Body Double (30 page)

Except that her words were absolutely true. Her words weren’t spoken simply for Gloria’s benefit or for Blake’s.

“Oh, honey,” Gloria said. She stood and drew them both into her arms at the same time. “I’m so happy you’ve found each other. One of these days, not too soon, I hope to have a few grandchildren.”

“Mom,” Blake drawled, pulling back from her embrace. He put his arm around Andrea. “One year at a time, huh?”

“I said not too soon.” Gloria chuckled and laid a hand against Blake’s cheek. “It’s about time I headed back home and let you two get some rest. You look like you need another vacation. Thank you for inviting me and sharing your photos. I’ll go thank Isabelle for a delicious supper. I do so miss her cooking.”

“Don’t you dare try to steal her back,” Blake said.

Gloria gasped with an exaggerated expression and a hand to her chest. “Would I do a thing like that?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Andrea whispered her concern that Isabelle would reveal her true identity, but Blake assured her he’d had a talk with Isabelle and explained enough of the situation to make her understand why telling Gloria would be bad for everyone.

Ten minutes later, Andrea and Blake walked Gloria outside and to the waiting limousine. She expressed a desire to have Blake swing by in the next few days to help her with her workout, and he promised he would. With a hug and kiss for them both, Gloria bid them good-night, and they waved as her car started down the curved driveway. The grandfather clock in the living room began to chime the ten o’clock hour.

“That was such a pleasant evening,” Andrea said as Blake closed and locked the front door. “I really like your mom. She makes a wonderful mother-in-law.”

“She really likes you too, but probably not as much as I do.”

Andrea felt heat warm her face. She didn’t expect him to apologize for his effusive expression of love. It had been for Gloria’s benefit, nothing more. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”

“I meant every word I said.”

Her heartbeat quickened. She felt herself cracking on the inside, all attempts to be stoic crumbling. Her hellish day had taken a toll on her emotionally, and what she wanted, what she needed, was a soft place to fall. That place was Blake’s arms. “I meant what I said too. I...”
I love you.
She searched his eyes, needing to say those words but afraid of what it would mean. Sarah was due home in two days, and then her time with Blake would be over. “I’m scared.”

“Come here.” Without waiting for her to move into him, he stepped in and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m here, babe. I’ve got you.” They clung to each other for a good minute, neither wanting to let go. “You’re so good for me,” Blake said, his voice husky. “I want to be good for you too.”

“You are,” she said, her voice muffled by his shirt against her face. “You are good for me, sweetheart. That’s why I need you tonight. I need you, Blake.”

He kissed her hair and squeezed her tighter. “I love the hell out of you.”

They went upstairs and dressed for bed. They were just climbing under the covers when Andrea heard a distant pounding. She stopped to listen. What was that? Then she heard some yelling, and a woman’s voice screaming for Blake.

“Uh oh,” Blake said. He pulled on his jeans, bolted out of the room, and pounded down the stairs. Andrea followed him without bothering to put on a robe.

Gloria stood in the foyer, crying, practically hysterical. Andrea’s first thought was that there’d been an accident. She hurried downstairs to offer comfort. When Gloria caught sight of her, she broke away from Blake and started toward Andrea, her eyes bloodshot and her face streaked with tears.

Uh oh. She knew.

Blake watched in horror as his mother turned to Andrea. His instinct was to jump in and try to explain why the woman she thought was Sarah wasn’t Sarah, but everything happened so fast, he was glad he didn’t.

“Oh, Sarah,” his mother cried. She took Andrea into her arms and hugged her hard. “Why didn’t you tell me, honey?” She pulled back enough to look into Andrea’s eyes. “You poor thing.”

The abduction. She knew.
Damn it, Joe. We had an agreement.
“Mom, who told you?” Blake demanded, though he was already certain that Joe had told Uncle Roy, and Uncle Roy had called his sister the moment he found out. Joe was supposed to say it was Andrea, a friend of Blake’s, not Sarah.

“Roy did, of course. My goodness, dear. You carried on like nothing had happened after nearly being kidnapped.” His mom hugged Andrea tightly again, one hand on the back of her head to hold her like she would a child, and rocked side to side. “My poor dear.”

“She’s all right, Mom,” he said. “As you can see.”

“She is not
all right
.” Gloria pulled back again and looked Andrea over. It didn’t take more than a split second to assess her injuries. “What I see is a poor woman who’s all scraped and bruised. What I see is a terrified girl who’s been attacked. Look at your arms. Goodness gracious. What did they do to you?”

“Um,” Andrea started, her wary gaze darting quickly to Blake and back again. “They tried to pull me into a van, but Tracy’s dog, Hank, bought me the chance to escape. I got scraped up when I jumped out of the van.”

“Mom, please. We didn’t bring it up because she just wanted to spend the evening thinking of pleasant and happy times. She’s working with the police to find the perps.”

“Does Joe know about it? Is he on the case?” Gloria asked.

Why would she ask that? Had Uncle Roy found out about it from someone other than Joe? “He knows, but he’s not working on it. Different jurisdiction. He has a detective buddy at the other precinct who’s going to keep him in the loop though. If Joe didn’t tell Uncle Roy, then who did?”

“Apparently his clerk ran into a prosecutor in the hallway who’d heard about it and expressed her condolences. What does it matter? Honey, I’m so glad you were able to get out of that van.”

“I’m lucky I had Hank with me,” Andrea said.

Blake stopped listening. If Uncle Roy thought Sarah had been attacked, his clerk must have heard that the victim was Blake’s wife and not his friend. What the hell? Someone at the police station must have assumed he and Andrea were married. He went over the scene in his mind, remembering the people he’d spoken to on his hunt to find Andrea at the station.

Come with me. Your wife is with Detective Lowry.

It had to have been Joe’s friend, Doug. He’d assumed Blake and Andrea were married and Blake hadn’t bothered to correct him. He hadn’t thought it would be necessary; after all, why would Doug discuss it with anyone other than Joe? Damn it.

“Mom, listen,” he said, “whatever you do, don’t tell Harold. He’ll freak out.”

“Honey, I called him the minute I got off the phone with Roy, while Charlie was turning the car around to bring me back.”

This was about to spiral out of control fast. Blake ran up the stairs two or three at a time with his mother calling his name behind him. He picked up his cell phone from his dresser and called Sarah, knowing it was late enough in Colombia that she might ignore the call and let it go to voice mail. Hopefully, she hadn’t answered a call from her father in the last twenty minutes.

The call went to voice mail, but he hung up and redialed, hoping she’d pick up. She answered on the second ring.

“Blake, what’s wrong? It’s after midnight here.” She sounded groggy and annoyed.

“Have you talked to your dad in the last half hour?”

“No, he called, but I didn’t answer. Why? What’s happened?”

Blake exhaled hard in relief. “Listen, I can’t go into all the details right now, but three men in a white van tried to nab Andrea today. She got away, but she got banged up.”

“What?” Sarah screeched into his ear. “Are you freaking kidding me? Someone tried to kidnap her? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s okay. Watch your back, hon. It might be a good idea to hire a bodyguard until you get home. I’ll pay for it, just hire someone good.”

“Me? I’m not in danger, Blake. They’ve arrested the guys down here—”

“Sarah, they thought Andrea was you.”

“Holy crap,” Sarah said, sounding much more alert now. “Don’t let her out of your sight, you hear? Is your cousin on the case?”

“No, but he’s keeping his eye on it. Be careful down there. You’ve pissed someone off, and they might figure out you’re still in Colombia.”

“Yeah, I will. Does my dad know about the attempt on Andrea?”

“Unfortunately. My uncle found out and told my mom, and she called your dad.”

She uttered an
ugh
of disgust and exasperation. “I’ll probably have to call him, just to get him off my back. Seriously, Blake, is Andrea okay?”

“Scraped, bruised, shaken up, but yeah. She’ll be okay. Tracy’s dog came to her rescue and got shot.”

“Oh, no,” Sarah cried. “Is he dead?”

Blake heard his mom calling him. “No, they got him to an emergency vet. He’ll be all right. Listen, I’ve got to go. My mom’s here.”

“I’ll call Andrea tomorrow,” Sarah said, “but tell her how sorry I am. God, I never thought she might get hurt by all this. You’ll take care of her, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” he said, glad Sarah understood the impact this had on Andrea. “I’ll keep you posted on the investigation. When are you coming home?”

“I’ve got a flight booked for Wednesday.”

“Text me the time and flight number. We’ll pick you up.”

“Thanks. And Blake?”

“Yeah?”

She paused for a moment. “Never mind. Just thanks for looking after her.”

He disconnected and went back downstairs, taking Andrea’s robe with him. The two women were standing in the foyer near the front door, and he draped the robe over Andrea’s shoulders. She smiled gratefully at him as she stuck her arms into it.

“What on earth were you doing up there?” Gloria asked.

“I tried to call Harold but didn’t get an answer, then I called Joe.” Though he hated lying to his mom, he didn’t have a choice. “Sorry it took so long.”

“I’m going now. Keep me posted on the investigation.” She gave Andrea one last hug.

Blake snorted. “You’ll probably get updates before we do. You should keep us posted.”

With a hand on his shoulder, she pulled him down to place a kiss on his cheek and whispered, “Take care of that lady, Blake. She needs you.”

He put his arm around Andrea and kissed her temple. “I’ll be her shadow until the perps are in custody. Love you, Mom. Talk to you soon.”

“Good-night, Gloria,” Andrea said.

“Mom,” she corrected. “We’re family now, darling. Call me Mom.”

After his mother left, they went back upstairs. Blake told her he’d called Sarah and told her about the abduction.

“Oh good,” Andrea said as she snuggled under the covers. “I meant to call her, but so much happened after the attack, I barely got a chance to pee. I’m surprised Charlotte didn’t call her.”

Blake climbed into bed beside her. “Does Charlotte know?”

“I assumed Tracy told her before running out the door. Granted, I didn’t tell Tracy much about the attack, only that Hank had been shot.”

“Yeah,” he said tucking his arm under his pillow, “you might want to call Charlotte in the morning, if only to make sure Tracy doesn’t get fired for disappearing in the middle of the work day.” He put his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer, sliding her across the sheets. “Now come here.”

She didn’t object. Her whole body trembled, not enough that he’d noticed it when he’d had his arm around her, but now, with her body close to his, he couldn’t help but feel it.

“You’re safe now, babe,” he whispered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, warm in the safety of his arms. He kissed her temple and whispered reassuring words to her. Little by little, her trembles subsided, and her breathing deepened. When he was sure she was asleep, he let himself relax enough to drift into slumber.

Chapter 11

“Mmm, these biscuits are delicious,” Andrea said with a hand under her chin to catch the crumbs. She was still in her nightgown, with her blond hair tousled and no makeup on. Sexy as hell.