Dance Away, Danger (5 page)

“Tessa.” He needed her cooperation, but dammit, she didn’t turn back to him. Gently, he shook her. “Tessa, listen to me.”

“Mr. Rylan, Hanover PD!” Another round of knocking. “We need to speak with you.”

How the hell had they connected him to Jason so fast?

Her bottom lip trembled. “I’m listening,” she whispered. Jason’s warning about the cops resurfaced in Matt’s brain.

I don’t know which ones I can trust.

Dammit, he wished he’d had the chance to get more details.
What am I supposed to do?

The shrill sound of the doorbell accompanied a third round of urgent knocking. “Open up!”

He’d always been a law-abiding citizen.

“Matt?”

But Tessa’s safety had to come first, no matter the cost to himself. He’d made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

He steered her toward the hallway. “Head to the bedroom but don’t flip on the lights.”

Chapter Three

Tessa’s stomach threatened to pitch at Pete Caparzo’s hollering through the front door. Was he one of the cops they couldn’t trust?

Get a grip, Tessa.

She picked up her cell phone and slid it into her pocket. Jason might still try to reach them.

Adrenaline carried her down the hallway on the balls of her feet. She heard metal jingling—his keys, maybe?—behind her before Matt followed her into the bedroom. Moonlight filtered through his blinds and cast shadows around the room.

“We’ll go out this way.” He skirted around her, flipped the lock, and opened the window.

Frigid air pushed its way into the room and settled into her bones. She rubbed her arms and chanced a glance along the hallway. So far, nothing pursued except the echo of the pounding on the front door.

“You first.” Matt held his arm out to her.

She hurried in front of him. How could she be running from the very people sworn to protect and serve her?

Matt’s strong hands braced her upper body, dangerously close to the curves of her breasts, as she slid through the opening and sought solid ground. Snow crunched under her feet when she landed between bushes. Fresh flakes quickly coated her clothes. Tree branches swayed into the path of the streetlights, creating shadows like giant paws of an abominable snowman.

The hairs on her neck wavered in the wind, but she was sure it was more than the weather. Her gaze circled the backyard, taking in the covered shed and the mounds of snow left from the last storm.

Matt slipped out of the room and stood beside her. He squeezed her shoulders, tugging comfort from somewhere deep within her. “That way. To the fence.”

They snuck along the house, avoiding the light in the driveway, toward a dark corner of the property. Moisture seeped inside her boots and melted into her socks before Matt pulled her to a stop. “We’ll hop the fence and then figure out what to do once we’re safely on the other side.” He crouched and entwined his fingers.

With one palm on his broad shoulder and the other on the top pipe, she planted her foot and pulled her weight to the top. The wires clink-clanked as she climbed.

Crap. “Go!” Matt whispered fiercely.

She’d lifted one leg to throw it over the top of the fence when a beam of light bounced up behind her. Matt swore under his breath.

“That’s far enough. Both of you come away from there.” Officer Pete Caparzo’s voice dragged her to a halt. With every passing second, she lost a bit more confidence.

Matt’s hands circled her waist as he gently guided her down. Part of her wanted to gather his arms across the front of her, to press her back against his chest and feel his strength fuse into her. Instead, she stood next to him by the metal barrier, peering into the darkness on the other side, to the escape no longer within reach.

Matt flexed his fingers by his sides. What would he do next? She glanced at him and studied his body language for any clues. If he had another plan up his sleeve, she’d need to be alert enough to help him see it through. They both turned around.

Pete Caparzo had chosen the right side of the tracks from his Federal Hill neighborhood and taken the vow to protect and serve right out of junior college. With his swarthy features and easy-going personality, the citizens of Hanover were quick to believe in him. Tessa hoped their confidence wasn’t misplaced.

He reached up to his shoulder radio and angled his mouth to speak into it. “Gerry, I got them out back.” He released the radio and took a few steps closer to them. “Tessa, you all right?”

Pete’s flashlight beam circled her feet. He remained shadowed from the driveway light. “She’s fine,” Matt said.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear that from her,” Pete replied. “Tessa?” She nodded. “I am. Matt’s a friend of....”
Of Jason’s.
Whoops. Could Pete and his partner, two of Jason’s closest officer friends, be trusted?

Pete slid his flashlight under his arm and rubbed his gloved hands together. “What are you guys doing out here?”

Good question. She swiped a glance at Matt. “We were searching for his dog.” Lame, but any excuse was better than standing there looking stupid. “We thought we heard her in the neighbor’s yard.”

“Sorry, but our questions are more important. I promise we won’t keep you guys too long.” Muted voices fell from Pete’s shoulder radio. He reached up and turned the volume down. “So can we go inside before my ass freezes off?”

Tessa glanced at Matt. What should she say? Nothing could make her
want
to go inside with the officers.

“Come on.” Matt pressed his hand against the small of her back and started for the house.

Her muscles tensed as her feet dragged through the snow. Surely he’d come up with a plan, but waiting for word was as excruciating as pulling out her fingernails. One by one.

Matt leaned closer, his warm breath tickling her ear. “It’s okay. I’ve got your back.”

He kept his eyes trained on Pete. Trusting Matt to keep her safe wasn’t a problem. So far, his actions had been damn near perfect toward that end. Recognizing what she could do to help him was the issue. Dance routines and marketing brochures were her specialty, not escaping and evading cops. Or trying to figure out which cops to escape and evade.

Gerry Kelly rounded the front corner of the house and kicked his boots against the concrete steps. Excess snow fell off his department-issued footwear. “Tessa, thank God you’re all right. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Why? W-what’s up?”

“We’ll talk inside,” Pete said.

Matt urged her up the stairs to the kitchen door. He stood so close she could feel the reassuring heat of his body. Once he’d unlocked the door, he moved to one side to let her in first. Tessa stepped inside and the smell of charred wood welcomed her back.

The men followed close behind. “Go ahead and have a seat, both of you,” Gerry said. Pete pulled out a chair and motioned Tessa into it. Matt took the seat closest to the door, with his back to the kitchen counter.

She sat but kept the balls of her feet firmly on the floor, ready for a quick rise if needed. All synapses weren’t firing correctly. Too much time spent cozying up to her reluctant protector had stolen her ability to think clearly. She massaged her forehead with her thumbs. Jason missing, Matt showing up out of the blue. Pete and Gerry suddenly giving her the heebie-jeebies.

She dropped her hands to her legs and snapped her head back up.
Look casual, calm.
Like every day she and a man would be outside with no coats, climbing over fences in snowfall.

“Tessa, when’s the last time you spoke to your brother?” Gerry, all business all the time according to her brother. He never cracked a smile and enjoyed slapping the cuffs on belligerent criminals. Even in their present circumstances, he kept a no-nonsense stance with his arms folded across his barrel chest and a hard, suspicious glint in his eyes.

She drummed her fingers on her thighs. “A few days ago. Why?”

“So you didn’t see him tonight at the house?” Pete asked.

Neither one of the officers sat. If they’d come for an informal talk, they’d be more relaxed, more casual.

She frowned. “I wasn’t at his house.”

Pete shook his head and peeled his gloves off. “That’s not going to work, Tessa.” He yanked a toothpick from his coat pocket, stripped the cellophane off, and slid the wood between his lips.

She swallowed the knot of fear forming in her throat. “What do you mean?” Jason always said she’d make a horrible poker player.

“A witness places you and Mr. Rylan at your brother’s place earlier this evening.” Gerry pushed his hat back on his bald head and narrowed his gaze on her.

“The neighbor saw you arguing with someone outside and took down the license plate of the strange vehicle,” Pete clarified. “We called it in, which led us to this address, and since we’ve found you here, we’re assuming it was actually the two of you fighting at Jason’s.” He spoke slowly, as if she were an idiot.

Why was he treating her like a suspect? Matt leaned back in his chair and looked as relaxed as if he was having a beer with some buddies. How could he be so cool and calm? One by one, her muscles tightened with each question they asked.

“We went by the house, but Jason didn’t answer,” Matt said.

“And you didn’t go in with Tessa’s copy of the key?” Gerry asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “What’s going on? You guys are scaring me.”

“Jason’s missing. Nobody’s seen or heard from him since his shift ended yesterday morning,” Pete explained. “We’ve got detectives at his house, and Tessa, it’s not good.”

“What? What’re you talking about?”
Don’t glance at Matt. Don’t gawk at Pete.
She wasn’t that good an actress. “There’s got to be some kind of mistake.”

“Mr. Rylan, how are you involved?” Gerry asked.

“Involved in what?” The wooden chair creaked as Matt shuffled in the seat.

“Wait a minute. It sounds like you’re accusing him of something. Are you?”

The officers traded stone cold expressions. The hum of the refrigerator grew louder in the human silence.

“Of course not,” Gerry answered. “We’re trying to get a clear picture of the situation.”

“Well, I can tell you he’s been with me the whole night. He has nothing to do with my brother’s disappearance, never mind a motive for hurting him.”

Matt clenched his fingers into a fist. Gerry shifted his weight forward. Pete pinched the toothpick and removed it from his mouth.

Uh-oh.

“Hurting him?” Pete rested both palms on the back of a chair. “No one said anything about him being hurt.”

Damn.

“So you two did go in the house,” Gerry said.

Matt nodded. “We did because we were worried about her brother, but he wasn’t there.”

“What’s your connection to Jason and Tessa?” Pete asked.

“Jason and I are old friends.”

“And you just happen to show up the night he goes missing?” Sarcasm dripped off each of Pete’s words. Again he chewed on the little piece of wood.

“’Right.”

The air crackled with tension.

Tessa nipped the inside of her cheek. Gerry’s cell phone rang.

She flinched.

He answered the call and headed for the living room.

Time to regain control. “Can you stop interrogating us for one minute and tell me what’s being done to find my brother?”

“Everything we can do. Trust me,” Pete said.

Trust him? She trusted her brother and, for the time being, her protector.

“So what do you need from us?” Matt asked.

Gerry returned to the kitchen, his phone still stuck to his ear. He nodded at Pete and continued his conversation just out of earshot by the couch. The other officer moved toward them. “We’re going to need you both to come with us.”

A bone-chilling panic stole her breath. Had they hurt Jason? She shot up from the chair. “Absolutely not. I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”

Matt stood, too. “You heard the lady, and unless you’re charging us with something, we don’t have to go anywhere.”

Pete’s voice gentled, sounding like the friend she’d always known him to be. “Tessa, you
need
to come with us.” He moved closer to her, draped his arm across her shoulders.

“She’s not going anywhere with you.” Matt pushed the other man’s hand from her shoulder. His swift defense soothed her.

Pete bent the toothpick and tossed it on the floor. “Please. We’ve got enough to be concerned about with your brother. Don’t make us worry about you, too.”

“You’re making less sense with every word.” Tessa rubbed her aching temples again. “Are you telling me I’m in danger?”

“Not if I can help it. I promised your brother I’d watch out for you if anything ever happened to him. Dave and I both did. Please let me keep my promise.”

“And what about Matt?”

“I’m not letting you leave with them,” Matt said.

Pete held his palms out toward them. “Relax, buddy. We really are the good guys. Tessa, if everything works out, your friend will be free to go, and you’ll be placed in protective custody until we find Jason. Gerry’s working out the details with Sergeant Whittaker.”

The other officer stood just inside the living room, his lips moving in conversation...with Whit. “Why would I need to be in protective custody?” This discussion made less sense as the seconds ticked by on the kitchen wall clock.

Tessa’s phone buzzed from her front pocket. Pete’s gaze dropped to her jeans. “It might be Jason.”

“Go ahead,” Pete said.

She pulled the device free and answered it. “Hello?”

Sergeant Kyle Whittaker’s gravelly voice reached out to her. Just as Gerry said, “All right, Sarge. We’ll take care of it.”

The room lost its shape. “Whit?” But he was supposed to be talking with Gerry. What was going on?

Pete wrenched the cell from her and swore.