As Ann shrugged weakly, Sammy glanced at Chase; he didn’t look convinced.
“It just showed up?” he drawled.
“I know how it sounds,” Ann said. “But hasn’t it happened to you? You can’t find something. You search every conceivable place ten times over. Then, out of the blue, it appears out of nowhere.”
Sammy wondered. Yes, that had happened to her, and more than once, most recently with an earring that had suddenly materialized again on her bathroom counter. She’d thought at the time how weird it was. She guessed that had happened to just about everyone. But in this case, it sounded too convenient.
As Chase’s arm wound around her back, Sammy lifted her chin. “What happened next?”
“By then,” Ann went on, “the wheels were turning. The police were investigating, although I don’t think too hard. The papers were with the insurance company. I made a decision. I kept quiet. Rick thought I was making a mistake.”
“I told her we should come clean and go back to plan A,” Rick said. “Both of you moving in with me. We had a big argument about it.”
“It spilled out into the building hallway,” Ann explained. “I was so riddled with guilt, I was sure someone would have overheard and turned us in.”
“Not us, Ann,” Sammy pointed out. “Turn you in.”
Only Sammy’s anger wasn’t as sharp as it had been. She could see by Ann’s ragged expression that she was telling the truth. But that didn’t excuse the fact that she had made that huge decision without her. She would have disagreed, like Rick...who she suddenly had more respect for. He’d wanted to do the right thing. And Ann had never let her know the truth because she’d known Sammy would be livid. Because she was afraid of being turned in or found out.
“The insurance money was paid out,” Ann went on. “We moved into a nice place. You had money to go to college. I started up a business.”
“The cafe?” Sammy asked. “Or the sex shop?”
“You know I love health and cooking. From day one, I adored my cafe, but it was slow to kick off. After some research, I discovered what others have known for centuries. What our courtesan ancestor certainly knew. Sex sells.” Ann’s expression changed. “You almost came across the ring one day,” she said. “You were looking through my jewelry box and I came in. The blood froze in my veins.”
Sammy crossed her arms. “Maybe that was the time to tell me.”
“Maybe it was.”
Chase spoke up. “You decided to move it on instead.”
“I sold a lot of erotic jewelry,” Ann said. “There’s a huge market.”
“I had no idea about the shop,” Sammy said.
“I didn’t want it to influence you,” Ann explained. “You were a good girl. I wanted you to stay that way.”
Sammy sat down beside her. “You didn’t, well, get more into that scene, did you?”
“I sold lots of steamy stuff,” Ann said, “but I never used it myself.”
Rick spoke up. “I can vouch for that.”
“I kept the ring there for a while, hidden away. One day a lady came in looking for something different. Sexy but also classy. She was prepared to pay a great deal.”
“Mrs. Garfield,” Chase said.
“I showed her the ring,” Ann said, “gave her a price. She walked out one very happy customer and that was the end of the whole long, unpleasant episode. Or so I thought.”
Rick added, “She always intended to repay the insurance money.”
Chase cocked an eyebrow. “How?”
“I had ideas of telling them,” Ann said, “that the ring had shown up and they could have their payout back.”
“But the insurance company went belly up a year after the payout,” Rick explained.
Sammy sat there for a moment absorbing all she’d heard. She wasn’t happy with it, but she could see how events and circumstances could have gotten the better of Ann. She searched her sister’s eyes.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“I always wanted to,” Ann said, reaching for her sister’s hand. “I’m almost glad you found out. I don’t know that Mom would ever forgive me…”
When Ann’s voice hitched and she hung her head, Sammy’s heart broke. She squeezed her sister’s hand and then brought her in for a hug.
“So, what do we do now?” Sammy asked, looking over at Chase.
He shut one eye, thinking, and then exhaled.
“I vote we put together some fingerprints.” He grinned. “And make some kick-ass coffee.”
Chapter 16
After an hour of coffee and more pleasant conversation, the sisters seemed to have reconciled and somewhat mended their fences. Chase was pleased by the outcome, but also, deep down, he was a little post party. The case was solved. Sometime soon Sammy would be heading off for L.A. He could travel down and visit, but how lame. He imagined the conversation.
Hey. Thought I’d rock in, take you out for dinner. Oh, and mind if I share your bed for a night or two? Because I really do miss you.
Damn, he missed her already.
After goodbyes were exchanged, Chase made himself comfortable behind the wheel of his vehicle while Sammy and Ann embraced. Sammy even gave Rick a hug and a smile; seemed he wasn’t such a prick after all. Sammy slid into the passenger side seat, but before she could shut the door, Rick handed an envelope to Ann who passed it on to her sister.
Sammy studied it. “What this?”
“Open it on your way home,” Ann said, and then smiled softly at Chase. “Thanks for helping make this right. This last bit...” She dropped a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “Well, now all the loose ends will be tied.”
They were out on the road before Sammy ripped open the seal. Hands on the wheel, Chase glanced across and grinned. “That looks interesting.”
She extracted a bank passbook and opened it to the identification page. “It’s a bank account made out in my name, opened eight years ago.” She flipped to the next page and made a sound like she’d lost her breath. “There’s a single transaction. A deposit. A big one.”
When she told him the amount, Chase let out a long low whistle. “The purchase price of the ring from Mrs. Garfield, I presume.”
“There’s a note or card in here, too. No. A photo....” Sammy sounded choked. “It’s me and Ann selling homemade perfume in front of our old building.” She flipped over the decades old snap. “There’s a message on the back. It’s from Mom.”
“What’s it say?”
“Something so simple and strong. Something she always used to tell us...” A tear slipped down her cheek as she met his gaze and smiled. “Don’t forget...find the joy.”
The closer they got to home, the thicker the tension grew inside the car. By the time Chase pulled up in front of Sammy’s condo, he’d recited in his head two dozen different ways to keep from saying goodbye. Beside him, clutching that envelope, Sammy looked just as torn.
Parked with the engine idling, he studied her profile, while she pressed her lips together, and then finally looked across. Her eyes were wide— like she wanted to invite him in but didn’t want to prolong the inevitable.
“Did I mention the club’s anniversary evening?” he asked, trying to sound casual. We’re extending invitations to wives and dates.”
She found a smile. “That’s a turn up.”
“So, I was thinking, if you’re still in town...”
Her eyes were glistening. “I’d like to. Even if Mr. Garfield might not be so keen to see me there—”
“He’d be fine.”
“—but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“He probably wouldn’t even recognize you.”
“I don’t mean that.” She turned in her seat to face him. “Truth is...” Her eyes glistened more and her throat bobbed on a deep swallow. “God, this is hard.”
He reached for her hand and squeezed. “This doesn’t need to be goodbye, Sammy.”
Her expression softened. “We’ll see eac
h other again. If you’re ever in L.A., you’d better give me a call.”
“And if you’re ever back here and need a…”
When he hesitated, she grinned. “Need a bed?”
Christ, he wanted to sweep her close, take her home. Instead he shrugged and grinned. “Well, you’re always welcome.”
“At Chase’s Place.”
She was referring to his stained glass panel, the project that he’d started with such zeal but now felt a bit flat about. He’d vowed he wouldn’t get in her way. Try to make her feel guilty about doing what she needed to do...
He set his jaw and drank in every inch of her face.
“Keep in touch,” he said.
Her smile was achingly beautiful. “Yeah,” she said. “You, too.”
When she leaned across and pressed her lips against his cheek, Chase forced a groan back down. He’d never felt like this before. It felt crushing. Agonizing. Like his heart was breaking in two.
Chase drove around the rest of the day.
Cruising relaxed him–helped him think more clearly. But by the time dusk fell, he still wasn’t done with it. None of it. If Sammy felt as if she had closed some doors today, he was only feeling the draft. Sammy had faced her demons. It was past time he faced some truths of his own.
Chase had Hurly Green’s current address. Chase updated his notes whenever Hurly moved, and slime like that moved a lot.
Chase pulled up outside a dingy looking house in a crap neighbourhood and glanced up and down the street. Kids wandered around wearing big brother’s clothes and no shoes. Women sat on porch steps chugging on smokes and sucking on beers. Youths on “interplanetary missions” strutted down the street, hoodies hiding their faces.
How many cookhouses were hidden away in this square mile? Chase knew at least one.
He sat parked for over an hour. Every now and then, he’d study the glove box. His chest would squeeze visualizing the gun he’d placed in there this morning. It made him feel strong. Made him feel sick.
When a dude finally crept out that front door and flicked his roach at a bush, Chase sat straighter. While he’d had addresses, he’d always cautioned himself to stay away. This was the first time he’d seen Hurly Green since that black day at the station when he’d been brought in for questioning. Now, like then, Chase’s skin turned to ice. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and quivered. He acknowledged the dark urge flapping its wings against his insides.
He wanted that fucker dead.
Glancing at the glove box again, Chase thumbed the passenger side window down and carefully leaned across. The younger man was already curious. Cars like this weren’t often seen in this neck of the woods.
Then Green slowed to a crawl, his head cocked. Wearing shades, Chase delivered a humorless grin. For so long, he’d imagined Green looking into his eyes, recognizing him and packing shit a heartbeat before—
A sound drifted into the car. Blinking, Chase dragged his thoughts back and peered over his shoulder. Two boys were strolling down the sidewalk, laughing and telling some story. Brothers? Friends? Maybe cousins.
When they approached Green, the boys glanced left then right and hurried across the street. They were avoiding trouble, just like Chase’s father always used to tell his son to do. What Chase should do now.
Avoiding trouble, like he and Will hadn’t done that night.
Gritting his teeth, Chase started the engine. Looking only ahead, he drove to a different part of town. After parking out front of a familiar house, he knocked on the door. Will’s wife Tina answered. Seeing him for the first time in too long, her face lit with a big smile at the same time her brown eyes sparkled with disbelief.
“Chase...my God.” She swallowed a big breath. “We’ve missed you.”
A boy, five-years-old, appeared behind his mom. Tina moved and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Zach, you remember Chase, don’t you? He was your Daddy’s partner.” Her eyes smiled and sparkled more. “His closest friend.”
Zach’s smile spread clean across his face. Then he stepped forward and hugged Chase’s legs like he was Santa Claus come early.
Chase had told Tina everything that had happened that night. Every thought, every action, every word. Back then, with his head in his hands and cheeks wet, he had begged her for forgiveness. She’d told him there was nothing to forgive. At the time, he hadn’t believed her. He couldn’t forgive himself. How could Will’s widow? The mother of Will’s child?
But now this woman circled her arms around him, leaned her cheek against his shoulder. Chase felt a warm rush of understanding—of absolution—wash through him a moment before she welcomed him inside.
Chapter 17
When Chase heard a knock on his front door, he put down the soldering iron and doused a surge of hope. He hadn’t heard from Sammy in two weeks...since the day he’d dropped her home after seeing her sister and settling, once and for all, the question which had lain behind the theft of her courtesan’s ring. After this long, could it be her? He’d almost accepted he might never see her again.
Moving to the door, he asked himself the same question. Could he have done anything to change what had seemed inevitable? Sammy was moving to L.A., away from here. Away from him. He’d hoped for a call, a text–some kind of suggestion that she’d meant what she’d said.
Keep in touch.
He and Sammy had enjoyed fun times. Hell, the best times. At some stage, he guessed he would have to move on. Find a nice woman. Have that family. But right now he’d sell his soul to have Samantha Mayne back in his arms, with her harebrained ideas, amazing body and off-key songs.
He missed her like he never thought he could miss anyone. Even more than he missed Will.
When the door fanned back, he felt his eyes widen. What the–?
He ran a hand through his hair. “What are you doing here?”
Tessa Coleman’s rouged smile shone out. “I got tired of waiting for an invitation.”
When he continued to stand there, stunned, she angled to look over his shoulder.
“Are you going to invite me in?”
He let out that breath and, with a sweep of an arm, ushered her inside. Since that day in his office when she’d suggested they could welcome guests together at the club’s anniversary celebrations, her behavior had been particularly professional. No invitations to lunch or suggestions that he had to think twice about. So, what was this?
She wandered into the living room and he closed the door. “Can I get you a coffee?”
“I’d love a glass of wine.”
Chase zoomed in on the outfit. Tessa always looked good. This dress, however, screamed, Take me now. It was white, clingy and on the short side. Tessa had a fine set of legs. That butt could give an elastic band a boner.
But she wasn’t Sammy, would never be Sammy, because Sammy was one of a kind.
At the worktable, Tessa crossed her arms under her breasts and turned to face him. “What’s this?”
He joined her. “Something I’ve been working on.”
Her manicured fingertips traced over the words. “Do you have any other talents I don’t know about?”
He was studying the stained glass. The exercise had taken longer than he’d thought. Now the pieces all fit together. The soldering was even. Colors and textures were compatible. But…
Something about it didn’t feel right.
When he didn’t answer, she prodded. “I’ve been worried about you. You’ve seemed so preoccupied lately.” As she edged closer, her hand brushed his—and lingered. “I’ve been a little preoccupied myself. Thinking a lot.” Her fingers brushed again. “About you. And me. Particularly after you told me that woman wouldn’t be coming to the anniversary party. That she was moving away.”
Tessa smelled feminine and fresh like a woman ought to. Her lips were plump and glossed and slightly parted. In her heels, she was almost his height. And her face…
He smiled.
For a minute he thought
he’d seen Sammy in her eyes.
Tessa coiled fingers around his and placed his hand on her hip.
“I’ve tried being subtle, Chase. For months now. Don’t you know that I want you?” She blinked slowly as her mouth came nearer. “Maybe we could try it. Even once, with no conditions. No promises.” Her lips grazed his as she hummed in her throat. “Just two people keeping each other company.”
His hand on her hip automatically squeezed at the suggestion. Foremost he was a man, and men enjoyed sex with willing partners who also happened to tick all the boxes that added up to HOT. But he had become involved with another woman and as much as his caveman brain grunted at him to forget about sentiment, he didn’t want to sleep with anyone else. The truly scary part was he didn’t know when or how he would ever get over this…attachment.
When Tessa moved to loop an arm around his neck, Chase stepped back and explained.
“It’s not that I don’t think you’re attractive.” He paused. “Thing is I have, well, feelings for someone else.”
“That woman?” Tessa’s chin went up. “Chase, she’s gone.”
He owned it. “I’ve fallen in love with her.” Fallen hard.
Tessa’s eyes glistened and edged with moisture before she forced a smile. “You’re in love with her...” Then she studied the ceiling as if she might find the answer there. “I hope it wasn’t love at first sight.”
Chase remembered back to that first day, to how intrigued he’d been by practically everything about Samantha Mayne. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. He’d enjoyed working with her...solving her mystery. But that was only part of it. As it turned out, the much lesser part.
“Sammy’s an actress,” he told Tessa. “She wanted to give Hollywood a go.”
Tessa blinked several times. “She left you to chase the limelight? My God...” She shook her head slowly. “Silly girl.”
Wild About The Bodyguard Page 12
