Dangerous Disguise Read online

  “Famous last words. Actually,” he said as he secured the last container, “cooking for this brood keeps me plenty busy. And there’s another one on the way.”

  Jared paused and looked at his uncle. “Spouse or baby?” In the last couple of years, his cousins had been coupling up as if they’d received an edict from Noah to pair off before the flood came. What did come was a flood of marriages, followed by an ocean of babies.

  “Baby. Rayne’s going to be a mother,” he confided, then grinned broadly, echoing the mantra of every harried parent. “I just hope I live long enough to see her find out what it means to have a rebellious kid on her hands.”

  Jared knew Rayne had been the last word in rebel during her teen years. They’d all worried about her. For nothing, it now seemed, but her antics were still very vividly imprinted in all their minds. Through it all, Andrew had remained as evenhanded with her as he had with his other four.

  “Tell her congratulations for me and that I can’t wait to see her with an extra twenty-five pounds on her body.”

  Taking a shopping bag, Andrew led the way out of the house and to Jared’s car. “Tell her yourself. I don’t have a death wish.”

  Jared placed the shopping bag he was carrying on the floor behind the passenger seat, then took the one his uncle had, securing it beside the first. He was running late and hurried to the driver’s side.

  “Thanks,” he said over his shoulder as he got into the car. “I owe you one.”

  “You owe me more than that, boy, but who’s counting?” Andrew laughed, stepping back just before Jared backed out of the driveway and sped away.

  He got to Maren’s ground-floor garden apartment in ten minutes flat, catching all the lights. A couple of times he’d just barely squeaked through. The meal had stayed intact through it all.

  She came to the door before he had a chance to drop his hand from the doorbell. “If I’d had your cell phone number, I would have told you not to bother coming by.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I was perfectly capable of driving myself. I don’t know what Papa Joe was thinking.”

  Actually she did. And that was just the problem. Papa Joe was acting on his feeling that she needed to get out. That the longer she didn’t socialize with the opposite sex, the harder it would be for her to get back into the swing of things. He refused to accept the fact that the “swing” no longer had an allure for her.

  “Well, since I’m here, you might as well come with me. Is Joe big on conservation?”

  She followed him to guest parking, where he’d left his vehicle. “Why?”

  “Because he said something about it making sense to have just one car rather than two polluting the air.”

  “I guess when you don’t lie for a living, you’re hard-pressed to come up with one as an excuse,” Maren commented.

  Was that for his benefit? Damn, he was starting to really hate having to examine everything twice. He missed having the luxury of being able to take something at face value. But then, he told himself, that was what tonight was about. A further investigation into Joe’s and Maren’s lives, to hopefully clear them of any connections. People let things slip when they were relaxed, and neither of them struck him as hardened criminals. Worse case scenario, they were average people in over their heads.

  No, he amended, the word “average” was never going to be used to describe anything about Maren.

  He unlocked his doors, opening the passenger side for her before rounding the rear to get in on his side.

  The second she got into the car, her senses were surrounded by the aroma wafting from the packages in the back seat. Buckling her seat belt, she looked at Jared. “My God, what is that wonderful smell?”

  Already strapped in, he turned on the ignition as he grinned. “If I said it was me…?”

  She twisted around in her seat and saw the packages in the back as he pulled out of the lot. “Then I’d say that you were good enough to devour.”

  “Sounds promising.”

  She tried not to notice the way his eyes twinkled. “Really, what is that aroma?”

  “Air freshener,” he teased.

  Her eyes narrowed as she straightened in her seat. “One more time.” Her voice held a hint of warning, and Jared caught himself wondering what she was like when she lost her temper. He had a feeling that he’d find the situation more than a little appealing.

  “It’s duck à l’orange. Once I knew that I was in charge of dinner, I went home during my free time to get it started.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize for the command performance, but what he said aroused her curiosity. “You have duck just sitting in your refrigerator.” Skepticism filled her voice.

  He knew before he began that this was going to get involved. But he was ready for it. “Let’s just say I have connections. A neighbor who works at an Asian market owes me a favor. He brought the duck by the apartment for me.”

  “And broke in to put the duck in your refrigerator so you could prepare it when you got in.”

  He was ready for that one, too. “We have each other’s keys.” Jared signaled for a left turn. “Are you always this suspicious?”

  There was a time when she wasn’t, she thought sadly. But that felt like a million years ago now. “Fall-out from a bad relationship.”

  “Does that mean we’re in a relationship? Or about to be in one?” he amended.

  She knew it was a mistake getting into the car with him. “How about you don’t ask any more questions, just drive?”

  The silence lasted all of a minute and a half. While a soft love song played on the oldies station, he said, “You look nice tonight.”

  She wasn’t about to say that she had gone the extra mile, examining her makeup to make sure everything was just perfect. That there had been butterflies in her stomach when she’d heard Papa Joe on her answering machine, telling her that Jared was stopping by to pick her up before dinner.

  She pointed to the road. “I said, just drive.”

  “I didn’t put it in the form of a question,” he said.

  Defeated, Maren could only laugh and shake her head. “I guess no one’s ever called you the strong, silent type, have they?”

  “I come from a large family. You keep quiet, nobody notices you.” Slanting a glance to see her reaction, he saw that same wistful smile slip over her lips.

  She cleared her throat, rousing herself. “And you like being noticed.”

  “Depends on who’s noticing.”

  His voice was almost seductive and made her squirm inside. “I can’t imagine someone not noticing you.”

  “Funny,” he said softly, allowing himself a long look at her as they waited at the light. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”

  Maren was on her guard instantly. It was what had allowed her to survive all these many months, kept her from becoming involved with anyone. Kept her from being hurt. “Why?”

  “Because I was wondering why someone hadn’t taken you off the market yet.”

  “Someone did,” she informed him tersely. “Me.” She pointed toward the curb that ran parallel to a row of condominiums. Joe’s place, a single-family home, was close by. “You can park over there.”

  Joe was waiting for them.

  The moment Jared parked the car, the accountant was opening his door to them. The man hurried over to the electric-blue Mustang, opening first Maren’s door, then reaching in to help with the shopping bags Jared had brought.

  “Smells wonderful,” Joe declared, taking a deep whiff.

  “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” Jared agreed, but he was looking at Maren as he said it.

  “I’ll go in and set the table.” Maren flushed, backing away.

  “Already done,” Joe said. “But you can go inside and play with Tucker. I can’t get him to do anything.” Jared slammed the door shut and they began to head toward Joe’s home. “All he does is sit on the sofa by the window and look out, waiting for you to com
e up the walk.”

  “God, but you are good at shoveling out guilt,” Maren said over her shoulder as she hurried into the home where she’d grown up.

  “It’s a gift,” Joe confided to Jared and winked.

  A little more than two hours later, Joe pushed his chair away from the dining room table.

  “That has to be by far one of the best meals I’ve ever had,” Joe informed him as he patted his swollen stomach affectionately. “Only way I would be able to get in another bite is if I put it in my pocket.” He looked at Maren. “You know, if I were Max, I’d be worried about my job.”

  Jared dismissed the compliment with a wave of his hand. “There’s no reason for that. I’m content being an assistant for now.”

  Joe leaned back in his chair, studying Jared. “You don’t strike me as someone who’s willing just to sit back.”

  “Not sit back, learn,” Jared corrected. He couldn’t seem to help himself from glancing at Maren. Every time he focused on Joe, something dragged his attention—not to mention his eyes—away. The woman was the embodiment of the word “exquisite.”

  “You jump into something too early and things might turn sour on you. Slow and steady is the better way to go.”

  It was obviously the right answer as Joe broke out in a wreath of smiles. “I like this guy, Maren.”

  “I think we’ve already figured that out, Papa.” Getting to her feet, Maren began stacking dishes together. The moment she started to get up, Jared rose to his feet quickly. “No, that’s okay. Division of labor. You cooked—” she waved him back into his chair “—I’ll clean up. You talk to Papa,” she prompted.

  “One in a million, that girl,” Joe commented as she walked out of the room.

  She wasn’t out of earshot yet. “And don’t you forget it,” Maren said over her shoulder.

  As he’d been doing all evening, Tucker followed her into the kitchen. The dog had spent the entire duration of the meal sitting patiently at her elbow, waiting for either an affectionate pat or a scrap of meat, whichever came his way. He accepted both with equal gusto.

  Joe picked up the half-empty bottle of Chablis that Maren had brought with her. “Wine?” Joe tilted the half-empty bottle over his glass.

  “Thanks, but no more for me. One’s my limit if I’m driving.” Jared placed his hand over the mouth of his glass.

  “Smart boy.”

  Joe poured less than half a glass for himself and an equal amount of light pink liquid into Maren’s glass before retiring the bottle. “Don’t often meet young men your age with a good head on their shoulders.” He laughed to himself as he took a sip. “At your age, I had no direction, no purpose. Took walking down a dark alley one night to give me that.” He smiled, seeing the slight confusion in Jared’s eyes.

  “That’s how I found Maren. She was about five minutes old when we met.” The accountant’s voice took on a distant quality, as if he was traveling back over the years to that night. “Her mother had just given birth beside a Dumpster. I think she was going to leave Maren there, except that she was losing too much blood to even stand up. I got them both to the hospital.” For the first time, Jared saw the man’s expression grow grim. “But Maren’s mother didn’t make it.”

  The leap from Good Samaritan to father was a broad one. “How did you—”

  Joe second-guessed him. “The nurse and E.R. doctor thought I was the baby’s father. I started to set them straight, but something stopped me. I didn’t have any family of my own. My father took off when I was born, my mother died while I was in high school. I spent the last two years of that in foster care. Not the best of conditions. Looking down into that tiny face, I realized that I wanted to belong to someone and wanted to have someone belong to me. And I didn’t want her going into the foster care system. So I let them think I was her father.”

  He warmed to the end of his story. “When I brought Maren home, I did the right thing. I tried to find her mother’s family, even hired a P.I. Six months and a hell of a lot of money later, the P.I. told me he couldn’t find any trace of her. Maren’s mother was a runaway no one apparently noticed was missing. So I gave Maren a family. Me.”

  Because his whole family was involved in either law enforcement or some branch of the law, Jared couldn’t help thinking about the repercussions. “What about all the legal ramifications?”

  Joe took another sip of his wine as he studied the man sitting beside him. “You really are a straight arrow, aren’t you? I like that.” And because he did, he gave Jared an honest answer. “Ramifications can be gotten around if you know the right people. Or the wrong people, depending on your take on the matter. But as far as Maren is concerned, she’s my daughter and I’m her father.” His smile brightened. “Having her in my life turned it around. I got a job, went to school nights, got a better job. And raised one hell of a great kid while I was at it.” He reflected on his last words. “In a way, I guess we kind of raised each other.”

  Finished with stacking the dishes in the dishwasher, Maren picked that time to reenter the dining room. She gave Joe a reproving look.

  “Papa, you’re not boring him with that ‘dark and stormy night’ story, are you?”

  “Did I mention it was raining that night?” Joe asked Jared, not bothering to hide his grin.

  “You did now.”

  Jared sat back in his chair as Maren swept away the wineglasses after pausing to drain hers.

  He’d enjoyed himself tonight, Jared thought. Really enjoyed himself. What’s more, he felt pretty confident in thinking that neither Joe nor Maren had anything to do with any possible money laundering that might be going on at Rainbow’s End. Over the course of the evening, he’d woven in enough leading questions so as to feel certain of their innocence.

  According to Glassel, the background check on both hadn’t turned up so much as a parking ticket between them. He was going to have to look elsewhere for evidence.

  The thought heartened rather than annoyed him. Exploring why was best left for another time.

  As Maren slipped back into her seat, Joe glanced at his watch. “Damn, how did it get to be so late already?” Genuine disappointment outlined his features. “Shepherd wants me to come in early to the downtown branch tomorrow.” He rose from the table, looking at Jared and Maren. “The two of you are welcome to hang around, talk to Tucker.” He scratched the German shepherd’s head.

  “No.” Rising to her feet, Maren said, “We might as well get going, too.” Realizing she’d usurped him, she glanced at Jared for any contradiction. He nodded good-naturedly in response. The man was agreeable in all the right places, which wasn’t good. He was causing her guard to slip, and she had to watch this. “I’ll get your roasting pan and pots,” she offered, beginning to walk back into the kitchen. “Just give me a minute to wash them out.”

  But Joe moved to block her exit. “I’ll take care of that, Maren.” He nodded toward Jared. “Jared here won’t mind if I bring the cookware into the restaurant the next time I come into the office, right, Jared?” He thought a moment, although Jared got the impression the older man had already worked out all the details before he’d ever opened his mouth. “I could swing by tomorrow afternoon.”

  He knew his uncle wouldn’t mind. The man had five of everything. “Fine with me.”

  “It’s settled then,” Joe said to Maren. “No washing pots and pans.”

  He escorted them both to the door, with Tucker prancing in front of all three, doing his best to act as a furry roadblock.

  At the door, Maren sank down to her knees beside the animal, taking his face in her hands. “Sorry, Tuck, but I’ll be back sooner this time, I promise. And the next time I come, we’ll go to the park. How’s that?”

  As if in response, the dog licked her face and she laughed, rubbing his fur affectionately.

  Jared looked on and marveled. Since he’d never had a pet himself, the firsthand connection between master and animal was untrod territory for him.

  “He un
derstands.” The mild surprise he felt was evident in his voice.

  “Sure he does,” Joe told him. “Tucker knows he’s a member of the family. He thinks he’s human.” And then he grinned as he looked at Maren. “That, and there might be a drop of sauce on her face. Don’t know who enjoyed the duck more, us or Tucker.”

  About to get up, Maren became aware that Jared was offering her his hand. After a moment she took it. The fingers closed around hers, bringing her to her feet in a quick, sweeping motion. His hands were strong, reminding her of how safe she’d felt as a child. Back then she’d been confident that nothing could hurt her as long as she was in the magic circle of her father’s arms.

  Funny how things came back to you when you least expected them, she mused.

  Jared saw the faraway look in her eyes as she rose to her feet. “Something wrong?”

  “Just thinking.” Shaking off her mood, she turned and kissed Joe on the cheek. “See you tomorrow maybe.”

  “Hope so.” Joe accompanied them to the curb where the car was parked. He shook hands with his young visitor. “Thanks again, Jared, for a great meal. And anytime you want to go off on your own, open your own place, let me know.”

  The offer, coming out of left field, surprised him. “You’re offering to be my accountant?” Jared asked.

  “That, and maybe do a little investing. Be your silent partner. Be nice finally being involved with someone I liked…” Joe’s voice trailed off. Then, as if he realized what he was saying, he shrugged away the moment. “Don’t get me wrong, Jared. Shepherd’s decent enough to work for.”

  “What about Rineholdt?” Jared pressed. They hadn’t mentioned the other partner the entire evening. No one really mentioned him at the restaurant. And nothing had turned up on Glassel’s end, either. It was as if the man was pure vapor. “I’ve never met the man,” he said casually, then looked from Maren to Joe. “Have you?”

  “Once,” Joe admitted after a moment’s reflection. “But he prefers being a silent partner. Likes leaving the business up to Shepherd and just counting the profits. Shepherd likes the limelight.”