Crime & Passion (14 page)

Madeline swallowed hard, already envisioning
the horrible things that might have happen while Lori drove in that
state of mind. When Madeline fled Cameron’s apartment after finding
him screwing her maid of honor, she very nearly got in an accident
when she ran a red light.

“She headed for Arizona, but went a back way
through the mountains. It was early in the morning and very dark.
She didn’t make a hairpin turn.” Brandon squeezed tightly against
Madeline’s hand and a sob escaped his throat. “Her car burst into
flames after it flew off the side of the mountain and crashed into
the rocks below. She never had a chance.”

Tears welled in Madeline’s eyes as a horrible
sympathy filled her. Even though Madeline felt it was Lori’s own
fault for driving while in that state, she understood why Brandon
blamed Donovan. He had to blame someone, and Donovan was the only
person left.

The entire situation filled her with a deep
sadness. She wished she hadn’t asked. It only lowered her opinion
of Donovan.

After a few minutes, Brandon seemed to get
his emotions under control. “I became friends with Lindsey during
that time. She helped me through Lori’s death, fed me gossip and
pointed me in the right direction to get stories for the newspaper
so my livelihood didn’t fold while I mourned.”

“Lindsey wanted to marry Donovan, even
knowing all this happened?” Lindsey always struck Madeline as the
sort of person who would never forgive someone for hurting a friend
of hers. It seemed odd that she wound up involved with Brandon’s
worst enemy.

Brandon leaned back in his seat and folded
his arms in front of him. “She said Donovan had changed, that he
didn’t want to be the kind of man he’d been before. I tried to stop
her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Their relationship only lasted
a little while anyway. It’s not like I had to wait long for him to
show his true colors.”

The breath rushed from Madeline’s lungs and
she felt like someone hit her in the stomach. Donovan’s so-called
desire to become a better person apparently wasn’t a new tactic.
Why was he using it on her, though? He didn’t want to have sex with
her—that was free for the taking and he wouldn’t have had to bother
with the lie.

She turned back to the window, watching the
powerful waves as they crashed into the shoreline and then raced
back, swallowed into the ocean. Brandon sat next to her, lost in
his own thoughts, and she didn’t quite know what to say to him.
Somehow, she felt guilty for still being attracted to Donovan and
not liking Brandon, but there was nothing she could do about
that.

The waitress dropped the check off at the
table, and Brandon grabbed it out of Madeline’s hand.

“I’ve got this covered. Thanks for letting me
sit with you.”

Madeline nodded as he stood up, not able to
tell him thanks back because she didn’t feel very grateful. She
wasn’t pleased with him about the newspaper article he’d written,
and she wondered if she would have been better off never knowing
the sad story of Brandon’s wife and her romance with Donovan.

Brandon returned to the table and offered her
his arm. “Can I walk you to your car? Now that you point out my
article might have made you a bigger target for the killer, I’d
feel guilty if anything happened to you.”

She stood and slipped her arm through his.
“Thanks for lunch.”

He smiled and led her out of the restaurant,
taking her keys out of her hand to open her car door. “Lunch was
the least I could do after the way our last date ended.”

Madeline didn’t consider this a date, but she
decided not to argue. She accepted her keys back and slid into the
car, fastening her seat belt while she waited for him to step out
of the way and close the door.

Instead, he leaned down so his face was
inches from hers. “I know I was pushy about getting a kiss after
our first date, and I’m sorry for that.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay,” she replied,
wondering if he would force a kiss on her now. His mouth was inches
from hers. She felt trapped, but really didn’t want to kiss him.
“Well, I told Donovan I’d get together with him today so we could
go over the stuff that’s been happening with the crimes around
here.”

Brandon’s face closed down as though she’d
thrown a bucket of cold water on him. “Even after what I told you,
you’re still spending time with him?”

“He might not be the best person in the
world, Brandon, but I don’t think he’s the killer. I promised to
help him clear his name.”

“But he
is
the killer, Maddie.
Otherwise, why would he have made that call to Frank Johnson right
before his death?”

How would he know about that? Madeline sucked
in a deep breath and tried to stay calm, shoving her key into the
ignition and starting the car. No one knew about that except for
her and Donovan, the police, and whoever made that call.

“How do you know about the call?” she asked,
struggling to keep her voice casual.

It must have sounded suspicious, because
Brandon’s eyes tightened and his mouth made a grim slash across his
face. “My police contact mentioned it.”

Madeline put her foot on the break and placed
the car in gear. If she started driving, surely Brandon would move
out of the way. Something occurred to her just before she made the
decision to gun the engine.

“Why didn’t you report that in the paper, if
you’re so sure he’s guilty?”

His mouth became even smaller and he seemed
to pale. “My source asked me to hold off. Plus, I didn’t want to
write something I couldn’t yet confirm. That would be considered
libel and Donovan could sue.”

Your whole article was libelous. I should
sue you myself.

Madeline forced her brightest smile onto her
face. “Oh. That makes sense. You’re so good to watch out for
me.”

Brandon leaned in and Madeline turned her
head to face the front windshield just as his lips brushed against
her. “If Donovan bothers you, call me.” Brandon stepped back, his
hand on the top of the door. “I’m going to make sure he goes to
prison for his crimes, and I don’t want you hurt in the
process.”

Madeline felt her smile falter, and she eased
her foot off the brake. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

“I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Brandon
shut the door.

Madeline couldn’t drive away fast enough,
glad she wasn’t far from her apartment. Her hands shook so hard,
she knew she shouldn’t be driving. She gratefully pulled into her
parking spot and dashed into the building to wait for the
elevator.

Even though she hadn’t wanted to call Donovan
first, the situation had changed.

Pounding on the front door pulled Donovan
from sleep. He glanced at the clock next to his bed with bleary
eyes. Already 11:30. He’d spent all night wracking his brain for
people who might want Frank Johnson dead and would also have motive
to frame Donovan for the job. He hadn’t even crawled into bed until
after 3:30. This morning, he was no closer to figuring out who had
a vendetta against both him and Frank.

Thoughts of Madeline, and the fact she hadn’t
called, kept him up tossing and turning long after that. He
couldn’t wait to see her again. It finally dawned on him why she
was so upset just about the time she closed the door. He needed to
explain to her that Maddie didn’t mean the same thing to him as it
meant to her. As far as he was concerned, it was the most beautiful
name in the world. Besides, he couldn’t believe she worried about
her weight. Maddie definitely wasn’t fat.

The pounding came again, and Donovan dragged
himself out of bed. He shrugged into a black robe, tying it around
his waist. If he had any way of knowing if it was Madeline at the
door, he wouldn’t bother with the robe.

With his luck, it was probably Chief Stone,
there to tell him about some other horrible crime he supposedly
committed.

The person pounded a third time.

“I’m coming,” he yelled while he walked
through the small living room.

He had a moment’s hesitation before unlocking
the door, realizing it might be a good time to tell the landlord he
planned to install a peephole. If the killer stood on the other
side, Donovan would be unprepared to deal with him.

He opened the drawer on an end table next to
the couch, pulling out his personal Smith and Wesson. The black
revolver fit perfectly into his hand. He cocked the hammer and hid
the gun behind his back. Just because Stone took his service weapon
didn’t mean Donovan was without protection in his own home.

He opened the door cautiously, but his
visitor barged into the room without waiting for him to say
anything. He barely had time to register who it was and kept the
gun hidden from sight. Her sweet perfume surrounded him as she
brushed her body against his.

“Thank God you’re home. I’ve been calling
your cell phone all morning.” Suzie Stone smoothed her black hair
behind her ears and put her hands on her hips. “Why aren’t you
answering? Dad’s on a rampage.”

Donovan took a deep breath. He closed the
door without saying anything and placed the gun into the drawer as
inconspicuously as possible.

He faced her, ignoring the hero worship in
her eyes. It always made him feel so damn guilty. “Suzie, you
aren’t supposed to be here.”

She brushed his concerns aside with a wave of
her hand and sat on the couch, folding one leg across the other. “I
had to come. I’m in a position to help you, Donovan.”

He sat gingerly next to her on the couch.
Suzie had always seemed fragile, as though made from spun glass
that would crack with the slightest pressure. He hadn’t realized
how unstable she was until after he agreed to date her. Her extreme
naiveté only made things worse. When they broke up, he’d tried to
let her down easy, concerned not only about her mental state, but
also the wrath of her father and what that could mean for Donovan’s
career.

Since then, she didn’t seem to grasp that
they would never be a couple. She watched him from afar nowadays,
but in the beginning, right after they broke up, she’d stalked his
apartment, waiting for him in the stairwell if he wasn’t home.
Worse, she followed him around town as he tried to work.

It had been a tense few months since making
the bad decision to go out with her. Donovan’s old partner had
helped talk to her, since Henry planned to retire and move to
Florida anyway. After that, she had stopped coming to his home and
following him, but she still hung out at the station every chance
she got, watching him.

However, he was curious about her reason for
coming here. Maybe Suzie knew something about the murder. “What do
you mean you can help me?”

She smiled and settled further into the
couch. “I knew you’d want my help. First, what’s in it for me?”

Wow. Maybe she’d toughened up a bit since he
last spoke to her. “You’d be helping out a friend.” Donovan knew
that wasn’t the answer she wanted. He wouldn’t promise what she
wanted.

Her red lips pouted. “I want to be more than
your friend.”

“I’m sorry.” Donovan took her hand, squeezing
her delicate skin softly. “I think I’ve found the woman I’m meant
to be with. The only thing I can offer is friendship.”

She took her hand from his and narrowed her
eyes. “Maddie.” She spat the word, as though speaking it left a
rotten taste in her mouth.

“Yes.”

“You’ve only known her a week, Donnie. You
don’t know if you really like her. I’ve loved you for ten years.
Love me, choose me.” Her eyes pleaded with him, begged him to
reconsider.

Donovan felt like a jerk. When Suzie’s
husband died ten years earlier, he knew she had developed a crush
on him. He had avoided her for a long time, unwilling to date his
boss’ daughter.

Suzie was a gorgeous woman with long black
hair and deep blue eyes—not to mention her extremely hot body. To
top it all off, her late husband left her a lot of money. She was a
catch by any man’s standards. For some reason, though, Donovan
didn’t feel an attraction for her. He had tried. Each date they
went on confirmed his feelings further. He’d never love Suzie.

He shook his head and tears welled in Suzie’s
eyes.

“Please,” she whispered.

How many other women had he hurt over the
years? He knew he had honestly broken the hearts of a few of them,
the ones like Suzie who wanted more than a couple nights in his
bed. He couldn’t help it. He’d locked away the piece of his heart
capable of love a long time ago, pretending he didn’t need it. He’d
lied to himself for years, pretending the only thing he wanted was
sex.

Then Madeline came along. He didn’t know why
at the time, but he’d felt a connection to her immediately. The
more he talked to her, the more he knew what it was. Madeline
reminded him so much of his old friend. Madison. The first Maddie.
The Maddie he’d planned to marry.

Donovan swallowed past the lump in his
throat, trying to control his emotions. He didn’t know if allowing
himself to feel again was a good thing. Looking into Suzie’s sad
face, the guilt was almost enough to crush him.

“I’m sorry, Suzie,” he whispered. “I can’t
help what my heart wants. I know I just met Madeline, but there’s
something between us. A connection, like I’m meant to be with
her.”

A tear slipped down Suzie’s face. “That’s how
I feel about you.”

Donovan turned away from her, guilt eating
his insides. “I’m sorry.”

“I wished she’d never moved here.” Suzie
leapt to her feet and paced the small path in the living room
between furniture. “I hate her. Maybe the killer will take care of
her, and then we can be together again, Donnie.”

Her words pummeled into Donovan, each one a
blow to his stomach. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t lose
this Maddie, too.