Seven

As the SUV left the hotel, Jared followed, staying a few cars behind. There was still a lot of traffic, so they weren't going anywhere too fast.

"Why are we following Anika?" he enquired.

"She acted oddly after getting a text. She said she's meeting with her boss, Bill Haskins, at WNN, but it felt like she was lying. I just want to make sure that's where she's really going and that the kidnappers didn't reach out to her."

He gave her a sharp, approving look. "Good call. Did you learn anything else? Was Jasmine's mother there?"

"For a bit, until she went to take a call from Elizabeth Langdon."

"Dare I ask if Ben's name came up?"

"It did. But you already know everything Anika told me. Ben said that he reunited with an old girlfriend while he was abroad, but that it had ended badly, and he never should have let her hurt him again. It didn't sound like he and Sara were still together. Maybe he found out who Sara really was and got scared."

"Possibly. Anything else?"

"Anika doesn't seem to be as big a fan of Westley as her sister is. She believes Westley is taking over Jasmine's life. She even suggested that Westley might have set up the diamond theft to get money for a new company he wants to start that his father isn't inclined to bankroll."

"That's a new angle. And he had his fiancée kidnapped to get the ring?"

"It's a theory. Anika thinks the kidnapping could have been a mistake, that they were only supposed to take the ring. I'm not sure I buy any of it. But it is interesting that the ring had to be given to the oldest Larimer upon their engagement, so that was the only way Westley would have ever gotten his hands on it."

Jared stopped at a light, two vehicles back from the SUV. "Let's say that's true—where's Jasmine now? If the kidnappers took her by mistake, why hasn't she been left somewhere? It seems doubtful Westley would have the taste for murder."

"I'd agree, but two men have already died. Maybe he hired the wrong people for the job, and now he's caught." She paused, realizing she hadn't told him about the security company. "I did find out earlier today that the company hired to protect the diamond has only been in business for two months. The guards were both former soldiers, who had been dishonorably discharged. I'm not sure what difference that makes. The man in charge of hiring the company was Tim Hutchinson, director of security at Larimer Enterprises until a week or so ago when he retired and left the country after draining his bank accounts."

Jared gave her a sharp look. "That's a great deal of information to be holding on to. Why didn't you say any of that earlier?"

"I'm telling you now. Anyway, this shady company might play into the theory that Westley had something to do with the kidnapping. Westley could have been working with Tim Hutchinson."

"Someone certainly was. And I suspect Hutchinson was paid well for hiring that particular firm."

"Yes. Well enough to be able to disappear without a trace. But we don't know if that someone was Westley or Phillip or a person outside the family. I just hope that the second part of this kidnapping plan is to ask for ransom, because if a demand doesn't come, then…" She couldn't bear to finish the thought. As an FBI agent, she knew bad things happened to good people all the time, but she couldn't stand the idea that Jasmine would not come out of this situation alive.

"You have to stay positive, Parisa. There are a lot of law enforcement personnel looking for Jasmine. They may be able to locate her even without contact from the kidnappers." He hit the gas as the light changed and the traffic surged forward. When the vehicle carrying Anika turned right three blocks later, he frowned. "I thought the WNN building was in the other direction."

"Maybe she's meeting Bill at his home. I just assumed she was going to the office, but that might not be true."

"It doesn't look like she's going to anyone's home," he said, as the SUV stopped in a loading zone in front of a department store. He pulled over at the corner. "I think she's going shopping."

"There's no way she would do that today, not with her sister missing." But even as she said the words, Anika got out of the car, accompanied by the man in the suit. As they walked toward the front door of the department store, Parisa made a quick decision. "I'm going to follow them, Jared."

"Keep your phone on. Let me know what's happening. I'll try to stay here as long as I can. Or I'll go around the block."

"Got it." She jogged down the street and into the store, hoping whoever was still in the SUV wouldn't make note of the fact that she was following Anika into the building.

* * *

For a few frantic seconds, Parisa thought she'd already lost Anika. Then she saw her old friend pausing by a perfume counter to spray cologne on her wrist.

What on earth was Anika doing?

At the moment, it didn't look like she had a care in the world, much less a sister who had been kidnapped twelve hours earlier.

The man following Anika turned in her direction, and Parisa quickly moved behind a rather large man and his elderly female companion. When she peeked back in Anika's direction, she saw Anika and her bodyguard walking toward the café on the first floor. They stopped at the hostess station. Then Anika was escorted to a table while her security detail took a seat at the counter.

Parisa wandered around the activewear department that was just adjacent to the restaurant, wondering who Anika was waiting for—maybe Bill Haskins? It was the only idea that made sense.

She pulled out her phone and called Jared. "Anika is in the café. She's sitting at a table, looking at a menu, and her bodyguard is at the counter. She could be meeting her boss here."

"Okay. I had to park the car in the garage. The traffic cops were after me. I'm walking into the store now."

"I'm in the activewear department on the first floor near the restaurant. Try not to stand out."

"I think you're more recognizable than I am, but you don't have to worry."

She ended the call but kept the phone in her hand as she pretended to look at a running jacket while keeping an eye on Anika.

A moment later, a waitress set a glass of ice water in front of Anika, and then took her order. The bodyguard also appeared to be ordering something. It didn't look like either of them was in a hurry to leave. When the waitress left, Anika pulled out her phone and swiped the screen several times, her gaze focused on whatever she was looking at.

Jared came around the other side of the display wall and pretended to be looking at the same rack of clothes that had captured her attention.

"Anika ordered something," she said. "She must be having a lunch meeting. Although, it seems really off to me. Her sister is missing. Her family is shattered. How can she just sit in a restaurant and order lunch?"

"Doesn't make sense," Jared agreed. "But her SUV left, so they must think she's staying awhile. She still has a guard with her, though. It can't be that private of a meeting."

"I'm sure Anika's father doesn't want her to be left alone for even a minute." A moment of silence passed between them. Seeing the furrowed look on Jared's brow, she said, "What are you thinking?"

"That this feels like a setup," he replied.

"For what?"

"I don't know yet."

Her instincts were screaming the same warning. She caught her breath when Anika got up and headed toward the ladies' room. "Do you think there's a back door?"

"Betting there is," he murmured. "I'll go into the restaurant. No one will recognize me. You check the street for another exit from the café."

She nodded, moving out of the department store as Jared entered the restaurant. When she reached the street, she saw another door down the side of the building, about twenty-five yards away. She huddled behind a parked van, watching the door. A moment later, Anika walked outside. She put on her sunglasses, then strolled briskly in the opposite direction.

A second later, Jared came out the same door. She stepped out of her hiding place and tipped her head in his direction. He turned, saw Anika, and followed her down the street.

She stayed a good distance behind Jared, keeping at least a few pedestrians between them, and noticed he was doing the same between himself and Anika, although he didn't have to be nearly as careful. Anika would not recognize Jared, although she still might get suspicious if she thought anyone was following her. She'd gone to great lengths to pretend to be dining at the department store café, then ditching her bodyguard. Why?

Was Anika meeting the kidnappers? Would she dare to do that on her own? And if she were meeting someone, where was the cash? What would she trade for her sister?

Anika suddenly stopped in front of a small hotel, standing under an awning, by the doorman, as she pulled out her phone once more.

Jared popped into a nearby recessed doorway leading into an apartment building so that he wouldn't be in Anika's view. She decided to join him there. When she reached him, she moved in behind him, so that Anika wouldn't see her if she happened to look in their direction.

"She's waiting for someone," he murmured. "And I don't think it's her boss, unless she's having an affair with Haskins and this hotel is where they meet."

"I would think that right now the last thing on her mind would be sex." As she finished speaking, a car pulled up at the curb. A man got out, handing his key to the valet, then walked toward Anika. "Oh, my God," she murmured, moving around Jared so she could get a better look. "It's Westley."

She watched in amazement as Westley and Anika embraced in a way that felt far more intimate than one might expect. Westley pulled back and brushed a strand of hair away from Anika's cheek.

"Looks like sex isn't the last thing on her mind," Jared said.

"Maybe they're just comforting each other in this terrible time."

"That's the first thing you've said that makes me think you're not in law enforcement," he said dryly.

He was right. The truth was in front of her. She just had to see it.

Westley turned his head, and she jumped behind Jared. "Do you think they saw me? What are they doing?"

"They're coming in our direction."

"Dammit. They'll see us. Maybe we shouldn't care. Maybe we should confront them."

Jared turned to face her, pushing her back toward the door of the building. Unfortunately, it was locked, so they couldn't go inside.

"We should care, Parisa. They don't think anyone is on to them. We need that advantage."

And that advantage would be lost in about two seconds if she didn't do something. "You're right. There's only one thing to do." She wrapped her arms around Jared's neck and pulled him toward her.

He gave her a startled look, then settled his mouth over hers, as he backed her into the building, hiding her body behind his.

Jared's lips were hot in the cold afternoon air, and what should have been just a quick kiss turned into a longer, deeper exploration. It wasn't just the need to hide that kept her in Jared's arms; it was the fact that she hadn't had a kiss like this in a very long time, one that made her heart ache, and her toes curl, and her palms sweat—a kiss that made her think about more than just tasting his mouth. She wanted to touch him all over. She wanted to get through his layers and unravel his secrets, but he was letting her go, lifting his head, gazing down at her with a questioning, somewhat surprised, look.

It had been her idea to kiss him. Maybe one of her best ideas. Or maybe one of her worst.

She licked her lips, and his gaze flew to her mouth once more. Then he shook his head as if fighting his instincts and took a step back. He turned, keeping her behind him as he looked down the street in both directions.

She drew in a breath and ordered her brain to get back to business. She wasn't supposed to be fooling around with Jared; she was supposed to be looking for Jasmine and finding out what Anika was up to.

"Are they gone?" she asked.

"I don't see them anywhere."

She moved around him and saw no sign of Anika or Westley. Disappointment and frustration ran through her. "We've lost them. Did we make the wrong move?"

"I don't think so. They won't be that hard to find. We know where they live. We can get to them at any time. What will be more important is using what we just saw to dig in a different direction."

"You think they're having an affair?"

"There was something intimate about how they looked at each other."

"I thought so, too. But I don't get it. Anika said she introduced Westley to Jasmine. If Anika and Westley were in to each other, why didn't they just get together? It's not like there was a reason Westley had to marry Jasmine."

"Maybe they're in this together. Perhaps they cooked up the whole plot—the big engagement party, the diamond heist, the missing sister. When the smoke clears and after a period of bereavement, they end up together, with the diamond funding whatever they want to do."

"You're suggesting that Anika would kill her sister, but I can't go that far. I know both her and Jasmine. I've seen how much they care about each other."

"You knew them a long time ago."

"I might be able to buy into the diamond heist, but the rest…I don’t think so."

"Let's go back to the car and regroup."

As they walked down the street, she wondered if Anika had returned to the café. But that seemed pointless. She'd obviously wanted to lose the bodyguard and meet with Westley in private. But they hadn't entered the hotel. So where had they gone?

When they reached the department store, they went inside, taking a look into the café, but the bodyguard was gone, and there was no sign of Anika. They took a store elevator to the underground parking garage and then got into the car.

As Jared started the engine, she fastened her seat belt and said, "Why meet in front of that hotel and then not go inside?"

"I have no idea. I'm surprised no one was following Westley. Where's your FBI friend?"

"When I spoke to Damon—Agent Wolfe—earlier, he told me that Westley had an agent with him, and that he had warned Westley about the danger of attempting to do anything on his own. Westley must have found a way to ditch his detail, too."

"Looks that way. Shall we go back to my apartment and talk about it?"

"We might as well. I don't know where else to go."

On their trip across town, her thoughts ran in dozens of different directions, but nothing seemed to make sense. She had a feeling Jared was taking the same mental journey, as he was unusually silent and contemplative.

Or maybe he was thinking about the crazy long kiss they'd shared, which she was trying really hard not to remember, but her lips were still tingling.

They really couldn't do that again.