by Rye Hart
Before she had time to pick herself up off the ground, the door swung open. Carter Heath's large frame filled the entrance and blocked Georgina from seeing inside.
At the moment, Georgina didn't care about solving the mystery, as much as she did about getting out of the current situation in one piece. She had heard the threatening tone in the other man's voice when he said that he would do anything to make sure nothing happened to Mia. If they thought Georgina would get in the way, it may not end well for her. She wasn't sure where Carter stood in all of this, but she wasn't exactly going to wait around to find out.
In a single, swift movement, she leapt to her feet and took off running as fast as she could away from the building and the imposing force that was Carter Heath. She had thought that he seemed like a decent enough guy, perhaps a bit mysterious, but nothing too menacing. She had never been wrong before when it came to judging someone's character, but that didn't mean she could be wrong now.
She could hear him pursuing her, the rough tread of his own feet beating against the ground. Adrenaline shot through her as she could sense him gaining on her; she feared she would not be fast enough.
She had no idea how this situation could have escalated from a casual article on mail order brides, to running down the streets of a developing California city being pursued by her supposed "fiancé." It was absurd to say the least, and she still didn't have enough to write a decent article.
She had no idea where she was running to, as she certainly couldn't return to the apartment she shared with the very man that was chasing her. She was trapped and had nowhere to go, her only hope was to possibly hide until dawn.
Her hope to outrun Carter was shattered the moment she felt his strong arms come around her waist. She felt her world spin and the ground come closer as he tackled her in a sudden motion.
Their bodies plummeted toward the rough dirt and Georgina reached out in an effort to stop her fall. She braced for the impact, but was surprised when she felt Carter's strong arms come around her in a protective motion and shielding her from the impact of the fall. His own body took the brunt of it as they collapsed in a heaving pile upon the ground.
Georgina was breathing heavily from her run; her heart raced with the exertion and the dreaded realization that he had caught up to her. She could hear his own heavy breath, as it was hot against her neck, his body tangled with hers as they recovered from the harsh fall.
"Are you alri —"
Georgina didn't let him finish as she delivered a quick elbow jab to his rib cage.
"Ugh," Carter emitted in response.
Georgina felt his hold loosen on her long enough for her to wiggle out of his strong grasp and attempt to stand.
On any man other than Carter Heath, that move might have been a success. Unfortunately, in this case, it only resulted in Carter pulling her back to the ground and using his body to pin her to the hard dirt.
"I was going to ask if you were ok," he spoke huskily, "but it is obvious you survived the little tumble better than myself." He rubbed the part of his rib where Georgina had jabbed him.
"Let me go," she seethed.
"Not just yet," he laughed. He held her wrists securely above her head with one hand, while his body kept her pressed against the ground so that she couldn't run away. "I think you have some explaining to do," he began.
"So do you," she threw back at him.
"But seeing as I'm the one with the upper hand," he nodded toward her secured wrists, "I think you should be the one to answer my questions first."
Georgina knew she wouldn't get anywhere if she continued to fight him. She figured her best bet was toeing the line of a compromise, something that did not come easy to her and sorely bruised her pride.
"How about a trade," she bartered smoothly. Her voice changed from rough resistance, to a more lenient tone. "I will answer one of your questions, if you answer one of mine."
Carter studied her for a moment, as if choosing his next move wisely. "Deal," he finally agreed. "But me first," he grinned and tilted his head in a cocky manner.
"Do you report everything you find to Mr. Barrington?" he asked in a suddenly serious tone.
Georgina's eyes flashed. "Absolutely not!" she growled. "It would be against my honor as a journalist to reveal my information before I have all of the facts! And even then, I report to the public, not an individual."
"Interesting," Carter muttered. "Then why would he fund your investigation if it wasn’t meant to personally benefit himself?" he pressed again.
"Wait, it is my turn to ask next!" Georgina broke him off. "What I want to know, is how you know I was commissioned by Barrington to come here?" Her mind raced with the realization that Carter had known her cover all along.
Carter grinned. "I'm the private investigator he hired to track down his daughter," he replied coolly.
"You're what?" Georgina nearly shouted. She knew she was raising her voice, but she couldn't believe the implication of what his confession meant. "But you were —"
"Looking for a bride?" he teased.
At that moment, some of his hair fell into his eyes, and gave him a rather mischievous appearance. Georgina felt her heart lurch, as the little movement caught her off guard.
"But how did you know? Or was it just dumb luck that you got me out off all the other girls?" she breathed. She could feel the heat begin to rise in her cheeks as she became aware of the intensity of his gaze.
"Because," Carter said huskily, "It was already arranged that I was to be the one to pick you up from the hotel and fill you in on the investigation so far, as per Barrington's instructions," he confessed.
"You knew the whole time and you made me think that I had to marry you anyways?" she burst. Georgina couldn't believe the cad. He had allowed her to awkwardly think that she was supposed to marry him for no reason. "Why would you keep that from me? I thought I was stranded and almost forced to marry a complete stranger just to keep from blowing my cover!"
"I couldn't just let you in on what I knew before I knew who exactly who were working for," he said.
Georgina rolled her eyes. What kind of detective is this guy? "Well how do you know I'm even telling the truth?" she questioned. "Since you have me in such an uncompromising position, I could just be telling you what you want to hear so you let me go," she argued.
"That's the thing," his eyes suddenly sparkled in the faint light from the moon, "I don't."
With a sudden motion, he brought his lips down to meet hers.
Georgina's senses exploded with the sensation of his rough lips against her soft ones. The teasing rhythm of his mouth as it caressed her own lightly sent shivers down her spine. Her head spun dizzily and her skin tingled with the euphoric sensation of the unexpected heat of his kiss.
It was intense, sudden, and gone before her mind had fully registered the impact of it.
She opened her eyes to see Carter looking down at her, an intensely heated look illuminating his handsome features.
"Wow," he muttered.
"Wow indeed," she whispered back at him.
"Good thing you are my wife," he teased.
"Almost your wife," she corrected. Then the clarity of the moment hit her. "But not really, because the whole thing was an elaborate cover," she said with sudden ferocity. How dare he kiss me and make me feel that when it is all an act!
"Is it?" he asked, the dreamy look still sparkling in his eyes.
"Of course it is," she said with sudden assurance. "Now if you can be so kind sir, I would like for you to release me," she commanded with renewed resolve.
The hazy daze disappeared and a cloud crossed over Carter's features. "I'm sorry," he said as he quickly removed his hold over her wrists, lifted his body off of hers, and reached down to help her stand up.
Georgina dusted some of the dirt off her overcoat; she wasn't able to look Carter in the eye at the moment. Her mind still swam with the strange and unexpected intimacy they had just shared. Without looking up
she said, "It would seem that the great mystery that I had come here to write about has been solved then."
"Except that no one must ever know that you have found Mia," Carter quickly added.
Georgina was taken aback by his comment. She quickly looked up and their eyes locked with that familiar intensity. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, but she refused to look away.
"Please," Carter pleaded. "Mia left for a reason. Her father was trying to force her into a marriage to a man he wanted her to be with, instead of the man she loved."
Georgina was caught off guard by his sentimental statement. She hadn't taken the strikingly handsome man as a romantic, yet here he was defending a woman he had been sent to find. " What are you saying?" she asked for further clarification.
Carter took a heavy breath. "They used the matchmaking service as a cover, and decided to rendezvous in San Francisco," he explained. "Her father hired me to track her down so that he might be able to find her and force her to return. But when I found her and discovered that she ran away to escape her overbearing father, I promised her and her husband Mark to help them escape."
"Is that why Barrington sent me? He wanted me to expose you, not the matchmaking service, as the one that was hiding information as to Mia's whereabouts," Georgina clarified.
Carter nodded. "I can't stop you from what you will write about and I don't care what you might report about me, but I hope that you won't expose Mia and Mark."
Georgina felt torn. She had wanted this story to be the story that would help her gain the attention she needed in the newspaper business to finally be taken seriously. However, it had become increasingly clear that both Barrington and Devon had used her as part of a personal plan. Barrington wanted his daughter to return and marry a man she did not love, and Devon wanted to make a quick profit off of Georgina's gullibility.
"I won't expose them," she agreed. "It would seem I've made a bit of a fool of myself," she said reluctantly. It was hard for Georgina to admit when she was wrong, but in that moment, she felt the weight of her own naivety.
"Thank you," Carter nodded. "My apartment is just around the corner, I will walk you back," he offered.
"I would prefer to be alone at this moment," she said softly.
"It is not safe at night here," Carter explained. "I can walk you back, but I will give you the privacy of having the place to yourself."
Georgina nodded her agreement.
They walked in silence back to the little building where, only a few hours ago, they had awkwardly pretended to be newlyweds. Now the startling clarity of reality had revealed itself to be anything but what either one could have expected.
When they reached the door, still unlocked from when Georgina had left it, they stopped.
"Thank you for not exposing Mia and Mark," he said again.
"Think nothing of it," she shrugged. "If I had known that I was being used as a part in Barrington's plan to try and force his daughter into an unwanted marriage, I would have never agreed."
"Same," Carter chuckled dryly.
The silence continued to create deafening distance between them, neither one sure how to proceed from the awkward impasse.
"Thank you for walking me home," Georgina said with uncharacteristic shyness.
"Think nothing of it," he echoed her words.
Their eyes met once again, the intensity of the pull they both felt kept their gazes locked.
Carter spoke first, breaking the spell. "Goodbye Georgina, it was a pleasure meeting you," he said with a stiff formality.
"Likewise," Georgina said quietly before she turned and entered the darkened apartment.
As the door clanged shut behind her, she knew that that this would be last time she saw Carter Heath. They both knew that come dawn, she would already be on her way back home.
Chapter Six
"This is complete horse —"
"Language!" Georgina cut Devon off before he could finish.
Devon growled. "San Francisco: A Growing City of Opportunity and Entrepreneurs! This isn't the article I asked for!" He threw the neatly written article back down on his desk. "Where is Mia Barrington? Where is my exposé on the seedy underbelly of the mail order bride business? Where is the dirt?" he said with decisive force.
"What kind of journalist do you think I am?" she raised her voice as she moved toward him. "This is an excellent take on a growing city in the west, a place that is attracting a lot of attention and potential," she argued. "Mia is gone and Mr. Barrington needs to accept that. As for the seedy mail order bride business, my time with the company was a comfortable enough experience."
"Do you realize how much this article cost me?" Devon seethed. "Barrington agreed to cover the expenses only if you found Mia, and since you failed to do that, I am going to be the one footing the bill."
"Not my problem," Georgina said with a defiant tilt of her head.
"No," said an older male voice behind her, "It is my problem."
Slowly, Georgina turned to face the man that had spoken. It only took a second for her to realize who was standing before her.
"Mr. Barrington," prattled Devon nervously, "I want to apologize for the failings on the part of my journalist."
"Forget it," the older gentlemen said with a dismissive twist of his wrist. He was well dressed, tall, and had a full head of white hair. He walked with a cane and appeared to be every bit of an entitled businessman that thought money could buy him anything.
"So this is the man that sent me on a cross-country chase to find his daughter," Georgina mused. Barrington didn't frighten her one bit. She was used to handling his type, but he most definitely wasn't used to handling a woman like her.
"I see you failed to bring her back," he drawled. His gaze assessed her.
"Perhaps if you had been a bit more clear on why you wanted me to find her, I might have made better use of my time," she challenged.
Barrington chuckled, but not from a place of joy, but from dark amusement. "A female journalist, what a novel idea. Perhaps where I went wrong, was sending a woman in to do a job a man should have done."
Georgina's eyes flared, but she pushed the comment aside in order to keep her cool demeanor. "But you already sent a man," she mocked, "and where is he now?" Barrington had employed Carter to find Mia, and from what Georgina knew, Carter never gave up Mia and Mark's location.
"How dare you!" Barrington exploded, his aged face mottled purple with rage. "As long as I am still alive, I will never stop searching for my daughter," he breathed hotly.
"It's over Mr. Barrington," Georgina said flatly. "Mia is gone now and you need to accept that."
Georgina braced herself for the violent reaction, readied her resilience for his comeback.
It never came.
Instead, with a heavy sigh, the imposing Mr. Barrington began to sob.
Georgina was taken aback by the sudden emotional response of the older gentlemen. She had expected anger, rage, maybe even a bit of violence from the intense man. But instead of her words inciting an angry response, it seemed to have hit him more fiercely than she could have ever anticipated. With a surge of her own heart, Georgina moved forward to comfort the very man she had insulted.
But as she moved forward to comfort him, a soft female voice rang through the intensity of the atmosphere in the room.
"Daddy?" said the petite Mia Barrington.
"Mia, darling?" replied the shaky older man.
Mia stood in the doorway of Devon's small office. A handsome young man stood protectively next to her, his eyes warily watching the situation.
"Yes Daddy, I've come back," Mia said softly.
"I'm so sorry," Barrington said with a timid voice. He tried to hold back his sobs as he turned to face his daughter.
Mia didn't waste a second before she rushed toward her father and embraced him. "I forgive you," she said in a voice that rang heavy with emotion.
"I thought I had lost you," Barrington confessed. "I was angry with my
self for allowing my own stubbornness to drive away my only little girl," he whispered against Mia's hair as he embraced her.
"I was worried I had lost you too," she cried into his shoulder.
Georgina figured now would be a good time to make her exit. The room was heavy with the emotions of the reunion, and she knew that it wasn't her place in this family affair.
She stole a glance at Devon, who remained awkwardly at his desk, before she quickly squeezed past the embracing family and out the door.
She quickly made her way past the maze of desks in the small newspaper office, a bittersweet moment as she looked on at the place that had been like her second home for the past few years. She knew that it was time that she moved on, although she wasn't quite sure where she would go yet.
When she opened the door that led out of the building and into the street, she stopped when her gaze locked with an all too familiar one at the bottom of the steps.
"If it isn't my wife," teased the handsome and cocky Carter Heath.
"I'm not your —" she stopped when his gaze turned decisively heated. It threw Georgina off, but only for a moment. Well two can play at that game, she thought darkly to herself.
She glided smoothly down the stairs, her gaze not breaking from his for a second, until she stood at eye level with him.
"Must have been a bit of a long walk all the way from San Francisco?" She took her hand and ran it along his arm. "You must be exhausted," she winked at him playfully.
"It wasn't too bad," he shrugged. "I had the thought of our kiss and the promise of another as incentive to keep going."
Georgina gasped before her lips curled into a seductive smile. "And how were you so sure you would get another?" she asked.
"Well," he suddenly caught her arm as it glided across his and used it to bring her closer to him. "I have an offer for a beautiful woman," he said.
"And what is that?" Georgina asked him from under her hooded lashes.
"If she would like to go into business together and open a newspaper, focused on investigative exposé, in a growing city."
