“The two kidnappers? We left them tied up in their apartment to await the police.”
“And my daughters? Where are they?”
“Sergei and Aunt Tatiana took them back to the hotel.”
Cosmo winced at this news. He should have known she’d go on the rescue mission, too. She’d probably loved it. “Does she know?”
“I didn’t tell her, but those young women might. They were all very talk-talk-talk with her. She seems to like them both.”
That was a relief of sorts. Maybe Tatiana wouldn’t castrate him when she discovered the full truth. And if he could give her gems back- “Jesus, I’ve got to find that collar and George’s stones, and-” Without finishing, he hurried back to ask Iris about Edgar’s collar, praying she’d be able to tell him what happened to a cool ten million in gems.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mickey got the girl, and what did I get? A mountain of paperwork.
Justin stared at the forms and papers strewn in makeshift piles on the worktable, then rubbed his eyes. It had been one hell of a long day. Add in the all-nighter at the hospital the night before, and he figured he hadn’t slept in over thirty-six hours. He was getting too old for this. Daring a glance up, he tried to catch his reflection in the glass partition. Yep, Zombie Cop.
Which probably explained why he was hallucinating. No way was Allie Fortune wending her way through the squad room as if she were dancing through a field of flowers. She smiled at him with such carefree grace, he had to remind himself that she’d spent her morning tied to a chair.
Her hair, normally pulled back, cascaded around her shoulders and fanned across the breast of her floral sundress. Her bare legs tapered down to strappy sandals, which did nothing to slow her stride.
Justin gulped. He reached for his tea-a defense mechanism more than thirst.
“I knew I’d find you here,” she said in greeting.
“The reports don’t file themselves.” His voice sounded gruff. Bureaucracy smothered a lot of the satisfaction he should be feeling. He’d wrapped up a big case, caught the man behind a string of murders, and no civilians had been hurt. Granted, that crazy magician had more explaining to do, but-
As if she read his thoughts, Allie asked, “Aunt Tatiana is still angry with Daddy for taking her gems. Will you have to arrest him?”
“Since they’re related, we’re viewing it as a private domestic matter. Unless the Gorseyevs want to swear out a formal complaint, the department won’t officially get involved.”
“I knew you were on Daddy’s side.”
Justin shrugged. He needed to discourage that hero-thing she had for him. “Of course, Donovan is screaming that Cosmo tricked him-”
“Well, of all the nerve!”
Justin chuckled, despite himself. “Exactly. But he didn’t get that wealthy without brazening things out. Unfortunately for him, he can’t provide us with any evidence.”
“What does Daddy say?”
He lifted a large manila envelope he’d received upon returning to the station. “Your father sent us a written statement of the facts and a few other papers.” Closer to a hundred. Justin suspected these “facts” were dramatically colored by Cosmo’s warped perspective, but they made so much sense, he planned to integrate them into his report. Cosmo might be a pain in the ass, but he wasn’t a bad guy. “Cosmo claims he was hired by Donovan to acquire a set of gems that were intended as a gift for the Russian Minister of Culture. He says he’s picked up and delivered the gems, and therefore, Donovan has no cause to complain. Personally, I think your dad’s still lying, but I have no way to prove it.”
“Wait, don’t you see?” The overhead fluorescents bathed Allie’s face but had little to do with the twinkle of satisfaction in her eyes. “Tatiana said that Marko and Viktor’s brother worked for the Ministry of Culture.”
“But he hasn’t given her the gems yet. And they’re her own gems. Cosmo is shameless.”
She laughed. “He is, but it’s just a little white lie.”
“I hope so.” Justin tossed the envelope back onto the table. “If the Romanov gems do exist, I hope they remain safely in Russia.”
“And what about Donovan? Will he go to jail?”
“I don’t see how he can avoid it. He kidnapped your sister, he had you and Cory abducted, he tried to murder your father-”
“Not to mention Daddy’s friend George Halsted and those other people.”
“Yeah, well, we haven’t gotten Turner to talk yet. He’s still groggy from that sedative.” Served the hit man right. “He’s under surveillance at the hospital, but I think Officer Foote is going to enjoy reading him his Mirandas.”
“All neatly wrapped up. You’re to be commended, Detective Hunter.”
He ducked his head, unaccustomed to praise, and more than uncomfortable with the approval in her golden eyes. After a sip of tea to fortify himself, he steered the conversation back to a safer topic. “What about you? Have you talked to your father?”
“Not yet. I figure Iris and Cory have bigger issues to resolve with him.” She sounded blissfully unconcerned, and Justin couldn’t detect even a note in her tone that suggested she was lying.
“You’re not the least bit angry with him?”
“No. I wish he’d told us sooner, but I can’t be angry with him for giving me sisters.” A bittersweet smile trembled on her lips. “‘To everything there is a season.’ If Daddy hadn’t waited this long to tell us, then he wouldn’t have gotten in such danger, and I wouldn’t have met you.” Her golden eyes glowed.
Hell. For years Justin had avoided dipping a toe in the dating pool. During this investigation he’d worried that he might have waded in deeper than he intended. Now, suddenly, he found himself treading in water so deep, he could drown.
Allie Fortune had captivated him.
And that was not good. Not good for her. Not good for his job.
“So-” She reacted to his silence by forcing a casual tone. “I was hoping you’d let me buy you a drink. It’s the least I can do after what you’ve done for Daddy and all of us.” Her angelic features radiated hope, and she exuded a contagious joy.
He hated to stomp all over it. “Allie, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
He didn’t want to embarrass her, but it was best to deal with this now. “Look, you’ve had a highly emotional weekend. Sometimes, that leads to people misreading some of those emotions and…thinking that something is developing that really isn’t developing…and…”
Allie bowed her head, but before he could think of a way to console her tears, she looked back at him with a barely suppressed grin.
Immediately, he went on the defensive. “What?”
“You think you know me after one weekend. Well, you don’t.” She stepped forward and clasped his hands. “Don’t drag a lot of emotion into this. It’s a drink, not a proposal.”
She was the most centered person he’d ever met, which was odd, since she was forever pushing him off balance. But there was no denying her quirky ways appealed to him. She had an eagerness for sharing-her thoughts, her company, her protective instincts-that made him want to give back.
And that was dangerous. Justin was a private person for good reason. If Allie opened up his past, she would find only hurt.
His gaze drifted to her wrists. Mild bruising remained as the sole evidence of the trauma she’d experienced earlier. Despite her fragile appearance, she was strong, resilient.
“There’s Darby.”
And completely in her own world. Justin swiveled his head. An officer clad in Kevlar with a black Labrador retriever on a close leash was stopping before the coffee machine.
“Darby?” He recalled his first meeting with Allie in the interrogation room. “You mean, the woman on the bomb squad? The five babies?”
“I never said woman. That’s her.” Her head tilted toward the coffee machine.