Devil in Paradise

by Joanna Mansell

  The peace of the evening finally got to her. She closed her eyes and dozed lightly for a while, only opening them again when she heard a door being opened somewhere below.

  With a small frown, she peered over the balcony; then she grinned to herself. Anyone seeing her now would think she was Juliet looking for her Romeo! Then the grin slowly disappeared. Did Rafe fall into that category? She was rather afraid that he might, given half the chance. And that thought scared her quite a lot. Rafe wasn't the settling-down sort. Rafe had a beautiful ex-girlfriend called Jillie, and Kate wasn't at all sure just how much of an 'ex' she really was. Rafe could be disturbingly close or coolly distant, according to his moods. And he could unsettle her so easily, which put her at a distinct disadvantage.

  She was still going over all the reasons why it would be a really bad idea to get involved with Rafe when she saw a dark figure moving down one of the paths.

  Kate leant even further over the balcony. 'Rafe?' she called out, in a low voice.

  The figure turned and looked up at her. Rafe was wearing dark jeans and a black jumper. Apart from the pale glow of his face, he blended perfectly into the shadows once he was standing still.

  'I thought you'd be asleep by now,' he said, and she could hear the frown in his voice.

  'How do you expect me to sleep after a night like tonight? she demanded indignantly. Then she stared at him again. 'Where are you going?'

  'That doesn't concern you,' he told her bluntly.

  Kate shot a suspicious look at him. 'Are you going back to Martin Foster's villa?' When he didn't answer immediately, she gave a small sigh. 'Rafe, you're insane. You'll never get near the place. It's covered with security systems.'

  'In my line of work, you get to know a lot about security systems. And when you know how they work, you know how to put them out of action.'

  'You'll get caught,' she said in growing alarm. 'You'll go to gaol.'

  'You're such an optimist!' he remarked drily.

  'Well, if you're mad enough to go, I'm coming with you,' she said with some determination. 'We'll share a cell together!'

  'No.' His reply was firm and very final. When she opened her mouth ready to argue with him, he stared up at her fiercely. 'No more risks, Kate. No matter what happens, you're to stay in your room tonight.'

  She glared down at him. 'And if I don't agree?'

  'I'll lock you in. And in the morning, I'll put you on the first plane back to England.'

  Kate could tell the difference between a bluff and a definite threat. Anyway, no one but an imbecile would argue with Rafe when he used that tone of voice.

  'OK, I'll stay here,' she said rather sulkily.

  'Promise, Kate?' he pushed her.

  'I said I will! Why do I have to give childish promises?'

  'Because I want to hear you say it,' Rafe said implacably.

  'Oh, all right,' she retorted crossly. 'I promise.'

  He seemed satisfied with that. 'I'll be back before first light. Don't worry, everything will be fine.'

  Rafe disappeared into the darkness, and Kate sat down before her suddenly shaky legs collapsed under her. What was he up to now? Really, the strain of living with Rafe was having a distinctly debilitating effect on her nervous system!

  She spent the next couple of hours either peering out of the window, or pacing restlessly up and down. She told herself that it was daft to worry about him, that he would be fine; Rafe was well-used to looking after himself. All the same, when she finally heard his car pulling up outside, she let out an enormous sigh of relief. She skipped downstairs to meet him, and reached the hall just as the front door began to open.

  Rafe came in first, but he wasn't on his own. Beside him was a small figure, dressed in pyjamas and looking decidedly sleepy. It was Harry—Rafe had gone right ahead and snatched the boy!

  'Kate, you know Harry, don't you?' Rafe said calmly. 'Harry, do you remember Kate? You saw her at the beach, a couple of days ago.'

  'I remember,' said Harry, giving an enormous yawn. 'Hello.'

  'Hello, Harry,' Kate said in a stunned voice.

  'I'm coming to stay for a few days,' Harry informed her. 'Then I'm going home to my mummy.' He yawned again, and looked up at Rafe. 'Can I go to bed now?'

  'Of course you can,' replied Rafe, with a grin. He scooped the boy up into his arms, and headed for the stairs. As he passed Kate, he paused for a moment and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. 'Coming up to bed?' he asked, with a wicked flash from his eyes.

  Kate blinked a couple of times, and couldn't quite decide if she was dreaming this or not. Then she slowly trailed up the stairs after Rafe and the sleepy Harry.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  They tucked Harry safely up in bed, with a small lamp left on beside him in case he woke up in the dark and was afraid. Then Kate collared Rafe and marched him into the next room.

  'Why didn't you tell me you were going to bring Harry here tonight?' she demanded.

  'I didn't know that I was,' Rafe replied in an unruffled tone. 'I set out with the idea of seeing how close I could get to the villa. It was all a lot easier than I'd expected, though—Martin Foster must be so confident that no one can touch him that he only bothers with minimal security at night. I actually managed to get right into Harry's bedroom without being seen. Harry remembered me right away—in fact, he seemed quite pleased to see me. We had a long talk, and I explained a lot of things to him—at least, as much as you can tell a six-year-old without going into too many sordid details. That kid's face when I told him his mother was still alive…' Rafe said, shaking his head. 'It was worth all the hassle just to see it. Anyway, I asked Harry if he wanted to come with me, and the answer was a very definite yes. He hates it at that villa, and he seems scared to death of his father.'

  'What do we do now?' asked Kate a little dazedly.

  'We'll both get a couple of hours' sleep. Then, first thing in the morning, I'll phone Jillie and tell her that Harry's with us, and that she can fly out and collect him whenever she likes.' He gave a broad grin. 'My guess is that she'll be on a plane as soon as she's put down the phone!'

  'Then it's nearly all over?' asked Kate, with some relief. 'All we've got to do is sit and wait for Jillie to come and pick up Harry?'

  'That's all,' agreed Rafe. His eyes sparkled. 'Then we're free to spend the rest of the summer doing whatever we please.'

  And he looked as if he knew perfectly well what would please him right now. Kate felt a familiar twinge along all her nerve-ends. What did she want to do? She didn't know, wasn't sure. Everything had happened a little too fast over the last few days, and now Rafe was pressuring her into taking yet another step into the unknown.

  Rafe looked at her reflectively. 'I thought we wanted the same thing, Kate,' he said, obviously seeing her uncertainty.

  'Do we?' she said a little guardedly.

  'Oh, yes,' he confirmed with complete assurance. His fingers gently touched her bare arm. 'We're very compatible, Kate. It's about the last thing I ever expected, but it's useless to ignore it.'

  But Kate wasn't sure that being 'compatible' was enough. At least, not for her. And Rafe didn't seem to be offering anything more, not at the moment.

  With a small shiver, she moved her arm away. 'Harry's in the next room,' she reminded him in a rather taut voice.

  'Harry is very soundly asleep.' Rafe's dark gaze suddenly blazed down at her. 'But I'm not,' he said huskily. He bent his head, and his mouth crushed hers for a few head-spinning moments. 'And I don't think you are, either,' came his soft challenge, as his lips released hers again.

  Kate gulped. It really wasn't fair, she thought with just a touch of resentment. Some men kissed you, and it didn't do a thing for you. You might just as well have been kissing a wet flannel! Then someone else came along, and just one brief touch could produce the most amazing fireworks. It was baffling and very alarming, because you never knew who that person was going to be. And when it turned out to be someone like Rafe…

&nb
sp; 'Still having trouble making up your mind?' he questioned her throatily. 'That's not like you, Kate. You're usually so decisive.' Then he grinned. 'I'd enjoy trying to persuade you.'

  His hand moved back to her arm, and rested there for a moment. When she didn't immediately pull away, he let his fingers drift gently up to her shoulder, and then down, over the soft swell of her breast, leaving small trails of fire in their wake.

  Kate gritted her teeth. 'No,' she said firmly. 'This isn't right. Not with Harry in the house.'

  Rafe seemed regretful, but not particularly perturbed. 'Harry won't be around for more than a day or two,' he reminded her. 'What excuse will you use then?'

  Kate didn't know. She decided she would worry about it when it happened, though. Right now, she just wanted to get out of here—before she changed her mind!

  'I'm going to sleep in Harry's room,' she told him. 'He might get scared when he wakes up and finds himself in a strange house.'

  'Coward,' Rafe taunted her gently. Then he grinned again. 'All right, run off and take refuge in Harry's room. But just remember, Harry won't be there forever. And then you're going to have to make up your mind in which direction you want to go, Kate.'

  Kate scuttled rather quickly out of the room. She couldn't remember when she had last felt this disturbed and uncertain.

  The sight of Harry, sprawled out in bed fast asleep, calmed her down quite a lot. She stood there for a long while, just looking at him. She had had a lot of doubts about this whole mad venture, but she was convinced now that they had done the right thing. Harry already looked a lot more relaxed and happy, and surely that was what really counted in the end?

  She made herself as comfortable as she could in the chair, closed her eyes, and eventually managed to fall asleep.

  She was woken up some time later by someone tugging rather urgently at her sleeve. Kate blinked blearily as she stared at the small boy standing beside her. Harry, she thought sleepily. Then her eyes shot wide open and she quickly sat up as she remembered what had happened last night. Harry! Here at the Villa des Anges.

  He gave another tug at her sleeve. 'I want to go to the bathroom,' he announced. 'And I don't know where it is.'

  Kate scrambled to her feet. 'Come on. I'll show you.'

  Harry trotted after her as she went down the corridor and then opened the door for him. Kate tactfully waited outside, and when he came out again she took him back to the bedroom.

  'Did you bring any clothes with you?' she asked.

  'Yes,' he nodded. Then he pointed to a chair. 'They're over there.'

  Kate sorted through the untidy bundle, and guessed that Rafe had just grabbed a couple of handfuls of everything. There was more than enough to see Harry through the next day or so, though. Rafe had brought T-shirts and shorts, undies and socks, a spare pair of sneakers, a pair of jeans and a couple of jumpers. They were all fairly crumpled, but Kate guessed that Harry wouldn't mind too much about that. And she could iron a couple of things for him, so he would look smart when it was finally time for him to meet his mother.

  Harry fished out the jeans and a bright T-shirt. Then, with the natural lack of modesty of a young child, he wriggled out of his pyjamas and began to pull on his clothes.

  'I bet you're hungry,' said Kate. 'What do you usually have for breakfast?'

  Harry's head popped out through the neck of his T-shirt, and he looked at her with an unenthusiastic expression.

  'A boiled egg,' he said, screwing up his nose.

  Kate's eyebrows rose. 'Every morning?' she asked.

  'Every morning,' Harry confirmed gloomily. 'They're meant to be good for me.'

  'They might be good for you, but they're not very exciting,' commented Kate. 'What would you like for breakfast?'

  His face began to brighten. 'Anything at all?'

  'As long as we've got it in the cupboard.'

  Harry only needed to think about it for a few moments. 'Sausages and beans,' he announced. 'And custard.'

  'Not together, I hope,' Kate said faintly.

  He grinned, the first real smile she had ever seen from him. 'Of course not. First, the sausages and beans. Then the custard.'

  'Well, we'd better go down to the kitchen and see what we can come up with,' she said, with an answering grin.

  When they walked into the kitchen, they found that Rafe had already got there before them, and was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

  'I thought I'd let the two of you have a lie-in,' he said cheerfully. 'Did you sleep well, Harry?'

  'Yes, thank you.' Harry wandered around the kitchen, peering inquisitively around him. 'Have you got a swimming-pool?' he asked a couple of minutes later. 'Can I go swimming after breakfast?'

  'I don't see why not,' said Rafe.

  'I don't remember seeing any swimming-trunks among those clothes you brought,' commented Kate.

  'That doesn't matter,' Harry said practically. 'I don't have to wear any, do I?'

  'No, you don't,' said Rafe, quickly hiding a smile. 'Although, if you wanted to, you could wear a pair of underpants. They're as good as swimming-trunks.'

  'I don't think I'll bother,' Harry said unconcernedly, and Kate rather hurriedly smothered a chuckle.

  She sorted through the fridge and found some sausages. Then a search of the cupboards finally yielded a tin of beans. That was it, though, and she turned to Harry with an apologetic shrug.

  'Sorry,' she said. 'No custard.'

  'Custard?' repeated Rafe, one eyebrow shooting up.

  'Custard,' confirmed Kate. 'I'll have to get some when I next go shopping.'

  'It doesn't matter,' said Harry, not particularly perturbed. 'I'll have it at some other time.'

  Kate cooked the sausages and heated through the beans. Then, as Harry began to tuck in, she walked over to Rafe.

  'He almost seems to have forgotten everything that's happened these last few weeks,' she said in a low voice.

  'Kids of his age get over things remarkably quickly,' Rafe replied. 'Once they're out of a bad situation, they just put it out of their minds and get on with their lives. And Harry seems to be very well-adjusted, with no basic emotional problems. Jillie's done a really good job of raising him.'

  'Have you phoned her yet?'

  'No. I wanted to see Harry first, and make sure he'd settled in all right. I'll go and ring her now. The sooner she comes and collects him, the better it will be for everybody—especially Harry.'

  Rafe disappeared out of the kitchen while Harry finished his breakfast. He was gone for quite some time, and when he finally returned there was a very different expression on his face. The cheerful smile had completely disappeared, and in its place was a dark frown.

  'What is it?' asked Kate in a soft murmur.

  'I'll tell you later,' he replied shortly. 'When Harry's not around.'

  'Can I go swimming now?' asked Harry, pushing away his empty plate.

  'I think you'd better let that breakfast go down first,' answered Rafe.

  Harry looked disappointed. 'How long will that take?'

  'About half an hour, I should think.' Rafe held out his hand to the boy. 'While we're waiting, let's go and find the cats and give them their breakfast.'

  'Cats?' repeated Harry, visibly brightening. 'How many?'

  'Three,' Rafe told him. 'And perhaps you can think of some names for them. They haven't got any yet.'

  They went out on to the terrace, and Kate edgily gathered up Harry's breakfast things. What had gone wrong? From the look on Rafe's face, it was pretty clear that there had been some hitch in their plans. She found that her hands were shaking slightly. Please let this turn out right, she prayed silently under her breath. Harry seemed so happy at the moment, now that he was free of his father's influence and about to be reunited with his mother. It would be really cruel if it all fell apart for him.

  It was nearly an hour before she got a chance to talk to Rafe on his own. Harry was in the swimming-pool by then, while she and Rafe sat on sun-loungers and
watched him, to make sure he didn't come to any harm.

  'All right, what's up?' Kate asked with a worried frown. When he didn't answer straight away, she gave a frustrated sigh. 'Rafe, tell me! What did Harry's mother say?'

  Rafe's dark brows drew together. 'I didn't speak to Jillie. It turns out that she's in hospital.'

  'In hospital?' squeaked Kate. 'Why?'

  'She's had to have her appendix out,' replied Rafe briefly. He still looked rather tense. 'When I last saw her, she told me she'd been getting stomach pains. She thought it was because of all the tension. It was obviously appendicitis, though.'

  'Is she all right?'

  'Fine, according to her mother. That's who I spoke to on the phone. It'll be at least a week before she's fit enough to come and collect Harry, though.'

  'Can't Jillie's mother have Harry until she's well again? She is his grandmother, and Harry would probably be perfectly happy with her.'

  'Yes, he would,' agreed Rafe. 'But Jillie's mother suffers from bad arthritis. She's confined to a wheelchair much of the time. She couldn't possibly cope with a lively boy like Harry.'

  Kate looked at Rafe suspiciously. 'What exactly does all this mean?'

  'I'd have thought that was pretty obvious,' he replied evenly. 'It means that Harry's going to have to stay with us until Jillie's well enough to have him back again.'

  Kate groaned; then she looked slightly apologetic. 'It isn't that I don't like having Harry here. I do. In fact, I'm really fond of him already. But right now you and I are kidnappers. That makes me rather nervous!'

  'I know,' agreed Rafe. 'That's why I think it's time you went back home, Kate.'

  At that, she lifted her head rather indignantly. 'And leave you and Harry here, on your own?'

  'You just said you were nervous about the situation,' he pointed out. 'I'm telling you there's no need to be. Your part in this is finished. You can go back to your parents and forget about it.'

  'Forget it?' she repeated incredulously. 'How could I ever forget either of you?'

  A faint smile touched the corners of Rafe's mouth. 'It's nice to know we're so memorable!' Then his features became more serious again. 'But I want you out of this. I should never have let you stay in the first place. Heaven knows why I did. This isn't your line of work, and I must have been a little crazy to let you take the risks you did. It's over now, though. I can cope with the rest on my own quite easily. Harry and I will stay here until Jillie's fully recovered. Then I'll hand him over, and that will be it.'