A Highlander for Christmas (36 page)

“Did she succeed? With you?” Maggie whispered, already hating this woman she had never seen.

“She tried. I think it amused her at first when she failed. Then she was not amused. I can’t go into all the details, but I can tell you that she became a useful source for our own misinformation to the Triads.”

“You mean you fed her false information?”

“The information she received was … reworded.” Jared shrugged. “Don’t waste your sympathy on Daphne. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

“What about that man Cox? Didn’t he know what she was?”

Jared shifted restlessly. “He saw the evidence. Right up to the end, he argued that she was telling the truth.” When Maggie hesitated, his hands tightened. “Go on and ask. I don’t want lies between us. I’ll tell you what I can, even if it’s less than what you want.”

“What happened that day in Kowloon?”

“It was a setup. The bomb was planted by the Triads to make the British look like cold-blooded killers. The ruse might have worked if we hadn’t managed to move most of the Chinese civilians out of the way. When it was over, Daphne showed up and swore that the Triads had ordered her death. Cox put her inside a truck with the second bomb disposal crew and told her it was the one place she would be safe. But someone had stashed a little gift in her handbag.” Jared took a harsh breath. “They detonated the bomb right outside the National Bank of China. Cox saw the reports, but he refuses to believe them. He says I
missed
the second bomb—and that I did it on purpose. Now you see why the Chinese say
keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
”

Horror left Maggie silent. “You wouldn’t do something like that.”

“No,” he said. “But try explaining that to Cox.”

“Is Daphne Ling why you left the service?”

“That—and other things.”

Maggie tilted her head. “What other things?”

She had to know the rest of it. If there were shadows, she meant to share them with this brooding, honorable man. “Marston said you’d been posted all over the world. He mentioned Thailand.”

Something moved in his eyes. “I was there. Three and a half years.”

The sirens were gone now. The abbey lay quiet around them, hiding the secrets of its own restless past.

“Was that your last posting?”

“It was.”

Maggie felt him drawing away from her. He frowned as if he was back in some crowded Asian street or stifling jungle.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Do you really want to know, Maggie?”

She nodded, frightened by his detachment, as if he was considering a stranger’s past, rather than his own.

“You think you do, but you don’t.” His voice was cold and controlled.

“Let me decide that.”

He moved one hand to the window, his face cast into shadow. “I made a mistake. I was caught. Nothing original about the story.”

“There’s more,” Maggie said softly. She was frozen by the physical and emotional distance that stretched between them now. “So where does that leave us, Jared?”

“I’m trying, Maggie. I don’t want to keep you out. You’re just what I’ve needed—a wild wind to storm through my life and knock me flat.”

“Hardly a compliment,” she muttered.

“But it is. The best kind. I’ve been forced to change, and it’s come at a high price. I’ve had to question everything around me, but I don’t want to question you, Maggie.”

“Then don’t. Just open your arms and let me in.” She stood waiting, suddenly fearless, offering all she had to give to this strong, restless man who faced death without a second thought. “How bad could it be? You haven’t been involved in any junk bond scandals, have you?”

“You don’t understand,” he said harshly, not returning her smile.

“I’m trying to,” she whispered. Her hands slid around his waist. “You’ve just saved my life, Jared. I owe you.”

“I don’t
want
your gratitude,” he said harshly. His muscles bunched beneath her hands.

She read the stormy uncertainty in his eyes, where need waged a hard war with rock-hard principles.

Damn a man with principles
, she thought. They both could have died an hour ago They should be doing more important things than talking.

“People want me to pretend my past didn’t happen and move on,” he growled “But like you, I’ve never been good at pretending.”

“Then don’t try.” She opened one hand against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart beneath her fingers. “Maybe it’s time you followed your own advice. Put the past on a shelf, and leave it there while you get on with things, day by day and hour by hour. When you face it again, you might find that your mountain has turned back into what it was all along—a molehill.”

Jared brought his head down and brushed her hair with his lips. “What are you asking of me?”

Staring into his shadowed face, Maggie came to a grave decision. She prayed it was the right one.

“Stop talking, Jared. Stop thinking. Then kiss me.”

“Because you feel obligated?”

“Does this feel like obligation?” she whispered, fitting her slender body to his and sliding onto her toes to nuzzle his neck.

Jared closed his eyes, fighting desperately for control, feeling her honesty.

It wasn’t a thing he could misread while in such close contact. He knew that she was offering herself freely, without guilt. Without limits or conditions.

Awed, he savored that vibrant light, so much a part of her character. Light was the secret to the power of her unusual designs. How could he share the shadows of his past and his cold future with her?

“I want to kiss you. Part of me says I’m a fool not to.”

“I like that part,” she said. “He gets my vote.”

Sunlight pooled around them as Jared cupped the fine line of her cheek. “Understand me, Maggie. I’ve waited a long time to feel this way. I’m not running away.” He smiled tensely. “Not quite. You make me remember myself before Hong Kong and Thailand. The old dreams have come drifting back and I was so sure they were all dead. But flaring hormones aren’t enough to get us through.”

“They’d feel awfully good.” She gave a brittle smile. “I’m not all that—practiced in these matters, but I know touching you would be spectacular.”

He touched her mouth with his thumb, a feathered caress that left her trembling. He read the hot wave of need that shimmered through her and its sweet, flaring afterburn. She’d never lied to him, never backed down, and never turned away. He loved her for that as much as everything else.

Love.

The realization slammed down, cold and hard like a winter storm that pounded without warning off the great loch where he’d played as a boy. How could he love her? What had he to offer her?

It was torture to hold her and not take what she was offering. She was going to end up hurt, whether he stayed or walked away. Being a gentleman couldn’t save her now. They had crossed the border that marked the edge of friendship and the beginning of intimacy.

Jared wanted her as his lover, wanted her fiercely. He wanted the shuddering moments of discovery, thigh to thigh. He could already envision her face suffused with surprise when he drove her up to a pleasure she’d never imagined.

He closed his eyes, forehead to hers as he fought his hardest battle in fifteen years of dangerous work. “Not yet, Maggie. We both need time. So we can be certain of what we
want.”
He forced his hands to loosen.

“You’ve got one week,” she said. “Then I put on my war paint and come after you. Trust me, you’ll be sorry you made me wait.”

“Not one week. Less,” he said gravely. “I’ve got some things to settle with the abbey’s security and there will be questions for Nicholas to tackle. Whether he wants to go on with this exhibition, for one.”

“Under the circumstances, he probably shouldn’t.”

Jared brushed the soft fall of hair from her forehead. “You don’t know Nicholas. He’s as stubborn as a bad-tempered baboon. He’ll never let you off the hook.” He felt her swift spark of hope, followed immediately by its cruel extinction “Put it
on
t
he
shelf, Maggie,” Jared said, surprising himself as much as her. “Let’s both try. Just for a while.

She took a deep breath and shoved her hands through her tousled hair, leaving it a chaos of amber and gold in the sunlight. “I ought to sic Max on you. Make him knock you down and seriously rough you up.”

“If he globs any more saliva over me, I might cave in completely.”

Her hands moved on his. Slowly they opened, and slowly they pulled free. “Go,” she whispered. “Take care of your work. But don’t take too long. I have discovered I’m an impatient woman.”

Jared leaned forward, tapping at his computer keyboard in the front library. It had taken him a solid half hour to finish a report about the package. The physical remains had been sent off for analysis, with a list of chemical components expected in twenty-four hours.

But his work was just beginning.

He didn’t want to think about Maggie’s face when he had left her. He couldn’t accept the gift she had offered him—not until they had answers and solid progress against their elusive enemy.

His latest conversation with Nicholas had done nothing to make Jared feel better.

It seemed there was a move afoot to see that Maggie was handled more “professionally.” That meant hard questioning, followed by threats to reveal some of her father’s shadier business transactions unless she agreed to full cooperation with a government investigation.

Jared’s fists locked on the polished table. Pressure wouldn’t work against her. It would only close her up tight. And if the government tried to step in and remove her from his protection?

Then he would have only one option. They would leave the abbey until Nicholas had a chance to countermand the decision. There were still quiet villages and deserted lochs in Scotland where two people with the right contacts could hide for months.

His watch chimed softly. Jared turned to his laptop.

Right now they needed answers.

Izzy?

Right here.

Need updates. All phone lines monitored?

Done. Records available.

Any results on that envelope I couriered to you?

Fabric held no hair or skin samples. No luck with metal case either. Absolutely clean, I’m afraid. Guess you expected that.

Jared watched a frond of asparagus fern shiver at the window. The best way to find answers was to narrow the choices. He remembered Maggie’s belief that the stolen gems would be impossible to disguise.

Anything unusual in the gem trades? Volume of jewels being offered for sale or changing hands? Any unusual gems being shown for sale or recutting? Any odd behavior by Kincade’s former contacts?

Will check. Have contact in Amsterdam who can help.

Give info soonest. Also need financial search. Medical bills for Kincade, Sarah Amelia. Chicago hospital, probably Cook County.

Looking for what?

Jared frowned at the computer. What
was
he looking for? An anonymous donor who had paid the family medical bills? A dummy corporation set up by Daniel Kincade to handle the family’s finances after his disappearance? Or was this just another wild-goose chase?

Need total amount of medical bills and how paid. Name and dates of checks if possible, too.

Gee, Mac, you going into healthcare business?

Not anytime soon. Also check on real estate or stock purchases by Daniel Kincade, last ten years. Send to usual file, full security.

Got it.

Final request is rundown on express delivery system. Name: Lion Express. Keep a very light touch, understood?

Understood. Expect answers tonight.

As he finished his message, Jared imagined his old associate rubbing his hands in delight over this new challenge. Izzy Teague could crack any computer or security system on the planet—business, private, even secure military systems. He had designed many of them himself. Best of all, he had an extensive network of contacts so that he could do most searches legally.