Thieves Like Us (26 page)

Rocky couldn’t think of a single safe thing to say, so he tried a tight smile.

Ben shook his head in disgust and started down the steps. But before Rocky could breathe a sigh of relief, the police chief turned back.

“Hey.” He barked it like a drill sergeant. “You happen to see Janet’s Colombian shadows last night?”

“No. They followed us from the DIA, but we dodged them.” And he hadn’t given them another thought, with all the fun distractions that followed.

“Huh. I figured.”

That pricked his curiosity. “Why?”

“I suspect they’re the ones responsible for a couple smash and grabs at jewelry stores last night. One in Troy, one in Novi. Made off with about fifty grand altogether. They either got tired of waiting for Janet to lead them to what they want, or they had a little temper tantrum over you two shaking their tail. Maybe a little of both.”

He knew Ben wouldn’t hold him responsible for what the Colombians did, so it must be the man’s generally nasty mood that made it sound accusatory. “Was anyone hurt?”

“A store manager got beaten up by one of the guys. The asshole seemed to go out of his way to do it, too.”

“Strange,” he muttered, hoping like hell it wasn’t some sort of skewed revenge for what he’d done, but suspecting it was.

Ben looked him up and down. “I’d strongly advise against taking that girl anywhere right now. If these guys are getting impatient, I want to know she’s in a safe place.”

“Good idea.” Janet was going to hate it.

“You just remember, Hernandez, I’m counting on you to keep her safe.” Ben drilled him with a hard look, then stomped off.

Ben was right; Janet’s safety came first. If they couldn’t sneak off to Jack and Ellie’s house again, at least he could spend a few hours with her here. His attraction to her had never been all about sex, anyway. He’d admired her spirit since the day they’d met. She’d escaped an attempt on her life, then fought back. Not against the paid Colombian hitmen, which would probably be suicidal, but against her crazy husband who had orchestrated the plot. The smart thing probably would have been to let the DEA and FBI and God knows how many other alphabet agencies try to prove Banner’s guilt. They might have even succeeded after a few years. Instead, she went after him herself with nothing more than a bumbling, well-intentioned friend and a whole lot of anger. She’d succeeded, too, and Rocky had fallen for her on the spot.

But now he was determined to keep her safe. As long as the Colombians were stalking her and someone was still looking for the rest of the Pellinni Jewels, his sex life was on hiatus.

Rocky half expected Mr. Peters to answer the door armed with a water rifle and packing a spare tank on his back. The boring black suit was almost a disappointment.

“Good evening, Roberto.” Elizabeth appeared from the direction of the living room. If she’d been upset by her conversation with Ben, she’d regained her composure nicely. “Should I have you frisked for kittens?”

“No ma’am, no kittens. Not even a flea.”

“Then I believe you’re welcome. Janet is downstairs with Libby.”

“I guess that means you’re rejecting me.”

She shook her head. “Ah, Roberto, you have a remarkable talent for flirting.”

He grinned, recognizing
flirting
as a euphemism for
bullshit.
“It’s a gift,” he agreed. “But sadly underappreciated. Maybe Janet and Libby will fall for it.”

“Oh, I think they already have.”

He smiled, not sure if that was good or bad, and headed for the staircase.

The spa, bar, and rec room on the lower level were deserted, but the door to the home theater was closed. He opened it into a dark room with a movie playing on the large TV screen. From the center of three rows of reclining chairs, Janet raised a hand and waved him over, while Libby called out, “Close the door!”

On the screen, a pretty red-haired actress hugged a stuffed animal and whined to her friend, “But he said he loved me. How am I supposed to know if he’s lying?” Chick flick—he should have guessed.

He walked down the inclined floor to the middle row, where he was nearly knocked over by the furry critter that lunged toward him, dancing on hind legs and whining.

“Hey there, Adolf buddy.” He pushed the pup down and gave him some friendly thumps on the shoulder.

“His name’s Freddie,” Libby offered without taking her eyes off the screen.

“Much better. Hi, Freddie.”

“Shhh,” Libby hissed. “Sit down.”

He slid obediently into the seat next to Janet, whispered, “Hi,” and leaned over to kiss her before settling back in the plush chair.

On the other side of Janet, Libby bent forward, eyes wide with surprise. “You kissed her.”

He gave her a blank look. “Did not.”

“Yes, you did. I saw it.”

“Hush,” he told her. “This is my favorite part of the movie. I always cry.”

She raised her eyebrows and gave Janet a look that said,
You will tell me all about this later.
Since Janet seemed amused, he took her hand and conspicuously held it.

They watched in silence for several minutes, during which Libby checked out the handholding with furtive glances. She finally turned to them with a sly smile. “You want me to leave so you guys can make out?”

“Sure, would you?”

“As if.”

Janet nudged his arm and gave him a “what the hell are you doing” stare. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he was trying out the idea of them as a couple, bouncing it off Libby’s dependably honest personality. He liked the result. Libby’s only objection seemed to be that she hadn’t been told directly. He smiled to himself, convinced they could take this thing public. If Janet agreed. It was a big “if.”

He tried to follow the movie, even though the only good part was being able to hold Janet’s hand while the clueless redhead made one bad decision after another. He was actually relieved twenty minutes later when his cell phone rang.

“Outside,” Libby and Janet said together without taking their eyes off the screen.

Gladly.
He looked at the caller ID as the theater door closed behind him. “Hi, Ben. What’s up?”

“Thought you’d like some good news. We picked up the two guys who’ve been tailing Janet. Got enough to hold ’em for forty-eight hours.”

“Great!” Without the Colombians watching for an opportune moment to strike, he’d have Janet out of here within a minute of hanging up the phone.

“Yeah. That’s the good news.”

Suspicion clouded the happy scenarios that were already running through his mind. “What’s the bad news?”

“The gun you took off them wasn’t the one used in the pawnshop murder in Detroit. Neither was the gun we found in their car.”

Shit.
“That was pretty fast for ballistics results.”

“Didn’t need to do ’em. They’re carrying forty-fives. The kid was shot with a thirty-two. It was a long shot anyway; guns aren’t their style. The feds say these guys like to be a little more hands-on. Besides, we had ’em under surveillance during the probable hours when the pawnshop kid was murdered.”

Damn. Someone else had killed Sleazy. It wasn’t hard to imagine that Sleazy had another shady customer, but it was unlikely both would come back to bite him at the same time. If his deal with Banner had stirred up the Colombians, then most likely it had stirred up someone else, too. The Colombians would be looking for diamonds, their usual method of laundering money. Which meant, just as he’d expected, someone else was looking for the Pellinni Jewels. Which meant—

“Janet is still in danger,” Ben stated for him. “She had the necklace, so they’re going to assume she has the rest of the collection. And this guy is willing to kill to get it. Didn’t think the damn things were that impressive myself.”

“Trust me, they are to collectors.”

“Well, if someone is that desperate to get them, he won’t give up just because he didn’t find them the first time he searched her home.”

“I know.”

“We’re releasing her place as a crime scene, but you can’t let her move back in.”

“I know.”

“They might even be looking for a way to get into Liz’s place, as long as she’s staying there.”

“I know, Ben. The house is pretty secure already, but I’ll talk to Elizabeth about it and make sure she increases the security.” He doubted she’d be open to any suggestions coming from Ben right now.

Ben grumbled, “Thanks,” before saying good-bye. Rocky closed the phone as Janet and Libby walked out, Freddie bounding after them. Libby clapped her hands and chased the dog around the rec room. Rocky sensed she’d had a sudden attack of self-consciousness and was now avoiding him and Janet.

He watched Libby while saying in a low voice to Janet, “Your Colombians are in temporary police custody. Want to get out of here for a while?” He skipped mentioning the mysterious jewel thief. If the guy was watching Janet, he’d be interested in breaking into places when she wasn’t there, not when she was. In Rocky’s experience, most thieves would prefer to obtain their pieces without ever seeing, much less threatening, the owners. If the guy still didn’t find what he was looking for—well, they’d worry about that later.

The idea of freedom lit up Janet’s face, with an added sparkle of what he hoped was lust. “Yes!”

He smiled and called out to Libby, “Janet and I are going for a drive. We’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” She didn’t look up from playing with Freddie.

He didn’t believe her; it wasn’t okay.

Janet caught his worried look. “Three’s company,” she murmured, confirming his thoughts.

He nodded and held up a finger. “One minute.” Crossing the room, he stopped beside Libby as she bent over, petting Freddie and acting as if she didn’t know he was there.

“Hey, Lib.”

“What?” She straightened, looking a little flushed.

Most of the time he felt like an uncle to his best friend’s daughter, but right now she seemed more in need of a big brother. “Come here.” When she hesitated he forced the issue and tugged her toward him and wrapped her in a hug. For a couple seconds she remained stiff, then softened and hugged him back.

“What’s that for?” she said against his chest.

Setting her back, he waited for her eyes to meet his. “For being cool about me and Janet.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, well, it was bound to happen.”

The resignation in her voice made his smile slip. “What do you mean?”

“You know. She’s so pretty and nice, and you’re always dating pretty girls, so it figures you’d add her to the list.”

Alarm bells rang in his head. He hadn’t seen that one coming, but he should have. He couldn’t even remember how many times he’d gone to Jack and Ellie’s house for a backyard barbeque with a casual date, or stopped by to pick something up while a woman waited in the car. More than he cared to count. Even if they hadn’t meant much to him, he should have realized showing up with a different woman so often would make an impression on a highly observant teenage girl—especially when he was aware that her friendship bordered on a semicrush she was still learning how to handle.

God, he was dense. And Libby was more mature than he’d given her credit for. She wasn’t feeling rejected. She was worried about
Janet
eventually being rejected. By him.

Deliberately turning his back on Janet, he wrapped an arm around Libby’s shoulder and put his head near hers. “Lib, I have to tell you something, but I don’t want you to tell anyone else. Not yet.”

She looked suspicious. “Maybe. Tell me first.”

He couldn’t help smiling at her caution. “I know you’re worried about Janet, but you don’t have to be. She’s not like anyone else I’ve been out with. Janet’s different.”

“No kidding. She’s way better.”

“Yes, she is. I’m not about to screw it up.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good.” Her stern expression could have come from his own mother. She folded her arms, a younger version of her authoritative grandmother. “But why should I believe you?”

He looked back at Janet, who stood with hands in her pockets, waiting, a hesitant smile on her beautiful face, wondering what he was saying to Libby.

The truth hit him—because he loved her.

He actually wasn’t that surprised. He’d never been so infatuated with a woman before, and Janet Aims had more than lived up to his fantasies. But fantasies were just part of the chase. In the light of the morning after, they tended to wear off. Not this time, though. That didn’t surprise him either. With Janet he only wanted more. What
did
surprise him was the urge to rip apart any man who stood in his way. He hadn’t known he could love that quickly or that deeply. And he knew telling her would risk scaring her off forever.

He couldn’t tell Libby. Not yet, not before he’d told Janet. He understood that on a cellular level. Janet would
not
appreciate having someone else hear it first. Actually, she wouldn’t appreciate hearing it at all.

“Because she means a lot to me.” He put as much sincerity in it as he could. Libby searched his face, her narrow gaze unnervingly mature. He had the feeling she already understood men all too well, and could categorize them by acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. He very much wanted to be one of the good ones.

Her expression gradually softened to something kind and gentle. “Good luck,” she told him. “I hope she feels the same way.”

A tiny quiver of panic shot down his back, shaking his confidence. Libby knew Janet well. “You think she might not?”

Libby shrugged, unconcerned with the possibility of his future heartbreak. “It’s always a risk, isn’t it?”

He looked at her as if she’d suddenly grown a tail. “God, you’re tough. I think I feel sorry for the man who falls in love with you.”

As if he’d complimented her, she said, “Really?”

“Definitely. Poor bastard.” He tousled her hair lightly to counteract the joking insult, even though she didn’t seem to take it as one. She couldn’t have looked more satisfied as they left. His last glimpse was of Libby firmly instructing Freddie to “sit,” while pushing his bottom into place. The pup wriggled but stayed, adoring eyes on Libby’s face.