Tender Is The Night (17 page)

"How so?" Devin asked curiously, as they continued down the hall.

"It's a long and complicated tale, but these are the highlights. Jessica used to dance in Vegas. She met and married a single dad, whose son Kyle was about four or five years old. Then her husband died tragically, and she was left to raise her stepson Kyle."

"When does Sean come in?"

"Pretty soon. Jessica had her hands full raising Kyle on her own. Then things got worse. Kyle was kidnapped from a birthday party."

Devin arched an eyebrow. "Okay, getting more interesting. I'm guessing this is a happy story by your tone."

"It is, but it took awhile to get there. At the same time that Kyle was kidnapped in Angel's Bay—"

"Wait—your sister lives in Angel's Bay."

"Right, but Mia wasn't there then. This was before that. At the same time Kyle was kidnapped, my cousin Nicole's son Brandon was also kidnapped. Brandon is autistic, so it was even more terrifying, because he was torn away from everything and everyone he knew."

"There's a link between Kyle and Brandon, isn't there?" Devin asked, his quick mind putting together the pieces of her story.

"Yes. They turned out to be identical twins. It quickly became clear that they had been separated at birth and adopted individually. My cousin Nicole had no idea that her son was a twin. She and her husband Ryan went racing down to Angel's Bay, and Sean went there to help with the search. That's where he met Jessica. Eventually, the boys were found, and Nicole, Ryan and Jessica decided that they needed to stay together, so Jessica moved to San Francisco with Kyle, and she and Sean fell in love."

Devin smiled as they reached the main lobby. "That is quite a story. Do they all live together?"

"They live near each other but not together. The boys adore each other, and Kyle, who is not autistic, is so great with Brandon. He really brings him into the world. He instinctively knows what Brandon needs."

"The twin thing strikes again."

"It does," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, let's go upstairs."

They walked up to the second floor and into the main dance studio where Jessica was fiddling with her stereo system while two couples chatted before class.

Jessica was a leggy brunette with dark brown eyes and a warm smile. Wearing heels, a spaghetti-strapped top and flowing skirt, she looked like she was ready to dance.

"Kate," she said with surprise in her eyes. "How nice to see you. Did you come for the class?"

She knew Devin didn't want to dance, but she'd gone to the batting cages with him; maybe he could do something she wanted to do. She'd always wanted to take a dance class from Jessica, and they had a little time before the stakeout he wanted to do later. "Yes," she said.

"Hold on," Devin said. "I told you I don’t know how to dance."

"This is a beginner class," Jessica said. "And the start of a new session. No one knows how to dance. I'm Jessica Callaway." She extended her hand to Devin.

"Devin Scott. And we didn't come here to dance. Kate, tell her why we're here."

She sighed. "He's right I did have another more pressing reason."

"What's that?" Jessica asked.

She looked around. The other couples were talking to each other and not paying any attention to them. "There have been a series of arson fires in the city, and property owners in this area are being asked to be extra vigilant. Make sure all doors and windows are locked at night. When I saw the studios on the list, I wanted to come by personally and warn you."

"That sounds ominous. Should we be worried?" Jessica asked.

"Just careful."

"I didn’t realize you were working in San Francisco, Kate."

"I'm just helping out on this case before Mia's wedding. I also came by because I wanted to see you," she said, trying to lighten the concern in Jessica's eyes.

"Well, I'm happy to see you, too, and glad you're watching out for us. I'll let Sean know what you said." Jessica looked at Devin. "Are you also in the FBI?"

"I was. I'm an investigator now."

"And I think he could be a really good ballroom dancer," Kate put in. Now that she'd gotten work out of the way, she wanted to dance.

Jessica smiled. "There's definitely room in the class. I think you would have fun. I'll let you two decide." She left them alone while she walked over to the other students.

Kate could see that Devin was going to be hard to win over, so she put her hand on his arm and gave him her best smile. "What do you say, we just try it out? If you're not having fun, we can leave." She squeezed her hand on his arm. "It's a little break before we spend half the night driving around the city."

"You're not playing fair," he said grumpily.

"What's not fair?"

He pointedly looked at where she was touching him. "I thought we had a hands-off policy."

"That's a no-kissing policy. Dancing is completely acceptable. And by the way, I can be just as determined as you when I want something."

He gazed into her eyes for a long moment. "Fine, I'll dance. But I will lead."

"I wouldn't expect anything else."

Jessica called them over, and they joined the other couples as a male dancer came into the studio. It was a clear he was also a professional. Jessica and her partner gave them a short demonstration, and then it was their turn to dance.

As Devin put one hand on her hip and grasped her other hand with his, pulling her close against his chest, she suddenly realized the danger of her impulsive decision to dance.

Jessica walked them through the first few stumbling steps. Kate felt even more awkward than Devin, who actually seemed to be picking up the moves more quickly than she was.

"You just have to relax and let me take you where you're supposed to go," Devin told her.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"What happened to
I can be just as determined as you
?"

"Nothing, but I can see I don't have a talent for this."

"Your problem is you don't want to give up control," he told her.

He was probably right about that. She was worrying so much about getting the steps perfect and not dancing too close to him and not looking stupid that she was messing the whole thing up. So she took a deep breath, and let herself hear the music, and feel his moves.

Once she stopped fighting him, she started to do better.

Jessica came over to them a few times and interrupted just long enough to show them how they could improve a step, then left them alone to continue on with the dance.

By the time the class was over, Kate felt both exhilarated and tired.

Devin twirled her around in one last move that was completely made up, but since he was giving her his sexy smile, she went along with it, ending up in his arms.

"That was more fun than I thought it would be," he said.

"I know. It surprised me, too."

They were so close together, their faces just inches apart, she could feel his breath on her face and she wanted very much to close the gap between them and feel his lips on her mouth. Devin's gaze darkened, and his arms tightened around her body.

"Just kiss me already," she breathed.

Desire flickered in his eyes. But before he could move, she heard a guy call her name.

"Kate?"

Startled, she pulled abruptly away from Devin to see her cousin Sean making his way across the dance floor.

"Hey, nice to see you," he added, giving her a hug.

"You, too. I didn't think you were here tonight."

"Just got back from dinner. We have a band recording later. They like the late night start."

"This is Devin Scott," she said, introducing the two men.

Sean shook Devin's hand. "Nice to meet you. Jessica told me you're following an arsonist and that we might be a target?"

"Yes. I just got on the case a few days ago," she said. "But Devin has been investigating a series of fires over the past several years. We've isolated some potential targets."

"And this studio is one of them?" he asked in surprise.

"Actually, it's very low on the list," Devin interjected. "But the arsonist has been known to target organizations that provide services to the community for at-risk kids and senior citizens."

"Why the hell would anyone want to go after those groups?" Sean asked, bewilderment in his blue eyes.

"Still trying to figure that out," Devin replied.

"We actually have extra security for the next three nights," Sean said. "The recording artist coming in later is well-known, and he brings along his own team."

"Who is it?" Kate asked.

Sean smiled. "I can't tell you that. He values his privacy."

"So it's a
he
."

Sean shook his head in amazement. "You're just like Emma. So curious."

"I consider any resemblance to Emma to be a compliment."

"Speaking of Emma, why didn't my sister warn me about the possibility of arson?"

"She was just made aware of these potential new targets," Kate told him.

"Well, glad to hear she's not asleep on the job."

"You know that would never happen." Kate paused as Jessica came over. "Thanks for the class. That was fun."

"It looked fun," Jessica said with a twinkle in her eyes. "You two make good partners."

"When she lets me lead," Devin said with a grin.

"You stumbled a few times, too," she reminded him.

"That's when you stepped on my feet."

"Well, you'll both get better if you come back next week," Jessica put in.

Jessica's words reminded Kate that she wouldn't be coming back next week, because that was Mia's rehearsal dinner, and the following week she'd probably be back in DC getting assigned to another case.

"Sorry, I forgot next week is the wedding," Jessica said. "So maybe another time?"

"We'll see," she said. "Thanks again for letting us crash the class."

"There's always room for two more, especially family."

"Nice to meet you both," Devin added, as they said their goodbyes and headed back to the car.

As she got into the car and Devin started the engine, she glanced down at her watch. It was nine thirty, which meant they had a few hours to kill until they started to stake out the other targets, and she had a really terrible idea on how to fill that time.

She should go home, she told herself. She should ask Devin to drop her at Ian's place and then have him pick her up after midnight. She could take a quick nap. She could talk to Ian. She could do a lot of things besides get closer to Devin.

On the other hand, maybe fighting all the tension wasn't the greatest idea, either.

If they just gave into it, like the dance, maybe it would be better all the way around.

Yeah, that was a great rationalization.

With a sigh, she looked out the window as Devin stopped at a light. Ashbury Studios was in the once famous neighborhood known as Haight-Ashbury. It had been the center of the hippie movement in the sixties and had always had an eclectic and edgy atmosphere.

To her right was a clothing shop next to a tattoo parlor. Across the street was a more upscale home goods retailer next to a pot shop selling legalized marijuana and other herbal supplements.

As Devin drove through the intersection, she looked up the hilly street and saw an old bookstore with lights shining in the windows. And those lights almost brought her heart to a crashing stop.

"Stop," she said abruptly.

Devin slammed on the brakes, throwing her forward. "What?"

"Go around the block and come back down the street we just went through."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I saw something in the window of a bookstore."

"What?"

"Just drive around the block."

He did as she asked, and as they came down the hill, she asked him to stop in front of the bookstore.

"Damn," he muttered, gazing at the front window in amazement.

"So I'm not crazy. That peace sign looks exactly like the map in your apartment, doesn't it?"

"With just part of the circle and one of the lines missing," he agreed.

"Weird coincidence?"

His jaw tightened. "I have no idea, but we need to find out."

Thirteen

Devin thought about that peace sign all the way back to his apartment. It was quite a departure from what he'd been thinking about before, which was whether or not to answer Kate's very tempting demand to
kiss her already
.

The large lit peace sign in the window of the bookstore had definitely provided an unexpected distraction. Was it just a reminder to get back to work? Or was it a clue?

They'd been in Haight-Ashbury, the place where peace-loving hippies and flower children had gathered in the sixties to share love and protest war. It wasn't unusual to find a peace sign in that neighborhood. There were probably dozens of them within a few blocks.

But there was something about that particular sign that made his nerves tingle. He'd always trusted his gut, and his gut was telling him to pay attention.

Kate was quiet, her gaze on the streets, as if she were seeking another clue or trying to find a way to connect that bookstore to the fires.

"We need to find out who owns the store, the building and the land," he said, breaking through the silence.

She turned her head. "That would be a good place to start. The peace sign caught my eye from across the street. Perhaps it inspired our arsonist. They could live in the area, or they could have visited that bookstore."

"Or we just found a peace sign in the middle of a neighborhood that is probably full of them."

"That's looking at the glass half-full."

"Just being realistic."

She frowned. "It feels like fate, like we were meant to see that sign. It was a good thing we went to warn Sean and Jessica. And even that we danced. We might not have seen the sign if we'd left the studio in the daylight. It jumped out at me in the dark night."

He wanted to be as optimistic as she was, but he just couldn't quite get there—not yet anyway. He was, however, willing to invest some time and energy into researching the owner of the bookstore.

When they got back to his apartment, Kate immediately jumped on her computer, and he did the same.