Fury whipped through me.
Well, that’s all right. I’m sure Detective Barlow will understand that in your distraught state you merely stumbled down the stairs.
I ripped the top off my cup and dashed the hot coffee in his face.
He released me…scrubbed at his scalded eyes.
I bolted toward the next level. Only two more—
Adcock snagged the back of my shirt.
I grabbed the railing for balance, kicked backward, elbowed him, tried to knock him off balance.
One hand twisted in my hair, yanked me backward.
My fingers slid down the cold metal railing, couldn’t grab on again.
I twisted…clawed…kicked.
Then I remembered what Barlow had taught me.
Surrender.
I stopped fighting so hard, let him get a firm hold on me.
He grinned hatefully at me.
This shouldn’t hurt for long.
When he would have shoved me over the rail, I grabbed onto it with one hand and slammed my full body weight into his unsuspecting frame.
For one fraction of a second he teetered, reached frantically for me, then gravity took over and he tumbled down the stairs, landing in an awkward sprawl.
Barlow was suddenly at my side, checking me for injury, then moving down to take a look at Adcock. He jerked the bastard’s hands together and cuffed him, then moved back up to where I stood, paralyzed.
Can’t a guy even go for coffee without running into trouble?
“Sorry you missed all the excitement,” I said, my voice still wobbling.
I tried to catch up with you in the cafeteria, saw you head for the stairs when I got back to the elevator.
He glanced down at Adcock.
I knew he was hiding something,
Barlow said.
I just hadn’t figured out what.
He took me into his arms and I collapsed there…didn’t want to think anymore.
By early that afternoon Mason Conrad had regained consciousness. Chief Kent had taken a statement from him. Barlow and I, both looking worse for the wear, still waited to hear the rest of the story.
Adcock’s broken leg and concussion had been attended to. He was under guard in another room and refusing to talk.
At least some part of this nightmare would have a decent ending, I mused. Adcock would get his. Considering how many cops as well as civilians who had died because of Luther Hammond, Adcock wouldn’t be getting offered any plea bargains. Besides, Metro had an ace in the hole: Mason Conrad. He knew Luther Hammond’s business inside and out.
Chief Kent entered the waiting room and both Barlow and I were on our feet. I felt reasonably certain he was as sore and achy as I was, but he didn’t let on so I didn’t, either.
Conrad wants to talk to you,
Chief Kent said to me.
A flutter in my tummy elicited a smile on my lips. “Now?”
The chief nodded.
Just keep it brief.
I turned back to Barlow, knowing this wouldn’t sit well with him.
Give us a moment,
he said to the chief.
Chief Kent relented and stepped back into the corridor.
My attention settled back on Barlow. Sometime during the course of events, he’d gotten a stitch at the corner of his lip. His jaw was still swollen and the color of recent hand-to-hand combat had set in. My heart stumbled. He’d tried so hard to protect me. Had risked his life…just like the other man down the hall. My emotions surged anew, confusing me all the more.
You did a good job, Merri.
Emotion threatened my flimsy hold on composure. Why now? Couldn’t he have saved this speech for later? We’d been sitting in this stupid waiting room for hours! He had to go and make me all emotional now?
I’m very proud of you,
he went on.
The city of Nashville owes you a great debt. Luther Hammond was a menace and now he’s gone. Many more wrongs will be set to right with Cecilia’s and Conrad’s testimony. None of this would have happened without your help.
Cecilia had fessed up a few hours ago as well. I couldn’t help experiencing a little extra glee over that one.
“Thank you.”
Barlow reached out, touched my cheek so gently. His own eyes looked suspiciously bright just then.
I don’t want this to be the end.
He looked away a moment before letting his gaze fix firmly on mine once more.
I want to finish that business we started, but I understand you have other things to do first. I’ll be waiting.
Somehow I managed to bob my head up and down. He still wanted to see where this thing between us might go. He’d said so earlier, but our emotions had been too raw, the insanity too fresh to make sense of how we felt. There really were no words to explain how I felt at that moment. Maybe it was still too soon.
Sensing my loss for words, he left it at that and we joined the chief in the too-quiet corridor. I felt beyond numb…confused…relieved…and so damned exhausted.
This way,
Chief Kent said to me.
I knew that Barlow followed, but he stayed some distance behind us. When we reached the intensive care unit, Chief Kent hesitated.
Merri, when you’ve had time to come to terms with all that’s happened, I want you to know that my offer still stands. Whenever you’re ready there’s a place in Metro for you. I’m thinking you would be most at home in our crime-scene investigation unit. If you choose to return to the archives, I can live with that as well.
He patted me on the shoulder.
You think about it and let me know.
“I will.”
I barely kept my emotions at bay as I moved into the ICU and on to where the guards waited outside Mason Conrad’s cubicle. The doctor was just coming out.
Don’t push him,
he advised sternly.
And don’t keep him talking too long.
“I’ll keep it short,” I assured him.
The doctor didn’t look happy about it, but he let me pass.
Mason Conrad looked as pale as the sheets covering him, and a barrage of medical equipment monitored his vitals. He’d taken that bullet for me, almost paid the ultimate price for knowing too much. I owed him more than I could possibly ever hope to repay. Despite knowing what I did about who and what he was, I couldn’t prevent feeling immensely grateful to him.
He watched as I moved to his bedside. “Looks like you’re going to make it,” I said. I felt my voice wobble, but I ushered a cheery smile into place. At least I hoped it was cheery. I tried really hard.
Looks like,
he agreed. He moistened his lips. They looked dry and cracked.
A cup of water with a straw inserted into it sat on the bedside table. “Is it okay for you to have more water?”
He nodded. I put the straw to his lips and waited while he took a few sips before I set it aside.
You fooled me.
The look in his eyes was definitely not what I had expected from a man reported to be a coldhearted killer. To be honest, I hadn’t known what to expect. No one was more startled than me when the chief announced that he wanted to talk to me or that he intended to cooperate fully with the police.
“I did what I had to do,” I admitted.
A barely discernible nod acknowledged my statement.
I’m going to cooperate with Chief Kent,
he said.
If I’m lucky maybe I’ll get off a little lighter.
“That’s good.” I was glad he’d decided to do the right thing. I wanted something good to come of all this.
He grimaced with the effort of reaching out and taking my hand. I didn’t draw away. A ghost of a smile haunted one corner of his mouth.
You made me remember what it feels like to want someone like you. Someone sweet and innocent. Now I wish I could forget.
My pulse fluttered, making me light-headed. I had to get back on neutral territory here. I remembered something he’d said to me my first night at Hammond’s mansion. “You told me you had a sister who was blind. What happened to her?” I worked hard at keeping my respiration even, but it was not easy. My emotions were still too raw.
She died. Let the wrong kind of man take advantage of her.
It was obvious that the memory still pained him.
“I’m sorry.”
He squeezed my hand.
You just make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
I tried not to ask. I really did. I bit my lip. Considered just saying goodbye and getting the hell out, but I couldn’t. I had to know.
“Mason…” I winced at having stepped into personal territory. I’d already let him hold my hand. Any sense of professionalism I’d ever possessed seemed to be curiously absent at the moment…or maybe being too damned curious was the problem. “Mr. Conrad—”
Mason.
There was no mistaking the look in my eyes now. He remembered quite well exactly what put us on a first-name basis, beyond his insisting I call him that.
I blushed from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. “Okay. Mason. Adcock was connected to Hammond, but turned on him, is that right?”
He nodded.
He kept Hammond informed until two weeks ago. He didn’t mention you. We suspected he was working with Vargas and Mathers in the end.
It boggled my mind. How was one supposed to tell the good guys from the bad guys anymore? I sighed. That’s what people like Steven Barlow were for…and maybe me, though I felt lost just now.
“Thank you…” I let him see in my eyes the sincerity of my words. “For saving my life.” I blinked back the tears that crested on my lashes. “I’ll check on you tomorrow,” I told him. I had to get out of here. Had to clear my head of all the confusion and look at this whole situation from a more objective place. I backed away a couple of steps. “Take care.”
He nodded.
You, too. Let me know if there’s anything about us you can’t forget.
I turned away before I said or did something I might regret. I walked past the guards without slowing. Kent and Barlow waited outside the ICU.
“I need to go home.” I walked away without waiting for a response or without even a glance at Barlow. I couldn’t take any more of this. It was no longer about work. I’d begun to wonder if it ever really had been.
Ten o’clock had come and gone that night before I prepared for bed. I’d spent most of the evening with my family. Everyone was excited about Chief Kent’s offer except me. I was far too exhausted, too emotionally drained, to work up any enthusiasm for anything.
Even after a long, hot bath I felt confused and torn. Torn about what I wanted to do with my future. Torn between two men who evoked very specific yet different feelings in me.
I cinched the belt of my fluffy terry-cloth robe and padded to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. As tired as I was, sleep seemed a fleeting hope at best.
I set the kettle on the stove and turned on the flame, then dumped the cocoa mix into my cup. Might as well check out the movie offerings for tonight. My mother always said a watched pot never boiled. No use hanging around the kitchen waiting for the water to get hot.
As I shuffled into the living room, the red light above my front door flashed, warning me that someone had rung my doorbell. I looked at the clock again. Surely one of my brothers hadn’t come out at this time of night to check on me. I swear. How would I ever get it through their thick skulls that I could take care of myself?
I opened the door, expecting to launch my well-cited independence tirade but quickly snapped my mouth shut when my gaze landed on Steven Barlow.
May I come in?
He still looked like hell, but he’d cleaned up. Wore another of those nice suits like the one I’d admired the first time I’d laid eyes on him. I wondered vaguely if he’d had to attend some sort of meeting, then I remembered there had been a press conference. I didn’t go, Metro still wanted to keep me a secret.
“Sure. Would you like some hot chocolate?”
He thought about the question a second too long, but then surprised me with,
I’d love it.
I supposed that guys like him generally got offered a gin and tonic or bourbon and cola. I, Merri Walters, had hot chocolate. Innocent. Naive. Yes, apparently, I was, indeed, both of those things. But not quite as much as I used to be…I’d seen and experienced too much.
When the hot chocolate steamed from our cups and we’d both taken a seat in my small but comfortable living room, he eventually got around to coming out with what he was doing here at this time of night.
Chief Kent has asked me if I’d like the chief of Homicide position.
For the first time in days I felt a genuine smile stretch across my mouth. Finally, something to celebrate. “That’s great! I hope you accepted.”
He held up a hand as if to slow my enthusiasm.
I did, but there are hoops we have to jump through before it’s official.
“Wow.” Now, that was true justice. No one in Metro deserved the promotion more than Steven Barlow. I could vouch for that.
He braced his forearms on his knees and zeroed that piercing blue gaze in on mine.
I want you there with me, Merri. We need your kind of keen perception studying these cases. You don’t have to chase down the bad guys or go undercover, just help us with the details. Nobody’s better at that than you. I know Chief Kent already made you the offer, I’m asking you to seriously consider it.
With sudden clarity I recognized exactly what I wanted to do. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Chief Barlow.” My smile widened to a teasing grin.
That sexy, lopsided smile claimed his face before he could stop it and he winced at the pain generated by the move.
My hands flew to my mouth. “That had to hurt.”
It was worth it.
He reached across the table and took my hand.
You’re very special, Merri.
I sighed, but this time it had nothing to do with frustration or exhaustion. It was about satisfaction, a feeling of finally comprehending on a small level what I wanted in life. It suddenly felt very good to be me. “I’m still a little confused,” I admitted, laying down the boundaries right off the bat. “I need to go slow with this personal stuff…sort out my feelings.”