Flying in Shadows (The Black Creek Series, Book 2) (30 page)

Andy woke early, just before dawn. Rose was warm and tucked closely into him. She'd
tossed through the night, turning the pillow over more times than he could count.
They'd stayed at her place. His was small but still three times the size of her place.
She'd given him a solemn tour without moving from the entrance of her studio apartment
by simply gesturing an arm to the left, then right.

He figured the Italian take-out calmed her stomach and the merlot her nerves. Very
few words were spoken and it seemed to help her get a handle on this new revelation.
She'd burrowed into him while wrapped in a tight ball, something he didn't ever remember
her doing.

He heard her suck in a breath and knew when she woke. He tightened his hold, felt
her shudder then relax.

"I want to go away," she whispered, eyes still closed. "Not run away, go away. I haven't
taken time off, not even a weekend, since—well, since high school."

He rotated onto his back, pulling her partially on top of him, then guided her cheek
to his shoulder. Running his hand from the crown of her head down to the middle of
her back, he responded gently, "You should go see your mom first. She'll be worried."

"Yes." Rose sighed. "He killed my great-granddad. I can't wrap my head around what
she's been through. How did I not see it? Any of it? We all assumed drugs while my
mother was scared and hurt." She turned her face into his chest. "I want him in pain.
I feel so angry I can't think. I want him in pain and I want him dead."

He held her closer and felt her skin begin to sheen with sweat. This would take time,
he knew. A lot of time. Getting away was just what she needed. "She didn't want you
to see, purposely hid it from all of you. She's a cunning woman, Rose. It runs in
the family."

He lowered to kiss the top of her head before pausing at the reference to family.
Her cringe made him realize that she, too, caught the comparison. Sperm donor was
easier to say before they were dealing with murder.

* * *

As agreed, Rose went to see her mother. Andy had left early to catch up at work and
to give her time alone with her mom. Standing in the empty house, she kicked herself
for not calling first.

"You're staring." She looked down from the corner of her eyes at Charcoal. He sat
with his head cocked and tail wagging. "I guess I could take you for a walk before
I go." Recognizing the word 'walk,' the dog circled and whined. She smiled and sighed.

An overnight rain made the brittle grass smell like wet straw. Charcoal kept pace
at her side as they left the cul-de-sac. She hadn't taken the dog for a good solid
walk in a long time and, as it generally did, actually felt nice to have time alone.
As she rounded the corner to the Reeds' street, she saw Duncan loading his rental
car.

"Leaving already?" she called as she led Charcoal up the drive.

"I have a project in L.A. but have a few days yet before I need to go. I wouldn't
have missed your sister's wedding and I've never had the nerve to miss the Fourth."
He squatted down, face-to-face with the dog, and rubbed his cheeks with his thumbs.

She noted how similar the action was to Andy's.

"He's looking well." Duncan looked up, then darted his gaze down the drive and squinted
before turning back to the dog and scratching his ears.

"Well, then in case I don't see you." She reached down and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you for butting into our business. You don't fool me with your hard shell.
You have a heart of gold," she said, and then kissed the other cheek. "You'll be missed,
Duncan. Don't stay away for so long this time."

He stood as she turned and called over her shoulder, "See you in the grocery store
magazine rack the next time the paparazzi catches you with one of your clients!"

When she returned, she let Charcoal outside, checked his water, then came back in
to write her mother a short note.

Dear Mom,

Sorry I missed you—

The door opened before she could finish. "Mom?" Rose headed toward the front of the
house. "I was just leaving you a note."

Her mother walked in with Dave. "There. Rose is here. You can go now." She turned
to Rose. "So glad you came by," she said and hugged her. "He's become my shadow. Not
that I don't like it, but I know he can't get much done like this."

Dave looked at Rose, then down at her mother and back to Rose again. "Don't leave
her alone." He kissed both of them on their foreheads before leaving for the station.

Rose led her mother back into the kitchen. "Sit, Ma. I'm making you some hot tea."

"Thank you. I feel like I should be doing that for you. You've been working so much."
Her mother sat and folded her hands on the table. "So, are you ever going to tell
me the story with you and Andy?"

Rose poured water into the teapot and set it on the stove. "First ..." She sat and
set her hands on the table. "I know you worry and I see now why you worry, but I want
you to stop. I want you to stop and I want to say I'm sorry for—"

Her mother shook her head. "No need."

"Yes, much need. You need to know that I took off because I couldn't get a handle
on what you've been through. Still can't. Not yet. Mostly, I want you to know that
I don't care about him. I guess I've never told you that before because I don't think
of him. I don't consider him my father in any way. He's an ugly man who hurt my mother.
For years. When I think about it... I can't help it; I get angry. Very angry."

"Stay away from him, Rosemarie. Don't you ever—"

"No, no. I'm not stupid. Mom, I'm sorry. I wouldn't... I won't. Ever." Rose shook
her head clear, stood to get down two mugs and tea bags, and set them next to the
stove. "I need to know." She turned to face her, leaning back against the counter.
"Daughter to mother. Woman to woman. I need to know everything."

Her mother sighed and nodded. "All right." Then, walked over and took Rose's hands
in hers tightly. "All right, but first I need you to look at a drawing. A police artist's
rendering of him. I meant for you to do that yesterday before you ran out."

"It's not going to bother me." Rose held on loosely.

Reaching over and opening the corner kitchen drawer, her mother pulled out a copy
of the nine-by-twelve-inch police rendering and held it close to her chest, facing
outward.

So, Rose thought, that's the bastard. Blood boiling, she worked to memorize it. "I've
never seen him before," she said flatly.

"Take it. Keep it with you." Her mother held it out.

Rose shook her head but held her hand out anyway. "If you want, but I won't forget."

Placing the copy in her outstretched hand, her mother emphasized, "Show it to whomever
you can; Andy, your boss. He's a very dangerous man."

Taking a cleansing breath, Rose clasped her fingers around the paper. "Yes. I see
that he is. I can take care of myself. Black belt remember... wait a minute. That's
why—"

Her mother kissed her on the cheek as the teapot whistled.

* * *

"I was speaking hypothetically," Rose tried interrupting Andy's conversation between
him and her boss.

Dr. Gray slouched comfortably in his padded office chair with fingers dug deeply into
his front pockets, legs straight out in front of him. He nodded as he looked through
her to Andy. "This will be a good opportunity for her assistant to get her feet wet
without Rose there to pick her up when she falls down. Wart won't like it, but the
bird will survive for a few days."

"Gracie." She felt like she was talking to the air. "Her name is Gracie—"

"Thank you, Paul." Andy held out his hand. "I'll bring her back in one piece."

Andy turned to her as if he just noticed she was there, then lifted his brows.

She stood with her arms crossed and head cocked. "What the hell are you doing? I have
summer camp field trips, a list of animals that need care and an eagle to train."

"Grace can do it," Andy and Dr. Gray responded in unison.

She turned to head for her office. "I have interns and fundraising—"

Andy took hold of her arms, turned her. "It can wait." He picked her up, setting her
over his shoulder.

"Okay, now this is mature." She bounced up and down with his stride.

"I'm leaving work, too, remember? We both need this." He headed toward the main lobby.

She first tried kicking and squirming; it was like trying to bend steel. So instead,
she dug an elbow in his back, resting her chin on her palm as he walked.

She closed her eyes as she bounced over Andy's shoulder. What if Gracie wouldn't eat?
What if she slides back on her training? What if the interns don't stay on the right
feeding schedule for the baby opossums? What if her mother needs her? She sighed.
She hadn't needed her through almost two decades of this.

Andy's strong, warm hand effortlessly held onto her thigh as they bounced through
the hall. What if she didn't get the chance to be with him like this for weeks? Months?
It was only a long weekend.

When they entered the lobby, the room fell silent. Too embarrassed to speak, she worked
up her most intimidating glare.

Wes quickly turned and looked the other direction.

"I see you smiling, McGee."

* * *

The sun had yet to come up as Duncan sat in the white wicker couch of his uncle's
guesthouse. Coffee in hand and feet propped on the matching coffee table, he read
the morning news on his tablet. Crickets along with early morning birds and frogs
were awake and easily heard, as the house was close to the creek. But, he wasn't really
listening.

Lifting the cup to his lips, he inhaled the smell of strong, black coffee as his eyes
narrowed. He took his time memorizing the face of the man on the home page of the
Northridge Gazette site. The man with Rosemarie's eyes. His gaze shifted momentarily
to the clock display in the corner of the screen, then back to the rendering. Time
to get your ass up, Andy.

He used his speed dial as he read the article.

A scratchy and clearly irritated voice fumbled with the phone on the other end. "I'm
on vacation. Go to hell."

"You need to get over here."

He could hear his brother rearrange the phone and let out a small grunt. "Everything
okay?"

"No. How fast can you arrive?" He set the tablet aside and picked up his laptop. He
could be much faster with a real keyboard and he had a lot of work to do.

"Shit, Duncan." There was a long pause before Andy repeated, "Shit. Give me an hour."

"An hour then." Duncan hung up and his fingers started moving.

* * *

Andy drove the SUV. His aunt would already be up, but the rumble from the Maserati
would wake Nathan and his cousins. Dawn had passed and he could see the reflection
of the homes all along the perimeter of the still water on the lake. The air was unseasonably
cool for this time in the summer and smelled crisp and damp. He took little notice.
His mind was on Duncan and what was going on with him.

Walking in without knocking, he found him sitting at the kitchen table flying across
the keyboard of his laptop. He recognized his brother's posture. Concentration. If
Duncan woke him up at the frigging crack of dawn and made him postpone leaving on
his trip with Rose just to help him with hacking, he might very well kick his ass
again.

The last time Duncan wanted his help, he remembered, was to look into the files of
a client who was dragging his feet in paying him. The dude claimed to be close to
filing Chapter Eleven when, in fact, they found records regarding a few million in
gold ounces kept in out-of-state safety deposit boxes.

Duncan turned to acknowledge his arrival, and it took only one look for Andy to know
this was big. "Sup?" Andy tilted his head up once.

Duncan changed screens and turned the computer to face Andy. "You didn't show this
to me. You should have showed this to me."

Andy turned his head partially away, but kept eye contact. "I told you what was going
on."

"But you didn't show me the sketch of him. I've seen him. I think he might have been
following Rose."

The muscles along Andy's shoulders tightened reflexively. Goose bumps prickled at
the back of his neck. He took the seat next to his brother and listened. His head
spun. When Amanda confessed the identity of Rose's father, of how the man had stalked
and extorted her for years, he had felt pity and compassion for Amanda. He had felt
a sense of need to protect Rose's heart as she worked to sort this out. Amanda made
it perfectly clear that the man had no idea of Rose's existence.

But was that wrong? He thought of where she would be right then and picked up his
cell. His brother watched clearly with judgment but didn't offer his opinion.

"Hey." Andy stood from the table and paced slowly.

"You should've slept in, but I'd hoped... I mean I figured you'd be at work." He ran
his free hand through his short hair. "He's all right, but we're gonna need to leave
a little later today." His hand clenched in and out of a fist but he spoke calmly.
"Can you meet me in a little while? Say eight-ish?" Andy looked to Duncan who was
back at his keyboard but nodding. "I'll pick you up. See you."