Chapter 13
More than ever, Rafe wished Allison hadn’t joined them on this trip. That message on the bathroom mirror was a grim warning, but for what, he didn’t know.
Her sister’s belongings hadn’t been touched.
Allison insisted on cleaning up and not calling the police or telling her sister. She scrubbed the lipstick off the mirror as he silently helped pick up her clothing off the floor.
Rafe held up a pair of fire-engine red panties with lace. Nice. Under normal conditions, he’d tease her about them.
Instead he stuffed them into her backpack.
Much as he disagreed with her not calling the authorities, he understood. As he picked up shards of her shattered electronic tablet, he vowed to keep a closer eye on Allison.
Somehow he knew this vandalism was connected to her sister.
By the time they finished, he saw Diana approach on the sidewalk and he whistled to Allison.
She emerged from the bathroom and immediately embraced Rafe, looking up at him with a smile.
Again, the act. Pretending they were lovers. Too bad it wasn’t real.
The door unlocked. Instead of releasing her—damn, she felt amazing in his arms—Rafe simply glanced at her sister.
“Pardon,” he murmured. “Didn’t realize you’d be back so soon.”
Interest sparked on her face. Diana shrugged. “I can leave if you two need more time.”
“We’re fine.” Allison wriggled out of Rafe’s firm embrace. “We should get on the road anyway. Go get ready. I’m all packed.”
She walked with him outside. He hated that this happened to her, and he worried about her. Allison was a gutsy woman, but a break-in like this, a targeted one, had to shake her.
“Why didn’t you want to tell her?” he asked gently.
Allison sighed and pushed at her long braid. “Because my focus remains on getting her to elope with Paul, far from his family. How can I do that if she knows someone broke into our room?”
He gave her a level look. “Is someone after you, Allison? It’s odd her things were not touched.”
A deep sigh. “I’m not sure. There is a guy who I blew off at the first stop on this ride. His name is Dan Johnson, and we rode together last year.”
“That guy you were talking with at the cultural center? Friends or lovers?”
The blunt question made her cheeks pink. “More than friends, but after one night, I told him it was over. I reminded him again yesterday I wasn’t interested. He wasn’t happy. I think he wanted to reignite our relationship. Not that we really had one.”
Why did he feel relief Allison wasn’t interested in that guy at the center? Rafe knew his feelings went beyond the job.
He needed to focus on the job, not his male interest in Allison Lexington.
“Who knew you were going on the Teddy Bear Run?”
She fingered the end of her braid. “Nearly everyone.”
Rafe thought hard. Chances were it was this Dan Johnson, but anyone could find out Allison’s location with a few questions about the riders and their routes.
“But Dan Johnson thought you had a relationship, and he had a chance to score again, until you blew him off. And he knew you were riding with my group, so he knew you were staying here.”
Most of the group leaders listed the itinerary of their rides and shared motel information in case someone got stranded.
Allison continued to play with her braid. “It was probably him. He must have seen us talking. He might be jealous of you.”
“Because he thinks, like Diana does, that we’re lovers?”
An inhalation of breath, dilated eyes and a galloping pulse suggested she liked the idea. Rafe’s blood stirred at the thought. He couldn’t deny the attraction between them.
Acting on it was another matter. Allison had been off-limits last year while working as a confidential informant. Now? He couldn’t risk any personal feelings for her.
Then she shrugged again. “Maybe.”
Giving her a searching look, he shook his head. “Regardless, I’m sticking close by you. This kind of personal attack could happen again.”
“Are you saying we should share a room?” Her comment came with biting sarcasm.
“If we did, you know what would happen,” he said softly.
Allison’s breath hitched again. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
“And I’m riding right behind you. Sam will take the lead and you’ll be next to last, in front of me.”
“Rafe...” She gave a little laugh. “You weren’t so concerned last year when you made me a CI. You had faith I could handle those guys.”
“That was different. This attack was personal, directed only at you. That message on the mirror had your name on it. I don’t want you in the back of the group, just in case whoever did this gets behind you.”
He hoped she would follow reason. The thought of Allison alone on the road, with some jealous nutcase after her, perhaps finding her alone at a rest stop, made him worried.
More than other women he knew, Allison was so independent she’d refuse help for the sake of her pride.
Pride could easily get her hurt, or worse.
To his relief she nodded. “Okay. I get it. If Diana wasn’t with me, I’d go off on my own. Get it? I’m not one for following rules.”
He rubbed his neck ruefully. “I know. Who is this Dan? What does he do?”
Never one to miss anything, Allison shook her head. “Why? So you can do a background check and start questioning him? If it is him, I’ll handle it. It’s my business.”
“And it’s my group, and I make it my business to ensure everyone in the group is safe for the duration of this ride.”
Maybe because she was tired, she finally capitulated and told him. “Last I heard, he worked as a welder for Markey Brothers Construction in Oviedo, Florida.”
Rafe made a mental note to check into this Dan and question him about his whereabouts. If Dan was following Allison and did this, well, Dan would find himself on the receiving end of a little old-fashioned justice. If it involved Rafe’s fists and Dan’s mouth, well, so be it.
The thought made him nearly laugh. Rafael Rodriguez, straitlaced FBI man turned rogue biker.
“Good. Get your stuff and we’ll leave in ten.”
* * *
The weather held off for them through most of southern Georgia, but when they were south of Atlanta, Rafe radioed to Sam to take a break at the next rest stop.
Indigo storm clouds gathered north of them.
As they pulled off, Rafe squinted at the sky.
Time for rain gear and getting the hell off the interstate.
He’d changed their route, sticking to the busy highway instead of the smaller and prettier back roads because chances were this Dan Johnson would take the less traveled route.
But now the hazards outweighed everything else. Even if they rode in the slow lane, avoiding the middle of the lane to skirt oil slicks, the traffic would grow worse around Atlanta.
Traffic was always bad around Atlanta, and Rafe didn’t want their little group breaking apart due to impatient drivers weaving in and out. With this threat to Allison, he’d make sure to check his mirrors to see if anyone followed them.
He made a quick call to Jase, asking him to find out everything and anything on Dan Johnson.
By the time everyone emerged from the restroom and they were donning their rain gear, Jase called back.
“Hey, Rafe. One Dan Johnson, background check. Guy is clean. No arrests, not even a traffic ticket. Pinged his cell phone and he’s riding through Atlanta now.”
Rafe’s mouth curled into a smile as Jase gave him the number. He thanked him and hung up.
Next, he dialed Dan Johnson’s number.
“Who is this?” Johnson demanded.
“Never mind who this is. I’m on the Teddy Bear Run and I have questions about Allison Lexington. I’m riding with her. What are your intentions toward her?”
A short laugh. “Intentions? None. Allison? Nice chick, but too independent for me. I like them needy.”
“Where were you last night?” Rafe asked.
“What’s it to you, dickwad?”
“Answer me or I have a few friends in law enforcement who will make certain you will stay stuck in Atlanta traffic, asswipe.”
He could almost hear Dan swallow his own spit.
“I was staying at the Dollar Night motel in Lakeland City. Listen, buddy, I have no intentions toward Ally. She’s a friend, nothing more, and she made it clear about that last year.
Last night I picked up a chick in Gainesville and we spent the night together. I can give you her number...”
Rafe hung up, pondering.
Sam, sitting next to him on his bike, looked amused. “Girlfriend problems with Allison? Or potential girlfriend problems?”
He palmed his cell and scowled. “Allison’s room got broken into this morning while she and her sister were at breakfast. Ally thought it was this Dan Johnson she had an affair with last year on the Teddy Bear Run, but the guy swears he was with another woman last night.”
Sam dropped the smirk. “Damn, Rafe. You believe him?”
“I do. I don’t know if I believe Allison, though. I think she used this Dan as an excuse to keep me from questioning her further about who could have trashed her things.”
“Why?”
After listening to his quick summary of the problems with Diana and her impending marriage, and Allison’s quest to push her sister into eloping, Sam scowled. “Let me know what you need from me, Rafe. You know I’m here for you.”
* * *
Her sister was proving to be more high-maintenance than she’d ever anticipated.
Diana admitted she returned to the room while Allison was getting breakfast and “may have forgotten to lock the door.”
Well, that explained how someone broke in. They walked inside. Allison grit her teeth as she followed Diana in single file as they rode north on the interstate. Checking her mirror, she saw Rafe directly behind her.
Usually she resented being shadowed, but his presence on the bike felt reassuring. Diana may have been in blissful disregard for her sister’s welfare. Not Rafe.
It felt good to have someone looking after her needs for a change.
The leather seat beneath her cushioned her bottom and the bike’s throaty rumble reassured her. She focused on the road, trying not to think of who targeted her.
Dan Johnson wasn’t the likely burglar. Dan was always on the prowl and probably found someone else to warm his bed.
She’d only tossed that name at Rafe to get him off her case.
Allison groaned as she realized her mistake.
Rafe was thorough. He probably already used his FBI sources to track down Dan.
It might have been one of the other guys she’d ridden with last year. The possibilities were endless.
But why would someone trash all her belongings and then write a warning for her to turn back?