Always Watching (34 page)

Johnny’s itch to dig at Devlin became so
palpable, I had no choice but steer the conversation
elsewhere.  “You know I’ve been under the weather this past
week.  I was hoping for a quiet evening without
criminals.”

Impossible with me in the room.  That’s
the irony of my life, I suppose.

“
If we head out to OSI
now, we could be back before it’s terribly late,” Johnny
said.  “You could still have your quiet evening at home with
your –”

“
Yes,” I
interrupted.  “We’ll meet you over there, Devlin.  Give
us five minutes and we’ll be right behind you.”

Johnny grinned wickedly.  “Five
minutes, huh?  Are you waiting for him to get to the gate so
we can step outside for a more traditional entry into our
home?”

“
You can’t just tell him
like that, Johnny,” I hissed an angry curse under my breath. 
“You know how he feels.  You know how I feel.  Is it
really necessary to kick him when he’s already down?”

The smile faded to something decidedly less
happy.  “So that’s the deal, huh?  We can be married, but
we have to keep it a secret.  You want to have our baby, but
I’m not allowed to be publicly elated.  You –”

“
We
are in the middle of a huge investigation with enormous
implications if we don’t close the case.  It has nothing to do
with anything else, Johnny.  Do you want him working the case
or moping around because you didn’t
share
our happy news, you taunted
him with it?”

“
Are you ashamed to be
seen wearing a wedding band in public too?”

“
Of course I’m not. 
This is definitely
not
what I imagined we’d be doing on the night we got
married.  I’m not happy about it.  I’d rather be here,
alone, with you.  Curled up in front of the fireplace talking
about how happy I feel.  Instead I have to go talk to another
monster and have something else unpleasant taint the happiest day
of my life.”  I stepped close and wrapped my arms around his
waist.  “Please don’t derive happiness or satisfaction from
hurting someone who – whether you like it or not – has become a
very good friend to me, Johnny.”

His arms wound around me automatically, chin
rested on the top of my head.  “Well, I did get the girl.”

“
Let’s get this over with
so you can finish what you started earlier.”

“
What I
started?”

“
You know.  The
thing.  With my neck.”

Lips and teeth grazed sensitive skin. 
“This thing?”

“
Tease.  Can we
please get this over with?”

“
Whatever you want, Mrs.
Orion.”

“
Johnny …”

“
You’re gonna have to
decide eventually if you want my name or to hang on to the one
you’ve got.  Would it really be so horrible to have
mine?”

“
No.  It’s just…
another change.  The past few days have been monumental in
that regard.  Wouldn’t you say?”

“
What about the
baby?  Does he or she get to be an Orion?”

“
How about if
you
interview Nanny
Holmes and I stay home and sleep?”

“
All right,” he
chuckled.  “You’ve made your point.”

I thought about little else than the drastic
changes in my life while Johnny drove to OSI.  The case was
far removed from my mind.  The impending arraignment tomorrow
for Melissa Sherman seemed lost in a haze of personal issues. 
I couldn’t stop thinking about marriage, and the peanut sized life
growing inside me. 

Though I hadn’t admitted as much to Johnny,
I hoped for a son.  In my head, he was already named for his
father.  Behind the foreign budding hope lurked the shadow of
my past, who I really am.  I struggled to push it down deep
and pretend that person never existed.  Maybe letting go of
the Eriksson name would make it easier to become someone
else.  Evolution.  Wasn’t that what Johnny called it?

“
Helen?”

I looked over at him.

“
We’re at OSI.  Are
you all right?”

Well, let me think on that
one.  I murdered my husband, lied to the FBI, was drugged by a
mad man, shot by a drug lord, arrested my nemesis, killed the man
who subsequently murdered said nemesis while I was sequestered in
an office a few yards away, almost lost the man I love, hunted a
sociopathic killer who hated homosexuals, outed a dear friend quite
by accident, found out I was pregnant and married Johnny, having
formerly sworn off marriage for all eternity after the first in a
very long line of
this is not really my
life
experiences.  No.  I am not
all right.  I may never be all right again.

“
I’m fine, Johnny. 
Dreading this, but fine.”

“
I’ll talk to
Holmes.  You look at this laptop business,” he said. 
“Deal?”

“
I told Crevan you
proposed.”

Johnny smirked.  “Yeah, he mentioned
it.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me
you knew?  We could’ve had at least one friend be a witness
this afternoon.”

“
I had to promise that I’d
buy his surprised act when we broke the news.”

“
That rat,” I
grinned.  “You know I’m not trying to keep this an indefinite
secret, right?”

“
I understand your logic,
frightening as that might be, but maybe it would be better if we
say something instead of letting our friends, including Devlin,
simply notice the rings, Helen.”

I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed
a number while Johnny watched with narrow eyes and a furrowed
brow.

“
Good evening
princess.  I trust our mood is better than it was
earlier.”  Maya’s greeting was half serious, half
teasing.

“
I said I was sorry,
Maya.  What can I say?  It’s been an unusual week for
me.”

“
Johnny says you’re
feeling better.  Is that the truth?”

“
It is.  Listen, I
called because I wanted you to be the first to hear some
news.  I’d rather not give it over the phone, but… it’s about
to become common knowledge, so this is gonna have to
suffice.”

“
Oh?”  I could hear
the grin in her voice.  Given Johnny’s confession that Maya
and Crevan suspected my pregnancy, I was sure she expected that
news instead of the other shocking development I was about to
reveal.

“
Yeah, and I hope that
after I tell you, you won’t be completely irate with me for not
saying something right away.  It was a spur of the moment
decision.” 

Johnny’s eyebrows darted together and dove
in V formation toward his nose.

“
Let me rephrase,” I
said.  “I made the decision for the right reasons, but it’s
not something I believed I’d ever do again.”

He clasped my free hand and squeezed.

“
All right,” Maya drawled
slowly.  I felt a twinge of smug satisfaction at having
derailed her assumption.

“
Johnny asked me to marry
him last week, Maya.”

“
What
?”

“
I said yes, and today…
well we’re married.”

“
Oh my
God
!  It really was a nervous
stomach!”

Not really, but it bought me a little more
time before I would be forced to share the rest of our earth
shattering news. 

“
Helen, why didn’t you say
something?  Is that why you were upset that Johnny went to
Montgomery without you?”

“
It’s a long story,
Maya.  Anyway, we’re at OSI right now, Johnny’s going to
question a suspect and I’m looking over some evidence Devlin
collected from the Sherman house in Montgomery, but they’re going
to notice rings and… well, it’s my wedding day and I’m not really
handling the idea very well that Johnny is going to be out of my
reach for a minute.  I thought you’d probably kill me if a
bunch of cops learn the happy news before I told you so
…”

“
Honey, I’m so happy for
you!  I don’t know why you kept it a secret, but I have never
understood some of your strange ways.  Can we at least have a
little party for the two of you to celebrate?”

“
Maybe.  After this
case is closed.  This is gonna sound crazy, but we’re trying
to stay focused on work right now.”

“
You’re right,” Maya
chuckled.  “It sounds crazy.”

“
I’d like to get inside
OSI and get Johnny’s stuff done so we can get home,” I stared at
the man in question for a long moment.  “So I’ll call you
soon, all right, Maya?”

“
Yes.  Yes.  Oh
Helen, I’m so happy.  For both of you. 
Congratulations.”

“
Thanks, Maya.”  I
disconnected the call and dropped the phone into my purse. 
“Promise me that you’ll let me tell Devlin alone,
Johnny.”

“
I’ll do no such
thing.”

“
I wish you’d stop being
so jealous of him.”

“
I’m not jealous, but I’m
not stupid either.  We’ll tell everyone together, as a group
or individually.  I’m not letting you go off alone with him
where he has the opportunity to convince you that you’ve made a
terrible mistake, Helen, so forget about it.”

“
You’re not
letting
me?” 
Honestly, that would’ve made me bristle no matter who said it to me
or in what context. 

“
Let me rephrase
that.  I’m not giving him the opportunity to stab me in the
back because I’m not around when you break the sad news to
him.  Better?”

“
Not much,” I
grumbled.

Johnny popped out of the Expedition and had
my door open before I could argue further.  He slid me out of
the seat and into his arms.  “How would you feel if I wanted
to have a private conversation with every woman who ever thought
she was going to be the one to get me down the aisle, huh? 
Would you like thinking about how they might react to the news that
I picked you?”

“
No, but that number is in
the thousands, I’m sure.  We’re talking about one friend,
Johnny.”

“
Yeah, one guy who not
more than a couple of days ago was pawing you and salivating over
the idea that you were throwing me out.  The answer is
no.  Period.”

Johnny kept the promise he made to me
earlier, when I lost my temper over something trivial, and nibbled
my neck seductively.  “We’re in this together, Helen. 
Remember?”

“
I do,” echoed sentiment
from vows taken too recently to forget.

Chapter 29

Before we got to the big announcement, Chris
dragged Johnny away after a warm greeting to me that included a
peck on the cheek and the first comment I’d received in awhile that
I look well.  At least nothing had turned me green and sent me
scurrying for the bathroom yet today. 

I crossed my fingers and went off to find
Devlin and Crevan.  The former was staring at the computer
screen of a laptop – the one I surmised he obtained as evidence
from the Sherman house.  Crevan was speaking in a low voice on
his cell phone, looking none too happy. 

I bumped Dev’s shoulder with one fist and
jerked my head in the other’s direction.  “More trouble with
the case?”

He grinned.  “Trouble in paradise, I
think.  His new friend isn’t so used to cop hours while we’re
working a big case, I think.  Poor guy.  He’s probably
imagining that Crevan is buckling under pressure to straighten up
and fly right.”

“
No,” my eyes drifted back
to my other friend.  “Maybe he should cut out for a few hours,
go settle him down.”  Not everybody was blessed with a spouse
like my former husband after all.  Rick didn’t mind the long
hours or frequent separations one little bit.

“
Eh, they’ll work it out
or not.  We’ve got bigger issues right now.  Where’s the
ever-present commander?”

“
Off with Chris discussing
something.  I don’t know what.  He’s going to take a run
at Holmes, and I’m going to look at this computer – that is if
you’ll give up your seat for a few minutes.”

“
I’ve been looking at that
message board I told you about,” Devlin slid out of his seat and
patted the back.  “Sit.  Tell me what you
think.”

I peered at the screen.

Serrated dingy: a deed smite thy sunup,
repenting thy wit.

“
Gibberish.  It’s
meaningless, Devlin.”

“
Crevan thinks it might be
some kind of code. If it’s not gibberish –”

I looked at the date.  “This was posted
almost a week ago.  Last Tuesday.”

“
And the case started from
our perspective on Wednesday.”

“
There’s no indication
that this nonsense is related to anything, let alone our case,
Devlin.  Where are these other links you talked
about?”

He leaned over my shoulder and minimized the
browser window and clicked on a file folder on the desktop. 
“Here.  The others are pretty straightforward.”

I opened the
first. 
Sexy Asian babe will fulfill
all your fantasies
.  Below the
posting were hundreds of replies.  “Now this could be
helpful.”

“
Why?”