by penny watson
Sven stood up and walked slowly to the back of the plane. “I’d like to speak with her for a moment. In private.” He could see that her wrists were bound with cord.
“Yes, sir.” The attendant left them alone.
Sven pushed back the hood on her jacket and loosened the scarf. A curtain of black silk hung in front of her features, still masking her identity. A curtain that looked very familiar.
Sven gently pushed the hair away from her face. “Jesus.” He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him.
“Andi. What the hell are you doing here?”
Her worst nightmare was coming true.
Her cover was blown, her investigation was jeopardized.
And Sven Klaus was towering over her, his face just inches from her own.
He was beyond furious. She could actually see a vein bulging out of his forehead. The laid-back hippie was nowhere to be found. In his place was a six-foot-six-inch giant barely holding onto his temper.
Andi hung her head.
“Oh, no. Give it up. No sad puppy dog, no tears. I want to know what is going on.”
She shrank back in her seat.
“Who. Are. You?”
She glanced up. His cheekbones were severe, his face lean and tan. That lush blond beard hovered inches away.
“Andrea De Luca. Andi. Andi De Luca.”
The look on Sven’s face would have been comical if she weren’t prepared for his rage.
“Andrea De Luca.” He whispered her name. His nostrils flared.
She nodded.
“Freelance writer. Irritating harasser. Threat-maker. Stalker. Pain-in-the-ass. That’s you?”
She nodded again.
“Bull. Shit.” The words were uttered with contempt.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Klaus.”
He lowered his face until his lips were practically touching hers. She could feel his breath. Feel his anger.
“Not a good time for sarcasm, Ms. De Luca. You just couldn’t take no for an answer, huh?”
“You just couldn’t agree to a good old-fashioned interview and tour? That would have made all of this avoidable.”
Sven barked out a laugh. “Are you joking? You are blaming me for you breaking the law? A false ID? Stowing away on a private corporate jet? Did you crash the gala, too?” His eyes raked her face. “Christ. Was your sister in on it, too? You both played us…”
“No!” She yelled it so loudly, he pulled back a few inches. “No. Hannah had nothing to do with this. Don’t you dare try to implicate her in any way—”
“Hannah really didn’t know? Doesn’t she know about your interest in Klaus Enterprises?”
“I told her I wasn’t interested in the story anymore, and that I just wanted to go to the fundraiser to get her out of the house. She’s been pining away since her husband died.” Andi puffed out a small laugh. “That’s really the only good thing that happened tonight. Hannah was happy.” She hung her head again. “At least for a little bit.”
“How did you find me? How did you get on this flight?”
“I…I dropped a tracker into your tuxedo pocket while we were dancing.” Andi was embarrassed her voice was cracking. “I have an inside source at the airport who helped me get on board.”
Sven fished around in his pockets, found the device, and held it up for inspection. “This it?”
“Yes,” she answered as her cheeks flamed.
He dropped it onto the floor and ground it to a pulp with the heel of his shoe.
Her gaze strayed to the window, and then she quickly turned away as her stomach clenched.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sven snapped.
“What do you mean? In general? Right at this moment? In a philosophical way?”
“You’re white as a ghost.”
She shrugged. “Flying’s not my super favorite activity.”
“Serves you right. It’s an apt punishment for your crime. At the very least.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and thought, There’s no place like home.
She opened her eyes.
Nope. It didn’t work. She was still stuck here with Sven.
“So the whole thing at the gala was just a bunch of bullshit. You weren’t really interested in the literacy fundraiser…or me at all. Wow. You really had me fooled, De Luca. You’re good. I’ll give you that.”
“That’s not true. I do support the Literacy Program. And…I know you’re not going to believe this…but I did enjoy my time with you. Talking.” She paused. “Dancing.”
He growled at her, clearly not buying her explanation.
“But it doesn’t negate the fact that I think there is something very suspicious about Klaus Enterprises, and I’m trying to find out what that is.”
She winced as her hands moved. The attendant had bound her wrists together a tad too tight. But he hadn’t seemed particularly concerned with her pain threshold.
Sven reached down and grabbed her hands.
“What—what are you doing?” She couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice.
“Untying you. You’re hardly a threat. We’re stuck here for hours until we get to Barrows.” He loosened the tie and it fell off. She gratefully rubbed her wrists.
“Thank you.” She refused to make eye contact.
“Oh, don’t thank me yet. This is going to be the worst flight of your life.”
She glanced up and shuddered. Hannah’s advice about not crossing the Klaus Brothers came back to her. Sven looked ready to rip something apart.
“Why?” She was proud her voice was steady. “What are you going to do to me?”
“You are going to tell me every single thing you’ve dug up on my family. Why you’re doing this. And somehow—if you’re lucky—convince me not to throw you to the wolves when we touch down. Because that conversation we had at the gala—about looking out for family—it’s not just lip service for me. It’s a way of life. I love my family more than anything. And I’m not too keen on threats. Andi.” He snarled her name.
That wasn’t the way she was hoping to hear her name on his lips. But that’s what she got.
And that’s what she deserved.
“Fair enough. I’ll lay my cards on the table.” She tilted up her chin. “And maybe you will, too.”
He raised a brow so high at that comment, she almost laughed out loud.
“Really? You’re trying to interview me? Now? After the stunt you’ve pulled?”
She shrugged. “Why not? You said it yourself. We’re stuck here. Might as well spill our guts, right?”
Sven gave her a bone-chilling smile that froze her on the spot. “Oh, honey, I don’t think you can handle the truth.”
“Who? Me and Tom Cruise? Sure we can. I’m already expecting the worst. Child labor. Breaking EPA regulations. Money laundering. You have secrets. I expose secrets. And I wasn’t kidding about the ‘pit bull’ nickname, either.”
Sven shook his head and sat down across from her. “Jesus. You are ballsy. You’re one step away from jail time, and you’re still giving me crap. Un-frickin’-believable.” He rubbed his beard. “And wrong. Totally. Utterly. Wrong. You are so far off the mark, I don’t even know what to say. Is that why you’ve been so hot-to-trot about getting this story? You think Klaus Enterprises is covering up some sort of criminal activity?”
And then Sven Klaus did something completely unexpected.
He laughed.
Santa, Criminal Mastermind.
Sven couldn’t stop laughing. Andi looked pissed off. But he could give two shits. She had harangued him relentlessly for months, gotten him totally juiced up at the gala, sneaked onto his private plane, and was convinced his family was a bunch of crooks.
Oh, dear Lord. His brothers would have a heyday with this when they found out.
“It’s not funny.” Andi took her curtain of hair and clipped it on her head. “You big companies think you’re above the law—”
“Stop.” Sven held up a hand. “I’m sorry
to disappoint you, but Klaus Enterprises is not a front for anything. There are no abused child laborers. We adhere to all EPA regulations. Hell, I’m obsessed with environmental issues.”
“I don’t see any Birkies or tie-dyed T-shirts on you now. Maybe that photo on your website is fake. Maybe you love dumping chemicals into the waterways, and you’re just pretending to be a stand-up eco-friendly guy. You wouldn’t be the first one.”
“You are cynical, aren’t you? Why don’t you tell me the truth about who you are and who you work for. I can Google that shit, but save me the time.”
She brushed an imaginary hair off her forehead. Even without the glamorous outfit and make-up, she was stunning. Her almond-shaped eyes sparked with indignation at the moment. Her lips were perfect. Ridiculously perfect. And it had him so tied up in knots that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to throttle her or kiss her senseless. He couldn’t believe that whole thing at the gala had been a put-on. He could have sworn she felt the same intense chemistry that he did. Was it all for show?
That was too humiliating to contemplate.
“I work for The Scoop.”
“That rag? The one with—”
She sat up straighter in her chair, her back ramrod-stiff. “Yes, the rag. The one with Bigfoot stories. And celebrity adultery stories. And exposés on companies who are cheating their shareholders, and—”
“The Scoop.” He said it with a resigned sigh. The biggest piece-of-crap tabloid in the country. Jesus.
Before he had a chance to comment further, she said, “I’m a good writer.”
Sven was shocked to see her eyes glistening with emotion.
“Okay. If you say so.”
“I say so. Just because I need to pay bills doesn’t mean I can’t write.” She turned away from him and stared at the seat in front of her.
“Why does a woman who is a tenacious writer and researcher work for The Scoop? Don’t you have other options?”
She still refused to meet his gaze. “You do if you went to Harvard, or you play squash at the New York Men’s Club, or…whatever. Breaking into journalism in New York isn’t so easy. Or well-paying. I have a family to take care of.”
Sven frowned. “What do you mean? Are you married? Do you have kids?” It hadn’t even occurred to him. The thought that she had a man somewhere, waiting for her… Damn, that pissed him off.
“No, I’m single. But my sister, and her kids, and my parents, and my Uncle Dominic… They all depend on me. I’m not going to let them down. Ever.”
He had a fleeting moment of relief—no husband!—and then a moment of shock. She was supporting all those people? By herself?
“What’s your story, Andi? Spill.”
She offered a haughty look over her shoulder. He was impressed. How she still managed the attitude after stowing away in a cargo hold, he wasn’t quite sure. But it seemed like nothing could crush her spirit.
“How about we make a deal? I spill, you spill.” Her eyes flashed at him.
And all he could think of was getting those eyes to flash at him as he peeled away her clothes and revealed the honey skin, the soft curves.
Andi totally exposed.
He shook his head to clear it.
“You’ll be disappointed. Klaus Enterprises is about making kids happy at Christmas. Toys. We make toys. That’s it, Andi.”
“In the immortal words of Sven Klaus…Bull. Shit.”
She leaned forward and he got a glimpse down her blouse. Did she do that on purpose? He saw the top of one plump breast, the sweet curve…leading to nirvana, hidden by a plain white bra. Was she still playing him?
“You don’t like toys?” His brain felt like it just got scrambled.
“Who. Makes. The. Toys?” She reached out and touched his hand. She turned it over for inspection. Her fingertips ran over his cuts, his calluses. “I can see you’re the real deal. But you can’t do it alone. You need employees. And they need space to work. Who are they? And where are they?”
Sven quickly calculated the odds of fabricating a story and her buying it. He was pretty good at putting folks off when they started to dig about Klaus Enterprises. But this woman wouldn’t be so easy to fool.
“Let’s make a deal. I ask a question. You answer the question. Honestly.” He shot her a severe look. “Then, you ask me a question. I answer.”
“Honestly? You give me a straight answer? That would be something new and different.” Andi was still holding onto his hand. She was absently stroking his palm. He doubted she was aware that she was doing it.
And he wasn’t going to say a damned thing.
Her touch was lighting him up like a Christmas tree. In the best possible way.
“You sure are sarcastic for a stowaway.”
“Deal.” She suddenly peered down at his hand and looked alarmed. She spun his palm over and shook his hand in a professional manner. Her face was flaming, and he felt a tremble in her touch.
Well, that answered that question. She was just as affected by their chemistry as he was.
“Deal.” He shook back, gripping her hand firmly. “Although I liked this better when you were stroking my calluses.”
She rolled her eyes and ignored his taunt. “Who goes first?”
“Me.” He snapped out an answer before she could continue. “I go first. Ready?”
“I was born ready, Mr. Klaus.” Her eyes looked bright and eager and maybe a tad too shrewd.
Two things went through his mind.
Tread carefully.
And…
Ready for what…?
She was gonna play him like a violin.
Sven Klaus just challenged Andi ‘The Pit Bull’ De Luca to a game of let’s-make-a-deal?
Fine. He started it.
She just needed to stop touching him.
It was distracting.
And intriguing.
And arousing.
Andi sat on her hands.
“Go ahead. What do you want to know, Klaus?”
He chuckled. “You can call me Sven. I figure we should be on a first name basis since you’ve been harassing me, stalking me, and causing me a boatload of trouble. Andi.”
She shrugged. “Fine. Sven. Whatever.” She looked away as she felt a hot flush of pink cover her cheeks. Every time he growled her name it made her squirm.
He grabbed her chin and turned her face toward him. “What have you dug up on my family?”
“That’s a pretty big open-ended question. Can you be more specific?”
The vein started to pop on his forehead again.
“It’s plenty specific. Start talking!”
She sighed. “Actually, it’s been pretty frustrating. I’ll get a lead, it fizzles out and turns into a whole lotta nothing.”
“That’s your answer? Try again.”
“I heard a ridiculous legend about your family origins in Bavaria. “With”—she cringed—“elves. I know. Hokey. It’s almost as dumb at the Yeti story.”
Andi looked out the window and waited for Sven’s laughter. And waited.
Finally she turned and glanced at him. He had the funniest look on his face. It wasn’t in the least bit amused. It was thoughtful and troubled.
“Who told you about Bavaria?” he asked softly.
“Nope. I answered a question. Now it’s my turn. Did you forget the rules of the game?”
He gripped the armrests so tightly, Andi thought they would snap.
Sven cleared his throat. “Of course. Your turn. Fire away, Miss De Luca.”
“I thought you said first-name basis. Sven.” She couldn’t help herself. It was a fatal flaw, but she always had to push. Her sister used to beg her to stop needling folks. The inflection she put on the word Sven was dripping with sarcasm and condescension.
She watched his face blank, and then he slowly, deliberately leaned toward her. Until his lips were so close, she could almost feel their touch. Did he know? Could he tell he was making her nervous? That she was fantasizin
g about him?
He whispered, “Andi. Of course. Andi. First-name basis. Go.”
Suddenly it occurred to her that perhaps she wasn’t totally in control of this situation. Perhaps Sven Klaus was playing her like a violin.
She took a shallow breath and squeezed back into her chair as far as she could, trying to get away from those lips.
“Who makes the toys?”
“My family and our employees.”
“Who are the employees?”
Sven shook his head patronizingly. “No, no, no. Don’t you remember the rules of the game? One question. I answered.”
“Fuck.”
“Such obscene language. Hard to believe that just hours ago you were dressed to the nines and oh-so-polite.”
Andi clenched her teeth. “Go. Your turn.”
“Where’d you hear about the Yeti?”
She frowned. “What?”
“You heard me. You said the elf story was almost as dumb as the Yeti story.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, that. I was referring to my award-winning story for The Scoop, ‘YETI WILL MAKE YOU DEADY.’ I wrote a piece about the snowmonsters in the Arctic Circle, complete with super blurry photos. It was my best-selling article.”
Sven said nothing. It made Andi agitated. And of course when she got agitated she always started blabbing incoherently.
“I know, it’s crap. You probably think that the readers are a bunch of losers, but I think it’s really about escapism and entertainment and—”
“Enough. You made up the story.”
“Of course. I make up all the stories. Well, that’s not technically true. I make up…um…about half the stories. Like the alien abductions and Bigfoot sightings. The other half are real, exposing skanky behavior by suspect public figures.” She shrugged. “The ‘ugly’ truth, I like to call it. Slightly embellished. Gotta sell the papers, you know?”
“No, I don’t know. Have you ever tried writing real news?”
“Don’t you judge me, Klaus. Don’t you dare judge me. You don’t know anything about me or my family.” Andi wanted to slug him. It was a good thing she was sitting on her hands.
“Why don’t you enlighten me? Why are you supporting your whole family?”
