Deadly Lies (37 page)

Jill didn’t have to ask Alex how he felt; anger and contempt were clearly evident on his face.

“How’s Jackson?”

“He’s out of surgery, but it’s still too soon to say.”

Jill’s fingers pressed against her lips as she thought of Jackson. He had to pull through. She said as much to Alex, whose flat stare offered little comfort.

“Do you think Jackson was his main target?”

There was more to her question. They both knew it, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask it directly.

Alex’s halfhearted shrug did little to inspire confidence, and his gaze stretched out toward the picture window. Jill stole a quick glance outside. From where she stood, the churning gray waters of Puget Sound were peaked with stiff whitecaps. A long time seemed to pass before Alex looked back at her.

“Who knows? I’m going to head back to the hospital soon. What are your plans?”

“I’ve got a couple of errands to run. Then I might take a nap.”

“Want a ride?” The request was undoubtedly spurred by Honeywell’s threat. But with the gun Alex had supplied stowed in her hand bag, she felt safe enough.

“You should get some rest. How’s Michelle?”

“She’s hanging in there. You know how tough she is.”

Jill nodded. Whether they were together or separated, Michelle was living every cop’s wife’s nightmare. Part of her thought that she should go to the hospital with Alex, but there were other things she needed to take care of first. She still hadn’t deleted Lilith’s profile. Maybe she would head over to Alki Bakery and do just that.

“Give her a hug from me.”

“Sure.” He drew in an audible breath as he looked at her. “I guess it goes without saying, but with Honeywell out there somewhere, you need to be extra careful. If you see anything suspicious, call 911 immediately.”

“Of course,” she said as her eyes drifted toward the drawer where she had stowed her gun.

Alex didn’t touch Jill as he passed by. In fact, he didn’t so much as cast a backward glance as he stepped through the doorway.

A chill raced up her spine as he left the room.

Jill browsed to the Hook Up website and opened her profile page.
Time to say good-bye to Lilith
, she thought as she glanced through her overflowing in-box.

Lilith had served her purpose. Now it was time for her to go away.

“Would you like a refill?” Joey asked, hovering over her with a full pot of coffee.

“No thanks,” she said, starting a little at the interruption. Turning back toward her screen, she saw the pop-up window. There was someone wanting to chat. Was she free?

Why not? Jill smiled, glancing around. This was, after all, her swan song. Come hell or high water, she was determined to bid a fond farewell to Lilith, once and for all.

“Well, look who’s online. Lilith—at last.”

“At last?” she wrote back in the chat window. She took a moment to browse to Mark Wilson’s profile and saw that he was an attractive married man based in the Los Angeles area.

“I emailed you a few days back, figured you were blowing me off.”

“Now why would I do something like that?” she typed, enjoying the anonymity of these encounters. There was freedom in playing a role.

“Better offers?”

“Sure. They’re lined up around the block just waiting for their chance.”

“And I’ve managed to jump the line. Sweet.”

Jill found herself smiling as she read his words. There was something light and flirty about him that she liked.

“What are you doing online in the middle of the afternoon? Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Well, I could ask the same about you,” he wrote. “Just taking a few minutes to relax, blow off some steam. I’ve been working double time on a project. You know what they say: ‘All work and no play makes Mark a dull boy.’”

The words struck a familiar chord in her, and Jill’s mind flashed to Jamie King. She had once said something very similar to him. Was it only a few months ago that he had died? It seemed that a lifetime had passed since he’d fallen into his snowy grave.

“So they say.” Jill’s fingers clicked on the keyboard, and she pushed the image of Jamie away. Some things were better forgotten.

“What kind of project?”

“Casting for a new reality television show.”

“Reality show? That sounds exciting.”

“I guess. Can be a little painful. Despite what you may think, not all Americans have talent. How about you? Where do you find yourself these days?”

“Seattle.”

“Business or pleasure?”

Jill hesitated before answering. Why had she told him her whereabouts?

“A bit of both,” she answered. “You?” Best to deflect the conversation. The damage was done.

“Would you believe Portland?”

“Ah, the Rose City. Nice.”

“I’ll be in Seattle next.”

Jill’s throat constricted at the words. The invitation in Mark’s message was implied, but his intentions were clear. She could tell him that she’d be gone by then. She could ignore him. She could respond in so many ways.

“Know much about the city?” he asked, prompting her.

“A little.”

“Any places you could recommend?”

“What are you looking for?” Her heart was beating fast as she stared at the blinking cursor. The ball was in his court.

“Drinks, dinner, nothing too heavy.”

Mark was outside of the norm. There was nothing pushy about him, nothing crass. The conversation was light, entertaining.

“You might want to check out Purple. It’s a place on Fourth. Trendy. Good food. Good wine.”

“Sounds great. Want to join me for a drink?”

Jill could hear the beat of her own heart as she stared at her screen. It was that simple. She could say yes and set up another encounter, or exit this world once and for all. She knew what she
should
do.

“Maybe, but just a quick drink.” She stared at the screen. It was as if someone else had written the entry. Was she crazy?

“You free tomorrow night? Say seven o’clock. I’ll be the guy in a black shirt with a cosmopolitan.”

“Cosmopolitan? You’re joking, right?”

“Can’t a man be secure enough in himself to enjoy a fruity pink drink?”

“LOL. I suppose it’s possible,” she wrote, not sure she believed it.

“Well then, come and see for yourself.”

“I’ll be there,” she promised.

“Peace,” he typed. Then the chat window closed.

This was madness. What in God’s name had possessed her to set up the date? Her work with Lilith was done. It was time to cover her tracks. Meeting Mark on home territory was out of the question, regardless of how tempting the offer.

Jill took a few minutes to delete her profile, reading no more of the messages that were queued up in her in-box. Minutes later, Lilith was a cyber ghost.
And not a moment too soon
, Jill thought.

It was too easy to be sucked into the lure of the online world. It was as if Lilith had a mind of her own.

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

J
ill knew she was breaking the rules. She knew she should go home and forget about him. Forget about Lilith. Forget about everything. But the voicemail from Alex saying that he’d be home late had her pointing the car downtown as her curiosity got the better of her.

Was it curiosity or compulsion? Jill tried hard not to dwell on the answer as she entered the crowded restaurant, hands thrust deep into her pockets. Not waiting for the hostess, she made her way to the stairs near the back of the room that lead to the loft-styled lounge.

The air was alive with the buzz of chatter—coworkers meeting for drinks after a long day at the office, young women working hard to carry on engaging conversations with their dates.

Jill drifted through the room like an iceberg, weaving in between the tables, her eyes surveying the crowded room, searching for a man fitting Mark’s description. In their last exchange, he said that he would be drinking a fruity cosmopolitan, the metaphorical equivalent of carrying a red rose. The whimsical visual it provided appealed to her.

Not coming tonight would have been the smart thing to do. Taking any further risks by associating herself with Lilith was crazy, no doubt about it.

But still something drew her here, a desire to play the game one last time before saying good-bye to Lilith forever. Maybe she wouldn’t even identify herself. Without the blond wig, she bore only a passing
resemblance to the photograph posted with her online profile. Maybe he wouldn’t even be here.

But she didn’t believe that.

Her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s wings, the thrill of the hunt rising, as she approached the bar. Her shoulders straightened and her gait was long and fluid as she crossed the room. She felt the tingle of anticipation sizzle across her skin as she fell into a character, like an actor assuming a role.

Jill’s eyes fixed on a man sitting at a table alone near the bar. He was wearing a black shirt, a cosmopolitan sat on the table before him, and a knowing smile parted her lips as she approached.

A quick-witted greeting died on her lips and the blood froze in her veins as the man turned his head and his profile came into view. Recognition flooded through Jill, triggering an instinctive reaction to run. Before she could act on it, the man turned and a familiar pair of brown eyes met hers. A clean escape was no longer an option.

Alex. How could it be Alex? She stood rooted to the spot, her thoughts coming in a jumble. It had to be a coincidence. But how could it be?

He rose to his feet, looking uncertain, which Alex never was. With great effort, she pinned a smile to her lips and walked toward him.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked, infusing her voice with a lightness she did not feel. “I thought you were working late on a case.”

“Taking a break. Mike called, wanting to grab a drink,” he said, matching her smile. “What about you? Got a date?”

Alex’s words were pregnant with meaning, and Jill’s throat constricted. Looking up into his face, she forced a warm smile.

“I didn’t feel like going home to an empty house, so I called a friend.” The lie sounded clunky. Suppressing a cringe, she eased into the seat across from him.

“What friend?”

Jill dodged the question by asking one of her own.

“What brings you here? This isn’t your usual kind of place.” The tone Jill used was deceptively light, but there was nothing casual about the way she studied him, looking for any signal that he was on to her. “And since when do you drink cosmopolitans?”

“I’m evolving,” he said, easing back down into his chair. Jill’s mind whirled. There was no way Mike would suggest this place. He was a hard-core Pyramid Brewery kind of guy. Meeting Alex here was no accident. She was certain of it. He was on the job, all right, and she had a big problem.

“Do you mind if I …” she left the words hanging as she gestured toward his drink.

“Of course,” he said, his eyes not wavering from hers. She read caution in his relentless gaze.

Jill’s hand shook as she reached for the glass. She sipped the drink slowly, the icy liquid burning a path down her throat, as she tried to slow her racing pulse, and gather her thoughts.

How much did he know? How could he possibly have found out her secrets? She had been so careful to cover her tracks. But as she stared into his cold brown eyes, it occurred to her that the one emotion she had not read on his face was surprise.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look pale.”

“I’m just tired.” She used a smile to try and mask her mounting sense of trepidation. Her brain worked quickly, processing this new revelation. This changed everything. The stakes of the game were suddenly very high. If Alex knew her secrets, what was her next move?

“Who did you say you were planning to meet?” Alex picked up his drink and took a sip.

“Megan. She should have been here already,” Jill noted without checking her watch. “In fact, maybe I should give her a call. She may have been held up at the office.” Jill stood to leave.

“You could stay for a drink.” His eyes never left hers, and she was sure that he was gauging her every reaction. “We haven’t had a chance to get caught up.”

“Well, like I said, I’m kind of tired. I’ll probably just bail. Give my best to Mike. See you at home.” Jill clutched the strap to her purse as she stood.

Alex nodded, his expression flat, and Jill stared at the dark circles under his eyes. How long had he known?

A memory flashed in her head. She was back in her college networking class with Alex, and he had just circumvented her network security system. He’d sent her a text message asking her out for coffee. In fact, Alex was the only one able to hack through her defenses. Had she underestimated him?

With a slow nod she turned to go, forcing herself to walk slowly when all she wanted to do was run.

CHAPTER FIFTY TWO

A
lex gripped the handles of the cardboard box tightly. The sharp edges bit into his fingers. The harsh overhead light cast dark shadows between the haphazard piles of boxes that littered the garage floor. Working his way toward the back of the stacks, he jammed his box in the corner, depositing others on top of it, and threw a tarp across the stack, just for good measure.