No matter what emotion and softness she offered him, hed take none. But for the duration of the case, hed protect her with his life.
FRESH FROM AN UNEVENTFUL shower, Kayla made her way to the family room. Kane sat staring at the boxes she recognized as holding her aunts things. I didnt hear the doorbell.
He glanced over his shoulder. You should be resting.
She scowled. I slept half the day yesterday and all last night. Im fine. Or as close to fine as she could be with the thugs threat still echoing in her brain, her aunts reputation and her business in jeopardyand having shared her bed with Kane McDermott for the past dozen hours.
Like her, hed showered and changed. Judging by his appearance, she realized his clothes must also have arrived with the boxes. She wouldnt be female if she didnt admit she liked what she saw. Faded blue jeans stretched across his muscular legs. A bleached sweatshirt, navy with white patches that looked as if theyd occurred more by accident than design, covered his broad chest. The detective might not know much about cleaning his clothes but he knew how to wear them. He just plain looked good.
She walked into her family room and knelt down beside him. Her thigh brushed his, a brief and accidental contact. Her stomach muscles curled into twisted bands of excitement and need. What should have been innocent wasnt.
Youve got some color back in your cheeks, he noted.
And it had nothing to do with good health, she thought wryly. I feel better. Up to tackling those boxes, anyway. She gestured to the opened cartons spread around the room.
You showered. He fingered her freshly washed hair.
She grinned. Even I couldnt share the bed with me a minute longer.
You should have called me.
So you could stand guard outside the bathroom? Im not an invalid, she assured him. And she didnt want him treating her as one. His attention was nice, but she didnt want his pity.
I started without you.
Find anything interesting? Her initial inspection of the contents had been cursory at best.
He shook his head. Therere three huge boxes here.
I packed two of those myself. They lived in an apartment and the landlord wanted it emptied as soon as possible. Economics. She grimaced. Anyway, Catherine and I gave most of their belongings to the Salvation Army. My uncle had a niece that wanted some of his personal things. Catherine and I boxed the rest to go through later.
So the crossword puzzles His hand settled over the box nearest him.
Anagrams and things. My aunt loved them. So did my mother. I used to do some when I was younger. I figured maybe Id get back into them myself one day. She shrugged. The other box has knickknacks that have been in my family for years.
How old were you when your mother died?
The question surprised her. It was as unexpected as it was unnecessary. Didnt your investigation reveal such a minute detail about my life? she asked.
Yes. He had the grace to look ashamed despite the fact hed merely been doing his job.
So why ask?
Because I like hearing about you from you.
She glanced down at her hands. It was her turn to be ashamed. Shed already forgiven him. She believed what hed told her earlier-that when hed slept with her, his job hadnt been on his mind. It had brought him into her life but it hadnt kept him there. When Captain Reid had denied protection, Kane could have walked away. He hadnt.
What about the business books? he asked, obviously noting her silence and respecting her wishes by changing the subject.
I was twenty, Catherine was twenty-one. She answered his earlier question. It was as if Mama chose the optimal time to let herself go. Neither one of us had to face social services or being separated.
Wouldnt your aunt have taken care of you?
I suppose, but Mama loved us and wanted the best for both of us. Aunt Charlene never had kids and only related well to me because we both had that- she tapped her head -extra intelligence, I guess you could call it. But she had a harder time with Catherine because they had less in common.
Im sorry-for both of you.
She shrugged. What you lived through was worse. His eyes grew shuttered. His face cleared of expression, almost as if a curtain slammed down, closing out any audience to his soul.
She hadnt reached his inner depths yet, but with time and patience, she would. I have all the books, she said, accepting his parameters. Thats whats so strange. On the phone, he said he wanted the books. But Ive been doing them for the past year. Nothing unusual. No extra income, nothing unaccounted for
They stashed the money somewhere.
Although she hadnt reached his emotions, his words tapped into her own. Kayla grabbed his sweatshirt, desperate for him to understand and believe. They didnt stash anything. Whatever my uncle may or may not have been up to, my aunt wasnt into prostitution.
He met her gaze, his eyes darkening to the color of a stormy sea. That remains to be seen.
No. My family may not be as fine as some, but I assure you we draw the line at sleaze.
I wasnt accusing heror you. But the fact remains someone wants something from youand he doesnt much care how he gets it.
I know. Just the thought of her attackers voice sent tremors of fear spiraling through her.
Kane grabbed hold of her wrists. His protective warmth eased the terror. Nothing will happen to you, but we have to find out who these people are and find the books theyre looking for. To put an end to all this once and for all.
All this included them. She could read the truth in his eyes and planned to fight it. She just wasnt sure how.
Needing distance, Kayla placed her hands on her jeans and stood. Kanes gaze followed the movement, his eyes traveling the length of her and back. A sensual gleam lit his expression. Swiping a black V-neck Lycra top from Catherines closet had been a good idea for more reasons than warmth. She doubted her own silk blouses would have elicited the same heated response.
Apparently the trail toward Kanes heart began with sex. Under normal circumstances, Kayla wouldnt offer herself as an object; shed spent too many years fighting the idea. But Kane was different from other men. For the first time, she intended to use her God-given assets to their best advantage.
I started with this box, he said. I figure maybe theres something hidden in one of these puzzle books.
Like?
I dont know yet.
She wanted answers as much as she wanted Kane. Kneeling beside him, each movement she made was deliberate and calculated. She reached inside the large cardboard carton, bending close enough to smell his cologne and far enough over to give him a glimpse inside her shirtif he cared to look.
She darted a glimpse out of the corner of her eye. He didnt notice her watching him. His gaze was glued to her cleavage, his eyes cloudy, his cheekbones pulled tight.
She suppressed a smile. Despite the less than perfect circumstances and the threat hanging over her, she had Detective Kane McDermott just where she wanted him. The last time hed lost his focus, theyd had sex. And she had every intention of making it happen again. Only this time, it wouldnt be just sex. After she coaxed him into opening up to her, it would be nothing less than making love.
For now, she would tackle what was within her control. She perused each page, smiling as she remembered how both her mother and her aunt would curl up for hours with this pastime. Her mother had been hiding from life. Her aunt had just plain enjoyed the escape. Kayla shut the paperback and laid it on the floor. Nothing here.
The ones Ive looked through are all completed. Your aunt was an expert.
Kayla grinned. Easier to be an expert when you work in pencil. Erase your mistakes, cheat a little by checking the back. She laughed aloud. Aunt Charlene was pretty good. Mama did more cheating than her sister. She made more mistakes, too.
And you made none at all?
Im not perfect, Kane.
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
She glanced at the book in her hand, one that looked like a dime-store crossword, but held precious family memories. This ones completed, too.
Lets cover them all. I dont want to miss anything important.
Half an hour later, Kayla wanted to scream. Theyd been through more than half the box. The pencil-smudged books were all the same. Most finished, the last few half-finished. She grabbed for the next book in the box. This is ridiculous.
Just keep looking.
She curled into a more comfortable position, picked up a pencil and grabbed the next book. This time, she started working the puzzles, much as her aunt had probably done. She chose puzzles and individual questions at random and, just as she suspected, her answers matched Aunt Charlenes. They would, of course, since her aunt had been as intellectual and meticulous as Kayla was.
Gnawing on the end of the pencil, she tossed the book down and went for the next one. Fifteen minutes and three books later, she began finding mistakes. Obvious ones. Ones her aunt would never have made.
Unless shed done so on purpose. And considering Kayla had also begun finding a pattern of last names in the puzzles, she suspected these were more than game books. The implication of that sent chills crawling along her skin, and she groaned aloud.
Find something?
She glanced at Kane, knowing she had to reveal her discovery, hating it at the same time. Mistakes in the entries, names instead of answers, she muttered.
He raised an eyebrow. Let me take a look.
She handed him the two books shed made headway with and he scanned the pages along with her notes. Looks like pay dirt.
She frowned. Dont sound so pleased.
Its better than coming up empty.
Whats the date on that first one? Kayla asked.
Date?
Every book has a handwritten date next to the first puzzle.
Hadnt noticed, he muttered.
Marks your progress from month to month, or year to year. Didnt I mention my family was slightly neurotic?
No, but you should have. We could have started at the bottom of the box and come up with something sooner. Come on.
Where?
These books need to be decoded and you need your strength to do it.
So I can prove my aunt guilty of prostitution and lose my business in the process? she asked. Kayla might have been ambivalent about putting her dreams on hold for the sake of the business, but she refused to damage her aunts reputation to get her life back. Aunt Charlene had been the only person other than Catherine who understood Kayla and all her emotional insecurities-because shed suffered much of them herself. Kayla had no intention of betraying her in the worst possible way.