“Has he seen us yet?” she asked quietly.
Alex Delmore was sitting slightly behind Emily and to her left. He was sitting with two other men in business suits. Jim glanced around the room again, not allowing his recognition of Delmore to show as he gave their table a cursory sweep with his eyes.
He smiled at Emily. “Yeah, I think maybe he has,” he said. “Come on, smile. Remember, you’re out to lunch with your favorite brother. Look happy, or Delmore’s gonna think we come from a dysfunctional family.”
Emily actually laughed.
Jim opened the menu. “What are you going to have?”
“A salad,” Emily said.
“That’s all?”
“Really,” she said. “I’m not hungry.”
“Well, I am,” Jim said. “What do you suppose scallops meunière is?”
“Look, I’m sorry for what I said before,” Emily said. Jim looked up from the menu, his eyes as vivid a blue as the water behind him. He almost looked surprised. “In the car,” she explained. “I didn’t mean what I said. And I can’t believe you’re not still mad at me.”
He carefully closed his menu and glanced around the dining room to make sure Alex Delmore wasn’t about to approach them. “We’re both under a lot of stress right now,” he said quietly. He took his time selecting a breadstick from the basket in the center of the table before he looked up at her again. “And you know, anyway, you were right. I don’t know class from my—”
“Yes, you do.”
Jim watched her across the table. His usually animated face was as serious as Emily had ever seen it. “Are you actually arguing in my defense?” he asked. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you’re sticking up for me here.”
“Yeah, I guess I am,” Emily said.
Emily knew she’d set herself up. There were a thousand smartass quips Jim could make, and an equal number of possibilities for jokes, but he did neither.
“That’s really nice,” was all he said. He smiled at her, almost shyly, and Emily lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“Heads up,” Jim said quietly. “Delmore’s standing. He’s going to come over here.”
Emily closed her eyes briefly, but that was the only sign she gave that she was even slightly perturbed.
“Dan,” Jim whispered. “Not Jim.”
She smiled at him. “I know.”
“Emily! What a surprise. No, please, stay in your seats.” Delmore’s smooth, refined voice made the hair on the back of Jim’s neck stand up. God, two seconds into the game and he already hated the guy. No, not true. Jim had hated Alexander Delmore even before he set eyes on the millionaire. He’d hated him from the first moment he pictured Delmore making love to Emily.
Delmore was blond, with the kind of boyish good looks most often found at Ivy League colleges and in upscale fashion catalogs. Jim knew that the millionaire was probably nearing forty, but with a slight build on a six-foot frame he seemed much younger.
“I’m Alex,” he said, offering his hand to Jim as he pulled over a chair from an empty table and sat down. “You must be Emily’s brother.” As he shook Jim’s hand, he said in a loud aside to Emily, “Gee, I hope this guy’s your brother,” as if he were amused by the very idea that he might not be able to totally squash any kind of romantic competition.
The man positively reeked of confidence. Jim had to keep reminding himself to smile instead of snarl.
“This is my brother, Dan,” Emily said. “Dan Marshall, Alex Delmore.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jim said, smiling broadly, thinking, It’ll be even nicer to throw your butt in jail, scumbag.
“Likewise,” Alex said. His attention swiveled over to Emily. “Don’t you look terrific!”
“Thank you,” Emily murmured.
Delmore launched into a description of the clients he was lunching with, filled with dropped names and six-digit figures with dollar signs in front of them. As the real estate mogul talked, his gaze traveled up and down Emily, settling more than once on the fullness of her breasts. Jim resisted the urge to grab the man by the neck and squeeze. And when Delmore reached out and lightly ran his fingers down Emily’s arm from her shoulder to her hand, Jim made himself sit very still. He was afraid that if he moved even an inch, he would explode with jealousy.
Jealousy? No, please, not jealousy…
Emily sat and smiled at Delmore as he entwined his fingers with hers. There was nothing in her face or body language to give away her fear. Nothing that Jim noticed, anyway, except the pulse that beat at the base of her throat. He could see every beat of Emily’s heart, and it was going way too fast.
Of course, Delmore, having an ego the size of a small planet, would merely assume that it was his touch that was making her heart pound.
Unless…Maybe Jim was wrong. Maybe Emily was turned on by this guy. After all, she’d been dating Alex for almost half a year. He had to assume they’d been lovers for nearly that long. It had been days since she’d seen Alex. And nearly a week since they would have had even a chance to make love…
“I’ve missed you,” Alex said, in an intimate voice that was meant only for Emily’s ears.
I’ll bet, thought Jim. He watched Emily, waiting for her response.
But she said nothing. She only smiled as Delmore gazed into her eyes. What did it mean, that smile?
“I haven’t called you in a few days,” Delmore said, “because I wanted to give you some time alone with your brother.” He smiled warmly at Jim.
This investigation wasn’t set up to find out whether Emily still had a thing for Alex Delmore, Jim reminded himself. He had work to do here.
“Emily’s told me about your yacht, the Home Free,” Jim said. “When I lived up north, I used to sail all the time. I don’t get out on the water much anymore.”
Delmore took the hint. “Well, you’ll have to come out for a sail while you’re in town,” he said. “I don’t have my calendar with me now, but we’ll set something up for one of these coming weekends.”
“That’d be terrific,” Jim said. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“How long are you going to be in town?” Delmore asked.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Jim said. “I’ve got the whole summer off.”
“You’ll probably be going down to Sanibel Island,” Delmore said. “Your family owns a condo on the beach there, right?”
“Yeah.” Jim nodded. “And, of course, I’ll be spending some time up in Connecticut, visiting the folks.”
Emily stifled a nervous laugh. It was strange, hearing Jim talk about Sanibel and Connecticut as if he’d lived part of her life with her, as if he really were her brother.
“Do you two have plans for tonight?” Delmore asked.
Jim met Emily’s eyes across the table. She hesitated, so he answered. “No, we don’t.”
He was hoping that Delmore would invite them to dinner, or even over to his house for a drink.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” Delmore said.
Bingo, thought Jim. But then he realized the man was speaking only to Emily.
“You don’t mind if I steal Emily away from you, do you?” Delmore said to Jim. “Do you? After all, you’ve had her to yourself all week long.”
For the first time in a long time, Jim was speechless. He honestly didn’t know what to say. If he objected, he might come across as being selfish and petty. What kind of brother would object to his sister dating a millionaire? But, damn it, he wanted to object. He didn’t want Emily to have to deal with Delmore on her own. He didn’t want Emily to go.
The silence was stretching on way too long, so Jim did the only thing he could. He passed the ball to Emily. As her brother’s hostess, she could graciously refuse. “I guess that decision’s up to Em,” he said.
“How about it?” Delmore said, turning to Emily. “I’ll pick you up around seven?”
Say no, Jim silently willed Emily with his eyes. Come on, Em, turn him down.<
br />
“Seven sounds fine,” she finally said, smiling at Delmore.
What the hell was she doing? Why on earth would she agree to have dinner with this scumbag? Why would she do something she didn’t want to do?
Unless she did want to…
Jim looked at Emily, sitting there with Delmore. The guy was holding her hand, and he had his other arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders.
“I’ll see you later, then,” Delmore said, kissing Emily on the lips. Jim’s blood pressure rose another notch.
Delmore stood up, offering his hand to Jim. “Nice meeting you, Dan.”
Jim kept his face carefully bland, concentrating on not letting himself break all of Delmore’s fingers as they shook hands.
And then Alexander Delmore was gone, back to his own table.
Jim’s hand was shaking as he picked up his glass of water and took a sip. Emily glanced up at him. He smiled at her, but his eyes were unmistakably icy.
“Why did you agree to have dinner with him?” His voice was low, but rough with emotion. And he was still smiling, as if they were having a pleasant conversation.
“I thought you wanted me to,” Emily said. Was he actually angry at her? She was mystified. With his words, Jim had clearly left the decision about whether or not to have dinner with Alex up to her. But his eyes had told her an entirely different story. She had been so sure he wanted her to accept Alex’s invitation. Apparently she’d been wrong.
“Why the hell would I want you to?” Jim shot back. “I can’t protect you when you’re off somewhere, alone with him.”
With one last wave in Emily and Jim’s direction, Alex and his clients went out of the restaurant. As the door closed tightly behind them, Jim’s smile vanished.
“Now I’ve got to call Salazar, arrange for surveillance,” Jim said tightly as he glared at her. “Damn it, we don’t even know where Delmore’ll be taking you, so we’ll have to set up a tail and—”
Emily’s temper flared. “Sorry to inconvenience you,” she said. “Maybe next time you could manage to tell me what you would like me to do and say in advance, rather than assume I’ll be able to read your mind.”
“I thought your avoiding a one-on-one situation with Delmore was the obvious choice,” he countered. “But it seems you don’t find him as much of a threat as I do. God knows you’ll get a better dinner by going out with him than you would staying home with me. What I can’t figure out is what else you’ll get.”
Jim stared across the table at Emily. Her cheeks were flushed, but was it from anger or embarrassment? There was no reason for her to feel embarrassed, was there? Unless, of course, he’d hit upon her real reason for having accepted Delmore’s dinner invitation. Maybe, despite everything, she was still in love with the guy.
Next to the table, their waiter cleared his throat. “Are you ready to order?”
Jim stood up, throwing his napkin, a twenty-dollar bill and Emily’s car keys on the table. “I’m not hungry anymore,” he said, and walked out of the restaurant.
EMILY WAS DRESSED and ready for her date with Alex before Jim returned to the apartment.
As she let him in the door, she knew from his carefully neutral expression, and from the way he wouldn’t hold her gaze, that he was still angry. What she couldn’t figure out was why.
But why didn’t matter, she tried to convince herself. What mattered was that he was giving her a healthy reminder of just how rude and childish he really was. This was a solid dose of reality. His kindness and concern were probably no more than an act. And his kisses…His kisses were pure fantasy, that was for sure. There was nothing even remotely permanent or real-life about them. Sure, they were nice while they lasted, but Emily wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship that was based completely on sex.
Jim took a can of soda from the refrigerator and popped open the top. “Can you leave me your car keys, please?” he asked politely.
“They’re on the table,” Emily said, coolly but no less politely, checking her makeup in the front mirror.
“Phil’s out in the parking lot right now,” he told her, leaning against the wall and watching as she ran a brush through her hair. She was wearing it down tonight, and it hung in a full, rich sheet, ending just above her shoulders. “After Delmore picks you up, he’s gonna follow you. When you get where you’re going, he’s gonna give me a call and tell me what restaurant you’re at. I’m going to use your car to drive over and meet him. Then, together, we’ll trail you for the rest of the evening.”
Emily nodded and checked her watch. Ten minutes to seven. Alex would be here any second. Suddenly she was so nervous she could barely breathe. She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, trying to regain her inner calm. What could happen? Nothing, really—right? The worst-case scenario was that Alex would have his hands all over her all night long, the way he had at lunch. And—oh, shoot, she was forgetting about having to kiss him good-night….
She was wearing one of her church dresses. It was a demure 1940s-retro thing in a tiny-flowered pink print. It had a sweetheart neckline, short capped sleeves and a long, sweeping skirt. It was a far cry from the blue sequined dress she’d worn the other night. It was also miles removed from the barely-there halter top she’d had on at lunch. Wearing this dress, she looked as if she could win the year’s award for Miss Innocence. And that was the idea.
“Pretty dress,” Jim said, and Emily opened her eyes.
He was sitting across from her in the rocking chair, watching her and drinking his soda.
“Thanks,” she said. She closed her eyes again—and opened them quickly, sitting up as she suddenly imagined a new worst-case scenario. This one had Alex somehow finding out that she was working with the police. This one involved Alex turning her over to the organized-crime thugs that he worked alongside of. This one had Vincent Marino’s boys disposing of her body in the darkest, densest part of the Everglades….
The doorbell rang, and Emily looked sharply over at Jim. The fear was back, screaming through her veins with every pounding beat of her heart.
But Jim wasn’t looking at her. He’d already gotten to his feet and was opening the door.
“Hi, Dan, how are you?” Alex shook Jim’s hand as he came into Emily’s apartment.
Would they kill her quickly, or would she be alive when they took her into the alligator-infested swamp?
Emily took a deep breath, stood up and made herself smile at Alex.
“Ready to go?” he asked with an answering smile.
“Hey, you know, I intend to hold you to that offer to take me on a sail,” Jim said. “Did you get a chance to check your calendar yet?”
It was amazing the way Jim sounded so easygoing. And with his wide, friendly smile, his reminder of Alex’s invitation was not intrusive or at all offensive.
Alex shook his head. “Damn. No, I knew there was something I forgot to do when I left the yacht this afternoon.” He shrugged sheepishly. “I’ll have to get back to you with a date.”
Would they put a bullet in her brain, or would they simply tie her up and leave her there—free lunch for the gators? She could imagine their yellow eyes, their razor-sharp teeth, the way their noses would break the water as they slowly swam toward her….
“I’m counting on it,” Jim said.
“All right,” Alex said. “Have a good evening.”
“Don’t keep Emily out too late,” Jim said, his words softened by a smile. “We’re planing to hit the beach pretty early in the morning.” He turned to Emily. “See you later, Em.”
She was smiling back at him, but as soon as she met his gaze, Jim saw that something was wrong. Was she scared? On impulse, he pulled her in for a quick hug that confirmed it for him. She was scared. She was actually shaking.
But Delmore took her by the hand and pulled her out the door before Jim could figure out what he could do to help her.
Then he saw it. Emily’s purse. She’d forgotten it again. It was sitting on the table ne
xt to the front door.
Her bedroom looked out over the parking lot, and Jim dashed down the hall and quickly wound the casement window open. Delmore was just about to help Emily into his limousine.
“Yo, Em!” Jim shouted, and she looked up in surprise. “You forgot your purse!”
As he watched, Emily put her hand on Delmore’s arm and shook her head, as if saying, Stay here, I’ll dash back to the apartment by myself. Sure enough, she moved briskly away from the limo, while Alex leaned against it, waiting for her.
Jim met her at the door, but instead of handing her the purse, he took her by the arm and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind her.
“You okay?” he asked, looking down at her intently.
“Yeah.”
“You’re lying,” he said, not unkindly. He held her shoulders to keep her from turning away. “This is scaring the hell out of you, isn’t it?”
His eyes were so warm, and so full of concern. Emily couldn’t seem to break free from his gaze. “Yes,” she finally admitted in a whisper. “What if he finds out—?”
His grip on her shoulders tightened. “You don’t have to do this,” he said. “Em, you don’t have to go—”
“Yes, I do,” she said vehemently. “If Alex is running drugs, I want to see him rot in jail.”
“There are other ways—”
“I can’t wait for other ways!”
Her eyes were flashing with a passion she rarely let show. Jim had always known it was back there. Oh, yeah, he’d had the opportunity to see firsthand the power of the passion and spark she kept hidden behind her quiet calm. She’d looked at him with that same liquid fire in her eyes when they made love.
The memory rose with very little encouragement. She was naked, kneeling on his bed—Jim shook his head. This was not the time for erotic reminiscences. “Emily…” he said.
“I’ll be okay,” she said. “He’s not going to find out, and besides, you’re going to follow me, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Then I’ll be fine,” she said.
“God, I wasn’t thinking,” Jim said. “We should’ve had you wired for sound. Look, let me go down there and tell Delmore that you’re sick, that you’re not feeling well,” he said, talking fast. Emily had already taken too much time. Delmore would be wondering what was keeping her. Soon he’d come to see what the problem was. “We can reschedule—Damn, this is making me crazy. I don’t want you to do this if you’re scared—”
Nowhere to Run Page 12
