The Finishing School (34 page)

“Where’d you get
this
jalopy?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant, like it didn’t affect her to be around him.

“Bridget requisitioned it from the local DEA. Albano must have major juice, because they dropped this one off for me and she got one, too.”

“I hope hers is better.”

“Stop complaining, princess, or you can walk back to the hotel.”

“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t do that.”

He glanced over at her. “Maybe not. You look pretty good in those shades.” He looked out at the road, then did a double take, looking back at her again. “What’s that, a bathing suit you’re wearing under that thing?”

“Yeah.” She’d been in such a rush that she’d engineered the whole profound encounter with her father—one she’d been imagining for years—while dressed for the beach! She slouched down against the mushy fabric seat, too drained to explain herself. They drove in silence for a few minutes.

Eventually she said, “Aren’t you going to ask what I was doing?”

“I already know. Had headquarters run the address while you were inside. Your father?”

“Yes.” Melanie had explained to Dan early on about her parents’ divorce and her father’s abandonment.

“How was it seeing him again?” he asked.

She started to speak, but the lump gathering in her throat stopped her.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” Dan said. He reached out and patted her head like she was a dog. It was a silly gesture, one he probably resorted to out of fear that anything more would be unwelcome, but it made her feel infinitely better. She realized that, in a strange way, ever since she’d known Dan, she felt less alone. Whether they were together or not.

“You don’t talk much about yourself. What are
your
parents like?” she asked, wanting to feel closer to him, to heal their breach for real.

He shrugged, studying the road. “They stuck around. I’ll say that for ’em.”

“That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.”

“What am I, on the couch now? I thought we were talking about
you
.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love to talk about myself,” she said, laughing. “But once in a while we have to talk about
you
, don’t you think? It’s only fair. I need some basic information.”

Dan took his eyes off the road long enough to see she was waiting for his answer. He smiled. “You’re not gonna let me off the hook, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“Well, okay, it was like this. They did the best they could.”

“That’s
it
? Please. Details.”

He smiled again, shaking his head. “You’re somethin’, you know.”

“Come on. Spill it.”

“All right, all right.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My dad’s a hard man, but he’s got his reasons. Retired as a lieutenant. He was good at his job, and ’cause of that he drew one shithole precinct after another. They’d send him into places other guys couldn’t handle, and it took its toll. He worked so hard and had so much stress when I was growing up that he was a pain in the ass to be around. He’s more relaxed now. Sometimes I’ll go over there on a Sunday, watch the game or whatever. That’s nice.”

“And your mom?”

“Well, she had seven boys real close together. It wasn’t easy.”

“
Seven
? I had no idea. You have six brothers?”

“Four now. My second brother, P.J., died in a car crash when he was sixteen. Out with some buddies, and they were drinkin.’ He was my mother’s pet, so that was rough on her. And my youngest brother, Sean, was a probie in the fire department on 9/11.”

“Dan! I had no idea. I’m
so
sorry.”

“Yeah. That one was hard to take. But he was doing his job, right? If the next big thing happens on my watch, I’m going down with the ship, too.”

“God, don’t say that.”

“Why not? You’d do the same. I know you step up when your name’s called. I seem to recall not so long ago walking into a room and finding the bad guy dead on the floor and you with a gun in your hand.”

“Exactly. The bad guy buys it, and you live to tell the tale. Like in the movies. The hero never dies.”

“Nice work if you can get it.”

“That’s
my
plan. Or at least my hope anyway,” she said.

“Don’t count on that with me, missy. Life
without
a plan is what you’re looking at here. I’m not too good at keeping my head down. But I’ll tell you one thing I
do
believe in.”

“What’s that?”

He grinned. “The hero gets the girl.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“You’re not making any promises, huh?”

She smiled tantalizingly. “I don’t want to give away the ending.”

“Keeping me in suspense. I like that.”

“
So
…back to business. Where were you in the birth order of all these brothers?”

“Birth order? Jeez, this
is
like the frickin’ shrink!” Dan said, but his smile told her that, for all his protesting, he loved talking to her about himself. “I was fourth. Smack in the middle, guaranteed nobody would pay any attention to me. Suited me fine, though. I went about my business. Always did okay, never in trouble. People left me alone.”

They stopped at a light, and Dan consulted a map. She was about to ask him another question, but when the light changed, he just started talking again. “You know, people think big families are always jolly. I love kids, and I want a bunch of ’em. But you gotta be careful. Too many, and you can’t give ’em enough of your time. In my house you had to fight for everything you got. Like with laundry. We had a clean pile and a dirty pile. When you got up in the morning, you’d go dig around in the clean pile for something that fit. You never
owned
anything. If I found something I liked, guaranteed somebody bigger would steal it away. Same with food. You had to get to the table early, grab what you wanted, and eat fast, or you’d go hungry. Not that I’m complaining. That’s just the way it was.” He looked over at her. “How’s that, Doc? Satisfied now?”

“You did good.”

“How the heck you always get so much information out of me? Nobody else does.”

She giggled. “Ve haff our vays.”

Their eyes met, and for a long minute neither of them could look away. Suddenly a horn blared, and Dan swerved, narrowly missing another car.

“Jeez, we better stop talking like this, or we’ll end up roadkill,” he said.

“Okay, I guess you’re off the couch for now.”

They were silent for a moment. “So any developments on the case?” Melanie asked.

“Well, Albano asked me this morning if I’d join his task force,” he said. “I mean, that’s not exactly about the case, but—”

“Permanently?”

“I think the minimum commitment is a year.”

“Did you accept?”

“I’m thinking about it. I’d like to work for the guy. My boss now is a real mutt.”

“Narcotics is kind of a backwater these days,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but Albano’s starting up a new narcoterrorism initiative. Bureau, DEA, and PD together. Joint task forces are big again now, with all the intelligence sharing. I’d be the lead guy. Albano’s offering me primary relief supervisor, the whole nine yards. They’d probably team me with Bridget.”

“
Bridget
?” Anger flashed through Melanie, so powerful that her head felt hot.

“Yeah.” He glanced at her. “You don’t think much of her, do you?”

“Oh, sure. She’s fine if you want to be on the arm with Jimmy Mulqueen!”

“What?”

She shook her head. “Forget it. Never mind. Just go ahead, I’m sure it’s a smart career move.”

He grinned broadly. “You’re jealous!”

“I am
not
. Why should I care who your partner is?”

“Ha, I can’t believe it. Melanie Vargas, queen of cool, is jealous of little Bridget Mulqueen over
me
!”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I’ll say it is. I mean, come on. She’s a kid. You’re a woman. There’s no comparison.”

“I told you, I really don’t care. It’s not
about
that.”

“Why can’t you admit that you feel the same way I do? Huh? Tough guy?”

She folded her arms stubbornly. “Shut up and drive.”

“Right? I caught you.” He chuckled to himself as he looked out at the road.

They arrived at the hotel. Dan threw the keys to the young valet, who regarded the G-car with undisguised contempt.

“Just park it, for Chrissakes,” Dan snapped as they headed for the lobby. “Kid’s making minimum wage, but if it’s not a Ferrari, it’s beneath him to touch it,” he said to Melanie. “Lemme stop and check messages.”

He went over to the reception desk. Melanie watched him walk off. The powerful way he moved made her catch her breath. Why the hell was she fighting so hard against her feelings for him? It would be such a relief to just give in.

“Yeah, okay,” Dan said, returning a minute later. He leaned toward her, speaking in low tones so as not to be overheard by people passing through the lobby. “Bridget went back to the airport with a couple local DEA guys to watch the incoming flights for when Trevor comes in. They’re being real careful, just like you said. You and me’re tasked with staying here, seeing if any of our subjects show up.”

Melanie looked into Dan’s eyes and promptly forgot what she was about to say. “Okay, good,” she managed. “I mean, I’m pleased they’re looking out for Trevor. With the surveillance and such.”

“You all right?”

“Sure. Maybe a little cold.” She rubbed her bare arms.

He moved in closer, leaning down so his mouth nearly brushed against her hair when he spoke. “I think we look less obvious if we stick together. You know, pretend to be a couple on vacation. Will you do that with me? For a little while? Please?”

“You mean, act like lovers?”

“
Lovers
? Now, who uses a word like that anymore?” A smile crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“I do. I like that word.”

“Well, I gotta admit, it sounds pretty good coming from
your
mouth. But then you have a beautiful mouth.”

“You think so?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

A powerful wave of lust washed over her, impossible to fight. She was conscious of the muscles of his chest inches away, intensely aware of the steady beating of her own heart. She felt tongue-tied, weak-kneed, helpless. All she could think about was rushing up to her fancy room and rolling around in the king-size bed with him. But they had work to do. She’d better pull herself together. He wasn’t helping any, standing so close.

“So you probably need a sweater, right?” he asked, staring into her eyes.

“What?”

“Come on. Let’s go up to your room and get you a sweater.”

He took her by the elbow and propelled her toward the elevator bank. They stepped onto a crowded elevator. He pushed the button for her floor. She stared straight ahead, the mere touch of his hand on her arm enough to wipe all other thoughts from her mind.

“We should probably work,” she attempted, but her pulse was racing.

“Not much going on right now. We have a window,” he replied.

They got out of the elevator. She felt light-headed, thinking about what would happen next. She was getting in over her head with this guy, but she should just do it,
live
for a change, before it was too late.

The whole walk down the long, carpeted hallway, they didn’t speak or look at each other. She stuck the card key into the lock, saw the green light, and turned the handle, acutely aware every second of Dan’s presence behind her. He followed her in, taking the time to put out the Do Not Disturb sign and lock the door. She walked to the center of the room and stood in front of the bed.

“So,” she said breathlessly, turning around.

His eyes never leaving her face, Dan removed his gun from where it had been hidden under his shirt and placed it on the dresser. Then he walked over to Melanie and slid the terry-cloth dress down to her ankles. She stepped out of it and kicked it aside, watching his eyes as they took in her body in the bathing suit. Her senses felt almost unbearably heightened. Everything—Dan’s face, the luxurious room with its tropical furniture and crisp smell of air-conditioning, the blackening sky beyond her balcony—stood out in sharp relief, as if it would be imprinted on her memory forever, as if she were already remembering it from some distant point in the future.

“You wanna stop, tell me now before it’s too late,” he whispered huskily, pulling her toward him.

“Why? What happens after that?”

“You’ll see.”

Dan backed her up until her bare thighs hit the silky white duvet covering the bed. The rock-solid feeling of his body against her was almost too much for her to take.

“Scared?” he asked.

“Should I be?” She raised her face to him, her lips parted.

“That all depends on what you’re lookin’ for.”

“I think I’m looking for you,” she said.

Then she was falling backward onto the bed, falling through time and space, like everything beautiful and everything sad in her life were all tangled up in Dan on top of her, his hot mouth on her neck, her breasts. She tore at his clothes, couldn’t get to his skin fast enough. They went at each other tooth and nail until they were naked, panting, drenched with sweat, and then, just as he held himself poised over her, ready to enter her, they both slowed down and looked gravely into each other’s eyes. She saw that all the sex she’d had in her life before this—with any number of ex-boyfriends, even with her husband—had been casual, of little consequence. But not this; this was dead serious. He would own her now, to her bones. And she wasn’t sure how well she would tolerate that.

“Go ahead,” she said, playing her tongue around his mouth, which was swollen from their savage kissing. “Just do it. I can’t stand it anymore.”

So he grabbed her by the ass and plunged into her, leaving bruises shaped like his fingers that would last for days afterward. Just at that moment the storm finally hit, sending sheets of hard water sluicing against the glass doors to the balcony.

BUD GAVE the bodyguards an extra hour to work before heading out to Williamsburg himself to speak with Trevor Leonard. Softening-up time, he thought of it as. So it came as no surprise when he let himself in the back door of the warehouse and found the kid lying unconscious on the bare concrete floor, his face a pulpy mess.