Snapped (7 page)

"Right. Goodbye then." She
smiled and tried to sound chirpy but her heart felt dead. It was too sudden. She
wasn't ready to never see him again. Why the hell he affected her like this,
she didn't have a clue.

He moved around her then stopped,
glancing back at the house. "He's watching us. I think
he's
the
jealous one."

She turned around. Rocco stared at them,
ignoring O'Connor. She gave him a finger wave and he waved back.

Nick glared at her, dark eyes flashing. If
she wasn't mistaken, he
was
jealous. "One more thing, stay away
from the Mollinos for a while. I don't want you interfering."

"I told you, I was paying my
respects."

"Liar. You were interfering." He
glanced at Rocco again. "And I don't like your methods."

Lucy managed to keep her temper in check
by biting the inside of her cheek and counting to ten. "Well, that's too
bad," she said through clenched teeth, "because I can't change my
methods now."

He stared down at her for several beats,
his narrowed eyes and thin scar giving her every reason to run in the other
direction. But damned if she'd let him intimidate her. They both knew this
conversation wasn't about her interfering in his case, but her habit of
sleeping around. Well, he could go to hell. Her 'methods' were none of his
business and she was tired of his self-righteous attitude.

She opened her car door and got in. "One
more thing. I told Janet you have my photos. I didn't want to tell her they
didn't work out—it's bad for business."

His nod was barely perceptible as he
stalked back to the house.

Lucy gripped the steering wheel too tight
as she roared out of the Mollinos street. By the time she reached Grange Road,
her fingers ached. Damn him. She didn't need his attitude right now. When she
was sleeping around, sure, maybe he had a point, but she hadn't even had a
nibble in six months.

She couldn't believe this was it, she
wasn't going to see him ever again. Her sudden appetite for Nick would never be
sated and she'd never get to fling his holier-than-thou attitude back in his
face.

The situation sucked big time. If only
Annabelle Smith hadn't wound up dead. Was she murdered? Most likely considering
the circumstances. And if so, then the person who killed Mollino probably
killed her too. Which made the little conversation she'd just had with Janet
very interesting.

Perhaps she had a reason to see Nick
again after all. She couldn't possible withhold vital evidence.

Lucy smiled. Probably Janet was telling
Nick exactly what she'd just told Lucy, but that didn't matter. It was still
worth her while to pay him a visit and impart her knowledge about Mack
Thompson. What did she have to lose?

Nothing. Just a boring dry spell. But he
had his pride. And she'd love to strip that from him, make him want her so bad
he begged her to take him.

Poor Annabelle. She was just a pathetic
pawn in someone's greedy game. Why would someone kill her? Either Mollino had
told her everything about his involvement in the fraud or she'd witnessed too
much in that apartment to be allowed to go to the police.

Lucy frowned. What Annabelle saw, she'd
seen too, through her lens. So—

But she didn't get a chance to
contemplate that angle further because a dark car zoomed by, swerved and
side-swiped Lucy's Honda. She stamped her foot on the brake but it was too
late. Her car careened onto the footpath and into a large tree.

After the deafening bang, everything went
black and her body slammed against the seat belt. Pain shot through her chest
and neck. Then silence. The darkness cleared and she realized she wasn't dead. Particles
of fine dust floated around her like mist and settled on her clothes. Steam
rose from the hood, crumpled by the impact. Amazingly, the tree still stood.

Her door wrenched open. "You okay,
Lady?"

"Yeah." Her voice sounded
distant, not her own.

Someone, a man, helped her out of the
car, called an ambulance and the cops. "He came from nowhere," she
heard him say to a cop when they arrived. "Just swiped her car and took
off again." He hadn't got a license plate number.

She was taken to hospital for observation
and the next thing she knew her mother was standing by her bed.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

Her mother sat heavily on the bed and
hugged her daughter lightly, careful not to touch her bruises. "Are you
all right, Darling? I was so worried when they called."

"I'm fine. They'll let me out soon. Just
a few scratches. My car?"

"Totaled. You're insured,
right?"

Lucy nodded but even that hurt.

Her mother sighed and hugged her again,
tears in her eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a red cashmere sweater, her
shoulder length blonde hair tied back. For someone nearing sixty she looked
amazing. Some people, usually men, said they could pass for sisters. That's
probably why she had a better social life than her daughter these days. She'd
certainly had more dates than Lucy in the last six months.

"The cops said it was a hit and
run," said her mother, wiping a tear from the corner of one eye. "He
didn't even stop. They've got witnesses but it'll be difficult to catch him. The
car didn't have license plates."

No plates? Odd.

"Look, Darling, how about you take
some time off. Come and stay with me or go visit Abbey in Stanton. You know
she'd love to see you." She tucked a strand of hair behind Lucy's ear.

"I haven't got money for the
flight."

"I'll pay."

"Maybe in a couple of weeks. I've
got some things to do first."

"A case?" Lucy shrugged and her
mother clicked her tongue. "Why don't you get a normal job like other
girls? Darling, I wish you'd settle down. Find a nice man to look after
you."

"Mom! I like my job and I'm not even
touching that last comment. Besides, you're hardly the one to talk after what
Dad did. He isn't exactly looking after you anymore."

Her mother frowned. "I know he
hasn't been the best father, but he had his reasons for staying away. He's not
really all that bad." Nervous laughter bubbled from her lips. "Listen
to me, defending him after everything he's done."

"Yeah." Lucy watched her mother
but her face was passive again. "You'd better not be falling for
him."

"Anyway, he does want to get in
touch with you now. He called again yesterday."

"Gee, twice in over twenty years. I'm
honored. What did you tell him?"

"That you've got his number and will
call when you're ready. I just wish you'd do it soon, Darling."

"I'm not ready." Lucy pressed
her hand to her thudding head.

Her mother sighed and took her other
hand. "Let's change the subject. Talk of your father upsets you."

Hardly surprising. The man had walked out
when she was ten. Not a word, not even a postcard. And a month ago he dropped
back into their lives expecting to pick up a relationship with her. So far, her
mother hadn't pushed her to call, and Lucy was going to stall for as long as
possible. There were too many things to say and she needed time to form her
thoughts.

"I had a phone call from Abbey the
other day," said her mother. "She seems to be enjoying married
life."

"Abbey's made of different stuff to
me. Marriage suits her. I'd hate it."

"You don't know that until you
try."

"You tried it and look where it got
you."

Her mother sighed. "I suppose I'm
not the best person to convince you. Maybe you should go and visit Abbey, see
how happy she is."

"I'll give her a call." She
really did want to speak to her best friend again. She missed her like crazy.

"I'd better go. Get some rest,
Darling."

She kissed Lucy and left just as a
uniform cop came in. Constable Dilly wrote down her statement then stood to go.

"What did the witnesses say?"
said Lucy. "Have you found the other vehicle?"

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"What about the driver?"

"Tinted windows."

Damn. "What sort of car?"

"Not sure. Dark, European design,
possible a luxury vehicle." He shrugged. "Sorry, Ms. Hudson, but I
don't think we're going to catch this guy based on the eye-witness
reports."

"No." She slumped back in her
pillows with a loud sigh. A strange, sick feeling had settled into her stomach
ever since the constable had said the car had no plates.

Her head started to ring and she closed
her eyes to shut out the sound. But it didn't go away.

"Ah, Ms. Hudson, your phone." The
constable held up her handbag which someone must have collected from the crash
scene. "You know you should turn those things off in hospitals."

She ignored him and rummaged through her
bag for her cell phone. She didn't recognize the number that appeared on the
display. "Lucy Hudson."

"I've been calling your place all
afternoon." Nick Dante's usually velvety voice was edged with hardness. He
wasn't happy. "We need to get this identification over with. O'Connor's
ready to take you to the morgue. Where the hell are you?"

"The Alfred Hospital."

Silence. "You know you're supposed
to turn your phone off in hospitals."

She gritted her teeth. "I know that
but the person who brought it in didn't think of it."

"Brought it in? What are you talking
about? Look, forget about it, just come down to the station straight
away."

"I can't. I told you, I'm in
hospital."

More silence. "You mean you're not
visiting someone?"

"No."

"Jeez, Lucy, are you okay? What
happened?"

"An accident. Some asshole ran me
off the road." She hesitated. She wanted him to know everything about the
car without plates, but she didn't want to sound paranoid. But the kernel of an
idea had taken root in her mind, and she
was
worried. Maybe she should
tell him. Probably he'd just tell her she was crazy. She hoped so.

"So are you okay?" he asked
before she could say anything further.

"Fine. Just shaken. Look, um, the
car that ran me off the road didn't have any plates."

Another silence then he swore. "I'm
coming down."

"Why?"
Just tell me I'm
crazy, please
.

"You know why." He hung up.

Lucy glanced up at the young constable. "Can
you hang around for a few minutes until Detective Nick Dante arrives? He'd like
to go through the evidence with you."

Fifteen minutes later, Nick filled her
tiny room. He wore the same dark suit he'd had on at Janet Mollino's house but
the tie was skewed to one side and he'd discarded the jacket and rolled the
sleeves up. He glanced at her then spoke to Constable Dilly before dismissing
him. For a long moment he looked at her. She stared back until her head ached
too much.

She closed her eyes. "What?"

"We need to get you out of
here."

Her eyes flew open. "Do you think
it's that serious?"

"I'm not taking any chances. You
might have just been in an accident or someone might be trying to—" He
broke off when she shuddered. "Either way, I'm taking you to a safe
house."

"A safe house! Has your boss
approved that?"

Nick nodded. "Just for a few days
until we can prove that your life isn't really in danger. In the mean time,
we're treating this seriously."

He bent over her and took her arms,
virtually lifting her out of bed. She clutched his shoulders, enjoying the
movement of hard muscle beneath his shirt.  

"Thanks," she murmured, not
letting go. She didn't want to. She liked the pressure of his body against
hers, his scent filling her sore head and his strong hands steadying her. Nick
Dante was an intoxicating presence.

But it didn't last. He let go of her as
soon as she was steady as if touching her burned his skin. Had he discovered
the gap in the back of her hospital-issue gown? His fingers had been close. Maybe
she should make sure...

She bent down to pick up her bag and
heard him suck in air then grunt something unintelligible.

She smiled to herself as she
straightened. Maybe a safe house was a good idea after all. What better way to
put her plan of seduction back into action.

"I'll get changed."

"Good idea. I'll go find your
doctor." He disappeared out the door before she got a chance to look at
the reaction on his face. Minutes later she joined him in the corridor.

"What did the doctor say?"

"That if you promise to take it easy
for a few days you can discharge yourself."

"Take it easy?"

"Yeah, bed rest, that sort of
thing."