Wanting (20 page)

“
Ouch. Aren’t the parents
nastily divorced? Feel for the poor agents assigned to them. And
the kid.” Fin’s hand rested on the swell of his wife’s belly. The
small redhead looked ready to pop to Sebastian, but he refrained
from saying anything. The last time he’d suggested Ana Sorin
McLaughlin take a break, she’d nearly taken his head off. Fin’s
wife was fierce, for all of her diminutive size.

“
Carrie, how are you?
Georgia told me of your apartment.” Ana’s attention was focused on
Carrie, her gaze sympathetic. He’d forgotten she and Carrie were
friends.

“
Better. Sebastian had
crime scene clean up handle the big issues while we were
interviewing today. Now I just need a new couch, bed, and coffee
table. But the important stuff—my computers and instruments, my
guitars—were all ok.”

“
If you need anything, let
me know. Even if it’s just moral support.”

“
I’m good, Ana. But thank
you. I just don’t like the idea of someone in my apartment and me
not knowing why.”

Compton rubbed a hand down
her arm briefly, and she tolerated it for a moment. Sebastian
watched her slip away from Compton and closer to his side. He
slipped his arm behind her back before he was even aware he was
moving. He cuddled her closer on the bench seat. She let him,
almost didn’t seem to realize he’d done it.

What did that tell him?
That she was accustomed to his touch? That it felt natural to her?
That she sought him out when she felt vulnerable?

His body tightened with the
thought of what else would be natural between them.

Chapter 48

*****

Dan wasn’t lost to the
atmosphere covering the teams’ usual Smokey’s tables. How could
they reasonably expect to enjoy themselves when they knew that in
the morning they’d most likely be dealing with bastards and scum
who thought nothing of stealing kids out of their own damned
schools and homes, then selling them to the highest depraved
bidders? Sick.

Lorcan and Carrie finally
arrived, seemingly oblivious to the looks they were getting from
the rest of the PAVAD agents relaxing throughout the bar. Was
Carrie even aware what everyone was thinking? Dan somehow doubted
it.

Lorcan had a look on his
face, almost daring someone to challenge him. Dan never would have
figured him to be the type to go for a sweet girl like Carrie. A
more sophisticated woman like Alessandra—someone who knew what she
was doing with men—seemed much more Lorcan’s type. But then again,
maybe that was Carrie’s appeal for him? Sweet, innocent, and young?
There had to be a good ten years between the two. It left a bit of
a distaste in Dan’s mouth.

He didn’t want his girl
hurt.

He watched the couple for
the rest of the night at Smokey’s, and what he saw confused him
even more. There were no obvious signs of a relationship between
the two—and Dan had worked the job long enough to be able to read
people pretty damned good, if he did say so himself. Lorcan only
touched her casually, little gestures that Dan had seen from
colleagues thousands of times. Only because it was Carrie being
touched that way—when everyone knew she hated touching of any
kind—clued Dan in to their rapidly changing
relationship.

Carrie got up once, to go
to the restroom with Alessandra and Paige. Dan watched her walk
away then looked at the man across the table from him. The
challenge was easy to see in Lorcan’s expression. Dan wouldn’t.
Despite his protective feelings toward Carrie—and he’d be the first
to admit he had them—she was an adult and capable of making her own
decisions. Otherwise she wouldn’t be on one of the best federal
investigative teams in the nation. There were boundaries and Dan
would always respect them. Still, he worried for her state of mind,
and Lorcan was the one who had been with her the most. He had the
information Dan needed. “She doing ok?”

Lorcan nodded. “Think so.
It bothers her, of course. She’d apparently had someone break into
her place while in Virginia, and she’s nervous. Naturally. But like
she told me, she can defend herself with force, if
necessary.”

“
Still.”

“
Yeah. I know. It makes me
uneasy, too. But she spoke with the lead detective on the case and
he seems to think it’s a random burglary, similar to others they’ve
had in the neighborhood.”

“
Random burglary on the
fourth floor of a secure apartment building. With nothing taken.”
It sure as hell didn’t sound random to Dan. He could tell Lorcan
and Hellbrook, as well as the rest of the agents at the table, were
skeptical. “They sure?”

“
As they can be at this
point. The superintendent of her building is keeping a closer eye
on her place then before. And that’s saying a lot. He’s retired
military, and feels protective of her.”

Dan didn’t have to like it.
Maybe he’d swing by her place a couple of times through the night,
just to check on her, himself.

Not that he didn’t think
Carrie could take care of herself, of course. But he knew she was
pretty much all alone in this world, except for Paige and their
team. If it were one of his daughters in the same situation where
in the hell would he be?

Right there watching over
them, ensuring they were safe.

He would do no less for
Carrie.

Chapter 49

*****

Kevin sat at the bar
nursing his one beer and half-listening to the conversations
surrounding him. They were the same in every cop bar he’d ever
visited. He liked this one. Smokey’s. It was warm and clean, with
fast and friendly service. A good mix of blue uniforms mingled with
the suit-and-tie-and-holster set. He studied the people around him
as he wondered what exactly he should do about his daughter. Should
he confront her?

He’d watched her this
evening, feeling like a damned stalker outside her apartment. She’d
pulled up in a dark SUV that he could have sworn was government
issue and he’d immediately known it was her. The hair was redder
than his or his younger daughters’. No surprise, considering
Caroline’s mother had possessed dark red hair. But other than the
darker hair it was like looking at Brynna or Melody. They were
around the same height and build. Even wore their hair in similar
styles. Beautiful girls, his daughters. All of them.

He’d started to climb out
of the rental car, but hesitated. She’d gotten out of the passenger
side. She wasn’t alone and his attention had shifted to the tall
dark man who’d driven her home.

Cop was written all over
the man, though he’d worn a somber business suit. Dark shades had
hidden the man’s eyes and it made Kevin’s hackles rise. He hated
not being able to see someone’s eyes.

Who was the guy? A
boyfriend of Caroline’s? Despite the suit he looked a bit too rough
for Kevin’s taste. And too old. He was at least
mid-thirties.

The questions had had Kevin
staying in the vehicle and watching the couple cross the street. It
was obvious his daughter was reluctant to go inside. The man didn’t
push her, and Kevin had to give him points for that.

Finally Caroline nodded and
the two entered the building, his daughter snuggling her cat close.
Kevin decided it would probably be best to wait until his daughter
wasn’t so obviously off-kilter before approaching her. She’d had a
rough night last night, with her place being desecrated. It
wouldn’t be a good idea for him to spring his presence on her. Not
now.

He drove away slowly, every
fatherly instinct telling him not to leave his daughter. He paused
and parked behind the SUV she’d arrived in and jotted down the
license plate number. He’d send it to his Brynna and have her run
it. Find out what he could about the man with his daughter. Kevin
had always liked to have as much information as possible before
he’d enter a playing field.

He texted Brynna the
information while he waited for the waitress to deliver his nachos,
extra cheese and hold the peppers. She sat the dish in front of him
and he thanked her.

“
Anytime, hot stuff. We
like to keep our boys-in-blue happy.”

“
How did you know?” He
certainly hadn’t advertised his profession. Had he?

“
Gun on your ankle, way you
walk. The way you’re checking out the room. Reminds me of so many
of these guys, there’s no guesswork involved. You a transfer to the
area?”

“
Not really. Just looking
for a relative I’d lost touch with twenty years ago.”

“
Well, good luck to you.
Let me know if you need anything else, ok? I have to take this tray
here to the feebs over there, but other than that, I can get you
whatever you need.” The tiny blonde pointed to the largest table in
the back of the restaurant and Kevin studied them
casually.

His attention sharpened
seeing the dark-haired guy at the edge of that table. The suit was
familiar. Kevin looked closer. A redhead was visible just behind
the man. Caroline? Was he that close to his daughter? Should he...
“Do you know the name of that guy there? He looks
familiar.”

“
Doubt he’s the one you’re
looking for. Only been here in St. Louis a few months. An agent
with some fancy FBI division. They all are at that table. Every
last one of them.”

“
No. The person I’m looking
for isn’t FBI. But thank you.” Kevin studied the group carefully
after the waitress left. The dark haired guy kept a close eye on
Kevin’s daughter, protective. Overbearing? Kevin had to wonder. No
one else at their table seemed to think anything was unusual about
it.

Kevin watched her until he
knew it would start to appear suspicious. He didn’t want her
thinking he was crazy. He’d hit the restroom, then head back to the
motel room he’d rented a few blocks away. Maybe he’d make a point
of going by her place tomorrow.

He exited the restroom a
few minutes later and there she was. Ten feet away, with a tall
skinny brunette and a curvy blonde walking beside her. She smiled,
but didn’t chatter the way the other two girls did. Was she
naturally reserved? He stopped and stared. He knew he shouldn’t.
But this was his kid, just like Brynna or Melody or Jillian or
Sydney. He’d waited for so long to find her.

Should he say
something?

Would that freak her out,
having some strange guy in a bar approach her claiming to be her
father? Probably. He couldn’t do that to her.

He took a step back, just
as she and her friends walked directly by him. He could have
reached out and touched her. Her dark-haired friend looked at him,
a puzzled expression on her face. Had he revealed
something?

He hurriedly apologized and
stepped out of the girls’ paths. Forced himself to turn away from
her.

He couldn’t speak to her
now. Not tonight. Not without some sort of plan or something. It
wouldn’t be right to spring his presence on her now. Not with her
friends surrounding her and with what she’d been through recently.
He couldn’t add to that. He couldn’t.

Kevin walked out of the bar
without another look back, even though it was one of the hardest
things he’d ever done.

Chapter 50

*****

“
Are you sure you want to
stay here alone?”

Carrie looked at the man
walking behind her. His jacket was off and his mint green shirt
unbuttoned partially. His hair was ruffled. He looked good. Tired,
but good. “I’ll be ok. This is my house. I can’t let some faceless
person keep me out of it for any longer. It’s mine. And I worked
hard to get it.”

“
How did you get it? I
mean, property in this area is at a premium.”

“
I designed some software
while in college. I sold it for a pretty considerable profit. I
bought this building when I moved here and hired people to fix it
up. Now I have nine apartments. The super lives in the one in the
basement. The rent more than makes a profit. It’s mine. And I
worked hard to get it.” And no one was going to take that away from
her. Carrie had always wanted her own place and this one was
everything she’d dreamed of while out in the cold, dark underbelly
of the cities. It was large, and warm, and had character. She’d
seen to that.

“
Good for you. I can stay
with you. If you want. I can even sleep on the floor, I’m not
picky.”

That was crazy. And
oh-so-very-tempting. “No. I’m good. I’ve got my cell and my gun.
And I reset all the security system passwords. I’m a trained
federal agent. If I can’t protect my own home, I don’t need to be
doing this job.”

“
If you’re
certain...Carrie...promise you will call if anything out of the
ordinary happens. I can be here in less than five minutes if I have
to.”

“
But you won’t have to.”
Carrie was firm on that. She would not let these people mess with
her life any longer than they had. She’d had the excuse of finding
Ashleigh to hide behind the night before, but now that was gone. It
was time she got back to her own life. “Thank you,
though.”

“
Message taken.” He put his
hands on her shoulders, something she hadn’t expected. She let him
pull her closer, knowing what he was about to do.