“Thank God,” she whispered.
“What do you mean, ‘thank God’? We know how you feel about Jack,” Cordie said.
“So does my father. I don’t think it’s a good idea for both of them to be in the same room.”
Cordie patted her hand. “It will be fine,” she said as she glanced across the bed at Regan, gave her a look, and shook her head.
Sophie pulled a blanket over her legs. “It’s cold in here,” she said.
“You’ve been through a trauma,” Regan explained sympathetically. “Your body is reacting. Would you like another blanket?”
With tears in her eyes, Sophie said, “It was awful. I thought—”
“You can tell us tomorrow,” Cordie said. “It’s too upsetting for you right now.” Trying to brighten the mood, she added, “Mr. Bitterman was relieved to hear you’re doing okay. He’s very fond of you.”
“He’s secretly such a softie.”
“He said to tell you that Gary was arrested. He was hauled off in handcuffs.”
“Why? What did he do?”
Sophie gasped several times as Cordie repeated the conversation she’d had with Bitterman.
“What a weasel,” Regan said. Sophie didn’t disagree.
An aide pulled the curtain back and stepped forward with a tray. She saw Sophie, stopped cold, and slowly backed out, pulling the curtain closed again.
“What was that all about?” Regan asked.
“The staff isn’t very friendly here,” Cordie whispered.
A phone rang. Alec was calling Regan to tell her he wouldn’t be returning to the hospital. Dr. Halpern, whom Cordie had dubbed Dr. Frankenstein, was talking up a storm and didn’t want an attorney. They were taking advantage of the situation and getting as much out of him as they could.
The plastic surgeon took his sweet time getting to the hospital, but he was very kind, and he worked quickly. After checking the wounds to her face, he cupped Sophie’s chin in his hand and tilted her head, studying her.
“Beautiful skin,” he said. “Flawless. Good bone structure. Perfect nose …”
“She isn’t here for a facelift,” Cordie said, exasperated.
The doctor smiled at her. “The three of you could play Charlie’s Angels.” Turning back to Sophie, he said, “You won’t need Botox for a long time … as long as you don’t lead a stressful life. I’ll need it some day. Plastic surgeons live with stress.”
Sophie would have laughed if her head hadn’t been aching so.
“You think you’ve got stress? How many bullets have you dodged today?” she asked.
The doctor could tell he was in dangerous territory, so he changed the subject. “You don’t have a concussion,” he told her, “so you get to go home and sleep in your own bed.”
Sophie’s father arrived at the hospital in time to drive her home. He suggested that he stay the night with her, but she refused. She’d already had the same argument with Regan and Cordie. She promised to go right to sleep after he left.
Sophie was exhausted and felt grimy. She was careful not to wet the bandage on her face as she showered. After slipping into her nightgown and brushing her teeth, she dropped into bed. Her exhaustion had wiped her out, but she wasn’t sleepy yet, so she turned on the television and surfed the channels. She stopped on the cooking channel. She’d never watched it before. Jack liked the shows, though. What was he doing now? Had he finished with Halpern? She hoped he’d gotten answers. Would he call her tomorrow?
She fell asleep wishing she was in his arms and wondering if he was thinking about her.
JACK COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT SOPHIE, AND EVERY half hour or so he would leave the interrogation room and call for an update. He knew when she left the hospital, and he knew when she arrived home.
He had to take breaks to get away from Kirk Halpern anyway, and so did Alec. The doctor turned their stomachs. When the urge to smash his face in became too strong, Jack would know it was time to get up.
Halpern had sure fooled him. He had seemed like the mild-mannered, scholarly type, sitting in his worn chair talking about his deceased wife and praising Sophie for being so compassionate, but now that his game was over, his true colors came rushing to the surface. He didn’t have to pretend modesty any longer.
Halpern was smug and conceited, and he wanted them to know how clever he had been. Gaining respect for his superior intellect was obviously important to him. Alec and Jack played along, anything to keep him talking.
“You never know how stupid people are until you live with them,” Halpern said.
“Eric and Marcus thought their little secret, their little Alpha Project,” he said mockingly, “was so safe, but figuring out what they were up to was hardly rocket science. After the first year, I knew they were plotting something. Any child can operate eavesdropping equipment, and breaking passwords and codes is so easy, I make it my hobby. You can get pretty bored with nothing to do but watch wolves.”
He went into great detail about how he listened to conversations and snooped through their files.
“The cherry on top was that Marcus was keeping a journal the whole time. Hiding it under his mattress was a smart move, don’t you think?” he asked sarcastically.
Jack asked him specific questions about the scientific discovery.
“Eric came up with the formula,” Halpern said. “I think he may have already had it the first year we were at Inook together. It was by accident that he discovered what it could do and how adrenaline altered its effects.
“We’ve already discussed Ricky, Agent MacAlister. Don’t you remember that I told you he was a mature alpha male? They started experimenting on him right away. Eric would tell Brandon and me that he needed to take blood, that he was checking for different micro organisms, but I knew what he was really doing. He was injecting the animal, and after a while, when Brandon and I branched off to study other packs and didn’t show any interest, he didn’t even bother to bring back vials of blood.
“I don’t know how many injections Ricky was given, but I started noticing a slight change in the wolf. Of course, I pretended I didn’t see anything, and Brandon was too self-absorbed to notice. After a while, Ricky was getting stronger and bigger.” He chuckled as he added, “A wolf on steroids, only it wasn’t a steroid he was getting. This was a wonder drug with incredible benefits and no side effects.
“Eric and Marcus continued their experiments on other animals when they went back to Chicago. They had set up a lab. It’s all in the journal.”
“How did Sophie Rose play into all of this?” Alec asked.
“When their prime subject, William Harrington, was lifted to the test site, they found out she knew him, and had, in fact, talked to him at length. She had e-mailed him before they shut down his website; she left messages on his phone. She even went to his apartment looking for him. They wanted people to think he’d left on a long trip … just in case. But she wouldn’t leave it alone. Then when Harrington was killed, her card was found, and they got scared that she might know too much.
“Eric got really paranoid about her, so Marcus called her pretending to be some guy named Paul Larson, just to find out how much she knew. He might have left her alone, but she asked him about the Alpha Project.” He shrugged. “They were in too deep. She could ruin the fifty-million-dollar deal he and Eric had made. She had to go.”
As Jack and Alec delved for details, Halpern became more verbose. His answers turned into lectures.
“Now I’ll explain how I lured Marcus to the storage facility. It was so simple really. I called him, all befuddled, and said that this reporter had contacted me saying she knew about some secret scientific study that was going on at our camp, and she said she had found out where the missing tapes were that would prove it. She was on her way to get them.”
He stopped for a moment, a slight smile tilting the corners of his mouth as he remembered the call.
“I put him in such a panic, he couldn’t wait to get off the
phone and rush to his hidey hole. He never questioned how she could have found out.”
“How did—” Alec began.
“Do not interrupt me,” he snapped. His head twitched at his outburst, and he took a breath to calm himself before continuing. “Luring the woman was a little chancy, but all I really needed to do was get her out in the open and isolate her, and I had her. I caught her in Nelson Park. I hit her hard. Didn’t know my own strength, really.” His gaze bounced back and forth from Alec to Jack. “She was out cold. I must admit, I didn’t really care all that much about her, but when she called me at my home, I could tell she was getting close to the truth, closer than any of those agents who questioned me. I knew I had to get rid of Marcus, so why not two birds with one stone?”
“Why would you want to get rid of Marcus? Why not just turn him in to the authorities?” Alec asked.
Halpern studied his fingernails and smiled. “The money, of course.”
“What money?” Jack asked.
“The fifty million. I knew Marcus would come after me when he found out that I had done a little wheeling and dealing of my own. His contact in Dubai was happy to get the formula and the research early. He didn’t care who sold it to him.” He sighed and looked off in the distance. “Fifty million. It’s in a secure place, and it’s all mine.”
“You won’t need money where you’re going,” Alec told him.
“But Agent Buchanan, what have I done?” he asked innocently. “I didn’t kill anyone. If my punishment fits my crime, I’m sure I’ll be a free man in no time at all.” He paused to reconsider. “No, I’ll be a free rich man in no time at all. Face it, gentlemen, I’ve outsmarted you. That money is in a safe place, and you’ll never find it.”
The interrogation went well into the night. When it was over, Jack and Alec handed in their preliminary reports and headed home.
Jack was beat. He needed some fresh air. He needed a shower. And he needed Sophie.
THE SOUND OF running water woke her. She rolled to her side and looked at the clock: 2:20. For a second she thought she was hearing rain, but then she heard something drop in her bathroom.
“Damn.” It was a whisper, but loud enough for her to know that Jack was getting out of her shower.
The television was still on, but the remote was on the table on the opposite side of the bed. She never put it there. It was too far to reach.
Jack came out of the bathroom. He was yawning, and he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.
“Did I wake you, sweetheart?”
“Why are you here?”
He got into bed and reached for her. “You needed me here.”
“I was sound asleep. I didn’t need—”
“I needed to be here.”
He grabbed the remote and turned off the television, then pulled her into his arms.
“How did you get into my apartment?”
“Shh. Go to sleep. You need your rest.”
She was so happy he was there. She snuggled closer to him. “I’m changing the locks tomorrow.”
“It won’t matter. I’ll still get in. You’re not getting rid of me, Sophie.”
She didn’t know how to respond. He sounded serious, as though he really wanted to stay with her. Knowing who she was, he still wanted her. What was wrong with him? Why would he want her … except maybe for the sex. He surely wasn’t staying for her cooking. Her mind began to drift.
His deep breathing told her he was asleep, yet when she tried to roll away, he tightened his hold.
SOPHIE WOKE UP MIDMORNING. Jack was stroking her back. She turned in his arms and kissed him.
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you, too.”
“This can never go anywhere. You know that, don’t you?”
“I’m marrying you, Sophie. That’s what I know.”
She kissed his chin, the base of his throat. “Daddy won’t approve.” Her hands slid down his chest and his stomach. She smiled at his indrawn breath. “You’re a disappointment.”
Jack growled low in his throat. She was driving him crazy.
“You know … FBI,” she said.
He couldn’t pay attention to what she was saying. She was stroking him, teasing, tormenting.
“He won’t think you’re good enough for me,” she continued. “He’s probably right.”
Jack rolled her onto her back, braced himself on his elbows, and looked into her eyes. “No one will ever love you the way I do.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her. “Prove it.”
THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY WAS HELD AT THE HAMILTON Hotel at Aiden’s insistence. There were over seventy guests. Jack’s brothers were there. His father had died several years ago, and his mother was on her fourth or fifth honeymoon. Her sons couldn’t keep track.
Jack was talking to Alec and Gil, but he never let Sophie out of his sight. She chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Bitterman and their daughter, who Sophie thought was lovely.
“Did you hear about the job our Sophie was offered? Big-time stuff,” Mr. Bitterman told his wife. “It wasn’t the only job offer. Isn’t that right? It was after she wrote that story about William Harrington.”
“I read that,” Mrs. Bitterman said. “It was wonderful. ‘The Forgotten Man.’ ”
“She turned them down,” Mr. Bitterman said.
“I must be crazy, but I did,” Sophie laughed. “I didn’t want to change jobs after all. I just wanted to be asked, I guess.”
“What will happen when your father is on the outs again with the police? You know it’s coming.”
“Jack says he’ll take him in for questioning … if he can find him.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Mr. Bitterman, you know my father. They can’t hold him long. He’ll negotiate his way out.”
“Speak of the devil …”
Bobby Rose walked into the party. He was suave and debonair and, according to Mrs. Bitterman and her daughter, made the women feel giddy
To Sophie, he was simply her father. He was heading for Jack, but guests surrounded him and delayed his getting to his target. Sophie excused herself and hurried to Jack’s side.
Gil came to stand beside her. “How’s your father handling this? His only daughter getting married.”
“He’s not happy about it.”
“Oh, sure he is.”
“No, he isn’t,” she insisted. “He doesn’t like Jack.”
“Now, Sophie, how do you know that?” Gil asked, thinking she was exaggerating.
“I know because he said, ‘Sophie, I don’t like Jack.’ ”
Alec choked on his drink. Gil looked nonplussed.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Jack isn’t particularly fond of my father either, but they’ll get along.”
A few minutes later Bobby Rose faced the happy couple. He shook Jack’s hand and kissed Sophie.
Mr. Bitterman joined them. “I was telling Mr. Rose that I had heard rumors that Kelly’s Root Beer was going to reopen.”
Bobby nodded. “It’s a good investment.” He winked at Sophie. “It might happen.” He turned to Jack and said, “I read in the paper that Kirk Halpern is trying to make a deal.”
“Not a chance,” Jack said.
“Is it true he’s hidden fifty million dollars?” Gil asked.
Jack nodded. “Yes. He says no one will ever find it.”
Bobby Rose looked at his daughter and smiled. “Wanna bet?”