by Box Set
Carrie whipped her head around. “Who’s that?”
“That’s the man who wants my woman, and the one who started this fight in the first place.”
Rider was out of his chair before he had time to think. She might hate him right now, but there was no way he’d let Thomas corner her in the dining room. He wouldn’t leave her to deal with the man on her own. She had shown true fear around Thomas, and Rider figured she had reason to be scared.
The man didn’t take no for an answer. Not to mention the problems Trish would have with Stacy later.
“Get away from her,” he yelled as he approached them.
Trish shook her head sharply when he reached the table, putting his body between her and Thomas. “Stop, Rider. You don’t need to come to my rescue anymore.”
He looked down to where she sat in the chair. “I don’t care if you’re pissed right now, Trish. I love you, and I’m not letting this asshole anywhere near you. Not now, not ever.”
“You can’t trust him, Trisha,” Thomas said. “And I have more to talk to you about. We need to meet.”
“Fine, Mr. Baker,” Trish said to Rider’s shock. “Meet me at my room around nine.”
Thomas leered at Rider, looking absolutely gleeful. “I’ll see you in your room then.”
As he walked away, Rider tried to calm the rage flooding through him. “How could you agree to be alone with that jerk?”
“It’s none of your business,” Trish snapped. “Go back to your table and leave me alone. I can’t talk to you right now.”
Right now... did that mean she wasn’t ruling out forgiving him at some point in the future?
“Just be careful,” he cautioned. “If he does anything to you, I’ll go to prison for murder for real.”
Her mouth dropped open momentarily, as though surprised he’d let mention of his secret slip out.
It wasn’t as though anyone here knew him or what he meant by that comment, but Trish needed to know he was serious.
“Remember when you told me what you’d do if I went missing?” he asked, needing her to think about how much they already cared for each other. “I feel the same way. But for me, if another man so much as touches you, I don’t know if I can handle it. Be careful. We both know what he’s after.”
Trish was still in shock as she waited for Thomas to arrive at her room.
Rider said he loved her! How could he know whether he really did? It had been such a short time since they met, and everything that happened was because Stacy Baker blackmailed him into it.
But the words slipped out so seamlessly. In fact, he didn’t seem to register that he’d said them. Did she honestly think that was a lie on his part, that he planned an “accidental” slip of the L-word? He might have lied about his reasons for going after her in the first place, but through all her crying and soul searching over the last twenty-four hours, Trish had come to one conclusion.
She was falling for Rider, and she believed his version of what happened. She still didn’t know if she could trust her heart and let him back in. They had a lot to work out.
For now, she had to forge ahead with her plan to get Thomas and his bitchy wife to leave her family and Rider alone forever. She could never plan for a future that included Rider if she couldn’t get Stacy Baker out of their lives.
A tap sounded on her doorway, and Trish hit the record button on her phone, making sure it was well hidden behind the items on her desk while the camera portion was uncovered just enough to document everything that Thomas said or did but still made the phone hard to spot. She’d already planted decoy cell phones around the room. She’d spent a fortune at one of the shops today to make sure everything went as planned. Not that money mattered. She only had one chance to stop Thomas, and she hoped she’d done enough to pull it off.
Taking a deep breath and drying her damp palms against her slacks, Trish opened the door with a wide smile on her face.
For the first time since she found out the truth about Rider, he wasn’t standing in the hallway watching as people came and went from her room. Maybe her coldness at dinner had convinced him they didn’t have a chance. She couldn’t worry about that right now. She did what she had to in order to make Thomas believe he’d get what he wanted out of her if he came to her room. She’d work things out with Rider later—if she decided she wanted to work them out.
“Hi, sir,” she said. “Come on in. What did you want to talk about?”
Thomas stepped into the room, grinning. “None of this sir business, Trisha. I’m not your boss right now, just another guy on a cruise ship, talking to a beautiful woman.”
Trish held in a groan, wondering if anyone ever fell for Thomas’s transparent attempts to be charming. She kept her smile in place through sheer willpower. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to pretend things like that, sir. We work together, and you’re married. The only woman you should call beautiful is your wife.”
Thomas chuckled. “Come on. We both know why you invited me here. It has nothing to do with my wife.”
“I invited you here because you said you had something to tell me.” Trish narrowed her eyes, letting her true feelings show. “Was that a lie? What do you want?”
He advanced on her, opening his arms wide. “You know what’s going on here, Trisha. It’s not just what I want, it’s what we want.”
Trish ducked under his arm as he approached, dancing toward the hidden camera. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“But I told you the truth about Stacy’s little detective. You owe me, don’t you think?”
“Owe you?” She shook her head. “What, exactly, are you asking for?”
“It doesn’t have to be full out sex if you aren’t into that,” he said, sitting on the bed and loosening his belt. “A blowjob will do just fine as repayment. Come on, baby. You know you want to.”
Bingo! She’d got him to say it.
“What if I say no?” she asked. “You might be my boss, but you can’t force me into blowing you.”
He chuckled, unzipping his slacks. “Sure I can. Why do you think I talked Andrew into making you a partner? I can take the position away as quickly as I gave it to you. Suck my dick or lose your job, Trisha. Don’t make this difficult. Let’s have fun.”
“Thanks for that. You said everything I needed to hear. Nothing will ever happen between us, Thomas. Let me tell you what is going to happen.”
He stopped trying to pull his dick out of his pants, perhaps realizing she was serious and had no intentions of doing what he demanded.
“First,” she said, “you’ll call your wife off. She needs to stop harassing my sister, stop harassing me, and let Rider quit working for her. If she goes through with what she threatened Rider with to make him come on this trip, I’m turning you in for this sexual harassment.”
Thomas snorted. “It’s your word against mine, Trisha. You actually think anyone will believe you? I’m good at spinning stories—you know that. I’ll tell everyone you got mad when I found a reason to fire you and decided to try and ruin me. Your accusations are all lies. They’ll believe me.”
She nodded. “They might believe you.” She looked at a spot on the nightstand where she’d hidden one of the decoy cameras that wouldn’t have as good a view as her phone. “They’d believe you if I hadn’t recorded this whole thing, I mean.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Recorded me? Ridiculous. You and I both know you didn’t record me.”
She laughed. “Sure, go on and believe that. I’ll send the clip to your wife so you can watch it together. If the two of you don’t leave me, Lucy, and Rider alone, I won’t even bother taking it to the cops.”
He stood, holding up his pants. “What do you mean? What do you think you could do?”
Trish smiled, happy to have finally gotten the upper hand in this situation. She realized while crying today that she had to be the creator of her own destiny.
“You might be a sick douche bag, but the most senior partner
at the firm is a good man. I wonder what Andrew Lutz would think about having proof of the kind of shit you pull on the women working for the firm?”
“You can’t do that,” he argued. “I’ll ruin you. I’ll make you wish you’d never come to work for Baker and Lutz.”
“You can’t scare me, Thomas. I see you for the little man you truly are.” She walked toward the door, opening it for him. “Get out of my room and out of my life. One little slip with me or another woman, and you’re the one who’ll wish I’d never come to work for Baker and Lutz.”
Thomas looked over his shoulder in the direction of the nightstand, then looked back at her. As she’d suspected, he lunged for it, grabbing the phone as his pants fell around his ankles. “Stupid girl.”
“Give that back,” she cried in mock horror.
Thomas punched at the screen, likely deleting whatever that camera had recorded.
“Stop!” she screamed. “You can’t do that! It’s my proof. Stop!”
He laughed and tossed the phone at her, pulling up his pants as he sauntered for the door. “You’ll regret this, Trisha. We could have had some fun together, but now you’re going to lose your job. Maybe I’ll get your sister and her husband fired too.”
He stepped into the hallway, fastening his pants with a wide smile on his face.
“Stay away from me, Thomas.” She slammed the door and slid the locks into place.
It worked!
Trish raced to her cell phone, carefully hitting the stop button and then watching it back. Not only was the angle perfect, it clearly picked up every word Thomas had said. It was over. The man’s days of being a jerk were finished.
She thought her sister should be the first one to know, and she sent her a message with the video attached.
Chapter 25
Rider sat in the casino with Carrie, wondering if he’d made a mistake by leaving Trish on her own with Thomas. “Should I go over there and pound on her door?”
Carrie shrugged. “It looks like she moved on, Rider. I hate to say it, but maybe she’s too mad to listen to you right now. I thought she was afraid of that guy, but if she invited him back to her room...”
Rider knew what Carrie was thinking, but there was no way Trish invited Thomas to her room to do that. She wouldn’t have sex with her boss just to get back at Rider, no matter how mad she was about his lies.
“You don’t know that man, Carrie. He’s a jerk, and he uses women. He’ll force Trish into something she doesn’t want to do by threatening her job. I know he will.”
“Could he be the one...” Carrie broke off and looked around the room, leaning in close. “Could he be the killer?”
Could he? Everything they said about a single traveler in this group not having to make excuses to travel companions went for Thomas too.
“Did I just leave my woman with a killer?”
Rider jumped from his chair, searching the casino tables for Patrick. “Where did your man go? I can’t leave you alone out here, but I have to get to Trish.”
“Go, go,” she urged. “I’ll find him. Don’t worry. I’m safe here with a crowd, and I’ll stay clear of that Thomas ass if I see him. Hurry. Go get your girl.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice. Carrie was far safer in a room full of people than Trish was alone with Thomas. Why hadn’t he considered that the man might be a suspect before this? He was so upset that she’d wanted to meet Thomas, he totally forgot to be worried about leaving her alone with someone.
Rider raced through the halls, dodging people as he bypassed the elevator and flew down the stairs. Luckily, no one walked along them, causing him to slow. If he wasn’t already on such shaky terms with Barry, he’d ask him for help. However, Barry wouldn’t thank Rider for bringing him any new theories.
It was up to him to make sure Trish was safe.
Breathless, he sprinted down the hallway on the singles’ deck, racing to the far end where Trish’s room was.
Not sure how much good he could do her as tired as he was, he pounded on the doorway. “Trish! Trish! Are you okay?”
He reminded himself of Malcolm pounding on Sara’s door. He hoped it wasn’t the same outcome.
“Trish!” He pounded again. “Stay away from her, Thomas.”
The door flew open, and Trish glared out at him. “What is your problem?”
Relief flooded through him and the fatigue from his mad dash through the ship hit him at once. “You’re okay? Oh, thank God. I was so worried that he hurt you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t seem worried. What happened to you guarding my hallway?”
He shrugged, refusing to feel bad about guarding over her. “I got so jealous when you agreed to meet him, I forgot about the killer. I’m glad you’re okay.” He glanced past her into the room. “Where is he, by the way?”
“He’s gone, and no, we didn’t do anything.” She stepped back, waving him into the room. “I have something to show you.”
Surprised, Rider stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
She bent down toward the desk, but looked up at him and rolled her eyes. “Don’t press your luck, buddy. I don’t know yet what to think.”
Rider nodded. “Fine. I’m not going to stop hoping you forgive me, though.”
“Fair enough. As soon as I know, I’ll tell you, either way.”
Well, she was back to being reasonable and practical. Rider wasn’t sure that was a good thing. It seemed lawyer Trish had taken over lover Trish. The change wasn’t a good one, as far as Rider was concerned. The more analytical she became, the less she listened to her heart, the less likely she was to decide to take a chance on him.
“What did you want to show me?”
She grabbed her cell phone from the desk. “Watch the video on there. We never have to worry about Stacy again. I already sent this video to my sister in case something happens to my phone.”
Rider pushed play. He ground his teeth in anger when the prick demanded a blowjob, but he couldn’t help but be impressed by the way Trish handled herself. When the video ended, he grinned at her. “You’re brilliant! Was this your plan all along?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t tell you in the dining room. Thomas had to believe I wanted to spend time with him, or he wouldn’t have said all those horrible things and given us the proof we needed to stop Stacy from doing anything she threatened.”
“So you believe me?” he asked. “You realize that Stacy forced me to do this?”
“I believe that part.” Trish shrugged. “It remains to be seen whether you’re interested in me now that you aren’t forced.”
“Of course I am, Trish.” He took a step toward her, reaching for her.
Trish shook her head, stepping away. “No. We both need time to think, Rider. I’m going home when the ship stops in Florida. If you choose to stay on board, please be careful. I’d hate for anything to happen to you. When you get home and have had time to think, tell me your decision then. I don’t want to feel like Stacy Baker forced you into wanting me.”
“She didn’t,” he protested.
“You can’t be sure of that,” she said. “Take some time. Think it over. I’m not looking for anyone else, but I need time too. I’m not sure I can forgive you, Rider. I understand why you lied, I really do, but that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”
“I hope you can,” Rider said, heading for the door. “Because Stacy can’t make me fall in love with someone. You’re the one causing that to happen, and I don’t want to lose you.”
Chapter 26
Trish thought about Rider’s story over the next two days. It meant a lot that he’d rushed to her aid when he thought she might be in danger from Thomas, even if she wasn’t certain she could trust him.
She couldn’t think clearly. Although she’d promised her sister she wouldn’t hide out in her room for the rest of the trip, Trish counted the hours until they’d dock in Florida and she could get back
to Washington.
A tap sounded on her door. “Room service.”
She hadn’t ordered dinner yet. Why would room service come? Making her way to the doorway, she peered through the peephole. She could see nothing except a service tray in the hallway. “I’m sorry,” she called, “but I think you have the wrong room.”
“Aren’t you Trisha Brier? The order is for her at this room number.”
The voice sounded faintly familiar, but Trish couldn’t quite place it. “Rider? Is that you playing a trick on me?”
“It’s room service, ma’am. I’ll leave the tray here and you can take it in yourself if you don’t want to open the door for me. Keep everything in your room, and someone will pick up the leftovers and tray later.”
“Wait.” She unlatched the security lock, opening the door. “Who ordered this food for me?”
A man wearing a serving uniform and a ball cap pulled low over his face turned around. “I ordered it.” Barry took a step toward the room, pushing the tray in front of him. “We need to talk.”
“Barry?” Trish shook her head, confused. “What are you doing here? Did something happen to someone else?” Her heart fluttered uncertainly in her chest. “Did something happen to Rider?”
“I have bad news.” He looked up and down the hall under the cover of his cap. “Let me in so we can talk.”
“Bad news how?”
“Remember that trench coat the killer wore while dumping Carl’s body?” he asked.
Trish nodded, dread trending down her spine. “What about it?”
“I just found the coat on a new body. There was a stack of business cards in the pocket. Can you guess who the coat belongs to?”
Trish gasped and stepped back, waving him inside the room. “There’s no way Rider did it. You have to know that.”
Barry pushed the tray into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.
“I’m not sure what you think happened,” Trish said in a rush, desperate to make the man understand he had everything wrong. “Rider and I have been way too busy for him to have done this. Maybe someone stole his coat. You have to believe me!”
