ToServeAndProtect (14 page)

“Was his intention to kill you or himself?” His hand
gently stroked the back of her head as she leaned into his chest.

“He wrote
I’m sorry
on the desk blotter. Not to
me, to his parents.” She pushed away from Dustin’s chest and wiped under her
eyes with her fingers. “I killed him,” she whispered.

“He committed suicide.”

“Because I told him I was pregnant.” Slowly her gaze rose
to meet his. “I lied.” The guilt crushed her chest and weighed heavy on her
conscious. “I was afraid to lose him.”

Dustin sighed and stepped away from her. “You’re
right. It’s a fucked up thing to do. Women have trapped men since the dawn of
time with that story. But he bailed out on you.” His temper flared. “A real man
faces his responsibilities.”

“And do you face yours?”

“Hell yes! What’s that supposed to mean?” He brought
the coffeepot over to refill their cups.

“Because I lived without the love of a father. You
don’t talk much about your daughter.”

He set the coffeepot back on the base then pushed his
hands into the pockets of his shorts. “My parenting is none of your business.”

“Oh, that’s fair.”

“Yeah, you know the saying,
life isn’t fair
.”
He walked out of the room, and McKenna followed him.

“I get to spread my life out on the table, and you
tell me yours is off limits.”

“You got it.” He went into the office and sat behind
the computer.

She stood in the doorway and leaned against the jamb
because of the alcohol, the room started to spin. “Screw you,” she snapped.

He came off the couch and bracketed her between
outstretched arms, bracing his weight with his hands against the wall. “I would
love to, but you said you wanted to keep this impersonal. What you’ve told me
benefits your defense. What good comes from knowing my life?”

She turned her head because his face was too close to
hers, his lips too tempting. “Then tell me why you’re divorced. Tell me
something.”

He dropped his arms, took a step back, then focused
intently on her face. “What’s going on here? I’m missing something.”

She nervously wrung her hands. “Detective, please? I
need you to talk to me. We need to be friends, close friends…because I need you
to stay,” she said quietly. “Tonight…with me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think someone was in the house today.”

“When? And why in the hell have you waited all day to
tell me?” With each word he spoke, his voice became louder.

“Don’t yell at me!” she hollered right back. “I’m
scared, Dustin. This house is big. At night all the little things that go bump
sound like murderers to me. I keep the interior doors closed to make the house
seem smaller. It didn’t strike me until you left to get dinner that the office
door was open when I came home today, and so was my bedroom when I went up
earlier. Elliot’s door looked closed, but it was ajar. Someone was in the
house.”

Dustin pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Tyson,
it’s Dustin.” He spoke quickly and precisely to his partner and then listened
intently. “What’s the fax number,” he asked McKenna. She told him and he
relayed the number to Tyson. “I don’t know,” he said, his eyes narrowed on her,
making her stomach swoon.

“Yeah, she is attractive. But I told her she couldn’t
distract me with her body.” He ended the call.

McKenna’s stared at him, her mouth agape. “Why did you
tell him that? What did he say?”

Dustin crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Cop
talk, and for the record, I say we go with your plan. Distract me.”

Hot breath gusted against her mouth then his lips slid
over hers. Soft, yet firm. His tongue touched the seam of her mouth, tasting
her lower lip. Opening for him, she initiated a deeper exploration, gliding her
tongue along his. Warmth burst in her chest and rushed through her limbs. The
hard ridge of his erection pressed into her belly. She rubbed against it,
reveling in the length and thickness.

“My plan sounds good.” The silk fabric of her lounging
pajamas moved like heaven over her skin. He cupped her breast. She moaned as he
rolled her pebbled tip between his thumb and finger. She twined her arms around
his neck and rose up on her tiptoes to feel the heat of his cock against her
mound. Banding an arm around her waist, he pulled her closer. His other hand
cupped her ass and gently squeezed.

The noise from the fax machine caused Dustin to break
the kiss. He drew his thumb along her jaw. Her pulse fluttered.

“You should check to see if the information is what
you’re waiting for.” She kicked her lower lip.

“Back to business?”

She nodded. “For now.” He reluctantly released her.

Paper fed through the machine. Dustin waited for the
page to print, then tore the paper, and read the data. “This is a list of
Marino’s businesses. Maybe one of them will show up in Elliot’s e-mails.”

Dustin became the steadfast detective again. Gone was
the man causing McKenna’s world to spiral out of control.

Chapter
Ten

McKenna’s mouth felt like sandpaper. She’d curled into
the corner of the little couch sometime during the night while Dustin worked on
the computer and had fallen asleep. Her knees popped as she stretched out her
legs. Four bells chimed from the grandfather clock. Dustin had obviously gone
home.

With bare feet, she padded into the dark kitchen to
brew coffee. She covered her mouth with a hand and yawned. As soon as she
filled her cup she went back to the office and booted up the computer. She
wondered what Dustin had found while she slept. Doubtful he could concentrate,
not with the way her head was tilted when she woke. Her snore probably chased
him out of the house.

“I’m sure that was attractive,” she said aloud in the
glow of the monitor. Propping one leg up on the couch, she sipped her coffee
and waited for the icons to appear.

“Morning.”

“Jesus!” Hot coffee sloshed into her lap. “You scared
me.” She stood up quickly and bent slightly forward to keep the fabric of her
pajamas from touching her skin. “I’ll be right back.” She hurried from the
room. “Cups are in the cupboard above the coffeepot,” she hollered while she
climbed the stairs. “Help yourself.”

In her room, she stripped out of her clothes. Energy
zinged through her body.
So much for being alone.
No wonder she’d been
able to sleep. Subconsciously she must have known he’d stayed overnight.
Obviously, he’d found a comfortable corner for himself.

After pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, she
glanced in the mirror. Without a bra, her nipples puckered with awareness. She
shivered, remembering the sight of Dustin walking into the office without a
shirt and the top button of his shorts undone.

“What would Dawn do?” she asked her reflection as she
quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail.

Excited was how she felt, but what she needed was
composure. Sleep with him? Absolutely. But complicating the situation by
falling for the detective in charge of her murder case was out of the question.
Damn, she didn’t want to use him. She shook her head. No, she wouldn’t be using
him. He was a big boy, a very big boy judging from the erection he held against
her when they kissed. And she wasn’t offering emotional attachments. From all
she’d been able to glean from Dustin, he wasn’t interested in emotional any
more than she was.

“Dawn wouldn’t be debating whether or not to take him
to bed. She’d have already worked the detective out of her system.” She made
her way down the stairs and paused in the doorway of the office.

“Sorry, I scared you,” he said.

“I thought you’d gone home.” She came into the office
and sat next to him. He’d put his shirt back on and helped himself to a cup of
coffee. She paused, waiting until he looked away from the computer and met her
eyes. “Thanks for staying.”

“Let me show you what I’ve found.” He opened a file.
“Did you know Elliot had an ongoing correspondence with someone in Los Angeles?”

“No, but in the last year he’d taken a few business
trips to L.A.”

“I think it’s safe to assume they were romantically
involved.”

McKenna leaned forward and read the first of dozens of
e-mails. “He never said anything about a relationship. Although, he never said
much of anything. I assumed the trips were for business.” She glanced at
Dustin. “Why wouldn’t he tell me he’d fallen in love? I’d have been happy for
him. Oh, do you think she knows? We have to tell her what’s happened.”

Dustin scanned down the list. “I don’t think we need
to. The last e-mail was two days before he was killed.”

My love, you can say good-bye to your unhappy life and
meet me in paradise. I love you, Roslyn.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Dustin leaned back. “Murder? Suicide? Hell, I don’t
know. Maybe someone beat her to him. I read all the e-mails. They talk about
the future. Forgetting the past. They obviously rendezvoused a few times
because she praises his lovemaking. She professes her love for him from the first
e-mail. As clear as I can tell, they met about a month before that.” He leaned
forward again and scanned down to a particular e-mail. “There is one piece of
interesting information for us.”

McKenna read the e-mail. “The Marino’s. How do they
figure into this?” Something she’d forgotten flashed through her mind. “At the
cemetery, they asked about a woman. They didn’t mention her name. It could be
coincidental.”

“In this case, I doubt it.” Dustin shut down the
computer. “I need to talk to Tyson. Will you be okay for a few hours?” He
pulled a disk from the computer.

“Of course.” She stood, but Dustin caught her hand.

“Call Dawn. I don’t want you alone with the Marino’s
in town.” He pulled her back onto the couch and held her hands in his. “Listen,
Mickey. Judging by their behavior at the funeral, I think we can assume that
they think you’re involved. Get Dawn over here and keep the door locked.”

His intensity scared her. Then he pulled her close and
kissed her. Breath stealing, soul piercing intensity washed over her. Fingers
tunneled into her hair. His mouth opened and the flavor of vanilla and coffee
blended with male. Tongues stroked, teased, tasted. Then Dustin slowly pulled
back. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He left and she stared at the empty room until the
garage door rumbled open. She turned toward the window, and Dustin backed his truck
down the driveway. McKenna grabbed the phone and called Dawn.

* * * * *

Dustin stopped at home, grabbed a quick shower, and a
change of clothes before heading to the station. He’d like to keep the little
detail about his sleeping arrangements private for the time being. If Tyson or
the Captain discovered his personal interest, he risked being replaced on the
Porter case.

“Pearce.” Officer Jasper leaned back in his chair with
his feet propped up on the desk. “I’m here for the pow-wow.”

“Thanks. Let’s do this in room one.”

Interrogation room one was large enough for everyone
to sit comfortably, and he suspected the meeting would run long. A lot of
ground needed covered, and just as many minds had to be changed regarding
McKenna.

Dustin popped his head into the captain’s office.
“We’re ready. Room one.”

When Dustin returned to the interrogation room, Tyson
had perched himself on the edge of the table. Richard moved a chair so he could
assume the same position he’d had at his desk, leaning back on two chair legs
with his feet propped. Assistant D.A. Kendall Sackel laughed at something Tyson
said.

Dustin went to the head of the room and began making
notes on a dry erase board.

“All right, Detective, let’s hear what you’ve got.”
Captain Baird sat on the table.

Dustin started by saying, “McKenna Porter isn’t our
perp.”

“Then who is?” Captain Baird asked.

“Elliot Porter’s been a busy man making enemies.”

Tyson pointed to the board. “From what I’ve heard,
there’s trouble at Ronac. Apparently, the doctor had been tapping into the
company kitty. The word is he was embezzling from Ronac. They’re under a full
audit now. Seems they let him run his department unchecked. Big mistake. Heads
are gonna roll.”

“The Marino’s are in play,” Jasper said. “If you ask
me, they’re the ones who tipped off Ronac. They recently invested in Dr.
Porter, but Ronac was left out of the loop.”

“You think one of the Marino brothers took out Dr.
Porter?” Kendall asked. “Because if the feds can’t get an indictment to stick,
I can guarantee they’re out of our league.”

“And where’s the money? Elliot’s accounts are empty.
Someone had access.” Dustin wrote the name Roslyn Meadows on the board and
circled it. “We need to find her. I cracked into his e-mail accounts. With Ms.
Porter’s permission,” he clarified as he tossed the disk to Kendall. “She was
Dr. Porter’s girlfriend, and she makes references to the Marino’s.”