by Addison Fox
“We got some intel on Stef Nichols.”
A raw chill ran the length of his spine and Campbell knew the information wasn’t good.
“She was found about an hour ago, dead in her apartment.”
“Not by accident, I assume?”
“No. Her neck was broken. Time of death was estimated last night around midnight.”
Campbell waited for the full report even as the implications of the woman’s death swirled in his mind.
He needed to tell Abby. But did he dare tell her now? She was a good actress and had been more than convincing in the role of dewy-eyed lover, but she was already upset about Stef’s possible involvement.
Could he really put the entire evening at risk by telling her now? By confirming the incontrovertible proof of the woman’s involvement with the very worst of news?
“Has anything been found on her electronics?”
Simon stepped in and shook his head. “The cops won’t share it. We have a fair amount of pull, but a dead woman sort of trumps our authority and we weren’t given access to them.”
Campbell heard the implied “yet” in Simon’s voice and knew it wouldn’t be that easy. “Let me see what I can do on that front.”
Although the House of Steele didn’t have much more pull with the NYPD than David’s firm did, he’d worked enough projects for them that he had developed a sizeable network of contacts. One of them should at least be able to tell him what the security team hadn’t yet found out.
Especially if there was anything on the electronics and if he could get into them and dig a bit more deeply.
“The cops want to talk to Abby as soon as possible.” David handed him a message he’d scribbled on a notepad. Campbell didn’t recognize the name of the detective, but he did recognize the precinct number and mentally catalogued a few of the people he knew there.
“Can you hold them off?”
“Not for long. I explained she wasn’t available and got the tersely worded explanation that she needs to make herself available.”
“Stall them.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“She needs to get through this evening. We’ve come too far and we’re too close to getting a bead on this guy. Tonight’s essential and if the guy is here, she needs the time to work the room and get a sense if anything seems off. There’s no way the knowledge that Stef is dead isn’t going to mess her up and pull her off her rhythm.”
“I understand.”
* * *
Abby smiled and nodded at the assembled crowd as happy conversation swirled around her. The first guest had arrived promptly at seven and she hadn’t stopped smiling since.
Or evaluating each and every person who’d walked through her front door.
Three people had popped as slightly off, but she’d managed to eliminate one of them when she realized his wife and new baby had been home from the hospital a total of three days. Despite her encouragement he leave and fly home, he ran through the typical song and dance about the importance of work, how they had a nanny and that his mother-in-law had descended for a month-long stay. She’d nodded politely throughout but knew she could remove him from the list of suspects.
What she couldn’t quite remove was the image of a husband and baby that exploded in her mind with surprising force. Or the fact that the person she saw as sharing the journey of parenthood with her was Campbell.
“This is quite the party.”
Abby willed the thought—and the traitorous heat that suffused her body with pleasure—as Lucas Brown drifted back to talk to her.
He was the newest member of her board, his financial firm in London having come on her radar two years prior when they’d managed a capital expansion in Europe. He had a ready understanding of business and she’d always appreciated his thoughts on McBane’s growth opportunities. When a seat on the board had opened up, one of her advisors had suggested Lucas and he’d been a match from the start.
She estimated he was about three or four years older than herself. He had an appealing look to him, with a fit body more than evident underneath his power suit and warm brown eyes that always filled with a ready smile. She’d liked him from the first and thought he brought a youthful perspective to the board that was often missing from some of the other members. Where they had the wisdom of experience on their side, he had the aggressive, entrepreneurial focus of youth and it created a nice balance.
“So Campbell’s a new addition to your life.”
She heard the question and pasted on a demure smile that wasn’t all that hard to conjure up. “Yes.”
“The two of you are quite the subject of conversation. What does he do?”
Abby walked through the agreed-to script on how they met and Campbell’s role as a software developer for the financial industry before she thought to censor herself. Saying Campbell was an expert in financial markets wasn’t going to go over Lucas’s head as it would with most and his attention perked up immediately.
“Who does he work for?”
“He works rather independently most of the time.” She made a mental note to share that tidbit with Campbell before she added a bright smile with what she hoped was a vague, dreamy gaze. “I can’t say I’ve spent all that much time asking him about his work.”
“The joys of new love.”
“Yes.”
“Even when you get left at the party all by yourself.”
Abby kept up the good-natured attitude but couldn’t shake the subtle awareness that Lucas had paid rather close attention to her and Campbell’s exchange before he’d left the room. “He’s a busy man. Since I’ve left more than one party on more than one occasion I can hardly complain.”
Abby saw Lucas’s gaze shift to a point behind her and turned to see Campbell striding across the ballroom. “Speak of the devil.”
Campbell extended a hand, his smile bright and convivial even as she saw the tension that bracketed his eyes in tight lines. She made the brief introductions before Lucas started in with a jolt. “I understand from Abby you work in software for the financial industry.”
She took heart at Campbell’s light squeeze to her hand even if she couldn’t shake the underlying feeling something was wrong.
And then she could only admire his acting skills as Campbell launched into a mind-numbing description of his “work.” The man might not work in the financial industry, but you’d never know that from his ready description of complex technologies and evolving solutions in the field.
The heavy bell announcing dinner had their conversation ending and Abby excused them both to Lucas with the claim that she needed to speak to the event staff. Since her hand stayed firmly wrapped around his, Campbell added a good-natured wink to their departure and promised further discussion with Lucas over dinner.
Abby dragged him with her into the kitchen, unwilling to say anything until she knew for certain they were out of earshot of her guests.
“Did you just tell him anything that wasn’t true?” Abby kept her voice low so as not to be overheard but she couldn’t completely eradicate the panicky urgency that gripped her throat as they huddled in a small butler’s area that held several rows of wine racks.
“Of course not.”
“But you don’t work in financial software.”
“Sure I do.”
“You what?”
“I work across many fields. You don’t think I’d make up a job I didn’t know how to do, do you?”
Abby clamped her mouth shut, convinced the gaping hole made her look like a gasping fish. “Well, I’m—”
“I know what I’m doing and I know how to talk tech.”
“I guess you do.”
The same tension lines she’d noticed in the ballroom were once more in evidence and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching a hand up to settle against his jaw. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure.”
“What did David want?”
Campbell glanced around them and pointe
d toward a small group of caterers that stood along the far wall. “Nothing that can’t wait a bit.”
“Later, then?”
“Later.”
Before she could even think to say anything further, Campbell took full advantage of their private moment to lean in and press his lips against hers. The light taste of the wine served during the cocktail hour still lingered on his tongue and she marveled at the sensuous blend of taste and the warm, masculine scent that filled her nose as she opened for him, tangling her tongue with his.
Campbell.
A light sigh rose up in her throat as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer for their kiss. Whether it was the fact she had more than twenty people awaiting her arrival or the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen or the simple joy of once again being in his arms, Abby didn’t really care.
She simply hung on and rode the moment.
Dark, sensuous needs exploded on her tongue as he made love to her with his mouth. His powerful body caged hers as he plundered, each moment sweeter than the one before. He pressed his lips against hers, their mingled breaths a testament to the deep need that pulsed between them.
“Abby.”
She pulled herself from the brink of madness—and the increasingly insistent demands of her body that ruthlessly whispered she needed to drag him to her room—and let the quiet moment settle in her bones. “Hmm?”
“We need to get back to dinner.”
“Right. Dinner.”
“You okay?”
“Hmm.”
He released his hold on her and stepped back. She felt the light touch of his fingers as he skimmed one down the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful.”
The delightful hum that filled her veins grew heavier at the lovely compliment. “Thank you.”
“You ready to go back to the party?”
“Do we have to?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Then yes, I’m ready.”
“And are you now convinced I can hold my own in a conversation with your guests?”
She smiled at the sweet notes of his voice. “I was convinced before. And while I’m quite sure kissing is not a way to convince me further I’m also not going to argue with your methods. Not one bit.”
He leaned in and nipped a quick kiss along her jaw. “That was just for fun and to see if I could ruffle your very beautiful feathers.”
“I see. And what do you think?”
His smile spread and she saw the distinct notes of “cat with canary feathers” painting that lush mouth. “I think I’m going to enjoy making love to you tonight.”
* * *
Lucas pulled the slim tablet from his inside coat pocket and punched in his password as the various guests assembled for dinner. The mini-tablet fit his exact specifications and he was more than satisfied with how the incremental modifications he’d programmed had made the small device invaluable.
Which was why he never let it out of his sight.
He tapped in a few commands, pleased when he saw the various screens that indicated he was inside McBane’s technology systems. Even more delicious, he knew he was inside the system with Abby’s log-in.
There was nowhere he couldn’t go.
He reviewed the data for a few more minutes— little had changed since the last time he’d checked, which made sense since she’d been in the ballroom the entire time—before closing out of the program.
He was so close.
So it was with no small measure of surprise that he saw Campbell Steele’s interest as he and Abby walked through the doors at the opposite end of the dining room.
* * *
The image of Abby’s face as he’d made his parting pronouncement—I’m going to enjoy making love to you tonight—kept Campbell vivid company as the tedious dinner conversation hummed around him.
Her lush brown eyes had widened in tandem with the rich swell of her just-kissed lips and he’d nearly dragged her right back into his arms or, even better, up the back stairs that led out of the kitchen.
The fantasy took shape in his mind before he remembered he had to share the news of Stef’s death.
Or her murder, he silently amended to himself.
He knew Abby believed in Stef’s loyalty—knew she’d fought the increasing evidence stacking up against the woman point by point—and it pained him to think of the additional pain Abby would suffer when she learned the news.
Poor choices and lost lives.
Just like Sarah.
The image of the girl he’d loved before he’d even fully understood the emotion reached up and grabbed him by the throat, squeezing with tight fingers.
This wasn’t the same. He wasn’t the same.
He had the power to do something now.
But the sickening fear someone had set his sights on Abby left a raw hole in the pit of his stomach.
“How are you enjoying Paris, Campbell?”
“I’m sorry?”
Campbell gave up the circling thoughts that didn’t want to settle and turned to the woman next to him. She was nice enough—and had already introduced herself and her company with a description so detailed he’d briefly contemplated a nap—but he knew full well the role he played.
The fact this woman and all her counterparts at the event were blessedly oblivious to the underlying problems was something to be pleased about.
And while the overt purpose they were all gathered together in Abby’s home was different from the myriad of events he’d attended throughout his life, the constant posturing, posing and jockeying for position was the same.
With wealth and position came the distinct desire to maintain it.
Campbell knew he didn’t have the best attitude about his upbringing or the more social aspects of his life and he knew he’d have to get over that crappy outlook since entertaining was such a significant part of Abby’s life.
The thought caught him off guard and he cleared his throat on the rich piece of filet mignon that attempted to turn to dust in his mouth.
“Are you all right?” Abby settled a hand on his thigh, her face full of concern as she turned to focus on him.
“Fine.” He waved a hand as he reached for his glass of water. “Good.”
Fine? Good?
To borrow one of his grandfather’s most favorite phrases, not bloody likely.
Try completely and utterly bewildered, off-kilter and undeniably disoriented instead.
He laid a hand over hers, the moment of panic flashing into a hard jolt of need as she ran her fingers in a light caress over his thigh before she removed her hand and placed it back in her own lap.
Where he thought he’d won Round One in the kitchen, she’d clearly owned Round Two and Campbell was forced to manage both his rampaging thoughts and his traitorous body.
Rounds Three, Four and Five, too, his conscience whispered, if the raging kick to the head he was currently experiencing was any indication.
He reached for his water glass and tried desperately to gather his incoherent thoughts into something he could digest. On swift feet, one thought rose up from the rest.
When the hell had he started thinking in terms of such permanence with Abby?
They were going to figure out who was harming her and then he had to move on to the next thing. A new assignment.
One that didn’t involve her.
That was all this could be.
And if—no, when—they made love, it would be as two consenting adults who wanted each other.
Not as two consenting adults who were moving their relationship to the next level of permanence and a lasting commitment to each other.
The wholly unsettling thoughts had him desperate for a new topic of conversation and he latched on to the one thing guaranteed to trip a new trigger in his brain.
Technology.
“Lucas. If I may be nosy, when I walked in I noticed you had a rather sleek tablet in your hands. I don’t think I’ve seen it before. Is
it new to the market?”
The man’s ready frown caught Campbell off guard as a heavy flush crept up Lucas’s neck. In his experience, a fellow tech-geek was as eager to share his toys as most men were to show off a brand-new TV or a hot new girlfriend.
Which made Lucas’s stammer and clear annoyance that much more curious.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. It’s a new proprietary prototype my company has built.”
“Of course. I understand. My apologies.”
Lucas nodded, but the deep flush hadn’t quite left his cheeks. And what had started as innocuous conversation in their section of the table had rapidly garnered everyone’s attention up and down the length of the room.
Abby broke the noticeable silence with a light clearing of her throat. “I’m so pleased you all could join us. I know most everyone knows each other, but we’ll be finishing up the evening in the library with a selection of desserts and after-dinner drinks. You’ll have an opportunity to sit next to someone new and get further acquainted.”
The conversation murmurs resumed and the caterers busied themselves with pouring more glasses of wine around the table. The flush had receded from Lucas’s face, but the man hadn’t managed to erase the hard glint that flashed in his eyes.
Although the urge to bait the man further was strong, Campbell avoided all talk of technology and instead kept his comments to an upcoming soccer match that had been the subject of eager speculation among those at dinner.
And made a mental note to look a bit more deeply into the background of Lucas Brown.
Chapter 13
Abby closed the door behind the catering staff and pressed her head against the leaded glass that framed the front entryway. “Are they all gone?”
“Security’s still upstairs.”
“Everyone besides them?”
“Yes.” Campbell ran a hand down the smooth column of her back. “They’re all gone.”
“I thought they’d never leave.”
“You’re a good hostess.”
“Clearly too good a hostess.” She lifted her head and offered up a small smile. “Remind me next year not to serve such good liquor.”
The thought of next year—and the idea he’d be around to remind her of it—stilled them both and he saw the edges of her smile quaver at the realization of what she’d said.
