“But Bryan’s done something criminal!” The girl half sobbed the words.
“Yes, he has,” Rand replied for Annabelle. “However, this is his first offense, and his motives stemmed from the desire to hurt his parents rather than from true malice of forethought against Dunbarton’s. The owner of the company will probably work out some kind of a deal so it doesn’t embarrass his parents or put him in jail.”
“You think?” she cried out for joy.
“I can pretty well guarantee it.”
“Oh, thank you.” She hugged Annabelle, then Rand.
“You go on home, Trina. I can guarantee you’ll hear from Bryan by tomorrow.”
“Here. I’ve been doing a lot of baby-sitting.” She extended her hand to Annabelle. It held four fifty-dollar bills. “I hired you to help find Bryan and get him to come home. Please take it.” She sniffled, trying to fight the tears.
Rand was moved by the girl’s sincerity and determination. Bryan Ludlow didn’t know how fortunate he was. In fact the troubled teen didn’t seem to have a clue about much of anything, particularly Annabelle’s remarkable talent for detective work.
“Keep your money, Trina.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Bryan’s parents hired my boss to find Bryan. When I told him I was already working on the case because of you, he said my part would have to be one of an unofficial capacity. When it’s unofficial, I can’t accept money. So keep it and enjoy.”
Trina looked incredulous. “You really can’t take my money?”
“Nope.”
“But that’s not fair. You’ve done all this work!”
“But don’t you see? I’ve solved the problem for my boss and he pays me very well, so don’t you worry about it.”
“I think you’re wonderful, Ms. Forrester.”
“The feeling’s mutual, Trina. Bryan Ludlow is a very lucky guy to have a girlfriend as caring as you.”
“I agree,” Rand concurred. “Any young woman who would go to the extremes you did to find your boyfriend and protect him for his own good, deserves all the best in life.”
“Thanks.” Her cheeks filled with color.
As soon as Trina walked off, Rand accompanied Annabelle to his rental car. “Howard has Barrett Iverson waiting in his office. When we get there, we’ll phone his brother, Paul, and ask him to join us. Once that’s out of the way, we’ll head over to the Owens’s house and speak a few home truths to Bryan.”
She nodded. “I can see that this is going to take the rest of the night I’d better phone Janet. She’s expecting me.”
“Us, you mean.” Annabelle had gotten herself in trouble on that one. “Tell her we’ll come over tomorrow night instead, if it’s convenient.”
Her well-shaped head jerked around. “Your case has been solved! You’ll be back in your Phoenix office by tomorrow afternoon.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
THAT may be your plan, darling, but it’s certainly not mine.
“I have no idea when I’ll be returning to Arizona. For a while I’ll be supervising Bryan’s restitution plan for all the damage he’s done.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was shaking. It pleased him no end that his news had the power to affect her so strongly.
“First, I have to get copies of all the phone numbers patched in to the Owens’s house for the last two weeks. Then I’m putting Bryan on salary. We’ll find him a cubicle at the office with a phone. He will call each computer owner he personally offended and schedule appointments to make an on-site visit to either repair the problems or take them a brand new computer which he will install free of charge.
“Secondly, he will answer their questions and give them help until they are satisfied that Dunbarton’s is a company that can admit it makes mistakes, but is willing to rectify them.
“Thirdly, with his hourly wage he’ll pay his uncle two weeks rent for the unauthorized use of his house.
“Last but not least, he will confess everything he’s done to his parents and try to get back a level of trust.”
“What if he refuses?”
“I’d hate to think Bryan is that far gone.”
“So would I.” More quietly she said, “He’s very blessed that it was your company he picked to inflict his reign of mayhem. I hope that one day, when he’s a little more grown up, he’ll understand what a great thing you were willing to do for him.”
“The credit goes to you, Annabelle. Your initial compassion for Bryan has influenced my thinking. Since I trust your judgment, we’ll stay with this plan and see what happens. Trina’s part in all this will never come up.”
“Thank you,” she said in a small voice. “What are you going to do about the Iversons?”
Rand started the car and they headed back toward the freeway. “Whether I fire Barrett Iverson or not depends on how his brother managed to get the password from him. As for Paul, he’ll have to sell the motorbike and give the money back to Bryan. Since he probably won’t get full value for it, he’ll have to work to make up the deficit. Hopefully it will be a salutary lesson in the hazards of manipulation and bribery.”
She reached for her cellular phone. “As you said earlier, they don’t know the real criminal actions they’ve committed. I need to call Roman and report what’s happened. It’s possible Bryan could be home with his parents before the night is over.”
Many things are possible. When everything is cleared up, I plan to spend all my nights with you for the rest of our lives.
“Hi, Diana. It’s Annabelle again. Any sign of Roman? I haven’t heard from him yet.”
I need another case to work on. Tonight.
“That’s because Roman’s wife went into labor.”
“You’re kidding!” The news filled Annabelle with excitement for them, but it seemed she would have to find another solution to her problem. “Their first baby... Roman must be euphoric.”
“If you want to know the truth, he’s a complete and total wreck. When she called him to come home, he went deathly pale, then flew out of here like a shot. I would never have thought our boss could act like that. I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait to talk to him. There’s a long list ahead of you as it is.”
“That’s okay. When Roman eventually makes contact with you, give him and Brittany my best wishes and tell him the Ludlow case has been solved. Hopefully I’ll have things wound up by tonight.”
“You found Bryan Ludlow already?”
“Yes. Roman can reach me on the cellular for the details whenever he finds time to call. Talk to you later.”
“I take it your boss is at the hospital with his wife,” Rand murmured when she put the phone away.
“Yes. According to Diana, he’s a nervous wreck.”
Annabelle didn’t understand when she felt Rand’s hand reach out and cover hers. His fingers tightened enough that she couldn’t pull away.
“Do you know, I’ll probably be close to certifiable by the time my wife goes into labor for the first time.”
So he was planning to get married one day... Just not to her. When a man as inexorably masculine as Rand admitted to that kind of fear, the last superficial barrier she’d erected against him crumbled. The pain went on and on. This time when she tried to remove her hand, he finally let it go.
“After losing your mother, it’s no wonder your father guarded and cherished you so closely all of his life.”
“He should have married again. I always wanted a mother.”
“Some men can only love once.”
Annabelle shook her head. “I don’t believe that. He didn’t try to look for anyone else.”
“He obviously thought she was perfect and figured no one else could ever measure up.” There was a brief pause. “He probably didn’t think any boys were good enough for you, either.”
She moved restlessly in her seat. “You’re right. He didn’t.”
“What do you think he would have thought
of me?”
The air seemed to leave her lungs. “Since there is no us, it’s a moot point.”
“Hypothetically speaking,” he continued tenaciously.
“Hypothetically speaking he would have told me that a wealthy tycoon whose face appeared on the cover of Today’s Fortune would want only one thing from a girl like me.”
“Is that what you think?” Their tires screeched as he turned into the Dunbarton parking lot, then shut off the motor.
“Frankly, I haven’t given it any thought. I’m the private detective assigned to your case.”
“You’re a hell of a lot more than that,” he ground out savagely.
The next thing she knew, he’d pulled her across the seat into his arms. Rand was so much bigger and stronger than she was, there was no way to evade him or the mouth that descended on hers with stifling force.
“Rand”—She cried his name, unable to deny her need of him. Caught off guard, she had no will to resist and began giving him kiss for kiss, each one deeper and more sensuous than the last until her body trembled from desire.
When he unexpectedly tore his lips from hers, she was so far gone, she moaned in agony.
“Did you hear that?” he demanded with quiet ferocity, his lips moving against her throat. “You want this as much as I do. If you and I shared a simple business relationship, your heart wouldn’t be running away with you. Your lovely body wouldn’t fit into mine like it was made for me. Admit it, Annabelle.”
“I’ve never denied it,” she whispered shakily.
“Then don’t tell me there’s no us.’ Suddenly he let her go. ”Now that we have that settled, shall we join Howard and start to wrap up this case?”
Annabelle scrambled out her side of the car, embarrassed because it was after five o’clock and there were people in the parking lot who’d seen them kissing.
“Don’t worry about our audience,” he murmured in an aside. “They’re just envious.”
Rand had no idea how much his bantering wounded her. She hurried on ahead, but in reality she was running away from a situation that was out of control.
She was out of control.
Later on tonight, when they’d had their talk with Bryan and had gone back to her house, she would tell Rand to gather up his things and move to the hotel. Out of her life.
Of course life as she knew it would never have the same meaning again. His coming to Salt Lake had ruined any hope she might have entertained that she could get over him. But lots of people still functioned, even with fatal diseases. Rand was her fatal disease. Somehow she would learn to survive.
It was almost one in the morning when Rand pulled the rental car into Annabelle’s driveway. With the case solved, he had anticipated what was coming next, and had already prepared for that eventuality with a counterattack of his own.
He knew exactly what she was doing as she volunteered to make coffee for them. She was getting ready to deliver a quaint little speech and order him from her house, in the nicest way possible of course.
“I hope you’re not doing this for me,” he whispered near her ear. “Much as I would love it, I’ve got business to do and need my briefcase, so I’m going to head on back to the hotel. If you’ll just give me a minute to get my things from downstairs, I’ll be out of your hair.”
Without waiting for a reaction, he disappeared down the steps to the basement study and turned on her computer. She’d sent a fax to Janet. He needed to know what it said.
He didn’t care if what he was doing was criminal or immoral. Rand was fighting for his life.
When he looked in her fax file, he realized she’d deleted the message.
No matter. It would have been sent to the trash bin and he doubted she’d had time to delete that, too.
He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until he found the fax in question and recovered it
Lord. The message turned out to be more revealing than he could ever have hoped for.
He read the next to the last line over again. Which goes to show he never understood me, otherwise he would realize head of security is not the position I had in mind.
His eyes closed tightly for a moment while he willed his heart to stop its thunderous pounding.
Tomorrow he would pay Janet a visit. Once she knew his intentions, he had no worry about her agreeing to help him. Roman had already been in on the plan from the beginning. The only person in the dark was Annabelle. This was one time when his undercover Venus wouldn’t have a clue what hit her until it was too late.
“Annabelle? Thanks for coming in early.”
“No problem, Roman. How are Brittany and little Yuri?”
Roman’s white smile dazzled her. “They’re both wonderful.”
Annabelle’s eyes closed tightly for a minute. How would it feel to be that happy? To be married to the person you loved? To have his baby? “I’m so happy for you, Roman.”
“I know that. Now, let’s talk about you.”
She hunched her shoulders. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I think there is. Since the Ludlow case was closed a month ago, you’ve not only taken on one new assignment after the other, you’ve been providing nonstop backup for the rest of the guys. At the rate you’re going, you’ll burn yourself out. I don’t want to see that happen.”
She swallowed hard. “I like to stay busy. Has someone complained about my work?”
“Annabelle—” He frowned. “You know better than that. All the PI’s have been talking about the masterful job you did on finding Bryan Ludlow. Because of your expert handling of the situation, the police were kept out of it and there was no public scandal. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Roman, but the people you should really be praising are Trina and Rand. He’s the one who chose not to prosecute the parties involved.”
Roman sat back in his swivel chair, eyeing her narrowly. “I’m fully aware of the part both of them played in the case. Undoubtedly Rand’s help brought it to a close that much sooner, but you were the one who listened to Trina in the first place and got that boy’s voice on tape. One of the best things I ever did was hire you to come work for me.”
She could feel the sincerity behind his words. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You also need to know that Rand is manifestly grateful, as you can well imagine.”
“Despite what all the guys are twittering about, I didn’t sleep with him, Roman.”
“I never thought you did.”
“Even when the guys told you he stayed at my house?”
“No. I know you too well. You’re exactly like Brittany. You weren’t working for me when I went undercover as her husband during that stalking case. The guys razzed me about it constantly. But the fact is, I didn’t go to bed with her until our wedding night.”
“Well, I’m afraid Rand’s and my undercover caper didn’t end quite like yours.”
“But you are in love with him.”
Annabelle couldn’t lie to Roman. “Unfortunately I am.” Her voice trembled.
“And he’s not in love with you?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the word ‘marriage’ never came up. On that same night—which was the night we tied up all the loose ends of the Ludlow case—he drove me home, gathered up his things, thanked me, said goodbye and left. I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been in so much pain, Annabelle. Maybe what I have to tell you will be of some comfort. When he paid the bill, he asked me to give you this.” Roman handed her a manila envelope. “Go ahead. Open it.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “No. I’d better not.”
“I believe it’s your bonus. Something about a trip to the Mediterranean.”
Rand remembered. Her hand shook as she put the packet back on Roman’s desk. “I can’t accept this.”
“Why not? He thought the trouble in Salt Lake might take months to solve. Within a f
ew days’ time you caught the perpetrator and saved his company hundreds of thousands of dollars. The man can’t thank you enough and wants you to enjoy this bonus. I agree with him that you deserve it.”
She averted her eyes. “I—I can’t do it. Please—will you return it for me?”
“You won’t do it yourself?”
“I’d rather not.”
“He warned me you might be difficult.”
Annabelle felt heat creep up her neck into her face.
“I understand he offered you the job of head of security for his company.”
Her head flew back. “He told you that?”
Roman’s inscrutable expression revealed nothing about his thoughts. “Isn’t it the truth?”
“Well, yes—but—”
“Apparently he said you could still work for me and do the security job, as well.”
She fumbled with her Jeep keys. “I didn’t think he really meant it.”
“Do you want the job?”
“No!”
“That’s pretty emphatic. Electronics are right up your alley. Heading security for Dunbarton’s is the kind of position any top computer engineer in the country would kill for.”
“I don’t want to leave Salt Lake.”
“Not even for a few days out of every month?”
“No. I like the job I’ve got.”
“Not even for a six digit figure salary?”
“I wouldn’t know what to do with that much money.”
He tapped a pencil against the desktop. “He warned me you would turn down the job and the salary, so he has asked me if I would allow you some time off to work at home on a new foolproof security system for his company.
“Only you and he would know what it is, making it virtually impossible for another hacker to be successful. He’ll pay the agency price for your time. Would you be interested?”
“I don’t need to stay home. I already have one worked out. I’ve been doing it in my spare time for years.”
Undercover Fiancee Page 11
