Branded (8 page)

She’d downed the contents of her glass while she’d
been lost in thoughts of him and of the disaster hanging over her head.  While
she didn’t use alcohol as a way to hide from life, she had to admit she was
feeling a whole lot better.

“Change of plans,” he said, refilling her wine
glass and filling his.  He extended a hand toward her. 

She took his offering and stood, feeling the
tiniest bit wobbly.  “Oh?”

He guided her to a back door that led from the
kitchen to a shady garden patio outside.  Stormy dashed between them, and began
her investigation of his yard.  The trees and his house blocked most of the
wind, leaving a mild breeze to swirl a few dead leaves on the bricks.  “I hope
you’ll forgive me.  I decided not to cook.  Instead, I ordered pasta from a
little Italian restaurant down the street.”

“Oh, I see.  Bait-and-switch.”

He dragged two wrought-iron chairs with
leaf-patterned cushions away from a ring of chairs that circled a fire pit and placed
them next to a table, indicating she should sit.  “How do you mean?”  He claimed
the seat next to her, keeping his golden tiger eyes trained on her.

She took a sip of wine before placing her glass on
the table.  “You bring me here under the guise of a home-cooked meal.  Once I’m
settled, you pull the old bait-and-switch routine.”  If he didn’t stop looking
at her like that, she was positive she’d melt.

“Trust me.  When you taste Mama Maria’s linguini
with chicken piccata, you won’t know the difference.  Besides, can you blame me
for wanting to focus more on you than cooking?  I’d much rather be staring into
your beautiful green eyes than garlic cloves and pasta.”

 A feeling of lighthearted happiness bubbled
inside until it spilled onto her lips.  “A deceiver and a charmer.  I imagine a
lot of women would fall for that one.”

His eyes zeroed in on hers.  “Would you?”

She inhaled, trying to keep her concentration.  “I
don’t know.  I guess we’ll see.”

“I guess we will.”  He watched her over the top of
the rim of his glass as he took a sip of wine.

Her heart stuttered before dashing into
overdrive.  She knew he was flirting, knew these were probably pick-up lines he’d
used on many unsuspecting women before, but she didn’t care.  His words, the
sexy way he spoke, left her feeling more alive than she had in a long time.  “Thank
you.”

He arched his brows.  “For what?”

“For inviting me here.  For letting me escape into
your haven of solitude.  For flirting with me so outrageously so I can forget
my problems for a while.”

He snorted then.  “What?  You think I’m doing this
for you?”  A spark of attraction flared in his eyes.  “Believe me.  Having you
here is purely selfish on my part.”

Another smile lit on her lips as a pleasant warmth
spread through her body.  “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything.  Just sit there
and let me pamper you a while.  You need it.”

Xander closed his front door after generously
tipping the delivery driver from Mama Maria’s.  The tantalizing scent of garlic
filled the air as he moved from his foyer to the kitchen.  He gathered plates
and utensils, before glancing out his back door to the woman who occupied a
seat on his patio.

Now that Nicole had agreed to see him, it seemed
as though she’d dropped her shield.  He’d been prepared to do whatever it took
to win her over, but flirting with her, making small talk had come far easier
than he’d expected.  He only hoped he wasn’t overdoing it.  His whole line
about not cooking so he could look into her eyes was a little over the top, but
she hadn’t seemed to mind.  In truth, as he’d been changing his clothes, he’d
realized if he were to cook a decent meal, he’d have to be focused on what he
was doing as opposed to trying to read her expressions and learning when she
might be telling the truth and might be lying.

Then again, she did have beautiful eyes.  Spending
hours trying to figure her out wouldn’t be a hardship.

In all actuality, he’d really scored when he’d
picked up this assignment.  Christian’s last job led him to pal around with a drug
dealer who’d lost most of his teeth and had numerous scars on his face from abusing
drugs.

Xander set the food containers on a tray with the
plates and napkins and headed outside.  Nicole glanced up as he joined her, the
corners of her eyes turning up as she smiled.  To describe her as beautiful had
been an understatement.

She stood and helped distribute plates and
utensils as he opened the containers.  “That smells wonderful,” she said, as
she moved closer and peeked over his shoulder to see what each container held.

The smallest brush of her breast caressed his arm,
and suddenly every nerve inside him stood at attention.  He shifted, moving out
of her way, and handed a container to her.  “Here, you can put the noodles on
our plates if you’d like.”  He needed to keep his focus on her crime and what
her father had done to his.

She took the plastic bowl and busied herself doing
as he asked with no clue as to the kind of affect she had on him.  Maybe
working with a drug dealer had been the easier job after all.

When they both had their plates and were settled
again, he began his subtle interrogation.  “Have you always lived in the
Portland area?”

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes.  “I moved a
lot when I was younger, but I’ve been in the area since my high school days.” 
She looked up at him and smiled.  “How about you?”

“I’ve been in Portland since college.  Graduated
from Portland State.”

“I went to Pacific Northwest.”

“The art school?”

She twisted linguini on her fork and nodded.  “I
always wanted to be a graphic designer.”

“How did you end up working for First Freedom
then, especially in their finance area?”

She rolled her eyes and shrugged.  “They called
me.  Or a headhunter-type person did.  Someone called, saying they’d gotten my
information from the college alumni department, and they wanted someone who
could be an administrative assistant slash graphic designer.  It paid more than
I was making at the time, so I said yes.  In the end, they really didn’t have
me do any graphic designing, just answering phones and mostly being a gopher
for everyone in the department.”  A sad expression crossed her face.  “And now
I don’t even have that.”

If Xander didn’t know better, he’d feel sorry for
the green-eyed witch.  She certainly had the poor waif routine down well.  “This
must be impossibly tough for you.”  Especially getting busted.

She steeled her expression and sighed.  “The tough
part is going to be when I try to make a rent payment with no job.”

He nodded, studying her, looking for any chink in
her armor.  There had to be something.

He kept the conversation to small talk while they
finished their meal, keeping her wineglass refilled and easing her into a nice
relaxed state, but now it was time to dig a little deeper.  “You mentioned you
don’t have family to support you.  Just an aunt.”  He piled dishes and empty
containers onto the tray.  “Where is the rest of your family?  Your parents?”

She eyed him directly.  “They’re both dead.”

He already knew that, but the way she spoke, like
she was warning him not to delve into that subject intrigued him.  “What
happened to them, if you don’t mind me asking?”  He was never one to heed a
warning.

A quick flash of pain, real or fake, crossed her
face.  “It’s a long, not very happy story that I prefer not to think about.” 
She glanced at her watch.  “Besides, I’ve taken enough of your time.  I should
go.”

He’d hit a raw nerve, no doubt.  She started to
stand, and Stormy jumped to her feet, prepared to follow her.  Xander placed a
hand over Nicole’s.  “Do you have to go now?  I’m happy to drive you whenever
you’re ready, but I’d really like it if you’d stay a while longer.  This house
can get pretty lonely at times.”

She seemed to consider his request and then the
tension left her shoulders.  “I understand.  My place can be kind of empty
sometimes, too.  Stormy helps.”  She reached down and scratched her dog’s ear. 
“Maybe you should think about getting a dog?  They’re great company, and it’s
nice to have someone waiting for you at home.”

The affection she had for her pup was genuine,
that much he could tell.  “Maybe I will.”  He’d actually considered the idea
off and on during the past year.  “Maybe you could help me pick one out.”

Her eyes brightened.  “I’d love to.  There’s a pet
store not far from here that lets the local shelters bring in puppies on
Saturdays to help find them homes.  Have you thought about what breed you’d
like to get?  If you work long hours, you’ll want one that’s okay being left
alone for long periods.”  She glanced toward his back door.  “Might want to
consider getting a doggie door, too, so it won’t have accidents.”

He couldn’t help but grin.  She might be a
multi-million dollar thief, but she definitely had a soft spot for animals.  “I’d
love a dog like Stormy.  Australian Shepherd, right?”

“That’s right.”  She seemed impressed with his
knowledge of canine breeds, which was a point in his favor.  The more she liked
him, the more likely she’d divulge information.  “She’s a very good dog.” 
Stormy seemed to recognize that she was the subject of the conversation and
barked as though to join in.  Nicole rubbed her coat as Stormy’s tail thumped
against the side of Nicole’s chair.

“Tomorrow is Saturday.”  Now that he’d found an
in, he intended to exploit it.  “Would you want to go then?”

“Only if you’re not afraid to be seen with me in
public.  Might want to think about that after what happened at the coffee shop.”

He caught her gaze and held it.  “People don’t
scare me.”

She snorted.  “I wish I could say the same.  There’s
at least one person out there who terrifies me.”

He nodded, not knowing what else to say.  If she’d
been telling the truth, he would have been frightened for her.  “I’m going to
talk to my friend.  Have him do some investigating.”

“Who is he?  Why is it you think he can help when
the police haven’t been able to?”

“He’s a former cop.”  Or at least Sam would be at
some point in the future.  “He knows people.  People who can look into things
without being questioned.”

She nodded, but didn’t seem completely convinced. 
“I suppose it’s worth a shot.  At this point, I’ll take all the help I can get. 
Please make sure he keeps things above board, though.  I don’t need any more
trouble.”

“Besides, if the police have you as a prime
suspect, they might not be considering other avenues.”

Her brows drew together in a frown.  “That’s what
my aunt said, too.”

“Sounds like she’s a smart woman.”

A wistful smile turned her lips.  “She’s the best
thing that ever happened to me.  I hope this whole disaster I’ve become
embroiled in doesn’t affect her too much.”

“You said she’s been sick?”

“She was in a serious car accident eight months
ago.  Broke both legs, and her recovery has been slow.  She’s the strongest
lady I’ve ever met, but she doesn’t need to be worrying about me.”

A sliver of sympathy shot through him for the
woman who’d raised the beauty sitting next to him.  If she was an innocent
bystander, then Nicole’s crimes were all the more heinous.

A strong breeze rounded the side of his house
sending the trees into a crazy dance, forcing them to drop more red and yellow
leaves.  He raised his gaze skyward, confirming the early evening light had
been smothered by dark clouds.

Nicole widened her eyes.  “I think the storm is
finally coming in.”  A few splatters of rain punctuated her words.

“I think you’re right.  Perhaps we should move
this party indoors.”  He stood and picked up the tray.

She followed suit, grabbing their glasses and rousing
Stormy from her slumber at Nicole’s feet.  “Thank you, Xander, but it’s time
for me to go.  I’ve drank more wine than I should have, and I’m sure you’re
tired of hearing about my woes.”

Damn it.  “Are you sure?” 

The warm smile that tilted her lips, reached out
to him, and he had to shield his heart.  “I should go.  I promised my aunt I’d
call her, and it’s getting late.”

“I’d be willing to brave another trip to the
coffee shop and get you a latte.”

“You’re definitely a man used to getting his way,
aren’t you?”

Was he?  Her statement momentarily caught him off
guard.  “At least tell me I’ve charmed you enough for you to agree to go puppy
shopping with me tomorrow.  It is Saturday, and I’m sure cute, little puppies
will do a much better job than me of keeping you distracted.”

She seemed to consider his request and then
nodded.  “I’d love to.”

*        *        *

The windshield wipers moved back and forth,
filling the quiet car with swishing sounds as Xander drove her home.  Nicole
supposed he was as lost in his thoughts as she was in hers.

She was surprised how much their date had
distracted her from the relentless nervous chatter she’d been burdened with
since the questioning.  Even when they’d talked about the theft, things hadn’t
seemed quite so bad.  Maybe having someone to talk with had helped more than
she’d realized.

He’d been the perfect date, attractive, attentive
and enjoyable.  She wasn’t so sure about his friend that he thought might help
her.  Having a complete stranger rooting around on her behalf seemed kind of
shady, but she was certain whoever had really committed the crime was using
every bit of arsenal available to stay undetected.

“How do you suppose the person who really did
steal the money was able to get into First Freedom’s building without being
noticed?  They have a video of me entering the building.  Wouldn’t the real
thief be on the video, too?”