“He should be getting finished with his route in the next couple of hours, according to the dispatcher I spoke to. The company he drives delivery for has its warehouse on ThirdStreet,” she said. When she met his odd expression, she paused. “What?”
“First, you look especially beautiful this afternoon,” he said, giving her a slow, seductive look.
Her heart jolted, and a wave of sweetness flowed through her like warm honey. She glanced down at her blue jeans and simple pink blouse, and plucking at her sleeve, she asked, “This old thing?”
“I meanyou, Jules.”
Her voice fled, and she felt her cheeks heat.
When was the last time anyone had told her she looked nice? Other than the occasional randy wolf whistle on the street, she couldn’t remember. That his tone of voice and expression both sounded sincere made his compliment nestle deep inside her. Finally, she managed a soft, “Thank you.”
“Second,” he continued as if he hadn’t just shaken the foundations of her goal to emotionally keep him at arm’s length, “I’m already locked and loaded.” He pointed to the screen of his Jeep’s GPS that showed the address of Red Grove Food Distributors on the local map.
“Good.” She gave him a nod and made a production of fastening her seat belt, buying herself a moment to find her footing again.
You look especially beautiful…
Good grief! Why did such a simple compliment have her insides whirling like a carnival ride? She kept her gaze focused on the passing scenery while she calmed the jitters dancing in her gut.
“I’ve tried before to follow him home after work, but I was so paranoid about him seeing my car and realizing I was following that I ended up losing him every time.”
“Just as well. I don’t want you getting in over your head without backup.”
She shot him a frown. “In over my head? Are you saying you don’t think I can handle myself, or that I’m too stupid to figure out how to—”
“Hey, hey, hey!” He waved a hand to stop her. “No one is calling you stupid. I’d never presume to suggest someone earning an advanced degree in chemistry is stupid. But…”
Her eyebrow sketched up.
“What would you do if he did spot you, and he confronted you? I want you to stay safe.” He shot her a pointed glance. “Which leads to my next point. If weareable to track him tonight and see anything of note, you stay in the car. Letmehandle him. I’m the one with the badge.”
She compressed her mouth and twisted her lips. She didn’t like being sidelined before they even started.
“Got it? I want to hear your verbal agreement, or I’m turning around now.”
She heaved a sigh that let him know how her concession disgruntled her. But was she in a position to buck him on the point? “Fine.”
Several employees of Red Grove Food Distributors were leaving the facility for the day when Cal parked across the street amid the other cars in the neighboring industrial pipe company parking lot.
Jules took out her cell phone and pulled up a photo of Hamilton. She angled it for Cal to see. “I know you saw him at the gift shop, but as a refresher, this is what he looks like.”
Cal took out his own phone and showed her the screen he’d recently pulled up. “Not my first rodeo, darlin’.”
Hamilton’s grim face stared at her from a previous mug shot. “I did some homework on my own after I dropped you off last night. I wanted to get to know our target a little better for my own reasons. I hate to tell you, but he doesn’t currently appear toeven have an unpaid parking ticket. I’d hoped we could nab him for some minor infraction. But there was nothing outstanding.”
She let a growl rumble from her throat as she glared at him. Then his gaze darted away, and his body tensed. “Looks like we got here in the nick of time. Isn’t that him there in the blue shirt?”
She shifted on the front seat and craned her neck to scan the employees’ lot across the street. Her pulse jumped when she spotted him, and her stomach roiled. “Yes.”
She practically snarled the answer, feeling the heat of fury rise in her blood. Lord, how she wanted to surge from the Jeep and confront the man who’d made Abby’s life a living hell. Only Cal’s presence beside her and the knowledge that such rash action could ruin any chance of finding justice for Abby kept her anchored in her seat. She watched him climb into a small, rusted-out pickup. “White truck,” she said, flapping a hand to hurry Cal. “Go, go, go!”
“Give it a second,” he replied, his hand on his ignition key.
“You’re going to lose him!”
“Trust me, Jules. I’ve got this.”
She clenched her back teeth as Hamilton pulled out of the food distributor parking and headed down the street out of view. Trust him?Trust him?She wanted to trust Cal, but how could she when every other person she’d ever asked for help, from the first time she asked the courts to declare her emancipated from her mother at age sixteen until this moment, had let her down. Trust was in short supply.
