Imminent Affair
Imminent Affair
Sheri WhiteFeather
Allie Whirlwind is well versed in the arts of the unexplained and has been known to see ghosts.But when she comes home to find a warning in red paint: This Is For Daniel, she knows she's dealing with a flesh-and-blood predator. Daniel Deer Runner was a military man and Allie's best friend–until the injury he incurred saving her life left him with amnesia–and no memory of their attraction.As they search for clues to her stalker, forgotten memories surface…and unstoppable passion sparks. Yet someone out there will kill to keep Daniel from falling for Allie again….
Daniel returned with two frosty glasses of ice water. As the water wet her lips, she battled what she’d been battling all day: the desire to kiss him.
“Are you scared?” he asked.
“Yes.” But not just of the stalker. She was afraid of the constant hunger, too.
“I’ll keep you safe, Allie. I swear I will.”
“I know. I trust you.”
“If you have trouble sleeping tonight, you can come to my room.”
The glass almost slipped from her hand. “You’re inviting me to sleep with you?”
“Not with me. Beside me. We won’t do anything.”
“We won’t?” This was the strangest conversation she’d ever had.
“No. I mean, we can control our urges.” He searched her expression. “Right?”
Did he need to prove that they could keep their relationship at a no-sex level, even if they shared the same bed? Was that why he’d made the offer? Or was he truly worried about her being alone, steeped in stalker nightmares? She suspected it was a combination of both.
Dear Reader,
This story has been a long time coming. Allie Whirlwind and Daniel Deer Runner appeared in Never Look Back, my 2006 Silhouette Bombshell. Since then, I’ve received numerous e-mails about them. Readers kept asking if their romance was going to continue. You see, at the end of Never Look Back, Allie had just sent her former lover to the Apache Underworld, and Daniel, the WARRIOR SOCIETY member who saved her life, was awakening from a coma.
So here it is….
Imminent Affair.
For those of you who remember Allie and Daniel, this book is for you. For those of you who haven’t met them yet, this book is also for you. Within the pages of Imminent Affair, Allie and Daniel enter a new phase of their lives. Dangerous, yes, but loving, too. Which is, after all, the wonder and beauty of romantic suspense.
Love,
Sheri WhiteFeather
Imminent Affair
Sheri Whitefeather
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SHERI WHITEFEATHER
pens a variety of romances for Silhouette Books. She has earned several prestigious readers’ and reviewers’ choice awards and become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories.
Sheri’s hobbies include decorating with antiques and shopping in thrift stores for vintage clothes. Currently, she lives in a cowboy community in Central Valley, California.
She loves to hear from her readers. To contact Sheri, visit her Web site at www.SheriWhiteFeather.com.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 1
Allie Whirlwind couldn’t breathe. The air in her lungs wouldn’t expel. She felt as if someone were sitting on her chest, forcing her to relive a nightmare.
Only this nightmare didn’t involve her serial killer mother or her psychic sister or the ghost of her father. It didn’t involve Raven, either. Her former shape-shifter lover had moved on to the underworld, to an Apache place that rivaled heaven.
And now Allie was in hell.
While she’d been at work, someone had come into her loft and trashed her bedroom. Just moments ago, she’d opened the door and encountered the gruesome sight.
Her sheets had been slashed. The canopy above her bed had been knifed. On the wall nearest the window, red paint dripped like blood, with a message in the center that said This is for Daniel.
Still struggling to breathe, she stared at the elegantly scripted letters. The vandal had used a lovely form of calligraphy. Daniel’s name was especially pretty.
This is for Daniel.
What was? The mock blood? The knifed anger? The whole chilling scene?
Was Daniel in danger? Panicked, she reached for the phone and dialed his cell.
He answered on the second ring, apparently recognizing her number from caller ID. “Hey, Allie.”
The air in her lungs finally whooshed out. He was the man she loved, but she didn’t have the courage to tell him. As far as he knew, she simply regarded him as a friend. But that was all he considered her, too. He didn’t remember that deeper feelings had developed between them. Daniel Deer Runner had retrograde amnesia.
“Allie?” he addressed her again, filling the silence.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m on a break at work.” He paused for a second. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
She bit back a rush of tears. “Someone slashed up my bedroom and used red paint that looks like blood. They left a message that said they did it for you.”
His voice went anxiety-ridden gruff. “Someone? Someone who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes.” She’d done that right away.
“Good. Stay put, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Oh, thank God, she thought. He was coming over. They hung up, and she waited in the living room, with Christmas decorations twinkling in every corner. This was Allie’s favorite time of year.
Clinging to her holiday spirit, she lit some cookie-scented candles, hoping that Daniel would get there before the LAPD.
No such luck.
The police arrived in record time. Most local cops knew her, or at least knew of her. She was even friends with some of the Special Sections homicide detectives. But these detectives were unfamiliar, and that did little to steady her nerves. Being the daughter of a serial killer made Allie and her sister uncomfortably famous. Not only was their mother a murderer, she was a black magic witch, and in their culture, witchcraft was evil. The question, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” didn’t apply. But at least Mom was in prison now, paying her debt to society on death row.
A detective named Bell interviewed Allie. He was tall and blond and purposely expressionless. They went into her bedroom and stood amid the mess.
“Who’s Daniel?” he asked, scribbling on a notepad and glancing up at the message on the wall. His partner did other investigative-type things, like interviewing neighbors, taking photographs of the vandalism, checking for signs of forced entry and dusting for prints.
“He’s a friend,” she responded, wishing that Daniel didn’t make her ache. Allie had always dreamed of falling in love, but not with a man whose lack of memory robbed her of a future with him. “He’s on his way. He should be here soon.”
Bell merely nodded. “Does anyone else live here?”
“Not anymore. My sister used to, but she just got married. She’s in Europe on her honeymoon. Her husband is a special agent. You know. FBI.”
No visible reaction, aside from another nod.
Allie fidgeted with the silver beads around her neck. She favored Native jewelry and wore it often. She was a full-blood from the Oglala Lakota Sioux and Chiricahua Apache Nations.
“He saved my life,” she heard herself say. Her mind was moving in what seemed like a zillion different directions. She hadn’t meant to offer unsolicited information.
“The special agent?”
She shook her head. “Daniel.”
That got Bell’s attention. He exhibited a genuinely interested expression. “How?”
“He stepped in front of a loaded gun that was aimed at me.” Just in case the officer presumed that the message on the wall was related to the shooting, she explained that the shooter, an admirer of her mother’s, was in prison now and was no longer a threat.
“How badly was Daniel hit?”
“Bad enough to need surgery, to slip into a coma and lose most of his memory.”
“Which means what? That he won’t be able to provide answers as to who might’ve done this and why?”
“Probably not. But he’ll do his damnedest to try.” Daniel Deer Runner belonged to a Warrior Society, a group of former military men who excelled at close quarter combat and fought for Native causes. He wouldn’t let something like this go. He wouldn’t let someone torment Allie in his name.
Anxious to see him, she fidgeted with her jewelry again. Daniel consumed her mind far more often than he should.
He arrived a few minutes later, cradling Samantha. Sam was Allie’s cat, a fussy black stray that shunned almost everyone except Allie. Sam adored Daniel, but he’d worked on wooing her.
“I found her outside,” he said. “She was hiding under the stoop. The vandal must have scared her.”
He handed Allie the cat, and when she took Samantha, their hands connected. Touching him was almost more than she could bear. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, to take comfort in his strength.
Daniel stood tall and broad, with medium-length, slightly messy black hair and killer cheekbones. He used to iron his jeans, slick back his hair and sport horn-rimmed glasses. But he’d changed since the coma. He’d ditched his ironing board, traded his glasses for contact lenses and tossed out the Brylcreem.
Today he wore dark blue scrubs. He was a veterinary technician at the zoo, and although he struggled to recall people from his past, he clearly remembered how to do his job.
“I’m sorry this is happening to you,” he said. “That someone…” He frowned at his name on the wall.
Allie couldn’t seem to find her voice. Detective Bell stood back, watching her and Daniel. Did the cop suspect how she felt about her “friend?” Did the person who’d vandalized Allie’s room suspect it, too? Was that a key point? Was the vandal another woman who had designs on Daniel?
He reached out and skimmed the side of her arm, and the long, gentle stroke from his fingers gave her soft, sexy chills.
“You’re so quiet,” he said.
She tightened her hold on the squirming cat. Apparently Sam wanted to bolt, to hide under the stoop again. Or maybe she wanted to climb back into Daniel’s protective arms. Allie certainly understood that.
Since he was waiting for a response, she said, “I should be used to creepy things by now. But coming home to this was shocking.” Mostly because it was related to him. The creepiness from the past had involved her mother.
Daniel frowned at the wall again, and Detective Bell led him away from Allie to interview him. She remained off to the side, noticing that Bell was more cordial with Daniel than he had been with her.
The boy’s club, she thought. It made her feel like a third wheel. But she supposed that sweetening the loft with cookie-scented candles made her seem like a girly-girl, which she was, most of the time. Sometimes she even got lost in her own dreams. Allie was a fantasy artist who painted sensual mermaids, fire-breathing dragons and castles in the sky. For her day job, she gave art lessons at a bustling senior citizen community center.
Not that Allie wasn’t trained in self defense or couldn’t hold her own. Of course the last time she was in danger, Daniel had taken a bullet for her. She hadn’t done a very good job of protecting herself.
Bell ended the interview, and Daniel returned to her.
“I want you to come home with me,” he said. “To stay at my house until this is over.”
She looked into his eyes and noticed that the light caught a corner of his contact lenses. Two months had passed since he’d lost his memory, since Daniel had morphed into a harder-edged man, and she was still getting used to the alpha he’d become. Although he’d always been tall and muscular with striking features, he’d also been a bit of a nerd, even to the Warrior Society. Years ago, they’d nicknamed him “Fearless” derived from Fearless Fly, a goofy vintage cartoon character that obtained superpowers from his glasses.
Sometimes Allie missed Daniel’s glasses. Sometimes she missed who he used to be. But the new Daniel was wildly compelling, and she couldn’t help but love him, too. He was Fearless either way. The nickname still fit.
A scowl bracketed his mouth. “Why aren’t you talking to me, Allie?”
Oh, damn. She’d done it again. She’d kept quiet. “I’m not sure about going home with you.”
The scowl deepened. “Why not?”
Because sleeping under the same roof would only make her want him that much more. She fabricated an excuse. “My studio is here.”
“I have a couple of extra rooms. You can use one of them as a studio.”
She put Sam on the ground. The cat was meowing for her freedom. “I know, but—”
“But nothing. I’m not leaving you here alone. Detective Bell thinks this could turn into a stalking, and I agree. We think the vandal is a deranged woman from my past who considers your friendship with me a threat.”
Allie had already mulled over that possibility. The calligraphy seemed deliberately feminine, as if the vandal was identifying herself as a woman, especially from the pretty way she’d written Daniel’s name. “How did she get into my loft?”
“The front door lock was picked. But that isn’t a complicated lock. A credit card would have done the trick.”
“Maybe the police will come up with some fingerprints.”
“Maybe, but it’s doubtful. More than likely, she was wearing gloves.”
“How many deranged women from your past do you think are out there?”
He tunneled his hands through his already messy hair. “How the hell would I know? I’m going to ask Rex Sixkiller to investigate my life, the things I can’t remember.”
“Is Rex from the Warrior Society?”
“Yes, but he’s a licensed P.I., too.”
She could only imagine how invasive for Daniel that was going to be. “What about Glynis?”
He squinted. “Who?”
“Glynis Mitchell. She’s a former lover of yours, and a bit of an enemy of mine. She’s never done anything threatening, but she disliked me from the start.”
Daniel cocked his head. “Because of me?”
“Because of my mother. A lot of people dislike me for being related to Yvonne Whirlwind.” A connection that made Allie sick, too. “Still, I should probably tell Bell about Glynis.”
“Yes, you definitely should.” He angled his head again. “Why didn’t you ever mention her to me before?”
Allie shrugged, trying to seem more unaffected than she was. She didn’t like thinking about Daniel with other women. “Glynis didn’t seem to matter until now.”
“After you talk to Bell, you need to pack your bags,” he said, reminding her that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. She was going home with him, whether she wanted to or not.
While Allie settled into a guest room at his house, Daniel waited for her to join him in the kitchen for dinner. He wasn’t much of a cook, and since Allie was a vegetarian, he tossed a simple green salad and proceeded to grill a couple of cheese sandwiches. He put on a pot of herbal tea, too. Allie liked hot tea.
Samantha purred at his feet and he reached down to pet her, but the cat wouldn’t be staying for very long. Tomorrow, she would be going to a boarding facility. Allie was worried that Sam might become the target of the vandal’s next threat, and Daniel agreed that it was a valid concern.
He petted Sam again, thinking how pretty she was, much like her mistress. Allie was a bit of cat herself. Long, lean and feline.
Damn, Daniel thought. Damn.
Allie stirred a blood-burning hunger he was desperately trying to suppress. Being friends with a woman that you wanted to strip naked wasn’t a good thing.
To make matters worse, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten laid, and he meant that literally. He’d been celibate since the post-surgical coma that had wiped out most of his memory.
She entered the kitchen, and his pulse quickened. She looked so soft, so beautiful, so vulnerable, he battled his emotions. Beyond the attraction was an overwhelming desire to keep her safe.
The scene at her loft had knotted his gut. If it went further, if someone tried to harm her…
“I think it’s done,” she said.
He gave her a blank stare. Or maybe it wasn’t so blank. At the moment, he’d become fixated on her waist-length hair, on the way it framed her face and wrapped her in flowing lines. “I’m sorry. What?”
“That sandwich. You’re killing it.”
He glanced down at the pan. He was squishing the grilled bread with a spatula, making cheese leak out the sides. He scooped it up and put it on a plate, then realized how unattractive the presentation was. Trying to pretty it up, he reached for shiny red apple from a basket on the counter and placed it beside the sandwich. He’d already put the salad on the table.
Once both plates were fixed, he and Allie sat down to eat. She didn’t seem to mind his lousy cooking. Either that or she was too hungry to care. The tea seemed to help, too. She sweetened it with honey and sipped generously.
“Tell me more about Glynis,” he said. It was odd to ask one woman about another, but what else could he do? He had no recollection of his former lover. His doctor claimed that portions of his memory might return, but a full recovery was doubtful.
Allie glanced up from her plate. “She owns a string of mortuaries that she inherited from her late husband. She’s always had a ‘thing’ for death.”
Daniel made a tight face. If Glynis was the vandal, she might be capable of anything. Not only that, but why would he have slept with a woman who was intrigued by death? That didn’t bode well for his character.
“In the eighties, she ran a Death Rock club,” Allie said.
“The eighties?” Not only did Glynis sound odd, she was older than he’d expected. “I dated a cougar?”
“That’s one way of putting it, I guess. But I can see why you were attracted to her. She’s quite glamorous. She resembles Bettie Page.”
“The 1950s pinup model?” Daniel got an image of a shapely brunette wearing fetish gear. The Glynis scenario was getting weirder. He wondered what sort of relationship he’d had with her. He couldn’t begin to describe how disturbing it was not knowing intimate details about himself.
He quit eating. The sandwich tasted like crap anyway. “I wasn’t into kinky sex, was I?”
Caught off guard, Allie coughed on a sip of tea, and he realized how inappropriate the question was. He couldn’t backpedal, so he apologized. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t expect you to know something like that.”
Her cheeks turned rosy, making her look young and sweet, even if she was almost thirty.
Daniel discarded his kinky sex concerns. He might be lusting after Allie, but he wasn’t envisioning her in a rubber corset and bondage ties. He would rather see her in a luxurious nightgown, something long and lacy.
He wanted to reach across the table and touch her, but he resumed their conversation, returning to Glynis. “What does her fascination with death entail?”
“When she was younger, she used to pen pal with killers on death row. After she met her husband, she learned to respect death the way he did, not wallow in the morbid side of it. Or that’s what she claimed.”
“Do you know how I got hooked up with her?”
“Her husband supported the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act. He helped the Warrior Society recover stolen remains and funerary objects to their rightful owners.”
“So I knew him?”
“Yes, and after he died, you helped Glynis get through her grief.”
By sleeping with her? Daniel frowned. “That doesn’t make me sound very honorable.”
“You were honorable to me.” Her gaze locked onto his, and a blast of emotion erupted between them. “You saved my life. You…” Her voice broke, making the connection between them even more sensitive.
“I don’t remember the shooting.”
Her voice rattled some more. “I remember for both of us.”
“Remembering for me doesn’t count.” He wanted his own memories.
She didn’t say anything, and when things got too uncomfortable, he cleared the table. She’d eaten all of her food, lousy as it was.
He turned to look at her. “I think you should take some time off. Maybe call in sick, then arrange for a vacation or whatever.” He would be taking time away from his job, as well. “Tomorrow we can meet with Rex and get started on the investigation. We can pay Glynis a visit, too.”
“She won’t like us dropping by.”
“Too bad for her.” He wasn’t leaving any stone unturned, regardless of where it led or what it revealed about his past.
He was going to protect Allie. Every shaky step of the way.
Chapter 2
Later that night Allie got ready for bed. She rummaged through her nightgowns and pajamas, contemplating what to wear. Not that it mattered. Daniel wasn’t going to see her. He’d already retired to his room.
Still, having him so close, so heart-flutteringly near, she couldn’t resist the urge to look pretty, to feel pretty, to don something soft and feminine. She went for a classic silk nightgown with a hint of ribbon and lace. The champagne-colored fabric hugged her curves and flowed at the hemline.
She washed her face and removed her makeup, then brushed her hair until it shined. The ends skimmed her tailbone.
Okay. There. She looked good. She felt good.
Allie scooted into bed and got restless. Being pretty for herself wasn’t enough.
She wanted to see Daniel, and she wanted him to see her. So do it, her mind coaxed. Find an excuse to knock on his door.
What excuse? That there were monsters under her bed?
The thought made her smile. At one time, she had endured monsters. Real ones. Allie’s diabolical ancestors had conjured witchcraft creatures, and she and Daniel had battled them. He’d helped her through the most difficult time of her life.
Was it any wonder that she loved him?
She got out of bed and checked her appearance in the mirror, giving her hair one final fluff and her nightgown one last body-clinging smooth. From there, she ventured into the hallway. Daniel lived in a modest North Hollywood residence, but he’d fixed it up nicely. He’d made all sorts of improvements, including new carpets, new floors and landscaping the front and back yards. In return, the landlord had discounted his rent.
Allie paused outside his room. A small strip of light shimmered beneath his door, a telltale sign that he remained awake. She still hadn’t come up with an excuse to be visiting him at this hour. But she knocked anyway. She was good at thinking on her feet.
He called out from behind the wooden barrier, “Come in.”
Suddenly she was nervous. She wanted to turn tail and run, but it was too late for that.
Allie opened the door and entered his room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, with a paperback on the nightstand. His chest was bare, making the scar from his surgery visible, and he wore drawstring pajama bottoms slung low on his hips. She glanced at his navel and his gloriously rippled abs. Before she looked too hard and too deep, she shifted her attention to his face.
He was checking her out, too. His dark gaze slid up and down her nightgown-clad body and rested momentarily on her breasts. She prayed that her nipples didn’t get hard. Self-consciousness was setting in. But so was a major revelation.
Although Daniel treated her like a friend, he was sexually attracted to her. Some of what he’d felt for her prior to the coma was still there, sluicing through his blood. If Allie wasn’t such a Chicken Little, she could seduce him.
Climb right in his lap and make him moan.
“What’s going on?” he finally asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to say goodnight.” So much for thinking on her feet. They’d already bid each other goodnight earlier.
He stood up, and his height dwarfed the military-tidy room. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“A little.”
“So am I. But I’m a bit of an insomniac anyway.” He adjusted the waistband of his pajama bottoms, lifting them a smidgen. They’d fallen even lower on his hips. “Was I always?”
God, he looked gorgeous. Rough and ready. “Were you always what?”
“An insomniac?”
She tried not to stammer. He was moving closer. “I don’t know. We never slept near each other.”
“But we fought paranormal creatures, searched for a magic talisman and helped your cursed lover get back to his dead wife?”
“It sounds unbelievable, but that’s what we did.” Her cursed lover had been a time-traveling warrior who’d shape-shifted into a raven.
“Was it hard to let him go?”
The question threw her. Daniel had never questioned her in detail about Raven. “I wanted him to be happy, to find peace.” Before Raven went away, he’d asked Daniel to look after her. But since Daniel didn’t remember, she wasn’t about to tell him. There was only so much she could say about the past without getting emotional. Besides, he was looking after her, even without recalling his promise to Raven.
Allie shifted her bare feet. By now, she and Daniel stood face-to-face. Seducing him crossed her mind again, but she thought better of it. She wanted more from him than sex. She wanted him to remember that he’d loved her.
He had loved her, hadn’t he? He’d never come right out and said it, but she assumed that he had.
A knot grew in her belly. What if she’d been wrong? What if all he’d ever felt for her was a physical attraction?
She glanced at the neon green numbers on the alarm clock. It was almost midnight, and she was battling a newfound blast of anxiety. “I should go. I should try to get some sleep.”
“Me, too. For all the good it will do.” He reached out to touch a spaghetti strap on her nightgown. “You look pretty, Allie.”
The knot in her stomach got tighter. Was he making a play for her?
“I imagined you wearing something like this. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you wore it on purpose.” He snared her gaze. “You’re not psychic, are you? Like your sister?”
She felt like a rabbit caught in a trap. “I can’t read people’s minds. And you shouldn’t have been thinking about me in my bedclothes.”
“The way you shouldn’t be coming to my room looking like an innocent siren?” He stepped back, putting distance between them. He wasn’t making a play. He was reprimanding her, along with himself. “We’re both guilty of misconduct.”
Yes, they were, and he was too damn observant for his own good. Struggling to temper her emotions, she said good-night once again, and turned and left his room, closing the door gently behind her.
Too bad he wasn’t observant enough to figure out that the innocent siren loved him.
The sun shone through the windows, making Daniel aware of its yellow rays. Christmas was only two weeks away, but the Southern California weather didn’t seem to know the difference. Not that Daniel cared. The holidays didn’t make him cheerful. Why he felt like a bit of a Scrooge, he couldn’t say. But lots of people got depressed around Christmas, so he tried not to make too much of it.
Although he was still sleep deprived, he showered, shaved, and donned a pair of freshly laundered jeans and a basic white T-shirt. Next, he headed to the kitchen where Allie was getting a jumpstart on breakfast. She’d already beaten him to the punch and brewed a pot of coffee, and now she was cracking eggs into a bowl.
He stood in the doorway and watched her. She was wearing a big, fluffy pink robe and ugly slippers with mottled colors. He assumed that the pretty nightgown was underneath, but damn if he could tell. She was belted good and tight. He supposed that after last night’s encounter, she wasn’t taking any chances. But at least it was out in the open. At least they’d admitted that they were attracted to each other. Or sort of admitted it. Whatever the case, one thing was clear: they weren’t going to act on it.
Maintaining a platonic relationship was best. Safer, he thought. Less complicated.
“Morning,” he said by way of a greeting.
She glanced up, and they stared at each other, trapped in remnants of the awkward stuff. He cursed the caveman feeling that being near her gave him. He wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to his bed, ugly robe and all.
Finally, she gestured to the food on the counter. She’d diced onions and tomatoes to go along with the eggs. She’d grated cheddar cheese, too. “I hope you don’t mind that I raided your fridge.”
“No, it’s fine. Help yourself. You’re a far better cook than I am.” But who wasn’t?
“Do you want an omelet?”
“I’d love one. Could you put ham in mine, though?” He wasn’t up for another meatless meal. The awful sandwich from yesterday hadn’t stuck to his ribs. He needed something with substance.
She opened the refrigerator to get the ham, and Daniel walked past her to pour himself some coffee. He took a closer look at her slippers and noticed that they were cat faces, with pointed ears, plastic eyeballs, tiny pom-pom noses and long white whiskers.
He couldn’t help but smile. They were even more ridiculous than he’d first assumed. He pointed to the fur balls in question. “Does Sam like those?”
“She loves them.” Allie wiggled her feet. “So do I.”
“It must be a girl thing.”
“I suppose you think they’re atrocious.”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. You can wear whatever you want.” Except pretty nightgowns while she was in his room. He made a show of looking around. “By the way, where is Sam?”
“She was up earlier, but she went back to sleep.”
In Allie’s soft, warm bed, no doubt. “I guess she’s not an insomniac.”
“No. She’s a cozy sleeper. But cats are supposed to take catnaps.”
Daniel’s omelet was done first. Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, Allie managed to fix hash browns, too. She handed him his food, and he stood near the sink and wolfed it down. He didn’t sit at the table because he didn’t want to make a domestic ritual out of sharing meals with her. It was bad enough that he’d brought her to his house for an extended stay.
But what choice did he have? The vandal, the potential stalker, was all too real, and he intended to do whatever it took to keep Allie safe.
Would he take another bullet for her? Yeah, he thought, he would. He would do just about anything for Allie Whirlwind. He wasn’t sure why; he just knew that he would.
“You’re going to get heartburn.” She scolded him for eating so fast.
“I’m fine.” To prove his point, he took a second helping of hashed browns.
She shook her head and sat at the table, spreading a napkin on her lap. She would have looked quite proper if it weren’t for the horrendous robe and slippers.
“I already called Rex,” he said. “He’ll be here in a few hours.”
“I wonder where he’ll start.”
“With my background, I suppose.”
“Are you nervous about it?”
“Why?” He scooped the last of his food onto his fork. “Do you think I have something to hide?”
“No. I just can’t imagine being in your position.”
“I can’t imagine being in yours, either.”
“Getting my loft trashed or having the kind of ancestors that I do?”
“Both.” He thought Allie was too sweet to hail from a lineage of evil witches, but that was her background, her burden to bear. He had no idea what his was going to be.
He’d lied about not being nervous.
By the time Rex arrived, Daniel’s anxiety was at an all-time high. But he hid his feelings, greeting the other man with a sturdy handshake and inviting him into the living room.
Rex Sixkiller was a half-blood from the Cherokee Nation. At thirty-six, he was the same age as Daniel, and although they weren’t from the same unit, they were both Desert Storm veterans who had served in the army. But like most people from Daniel’s past, he had no recollection of Rex. Of course since regaining consciousness, Daniel had made a point of spending time with the Warrior Society, and that included Rex.
“Where’s Allie?” the P.I. asked.
“In her room. I’ll go get her.”
Daniel went down the hall and knocked on her door. She appeared in a colorful Santa Fe style dress and a pair of western boots. Her hair was plaited in a single braid that hung down her back, leaving the angles of her beautifully sculpted face unframed. Her earrings were big silver hoops decorated with turquoise nuggets.
“Rex is here,” he said.
“Oh, okay. I’m ready.”
She walked beside him, and upon entering the living room, Daniel made the introduction. Rex rose to meet her. He also checked her out a bit too closely, putting Daniel on edge. From what he knew, Rex was single and somewhat of a player.
Daniel gave his comrade a territorial stare, and Rex looked back at him with a curious expression. Apparently the other man had wanted to gauge Daniel’s reaction, to see what he and Allie were truly about. And now he knew.
Daniel had the hots for his female friend.
“Let’s get started,” Rex said, settling back onto the sofa and elbowing a leopard-print pillow.
Daniel sat next to him, leaving a leather recliner for Allie.
For a moment, they were all silent, then Rex turned to Daniel and said, “Tell me what you recall from your past.”
“I recall bits and pieces about my parents. My dad lives close by, and my mom died when I was a boy. I’m from the Lakota and Haida Nations.”
“Do you remember being from those tribes or is that something you were told after the coma?”
“I remember.” He paused, then frowned. “I also remember Mom’s body being laid out at the funeral house. It isn’t a good memory.”
“No. I don’t suppose it is.” Rex furrowed his brows. “Do you have any good memories?”
“Not really.” Daniel paused once again, pondering the question. “Actually, my memories of Allie are good.”
He glanced her way, and she scooted to the edge of the recliner. As soon as their gazes locked, he broke eye contact. He wasn’t comfortable with Rex watching.
“How good are they?” the P.I. asked, almost making the query sound like a double entendre.
Not that good, Daniel wanted to say. “They’re kind of warm and fuzzy, I guess.” He hoped that didn’t sound stupid, but it was the only description that came to mind. “I don’t remember her as much as the feeling of being around her.”
“And it was warm and fuzzy?”
“For lack of a better term, yeah.”
Rex shifted his attention to Allie. “Does that sound about right to you?”
She nodded. “Daniel and I were close.”
“But there was no romance?”
“No.” She started to fidget.
Annoyed, Daniel squinted at the P.I. “Is this line of questioning necessary?”
“Yes, it is. I need to know if there’s anything that happened between the two of you that the vandal might have seen or heard.” Rex pushed Allie a little further. “No romance at all?”
“No,” she said again.
“Not even one little oops? One little kiss?”
She responded with another fidgety, “No.”
Rex kept pushing. “Were you visibly attracted to each other? The way you are now?” he added, not mincing his observations or his words.
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
Damn, Daniel thought. This hungry-for-each-other thing wasn’t new. He gave Rex a flustered stare. “Can we move on now?”
Rex gave him a tight nod in return. “Yes, but I’d like to know about other women from your past. Do you recall any of your former lovers?”
“No, and I already told you about Glynis over the phone.”
“She’s a good place to start, but she can’t be the only significant woman from your past. I’m going to have to interview your friends and family and see what they know.”
“You’re an old friend,” Daniel pointed out. “Don’t you remember me being with anyone?”
“Unfortunately I don’t. You were private that way. But someone else from The Society might have a helpful recollection.”
Having his life dissected by other people sucked, Daniel thought. “What if the vandal isn’t a former lover? What if it’s someone with a whacked-out crush on me?”
“I plan to work on that angle, too. And I’m going to need as much cooperation as I can get from you.” He looked at Allie. “And from you. Whoever did this has probably been watching you and Daniel. Tracking your relationship. She might even blame you for his memory loss.”
Daniel spoke up. “You’ll get our cooperation. But I’m not sitting idly by. This is my investigation, too. Whatever leads you uncover, or the police discover, or I find out on my own, I’m following through on them. I’m doing the legwork.”
“I figured you would.” A second later, Rex addressed Allie, including her once again. “And you, too. From what I heard, you and Fearless made quite a team.”
“We did,” she admitted softly, drawing Daniel to the sound of her voice, to that warm and fuzzy feeling that lingered in his scattered mind.
Chapter 3
Allie rode beside Daniel in his truck. That was another thing about him that had changed. He used to drive a simple white van, but he’d traded it in for a sleek black pickup with custom wheels and tires.
Allie had never liked the van, anyway. His new vehicle was much sexier. But so was he. Everything about him left her breathless. She glanced at his profile and got warm and tingly.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Why? Don’t I seem all right?”
“You’re fussing with your seat belt.”
Because the device seemed too tight across her Daniel-deprived body. One little kiss, one little oops, as Rex had put it, sounded darn good about now. “I’m okay.”
“Are you nervous about seeing Glynis?”
Allie glanced out the window. They’d just dropped off Sam at the veterinary clinic where she would be boarded, and now they were headed to Daniel’s old lover’s house.
“Are you?” he asked again.
“Yes,” she responded truthfully. She’d never expected to confront his ex again. She’d had enough run-ins with Glynis in the past to last a lifetime.
“I can take you back to my place,” he offered. “I can do this alone.”
“No way.” Allie wanted to see the other woman’s reaction firsthand. “I wonder if we’ll be able to tell if she’s the vandal, if she’ll give herself away.”
“That seems doubtful. From what you said about her, she sounds complex.”
“She is. I was hoping this would be easy, I guess.”
Daniel turned onto Ventura Boulevard, following the directions Allie had given him earlier. “Can you still paint magic pictures?”
The question caused her to widen her eyes. “Do you remember that about me?”
He shook his head. “You told me about it.”
“Oh, that’s right, I did.”
“Well, can you?”
“I don’t know.” Her experience with Raven had started with a portrait she’d painted of him. “I haven’t been involved in anything magical since then.”
“What about sensing the presence of ghosts? Can you still do that?”
Once again, she didn’t know. “I suppose I could if there was a ghost who insinuated itself into our lives.” Last time, both she and Daniel had made contact with ghosts, but her connection to the spiritual world had been stronger than his. “Why? Are you getting a ghostly vibe?”
“No, but I feel kind of sad.” He stared out the windshield. “And it feels like a memory.” He shot her a quick glance. “How bizarre is that?”
She sat up a little straighter, stretching her too-tight seat belt. “The doctor said you’d probably regain bits and pieces of your memory.”
“I know. But I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Tell me exactly what you’re feeling.”
“That someone who mattered to me died. Someone besides my mom.”
“A woman? A lover?”
“A teenage girl, I think. But the vandal isn’t a ghost. Whoever trashed your room was a real person. A ghost wouldn’t have picked the lock.”
She couldn’t imagine a ghost slashing her bedding with a knife or using blood-red paint, either. But Daniel’s sudden sadness gave her pause. “You should tell Rex.”
“I will. After all of the paranormal stuff that happened before, we can’t be too careful.”
“I agree.” She sighed, wondering if there really was a ghost in their midst. She didn’t feel anything, but maybe her supernatural skills were gone. Or maybe she only felt ghosts that were connected to her, and this one belonged to Daniel.
He drove the rest of the way without sparking another conversation, frowning at the road. Allie didn’t talk, either. She couldn’t think of anything pertinent to say.
Finally he turned onto Glynis’s street, and Allie directed him to her house. He parked at the curb.
“Is that her car?” he asked, pointing to the silver Mercedes in the circular driveway.
Allie nodded. Daniel’s former bedmate lived in a Tuscan estate in Studio City with a spectacular view. She had lots of money and lots of style. Women like Glynis Mitchell ruled the San Fernando Valley.
They took the flagstone path that led to the front door. Exotic plants bloomed in artfully tended flower beds and heart-shaped ivy crept along the building and up around the windows, where rustic shutters were drawn tight.
Allie rang the bell, and the housekeeper, a short, stout woman with graying hair, answered the summons and spurned them with a bitter look. She was fiercely loyal to her employer and had given Allie trouble before.
Daniel gazed at her as if she were supposed to be Glynis. “She doesn’t look like Bettie Page to me.”
Allie bit back a smile. He knew darn well that this snippy old broad wasn’t his former lover.
The housekeeper raised her eyebrows at him, but whether she was reacting to his smart-aleck remark or to the obvious changes in his appearance was unclear. “What do you two want?”
“We’d like to see Glynis,” Allie responded.
“Mrs. Mitchell is relaxing.”
With a martini, Allie thought. Oh, wait. Glynis favored a cocktail called Vampire’s Kiss. That was her drink of choice.
“We’re not going away,” Daniel said. “So you may as well tell her that we’re on her doorstep.”
The housekeeper stormed off in a huff.
She came back a few seconds later and pointed a crooked finger at Daniel, explaining why they were being allowed admittance. “Mrs. Mitchell is curious to see you.”
From there, she ushered them into the living room and said, “Wait here.”
Daniel glanced around, but Allie didn’t need to take in her surroundings. The house looked the same.
The décor presented mottled colors with terra cotta accents. The floors were brick, and the furniture was constructed of timeworn woods. Glynis’s late husband had collected Native American artifacts, and the stunning collection included tribal masks, baskets, pottery, small stone carvings and arrowheads. Strings of chevron beads, probably dating back to Christopher Columbus’s time, were displayed in glass cases.
Holiday decorations dazzled the interior, as well. An artificial Christmas tree shimmered with white lights and crystal ornaments.
“Well, now…” A luxuriously feminine voice sounded from the living room entryway.
Allie and Daniel spun around. There stood Glynis in all of her aging-siren glory. Her pinup-girl hairdo was perfectly coiffed with short rolled bangs and flowing, dark locks. She wore capri pants, high heels and a feather-trimmed blouse. Although she was in her early fifties, she had the figure of someone much, much younger. But didn’t most rich L.A. women? They bought themselves boobs, got liposuction if they gained an ounce of fat and did Pilates with private trainers.
Daniel stared at her, and she stared back at him.
Uncomfortable, Allie sucked in a silent breath.
Finally he said to Glynis, “I don’t remember you.”
“Yes, I heard that you had amnesia.” Her glossy red lips curved into a deliberate smile. “It’s been a long while since we dated, but I’d be glad to refresh your memory.”
“I’ll bet you would.” He kept his expression blank. “But my tastes have changed.”
“Oh, that’s right. You have a crush on Allie. I noticed it the last time I saw you together, before the amnesia and all that.” Glynis finally turned to face her rival. “Have you let him into your pants yet? Or are you still being a tease?”
Before Allie could respond, Daniel snapped at Glynis. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
The other woman kept her cool. “I guess that means she’s still being a tease. Poor boy. That’s what you get for falling for a witch.”
Allie came to her own defense. “I’m not a witch.”
“You’re not evil like your mother? I wonder if it’s possible to have those genes and not be just a little bit evil.”
Allie narrowed her eyes. Was Glynis the vandal? Was she behaving like a potential stalker? Or just a jealous old girlfriend?
“So what’s going on?” Glynis asked, switching tactics. “Why did you stop by?”
“To harass you,” Allie said in her drollest tone.
“Very funny. What for?”
“As if you don’t know.”
“Please, no games. Just tell me what this is about.”
“Someone broke into Allie’s loft and trashed her bedroom,” Daniel said.
Much too dramatic, Glynis clutched a hand to her blouse, ruffling the boa-type feathers. Her fingernails were as red as her lips. “And you think it was me?”
“It seems like a possibility.”
“I wouldn’t waste my time.”
“Wouldn’t you?” he challenged. “Not even for me?”
“No, dear boy. That isn’t my style. But feel free to give my regards to whoever did it.”
“Any idea who that could be?” Cynicism edged his voice. “Besides you?”
“If you’re asking me who else you slept with, I have no idea. You weren’t the type to kiss and tell. Speaking of kisses, why don’t we have a drink?”
He furrowed his brow. Apparently he wasn’t following Glynis’s logic. Allie was, but she remained silent.
He asked, “What do drinks have to do with kisses?”
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t remember. I have a Vampire’s Kiss every day. Sometimes you had one with me. But mostly you preferred Gin and Nothing.”
“I’ll have one of those.” He made a thought-provoking expression, as if he were delving into his own lost mind. “That’s still what I prefer.”
“Then there you go. Some things don’t change.” The dragon lady looked at Allie. “Would you like a drink, too?”
“I think I’ll pass.”
“Afraid I’ll poison it?”
Allie coined Daniel from earlier. “It seems like a possibility.”
Glynis rolled her elegantly lined eyes and proceeded to fix the cocktails. For herself, she used a recipe that consisted of vodka, cranberry juice, orange liqueur and fresh lime juice. For Daniel, she poured a jigger of gin over ice and added a twist of lemon peel.
He accepted the drink and made himself at home on the sofa. Allie figured he had a plan, but she wasn’t sure what it was. He patted the spot next to him, silently telling her to join him. She did, even if she wasn’t comfortable staying any longer than necessary.
Glynis sat across from them and sipped her Vampire’s Kiss. Ignoring Allie, she gazed at Daniel. “I can’t get over how different you look. How different you seem.”
The ice in his glass clinked, and he spoke above the Gin and Nothing sound. “Do you like me better this way?”
She crossed her legs, flashing her sexy high heels at him. “Would it matter if I did?”
He shrugged, then looked closely at her. “I think I do remember something about you.”
She squared her shoulders, lifting her bosom a bit higher. “You do?”
“I seem to recall your pretty handwriting.” He paused for effect. “Calligraphy.”
Aha, Allie thought. Daniel was trying to trap Glynis. They hadn’t told her that calligraphy had been used during the vandalism. If she reacted defensively, she would give herself away.
She didn’t get defensive. In fact, she stunned them by saying, “No, no, darling. That’s Margaret. She’s the one with the lovely penmanship.”
“Margaret?”
“My housekeeper.”
The bulldog who protected Glynis? Could she be the vandal? Had she done it for Glynis? Were they in on it together? And if they were, why was Glynis being so open about it?
Allie shot Daniel a quick glance. He seemed to be pondering the same questions.
Glynis popped up and walked over to an antique desk and opened the roll top. She returned with a fancy envelope. “Margaret is going to address these for me and mail them later today. See? She already put my return address in her calligraphy.”
Daniel took the sealed envelope. “What is this?”
“An invitation. I’m having a Christmas party. Oh, here’s a novel idea. Why don’t you come?” She turned to Allie. “You, too. Just think, you can stress all evening about me poisoning you. What fun that will be.”
Hardy har har. Glynis had a twisted sense of humor. Under different circumstances, Allie might have learned to like her.
Or not.
“We’ll think about it,” Allie said, wondering if the party had been arranged for her and Daniel’s benefit.
“Don’t think too long. You’ll need to RSVP.”
“We’ll let you know.” Daniel stood up.
“I do hope you’ll attend, darling boy. It was so very nice to see you.”
Glynis didn’t walk them out and neither did Margaret. Daniel and Allie left on their own, the invitation tucked safely into his pocket.
Daniel opened the truck door for Allie and watched her climb inside the vehicle. They didn’t discuss the situation, not until he got behind the wheel and started the engine.
“What do you think?” she asked.
That was a loaded question. His mind was crowded and confused, his thoughts clinging like cobwebs. “About Glynis? About Margaret’s calligraphy? About whether or not we should go to the party?”
“All of it. But start with Glynis.”
He pulled away from the curb. “I honestly don’t remember her. Nor does she seem like my type.” Which made his confusion that much greater.
“You don’t think she’s attractive?”
“It isn’t that.” Glynis Mitchell had a great body and fascinating sense of style, but she seemed cold and calculating. Not like Allie. He turned away from the windshield to glance at her. “I prefer softer women.”
“Maybe you used to like tough girls. I can be tough sometimes, and you used to like me.”
Daniel tried not to smile, to make light of her admission. She seemed to believe that her supposed toughness had drawn him to her. But he doubted that was the case.
She fumbled to explain. “Even Glynis commented on your attraction to me.”
He decided not to expound on that attraction, to discuss it beyond a few sentences. “I don’t trust Glynis. It was rude the way she flirted with me in front of you. Those poison remarks were deliberately bitchy, too.”
“Yes, but they seemed more humorous than threatening. Of course, who knows? I never could figure her out.”
“And now we’ve got Margaret thrown into the mix.”
“Yes, ugly old Margaret and her pretty calligraphy. Somehow I can’t see her being the vandal, not unless she did it for Glynis.”
He stopped at a red light. By now, they were in the middle of some fairly heavy traffic. “I’ll have Rex run a background check on Margaret, and I’ll give Detective Bell the party invitation, so the police can compare her handwriting to the calligraphy on your wall.”
“Good idea. We’ll wait to see what they say before we decide if we should attend the party.”
“I hope we don’t have to even consider it. I hope this case is solved before then.”
“Me, too.”
But how likely was that? Nothing was ever that easy, at least not for Daniel. Having amnesia was making his life seem like a crap shoot.
His cell phone rang and he answered it, using the hands-free device he kept in his car. “Hello?”
“It’s Rex.”
Before the other man could proceed, Daniel said, “You’ve got great timing. We just left Glynis’s. It’s possible that she’s the vandal. Her or her housekeeper.”
After they discussed what had happened at Glynis’s and Rex agreed that a background on Margaret seemed essential, the P.I. stated his business, the reason he’d called.
“I’d like you to meet me at your dad’s house tonight. I already spoke to him, and he revealed something about your past that could be pertinent.”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“I think it’s something all of us should discuss together.”
“All of us?” Daniel assumed that meant Allie, too. Rex wasn’t on speaker, so she couldn’t hear everything that was being said, but it was enough to make her curious. He could sense her looking at him.
“Is that okay?” Rex asked.
“It’s fine.” His stomach went tight. “Will this discussion involve a girl from my past?”
“Yes, it will.”
He focused on the road, the tightness getting tighter. He didn’t dare glance at Allie. “A dead girl?”
Rex’s voice jumped. “How did you know that?”
“I just did.” Daniel wasn’t clairvoyant, but apparently his instincts were strong. “I was having sad feelings about her earlier.”
“Do you remember her?”
“No. Just the sadness. Is there a connection between her and the vandal?”
“I can’t say for sure, but there could be.”
It must be complicated, Daniel thought. If it wasn’t, Rex wouldn’t have requested a face-to-face meeting. “What time do you want us to meet you?”
“Around seven. Your dad offered to feed us.”
Daniel frowned. His old man would probably put on a pot of spaghetti and make a batch of cheese-loaded garlic bread. He would probably try to keep things homey. But maybe that would be less stressful for Allie. She liked gathering around a table. She liked the domestic stuff.
Daniel ended the call, and as soon as he hung up, he waited for her to comment on what she’d heard. She did, after about two beats of heart-thumping silence.
“Rex wants to talk to us about the dead girl,” she said.
He nodded. “Strange, isn’t it?” Daniel couldn’t decide if Rex’s timing was coincidence or fate.
“I hope this isn’t going to get creepy.”
“Me, too,” he responded, even though they both knew it was too late for that. It had proved creepy from the start, and it seemed to be getting worse.
Chapter 4
At precisely 7:00 p.m., Daniel escorted Allie into his dad’s house. She’d been here a few times before, and she always felt welcome.
Ernie Deer Runner came forward to greet her. Daniel’s dad was a tall, slightly paunchy man with a kind and gentle nature.
“How’s my girl?” he asked Allie, a smile broadening his face.
“I’m fine.”
She leaned in for a hug. She’d first met Ernie when Daniel had been in the coma. He’d asked the ICU staff to allow her to visit his son, even though ICU visitation was normally restricted to immediate family. He’d believed that Daniel would “sense” that Allie was there, and her presence would aid in his recovery.
Allie had believed that, too, especially when Daniel had finally opened his eyes.
But then he’d looked at her with a confused expression, and she’d known instantly that Daniel hadn’t recovered, at least not in a way that made it easy for them to resume their lives, to pick up where they’d left off.
Daniel sniffed the tomato and basil in the air and said to his dad, “I knew you’d make a pot of spaghetti.”
“It’s lasagna, son. I’ve got a big pan of it in the oven.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll bet it’s going to be good.”
“Always.” Ernie grinned. “You used to be pretty handy in the kitchen, too. The Deer Runner men have always been the chefs in the family.”
“I cooked?”
“I taught you everything I knew.”
Daniel glanced at Allie, and they exchanged an amused look. He could barely boil an egg now. But the humor in his eyes died quickly, and Allie suspected that hearing about his old self made him feel like a stranger in his own skin.
“I didn’t know you used to cook, either,” she said, offering what she hoped was comfort. “You never fixed anything for me. Of course we were too busy fighting witchcraft crimes to do much of anything else.” A strange time for all of them, she thought. She’d been cohabitating with Raven and hadn’t realized that she loved Daniel until he’d been shot, and the possibility of losing him became a reality.
“And now you have a new crime to fight,” Ernie put in.
“So it seems,” Allie responded. Daniel was still being quiet.
Was he wondering about his past relationship with her? The things they’d never done? Never shared? Or was he thinking about the purpose of this meeting? The dead girl from his past?
Daniel glanced at his watch. “Rex is late.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Ernie gestured to the kitchen, where a Formica table with chrome detail and red vinyl chairs made a vintage statement. “Have a seat, and I’ll pour some wine.”
“I don’t want a drink, Dad.”
“I do,” Allie piped up. Anything to take the edge off. She made a beeline for the fifties-style kitchen and a sullen Daniel followed.
Ernie seemed happy to play the host. But Allie knew that he liked to keep busy. He also liked to keep things simple and having an amnesiac son appeared to be taking its toll on him.
The older Deer Runner poured two glasses of Chianti, one for Allie and another for himself. He clanked her glass and flashed a troubled smile. “Here’s to catching bad guys. Or girls or whichever.”
“That works for me.” She took a sip.
Daniel kept glancing at his watch, obviously annoyed that Rex still hadn’t arrived.
Ernie set a plate of biscotti on the table, offering Allie a nutty-flavored treat before the meal. She went ahead and indulged.
“Dip the cookie in the wine,” Ernie coaxed. “I heard that’s what they do in Italy.”
She tried it. “It’s good.”
Daniel shook his head. “What are you trying to do, Dad, turn an Indian girl into an Italian? Look at her with all of that blue bling.”
“Cut it out.” Allie swatted his shoulder. Blue bling was slang for turquoise jewelry. “Stop talking like a rez boy.”
He shrugged, and they exchanged conspiratorial smiles. They’d both been born and raised in Los Angeles. She was a city-slick Native, and so was Daniel—even if he barely remembered his upbringing.
Ernie relaxed, too, grateful, it seemed, that his son’s mood had improved.
Then the doorbell rang, and everyone tensed all over again.
Daniel stood up. “I’ll get it.”
He probably wanted to ream Rex for being late, Allie thought. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand to sit there and wait for the P.I. to glide onto the scene whenever he so pleased. Rex possessed a nonchalant air. Allie assumed it was the playboy side of him. He was quite obviously a ladies man, a guy who took his God-given charm in stride.
While Daniel went to the door, Ernie checked on the meal. As he prepared a pan of garlic bread to go with the main entree, Allie popped up to help. She couldn’t seem to sit still, either.
Soon Daniel returned with Rex. The handsome Sixkiller shook Ernie’s hand and gave Allie a quick kiss on the cheek, drawing a scowl from Daniel.
By the time they sat down to eat and discuss the business of the dead girl, Allie’s pulse ricocheted. Now she was nervous about Daniel’s past, too.
To keep calm, she sipped a second glass of Chianti and complimented Ernie on the food. He’d made marinara sauce for the lasagna, creating a vegetarian dish for her, but he’d also cooked fennel-seasoned sausage for the meat eaters.
Rex started the conversation, speaking directly to Daniel. “The girl was someone you were affiliated with during your senior year of high school. Her name was Susan Delgado. You were with her when she died, along with a group of other kids. You were all swimming in the L.A. River and the current pulled her under. Several of you tried to save her, but…”
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Sheri WhiteFeather
Allie Whirlwind is well versed in the arts of the unexplained and has been known to see ghosts.But when she comes home to find a warning in red paint: This Is For Daniel, she knows she's dealing with a flesh-and-blood predator. Daniel Deer Runner was a military man and Allie's best friend–until the injury he incurred saving her life left him with amnesia–and no memory of their attraction.As they search for clues to her stalker, forgotten memories surface…and unstoppable passion sparks. Yet someone out there will kill to keep Daniel from falling for Allie again….
Daniel returned with two frosty glasses of ice water. As the water wet her lips, she battled what she’d been battling all day: the desire to kiss him.
“Are you scared?” he asked.
“Yes.” But not just of the stalker. She was afraid of the constant hunger, too.
“I’ll keep you safe, Allie. I swear I will.”
“I know. I trust you.”
“If you have trouble sleeping tonight, you can come to my room.”
The glass almost slipped from her hand. “You’re inviting me to sleep with you?”
“Not with me. Beside me. We won’t do anything.”
“We won’t?” This was the strangest conversation she’d ever had.
“No. I mean, we can control our urges.” He searched her expression. “Right?”
Did he need to prove that they could keep their relationship at a no-sex level, even if they shared the same bed? Was that why he’d made the offer? Or was he truly worried about her being alone, steeped in stalker nightmares? She suspected it was a combination of both.
Dear Reader,
This story has been a long time coming. Allie Whirlwind and Daniel Deer Runner appeared in Never Look Back, my 2006 Silhouette Bombshell. Since then, I’ve received numerous e-mails about them. Readers kept asking if their romance was going to continue. You see, at the end of Never Look Back, Allie had just sent her former lover to the Apache Underworld, and Daniel, the WARRIOR SOCIETY member who saved her life, was awakening from a coma.
So here it is….
Imminent Affair.
For those of you who remember Allie and Daniel, this book is for you. For those of you who haven’t met them yet, this book is also for you. Within the pages of Imminent Affair, Allie and Daniel enter a new phase of their lives. Dangerous, yes, but loving, too. Which is, after all, the wonder and beauty of romantic suspense.
Love,
Sheri WhiteFeather
Imminent Affair
Sheri Whitefeather
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
SHERI WHITEFEATHER
pens a variety of romances for Silhouette Books. She has earned several prestigious readers’ and reviewers’ choice awards and become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories.
Sheri’s hobbies include decorating with antiques and shopping in thrift stores for vintage clothes. Currently, she lives in a cowboy community in Central Valley, California.
She loves to hear from her readers. To contact Sheri, visit her Web site at www.SheriWhiteFeather.com.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 1
Allie Whirlwind couldn’t breathe. The air in her lungs wouldn’t expel. She felt as if someone were sitting on her chest, forcing her to relive a nightmare.
Only this nightmare didn’t involve her serial killer mother or her psychic sister or the ghost of her father. It didn’t involve Raven, either. Her former shape-shifter lover had moved on to the underworld, to an Apache place that rivaled heaven.
And now Allie was in hell.
While she’d been at work, someone had come into her loft and trashed her bedroom. Just moments ago, she’d opened the door and encountered the gruesome sight.
Her sheets had been slashed. The canopy above her bed had been knifed. On the wall nearest the window, red paint dripped like blood, with a message in the center that said This is for Daniel.
Still struggling to breathe, she stared at the elegantly scripted letters. The vandal had used a lovely form of calligraphy. Daniel’s name was especially pretty.
This is for Daniel.
What was? The mock blood? The knifed anger? The whole chilling scene?
Was Daniel in danger? Panicked, she reached for the phone and dialed his cell.
He answered on the second ring, apparently recognizing her number from caller ID. “Hey, Allie.”
The air in her lungs finally whooshed out. He was the man she loved, but she didn’t have the courage to tell him. As far as he knew, she simply regarded him as a friend. But that was all he considered her, too. He didn’t remember that deeper feelings had developed between them. Daniel Deer Runner had retrograde amnesia.
“Allie?” he addressed her again, filling the silence.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m on a break at work.” He paused for a second. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
She bit back a rush of tears. “Someone slashed up my bedroom and used red paint that looks like blood. They left a message that said they did it for you.”
His voice went anxiety-ridden gruff. “Someone? Someone who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes.” She’d done that right away.
“Good. Stay put, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Oh, thank God, she thought. He was coming over. They hung up, and she waited in the living room, with Christmas decorations twinkling in every corner. This was Allie’s favorite time of year.
Clinging to her holiday spirit, she lit some cookie-scented candles, hoping that Daniel would get there before the LAPD.
No such luck.
The police arrived in record time. Most local cops knew her, or at least knew of her. She was even friends with some of the Special Sections homicide detectives. But these detectives were unfamiliar, and that did little to steady her nerves. Being the daughter of a serial killer made Allie and her sister uncomfortably famous. Not only was their mother a murderer, she was a black magic witch, and in their culture, witchcraft was evil. The question, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” didn’t apply. But at least Mom was in prison now, paying her debt to society on death row.
A detective named Bell interviewed Allie. He was tall and blond and purposely expressionless. They went into her bedroom and stood amid the mess.
“Who’s Daniel?” he asked, scribbling on a notepad and glancing up at the message on the wall. His partner did other investigative-type things, like interviewing neighbors, taking photographs of the vandalism, checking for signs of forced entry and dusting for prints.
“He’s a friend,” she responded, wishing that Daniel didn’t make her ache. Allie had always dreamed of falling in love, but not with a man whose lack of memory robbed her of a future with him. “He’s on his way. He should be here soon.”
Bell merely nodded. “Does anyone else live here?”
“Not anymore. My sister used to, but she just got married. She’s in Europe on her honeymoon. Her husband is a special agent. You know. FBI.”
No visible reaction, aside from another nod.
Allie fidgeted with the silver beads around her neck. She favored Native jewelry and wore it often. She was a full-blood from the Oglala Lakota Sioux and Chiricahua Apache Nations.
“He saved my life,” she heard herself say. Her mind was moving in what seemed like a zillion different directions. She hadn’t meant to offer unsolicited information.
“The special agent?”
She shook her head. “Daniel.”
That got Bell’s attention. He exhibited a genuinely interested expression. “How?”
“He stepped in front of a loaded gun that was aimed at me.” Just in case the officer presumed that the message on the wall was related to the shooting, she explained that the shooter, an admirer of her mother’s, was in prison now and was no longer a threat.
“How badly was Daniel hit?”
“Bad enough to need surgery, to slip into a coma and lose most of his memory.”
“Which means what? That he won’t be able to provide answers as to who might’ve done this and why?”
“Probably not. But he’ll do his damnedest to try.” Daniel Deer Runner belonged to a Warrior Society, a group of former military men who excelled at close quarter combat and fought for Native causes. He wouldn’t let something like this go. He wouldn’t let someone torment Allie in his name.
Anxious to see him, she fidgeted with her jewelry again. Daniel consumed her mind far more often than he should.
He arrived a few minutes later, cradling Samantha. Sam was Allie’s cat, a fussy black stray that shunned almost everyone except Allie. Sam adored Daniel, but he’d worked on wooing her.
“I found her outside,” he said. “She was hiding under the stoop. The vandal must have scared her.”
He handed Allie the cat, and when she took Samantha, their hands connected. Touching him was almost more than she could bear. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, to take comfort in his strength.
Daniel stood tall and broad, with medium-length, slightly messy black hair and killer cheekbones. He used to iron his jeans, slick back his hair and sport horn-rimmed glasses. But he’d changed since the coma. He’d ditched his ironing board, traded his glasses for contact lenses and tossed out the Brylcreem.
Today he wore dark blue scrubs. He was a veterinary technician at the zoo, and although he struggled to recall people from his past, he clearly remembered how to do his job.
“I’m sorry this is happening to you,” he said. “That someone…” He frowned at his name on the wall.
Allie couldn’t seem to find her voice. Detective Bell stood back, watching her and Daniel. Did the cop suspect how she felt about her “friend?” Did the person who’d vandalized Allie’s room suspect it, too? Was that a key point? Was the vandal another woman who had designs on Daniel?
He reached out and skimmed the side of her arm, and the long, gentle stroke from his fingers gave her soft, sexy chills.
“You’re so quiet,” he said.
She tightened her hold on the squirming cat. Apparently Sam wanted to bolt, to hide under the stoop again. Or maybe she wanted to climb back into Daniel’s protective arms. Allie certainly understood that.
Since he was waiting for a response, she said, “I should be used to creepy things by now. But coming home to this was shocking.” Mostly because it was related to him. The creepiness from the past had involved her mother.
Daniel frowned at the wall again, and Detective Bell led him away from Allie to interview him. She remained off to the side, noticing that Bell was more cordial with Daniel than he had been with her.
The boy’s club, she thought. It made her feel like a third wheel. But she supposed that sweetening the loft with cookie-scented candles made her seem like a girly-girl, which she was, most of the time. Sometimes she even got lost in her own dreams. Allie was a fantasy artist who painted sensual mermaids, fire-breathing dragons and castles in the sky. For her day job, she gave art lessons at a bustling senior citizen community center.
Not that Allie wasn’t trained in self defense or couldn’t hold her own. Of course the last time she was in danger, Daniel had taken a bullet for her. She hadn’t done a very good job of protecting herself.
Bell ended the interview, and Daniel returned to her.
“I want you to come home with me,” he said. “To stay at my house until this is over.”
She looked into his eyes and noticed that the light caught a corner of his contact lenses. Two months had passed since he’d lost his memory, since Daniel had morphed into a harder-edged man, and she was still getting used to the alpha he’d become. Although he’d always been tall and muscular with striking features, he’d also been a bit of a nerd, even to the Warrior Society. Years ago, they’d nicknamed him “Fearless” derived from Fearless Fly, a goofy vintage cartoon character that obtained superpowers from his glasses.
Sometimes Allie missed Daniel’s glasses. Sometimes she missed who he used to be. But the new Daniel was wildly compelling, and she couldn’t help but love him, too. He was Fearless either way. The nickname still fit.
A scowl bracketed his mouth. “Why aren’t you talking to me, Allie?”
Oh, damn. She’d done it again. She’d kept quiet. “I’m not sure about going home with you.”
The scowl deepened. “Why not?”
Because sleeping under the same roof would only make her want him that much more. She fabricated an excuse. “My studio is here.”
“I have a couple of extra rooms. You can use one of them as a studio.”
She put Sam on the ground. The cat was meowing for her freedom. “I know, but—”
“But nothing. I’m not leaving you here alone. Detective Bell thinks this could turn into a stalking, and I agree. We think the vandal is a deranged woman from my past who considers your friendship with me a threat.”
Allie had already mulled over that possibility. The calligraphy seemed deliberately feminine, as if the vandal was identifying herself as a woman, especially from the pretty way she’d written Daniel’s name. “How did she get into my loft?”
“The front door lock was picked. But that isn’t a complicated lock. A credit card would have done the trick.”
“Maybe the police will come up with some fingerprints.”
“Maybe, but it’s doubtful. More than likely, she was wearing gloves.”
“How many deranged women from your past do you think are out there?”
He tunneled his hands through his already messy hair. “How the hell would I know? I’m going to ask Rex Sixkiller to investigate my life, the things I can’t remember.”
“Is Rex from the Warrior Society?”
“Yes, but he’s a licensed P.I., too.”
She could only imagine how invasive for Daniel that was going to be. “What about Glynis?”
He squinted. “Who?”
“Glynis Mitchell. She’s a former lover of yours, and a bit of an enemy of mine. She’s never done anything threatening, but she disliked me from the start.”
Daniel cocked his head. “Because of me?”
“Because of my mother. A lot of people dislike me for being related to Yvonne Whirlwind.” A connection that made Allie sick, too. “Still, I should probably tell Bell about Glynis.”
“Yes, you definitely should.” He angled his head again. “Why didn’t you ever mention her to me before?”
Allie shrugged, trying to seem more unaffected than she was. She didn’t like thinking about Daniel with other women. “Glynis didn’t seem to matter until now.”
“After you talk to Bell, you need to pack your bags,” he said, reminding her that he wasn’t taking no for an answer. She was going home with him, whether she wanted to or not.
While Allie settled into a guest room at his house, Daniel waited for her to join him in the kitchen for dinner. He wasn’t much of a cook, and since Allie was a vegetarian, he tossed a simple green salad and proceeded to grill a couple of cheese sandwiches. He put on a pot of herbal tea, too. Allie liked hot tea.
Samantha purred at his feet and he reached down to pet her, but the cat wouldn’t be staying for very long. Tomorrow, she would be going to a boarding facility. Allie was worried that Sam might become the target of the vandal’s next threat, and Daniel agreed that it was a valid concern.
He petted Sam again, thinking how pretty she was, much like her mistress. Allie was a bit of cat herself. Long, lean and feline.
Damn, Daniel thought. Damn.
Allie stirred a blood-burning hunger he was desperately trying to suppress. Being friends with a woman that you wanted to strip naked wasn’t a good thing.
To make matters worse, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten laid, and he meant that literally. He’d been celibate since the post-surgical coma that had wiped out most of his memory.
She entered the kitchen, and his pulse quickened. She looked so soft, so beautiful, so vulnerable, he battled his emotions. Beyond the attraction was an overwhelming desire to keep her safe.
The scene at her loft had knotted his gut. If it went further, if someone tried to harm her…
“I think it’s done,” she said.
He gave her a blank stare. Or maybe it wasn’t so blank. At the moment, he’d become fixated on her waist-length hair, on the way it framed her face and wrapped her in flowing lines. “I’m sorry. What?”
“That sandwich. You’re killing it.”
He glanced down at the pan. He was squishing the grilled bread with a spatula, making cheese leak out the sides. He scooped it up and put it on a plate, then realized how unattractive the presentation was. Trying to pretty it up, he reached for shiny red apple from a basket on the counter and placed it beside the sandwich. He’d already put the salad on the table.
Once both plates were fixed, he and Allie sat down to eat. She didn’t seem to mind his lousy cooking. Either that or she was too hungry to care. The tea seemed to help, too. She sweetened it with honey and sipped generously.
“Tell me more about Glynis,” he said. It was odd to ask one woman about another, but what else could he do? He had no recollection of his former lover. His doctor claimed that portions of his memory might return, but a full recovery was doubtful.
Allie glanced up from her plate. “She owns a string of mortuaries that she inherited from her late husband. She’s always had a ‘thing’ for death.”
Daniel made a tight face. If Glynis was the vandal, she might be capable of anything. Not only that, but why would he have slept with a woman who was intrigued by death? That didn’t bode well for his character.
“In the eighties, she ran a Death Rock club,” Allie said.
“The eighties?” Not only did Glynis sound odd, she was older than he’d expected. “I dated a cougar?”
“That’s one way of putting it, I guess. But I can see why you were attracted to her. She’s quite glamorous. She resembles Bettie Page.”
“The 1950s pinup model?” Daniel got an image of a shapely brunette wearing fetish gear. The Glynis scenario was getting weirder. He wondered what sort of relationship he’d had with her. He couldn’t begin to describe how disturbing it was not knowing intimate details about himself.
He quit eating. The sandwich tasted like crap anyway. “I wasn’t into kinky sex, was I?”
Caught off guard, Allie coughed on a sip of tea, and he realized how inappropriate the question was. He couldn’t backpedal, so he apologized. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t expect you to know something like that.”
Her cheeks turned rosy, making her look young and sweet, even if she was almost thirty.
Daniel discarded his kinky sex concerns. He might be lusting after Allie, but he wasn’t envisioning her in a rubber corset and bondage ties. He would rather see her in a luxurious nightgown, something long and lacy.
He wanted to reach across the table and touch her, but he resumed their conversation, returning to Glynis. “What does her fascination with death entail?”
“When she was younger, she used to pen pal with killers on death row. After she met her husband, she learned to respect death the way he did, not wallow in the morbid side of it. Or that’s what she claimed.”
“Do you know how I got hooked up with her?”
“Her husband supported the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act. He helped the Warrior Society recover stolen remains and funerary objects to their rightful owners.”
“So I knew him?”
“Yes, and after he died, you helped Glynis get through her grief.”
By sleeping with her? Daniel frowned. “That doesn’t make me sound very honorable.”
“You were honorable to me.” Her gaze locked onto his, and a blast of emotion erupted between them. “You saved my life. You…” Her voice broke, making the connection between them even more sensitive.
“I don’t remember the shooting.”
Her voice rattled some more. “I remember for both of us.”
“Remembering for me doesn’t count.” He wanted his own memories.
She didn’t say anything, and when things got too uncomfortable, he cleared the table. She’d eaten all of her food, lousy as it was.
He turned to look at her. “I think you should take some time off. Maybe call in sick, then arrange for a vacation or whatever.” He would be taking time away from his job, as well. “Tomorrow we can meet with Rex and get started on the investigation. We can pay Glynis a visit, too.”
“She won’t like us dropping by.”
“Too bad for her.” He wasn’t leaving any stone unturned, regardless of where it led or what it revealed about his past.
He was going to protect Allie. Every shaky step of the way.
Chapter 2
Later that night Allie got ready for bed. She rummaged through her nightgowns and pajamas, contemplating what to wear. Not that it mattered. Daniel wasn’t going to see her. He’d already retired to his room.
Still, having him so close, so heart-flutteringly near, she couldn’t resist the urge to look pretty, to feel pretty, to don something soft and feminine. She went for a classic silk nightgown with a hint of ribbon and lace. The champagne-colored fabric hugged her curves and flowed at the hemline.
She washed her face and removed her makeup, then brushed her hair until it shined. The ends skimmed her tailbone.
Okay. There. She looked good. She felt good.
Allie scooted into bed and got restless. Being pretty for herself wasn’t enough.
She wanted to see Daniel, and she wanted him to see her. So do it, her mind coaxed. Find an excuse to knock on his door.
What excuse? That there were monsters under her bed?
The thought made her smile. At one time, she had endured monsters. Real ones. Allie’s diabolical ancestors had conjured witchcraft creatures, and she and Daniel had battled them. He’d helped her through the most difficult time of her life.
Was it any wonder that she loved him?
She got out of bed and checked her appearance in the mirror, giving her hair one final fluff and her nightgown one last body-clinging smooth. From there, she ventured into the hallway. Daniel lived in a modest North Hollywood residence, but he’d fixed it up nicely. He’d made all sorts of improvements, including new carpets, new floors and landscaping the front and back yards. In return, the landlord had discounted his rent.
Allie paused outside his room. A small strip of light shimmered beneath his door, a telltale sign that he remained awake. She still hadn’t come up with an excuse to be visiting him at this hour. But she knocked anyway. She was good at thinking on her feet.
He called out from behind the wooden barrier, “Come in.”
Suddenly she was nervous. She wanted to turn tail and run, but it was too late for that.
Allie opened the door and entered his room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, with a paperback on the nightstand. His chest was bare, making the scar from his surgery visible, and he wore drawstring pajama bottoms slung low on his hips. She glanced at his navel and his gloriously rippled abs. Before she looked too hard and too deep, she shifted her attention to his face.
He was checking her out, too. His dark gaze slid up and down her nightgown-clad body and rested momentarily on her breasts. She prayed that her nipples didn’t get hard. Self-consciousness was setting in. But so was a major revelation.
Although Daniel treated her like a friend, he was sexually attracted to her. Some of what he’d felt for her prior to the coma was still there, sluicing through his blood. If Allie wasn’t such a Chicken Little, she could seduce him.
Climb right in his lap and make him moan.
“What’s going on?” he finally asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to say goodnight.” So much for thinking on her feet. They’d already bid each other goodnight earlier.
He stood up, and his height dwarfed the military-tidy room. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“A little.”
“So am I. But I’m a bit of an insomniac anyway.” He adjusted the waistband of his pajama bottoms, lifting them a smidgen. They’d fallen even lower on his hips. “Was I always?”
God, he looked gorgeous. Rough and ready. “Were you always what?”
“An insomniac?”
She tried not to stammer. He was moving closer. “I don’t know. We never slept near each other.”
“But we fought paranormal creatures, searched for a magic talisman and helped your cursed lover get back to his dead wife?”
“It sounds unbelievable, but that’s what we did.” Her cursed lover had been a time-traveling warrior who’d shape-shifted into a raven.
“Was it hard to let him go?”
The question threw her. Daniel had never questioned her in detail about Raven. “I wanted him to be happy, to find peace.” Before Raven went away, he’d asked Daniel to look after her. But since Daniel didn’t remember, she wasn’t about to tell him. There was only so much she could say about the past without getting emotional. Besides, he was looking after her, even without recalling his promise to Raven.
Allie shifted her bare feet. By now, she and Daniel stood face-to-face. Seducing him crossed her mind again, but she thought better of it. She wanted more from him than sex. She wanted him to remember that he’d loved her.
He had loved her, hadn’t he? He’d never come right out and said it, but she assumed that he had.
A knot grew in her belly. What if she’d been wrong? What if all he’d ever felt for her was a physical attraction?
She glanced at the neon green numbers on the alarm clock. It was almost midnight, and she was battling a newfound blast of anxiety. “I should go. I should try to get some sleep.”
“Me, too. For all the good it will do.” He reached out to touch a spaghetti strap on her nightgown. “You look pretty, Allie.”
The knot in her stomach got tighter. Was he making a play for her?
“I imagined you wearing something like this. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you wore it on purpose.” He snared her gaze. “You’re not psychic, are you? Like your sister?”
She felt like a rabbit caught in a trap. “I can’t read people’s minds. And you shouldn’t have been thinking about me in my bedclothes.”
“The way you shouldn’t be coming to my room looking like an innocent siren?” He stepped back, putting distance between them. He wasn’t making a play. He was reprimanding her, along with himself. “We’re both guilty of misconduct.”
Yes, they were, and he was too damn observant for his own good. Struggling to temper her emotions, she said good-night once again, and turned and left his room, closing the door gently behind her.
Too bad he wasn’t observant enough to figure out that the innocent siren loved him.
The sun shone through the windows, making Daniel aware of its yellow rays. Christmas was only two weeks away, but the Southern California weather didn’t seem to know the difference. Not that Daniel cared. The holidays didn’t make him cheerful. Why he felt like a bit of a Scrooge, he couldn’t say. But lots of people got depressed around Christmas, so he tried not to make too much of it.
Although he was still sleep deprived, he showered, shaved, and donned a pair of freshly laundered jeans and a basic white T-shirt. Next, he headed to the kitchen where Allie was getting a jumpstart on breakfast. She’d already beaten him to the punch and brewed a pot of coffee, and now she was cracking eggs into a bowl.
He stood in the doorway and watched her. She was wearing a big, fluffy pink robe and ugly slippers with mottled colors. He assumed that the pretty nightgown was underneath, but damn if he could tell. She was belted good and tight. He supposed that after last night’s encounter, she wasn’t taking any chances. But at least it was out in the open. At least they’d admitted that they were attracted to each other. Or sort of admitted it. Whatever the case, one thing was clear: they weren’t going to act on it.
Maintaining a platonic relationship was best. Safer, he thought. Less complicated.
“Morning,” he said by way of a greeting.
She glanced up, and they stared at each other, trapped in remnants of the awkward stuff. He cursed the caveman feeling that being near her gave him. He wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to his bed, ugly robe and all.
Finally, she gestured to the food on the counter. She’d diced onions and tomatoes to go along with the eggs. She’d grated cheddar cheese, too. “I hope you don’t mind that I raided your fridge.”
“No, it’s fine. Help yourself. You’re a far better cook than I am.” But who wasn’t?
“Do you want an omelet?”
“I’d love one. Could you put ham in mine, though?” He wasn’t up for another meatless meal. The awful sandwich from yesterday hadn’t stuck to his ribs. He needed something with substance.
She opened the refrigerator to get the ham, and Daniel walked past her to pour himself some coffee. He took a closer look at her slippers and noticed that they were cat faces, with pointed ears, plastic eyeballs, tiny pom-pom noses and long white whiskers.
He couldn’t help but smile. They were even more ridiculous than he’d first assumed. He pointed to the fur balls in question. “Does Sam like those?”
“She loves them.” Allie wiggled her feet. “So do I.”
“It must be a girl thing.”
“I suppose you think they’re atrocious.”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. You can wear whatever you want.” Except pretty nightgowns while she was in his room. He made a show of looking around. “By the way, where is Sam?”
“She was up earlier, but she went back to sleep.”
In Allie’s soft, warm bed, no doubt. “I guess she’s not an insomniac.”
“No. She’s a cozy sleeper. But cats are supposed to take catnaps.”
Daniel’s omelet was done first. Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, Allie managed to fix hash browns, too. She handed him his food, and he stood near the sink and wolfed it down. He didn’t sit at the table because he didn’t want to make a domestic ritual out of sharing meals with her. It was bad enough that he’d brought her to his house for an extended stay.
But what choice did he have? The vandal, the potential stalker, was all too real, and he intended to do whatever it took to keep Allie safe.
Would he take another bullet for her? Yeah, he thought, he would. He would do just about anything for Allie Whirlwind. He wasn’t sure why; he just knew that he would.
“You’re going to get heartburn.” She scolded him for eating so fast.
“I’m fine.” To prove his point, he took a second helping of hashed browns.
She shook her head and sat at the table, spreading a napkin on her lap. She would have looked quite proper if it weren’t for the horrendous robe and slippers.
“I already called Rex,” he said. “He’ll be here in a few hours.”
“I wonder where he’ll start.”
“With my background, I suppose.”
“Are you nervous about it?”
“Why?” He scooped the last of his food onto his fork. “Do you think I have something to hide?”
“No. I just can’t imagine being in your position.”
“I can’t imagine being in yours, either.”
“Getting my loft trashed or having the kind of ancestors that I do?”
“Both.” He thought Allie was too sweet to hail from a lineage of evil witches, but that was her background, her burden to bear. He had no idea what his was going to be.
He’d lied about not being nervous.
By the time Rex arrived, Daniel’s anxiety was at an all-time high. But he hid his feelings, greeting the other man with a sturdy handshake and inviting him into the living room.
Rex Sixkiller was a half-blood from the Cherokee Nation. At thirty-six, he was the same age as Daniel, and although they weren’t from the same unit, they were both Desert Storm veterans who had served in the army. But like most people from Daniel’s past, he had no recollection of Rex. Of course since regaining consciousness, Daniel had made a point of spending time with the Warrior Society, and that included Rex.
“Where’s Allie?” the P.I. asked.
“In her room. I’ll go get her.”
Daniel went down the hall and knocked on her door. She appeared in a colorful Santa Fe style dress and a pair of western boots. Her hair was plaited in a single braid that hung down her back, leaving the angles of her beautifully sculpted face unframed. Her earrings were big silver hoops decorated with turquoise nuggets.
“Rex is here,” he said.
“Oh, okay. I’m ready.”
She walked beside him, and upon entering the living room, Daniel made the introduction. Rex rose to meet her. He also checked her out a bit too closely, putting Daniel on edge. From what he knew, Rex was single and somewhat of a player.
Daniel gave his comrade a territorial stare, and Rex looked back at him with a curious expression. Apparently the other man had wanted to gauge Daniel’s reaction, to see what he and Allie were truly about. And now he knew.
Daniel had the hots for his female friend.
“Let’s get started,” Rex said, settling back onto the sofa and elbowing a leopard-print pillow.
Daniel sat next to him, leaving a leather recliner for Allie.
For a moment, they were all silent, then Rex turned to Daniel and said, “Tell me what you recall from your past.”
“I recall bits and pieces about my parents. My dad lives close by, and my mom died when I was a boy. I’m from the Lakota and Haida Nations.”
“Do you remember being from those tribes or is that something you were told after the coma?”
“I remember.” He paused, then frowned. “I also remember Mom’s body being laid out at the funeral house. It isn’t a good memory.”
“No. I don’t suppose it is.” Rex furrowed his brows. “Do you have any good memories?”
“Not really.” Daniel paused once again, pondering the question. “Actually, my memories of Allie are good.”
He glanced her way, and she scooted to the edge of the recliner. As soon as their gazes locked, he broke eye contact. He wasn’t comfortable with Rex watching.
“How good are they?” the P.I. asked, almost making the query sound like a double entendre.
Not that good, Daniel wanted to say. “They’re kind of warm and fuzzy, I guess.” He hoped that didn’t sound stupid, but it was the only description that came to mind. “I don’t remember her as much as the feeling of being around her.”
“And it was warm and fuzzy?”
“For lack of a better term, yeah.”
Rex shifted his attention to Allie. “Does that sound about right to you?”
She nodded. “Daniel and I were close.”
“But there was no romance?”
“No.” She started to fidget.
Annoyed, Daniel squinted at the P.I. “Is this line of questioning necessary?”
“Yes, it is. I need to know if there’s anything that happened between the two of you that the vandal might have seen or heard.” Rex pushed Allie a little further. “No romance at all?”
“No,” she said again.
“Not even one little oops? One little kiss?”
She responded with another fidgety, “No.”
Rex kept pushing. “Were you visibly attracted to each other? The way you are now?” he added, not mincing his observations or his words.
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
Damn, Daniel thought. This hungry-for-each-other thing wasn’t new. He gave Rex a flustered stare. “Can we move on now?”
Rex gave him a tight nod in return. “Yes, but I’d like to know about other women from your past. Do you recall any of your former lovers?”
“No, and I already told you about Glynis over the phone.”
“She’s a good place to start, but she can’t be the only significant woman from your past. I’m going to have to interview your friends and family and see what they know.”
“You’re an old friend,” Daniel pointed out. “Don’t you remember me being with anyone?”
“Unfortunately I don’t. You were private that way. But someone else from The Society might have a helpful recollection.”
Having his life dissected by other people sucked, Daniel thought. “What if the vandal isn’t a former lover? What if it’s someone with a whacked-out crush on me?”
“I plan to work on that angle, too. And I’m going to need as much cooperation as I can get from you.” He looked at Allie. “And from you. Whoever did this has probably been watching you and Daniel. Tracking your relationship. She might even blame you for his memory loss.”
Daniel spoke up. “You’ll get our cooperation. But I’m not sitting idly by. This is my investigation, too. Whatever leads you uncover, or the police discover, or I find out on my own, I’m following through on them. I’m doing the legwork.”
“I figured you would.” A second later, Rex addressed Allie, including her once again. “And you, too. From what I heard, you and Fearless made quite a team.”
“We did,” she admitted softly, drawing Daniel to the sound of her voice, to that warm and fuzzy feeling that lingered in his scattered mind.
Chapter 3
Allie rode beside Daniel in his truck. That was another thing about him that had changed. He used to drive a simple white van, but he’d traded it in for a sleek black pickup with custom wheels and tires.
Allie had never liked the van, anyway. His new vehicle was much sexier. But so was he. Everything about him left her breathless. She glanced at his profile and got warm and tingly.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Why? Don’t I seem all right?”
“You’re fussing with your seat belt.”
Because the device seemed too tight across her Daniel-deprived body. One little kiss, one little oops, as Rex had put it, sounded darn good about now. “I’m okay.”
“Are you nervous about seeing Glynis?”
Allie glanced out the window. They’d just dropped off Sam at the veterinary clinic where she would be boarded, and now they were headed to Daniel’s old lover’s house.
“Are you?” he asked again.
“Yes,” she responded truthfully. She’d never expected to confront his ex again. She’d had enough run-ins with Glynis in the past to last a lifetime.
“I can take you back to my place,” he offered. “I can do this alone.”
“No way.” Allie wanted to see the other woman’s reaction firsthand. “I wonder if we’ll be able to tell if she’s the vandal, if she’ll give herself away.”
“That seems doubtful. From what you said about her, she sounds complex.”
“She is. I was hoping this would be easy, I guess.”
Daniel turned onto Ventura Boulevard, following the directions Allie had given him earlier. “Can you still paint magic pictures?”
The question caused her to widen her eyes. “Do you remember that about me?”
He shook his head. “You told me about it.”
“Oh, that’s right, I did.”
“Well, can you?”
“I don’t know.” Her experience with Raven had started with a portrait she’d painted of him. “I haven’t been involved in anything magical since then.”
“What about sensing the presence of ghosts? Can you still do that?”
Once again, she didn’t know. “I suppose I could if there was a ghost who insinuated itself into our lives.” Last time, both she and Daniel had made contact with ghosts, but her connection to the spiritual world had been stronger than his. “Why? Are you getting a ghostly vibe?”
“No, but I feel kind of sad.” He stared out the windshield. “And it feels like a memory.” He shot her a quick glance. “How bizarre is that?”
She sat up a little straighter, stretching her too-tight seat belt. “The doctor said you’d probably regain bits and pieces of your memory.”
“I know. But I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Tell me exactly what you’re feeling.”
“That someone who mattered to me died. Someone besides my mom.”
“A woman? A lover?”
“A teenage girl, I think. But the vandal isn’t a ghost. Whoever trashed your room was a real person. A ghost wouldn’t have picked the lock.”
She couldn’t imagine a ghost slashing her bedding with a knife or using blood-red paint, either. But Daniel’s sudden sadness gave her pause. “You should tell Rex.”
“I will. After all of the paranormal stuff that happened before, we can’t be too careful.”
“I agree.” She sighed, wondering if there really was a ghost in their midst. She didn’t feel anything, but maybe her supernatural skills were gone. Or maybe she only felt ghosts that were connected to her, and this one belonged to Daniel.
He drove the rest of the way without sparking another conversation, frowning at the road. Allie didn’t talk, either. She couldn’t think of anything pertinent to say.
Finally he turned onto Glynis’s street, and Allie directed him to her house. He parked at the curb.
“Is that her car?” he asked, pointing to the silver Mercedes in the circular driveway.
Allie nodded. Daniel’s former bedmate lived in a Tuscan estate in Studio City with a spectacular view. She had lots of money and lots of style. Women like Glynis Mitchell ruled the San Fernando Valley.
They took the flagstone path that led to the front door. Exotic plants bloomed in artfully tended flower beds and heart-shaped ivy crept along the building and up around the windows, where rustic shutters were drawn tight.
Allie rang the bell, and the housekeeper, a short, stout woman with graying hair, answered the summons and spurned them with a bitter look. She was fiercely loyal to her employer and had given Allie trouble before.
Daniel gazed at her as if she were supposed to be Glynis. “She doesn’t look like Bettie Page to me.”
Allie bit back a smile. He knew darn well that this snippy old broad wasn’t his former lover.
The housekeeper raised her eyebrows at him, but whether she was reacting to his smart-aleck remark or to the obvious changes in his appearance was unclear. “What do you two want?”
“We’d like to see Glynis,” Allie responded.
“Mrs. Mitchell is relaxing.”
With a martini, Allie thought. Oh, wait. Glynis favored a cocktail called Vampire’s Kiss. That was her drink of choice.
“We’re not going away,” Daniel said. “So you may as well tell her that we’re on her doorstep.”
The housekeeper stormed off in a huff.
She came back a few seconds later and pointed a crooked finger at Daniel, explaining why they were being allowed admittance. “Mrs. Mitchell is curious to see you.”
From there, she ushered them into the living room and said, “Wait here.”
Daniel glanced around, but Allie didn’t need to take in her surroundings. The house looked the same.
The décor presented mottled colors with terra cotta accents. The floors were brick, and the furniture was constructed of timeworn woods. Glynis’s late husband had collected Native American artifacts, and the stunning collection included tribal masks, baskets, pottery, small stone carvings and arrowheads. Strings of chevron beads, probably dating back to Christopher Columbus’s time, were displayed in glass cases.
Holiday decorations dazzled the interior, as well. An artificial Christmas tree shimmered with white lights and crystal ornaments.
“Well, now…” A luxuriously feminine voice sounded from the living room entryway.
Allie and Daniel spun around. There stood Glynis in all of her aging-siren glory. Her pinup-girl hairdo was perfectly coiffed with short rolled bangs and flowing, dark locks. She wore capri pants, high heels and a feather-trimmed blouse. Although she was in her early fifties, she had the figure of someone much, much younger. But didn’t most rich L.A. women? They bought themselves boobs, got liposuction if they gained an ounce of fat and did Pilates with private trainers.
Daniel stared at her, and she stared back at him.
Uncomfortable, Allie sucked in a silent breath.
Finally he said to Glynis, “I don’t remember you.”
“Yes, I heard that you had amnesia.” Her glossy red lips curved into a deliberate smile. “It’s been a long while since we dated, but I’d be glad to refresh your memory.”
“I’ll bet you would.” He kept his expression blank. “But my tastes have changed.”
“Oh, that’s right. You have a crush on Allie. I noticed it the last time I saw you together, before the amnesia and all that.” Glynis finally turned to face her rival. “Have you let him into your pants yet? Or are you still being a tease?”
Before Allie could respond, Daniel snapped at Glynis. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
The other woman kept her cool. “I guess that means she’s still being a tease. Poor boy. That’s what you get for falling for a witch.”
Allie came to her own defense. “I’m not a witch.”
“You’re not evil like your mother? I wonder if it’s possible to have those genes and not be just a little bit evil.”
Allie narrowed her eyes. Was Glynis the vandal? Was she behaving like a potential stalker? Or just a jealous old girlfriend?
“So what’s going on?” Glynis asked, switching tactics. “Why did you stop by?”
“To harass you,” Allie said in her drollest tone.
“Very funny. What for?”
“As if you don’t know.”
“Please, no games. Just tell me what this is about.”
“Someone broke into Allie’s loft and trashed her bedroom,” Daniel said.
Much too dramatic, Glynis clutched a hand to her blouse, ruffling the boa-type feathers. Her fingernails were as red as her lips. “And you think it was me?”
“It seems like a possibility.”
“I wouldn’t waste my time.”
“Wouldn’t you?” he challenged. “Not even for me?”
“No, dear boy. That isn’t my style. But feel free to give my regards to whoever did it.”
“Any idea who that could be?” Cynicism edged his voice. “Besides you?”
“If you’re asking me who else you slept with, I have no idea. You weren’t the type to kiss and tell. Speaking of kisses, why don’t we have a drink?”
He furrowed his brow. Apparently he wasn’t following Glynis’s logic. Allie was, but she remained silent.
He asked, “What do drinks have to do with kisses?”
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t remember. I have a Vampire’s Kiss every day. Sometimes you had one with me. But mostly you preferred Gin and Nothing.”
“I’ll have one of those.” He made a thought-provoking expression, as if he were delving into his own lost mind. “That’s still what I prefer.”
“Then there you go. Some things don’t change.” The dragon lady looked at Allie. “Would you like a drink, too?”
“I think I’ll pass.”
“Afraid I’ll poison it?”
Allie coined Daniel from earlier. “It seems like a possibility.”
Glynis rolled her elegantly lined eyes and proceeded to fix the cocktails. For herself, she used a recipe that consisted of vodka, cranberry juice, orange liqueur and fresh lime juice. For Daniel, she poured a jigger of gin over ice and added a twist of lemon peel.
He accepted the drink and made himself at home on the sofa. Allie figured he had a plan, but she wasn’t sure what it was. He patted the spot next to him, silently telling her to join him. She did, even if she wasn’t comfortable staying any longer than necessary.
Glynis sat across from them and sipped her Vampire’s Kiss. Ignoring Allie, she gazed at Daniel. “I can’t get over how different you look. How different you seem.”
The ice in his glass clinked, and he spoke above the Gin and Nothing sound. “Do you like me better this way?”
She crossed her legs, flashing her sexy high heels at him. “Would it matter if I did?”
He shrugged, then looked closely at her. “I think I do remember something about you.”
She squared her shoulders, lifting her bosom a bit higher. “You do?”
“I seem to recall your pretty handwriting.” He paused for effect. “Calligraphy.”
Aha, Allie thought. Daniel was trying to trap Glynis. They hadn’t told her that calligraphy had been used during the vandalism. If she reacted defensively, she would give herself away.
She didn’t get defensive. In fact, she stunned them by saying, “No, no, darling. That’s Margaret. She’s the one with the lovely penmanship.”
“Margaret?”
“My housekeeper.”
The bulldog who protected Glynis? Could she be the vandal? Had she done it for Glynis? Were they in on it together? And if they were, why was Glynis being so open about it?
Allie shot Daniel a quick glance. He seemed to be pondering the same questions.
Glynis popped up and walked over to an antique desk and opened the roll top. She returned with a fancy envelope. “Margaret is going to address these for me and mail them later today. See? She already put my return address in her calligraphy.”
Daniel took the sealed envelope. “What is this?”
“An invitation. I’m having a Christmas party. Oh, here’s a novel idea. Why don’t you come?” She turned to Allie. “You, too. Just think, you can stress all evening about me poisoning you. What fun that will be.”
Hardy har har. Glynis had a twisted sense of humor. Under different circumstances, Allie might have learned to like her.
Or not.
“We’ll think about it,” Allie said, wondering if the party had been arranged for her and Daniel’s benefit.
“Don’t think too long. You’ll need to RSVP.”
“We’ll let you know.” Daniel stood up.
“I do hope you’ll attend, darling boy. It was so very nice to see you.”
Glynis didn’t walk them out and neither did Margaret. Daniel and Allie left on their own, the invitation tucked safely into his pocket.
Daniel opened the truck door for Allie and watched her climb inside the vehicle. They didn’t discuss the situation, not until he got behind the wheel and started the engine.
“What do you think?” she asked.
That was a loaded question. His mind was crowded and confused, his thoughts clinging like cobwebs. “About Glynis? About Margaret’s calligraphy? About whether or not we should go to the party?”
“All of it. But start with Glynis.”
He pulled away from the curb. “I honestly don’t remember her. Nor does she seem like my type.” Which made his confusion that much greater.
“You don’t think she’s attractive?”
“It isn’t that.” Glynis Mitchell had a great body and fascinating sense of style, but she seemed cold and calculating. Not like Allie. He turned away from the windshield to glance at her. “I prefer softer women.”
“Maybe you used to like tough girls. I can be tough sometimes, and you used to like me.”
Daniel tried not to smile, to make light of her admission. She seemed to believe that her supposed toughness had drawn him to her. But he doubted that was the case.
She fumbled to explain. “Even Glynis commented on your attraction to me.”
He decided not to expound on that attraction, to discuss it beyond a few sentences. “I don’t trust Glynis. It was rude the way she flirted with me in front of you. Those poison remarks were deliberately bitchy, too.”
“Yes, but they seemed more humorous than threatening. Of course, who knows? I never could figure her out.”
“And now we’ve got Margaret thrown into the mix.”
“Yes, ugly old Margaret and her pretty calligraphy. Somehow I can’t see her being the vandal, not unless she did it for Glynis.”
He stopped at a red light. By now, they were in the middle of some fairly heavy traffic. “I’ll have Rex run a background check on Margaret, and I’ll give Detective Bell the party invitation, so the police can compare her handwriting to the calligraphy on your wall.”
“Good idea. We’ll wait to see what they say before we decide if we should attend the party.”
“I hope we don’t have to even consider it. I hope this case is solved before then.”
“Me, too.”
But how likely was that? Nothing was ever that easy, at least not for Daniel. Having amnesia was making his life seem like a crap shoot.
His cell phone rang and he answered it, using the hands-free device he kept in his car. “Hello?”
“It’s Rex.”
Before the other man could proceed, Daniel said, “You’ve got great timing. We just left Glynis’s. It’s possible that she’s the vandal. Her or her housekeeper.”
After they discussed what had happened at Glynis’s and Rex agreed that a background on Margaret seemed essential, the P.I. stated his business, the reason he’d called.
“I’d like you to meet me at your dad’s house tonight. I already spoke to him, and he revealed something about your past that could be pertinent.”
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“I think it’s something all of us should discuss together.”
“All of us?” Daniel assumed that meant Allie, too. Rex wasn’t on speaker, so she couldn’t hear everything that was being said, but it was enough to make her curious. He could sense her looking at him.
“Is that okay?” Rex asked.
“It’s fine.” His stomach went tight. “Will this discussion involve a girl from my past?”
“Yes, it will.”
He focused on the road, the tightness getting tighter. He didn’t dare glance at Allie. “A dead girl?”
Rex’s voice jumped. “How did you know that?”
“I just did.” Daniel wasn’t clairvoyant, but apparently his instincts were strong. “I was having sad feelings about her earlier.”
“Do you remember her?”
“No. Just the sadness. Is there a connection between her and the vandal?”
“I can’t say for sure, but there could be.”
It must be complicated, Daniel thought. If it wasn’t, Rex wouldn’t have requested a face-to-face meeting. “What time do you want us to meet you?”
“Around seven. Your dad offered to feed us.”
Daniel frowned. His old man would probably put on a pot of spaghetti and make a batch of cheese-loaded garlic bread. He would probably try to keep things homey. But maybe that would be less stressful for Allie. She liked gathering around a table. She liked the domestic stuff.
Daniel ended the call, and as soon as he hung up, he waited for her to comment on what she’d heard. She did, after about two beats of heart-thumping silence.
“Rex wants to talk to us about the dead girl,” she said.
He nodded. “Strange, isn’t it?” Daniel couldn’t decide if Rex’s timing was coincidence or fate.
“I hope this isn’t going to get creepy.”
“Me, too,” he responded, even though they both knew it was too late for that. It had proved creepy from the start, and it seemed to be getting worse.
Chapter 4
At precisely 7:00 p.m., Daniel escorted Allie into his dad’s house. She’d been here a few times before, and she always felt welcome.
Ernie Deer Runner came forward to greet her. Daniel’s dad was a tall, slightly paunchy man with a kind and gentle nature.
“How’s my girl?” he asked Allie, a smile broadening his face.
“I’m fine.”
She leaned in for a hug. She’d first met Ernie when Daniel had been in the coma. He’d asked the ICU staff to allow her to visit his son, even though ICU visitation was normally restricted to immediate family. He’d believed that Daniel would “sense” that Allie was there, and her presence would aid in his recovery.
Allie had believed that, too, especially when Daniel had finally opened his eyes.
But then he’d looked at her with a confused expression, and she’d known instantly that Daniel hadn’t recovered, at least not in a way that made it easy for them to resume their lives, to pick up where they’d left off.
Daniel sniffed the tomato and basil in the air and said to his dad, “I knew you’d make a pot of spaghetti.”
“It’s lasagna, son. I’ve got a big pan of it in the oven.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll bet it’s going to be good.”
“Always.” Ernie grinned. “You used to be pretty handy in the kitchen, too. The Deer Runner men have always been the chefs in the family.”
“I cooked?”
“I taught you everything I knew.”
Daniel glanced at Allie, and they exchanged an amused look. He could barely boil an egg now. But the humor in his eyes died quickly, and Allie suspected that hearing about his old self made him feel like a stranger in his own skin.
“I didn’t know you used to cook, either,” she said, offering what she hoped was comfort. “You never fixed anything for me. Of course we were too busy fighting witchcraft crimes to do much of anything else.” A strange time for all of them, she thought. She’d been cohabitating with Raven and hadn’t realized that she loved Daniel until he’d been shot, and the possibility of losing him became a reality.
“And now you have a new crime to fight,” Ernie put in.
“So it seems,” Allie responded. Daniel was still being quiet.
Was he wondering about his past relationship with her? The things they’d never done? Never shared? Or was he thinking about the purpose of this meeting? The dead girl from his past?
Daniel glanced at his watch. “Rex is late.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Ernie gestured to the kitchen, where a Formica table with chrome detail and red vinyl chairs made a vintage statement. “Have a seat, and I’ll pour some wine.”
“I don’t want a drink, Dad.”
“I do,” Allie piped up. Anything to take the edge off. She made a beeline for the fifties-style kitchen and a sullen Daniel followed.
Ernie seemed happy to play the host. But Allie knew that he liked to keep busy. He also liked to keep things simple and having an amnesiac son appeared to be taking its toll on him.
The older Deer Runner poured two glasses of Chianti, one for Allie and another for himself. He clanked her glass and flashed a troubled smile. “Here’s to catching bad guys. Or girls or whichever.”
“That works for me.” She took a sip.
Daniel kept glancing at his watch, obviously annoyed that Rex still hadn’t arrived.
Ernie set a plate of biscotti on the table, offering Allie a nutty-flavored treat before the meal. She went ahead and indulged.
“Dip the cookie in the wine,” Ernie coaxed. “I heard that’s what they do in Italy.”
She tried it. “It’s good.”
Daniel shook his head. “What are you trying to do, Dad, turn an Indian girl into an Italian? Look at her with all of that blue bling.”
“Cut it out.” Allie swatted his shoulder. Blue bling was slang for turquoise jewelry. “Stop talking like a rez boy.”
He shrugged, and they exchanged conspiratorial smiles. They’d both been born and raised in Los Angeles. She was a city-slick Native, and so was Daniel—even if he barely remembered his upbringing.
Ernie relaxed, too, grateful, it seemed, that his son’s mood had improved.
Then the doorbell rang, and everyone tensed all over again.
Daniel stood up. “I’ll get it.”
He probably wanted to ream Rex for being late, Allie thought. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand to sit there and wait for the P.I. to glide onto the scene whenever he so pleased. Rex possessed a nonchalant air. Allie assumed it was the playboy side of him. He was quite obviously a ladies man, a guy who took his God-given charm in stride.
While Daniel went to the door, Ernie checked on the meal. As he prepared a pan of garlic bread to go with the main entree, Allie popped up to help. She couldn’t seem to sit still, either.
Soon Daniel returned with Rex. The handsome Sixkiller shook Ernie’s hand and gave Allie a quick kiss on the cheek, drawing a scowl from Daniel.
By the time they sat down to eat and discuss the business of the dead girl, Allie’s pulse ricocheted. Now she was nervous about Daniel’s past, too.
To keep calm, she sipped a second glass of Chianti and complimented Ernie on the food. He’d made marinara sauce for the lasagna, creating a vegetarian dish for her, but he’d also cooked fennel-seasoned sausage for the meat eaters.
Rex started the conversation, speaking directly to Daniel. “The girl was someone you were affiliated with during your senior year of high school. Her name was Susan Delgado. You were with her when she died, along with a group of other kids. You were all swimming in the L.A. River and the current pulled her under. Several of you tried to save her, but…”
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Sheri WhiteFeather
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: Allie Whirlwind is well versed in the arts of the unexplained and has been known to see ghosts.But when she comes home to find a warning in red paint: This Is For Daniel, she knows she′s dealing with a flesh-and-blood predator. Daniel Deer Runner was a military man and Allie′s best friend–until the injury he incurred saving her life left him with amnesia–and no memory of their attraction.As they search for clues to her stalker, forgotten memories surface…and unstoppable passion sparks. Yet someone out there will kill to keep Daniel from falling for Allie again….