Love in Electric Blue (Westlake Enterprises)

by Marie Harte

  “Then Carter gave the okay. The men focused, the device roared to life and the appliances started working. As he explained it, the men in his study had an affinity for electricity that he broadened into actual power through the device. He used thought to power things. Carter showed me data, readouts, even had Mike explain the biochemistry of what Carter was trying to accomplish. It was amazing and something he planned to make accessible to everyone.”

  Remy didn’t like the awe in his voice, and neither did J.D., by the scowl on his face.

  “He was looking for a way to further develop their gifts and to find a way to enhance it in your everyday, normal person. Of course I wanted to help him reach his goals. We talked about prototypes and marketing, devices for the average consumer to regulate equipment at home. It’s really quite remarkable, if you think about it. Who would need batteries if we could power things ourselves?”

  “But?” J.D. nudged him.

  “But after that day, I began to question Mike’s involvement with someone that bright. Someone with Carter’s genius should have been teaching at MIT or working in some government-funded workplace. If he really had been working for the universities he said he had, why did he need me for funding when his talents were so obvious?” Brooks sighed. “And that’s when a friend of mine slipped me new information that poked holes in his credentials. That’s when I learned about Carter’s involvement in the ISPP.”

  J.D. grimaced. “It always comes back to the ISPP.” He shot her a look and turned to Brooks. “That’s when the shit really hit the fan, right?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Chapter Eight

  Brooks sighed. “When I told Mike I didn’t want to back Carter anymore, my nephew grew quite upset. He must have told Carter about my doubts, because I started getting subtle hints that I’d best be on board—or else. Strange men started following me to work, my home, in my car, making no attempt at discretion. One of his men, a pale man with a scar, made deliberate threats to my wife and family. Carter came right out and threatened my life should I pull away. And should I call the police, he’d implicate me in several deaths that have come about because of his experiments—experiments I helped fund.”

  Remy was glad to hear his disgust. Brooks should be appalled by what he’d seen, not fascinated. She didn’t doubt that he’d wanted no part in Carter’s schemes once he learned the truth. The man radiated fear.

  She and J.D. shared a glance, and she thought she saw his understanding. But then, she wasn’t sure of anything when it came to him anymore.

  J.D. pulled a picture out of the bag he carried. “Is this Benjamin Carter?”

  Brooks nodded. “Add ten years to him and that’s the guy. And his scary friend?” Brooks tapped the picture of the man in a lab coat standing next to Carter. Lennox, that bastard. “That’s the man with the scar. He’s got black hair, looks albino-white, and he’s insane.” Brooks blanched. “Carved my dog up in front of me—proof of what he’d do if I talked.”

  “But you’re talking now,” J.D. said.

  “I have to. I’m out of options. I can’t let this continue.” He paused. “I haven’t heard from Mike in a while, and I’m scared for the boy. He’s in over his head, and he needs help.”

  “So you went to Jurek Westlake.” Remy nodded.

  “Yes. A few friends of mine have used Westlake Enterprises’s services in the past, and I was told they—you—have a unique way of doing business.” He eyeballed her and J.D. “The only way to get close to Carter is going to be by alternative means. Trust me. I hired the best and got nowhere. Can’t find the bastard. But he can always find me.”

  “Right.” J.D. stood. “Why don’t I make a call and we’ll see where to go from here.”

  “You can call from my study. I have a few items to put together, then I’m flying to France to join my family. I have some business overseas and, frankly, the farther I am from Carter, the safer I’ll feel. I need you people to wrap this up.”

  “So you don’t want bodyguards?” J.D. asked.

  “No. I’ll handle my security. I’d rather you handled Carter. Once he’s no longer a threat, I’ll be fine.”

  They followed Brooks inside. Books and ledgers filled built-in bookcases taking up the far wall. The warm gold of the walls complemented the terra-cotta floor tile. A massive desk and chair dominated the room, leaving a small sitting area on the other side. For reading books or taking noon tea, Remy thought with a twinge of envy. Talk about bang for the buck.

  “I’ve piled all the information I have on him here. What I know and what I’ve had my people gather. This should help.” Brooks motioned to a large box of paper on the coffee table surrounded by two side chairs and a brown leather sofa. “Now I have plans to make with my pilot and secretary. Tell Jurek I’m sorry, but I need to go. I’ll keep in touch. You two have the run of the place for as long as you need it. I’m clearing out the others, but Rosa and Miguel, my chauffeur, will take care of you while you’re here.”

  J.D. blinked. “You’re really leaving?”

  “Yes.” Without another word, Brooks scurried from the room, still mopping his brow.

  Remy and J.D. stared at the box on the table.

  “I don’t know why we bothered to fly out here.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Nothing like the present to get started, I guess.” He sat on the couch.

  After a moment, Remy sat next to him and took a handful of papers.

  Two hours later, she rubbed her eyes. It had been a long day, and she was tired and hungry.

  “I need a break.” She stood and stretched on a yawn. When she looked back down, she saw J.D. fixated on her stomach. “Problem?”

  “No.” The hungry look in his eyes spoke volumes.

  She flushed when she realized her shirt must have ridden up when she stretched. The sight of his interest had her responding.

  Jerk that he was, he raised his gaze to her breasts and smiled.

  She crossed her arms, hiding her pert nipples. Hell no. No matter how much she wanted to feel him inside her again, she refused to listen to her inner bad girl.

  They’d have sex again, probably. Maybe. Oh heck, definitely. But not until they talked about what she’d done in the past and why. He had questions. She had answers. The time to shoulder the blame for her part in the matter had come and gone. She’d done what she’d thought was right at the time, and she was sick of feeling guilty for it.

  “I’m hungry. I’m going to find Rosa.” She left before he could stop her. For two long hours she’d been reading over financial documents and science papers sent from Brooks’s nephew Mike. Clever of Carter. He’d kept his name off anything that might be traced back to him. And with Mike’s rich uncle a close connection, it made sense to keep Mike Brooks on as an assistant.

  She found Rosa in the kitchen, drawn there by the delectable smells of tamales and corn cakes.

  “Dinner soon,” Rosa said with a smile. “You go to your room. Miguel put your bags away.”

  After searching the hacienda, she found her bag next to J.D.’s in a lush bedroom. She’d deal with the issue of his things in her room after she finished absorbing her new digs.

  Holy crap, but having money must be nice.

  Painted a light cornflower blue, the room felt both tranquil and feminine. A hand-stitched, lace bedspread decorated the king-size, four-poster bed. A small antique writing desk held a vase of white roses. The armoire hid a television and DVD player, as well as a sound system. And to the right, a small sitting area had been set up to include a love seat and chairs around what looked like another antique table.

  She moved into the accompanying bathroom. “Oh wow.” Had Jurek called this an assignment? This place made it feel more like a vacation. With a whirlpool tub large enough to hold four people, open shutters above the tub allowing another ocean view, and a heaven-sent breeze wafting through the window, she’d found her paradise. She was so taking a bath later.

  Gleaming coral marble lined the
sink and overlarge shower stall in the corner. She coveted this room with her whole heart. Even the small room to the side for the toilet was bigger than her entire bathroom at home.

  Her stomach growled, and she hurried back into the main room to put her clothes away. Except she found her bag empty. A search through the drawers of the dresser showed her clothing folded neatly. And in the drawers next to hers, she found J.D.’s folded as well.

  Problem.

  Except her body insisted it was no trouble at all. They could sleep close, to protect each other, and if they happened to hug or kiss in the night, she’d—

  Stop it. Stupid libido. She’d been better off being a virgin, when she hadn’t known how good making love—having sex—could be. She flushed and tried to stop thinking about him—it. Damn.

  Being with J.D. had been wonderful, but it made the void left without him that much harder to bear. He still didn’t trust her—she understood that. But what really worried her was would he feel the same way after she explained what she’d done and why?

  She’d planned to tell him about Carter’s duplicity that night ten years ago. But she’d run out of time and had gone for plan B. Now he thought she’d tried to kill him. In a way, she had, but with the best of intentions.

  Hell. Even to herself that sounded weird.

  Could they ever go back to the way things were?

  Her thoughts a mire of confused longing and dismay, she lay back on the comfortable bed and tried to reason through a best course of action. But after such a long day of travel and little food, exhaustion overwhelmed her. As usual, she dreamed about Joshua in shades of loving blue.

  Half an hour later, J.D. reached the room Rosa had directed him to, more than ready for dinner, and pushed through the door. “Remy, I’m hungry. Come on.”

  She lay in the middle of the large bed, her cap of dark hair framing innocence. In sleep, she looked like an angel, one who’d taken him to heaven three long friggin’ days ago.

  God, he could think of nothing but tasting her again, and that desire had him guarding himself. So much temptation. What if she’d pretended all this time, secretly trying to lure him back to Carter? Even as he thought it, he discarded the idea.

  No one had attacked them, and they’d had plenty of time. But whenever he wanted to trust her, the memories returned of that last night when she’d taken so much from him. Her energy, that special part of her he’d always loved, had brought such pain.

  Yet seeing her lying so helpless, he wondered at his worry.

  The time had come to talk. No more putting things off. As much as he didn’t want to know about that night, he had to. At least he’d be able to put it behind him…he hoped.

  He left the room and returned some time later with a tray of food and drink. He set everything down outside on the patio, then sat, watching her, studying…his enemy? His lover?

  Rosa had referred to Remy as his novia—his woman. And, damn it all, he liked hearing her called that. They’d been apart longer than they’d been together, but after that night of heaven when he’d finally come inside her, he felt as if they’d breached some of that distance.

  Had they? Or was it all in his mind?

  What really happened at the Institute when she’d shot that hot, painful energy into his chest? The more he thought about it, the more he questioned whether Carter’s words that night had been more fiction than fact.

  After putting in another call to Jurek to check in, then a call to the head enforcer on duty, assured of their security discreetly surrounding the house, he woke her.

  “Come on, sweetness. Wake up.”

  She blinked up at him and smiled. The innocent joy in her expression made his belly clench.

  He forced a grin. “Get up before I eat your share of dinner.”

  She rose and stretched, exposing that toned set of abs again. She had the most delicious body. Lithe and soft, feminine and petite.

  Seeing him staring at her, she flushed and pulled her T-shirt down.

  “I set up our food on the table outside. Can you believe Brooks has a patio up here too? Guy has like a one-eighty view of the water.”

  He met her outside after she made a trip to the restroom. She returned looking ethereal, a mischievous fairy. And so freaking sexy.

  He cleared his throat and sat, focusing on the meal. Just the meal, dumb ass. Talk first, fuck after.

  And they would. Fuck, that was. He had to have her again.

  She sat with him and dug into her food. They ate and stared at the ocean in a companionable quiet. The colorful view only got better as the sun fell. The sky’s soft orange turned into a cooling mauve at twilight. Puffy clouds scattered and appeared purplish in the waning light of day.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” J.D. murmured as he took the last of the corn cakes. He stared out at the sky, wanting the vision to remain forever. “Makes you almost forget why we’re really here.” He gave her a thin smile and ate. “Why are you here, Remy?”

  She answered with confusion, “Why do you think I’m here? I want to get to the bottom of this. I want Carter arrested and put away for the rest of his life.” Her eyes burned into his before she looked away, back into the night sky. The soft glow of ambient light around the base of the patio kissed her face with loving shadows and turned her eyes into pools of mystery. Bright yet dimmed, as if she felt sad. “Life will be a lot easier once Carter is gone.”

  “Why ‘easier’ and not ‘safer’?” What did she really mean?

  “Don’t pick at my words, J.D.” Remy avoided his gaze and looked back down at her plate. “Carter is a bad man, and he’s fully aware of the evil he perpetrates. You think you had a bad time at the Institute?” She scoffed and raised her gaze to meet his. Anger radiated there. “For more than half my life, he used me like a tool.”

  For the first time, she spoke about what her life had been like before they’d met. When they’d first become friends, she’d kept her relationship to Carter a secret. Remy had always let him assume she’d been taken from her parents, like he had. Understandable in hindsight, considering what a bastard her uncle was.

  “You never mentioned that part of your life before.”

  She pushed away her half-eaten supper. “It’s time I did. Time I told you everything.”

  His palms sweated and his heart raced. He’d been waiting so long for this, yet he hadn’t wanted to hear it. After making love to her, he hadn’t wanted anything to give him an excuse not to have her again. But he couldn’t keep his head in the sand forever.

  “My parents died when I was just five years old. I wasn’t born with this weird gift. I was struck by lightning, like I told you.” She explained again being hit by the storm, though she didn’t need to. He’d never forgotten one blessed thing about this woman. “It’s odd when I think back. I can remember that day clearly. I remember the lightning, feeling the energy course through me. It didn’t hurt at all. And I knew I should have been dead.”

  Such a traumatic introduction to her power. “Your parents died.”

  “Yes.” The sad look on her face hurt him. “I don’t remember them very well, and that makes it worse. All I have of family is Benjamin Carter.” She paused. “After I found out they’d gone, I cried for the longest time. Uncle Bennie took me in.” She snorted. “It was only as I got older that I realized he didn’t treat me like a precious niece but like a lab rat. He didn’t start actually hurting me until I was closer to ten or so.”

  J.D. frowned. “What do you mean?” Jesus. Had the son of a bitch beat her? Or worse, raped her?

  “He collected data from me for years. Watched me turn things on and off with a thought, or surf the Net, even in its infancy. It was so much fun.” She sighed.

  “No, uh, physical damage?”

  She blinked at him, then blushed. “No beatings or molestation. Nothing like that. To be honest, I don’t even know if he knows what sex is.”

  He blew out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, at least.”


  “That’s all that’s good. At first he just studied my abilities, fascinated, like a kid with a new toy. But then the government expressed interest in his work, and he…changed.”

  Her voice stayed neutral, but he saw her dismay. “Carter started electrocuting me on purpose.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah. He tested me, watching how much I could take before my body rejected the power and started to burn. The more he hurt me, the more I grew to tolerate. And then he started injecting me with stuff that made it easier to take the hurt. The experiments got harder.”

  “How could he do that to a ten-year-old? His own flesh and blood?” A murderous rage overcame him, shocking in its intensity. For so long he’d wanted nothing more than to exact vengeance, but now…

  She wasn’t lying. He could see it. The hurt, the rage, the frustration of being powerless. All feelings he’d known when trapped at the Institute. “What happened?” he asked, deliberately softening his voice.

  “He wouldn’t let me have any friends. Television got boring. I learned a lot through tutors and Carter, actually. He educated me. About the only thing I can thank him for.”

  “Bastard.”

  She laughed without humor. “I had just turned fifteen, and they brought you in. You were so different from the others. My uncle let me talk to you, be with you. At first you liked him, but I knew that would change. It always did with the new people.”

  “You never told me who you really were,” he accused with more question than blame.

  “I couldn’t. We seemed to get along so well. I knew you’d start hating him as much as any of us did after a while. I wanted to keep you to myself, if just for a little bit. You stayed and we became closer. I couldn’t tell you who I was or you’d have hated me. And I was right. As soon as you found out, you turned away from me.”

  “I was shocked, but I was hurt more.” He swallowed hard, acknowledging the truth. “I was only a few years older than you, but I realized we had something special. I felt a kinship with you I’d never felt with anyone. I realize now that it had more to do with our mutual gift than anything else.”