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Authors: Jennifer Apodaca

Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Dating Service - California

Jennifer Apodaca - Samantha Shaw 04 - Batteries Required (28 page)

BOOK: Jennifer Apodaca - Samantha Shaw 04 - Batteries Required

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I looked down at Zack. “This one did, didn’t it?”

“Evidently,” Vance muttered. Then he sighed. “Hugh Crimson called us and spilled his guts. What a mope. He told us all about Mitch, giving him the key to Angel’s house and putting the tracking device on Angel’s car. I did manage to get out of Hugh that Mitch had mentioned this theater, which is what led me here.” Vance looked around the old theater and shook his head. “No wonder Angel told the background investigators that her ex is a lying sack of shit.”

Vance had once been furious at me for not believing in him. Now the tables were turned. “You should have believed me, Vance.”

His gaze did a slow search down my face, to the battered tank top and lower, then back up. “I never know with you, Shaw,” he said, his voice dropping to a throb that was unique to him. “I can’t pin you down. You’re so fiercely loyal, I thought maybe you just couldn’t see . . .” he trailed off.

“That my best friend was desperate?” Guilt slammed into me. “You’d be right. But Angel’s not a thief or that desperate for money.” God, I had failed Angel. It hurt me to face it. She had been torn up and worried about her mom, draining away most of her money in desperation to help her. I did believe Angel that she had money coming in and would be OK financially. But money wouldn’t fix her old guilt.

That’s what friends were for—to ease the pains we carry around inside of us.

And Hugh had twisted that knife in her. Where I had failed Angel was letting her feel alone and guilty. “Gabe thought the same thing you did, too. At least he did for a while.”

Vance narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, well, you gotta admit that whole story about a romance fan stealing a sex-toy kit with the necklace inside of it was crazy. But we were running down recently rented green Ford Focus cars . . . just in case you were telling the truth.”

In case I was telling the truth?
That was supposed to make me feel better? I turned around and saw that two uniformed cops had Zoë on her feet and handcuffed. Another uniform had a first-aid kit that he was using on Gabe, while Angel and Ali watched.

I turned back to Vance and said, “Come here.” I walked to Zoë.

Vance followed.

I stopped in front of her.

Vance came up behind me and said to the two uniformed cops, “Go watch the body. The ambulance will be here any second. Keep them as far away from the body as possible.”

One of the cops handed Vance two bags. One had the diamond necklace, the other one the small pocketknife that Zoë had cut herself free with. Then the two cops walked away on their squeaky shoes.

I said, “Zoë, I’m keeping my promise. This is R. V. Logan.”

I turned to Vance and caught the frozen look on his face. “And this,” I gestured to Zoë, “is your biggest fan.”

I turned around just as Zoë screamed her joy and flung herself at Vance.

Now all I had to do was convince Gabe he was going to the hospital.

Blaine picked Gabe, Angel, and me up from the hospital in his Hyundai. Gabe was very cooperative, even though he was scrunched up in the backseat next to me. He had his head resting against the window, asleep.

I’d lost count of the stitches it took to close his shoulder.

When we got to Gabe’s house, I was stunned to find Grandpa and the boys there. Joel ran up and flung himself at me as I got out of the car. It hurt like hell, but I didn’t care. I hugged him. “Hey, Joel,” I eased him away. My stomach hurt from Zoë’s kick in the motel room, followed by her tackle in the theater, but I was more worried about my son. “I’m OK, you know that, right?”

His face was strained and white. “Is Gabe OK?”

I nodded. “The bullet grazed his arm. He had stitches, but he’ll be fine.” I looked back over my shoulder. Blaine was helping him out.

I looked over at TJ. He had opened Angel’s door and was helping her out.

My throat closed up. With my arm around Joel, I watched TJ help ease her out of the car, then say, “Angel, you really scared us.” When she was standing, he gently hugged her.

Affection like that didn’t come easy for TJ. But he seemed to understand how badly Angel needed it.

Angel looked over TJ’s shoulder at me. Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled and hugged him back. She let go and said to both TJ and Joel, “Your mom and Gabe saved me.”

“Boys,” Grandpa called from the door. “Bring Angel, Gabe, and your mom inside.”

We all went into the house and gathered into the family room/kitchen. It smelled like chicken noodle soup and cheese. Ali walked over to us. She was stiff but seemed OK. Grandpa followed her. “She’s fine, Sam. Bruised shoulder. Vet said she will be fine.”

I let go of Joel and hugged Grandpa. “What are you all doing here?”

He hugged me back, then let go. “Best place for Gabe to rest.”

Then he went over to Angel and hugged her. “We didn’t want you to go home yet. So the boys and I will camp out here in the family room. Angel has the guest room.” He turned back to look at me. “You can take care of Gabe in his room.”

Gabe came up beside me. “Your family invaded my house.”

I looked up at him. His gaze was still a little hazy and he didn’t look all that steady. “Yes, they’ve made themselves at home.” I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or not.

He moved his head up and down slightly. “Good.”

My gut eased. “Are you hungry?”

“I’d be more hungry if I wasn’t drugged.” His gaze sharpened slightly on my face.

“Probably.” I took his good arm and led him to a kitchen chair. Because I was a frequent patient at the emergency room, I’d managed to get a doctor to inject Gabe with a tranquilizer right away. It had taken a few minutes for Gabe to realize it hadn’t been a pain shot, but by then, it was too late. He was pissed.

Too bad.

Grandpa came to the table with a big mug of soup. “Thought it’d be easier for you this way.” He set it down in front of Gabe. “Grilled cheese sandwiches coming right up.”

TJ and Joel brought more mugs of soup. Angel and Blaine sat down with us. Ali came up and put her head in my lap. I petted her head and wondered for the zillionth time how she could be so smart.

Grandpa and the boys crowded in and the seven of us, plus a dog, packed in around Gabe’s kitchen table. I wondered how he really felt about it, but he’d have to live with it tonight. I wasn’t leaving him alone. I wasn’t sending Angel home alone, and I wasn’t going to send away Grandpa and the boys.

I loved them all.

Blaine would probably go home, but he was part of my family as well.

Joel was on the other side of Gabe and said, “Gabe, how did you get shot?”

He turned to answer, but Angel jumped in from where she sat on my left. “He shoved me back in my seat and jumped in front of me. If he hadn’t done that, I’d be dead.” She picked up her mug of soup and sipped it.

I had seen it, and knew it was true. But hearing it made my entire stomach roll over. I could have lost both Gabe and Angel that night. I pushed my food away. I felt Gabe’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look at him. I focused on Joel. “Both of them are heroes. Gabe saved Angel. He had her untied and got her away. Angel figured out who was feeding Mitch information. I pretty much screwed up the whole thing.”

Joel stared at me, his blue eyes wide. “Grandpa said you took that guy down with a board.”

I shook my head. “That was desperation and fear. I knew Mitch had shot Gabe. It made me crazy.”

Gabe took hold of my hand. “Your mom didn’t screw anything up.”

Angel added, “The reason Mitch was able to get the drop on me to kidnap me was my fury at Hugh. Your mom had warned me not to let my feelings for Hugh distract me. That’s exactly what I did.”

I turned to look at her. “But when I said that, I hadn’t realized how deeply he was involved.”

She settled her green eyes on me. “But you were still right. If I had stepped back from my feelings, I’d have been more rational. We could have put it together faster, and gotten Vance a lead he could run with. Sam,” she said as she reached out to take my other hand, “this wasn’t your fault.” She looked into my eyes. “And I knew I wasn’t going to die alone without anyone fighting to save me.”

Gabe let go of my hand and I reached over to hug Angel. “God, Angel, I hope you will always know that.”

She hugged me back. “TJ and Joel said they’d watch a movie with me until I fall asleep. I want to sleep out here with them. Barney can take the guest room.”

I was sure that she was looking out for my grandpa. He was getting older, and sleeping on the floor or couch wouldn’t be easy for him. But she loved Grandpa, so that was her right to look out for him. I nodded. And she did love my boys. I believed that she wanted to watch movies with them.

Blaine looked around the table. “I’m going home.” He looked over at me. “Boss, I’ll be in the office early. We have a lot to do before the open house.”

Regret snaked though my upset stomach. “Blaine, we have to cancel that.” I loved Heart Mates, but I cared more about Gabe and Angel. They both needed time to recover, and I was going to take care of them.

But I also longed to get back to work on finding people the heart mates they dreamed of.

“No!” Gabe and Blaine said at the same time.

“I agree,” Grandpa offered, then he stood. “Sam, help Gabe to bed. The boys and I will get the dishes. And we’ll take care of Angel. I’ll come get you if we need anything.”

Gabe’s room was simple. Rustic pine dresser, twin nightstands, and headboard for a large king-size bed. From the hallway entrance, the bed took up a good portion of the right side of the room. Straight ahead, then to the left, was the bathroom. I went to the dresser and started looking for a pair of sweatpants or shorts.

Gabe didn’t protest as I helped him out of his jeans and into the shorts. I pulled the sheets back. “Sit here.” Then I got out a pain pill and an antibiotic for him. I filled a glass of water in the bathroom, and I came back into the room and handed them to him.

He took them.

I was worried. Gabe hadn’t said much. I took the glass and asked, “Are you in a lot of pain?”

“No. Come to bed, babe.” He looked up at me and frowned. “Get a T-shirt out of my dresser.”

I looked down at my clothes. The pink tank was toast. That happened to a lot of my clothes. I went to the drawer and found a folded blue T-shirt. Gabe was neater than I was. I pulled off my shirt and tried not to make a face at the aching pain in my back and stomach. My hands were sore, too, so I was careful when I peeled down my jeans. I slid the shirt on over my head.

“Take a pain pill.”

I looked at Gabe. “I don’t need one. And I’m not taking your prescription.”

He stood.

I backed up and hit his dresser. “Gabe, I’m fine. I took some Tylenol—”

He reached out with his left hand, catching the light blue shirt I had just pulled on. He was surprisingly strong for someone who had been shot. “Take a pain pill or I swear to God I’ll force it down your throat. I’ve taken a few kicks and tackles like you did from Zoë. I didn’t miss the cuts on your hands either. I heard you refuse pain medication at the hospital. If you hadn’t had me tranquilized, you’d have damned well taken the pain medication.”

I saw it in his face. The raw determination. I reached over and took out a pain pill. If Gabe needed something, I’d wake up. But the truth was, my family was there. Someone would hear Gabe if I didn’t. “Fine, but I’m not sorry I had them give you the tranquilizer.”

He let go of my shirt and watched me take the pill. I set the glass down. “Now will you get in bed?”

He turned and went back to the bed. I helped him lie back and got in on his left side.

“Sam.”

I reached over and turned off the light, then lay back. “What?”

He reached out his left hand to wrap his warm fingers around mine. “Thank you.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. “For being here?”

His voice was thin and raw. “For understanding. About the hospital, I mean.”

I closed my eyes in the dark night. I knew Gabe had a problem with emergency rooms. He had once raced to one hoping that by some miracle the rescue squad, and then the emergency room personnel, had saved his wife and baby.

But they had been dead on arrival. His world had died that day.

And Gabe had blamed himself. Emergency rooms reminded him. I knew it, and he accepted that I knew it. I squeezed his hand back. “Thank you for understanding.”

I felt his small smile in the darkness. “That you love me?”

My mouth was dry. “That I love you.”

W
ord was out that Gabe and I had cracked the Casino Jewel Thief case. That drew even more people than I had expected to the Heart Mates open house. The office had been filled with a sea of people all evening. I stood in the reception area chatting with a few people.

“Boss, ten minutes to the last showing of the promotional video in the interview room.”

I turned around and looked at Blaine. For the open house, he had worn a pair of black slacks and a short-sleeved button-down shirt hanging loose over his pants. His brown eyes glittered. Much of the credit for our success that night belonged to Blaine. We had signed on seven new clients, and at least a half dozen others had expressed interest. “I’ll be there, Blaine.”

Blaine moved off to mingle. Gabe broke away from several women. He was dressed in black on black, complete with a black sling. He looked hot. Dangerous and hot. Women had noticed and surrounded him all evening. Now his gaze locked onto me. “Excellent turnout, babe.”

I smiled. “I’m sure the mention of the open house in the newspaper helped.” It had been mentioned in the article about the Casino Jewel Thief.

His eyes smoldered. “I can’t believe I had you in my bed last night and didn’t get you naked and panting. Now that I see you in that dress, I’m going to have to remedy that.”

My breath caught. I had on a red halter dress. It was cocktail length with an uneven hem. I looked around, but no one had heard Gabe. A few women had their eyes on him though. Let ’em look. “Listen up, hunk. You are on injury leave. Now behave yourself.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Sorry, sugar, but I made you a promise.”

“What promise?” He was making me forget we were in a public place.

He leaned into my ear and whispered. “Handcuffs and sex toys.”

His words and scent stirred up a fiery heat in me. “Back off, stud. I have work to do.” I took a step back from him to keep from melting into a puddle at his feet. “I told Blaine I’d watch the promotional video he made.”

A loud voice cut in. “Sam! Yoo-hoo!” Linda Simpkins called out as she came in the door.

Gabe caressed my bare shoulder. “I always keep my promises, babe.” Then he turned to go chat with some drooling women.

I turned to Linda and saw that she was wearing her black blazer. Uh-oh, she wore that blazer in her role as the PTA president. Which meant that she probably had just left a PTA meeting and was here on a mission. I swallowed a groan and managed to say, “Hi.”

Linda was flushed and excited. “Sam, now that you have solved the Casino Jewel Thief case, I have an idea.”

I had to head her off. “But you see, because I was away from work, I’m more busy than ever—”

“Sure, but it’s only a few nights. Besides, people would pay money to dunk you. We’re getting community leaders to volunteer for the dunking booth. And you are a community leader now.” She pasted on a big, huge smile.

Dunking booth? Oh no, I was not going in a dunking booth!
Think! What’s my excuse?
Wait, I was a grown woman, a professional woman. I didn’t need an excuse, I just had to say no. “I’m—”

I stopped talking when Fireman Bob sauntered up. He was carrying two glasses of wine. “Samantha, I thought you and your friend might like some wine.”

Perfect!
“Thanks.” I took a glass. “This is Linda, Bob. Sorry to rush off, but I have to find Blaine.” I turned and hurried toward the interview room. Whew! It was wrong of me to pawn Linda off on Bob, but I was pretty sure Bob could handle Linda. Who knew, maybe
he
would want to be in the dunking booth.

A man stepped in front of me.

Stopping, I put my businesswoman smile on and looked up. Right into Vance’s brown eyes. “Vance!” I took a breath. “Uh, I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I would think so, after you dumped Zoë Cash on me.” His glare was menacing.

I tilted my head, watching Vance. “You deserved it.” Mild hurt curled in my chest. As much as I tried to dislike Vance, there was a part of me that did like him. He looked good. From his tailored suit right down to his expensive shoes. “So is Zoë outing you?” I had to admit to a flash of regret about that. Maybe I liked keeping Vance’s secret of being a romance writer.
Bad girl, Sam.

He dropped his gaze into his wine for a second, then sighed. “Zoë and I came to an understanding. I didn’t file any charges against her, and I promised her an entire set of signed first edition R. V. Logan books. And a signed copy of every future book released. Provided she doesn’t reveal my secret or pop up anywhere that I am.”

She was that easy to get rid of? “Uh-huh. Did you sleep with her?”
Very bad girl, Sam.

He sipped his wine and said nothing.

Damn. “I take it she’s not going to press kidnapping charges against me?”

He flashed his dimples. “No. Given that she stole the necklace from your house, she was in a precarious position.”

I figured as much. “Congratulations, Vance, you get credit for breaking a major case.” In the cop world, the work Gabe and I had done didn’t count as much as Vance’s arrest of the Casino Jewel Thief. “Did Mitch talk?”

“His real name is Scott Smith.” He smirked. “It really is Smith. And he’s talking. Got himself a good lawyer. He’ll be cutting a deal and turning over some real interesting characters.”

“Mob connections?” I still couldn’t believe it.

“On both coasts.” The arrogance melted from his face. For several long seconds, I saw the man behind the cop. “But that wouldn’t have been worth finding your dead body in that theater.”

My stomach clenched. “I had to go in there.” I met his gaze. “You would have done it if you’d been in my shoes.”

For a second, Vance looked at me in understanding, and then he shrugged it off. “I would never have taken a sex-toy kit from a stranger in a casino in the first place.”

Angel walked up wearing a stunning emerald green gown with a killer slit up the back. “What about Hugh?”

Vance’s face tightened in disgust. “He could face some charges for putting the tracking device on your car leading to the car being firebombed, but his defense lawyer daddy will get him off. I doubt he’ll have his job left at the security company when we’re through investigating, though.”

Angel nodded, then said, “Hugh’s dad called me. He wants to pay my mom’s medical bills.”

Vance’s voice went cop-hard, “In exchange for getting charges against Hugh dropped?”

She smiled at him. “No. Because he’s always been a decent man. Sorry for the moron that is his son, but he loves his son. He would have given me the money if I had asked before any of this happened. I forgot that.”

I took Angel’s hand, understanding. She had people who loved her and would help her. “Don’t forget again.”

She smiled. “I won’t.”

I turned back to Vance. “So we’re done?”

He slammed his gold-speckled brown gaze into me. “Done? You and me? I doubt it.” He turned and left.

“That cop’s walking around with a boner for you.”

I damn near choked on my wine. “Angel!” Then I burst out laughing. Angel was Angel and I loved her for that. “I have to go watch Blaine’s video. Are you coming?”

She grinned. “I’m going to go hang around Fireman Bob. I think I have a fire I need him to put out.” She sashayed off.

I watched her for a second and thought,
Go get him, Angel.
It was time for her to let go of Hugh. If Bob could help her do that, I hoped he would unroll his fire hose and go to work.

The interview room door behind me opened. “Boss?”

“I’m coming, Blaine.” I turned and went inside. We had set up twelve folding chairs for people who wanted to watch the video. The oak table was pushed into a corner and had wine, cheese, and coffee on it. Blaine indicated a seat up front next to him. I passed several people I knew, including Linda, Dom, Grandpa, TJ, and Joel. Blaine turned on the tape.

I sat back and watched. Blaine had done a fabulous job. I was in some shots, but mostly he showed clients and couples happy with Heart Mates. It was a fast-moving six-minute video, complete with music. As the music faded, I felt so proud I nearly cried. Blaine and me, we were a hell of a team. We were going to succeed with Heart Mates. I had to look down to regain my composure. Then I looked back up to the TV screen.

Omigod! My heart tripped so that a second of air locked in my lungs.

There I was in full color—the picture that Dee had taken of me. Caught snooping in Gabe’s office, holding that envelope, and my clothes rumpled and stained from the fight with Zack in Angel’s house. My face was a frozen shot of guilt.

The caption read:
Samantha Shaw caught red-handed while pursuing her beloved hobby of snooping.

Laughter broke out. Hard, gut-rolling, can’t-breathe laughter.

I looked over to my
ex
-assistant sitting smugly on my right. “You are so dead.” I stood up and had to fight back a smile. OK, damn it, it was funny. Gabe had gotten his revenge.

And where was Gabe?

I didn’t care how injured he was, that man was going down. I looked at Blaine. “Where is he?”

Blaine stopped laughing and reached into the breast pocket of his shirt. “He’s next door.” He held out a key.

I frowned at the key. “Next door where?” I took the key. “What’s this?” I already had Gabe’s house key.

Blaine looked bored. “He’s in the office that was just leased.”

I looked down at the key, then to the picture of me on the TV screen. The one where I was holding that envelope. There was supposed to be a lease agreement inside that envelope. Then I looked at Blaine. “Gabe leased that suite. And you knew it.”

A pleased smile cracked his face.

“Men.” I stalked out of the interview room, passing a few stragglers who hadn’t left yet, and went out the front door. Turning left, I stopped at the door of the suite next to mine, stuck the key in, and opened it.

Inside, it smelled of musty air scented with warm vanilla. “Gabe?” Fear tickled the back of my neck. I’d just walked into a dark building the night before and nearly lost both Gabe and Angel.

“In here, babe.”

The fear left at the sound of his deep voice. I went in. There were two candles burning on top of a card table, and a bottle of wine and two filled glasses. Underneath the card table was a lantern set on low. Next to the card table was a brown leather couch—just like Angel’s. Gabe sat on the couch. He had his right arm in the sling cradled in his lap. His left arm was stretched out on the back of the couch. I stopped a few feet from him. “That looks like Angel’s couch.”

“Angel had it repaired for you. We figured it would be too crowded in Heart Mates to bring it in for the open house so we left it here for now.”

I fought down a smile. That sounded like Angel. But I was here to yell at Gabe for publicly humiliating me at my open house. And leasing the suite next to mine in secret. “Really? Then get off my couch, Pulizzi.” If he thought that the sling was going to save his butt, he didn’t know me very well.

Gabe rolled up to his feet and towered over me. “What’s the matter, Sam? You look upset.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I look better than I did in that picture.”

He did a slow search with his eyes, down and back up my red halter dress.

“Stop that.” It pissed me off that he could turn me on when I was trying to be mad. And maybe I was a little scared. What was Gabe up to? “Let’s talk about why you leased this suite without talking to me.”

He quirked up his eyebrow. “You saw the envelope with the lease agreement inside it.”

“I didn’t open it.”

He grinned. “Only because my assistant showed up before you could figure out how to open it without me finding out. Then you ran off my assistant.”

“You fired her,” I pointed out.

Gabe’s eyes hardened, his nose flared, and his mouth thinned. He reached out, picked up a glass of wine, and polished off half of it. Then he looked at me. “No one gets between me and you when you are in danger. Dee knew the rules.”

I shivered. For a flash, I saw the primitive man in Gabe, the street fighter with his own brand of justice. I stuck my hand out and snagged the remaining glass of wine. Taking a sip, I knew I wasn’t afraid of Gabe. It wasn’t fear of him that trembled through me, but fear of the depth of our feelings for each other. It wasn’t supposed to be like this—the soccer mom and the dangerous ex-cop.

But it was. And I knew what he meant. I’d felt the exact same thing when I realized Mitch had shot him and was going to finish him off. My brain had slid into a kill-or-be-killed gear that I thought only existed for my two sons.

Gabe settled his gaze on me. “The end result is the same—I need an assistant.”

I looked over my wineglass. “You’re not making sense, Pulizzi.”

“You have an excellent assistant.”

BOOK: Jennifer Apodaca - Samantha Shaw 04 - Batteries Required

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