Did he truly love her? Or was he only attracted to her? She knew from painful past experience that physical attraction would soon fizzle out if nothing else was there. Now she was older, wiser. She desperately wanted Jamison to be the one. But she had to be careful.
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“Why? I’m serious about you, Alexa. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even try.” His black gaze held hers, intense, passionate, and pleading—something she had never, ever expected to see from him.
She drew a fortifying breath, “I…”
“Alexa, love!” She jumped, startled, when Colin appeared out of nowhere and slung an arm across her shoulders. “I’ve got a spot of time now. Why don’t you come up and we’ll hash out the last of the book?”
“Um.” She glanced at Jamison.
“Go,” he said. “But we’re not finished.”
Jamison was right, she admitted at last. They weren’t finished. Wasn’t it high time for her to gather up her courage? To face her fear, even if it ultimately meant unimaginable heartbreak? She loved him, and so she had to try. Otherwise, she would regret it forever.
She stood close beside Jamison in the elevator, hoping with her body language to convey a little of what she had decided. She felt his warm hand on her lower back as they crossed the hall to Colin’s door. Inside, she smiled at him before he disappeared into the television room with Mart.
Eve appeared suddenly. She paled when she saw Alexa. “Colin,” she said. “I need to speak to you.”
“Later. Would you be good enough to leave Alexa and me alone for a few minutes? I need to speak with her privately.”
Eve frowned, but disappeared into another room.
Puzzled, Alexa looked up at Colin. “What is it? Is it about the book? Because we’re almost finished.”
He shook his head, blue eyes serious. “Your time here is running out, Alexa.”
“I know.” How she knew that!
“I feel we’ve barely reached first base.”
Alexa’s brows twitched into a puzzled frown. “Colin…”
“We’ve passed the time for talk, don’t you think?” His hands curled around her arms, he leaned toward her.
Alexa barely managed to squeak out a horrified, “Colin!” before he kissed her. He was an expert. She could tell this at once, by the way his mouth moved against hers. But she felt nothing, except for a flicker of affection. She put her hands on his chest, but before she could push him away, he pulled back.
His eyes looked quizzical. “And how was that?”
Black flashed out of the corner of Alexa’s eye, and she turned.
Jamison. He stared at her, his face white beneath the tan. Hurt, disbelief…and then sudden fury blazed in his black eyes.
“Jamison.” She stepped toward him.
He shook his head. Body movements stiff, he yanked open the penthouse door. It slammed behind him, ricocheting like a gunshot. Alexa gasped in a breath. No. She bolted for the door.
“Alexa.” Colin caught her arm. “What is it?”
“Let go. Please!”
Frowning, Colin did so, and Alexa rushed into the hall. Jamison was gone. Tears burned her eyes.
What must he think of her? She had to make things right!
“What’s his cell phone number?” she cried to Colin, running back into the penthouse.
He gave it to her, and she hastily punched it into her cell phone. Jamison had his cell with him at all times. She knew that. But now it rang and rang, without an answer. She hung up without leaving a message.
She would see him later. She had to make things right with him.
Colin’s phone rang and he turned away, speaking in a low voice. Finally, he said, “Okay. I’ll be right down.”
“What is it?”
He frowned, looking puzzled. “The concierge says Paddy wants to speak to me downstairs. Don’t go. I’ll be back in a flash,” he promised. “Mart! We’re going out.”
The two men disappeared out the door.
Alexa felt like a whirlwind had just whisked through her heart and her life, and so at first she didn’t hear Eve’s breathless, “Watch out.”
She spun. “What?”
“Watch out!” Eve screamed, and from nowhere, a gray-haired woman hurtled toward Alexa. A knife glinted in her hand.
Chapter Eighteen
Alexa barely had time to lift her hands in self-defense before the woman was upon her. Luckily, Alexa deflected the knife with her wrist. She felt dull pain, but that discomfort was forgotten as she fought for her life.
The woman thrashed at her, crazily stabbing the air. She grunted unintelligible words. Alexa looked wildly about for a weapon, a shield…something!
She spied a vase and lunged toward it. The knife caught at her blouse, ripping it, as she grabbed the vase and whirled, swinging the glazed orb. It glanced off the woman’s shoulder, and the woman’s frantic flailing paused; she shrieked—a high, warbling note of fury. Spit flew as she lunged for Alexa.
Alexa twisted and jerked back. Her calves hit the coffee table and she fell backward, arms flailing, onto the table. The knife arched toward her, but Alexa rolled in the nick of time. She landed on her back on the floor. The air oomphed out of her.
Somewhere nearby, Eve was still screaming.
Alexa swiftly sat up, knowing her position was completely vulnerable. The crazed woman pounced upon her, knife arcing toward her throat. Alexa caught her wrists in midair and struggled, fighting against the woman’s maniacal strength. A fury of her own fortified her. This woman and her husband had made life a living hell for over a month, and she would not let this stalker kill her!
Alexa kneed the woman. She twisted her body, forcing the woman to the floor, and then, with both hands grabbed her knife-wielding arm and slammed it to the floor. Alexa slammed it again and again, blind with a fury of her own. When the woman tried to claw her, Alexa elbowed her sharply, with no mercy. And then the knife skittered free.
The woman screamed, long and piercingly, and yanked Alexa’s hair.
“Stop it!” Alexa cried out. The old woman fought like a tiger, and suddenly Alexa toppled backwards again, off balance. A wicked light entered the woman’s eyes. She loomed over Alexa, and pulled a tiny blade from nowhere. Holding it tight in her fist, she breathed, “Now.”
“No!” This gulping sob came from Eve.
Distracted, the woman turned. Face horribly scrunched up, Eve clobbered the woman with a skillet. A dazed expression dulled the woman’s eyes, and Alexa took the opportunity to wrench the knife free. She threw it across the floor.
“I’m sorry,” Eve whispered.
The woman shrieked, “No. Eve!” Then, with a crazed look, she lunged for Alexa’s neck and squeezed tight.
Alexa choked for air. Why didn’t Eve help? But then a black body hurtled through the air, knocking the woman off Alexa.
Jamison.
Alexa gasped for oxygen, and Mart rushed to help subdue the woman. It was over within moments.
Jamison spun on his knees and moved beside Alexa, still on the floor.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She gulped in another cool draft of air.
His expressive dark eyes warred with multiple emotions—betrayal, pain…and then helpless capitulation as he leaned forward and kissed her. Bleakness simmered in his gaze. “Then that’s all that matters.”
Alexa gripped his shoulder. “Jamison,” she said urgently, anxious to explain what had happened before.
He flinched, and closed his eyes. “Don’t.” A harsh note of self-disgust sounded in his voice. “Just don’t. No more, Alexa.”
He quickly rose and left her alone.
Colin and Eve looked on, each with varying degrees of horror on their faces. Paddy stood in the background, his arms crossed.
Paddy! All of Alexa’s suspicions rushed to the forefront.
Her meeting with Colin this morning hadn’t been a secret. Had Paddy called Colin downstairs so Alexa
would be alone in the penthouse? Except for Eve, of course. Alexa struggled to sit up. The danger wasn’t over yet.
Jamison marched the woman into the next room.
“Are you okay, Alexa?” Colin rushed to help her to her feet.
“I’m fine.” She turned to Paddy. “Luckily Eve hit that woman with the frying pan. It didn’t turn out quite like you thought it would, did it?”
Paddy frowned. “What?”
Alexa trembled now from reaction, and from fury. “Did you plan this? Has all of this been a publicity stunt? If so, it’s gone too far!”
Paddy’s hard gaze flicked to Colin. “What is she talking about?”
“I don’t know. Alexa?”
Alexa trembled harder now. He meant to play innocent? Did he think he could get away scot-free? Voice shaking, she said, “How far did you plan to go? Did you actually pay her to kill me?”
Red darkened Paddy’s bulldog face.
“Stop, Alexa.” In a small voice, Eve spoke up. “It wasn’t Paddy. This is all my fault.”
The manager’s mottled skin toned down a notch, while Alexa turned in surprise.
Eve turned to Colin. “I should have told you. But I just couldn’t! I tried to make them stop.” She burst into tears.
Colin slid an arm around her shoulders. Confusion wrinkled his brow. “What, love? What did you know?”
Eve looked helplessly at Alexa.
Comprehension finally dawned. “That woman is your mother, isn’t she, Eve?”
The secretary nodded, sniffling. “And my father attacked you in Barcelona and in Rome.”
Colin pulled away, his face paling. “You knew? They’re your parents?”
“Yes,” Eve wept. “I’m sorry, Colin. I told them to stop, but they wouldn’t.”
“Why would they do such a thing?” Alexa demanded.
“They’re mentally unstable. That’s why I was in foster care. When they take their medication they’re fine. But they’ve stopped, and they got it in their heads that Colin should be with me.” She sent Colin an apologetic look. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how that would help. I didn’t know where they were. I didn’t know any more than you.”
“But your father called you, when your mother was jailed in Paris.” Alexa remembered the phone call. “You said your mother was in the hospital. Later you said it was your foster mother.”
“Wait a minute,” Colin said. “You mean to say you knew all along that your parents were threatening Alexa and me?”
Eve seemed to shrivel up within herself, but met his gaze. “Yes.”
In the background, Paddy swore.
Anger flushed Colin’s sharp features. “If we had known, the police would have had their descriptions sooner! We could have protected Alexa better. Your parents almost killed her four times!”
Alexa’s heart pounded, staring from one to the other. “When did you know, Eve? From the beginning?”
“No! No, I didn’t. I guessed first in Paris, when my father called and asked me to help get my mother out of jail. I wouldn’t. And in Rome, I told him to stop, to go away.”
“He was the man in the park. How did your mother get in here today?”
“I don’t know.”
“That message from Paddy was a fake. Eve’s mother set it up to get Mart and me out of here,” Colin said through his teeth. “You should have told us, Eve. Frankly, I feel I can’t trust you anymore.”
So Paddy hadn’t asked the concierge to give Colin that message after all. Now Alexa felt terrible about her accusations.
“I understand,” Eve whispered. “I’ll pack my things.”
“Wait,” Alexa said. She had to know something. “You’ve hated me from the beginning. Did you want your parents to hurt me? To take me out of the picture with Colin?”
Eve’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I hated you. And I was wrong. I was scared, and I wanted to warn you off, but I never wanted you hurt. You’ve got to believe me. I’m sorry for all of the hateful, horrible things I’ve said to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about your parents?” Colin asked.
“I kept hoping they’d go away. I told them to stop, every time they called.”
“And how often was that?” Colin sounded grim.
“Twice. Once in Paris. Once in Rome.”
Colin ran a hand through his hair and turned away. “What a mess.” The words sounded harsh.
Eve said, “They’re my parents. I love them. I didn’t want them to get into trouble. I wanted them to quit and go home. I tried so hard to make them see reason! I see now I should have done things differently.”
Colin spun back. “Yes, you should have done things differently! I trusted you. When Alexa mentioned how you were treating her, I took your side. How could you do this to me?”
Tears slid down the secretary’s face. “I never wanted to hurt you, Colin. I wanted to protect you. I thought Alexa was another one of those…those floozies. I’m so sick of them. They use you, and you use them!” She choked on a sob. “You deserve so much better.”
“You mean that?”
“Of course I do!”
The two stared at each other, and Alexa suddenly felt like the third wheel. But she had one more thing to say. “Colin, Eve saved my life just now. She hit her mother with that pan. Yes, she was wrong not to tell us her suspicions about her parents. But their actions are not her fault. She tried to stop them. We all tried to stop them. The police knew their identities and descriptions. Her father wore disguises. Her mother escaped and made it all the way to Switzerland, undetected. How could we stop that?”
Eve cast her a surprised, grateful glance.
Colin shook his head. “Even so. You were wrong, Eve. Wrong!”
Eve jumped at the harsh lash of his voice. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll leave immediately.”
Alexa had once wondered about Eve’s mental stability, but now everything made complete sense. Maybe Eve’s hatred of her was over the top, but probably that was because she had loved Colin for so long, and had suffered through his many disastrous affairs. She had reached the snapping point with Alexa. And Alexa believed Eve’s account concerning her parents. She believed they had acted on their own, without Eve’s consent.
What a mess everything was. And that reminded Alexa of Colin’s kiss, and of all the havoc she had caused by simply not telling him the truth about her feelings the moment she had realized what they were, back on that seventh hill of Rome.
“Colin,” she said. “We need to talk about what happened before the attack.”
He sighed, and tore his glance from Eve. “Dinner tonight?”
“Okay.”
“I need to make some calls.” Colin disappeared into his room, and Alexa was left alone with Eve and Paddy.
The manager headed for the door.
“Paddy, wait,” Alexa said. “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry.”
Paddy shrugged one thick shoulder. “Would’ve been a good publicity stunt, if I’d thought of it.” With a hard click, the door closed behind him.
What had that meant? Would he have pursued the plan, if he’d thought of it? With a frown, Alexa turned to Eve.
The other woman wiped her tears. “So you get him, after all.”
It took a moment for Alexa to realign her thoughts. “No. Colin’s not the man for me.”
“He’s not?” Comprehension swiftly replaced incredulity. “Jamison.”
Alexa looked away. “I don’t see how he can be right for me, either. I forgive you, Eve. And I believe you. I hope things work out between you and Colin. Just treat him right.”
“I will.”
Colin reappeared, heading for his desk, and Alexa said to Eve on her way to the door, “He’s all yours.”
Alexa realized after she got back to her room that her wrist was bleeding. In all of the excitement, she hadn’t noticed. She bandaged it up and then tried to work, but that was useless. She kept list
ening for Jamison to return.
Finally, an hour later, a door click indicated that he had entered the flat. She hurried out, just in time to see his bedroom door shut. Fine. She plopped onto the couch, crossed her arms, and waited for him to come out. It didn’t take long.
He exited his room, hauling his gigantic suitcase behind him. The stalkers were in custody. Clearly, she didn’t need a bodyguard anymore, so he was moving out.
“Jamison!” She leaped to her feet. “Wait.”
“You’ve made it perfectly clear whom you prefer.” He headed for the door.
“Jamison.”
He lifted his hand. “No more games, Alexa.” He sounded weary. “No more games.”
“I am not playing games!” In a flash, she knew what he was thinking. And why he was so angry. “I’m not like that starlet woman. I am not stringing you along!”
“Aren’t you?”
“No!” she cried out, horrified.
“You wouldn’t commit to me, even though I almost went on my knees, begging you. Instead, you kissed Colin.” Fury burned in his black gaze. “You want him. You have all along. Don’t deny it.”
“No! It’s not what you think. He kissed me. I’m going to dinner with him…”
“Stop!” He raised his hand. His harsh voice bit out, “I can’t take anymore.” He opened the door and shoved his suitcase into the hall.
“Jamison, stop!” She ran and grabbed the door.
Anger, tempered by resignation flashed in his eyes. His gaze fell to her bandaged arm and he went very still. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“It’s okay.”
He looked away, clearly unwilling to accept that. If she knew him at all, he was angry with himself for his failure. Finally, he looked back. A muscle clenched in his jaw. “I’m leaving, Alexa. Don’t call me. I can’t handle seeing you anymore.”
She drew in a quick, dismayed breath. “Where are you going?”
Her Reluctant Bodyguard Page 30
