Gotta Get Next To You (33 page)

“So now we get to the heart of it. This is
about us,” Lee tossed back. “And do we have to hear about your ex
again?”

“Don’t even try it. The bottom line is you
lured Denny into more trouble!” Andrea glared at him, chin out.

“Hey, time out, you two!” Mandeville said
loudly.

He walked between them, forcing both to move
back. He stood with both feet planted apart like a boxing referee.
Andrea panted, but said no more. She turned away and went to the
window. Lee took a deep breath to calm down.

“Ty’Rance is cold-blooded. He’s a suspect in
at least two murders. He’d have Denny killed without batting an
eye. I’ve got a chance to save him,” Lee said with fervor.

Andrea turned to face him. “How?”

“If he helps the sheriff catch Ty’Rance, he
can cut a deal on the thefts. I can’t promise anything because we
have to get it from the DA, but he could get probation and no
prison time.”

Lee watched the frown of concern wrinkle her
brow as she considered his words. He wanted badly to caress the
lines away, to hold her close and say it would be all right.
However, that was an even bigger promise he could not make. Andrea
looked at him. More than anything, Lee wanted to see understanding
and forgiveness in her eyes. Her eyes narrowed.

“So this gang leader Ty’Rance is
dangerous.”

“A suspected murderer,” John said quickly.
“He needs to be taken off the streets.”

“Then he hasn’t survived by being dumb, which
means he’s cautious and can sniff out a he fifty feet away.” Andrea
stared at Lee coldly. “You’ll put Denny in even more danger.”

“It’s the only way,” Lee said.

“The hell it is. Get Denny arrested now for
theft. I’ll fire him from the clinic. That way Ty’Rance won’t blame
Denny.”

“Andrea...” Lee raked his hair with his
fingers. ‘Ty’Rance can’t say Denny deliberately backed out on his
debt. Denny won’t have to risk his life and—” “Andrea, no,” Lee cut
in.

“What do you mean, ‘no’? There’s no reason to
put this young man’s life on the line. We’ve got a chance to keep
him out of prison. I’m sure he’ll get probation.” Andrea seemed
desperate to convince him.

“It won’t work,” Lee said.

“You don’t care about him enough to try!” she
said. Lee walked over to her and grabbed both her shoulders.
“Listen to me. Denny can’t simply walk away. Ty’Rance won’t forget
or forgive. He might even think Denny messed up on purpose to screw
him.”

Andrea twisted free of his grasp and backed
away. “This is all your doing. Denny’s blood will be on your
hands.”

“Now, now, dear,” John clucked in a tone
meant to mollify her. “Let’s not fight each other. We’ve got a
serious problem on our hands.”

Andrea faced him. “You make me sick,” she
hissed. “Now, hold on, young lady.” John’s voice was taut.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Andrea swept him
with a scornful gaze, and then whirled to face Lee again. “You
wanted to be the big hero who brought down the big, bad
gangsters.”

“Get real, Andrea.” Lee waved a hand at
her.

“I’ve been calling you by some made-up name
for weeks. Lies must be second nature to you.” Andrea looked at him
with distaste.

“If you hadn’t been so busy kissing butt and
covering for Daddy, you would have seen the trouble. Hell, it was
right under your nose,” Lee snarled.

“What did you say?” Andrea’s eyes were
wide.

He walked closer to her. “I’ve heard
Louisiana politics involves kinfolk deals. Maybe you were hired to
protect your father’s interests.”

“What the hell!” John growled. “That’s a
he!”

Andrea swayed as though he’d slapped her.
“How did you ...” Her voice trailed off.

“I’m a slime ball private eye, remember?”

My real father was Louis Noble. But yes, John
Mandeville is my biological father,” Andrea said in a strangled
voice. She spoke as though the words were bitter pills in her
mouth.

“Andrea, I—” Lee reached out for her, but she
drew back.

“He has no ‘interest’ in the clinic. None.”
Andrea looked at John. ‘Tell him.”

“I’m only trying to help improve the
community. Part of the effort is to upgrade health care,” John said
promptly.

“He’s the silent partner in Allgood
Healthcare, Inc. They’ve made about a million dollars in the last
two years, most of it from state contracts. One is with—” Lee broke
off when she held up a hand.

Andrea looked at John. “So that’s it,” was
all she said.

“Our discussions had nothing to do with
contracts or medical supplies. Nothing I advised the board to do
benefited me,” John said smoothly.

Andrea glanced at each of them in turn. “You
two have a lot in common.” She walked away from them both and sat
down heavily.

“The fact is we’ve got to deal with this
situation. We don’t really have a choice,” John said.

“No. Ty’Rance told Denny weeks ago what he
expected from him. He wants his money. And he’ll make Denny pay in
some other way if he doesn’t get it.” Lee watched Andrea. His words
had no effect. He sighed and sat on the edge of John’s huge
desk.

Andrea stared ahead at the wall without
looking at Lee or John. “Now what?”

“I have to finish it out,” Lee said. “And
you’ve got to show up at the clinic and behave normally,
Andrea.”

She closed her eyes and rubbed them with the
tips of her fingers. “So I’m part of the act now.”

“Lee is right, Andrea. We’ve got to go
through with it. Remember we’re doing this for the clinic.” John
nodded.

“Your concern is touching,” Andrea
retorted.

“It’s the best way I can protect Denny,” Lee
put in. “Think about it, Andrea. Put aside what you think of

»*

me.

She looked at him briefly, and then turned
her head away. Lee could see that Andrea was indeed considering his
argument. A few moments of tense silence passed before she
spoke.

“I don’t have much choice. You’ve gotten the
sheriff and state police involved.” Andrea stood and walked to the
door. She put a hand on the doorknob, but did not turn it. “One
more thing. Forget about ever having a relationship with me. That
goes for both of you,” she said with her back to them.

“Baby, you’re overreacting,” John replied
with force. “Your mother and I—”

“I mean it.” She turned around, raking them
both with a look of cold contempt.

Lee did not answer. He didn’t know what to
say. Once again he’d lost something precious. Maybe it had never
been real anyway and the fantasy was over. He watched her walk out.
Despite his effort to harden his heart, a small piece of him went
with her.

“She’ll cool off and it’ll be all right.”
John frowned. He did not sound as confident that were true.

Lee stood straight. “You better hope so.”

John glanced from the open double doors to
Lee. “What does that mean?”

“If it hits the fan, you could get that
expensive suit dirty,” Lee said.

He strode out of the office without giving
John a chance to respond. Lee was sick of the entire business. Yet
there was no easy way out for him now. He drove down the highway
thinking of Andrea and the hate in her eyes.

***

Two days later, Lee sat in his office staring
out the window when Vince walked in. The big man was dressed
casually in chinos and a knit golf shirt. Vince grunted as he eased
his solid bulk down into the chair facing Lee’s desk.

“Man, people never cease to amaze and disgust
me.”

“Oh yeah?” Lee said in a distracted tone,
still looking out at the dingy scenery below their third-story
office.

“You know I’m tracking down backgrounds on
Latham’s employees, right? Turns out the main suspect is one of his
female managers and he’s doin’ her. Naturally he doesn’t tell me
this.” Vince’s eyes narrowed. “Are you listening?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re breaking the Latham case
wide open,” Lee said irritably as he waved one hand at him.

“What’s up with you?” Vince said, a slight
frown on his face.

“Not much.” Lee’s jaw muscle tightened.

Vince said nothing for several seconds as he
studied Lee’s expression. “How’s the Bayou Blue investigation
going?”

“It’s going,” Lee said shortly, and swiveled
his chair so that his back was to Vince.

“So you’re going to save that kid Denny,
huh?” Vince asked, his bass voice calm.

“I’m going to damn well try,” he said.

Lee’s hand closed around the arm of his chair
tightly. He’d seen too many lives destroyed and suffered too many
losses in his thirty-two years.

“You look like hell, man. You getting any
sleep?”

“We’ve both been working mad hours on too
many cases.” Lee swung the chair back around and shuffled papers on
his desk. “We need to wrap up some of these that aren’t going
anywhere.”

“Uh-huh.” Vince watched him for a moment.
“Those circles under your eyes got anything to do with a certain
case involving a pretty nurse?”

“Don’t start with me, Vince. I’ve got a lot
on my mind.” Lee did not meet his partner’s gaze, but kept sorting
through files.

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Okay, she got to you in a
big way. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Nothing. It’s over,” he said gruffly.

Lee grimaced at the sharp ache his own words
brought. He’d spent the last two nights trying to numb that pain.
Years of shielding his heart had been useless. Andrea had knocked
down his wall of steel the first time

they kissed. She’d put cracks in it with one
smile. It seemed like forever since he’d held her in his arms. He
wanted to bury his face against her skin and feel her heartbeat.
All that was gone. Accept it and move on, he told himself once
again.

“If you say so,” Vince said with a worried
look in his dark eyes. “But—”

“I’m going to get out of there soon. Before I
leave, I intend to make sure Denny is safe and the clinic isn’t
shut down.” Lee was determined to leave as little destruction
behind as possible.

“Yeah, you can at least do that much for
her.” Vince wore a wise expression mixed with sympathy. “I know, my
brother. I know.”

Lee stared down at the reports without seeing
them, his face stiff with grief. “I’m going to miss her, Vince. She
was the best thing that happened to me in a long, long time,” he
said quietly.

Vince leaned forward, both elbows on his
knees. “If she feels the same way you do, then you can work it out,
man.”

For several moments Lee considered his
friend’s words. He wanted to believe he could find a way back into
Andrea’s heart, but he knew better. The look of hurt, contempt, and
disappointment in her eyes that day in Mandeville’s office went too
deep.

“No, Vince, we won’t. Anyway, I’ve done
enough damage,” he said, his voice hoarse with regret for what he’d
lost. “I’m going to make sure I don’t do any more.”

Andrea spent a quiet Sunday afternoon with
her grandmother. They sat on Gran’s front porch. She needed the
solace of Gran’s domestic haven. It helped dull the anguish of not
seeing Lee. Still, it would only come back to swallow her up once
she was alone. Alone. The word echoed in her mind. Being alone had
not seemed a tragedy before a tall, dark, and dangerously alluring
man had entered her life. He was everything she did not need, she
told herself constantly. Lying was his stock-in-trade, deception
his method of operation. TROUBLE should have been tattooed in bold
letters on his forehead. And yet...

“What’s wrong with you, child?” Gran put
aside the knitting needles and white shawl she was working on.
“You’re moping around like your pet fish died.” “Nothing is wrong.
I’m just resting.”

Gran watched Andrea in silence, rocking
slowly.

“Uh-huh,” she said deep in her throat, her
way of saying “Like I believe that!”

Andrea drew both legs up on the large,
cushioned seat of the swing. Gran grunted and picked up the half
finished shawl from the table beside her. Andrea exhaled in relief
when Gran seemed to become absorbed in the stitches.

White cane ceiling fans overhead creaked as
they stirred the warm summer air. The scent of freshly cut grass
floated on the breeze. White egrets and heron circled above. Their
long wings were outstretched as they sailed along like airborne
ballet dancers. Usually Andrea found pleasure in one of nature’s
best performances, but not today.

Thoughts of Lee and Denny rattled around in
her head. Dread was her constant companion. Denny had made so many
mistakes in his young life. Andrea feared that taking up with
Ty’Rance would prove to be a fatal one. Of course, Lee had sworn to
protect him. He was strong, smart, resourceful, and daring. She’d
sensed it the first day they met. Lee would charge in with a take-
no-prisoners determination. She prayed that he would not take too
great a chance. Considering the whole situation, Andrea worried
that she’d been too harsh with him. One more source of apprehension
to keep her awake until the wee hours of die morning.

Andrea pressed the heel of her right hand
against her forehead. The dull thud of a tension headache plagued
her.

“You can’t hide anything from me. I know
exactly what’s going on.” Gran’s tone was matter-of-fact. “That
young man is more than he seems.”

Andrea dropped her hand and stared at Gran.
“Wha- at?” she stuttered.

“He acts cocky, Mr. ‘I’m so cool it just
rolls off my back.’ ” Gran did not pause from making a pattern in
the lacy yam. “Way I see it he’s trying to convince himself he
doesn’t need tenderness and love. But he does.”

“Oh,” Andrea said, tension draining from her
body. With her thoughts full of the investigation, Andrea’s first
thought was that Gran somehow knew everything. It was irrational,
of course. But the extraordinary events of the past few days left
her open to believe anything was possible.