by Tee O'Fallon
He squeezed her hands. “We need to talk, and it’s not what you think.” He released one of her hands to stroke her cheek. “I’ve been lying to you, but not about us. Never about us.”
When she lifted her gaze the stark intensity in his eyes scared her as much as him leaving did. “What then?”
“I didn’t get fired by the department.” He paused. “I’ve been working undercover on a case involving the Pyramid.”
“The assassins who kidnapped Alex?” She tensed. “And tried to kill Cassie?”
He nodded. “The same. I found a way inside the Pyramid, and I’ve been working with them. They’re targeting someone at the reopening today. Christopher Shane.”
“What?” Her jaw fell as she tried to process the full meaning of what he’d said. This was totally not what she’d expected him to say. “You mean they’re going to try to kill him? Why?”
“Revenge. The leader of the Pyramid is a former Delta Force commander, Colonel Bud Marsden. Christopher Shane killed Marsden’s only child, his son, in a hit and run accident. Shane was drunk, and he bought off the prosecutor to get the charges dismissed.”
Dom paused, giving her a moment to absorb the incredulity of what he’d just said.
Eyes wide, she shook her head in disbelief. “This is like something out of a movie.”
“It’s not.” His mouth set in a hard line. “It’s real life, and it’s deadly as hell. The only good thing is that the reopening will most likely be canceled once the police commissioner tells Shane he’s the target of an assassin at his own party.”
“Canceled? And what do you mean you found a way inside the Pyramid? How did you—” She gasped as events of the last two weeks suddenly came together in a way that made sense. “Jack works for the Pyramid. Doesn’t he?” Dom nodded. “And you and Jack are friends. Army buddies. Oh my God.”
Comprehension slammed into her, and she yanked her hands from his. The date Jack had taken her on. It was all bullshit. “Jack was only using me to get a job with Highland Floral. To gain access to the hotel because everything and everyone going in there has to be inspected.” She twisted her robe in her fists as another soul-destroying reality came crashing down. “You were only using me. To work with Jack and get inside the hotel. And last night was all part of your undercover act. Wasn’t it, Detective Carew?”
“No, dammit.” He reached for her hands, but she jerked back. “It wasn’t like that.”
Unable to be near him a second longer, she pushed from the sofa, anger pounding through her veins as she stared down at him. “You and Jack are the same. You both used me, and you both tried to get into my bed, but you—you’re worse than Jack. You’re the police. You knew the dangers and didn’t say a word to me. You put the job before everything else, including me.”
“No. I didn’t.” He shook his head. “This job was in play long before you and I ever met. Too many people have died from Pyramid bullets, and this was the first viable opportunity for someone—me—to take them down. I didn’t involve you in this. Jack did. And from the moment I realized how he’d wormed his way into your life and your job, this job became personal.”
“You could have told me what was going on, but you didn’t. Instead you chose to lie to me and keep me in the dark.” Breathing hard, she stalked to the curtains, facing the window, and gripped the fabric in her hands. I can’t believe this is happening. She’d let him into her bed again, but this time she’d done something far worse. Last night she’d totally let him into her heart, only to find out he’d been lying to her all this time about…everything.
“Daisy, it wasn’t like that.”
“Bullshit.” She spun and bumped into his chest. She hadn’t even heard him come up behind her.
“No, it’s not bullshit.” He gripped her upper arms. “It’s true that I used you to get a job with Highland Floral. But I had a job to do, and I had to put aside my personal feelings for you to do it. This was my one and only chance to get inside the Pyramid, but it also allowed me to stay close to you. To protect you. Not to use you.”
“I don’t need or want your protection.” Her voice trembled. “What I needed was the truth. I deserved the truth.”
The pained look he gave her seemed sincere, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall for it.
“Keeping you in the dark was the best way to keep you safe. If I’d told you who and what Jack was, you would have given yourself away. He would have picked up on something different in your demeanor, and he would have killed you.” He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “No matter what you do or don’t believe, believe this. What happened last night between us had nothing to do with the job. Nothing.”
Lifting her head, she gazed up at him, her vision blurred by tears welling in her eyes. “You are good, I’ll give you that. I never would have known you were undercover the whole time, faking everything.”
“I’m not faking how I feel about you.” His eyes softened, and he loosened his grip on her arms, still holding her. “I’ve been falling for you since the day we met a year ago, but I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t take the pain of losing someone I loved again. For years I had nightmares thinking about Anika dying, but those nightmares finally stopped.” He paused and gentled his voice. “They stopped the day I met you. When this is all over I want to take a chance with us. I promise you, I’m not the man I was a year ago. You changed that. You changed me. I need you to have faith in me and to trust in us.”
Her body began to tremble. Tendrils of doubt wound their way around her heart as she remembered his story about the woman he’d loved so deeply. Another part of his undercover act, no doubt. Then she recalled with painful clarity how her parents had left her. Grandparents who should have taken her in and loved her had abandoned her. Sadness welled up inside her, slowly at first, like a trickling stream. Then came the familiar protective shield. It was a failsafe mode she switched on to block out her emotions. That was how she’d survived. It was easier to go through the rest of her life alone rather than face any of that pain again.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she sniffed back her tears. “I can’t. And I don’t believe you.” Her voice was soft but determined, no longer trembling as she made her decision, one motivated by the desperate need to survive. To not get drowned again by a tidal wave of useless longing for a man who didn’t really exist. “I think you’re exactly who and what I always thought you were. A womanizer. I don’t think you’ve ever been in love. I don’t think you’re capable of it. In fact, I don’t believe a single word you’ve said to me tonight. Not even about—about Anika.”
His eyes narrowed, and he stiffened. His hands remained on her arms a moment longer, then fell to his sides.
“I forbid you to go near the hotel today. It’s too dangerous for you to be anywhere the Pyramid may still turn up.” His voice had gone cold, unfeeling. As if he, too, had flipped a switch and was now in total cop mode. “I don’t even want you leaving your apartment until you hear from me.”
Anger seared through her. “Don’t you dare think of forbidding me to do anything.”
“I’m telling you to stay away.” His jaw tightened, outlining the hard planes of his face. “Until I verify the reopening is canceled, it’s not safe for you to go anywhere. Someone was staking out your apartment last night, and it wasn’t Jack. I’m betting whoever it was will tell him you and I were together. When that happens, God knows what Jack will do. He’s got some kind of sick fantasy about the two of you together. But after today, he won’t be working for you. I’ll make sure of it. For now, do as I say.”
In a daze, she walked to the door and opened it. When she spoke, her tone was matter-of-fact, not emotional and surprisingly not angry. “You have no say in what I do or don’t do. You never did, and you never will.”
He came to the door but didn’t touch her. “Dammit, Daisy. Don’t go there. I couldn’t take it if anything happened to you.”
For the last time, she looked up into his face
, knowing she never would again. Eyes she’d once considered to be a more beautiful shade of blue than the clearest ocean met hers. Then she took in the firm set of his mouth and the soft lips that would never kiss her again. Nor would the light sandy-blond stubble shadowing his chiseled jaw ever graze against her neck as he kissed his way down her body. She could live with that. She had to.
He drew in a long breath, then walked out the door. She closed it behind him and twisted the deadbolt. In a daze, she went to the sofa and sat on the middle cushion, tucking her bare legs beneath her. She ought to feel something, but she didn’t.
Letting her head fall back on the cushion, a sense of peace surrounded her, making her realize that since the moment Dom had cannonballed back into her life, she’d been constantly on edge, mentally and physically exhausted. Not anymore. Mercifully, she felt nothing.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dom remained standing beneath the shower’s hot pounding spray. He’d finished rinsing five minutes ago but couldn’t bring himself to shut off the water. It had been five hours since he’d left Daisy’s apartment.
He knew damn well she was too pig-headed and strong-willed to heed his warning about staying away from the hotel, so the first thing he’d done was to call Gray and have him station two uniforms outside her building, one in the front and one in the back, with orders to prevent her from leaving under any circumstances. He’d waited down the block until they’d arrived. That had given him peace of mind for her immediate safety, but he couldn’t stop replaying their last conversation over and over in his head.
He smacked both hands against the shower wall, welcoming the pain that shot up his arms to his shoulders.
I deserve it.
When he’d left Daisy’s place, her eyes had been lifeless. It was as if something inside her had died. He’d done that to her. He had used her, and so had Jack. The ironic thing was that he suspected Jack really was in love with her. Hell, he knew he was, and he’d totally fucked things up.
I’ve lost her.
Now he had to accept that he’d blown the best thing that could have happened to him. With a vicious twist, he cranked off the water and toweled himself dry. Naked, he padded into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans, a black knit shirt, and a black Polar Fleece vest. The clock on his nightstand said it was after nine. Since the Pyramid didn’t know the Piazza’s grand reopening was about to be canceled, he’d still meet Jack at the hotel as planned at eleven. That way he could maintain his cover.
His cell phone rang, and he picked it up from the dresser. Not unexpectedly, it was Gray, probably phoning to confirm the event was canceled.
“I got bad news,” Gray said as soon as he answered. “Shane won’t cancel.”
“Why the fuck not?” Dom dropped his clothes on the bed. “Does this asshole have a death wish? And how can he justify putting everyone else in the hotel at risk?”
“Apparently,” Gray said in a tone broadcasting obvious disgust, “Shane is such a megalomaniac, nothing short of an apocalypse will convince him to cancel. Like you said, this hotel is his baby, the culmination of his life’s work. He actually believes his own hotel security team can handle any threat.”
“This isn’t just any threat.” He cradled the phone between his chin and shoulder and pulled on his jeans. “Those bozos have no idea what they’ll be up against. Did the PC tell Shane the hit’s revenge for him mowing down the head assassin’s only son?”
“He did, but it didn’t change Shane’s answer. He told the PC that except for the mayor’s security detail, no one with a weapon gets inside the hotel. The only assistance he accepted is an old photo of Marsden the PC sent over so his detail can be on the lookout for him.”
“This is bullshit.” Dom began pacing the length of his bedroom. “Can’t the commissioner order the event shut down?”
“It’s private property,” Gray countered.
“Somehow we need to find those guns. Were you able to re-interview Valenzuela?”
“Twenty minutes ago. He confirmed that he was called by someone who threatened to out him if he didn’t allow one crate inside the hotel without searching it.”
“And did he?”
“Yesterday.”
“Shit.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “With that statement and mine you have more than enough probable cause for a warrant.”
“No can do, partner. I already asked. The commissioner wants this to play out.”
“Play out?” He uttered a few choice expletives. “That hotel will be jammed with innocent people. Soft targets with no way to defend themselves.”
“The only target we know of is Shane, and he’s been warned. The PC is also notifying the mayor, but the mayor’s as much of a press-hound as Shane is and still plans to attend unless we have more.” Gray let out a loud breath. “Do you have any reason to believe that this is an all-out massacre?”
“No.” He sat on the bed and grabbed his boots. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “This is a credible threat, and you know as well as I do that Shane’s security team will be a bunch of inexperienced cop wannabees. They’ll be more of a liability than an asset.”
“Copy that,” Gray said. “But the way the commissioner sees this, we’ll never have the opportunity to take down the Pyramid’s leader again. He’s convinced that if we cut off the organization’s head, we put an end to them.”
“And if we stop now, we’ve got nothing.” He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. He understood the commissioner’s logic, but if anything went wrong others could be hurt or killed in the crossfire.
“Right now the only charge we can make stick,” Gray continued, “is on Jack for unlawful possession of those weapons we caught him with at the warehouse. He’d serve a few years at most.”
“And the Pyramid will still be in business.” He mentally reviewed everything else he’d learned, knowing it was futile. They had no proof Smith had brought guns inside the hotel. They were assuming they were in the uninspected crate, but no one had actually laid eyes on them. Worse, they didn’t even know Smith’s real name. He could be anyone.
He shook his head in disbelief. “We can’t prove a single overt act.” A necessary element of a conspiracy to commit murder charge. “We’ve got nothing on Smith and nothing on Marsden.”
“Unless we let this play out,” Gray said. “But we’ve got another potential problem. Customs just notified me Jimmy Gonzalez left the Bahamas and hopped a plane to New York. Even though he was red-flagged in the system, somehow he managed to slip through Customs at JFK. I’m on my way to look for him.”
“For fuck’s sake.” The phone vibrated with an incoming text. “Hold on.” He looked at the screen.
Room 225. Noon.
“I’m meeting Jack in Room 225 at noon.” Hopefully, Marsden would be there.
“I don’t like this,” Gray growled. “Fuck orders. If I can’t officially get a plainclothes team inside I’ll fly solo. You need backup.”
For once, he didn’t disagree. “Thanks, buddy.”
“One more thing.” Dom heard a car engine start. “The commissioner gave me a message. He said to tell you he has faith in you.”
“No pressure.” Dom snorted.
“You tell Daisy yet?”
“Yeah, everything.” He massaged the back of his neck.
“I take it didn’t go well,” Gray said.
“Understatement. Gotta go.”
“Ten-four, partner.”
He ended the call, then finished dressing and headed for his closet. The small safe tucked in the corner housed a number of handguns, some registered, some not. He punched in the code and cranked open the door. After grabbing an unregistered .40 caliber Smith and Wesson he rammed in a fully loaded magazine and racked in a round. As an afterthought, he reached for a spare detective shield and stuffed it into his pocket.
He slammed the safe door shut, feeling a growing sense of urgency. Never in a million years did he think he’d have to live through th
e same hell again. But as he grabbed his keys and bolted out the front door, he knew in his gut that his worst fear was about to play out.
Damn, but he should have gotten her out of this sooner. Now the woman he loved was right in the middle of a shitstorm that was spinning totally out of control.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daisy pulled the deep red, full-length chiffon gown from her closet and draped it on the bed. It was nearly ten thirty and she had just enough time to change and get over to the hotel early to check on things.
She traced the strips of silver beading and sequins running up the sides of the dress with her fingers. She’d been looking forward to wearing it on what should have been a day of celebration, not just for the Piazza and Christopher Shane but for her. For more than one reason, it wasn’t.
The Piazza contract really had been a major coup. Not because it was the most difficult or creative job she’d ever done, but because it represented the level her reputation had risen to in the city’s florist circles. Some people could bask in the glory of their accomplishments and be singularly happy. Not her. Without someone to share those wonderful moments with, it wasn’t the same.
Mom, Dad…you would have been proud of me.
The other reason today failed to imbue her with any excitement was how things had ended with Dom.
“Keep moving,” she whispered. If she slowed down to rehash their last conversation she’d turn into a helpless blob of emotional jelly, unable to take shape let alone stand up.
Uttering a long sigh, she slipped out of her robe and tossed it onto the chaise. Standing in her bedroom wearing only a red thong and matching strapless bra, the cool air was cleansing, and she could analyze things more clearly.
The overwhelmingly morose feelings would pass, but for the moment she had to accept their existence. As she unzipped the dress, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t been able to eat a thing this morning, not even triple-chocolate mousse cake. The chocolate that was normally the cure for anything that ailed her did exactly the opposite. Throwing it out seemed like such a waste, but she could never eat another bite. It would only remind her of what she’d lost. Although Dom had never really been hers to lose. She understood that now. The saddest thing was the more she’d gotten to know him over the last few weeks, the more she’d fallen in love with him. Even the cop part.
