In Her Sights (16 page)

She browsed over the list of addresses she was about to buy
and smiled. “Where do I sign?”

He gestured to all the spots already marked by neon orange
flags. She eagerly signed and couldn’t wait to get home. She kissed Uncle Gabe
on the cheek, tossed the ink pen on the table, and headed out. “I’ve got to get
home.”

She sped home and was happy to see vehicles in her driveway.
Excitement bubbled and had her all but skipping inside. Funny. When she’d left
this morning, she’d hoped he would be gone when he got back. Now that she was
home and he was here, she couldn’t disregard that little thrill zipping up her
spine. Not just because of the contracts she signed, but also to discuss the
latest on the dagger that Adam had told her about.

With directions from Reid, she found Clayton watching one of
his men make adjustments on a camera over the pool. That little thrill fizzled
as her fingers curled. “I said no cameras on the pool.”

“It scans over the pool and grabs the backyard from the
grass to the back wall. Julia approved it.” He turned to her. “I’m working
around your privacy.”

Warmth filled her cheeks and just like that, there was that
heat again. “Thank you.”

“How did lunch go?”

She gestured with a tip of her head
and walked a few steps away so they wouldn’t whisper as much. “Breeze said the
thieves didn’t have anything major in their history.”

Clayton’s mouth fell open.

“I know.” She shook her head. “No idea why he lied about
that. And he also said the thieves were persistent in saying I got the jump on
them. Not you.”

Clayton’s eyes were downcast. “I don’t like him.”

“I don’t either, but I have a date with him tomorrow.”

He met her gaze. “Why did you agree to that?”

“Because it’ll give him a chance to decide I’m harmless and
an advantage to his career if he keeps me on his good side.” She just had to be
very focused for that date. Make sure he saw exactly what he wanted her to, and
nothing more.

“If you can pull it off, then that’s good.”

If
. She shook her head. She had until tomorrow to
prepare. Not to rehearse herself, but to do a little digging on Adam Breeze to
see where he came from and what he was about. “It’ll be fine, but I wanted to
let you know that I was pinpointed by the thieves. He might be back around,
asking if there was a woman with you.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have a woman on my bodyguard
staff.”

She smiled. “That’s okay. Just wanted to give you the heads
up so you wouldn’t be caught off guard. Stick to the story we gave.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I need to find Reid so I can
tell him the same.”

He started away, and she caught him by the arm. His wrist,
to be exact. Her fingers weren’t long enough to span him. Just enough to reach
around to his pulse and feel the steady, strong throb. His skin was warm.
Muscles flexed under her palm, and she released him. She cleared her throat. “That’s
not all. He said the thieves were looking for a collectable. He asked questions
hinting all around it, but he never actually came out and asked me if I had the
dagger or if I knew anything about it.”

Clayton lifted a shoulder. “He could be holding the cards
close to his chest. There was some attention around the dagger in California
when it turned up missing.”

“And since he’s new and if he recovers it….” Lexie nodded.

“Pretty much.” He stroked a hand across his mouth. “With a
snitch on the payroll, I’d say everyone in that department knows of a nationwide
theft landing in our laps. Lots of people are going to want to be the one to
find it.”

And because of a few idiots who broke in her home last
night, everyone in that department now questioned if she had that stolen item
or not. Exactly what she wanted to avoid. “On this subject, any luck finding it
today?”

“No.” Clayton’s eyes narrowed a touch and stepped away. “Let
me update Reid before I forget.”

She knew he’d take it as a blow when he wouldn’t be able to
find that dagger. She’d seen it in his eyes last night. He just knew he was
going to find it hidden on a top shelf or stashed somewhere obvious. “One more
thing you’re going to want to know. An interesting meeting happened today at
Olympia.”

He looked doubtful with his chin tucked to his chest and
eyebrows lifted.

She grinned, unable to contain the smile. “I signed some
paperwork to purchase Howard’s Properties.” His mouth fell, but her excitement
didn’t. “I was glancing over the properties I own now and recognized an address
on Peach Street.” She paused, waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t. “Can
you believe it? What are the odds? I own the building you have your business in.
And what a location you’ve got.”

“And what do you want in return?”

She smiled at him and took a page out of his book. Maybe
this attraction was all on her end. She didn’t know, but she liked the way she
got to talk with him. It was such a relief from what she normally had to deal
with. “A show of faith.”

“
Lexie?
” A distressed woman’s voice sounded across
the patio.

She turned, and there was Gen standing by the patio door,
her black hair covered in white powder. A few smudges of something white stuck
to her cheeks and clumped in her hair. Oven mittens on both hands held a
rectangle-shaped pan.

Gen walked toward them, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Clayton took a step back. “I have some things to finish up.”

He slipped away as Lexie put her arm around Gen’s shoulders
and guided her inside to somewhere private. “What’s the matter?”

She sniffed and looked around, down at herself, then around
again. “Why are there so many people at your house?”

“They’re putting in my new security system. Come on, let’s
go inside and tell me what’s going on.”

“Everything. Everything is just all wrong. Wade loves this pound
cake Peter bakes. So I thought I’d make him some, myself. I have fresh
strawberries and everything.” She sighed. “It’s hard planning for sex all the
time, so I thought I would do this.”

Lexie nodded and helped her friend to a chair at the bar in
the kitchen. “What happened next?”

“Peter got mad because I was messing up his kitchen. He’s my
chef in my kitchen. I should be able to say when I want his food and when I don’t.
He left, and I tended to the cake.” She looked down at the black hump in the
pan. A fat tear landed on the charred top. “But something went wrong somewhere.
I was wondering if Mike could fix it.”

Lexie hugged her dear friend. “I don’t think anything could
fix that, but we can see about getting you a new one made.”

Gen looked up and smiled, her eyes big and watery, with
mascara streaking down her cheeks. “Thank you. I don’t want Peter to know I
couldn’t do it.”

Mike, who had silently stood back but could hear everything,
stepped forward and looked in the pan. Lexie could see him fighting a smile. He
at least covered his mouth with his hand as he pretended to be thinking.

He tapped the cake with the back of a knife. It didn’t nick
the top, cut into it, or even make a little indent. The blade just bounced off,
like knocking on a door. Lexie covered her mouth and cleared her throat of the
burnt cake, but the fumes were still in her eyes.

Mike pointed to the heap in the pan with scrunched eyebrows
while he looked at Gen. “How long did you cook this?”

She shrugged. “Two and a half hours? Maybe two hours and
forty-five minutes.”

Mike coughed. “Almost three hours?”

She nodded. “That’s what the recipe said. To mix the ingredients.
Let it sit for forty minutes and then turn the blender back on to punch it.”

Mike stared at her a long moment. “I have to see this
recipe. I’ve never seen a pound cake that needed punching. Or any sitting.”

She shrugged. “It’s Peter’s. He wrote it down for me.”

Mike’s jaw dropped and he looked at the loaf once more. “And
what temperature did Peter say to put the oven on?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s digital and I was lucky to
get the thing on. When I opened the door, it melted my mascara and stuck all my
lashes together. Was that too hot?”

He leaned away and scratched the back of his head with a
grimace. “The problem is Peter gave you the wrong instructions.”

“What?”

He grabbed a book off a shelf, turned a few pages, and slid
it across to her. “Standard pound cake recipe. You mix it, it goes right in the
oven for about forty minutes, depending on the size and color of the cake pan.
That’s it.”

Gen sat up, color in her cheeks again. “That, that—he is so
fired.”

Mike shut the book and put it back on the shelf. “Not
knowing what temperature you cooked it at doesn’t help.”

Peter better hope Lexie didn’t run into him in a dark ally.
As if Gen wasn’t having enough problems, he had to be a jerk on top of it.

Gen looked at the pan, and her shoulders dropped. Her gaze
landed back on Mike. “Can I see that recipe again?”

He smiled at her. “Why don’t we do it together?”

She laid her crossed arms on the counter. “If it’s all the
same to you, can I just watch?”

Mike gave her his winning, charming smile that dimpled his
cheek and made his baby blue eyes sparkle. “On one condition.”

“Name it.”

He wet a rag and tossed it to her. “Wipe up your face. No
tears in my kitchen.”

Mike was a good man. It hadn’t taken Lexie long to figure
out he was exactly what she needed. A good chef and charming without having to
think about it. When it came to the few people she entertained, it was a
perfect combination.

Gen smiled and cleaned her face while Mike dug through the
refrigerator and mixed her a drink. He slid what looked like a mojito across
the table and tossed her a wink. In his thirties, attractive and knowing it,
Mike knew how to take care of women and give them exactly what they needed. “Step
one: drink that while I work.”

Gen melted on the counter a little. “Don’t suppose you want
a new job do you?”

“Hey!” Lexie nudged her. “Don’t steal my chef.”

Mike winked as he pulled out some bowls. “I’m pretty happy
here, but I can make some calls for you.”

Gen melted all over again. “That would be great.”

Lexie eased onto a bar stool next to Gen and, when offered a
drink by Mike, she shook her head. No drinking, not with the night she had
ahead of her.

Alex stepped in just as she got comfortable. “Lexie, there’s
a woman here asking for you. Said her name’s Betty Moore. Are you available?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea who that is, so no, I’m
not.”

Gen waved her off. “Go on and see who’s here. It could be
kids selling cookies or brownies. Get me some boxes if so!”

If it was cookies or brownies, Julia would have been all
over that already. Lexie headed to the front and swore she wouldn’t do any
favors. “Where is she?”

“Library.”

Whoever Betty Moore was paced the library floor. She had a
bob with bangs brushing across her forehead. It was a deep, dark brown color with a
matching set of wide, dark brown eyes in a cute, heart-shaped face, and full
red lips.

“I’m Lexie Olympia. You wanted to see me?”

Betty looked up and smiled, coming toward her. “Yes, ma’am.
Thank you for taking a moment to talk with me.”

At least she had polite manners, but Lexie had no idea who
this woman was. “I apologize, but have we met before?”

“No, ma’am, we haven’t. I’m Betty Moore. I’m Arnold
Pritchard’s girlfriend. I was wondering if you knew where Arnold was?”

At first Lexie thought this was some kind of joke, but there
was no smile or laugh. Betty just looked and waited. Lexie cleared her throat. “Arnold
and I aren’t that close. I have no idea of his daily schedule.”

Betty’s eyes dropped toward the floor. “Oh, I’m sorry, I
should have been clear. I’m getting worried. Arnold’s disappeared. He’s been
missing for two full days now, and it’s just not like him.” She picked up her
pacing again. “Do you know of any place he might have taken off to? Vacation
homes? Or family?”

Did she say two days ago? “What day did you say Arnold left?”

Betty twisted her wrists and flexed her fingers as she
walked. “Tuesday afternoon. We’d talked on the phone. He was going to the post
office and then we were going to meet up later for dinner. He never showed, and
he’s not answering his phone, and he’s not home. I’m just really worried. I
didn’t know if you saw him leave or heard anything?”

Lexie shook her head. “There’s really nothing I know about
Arnold. You might check with other neighbors. If nothing turns up, I’d report
him missing to the police.”

She nodded. “Thank you. Sorry I bothered you.”

“No bother at all.” Lexie wanted to ask more. To see if she
knew about Arnold’s state when he left. Was he nervous on the phone? Did he
mention any trouble? Doing any of that would open Lexie up to questions, and
she just couldn’t.

Betty paused in the foyer and watched as one of Addison’s
men connected wires to a camera facing the front door. “I read in the paper this
morning where you were having trouble with a break-in, and I heard the sirens
last night. Anything stolen?”

“No. I was lucky. The first one was scared off. The second
bunch were caught.”

Betty’s head dropped, looking more disappointed than
relieved. She reached for the door. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” Lexie pushed the door closed and headed back
outside to find Clayton before returning to Gen.

They knew Arnold had left. Now she had confirmation of when.
Knowing he left soon after dumping his stolen item into her lap really, really
pissed her off. Slimly little chicken got himself involved in this mess and
then skipped town when things got hot.

She slipped outside, back to where she’d last seen Clayton.