Eye of the Abductor (10 page)

She turned from her son and stepped
into the bathroom. Hopefully, by the time she returned, the Wilsons would be
gone.

            ***

Sunday morning, Brance entered the
breakroom at the Bartlett Precinct and saw Shawn and Randy involved in a
serious conversation. Guilt shaded Shawn’s face when he glanced up. Brance
poured a cup of coffee before joining them. “What’s going on?”

Shawn shrugged, and Randy
continued to peel the wrapper off his Twinkie. “Nothing much. Solve those
pharmacy burglaries yet?”

Brance shook his head. “Nah.
Sooner or later, the perps will slip up.”

Shawn’s body language revealed
they’d been talking about something they didn’t want to share. Randy had
changed the subject too quickly.

Brance stirred his coffee. He
wouldn’t press the issue now, but when he caught Shawn alone, he’d convince him
to talk. Whatever they'd been talking about had made the rookie uneasy.

He recalled a name he’d heard them
say as he’d crossed the room. Paige Wilson. Why would they be this uptight over
a woman? Randy had always been the type to brag about his female conquests.

After several minutes, Randy broke
the awkward silence. “You still interested in your downstairs neighbor?”

“Yeah, I’m taking her to dinner
tonight.”

Randy and Shawn shared a brow-raising
look before turning their gazes back to him.

Brance returned to the counter and
set his empty cup in the sink. “See you round.”

***

That evening, he dressed in jeans
and wore a long sleeved white dress shirt and boots. He hurried down the steps
and knocked on Allison’s door.

When she opened it, his brows rose
in awe. She was stunning. She wore a black cocktail dress and high heels and
carried a thin black sweater draped over her arm. She had nice legs with thin
ankles. He imagined those legs wrapped around him in the heat of passion. She
looked and smelled delicious.

“You look radiant.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure where we
were going. I didn’t want to under-dress.”

“You didn’t, but I’m afraid I did.
Come upstairs for a minute and let me change.”

“Nonsense, I’ll change into jeans.
I insist.”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It is. I feel silly being this
dressed up.”

As she turned away, he grabbed her
arm. “Wait. I’m taking you to Capriccios at the Peabody for dinner." Actually,
he’d planned on taking her to a steakhouse where buckets of peanuts sat on the
table. “I’ll change.”

She gave him a warm appreciative
smile that melted his heart. By the way she'd dressed, it was obvious she
wanted this date to be special.

He figured she’d lost something
she wasn’t even aware of—her trust in people, in the system, and men in general.
He wanted to change that, wanted to shield her from anymore heartache. He
wished she’d open up to him, share her past, and let him help her cope with the
future. Surely it couldn’t be that bad.

She affected him in ways that
amazed him. He had a deep inner need to please her, to make her life right. To
see her united with her son. How far was he willing to go to make it all
happen?

***

Allison choked back the
nervousness that made her palms sweat. She reminded herself this was one date
and there wouldn’t be any others.

Curious about his bachelor pad,
she followed him up the stairs to his apartment. To her amazement, he had expensive
furniture and tasteful Southwestern artwork hanging on the walls. She’d
expected furry sofas and mirrored ceilings. Nude statues and paintings.

Instead, a sage green sofa and two
matching chairs faced a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall. His
apartment smelled like popcorn mixed with a floral scent.

After he changed, he joined her at
the bookcase where she stared at a photo of a group of policemen.

“That’s my younger brother Colby,
and my older brother is Dillon,” Brance said proudly.

“Both with MPD?”

“Dillon’s with the Swat team. He’s
a sniper. Of course these days we refer to them as long range riflemen. Colby
works in Vice.”

“And your dad?”

“Homicide. He retires in May.”

“They all have light hair and fair
skin, including your mother. Where’d you get your dark good looks?”

For a split second, a troubled
expression shadowed his face. An emotion she couldn’t put her finger on. But
she knew she’d hit a sensitive nerve. Why?

A few moments passed before he
answered. “Must've been from some distant ancestor still in the gene pool.”

She laughed but let it go. “I
don’t see how your mother sleeps at night when her husband and three sons are
all cops.”

“She manages." He glanced
down at himself. "Is this better than the jeans?”

She studied his silvery gray suit
and black shirt with a silver and black designed tie. "You look
handsome."

He winked. "All for you,
sweetheart."

At Capriccios, her hands wouldn’t
stop shaking as she tried to hold the menu. She hoped he hadn’t noticed.
Between a bad case of the shakes and the dimly lit chandeliers, she had a
difficult time reading the tiny print, but the prices she could see just fine.

Finally, she laid it flat on the
table. “It all looks so good. What are you having?”

“The Cowboy ribeye and a loaded potato.”
He breathed deeply. “Just the smell of the steaks makes me hungry.”

“I just want a salad and water.”
Though her stomach rumbled, Allison decided not to order anything else, so she
could afford to pay for her own dinner. Even then, a single serving salad cost
almost ten dollars.

“No, you don’t. I didn’t drive to
downtown Memphis for you to nibble on rabbit food. Order an entrée.”

She glanced over the menu again.
“It’s ala Carte. It’s all so expensive. I know countries where you can buy a
whole cow for what one steak cost.”

He chuckled. “I’m paying.
Remember?”

“I thought I’d pay for my own.”

“The deal was I’d take you to
dinner.”

“I don’t want you to expect me
to...” She choked on the words. Heat sprinted through the veins of her neck
into her cheeks.

“Despite my track record, I’m not
expecting anything. Now order what you want.”

“All right then, I’ll have the
prime filet with asparagus.” After ordering, Allison sat admiring the ambiance
of the restaurant. “It’s so elegant here.”

“Ever seen the ducks march in?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Maybe we can catch their act one
day.”

During dinner, Allison let Brance
do most of the talking. The man had a great sense of humor. She liked being
with him.

As they were leaving, a sign for a
wedding reception on the rooftop stood by the elevators. Brance pushed the
elevator button. "Let's crash the party."

"Are you insane? No!"

He grinned like the devil.
"Dare ya."

She sighed. "Oh, okay. But if
we get caught, you're explaining it."

He escorted her to the Peabody’s
top floor where the wedding reception seemed to be winding down. In the back
corner of a ballroom, the remainder of a wedding cake sat on a decorated table.
A few people gave them curious stares as they entered.

"I just know they'll ask to
see our invitation." An image of them being kicked out by the staff played
in her mind. "Maybe we should leave."

To their right, double doors led
to the rooftop patio.

"Nah, it's darker outside,
and more people are out on the patio. Let's sit out there." He took her
hand and led her out to the rooftop.

A cement wall with ornate
sculptures enclosed the large patio where people sat at tables scattered on the
outer edges. A live band played on a platform next to the bar while couples
twirled and swayed on the dance floor.

He ordered a beer while she
ordered a Pink Flamingo, a frilly pink drink with pineapple and orange slices
decorating the rim.

Her gaze lingered on the bride and
groom dancing under the moonlight.

Romantic.

Magical.

All the things she wished she
could have.

All the things she’d never had
with Rob.

“It hit eighty degrees today,”
Brance said breaking the silence. “It’s a nice night for a rooftop party.”

“The weather couldn't be more
perfect. Though, it's bad for the sales at the mall.”

“How’s that?”

“Cold weather gives people the
Christmas spirit, and they buy more. Instead of shopping, people are out enjoying
the warm weather.”

“That makes sense, but I’ll take
eighty degrees any day over snow and cold.”

“True, except when sales are down,
it hurts. I make a salary, but commissions really help out.”

“You sell jewelry?”

“Yes, and I don’t want you
anywhere near my sales counter. I’ll get a restraining order.”

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“I’ll end up getting fired.”

“You haven’t forgiven me for
that.”

“I was never angry with you, but I
wanted to murder that woman you were with. She got off lucky.”

Brance laughed. “She deserved
worse. To make it up to you, let me come in this week and buy my mother and
grandmother a Christmas present from you.”

“I don’t sell the fake stuff. Are
you willing to spend that kind of money on them?”

“My mother, yes.”

“Your grandmother?”

“For her I see a nice piece of
costume jewelry—something gaudy and cheap with huge rhinestones. What else do
you give someone with millions?”

Allison laughed. “You’d better try
the dollar store for that one.” After sipping her drink, she set it down and
fidgeted with the little umbrella in the glass. “You must not be too fond of
your grandmother.”

“I love her. But she has plans to
write me out of her will, and that’s a shitty thing to do.”

“Why would she do that?”

“You want her exact words?”

“Yes, word for word.”

“She said she wasn’t leaving a
dime to someone who whores around with a different woman every night. I don’t
see a different woman every night. Maybe every other weekend.”

“So your brothers are both married
then?”

“Yes, with kids.”

“I can see her point.”

“I hope you’re kidding.” He
finished off his beer.

“No, I’m not. From an older
woman’s viewpoint, I’m sure she doesn’t want to support your habit of sleeping
around.”

“She’d like you. I want her to
meet you.”

“I can’t become involved with you.
You’ll have to trust me when I tell you that your grandmother would be
disappointed in me.” She sipped through the straw, then continued. “Have you
been checking up on me anymore?”

“No. I just wanted to solve the
mystery of why you were at the Little Pal’s Daycare.” He hesitated. “You plan
to be there tomorrow?”

“I’m afraid if I park there again
it might draw someone’s attention. The picture you gave me helps ease my need
to see my son.”

He’d be stunned to know she was
seeing Nathan at the church nursery. She hated lying and misrepresenting her
intentions, but when life was about survival, you did a lot of things you
weren’t proud of.

“You cold?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, it’s
actually nice out here.”

“Then why is your hand shaking? Do
I scare you that much?”

She nodded.

“How come?”

“You distract me. I can’t lose
sight of the most important thing in my life—my son.”

“I distract you?”

“Definitely. Besides my ex-husband
was a cop. I'll never trust another one with my heart.”

“So I’m the enemy?”

“You could be. I don't really know
you."

“I'll never expect you to put me
over your son.”

She didn’t reply.

“It’s obvious your ex-husband
abused or mistreated you. It’s unfair to judge all of us by him.” Brance
paused. “Do you hate cops because of him?”

She tensed a bit. Why lie? “He
wrecked my life.”

"Bastard."

She agreed.

Brance stood and offered his hand.
“Let’s dance."

"I can't." It’d make
everything between them too personal. She wanted to keep her distance. “It’s
late. Maybe we should go.”

“Not until we’ve shared one
dance.” He gave her a determined look followed with a seductive smile.

Her spine and neck stiffened.

Reluctantly, she stood and placed
her hand in his, then walked with him to the crowded patio. She distanced her
body from his.