Devil in Disguise

by Heather Huffman

  “And you wonder why I haven’t been back in years.”

  “Nice try, cher. But thank you for bringing the topic back on track. Where have you been? Keep in mind, when I disappeared, I was in prison, so you probably haven’t done anything worse than that.”

  The silence lasted long enough for Charlie to come back with the tea. Rachel gave Conrad a pointed look, silently urging him to speak.

  “The casino I worked at was a front for a human trafficking ring,” he finally answered. “Once I’d seen enough to make me suspicious, I knew they wouldn’t let me simply leave. It was bad enough they knew about Rachel, that they would threaten her if I tried to retire. If I’d come home to visit you, then your family would have been in danger, too.”

  “You were a trafficker?” Neena sat up so suddenly the baby started to fuss.

  Charlie extracted the baby from her arms. “Why don’t I take her?” he offered before his wife’s temper could wake their sleeping daughter.

  Conrad’s scowl would have made most men tremble. “I wasn’t a trafficker. I was casino security, but the hotel was being used for the operation. It’s hard to work there and not see things, not be closer to things than you want to be.”

  Neena frowned in thought. Rachel found herself resisting the urge to reach for Conrad’s hand in a show of support. Things between them had been vacillating between weirdly tense and something vaguely resembling their former closeness.

  “I’ve just never known you to turn a blind eye to something. How did you stay there for three years, even if you only had an inkling of what was going on?” Neena pressed.

  Rachel knew Neena wasn’t being judgmental; she was merely trying to understand. But the look on Conrad’s face was more than Rachel could bear. Whether it was a welcome gesture or not, she placed a protective hand on Conrad’s leg and said, “He was protecting me. It was my fault he was trapped there. And when he learned for certain who they really were, he risked his life to save my sister. They tried to kill him for what he did; he still hasn’t recovered his strength. I owe him everything.”

  “I knew you still loved him.” Neena gladly went back to what appeared to be her favorite topic just as Charlie reclaimed his chair, having tucked their daughter in.

  “Oh good, we’re back to this.”

  “I…” Rachel paused, looking to Conrad, who waited for her response with raised eyebrows. “I have been too overwhelmed by life the past week to even begin to process what I do or do not feel for Conrad. But I am going to help him get back on his feet. I owe him that much.”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” he said softly, sadly, laying his hand on hers.

  Rachel nudged him, trying to lighten the mood. “We can argue about that later.”

  “When do you two leave for Louisiana?” Charlie asked.

  “Tomorrow,” Conrad answered. “I’m afraid I’m a pretty distinctive guy. The longer I stay here, the more danger I put you in.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about the two of you being in that cabin out in the middle of nowhere all alone,” Charlie mused.

  “Are you going to insist on marrying us first?” Rachel teased, regretting it the instant the words were out of her mouth, seeing how Neena lit up at the thought.

  “I meant for safety reasons,” Charlie corrected before succumbing to laughter.

  Conrad eyed his sister warily. “Oh boy. I’ve seen that look before.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” Rachel quickly amended. “It’s not even a possibility because we’re both in hiding. I think applying for a marriage certificate would attract some attention.”

  “I applied for a marriage certificate while in hiding,” Neena reminded her.

  Conrad sighed heavily. “It’s a moot point, Neena, because I’m not marrying Rachel while she still has some misguided sense of owing me, so you can stop planning the wedding.”

  “You wouldn’t marry me?” Rachel didn’t know why that stung as much as it did.

  “Not in the middle of this madness.”

  “Oh,” Neena pouted.

  “Oh.” Rachel’s voice was small; her shoulders fell.

  Charlie chuckled. “I recognize that tone. You’re in trouble with both of them now. You might want to start backpedaling, my friend.”

  “You’re both nuts,” Conrad informed the women in his life before stalking off.

  “Well, that was embarrassing.” Rachel scowled after him. “Jerk.”

  “More like ‘scared man.’ Being terrified tends to make us boys less considerate,” Charlie advised.

  “I do not understand him.” Neena sighed. “I’m going to round Ben up for bed. Charlie, can you make sure the girls are doing okay?”

  Rachel found herself alone with her thoughts, which turned out to be a rather unpleasant place to be. She was hurt and angry, but she hadn’t the faintest clue who to direct all of those pent-up emotions at. She inwardly railed at God for everything, Bruce Springsteen for putting it in her head that she should revisit old feelings for Conrad, and even Brian for not beating her to the interview, but none of it made her feel any better. She finally gave up and headed for bed, stopping by Julia’s room long enough to check on her sister and say goodnight.

  “I think I like this place.” Julia looked around the bright, cheerful room with its eclectic decorations. “But they all seem so happy. I feel like I don’t belong.”

  “I know what you mean. Personally, I’m not feeling particularly fit for polite company at the moment.”

  “Me either.” Julia’s smile was small, but Rachel was happy to see it.

  “Will you be okay? You know where to find me if you have a nightmare?”

  “Actually, would you mind sleeping in here with me?” Julia asked, grabbing a hold of Rachel’s hand.

  “Instead of next to our snoring mother? Gladly,” Rachel quickly agreed. “Just let me get changed. I’ll be right back.”

  Julia let go of Rachel’s arm, noticeably relaxed. Rachel slid out of the room and scurried to her mother’s room, smacking her shin on a trunk as she fumbled through the darkness. Her mom murmured, and Rachel froze. The last thing she needed was to rouse her mother right now. Then she might never get to bed. Rachel weighed her options and decided sleeping in her clothes was preferable to having another awkward conversation.

  She backed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She turned to go, colliding into Conrad’s solid chest as she did.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, refusing to look him in the eye, her humiliation complete.

  “In truth, I could have stepped out of the way. I just wanted an excuse to get my hands on you.”

  At that, her eyes met his – hers snapping with defiance, his sparkling with amusement. “After the way you acted tonight, really? Am I supposed to melt in your arms like butter on a stovetop just because you smell good?”

  “Butter on a stovetop?”

  “Don’t mock. It’s the first thing that came to mind.”

  “Not mocking. I like the sound of that. You think I smell good?”

  “Don’t fish for compliments.”

  “Aren’t you headed the wrong way for bed?”

  “Julia wanted me to bunk with her tonight.” Rachel was keenly aware that he hadn’t let her go.

  “Is she okay?” His tone grew serious, his voice soft.

  “Nightmares,” Rachel answered, her own voice barely above a whisper.

  “Why didn’t you change for bed while you were in there?” Conrad’s eyebrows knit together, as if he’d just realized she was still in her clothes.

  “It was too dark to see, and I didn’t want to wake up my mother. I’m not feeling very pleasant at the moment, so I was trying to avoid talking to anyone.”

  “That didn’t work out so well for you, did it?” His eyes lapped her up in contrast to his playful words.

  “No, it didn’t.” She greedily drank him in. If the man didn’t let her leave soon, she couldn’t be held responsible for her acti
ons.

  “Wait right here.” He abruptly let go of her, and she cursed mentally. She sincerely hoped it was mentally.

  Conrad reappeared a moment later, holding out a black T-shirt and a pair of boxers. “I come bearing gifts.”

  “They don’t have smallpox, do they?” She eyed them warily.

  “That was a horrible joke. Vile. Do you have any idea how many innocent people died? And it was your people who gave mine smallpox, remember?”

  “Just checking.” She gratefully accepted the clothes, taking a deep breath in a surreptitious attempt to see if his scent still clung to them.

  “Did you just smell them?”

  “Just making sure they’re clean,” she lied.

  “Do they pass muster?”

  “They’ll do.” She foresaw a night filled with happy dreams. Decadently, deliciously happy dreams. Yes, the clothes would do indeed.

  “Rachel?” he called her name softly when she turned to go.

  “Yes, Conrad?” She paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. He closed the distance between them, placing a hand on either side of her face and lowering his head to brush his lips ever-so-gently against hers. Instinct drove her to lean into the touch. She placed her free hand on his stomach, her self-control very nearly snapping at the onslaught of emotions brought on by the kiss, the feel of his skin on hers.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew her sister was waiting for her. That knowledge surpassed any amount of desire swirling through her. Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled away.

  “Julia,” Rachel said by way of explanation, nodding toward her sister’s room.

  Conrad nodded, resting his forehead against hers for a couple of breaths. “And Charlie would kill me if I did what I wanted to right here in his hallway. Damn that boy and his morals.”

  “Stupid morals,” Rachel teased, happy to be able to breathe again. “I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you for the clothes.”

  Yes, Rachel was going to have very pleasant dreams indeed. Or at least that had been the plan. She had Conrad’s buttery soft and yummy smelling clothes on, she’d slid beneath the cool cotton sheets, she’d even gotten so far as laying her head on the plump and inviting feather pillow. About the time she succumbed to the siren call of sleep, Julia started thrashing.

  The next six hours were a marathon of alternating between soothing her sister and catching snippets of sleep. She was grateful for the first light of morning. At least she could give up trying to sleep and start an IV drip with caffeine in it or something. She knew she had to look like hell at the breakfast table; she didn’t even bother changing out of Conrad’s clothes. The boxers hung low on her hips and the shirt swallowed her, but she figured she was decent. Anyone who expected anything more out of her this morning could kiss her plaid-clad derrière. She did run a brush through her hair before pulling it into a ponytail.

  It was early and the house was only beginning to rise when Rachel set off in search of coffee while Julia showered. Her nose told her Neena had beaten her to the kitchen. She was pleased to find not only coffee, but eggs, bacon, and biscuits with Neena’s own dandelion jam.

  Neena raised her eyebrows in greeting when Rachel entered the kitchen. “Wow. Tell Conrad to take it easy on you next time.”

  “Julia had nightmares.” Rachel shook her head ruefully, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee from her friend.

  “I like my version better.”

  “Me too.”

  “So why are you in his clothes?” Neena wouldn’t let it drop.

  “I couldn’t get mine without waking my mom, so he loaned me some.”

  “Again, I like the story in my head better.”

  “Yeah, I probably would too.” Rachel sighed. “You really want a sister-in-law, don’t you?”

  Neena paused. “Sometimes I wonder if Conrad didn’t fall in love and get married because he was too busy raising my child. What if it was my fault? What if I caused him to forfeit his chance at happiness?”

  “And here I thought you really liked me,” Rachel teased, settling into a chair. She’d offer to help, but her culinary skills paled greatly compared to Neena’s under the best of circumstances, let alone when exhaustion was making her stupid.

  “I do like you,” Neena rejoined. “I also have a healthy dose of guilt.”

  “If it helps, I’m glad Conrad didn’t marry some girl on the reservation before I had a chance to meet him.” Rachel felt so lost and small in that moment. She didn’t know how to handle all of the feelings of helplessness that were assaulting her right now. It had been a very long time since she’d felt out of control of her world.

  “It does help. Thank you.” Neena gave a quick nod before pulling the last batch of biscuits out of the oven. She set about getting plates and silverware, leaving Rachel to her own thoughts.

  Sometimes Rachel forgot that before Neena had this warm and happy home in America’s heartland, she had lived through hell on earth in a correctional facility in Louisiana. Unjustly imprisoned and never one to give up easily, Neena had escaped somewhat by accident, but she’d seized the chance at a new life. A smile played on Rachel’s lips at the memory of the sparks that used to fly in those first encounters with each other. At the time, she was never sure if she wanted to strangle Conrad or climb him. Had it really been more than three years, almost four?

  Rachel couldn’t tell if it was her nearness to Conrad’s home turf, her gratitude to him for saving Julia, or the stress of the past few days that was causing her to seriously rethink her life choices. What’s worse, she couldn’t tell from one moment to the next if Conrad loved her, hated her, or held her in complete indifference. She was dangerously close to behaving like her mother and throwing her pride away for a man. Hell, she’d already done that, she supposed. But then, pride had never been very good at keeping her warm at night.

  Rachel realized with a start that her friend had stopped working and now stood holding the back of a chair directly across from her. Neena stared at her with a penetrating dark gaze eerily similar to Conrad’s.

  When Neena spoke, her voice was soft but firm. “If you could have anything in the world right now – Julia’s healing aside – with no thought to logistics, pride, or outside interference, what would it be?”

  “That Conrad would love me like he used to, and we’d be together. Always,” Rachel answered without missing a beat, the certainty in her voice shocking them both into silence.

  Neena continued to study Rachel for a moment longer before coming to kneel directly in front of her. She took Rachel’s hands into her own delicate copper ones and looked up into Rachel’s green eyes. “Then go get him. I know my brother. I promise you, he loves you. He’s hurt, he’s scared, he’s maybe even a little pissed, but he loves you desperately.”

  Rachel felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. More than anything, she wanted to believe Neena. But even if she did, what was she supposed to do about it?

  “I don’t know how to get him back,” Rachel admitted quietly, tears brimming.

  “Oh, honey.” Neena impulsively hugged her. “We’ll figure it out.”

  The determination in Neena’s voice almost made Rachel pity poor Conrad. He wasn’t going to know what hit him.

  “Do I need to come back?” Charlie interrupted their hug.

  Neena straightened. “Nonsense. Just a little girl talk, but we’re through. Come on in and get a plate before it gets cold.”

  Embarrassed, Rachel wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

  Once he fully absorbed the scene in front of him, Charlie’s face darkened. “Do I need to have a word with your brother?”

  “What did I do now?” Conrad joined them in the kitchen, a smile on his face as he reached for a piece of bacon.

  “I don’t know. What did you do?” Charlie demanded, forgetting he was a good five inches shorter than Conrad.

  “You tell me,” Conrad retorted defensively. “I just came in for bacon.”

&nb
sp; “Why is Rachel crying?”

  “Rachel’s crying?” Conrad’s head swiveled around.

  “I’m not crying.”

  Three expressions said they weren’t buying it.

  “I’m tired.” Rachel changed her approach.

  “Are you okay?” Conrad frowned down at her, walking over to tip her chin up so he could inspect her face.

  “I’m just tired,” she muttered miserably, swiping her coffee off the table and heading up the back staircase to go get a shower, leaving the room’s other occupants to stare after her.

  Her mother was up, showered, and tending to Julia. Rachel didn’t bother saying good morning to them, lest someone else accuse her of crying. She found a pair or cutoff jean shorts, the prettiest bra and panties she had with her, and the stuff to shave her legs. If she was going to feel like a fool, she’d at least be an attractive one.

  Of course, once she was alone in the shower, where there were no prying eyes, she couldn’t produce a tear if her life depended on it. No, once she was alone and no longer cared if she cried, her tears were replaced with a resolve to get her act together. Neena’s question hadn’t been a fair one, because Rachel lived in a world with logistics, pride, and outside interference. And all three of those things made a reunion with Conrad Langston unlikely.

  Dressed and feeling human again, Rachel went to say hi to her family before checking to see if she’d missed the window for breakfast. Noticing that she still wore his shirt, Conrad tugged her ponytail and told her he liked her shirt when she reentered the kitchen.

  “It’s super soft.” She lifted her chin defiantly.

  The look in his eyes said his response would make her blush, but Gabrielle’s appearance in the kitchen saved her from further embarrassment. As Rachel watched Conrad’s easy banter with his niece and his furtive attempts to win the affection of his nephew, she felt her resolve melt away.

  Damn it all, she mentally cursed. In that instant, she knew. Before this was over, she’d wind up either married to Conrad Langston or nursing the mother of all broken hearts.

  CHAPTER SIX

  RACHEL’S PERSONAL REVELATION made her more quiet than usual during breakfast – a fact everyone felt the need to comment on, making her wonder if she talked too much on a normal day. After breakfast she offered to do the dishes, and Neena gratefully accepted. Conrad offered to help, and Rachel reluctantly accepted. She wasn’t ready for too much contact with him — not until she had her thoughts sorted out.