Secret Agent Groom (The Bridal Circle #2) Page 10

  “Toto?”

  “What’s up?” he asked. She seemed tense.

  But Heather just glanced over her shoulder, then pulled Toto back outside. “Nothing’s up,” she whispered. “Alex is here.”

  “He is? What for?” This was a strange time of night to drop in on a neighbor. “Is something wrong?”

  “Wrong?” Heather seemed flustered. “Why do you ask that?”

  “You aren’t usually up this late and Alex isn’t usually here.”

  He felt something in the air and saw her lips twist slightly in the pale light coming from the house. Then she smiled.

  “Actually, if you must know it’s kind of personal.”

  Toto had never heard a voice blush before, but Heather’s did.

  “I was cutting out construction paper leaves for my class and he came over to help,” Heather continued. “And then we just uh...um...well, you know.”

  Now it was Toto’s turn to blush and he stepped back, farther from the house as if it could ease his embarrassment. “Gosh, Heather, I’m sure sorry. Geez, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He shook his head, hoping their stupid dare wasn’t at the bottom of all this. But he didn’t feel he could ask her. “I’d better go.”

  “It’s fine, really. Thanks for checking.”

  She put her hand on his arm. Her touch felt cold, almost as if she were afraid or worried. But her voice didn’t sound that way. And her cat hadn’t acted as if anything was wrong—not until Toto had come in. He took another step back.

  “If he’s going to be here a while,” he suggested, fighting back his chagrin, “maybe he should close his front door.”

  “It’s open?” Heather took a step toward Alex’s house, then stopped. “Uh, Toto? Could I borrow Junior overnight? I’m...uh... socializing a new kitten and I’d like to see her with a dog.”

  Toto looked down at his buddy, the only one who was sticking by him these days. The dog was aquiver with excitement as if he’d understood Heather’s request. Tail trembling, mouth panting, his eyes were pleading with Toto.

  Toto sighed. “Sure. Why not?”

  He could take his walk in the rain by himself. No big deal. So what if everybody in town now had somebody but him. No big deal.

  “Will overnight be enough?” he asked. “Junior’ll be happy to stay a couple of days and take care of your kitten.”

  “You don’t need him over the Labor Day weekend?” Heather asked.

  Toto shook his head. “Actually, it’d be better if he stays with you. I’ve got to work extra shifts so this way he won’t be alone.”

  “That’s great. We’ll have a good time, won’t we, Junior?”

  The big dog wagged his tail. Toto just gave them both a tight smile. It was all right; he was used to being alone. “I’ll close up Alex’s place, then I’ll go on home.”

  “That’s okay,” Heather said. “I..ah...I need to get something.”

  “Now you just stick with me,” Heather whispered to Junior as she pulled open Alex’s screen door. She heard no sounds from inside so maybe no one was there. Hopefully whoever had mugged Alex had moved on. She took a step inside and Junior rushed past her.

  “Junior!” she whispered.

  The dog stopped and trotted back to her, but there were no sounds from the rest of the house. She came all the way inside and let the screen door swing shut. She was in a regular old living room. A sofa and chairs, a TV and some bookshelves.

  “I guess we should get his toothbrush,” she told Junior.

  It sounded perfectly reasonable, but her feet did not want to move. She just stood in the doorway, staring into the rest of the house. A light was on in the kitchen, but the other rooms were dark. Dark and mugger-filled perhaps. Junior didn’t move either, and finally she sighed.

  “Well, all right. I’ll go get it.”

  She strode briskly across the living room and into the short hallway. With a quickened step, she went into the bathroom and flicked the light on.

  She plucked a red toothbrush out of the toothbrush holder, and hurried back out.

  “I’ve got it,” she told Junior who didn’t look impressed.

  “Yes, I know. I’m being silly. But now we can—” The shrill ringing of the phone split the silence and she froze. Surely her heart stopped beating altogether. No, it was racing. Who would be calling at this hour of the night?

  “How silly,” she said to Junior. “Just because I don’t get calls at this hour, it doesn’t mean that Alex can’t. Should I answer, do you think?”

  But before she could make a decision, Alex’s answering machine kicked in. She could hear his voice in the kitchen. Though it was the height of rudeness, she supposed she ought to listen to the caller and relay the message to Alex. It might be important.

  She started toward the kitchen, but she didn’t need to go there. The caller’s voice was loud enough to be heard all over the house.

  “Waterstone?” The caller paused to cough. “Things got out of hand tonight so I’m gonna show you what a great guy I am. I’m giving you an extra day to come up with the vigorish. But not a minute more. You come up with the dough by 8:00 p.m. tomorrow or you’re liable to be playing tag with some Lake Michigan carp.” Another cough. “If you can’t handle the pressure, baby, stick to the lottery and leave the big games for the men.”

  The caller hung up and the dial tone rang out across the room for a long moment. Then there was silence. Deadly silence. Heather looked slowly around the room as if searching for something to prove her awful suspicions false. But she found nothing. No neon signs proclaiming Alex’s innocence. No ministers giving testimonials as to the golden quality of his character. Nothing.

  Just the awful realization that Alex was a gambler, a bad one apparently. That’s surely what he had been doing in Chicago that day he’d been mugged, and this episode tonight was somehow part of it, too. It sounded as if he owed someone a great deal of money, and they would do anything to get it back. He was in terrible trouble.

  “Heather?”

  She spun around and found Alex standing in his doorway. Had he heard? Did he know that she knew? She had no idea what to say to him. Stop gambling, why don’t you? It’s too risky. Yeah, right. She took a deep breath. No, the best thing was to distract him so he wouldn’t ask her anything. But how?

  Only one way came to mind.

  Chapter Eight

  “What are you doing here?” Alex asked.

  Okay, maybe his voice was a bit snappish, but Heather had disappeared without a word. He’d gone into the bathroom to wash the lump on the back of his head—figuring that was the only way he could keep Heather from scrubbing it down herself—and when he’d come out she was gone. He’d been certain those thugs had come back. But here she was, walking around in his house with no protection but Junior, as if there weren’t dangers all around.

  “I’m not doing anything here,” Heather told him. “I was coming right back.”

  But anything could happen in a moment. Anywhere. “Is someone else here?” he asked. “I thought I heard voices.”

  “No one but me and Junior.” She looked guilty, but she held out his toothbrush. “I just came by to close your doors and get this,” she said. Then she smiled.

  He had been at the receiving end of smiles before. Smiles that rode lips much more experienced than Heather’s. But none packed the same punch. He felt like a boat whose moorings had just been severed. A kite whose string had broken. He suddenly felt cast adrift and his only safety, his very sanity was in her smile.

  “I like all the men who stay overnight with me to have their own toothbrush,” she said.

  It was an outrageous statement, considering their situation. And one that even her voice said was a lie, but still it ignited something in the pit of his stomach. Something that he might have said was jealousy, except that that made no sense at all.

  He had to protect her. And the only way to keep her safe was to keep her near him for the time being. Her safety was all he wa
nted. And the first step was to get her out of his house. Then he needed to move her before anyone made a connection between the two of them.

  “You should have just told me that my door was open,” he said. “I would have come over and closed it. You shouldn’t be wandering around at night.”

  “I had Junior with me,” she pointed out.

  “He’s—” Alex frowned. “Wait a minute. Where did he come from? He wasn’t in your house before.”

  “Toto stopped by and let me borrow him, but don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything.”

  Her voice was smooth as silk. Her tone told him to relax. Yet the fact that she had taken a few steps closer was all he could think of.

  “Anything about what?” he asked.

  “About your getting hurt.”

  But he barely heard her words. There was something in her eyes that he had never seen before—a concern that reached deeper than just the moment. A steadiness that said she could be trusted. A sense of caring that made it hard for him to breathe.

  Whatever it was, however she did it, something woke deep in his heart. A strange and lonely yearning, a longing that he had never felt before, an overpowering need to hold on to this moment

  Hell, this was the last thing he needed right now. He had a job to do, a job he wanted to do. A job that had nothing to do with her, except that she had gotten caught up in the fringes. Every instinct as a man told him to run and stay clear of Heather’s blue eyes, but at the same time, every instinct as a man also said he had to stay and protect her. There was a rough world outside his door, full of bad men.

  “Let’s go on back to my place,” Heather said, her voice soft as she glided over to his side.

  How could someone in teddy bear pajamas glide? But he shook himself free of the trance he’d been falling into. Protect her he would, and that included from himself.

  “Sure, I’ll just get the lights here.” He needed to move away from her, to find a spot where he could think and breathe.

  “I’ll get the kitchen lights,” she offered.

  She started across the room. One step away, then two, then three. But breathing didn’t come much easier. He turned, hurrying over to the light on the end table. He could manage this, though. It was nothing compared to being shot three times and surviving. Or getting through that night of surveillance in a swamp where mosquitoes were the least of his worries. Or even the time he’d had to steer that burning car away from the crowd of people—and get out himself before it exploded. Staying sane around Heather would be a cinch.

  He turned off the light on the far end table at the same time as the lights in the kitchen went out. The room went darker than night, the light filtering in from outside didn’t seem to make much difference. He stepped around the low table in front of the sofa.

  “Oops,” Heather said from somewhere over near the TV. “No, Junior, down. I’m fine.”

  What was he thinking of? “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it to be so dark. I’ll just—”

  He turned back toward the light but found Junior in his way. And then when he tried to get around the dog, he found Heather. Somehow they’d walked right into each other’s arms. His hands slid around her back, her softness was pressed up against him.

  “Oh, my!” she said.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  But was he? And if he was, why couldn’t he let go of her?

  Her delicate sweet scent surrounded him, pulling him deeper under her spell. His legs would not—could not—move, but his arms just tightened around her, bringing her in closer and closer. His hands found fire wherever he touched.

  His head bent and found her lips. Soft, gentle, yet holding so much power. How had he never felt the singe of her fire before? Anywhere near her and he felt scorched with the heat. But touching her, kissing her, tasting her passion, only made his need to hold her stronger. Only made his fire hotter and hungrier.

  His lips grew more insistent, speaking their needs through his touch. His arms pulled tighter, his mouth. moved more roughly on hers. But it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t hold her close enough. He couldn’t taste her deeply enough. He couldn’t answer the screaming need in his heart.

  But then Junior barked. A sharp warning bark from over near the door, and it brought Alex back to his senses. He let go of Heather, thanking the stars for the darkness to cover the confusion that must surely be on his face. He turned gratefully to the dog.

  “What is it, Junior?”

  Alex’s eyes had grown accustomed to the dark now and he hurried over to the door. What kind of a man was he that forgot his responsibilities when a beautiful woman was near? He should have been watching, not Junior. But it was just a neighbor walking a dog across the street.

  Alex took a deep breath as he felt Heather come up behind him. He was not going to fall again. He would stay alert, stay watchful and Heather would stay safe.

  “You ready to go?” he asked. He felt his heart wavering at her nearness. He would need a distraction at her house. “I think I’ll just grab a book or two. And some videos.”

  “But it’s late,” she pointed out. “Past midnight and that’s past my bedtime.”

  Her words came out on a breathless cloud of sweetness that teased at his senses. But bedtime? There was no way he was getting into a bed in her house.

  “It’s still early for me,” he said as he grabbed up a couple of books off the nearest shelf, and took a couple of videos, too. He couldn’t see enough to read the titles, but it hardly mattered. “But don’t feel you have to keep me company. In fact, you can sleep even better knowing that me and Junior are on watch duty.”

  “But your head...”

  “It’s fine,” he assured her as he ushered them out the door. Junior bounded out into the velvety blackness, then Alex pulled the door shut and activated the alarm. Lucky thing the alarm had still been turned off from when the students had come over or Casio—

  Damn. Casio. He was probably ready to send out the troops again. Alex should have checked in ages ago. He would call Casio from her house once she was asleep.

  They went back into her house where her cats were waiting. Two were greeting Junior like a long-lost buddy, while the little gray one stood across the room hissing.

  “Is that Bonnie?” he asked. “She’s out of prison?”

  “It wasn’t prison,” Heather argued.

  Alex laughed as he went over to pet the little thing. “Yeah, I know. It was for her own good. It was the only way to save her. Sometimes you have to be tough to be kind.”

  Heather gave him a strange look as she stood up. “Yes, you’re right. Sometimes you do.”

  “Well, I’m going to read for a little bit before I turn in,” he said.

  “All right.” She gave him an odd look as she took a step backward down the hall. “The bed in the spare bedroom is made. I’ll get up every few hours to check on you.”

  “Right.” He didn’t bother to start the argument that it wasn’t necessary. He did have a hell of a headache, but he wasn’t going to mention that, either.

  She nodded and turned to go down to her room. Alex, still holding his books and videos, went into the living room. Junior and the cats followed him. When he sank onto the sofa with a sigh, the animals all grouped in front, watching him.

  “What?” he whispered at them. “I’m not the bad guy here. You don’t have to be suspicious of me. I’m just trying to keep her safe.”

  He heard the water running in her bathroom, so he got up and quickly checked the front door. It was locked. He checked the two front windows. They were locked, too.

  “Alex?”

  Hell, she was on her way back. He sped over to the sofa, grabbing up a book as he flopped down. Junior stood by his side, wagging his tail as if this were a new game, while the cats watched warily.

  “Alex?” Heather was at the doorway.

  He looked up from his contemplation of the table of contents of his book. Her face was a rosy pink, her golden hair a soft halo
around her face. She took his breath away.

  “There’s pop in the refrigerator and cookies in the cabinet.”

  He smiled. “Thanks. I’m fine, though.”

  “Okay.” She hesitated a moment, then stepped back. “Good night.”

  “Good night and thanks.”

  “No problem.” But she was already starting down the hall.

  He sighed as he heard soft noises from her bedroom, then it was quiet. One of the cats, the calico, had left with Heather. The brown tabby was sitting next to Junior, watching him. Bonnie, the kitten, was maintaining surveillance from under a rocker near the kitchen door. He didn’t know if they were expecting entertainment or waiting for him to commit a crime they could report.

  “So do you think it’s safe to check the windows now?” he whispered.

  No one answered or even blinked so he got up and went over to the dining area. The two windows were locked, but he checked the kitchen, the strays’ room and the main bath.

  He paused at Heather’s door, but knew it was too soon to check her windows, and went back to the living room and his book. A dissertation on the use of trees in medieval poetry. He read page one three times and then put the book down.

  “How fast does she fall asleep?” he asked the brown cat and got a suspicious frown in answer.

  It was almost a half hour since she’d gone to bed. That was long enough, wasn’t it? He got to his feet and crept down the hall, pausing just outside her door to listen. At first he heard nothing, then the soft even sounds of her breathing.

  He started into the room, only to all but trip over the brown cat racing in ahead of him. The cat jumped on the bed, nearly giving Alex heart failure as he was certain Heather would awaken. But she didn’t.

  By the soft glow of a night-light, Alex could see the brown cat cuddle up close to her chest with what sure looked like a smirk. Alex just gave the cat a glare and tiptoed over to the far window. He checked to make sure it was locked, then turned back.

  In the gentle light, he could see Heather on the bed. She was lying on her side, the curve of her hips tantalizing. His hands itched to run down her side, to feel those curves beneath his touch. His breath came hard and sharp, as the need to feel Heather lying beneath him was almost stronger than he could bear.