Hard Evidence (29 page)

Some part of her had hoped. She'd seen the look in his eyes in the emergency room. She'd felt his tenderness when he'd held her. She'd tasted his fear for her. And she'd dared to hope that she meant more to him.

Hadn't he all but said as much? Yes, he had.

/
thought I'd lost you, and it seemed to me the whole world had died
.

It wasn't the same thing as saying he loved her, but wasn't it close?

Then again, he'd sat in this living room less than two weeks ago and told her he never planned on getting married.

Remember that part, Tess?

She hung up her bathrobe, found an unopened condom in the pocket, held it.

Warming Sensations.

If she were pregnant, would a baby change his mind? Would she want a baby to change his mind? Would she want him in her life knowing he hadn't stayed for her?

The answer scared the hell out of her.

She loved him. She wanted him nearby no matter what.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

She hurried out of the bedroom, hoping it was Julian.

It was Tom. "Glad it's over, Novak. When will you be back at work?"

Dressed in full body armor, Julian got into position, adjusted the weight of the HK MP5 submachine gun in his hands, and glanced at his watch. Two-twenty-eight a.m. After God knew how many years and how many lives and how much suffering, it would all come down to the next few minutes.

It had taken a team of FBI computer experts more than forty-eight hours of nonstop work to sort through Burien's files and uncover the locations of his cribs, stash houses, and strip joints. It had taken another forty-eight hours to mobilize, putting each location under surveillance and pulling together local cops, county sheriffs, state patrol, federal agents, and U.S. marshals for what was one of the biggest law enforcement actions in the history of the country.

It had been Julian's job to coordinate strategy. Involving eight states—Texas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California, and Washington—Operation Abolish was synchronized down to the last second. In two minutes, law enforcement officers in more than a hundred cities would make their move, neutralizing anyone who resisted and setting victims of modern-day slavery free.

There had never been any doubt in Julian's mind where he would be when the action came down. Not only did he want to stay as close to Tessa as possible, he had unfinished business at Pasha's. He'd taken a position near the strip joint's heavily guarded rear exit, his biggest goal the safety of the girls inside.

He adjusted his earpiece, checked his weapon one last time, and waited for the clock to run out. As he listened to the final countdown, he felt like he'd been waiting for this moment all of his life. His pulse slowed. His senses sharpened.

Three… Two… One…

"Freeze! Police! Drop your weapons!"

It was over in less than two minutes. Overwhelmed both in numbers and firepower, Burien's thugs threw down their guns and whined like dogs. All except Sergei, who grabbed an AK— and got a round through the shoulder for his efforts.

"Chet, is that you?" Julian bending over a prostrate form on his way to the basement. "You look like you could use a drink."

'Tony? Tony Corelli?" Chet lifted his head. "You bastard! You played me!"

"Yeah, I'm a shitty friend. What can I say?" Julian moved on, shouting back over his shoulder. "And my name's not Tony."

One by one the suspects were searched, placed in full restraints, and marched to the police wagon that would take them to the Denver jail. Ambulances and victims' advocates stood nearby, waiting to take the girls to the hospital for evaluation and to help them get started down the long road to recovery—and home.

As Julian suspected, Irena and the other girls were in the basement, where they'd obviously been living. He found them huddled together, in tears and terrified, hiding behind an old, battered sofa. He approached them slowly, not wanting to frighten them further.

"It's all right. It's over. You're safe now." He said it first in English and then in Spanish, knowing that it would take time for his words to sink in. "No one is going to hurt you."

Irena met his gaze above the back of the sofa, pale and trembling, then gaped at him in amazement. 'Tony Corelli?"

He heard gasps, whispers.

Five more heads slowly lifted, five sets of eyes staring at him in astonishment.

"My name is Julian. I'm a federal agent, and I came to get you out of here."

Shock turned to relieved tears and smiles.

Then, wearing only a T-shirt and panties, Irena stood, walked over to him—and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I knew you weren't like the other men. You never touched me."

The girls were soon wrapped snuggly in blankets, hope restored to their young faces, EMTs and advocates escorting them up the stairs and into freedom.

And as Julian stood there, at last wearing his own skin, it hit him.

It really
was
over.

Chapter 29

Tessa slid her key into the lock and let herself into her apartment, shaking her head at the masked trick-or-treaters who stood by her door expecting candy. "Sorry, kids."

Careful to lock the door behind her, she flicked on the lights, set aside her briefcase, and slipped off her shoes. Then she walked into the bedroom to change, wanting soft pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and mindless late-night television.

It had been a long, long day. She'd have been home hours ago if she hadn't joined the rest of the I-Team for dinner and drinks. They'd put the trafficking package to bed this evening, and everyone had been in the mood to celebrate—everyone except Tessa. Unwilling to drag her friends down, she'd joined them anyway and had done her best to have a good time.

There was so much to celebrate. She was alive and unhurt. She knew from her interview with Chief Irving that Julian had gotten safely through this morning's raid. She and her mother were getting reacquainted and were fast growing close. She had good friends, colleagues who cared for her and who'd been there for her. And her investigation was done.

It was the biggest package the
Denver Independent
had ever run, eating up half of the A section and beating Kara's pollution expos6 by a full twenty inches. Tessa's first-person account of being held captive by Burien, together with her article about Operation Abolish, took up the top half of the front page, set off by a sixty-point hammer headline. The articles jumped to the inside, filling all of page three and part of page four. Sophie, Matt, and Katherine had written sidebars, Matt doubling as fact-checker.

It had been more draining to write the articles, to relive the horror of it, than Tessa had imagined. She hadn't cared this time when she'd gotten teary, hadn't felt embarrassed when Sophie had come over and hugged her, hadn't cared one bit when Tom had put his hand on her shoulder. She'd known even while she'd been writing that it was her best work to date, and she'd felt a deep sense of satisfaction when she'd finally sent the last file to the copy desk.

How strange it had been to write the stories and not once mention Julian. He was the driving force behind all of it. He'd pursued Burien for so long, had hunted him relentlessly, had sacrificed years of his life to bring the bastard down, but his courage and heroism were credited to anonymous "investigators."

"experts," or "sources close to the investigation." He had saved so many lives, including hers. He had stopped a killer. But no one would ever hear of him.

Tessa slipped into her softest nightgown, dropped onto her bed, and stared at the ceiling, feeling utterly miserable. She knew she was going to be dealing with ragged emotions for a while—Kara and the victim's advocate had both warned her about that. But the feelings inside her weren't all due to her ordeal. Some of her moodiness was likely just hormones. She'd started her period this morning—right on time. As relieved as she'd been to know there'd been no innocent life inside her for the heroin to harm, she'd also been deeply disappointed. Having Julian's baby would have meant always having a part of him with her.

And that's what it really came down to—having him near. In the short time they'd lived under the same roof, she'd gotten used to waking up beside him, watching him get dressed, smelling his aftershave. She'd gotten used to sending him for groceries and cooking him dinner. She'd gotten used to reaching for him at night and feeling his arms close around her.

She could get along without him, of course, but only if she had no choice.

She hadn't seen or heard from him since late Friday night in the hospital. She'd hoped to hear from him today—a phone call, an e-mail, a text message. Still, she knew he must have spent every waking moment since he'd left her side working hard. To pull off an operation involving so many law enforcement agencies across eight states…

She couldn't imagine the effort that had gone into it.

Perhaps he was exhausted and asleep. Perhaps he wasn't finished yet. Or maybe he'd been called out of state. Hadn't he said that might happen?

I'll be back as soon as I can.

She'd held onto those words these past few days, clung to the hope they offered. He would be back. He'd said he would be back.

"You're being ridiculous," she told herself. "You know he's busy."

But knowing it didn't make her miss him any less. It didn't take away her uncertainty. It didn't stop the ache in her chest. One way or another she needed to know. Were they a part of one another's lives, or should she start trying to hack him out of her heart?

She closed her eyes, tears trickling down her temples into her hair.

Tessa must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew her cell phone was ringing. She jumped out of bed, made a crazy dash for her purse, dumped it out on the floor, and grabbed her phone. "Hello?"

"I woke you." It was Julian.

A surge of pure joy rushed through her at the sound of his voice. "That's okay."

"I need to see you."

"Where are you?"

"Standing in the hallway outside your door."

She managed not to run the few steps it took to reach it. "What are you doing out there?"

'Trying to be patient."

Her pulse quickening, she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door to find Julian standing in his black leather jacket, dark stubble on his jaw, his face lined with exhaustion.

He stepped inside, shut the door behind him, drew her into his arms. "God, Tessa, honey, I've missed you!"

"I missed you, too!" She buried her face against his neck. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Julian felt emotion coursing through Tessa, held her tighter. "It's all right."

For a while they stood there, Julian reluctant to let her go. It seemed forever since he'd last seen her, last held her, last touched her.

It was she who finally ended the embrace. She took his jacket, hung it in the closet, offered him a cup of hot tea. Dressed in a silky pink nightgown, her hair tousled from sleep, she looked adorably innocent and feminine. But there were still bruises on her cheek—a reminder of how close he'd come to losing her.

"What are you doing out so late? It's nearly two a.m."

"I just got in from D.C."

Julian sat at the kitchen table and, like a coward, resorted to small talk while she set water on to boil. Uneventful flights both ways. Decent weather for this time of year. Lots of paperwork. "The feds make you fill out forms in triplicate every time you wipe your ass."

'The Federal Bureau of Obfuscation." She set two cups of hot water and several kinds of tea bags down on the table, a smile on her pretty face. But her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and he could tell she'd been crying.

He couldn't blame her. She'd been through hell.

"It really is over, Tessa." He reached out, took her hand, and held it as he told her what had happened after he'd left her side—how he'd helped the tech team to interpret what they'd found in Burien's computer, coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, making sure provisions were made to care for victims at the scene.

She listened, asked a few questions. "When I read how many cities were involved, how many places, I couldn't believe that you'd managed it in four days."

"We had to move fast, before word got out that Burien was dead. Having his computer files made all the difference. Without those, we'd have spent months tracking down leads."

"Chief Irving told me you'd found Maria's three friends. I'm so glad."

Julian nodded. "One of our teams found them in Engle-wood. Their parents are on their way here to get them."

"Chief Irving says you deserve a medal. I think he's right."

"He says that about you, too." But Julian hadn't come here to talk about his job. "How did your article turn out?"

You didn't come to talk about her job, either, dumbass.

She took a sip of tea, set her cup down. "I guess we'll see tomorrow. I think it's solid. I hope it opens people's eyes."

Julian nodded, traced the silk of her knuckles with his thumb. "It will."

"All day I've been wondering what it must be like to have your life stolen—and then suddenly to get it back again." She looked at him through eyes filled with sorrow for other people's misery. 'Think of the parents who learned today that the daughter they thought was dead is still alive. Think of the girls who are going home to start their lives over. I can't imagine it will be easy for them, but at least they have a chance. You gave them that chance, Julian."

'Tessa…" He stood, walked the length of the small kitchen, stopped, his back to her. "Jesus, I don't know how to do this."

"Julian?"

Just do it. Just say it.

"A month ago, if you'd told me Burien would be dead and his operation shut down, I wouldn't have believed you." He turned to face her. "I'd been hunting him for so long that the chase itself became my life. When he escaped, I took the blame. I thought my poor judgment had given him a break and gotten those agents killed."

She rose, walked over to him, slipped her arms around him, offering him tenderness as she always did. "That was Margaux's doing, not yours. I suppose it will take you a while to get used to that fact."

"Yeah." He kissed her hair, stroked it. "In a way, I feel like I'm starting my life over, too. I want to do it right this time, Tessa. I want—"

She stepped back from him, a tear rolling down her cheek. 'There's no baby, Julian."

It took him a moment to understand what she'd just told him, and the intensity of his own disappointment took him completely by surprise. "You're not pregnant?"

"I got my period this morning." She gave him a shaky smile, another tear following the first. "You're free to build whatever life you want, to go wherever you want."

And then he understood.

He reached for her and pulled her against him. "No, Tessa, I'm not free. There's this little problem of how much I love you."

She stared up at him, eyes wide. "Y-you… what?"

"You don't need a baby to keep me close." His throat grew tight, his voice strained, raw emotion pushing through him. "I love you, Tessa. God help us both, but I do."

Tessa almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd steeled herself for the moment he found out she wasn't pregnant, for the moment he told her his work in Denver was done and it was time for him to move on. She hadn't been expecting this. "Julian, I—"

He held a finger to her lips. "Do you know why I went to D.C. today?"

Had he told her? She tried to remember. "To fill out paperwork in triplicate?"

"Yes." He grinned, then his expression grew grave. "And to resign—for good. Irving offered me a position heading up his vice unit, and I accepted. Being a special agent doesn't go together well with trying to keep a pretty wife safe and happy."

Tessa's heart gave a leap, nearly broke through her chest. "What are you saying?"

He drew in a breath, looked at his feet, then back at her. "I know I'm no woman's idea of the perfect husband. I'm a convict and a killer. I've got a bad temper and no real education. I swear too much. I've got no roots, no family. Hell, I don't even know what family is."

Tessa touched her hand to his cheek. "You're strong, brave, protective—"

"So is a Doberman."

She started to object, but he stilled her again.

"I never planned to get married. I never even thought about it. But you touched me, Tessa. Somehow, you broke through me. You showed me something in myself I'd never seen before. You taught me what it is to feel at home. Do you know I'd never felt at home anyplace until you?"

"Never?" She couldn't imagine that.

"Never." His knuckles grazed her cheek, the look in his midnight-blue eyes achingly tender. "You burned through my life and changed everything. I love you, and if you'll give me a chance, I'll do my best to become the man you deserve."

"Oh, Julian!" Tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks, Tessa stood on her toes and kissed him.
"You already are that man."