Undercover Husband

“Roman,” he came back swiftly. “The sooner you start thinking of me as a husband, the better.”

Adrenaline made her body surge.

“Roman—I don’t have the kind of money it would take for long-term protection.”

He frowned. “Let’s get something straight, Brit. That’s what I’ll be calling you from now on,” he added in an aside. “If my suspicions are right, he’ll make his move soon, so let’s not worry about the money angle right now.

“To those observing from the outside, ours will be the epitome of the loving marriage. On the inside, we’ll be friends, and one of the other P.I.s will always be assigned to guard you when I’m not there. We’ll share everything except the bedroom. That means cooking, cleaning. I plan to get my money’s worth, so let’s agree not to talk about it again.

“When this is all over and we’ve caught him, you can explain the truth to everyone, that you’re not married, and life will get back to normal.”

Another silence ensued before Brit ventured, “Have you ever gone undercover as a husband before?”

“No. But I’ve done just about everything else.”

“I—I’ve never been a wife.”

“The way you’re worrying, you sound like one already. I’m certain you’ll get the hang of it, given enough time.” The teasing mockery in his tone didn’t escape her, but then he grew sober.

“If Baird is on his way here right now, we don’t have a lot of time. Playing the part of your husband makes the most sense because it gives me the optimum ability to keep you safe until we find out exactly what he’s up to.

“If you don’t feel you can go along with my plan, you’re welcome to approach another P.I. I’ll be happy to refer you to several with outstanding credentials. The decision is yours. Remember that a P.I. operates according to the way he or she sees a case. I have to do it my way, or not at all.”

Though his conditions disturbed her in ways she was reluctant to identify out loud, Brit had to admit she looked upon Roman Lufka as a savior.

“I-if you can make the boogeyman go away forever,” she whispered, “I’m willing to commit to your plan, whatever it is.”

“Good. Now tell me about Glen Baird.”

She’d just made the monumental decision to pretend to a bogus marriage, yet he behaved no differently than before. For an undercover investigator, this was all part of a day’s work.

Brit wished she could view it the same way. After all, he wanted to protect her the best way he could. As her husband, he had the legitimate right to be with his wife day and night.

When she really thought about it, his plan was ideal. She’d be a fool to worry about anything else when she believed him to be a totally honorable man. After all, she’d come to him asking for his help, not the other way around.

“Glen Baird is the kind of man who says and does whatever he wants, whenever he feels like it,” she began. “On the trip he kept trying to sit by me, and he’d follow me everywhere. People on the tour instinctively started crowding around me so he couldn’t have access.

“But when we reached Paris, several of them left our tour. I know it was because of him.”

Now that she’d gotten started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. “He was moody, and didn’t appear to like the tour. None of us could figure out why he’d come. He had a powerful set of binoculars. Sometimes they’d be trained on me from a distance. It was awful.”

“That’s another piece of information that wasn’t in Officer Green’s report. What else do you remember?”

“I’m not sure. Early on, Denise and I considered joining another tour, as well, but because of the wonderful Australian friends we’d made en route, we decided to ignore him as best we could and enjoy the trip anyway.

“That was the difficult part. The first time I saw him loitering in the lobby of our London hotel, he just stared at me out of blank eyes. With all that hair on his face, he scared me.”

Taking a shuddering breath she cried, “I wish to heaven Denise and I had obeyed our first instincts and left the tour.”

A murmur of compassion escaped his lips. “If your guide had had any idea of the terror you’re going through right now, I’m sure she’d regret having given everyone free access to the names and addresses of the people on your bus. But it’s done now, and chances are he would have found another way to get to you.

“Let’s thank providence you had the wisdom to obey your instincts this time and get help. If and when he comes to Salt Lake to look you up, he’ll meet with a surprise he wasn’t planning on.”

Brit shivered at the chilling sound of his voice.

After a brief pause he said, “If he follows the profile, and I happen to believe he does, he’s lost all concept of the guidelines normal people live by. According to his letters, he’s been to Salt Lake before. Sending you brochures of hotels near your condo, plus his old map of Salt Lake, circling the street where you live, was his way of telling you that he knows all about you, that you’re not going to escape him. He believes he’s invincible, and has only one thought—to make you suffer as he has perceived you’ve made him suffer.”

Her eyes played over his well-formed features, noting the lines of experience around his mouth. He sounded so sure. “You’re the one whose credentials are listed in the Yellow Pages. It’s your company, isn’t it?”

A flash of white teeth unexpectedly set her pulse tripping. “Guilty as charged. There are twelve of us.”

“Have you covered a lot of these kinds of cases?”

Oh, sweetheart. You don’t have a clue.

“Too many,” came the grudging admission. “But let’s not dwell on that. We have a wedding to plan. Guests to invite. One of the P.I.s will serve as the minister. We need to talk to your parents and explain the situation.”

At that pronouncement her head reared back, swishing her hair over her shoulders. He moved so fast she couldn’t keep up with him.

“My parents don’t know anything yet. I’ve been afraid to tell them for fear of upsetting them. Dad has heart trouble.”

“We’ll proceed carefully. When they learn the truth, they’ll probably be more amenable to my plan. In any event, your parents are going to have to know, because tonight you’ll be staying with me,” he said in an authoritative voice.

At her startled look he explained, “Before I rang your front doorbell tonight, I checked out your back door and windows. I could have gotten in any of them without your being aware of it. If I could do it, so could he.”

Brit had no idea Roman had been wandering around outside her condo.

“Some voyeur types like to enter their victim’s premises and look at their personal things, touch them, even steal some of them to make a shrine. Baird mentioned your shampoo because he likes the smell of your hair.” So do I. “He might want to take something like that as a remembrance.”

“That’s horrible!” The possibility that Glen Baird could creep into her home anytime he wanted almost paralyzed her with fear.

“Safety isn’t the only issue. If we’re going to make your impending marriage look real to everyone, except your family and Denise who will already know the truth, then it’s probable you’d be making preparations to set up residence with your future husband.

“Assuming your tormentor is en route to Salt Lake, the fact that you’ve changed addresses will lend credence to your claim that you’re getting married. To make it stick, you’ll have to give your landlord notice. It’s possible Baird will case the complex first, even talk to people to learn your habits. I’ll have a mobile unit here on guard day and night, monitoring his activities on tape to give to the police.”

A shiver racked her body. “After what you’ve just told me, I’ll be glad to get out of here so Glen can’t find me, but I’ve signed a year’s lease. I was going to renew it in December.”

“If my hunch pays off, this man will make an appearance shortly. We’ll be ready for him and you’ll be able to resume your normal life without too much delay. In the meantime, my firm will take an option on your place so you can move back in after everything is over. At that point, we’ll explain things to your landlord so that you won’t lose any money.”

He thought of everything! “W-where do you live?”

“In Olympus Cove.”

One of her favorite neighborhoods situated at the base of the mountains.

“Don’t you have a family?”

“No. I’m on my own. Why don’t you call your friend, Denise? Since she was on the tour and Glen Baird mentioned her in the letter, she’s involved, too, and needs to know the truth. I’d like to talk to her tonight. She might be able to remember something important to the case.”