Chapter 9 #2
“It was over pretty quickly. That’s all that happened.” Kira shifted her weight from one foot to the other, ready to get out of here.
Two uniformed police officers had arrived quickly, followed by Detective Mike Martinelli, who seemed to be a friend of Luca’s. He was the one who’d asked her all the questions about the incident, as he called it, while the other cops put the man in the back of their car.
“Have you ever met him before?” Detective Martinelli was a little shorter than Luca, probably five-nine. He had dark hair and Mediterranean features. Sharp, intelligent eyes. Okay, fine. He was cute.
Luca had stood by her the entire way through the questioning.
He’d come to her rescue after they both realized there was something off about the man in the elevator.
She hadn’t realized then what would happen, assuming more that he would try to mug her or something like that.
The fact he’d wanted information wasn’t something she’d expected.
“We’ve never met before,” Kira said. “But I think I know who he is.”
“He had his wallet on him, so we have his name. Stuart Parker.”
“I think he’s the boyfriend or husband of a woman I helped. Frankie…Hesburgh, I think.” She crossed her arms. “She came in with all kinds of cuts and bruises as well as cracked ribs. It was clear it might be a domestic-violence type of situation, so my staff would have reported it to the police.”
She told the detective and Luca about seeing the woman in the park and putting her in a rideshare car to take her to the shelter. “It wasn’t much, but I figured they might be able to help her.”
Detective Martinelli looked up from his notepad. “Something like that might have saved her life.”
“And on top of that, considering it seems like someone told him what you did, it put you in the line of fire.” Luca shrugged. “Whether you were aware of it or not.”
He couldn’t be suggesting she should’ve stayed out of it. “I wasn’t going to leave her there and not help her. And I can take care of myself.”
Detective Martinelli glanced between them.
Luca said, “I wasn’t criticizing what you did. Helping people isn’t a bad thing, but something like this comes with risk.”
“Then it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She wasn’t going to back down on that, not when it was such a small thing to book a car for the lady.
But the last thing she’d expected was this.
Maybe the fear was just coming as a delayed reaction, because her hands started to shake now. Her breaths came quick, and all she could think about were fingers around her neck. A strong grip.
His face over her, determined to squeeze the life from her.
Luca snagged her hand with his, anchoring her in the moment, here and now. Enabling her to take a full breath.
Detective Martinelli said, “We ran his name, and Stuart Parker has a record for possession. He did three years a while back and managed to get off probation before there were a couple of calls out for domestic violence. Neighbors complaining about the noise.” His expression shifted.
“You did what you could, and we’ll take him in, but he will probably be back on the streets by tomorrow, pending a court case.
If this guy bothers you again, Dr. Yassan, please call it in. ”
She nodded. “Thank you, Detective.”
He wandered away to the patrol car, and Luca said, “I wasn’t implying you did anything wrong.”
“Good, because I didn’t.” She found her bravado, the rush of fear gone now. Out like the tide.
He gave her a small smile as if he thought she was cute.
He had to know she could protect herself if needed. Sure, she tended to avoid dangerous situations, but that didn’t mean she was weak. Even if she felt weak sometimes.
“I’m going to start carrying my pepper spray again.” She shook her head. “I figured a place like this wasn’t a real urban big city with high crime, and maybe I could let my guard down. That might not be the case.”
“Anywhere you are, it’s worth being cautious and taking measures to protect yourself. That’s just the world we live in.” His expression shifted, and she saw an unspoken question.
She wanted him to ask. “What is it?”
“At first, I wondered if what was happening just now had to do with the case I’ve been working for the last few months.”
“You don’t think it’s about the shadow syndicate you mentioned?”
He shook his head. “But now we know it’s connected to a patient you helped, at least we can rule out that someone is targeting me or you for looking into crime in Renegade.”
“I still can’t believe that Jenkins would tell you Ralph Rousseau is the one behind all of it.
Just because he was implicated doesn’t mean he’s the head of the whole thing.
” She shook her head and leaned back against the side of her car, her arms still folded.
Distractions were good. Talking about something that had nothing to do with what’d just happened was even better.
“It being Ralph just doesn’t make any sense to me. ”
“I’m going to be looking into the whole case against Jenkins and everything that Ralph was accused of over the next couple of days, just to see if I can find anything amiss. Probably while I’m on protection detail for our patient.”
The idea that he could dig into someone’s life like that and go through all their financials was more than a little unsettling.
What if he decided to look up her monetary history?
Kira had done a whole lot to make sure there wasn’t much to find beyond the usual smart investments if anyone went looking.
But one way or another, the truth always came out eventually.
Kira pushed those fleeting thoughts from her mind. “Are you going to look into the foundation, or are you just looking at Ralph’s business accounts that are connected to what he was supposed to have done?”
If she saw Destiny, she would have to employ some of her spy skills to keep the other woman from becoming aware that someone was looking into her.
“I probably should look at all of it, not just what we’ve gone over so far.
We’re past the time when we can assume something isn’t connected.
People who are into criminal activities usually try to hide their revenue in offshore accounts or other places they can launder the money to make it look clean.
Like a nonprofit. There could easily be hidden accounts we don’t know about, things only my friend would be able to find.
” Luca thought for a second. “For all we know, the foundation is just a cover for them. They could be using it as a way to collect the money from their illegal activity and make it look legit.”
“That’s what you’re going to be looking for evidence of?”
He nodded. “I know she’s a friend of yours, but if she’s up to something…”
“You intend to find it?”
“Yes.”
Kira looked at him. “She’s an associate, but I’m not sure I would really call her a friend, even though we play tennis regularly. I don’t actually have many friends at all. I’ve never trusted people easily. You get burned one way or another.”
“You’ll still feel it if it turns out she’s part of this shadow syndicate.” His gaze on her softened. “Even if she’s someone you trust only a little, it will sting to find out she’s been lying to you.”
“I’ll be more bothered about the fact the foundation is a sham.” Kira had an idea. “Maybe I should go to that gala and find out for sure. There has to be a way to tell if it’s legit when they’re fundraising and showing off, giving this big presentation.”
He shrugged. “She wouldn’t be doing the gala if she didn’t have it all buttoned up and squared away. I doubt you’re going to find a hole in the operation at a public event like that.”
“So come with me and we can figure out a way to dig beneath the surface while we’re there.
” Sure, she’d invited him to be her plus-one at the event.
But it wasn’t exactly a date when they would only be going to dig up information and find the truth.
She continued, “I don’t believe Destiny has anything to do with some shadowy crime syndicate in Renegade.
Even if her husband does, I doubt she’s part of it.
But I guess we won’t know for sure unless we find out. ”
Otherwise, all he had were theories and accusations with no evidence. It wasn’t like he could act on anything without proof, which meant there was a need to dig further.
“Do you have a suit?”
He smiled, lifting his chin a little. “Yes, I have a suit. I think you’ll like it.”
“Oh, really?” That sounded like a whole lot of promise from a handsome man.
“I’m guessing whatever you wear, I’m going to like a whole lot.” A little boyish glint of amusement lit his eyes. Softening the warrior until he seemed to be more like a man with a serious crush—if not more than that.
She didn’t like the teenage fluttering in her stomach, because it meant things were changing.
Kira liked her static, comfortable life that didn’t shift much.
She liked it a whole lot better than the unknown.
But for a guy like Luca, who had stuck around and protected her from danger today, it just might be worth the risk to see what happened.
To trust that God was doing something in her life and it would be good.
She smiled, keeping her expression placid. “I was planning on wearing a dress made out of rice bags, in honor of the occasion. It might not be stylish, but I’ll be making a political point about starving people across the world. So really, it’s not about looking good.”
Luca chuckled. “This is where I say that you’d make anything look good.”
“And I would know that you don’t mean it.” She shoved his shoulder playfully. “Of course I’m going to wear a fabulous dress. Any occasion is a good occasion for that. And I happen to have experience gathering intel and passing it to people who will make the world safer.”
He looked at her as if he was proud of her, answering a question that had been inside her for longer than she wanted to admit.
Kira wasn’t the kind of woman who needed a man to make her feel complete. That was something the Lord was supposed to do. But the missing piece of who her father should’ve been, and the family she should have had, was something she would always be aware of.
A family of her own would be one of the biggest blessings she might receive.
“I like this plan.” He stepped closer. “I like this plan a lot.”
His arms slid around her waist, and he moved into her space. She unfolded her arms and rested her hands on his shoulders.
“I figure there’s potential here for us to make a pretty good team.” She paused a second, then said, “You know, gathering evidence of crime in Renegade.”
The skin around his eyes contracted. “Right. Investigating.”
“Not that I’m going to quit my job and become your sidekick.” Hadn’t she already said that? This man was scrambling her brain.
“I remember.” He smiled, again looking like he thought she was adorable.
“One day I’ll give you the rundown of my résumé.”
“Or you could come with me to the gym and we can work out. See what other kinds of skills you have.”
If he wanted to test her ability to defend herself, that was fine with her. But she much preferred banter. “I think that might be more of a third date kind of activity.”
He grinned, but it didn’t last long. “Cards on the table, I do need to know what you can do. Then I won’t be asking too much of you and putting you at risk. That’s a nonnegotiable.”
“And if I need that door to swing both ways?” She knew he had all that military training, but what was he prepared to do on a local level when they had no idea what they were going up against? “I might need to know how long it takes you to pick a lock or hack a computer.”
“Or copy a flash drive?”
“I’ll have you know I’m much better at that these days.” She lifted her chin. “Well, better than I was when we first met.” Kira blew out a breath. “I didn’t do anything today, so maybe I’m rustier than I realized.”
He should be looking at her as if he was in awe of her amazing skills, but he wasn’t. “I’m glad I was here.”
Me too. But she needed this conversation to swing back to banter. “If either of us had the time, I’d say we go head-to-head in a series of challenges. See who comes out on top.”
“It’s probably good we have this Marshals thing and the gala coming up. I wouldn’t want you to be too embarrassed when I soundly beat you.”
She lifted her brows, wanting to laugh. “Overconfidence. That’s an interesting tactic. And a great way to trip and fall over your own ego.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”
She didn’t plan to trip and fall. Unless this suit of his was really something.
Kira leaned forward so their faces were close enough their lips almost touched. His eyes flared. She said, “Bring it on.”