Tainted Mind (21 page)

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Vivi. I'll let you two get back to your evening.” When Ann's eyes fell again to her hand in Ian's, Vivi tried to pull away, but Ian tightened his hold.

“Thanks, mom. We appreciate the food. And thanks for taking care of Rooster. I'll give you a call tomorrow about Chris.”

At that, Ann bid them goodbye and disappeared out the door. Rooster followed her as far as the laundry room before turning back to the two of them as if to ask “what now?” Vivi turned to Ian.

“That wasn't so bad, was it?” he asked, tugging her toward him and sliding his hands into her hair, pulling out her ponytail as he worked his way over her scalp. She tilted her head back to give him better access. Rooster ambled back into the room and sank to the floor.

“I feel like I'm going to throw up.”

He chuckled. “She's not that bad, it was fine.”

Vivi let her head fall against his chest and, as she relaxed for the first time all day, she realized how tired she was. Ian held her close as he brushed a kiss across the top of her head.

“I need to change out of my uniform. Then we can dig into some of the food she brought.”

“What time do you have to go back out?” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

“I don't. I rearranged the schedule a bit. I called in our part-time officers for most of the patrol work. Marcus, Wyatt, Carly, and I will take turns being backup, but none of us will be on patrol for the next few days. I wanted to keep everyone on this case. At least until we have a better idea of how far we're going to take it.”

“Good call,” Vivi said. “They may not have the experience, but I think they did a good job today. Especially Carly.” They stood for a little while longer, enjoying the inertia, before she spoke again. “I smell like the lab. I need to shower.”

“Now that's something I could get into.”

Ian's arms had tightened around her and his voice was quiet but deep. Rooster rose and bumped against them as if he, too, wanted in on the embrace. One of Ian's hands dropped down to Rooster's head, but he kept the other firmly around Vivi. She smiled. “I'm sure you could get into it in more ways than one. But if you do, it might be a while before we eat. Just saying.”

He smiled back. “Food is overrated.”

C
HAPTER
14

SEVERAL HOURS LATER,
Ian sat on his porch with Rooster at his side, watching the night. Vivienne was inside making a call to Lucas Rancuso. Ian wasn't sure what to make of that situation but trusted her to tell him what he needed to know.

Rooster's head popped up at the same time Ian saw headlights cut up his driveway. On instinct, he felt for his weapon and came up short. In his effort to reintegrate into civilian society, Ian had become very intentional about leaving his weapon locked up for the night. He tried not to think about it too much—tried not to think about how vulnerable it made him feel. But especially at times like this—when he was going to have an unexpected visitor—it was hard.

He stood and planted himself at the front of the porch as the car made its way toward him. It came to a halt and, even as his body tensed in anticipation, two laughing people, a man and a woman, spilled out. Rooster made a low sound in his throat—not really a growl, but not a fully committed bark either.

Wrapped up in conversation, the two visitors seemed almost oblivious to Ian and his dog, though they would be seemingly hard to miss standing on the well-lit porch. From what he could see in the dim light, the man and woman looked to have the same color hair and same relative builds as each other. Their skin color was also similar, as was their bone structure. He'd peg them as siblings, but in the dark, it was hard to tell.

The couple came to a stumbling halt at the bottom of his steps. Two sets of green eyes took him in. Then the woman smiled.

“You must be Deputy Chief Ian MacAllister. We believe you're sleeping with our cousin.”

Ian blinked. Rooster, the faux guard dog he was, was already doing his happy-to-have-visitors dance, waiting for Ian to open the screen door.

The woman's smile widened as she linked her arm through the man's. “I'm Naomi and this is my twin, my
younger
twin, Brian. We're Vivi's cousins. On her dad's side.” She spoke as if that explained why they were on his doorstep, or even how they had found his house.

The man grinned, an identical gesture to his sister's. “Yes, we're the younger, funner versions of Vivi,” he chimed in. “But then again, we're not burdened with IQs of 163 like Vivi, are we, Nano?” he joked.

Naomi laughed. “Thank god, no. So, is she here?” She cocked her head to the side and gave him an expectant look.

Rooster pressed his nose against the screen as Ian regarded the two for a long moment. Neither seemed at all bothered by his scrutiny.

“Vivienne,” he finally called over his shoulder.

After a short wait, Vivienne appeared on the porch behind him, still carrying her cell. “Yeah?” He felt her pause, then take another step forward. “Brian? Naomi? What on earth are you doing here?” She glanced at Ian as she moved forward to unlatch the porch door. Rooster bounded out and greeted the two by jumping up and down and spinning in circles.

“Our parents were worried so, of course, they sent us.
They
wouldn't want to appear to be interfering, you know.” Naomi laughed as she hugged Vivienne then stopped to give Rooster a good rub and a kiss. Brian stepped forward to do the same, forgoing the dog-kiss, though.

Vivienne turned to Ian and, rather awkwardly, introduced him to her cousins. He couldn't get a read on whether or not she was pleased to see them. It was clear they were all close and she liked them; it was less clear if she wanted them there.

He ushered everyone inside and into his living room. Once they were seated, Ian offered his guests some wine, which they accepted. Glasses in hand, he, Vivienne, and her two cousins sat across from each other in a somewhat awkward tableau. Rooster found a spot on the floor at the end of the couch, the only one who seemed thoroughly pleased with the situation.

“So, not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?” Vivienne asked again, looking at Naomi.

“Mom and dad were worried about you,” Naomi said.

“Everyone is worried about you,” Brian piped in.

“So they sent you?” Vivienne asked.

Brian and Naomi shot each other furtive looks in response.

“Oh, no.” Vivienne sat back. “Who else is here?”

“Travis,” they said in unison.

“Another cousin, sort of,” Vivienne clarified for him. “Not blood related, but his mother and my mother were best friends and our fathers, all of ours,” she said with a gesture encompassing the twins, “were on the force together.”

“But of course, he would
never
want to show up on a doorstep uninvited,” Brian tacked on.

“He's a bit formal,” Vivienne explained.

“Stuffy,” Naomi corrected.

“Both far nicer adjectives than I would use,” Brian added.

“He's not that bad,” Vivienne spoke, turning toward Ian. “He's just not quite as laid back as the rest of us. He's a location scout for a couple of big-name movie directors. He isn't around us as much as we're around each other, so he's not always as comfortable.”

“And, he has a thing for you, Vivi,” Brian pointed out.

“Maybe when we were, like, ten years old, Brian. Now he actually has a life of his own.” Vivienne tucked her feet under her and took a sip of wine. “How long are you guys staying for?”

“As long as you need us,” Brian said.

“Or as long as we think you need us,” Naomi added.

“And, no offense, but what I if I don't need you at all?” Vivienne said.

Both Naomi and Brian looked at her for a moment, then turned their eyes toward Ian. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were doing, and he didn't mind. They could judge him all they wanted, try to figure out if he was good for their cousin. While it would be nice to be accepted by Vivienne's family, the only person in the room whose good opinion he cared about was Vivienne's.

After a long moment, Naomi's eye's jumped back to Vivienne and she grinned. “We're planning an attack on the Pentagon tomorrow.”

“At the same time as we go after the CIA and NSA headquarters,” Brian added. “It's going to be massive fun, but we can do the planning and testing from anywhere and this place looks nice enough.”

“So, you're going to stick around?” Vivienne asked, not sounding quite as excited about the prospect.

Both twins waggled their heads and spoke in unison. “Probably.”

“And Travis?” she said.

“He is doing some scouting for a period piece. He figures this area is as good as any other in the Northeast,” Naomi answered.

“Excuse me,” Ian interjected. Perhaps he was a little slow but the words had taken a minute to sink in. “Did you say you're planning an attack on the Pentagon?”

The look the twins gave him could only be described as one of devious delight. He looked at Vivienne. She looked skyward and gave a small shake of her head.

“They aren't crazy,” Vivienne said. “They get hired by the government to test its electronic and technical security. If Brian and Naomi find a weakness, it gets fixed and then they get hired again to test the system. These two probably do more work for the government than I do. And I
know
their security clearance is higher.”

He glanced back at the easygoing, carefree pair. It was hard to believe that the Pentagon trusted them to break into their systems. But, then again, they didn't look the part, so maybe they were perfect.

“Uh, okay,” he said.

“You're a good sport, Ian MacAllister,” Brian stood as he spoke. His sister followed. “So, we'll leave you two to, well, you know,” Brian continued with a grin as he moved toward the door. Vivienne uncurled from the couch, and she and Ian rose to walk the twins out, Rooster at their heels.

“What are your plans, Vivi?” Naomi asked when they reached the porch.

“I have to go to Boston tomorrow.” This was news to Ian and he shot her a look. Her eyes met his for a brief moment before turning back to her cousins. “Lucas Rancuso had the cases from the Boston area that we want to look into. I spoke with him tonight and he's going to give me the information, but he wants to see me first.”

Vivienne's gaze stayed on her cousins, but theirs switched to him for a moment before returning to her.

“Well then, breakfast tomorrow?” Brian asked.

Vivienne nodded. “Let's meet at Frank's Café at nine o'clock. Bring Travis so I can see him. I'll head to Boston after that and you can all go back to your lives.”

After a quick round of goodbyes, Naomi and Brian were in their car and headed down the drive. Vivienne stood in the cool night air with her arms wrapped around herself, watching them go.

“I'm going with you to Boston.” Ian softened his declaration by wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her against him. She was about as pliant as he expected. But it wasn't negotiable as far as he was concerned. Like it or not, it was his case, and while asking his officers to place calls to gather records and files was one thing, sending Vivienne out on her own was entirely different. Especially when the victims, both actual and presumed, looked like her and were the same age. No, he most definitely had no interest in letting her out of his sight for any length of time.

*   *   *

Reluctantly absorbing the warmth of Ian's body behind her, Vivi stayed still. He had every right to go to Boston with her if he wanted to. It was his case. And, truth be told, she wouldn't mind the company—it wasn't the most exciting stretch of the turnpike. But if she walked into the station with him, between her cousins and everyone she knew and worked with on the force, including Lucas, she may as well be advertising their relationship in neon lights. It wasn't that she wanted to hide it, but over the past few days—even before she'd come to him in her short dress and high heels—there was a little something about him, something private and safe, that she didn't want to lose. Maybe it was selfish, but he was hers. And she wanted the time they had together to be hers. If their relationship went anywhere, she knew it wouldn't always feel like this. So, for now, after having lost so much, she wanted to hold onto something of her own.

Ian shifted behind her. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath of night air. The sweet scent of fresh-cut hay lingered in the
air. The crickets were starting to do their cricket thing and the sounds of frogs echoed up the valley. They would go to Boston tomorrow. He would meet her colleagues. He might even meet some of her family.

But they would come back here. They would come back to his house, to this porch, and it would be the two of them again, wrapped in the night and peace of the valley. The realization that whatever happened in the day—whoever they met or didn't meet, whatever they learned or didn't learn—would all be tempered by this quiet made acceptance easier.

Vivi sighed and relaxed into his arms.

“You know, my cousins would probably be felons if the government hadn't given them a productive way to use their devious intellect.”

Ian's chuckle rumbled against her back. “Yeah, I can see that. I can definitely see that.”

“You might meet more of them tomorrow.”

“Family or felons?” he asked.

“Since we're headed into BPD headquarters, probably both.”

She felt him shrug. “I'm okay with that.”

Leaning back into him, she closed her eyes again and listened to the nighttime symphony. “Yeah, I am, too,” she said softly.

A few more minutes of peace passed, then Ian asked, “Were they serious about offering to help? What if you said you needed them, what would they do for you?”

“Anything I asked,” she answered.

“I kind of get that, but what would you ask them to do?”

“They can pull up any electronic data you can imagine, and some you can't. From social networking to phone and bank records to dating sites. That's the kind of thing they do. But listen to me, Ian, you're a good cop and we have a good team. If there is something specific you think they can help us with, we can ask, but they shouldn't be brought in just because.”