The Law of Desire (6 page)

She followed him out of the cell and out of the police department. She had no idea where she was going to go now, but at least she was out of that horrible cell.

The brightness of the sun caused her to squint as she walked out of the building. She kept pace with the detective’s long strides, trying to think of something to say. He seemed like he was in deep thought and she didn’t want to interrupt him. But it would have been nice to know where they were going.

Just as she was about to open her mouth and ask him, the white van from the day before came speeding past. Luckily, Lawrence saw it before she did. Because before she could blink he had pushed her to the ground. The sound of gunshots caused her heart to stop and start again. She must have screamed because she heard a shrill voice echoing in her head. The only thing she could think was she hoped that Lawrence Hightower hadn’t gotten shot trying to shield her. She couldn’t take it if another person were hurt because of her. She couldn’t bear it if he died.

“O
bviously someone is trying to kill you, Ms. Jones. And we can’t help you unless you’re more forthcoming.” The chief of police, who was also Lawrence’s second cousin, the youngest of his father’s generation of Hightowers, tented his hands in front of his mouth and willed Minerva to speak with his eyes.

Lawrence glanced at Chief Kendall Hightower and then focused his attention back on Minerva.

He had been shot at numerous times in his career, but he had never in his life known such worry for another person. She could have been killed.

Why did that bother him almost more than the bullets that had zoomed past his own head?

“I don’t know who’s doing this.” Her voiced cracked and her eyes pooled with tears.

If she did know who the people in the white van were, she was doing an excellent job of hiding it. Lawrence almost believed her.

“You do realize that if we let you go and you haven’t been one hundred percent honest, then you could be the next murder victim? We can’t help you if you’re not honest.” Kendall leaned back in his chair and slanted his eye.

“I understand that, sir. And if I knew…” A tear slipped down her face and she froze. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. Her hand went to her cheek and she wiped away the tear. “I don’t know. I have to go. Can I please leave now?”

Kendall paused and then shook his head. “Don’t go far, Ms. Jones. We might have some more questions for you once the investigation into the murder of Timothy and Thomas McKnight picks up. I know of your tendency to leave the state during murder investigations…And we’d like to keep tabs on you for our colleagues in Los Angeles. They may have some questions for you concerning the murder of your brother. We’re going to compare notes on the two cases and see what we come up with. So please don’t go far.”

She took another deep breath before nodding. There was the slightest tremor in her hands and chest. If Lawrence hadn’t been watching her so closely he might have missed it. She looked like she had reached her breaking point and was hanging on by a thread. And he couldn’t help but worry about what might happen to her once she left the precinct.

What if the people in the white van got her?

“Chief, if it’s all right with you I’d like to take some personal time.”

Where did that come from?

Minerva got up and walked out of the office. Lawrence followed her with his eyes and then turned back to his cousin.

He knew he couldn’t let her get far. When the door closed, he took a sharp intake of breath. There would be no turning back after this.

“Look, Chief, someone has to look out for the girl. And I feel like there’s a whole lot she isn’t telling us. So, I’m going to take this time and watch her…if it’s okay with you.”

“You’re narcotics, Lawrence. This is now a homicide investigation. It’s not your beat.”

Lawrence couldn’t hold back his frown. He had to catch up to Minerva. He didn’t have time to plead his case to Kendall. He would just have to use his sick time.

Kendall tented his hands and studied Lawrence. Kendall was in his mid-forties and straddled the line between the older Hightowers and the younger ones. There was no telling how he would play things sometimes. Most times he was really cool and laid-back. Other times, he might just as well had been one of the elders.

Lawrence hoped he was in cool mode today.

“Take the time and be careful. She’s not telling us everything she knows and the next bullet coming her way might catch you.” Kendall shook his head. “And I’m not even gonna go there on your job duties and your responsibility to the badge. Keep your head, son.”

“Yeah, Chief. I got it.” He made a move to leave.

“And it might be good if you could get Ms. Jones to go someplace safe with you while you figure out what’s going on with her. As long as she’s with you we don’t have to worry about her fleeing or ending up as another victim. I’m thinking James’s spot up in the Poconos might be an ideal location to lay low for a minute until we figure out what’s going on here.”

Turning slowly, Lawrence couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, his cousin the chief of police was in cool mode today. Kendall knew him like the back of his hand. The man had basically given Lawrence permission to do exactly what he was thinking of doing anyway.

The vacation home his father purchased for the family the first year his business, Hightower Security, did really well would be the perfect spot to take her.

“Yeah, Chief. That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”

Kendall nodded and Lawrence left.

As she left the rest room, Minerva chided herself on almost losing it in the police chief’s office. Just what she needed: another dang suspicious Hightower cop on her case.

What does that family do, breed cops?

Everything was coming to a head and she realized she had nowhere to go. She couldn’t go back to the McKnights’ apartment. She knew the people in the white van would be waiting for her there. But she wasn’t supposed to leave the area. Although Chief Hightower’s less-than-subtle suggestions wouldn’t keep her there if she had any of David’s money left to leave town with.

She sucked her teeth and huffed.

I’m getting tired of people treating me like a crook when I haven’t done anything. I’ve almost been kidnapped, shot and I’ve spent the night in a cruddy cell. And I just lost three of the last four people on this earth who gave more than a damn about me. No wonder I almost cracked in that office. Hell, I’m just two events shy of an emotional breakdown! If anything else happens to me, I’ll be
lucky
to just cry.

Someone grabbed her arm from behind and she swung her free arm to smack him as she spun around. Luckily, she noticed it was Lawrence and she stopped herself before connecting with his grill.

He caught her arm midair and placed it at her side. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“You need a safe place to crash and I need to make sure you don’t jet before we find out how you’re connected to all this. So, I think it’s best that you just come with me.”

The man had to be crazy. It couldn’t just be arrogance. It certainly wasn’t just presumptuousness. He had to be a lunatic and out of his ever-loving mind if he thought she would go with him anywhere after he made her spend the entire afternoon cramped up in that funky little trailer office, after he harassed her with his never-ending questions and suspicion and after sleeping in a corroded cell getting the cooties from the millions of bedbugs that must have taken up residence in that mattress. Cooties she wouldn’t be able to get rid of because she no longer had access to a shower.

She glared at him and snatched her arm away. “Thanks but no thanks, Detective. I’ve had enough of your company to last me a lifetime.”

He narrowed his eyes in contemplation. “So where are you going to go, Minerva? I wouldn’t advise you to go back to the McKnights’. That’s the first place they’d probably look for you. And I really think you should seriously heed the chief’s advice about sticking around. He can be a bit of a hardnose. I’d hate for him to think he had to lock you up again for your own good…”

Visions of the crusty cell swam in her head. If she were prone to whining and complaining in even the slightest way, she would have started stamping her feet and screaming, “
Why
me?” at that very moment. Good thing life had dealt her enough hard knocks not to expect lots of pleasant things to happen to her
just because
…But she seriously could have used a small shift in luck for a change.

He held out his hand. “Come on. Let me help you.”

“Why do you want to help me?”

He paused and his face sort of twisted up. “Look, you need to decide if you want to risk it out there against folks trying to get you who
you claim
you don’t know, or let me help you.” He turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

She stood there for a few seconds and then shrugged. No good could come from hanging around the detective too long no matter what he said. He would probably find some way to pin all the murders on her and convince the world that she was really Bin Laden. No, she needed to keep it moving. She turned and kept walking.

Now, if I can just figure out
—“Whoa!” She screeched as her thought processes were interrupted suddenly. Just as she made it to the front door she felt herself being lifted from the ground and before she knew it she was over Lawrence’s shoulders.

“Put me down, Lawrence Hightower! This is kidnapping and we’re in a freaking police station!”

“Shut up, Minerva,” he said in the calmest voice she’d ever heard.

They headed out a side door and down some stairs to an underground parking garage. When he finally put her down in front of a black SUV, she straightened her dress and contemplated running off again.

“Don’t even think about it, Minerva.” He opened the door and nodded for her to get in. Her name rolled off his lips with a hint of a threat but there was something else underneath.

A hint of sexiness? Seduction? What the heck was it about the way this man says my name that gives me the chills? I’m talking sweet, achy, makes me feel so good chills…
The way Lawrence said her name could make her grow to like, hell even love, the quirky name.

She folded her arms across her chest and stood there.

“Get in.”

Who did he think he was? Just because he saved her life a couple of times did not mean he was all of a sudden in charge of her. The last time she checked she was a grown-ass woman. However, as grown as she was, the only thing she could think of to do was stamp her feet and yell that he was not the boss of her.

Real mature…

She bit back a huff and got into the SUV. At the end of the day, she didn’t have anywhere else to go and as annoying as the overbearing detective was, he seemed to be the only thing between her and danger. She wasn’t one of those too-stupid-to-live chicks in the movies who went looking for danger or turned down help when she needed it.

She decided: she had to stop fighting him, but she didn’t have to like it.

S
o she was just going to sit there and not say a word to him the entire ride?

Well, fine.

Lawrence wasn’t about to beg her to talk to him. In fact, if she was going to make one of her little smart-ass comments or tell one of her lies, or try and convince him that she really didn’t know who was after her, then he would rather she not say a word.

Yeah. He could deal with the silence. It would give him plenty of time to think about what it was about this woman that had him going against all his normal reflexes. Why was it that merely seeing her made him want to pull her in his arms and see how those sweet pouting lips of hers tasted? Or how come he had an almost instinctual desire to protect her and look out for her? And darn if his desire for her wasn’t making him…

No, to hell with silence!

He did not need to face those questions yet. And besides, they might go away.

Or maybe they weren’t really all he was making them out to be.

Just as he reached to turn up the radio, they lost the station. It was the only thing he hated about the drive to the Poconos. About forty minutes into the drive down Interstate-80 the good radio stations were gone. He flipped the CD changer on and darn if everything he had in it wasn’t slow and smooth R & B. He certainly didn’t need mood music, so he turned it off.

She was just going to have to talk to him.

“Why are you being so quiet?”

She didn’t say anything.

“You know, believe it or not there are lots of other things I could be doing with my time rather than trying to look out for a ungrateful chick who may or may not be telling the truth.”

A suck and a hiss was her only response.

“Minerva…” He paused when he sensed that she had turned to face him. He stole a quick glance and found her eyes pinned on him. “Minerva, this will go a lot easier if we at least try to get along. I’m really not that bad of a guy once you get to know me. And I would really like to get to know the truth about you. So why don’t we try—”

“What makes you think there is anything more to know about me? You found out about my juvie record. You know about my brother’s murder. You have been a freaking shadow in my life for the past three months. You know that there are people after me—”

“Yeah, but I don’t know who is trying to get you—”

“Neither do I! Why don’t you believe me? You don’t even know me and yet you have painted me as some kind of lying crook. I resent that. I resent you. And I refuse to keep trying to convince you that I’m innocent. If we can’t find anything else to talk about then I’d prefer silence.”

Well, damn.
It was like a gust of wind when she turned back around to face her window.

So, no talking for now…

But she would have to talk to him soon. He swallowed and focused on the drive.

They would have to stop in Tannersville at the outlet mall. He didn’t stop to get any of his clothes and he certainly wasn’t going to risk picking up her things from the McKnights’ apartment. So they would both need to pick up some items for the duration. She looked like the kind of woman who liked to shop. Maybe that would put her in a better mood. If not, this would be the longest and most painful time he had ever spent with a woman.

She tried to curb her irritation. She really did. But the last thing she felt like doing was trying on clothes and shopping when she still felt like she had a billion bedbugs creepy-crawling on her skin. As much as she loved a sale, she wanted a hot shower! As she looked through the sale racks in the Dress Barn outlet all she wanted to do was wash the bright auburn weave tracks out of her hair because she knew the critters must have been harvesting and hashing in it Pretty much forgetting her alias identity and the hip-hop clothing she’d been wearing, she opted for the business and relaxed casual style she was most comfortable in. The little disguise hadn’t worked anyway. They still found her and the Baby Phat minidress she was wearing was working her last nerve, rising up and what not. She hoped she’d be able to burn the thing later. It was probably infested anyway.

Once she’d found a few outfits, shoes, a nightgown and some underwear in clearance, she went up to the cash register. It was then she realized that she didn’t have any cash on her but she did have her credit cards and debit card. She had been afraid to use them before because David hinted that the police or the people who had killed her brother might be able to trace her if she used them. But the crooks had found her and she was stuck with a cop, so she might as well use her cards.

“I got this.” Lawrence stepped up and pulled out his credit card.

“You don’t have to. I can pay my own way.”

“You sure? It’s not a problem for me to handle it. In fact I insist.” He gave the cashier his credit card.

She could have made a big scene but realized it was unnecessary. As controlling and unyielding as he seemed to be, he
was
trying to keep her safe.

Once they picked up a few items from a men’s store for him, they ended up in a beauty supply shop. She needed the special shampoo to get rid of the glue that held the weave in her hair. And she couldn’t wait to get rid of it. She also needed a blow dryer and curling iron if she wanted to make her natural curls manageable.

As he opened the door to the SUV for her to get in, she paused in front of him. He looked so handsome and stoic and purposeful. She pursed her lips and crossed her hands behind her back.

“Thanks, Lawrence. For everything.”

He leaned down and placed his forehead on hers. The closeness would have had her gasping for air if she wasn’t forcing herself to remain composed.

Oh, my goodness…

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise you that.” His lips brushed her forehead and she wished he had kissed her.

The hot feel of his lips with just that featherlike touch made it feel like she had firecrackers in her socks. She swallowed back her groan and got into the SUV before she was tempted to grab his head and thrust her tongue down his throat.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. She felt a little bad about not speaking. But she had to resist him in any small way she could. Just because he wanted to talk did not mean she
had
to talk. He didn’t believe a word that came out of her mouth, anyway. Sure, she would have welcomed the distraction of conversation if it would have taken her mind off how sexy he was, even when he was sitting there brooding. But, unfortunately, his voice did something to her, especially the way her full name rolled off his tongue.

Nope, he didn’t have to say a word.

The landscape along the way sort of took her mind off the big, powerful cop driving. She took in the fall foliage along the Pennsylvania highway as they made their way down I-80. Fall would always be her favorite time of year now that she saw what a real fall looked like. Who knew nature could look so beautiful when it was dying? The mix of gold, rust, red, orange and specks of green took her breath away. The entire drive had been so scenic. Once they made it about twenty minutes away from Paterson, she started to see why they called New Jersey the Garden State.

After a little over two hours on the road, they arrived at their destination. The home was beautiful. It looked like something she’d seen on HGTV. The huge white house with yellow shutters had two stories. It had a wraparound porch with stacks of wood and even a couple of wooden rocking chairs.

“This my family’s vacation home. My dad bought it a few years back when the security company he started after retiring early from the police department started to do really well. Hightower Security is now the leading security company in the East.” He paused and ran his hand across his head. “The family tries to get up here in the winter for some skiing and just hanging.”

Vacation home? Skiing? Good grief!

She knew her jaw must have been on the floor. Because her family had never owned a
home
let alone a vacation home. Add that to the fact that she didn’t even have family anymore and she got all the more reason why she needed to get over her growing infatuation with the detective. He was way out of her league.

Talk about mooovin’ on up, tooooo the East siiide
…she sang in her head.

“I’ll bring in the bags. Pick any room you’d like. I’ll call the grocer and have some groceries delivered, depending on what’s in the fridge and freezer…Are you okay?” He stared at her.

He must have noticed that she wasn’t moving. She tried to make her feet move and pick up her jaw but the inside of the place was just as gorgeous as the outside. Warm earth tones and rugged leather and wood furniture greeted her eyes, along with amazing African-American artwork that complemented the decor. Paintings by Ed Clark, Herbert Gentry, Vannette P. Honeywood and Brenda Joysmith. Minerva recognized them from her recent art history course in college. As she took in the cozy rusts, browns and creams, she remembered to exhale the breath she’d been holding. The house had six bedrooms. Six! She picked the smallest, least intimidating bedroom in the place and even that one had its own bathroom.

When he dropped off her bags, she wasted no time getting in the shower. Maybe once she got out of her crusty clothes and got the God-awful weave out of her hair she would feel better and more capable of standing up to the detective.

A girl could hope…

It didn’t take Lawrence long to shower and get changed. There was one package of chicken legs and tons of tomatoes from his mother’s garden in the freezer, but not much more. He made a call to the grocery store, which was a few miles away, to have some things delivered. His family’s house was in a pretty isolated location in the Poconos. That was excellent for hiding out, but not so good when it came to getting stuff from the outside brought in. He made a mental note to call the sheriff and deputy, Dale and Jed, to let them know he was in the house and get them to help keep an eye out for the white van, just in case. They were small-town cops, but it couldn’t hurt.

When the groceries were delivered and she still hadn’t come out of her room, he was starting to worry. After he put the food and supplies away and there was still no sign of her, he started to get pissed. He was not going to allow her to pull that silent treatment crap the entire time. Like it or not, he was only trying to help her and she needed to get over her attitude and start showing a little appreciation.

He took off down the hall and up the stairs. Just when he was about to knock on her door it opened.

Gut-punched! That’s what it felt like when he cast his eyes on the most beautiful vision he’d ever seen. And he wasn’t even expecting it.

Sucking in a big gulp of air, Lawrence felt his eyes bulge and his mouth drop when he caught a glimpse of the woman standing in the door. The two-toned hair was gone and her natural dark brown hair fell just past her shoulder in soft curls that framed her face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, just a hint of lip gloss. And she had on a pair of black wide-leg slacks with cream pinstripes and a silky, sexy cream V-neck tee that accented her cleavage nicely.

He tried to figure out how she managed to look even sexier in the smart professional clothing than she had in that skin-tight minidress she’d been wearing. And he wondered why she looked so much prettier than any other woman he had ever seen when she clearly wasn’t even trying.

“Sorry I took so long. After a night in that cell, I felt like I needed to take an extra-long shower and it took a minute to get the hair together after washing those tracks out.” She let her hand pass through her hair and it glided through the softness.

He wondered what she had had in her hair before besides the weave that had disguised her curls and made her hair seem so stiff. He placed his own arms behind him in an effort to stop himself from reaching out and running his fingers through her gorgeous tresses.

“I’m just glad I feel like my old self again. The long time it took was well worth it. If I never see another Baby Phat or Apple Bottom again, I will have no problem at all.”

He gulped.

He knew she was twenty-six years old from the record he pulled. But she looked about twenty-one with her face freshly scrubbed and those glossy brown curls framing her face. She looked too young for his thirty-seven-year-old self. But damn if he cared. When it came to the feelings he found himself having for Minerva, age wasn’t nothing but a number.

She stared up at him and a self-conscious expression crossed her face. “I know. You probably think I look like a dweeb. But that’s okay. No more multicolored weaves in my head for life.” She scratched her head. “I still feel like I could wash it again.”

“It looks fine.” Was that him? So…he
could
talk. And here he thought her beauty had stolen his damn voice.

“What do you want for dinner? I can fix something,” he managed to grumble in what sounded more like a sputter to his ears.

Maybe he should have just let her stay in her room all night. He certainly didn’t need this complication. The desirable woman who stepped out of that bedroom made him want to take her back into the room and do all kinds of naughty things to her until she begged him not to stop. He licked his lips and imagined how that lip gloss might taste.

“How about I cook for us. It’s the least I could do since you’re being so nice and you’re taking your time to help me. I’m pretty good in the kitchen and I could whip something up. Just point the way.”

“You sure? You don’t look like…I mean, I’m fine with cooking and I’m pretty particular about food…”

The plastered-on smile she had been wearing dropped and her eyes narrowed. She let out a breath and then bit her lower lip. He could just imagine what words she must be biting back and he would have felt like a heel if he weren’t so busy wondering what it would feel like to be the one nibbling on those pouting lips.