Silver Sparks (26 page)

Kate gave him a soothing pat, her nurturing instincts firmly in place. “She’s not trying to be irresponsible, Cal—just the opposite. She needs to do something to help. Anything. Just like you.”

He let it sink in, knowing she was right. Amber had wanted to help him investigate, and he hadn’t let her do even the smallest thing, thinking it was more important to hide her away. If someone had tried to deter his efforts like that, he’d have done the same thing—he’d break away and go off on his own to find Julie’s killer. It was exactly what he’d done when he took a leave from work. Why hadn’t he seen that Amber needed the same thing? He was making a huge mess of this big-brother role.

He could chastise himself later; right now he needed to find Amber, make sure she didn’t step into a situation that might have just reached critical mass. Finding those bodies on De Luca land could send Rafe over the edge. What that might make him do was too alarming to think about.

“Do you have any idea how she could have left? It’s too far to walk, and there was no indication that she went through the mine. Is there a vehicle she could take?”

Several heads shook, and Marcy said, “There’s only one and it’s still here. I have the keys.”

“Then how could she have left when she’s alone here with no one to drive her anyplace?”

Feather spoke up hesitantly. “Amber did have a visitor this morning, but I know she didn’t leave with him.”

His skin prickled ominously. “A visitor? Who?”

“A man. I don’t remember his name, but Amber knew him. She said he was a friend of yours.”

Only one person in Barringer’s Pass might qualify in Amber’s eyes. “How old?”

Feather shrugged. “Forty?”

Rick. It had to be. “What did he want?” he asked, trying hard not to snap it out. They weren’t responsible for Amber. He was.

“To say hi?” Feather gave a helpless shrug. “I didn’t hear anything, but Amber said he just dropped by to see how she was.” Cal must have looked as agitated as he felt, because she hastened to add, “I watched from the porch while she talked to him out by his car. Didn’t take no more than ten minutes, then he waved at me and drove off.”

And waited down the road until Amber could get away and meet him. A dismayed glance from Maggie told him she’d realized it, too. It hadn’t been so hard for Amber to sneak away from her guardians after all. These people simply didn’t have a devious bone in their bodies.

Cal’s thoughts spun in a dizzy whirlpool. Had he told Rick where Amber was staying? He didn’t think so. Rick could have followed the cops, though. Or followed Cal and Maggie. They both went to the commune last night, and all Cal had been watching for was the media vans. When none turned into the commune behind them, he thought they hadn’t been followed.

Damn it, what did Rick want with Amber? He’d done a fairly good job of sticking to Rafe like a burr, but Cal could tell he’d been frustrated with the lack of action. Nothing was happening, and the one time it probably did, when Emily disappeared, Rick had lost track of Rafe.

Maggie squeezed his hand as she turned worried eyes on him. “Cal, remember how Rick wanted to set something up with Rafe, using me as bait? That’s almost what he was waiting for when Emily and Amber were at The Aerie. If he decided to try again with Amber, I don’t think she’d object.”

Neither did he. Worse, they’d had hours to come up with a plan.

He scanned the group of concerned faces watching him. “We’ll find her, don’t worry. I know where to look.” He grabbed Maggie’s hand as he turned.

“Wait a minute.” She clenched his fingers tightly as she turned to Kate, ensuring he wouldn’t leave. “Mom, do you have a skirt I could borrow? I can’t go anywhere looking like this.” She glanced at him, seeing how well he’d taken it. She must have read his impatience. “Just give it to me, I’ll change in the truck.”

She trotted back to the truck with him, unbuttoning her long-sleeved shirt on the way. She was down to her white T-shirt by the time she closed the door and slipped out of her cargo pants. He wasn’t so worried that he didn’t sneak a look at her legs, all the way up to her skimpy underpants; he’d have to be dead before he passed on that opportunity.

She tossed the cargo pants and shirt into the backseat and shook out the skirt Kate had thrust at her. It was long and made of something lacy, the typical feminine style her mother favored. She arched her hips to slide it up, then looked at him. “Where to, the Alpine Sky?”

He forgot about Maggie’s legs and skimpy underwear as irritation with Amber and fear for her life slammed back to the forefront. “Right. That’s where Rafe always hangs out, and I’m betting he’s there now. If he isn’t, there will at least be someone from the show to ask. And if they don’t know,” he added grimly, “I’m calling Kyle Todd. I’m not waiting for Amber to turn up dead.

Maggie figured Cal had reached his limit. If he was ever going to ditch his analytical, rational approach and do something wildly impulsive, this would be the time. She wouldn’t blame him. But she might have to stop him from tearing into Rafe for laying his hands on Amber. This time she could be the rational one and keep him from winding up as tabloid headlines, or worse.

She watched his jaw clench and grind as he drove, knowing he was thinking things over, waiting to see what direction his anger would take.

If it were her, she’d be figuring out whether to go after Rafe first, or Rick. Definitely Rafe. Move in fast, slam him against the wall, and punch his lights out. Then grab Rick from the corner where he would be cowering and give him the same treatment. Very Clint Eastwood, and very satisfying.

Unfortunately, that’s what she had to keep him from doing, otherwise Cal would end up in jail and Amber would be the newest tabloid sensation.

If he said something, she could gauge how angry he was. She knew his mind must be working furiously, but he didn’t say anything. The tension was killing her. She finally went for the direct approach. “What are you thinking?”

He took his time answering. “I think your mom’s pretty smart.”

That was unexpected. She answered cautiously, “She is.”

“I wish Amber had met her sooner. Or had someone like Kate in her life to be a good influence.”

She sighed. “It doesn’t always work that way, Cal. I’m the shining example of how a teenage girl can go wrong despite being surrounded by good examples.”

“Are you saying nothing could have changed that?”

She thought about the resentment she’d felt toward her mother for choosing a lifestyle that left her kids open to ridicule. The resentment toward her grandmother for taking her away from her mother during the long school year. Hurting them had been part of her reason for sleeping around. Living up to what everyone else assumed was true was the other.

“Nothing would have changed it,” she admitted. “Because there are other influences out there. Things you can’t control. Being a good parent—or big brother—won’t necessarily stop Amber from doing something stupid in response to them. You can’t change her basic personality.”

“Meaning she’ll always be prone to stupid, reckless behavior. Great.”

She blinked at his look of weary resignation. Had he even realized what he’d said? “Is that how you think I am?” she asked quietly. “Still prone to stupid, reckless behavior?”

“No, I . . .” He faltered, then stopped, pressing his mouth into a thin line. “A couple things you did weren’t very smart, Maggie.”

She suddenly felt as tense as he looked. “Maybe.”

His lip twitched up. “Maybe?”

“I shouldn’t have talked to the press that first day.”

“That’s all?”

Irritation sharpened her voice. “You want me to say that punching Rafe in the nose was a bad idea? Well, I won’t. It might have been impulsive, but he deserved it. I’d do it again.”

He gave her a long look before returning his eyes to the road. “It was reckless. You could have gotten yourself or someone else killed when that bodyguard pulled a gun.”

She couldn’t have known the idiot had a gun—which she didn’t say, because that was his whole point. But there was something disturbing behind the worry in his eyes. “You have a big problem with that, don’t you? Reckless behavior—you mentioned it before.”

He was quiet for several seconds. “Yeah, I do.”

“Because of that other police officer. Diane.”

His hands tightened on the wheel. “She made a stupid choice and paid with her life. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”

It was so obvious she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before. “You were in a relationship with her, weren’t you?” But it was more than that, and she didn’t want to admit to the flare of jealousy she felt when the realization hit her. “You loved her.”

She wished he’d look at her, soften the blow with his understanding gaze, but he just stared into the twilight ahead. “She was my wife.”

Chapter
Fifteen

I
t shouldn’t have meant anything to her. Big deal, he had a past; everyone did. But it stabbed like a knife. He’d loved someone enough to commit the rest of his life to her. It was enough to make her jealous of a dead woman.

But that was what stunned Maggie the most. She was jealous because she loved him.

Her head buzzed with confusion. When had that happened? She wasn’t sure, but she knew it was true. And it didn’t feel good. It hurt. Cal was the wrong man to fall in love with, and he’d just explained why—he didn’t like reckless, impulsive behavior. If that included falling in love, he was right about her. She couldn’t have been more reckless when she fell for a methodical, controlled man.

She became aware of the hum of the tires on asphalt. Silence hung between them, heavy and awkward. Just to break it, she repeated, “Your wife,” careful to keep her tone mildly curious.

He glanced at her. “Technically.”

“Um . . . I think marriage is like pregnancy—either you are or you aren’t.”

“We were separated. We were going to file for divorce.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” It made sense, in a depressing way. He couldn’t live with Diane’s reckless choices.

“It had been obvious for some time that it wasn’t working out between us.”

“Cal, you don’t owe me an explanation.”

“I want you to know.”

He kept checking for her reaction, and she was determined not to show one. It wouldn’t have been good. How was she supposed to react to the news that he couldn’t stand being married to someone like her?

“Diane and I met at the police academy, but she hired on with the city, and I went with the state cops. She loved the excitement of working the streets. It took me awhile to realize why—she was an adrenaline junkie. If a case involved high risk, she was there. Drug deals, hostage situations . . . hell, she probably married me because it was some kind of rush. The academy and her department both disapproved of two new cops getting married, and she loved to buck the system.”

“But you loved her.”

“I loved the person I thought she was. Maybe I was just trying to rebuild a family. Don’t laugh, but I had this image from TV of what families were supposed to be.”

She wouldn’t laugh; it was too sad to think about how much he must have missed, living with foster families and not having one of his own. Her family might have been different from most, but they were always there for her. She couldn’t imagine life without them.

“My real family didn’t come close to that ideal, and I thought maybe if I started fresh I could get it right. You know, the house in the suburbs, coaching Little League, camping trips on weekends . . .” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Corny, huh?”

She thought it was achingly sweet but was suddenly choked up, so she just shook her head.

“It turned out Diane liked that I didn’t have an established family life. Her job was her life. She lived for risk, for the thrill of overcoming danger. The last straw was when she pushed hard to get an undercover role in a big drug investigation. I was worried that she’d crossed a line, that she needed counseling. I even went behind her back and talked to her superiors about it. They didn’t agree.”

“They gave her the assignment anyway?”

He nodded. “And when she found out I’d tried to have her pulled, she left me. We called it a trial separation, but we both knew our marriage was over. She was killed three months later in a drug raid. Technically, I was still her husband.”

“That’s awful,” she said softly.

“It was two years ago.”

“But you’re still touchy about people putting themselves in risky situations. I can understand why.”

“Touchy?” He gave a cynical laugh. “I guess I am. But I know Amber isn’t like Diane. She makes me crazy, but she’s only sixteen and she’s been through something really rough. I get that. The bigger question is, how am I going to handle this family thing with her?”

She thought he’d been doing fine so far, despite all the frustration. “What’s so hard about being her brother?”

“Everything. What do I know about being part of a normal family? My marriage was dysfunctional. My childhood was dysfunctional. Amber’s hasn’t been any better, seeing that we have a mother who doesn’t know the meaning of parenting. Basically, I’m Amber’s whole family.” His desperate gaze found hers. “Maggie, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. If that kid has nothing more than me to rely on, she’s in big trouble.”

That’s what had him so withdrawn and worried? She shook her head, smiling. “You’ll figure it out. You both will.”

“I don’t know. Your mom understands her so much better than I do. It makes me realize how little I know about being part of a family.”

“There’s no rule book, Cal. I know that’s a big disappointment to you, but I think you’re supposed to just make it up as you go.”

“I was hoping there was a way to do it that wouldn’t make her hate me. She likes your mom. Hell, I think she likes everyone at the commune more than she likes me.”

“Because you’re the one telling her what to do.”

His eyebrows came down hard. “Someone has to. She’s an idiot.”

“Spoken like a big brother. I could have used one of those when I was her age.”

He looked doubtful. “I don’t think Amber agrees. She’d leave if she had anyplace else to go. And I have to tell you, it would be nice not to have to save her ass every couple days.”

She drew her eyebrows together, suddenly worried. “You won’t let her leave, will you?”

Cal set his jaw. “I’m all she has. I’m not walking away.”

The Aerie looked deserted. Cal scanned the few people sipping drinks at the bar and the mostly empty booths. A twinge of dread curled inside him. If he’d guessed wrong about Rafe being here, then he had no idea where to find him.

“Where is everyone?” Maggie asked. “I’ve never seen it this dead.”

It might be dead, but it wasn’t quiet—music pounded from the lounge area in the back room. As they stood there, a loud cheer went up, rising over the fast beat. They exchanged puzzled looks. In unspoken agreement they cut past the row of booths to check it out.

Cal rounded the wall and came to a sudden halt, staring. The front of the lounge was empty but the back half had been turned into an impromptu dance floor. Tables had been pushed aside to create a space big enough for several couples. A crowd stood around the dancers, watching. It was the dancers who had stopped him in his tracks.

Men and women were fused together, moving as one to the rapid, pounding rhythm. Bodies moved in sinuous harmony, bending and leaning in ways that were blatantly sexual. As he watched, a woman turned in her partner’s arms then bent double, moving her hips while her partner melded his pelvis with her backside, rocking against her in a rhythm no one could mistake. The move elicited another cheer from the crowd, mixed with shouted encouragement and a few wolf whistles.

“Wow, dirty dancing,” Maggie said beside him. “Some of them look like professional dancers, too.”

“It’s the
Trust Fund Brats,
” he muttered. “Rafe must be in there somewhere.” His eyes searched the dance floor. Rafe would be a dancer, not a watcher; the man craved attention too much to sit on the sidelines.

A couple moved aside in a sinuous flow of bodies. Cal spotted them and stiffened. Rafe and Amber were plastered together, thigh to thigh, hip to hip, chest to chest. Rafe’s chest was bare, his shirt obviously discarded to better show off his toned body. At least Amber was clothed, if barely. Her short, tight top looked like the sort of thing women jogged in, leaving a lot of bare skin below it. He figured with her low-slung jeans there was nearly a foot of tanned skin swaying beneath Rafe’s greedy fingers. Her hands slid up his arms and over his shoulders in a dance of their own. Neither smiled. Rafe’s eyes held hers with an intense gaze that promised all sorts of dark pleasures. Amber’s mouth opened slightly as the tip of her tongue licked a slow path over her upper lip. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Yeow! You got yourself a hot one, Rafe!”

Cal froze as the room swayed beneath his feet. Where the hell had a sixteen-year-old learned to dance like that?

As he watched, Rafe said something to Amber. In response, she raised one leg and hooked it around his thigh. Rafe held it, rubbing his pelvis against hers in a long, slow stroke that he repeated as she laid back on his other arm. He held her as they mimicked having sex; there was no other word for it. The crowd roared its approval.

Cal’s brain was on fire. Rafe De Luca was a dead man.

His mind raced with the charges he’d slap on Rafe. Lewd behavior in public. Indecent behavior with a minor. Sexual assault. He’d even take the jail time he’d probably get for knocking his teeth out. It would be worth it. He started forward, his furious gaze steady on Rafe and Amber.

Maggie’s hand shot out, grabbing his arm. “Don’t!”

He shook her off, but she grabbed him again, this time with both hands. He turned and growled between clenched teeth, “Let go, Maggie. I have to do this.”

“No!” She jerked hard on his arm to get his full attention. “Just wait, damn it.”

His head was about to explode with pressure, but he focused an impatient stare on her. “Why?”

“Look at that crowd. Who do you see?”

He turned, running a quick gaze around the circle. “Crew members. The regular group of fans.” He paused, recognizing one of the tabloid reporters that had hounded Maggie. Then another. And next to him, a cable TV reporter. “Press. God damn it.”

“If you barge in there you’ll create another incident like the one we started. The reporters will rip into Amber just like they did to me. Worse, probably, once they find out she’s a lot younger than she looks.”

He automatically glanced at Amber as she danced with Rafe’s hands all over her ultrafeminine curves. “What’s the age of consent in Colorado?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s seventeen.”

“Good.” The criminal charges regarding minors would stick. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t punch Rafe’s lights out, just that he didn’t have to kill him.

He watched the dancers as his frustration rose. What did she think she was doing, anyway? Was Rick watching from the crowd, filming them? That hardly seemed like a plan for revenge.

At the back of the crowd he heard one of the reporters yell to another, “Who’s the chick with Rafe? She a local groupie, or is she somebody?”

The other man shrugged. “Nobody.”

Cold panic grabbed Cal’s gut. How long would it take them to find out?

The music changed, the melody fading behind a hard, driving beat. Amber turned in Rafe’s arms, putting her back to his chest. Rafe’s hands immediately covered her breasts as his pelvis ground against her ass in time to the beat.

The press might not know who Amber was, but Rafe did. Cal imagined he was enjoying this even more, knowing she was his sister.

Rage ripped through him. Fuck waiting. He’d have to create a distraction, something that would clear everyone out of there. A fire alarm would work. It would probably mean fines or charges later, but what the hell? He was already going to spend time in jail for hitting Rafe, so what was one more misdemeanor? “Do you see a fire alarm?” he asked Maggie.

She jerked as if her thoughts had been elsewhere. “What? No, don’t do that, you’ll get arrested, and Amber will be part of a police report. I have a better idea.”

“What is it?”

“Never mind, just trust me.”

“Maggie, I need to clear this place out, now.”

“I know.” She took both his hands in hers and gave him a pleading look. “Just give me a few minutes, okay? For Amber’s sake. Don’t do anything.”

She turned on her heel and rushed back around the wall, toward the bar. Cal shot a glare at the dancers. Whatever Maggie was planning, it better happen fast.

Fear blossomed in Maggie’s chest at the thought of what she was about to do. She shoved it down, refusing to think of consequences. Nothing mattered as much as saving Amber from the publicity that was inches away from crashing on top of her.

She raced blindly around the dividing wall, nearly colliding with a young woman. She recognized her as one of Rafe’s fellow
Trust Fund Brats
, Lara Somebody, a spoiled heiress with too much money and not enough common sense.

Maggie grinned at Lara. This was perfect.

“Hey, what’s going on back there?” Lara nodded toward the room where Rafe and Amber were setting the dance floor on fire. “Is it a good party?”

“It’s Rafe De Luca hogging the attention again. But if you’re up for some action and you don’t mind getting your picture on the front page of every tabloid, you might want to come with me.”

Lara might have known laughably little about middle-class life, but she knew the value of publicity. Without a blink, she took Maggie’s hand. “Let’s go.”

She rushed around the corner, Lara in tow, and slapped the bar. “Bartender!”

A young man at the other end turned with a start. Maggie knew everyone else in the room would be looking at her, too. And at Lara.

“Bring me two margaritas and a pair of scissors.” She put one foot on the rung of a bar stool and began unlacing the hiking boots she’d worn for exploring the mine. “If you don’t have scissors, I’ll take a sharp knife.”