Cold Case Cop (12 page)

Friday, July 18, 7:00 a.m.

T
hey made love twice more during the night. And in the predawn hours, as the wind and rain had howled outside, Tara had been wrapped in Alex’s arms. She had never felt more at peace. This was where she belonged.

As the sun rose, Tara lay on her side. Alex’s arm was wrapped possessively around her narrow waist.

She opened her eyes and glanced toward the window. Bright sunlight peeked through the edges of the vinyl curtain. The rain must have stopped.

Like it or not, the cocoon of rain that had shut the outside world out had passed and they both had to face the day.

They had jobs to do.

Last night, her feelings for Alex had seemed crystal-clear, but now, as her mind tripped to reality, she wasn’t so sure. After all, what kind of future did they have? They were from very different social worlds. She was often his adversary at work. They always ended up arguing.

Sleeping with Boston’s lead homicide detective had not been a wise move. She’d sensed that last night but had not cared.

Cautiously, she tried to lift his arm.

Alex tightened his hold. “Where are you going?” His voice sounded rough, sexy.

“The rain is gone. We can get back up to the cottage.”

He sighed and kissed her on the neck. “I don’t want to leave this bed ever again.”

“We have to get up there. Who knows what Patterson might have discovered?” His hard thighs rubbed against her leg and she felt her resolve waning.

He kissed her on her neck and then rolled her on her back. His hand slid to her breast and he teased her nipple until it was a hard peak. She grew moist as his erection pressed against her.

She opened her legs. She wanted to make love to him one last time. The world could wait another hour.

Alex pushed into her and as she accepted all of him, she wrapped her legs around his hips. His breathing grew faster and he moved inside of her. A spasm rolled over her body, jolting her. He sensed her release and drove harder as he found his own. He collapsed against her. Their sweat mingled.

He nuzzled his bearded chin against her arm. “My God, woman, you are going to kill me.”

Her heart hammered against his chest. She chuckled softly.

For a dozen minutes they lay on their sides, their bodies spooned together. They drifted off to sleep and didn’t wake until almost eight.

Tara started awake. “Alex, we have to get up.”

“You called me Alex.”

She blushed. “It’s your name.”

“Yeah.” He kissed her on the neck again. “You’re right. We do need to get going. I have to get up to the crime scene.” He kissed her on the arm and pushed himself into a sitting position.

She hugged the sheet over her bare breasts as she sat up and leaned against the headboard. The morning air felt cool against her skin. She searched the floor for her T-shirt and sweats. “Whose fault was that?”

He chuckled and traced his finger over the bare skin above the sheet. “I’d say we’re both guilty as charged.”

She remembered their lovemaking, and heat rose in her cheeks. Spotting her clothes in a puddle on the floor, she slid out from under the sheets and grabbed them.

Alex lay back on the pillow and tucked his hands behind his head. He stared at her naked body, boldly savoring every inch of her. “Where are you off to?”

“To get coffee.”

“We could take a shower first.” His thick, mussed-up hair combined with his unshaven face made him look almost boyish. Gone were the frown lines from his forehead that normally furrowed so deep.

She shoved the wild tangle of hair out of her eyes. “We will never get out of here if we do.”

He shrugged. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

Tara shook her head as she slipped on her sweats and pulled her T-shirt over her naked breasts. “I’ve never seen you this playful. Before you seemed so grim, all business.”

His muscled leg jutted out from the sheet. From this angle his scar was plainly visible. “I’m starting to figure out that life’s too short.”

She felt an emotional shift, a softening in him. And it made her nervous. She’d told Kirkland two days ago she didn’t do casual, but honesty and seriousness terrified her. Opening up to him equaled an emotional risk that she sensed would be far deeper than anything she’d shared with Robert. The risk of getting hurt was far greater than she’d ever anticipated.

“I better get that coffee,” she said.

He frowned. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no.” Where were her damn shoes? She spotted them under the bed and slid them on. “I just really need some coffee.” She managed a bright smile and grabbed her wallet. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Before he could respond she was out the door. In the cool morning, she took in a deep breath, trying to ease the sudden tightening in her chest. What the devil was wrong with her? All the guy had said was that life was too short.

She moved down the breezeway, realizing she knew exactly what was wrong. She was falling in love with Kirkland.
Love
. Damn. Loving him was the last thing she’d expected or wanted.

She went into the tavern and ordered two large coffees to go. She also snagged a couple of bagels with cream cheese, and then headed back up to the room.

When she pushed open the door, steam poured out of the tiny bathroom. Alex was in the shower. Grateful for an extra moment alone, she added sweetener to her coffee and sipped it.

The shower shut off. “Tara, is that you?”

Hearing him call her Tara felt odd. “Yep, it’s me. How do you take your coffee? I wasn’t sure, so I grabbed everything.”

“Black’s fine.” He emerged from the bath, his lean body wrapped in a towel. Yesterday she’d fantasized about that body and realized the dream paled in comparison to the reality. His body was well muscled and trim.

She moistened her lips and handed him his coffee. “Coffee. Black.”

His fingers brushed hers and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“Coffee practically runs in my veins. I can’t live without it.”

He brushed back his damp hair with his fingers. “You’re one of the few reporters I know who can drink that swill Brady makes. You really do have a cast iron stomach.”

“I do. And Brady’s java isn’t too bad. A bit strong, but manageable. I picked up a couple of bagels and some cream cheese.”

He dug a bagel out of the bag and unwrapped the wax paper. “So you mentioned you’re a good cook. Somehow I just didn’t figure you for the Betty Crocker type.”

She shrugged. “If a woman wants to eat well, she learns to cook.”

“Something I never would have guessed about you.”

“Live and learn.”

She dug a hand through her hair. She’d never been one to dodge a touchy subject and she wasn’t about to now. “This easy banter between us feels weird. We’ve never talked like this before.”

“We’d never made love before either.”

She swallowed. “Right.”

His gaze bored into her. “Does this bother you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, a little. When we talk about crime stats, murders or headlines, it feels safe to me. We’re colleagues, associates even. But this other stuff….”

“Making love.”

“Yeah, and the talk about each other…That is very uncharted territory for me. I’ve been careful not to get too close to anyone since Robert.”

Alex set his coffee and bagel down and moved toward her. He set her coffee beside his and laid his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her gently on the lips. “I’m willing to map a new course if you are.”

Tara’s stomach fluttered with nervous anticipation. “You mean like dating?”

He shrugged. “Why not? You have dated before haven’t you?”

“Well, not exactly. Not since Robert.” She shrugged. “I’ve got lots of guy friends but it’s never gotten to the stage we reached last night.”

“Wow.”

She felt strangely embarrassed that she’d lived like a nun for so long. “Yeah.”

He traced her collarbone with his thumb. “But I hear dating is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.”

“In this room, being with you doesn’t seem all that difficult. Out there,” she said, nodding to the window, “I’m afraid it might be a different story. Life just has a way of getting in the way.”

He frowned. “Life?”

“We are kind of an odd couple, don’t you think? Backgrounds, jobs, families.” She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse but I don’t want to get involved with a guy whose family won’t accept me.” There. She’d said it.

“Tara, look at me, and my life choices. I haven’t listened to my family in a long, long time.”

“Maybe as far as your career is concerned you’ve done your own thing. But I’ve learned people pay more attention to family and tradition when it comes to more personal matters.”

“Tara, I married the perfect woman. Or so my family and friends kept telling me. It was a disaster.”

“You looked pretty chummy with Regina at the club.” She couldn’t hide the hint of jealousy. It was hard not to compare herself to Regina. But she’d never possess Regina’s cool, smooth looks and the calm sophistication that came with years of breeding.

He smiled. “Regina doesn’t love me and, in fact, I doubt she ever did. She was in love with my money and position. And she hates to lose. My walking away from the marriage constituted a big loss.” He brushed the hair away from her shoulder.

She tilted her head forward into his chest.

He cupped her face in his hands and tipped her face up so her gaze met his. “I’d like to give us a shot.”

“Rationally, I know I’m overthinking this. I do a lot of that.”

“It’s one of your quirks that I like.”

“Give it time. I’ll drive you nuts.”

He laughed and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Alex’s cell phone rang. He ignored it.

Tara was honestly grateful for the interruption. “The outside world calls, Detective.”

He continued to ignore it. “Do you want to give us a try?”

“I suppose.”

He looked amused. “That was hardly a ringing endorsement.”

It did sound lame. “Sorry, I’m just wondering how much to invest in you. I don’t want to get burned.”

The phone stopped ringing. “I guess neither one of us can predict the future. But I can promise that I’d never willingly hurt you.”

“But unwillingly you might. Boy, you know just the right things to say.”

His phone started to ring again. This time he couldn’t ignore it. He kissed her and moved away toward his clothes, which were dangling from the edge of the bed. He unhooked the phone from the belt holster and snapped it open. “Kirkland.”

As he listened to the caller, he propped the phone under his ear, pulled his towel away and reached for his pants. Her gaze was drawn to a long, angry scar that ran down his right hip and leg. It was a harsh reminder of the dangers of his job.

“Thanks for the update, Patterson,” Alex said. “I’ll be up at the cottage in a half hour.”

The outside world had found them. He closed the phone. “That was Patterson. He’s got something up at the cottage he wants us to see.”

Oddly, she felt relief. Crime was more predictable than love.

Alex wound his car up the coastal road, trying to find a way to tell Tara that he really cared about her without scaring her off. Clearly, her relationship with Stanford had left a lasting mark on her, and she was quite skittish when it came to commitment.

She’d pulled her hair back again in a tight ponytail and donned a fresh shirt to go with her slacks. She was all business.

He realized Tara wasn’t so different from him. She didn’t put much stock in words and promises. She judged people by actions and deeds. He’d have to find a way to
show
her that he cared and that he had no intention of going anywhere.

He parked his car behind a state police cruiser. Yellow crime-scene tape around the entrance of the cottage drooped from last night’s rain. There must have been twenty cops here now, canvassing the surrounding area.

Alex and Tara got out of the car. She grabbed her camcorder from the backseat and immediately started filming.

Before he could warn her to stop, Patterson’s sharp voice cut through the crowd. “Shut that off, Ms. Mackey, or I’ll have you escorted back to town.”

She kept filming. “I have every right to cover this crime scene.”

Patterson moved in front of her camera. Dark circles hung under the detective’s eyes and Alex guessed the guy had been up here all night. “And I can’t do my job if a reporter starts leaking information to the public.”

“I’ll just take exterior shots,” she argued.

Mackey had argued with Kirkland countless times over similar issues. “Tara, put the camera away. Let Patterson do his job. We all want this crime solved.”

She lowered the camera. “Fine.”

Patterson extended his hand to Alex. They shook. “Detective Kirkland, I’d like for you to come inside. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Sure.” He started inside. Tara started to follow.

Patterson frowned. “Nice try. You stay outside.”

Tara planted her hands on her hips. “Hey, if it wasn’t for me you guys wouldn’t have a case.”

Alex sympathized with Tara. She had picked up this case when it had gone cold. “Patterson is right. This is no place for reporters. Not now.”

Fire jumped from Tara’s gaze. “It’s my story.”

“It’s my murder investigation,” Patterson said.

Tara drew in a deep breath. “What if I said that I won’t report anything I see inside until you give the all clear? I give you my word that this will be strictly off the record.”

She’d said last night that her word meant everything to her. And Kirkland had believed her. There’d been a few times he’d asked her to keep quiet on the details of a murder and she had. “It’s not up to me, it’s up to Patterson.” He faced the other officer.

Patterson looked at him as if he were crazy. “She will blab the first second she gets.”

“Hey, sport,” Tara said, directing her comments at Patterson. The rush of color in her face was a sign that she was losing her temper. “This isn’t the elementary-school playground. And we aren’t whispering about Susie and Johnny kissing behind the swing set. I get that this needs to stay quiet. I can keep my mouth shut.”