Dead Wrong (8 page)

“No.”

“I’m afraid there’s no choice.” He pulled to the curb.

She wanted to bolt, but not before she set him straight on this. “Of course there’s a choice.” She saw Cole storm out of the house so she rushed on before he interrupted them. “Or at least there
was
a choice before you called them behind my back and took it away from me.”

“I’m sorry, Kat,” he said, his voice sincere and racked with guilt.

But what difference did that make? Her father had been sorry, too. Each time he beat her mother, he’d begged for forgiveness. And she’d given it. Then he’d gone right back to taking away all of her choices in life. Telling her what to do. Stifling her. Controlling her. And now Mitch wanted to do the same thing.

Cole ripped open her door and glared down on her. “What were you thinking not telling us about any of this?”

She eased out of the car, but didn’t have the strength to answer.

“Are you okay?” He searched her from head to toe, and she nodded, feeling guilty for not telling him what was going on. Maybe she’d been doing a little bit of controlling others, too. But that was different. It was motivated by love.

He swept her into a gentle hug. “Man, Kat, you scared us all to death.”

She felt him shudder, and guilt—this time over making them worry about her—brought tears to her eyes. She loved her family and didn’t ever want to hurt them. “I’m sorry, Cole. I just didn’t want this killer anywhere near all of you.”

He leaned back and scolded her with his gaze. “What are we gonna do about you, Kat?” he said fondly. “Our little worrier and protector.”

“We could start by getting her inside,” Mitch offered, and Cole scowled at him.

“He’s right, Cole,” she said, surprised she was taking Mitch’s side in anything.

They headed up the walk and into the town house. She spotted Dani first who gave her an apologetic smile. Then she saw Dani’s twin, Derrick, who resembled his sister except he wore a scowl much like Cole’s. She was thankful Ethan was off on his honeymoon with Jennie or there’d be three strong men giving her surly looks. Make that four as Mitch joined them.

“Leave her alone, guys.” Dani crossed the room and put a protective arm around Kat. “She’s had enough to deal with without looking at all your grumpy mugs.” She smiled at Kat. “Let’s go up and pack your things while these guys hash out logistics.”

Kat let Dani lead her to the stairs. She felt all three sets of eyes on her so she stiffened her back and climbed the steps. In her room, she crumpled on the bed in exhaustion.

“You don’t look so hot.” Dani joined her.

“I’ll be okay.” Kat squeezed her sister’s hand. “What about you? They didn’t give you any grief did they?”

“All they know is what I told them the other day. They don’t know that I spent the night with you last night.”

“I won’t tell them.”

“Better coming from us now. You know it’ll come out anyway.”

Kat hugged her little sister. “I just don’t want them to be mad at you.”

“Please. I’ve survived as the youngest female in the family for years now. I can hold my own.” She got up and went to the closet. “So what do you want to pack?”

“It doesn’t much matter.”

She spun. “Are you kidding me? You want to look your best around Mitch, don’t you?”

She groaned as Dani went back to the topic she’d badgered Kat with last night at Mitch’s house. “For the last time, Dani, I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“Ah, but it’s looking for you.”

“If you’re intimating that Mitch is interested in me, I don’t care. He is the bossiest man I know. He makes Ethan look like a softy.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Dani said, sliding hangers along the pole.

“You’re not even listening to me.”

“Yes, I am.” Dani pulled out a vibrant red dress that Kat had worn to a formal awards banquet. “This will do nicely.”

Kat snorted and got up. “Like I’d wear that slinky dress to investigate a murder.”

“Well, at least I got you over here to choose your own things, now, didn’t I?”

Kat gave her sister a playful sock in the arm, and Dani slipped it around Kat’s shoulder. “Don’t ever get shot again, Kat. I can survive in an all-male family, but I sure don’t want to.” Her tone was filled with humor but tears welled in her eyes.

“Not to worry, Squirt,” Kat said with a smile in her voice. “I don’t plan on letting this killer get that close to me again.”

She put the red dress back into the closet and selected more practical clothes that Dani then packed into an overnight bag.

“I need to grab a few things from the bathroom.” She went down the hallway to the only bathroom in the two-bedroom town house.

The scent of a man’s cologne stopped her dead in her tracks. This was the same fragrance the killer wore. The same cloying, sickly scent that had overpowered her as he’d tried to stab a needle into her arm.

She drew her weapon and backed out, moving quietly down the hall to the spare bedroom. She put one foot in front of the other as her heart tripped at a fast rate.

His nauseating scent didn’t linger in the air in here, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She cautiously approached the closet door and whipped it open.

Empty.

She searched behind the door and under the bed.

No one.

With her family downstairs, he couldn’t be down there. He was gone.

The curtain fluttered and she went to the window for the first time realizing it was cold in here. The window was open behind the blinds, the screen knocked out. She leaned out. He must have been in the house when her family arrived and shimmied down the thick drainpipe, then dropped onto the roof of the back porch to escape.

Careful to disturb as little evidence as possible, she went back down the hall to get her bag. She didn’t want to tell anyone that he’d been here, but she had no choice. If she wanted to stay alive, she had to share with the family that the killer had gotten closer and even more personal. And for the first time, she was starting to fear he just might succeed in his quest to end her life.

EIGHT

M
itch looked at Kat’s brothers. They were angry. Both of them. Cole had his arms crossed and legs planted wide. A hard scowl lurked beneath end-of-the-day stubble, and he ran a hand through hair that could use a trim. The younger brother was less intimidating. He was taller and leaner, but with the way his T-shirt fit, Mitch knew there would be power in his fist if he decided to aim one his way.

His best bet was to get them to focus on protecting Kat and maybe that would diffuse their anger at him for failing to involve them before their sister was shot. “I could use your help investigating Nathan Bodig’s clients. Nancy’s list, too. It would speed up the investigation.”

“We can do that,” Derrick offered. “In fact, we’ll take over everything related to Kat and you can be on your way.” He resumed glaring.

“Look,” Mitch said, feeling as if he was talking to a brick wall. “We all have the same goal here. To catch this killer so he can’t hurt Kat again. Glaring at me like this or trying to cut me out isn’t going to make that any easier.”

“She could’ve died,” Cole said matter-of-factly.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Mitch’s voice rose, and he felt the fear from the afternoon return. “I’d never want Kat to get hurt. Never.”

Cole raised a brow and appraised Mitch with ice-blue eyes. “You care about her, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Mitch admitted and hoped they wouldn’t ask what his intentions were, as he hadn’t a clue, and he didn’t want to make the two of them madder.

Cole looked at Derrick and the younger brother gave a clipped nod. “Then I guess we can work together on this.”

“Just to clarify,” Mitch said and met their gazes one at a time. “I’m officially in charge of this case, and I’m simply asking for your help. I’ll have the final say on any plans involving Kat’s safety.”

“We’ll play it by ear,” Cole said.

“This isn’t negotiable,” Mitch warned.

“Fine,” Cole said, but his focus had drifted to Kat and Dani coming down the stairs.

Mitch wondered if this agreement was because he didn’t want to argue in front of Kat or if Cole really would keep his word. Mitch would need to be alert to make sure Cole didn’t try to outmaneuver him.

He turned his attention to the sisters and instantly knew from Kat’s tight expression that something had happened upstairs. He met her at the bottom of the stairs. “What is it? What happened?”

“He was here.”

“Who? The killer?”

She nodded, but looked at her brothers. “I smelled his cologne in the bathroom. I cleared the upstairs and found the window in the spare bedroom open. He must have been here when you all arrived then bailed out the window.” She sounded calm and collected, but he saw her hand tremble.

That now-familiar urge to comfort her rose up, but after what she’d said about trying to prove herself while working with her brothers, he didn’t want to make her seem weak. Plus after calling in her family without her approval, he’d be lucky if she had a conversation with him again much less let him touch her.

Cole drew his weapon and headed toward the back of the house. “I doubt he’s still here, but we can’t be too careful.”

“I’ll get F.E.D. out here.” Mitch dialed the Forensics Evidence Division to arrange for a team to process her town house. Maybe they’d get luckier than they had with the fingerprints from Nancy’s house where Tommy still hadn’t hit on any prints.

As he requested assistance, he heard Derrick questioning Kat. Her answers came out clipped and rapid like the bullets fired at her earlier. She was more upset than she let anyone know. He wondered if her siblings could tell how unsettled she was or if he was the only one who could read her so well. And he
could
read her.

How had he gotten this close to her in just a few days?

He hung up and felt his heart tighten at the pain dulling those amazing eyes. She’d been through so much, and he wanted to whisk her away somewhere safe. Lock her in a safe house and throw away the key.

“We’re clear,” Cole announced as he came back into the room and holstered his weapon.

“Perhaps it’s time to locate a safe house for Kat.” Mitch didn’t have the heart to look at her as he said it. He knew his suggestion would cause her additional pain and he didn’t want to see it.

“No!” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“That might be a good idea, Kat,” Cole said, and Mitch glanced at her then.

“I said no.” She looked so disappointed in him. “I’m not one of our helpless clients. I know how to protect myself.”

“Like you did this afternoon?” The minute the words came out of his mouth Mitch wished he could take them back. She glared at him with such venom it felt like a slap across the face.

Dani stepped between them. “Kat has made her wishes known. There are four of us to work her protection detail now. Five, counting Tommy. Why don’t we focus on how we can help her out and still let her participate in this investigation?”

“First off, we should move this discussion to the office,” Derrick suggested. “It’ll get Kat somewhere safe for now and F.E.D. will be able to do their job.”

“Works for me,” Cole said, and looked at Mitch. “That okay with you?”

Mitch nodded and Cole faced Derrick. “How about retrieving the vests from the car?”

After a glance at Kat, Derrick gave a sober nod and left the house. Mitch couldn’t stand here and see Kat’s fisted hands or her stoic posture. He had to talk to her. To explain his reasoning for suggesting a safe house. He took her elbow to move her away so they could talk privately. She shook off his hand, but followed him.

“You’re angry with me,” he said softly so the others wouldn’t hear.

“You bet I am.” She didn’t keep her voice down at all and they turned to look at him. “It was bad enough that you called my family without asking me first, but then your comment about this afternoon? It was uncalled for and just plain mean.”

She was right. He’d been mean when he’d only wanted to help. “That’s not how I meant it, Kat. It’s just this afternoon when I saw you there on the porch, I—” His voice broke so he stopped to get control of his emotions before going on. “I can’t let you get hurt again, Kat. I just can’t.”

“I don’t care why you did it, you did it and I’m not sure I can ever trust you again.” Her voice was cold with anger.

She walked away from him, and his gut twisted. He’d known she’d react badly, but the reality was far worse than he expected.

Derrick came back inside carrying a pile of bulletproof vests and tossed them to everyone except Kat. He carried hers across the room. “I’ll help you so you don’t have to lift your injured arm.”

“I can help her,” Mitch offered, but she wouldn’t even look at him.

As Derrick slipped the vest over her head, Mitch stood there, waiting for a word, any word that she might forgive him. She didn’t say a thing.

When her vest was settled, Mitch kept his tone light and smiled. “Ready to go?”

“I’m riding with Cole.”

“Don’t do this, Kat.”

“Do what?” she whispered. “Go with someone else so you can’t boss me around every second of every day?”

“I thought that was one of things that bothered you most about working with your family.”

“They may not give me many dangerous assignments, but they don’t try to control my every move.” She walked away, her back rigid and strong.

Cole had caught the interaction and stood watching them with his eyebrow lifted, but other than that, Mitch couldn’t read her brother’s face. He clearly hid his emotions well, like Mitch did. At least like Mitch did when Kat wasn’t around. She brought them all to the surface.

Maybe it was a good idea for her to go with someone like Cole who could hold his feelings in check. For Mitch to stay here so no one was distracted by their personal issues. He listened as they planned the exit from the town house. The security detail sounded well thought out and obviously something they’d done many times before. Kat was safe with them.

“You coming, Elliot?” Cole met Mitch’s gaze.

“I’ll hang out here until F.E.D. arrives,” Mitch said, trying to sound convincing but hoping Kat would argue. She didn’t even turn to look at him so he said, “I’ll stop by the agency later.”

“You okay with bringing her suitcase when you come?” Cole asked. “Frees up our hands.”

Mitch nodded and watched them exit. The Justice family, strong, together and focused. All the things he’d failed to be for Kat. Despair swallowed him, just as it had earlier today when he saw Kat lying on the porch. His gut ached with emptiness, reminding him of the way he’d felt before getting to know her. The way he’d lived for so long and the way that thanks to a cute, spunky little woman, he’d never be able to go back to when this was all over. Trouble was, the fear of going forward still outweighed the sadness of the past.

* * *

As they moved toward Cole’s SUV, Kat knew how the filling in a sandwich felt. Derrick led the team, Cole moved close to her side and Dani brought up the rear. She’d worked this kind of transport detail before, just never as the protectee and it seemed odd.

As they walked, routine took over and she kept her head on a swivel watching for the glint of a weapon or any movement in the trees. Despite her unease, nothing untoward happened and they settled in Cole’s car just as it started raining.

“You okay, Kit Kat?” Cole glanced at her as he turned the ignition.

“I’m fine,” she answered, even though the way he’d said her nickname so affectionately brought tears to her eyes.

In less than a minute, their convoy—led by Derrick with Dani at the rear—was on the road. She looked out the window and watched the soft drizzle darken the pavement as mile after mile flew by. The gloomy afternoon was much like her mood. A few days and her life had fallen apart.

How had everything gotten so screwed up so fast? How had she started to fall for a man so like her birth father? Mitch was so pushy and domineering that she never wanted to see him again and yet she had to concentrate hard to keep her eyes off him at the house.

She sighed.

“That bad, huh?” Cole gave her a quick glance.

“Maybe worse.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

She swiveled toward him. “Why do some guys have to control every little thing?”

“Some guys?” He laughed. “Don’t you mean most guys?”

“Some are worse than others.”

“I take it you’re talking about Elliot.”

“Yeah.”

“Sometimes it’s hard being a guy, Kat. We have to be tough to make it in the world. So being in charge becomes second nature. Especially for men in law enforcement. You know we’re taught to protect life at all costs. And that doesn’t usually give us a lot of time to think about the warm fuzzies of a situation. We just act.”

“Are you lumping yourself in the same category as Mitch?”

“Depends on what category you’re putting him in.” He cast an appraising look her way. “If you think he’s like your birth father, berating a woman and demeaning her until she does what he wants, then no, I’m not like that. But if you’re talking about doing everything within my power to protect someone I care about, then yes, I’m very much like that and you know it.”

And that was what Mitch was like, too. Plus kind and warm, generous, and...she could go on and on, but she was beginning to sound like a woman falling in love and that didn’t sit well with her.

“You know—” Cole gave her a long hard look “—you’re no different than Mitch. You want to control everyone around you, too.”

“Funny, Cole.”

“I’m not kidding. Whenever there’s the least bit of chance we could get hurt, you try to take charge. Even if it means not telling us a killer’s threatening your life.”

“That’s different.”

“Oh, really? Remember when you tried to warn off Jennie last year when she came back into Ethan’s life? If she would’ve listened to you, she and Ethan would never have gotten together again.”

“Well...I...”

“What’s the matter, Kat? Don’t like it when you see it in yourself?”

“No... I mean...it’s just... It’s different. I do it out of love for you guys. Not just to push you around.”

He clicked on his blinker and turned onto the tree-lined street that was home to their office. “Are you so sure Elliot’s just trying to push you around? Maybe he cares about you.”

“He hardly knows me.”

“Ahh, but that’s not stopping you from falling for him is it?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then how is it?”

She sighed. “I don’t know, Cole. I just don’t know anything anymore.”

He laughed and parked in front of their office. “That, my little sister, is the first sign that you’re not really bothered by his behavior but more bothered by how you’re reacting to him.” He met her gaze again. “This is what you’ve always done in your relationships. You’re trying to push him out of your life. After seeing your father dominate your mother, you’re just too afraid to let a man have any power over you.”

He jumped out, and Kat thought about Cole while waiting for her siblings to join them. Since coming back from Iraq, Cole could be counted on to cut to the quick of everyone’s issues but his own. He was so sullen and unhappy now, rarely cracking a smile or joking with them as he once had. He’d only been back from Iraq for a few weeks before their parents had been murdered. He could use some time by himself to sort things out and once this whole mess was over she’d talk to her siblings and stage an intervention to make sure he got that time.

She was brought up short as she realized she was behaving just the way Cole had said—taking charge when it came to the people she wanted to protect. She pushed the thought away.

He opened her door and they all hurried through the dropping temperature, the rain hitting her face as cold as ice pellets.

“We’ll meet in the conference room,” Cole announced from the landing as the others tromped up the stairs.

“You guys go ahead,” Dani said. “I’m going to place a pizza order.”

“No black olives,” Derrick reminded his twin as if she didn’t already know all of his likes and dislikes.

“I’ll make sure she gets the order right,” Kat said, hoping to talk with her sister. She grabbed Dani’s arm and steered her into the main office.