by Cara Summers
Mac frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sorry. I…you can talk to me about my clothes. You always have. This…” She raised her hands and dropped them. “I wish I’d never gone to that island. It’s ruined everything.”
“The person whose name we’re not mentioning has a way of doing that. I’m annoyed with him myself.” Sophie bit into a carrot and chewed. When Mac continued to shred in silence, she said, “I still don’t know what was really going on down there in California. Why wasn’t Sonny Falcone arrested?”
“He didn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping. As I understand it, Sonny was trying desperately to prove to his father that he has the wherewithal to run both Lansing Biotech and the vineyard.”
“Sonny? He didn’t impress me as having a lot going for him upstairs. Well, maybe at first he did,” Sophie said. “But I was in a rebellious mood. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to go out there to California—except that it would be a good way to defy Lucas. Whoops!” She slapped a hand over her mouth, then mumbled, “Sorry. It just slipped out.” Dropping her hand, she shot an apologetic glance at Mac. “Anyway, to get back to Sonny. I can see him being duped by someone else. But I still don’t understand what Gil Stafford hoped to gain by kidnapping me. I mean you. Your signature on a Lansing Biotech contract wouldn’t have been worth anything once you explained how you were forced to sign the contract.”
“The way I understand it—and I was sworn to secrecy on this—Gil knew that the Falcone family has…I guess you’d have to say connections to organized crime, and he was assuming that once Sonny had my name on the contract, I would be strongly encouraged to cooperate.”
Sophie stared at her. “Encouraged as in broken kneecaps?”
Mac shrugged. “Something like that.”
Sophie let out a low whistle. “I never would have figured that a man with his education and intelligence would get himself involved in something like that.”
“At first, I think his plan was just to cash in on my research. He approached Sonny and convinced him to offer me a contract on behalf of Lansing Biotech. Gil was the one who introduced me to Vincent Smith, a.k.a. Sonny, and he did everything he could to get me to sign. When his plan didn’t work, Gil got desperate.”
“So he hired those two goons who kidnapped me to break into the safe at the lab?”
Mac nodded. “He thought the formulas were in the safe. Of course, he had the combination, but he had to make it look as if someone else had done it. But the formula wasn’t in the safe.”
“Why not?” Sophie asked.
“It’s the first place a thief would look, so I’ve always kept it at the bottom of Wilbur’s cage. I can’t think of anybody who’d want to look there.”
“And they searched your house too.”
“Yes. And when they came up empty there, they got desperate. That’s when Gil decided to hire someone to kidnap me. He figured that was the way that the Falcones would handle things. Only he figured wrong. Whatever shady connections the Falcones have had in the past, Lansing Biotech and the vineyard are one-hundred-percent legitimate businesses and Sonny’s going to testify against Gil.”
Sophie narrowed her eyes as she studied Mac for a moment. “You are a lot more well informed about this whole thing than I am. It sounds to me like you have been talking to my brother.”
“No.” Mac set down a nub of carrot and chose another from the plate. “Tracker told me.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. “Tracker McGuire? You mean you’ve actually been in contact with the Shadow?”
“Several times. I think he’s been told to keep an eye on me. He’s stopped by here and the lab almost every day.” Mac felt a little band of pain tighten around her heart even as she said the words.
“Well!” The word came out on an annoyed huff of breath. “Do you think he’ll be stopping by tonight?”
Mac concentrated hard on rubbing the carrot back and forth on the grater. If she just concentrated on small details, just one step, then the next, she was going to survive. Tracker’s continuous visits over the past week was just one of the signs that told her she would never see Lucas again. Of course, he would want to tie up any loose ends. That was what Tracker had said he was doing in California. But she knew Lucas was distancing himself, using Tracker as his go-between. “I told him it’s not necessary. I’m not in any danger. But it’s very kind of…your brother to want to make sure. But everything’s fine.”
“Mac!”
She looked down and realized she’d grated right down to her knuckle and was now bleeding all over the grater.
“Here, let me.” Sophie took Mac’s hand and drew it under running water. When she was satisfied that the wounds were clean, she reached into a nearby cupboard.
“Did I ever tell you how much I hate people who are stupid?” Sophie asked as she applied disinfectant and bandages to Mac’s fingers.
“Several times.” Mac felt her lips curve slightly.
Sophie turned to face her. “I’m going to say this just once. You and my brother are being very stupid.” At Mac’s frown, she hurried on. “That’s it. I don’t intend to elaborate or lecture. My experience with stupid people is that you can’t ever get them to change their minds. So, I’ve merely stated a fact.”
Mac was saved from replying by the ringing of a cell phone. Both women moved toward their purses. Sophie dragged hers out on the third ring. “Yes? Okay.” A frown appeared on her forehead as she listened. “Tell him I’ll be there.”
When she turned back to Mac, she had a smile on her face, but her shoulders were tense. “The person whose name I can’t mention is arriving in D.C. this evening and wants to see me in his office tomorrow. He was too busy to lecture me in California. But that was his secretary. It turns out he had me penciled in for tomorrow, and she’s just calling to confirm his calendar.”
“Sophie, he loves you.”
“But he’s going to play big brother. That’s why he isn’t calling himself.” She sighed. “Not that I don’t deserve the lecture. My little rebellion got me kidnapped. And I don’t want to think about what might have happened if Gil Stafford had let go of that rope. It seems that whatever I do, I just can’t measure up to what Lucas wants.”
Moving forward, Mac took Sophie’s hands. “That’s the way I’ve felt about my family my whole life—that I could never measure up. But they never really loved me. Not the way Lucas loves you.”
Sophie managed a smile as she hugged Mac. “I know that. And on that note, I’m leaving.”
In the doorway to the kitchen, she turned back. “But before I go, I do have a suggestion.”
Mac frowned.
“Don’t give me that look. It doesn’t have anything to do with the person whose name I promised not to mention. I’m just going to say that since you did give your research a little field test down in the Keys, you should be ready to put it into action for real, right?”
Mac blinked. She hadn’t given any thought to her fantasy research for the past week—other than reliving every single thing she’d tried out on Lucas. Without saying a word, she studied her friend. Oh, Sophie’s face wore an innocent enough expression, but Mac didn’t trust her. She trusted her even less as she saw puzzlement fill Sophie’s eyes.
“The whole plan was geared to keep hold of a husband once you found him, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” It seemed like a lifetime ago, Mac thought.
“Step one, as I recall, was to test the research.”
“Yes,” Mac repeated, wondering why she felt as if she was being led down the garden path.
“Then it’s time for step two—finding the husband.”
“Sophie, I—”
“I’ll be happy to come along with you. Come on, Mac. Wilbur’s got enough carrots there to keep him going for a month. It’s high time you got dressed up in some of your fantasy clothes from Madame Gervais and we did a little manhunting in Georgetown.”
“Soph—”
Sophie cut h
er off with a raised hand. “I’m not taking no for an answer. The best way to get over a man is to move on to the next one. We’ve both been through a rough time, and we need to do this for ourselves.”
Mac might have said no, but she could see that Sophie needed it too. “Okay.”
“Good. I’ll be back in an hour.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“THIS ISN’T THE OFFICE,” Lucas said.
“No,” Tracker said.
He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed where they were until Tracker had parked at the curb. The sun had set, but in the thin light of dusk he could see the tree-lined street, the small but carefully tended lawns. Georgetown.
“Mind telling me why we’re here?” Lucas asked.
“She’s here. You asked about the doc twice when you called from the plane and two more times since I picked you up at the airport. Obviously, you have some doubts about my ability to keep an eye on her, so I figured you wanted to take over.”
“No. I’m not…I—” It was one of the only times in his thirty-two years that Lucas found himself at a loss for words. He had a plan for handling MacKenzie Lloyd. He’d come up with it during the seven nights he’d spent at Vincent Falcone’s villa. Seven sleepless nights. Without Mac. He’d shared a bed with her…what? Only twice. And now he couldn’t seem to sleep without her. Even on the plane ride home, he hadn’t been able to concentrate. All he could think about was her.
“You’re not what?” Tracker asked. “Worried about her? Head over heels in love with her?”
“She doesn’t… I don’t… We….”
“See. You can’t even finish a sentence. She’s not in much better shape herself.”
Lucas whirled on him then and grabbed the front of his shirt. “You said she was all right.”
“She’s fine, except for the fact that she asks about you just about as often as you ask about her. The two of you are gaga over each other.”
“I’m just tired.” Lucas relaxed his grip, knowing that he hadn’t told the truth. For the first time in his life, he was truly afraid. It was the same cold deadly fear that had bit into him when he’d seen her hanging from the balloon while Gil Stafford pointed a gun at her heart.
He couldn’t lose her. The words had screamed through his mind. After that, he wasn’t sure of the exact sequence of events. Mac had jumped and landed on Stafford, a gun had gone off, he’d felt the heat of a bullet pass by his cheek. Later, they’d told him that while he was breaking Stafford’s jaw, Tracker had climbed the rope ladder and landed the balloon and Sophie safely. But his only clear memory was of what Mac had looked like, lying on the ground, so pale, so still. For one moment, until he’d felt the pulse at her throat, he was sure she was gone.
Lucas rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. That heart-stopping moment had been what had prevented him from contacting Mac over the past seven days. The mind-numbing, body-aching, out-of-control fear that had ripped through him had scared him. He’d never been someone to lose control and Mac had a way of making him do just that on a continual basis.
“You can think of this as an intervention, if you want. But I can’t see you getting anything accomplished at the office until you settle things with the doc. That deal you made with Falcone—promising to mentor Sonny until his heir can take over—that was not something a sane man does. You’re not making any money for Wainright Enterprises on that one.”
“It’s an old debt,” Lucas said. “A personal one.”
Tracker paused for a moment as he digested that. “Okay. But I still say the office isn’t the place for you right now. You can either go in there and settle things with the doc or you and I are going to get rip-roaring drunk.”
Lucas nearly smiled. “Do you remember the last time?”
“Small town near Trinidad.”
“Istanbul. I’ll never forget carrying you back to the hotel.”
“It was Trinidad and I carried you. You never could hold your booze.”
“You passed out first.”
For a few moments, silence settled over the car.
“You’re right,” Lucas finally said. “I love her.”
“You got a plan?”
“I don’t have a clue.” Lucas opened the door and stepped out.
STEPPING OUT of her shower, Mac grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. She had barely ten minutes until Sophie would be back, and she hadn’t yet decided what to wear. Every time she looked at one of the outfits she’d shopped for with Madame Gervais, she began to imagine wearing it with Lucas.
Lucas. As sadness bloomed within her, she reached to rub the steam off the mirror so that she could see her image clearly.
She was a mess. And she was going to stay that way until she got a grip.
As a scientist, she knew that it was essential to face the facts. Number one, she had fallen in love with Lucas Wainright. Number two, he did not love her back. So what was she going to do about that?
Tightening the towel around her, she began to pace back and forth in the small bathroom. There had to be a solution. She could always find one in the lab. Frowning, she began to pace faster. What she had on her hands was a man who didn’t want her.
Stopping short, she stared at herself in the mirror. A man who didn’t want her! Her father hadn’t wanted her either. He’d walked away, and she hadn’t been able to stop him.
But she wasn’t a child anymore. And wasn’t the whole point of her research to make sure that her future husband never walked away from her?
Striding into the bedroom, she studied her clothes. She was going to go manhunting all right. And she wasn’t going to give up until she had tried every single bit of her research on Lucas Wainright III.
She was reaching for a short red leather skirt when the doorbell rang. Sophie. Tightening the knot on her towel, she raced down the hall and opened the door.
For one moment she couldn’t speak. The joy was sharp and bright, the panic racing behind it fast and fierce.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lucas asked as he stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him. “You couldn’t know who was knocking. You just threw open the door, dressed in practically nothing.”
He was angry, she noted as he began to pace. Furious. She watched his legs eat up the length of her living-room floor in four paces. She sensed the same leashed violence in him that she’d felt that morning at the Wainright Casa Marina when he’d discovered she’d lied to him about Sophie. Her stomach sank as he whirled to face her.
It was only then that she noticed how tired he looked.
Nerves jumping, she said, “Would you like something to drink? Wine? Coffee? I have a very nice brandy that Sophie gave me for my birthday.”
She was babbling. She had to stop and think.
“Brandy.”
She had to move past him—close enough to catch his scent, feel his heat. It was enough to make her knees weak, so weak that she wasn’t sure how she made it to the kitchen. It didn’t help one bit that he dogged her steps.
“I came to clear up some matters between us.”
Her stomach sank to her feet. He was tying up loose ends. She didn’t feel it at all when the brandy snifter slipped out of her hand and splintered on the floor.
“Don’t move. Where do you keep your broom?”
She didn’t say a word as he opened a closet and found what he was looking for. Instead, she drew in a deep breath, unfastened the towel she was wearing, and let it slip to the floor.
The moment Lucas turned around, he felt as if he’d been poleaxed. Her skin had the milky, translucent look of fine porcelain, and the glass shards at her feet glinted like diamonds. But it was her eyes that drew him. In them he saw the same mixture of hope and fear that he was feeling. In them he saw his future.
“Don’t move,” he said again as he dropped the broom and moved toward her. Gripping her hips, he lifted her onto the counter.
But she didn’t obey. Even as
his hands moved over her, she was busy, pulling at his belt, loosening his slacks. Then her mouth moved on his, teeth nipping, tongue probing, as her fingers closed around him.
“Now,” she murmured, inching closer and wrapping her legs around him. “Right now.”
It took him only seconds, an eternity, to free himself and push into her, to feel her flesh part then pulse and tighten around him. For a moment he was sure his heart stopped. It was like coming home.
Then she arched against him.
“No, don’t,” he managed to say as he gripped her hips and held her still. His voice sounded hoarse, strange. His whole body was straining to move, to drive himself into her. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to do this?”
“Seven days, three hours, and… If you’d let me move, I could check my watch and tell you the minutes. Not that I’ve been keeping track.”
Lucas grinned. And though he didn’t know how in the world it was possible in his present position, he felt some of his tension ease. It was the first time he’d smiled in seven days too. She never said what he expected. She never did what he expected. Was he ever going to get used to that? He used one hand to tip back her head so that he could see her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about the sex. I’ve waited all my life for you.”
He watched her eyes widen.
“I just didn’t know what I was waiting for. I didn’t even fully realize how empty my life was until…” No, he wasn’t going to spoil this by thinking of what might have been. “I love you, Mac.”
Her eyes went even wider. “Lucas—”
“No, let me finish. I know that it’s too soon. I know what we agreed on. No strings. I had a strategy all mapped out. I was going to call you tomorrow and ask you out on a traditional date—flowers, champagne, dancing under the stars. I figured after a month, I’d propose.”
“Propose?”
The stunned look on her face sent a bolt of panic shooting through him.
