Rita’s plans of sprawling herself out on his bed wearing a sexy teddy turned into a nap as she grew bored waiting for him. When she woke, she looked in the mirror and made a face. She looked terrible, not at all what she wanted Adrian to see when he came home. She’d been there for three hours already, and she’d be the picture of boredom by the time he returned, whenever that was.
Rita walked over to the pictures again, picking up the one with the old building made into a church. This is where he was, she knew it. He was taking photographs. Now, wouldn’t he be surprised if she showed up there? She went back into the bedroom and put on her black velvet jeans, a puffy sweater, and those heels. Then she slipped into her fur coat, because it was the only coat she’d brought. She removed all her jewelry, not wanting to attract too much attention in an undesirable part of town.
She was feeling very clever and pleased with herself as she took the picture of the church into a convenience store and asked where it was located. The clerk pointed her in the right direction with a red marker on her map, but warned her about going there alone.
“Oh, I have a friend who’s down there right now. He’s big and strong, and he’ll save me if I run into trouble.” And, of course, she didn’t plan on getting out of her car until she saw him.
She couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when she found him.
CHAPTER 8
Rita cruised through town several times before she spotted Adrian. Or she thought it was him, anyway. He was tall, had dark hair. He wore it loose, like he did when they made love, and it was curly, the way it looked before he blew it straight. But he had a beard, something she’d never seen on him. And he was wearing the most god-awful clothes she had ever seen on anybody, much less a fashionable man like Adrian. Still, it had to be him, but who was the woman walking with him?
She pulled around the corner and got out, fluffing her hair. Then she walked around the building to the sidewalk. Closer up, she knew it was Adrian. She’d recognize those eyes anywhere. What she didn’t like is the way they were glued to the woman beside him. She was obviously a homeless person, though she had a fresh prettiness about her and a nice smile that she flashed at Adrian.
It was insane to feel threatened by this woman, but Rita did. She would not lose the man she loved to a street waif. What could he be thinking? Not about photography; no camera in sight.
They were almost upon her when she gathered her wits about her. Her voice didn’t come out as casually and normal as she would have liked.
“Adrian?”
He looked up at her then, and she waited for a flash of recognition and surprise, hopefully a smile. She got nothing.
“Do I know you?”
He gave her such a blank look that Rita began to doubt it was him after all. “Aren’t you Adrian Wilde?”
“You have the wrong person. Excuse us.”
He walked on, never even looking back. Rita stood there with her mouth open, staring after them. She wanted to scream at him for pretending not to know her. As though he was ashamed to know her. Maybe he’d hit his head and really didn’t remember. No, he looked perfectly healthy. The woman with him glanced back for a second, her expression filled with question. Rita was sure hers looked the same.
“She’s still standing there,” Nikki said, watching Adrian’s face carefully.
He shrugged. “They say we all have a twin somewhere. Mine must have the same first name, too. But I don’t know her.”
Nikki glanced back, saw the woman walking to a nice car she’d parked along the curb. She certainly wasn’t from this area. That fur was real. Then the woman did something that stole Nikki’s breath away: she picked up a framed picture from inside the car, and Nikki was sure it was one of hers. She couldn’t clearly see the photograph itself but she suspected it was one of the collection the mysterious man had recently bought. The woman didn’t look embarrassed, like someone might if she had approached the wrong person. No, she looked angry.
Adrian kept his gaze on anything but the woman. He made a comment about all the empty stores in the area, but her mind was clicking at high gear with her suspicions.
The weight of her thoughts crushed her heart. Adrian, who are you? Tremors ran through her body, reaching all the way down to her toes. She had only been worried about his breaking her heart before; now she also had to worry about his taking her life.
“Are you all right? You look pale.”
She smiled, willing the color to return to her face. “I’m okay. Maybe I’m just coming down with something.”
“Do you want to go back to the van?”
She nodded, grabbing at any excuse to get away from him. Above all, she couldn’t let on that she suspected anything. As soon as he was gone, she would leave the area. Then she remembered Maudine’s words: Spy on him. Nikki had tried that before, and he’d gone exactly where she had expected him to. Could he have known she followed him? She had to find out who he was before she disappeared. Every instinct told her to run far away, but her heart cried out to know who this man was.
Crackers slid out from beneath the van, his pink tongue hanging out. She could see Adrian gently carrying the pup to the animal hospital, waiting anxiously with her to hear if he was all right. No, he just couldn’t be working for Devlin. She looked at him, her heart breaking into a thousand bits. If he was, he was damned good at his job. Damned slow at it, too.
She untied Crackers and unlocked the door. “See you later,” she said, wishing she meant it.
“Can I get you anything?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Would you like to get together later?”
“I’m just going to relax tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
He left, and Nikki leaned on the side of the van. Where would he go now? There was one way to find out. This time she would make sure he didn’t notice her. She went inside and put on a grey raincoat and boots. She retied Crackers to the bumper and walked down the alley. He was walking south.
Nikki slid out of the alley and ducked into an indented storefront. He didn’t look back, though. In fact, it was several blocks before he did turn around. She quickly turned and pretended to look in the little food store, scrunching down to appear shorter. When she glanced at him, he was gone. She headed to where he had disappeared, peering cautiously around the side of the building.
She heard a car start and ducked back as a white convertible Mustang pulled out of its parking space. Adrian was behind the wheel. And…it was the same car that hit Crackers. That was another punch to her stomach. Of course, he couldn’t blow his cover by admitting it or stopping when it happened. He’d parked right behind her van and pretended to be in the area to help.
All the energy drained out of her. She slid down to the sidewalk, drawing her knees up in front of her. She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit something, but all those took strength she didn’t have at the moment. Adrian was lying to her. Why? Was he going to Devlin’s right now, to report on the latest? Perhaps if she knew for sure, she could put him behind her and disappear. She had to know if Adrian was connected to her brother. She would find out tomorrow night.
When Adrian returned to his rental house, Rita was parked out front. She’d probably blown the whole thing for him by showing up like that. Anger welled up inside him, but he forced it back down again. She looked confused, but her eyes widened when she saw him pull in. He didn’t want to explain anything to her; she had no right to be there, and he owed her nothing. What he didn’t want was for her to run back and tell Stanley he’d lost it. Stanley would be here in five minutes, begging him to regain his sanity. What a mess. He only hoped Nikki really hadn’t felt well and wasn’t blowing him off.
“It was you,” she said, walking toward the garage.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you certainly did that.” He walked inside the house.
She followed him in, and
he saw that she’d already been inside. She replaced one of the pictures she had with her, putting it back exactly where it had been on the table.
“Adrian, I know about your secret project. You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone about it. It’s our secret now.”
“My secret…” He followed her gaze to the pictures. “Oh, that secret project.” She’d given him a way out.
“It makes me sad that you didn’t tell me about it.” She inched closer. “Didn’t you trust me?”
“It’s personal, that’s why. I’m trying to blend in with those people, and you show up and wreck my cover. And you wonder why I didn’t tell you.”
He regretted the words when she looked so hurt. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have gone there. I’m sorry. I’ll stay right here out of your way.”
“You’re going back to New York.”
“But I came down here to spend time with you.”
“If you’ll recall, I didn’t invite you. I’m not here very much, and you’d be bored anyway.”
She smiled. “I could have dinner waiting when you get home.”
Adrian sat down with a sigh, rubbing his face. “I don’t always come home for dinner.”
Her whole body stiffened. “Do you have dinner with that woman you were with?”
He heard the jealousy in her voice, just as he heard the attempt to hide it. “Sometimes. Look, Rita—”
“I know, I know. I have no right to ask. But I’d like to know about my competition.”
The thought of Nikki and Rita in competition was ludicrous. Nikki was BlueFire, not his girlfriend. Neither was Rita.
“She’s a friend,” he said simply.
She nodded slowly. “I see.”
They sat in strained silence for a few moments, and he didn’t like that much more than their previous conversation. “Who’s watching Oscar?”
“Morty. I told her I’d only be gone a day or two.” She looked at him hopefully.
“Won’t she be surprised when you return early?”
“Adrian,” she whined. Kneeling before him, she stroked his faded jeans. “Let’s have some fun for a couple of days. Then I’ll go and you can sink back into your project.”
He stood and stripped off his shirt, then unzipped his jeans and stepped out of them. He hated wearing those grungy clothes any longer than he had to.
“Mm, that’s more like the Adrian I know. The beard is, well, I like it. It gives you a whole new look.”
He scratched his beard. “I hate it, but it goes with the whole costume.”
Rita licked her lips, letting her gaze roam down his body. She was never shy about her intentions, he had to give her that. And that was all he was giving her. His body wasn’t interested in the prospect of cozying up with Rita in that big bed. It had sure worked the day before, and he’d only been kissing Nikki. This was the strangest thing he’d ever encountered.
“I’m going to take a shower, then we’ll go out for an early dinner. You can stay tonight, but tomorrow you go back to New York. Got it?”
She looked slighted, her lip pouting out and eyebrows drawn together. “Okay, I’ll take the proffered crumb.”
“Rita, I didn’t invite you here, remember?”
“I know. Want some company in the shower? Or, I noticed that nice big tub in the master bath.”
He didn’t hide his irritation at her having snooped through the house. Probably looking for signs of a female companion. He couldn’t imagine how such a beautiful woman could be so insecure.
“Go ahead and take a bath. I’m taking a quick shower. By myself.” How do you tell a woman you’re not interested in a nice way? Well, he’d have to figure it out if she was going to stay the night.
“Maudine, do you know how to break into a car?”
Maudine giggled, looking like a schoolgirl. “Well, kind of. There was a guy around here who showed me how to do it. I have the tool.”
“You have ‘the tool’? How did you get it?”
“When they came and arrested him, he gave it to me to hide.” She patted her big bag on the diner seat next to her.
“Do you use it?”
“Oh, no. I just like to keep it with me. Jake showed me how to use it. Nikki, he was so fast. I was impressed.”
“Good, can you show me?”
Her eyes widened, realizing now what Nikki was asking. “You want to break into a car?”
“Yes. Adrian’s car.”
“He has a car? I thought—”
“So did I. I have to find out who he really is. I spied on him, Maudine, like you said to. And I found out he keeps a car hidden at an apartment complex nearby.”
“Ooh, he’s a liar!”
“He’s that, and maybe more. I’m going to get in his car and see where he goes. Can you help?”
“Of course, I can help. Did you see him smoke a cigarette like I was telling you?”
“No, I’ve never seen him smoke at all. There’s a lot to him I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”
Nikki had lunch at a diner with Adrian the next day. She did her best to be animated and act as normal as she could.
“Well, you look like you’re feeling better,” he said with a smile after they’d finished eating.
“Yes, I am.” Actually, she felt horrible, especially when she looked at his mouth and thought of their kisses. She cursed her body for wanting more of them. “Sorry I was such a dud.”
“I understand.” He leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his folded hands. “Nikki, let’s go down to the beach tonight. You have a little barbecue grill, right?” She nodded. “I’ll bring some hamburgers, and we’ll cook them on the beach. I want to talk with you tonight. About something important.”
Her heart lurched. “Won’t it be cold?”
“It’s only supposed to get to the mid-sixties, but we’ll go at sunset, so it’ll be warmer. If it gets too cold, we can go back to the shelter.”
“Okay.”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?”
She almost choked on her soda. “Of c-course I do.” She gave him her best imitation of a sheepish smile. “Why, shouldn’t I?”
A pained look flashed briefly across his features. He took her hands in his, soft hands that couldn’t belong to a construction worker. “You can trust me with your life.”
She couldn’t breathe for a moment as she looked into his brown eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would have believed him. Her heart wanted to believe him, dangerously disillusioned that it was. It all made her so angry, that he had come here and stolen her heart under false pretenses, that he might be a killer. She hid her anger behind another phony smile.
“Dinner on the beach sounds nice. Why don’t we meet here at six?”
He smiled, probably glad his plan was working so well. Get her alone on a darkened beach and kill her. Maybe after seducing her. She should be angry at him, but what she felt most was the pain that she had fallen in love with a man who was not what he pretended to be. If he was a killer, he wasn’t going to get a chance to perform his job on her. By seeing where he went, she would be able to tell who he was and what his motives were. Not that it mattered. Even if he weren’t a killer, he had lied to her for some reason. That was enough to make her disappear from his life forever.
She made a quick exit after lunch, pretending to have a lot of things to do. Actually, she had nothing to do but wait until six. Then she would put her own plan into action and get some answers.
From across the street, Nikki saw Adrian glance at his watch again. He wore loose white pants and a long-sleeved shirt that was untucked. She chastised herself for admiring those broad shoulders, and especially for remembering all too vividly how it felt to be held in those arms. It just wasn’t fair. But, she reminded herself, she’d known to keep her heart away from him right from the beginning. She deserved every ache inside, every twist of her stomach.
What bothered her most as she slipped from her vantage p
oint and headed toward his car, was that he looked worried. Genuinely worried, not irritated that his plan wasn’t working. It was her emotions playing tricks on her perception. Or he was a better actor than even she gave him credit for.
The jimmy Maudine had given her worked on the second try, and she was about to climb in, intending to hide behind the driver’s seat. Except there was no room, with the seat pushed all the way back to the seat. He’d spot her if she crouched behind the passenger seat. Damn.
The trunk. She popped it, closed the car door, and searched for the emergency release. Okay, she wouldn’t be stuck in there. Now all she had to do was get over her claustrophobia. She hoped he would give up on her soon before her joints permanently locked in this position.
Unfortunately, it was more than an hour before he returned to the car. Nikki was sure the pounding of her heart would give away her presence as the blood pumped in her ears. Adrian closed the door but didn’t start the car right away.
“Nikki, where are you?” he said, making her heart ache with the emotion in his words. Maybe he had convinced himself that he cared about her.
It was several minutes before he started the engine, and then he slowly pulled out and drove around for a while. He drove slowly, indicating that he was searching for her. She only hoped he wouldn’t find her van, though she was fairly certain he wouldn’t think of looking in a used car lot. With the price written on the windshield, and parked in the back, she doubted he’d even notice.
Her legs were numb by the time he stopped the car again. She heard a door slide open, then he pulled in a car’s length. By the echo of the car engine, she knew they were in a garage. The engine cut to silence. A second later the door slammed shut, then another door closed.
Nikki waited a few minutes before daring to pop the trunk. The numbness in her legs turned to a tingling ache, but she was glad to know they were still alive. The garage was dark, though she could see the fine line of light beneath the door leading inside. She looked out the window at the exterior door and could another house yards away. A nice house. So this is where he went at night. He’d definitely gone to a shelter because he knew she was following him.
Touched by Lightning [Dreams of You] (Romantic Suspense) Page 10
