Fourth of July (14 page)

A short note rested on the shirts.

Alexis, I hope you’re doing all right. Please wear the shirts and think about what I said. I’m sorry if I offended you; I was just trying to help.

- Chris

P.S. The D.C. police picked up the suspect as he exited the woods. I already went and made positive I.D. They’ll need a statement from you and an I.D.

Alexis cringed as she thought of facing her attacker, but she wouldn’t shirk the duty. She didn’t want anyone else to go through the terror she experienced that morning. The thought of being held against her will sent chills down her spine.

Thank heavens the man had been apprehended. She would have to tell Chris thanks, when she felt up to facing him. She’d barely kept herself together this morning. Never had she been so tempted to throw herself into a man’s arms and bawl with relief. Luckily, she’d held herself in check. Well, sort of. At least she hadn’t made a complete fool of herself.

Alexis checked to make sure no one was in the hallway outside her door and then lifted a T-shirt to her nose. She inhaled deeply. Nice. The shirt smelled almost as good as the man who had worn it. She decided she may indeed wear them, but not for running. She didn’t want to sweat in them and have to wash away his wonderful scent.

Chris glanced at the clock on his office wall with bleary eyes. Was it 11:30 or 12:30? He blinked several times. 12:30.
Still no answers
.

“Well, hello there.” An all-too-familiar, sultry tone emanated from his doorway.

Chris shifted to face Danielle. Her dark hair spilled over her collarbone and into her low-cut neckline. Her face had so much makeup on it he wasn’t sure which features were genuine. “How are you?” He was acutely aware how unenthusiastic his voice sounded.

“I’m fine, except for the fact you haven’t called me in days,” she pouted.

Why had he ever found her pout attractive?

“Let’s go to lunch,” she said when Chris didn’t speak.

“Well, I’ve got a lot going right now,” Chris hedged.

“What are you working on?” She approached the desk, glancing at the papers spread over it.

“Just work.” He minimized the program on his computer and shuffled the papers into a pile. Her nosiness wasn’t any more attractive than her poutiness.

She sat on the edge of the desk, crossing one lean leg over the other. Her skirt inched up as her eyes perused the top paper on the stack. Chris grabbed the stack, opened a drawer and shoved the papers inside. “I’m busy, Danielle.”

“You can’t be too busy to eat. I’ll buy.” She flashed a credit card, laughing. “Or rather, the mayor’s office will buy.”

Her tinkling laughter and inappropriate use of government funds grated on Chris’s nerves. Where was her integrity? Chris could answer that question himself. She regularly abused the privileges of her office. How had she ever enamored him?

“Danielle, as you can see, I am extremely busy, but I do appreciate you stopping by.” Chris stood and walked around the desk. Grasping Danielle’s arm, he escorted her to the door.

“I really need to see you.” Danielle turned into his arms and pulled his head toward hers.

Alexis walked around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chris in his office. She needed to thank him for the shirts, the pepper spray, and his note. She hoped she could express how grateful she was for him making sure the perpetrator was behind bars.

Maybe she could suggest they go to lunch together, get to know one another a little better. The idea brought a smile to her lips.

Fluffing her hair, she moistened her lips, straightened her shoulders, and turned into his office.

“Oh,” she gasped, pivoting back to plant herself against the wall outside his door. She had clearly seen Chris’ head bent toward a tall, dark-haired woman. Heat built behind her eyelids. A stabbing pain in her chest made it difficult to breathe. She spun on her heel, rushing down the hallway and away from the dreadful image in Chris’s office.

Chris turned his head so Danielle caught a mouthful of his hard jawline. He removed her hands and stepped out of her reach. She stuck her bottom lip out in what she knew was an attractive pout. She wouldn’t back down that easily. She trailed her French manicure down his chest.

“Danielle, don’t,” he warned.

His lips were tight, his eyes flashing. She’d pushed too hard.

She lifted her shoulders, flipping her purse in her fingers. “I can see you’re busy. I’ll call you later.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed. Danielle blew him a kiss and breezed out of his office, cursing the day she had trusted a man to bring her information.

Chris was not responding to her pressure. Maybe she should look into another source. The computer geek at her office could probably tap into the FBI’s database. She could read through the case files, but it was always better to hear it first-hand and she’d rather date Chris if she could. Chris couldn’t be impervious to her charms. She’d find a way to interest him.

Chris sighed with a mixture of displeasure and relief when Danielle flounced away without further conflict. Why had she backed down so easily? What did she want from him? Although he was glad she was gone, he couldn’t help wondering what was coming.

Chris slumped into his chair. Glowering out the window, he could still hear Danielle’s tinkling laughter and feel her repulsive touch. He’d not only lost interest, he could barely tolerate her. He knew what he needed to do. It was past time he told her they were through seeing each other.

He thought of Alexis. She was much more interesting to him, although he wasn’t certain what, if anything, she felt in return. The way she acted when he’d helped her this morning had done nothing to reassure him. She acted like she’d rather bite him than kiss him. But yet, there were a few moments when he had to wonder.

Chris opened the drawer, retrieving the papers and files he’d stuffed in there. It was smarter to deal with work and not worry about women. He clicked his mouse on the file he was working on, hoping he could concentrate. He had to make a clean break with Danielle and ignore the constant thoughts of Alexis if he was going to be any help in finding the terrorists responsible for the attacks.

A lot of Chris’ questions would have been answered if he could glimpse Alexis at the same moment he tried to suspend her from his thoughts. She hid in the women’s bathroom and carefully reapplied the makeup surrendered to hot tears of jealousy.

“You
knew
he had a girlfriend,” Alexis admonished her reflection in the mirror. “Get over yourself, girl. You’ve got to either end this silly infatuation or find yourself a new job.” Alexis sighed. Visions of Chris filled her mind. Her pep talk wasn’t accomplishing its job.

She evaluated her touched-up makeup. “Get back to work and stop worrying about Chris Harmer.”

A toilet flushed. Her face reddened in the mirror. She dropped her pressed powder into her purse and rushed into the wide hallway.

Teach me to talk to myself.
Alexis headed back to her office, anxious to meet her next appointment and force all thoughts of Chris into the far reaches of her mind.

CHRIS SURVEYED THE MOUNTING PILE of paperwork on his desk. The overwhelming size of the stack was the least of his frustrations. Every report from across the country was exactly the same. No one had any clue who had planted the bombs. The different cities’ crime investigators had been able to pinpoint each bomb’s location but either a false identity or an innocent float owner who knew nothing created dead end after dead end. The terrorists covered their tracks well, too well.

Dylan stormed into Chris’ office. He shook his head in disgust as he threw several more files onto the cluttered desk.

“Nothing,” he exclaimed. He tossed a bound report. “No answers.” He chucked another. It slid across the desk toward Chris where he caught it before it toppled to the floor. “Complete waste of my time.” Dylan shoved a hand through his hair.

“What are we going to do?” Chris asked, the hopelessness of their case weighing on him.

“I don’t know.” Dylan planted himself across from Chris with a weary sigh. “If our best crime investigators can’t crack this case, I don’t have any clue where to go or what avenue to pursue next.”