Man with the Muscle (15 page)

Still, he'd better wake her up and give her a chance to put on a little bit of that armor before they arrived. “We're almost there. Your father seemed to think you have a pretty good strategy lined up to take down Demetrius Smith.”

“It is if we can keep Tyrell Sampson alive until he testifies.”

“He's under protective custody with Holden and Trip watching over him. You can't get any safer than that.”

She glanced over at him. “I might debate that.”

Right. Like he hadn't blown his protection duty yesterday afternoon when he'd put the beat-down on Lassen. The majority of his SWAT training had taught him that the best security was about planning, controlling every possible variable and being aware of his surroundings—not violence after the fact. Although he'd been trained to carry out the necessary violence, it was supposed to be a last resort, not a gut reaction to some creep putting his hands on Audrey.

He vowed to do better by her next time. Alex turned
onto his grandparents' street. “Do you think Tyrell will stick to his word and say what you need him to up on the stand?”

She hummed as she stretched out her arms and legs. “He will if he doesn't want to go to prison for Calvin Chambers's murder. Because right now, all the evidence points to him as the shooter.” She reached down to wedge her feet back into her boots. “Did you see how skinny he is?”

“Probably from the meth he uses.”

“I'm half tempted to have Demetrius try on the jacket he claims is his as a visual aid for the jury. There's DNA from both Demetrius and Tyrell on both jackets. But no way does that medium-size hoodie fit him.”

“Uncle Mac did say the zipper ripped.”

“They had to have switched clothes after the shooting.” She pulled down the visor in front of her, turned on the lighted mirror and combed her fingers through her hair. “And if that doesn't work, I guess I'll just have to get Big D to confess.”

“If anybody can talk a man into confessing…”

“That better be a compliment.”

They were both smiling when he pulled into a parking space at the curb.

“Taylor's Butcher Shop.” She read the darkened sign over the closed shop. “Where's the restaurant?”

“Upstairs.”

Now she got it. “Alex, I don't think I'm up to meeting your family tonight. I'm wrinkled and tired—”

“And they'll love you. It's just Grandma and Grandpa. They live over the shop. They're retired and he's leasing it to someone else—but I promise you, you can kick off
your shoes when you're inside, and Grandma will have a cup of tea.”

She thought about it for a moment, then smiled. “Okay. I want to meet this lady who taught you all those old-school manners and whipped you into shape.”

“If you still have that bandanna on you, it'll make her cry.” Audrey's face blanched. He saw her glance down to the attaché at her feet. His heart flip-flopped inside his chest. “Seriously?”

“I meant to take it to the cleaners. That's all. You know how busy we were today. I just didn't get it done.” She reached for the door handle. “I'll leave it here.”

“Hold on.” He caught her wrist and stopped her from opening the door, keeping an eye on his side-view mirror.

“What is it?”

The car that had been following them all the way from downtown slowed down, but drove on past. Alex memorized the model and make of the sleek black car, but noted, “No license plate.” He didn't like that. He released Audrey and pulled out his phone. “Give me a sec.”

“Should I be worried?”

“I'm not sure. Yeah, this is Alex Taylor.” He spoke into the phone, gave his ID number and reported the suspicious car. The car disappeared two corners down and Alex quickly got out and circled around to open the door for Audrey. He locked the door and tucked her under his arm, keeping his body between her and the street as he walked her through the door and up the stairs to his grandparents' apartment. “Thanks. Keep me posted.” He clipped the phone back onto his belt.

“They'll see if they can get a black-and-white to track
it down. See if it's stolen. You didn't recognize it, did you?”

“To be honest, I wasn't looking. Do you think it's the Broadway Bad Boys?”

He wasn't convinced. The car might be stolen, which was definitely a trademark of the gang, but it was too nice a vehicle not to be stripped for parts yet, and it hadn't been souped up enough to meet the gang's need for speed and power. That left…? Hell, what did that leave—something to do with Audrey's suspicion about a link to the Rich Girl murders? Like that was a better option for being followed than a bunch of gangbangers who wanted to frighten her into losing the trial?

“Let's just get inside.” He knocked on the apartment door.

A moment later it opened to a robust, gray-haired man who still sported a military cut and posture despite the arthritic bend to his knees. “Come in, come in.”

“Grandpa.” He pulled Audrey inside and closed the door before trading a hug that included a couple slaps on the back.

“Alex.” Their host extended one of his gnarled hands to Audrey. “I'm Sid Taylor, Alex's grandpa. Welcome to our home.”

“I'm Audrey. Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Martha Taylor came hurrying from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron before opening her arms wide. “And who is this handsome young man in uniform?” Alex traded kisses and a tight hug before she pulled away and beamed a beautiful smile at him. “Whenever I see you dressed in your work clothes, it makes me think of the first time I met your grandfather.
He was in uniform, too. Such a handsome man.” She cupped Alex's cheek before turning to Audrey. “Introduce me to your beautiful new friend.”

Audrey extended her hand, her cheeks turning rosy with a blush. “Audrey Kline. Nice to meet you.”

Martha clapped her hands together. “The famous lawyer from the newspapers. Well, this is an honor. Sid, you should have warned me. If I'd known we had a celebrity coming, I'd have fixed something besides leftover meat loaf.” She arched one silvery-blond brow in apology. “But I do have a pie.”

“What kind?” Audrey asked.

“Apple.”

“Do you have a slice of cheddar cheese to go with it?”

“I think so.”

“Oh, I am so going off my diet tonight. Hot tea and apple pie with cheese sounds like heaven to me.”

Martha linked arms with Audrey and invited her into the kitchen. “It's a recipe I got from my mother. I get carried away with baking this time of year…”

Sid nodded his approval to Alex as they followed them in to dinner. “A woman with real class has class in any situation, even when she's served leftovers.”

“I love Gran's meat loaf.” Alex followed Martha's standing orders and stopped at the credenza outside the kitchen, removing his service weapon and setting it safely out of the way before sitting down at the table.

“So do I. That one's a real lady, son. Just like your grandma.”

“You think I've got enough class to match up with that? For the long haul?”

His grandparents' home was more than a haven where
Alex could relax for a couple hours. Sid understood that he'd come for a little friendly advice, too. He clasped his hand over Alex's shoulder. “The real question is, do you have enough love?”

“I've only known her for a few days. It's crazy how fast I thought I knew, but…I don't know.”

“Could you stand to lose her?”

That took him aback. Alex looked up into Sid's eyes, eyes that were dark enough to make them look like blood relations. Maybe he should trust his instincts with Audrey. But could he convince her to trust hers? It was an all too important debate that he'd file away for later.

“I'm hungry, Grandpa. Let's eat.”

 

A
UDREY WAS EMBARRASSINGLY
full, totally exhausted yet curiously content after spending the evening with Alex and his grandparents. It made the trip home to an empty house seem a little less daunting, her father staying the night with his new lady friend a little less worrisome, and her feelings for Alex Taylor a little less frightening to admit.

To herself.

Alex had backpedaled a long way from his
We fit
and
I don't question it
lecture. Last night, although his actions had been tender, he'd been curiously quiet—and she'd been too exhausted to restart the debate. Maybe he'd begun to rethink his belief that some people could know each other, love each other—if they were the right two people—after a short period of time, just as she was beginning to consider it a real possibility.

He seemed to have a very special bond with his adoptive grandparents—and they clearly adored him—and seemed to have enjoyed their evening together. Martha
Taylor had shared a lovely romantic story about meeting Sid for the first time, and how quickly she'd discovered that he was the man for her—for almost fifty years now.

But Alex had continued to be unusually quiet on the ride home. Not that he'd been rude—he'd answered every question she'd asked, and had cut short the phone call that told him KCPD had had no luck finding the car he suspected had been following them. Audrey stole a glance out the side-view mirror to see if she could spot any mysterious black car trailing after them as Alex swiped the key card and opened the front gates. He waited until the gates had locked securely behind them before turning his lights on high beam and following the long drive to the house.

When they cleared the trees and began to curve around the circle, Audrey was reminded of growing up here. “When I was little and we'd drive to the house at night—when the windows were dark like they are now—I always thought this big, stern facade looked like a multi-eyed monster's head.” She pointed to the corner tower where her rooms were located. “I imagined the house was a creature with one horn, frozen in stone by some powerful wizard.”

“That's a little fanciful for you, isn't it?” He said just enough to keep the conversation going. “It'd make a great Halloween house, though.”

“Not that we ever had any trick-or-treaters.” But despite the isolation, Audrey had plenty of good memories here. “I used to have parties here when I was a kid. We'd play hide-and-seek for hours. Charlotte had the best imagination—we'd find her up trees or in the
root cellar or hiding between floors on the dumbwaiter. Harper—”

“—probably was more interested in winning than anything else.”

“You do get to know people quickly, don't you? His favorite game was tag—mostly because he could outrun the rest of us. I wish…” She paused with a heavy sigh that sounded like pure sorrow. “I wish I'd seen that coming today. Somehow his feelings for Gretchen must have gotten all twisted up with what he used to feel for me—back in high school. I haven't felt anything romantic toward him since then. It's not his place to be so possessive or to assume any kind of relationship. I made that clear, didn't I?”

“If you didn't, I will.”

She was smiling again as he pulled the truck to the bottom of the porch steps. “You can park in the garage out back if you want.”

He shook his head as he killed the engine. “Too far away from the main house, and I know the entrances and exits on this side of the house better, in case we need to get out quickly.”

Her amusement at his own possessive impulse quickly vanished. “Are you expecting trouble?”

“I want to be prepared so that nothing catches me by surprise.” His smile tried to reassure her. “It's just a precaution. With Holden and Trip babysitting Tyrell tonight, I don't have the same backup I did last night. Captain Cutler ordered some extra patrols to swing by the house. He said to call if I needed anything else. In the meantime, all you've got is me.”

She reached across the seat to take his hand. “Then I'll be just fine.”

Audrey reset the alarm system as soon as Alex bolted the front door behind them. She dropped off her attaché bag in her father's office, gave herself a moment to absorb his lingering presence, and really feel that he was going to be all right and back home in the morning. Then she peeled off her coat, kicked off her shoes and headed upstairs while Alex made a sweep of the house.

She was curled up in her peach silk pajamas, sitting on top of the flowered comforter in her bedroom, when she heard Alex enter the sitting room on the other side of the door. “The house is secure, Red,” he called out. “Pleasant dreams.”

But she couldn't get an answering “good-night” past her lips. As weary as she'd been after leaving the police station and Clarice's, their visit with his grandparents had revitalized her. Her brain was running ninety miles a minute, going over everything she was feeling, thinking of the words she should say. Why had Alex's demeanor changed since that takedown of Steve Lassen at the courthouse? Had her admission about wanting to clobber the guy herself shocked him? Changed his opinion of her? Had Sid or Martha said something that put him in this distant state? Or was he simply concerned about her security—so focused on that that he had no room for anything else in his head right now?

In the end, she took a page from Alex's own book. Quit overanalyzing everything. Don't muddy up her wants and needs with too many words. If she had a feeling about something—or someone—she should trust her gut and
do
something about it.

Audrey inhaled a steadying breath and slipped out of bed. Time to do.

She soundlessly opened the connecting door and found him hanging his Kevlar vest over his black uniform shirt on the back of a chair. He peeled off his black turtleneck with the white SWAT letters embroidered at the neck, and tossed it onto a stack of pillows at the end of the couch.

“Did you need something?”