Chapter 23

The sound on his phone alerted him to a text as they strolled back to the limo. Once inside the car he read it. “It’s from Dylan. He wants me to call ASAP. Do you mind if I do it now?”

“Go ahead.” She listened to what was a one-sided conversation for the next ten minutes. Dylan was doing most of the talking as Matt scowled.

He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, all the while looking at her. “Let me mull this over, Dylan, and I’ll call you back tonight. I’ll run some of it by Jess while I’m at it. Yeah, she’s right here. Dylan says ‘Hi,’ sweetheart.”

“Hi, Dylan.”

“Did you hear her? Okay, we’ll talk later.” He put the phone back in his shirt pocket.

“What’s up? You have that look about you.” She had watched his face tense as he talked.

“What look is that?” He looked at her quizzically.

“You know—the look that you get when you’re ready to get back to business.” She scooted close to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Dylan found out who wired your store. He also had some interesting talks with Jordon Daniels and Randy Wallis. Where do you want to start?”

“I want to know about the hit man, do I need to be worried or not?”

“Eventually, I think you might, but then again, maybe not.” He shrugged.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We haven’t seen his calling card yet telling us he’s engaged. But, from everything I’ve read about him, it could be something we have to worry about in the future. He might even be in the area to stalk someone else. Balasco thinks he’s only observing right now, and I tend to believe that too. First, there’s someone else involved, and he works alone. Nobody can have the credit for his kill but him. I’ll let you read some of his files. He calls himself the Hunter.” Matt frowned as he said it.

“Isn’t that just peachy.”

“Let’s take him out of the equation for now. We still have to deal with a stalker, Mallory, Daniels—which may not be his real name, and Wallis. I think that’s the tip of the iceberg.”

“I haven’t had any dealings with Mallory since the interview. The stalker is only interested in Adriana, so what does he have to do with us?

“It’s a little more complex than that, and we are only beginning to see the pieces coming together.” He frowned. “I may be wrong, but I believe Irwin may be the stalker and he was going to give you as a reward to Mallory for kidnapping Adriana. You were Mallory’s queen, his perfect bride that he spoke about.” He smiled at her. “I tend to agree with him there.”

“But he messed it up. What does that mean for me?” She watched his face. He had a stony stare that didn’t bode well.

“It’s probably not good. Let me be blunt, someone is going to try to kill you. That’s the easy part to figure out, but this is where it gets a little confusing—we have no idea who.” He pulled her tight when she shivered.

“Killing me is the easy part! I swear I’m getting tired of being everyone’s punching bag. I don’t even know those people at the bank. So why am I in the center of it all again?”

“Only one way and that’s through our past cases. We haven’t found the direct connection, though. We’ve found some old enemies all around the edges. Mallory spent time with a few of them in the same prison. Joel is the brother to Jason Cummings. The guy who put the equipment into your store was a cousin to Ed Jones our ex-city councilman who’s now serving time, and someone not yet identified at the bank is another relative or friend.”

“Is that what it means to keep it all in the family?” She tried to smile. “Are you sure Irwin is the stalker.”

“No, nothing is firm yet. If it makes you feel any better, Dylan thinks I’m a target too.”

“I would rather that neither of us were the targets if I had my druthers. Sometimes I wonder if you would be better off had I not came into your life.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “You never had crazy cases like this before.”

“Don’t even speak of it.” He put his arm around her and pulled her against him. “My life was just a job until you came in and added the spark to it. I haven’t laughed and enjoyed myself like this in a few years. Those cases were there all along, but we didn’t know it. We’ll find a way through this together.” He hugged her tighter.

Jess fingered her necklace and snuggled closer to Matt. “I love this by the way, it’s perfect.”

He brushed his lips across her temple. “Just like you, sweetheart.”

Content to let him hold her she rested her head on his shoulder until the limo stopped at the airport, and they had to board their jet for the return flight back to Palm Springs. Once back in Palm Springs, Matt opened the car door for her. He smiled at her. “I guess we should have left the case out of it tonight and just had an evening to ourselves.” He started the car and backed out of the parking space.

“It was a lovely evening, great food, a beautiful city, and a nice gift.” She smiled at him. “The best part was doing it all with you.”

“You know what…” He stopped the car and got out. He opened her door and pulled her gently out. “You always give me that look when I start to drive and have my hands full. Now you’re in them, and I’m going to give you my reply.” His lips descended on hers, simply and divinely ravishing her mouth. She exhaled slowly, and he smiled. He started to walk away, and she pulled him back around and kissed him again.

“Now that’s what I call the perfect ending to a perfect date.” Matt caressed her cheek.

****

The rose bush poked his side. He was getting tired of crouching there. They had told him to wait, but he didn’t care. The boss had pissed him off, and he had taken matters into his own hands. He had tried to get Adriana back, but she wasn’t in the room. The police officer didn’t know what had hit him. He felt bad, he didn’t like hurting people.

He watched a car pull in and park. It wasn’t her. He needed to see her tonight, but it wasn’t wise for him to hang around too long, but he couldn’t go back to the trailer either. The boss would be watching for him. The smile on his face broadened. He had changed the game. Call him dumb, huh? He’d show his so-called friend. A different car, a new place, and he would have Jessie without his boss’ help. Who was stupid now?

Mallory’s whole body began to hum like a tuning fork. She was near. He could feel it. Tension filled him from head to toe, all he wanted was a glimpse of her. Another car pulled in, and he knew she was inside. The cop got out and opened her door. He needed to remember that. She laughed at what he said to her. He put his arm around her, and Mallory’s hands fisted. She took his breath away. What was it that he saw? There in her eyes. It was in the look that passed between them when she gazed at the man. It ripped at his heart. Grief filled him. She would never belong to him. He could take her, but she wouldn’t belong to him. Her heart belonged to the cop. The darkness of the night shielded him from view. He stumbled to his car. When inside, he drove out of town and stopped at the first turnoff he saw. He might not be able to have her, but neither would anyone else!