Chasing Lies

by Sara Claridge

  “And now that they have?”

  She turned and met his gaze head-on, but all he saw in her expression was resignation to leave their burgeoning relationship behind her. “I am who I am. My name doesn’t matter.”

  “That’s what I want to apologise about.”

  Confusion marred her face. “I don’t understand.”

  He crossed the room to her. “You are who you are. Determined, courageous, and fearless.” He ran his hand down the side of her face, cupping her cheek. His thumb under her chin forced her to meet his gaze. “It was wrong of me to make the decision to go after Mercier alone without at least giving you the opportunity to argue.”

  “What? And then ignore me?” She shook her head free of his caress. “Tie me to the hotel bed and leave me…”

  He gave her a wolfish smile. “Wasn’t quite my vision, but we can work on it if you like.”

  She looked heavenward. “Don’t change the subject. You talk about your job, but what about mine? Don’t you think I’ve come up against hardened criminals most of my life? Not just because of my father, but in the courts, too.”

  “You were always protected. First by your mother and then by the law and security guards. I couldn’t offer that kind of protection against Mercier and do my job.”

  Kate let out a groan. “I wasn’t asking you to.”

  “I know.” He jammed his hands in pockets in frustration and stared at the floor. “But that didn’t make it any easier.”

  “You’re impossible, you know?”

  Her words made him look up.

  She held up her hands. “You drive me mad.”

  A glimmer of hope rose up inside of him.

  “But I can’t fight the attraction between us,” she said with a sigh.

  His hands curled around her forearms, drawing her closer. “All I’m asking for is a second chance.”

  “I’m not giving up an inch of my life.”

  He wanted to smile at her defiant tone. “I wouldn’t ask for anything less.”

  She eyed his straight face dubiously, but her posture stiffened as she caught sight of the coffee table behind him. “And I still can’t accept the Degas.”

  ETIENNE COCKED A brow. “Worried people will think it’s a bribe?”

  “No! I mean, yes, someone is bound to say that, but that’s not why I’m refusing it.” Kate turned away from Etienne and walked back to the sofa. She needed to put some space between them to clear her thoughts.

  The plan had been to return the Degas and get to the airport as quickly as possible. However, one look at Etienne as she stepped out of the taxi and she knew she’d never be able to walk away so easily. Deep down she hadn’t been surprised to learn he worked for the government. How else could she explain how she’d given up on her principles so easily and got her heart tangled up with a criminal if it wasn’t for the fact she could see the good in him?

  The sofa dipped as Etienne sat down beside her. He picked up the parcel and took out the framed artwork, balancing it against the packaging so it faced them. Leg outstretched, toe pointed with ribbons tied around the ankle, the fluid lines captured a dancer's poise perfectly.

  “So what’s wrong with it?” he asked softly.

  “A small gift. Perfume or something. That’s saying you’re sorry.” She gestured towards the sketch. “This is way beyond that.”

  It made her want to dream that maybe they did have a chance.

  He placed his hand over his heart. “I can guarantee that it’s not stolen, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The glint of amusement in his eyes turned serious. “Although it once fell into the wrong hands.”

  Leaning forward, he picked up the sketch and studied it for a moment as if the memories it evoked stepped right off the paper. “Did you know Degas sold everything he had to save his brother in New Orleans?”

  Kate shook her head, wondering where he was going with the question.

  “My grandfather might have joked about how he tried to sell my grandmother, but that’s not the real story of how they met. She was being held captive in North Africa, and he rescued her.” He glanced at the drawing again before laying it back on the table and turning to face her.

  His gaze held that same hopeful expression as it had when he’d asked her for a second chance. One that made her want to throw caution to the wind and agree to whatever he was proposing.

  Etienne cleared his throat. “I never knew the truth when she was alive. Papi said he bought the drawing not just because my grandmother liked it, but because, like Degas, he’d have sold everything to keep the one he loved safe. Money was nothing if he didn’t have her.”

  Suddenly its significance dawned on her. “This was the artwork that was taken from him, wasn’t it?”

  “Oui.” His gaze softened in appreciation of her understanding. “I devised a plan to steal it back. Needless to say my endeavours failed partly because I stepped into the middle of an operation that the stolen antiquities task force already had in place.”

  Kate’s heart went out to him as he rested his elbows on his knees and lowered his head. His chagrin at the memory of letting his grandfather down was obvious.

  “Madame Morrier made me a deal. Work for them on a contract basis for a year and she’d smooth out the problems with the judiciary. I liked the work, she liked me, so we continued the deal after the year was over.”

  He raised his head and regarded the sketch again. “But she still made me pay for the Degas. Technically, the gallery owned it. I suppose I should be grateful it was one of his minor works. I could just about cover it without having to ask my father for money and explain what I’d done.”

  Warning bells rang in Kate’s mind. “Wait. Madame Morrier? She was one of the people who questioned me after the raid.”

  Etienne’s lips rose in a rueful smile. “I can’t say I’m surprised. She wasn’t too happy that I involved you so heavily in the first place.”

  “So if she was a part of the operation, why run off with the painting?”

  “I need to keep up my reputation.” He raked a hand through his hair. “The only people who know the painting is returned are the museum, your boss who no doubt is silenced by an NDA, and a few government officials. But between the Baltic’s, Mercier’s men and anyone else that’s taken any notice of the painting, my name is in the thick of it.”

  “So we all think you’re guilty in some way.”

  “Précisément.”

  A breeze through the open doors leading to a terrace sent a shiver through her. The warm afternoon had turned cool as the autumn sun dropped low in the sky. Etienne stood and crossed the room.

  Kate tracked his movement. The outline of his muscled frame underneath his clothes triggered the memory of the kisses she’d trailed across his flesh. She forced herself to look away and focus on the discussion. “Doesn’t your department want to claim the glory for the return of the painting?”

  “And admit that one of their own double-crossed them?” He pulled the doors closed and locked them. “No. Didier’s involvement ensured they wanted to walk as far away from this one as possible.”

  Kate frowned at him in confusion. “So why did Madame Morrier question me?”

  Etienne let out a harsh sigh but didn’t turn around. “I might have told her I was thinking about quitting.”

  “Quitting!” Kate jumped up. “What happened to the thrill of the chase?”

  He paused for a moment as if considering his answer before turning to face her. “I found something else I wanted to chase more.”

  His voice was husky with desire, and her cheeks flushed under his intense stare.

  “You,” he said to her unasked question. “You stole my heart like a thief in the night.”

  She swallowed hard. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re giving up the job you love?”

  “Because if I carry on, then I’ll put you in danger.” He walked over to where she stood and grasped her hand. “That last night we were together, somet
hing inside of me snapped. I couldn’t face placing you in danger.”

  She pursed her lips. “It didn’t stop me.”

  “I noticed.” His dry response made her stomach do somersaults and gave her hope.

  “You realise it won’t stop me again, don’t you?”

  “Oui. The message is getting through.” He stepped forward and cupped her face. “But chérie, I just want you to be safe. I can’t bear the thought of what Mercier might have done to you.”

  Her gaze softened. “I feel the same way about you, too. But if you’d trusted me, and we’d planned the meeting with Mercier together, then perhaps we would have been safer.”

  “I know you’re probably right.”

  She raised a brow at his use of the word probably.

  He shrugged off her glare. “I’m just having a hard time convincing myself.”

  “Wasn’t it you that said If you want the thrill of the chase you must risk losing a part of your soul. Surely that’s true in all aspects of life?”

  “I should’ve kept my mouth shut and used it for better things.” He leaned in and claimed her lips with a kiss.

  Kate gave herself up to the hard pressure of his mouth, not wanting to admit to herself how much she’d missed his touch in such a short space of time. Her hands snaked up around his neck as he deepened the kiss, and she relished the feel of his hair beneath her fingertips.

  His hand drifted to the swell of her breast, and she arched into him as his thumb brushed across her taut nipple. Wrapping a leg around his, she pressed herself hard against him. Her heart hammered as he ground his thigh against her clitoris.

  When he bit softly into her neck, she reluctantly drew back. If they carried on like this, they’d be naked on the floor in no time, and while that held a lot of appeal, it didn’t resolve their differences.

  Etienne let out a regretful sigh and released her. “Leaving you in the hotel room was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

  Kate’s throat tightened. “You said it wouldn’t work between us.”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think it would.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “I thought walking out was a way to protect you. What I didn’t realise was that you weren’t the one that needed saving. I was. You bring a light to my dark life, and selfish or not, I find I don’t want to give that up.”

  “And you think quitting your job will solve that?”

  “It will make you less of a target.”

  She placed her hands on either side of his face. “Don’t give up on all that you’ve worked to achieve. It’s what drives you. I like that you want to take care of me, but you also need to realise that I’ve made it this far okay so I must be doing something right.”

  Etienne pursed his lips as if considering her words. “Maybe.”

  Kate rolled her eyes at his noncommittal response. “What did Madame Morrier have to say about you quitting?”

  “That an insurance investigator who was the estranged daughter of a dead drug lord would be the perfect foil to complete my cover. It’s sort of a compliment in a way. She wants to keep me and recognises your talents.”

  Kate’s mind went blank in panic. How would she get out of this one?

  His words drifted off as he noticed her apprehension. “Not keen on the job description?”

  She lifted her hand and tacked her hair behind her ear nervously. “I haven’t exactly told my boss everything. I was hoping to keep certain facts to myself. After all, who actually knows?”

  Etienne sighed impatiently. “We’re getting distracted with details. The point of all this is that the Degas is yours. I’ve found what I want.”

  Kate’s breath caught at his intense stare, and she swallowed the desire rising up inside of her. They might have only known each other a few days, but there was no doubting the determination in his eyes, nor the way her heart responded every time he was close.

  But he was fooling himself if thought he could give up something that was so much a part of him regardless of what identity he wore. She suspected that was what Madame Morrier had thought, too.

  Her gaze landed on the sketch, and suddenly she saw it in a different light. Not just as a remarkable drawing, but as a symbol for what it represented to Etienne’s grandfather. “Perhaps you’re looking at this from the wrong perspective.”

  He regarded her quizzically.

  “For your grandmother to have been captured in the first place, I’m guessing that meant she was something of an adventuress?”

  Etienne’s lips rose up in a small smile. “My brother and I used to joke that it was having them as parents that made my father go into banking. The nearest he gets to his heart racing is when the stock markets rally.”

  “Did your grandfather curb her ways?”

  “No,” he admitted grudgingly. “Together the two were incorrigible.”

  “Then who’s to say that we can’t be the same?”

  “But they were different.”

  “How?”

  “They didn’t go chasing after criminals in the first place.”

  “But they met them all the same, and if I continue with my job as an investigator, I’m only going to encounter more, so you might as well continue your life as playboy extraordinaire and renowned international art thief.”

  Etienne’s jaw clenched. “I’m not going to win this argument, am I?”

  “Nope.” She kissed him hard and fast. “Now. I will accept your generous gift on one condition.”

  Etienne sighed, and a look of resignation crossed his face. “What’s that?”

  “It stays here.” She silenced his objections with a finger against his lips. “It’s mine. I love it for its beauty and what it stands for, but I can’t take it from you.”

  She searched his gaze for acceptance and found herself basking in the heat of his stare. His lips started to nibble the end of her fingertips, sending shivers of delight straight to her core.

  “I find myself willing to give into whatever it is you want just to make you stay, so if you’ve any more outrageous demands, make them quick before I come back to my senses.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her. Long. Deep. Hot. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him like her life depended on it. His touch was all it took to increase the heat that had been burning between them ever since she’d arrived.

  Tugging and pulling at their clothes, they fell back onto the couch.

  “Please say you have a condom,” she murmured. Not that she wanted to stop the trail of kisses Etienne was leaving over her body, but she needed him inside her more.

  He reached over to his trousers and handed her one. “With you nearby, always.”

  No sooner had she rolled it on him than Etienne’s strong hands lifted her hips and he took her hard and fast. Wave after orgasmic wave hit Kate until she cried out in abandonment, and with a final thrust Etienne followed her into the passionate abyss.

  As her heart rate slowed back to normal, she left the warmth of Etienne’s arms and looked around the room. “So where are we going to hang it?”

  He stood up and pulled her through to another room, pausing in the doorway to take full advantage of their nakedness by pressing his front up against her back. “I thought you could use this space as an office when you’re not in London.”

  Kate tilted her head and regarded him over her shoulder. “So you didn’t actually expect me to give up my job.”

  He shrugged and kissed her temple.

  She stepped forward into the room. It was light and airy with a window that had views that went on for miles. Views that one could get lost in and forget the worries of the world. She ran a hand across the wooden surface of the desk and imagined herself sitting there looking out through the window on a day far from now.

  A tear rose up from nowhere. She brushed it away with the back of her hand and glanced over at where Etienne stood watching her. “I can’t believe how far we’ve come in so little time. We’ve only
just met and yet,”—she gestured towards the desk—“I can see myself here years in the future.”

  “Sometimes the greatest love starts from strange beginnings,” Etienne quoted.

  Kate’s eyes lit with understanding. “Papi?”

  “Bien sûr.”

  Etienne’s heated gaze was all the reassurance she needed. Heart tight with emotion, Kate crossed the room, stepped into his embrace, and gave herself up to his kiss.

  ~~~~

  THANK YOU FOR reading Chasing Lies. I hope you enjoyed it.

  Kate and Etienne’s stay in Paris was fleeting, but Chantal, Jean-Luc’s sister who you met in Gathering Storm, has been there a while now.

  She’s even fallen in love…with a rundown chateau.

  But there’s just one snag.

  The new owner is planning on turning it into a bland monstrosity for the rich and famous. Winning the interior design contract is the only way for Chantal to save Chateau Vauquelin.

  However, persuading the heir to the Kirkwood Hotel Group that she’s the right person for the job isn’t easy. Alessandro Kirkwood thinks she’s just some poor little rich girl who will disappear when the going gets tough.

  But a series of mysterious incidents at the chateau alters everything.

  Now Chantal remembers more than she’ll admit about that fateful day her parents died.

  And the memory makes her blood run cold.

  Turn the page now to read the first chapter of Ruinous Designs.

  Ruinous Designs

  Prologue

  In the dead of the night, Chateau Vauquelin stood cloaked in the shadows of the ancient forest that surrounded the country estate. The building’s beauty languished like an old gem amongst antique paste jewellery. Forgotten. Abandoned. And a little tired looking. Decades of neglect had dimmed its past glory.

  Light coloured walls, stained from driving rain and dripping gutters, encased over eighty rooms. On the ground below, remnants of stonework, tiles and metal casements lay strewn across the terrace, a memorial to the roof turrets that once dominated the skyline.