Lying Eyes (10 page)

She saw the face of a man shorter than the half-wall enclosing the Skywalk again.

Nothing so unusual about him. A lot of people are short.

Most short people would not be so determined to see over the Skywalk wall, though.

Wonder what he's searching for?

It could be the perp looking for me.

Heart pounding, she tugged Carlo's arm. "There's a suspicious-looking man coming and we're sitting ducks. Let's get out of here."

Instantly going into cop mode, Carlo stopped rowing, drew his gun, released the safety, and carefully swept their surroundings in the time it took her to draw a shaky breath.

As fascinating as Carlo was to watch in action, she wanted him to grab her hand and run, not stay and fight.

"Too late," he admitted. "He's too close. We need to hide."

Before she fully absorbed his warning, he wrapped an arm around her waist and gently shoved her to the floor behind a stack of exercise mats.

Then he flopped on top of her, his muscular body shielding hers.

His gun appeared in his free hand. The arm he'd wrapped around her waist slid lower as he tightened his grip on her and whispered, "Don't move. We don't dare even breathe for the next few minutes."

She didn't need to. Her heart had stopped its rapid beating the moment Carlo's broad, sweaty chest pressed her shoulders to the floor.

Carefully squirming, she tried to get comfortable on the cold tile.

Carlo quietly growled, "Don't. Move."

How can I not, sandwiched between two hundred pounds of hot male flesh and a hard floor?

The hand he'd locked so protectively at the apex of her thighs caressed her.

Igniting the fires of Hell in me.

"Be still."

I can't. Your touch burns me.

"The perp just stepped inside," Carlo whispered, cupping her tighter while he readied his gun.

Quivering, she bit her cheek to prevent the escape of an ecstatic purr.

If she gave away their location Carlo's tender caresses would end.

Her ecstasy, too, and perhaps their lives.

Slowly, she closed her eyes. She no longer needed to see. She wanted to enjoy the fire Carlo's wandering hand had kindled deep in her core—a flame that hadn't burned for far too long.

"He's gone," Carlo whispered, releasing her after a final caress.

No, no. Not now. It's been too long since anyone held me close.

All the undercover officers in the building couldn't have held her still as a sensual release overtook Allison. Her entire body shook. She squeezed her eyes shut, clamped her jaw to keep her passionate moans from escaping, and pressed her thighs together, prolonging her ecstasy.

Carlo—
bless him—
licked the sensitive bare spot behind her ear and kissed her neck with tender care.

"Hot damn," he murmured, pressing against her as he again tightened his hold.

Her passion gradually faded, her good sense returned, and she squirmed to free herself from his grasp.

"Sorry," Carlo said, chuckling as he rolled off her and sat, peering around.

I'm not the least bit sorry, just too embarrassed to look you in the eye.

"See anyone?" she asked, sitting, too, and straightening her shorts.

"No, last I saw of the perp he was heading for the east elevator."

"Good."

"I guess you know it's your fault we were in danger."

"
How
did you arrive at that unbelievable conclusion?"

"It's your fault I didn't grab my radio before we left my room."

"You're blaming me for
your
memory lapse?" she asked, spoiling for a fight.

"If you hadn't strolled into my room dressed like the centerfold in some fitness magazine I wouldn't have almost dropped my teeth and forgotten my radio. That failure could have gotten you killed."

"Stop beating yourself up. You kept me safe."

"But if I'd had my radio I could have called for backup the minute you warned me the perp was closing in on us. I'd not only have saved your life, the perp would be under arrest. Where is your radio?"

Ignoring his question, she smiled sweetly at him. "Next time I'll put my tunic on before knocking on your door."

A muscle in his tight jaw twitched. "There isn't going to be a
next
time."

Don't count on it, Buster. Unless you get lucky and catch the perp, we're going to spend two more days in close quarters. It will be a tossup to see who gets lucky first.

She grinned smugly.
I can't wait.

Carlo grabbed her hand. "Let's get the hell out of here. I've had enough excitement for one day."

"Really?"

I haven't had nearly enough.

––––––––

"W
ell?"

"Not yet."

"Why not? I've given you plenty of time."

"I almost cornered them on the fourth floor, but there must have been a back door. She and the uniform gave me the slip."

"Damn. Have you thought about what will happen if you aren't given another chance?"

"Sure. I'm not feeble minded. I worry about it all the time."

"Good. Stay awake tonight. This might be your last chance to sneak into the girl's room while she's asleep."

*****

A
llison knocked on the door connecting their hotel rooms.

"Carlo? Ready to eat?"

"Yes, but not another dumb banquet," he said, opening the door and quickly closing it half-way.

"Hey!"

"I'm not sure I can spend the evening with you without ripping off your skimpy dress."

She laughed. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Perhaps, but I've had even nicer thoughts. What color is that?"

"Roughish purple, the sales lady said."

"Humph. Nothing roughish about you. You're the most straightforward woman I've ever met. Sit a minute. I need to notify the team."

She sat.

He dialed.

She adjusted her mini skirt.

His gaze locked on the swatch of bare skin above her knees.

She stood and tried sitting again.

His ears turned red and his voice cracked as he said, "Captain?"

Grinning, she checked the depth of her plunging neckline in Carlo's mirror.

His half-closed eyes met hers is the silvered glass.

Her grin turned smug.

His eyes bugged. "Yes, we're leaving for the banquet now."

Carlo gulped. "Right."

He disconnected and radioed the team. "Allison is leaving her room."

Following her to her door, he stuck his head out and checked the hall. "All clear."

She stepped outside, smiling widely at his disgruntled sigh.

He soon came out his door, greeted Marsha and Susan, and stalked to the elevator in silence.

"What's eating him?" Marsha whispered.

"I'm not sure," Allison said.

"Sexual frustration, if you ask me," Susan said with far too much certainty. "I had three brothers, so I recognize the symptoms."

The women laughed.

Carlo scowled. "Wonder what they'll do to the chicken tonight?"

"I haven't a clue," Allison said. "What's your favorite food?"

"My mother's
pasta frizzoli
and
tiramisu
."

She grinned. "Neither one of those is standard banquet fare."

"Doesn't keep me from dreaming about it though."

"Maybe you'll get to dump me and eat with your mother on Sunday night."

"That's my plan."

The dumping? Or the eating?

The spring went out of Allison's step and she trudged into the crowded banquet hall and located acceptable seats.

The feast was about what she expected, a lukewarm entrée and too-cold white wine, but the speaker was entertaining. She filed out of the hall in a better mood until Carlo bumped into a tall uniformed man.

"Link? Why are
you
here?"

"I heard there was a problem at the Caprice, so I stopped by after my shift to lend a hand."

Carlo squeezed Allison's waist, signaling her to remain silent, she supposed.

"A problem? I haven't heard anything about any problem. You must have the wrong hotel, but as long as you're here, let me introduce you. Allison Marble, this is one of my co-workers, Sergeant Lincoln Knox. Allison is a television reporter from San Diego. She's attending this conference, too."

Gazing at Link, she smiled as she shook his hand.

He gave Carlo a thumbs-up and asked Allison, "Having a good conference?"

"The best."

"Good to hear. Don't let me keep you. Nice meeting you, Allison. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Over my dead body," Carlo muttered.

As Link hurried away, she turned to Carlo, perplexed.

"I don't know what the hell
he's
doing here," he said, lowering his voice. "And I sure don't want him sticking his nose in this. The Captain promised complete secrecy about the cash."

"You're right about his eyes. The entire time we spoke he kept staring past my shoulder instead of into my eyes."

"Mine, too. When we were kids, he had an open expression. I could guess what he was thinking without him saying a word. Now, when I look into his eyes I see dark shadows, making me wonder what he's hiding, never a good feeling for a cop."

"I guess in your field you put a lot of faith in what you read in a man's eyes."

"Reading most people I meet is easy. Take you, for example. You have honest eyes, innocent, yet intriguing. Eyes that make it difficult for anyone to glance away."

He grinned apologetically. "I'm not accustomed to staring truth in the face. In my line of work, truthfulness is the exception, not the rule."

"Where are we heading?" Susan asked.

Carlo turned to Allison. "Would you like a night cap before we go to the room?"

She readily agreed.

"You two can hang around the lobby for a while," he said to Marsha and Susan. "I'll let you know when we're heading to the room. We shouldn't be long."

"Good," Susan said. "We're planning to gather in my room and roast Carlo, and can't start without Allison."

*****

A
bald man quietly played ragtime on the baby grand piano in the busy lobby bar, but Carlo got lucky and found a vacant loveseat they sank onto.

Allison glanced around admiring the exquisite live floral arrangement on the piano and loving the relaxed way Carlo settled in and casually stretched his arm across the back of the loveseat. The closeness of his body warmed her. She fanned herself with her conference badge.

Across the lobby she observed Link—Sergeant Knox—shake his fist in the face of some stocky, well-tanned man. Before she could call Carlo's attention to the twosome, the other man moved out of sight and Link disappeared down the stairs to the parking garage.

Their drinks arrived and Allison forgot the incident as she sipped her margarita while Carlo flirted with an attractive blonde member of the hotel security staff.

Allison pulled out her cell phone, quickly reviewed the story she'd spent the early morning hours writing, and emailed it to a friend responsible for uncovering human interest stories for a San Diego newspaper.

As she pressed Send, Carlo cut his conversation short and scowled as he turned to her. "What the hell did you just do?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I filed another story."

His eyes widened. "Please tell me it wasn't about what's going on here?"

Counting to ten, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "You think I'm stupid."

"Not stupid,
unthinking
."

"Thanks a bunch."

The muscle she was becoming all too familiar with twitched in his jaw. "Allison, tell me what you did, or I'll turn you over my knee and paddle you right here and
now
."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun."

"Allison..."

"You win. I sent a human interest piece about a young woman from Turkey I met in the hotel gift shop to a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune. I'm hoping he knows someone who works for the LA Times. The woman I wrote about is part of this hotel's housekeeping staff. Her pay barely earns enough to keep food on the table for her mother and toddler son. She's foolishly set her heart on landing a cashier's job in the gift shop or the bar."

Carlo thought a moment. "With tips I suspect she makes more cleaning rooms for hotel guests than she would in the gift shop."

"My assumption, too. She needs to train for a higher paying job, possibly in accounting. I suggested she enroll in an online class, not realizing she didn't have a computer or access to the internet."

He grimaced. "I doubt she can afford either one."

"That's why I told her about adult education classes. Some courses provide everything she'll need, or she could enroll in an online class and use a computer at the library. San Diego's new downtown library has a well-staffed computer lab devoted to helping adult women become computer literate. Maybe she can find a similar program here."

The hardness around Carlo's eyes softened. "You're something else."

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"In the short time allotted you to shop for makeup, a complete stranger confided her hopes and dreams to you. Now you've shouldered the responsibility of finding her a better paying job."

"One with benefits, I hope, but that's not why I wrote the story. I encouraged the readers to be on the alert. There's always someone less fortunate who needs a helping hand, not just a handout."

"That's exactly what I meant. You view the world through rose-colored glasses and need to be more careful. Someday one of your hastily made assumptions may backfire and bite you on the butt."

"I doubt it. I always expect the best from the people I meet, and I'm yet to be disappointed."

"If you assume those people are all as open and trustworthy as you are, you're setting yourself up to be hurt."

Allison shifted in her seat so she could look Carlo in the eye. "What's wrong with my outlook?"

He swirled the last of his beer around in the bottle and swallowed it. "It would be fine if we were living in a fantasy world. We are
not
, Allison. Accept it, and move on."