The Good Daughter (15 page)

Without waiting for her response, he walked away.

And Chloe watched, stung by his remarks and wondering what he’d say if he knew Vince agreed with him about her naiveté. Maybe both were right; her parents had lied to her all her life, and she’d never had a clue.

Was her judgment of Vince just as flawed?

C
HLOE APPROACHED
the secure doors of the Women’s Shelter and waited to be buzzed in. As she signed her name, the volunteer on duty spoke to someone behind her. “Hey, Detective, you leaving? The kids will be sorry to see you go.”

But Chloe hadn’t needed the woman’s comments to know that Vince stood only a few feet away. The very air had changed when he’d come near. She set the pen down and backed away so he could sign out.

He didn’t move, his gaze sliding over her with a hunger that called forth an answering need in her. “Doc,” he greeted in a voice more neutral than the laser intensity of his blue eyes. “How are you?”

“Fine.” She swallowed against a throat gone dry. “How about yourself?”

He was about as fine as she was, Chloe thought. She
had to get away before she did something stupid. “I—I’d better go. I have an appointment.”

His jaw locked, but his voice didn’t betray his emotion. “You got a minute?” He nodded toward the outside.

She wanted to accompany him, much more than she should. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had no time left before she was due to meet Danielle. No matter how badly she wanted to clear the air between them, she couldn’t do that to a woman who was in such a vulnerable state. “I’m sorry,” she said, and meant it. “I—this client is fragile, and I can’t let her down. I mustn’t be late, not today.”

Probably as aware as she was of the volunteer avidly listening, Vince shrugged. “No big deal. Some other time, maybe.” But his eyes said something completely different. “See you around, Doc.”

Chloe watched him leave, torn between a client who needed her and a man who already meant more to her than he should.

T
HE BROKEN WOMAN
Chloe had held last time was nowhere in sight. In her place was a hard Danielle, defiant and spitting, daring Chloe to let her down. “You can’t understand, a rich bitch like you. I see your fine clothes, smell your expensive perfume. You have no idea what my life is.”

She would push, she would shove, she would test Chloe six ways from Sunday. It was expected; survivors of child sexual abuse lived their whole lives unable to trust anyone. Why should Chloe be the exception for Danielle?

Trust is the first casualty of abuse, but a child’s will to survive is strong. To make it, the child must find ways to cope, to tiptoe around the heinous wrong that has been done. Children learn the world through the adults around them. Danielle’s most lasting lesson had been that she could depend on only herself.

Chloe dug deep for the patience she would need. This would be only the beginning of the challenges. For Danielle to have a chance, Chloe would have to hold fast and prove to her that despite Chloe’s knowledge of what had been done to her, Danielle was not despicable in her eyes.

“None of us can truly understand another person’s reality, that’s true. You have no reason to trust me—yet. But I’m going to stick with you, Danielle. I don’t expect you to believe me. I realize I have to earn it.”

The younger woman glanced up, hope peering out from the heavy drapes of fear. “I’m just a whore.”

“That’s simply another way of making yourself a victim. Is that what you want?”

Anger blazed from her eyes. “I’m no victim.”

“That’s right, you’re not. You’re strong enough to face what’s been done to you. You have enough courage to come here and talk to me.”

Chloe leaned closer. “You did what was necessary to survive, Danielle. Honor that. Credit that while others drowned in their misery, you had the courage to fight for life.”

Carefully and slowly, Chloe reached out to a woman whose world had been the polar opposite of her own. Hand resting lightly upon Danielle’s, Chloe spoke. “
I
honor you for getting to this point. You’re going to make it, Danielle. I won’t lie to you and tell you it will be easy—you’ll never work harder. But you’re a fighter, not a victim. You’re going to win, do you hear me?”

A slight pressure squeezed against her hand, then almost crushed it. The broken heart of a child gazed up through Danielle’s eyes. “I should have been able to stop him.”

“You were a child. He had the power.”

“But I’m not stupid.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Why, Chloe? Why did he do it?”

The rasping ache in that voice clawed at Chloe’s heart. “He’s a sick man.”

“He had no right—” Danielle keened, her body bending from the weight of her anguish.

Chloe knelt before the young woman, stroking the baby-fine wisps of hair.

“I can’t feel—my body is numb. When I—when the johns touch me, it’s like I’m dead. I feel nothing.”

Pressing a kiss to the woman’s head, feeling Danielle’s tears on her fingers, Chloe held Danielle as she rocked in anguish. “But you will one day—” Moisture escaped Chloe’s lids. “It will take time, but it can happen. And you’re not alone in this, Danielle,” she promised.

W
AITING OUTSIDE
, even though it made no sense, Vince couldn’t help glancing over at the oaks he’d stood under with Chloe. He scanned the parking lot for her car; when he spotted the small, unremarkable vehicle, he smiled.

He might not always choose the safe route, but he seldom set out to do something that defied logic; yet reason had been in short supply since he’d met her. Even if his life wasn’t so screwed up now, what future could there be for them? Especially with Barnes in the picture.
The King of Hair Spray.
Vince chuckled at Wanda’s description.

Unfortunately, however, Barnes presented a very real danger to him. Getting between Barnes and Chloe could only make Vince’s life worse, but Vince found himself
unable to care about the consequences as much as he should. She’d definitely gotten under his skin, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Nothing
was the right answer. Now, if only he could make himself listen. He should stay away from her. That was better for her and what he needed to do to avoid distraction.

If lonely brown eyes would quit taunting him in his dreams, golden hair quit filling his vision…

Vince straightened and headed toward his car. When he got to the T-bird, he slid inside but sat there going over all that had happened, sifting for clues to get a handle on his situation. Tino had arranged the meet with Moreno’s goon. Tonight Vince should have an important piece of the puzzle.

Lost in thought, he almost missed Chloe leaving the building. Something was wrong. Her gait was stiff and lacking in her usual grace.

He started from his car to see what was the matter, but she’d already gotten into hers and was driving off. Vince kept a careful pursuit, fairly certain by her path that she was returning to headquarters.

He followed her into the parking garage, searching for a spot close to the ones assigned to the Wellness Office and the D.A. When he couldn’t find one, he abandoned his car at the edge of a row and strode toward her. “Chloe? Are you okay?”

She whirled, her face pale, her body somehow fragile again. “I’m—I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I said I’m—”

“Come here.” He reached for her, and Chloe froze.

Then with a jerky step, she moved into his arms, and he felt her tremble.

Drawing her closer, he tightened his hold, stroking her back and soothing her with nonsense sounds. Chloe’s arms were trapped between them, her head nestled against his throat.

Slowly, Vince rocked her. Cheek brushing against her hair, he drew the scent of her into his lungs. “Ah, Chloe, you give too much of yourself to other people.”

A shudder racked her frame. Vince placed a kiss on her hair, then to her temple, then lowered his mouth to the tender corner of hers.

Oh, God. How could he stay away from her until this was over? A slow groan escaped him; he wanted to shield her from everything, to take over the duty of guarding her tender heart from the world.

Chloe’s head drifted back, exposing her long, pale throat. Tears leaked down her cheeks. He kissed her teardrops, tasting the salt of Chloe’s compassion.

Chloe shivered, her hands clutching at his shirt. Need scorched him down to the bone. It wasn’t just Chloe’s body he wanted, though God knows he craved that. He wanted inside her heart, wanted to protect her. To make all this go away so she wouldn’t get hurt.

And he longed to ease the ache that had been years building inside him with the balm of her generous heart.

C
HLOE CUDDLED CLOSER
. He was a champion. A good man who’d grown up with less to trust than she herself,
yet he still tilted at windmills, still remembered, beneath that tough shell, what it felt like to be powerless—and to need.

She’d cried more with Vince than she’d done in her entire life. She tilted up her head to apologize, but the look in his eyes stole every word.

His head lowered, and his lips touched hers. The first breath of promise stirred within her.

“Chloe, what in God’s name is going on here?” Roger Barnes thundered.

She jerked back to reality, the sound of Roger’s voice a few cars over sending shock waves across her nerves. Grasping for a foothold in the present, mourning for what had been ripped away, she tried to tear herself from Vince’s arms to face Roger.

But Vince wouldn’t let go, bracing her against his side. Though Roger seeing them together could spell disaster for Vince, he never slackened his grip.

The two men bristled, the tension in Vince’s frame matching the rigid lines of Roger’s. “What are you doing here, Coronado? You’re suspended from duty.”

“It’s a public place, Barnes. I’m a taxpayer.”

This was a nightmare. Roger could destroy Vince, and she would have been the key to his downfall. From his body language, Vince was primed to defend her, but she couldn’t let him do it. He was in too much trouble already; she had to defuse the situation.

She slipped away from the fingers tightening on her waist. She’d have to manage the negotiation of her life to spare him.

And he was the one man who’d never agree—who’d rather endanger himself than disappoint her.

They’d been standing in the shadows, and Vince’s broad back had been between Roger and her. She prayed that Roger had only seen her too close to Vince, not drowning in his kiss.

“Thank you, Detective,” she said in her best imitation of her mother’s aplomb. “It was kind of you to help when I fell.”

She forced herself to turn her back on him as though he’d served his purpose. “Roger.” She brightened, composing her face into a careful mask. “I’m so glad to see you.” Putting distance between her and Vince as fast as she dared, she kept her gaze trained only on Roger.

“Chloe, don’t do this,” she thought she heard Vince murmur. She prayed Roger hadn’t. Closing her fingers on Roger’s arm, Chloe walked fast.

She led Roger toward the stairwell, dredging up questions about his day as her face carefully assumed the contours of the woman Roger liked—cool, unemotional, controlled. While her heart cried out to the man she was desperate to save, Chloe hoped that he’d understand and not interfere.

She had to persuade Roger that what he’d seen was not what had really happened. If she hesitated, if she lost her nerve, Vince was doomed.

Halfway down one flight of stairs, Roger jerked his arm loose. “What in the name of heaven were you thinking?”

She had to make her explanation convincing. She let
the tears meant for Vince escape once more, hoping they would distract the angry man before her. God knows she’d never felt shakier. “Oh, Roger, I—I was just so unnerved after my session at the shelter. I don’t know what came over me, but I wasn’t watching where I was going and lost my balance. Thank goodness Detective Coronado was nearby when I stumbled.”

Roger frowned. “It’s foolhardy to even be seen with a cop like him. You’re risking too much with that man, Chloe. Cut off your sessions immediately and issue your report.”

Her knees went weak with relief. He hadn’t seen enough. She would endure a lecture, grateful for Roger’s tunnel vision. He was so self-absorbed that he wouldn’t imagine her ever falling for someone like Vince. “I’ve already done it.”

“Good. Stay away from him from now on. You can’t taint your whole career over a rogue cop.”

She bit back the defense that leaped to her tongue. “I’m always careful.” She held her breath as he studied her.

Finally, he nodded. “You must keep proper distance from this work, Chloe, or it will get you into trouble. Your family’s reputation is too important.”

It was all she could do to bite back a retort. Her family’s reputation was important to
him,
he really meant. If he only knew… He’d find out soon enough, but meanwhile, whatever strands of obligation she’d felt toward him snapped.

“Coming?” he asked, gesturing toward the stairs. “How about dinner this evening?”

I’d rather starve first.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. My volunteer session ran overtime. I have a mountain of paperwork to do.”

“Very well. I’m due in the chief’s office. See you later, Chloe. Remember what I said.”

When he turned in the opposite direction, Chloe fought off conflicting urges to sink to the ground in relief or stick out her tongue at his retreating back. Pompous ass.

Then Chloe smiled. Vince had had more impact than Roger could ever imagine. She waited until she heard the elevator’s ding and the doors close behind Roger to head for her office.

V
INCE LEANED
against the stairwell, adrenaline pumping. Every muscle had strained to intercede, to shield her from the consequences of his lack of self-control.

The only thing that had stopped him was the plea in her expression. He saw what she was trying to do but couldn’t imagine that Barnes could be so dense. Was he so blind that the power of their emotions hadn’t slapped him in the face?

When she’d practically dragged Barnes down the stairs, Vince had wanted to jump out and pull her back, daring Barnes to intercede. He’d followed them down the stairs, intent upon his goal, then stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Barnes’s words.

Good God. If he forced Barnes to recognize their connection, Chloe could lose her job, maybe her license.

Listening to Chloe argue, Vince hadn’t known whether to kiss her or yell at her. She risked too much
for her own welfare. Yet even as dismay surged, he felt warmed throughout that she would leap, however unwisely, to his defense.

But when she and Barnes parted ways, Vince held himself back from going to her. Too brave by far, Chloe deserved better than to be dragged down to share whatever dark fate could still come his way.

Drawn toward her, wanting badly to feel her against him and to reassure himself that she was all right, Vince nonetheless forced himself to turn and retrace the steps to his car.

H
ECTOR
B
ALDERAS WAS
a typical bottom-rung gang-banger, swaggering and posturing to cover up for being so far down the ladder that he’d probably never even met Moreno, much less had any part in doing a job for him. Vince had seen so many losers like him that they blurred together. He shot Tino a glare over Hector’s head that clearly said,
What kind of fool do you take me for?

But Vince remained, even though it might be a waste of time, because he’d also learned over the years that you never knew where the key piece of the puzzle would turn up. Often, it was some small, seemingly unimportant tidbit that made everything fall into place. So he resisted a sigh and concentrated on giving this lowlife his due. “Buy you a beer?”

“Yeah, okay,” said the clearly uncomfortable Hector. His gaze kept straying to the half-naked woman making love to a shiny chrome pole.

“Corona all right?” Vince asked with one quick nod to the waitress.

“What?” said Hector, his tongue all but hanging out of his mouth.