The Puppeteer (34 page)

“I can buy Frey being involved in the death of so many men, no problem, but I don't get why Robertson was involved. Why Frey wouldn't just take the credit? And does this have anything to do with what he told me in the cave?” she questioned.

“As to the first, because Frey was a down-on-his-luck nobody trying to claw his way out of poverty,” Drew answered, repeating, essentially, what Frey had said when talking with Dani in the cave.

“And as for the second question, Robertson was his ticket,” Spanky supplied. “Even before Robertson enlisted, he was a golden boy expected to follow in his father's footsteps. What better way for someone like Frey to climb out of poverty than to have something to hold over someone like Robertson. Someone who can give him access and contacts.”

“So where does that leave us?” Ty asked.

Drew sighed and Spanky looked pained. “That's part of the problem. Or rather, it's part of the puzzle Marmie is trying to work out. You see, we know they were together in Vietnam. But ever since then, since the late seventies, there have been no known interactions between the two.
At all
,” Spanky added with emphasis.

“What about the extraction companies? Does Robertson have any link to them? Maybe that's the connection?” Dani suggested.

“Marmie's looking into that,” Drew answered. “Robertson does hold a fair bit of stock in a variety of extraction companies, but so do a lot of other people. It doesn't mean it's the connection between the two.”

“But it doesn't mean that it's not either,” Dani pointed out. “Who else is working on this?”

“You're looking at it,” Drew answered.

“And Marmie,” Spanky added.

“Right, I'm sure it's better to keep the team small, given the potential situation,” Ty interjected.

Dani swore under her breath and all three men concurred. If the president were involved with someone like Frey, they'd be fighting an almost impossible battle. Because, while the American people seemed to revel in White House scandals involving sex and money, a White House scandal that involved duping the American people for decades and the murder of innocent people would be resoundingly crushed by all the powers that be, along with all the people involved. Neither party would want a sitting president to be impeached and tried for murder, it would rock the political foundation too much.

So, not only were they fighting to find Frey and bring him down, they would be fighting for their jobs and possibly their lives as well. While this truth escaped none of them, no one in the room looked interested in walking away. If anything, as Dani scanned the faces of the three men, they looked even more intent on their objective—finding Frey and stopping him.

Just as Dani opened her mouth to ask about Drew's interrogations of Sonny and the captive militia, he cut her off.

“I think that about covers it for now,” Drew said, moving toward the door. Spanky looked surprised but fell in line after a quick look at Dani.

“We'll be back tomorrow. My parents are coming by again a bit later,” Drew added as the two exited the room.

“Wow,” Dani said into the silence that followed. “I must look bad. Drew ran away faster than a scared cat.”

“You look pretty good to me,” Ty said, handing her another piece of pastry. “I think he wants to make sure you keep it up.”

“And he thinks withholding information will help?”

“I think he thinks I'll remind you that whether you know whatever it is he knows today or tomorrow, it isn't going to make a difference. There's not much you can do until you're back on your feet.”

“What about my enormous brain power?” she asked with a cheeky grin. “I can think about things.”

Ty rolled his eyes. “You can, but then, when you realize you can't
do
anything about what you're thinking about, you'll start to get all twitchy and moody and demanding, and the next thing we'll know, a half-healed Dani will be checking herself out of the hospital against doctor's orders.”

“I would not,” Dani shot back. Ty quirked a brow. “Okay, maybe I would,” she conceded with a sigh. “I guess you're stuck entertaining me then?”

Ty laughed, “I can think of worse things, honey.”

Chapter 23

FOUR DAYS LATER
Ty and Dani walked into her apartment off of Central Park. Dani paused in the hall, looked around at the familiar setting, sighed, and dropped her purse onto the hall table. Because the doctors had never seen an injury like hers, they had been extra cautious, holding her for more days than she'd wanted. But she was out. And now she was home in her spacious fourth-floor, two-bedroom, renovated apartment in the vintage building she'd fallen in love with ten years earlier.

“Good to be home?” Ty asked, moving past her with her small bag in hand. She smiled and nodded as he headed for the bedroom. He dropped her bag and re-emerged to find her looking out the windows in the living room. It was June, and a hot one in the city. Ty could see people carrying iced drinks in shorts and t-shirts, probably headed to the park one block over.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. Dani turned and smiled at him and then he saw her eyes take in the subtle evidence of his presence in her apartment.

“I never even asked, but I assume you've been staying here?”

“Your sister gave me a key when they stopped letting me stay overnight with you. I hope you don't mind?”

Dani glanced around, then met his gaze and gave him a chagrinned smile. “I should have thought of it. Of course, I don't mind.”

Ty walked up to her and looped his arms around her waist. “You had other things on your mind.”

“Still, you'd think I would have thought to ask you if you needed a place to stay.”

“You didn't need to, your sister took care of it. As long as you're happy I'm here, then we're good.”

“I am and we are, aren't we?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yes, we are. Now, do you want something to eat?”

“Shower first and then something to eat,” she mumbled. Ty frowned. She was doing much better, but there was no doubt that the taxi from the hospital to her apartment and the general excitement of the day had made her tired.

“Why don't you shower and rest while I make something.”

“Mmm, sounds good,” she said.

Ty stood and listened to her enter her room and then the attached bathroom. When the water started running, he moved into the kitchen to see what he could scavenge. He'd been staying there but had been spending almost all of his time at the hospital, trying to keep Dani from jumping out of her skin with so much inactivity.

He opened a few cupboards and found them stocked, which was a surprise, given the fact that Dani hadn't been home in more than a month. He opened the refrigerator and was even more surprised to find milk, yogurt, and few other perishables, all recently purchased. Sam. Ty smiled. He should have known. Sure enough, when he checked the freezer and the pantry, it was all stocked. The fridge even had some prepared food from the local grocer.

“Ty?” Dani called from the shower. Her voice was faint. He froze, not sure he'd heard her at all.

And then he heard her call his name again.

His heart stammering in worry, he ran to the bathroom. “I'm here, honey. Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

Dani stood in shower, soaking wet, smiling at him. “You were worried?” she said with faint surprise.

“Umm, yes,” he managed to say. Now that it was obvious nothing was wrong, he couldn't help but be distracted by the image presented to him. It had been over a month since he had last seen Dani naked and his body was reminding him of just that fact.

He cleared his throat and dragged his eyes back to Dani's face. “You are okay, right?”

Her expression softened even more and Ty saw a hint of vulnerability in her eyes. “I'm fine. I'm lonely.”

“You want company?”

She nodded. “Yes, please.”

Twenty seconds later, he was in the shower, holding her in his arms, stroking her back, and kissing her neck.

“I've missed you, Ty,” she said in his ear. In response, he kissed her deeply. She pressed against him, against his arousal, and let out a little groan of appreciation.

“Don't mind that,” he said, thinking she was too tired to do any more than what they were doing.

“But I miss
that,
” she said, reaching down between them.

“Dani,” he caught her hand and drew back to look her in the eye. “You're still recovering.”

She smiled and wrapped her hand around him. “The doctor said all heart attack victims should exercise with someone else, once released.”

“Dani,” he hissed, losing his will to say no.

“Please, Ty. Make love to me,” she whispered. He looked her in the eye and saw the need. The need to be held, to be loved, to be alive, and his resolve vanished. He kissed her, taking his time, remembering how they were on that first night together. Showing her how thankful he was that she was here, that they had this chance. Shutting off the water, he grabbed a towel, dried them off, and led her to the bed. Lying down beside her, he skimmed his hand along her body from her hair down to her knee and back again, absorbing the moment and the feel of her. He glanced at her face, her eyes closed, just focusing on the feel of his hand on her skin.

He palmed her breast, tracing gentle circles with his thumb around her nipple. She gave a little shiver and then relaxed even more. Turning her on her back and easing her legs apart in the process, he moved his hand down to her stomach. He heard her breath catch in anticipation. He still wasn't convinced she was up to making love, but he could at least give her some satisfaction.

To his surprise, she opened her eyes and met his gaze with an intensity he felt in every fiber of his body.

“You, Ty. I want you,” she said.

He thought about asking if she was sure. About pointing out that it might be too soon. But he didn't. He took one look at her expression and found that he needed her as much, if not more, than
she needed him. He moved between her thighs and slid inside. Dani let out deep sigh of satisfaction and didn't move, feeling him as he lay, unmoving inside her, memorizing her.

“Ty,” she managed to say on deep breath. The sound of her, speaking his name as he lay buried inside her, released a surge of love the likes of which he'd never felt before.

“God, Dani,” he said against her neck as he began to move inside her. She whispered his name and they moved together, rediscovering the passion that first brought them together. Passion made stronger by time and love.

*   *   *

Ty paused in the entryway of Dani's apartment to listen to the debate occurring on the other side of the door.

“They're holing up,” Sam's voice drifted through the closed door.

“They're what?” Drew's somewhat confused and exasperated voice answered. Ty had kind of the same reaction.

“Holing up,” Sam repeated and Ty could all but hear her eyes rolling. “As in, not talking to anyone, spending time together, lots of it in bed is my guess.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Drew asked, sounding like an older brother.

“I,” Sam said with great self-assurance, “am just dropping this basket of food at the door. I'll text Dani and let her know it's here to grab whenever they have a chance. I suggest you leave too, and call before showing up next time. If you want to talk to either of them.”

“You're saying I shouldn't knock on the door and tell Dani what she's been asking me about for days because she and Ty might be having sex? Which, by the way, is
not
an image I need in my head. You guys are like sisters to me, and the thought of either of you having sex isn't something I need to talk about.”

“Drew, I'm married to your brother. We have three kids. Do you think they came about through immaculate conception?” Sam chided.

“I don't want to talk about it,” Drew grumbled back. On the other side of the door, Ty smiled to himself.

“Are they talking about us?” Dani asked as she sidled up to Ty in the entryway. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and nodded.

“Drew wants to talk work. Sam's telling him not to bother us because we're having sex,” Ty grinned.

“She's not,” Dani protested with a laugh. Ty chuckled in response. “Good lord, Drew is going to have his own heart attack just thinking about the possibility of us naked together.”

Taking pity on Drew, Dani moved to the door and opened it. Two sets of eyes turned. Sam stood with her arms crossed across her chest, basket in hand, and Drew stood with his hands jammed on his hips. Both looked at Dani with startled surprise.

“We're not having sex, so you might as well come in,” Dani opened the door wider and gestured them in. Both stood there staring.

“What?” Dani demanded.

Ty came up behind her and rubbed her shoulder. “They might believe you if you were wearing more than a sheet,” he laughed.

Dani glanced down in surprise, forgetting that she was, indeed, wearing nothing but a sheet.

“Good lord,” she rolled her eyes and marched back to her room.

“Since you're here,” Ty said, gesturing them in.