Someone Like Her (4 page)

“I can’t breathe in here.” She opened her door and got out.

At the front of his car, she leaned back against the grille. Her body folded in on itself—shoulders bent over—and a shudder passed through her.

“Why didn’t you call the cops?” he asked, coming to stand in front of her.

Her answer was directed at the hands she held tightly clasped in front of her. “Because I’m afraid of them.”

More senseless words. He waited for her to explain, but she remained silent. Everything he knew about her and the boss passed through his mind. If she was afraid of the police, it had to go back to their mother. Didn’t everything?

“What did Lovey Dovey do?” Her eyes shot up to his. He’d hit his target. It didn’t please him.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

“You can and you will.”

“Let it go, Jake.”

He’d be damned if he would. “Why are you afraid of the police? I can be as stubborn as you, so you might as well tell me or we’ll be here forever.” It was hard to know if her sigh was one of surrender or annoyance.

“If I tell you, you can’t tell Logan. If you do, he’ll hunt the man down and kill him, then I’ll be visiting my brother in prison.” She half smiled. “And then Dani will hate me for it.”

He matched her half smile with a full one. “I would never do anything to make Dani unhappy. Your secret’s safe with me.” He was digging his own grave by keeping Maria’s confidences, but she seemed satisfied by his answer. She lifted her chin, and her eyes were as dark as the black clouds of a thunderstorm.

“When I was fifteen, Lovey Dovey was arrested for prostitution. Again.” Her chuckle grated in his ears. “The cop who busted her turned out to be not such an honorable guy. She got him to agree to a trade. Her favors for him looking the other way.”

Maria lowered her head again as though she could no longer meet Jake’s eyes. “My mistake was to stop by at the wrong time. I was living with Mrs. Jankowski by then, but whenever Logan sent me money, I’d buy a few bags of groceries for my mother.” She shrugged. “Any money Lovey Dovey got her hands on went to booze and cigarettes.”

Jake didn’t like where this seemed to be headed, but the door had been opened and as much as he wanted to slam it closed, she needed to tell her secret. “Go on.”

Her fingers were laced together, and her thumbs spun furiously around each other. “He took one look at me and changed his mind about what would get Lovey Dovey out of trouble. Thankfully, Logan had taught me how to fight off a man.”

“So, he didn’t—”

“No, but not from lack of trying. My loving mother sat in a corner and watched. I think she might’ve even been turned on by it.” She leaned her body forward and stared down at her feet. “So, that’s why I don’t like cops. I know most of them are good men, I really do, but what if there’s another one like him?”

Jake came close to putting a dent in his hood with his fist. Well, he’d asked. He suddenly hated her mother with a fierceness he’d never felt before in his life for anyone.

“Maria.” He gathered her into his arms and let his touch speak the words he couldn’t find. She curled into him and he felt like he was holding a fragile kitten, but even that was deceiving. She’d fooled them all, even her brother. She’d put on a front, a magic act that had them believing she was untouched by the horrors of being Lovey Dovey’s daughter. But the scars were there if one only looked deep enough.

“You’re not going to tell Logan, are you?” she asked, her voice muffled by the press of his shoulder against her mouth.

He wanted to, wanted to shout his rage at her mother, the cop, even the boss. “Did you ever tell anyone?”

She shook her head. “Who was there to tell? The police?”

“Your brother would have been a good start, but I get why you think you couldn’t. What’s the cop’s name?”

“Why, so you can kill him?”

“I won’t, I’ll just beat him to within an inch of his life.” And then maybe kill him.

“I don’t know his name. Never did, never wanted to.”

That was just too damn bad. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door. “Let’s go see the police. After that, we’ll talk about why you want to find the girl.”

CHAPTER FOUR

J
ake refused to let Detective Nolan take Maria into an interrogation room without him. He couldn’t complain that Nolan was mistreating her. The man had been nothing but gentle with her. After the detective took photos of her face and arm, he had insisted on talking to Maria alone. She’d grabbed Jake’s hand, panic in her eyes, and the cop had given Jake a look that said
go away
. Jake returned a look that said
not happening
.

So there he was, sitting in a room with army-gray paint peeling off the walls, listening to Maria once again explain how she’d been beaten up, and doing his best not to put a hole in the table with his fist. He’d almost done that when the detective had removed the clothes from the plastic bag and Maria’s face had drained of color on seeing them.

“I didn’t remember there being that much blood,” she murmured.

When she finished and Nolan ran out of questions, Jake pulled out a business card, sliding it across the table. “It would be best if you found this bastard before I do. Keep me updated.”

“Mr. Buchanan, I strongly advise you to return home and let the police do their job. Do not try to do it for us. You’ll only end up getting hurt.”

Jake couldn’t help his snort. He snatched the card back from Nolan’s hand and wrote a number on the back, then returned it. “I would suggest you note the name K2 Special Services on the front, then call the number on the back and ask who we are. Once you do, you’ll understand why I respectfully decline your advice.”

Nolan started to admonish Maria for not calling the police right away. Jake stood and cut him off. “If you need to reach us, my cell number’s on the front of my card.”

As they walked down the hallway, Jake called Jamie Turner, swore him to secrecy, and promised to fill him in later. But for now, he asked him to answer Detective Nolan’s questions about K2 if he should call.

“Do you think the detective will be able to find the girl?” Maria asked as they exited the station.

“Maybe, given enough time. If he can get a search warrant, he might get lucky and find her name or a clue when they search Fortunada’s house.” Jake put his hand on her back and steered her toward his car.

“What do you mean if he can get a search warrant?” she asked as he pulled away from the station.

“And here I thought you were a student of the law. Unless they can find the girl, it’s your word against his. They’ll probably bring him in for questioning first. That is, if he’s stupid enough to hang around. Did you mark his face, put scratches on his arms? That’ll help.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t stay long enough to check, but I’m sure I did. I need to go to my apartment.”

Jake glanced at her. “Since he knows where you live, you do know you can’t stay there.”

“I have no desire to until I know he’s behind bars. I need clothes and stuff, and we have to get Mouse. Then we have to go get Sally.”

“Seriously, you have a mouse?”

She laughed. “No, a cat named Mouse.”

What the hell was he supposed to do with her and a cat? But to hear her laugh was music to his ears. She’d been so sad since he’d arrived that it was killing him. He wanted to see the sparkle return to her eyes, see her happy again.

“The best thing you can do is get your cat and come back to Pensacola with me until they find this bastard.”

“No, I can’t. I have final exams that I can’t miss.”

It was worth a try. “Which way to your apartment?” As he followed her directions, he formed a plan in his mind. He also made a mental list of the places he could apply for a job when Kincaid fired him.

When they entered the complex, Jake made a slow lap around the building, but he didn’t see anyone lurking about or sitting in a car watching her apartment.

“Mouse probably thinks I’ve abandoned him,” she said when Jake parked in her space.

“Wait until I come around to your side before you get out.” Not taking any chances, he slipped his gun out of the ankle holster. The complex seemed deserted, most of the residents—students—now in their classes, where Maria should have been safely sitting.

“How are you going to get in?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Weren’t your keys in your purse?”

She grinned and pulled them out of her pocket. “I never keep them in my purse. If it ever got snatched, at least I could get home in my car.”

“Smart girl.”

The grin faded. “Sometimes.”

He felt like an ass for reminding her of how stupid she’d been. Had she really been all that foolish, though? She’d gone to the man’s house in broad daylight, but who would have expected such an outcome? If nothing else, she was smart enough not to repeat her mistakes.

At the door to her apartment, Jake grabbed her arm and pushed himself in front of her. “Are you sure you closed it tight and locked it when you left?”

She tried to peek around his arm. “Positive, why?”

“It’s not closed all the way, and there are scratches on the lock. Pick marks to be exact.” Behind him, she grasped his waist, releasing a shuddering breath.

“Mouse,” she whispered.

The word confused him for a second, but then he remembered the cat. Jake considered telling her to wait there, but then she’d be out of his sight when he searched her rooms. “Stay right behind me. In fact, put your hand on my belt so I know you’re there. Don’t talk, don’t do anything but what I tell you.”

When he felt her fingers grasp his belt, he pushed the door open and lifted his gun, resting the grip on the heel of his left palm. He stepped into the devastation of Maria’s living room.

“Oh, God,” she gasped.

He had shit for brains, should’ve predicted this, should’ve installed her someplace safe and come to her apartment alone. “Don’t let go,” he reminded her and walked into the kitchen. With his side pressed up against the wall and her behind him, he reached over and turned the knob of a door, pulling it open. A pantry, seemingly the only untouched space in her apartment. Strewn all over the kitchen were knives, forks, spoons, and dishes, many broken. This guy had been beyond pissed. Thank God Maria hadn’t been home when Fortunada came calling.

“We have to find Mouse,” she said, her voice trembling.

If the asshole had found her cat, Jake didn’t want Maria to see the result. But he wasn’t willing to leave her behind. He grunted and set off down the hallway. Her bedroom door was ajar and the destruction there was the worst. Her bed had been sliced open, her dresser drawers upended, clothing ripped to shreds. She made a low keening sound, one that Jake feared he would hear in his nightmares. At least there was no mutilated cat.

“Mouse, here kitty, kitty. Come to mommy,” she softly sang.

So fast that Jake almost shot it before he registered what was coming at them, a gray-and-white ball of fur flew out of the closet and straight at Maria. The drawn out
meooows
and
maaahhhs
were accompanied by hisses that Jake took to be a scolding from cat to woman. He didn’t really blame the cat. The poor creature must have been scared out of at least three lives when the Devil decided to pay a call. Maria let go of Jake’s belt to wrap her arms around her cat.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I should’ve come back and got you.”

Did he really just hear her say that? He turned to tell her what he thought about her returning alone, knowing Fortunada had her address. Her face was buried in the cat’s neck and the damn thing rested its paw on Maria’s cheek, his green feline eyes locked lovingly on her as he chatted away. The reprimand died on Jake’s lips.

“Stay here while I check the bathroom,” he said and left them to their reunion. He made a full sweep of the one-bedroom apartment, and as he took in the destruction of all that she owned, his rage grew. This was a warning from Fortunada to Maria. Jake longed for just ten minutes with the man, no guns or knives, just bare fists.

He took out his cell and called Detective Nolan. When he finished reporting the break-in, he returned to the bedroom. Maria sat on the floor, her cat still cuddled in her arms.

Her gaze swept the room, then she looked up at him. “I can’t live here, not even when this is over.”

“No, I don’t suppose you can,” he said, sitting on the floor next to her. Without warning, Maria pressed against him and sobbed. Jake tried hard not to notice the way her breasts bounced over his chest as she cried. It didn’t work. He noticed. He was a very bad man.

Not good with crying women, never knowing what to say, he just held her until she quieted. “Better?” he asked.

“No.”

“Yeah, stupid question. Detective Nolan’s on the way. Why don’t you see if you can scrounge up some clothes and whatever else you might need. As soon as we deal with the police, we’ll get the hell out of here.”

“The sooner, the better,” she said and dumped the cat in his arms.

Jake entered into a staring contest with the creature while Maria dug through the scattered clothing, salvaging what she could. The cat’s green eyes narrowed to slits as if he knew just where Jake’s mind had been a few moments before.

“Good God, what’s wrong with him?” Jake asked.

Maria glanced over her shoulder at Mouse, scrunched up in a corner of his carrier and yowling his displeasure at being inside a car. “He thinks he’s going to the vet.”

Jake glanced at her, a puzzled look on his face. “Why would he think that?”

“Because the only times he’s in a car, that’s where the car goes.”

“Well tell him to stop.”

“Mouse, stop.”

Her cat increased the volume of his protest, and Jake gave her an eye roll. Maria lifted a hand to her lips to hide her smile, the first since she’d stepped into a living nightmare. How she would manage to deal with everything without Jake, she couldn’t imagine. Along with all the other reasons she hadn’t wanted to call her brother, his wife, Dani, was due to deliver their son any day now. Logan wouldn’t have been at all happy to leave Dani’s side.

“Do you know where we’re going? We need to get Sally,” Maria said.

“Yes, and we’ll pick up your precious car on the way. That damn possessed cat’s riding with you.”

They were both almost yelling, trying to talk over Mouse’s wails. “Cut him some slack, he’s had a bad day what with the break-in and the car ride.”

“No worse than mine and I’m not shrieking like one of the Devil’s own minions.”

Jake was starting to sound testy, like his patience was nearing its end. Well, she couldn’t really blame him. He’d been dragged out of his bed—one where he claimed he had a woman—dealt with the stupidity of his boss’s sister, and then sat with her while she told her story to the police, held her while she cried over her destroyed apartment, then dealt with the police again, and now had a crazed cat on his hands. Oh, and he’d lied to Logan because of her and that one probably bothered him more than even the cat.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

The frown on his face dissolved, and he shook his head. “No, it’s not you, it’s me. I can’t stop thinking about your breasts and it’s pissing me off.” His eyes did a rapid blinking thing. “Hell. Tell me I didn’t just say that.”

Maria tried to stop her grin, but failing, turned to stare out the window so he wouldn’t see it. He was thinking about her breasts? Little shivers of pleasure danced their way from her heart to her toes.

“So, if you’re not going to assure me that my mouth isn’t saying things it shouldn’t, then please accept my apology.”

She really wished he wouldn’t apologize as she liked him thinking about her, breasts or otherwise. “Whatever,” she said, annoyed now.

“You know, I hate that word.”

She glanced at him. His lips were pressed together, and he stared straight ahead. Just to mess with him, she said it again. “Whatever.” Mouse followed up her response with an ear-piercing yowl.

“Jesus, I’ve died and gone straight to hell,” he muttered.

“And your punishment is a pissy woman and her evil cat?”

His lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Don’t forget beautiful. A beautiful,
off-limits
pissy woman and her devil cat.”