Wanted Woman Read online

  “Were you planning on going to Roz Sawyer’s party tonight?” Jesse asked him.

  Lee shook his head. “Why?”

  “I thought maybe I could change your mind,” he said. “Maggie’s going to announce who she really is tonight at midnight.”

  Lee lifted a brow.

  Jesse grinned wryly. “Yeah, by then we’ll actually know who her father is. We’ll still need Daisy’s DNA test results to prove without a doubt that she’s Angela but I don’t expect any surprises there.”

  “What can I do?” his father asked.

  “You still have a gun?” His father nodded. “I’d like you to come to the party and have it, just in case.”

  “This have to do with those murders back in Seattle?” Lee asked.

  “Yeah. There’s a cop after her. He’s already killed three others.” Jesse pulled out the faxed copy of the photo of Detective Rupert Blackmore and the mayor. “He’s the one on the right. It isn’t a great photo.”

  “I’d recognize him if I saw him but you’re not expecting him at the party, are you,” his father said.

  Jesse shook his head.

  “We don’t think Blackmore is behind the kidnapping,” Maggie said, speaking up. “We think it was someone local.”

  Jesse met his dad’s gaze. “Someone inside the house left the baby’s window unlocked.”

  “It wasn’t Daisy,” Lee said. “It wasn’t her.”

  Jesse nodded, although not sure of that and wondering why his father was so adamant. “Well, there were other people in the house that day.” His mother for one. He hadn’t told Maggie about that yet.

  “I’ll be at the party,” his dad said. “Just let me know if there is anything else I can do.”

  “Thanks.” Jesse grinned at his old man. “I knew I could count on you.” He turned to Maggie. “She’s also quite capable of taking care of herself.”

  Maggie smiled at that.

  Jesse shook his dad’s hand and watched while Maggie hugged him. He could see the conflicting emotions in his dad’s face. Clearly, Lee Tanner wouldn’t have minded if Maggie turned out to be his daughter.

  Jesse hoped his dad would have to settle for daughter-in-law, but then again that was way down the road and he wasn’t sure it was the road Maggie wanted to take. There were fireworks between them and some bond neither of them understood. Until the possibility of shared blood was established or eliminated…

  He wouldn’t let himself think about it. There were too many hurdles yet to leap. Keeping Maggie alive. Finding out the truth about her biological father. Finding the kidnapper.

  Maggie was right about that. She wouldn’t be safe until they did.

  He watched her walk over to a wall filled with photographs his father had taken of him and Mitch from the time they were babies. She ran her finger over a black-and-white of him.

  Jesse felt his father’s gaze on him, a look of worry in his expression. His dad knew him too well, knew how much this woman meant to him… How much was at stake tonight.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jesse heard a sound, looked up and saw Maggie at the top of the stairs. His heart leaped to his throat. He had never seen anything so breathtaking. So beautiful.

  Maggie wore a bright red dress that accentuated every one of her assets. Her dark hair was down and floating over her bare, lightly freckled shoulders.

  “You are amazing,” he said, his voice breaking.

  Her dark eyes glowed as she started down the steps, the dress a whisper against her skin.

  “You’re just saying that because you know I’m carrying a weapon under this dress,” she said, obviously trying to lighten the mood and maybe feeling a little embarrassed by the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  She had a weapon hidden under that dress all right and it wasn’t a gun. It was enough to knock him to his knees just thinking about it.

  “You can’t tell where, right?” she asked, looking worried.

  He shook his head. “I would never know you were armed.”

  She smiled, pleased.

  She wouldn’t be using the weapon unless he had failed and the target was closing in. He had no intention of letting that happen. His hope was that Maggie wasn’t going to have a need for the gun. Not tonight. Not ever.

  She moved toward him like a dream.

  He stood transfixed. “You look stunning,” he whispered.

  She smiled as she took the last few steps down the stairs to him.

  He caught a hint of perfume, something exotic that fit her perfectly. Charity’s doing.

  She touched a hand to his cheek, her brown eyes dark as she looked up at him. Her lush lips were painted a pale inviting pink. They parted in a sigh and he felt his heart do a flip inside his chest, all the air rushed from his lungs and it was all he could do not to take her in his arms and kiss her.

  MAGGIE FELT tongue-tied as she looked at Jesse in the tuxedo. Had a man ever been so handsome? And yet it was his dark eyes that captivated her as she moved toward him as if her body had a mind of its own.

  She ached to touch him, to feel his arms wrapped around her, to lose herself in his embrace.

  Just one kiss. She would have given anything for just one kiss. Tonight she would know if her feelings for him would always be forbidden or if she could have her heart’s desire. Just the thought made her forget that there was at least one killer after her, and maybe more after her announcement tonight.

  She stepped to him, so close she caught his male scent mixing with the soapy clean smell of him. No aftershave. Just a maleness that made her knees weak. If she even thought of Jesse’s lips on hers, Jesse’s arms wrapped around her…

  “You are extraordinary in that tux,” she said, her voice breaking. Everything about him made her blood fire and her skin warm.

  When he looked at her with his dark eyes, her heart hammered with a need like none she’d ever known.

  “You know how I feel about you—”

  He touched his finger to her lips and shook his head. “I know.”

  She swallowed back the tears that threatened. She wanted him, needed him. She’d known few men intimately. Most had not interested her enough that she wanted to go beyond a few dates.

  Jesse had captivated her that first night. His art alone had seduced her. But it was when she’d watched him from the screened-in room, watched him run his hand over her bike that she’d realized she yearned to feel the warmth of his palm on her bare skin, his gentle fingers, the whisper of his skin pressed against hers.

  He removed his finger from her lips, his gaze like a caress.

  “Jesse,” she said on a breath as if that one word swelled with the emotions she felt for him.

  He seemed to tense as if he knew what she wanted, what she needed and he felt the heat of this banked fire between them and knew that if they fanned even the slightest ember it would flare and burn blindingly bright, sweeping them up in a maelstrom of passion that neither could nor would resist.

  He didn’t move. Didn’t reach for her. But she could see it was as hard on him as it was her.

  “Ready?” he asked, his voice low.

  She nodded, unable to speak. She had to be strong tonight, whatever happened with the DNA test results. Whatever happened after her announcement.

  “A hug for luck?” she asked softly.

  HE’D BEEN AFRAID to touch her, afraid he would be lost. But he opened his arms, knowing that tonight could change everything between them, and she stepped into them and rested her head against his chest, her arms looping around his waist. He closed his arms around her, hugging her tightly as he closed his eyes at the wondrous feel of her. They stayed that way for a long moment, holding each other.

  Then she stepped back and he reluctantly let go of her. She smiled up at him. “Show time?”

  He nodded and glanced at the clock. Almost eleven-thirty. She would make her announcement at the stroke of midnight—the same time Albert had promised to call with the DNA test result
s. Another thirty minutes.

  The cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his tux. He pulled it out.

  “How you holding up?” Mitch asked.

  “Okay. What’s the news there?”

  “Roz just announced her engagement to Ford Lancaster,” he said. “Charity’s crying tears of happiness. Roz also did as you requested, announced that she had a special surprise at the stroke of midnight.”

  “Good. We’re on our way.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Always.” He disconnected and looked at Maggie. “Ready to rock and roll? The stage is set. You’re the star performer come midnight.”

  She nodded. “I have my fingers crossed.”

  He nodded, knowing she was referring to the DNA test results. “Me, too.”

  The party was in full swing as they sneaked in the back way. Charity opened the door for them. “Everyone is here,” she reported. “Daisy showed up with a bodyguard and you’ll never guess who—Bruno. Betty’s here, too. Talk about a strange trio.”

  “What about Wade?” Jesse asked.

  “Haven’t seen him yet. Roz has a couple of guys outside watching for him. If he shows up, they will detain him until midnight.” She glanced at Maggie. “Wow, that dress looks sensational on you.” Then she looked back at Jesse and grinned.

  “Go on back to the party,” he told Charity, not appreciating her matchmaking right now. “We’ll be upstairs.”

  She took off and Jesse watched after her for a moment, hoping the fact that she hadn’t spotted any unfamiliar faces was good news.

  They took the back stairs, climbing up to the third floor. Music and a cacophony of voices rose from the lower floor of the large old Victorian.

  Jesse glanced at his watch. “Five minutes and counting.”

  Maggie nodded. She didn’t look nervous or worried now. He watched her check her gun, then shoot him a grin. He couldn’t help but admire her determination. He would give anything to have this night over.

  Sneaking out to the stairs, he peeked over the railing and spotted Mitch in a corner in his wheelchair.

  Daisy Dennison was indeed in attendance with Bruno and Betty close by. Desiree was flirting with several local guys who hung out at the Duck-In.

  Lydia was in a more modern wheelchair than Mitch’s, sitting demurely in a corner with Angus looming over her, seeing to her every need.

  Roz and her fiancé Ford Lancaster were at the center of the room accepting congratulations. Roz’s father Liam was talking to some woman—

  With a start, Jesse saw that it was Charity’s aunt Florie. She looked so different. Her hair was a warm brown color instead of fire-engine red and it was cut into a cap of short curls rather than being wrapped around her head like a turban. And her eyes didn’t have that thick turquoise eye shadow over them, either. Nor was she wearing some blindingly bright caftan. She wore a simple blue dress and she had obviously totally captivated Liam Sawyer. He seemed to be hanging on her every word.

  As Jesse’s gaze scanned the rest of the crowd, he spotted his father. Daisy looked beautiful. He saw that reflected in his father’s gaze and felt a sharp jab at heart level. My God, his father still felt something for the woman. The realization shocked him.

  He turned to look at Daisy. Her eyes were locked with Lee Tanner’s across the room. Was this the first time they’d seen each other in all these years?

  It was clear that whatever had been between them hadn’t completely died.

  Just then, the large old grandfather clock began to chime the midnight hour.

  “It’s time,” Maggie said next to him.

  He glanced at his watch and nodded. They took the back stairs down to the second floor, then Jesse moved out to the top of the stairs.

  The music was louder down here, the chattering crowd a dull roar. Jesse caught Charity’s eye. She said something to the leader of the band and the music stopped instantly.

  As the grandfather clock finished chiming midnight, Roz called for everyone’s attention. The crowd quieted and followed Roz’s gaze upward to the stairs.

  A hush fell over the huge room below as Jesse held up his hands for quiet.

  “There is someone here tonight—” Jesse was interrupted by a disturbance at the front door. Wade Dennison came bursting in, his face flushed. “You’re just in time,” Jesse said and Maggie joined him at the railing.

  A murmur rippled through the crowd.

  Maggie smiled down on everyone. “I apologize for interrupting the party. Rozalyn was kind enough to let me make my announcement here tonight with all of you together.”

  She glanced toward Daisy who was looking up at her in shock. Wade just looked confused.

  “My name is Angela Dennison,” she announced.

  The murmur rose to a roar. And at the middle of it, Daisy let out a cry. Jesse saw her expression. Shock. Then horror. Just before she fainted.

  Jesse motioned for silence as the crowd moved back to give Daisy air and Desiree rushed to her mother. Lee had gone to her, as well, and was demanding someone get him a cold washcloth.

  “What the hell kind of stunt are you trying to pull, Tanner?” Wade demanded. “That woman is not…” His voice broke. He stared at Maggie, then seemed to shrink back from her as if no longer sure of anything.

  “I’m here tonight because whoever is responsible for my kidnapping is now trying to kill me,” Maggie said.

  Lydia was fanning herself, Angus leaning over her.

  Another roar from the crowd. Jesse touched Maggie’s arm. He wanted to get her out of here. She’d done what she came to do. Now he just wanted her far away from here and safe.

  “I intend to get to the truth. To find out who kidnapped me, who wants me dead now.”

  The crowd was in an uproar. “Is it really her?” Betty was asking no one in particular. It was as if Angela’s ghost had appeared and everyone seemed shaken and excited.

  Jesse glanced at his watch. Albert still hadn’t called with the DNA test results. But it was time to clear everyone out and get Maggie out of here. He motioned to Charity and she touched Roz’s arm.

  “Party’s over!” Roz announced and she and Ford began ushering the guests out. “Thank you all for coming.”

  Betty offered to keep the café open late for anyone who wanted coffee.

  Daisy had come around. Lee and Bruno helped her up into a chair. She sat looking up at Maggie as if she’d just seen an angel. Jesse knew the feeling.

  Desiree stared up at her sister for a moment, then turned on her heel and left, no doubt headed for the bar. Jesse hoped she would be all right. He knew this had to be a shock for her and Desiree had had too many surprises in her life lately.

  Lydia was still fanning herself in the corner. Angus was frowning in Jesse’s direction, obviously upset that Lydia was distraught. Wade had slumped into a chair on the opposite side of the room from Daisy, his head in his hands.

  Liam had offered to take Florie home and as Roz and Ford closed the door on the last of the other guests, Jesse’s cell phone vibrated.

  “We’ll be in the kitchen helping the staff clean up,” Roz said as she and Ford left them alone.

  “Yes, Albert,” Jesse said into the phone as he ushered Maggie into the first room off the stairs. “We’re ready for the test results.” He met Maggie’s gaze, his heart in his throat.

  “Okay, here’s what we’ve got. Two matches each, but the two groups don’t match.”

  “In English,” Jesse snapped.

  “Quite simply, your test and your father’s match. Miss Randolph’s test and Mr. Dennison’s match.” Wade was Maggie’s father!

  “Albert, I could kiss you.” Jesse let out a long breath. Maggie’s eyes were on him. He let out a howl and dropping the cell phone picked her up and spun her around. As he brought her down, he dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her.

  Her arms came around his neck and she pulled him closer, her lips parting, her breath mingling with his. Her mouth was pure sugar, her body so
ft and rounded and pressed to his. He never wanted to let her go.

  Jesse slowly raised his lips from Maggie’s, grinned down at her, their eyes meeting, a silent understanding passing between them.

  “I guess it’s time to make our second announcement,” he said.

  Maggie’s eyes were shiny bright. She smiled ruefully as if like him, she couldn’t wait to get away from here and finally be alone with each other.

  They descended the stairs finding everyone pretty much where they’d left them. Daisy got to her feet and walked toward Maggie. Jesse tensed.

  “You’re the woman in the painting,” she whispered.

  Maggie nodded.

  “How long have you known she was alive?” Daisy asked Jesse.

  “Until a few minutes ago, I couldn’t be absolutely sure she was Angela Dennison,” he said. “The DNA sample Wade supplied in the death of his illegitimate daughter matches hers.”

  Wade had come over to them, as well. He stood looking poleaxed. He didn’t notice Lee Tanner slump down onto the couch, his face filled with anguish and relief as he buried his face in his hands.

  “I—” Tears welled in Wade’s eyes. He stepped to Maggie and gave her an awkward hug. “We’ll find out who’s trying to hurt you, who kidnapped you. We’ll find him.”

  “We have to go now,” Jesse said, looking over at his brother. Mitch nodded.

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” Wade said, touching his daughter’s hair, dropping his hand to hers. Jesse saw her squeeze his hand.

  “We’ll talk,” she said and looked to her mother as Wade left.

  “I don’t know what to say to you,” Daisy said, still looking stunned. “It’s just such a shock.”

  Maggie nodded.

  Lydia wheeled up. “Come see me child,” she said taking Maggie’s hand. “I’m your aunt Lydia. I own the Busy Bee antique shop in town. Promise you’ll come see me?”

  Maggie nodded and smiled down at her aunt as Lydia and Angus left. “I promise. As soon as I can.”