“I went to Carrie’s apartment to invite her to my place for some drinks.” Jace spread his hands and smiled. “Her apartment may do well for her, but I like to surround myself with nicer things, and my penthouse has a wonderful view of the city and access to only the finest wines.”
If she didn’t know he was covering for her blunder, she could really punch him right about now. The thing about Jace was, he’d probably enjoy it.
“Do you often drop by Miss Simmons’s at midnight to ask her to leave the comfort and warmth of her bed for private drinks in your penthouse apartment?”
Carrie pressed her sweaty palms against her wrinkled skirt. It sounded absolutely preposterous when he phrased it like that.
“Miss Simmons and I go back a long way,” Jace said smoothly, betraying none of the nerves Carrie felt. “We knew each other in college very well. I realized that it had been awhile since we’d spent some time together, and I thought a nice catch-up was in order. Miss Simmons is a night owl, so I knew she’d be awake.”
Carrie had to turn and stare at Jace then. It was all so perfect, so smooth. Lying came to him like second nature, and it was a little eerie how easily it was for him to spout out complete untruths under such tense situations. It made her wonder how often he did this and if he’d ever done it to her.
“So, you went back to The Grand Rizzato around…?” The detective trailed off and raised his eyebrows.
“I suppose we arrived there shortly before we called you.” Jace frowned. “It was quite upsetting to find a dead body in my kitchen. Have you managed to find any suspects?”
“And your staff can confirm your arrival,” the detective said, scratching down some more notes. “I’m assuming you have some cameras installed in the elevators for security reasons. We’ll need to check those to verify your statement.”
“We went in through the back door, so no. I don’t use the guest entrances to my hotel, and I don’t allow cameras in my accommodation area. That includes my private elevator.”
Carrie’s heart throbbed. None of this sounded good at all.
“I see.” The detective nodded and put down his pen.
“I’m assuming that will be all,” Jace said, standing from his chair and buttoning his suit jacket. Carrie may have looked like a rumpled doll, but Jace looked as crisp and handsome as usual.
“Just one more question,” the detective said, looking up at Jace with a smile. “We found a gun in your kitchen drawer. Mind telling me why it matches the ballistics of the murder weapon?”
Carrie had called an end to the questioning when the cop brought up the gun. She’d been livid, Jace could tell. When they reached the sidewalk, she’d whirled on him, demanding to know why he hadn’t mentioned he owned a weapon. He’d certainly never had a gun in the past. Jace couldn’t tell her the truth, and all he could hope was that she wouldn’t look into it any further.
He had sighed as he breathed in the wintry Manhattan air. The skies were crisp, cool, and free of clouds, and the ground underfoot was covered in ice. “It wasn’t pertinent to the situation at the time.”
Carrie had only snorted and stormed off home to shower and change into a fresh suit for work. He understood her frustration, but the police obviously felt as if they didn’t have enough to fully charge him with the crime. And now that Carrie had volunteered as his alibi, the vanishing Madison girl would no longer be a problem.
He’d been shocked when Carrie had lied for him, and Jace wasn’t the kind of man who was easily shocked. It had taken a lot for Carrie to put herself on the line like that for him, and she didn’t seem particularly happy about it. He knew just how to make it up to her.
Jace knew Carrie liked to work late. Her job was her life, something he’d always admired, though he thought she’d be a lot happier if she’d just let herself relax every once in awhile. Despite her tendency toward overachieving, Carrie left the office at promptly seven every night to go home and have a glass of wine with dinner before getting right back to work on her couch. She’d sit there with her cat and pore over her notes, often into the wee hours of the morning.
Not tonight. Jace had other plans.
He stood outside her office on the bustling city sidewalk. Taxi horns blared, and young professionals rushed by on their way to the subway. The scent of takeaway curry wafted into his nostrils, mixed with the constant smell of exhaust fumes. Jace inhaled deeply. This was his city, and it was becoming more and more his with each hotel he built from the ground floor up. He couldn’t wait until the contract was signed for his newest endeavour. It was just one more box to tick off on his mile-long list of things to do before he turned thirty.
He glanced up when he heard the whir of the door, signalling another employee heading home. Carrie stepped outside, and the city breeze curled her hair around her face. He’d never seen anyone look more beautiful. But, when her eyes landed on him, she frowned.
“What are you doing here, Jace?” she asked, moving out of the way when another lawyer from her firm exited the building. “Please tell me you don’t have another surprise for me about the case. I don’t think I can take anymore of that right now. That gun has really thrown a wrench into things.”
“Hello to you, too.” Jace grazed her elbow with his hand in an attempt to usher her toward the limo he had waiting at the corner. He’d planned another private dinner for the two of them, this time at one of her favorite restaurants downtown. He hadn’t been south of fourteenth street in at least a year, but he knew Carrie liked some of the trendier eateries only found when venturing out of the proper part of the city.
“I’m serious.” She pulled her elbow from his grasp. “What’s going on?”
“This has nothing to do with the case.” He gestured toward the idling limo, a shiny black beauty that held two glasses of champagne inside. They’d enjoy their drinks, their dinner, and then they’d return to his penthouse where he could have his way with her over and over again. “I’m taking you out to dinner.”
She hugged her wool coat tighter around her body and shivered. “I can’t. I’m way behind on work.”
Jace felt a prickle of annoyance. “You can’t work all day and all night. You need to eat.”
Narrowing her eyes, Carrie took a step back. “You can’t start this right now with me, Jace.”
“You’re saying I can’t start treating you like a goddess.”
“Yes. No.” Carrie threw up her hands. “You can’t just order me around like I’m one of your employees.”
“Well, technically…” He trailed off when he saw her eyes narrow even further. “It was a joke. Listen, you need to eat dinner regardless. Instead of ordering in Chinese, come to dinner with me. Have a nice meal while you take a short break from your work.”
She hesitated and glanced behind her at the office. He knew she was close to giving in, he could tell by the way she bit her lip and avoided looking into his eyes. Seeing that, all he could think about was how her body would look out of her suit. He wanted to make her moan so loud, the entire city would hear her pleasure as she came.
“You’re looking at me like that again.” She shivered and tucked her chin into her coat collar.
“You’re getting cold.” He reached for her arm, but she shifted away. “Let’s go inside the limo where it’s warm.”
“What do you even want with me?” she asked, tipping back her head to look straight into his eyes. “You really think you’re going to make me believe you only want to take me out for dinner?”
He shifted closer, fire flickering inside his stomach. If they weren’t out in public, he’d pick her up off the ground and wrap her thighs around his waist. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a finger under her chin so that their mouths were only inches apart. Her breath was hot and quick on his lips, and her body melted against his chest. Carrie trembled, but Jace didn’t think it was because of the cold anymore.
A scuffling nearby dragged his attention away from Carrie’s sensuous lips, and bright ligh
ts flashed in their direction. Jace stiffened as he glanced around, mind flying to the police. But, it wasn’t the cops. It was a man with a camera, snapping photos of his and Carrie’s embrace.
Carrie turned to see what had caught Jace’s attention and gasped. One moment she was in his arms, and the next she’d jumped five feet back, a vacuum of cold air left in her place. The cameraman sprinted away and jumped into a car idling on the corner of the block. It had all happened too fast to do anything to stop him.
“Jace.” Carrie’s eyes were as wide as a balloon. “Please tell me that wasn’t one of your paparazzi followers.”
“He was behind you,” Jace said, struggling to remain calm. “It would have been impossible for him to get a shot of your face from that angle.”
She fisted her hands by her side and slowly shook her head. “This can’t be happening. If this ends up in the papers, and the partners see, my entire career will be over.”
“I doubt it would be quite that extreme.” Jace took a step toward her, but she stumbled back.
“I was practically kissing you, Jace.” Her voice cut off as tears popped into her eyes.
“Don’t cry, Carrie. We can fix this.” Jace’s heart hardened as he thought of the man who had descended upon them with the camera. It was time to put a stop to the presence of the paparazzi in his life, and especially this one. He’d bribe the man if necessary, anything to keep Carrie from feeling this way.
“Yeah, I can fix this. I can stop getting sucked into your orbit.” Carrie backed away. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to get involved with you. There’s too much at stake. And now I may have lost everything for a stupid fling.”
The snow began to fall again on Carrie’s bleak Manhattan night. Things had taken a turn for the worse, and all she wanted to do was rewind a few days and start over. Tomorrow morning, her name might be splashed across the headlines. Tomorrow night, she might be unemployed.
As she watched Jace drive away in the limo, she couldn’t help the part of her that wanted to wave for him to stop. Despite everything, she was drawn to him so much she could barely stand it when they were apart. But, even if they weren’t what they were, Jace had proven to her this week that he hadn’t changed much at all. He was still bossy and domineering, and stony and cold most of the time. The only time he heated up was in bed, and Carrie wanted more from a relationship than that.
Carrie was distracted from her dark thoughts when she saw Sarah push through the revolving doors.
Sarah paused, raising her eyebrows when she saw Carrie shuddering in the cold snow. “I thought you left half an hour ago. What are you still doing out here?”
“Jace was out here waiting for me.” Carrie frowned. “Some guy snapped our picture, and we had a fight.”
“Sounds like you need a drink.” Sarah looped her hand through Carrie’s arm and started pulling her along the slush-covered sidewalk before Carrie could protest. Why not? Things couldn’t get any worse.
Two drinks later, Carrie felt a lot more relaxed about the night’s events. Sure, it still sucked, but everything looked better through Pinot-tinted glasses. Sarah lifted the almost-empty bottle and divided the last few sips of wine between their glasses.
“I mean, why do I let him get to me so much?” Carrie asked, taking another sip of the luscious wine and raising her voice to speak over the steady hum of the crowded bar.
“Because you’re in love with him.”
“What?” Carrie snorted but felt her cheeks begin to warm. “I am not.”
“You’re blushing.” Sarah gave her a knowing smile and took another sip of her drink. “Why are you hesitating anyway?”
“Are you kidding me?” Carrie shook her head with a laugh. “He’s Jace Holt. He’s a playboy, and my mom had to go and marry his dad.”
Sarah waved her hand as if to dismiss Carrie’s words. “Yeah, yeah, but you two had a thing way before your mom ever met his dad.”
“So, you don’t think it’s weird?” Carrie asked, fingering the cardboard coaster on the beat-up table. While Jace liked to inhabit only Manhattan’s finest, Carrie’s old friend loved the grungy Irish bars in Midtown where the raucous Happy Hour crowds liked to congregate.
“You’re not actually related, you know.” Sarah shrugged. “It’s only weird if you make it weird.”
Carrie bit her lip and glanced out the frosted window. Could Sarah be right? Had she made a much bigger deal of this than it actually was? Maybe it wasn’t weird for them to be attracted to each other. It’s not like they could just turn that emotion off. But that still didn’t take away the other complications of their relationship.
“The partners wouldn’t understand,” Carrie said. “They won’t want their firm associated with some tabloid scandal. They may not have snapped a photo of my face this time, but…”
“So, don’t get caught.” Sarah took a sip of her drink, her eyes drifting toward a hot guy strolling by their table. “I can imagine way worse things than a secret affair with Jace Holt.”
Carrie’s entire body warmed just at the thought of it. There was something thrilling and exciting about the idea of trying not to get caught. She wanted more than just some secret affair, but she couldn’t argue that it didn’t sound appealing. Jace made her feel safe and completely on edge at the same time. There was nothing boring about being around him, and the past few days had breathed a new kind of energy into her life. A far cry from her lonely nights spent holed up inside of her apartment poring over case notes.
As her mind spun around thoughts of Jace, her gaze drifted across the crowded bar. Young professionals were packed in tight, their voices raised and their jackets off. Letting their hair down after a long and stressful day at work. Carrie used to come out like this all the time, but she hadn’t in months, and the knots in her shoulders were evidence of this. Jace had been right. She needed to relax more. Stop focusing so much on nothing but work. What was success if she couldn’t share it with anyone?
Sighing, she twisted back toward Sarah, but her eyes caught on a girl standing by the door and sliding into a dark brown coat. Long blonde hair, big brown eyes, heavy makeup, young. Recognition buzzed in Carrie’s brain, but she couldn’t put a name to the face.
As the girl yanked open the door and let in a frosty gust of wind, Carrie suddenly remembered where she’d seen her before. It was the girl from Jace’s phone. Madison. His disappearing alibi.
Carrie jumped up from the table and grabbed her coat. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. I have to run. Drinks are on me next time.”
Before Sarah could protest, Carrie was out the door, her heels click clacking on the sidewalk as she followed the girl down the street. She turned her collar up against the cold and kept her eyes firmly on the dark brown jacket half a block ahead. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing. Now that she’d volunteered herself as Jace’s alibi, it wasn’t as though they needed this girl to make a statement.
That didn’t stop her feet from moving. She darted through a family of tourists and turned down the next block when the girl did the same. Whoever was trying to frame Jace, Carrie was certain this girl knew about it. The lights and noises of the city became muted as they walked further away from the busy avenue.
Finally, Madison stopped at a run-down old brownstone, jogged up the steps, and disappeared inside. Squaring her shoulders, Carrie followed and paused at the base of the stairs, looking up to see the third floor light flick on through curtained windows. The girl must live there, Carrie realized. She’d had keys, and no one had been in the room upstairs before she went inside, or the lights would have already been on.
Carrie quietly made her way up the stairs and peered at the intercom system just beside the door. The name next to the bell for number three read “Holland”. Her stomach twisted at the name. She thought about ringing the bell and questioning the girl right then and there, but that would only tip off whoever was behind this.
And it was starting to look like someone related to the
victim. Holland wasn’t exactly a common last name.
No, she needed to be smart. Develop a plan. As soon as she approached Madison—if that really was her name—she’d go straight to whoever had put her up to luring Jace away from his penthouse that night. And then she’d probably disappear. Carrie had one shot to talk to the girl, and it could make all the difference in the world to Jace’s case.
She needed to be cautious. She needed to talk to Jace.
When the phone rang, Jace was already into his second gin and tonic. He almost ignored it completely. It was way after work hours after all, and there were no pressing matters to deal with. He now owned the Times Square building, so it couldn’t be about that. It might be the police again, of course, but his disdain for their capabilities was growing with each passing hour. They still had no idea who had broken into his hotel and left a dead body on his floor, and he was fairly certain he was the only one they’d brought in to question on the matter.
Like he would leave such an obvious mess if he’d done the deed.
And then there was Carrie. He didn’t want to think about that. He tipped back his drink and gulped it down.
His phone began to ring once again, a shrill annoying noise that made him sigh. Whoever wanted to speak to him wasn’t giving up. He grabbed his cell from the coffee table and read the display. His body turned to stone. It was Carrie.
“Yes?” he answered in a cool and indifferent tone.
“Jace, I’ve found something.” Her voice sounded hushed but on the edge of delight.
In the background, taxis honked, and he wondered why she hadn’t gone home to do work like she’d said. She’d turned him down because her career was more important to her than he was, yet she was still out, somewhere in the city. He gripped the phone tighter in his hand and eyed the gin bottle on the coffee table. Another drink might be needed after this call.
Deadly Desire Page 18
