Veiled Intentions (6 page)

Hardly a bargaining tool in this game of jockeying for control.

“Any place in particular I should avoid kissing you?” she asked.

And she was serious.

“Let's just say I'd be attentive to just about anything and leave it at that.” He glanced back at the doorway of Perfect Match. Not an empty doorway, either. Addison Merrick was there, and he was staring at them.

Cursing, Joe latched on to a handful of that flame-red hair and hauled her to him. He kissed her all right, but he kept an eye on their voyeuristic host. When he was satisfied that he'd done all he could to preserve their cover, Joe started the car and drove away.

The next step was to go to Katelyn's fake apartment so they could begin the next phase of the pretense. That meant spending the next four days, and nights, together.

Alone.

“I thought you said unnecessary kissing wasn't a good idea?” she complained.

“Trust me, it was necessary.”

Besides, it was too late to undo it. And it sure as heck was too late to stop what they'd put into motion. They'd either succeed together.

Or maybe die trying.

Either was possible.

“I think I might have found something,” she heard Joe announce from the other room.

Katelyn leaned back a little so she could glance at him through the bedroom door. For security reasons they had turned off most of the lights, but it wasn't difficult to see Joe working on his laptop at the tiny kitchen table in the equally tiny kitchen. There were no windows in that particular area so he was using the dim light over the stove to read through the latest background info on their suspects.

“Addison Merrick's longtime fiancée broke up with him last month. A bad break, too. Very messy,” Joe went on. He positioned one of the other kitchen chairs in front of him and propped up his feet. “And according to his very chatty personal trainer, he's been under psychiatric care since he was a teenager. He suffers from manic-depression coupled with something called radical impulsive tendencies.”

“What the heck is that last part?” She opened the suitcase that Garrett had packed for her and plundered
through it for something she could wear to bed. Hopefully, it'd be something that covered a lot of skin because the apartment only had one small bedroom. The sleeping bag in the corner let her know that she'd be sharing that limited space with Joe.

Katelyn took a deep, steadying breath.

“Beats me. Maybe it means Merrick's just an irrational ticked-off killer, as opposed to all those other nonticked-off rational killers we deal with every day.”

“Yeah, that'd be a nice change, huh?” she joked.

Katelyn studied the garments and realized she'd gotten her
something to cover a lot of skin
wish. There was an enormous pair of cartoon superhero pj's, no makeup whatsoever, only a toothbrush for toiletries, jeans and a T-shirt. Her underwear choices were limited to cotton and were the worst ones possible Garrett could have found in her lingerie drawer. If that's where he indeed got them. They looked like Salvation Army rejects.

She frowned.

Garrett was either trying to establish a new fashion look for her or else he wanted to make sure there was nothing alluring about her appearance. Perhaps the contents of the suitcase were her brother's version of a modern-day chastity belt.

With her limited choices, she opted for the pj's that were dotted with caped and winged crusaders. Katelyn stepped deeper into the dark bedroom, keeping the door open a crack between them so she could still hear Joe's ongoing summary of the new reports.

“I think some of the dots are starting to connect,” he continued. “Get this—Merrick's shrink is a guy by the name of Dr. Allen Kent. Ring any bells?”

The moment the name registered, Katelyn hurriedly put on the pj's and walked back to the doorway. “He's Gail's ex-husband. Their divorce became final just a couple of weeks before her wedding to Raul.”

Now that was an interesting connection. Their prime suspect, Addison Merrick, was in therapy with the ex-husband of their first murder victim.

“Coincidence?” she suggested.

“Maybe.” Joe tossed her a glance. And did a double take before he shook his head. “But because he's an ex, he's a suspect. I'll have someone question Dr. Kent tomorrow. Too bad I can't do it myself, but I can't risk blowing our cover.”

“It might be a risk no matter who does the questioning, especially since he'll just roadblock us with doctor-patient confidentiality. He might even lawyer up. Wouldn't it be a better idea just to have him followed?”

“Then I wouldn't be able to get his reaction when he's asked about his connection to Merrick.”

True. And maybe it was worth the risk just to shake things up a little. It might make the sniper think twice about launching another attack over the weekend.

“What exactly are you wearing?” Joe asked.

She glanced down at the pajamas and shrugged. “I think it belongs in the sleepwear category of garments. Garrett packed for me.”

That seemed to be the only explanation Joe re
quired. He mumbled something under his breath about brotherly love, minimized Merrick's file on the computer screen and clicked on to the next one.

While she waited for it to load, she glanced at Joe's attire. He still wore the clothes he'd had on for the icebreaker. Well, minus the jacket. His hair was no longer perfect, however. Probably because he had a habit of scratching his head and running his hand through it while in deep thought.

And then there was the stubble.

No ordinary five o'clock shadow for this guy. Nope. It fell into the category of the desperado look. Very fashionable. Equally sexy. But what made it even more so was that he wore it as naturally as that contemplative cop's look, which sadly for her was the greatest turn-on of all.

“Fiona Shipley,” Joe read aloud.

Good. Back to business. It was exactly where her mind needed to be. “Anything new on her?”

“You mean other than the fact that she managed to shake the backup officers who were following her, and now no one knows where she is?”

“Yes, other than that,” Katelyn grumbled.

She made her way around him to get to the fridge. Ah, she had much better luck there than her suitcase. It was stocked with fruit and other snacks, but what immediately caught her eye was the six-pack of her favorite Irish beer. It must have been Garrett's peace offering for the botched fashion choices.

“Other than a knack for disappearing,” Joe said glancing over the report, “we don't really have much.
We already knew she was a frequent customer at Perfect Match and that the dead groom had been one of her fairly recent dream matches.”

Katelyn opened a bottle of beer and took a long sip. “Which means nothing, of course. I had over a dozen dream matches so heaven knows how many she's had over the past year.”

There. She'd been trying to figure out a way to dismiss the fact that Joe had been her number one match. Not that it was important, but it'd been one of those little nagging thoughts in the back of her mind.

When he didn't respond, Katelyn glanced at him. No double take this time. Joe was staring at her. Well, he was staring at her beer, anyway.

“Want one?” she asked, lifting the bottle. “It's the good stuff. My favorite. I'll have to thank Garrett for buying it.”

“Actually, I asked him to pick it up when he wanted to know what to bring over.”

Katelyn had already reached for the fridge, but that brought her hand to a stop. She forced herself not to stop for too long so it wouldn't appear she was shocked by that revelation.

“Well, then. I owe you the thanks instead.” She took out a beer from the fridge, handed it to him and left it at that.

Joe closed down the files and started in on his beer. It was obviously his favorite, as well.

“Agreeing to go into that back office with Merrick wasn't a safe idea,” he let her know.

Oh, that.

She hadn't thought for a minute that he'd forget it. “No. But it was a smart one. Come on, you were on the verge of following him, but I just got around to saying it first.”

He didn't agree, or disagree. Joe sat there, staring into space while slowly sliding his fingers through the moisture on the longneck bottle.

Judas.

Even that made her body think of erotic things that it shouldn't be thinking about.

“Talk to me about Brayden,” she said to give her body something else to contemplate. “About this so-called investigation that the chief ordered regarding preferential treatment.”

That got Joe's attention off blank space. He looked at her again. “Is this the part where you tell me to back off and leave your brother alone?”

“Something like that. He's had a rough time recently.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I heard. I'm sorry about his wife's death.”

“His wife's
murder,
” Katelyn quickly corrected. “She was murdered last year, and the case is practically cold. There are no arrests and no leads. Brayden has to live with that every single moment of his life. Any idea what that does to a good cop, to know he can't solve his own wife's murder?”

Another nod.

“By nodding, I guess you mean to imply that you understand, but there's no way you could,” Katelyn went on. There was a lot more emotion in her voice
than she wanted. But then, she'd never thought to discuss this objectively. “Brayden loved her, and it rips his heart to shreds to know that her killer is still out there somewhere.”

“I'm sorry.” It probably would have been easier for him to turn his attention back to the condensation on his beer bottle, or anywhere else for that matter, but he didn't. Joe kept his gaze firmly on her. “Do you honestly think that I'd believe there's preferential treatment just because it's an allegation?”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Frowned. And silently cursed him. It was a dirty-pool kind of question, one that diffused the indignation she'd planned to hang on to a little longer. It was a good barrier against the effects of that desperado stubble.

“Brayden is lucky to have Garrett and you,” Joe said, getting up from his chair. “And you're lucky to have them.” He spared her pj's another glance. “I guess.”

She couldn't help it. She smiled. But she suppressed it as quickly as possible. “Does that mean Garrett had this same chat with you?”

“Twice.”

Katelyn had to suppress a smile again. “I'll bet those were interesting conversations, especially considering you two are the same rank.”

Joe appeared to suppress a smile of his own. “And am I supposed to believe you held something back because I outrank you?”

“Busted.” She finished off her beer, tossed the bottle into a recycling bin and unstrapped the slide hol
ster from around her waist. “Present levity and warm fuzzy feelings aside, if you hurt Brayden, I'll make you pay.”

“Like I said, he's lucky to have you.” He tipped his head toward the windows in the living room. “Don't stand in here too long.”

Because someone might already be watching them. If the killer hadn't already scoped them out, then he or she would be doing it very soon. It was best not to be in his direct line of fire when that happened.

He glanced at his watch. “It's almost midnight. We've got an early morning ahead of us.”

“Should we turn off all the lights?” she asked, going into the bedroom ahead of him. She placed her slide holster on the nightstand next to her badge, primary weapon and the communicator that she'd already turned off. Then Katelyn stepped into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

“No. We should look…active,” Joe responded. “That way, it'll convince a killer that we're on our way to becoming a bride and groom.”

“Too bad I don't have a pair of those blow-up dolls we could parade past the window every now and then.” She paused, and was thankful she wasn't in the same room with him so he could see the blush rise on her cheeks. “I'm
so
sorry I said that.”

He chuckled softly. An incredibly sexy male sound that made her want to pound her head against the wall.

This was going to be such a long week.

From the mirror, she watched Joe add his two guns
and his badge to the nightstand, making the rather small piece of furniture look even smaller under the arsenal. He had his shirt halfway stripped off before he stopped and snagged her gaze. “I don't have pajamas. If you're the blushing sort, you might want to look away.”

Yeah, right. She was about a hundred percent certain her eyes had no intention of cooperating with that suggestion. She didn't even fight it. Katelyn watched his reflection. A not-so-cheap thrill. And had the privilege of seeing him toss that shirt aside. At least a dozen muscles flexed in his arms and chest as they responded to the simple gesture.

A simple gesture that caused her mouth to go dry.

Mercy.

She forced herself to finish brushing her teeth and even looked away when his pants came off. Well, briefly looked away. She thanked her lucky stars that he kept on a pair of dark blue boxers.

“Will this temporary housekeeping arrangement cause any personal problems for you?” he asked.

“If that's a subtle way of asking me if I'm involved with anyone, the answer's no.” It made her sound like a social leper. Which wasn't really that far off the mark. Rather than remind him that most men weren't turned on by a woman packing a badge and a couple of Glocks, Katelyn went for levity. “My last boyfriend was a sex therapist who broke up with me because he said I was too aggressive in bed.”

She paused a heartbeat before she let their gazes
connect again. Yep. The startled look on his face had been worth it. “It's a joke,” she let him know.

Other than a slight sound of amusement, that was his only other reaction. So much for levity. When she went into the bedroom, he strolled into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

“Actually, my last boyfriend was an accountant who broke up with me because he said I was too wrapped up in my job,” she confessed and climbed into bed. “Hard to make someone feel even remotely important when you're never around. He got fed up and left me for a kindergarten teacher.”

Still no response.

“How about you?” she asked.

“No one current.” He came out of the bathroom, and she made a point of looking away. She'd already overdosed on his great bod. No need for more. “The last woman in my life was a kindergarten teacher who left me for an accountant.”

Okay. So that broke the ice that had already been thawing between them. She laughed. Then bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh again.

She aimed her finger at him. “Let's get something straight. I don't want to like you, Rico.”

He leaned over as if to kiss her good-night, letting his mouth come very close to hers. Breath met breath. And then he turned off the light. “I agree completely.”

She lay there silently cursing him. But not for long. His head had hardly hit the pillow on the floor before the phone rang. Since it was supposed to be her apart
ment, Katelyn rolled to the side of the bed and answered it.