Page 49 of Desperate Justice
Interest sparked on her face. Diana shrugged. “I can leave if you two need more time.”
“We’re fine.” Allison wriggled out of Rafe’s firm embrace. “We should get on the road anyway. Go get ready. I’m all packed.”
She walked with him outside. He hated that this happened to her, and he worried about her. Allison was a gutsy woman, but a break-in like this, a targeted one, had to shake her.
“Why didn’t you want to tell her?” he asked gently.
Allison sighed and pushed at her long braid. “Because my focus remains on getting her to elope with Paul, far from his family. How can I do that if she knows someone broke into our room?”
He gave her a level look. “Is someone after you, Allison? It’s odd her things were not touched.”
A deep sigh. “I’m not sure. There is a guy who I blew off at the first stop on this ride. His name is Dan Johnson, and we rode together last year.”
“That guy you were talking with at the cultural center? Friends or lovers?”
The blunt question made her cheeks pink. “More than friends, but after one night, I told him it was over. I reminded him again yesterday I wasn’t interested. He wasn’t happy. I think he wanted to reignite our relationship. Not that we really had one.”
Why did he feel relief Allison wasn’t interested in that guy at the center? Rafe knew his feelings went beyond the job.
He needed to focus on the job, not his male interest in Allison Lexington.
“Who knew you were going on the Teddy Bear Run?”
She fingered the end of her braid. “Nearly everyone.”
Rafe thought hard. Chances were it was this Dan Johnson, but anyone could find out Allison’s location with a few questions about the riders and their routes.
“But Dan Johnson thought you had a relationship, and he had a chance to score again, until you blew him off. And he knew you were riding with my group, so he knew you were staying here.”
Most of the group leaders listed the itinerary of their rides and shared motel information in case someone got stranded.
Allison continued to play with her braid. “It was probably him. He must have seen us talking. He might be jealous of you.”
“Because he thinks, like Diana does, that we’re lovers?”
An inhalation of breath, dilated eyes and a galloping pulse suggested she liked the idea. Rafe’s blood stirred at the thought. He couldn’t deny the attraction between them.
Acting on it was another matter. Allison had been off-limits last year while working as a confidential informant. Now? He couldn’t risk any personal feelings for her.
Then she shrugged again. “Maybe.”
Giving her a searching look, he shook his head. “Regardless, I’m sticking close by you. This kind of personal attack could happen again.”
“Are you saying we should share a room?” Her comment came with biting sarcasm.
“If we did, you know what would happen,” he said softly.
Allison’s breath hitched again. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
“And I’m riding right behind you. Sam will take the lead and you’ll be next to last, in front of me.”
“Rafe...” She gave a little laugh. “You weren’t so concerned last year when you made me a CI. You had faith I could handle those guys.”
“That was different. This attack was personal, directed only at you. That message on the mirror had your name on it. I don’t want you in the back of the group, just in case whoever did this gets behind you.”
He hoped she would follow reason. The thought of Allison alone on the road, with some jealous nutcase after her, perhaps finding her alone at a rest stop, made him worried.
More than other women he knew, Allison was so independent she’d refuse help for the sake of her pride.
