The Past Between Us Read online

  Forgoing the light, she made her way to the nightstand beside her bed, intent on getting her book and then racing out of there. She had already purchased a bus ticket for this very occasion, though admittedly, she hadn’t thought she was going to be using it quite this soon. She’d come to New York following a lead but it took time to ferret out details of Lionel’s life before he met her mom, and she’d only just started to flesh out her new identity so she hadn’t made contact yet with her mark.

  Just as her hand closed on the worn leather, the light flicked on, momentarily blinding her.

  “You really ought to be less sentimental,” a voice said, scaring the crap out of her in one breath and causing her to swear softly in the next. “If you’d split town you might’ve earned yourself another couple of months free and clear, but in the end, it’s always the mementos that get people.”

  She turned. “It’s not a memento. It’s the key to getting my life back,” she said evenly, pissed at herself for breaking one of her own rules—carrying her valuables with her at all times. She should’ve kept her date book in her backpack with the rest of her essentials but she’d left it behind this morning when she’d realized her backpack had ripped a seam. She’d planned on buying a new one.

  Tommy gestured and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. She eyed the stainless steel and lifted her chin. “Aren’t you even curious?” she asked.

  “No.”

  She made a face. “What happened to you? You used to have a heart. Being a cop has leached all the humanity out of you.”

  His expression didn’t change, and the fact that he was implacable as stone in spite of their history served to make her wish things had turned out differently between them, but it didn’t make her want to turn herself in. If she allowed Tommy to bring her in, Lionel would win and there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen. “So now what?” she asked, stalling for time.

  “I take you into custody and we drive to my field office in Pittsburgh, where I will turn you over to the proper authorities.”

  “Sounds like a walk in the park,” she said, then sighed. “Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

  He eyed her with suspicion. “So you’re willing to come quietly this time?” He glanced around the tiny apartment. “No windows you’re planning to crawl out of? Or maybe you have a trapdoor somewhere that drops you down to the first floor?”

  “Well, there is the trash chute but I don’t really like the idea of getting dirty,” she quipped. When her answer didn’t elicit even the tiniest of grins, she said, “Can you blame me? What would you’ve done in my situation?”

  “I’m not in your situation, nor would I be, so there’s no sense in trying out hypothetical scenarios.”

  Cassi glared. “I liked you better when you were a loner without friends.”

  A tiny muscle moved in his cheek and she wondered at it. Had she struck a nerve? It seemed cruel to remind him of how they met but he wasn’t making this any easier by acting like a robot. Well, what a waste of time anyway. She wasn’t sticking around to smooth out the edges of their reunion. Better to get this over with and deal with her hurt feelings later. Like when she was on a bus traveling far enough away to kick him off her trail.

  She came forward and put her wrists together in a show of surrender but she had no intentions of going quietly. In one of her identities she worked at a dojo. She and the instructor had a thing and she was a very able student. Suffice to say…she knew a few things that would come in handy right about now.

  “Turn around,” he instructed and she gave him a sad, wounded look that said she was hurt because he didn’t trust her. And if he were smart, he wouldn’t. But she had a hunch that he wasn’t as hard as he put on. There was a soft spot underneath all that marble and she was going to poke at it to her advantage. He seemed to weigh the options heavily and she almost thought she’d overestimated her ability to persuade him but he finally relented with a gruff admonishment, “If you try anything I will hog-tie you for the entire trip back. You got it?” and she knew she’d won.

  She bit her lip but nodded. “Scout’s honor.”

  Good thing she’d never been a Scout. Shame on Tommy. He should’ve remembered that.

  THOMAS CLICKED OPEN the handcuffs and came toward her, his gut reacting adversely to the lump of lead sitting in it. She looked scared, even though she was trying to hide it. She’d always tried to hide her true feelings from everyone, except him.

  A part of him was itching to know the details of her messed-up life but he kept that curiosity under lock and key. He didn’t need to know. When he looked at her he tried not to see the girl he’d fallen helplessly in love with back when they were kids. He’d been the quiet loner and she’d been the popular girl who attracted people like bees to honey. Gorgeous and wealthy, spoiled and willful, yet for whatever reasons, she’d befriended him during a time when nothing in his young life had seemed right. She might not have realized it but that one act of kindness had sealed her fate. And his, as well. By the time they reached high school, his heart had secretly belonged to her.

  She could’ve had it all. Hell, she practically already had at the age of sixteen. So when had it all gone to shit?

  Thomas advanced and as he prepared to click the handcuffs in place—his mind in all sorts of places but not focused as it should’ve been—he was taken off guard by what she did next.

  The woman clocked him.

  Painful stars burst behind his eyes and he crashed to the floor, but before he landed he grabbed blindly and by sheer luck managed to snag her sneakered foot, sending her tumbling to the worn carpet, as well. She landed with a soft grunt and tried to kick his hand free but he was already losing the birds flying around his head and he lunged at her. She turned into a kicking, scratching she-devil and it was all he could do to keep from getting her size nine in his face.

  “Let me go,” she demanded as they struggled, but he’d managed to put his full weight on top of her and the last part came out as an outraged gasp. She was shorter than him but at five foot nine she wasn’t a petite little thing. She’d always been curvy in all the right spots and if it hadn’t been for the pulsing agony in his temple he might’ve been distracted by all that soft, womanly flesh pressed tightly against him. When he was a teen he’d fantasized about what it might feel like to be hip to hip with this woman, but in his wildest dreams he never imagined that when it happened she’d be doing her best to kill him.

  He managed to secure both her hands but it wasn’t easy. The woman had skills. Both of them were breathing hard, which made her breasts push against his chest and he could feel the soft caress of her breath against his face. She smelled of cinnamon candy and some kind of herbal lotion or oil that you might find in a specialty store. It wasn’t patchouli—that stuff made him sneeze—but it was something that someone might enjoy as an incense. Whatever it was, the scent called up images of warm bodies sliding against one another in a darkened room, urgent whispers and hands caressing. Hell, did she douse herself in some kind of aphrodisiac? He blinked hard against the images his mind happily threw at him in concert with the aroma assault and he tightened his grip on her hands until she couldn’t do much more than twist beneath him. He stared down into a pair of deadly calculating eyes that radiated anger and retribution and he knew if she had half a chance she’d brain him and be on her merry way.

  “You’re coming with me,” he said from between gritted teeth, his breathing labored for more reasons than the physical exertion. He was horrified to admit he was aroused. He could only hope she didn’t realize that the bulge pressing against her wasn’t only the ridge from his jeans.

  Chest heaving as she caught her breath, she gave him a mocking glare as she pointed out one crucial detail. “The minute you let go of my hands I’m going to get free. You have the advantage right now only because you’re holding my hands. You can’t stay this way forever.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Don’t make this worse on you
rself. You’re already in a heap of trouble. The ride is over.”

  “You don’t know anything about what’s going on. All you know is what he’s told everyone.”

  He shouldn’t ask but he did anyway. “He who?”

  “Lionel Vissher. My stepfather.”

  “What’s he got to do with the people you’ve swindled out of thousands of dollars?”

  “I haven’t swindled anyone,” she shot back and he could only stare. The last time he checked, stealing people’s identity and then their cash was indeed swindling. But whatever word she used to describe it…it was still illegal. And she was guilty. “I borrowed a little to survive. I plan to pay them back.”

  “Sure you do.”

  Her lips tightened and he found it vaguely ironic that she was offended by his disbelief. “I have every name of every person I ever borrowed from and I will pay them back as soon as I get Lionel out of my family’s bank account.”

  “So these past two years you’ve been running from the law, you’ve actually been hunting down information on your stepfather?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she answered, a flare of hope in her voice. “That’s exactly it. I never actually hurt anyone, I mean I know I deceived a few people but harmlessly so. When I pay them back everything will be fine. But if you take me in, I’ll never get to clear my name and worse, that snake will continue to live in my family’s home sucking up the fortune my father helped build.” His brow furrowed and she recognized that look from years ago. She continued quickly. “Think about it, Tommy. Would I do the things they say I’ve done without a good reason? Why would I? I had plenty of money. I didn’t need to steal, not until Lionel came into my life. If you knew what he was really like, you’d be arresting him instead of me.” Her hands were slowly losing feeling. She wiggled against him and peered up at him with what she hoped was an expression of vulnerability as she pleaded in a small voice. “Please let me go…you’re hurting me, Tommy.”

  He paused and a myriad of emotions crossed his face. She’d forgotten how handsome he was. He’d epitomized the strong silent type when they were growing up. He’d always been a great listener, even when all she did was complain about problems that in the big scheme of things didn’t matter at all. If only she’d realized that then. Now it was too late.

  His gaze searched her face and she could almost hope that his silence was evidence of his uncertainty, but she should’ve known that such a possibility was small for a man like Thomas Bristol. He was a stickler for the rules—which had made a career in law enforcement such a no-brainer. His mouth tightened and his gaze hardened as he told her what was going to happen next. “I’m going to let your hands go and you’re going to come quietly.”

  No way in hell. “Try it and see.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you. Just do yourself a favor and don’t fight me.”

  Was that the tiniest plea couched in that harsh tone? She could only wonder. “Let me go and we won’t have to fight.”

  “You know that’s not possible.”

  “I don’t know any such thing. You could walk away, pretend you never found me.”

  “That’s not who I am and I’m not about to change so you can continue using people for your own gain. According to your file, you’re a thief and a liar and your free ride stops here.”

  She scowled. “That’s an inflammatory statement, don’t you think? And quite possibly slanderous. Watch yourself, Tommy. Perhaps I’ll sue.”

  His mouth twisted. “Oh, really? I’d like to see you try.”

  “Get off me, you brute. It’s not like you’re a lightweight. Perhaps not so many doughnuts and a little more roughage in your diet would help drop some of those pounds,” she taunted him, enjoying the flare of anger that followed. It was complete crap, of course. He was built like a Greek god and if she were in a different position, she certainly wouldn’t complain about his body on top of hers but that wasn’t her reality so the lug needed to get the hell off and quick. If insulting him got the job done she was more than willing to do it. “Oh, man, I can’t breathe.” She twisted a little beneath him. “Seriously, you’re hurting me. I promise I won’t do anything, just get off. Okay?”

  “Promise?” He eyed her with suspicion.

  “My hands are going numb and my ribs are cracking,” she said in answer, shifting again under his weight.

  “You’re the one who put us in this position,” he reminded her, but oddly, he didn’t move. She inhaled the sharp scent of his skin and when images from the past assaulted her, she kicked them away. She’d never slept with him—a blessing, perhaps, though definitely a serious regret—but they had shared one helluva kiss on her seventeenth birthday. Was he remembering that sizzling moment, as well? Doubtful. The fact that she was suddenly reminded of that moment discomfited her.

  “Tommy, I mean it,” she said, snapping him out of whatever he was thinking. He shifted slowly, watching her closely. Guess he didn’t trust her much after she rattled his teeth. She wouldn’t, either, if the roles were reversed. She drew a deep breath, wincing as her ribs complained, then as he let her hands go she shook some circulation back into them before scrambling to her feet.

  “Cassi,” he warned, advancing toward her as she backed away, her thoughts moving quickly to the best possible escape plan. “There’s nowhere for you to go. Think this through. You won’t get far.”

  He underestimated her need to escape. She shrugged, appearing flippant but in truth she was stalling, waiting for the strength to return to her limbs. She was starting to think that’s why he stayed on top of her, to weaken her. Well, if it was, it’d worked and it also destroyed her hope that he’d stayed put simply because he liked being there. Ouch. There’s a blow to the ol’ ego. She flexed her fingers and gave him a hard look of her own. “Sorry, Tommy. I can’t. There’s no way I can make you understand and that’s a tragedy but I’m not going anywhere with you. That man killed my mother and I’m going to prove it somehow. It’s the only chance I have of making things right, so if you want to take me in you’ll have to kill me first.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  SHE MOVED QUICKLY BUT Thomas had anticipated her move and dodged with her. Just as his fingers grabbed for her arm, she spun out of his reach. She was making her way to the door. He knew if she made it past that threshold she’d disappear and it would take months to track her down again. That wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t have time to zap her with a Taser, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to shoot her—though another agent might’ve, seeing as she’d already committed an assault against an officer—so he went old school.

  This time when he tackled her to the ground, he didn’t waste time trying to subdue her. She kicked and bucked but he reared back and cut a clean right hook across her jaw.

  She stilled and went limp beneath him. Thomas exhaled loudly, wishing to hell he hadn’t had to do that, but he figured it was the lesser of two evils at that moment.

  “Damn it, Cassi,” he muttered sharply, feeling like shit. It went against his personal beliefs—men who hit women were scum—but she’d given him no choice. Still, even knowing this, it didn’t lessen the feeling he’d just crossed a line. A good agent didn’t let the past affect his actions. If he’d hesitated, she would’ve gotten away and he would have had to explain why to his superiors.

  Pulling his handcuffs, he made short work of securing her. He climbed to his feet and took a quick look around the cramped apartment. Ugly was the appropriate word for it, he thought as he made a short circuit. Peeling yellowed wallpaper covered the walls, and brown, matted carpet covered the floor. He doubted anything in this place belonged to Cassi. From what he remembered, thrift store garbage wasn’t exactly her decorating style, which told him she’d rented the apartment furnished. There was nothing personal in this space, nothing that would suggest she actually lived there. She had the essentials but nothing else. The occupant of this house lived a transient existence. Here today, gone tomorrow, which fit Cassi’s M.O. Still, he o
pened a few drawers and rifled through the contents. A grim part of him was hoping to find evidence of drugs because maybe he could understand why she’d turned so bad if he found she suffered an addiction. But when his search came up empty, he couldn’t say he wasn’t relieved, too.

  No pictures, no personal effects. What a lonely life, he reflected for a minute before returning to where Cassi lay unconscious. He’d lied. He’d wanted to know her story, her reasons, but he’d be damned if he let himself slide down that slippery slope. He didn’t cause her to make her bad choices. He had to keep sight of that before he went and did something foolish, like trust her to tell him the truth and then fall hook, line and sinker for her lies.

  Thomas hoisted her onto his shoulder, grunting under the weight and taking care not to notice the plump, round curves of her ass right at his face. There were a million different reasons why he shouldn’t be attracted to her, but his hand itched to touch her and it only served to sour his mood further.

  Why Cassi? Of all the women in the world…why her? There were too many memories, too many unresolved feelings, just flat out, too much of everything. He’d been a fool to take this case but what was done was done. He’d see it through, no matter what. And he absolutely would not give in to the strange and inappropriate urge to give that firm ass a nice squeeze.

  He passed a neighbor or two but didn’t stop to explain why he was carting away an unconscious woman on his shoulder, nor did he flash his badge. Funny, no one asked any questions. That said a lot about the neighborhood she was living in. Definitely a far cry from the digs she was accustomed to, that was for sure.

  Cassi had lived in the rich part of town where they grew up in Bridgeport, West Virginia. Her house had been the most lavish, ridiculous piece of masonry Thomas had ever seen. Cassi came from old money and she’d enjoyed all that it had afforded from top-shelf education to high-society circles. Hell, she’d even had a coming-out party when she’d turned sixteen just like they did in the Old South. His upbringing hadn’t been so privileged. Until he’d been put in Mama Jo’s care, his home life had been hell. He didn’t like to spend much time remembering those days. And there was no reason for him to, either, but a memory floated unbidden from his past. Odd, given the circumstances, but it flashed real and tangible before he could stop it.