Wanting (13 page)

“
She’s on the couch.”
Sebastian turned his head. Carrie was sitting on his couch, running
one hand down the spine of her cat. She looked completely unfazed
by what they’d been doing. He had to admire her control. He wished
he had it right then.

Paige pushed past him,
stopping just inside his small entryway.

“
Hey, Care. You
ok?”

“
I’m fine. But somebody
ruined my apartment.” The hurt returned to Carrie’s voice.
Sebastian resisted the urge to curse.

“
That’s what Danny said.”
Paige dropped to the couch beside Carrie. Their shoulders bumped,
but Carrie didn’t pull away from the touch. Sebastian had known
they were close, but had he ever seen just how close? He had never
seen Carrie that comfortable sitting beside someone. They’d
obviously become one another’s family.

He hadn’t seen his two
brothers or his sister Sarah in three years. Not since their
mother’s funeral. Email was the only way they’d communicated since
then.

“
Any ideas why?” Paige was
watching him, Sebastian realized. Watching and assessing his
reaction to Carrie? Would that prove a problem? He was Paige’s Unit
Chief—she was one of his best, despite being barely older than
Carrie. He’d hate to jeopardize that, for all of their
sakes.

“
Not that I’ve heard. I
think Hellbrook is wanting Malachi Brockman’s team to take over
from the locals. If the locals will play ball.” Sebastian thought
back to the locals he’d seen at Carrie’s apartment. They hadn’t
inspired much confidence. He’d make a point to speak with Hellbrook
first thing in the morning for an update.

“
They tie it in to that
rash of break-ins on Connecticut Street? Do they think it’s
related?”

“
You’ll have to ask
Hellbrook or Brockman. We’ve been told very little so far.”
Sebastian sat in his armchair, and faced the two women.

They were two opposites in
many nuances of the word. Both were close to the same age. Paige
was taller—close to six feet if not a bit over. Carrie had more
glorious curves, but she wasn’t overweight. Just curved in a way
Sebastian couldn’t help but appreciate. Paige was probably the
skinniest woman he’d ever seen, but she carried it in a way that
was entirely feminine. Hard to believe she’d been mistaken for a
boy on the streets. Carrie was quieter, Paige was more likely to
get noticed. Carrie’s clothing was understated, simple, and
comfortable. Her friend wore nothing but black leather when not on
company time—and black cotton when on. Paige’s ears were pierced
from lobe to top and Sebastian suspected she had at least one nose
piercing. Carrie was... wholesome...in appearance. Paige was
definitely not.

“
This sucks. How much
damage do you estimate?” Paige stroked the cat once before the
animal stalked away.

Carrie’s face showed her
uncertainty.

“
Some furniture will need
repaired or replaced. The coffee table. The rest just needs cleaned
up and put back to where it belongs.” Sebastian answered for
Carrie. He understood that it would be hard for her to articulate
how the attack on her home had hit her. Sebastian wanted the
bastards responsible for putting that look in her eyes, wanted them
bad.

“
How much was taken?” Paige
focused on him, suspicion in her dark eyes.

“
Not much. I don’t
understand it. My guitars, my stereo. My keyboard, my amps. All was
left. My paintings.”

“
That doesn’t make sense.
Unless someone was looking for something.” Paige looked straight at
him. “Hellbrook isn’t thinking this is somehow case related, is he?
Why did you two take off anyway? Do you think it’s because of
whatever you were working on?”

Sebastian was the one who
answered. “No. Carrie has been helping me find a friend’s daughter.
She ran away a week ago.”

“
And you are just now
getting involved? Why didn’t you call me or Al to help you? Why did
you involve Carrie?”

“
Because Carrie was
available and had the computer skills to get me what I needed
quickly. And this doesn’t fit the parameters for our team. When did
you get back in town?”

“
We finished up quicker
than expected. I took an early flight to get back here.”

Sebastian frowned. “Why?
Did you leave the team? Did Hellbrook or Reynolds call you about
the break in?”

“
No. Nothing like that. I
found a dog.”

Sebastian shook his head.
Paige’s conversation skills often left room to be desired.
“Explain?”

“
I found a dog. Some kind
of mastiff, I think. I couldn’t leave him to be put down, and the
animal control guys were insistent that he either be re-homed
tonight or they take him to doggie jail. So I brought him home with
me. His name is Cletus.”

“
Like the dog we had in
Chicago?” Carrie rubbed her cat’s stomach, which the animal
tolerated for a few moments. “That wasn’t a mastiff.”

Paige’s eyes flew toward
Sebastian. Questions were in her big dark eyes. “Yeah. Did you tell
him, Care?”

“
Yes. About me, about
meeting you. But not why you were out there. That’s not my story to
tell.”

“
I see.” Paige looked away,
wrapped skinny arms around her middle.

“
Everyone has a story,
Paige. And yours and Carrie’s remains between us unless the two of
you say differently.” He hated seeing women he cared about—and he
cared about both Paige and Carrie—hurting. And Paige still hurt
about her past, he had no difficulty seeing that. She hurt, but did
Carrie? Carrie had always spoken frankly about her time on the
streets. Had seemed accepting of it. Was that just a front? “But
you brought home a mastiff? Why didn’t you just wait and bring the
dog home on the Bureau jet? I wouldn’t have cared, and I doubt Ed
Dennis would have, either.”

Paige eyed him for a long
moment, as if weighing his words on her history. Then she smiled an
uncertain smile. “Well, I was going to, but Al told me basically
‘If that beast so much as breathes in my direction again, I’m
making a stew out of him!’ Of course, Cletus did eat that yellow
purse of hers. The one she carries on every flight. But he was just
nervous, and Al made it worse.”

Sebastian winced. That
would not have been a good thing to see, by any means. He could
easily imagine the scene. Paige’s partner, Alessandra Brockman,
loved that purse, and was one of the most feminine women he had
ever met. She was a direct contrast to Paige, light where Paige was
dark. “Ouch. So is Al talking to you again yet?”

“
No. I figured it might be
a good idea to give her some space. I called Dan from the airport
to come get me and Cletus. He told me about the break in at
Carrie’s place. And that she was here.”

“
So where’s the dog now?”
Carrie asked.

“
In the parking garage, in
my car. I figured you and Linny could come stay with me
tonight.”

Carrie shook her head,
sending red hair shifting in both directions. “I can’t. I promised
Sebastian I’d stay here, so we could go look for Ashleigh first
thing tomorrow. And Hell thought I should stay here where I would
be safe.”

Paige studied Sebastian for
a minute, gaze lingering on his shirt. Sebastian looked down.
Dammit, he’d missed a button. Carrie had popped three, not two.
“Safe? Somehow I wonder if Hellbrook was wrong about
that.”

“
You sure this dog isn’t
eating your car right now?” Sebastian asked, pointedly, knowing
Paige would get the hint. If she took it, that was an entirely
different matter. “Shouldn’t you go check on him?”

“
Shouldn’t you be working
on finding that kid instead of...” Paige’s words trailed off
meaningfully.

“
Paige. Stop. You know I
make my own decisions. And I chose to stay here. We are looking for
that little girl. She arrived back here in St. Louis this evening.
We were going to go out looking for her tonight, but had to deal
with the police at my apartment.”

“
Why don’t we go now?”
Paige asked, an almost daring tone in her words. “The sooner we
find this kid, the better, right? So let’s get to it. Go change
into jeans and let’s roll. I brought you a bag of stuff you’d left
at my place. It’s old jeans and such, but no creepy dude’s been
pawing at them.”

It thrilled Sebastian when
Carrie looked at him for approval. “If Sebastian thinks we
should.”

He thought it over for a
moment. What could it hurt? They just might find her. “On the off
chance we can find her tonight, I think we should. If you feel like
searching after everything that’s happened to you.”

She nodded, then sat the
cat on the floor. “I’ll go change.” She grabbed the bag Paige had
sat by the chair and scurried off toward his bedroom.

Leaving him to face the
closest thing to a relative she had. Paige slumped in his arm chair
and watched him, her dark eyes cataloging his every
move.

This was one of his
favorite people in St. Louis, but the power behind her gaze
actually disconcerted him for a moment. Then Paige straightened in
the chair. Checked the bedroom door to make sure Carrie had closed
it all the way. Sebastian tensed, knowing the conversation that
they were about to have could drastically change their working
relationship. “Say what you want to say, Paige. Get it out
there.”

“
Ok. Listen, boss man, I
get it. You have the hots for my little sister, and she kind of has
the hots for you. But she’s special. And all I got. Don’t hurt her,
or I’ll chop you up and feed you to my dog, ok?”

“
Threat noted, but I don’t
ever plan on hurting Carrie. So take note of that, yourself. And
whatever happens between us, will be because she’s made the
decision for it to happen. I will not pressure her, in any way. Got
me?” On that he was absolute. Whatever happened between them from
that point on was just as much Carrie’s decision as his.

“
Got you. And I’ll hold you
to it.” Paige jumped from the chair, in a movement that was typical
of the woman he knew. She never sat still for long, a
characteristic he was long accustomed to from this youngest member
of his team. How much older than Carrie was she? A few months? A
year? Not much.

They’d been just children
when they’d faced insurmountable odds. And they’d both triumphed.
His admiration for both strengthened. He glanced at the bedroom
door, waiting for it to open and Carrie to join them.

“
Hey, boss
man?”

He looked back at Paige.
The tone of her words had changed from challenging to hesitant.
Almost scared. “Yes?”

“
The whole streets thing?
Nobody else knows, ya know? Just Carrie. Al knows some, that I was
in ‘the custody of social services’ for a while. But nobody else,
and not the street specifics. Ok? I especially don’t want Al’s
family to learn.”

Alessandra’s family.
Sebastian had met and worked with the other woman’s brother,
Malachi Brockman several times. Mal headed the third team in the
CCU, just like Sebastian and Hellbrook each led a team. From his
impressions, the Brockman family was the wholesome Ward and June
Cleaver type. He could understand Paige’s hesitancy in sharing her
history. “Ok. Though I don’t think it would matter to them any more
than it matters to me.”

“
Still...I don’t want Al’s
parents to find out. Or Mal, ok? Especially Mal.” Paige’s
vulnerability was suddenly so clear for him to see. Why hadn’t he
noticed it before? Was she in love with Malachi
Brockman?

His mind flashed back to
the way Carrie had matter-of-factly told him of her experiences on
the streets. Compared it to the shamed way Paige was acting. It had
him wondering—who was actually the stronger of the two, Paige or
the younger woman she so actively tried to protect? He was starting
to suspect that Carrie had fared better out there than Paige. Luck,
circumstance, or Paige deliberately protecting her? Sebastian
doubted he’d ever really know. “Our secret. I promise.”

Carrie joined them before
he and Paige could discuss things even further. She’d thrown a pair
of jeans on, but still wore the skimpy white tank. She carried her
hoodie. “Are you both ready? Paige, what are we going to do with
your dog? He can’t stay in your car the whole time.”

Sebastian thought quickly.
“Bring him up. We can lock him in the spare bedroom. I’ve been
using it as an office. There’s nothing in there he can destroy. But
I want to get going.”

Chapter 29

*****

Sebastian kept one eye on
their surroundings and another on the two women as they walked the
midtown area. Paige was on alert, her demeanor vastly different
from the young woman he’d seen belting out a number on Smokey’s
stage a dozen times before. The woman with him now had an air of
wariness and do-not-touch. One the people living on these streets
would recognize and not challenge.

He wondered which was the
real Paige Daviess. She never left Carrie’s side. Had it always
been like that when they were two young girls living on the
streets? Paige was a member of his team, yet she was the most
reticent. He’d known little about her except what was in her
personnel file and what he’d been able to observe during the two
months he’d been her team leader. And even though they were on
reasonably friendly terms as colleagues, she’d told him very little
about herself. Now he understood why.