Shadow of Vengeance (23 page)

He eased back, leaving her lip tingling and her body craving for more of his touch.
 

“I want you to know that I’m here if you ever need me. You don’t have to deal with all the crap life throws at you alone.” He turned the key and the Lexus hummed to life. “Okay, where to?”

As he moved to shift gears, she touched his hand and stopped him. “When Sean was five, my mom had decided she’d met the newest love of her life. His name was Elvis, and yes, that was his given name, and he was a Baptist minister.” She shook her head at the memory and ignored the sadness that seeped into her heart every time she thought about that period in her life. “Elvis invited my mom to go on
tour
with him.” She half-laughed. “That’s what he called his preaching schedule. His
tour
. So, while my mom and Elvis spread his word, I took care of Sean.”

“You were what? Seventeen?”

Boy, did he have an excellent memory. “Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal. I was already used to taking care of Sean and the apartment, it didn’t matter if our mom was around or not. Honestly, I don’t think it mattered much to Sean, either. Except, while she was playing the role of the minister’s mistress, Sean ended up in the hospital with appendicitis.”

He flipped his wrist and held her hand. “That had to have been scary.”

“Scary and awful. He’d been up all night vomiting. It was Halloween and I figured he’d eaten too much candy. Thank God I didn’t slough his symptoms off as a bad case of pigging out on too many sweets. His appendix had already burst when I finally got him to the ER.”

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that,” he said and tightened his hold.

She looked at their joined hands, shocked at how natural the small, yet intimate gesture felt, and even more shocked that she’d decided to share this story with Owen. Something she’d never shared with anyone. Sure, her mom eventually found out when she’d remembered to call and check on them. But she’d had no one. No other family, no close friends to call. She’d been alone, her only companions hopelessness and fear. Today, while she’d been scared when she discovered Sean had developed a blood clot and was placed in ICU, she hadn’t been alone. She’d had Owen by her side, taking the heavy weight of that same hopelessness and fear off of her shoulders.
 

He’d waved the white flag. Told her he cared. To what extent, she couldn’t be sure, but he was willing to help her ease some of the burdens she normally faced alone. Because of this, or maybe because she was still half in love with him, she’d wanted to share a part of herself with him. Give a brief example and explanation as to why she found it difficult to unload all of her emotional crap.
     

“I know. If I had waited through the night and took him to the pediatrician the next day…” A shiver ran through her as she remembered how small and fragile Sean had looked lying in the hospital bed all those years ago, followed by another as she pictured him currently lying in ICU. “That was a very dark time in my life,” she said, before she lost her nerve. “When Sean was born, I looked after him as if he were my baby. My mom would joke about it to her boyfriends, but the reality was…
is
, that I am the only constant in his life, just as he’s mine.”

“And right now you’re struggling with whether you should stay by your brother’s side, or do your job.” A statement, a fact, not a question.

She looked at him and realized she hadn’t given him enough credit. He was more intuitive than she’d thought. Then why hadn’t he acknowledged the kiss that had, in her mind, destroyed their friendship and flattened her ego?
 

“I am,” she answered honestly.
 

“But what do you think Sean would want you to do?”

“Find Josh, which is exactly what I intend to do.”

He smiled and gave her hand another gentle squeeze. “Then let’s do it.”

Nodding, she returned the smile, then looked to their joined hands again. “Thank you.” She wanted to expand, explain her gratitude, but her throat had tightened and her eyes stung with tears, making it difficult to speak. Besides, she’d already exposed too much, and saw no need to bring on the waterworks.
 

Owen released her hand, then shifted the Lexus into reverse. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Saying “you’re welcome” would ruin the point he’d tried to make. Although, she’d exposed a bit of herself, he still didn’t think he’d made that point clear. That he cared about her in ways that went beyond friend and coworker.
 

As he drove into town, Rachel called the sheriff and told him they’d meet with him at his office. While she made the call, he replayed their conversation, wondering if he should have been more assertive. Then again, he’d shocked himself when he’d told her he cared about her. He hadn’t planned on saying anything about his feelings for her, but she’d looked so defeated and scared. The protective side of him had taken possession of his mouth and wanted her to know that no matter what, he had her back and would always be there for her.
 

When they’d been inside the hospital and she had leaned on him, something strange had swelled inside his chest. Whatever it was had surged through his body and mind. Making him more aware than ever that this pint-sized, abrasive woman had done more than heighten his sexual interest. He still wanted to touch her, hold her, bury himself between her sexy legs, but he realized that might not be enough. There were a half dozen women back in Chicago he could have sex with, but the thought of them didn’t do anything for him. Sex was sex, and he’d had plenty of it in his lifetime. But to make love to Rachel…

He needed to maintain a grip on reality. Despite being the one to bring up the caring thing, jumping from caring to love, or sex to love, was more of a leap than he was prepared to own. Hell, for all he knew, Rachel could be into Jake, not him. Before he’d even considered showing or telling her just how deeply he cared, he needed a sign, some confirmation that she felt the same. He’d been burned once.
 

Those last days with the Secret Service tore through his mind as he pulled into the parking lot outside the sheriff’s office. His job, his career with the Secret Service had been blackened, tainted by the lies of a promiscuous teenager. Ian Scott had given him the opportunity to rebuild his career. Owen loved working for CORE and although he had an overwhelming need to be with Rachel, in every sense, he wasn’t sure if he was willing to risk his career. If he made an advance, and she rejected him, their work relationship could be jeopardized, maybe even his career with CORE. Rachel didn’t realize she wasn’t expendable. Her skills were beyond measure, and over the years, Ian had made that fact clear to the rest of the team. He, on the other hand, could easily be replaced.
 

A dark blue Yukon pulled up alongside the Lexus. As Owen glanced over, Jake exited the SUV, then walked around the front toward the Lexus’s passenger side. Rachel quickly climbed out and closed the car door. While she exchanged words with Jake, who stood way to close to Rachel, Owen’s earlier thoughts about jeopardizing his career over a woman evaporated.
 

Fucking Jake.

Owen slammed the Lexus’s door harder than he’d intended, and not bothering to hide his irritation, he approached Rachel and Jake. As he moved, each exhale caught on the frigid air in bursts of white puffs. He probably looked like an angry, snorting bull preparing to skewer his victim, but he didn’t care. The sheriff and his
friendliness
toward Rachel needed to stop. The only thing Jake could offer her was a few days of…pleasure.
 

That last thought made his head throb. Consumed him with an immense amount of jealousy and anger. Who Rachel chose for her pleasure wasn’t up to him, but he certainly wasn’t about to step aside and allow Jake to be the frontrunner. Not that this was a race to see who would wind up in her bed. As much as he wanted to strip her naked and bury himself inside of her, she meant more to him than just another sexy woman to ease his lust. From the moment he’d met her, Rachel’s big, green, teasing and inquisitive eyes had captured his attention. Her sassy mouth, tempting lips and feisty attitude had intrigued him. Her intelligence and quick wit floored him. Over the years, he’d come to know her, care about her, and unlike Jake, he lived in Chicago and only minutes from Rachel. He could do more than simply warm her bed. He could offer her stability and friendship, maybe even more if she let him.

“It’s freezing out here,” Jake said as he gave Rachel’s shoulder a squeeze. “Let’s head inside. Sounds like you two have had a hell of a day and it’s only lunchtime.”

A spark of satisfaction rolled through him when Rachel slipped away from Jake and held her coat tight against her throat. When she shivered, that spark fizzled and turned as frosty as the icicles hanging on the eave of the building. In the short amount of time they’d been exposed to the cold, her ears and nose had grown red and he wished he could kick his own ass for putting his jealousy and anger before her needs.

By the time they entered the sheriff’s cluttered office, Owen managed to refocus on the reason why they were here. Although Rachel, the way she messed with his head and body, wasn’t far from his thoughts, and he still wanted to knock Jake on his ass, he honed in on something he and Rachel hadn’t had a chance to discuss. Bill Baker.

“Sean’s going to be okay, right?” Jake asked as he took a seat.

Rachel nodded. “Dr. Gregory also had Sean’s tox screen, which contained Rohypnol and trace amounts of chloroform.”

“And Bill?”

“That’s one of the reasons we wanted to meet with you. Bill never showed up at the lab yesterday.”

“Which makes me wonder if he’s somehow involved,” Owen said, then shrugged when Jake shook his head. “Think about it. If he had helped drug Sean and Josh—”

“No way,” Jake said. “I know Bill. He might be a little flighty at times, but he’s no killer.”

Rachel stared at him for a moment, then a small smile tilted her lips as she turned her attention back to the sheriff. “We obviously don’t know him like you do, but I have to agree with Owen.” She raised a hand as Jake opened his mouth. “Hear me out. Just this morning, we all agreed that the kidnapper likely has access to the residence hall where Sean and Josh live. Now, Bill’s age doesn’t fit. I’m thinking he’s what? Twenty-five?”

Jake nodded. “That’s probably about right.”

“Okay, so Bill isn’t the mastermind, but maybe he’s an…assistant.”

“Or patsy,” Owen said.

She snapped her fingers. “Exactly. To me, Bill seems like the kind of guy who wants a position that comes with respect, authority or even power. He couldn’t get that with the military, and he said you wouldn’t hire him on as a deputy.”

“That’s right.” Jake folded his arms across his chest and leaned into his chair. “He’s related to half the town. Bill’s a good guy, but I couldn’t run the risk of his family taking advantage of him. I still don’t think Bill would involve himself with a kidnapping.”

She sent Jake a small smile. Owen knew that smile, knew what it meant because he’d been on the receiving end more times than he cared to admit. She wanted Jake to shut his mouth and let her speak.

“As I was saying,” she said, her tone cool, clipped. “I got the impression Bill was looking for respect.” She turned to Owen. “Remember he mentioned picking up the extra shift because he needed the money?”

“Right, to pay off his truck.”

“Then when he ended up sick, he couldn’t find anyone to cover his shift.”

Owen knew where she was going with this because he’d had the same thought. “Rather convenient. When we’re done here, I want to call campus security and find out who was originally scheduled to work the Saturday night shift at Stanley Hall, along with the names of the other security guards.”

“Right,” she said. “Let’s find out how much of an effort Bill actually made to cover his shift.”

Jake looked between them. “I can’t believe you two seriously think Bill is involved.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Instead of playing a ‘what if’ game, I’m going to call him and find out why he didn’t show up for the tox screen.”

Rachel arched a brow and looked toward Owen. He suppressed a smile, along with smug satisfaction. With the way Rachel had acted toward Jake just now, maybe he’d allowed his jealousy to cloud his judgment. Maybe Rachel just wasn’t into Jake, period.

Frowning, Jake set the phone on the desk. “Went right into voice mail. Hopefully he’ll call me back.”

“Do you have the number for campus security?” Owen asked Rachel, wanting to move this conversation along and leave. Time was ticking. They had several more people to interview this afternoon, and he figured Rachel would want to stop at the hospital when they were finished.
 

She pulled the notepad from her coat pocket, flipped through the pages, then rattled the number off to Jake. While the sheriff spoke with someone from campus security over the office landline, Owen leaned toward her. Ignoring her citrusy sweet scent and how it made him want to kiss the slender column of her throat, he said, “I think the receptionist working here today is the RA we wanted to interview.”

“Abby Zucker?”

He nodded, lingering close longer than necessary. “Might as well get that out of the way while we’re here, then we can head back to the campus and make our meeting at the fraternity house.”