Flawless (18 page)

“And? How about his shirt?”

“I don't know. I told you, I just saw him from the back. I couldn't see his shirt. He was wearing one of those jacket things. You know, a hoodie.”

CHAPTER
TEN

THE PUB WAS
being slammed.

Only natural, since it was a Friday night.

Eagan sat at the bar next to Bobby O'Leary, the two of them talking away over their club sodas and lime. Soon they were both eating fish-and-chips—and still talking.

Declan had all the screens above the bar and around the pub tuned to the news. It was impossible to miss the reports on the jewelry store holdup that morning, along with the sad fact that a young woman had been killed.

As she headed into the storage room to replenish the bar-brand whiskey, Kieran nearly smashed right into Danny. She paused, unable for a minute to hide the worry that had been tearing at her.

“They were in here, Danny. They were in here!”

“What? Who?”

“Those thieves, the ones who were caught when I was trying to put the diamond back. The FBI think the copycats—the killers—eavesdropped on them and learned about their MO by listening to them in public places. And they were
here
.”

“Wait, whoa, you don't know that the killers were in here, right?”

“No, but...”

“So calm down.”

“Danny, I'm scared.”

“You were taken hostage and nearly killed in the subway. Being scared is normal.”

“No, it's more than that. I'm scared for
you
. Danny, could anyone have heard you and Julie talking about ‘borrowing' that diamond? Do you think—”

“I think you're paranoid.”

“I'm scared. I'm scared for you and for the pub.”

“Hey, is something wrong?” Declan asked, coming through the door and stopping dead when he saw the two of them.

“No, just running out of whiskey out there,” Kieran said quickly.

“I'm back here for a keg,” Danny said.

“Thanks, both of you, for staying on top of things,” Declan said. “It's a zoo out there tonight. Go figure, someone gets killed and the world needs to drink.” He hesitated, then added in a heartfelt tone, “Thank God, Kieran, that the thieves who grabbed you weren't the killers.”

“Don't I know it,” she said, grabbing a bottle at random. Rum, she saw, not whiskey, so she put it back, grabbed a bottle of whiskey instead and quickly headed out.

If she'd thought that would make things easier, she'd been mistaken.

Eagan was no longer at the bar.

That was because he had taken a seat at the booth closest to the bar, along with Mike Dalton and Craig Frasier.

Craig did seem to have a way to home in on her. She saw him the minute she emerged from the stock room and found herself staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

Why was she so damned panicked?

And also glad he was there, filled with memories, warm at just the sight of him...

But mostly panicked.

He smiled at her. For a moment she could think of nothing but the night they'd shared.

And then she wondered about his smile.

Was it a suspicious smile? Even a little grim?

But he was sitting with Eagan. He knew where she'd spent her afternoon.

She wondered what his day had been like, then immediately realized it must have been awful. He must be feeling like hell.

“Kieran, girl, did you forget me?”

She snapped back into motion, hurrying to give one of their regulars, Nathan Worth, a Scotch and soda.

The night became a blur. Every member of the Finnegan family was working, along with Mary Kathleen and Debbie Buenger. Pedro had left the kitchen to the chef and his brother so he could bus tables, though more people were drinking than eating.

A local Irish band began to play at 8:00 p.m.

But even then, Kieran could overhear bits of conversation as she worked.

A group of young women talked about a wedding, then moved on to the murder during the morning's robbery.

Business execs discussed stocks and then the poor girl who had been killed.

A few people danced on the little bit of empty floor in front of the low stage. And then they, too, started talking about the robberies and the most recent murder.

She began to think the night would never end, and, of course, it wasn't even due to end until late, or was that early? On Fridays they stayed open until 2:00 a.m., and they were generally busy until the last moment when, according to their license with the city of New York, they were required to stop serving and usher people out.

Even more people than usual didn't want to go home that night.

Some left, of course. Eagan was gone by ten. Mike called it quits around midnight.

But Craig Frasier stayed.

He didn't hog the booth, though, but made his way to the bar, where he was quickly engaged in conversation. Not only with customers, either.

He talked to Declan.

Kevin, and even Mary Kathleen, Debbie and Pedro.

And Danny.

And he was still there when last call came.

Nervous—because on the one hand she kept imagining him naked, while on the other she pictured him declaring that the pub was a den of iniquity where thieves met to plan their nefarious deeds—she forced herself to go up to him at last.

“You're really a trouper,” she told him. “Working all day, then staying here all night. You don't have to do this, you know. I have brothers.”

“I know. But I needed to be here.”

Her hands were resting palms down on the smooth wood surface of the bar. Now he ran a finger over the back of one hand, sending a shock of sensation through her.

“Uh, okay, thank you,” she said, her words almost a whisper. She looked around, but they were pretty much alone; everyone else was busy, customers gulping their last drinks, staff cleaning up and trying to get out and go home.

“You're thanking me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“For?”

“Last night, this...” That sounded wrong, she thought, and tried again. “I meant thank you for caring, not for the sex. No, wait, I don't mean that I don't thank you for the sex. It was great.
You're
great. But more than anything I appreciate the fact that you're concerned for my welfare. But you're working a case. You can't be so concerned with me that you're not...on it.”

He smiled. “Oh, don't worry. I'm on it.”

That sounded ominous. Unsettling.

“We're closing up now,” she said softly.

“Yes, I know, and I'm waiting.”

She leaned forward. “To make sure I'm safe?”

“Let me stay with you tonight,” he said, his finger playing across the back of her hand again.

She needed to say no.

Instead she nodded. “Yes.”

“Good night, Kieran!”

She turned to see that Bobby O'Leary was leaving. Leave it to Bobby. He didn't even drink—and he was closing down the pub.

“Night, Bobby!” she called, pulling her hand away from Craig's touch and waving.

Declan was heading around the bar. He seemed to accept Craig being there as perfectly natural. “Are you seeing my sister home?” he asked.

“I'd planned to. Figured you must be worn out after a night like this.”

“I am, but you must be worn out, too. The city is in an uproar, and you're caught right in the middle of it,” Declan said.

Craig smiled. “But
I've
had a relaxing evening, meeting a lot of interesting people here at the bar.”

Mary Kathleen came up just then and sat on the stool beside Craig, sighing as she let her head fall. “Brilliant night, but, oh! I'm beyond exhausted.”

Kieran hadn't even had a chance to speak with her almost sister-in-law. “Did everything go well with you and Julie?”

“Aye, the girl's a love!” Mary Kathleen said, lifting her head and grinning. “Quiet as a mouse, she were. Slept well, then woke up and headed over to her old place for whatever she might need most. Figured we'd get a list of the heavier things, and the boys can go get them on Sunday morning, when this place is actually closed for a spell. For the moment she's fine—happy as a lark. She's working from home the next few days, hangin' with the pups. And what angels they are, too. Never knew I wanted a dog till now.”

“I'm not so sure a pub keeper and his wife have time for a dog,” Declan said.

“No harder than babes, and I assure you, we'll be having a few of them,” Mary Kathleen said.

Kieran was relieved to find herself actually smiling.

Raising his voice so his brothers, who were still busing the last of the tables, could hear, Declan called out, “Thank you—no, bless you all. Couldn't have handled tonight without you. Now go home. Get out. I need to lock up.”

Kevin and Danny stopped and headed to the bar, staring questioningly at Kieran and Craig.

“You're good—go home. Kieran has an escort,” Declan told them.

Kieran couldn't tell whether Danny was looking at her with a strange expression or not.

“Well, great,” Kevin said. “I'm off. I plan to sleep late tomorrow. I'm totally wiped. And I'll see to it that this reprobate gets home, too.” He punched Danny playfully on the shoulder.

“Night all,” Kieran said.

“And, you two, you need to get out of here, too,” Declan said to her, with a nod toward Craig.

Kieran reached under the bar for her bag and jacket. With Declan making shooing motions behind her, she rounded the bar and joined Craig. He didn't touch her as they walked to the door together and he opened it for her.

His sedan was just down the block. They walked to it quickly, without speaking. She took a quick look over her shoulder as they went.

“Do you think we're being followed?” he asked her.

“What?” she asked in turn, her brow knitting in confusion.

“You were looking around.”

“Just wondering who else was out this late,” she said.

He nodded and opened the car door for her.

As she slid inside, she wondered what the night was going to be like. He was being so silent suddenly, and she knew that she herself was tense.

Why hadn't she said no when he said he wanted to stay the night? Why hadn't she protested?

Why had she been so afraid to speak up? And exactly what was she so afraid of tonight, here with an FBI agent by her side?

“Eagan really likes you,” he told her, pulling into the street.

“I'm glad. He seems so...normal. I mean...for a boss.”

He smiled at that. “He
is
normal, just obsessed with work.”

“And you're not?”

He shrugged. “We have shifts, we're allowed to have lives, but it does turn into an around-the-clock type of thing a lot of the time. So,” he said, changing the subject back to her, “how do you feel the interviews went? Eagan said you were upset that the thieves had been to Finnegan's.”

“Wouldn't you be, if it were
your
family's business?”

“Hey,” he said, “every crook out there has dined all over town. The only difference this time is that usually management never knows about it.”

She turned in the seat to look at him. “Did you learn anything today?”

“It's an ongoing investigation.”

“Oh, so you can't tell me?”

He was silent.

“Great! I'm supposed to tell you everything, and in return you get to keep me in the dark.”

He let out a sigh. “We're investigating a number of leads.”

“That's a stock line if I've ever heard one,” she told him.

“But a true one.”

He glanced at her, and for a moment she thought she saw suspicion in his eyes. A moment later his expression held nothing but concern.

“How about we talk about this in the morning?” he suggested.

“So you're still staying?” she asked.

He'd found street parking down the block from her place and was maneuvering into the space.

“That's up to you,” he said, expertly sliding between an old Honda and a shiny new Acura.

“Oh, God!” she snapped. “Stop this! Do you want to stay? I actually wish I didn't want you to stay, because you're driving me crazy. It's up to both of us.”

“It's up to you,” he said evenly, “because I know I want to stay. Obviously, if you don't want me to, I won't. I'll lie awake all night—”

“Worrying that a killer is after me?” she interrupted.

“That,” he said with a shrug, a small smile on his lips, “and remembering what it was like when I did stay.”

She held very still for a moment.

Hadn't she been bright enough at some point during the day to think that she really needed to put the brakes on their relationship?

Relationship?

It was Friday night. Come Monday she would have known him for a week.

A niggling unease feathered along her spine.

If she made it until Monday.

She determined not to let fear influence her.

“I'm not sure yet what the hell this thing between us is,” she said, looking forward and not at him. “But yes, I want you to stay.”

He exited the car quickly, then hurried around and opened her door.

He didn't give her much room; she almost slid into his arms as she got out.

“I'd like to think it's a relationship,” he said. “Sexual attraction along with something more. I like, admire and respect you. In fact, I find you absolutely fascinating.” He grinned slightly. “I'd like to think of myself as sexually appealing, especially to you—and, of course, I hope you find me intriguing.”

“I'm not sure whether I want to kiss you or deck you,” Kieran told him. She was already a little breathless; her knees didn't seem to have much staying power. She laid a hand on his chest and asked, “Really? Can this really be a relationship? We only met on Monday.”

He moved closer and whispered against her ear, “Yes, but don't you think we're getting to know one another very, very well, even if it is quickly?”