The Heat (5 page)

“Mayfield, let me borrow your phone.”

The officer reached into his shirt pocket and extracted a small cell phone and handed it to his chief.

“Make sure Jennings knows to contact me on your line if he needs anything – and as soon as he has the information I’ve asked him for,” Daniel instructed.

“Right, Chief.”

“Thanks.” Daniel pocketed the phone and left the building, heading for an unmarked car that waited at the front of the lot.

Chapter Four: The Thin Blue Line

Lily sighed a contented sigh. The early summer day was shaping up to be a rather cool one, maybe topping off in the high seventies. There was a gentle breeze. It had that special, recognizable taste of rain to it and Lily smiled at the thought of the thunder storm that would undoubtedly lay claim to the day’s late afternoon.

She loved those storms. She knew it wasn’t normal to like a rainy day more than a sunny one. But she’d never been quite –
normal
. In high school, she’d been what she, herself, called a “leftover.” Those kids who weren’t preppy and weren’t geeks and weren’t cheerleaders and, though they might enjoy Ozzy and Metallica as much as the next metal head, they weren’t rockers..

They were leftovers. That’s what Lily was.

That wasn’t to say that she didn’t have her share of friends. It was just that they were a rather eclectic band of friends. They were not quite as monochromatic and uniform as the shining, level ponytail line of the cheerleaders at their cafeteria table. They weren’t quite as palpable as the sadly reflective procession of eye glasses at the geek’s table.

They were a blonde girl and an African American girl and a pale girl with blue-black hair, an athletic girl, and a petite, somewhat shy Jewish girl with copper-red hair that frizzed a little too much until the African American beauty queen taught her how to use hair product. And none of them minded that the blonde loved thunder storms, despite her “sunny,” So-Cal appearance.

Lily smiled at that thought. Yes, she did love a good storm. They were one of the two things she’d missed most about Louisiana during her absence. The other, of course, was the company that was now situated around her at the large round table on the outdoor patio of a burrito restaurant on Corporate Boulevard. It was called IZZO’s Illegal Burrito, and as far as Lily could recall, it hadn’t been there ten years ago. In fact, she was pretty sure that most of the shops in Town Center were new.

It had been a long time since she’d had all of her closest friends around her at once. The feeling was warm and comfortable. Like mashed potatoes and gravy on a sore throat. She sat back in her chair and slowly sipped at her iced tea, listening to their familiar banter.

“Could you please dress a little sluttier next time, Alex? I don’t think your nipples are quite showing.” Meagan swilled the margarita in her glass and gestured to her friend’s tight top.

Alexis tossed a bunch of long, sleek braids over her shoulder and fixed Meagan with her yellow-gold eyes. “Sorry, hon', but you bought all the tents up during your last shopping spree.” She nodded at Meagan’s somewhat looser t-shirt.

From across the table, Sherry grinned at Alexis. “You seriously can’t figure out why you get along with guys so much better than girls, Alex?”

“Yeah, there’s a mystery.” Meagan blew a raspberry and took a swig of her drink. “Girls all hate her ‘cuz she’s so gorgeous. Me included,” Meagan muttered, shooting Alexis an exasperated look.

“You don’t hate me, girlfriend. You love me.” Alex gave Meagan a squeeze and Meagan suffered it with an eye roll. Then Alex turned to Sherry, pointing one long manicured finger at her. “And you? You’re just jealous because you have to take your white ass to the gym for four hours a day to get it to look anything like mine looks
au naturale
,” Alexis turned to the side and pointed at her blue-jeaned bottom. It truly did seem to defy gravity. Always had.

Sherry chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling again. Then she narrowed her gaze on Alexis. “Okay, you got me. I’m jealous. And I kind of hate your guts too.”

Sammy, Alex’s older brother, leaned forward then, his huge biceps stretching the taut material of his gray t-shirt as he placed his elbows on the table and fixed Meagan with a heated gaze. All eyes were on him as his attention honed mercilessly in on the rather smallish red-haired young woman. “Now, as for me,” he drawled, smiling a very white smile, “I
like
‘em kinda shy.” He let his gaze trail across her lips to her chest and then back up again. “Just makes me wanna see what goodies they’re hidin’ under there. What do you say, cher?”

Meagan blushed furiously and then began choking on her margarita.

Everyone at the table laughed, including Lily, as Alexis patted her friend rather violently on the back. “Yeah, you’re all bark and no bite, girl,” Alex scoffed, shaking her head.

“Hey, you guys ever notice how, when women are wearing dresses, men are more likely to open doors for them than when they’re wearing pants?” Lily suddenly asked. She’d been people-watching as she’d listened to her friends’ banter, and, as she was sometimes wont to do, she blurted out her thoughts without filtering them. It was a complete and utter change of subject, and it should have thrown everyone at the table, but they knew Lily well and old habits were quick to remember.

Alexis shrugged. “Sure, girl. It’s that old brain thing in a man’s head. A woman in a dress automatically looks more feminine – hence, more helpless.
Hence
, a man wants to help her.”

“Lily, where the hell do you come up with these observations?” Sherry asked. “And Alex, I disagree. A woman doesn’t have to wear a miniskirt and a half shirt to look sexy.”

“Uh-huh. You would take the defensive. That’s a sore spot with you, isn’t it, sweetie?” Alexis turned a raised brow on Sherry. “’Cuz you’re scared to show off that great body you work so hard for. Girl, why do you even
bother
with all that cardio?” Alexis asked, taking a tangent for a moment. Then she blew out a sigh and continued with her original train of thought. “And I didn’t say ‘sexy,’ just so you know. I said
feminine
. I also didn’t say
miniskirt and half shirt
. I said dress, ‘cuz that’s what
Lily
suggested.” Alexis took a sip of her drink and managed to look like she’d just won a prize for biggest fish.

So there.

“Lily comes up with these things because she’s always watching people, cher,” Sammy said, returning to Sherry’s question, perhaps in order to spare everyone at the table from the pseudo-argument he could sense coming from Sherry and Alexis – the two hottest heads on female bodies that Lily knew. “She’s always on the look out, aren’t you, Lily. Keepin’ an eye on the world so you can save it.” He smiled at Lily, and she felt herself Blush.

“That’s Lily. Our seer. Our Mother Freaking Theresa,” Meagan agreed – and then hiccupped. “I need another drink.”

Alexis looked like she was about to say something regarding that when, suddenly, she froze, staring somewhere over Lily’s shoulder. “Oh lord have mercy….”
Her gaze took on a dreamy look. “Don’t look now, girls, but here comes a tall, cool drink of trouble.”

Of course, everyone looked.

Daniel Kane shut the door of his unmarked squad car and strode in their direction. As he had been the night before, he was dressed in black from head to toe. Mirrored shades completed the outfit. The man was lucky it was a relatively cool day for that time of year.

The chief stepped up on to the restaurant’s patio and pulled off his shades. Lily froze in her seat when his stark blue eyes immediately found her form and locked on. They rested there for perhaps a moment too long as he made his way to their section. And then he turned to scan the other faces at the table. It wasn’t only Meagan who was blushing now. Even Alexis, as shameless as she was, seemed a little befuddled.

Daniel nodded respectfully. “Ladies,” he greeted.

At once, every woman at the table except for Lily greeted him back, each mumbling something incoherent. Lily bit her lip to keep from smiling.

“Sammy,” Daniel nodded at Alex’s brother, who stood up as Daniel approached.

“How you doin’ man,” Sammy replied. The two men exchanged some sort of hand shake. Lily was always bewildered by those “manly” hand shakes. How did men always just know how to do it right?

“Am I interrupting anything in particular?” Daniel asked in that languid Southern drawl that made Lily’s stomach tighten.

Again, the women at the table rushed to assure him that he wasn’t, and in their hurry, they spoke over one another. Again, they blushed.

Beside Lily, Tabitha watched him expectantly. He could smell his sister’s fear. She was upset over Cole. It was time for Daniel take matters into his own hands.

“Lily,” he spoke softly.

She looked up at him amidst the friendly smirks of her companions. Much to the satisfaction of his male ego, she immediately became more uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She crossed her legs and shifted in her seat. She blushed.

His smile was almost cruel as he put his palms on the table and leaned over it so that he was basically pinning her to her seat with his gaze. “I’d like to have a moment alone with you, if you don’t mind, cher.” He glanced down at the place setting in front of her. It was empty, so she hadn’t eaten yet. “I’ll buy you lunch.”

Lily tried to swallow, but he could tell her throat had gone dry. She almost coughed instead. But she did manage a nod.

He straightened and offered her his hand. She pushed her chair back and took it, and he led her around the table.

“She’ll catch up with you all later, ladies,” he told them as he pulled her purse off of the back of her chair and draped it over her shoulder. Lily’s heartbeat sped up; he could hear it. She must have just realized that she was about to be alone with him.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He took his time in answering as he led her to the car and opened the passenger-side door for her. Not until after she’d gotten in and begun to buckle herself did he say, “My place.”

Lily’s eyes widened. Daniel closed her door. Through the windshield, he could see that she’d paused with her hands over her buckle. He pushed a button on his key fob and her door locked from the outside.

Her eyes grew wider and she felt the door handle. He knew he was scaring her half to death, but it couldn’t be helped at the moment. He strode to his side, opened his door, and froze. A breeze brushed through his hair. It carried a scent with it, and that scent confirmed Daniel’s fears. Cole was nearby. Which meant he knew about Lily after all. Daniel’s jaw clenched as he automatically scanned the street and buildings beyond, searching for the other man.

Of course, he didn’t find him. He hadn’t expected to.

Daniel slid into the driver’s seat. “Calm down, cher,” he said, using his best negotiating tone as he closed his door and started up the car. “I’m not gonna bite.”

Yet,
he added mentally
.

“Daniel, what the hell is going on?”

He turned and studied her carefully. She knew an abduction when she saw one and she was about to go into fight mode. And if she did, then so would he – and he couldn’t have that right now.

He sighed and sat back as the car idled. “Okay. The truth is, we need to talk and I can’t have you run off before I’ve said what I need to say.”

He continued to watch her as emotions chased each other across her lovely face and she processed his words. He could tell that she was weighing everything carefully: Her friendship with Tabitha, the fact that he was a cop and one of the “good” guys, the fact that everyone she knew had seen her leave with him –
everything
.

Finally, she took a deep breath and seemed to relax a bit. “All right,” she said, her voice only slightly shaky. “What are we going to talk about?”

He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the lot. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

* * * *

Lily watched Daniel screw the top off of the bottle of Coke and hand it to her. She took it and put it to her lips. Her mouth and throat were dry and she swallowed eagerly.

He sat across from her. “I’ll get right to it, Lily,” he began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, holding his own Coke the way he’d done with the beer the night before. “What do you know about Malcolm Cole?”

And then his cell phone beeped. He pulled it from his front pocket and glanced down. His expression was unreadable. He looked back up at Lily and then stood slowly. Without taking his eyes off of her, he moved around his couch to the hallway and flipped the phone open, placing it to his ear.

Lily watched him from where she sat on his love seat. He was behaving so strangely. Cole was a killer? That was bewildering news. Where was it coming from? And if Cole was a killer, why hadn’t he been arrested? Why would Daniel be here telling her this instead of at the court house, getting a warrant or something? What was going on?

Daniel spoke softly into his phone, his tone adamant, his eyes never leaving her form. They’d gone from ice blue to the color of sapphires and now they glittered with a strange light. Lily was growing more uncomfortable with each passing second.