Fourth of July (24 page)

Alexis knew her impassioned speech about prayer hadn’t touched him. She shivered. Was there anything she could say or do to change his heart?

Loneliness and fear crept back in as she watched him disappear. She looked over her shoulder as she walked inside, quickly shutting the door and turning the dead bolt. How she hated to be alone now.
Oh, please let me sleep tonight, and somehow touch that man’s heart
.

CHRIS WORKED UNTIL SUNRISE. He compiled pages of research on the D’Artagnan family. His eyes were full of grit, but sleep wasn’t an option. His excitement mounted but the time seemed to drag until dawn. He couldn’t wait to share the news with Dylan. Even though he forced himself to lie down for a couple of hours, he paced behind Dylan’s desk at quarter past seven when his partner finally showed up.

“Dylan!”

“Hey, what are
you
doing here so early?”

Chris moved around the desk. Too excited to sit, he watched Dylan sink into his office chair. “I’ve got a name.”

“Really? Who?” Dylan stood back up.

“Remember Danielle?”

Dylan’s brow wrinkled. “French?” He swirled his hands above his head. “Piles of hair?”

“The other night I broke up with her, told her I was dating Alexis.”

“You finally listened to me?”

“Yeah.” Chris grinned like a little boy at Christmastime.

“That’s great. Alexis is amazing.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Chris could almost feel his “Half-pint” in his arms.

“Isn’t she a Christian?”

“Aren’t you?” Steam rose under Chris’ collar.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Some Christians don’t date outside their faith.”

“Whatever, that doesn’t matter right now.” Chris waved his hand. He didn’t want to hear why Alexis wouldn’t be interested in him. “Danielle got ticked off when I broke up with her and said, ‘No one breaks up with Danielle D’Artagnan.’ I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Her last name is Jefferson, or so I thought. Last night it hit me. D’Artagnan.”

Chris bounced on his heels.

“Yeah?” Dylan’s face didn’t change expression.

Chris extracted a document from his open briefcase and thrust it into Dylan’s hands. “Got this from Interpol.”

“Danielle D’Artagnan, daughter of Joseph D’Artagnan, known terrorist leader.” Dylan read aloud. “The D’Artagnan family originates from Gascony in the south of France. Joseph D’Artagnan is the leader of the Al-Qaeda unit in France.” Dylan looked up at Chris. “I remember this guy. Killed in a raid a few months ago?”

“Yes.” Chris nodded.

Dylan continued perusing the information on Danielle and her family background. “And his daughter is Danielle D’Artagnan. Wow.”

“Yeah. I found more.” He kept shoving papers at Dylan. “Ten years ago she changed her name to Jefferson, forged an American schoolgirl background, and entered NYU.”

“What?”

Chris jabbed his finger into another paper. “Then she graduated with a master’s degree in political science and landed a job with the city. Worked her way up to the mayor’s assistant.”

“Impossible,” Dylan exclaimed again. “How could they fake all the records? Birth certificate, social security number, school transcripts, SAT scores?”

“Scary, huh?”

“So,” Dylan glanced up from studying the papers, “if we can break Danielle—”

“Exactly, but I don’t know if that’s our best option right now. If she’s as tight-lipped as our suspect in New York, all we’ll have is another prisoner and another dead end. They went through a lot of effort to get Danielle to this point. I’m sure they’re in close contact with her.”

“She was dating you.” Dylan jabbed an accusatory finger in Chris’ direction. “You didn’t give her any info?”

Chris frowned, thinking. “No. I’m always careful.”

“That’s good.”

“It ticks me off that she tried to use me.” He ran a hand through his hair then stopped to smile. “I guess I don’t have to be so careful with Alexis.”

Dylan grinned. “Everybody talks to Alexis, she probably knows more than we do. So,” he turned back to the matter at hand, “what do we do now?”

“Follow Danielle, she’ll be in contact with somebody. I’m sure of it.”

“You broke up with her too soon.”

“Well, I’m not going back.” He shuddered. “After that breakup, she wouldn’t take me.”

Dylan nodded. “You know where she lives?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go.” Dylan stood. Moving around the desk, he pounded Chris on the back. “Nice to see you doing research for once.”

Chris laughed. “Don’t expect it again.”

Alexis danced around her apartment. U2 boomed from her CD player as she scrubbed her kitchen countertop. She barely registered the phone ringing over the music reverberating through her brain.

“Hello.” She rushed to the entertainment center and turned down the volume several notches.

“Alexis Osborne?” a deep voice questioned.

“Yes?”
Another telemarketer.

“This is Officer Luke Johnson.”

“Oh, Luke.” Her grip on the phone relaxed, but then a shiver of apprehension ran through her. Why was he calling her? Had her attacker been released?

“How are you doing, Alexis?”

“I’m okay.”
Stop stalling. Something must be really wrong for him to call.
Gripping the phone, she raced to her front door. The deadbolt was securely in place. “Has the suspect been released?”

“Oh, no. No, he’s still in prison.”

“Oh, thank heavens.” Alexis pressed a hand to her chest. She leaned against the wood door, slowly sinking to the tile floor. Her trembling legs couldn’t support her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine,” Alexis said. She didn’t mention to Luke her newfound fear of being alone at night. The horrible dream played through her mind, an irrational terror she couldn’t shake.

“Glad to hear it. I needed to schedule a follow-up visit. I wondered if I could come by sometime today?”

Alexis hesitated. “Um, sure, that would be fine.”

She had never heard of anyone receiving a follow-up visit from a police officer, but then she didn’t personally know anyone who had been assaulted.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Do you know where I live?”

“It’s all in your file,” Luke answered, his tone casual.

Little fingers of fear tickled along her spine. “Oh, you accessed my file.”

“It’s my case. It’s not like I had to come in at night and steal it from the cabinet.” Luke laughed. It was a pleasant sound.

Alexis could tell he was teasing her. Her shoulders relaxed a little. “I didn’t mean to sound suspicious. It’s just with everything that’s happened I have to be cautious.”

“I understand. If you aren’t comfortable with me coming...”

He gave her a chance to bow out, but Alexis knew there was no valid reason for concern. It would be good to get this interview over with and get on with her life. Soon she could forget the entire experience. Maybe.

“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I’ll be here for a few more hours. Come whenever is convenient for you.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.” Alexis pushed end, still feeling uncomfortable anyone could access her phone number and address so easily.

Luke is the police officer assigned to my case, she reassured herself. Of course he would have access to my personal information. Lumbering to her feet, she still felt weak from thinking her attacker had been released. She began half-heartedly scouring her kitchen sink, barely hearing her favorite song, “With or Without You,” playing in the background.

AFTER SITTING OUTSIDE DANIELLE’S apartment for several hours and then trailing her to the gym, the grocery store and the nail salon, Dylan and Chris were both frustrated with the waste of time.

“What do you say we call in a backup team and take a break for a few hours?” Chris suggested.

“Sounds good.”

Dylan made a phone call and another duo arrived to take their place.

“I’m going home to see my family for a little while,” Dylan said as they entered Chris’s office. “You’d better go get some rest. I’ll see you back here about, what? Five o’clock?”

“Great.” Chris waited anxiously for Dylan to vacate his office. The second the door clicked shut, he dialed Alexis’s number. Sleep was the farthest thing from his mind.

“Hello,” she said.

Chris loved the sound of her voice.

“Hi, it’s me,” he said, unable to keep the longing from his voice. He needed to see her.

“Hi,” Alexis returned softly. “I’m glad you called. I hoped I’d hear from you today.”

“I have a few free hours. What are you doing right now?” Chris asked.

“Cleaning my apartment, nothing too exciting.”

“Could I come pick you up? We could buy sandwiches or salads if you’re one of those healthy eaters and relax at a park somewhere.”

“I’d love to. How soon? I’m kind of a mess.”

“I bet you look amazing.”

She giggled. Chris felt his heart rate escalate. He’d never heard such an attractive giggle.

“Is twenty minutes okay?” he asked.

“Perfect. I’ll be waiting.”

Chris made it to Alexis’ apartment in a record time of fourteen minutes. He couldn’t stand to wait any longer. He had to see her. He pressed the doorbell.

“Come in,” he heard the call.

“I’ve got to talk to her about locking the door,” Chris muttered as he let himself into her apartment.

Chris glanced around the clean apartment, amazed at the tidy space. Alexis was a perfectionist. Even the view of the concrete building next door was sparkling. He smirked, imagining her entering the disorganization he called home.

“How much would you charge to clean my apartment?”

“What was that?” she called from her bedroom.

“I need some help. Do you hire out as a cleaning girl?”

“You think I need a supplemental income?” Alexis asked from behind her bedroom door. “Last time I checked my salary is higher than yours.”

He chuckled. “Maybe I should make you pay for lunch.”

“And I thought you were a gentleman.” Alexis breezed into the living room.

“I-I am,” Chris stuttered, awed by the sight of her. “You look great.”

In a fitted white T-shirt and khaki shorts she looked more than great. He admired her shapely legs and arms.

“Thanks.” Alexis flipped an errant curl with her finger. She reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Did I say you look great?” Chris recovered from his initial shock at the beauty of this woman. “What I meant to say is you are stunning.”

Alexis laughed at him. She reached up and gave him a peck on the mouth.

“Breathtaking,” Chris tried again.

Alexis pulled his head down and took his breath away.

“Absolutely gorgeous,” Chris murmured.

This time he didn’t permit her to take the lead as he gathered her in his arms and spent several minutes showing her just how beautiful she was to him.

They eventually broke apart and were exiting her apartment when Luke appeared in the hallway with a bouquet of daisies.

“Luke.” Alexis pulled Chris to a halt. “I completely forget you were coming.”

“I can see that.” Luke’s gaze swung from Alexis to Chris.