His To Keep (28 page)

But when he walked to the side of the couch and set her down, she had a moment of confusion before he turned her to face away from him then bent her over the arm of the couch.

She went willingly, bracing herself with her hands as Nic parted her legs and fitted himself to her. With one thrust, he sank deep.

Annie moaned as ecstasy raced through her. With his hands on her hips, he held her steady.

The position might have been uncomfortable but Annie felt nothing except excitement as he took her. His hands tightened on her hips, the hair on his thighs scratching against the smooth skin of her buttocks, heightening her senses.

He felt huge and hard inside her. She tried to hold out, tried to extend the moment, but she could and came with a sharp burst.

As she cried out his name, Nic followed her over.

* * * * *

When her eyes opened at six, Annie realized Nic wasn’t there.

He’d carried her to bed after the episode on the couch and crawled in beside her but she knew he’d gotten up earlier and obviously hadn’t come back.

Since she knew he wouldn’t have left without her, she headed for a hot shower, trying to ease the slight pounding in her temples.

Standing under the steaming water, she let last night’s memories replay. God, she loved him so much. Every macho, infuriating, protective inch of him.

But he still hadn’t given her the words back. And that bothered her.

She wanted him to say it. Wanted to hear him say them to her in that husky voice she’d dreamt about since she was sixteen.

The one that had told her how beautiful she was last night.

With a sigh, she finished her shower, dressed and headed downstairs.

Nic wasn’t in the living room so she headed for the kitchen, drawn equally by her desire to be with Nic and coffee.

He sat at the table, hunched over his laptop, but he straightened when she walked in. Looking into her eyes, he made no move to rise, simply watched her, as if dissecting her every move.

Determined to ignore his hands-off vibe, she walked over and kissed him, put everything she had into it and sighed in relief when he returned the kiss with enough heat to buckle her knees.

Then he pulled back and stood, turning away to pour her a cup of coffee.

She watched his usually deft hands nearly spill the hot liquid. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Did you?” he countered.

She shrugged. “Some. I’ve gotten kind of used to sharing my bed.”

He shot her a quick glance as he placed a mug on the table in front of her. When he didn’t say anything, she nodded at his laptop.

“Did you find anything?”

He paused, his gaze narrowing.

“Nic?”

He sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“So what did you find?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he spun the laptop around so she could see what he had on the screen.

“Caz came through with a list of car registrations. I’ve been going through them for a couple of hours. I’ve knocked out a lot of them but there’s still more than a hundred to go. I want—Would you please go through the list and see if any of the names pop out at you?”

“You think I know who’s doing this?”

He shook his head. “I just want you to go through the list and see if any of the names pop out at you.”

She noticed he hadn’t answered her question but he had asked for her help. “Okay. Let me take a look.”

There were almost two hundred names on the list. Taking a healthy swig of coffee, she dug in.

* * * * *

Nic watched Annie read through the names with the same, focused concentration she gave her dancing.

It was just one of the many things he loved about her. There were so many others. The way she felt curled against him in sleep. How she cried out his name when she came. The look she gave him when she was pissed at him. The look she gave him when she wasn’t.

Hell, he just loved her. He needed to tell her. And he would. As soon as he got rid of this bastard on his ass.

Since it was going to take her a while to go through the list, he stood, grabbing his phone off the table. “I’m gonna give Janey a call in the other room so I don’t disturb you. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Okay.”

She barely noticed him leaving.

“Hey, Janey. You find anything?”

“Yeah, that your ass is grass when this is over and Mom gets hold of you. You know how angry she gets when she’s the last to find out about things.”

“How about you tell me something I don’t know, brat. Did you get that list I sent you?”

“Yep. And I started through it. Nothing yet.”

“Just keep looking.” Maybe they’d get lucky but he really didn’t think Janey was going to come up with a connection. He didn’t honestly think Annie would either but he wasn’t going to overlook anything. And Janey and Annie both had razor-sharp minds. If any of the names on the list rang a bell with them, they’d recognize it and tell him.

“How’s Annie?”

Janey didn’t bother to hide her teasing tone and his gaze narrowed out the front window and across the street, as if Janey could see him glaring at her from inside Annie’s house.

“She’s looking over the same list.”

That shut her up. For about five seconds. “Gee. I guess you’re singing a different tune, aren’t you? Just don’t let this screw with your head too much, Nic. Although your head’s never been screwed on right where Annie’s concerned.”

“You think that’s news to me, brat?”

Janey laughed and Nic felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Well, you are kinda old. Maybe you’re not as smart as you used to be.”

“Don’t worry, Janey. I’m smart enough to take out this asshole.”

* * * * *

“Nic, I think I might have found something.”

“What is it?”

He walked back into the kitchen and bent over her from behind, looking at the name she was pointed to on the screen.

“Candace Trudeau.” He thought about the name for a few seconds. “I don’t recognize it. Why do you?”

She shook her head, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m not sure I do but the name is hitting something in my memory.”

“That’s good enough for me. Look her up and see who she is.”

When she glanced up at him with a slight smile and raised eyebrows, he knew exactly what she was thinking. And to some degree, it was true.

He sucked with computers. Sure, he knew how to use them but, unlike an engine or a security system or a gun, computers didn’t follow normal rules of logic. If he didn’t know better, he’d think they had it in for him.

When she finally turned back to the computer and began to type, he allowed himself to grin.

He watched her eyes narrow as she typed, watched the intense concentration draw lines on her forehead. It took a few minutes, the only sound the click her nails on the keys but finally she said, “Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?”

“I can’t find anything on a Candace Trudeau in Philadelphia or the surrounding area.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Yes. Unless she lives completely off the grid, which obviously she doesn’t because she has a car registered in her name.”

“So maybe she’s seventy or eighty and isn’t plugged into the internet.”

Annie shook her head. “Registration lists her as fifty-five. These days, it’s odd that there’s no mention at all, at least not any that are within a three-hundred mile radius and within the right age range.”

His gut tightened. “What’s the address? I think I need to pay Candace Trudeau a visit.”

* * * * *

The address listed on the registration was located on the Main Line.

Old money. Lots of it.

Nic figured this was going to turn out to be a stolen car situation.

Still, his gut said there was some connection here.

After he pressed the doorbell, silence descended for at least a minute before he heard footsteps make their way to the front door and pause. Someone was looking at him through the peephole. Just the fact that it took several seconds for the door to open made him suspicious.

Finally, the lock disengaged and an attractive, older woman opened the door. Nic had never seen her before but there was something familiar about her face. Maybe he’d seen her in the papers. But then why hadn’t Annie come up with anything on the Google search.

“Ms. Trudeau?”

Her perfect brows lifted over intense blue eyes, as if surprised he could think she was anyone else. “Yes?”

“My name is Dominic DeMarco—”

“I know who you are. What do you want?”

Nic had a hard time controlling his surprise but he was now at a disadvantage and that was never good. “I’m investigating a case, one that’s led me here—”

Folding her arms across her chest, she broke in. “Is there something you want to ask me?”

Okay, no more small talk. “Do you own a 1999 Cadillac Seville?”

“I don’t believe I do.”

“Then the one registered to you wasn’t reported missing a week ago?”

The woman didn’t so much as blink an eyelash. “Obviously you didn’t do enough research, Mr. DeMarco. You don’t recognize me, do you? But then, you wouldn’t, considering we’ve never been properly introduce.”

This woman despised him. He felt it coming off of her in waves. But why?

Had he worked a case that had implicated her boyfriend or husband in a crime? Had the guy done some time? Had his parents had some dealings with her?

He was pretty sure she hadn’t been behind the wheel of the car. The driver had seemed much larger but he couldn’t count her out because he hadn’t seen the driver’s face.

And he was pretty sure the calls had been made by a man. But he was certain this woman knew about those calls.

“Then maybe you could enlighten me, Ms. Trudeau. Do you know who’s been annoying me with those phone calls?”

He deliberately added a sneer to his tone, dismissing the calls as nothing more than a nuisance.

She leaned against the doorjamb, as casually as if she were holding a conversation with a friend. But her mouth tightened.  “You’ll be too late, you know. She doesn’t stand a chance. Rich little bitch had everything in the world, but she wanted my husband and then she ruined him. I actually had to divorce him and change my name to get away from the scandal. But love will make you do foolish things, won’t it, Dominic?”

Her words made every hair on his body bristle as his hands curled into fists at his sides. “Who made the calls? It wasn’t you, was it? You wouldn’t dirty your hands like that.”

“Of course not. But Jason won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done. What he should have done last year.”

His heart began a heavy beat and fury made his jaw clench.