Wanting (29 page)

That was one of his
problems, one of the reasons he’d procrastinated talking to her
this long. Just what exactly did he expect from this
child?

He knew what he wanted from
her. He wanted her close to him where he could get to know her and
where she could get to be a part of his family. But he doubted that
would happen. What right did he have to make those kinds of demands
on her? She was obviously happy and secure here in St. Louis. Why
would she need the biological father she knew nothing
about?

She wouldn’t.

The light in her loft
flicked on. The one he now knew belonged to her bedroom. He’d been
in her apartment; his DNA was probably in her bathroom where the
damned cat had scratched him. Kevin hadn’t exactly been thinking of
keeping his presence hidden when he’d went in. He’d been thinking
that his daughter could have been hurt.

Now that he knew his
daughter worked for the FBI he wondered how long it would be until
it became known he was in that apartment without her
knowledge?

Ironically he knew the
results of that finding. He’d be the first suspect. And he had no
logical alibi.

Still, he’d weather that
storm if it ever irrupted. For tonight he was just satisfied his
daughter was home and safe. He’d seen the Bureau SUV parked in the
lot when he’d pulled in. She wasn’t alone, then. Her boyfriend was
with her. Good. He’d certainly looked like a bad-ass, perfectly
capable of keeping Caroline safe for the night.

She was safe.

Kevin started the engine.
He’d head back to the hotel and call Melody. See what she’d found
out about Minton Rush’s whereabouts.

Rush’s resemblance to the
police officer who’d been killed could have been coincidence, after
all. And Rush was at least ten years older than Thompson. Would the
people Thompson worked with—people trained to notice things—really
have not realized it wasn’t Thompson amongst them?

Kevin pulled his rental
vehicle out into the street after a tall man crossed at the
sidewalk.

Kevin gave him only a
passing glance as the pedestrian passed under a street light,
taking in the way the man limped and the ragged clothing. A
homeless man. Something he’d seen thousands of times over the
years. Kevin cataloged him, then promptly forgot him.

It was really farfetched to
believe Minton Rush would be in St. Louis. Looking for
Caroline.

Why? What would his old
partner want with the daughter Kevin had never admitted he
had?

Chapter 65

*****

It was late afternoon
before she even had a chance to look at the file Edward Dennis had
given her. It was sparse, filled only with the basics about the
fifty-seven year old Texas native. He’d worked for the Texas State
Police his entire career. Had married at the age of twenty-five.
Was widowed recently. He had four daughters. That was just about
all the information contained in the documents Edward Dennis’s
assistant, Agent Len, had found.

Carrie wanted to go deeper.
Why was a TSP detective so keen on finding her?

A feeling of trepidation
pooled in her gut. Was this about Jeremy? Yes, his family was in
Oklahoma, but it was right on the Texas border. And she and Paige
had traveled to Texas a couple of times, then decided to head over
to New Orleans. Had someone been tracking her this whole
time?

She booted up her laptop
and entered Kevin Beck’s details into the program she’d designed
for PAVAD. In a matter of moments, she’d have almost everything
about the man she would need.

Ten minutes later she was
just as confused. The man had hired three private investigators
over the last fifteen years. Why? What could a private investigator
do for him that he as a police detective couldn’t do for
himself?

She had the names of his
four daughters, the death certificate for his wife, records of his
commendations, and every address he’d lived at. What she didn’t
have was the why he was looking for her.

And if he was the one
responsible for destroying her apartment, what had made this
respected and well-decorated police detective do that? What had
made him snap? And what had made him come after her?

Carrie packed up her bag
for the night around five. She slipped the folder in her bag and
tried not to think about what it meant.

Her cell rang, though she
had trouble answering it. The keys were locked in a pattern she’d
never seen before. She’d have to reprogram it later. There were
more important things on her mind, right then.

She felt like she was going
to sink under the weight of everything—Sebastian, this Kevin guy,
the break-in, the follow-up of the case. Everything suddenly seemed
so overwhelming. She finally got her keypad unlocked on her
phone—she hated touch screen and refused the upgrades Hell had
offered her—and checked the miss call log. The runaway shelter. One
of the two she funded. This one wasn’t the one Ashleigh had stayed
at. This one, the Bright Star Haven, was a more long-term care
facility. It housed eighteen beds and was intended for runaways
between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, though they’d certainly
housed much younger teens. Carrie worked there at least twice a
month when she could, as did Paige. Calista was the executive
director of both shelters, and the call was from her.

Carrie listened to the
problem and promised to be over there as soon as she
could.

But first she needed to see
Sebastian. Needed to get some sort of handle on what had happened
between them the night before.

Chapter 66

*****

Kevin had read the email
from Melody over and over again and it had him literally sick to
his stomach. Rush had been paroled from prison fourteen days ago,
and had already disappeared. What had sixteen plus years inside
done to the former police officer?

He’d never forget how he’d
felt, having to take the stand and testify against the man he’d
once considered his best friend. Hell, Rush had been Melody’s
godfather!

Kevin had done a lot of
soul-searching where his former friend and partner was concerned.
There was only one term to describe Rush—sociopath. And Rush had
been so good at hiding what he was that no one on the TSP had seen
through him. Until it was too late.

And the dead cop that was
mentioned on the TV playing in the background at Smokey’s? How
could he explain that?

The cop had been dead close
to two weeks. The same time frame since Rush had been
out.

There was only one possible
explanation, and Kevin’s years of experience on the Texas State
Police had him trusting his instincts. Rush had fled Texas and came
straight to St. Louis. To Caroline.

Why? And how had he known
where Caroline was, even before Kevin had?

The private investigator
hadn’t been able to find her until someone had sent him an
anonymous email. Why? Who? Had it been Rush?

How had the incarcerated
man had information Kevin hadn’t?

Kevin pulled out his phone
and dialed his oldest daughter’s cell.

“
Detective Melody Beck
speaking.”

“
Mel, it’s Dad. Have you
learned anything knew?” He’d given Melody everything he had on
Minton Rush, and knew his girl wouldn’t stop until she found the
answers. She was that dogged and determined. She’d done him
proud.

“
I’m on my way,
Dad.”

Kevin frowned.
“Where?”

“
St. Louis.”

“
Why?”

“
I just am. I have Brynna
with me. And James is tagging along.”

His daughter’s partner on
the Texas State Police. This wasn’t good. By any means. “What have
you found out?”

“
James heard back from his
contacts at the federal prison where Minton Rush was incarcerated.
Dad, I’m driving, and you’re cutting out. I need to go. Just be
careful, and...find Caroline before anyone else does!”

The phone went
dead.

Kevin cursed. Why were his
daughters—both with the TSP—on their way to St. Louis now when he’d
expressly told both of them that he wanted to find their sister
himself?

What was going on? And why
had Mel said what she had?

What had she learned about
Rush that had spooked his normally unspookable daughter?

Chapter
67

*****

Carrie went looking for
Sebastian in his office, but he wasn’t there. Al and Paige were in
their section of the bullpen and Carrie stopped by Paige’s desk.
Shared her plans to head over to the Bright Star Haven
shelter.

“
I’ll go with you.” Paige
was looking at her like she knew something was wrong. It didn’t
surprise Carrie; Paige always knew when something was bothering
her.

“
Ok. But I need to see
Sebastian first.” It didn’t feel right to just leave without him
knowing exactly where she was going. Wasn’t that a part of
belonging to someone? Not wanting to worry them? Knowing that you
mattered to them enough for them to worry?

This was such unfamiliar
territory for Carrie.

“
He’s in a meeting with the
big man himself.” Paige nodded to the top floor of the open concept
office space. Edward Dennis’s office was the only truly private
office in the building. “Don’t know when he’ll be out, but neither
looked happy.”

“
Oh.” Deflating. “I’ll
leave him a note, then.”

“
Better yet, I’m stuck here
until Mick gets finished doing his thing.” Alessandra’s face showed
mild disgust. Her brother Mick worked IA and no one in the Brockman
family was really happy about it. “He’s my ride. Why don’t I
deliver a personal message to Hotlips?”

Carrie smiled. She could
only imagine the type of message Alessandra would give him. “Just
tell him that I had a computer emergency at one of the runaway
shelters I work at, and that I will see him later…No. Just tell him
he can call me.”

“
I’ll bet he can call you.
Sweetheart, perhaps? I heard him call you baby the other day.”
Alessandra chuckled after she said it. Paige just rolled her eyes.
“In that sexy, bed-room voice. Yum. Yum.” Alessandra sighed. “I so
need to get a life—a love life. Hey! Does Hotlips have a
brother?”

“
Two of them.” Carrie
laughed. Should she tell her they were identical to
Sebastian?

“
Wow. If only I was that
type of girl…Anyway, I’ll give him your message. You want me to
send him over to the shelter? Your place? Tell him you’ll come to
his? Booty call?”

Carrie fought the laugh
bubbling up. Leave it to Alessandra to diffuse her worries. Paige
had laid her head down on her desk and was covering her ears
mumbling I am not listening, I am not listening, I am not
listening. “Just tell him to call me. We’ll work out the details
between us later.”

“
Sigh. Ruin all a girl’s
vicarious fun. I really need some excitement in my life and since
you won’t share…” Alessandra leaned back in her chair and crossed
her ankles on the desktop. She was teasing, but Carrie could see
the exhaustion in her friend’s eyes. Alessandra had worked just as
hard as anyone during the trafficking case, only to have to go get
Ashleigh and her family and escort them down to PAVAD for the
lineup. They all needed a few days off to recover. But Carrie knew
the truth of it; they’d probably get one day at the most before
they were needed elsewhere.

Which meant there was
probably a high likelihood that she and Sebastian would spend more
time apart than they did together. His team was often sent in the
exact opposite of hers. That was part of the purpose of PAVAD,
after all. Edward Dennis always mentioned how he wanted the best
teams available and ready to go to the places they were needed
nearly as fast as they were needed.

How would that translate in
a relationship between her and Sebastian? Would she be able to go
days, even weeks at a time, without seeing him?

Carrie didn’t know. She
liked her space, her routine. Thrived on it; she’d learned that
early on. Having the uncertainty of not knowing when or if he’d be
around—or she would—was something that she would have to consider.
Was that the kind of life she wanted? If she was to form a lasting
relationship with any man, there would be times when she would be
far away from him. How much worse would that separation be with a
man who was gone literally just as much as she was?

It would be something else
to think about.

“
Come on, Carrie. We’ll go
take care of Calista, then I’ll get you back home to lover boy.”
Paige cringed as she said it, but Carrie knew her friend had
accepted the changes Sebastian had brought to Carrie’s life. That
didn’t mean Paige approved, but at least she accepted. “Let’s get
something to eat before we go. Al, I’ll see you later.”

“
Bye guys, have
fun.”

Chapter 68

*****

It left a sour taste in
Sebastian’s mouth, and he could tell by looking at Ed Dennis that
the same held true for him. “And we have no other choice? He’s
coming to this unit?”