Pursuit of a Kiss (3 page)

****

Jake Parker barged in ahead of the cop. The kid
might resent the presence of the FBI, but he’d just have to get over it. Jake
had already promised he wouldn’t intrude on the investigation. Or at least, he
silently acknowledged, he knew he’d try his best not to interfere.

In the doorway he hesitated, staring at the
woman lying in the bed before him. Damn, Aaron hadn’t told him how much Juliet
had changed when he called and begged Jake to check on her at the hospital. She
looked nothing like she had when he last saw her, almost a decade ago. Gone
were the spots of acne and thick glasses. How had he never noticed how bright
blue her eyes were under those frames? Her face had thinned, giving her
prominent cheekbones, her lips seemed fuller and rosier, and she’d done
something different to her hair. Even her fragile, pale skin and the deep black
circles under her eyes couldn’t disguise how beautiful she’d become. He might
have raced to her bedside after her brother’s panicked phone call. Now, after
one glimpse of the woman she’d grown into, he found himself surprisingly glad
to be there.

Juliet blinked at him as he stood somewhat
frozen in the doorway, an adorably confused expression crossing her face.

“Jake? Is that you?”

The cop frowned at him, but Jake ignored the kid
and stepped forward to take Juliet’s hand. “Aaron called when he heard what
happened and asked me to look in on you.”

“But… how does Aaron know? I haven’t talked to
anyone…”

“The hospital called your dad, and he called
Aaron.”

“My dad knows?”

The officer cleared his throat impatiently, so
Jake forced himself to take a step back. “Juliet, the police need to know what
exactly happened, but it won’t take long.” Jake shot the kid a look, warning
what would happen if the questions upset her too much.

Juliet nodded, trying to sit up. Jake gently
pushed her back down and reached for the bed controls to adjust them for her.

“Miss Morris, I’m Officer Williams. I know you
need some rest so, as Special Agent Parker here said, I’ll keep this brief. Did
you get a good look at any of the men?”

“Yes, I saw all of them. The shooter...” She
shuddered involuntarily. “He was Hispanic, with a shaved head and a mustache
and goatee. And he had tattoos all over him, on his arms and the back of his
head.”

“What did the tattoos look like?”

Fighting off the effects of the pain medication
that threatened to send her back to sleep, Juliet closed her eyes to better
picture the scene.

“There was a snake on his arm, a crown, and I
think the number 13. There were others too, but I can’t remember.”

The officer’s eyes grew wider with each new
tattoo she listed, his pen flying across his notepad. “How about the other men
with him?”

“I didn’t get as good a look at them. They were
Hispanic too. I’m pretty sure it was a gang. They all wore something blue, if
that helps ID them.”

 
“You most
likely stumbled onto an ongoing turf war. There have been other shootings
recently at
Penmar
Park
.”

“I read about those. A couple of high school
students were killed.”

Williams nodded. “It sounds like you saw one of
the gang leaders commit the murders himself. Detectives who specialize in gang
crimes will come by tomorrow to talk to you and show you some photos, if that’s
okay. Hopefully you can identify the men you saw.”

“Of course, whatever I can do….” Her voice
trailed off in a yawn.

Williams seemed happy with this turn of events.
“I’ll let you rest, then, and see you tomorrow.”

“I need to talk to you for a minute,” Jake
insisted, thinly veiled anger creeping into his voice. “Juliet, I’ll be right
back.”

Jake ushered Williams outside Juliet’s room, his
irate whisper growing ever louder. “You need to get some guards around her
immediately. You know the V Street 13 have a long history of witness
intimidation.”

“Now, just a minute…”

“The last time the LAPD had a case against
members of

“I know you have a personal involvement here––”

“You’re damn right I do, and I’ll hold you
responsible if anything happens to her.”

“Look here, I was going to call my lieutenant
after questioning Juliet, before you decided to tell me how to do my job. This
is
L.A.
We deal
with gang witnesses all the time and I know how easy it would be for someone to
find out which hospital that ambulance took her to. So how about, instead of
getting in my face, you guard her yourself for a little while until we can get
some protection organized. You were going to stay with her anyway, right?”

Jake wasn’t sure if he kept himself from
blushing, but he did hold his hands up in surrender. “Just making sure she’s
looked after.”

“The detectives can talk to you about different
options tomorrow.”

Jake grumbled unhappily as Williams left. Juliet
had no idea what she’d gotten herself into. Damn right he’d guard her himself.
After all, Aaron was his best friend – he’d do the same for any friend’s little
sister, right? Opening the door to her room, he gazed down at the now sleeping
Juliet. He didn’t know why he felt this urge to protect her, but he absolutely
knew he had no intention of going anywhere anytime soon.

Chapter Two

And You’re to Blame

When Juliet awoke, sunlight streamed through the
windows. Jake sat awkwardly scrunched, sound asleep in the chair beside her. He
looked so adorably cramped, leaning back onto one chair with his feet propped
up on another. He must have stayed all night.

As Jake shifted positions, she had an
irresistible urge to check her hair and makeup. Even as she thought it, she
knew it would be pointless, not to mention unnecessary. Jake had never looked
at her as anything other than Aaron’s baby sister. Juliet, on the other hand,
had developed a crush on him as a twelve-year-old girl the moment she met him.
Jake and her brother Aaron had been freshman roommates at college and had
remained best friends ever since. But she hadn’t seen him in years.

She could still vividly remember the last time:
Aaron’s twenty-fifth birthday. He’d thrown one of his infamous parties, and
Jake had sauntered in late, his classic cocky grin in place, his arm draped
around a woman whose black dress looked as though it had been painted directly
onto her body. Not that it actually covered much skin. At nineteen, Juliet
wanted to prove how grown up she’d become, so she invited Jake to do some shots
with her. Bad idea. Having not eaten much, she spent most of the party puking
in the bathroom. Jake did leave his date for a while to nurse her through the
worst of it, holding her hair back and bringing her water. He didn’t leave
until her friends assured him they would take her straight home. As they
escorted her out, she saw Jake return to his date’s side.
 

“That was so sweet of you to take care of your
friend’s little sister. At that age I didn’t know when to stop drinking
either,” his date murmured as she clutched Jake’s arm.

Juliet wished she hadn’t heard that comment. Her
face turned bright red. Not that Jake would have noticed at that point, with
the hottie snuggled up to him once again.

Shortly thereafter, Aaron had gotten married and
had two children, ending his party days. Without those gatherings, Juliet had
no excuse to contact Jake. Yet now, here he was.

Feeling Jake’s eyes on her, she looked over to
find him awake and smiling. He sat up, rubbing his hands over his face as if to
clear the sleepiness away.

“How are you feeling? Are you in a lot of pain?”

Juliet shook her head. “It’s not nearly as bad
as yesterday, but I’m still so tired. How long do I have to stay here?”

“Probably one more day. They’ve got you on IV
antibiotics. They always worry about infection with gunshot wounds.”

“But if I’m on an IV why did that doctor give me
a shot?”

Jake shrugged and automatically reached for the
TV remote. Juliet stifled a laugh. In some ways he hadn’t changed a bit.

“I may fall asleep again soon.” As proof of her
words, she couldn’t quite stop herself from yawning.

Jake studied her a moment then reached over to
smooth her hair back from her face.

 
Juliet
felt her heartbeat speed up. Unfortunately, the heart monitor picked that up
too, but she prayed Jake wouldn’t notice the slightly faster beeps. He still
had the same piercing green eyes. When he turned his gaze on her, it felt as
though she were the only person in the world. His chestnut brown hair had
gotten a bit long, and it was mussed from him running his hand through it.
Stubble covered his chin and cheeks, giving him a rugged air. And he still had
that one delectable dimple on his right cheek that appeared when he smiled,
which he did in response to her half-smothered yawn.

Concern filled his eyes as his hand lingered,
entwined in her hair. Then, ever so softly, he ran his thumb along the shadows
under her eyes as though he could wipe them away. Without warning, he shrank
away from her and cleared his throat.

“You should rest.” His harsh tone surprised her,
but it softened somewhat as he added, “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

“You’re staying?”

“Your family would kill me if I left you alone.
And luckily, being a high and mighty Special Agent gets me around visiting
hours.”

Her heart thumped as his lips turned up in that
cocky expression of his. Juliet fought to stay awake, wanting to prolong the
conversation, but her body refused to obey.

“I won’t tell them if you want to go home for a
while,” she mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open.

In answer he leaned back in his chair and once
more propped his feet up. “As long as it doesn’t bother you if I watch TV, I’m
all set.”

Juliet felt herself falling asleep before she
could reply.

****

Brad paced around the waiting room, tilting his
head to peer at Carly’s watch practically every fifteen seconds. Carly let out
an irritated sigh, flipping the pages of her magazine with far more force than
necessary. “Will you sit down? They promised to get us when we could see her.”

“Do you think she wants to see me?”

“Probably not.”

Brad’s hands tightened around the bouquet of
roses he carried. “She’ll forgive me. I know she will.”

Carly snorted in response, turning back to her
magazine. A Latino man wearing a black t-shirt that showed off arms covered in
tattoos sat down nearby. Carly automatically shifted away from him, leaning the
opposite direction in her chair. She felt him watching her and her skin began
to crawl. Taking a few quick breaths, she slid her eyes towards him, wondering
if she should go get security or what. Maybe he was part of the same gang that
attacked Juliet and she could help catch her attempted murderer.

Growing bold, Carly turned her head. The man sat
thumbing through a GQ magazine. He didn’t even glance in her direction as she
continued to stare. Either the magazine was a clever ruse, or she was a
colossal idiot. Reluctantly, Carly admitted to herself it might be the latter.

Just after nine o’clock a nurse came out to let
them know they could go to Juliet’s room. Carly bounded forward, eager to see
her best friend. Brad looked as though he were on a death march. Still, he
caught Carly’s arm before she reached the door so he could go in first.

It didn’t matter, however, as Dr. Erosou stepped
in their path.

“Ah, what lovely flowers for Miss Juliet.” He
ran his fingers along the stem of one rose, lingering on a single thorn.
“Forgive me, I had to admire the bouquet. Go ahead in.”

****

Jake cursed at the loud knocking at the door,
annoyed anyone would dare interrupt Juliet’s much-needed rest. Before he had a
chance to move, a lanky guy carrying what looked like a dozen long-stemmed red
roses burst into the room. Through the open doorway, Jake spotted Dr. Erosou
approaching, watching them intently.

“Can I help you?” Jake asked.

“Who are you?” Brad demanded.

Jake stood up, getting some satisfaction that
the guy had to look up to him.

“A friend. And you are?”

“Her boyfriend, so get out of my way.”

“Brad, stop shouting,” Carly hissed, trying to
take his arm. He shook her off.

Jake stood firmly in front of the newcomers.
“She’s resting.”