Not Even if You Begged

by Francis Ray

  Before she could stop herself she thought of Simon, his smile, the regret in his beautiful smoky black eyes.

  She wasn’t the type of woman to deal with regrets or indecisiveness. With Simon she was dealing with both.

  Sighing, she continued to the stairs. At least she didn’t have to drag in any clothes, since the family always kept a rather extensive wardrobe at the beach cottage in case they decided to visit on the spur of the moment. But only she used it now. James was gone, and Ryan seldom had time away from his busy practice, the clinic where he volunteered, and his social life to visit her, let alone go to the beach.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have friends, a wonderful successful son, and more than the basic necessities of life.”

  Before she could stop herself, she wondered if a man could be considered a basic necessity. Probably not in today’s culture where women were independent and cracking the glass ceiling, running Fortune 500 companies and countries.

  She might not need a man, but a man did have his uses.

  Lost in her musing, Maureen was almost to her bedroom before she saw the light coming from the open door. She frowned, and her steps slowed. She’d left midafternoon Friday. The maid who came daily had left at the same time to visit friends in Memphis. She wasn’t due back until Monday around noon.

  Still puzzled, Maureen opened the door wider to her bedroom. And gasped.

  A naked man lay sprawled facedown in her bed.

  The overnight case dropped from her hand to land with a soft thud on the Oriental rug. The snoring man on top of her custom-made silk duvet didn’t budge. Several empty wine bottles scattered around the room were probably the reason why. She fought down a mixture of rage and fear.

  Not only had he broken into her house, he’d made himself at home in her bed and in her private wine cellar. Her first thought was to grab him by his long, unkept dark hair and pull the thief out of her bed.

  Sanity prevailed.

  He might be drunk, but that didn’t mean he was incapacitated. Then she noticed something else, the outline of a smaller figure beneath the covers. Woman or man, she couldn’t tell.

  Maureen took one step backward, then another until she was in the hallway. She stopped at the landing by the house phone. Easing up the receiver, she dialed 911. She’d considered hitting the police button on the alarm pad in the bedroom next to hers, but she didn’t want to risk waking the thieves when the alarm went off.

  “911 operator,” answered a female voice.

  “Two people broke into my home and they’re asleep in my bed,” she whispered, her voice unsteady. “I just got home.”

  “We have your address. A patrol car is on the way. Are you alone?”

  Her hand clenched the phone. “Yes.”

  “Go outside immediately. Do you have a cell phone?”

  “No.” She’d lost hers last week and hadn’t had a chance to get another.

  “Please go outside and wait.”

  “Thank you,” Maureen whispered, her gaze on the door to her bedroom. Hanging up, she immediately hit the speed dial button for Ryan.

  The phone answered on the second ring. “How’s the love of my life?”

  “Ryan.” Just hearing his strong, steady voice made her knees shake.

  “Mother, what’s the matter?” All playfulness left his voice.

  “Two people broke into the house.” She swallowed before she could go on. “They’re asleep in my bed.”

  “Where are you?” he asked sharply, then said something she couldn’t understand.

  “Down the hall on the phone,” she whispered.

  He muttered an expletive. “Get out of there! Now! We’re on our way.”

  “Please hurry.” She hung up the phone, turned to go, then swung back. The last mementos of her husband were in her bedroom. They were valuable, but worth much more to her, to Ryan, and to the grandchildren she hoped to have one day. They might take her precious mementos.

  While she was cowering outside, the thieves could wake up and go out the bedroom window … if they knew she was there.

  But they didn’t. So they’d come out the bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the heavy brass candlestick as long as her arm by the side chair at the top of the landing and went midway to her bedroom door. She’d be ready.

  It seemed like an eternity before Maureen heard the front door open.

  Her breath caught. Was it Ryan or was it an accomplice of the thieves? Ryan still had a key. Would the police come in unannounced? Have a master key?

  She swallowed and started down the hall to the bedroom next door to hide. Then she heard Ryan’s familiar footfalls on the stairs. They’d moved into the house when he was nine months old. There were so many wonderful memories here that she hadn’t wanted to move after his father died.

  Ryan, his face lined with fear and annoyance, came around the sharp turn of the stairs. Reaching the landing, he sprinted toward her. Her fingers loosened, letting the candlestick fall to the silk Oriental runner. She met him halfway.

  In the security of his arms, she closed her eyes and allowed the fear and tension to ease out of her. His arms tightened around her as if reassuring himself that she was all right. She marveled again that this strong, handsome man was her son.

  “In there.”

  Hearing Ryan’s voice giving directions, she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of a wide-shouldered man wearing a black sports coat before he disappeared into her bedroom. Moments later she heard a yelp, then a curse. She tensed.

  “Don’t worry. He has it covered,” Ryan told her.

  “There are two of them,” Maureen said, tucking her lower lip between her teeth.

  “It would take more than that to throw him, from what I’ve heard.” Ryan pulled his mother closer as two uniformed officers appeared. “Second door to the left.”

  “You’re sure he’s all right?” she asked as the patrolmen rushed past them. There were no more sounds coming from her bedroom.

  “Yes.” Taking her arms, he stared down into her face. “Why didn’t you do as I asked you?”

  “I didn’t want them to get away with your father’s things,” she answered.

  Ryan shook his head, then gently shook her. “You were the most precious thing to him, to both of us. Dad would have understood.”

  “Or fussed a blue streak if he were here,” she said, fondly recalling the occasions when she had done something her husband thought might have placed her in harm’s way.

  “I still recall the time you picked up a hitchhiker on your drive to Greenville.” Ryan shook his head again.

  Since that had been foolish, she said nothing. But in her defense she had felt sorry for the young black man, and so thankful her son was in college and safe, not standing in the drizzling rain trying to get to the next city to find work to support his family. People had to consider the risk, but also the reward if they reached out to help each other.

  A commotion at her door caught her attention. Instinctively she stepped closer to Ryan. The scruffy man, now in jeans and a T-shirt, and a young woman dressed similarly were escorted past them by the two policemen. Both thieves were in handcuffs.

  “Be sure to repeat the Miranda to them before you put them in the squad car and once you arrive at the station. They’re both pretty plastered,” ordered the man who had arrived shortly after Ryan.

  Maureen went still as she stared straight into the smoky black gaze of Simon Dunlap. She saw the recognition, the appreciation in his gaze, felt her heart race. Then she glanced at her son, and felt a different sort of fear.

  Simon Dunlap always believed himself lucky.

  His luck was holding, he mused, as he stared at the beautiful woman from the bar in the hotel on the Isle of Palm. She’d turned him down. Twice. A first since he never asked again once a woman said no. For her, he’d ask as many times as it took for her to say yes. Now she looked nervous, refusing to meet his gaze. He had a pretty good idea why.

&nbs
p; “Mother, I’d like you to meet Simon Dunlap, a second lieutenant with the Myrtle Beach Police Department Burglary Division. Simon is on loan to the Charleston Police Department to help curb burglaries. My mother, Maureen Gilmore,” Ryan introduced, his arm still around Maureen a.k.a. Ashley’s shoulders.

  “Mrs. Gilmore. I wish we could have met under different circumstances,” Simon said, sensing that she didn’t want her son to know they had met earlier. Her son. She looked too young to have an adult son in his late thirties. Simon had thought she was in her late forties, the same as he.

  Finally, her head lifted, her dark amber eyes met his. “Lieutenant Dunlap. It was fortunate that you were in the city. Thank you.”

  “Simon and I were having drinks when I got the call,” Ryan explained.

  “He went through a caution light or we would have arrived together,” Simon told her, trying to put her at ease and let her know her secret was safe. “If I had been in a police car I might have followed. I’m sorry you had to be alone one moment longer than necessary.”

  A pleased expression flickered across her beautiful face, then it quickly disappeared. “It couldn’t have been helped.”

  “Ryan said you had planned to be away until Monday. I don’t think they expected you back so early,” Simon told her. “Looks like they were more interested in drinking and partying. The other patrolman reported a car in the back. A wrecker will tow it within the next couple of hours.”

  Maureen moistened her lips, lips that he had spent a lot of time thinking about in the past two days. “Can I go into my room?”

  “Yes. I’ll need you to make a complete list of missing items, but as I said I don’t think they had taken anything yet.” Simon followed her into the bedroom. “Another patrolman will wait with the car until it can be towed.”

  Maureen didn’t answer, just glanced around. Except for the bed and the empty bottles, the elegant blue-and-white room was picture perfect as far as Simon could determine. She slowly crossed the room and opened one of the top drawers in a triple dresser and removed a small jewelry box and opened it.

  She turned to them, an unsteady smile on her face. “I was almost afraid to look, but your father’s watch and other things are still here.”

  Simon had known Maureen was a woman of worth. If he needed any proof, she had just given it to him. The first things she checked were the possessions of her deceased husband. If the sparkling diamond ear studs in her ear, her watch, and ring were any indication, she probably owned other expensive jewelry pieces, yet she hadn’t bothered to check them.

  Ryan’s arm tightened around her. “Your safety is the important thing. They couldn’t take what’s in our hearts.”

  “I know, but I want your children to have these one day.” She bit her lip, looked around the room, and shivered.

  Ryan gently turned her stricken face to his. “We’ll take everything off the bed and call Willie in the morning to replace the bedding.”

  “Willie?” Simon asked, hoping to get Maureen’s mind on something beside the invasion of her room.

  “The decorator,” she answered, staring at her tumbled bed.

  Having dealt with people in the past and their feeling of violation, Simon didn’t expect to feel the anger or strong regret. He wished he had yanked harder when he’d pulled the man out of the bed by his hair. “Why don’t we go downstairs? You and Ryan can go over your room later.”

  She turned firmly toward him. This time her gaze met his. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  She was as gracious as she was lovely. And for a while it might help her forget. “That sounds good. Thank you.”

  “Please follow me.”

  Simon did as requested, wishing they could have met again under different circumstances. For a moment upstairs she’d looked shattered. Not for anything would he have wanted this to happen to her.

  Downstairs in the spacious and ultramodern stainless steel kitchen with its hand-painted vaulted ceiling and large island, Maureen went to the automatic coffeemaker on the immaculate granite counter to put on the coffee. “Please have a seat,” she said.

  Ryan waved Simon to a padded chair at the antique rectangular oak table that would easily seat eight. “This is nice. My oldest brother and his wife just remodeled their kitchen.”

  “Thank you,” Maureen said over her shoulder as she set the carafe under the spout. “They just finished last Thursday.”

  He stood and pulled out a chair for her as soon as she finished. “Please take a seat. Ryan and I can take it from here when the coffee is ready.”

  Maureen sent him the briefest hint of a grateful smile, then sat, placing her trembling hands in her lap. “Thank you.”

  Simon took a seat across from her and tried to keep his mind on procedure rather than the way Maureen kept licking her lips. He shifted in his seat. “I suppose the remodeling crew were in and out a lot.”

  “Yes,” she answered, her gaze sliding to his, then away.

  “Is your alarm a fixture or do you use it?” Simon asked—time to get back to business.

  Her head lifted. A chagrined expression crossed her beautiful face before she glanced at Ryan. “I use it.”

  “Now. I nagged her until she did.” Ryan got up to grab three cups. “This is a pretty crime-free neighborhood, but it pays to be safe. Or at least it was,” he said with a grimace.

  “Did you turn on your alarm before you left?” Simon continued.

  “Thank you.” Maureen accepted the cup of coffee from her son before answering. “I thought I did, but I must have forgotten. It wasn’t on when I returned.” She glanced guiltily at her son. “I guess I was in a hurry to leave.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Simon told her, then went on while she looked puzzled. “There was a pay stub from a kitchen remodeling company in the pocket of the man’s jeans. A Fine Touch Remodeling. Sound familiar?”

  Maureen’s eyes widened. “They did the kitchen.”

  “And you gave them your code since they were in and out so much. Once they finished, you never changed it,” Simon guessed.

  Briefly her eyes closed. “I was at the store and the maid was on vacation when they began the project.” Her shoulders straightened. “I’ll call the alarm company tonight after we finish and change the code.”

  Simon almost reached across the table to take her agitated hands. “It could have happened to anyone. Apparently you trust people.”

  “The wrong people,” Ryan said.

  Maureen tucked her head. Simon didn’t want to see the worry on her face. He made a quick decision. He didn’t care for the idea of her being vulnerable or feeling incompetent. “If you’d like, I could come back and check the place over to see if there is anything that we can do to make the house safer.”

  Maureen felt gullible, a bit naïve, and embarrassed that a man she’d lusted after was a friend of her son, but the hard fact was she wanted to feel as safe as possible. At the moment she didn’t. “I’d like that. Thank you.”

  “Is Tuesday around three all right?” Simon asked. “I check in at the station at eight in the morning and will probably be there all day. I coach a boys’ basketball team on Tuesday nights.”

  Had she imagined the pleased look in his eyes when she’d agreed? Did he see the same undeniable look in hers? “Three would be fine. Do you mind if I invite a few friends?”

  “No. The more knowledgeable people are about protecting themselves, the better for all concerned. I’ll see you then.” Flashing her a smile that made her heart sigh, he stood. “I’d better go and file that report.”

  Maureen slowly came to her feet, her hand pressed on the tabletop for support. If his smile made her weak what could his hands, that wicked mouth of his do? “I’ll see you out.”

  “That isn’t necessary,” Simon told her as he moved toward the door.

  “To Mother it is.” Ryan slung his arm around his mother’s shoulders. “She is a true Southern lady.”

  Maureen ha
d always been proud to be Ryan’s mother, but at that moment she wished he hadn’t reminded Simon she had a grown son. Perhaps it was for the best. No matter how she might wish or fantasize, Simon wasn’t for her. She hadn’t thought of what Simon did for a living. He seemed much too easygoing for that profession, but perhaps not. His understanding and caring had certainly been what she needed in order to cope.

  Simon smiled again. “She’s also a very brave lady. I hope this doesn’t happen again, but if it does, please wait outside.”

  “She will,” Ryan said with finality.

  The best way to win an argument with a man was to not start one, just do as you pleased … another lesson her mother had taught her. “This way.” Maureen left the kitchen and started for the front door, the two men following close behind.

  At the front door, Simon stepped in front of her to open the door, accidentally brushing lightly against her arm. She started. Her wide-eyed gaze jerked up to meet his; her breathing accelerated.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, a frown marring his handsome face.

  “You didn’t.” Which was the truth. He excited her. She swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself, felt the tingling of her bare arm where he had brushed against hers. Again she wondered what it would feel like if he had the freedom to touch her as he pleased.

  He stared at her a long moment as if he might be wondering the same thing, then mercifully he gave his attention to Ryan and extended his hand. “Thanks for the drink and the warm welcome to Charleston.”

  “I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Shaking Simon’s hand, Ryan glanced at his mother. “We owe you.”

  “Just doing my job. Good—”

  “Maureen!”

  Maureen jerked around at the sound of Traci’s worried voice and saw her running across the adjoining yard. Maureen stepped off the porch and went to meet her.

  C h a p t e r

  3

  “Are you all right? Why were the police here?” Traci asked, her voice frantic as she clutched Maureen’s arms.

  “I’m fine, Traci,” Maureen quickly reassured her. “Thieves broke into the house, then made themselves at home in my bed.”