Chasing Adonis (13 page)

“Jeez, Shane, I haven’t even started to look yet. Let me
check with the D.A., and I’ll get back to you.”

“Okay. Any news on Pha?”

“Nothing. His prints are clean, and there hasn’t been a
sound in his apartment all night. Not so much as a footstep. It’s like the man
floats on air.”

No surprise to Shane. “What’d I tell you? Nothing concerning
that guy is normal. Every answer you get about him only elicits two new
questions.” 

“That’s a major understatement. I’ll tell you this much,
though. If Cherry did hire him, it’s no wonder. Your Mr. Pha is more slippery
than an eel in Crisco. But don’t sweat it. We’ll keep digging. If we find
anything, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, try to stall Ms. Berros’s
discharge until I can find someplace for us to stow her.”

“She’s not a piece of luggage, Jake.”

“Take it easy,” Jake growled. A long pause ensued then he
asked in a concerned tone, “You’re not getting in over your head on this one,
are you, Shane?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ll be in touch.”

Click
.

Damn. Now what? Shane stared at the phone in his hand while
his mind scrambled for a plan.

During the elevator ride back up to her floor, he tossed
around ideas to, somehow, buy time. Past experience told him the discharge
could take twenty minutes or two hours. No way to know for sure. Assuming the
worst, he drew a mental checklist in his brain of what to do with Adara until
Jake found a place for her to stay.

Maybe he could take her out to breakfast. The diner down the
road was notorious for its slow service. That might come in handy today. And of
course, she’d need to go to her apartment and pack—if she were like most women
he knew, that simple task could eat up an hour or two—then what? Lunch? How
long could he keep plying her with food?

He sighed. He’d just have to hope he heard from Jake by the
time Adara had eaten breakfast and packed.

Ding
! All too soon, the doors opened on the eighth
floor, and Shane stepped out, more prepared to face a firing squad than Adara.

Forcing a smile onto his features, he strode into her room
and was instantly struck dumb. She stood only a few feet away, surrounded by more
flowers than the Botanical Gardens displayed on Easter Sunday. Her dark eyes
sparkled with pleasure, and a flood of white-blond hair fell in a cascade of
curls to her shoulders. God, she was the most incredible beauty he’d ever seen.
Gone were the tubes snaking up her arm, the boxy hospital gown, the exhausted
and pained look on her face. She looked happy, glowing, and thoroughly
kissable.

He’d kissed her only yesterday, and his lips still burned
with the memory. Honeysuckle. She tasted like honeysuckle. And like a bee, he
wanted to drink in her sweetness for as long as possible.

“Surprise,” she said, breaking through his sensual trance.
“I’m no longer an invalid. How soon before I can go home, Shane?”

“Home?”

“Look at me.” She giggled like a delighted child. “I’m
standing on my own two feet. Isn’t it wonderful?”

She spun around, giving him a terrific view of the delicious
curves of her hips and rear in the floral print skirt she’d worn when he found
her at the accident scene. Was that
really
only yesterday?

“My fractures weren’t as bad as they first thought. I’m
fully healed, and I’m ready to go home. I never thought I’d say this, but I
miss my crummy apartment. With the noisy neighbors, the leaky bathtub faucet,
and all its other inconveniences. And I miss work. So, when can I get out of
here and get back to Shangri-La?”

“Adara, even if you’re discharged, you can’t go home. You
know that.”

Disappointment clouded her eyes, and a dart of guilt stung
his conscience.

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you realized, with Pha and Cherry
running around free, it isn’t safe for you to go back to your normal life.”

Her left hand shifted to her hip, redistributing her weight
on the same side. “Have you found out anything about Ted?”

“Nothing concrete, no.”

“Then you can’t know if he really means to harm me, can
you?”

Was she kidding? What happened to the terrified woman from
yesterday? The one who wouldn’t allow the nurse to give her a sedative unless
he stayed by her side? Did the doctor remove her common sense along with the
cast? Now she stood beside her bed, twirling a flower petal between her fingers
as if life were as rosy as the blooms surrounding her.

“Nor can I know if Ted really is who he says he is,” Shane
retorted. “Besides, don’t forget, Cherry’s still out there, even if Pha’s not
part of his network. And you’re the only barrier keeping our friend Benny from
walking out of the courtroom a free man.”

“I was the only barrier last time, too, and I still managed
to go about my regular life.”

“That’s because your identity was kept out of the news. Only
the D.A.’s office knew your name. No one else knew you existed. But if Cherry
orchestrated last night’s dance with the Buick that struck you, I can only
assume he found out about you through a leak somewhere. Which means any idiot,
even Pha, could locate you now.”

“Okay.” She sighed and dropped her gaze to her feet. “I
kinda hoped you’d let me go, though.”

“Sorry. I can’t.”

“So, where to, then?”

He shrugged. “A safe house, I suppose.”

“Is it?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Her head snapped up, eyes crinkled with worry. “Is it really
a safe house?”

“Absolutely.” He prayed he was right.

Chapter Twelve

“Ted was here last night, you know.”

“What?” Shane did a double take at Adara’s whispered admission.
“How did he know you were here?”

She shrugged, and a dusky blush ribbon curled around her
cheeks. “At first, I thought I dreamt the whole thing. But when I woke up this
morning and saw all the flowers here, I knew it was real. He brought them.”

His gaze traveled around the room, taking in the multitude
of roses covering every surface and every inch of wall space, before settling
back on her in disbelief. He’d left strict instructions that if Pha showed up,
the officer on duty was to contact him immediately. So why the hell hadn’t
anyone beeped him?

“Did you use your panic button?”

“I didn’t have the chance. I woke up, and he was sitting
next to my bed with the panic device in his hand. He said you wouldn’t be able
to keep him from me.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hands
on her lap. “You know, there’s something very odd about him.”

“You’re just coming to that conclusion now?”

“What I mean is, he managed to slip in here, bringing all
these flowers, without anyone noticing his coming or going. I don’t get it.”

He turned toward the door. “And I don’t want it. I’m going
to talk to that doctor about moving you out of here ASAP.”

“Don’t rush on Ted’s account,” she called, stopping him in
his tracks. “The more I think about it, the more I believe Ted’s not the
villain you claim he is.”

Shane turned back to her, eyebrows rising in arcs of
suspicion. “Oh?”

She nodded. “Humor me for a minute. If Ted wanted to harm
me, he’s had ample opportunity. At the accident site, at College Hospital when
I first woke up, even here last night. But he didn’t. Every time I see him, he
insists he loves me and would never hurt me. I’m beginning to believe him. You
could be barking up the wrong tree, Shane.” She folded her arms over her chest,
portraying a stance of stubborn determination. “And so long as Ted’s not a
monster, I don’t see any reason to keep up all this cloak and dagger stuff.”

His teeth dug into his lower lip for a long time while he
digested this new information. What kind of spell did Pha cast on the female
population? “Nothing’s changed, Adara,” he finally told her. “You’re still in
danger.”

“Well, I don’t believe Ted is the source.”

“And you’ve had so much experience with lowlifes, you know
one when you see him, right?” He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. If Pha’s
not out to get you, then someone else is.” From temples to ankles, every nerve
ending in his body tightened. “You’re not falling for him, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Her quick denial sent waves of relief flooding into his
muscles. He didn’t think to question why; it was enough for him to realize her
heart hadn’t placed her in needless danger. Like Cassia’s. “That’s good. I need
you to keep your head on straight right now. You can’t be distracted by a
pretty face.”

“Well, you have to admit his good looks make an impression.
It’s hard to imagine a man that beautiful is a cold-blooded killer. Now, the
doctor who removed my cast…I could easily picture him on some roof ledge with a
rifle and a scope, waiting to take me out.”

He smiled despite the gruesome picture she painted.
“Actually, I thought he should be working in the morgue.”

“He’s got cold enough hands for the job, that’s for sure.
Maybe he’s a part-time gynecologist. They keep
everything
cold—their
hands, their instruments, their examining rooms. You have no idea how lucky you
are to be a man. What do you put up with? A hernia exam every once in a while?
Piece of cake, compared to the poking, probing, and mashing we women go through
every year.”

Adara’s tongue rambled, and she knew it. But she couldn’t
control the words coming out of her mouth. It was Shane’s fault, really. The
minute he advised her not to become distracted by a pretty face, her brain did
just that. Not Ted’s pretty face, mind you. Ted was
too
pretty, if such
a thing were possible. No, Ted held no interest for her, regardless of his
stunning looks and endless adoration. It figured.

Ever searching for the impossible, she couldn’t fall for the
perfect man who already swore undying love for her. No, she had to set her
sights on a blue-eyed detective who was probably happily married to his high
school sweetheart, with six kids, a dog, and a house with a white picket fence.

“Are you married?” she blurted.

Oh, God, strike me dead right now. A little spontaneous
combustion would do fine. Please…

He took a step closer to the bedside. “No.”

Um, God? Could you hold off on that spontaneous
combustion thing for a coupla minutes? We just might have something here…

“Engaged? Spoken for?”

“No, no.”

One last stumbling block. “Gay?”

He actually laughed, a rich chuckle that warmed her insides
like blackberry brandy on a winter’s night. “No.”

Bells and whistles erupted in her head.
Ladies and
gentlemen, no more calls, please. We have a winner.

“So. Are we finished discussing my personal life?” The easy
grin lingering on his face belied any annoyance he might feel at her
interrogation.

She shrugged. “For now, I suppose.”

“Good. Because we really should concentrate on what we’re
going to do about you.”

Ooh, she liked the way he said that. Something about the
“we” got her mind thinking again of those six kids, the dog, and the house with
the white picket fence. The only thing missing this time was the high school
sweetheart, replaced by a damsel in distress from a car accident.

One problem with that scenario, though. She’d never been
good at playing the swooning damsel. Well, she could learn, couldn’t she?

“So, what are we going to do about me?” God, was that her
voice? She sounded like Betty Boop on helium.

If Shane noticed her failed attempt at playing the ingénue,
he didn’t show it. “I thought we’d start with a little breakfast at the Oak
Leaf Diner. That is, once Dr. Freeze gives you the okay to walk out of here.
Sound good to you?”

Adara nodded, her mind too preoccupied with one simple
thought to speak.
Our first date
.

~~~~

Adara’s fork toyed with the egg white omelet on her plate.
Why the hell had she bothered to order it? Her appetite had deserted her long before
they left the hospital. Once their lighthearted conversation returned to the
safe house and the implications of her stay there, every shred of happiness or
normalcy left her.

As it had a thousand times in the last two years, her
conscience played the If Only game. If only she hadn’t accompanied Terry to the
party that night, if only she’d given him one more chance, if only they’d left
five minutes earlier or five minutes later, if only she hadn’t fallen asleep in
the car. If only, if only, if only. A never-ending game of torment.

Of course, yesterday’s revelations gave her new scenarios to
play. If only Cherry’s lawyer hadn’t found that loophole, if only she could
finally get on with her life, if only she’d remembered her Aunt Persephone and
fled to Greece after the first trial…

She shook her head at the thought. She couldn’t have moved
to Greece, far away from all that was familiar, from her friends, her past, and
her mother’s grave. Far from her job—well, come to think of it, that might not
be such a tremendous loss. After today’s conversation, she’d probably never
work there again anyway.

From her hospital room she’d called her boss, and while he
sounded understanding, she knew he was annoyed with her request for a leave of
absence. Particularly since she couldn’t tell him how long the leave of absence
would extend. If Shane hadn’t taken the phone from her and filled Mr. Webster
in on the details, he probably would have fired her right then and there. Only
God knew what would await her when—
if
—she returned.

Time to face facts. Life as she knew it was officially over.
Now she’d be forced to walk a new path, if she could find one. What options did
she have?

Regret and loneliness threatened to engulf her, and she
swallowed a tremendous lump of self-pity. Her once secure future now loomed
before her like a funeral shroud: black, empty, and foreboding. Because
regardless of Shane’s insistence about his safe house, she knew safety was far
from a foregone conclusion. Her life tiptoed a fine line every minute of every
day that Cherry remained free.