There Goes the Groom (13 page)

“Fix things?” Kim was practically shouting now. “Marci, this is serious. Paul conned all those people and if you tried to help him flee the country, you could go to jail.”

“I know that,” Marci said, exasperated. “But I didn’t, and everything is under control so don’t yell at me!”

Furious, she slammed down the phone.  Then she closed her eyes, berating herself for losing her temper. Kim had meant well, she knew that.

Kim always meant well.

She didn’t have a mean bone in her body.

Just like always, she’d screwed things up for not only herself but for her wonderful sweet sister who’d never harmed a soul in her life.

Perspiration beaded on her forehead.

Why did Kim have to be such a saint?

It’s not her fault you screwed up.

Unable to stand the guilt, she punched Kim’s number
. 
She answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

Geesh. She could tell she was crying. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, heavy with guilt. “I’m just frustrated, Kim, and so sorry I messed up your work.”

“Marci – “

“No, don’t say anything,” Marci said quickly.  “I will make it right, Kim. I’ll find a way to get those people back their money and to save your center.”

She didn’t wait for a response; she hung up.

Cade’s masculine scent wafted around her, and she sniffed her shirt.   Drat. Her clothes were permeated with him.

Determined to right Paul’s wrongs and forget about what had happened with Cade, she stripped her clothes. She had to quit breathing him in, thinking of him.

Wanting him.

Instead, she had to set a trap for Paul.

That meant she had to talk to Cade.

Detective Muller, she muttered, as she pushed herself up to go have a chat with him.

They’d devise a plan. Midnight was in a few hours, and the clock was ticking.

She yanked on a clean pair of jeans and a sweater, then smoothed down her hair, mentally blocking out memories of that kiss.

Time to make a deal with the devil.

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN

Cade silently chastised himself for taking it too far with Marci. She was right.

She was vulnerable, and he’d taken advantage of that vulnerability because his  libido had spiraled out of control.

The trouble was, he still wanted her.

“You heard,” Marci said as she ended the call with Paul. “Now what? Do I need to talk to a lawyer, to make some kind of deal?”

Her voice was so flat that he instinctively knew he’d really hurt her.

He had to make it up to her.

“You don’t need a lawyer,” he said. “I’ll handle it.”

Marci fidgeted. “But you said I could be arrested for aiding and abetting.”

There was no way in hell he’d let her go to jail. “Only if you’re planning to run off with him. Is that what you’re going to do?”

Her gaze met his, her beautiful eyes filled with pain. “No. I….see now that Paul was just using me.”

Like she thought he’d used her.

“I’ll arrange a deal with the D.A. In exchange for your cooperation, the charges against you will be dropped.”

She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip.  “Then my record will be cleared?”

He nodded. “As if it never happened.”

“How about my sister’s investors? They need to know that she didn’t have anything to do with this scam, so they don’t pull out?”

So that was her motive. She wanted to protect her sister. Admirable that she loved her so much.

“If I have to talk to each one of them myself, I promise you they’ll know the truth, Marci.”

The anxiety on her face lifted slightly. “Thank you, Detective.”

“Cade,” he said automatically.

Her gaze met his, the tension rippling between them. God help him, he wanted to kiss her. To fold her in his arms and promise her that he’d never let anyone hurt her again.

But they still had to catch Pendergrass. And betraying him by setting her fiancé up was going to cost Marci.

He wished he could find a way to handle this without asking her to do that.

But so far, they hadn’t been able to apprehend him.

And tonight, she was going to meet him. He couldn’t turn down this opportunity to catch the bastard.

Not even to protect Marci.

*~*~*~*

Guilt suffused Marci at the idea of betraying Paul.

Maybe lying to people and conning them didn’t bother him or the detective, but she had never blatantly deceived anyone. Well, except for when she and Kim had switched places and Kim had played Austin’s fiancé.

But that had been harmless. And it had turned out great in the end.

Plus, helping the police capture Paul meant sending him to jail.

Two days ago, she’d been in love with him, had thought they had a bright future together.

Now she was alone, she had a criminal record, her ex-fiancé –  they were definitely exes now although they hadn’t officially broken up --  was running from the law.

Worse, she’d practically crawled into bed with the enemy.

The cop who’d handcuffed her and hauled her from her wedding and thrown her in jail.

What in the world was wrong with her? Why was she such a wreck when it came to men?

She must have some mental deficiency that enabled her to let her desires and hunger, and her need for comfort and love, override her common sense.

How pathetic.

“So how do we do this?” she asked, remembering the countless Law & Order episodes she’d watched. “You’re going to follow me in some unmarked car?  Do I wear a wire?”

Cade gave her an odd look, almost apologetic looking. But she couldn’t allow herself to believe that he cared.

“I don’t know. Let me talk to my partner.” He reached for his phone.  “You’re doing the right thing, Marci.”

“The right thing for who? For you?” she asked, her voice cracking.

He tapped the newspaper on the table indicating a half dozen sob stories from the victims.

Judy Baliff and her husband had sold their pig farm to buy resort land and now were living in a shack with his mama. Wiley Duffy and his wife had to dip into their grandchildren’s college funds to pay bills. Erin Gayner and her husband were out on the streets.

The stories went on and on…

“The right thing for all those innocent people he cheated,” he said, his jaw set.  “They lost their savings, futures they’d counted on, their retirement funds, their dreams because Paul Pendergrass is a greedy son of a bitch.”

That put it into perspective. If Paul really had done that, he deserved to rot in a cell.

“Let me call Georgia and we’ll make the arrangements.”

She nodded, missing the closeness they’d shared earlier.  For a moment when he’d held her and kissed her, her troubles had fled and she’d felt …safe.

Almost cared for.

But that had been an illusion.

Too tempted to lean on him now, she decided she had to be alone. The sight of her bed resurrected an image of that torn mattress, driving home the reality that someone wanted her dead.

But who hated her that much?

One of the people she’d unknowingly helped Paul cheat?

She spotted her photo album sticking out of the pile of books and magazines she’d crammed back on the shelf in her haste to clean up from the break-in, and picked it up.

The picture of her and Kim, arms linked, on the cover made her heart squeeze.

At least if she cleared herself, Kim’s precious child center would be saved.

She slumped down on the bed and thumbed through the photos of her childhood, marked by picture after picture of her and Kim. Kim, always the sensible one.

The one who won the achievement awards. The spelling bee. The most honorable student. The class president.

Her on the dance team in a harem costume. A shot of her in a protest rally banning the dress code the school had instilled.

Then a string of photos of different boyfriends. She’d changed them almost as much as she had her outfits.

Next came Kim at graduation, their mother with her arm around her as Kim displayed her valedictorian award.

Marci had been in the background, plotting how to sneak out that night and party with her friends while Kim wrote essays for her college applications.

There were other memories documented there, too. The day another girl beat her up at school. Kim had helped her hide the bruises from their mother who had become less and less available to them. Then there was the night she’d been dumped by her latest boyfriend. He’d put her out on the side of the road because she had refused to put out for him.

Kim had come to the rescue again.

Because their mother was sowing her own wild oats. And their father had been dust in the winds for years.

She owed Kim. Kim had always taken care of her, rescued her butt from trouble, and given her unconditional love when no one else had.

She stood, her resolve renewed. She’d wear a wire and do anything she had to do in order to protect Kim from being slandered now.

*~*~*~*

“You think she’s on the level?” Georgia asked. “She’s really going to cooperate and turn her fiancé in?”

Cade raked a hand through his hair. “Yes.”

“So she got scared enough to agree to help you trap Pendergrass?”

“Something like that. I did offer to get the charges dropped against her.” Cade scanned the parking lot in case the shooter had decided to stake out Marci’s place. A gray car on the far right side caught his eye and he studied it. 

“Ahh, I knew she had a motive.”

“That’s not it,” he said, remembering her reaction to her sister’s problems.  “She didn’t help Pendergrass con those people.  She was duped just like they were.”

“You’re the one being duped by her,” Georgia muttered.

“That’s not fair,” Cade snapped.  “I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

“Admit it, Cade, you want in her pants,” Georgia said snidely.

“Drop the attitude, Georgia,” Cade said. “Just because she’s good looking doesn’t make her evil.”

In fact, he was starting to think Marci was one of the sweetest, kindest women he’d ever met. She obviously loved her sister and would do anything to protect her reputation, even to the point of endangering herself.

She simply had a trusting innocence about her that left her vulnerable to being taken advantage of by others. One he found appealing.

Especially since he’d lost his innocence a long damn time ago. And trusting wasn’t in his vocabulary.

“Maybe we should trade places, Cade. I could babysit her and let you interview the other vics.”

“No,” Cade said.  “You’re not objective. You’ll only alienate her.”

“
I’m
not objective?” Georgia said, sounding miffed.

“No,” Cade said.  “Besides, I’ve built a relationship with her.”

“I can see that.”

Cade grappled for control. “Listen to me, Georgia. I’ve been tracking Pendergrass far too long to let anything prevent me from nailing him. Especially Marci Turner.”

He suddenly sensed something behind him, then turned and saw Marci’s face pale in the moonlight.

Shit. She’d heard every word he’d said.

“Just bring over the wire, and we’ll make a plan.” He snapped the phone shut, then sighed. “Listen, Marci, I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

Marci lifted her chin.  “It’s no problem, Detective. Let’s just get it over with.”

Cade reached for her to explain, but she disappeared inside, cutting him off.

She was right.

He had to finish the job. He couldn’t push her for more.

After all, she might still be in love with the man he was about to arrest.

*~*~*~*

Marci forced her emotions at bay. She was going to survive tonight, then Cade would be out of her life, and she could fall apart.

Maybe Cade could find the money Paul had stolen and give it back to the people he’d conned.

She busied herself cleaning her bedroom and bath. Then she spent a half hour trying to decide what kind of shirt she should wear to hide a wire. The sheer navy silk blouse was one of Paul’s favorites, but you could see through it. The white tank accentuated her figure, but was so tight he’d see the ripple of the wire. Maybe the black v-neck with the plunging neckline…

She tried it and checked the mirror. Yep, it flattered her figure enough to distract him, but was loose and long enough over her leggings to work.

Who knew dressing for undercover work was such a chore?

The clock seemed to tick away the hours in slow motion, but finally Cade’s partner arrived. She had no idea why the cop hated her so much, but she latched onto what dignity she had left and faced her, determined not to allow her bad attitude to daunt her.

She’d born the brunt of mean girls before and survived. She would now.

“Thanks for coming, Georgia,” Cade said.

“Are you ready to do this?” Detective Strait asked Marci.

She nodded.  “I’m supposed to meet him at midnight.”

“I have two undercover officers in place already,” Detective Strait said. “Plus Cade and I will also be there.” She gestured toward Marci’s shirt.  “You’ll have to take that off for me to wire you.”

Marci clenched her teeth, then slipped it over her head.

Cade’s eyes darkened for a moment as his gaze took in her black lacy bra, then he turned and strode to the window and looked out, his expression steely.

But she couldn’t help but remember his fingers tearing at the buttons on her other blouse, his hands and lips raking over her with desire.

“You’re shivering,” Detective Strait said as she attached the small microphone to her bra. “Nervous?”

Marci nodded. No way she’d admit that she was thinking about Cade Muller’s lips and hands when she was supposed to be focusing on the plan.

The detective wound the wire around her belly and taped it in place. Marci glanced down at the woman’s stern concentration and wondered what kind of bra she wore. Probably one made of steel so no man could take it off.

The detective checked to make sure the microphone was secure. “There, that should stay in place.”