Smokescreen, page 5
“Sounds like we may have a new mystery on our hands.”
“I’m starting to think so.”
* * *
“It’s a mystery,” Officer Harbison told Taylor and Riley that evening when he stopped by the condo to give them an update. “Nothing was stolen, and no one is sure what this guy was after. There weren’t any fingerprints other than yours, so we know that whoever did the damage to your car was wearing gloves. The bottom line is that this is nothing more than an unfortunate case of vandalism.”
“A very unorthodox case of vandalism,” Riley amended.
“I’ll agree with you there, but I’m afraid there isn’t much more we can do,” Officer Harbison told them. “No one saw the perpetrator clearly enough to identify him. We only know that a man with dark hair ran away from your vehicle after the restaurant owner yelled at him.”
Taylor suppressed a sigh. “Well, thanks for all of your help.”
“Sorry we couldn’t do more,” he said, holding out a manila envelope to Taylor. “Here’s a copy of our report. You’ll probably need this for your insurance company.”
“Thanks.” Taylor took it from him and then walked him to the door. After he left she turned to face Riley. “What a day.”
“How long did the dealership say it would take to fix your car?”
“At least a week. Maybe two.” Taylor moved to the couch and flopped down on it. “The worst part is that the insurance company won’t pay for a loaner car.”
“I wish I could lend you mine, but I’m going to be out on location a lot this week for work.” Riley sat down in the chair across from her. “I know. Why don’t we go borrow Mom’s car? They won’t be back from Brazil until after your car is fixed. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
“That’s a good idea.” Taylor nodded, cheered by the thought. “You know, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me crashing at their place too. That way you and Tristan can have your privacy back.”
“Don’t be silly.” Riley shook her head. “I’ve hardly seen you for the past year. It’s great having you here. Besides, after what happened yesterday, we’ll feel a lot better having you stay here with us.”
“Are you sure?”
Riley nodded. “I think Tristan should be home in a little while. Why don’t we go pick up the car now, and then we can order some Chinese food for dinner.”
“Sounds good.” Taylor shifted to stand up just as the front door opened.
The scent of cashew chicken and lo mein drifted into the room as Tristan walked in followed by Quinn.
“Hi, honey. I’m home.” Tristan crossed to where Riley was sitting and greeted her with a lingering kiss. “And I brought company.”
Quinn set the paper bag he was carrying down on the kitchen table. “And the company brought food.”
Riley laughed. “We were just talking about ordering out. You guys read our minds.”
Quinn gave her a wry smile. “We decided it was my turn to cook.”
“If you insist.” Riley reached a hand out to Tristan and let him pull her up. “Let’s eat.”
Taylor crossed to the kitchen as Quinn unpacked the food and then, clearly at home in their kitchen, went to one of the cabinets to retrieve some plates. Within minutes, they were all sitting at the table, sharing Chinese food and laughing about the practical joke Tristan had pulled on Seth during their most recent training mission. They talked about their respective days, lingering for several minutes on Taylor’s misfortune the day before. Quinn also prodded her into telling Riley and Tristan about the incident in Paris.
Other than the discussion about her recent dealings with the police, though, it felt like old times. Taylor could almost pretend that Tristan and Riley were still dating and that Quinn was there because he wanted to spend time with her as much as he wanted to enjoy Tristan and Riley’s company.
Beside her, Quinn pushed back from the table and picked up his plate. “Thanks for letting me invite myself over again.”
“Anytime.” Riley grinned at him. “Especially when you decide to feed us.”
Taylor lifted her plate from the table and started to stand as well, but Quinn laid a hand on her shoulder. “I can take that.”
Taylor glanced up at him, warmth spreading through her at the simple touch. She fought back her frustration that he could still effect her like that and tried to remind herself that any interest Quinn had in her was only casual. She managed to smile up at him and let him take her plate from her. “Thanks.”
Tristan took his cue from Quinn and stood to help clear the rest of the dishes. He set his and Riley’s plates in the sink and then came back to start clearing away the leftovers. He winked at Riley. “Since Quinn brought dinner, does that mean it’s our turn to take care of dessert?”
“I would say that we could have some leftover cheesecake.” Riley looked pointedly at Tristan.
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Yeah, well, the guys said to thank you for that.”
“What guys?” Taylor looked from Riley to Tristan. “What did happen to the cheesecake? I was looking for that earlier.”
Riley shifted her attention to Taylor. “My darling husband decided he wanted some for breakfast and then had the brilliant idea that the other guys in the squad would probably like some too.”
“For breakfast?” Taylor asked, shifting her attention to Quinn who now represented “the guys” in her mind.
Quinn nodded. “Energy food.”
“You know, it’s all coming back to me,” Taylor said. “When we were all living in North Carolina, you and your buddies had a tendency to show up at our apartment a lot around mealtimes.”
“You can’t exactly make it into the SEAL teams without having some intelligence,” Quinn reminded her.
“Really?” Taylor’s eyebrows lifted.
Quinn gave her an innocent shrug.
“Tell you what,” Riley pushed back from the table and looked over at Tristan, “why don’t we go run down to the grocery store and get some ice cream for dessert, and then we can swing by my parents’ house and pick up mom’s car for Taylor? We thought she could borrow it until hers is fixed.”
“I guess we can do that.” Tristan nodded. Then he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Quinn. “Ice cream is pretty good for breakfast too.”
Riley laughed as she reached out and gave Tristan a playful slap on his arm. “Come on.”
Taylor glared at Riley, fully aware that her sister’s plan was nothing more than a poorly concealed attempt to leave her alone with Quinn. Riley glanced over at her, gave her a little smile, and then led the way to the door.
Tristan followed Riley and pulled the door open for her. Then he glanced over his shoulder. “We’ll be right back.”
“We’ll be here,” Quinn said, his voice cautiously neutral.
Trying hard not to be annoyed, Taylor stood up and gathered a couple of empty food containers. She tossed them in the trash and then leaned back against the kitchen counter, resigned to having to make small talk with Quinn. “Did you really have cheesecake for breakfast?”
Quinn’s eyebrows lifted. “Seems to me that you’re the one who taught me that little trick.”
Taylor nodded at him knowingly. More than once Riley had gotten annoyed at her for eating unconventional things for breakfast. She never could quite understand Taylor’s logic about the fact that cheesecake had as much dairy in it as a glass of milk but tasted a whole lot better.
“What was I thinking?” she asked now, her tension easing. “By the time I got around to eating breakfast, all that was left was some of Riley’s healthy cereal and bran muffins.”
“And the leftover lasagna from last night,” Quinn reminded her.
Taylor’s eyes widened. “How did you know that’s what I had for breakfast?”
Quinn shifted and leaned back against the counter facing her. “Taylor, it isn’t rocket science. There’s no way you would ever eat your sister’s health food, and we had already snagged the cheesecake.”
“I guess you know me better than I realized.” Taylor met his gaze. “Should I be worried?”
“I don’t know.” Quinn shrugged, then surprised them both by saying, “But maybe we should find out. Do you want to go catch a movie or something tomorrow?”
For a moment, Taylor could only stare at him. Then she surprised herself with her response. “Sure. I’d like that.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, doubts shot through her. He had broken things off with her once without any warning. What was to keep him from breaking her heart again? She fought back a sigh as a single fact continued to cloud her judgment: She was still crazy about the guy.
8
“What do you mean you didn’t find it?” Gregorio Amici’s eyes darkened as he stared at the man standing on the other side of his desk. “This should have been a simple operation, one that you assured me was going to be finished weeks ago.”
The slender man shifted his weight and glanced down at the thick beige carpet beneath his feet. “I’m sorry, sir. We’ve had some complications.”
“Get it resolved,” Gregorio ordered in his typical brisk manner. Then he leaned back in his chair, and his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly. “And remember, I don’t like to be disappointed.”
“I understand, sir.” The man stood for a moment longer, apparently unsure if he had been dismissed. Then he took a step backward and then another. When he reached the door, he nodded awkwardly at Gregorio and quickly left the room.
Gregorio stared after him for a brief moment before opening the thick agenda on his desk. He flipped through a few pages, calculating dates and travel times in his mind. Everything was moving along smoothly except for this current dilemma. He shook his head, annoyed. He wasn’t sure how this American girl had managed to complicate his plans, but he assured himself that it was only a matter of time before everything fell into place. And if his men couldn’t take care of the American, then he would simply have to resort to more effective measures.
The phone on his desk rang, and Gregorio closed his book. A few more weeks, he assured himself, and he would be able to leave this office behind for good.
* * *
Quinn checked his gear one last time as he stood up in the back of the helicopter along with the other four members of his squad. He could smell the saltwater through the open door of the helicopter, and the whirring of the blades overhead was deafening despite the protective covering over his ears. No one spoke, already aware that communication would be difficult except through the use of hand signals.
Brent Miller, the commander of the Saint Squad, used one of those signals now, and his men sprang into motion. The twenty-twenty jump was a routine training exercise, but like everything they did, there was always a risk of injury or worse. The helicopter reached the proper speed and position, twenty knots and twenty feet above the water.
Then the next command came. One at a time, in quick succession, each member stepped through the open door of the helicopter and splashed into the water, weighted down with nearly a hundred pounds of gear. Quinn was the last to enter the water today. He stepped off, took a deep breath, and then held it as he plunged into the cold water. He let himself relax as gravity forced him beneath the pull of the waves, and then he fought the weight of his pack as he worked his way back to the surface.
Already, the helicopter had turned sharply and was headed back to base, but Quinn didn’t look toward the shore. Instead, he counted the heads bobbing in front of him to make sure his team had all surfaced safely. When he was certain that everyone was indeed okay, Quinn let his training take over as he fell into position with the other men and they began swimming toward the beach.
On one level, he was going through his mental checklist as he moved through the frigid water. Check on Tristan, count heads, pick a focal point on land, adjust angle to compensate for the current. On another level, Quinn was already thinking about what would come later. After he and the squad worked their way to the beach and ran the two miles to their final destination for the day, Quinn would take the time to shower off the saltwater and sand and dress for his date with Taylor.
He still wasn’t sure what had prompted him to ask her out. For the past few months, he had avoided her in every way possible, thoroughly convinced that it was best if he let her get on with her life without him weighing her down.
That concern seemed insignificant now, especially after finding out about the recent events in her life. Besides, it wasn’t like he planned to let things get serious between them. The fact that she hadn’t demanded any explanations from him about their previous relationship only seemed to prove that she wasn’t looking for anything long-term either.
He was relieved that the expected reproach from Taylor hadn’t occurred, but he also found himself annoyed that she hadn’t seemed to miss him much. As quickly as that thought invaded his mind, Quinn pushed it aside. She was just comfortable to be around, he assured himself. And if she was with him, he could make sure she stayed safe.
He was certain that the only reason he had woken up thinking of her yesterday was because of his concern about the incident with her car. Sure, it was odd how easily they had slipped into their old, familiar friendship. He was a bit surprised that he remembered so many little things about her even though he hadn’t seen her much over the past year. How had he known what she would eat for breakfast yesterday? Or the way he had sensed she was holding something back when she finally admitted to feeling like someone was watching her?
Maybe it was her willingness to confide in him that caused him to still feel connected to her after all of this time apart. Quinn glanced over at Tristan swimming beside him and wondered if he should invite Tristan and Riley along on his date to give him a safety net. They were nearly to the beach now, and a wave crashed over both of them. The water pushed them forward, and suddenly Quinn’s feet brushed against the shifting sand beneath him.
As some of that sand gave way and he struggled forward, he realized he might not find his footing with Taylor no matter what he did.
* * *
Taylor finished loading the last of her paintings into the back of her mother’s minivan and glanced around the visitor’s section of the parking garage beneath her sister’s condo. Satisfied that she wasn’t being watched, she stuffed a few beach towels on either side of the paintings to make sure they wouldn’t shift and then closed the door.
When she pulled out of the garage, she slowed, studying the people on the sidewalks as well as the cars on the street before entering the light flow of traffic. She checked her rearview mirror and then turned away from the ocean. She took the long way, circling several times to make sure she wasn’t being followed. She knew she was probably being paranoid, but her instincts were still on overdrive after the incident with her car.
After taking more than an hour to drive what should have taken thirty minutes, Taylor pulled up in front of her destination. The house looked the same as it had when she had been in high school, except for the new white delivery van parked in the driveway. The father of a high school friend, Gary Holloway, had been framing her artwork for her since she won best of show at the state fair her junior year. Though his main source of income came from the furniture restoration business he ran out of his garage, he did custom framing as a side business. Taylor couldn’t think of anyone else she would trust more to frame these newest paintings.
She pulled past the house and then cranked the wheel so she could back into the driveway. Even though she was only going to be away from the vehicle for a few minutes, she locked the van and then walked to the front door and rang the bell.
“Hey, stranger,” Gary said the moment he pulled the door open. He looked the same, except that his receding hairline had receded a bit farther over the past year, and what hair he had left was cut military short. He took a step forward and gave her a fatherly hug. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“You mean I don’t look older and wiser?” Taylor teased.
“Not a bit.” He motioned to the van. “Come on. Let’s get those masterpieces unloaded so I can take a look.”
Taylor nodded and led the way to the car. “How long do you think it will take you to frame them?”
“I’m a little backed up right now, but I should be able to have them done for you in a few days.” He grinned at her. “Put it this way. Your art will be ready to hang long before you have a wall to hang it on.”
“You never know.” Amusement sparked in her eyes. “I’m going to go check out a couple of places tomorrow.”
“Anything promising?”
“It’s hard to say.” She unlocked the van and pulled open the back door. “I found one that’s only a couple of blocks from my sister, so hopefully I’ll like it.”
“I’m surprised you don’t go stay with your parents for a while.”
“I haven’t seen their place yet, but Dad said it’s only a two bedroom. With Landon coming home from his mission in a couple of weeks, he’ll need to stay there until he heads off to college next semester.”
Gary pulled the first container out of the van and took a step toward the house as Taylor picked up another one. He looked at her, surprised when Taylor set it down and then closed and locked the van before moving to follow him.
A touch of sarcasm laced his voice when he commented on it. “You afraid someone’s going to steal one?”
Taylor nodded. “Actually, I think someone tried to a couple of days ago.”
“What?”
Taylor told him about the damage done to her car and the way one of her paintings had been opened. He helped her unload the other two paintings and rested a hand on one of the protective cases.
“I’ll make sure I take good care of these for you.”
“I know you will.” Taylor smiled at him. She opened one of the boxes. “Now, how about helping me figure out what kind of frames would look best with these?”
“My pleasure.”
9
Quinn angled his car into a spot next to the curb a half block from Tristan’s condo. He had considered walking the three blocks from his apartment to pick up Taylor, but he wasn’t sure if she would be up for walking back to get his car. Another thing he remembered about Taylor was her love of high-heeled shoes.
