Hot in the City (9 page)

“Della, stop,” Chloe said sharply and put a stern hand on her shoulder.

Della was startled, and then realized her friend’s wisdom; she had to be cautious about stepping inside her home if the door was open. Someone could still be there.

Sudden fear chilled her to the bone, especially since she had been ignoring her feelings of being followed, believing that she was being paranoid. Maybe not.

“I’m calling the police before we set foot in there,” Chloe said.

Della, as much as she wanted to go inside her home, agreed.

Minutes later, a squad car arrived, and Della stood outside with Chloe, anxious as the officers disappeared inside her home, guns drawn.

After a few minutes, they reappeared, their weapons holstered, although they looked grim.

“You’re the owner of the home?” they asked Della.

She nodded, her heart in her throat.

“Well, no one is in there, it’s safe to enter, but I hate to tell you that the place is trashed. You should brace yourself for that before you go inside. Also, be careful where you step, and don’t touch anything.”

“Trashed?” Della said incredulously. “You mean someone wrecked my things?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

Chloe’s hand landed on her shoulder in support, and Della needed it. Her knees were so shaky she wasn’t sure she could take a step.

Still, her legs carried her back up the steps and to the door, where she went inside, needing to see how bad it was. Standing in her entryway, she let out a small cry.

It was very bad.

“Who would do this?” Chloe whispered from behind her, sounding equally shocked.

“Have you had any trouble lately? An ex-boyfriend or someone you might have had an altercation with?” the older officer asked.

Della shook her head, and then stopped. “I was at my office one night and I thought someone followed me, but that ended up being nothing.”

Or so she thought.

“Anything else?”

Della fought tears, taking in the slashed leather furniture, the toppled tables and emptied drawers. Antiques were broken, frames were taken from the walls, where some holes had been punched into the plaster. That was going to be expensive to fix, she thought vaguely. Did insurance cover damage from break-ins? One of her stained-glass lamp shades was shattered, and there was so much more she could barely take it all in. It was a feast of destruction.

“Della? The officer asked if anything else has happened recently?” Chloe said gently.

She quaked from head to toe, and nodded. “Nothing specific, but the past few days, I kept feeling like someone was watching me, but I thought I was being overly anxious after what happened at my office.”

“Okay, that’s not much to go on. This could have been random. We’ll have a car come by here regularly over the next couple of days and evenings. You should change the locks right away, and luckily the windows are in one piece. You may want to stay with a friend or at a hotel for a few days, and be sure to report anything unusual.”

“I’ll change the locks today, but I’m staying here,” she said more to herself than the policeman. “This is my home.”

The officer nodded before rejoining his partner.

Chloe was concerned, too. “Della, you should stay with us. Justin won’t mind, I promise. You don’t know if this person will come back—this isn’t your ordinary break-in. It’s so...violent,” she said, looking around again, as horrified as Della was, too.

She stumbled into the midst of the mess, still in shock. But as she went through her home, she started to see a sort of shape to the madness.

“It’s as if they were searching for something,” she said to Chloe. “See how things are opened up...emptied out? They didn’t just slash the furniture, they pulled out the stuffing. Why? The holes in the walls are at intervals.”

Chloe shook her head. “What could they have been looking for? That doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they thought you hid money or valuables in those places?”

Della frowned and headed upstairs to find that space less disrupted, though it was clear someone had still rifled through her drawers and closets—perhaps they ran out of time? But why would anyone search and destroy her home?

“Della, please. Come stay with us until this is cleaned up, at least. Justin and I will come over tomorrow and help you start putting it all back together. He can probably repair the holes in the wall—he’s good at that kind of thing. It’s the least we can do for all the help you’ve been with the wedding.”

Della put a hand to her forehead. “Oh, the wedding! There are still so many last-minute things I need to check.”

Chloe put both hands on Della’s shoulders and turned her toward her, making eye contact. “Forget that, it’s not important. Everything is more or less set to go, and it will be fine. I’ll wrap up any loose ends. But I insist you stay with us until your apartment is back to rights.”

Della nodded. “Maybe that would be best. Listen, you go ahead, and I can pack some things and come over later. Right now, I’d like to call Gabe and have him come check this out before we touch anything, and I need to get a locksmith here, too.”

“I’m not leaving you alone here.”

“I’ll be fine, Chloe, seriously. I’ll call when I’m on my way.”

Obviously not happy about the plan, but knowing she wasn’t going to change Della’s mind, Chloe nodded. “Okay, well, I’m at least going to wait until we know Gabe is on his way over.”

Della hugged her overprotective friend and took out her phone, relieved that Gabe answered immediately and told her he’d be there right away.

True to his word, just moments after Chloe left, Gabe appeared on her porch, knocking and taking her immediately in his arms when she greeted him.

Yes.
This was what she needed, she thought, as his warmth infused her. Her mind calmed and she stepped back so that he could see the extent of the damage.

“It’s pretty hard to believe, isn’t it? Who would want to do this to me? The police thought maybe an angry student, or a stalker, but... I just find that so hard to believe.”

“It’s pretty thorough, I’ll say that.”

Gabe’s expression turned to stone as he looked around, his thoughts inscrutable if not for a flash of anger that darkened his eyes from hazel to a deep brown.

Della rubbed her arms as she stood at his side.

“But they said it could also be random.”

Gabe stepped into the main room...passing by the sofa where they had made love for the first time. He walked upstairs for a few minutes, and then came back down.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“How can you tell?”

“They didn’t take any of the art or the valuables, your TV, computer...in fact, many of your electronics are untouched. It was meant to look violent, angry, or like garden-variety vandalism, but it’s not. Too much of the same thing, in each room...they went after the furniture, things that would break and make a mess. The upstairs was rifled a bit, but most of the destruction is down here, like it’s staged to shock you when you open the door. It was meant to be upsetting.”

Della huffed out a breath. “Well, it is certainly that. I thought it looked like...they were trying to find something?”

“Do you have any idea what? Do you keep valuables hidden here?”

“No, not really. Nothing that would call for this, unless they had the wrong house. Maybe that’s why they stopped by the time they got upstairs, they might have realized that whatever they wanted wasn’t here?”

Gabe shook his head. “I doubt it—it’s meant to scare you. But why would someone go to these lengths to do that?”

Della thought about her pursuer at the school.

“Like at my office. Nothing happened, but it just freaked me out. I’ve felt like I’ve been being followed for days, but I assumed I was imagining things. It’s been making me a little crazy, though.”

A flicker of something odd moved over his features, but only for a second.

“Fairly typical stalker behavior, actually. Any conflicts at work, with a student, a co-worker? An ex?”

“I had one student who was disappointed I couldn’t work with him on his thesis, and he was unhappy, but not
this
unhappy—and why would he wait two months to react?”

“Valid point, but give me his name and I’ll check up on him, just in case. This is the kind of passive-aggressive thing someone might do when they don’t have the courage to confront you themselves, though it can escalate.”

“Escalate?” she asked nervously.

“Let’s take care of one thing at a time. Did you touch anything, or the police?”

“No.”

“Okay, good. I’ll get someone in here to dust for prints and see if that tells us anything for starters. I can call someone in tonight.”

“Oh, the police said they don’t usually do that unless there was a death, or a physical attack.”

Gabe caught her eye. “I’m not the police.”

“Of course, yes. Thank you.” She crossed the room to hug him, and took comfort in his strength.

There was a knock at the door, and Della jumped. Her nerves really were on edge. Looking out the window, she saw the locksmith’s van.

“Great, they’re here to change the locks.” She left Gabe to make his calls as she met the locksmiths and let them get to work, before rejoining Gabe.

“You can’t stay here tonight. Especially, not if I have a team come in. It might be smart to stay elsewhere, anyway, to get a room a few miles away, for a while, maybe a week or so, to be on the safe side.”

“Chloe and Justin said I could stay with them, but honestly, I hate to intrude, and I like my time alone. But I don’t want them to have hurt feelings, so I agreed.”

He frowned. “It’s too easy, if there is someone after you, to know who your friends are, and that you would go stay with them.”

Della’s eyes widened. She’d never thought of that.

“Right. I can’t risk bringing any danger to their door. That makes it an easy decision. I will definitely book a room.”

“You could stay with me.”

She peered up at him a bit apprehensively. “Thank you, that means a lot, but I’d rather be closer to my apartment, since I need to put things back to rights and you’re way downtown. But...will you stay tonight? I mean, at the hotel? With me?”

He hesitated for a second, which made her almost regret asking.

“Of course. I can do that, and I’ll tell my team to check in. Hopefully we’ll know something by morning.”

She wondered why he hadn’t said yes right away, but was too exhausted to give it much thought. “They shouldn’t be long with the lock. I’ll go make some calls and pack a case.”

Della turned to go upstairs, and Gabe caught her hand, pulled her back in for a moment, his mouth by her ear.

“It will be okay, Della. I won’t let anyone hurt you. No matter what this is about.”

She lifted her face to his, offering a kiss, which he took, then she went to pack. He’d had that strange expression again, she thought, as she grabbed her clothes. Protective, but also...secretive. Like he was holding something back.

Della shook the thought away. Gabe didn’t deserve her suspicions. Fear was making her suspicious of everything, and everyone. He’d come to help right away, even though he had his own very important work to do.

She dropped an email to Chloe about her changed plans, and then took her case back downstairs to meet Gabe and wait for the locksmith to finish up so she could leave.

“I’ll stay at the hotel for a few days, but I’m coming back to fix up my place as soon as you’re done,” she said to Gabe, feeling more solid as she took one of her new keys and gave it to him to let his team inside. “This is my home, and I’m not being run out of it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else, Della, and if there’s anything else I can do to help, just say so,” he told her as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

For now, it was everything Della could ask.

9

“T
HE
MISSION
’
S
OVER
,
G
ABE
. It’s done.”

Gabe leaned back in his office chair in shock. After he’d left Della at the hotel the night before, sleeping soundly, he’d gone back to her place, and then to his office that morning, to find a message from Bart with orders to stop the interviews and pull the surveillance on Petroski.

The lab had given up all of the files and data on the formula to DHS, and it was being transferred to another secure location. Even the scientists he was supposed to interview had gone.

“What do you mean, it’s done?”

Bart’s tone was not apologetic.

“Orders came down from over both our heads, Gabe. With no solid leads and an increasing threat of another attempt by Derian to get the formula, we couldn’t risk him succeeding. I got orders to shut the project down and get the formula and the staff off-site to a secure location. Petroski was fired. If Derian is out there, he’s been cut off.”

Gabe’s head reeled with the news.

“So what now?”

“Well, your investigation into the leak is done, but the mission is far from over.”

“How so?”

“What happened at Dr. Clark’s? Any leads?”

“No, nothing useful.”

“What’s your take on it?”

“The job was professional, though it was meant to look otherwise. But they left no prints, nada. Someone made sure it was staged, clean. They knew what they were doing. But what I can’t figure out is why. It’s like it was meant to scare her.”

“A message, perhaps? Could be Derian is panicked, and letting his people know he’s not backing down?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think she’s knowingly involved. She was genuinely surprised, afraid. If she’s in this, she’s being used in some way.”

It had cut deep to have to look Della in the eye and pretend like he knew nothing when she admitted she felt as if she had been followed. It had been difficult to let her think someone was after her, especially when he was the one doing the following. But he couldn’t tell her the truth. Increasingly, he wanted to, though. He’d come close, that night at her apartment.

“That brings us to the change in your mission. We still want Derian. If you think Dr. Clark is the best lead we have on him, then stick with her. See if she draws him out.”

Gabe stiffened at the suggestion. “Wait...you want to use Della, Dr. Clark, as bait? She’s a civilian, Bart—”

“We’ve used civilians before.”

“With their knowledge and consent. Della has given neither. I should read her in.”

“Absolutely not. If you’re wrong, she’ll tip off Derian. If you’re right, she could blow the whole thing. You stick with her and see if he shows. Or any of his men. He might not do his own dirty work, I imagine.”

“At this point, we don’t even know for sure that he’s there, and with the formula out of play, maybe he’s gone.”

“No, he wouldn’t leave without scorching the earth behind him. If it’s not her, maybe it’s someone close to her, someone she knows. This is the angle now. We want Derian, that’s the mission.”

Gabe closed his eyes. “If we get him, we can find out who he was working for.”

“Bingo. And if the good doctor can help us with that, then consider her in protective custody. Yours.”

There was a pause, and Gabe said, “And if it turns out she’s not involved? What if he’s not the one after her?”

“No harm, no foul. You pack up, come back, get your next assignment.”

“How long?”

“If Derian is going to make a move, he’s going to make it sooner than later. I’ll give it until the end of the week. If he doesn’t make a move by then, then you’re back here, new assignment.”

Bart hung up and Gabe was left staring at the phone. He badly wanted to hit something, anger and frustration a knot in his gut.

He’d been lying to Della all of this time, and now he had to knowingly put her in the path of danger? Use her again? Without her knowledge?

At least he could keep her safe—and he would. But only for this week? What about after that? His stomach went sour at the thought, but Bart was right. He’d done it before, but this was Della. This was different.

And yet, he really had no choice. Derian was a dangerous criminal, and if he was anywhere near Della, or behind what had been happening to her, Gabe was going to make sure he was between the terrorist and her. He couldn’t be there to protect Janet, but he’d be damned if he would walk away from Della before he knew—completely—that she was safe.

He left the office, thinking about how to approach Della now that his job was, in fact, her. He’d promised Della he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, and it was a promise he intended to keep. He could continue to follow her, when she thought he was working, but that left a bad taste in his mouth, knowing how vulnerable she felt.

She’d mentioned a morning meeting at the university—that even though it wasn’t the school term, professors still had administration. She’d promised not to leave the campus until he returned.

Looking out the eighth-story window at the sun blazing down on the pavement, he watched people trudging along through the intense heat. They’d predicted over-the-top temperatures for the entire weekend.

With that thought, an idea formed.

He could keep a close eye on Della while potentially taking her out of the line of danger for a few days if they went out of town. Both of them could use a break.

Or, another way to look at it was that if someone
was
keeping tabs on her, other than him, then that person would be a lot easier to spot outside of the city.

Gabe’s mind was made up. He did some internet searches, made a few phone calls and set out to meet Della at the university.

Anticipation lightened his step, even though he was still technically on the job. He couldn’t let his guard down—Derian could appear at anytime—but he couldn’t help but look forward to more time with Della.

He grabbed a cab, not wanting to wait for a train, and new energy filled him as he walked across the quad toward Della’s building. But as he crossed the large quad, he saw her in conversation with a tall man, longish hair, muscular build. The guy was standing far too close, in Gabe’s estimation. Della stepped back slightly, but the man drew closer.

All of his senses went on alert, and Gabe’s walk changed to a jog as he approached them.

“Della,” he said loudly, making both she and the man talking to her turn.

“Gabe, hi,” she said, her expression clearly relieved when she saw him.

Which meant whoever this guy was, he wasn’t welcome company.

“Gabe, this is Steven. I mentioned him to you—he’s one of the teachers in my dance class,” she said, her tone overly polite, strained.

Steven didn’t look happy and faced Gabe with a pointed glare.

“We were talking,” he said rudely, turning away from Gabe.

“I think that Della is done talking to
you
,” Gabe said smoothly, looking in her direction for confirmation. Steven didn’t bear any resemblance to Derian, but Gabe wasn’t taking any chances—the guy could be one of his associates, keeping an eye on Della.

“Listen, buddy—”

Gabe closed in. “I’m not your buddy, and you were just leaving. You will leave the lady alone, period.”

Steven blustered, focusing on Della.

“Does he speak for you now?”

Della crossed her arms in front of her, but looked quite piqued.

“No, but he’s right. I don’t have anything else to say. I’m not interested in dating you, and I meant that. I’m sorry.”

“Apparently you’re just a tease,” Steven sneered, backing up and giving Gabe a dirty, but wary, glance as he stormed off.

Della leaned back against the door, and only then did Gabe notice how pale and tired she looked. She’d had a hell of a couple of days, and suddenly he doubted his idea to take off for the weekend. Maybe she had things to do or wouldn’t appreciate his making plans for them.

“I guess that’s the end of my dance lessons, which is fine with me, but still. What is going on in my life? People break into my apartment, and then Steven was waiting outside my office when I came out. He was just...lurking, and scared the life out of me. I thought he might be whoever chased me before.”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, but he sure wasn’t as charming as he always was in class. What a creep. I didn’t call him back, so he decided to find me at work, he said. I walked him all the way down here hoping he would leave, but he just kept pushing, wanting to know why I didn’t come to class today, and when I would go out with him,” she said, shaking her head. “He said I was avoiding him. I was so glad to see you coming toward us I can’t even tell you how much. I was about to call campus security again.”

“I’m glad I showed up at the right time. Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “Just tired. And annoyed. I didn’t sleep so well last night, thinking about the break-in, and that I might have a stalker. Maybe I’m being overly harsh about Steven because of that, but he really freaked me out.”

“You’re a nice person, Della, but you never need to be nice to a guy who can’t take no for an answer the first time.”

She smiled weakly at him. “Thank you. I know. Anyway...it’s good to see you.”

“You, too. I have the results from your apartment. Unfortunately, no prints or any leads. It may well have been random vandalism.”

“That’s so disconcerting.”

“I know, but I promise I’ll keep looking into it.”

“Thank you,” she said, squinting up at the sky. “It’s
so
hot. I knew they predicted a heat wave this weekend, but this is even more intense than I expected.”

“Yeah, about that,” he said, feeling even less certain than he had earlier. “I was thinking...do you want to get out of town for the weekend? I rented a car and I thought maybe we could head upstate, into the mountains, where it will be cooler.”

“What about your work?”

“The investigation is winding down. I can take a few days off.”

“Oh.” She broke eye contact, staring down at the sidewalk before shifting her gaze back to him. “Does that mean you’re leaving?”

He knew what she meant, though her tone was neutral, pleasant. That this was the end of their affair. That the weekend away was a goodbye of sorts.

In a way, he wished it was—that would be more honest.

Gabe stepped in, put his hands on her shoulders, looking her square in the eye. “I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re safe. Promise. This weekend is just...a lark. I could use a break, too.”

She smiled up at him. “Getting out of the city does sound lovely, but the break-in, and the mess... I should start cleaning it all up, and the wedding prep. It’s next Friday, you know. The bachelorette party is set, and they have planned the rehearsal dinner themselves, but I feel like I should be here in case Chloe needs me.”

“She’d understand. It’s only a few days. Tell her you need to get away, but if she needs you, she can call or email.”

Gabe let the front of his body brush hers, watched her cheeks flush from more than the heat of the day.

“Three days alone, in the mountains, in a cabin. By a very cool, pretty lake. What do you say?”

Della groaned, but the sparkle returned to her eyes and she nodded. “That sounds amazing. And I already have my bag packed at the room. When did you want to go?”

“I have to pick up the car, then my bag, and we’re out of here. Let’s go by your place first? It’s only a four-hour drive upstate.”

Her smile widened, and she planted a hand on his chest, biting her lip in an enticing way.

“We’ll be all alone in a cabin by a lake, huh? What will there be to do for three days?”

Gabe grinned back, leaning in closer to steal a kiss. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

* * *

D
ELLA
WORKED
OUT
three times a week, or she tried to, anyway, but none of that had prepared her for hiking up the steep path they had chosen for their daily outing. No one would have guessed that the softly curved Adirondack Mountains would provide such a challenge. It hadn’t looked this steep from the bottom, but the copse of thick trees hid the real challenge.

Of course, it could be that while she’d slept like the dead the night before, lulled by the cool mountain air, cricket songs and amazing sex, her physical activities and stress lately had taken a toll.

That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it
, she thought, smirking as she took in Gabe’s strong stride as he ambled along a few feet ahead of her. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat, though she imagined how hot he would look all sweaty, and felt a ripple of desire thrum through her.

It only got stronger, the more time they spent together. Maybe that meant this weekend was a mistake, but for now, she didn’t care.

Admiring the wide expanse of his back, and how it narrowed down to his lean hips and very cute backside, she couldn’t complain about the view as she pushed herself along. Then he stopped, pointing to a large, flat boulder shaded from the sun, looking out over the forest below.

“I could use a break. Looks like a good spot for lunch?” he asked.

“You won’t get an argument from me.” Della tried not to huff and puff her answer. Sitting down for a while sounded like heaven.

They walked together to the spot, and Gabe swung off the backpack he’d volunteered to carry for them both like it weighed nothing at all. Handing her the blanket they’d brought from the cabin, she shook it out and made a place for them to sit.

Gabe stood at the edge of the boulder and looked out over the wilderness, quiet for a moment as Della dove into the pack, retrieving the lunch they had had packed for them at one of the cafés in the local town. When he didn’t sit, she looked up.

“You okay?”

He turned, moving over to join her.

“I’m great, sorry. Just was lost in thought. I forgot how much I love being out in the middle of nowhere like this. It’s like leaving the world behind.”

“I know. I don’t get out of the city much, except to go to different cities, for work. A few times, I went with a group of friends to upstate farms in the fall for apples or pumpkins, and things like that, but not often. When you’re in the city, it can seem like you have everything you need, it’s all right there, except for this. Fresh air, open space...it’s wonderful. Thank you for arranging it,” she said, looking up into his face.