Detective Peters!
Afraid she might belt him with her purse again, Reid grabbed her wrist and stepped back, directly on top of the pepper spray. The metal canister shot out from underneath him and he flailed backward with one hand while the other pulled Stephanie with him on the way down.
They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, half in and half out of the elevator door, which dinged impatiently when it tried to shut itself on his kidneys. Stephanie struggled to right herself, nearly unmanning him with a pointy kneecap. Reid grabbed her upper arms and tangled his legs with hers in self-defense before barking, Quit it! when she kept squirming. Youre okay!
What the hell was going on?
He shook her again, hoping to get through and she stilled. Froze. Seemed to realize where they were and how. Reid could feel her soft round breasts pressed against his chest, and he could swear he could feel her heart start to pound as the possibilities dawned on her.
Or maybe that was his heart, tempered only by the cop in him that remembered shed been geared for attack when the elevator doors had opened. Though he could neither see nor sense immediate danger, he could feel it thrum through her body and into his.
Or maybe that was something else. Something far more dangerous. Far more insidious.
Its okay, he repeated as the warmth spread and he felt her body soften as his did the opposite. He lowered his voice, Im here, Stephanie. Youre safe.
It was the wrong thing to say, he could feel the change in her, though he couldnt have explained it. She tensed, and he hoped she hadnt just realized that he kept his gun in a shoulder holster, not his pocket. When she pushed herself off him and stood, the imprint of her soft curves hummed along his nerve endings like fire.
Im sorry, Detective Peters. I He could see the shields slam back down, could see her tuck her problems back into that place he couldnt reach and resisted the urge to bare his teeth. Im sorry. Being up here alone gives me the creeps sometimes, especially after what happened last year.
And by God, she wasnt a half-bad liar. She brushed at her sleeves and patted her riotous red hair as though proper grooming would prove that everything was just fine.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Reid stood and resisted the urge to grab her shoulders. He wasnt sure whether he wanted to kiss her or shake her. Or both.
When he glanced pointedly at the pepper spray, she shrugged. I dont usually work this late, and it was so deserted, and the phone kept ringing She broke off. Anyway, Im very sorry I tried to spray you. Lucky for both of us it didnt work. Although She frowned. If youd been anyone else Id have been in trouble.
He bent and picked up the offending canister. You forgot to flip the safety off. He demonstrated. See? Then he tossed it back to her, not caring to ask whether she had a permit. Hed rather she have it than not, given the neighborhood they both worked in.
Now that there was no longer a body obstructing their path, the elevator doors whooshed shut. Irritated with both of themand particularly with the fact that he could practically taste her on his lips though theyd never kissed, Reid jabbed the button marked Lobby before he turned on her. Whats going on, Stephanie? Whats wrong? You can tell me. Im your friend.
He meant it. He wanted to help. He hadnt even told Sturgeon about the Makepeace DNA. Hed said only that it was delayed.
Surprisingly, she snorted. Yeah, and I have great taste when it comes to choosing guys to place my trust in. She leaned back in the elevator car and crossed her arms. Why are you here, Detective Peters? Checking on your test results again? I told you Id have them in a few days.
Reid thought of her embezzling ex-husband Luis. He thought of the ex-boyfriend whod used her to gain access to the Watson lab and almost killed her when she was no longer useful. How could he possibly say, but Im different?
And was he really so different? He carried a gun. He knew how to disappear in Chinatown and how to find information down by Boston Harbor. He dreamed of blood and of a little girls hollow, dead eyes, and when he woke all he wanted to do was curse and hit something like his old man used to do.
She was right. She shouldnt trust him. He wasnt any different than the others. But he still had a job to do.
The doors slid open. It was the end of the line.
She was out in a flash, but he caught her by the arm and tried not to think hed touched more soft female flesh in the previous two minutes than in the prior year.
He steered her toward the big revolving doors at the front of the building, though shed been headed for the back exit. I thought Id walk you home. He could make sure she made it safely. Make sure Maureen and the kid were okay.
Make that damn itch go away.
She balked. You neednt bother, Detective Peters. Ive been getting to and from work for several years now. I know the way.
How about I come over for coffee then?
No. She tried edging around him toward the back exit again, but he held firm and sighed. She wasnt going to make it easy for him.
We could have coffee down at the station, but Im sure yours is much better. What do you say?
As he had long suspected, Stephanie Alberts was anything but stupid. A threat, Detective? On what basis?
He touched a hand to the tender spot on his cheekbone. What the hell did she carry in that purse, anyway? Assaulting a detective, for one. Seeing she was not inclined toward sympathy, he finally said, And tampering with evidence, Stephanie. Her face drained of color and she swayed. For a quick moment he thought she might faint.
But she didnt. She narrowed her eyes. And just what do you mean by that?
So she was going to tough it out. I saw the Makepeace film on your desk. The markers didnt line up. The DNA isnt a match. Youre deliberately obstructing my investigation and I want to know why.
Oh, and youre an expert at reading DNA fingerprints now, are you?
Truth or bluff? Reid wasnt sure he could tell any more. He shook his head. Of course not, but Dr. Watson explained them to me once and they seemed pretty easy. Either the bars line up or they dont.
Her lovely jade eyes narrowed even further. Ever hear of an artifact, Doctor Peters?
He shook his head. Not in the context were talking about, no.
Well, genius, it just so happens that if the thermocycler temperature is wrong when the experiment is run, you can get nonspecific interactions called artifacts. Theyll show up when you develop the film, but not before. Theyre not real results. Just garbage.
Oh, come on, he fired back. That sounds
Plausible. Hell.
He frowned. Then you mean?
She nodded, and a little bit of smugness crept into her expression, pushing the other emotions aside. That film you oh-so-cleverly snitched off my desk didnt mean a thing. Like I told you before, youll have to wait until the end of the week for the test results.
Truth or lie?
Now You want to tell me why you thought it necessary to scrounge around my desk? How would you like it if I went through that notebook of yours?
Hed be damned if hed apologize for doing his job. But he felt the anger recede a bit and wondered whether she might not be telling the truth after all.
Hed be damned if hed apologize for doing his job. But he felt the anger recede a bit and wondered whether she might not be telling the truth after all.
He shrugged. Id probably have kittens. Which reminded him. Oh, hell. She Devil.
The little calico cat had been asleep in his underwear drawer late last night when hed stopped by the house to change his clothes before heading to the station. She looked like shed swallowed a football and it had gotten stuck. Sideways.
That had beenhe glanced at his watchmore than twenty hours earlier. I beg your pardon? Stephanie Alberts drew herself up to her full, imposing height of about five-foot-nothing and tried to look down her nose at him. What did you call me?
If someone had asked him a month ago which came first, the job or a mangy stray cat, Reid wouldve laughed that it was even a question. Now he wavered. Stephanie kept insisting there was nothing wrong, and yet He shook his head. Not you. Theres someone waiting for me at home and Im late. Since youre okay, I think Ill go He gestured toward the revolving door and her eyes narrowed.
I thought you wanted coffee.
Boiling water. Towels. Sharp, sterilized knife. His mind came up with a reasonable-sounding list of items. But what if something went wrong?
Growing up, he hadnt been allowed a pet. Hadnt even known he liked animals until the little scrap of orange and black and white fur had appeared on his fire escape in a blinding rainstorm and howled until he let it in. Sheand the size of the cats stomach left no doubt that it was a shehad eaten an entire can of albacore tuna, scratched his hand and barfed on the ugly Oriental rug hed inherited from the old man.
Reid was hooked.
Hed taken her to the vet, bought a bagful of expensive toys before figuring out that she preferred crumpled balls of wax paper, and after going through a whole box of Band-Aids in the first week, christened the beast She Devil.
He was expecting her to give birth to a litter of demons any minute now, but the blessed event had been pushed from his mind by his worry over a woman who quite clearly neither needed nor wanted his help.
Detective Peters? Coffee?
He shook his head. Not right now, thanks. Stephanie was fine. Shed explained the Makepeace film pretty convincingly, and as for the incident in the elevator, well, just about any woman steeling herself to walk through Chinatown at night could be excused for being nervousespecially considering what had happened in that very lab just the previous year. Okay then, can I give you a lift home?
She shook her head vehemently. No thanks. You just be on your way, and
STEPHANIE WAS TALKING to thin air. Peters had practically sprinted out the revolving door to the street. She blew out a breath and unknotted her fingers from the purse.
This is what shed wanted, right? Shed wanted him to go away and leave her alone. Shed hoped he would buy the artifact story shed cooked up after shed glanced over from her phone conversation and seen him looking at the Makepeace film. Shed prayed he wouldnt insist on drivingor worse, walking her home, leaving her to make the voice on the phone believe that she hadnt told him anything.
So this is a good thing, she told herself firmly. Hes gone and I can go home.
Then why did she feel like scratching the eyes out of the woman Detective Peters was running to? Why did she feel such a twisting sense of betrayal that hed asked her for coffee when he had someone waiting for him?
Not everyone says coffee and means sex, Stephanie, she lectured herself sternly. Her face flushed at the word and her skin heated at the memory of the good, solid bulk of the detectives body beneath hers in the elevator and the heavy warmth that had stolen through her. The quick throb of her pulse as their limbs intertwined, andand shed sworn off men for good.
You have terrible taste, she told herself, dont even go there. And besides, youve done nothing but lie to Detective Peters for the last twelve hours. Thats not exactly a great basis for a lasting relationship.
Or a brief, explosive one. The thought brought a quick liquid heat.
You okay, Miss Alberts? She jolted and shot a glance at the back hall of the lobby, relaxing when she saw the night watchmans familiar stocky form. Though thoughts of the handsome detective were a momentary distraction, the fear that the man on the phone was watching her stayed near. Lurked.
Im fine, Bobby. When had the words Im fine become a mantra? Just heading home. She looked out past the revolving glass doors and suppressed a shudder. She didnt want to go home through the Zone. Not tonight.
Its late, Miss Alberts, why dont you take the catwalk over to the train station? Itll be safer.
She seized the idea gratefully. Usually, she spurned the T because the hospital was a mere ten-minute walk from her house and it took twice that to wait for the train. But tonight the brightly lit, well-guarded MBTA station seemed like heaven. Ill do that, Bobby. Thank you.
So she took the catwalk and waited for the train. But the feeling of being watched didnt go away.
LATER THAT NIGHT, Reid trotted up the old granite steps and banged on the nail-studded door with the cast-iron knocker. There was something to be said for the charm of the Patriot District, he thought as he scanned the narrow cobbled street. There were flower boxes at every window overflowing with period-correct plantings, and a discreet kiosk on the corner filled with brochures.
A sweet slide of saxophone drifted out of the window next door, making Reid think of beignets and open-air cafés.
Though the neighborhoods were only fifteen minutes apart by foot, Patriot was a far cry from the open markets and seedy underbelly of Chinatown. He wasnt sure which he preferred.
He knocked again, and a little wooden window opened in the big wooden door. Jade-green eyes stared out at him.
Well, thats not very safe, he commented. I could stick a gun right through there and start shooting. Arent peepholes considered historically accurate around here? Theyre certainly safer. You never know whos going to come knocking.
The eyes blinked. Then Stephs voice said, Youre absolutely right. Ill keep it closed from now on.
The little window slid shut.
It took him a full minute to realize she wasnt going to open the door.
He knocked again, harder, and started to feel prickles on the back of his neck. On the pretext of scratching his head, he scanned the neat neighborhood again. Nothing. Patriot might be pretty to look at, but there were certainly plenty of places to hide.
Or else he needed a vacation. A long one, with sun and beaches, and curvy redheads wearing string bikinis.
Or lab coats.
Stephanie? I need to talk to you. He knocked, and kept knocking until he heard a dead bolt being shot from inside.
Go away, she said, then contradicted herself by opening the door. What do you want?
Coffee, he said, and pushed his way into the house. Your aunt here?
No. But why dont you come in and make yourself at home? she offered sarcastically as he prowled through the first floor and found nothing amiss. Maureens out for the evening.
He found Stephanies daughter in the living room, playing quietly with a model horse and a stuffed bear. She was galloping the bear around with the horse on the bears back. He supposed it made sense to a three-year-old.