Lead Me On

by Victoria Dahl

  “I was shocked. I had no idea, even when Mac said he was your stepfather. But it doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it matters. I don’t…No one knows.”

  “I know. And it doesn’t matter to me.”

  She dug her nails into her elbows. “It matters to me! That girl is supposed to be dead. Gone. I don’t even know what…Did I sleep with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Did I sleep with you back then?”

  “No!”

  “Because I might not remember. Some men…some men I don’t even remember.”

  “Jane—” his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper “—you were just a kid.”

  Cold sweat prickled her brow and her stomach tightened as if it might start rolling at any moment. “You said you were raised in Grand Junction.”

  “I was. We moved to this area when I was sixteen.”

  “Oh, God,” she groaned. “I’ve got to go. I don’t want to talk about this.”

  He said her name one last time, but she was already rushing toward her car, hand shoved into her purse, scrambling to find the keys. Jessie, lounging against the hood, raised a curious eyebrow at her mad scramble to open the door.

  “What’s up with that guy?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Get in.”

  “Christ, he really got your panties in a twist.”

  “Shut up, Jess.” She didn’t know why she felt like throwing up. All that stuff she’d done as a teenager, all the ways she’d degraded herself…It had happened, whether Chase had known about it or not. But it had been like an old movie before. Now the memories felt like true memories again. Right there. Reminding her of exactly who she was.

  “Oh, God.” Jane sighed, then forced herself to take a deep breath. Okay, so he knew the truth about her. Maybe it wasn’t that big a deal. He had no reason to tell anyone, and she wasn’t tied to him.

  She’d kept it casual. She’d kept him at a distance. Her original plan had been to use him for sex and then walk away. Despite Lori’s little pep talk, Jane had to stick to the original plan.

  This thing with Chase was officially over.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  IT WAS SNOWING. May 20 and it was snowing. Jane stared at the fat flakes drifting past the window. The snow was like an order for her to relax and have a perfect night at home. She’d already ordered pizza, and her pay-per-view movie was starting in two minutes.

  Tonight the outside world didn’t exist. Her condo was muffled by the snow, a protective blanket keeping out all the craziness of her life.

  Her butt hit the couch, but as soon as her fingers touched the remote, a sharp knock sounded on the door. Pizza. One nice thing about being single and lonely—she could order any toppings she wanted. Spicy sausage with mushrooms, jalapeños and green olives. And leftovers galore. Maybe she wouldn’t leave her apartment for days.

  Jane grabbed her wallet. She opened the door with a smile, but that smile froze when she spied the man standing there. Apparently fluffy snow didn’t make for a good enough shield. The outside world was standing smack on her doorstep.

  “Hello,” Chase said, his eyes drifting over her sweatshirt and ten-year-old leggings. Her own eyes swept down his body in turn, and the sight of him sent turbulence shivering through her nerves.

  Every time she’d seen Chase he’d been wearing jeans and some version of a T-shirt. But tonight he wore black slacks and a gray blazer brightened by a deep blue shirt.

  “Oh,” she said. He’d dressed up. For a date they weren’t going on.

  “I take it you weren’t expecting me?”

  “No,” she answered flatly just as a car squealed up to the curb. A painfully tall teenage boy jumped out and rushed toward her with a pizza box. “I was expecting him.”

  “Ouch.”

  She completed the pizza/cash exchange, then stood there, holding the hot pizza and looking up at a new version of Chase. He was even hotter than the pizza, and the sight of him was breaking her heart.

  “Did you forget about our date?”

  “You know there’s not going to be a date.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure I don’t. If I’d given up on the date, I wouldn’t have gone shopping for big-boy clothes today.”

  That almost made her smile, so Jane narrowed her eyes in defense. “We’re not doing this. I can’t see you anymore, Chase.”

  “Yes, you can. Nothing’s changed.”

  “Everything’s changed.”

  “Just because I know about your past? I’ve known about it for days now.”

  “Yes, but now I know. And I just…I can’t get past it. I was so desperate to leave that girl behind that I changed everything. My appearance, my name, my behavior. I’ve practically given up my family just so I won’t ever have to think about who I used to be.”

  Chase crossed his arms, then uncrossed them, then took the pizza box from her hands before she could shift it out of his reach. “Let me bring this in for you.”

  “No!” She dived for the box, but he slipped past her, invading her little bubble of movie-night peace. “Damn it!” she screamed.

  “Wow.” Chase shot her a look of amazement. “Did you just say that, Miss Jane?”

  “Shut up and get the hell out of my house!”

  “Nuh-uh,” he said, popping open the pizza box as he set it on the granite countertop. “What the heck have you done to this pizza?”

  “It’s none of your—”

  “You’ve ruined a perfectly good pie. I mean, green olives, Jane? Come on. That’s disgusting.”

  “Chase.” She sighed. “Please.”

  He closed the box and leaned against the counter. “Something bad happened to you, didn’t it?”

  Icy flakes floated against her skin, so Jane reluctantly closed the door behind her, letting her weight rest against the cold wood. “No.”

  “It did.”

  She shook her head, teeth pressed together.

  “You want me to believe that you were on that path as a teenager, drinking and sleeping around and partying all night, and then, out of the blue, you decided to straighten out?”

  Her skin was colder now than it had been outside. “Yes.”

  “You’re saying that’s what you want me to believe?”

  “Yes.”

  Chase put his hand flat on the counter and stared down at it for a long moment. Lines appeared around his mouth that she’d never seen before.

  She wouldn’t tell him. She’d never told anyone.

  “All right, then, Jane. That’s what I’ll believe.”

  Relief swelled so strongly through her that she had to put a hand to her stomach to settle it.

  Chase looked toward the television. “What are we watching?”

  Shaking her head, she told herself to send him away, make him leave. He reminded her of things she didn’t want to be reminded of. He was everything she didn’t want.

  But that relief was still rocking through her, leaving her giddy and susceptible to the sparkle of mischief in his eyes. He knew who she was, and he still wanted to talk to her, sit with her, watch a movie.

  Just that made tears burn in her eyes.

  And in truth, despite all her fears and hang-ups and snobbishness, she wanted to sit on the couch with him and watch an action movie. It would feel so normal.

  Somehow he turned her from a steel-spined martinet to a wilting flower.

  Jane whispered the name of the movie, and Chase’s smile bloomed into a grin. “You’re kidding. I haven’t seen that one yet, and I can’t say that very often. Do you want my green olives? And my mushrooms?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, all right, then.” Chase shrugged out of his coat and began opening and closing cabinets until he found plates. Jane stayed where she was, back pressed to the door, and watched him.

  Her weakness in the face of his smile scared her. How many times in their short relationship had she decided that it was over? And how many times had he brushed her resoluti
ons aside as if they were made of cottonwood fluff?

  “Diet Coke?” Chase groaned, half his body hidden behind the fridge door. “I think I might cry.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’ll have orange juice. What do you want?”

  Jane finally snapped from her daze and went to help him in the kitchen. And every time their bodies touched, Jane grew more and more afraid of the comfort settling deep into her bones.

  CHASE LAY IN THE BLUE GLOW of the muted television, his arm snug around Jane’s warm body. She was asleep, they hadn’t so much as shared a kiss, and yet this was one of the best dates he’d ever had.

  An action movie, spicy pizza and Jane. Pure heaven.

  He’d known she’d wanted to keep her past secret, but he hadn’t expected the kind of stricken panic he’d seen in her eyes in the lawyer’s office. Jane had looked like a woman faced with her worst nightmare. And that nightmare had been Chase.

  Christ. He’d had no idea what to do, so he’d let her run. Too bad for her, she’d already agreed to this date. Now she was snuggled up against him, fingers laced in his, heart beating slowly and steadily against his wrist.

  Whatever it was she’d run from, she was here now.

  And she’d been lying about not being a neat freak. There wasn’t a speck of dust in this place, not even on the cable box or television. Not only was it clean, but there was a vase of fresh flowers on a little table in front of the window. The occasional glint of a white snowflake pressed against the glass before melting.

  Chase felt his bones molding to the couch as his eyelids grew heavier. The smell of Jane’s shampoo whispered into him on every breath. Heaven.

  He must have fallen asleep, because his eyes popped open when his little piece of heaven was invaded by a frantic staccato knock. Jane’s head cracked against his chin.

  “What is it?” she asked hoarsely.

  “Someone’s at the door.”

  She jumped up, knocking one of the empty plates off the coffee table as she spun toward the door.

  “Hey, wait a second. It’s late. Let me get it.” She didn’t wait, but he jumped up fast enough to get to the door before she’d finished unlocking it.

  Chase inched the door open and cringed when he saw a uniformed police officer standing in the snow.

  Jane yanked the door all the way open. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.

  “Ma’am, are you Jane Morgan?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re looking for Jessie MacKenzie. Is he here?”

  He felt the way her body jumped. “No. He’s at his grandmother’s house.”

  “We were told he might be here.”

  Her phone started ringing, but Jane ignored it, shaking her head. “Who told you that? And why are you looking for him?”

  “It’s just for routine questioning, ma’am.” He glanced down at his notebook. “Mrs. Olive MacKenzie said he might be here. Have you seen Jessie?”

  “No.”

  The officer snapped his notebook closed just as Jane’s answering machine picked up. “Dynasty!” Grandma Olive’s voice screeched. “The pigs are on their way! It’s the fuzz!”

  “Oh, Jesus,” Jane muttered.

  “The heat is on! The cops came sniffing around here and I sent them after you. Not sure what they want, though. Call me back and let me know.”

  The officer looked down, but not before Chase caught a half smile flickering over his face. The man coughed, and he was all business again when he looked up. “Ma’am, we just need to ask Jessie a few questions. You haven’t seen him?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “What are these questions about?”

  “Just call me if he gets in touch.” The officer handed over a card and Jane took it gingerly and shut the door.

  “Oh, God, what’s he done?” she muttered, moving to grab her phone from the coffee table. She dialed, but her face made it obvious there was no answer. “His phone’s off.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “No. Maybe he’s set it to voice mail.” Head down, she tapped out a text message with her thumbs.

  “What do you want to do?” Chase asked.

  “I don’t know. Let me call Grandma Olive and my mom, and see what they know.” Five minutes later she’d talked to both women, but the lost look hadn’t faded from her face. No one knew anything.

  Though he was fairly sure it was a bad idea, Chase offered the only solution he had. “Do you want to try Ryders?”

  She didn’t hesitate for even a heartbeat. “Yes. Will you take me? Please? I’ll get changed.” Jane disappeared up the stairs, calling out “Thank you!” as she ran.

  Chase put on his brand-new shoes and shrugged into his coat, cringing at the thought of going to Ryders looking as if he’d raided George Clooney’s closet. But this was the kind of thing a man did when he was falling for a woman.

  And he was falling for her, no question. A dangerous proposition, falling for Jane Morgan. Complicated didn’t even begin to describe her. She’d seemed so simple at first: an uptight secretary with an innocent curiosity about a tattooed bad boy.

  Ha. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Now he was embarrassed to think he’d planned to add a little excitement to her proper life. Instead, she’d left him reeling. Jane Morgan was the female equivalent of dynamite. Innocuous and harmless…until it found a spark and exploded.

  Chase was doomed.

  When he heard her footsteps, he looked up, wondering which incarnation of Jane he’d find. She hadn’t dressed for Ryders this time. She wore jeans again, and heeled boots and a pretty red sweater. They looked like a real couple actually, and Chase found himself smiling despite the circumstances. “Ready?”

  She grabbed her coat and they dashed to his truck.

  “So,” he said after a few silent minutes on the road. Jane looked up from her cell phone. “How did you pick ‘Jane’?”

  Her gaze sharpened, and even in the faint light of the dashboard glow Chase could see her replaying their earlier conversation. Yes, he’d agreed not to ask about her teenage years. No, he hadn’t promised not to ask any questions at all.

  Grimacing, she faced the windshield again. “I chose the most vanilla name I could think of.”

  “Good job. It’s pretty vanilla.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And Morgan?”

  “It’s my mother’s maiden name.”

  “I like your hair now,” he said. “It’s pretty.”

  Jane reached out and poked her finger at the stereo. “Isn’t there a local news channel? There’s an AM station, isn’t there?”

  “I think so.”

  “I’m worried. Don’t you think…Don’t you think something bad might have happened?”

  “Another woman?”

  Jane nodded and began scanning stations. “And where the hell is Jessie? I swear, he’s got the self-control of a five-year-old. He was supposed to stay home.”

  Chase eased the truck up to a higher speed, aware that Jane was frantically tapping her foot. “I’ll call my dad,” he volunteered. “Maybe he’s got a contact at the department.” He glanced at the clock, wondering if it was hopeless. Ten o’clock. Surely Dad was passed out by now.

  He answered on the fifth ring, voice hoarse, but words only slightly slurred. Chase explained the situation, and his dad volunteered to call a friend with the sheriff’s department.

  They pulled up to Ryders and Jane jumped out before he could get around to open her side. He caught up at the front door, and noticed that snowflakes stuck to her eyelashes. “Where are your glasses?”

  “I must have left them at home.”

  “You don’t need them?”

  “I do. But I can see about thirty feet before things start getting a little strange.”

  “So they’re mostly part of your disguise.”

  She tossed him an irritated look and reached for the door. “Come on.”

  The place was packed, warm and humid inside from the press of b
odies. Voices rose to a roar over the music. After so many hours spent in the quiet of Jane’s home, Chase felt vaguely disoriented.

  Jane shook her head. “Even if he’s here, we might not find him.”

  “We may as well look. And no, we are not splitting up. Let’s go.”

  They headed to the bar first to ask Arlo if he’d seen Jessie, but there were two strangers pulling drinks. Chase kept his hand on Jane’s elbow as they began to edge through the crowd, searching for her brother. Chase spied Jessie’s two friends at the same time he felt Jane stiffen.

  She leaned up and shouted in his ear. “I’m going to talk to them!”

  “I’ll do it,” he answered, but Jane shook her head and raised her hand to signal him to stay. He didn’t like it, but what the hell. He wasn’t her father. Still, he wasn’t a dog either. Chase hung back a few feet before moving in her direction.

  Apparently Jane didn’t think flirting would work without the skimpy clothing. She offered a nervous smile and began talking right away. But she was wrong. Jane looked adorable and sexy in her soft sweater and ponytail. Sexier than she had been in her miniskirt, even.

  She gestured with her phone, talking faster, but the guys both shook their heads. The shorter one turned away to nibble on the ear of the girl cuddled up to him. She didn’t look twenty-one, and Chase found himself watching her, thinking of Jane.

  He still couldn’t believe the change in her. Amazing.

  Chase jumped a little at the feel of a hand sliding along his waist. Glancing down, he found a redhead latching onto his side. “Uh, hello.”

  She pressed closer, offering a smile and a startling view of her cleavage. The closer she pressed, the more the view expanded, like dough rising in an oven.

  “Er…” Chase tried to shift away, to no avail.

  “I’ve never seen you here before.” Her smile, bright white and wide, drew his attention away from her breasts for a minute. She was kind of pretty, but her eyes were a bit too unfocused for Chase to feel flattered.

  “Yeah, I’m not really into the bar scene.” He squirmed again, trying to find a way to break her hold without physically picking her up and moving her.