Catnapped! (A Matchmaker Mystery Book 3) (12 page)

He considered her speculatively, wordlessly holding out a thick, white dish towel for her to dry herself with.

She snatched it from him, grateful for the chance to hide her face behind the rectangle of material. She took her time blotting the water off her cheeks.

Roscoe mercifully didn’t pry. “Pete took her into the office to wait for Mildred. The family is finishing up their lunch in the library. I was going to make some coffee. Do you want some?”

“No thanks.” She handed him back the towel. “I’m already feeling jittery.”

Roscoe arched an eyebrow, but once again was kind enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

“I’ll go find them.” Doing her best to keep her head high, she walked out of the kitchen with a sense of purpose. It wasn’t until she’d left that she realized she hadn’t asked
who
Pete was with.

Striding into the library, she was surprised to find Pete deep in conversation with a woman wearing an Animal Control Officer uniform and the most garish glitter lipstick imaginable.

Pete looked over to her. “Alyssa, this is Tara. Tara, Alyssa.”

Tara looked Alyssa over curiously. “Hi.”

“Hello.” She looked to Pete, hoping for an explanation. While an animal control expert might have come in handy when they’d thought the cat was missing, it didn’t make much sense to have one around when they were about to go pay a ransom for the cat’s return. “Can I talk to you a second?” She jerked her head toward the door. “Privately.”

“Excuse us, Tara,” Pete murmured, following Alyssa into the hall.

She led him to the foyer, partially to make sure they weren’t within earshot of the Crazy Lipstick Lady and partly because she was afraid to face him after what had occurred in the kitchen.

Finally, running out of house, she was forced to stop, turn and whisper, “What is she doing here?”

“I called her.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Armani said to.”

Alyssa felt her blood pressure skyrocket. “And you’re taking orders from that wacko now?”

“I’m not taking
orders
from anyone,” he replied calmly. “I don’t see how it can hurt to bring her along.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Alyssa fixed her coldest, most withering stare on him. It was a look that had broken hardened criminals.

Pete though was unimpressed. In fact, he actually chuckled at her.

“What’s so funny?”

“You try so hard with that Ice Princess act of yours. But really…” His eyes dropped from her face to leisurely roam down her body.

His perusal made her body flush anew with heat.

“We both know you’re not,” he said, once again looking into her eyes.

She dropped her hands from her hips, signaling her surrender. Even though they’d only known one another for a short time, he already knew her well enough to not fall for any of the tricks that usually served her so well. She squirmed at the thought. Between their undeniable physical attraction and his insights into her character, it was almost as though they had an intimate relationship.

The idea frightened her, but she was also secretly pleased by the possibility.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

He sounded so serious that Alyssa’s stomach flip-flopped nervously. She steeled herself for him to say they had no future. “What?”

“You were right.”

“About what.”

“I shouldn’t have judged my brother the way I did.”

She blinked at the unexpected direction of the direction of the conversation. “It wasn’t any of my business. I shouldn’t have—”

He held up a hand to silence her. “After I talked to you this morning, I did some research. What I believed about my brother…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I made a horrible mistake.”

Seeing his anguish, Alyssa moved toward him, wanting to offer him comfort, but not knowing what to say. Slipping into his arms, she hugged him tightly, offering support.

He squeezed back, not in a sexual way, but to express his gratitude.

She breathed in the scent of him and soaked in his warmth, a profound sense of rightness and peace enveloping them.

She realized then, with her head tucked into the crook of his shoulder, their heartbeats beating in tandem, his arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe, that she’d made a mistake.

She felt like she belonged with him, and she knew how dangerous that could be.

The last time she’d felt like she belonged somewhere, she’d been let down and rejected. It had almost killed her. She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t survive.

She moved to gently disentangle herself from Pete, needing to put distance between them. A lot of distance. Once Mr. Burberry was back home, safe and sound, she’d avoid having anything to do with Pete Hanlon.

A tear slipped from her eye as she grieved what might have been, even as she moved away, taking care not to hold his gaze, which looked hurt and confused, as though he sensed that she’d just ended them before they’d ever had the chance to begin.

Pete followed Alyssa back to the library, unsure of what had just happened. Their kitchen kiss had been white-hot, their warm embrace in the foyer had offered a sense of peace he’d never experienced with anyone else, and now she was giving him the cold shoulder.

“What the hell is going on?” he muttered to himself, but judging by the way her shoulders stiffened as she walked ahead of him, he knew Alyssa had heard him.

That she didn’t turn to offer him an explanation or assurance made a shiver run down his spine.

They got back to the library just in time to hear Tara insult Mildred, who was being served a cup of tea by Gerald.

“You have some beautiful pieces,” Tara gushed, carefully replacing a bronze cat statue back on its shelf.

“Thank you,” Mildred murmured.

“Congratulations,” Lester Michelman drawled. “Your taste is approved of by this”—he ran a disparaging look up and down Tara—“icon of style.”

Ignoring his insult, Tara continued enthusiastically, “They’re some of the best fauxs I’ve ever seen.”

“Excuse me?” Mildred asked sharply.

“Faux. Fake. Knock-offs.”

“The nerve!” Lester thundered.

“Tara!” Pete reprimanded.

But the woman was oblivious to his warning. “I’d love to use them in my own work.”

“As a dog catcher?” Venom dripped from every one of Mildred’s words.

Pete winced. This was not going well. What had Armani gotten him into?

Tara raised her chin proudly. “I’m an animal control officer.”

“We’re about ready to go, Mrs. Michelman,” Alyssa interjected in an obvious attempt to distract the other two women.

While she spoke, Gerald walked over and picked up the statue Tara had been admiring. He examined it closely.

Pete fought the urge to rip it out of the younger man’s hands. Was Gerald trying to add fuel to the fire Pete saw smoldering in Mrs. Michelman’s watchful gaze?

“Any special instructions?” Alyssa asked, valiantly trying to get the old woman to focus on her.

“Bring my baby home,” Mildred ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” Pivoting on her heel, Alyssa grabbed Tara’s elbow and propelled her out of the room.

Gerald replaced the statue and followed them.

Pete was about to do the same when Mildred called his name.

“Pete?”

He glanced at her nervously, expecting to be reamed out for bringing the dog catcher into her home. She motioned for him to come closer, which he did, a tad grudgingly.

“I love Mr. Burberry more than anything else in the world.”

“I understand.”

“I’m not sure you do.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed, surprisingly strong for a woman her age.

“We’re going to do our best to bring him back to you,” he assured her, patting her hand.

“I love my cat, Pete, but I don’t want any humans getting hurt in the effort to return him to me.”

He blinked, taken aback by both the intensity in her voice and message.

“I’m worried that Alyssa is trying to prove something. That she’ll put herself at risk.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he pledged.

“I know you will. I just wanted you to know that if it comes down to protecting her or saving Mr. Burberry, you have my blessing to do what you feel is best.”

Impulsively, Pete bent and placed a quick kiss to her wrinkled cheek. “I’m a pretty good multi-tasker.”

A slight smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Go.”

Pete made his way to the kitchen, where the others were gathered. Alyssa held court like a general getting ready to lead troops into battle.

“Roscoe will stay with Mrs. M. and keep an eye on her,” Alyssa ordered.

The big man nodded his agreement.

“Tara will ride with me,” Alyssa continued. “And—”

“Bad idea,” the animal control officer interrupted.  “All of my equipment is in my van.”

Alyssa frowned. “We shouldn’t need it.”

“But
if
we do…” Tara shrugged.

“Fine. I’ll ride with Tara in her van, and Pete can ride in the back-up car.” Alyssa shot him a look that seemed to dare him to argue with her.

“What about me?” Gerald asked plaintively.

“What do you want to do?” Alyssa asked.

“Help.”

Feeling sorry for the kid, Pete said, “I could use some company.”

Gerald beamed.

Alyssa nodded her agreement. “So we’re clear, the objective is to bring Mr. Burberry home.”

“I thought we were after a cat,” Tara interjected.

“He is the cat,” Gerald informed her.

“Hoity toity name,” Tara muttered.

“Our objective,” Alyssa stated again, trying to remain in control, “is to bring the cat home. We’re not there to hang onto the money. We’re not trying to catch the bad guys. Our sole aim is to recover the target. Does everyone understand that?” She looked around the room, pinning each of the occupants with her clear, blue-eyed stare, until they nodded their understanding.

Her gaze landed on Pete last. Instead of nodding, he winked at her and was rewarded with a surprised blink before she looked away.

Roscoe walked them all to the door, Alyssa leading the way, carrying the bag that contained the ransom money. Pete brought up the rear of the line.

“Be careful out there,” Roscoe whispered as Pete walked past, slapping him on the back.

Pete nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His gut was tied in knots and it felt like there was a weight pressing on his chest.  All he could think as he made his way to his car was
SAVE HER
.

Tara’s van was something to behold.

While on the outside it looked like a regular Animal Control Officer van with slightly dingy white paint and black block lettering, the passenger cab looked and smelled totally unexpected.

Everything, from the seats to the floor to the seat belts, was covered in a royal purple velvet. Even the dashboard was covered with some sort of glittery purple paint. It should have been tacky, but strings of soft white led lights and the scent of warm vanilla made it feel like an cocoon of calm.

“Wow.” Alyssa stroked the velvet covering as she sank into the passenger seat, putting the gym bag between her feet.

“I like to dabble.” Tara hauled herself into the driver’s seat. “Ocean or forest.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you prefer the beach or the woods?”

“The beach,” Alyssa answered, wondering what the woman was getting at.

Tara patted the top of the dashboard twice. The sound of gentle surf roared softly from the speakers.

Tara punched in the location of the ransom exchange into her GPS and began to drive. Glancing in the side mirror, Alyssa saw that Pete pulled out right after them.

“Armani wanted me to give you a message,” Tara said as she turned a corner.

Alyssa rolled her eyes; she had enough on her mind, trying to rescue and recover a cat, and deal with the feelings Pete evoked in her. Dangerous feelings. Feelings she couldn’t trust.

“She said to remind you to choose the right door,” Tara continued.

Remembering how that bit of advice had made her walk into Mauricio’s gym, where she’d encountered Pete again, she shook her head. “She already told me that one.”

Tara shrugged. “She must think it’s important then.”

Alyssa sighed heavily.

“She set me up too.”  She tapped the ring finger of her left hand. “Without her I’d never have found my Harry. And now look at me. I’m a married lady with a hubby who’s going to support me chasing my dream.”

“What’s that?”

“Interior decorating,” Tara waved her hand. “I’ve had a lifelong passion for it.”

“I can tell,” Alyssa murmured.

“But it wasn’t going to pay my bills, so I got my town job. Spent years studying and building up my nest egg so that I can take an unpaid internship. Now that I’m married, I can be on Harry’s benefits. It’s like all the stars have aligned for me and I owe it all to Armani.”

“I think you’re discounting all of your own hard work,” Alyssa said gently. “And your own ability. You’ve got a real flair for this.”

Tara grinned. “You think?’

“Absolutely. Purple is my least favorite color and yet I love this space. That takes real talent.”

“What about you? What’s your talent, Alyssa?”

Alyssa tensed. What was her talent?

“Where does your passion lie?” Tara prompted.

“It used to be helping people,” Alyssa said slowly.

“But not anymore?”

She shrugged.

“But you’re helping Mrs. Michelman get her cat back,” Tara reminded her.

“I used to be a cop,” Alyssa blurted out. “I used to make a real difference.”

Tara drove in silence for a few minutes. When she spoke again, her voice was soft. “I return a lot of pets to their owners. If you could see their faces… I make a real difference.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Tara held up a hand to silence her. “I know what you meant. Why’d you stop being a cop?”

“It’s complicated.”

“And you don’t think you can help people working in the private sector? Or do you not want to anymore?”