Cautious Lover

by Stephanie James

  Damon’s cries of pain became mere grunts and then faded altogether. Elly realized he was almost uncon­scious from the punishment. She darted around the cor­ner of the house and dashed through the front door.

  “Jess! Jess, that’s enough, you’ll kill him!”

  Her voice seemed to break the raging anger that was dominating Jess. He went still above his victim and his burning eyes swung to Elly.

  “You’re all right.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Elly nodded and finally found her voice again. “I’m okay, Jess.”

  “I should kill him.”

  “He’s not worth it. Let the law have him. Besides, we’ve got Marina to worry about.” Desperately she tried to distract him with mention of the other twin. The thought of Jess killing a man because of her was more than Elly wanted to contend with just then. There would be endless inquiries and explanations. Perhaps worse. She’d already caused her lover enough trouble. Her only goal now was to end this mess before it got any more dif­ficult.

  It was something of a joke when you thought about it, she decided. She was always trying to keep Jess from be­coming embroiled in trouble on her behalf, and all she accomplished was another disaster.

  “Marina! Christ, I almost forgot about her.” Jess staggered to his feet, wiping a trace of blood off his mouth. “Where is she?”

  “In the Porsche outside.”

  “He said she was guarding you.”

  “He lied. They stuck me on that rock in the middle of the cove.”

  Jess’s eyes narrowed. “The tide…”

  “I know. I’ll tell you about it later. Right now we’ve got to stop Marina.” Even as Elly spoke the roar of the Porsche’s engine split the night.

  “She’s leaving! Damn that witch. I swear to God, this time I’m going to put these two away for ten years.”

  “Damon probably told her to get out if she heard gunfire and he didn’t immediately appear. But she’s not going far. I parked my car across the road.”

  Jess swung around, one brow lifting. “You’re just full of surprises tonight, aren’t you? Come on, help me with handsome over there.”

  ”What are you going to do?”

  “Use him to stop Marina.”

  Jess ignored the small handgun on the floor and knelt down to open his briefcase. From inside he withdrew a wicked-looking weapon of his own. It gleamed a dull blue-black in the cabin light. Elly stared at it.

  ”What on earth? I thought you had money in there!”

  “I do. I also had this. Come on, let’s get Carrington on his feet.”

  He reached down to haul Damon upright. Carrington was so groggy he didn’t seem to realize who was bracing him or what was happening. When he was forced to move toward the door of the cabin, he groaned but he didn’t argue. Elly drew his arm around her shoulder to steady him while Jess kept him on his feet.

  In the darkness outside, the Porsche headlights cut a swath through the night as the car swung violently around on the narrow road. Marina had just realized the exit was blocked. She was starting back toward the cabin. As she gunned the sportscar’s engine, Jess pushed Damon out into the middle of her path. The injured man staggered and fell to the ground.

  Simultaneously the Porsche’s tires screamed as the brakes were applied with savage force. Then the car door opened.

  “Damon!” Marina ran toward her brother. “Damon!”

  “Stay right where you are, Marina, or I’ll put a bullet in him. Maybe one in you, too, for that matter. I’m really getting sick of Carringtons.” Jess stepped out of the trees. The lights of the car fell harshly on the gun in his hand. “This time I think I’m going to do more than just hope you’ll stay out of my life. This time I’m going to do something permanent to make certain you stay out of it.”

  “You hurt him! You hurt Damon!”

  “He hurt Elly,” Jess responded in a voice as cold as his surname. “He’s lucky I didn’t kill him and you both. Believe me, the temptation to finish this right here and now is overwhelming. Don’t tempt me, Marina.”

  Kneeling beside her brother in the glare of the head­lights, Marina looked up at Jess. Perhaps it was the harsh light or perhaps it was the equally harsh expression on her face; for whatever reason she didn’t seem very beautiful just then. Elly felt almost sorry for her. Marina Carrington appeared to be finally comprehending the fact that this time she might have gone too far.

  “You can’t prove anything, Jess,” Marina said in a last-ditch effort. “It’ll be your word against ours.”

  “If I have trouble making the kidnapping charges stick, we’ll see how well the insurance company does with its fraud charges. On your feet, Marina. We’ve got a lot to do.”

  Something moved on Marina’s face as she stared at him. Her voice softened, took on a gently pleading note. “Jess… Jess, please. Listen to me. For the sake of what we once…”

  “Forget it, Marina. That act hasn’t worked in a long time. You wore it out with too many performances. That’s your whole problem, you know, as well as your brother’s. You were born thinking you could get away with anything forever. But you pushed your luck a little too far this time. You had the stupidity to threaten something I want very badly. Stupidity is the one crime for which you always have to pay in this world.”

  “Bastard,” Marina hissed, the softness leaving in­stantly as she took in the unwavering set of his face.

  Jess smiled faintly. “Now you’ve got it, Marina.”

  It was much later that evening when a subdued, watchful Elly sat sipping the brandy Jess had just poured. She had spoken very little to him during the past two hours. In truth there hadn’t been much opportunity. The local law authorities hadn’t experienced any difficulty in believing Jess’s side of the tale. After all, Deputy Char­lie Atkins knew Jess and Elly. In a small town the bur­den of proof tended to be on the outsiders, not on the locals who filed the complaints against them.

  Besides, as Charlie took pains to explain to his supe­rior, there were those Porsche tracks on the bluff above the cove, all that money in a briefcase and Elly Trent’s wet clothes. Everybody knew Elly Trent wouldn’t go swimming voluntarily. In point of fact nobody in his right mind went swimming in a cold sea at night. In ad­dition, everyone in town knew Jess and Elly. Good peo­ple. They wouldn’t make up a thing like this. Charlie’s boss concurred.

  Elly turned over in her mind the scene in the sheriff’s office as she watched Jess pour his own glass of brandy. He hadn’t settled down yet. There was a tension in him that wasn’t dissolving, even though the Carringtons were safely in custody. When he’d finished pouring the brandy, he picked up the glass and began pacing the room in front of her. Elly curled her legs beneath her as she sat on the sofa. Her wariness increased.

  “How did you know about the insurance fraud?” she finally asked. She had been trying for several minutes to think of something to break the taut silent.

  Jess took a sip of his brandy. “I had a firm working on it. The report was waiting for me when I got back to the apartment yesterday.”

  “An investigation firm?”

  “Yeah.”

  Elly frowned. “But how did you know? I mean, what made you hire a detective agency?”

  “After Damon showed up here I decided to do a little checking. I knew he was up to something, and it made me wonder how he’d been surviving on his own for the past three years. He and Marina had always functioned as a team—a pair of wolves who hunted together. I made a few inquiries and learned he’d been out of the country until recently. That made me even more suspicious. Why stay away from the States that long? And if he really felt I’d been somehow responsible for Marina’s death, why didn’t he come looking for revenge before now? I kept the inquiries going.” Jess shrugged, pausing by the fire­place. “One thing led to another. The investigators turned up fairly convincing evidence that Marina was still alive.”

  “I see.”

  “I got Carrington’s call just a
s I’d finished reading the report.”

  It seemed to Elly there was a trace of accusation in his words. Jess swung around to face her, his thumb hooked into the waistband of the jeans he was wearing. Out of force of habit she almost began to apologize. She stopped herself just as the words trembled on her lips. “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she said instead, her voice very formal.

  Jess stared at her thoughtfully. “You were doing a pretty good job of rescuing yourself. I’m proud of you, Elly. When I think of how you must have felt trapped on that damn rock with the tide coming in I could strangle both Carringtons. Was it very bad?”

  “It was…” she hesitated, seeking the appropriate word, “manageable. The worse part actually turned out to be the cold. That’s why I had to change clothes before driving to the beach house.”

  Jess shook his head, looking appalled. “How did you get free? I thought they had you tied hand and foot.”

  Elly cleared her throat. “Yes. Well, Jess, thereby hangs a very interesting tale. Remember that little paring knife you said I shouldn’t use for trimming the plants and dig­ging around in the dirt?”

  He eyed her with sudden alertness. “I remember.”

  “It, umm, happened to be sitting conveniently over there under the ivy. When Marina ordered me to put on my coat I was a little clumsy and managed to knock off those pots you see on the floor. When I pretended to try to catch them I palmed the knife.” She smiled widely. “Brilliant, huh?”

  Jess lifted his eyes heavenward in silent supplication. “I won’t ask how the knife got to be under the ivy. I’ll just be grateful that it was.”

  “Look on the bright side, Jess. If you hadn’t sharp­ened it recently it probably wouldn’t have cut through the cords at all.”

  “I’ll take comfort in that.” He began to pace. “I won’t take any comfort in the memory of the way you jumped up on the other side of that window at the beach house, though. Damn it to hell, Elly, Carrington could have killed you. He was a stick of dynamite waiting to ex­plode, and when you distracted him he lost control. Not to mention what you did to my frame of mind.”

  Elly heard the beginning of the censuring tone again and stirred restlessly on the couch. “Now, Jess…”

  “By the way,” he went on ruthlessly, really warming to his theme now, “the deputy said he heard that Car­rington put in an appearance at that potluck you went to last week. You never mentioned seeing him.”

  Elly coughed faintly. “I didn’t see any point in saying anything. It would only have upset you and besides, I—”

  “Upset me! Elly, if I’d known he was still in the neighborhood I could have taken some action. I could have protected you better. As it was, I was sitting blithely in Portland thinking there was no immediate concern. You should have told me he was still in town.”

  “I was trying to avoid an embarrassing and possibly dangerous confrontation.”

  “What did you get instead? An extremely dangerous confrontation.” He swung around sharply, starting to­ward the far side of the room. His dark brows formed a solid line above his gray eyes. “I know the present situ­ation is resolved, but this whole mess only goes to show that it’s time I stepped up the schedule. I don’t want to spend any more evenings than absolutely necessary sit­ting alone in Portland wondering what you’re doing. My nerves won’t tolerate it. We’ve wasted enough time. There’s no reason we can’t be married next week. I can wind up my last consulting job by Friday and move in here with you on Saturday. Once I’m finally living here I won’t have to worry about what’s going on all week.”

  Elly’s cautious nature began to disintegrate. “Now hold on just a minute, Jess.”

  He ignored her, lost in his plans. “I can contact a moving company tomorrow. We can also apply for the license this week. I’ll arrange for the ceremony on Mon­day. You might want to have a few friends in for a recep­tion or something. That’s fine with me. In the meantime, I’ll get my consulting reports out of the way.”

  “Damn it, Jess, just slow down for one blessed min­ute!” Elly leaped to her feet, her eyes blazing as her temper and her wariness collided in a small internal explosion. “This is my life we’re discussing, not just yours, and I’ve got a couple of things to say about it.”

  Wanting to quell her tirade, he slanted her a glance. “Calm down, Elly, I’m just making a few plans.”

  “You’re shuffling me around on that damned sched­ule of yours, and I’m not sure I want to be shuffled. Sit down, Jess Winter, I’ve got something to say.” She ad­vanced on him, her fists planted on her hips. “Go on, sit down!”

  “Elly, you’ve been through a lot tonight. You’re probably feeling tired and you’re still under a strain.”

  “I’m not in a mood to be soothed or consoled or pat­ted on the head and sent to bed. Sit down, Jess.” She was too wound up to be surprised when he did exactly as she ordered. Warily, he sank down onto the couch and took another sip of brandy. She stood facing him deter­minedly. “Now, let’s get specific about these plans of yours. In case you hadn’t noticed, my whole future is at stake here. And I have a few comments I’d like to make.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I accused you of being afraid to let yourself love me. I decided you were running scared.”

  “Elly…”

  She held up a hand. “But I had it all backward, Jess Winter. I’m the one who’s running scared. I’ve been nervous and wary and… and cautious around you since day one. I was afraid of pushing you on the physical side of things, so I spent weeks agonizing over the reason you didn’t ask me to go to bed with you. You always seemed to be on some sort of schedule, and I was afraid of dis­rupting it. After I finally worked up my nerve to try the big seduction scene and had it so rudely interrupted by Marina, I began fretting over the fact that I might say or do something to remind you of her. Then I saw you face to face with Damon, and I worried that if I didn’t keep you two apart there would be violence.”

  “Elly, let me—”

  “I’m not finished yet. When my family business problems became pressing, I panicked about you involv­ing yourself for fear it would bring up more memories of your experiences with the Carringtons. I’ve been getting increasingly nervous about the fact that you can’t seem to admit you love me. That, Jess, is the last straw.”

  Jess suddenly went still. “What are you saying, Elly?”

  “That I’m through running scared—through being wary, through walking on eggs around you when it comes to sticky issues. I’m not going to let you make me ner­vous or afraid any longer. I’m giving you an ultimatum. I’m not going to fit conveniently into your schedule any­more, Jess. We’re not getting married until you find the guts to admit you love me. And you’re going to have to make me believe it.”

  Ten

  “You do? You know?” The room had been fraught with silence when Elly finally spoke. “I know.”

  Elly stared at him. Jess’s mouth crooked slightly as he glanced down into his brandy and then back up to meet her eyes. He didn’t elaborate. She continued to stare at him, finally remembering to close her mouth.

  “You do?” she managed weakly. She felt as if the fire that had been driving her had suddenly flamed out. “How long have you… I mean, when did you decide you loved me?”

  “I think I’ve known since the beginning,” Jess said with a strange gentleness. “You were so very right in every way. Before I realized what I was doing I was fit­ting you into all my plans. I couldn’t schedule my future without you. But I didn’t want to spell it all out to my­self. You were right in that regard, too. I was running scared.”

  “Oh, Jess, I didn’t really mean that.”

  “Sure you did, it’s the truth. I’ve been coming to terms with it for quite a while, ever since you tried to stage your sweet seduction act. But I wasn’t ready to talk about it in San Francisco. I was still trying to come to terms with it myself. I’ve spent too many years learning to be in con­trol, Elly.
I wanted to be in control of myself and of everything around me. I think I’ve always been inclined to be that way, but after that fiasco of a marriage with Marina I really decided to stay in command of myself and others. Never again was I going to let myself get strung out the way I did with her. I made a total fool of myself. That’s a hard thing for a man to live down, Elly.”

  Elly was consumed with remorse for having pushed him into the confession. She rushed forward, throwing herself onto her knees in front of him. Catching one of his big hands between hers, she looked up at him ear­nestly. “I know, Jess. I thought that was the problem. I should never have provoked you into admitting it. You have every right to deal with this in your own way and in your own time. Forget I said anything, okay?”

  He looked amused. “It’s too late. You’ve already said it. And so have I.”

  “Well, we’ll just pretend that you haven’t.”

  “The hell we will.” His eyes were warming with a sen­sual laughter. He set down the brandy glass and moved his free hand to her braided hair. “One of the things you’re going to have to learn, Elly, is that if you insist on pushing a man to the wall, you have to take the conse­quences.”

  “What consequences?”

  “You said I was not only going to have to admit I loved you, but make you believe I meant it.”

  “I believe you. I have to believe you, Jess. I love you so much I just knew you loved me, too. Or that you’d love me if you just gave yourself a chance. That’s what I was really afraid of, you know,” she added confidingly. “I was terrified you’d take what I offered and re­sist … well, you know what I mean.”

  “You’d thought I’d take everything you had to give and resist surrendering in return.”

  Hurriedly Elly denied that. “It wasn’t that you didn’t give me a lot in return. You did, Jess. For one thing I trust you, and that means more than I can ever say. You’re an honorable man and you’re generous. You even tolerated my obnoxious relatives. And you’ve definitely managed to reassure me that you want me. You have given me a lot.”

  “But it wasn’t quite enough to make you agree to marry me.” Slowly, Jess began to work loose one of the pins that held her braids in place.