In Her Sights (16 page)

Jasmine’s hand stilled, and she turned weary eyes toward him. “He grows on you. Something about him makes me feel…I don’t know—”

“Cared about?”

She put the toy aside, as if to prove to Luke and to herself that she didn’t need the crutch. He doubted he would’ve recognized the tell when they’d been together before. He’d seen her strength and her skill as a warrior and he’d experienced her passion, but he hadn’t looked for her vulnerabilities then. Being a father had changed him. Joy had given him a window to the world he’d never known existed, where relationships mattered more than ever.

During missions, he’d counted on his unit. He’d trusted them with his life, but not his soul. Even though Joy’s mother had betrayed him, Joy held his heart in her small hands. Could he ever trust Jasmine that way? How could he now, when she guarded her secrets so fiercely?

“Tower spooked you back there. What did he say?”

Her leg bounced, and he recognized her control slipping. Lack of sleep tugged at her camouflage. Drawn-out battles did that to a person. Eventually the masks fell away, revealing the truth.

“He knows details about my past that I’m not proud of,” she said. “Only one man on earth ever knew the complete story, but Sheriff Clarkson would never give me up.”

The message behind her words shouldn’t have felt like a .38 caliber ripping through his heart, but it did. “Unlike me.”

“How can I trust you after the way you went after Derek?”

“You’re not the only one taking a risk. Derek, one of my oldest friends, lied to me. Joy’s mother, Samantha, lied to me. She never told me she was pregnant. She never gave me a chance to be a father. If she hadn’t died, I wouldn’t even know about Joy. You lied to me too. Exactly how am I supposed to trust
you
?”

“Then why torture each other? We’re better off apart.”

“I thought so too. Once.” Luke let his hand rest on Jasmine’s thigh and he squeezed slightly. A delicate shiver fluttered beneath his fingertips. “There’s something between us, Jasmine. There always has been. Always will be. Besides, right now, we’re stronger together. Like it or not, your past and my investigation are connected. If we don’t find out how, whoever’s responsible could win. Do you want them to come out on top?”

“Of course not.”

“So help me inside the sheriff’s office. We’ll nail them as a team.”

Her fingers curled into a fist and she bit her lip. She didn’t like considering that her precious cops’ world might’ve been infiltrated. He got that. Nobody liked to be betrayed.

Finally she let out a slow breath. “If I’m sure someone’s dirty, I’ll tell you.”

“That’s more than I thought you’d agree to. Truce?”

She turned away from him and stared out the window.

A few blocks later, Luke recognized a restaurant he hadn’t visited since they’d parted. A whiff of tomato sauce and the scent of a grill wafted to him. Jasmine needed food. It was perfect. Good food, a buffet, and fast. The only rub…it was
their
place.

Her stomach rumbled and she clasped at her belly with a grimace. “Sorry.”

That decided him. He pulled over in front of the red-and-white-checked décor of the restaurant. “You need to eat.”

She stared out of the car window and bit her lip. “You can drop me off at my apartment. I’ll be fine.”

“And risk you ingesting the science experiment budding in your refrigerator?”

A smile tilted her lips, and he returned the grin.
Truce.
Their relationship hadn’t been all bad. It had taken a lot of cajoling on his part. He’d enjoyed finding ways to surprise her. The circus. A hot air balloon ride. An amusement park. Eventually they’d laughed. They’d teased. They’d loved. It had been too good for a while. Perhaps that’s why her leaving had hurt more than he’d ever let on.

He scanned the street for anything suspicious, but nothing caught his attention. He opened the restaurant door for Jasmine, and soft strains of Italian opera danced on air scented with spices and tomato sauce. As she walked through the opening, he placed his hand on the small of her back to escort her to a table, and just that small touch brought memories flooding back. As if by rote, they veered toward a very familiar corner of the restaurant.

“Not there,” she said, her voice low and private. “Anywhere else.”

The location shouldn’t have mattered. It was only a table in a restaurant. But it did. “How about that one?” He pointed to a spot at the opposite end of the building.

She nodded and they seated themselves near the buffet. Within minutes, they’d filled their plates and settled in. Luke shifted his chair so his blind side stayed to a wall and he could keep an eye on the entrance.

“Even now, you never go off alert,” she said, pointing to his posture.

“Habit. Five years infiltrating enemy territory taught me to never turn my back. In more ways than just the physical.”

Luke swirled up some pasta, and the rich tomato sauce with just a hint of pepper exploded in his mouth. “I’d forgotten how good this place is,” he said, savoring the bold flavors.

Jasmine, on the other hand, after a few bites, rested her fork on the plate. “You didn’t have to go back to Afghanistan with the damage the bullet in your shoulder caused. Why put yourself in danger?”

“I could ask you a similar question.”

“I’m not at risk. Not really. I sit above the action, just trying to protect my team.”

“You’re wrong. Everyone on a mission is part of the whole to find justice, to protect the innocent.” Luke stabbed the greens of his salad then looked up at her. He’d never told anyone the whole story, but she needed to understand why he needed her trust. “You want to know why I
really
went back?” He sat down his fork and leaned forward. “My last year in Afghanistan, I was twenty-three with an attitude. Thought I knew it all. So this forty-something reporter with a wife and two kids gets assigned to our unit. To tell the
truth
about the war. We were all ready to hate the guy, but his first week embedded we got pinned down. Frank pulled one of the guys into cover. He became part of the team.”

“You were impressed.”

“Hell, yeah. The guy grew up with a silver spoon but ate MREs like they were gourmet meals. He was one of us. All Frank wanted to do was tell the world about what we were doing. No filters. Just the truth. My dad would’ve liked him.”

“Frank was with you when you were ambushed?” Jasmine asked, her voice a mere whisper.

“He’d made friends with our translator. He trusted the guy. I trusted him too.” Luke’s gut burned. “You know what happened next.”

“The translator outed your location to a group of insurgents,” she finished. “They attacked, ambushed your team.”

“Ten minutes later, I was shot to hell. What I never told anyone before is Frank died sprawled on top of me, while I was left for dead. I should’ve been killed, but for some reason I survived. I swore to come back and find the son-of-a-bitch who’d betrayed us. It took months to recover. Even though my days as a Ranger were over, to honor Frank, I vowed to come back as a war correspondent. Took me years to get a degree and get assigned.” Luke raised his gaze and met Jasmine’s. “I found the translator. This time his lies didn’t work.”

“What did you do?”

“Let’s just say his next ‘ambush’ had a different outcome. His
comrades
weren’t pleased. He got what he deserved. I thought retribution would bring peace. It didn’t. Frank’s kids still didn’t have a father. Nothing had changed. So I decided to come home for a while. Visit family. Exorcise a few more demons.”

“Why journalism? Why not a cop?”

“I thought about it, but Frank’s last stories were printed after he was killed, and they were amazing. Gritty. Horrific. Inspiring. He revealed the truth. All of it. I’d seen too many cover-ups and too much deceit to follow the rules and laws cops did. They wouldn’t let me touch some of the stories I needed to focus on. Sounds cliché, but I wanted to clean up the world of lies. I blew it with Derek, though. I was still too brash, too sure of being right. I wish I’d handled it differently, made it possible for him to get out instead of believing he was alone.” Luke took a swig of iced tea. “I can see now that I pushed too hard with you too. I regret that.”

He reached for a roll just as Jasmine did. Their fingertips met and the heat between them sparked once more. He slid his hand over hers and captured her gaze. “I know you’re tired and feel like you’ve been beaten up, Jasmine. I could help, if you’d only talk to me. Trust me. I won’t quit. I’ll do whatever it takes to find out why and how this is happening. Whether it takes a few days or a decade.”

She shook her head and pulled her hands from him. “You have a daughter to protect, Luke. I’ll handle it. My way.”

She pushed away a half-eaten plate of food. “I’m finished. I need to go home. Alone.”

Luke paid the bill, his mind made up. No way was he letting her stay by herself. Not until he convinced himself she was safe. He’d do whatever it took to protect her. He refused to let Jasmine fight this battle alone.

Breaking into Jazz Parker’s apartment had been too easy. She was a failure as a cop, just like the rest of her life. Just like her whore of a mother.

Not that a lock or two would’ve stopped the plan. Now all she had to do was bait the trap. She flipped open her phone and dialed her cop’s number.

“Hello?” His too-eager voice rumbled with anticipation.

“Hi, lover boy. You ready to be bad with me?”

“You know it, honey.” His voice lowered. “I’m ready for you. Big and hard and ready. Just the way you like it.”

Her stomach rolled when she thought of his horrible hands all over her, but for now she needed him.

“Lover, I could really use a favor. It’s naughty, but I know you can do it.”

A soft laugh sounded through the phone. “The naughtier, the better.”

“Oh, you.” She forced herself to gift him with the incipient giggle that turned him on so much. “I probably shouldn’t be telling a cop this, but I accidentally knocked my car door into this Pinto and I didn’t have anything to leave a note with. I want to try to contact him. I memorized his license plate. Can you get me his name and address so I can give him my insurance information?”

There was a long pause on the other end.

“Please. I’ll do anything you want. Even what you asked for last night.”

The sharp intake of breath brought on a smile. He was hers. She controlled him.

“Give me the number.”

“Oh, lover, you’re just so smart and so wonderful. See you tonight. I’ll give you a whole lot more than I promised.” Her voice grew low and sexy. “I’ll ride you like you’ve never been ridden, so be ready.”

He groaned. “I’m ready now.”

With a last giggle, she pursed her lips and made a disgusting kissing sound then hung up the phone.

And so the next step began.

She scanned her enemy’s possessions. The place was too neat. She could see the cop now, arranging all the books and bottles just so. She pulled down the wall unit. Books and manuals flew across the room, crashing into the wall. The few mementos of Jazz Parker’s life, shattered.

Methodically she trashed room after room, finally pushing open the bedroom door. Everything necessary to frame Jazz would be in here, and her enemy would soon pay for what she’d done. She rummaged through the closet, slashing her clothes, destroying her life.

Then she saw them. A pair of Arvada Police Academy sweatpants lay in the middle of the floor. Perfect. The irony would be poetic.

The phone ringing interrupted the celebration. “This is Jazz, you know the drill. Leave a message.”

Her
voice sounded through the machine: clear, calm, content. Well, that would soon change.

“Jazz, it’s Anna Montgomery. I wanted to let you know that Gabe’s much better. Also, I’m looking for Luke and haven’t been able to reach him. He’s searching for you, so if you see him, tell him I’m taking Joy to Lake Arbor Park this afternoon. We’ll be home before dark.”

Everything was falling into place. The lying bastard’s daughter and mother would be at a park. Alone. This entire day was a sign. A wonderful, glorious sign.

A quick search of the bathroom and closet for a weapon and the job would be complete. And there it was—like Excalibur waiting for the chosen one who would wield it for justice.

An iron crowbar lay tossed in the corner. Vicious, deadly, wonderful.

A quick pivot out of the closet brought her face to face with her reflection above the vanity. Her recently dyed auburn hair was scraped away from her face to prevent even one hair from escaping.

Her mother’s eyes stared back at her.

No. No. No. Mama, the weak, trusting fool, was dead. She wasn’t here.

Panicked, she swung the crowbar with all her might at the mirror. Shards splintered, but the accusing eyes didn’t disappear. A thousand images reflected back at her. Eyes watching her. Everywhere.

“I promised you I’d kill the killer! I will. I’ll keep my promise, Mama.”

Breathing labored, she sucked back a sob as the crowbar dropped to the floor with a thud. “Jane Sanford will die.”