Love Me if You Dare (11 page)

“Look!” Sara exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts.

He followed her line of vision to where his brother danced with his wife. Neither spoke; they just danced close and enjoyed each other’s company. “They’re not fighting.”

Rafe grinned. “Now, that’s a miracle.”

“Angel still loves him,” Sara said with a happy sigh.

Rafe inclined his head. “And Nick loves her. I just wish they could get past their differences.”

Sara tipped her head to one side, her long hair brushing her shoulders, reminding him what it felt like to curl his hands around the long strands while he was buried deep inside her body.

“Nick needs to accept who Angel is now,” Sara said, oblivious to Rafe’s thoughts. “He expects her to be the same girl he married, but she’s not. She lost a baby, and that changed her.”

Rafe blinked, surprised at the wealth of information Sara had accumulated. “You got all that out of Angel in the last day and a half?”

Sara shrugged. “What can I say? Angel and I clicked, and she confided in me.”

“I see,” Rafe said, a sense of rightness settling over him.

Sara got along well with his family. Another thing he liked about her.

Rafe glanced at the other couple. “I think Nick needs Angel to open up to him more.”

Sara nodded. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” she said, sighing again—and this time it was not a happy one.

“In that case, I hope my brother can change. Nick’s stubborn.”

“If Angel means enough to him, he’ll come around,” Sara said with certainty. “And vise versa.”

Another shock for Rafe. Sara obviously held out hope for his brother and Angel’s future. “Careful, or I might think you’re an optimist,” Rafe teased.

Sara curled her fingers into his shirt and continued dancing, but said nothing in reply.

He let her avoid answering, content with the notion that deep inside Sara there just might be a woman who believed in the commitment she claimed not to want.

“Uncle Rafe!”

At the sound of Toni’s voice, Rafe separated from Sara. “Hey, kiddo! What’s up?”

“Your advice? Not so good.”

“What happened?” Sara asked.

“Uncle Rafe said to pretend I didn’t know how to hit a ball so Pete Goodfriend would notice me.”

Pete Goodfriend? Rafe mouthed the name behind Toni’s back.

Sara shook her head hard.

Rafe cleared his throat.

“Did you do it?”

Toni nodded. “He showed me how to swing. I did. And then I came up to bat.”

“And?”

“I swung with all my might, and I hit it out of the park!”

“So what happened?”

She bowed her head. “Pete was the pitcher.”

Both Rafe and Sara winced.

“She never mentioned that,” he said by way of apology.

Sara laughed. “Toni, listen, I know what it’s like to like someone who doesn’t notice you.”

The young girl looked up at Sara with hopeful, adoring eyes. “So what do I do?”

“Hmm.” What had Sara done when Rafe hadn’t noticed her?

Nothing, because he’d been taken. But what would she have done if he’d been available? “Toni, honey, I think you should be yourself. If you like sports, talk sports to Pete. If you like music, talk about that. Be real. Pay attention to him. If it’s meant to be, he’ll like you back.”

Toni scrunched her nose in an adorable way. Rafe stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Remember what I told you. You’re a great kid, and I bet he already notices you.”

“Your uncle Rafe is right. Maybe he’s shy, or he thinks his friends will laugh at him if he likes a girl. But you have to be stronger. Pay attention to him first and see if it pays off.”

“Cool! You’re really smart about things, Sara.”

She grinned, thrilled with the compliment from the pint-size teenager.

“I’m going to try now. See ya!” Toni ran back into the crowd.

Sara blew out a long breath. “Wow. She’s a handful.”

“You handled her like a pro.” Rafe’s steady gaze was filled with admiration.

She’d seen that look before, in training or when she’d taken down a perp. But she’d never seen him admire her for more personal reasons. The warmth in his gaze gave her goose bumps.

As did watching
him
interact with his niece. The man was a natural with kids, whether the advice he gave was good…or, as in this case, bad. He’d be the perfect man to have children with.

If she was looking for such a thing. Which she wasn’t. Because they’d never make it together, and then she’d be as hurt as her father was after her mother abandoned them.

She drew in a shaky breath. “Thanks, but it’s easy because Toni’s such a great kid.”

“Sara…” Rafe stretched his hand toward her. He clearly had something to say.

Something she wouldn’t want to hear, because it would mean she’d have to give him up sooner rather than when her time here was over.

“Fire!” someone in the crowd yelled.

The one word caught their attention. She turned toward Main Street and the row of buildings and the
booths in front of them. Smoke billowed in the air above.

“Oh, my God!”

Rafe swore, grabbed her hand and they ran to see what was going on.

A
NGEL’S PIE STAND
burned down, and the fire department immediately labeled the incident arson. Pirro stood by Angel as the firefighters questioned her, but she hadn’t seen anything unusual during the day, nor had she been near the pie stand at the time of the fire. Pirro said a silent prayer of thanks nobody had been hurt.

The firemen instructed everyone to clear the area, and Rafe invited Nick, Angel, Pirro and Vivian to come back to his house for a while until everyone had calmed down. Pirro sent Vi along with Angel, promising to meet them there in a little while. He couldn’t stop thinking about the two men who’d approached him to sell hard drugs. Could it be coincidence that bad things were starting to happen now that he’d said no?

He didn’t have to go looking for the men to find out. No sooner had his family driven off than they found him.

“It’s a shame that your daughter’s pie stand burned down,” the blond man said, coming up to Pirro. “She
was so proud of how well she was selling and how much everyone loved her apple pies.”

“It’s a good thing she wasn’t in the booth when the fire started,” the other one chimed in. “I heard the firemen say that with the amount of accelerant that was used, the booth went up like that.” He snapped his finger in Pirro’s ear.

“If a fire like that happened at her house, she’d have no chance of getting out,” the blond man—Pirro refused to think of him as a gentleman—said.

Pirro shivered at the implied threat. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, willing to do anything to keep his family safe.

“Talk to your supplier and pave the way for us to meet with him.”

“Okay,” Pirro said, feeling sick as he agreed. But he’d be even sicker if he didn’t. “But I don’t contact him. I just meet him at a set place and time every couple of weeks. I need time.”

A lie that bought him a little time to think, he thought, and his hands were shaking as he shoved them into his front pants pocket.

“It’s beautiful this time of year, so we’re in no rush to get back to the city. As long as you’re telling the truth, and you put things in motion, your beautiful daughter will be safe. Are we in agreement?”

“Yes. But remember one thing. If anything happens to my daughter, you two will be the first ones the cops
look at, since you’re two strangers staying under her roof,” Pirro said to the blond man whom Pirro was convinced was the one in charge.

“Don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. But I think you understand what you need to do now.”

The other man slapped Pirro on the back. “Relax, old man. It’s all good. We’re going back to Angel’s. I don’t know about you, but after all the excitement tonight, I can’t wait to get a good night’s sleep.”

The two men bid him goodbye and walked away.

Pirro was sick to his stomach, and he still had to go to Rafe’s. The man was a cop and could spot a lie a mile away. Pirro wanted nothing more than to tell him everything, but he needed to think things through first. Now that he’d agreed to go along with the men’s plan, his family was safe, at least for now. He’d bought himself some time to figure out how to fix the mess he’d gotten himself into.

R
AFE’S FAMILY WAS
in a panic, and he knew he had to take control. He sent his parents and sisters home, assuring them there was nothing more they could do to help. Then he gathered the more immediate people involved with Angel’s pie stand in his den. As the cop in the family, they looked to him for answers, but he had none.

He glanced around his small den, where the entire
clan had congregated, and clapped his hands to shut them all up.

They turned their heads toward him.

“First, I need everyone to stay calm. The fire department and the county police already took Angel’s statement because she owned the booth. They’ll continue the investigation, but I have some questions of my own.” Rafe glanced around the room, and his gaze met Sara’s.

“Let’s start with what we know,” she suggested.

He nodded. “The fire department said it was definitely arson. An accelerant was used.”

As he spoke, Sara marked down notes on a pad she’d grabbed from the kitchen.

“Gasoline,” Nick added. “The chief said the area reeked of it.”

Sara nodded and made another note. “That takes care of what we know about the crime itself.”

“So now we move on to possible intended targets,” Nick said.

Angel stepped forward. “Well, that’s obvious. It was my booth, so it must have been me they were after.”

Nick stepped up and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him for comfort. At least something good was coming out of this nightmare, Rafe thought.

Rafe glanced at his aunt Vi and Pirro, who’d arrived
late. His aunt appeared worried and distraught, while Pirro was sweating and pacing beside her.

“Who would want to destroy my booth?” Angel asked. “All I was doing was selling apple pie.”

Rafe didn’t know enough to calm her down just yet, but he had a few more delicate questions that might help him narrow down the scope. “You were also booking reservations. Could someone want to sabotage your business?” Other than his brother, that is, Rafe thought wryly.

Angel shook her head. “Everyone claims to want me to succeed. At least, that’s what they say to my face.” She let out a shaky laugh.

“Except for me.” Nick shocked them all by admitting the truth out loud.

“Nick!” Angel said, horrified.

Nick held up his hands in defensive mode. “Hey, I’m just stating the obvious before someone else does.” Nick met Rafe’s knowing gaze. “I was the one who said I was against the B-and-B venture.”

To Nick’s credit, he sounded ashamed.

“But you wouldn’t burn down the booth!” Angel stepped up, defending her husband. “And you were with me during the entire dance.”

“I agree with Angel. Nick’s not a suspect,” Rafe said. “Who else in the family might have someone with a grudge against them?”

Angel stepped forward once more. “Not that I want
to be the target, but if the fire was aimed at the family or the business, wouldn’t the person have hit the spice booth, not the pie stand?”

“Depends on how obvious they wanted to be. Sometimes someone who has an agenda will start small, with a warning, as opposed to hitting the main target,” Sara explained.

Pirro began to cough hard.

“Dad, I’ll go get you a glass of water.” Angel ran to the kitchen and returned with a drink for her father.

Rafe nodded. “Sara’s right,” he said when Angel returned. He glanced around the room. “Pirro, are you okay?”

The older man nodded. “I’m fine.” He coughed some more, but the sound was less harsh than before.

Still, he’d been unusually quiet tonight, probably because he was worried about Angel’s safety.

“Any problems in shipping I should know about? People with a grudge?” he asked Pirro.

He rubbed his bald head. “No, no, not at all. Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be fine?” he asked, upset and rambling.

“Couldn’t it just be a random act? Teenagers causing trouble?” Angel asked.

“Anything is possible,” Sara said.

But Rafe just didn’t believe in coincidences, and his gut screamed this wasn’t random.

“I’m sick with worry about someone wanting to hurt my Angel. It’s just not right,” Pirro said.

Aunt Vivian nodded her head in agreement. “Angel, darling, I don’t want you alone in that house with all those strangers. You’ll sleep at our place tonight.” She issued the statement as if it were a done deal.

Angel glanced at Nick and subtly shook her head.

“It’s okay. I’ll stay at the B and B tonight,” Nick said. “Angel won’t be alone.”

Pirro exhaled hard, obviously relieved. “You’re like a son to me, Nick. You’re a good boy. Thank you.”

“It’s been a long day. I’m exhausted and upset, and I’d really like to go home,” Aunt Vi said.

Rafe nodded. “Pirro, take her home. There’s nothing more you can do here, and Nick will look out for Angel.”

“That’s a good idea, Dad. You look tired, too. Go home and rest,” Angel said. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” The older couple began to say their goodbyes.

As usual, it took another half hour for them to finally get themselves together. Rafe had hoped the seriousness of the fire would take Aunt Vi’s mind off the possibility of her husband cheating or whatever else she thought he was doing. But as Rafe walked them to the door, Aunt Vi gave him one last hug and
a whispered reminder that the next time Pirro went out alone, she’d be calling Rafe to follow him.

He returned to the family room, where Sara had poured everyone a cold glass of iced tea. The three of them talked, looking comfortable together. Apparently she had a way with his family that won them over. She’d made herself at home in his house, serving his brother and Angel as if she were the hostess. And Rafe liked what he saw.

But he didn’t have time to enjoy the moment. “Now that Pirro and Vi are gone, I need to talk to the two of you,” Rafe said to his brother and Angel.

“What’s up?” Nick asked.

Rafe met Sara’s knowing gaze. “Before I say anything, is there any chance you know of any complaints lodged with the company? Or someone with a grudge against you who’d use Angel to make a point?”

His brother shook his head. “I checked in with Dad on the way over here and he’s blank, too. Nobody can imagine anyone who’d want to target us.”

That’s what Rafe figured. “There’s a very real possibility that Angel wasn’t the target, but Sara was.” And she’d worked the booth along with Angel.

“What? Why?” Angel asked.

Sara cleared her throat. “To put it simply, I’m supposed to testify against someone in New York, and he wants me too scared to come home and take the witness stand.”

“Or he wants to shut her up permanently.” Rafe walked over to her chair and put a hand on her shoulder. “She came here to hide out.”

“Oh.” Angel’s eyes opened wide.

“I still don’t get it,” Nick said. “If she’s here to hide, I’m assuming she didn’t tell anyone she was coming, so why would you think the fire was aimed at her?”

“Because the Bachelor Blog in New York posted that I’d escaped the city to rendezvous with Rafe in his hometown,” Sara said as she absently rubbed her bad knee.

“Unbelievable,” Nick muttered. “Rafe told me about that damned blog when he was in the hospital. But if no one in New York knew where you’d gone, then it had to be someone here who reported in.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Beyond that, Rafe was blank. He couldn’t fathom who would have reported on her whereabouts.

“Who would snitch about where Sara had gone?” Nick asked the same question aloud.

“Me.” Angel raised her hand in the air.

All eyes turned her way.

“I’m sorry! I had no idea you weren’t here just to be with Rafe. I’d never have done it if I’d known you were in danger!”

Shocked, Sara met Angel’s gaze. “Why? I thought we were friends.”

“We are! And it wasn’t personal. When you first
showed up and asked for a room, I recognized you from the articles in the newspaper about the hostage crisis. But I also recognized you from the Bachelor Blog. I take out ads in the New York City newspapers to generate business, so I have them delivered, too.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’d turn her in,” Nick said angrily.

Obviously any good feelings they’d been working toward had gone south, Rafe thought. “Why did you do it?” Rafe asked Angel with more diplomacy than his brother had shown.

“For the same reason. To get the bed-and-breakfast’s name in the paper and generate business.” She glanced at Sara, then Nick, her gaze full of regret. “But I would never have put the business before Sara’s safety. I didn’t know!”

Sara exhaled a long breath. “It’s not your fault,” Sara said, letting Angel off the hook. “Actually, it was a pretty business-savvy move, if you ask me.”

“You’re too generous.” Angel rose and ran for the bathroom in the hall, slamming the door shut behind her.

Nick ran a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t savvy. It was selfish and stupid, just like this business,” Nick muttered.

“And you’re a hothead and an idiot,” Rafe said, not about to let Nick ruin the progress he’d made by picking a fight with his wife. “If Sara isn’t upset with
Angel, then you shouldn’t be, either. Don’t make an ass of yourself just because she mentioned the bed-and-breakfast. You need to accept it, remember?”

Before Nick could reply, his wife returned, her eyes red, her face blotchy. “I’m sorry,” Angel said again.

“It’s fine. You had no way of knowing I wanted to lie low,” Sara reassured her again.

“Look,” said Rafe, “we’re all upset after the fire, but all that matters right now is that nobody was hurt. From this point on, we have to be more careful. Because the fact is, we have no way of knowing
who
the intended target actually was.”

He met Sara’s gaze, and she nodded in agreement.

It was possible Morley had sent people after Sara, and the accelerant had lit either too soon or too late, and thank God she hadn’t been in the booth. But there was the equal possibility that someone had a grudge against Angel or her family and the booth fire had been a warning.

Until they knew who the target was and why, Rafe wanted everyone in his family on alert and being extra careful.

A
S
N
ICK WALKED
Angel to her car, he thought back to the events of the night. One minute they’d been dancing, getting closer, and she’d obviously panicked. She said she’d needed air, and he’d let her go, giving
her space. The next thing he knew, he heard people yelling. He’d nearly had a heart attack when he’d seen the smoke and fire in her booth, not knowing if she’d gone there to be alone.

If he hadn’t already been shaken up by Biff’s and Todd’s interest in his wife, the fire had been an additional wake-up call. He had to fix things before it was too late.

“I’m sorry about the blog. I never intended to hurt Sara,” Angel said.

Nick nodded. “I know.”

“It’s been an awful night and I can’t wait to just crawl into bed. Good night,” she said softly.