Branded (9 page)

Xander shifted his gaze to her face for a quick
moment before he refocused on the wet streets.  “I would think so.  Maybe that’s
something my friend can look into.”

She nodded.  It couldn’t hurt to have several
people viewing the video.  “Do you think whoever did it worked there?  It could
be someone I know.”

He turned the steering wheel as they reached an
intersection near her home, his jacket rubbing against the leather seats of his
car.  “It does sound like an inside job.  Do you know what kind of security
they have besides cameras?”

“They have a night person who comes on duty about
eight.  Up until then, I think it’s just cameras.  Usually, there are plenty of
people and janitorial staff around.”

“Who did you see that night?  I guess it doesn’t
matter because they have video footage, but did you come across anyone who
could testify against you, or who could testify there was someone else in that
area?”

Her heart sank.  “I didn’t see anyone.  It was
strangely quiet to be honest.”

“Maybe we can find out who was on staff.”

“There has to be
someone
who saw
something
.” 
A chilling thought raised the goose bumps on her arms.  “Do you think this
person specifically targeted me, or was I unlucky enough that he chose my
computer and even unluckier that I went back into the building after hours?”

Xander narrowed his eyes.  “Good question.”

“And what if I’d run into him while he was at my
computer?”  Emotion raised her voice a bit.  “Would he have made some excuse
and not stolen the money, or would he have…”  She couldn’t say it.

Xander cleared his throat.  “You can’t think about
that.”

“But what if?”

He shook his head.  “There are many white collar
criminals who think nothing about heisting millions, but they would never
physically harm someone.”

“Unless desperation drove them to it.”

He folded her hand in his and squeezed.  “You’re
going to drive yourself insane if you get caught up in what-ifs.  Let’s stay
focused on the facts at hand.”

She blew out a shuddering breath.  “I’ve been so
caught up with the whole police questioning thing that I hadn’t considered what
might have actually taken place that night.  But you’re right.  No sense
worrying about what didn’t happen.”

He pulled into a parking space not far from her
building.  “Is this your house?”

“Yes.  I’m surprised you found it so easily.”  She’d
only given him her address and had then become distracted by her thoughts and
hadn’t realized they’d arrived.

He shrugged.  “I used to work not too far from
here.  I know the streets pretty well.  Let me get your door,” he said as he
exited, the rain still spitting from the sky.

He opened her door, letting Stormy out and
extended a hand to her.  She stepped into the drizzling weather.  Her dog
lowered her ears as the water pelted her, and she ran for the covered entrance
to her building.

“Let’s make a run for it.  I don’t want you
getting too wet.”  He held her hand as they dashed across the sidewalk.  The
feel of his hand around hers comforted her and excited her at the same time.

They stopped under the awning shading her
doorstep, both breathing a little heavier from their sprint.  She tilted her
head up to his and laughed.  Sprinkles of rain covered his hair and cheeks.

He grinned and wiped a droplet from her nose.

“You didn’t have to walk me to my door in this
weather.”

“I wanted to.”  Attraction glimmered in his eyes.

“I’m not going to invite you up, you know.”

His smile grew wider.  “I figured you’d say that,
but a guy can hope.”

There was something about this man she really
adored.  “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“About ten?”

“Ten, it is.”  Compelling currents of attraction
raced through her, and she wished she dared to invite him to spend the night
with her.  But she didn’t want him to get the wrong impression and think that
was something she did often.  “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”  She slid
her arms around his neck, moving in for a hug, but he kept his eyes pinned to
hers, and she found herself drawn to his face.  She moved closer, and the next
thing she knew, she’d placed her lips on his.

Dangerous longing slammed into her, and she couldn’t
resist sliding her lips over his and deepening their kiss.  He responded by
crushing her against him.  Her tongue found his, and she slipped her fingers
into his rain-soaked hair.

Far too quickly, he pulled back, ending their
kiss.  A sigh of satisfaction escaped her before she could stop it.

She met his darkened gaze with wide eyes.  Had the
intensity of their kiss surprised him as well?  She shook off the awkwardness
with a small laugh.  “With that, I think I’ll say good night.”

He studied her with an unreadable expression, and
she quickly turned, removing her keys from her purse and unlocking the front
door.  She let Stormy into the main foyer, but commanded her to stay before she
dashed up the stairs alone to their apartment.  One of her neighbors always
freaked out if he saw Stormy without her leash.  If her neighbor and her dog
came face to face without Nicole present, who knew what might happen.

She turned to Xander, still unable to decipher his
thoughts from viewing his expression.  “See you in the morning.”

“Sweet dreams, Nicole.”  A hint of a pleased smile
curved his lips before he turned and sprinted back through the rain to his car.

She stayed where she was, watching his form
disappear into the misty rain, waiting until his brake lights flared in the
night.  The sound of his powerful engine rumbled into the darkness, and she put
a hand against her wildly beating heart.

Dear Lord, what had she gotten herself into?

*        *        *

At a red light, Xander punched in Sam’s cell phone
number and switched it to speaker phone.  It rang a couple of times, and Sam
answered as the light turned green.

“Hey bud,” he greeted his friend.  “I just dropped
off Nicole after spending the evening with her.”

“Really?  And when you say you spent the evening
with her, do you mean…”

“Not sex.”  Although they had shared one hell of a
kiss.  The continuing bulge in his jeans was proof of how much she’d turned him
on.  But he and Sam wouldn’t be discussing any of that.  “We only talked.”

“That’s too bad.  She’s pretty fine.”

“Hell, Sam.  Is that what you do with all of your
suspects?  Bed them and extract information through pillow talk?”

Sam chuckled.  “I’ve never been lucky enough to
land someone who looked like her.  Hunter always sends me the ugly losers, not
the sweet-looking thieves.  In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t keep her for
himself.”

Xander cracked his window to allow some of the rain-soaked
air to come in and cool him.  “Can we forget her body and get back to business?” 
It irritated him that Sam seemed focused only on her looks.  He agreed Nicole
was a looker, but Sam didn’t need to discuss her as though she was a street
corner hooker.

“Sorry, man.  It’s just that it’s not often I get
to deal with someone so pretty.  As a cop or in Hunter’s escapades.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful women who
come into the police station.”

“Not many.  Some that might have been pretty
before they got into drugs maybe, but not most of them.”

Xander shook his head to clear it as he crossed a
bridge.  “Anyway,” he said, trying to redirect Sam’s focus.  “A couple of
things came up during our conversation.  Were you able to locate any actual
witnesses that placed her at the scene of the crime?  And she’s wondering why
the video didn’t pick up the real thief.”

“Because
she’s
the thief.”

“
I know that
.”  Why were he and his friend having
such a hard time communicating tonight?  “I’m wondering if there
were
any actual eyewitnesses who placed her at the scene of the crime.  Someone who
could testify against her, back up what the video shows.”

“Not that we’ve come across.”  Sam sighed, sounding
like he’d had too many long days.  “There are hundreds of people who work in
that building.  We haven’t had time to interview them all, and we have to wait
until Monday, until they return to their positions to finish.”  He paused for a
second.  “Besides, she admitted she was there when I questioned her.  She’s hasn’t
changed her story, has she?”

“No.  What did she say when you questioned her?”

“All she said was that she’d gone back for her TriMet
pass, but I didn’t get an exact time out of her.”

“Still, I’d feel better if we have an actual
eyewitness when this thing goes to trial.  She’s an extremely smooth operator,
and I don’t want her getting off on some technicality.  If I didn’t know
better,
I’d
believe every word she says, and a jury might, too.”

“Good point.  I’ll ask for an update from the
officers who’ve been interviewing.  See if we have anything solid yet.”

“Another thing.  When I asked her how she got her
job, she mentioned that a head-hunter company had contacted her.  She seemed
pretty vague, like she wasn’t quite sure.  It raised some red flags with me. 
Can you check with the company and see how she got hired on?”

“Sure thing.  Did you get any info on her father?”

“No.  That’s another thing.  I tried to get her to
talk about her parents, and she totally shut me down.  Like I said, she’s
smooth.  But there are a couple of cracks in her veneer, and I think if I keep
prodding them, something is bound to break.  Especially, if I can get that information
from you.”

“Okay.  I’ll be in touch.”

Xander tossed his phone onto the passenger seat
after Sam signed off.  As annoyed as he’d been with Sam, he respected and trusted
his friend beyond measure.  The five of them had an interesting relationship,
and at the base of it all was trust.  It had to be.  Some would accuse them of
wrongdoing.  Sam would suffer the most if their activities were ever discovered. 
Leaking confidential police information was not something his buddy did
lightly.  But Sam, along with the rest of them, had had an incident in his life
where the police had been bound by certain restrictions and had failed to
provide justice.  At that point, they’d realized it was more important that
justice be served, and if they had to cross legal lines to keep things fair, they’d
do it.

In the end, families were protected, and the
guilty paid their dues.  That’s what everyone wanted, and that had become the
cause that joined the five of them together.

He doubted there was anything that could
jeopardize that bond.

For whatever reason, Nicole took extra care
getting ready the next morning.  Maybe it was for Xander.  Maybe it was because
she had possible jail time in her future, and she’d begun to appreciate every
freedom she had.  She’d been tempted to hide behind a ball cap and sunglasses,
but it was still overcast outside, and damn it, she was innocent.  Having
Xander by her side would give her the strength to face the public.

She donned her super soft, grass green sweater and
jeans, opting for her heeled boots over more comfortable shoes because they
made her legs look longer.  She spritzed on her favorite perfume and glanced in
the mirror.  Her bangs had grown much too long.  She slid a finger across her
brow, pushing them to the side, but they quickly slipped back into her eyes.  She
groaned, wishing she wouldn’t have postponed her hair appointment.  Who knew
how her stylist would greet her now that she’d achieved infamy?  She snipped at
them with a pair of scissors, making them seem more manageable.

The buzzer at her front door rang, and she ran to
answer the call button, Stormy chasing at her feet.  “Hello?”

“Nicole?”  Xander’s deep voice came through her
small box, giving her a thrill.  Stormy whined, either recognizing Xander’s
voice or sensing Nicole’s excitement.

“Hi Xander.  I’ll be right down.”

She shrugged into her leather coat, and Stormy
raced for the door, more than ready to leave.  “I’m sorry, baby.  You can’t
come today.”  She headed into the kitchen and grabbed two dog biscuits from the
container on the counter.  Stormy knew the routine.  If Nicole went for the
biscuits instead of her leash, she did not get to go.  Her pup sat next to the
front door, doing an excellent job of guilting her with her big brown eyes.

Nicole tossed the treats to the side, and Stormy
quickly abandoned her guilt trip in favor of the biscuits.  “I’ll be back soon.”

When she arrived downstairs, she found Xander
waiting outside the main entrance.  She took a quick moment to appreciate him
before he noticed her.  Tall, dark hair, the perfect gentleman.  He wore his
leather jacket again, and although he looked pretty damned attractive, she kind
of missed the trench coat and tie.  At first glance, he seemed to be a prince. 
Only time would tell.  All she knew was right now, he was the only bright spot
in her future.  She wished she could feel confident that she would have a
future.

She pushed open the door, catching his attention.

His eyes flashed with appreciation as he gave her
the once over, leaving her cheeks and insides heated.  “Good morning.” 

“Hi.”  She tried to temper her attraction and
protect herself, but her heart pushed right through that barrier and sent a
smile straight to her lips.

He held out a hand, and she took it.  He pulled
her close, wrapping her in his embrace.  The scent of his earthy cologne surrounded
her, tickling her senses.  “You smell wonderful.”  His deep voice vibrated
against her ear, giving her chills.

“I was going to say the same thing.”

He placed a quick kiss on her lips before
releasing her.  “Let’s get going.  We have a puppy to find.”