Deadly Charade (10 page)

Chapter 17

L
inda’s breath seized when a man emerged from the shadow of the house and grinned tauntingly at her.

“Going someplace?”

She averted her gaze, pretended she didn’t hear him, and kept walking. He stepped in front of her, blocking her way. Tilting her chin up, she said, “I don’t want trouble.”

He waggled his brows up and down. “You found it anyway.” He reached out to touch her face and she automatically flinched away, hating herself for the involuntary show of fear.

“I’m a friend of Tony’s,” she said quickly, hoping the lie would help rather than hurt her.

“Is that right?” the man said. He dropped his hand. “You should choose your friends more carefully.”

“What do you mean? He runs the show here now, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe. For now.”

“You planning on changing that? Because he murdered Guapo to keep his territory. What makes you think he won’t do the same to you?”

He shrugged then grinned. “Maybe because I know who his friends are now and a man who cares about others is a man with a weakness. You should—”

“Carl, what’s going on?”

At the sound of Tony’s voice, Linda whirled around and barely managed to suppress a sigh of relief. Tony was wearing a pair of jeans but nothing else, and though she could see he was still slightly unsteady on his feet, he glared at them—at her—with hostility.

“Who the hell is she?” he snapped.

The guy Tony had called Carl laughed, the sound laden with nerves. “She said she was a friend of yours.”

“She’s no friend of mine. Finish with her fast. I have a delivery for you to make.” Without even looking at her again, he turned and stalked back to the house.

She watched him with disbelief. He had to know that Carl had stopped her. And that leaving her in his company could be dangerous to her.

Carl glared at her. “Lying bitch. Who were you here to see?”

“She was here to see me,” Justine said. “Our business is over. Let her go, Carl.”

“Why’d she say she was a friend of Tony’s?”

“She wants to be but he’s not interested.”

“Hmm...I’m plenty interested.”

“You’ve got a job to do,” she reminded him.

He nodded. “I’ll come find you when I have some free time, lady.”

With a lingering look, he left. Swallowing hard, Linda turned to Justine. “Thank you,” she said.

The other woman smiled tightly and shook her head. “Don’t thank me. I won’t interfere again. I suggest you don’t come back here. You’re not wanted.”

No, she thought, she wasn’t. Tony had dismissed her quite easily, leaving her to the hands of one of his lackeys. She’d gladly give him and Justine what they wanted.

She wouldn’t be back.

* * *

Tony had thought it was the hardest thing he’d ever done—letting Linda walk away from him and out of the dingy house that was now his home. Especially now, after they’d made love. She’d expressed her faith in him and he wasn’t being watched by guards. He was a free man. Free to do whatever he wanted. And what he wanted—
who
he wanted—was Linda.

He’d still managed to let her go.

But then Justine had told him that Carl was hassling Linda. He’d had to do something, but, not wanting to make matters worse, he’d forced himself to pretend he didn’t care and this time walked away himself. He hadn’t wanted to. He’d felt an intense urge to rip Carl away from her. To pound on him. But he’d hung back and waited, ready to move fast if Carl didn’t follow him quickly enough. But luckily enough the man had and Tony had sent him off to make some runs.

As for Linda?

He should have been happy with the fact she’d made it past Carl unscathed, but he couldn’t leave it at that. She actually believed he’d made love to Justine after leaving her bed.

And even though that’s what he’d wanted her to believe, even though driving her away had been exactly what he’d wanted, he’d changed his mind. He couldn’t let her believe it. Not that.

At seven that night, almost twenty-four hours after being there and just two hours before he was supposed to meet with the Rapture supplier, Tony drove to Linda’s house. Standing outside, he peeked into her living-room window.

She sat on the sofa, her knees drawn up to her chest, the television on. She’d buried her face in her hands and her body shook with sobs.

Damn it.

The sight of her pain, the pain that he’d caused her, filled him with regret. He turned to stride toward the door. To knock. To demand she let him inside. But then her phone rang.

He froze as she wiped her tears, took several deep breaths then picked it up.

Since she’d cracked her window open to let in the breeze, he could just barely make out what she was saying. But he did hear the name “Neil.”

He frowned. Neil Christoffersen. The suit who was panting after her.

The man who could offer her so much more than Tony ever could, starting with a clean past and a bright future. Both of which would serve her well as a judge.

Rage and denial filled him, but what could he deny. It was true. Between the two of them, Neil was definitely the better man for her. All he had to do was look at the drying tear streaks on her face to know that.

They made small talk and he was about to turn away and leave when he heard her mention his name.

He stiffened.

“I went to see him. I know, I know. It was stupid of me. I saw his girlfriend, too. She was on the phone when I left. She didn’t know I was listening and I...I think Tony was telling the truth about killing Guapo so he could take over his business.” She sighed. “Yeah, I know what I heard potentially makes me a witness, but it’s hearsay and it doesn’t fall into any of the exceptions, so there’s no point in putting me on the stand.” She paused. “He’s said incriminating remarks to me, yes, but...I don’t know, Neil. I don’t know if I can actually testify against him.” She bent her head and Tony’s fists clenched at the agony that she must be going through.

“I’ll call if I need anything. Thanks.”

She hung up the phone and once again stared at the television with a blank face.

He simply watched her. Soaked her in. He stood there, unsure what to do. Should he go in and tell her the truth, or at least part of it, just like he’d planned? Or should he do the right thing and let her get on with her life with a good man?

A faint noise coming from the other side of the house disturbed his mental gymnastics. His first thought was—maybe Yee had sent some cops to check on Linda just like he’d promised. But a cop would be doing a drive-by in a patrol car or would be coming up the walkway to knock on her door, not sneaking around the side of her house.

Unless of course, the cop was a dirty one.

Just because Guapo was dead didn’t mean the dirty connections he’d built had died along with him.

Slowly he moved to investigate, tensing when he saw a hulking figure in black clothes and a mask.

Damn it, what was going on? Was this a random break-in? No, that would be too coincidental. This had something to do with the shooting at the courthouse. The guy was here to hurt Linda. The question was whether it was because of him.

* * *

Linda heard the sound of struggling outside and jumped to her feet. She ran to the window, looked out and gasped.

Tony was outside her house, wrestling with a much larger man wearing a freaking ski mask. Quickly she retrieved her Taser and ran outside. She turned the corner just in time to see the larger man punch Tony in the face, then kick his bad leg. Tony crumpled, but even as he did he hung on to the man, refusing to let go. Though she pointed the Taser, she wasn’t convinced she could hit the other man and not Tony.

“Stop or I’ll shoot,” she yelled.

The man looked up before he took off, jumping the side fence.

Linda ran to Tony.

He was bleeding from the nose and mouth, but otherwise his coloring was a pale sickly white. She knelt beside him, cradling his head in her lap. “Tony! What are you doing here? Who was that?”

He closed his eyes, struggled to breathe, then gasped, “Wanted to talk to you. But he was here. Danger.”

More dangerous than him?
she thought. She really wasn’t sure that was possible.

“Let’s—” She stopped before inviting him inside. She didn’t want to leave him lying here, but it wouldn’t be smart to invite him back into her house, either. “Stay here. I’ll call the police.”

He shook his head. “No. No police.”

“Tony, we need to report this. You didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t have to worry about being out on bail. I’ll explain that you—”

He gripped her arm tighter, which made her gasp. “No police...damn it...”

She wasn’t imagining the urgency in his grip or his tone. “Why?”

“He...the man. He—he was here to hurt you. And he might be a cop.”

Chapter 18

T
ony passed out with his head in her lap. Linda’s panic spiked and hysteria threatened to break her control until she realized his breathing was normal, as was his pulse. Whatever was wrong with him wasn’t life threatening—at least, not yet. He still needed medical attention. But he’d asked her not to call the police.

Did that mean she shouldn’t call an ambulance, either?

She looked around but none of her neighbors had come outside to check on her. Based on the darkened windows, people were asleep and hadn’t heard enough to think it was worth investigating. Though he’d always been lean, Tony was still considerably larger and heavier than her. So what was she going to do?

There was only one thing she could do. Get to safety. They couldn’t stay here. What if the intruder came back? She needed to get him someplace safe, make sure he would be okay, and think. Only then would she decide whether to call the cops or not.

She bit her lip. Then, despite feeling slightly guilty, she patted him down to make sure he didn’t have any weapons or needles on him. He didn’t. That didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t using or that he’d lied about taking over Guapo’s business, but it
was
one more reason to bolster her faith in him.

Getting behind him, she tucked her hands under his armpits and with great effort slowly dragged him an inch at a time toward her car. As she did so, she kept a watchful eye on his face. He was still pale. At one point she reached down to lay her hand on his face and cursed. He was burning up with fever. Whatever he’d been fighting off earlier that evening had taken a firm hold. He’d had an infection in the hospital. She wondered if it had come back.

Inadvertently she glanced down and winced. His pant leg was stained with blood, making her again wonder if the fever was caused by some kind of infection.

She had to stop for a few seconds to catch her breath. As she did, she once more swept her hand over his face, missing the curls that she’d often tangled her fingers in when they were together. But the close-cropped hairdo did more than make him look tough. It made it impossible for him to hide from her. His features stood out and with them every hint of vulnerability that he possessed, especially because he was unconscious and unguarded.

He’d said he’d wanted to talk to her. About what? Had he changed his mind about wanting her help? Had he decided to come clean with her? Decided to trust her with the truth of whatever it was he was doing with the drug ring formerly run by Guapo? And why had he thought the intruder—the man who’d wanted to hurt her, he’d said—was a cop?

She bit her lip, knowing what she did now could have a momentous impact on her life. On her career. Certainly on her bid for a judgeship. Tony was out on bail but he’d been charged with a crime and her office was prosecuting him.

She should ignore what he said. She had no reason to trust him. He’d told her over and over again that he was a changed man. Usually when men said they’d changed, they meant for the better. Tony meant he was worse. A bad man. One who didn’t care about her. Yet he’d saved her life once already. And if he was right about that man—whoever he was—being dangerous, he could very well have saved her life again.

And why did she keep thinking he was doing something that needed to be uncovered? Why couldn’t she simply accept he was the addicted, opportunistic man he’d tried to convince her he was?

Because she still loved him.

And if she could love a truly bad man, not just a flawed one, then what would that make her?

* * *

Linda took Tony to the local E.R. but only because Pamela Dexter, a friend of hers, was the doctor on duty. She’d called beforehand to double-check she’d be there and even then she’d known she was taking a calculated risk. That Tony, if he were conscious, would argue against going. But she couldn’t just drive away with him when she didn’t know for sure what they were dealing with.

Tony gained consciousness on the way to the hospital, but just barely. As she’d expected, he argued when she told him she was taking him to the E.R., but she simply ignored him, and he was too weak to argue for long. When they got to the hospital, medical staff helped him inside.

Pam owed her a favor and saw Tony right away. At least he hadn’t been shot, otherwise Pam would have had to report his injuries to the police. He’d suffered a light concussion and had gotten another infection.

“You said he got into a fight at the jail?”

“Yes.”

“That explains the infection, then. A jail’s not the most sterile of places and if he’d been bleeding after the assault... We’ll get him started on the meds and have him stay overnight—”

“No,” Tony said.

“Excuse me?” Pam asked, looking first at Tony and then back at Linda.

“Tony,” Linda began. “You need to listen to her. If she wants you to—”

He stood and began to dress. “I’m leaving, Linda. And so are you. We can’t stay here.” When she remained silent, he paused, taking several deep breaths and obviously struggling to stay focused. Finally he stepped close to her, leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Please. I know I haven’t given you any reason to, but please trust me. Take me to a hotel and let me get better before you do anything. I’ll explain everything to you then. I promise.” He stepped back.

After a second, she nodded. “Okay.”

Relief swept over his face.

“Are you taking him home? If so, I’ll give him his first round of antibiotics and a prescription for more,” Pam said.

Linda nodded. But she didn’t say whose home she’d be taking him to.

She wasn’t going to take him to a hotel. She had a better place. Someplace more private. Not his home, though. And not even hers.

She was going to take him to the vacation home in Grass Valley. The home her father had deeded to her for some reason.

She hadn’t been there in years. During her youth, her family had stayed at the cabin on the creek during the summer, or over winter break. She’d loved the times they’d spent there—sleeping outside under mosquito netting, catching crawdads in the creek, and later, when she was older, hanging out with the neighbor boys who grew a pot patch in the woods and who would take her to the river and get her drunk.

After her father had betrayed her family for the last time, she’d never gone back. She still made sure the taxes were paid and she used a property manager to rent out the property to people wanting to vacation in the idyllic Gold Country. The place was vacant right now, but it would be clean and would have electricity. She figured it would be a while before someone could track her down. That would give her time to think, to plan, without having to worry about whether they were in danger by any of Guapo’s men or, if Tony was right, by a dirty cop.

As she drove the winding country highway that would take them to the cabin, she called and left a message for her secretary. Briefly she explained she wasn’t feeling well and would need another deputy to take over her caseload for a few days. After a brief hesitation she also asked her secretary to inform Norm that she wouldn’t be able to make the fund-raiser tomorrow night, either. “Please give everyone my apologies,” she said, even as she winced. Norm would be furious. She’d likely lose votes, too. But she had no choice. There was obviously something more important at stake here.

After hanging up, she kept an eye on Tony, whose head was cradled in the crook of his arm as he leaned against the passenger’s side window. Had the man fighting with Tony in front of her house truly been a dirty cop? Dirty cops were a part of life, she knew. Just last year it had been discovered that a cop who’d worked with Dom Jeffries, Mattie’s husband, had been working for Guapo. The cop had been charged with everything from assault to kidnapping to murder, then been killed at the hands of a fellow inmate in jail. Though the cop’s killer wasn’t talking, people pretty much assumed the cop had been killed to prevent him from testifying against Guapo.

It was no wonder the people of Sacramento were feeling shaky about government corruption. There’d even been allegations that Guapo had invaded the District Attorney’s Office, though Linda had never believed it. The District Attorney, Norm Peterson, was one of the most honest men she knew. And though Brian Heald wasn’t her favorite person in the world, she couldn’t even imagine him, let alone any of the others that she worked with, being on the take. That went double for Neil. He enjoyed his job and ambition too much. Plus he had money from a trust fund his grandmother had left him. Assuming what he’d told her about that had been the truth, that is. She had her secrets, after all. It probably stood to reason that others did, too.

She turned off the highway onto a gutted dirt road, wincing with sympathy for Tony as the car bounced over a pothole. Soon, however, she parked the car and stared at the two-story cabin with faded gingham curtains on an isolated plot of land. She’d traveled an hour from Sacramento to this place that would always hold mixed memories for her. And she’d done it for one reason only—to keep them safe. She and Tony.

Watching over him, being his partner at the moment, felt right in a way few things ever had.

She looked over at Tony. He was still unconscious and the silence in the car was the perfect backdrop for doubt to sweep over her.

Was she seriously going to take him into the house she’d once lived in with her father and mother, the one she hadn’t been back to, not even after her father had left it to her? Was she going to buy into the paranoid observations of a man that, for all she knew, was having delusional side effects because of the drugs he was taking?

But she had to be fair. She’d concluded at the place he was staying that he might not be taking drugs, after all. He’d seemed genuinely afraid for her safety back at her house. And she couldn’t deny the fact that he’d hurt himself trying to protect her. Twice.

So she’d give him the benefit of the doubt and do what she needed to keep them safe. Even if it meant having to face a past she’d hoped never to face again.