Catnapped! (A Matchmaker Mystery Book 3) (19 page)

The store was bigger on the inside than he’d imagined.

Row after row of furniture stood between Pete and the woman he loved. He didn’t dare call out her name in case she answered and inadvertently revealed her location to Lester.

Instead, he tried to direct the older man’s attention toward him.

“Michelman,” Pete shouted. “I know you’re in here. Show yourself.”

Lester didn’t appear, but a bullet hole did, in a rocking chair to Pete’s right.

Looking up, Pete saw movement toward an opening on the back wall. He hustled to it, hoping he wouldn’t get there too late.

Alyssa silently vowed that if she made it out of this mess alive, she would commission Roscoe to bake the biggest apple pie he could make, and she’d deliver it humbly to Armani.

The door she’d chosen had led to a short flight of stairs that opened up onto the roof. Running to the edge, she saw that the roof of the next building in the strip mall was only a few feet away. If she could jump to it, she’d be able to effectively hide from Lester.

Backing up a few paces, she prepared to get a running start for her leap.

“Stop!” Lester shouted from behind her.

Legs frozen in place, she slowly swiveled her head in his direction. He walked toward her quickly, keeping the gun leveled at her.

Instinctively, she began backing away from him, not looking where she was going until she butted up against a knee-high wall. Glancing back, she saw a fire escape ladder inches away.

She looked back at Lester, trying to gauge how many shots he could get off while she swung herself over the ladder.

“It’s a shame you have to die, Montgomery.” Lester took aim.

At the instant she dove for the ladder, she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, heading for Michelman.

He squeezed off a shot.

She grabbed for the ladder, dropping out of line of sight.

But she hadn’t taken into account her injured shoulder.

The pain that ripped through her arm caused her to scream and her grip to slip off the metal rung.

“Alyssa!” Pete screamed, his agony almost intense as hers.

She struggled to hold on with one hand as waves of pain and nausea buffeted her. “Pete!” she screamed.

Her fingers were slipping. She was going to fall.

“Pete!”

Gravity took over, ripping her hand from the rung.

She fell.

And then a fresh jolt of pain tore through her.

“Uggh,” Pete groaned, catching her wrist. “I’ve got you.”

“Don’t let me go,” she begged, dangling in the wind as he struggled to pull her up.

“Never,” he promised.

Pete took a tentative jab at the speed bag hanging in Mauricio’s gym and winced from the pain. A week later and his shoulders were still sore from hauling Alyssa back over the edge of that roof.

The pain was a reminder of what he’d almost lost. If he’d reached that ladder a half-second later, she would have fallen to her death. If Xander hadn’t been right on his heels, taking Lester Michelman down with one clean shot, Pete could have died too.

“It’ll take time,” Mauricio said, stepping out of the shadows.

Pete had a key and had let himself in after hours, hoping to have the place to himself. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Paperwork,” Mauricio explained. “You shouldn’t rush things.”

Pete didn’t know if his friend was talking about physical exertion or his relationship with Alyssa. The thought of her made him take another swing at the bag, a move he immediately regretted.

“She’s not back yet?”

He shook his head. Alyssa had left with Mildred and Gerald three days earlier. She called every night, but it wasn’t the same thing as having her with him, in his bed.

Remembering how magical their lovemaking had been, despite their respective injuries, that first night filled him with a burning need that he knew only she could douse. If only she wasn’t gone.

“How are they doing?” Mauricio asked, interrupting Pete’s train of thought.

“Pretty well.” Giving up on the bag, Pete picked up the bottle of water he’d brought.

The day after her husband had tried to kill her, Gerald explained to Mildred that the young man she was planning on leaving her estate to was actually her grandson.  He’d discovered the connection when doing an intense background check. A lot of digging revealed that despite what she’d been told, Mildred’s baby hadn’t been stillborn fifty years earlier. Without her knowledge, her perfectly healthy child had been given up for adoption. The little girl had grown up and had a child of her own. Jacob.

Alyssa and Gerald had accompanied Mildred on her trip to inform her grandson of their relationship. It was supposed to have been an overnight stay, but had turned into the longest three days of Pete’s life.

“They’re flying back tomorrow morning,” he told Mauricio.

“Airport will be a busy place,” Mauricio murmured.

An awkward silence swelled between them.

Brady and Amy were returning from Ireland. Rumor had it that Geoffrey would be accompanying them.

“I wouldn’t have known about Geoff if Alyssa hadn’t called me out on him,” Pete admitted.

“No one would have.”

“She thinks I should meet him at the airport.”

“Smart cookie you’ve landed there,” Mauricio said, but then added with a sly wink, “But there’s no accounting for her questionable taste in men.”

Pete shrugged off the good-natured ribbing. “I think I love her.”

“You
think
?” Alyssa exclaimed from the shadows.

Pete whirled and found her walking toward him.

“You think?” she asked again, pretending to be outraged.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow,” Pete stammered weakly, barely able to believe his good fortune. He took her into his arms. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about.

“G’night, lovebirds,” Mauricio called, moving toward the gym’s exit. “Lock up when you’re done.

“Thanks, Mauricio,” she called.

He waved and disappeared from view.

“So he was in on your little ruse?” Pete stroked her back, loving the way it made her arch into him.

“It wasn’t a ruse.” She snaked her hands beneath his shirt, splaying her fingers across his abs. “I was planning on coming back tomorrow, but then Jane mentioned your brother is coming home and I wanted to be here for you.”

“That’s thoughtful of you.”

She traced the waistband of his gym shorts, making it even more difficult to keep his attention on what he wanted to say.

“I want to be here for you in so many ways,” she purred, nipping at his ear.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to ignore what his body wanted, and focused on what was really important. “For how long?”

She pulled back. “What?”

“How long will you be here?” It was something he’d thought a lot while she was gone. After all, he thought he’d made himself pretty clear about how he felt about her, even ending their phone calls with “love you,” but she hadn’t responded in kind.

She cocked her head to one side, studying him. “What are you asking, Pete?”

“I’m asking if you’re planning on sticking around long-term or if you’re just interested in a sexual thing or what.” His voice rose as he spoke, his emotions getting the better of him despite his desire to keep the conversation calm and cool.

“This from the guy who keeps the floor of his car covered with condoms?” she teased.

“They were Jackson’s idea.” Frustrated, dropped his hands to his sides.

Her eyes narrowed, but she kept up her flirtation. “They’re a good idea.”

A wave of disappointment washed over him. She wasn’t looking for a future together, just a hook-up. He turned away, not wanting her to see how hurt he was.

“I’ve been looking into a new job possibility,” she told him lightly.

He didn’t turn back to face her. He couldn’t.

Alyssa stared at Pete’s back, trying to work up the courage to say what she wanted to tell him. It had been a long time since she’d been so vulnerable with someone. She trusted that Pete wouldn’t hurt her, but it was still scary. “Did you ever figure out why I’m no longer a cop?”

“No. I told you I wouldn’t snoop.” Hurt and anger warred in his tone.

“Thank you.” A surge of hope and love made her giddy. He really was the man she thought he was. “I’d like to tell you the story now. If that’s okay.”

He turned slowly. Every muscle in his body tense, he looked like he didn’t know whether she was looking for a fight or to tell him the truth.

Reaching out, she grabbed his hand, needing to feel his warmth while she relived her nightmare. She was relieved that he gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I was chasing down this suspect who’d threatened to kill his girlfriend.” She felt her burden lifting a little with each word. She hadn’t told her story in so long. “At least that’s what I’d been told. Next thing I know, he’s dead, she’s dead, and my captain was doing his best to kill me. He shot me. Twice.” Just the memory left her short of breath. Tears trickled down her face.

Pete pulled her into the safety of his arms. “You don’t have to say anymore.”

Resting her ear on his chest, comforted by the steady beat of his heart, she continued. “It was dumb luck I survived.  But when I told my story, no one believed me.” She let out a shuddering sigh as the old hurts piled high. “I thought the police force was my family. I thought they were my friends. And then I had nothing, nobody.”

Pete murmured a sympathetic sound. “So you came here for a fresh start?”

She shook her head. “I proved my case against him, but by that time, all the trust was gone. I quit the force. I lost everything. I came here to lick my wounds.”

“And you found new friends. You made a new family,” he told her softly.

“Found a new job too. If you approve.”

He laughed. “Since when have you wanted or needed anyone’s approval?”

“I want to go to work for Tom,” she confessed. “I’ve already talked to him about it and he’s game… if you are.”

“Sure.”

She didn’t understand the strangled sound of his voice. She’d thought the news would make him happy. Tilting her head back so she could see his eyes, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Something.”

“I want you to stay because of me,” he admitted. “Not because of some job.”

She laughed. “For a smart guy, you’re sometimes really slow, Hanlon. Did it occur to you that maybe I looked for the job because I wanted to stay with you?” She hesitated for a brief moment so her next words would have weight. “That I love you?”

His eyes widened in surprise, but when he spoke, he sounded thrilled. “You do?”

She nodded and snaked her hands under his shirt, feeling the muscles in his back contract as she touched him. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“What you said on the roof. Did you mean you’d never let me go?”

She knew the answer; she saw it shining in his eyes, but she still wanted to hear him say it.