Page 3 of Dark Memories
“I assume you followed instructions and didn’t announce yourself as a detective?” After she nodded, he said, “I’ll tell her that you’re a friend from my past.” By her expression it was obvious that she didn’t like that at all.
“You should still bring in the FBI. Kidnappings are their—”
“No. My daughter’s life is at stake. I want you and only you. I don’t know if there’s someone on the inside involved, and if so, one hint that I’ve contacted the police or FBI could have unacceptable consequences. I’ve given this some thought”—she was going to like this part even less—“and we can let it be known that we’re renewing an old…” He hesitated before saying, “Friendship.”
She gave a hard shake of her head. “No.”
“Yes. Think about it. It would explain your presence. We have photos of us from the past. At least I do.” He paused, waiting for her to admit that she did, too. That she hadn’t burned them. He couldn’t blame her if she had. When she stayed silent, he sighed.
“Please, Delaney. Kali is my life, my reason for breathing. She’s all I have, and I can’t lose her. If you can turn your back on a little girl needing your help and expertise, then walk out the door right now.”
He knew why she’d become a detective and had followed her career. If she walked out, she wasn’t the woman he thought she was. There was a hardness to her that hadn’t been there when they’d been together, even after all she’d gone through. He supposed seeing the underbelly of life up close and personal could do that to a cop.
Although there was a hard glint in her eyes that he didn’t like, she really was stunning. The hair that he’d loved combing his fingers through was still striking with its different shades of blonde, from ash to honey colors. Her eyes were closer to amber than brown, and her skin tone was creamy and flawless. Then there were the pouty lips that he’d never been able to get enough of kissing.
When they’d been together, she hadn’t worn much makeup, and it still didn’t look as if she did. She’d never needed much. He used to love watching her get ready to go out, and he had her ritual memorized.
Moisturizer, one brush of pale pink over each cheek, three strokes of mascara on each lash, and sometimes a little brown shadow on her lids, depending on how dressed up she was getting. Her final touch was the bubble-gum flavored lip gloss that he’d invariably kiss off before they managed to get out the door. She would pretend to be mad at him for that, but her laughter and eyes shimmering with desire betrayed her every single time.
He leaned forward, put his hands on the desk, and stared hard at her. He’d hoped not to have to resort to what he was about to say, but he was desperate. “There’s no one better than you to help me find her, Delaney. You’ve been where I am now. You can hate me all you want, but I know you’ll do everything in your power and use every tool at your disposal to keep another girl from…” He couldn’t finish. Even as desperate as he was, he couldn’t cut open a wound that he was certain was still raw.
Rage flashed in her eyes, but he ignored it. “Please, I’m begging you.”
“Damn you, Zach.” She let out a sigh of defeat. “I have conditions.”
That didn’t surprise him. She’d always been one to think two steps ahead of everyone else, including him sometimes. “They are?”
“No touching and no talking about the past. That’s it for now, but I reserve the right to add more if necessary.”
“Deal.” His fingers itched to touch her and there were things from their past they needed to talk about, but to save his daughter, he’d agree to anything.
She reached into her no-nonsense black purse and took out a notepad and pen. “Tell me everything that happened this morning from the time you got up.”
What he wanted to do was drag her out the door with him and start tearing the town apart until he had Kali back. He tamped down his impatience, let out a worried breath, and began to talk.
Chapter Two
Harry tried to pretend her heart was beating its normal calm rate, but the banging against her rib cage made that impossible. Her heart was a traitorous thing, wanting what it could not have. What she’d never let it have even if Zach offered her a second chance. He’d broken her, and she’d never allow a man to have that much power over her again, especially him.
Her mind wandered as he went through his morning routine of making breakfast and getting his daughter ready for school. He’d been lean and wiry when they’d been together, mostly because he and his brothers had never had enough to eat growing up.
By the time she met him, he’d started Jamison International, buying failing companies, and then either selling them off when he had them in the black or keeping the ones that interested him. He’d begun small with mom-and-pop businesses, but now he’d moved beyond acquiring the little fish in the sea, going for the whales. And yes, in spite of telling herself not to, she’d kept current on his doings.
The lean and wiry young man had grown admirably into his body. Even in a suit that probably cost three or four months of her salary, she could tell that he was muscled. Not that she cared. His brown hair, once curling over his collar and often in need of a haircut, was styled to perfection, short on the sides with soft curls on the top. The bump from a fight with one of his brothers—Robbie, she thought she remembered him saying—was the only flaw on the long blade of his nose. She’d always liked that bump. It kept him from being too perfect. His brown eyes, ones she could drown in—no, ones she used to drown in—had locked on her from the moment she’d walked into his office, never leaving her face. It made her want to squirm, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Larson, that’s Kali’s bodyguard, arrived to take her to school, and—”
“Wait. She has a bodyguard? Where is he?”
“Yes, she does. I’m worth a fair amount of money and a target to anyone with intentions to help themselves to some of it. He’s in a private room right now in the hospital with a gunshot wound to his knee and under instructions not to talk to anyone until you and I get there. Your captain agreed that you would be the one to question him, so she pulled off the first two detectives who caught the case. Larson’s knee is shattered, and we’re waiting for an orthopedic surgeon to examine him. I’ve arranged for Dr. Klinger from Denver to see him this afternoon. He’s the best in Colorado.”
“Do you trust Larson?”
“With my daughter’s life? Yeah, I do… or I did. He’s been her bodyguard since she started going to school, and they adore each other. But honestly, at this point the only person I don’t suspect is you.”
“Does he walk her to school or drive her?”
“Drives her. He was pretty out of it when they brought him in, so I still don’t know the exact details of what happened.” He stood. “Let’s go find out.”
