Sweet Vengeance (35 page)

"I
want to be your obsession."  She was so tired of the past interfering with
her future.

The
look on his face grew serious.  "You are."  He caressed her cheek. 
"And for the first time, I feel like there's a chance there's something out
there for me besides annihilating the Trasatti family.  I have you to thank for
that."

Her
heart swelled as a smile erupted on her face.  "Really?"

"Really." 
He scooted over and sat on the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms.  She
leaned into him, knowing she was exactly where she was meant to be.  He tugged
the sheet down from her breast and touched her tattoo.  "I've just
realized, Allie, you're the key to my happiness, in more ways than one."

She
sighed.  They were back to the tattoo.  It was amazing, but now that she'd
found her way back into his arms, she couldn't care less about the Trasatti
organization—whether they lived or died.

"Just
hear me out, okay?"  He leaned his head against hers.  She'd never been
able to resist the man.  "These marks on your breast are not only symbols
of love.  They have numbers mixed in with them...a code, possibly...or, if my
hunch is right, they're the combination to a lock of some kind.  But only half
of them.  The other half was on Joey's chest.  And, as you saw from the photo,
one of his symbols is missing."

Jase
retrieved the book and opened it to a page of symbols that looked similar to
Allie's.  He flipped the photo over, and Allie could see he'd previously
written down two numbers, three and six.  He put the drawing of her tattoo next
to the page, his finger tracing down the symbols until he stopped on one. 
"Five.  And look, this is also a six."  He repeated the process until
he found the last symbol from her tattoo.  "Nine.  Three, six, something,
five, six, nine."  He tilted his head.  "Or I guess it could be the
opposite way.  Five, six, nine, three, six, something."  He glanced at
Allie.  "Do you think he would put himself first or you?"

That
was easy.  "Himself."

Jase
nodded.  "Three, six, something, five, six, nine."

She
didn't want to admit it, but the scenario did intrigue her.  "Do you think
he really did have incriminating evidence, a recording of Franco Trasatti? 
That he hid it somewhere, and together, our tattoos are the combination to that
lock?"

"It
makes sense.  Trasatti probably wondered the same thing after they murdered
Joey.  That could be why they wanted you so badly.  They figured you were the
key."  He squeezed her to him.  "You've been the answer all along. 
If I would have just kept you in my life like you wanted...God, the years I
could have saved us."

She
pulled back, wanting to see his eyes.  "Are you admitting you knew I loved
you?  You purposefully forced me out of your life, knowing it would hurt both
of us?"  Would she have kept her baby if he would have let her stay?  No,
she couldn't go there now.  She'd made the best decision she could at the time,
and giving her baby a better life could not have been a wrong choice.

His
lips thinned into a tortured line.  "Allie, you can't possibly know how
much I regret that."

"And
yet, you're poised to do it again."  She elbowed him in the gut. 

"I
admit it.  I live a dangerous life, Allie.  Like I told you last night, I love
you, and I'll die trying to keep you safe."

She
scoffed.  "What good does that do me?  What good is it to be alive if I
can't be happy?"  She leaned back into his chest.  "Why can't you
understand that?"

He
wrapped his arms around her.  "I do understand, but—"

"But
you're a pig-headed control freak."  And she loved him despite it. 
"So, now what?"

"Now,
I have to figure out where the lock is that goes with this combination." 
He leaned his head close to her ear.  "Allie, if this pans out, you
realize that we'll be free.  Free from the past, free to love each other without
fear."

She
wanted that more than anything.  She turned her head, putting her cheek against
his.  "Do you really mean that?  Can you let the past go?"

He
nodded.  "I think I already have.  I didn't realize it until I saw your
tattoo.  It's like somebody's trying to tell me something.  You dropped into my
life six years ago, and if I'd been smart enough and listened to my instincts,
I would have realized you were the answer."  He kissed her cheek. 
"Well, I'm listening now, and my heart's telling me to finish this one
last thing and let it go.  I'm ready to move on."

She
lifted a hand over her shoulder and pressed it to his cheek.  "I love you,
Jase."

He
rolled her onto her back and followed her down, pinning her with his thighs. 
His face was mere inches away.  Softly, he ran his fingers across her bangs and
down the side of her face, as he stared into her eyes.  A shiver of happiness
squeezed her heart.  Her perfect man was right in front of her.

"I
love you, too, Allie."  He gave her a gentle kiss.  "I've loved you
for a damn long time."

She
smiled, her heart swelling with joy.  She had one more thing to tell him.  She
put her hands on the sides of his face.  "Jase, I think I know what we're
trying to unlock."

His
eyes widened in surprise.  "What?" 

She
nodded, feeling as though everything that had been such a puzzle for years was
finally falling into place.  "It just came to me.  I'd never given it a
second thought in all these years.  Joey used to take me bowling all the time. 
He loved it.  In fact, it's where we met. 

"I
worked at a place called Brad's Bowling.  Joey knew the owner and would go in
on weekend mornings and help him polish the floors.  Then Brad would let him
play for free sometimes.  I'd only worked there for a few days before Joey asked
me out."  Goosebumps spiked on her arm.  Could this really be the answer? 
"I liked it because Joey never took his 'boys' there.  It was our special
place."

"Tell
me why you think the recording is there."

Allie
rolled her eyes, wishing Jase could mind-read so he could keep up with her. 
"Joey had a locker there.  Brad gave him one to keep his bowling ball in. 
Plus, his boys wouldn't know anything about the locker.  What safer
place?" 

"That
could be why the Trasattis never found it."  He paused, and she could see
the thoughts turning behind his eyes.  "Do you really think it would be
left untouched after all this time?"

Excitement
bubbled out of Allie.  "There's only one way to find out.  We need to go
there.  Now."

Jase
glanced at his watch.  "It's barely nine.  Bowling alleys don't open this
early."

She
pushed at his biceps.  "They might.  Somebody might be there."

He
kissed her before rolling out of bed.  He held out a hand to help her up.  When
she was on her feet, he drew her against his muscled chest.  "Just slow
down.  I want to check it out as much as you do, but I don't think it'll do us
much good to get there before ten at the earliest.  I'm going to shower and
then go get us breakfast while you get dressed."

"That's
too long," she said as she slipped into his robe.  She didn't think she
could wait any longer.  Too many years had been wasted all ready.

He
smiled at her impatience.  "If it hasn't already disappeared, another hour
isn't going to change anything."  He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and
tugged her toward the shower.

*       
*        *

Jase
left the coffee shop, his hands full.  Two coffees to go and a couple of
bagels.  The morning air was cool and muggy from the previous night's rain. 
Dark clouds hung heavy in the sky.  Leaves and small branches littered the
sidewalk, casualties from the wild weather.

The
pulse throbbed in his temples from the extra adrenaline that had been pumping
through his body since the moment he'd discovered Allie's tattoo.  He was
close.  So close, he could taste it.  Since Allie had re-entered his life,
everything had started to fall into place.  The clues that seemed to come out
of nowhere.  Allie's memories.  He had the Trasatti family by the balls this
time, he chuckled, and they didn't even know it.

He
crossed the busy street when the pedestrian light gave him the go ahead and
then walked one block north to the building that housed his suite. 

Once
he'd taken down his enemies, he'd sell the place.  That and everything else he
owned in the city that had been so cruel to him.  He'd leave Chicago with Allie
and never look back.

He
noticed the unmarked police vehicle parked alongside the curb in front of his
building.  Most people would think it was an innocent tan sedan, but he'd
learned to look for the telltale signs of a police presence.  Plus, it was
parked in a loading zone.

His
first thought was for Allie's safety, but the cops weren't a threat to her, and
as far as he knew, nothing had gone down recently that he could be linked to.

He
headed toward the entrance, his momentary calm dashed away by the officers
leaning against the front of the building.  He forced himself to remain
relaxed, keeping his stride steady and even.  The doorman glanced at him with a
guilty expression, turned and went inside the building.

Something
was up.  As he reached the front doors, the undercover officers straightened. 
"Mr. Tyler?"  They moved toward him. 

Jase
surveyed the men.  Both were in decent shape.  One didn't look old enough to
wear the uniform, and the other had a ridiculous mustache.  He didn't recognize
either one.  "Yeah?"

"We're
going to need to take you downtown for questioning." 

Before
Jase had a chance to react, the youngest officer reached for Jase's arm causing
him to drop one of the coffees and the bag of bagels.  The handcuffs clicked
around his wrist.  "What the hell?"  Jase threw the remaining coffee
at the cops' feet before either of them could grab his other arm.

After
that, he didn't struggle.  He'd learned a long time ago that arguing or even trying
to defend himself against the cops only made things worse.  They shoved him to
their car and roughly put him in the backseat. 

"What
are you taking me in for?" he asked, as the unmarked sedan pulled away
from the curb.

"Sergeant
Cates would like to question you on the kidnapping of a woman named Alexandra
Fox."  The moustached-cop eyed him in the rear-view mirror.

"What?" 
Jase nearly exploded.  "I didn't kidnap her."

The
younger officer turned in his seat.  "Witnesses say she was forced into a
limo yesterday afternoon, outside the police station.  The car is registered in
your name.  She hasn't been seen since."

Jase
knew better than to talk.  He should keep his mouth shut until his attorney was
present, and they'd actually charged him with something.  "Yes, I picked
her up in my car yesterday.  But I didn't kidnap her for hell's sake.  She's in
my penthouse right now.  That was her damn breakfast you tossed on the sidewalk
back there.  If you turn around, we can clear this whole thing up."

The
officer kept driving.  "We have our orders, sir."

"This
is absurd.  You're wasting your time and mine."  And God knew he had
better things to do.

"We'll
send someone to check it out, Mr. Tyler," the younger officer replied with
a sarcastic tone.  "In the meantime, Sergeant Cates wants a word with
you."

Jase
cussed under his breath and sank back against the seat, admitting his defeat. 
And
that
was why he should never piss off a cop.  Maybe if he hadn't
thrown the other coffee, they'd be a little easier to work with.  Cates
obviously wanted to harass him or the officers would have gone back to check
for Allie.

Ah,
hell. 

He
thought of Allie waiting for him back at the penthouse.  She would think he'd
ditched her. 

*       
*        *

Allie
glanced at the wrought iron clock that hung near Jase's front door.  It was
already past ten.  The bowling alley would be open—she'd checked the phone book
for operating hours after Jase left to get breakfast at a nearby coffee shop. 
Since then, she'd had time to blow-dry her hair and get dressed.  A pair of
jeans and a T-shirt had been waiting on his bed for her.

She
shifted on his soft leather couch, listening to the minutes tick by.  He'd been
gone almost an hour.  There was no way it took that long to go a couple of
blocks for bagels and coffee.

She
picked up her phone and then sat it back in her lap.  She'd tried to call him
five times already.  He hadn't answered.  She tucked her phone back in her
purse, pulled out her gun, checked it, and put it back.  She sighed as she glanced
around the room, wondering what she should do.  Her gaze skipped past the
window seat where they'd made love the previous night, and settled on the water
splashing down the wall fountain.  The tinkling sound it made should have
relaxed her, but she felt anything but calm.

One
by one, her insecurities dropped on her like the water falling to the basin
below.  Jase had said he loved her.  She'd believed him.  Even now, she had no
doubt she was important to him.  But was she more important than his thirst for
revenge?  The small voice inside her spoke. 
He's left you behind again
.