Lawman Lover

by Saranne Dawson

  How she wished that she could unburden herself to her father! The closeness they’d found in recent years made her want that even more. But John Verhoeven was his best friend and Jesse was still his darling, even though he was well aware of her faults by now.

  Besides, she was certain that her father would not approve of her withholding information from the police—even if she was doing it for a reason he would surely understand. His attitude would be to let the chips fall where they may, because he would be serenely confident that they couldn’t possibly fall on anyone close to him.

  Amanda envied him his serenity, his complete confidence that his world held no dark secrets. She watched him relaxing with his old friend the mayor, his handsome silvered head nodding, and it suddenly occurred to her that if her suspicions were true, it might put at risk his chance to be named to the Supreme Court.

  She was stunned to realize that she hadn’t considered that before. Perhaps she hadn’t yet begun to realize that it could happen. After all, the nation’s highest court had been his goal for years, probably all his life.

  By rights, a scandal involving either his oldest and best friend or even his daughter shouldn’t have any effect on his chances. But in the present highly charged atmosphere, she knew it was possible.

  “Amanda! How about a dance for old times’ sake—or for the sake of bipartisanship?”

  Lost in her reverie, Amanda started nervously at the too-loud voice and the hand on her arm. She managed a polite smile, while quickly scanning the faces of those near enough to have heard. People were smiling at them, so she smiled back, hoping that it looked more natural than it felt to her.

  “Of course, Neal. I’d be delighted.”

  She was, in fact, anything but as he circled her waist with his arm and led her out to the dance floor, where still more faces turned in their direction. In this crowd, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know that they were political opponents— and most of them probably also knew of her past relationship with Neal.

  Neal was a very good dancer, smooth and agile. She, on the other hand, had never been particulary graceful, perhaps because the awkward teenager she’d once been still lurked within her on such occasions, reminding her of all those school dances where she’d towered over her partners.

  “Has Lewis told you yet that he’s going to remain neutral in the race?” Neal inquired with that half smile she’d once thought sexy.

  Neal knew full well Brogan wanted Amanda to succeed him. “No. I haven’t sought his endorsement,” she responded with a smile of her own. “I wouldn’t try to back him into a corner.”

  “Politics isn’t a game for the fainthearted,” Neal said.

  “I think there’s a difference between being considerate and being fainthearted, Neal.”

  He chuckled, drawing her closer. “Just what I would have expected you to say. There is an advantage to knowing your opponent intimately.”

  She managed to push away without seeming too obvious about it. Then she raised her eyes to meet his. “I hope you aren’t planning to make our past an issue, Neal, because no one else will be interested in it, I can assure you.”

  “Oh, I don’t plan to drag in the past, but it might enter the picture anyway. Have you got Michael Quinn on a short leash?”

  She just stared at him, too stunned at hearing Michael’s name to guess what he meant.

  “I asked him earlier what progress there’d been on that body that was discovered on the island, and he reacted by telling me that it was none of my expletive-deleted business. He seemed just a bit too touchy about it.”

  “Maybe that’s because it is none of your business,” she replied, hiding her relief. Once she’d recovered from hearing him utter Michael’s name, she’d feared that he’d somehow found out about them.

  “I’m not so sure of that—not when the acting D.A. has a serious stake in the outcome of the investigation.”

  “Exactly what are you trying to say, Neal?” she asked, giving up any pretense of dancing as they moved toward the edge of the floor.

  “From what I’ve heard. Lieutenant Quinn hasn’t ruled out the possibility that one of the families is involved—and let’s face it, you’re related to them all.”

  “Well, if he hasn’t ruled them out, then you have no cause for concern, have you? That means that I can’t possibly have him on a ‘short leash.’ Besides, you don’t know Michael Quinn very well if you think I could interfere in his investigation.”

  She almost held her breath, waiting for him to ask how well she knew Michael. But the question never came. Instead, he swept her back onto the dance floor, then thanked her elaborately when the music ended.

  Amanda made her way to the ladies’ room, hoping it would be empty. It was, and she closed the door, then leaned against it briefly, willing herself to calmness.

  Had she ever really believed that they could conduct a civil campaign? Surely she’d known it would come to this—or to something like this. Neal hadn’t gotten over her rejection of him. She knew that now. He would use whatever weapons came to hand.

  She wondered if that remark about the families being under suspicion was based on anything other than conjecture on his part. Did it mean that he had a source in the police department?

  She saw now that it was quite likely that he did. After all, he’d worked in the D.A.’s office for nearly four years—more than enough time to have built up a few close relationships with the police.

  And it appeared that Michael had ruffled his feathers. Did that mean that Neal might at some point begin to wonder if anything was going on between them?

  She thought about meetings she’d had with Michael, when others had been present, both from the police department and from her own office. She’d been sure that the tension between them had been noticed by others. How long would it be before someone would make a remark, perhaps in total innocence, and it would reach Neal Hadden’s ears?

  She used the facilities, then left the rest room, determined to spend some time with her father and his friends, then leave as soon as possible. But just as she pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway, Michael Quinn pushed himself away from the wall opposite the door.

  Chapter Seven

  “Talk to me,” Michael said when she simply stopped and stared at him.

  “About what?” She should have guessed that her little scene with Neal hadn’t escaped his attention. Even in a crowd of several hundred people, Michael would have noticed if she’d so much as tugged at an errant bra strap, let alone danced with her former lover and current opponent.

  “Oh, about the weather, the orchestra, the lousy food,” he replied blithely. “Or maybe even about the reason for that thundercloud that followed you out of there.”

  Had others noticed that? She’d thought she’d been concealing her feelings quite well.

  “There’s a smile you wear only when you wish that looks could kill,” he went on. “But don’t worry. No one else there is as observant as I am.”

  “I hope you’re right. I’m afraid you’ve made an enemy of him, Michael—not a good thing if he becomes the D.A.”

  Michael shrugged. “If he does, I’ve only moved up the time frame. Besides, my money, for what it’s worth, is on you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So what did he say?”

  “Nothing, really. He was just trying to imply that the discovery of a body on the island could pose problems for me. Michael, does he have a source in the police department?”

  “Probably,” he said with an obvious lack of concern. “There’s not much either one of us can do about that.”

  “You know, I never considered until this evening how this could affect my father’s chances of getting onto the Supreme Court.”

  Michael nodded, giving her the impression that even if she hadn’t thought about it, he had. And he’d made it clear that he didn’t like her father.

  “All the more reason to get it resolved quickly,” he stated. “Assuming
, of course, that we’re both wrong.”

  “You mean that you’re wrong, and I’m right,” she corrected. “You think that either Jesse or John Verhoeven was responsible in some way, while I know that they’re not.”

  “Have you made any headway in your search?”

  “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

  “Yeah, I know, and I can save you some time. I’ve been to most of the restaurants you haven’t made it to yet.”

  Amanda’s eyes widened. “You’ve been following me?” she asked. “But how could you know who I’m looking for?”

  “That’s easy. I went in and asked right after you left.”

  “Michael, please don’t do this! If you find her before I do, she may not even speak to me.” Then she glared at him. “I can’t believe that you’re following me around like this!”

  “As a matter of fact, neither can I. You know, there’s a phrase that’s used to describe guys like me.”

  “I don’t want to hear what it is.”

  “But you know it. And it makes me wonder about myself—and about us.”

  “There is no ‘us,’ Michael,” she said, but the huskiness in her voice belied her words.

  “There is—and you know it. We want each other just as much now as we did then—maybe more, since we both know just how good it was.”

  The images tumbled through her mind, sending curls of heat all the way through her. She started to turn away, but he reached out and grasped her arm.

  “There’s more to it than just sex, Amanda. You know that, don’t you? If that’s all it was, I wouldn’t be letting you get away with keeping her name from me.”

  “I haven’t kept her name from you,” she argued, but her voice was even huskier. His words had had the effect of opening up a dark pit beneath her feet. As long as she could convince herself that the only thing between them was this sexual chemistry, she felt reasonably safe. But now...

  “You want to think it’s just sex, don’t you,” he taunted her softly. “Because you feel safe that way.”

  How did he know her this well? How had it happened? But then, didn’t she think she knew him that well, too? Sometimes, anyway. At other times, he could seem to be a complete stranger to her.

  He let go of her arm, and she missed the connection, the heat that traveled through him and into her.

  “Is Jacobs her married name?” he asked.

  “No. I don’t know what that would be. I gave the people I talked to her description and said that her last name could be different.”

  “Yeah, I got her description from them, and the voice should have triggered their memories even if the name was different. But if she’s married, she didn’t get married here.”

  She sighed. Michael was always one step ahead. It figures he’d already checked the courthouse records for a marriage license.

  He chuckled. “Looks to me like you’d better get elected. You sure don’t have any career prospects as a criminal or as a detective.”

  She ignored his taunt. “She has children—young children.

  “Right. So she must have a husband.”

  “I didn’t say that. I was thinking about court-ordered support.”

  “I checked those records, too. For all we know, each kid has a different father and they all decided they didn’t want to be daddies.”

  “Somehow, I doubt that. The girl I remember was very responsible.”

  “Well, you might as well tell me the rest of what you know, while you’re at it.”

  So she did. “But I still want to be the first to approach her—if we find her, that is.”

  “Like I said, there are ugly names for guys like me, but okay.”

  “Michael, I...” She faltered, not certain how to say what she wanted to say—or didn’t want to say—but had to say. “I really appreciate your...sensitivity in this matter.”

  He grinned. “Comes as a shock, doesn’t it?”

  Their gazes met and locked, and those memories threatened to sweep her away. She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”

  Michael took a step away from her, then ran a hand through his hair. “Are we talking about love here, do you think?”

  Amanda stopped breathing. Every word he’d spoken, except that one, faded to nothing. Her throat closed painfully, cutting off any attempt she might have made to respond to that.

  “It’s, uh, not something I’ve had any experience with, you know? I mean, there’ve been women—but... Why am I having to do all the talking here?”

  “I think you’re supposed to know if you’re really in love.” she murmured huskily.

  “What if we’re both too busy denying it to know it?” he challenged.

  She was saved from having to respond to that by two women who suddenly appeared in the hallway—one of whom was a judge’s wife she knew. They exchanged greetings, and the women both cast curious glances at the two of them before going on to the ladies’ room.

  “I need to get back there. Others might have noticed what you noticed.”

  Michael nodded. “I’m leaving. I have some rounds to make.”

  They parted without another word in the lobby of the country club. Before she returned to the party, Amanda cast a quick glance back at him, thinking that he’d seemed just as relieved as she was.

  THE PHONE WAS RINGING when Amanda returned after church and then brunch with her father and Jesse. As she walked into her condo, Amanda’s thoughts were on Jesse. She’d been withdrawn and obviously uncomfortable the whole time.

  “It’s Michael,” he said unnecessarily as soon as she answered. “Are you free for a couple of hours?”

  “Yes. Why? Have you found her?” Given her thoughts about Jesse, it was easy for her to assume that he was calling for that reason.

  “I’ll pick you up in a half hour.”

  She went upstairs and changed into slacks and a sweater. Had he found Tina Jacobs? Given his eagerness to escape last night, it seemed unlikely that he had anything else on his mind today.

  She brushed her hair and stared at herself in the mirror, feeling a rush of heat as his words replayed in her mind. “No!” she cried aloud. She could not let it happen to them. She had her career to think of. She’d never be happy with him even if it weren’t for her career.

  But could she ever be happy without him?

  The first inkling she had that his visit might not have anything to do with Tina Jacobs came when she opened the door and found him standing there in a sweater and jeans. He wouldn’t be dressed like that if this were police business.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as he backed the Porsche out of a visitor’s parking space.

  “It’s not far.”

  “Michael! Have you found her?”

  “No.”

  “Then where are we going?”

  He slanted her a quick glance. “Calm down, Counselor. I’m not kidnapping you.”

  “I’m certainly relieved to hear that,” she replied, wondering if it was her imagination, or was he actually as nervous as he seemed?

  They drove through the city and out into the northern suburbs. Most of the recent growth had occurred in this area, and Amanda was surprised to see just how built-up it was. She never had occasion to come out this way.

  She commented on the changes to Michael, but received only grunts in response, which further convinced her that he was nervous about something. And after he had made a series of turns through residential areas and it finally dawned on her where they must be going, she was dumbfounded. But because she thought she might be wrong, she said nothing.

  The land became mostly wooded and hilly and the houses were bigger and farther apart, and then Michael slowed and turned into an unmarked driveway that led uphill through the woods.

  Amanda knew she must be right, but she still wasn’t prepared to see the house at the top of the hill. It was big and modern, with lots of glass and evidence of continuing construction, although from the outside, at least, it looked almost finished
.

  “This is your house,” she said finally as he rolled to a stop next to a pile of construction materials.

  “Uh-huh. I didn’t know if you knew about it.”

  “Someone mentioned it to me. It’s beautiful, Michael.”

  He studied her carefully. “Are you just being polite, or do you really like it? I mean, I kind of thought you might prefer the kind of house you grew up in.”

  She did—and she didn’t. But right now, liking it wasn’t really the issue—or was it? A flock of butterflies took up residence in her stomach.

  “I do like modern houses,” she told him. “It’s just that I’ve never been in many of them.”

  She got out of the car and stared back down the driveway. From this spot, any view was blocked by the trees, but the house sat on still higher ground.

  Michael got out, too. “I bought two lots, five acres each. I guess it was kind of extravagant, but I really wanted space.”

  He didn’t face her as he spoke, but instead jammed his hands into his pockets and stared up at the house. Amanda wasn’t an impulsive person and moreover, she’d grown up in a family that wasn’t inclined toward demonstrations of affection. But before she quite realized what she was doing, she had slipped an arm around his waist.

  “This is a dream come true, isn’t it?” she asked.

  He nodded and put one arm around her. “Yeah, it is. Come on. It’s not finished inside, but you’ll be able to get the idea anyway.”

  A walkway of used brick that matched the brick on part of the house itself led up to the front door. Michael gestured to it.

  “Guess where this brick came from.”

  When she shook her head, he gave her a crooked grin. “An old tenement down in the Bottom. Ironic, huh? You can take the kid out of the Bottom, but...” he chuckled.

  Amanda joined in his laughter, wondering if there’d ever been a time in her life when she’d been able to share so intimately in someone else’s pleasure. Was that what love was all about?