Dark and Deadly 00 - Secrets Exposed (11 page)

She bit her bottom lip and nodded her approval. It would be very nice indeed. Fear inched into her stomach. Mark was really getting to her. Where was independent Lindsey who didn’t need or want any man? Because this Lindsey, the one following a man wearing only boxers on a sexy body into the living room, was really wanting this one.

Like beyond the night.

Lindsey sat the wine glasses on the table, and she sank to her knees. Mark put the plates on the table side by side. “Mmmm, it smells so good. I am I’m so hungry. Chicken Marsala?”

“My favorite,” he said sitting down beside her. I hope it works for you.”

“I love chicken Marsala. You did well.” Lindsey picked up a fork, and took a bite. “It’s terrific.”

“Or you’re just hungry,” Mark offered with a laugh.

Lindsey shrugged. “Maybe, but it tastes good, whatever the reason.”

They ate in compatible silence for several minutes until Lindsey turned to study him. “Can I ask you something kind of personal, Mark?”

He laughed. “Well, I’d say we’re about as personal as two people can get, so go for it.”

Lindsey frowned. Sex wasn’t an indicator of how well two people knew each other by her book. Granted, what had passed between her and Mark had been unique, and far more moving than pure, physical lust . . . but it didn’t make them progress beyond simple possibilities.

The chance for more between them was farfetched. And getting to know him could make her like him more. A risk she would have to take, because finding out more could also could help her put things into perspective and keep her heart detached.

So, she took the plunge, and started asking questions. “Did you always know you wanted to be an attorney?”

* * * * *

Mark digested Lindsey’s question with interest. He sat his fork on the table, and looked at her, long and hard. Her question said a lot. She was close to letting down a small barrier. The very fact that she was trying to get to know him said a lot. “My father is an attorney just like yours, so I suppose some might say it was in my blood. Then again, I have a brother who’s a computer programmer, and a sister who’s a nurse.”

After several thoughtful moments, and a sip of her wine, Lindsey asked, “Did you consider other career options?”

“No, I didn’t.” And he hadn’t. Being like his father had been his dream. “Did you?”

She stared into her glass, gnawing on her bottom lip a long moment before looking at Mark again. “I guess I didn’t.”

Mark crooked his index finger under her chin. “Why do I sense that answer bothers you so much?”

Her eyes widened, and then her chin jerked slightly, her eyes averting from his. “I didn’t mean to turn this into a probe about me.”

Mark moved a little closer to her, sensing her inner turmoil, and wanting to help her calm it. He wasn’t sure what it was about Lindsey, but he felt her pain like his own. His hand moved down the back of her hair. “I’m not probing, just talking.” Perhaps exposing more of his inner workings would help her open up. “I couldn’t work with my father anymore than you could. I wanted. to be an attorney, but I learned early on that working with him was impossible.”

Her eyes focused on his, suddenly alert with interest. “You tried working with him?”

He nodded. “I did and that lasted all of thirty days. It was a disaster. I moved to Houston and worked for a firm there until your father recruited me.”

Lindsey tilted her head to the side. “Where is home?”

“Austin.”

“Has it been hard being away from your family?”

“Not really. My brother and sister are married and busy with their lives. My father, well I talk with him often enough, and see him on holidays. We have more in common than you realize
,
you and me. My mother is gone. She died when I was four.”

Pain flashed in her eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was for him or for her loss. Maybe both. And suddenly he wished he hadn’t brought up the subject. “How?” she whispered.

He paused, hating what came next. “Cancer,” he said softly. “Sorry. Bad subject.”

Lindsey smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. She reached up and touched Mark’s jaw. “No worries. I’ve, of course, thought of his death. The other day, when I went to see him, he didn’t look good.” She seemed to fret a moment. “Do you think it is harder to lose someone you are close to or someone you, well, someone you never seem to get it right with?”

He took a sip of his wine and thought about the best way to answer her. “I don’t know, Lindsey, but if you can manage to put your relationship back together with him, this would be a good time to do it.”

A wave of emotion danced in her eyes. “The only way to make things better with him is if I live my life his way.”

Mark sat down his wine glass. “I’m not suggesting you make choices that aren’t your own. Just be careful you don’t make choices just to defy his control. You’ve had some time away, and deep down you, and you alone, know what you really want. Make him understand and accept your choices.”

Lindsey turned abruptly and tucked her knees to her body, chin on her knees. “That’s just it . . . I don’t know what I want anymore.” She eyed him. “I can’t believe I’m even telling you this.”

His fingers gently touched her cheek. He wasn’t going to comment on what she did or didn’t tell him. He was just glad she was opening up to him. “You don’t have to make decisions right this minute. Give yourself time, but give him time too. Start talking to him about why you feel like you do. The worst that can happen is he doesn’t listen.”

Lindsey looked at her, her eyes probing as they held his. “What do you want from me, Mark?”

It was a vast question that he could have answered so many ways. Simple seemed best. “Nothing you don’t offer freely.”

Her lashes dropped to her cheeks, dark circles against her perfect, ivory skin. When she opened her eyes again, fixing him in a stare, she smiled. “I’m glad I’m here tonight.”

“Me too,” he whispered, and he lowered his mouth towards hers. “I really want to make love to you again, Lindsey.” His lips lingered just above hers. “Can I?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’d like that very much.”

And his mouth covered hers, their kiss one of tenderness, passion, and possibilities.

 
Lindsey woke to the warm feeling of Mark’s strong arms wrapped around her. Nuzzled against his shoulder and chest, his scent wrapped around her like a cozy blanket. Running her hand through his chest hair and down his flat stomach she couldn’t help the satisfied smile that settled on her lips. There was never a time she could remember feeling so perfectly wonderful nor could she remember ever wanting a man the way she did Mark.

 
Needing her own identity, not wanting to be defined within the confines of a relationship, it had been years since she had even been with a man. Somehow, Mark seemed different than the men in her past. Would things change when he became more comfortable with her?

Was he simply like the rest but with a better disguise?

The dull ringing of her cell phone broke into her thoughts. It was in her purse, which was still in the living room. “Damn,” she murmured as she moved to get out of the bed only to feel Mark’s arms tighten around her.

“Where are you going?” he whispered, half-asleep.

Lindsey smiled and kissed his cheek. “My phone’s ringing. I’ll be right back.”

He nodded. “Hurry back,” he murmured.

Lindsey grabbed Mark’s shirt off the floor, and pulled it over her head. The ringing had stopped, so she didn’t rush. Once in the living room, she sat down on the couch, removed her phone from her purse, and checked the caller ID.

Just as she thought, it had been Steve. Lindsey hit the callback button and he picked up in only one ring. “Listen,” he said without saying hello. “I’ve got some interesting information. There was a string of rapes in Vegas last year that fit the Hudson profile.”

“Really?” Lindsey paused, her mind racing with possibilities. “They fit the Williams profile then, too.”

A moment of silence and then, “Except they were raped, not raped and then murdered.”

At this point, Lindsey was convinced there was reason to check out the possibility of a connection. She dismissed his comment and asked, “What information can you get me?”

“I can give you names, addresses, and general information on the victims, but not much more. I know they have no suspects.”

“When was the last attack?”

“Almost a year ago
,
here’s the odd part
,
not long before the first victim in your case was found.”

Lindsey’s mind raced with options. The possibility of the Hudson and Williams cases being related had just moved to the possible scale. The implications the new knowledge represented made her stomach churn. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Steve’s voice held a warning. “Lindsey, I think you need to turn this information over to the right people. The Williams’ murders were violent. I don’t want you taking crazy risks.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I need some time, Steve, please. Once the prosecutors know about this, I’ll have a much harder time uncovering what is truth and what is colored over.”

“You have a history of pushing beyond what you should. Lindsey, these girls all look like you. I don’t like it.” He made a frustra
ted sound. “Not one bit.”

Lindsey knew she pushed the envelope. “I’ll be careful. Just give me a couple days.”

He was silent a moment, then in a softer voice, “How long are you going to pay back the world for Hudson? When are you going to forgive yourself?”

She swallowed back the threatening emotion. When she felt she had herself in check, she said, “Give me a few days.”

His hesitation was silent but it reached through the phone line. “Three days and no more, and I want to be kept in the loop. The minute you shut me out, I shut you down.”

Lindsey didn’t like being held captive by Steve or anyone else, but her options were limited. “Fine,” she conceded.

“How about we meet at that coffee shop you love, and I’ll give you what I have. Say,” he paused as if looking at his watch, “in an hour?”

A quick goodbye later, Lindsey hit the end button on her phone, and curled her legs underneath her body. Her thoughts were running wild. Could Hudson and Williams be innocent? She hated to even think such a thing. What if she was wrong?

But what if she wasn’t and she didn’t pursue the real criminal? How many women might die?

“What are you doing?”

Lindsey looked up to see Mark standing a few feet away; dressed in only his boxers, he was a picture of rippling, perfect male. It took her a minute to find her voice. Mark so took her breath away. “Just sitting here thinking.”

He walked to the couch, and her eyes followed his every step. He sat down beside her, and pulled her legs across his lap. It was an intimate, comfortable act that made her smile inside. His hand ran up her bare leg. “You look good in my shirt.”

She smiled and spread one hand on his chest, loving how it felt to touch him so freely. “You look good without it.”

Mark laughed and brushed his lips across hers. “Who was on the phone?”

She drew back slightly, eager to tell him her news, and watch his reaction. “Steve,” she said. “Get this. There was a string of rapes that fit the Hudson and Williams profiles in Vegas last year. They never connected anything to Hudson, of course, because he was in jail.”

“What do you mean they fit both profiles?” he asked. “Be specific.”

“Same exact profile, they all looked . . .” She let her words trail off, wishing she could take back what she had started to say. But it was too late. Mark was no fool. He would guess, or he would insist she explain.

“Like you?” he asked tensely.

“Yes, I suppose they do.” She swallowed back a feeling of sickness. “I wish you wouldn’t put it that way. I was going to say like the local victims.” A pregnant silence followed. Unable to take the wordlessness between them, she said, “Steve is meeting me in less than an hour to give me everything he has on the cases.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You have to get dressed and go to the office. I’ll go by my place and change after I meet Steve.”

Mark’s lips firmed. “I’m going. Besides, we have to be in court at ten o’clock, so it will be just as well to already be together.”

“Five-thirty is the partners’ meeting. You remember?” she asked trying to distract him.

Mark shot her a look that said he knew what she was doing. “I’m coming with you.”

Lindsey felt her temper start to flare. “Mark, don’t start trying to keep me under thumb.”

She tried to move her legs and he held them with his hands. “I saw the way you hopped through that window, Lindsey. I’m worried about you.”

Men who tried to control her got nowhere. Mark included. “You’re starting to really tick me off. Let go of my legs.”

Mark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, his mouth moving just above hers. “If you’re going to get mad because I care, then go ahead. It’s not going to make me back off.”

How he managed to deflate her anger, she wasn’t sure. In its place, a sizzling awareness settled, and when his lips pressed against hers, she was lost. Desire spread inch by inch, like a warm spray of water, rich with depth.

And when he pressed her back into the couch, and she felt his weight settle over hers, she forgot everything but him.

* * * * *

Still flush from the pleasure of their lovemaking, Lindsey scrambled for her clothes. Mark was in the shower, so she had a mere few minutes to make her escape. No way was she taking Mark with her to meet Steve. The last thing she needed was Steve getting all tight-lipped about what he knew.

And just because she and Mark made love, that didn’t mean he was now her sidekick.

If anything, his insistence on joining her only made her more determined to go without him. She liked Mark. Maybe too much. But Mark, or any other man, for that matter, was not going to start controlling her. Been there, done that, already had the t-shirt.

Besides, she would be going home to Washington. That, in and of itself, was a good reason to keep things light. Once dressed, Lindsey quickly scribbled a note to Mark and grabbed her purse before she headed for the door. She paused as she reached for the knob and sighed, a bit of regret filling her mind and making her stomach flutter.

She hated to end their night with this kind of departure. But what option did he leave her?

* * * * *

Mark stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist. He had just finished lathering his face with warm shaving cream when he realized how quiet Lindsey had become. A bad feeling made him step into the bedroom. “Lindsey?”

Something moved on the bed, caught in the draft of the ceiling fan. The instant he brought it into focus he cursed, and moved towards the bed. It was a damn note. She’d taken off without him. He grabbed the paper.

I had to go alone. Steve won’t tell me everything he knows with a stranger present.

Sorry, Lindsey

He crumbled the note in his hand. She was killing him. As amazing as their time together had been , it was abundantly clear he had no control over her. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated with her? And why in the hell couldn’t he just walk away?

* * * * *

Lindsey walked into the coffee shop, and immediately spotted Steve.

He was, after all, pretty hard to miss, considering he was the only guy in the place linebacker big, black, and dressed in a suit. He pushed to his feet the minute he saw her, and held out his arms, offering her one of his teddy bear-sweet h
u
gs that so didn’t match his intimidating physical presence.

After a few moments of heartfelt happy greetings, they sat down at the table Steve had been holding for them. A cup of steaming hot coffee sat in front of Lindsey. Steve grinned. “I got your favorite. A venti Carmel latte.”

She felt the ache of her past actions both in her stomach and the ache in her heart. He was a good friend, a close one, and she had turned away from him. “Thanks Steve,” she said, trying not to choke on emotion. “How are Louise and the kids?”

“The kids are kids. Tommy got suspended for pulling the fire alarm and Sally put gum in her hair. Louise, on the other hand, is mad at hell at you for forgetting about us.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I don’t even know what to say. Everything sounds like an excuse. The bottom line is I was afraid of anything that tied me to the past. I needed a new life. But I regret making you a part of what I shut out.”

His expression softened at her honesty. “I know it’s hard for you to be back here, faced with running the firm.”

She reached for her cup. “And this case.” The warm liquid seemed to soothe her nerves. Some people claimed caffeine put them on edge. Lindsey felt it gave her life. “Mmmm,” she said, “I missed this. No one makes a Carmel latte like this place.” She sat her cup down, “And, believe me, I have tried to find a match.”

“I guess you haven’t broken that caffeine habit of yours.” Steve chuckled as he reached for his orange juice.

She crinkled her nose at him. Years of working long hours had pretty much made coffee a food group by her standards. “I see you haven’t broken you healthy eating habit.”

Steve leaned back in his chair. “Yes, still got that bad habit.” He laughed. “You are a piece of work, Lindsey.”

She laughed. “So you have always said.”

“What are you going to do about the firm?”

She took another drink of coffee, and another. Just thinking about her situation made her agitated. Mark really did have her captive. “Trying to get Mark Reeves to take it back.”

“And?”

She sighed and sat her cup down. “He’s agreed to help me for six months, but swears he won’t stay beyond.”

Surprise registered in his eyes. “You’re staying for six months, or he’s letting you go back to Washington?”

“He won’t help unless I stay.” Her tone was one of frustration. “Not at all how I want this to play out. But for now, I am stuck with this case, and will at least see it through.”

Steve leaned forward. “I don’t know Mark, but I know his reputation, and it’s a strong one.”

“Oh, he’s good at what he does. Too good for my dad to have lost him. I can only hope time will work in my favor and Mark will decide to stay.”

“And if he doesn’t?” he asked.

“I don’t know if my father will practice again. He certainly can’t run the firm. I will have to find someone to take over.”

“But not you.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Not me.”

Ready to change the subject and concerned about time, she said, “I have to shower and be to court by ten. What do you have for me?”

Steve pull C0">ed.

She shot him a reprimanding look. “I know,” she paused for a beat, “like me. We all know this. What else?”

He gave her a measuring gaze. “You need to just chill, Lindsey. I don’t like that these girls look like you. It would be too damn easy for you to become a target.” He paused as he looked her over closely. “Make sure you’re not being followed. Those girls were all grabbed from behind. Be aware of your surroundings.”

She grunted. “First Mark and now you. Stop. I know how to take care of myself.”