Friction. Part 13

She moved slowly out of his arms. Her temper finally snapped-how could he be such a pigheaded, condescending jerk? "I'll thank you not to treat me like a child who has to ask your permission. I'm sorry you lost your family, but that's irrelevant here. You say you care about me, but you don't respect me enough to let me do my job. And besides, it's a done deal."

His eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"I called my boss, told him what I found, told him what you told me-I a.s.sumed we were working together, and he agreed we should pool resources to bring these guys down."

His eyes remained cool-in fact, they'd gone cold-and the tightening of his jaw signaled that he was furious.

"You what? what?"

"I think I was pretty clear. I called the head of our unit, and he wants me to review evidence with you, and get back to him to strategize. Don't worry, Logan-I told him the spot you're in with your department. He'll keep it to himself."

"So you went over my head? Even after I told you I wanted to do this alone? I didn't think you'd sell me out."

"You've got to be kidding! Sell you out? We're all ready to jump in and help you, you first-cla.s.s moron. Can't you see how much better it will be if you wait? If you work with us? Your chances of success will be much higher, and then it will look like we made the bust, clearing you with your department, and finding your partner's kidnappers."

"And conveniently putting a nice feather in your rookie cap while we're at it, huh? Very clever. But I already told you, I don't want the help, you were wrong to go over my head and I'm not strategizing with anyone. Period. In fact, I'm out of here today. I was hoping we could make some plans over breakfast, before I left, but now I can see that isn't going to work."

He turned away, and she took a deep breath, shaking inside, hating that he'd made her vulnerable, which made this hurt more than it should. His words had cut her to the quick.

"You said this thing between us, that it means something. That you cared-but you can turn it off so easily?"

He stopped, planting his hands on his hips, then shook his head.

"No. I can't turn it off. But I can't go on a case with you, wondering what's going to happen, worrying that you might get hurt, or worse. Wondering if I'm going to lose you by the end of the day."

Cold reality settled in her stomach and was reflected in her voice. She wasn't about to crawl out of here, hurt and shattered, at least not so he could see it. "Well, then I guess that settles it. There's no point in seeing what could have been, because nothing would ever come of this if you can't accept and respect what I do, and why I need to do it. What did you think? We'd start dating and I would just quit my job for you? This kind of work will always be a part of my life. It's always been my life." Up until last night, Up until last night, she thought sadly. she thought sadly.

He nodded, slowly, stiffly. "You're right. Nothing could come of this. I'm...sorry, Sarah."

She went toward the door, opening her mouth to say something, to let him know she wasn't about to back off from this case, regardless, and then thought better of it. Let him find out the hard way. She owed him nothing.

APPARENTLY, about thirty-five million years ago, a meteor-a big one-had come zooming out of s.p.a.ce and smacked directly into the area that was now the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, leaving a huge crater underneath the water as evidence of the impact. It had changed the shape of the sea floor, the direction of the rivers and the shape of the land as walls of water too large to imagine rose up from the impact and washed away everything.

Sarah looked out past the interpretive plaque that provided basic information on the Chesapeake Crater, and took some comfort from the breadth of the calm water stretched out before her. The Bay looked peaceful and smooth even though something had torn a big hole underneath it, destroying everything, altering all of the life around it forever.

She'd lived through the psychological equivalent years ago, and though she was feeling a similar impact from her argument with Logan, she wasn't about to let it destroy her. She could withstand it now; she was tougher, more experienced. She'd worked too hard to get where she was and she wasn't about to let a man crash down and wash away her strength, her life, her goals. No way. No matter if it did hurt like h.e.l.l right now.

There was work to be done. She'd left the inn, gone for a walk to clear her head, but she was returning to Norfolk that afternoon to meet with E.J. and Ian. They were working the leads that she'd given them and she had no doubt they would quickly be up to speed on whatever information Logan had denied her. As if he'd thought she couldn't find out for herself.

Whenever people looked for information, on the phone or on the Web, they left footprints, and she knew exactly how to follow them. Her hacking skills, combined with Ian's clout and E.J.'s talents, meant Logan didn't stand a chance. Armed with that and with what he'd told her, it wouldn't take long to figure out the next step.

Of course, that was the long way of finding out what Logan was up to. The short way was to call Ian, tell him what had happened-that Logan was hotd.o.g.g.i.ng it-and have Ian put a tail on him. See where he went and follow him there. And that's what she'd done. Logan wasn't going to get far without them knowing.

Later that day she was meeting up with E.J. and Ian at the office to go over their next move. She just hoped they figured it out in time to keep Logan from getting himself killed or thrown off the force. She understood his need to clear his partner's name and find out what had happened-she'd do the same for Ian or E.J., if need be-but it was his resolute rejection of her help that made no sense. And that was the part that hurt, too. Apparently he was only interested in her help in the sack.

As she turned away from the sh.o.r.e she stopped, hearing a choking sob. She listened more intently. Someone was crying. Was someone hurt? Perhaps there was a lost child?

Making her way down over a steep, sandy ledge she found the source: Ivy. Sitting on the wet sand, she was bent over with her face in her hands, her slight shoulders shaking.

She took a slow step closer, not wanting to startle the young woman.

"Ivy? Are you all right?"

Ivy looked up with tear-reddened eyes, misery carved into her features.

"Ivy, what happened? Are you okay?"

The girl didn't say anything clear as a yes or a no, but wailed something unintelligible, and Sarah sighed, squatting down in the slushy sand beside her, placing her palm on Ivy's shoulder to support herself as well as comfort.

"Ivy, talk to me. Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Can I help?"

Ivy took several deep breaths and seemed to compose herself.

"I'm sorry I interrupted. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Ivy reached over and grabbed her hand. Sarah waited for some more sobs to pa.s.s so she could speak. The young woman's hand was like ice, but her grip was strong.

"I'm sorry I just can't...seem to s-stop c-crying...."

"It's okay. Did something happen at work? Did you get in trouble? Were you fired?"

Ivy shook her head, biting her lip to choke back another sob, and Sarah realized the problem was personal as hot color flared in Ivy's cheeks.

"It's Jim," Sarah guessed flatly and watched Ivy nod. "What did he do? What happened?"

"W-we went out the other night. He took me for dinner, then on a nighttime paddle, and we ended up along this deserted stretch of beach. It was very romantic."

"Oh, G.o.d, Ivy. Did he rape you?" Sarah spun the young woman around, searching her face and hoping to G.o.d her first instincts were wrong. She felt the breath she was holding whoosh out of her as Ivy shook her head vigorously.

"Oh, no! No! We had a wonderful night, and we did, you know, f-fool around a little. He said I was different than the other girls he dated around here."

Yeah, right, Sarah thought to herself, but stayed silent. Guys hadn't come up with any new lines in decades. It was a shame the old ones still worked so well. Sarah thought to herself, but stayed silent. Guys hadn't come up with any new lines in decades. It was a shame the old ones still worked so well.

"So what happened, then?"

"L-like I said, we fooled around. I didn't mean to let things go so far, but he was so sweet. And I liked how it felt when he touched me. It never felt like that with anyone else. He asked me to trust him and I did-and it was amazing. I didn't know, I, um, you know." Ivy blushed furiously and looked out the sea.

Sarah didn't want to invite too many details-girl talk wasn't exactly her forte-and nodded. "So what's the problem?"

Tears filled Ivy's eyes again, and Sarah started to feel impatience edge her mood-she'd had a c.r.a.ppy morning, and was looking at a long afternoon ahead of her. Now that she knew Ivy hadn't been physically attacked, she was anxious to get past the drama and move on.

"I went to see him this morning, to surprise him with some breakfast from the inn. When I got down to the dock, he was with some woman. He was kissing her. And not in the way you kiss your sister or friend, if you know what I mean."

Some temper flared in the girl's soft expression, and Sarah was relieved-temper she could work with. And it sounded like Ivy had every right to be angry. But she'd also been gullible, and now she was paying for it. Sarah knew that lesson by heart.

"It sucks to get burned like that, but he wasn't the right one for you. Men will say whatever they can to get what they want, Ivy, and you need to remember that. You can't just trust a guy because you have a crush on him, and you had warning about Jim. It could have been a lot worse than it is, and believe me, next time you'll know better."

Ivy paled beneath Sarah's harsh tone, obviously expecting more sympathy than she'd received, but Sarah was already standing. She may have been a little unfeeling, but she didn't particularly want to feel too much at the moment. Feelings just confused the issue and led to more trouble. She had things to do, more important things than dealing with Ivy's-or her own-bruised heart.

10.

"SO WHERE IS HE?"

Sarah barged into Ian's office, pinning her gaze on the two men standing before her, expecting news. E.J. quirked a smooth eyebrow and made a tsk-tsk sound.

"Whatever happened to good manners? h.e.l.lo to you, too, darlin'."

"Save it. I've been on the phone with you both all morning. We said h.e.l.lo hours ago."

"You modern girls. There's no charm."

"Yeah, like that's what you want with the hundred women you have in your PDA. Charm."

He grinned. "It sure doesn't hurt any." E.J.'s easy teasing helped her tone it down a notch, but not by much. Ian was shaking his head, and began to bring her up to date.

"Logan checked into a motel on the beach, and left a little while ago to get some food, and then he stopped by a tux rental place," Ian related.

"He rented a tux?"

"Yeah, so he's obviously planning on attending some type of formal event. We have a list of all formal evening events in the area. His name's not on any lists, but he's probably using an a.s.sumed ident.i.ty."

Sarah took the list. Something was off here.

"Where is he now?"

Ian drew in a long breath, and E.J. looked away. Sarah repeated her question. Finally, Ian gave.

"We're not sure."

"You lost lost him?" him?"

Ian nodded. He looked tired, but that wasn't really new. Although life with Sage had tempered his workaholic habits somewhat, he still worked long hours, especially when they were active on a case. She backed down because she knew it would bug Ian more than anyone that they'd lost their lead. Her shoulders slumped.

"s.h.i.+t."

"Exactly."

"Did you guys come up with any more from what I told you?"

E.J. nodded. "We have the woman, his partner, listed as staying at a Virginia Beach hotel before her disappearance. We requested the files from Baltimore."

"You let them know about Logan?"

"No. We just said we needed them as part of a larger investigation."

Sarah felt relief wash through her. She was p.i.s.sed at Logan for a lot of reasons, but she didn't want to blow his career if she didn't have to.

"So what else do we have?"

"We know what room he stayed in at the motel. We're not sure if he made the tail at that point, so he could have felt safe enough to make some phone calls, or make some plans."

"Did you get into the room?"

"Not yet."

She looked at them, shocked. "How did you guys ever catch any bad guys without me?"

E.J. quirked an eyebrow at the comment-both he and Ian had been in law enforcement when Sarah was still in college. "Somehow we managed. But in this case, we thought you'd want to be in on it. If he made phone calls, maybe you can find out to where or to whom."

"I'd need access to the motel's computer."

"We could get a search warrant for that."

"That would take a while."

"Yep."

She pursed her lips, speaking the unspoken thoughts shared among them. "I'll need about five minutes alone with the desk computer."

Ian and E.J. grinned. "No problem."

A SHORT WHILE SHORT WHILE later Ian, E.J. and Sarah stood in the lobby of the small seaside motel. At its best, the place would be considered a fleabag. Hourly rates were posted and a sleazy little man sat in a swivel chair behind the sign-in desk, his head barely showing over the laminate counter. He peered at E.J. as he approached, Ian and Sarah staying back, huddled by the door, pawing each other suggestively. later Ian, E.J. and Sarah stood in the lobby of the small seaside motel. At its best, the place would be considered a fleabag. Hourly rates were posted and a sleazy little man sat in a swivel chair behind the sign-in desk, his head barely showing over the laminate counter. He peered at E.J. as he approached, Ian and Sarah staying back, huddled by the door, pawing each other suggestively.

"I need a room."

"Just you?"

"Uh-uh, the three of us."

The little weasel took his attention away from his online game long enough to smile in a sleazy, appreciative fas.h.i.+on. E.J. wanted to deck him right there.

"How long?"

"Three hours."