Dangerous Kisses (5 page)

"Yeah, the potential to drive me batty."

After a couple more hours of scanning the research done on serial killers and their psyches, Sydney called it a day and headed home. Though she wouldn’t admit it to Radley, the package she’d received had scared her to her core. No one else knew about the chocolate besides her, the cops and Randy Helmswood — unless Randy had spilled his story to someone else. She shook her head. No, her instincts told her this was more than a prank.

Maybe Radley was right and she was feeding the killer’s ego. But why would he target her? If he killed her, her stories about him would end and thus the ego stroking. Maybe he figured another reporter would step into the void. And he’d be right.

She tried to clear her mind as she headed for the parking lot. Though the sun dipped toward the horizon, it was still light enough that the parking lot didn’t hold any fear today. Even so, she scanned the vehicles as she approached them. She doubted anyone would try to abduct her with so many witnesses around, but she’d swear she had a red bull’s-eye painted on her forehead anyway. She imagined someone reaching out from underneath one of the cars to grasp her ankle, so she stayed more than an arm’s length away from them until she reached her own.

By the time she’d started her car and pulled out of the parking lot, she felt silly. She glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed a car pull out from the curb. As she drove away from downtown, she kept an eye on the car. Was the driver following her?

She headed toward a nearby residential neighborhood and put to use a tidbit she’d picked up from reading hundreds of mystery novels by making four consecutive right turns. By the time she completed the square, she thought she’d lost the tail. Just as she sighed in relief, however, her tail made the last turn. Her heart jumped into her throat as she drove back toward a better-lighted commercial district. She gradually increased her speed, but she couldn’t shake him. And with every minute, she grew angrier.

Determined not to live in fear, she turned sharply into a gas station. She parked within sight of the clerk but didn’t get out of her car. Instead, she called 911 and reported that someone was following her. As she talked to the dispatcher, the white car drove slowly by and made a left turn onto another street. Just as she was about to tell the dispatcher that she’d made a mistake, the car parked, barely within view of her.

Ice flooded her veins as she heard the dispatcher say units were on the way. Sydney sat frozen in her car with every nerve tensed and ready to make a run for it if necessary.

Two patrol cars went by in her rearview mirror and turned into the street opposite her. Both parked behind the white car. For endless seconds nothing happened. They must be calling in the plates. Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention. The store clerk stood at the entrance watching the police activity.

When she returned her gaze to the scene behind her, both officers were standing beside the white car. She moved closer to her mirror. The one closest to the car’s driver was...laughing. What the hell?

Sydney got out of her car and stalked across the street. When the patrolmen saw her, they sobered and stood straight.

"Miss Blackburn?"

"What’s going on?"

"Appears to be a false alarm, ma’am."

"False alarm?" Her voice rose with the release of tension. She strode toward the driver’s window. "Who are you?" The last word still rang in the air as she recognized her tail. "Detective O’Malley."

"Miss Blackburn." He had the decency to look sheepish.

"I assume Detective Radley has something to do with this."

"Yes, ma’am. He wants to make sure you’re safe."

"Well, he could start by not giving me a heart attack. You can tell him the next time he decides to have me followed, he might consider telling me.

Radley might be used to taking control, but she refused to relinquish all of it. He had to learn she had some common sense. Besides, it wasn’t the protection she minded, rather the way he imposed it on her without even asking for her input.

"No, I think I’ll tell him myself," she said.

She left O’Malley and the patrolmen sitting in the street and tried not to think of their amusement at her heated response. As soon as she slipped into her car and started the engine, she slammed it into gear and backtracked toward downtown. But when she reached the justice center, she caught sight of Radley driving away. Okay, now it was her turn to play the tail.

She followed him as he made his way to First Avenue and then toward the east side of town. When he reached Donelson, he turned down a side street and pulled up to the curb in front of a small ranch style house. He stepped out of his car only to lean against it as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

He’d known she was there all along.

She got out of her car, staring at him the whole time.

"I guess you met Kevin," he said.

"Yes. I’d suggest you get him some more training. He’s not very good at hiding himself."

"I should have warned him about you."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

Before he could answer, a woman called to Radley from the front porch of the house.

"Don’t just stand out there in the street, Jake. Bring your friend inside."

Sydney looked back at Radley.

"My mother," he said.

"Oh."

"Come on. She’ll never let me hear the end of it until I introduce you."

Feeling off guard at this personal side of Jake Radley, she followed him up the walkway.

"Mom, this is Sydney Blackburn."

"It’s nice to meet you," Sydney said as she shook the hand of the silver-haired lady.

"Call me Lou Anne, dear. Do you work with Jake?"

"Not exactly. I work at the
Courier
."

"Oh, you’re the one who’s been writing about those poor girls who were killed."

"Yes, ma’am."

"I’ve been around for sixty years, and I still haven’t figured out why people do things like that."

Jake joined them on the porch. "Mom, I just came by to see what time you wanted me to pick you up tonight."

"The dinner starts at 7:30, so 7:00 is plenty early. You have time to come in for a cup of coffee, don’t you?" she asked Sydney.

"I really should be going."

"There’s a chill in the air. Please have a cup before you go. I don’t get an opportunity to meet many of Jake’s friends anymore."

The way Mrs. Radley said "friends" made Sydney realize the woman thought she was a friend in the romantic sense. But before she could set the record straight, the older woman had stepped back inside and moved toward the kitchen with amazing speed.

Sydney turned toward Jake with her mouth half opened. He smiled as if her discomfort amused him.

"Quit that."

"What?" He raised his eyebrows in mock innocence.

"You know what. You didn’t correct her."

"Neither did you."

"I didn’t have the chance. She’s fast."

"That’s what I always thought when she paddled me."

The thought of Jake being spanked unsettled Sydney further. She fled into the vanilla-scented living room. But once inside, she and Jake stared at each other across the room. She broke eye contact first and let her gaze roam.

Harvest gold shag carpet and paneled walls clashed with more modern furnishings, but the room emanated a comforting warmth despite the incongruous decor. When she spotted a school picture of a little boy who had to be Jake, Sydney stood and walked over to examine it more closely. It gave her somewhere to look besides at Jake.

She retreated to teasing to get through the uncomfortable situation. "Hey, you can smile. Is that something they beat out of you at the academy?"

"I smile, when I have a reason."

She looked down at him, nearer than she’d realized. All she’d have to do to end up in his arms would be take two steps back then fall into his lap. Her breath shuddered at the thought. She fought the need to lick her lips as he held her gaze. Wow, she was losing it.

She scanned the rest of the photographs along the wall, trying to convince herself that Jake wasn’t watching her. Trying to ignore the thought that she’d never gone to a guy’s house to meet his parents. And now that she was in that situation, it wasn’t even real. She wasn’t Jake’s girlfriend, no matter his mother’s assumption. Why did a strange sadness settle in her chest at that thought?

"Here we go," Lou Anne said as she stepped into the room with three cups of coffee on a tray.

Thankful for Lou Anne’s sudden reappearance, Sydney took her cup of coffee and returned to her chair on the opposite side of the room.

"So, did Jake invite you to the mayor’s dinner this evening?" Lou Anne asked.

Sydney glanced at Jake, who looked as if he could strangle his mother. So Jake was escorting his mother to the mayor’s annual dinner honoring Metro’s finest instead of a lovely date his own age. Interesting.

"No, ma’am. We’ve just been working together on this case."

"Oh."

"I didn’t but that’s a good idea," Jake said.

Sydney’s mouth fell open. How dare he get this poor woman’s hopes up? Couldn’t he see his mother was in full matchmaking mode? No, probably not. Men were oblivious. He just wanted things done his way. With that one sentence, he’d wrested control of the conversation away from her. And she despised not being in control.

When he gave her the hint of a smile, she fought the urge to throw something at him.

After a few more minutes of small talk, Jake stood. "Well, we better go get changed if we want to be back here in time."

Sydney thanked Lou Anne for the coffee, then followed Radley outside.

"Just what was that?" she asked as she caught up with him.

"My assurance that you’ll be safe while I have to attend this dinner."

"What are you going to tell your mother when I don’t come back with you?" Her need not to let Jake control her movements warred with what would be an opportunity to question the other detectives in a more relaxed setting.

"I won’t have to do that because you’ll be with me."

"I’m not in protective custody, you know."

"Not officially."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means I want someone to keep an eye on you, make sure you don’t become victim number three."

"I agreed to the patrols."

"That’s not enough. What if this guy’s smart and plans his attack for between patrols? I want you covered twenty-four, seven."

"And you’re volunteering for the job?" she asked in frustration at how her life was spiraling out of her control.

"I may be the only person man enough to do it."

Her heart thudded extra hard against her ribs. She shook her head. Surely he hadn’t meant his words to come across with sexual undertones. Or had he? The idea that maybe he thought of her in the same way she’d been thinking of him frightened her. He was too intense, too dark, too larger than life. Too commanding.

She walked toward her car.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To my car." Away from him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets in what was becoming a familiar gesture. "We might as well ride together."

"I’m perfectly capable of driving myself home."

"Yes, but I don’t think you’d find your way back here."

"Stop acting like I’m three years old."

He nodded back toward the house. "How about we don’t argue about this here? My mom is staring out the front window."

"What’s she expecting to see?"

"Not us fighting."

Sydney had to regain the upper hand so she moved toward Jake until their bodies nearly touched. She ignored all the clanging warning bells in her head as she raised her hand and ran it down the lapel of his jacket. "Is this more like what she wants to see?"

Her smile faded when she looked up at him. The intensity in his gaze made her want to run away. What had she been thinking? She started to step backward, but he caught her arm with his strong hand.

"No. This is."

He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. He held her gaze for just a second — one in which she forgot to breathe — before his lips descended to hers. When they made contact, they seemed hard and soft at the same time. She surprised herself by not resisting. Instead, she gave in to the dizzying pleasure. Her heart shifted into overdrive, and her skin flushed with summertime warmth. Perhaps this was another of her dreams. She hoped so. Dreams were harmless. Real life was anything but.

She moved her hands up his broad, hard chest, felt his quick heartbeat beneath her right hand. His arms tightened around her, pulling her still closer to his granite-like body.

Then, as quickly as he’d pulled her into his arms, he set her away from him. She fought the dizziness still buzzing in her head. When it cleared, her stupidity washed over her. How could she have given in so easily? Now he knew he had a physical effect on her.

"I hope that was convincing enough for your mother." She walked toward the passenger side of his car, determined to convince him it’d all been an act on her part as well. "We better hurry if we want to be back here in time."

He stood watching her for a second, probably trying to figure out her reaction, before he unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat. She didn’t utter a word other than directions to her apartment, ones he probably didn’t need. When they pulled into her parking lot, she stepped from the car before he cut the engine.

She made it up the stairs and into her apartment before he’d even reached the bottom of the stairs. Once inside, she locked herself in her bedroom on the pretext of getting ready, but she really needed a few minutes out of Jake’s presence to collect herself, to construct some sort of barrier against him.

She’d never been kissed like that before, a kiss that made her toes curl and breathing an afterthought. And to think it all a charade for his matchmaking mother stung her. While she fumed at being used, she couldn’t deny how he’d melted her insides. If that’s how he kissed while pretending, what must it be like if he meant it?

She’d never know.

Determined to show that their kiss hadn’t affected her any more than it had him, she stepped into her closet. What did one wear to the mayor’s dinner?