Deception (Carrington Hill Investigations Book 1) (9 page)

The smell of strong coffee drifted to Lexi’s nose, pulling her from a sound, peaceful sleep. Stretching her arms above her head, she noticed Trip sitting in a chair across the room, reading the morning paper he held in front of his face. Her gaze went to the cart next to him, filled with platters of food.

He folded the paper. “I didn’t wake you
, did I?”

She shook her head and glanced at the alarm clock. Her eyes widened.
Throwing the covers off, she slid out of the bed. “Why did you let me sleep in?”

He placed the paper on the table and walked over to her. His palm cupped her face. “I thoug
ht you could use the sleep.” Sliding the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, he continued, “Besides, they wouldn’t expect newlyweds to even leave the room for at least a few days.” He pulled her over to the table and lifted the covers from the plates. The smell of scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage lifted to her nose. The unmistakable grumble of her stomach broke the silence.

“I thought you’d be hungry.”

Sliding down into an empty chair, she tucked her bare feet beneath her and grabbed a roll from the basket. “I don’t normally eat breakfast.”

His brow
raised a fraction as he poured her a cup of coffee. “You’ve got a long day ahead of you. I thought you might need the fuel.”

She t
ook a long sip of the hot, strong brew, thankful it was clearing her mind. “You’re right. I’ve got lots to do today, and I’m burning daylight hours.”

She stood and pulled some jeans and
a T-shirt from the dresser and lifted the roll in her hand. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Shutting the bathroom door
, she placed the last bite into her mouth, and a smile curved her lips.

“Lexi.”
Trip’s deep voice penetrated her solitude.

“Yeah?”
she called back, slipping on her jeans and T-shirt. She picked up the brush and ran it through her red hair.

“I thought you’d be coming into the office with me today.”

Opening the bathroom door, she set the brush on the counter. “Why would you think that?”

Trip picked up the brush and slid it back where it belonged into a drawer
. He liked everything in its place; that was evident. His actions elicited a giggle from her lips. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought you wanted to get a look at what Catherine was working on.”

She patted
his chest as she walked past him toward the closet to grab her shoes. “I have a few things I need to take care of first.” She glanced up as she pushed the heel into her tennis shoe. “I’ll call you if I’m free for lunch so we can regroup.”

His hands fell to his side as his eyes searched hers.

“Don’t worry…your loving wife will make a grand appearance at your office. I’ll hold up my end of the bargain.”

She placed her foot on the bed and
strapped her ankle holster in place before sliding a gun into it. She unzipped her black bag and grabbed her Glock, shoving it into the back of her jeans before throwing on her jacket and shoving her phone in the pocket.

His eyes watched
her every movement, his features unreadable. “You act like you’re going to war.”

She shrugged. “
Never hurts to be prepared.”

He pulled her into his embrace and let his forehead rest against hers. “I don’t like it.”

Her gaze held his. “This is who I am. You don’t have to like it. You just have to deal with it while I’m here.”

She
turned to leave, but he caught her arm. “Lexi…”

Lexi
gently squeezed his hand before moving it off her arm. “Don’t go getting sentimental on me, big guy. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”

Placing a kiss on his cheek, she left their room and galloped down the stairs
, almost sliding to a halt as she noticed Lillian leaning against the doorway to the study. “Are you going shopping, dear?”

Lexi pulled back her shoulders. “Mrs. Hathaway, I had hoped you and I would
get along better.” Lexi glanced over her shoulder to the top of the stairs before returning her gaze to the shrew standing in front of her. “For Trip’s sake.” She frowned. “I can see now I was delusional, and you don’t give your son nearly enough credit in his judgment.” Lexi pulled the front door open and glanced back. “It’s a shame really.”

Lillian narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know a thing about my son.”

Shrugging, she replied, “Maybe not as much as I should have before marrying him, but I can tell you this…”

Lillian crossed her arms over her chest.

“He loves his family and would go through hell and back for any one of you, and that makes him a good man in my book. Even if you don’t care for me, he doesn’t deserve your disrespect or accusations.”

“Why I never…” she heard Lillian say as Lexi shut the door behind her. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and pressed
Send. “Meet me at the back entrance. I’m on foot, so I’ll be there in ten.”

The door opened behind her.
“Lexi.” Trip’s lips turned up in a devilish grin. “Take the Mercedes.” He threw the keys, and she caught them.

Tilting her head to
the side, she replied, “Thanks.”

He nodded. “No…thank
you
.”

His eyes were unreadable
, but his insinuation was understood. He’d been eavesdropping on Lexi’s conversation with his mother. “You know it’s considered bad form to eavesdrop.”

He shrugged. “So sue me. It was worth it.”

Lexi dangled the keys from her fingers. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll return it in one piece.” She turned without waiting for a reply and rounded the corner to the open garage. She climbed in and called Sara, informing her of the borrowed ride.

Arriving with detail in tow
, she parked in front of Catherine’s apartment building. She headed toward the manager’s office and flashed her badge. “Have you got security cameras here?”

The man behind the counter nodded. “Yeah, but the FBI already made copies of the tape
s.”

She shrugged. “I’d still like to take a look.”

He walked toward the back room where a monitor was set up on a table with a chair in front of it. “Take your time. I’ll just be outside if you need me.”

Sara and
Garrett pulled up chairs next to hers. After hours of watching the tape, she pushed the pause button, rewinding in slow motion, not believing what she’d just seen. She pointed at the screen at a shot of the parking lot. “Do you see that?”

Sara leaned in. “Is that…?”

Garrett nodded.

“That’s
Trip’s Mercedes, the same one I’m driving today, and the same one that Ethan drove yesterday and it’s time stamped at three a.m.” She pushed play until they saw a hooded figure enter the building, only to leave limping with their hand pressed against their leg a half hour later, and then the car pulled out.

She pulled out her phone and Trip’s card.

“Hey, Lexi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine…
listen, can you give me Ethan’s number? It’s really important that I talk to him.”

“Should I ask why?”

She felt her heart speed up. She wasn’t ready to let him in on her new find. “I just have a question about Catherine.”

He rattled off the number
, and she said good-bye. She made a copy of the film from the parking lot and rewound it back to when the Mercedes showed up and noted the time. A hooded figure entered the building with their head down as they passed the camera, and they did the same thing when they left thirty minutes later. None of the footage, from the time the Mercedes arrived until the day they found out she was missing, even showed Catherine leaving the building.

“I don’t get it.” She glanced over at
Garrett.

Sara leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh. “We’re back to square one.”

Lexi pushed from her chair and walked over to the DVDs stacked along the wall and ran her finger down them, checking out how they were listed. She pulled one for the same day from the stack, and a smile formed on her lips as she walked back to the television and shoved the DVD in the player. “There are only a few possibilities since they haven’t found a body.” She clicked Play. “She either went to a neighbor or…” The screen blurred to life, showing the back of the building. “…she found another way out.”

The
y fast forwarded to the same time and watched in awe as Catherine, dressed in jeans and a bloody white T-shirt, climbed out her window and shimmied down the drainpipe, using the other balconies to balance herself. When her feet landed on the ground, she lifted a hand to her head and pulled it away to reveal her palm covered in a dark liquid before she disappeared into the tree line.

“Shit. She’s hurt.”

Lexi leaned back in the chair and looked up at Garrett who was standing behind her. “Why didn’t the FBI catch this?”

He shrugged. “They probably made copies and are looking through all of them. It takes time.”

Garrett rubbed at the tense muscles in Lexi’s neck. His touch gave her his silent support. “Look at the bright side. We know she got away, and now we have a direction to follow to start looking for her.”

She
and Sara exchanged a look and simultaneously said, “The woods.”

Lexi pulled the
DVD out, not even bothering to make a copy, and shoved it into her backpack. They all filed out the door and rounded the apartment building, following the path the video had shown. About three feet into the woods, they found a bloody handprint on the bark of a tree. Lexi’s heart dropped as she heard Garrett on the phone calling the director to get a team onsite.

She grabbed
Sara’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “You guys wait for the team. I’m going to see Marco and let him know what we found.”

She nodded
, and Lexi jogged out of the forest. She heard Garrett’s raised voice calling, “Who the hell is Marco?” but she ignored him.

Lexi got in the car and was about to turn out of the parking lot when her heart sank into her stomach. Two of
Constanza’s goons were pulling in. Was it coincidence? Did they live nearby? Or was it just her crappy luck?

Tires
squealed when she pulled out onto the busy street, coming to a halt as other cars had her hemmed into the afternoon traffic. She grabbed her cell phone and speed dialed the one person who could possibly help her, who had the training she needed. The two-door older car pulled out behind her about seven cars back. Luckily, they were stuck in the same traffic.

“Marco, I’m headed your way
, and I have a tail.”

“Do
you know who it is?”

“
Constanza’s thugs. They saw me leaving Catherine’s apartment.”

“You know the woods behind the abandoned playground at Fifth and Jenks?”

“Yeah.”

“
Give us ten minutes to get into position, and we’ll be waiting for you.”

Lexi gripped the wheel tighter
, shifting her gaze from the cars in front of her to the blue sedan now five cars back. Lexi maneuvered in and out of traffic, trying to give herself enough space but not lose the guys following her. She jerked the wheel, clipping the curb and grimaced at the grinding sound of metal on concrete.

“So much for returning it in one piece
,” she grumbled, pissed now that the assholes following her had caused her to break her promise. She pulled up to the park and hopped out of the car, making a run for the woods. Hearing the screeching of tires and the crash of metal against metal, she pumped her legs and arms faster and harder to get out of firing distance and farther into the brush. Bullets whizzed by her head, ricocheting off the bark of a nearby tree. Air whooshed out of her lungs as strong arms came around her, lifting her off her feet as she passed a huge tree about a quarter mile inside the woods. She was pulled back against a hard, thick chest, her scream smothered by a large hand covering her mouth.

“
Shh. It’s just me,” Marco whispered in her ear.

She nodded
, and Marco removed his hand. Seconds ticked by as her heart threatened to beat from her chest. She grabbed the Glock in her waistband and lifted it into the air.

“You won’t need that
, luv.” Marco’s voice was yet a whisper in her ear. His words registered, but she couldn’t bring herself to put the weapon away.

“Come out, come out where
ver you are,” a male voice sneered. The voice sounded as though the man was just on the other side of the tree. She tightened her grip around the gun, sliding her finger solidly on the trigger.

She heard a tussle and the accompanying grunts sound
ed in the distance. Her shoulders eased, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“We got them
, boss,” an unfamiliar voice called out.