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Not the typical Monday morning.
Gabe automatically rose as she stopped in front of him. Kristina regarded him with a mixture of wariness and hope in her baby blues. The top of her head reached his chin. He’d always been partial to petite women. This woman in particular.
Keep it professional, Burke.
“Kristina, long time no see. Can I help you?” he asked as he studied her beautiful oval face.
“I hope so.” She glanced at Angie, who watched them with raised eyebrows. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Is this a police matter?” he questioned, ignoring the battering of his heart.
“Uh, well. Yes,” she replied as a blush brightened her cheeks.
Now why did disappointment nip at him so viciously? He fought to keep his expression neutral. “Then we can talk here. This is my partner, Angie Carlucci.”
Angie bolted up and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs…?”
His unexpected visitor swallowed before reaching out. “Just Miss, Kris…tina Worthington.”
Using her interrogation face, Angie hiked a hip on Gabe’s desk and flipped her black ponytail over her shoulder. He smothered a grin at the display of female rivalry.
Kristina’s gaze returned to him expectantly, probably anticipating he would fawn all over her as he’d done so long ago when he’d foolishly tried to believe in love and all the trappings that accompanied the sentiment. He’d made that mistake once. Once was enough.
Feeling the need to expedite things, he prompted, “What can I do for you?”
She twirled one long strand of silky hair around a slender finger of her ringless left hand. A monster-size emerald pendant hanging from her slender neck twinkled in the fluorescent overhead light. A blatant reminder they came from different worlds. “I know it’s going to sound bizarre. I mean it’s a strange tale and you probably won’t believe me—”
He held up a hand, halting her as he pulled out a chair. “Here, sit. Just start at the beginning.”
With a nod, she sat and waited until he was seated before launching into her story. She told them of the retirement center and her grandmother’s insistence that people were disappearing. She was right. Her story did sound odd. Bizarre. And, yes, strange. But no worse than some of the stuff he’d heard before.
Life, he’d long ago acknowledged, was unpredictable. Anything could, and would, happen. Being prepared was half the battle.
When Kristina dug through her large tapestry bag and produced a man’s black wallet, Gabe held out his hand. “You found this…on the janitor’s cart?”
Kristina scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t find it. My grandmother did. Hidden beneath a stack of towels.”
He raised an eyebrow at that. “You two shouldn’t be snooping around. You might actually find trouble.” Gabe passed the wallet to Angie, who proceeded to pull out the contents.
“Driver’s license. Expired,” Angie announced. “Credit card, library card and a senior’s discount restaurant card.” She hopped off Gabe’s desk and settled in her own desk chair. “I’ll run these through the computer. See if we have him on file.”
“You probably will,” Kristina said. “My grandmother said he belonged to a gang when he was young.”
“Then maybe he wanted to disappear?” Gabe suggested. “It wouldn’t be unusual for an ex-gang member to need to vanish, if, say, someone he’d once crossed found out where he’d retired.”
Kristina’s eyebrows drew together. “I suppose. But what about Lena? She wasn’t in a gang. She was a sweet little old lady.”
“Maybe they ran off together,” he remarked drily.
“Not according to the center’s director.” Blue fire sparked in her eyes. “Something’s happened to them.”
She seemed genuinely concerned. Gabe took out a pen and paper. “I’ll do some checking and see if I can track Lena—what was the last name again?”
“Street.”
“Right.” He made a note. “And the janitor?”
“Frank Hayes,” she supplied.
After jotting down the name, he asked, “Where can I reach you?”
The pretty blonde hesitated long enough to make him raise an eyebrow.
She surprised him further by taking the pen and paper from his hand with just the slightest brush of skin against skin, but awareness zipped all the way to Gabe’s toes. He mentally shook the sensation off and focused on what she was doing. She wrote down her information and laid the paper on his desk.
Gabe sighed. “I’ll let you know the minute I have anything,” he said and motioned for her to proceed him. “I’ll walk you out.”
She didn’t move. “Aren’t you going to check into Frank?”
Slowly he nodded as a little bubble of irritation shot through him. He didn’t need her dictating his job to him. “Yes. And I’ll let you know what I find out.”
She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, her tapestry bag dangling from the crook of her elbow. “I’d rather wait.”
He shook his head. He’d rather she walked back out of his life, thank you very much. “That won’t be necessary.”
“I’ll wait,” she repeated.
Figured Miss Worthington of the Beacon Hill Worthingtons would expect to have her own way. Seems the rich, pampered socialite hadn’t changed. Though she’d tried her hardest to make him change when they’d dated, wanting him to be more like the rest of the people in her privileged world, his world consisted of Good Will purchases and Top Ramen. Like water and oil. Their lives didn’t mix well.
Angie turned in her chair to say, “Carl Remming is an ex-con. Busted at nineteen for shoplifting and again in his early twenties for grand theft auto. Has a clean sheet after that. I’ll run his credit card.”
Gabe nodded his approval. “Check with the airlines, buses, trains for both Carl and Lena Street.”
“Righto,” Angie agreed and returned her focus to the computer.
Gabe gave in and sat back down. “Are you always this tenacious?”
Kristina lifted her chin. “I find it helps in certain situations.”
He met her gaze. Ah, there was the queenly stare he remembered so well. She was some piece of work; all beauty, brains and self-confidence. Lucky for him, she wasn’t his problem.
She shifted her gaze to the computer. “I noticed Frank had on very high-end tennis shoes and a Cartier watch.”
“The watch could be a fake,” Gabe cautioned, annoyed that she’d assume a janitor couldn’t afford nice things. “Or he could have saved up.”
“Of course the watch could be fake.” Her tone matched his growing irritation. “It’s just…well, you’d have to meet him.”
If the man checked out, Gabe wouldn’t have to meet him. He typed Frank’s name into the computer. Kristina came around the desk to peer over his shoulder. Her fresh, powdery scent teased his nose and brought back memories he’d thought long gone.
He gave her a sidelong glance. “Do you mind?”
She had the grace to duck her chin sheepishly as she stepped back. He forced himself to concentrate.
Within a few minutes, a rap sheet filled with petty larceny and misdemeanor assault charges came up. Okay, so Frank wasn’t a squeaky-clean janitor. Everyone had a past. But experience had jaded Gabe enough to know a criminal past usually never stayed in the past.
“So, he bears watching,” he conceded.
An I-told-you-so look bloomed in Kristina’s clear blue eyes.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“You’re not going to at least question him?”
“In due time,” he said, rebuffing her astounded expression. “First we have to establish probable cause to bring him in. And until we have more information about Carl’s and Lena’s whereabouts, I’m not jumping to conclusions.”
“But he had Carl’s wallet,” she pointed out. “That can’t be good.”
Was she kidding? “For all we know, he found it,” Gabe countered. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some work to do.” He stood and pointedly waited for Kristina to precede him. “I promise to call you the second we’ve found something concrete.”
“Sure. Fine. I’ll just sit by the phone and wait,” she stated tartly before walking away.
Gabe had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Kristina Worthington didn’t ever sit around and wait. He could only hope she didn’t do anything to get herself in trouble or interfere with his investigation. Or his peace of mind.
“Just sit by the phone and wait,” Kris grumbled as she crouched behind a stack of crates at the far end of an alley in midtown Boston. “Fat chance.”
Somewhere in the distance a horn honked. Otherwise, the streets were quiet and freezing. Late-night air seeped through her black jeans, black turtleneck and black parka. She’d bound up her hair under a dark baseball cap. Her ears were getting cold. Thankfully it wasn’t snowing again. Her nose wrinkled at the many odd and unpleasant odors wafting in the air. She distracted herself the same way she had since the adrenaline rush of conducting her very own stakeout—by bringing her camera up to her eye.
The shutter silently captured Frank Hayes’s every move. She’d been following the janitor for the past hour, ever since he’d left Miller’s Rest in his little beat-up two-seater.
He’d eaten at a dive that served more booze than food before heading out the back door and down this alley.
Gabe wanted proof the guy was doing something he shouldn’t; well, she’d give it to him.
I’m not jumping to conclusions, he’d said. He’d “watch” Frank, he’d said. Ha! She didn’t see him anywhere around.
Why she’d ever thought herself in love with Gabe Burke she didn’t know. The man was even more stubborn than she remembered. And he’d acted as though he hardly knew her. Hurt rubbed at the wounds left by the summer they’d spent together. Obviously, she hadn’t meant much to him.
Well, good. He didn’t mean anything to her, either.
And contrary to his wishes, she was going to find out what Frank was up to. Then Gabe would have to act.
Frank, his shoulders hunched beneath his big down jacket, turned the corner, disappearing from her view. Kris hustled closer, her black boots squishing in the slushy snow. She paused at the edge of a brick building and cautiously peered around to the other side. There he was, ambling down the deserted street.
Just as she stepped around the building, a hand closed over her mouth and a strong arm cinched across her waist.
Her muffled scream echoed in her ears.
Frank Hayes whirled around. Body tense, his heart hammered against his ribs as adrenaline rushed to his brain, making the world shift slightly. He could have sworn he heard the scuffle of feet on the pavement. The echo of a muted scream. He searched the inky street for signs of being followed. He was alone. Or was he?
He backed up a few steps before turning and hurrying to the end of the block. Just a little farther and he’d be done with his business. He shivered. He loathed being outside in the dark. Too many shadows, too many possibilities.
Bad things happened in the dark.
TWO
Kris clutched her camera to her chest and used her booted heel to kick the person holding her. Please, Lord, save me! She whipped her head around, trying to loosen the grip over her mouth.
“Kristina! Stop!”
The harshly whispered command given in a familiar deep baritone registered. She went limp with relief. The arm around her waist held her for a moment before withdrawing. She sagged, using the brick building for support.
Taking deep, calming breaths, she allowed anger to replace her terror. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The moon bathed Gabe Burke’s hard expression in the muted light. He’d changed out of his suit into jeans and a dark leather bomber jacket. A knit beanie covered his honey-blond hair. “I’m doing my job. What are you doing?”
“Your job.” She pushed away from the wall. Anger warmed her face. Peering around the corner, she smacked the bricks with her palm. “He’s turning the corner.”
“You need to go home.”
“No way.” She darted forward. “We have to at least try to catch up.”
Gabe gritted his teeth. Short of hauling her over his shoulder and carrying her away, he had no choice but to follow. Frank was probably gone now, anyway. Gabe would let Kristina figure it out and then he’d escort her home. Though he’d like nothing better than to throw her in jail for doing something as idiotic and dangerous as following an ex-con.
After Kristina left the station, Gabe had done a little digging and found out that Frank hung out at the HogsHead Tavern. And sure enough, Frank had shown up. Gabe had intended to follow him when he’d seen someone else doing the same. It had taken less than ten seconds for him to recognize the lithe lines of Kristina Worthington. The fact that he could still do so didn’t say much about his ability to forget her.
He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of the middle of the street and into the shadows where they would be less visible as they followed. Thankfully, this part of town quieted down at night. But in a few hours, when the bars closed, the story would be vastly different.
At the next corner, he pushed her behind him and looked down the street. The dim glow of the moon barely revealed Frank. Gabe debated for a second about lying to Kristina and saying Frank was gone, but lying never solved anything.
Besides, he had a strong hunch she would just do this again. And he may not be there to protect her.
Clutching her slender, cold hand, he pulled her around the corner and kept to the shadows. Ahead, Frank paused and whirled around.
Gabe reacted swiftly, pulling Kristina into his arms and angling his body to shield her from view. Gabe bent his head close, suspended inches from Kristina’s lips while keeping his gaze on Frank. He heard her sharp intake of breath.
The man either didn’t notice them or saw what Gabe had intended, a pair of lovers stealing a kiss in the moonlight. Frank continued on.
Gabe should have stepped back, far away from Kristina right then, but she was so soft and pliant in his arms. Her sweet breath fanned over his face causing a yearning to kiss her lips that gripped him in a tight vise. And suddenly he was back to those warm summer days when he’d been a rookie cop wild about a girl way out of his league, yet sure a future together wasn’t impossible. That maybe he’d found what his mother insisted existed.
But then reality had set in and he’d walked away.
And kissing Kristina now would only cause him more pain than he was willing to endure.
Using every ounce of self-control he possessed, he released her and stumbled back.
She blinked up at him with wide, confused eyes. “What was that?”
