The Reunion Mission (29 page)

Chapter 13

J
onah kept a close eye on Annie as he drove her back to her apartment. For someone who’d almost been killed, she seemed too calm. He worried that her reserve meant she was in shock, though when asked direct questions, she gave coherent answers.

Her hand trembled when she raised it to brush her hair from her eyes, and her pale complexion told him she wasn’t totally unaffected by the near-miss with the speeding car.

But when he thought about her past, all the tragedy and trauma she’d survived, a new concern presented itself to him. After Hardin had been murdered, she’d shown surprising composure and detachment also. Maybe Annie was suppressing her reaction, bottling up her emotions as she’d learned to do in her marriage. If so, she was a ticking bomb. How much trauma could she handle before she broke?

She gave her children a brave smile when they rushed to greet her in her kitchen. Haley held a fat cat in her arms, though Annie seemed to barely notice. She hugged both of the kids at the same time and held on to them even when they wiggled for release.

Finally Haley and the cat fought free of Annie’s embrace. “Mommy, can Fuzzy sleep with me tonight?”

Annie blinked at her daughter and stared at the cat as if just seeing it for the first time. “What’s that cat doing in here?”

“I let him come in to play. I named him Fuzzy. Can he stay in my room tonight?”

Annie drew a slow careful breath. She seemed so tired and disoriented, Jonah stepped closer, in case she toppled.

Smoothing a hand over her forehead and into her hair, Annie shook her head. “Baby, that’s the Smiths’ cat. You can’t keep him. The Smiths would miss him too much.”

“But, Mo-om—”

Jonah intervened when the whining started. He took the cat from Annie’s daughter and carried it to the door. “Maybe you can play with Fuzzy again tomorrow. Right now he has to go home for dinner. Okay?”

The cat scooted out the opened door and trotted away.

Haley glared at him, her lower lip poked out in full pout mode. “When can I have a cat, Mommy?”

The tortured, world-weary look in Annie’s eyes when she glanced at her daughter shredded Jonah’s heart. She rubbed her temple with her fingertips. “Someday, sweetie.”

Rani strolled in from the next room, her arms full of toys. “Sorry about the cat. I didn’t think it would hurt for her to play with him inside for a little while. Then she started talking about keeping him and—” The babysitter winced. “My bad.”

Annie shook her head. “It’s okay.” She hesitated, still looking dazed. “Have the kids eaten dinner?”

“Yes, ma’am. And Ben’s had his bath. I was just putting the toys away when you arrived.”

Thanking the babysitter, Annie showed her out before sending Haley off to get ready for bed. Her worried eyes met his then, and she tipped her head. “Will the couch be all right for you?”

Jonah lifted an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“You were going to sleep in your truck and watch my apartment again like the other night, weren’t you?”

“You saw me?”

She nodded. “Rather than try to dissuade you from your guard duty, I figured I’d offer you a more comfortable post. I’m not sure I want to be alone tonight.”

A tender ache swelled in Jonah’s chest. Annie looked so fragile, so near breaking, and the powerful urge to pull her into his arms, kiss away any fear or doubt that weighed her down nearly suffocated him. “The sofa is fine.”

She gave a quiet, stoic nod. “I’ll get you a pillow and blanket.”

She disappeared down the hall, and Jonah sighed his frustration. He hated the resignation that shadowed her gaze. She needed to tap the fiery, fighting spirit he’d seen before, the determination that blazed in her eyes when she talked of protecting her children. Annie needed to approach her own safety and happiness with the same moxie. Through the screened helmet of his “generic Joe” suit, he’d noted her withdrawn and dubious body language at the self-defense class.

Not that he expected her to overcome years of intimidation from her marriage in one session, but so much of her healing and her progress in the class would depend on her attitude. The attempt on her life had clearly rattled her, shaken what confidence she had. She was teetering on the edge of giving up. He couldn’t let her retreat into that cave of defeat. His gut told him Annie had a vibrant, core strength. He needed to find a way to revive her hope, fan the fire inside her and give her the courage to fight back.

The desire that Michael had lost. The hope that had been snuffed out in him by the bastards who swindled him.

The hot burn of acid bit his stomach, and he gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t let Farrout and his men, or whoever the hell was involved with the attempt on Annie’s life, rob Annie of her will to rebuild her life.

* * *

Focus,
Annie scolded herself for the umpteenth time that day as she let her thoughts drift to the dark car that had hurtled toward her yesterday. She’d already mixed up three special orders thanks to her drifting attention. But every time a car horn blasted on the street outside, or the distant whine of a siren sounded over the murmur of the lunch crowd, her mind jumped back to the instant terror, the jolting realization that someone had tried to run her over.

And the heady rush of warmth and security when Jonah had scooped her into his protective arms.

Stop it.
She gave her head a brisk shake to clear the images of Jonah’s long legs and broad shoulders curled uncomfortably on her sofa this morning.

“I need two cheeseburgers, well done, hold the onions please.” She slapped the order slip under a clip on the order wheel and started scooping ice into glasses for tea. Had they said sweet or unsweet tea?

Damn it. She had to get her mind back on work. She couldn’t give Farrout any reason to fire her now. She filled the glasses with sweet tea, going with the odds. Most Southerners took their iced tea sweet. As she carried the drinks out to the customers, she glanced to the front door, waiting to see Jonah arrive.

He’d left her apartment before sunrise, making himself scarce before her kids got up, then waited in his truck to drive her to work. He’d dropped her off just before the breakfast rush, and after promising he’d stop by for lunch, he’d kissed her scarred cheek.

The memory made her pulse stumble. What would it be like to kiss him? Not a chaste, sweet kiss like he’d startled her with after Hardin’s murder, but the kind of long, deep, soul-shaking kisses lovers shared. What would it have been like to lie down beside him on her narrow couch, nestle herself in the crook of his body and let him hold her in his arms?

She huffed, irritated by the track of her thoughts. She had no business considering such intimacies with Jonah. Wasn’t it bad enough that she’d grown so dependent on him that she didn’t feel safe in her apartment without him sleeping on her couch? She couldn’t add a physical relationship to the mix, couldn’t complicate a relationship that already confused her.

Annie wiped her damp palms on her apron and sent another glance to the front door as a new customer strolled in.

Not Jonah. She squashed the pluck of disappointment and took the bill slip and cash the man at the next table handed her as she walked past.

“Keep the change.”

“Thank you, sir.” She mustered a smile for her customer and headed back to the counter to ring up the sale. The mundane task was not enough to keep her head from straying back to the question: What was happening between her and Jonah?

The shared attraction was obvious. The common goal of rooting out and stopping the people threatening her life and running the money laundering at the diner was a given. But what about after that threat had been eliminated? Assuming they could find the people involved and stop them before—

“How was your class yesterday?” Susan asked, hustling in from the dining room with a tray full of dirty dishes.

Annie took a moment to focus her train of thought. “My class?”

“Yeah. When you asked me to cover your afternoon hours, you said you had some kind of class.”

“Oh, right. It was...fine.”

Susan tipped her head and grinned. “Fine? That’s all you can say? You sound like my kid. How was school?
Fine.
How’d you do on your math test?
Fine.
”

Annie dropped the change from the man’s ticket into the community tip jar. “Okay, it was...intimidating at first since it was my first time going. But I guess I learned a little bit.”

Susan grunted. “Better. So...what the heck kind of class are you taking down at the police station anyway?”

Annie shrugged, hoping to minimize the truth. “Self-defense. So, was the dinner hour busy last night?”

She prayed her change of topic would steer Susan away from questions about why Annie felt the need to defend herself or other queries of a personal nature. The less her coworkers knew about her private life, the better, as far as she was concerned. Especially when it came to her relationship with Jonah. If someone connected the two of them—

“Howdy, ladies.”

Annie’s head snapped up at the sound of the familiar baritone voice. As if her thoughts had conjured him, Jonah took a seat at the counter, dividing a smile between her and Susan. A thrill of pleasure spun through Annie, though she worked to hide her reaction. Curling her fingers into her apron, Annie bunched the material in her hand and gave Jonah a quick nod of acknowledgment.

“Order up!”

Annie rushed to the kitchen window and took down the plates waiting for her. Balancing the plates, two in her hands and two on her arms, she cast a furtive glance toward Jonah as she headed out to the dining room.

The heat and intimacy in the hooded glance he returned almost made her trip.

Oh, Lord, she was in trouble. How did she fight the powerful magnetic pull she felt toward him?

* * *

Jonah hadn’t had an opportunity to speak privately with Annie before he left the diner after lunch. He’d spent the better part of the morning going over the files they’d retrieved from Hardin’s locker at the bus depot. Based on the organization of the files, the specificity of the incriminating information in the documents and the detective’s name at the top of one of the most recent printouts, Jonah was convinced Hardin was working with Detective Nance to expose the money laundering. Whether as part of a plea arrangement, as revenge against the other parties in the criminal operation or out of some civic-minded sense of duty, Jonah had yet to determine. Hardin could have had any number of motivations for helping the Lagniappe police detective gather evidence, and dead men couldn’t explain themselves.

Which gave a new light to Hardin’s murder. Perhaps the manager’s death was less about the stolen package and missing money than it was about silencing an informant.

Had the higher-ups in the gambling and money-laundering ring suspected Hardin’s betrayal?

Jonah rubbed his temple, pondering all the new angles, as he parked behind the police station and headed in the back entrance to the gymnasium. In the men’s locker room, he began dressing in the bulky gear he wore for the self-defense class and wondered if Annie would show up.

Given twenty-four hours to assess her situation, had the attempt on her life yesterday fired her resolve to take back control of her life or had it scared her into retreat?

She’d all but ignored him at the diner today. Probably a smart idea. They were already risking a lot spending as much time together away from the diner as they did. Anyone could see them together on the street or outside her apartment.

Jonah bit the inside of his cheek as he mulled that point. While he didn’t want Annie and her kids alone in her apartment until he’d neutralized the threat against her, he couldn’t risk jeopardizing the investigation, either.

He’d have to devise a way to be more discreet about his arrival and departure from Annie’s home. Just in case her apartment was being watched.

After donning his protective gear, Jonah lumbered out to the padded mats where the women waited. He was relieved to see Annie sitting with the other ladies. Soon he needed to tell her the role he played in the class. Somehow keeping his identity secret felt like lying to her. But he hadn’t wanted to scare her away from the classes.

Jan acknowledged him and turned to the women. “Who wants to go first?”

Jonah glanced at Annie. She stared at the floor, but her body was stiff, her hands balled. Suddenly, she surged to her feet.

“I will.” Her voice was strong, yet Jonah heard the warble of nerves.

Pride swelled in his chest for her courage, her willingness to defeat the doubts and move forward.

Annie stepped forward, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, but Jonah saw the shadows of trepidation darkening her eyes.

Come on, honey. You can do this.

“All right, Annie. Joe is going to be a kidnapper in a parking lot. It’s night, and he approaches you as you are walking to your car. What do you do first?”

Annie took a deep breath. “Warn him away.”

Jan nodded. “Right. Do that.”

Jonah moved toward Annie, taking an aggressive stance.

He saw the panic flare in her eyes. “No. Stop. Get back,” she said in a raised voice but without any real command.

Jonah kept coming.

“Louder, Annie. Say it like you mean it,” Jan coached.

Raising her hand, Annie stumbled back. “Stop!”

Nervous energy quivered in her voice.

Jan glanced at Jonah and waved him away. “Let’s try it again. Annie, put more force behind your words. Your tone has to tell him you will
not
be his victim. Stop!” Jan barked the word and several ladies, including Annie, flinched, startled by her shout. “Get back!” Jan tipped her head. “See the difference?”

Annie nodded, and Jan waved Jonah forward again.

He moved faster this time, growling as he lunged forward.

Annie gasped and threw her hand up. “Stop! Get back!”

Jan smiled and clapped. “Much better!”

Jonah lumbered back, keeping an eye on Annie’s reaction.

She opened and closed her hands, then wiped her palms on her uniform skirt.