“Why would he?” Dylan asked, as though urging him to take back what he felt was an inappropriate promise. “You heard him. He saw us.”
“Think. Hear what he said. H, your response was perfect. Yeah, he saw us follow H into the street. He didn’t see us turn into this driveway. Wherever he was staked out, his view was limited. What does that tell you?” No one wanted to offer a guess. “He would attract attention. He doesn’t belong on a street like this unless he’s mowing lawns or repairing something. He’s also not a pro. I’ll go so far as to surmise that if this isn’t his first attempt at kidnapping, it’s close to it. He didn’t have the guts to see if he’d got blocked in and taken.” Jonas looked at Jimbo’s father. “Take a deep breath. Right now he’s pacing and second-guessing himself. In a few minutes, he will call back.”
But the ringing began that instant—only it wasn’t the Freeman phone. As the others started, Dylan swore under his breath and fumbled with his cell in his pocket.
“Shut that thing off!” Jonas growled.
“Sorry. I must have hit a button somehow.” Dylan looked at the screen and he closed his eyes. “Jonas, it’s E.D.”
“Ignore it. If he calls back while you’re talking to her we’re cooked.”
“I can go out to the garage.”
“And say what to her? She’s probably already called your house and knows you’re not there.”
His head bowed, Dylan nodded. Looking as though he would rather cut off a finger, he did as directed.
Silence fell and lingered, an uncomfortable presence in the room. Then the phone began ringing again.
H glanced at Jonas and then depressed the speaker button again. “Hello?”
“Tonight has been cancelled,” the caller said.
“You can’t!” H cried. “I told you, I have the money. Give me my—”
“Shut up! This is your last chance,” the caller said with more control. “It’ll be tomorrow, everything else is the same, but the time. It’s now at three o’clock. Got it? You try anything, what follows is your fault.”
Alyx sat on the barstool at the counter where she’d sat with Jonas only hours ago and stared at her phone, willing it to ring. No disrespect to E.D. or lack of gratitude, but she willed Jonas to call first. She would be so disappointed, even embarrassed, if it turned out that Dylan knew what was going on and shared it with E.D., while she sat here clueless. Maybe Dylan’s history with Jonas went back farther, but in her opinion, once you tell someone you love them—
At the sound of the ringing phone, she reached out too fast and hard, struck it with the back of her hand, and unintentionally sent it careening off the counter. “No!” she cried, racing after it. What if it hit the floor so hard it broke?
Scooping it off the tile floor, she answered on the third ring. “Yes?” she gasped.
“You sound as anxious as I feel,” E.D. told her.
Alyx brushed her hair back from her face and wondered what that meant. “You didn’t find out anything?”
“Worse. He’s not answering the house phone, nor his cell.”
“Maybe he’s on his way there to surprise you.” E.D. made a negative sound. “Between Dani’s Internet photo surprises and Trey’s secret affair, Dylan and I decided surprises were off the table for the foreseeable future. No, something isn’t right.”
Alyx couldn’t accept that. If possible, that was worse than being the only person in the dark. “It’s my fault. I’ve just put ideas in your head.”
“You didn’t have to,” her Deputy DA friend told her. “We don’t abuse the phones. We’re too mindful of each other’s workload. If one calls the other and can’t get through, we call back within five minutes or text message. It’s been almost thirty minutes since I rang his cell, and he is not home.”
Or couldn’t answer? As soon as she thought that, Alyx rejected the thought.
“I’m about to call Chris and ask him to—wait! He’s calling me now. Back with you shortly.”
“Did you hear that?” Alyx said to the dead phone in her hand. “Dylan is calling her. Why aren’t you calling me?”
For the next two minutes, Alyx sat, wondering what was coming next. It was going to be difficult news, she just felt it.
The phone rang.
Without waiting for Alyx’s greeting, E.D. said numbly, “Jonas is with Dylan.”
Chapter Thirteen
Parke’s flight was almost thirty minutes late, leaving Alyx with less than an hour to hug her cousin, return her keys to her and catch her own flight back to Texas. That wasn’t a bad thing; she was in no mood to go into prolonged explanations. Like E.D., she was worried sick about what was going on back home; unlike E.D., she was also furious and disappointed.
Behind the glass wall partition, Alyx watched Parke sweep through customs, a svelte, long-legged and exotic specimen in her leopard tunic, black leggings and matching leopard-and-patent leather heels. Alyx had dressed for comfort and safety, which made her feel colorless in her white cotton tunic over loose white cotton slacks. And while Parke’s raven mane flowed to her shoulder blades in a wild sea of waves, Alyx had secured her hair in a single braid down her back.
“Alyx, my darling,” Parke crooned as she emerged from the rotating doors, oblivious to the heads she turned. Arms wide, she embraced Alyx and kissed the air near both of her cheeks in the European fashion. “Ciao, bella. Don’t you look all fresh and untouched? Rather like Audrey Hepburn about to take her vows of celibacy. What was the name of that movie?”
“Parke, please don’t tease—or embarrass me in front of the entire airport.”
“Embarrass? I’m flattering you, silly. It’s quite an appealing look what with your wounded eyes and all. Can you wear those blinding diamond studs at a nunnery? I might look into that since I’ve turned down what is probably the last decent pass I’ll ever get in this lifetime.”
Parke’s flourish for exaggeration was as ingrained in her style as was her dramatic art. Alyx grumbled, “Why don’t you just mew ‘Help,’ and see how many men trample each other to offer you their services? Or wait for the drive home, since you know perfectly well no less than three state troopers will stop you on your way up to Sedona, though none of them for speeding.”
“If it’s only three, I’m going to look into plastic surgery, but thank you for the ego stroke.” Parke ducked her head to peer under Alyx’s lashes. “What’s the latest from points east?”
They’d last talked after Parke had landed at JFK in New York, and Alyx was taking Grace out one more time before leaving for Phoenix. “He’s in Texas!” Alyx had declared then. “E.D. finally got Dylan to return her calls. There’s some kind of situation going on that he wouldn’t expand on, but you can bet it’s dangerous.”
“What—is Mystery Man actually into mysterious work? Is he a cop or something?”
“FBI,” Alyx admitted. “We met the last time Dylan asked him for help. Remember E.D.’s case?”
“I do, indeed,” Parke had replied with new admiration. “It sounds as though he’s capable, and if it is his job—”
“Not right now it isn’t,” Alyx interjected. “He’s on leave, you know, like off duty. If headquarters gets wind of this—whatever this is—he won’t have to decide whether to retire or not, they’ll fire him!”
Now Alyx told Parke, “E.D. wants me to come out to the ranch and wait with her. I think I’d rather go home.”
“And do what, pout because Special Agent Jonas didn’t tell you himself? Worry yourself sick because he’s sticking out his professional and physical neck, or worse, for a friend?”
Shooting her a quelling glance, Alyx replied, “It’s Special Agent Hunter, and is this your idea of familial support?”
Parke looped her arm through Alyx’s. “Which way to your gate?”
Alyx gestured right with her free hand.
“Let’s walk.” As they started, her cousin continued. “I think E.D. has the right idea. Jonas thinks you’re still here. When he sees y
ou came home out of concern for him, he’ll sweep you into his arms and all will be forgiven.”
Alyx was glad for the company, but Parke couldn’t be more incorrect in her conclusions. “Jonas knows I was booking a flight back for today and we didn’t part on the most reassuring terms.”
“You fought?”
“We hadn’t gotten to that point, but when the call came, we’d just…stumbled.”
“And he left without even a goodbye?”
Alyx tried, but couldn’t deny the gesture he’d made. “He kissed me.”
“The rat.”
“It was not a gentle or polite kiss.”
“If he comes back in one piece, murder him.”
Unable to help herself, Alyx laughed. “So I’m an idiot, but this is crazy. I didn’t ask for any of this. I was having an affair with a sexy man. Life was perfect.”
“Then you fell in love.”
Realizing they’d already reached her gate, Alyx stopped. “This is me.”
“In more ways than one.” Parke’s smile was all warmth and concern. “Listen to me, favorite relative. As terrified as you are, think about E.D. She’s got their baby and her other two children who might be in danger of losing what sounds to me a seriously hot—for a judge—father and stepdad. Go for her sake. If nothing else works for you, at least you have that.”
“You’re right.”
“Did I do you any good luring you up to Sedona?”
Smiling, Alyx lifted her injured arm nearly straight in the air. “I didn’t have time to buy Shar a gift in gratitude. I don’t suppose you could see your way to give me your favorite-cousin discount so I can present her one of your smaller paintings?”
“She is going to be ecstatic, and I know exactly which would suit her.” Coaxing Alyx to turn, she pointed into a small gallery featuring Arizona artisans. “See the watercolor of the yellow cactus blooms and the two sweet baby bunnies?”
“Is that yours, too? Parke, I’m so proud of you. You’re for sale at airports. You have arrived!”
“Be careful about how loudly you say that,” Parke drawled. “But what I meant was that I have one at the house with pink blossoms and a mother fox nursing her two pups that I know Shar would love.”
“Great. It’s a deal.” As they began announcing the early seating of her flight, Alyx hugged her cousin. “Go. Call me and let me know what I owe you. Grace knows you’re coming and probably has so many nose prints on the windows that you’ll be cleaning for a week.”
Parke smiled, only to grow somber. “Try not to worry.”
“Too late.”
“Well, then try to understand him, even as you’re trying not to love him. It sounds like you fell for an honorable and principled man.” Parke kissed her cousin’s cheek and immediately wiped away the touch of lipstick she left behind. “Oh, I brought you a little something. Had I only known this bent toward dressing like a postulant it should have been rosary beads.”
“Hilarious.” But Alyx lifted an eyebrow as she accepted and opened the leather pouch, then drew out a jeweler’s box. Removing the lid, she gasped at the delicate eighteen-carat-gold Byzantine-design bangle.
“I’ve always thought you have the hands and wrists for ornamentation. It’s an impossible dream for someone in my trade.”
“But look at what those hands create. Parke, thank you so much. I’ll cherish it.”
“Call me when you get news. I don’t care the hour.”
It was closing in on three in the afternoon when Alyx pulled into the Justiss Ranch and keyed the code that E.D. had given her over the phone. The flight had been on time and traffic relatively light; nevertheless, Alyx felt as though she’d been the one to fly half around the earth, not Parke. Having had little sleep was also part of the problem.
Seeing E.D. hurry from the house, Alyx’s heart lifted, until she saw that there were no other vehicles visible except E.D.’s silver Navigator. Then, as she emerged from her white BMW and saw the signs of concern and stress on her friend’s face, Alyx’s heart sank anew.
“No further contact?”
“A little, but you won’t like it any more than I did.” E.D. hugged her and led her toward the house. “He called just after you and I last talked and said maybe it would be over later this afternoon.”
Whatever “it” was. “No explanation? Not even a hint of what or where they are?”
Holding the storm door open for her, E.D. shook her head mournfully. “Nothing. Alyx, since I didn’t know how bad things could get, I haven’t said anything to the kids. I know I’m asking a great deal from you, but when they’re around would you—”
Alyx raised her hand. “Say no more. I understand completely.” But once inside, Alyx saw no sign of the children or heard anything. “Where is everyone?”
“Chris is being a sweetheart and has taken Dani and Mac for a trail ride. ‘Two,’ as Judge Junior calls himself, is having a much welcome nap. Much welcome for Mommy.”
“I’m assuming you cautioned Chris, as well?”
“Of course. In fact, he knows everything we do. Dylan would want that.”
Everything—such as it was. Alyx suppressed her agitation by taking in her surroundings and noting the changes since she’d last been here. The “cottage” had been in Dylan’s family for generations, and additions had been made to its original two or three rooms to accommodate the growing Justiss family when they weren’t at their home in Austin. Alyx’s favorite spot was the state-of-the-art kitchen that looked out onto a gorgeous patio complete with a huge smoker-barbecue pit, a chiminea for keeping cozy during chilly evenings or for roasting marshmallows, and comfortable cedar furniture that foreman Chris Coats was building as time allowed.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?” E.D. asked.
Alyx shook her head and put her purse down on the kitchen counter. Although she looked too young and trim in her worn denim slacks and pink blouse to be a mother three times over, E.D. appeared ready to collapse.
“I’ve been sitting for hours. You’re the one who should be waited on. Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get you…what’s your pleasure?”
“My husband.”
She spoke so softly, Alyx could have imagined the words, but she knew her friend had probably spoken them involuntarily. There were couples who were simply meant for each other, and E.D. and Dylan were one of those. Crossing over to her, Alyx hugged her again.
“I’m going to get you a glass of wine. I’ve decided I need one, too. It doesn’t sound like I need to worry about driving anytime soon.”
“There’s a chardonnay open in the main refrigerator. But if you don’t care for the vineyard, there are other choices in the wine cooler.”
“Considering your impeccable taste in every other department, I think what’s here will be great,” she said opening the double-door refrigerator.
As she chose two glasses from the cabinet E.D. directed her to, E.D. said, “Forgive me for not asking sooner—how’s Parke?”
“Sassy as ever. But her heart is still gold.” Alyx extended her hand across the kitchen bar’s granite counter. “She brought me this.”
E.D. formed her mouth into a silent O. “It’s exquisite…and looks old.”
“She was too generous.”
“She loves you, which is a good thing since you don’t have much family besides each other. You also made it possible for her to have peace of mind while she was gone.”
Alyx handed her friend one of the half-filled glasses, then gently touched hers to E.D.’s. “Here’s to a happy ending to our waiting.”
“And how.”
“E.D., I hope Jonas didn’t get Dylan into anything.”
“Hon, Jonas came here, not the other way around. It’s obvious Dylan needed him.”
“That’s probably a technicality.” Hearing the cynicism in her voice, Alyx sipped her wine and focused on the coolness and creamy flavor, hoping it would ease the bitterness that kept rising inside her. “I’m thinking ho
w much more you have at risk than I do.”
“You can’t do that to yourself—weighing, judging one relationship against someone else’s. Shortchanging what you and Jonas have doesn’t make my love with Dylan any more or less than it is.”
Alyx closed her eyes. “I just wish he could have been more honest with me. Shared something after Dylan’s call to make the declaration he’d made earlier feel as though he meant it.”
E.D. reached over and touched the back of her hand. “He’s new at this, Alyx. I dare say as new at it as you are. What he had with Claudia was a brief aberration. Dylan told me. Jonas got caught up with ambition and social standing…he intended to move up in the Bureau and you know what government life is like—image and appearances. But that was all too small for Claudia, and—hasn’t he told you any of this?”
“Our communicating hasn’t quite been, um, as verbal as you might think.”
E.D. laughed with wicked delight. “I’m all for more sensory communicating. But seriously, Alyx, I’m guessing that Jonas hasn’t told you more about his ex because he doesn’t think the matter worth much time or energy. They didn’t fit.”
“We fit. You know we do.”
Alyx wrapped her arms around her waist. “Yes, but he has a son with the woman.”
“A son whom he loves and is proud of and sees when he can. But kids grow up and find their own lives, and Blake is in that growing independent age when a parent, ready or not, has to stand back and give the nestling room to spread his wings. He’ll always be there for Blake if needed, just as he dropped everything for his professional responsibility. But it’s you he aches for. Trust me, I have sensed this for some time.”
If only. “You’re a born nurturer,” Alyx told her with open admiration.
“It comes easily enough when you’re happy.”
Alyx fingered her bracelet and thought of the last several days she and Jonas had shared. They’d begun building a routine. “I felt a glimmer of that happiness, and then it went cold on me.”
“Did it? Are you sure?” E.D. touched her glass to Alyx’s once again. “Life intrudes sometimes. But when it backs off and things calm down—” she looked out back, but what she was seeing was clearly farther away than the boundaries of the ranch “—what remains is all a heart can hold. Wait and see.”
The Last Man She'd Marry Page 15
