Chasing Adonis (18 page)

Shane’s confused gaze veered from Pha to Adara and back
again as he tried to overcome his surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I invited him inside,” Adara said. “He’s been here since
about eight o’clock last night.”

“You what?”

“Do not be angry with Adara,” Pha interjected. “Someone had
to make certain she was safe through the night.” He rose to his feet and
flitted forward, hand outstretched to grip Shane’s. “I was quite perturbed to
find her without any kind of sentry posted outside her door yesterday evening.”

Perturbed, were you? You ain’t seen nothing yet, buddy
boy. I’ll show you perturbed.

Shane ignored the man’s attempt at civility, and Pha dropped
his hand back to his side.

“Actually,” he said with a nonchalance far from the impotent
anger coursing through him, “we had a sentry posted outside
your
door.
We assumed that if you were under twenty-four hour surveillance, Adara would be
perfectly safe here.”

Pha never blinked, never flinched, just sat there, staring
with that reptilian gaze. “Fortunately, despite both our errors in judgment,
Adara was, indeed, safe.”

“Uh-huh. So, ah, tell me, Mr. Pha. Where were you around
midnight last night?”

Arms akimbo, Adara stepped between the two combatants, an
exasperated mommy separating her battling children. “He was here all night,
Shane. Why? What happened?”

“Someone set fire to the Seven Knights Motel,” he told her,
though his eyes watched Ted for any hint of subterfuge in his reaction.

Adara gasped. “Oh, my God. Was anyone hurt?”

“No. The only person in the place was the desk clerk, and he
managed to escape without injury.”

“Then, consider it urban renewal,” she retorted. “Fire was the
only way to cleanse that dump.”

Shane was not amused. “You’re missing the point, Adara.”

“Which is?”

“I believe the detective suspects someone set fire to the
‘dump,’ as you so delicately put it,” Pha said, his bland face revealing no
deceit, “thinking you were inside at the time. Isn’t that right, Detective?”

His eyes never left Pha’s face, but still saw no subterfuge
in the blond man’s continuously impassive expression. “Yes.”

“Surely you don’t suspect Ted had anything to do with it?”

“That depends.” Folding his arms over his chest, he glared
at Pha with open animosity. “Where were you yesterday afternoon around three?”

The infuriating man’s smile never faltered. He barely
blinked. “As a matter of fact, I was with your partner, Detective Gennaro. I
stopped by your office to find out where Adara had been taken after she was
removed from that second healing center. I was there when Adara called and only
left after speaking with your commander. By that time, Detective Gennaro had
already left for Adara’s apartment. Does that satisfy your suspicions?”

It would have to for now. He certainly couldn’t get a more
ironclad alibi than that. But Shane hated the idea of giving up Pha as a
suspect. He was too convenient, too annoying, and too often at the wrong place at
the wrong time. Yet, he couldn’t ignore the truth, no matter how he wished it
otherwise.

Adara was right; if Pha wanted to kill her, he’d had ample
opportunity. Shane inwardly cringed, owning up to his responsibility for
several of those open chances.

Could Pha be legitimate? Was it merely coincidence that he
appeared in Adara’s life just when Cherry’s sentence was revoked?

Shane supposed it was
possible
. After all, his
instincts had failed him once before. With the woman to whom he’d been closest:
his sister, Cassia. Perhaps, Adara jammed his bad-guy-radar in a similar
fashion. Still, he wouldn’t give up Pha without a fight.

“How exactly did you know to find Adara here?” Especially
since no one else, including Lou, knew he’d set her up in this place?

Pha traced a finger along the countertop in a façade of
disinterest. “I could tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

The finger stopped. “Very well. I have a psychic connection
to Adara. Whither she goes, so goest I.”

Uh-huh. And I’m the Crown Prince of Romania
.

“I told you that you would not believe me,” Pha drawled.

Adara slowly sank into a chair then, drawing his concern.
During the time he’d concentrated on Pha, her complexion had turned ashen, and
a tremor had taken residence in her overburdened frame. “C-could we get back to
that fire for a minute, please? What makes you think it was intended for me?”

Damn. He really didn’t mean to terrify her. He simply wanted
her to appreciate the gravity of her situation. To stop making jokes, and to
stop taking chances, like letting Pha into her room without absolute certainty
he wouldn’t harm her. If anything happened to her, he’d go berserk. The mere
thought of never seeing her smile again caused a hole to bore its way into the
pit of his stomach.

“Detective?” Pha’s prompt drew him back into the
conversation.

“According to the Fire Commissioner’s initial report, the
blaze looks like it started in Room 112.”

“The room the desk clerk assigned me.”

Her statement, said with such defeat, nearly cracked his
heart in half. “I’m afraid so.”

“So I’m still not safe.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, Adara. No one else knows you’re
here.”

“No one knew about the Seven Knights Motel, either.”

His cell phone buzzed on his hip. “Hold that thought for a
sec.”

Quick hands grabbed the phone and depressed the “Talk”
button. “Griffin here.”

“You’ve got a nice family,” a gravelly voice husked through
the earpiece. “It’d be a shame if something happened to that little boy, doncha
think?”

“Who is this?”

“Bring the Berros bitch to the south entrance of the
Westlake Mall by one o’clock today, or you can say goodbye to Mom and the kid.”

Click
.

Bile rose into his throat, and he swallowed it back with a
burning gulp. Tyler. Jeez, and his mother, too.

He managed to keep his voice from shaking when he turned
back to Adara and Pha. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”

The expression on his face was obviously harder to hide.
“Shane?” Adara leaned closer to peer into his eyes. “Is everything okay? Who
was on the phone?”

He shook his head then quickly stepped outside to make his
call. The phone rang five times. Each unanswered ring was a knife thrust into
his chest.
Come on, come on. Answer it already.

At last, he heard the distinctive fumble of the receiver.
“Hello?”

“Mom.” Thank God. In one long whoosh, he let out the breath
he hadn’t realized he held. “Where’s Tyler?”

“And good morning to you, too, Shane. Tyler’s fine. He’s
right here helping me pack our lunch. Remember? We’re going to the animal park
today.”

“Change in plans, Mom. I want you to drop what you’re doing,
and get in the car right now. Get in the car, and go to Aunt Jenny’s house.
Stay there ‘til I get there. In about a half-hour or so.”

“Shane, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later. Just go. Don’t wait. Don’t tell anyone
where you’re going. Just go. Please.”

Before she could argue, he flipped the phone closed,
simultaneously disconnecting the line. Pausing only long enough to run a shaky
hand through his hair, he reentered the motel room and found two pairs of eyes
staring at him intently.

“What’s wrong?” Adara asked.

“Someone just threatened my family.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. Over me?”

He nodded, his mind too abuzz with theories to force words
from his constricting throat.

Contrary to Adara’s earlier statement, several people knew
about the Seven Knights Motel. Unfortunately, every single one of them was a
cop—people he’d known and trusted for years. And those same individuals knew
about his mother and Tyler. Could his trust have been misguided?

His mind flashed on individual faces, possible suspects.
Lou, pastrami routinely dripping from his lips, became his partner after the
gas station sniper killed Kevin. Since then, they’d worked side by side,
growing so close one could finish the other’s sentences. Shane had been invited
to Lou’s daughter’s wedding, for Chrissake.

The Commander. Jake knew about the Seven Knights Motel, too;
he set it up.

Arnie and Stan who worked the nightshift also knew. Each had
covered a stint outside Adara’s hospital room and would have eventually served
time guarding her here as well.   

Could any one of these honorable men be working for Cherry?
Money had a strange effect on people. History had shown that the right
enticement could turn even the straightest cop crooked.

His mind whirled at the consequences.

“Detective?” Pha’s inquisitive tone shattered visions of
gavels falling on not guilty verdicts all over the Island while witnesses’
bodies stacked up in the county morgue. “She can’t stay here, can she?” 

“What do you mean I can’t stay here?” Adara demanded, hands
fisted on her hips. “I only got here fourteen hours ago. Now I’m moving again?”

He exchanged a quick glance of concern with Pha and sighed.
“I’m afraid so.”

“Try not to be afraid, Shane,” she snapped. “You’re a police
officer, remember?”

“Adara,” Pha interjected. “Sarcasm won’t help.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She chewed on a fingernail on her left
hand. “I’m frazzled, you know? I feel like a gypsy. In three days, I’ve had
four temporary homes. I just finished unpacking this morning, and now, I’m
moving again.”

“I’m sorry too, Adara,” Shane said. “I wish I had a perfect
answer for you, but I don’t.” He turned his gaze to Pha. “Mr. Pha, I’m going to
ask you to leave now, please.”

“Still don’t trust me, Detective?”

“I’m beginning to think I can’t trust anyone.”

~~~~

Numb from the neck up, Adara watched the two men discuss
their plans for her. She sat helpless, mouth agape, while Ted and Shane debated
options. Disbelief stole her ability to speak, to think with any form of logic,
to come up with any sane argument at all.

“Wherever Adara goes, I go,” Ted said, stamping his foot
like an irate hausfrau.

“No way,” Shane replied. “I can’t be responsible for your
safety.”

“I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, Detective.
Believe me when I say no one can harm me. But Adara is another story. This
Cherry fiend will obviously stop at nothing to keep her from testifying. I need
to be certain she’s safe.”

“What makes you think you can keep her safer than I can?”

“Your past record thus far.”

Shane’s eyes simmered with repressed anger. “So, what do you
propose we do?”

“I can take her to Cyprus. She would be safe there.”

“No dice. She can’t leave the country. She’s a material
witness to a murder. I’m calling in the FBI. She can be placed in the Federal
Protection Program.”

“And how soon before your FBI discusses Adara’s location
with other members of your precinct?” Ted demanded. “How safe will she remain
when her whereabouts are known to more than you and me? You wish her to flee
because you believe there is a flaw somewhere in your organization, do you not?
A colleague who may be playing both sides. Isn’t that correct?”

Shane sighed. “Yes.”

“Are you willing to risk losing your job and your very life
to keep her safe?”

Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, Adara watched Shane,
waiting for his answer.

“Yes.”

“Why, Detective?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Ted waved a hand. “Never mind. I’m certain you don’t realize
the answer to that question yet yourself. However, it does make for an
interesting quandary. I need a moment to think, please.”

Minutes passed while Ted’s gaze swerved from Shane to Adara
and back again. He stroked his chin, shook his head, then turned away from them.
A mumbled incantation reached Adara’s ears, but she could discern nothing
coherent in the clicking and singsong sounds. At long last, Ted’s attention and
gaze returned to the two other occupants in the room.

“You’ll need cash. An untraceable form of payment for
hotels, restaurants, everything.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a
billfold, and handed it to Shane. “Take this. The money enclosed within will
sustain you for as long as you need. Take your nephew and mother with you. Go
to a place tourists frequent in droves, and you will blend into the crowds as
just another American family on vacation.”

At the thought of endangering an innocent child, Adara
finally found her voice. “No, Ted. We can’t take the boy with us. Wouldn’t he
be safer here? If I’m gone, they won’t bother to chase Shane, will they?”

Ted smiled and traced a finger along her jawline. The
flickery contact sent butterflies into her throat, and she swallowed hard. “No,
my dearest. These men will use whatever means lie at their disposal to find
you. Besides, the child needs this escape as much as you do. He lives in a
world of nightmares. This excursion will give him an opportunity to walk in
sunlight again. I promise you, nothing will harm him.”

“But what about you?”

“For now, I shall remain here and learn what I can about Mr.
Cherry’s influence.”

“That’s not a good idea, Pha,” Shane said. “Cherry’s a
dangerous guy.”

“I am touched to hear your concern, Detective, but Cherry
and his ilk cannot harm me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“Take Adara, retrieve your family, and go. I shall follow
along when I have news for you.”

“How?” Adara asked. “You don’t even know where we’re going.”

“I have already told you, my angel. I shall always be able
to find you. We are connected, you and I.” He kissed her forehead, a
benediction. “Go now. Be good to the child. He needs a loving woman to heal
him. And perhaps, you need him to heal the wounds in your own heart.”