Sweet Vengeance (36 page)

That
was the only explanation as to why she sat on the couch alone.  He'd gone
without her.  She'd given him all the information he'd needed.  Then he'd put
her back up on that damned pedestal where she was not allowed to live or love,
but where she'd be safe.

She
sighed in disgust and stood, walking to the windows, gazing down at the street
below.  No sign of him, and she'd played the waiting game long enough.  Sure,
he could have fallen off the curb and broken his ankle.  Or maybe the bagels
were still baking. 
Or
maybe he'd gone off on his own to play superhero.

She
scoffed.  That was
exactly
what he would do.  And why should she be
surprised?  He'd been pushing her away since they'd first met.  He always said
he needed to get revenge on his own.  He probably figured he'd get to the
bowling alley and be halfway back to his apartment before she realized what
he'd done.

Damn
him.

She
grabbed her purse and hurried to the door.  He wasn't doing this without her.

Allie
had been so intent on getting out the front door of the lobby that she collided
with a man entering the building.

"Whoa." 
He caught her in his arms taking the brunt of the impact.

She
looked up, startled to find Max's blue eyes staring back at her. 
"Max?"

Surprise
widened his eyes.  "Allie?"  He looked around the lobby as though
searching for Jase.  "What are you doing here?  Jase said you were
somewhere in Florida."

Florida? 
Jase really hadn't told anyone where she'd gone.  "I'm here on some
personal business."  She wasn't about to give Max any details.  He hadn't
been the kindest person during her previous stay with Jase.  "What are you
doing here?"

"I
came to see Jase."

No
doubt Jase had called Max to give him the good news.  "He's already gone
out searching for it."  She was still ticked.  "He was supposed to
wait for me, but as you can see, he didn't."

Max
arched his brows.  "I guess he was in a hurry."

"I'm
sure he was.  But something this important...he should have taken me
along."

"You
know how worried he is about you."  Max narrowed his eyes, tilting his
head slightly.  "If you'd like, I can drive you there.  You do know where
he's headed, right?"

"Of
course, I do."  Max still irritated her.  "I'm the one who figured
out where it was."

He
nodded toward the entrance.  "My car's just outside."

As
much as she didn't care for Max, riding with him would save her the time it
took to catch a taxi.  "Fine.  Let's go."  And if he tried anything
stupid, she did have her gun.

*       
*        *

The
handcuffs chafed against Jase's wrists as the moustached officer shoved him
into a chair in Sergeant Cates' office.  "Wait here."

Jase
cussed under his breath at the retreating officer's form.  He should have
become a cop instead of a vigilante.  Then he wouldn't have to put up with this
bullshit.

He
looked around Cates' office, anxious to give the sergeant a piece of his mind. 
He wasn't surprised the place was a mess.  Cates had always been a pig.  Files
scattered on the desk, a soggy-looking fast-food cup sitting near his
computer.  Cates was worse than an asshole for hauling him in.  He didn't have
anything on Jase.  He'd been trying for years, and Cates could never make
anything stick.

The
name on one of the folders caught Jase's attention.  Joey Pagano.  Jase scooted
closer in his chair to get a better look at the other files.  Benny Trasatti. 
Gregory Winslow.  Shit.  Everything Cates knew about those cases sat inches in
front of him, and his damn hands were cuffed behind his back.

Maybe
he could elbow one of them open.  But before he could act, Cates entered his
office.

"Jase
Tyler."  The veteran Chicago police officer stared down his nose and over
his bushy moustache at Jase.  "Looks like you've been busted again."

"You
haven't got shit on me, Cates, and you know it."  Jase eyed him with
contempt.

"What
about Alexandra Fox?  I have several eyewitnesses willing to testify you
kidnapped her."  The sergeant sat at his desk, gathering all the files
into one pile.

Jase
eyed the manila folders before he shifted his hardened gaze to the overweight
officer.  "Miss Fox is happily ensconced in my apartment waiting for her
breakfast."  Jase gave him a cocky grin.  "We were up quite late last
night.  In fact, she might still be in bed."  Jase wanted the cop to know
Allie was in his camp, not the cop's.

Cates'
eyes narrowed.  "So you say."

"So,
she'll say, too, if you'll cut out this bullshit game and go check on
her."

A
smug smile curved the sergeant's lips.  "Already did.  No one's
there."

Jase
straightened in his chair.  "What?  What do you mean she's not
there?"  A wild panic flared inside him.  "Did they knock on the
door, or did they go inside?"

"She's
not there.  She was spotted leaving with a blond man who sounds an awful lot
like your sidekick, Max Carper."

"No." 
The jolt to Jase's heart would have been enough to revive a dead man. 
"I've got to get out of here."  He stood, and Cates followed suit.

"You're
not going anywhere, Tyler." 

Flames
heated Jase's fear to white hot.  "It's obvious I didn't kidnap her.  You
just admitted she left of her own free will."  He'd had enough of this
idiotic cat-and-mouse game.  "You have nothing to hold me on."

Cates
walked around until he was face-to-face with Jase.  "Maybe, maybe not.  I
still have people saying you committed a crime."  He shoved Jase's chest,
knocking him back into the chair.  "Until I have a chance to gather some
facts, it would be remiss of me to let you go."

Jase
glared at the man he'd long despised.  "You know you haven't got anything
on me."

Cates
shrugged and opened one of the folders on his desk.  "I've got men looking
for Miss Fox.  Once we verify she's okay, I'll let you go."  He arched a
bushy brow.  "Unless I manage to come up with something else on you in the
meantime."

Jase
buried his fear in order to get a clear head.  Allie was in danger.  He knew
it.  More likely than not, Allie would think he'd left her behind.  He should
have been more open with her about Max.  Damn.  More open about everything. 

She'd
be just pissed enough she'd trust Max.  And why shouldn't she?  Jase had always
trusted him, too.  

Could
be he was wrong and Max would help her. 

No. 
He knew that wasn't true.  Max had never let on he didn't have Allie's best
interests at heart, but there was something in the way he continually probed
Jase for information on her.  He wanted to find her, and Jase's gut told him it
didn't have anything to do with helping their cause.

Shit. 
"Cates."

The
cop looked up from his files with a lazy gaze, and Jase knew damn well the
officer had been playing him.

"We
can't wait for your men to find Allie."

A
bushy gray brow shot up.  "Allie?  I thought her name was
Alexandra."  He gave Jase a thoughtful look as though he were pondering
some new information.  Jase rolled his eyes.  "Hmm," the officer
continued.  "Wasn't there someone connected to the Pagano murder by the
name of Allie?  Joey's girlfriend, I believe."

"Don't
make an ass of yourself, Cates.  If you haven't figured out she's one and the
same, you're an idiot.  She told me all about your meeting."

"You're
the one playing games, Tyler.  It sounds to me like you need to come clean with
some information."  A look of triumph sparkled in Cates' eyes. 

Jase
didn't care.  At this point, he didn't even care if they located Joey's
recording or not.  All he cared about was making sure Allie was safe.

He
took a deep breath.  "Allie thinks she's figured out where Joey's
recording might be.  We were going to go there this morning until your men
hauled me in."  He tried not to think of what might happen to her. 
"I'm sure she's now headed there with Max.  And if my gut instinct is
correct, Max is no longer playing for my team."  He released a worried
breath, pinning the cop with a serious look.  "I think Trasatti has him in
his pocket.  If I'm right, once they get what they want, Allie's dead."

It
was Cates' turn to jump up from his chair.  "What the hell are we sitting
here for?"

*       
*        *

Allie
glanced sideways at the man driving the flashy, new black Porsche.  For the
life of her, she couldn't figure out what Jase saw in Max.  He gave her the
chills.  The first time she'd met him, she'd gotten a creepy feeling about
him.  Since then, Max hadn't given her any reason to change her mind.

"You
need to turn here," Allie directed.  "And then take the next
left."  It had been a long time since she'd been near her old home.  The
neighborhood still needed a good washing and a fresh coat of paint.  A few of
her old haunts had been boarded up, but it seemed not much else had changed. 
She wondered if Aunt Rita lived in the same house.  She snorted.  Had her aunt
ever cared enough to wonder what had happened to her?

Max
flipped on the windshield wipers, clearing away the drizzle of rain that
spotted the front window and kept the majority of the people off the streets. 
"Something funny?"

"No,
I wasn't laughing."  She really didn't want to converse with the man.  She
wanted to find Jase.  "I was just thinking about when I used to live
here."

"Long
time ago, huh?"  He slanted a glance at her.  "You sure have
changed."

She
raked her fingers through her short hair and glanced out the side window. 
"Should we try calling Jase again?"

"Doubt
he'll answer."

Max
had already called him once, leaving a message saying they were on their way to
find the item they'd all been looking for.  Max had also said if they didn't
find him there, then they'd go back to Jase's place. 

She
sighed, looking forward, watching as the wipers made another trek across the
window.  She and Max were almost there.  She couldn't wait to get away from him
and find Jase.

Max
turned the corner onto the littered street and pulled up in front of the
bowling alley.  Not much had changed in the last six years.  Brad's Bowling
looked as shabby as ever.  But what bothered her most was the fact none of the
cars parked along the narrow street looked like they belonged to Jase.  They
were all dilapidated, broken heaps of metal.

"It
doesn't look like he's here."  She worried her bottom lip as she glanced
at Max.  "Do you think he's already come and gone?"

Max
opened his door.  "There's only one way to find out."

With
a sense of apprehension, Allie climbed out of the car.  If Jase had already
left, then they'd have to turn around and go back to Jase's apartment.  If he
hadn't arrived yet, then where was he?

Max
held open the glass door of the bowling alley, letting her enter first.  Other
than the light coming from the doorway and the lights at the end of the bowling
lanes, the room was darkened.  The smell of stale cigarettes permeated the air.

Allie
walked inside, letting old memories wash over her.  She had enjoyed working for
Mr. Wood.  In that moment, she missed Joey, his handsome face and engaging
laugh.  Now, he was long gone and buried.  A sad smile settled on her lips. 
They'd had so much fun together.

"Can
I help you?"  A wiry, older man appeared in the doorway of the office. 
Bradley Wood.  His light blue shirt was stained with grease, and he looked like
he could use a good meal.  "We don't usually see too many bowlers until a
little later, but..."

"Mr.
Wood?"  She and Joey had often joked about what kind of parents would name
their child Brad Wood.  Joey would tease her and ask who would want to own a
bowling alley, and she'd answer, "Brad would". 

The
man stepped a little closer, and Allie could see he'd acquired quite a few more
wrinkles since she'd known him.  "I'm Mr. Wood.  Is there something I can
help you with?"

Allie
smiled then and moved toward him with her hand out.  "It's Allie, Allie
Jordan."

Brad
squinted and then returned her smile as he took her hand.  His appearance
didn't do justice to the strength she felt in his grip.  "My goodness,
Allie, you sure have grown up.  I remember when—"  He stopped, his smile
fading.  "Well, you know."

"I
do, Mr. Wood.  I remember having some of the best times here."  Her
memories clogged in her throat as unexpected tears sprang to her eyes.  She
swiped them away and glanced at Max to see his reaction.  He nodded,
encouraging her to continue.

She
took a deep breath.  "Mr. Wood, I'm wondering if you still—"

"I
do," he interrupted, and she gave him a questioning smile.  "I know
what you're here for."  He turned and started walking toward the row of
lockers.