Maverick Read online

  There was really too much dirt to enjoy soaking, so she eased herself awkwardly out of the makeshift tub and used the extra water for rinsing. Clean and dry, she set about tidying up, but soon found there was little she could do with only one hand.

  In the end, she pumped more water, set it on the stove to heat in one of the smaller pots before rinsing off their breakfast dishes. She attempted to rewrap her arm, but kept losing the tail end under the bed. She did manage to pull on her jeans, but she couldn’t button them and if she tried to walk they ended up around her ankles.

  Finally, she crawled back into bed, her head and arm pounding offbeat rhythms. Remembering Jack’s fingers from the night before, she tried mimicking the gesture. The reverse pressure helped some and she was nearly asleep when the big truck roared up outside.

  She wasn’t aware her fingers still moved over her forehead until he captured them with his own. The bed shifted, accepting his weight as he sat beside her. She opened her eyes at the contact, but he shook his head and took over the job. “Go on to sleep, darlin’.” She closed her eyes obediently.

  Instead of inducing sleep, his touch awakened her senses. He smelled of fresh air and pine with just a hint of dusty engine. The combination suited him. His fingers moved carefully over her forehead in a way that had other parts of her body yearning to be caressed in the same way. And the heat from his thigh, inches from her face, was enticing. She rolled to her side, closer to him, unable to help the silent invitation. If he didn’t touch more of her soon, she’d scream.

  Without breaking the rhythmic stroking, he switched from his right hand to his left. His fingers traveled across her scalp, outlining her ear then down over her shoulder to her back. Maggie sighed and leaned a little closer.

  Jack’s lips skimmed her ear. “You awake, Maggie?”

  She smiled, but didn’t open her eyes. “Very.”

  “Then you know where we’re headed here.”

  Heat flooded her face. The only way her eyelids would open now was with a grenade.

  She rolled to her back, trying to ignore how he didn’t lift his hand, how his fingers now splayed at her waist. “You’ve got to stop,” she whispered.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Regret and amusement mingled in his voice. He lifted his hand. “No—not that—”

  His fingers settled immediately back on her stomach, sliding up to her ribs, tantalizingly close to her breasts.

  “Yes, that,” she moaned and rolled away from him. “Don’t run, Maggie.” Her gesture proved useless anyway when he followed her, snugging his body tightly against hers. on when she attempted to wriggle free. He pulled her shoulder back against his chest and held

  Not until she was still did he release her.

  He spoke again, directly in her ear. “Be with me.”

  She started to move away again, but his hand curled over her hip, holding her still and making her very aware that her jeans weren’t even fastened. His long fingers stroked her belly, just inches from—

  “Listen. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

  That didn’t help at all. She very much wanted him to continue. A little whimper that was part frustration and part desire drifted from her throat. Jack chuckled and continued. “I also won’t do anything you want me to until you’re ready. But don’t run. You make me crazy when you run.” By the time he finished, there wasn’t a trace of amusement left in his voice.

  She blushed furiously and was glad he couldn’t see. If what he said was true, he had to be a raving lunatic by now. She clenched the fingers of her left hand to a fist. “I can’t do this. And you’ve got to stop—”

  “I’ll stop.” “Listen to me,” she pleaded. “You’ve got to stop what you’re doing—stop taking care of me. You know who I am—what I am—and now you know about Melissa and me.” She could feel his heart beating against her shoulder blade—strong and steady. She blew out one quick, silent breath and rushed on before she lost her nerve. “You asked me once to trust you. I can’t. I can’t trust anyone—and it’s deeper than just Billy and Nathan. It’s who I am. And you’re not helping me by taking care of me—by being nice. It isn’t how you really feel—isn’t what I deserve—and you’ve got to stop.”

  He was silent and still for so long, she wondered if he’d fallen asleep. When he finally spoke, the smile was back in his voice. “Damn but you smell good, Maggie.” “Jack.” She sat up. It wasn’t far enough away, so she stood.

  He lifted his hands. “Statement of fact, darlin’, nothing more.” He, too, got off the bed, but on the far side. “Let’s hear yours. Then we’ll get back to this conversation.” Her stomach churned, but she didn’t object. If she didn’t say a word, he’d arrest her—which would put Melissa in as much danger as if she told him everything. “Bed or chair?”

  “Bed.”

  He made a backrest out of her backpack, placed the pillow in front of it and patted her original spot. Then he added another log to the fire and fixed her a cup of tea. She watched him warily until he sat down on the end of the bed. “Derek should have warned us about those chairs.” He cupped one jean-clad knee with his hands. “So, you found Melissa—or she found you, rather—and you ace your way through four years of college in two-and-a-half.”

  “I didn’t tell you that.” He lifted one eyebrow, amused. “No? But it’s true, isn’t it?” He didn’t wait for her reluctant nod. “You went to work as the Dean of the History Department’s assistant and got an unofficial master’s in history.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You talked to Dean Carouthers.”

  “Several times. If you’d had the money to pay for your master’s, thereby making it official, it would have been presented magna cum laude.”

  He knew too much. Disconcerted was too mild for what she felt. “I had a good thesis,” she defended softly.

  “On crime, right?” “Criminals.” How the hell had they gotten on this subject? Heat rose in her cheeks. “Through the Ages—what sort of crimes tend to be repeated, cross-referenced by other factors—social, economic—that sort of thing.”

  “I read it. The paper was interesting.”

  Maggie sniffed and rolled her eyes. If he’d already read the stupid thing, they didn’t need to talk about it, did they? “Then you had what—three years with your sister in Chicago?”

  Maggie’s smile was wistful. “Life was really good.”

  “Until. . .”

  The smile disappeared. Her voice was low. Resentment edged it with steel. “Until Melissa met Billy.” “Melissa met Billy.”

  Maggie nodded. She clutched at the blanket by her side and tried not to clench her teeth. “Billy Cormack?”

  “Billy Cormack.” Disgust joined the resentment. “Tall, blond, flashy Billy.” She shuddered. “I hated him. Immediately. And it wasn’t his coarse jokes, or his incessant drinking. The very first night Melissa brought him home for dinner, he sent her out for more scotch. Just as soon as she was gone, he cornered me in the kitchen. I’ve never met a man with faster hands—they were everywhere. I even grabbed a knife, but I think he knew I wouldn’t use it—it barely slowed him down. When Melissa came back, I told them I had a headache and they left.

  “I spent the next two weeks trying to convince Melissa that Billy was no good.” Maggie sighed. “Nothing worked. She loved his recklessness, and the money he threw around. They got married inside three weeks. Billy moved into our apartment. I moved out. Billy wouldn’t let Melissa visit me alone—he was always there. I stood it as long as I could.”

  “Did he keep hitting on you?” “Every chance he got. When I had an offer for a transfer to Connecticut State, I grabbed it. I hated to leave Melissa, but I couldn’t take Billy. After I moved, I got a weekly letter from her—exactly one a week. No phone calls—most of the time their phone was disconnected. Life was rotten for Melissa within a month. And within two, she and Billy followed me to Connecticut. Only not just Melissa and Billy. Billy’s brothers came, and Nathan.”

  Maggie
rubbed her forehead as she continued. “Melissa was still miserable, but Nathan made things a little better. He kept Billy and the boys in line, found Melissa a job—she was so happy to get out of the house. He stopped Billy from hitting on me—but only so he could start. He wasn’t as pushy as Billy, but he was every bit as obnoxious. I finally told Melissa I’d meet her for lunch—alone—but that the boys weren’t welcome at my place.”

  “Did that work?” Jack wondered.

  She shrugged. “For a while. Then one night Nathan came to my apartment.” She stopped and looked at him. “You killed Billy?”

  Jack nodded. “He held up a lady at a jewelry store. Daria tried to take him. He shot her—killed her. I shot Billy.” “And Daria was your partner?”

  “Daria Kettleman. You didn’t know?”

  “I knew Billy was shot. I figured either you or—what’s your new partner’s name?” Jack frowned. “I don’t have a new partner.”

  “Short. Blond,” she prompted.

  “Frank Litton. Harrisburg P.D.”

  Maggie’s fingers twisted in the blanket beside her. She wasn’t ready to tell him—not yet. “Maggie, look at me.”

  She did, then couldn’t look away. There was still warmth there, but the edge of steel was back, too. He looked more and more like he had outside Shipwrecks that night. “I don’t blame you for stalling, Maggie, but you can’t—not when you’re so close.”

  He still knew too much, and he was reading her mind again, but this wasn’t about her. “Promise me you’ll keep Melissa out of jail.”

  “You know I’ll do anything I can.”

  She shook her head—one slow shake. “Not good enough. I didn’t turn and walk away from my life just to hand her over to you now. I need your word.”

  Jack didn’t look away. But he didn’t give her what she demanded either. “What did she do, Maggie?”

  “Promise me. I’ll give you the information you need—your evidence. But not until you promise me.”

  “Will she testify—against Cormack?” Maggie lifted her hands. “She doesn’t know anything worth testifying about.” She lifted her chin. “But I do. Arrest me, and I’ll testify. If you keep Melissa out of all of it.” She met his eyes evenly, hers holding a challenge and a promise. Whether or not she continued was up to him.

  Chapter 10

  Jack ’s face held only a scowl. Maggie knew she asked him for the impossible. The impasse was hopeless. Finally, he sighed. “I promise.”

  “Say it all. And look me in the eyes.” She could feel the connection clear to her toes when he complied.

  “I’ll keep Melissa out of jail, Maggie.” Satisfied, she nodded. She took a sip of tea. Not easy to tell him—not easy even to think about. But he’d given his word. “One afternoon, Nathan came to my apartment. He told me Billy was dead. He said the man who’d killed him had stolen a key—a very important key. Nathan needed it back.

  “I didn’t care—didn’t really even listen. I told him I’d call the police if he didn’t leave. He left and I locked the door behind him. But he came back—about fifteen minutes later, with Kevin and Paul and Melissa.”

  Jack watched the fingers of her uninjured hand move restlessly over the blanket, bunching and squeezing. He hated the look in her eyes—haunted and scared. He wanted to hold her—wanted to hit someone. Instead, he listened to her voice start to tremble.

  “He was so damn calm—so smug. ‘Call the cops,’ he said. He even handed me the receiver. ‘The police are already looking for us—they’ll be happy you called.’ I took the receiver from him—started to dial even. But then he continued. ‘They’re looking for all of us: Me, Paul, Kevin, and Melissa.’” Maggie pulled the blanket into her lap, folded her legs up inside it. “I can still hear him—that sick whisper. . .

  “I hung up the phone. And told him I’d listen. ‘Melissa first,’ he said. He brought her into my bedroom and shut the door behind us.” Now Maggie’s eyes pleaded for understanding. “She was twenty-two years old, Jack. She wasn’t even scared—didn’t know what they’d done—what she’d helped them do.”

  Worried by the look in her eyes, by the tremor in her voice, he caught her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “Just tell me what happened, Maggie. I’ll keep Melissa safe.” She pulled her hand free of his, but she did seem more composed when she started over. “She—they—she said Billy and the boys had sold all the property they’d invested in since they’d come to Connecticut. Melissa drove them to the bank so they could make a withdrawal. She also drove them home. Afterwards they threw a party and told Melissa to count all the money, bill by bill, and split it four ways. She was the only one allowed to touch the money until it was all counted—to keep everyone honest, she said. She said counting it took hours. And there were also oodles and oodles of important papers. She said Billy called them bearer bonds.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Jack whispered. Maggie nodded. “The next morning, Nathan drove her to a small savings and loan. She’d memorized her instructions—she was so proud. She rented a safety deposit box, large enough to hold the duffle bag. If she did it right, Billy would buy her a nice present.”

  Jack pushed the cup of tea into her hand and waited while she took a drink. “Let me guess. Melissa did it right.” “Perfectly. She gave Billy the key and he left to buy her the present. He never came back.“ Maggie shut her eyes. “Melissa didn’t understand it, because Billy had three grand in his pocket. And they told her he was trying to steal a pair of hundred dollar earrings. She wondered if Billy forgot he had the money in his pocket. And she said she felt bad—guilty—because she was glad she didn’t have to live with him any longer.”

  Not since his sister Jenny had gotten mixed up with that no good Perry Devlin had Jack felt anger like this. He struggled to keep it contained. “So she drove the car?” Maggie didn’t open her eyes. “To and from.”

  “But she says she doesn’t know what they were doing?”

  “She still doesn’t know what they did. Or that her fingerprints are all over that money.”

  Jack nodded. The fingerprints would be tougher to deal with than Melissa driving the get-away car. Unless he could get Melissa on the stand and let her talk to the judge. It would all make perfectly innocent sense then. He smiled at the picture. “What else?”

  “That’s all. For Melissa’s part anyway.”

  Jack recaptured her fingers. “She won’t go to jail for that, Maggie. I swear.”

  Maggie relaxed. Relief shone from her eyes, grew to fill the room around her, nearly visible in its intensity. “I don’t think Nathan knew you were a cop.”

  His turn. “I’m not a cop. I used to be. That’s where the Lieutenant comes in.” He pulled out his wallet and handed it to her.

  Her eyes went huge beneath the tousled cap of her hair. “FBI,” she breathed. “I’ve been running from the FBI. For two years.”

  “Giving one of the best trackers they’ve got fits,” he grumbled, relieved by the sparkle that once again shone in her eyes.

  She arched an eyebrow at him as she handed back his badge. “Humble, too, that special agent.”

  Jack shrugged. He wasn’t boasting—not really. He really was the best. “You’re good, Maggie.”

  The praise brought a smile that faded quickly. “Not good enough.” He wanted the smile back. “Better than most. It’s never taken me two years to find anyone before. We were waiting for Billy in that jewelry store. Daria spotted his car and we went in ahead of him. We planned on keeping low and following him home. After the shootings, all I found was the key and a phone number. We traced the number, checked the apartment, but the money wasn’t there. So I called Nathan and set up the sting.”

  Jack didn’t have any trouble reading her thoughts. They had Billy cornered two days after the bank robbery. Melissa would have been arrested along with the others. Maggie suddenly shivered. Jack spread out the blanket over her legs. It wouldn’t help. Her chills weren’t physical.

  “What did you tell
Melissa?” he asked softly. “What could I say? You know her. I gave her a hug and told her everything would be fine. I went to find Nathan. He was waiting in the hall outside my bedroom. He was grinning—I wanted to be throw up.” She drew her knees up under her chin.

  Jack held on to her fingers. She hadn’t asked for immunity for herself, but for him, what she was about to tell him was the most important segment of the story. He’d be able to keep Melissa out of jail. He prayed he could say the same about Melissa’s sister.

  Maggie continued. “If the money in Billy’s pockets fell into the hands of the police, Billy would have been instantly implicated in the bank robbery. Fortunately for ‘the boys,’ it hadn’t—or at least that’s what they believed.” She tossed him a faint smile. “The next morning, Nathan got a call. The way he told it, you had Billy’s key and you were willing to exchange the key for some of the cash the boys ‘withdrew’. That was you, right?”

  “Like I said, we didn’t just want Billy—we wanted all of them. Harrisburg Police Department worked with us—that’s why Frank was there with me.” “Nathan told me I had to meet the—you—and get the key. He wasn’t going to pay. I was supposed to make the whole thing look like a robbery. Melissa would be waiting for me if I brought the key back. If I didn’t, she would disappear with them.”

  Face pale, she closed her eyes again, tipping her head back. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I went to find Melissa in the living room. Kevin had the gun on her. I didn’t have a choice. He gave the gun to Nathan and left with Melissa. I don’t know where he took her. I don’t think Melissa ever saw the gun.” Eyes still closed, she smiled, a sad, forlorn little smile. “She didn’t want me to go—said she had a bad feeling about the ‘business’ meeting. I think she was afraid of Nathan. She begged him just to give us Billy’s share and we’d leave them alone. ‘Maggie’s not good at this kind of stuff,’ she said.”