Dangerous to Her (13 page)

Slowly, he held out his hand. This time she took it. He pulled until they were both standing. Brushing back her hair, he nodded. “Okay. I believe you.”

“You do? Why now?”

“Because I know you, Mattie. If you believed Tony was guilty, you’d tell me. You’d still fight to keep him safe, but you wouldn’t risk another person’s safety, especially Jordan’s.”

Tears filled her eyes and she reached out and pulled him toward her, hugging him tight. “Thank you for believing me.” Pulling away, she swiped at her tears. “But what do we do next?”

Using the pads of his thumbs, he swiped away a few errant drops of moisture she’d missed. “We check in with Linda and see if she’s awake. You pick up Jordan. We try to find your brother. But first tell me about the burglary on Linda’s apartment. I read the police report she filed, and she told officers that she’d been receiving harassing phone calls.”

Mattie’s eyes widened. “That’s right. She even changed her number because they’d gotten so bad. She never said she’d received any more after that, but they could totally be related.”

“So, besides Tony, was there anyone in her life—ex-boyfriends, any defendants she mentioned—that might have a reason to hurt her.” He raised his hands when she glared at him. “You know what I meant.”

“No one she’s mentioned.”

“Did she ever mention a man named Mark Guapo to you?”

“No. We rarely talk about specific cases. Why would she?”

“He was a defendant she prosecuted several months ago.”

When she said nothing, he prodded, “So you’ve never heard the name before? At work?”

“Guapo.” Her brows furrowed. “It sounds vaguely familiar, but—”

“Judge Butler was the sitting judge.”

“When?”

“Two months ago last week.”

“I was probably assigned to a different courtroom at that time.”

“Why’s that?”

“Jordan wanted to go on vacation for her birthday. I took some time off and another court reporter came in to cover me. When I returned, Judge Butler was right in the middle of a big case. It could have been that one. Why is this Guapo person so important?”

“He might not be, but I’m just trying to explore all the bases.” He paced in front of her for several minutes before pausing to sit beside her. “Mattie, when Dusty attacked you in court, did you notice anything unusual?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he growled, rising again to continue pacing. “But he was on something when he attacked you, and yesterday I found out he’d died of an overdose in his cell. Dusty was a small-time druggie. Smuggling drugs into the jail isn’t uncommon but it’s not easy either. Someone was supplying him. He said it was in exchange for making some noise in court, but there’s something else going on. Something that I think might be related to this Guapo defendant, and in turn possibly Linda. You got close to Dusty—”

“You think this Guapo character sent Dusty to hurt someone in the courtroom? Judge Butler? Linda?”

“I don’t know.”

She stared at him, frustration plainly etched into her features. “Give me a second.” Rising, she moved to the sink, grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and took a sip. When she raised the glass in inquiry, he shook his head. Seconds, then minutes ticked by as she stared into her glass. Suddenly, she lifted her head. “His grip was off,” she said excitedly.

“What do you mean, off?”

“He grabbed me, he scratched me, but it wasn’t with a full grip. It was more tenuous. You know, as if he was holding something in his hand he didn’t want to let go. Maybe it was drugs?”

“Could be.” But not likely. Dom thought about it some more. “It could have been anything. A piece of paper. A manufactured weapon. But if he was holding something when he came into that courtroom, he wasn’t when he left. I searched him and cuffed him myself.”

“What if he accidentally dropped it?”

Dom froze and turned to stare at her. “What if he dropped it on purpose?”

Chapter 14

E
ven though the last twenty had gone unanswered, Mattie knocked once more on Tony’s apartment door. “Tony,” she finally called out. “Tony, if you’re home, please answer the door.”

But he didn’t.

Just like he hadn’t answered his home or cell phone, and hadn’t responded to any of the messages she’d left. Where was he?

She walked back to her car, which she’d picked up at the courthouse. Dom had been distracted when he’d dropped her off, obviously still thinking about the inmate who’d attacked her and why he’d wanted inside the courtroom. She’d been distracted, too. All she’d been able to think about was Tony and the hurt she’d put on his face. Slipping her hand in her pocket, she fingered the key that Tony had given her in case of an emergency.

Did Dominic’s questions about Tony amount to an emergency? Normally, she would think so, but she also remembered the way Tony had looked at her before he’d left her house. Using her key under such circumstances didn’t seem right. Not when he thought she believed Dom over him.

She hadn’t heard from Dominic. Jordan was safe at school now, but where was Tony?

A thought occurred to her and she straightened. Maybe he’d gone to the hospital to see Linda.

She was just about to get in her car when a shiny red Camaro pulled up to the curb behind her. A young man who barely looked old enough to have his driver’s license stepped out. As he swaggered toward her, however, the hardness and chill in his eyes made her realize he’d probably seen and experienced enough for four lifetimes.

He glanced at Tony’s apartment building. “You here to see Tony?”

The way he spoke, half singsongy and half lewd insinuation, made her knees weak and her stomach heave. Obviously sensing her unease, he stepped closer, grinned, and raised a hand to stroke her hair.

She knocked it away. “Keep your hands to yourself,” she hissed.

“Oooo. Feisty.”

She moved around him to open her car door, but he slammed it shut, his features quickly shifting from lewd to threatening. Refusing to cower, she asked, “How do you know Tony?”

He circled her, sniffing exaggeratedly at her neck. “Tony and I are friends as well as business associates.”

I’m in public,
she thought.
He won’t try anything here.
Lifting her chin defiantly, she said, “Tony’s not using anymore, so why don’t you just leave him alone.”

“Why don’t we go inside and see old Tony instead.”

“He’s not home.”

With a sudden move, he jerked her against him, his hands seeming to be everywhere at once. She struggled, trying to scream but unable to force any sound louder than a whimper out of her throat.

“Let go of me,” she finally gasped.

Distantly, Mattie heard the sound of brakes squealing. Then a shout. “Sabon!”

The man jerked around, cursed, dropped Mattie, and ran. Mattie staggered and fell to the ground, catching herself on her still healing palms.

Dom lunged out of his truck. “You okay?” he shouted.

She nodded. Instinctively, she reached out for him, but just as she did so, he turned away and gave chase.

Sabon was fast. Really fast. And it was obvious he was familiar with the neighborhood. He took every corner without hesitation. Jumped every fence as if he’d been vaulting them for years.

Dom pushed himself to go faster, his arms and legs pumping hard. Satisfaction filled him as he gained on the man and prepared to grab him by the back of his black sweatshirt. The blare of a horn and the screech of brakes registered just as he caught sight of something huge in his periphery.

Dom swerved and threw himself to the side, landing on the asphalt with a jarring thud. He felt the air next to him vibrate as the silver Lexus’s tires screeched to a halt just a few inches from his splayed legs. On his back and breathing hard, he saw the car’s bumper roll into Sabon so that he momentarily flipped onto its hood. In a fluid motion, he rolled off and started running again, almost without breaking stride. Dom scrambled to his feet and skirted around the hood of the car, only to watch Sabon disappear.

He clenched his fists and slowly became aware of the pain radiating from his palms. Raising his hands, he saw they were scraped raw from where he’d caught himself on the ground. He glanced once more in the direction that Sabon had run, then pounded his fist on the Lexus’s hood.

By the time he made it back to Mattie, she was leaning against her car and he was furious, only he wasn’t sure at whom. Sabon for sure, for daring to put his hands on her. Him for letting it happen. And her for putting herself in danger in the first place. He strode up to her, not stopping until he’d hemmed her in with his arms.

They were both breathing hard.

“Did you meet him here?”

She shook her head. Closed and opened her mouth like a fish out of water.

He gripped her arms and shook her gently. “Did you, Mattie? Did you agree to meet him here?”

“I—I came to see Tony.”

Dropping his hands, he stepped back. “Then that makes two of us.”

“Who—who was that man?” she gasped out.

He studied her. The fear. The innocence.

Uncertainty overwhelmed him. When he’d left Mattie, he’d checked Judge Butler’s courtroom and found a listening device right under the table where he’d pushed Dusty. That listening device was also a GPS tracker, the kind currently being tested by SWAT as a hostage negotiation tool. That meant the department could have a mole, most likely Frank Manelli. The only question was whether Manelli had given the bug to Dusty or Guapo voluntarily. And what role Tony played in it all.

When Mattie continued to stare at him, he struggled with how much to tell her. Normally, he’d opt for hiding as much as possible from her, but Tony was the key to solving this case, he was sure of it. And Mattie was his best chance of finding him.

Mattie stared at Dom, willing him to answer. Had that horrible man persuaded Tony to start up with drugs again? An involuntary whimper escaped her, one that Dom heard. He closed his eyes, released her, then stepped back.

“That was Michael Sabon—Mark Guapo’s brother,” he clarified. “The current leader of Guapo’s crime organization, which specializes in drugs, stolen property and now firearm sales. I think Sabon is orchestrating Guapo’s revenge against his defense attorney, Linda, and Judge Butler. Only he’s not doing it alone. He’s been getting help. And do you think it’s just coincidence that he showed up at Tony’s apartment?”

That man was Guapo’s brother? “You’re not really a courtroom bailiff, are you?” She should have realized it sooner, she thought, but his sudden appearance and Linda’s attack had shaken her. Plus, he was a cop, so it had seemed perfectly natural for him to ask questions. What she hadn’t realized until now was that he’d been the
only
cop asking them. All the questions he’d been asking about Tony, all the speculation he’d made about Judge Butler and this man named Guapo—they all pointed to him being a detective working a case. Which meant he’d been lying to her this whole time.

She saw the truth in his clenched jaw. In the hand he ran through his hair. And in the brief flash of guilt in his eyes.

“I’m a vice detective. Working as a bailiff was just a cover so I could get closer to Judge Butler and his staff.”

Well, he’d certainly gotten closer to her, she thought bitterly, remembering their tussle on her couch. The feeling of betrayal came swift and hard.

Thank God she hadn’t told him about Tony.

“Tell me why you originally thought Tony might have been the one to hurt Linda,” he commanded softly.

Her head snapped up and she told herself to get it together. It was always his job that mattered most to him. In the end, it was all he cared about. “You used me. And you would have kept on using me to get information.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that, Mattie, but I can’t ignore the fact Sabon is trying to find your brother. If he’s as innocent as you think he is, he’s going to need all the help he can get. For once, trust me. Let me help you.”

Her mouth and jaw tightened into mutinous lines that she knew echoed the mistrust in her eyes. “You want to ask me questions? You’ll have to arrest me and bring me down to the station first. And I’m going to have an attorney with me when you do.”

They stared at each other, neither one giving an inch.

“Fine,” Dom finally said, his expression telling her this wasn’t over. “But tell me, did you ever make it to the door to see if your brother is home?”

“I knocked. No one answered.”

He glanced at the door. “I think I should go check for myself, don’t you? After all, it is my
job
, as distasteful as that it is to you. Did you check whether the door was open? Do you have a key?”

She stiffened, giving herself away.

Dom sighed and held out his palm. “Why don’t you give me the key and I’ll check?”

“No.”

“Will you stop being so stubborn for once? What if he’s hurt, Mattie? How do you know Sabon wasn’t returning after paying Tony a visit earlier?”

Her eyes widened. Automatically, she reached into her pocket and tried to dodge around him. He grabbed her arm and turned her around, his muscular arm wrapped around her waist.

“Stop it,” he ordered in her ear. “I’m not letting you walk in there in a panic. Give me the key and I’ll check on him. I promise.”

“Both of us,” she gasped. “I’ll stay behind you, but we both have to go in. I’m not letting you walk into Tony’s apartment without me.”

Slowly, he released her and held out his hand again. After a brief hesitation, she placed the key in his palm.

“You stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you damn well run, do you understand?”

Curtly, she nodded. “Just don’t tell me to run because you see Tony. I don’t believe Tony will hurt me. I never will.”

“Fine.”

He walked to Tony’s door with her right behind him, her hand automatically rising to rest on his back. He knocked loudly. “Tony, this is Dominic Jeffries. I’m with the Sacramento Police Department and I’m a friend of Mattie’s. I need to ask you some questions.”

Silence.

He knocked again. Announced himself even louder.

Nothing.

He looked at Mattie, who nodded her head. Placing the key in the lock, Dominic turned it and then opened the door. He motioned for her to wait, stepped inside the apartment, and called, “Tony?”

Even though she no longer touched him, she saw the muscles in his back and shoulders bunch. But instead of stepping farther inside, he stepped back, shut the door, and turned back toward her, his face grim.

“Let’s go,” he commanded. He took her arm and urged her down the path toward her car.

She pulled back. “You’re not going in?”

“Come with me. Now, Mattie.” His voice was clipped. His eyes intense.

She tilted her head and backed away from him. “You saw something, didn’t you?”

His expression hardened and he came after her. “Mattie— Mattie, no!”

She lunged toward the door and threw it open. Instantly, Dominic’s fingers wrapped around her arm and he pulled her outside, but not before she saw the body.

“Damn you, Mattie.”

Despite his grip on her arm, Mattie’s knees gave out and she immediately slumped to the ground. Bright dots flashed in front of her eyes and she heard Dom’s voice from a great distance, asking her if she was okay.

Why was he asking her if she was okay? she thought hysterically. She was fine.

The same couldn’t be said for Judge Butler.