You know it, he said. And Tessa? You also know Carolyns going to be hovering.
Doesnt she always? They both laughed over that for a moment, then Rafe got serious. Take care of yourself. Ill see you soon. And when I do, I want to meet this guy who helped you.
Love you, Tessa said, avoiding the subject of Reilly, and when she clicked off, she tried to find the peace the shower had given her, but the thought of Reilly had shattered it.
Love you, Tessa said, avoiding the subject of Reilly, and when she clicked off, she tried to find the peace the shower had given her, but the thought of Reilly had shattered it.
He kissed like heaven.
That thought came out of nowhere, and as Carolyn left the bathroom, Tessa went still in the act of drying off, having conveniently and completely blanked that part out of her recollection of the events to her sister.
Shed instigated the kiss. The kisses. Shed practically begged him for them. That hed caved in spite of trying to be hard and edgy and distant was of little consolation now.
She hated that shed gone weak and girly on him, that shed needed comfort in the first place, but bottom lineit had happened and she couldnt change it. So it was probably for the best that theyd each gone their separate ways after the police had arrived, without speaking again.
Sighing, she tossed aside her towel and prepared to go on with her life, secure in the knowledge she could make it through anything, including being held hostage.
Including being kissed and touched by a man shed inexplicably been drawn to in the face of danger; a wild, tough kind of man shed never see again.
Which was just as well, really. She was quite certain in the light of a normal day shed never be attracted to a man like Reilly Ledger. Never.
REILLY GOT UP EARLY on Sunday morning. He ran his usual five miles. Showered and grabbed a quick breakfast.
Alone. The way he liked it.
Alone was easy. Alone meant not needing to worry about anyone but himself. Alone meant doing as he pleased, when he pleased.
Alone washabit.
He knew what that said about him. At least he knew what his mother thought that said about him. He sure as hell knew what the women in his life thought that said about him-theyd all been clear as crystal on their way out his door.
He was selfish.
He didnt feel.
He was a robot.
Then thered been the woman whod simply tried to kill him. That was a memory for the books and had a great deal to do with his dislike of close, dark places, but he wasnt going to go there.
And yes, maybe he was a little selfish, but he sure as hell felt things, far more than he liked. As for being a robot, well, would a robot have responded to Tessas soft, giving body and hungry mouth?
Not likely.
Okay, settled then. He spent the rest of his weekend in precious solitude. And if he occasionally thought about Tessa, wondered how she was coping with the memory of the ordeal, he told himself it was out of general concern. The way hed be concerned about anyone whod faced such a trauma.
It was nothing personal. He just knew personal trauma, thats all.
So why he dreamed so vividly at night-dark, haunting dreams that he couldnt quite remember in the morning-was beyond him.
Or maybe he just didnt want to remember.
His father called and again thanked him for helping Tessa but, looking back, Reilly couldnt say that hed helped her all that much. Everything hed done had been for himself-climbing through the attic, nailing his captorskissing Tess. That had definitely been for him. At the time shed overwhelmed his body and senses. He supposed he should be glad it hadnt gone any further, as that would have been even more difficult to face now.
And things were pretty difficult as they were.
MONDAY MORNING DAWNED bright and clear. Just as Reilly was leaving for work, he heard a knock at his door. He grabbed the leather saddlebag he used as a briefcase, figuring hed turn down whomever was trying to sell him something on his way out.
Eddie stood there-tall, lean, fit, looking much younger than his forty-nine years. His dark hair was in artful disarray, his clothes no doubt picked out by a stylist. His smile was genuine and made Reilly groan.
Morning, son. Eddie lifted a McDonalds bag, which they both knew damn well was a bribe.
A bribe Reilly was willing to take if there was a breakfast sandwich in there.
I have tickets to the ball game tonight. Join me?
Reilly took his gaze off the bag. Just you?
Well, I thought Id invite a few friends along.
Women. Not that Reilly had a problem with women, but Eddie always overdid a good time. Thered be a horde of them and Reilly didnt like hordes.
A loud honk came from the driveway. Reilly popped his head out the door and saw Eddies red convertible BMW, filled to capacity.
With women.
In this case, given the size of the car, that meant three women. Small harem today, Reilly noted. You really need a bigger car.
Eddie sighed. I keep telling you Ive changed. I like them one at a time these days.
Or three.
Reilly-
Look, its your life.
Yeah, you keep saying that. For a moment, frustration swam in Eddies eyes. But I want you in that life, damn it.
Im in it. How can I help it, you keep showing up on my doorstep.
Eddie sighed again, then let out a rough laugh. I keep hoping that one of these days youll show up on mine.
Youve got a pretty full plate at the moment. Reilly nodded toward the carload, which reminded him of his biggest lifes goal-Dont turn out like good old Dad.
Those are my employees, son.
Reilly opened the McDonalds bag. The delicious scent of fast-food wafted up. Didnt anyone ever tell you not to mix business with pleasure?
No. No one ever told me anything of the sort. I learned the hard way.
Reilly had heard Eddies poor-little-rich-boy story before, how his parents had ignored him all his life for their travels, etc. It didnt wash. Reilly hadnt had a father around either, until lately anyway, and no one caught him whining about it.
And give me some credit for growing up, would you? Eddie grinned sheepishly. Better late than never, right? When Reilly didnt crack a smile in return, he sighed again. The women out there really are my employees. Im taking two of them into my real estate division today, were shorthanded. Totally on the up-and-up. The other is a woman I thought youd recognize.
Reilly took another look. The woman in the front passenger seat wore sunglasses covering what he knew to be mossy-green eyes that showed her every emotion as soon as she thought it. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, emphasizing her face, which he knew to be soft to the touch.
For one beat their gazes collided and Reilly stood there, inexplicably riveted.
Tessa looked away first.
Her car wouldnt start this morning, Eddie said. I offered her a ride to her temp job.
Shes working today?
Shes one tough cookie. Eddie blocked Reillys view of her and dropped the smile. She insisted on coming in. I dont know if its because she needs the money or if she needs to keep busy.
Ah, hell. He didnt want to know this. Aware that he was letting his guard slip, he peered around Eddie. She sat very still, staring straight forward now. Is this job an easy one?
Eddie paused so long Reilly took his gaze off Tessa to his father. Is it?
Eddie stared at him, then looked away. No. But I have a feeling shes going to be all right.
It was true. She was bright, brave and adventurous. Shed be all right.
Enjoy the food, son. Reilly stepped off the porch. Oh, and I have you on the calendar for a temp through Thursday. Is that right?
Enjoy the food, son. Reilly stepped off the porch. Oh, and I have you on the calendar for a temp through Thursday. Is that right?
Yeah. His business was up and down, up at the moment. His office manager did most of the everyday work. Shed been after him to hire another permanent office staff member, but Reilly wasnt ready for permanent.
Want her with the usual prerequisites? Old and grumpy?
Funny.
Oh, come on, admit it, Eddie said. You like old and grumpy.
I like experienced.
Well, so do I, son. So do I. Ill see you. He started to walk away. Oh, and live a little today, why dont you. Just for fun.
When Eddie drove off, Reilly locked his front door and headed down his steps. Hed like to say he forgot all about his father and the women in the BMW, specifically the one woman in the front seat. After all, he was good about forgetting things that got to him.
And there was no doubt, Tessa Delacantro had gotten to him.
The last time hed let a woman do that, hed ended up on the wrong side of a beating hed like to forget, both physically and mentally.
He sure was melancholy today. Flipping on his sunglasses, he slid behind the wheel of his car, cranked up the Metallica CD and drove.
By the time he got to work, he felt better. The food had helped, so had Metallica. Nothing like heavy metal to clear ones head. His building was in San Marino, a small, exclusive suburb of Los Angeles, where he took up the fifth floor of a small glass-and-brick building overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains to the north and the San Gabriel Valley to the south. To the west lay downtown Los Angeles and its famous skyline, highlighted nicely today by a ring of smog. He didnt mind the smog because he loved it here. He loved the weather, which came in two choices: hot or hotter. He loved the back-off, laid-back, live-and-let-live attitude.
After his long stint back east on assignments, including even longer stints across the world in uncomfortable time zones and climates, he thought he just might never leave Southern California again.
He rode the elevator up, unlocked the double glass doors that led into his business and stepped inside to utter and complete quiet.
His favorite state of being, utter and complete quiet. Given that it was ten minutes to eight, that left him ten precious minutes to enjoy the solitude before his office manager and temp showed up. He hoped the temp worker was Marge, his favorite of Eddies employees. She did her job without flapping her mouth, she was knowledgeable when it came to accounting, and because she was old enough to be his mother, he didnt have to worry about Eddies motives for sending her. She had five kids and two grandchildren and never showed him her family pictures. He loved that about her, and he always asked for her. Eddie usually complied.