Operation Notorious Read online

  Katie stared at him. A shiver rippled through her. She hadn’t yet made the connection between the two incidents. She’d been too focused on him, and worrying if he’d been seriously injured.

  But now she had to consider the very ugly possibility that neither of these events was random or accidental.

  The possibility that somebody was trying to take Gavin out of the equation.

  Because they were afraid he would do what he was famous for doing.

  He’d find out the truth.

  Chapter 31

  “What the hell happened to you?”

  Now there’s a question. The earth moved? My world changed? I changed? Take your pick.

  Gavin could only imagine what he looked like to Quinn, with his head bandaged, a bloodstained shirt, and a chunk cut out of his jeans. He gave him the condensed version, facts only. Without mentioning Katie; he wasn’t quite up to explaining that. He’d sent her on to work, made one call and accepted the traffic investigator’s offer of a ride to Foxworth, since it was so close.

  As he expected, Quinn reached his same conclusion quickly.

  “I don’t believe in that much coincidence,” he said grimly. Cutter barked as if to add emphasis.

  “At least he’s okay,” Gavin said, looking at the dog.

  “He’s learned to take care of himself,” Quinn said, “since the first time.”

  Gavin knew the story, of the operation where Cutter had gone down during a hail of gunfire. The dog had made a complete recovery. Quinn on the other hand, had never been the same; he had met both Hayley and Cutter, and changed his life.

  And now he had met Katie, and one way or another, his life would never be the same, either. He knew that, that even if he walked away, went back to St. Louis and never saw her again, he would never be the same.

  Hayley came out of the kitchen and handed him a much-needed mug of coffee. He took a big swallow, going for the effect rather than taste just then.

  Hayley let him finish before saying, “So how is she?”

  He froze, the mug halfway back to his mouth. “What?”

  “Katie, of course.”

  “I...” He flicked a glance at Quinn, who was studying his wife, his head tilted as he considered her words.

  “Please,” Hayley said, her tone dry. “You weren’t here, you weren’t at our place, and where this crash happened is directly in between here and her place. Not to mention the sparks that practically ignite every time you’re together.”

  “Look,” Gavin said, “I know you think that—”

  Hayley cut him off, smiling. “Cutter didn’t just attach himself to you because you needed him, he also must have sensed you were ready.”

  “Ready?” Gavin asked warily.

  “Or he knows Katie’s the one,” she added.

  Gavin looked at the dog, who now sat beside Hayley, looking...smug. That was the only word he could think of for the animal’s expression.

  “You adjust to that,” Quinn said, still laughing, “while I go get Ty started on digging into your nonaccident.”

  Glad of the distraction, Gavin said, “No traffic cams along there.”

  “No, but there are up on the highway, which he may have taken to get away. I’ll have him look for a silver car with driver’s side damage.”

  “And a missing mirror,” Gavin said. “Katie nearly ran over it in the road.”

  And he had just confirmed Hayley’s guess. Or maybe it wasn’t a guess. Maybe it really did show. After last night, he wouldn’t be surprised.

  “She was behind you?” Quinn asked.

  He nodded. “She had to open up this morning.” His mouth twisted. “She was late, thanks to this. Oh, I borrowed Rafe.”

  Quinn frowned. “I was about to call him to ride shotgun with you.”

  “I’d rather he watched Katie. Just in case. Besides, he’s a bit above watching over a guy who should be able to take care of himself.”

  “He wouldn’t mind,” Hayley said. “He admires you.”

  Gavin blinked, startled. Glanced at Quinn, who shrugged. “He admires anyone who’s the best at what he does.”

  Hayley added, “Probably because he’s the best, and he knows what it takes to get there.”

  “That’s why I want him looking out for Katie,” Gavin said, surrendering any pretense of detachment when it came to her.

  “Your call,” Quinn said.

  “I told him I didn’t want her to know.”

  “Then she never will, unless he has to act.” At Gavin’s nod, Quinn continued. “Meanwhile, Ty found something interesting.”

  “What?”

  “That seminar that Ross Carr was supposed to be attending in San Diego? It was canceled. Hotel had a sewage problem. They tried to find another hotel or venue, but last minute, no luck.”

  Gavin frowned. “When?”

  “First day.”

  Gavin got there instantly. “The day before the knife attack.”

  Quinn nodded. “Exactly. Hayley called and chatted up the receptionist at his job. She said about half the attendees just came home, but the others opted to stay and spend the week basking in the sun.”

  “Let me guess. Including Carr.”

  Quinn nodded. “But of course no one’s seen or heard from him.”

  “Who would expect to?”

  “Exactly. Perfect cover for dropping off the radar for a week.”

  “I presume you have Ty checking to see if there’s any sign Carr headed home instead?”

  Quinn nodded. “Nothing yet, but he’s just started.”

  If it was there, Ty would find it, Gavin thought. And now he was really itching to talk to Carr. He had wanted to anyway, but this first and only blip on the screen of a solid alibi made it imperative.

  Gavin found himself watching the time incessantly, telling himself it was because he needed what Ty was searching for, but knowing that in truth he was counting down the hours until he could see Katie again.

  And that thought made him more edgy than anything else.

  That is until an alert tone drew their attention, and seconds later Ty appeared on the screen above the fireplace. Without preamble, he sent them the photo he’d isolated of a damaged vehicle heading southbound on the state highway. The time frame fit, and the camera where it first appeared fit with the location of the crash. And the damage fit, driver’s side, rearview mirror missing.

  He stared at the image, at the make and model, remembered the flash of silver he’d seen in the instant before the crash. His stomach churned.

  “Can you get the plate?” Quinn asked; it was nothing but a blur in the enlarged shot.

  “Working on it,” Ty answered. Gavin knew if it was possible at all, Ty and the Foxworth enhancement program—much of which Ty himself had written—would do it.

  Instead of signing off abruptly without comment as he usually did, Ty cleared his throat and looked to the right of his own screen. Where, Gavin realized, he himself was sitting.

  “Glad you’re okay, sir,” Ty said, sounding awkward.

  Gavin knew what a rarity this was, both the comment and the “sir,” so he held the young man’s virtual gaze for a moment, before saying, “Thanks, Ty.”

  As the screen went dark, Quinn leaned back on the couch. “Now, that’s a pinnacle few reach.”

  Gavin smiled; he liked the young tech genius Quinn had snatched off an unsavory path. “At least he’s not afraid of me anymore.”

  “So he can focus on being afraid of Charlie,” Hayley quipped, and they all laughed.

  And it was a full minute or two before Gavin found himself contemplating what a meeting between Charlie and Katie would be like.

  And wondering when he’d begun relating damn near everything i
n his life to her.

  * * *

  Katie tapped her finger idly on the steering wheel as she sat at the red light. There were four cars in front of her, which pretty much constituted a traffic jam for this place. She smiled inwardly at how her attitudes had changed since she’d moved here from the city. When she realized she was smiling outwardly, too, she laughed. Happily. She wondered if everyone around her could read her expression as easily as Heather had; her colleague had guessed immediately how last night had ended up. And she’d been delighted, hooting with pure feminine appreciation for her taste.

  “That man is pure hawt!” she’d drawled out with glee. “Good for you. About time.”

  And that brought Katie back to her main topic of thought all day: Gavin. Saturdays were always busy, the library full of people who couldn’t get there any other day, so she hadn’t been able to talk to him, but she’d texted a couple of times, just to be sure there were no unexpected aftereffects from the crash. He’d assured her he was fine, and that they were working both on a possible new lead and on the hit and run.

  He’d texted nothing more personal, and she told herself she shouldn’t be disappointed. He was working, after all. She had hoped he might say something about tonight, about seeing each other. She felt a sudden qualm that perhaps he was having second thoughts.

  “Never mind second thoughts, quit second-guessing,” she muttered as the light changed.

  Yet she found herself shying away from going home, and told herself it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be back there without Gavin, back at the scene where she’d learned more about what glory was physically possible between two people than she’d ever imagined.

  Since he was wrapped up in work that was at least in part for her, she shouldn’t complain that he hadn’t said anything more personal. Guys didn’t think that way, she reminded herself.

  She would stick to her routine, she thought. She would stop by her father’s place, which she did at least once a weekend. No reason to change that now. Especially now, when her father needed her support. And she hadn’t even talked to him for two days. Of course, she’d been a little busy...

  She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. No wonder Heather had guessed right off what she’d been up to last night. She wondered if her father would notice, and what she’d say if he asked.

  Yes, Dad, as a matter of fact, I did have wild, crazy, superhot sex with the most amazing man last night. And by the way, he happens to be your lawyer.

  Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she fought not to let the next words form, even in her mind. She failed.

  And I think I love him.

  She knew it was crazy. Love didn’t happen that fast. Infatuation, yes. But that didn’t last. He’d be heading back home soon, anyway. And he’d made no promises. In fact the most romantic thing he’d said when they’d left this morning was that he’d see her later. No specifics on when “later” was. Of course then that car had swerved out of nowhere and nearly put an end to everything. When she thought of how close he came to being seriously hurt, or worse, it sent a shiver through her. She didn’t like even—

  Her breath jammed into her throat, and every meandering thought vanished as she pulled into her father’s driveway. And saw his car sitting in his carport. His silver car.

  With driver’s-side damage and a missing side mirror.

  Chapter 32

  Quinn ended the call on his cell, stood still for a moment, then turned to look at Gavin. Gavin took one look at his expression and quickly wound up his own call with his contact at the hotel in San Diego; he’d connected with the manager during a bar association meeting there some years ago, and had more recently steered him to Foxworth for help on a personal problem. The man had been more than willing to help, and Gavin now had confirmation that the room allotted to Ross Carr had been paid for, for the week, but according to hotel staff it had shown no sign of being used after that first day.

  Normally he would have immediately relayed that information, but something in the way Quinn was looking at him stopped him. Cutter, who had been inspecting the building as if to make sure nothing had changed here after a night away—and what a night, Gavin thought—stopped and came over to sit at his feet.

  I’m lucky you can’t talk, dog.

  “That was Brett,” Quinn said after a moment. “Ty sent him what he was able to get on the license plate.” Gavin stiffened, apprehension shooting through him. It intensified when Cutter plopped his chin on Gavin’s knee and looked up at him worriedly. “He narrowed it down to a dozen or so registered in the county.”

  Gavin waited. His stomach started to churn again because he knew what was coming. Quinn let out a breath, looked back at his phone, tapped a screen and waited a moment. Then he handed it over.

  Gavin scanned the list of registrations that had come attached to an email from Brett Dunbar. His gaze snagged on the fifth one on the list.

  Steven Moore.

  The churning became nausea. He’d been keeping the fear at bay since the moment he’d seen the photo and recognized the make, together with the fact that the car that hit him was silver—the same color as Moore’s. But now it erupted in his gut.

  Theories exploded in his brain. He noticed the first ones were efforts to make this innocent, to make the obvious not true. He waited, staring at that name, trying to summon up the detachment that had always enabled him to analyze coolly and dispassionately. But when he did he regretted it because the pattern he saw once he got his emotion out of the way was an ugly one.

  Steven Moore, or someone using his car, had intentionally sideswiped him on that rain-slick road, sending him into that ditch. Gavin could easily have ended up hurt much worse than he had been. Or dead. Had that been the goal?

  Questions caromed through his mind, rapid fire. Did Katie know? She’d been the one to suggest the route they both took; had it been for this reason? Had she set him up for her father to take out? But why would she do that when she’d asked for Foxworth’s help, or at least not said no? Why would she bring him into the case, only to try and kill him when he got close to finding an answer?

  Or maybe she really had thought her father innocent, but found out he was not and then quickly and easily changed course. He thought of the women he’d met over the years who would be quite capable of doing that. He would have sworn Katie wasn’t like that, but who knew better than he how wrong he could be if he cared about someone.

  And he cared about Katie. In fact, ten minutes ago he’d been close to facing the possibility that he was falling in love with her. Why the hell else would he be thinking about staying here longer, perhaps long term?

  Fool.

  The chill that crept over him now froze out the heat Katie had fired in him. Because the final possibility, the one he’d been mentally fighting off, was hammering at him now.

  “You’ll have to tell her,” Quinn said quietly.

  Gavin let out a short, harsh laugh. “What makes you think she doesn’t already know?”

  Bitterness flooded him. The dominoes fell in his mind. Katie had known, known all along her father was guilty, had lied and used Gavin—and his reputation—to save him. She’d lied to him about her father, the murder...and herself. It hadn’t been a simple mistake that she hadn’t mentioned her father’s prior career as a locksmith. She probably hadn’t realized how deep Foxworth would dig, had hoped they wouldn’t find it. She’d lied to them from the beginning, and to him up to the end.

  The finality of those last two words hit him hard. The end. He hadn’t even been sure what it was, what had sparked to life between them. And now it didn’t matter.

  Because this was indeed the end.

  * * *

  Katie stared at her father.

  “That’s it? That’s your story?”

  “It’s what happened,
” Steven Moore said, giving her a puzzled look. “Why are you so—”

  “Somebody stole your car, and you didn’t know it until you came out and found it—” she gestured toward the carport “—like that?”

  “I didn’t hear a thing. They must have rolled it out of the driveway before starting it.”

  “With your keys,” she said.

  He grimaced at that. “That’s worse than the car. That’s always been a possibility with just a carport here, but I never thought anyone would actually go into the house to get my keys.”

  “Through the door you just happened to leave unlocked?”

  “I told you I was working in the shop all day.” His brow furrowed. “Why are you talking like this? Like it’s my fault my car got stolen?”

  “And conveniently returned.”

  “Obviously someone took it for a joyride this morning and brought it back after they crashed it.”

  “And you never heard a thing.”

  “I had earphones on,” he said. “The ones you gave me, the wireless ones.”

  Katie took a deep breath to steady herself. She was trembling, she could feel it, but kept on. Because she had to. She hadn’t thought through all the aspects of this, hadn’t had time to, but some part of her knew the entire rest of her life would turn on this. She looked at the side of the car for a moment, and the telltale streak of paint transfer that was the exact color of Gavin’s rental.

  She shifted her gaze back to her father’s face, where it would stay until she was sure, one way or another. “Is that what the police say?”

  He looked discomfited. “I haven’t actually called them yet.”

  Her heart, which had kept hoping for a way out of this, sank. But even knowing there was no answer she would like, she asked, “Why?”

  “Well, I only just discovered it a little while before you arrived. And...I did leave the door unlocked, as you said.”

  Was that hesitation, him deciding to use the out she’d already provided?

  “But you will call them now?”

  He didn’t look happy. “Maybe I’ll just have it repaired.”