Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4) (37 page)

“This constant vigilance is getting old,” Tess said, eyeing the tables. “I miss being able to sit out in the sun and enjoy an afternoon.”

“I know. But it will be over soon.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder in response.

They were met at the door by the scent of coffee and fresh baked goods. Brett breathed in the fragrances and, though he’d just eaten, his sweet tooth kicked in.

“I’m going to go to the restroom,” Tess told him. “Order me a coffee with cream.”

“I’m getting something sweet. I’ll get two forks so we can share it.”

“You and your sweet tooth. How can you even think of eating anything else after the lunch you scarfed down?” She threw up her hand before he could answer. “Never mind…” the corner of her mouth quirked up before she continued. “‘I’m a guy, Tess, and we’re always hungry for one thing or another.’”

Brett laughed at her imitation. “You need to deepen your voice a little to get it just right.”

She shook her head and sauntered away.

The woman behind the counter took his order and Brett found a table near the back of the room. A moment later Tess slipped into her chair.

A stunning African-American woman, who was in the process of a glass cabinet with fresh baked desserts, smiled and waved to her.

“That’s Saraphina Rollins, the manager. I covered a burglary here. The store was broken into in the middle of the night, and some of the higher-end coffees were stolen, along with quite a bit of other inventory.”

“Why would someone break in to steal coffee?”

Tess shrugged. “Maybe they were caffeine junkies.”

Brett chuckled.

“It’s good to see you again, Tess,” Saraphina said as she approached their table.

Brett shoved back his seat and stood automatically, acknowledging the woman as she came to stand next to their table.

“Saraphina, this is Brett, my fiancé.”

The woman smiled and offered her hand. “You made it back in time for the wedding.”

“Yeah.” He shook her hand briefly. “Six more days and Tess will make an honest man out of me.”

She laughed. “She said you wouldn’t let her down.”

Brett glanced in Tess’s direction. Would he have made it if her car hadn’t gone up like a demolition project? He hoped so. “I do my best.”

“I’m glad to meet you.” She turned back to Tess. “I’m sorry about your friend. It was a shock when the police stopped in and asked questions about your visit.”

“Mary was killed later that day in a hit and run. They were trying to establish where she might have gone and what she did that day before the accident.”

“So they suspect murder?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

Saraphina’s lips pursed in an “O” of surprise. “How horrible.”

“Did you happen to see Mary later that day, after we’d met for coffee?”

“I didn’t, I’d already left for the day. But one of the wait staff did.”

“Is she here today?”

“Yes. I’ll ask Janet to come over and talk to you.”

“Thanks, Saraphina. I appreciate it.

“In the meantime, enjoy your coffee before it gets cold.”

Brett sipped his java, then forked a bite while Tess fiddled with her silverware, her actions fraught with nervous impatience.

“How can you be so calm?” she demanded in an accusing tone.

Brett chuckled. “I’ve waited longer for an MRE to heat, Tess. Eat a bite of this and get your mind off of things.” He held out a forkfull of double chocolate brownie with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

“Oh, my God, I’m going to waddle down the aisle at the wedding.”

“You’d have to eat more than one bite for that to happen.”

She opened her mouth and he fed her the morsel. Tess groaned and he immediately got hard. Jesus, he was like one of Pavlov’s dogs. All he had to do is hear her make that sound and he was ready.

“We could start looking around,” she suggested. Her gaze scanned the antique glassware displayed on nearby shelves.

Brett offered her another bite, but she shook her head. “No, let’s wait. Janet might have seen what Mary did while she was here. It will save us time in the long run if we talk to her first.”

Five minutes later a young woman dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt came from behind the counter and approached their table. “Hello, I’m Janet Green. Saraphina said you wanted to ask me some questions.”

“I’m Tess Kelly, Janet. And this is my fiancé, Brett. I was in here two weeks ago with a friend, and she was killed in a hit and run accident later that same day.”

Janet nodded. “I remember. I waited on you that day. You seemed an unusual pair. She was like a small wren and you’re more a swan.”

Brett smiled at the quick flush of color that crossed Tess’s cheeks.

Janet went on. “The police came in and talked to me about her. She came back in about five-thirty and ordered a Chai Tea Latte to go. Her car was parked on the street. She was as nervous then as she seemed when you were in here together that afternoon.”

“Did she do anything besides order the tea?” Brett asked.

“She wandered through the displays for a minute, then left.”

Tess exchanged a glance with him.

“Did you see her pause at any particular spot?” Tess asked.

Janet shook her head. “I was busy with other customers.”

“Do you have surveillance cameras set up in that area?” Brett asked.

“Yes. But I’m not sure how long the feed is kept. You’ll have to ask Saraphina about it.”

Brett was on his feet immediately. “I’ll take care of it.” He strode toward the counter.

*

“Thanks for answering
our questions, Janet. We appreciate it.” Tess said, extracting a business card from her wallet. “If you think of anything else, call me.”

“I’m sorry about your friend.”

She and Mary hadn’t had time to become friends. She wasn’t certain they’d have remained a part of each other’s lives after Tess had published her story. But, now she was gone they’d never know. There was an undeniable sadness in that. “Thank you.”

Tess slipped out of her seat and wandered over to the displays on the right. A gramophone provided the centerpiece of one display cabinet. Had Mary been interested in music? Tess regretted not having asked her more personal questions. Besides getting to know her better, she’d be better able to guess what item Mary might have been attracted to. If she’d left something behind for Tess to find, it would have to be something small, like another flash drive.

Glass display cabinets shaped like houses held small items. She scanned each one carefully on the off chance Mary had opened one and slipped something inside. A player piano with its paper roll of music sat butted up against one of the tables where a woman sat reading and drinking tea. Tess strolled over and lifted the wooden lid protecting the keys. Nothing.

She moved on to a shelf of china cups. She tilted each one and looked inside. Nothing more interesting than dust. Damn it. Where could Mary have hidden it, and why hadn’t she given it to the girl behind the counter?

Because someone had been following her, watching her.

Brett came toward her from a hall leading from the back of the business. “I think I know where we need to look,” he said.

Tess glanced up…and her gaze was caught and held by a man standing at the counter. Dark hair, dark eyes, slight build. And for what seemed like a lifetime, the world paused. She knew that face. But it had been covered with tattoos and a beard. She caught her breath and her lips parted.

Marcus Kipfer had covered his tattoos with something and shaved his beard. He reached beneath his workout jacket for something at the small of his back.

“Brett.” His name came out in a whisper, her breath stopped by the sudden panicked rush of her heart. She pointed.

In a swift, practiced move, Brett drew his Sig and twisted to face the threat.

The man pulled his weapon and leveled it at him.

‡

S
omeone screamed. Bedlam
broke out as customers surged to their feet. Two women ran toward the door and out. Four other customers crawled for cover. A man and women cowered behind the piano at Tess’s right.

Tess wanted to move, needed to, but her limbs were frozen, locked in place. All she could see was the barrel of the gun pointed at Brett. The fear for him was numbing.
OhGodohGod
, ran through her mind like a mantra, then tripped over into
don’t let anything happen to him.

Kipfer’s eyes shifted back and forth between her and Brett, his breathing ragged and out of control. “Give it up and I won’t have to start shooting people.”

Brett’s features were taut, his eyes flat and focused. His stance shouted
I mean business and I will kill you
as he aimed his weapon at Kipfer. “We don’t have anything to give up. We don’t have it. Lower your weapon and get down on the floor.”

“You know where it is.”

“Yeah, I know, and if you shoot, you’ll never find it, but the police will. You might shoot me, but, make no mistake, I’ll take you out. Put your weapon down.”

A momentary indecision flickered across Kipfer’s face. “Not happening.” He shook his head. “I’ve been following you for weeks. You’re giving it to me.” Though he didn’t take his eyes off Brett, he addressed Tess next. “I know you don’t want anything to happen to your boyfriend, do you, Tess?” Sweat trickled down the side of his face. His eyes kept shifting back and forth, though he concentrated mostly on Brett. He had to be on something.

God, they were trapped here by a homicidal addict with a gun. Unable to speak, Tess shook her head.

“Start looking for it, and once you give it to me all this will be over. Tell her where you think it is, SEAL boy.”

Brett never wavered from his stance. “Not happening,” Brett said in exactly the same tone Kipfer had used. “The police are on their way, you know everyone in here with a cell phone has already called them. Give it up.”

Kipfer’s face hardened, and he tightened his grip on the gun. What if he pulled the trigger by accident? Oh, God. If she could divide his attention between the two of them, Brett might have an opportunity to take him out.

Tess swallowed. “I’ll find it. I’m looking now.” Her voice, stolen by fear, sounded weak. She shuffled sideways past the man and woman behind the piano to the next set of display cabinets. She scanned the items on the shelves. Looking for a weapon, looking for anything that might end this. Glass trinkets and jewelry were everywhere.

A glass sphere about the size of a baseball caught her eye, and she gripped it and dropped her hand to her side. If she threw it would she be able to hit him, distract him? She motioned to the woman cowering beneath a table, urging her to move away. The woman crawled past her and lay down behind a heavy wooden cabinet.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

“Hurry up,” Kipfer shouted, his tone agitated.

Tess’s gaze fell on an antique typewriter and she knew. That had to be it. Mary had only been in the shop for a few minutes. She’d pick something that would have meaning to her and to Tess. The typewriter made perfect sense, since they both used a keyboard for their work. She continued down the café, farther away from the rest of the patrons.

“I can’t find it. There isn’t enough time. The police are coming. You should get out of here before they arrive.”

Kipfer was sweating profusely and his agitation was getting worse. A siren screamed outside. “You nosy bitch. If you’d died in the car like you were supposed to, I wouldn’t be here now.” He screamed with frustration at the same time he swung his gun toward her.

The Sig in Brett’s hand barked twice in quick succession at the same time Kipfer’s gun discharged. A glass panel in one of the display cases shattered and Tess jerked in reaction.

Kipfer’s pistol dropped to the floor. He wove on his feet, then collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Brett moved forward, still in shooting stance, and kicked the gun out of Kipfer’s reach. Brett looked over his shoulder, his eyes frantic. “Tess, are you okay?”

“Yes.” Her voice was hoarse, like she hadn’t spoken in weeks. She leaned against a wooden shelf beside her, lightheaded with relief.