“Good. Dani. Bring her in tomorrow and get me that report.” Rad walked away from him without saying anything else.
John Athey gave Perry a final appraising look before following the Chief. “I’ve heard a few things about you,” Athey said gruffly, his comment sounding anything but complimentary.
He would learn now Perry wasn’t easily intimidated. “Can’t say I’ve heard a thing about you,” Perry told him.
“How good of a look did your niece get of this guy?”
“She ID’d him pretty well.” Perry leaned back, crossing his arms, and stared into John Athey’s face. Something dark passed over the man’s expression, a tightening of the lips, a narrowing of the eyes.
If the man hated Perry that much for seeing Kylie, he would get over it like everyone else. Athey wasn’t Kylie’s father. And even if he were, Kylie was a grown woman, free to make her own decisions, and Perry knew beyond any doubt she wanted him.
“You think you could ID him if you saw him?” John asked.
Rad turned, before reaching his office, and listened, shifting his attention from John to Perry and waiting for his answer. Perry wouldn’t let the FBI man make him look like an ass. Standing slowly, he sized the man up, noting he was a good inch or so shorter than Perry. John didn’t have Perry’s build, making him look a lot smaller than Perry, although in truth he wasn’t that much shorter.
Tugging on his T-shirt, Perry let his arms fall to his sides, relaxing his body but keeping a shrewd look in John’s direction. The man wasn’t easily intimidated, but Perry would have been surprised if Athey was, considering his position.
“Like with any victim who offers a description of a suspect, there are cracks that needed to be filled in,” Perry said slowly, not caring if his tone sounded a bit condescending. The motherfucker wasn’t his boss. “He never got out of his SUV, so when she tells me he is tall, I appreciate the fact that she never saw him standing. He wore a baseball cap, so when she tells me his hair is dark, I don’t know if he’s got a thick head of hair or is damn near bald. The only thing she was very adamant about is that he had blue eyes. Hell, for all I know Peter could be you,” Perry added, searching John’s face and noting the dark hair and blue eyes.
John’s expression twisted quickly as he puffed out his chest and growled, as if he would attack.
“Flynn, get that report typed up for me now,” Rad bellowed.
Perry squared off, ready for anything John might dish out at him. He didn’t take his gaze from the man when Rad approached, touching John’s arm and nodding toward his office.
“We’ve got things to discuss,” Rad growled, indicating John should come with him. Then giving Perry a look that would kill, he turned when the FBI man did and the two of them headed into Rad’s office, closing the door behind him.
“FBI motherfucker,” Perry grumbled, and slouched into his chair to fill out the report.
An hour later, well after Rad and John Athey had left without a word of good-bye, Perry saved the report and clicked to print it out. This was the worst part of his job, the computer work. He leaned back, stretching, and itched to get out of there. His trap was in place on his computer and when he got home, he could test it since everything he’d typed should have been sent to his home computer via e-mail.
The sky was a heavy black velvet blanket, stretching out beyond the businesses lining either side of the street. Perry bet it would be full of stars if he were home and not in the middle of town, with streetlights blinding his ability to truly appreciate the night. He headed over to his Jeep, feeling the cool night air on his face as he unlocked his car and slid in behind the steering wheel.
A quick drive by Kylie’s showed she was home this time and all lights in her house were off. At least she wasn’t out offering herself as bait to a madman. Picturing her cuddled under her blankets, sleeping soundly, made it damn hard to keep driving. There was one thing he wanted to do, though, and it would be best to do it alone. Driving past her house, he told himself he would go over there later. Like any FBI man or his Chief would keep him away from Kylie.
Turning off her street, Perry focused on his headlights beaming on the road ahead of him as he headed across town toward Franco’s house. Then parking down the street, Perry cut the lights and motor and stepped out into the calm, cool night air. He breathed in the scent of freshly cut grass as he walked slowly down the quiet street. Very few houses had any lights on, and he guessed those that did left those interior lights on all night. It was almost midnight, and middle-class homes such as these were filled with people who would get up at the crack of dawn, dragging themselves out the door for another day at the job.
It was people like these, just like Megan and the girls, whom he’d vowed to protect with his life. For those reasons, and especially after the death of David, leaving his sister alone with four children to raise, Perry always believed he would never settle down with a woman. His job required taking risks, stepping into the line of fire and protecting citizens of his town so they could go about their lives without interruption.
So what changed? Perry neared Franco’s house, checking out the neat yard and the dark windows, then glanced up and down the street. Not so much as a dog announced Perry’s presence. It was almost too quiet. Which left his thoughts to torture him as he neared the garage.
What was it about Kylie that made him want to risk hurting another person? Let alone take the chance of getting hurt if he turned his heart over to her. In all his years, he’d managed to keep any relationship he’d entered into with a woman casual, consensual, good sex, and that was it.
The sex with Kylie definitely qualified as better than good. Hell, it was damn near the best sex he’d ever had in his life. Was that the reason he wanted to push their relationship to the next level?
Perry reached the side of the garage and stood there, leaning against cool brick, and didn’t move, letting the peaceful night sink into his pores and listening for any sound of intrusion. He didn’t hear anything other than crickets. Relaxing against the wall, he studied the side door to the garage that opened to a cobblestone path, which led around to the back of the garage and backyard.
Kylie was more than any other woman he’d met before. Maybe it was because her line of work was so similar to his. She would leave town once this case was solved. There wasn’t any changing that. He would never ask her to quit what she did for a living any more than he would tolerate being asked to give up being a cop. Kylie was gorgeous to a distraction, sexy as hell, but smart as a tack, too.
Even when he thought of how she challenged him, didn’t listen very well when he told her what to do, those traits in her didn’t turn him off. Perry shook his head, afraid he might be a goner where she was concerned, and stepped toward the side garage door. Franco would have an alarm system installed. He was a cop. It was in their nature to protect what was theirs. But as Perry studied the structure of the garage, let his gaze travel along the roof and guttering system, he didn’t see any sign of an alarm installed. Not that many alarm systems were visible from the outside. Few were as elaborate as what Kylie had installed at her house. Perry moved in front of the door, putting his hand on the doorknob, and stared into the glass pane, seeing his reflection stare back at him.
Something creaked around the back side of the garage and the crickets grew silent. Perry froze, knowing he was working off duty and getting caught in this compromising position would be his ass. Looking around quickly, he didn’t see as much as a bush or decent-sized tree to hide behind. He looked down the length of the cobblestone path, his eyes burning from not blinking as he fought to see better in the dark.
His heart pounded so damn loud he wasn’t sure he would hear another sound if there was one. Taking in a slow, silent breath, he willed his heart to quit thumping in his chest and cleared his mind, forcing thoughts of Kylie out of his head so he could cover his own ass. There wasn’t backup on this assignment.
When a cricket sounded, Perry damn near jumped out of his skin, and managed a smile as other crickets joined in and returned to their middle-of-the-night symphony. Whatever made the sound out back wasn’t a threat to them. But, Perry pointed out to himself, he stood here and that didn’t bother the bugs, either.
Perry didn’t doubt for a moment he could take Franco on if confronted. Granted the man could press charges since Perry was on his property, but if he used every ounce of his training, he wouldn’t be discovered. Nonetheless, it was best to check out his surroundings before returning to the task at hand. Testing the cobblestone path, he put one booted foot down on it and proceeded slowly, silently, pressing his palm against the cool, moist brick wall as he walked to the back of the garage. If there was someone there, the element of surprise would be in Perry’s favor. He’d never been one to run from a fight, but he knew he could outrun Franco.
Perry gripped the corner of the garage, wrapping his fingers around the rough edge, and took that final step. Bushes lined the back of the garage, neatly trimmed and creating a border between the cobblestone path and backyard.
