Dancing with Detective Danger (7 page)

“And I don’t want to talk about the work behind the microphone at dispatch. That’s something every cop dreams of doing. Sitting at that desk sending out calls for other cops to answer.”

“Jay — ”

“No, I don’t want to talk about my exciting life. But you could buy me a beer, old buddy. You don’t mind if I call you buddy, do you? I can’t call you partner anymore.”

Ben took his time with his coffee, avoiding Jay’s request.

But Jay was persistent, if not sober. He leaned low over the table and clanked his empty glass on the worn wood. “I said you could buy me a beer. Then you can tell me all about your investigations. We can compare notes, just like the good old days. That’d be a hoot, don’t you think?” Jay slipped back against the wall and leered at Ben.

“No. I don’t think it’s funny stuff, Jay. Like I said, if you want to talk, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. But not when you’re like this. And I won’t buy you a drink, unless it’s coffee.”

“Oh, fine, fine.” Jay shook his head. “That’s my buddy Ben, always got … my … back.”

The twist in Ben’s stomach tightened and he just looked at Jay, unable to form words that would make any difference. “Let me take you home?”

Jay lifted his empty glass and hollered. “Bridget, baby, bring me another tall one. And somebody put on some music. My buddy here is not funny. He’s putting a real chill on the mood. But he’s just leaving.”

Ben drew out the money from his wallet to pay his bill and walked to the cash register. Reluctance laid heavy in him. He didn’t want to leave Jay alone but he felt helpless to stop the spiral. He shoved open the door and stepped out into the night. How had things gotten so sour?

• • •

Sterling stood at her office window, staring out toward the night sky. Lights from the city twinkled like stars.

Across town, Lacey would be sitting with Tyler at the hospital. A phone call earlier from her sister had brought her up to date on the little guy’s condition. He was doing well, but Sterling knew it would take more than a two-ton truck to get Lacey very far from Tyler’s side while he recuperated. The case with Sara and Jerry would be her own responsibility after all. What had been a standard marital surveillance had turned into what should be a simple enough locate. If Ben weren’t part of the picture, the case would be a slam dunk for Sterling all by herself. No need for Lacey’s help.

Still, there was the odd implication that Jerry and Pamela had been doing a bit of their own investigation into Aegar Investigations. And something about Sara, or what was known about Jerry, did not ring true. Sterling couldn’t put her finger on it, but the gut feeling stirring her insides insisted things were not as they appeared.

Why would two people stay in such a loveless relationship? If, as Sara feared, her husband felt no love for her, why did he stick around? If love was supposed to be all it was cracked up to be, why not abandon the dead relationship and find the real thing?

Tapping her fingers against the window frame, Sterling recalled racing the wind on the back of Ben’s motorcycle and surfing the waves off the coast of California. She and Ben had ridden life as though it was a never-ending roller coaster, with one thrill following another. And at the core of it all had been love. The kind of love that gripped a heart and would never let go, never let up.

Her heart knotted as memories of a warm, summer day filled her. With packs slung on their backs, she and Ben had hiked up a steep wilderness hill during a weekend get-away. Along the way, they’d paused to sit without talking while the wind brushed their faces and the sounds of nature surrounded them. Her heart beat with more vigor than usual, her breath flowed in and out of her lungs with more fullness, and when Ben surprised her with a spontaneous kiss, she’d felt his passion excite every cell throughout her body.

When they’d reached the hill’s crest, Ben had spread a picnic lunch for them and, exhilarated from the climb, they had savored the meal, the grandeur of the landscape, and their closeness.

Then they’d watched as a dramatic and roiling cloud formation overtook their sun-drenched day. Typical of Ben, he’d appreciated the exhilaration of a darkening sky as much as the blue sky. Gray clouds turned ominously dark with luminous orange backlighting an approaching tower of clouds. Sterling had urged him to follow her to the cabin they’d rented for the night, just a few yards down the trail.

She’d seen it in him then, that roaring rage that drove him, as he’d stood his ground while the winds worked up around him. Lightning flashed, striking a tree and dividing it in half, but Ben’s excitement didn’t waver.

As rain had begun to pelt them, Ben finally grabbed her hand and led her to the cabin. She knew it wasn’t that he didn’t care about her well-being as he stood in the powerful weather — it was that he completely gave himself to the experience and wanted the same for her. That evening, alone together in the cabin, Ben had asked her to marry him and she’d happily agreed.

Sterling turned away from the window, shaking her head to rid the thoughts that tormented her. Not long after that day, everything had changed. Nicholas died two weeks later, and with his death came the death of dreams for the life she’d planned.

A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. “Come in,” she called.

“You always keep such late hours?” Ben strode into the office, still dressed in his deep blue suit. He fixed her with a piercing look.

She kept her eyes locked to his. “Actually, I was just getting ready to go home.” There was no way he could have read the thoughts she’d been indulging in, but his look made her feel as if he somehow knew. Acutely.

“Going home? Can I give you a ride?” he offered, cocking his head to one side.

Sterling knew the beguiling move was unconscious on his part, but it pulled at her heart mercilessly. “No thanks. I have my car. What brought you up here?”

“I need to discuss the Pamela Witt murder with you.”

“Again?”

“It can’t be helped. It takes going over and over the details to ferret out the truth, remember?”

“You could have called, you know.” Sterling chose to ignore his jab.

“I like to do interviews face-to-face, don’t you?” Ben’s eyes glistened hypnotically.

Sterling knew all too well that Ben’s motives were mixed, and she was not about to sit there helpless under his spell. Still, she had no choice but to cooperate, at least to some degree. He had her there. Resigned, she gathered her things, walked to the door, and flipped off the light switch. City lights threw soft beams into the room, barely illuminating Ben’s dark good looks. Pausing, she waited for him to follow. “We can talk on the way down.”

“Have it your way. So how’s Lacey’s son?”

“He’s doing okay. The doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital overnight, though, just to be sure.”

“That’s good to hear. Crazy kid,” Ben said, shaking his head.

“He takes after his dad.” Sterling looked away so Ben wouldn’t see the emotions reverberating through her. Ben had worked on the force with Lacey’s husband. He knew the man had been fearless. Just like her father. Just like Ben.

“I’m sorry, Sterling,” he said. “Tyler is such a good little guy and Lacey’s already had it pretty rough.”

She hated when he said the right thing. His voice sounded so deep and warm, nearly mesmerizing, like the melody of a favorite song.

Walking beside him, Sterling’s nerves fairly screamed recognition of his masculine presence. She swallowed hard. “Did you get the coroner’s report yet?” she asked, stepping into the elevator.

“Yeah. No surprises there. Of course, the coroner found water in her lungs, but Pamela died of strangulation.”

Her eyes glued to the little number lights, Sterling watched them count backwards until the elevator reached the first floor. Six-five-four-three-two-one. She could feel Ben’s eyes on her, and her heart beat a loud cadence in her ears.

“So the perp strangled her — ”

“With his hands,” Ben interrupted. “Like this.”

He stepped in front of her and put his brawny hands around her neck. His eyes drew hers upward. The warmth was there, just like she remembered it.
God help me!

Sterling lifted Ben’s hands from her neck, and felt herself tremble. She hated it. His skin felt so inviting against her fingers. “We’re on the ground floor, Ben.”

Ben dropped his hands to his sides and stepped off the elevator. Thoughtfully, he rubbed his thumb against his chin. The rasping of his thick beard stubble sounded crisply inside Sterling’s head, drawing her in like a bee to honey.

“We found Jerry’s fingerprints on a glass in the bathroom,” he said, eyeing her as she stepped out into the night.

Sterling cleared her throat. “So they were enjoying a little early morning tryst. That would explain why there was no sign of forced entry and why the dog didn’t attack the killer. The dog must have known the killer. It seems pretty open and shut, huh?”

“Maybe,” hedged Ben.

“Maybe a little too neat?”

“Yeah. But then, what’s wrong with neat?”

“Well, here’s my car,” she said, stepping several feet away from Ben. Sterling pointed her remote key toward her car and put her hand on the door handle. Her hands still trembled, despite her efforts to calm herself. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Ben standing on the other side of the lot.

“You know, it seems like you’re always walking away from me,” he said, his voice low.

Instantly, Sterling pivoted. “Don’t do that.” She faced him with as much composure as she could muster.

“Don’t do what?” A few succinct broad strides and he closed the distance between them.

“Don’t keep referring to the past.”

“I can’t help it, Sterling. Maybe that’s because what we shared isn’t really in the past.”

Standing close, he looked down at her with such sorrow, she wished she could reach out and hold him, tell him everything would be the way he wanted it. With strong emotions seething just under her skin, it would be so easy to tell him things could be the way they used to be.

Instead, she backed away. “Where’s your car?”

“It’s not here.” With a shirk of his shoulders, Ben shoved his fists into his pockets. “I had a road officer drop me off.”

“How were you going to give me a ride?” she asked, flabbergasted.

“Okay, so maybe I didn’t think it through.”

A smile got out and she started to chuckle. “You nut. Come on, I’ll give you a ride to your apartment.”

As Sterling pulled out of the parking space, Ben flashed her a wide smile. “Could we have dinner first? I’m famished.”

“No. Just tell me where you live and I’ll take you home.”

“I live at the same place on State Street,” he mumbled, settling into the seat.

Thank God he doesn’t live far. I can’t take much more of this.
It took all of her determination to withstand the overpowering awareness of him charging the air.

Ben made attempts at small talk, for which Sterling felt grateful. Every time she opened her mouth, she heard herself stammer like a child.

Silently, she pulled into a parking space outside of his apartment building. It felt like an eternity since she’d been here with him. But parts of her reacted like she was coming home.

“Maybe there is hope after all,” Ben teased, his eyes glinting. “You still know the way. Maybe someday you’ll be back — to stay.”

He climbed out of the car, and Sterling charged after him. She knew she shouldn’t let him get to her, but this persistence had to stop.

Marching behind Ben up the stairs, Sterling fumed. “Why are you doing this, Ben Kirby?”

He said nothing.

“Don’t ignore me.” He unlocked the door and she stormed inside right behind him.

“Gee, come on in.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. “But watch out for the dog.”

“Dog?” Sterling started, just as the streak of black and brown fur rambunctiously rounded the corner. “Mr. Teeth! What is he doing here? He’s still limping?”

Ben crouched to corral the dog, and began scratching him affectionately under the chin. “The neighbors at the condo said his name is Joe, not Mr. Teeth. Somebody had to take him in. The animal control guys wanted to keep him, but he’s our only witness to the Witt murder.”

“Excuse me, did you say witness?”

“Yes, witness. And yes he’s limping. The vet said he has a bruised muscle. Probably got kicked.”

Sterling watched uneasily, thinking of stepping out through the still open front door. “Well, that might explain why Lacey and I could get away from him at the condo. You two seem to have hit it off.”

“He’s not so ferocious once you get to know him. He’s all bark. Besides, we have a lot in common. We’re both trying to get over broken hearts.”

Sterling’s temper instantly flared. “It won’t work, you know. Your little comments won’t change anything. You’re only driving me crazy!”

“I’m driving you crazy? I’m driving
you
crazy?” Ben stood to face her as Joe ambled away into the living room.

“Yes.” Slamming her hands on her hips, Sterling stared Ben down. “Your comments keep bringing up old stuff. Stuff we settled two years ago.”

In one second, he slammed the door shut and strode close to her. Standing inches from Sterling’s face, Ben peered down at her. “We never settled anything. You may have, I don’t know, but
we
never settled anything.”

Ben’s eyes locked hers and suddenly Sterling felt her walls tumble. The pain filling his face gripped her heart. She knew she caused it. She had never meant to hurt him so terribly.
Doing the right thing shouldn’t be so painful.
Caught between the fear of what could happen and the agony of the moment, Sterling closed her eyes and collapsed against his chest. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

Ben’s body, rigid and hard, instantly drew up the buried cravings for his touch from deep and low inside her. As she let her mind relax, she felt a matching response, the taut muscles of his chest molding to her body.

“God, I’ve missed you,” he breathed. Gently, reverently, he stroked her cheek, sending chills spiraling down her body.

“This can’t be happening,” she murmured, her eyes still closed. The intimate brush of his breath on her face sent reason swirling up in smoke.