Dangerously Close, page 11
He chuckled, leaned in and kissed her on the mouth, before standing and moving back to the stove. Closing her eyes, she placed her fingers on her lips that still buzzed from his brief kiss. What was that all about? Oh, how she wished she could read his mind right now.
Voices floated in from the other room. She gasped and swung her gaze toward the arched entryway. Hunter hurried to her side and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
“Showtime,” he whispered before moving to greet them.
Ashley stood on shaky legs and wrung her hands against her middle. Within seconds, the middle-aged couple approached Hunter. They didn’t look surprised to see him at all. His mother, a strikingly pretty woman with a small amount of white strands of hair dusting her dark brown hair, smiled widely as she threw her arms around Hunter’s neck and kissed his cheek.
“Son,” Hunter’s father said, clapping a hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you.”
Now she knew where Hunter got his good looks. Both of his parents were very attractive people. His father had a full head of black hair. She wondered if he colored it to keep from looking old.
“Mom. Dad.” Hunter gave his father a brief hug. “What are you doing here? You don’t usually come to the beach house until the beginning of summer.”
“Well, we got a call yesterday from Troy Jenkins,” his father said. “He’d mentioned talking to you yesterday. He’d also said something about his friend giving you a ride to the Jersey shore.”
“Yes, I had car problems—”
“And,” his mother quickly added, “Troy also mentioned you were with a woman.”
Her gaze shot inside the kitchen and directly to Ashley. Even as her body quaked, she smiled the best she could, and tried to look calm.
Hunter moved by Ashley and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Mom. Dad. This is Ashley Reynolds... my fiancée.”
His mother’s gasp overrode his father’s quick intake. The older woman slapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes grew wide. Ashley waited for some kind of negative reaction, but happiness shone on both of their faces.
“How wonderful,” Mrs. Thomas exclaimed as she moved toward Ashley. “And aren’t you the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen him with?” The woman took Ashley’s hands. Immediately his mom’s gaze fell to the ring and she sighed. “And he gave you his grandmother’s ring.”
“Yes, Mom.” Hunter smiled at Ashley. “I gave her Grandma’s ring.”
“Well, congratulations to you both,” Hunter’s father cheered.
“It’s...” Ashley took a deep breath, hoping she wouldn’t appear as disoriented as she felt. “It’s so nice to finally meet both of you. Hunter has told me so much about his family.”
“Why don’t we all sit and talk over breakfast?” his mother asked. “Hunter? You need to pay better attention to the food so we don’t eat burnt offerings.”
“Sorry, Mom.” Hunter hurried back to the stove.
Ashley sat back in her chair as his parents took their seats.
“Tell me, Mom,” Hunter said, “why were you and dad sneaking in last night?”
“We’d gotten in late,” Mrs. Thomas said, “and we didn’t want to wake you.”
“You should have called.” Hunter arched an eyebrow at his mother.
She chuckled. “We wanted to surprise you.”
Shaking his head, Hunter brought over their plates of food. “Mother, must I keep reminding you that surprising an FBI agent, isn’t a good idea?”
“Oh, dear. You’re right.” Mrs. Thomas sighed. “Forgive me?”
Hunter chuckled and kissed his mother’s forehead. “I always do.”
As they ate their breakfast, his parents asked the normal questions to Ashley – where did you grow up, who are your parents, where did you go to college? Thankfully, she answered to their satisfaction. At least, they appeared to be happy with her answers.
“So tell me, Ashley,” Mrs. Thomas took a small bite of her pancake, “how did you meet my workaholic son?”
Ashley held her breath. Why hadn’t she and Hunter thought of an answer for this question? Once more, she tried to keep smiling as she met Hunter’s wide-eyed gaze. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You won’t believe it even if I told you,” he said.
“Try us,” his father urged.
Ashley couldn’t understand why Hunter didn’t appear to be nervous at all. Then again, she knew firsthand how well he could hide the truth. Part of her heart broke again in remembrance, but she put aside the pain in order to help out Hunter in their game of charades.
“I met her on one of my cases.” He chuckled as he stared at Ashley, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. “She was being stalked by a bad guy, and I played the part of her bodyguard.”
Embarrassment washed over her. She couldn’t believe he was telling the truth – well, somewhat of the truth.
“Because we were together almost every hour of the day, running from the bad guy and dodging bullets, it was surprising how well we both fell together. It took a little time, but we both came to trust each other, and when I was away from her, all I could think about was when I’d get to see her next.”
“Oh, how romantic,” his mother said. “And scary at the same time. I’m assuming my wonderful son caught the bad guy, right?”
Hunter switched his gaze to his mother. “You really had to ask? Don’t I always catch the bad guys?”
Ashley nearly laughed out loud. This remarkable man was able to answer his mother’s question without lying.
“But of course, you do.” Mrs. Thomas patted his arm.
“Tell me, Ashley,” Mr. Thomas asked, “what did you think of my son when you first met him? I realize he can become overbearing at times.”
“Dad,” Hunter whined.
“Actually, Mr. Thomas, I thought your son was an accomplished flirt, but he made me laugh during stressful situations. Because of that, it was hard to take him seriously, but I did like how he made me smile.”
“Yes, that’s my son – the joker.” Mr. Thomas laughed.
“What was it that you liked most about Hunter?” Mrs. Thomas tapped Ashley’s arm.
Ashley met Hunter’s curious gaze, and she smiled. “At first it was his personality, but then it was the feeling of protection I felt while around him. He risked his life several times for me. I feel so safe with him.”
Mr. Thomas stood, taking his coffee cup to the coffee maker for another refill. “That’s my Hunter. Always the hero.”
“Yes,” Ashley said, “you can say that again.”
“You think I’m a hero?” Hunter asked her in a husky tone.
Why did he have to look at her as if she was the hero now? There was so much tender emotion in his gaze that her butterflies danced crazily in her chest. “Of course, I do.”
His attention dropped to her mouth. Her heartbeat stilled momentarily. He wouldn’t kiss her in front of his parents, would he? But in two seconds, he cupped her face and brought his mouth to hers. She tasted bacon and syrup on his lips, but it was a kiss meant to warm her completely... which was accomplished within two seconds.
“Okay, you two.” Mr. Thomas laughed. “You’ll have plenty of time for that later.”
Hunter pulled away, laughing. “Actually, Dad, Ashley and I need to run some errands today. Since my car is on the fritz, can I borrow your car?”
“Oh, sure.” Mr. Thomas reached into his pants’ pocket and withdrew a ring of keys. “Your mom and I are just going to relax today, and maybe take a stroll along the beach.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Hunter took his and Ashley’s plates to the sink, rinsed them out, and placed them in the dishwasher. She brought over their empty glasses. He took them and repeated the same process. It really surprised her to see him doing such domestic work. He just didn’t seem that type of man.
When he was finished, he dried his hands before clasping her hand. “Are you ready?”
“I am if you are.”
“Mom. Dad. We’ll see you two later.”
Hunter led Ashley out of the house and to the garage where his Dad had parked his black Ferrari. As soon as he closed the side door to the house, he released a heavy sigh and smiled at her.
“Whew. I’m glad they bought it.”
She nodded. “I’m shocked you told them the truth about how we met.”
He opened the car door for her and she climbed in. “Why would that surprise you?”
“Because you were truthful.”
His humorous smile disappeared as he closed the door and walked around to climb in the driver’s side of the car. He started the engine, but just sat there with his hands on the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead.
“I’m sorry I lied to you, Ashley. If I could relive these past couple of days, I’d do it differently.” He sighed and looked her way. “I shouldn’t have allowed my desperation to find answers cloud the way I saw you. But in reality, the more I was with you, the more I realized you had a sweet nature. I started to figure out that you were probably one of Zander’s victims, too.”
Her chest tightened and she nodded. “I’m glad you had started to realize that. But it doesn’t take away the sting that the only reason you wanted to help me was to see if I’d give you any information about your sister’s murder.” She took a deep breath, fighting the tears she wanted to cry all over again from the pain she’d gone through yesterday. “When I saw that newspaper cutout about Michelle, and started fitting the pieces together, I realized you were just using me. That’s the worst feeling in the world, especially when I’d started to trust you... and care about you.”
Hunter turned toward her and took her hold of her hand. “Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it. If I could erase all of that, I would, but I can’t. I want you to trust me again.”
“I get it, but it’s not going to happen right away.”
He nodded.
“I hope you understand, because our little charade in front of your parents can only go so far.”
He arched an eyebrow. “So if you were upset with me, why did you start kissing me last night? Why did you make me believe you wanted me?”
Heat consumed her face, remembering every second that had happened between them, and feeling once more, the crazy, out-of-control passion that had flowed through her during that time. “You probably won’t believe me, but... I felt safe in your arms. When that memory flashed in my head, it disturbed me more than I can explain. I didn’t want to think about that any longer. I wanted to experience the kinds of feelings that I only get when I’m with you. I know it was wrong, but I really wasn’t thinking clearly last night. All that was going through my head was to have you kiss me so passionately that the terror inside of me would disappear.”
He cupped her face as the pad of his thumb stroked her bottom lip. “And did I accomplish your goal?”
She chuckled and tried to look away, but he held her face toward him.
“Did I?” he pried.
“Yes, you did. Couldn’t you tell?”
“Oh, yes. I could definitely tell you were not thinking about that terrible memory.” He waggled his brows. “In fact, I think we should try it again tonight.”
Laughing, she shoved him away as desire slowly crept inside of her. “Would you drive already?”
“Sure.”
He backed out of the garage and pushed the remote to close the door. As he headed up the street, he moved his hand and rested it on her knee. It seemed so casual for him to do this, and yet, his touch was making her melt all over again. Didn’t he realize how much havoc he wrought with her emotions? He did, which was why he continued to touch her.
“Where are we going? You mentioned running errands, so what are they?”
“We’re going to the police station. I have a buddy who can help us. You’d mentioned something last night that really got the wheels turning in my head. Now I’m wondering if the person who killed Michelle also killed the lady outside the bar.” He glanced at her before returning his attention to the road. “And I’m going to have my friend check it out.”
“I’m glad. I really hope they are related.”
“Yeah, because if they are, New York has a serial killer on their hands. And if I were a betting man, I’d put all my money on Zander.”
ASHLEY’S HEART BEAT with fear as she held Hunter’s hand and walked into the police station. She prayed she wouldn’t recognize any of Zander’s men in a place like this, since she knew he had policemen on his payroll. She shivered and held Hunter’s hand tighter.
She tried to keep her head down as Hunter had once told her to do, but she couldn’t keep from scoping out the people in the waiting room, and especially, the policemen from behind the glass partitions.
He walked up to the large desk and asked for Lieutenant Carver. They buzzed the lieutenant, and within seconds, they were shown back past the security doors and into an office. The middle-aged lieutenant was a tall man, taller than Hunter by a few inches, and his hair was a white-blond color, which probably made him look older.
“Thomas, what are you doing here?” The police lieutenant greeted Hunter with a wide smile and hearty handshake.
“I think I have some information on my sister’s murder case.”
Lieutenant Carver moved behind them and closed the door before motioning to the chairs. “Please have a seat and tell me what you know.”
“I want you to meet my fiancée, Ashley Reynolds.”
Shock washed over her. Why had Hunter introduced her as his fiancée? The rhythm of her heartbeat changed as she shook the police officer’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The older man smiled. “And it’s nice to meet the woman who has finally captured Hunter’s heart.”
Heat crawled up her face, but she tried to push it away. She wished people would stop assuming she held Hunter’s heart. She doubted any woman would be able to accomplish such a task.
“So what do you know?” the other man asked as he walked back behind his desk and sat.
Both she and Hunter sat on the empty chairs. “A couple of days ago,” Hunter began, “there was a murder at a bar in Queens called The Drunken Dog. Ashley was able to look at the body, and she said the girl had stab wounds on her chest and neck, and her face was all cut up.” Hunter leaned forward on Carver’s desk, peering at the man closer. “That was the same way Michelle died. Now I’m wondering if we don’t have a serial killer on the loose.”
The lieutenant sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “That does sound suspicious, but you know I can’t do anything about it. The case is being investigated by the Manhattan precinct since that is where they found your sister’s body.”
Hunter sighed. “I know, but I need you to contact them for me and relay the information to the proper authorities.”
Carver nodded. “I’ll pass the information to the right people.”
“Thank you.” Hunter nodded. “I really appreciate your help.”
“Yes, well... off the record,” Carver lowered his voice, “I know that Manhattan PD has contacted us to call in a few leads in for questioning.”
“The leads are here in New Jersey?”
“Yes, but so far, nothing is panning out.” He flipped his hand toward the office window. “We brought in someone today for questioning, but it looks like they’re releasing him already.”
Ashley moved her gaze toward the window, and through the slightly opened shades, she saw two officers escorting a man out. The man turned to glare at one of the officers, and in a split-second, Ashley’s memory opened.
The man’s nickname was Sly. Every time she’d seen him, he was with a different woman. In her memory, she could see him manhandling one of the women while Ashley was tied up. The image of him was fuzzy, and she didn’t know why.
Ashley gasped and clutched Hunter’s arm. He swung his gaze toward her.
“What’s wrong? Do you remember something?”
She nodded. “He is friends with Zander. He was there when I was tied up.”
“What?” Lieutenant Carver’s body stiffened. “What do you know about Zander Caruthers? And why were you tied up?”
Hunter jumped to his feet. “We need to follow that man, Carver. I’ll explain later, but I’m on a case and this lovely woman right here,” he took her hand and pulled her closer to his side, “might be our key witness to what happened to my sister. The two cases tie together.”
She shrugged. “Hopefully, I’ll remember something that’s important to the case.” Frowning, she shook her head as she looked at Carver. “I’m slowly getting my memory back of what happened while he had me tied up.”
Lieutenant stood quickly. “Then we should bring that man back in—”
“No,” Hunter interrupted. “He’s not going to talk. But I can follow him. He doesn’t know we’re here, so he won’t know to watch for me.”
Carver motioned his hands toward the door. “Then hurry, because he’s leaving now. And call me tonight to let me know what you’ve found out.”
“I will.”
Ashley walked quickly behind Hunter, stopping when he did, and hurrying when he increased his footsteps. As Sly stood next to the front desk signing some papers, grumbling about his mistreatment, Hunter and Ashley crept around the man and headed out the door. They ran to their car and climbed in before Sly exited the police station.
Her heart hammered against her ribs and her hands shook.
“Tell me what you remembered,” Hunter said, caressing his hand over her leg.
“My memory was very fuzzy, but I was in that dark room, tied up and hurting. I saw Sly from a distance. He was forcing himself on a woman.”
Hunter’s gaze narrowed. “There were more women in this room than you and Michelle?”
“Yes. Like twenty or more.”
He cursed and shook his head. “Human trafficking.”
“Do you think so?” As she thought about the other helpless women, and that she had been one of them, tears stung her eyes. “Do you think they could have drugged us? Maybe that’s why my memories are fuzzy.”
He wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her close. “Yes, my sweet, innocent, Ashley. I now believe that’s what happened. And without a doubt, Zander and his men are behind this. We just need to catch them in the act.”
