Familiar Vows. Caroline Burnes

not going.”

      His temper jumped so high, he felt the pulse in his jaw. Why was Michelle being so ornery when he was trying to save her from being hurt?

      “You’re going, and you’re going to behave.” He could see that his authoritative manner was only antagonizing her more.

      “I’m going to shower and dress.” She downed the last of the coffee and stood.

      “Now that’s a sensible way to act.”

      She didn’t comment as she left the room and went to what he presumed was her bathroom, to get ready. He drummed his fingers on the table and watched the black cat, who was snooping around the apartment.

      A cat detective. Even in Texas, where the tales were tall, he’d never heard of such a thing.

      The cat sashayed out of the kitchen, and he was left alone with his thoughts. Lorry would be careful. She knew what was at stake, and she’d take precautions. Once he found her place, he’d search it and figure out where she might have gone. But he had to get there first, before Robert Maxim sent some of his goons.

      He paced the kitchen, and as he moved toward the narrow hallway, he heard the shower running. He checked his watch. Ten minutes. How long did it take a woman to shower?

      Moving back to the table, he sat and drummed his fingers more. Patience was not one of his virtues, and the years of working as a law officer hadn’t helped any. That was one of the things he loved about the job. Action and more action.

      Harry had loved his work, too. He thought about his brother, how he’d been so excited about going to New York undercover. Harry had been caught up in the case of a young Austin girl who’d disappeared. Her trail had led straight to New York and Antonio Maxim.

      The NYPD had found her body in a Dumpster outside a fleabag hotel. She’d been loaded with drugs and then stabbed. It had deeply disturbed Harry, and his investigation of Antonio Maxim had become personal. Very personal.

      A loud cry came from the living room. It sounded like a cat in distress. He jumped to his feet just as the door slammed.

      Dang it all to hell and back! He was across the living room and into the hall just in time to see Michelle disappear down the stairs. The crazy woman was running away from him. The black cat was right on her heels.

      He was a flight of stairs behind her, and once she got to the street, she might disappear into the crowds of pedestrians that streamed down the city sidewalks.

      “Michelle!” He called her name, but she didn’t slow. “Michelle! Don’t do this!”

      He was on the sidewalk when he saw her at the bus stop, moving fast. To his utter amazement, the black cat darted between her feet.

      In another moment, she was sprawling on the sidewalk, cursing the cat like a whorehouse hussy. Lucas jogged to her side.

      He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. “That’s some impressive language.”

      She gave him a look that would curdle goat milk. “That cat tripped me on purpose.”

      “So it would seem.” Lucas bent down to stroke Familiar’s back. The cat purred and rubbed against his legs. “Glad to see at least he has good sense. I guess I owe Eleanor an apology.”

      “He could have broken my neck.”

      “Which would be a lot less painful than what the Maxims will do to you if they catch you.” Lucas surveyed the area. Except for a black car with heavily tinted windows parked halfway down the block, motor running, nothing looked suspicious. The car was expensive and could easily be a hired car or ride for a corporate type. Then again, Antonio Maxim didn’t hire thugs who looked like thugs. His men maintained the appearance of white-collar professionals. The car made him nervous. “Let’s go,” he said to Michelle.

      She dusted her hands on her jeans and started back toward the apartment. Lucas walked beside her, the cat right in step with them both.

      “We’re taking the cat to Mobile,” he said.

      When he didn’t get an argument from Michelle, he hid the grin that touched his mouth and made his eyes crinkle. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

      Now all they had to do was get to the airport and board their flight—without being followed.

      Chapter Five

      By the time the plane touched down in Mobile, Michelle had gone from seething to worried. Her actions, though innocent, had created a landslide of possible tragedy. No matter how she thought it through, she’d put a woman at risk. Not to mention herself, provided Lucas wasn’t exaggerating.

      He’d been a gentleman for the entire trip, making sure she had food and coffee and something to read, but she could tell he viewed her as the cause of trouble. The accusation was there in his intense gray gaze.

      The cat, on the other hand, had curled up in her lap and gone to sleep, waking only to charm the flight attendant out of some heavy whipping cream. He was certainly a special creature.

      As they walked through the small Mobile airport, she glanced at Lucas. He was a handsome man, even when he was displeased—which seemed to be most of the time. And he was as edgy as a cat on a fence. He kept looking behind him, and then left and right, as if he expected the bad guys to jump out from behind a potted shrub. Or that she was going to make a break for freedom. She bit her lip at the memory of her failed escape.

      Lucas had good reason to be annoyed with her, but she wasn’t going to apologize again. Apologies wouldn’t change a blasted thing, and she’d done it once and meant it. If he couldn’t accept it, that was his issue, not hers.

      Lucas rented a car, and they drove through the old downtown of the port city that had served under seven flags of occupation. In the older parts of town, where developers hadn’t run rampant, oak trees canopied the street.

      The antebellum homes, set back from the road, on lawns filled with the floral frills of a subtropical climate, spoke to Michelle of another time, when chivalry and honor were supposed to be important. How in the world had she ended up in such a mess as this? She’d only wanted to do her job, to take photographs.

      They entered a tunnel that went beneath the Mobile River, and when they reemerged, she looked out the window on glittering Mobile Bay, which she remembered from her previous trip. Lucas ignored the beauty of the scene, focusing entirely on his driving and on watching the rearview mirror. Even the cat kept looking behind them. She glanced back, wondering if she’d be able to detect a tail if there was one behind them. The idea made her distinctly uncomfortable, so she focused on the road ahead of them.

      They were close now. She could only hope that they’d find Lorry and Charles safely at home, honeymooning and not answering the phone. Once Lucas had Lorry safely in his care, maybe he’d let her return to New York and her life.

      “What happens when we find her?” Michelle asked.

      “I’ll get her back to Austin. The marshals will help her get a new identity.” He gave Michelle a hard look. “And you, too.”

      “Me, too, what?” Michelle asked. The bottom had dropped out of her stomach.

      “A new identity. The Maxim family won’t give up, Michelle. You’ve stepped into this now, and if you’ll pardon the Texas slang, you’ve got it all over your boots. You’re tracking it behind you, and there’s no way around it.”

      “I will not give up my identity.” The very idea of it made her want to open the car door and risk bodily harm in an attempt to escape Lucas. “Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked to build a name and reputation? The years of—”

      “Is it worth your life?”

      “That’s not a fair question.”

      “Do you think what happened to Lorry is fair? She stumbled on a murder. She lost her family, everything.