Before Memories Fade Page 3
There’d been an innocence about her the first time they’d made love. He could laugh about that now. Because other than that, there was nothing innocent about Gert.
By the time the FBI raided the penthouse and arrested Ralph Conrad, she was gone—with a suitcase full of the man’s ill-gotten gains.
Ike finished filling up the rental car’s tank, took his receipt and finally forced himself to walk toward the open large overhead door into the garage. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he knew it was too late. His heart was already punching against his ribs in anticipation.
After that first time he saw Gert, he’d found her living in another penthouse, her own in New York City. By then, he’d already been ruined for any other woman.
He heard the clank of a wrench as he approached the figure leaning under the hood. Even as he told himself that this person clad in large green overalls and flannel couldn’t possibly be the woman he’d known and loved, he could no more stop himself than not take his next breath.
He was beside the pickup when he said her name. “Gert?”
CHAPTER SIX
GERTRUDE FROZE. That one word spoken in that familiar voice sent her spinning through a whirlwind of emotions and memories even as she told herself she had to be wrong. It couldn’t be Ike. Yet that deep, rich voice had her trembling inside.
For a moment, she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even think. She’d dreamed of what it might be like to see him again, but that had passed with age. Neither of them was young anymore. They’d had their chance. Now it was gone.
“Gert.” This time he said it with such longing, such hope and yet such apprehension that she felt tears burn her eyes. It brought back the memory of her body tangled with his in exquisite pleasure. She’d known that no matter how long they were together, she could never get enough of this man. Wasn’t that why she’d left? Because it couldn’t last, and she couldn’t be there when it was over.
Now he was here in the flesh. This was not the way she’d wanted their story to end. Not in this old dirty garage. Not with her in overalls—all sign of the woman he’d once loved gone. Not with just three days left before the statute of limitations ran out on the jewelry heist.
But she knew Ike. He wouldn’t leave until he saw her. Until she faced him.
She’d never felt more like a coward. That was what made her push away from the front of that pickup to face him. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done—other than walking away from Ike all those years ago.
Straightening to her full height, she wiped her greasy hands with a rag and stepped out to look into the face of the man she’d wanted but could never have.
“Gert.” His brown eyes filled even as he smiled. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever known. Age had only made him more handsome, more distinguished. His dark hair was threaded with silver, his dark eyes still filled with sunshine.
Her throat closed at the look in those eyes. It was as if he was seeing her as she’d been all those years ago and not the older woman in her work clothes standing before him.
“Ike, what are you doing here?” she finally managed to say, her voice breaking with emotion.
“Looking for you. Isn’t that the story of our lives?”
That voice seemed deeper and richer with age. It sent a pleasurable tremor through her. His handsome face was now etched with lines but his jaw was still carved like granite, his mouth still quirking up on one side when he smiled.
“You always were good with your hands,” he said without taking his eyes off her. “So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you now own a garage.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll have dinner with me.”
His words took her by surprise. She looked past him, expecting to see a dozen FBI agents in body armor ready to burst in at any moment.
“I’m alone,” he said, as if knowing exactly what she’d been thinking.
She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat before looking down at the garb she wore every day as if doing penitence for the life she’d led. When her nephew, Fred, had died and left her the garage, gas station and house in Buckhorn, Montana, she’d thought it had been a sign. No one would ever find her here. If anyone was still looking for her.
She’d been wrong on both counts.
“Dinner? I—”
“It’s just dinner, Gert. Surely for old times’ sake. Or have you forgotten the two of us?”
As if she could ever forget. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. “Dinner.” She glanced toward the pickup sitting in the bay before looking back at him. “I could meet you at the café later this evening.”
“Seven?” He raised a brow as he said it. The last time they’d seen each other she’d agreed to meet him that night at seven. She hadn’t shown. Did he really think she would this time?
He didn’t move for a few moments. She could feel him studying her. Looking for the woman he’d once loved? Or the criminal he’d spent years trying to find?
CHAPTER SEVEN
IKE. SHE COULDN’T believe that he’d found her. Her heart drummed as she watched him walk to his car. Not an expensive sports car like he used to drive, but something midsize and nondescript. Like a cop might drive. Or an FBI agent.
But he wasn’t either anymore. He had to be retired, didn’t he? She realized that she was trying to make sense of this. Seeing him again had thrown off her equilibrium. She didn’t know what to think—let alone what to do.
He’d found her and asked her to dinner.
She could run. All she had to do was pack up quickly, drive out of this town and start over. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done that many times before.
Except that she’d assured herself that all those years of running were over when she’d come to Buckhorn. She’d thought she would stay here until the end. Then again, she had her bag packed under the floorboards upstairs, didn’t she? Which meant that she’d known something could happen that would make her run again.
Gertrude took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she watched Ike drive away. He would expect her to run—just as she had before.
She thought about the timing. Three days. She’d been waiting for years for the statute of limitations to run out. It almost had.
Gertrude glanced toward the pickup sitting with its hood up that she’d been working on. She’d promised Lars she’d have his tune-up done by noon. The clock on the wall said it was almost ten.
With a sigh, she walked back to it, picked up the wrench she’d put down earlier and went to work.
But her mind was on Ike and the first time they met at that party in Vegas. He hadn’t looked like a cop. Her instincts had warned her that, cop or not, he was a dangerous man. She hadn’t been wrong about that.
It was the way he’d looked at her that night. The way he’d looked at her only minutes before. How was that possible? She felt a shiver move through her, the memory so sharp it was almost painful. How could he still look at her that way after all they’d been through? What was wrong with the man?
Gertrude shook her head as she realized that she’d asked herself that same question all those years ago. Ike had known that she was involved with Ralph Conrad and yet that hadn’t stopped him. She’d felt his eyes on her all that night at the party.
She’d also seen Ralph watching him, a frown on his face. She knew that Ralph was the kind of man who’d ordered other men killed for much less.
“I want to see you again,” Ike had whispered when he’d caught her alone later that evening.
She’d shaken her head. “That would be hazardous to your health, and mine as well.”
“I’m willing to chance it,” he’d said without hesitation. “What about you?”
She’d met his gaze. She was in a penthouse apartment overlooking Vegas with a man who bought her furs and diamonds. After she’d escaped a life working at a logging company and sawmill, did this man really think she was foolish enough to chance losing what she had for a one-night stand?
She’d laughed. “I’m not that reckless.” She’d turned and left him standing there as she’d gone to join Ralph.
But it hadn’t stopped Ike. Nor had it stopped her from thinking about him. He’d come to the casino where she danced, hanging around backstage until she got off work—both of them taking a risk since Ralph or one of his men often came by before closing.
But Ike didn’t seem to care. She’d thought the man had a death wish. Ralph had to have known. He’d pressured her to move in with him. She’d declined. It was one thing to date a man like him. It was another to become his property.
She knew she was walking a tightrope that was leading to a fall, but she’d finally given in to her feelings. She’d never forget the first time she’d made love with Ike. He was so tender, so loving and yet so sexy. She knew no man would ever satisfy her after him.
It wasn’t until the raid when Ralph and his associates were arrested that she realized a part of her had known all along that Ike was the law. FBI.
She’d sensed something was going down and got what she could before it happened. That had been her life. Getting out before trouble closed in on her, taking what she could.
Ike had good reason to be after her. What she hadn’t expected was for him to catch her so eas
ily after the raid on Ralph and his associates.
“If you want me to turn state evidence against Ralph—” She was going to tell him that wasn’t happening.
But he’d stopped her. “I want you. That’s all I want.”
She hadn’t believed him. “I don’t know anything about his operation, and I certainly wasn’t involved.”
He’d smiled as he’d closed the distance between them. “Isn’t it possible that I just want you?” He’d pulled her to him. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you.” He’d pressed her against the wall, sending her pulse into overdrive as he’d molded his body to hers.
The kiss had been just the beginning. Until the jewelry heist.
* * *
LUNA HADN’T BEEN surprised to get Jaxson’s call.
“Seems I’m coming back through Buckhorn,” the deputy had said. “I was thinking...”
“If it’s dinner you’re thinking of, that would be great,” she’d said, smiling to herself.
He’d seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. “Seven tonight?”
“Perfect. I’ll meet you at the café. It will be good to see you.” After she’d hung up, though, she’d warned herself to be careful. Especially with the law. This was a job, nothing more. Keeping an eye on Jaxson was part of it, dating him...well, that was another. Daddy would not approve, she thought and laughed.
She’d been a wild teen growing up. Her father blamed it on Luna losing her mother, but she knew that had only been a part of it. She’d yearned for adventure from as far back as she could remember. Wasn’t that why she’d studied criminology? Wasn’t that why she was in Buckhorn right now? Wasn’t that why she was going to dinner with the local lawman?
She liked taking risks. Anyway, it was just one dinner and Jaxson wasn’t her type. Too reserved. But the thought of bringing him out of that did have its appeal, she thought with a grin.
* * *
AS GERTRUDE FINISHED with the pickup and slammed the hood, she was startled to find someone standing in the garage doorway. For just an instant, she thought it might be Ike back. Or one of a dozen FBI agents.
But that wasn’t Ike’s broad shoulders or his long legs. This figure was small and female, which didn’t exempt her from being FBI. “Afternoon,” the woman said as she approached.
“I was about to close up for the day,” Gertrude told her, wondering if she should go for the gun she kept in the garage. It wasn’t that far away that she couldn’t make an excuse to get it. But she’d gone this long without killing anyone. She liked the idea of ending it that way.
“No problem. I just stopped by to give you one of these.” The young woman held out a flyer—the last thing Gertrude wanted, so she made no move to take it. She also thought it might be a ruse.
“It’s a special on a haircut. I’m Luna Declan. I just opened a salon in town. This is my first day in business.” The woman was eyeing Gertrude’s wiry gray hair. “I’d love for you to be my first official customer. With this twenty-five percent off coupon...”
Gertrude took the flyer, her heart rate dropping as she realized that she’d seen the woman working on getting a storefront ready down the street. It had been a false alarm thinking she was FBI. But she knew that if Ike had found her location, even if he hadn’t shared her location with his former brothers, others would also be on the way.
“I’m not sure you could do anything with my hair.”
Luna Declan laughed. She sounded as young as she looked, her laugh bright as the Montana day outside the garage. “You’d be surprised what I can do.”
Gertrude also had no desire to be surprised. Ike finding her was the real surprise. Why he’d come was yet another. Gertrude met the woman’s gaze. Why not? She was a woman who’d always taken risks, big ones. Getting her hair cut wasn’t one of them.
Her future hung by a thread. Why not let this young woman do something with her feral head of hair? “Okay,” she said before she could stop herself. “What time?”
“If you’re finished here, I could do it now,” Luna said.
She nodded. “Just let me clean up a little and I’ll be down.”
“Great. See you soon.”
Gertrude regretted it almost at once. She’d dressed like this and let her hair go to stay invisible. Not that it made a difference now. She’d been found.
She drove the pickup out of the bay, leaving the keys in it, and pulled out her cell to call Lars and let him know his truck was ready. Mabel had already picked up her Lincoln earlier.
You can still take off, Gertrude told herself as she headed for the house. Running out on a haircut would be the least of her crimes. Her bag was packed. It wouldn’t take much to be gone.
But at the house, she showered and changed from her overalls to jeans and a T-shirt. For a moment, she stood in front of that old mirror downstairs, angry with herself on so many levels. Just getting out of the flannel and the baggy overalls made a huge difference in her appearance—even with her hair still an undisciplined mess.
She took off the trucker’s cap and chucked it into a nearby chair as she thought of what was hidden under the floorboards upstairs. She could try to hide the last piece of jewelry from the heist somewhere else, but she knew it was too late. If Ike had come here for justice, he wouldn’t stop until he found it.
Running was her only recourse—other than facing up to the past. As she stood there she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. The past had found her. And she hadn’t realized how tired she was of running. Cursing under her breath, she left the mirror and walked down to the salon. If she was going down, at least it would be with a decent hairdo.
Luna was waiting as if she was excited about the challenge. “I have something to relax you,” she said as she handed her a glass of wine.
Gertrude took it. “Don’t go wild,” she grumbled as she climbed into the chair, downed the wine and, handing back the glass, closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. There was nothing worse than an old fool.
Except for an old fool headed for prison before the day was over.
* * *
“READY?” LUNA ASKED as she held out the hand mirror to Gertrude. She’d purposely turned the woman’s back to the large mirror on the wall. Now she watched Gertrude swallow before reaching for the mirror. Luna waited for her to raise it so she could see herself and the back of her head in the larger mirror behind her. But for a long moment, Gertrude just held it facedown on her lap as if getting up her courage.
Earlier, Luna had breathed a sigh of relief when Gertrude had come through the door. She’d seen the woman’s hesitation back in the garage—just as she’d seen the car that had been parked at the pumps earlier.
The man had looked like a cop. But he hadn’t stayed long after getting gas and going into the garage for a few minutes. Luna had feared that someone might turn up to make Gertrude run before the deadline was up.
As soon as she’d reached the town, she’d realized that approaching Gertrude Durham was going to be the problem. From what she’d heard, the woman kept to herself, was abrupt and rude and didn’t like anyone.
That sounded like someone who’d been hiding out for years. But if Gertrude had the brooch, why was she working on vehicles in an old garage? Was she afraid to fence the piece? It would take a special buyer to sell something that hot. Was that why she’d been giving back a piece at a time? Maybe she wanted this over.
Luna had traced the path of the left-behind jewelry at churches to this county. One piece had been dropped not all that far from here. The person leaving it had been a woman, according to the security camera. She’d pored over the security tape photos of the heist as well. The FBI had gone through a list of the usual suspects. The name Irene Southerland had come up. Irene was wanted for questioning involving a large amount of money that had gone missing from a money-laundering bust in Vegas. The FBI was already looking for the tall blonde.
Right before that last jewelry drop at a church not that far from here, a woman named Gertrude Durham inherited a gas station and garage in Buckhorn, Montana. She was the right age. All Luna had seen was a grainy security photo, but it appeared to her the woman had been tall based on her height in the getaway vehicle she’d been driving. She’d been pretty with what had appeared to be blond hair.