2 Bodies for the Price of 1 (2 page)

She covered her mouth to suppress the aching wail that lodged in her throat. Knowing that her father still had that much power over her made her feel even less in control than usual. How dare he dive-bomb back into their lives like that?

Perilously close to losing it, Carlotta backtracked to find her shoe, but was blinded by tears of frustration.

She wiped at her eyes angrily and swore under her breath.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

She winced, then turned at the unmistakable noise of Detective Jack Terry’s voice. She blinked away the moisture to find him studying her red Dior stiletto-heel slide with the same intensity that she’d seen him study evidence at crime scenes. Wesley’s job as a body mover had thrown her and the detective into close proximity at a couple of crime scenes, with abrasive results. Jack Terry was the one person she didn’t want to see right now—the brute had recently reopened her father’s case.

“Yes,” she snapped, snatching the shoe out of his big hand. “What are you doing here?”

“Irritating you, apparently.” Then he suddenly looked sheepish and she realized he was dressed too casually to be on duty. He cleared his throat. “If you must know, I need a monkey suit for a bigwig department dinner and I could use your…uh…help…picking out something.”

Her anger receded. He had no idea what had just transpired. And wouldn’t know unless she told him…or unless he’d made good on his threat to put a trace on her and Wesley’s phones. He wasn’t convinced that a handful of postcards was the only contact they’d had with their missing parents.

He gestured over his shoulder. “Maybe I should just go to the place where I usually shop.”

“I didn’t realize that Dick’s Sporting Goods sold formal wear,” she said dryly.

“This was a bad idea.” He turned to go.

“No, Jack. Wait.” He stopped and Carlotta wondered if he realized it was the first time she’d called him anything other than Detective Terry—or one of the several unsavory nicknames she had uttered privately.

But recently he—and one of her collectible Judith Leiber breastplate necklaces, circa mid-1980s—had saved her from the bullet of a murderer, and in the aftermath, something
electric
had passed between them. She felt that confusing jolt now, at a loss to explain why she would be attracted to this good old Southern boy who—between arresting her brother for hacking into the Atlanta courthouse records, resurrecting her father’s case and grilling her about her customer’s murder—seemed to have made her family’s lawlessness his pet project.

“What?” His nose flared and she sensed that he too felt the unwelcome sexual energy bouncing between them.

To break the moment, she narrowed her eyes. “No way are you going to deny me the pleasure of seeing you buttoned into a tux.”

Jack frowned. “Sadist.”

She smiled and dropped her shoe, trying to compose herself as she pushed her bare foot inside. Her father would call back…of course he would. She wobbled and Jack reached out to steady her.

He gave a little laugh, his gold-colored eyes narrow with sudden concern. “Are you all right? You seem on edge.”

Carlotta stared at his big hand on her arm, reminding herself that if Jack Terry appeared concerned for her well-being, it was only because he was trying to get on her good side in the hope that she would lead him to her parents.

She pulled away. “I’m fine, Detective. Follow me.”

2

D
uring the ride down the escalator, Carlotta’s neck burned with a fiery itch. She was certain Jack Terry could tell she was keeping something from him.

But the brawny detective appeared preoccupied himself. He wore what she was coming to recognize as his off-duty uniform: black T-shirt, worn jeans and black cowboy boots. And, she conceded begrudgingly, he wore it well. His rugged profile, close-cut dark hair and bronze skin made for a compelling view, yet he seemed completely unaware of women’s heads turning as they stepped off the escalator and headed toward the men’s department.

“So, what’s the occasion?” she asked.

“Hmm?”

“The bigwig department dinner.”

“Oh. An awards thing.”

She lifted an eyebrow as she led him toward the formal wear section. “Are you receiving an award?”

The blush that stained his cheeks spoke for him.

“You are,” she said, elbowing him. “What kind of an award?”

He cleared his throat. “Distinguished duty.”

“Distinguished, huh? Did you do something in particular to earn this recognition? Like save a kid from a runaway car?”

“Guess the department couldn’t think of anyone else to give it to.”

“That must be it,” Carlotta agreed, humoring his modesty. She angled her head and swept her gaze over the considerable length of him before pulling a jacket from a sleek wooden rack. “Black would be the obvious choice for a tux, but with your eyes and coloring, I’d go with charcoal gray. What are you, about a forty-four long, athletic cut?”

Jack looked surprised, then nodded. “Hey, I saw you this morning at a bank ATM on Piedmont.”

She frowned. “My bank is on Piedmont, but I wasn’t there this morning.”

“Really? Wow, the woman looked just like you, then.” He laughed. “No wonder she didn’t wave back when I honked. I thought you were ignoring me.”

“Apparently it was someone else ignoring you this time.” She held out the jacket for him.

He shrugged into it and she sighed in satisfaction as the luscious fabric slid into place, hugging his shoulders perfectly. She adjusted the lapels, dismayed at the little tremors of pleasure she felt when her hands met the brick wall of his chest. Avoiding his gaze, Carlotta steered him toward a mirror. He looked ill at ease…and slightly gorgeous, she realized with no small amount of consternation. Jack Terry was easier to dislike when he was rumpled and wearing one of his infamous ugly ties.

“What do you think?” She made wary eye contact in the mirror.

“It’s okay, I guess.”

“Just okay? Jack, this is one of the finest suits that money can buy.”

“I’m almost afraid to look at the price tag.”

“Don’t,” she agreed. “But a suit like this is an investment—you can wear it to formal dinners, to weddings.”

“I’m not much on weddings.”

“Funerals, then.”

“You’re not convincing me.”

“Look,” she said, smoothing a hand over his shoulder, “sometimes you just have to buy something because it looks so damn good on you.”

His eyebrows went up and a smile curled his mouth. “You think it looks damn good on me?”

Her cheeks warmed. “I do.”

For a few seconds, that sexy buzzing thing bounced back and forth between them.

“Then I’m convinced,” he said finally. “Ring me up.”

“You’ll need a shirt. And I’ll call the tailor to mark your pants.”

“I’m in your hands.”

Carlotta raised one eyebrow. “Gee, Detective, that almost sounds like trust.”

“I trust you—when it comes to clothes.”

She recognized the danger of discussing trust while the voice of her fugitive father still resonated in her head, so instead she pulled a smile from thin air. “You should. I promise you’ll look so good, no one will recognize you.”

He frowned. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“How’s your brother?” he asked as they walked back to the clothing racks.

“Good,” she replied and meant it. “I think Wesley has a crush on his probation officer.”

“At least that’ll keep him motivated to check in every week.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“Does he plan to keep working for Cooper Craft?”

She nodded, then sighed. “As gruesome as it sounds, this whole body-moving business seems to agree with him.” Then she remembered a phone call she’d gotten from her friend Hannah just before her father had called…if it indeed had been her father. “And now my friend Hannah has jumped on the body-moving bandwagon.”

“The girl with the pierced tongue and the dog collar?”

“Yeah. She has a thing for Coop, I think.”

“Funny, but I gathered that Coop had a thing for
you.
”

It was her turn to blush. “I hadn’t noticed.”

A dubious light came into his eyes. “Liar. Women know when men have a thing for them.”

Buzz, buzz.

“I’m not interested in Coop,” she said quickly. Although the man
had
saved her when Wesley’s six-foot python had cornered her in her bedroom. And she recalled the appreciation in his eyes to find her standing on her dresser wearing skimpy lingerie.

“I guess that means you and Ashford are back together,” Detective Terry said lightly.

Peter Ashford, her first love, the man who had dumped her when her parents had gone missing and the scandal had burst over the front page of the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Peter had gone on to marry a debutante—the good customer of Carlotta’s who recently had been murdered in their palatial home in Buckhead, the wealthiest area in Atlanta. Many, Jack Terry included, had assumed Peter had killed his wife, but in the end, he’d been exonerated. And had expressed interest in picking up where he and Carlotta had left off years ago.

“No, Peter and I aren’t together,” she murmured, selecting a cream dress shirt and holding it up in front of him. She could feel the heat emanating from his body.

“Really.” Jack cleared his throat. “I actually thought about asking you to go to this awards thing…with me.”

Startled, she looked up. “You did?”

He suddenly looked as panicked as she felt. “But…considering the investigation into your father’s case has been reopened, that might not be such a good idea…right?”

He didn’t want to be seen with a fugitive’s daughter. That would be a conflict of interest and not good for a distinguished detective’s career. The same reason Peter Ashford had dumped her and ripped her heart out years ago when she’d needed him most. Did her father know how much he had damaged her and Wesley’s lives? Did he even care?

“Right?” Jack repeated, his expression anxious. He wanted her to let him off the hook.

“Right,” she said brightly. “Now let’s get the tailor down here and make sure that when your date opens her door, you take her breath away.”

He gave an uncomfortable little laugh and Carlotta tamped down her own unease as she called the house tailor. The day was wearing on her—first the mysterious phone call, then Jack Terry dredging up all her troubles, plus this weird physical attraction that had sprung up between them. But the attraction was probably born of the knowledge that nothing could possibly come of it…there were simply too many obstacles.

While she described to the tailor what services they would need, she swung her gaze to Jack and was unnerved to find him blatantly studying her. She squirmed under his gaze and stumbled over her words.

The man was too perceptive for his own good—if she spent much time in his company, she wouldn’t be able to keep secrets from him.

She hung up and gave him a shaky smile. “He’ll be right down.”

“Carlotta, is something bothering you?”

Damn those cop’s instincts. For one crazy second, she wanted to confess about the phone call, to see if he could trace it and….

And what? Hunt down her father and drag him back to Atlanta to stand trial on the investment-fraud charges, now trumped by charges for being a fugitive? And her mother for aiding and abetting? Would it really be better to have her parents in prison than to have them on the run? Either way, they would be unavailable to her and to Wesley. And if her parents were imprisoned, the stain on the family name would be even more permanently set.

“No, I’m fine. Now…let’s get you out of those jeans.”

His eyes lit with mischief. “Whatever you say.”

She smirked and pointed toward the dressing room. “I meant you need to put on the pants before the tailor gets here.”

He frowned and moved toward the dressing room, reluctance in his step.

Carlotta shook her head, but when the dressing room door slid open a bit, she couldn’t resist a naughty peek at Jack’s reflection as he shucked his boots and jeans, revealing white boxers and long, powerful legs, more tanned than she’d expected. Unexpected heat struck low in her stomach.

Plus ten points,
she noted idly, wondering what the Alabama boy did in his free time to acquire that tan.

Somehow she doubted it was playing tennis.

“See something you like?”

She glanced up to find him grinning at her as he stepped into the pants. Carlotta straightened. “Don’t flatter yourself, Detective.”

His rolling chuckle sent vibrations over her warm skin. The arrival of the tailor saved her from more embarrassing banter. Suddenly she wanted to put distance between herself and Jack Terry. The man triggered dangerous urges—the urge to tell the truth being the least hazardous of her impulsive reactions.

She stood back as the tailor, a distinguished older gentleman, took over. To her amusement, Jack seemed uncomfortable to have the man touching him.

“Do you dress right or left, sir?” the man asked as he knelt to mark the hem on the slacks.

Jack frowned. “Excuse me?”

Smothering a laugh, Carlotta silently signaled the detective by pointing to his crotch and flopping her hand right, then left.

When recognition dawned on Jack’s face, his neck flushed red. “What difference does
that
make?”

“It affects how your trousers hang, sir,” the tailor said crisply.

Carlotta’s shoulders were shaking. Jack glared at her and muttered, “Left.”

She turned away to enjoy a laugh at the big man’s expense, pretending to fold the dress shirt. It was nice to have something to lift her dour mood, if only temporarily…and the episode helped to level the field between her and the man who seemed to hold all the chips in their relationship.

Carlotta looked in his direction to see him holding up his arms while the tailor practically bear-hugged him to mark the waist on the pants. Not that she and Detective Jack Terry had a
relationship.
More of a…an association.

Jack flinched as the tailor made adjustments to the inside seam that had him putting his hands in places where another man’s hands obviously had never been. “Is this going to take much longer?” he asked irritably.