Deception (15 page)

“That was your friend Matt. He’s good.”

“I know he is. Did he have something for you?”

“Yeah, but it’s
not
good.” Her hand trembled as she slipped her phone into her purse. “It’s weird.”

The lines around Dylan’s mouth deepened as he took her arm. “You’re shaking. Let’s duck into this coffee place.”

He steered her toward a seat by the window. “Do you want one of those frothy coffee concoctions?”

Mia smiled as the words tumbled from Dylan’s lips. His presence could make just about any situation better. She explained in great detail what she wanted, and then settled in a chair with her back to the window.

He delivered her drink and slumped in the chair across from her, cradling a cup of plain, black coffee.

“No frothy coffee concoction for you?”

“I had my limit for the day.” He smoothed a thumb across the back of her hand. “Now tell me what Matt had to say.”

“He actually called me earlier this morning. I just never had a chance to tell you, what with all the other excitement.”

“He gave you bad news?”

Mia twirled her straw. “Matt checked up on Marissa’s passport, and she hasn’t left the country in over ten years. She never went to those places on the postcards.”

Dylan’s gaze pierced her over the rim of his cup as he blew on the hot coffee. “Was that Matt’s conclusion? That she never went to those places?”

“He made some suggestion that she could be traveling under an assumed name.”

“But you’re dismissing that.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Lots of reasons. Maybe she’s involved in something with that Brazilian guy.”

She took her first sip of the frozen coffee drink and pressed her fingers to her temples. “That’s what Matt thought. He did some digging on Raoul, too.”

“Find any dirt?”

“Some. He didn’t elaborate, but he must’ve found enough to make him believe Raoul and Marissa could be flying under the radar.”

His warm fingers entwined with her cold ones. “So maybe that’s the case—not the best circumstance, but not the worst.”

“It’s all my fault, Dylan.” Mia covered her eyes with one hand, not willing to lose the comfort of his touch on the other. “If she’s on the run with Raoul, that’s my fault, too. If I had never hatched that crazy scheme, had never brought Raoul to town…”

The pressure of his fingers on hers increased. “You and Marissa both pulled some outrageous stunts. That was part of your charm.”

She peered at him through the spaces between her fingers. “Just because I gave you lots of practice for your rescue techniques.”

Dropping her other hand to his, she dug her short nails into his skin. “I’m not like that anymore, Dylan. I’m not that madcap heiress.”

“You always had substance under that layer of froth.” He tapped her plastic cup. “Sort of like that drink.”

“I guess you always saw through the froth, didn’t you? Because you were always there for me.” She hunched forward, her nose almost touching his. “And I want to be there for you, too. You can tell me anything. Don’t you know that by now?”

“You have enough going on. I don’t need to burden you with my stuff.”

She smacked the table with her palm, and his cup jumped. “I want you to burden me. Our…relationship has been too one-sided. You giving, me taking.”

Leaning back, he folded his arms over his chest. “I’m not your sister, Mia. You don’t owe me anything.”

She blew out a breath. “Now you think I’m trying to use you to feel better about myself.”

“You’re giving me whiplash.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Feel free to use me…anytime.”

Her nostrils flared as her gaze trailed a lazy path from his bunched-up bicep across the material of his shirt, which tightened across his broad chest.

“I just might take you up on your offer.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m going to review everything I discussed with Linda, and then I’ll meet you at…Burgers and Brews?”

“How about Vinnie’s Pizza? I don’t want to take a teenager anyplace that has
brews
in the name.”

“Aye-aye, Chief.” She saluted and pushed back her chair. “Since we’re coming from different directions, I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll pick you up.” He held up his hands. “Just use me.”

She snorted, but her mouth watered and it had nothing to do with the thought of pepperoni pizza.

Later that day, as the sun dipped into the ocean, Mia pulled the door to her motel room closed. If Dylan insisted on driving clear across town and down the coast to pick her up, she could at least be waiting in front of the motel so he didn’t have to park and come in.

As was her habit during her stay, she stopped by the front office to chat with Gladys, who already knew all about the fight between the Vegas in the middle of the street.

Gladys’s faded blue eyes brightened. “She took a bat to his truck?”

“She did.” Mia covered her smirk with her hand.

Gladys chuckled. “That woman’s never happy. How long has she been complaining about a household of boys?”

“I’m sure she would’ve preferred a daughter of her own.” Mia absently pulled a brochure for hang gliding from the rack by the front desk. “Do you really think Charlie will welcome Kayla into his home?”

“The man does have a big heart…and a sizable debt.”

The brochure slipped out of Mia’s hands. “What does that mean, Gladys?”

“Your niece is an heiress, isn’t she? Marissa hightailed it out of here with a bundle of money, and I’m guessing a couple of trust funds.”

Trust funds she hadn’t touched since she disappeared.

“Of course, Kayla will be entitled to some money. If not Marissa’s, then mine.”

Gladys clicked her tongue. “Like I said, Charlie has bills and Charlie’s daughter has money.”

“Do you think Charlie’s just pretending to welcome Kayla with open arms?”

“No, I think Charlie’s honestly thrilled to have a daughter, and he’d go all out for a poor one, too—but a rich one’s even better.”

Mia swooped to the floor to pick up the brochure, and stuffed it back in the rack. “I’m going to wait for Dylan out front. Take care.”

“Like I said before, you take care, too.”

Perching on a planter in front of the motel, Mia crossed one leg over the other, swinging it back and forth, her sandal dangling from her toes.

Great, another contender for the St. Regis money.
The fun just never stopped.

A pair of headlights flooded the road, and Mia recognized the rumble of Dylan’s truck. She could just as well have met him at Vinnie’s. Maybe Dylan didn’t want to give up his image of her as the damsel in distress. Maybe he didn’t know what to do with a steady, sure-footed Mia St. Regis.

She was more than willing to show him.

He pulled up to the curb and she grabbed the handle before he could come around and open the door for her—
because she knew he would. One independent step at a time.

She hopped onto the passenger seat. “Hey, you. I trust you had a calm and civilized afternoon in Coral Cove.”

“No more bat-wielding wives, if that’s what you mean.”

“Where did Kayla go? Not home with the Vegas?”

“She did leave with them, but Charlie invited a bunch of folks over, so she’s not alone with them.” Dylan pulled away from the curb. “You didn’t have a chance to talk to her? Tell her the plans for dinner?”

“I texted her and she got the message. I’m assuming
kk
means she’ll be there.”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Feeling a little mature with a teenage niece?”

“Watch it.” She poked him in the ribs.

The rest of the way into town, she chattered about the plans Linda Davis revealed for the house. “She really put a lot of thought into the renovation.”

“She and her husband the mayor have probably been thinking about it for years. Tyler’s just letting his wife do the work now. He’s backed off on a lot of issues.”

Crossing her middle finger over her index finger, she said, “I heard Tyler and the previous chief were like this.”

“I think I told you they had their daily meetings.” Dylan swung into a parking spot and rolled his eyes. “I put a stop to that right away.”

They sidled into the crowded pizza place and nabbed a table beneath one of the TVs. Mia scanned the room. “I don’t see her yet.”

Dylan put in an order for a couple of pizzas and brought a pitcher of soda back to the table. He tilted his head toward the door. “Fashionably late, and I use the term
fashionably
very lightly.”

Mia swiveled her head around and caught her breath. Kayla looked just like Marissa at that age—same flair for the dramatic, same long, confident stride. God, the girl could be a model. Of course, right now she was modeling a pair of shredded Daisy Dukes with black leggings beneath, high-heeled gladiator sandals and a denim jacket.

Kayla scooted out a chair and plunked down, breathless. “Sorry I’m late. My friends and I were figuring out what to do later.”

“Are there boys among these friends?” Mia poured a glass of soda for Kayla from the pitcher.

“Uh, yeah, but we’re all just friends—with no benefits.”

Dylan raised his brows at Mia, and she shrugged. “Hope you like pepperoni and everything but the kitchen sink. We figured we’d better order before it got too crowded in here.”

Kayla looked around. “I like this place.”

“So tell me how your meeting went with Charlie—your father—and why did you decide to blab about your relationship in such a public place, in such a public way?”

The pizzas came and Dylan passed some plates around.

Kayla took a huge bite of her piece before answering.

“Well, it wasn’t a complete surprise to Charlie.”

“It wasn’t?”

“I tracked him down before, just like you.”

Mia had a mouthful of soda and it almost fizzed out her nose. “Charlie knew about you before you came to Coral Cove?”

“Uh-huh.” Kayla picked several mushrooms off her pizza before taking another bite.

The fact that Charlie already knew about Kayla left a sour knot of worry in the center of Mia’s stomach. Why hadn’t he said anything? Now she suspected his comment about working on Columbella House had a double meaning. Did he think his daughter owned a piece of that property now?

For the rest of the meal, Kayla peppered her with questions about Marissa. And Mia was only too happy to oblige her. Talking about Marissa, here in Coral Cove, made her feel closer to her twin.

Wherever she was.

The three of them did damage to a pizza and a half, and Mia told Kayla to take the rest to her friends. “Where are you and your friends going?”

“Here and there.” Her black-lined eyes widened. “None of us is old enough to drink, so don’t worry about that. And none of us do drugs either.” She framed her face with her hands, her fingernails tipped with dark purple nail polish. “Despite my appearance.”

Mia tossed a napkin into an empty pizza tin. “I like your appearance—edgy, quirky.”

Kayla jerked her thumb at Dylan, engrossed in a baseball game on one of the TVs. “Even the chief of police has a tattoo.”

“Yeah, just don’t ask him about it.” Mia ran her hand up Dylan’s arm.

He tensed his arm just like he always did when she touched the tattoo.

Kayla waved and stuck out her tongue. When Mia turned toward the window she saw a group of teenagers pressing their faces to the glass, squishing their noses and lips into funny faces.

“You could’ve invited your friends to have dinner with us.”

“Thanks, but I thought it would be better if we just talked so I could find out some stuff about my mom.” She rapped her knuckles on the cardboard pizza box. “Besides, they can have the leftovers.”

Dylan asked, “Do you mind that I showed up?”

“No, I mean you knew my mom, too, and aren’t you like, Mia’s boyfriend or something?” She slurped the rest of her cola through a straw, unaware of the bomb she’d just dropped on the table between them.

Mia creased the paper napkin in her lap. “Umm…”

Leaning back in his chair, Dylan stretched out his legs, a smile playing about his lips. He finally took pity on her. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Okay, that’s cool.” Kayla slid her jacket off the back of her chair and hitched her huge bag over her shoulder. “You know, I wish you could find my mom and tell her about me. I really want to meet her now, even though she did give me up.”

“We’re working on it.” Mia stood up when Kayla did and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. She and Marissa had never been demonstrative, but this girl could use a hug and it felt right, felt good.

Kayla’s body stiffened for a second, and then she relaxed and hugged Mia back. “Sorry I’ve been kind of annoying, but Charlie didn’t mind. He’s cool, and I think his wife is going to be okay with me. They had a bunch of people at their house today to meet me.”

“Just be careful.” It was too late to warn Marissa but not her daughter.

Dylan held up his hand. “Call if you need anything.”

“All right. Thanks for dinner.” With a flip of her long dark hair and a flick of her purple painted fingernails, Kayla bustled out the door to join her friends in a group hug with a few shrieks thrown in for good measure.

“The resemblance to your sister is uncanny, and I don’t just mean her looks.”

“That’s what worries me.”

He scooted his chair closer to hers and brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. “You turned into a mother hen overnight.”

“Are you saying I’m trying to use Kayla for redemption, too?”

“I’m saying—” he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger “—you’ve taken to that girl. I’m not making any judgments.”

“That’s a first for you.” She dabbled her fingertips along the lines of his tattoo. “Or maybe not. What happened to you up there in San Jose?”

“Maybe I grew up.” He cupped her face with his large hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

A little quiver of anticipation fluttered in her belly. He had sorta kinda admitted to being her boyfriend. Now maybe he’d make good on that statement.

He pulled her chair out for her and they left the restaurant hand in hand. They bumped shoulders as they walked on the sidewalk toward Dylan’s truck, and Mia had to hold on tight to keep from floating in the air.