The Fire Within (21 page)

“Would you rather I had called Sam and told her first about yesterday?” Beth glared over her glasses at Andi.

“I still can’t believe you slept with him.” Andi practically Snoopy danced as she threw away some old cheeseburgers.

Beth shrugged. Something was wrong about the smashed computer. Something... missing?

Just as she thought she had it figured out, Andi called her. “Beth?”

Turning, she saw Andi carrying a pan gingerly by the handle. “Yeah?”

“Did you burn something recently?” Andi held out the pot.

Beth stared inside at the melted, blackened plastic mess, looked back down at her computer, and began to swear. “That son of a fucking bitch whore.”

“Um.” Andi began to laugh. “I gather you know what this is?”

“Yeah.” Beth blew out a frustrated breath and took the pan. “My hard drive and backup tapes.”

“Oh.” Andi stared down into the pan. “So your thief stole the data and then made sure you couldn’t get to it anymore.”

“I had more than the Blake case on those.” And it was information that would take her weeks, maybe months to replace. “I’m going to kill that fucker.”

“Did you give backups to Sam?” She held up her hands in surrender as Beth snarled. “Sorry, just asking.”

Beth grumbled. “I’ll make sure she has some from now on.” Her home computer held the truly sensitive information, the stuff she didn’t feel comfortable leaving at the office. If someone broke in there, they’d find only what Beth wanted them to.

Someone knew that. Knew that Beth took the important information with her and stored it in her home.

The question was, who?

Chapter Eighteen

“My hard drives are missing, and the son of a bitch melted my backup tapes.”

He had to hide a smile. She looked extremely grumpy as she threw herself down on the leather sofa and pulled her boots off.

“Say again?” Dante stood and went to her, sitting on the sofa next to her.

“The son of a bitch stole my hard drives and melted my backup tapes on the stove. Burned my best pot too.”

“You don’t cook.”

She scowled at him. “I can open a can of soup, and that’s not the point. I had Sam check the computer out. Whoever took the drives took them out carefully, like they knew what they were doing, and then smashed the case to make it look like another piece of random vandalism so I wouldn’t look too closely. Now I know why my place was trashed. They were trying to destroy evidence.” She stood up and began to pace like a caged tigress.

“They wanted your data on the Blake case wiped out of existence.”

“Which means we were on to something and didn’t even know it.” She tapped out a rhythm on her thigh. “But what?

“I don’t think it was Kensington. He barely knows how to use a mouse.”

“How do you know that?” Elizabeth stopped and stared down at him.

“Don’t you remember? Candy mentioned it when we interviewed her. She said it drove Blessing crazy that his head PR man couldn’t function on a computer without someone holding his hand.”

Elizabeth grimaced. “I didn’t really pay attention to much of what she said.”

Dante smiled smugly. “Every little bit of information can prove useful.”

He watched fondly as Elizabeth flopped ungracefully into an armchair. “Okay. So it wasn’t Kensington in my apartment. Blessing?”

Dante thought about it for a moment, then shook his head slowly. “Not his style. He seems like the type for direct confrontation.”

“What makes you say that?” Elizabeth asked. He could see the curiosity practically eating her alive.

“Because he went down to the station and confronted Kensington. Yelled at him in front of the entire precinct, saying how he’d killed Jennifer, and then tried to take a swing at him. Took two cops to hold him back.”

Elizabeth whistled. “Wow. Sorry I missed it.”

“Me too. One of my buddies called and told me about it while you were out, knowing I’d been working the case.”

Elizabeth blew out a frustrated breath. “All right. Not Kensington, not Blessing. Who does that leave?”

“How’s Blake with computers?”

“He’s a network engineer. He’d know how to steal the hard drives, all right, but I can’t see him doing it.”

“Why not?”

She looked at him speculatively. “How did you react when you found out that Lillian had been cheating on you?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I kicked her sorry ass out the door, locked it behind her, and filed for divorce the very next day.”

“After recovering from the hangover?”

He met her knowing gaze, and shook his head. “Believe it or not—and I can say this now—it was a relief.”

Elizabeth blinked and grinned wickedly. “Having your wife dancing the mattress mambo with another man was a relief?”

Dante frowned at her. “No, not that. The divorce. Getting rid of Lillian was the best thing that ever happened to me. I should have done it sooner, but my Mama taught me not to give up without a fight. Marriage, even a shaky one, is worth fighting for.”

He was rewarded by her slow smile. “But Lillian turned around and proved that, for her, it wasn’t.”

“Exactly. And I got rid of her. Oh, I hated Hershman, no mistake about that. The son of a bitch got me shot—”

“Shot? He got you
shot?
” Beth hadn’t heard about this.

“It was only a flesh wound.”

Still. Beth had the urge to hunt him down and see how he felt about getting shot.

“He seduced Lillian and humiliated me, but worst of all, the bad guy got away because of him. If I had my way, he’d rot in hell for a very, very long time.”

“Think of it this way—now
he’s
married to Lillian.”

He started laughing. “You know what? I never thought of it that way.” And he prayed to God she’d decide to call off the divorce. Lillian needed to get out his life permanently.

“Good, now you do. Now can you help me with
my
problem?”

“Okay, okay.” He threw his hand up in a gesture of surrender. “Where were we?”

“Not Kensington, not Blessing. Not Blake. Who does that leave?”

“Oates, Messinger, Cranston, a couple of secretaries.”

“Cranston’s a spaz, Oates is a straight arrow, and Messinger is too old to shimmy down a rope ladder.” Beth leaned back in her chair. “Romanov.”

Dante frowned. “Romanov? Why Romanov?” Not that it wasn’t a viable theory. Piotr was more than capable of hiring someone to do his dirty work.

Elizabeth leaned forward and clasped her hands between her knees, frowning in thought. “Just to play devil’s advocate here, what if Jennifer was the one behind the thefts of the Romanov money?”

“And Kensington mistakenly blackmailed Blessing thinking he’d been the one?” Dante leaned back and thought about it. “Romanov
could
hire someone to get to the hard drives, a pro.”

“Make it look like a break in, get the data he thinks I’ve got stored, get his money back. Simple. Then we go after Kensington, thinking he’s the one, when all along it was Romanov.”

“And he’d know how to make the murder look like a Shem attack.” Except there was no way for a Nephilim to generate that Shem stink.

Even as he thought that, Elizabeth leaned back, shaking her head. “It’s a long shot. I can see him doing the break-in, but the murder? Nah. But we need to talk to him so we can officially cross him off the list.”

“What are you going to tell Blake?”

She shook her head sadly. “I spoke to him on the phone this afternoon. He was not a happy man, but told me to keep going.”

Dante nodded. “Did you pick up the milk and the juice?”

She laughed, surprised. “Yes.”

He stood and waited patiently for her to get to her feet. “Good.” He kissed her long, and sweet, feeling better than he had all day now that she was home. As he lifted his head, he frowned down at her. “Why do you smell like kerosene?”

With a sigh, she hugged him. “Andi helped me clean the apartment today.”

“Didn’t I ask you to wait for me?” He should have known better. Elizabeth wouldn’t wait for him or anyone if she felt something needed to be done. At least she’d had Andi’s help.

She shrugged, and her next words proved him right. “It needed doing, so I did it.” She lifted her head and grinned up at him. “What’s for dinner?”

“Pizza.”

“Toppings?”

“Pepperoni and mushrooms.”

“Oh, my favorite!”

He laughed as she skipped her way up the stairs and into the kitchen, lured by the aroma of the pizza.

“So. Think I can get in to go speak with Piotr again?”

Dante handed her a plate. “I think something can be arranged, but I’m going with you.”

She paused, her pizza halfway to her plate. “Uh. I don’t think so.”

“You aren’t chasing a Shem by yourself.”

She shrugged. “I’ll take Seth.” She pointed toward the sofa. “Your injured ass is staying right here, where you can heal and not get shot again.”

He sighed. “Going to see Piotr won’t tax me too much.” He pointed to the sling he currently had his injured arm in. “I’ll wear this, and I’ll take it easy. But I’m going.”

She made a low, angry sound and practically threw the pizza on her plate. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

Because he was the only one he trusted to have her back completely.

That thought startled him. He should be able to trust his brothers, especially Seth and Damien, but the very idea of sending her out alone with either one of them made him extremely uneasy. He needed her where he could see her, touch her. He had to be the one who ensured she was safe from the Shem who’d threatened her.

“I’m going with you to Piotr’s if I have to follow on my bike.” He held out his own plate, smiling when she placed his pizza down far more gently. She didn’t seem to want to jar his bad arm, something he appreciated. It was aching, but not nearly as badly as he’d feared it might, so he’d chosen to ignore the pain and keep a clear head. The pain pills made him too loopy to properly protect her, so he’d stopped taking them. He’d only taken them yesterday to appease her.

Elizabeth studied him through, her expression turning crafty. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Uh-oh.
Dante studied her right back. “Anything that puts your safety in jeopardy is off the table.”

“Fine. Get me in to interrogate Kensington and you can come with me to see Piotr.”

He snarled. “You’re not getting within ten miles of him.”

“Then you’re keeping your injured ass home.”

It was a stand-off, one he knew he’d wind up losing. “Fine. But I’m in the car, waiting for you. If you’re not back within half an hour, I storm the precinct.”

She grinned. “Deal.”

As he watched her saunter off into the living room, he just knew he was going to regret saying yes.

* * *

It didn’t take long to get in to see Romanov. Dante had called Gabriel after eating the pizza the night before, and today he and Elizabeth had waltzed into Romanov Enterprises like they owned the place.

“We’re here to see Mr. Romanov.”

“He’s expecting you.” Piotr’s secretary smiled at them sweetly. “Follow me, Detective Zucco, Ms. Rand.”

Dante gestured for Elizabeth to walk ahead of him.

The secretary opened the door. “Mr. Romanov? Detective Zucco and Miss Rand are here to see you.”

“Send them in, Stapleton.”

The young man stood aside. “Refreshments, sir?”

“That won’t be necessary.
Spasiba
.”

“Yes, sir.” The secretary closed the door behind them with a quiet
click
.

Sitting across the desk from Piotr, Dante tried to picture him hiring a killer. He
looked
the part. Icy cold, ruthless and handsome as sin, the man had always made Dante leery. If the circumstances were right, he could even see Piotr pulling the trigger himself. For him, it would be a calculated risk, one where the preferable outcome outweighed the risk of discovery.

Elizabeth sat, crossing her legs and pulling out her notebook. She flipped through a few pages before glancing sharply at Piotr. “I have some questions concerning the money that you contributed to the Blessing campaign.”

The cold smile that crossed Piotr’s lips had Dante moving closer to Elizabeth. “I thought we had, what is the phrase, covered this base, Ms. Rand?”

She sighed. “Look, Romanov. Seth, Abby and Andi are my friends, and they trust you.” Gray eyes met crystal in a clash of wills Dante could almost physically feel. “So I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.” She ignored the raised golden brow, refusing to be intimidated. She leaned forward, uncrossing her legs. “Tell me about the money. You say you didn’t contribute anything, yet the files are there. Missing, but traceable. Next, I have a blackmail scheme on my hands, involving the death of a woman. Again, your financial files are the only ones missing. All are recovered, except for the ones with your name on them. My apartment gets trashed, my hard drives stolen out of my computer, my laptop stolen and my back-up tapes melted on my stove.” Her gaze never left his, but he reacted to none of what she was saying. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“You think I destroyed your apartment?”

If Dante didn’t know better he’d think there was a hint of hurt in Piotr’s voice.

“I have to cover my bases, and so far you’re a prime suspect.” Elizabeth shrugged. “Look at it from my point of view. Why would you, or someone else, hide the fact that the funds were missing? Or were given to the campaign at all? It doesn’t make sense, unless you are the one doing the hiding.”

Piotr sat back and folded his hands. “What would you like me to say?”

“I want you to tell me who hates you enough to steal your money and make it look like you’re a murderer.”

Dante stared at her, shocked. He hadn’t thought that the
true
blackmail victim might be Piotr.

Piotr smiled slightly, and for once it reached his eyes. “You are very persistent, Ms. Rand, and intelligent.” He glanced at Dante, and the smile turned wicked. “I approve.”

Something in Dante warmed at that look, something Dante didn’t want to acknowledge. If he did, he’d have to admit that most of his problems with Piotr were because he was a Romanov. And that would mean the man really
was
his brother after all. “I don’t need your approval.”

The chill returned to Piotr’s features, but for once the coldness didn’t appear unfeeling. Piotr seemed...lonely. “No. You do not.” He turned his attention once more to Elizabeth, and Dante felt two inches tall for hurting someone who seemed genuinely pleased on his behalf. “I have no idea who hates me quite that much, although—” and once again the amusement was a tangible thing, “—I imagine there are any number of people who would love to see me behind bars.”

“Most enemies want to see their quarry dead. This one wants to see you hurt.” Beth studied his features. “Could it have something to do with you being Nephilim?”

Piotr’s expression became startled, his gaze darting to Dante. “You told her?”

Dante shrugged. “She figured it out. She already knew about Seth.”

“I see. You’re very observant, Ms. Rand. Perhaps I should hire you to look into the matter for me.”

“Consider it a freebie. Andi’s my friend, and she trusts you implicitly. That’s good enough for me.”

“
Spasibo.
”

“You’re welcome.” Beth pushed her glasses up her nose. “So. Tell me what’s going on.”

Piotr did. Dante wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t understand. Elizabeth had that effect on people, and Piotr seemed just as vulnerable as everyone else to her allure. “Money started disappearing out of my personal account about six months ago. I have as yet been unable to trace the source of the missing funds. I know through you that they went to the Blessing campaign and then out to the Cayman Islands—”