Endangered Hearts [Après-Ski 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Zara Chase

  “If you’re trying to scare me, it won’t work.”

  “You should be scared. These guys don’t play by the rules.”

  “I haven’t done anything to upset them.”

  Rick flexed a brow. “Haven’t you? They know I’m here, sent you as bait, and you haven’t told them you’ve found me. They won’t like that.”

  “They don’t know for sure you’re here. If they did, they wouldn’t need me.”

  “Oh, they know. I had a long talk to Hal about it not long after I got here and decided hiding wasn’t an option.”

  “Hal knows why you’re here?”

  “Sure. He’s my buddy, and I knew if I stayed I’d bring trouble to his door sooner or later. If he wasn’t good with that, I would have moved on.”

  She opened her eyes very wide. “You wanted to be found?”

  He shrugged. “Can’t spend my life running away from the bad guys.”

  “But you’re…you—”

  “I’m the bad guy? Yeah, I expect that’s what they told you.”

  “You could go to jail.”

  “What for?”

  “Well, for stealing that study.”

  “We’ll get to that. But just so you know, all I changed when I left London was my last name. Apart from that I carried on doing what I do and waited for someone…you as it transpires, to come looking for me.”

  “I don’t even understand why you were working in London. Don’t they have openings for environmentalists in America?”

  “Sure they do. I was headhunted by a specialist company on this side of the pond. I knew some of the people involved by reputation and moved to England because I thought they were aggressively cutting edge when it came to conservation.” Rick shook his head. “Boy, was I naïve.”

  “Or committed to what you do?” she suggested softly.

  He glanced at her with a modicum of respect. “Always that.”

  “I don’t know what to believe about you, but no one could ever accuse you of being less than passionate about your causes.”

  “Careful.” Rick held up a hand. “You almost said something complimentary there. I’m the bad guy, remember?”

  “The jury’s still out on that one.” She tossed her head. “Tell me more. I need to understand what I’ve gotten myself into.”

  “Well, I grew my hair once I got out of the corporate rat race because that’s the way I prefer to wear it. I replaced my eye glasses with contact lenses, and then waited for someone like you to come calling.” His anger diminished in the light of her astonished expression. “Like I say, the people who want to find me have known where I am all along. We had a few frank exchanges of views after I left England, but I haven’t caved to threats, or agreed to quietly disappear in exchange for financial compensation. That leaves them with only one alternative, but they couldn’t risk coming to get me themselves. Can’t be seen doing their own dirty work. You’ve been played, sweetheart,” he said softly. “And I’m betting it’s happened to you before.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  “I’d say that break-in at your room, along with the fact that you had doubts about this assignment all along, tells you all you need to know. They knew you must have recognized me, but when you didn’t say so, they got worried and sent someone to see what you’d found out.”

  She looked up at him, her expression totally bewildered. “I still don’t get any of this.”

  “They want you to stay here because I have the study I prepared and supposedly stole.”

  Her head shot up. “If you have it then you must have stolen it.”

  Rick ignored the interruption. “They urgently need all the copies that I have before their application for planning consent on those wetlands in Norfolk expire, which is in about three months’ time.”

  “Is that what all this is about? Corporate greed?”

  Rick sighed. “When isn’t it?”

  “Which is why you knew someone would come after you?”

  “Yep, they sent you because, and I’m guessing here, you never fail to get the job done, don’t ask questions about why, and keep yourself detached and professional.” She nodded absently, her confusion slowly giving way to an expression of resentment—at him or the people who were manipulating her, Rick had yet to decide. “What usually happens when you find someone you’ve been sent to look for?”

  “I report to my boss and then bail. Others take over.”

  “And in this case?”

  She nodded slowly, her eyes wide with comprehension. “That’s why I felt uneasy. I was told to let my boss know when I found you, and to stay put and await further orders. That’s never happened before.” She stared directly at Rick, her mouth falling open. “Why would they need me to stay?”

  “Because they’d want you to use your feminine wiles to get close to me, win my confidence, and steal the documents. I assume you know your way around a computer.” She nodded again, her eyes glazed with anger. “Right, well you would have been asked to find the paper copies of the report, copy my hard drive, then delete everything from my computer.”

  “The hell I would! I don’t do that sort of stuff.”

  “No?” He fixed her with a speaking look. “Shame. If I thought you did the femme fatale bit, I might have let you get a bit closer. It would have been worth it.”

  “How can you make jokes when your life’s in danger?” She shook her head in a gesture that implied she would never understand what made men tick. Oh baby, let me educate you. Rick sent her a lazy smile, his anger spent. He might get a raging hard-on every time he looked her way, despite what she’d tried to do to him, but now wasn’t the time. He wasn’t the only one in danger, but he’d have a hell of a time convincing her she had outlived her usefulness. “Anyway, what you say doesn’t make any sense. How could they be sure you hadn’t placed copies elsewhere?”

  “They can’t, but you have to bear in mind their project is worth millions. I’ve held it up for almost two years because they’re scared of what I know.”

  “Tell me,” she said, falling into a chair and looking at him intently.

  “Otters. A multi-million pound building project is being held up by river otters, can you believe that?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “They almost disappeared completely from Norfolk’s rivers during the nineteen fifties. Their more traditional sites were deserted and whole river systems no longer supported otters. But today they are returning to their former haunts, mainly thanks to better legal protection and the banning of the pesticides that were poisoning them. When the consortium that hired you wanted to build on the land, I was called in as an independent expert to do a study. My report said all of the above, advising strongly against building.” Rick paused. “My boss took the report from me, said he would pass it to the planning people, but actually changed my findings. I discovered that by chance.” He managed a brief, mirthless smile. “The boss’s secretary was a friend of mine. She disapproved of what he’d done and tipped me the wink.”

  Sabine gasped. “That’s terrible. What did you do?”

  “I broke into his office at night after everyone had left, hacked into his computer, and deleted the report before it could be sent. Then I confronted him the next day about it. He was supposed to be a goddamned conservationist, for Christ’s sake, and yet he was prepared to do something like that.”

  “Was he bribed?”

  “Almost certainly, but he would never admit it. What I subsequently discovered was that he had just gone through a costly divorce and his wife had gotten almost everything. He was in another relationship with a woman who spent faster than he could earn.” Rick shook his head. “I could see he was desperate, but still, that didn’t justify what he did. Anyway, he fired me on the spot, which saved me the trouble of resigning. But I made it very clear that if the consortium tried to build, I would make sure the press and planning authorities knew the truth. The scandal would have killed the project stone dead.” He
looked intently at Sabine. “The only crime I’m guilty of is breaking into my boss’s office and hacking into his computer but, given the same circumstances, I would do it again. Let the bastards build somewhere else and leave the goddamned otters in peace.”

  “They can’t afford to let you tell the truth,” Sabine said slowly.

  “Of course they fucking can’t. That’s why they need to make sure no copies of my original report are found with my effects after they have me meet with an accident.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You think they intend to kill you?”

  “I’m sure of it. Why else do you think those guys who broke into your room are in Nevella? Your job is to isolate me somewhere so they can move in.”

  “But how do they know other copies of the report won’t surface after your death?”

  “They don’t, but if I’m not around to defend it, you can bet your life their expensive publicity people will find a way to put a positive spin on it, or make it disappear.”

  She lifted her gaze to his face. “I’m sorry for what I almost did to you.”

  He got the impression that apologizing was something she found difficult to do, but he was fairly sure she believed him. It was less obvious whether she realized she was in danger herself. These people played hardball and couldn’t afford any loose ends, like inquisitive bounty hunters who asked questions about unexplained deaths.

  “I suggest you call your boss, confirm you’ve found me and then get the hell out of here.”

  She looked hurt by his harsh tone. “I said I’m sorry.”

  “And I accept your apology. But you’ve done your job. You need to clear out now. This is gonna get ugly.”

  “My job isn’t finished. According to you, my boss will ask me to stay and keep you company.”

  “Ain’t gonna happen.” His tone was harsh. “I can’t watch your back.”

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  Rick sighed. “Has anyone ever told you you’re the most stubborn woman this side of Barcelona?”

  “I finish what I start.” Her challenging gaze suggested she wasn’t only talking about his situation, or was that wishful thinking on Rick’s part? Shit, now was no time to start thinking with his cock, but Sabine had that effect on him and there didn’t seem to be a damned thing he could do about it. “I care about the otters, too.”

  “Call your boss,” he said softly. “Do it for me, darlin’. Please.”

  She looked at him for a long time, then pulled her cell phone from her bag and dialed a number.

  “Hey, Mike, it’s me. It’s definitely him.” She listened for a while. “Yeah. He walked me back to my hotel tonight. Seems like a nice guy, not like the usual scumbags you have me chasing after.” She glanced up at Rick and grinned, like she was enjoying herself. “Just goes to show, you never can tell. Anyway, I thought you ought to know it’s him. Oh, and by the way, someone had broken into my room.” She listened a bit, ignoring Rick’s warning glare. He hadn’t told her to say that. “No, they got away. Rick chased after them. You sure he’s a bad guy?” She listened again and emitted a mirthless chuckle. “Okay, well my job’s done, I guess. What? You want me to what?” Rick made frantic hand signals at her, but she ignored those, too. Geez, she was killing him. “No, sorry, I don’t do that sort of stuff.” Another pause. “Yeah, I know I owe you, but that’s asking too much.” She flashed a smile at Rick. “Yeah, he is cute, but still.” Another pause. “Shit, you drive a hard bargain. Okay, if I were to agree, what’s in it for me?” Another pause, longer this time. “Hmm, well that’s certainly generous. Okay, I guess for that sort of bonus I could keep him sweet for you. Tell me again what you need me to do.”

  By the time she cut the connection and sent him another teasing smile, Rick was ready to throttle her.

  “Well, Mr. Dwyer, looks like you were right. I’m required to get up close and personal with you. Then steal all copies of that report and vandalize your hard drive.”

  Rick sighed. “Sabine, I don’t want you here.”

  “You’ve got no choice. I helped get you into this. Looks like I’m gonna have to help you get out of it.”

  Chapter Five

  Sabine was furious with Mike. He was the one man she trusted. It had taken a long time for her to reach that stage and, at first, it had been a grudging kind of trust. Every minute, she expected it to backfire. On the rare occasions she allowed anyone to get too close, it always ended with her being let down. When it appeared he really did intend for her to work for him, no strings attached, she gradually relaxed her guard. And look where that had gotten her. He was calling in favors, exerting psychological blackmail to have her work a number on Rick. The question was, would she have done what he asked of her if she didn’t know the truth about Rick? Mike knew all the right buttons to push when it came to her hang-ups. Hell, they both knew she might have self-destructed by now if he hadn’t been there to save her. He did save her. Now he seemed content to throw her to the wolves. Go figure.

  Sabine was no fool and knew she couldn’t be allowed to walk away from this—not if someone intended to silence Rick permanently—but she was damned if she would allow that to happen without putting up a fight. And right now she needed to fight real bad. It was the only way she knew to get rid of the pain of yet another betrayal. Given the pattern of her life, betrayal should no longer surprise her and certainly shouldn’t hurt as much as it did. She didn’t need people, she reminded herself. She didn’t need anyone. She could take care of herself.

  “Why are you so determined to see this thing through?” Rick asked.

  She looked away from him, unwilling to meet the curiosity and compassion she thought she glimpsed in his expression. “It’s personal.”

  He sat opposite her, close enough that he could reach out and touch her. As though sensing how hard that would be for her to take, he didn’t actually do so. “Try me,” he said softly.

  She wanted to tell him. She wanted to trust him even more, but something held her back. She had thought Mike was trustworthy, and look where that had landed her. “You wouldn’t understand. Just accept that I’m here and can be useful to you. If the people looking for you are as desperate as you make out, you need all the help you can get.”

  “You could get yourself killed and it ain’t your fight.”

  “Getting killed isn’t in my game plan.”

  Rick rubbed the back of his neck, looking conflicted. “If you want to stay, then you need to trust me. We have to trust one another, and I get the feeling you don’t do trust.”

  “I can fight with you without getting into the trust thing.”

  “You could, but I won’t let you. If you want to stay, you have to tell me why it’s so important to you, baby.” His tone was inflexible. “If you can’t do that, you’re outta here.”

  The endearment was almost her undoing. It sounded sincere, like he really gave a shit, but Sabine knew better.

  “You’re right, I don’t trust easily,” she said, looking down at her hands.

  “I got that part.”

  “I grew up in a series of foster homes,” she said. “I never knew my dad, can barely remember my mum. She died when I was still little, and I’ve been passed around from pillar to post ever since.”

  “I’m sorry. The foster system in America can be brutal. I’m guessing it’s not a whole lot better on your side of the pond.”

  “I never fitted in anywhere, which I guess made me hard to love. I was never rebellious, just different, and being a kid and being different makes you an easy target for the bullies. I never wanted to play the games that interested other kids, never wanted to get involved in gangs, or hang out…the usual stuff kids do. You were right about my brain. As a solitary kid I developed a thirst for knowledge early on, read whatever I could get my hands on, and always wanted to know why. I got picked on a lot, so fought back physically, and because I was the loner, I tended to get the blame for starting the fights, which I never did.” She emitted a mir
thless chuckle. “I finished more than my fair share of them, though. I always had this burning anger inside of me, and the only way to satisfy it was through violence.” She shrugged. “It still is. I’m a good person to have on your side in a fight.”

  Rick looked like he wanted to make some comment about that. In the end, all he said was, “go on.”

  “Because of the fights I was never in one home, or the same school, for long enough for any of the teachers to pick up on my hunger to learn.”

  “How come none of the foster homes worked out for you?”

  She snorted. “I was a gangly kid with an attitude, hard to love, I guess. Besides, half the people were in it for the money. They didn’t care about the kids under their control, or what happened to them. I did. I guess I had this weird code of right and wrong even then, without anyone to guide me. That’s why I like my job so much. Anyway, if I saw something I didn’t like going down, then I didn’t keep quiet about it.”

  “You mean abuse.”

  She shrugged. “Abuse, neglect, you name it. No one wants a kid who wouldn’t conform and wouldn’t keep her mouth shut. No foster mother wants to believe her husband is a kiddy fiddler.” Sabine swallowed, feeling dead inside as she relived memories she thought she had buried forever. Whoever said talking about it was cathartic didn’t know diddly-squat. “Anyway, I’m sure you get the picture.”

  “You were molested?”

  “Hell, no. More than one caring foster-father tried to make me his special little girl, but I learned street smarts real young and was having none of it. The last place I was at, the guy threatened to accuse me of stealing from the family when I wouldn’t be nice to him. I’d had just about enough by then so I took off, fell through the cracks in the system and, far as I know, no one’s missed me yet.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I wasn’t quite fifteen but I looked older, and was way smarter than the average kid of that age. So I lied about my age, picked up a few menial jobs where they didn’t ask too many questions about where I’d come from. Got paid cash in hand, lived in a cheap hostel, and took a course in martial arts. I became a black belt in case you’re wondering.”