“I don’t think I want to hear any explanations.”
“Ms. Douglas’s home was burglarized,” he said. “And someone tried to push her in front of a train.”
A pause, then, “Are you implying …”
“I’m not implying anything,” he said. “And Ms. Douglas said nothing to the police about you or the Westerfields. I just want to tell you a little about Ms. Douglas. And her mother.”
A stick and a carrot.
Another silence. Then, “You should talk to my attorney.”
“I could, but I think there are some things you should hear.” He hesitated, then added, “I realize that you’re angry about the way Kira obtained your DNA. But she really did do it to avoid everyone unnecessary pain.”
“I don’t accept that.”
At least she hadn’t hung up on him.
“Understandable,” he said with a charm he hadn’t exercised in years. “But I would very much like to talk to you.”
Another silence. He was surprised she hadn’t immediately hung up. Maybe she was curious. “I promise not to say a word about DNA or babies or anything else you don’t want to talk about.”
“All right,” she said, surprising him.
“When?”
“This afternoon. Around four.”
“I would like to take you to an early dinner.”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
She would have more control at home. More confidence. That wasn’t what he wanted. Still, he hadn’t expected to get this far. “I’ll be there.”
He hung up. He had time to clean up a bit, shave the late-afternoon shadow. Choose something to wear. He wondered whether he should call Kira, but he hoped she would be sleeping, and he didn’t want to raise expectations. Maybe, just maybe, Leigh Howard had changed her mind.
He also called the police station and talked to the sergeant in the precinct near Kira’s house. He told him what happened and asked him to keep an eye on the house. “Just ask the cops on duty to drive by several times during their watch.”
The sergeant agreed. Chris would have preferred something more substantial, but private cops took big bucks, and he knew she didn’t have the money. He also knew how independent she was. She wouldn’t take anything more from him.
At least she was aware of a threat now and would take precautions. The new security system at the house was top-of-the-line. He knew, though, he wouldn’t stop worrying.
Now why had Leigh accepted his invitation? He’d thoroughly expected to be rebuffed. It had been a long shot at best. Maybe she was rethinking her decision. Maybe Leigh Howard really wanted to know more about Katy Douglas.
Or maybe she wanted to know whether she was suspected of having any part in yesterday’s events.
Max wasn’t sure that driving Kira to the hospital and dining with her again was a good idea.
In fact it was a damned bad one.
But he couldn’t get protective personnel there until the next morning, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her roam alone.
He’d been stunned by the lovemaking. He’d been told he was a good lover. Like everything else he did, he tried to excel, and making love was simply another skill. He’d learned what pleased women.
But tonight had not been technique. It had been pure, explosive emotion. New to him. Startling to him. Hell, terrifying to him.
He didn’t know what there was about Kira Douglas that destroyed his ordinary reserve, the wall he’d carefully built around himself as a kid and reinforced through succeeding decades. He’d seen his share of destructive marriages and dysfunctional relationships. He did not intend to add to them, and he’d never been good at sharing himself with others.
He gathered his clothes after she went into the shower. He needed one as well, but joining her, he feared, would be pushing things.
He used a half bath downstairs to wash. He dressed, then waited in the living room for her. He wandered about the room. The television screen was smashed. Bookshelves empty. Broken picture frames littered a mantel over a wood-burning fireplace. He looked through them. All were photos of Katy and Kira Douglas, or Kira alone. A graduation. A beach. A wide grin over a barbecue pit made him smile. In the joint photos, they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.
Kira joined him. The area around her eyes was still dark with fatigue, but the eyes themselves glowed from their love-making.
“Ready,” she said.
“That’s fast.”
Her hair was damp and tendrils curled around her face. She wore a pair of tan linen slacks and a short-sleeved dark brown blouse that fit in all the right places. She looked delectable.
“I’m usually fast,” she said. “I’ve never seen the point of spending hours getting ready to go out.”
“Maybe because you don’t need it.”
“Now that’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve heard lately.”
“That’s strange. Your smile lights a room.” He meant it. When he first met her, he’d liked her, but it was at supper that sparks flew between them. He hadn’t understood it because at first glance she wasn’t his usual type. Now he did. There was a warmth about her that drew him in, and a sprightly intelligence that challenged him. He liked that in a woman.
She looked disconcerted, but before she had a chance to answer, her cell phone rang. She looked at the number. “It’s Chris,” she said. “I have to answer it.”
He moved away to give her a little privacy. Still, he heard a bit of the conversation.
“I did get some sleep. I’m going to see Mom now.”
He couldn’t hear the detective’s reply. He wondered how close the two were. He didn’t like the unexpected jolt of resentment that struck him. He tried to ignore it.
Kira lowered her voice, but he could still hear the words. “You don’t have to come. Max drove by. He said he would take me to the hospital and bring me home.”
After another pause, “Not to worry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jealousy tugged at him again. Stronger than before. Ridiculous, but there it was.
After she hung up, she grabbed a purse.
“Has he learned anything?” he asked.
“No,” she said simply.
He wanted to know what Burke had said, but he didn’t feel he could ask. She’d been more than a little suspicious when he brought the computer. But then, considering what had happened, maybe a little suspicion was a good thing.
She reset the alarm system. He held the door open and watched as she locked the door behind him.
He put his hand on her arm as they went down the steps, and merely the touch sent new waves of heat through him. He wanted her again. He suspected he would always want her.
He tried to ignore that fact and concentrate on her safety. He glanced around. Nothing suspicious. But he wouldn’t be satisfied until his protection people arrived in the morning. Until then he intended to make certain nothing else happened to her. At least from any source other than himself.
It was seven when they arrived at the hospital. Max followed her up, then gestured toward the waiting room. “I’ll wait over there,” he said. “Take your time.”
She nodded, grateful for his presence even as she wanted to dismiss it as unnecessary. She had to admit she was afraid. Physically afraid. Afraid in a way that she’d never been before, and she hated that feeling.
Her mother was asleep when she walked in. Good. The more rest, the better. She doubted her mother had had an easy day after last night’s disappointment.
She sat down, and her mother’s eyes fluttered open as if sensing her presence. She gave Kira a tired smile, then those electric blue eyes sparked as she studied her daughter’s face.
“You look different.”
Kira wondered whether her mother was well enough to notice the glow in her. It lingered, and she really didn’t want to dampen it. A few minutes of bliss in a year darkened by her mother’s illness.
It was breaking her heart to sit
back and watch someone she loved fade away, especially when she knew there might be a way to save her.
“I have a new assignment. It’s going to give me more time with you.”
Her mother’s face fell. “You love city hall. I don’t want you to lose it. Not for me.”
“I won’t. I’m just taking a brief break. I’ve been assigned to do a series on transplants, Mom. The need for them. The problems involved in organ donations. Kind of like an ongoing diary. I can give a personal view that no one else can.”
“Everything?”
“Nothing that will hurt or embarrass you, I promise.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Katy Douglas said with the old feistiness that Kira remembered so well. “You … can write anything you want. In fact, I hope you will. If it will help the donor program …” She started coughing, and Kira held a cup of water to her mouth as she took a sip.
Kira chewed on her tongue. A habit from childhood when she didn’t want to show emotion. She put the water down and took her mother’s hand. It looked so fragile. “You’re my heroine, you know.”
Now her mother’s eyes misted over. “The only thing … I want to see you fall in love. I want to see your children …” Her voice trailed off as if the words were too much.
“You will, Mom. I promise.”
But there probably wouldn’t be any children. She was thirty-two and had no prospect in sight. Max was certainly beyond her reach, even if they weren’t adversaries. Today was a freak event. Neither of them could afford to let it happen again.
Her mother’s eyes closed. The conversation had worn her out. It was happening more and more often. She leaned down and pushed away hair from her mother’s face. More gray now. Thinner. Her mother’s breathing was ragged. The number of tubes going into her had increased. Kira had to talk to her doctor tomorrow.
Fear shot through her, wrapped around her heart. How could she lose her?
She didn’t know how long she remained. An hour or so. Memories flickered through her head. Picnics and parks on Sundays. Usually places that didn’t cost much. But she treasured them, along with those times she’d helped her mother clean a vacant house. Her mother would take along a radio and would sometimes waltz with a broom. Life should be fun, she always said, and she was superb at making lemonade out of lemons.
“Good night,” Kira whispered as darkness started to enclose the room. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
She hesitated at the door, not wanting to leave but not wanting to tie up Max all night, either. She really didn’t want to owe him, even for something as little as this.
He stood when he saw her.
“How is she?”
“Getting sicker by the moment.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Everyone says that but not many have a chance to do something about it.” The statement was barbed, and from the flicker in his eyes, she knew she’d struck home.
He didn’t reply, and that was fine with her. She didn’t want false promises. She’d slept with him knowing the conflict between them. She could only hope that over time he could convince Leigh. He wanted to. She felt that, though he hadn’t put it into words.
But she wanted more. She wanted them to feel the urgency she did.
She hesitated as he guided her to the door. How could she have dinner when her mother was so sick? How could she relax when time was slipping away?
Convince him so he will convince Leigh.
They walked to Lucchesi’s. The owner greeted them with a smile. “Happy to have you back.” He guided them to a secluded table in the back and lit the red candle on the table.
Pavarotti was still singing his heart out.
Lucchesi beamed at them, then poured Chianti in their glasses. “Ready to order? Or would you just like to look at each other for a while?” His voice was definitely fatherly.
Was she that obvious? How could she even think about Max, about sex, when her mother was fighting for her life?
“We’re ready to order,” Max said, and she realized he knew exactly what she was thinking. It was disconcerting the way he did that.
“My usual,” she said.
“Steak Lucchesi,” he said.
Lucchesi touched his lips with his fingers as if blowing a kiss. “It is bellissimo. You will love it.” He left the table, a broad smile on his face.
Max leaned back in his chair and regarded her carefully. “You look exhausted.”
“Surprise,” she said wryly. “It happens when you don’t get much sleep.”
“You also look delectable.”
Oddly, she felt delectable even through the weariness and anxiety. Her body still hummed from his touch.
She tried to shake away the feelings crowding in on her. They shouldn’t have come here. It was romantic and intimate and … the last place she should be tonight.
“You said there were things to talk about,” she reminded him, trying to break the hypnotic hold he had on her.
He took a sip of wine. “We complicated things today.”
Classic understatement. “I know.”
“We could end up on opposite sides.”
“We are on opposite sides,” she replied. “We will be until Leigh gives the kidney if she’s a match.”
“Even if you’re right about the DNA, she may not be a donor match,” he warned. “And if she is, she may not consent to a transplant.”
“Can’t you convince her?”
He met her gaze directly. “There’s nothing more I would like than to see her donate a kidney to your mother, and not only for your mother. Leigh always believed she was unwanted. By everyone. It’s messed up her life, just like the accident made her terrified of blood and hospitals. You’re asking her to do the one thing she mentally cannot do. Not now. Not yet. Maybe if she met your mother …”
“I don’t want my mother to know about the switch. It could kill her.”
“You have to make some decisions,” he said. “You can’t say no to everything I suggest. We have Leigh’s agreement to the DNA test. It’s going to take some convincing to take the next step. Right now your mother is a stranger to her. There’s no emotional connection.”
His words struck her like a bullet. She would have to make a decision. If there was a match, she would have to tell her mother about what had happened in that maternity room years ago. She’d hoped that Leigh could be an anonymous donor, but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone.
“And if she doesn’t agree?” she asked after a moment’s silence.
“I represent her,” he said without emotion, but his gaze didn’t leave her face. “I’ve represented the family all my working life, and as an attorney, I’m bound by her wishes.”
“Then I’ll file suit. I don’t care if she’s afraid of blood. I don’t care if her life has been tragic. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t mean as much to me as Mom’s life.”
His eyes cooled. “The more you push it, the more she’ll resist. Leave it to me for a few days. You can’t force her to give a kidney even if she is a match.”
She broke a roll into small pieces as she fought her frustration. “Isn’t this dinner a conflict of interest?”
“Not if I bring about a negotiation,” he said. “That’s what an attorney does.”
“Was that what this afternoon was about?” she said, unable to stop the sharp reply. She regretted her comment nearly the moment it left her mouth.
“Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“I don’t do negotiations in the bedroom.” His voice was like ice.
She wanted to trust him, but she couldn’t. He’d just made it plain where his loyalties were.
“What are we going to do about today?” she asked.
“Try to forget it happened.” His voice was flat.
“No ethics violations?”
“No. Bad judgment maybe.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“I would say terrible on both of our parts,”
she said. “I don’t usually sleep with enemies.” Lord, but she hurt inside. She’d been so hopeful he would understand, that he would convince Leigh. Instead, he was saying, “Wait.”
She couldn’t wait. Her mother couldn’t wait.
“We’re not enemies,” he replied after a moment.
“Aren’t we? I thought you just made that plain.” She wasn’t sure why she was doing this. Exhaustion. Frustration. Disappointment. Grief.
Or the fact she wanted him to be something he couldn’t—wouldn’t—be. Her advocate. Not Leigh’s. Not the person who might be standing between her mother and death.
Unfair? Yes. But she was punishing herself as much as him. She had fallen in bed with him almost immediately. She never did that. Never. There was always a courtship before. An old-fashioned word, but it conveyed what she felt. She’d always prided herself on knowing someone well, or at least liking them very well, before having sex.
She’d practically thrown herself into his arms. She knew nothing about him except he was known as a ruthless and effective attorney and was named bachelor of the year. That usually meant someone who was a player.
The food arrived, breaking the awkward silence. A waitress placed a steaming platter of spaghetti in front of her, asked whether she wanted cheese. She nodded. She wasn’t hungry any longer, but she needed to eat.
Max smiled at the waitress and thanked her. It was a small courtesy, but she was always struck by how many people neglected it.
He was perplexing. Enigmatic in many ways. He kept surprising her, but never more than earlier today at the apartment. She should have known he would be an accomplished lover, but she hadn’t imagined how accomplished.
Dammit. Her spoon sliced down through the pasta.
“That’s a string of spaghetti, not a snake,” Max noted.
Had he read her mind? She looked up from the plate and saw the corner of his lips turn up.
“I’m angry.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“I’m angry at myself. I shouldn’t have—”
“If anyone has a right to be angry with oneself, it’s me,” he interrupted. “I broke one of my cardinal rules. Never get involved with someone associated with a case. On either side. I’m angry because I’ve obviously made you unhappy. I didn’t intend that. I didn’t go to your home planning to make love to you. Dammit, it was the last thing on my mind. I’m still not quite sure …”
Behind the Shadows Page 15
