was what she wanted didn’t mean it was what Tom wanted. She didn’t know him at all anymore. She swallowed a sob and drifted into the living room, sinking down onto the couch. All she could do was wait until this job was completed, until Randy Wade was caught. Then, maybe they could talk about the future.
It was humiliating to be pining here in her house like this, she told herself sharply. She should get out and do something.
But she wanted to be here in case Tom came home. So she picked up a book and tried to read.
Several hours later, she heard the door rattling and she jerked awake. She had fallen asleep on the couch, and her back and neck were stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. She stumbled over to the door and looked out the window. Her heart bounded when she saw Tom at the door.
When she opened the door, he drew her into his arms. “Are you all right?” he said. “Anything happen here?”
“I’m fine. It’s quiet as a church on Tuesday. What about you? How does your head feel?”
“My head feels fine.” Tom’s arms tightened around her, then he found her mouth in a deep kiss. Finally, he raised his head. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you ever since I left.”
His words eased some of the pain that had tightened her chest, and she smiled at him. “Me, too.”
Tom draped his arm over her shoulder and steered her into the kitchen. “I’m going to make a turkey sandwich. Do you want anything?”
“That sounds good.” She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. They had missed a couple of meals. “But you sit down and let me do it. Tell me what you did tonight.”
“We lucked out,” he said simply. “We’ve found someone who identified Wade and told us he rented a cabin to him. It’s in the mountains in a remote location. Wade told the real estate company that he wanted to be isolated so he could do some hiking. We’re going to head up there as soon as it’s light. With any luck at all, we’ll have him in custody before noon tomorrow.”
“And then the case will be closed?”
“We have to find enough evidence to convict him. I saw Wade shoot the Steeles, but it would be nice to have some physical evidence, too.” He looked up at her and said, “I’ll be in Grand Springs for a while yet, Tina.”
“I’m glad.” It was all she could bring herself to say right now. Tom was exhausted. She could see it in his face. So she would still the questions that wanted to leap off her tongue, and try to be patient. There would be plenty of time for them to talk once Wade had been caught.
Tom stood up from the table. “Ready for bed?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said in a low voice. She wanted all the time she could get with Tom. She met his gaze steadily, and desire quickened inside her when she saw the passion leap into his eyes.
Without a word he took her hand and led her up the stairs to her bedroom. They shed their clothes quickly, and Tom gathered her against him. The weariness etched into his face seemed to fall away as he bent to kiss her, and she felt herself falling into the now-familiar spiral of desire and drugging pleasure.
They tumbled onto the bed, touching and kissing as if it had been days and not mere hours since they last made love. Tina tried to pull him closer, but Tom stopped her. He pinned her hands to the bed beside her head and lifted himself to look at her.
“I can’t think of anything but you, Tina. I can’t concentrate on my work, because all I see is you in my head, all I feel is your skin, all I taste is your mouth.”
His words gave her a fierce pleasure. She wanted to tell him she felt the same way, but couldn’t find the words. So she lifted her head and kissed him instead, and he kissed her back with heat and passion, and something more. There was an urgency to his kiss, a desperation that made her respond recklessly.
In some deep part of her soul, she recognized that she wanted to bond him to her irrevocably. She didn’t want Tom to forget her, or what they shared. So she curled her arms around him, holding him close. She caressed him, sliding her hands over his back, his chest, his buttocks, then drifting around to stroke the hard, hot length of him. He groaned from deep in his chest and her hand froze. But when she tried to move it, he held her against him.
“Tina,” he gasped. “Tina, my love.”
Her heart leaped in her chest, and the next moment he plunged into her. She curled her legs around him and held him tightly as they moved together, sensation building and finally exploding. Tom whispered her name as he poured himself into her.
They lay entwined together for a long time. Tina could feel Tom’s hea
rt, beating steadily against hers, gradually slowing down. She gloried in his weight, pressing her down into the mattress, and she traced the muscles in his back. Finally he moved to the side, tucking her close against him.
“Tina, we need to talk,” he mumbled against her hair. “I need to tell you something.”
She could tell he was almost asleep. “In the morning,” she said, her lips brushing his chest.
But in the morning she woke to find the bed empty next to her. She sat up slowly, knowing instinctively that Tom was gone. She couldn’t feel his presence in the house. There was a flash of white on the table next to her bed, and she reached for the sheet of paper.
“Got a phone call and had to leave,” she read aloud. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Love, Tom.”
She vaguely remembered hearing the phone ring. It had still been dark, and Tom had answered. She had fallen back to sleep with the comforting murmur of his voice surrounding her.
She got out of bed slowly and looked at the clock. She had slept too late, and it was almost time for her to get ready for work. She tried to block Tom’s words from her mind. He had said they needed to talk today. She had hoped that he wanted to talk about their future, but now she wasn’t so sure.
Her heart heavy, she began to get ready for work. She had always looked forward to going to the hospital, always took great pleasure in the work she did. But now all she could do was think about Tom, and wonder if they had just spent their last night together.
Chapter 15
Tom lay in the early dawn light, peering up at a cabin perched precariously on the side of a mountain. There was no sound or movement coming from the building, and no sign of Wade’s truck. He wondered if Wade was even there.
He looked over at Stone Richardson, who was concealed twenty feet away from him. Bob Jones was on his other side, and both men waited for his signal to storm the cabin.
Tom had a bad feeling about this. His head still ached, a reminder of his fall onto the counter last night, but he tried to ignore it. His gut churned and he couldn’t help thinking about Tina. He had hated to leave her sleeping this morning, but he had overslept and had no choice but to hurry out the door. He barely had time to scribble a note to her. As it was, Stone had teased him unmercifully on the drive to the cabin.
He couldn’t help but think about the prowler she’d had outside her house. He was almost sure it was Wade, looking for him. Wade better be in this cabin, he told himself grimly. He didn’t want to think what might happen if the killer slipped away from them.
His right hand tightened on his gun, and he raised his left hand in the prearranged signal to begin. The three men approached the cabin as silently as possible. Pebbles bounded down the rocks, echoing too loudly each time they bounced. He scrambled up to the door of the cabin, noting out of the corners of his eyes that Stone and Jones were right next to him.
He didn’t knock on the door when he reached it. He kicked it open and swung his gun inside. “Freeze,” he barked. “FBI.”
There was no sound, no movement from within the cabin. He listened for several seconds, then stepped inside.
The interior was dark, and he turned on his flashlight. The small cabin was a mess. Clothes were scattered on the floor and dirty dishes sat in the sink. There was a plate of congealing eggs on the table. It looked as if the occupant had left the house in a hurry.
“He’s gone.” It was Bob Jones’s voice, and Tom could hear the disappointment.
“Let’s take another look outside. He might not have gone far.”
But there was no sign of Randy Wade. Tom stood and scanned the area for a long time, looking for any signs of movement, anything that was out of place. It didn’t help. Wade had slipped away from them.
“Let’s take a look inside,” he finally said.
Wade had indeed left in a hurry. Tom found a suitcase full of cash beneath a loose floorboard, and as he pulled it into the room, he heard Stone give a grunt of satisfaction behind him.
“We’ve got the bastard,” Stone said, relief in his voice. He held up a gun between carefully gloved fingers. “Five will get you ten that this is the gun he used to kill the Steeles.”
Tom nodded tersely. “Bag it up.” He looked around the cabin. “It’s going to take hours to go through everything here. Can you call your evidence technicians up here?”
Jones nodded and pulled out his radio. In a few moments he turned back to Tom. “They’re on their way. It should take them about a half hour to get here.”
“Good. Once they’re here, we can go after Wade. He doesn’t have his money, and we know what he’s driving. He shouldn’t be able to get far.”
Tom took notes on what was in the cabin as they waited for the technicians. When they arrived, Tom stepped outside and talked to them briefly. Then he turned to Stone and Jones.
“Let’s get going. I want to call Tina and make sure she’s okay.”
Stone frowned at him. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“I have a bad feeling about Wade,” he said grimly. “I’m willing to bet a lot of money that he’s the one who’s been following her and prowling around her house. There was way too much coverage of my accident in the newspaper. It wouldn’t have taken much detective work for Wade to find out that Tina was the nurse who took care of me.”
“Let’s get back to the car and call her, then,” Stone said.
By the time he reached the bottom of the hill, Tom was practically running. He reached into the car and grabbed the phone, dialing her number. She picked it up on the third ring.
“Tina?” he said. “Is everything okay?”
There was an infinitesimal pause that made him tighten his grip on the phone. “Why wouldn’t it be?” she finally said.
“Wade wasn’t up here in the cabin. I’m coming back to the house to check on you.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, and he thought he heard a thread of panic in her voice. “I’m fine and I’ll be heading to work soon. I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Something is wrong, Tina. I can tell.” Tom heard his voice rising.
“Thanks for calling,” she said, and now there was no mistaking the panic. “I don’t want to keep you because I know you’re busy. Goodbye, Tom.”
He heard the gentle click of the phone and the line went dead.
Tina set the phone carefully in its cradle and turned to the man holding the gun on her. “It was Tom,” she said. “I told him everything was fine, and he’s not coming back here for a while.”
She prayed that it was true. Stay away, Tom, she whispered to herself. Don’t walk into a trap.
Wade’s face turned petulant. “I wanted him to come here. He saw me shoot the Steeles, and I have to get rid of him.”
“Well, you’re out of luck. He’s going to be working long hours. He may not even come back here tonight.”
Wade stared at her, frustration on his face. Then he slowly smiled. “Maybe that’s all right,” he said. “I’ve got a better idea. I can kill two birds with one stone. I had to leave all my money in that cabin when I heard the police coming this morning. They thought they were so smart, sneaking up on me, but I had set some alarms for myself. I got out just in time.
“But I want my money back. Maybe your boyfriend would trade me my money for your life.”
“I doubt it,” she said. “The FBI doesn’t negotiate with criminals.”
He snorted with laughter. “When I looked through your kitchen window, I saw the way he looked at you. I’d say he’d trade plenty for you. And when he does, I’ll have my chance at him. One shot and there’s no more witness to the Steeles’ murders.”
Tina listened with horror. Wade was right. She knew Tom well enough to know that he would bargain with Wade. And if he tried to rescue her, Wade would kill him.
“Let’s go, honey. You’ve become very valuable to me. You’re my ticket out of this mess.” He poked her with the gun, and she stood up. She was afraid she hadn’t fooled Tom, and
that he was on his way back to the house. She wanted Wade to be gone before Tom walked into a trap.
She walked out the door and got into Wade’s truck without looking behind her.
Tom was out of the car before it had stopped moving. His heart pounding, he raced to the front door. It stood ajar, and terror washed over him.
“Tina?” he called, pushing the door open.
There was no answer. He listened for a moment, then stepped inside. “Tina, are you here?”
His words echoed off the floor and the ceiling. Silence.
He heard the two detectives on the steps behind him and turned around. “She’s gone,” he said, his voice flat.
“Maybe she just went to work,” Jones said.
“Take a look in her garage. I’m betting her car is still there.”
Jones turned and ran down the steps while Tom and Stone searched the house. There was no sign of Tina, but he didn’t see any signs of violence, either. His fear eased a little.
“Her car is still there,” Jones reported, and Tom nodded.
“Then we have to assume that Wade has her.”
They scoured the town and the surrounding mountains all day and into the night, but there was no sign of Tina or Wade. It was as if they had vanished into the thin mountain air.
Urgency sharpened his fear and drove him to continue. All he could think about was Tina, alone and frightened in the mountains. The nights were becoming bitterly cold, and she didn’t even have a coat. He had seen her jacket hanging in the front hall closet.
At three o’clock in the morning, Stone put his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “You have to take a break, Flynt,” he said, but Tom could hear the sympathy in his voice. “You’re not going to be any help to her if you’re too exhausted to think.” He jerked his head toward one of the interrogation rooms. “There’s a cot in there we use when we’re working late. Get a few hours of sleep.”
A Thanksgiving To Remember Page 17
