Murder Stalks (9 page)

“
Why don’t you tell me?”
Tony said in an even voice, hiding his trepidation.

“
Don’t do the
psychoanalyst junk with me. I just had a long night.”

“
You can have long nights.
Just don’t let it affect your job.”

“
Deal.” Rex loaded papers
into his briefcase. Edginess still clung to him, making his
movements seem stilted. He snapped his briefcase closed and moved
to open the conference room door. Hesitating, he glanced back at
Tony. Rex’s hand clung to the door handle. The pressure in the room
kicked up another notch. Tony saw the change in Rex’s face just
before the door was pushed open from the other side.

“
Hey, Tony,” Michael said,
sticking his head into the room. Rex pushed past him, leaving Tony
to catch up later.

“
Michael, what can I do
for you?”

“
Did you set a time for us
to meet back here?”

“
It’ll be around four or
four-thirty. I’ll get in touch with you later,” Tony said hastily,
wishing Michael hadn’t returned and interrupted his conversation
with Rex. There was no time to search out his strange acting
friend. The conference call with Jackson Spade, the FBI’s super
genius guy, was due to start any minute.

Chapter 8

The car next to Tony’s rumbled and bounced
with loud rap music. The headache he’d been fighting all week
threatened to take on a life of its own. When would the stupid
light change? The call with Jackson went well. His team had gotten
much of the profile correct, but Jackson had brought up a theory
the others wouldn’t like. The amount of submission the victims had
been put through led Jackson to believe their suspect was in an
authority position, but a low position, one where he didn’t have a
great deal of power.

The traffic stalled again. Tony let his eyes
drift over the pedestrians. There were still a few tourists hanging
out, but the foot traffic consisted mostly of residents going to
lunch. A shop door opened and a young woman walked out. Shock
washed over Tony. His breath caught in his chest. It was Kelsey,
but in his mind he knew it couldn’t be her. He blinked furiously.
The wind blew and her hair moved around her face. The illusion was
gone. He could see clearly that it wasn’t her.

A horn blasted behind him and Tony switched
his foot from the brake to the accelerator and took off. He gripped
the steering wheel and eased off the gas. A nice long lunch with
his wife would take the edge off.

Marissa sat at a table outside of Manny’s.
He spied her long brown hair before he even pulled into the parking
lot. His fingers itched to pull the clip from her silky locks and
let the control she tried to maintain slip away.

Her mouth was drawn into an unforgiving
line. Tony drew in a deep breath, calming himself before facing her
wrath. He climbed out of the car and sent a prayer up to God,
asking for favor. Maybe his hard work on this case would make up
for his sins, letting Marissa would smile when she saw his
face.

Uneasy and fear gnawed at his gut as he
moved through the parking lot. He loved the food at Manny’s, but he
wondered if he could swallow even one bite.

Kelsey. He shouldn’t have waited to tell
Marissa.

The oppressive heat clung to Tony as he
moved across the street. It was too hot to sit outside, but Marissa
looked cool as she fanned herself. She deserved better than he’d
given her. His work always came first. Now, he was paying the
price.

Maybe waiting to tell Marissa about Kelsey
was the way to go. Putting off the news might make his lunch more
pleasant, but if he didn’t tell her now, she would hold it against
him. Determined to do right, Tony took a fortifying breath, calming
his nerves.

Marissa hadn’t seen him yet. His eyes roved
over her body, studying every detail. Her golden skin shone in the
sun. Tony wanted to caress her arms, to run his fingers across her
skin and feel it’s silky texture. She was still as beautiful as she
had been the day they met. The fear of losing her forever brought
pain to his chest. Regret over his past mistakes snaked through his
mind. How had he ever been so stupid?

“
Tony.” Marissa waved as
she turned towards him.

Smiling, he moved through the tables and
chairs. Seizing the moment, he lowered his head to kiss her before
she had a chance to turn away. Her shoulders stiffened when his
lips brushed hers, but he wouldn’t apologize. He would never
apologize for kissing her.

“
Marissa, you look
great.”

“
You look--”

“
I know I look like hell.
We’ve been working a tough case,” Tony said as he lowered his body
into a chair.

“
I don’t really want to
hear about your case.”

“
I know you don’t, but
Marissa, you have to--”

“
No, I don’t.” A scowl
darkened her features. Her chair wobbled as she stood, taking a
step back, away from Tony and his world. Marissa looked ready to
bolt.

“
Marissa,
it’s--”

“
No,” Marissa cut him off,
anger flashing in her eyes. She pulled her bag off the back of her
chair and turned to leave.

Tony jumped up, sending his chair tumbling
over behind him. He reached out and pulled her into a tight
embrace. She struggled against him, pushing him away.

He whispered the horrible news in her ear,
“It was Kelsey. I couldn’t tell you over the phone. Her name hasn’t
been released to the press.”

Marissa stilled in his arms. Her body
crumpled. Finding the small of her back, he pulled her closer. The
swell of her breasts pushed against his chest, igniting a fire that
burned hot for his wife. He cupped his free hand behind her head.
Part of him wanted to tilt her head back and kiss her soft red
lips, like he had when they were first married, before life got in
the way and his priorities were mixed up.

Her body turned to dead weight. She’d
fainted. A moment of shock and hesitation passed quickly, the he
picked her up and threw her arm around his shoulder, nestling her
head against his chest. With her feet dangling, Tony carried her to
his car. Placing her gingerly on the passenger seat, he strapped
her in and drove to the only place he could think to take her.
Home.

She shook with grief when he carried her
into the house. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was hold and protect
his beautiful wife. It had been ages since he’d held her in his
arm. His pride and her anger had kept them apart. He breathed in
her scent and the memory of the last time he’d held her close
flashed in his mind. It was they day before she left. They’d made
love for hours. He shivered with expectation and emotion.

Heat stirred within him. Would she willingly
go upstairs and let him explore her body in the bed they used to
share? A warning flashed in his mind. Marissa didn’t want to share
his bed right now. With a gentle hand, he lowered her feet onto the
thick, plush carpet covering the living room floor. She sighed as
she sank down, still leaning on him for support.

The air between them crackled with pent up
frustration. Marissa’s chest rose and fell in rhythm with Tony’s,
pushing her rounded breasts against his chest, driving him insane
with each intake.

He saw the need in her eyes and knew she
felt his erection. His lips moved involuntarily to hers. He would
stop if she pulled back, but it would be difficult. Surprise
flashed through him as she pulled him closer and pressed her lips
to his. Relief flooded his body. She wanted him too.

Driven by blinding need, Tony pulled at her
shirt, popping off one of the small blue buttons in the process.
Marissa trailed her fingers down his neck to the first button on
his shirt. She hesitated then pulled the cloth, exposing a triangle
of his skin to her touch. Fear shot through him. Would she want to
stop? Had he pushed too hard? His fear was short lived when she
pulled at the buttons, freeing his chest for her kisses.

Tony groaned. A fire burned along the trail
of kisses she laid across his skin. He crumpled to the floor,
pulling her with him. Her legs were toned. That was different.
Pleasure rippled through him. She’d been working out. He pushed his
hands under her skirt, revealing the uncovered swell of her
bottom.

“
You wore a
thong?”

“
Don’t talk,” Marissa
directed as she pulled fiercely at Tony’s belt.

Tony chuckled as he played with the thong’s
strap. The thin strip of material enticed and enflamed him, leaving
him wanting to posses her now. He had bought her a thong six months
ago. Had she worn it for him?

Her fingers latched onto the key of his
zipper, sliding it down slowly so her hand rubbed against the bulge
at the front of his pants. She was torturing him, and he loved it.
The vibrating pulse of his pager brought her head up.
Disappointment clouded her eyes. They both knew he would answer the
page.

Tony grabbed his cell phone and punched in
the call back number. “Santos here.” He watched as Marissa
straightened her clothes and reached for her shirt. Energy drained
from him. His hope faded. They would have to wait for any
reconciliation.

He was tired of waiting. Marissa would be
gone before he got off this call if he didn’t act fast.

“
I’ll call you back,” Tony
said before he flipped his phone shut.

“
Who was that?”

The accusatory look in Marissa’s eyes irked
him. Trust had always been a big issue for her. Tony shut his eyes
and shook his head. Anger wouldn’t win her back.

“
Marissa, I’m sorry about
that call, but I’m on duty.”

“
Who?” Her voice was edged
with a steely resolve she hadn’t shown the first seven years of
their marriage. Then Ashley was gone and everything changed for
both of them.

“
It was Sekorski. He wants
to talk.”

The lines of tension relaxed on Marissa’s
face. She still didn’t trust him, but did he blame her? Deep
inside, Tony knew he was a big part of their problem. If only he
had given more when they’d lost Ashley. After her death, his
analytical cop mind had taken over. The softer parts of his inner
man shifted and became harder. Sex was just sex. Without the caring
behind the act, it had meant nothing to either of them.

“
Marissa, I didn’t intend
to bring you back here today.”

“
Really?”

“
Go look in the bathroom.
The mess ought to prove I wasn’t planning to bring you
home.”

“
Home? This isn’t home
anymore,” Marissa spat the words out. Her face was flushed with
anger.

“
No it isn’t, because
you’re not here,” Tony yelled. He paced around the living room,
searching for something that would fix this situation.

“
Don’t start with
me.”

The indignant slant of her chin ripped at
Tony’s heart. He wanted to push harder to get her back. Win at all
cost, never back down, had been his motto. Now he knew better. She
had a choice, and he didn’t want to force the issue. His shoulders
slumped in defeat. “I’m trying, Marissa. I’m honestly trying to
change.”

“
When is the
funeral?”

Tony sighed. He wanted to force her back to
the subject of their future. Instead, he answered her, careful to
keep irritation out of his voice. “It’s not here. Danny took her
back to Oklahoma. Chief Scott doesn’t think he’ll be coming
back.”

“
That bad?”

Looking at Marissa, Tony weighed the risk of
telling her about the murders. Before the big blow up, Marissa had
been solid, but now she was gone. What if she slipped up? He
wouldn’t know about it for weeks, or months, based on how
infrequently they talked.

Tony closed his eyes for a moment. His heart
ached to trust her with this information. He longed for the days
when she would open her arms and draw him to her. Would telling her
how much he wanted her make it easier for her to accept him back in
her life, or would she see it as a ploy to get her into bed?

Tony spoke, trusting her with this case
before he could change his mind. “Worse than bad. Don’t leave your
doors unlocked for a minute. It’s not only unlocked doors that are
a problem. This guy is smooth.” Tony walked over to her, taking her
hands in his, wanting to feel a connection while he talked. “Both
women opened their doors for this killer.”

“
How do you know
that?”

Tony blinked. He’d said too much. He stepped
away from her as self-disgust soured the words in his mouth. He was
using this case to draw his wife closer. Fear about this case
shouldn’t be the reason he won her back.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose before
he continued. “Marissa, you’re tearing me apart. I want to tell you
everything, but this case, it’s different than others. If I told
you what we know and it ever got out--”

“
You think I would rat you
out to the press?” Marissa’s voice was cold.

“
No, I know you’d never do
something so callous. But baby, if it got out I would have to tell
the chief I told you. I don’t want you to have to go through
questioning just because I told you a very sensitive piece of
information.”

Tony’s cell phone rang, cutting their
conversation short. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at
the display.

“
It’s Sekorski again. I
have to take it.”

“
I’ll catch a cab,”
Marissa said as she grabbed for her purse.

“
No,” Tony said
forcefully.