Murder List

Chapter Thirty

Alec was wearing a black raincoat over his tux and looked devastatingly handsome. He opened the door for her, stepped back, and said to Wincott, “Replacement’s here.”

Wincott’s phone was ringing. “I’ll go over a couple of things with him. You two go on.”

The door closed as he was answering the phone.

They didn’t speak until they were in the car and on their way north. Regan gave Alec directions to the country club-she’d written them down on a three-by-five index card-but he already knew where it was located.

“Are you always so organized?” he asked.

“I try to be,” she said. She pulled out a handful of cards, shuffled through them, and put them back in her purse.

“What are all those?”

“Notes for tonight,” she said.

“Do you have to give a speech?” he asked.

“Just a couple of words.”

She didn’t expound, and he figured he’d find out what it was all about when he got there. He was having a difficult time paying attention to the road. Her perfume was playing havoc with his concentration, and all he wanted to think about was how sexy she had looked when she walked into the parlor.

Yeah, right. Who was he kidding? He was trying to picture her naked, and that was what was playing havoc with his concentration.

They’d driven a couple of miles without speaking again, and the silence was awkward. Regan wished he would say something, even if it was a mundane remark about the weather. He had a ferocious frown on his face. What in heaven’s name was he thinking about?

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“What? Oh, sure. Everything’s fine.”

“You were frowning.”

He glanced over at her. “I was?”

“What were you thinking about?”

You. Naked. Stalling while he tried to come up with a suitable lie, he said. “Just now?”

He eased the car down the ramp onto the interstate and swung in behind a pickup. Traffic was unusually heavy, even for Saturday night, but he still didn’t have any trouble keeping track of the sedan following them.

“We’ve got company.”

“We do?”

“The gray sedan two cars back. They’ve been following us since we left the hotel, and they don’t seem to care if we notice them or not. I’m not worried, just irritated.”

She tried to see the sedan from her side-view mirror, and when that didn’t work, she twisted in her seat to look out the back window. The seat belt cut into her neck.

“I don’t see a sedan.”

He pulled over into the middle lane and accelerated, and as soon as he did that, the sedan followed.

Her eyes grew huge. “I see them. There are two men.” Turning to Alec, she said, “Why aren’t we worried?”

“They’re security guards.”

“So now I’ve got security guards following me around the city? Even when I’m with you? Who do you suppose gave that order?”

“Your brother.”

She settled back in the seat, adjusted her raincoat over her knees, and stared out the window. She didn’t say another word for several minutes. Alec glanced over at her and saw the worry on her face. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“I was just wondering why we haven’t heard from him,” she said. “Why hasn’t he tried to contact me? It’s been two weeks, Alec. Do you still think he will?”

He could hear her anxiety. “Yes, I do.”

“But what happens if he waits?”

“Then we wait.”

“How much time will the lieutenant let Detective Wincott and you and the others spend on this? You’re all overworked, and I know there aren’t enough of you to go around. If nothing happens, and you leave Chicago, and he goes into hiding…” She suddenly stopped, took a breath, and told herself to calm down. Alec wasn’t clairvoyant. He couldn’t possibly have all the answers.

“Listen, Regan. Wincott and Bradshaw haven’t been twiddling their thumbs. They’re working on this, okay?”

“Yes, okay,” she said, feeling guilty now because she knew the detectives had been putting in long hours. “I’m sorry. It’s just that, the more I know-”

“The less afraid you’ll be.”

“That too.”

“What were you going to say?’

“The more control I’ll have. Besides, I can’t come up with a plan to help catch him unless I know all the facts, now can I?”

“I don’t like the sound of that, and neither will Wincott. Don’t you get in the middle of this.”

“I am in the middle of it.”

“I’m talking about the investigation. Don’t muck it up with foolish plans…”

“You sound like you think I’m going to do something crazy.”

She had one hand on the dashboard, getting ready to brace herself should he swerve or increase his speed.

“Would you like to drive?”

The question jarred her. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“I’m only going sixty.”

“Did I criticize your driving?”

He reached across the console and pulled her hand away from the dash. “Try to relax,” he said. “And no more talk about the investigation tonight. Okay?”

“Yes,” she agreed. She leaned back and folded her hands in her lap. “About those security guards following us…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want them to follow us inside the club, and I’d rather no one knew that you were my bodyguard. The focus shouldn’t be on me tonight, and I don’t want a lot of questions.”

The only way the focus wouldn’t be on her was if she kept her coat on all evening and no one got a look at her dress. Actually, it was her body inside the dress, he silently corrected.

“I’ll talk to the guards and make sure they keep a low profile.”

“Thank you.”

The clouds suddenly erupted, and within seconds, fat raindrops splattered the windshield. Alec turned on the wipers and said, “I think we’re going to set a record for the most consecutive rain days.”

“That’s our exit.”

“I know.”

“Does Wincott know where Shields is hiding?”

“You’ll have to ask him that question.”

“Aiden wants me to hide too. I’m not going to, though. I’m not running away. I want to help catch him.”

“Aiden’s trying to look out for you,” he said. “I’ve got two younger sisters, and I’d probably react the same way.”

“He’s bringing in reinforcements.”

“Oh?”

“Spencer’s on his way. He’s probably already at the hotel.”

“Wasn’t he coming to Chicago for that meeting you told me about?”

“Yes.”

“But you think the two of them will try to gang up on you to get you to go into hiding?”

“Yes, but it won’t work. Like I said, I’m not going anywhere. And if anyone is hiding, it’s Aiden.”

“Yeah?” He was trying not to smile. She sounded so disgruntled now. “Who’s he hiding from?”

“Me.”

“He’s that scared of you, huh?”

“I wish.”

He did laugh then. “I gather that’s a no?”

“Aiden isn’t afraid of anyone, least of all me. He isn’t really hiding from me,” she admitted. “He is driving me crazy, though. It seems that every time I turn around, there he is, and yet, he doesn’t have time to even schedule a meeting. He keeps hiring more guards too. I’m bumping into them.”

“He’s worried about you, and that’s why there are so many security guards around. Did you ever talk to him about having your car towed away?”

“Not yet, but I will.”

“What about Walker? Is he going to gang up on you too?”

“No. He’s pretty self-absorbed these days, and I’m glad of it. I can handle two, but three against one is more difficult.”

They’d taken the exit and were slowing to a stop at a red light. The country club was a little over two miles away.

“You’re tougher than you look.”

She smiled. “I hope that’s a compliment.”

“It is,” he said. “Families can be complicated. Trust me. I know.”

“From some of the stories you’ve told me, you were pretty wild.”

“I had my share of wild times.”

With women? she wanted to ask.

“How come you’re not married?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have anything against marriage. My brothers Nick and Theo love being married. I just haven’t had time for any kind of meaningful relationship.”

“Women are like potato chips.”

“I’m sorry?” He couldn’t believe he’d heard her correctly. “Women are what?”

“Like potato chips,” she repeated. “That’s what a guy in college once told me.”

“A boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “No, he was dating a friend of mine, and sleeping around on her.”

“Did he tell you why he thought women were like potato chips?”

“Yes. He said he couldn’t eat just one.”

He thought that was hilarious. He’d heard a lot of lame reasons men gave women when they got caught cheating, but this one had to be the worst yet.

“It’s not that funny,” she said.

“Yeah, it is.”

He turned the corner. The rain was coming down in torrents now. They followed a limo through the iron gates. There were gaslights outlining the half mile drive that curved through the palatial grounds to the clubhouse. Whoever had designed the club had wanted to impress, and he had certainly achieved that goal. The opulence of the three-story structure at the top of the rise was close to being an embarrassment of excess. Soft lights shone down on massive white pillars. The brick building reminded Alec of a southern plantation run amuck.