Seduction and Lies

by Donna Hill

  But at least for a little while she could focus on someone else’s issues instead of her own, for which she had no easy answers. She rubbed her eyes, took a long swallow of coffee and watched the information appear on the screen.

  The more she read, the more disturbed she became. The ringing telephone drew her attention away from the damning information.

  She reached across the bed, hesitating for a moment. What if it was Nick? What would she say? Would she have sense enough to find her voice this time and tell him what was in her heart?

  Her shaky hand hovered over the receiver. It rang for the fourth time. If she waited for the next ring, it would be sent to their voice-mail service.

  Danielle drew in a breath and snatched up the phone. “Hello?” Her heart pounded.

  “Dani, it’s Mia. I was calling to see if you were all right. I know that story you gave us about Nick last night was B.S. What happened? He darted out of here. You come back alone, looking like you’d been struck by lightning…”

  Danielle leaned back against the thick down pillows, drew in a long breath and spilled the story about what she’d found in Bernard’s apartment—including Nick’s appearance in front of Bernard’s house.

  “Oh, dayum,” Mia murmured. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve been asking myself that question since I found out. But my own life is so screwed up that I can’t even think straight.”

  They both sighed, deep in thought.

  “I think it’s time you told Savannah,” Mia said.

  “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Can you meet me at The Shop at noon?”

  “I’ll be there. And I’ll give Savannah a call and tell her it’s important and that she needs to take an early lunch.”

  “Thanks. See you in a few.”

  By the time Savannah arrived, a bit breathless, Danielle and Mia were already seated in their favorite booth.

  “What’s the big emergency?” she asked while taking her seat. She looked from one gloomy face to the other. “Somebody better tell me something. You’re making me nervous.”

  Mia looked to Danielle and gave a short nod of her head.

  Danielle pressed her lips together in concentration and looked directly at Savannah. “It’s a long story. But it’s all related to the assignment and Bernard….”

  “Oh…my…God,” Savannah said between the fingers that covered her mouth when Danielle brought her story to a close. “I…My mother.” Tears filled her eyes but they didn’t fall. “I knew it. I knew something was wrong.” She frowned, her dark eyes were like laser beams as they zeroed in on Danielle. “I’m going over there.” She started up from her seat, and Mia grabbed her wrist.

  “No, you’re not! That’s not an option.” She turned to Danielle. “You need to confront him.”

  “What! Are you crazy? I don’t want to wind up a statistic in the news—or worse, never make the head lines because I’ve simply vanished,” she said, her voice rising in alarm.

  “Look, you’ve verified the fact that he was in the service, but not as Bernard Hassell. Use that as leverage.”

  “I don’t see how.”

  “Tell him that you will spill it all to Claudia,” Savannah offered.

  “What if he doesn’t care and sees me as a threat to whatever it is he’s up to?”

  “What if he does care?” Mia said, always the romantic.

  Danielle sighed heavily. “I don’t know…”

  “Do it somewhere safe,” Savannah said.

  “Like where?”

  “Your place,” Mia said.

  “You have got to be kidding.”

  “No, seriously. You said that he and Nick were friends, right. Well, tell him you need to talk to him about Nick. Tell him Nick left and you’re worried about him. And you need his advice.”

  Danielle thought about it. “Maybe it could work,” she said slowly, not completely convinced.

  “I’ll be there as well—out of sight.”

  “Me, too,” Savannah said.

  “No, you won’t!” the duo responded.

  Savannah puffed and pouted, folding her arms over her growing baby bump.

  “Okay,” Danielle conceded. “If we can get to Bernard, or whoever he is, I know it’s going to lead us to the people behind the identity theft operation.”

  “By the way,” Mia said, “I’ve checked with everyone I know and everyone they know, and not a soul has ever heard of Bernard Hassell.”

  Chapter 16

  Nick awoke with every bone in his body aching. His eyes squinted open and he turned, barely catching himself before falling off the couch.

  He expelled an expletive as he hoisted himself back up and took a look around, trying to get his bearings. Nothing looked familiar. He pushed himself into a sitting position and the inside of his brain did a rapid 360-degree turn. His stomach lurched to his throat, and he was a gulp away from spewing its contents all over this rug that he didn’t recognize.

  “You’re up.”

  Nick’s hazy gaze moved in the direction of the voice. He squinted the image into focus. “Bernard?” he asked in confusion.

  Bernard grinned and slowly approached. He handed him a glass of tomato juice and two aspirin. “Take these. You’ll feel better—eventually.”

  Nick tossed down the aspirin, then ran his fingers through his spiky hair. “How did I get here, and what was I doing before I arrived?” His tongue felt like an old slipper.

  “After you left the party, you never returned. I guess you must have spent the next few hours drinking at Bob & Lou’s Bar and Lounge up on Amsterdam Avenue. The owner called me about three this morning. He said you told him to call. He found my name in your cell phone. I picked you up—literally—and brought you here. You kept insisting that you weren’t going home.”

  Bernard took a seat opposite Nick. He leaned forward, bracing his arms on his thighs. “You want to tell me why you didn’t want to go home?”

  “It’s complicated.” He rubbed his brow. “Me and Dani…she’s keeping things from me, lying, doing stuff that she can’t explain, but she wants me to trust her. She begged me to trust her. But I can’t, not anymore, not if she can’t be honest with me.”

  Bernard was thoughtful for a moment, knowing that what he said next could affect Nick’s relationship with Danielle for good.

  “Sometimes, man, you gotta let go of all the things that ground you and step out on faith.”

  Nick glared at him.

  “Do you believe in God?”

  The question threw him. “Yeah, why?”

  “You believe that there is a God even though you can’t see God or hear God, right? You believe not because of anything concrete but because of what you feel in your mind and in your heart.”

  Nick’s jaw clenched.

  “Same thing with love, man. You can’t see it or touch it, but you believe in it. You know it’s real because you can feel it in your heart and in your head even if you can’t explain it.”

  “What’s that got to do with what Dani did?”

  “Sometimes you just have to believe, son, simple as that. Give her a chance.”

  He stood. “I put some fresh towels in the bathroom. There’s plenty of food in the fridge. Make yourself at home. I need to run out for about an hour.”

  Nick’s thoughts were still plowing through what Bernard had said when a thought struck him. “My car? I think I drove.” He looked up at Bernard. “Did I?”

  Bernard grinned. “I’m going to pick up your car now. The bartender wisely kept your keys and gave them to me when I got there.” He lifted them from his pocket and shook them in the air. “See you in a few.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He walked toward the door. “At least think about what I said. Sometimes, things aren’t as apparent as they appear.” He opened the door and walked out.

  Nick slowly got up from the couch and walked to the window. He watched Bernard drive off, and the events
of the previous night began to come clear. He could see himself standing in front of the building, imagining the worst when he saw Danielle go inside. He could still hear her plead with him to “trust her.”

  His jaw clenched. He’d told Bernard everything except that where he’d followed Danielle wasn’t to some random house, but his. He wondered what sage advice Bernard would offer if he had known that bit of information.

  Chapter 17

  Danielle went through the motions at the photo shoot, setting the scenes, coaxing the models and motivating her crew. Thank goodness for Mark. He was an excellent photographer and filled in on a moment’s notice for Nick.

  She’d expected Nick to be there. She’d expected that even if he pretended she didn’t exist, she could at least see him and maybe he could tell by looking into her eyes how much she cared and how sorry she was for messing things up between them.

  All through the night, through the tears, fits of anger and frustration, she silently prayed that if Nick just gave her one more chance, she would tell him she loved him. She would say the words from the bottom of her heart.

  But as the hours ticked by, it became apparent that he wasn’t coming and she grew more and more on edge. He’d never done that before. He’d never missed a session and surely never missed one and didn’t call.

  She flipped open her cell-phone case that hung on her hip. At least if she could hear his voice, she would know that he was okay.

  Nick stepped out of the shower, running a towel over his wet hair. He was beginning to feel halfway human again. He was staring in the mirror, accessing his red-rimmed eyes, when the ringing of his cell phone pulled him in the direction of the living room, where he’d left his pile of clothes. He dug through his shirt and dress slacks and found it beneath his socks.

  He flipped the front cover open. The familiar number registered on the screen. He stared at it, listened until the ringing stopped and then tossed the phone onto the couch.

  The tightness in Danielle’s throat was almost unbearable. She listened to Nick’s recorded voice, the one that soothed her, teased her, whispered in her ear. She didn’t bother to leave a message. She returned back to the set and tried to concentrate but couldn’t. Her thoughts kept shifting back to Nick. Maybe he was hurt, lying in a ditch somewhere. Maybe he was sick and needed someone to look after him. He could have been in an accident.

  The ugly scenarios kept repeating and repeating in her head on a continuous loop until she thought she’d scream—and she did.

  “Break! Twenty minutes.” Her breathing escalated with the anxiety that was making her crazy.

  Gladys, one of her crew members, who handled the lights, asked her if she was sick, because she didn’t look well, and Danielle nearly burst into tears. She knew she was on the verge of breaking, and that reality shook her up even more.

  The fact that she had allowed her feelings for someone else to get the best of her, cloud her thoughts and confuse her judgment was way more than she was prepared to deal with.

  Danielle Holloway was used to being in charge. She called the shots both in relationships and out. This whole thing with Nick was new and it was scary.

  And to complicate matters further, she had the Cartel assignment to fulfill, and the more she found out, the worse things became.

  She glanced up and saw Reggie, one of her cameramen, walking past her.

  “Hey, Reggie.”

  He stopped and turned. Danielle approached him. “Listen, I need to take care of some things. Do you think you can handle the rest of the shoot for today? We have nineteen more cityscape shots and two indoors. Mark will guide you through what needs to be done.”

  “Sure,” he said, seemingly thrilled by the chance.

  “Just follow the shot sheet. Melody will keep the models in order.”

  “Not a problem, Dani. Thanks for the chance.”

  She nodded and hurried off toward her car before she could change her mind.

  The “brain trust”—her, Mia and Savannah—had come up with the brilliant idea of having her confront Bernard using the ruse that she needed his advice on how to handle the mess between her and Nick.

  But what she needed now was to know that he was all right. And the only person she could think of who could tell her was Bernard, or whatever his name was.

  If something had happened to Nick because of her, she’d never forgive herself. She got behind the wheel of her vehicle, took her PDA out of her bag and pulled up everything she had on Bernard Hassell. Jasmine had finally been able to work her magic and come up with landline and cell-phone numbers for Bernard. Danielle wasn’t sure how she’d missed it when she’d done her own search, but Jasmine was, after all, a true techie.

  Danielle tried the cell first.

  Bernard picked up on the second ring. “Hello, Danielle. I wondered how long it was going to take you to get to me.”

  Frowning, she jerked back from the voice on the phone. “What?”

  “Meet me at the corner of West Fourth and Houston in twenty minutes.” He disconnected the call.

  Shit. Had Nick told him that she’d broken into his house? No. It didn’t sound as if he was upset, more as if he was expecting her call. He was expecting her call. He’d said as much.

  She shook her head in confusion and caught a glimpse of the dashboard clock. It was already after three. It would take her the full twenty minutes and then some to get to the Village from midtown at that time of day.

  Danielle put the car in gear and eased into traffic. What if this was some kind of setup? If he’d been expecting her call, then he may know more about her than she realized.

  One of the first things explained in the CD lessons was to always be aware of potential traps and going into situations when no one else knew where you were.

  It wasn’t likely he would try anything in broad daylight on a busy street corner, but the cold truth was that people disappeared off New York City streets every day. She didn’t intend to be one of them.

  Danielle got her cell and speed-dialed Mia’s number. She quickly ran down the troubling conversation and told her where she was going—just in case.

  “This doesn’t sound good, Dani. Don’t do anything stupid. I can meet you.”

  “No. Just stay available. If you don’t hear from me in an hour, call Savannah. She’ll know what to do. Gotta go.”

  The trip felt as if it were taking forever. She must have hit every red light in lower Manhattan. By the time she arrived, her nerves were so frazzled that she was damp all over. She found a spot at a meter and parked.

  Danielle looked around. The streets were full of activity. That was a good thing. The more people there were, the better she felt. She got out of the SUV, fed the meter and began walking toward the meeting place a block away and spotted Bernard leaning against a mailbox. He was casually dressed in a pair of khaki pants, brown loafers and a tan windbreaker.

  She took a good look around before going any farther. Her trained photographic eye scouted out the stores, the entrance to the train station and the shortest distance back to her car. Drawing in a deep breath, she walked forward.

  Bernard seemed to sense her and turned in her direction. It struck her again how much he resembled Billy Dee Williams. He could probably get plenty of work with that woman she’d met on the elevator.

  Danielle lifted her chin, putting on a façade of bravado that eluded her.

  Bernard actually smiled at her. “Glad you could make it. Let’s walk and talk.” He started off without waiting for her response. She picked up her pace. Her ponytail bounced with every step, and she was glad that she’d kept on her sneakers in case she needed to make a run for it. She caught up with him.

  He made a right onto a short residential block away from the heavy flow of traffic on West Fourth Street. Her throat grew dry.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m sure you must be concerned about Nick,” he said rather than answer her question.

  Her breath stuck in
her chest. Was Nick a hostage? “Yes.”

  “He’s fine. A little hungover but fine. He’s at my place. You know where that is, don’t you?”

  She curled her hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

  He pressed his hand against the small of her back and steered her around the corner. The sounds of vehicular and pedestrian noises grew faint. Her feet suddenly felt like lead.

  “I know all about what you’re doing,” he said, stopping in front of an abandoned building.

  Her eyes widened in alarm. She began to back away.

  Bernard reached inside his jacket, and Danielle bolted for the corner, which seemed to get farther away with every step she took. Her car was now more than three blocks away. She hadn’t run farther than to the bathroom in ages, she thought frantically. He, on the other hand, was in shape. He’d catch her before she made it to the corner. She could almost feel the heat of a bullet tearing through her back.

  A heavy hand grabbed her shoulder, nearly spinning her around. She screamed.

  “Cell phone, cell phone,” he said, pushing it in front of her face. “Here, Jean wants to speak to you.”

  She was breathing so hard she was dizzy. It took several moments before what he said registered. She stared at him in disbelief. Nothing made sense.

  He pushed the phone toward her. “Take it, Danielle. Jean will explain everything.”

  Slowly she reached for the phone and brought it to her ear without taking her eyes off Bernard. “Hello…”

  Danielle listened in stunned silence as Jean explained that Bernard was working with her from the Office of Homeland Security and that information had been planted in her files about Bernard to test Danielle to see how strong her instincts were.

  “Th-this was all part of a test!” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. And she’d passed with flying colors, according to Jean, who was proud to officially declare Danielle a member of The Ladies Cartel. In addition to which Bernard would be her contact and her partner.

  Danielle slumped back against a streetlamp and gazed at Bernard. She was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out of a van and tell her that she’d been “punk’d.”