Ash hesitated.

  Ralph aimed at Kelly’s leg. “I can shoot her in the leg and you can watch her suffer.”

  Ash glared at the man, then sat on the floor.

  “Now wrap your arms around her legs,” Ralph commanded.

  Ash complied.

  “Good. This way it’s harder for you to spring to your feet.”

  “What do you plan to do with us?” Ash asked.

  “When Andrew joins us, we’re going to take a little trip.”

  “From which we’re not coming back,” Kelly interjected.

  “You’ll be joining Bruce, who’s in that barrel beside you. It will look like he was the one who killed you, then had an accident himself.”

  “How can you excuse what Andrew did?” Kelly demanded. “You’re a cop, been sworn to uphold the law. How can you ignore what happened? Not only did he murder his wife, but your stepfather.”

  “When Andrew and I were kids, we were all we had. We made it through some rough times together. I couldn’t desert him now.” The obvious conflict inside Ralph shone in his eyes. “I can’t turn my back on him.”

  “That’s good to know,” Andrew said as he walked into the warehouse.

  They turned to see Andrew closing the door behind him. The look he gave both Ash and Kelly spoke of his hatred.

  “What took you so long?” Ralph questioned, his mouth in a hard line.

  “I’ve been trying to convince the little twit I was engaged to that these two were simply after me. That I didn’t kill Catherine.”

  “And did she believe you?” Kelly asked.

  Andrew glared at her. “I believe I convinced her.”

  “Are you going to murder this wife after she serves her purpose?” Kelly pressed.

  Ash squeezed Kelly’s leg, hoping to stop her from goading Andrew.

  “Only if she threatens to divorce me. It wasn’t very understanding of Catherine to object to my little liaisons. She was such a prude. I offered to make it a ménage à trois. She reacted poorly.” He shrugged. “I hope Michelle is more adventurous.”

  Ash stared at Ralph. “You excuse him?”

  Andrew kicked Ash. When Ash felt Kelly move toward Andrew, he held her back.

  “Let’s do this,” Andrew growled. There was death in Andrew’s eyes.

  And madness.

  “So who do you plan on killing first, Andrew? Or are you going to let your brother do it for you? To clean up your mess again,” Kelly taunted.

  Andrew darted forward and slapped Kelly across the face. Ash launched himself at Andrew, knocking him into his brother. Ash rolled to his knees and scrambled to his feet. Ralph staggered backward. Before he could regain his balance, Ash barreled into him. They both went down.

  Once Andrew had his balance, he turned toward Ash and Ralph. But before he could strike out, Kelly sprang to her feet. With a well-placed kick to the back of Andrew’s leg, she took him down. She quickly kneeled on his back and grabbed a hank of his hair.

  Andrew yelled like a stuffed pig. “Get off me, bit—”

  Ash ran Ralph into the wall, knocking the breath out of him. Ash rammed Ralph’s hand into the wall several times until Ralph released the gun. With one final punch to Ralph’s jaw, Ash knocked out the older man.

  Sirens filled the air.

  Ash retrieved the gun, ready to take on Andrew. When he turned to Kelly and saw her kneeling on Andrew’s back, having him hooked like a fish, he grinned at her. “You can release Andrew’s head.”

  When she hesitated, he laughed.

  She released Andrew’s hair and stood.

  “I want to warn you, Andrew,” Ash warned when the man started to move, “I’ve got the gun and won’t hesitate to use it.”

  Kelly stepped to Ash’s side.

  “You’re good, Kel. Damn good.”

  The outside door flew open and several patrolmen rushed into the building, followed by Julie and another detective.

  Julie stopped and smiled. “So you’ve got it under control? And your neighbor was sure you’d been kidnapped.”

  Ash glanced down at Kelly. “We were, but Andrew and Ralph didn’t know who they were dealing with. We’re a good team.”

  Kelly and Ash sat in Captain Jenkins’s office. Jake Thorpe occupied the chair next to Kelly’s.

  “I don’t believe it,” Jake sighed.

  “It is rather hard to take in,” Ash commented. “I think Ralph felt guilty about his brother. He wanted to make it up to him for the lousy childhood they had.”

  “There are a lot of ways to compensate a sibling without covering up their tendency to murder.”

  Captain Jenkins shook his head. “I don’t understand it. Ralph was such a good cop.”

  “Maybe too good,” Kelly replied.

  Captain Jenkins sighed. “I suppose you’re going to want copies of the cases that he was the lead officer on.”

  Kelly glanced at her boss, silently asking him if he’d back her up on this call. He nodded. “I wish we could ignore it, Captain Jenkins. But we can’t.”

  “I’ll have those cases pulled and a list sent to your office.”

  She nodded and stood. She wanted to talk to Ash, wanted to share her relief about what had just happened. But they both had loose ends to attend to. Jake joined her. As they walked down the hall to the elevator, he shook his head.

  “Who’d have thought such a thing could happened.”

  Kelly was thinking of something entirely different. Her mind was on Ash. “I didn’t.”

  “Andrew Reed, murderer, maybe a serial killer.”

  Kelly came out of her haze. “Andrew?”

  The elevator doors opened and they walked inside. “Yeah—Andrew. Who’d you think I was talking about?”

  She blushed.

  Jake’s eyes widened, then he smiled. “You know, you and Detective Ashcroft are a pretty dynamic team. I think I should assign you two to some other problem cases I have. Think you could do as good?”

  She looked into her boss’s eyes. She knew what he was asking in his own way. Did she want to continue with Ash?

  “I do think we’d make a good team. I just don’t know if he will want to be permanently taken out of Homicide to work in the D.A.’s office.”

  Jake smiled. “Don’t sweat it, Kelly.”

  “You look like a starving man, Ash,” Captain Jenkins commented as Kelly and Jake walked out of Homicide.

  Ash turned to his captain. “Not much of a poker face, huh?” He settled back into the chair he’d been sitting in.

  “Nope. I see right through you.”

  “Too bad she doesn’t.”

  “Don’t give up, Detective. I think I saw something in the A.D.A. that makes me suspicious.”

  Ash sat up.

  “Your powers of observation are a little off. Go for it,” Jenkins encouraged.

  Ash nodded and walked out of the office. Julie sat at their desk, writing up a summary of the collar. She paused and grinned at him.

  “I felt we wasted all that man power storming the warehouse only to find you and Kelly standing over Ralph and Andrew like trophies.” She shook her head. “This is going to talked about for a long time.”

  Ash had to smile. “Some of those patrol cops did have an odd look on their faces.”

  “Write up your report, so you can get out of here and go home.” To your wife. She didn’t say it, but he saw it in her eyes.

  Julie’s words echoed Captain Jenkins’s. Maybe they both saw something he hadn’t. As they had sat together in the empty warehouse, Ash had admitted to himself that Kelly’s complaint that he’d withdrawn from her had been valid. He hadn’t pressed the point after the miscarriage because of his own grief. Alone, each of them had drowned in sorrow. Together, they would have got through it. He needed to tell her it would be different this time. She could count on him.

  The question was, would she believe him?

  Kelly tried to unlock the front door, then realized it had never been relocked. The day had seemed endless. A marathon.

  She didn’t turn on any lights, but walked into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa. Under her rear, the sofa was lumpy. She reached for the blanket under her. Ash had slept here last night.

  He’d asked her to marry him, again, and she hadn’t answered, frozen in her fear. But as they’d driven through the city at gunpoint, she realized how fragile life was. And how foolish she was not to grab the joy and friendship that Ash offered.

  When they were at police headquarters, she had wanted to grab him and tell him that she loved him. But there hadn’t been an opportunity.

  Had she blown it? Did he still want to marry her?

  She pulled the blanket into her lap and inhaled his scent. She closed her eyes and slipped into a peaceful sleep.

  Ash knocked on Kelly’s door. It was close to one in the morning. He should have waited for a more civilized hour, but he couldn’t go home without settling this with Kelly.

  He knocked again. Nothing.

  He stepped to the window and glanced inside. When he saw Kelly slumped on the sofa, his blood ran cold.

  He ran back to the front door and tried the door. When it opened, his heart nearly stopped. He raced into the living room and was on his knees in front of her, his hands roaming over her. He wanted to see where she’d been wounded.

  Kelly’s eyes flew open and she smiled. “What exactly are you doing?”

  Ash sat back on his heels. “I’m checking for injuries.”

  “Injuries?”

  “You didn’t answer the door and, when I went to the window, I saw you slumped here and thought…” He felt like a fool. He started to get up, but her hands on his shoulders stopped him.

  “Thank you, Ash, for caring.”

  He shrugged.

  She scooted to the edge of the cushion and slipped her arms around his neck. That got his attention. His gaze met hers.

  “I’ve been a fool, Detective. I’ve been afraid of ghosts. This afternoon, I knew it and prayed it wasn’t too late to tell you. You are marvelous and I love you.” Her eyes sparkled in the darkness. “If you still want to marry me, I’ll gladly accept.”

  He cupped her face. “Kel, you were right. I wasn’t there for you, but I can promise you that in the future I will be. It won’t be perfect, but I won’t shut you out.”

  She smiled. “That’s all I ask.”

  He pulled her into his arms. Her weight pulled him off balance and they tumbled onto the floor.

  Lying beside her, he rose up on one elbow. “I love you, Kelly, and yes I want to marry you.”

  Joy radiated from her. “How fast can we do it?”

  “Want to run away and do Vegas? Or you want to do it here?”

  “I think I want all our friends to be there. And our family, if we want them to ever speak to us again.”

  He brushed a kiss across her lips. “Okay, tomorrow we’ll set the wheels in motion. Now let me show you how much I love you.”

  He paused. “And Kel, you’ve got to start locking the door. This is the second time I’ve found it open.”

  She smiled. “With you here, there won’t be a problem.”

  Epilogue

  A sh surveyed the crowd milling around his backyard. Nearly everyone in Homicide and the D.A.’s office had shown up for the wedding, along with their families. And Mrs. Schattle.

  They’d been married by a close friend, a judge Kelly worked with. The past four days had been a sea of activity. Blood tests, licenses, calls to family and friends.

  “Who would have thought this many folks would turn out to see you say ‘I do’ again?” Matthew Hawkins commented.

  Grinning, Ash shook his head. “I never would have thought so, not after having to arrest a fellow detective.”

  “You were probably silently cheered. Ralph didn’t have a lot of support, as evidenced by this crowd.”

  A good point. When Ash had announced that he was marrying again, and invited the unit, he hadn’t expected this big a crowd. In addition, a good number of lawyers from the D.A.’s office had come.

  “Emory laughed his head off when I told him where I was going,” Hawk commented. “He said he knew you were bagged when he saw you and Kelly at the fund-raiser at his house. As a matter of fact, Edna May Vanderslice was with him. She said for me to tell Kelly she was glad the girl took her advice and captured you.”

  Ash’s eyes widened. “So I was targeted.”

  “Appears so.”

  Kelly walked toward him, a vision in her flowing pale blue dress. When she smiled at him, the rest of the world faded from view.

  “What are you two talking about?” Kelly asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “Hawk was telling me what Edna May said when she heard we were marrying. It appears I was targeted.”

  Kelly laughed. “You should hear Mrs. Schattle over there. She’s telling everyone who’ll listen that she saved us.”

  “I’ll give her that.” He smiled down at her. “Who’d ever think I’d be glad for a nosy neighbor?”

  Hawk laughed. “Watching you two scorch each other with your looks, I think I’ll go find my wife. It gives me ideas.”

  Kelly blushed, but Ash laughed.

  “Sounds like a good idea. Why don’t we find a private place. I have an urge to kiss you.”

  She smiled. “I think I can find us a place. Follow me, Detective.”

  “I’ll follow you anywhere, Kel. Anywhere.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0089-0

  THE DETECTIVE AND THE D.A.

  Copyright © 2002 by Barbara M. Harrison

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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  Table of Contents

  Youre a dangerous man, Detective, Kelly murmured.

 

 

  Leann Harris, The Detective and the D.A.

 

 

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