When the Storm Breaks

by Heather Lowell

  This was unknown territory for her. Even in her most serious relationship, when she’d actually considered marrying the man, she’d been able to walk away without many regrets after his demands threatened her career and independence. But with Sean…

  Her palms went clammy. She wondered when he’d become so important to her and how she was going to cope with losing him.

  Her lower lip wobbled a bit at the thought. She bit down harder, refusing to give in to tears. She’d never once cried over a man. She wasn’t about to start now, even when it was painfully clear that she was more involved at an emotional level than Sean was. She was determined to be as cool as he was, no matter how hard it was for her. She was a strong person who had been in the professional world for a long time. She could suck it up and continue working with Sean. From this moment forward her attitude would be that of a modern woman on the morning after the night she’d made a really big mistake.

  “Maybe once this is all over we can—” he began.

  “Don’t,” she interrupted roughly. “We’re at a specific point in time, in a situation which will never be repeated. Given that, the whole thing was bound to turn out badly.”

  “That’s not fair to either one of us. It was more than…” he looked around the cab of the truck.

  “Steamy sex in the front seat?” she finished, then rushed on. “Whatever it was or wasn’t, I’m not like you. I can’t turn my feelings on and off like a switch. I’m either involved or I’m not. In our case it’s not. It has to be.”

  Sean didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t want to permanently let go of what was developing between them, he just wanted to put it on hold for a while, until things calmed down a little. “I don’t want it to end like this,” he said finally, frustrated.

  “And I don’t see an alternative. You’ve got your needs and I’ve got mine. They aren’t compatible. I don’t see either one of us changing—it’s not in your makeup or mine to act like something we’re not. It’s one of the things we have in common.”

  “So where does this leave us?” Sean asked.

  Naked in the front seat of your truck. Claire turned her dress right side out and shook it with a snap. “You’re the expert in police investigations, you tell me.”

  “Hell, I don’t know. This has never happened to me before.” He pushed a hand roughly through his hair and thought about the mess he’d made of the situation.

  “No sex would be a good start,” she said. “No sniping would be a bonus. We need to maintain a professional distance.”

  Sean nodded.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve seen my underwear?” Hearing her own words, she cringed. God, get me out of here before I do something else stupid.

  Silently Sean fished around on the dash for her panties, found them, and held them out to her. Then he took his clothes and slid out of the cab to give her room to dress.

  Claire pulled her clothes on and congratulated herself for staying in control. While she could hardly pretend that making love in Sean’s truck had meant nothing, it didn’t have to mean everything.

  Even if she knew it did.

  Chapter 48

  Washington, D.C.

  Sunday afternoon

  Claire awoke feeling tired, grumpy, and distinctly sore in certain portions of her anatomy. She crawled gingerly out of bed and into the shower. Despite the blistering July heat outside, she cranked the hot water on all the way. If she couldn’t wash away the memories of making love with Sean on the bench seat of his truck, she could at least try to ease the stiffness that came from forcing her thirty-year-old body to do something that should only be attempted by oversexed teenagers. Or gymnasts.

  Knowing she would be seeing Sean in Afton’s office, Claire forced herself not to spend too much time getting ready. Instead, she pulled her hair back and put on a minimum of makeup. After throwing on casual shorts and a top, she headed out of the house. When she got to Afton’s office, Aidan and Sean were just settling in. Claire jolted when she saw Sean’s dark head, but she made herself continue into the room and take the only empty chair—next to him.

  “So how did the date with Randy go?” Afton asked eagerly.

  Claire felt her cheeks begin to burn at the prolonged, tense silence that filled the room.

  “Ah, you’ll probably want to cancel his membership with Camelot,” Aidan finally said.

  “Another one? What happened?” Afton thought at first he might be joking, but after looking at Sean’s face, she decided otherwise.

  “He got stinking drunk and then wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Sean said.

  “He drank a bit too much and didn’t seem to realize I wasn’t interested in continuing the evening at his place,” Claire said calmly, speaking over Sean’s flat voice.

  Afton looked from one to the other, then decided she wasn’t feeling brave enough to probe further into a subject that had Sean narrowing his eyes and locking his jaw.

  “Okay, we’ll be sure Randy doesn’t make any further dates through our service,” she said. “But I take it we can also eliminate him as a suspect?”

  “Yes. He’s an ass, but I don’t think he’s a murderer,” Aidan replied before Sean could speak.

  “So that’s five dates, and not much progress except for eliminating some potential suspects, right?” Afton asked.

  “Not to mention flagging some real losers in your database,” Sean added bluntly.

  Afton bit her lip and looked at her friend.

  Claire rubbed her hands together and tried for some enthusiasm. “Well, let’s see who else we can pick out of the catalogue, hmmm?” Mentally pushing up her sleeves, she tilted Afton’s monitor in her direction. “Where did we leave off?”

  While Claire and Afton reviewed eligible bachelors to be investigated, Sean sat next to her and brooded. He didn’t understand her comfortable—even cheerful—attitude. The Claire who had looked at him last night with dazed black eyes and wild dark hair was gone. In her place was a casually dressed, self-possessed woman who had barely glanced his way when she’d come into the room.

  As she quickly scanned the photos and gave Aidan a running commentary on why she was choosing this or that candidate, Sean couldn’t help but admire her efficiency and determination. She’d done exactly as he’d asked. She’d stopped reaching out to him emotionally and was treating him no differently than she treated his partner.

  And it was driving him nuts.

  He’d been sure he’d hurt her. Since his main goal all along had been to protect her, he’d tortured himself with recriminations all last night. Now it seemed that she was fine, while he was still reeling from the effects of the storm they had created together on the banks of the Chesapeake.

  When he remembered how it had felt to finally be inside her, he felt sweat popping out on his forehead. He could feel control slipping out of his grasp, even though things should have been falling in place for the first time in weeks.

  Quite a jolt to the ego, eh, pal?

  Sean ignored the snide voice inside his head that implied he was having a hard time dealing with Claire’s ease with the new boundaries of their relationship. He told himself to get over it, or remove himself from the case. But even as he was now, wrapped up in his unwilling attraction for his witness, Sean was convinced he and Aidan were the best team to catch the killer before he struck again.

  Despite Sean’s silence, Claire was intensely aware of him. Though he wasn’t looking at her, he seemed to be focusing his attention on her. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head, and wondered what was making him so tense and quiet.

  “Claire? Are you finished with the catalogue?” Afton asked.

  Claire started. As she glanced away from Sean she caught Aidan looking at her speculatively.

  “I’m done. Shall we call it a day?” Claire asked.

  Aidan nodded. “We’ve got plenty of names to get started on for the second wave of background checks. You should be able to schedule some dates by
late tomorrow.”

  “Great.” Claire stood and gathered her things as Afton excused herself to take a call in another room. “Would you mind giving me a ride home, Aidan?”

  Sean’s head came up and he opened his mouth to object, then thought better of it.

  Aidan looked between the two of them and shrugged. “Sure. Just let me check something first.”

  With his partner gone, Sean was alone with Claire for the first time. Before he could think better of it, he said exactly what was on his mind. “If you can’t even stand to be in the car with me, how are we ever going to have a working relationship?”

  “Just playing by your rules. You wanted us both to back off, and that’s what I’m doing. That doesn’t give you license to poke at me.”

  Sean shifted in his chair. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s already forgotten,” she said with a professional smile. “I’m sure it will be a challenge for both of us to get used to the way things have to be from now on.”

  “Ready?” Aidan asked from the doorway.

  The smile she gave him wasn’t coolly professional. “Ready.”

  Watching them, Sean thought rather grimly that it didn’t seem to be a challenge for Claire at all.

  “So, do you feel better after your drive last night?” Aidan asked as they headed for the elevator.

  She wondered if Sean had said anything. “Not really,” she mumbled.

  “Where did you go?”

  “The Chesapeake.”

  Aidan rubbed his hand over his jaw and wondered if he should let it stand or try to pry more information out of her.

  “You and Sean seemed kind of mad last night. Did you two work things out?” Aidan asked as he steered her across the lobby.

  “He outlined how things will be from now on,” she said, trying to keep the note of bitterness out of her voice. Sure, he laid out the rules. But when I do exactly what he wants, he still pokes at me. “And I agreed.”

  Aidan sighed and helped her into his car. As he walked around to the driver’s side, he told himself to let the subject drop. He would be crazy to get between two strong-willed people who were desperately attracted to each other at the wrong time and place.

  But despite his strong survival instincts, he found himself trying to explain Sean to Claire.

  “Sean can seem kind of closed up sometimes, but he’s the best friend and partner any cop could ask for. I consider myself doubly lucky that he’s my family. Not everyone has relatives they like and respect, as well as love.”

  She nodded to show that she’d heard him but offered no other comment.

  Aidan forged on. “He has very strict ideas of right and wrong, and sometimes that’s a powerful advantage on a case. But it can make it difficult to deal with him if you happen to have an opposing viewpoint.”

  “Was he always like that?” she asked, curious despite herself.

  “Always. We had a hard life growing up. It’s not that we were abused or anything—far from it. We had a stable home, solid folks, and plenty of food on the table. My mother and Sean’s are sisters. We all lived together on a family ranch in the most beautiful country you’ll ever see.”

  “Where was that?”

  “Wyoming. Mountains that reach toward the sky, streams with water pure and cold. And all around you was open space. It was like a kind of paradise, but we paid a price. Living on a cattle ranch in the high country wasn’t easy, and we all worked from the time we woke to the time we slept. Even when I was four years old I had chores to do every day.”

  “Is Sean older than you?”

  “Yes. He’s the oldest of the five of us, including me and my three younger sisters. That placed an extra burden on him, but he never complained. My father split just after the last of my sisters was born, and my mom moved to the main house on the ranch after that. I guess I relied on Sean to be a role model from then on.”

  “What about Sean’s dad? Wasn’t he around to be a father figure?”

  “He worked hard keeping the ranch together once his foreman—my father—left. Sean’s daddy is a harsh man, one who never had time for ‘coddling’ children. He loves Sean and me, he just doesn’t know how to show it. Nor does he particularly feel the need.”

  “That’s sad,” she said, thinking of her own loving parents.

  “In a way. But Uncle Bob did teach Sean about responsibility, and about being a provider and protector for his family. Sean took those lessons to heart. They made him an incredible soldier and team leader when he was in the army. As a cop, he approaches things with a focus and determination that still blow my mind.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you? You have to understand that when Sean is given a task—or when he commits himself to a goal—nothing gets in his way. Especially when the job is an important one, like working murder cases that have been shelved without being solved. It’s something he feels very strongly about. It’s part of what he is.”

  “Oh, I understand,” she said. “And I truly respect that. But sometimes I think he has trouble seeing that there might be more than one way to get a job done.”

  “You’re right. He can get a powerful case of tunnel vision. But usually with perseverance and persuasion—and the occasional two-by-four applied to his thick skull—you can get through to him and change his mind. For the times you can’t, it’s been my experience that he’s usually right.”

  She said nothing, not sure she wanted to consider where their relationship fell in that scenario.

  “He’s a good man, Claire. He just has trouble expressing himself sometimes. And he’s a great cop. You couldn’t be in better hands,” Aidan said earnestly.

  “Believe me, I know all about his hands,” she muttered.

  “Ahh…”

  “Sorry. I know what you’re trying to do, and I appreciate it. I understand that Sean is a good investigator, and I have absolute confidence the two of you will break the case.” She turned toward him. “I mean that—it’s the only reason I can sleep at night.”

  Aidan stopped in front of Afton’s house and cut the engine. “You don’t look like you slept much last night.”

  Claire turned away from his penetrating hazel eyes. “No, that was the last thing on my mind.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Aidan asked uncomfortably.

  “No. You’ve explained a lot, really. I just—it’s too fresh to talk about right now.” Claire fumbled with the door handle but stopped when Aidan put his hand on her shoulder.

  “I’m here when you’re ready,” he said.

  “Thanks,” she replied, smiling mistily at him.

  Claire opened the door and stepped out. As she turned, she nearly bumped into Olivia, who had come out to see what was taking so long. With the excuse that she had to make a few phone calls, Claire hurried by her friend and into the house.

  Olivia leaned down to speak through the open window. “What did you say to her?”

  “Nothing. I was just trying to help with something.”

  “So what did Sean say to her, then?” Olivia asked.

  “Damned if I know. But from the way they’re both acting, I think the problem has more to do with what they did than what they said.”

  “Yeah, well you can’t say we didn’t see that one coming. If you’ll pardon the pun,” Olivia said.

  Aidan snickered. “Well, they’re two smart people. They’ll either work it out or make all of us miserable for awhile. Regardless, it’s no big deal—”

  “It certainly is a big deal,” Olivia cut in. “Claire doesn’t sleep around. If she got involved with Sean then there’s more to it than a one-night stand.”

  “Sean isn’t my idea of a swinger, either. He’s never done anything like this, especially not in the middle of an investigation. What I meant about it not being a big deal is that Sean’s a pro. He won’t let this get in the way of the case. And regardless of how things turn out between them, he’ll protect Claire with his life.”

&nbs
p; Olivia winced. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Chapter 49

  Washington, D.C.

  Monday afternoon

  Sean tried to put Claire out of his mind. It wasn’t easy, even though he had a phone call scheduled with Jacob Keeley, a behavior profiler out of Quantico. Sean had sent a copy of the most pertinent case files to Quantico, along with the crime scene video from the Mendes murder. He hoped the FBI agent’s experience with criminal profiling would help give them some direction in their investigation, which at this point was stalled.

  The box with Claire’s purse, the bloody sash, and the threatening note had been as clean as the evidence techs had feared. No one had been following Claire—or if he had been, he was too good to catch. And as for the Camelot dates, they were a joke. Too bad he didn’t feel like laughing. He wanted to get this case settled and he wanted it to happen fast, before Claire’s cheery professionalism made him grab her and find out how deep the I-don’t-care act went.

  Settling at his desk with pen and paper to take notes, Sean dialed Keeley’s number. He was put through immediately.

  “Thanks for taking time to give an unofficial look at this case,” Sean said.

  “No problem. My sister said you and your partner could really use a break. The media coverage has even made it over here.”

  “Yeah. No doubt the weirdos and copycats will start on the prowl. That’s why we need to move quickly.”

  Agent Keeley sighed. “I have to stress that I can’t do a real profile without full access to the crime scenes, and a lot more detail than you’ve been able to give me. If you want something concrete, you’re going to have to go through official channels—my boss meets your boss, and so forth.”

  “We’re not looking to go to trial with this. I don’t expect you to tell me we’re looking for a middle-aged Caucasian janitor who happens to be a Sagittarius and likes French fries. We just need help making the killer stand out in our pool of almost two hundred suspects.”