Cursed (21 page)

     Only she was no
one’s possession.

     Tess squared her
shoulders and lifted her chin. “My whole life I’ve let other people manipulate
and lead me in the direction they thought best. Not once did they ever consider
what I wanted. To tell you the truth I let it happen because I convinced myself
they were right.” She gestured with her right hand. “First my parents, then
Quinn and for a while you. That ends now.”

     Cullinan never did.
He let me try my wings, he encouraged me
.

     Tess held out her
hand to Abel for a shake. “Goodbye, Abel.”

     He took her hand and
held it between his in a firm but gentle grip. “Tess, you’ve got to listen to
me.” He used his D.A. voice, the one he employed during an interview when he
wanted to make his point.

     Tess pulled her hand
from his. “No. From now on the only voice I listen to is the only voice that
counts. My own.”

* * *

     Cullinan barely heard
the conversation around him because he was too busy watching Tess and Abel.
Hope was right. Abel was most definitely interested in Tess. He looked at her
like a hungry lion salivating over his prey. Hope’s words echoed in his mind.
He’ll
clip her wings
. Yes, he probably would—given half a chance—but Abel
wouldn’t have that chance after tonight. Cullinan intended to have Tess by his
side on the plane and he would do whatever it took to make that happen.

     “What do you think,
Cullinan?”

     Jerked from his
thoughts he stared at one of the charity’s board members. “I’m sorry, Jim, what
were you saying?”

     Jim laughed and
glanced in Tess’s direction. “Never mind. I can see your mind is occupied with
that young woman over there. She seems rather chummy with D.A. O’Brien.” He
gestured toward Tess and Abel with his drink. “Careful the ground you tread,
Cullinan. The man can be vicious when he wants something and someone threatens
to take it away from him. I should know. We were after the same piece of real
estate last year. Guess who won?”

     Real estate. Tess
wasn’t a piece of damn property. It irked him that the man would infer it and
he suddenly wanted to punch him in the face. Instead, he stuck his hand in the
pocket of his jacket and closed his fingers around the object resting there.
Feeling it calmed his anger, reminding him of a long ago Valentine’s Day.
“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself, but thanks for the warning.” Cullinan
excused himself and walked in Tess’s direction.

* * *

     When Cullinan
stepped up beside Tess and Abel, Tess’s gaze met his. He saw the tension in her
pretty eyes and the tightness around her sensual mouth. Damn it, Abel had
obviously upset her. Cullinan brushed her cheek with the back of his hand
hoping to soothe her and she smiled at him. He shifted his gaze to Abel, who
eyed him with contempt. “Is there a problem here?”

     Tess shook her head.
“No problem.” Despite her polite tone, irritation edged her voice.

     Abel laughed in a
bitter, mocking sound, cocked his head slightly back and sneered at Cullinan.
“I’ll wager that Tess isn’t the only woman you’ve manipulated with your
charisma

and charm.” His hard, exact voice sliced
through the false atmosphere of affability like a hot blade.

     Cullinan frowned at
Abel as his anger rose lashing through his veins and heating his blood. “What
do you mean?” His tone was low like the distant rumble of thunder before a
storm moves in.

     Abel folded his arms
over his chest and rocked back on his heels. “Tell me, how did you manage to
convince Tess to believe that wild tale about the necklace?” His voice dripped
with sarcasm.

     Cullinan glanced at
Tess. His confidence that she truly loved and trusted him wafted like a warm
wind through his soul. He wanted to take her in his arms right now in the
middle of the ballroom and show her his gratitude for believing in him and for
standing with him against Abel. Instead, he took her hand, brought her fingers
to his lips and lightly kissed them. Her eyes warmed with an irrepressible
light. “It isn’t a wild tale, it’s the truth.” He kept his gaze fixed on Tess.
“Are you ready?”

     She nodded.

     Abel reached out and
grabbed Tess’s other hand, pulling her slightly toward him. “There’s no way I’m
going to let you walk out of here with Tess.” Abel looked at Tess, his eyes
glittering with determination, his mouth set in a rigid line. “He’s a common
thief, nothing more. You belong here with me, not with him.” He jerked his head
toward Cullinan and held out his free hand. “Give me the necklace and we’ll end
this.  Right here. Right now.”

     “Believe me, I wish
I could end it here but I can’t. The pendant doesn’t belong to you or me or
even Tess. It belongs to a church in Scotland. I gave an oath that if I ever
found it, I would return it.”

     “You can walk away a
free man,” Abel continued, “but you have to do it without Tess.”
    An implacable expression covered Abel’s face.

     What more could
Cullinan say? He could never get through to Abel unless he saw the church for
himself but he wasn’t going to invite Abel to come along. The journey belonged
to him, Hope and Tess. Cullinan glanced at Tess, the woman he loved beyond all
reason. “I’ll never leave her.”

     “I’ll have you
arrested if you try to leave the country with that pendant. One of my A.D.A.’s
informed me earlier the museum in Philadelphia confirmed the jade egg
discovered in your shop is the same one stolen from them years before.”

     Cullinan exhaled a deep
breath. “That egg belonged to my father who purchased it from what he assumed
was a legitimate dealer. Obviously, he wasn’t, but my father had no way of
knowing that. You can’t prove otherwise.”

     A taut expression
covered Abel’s face. “Maybe, maybe not.” He grasped Tess’s hand between his own
and looked at her. “Tess, this man is not for you. Don’t listen to him, stop
letting him influence you.” He paused for a moment his expression softening.
“I’m an honest man who can give you an honest life. How can you ever be sure he
cares about you? How will you ever know if he’s telling the truth about
anything?”

     Cullinan watched
Tess’s face carefully as Abel spoke in a gentle, convincing tone. His heart
pounded a rough tattoo in his chest. A cloud of uneasiness that she might
change her mind and agree with Abel cast a shadow of uncertainty over his soul.

Slowly, Tess turned her head and looked at
Cullinan. A stream of elation poured through Cullinan like cool water on a hot
day. There wasn’t the slightest hint of doubt in her eyes. “I’ll know because
I’m going to Scotland with him.”

     Abel’s eyes widened
with shock and his mouth popped open. His gaze darted from Tess to Cullinan and
back again. “What! You can’t. Don’t do this, Tess.” His loud tone had people
staring in their direction but Abel didn’t seem to notice or care. Out of the
corner of his eye, Cullinan saw Hope moving in their direction with a frown on
her face.

     “You’ll be making
the biggest mistake of your life.” Abel turned his head and glared at Cullinan.
“If you cared for her at all, you’d walk away.”

     “If I walk anywhere
Tess will be by my side.” He glanced at his watch. “Let’s go.”

     Cullinan grasped
Tess’s left arm.

     At the same time, Abel
grabbed her right arm. Now, Tess stood equidistant between them. “No, I refuse
to let you do this.”

     A stony mask of
anger blanketed Tess’s face. Her eyes gleamed with fury. She yanked her arms
from their hold and held them stiffly at her sides. “Stop it. Stop this right
now.”

Her severe tone jabbed at Cullinan,
surprising him. He’d never seen her this mad before.

     “I’ve reached the
end of my rope—” She gestured wildly “—with people telling me what to do and
insisting they know what’s best for me.” She poked a finger in the middle of
her chest. “I’m my own woman and I don’t need either of
you
telling me
what to do. I’ve had it.” She shoved her purse under her arm as her cold,
exacting gaze shifted from Cullinan to Abel and back again. “I’m leaving.
Alone. And if either of you try to follow me, so help me you’ll regret it.” Her
words punched the air in a grating tone. Turning, Tess stalked toward the door
with her head held high.

     Simultaneously,
Cullinan and Abel stepped forward to follow her.

     “Oh, no you don’t.”

     Cullinan stopped at
the sound of Hope’s voice as her fingers dug into his arm. His last glimpse of
Tess was the hem of her gown as she sailed through the ballroom door. Cullinan
jerked his head around to glare at his sister and saw that she held Abel’s arm
in a death grip as well.

     “Leave Tess alone.”
Hope glanced from Cullinan to Abel. “Once she’s cooled off she’ll decide what
she wants to do—without help from either of you.” She snapped the words out

in rapid fire.

     Abel wrenched his
arm from her hold. “Damn it, I don’t like any of this.”

     “You don’t have to
like it,” Hope said in a terse voice.

     Abel’s lips thinned
as he studied Hope. “I don’t mean just Tess. Why didn’t you tell me about your
brother?” His tense, clipped voice demanded that she answer.

     Hope’s face grew
still and somber, her irritation at their behavior fading. “I’m sorry, Abel. I
didn’t want my skills as a lawyer or my integrity as a person to be questioned
by you or anyone.” Her voice rang with pride. “I knew it would be if I told you
about Cullinan.”

     Guilt burned through
Cullinan. He should have encouraged her to come clean. If he had, she wouldn’t
be in danger of losing her job.

     Abel cleared his
throat. His confident gaze stayed pinned to Hope. “If you want to keep your
job, help me convince Tess to stay here and not run off with your brother.”
Cool authority filled his voice, brooking no opposition.

     Hope gazed at
Cullinan without guile or blame then shifted her attention back to Abel. “I’m
afraid I can’t do that.” She took Cullinan’s hand, her fingers wrapping around
his. “I’m going with him and I hope Tess decides to do the same.” Her voice was
soft, yet determined.

     Abel stiffened and
straightened the lapel of his jacket. “You’re fired.”

* * *

     Alex Case leaned
back against the soft, leather seat of his large black Mercedes and waited.
Mozart flowed from the stereo in one long ribbon of sound. Heat pumped into the
interior but didn’t chase away the chill from his bones. He shivered beneath
his cashmere coat. Chemo had stolen his strength and once vibrant health, while
whittling pounds from his body he didn’t need to lose. He would have left
Denver and moved to a warmer climate like Vegas or Phoenix if he didn’t need
that damn pendant so badly.

     Pain knifed through
his head.

     He shoved a hand
into the pocket of his coat and withdrew a bottle of pills. He pried off the
lid, shook two pills into his palm then popped them into his mouth. Grabbing a
can of ginger ale from the drink holder, he gulped down some of the fizzy
liquid. A wave of nausea undulated through his stomach. He lowered the can and
inhaled some slow, deep breaths until it passed. The side effects from the
chemo would be worth it if only the treatment was working. His last MRI had
shown an increase in size of the inoperable tumor quickly eating away at his
brain. He had barely weeks left to live, maybe even days.

Only the pendant could save him.

     With his thumb, he
snapped the lid back on the bottle. He’d been so close to getting his hands on
the pendant that day in the park. If he had, he’d be cured by now. And if the
cancer happened to return in the future, he could use it to cure himself all
over again.

     “There they are,
boss.”

     He straightened at
the sound of his driver’s voice and watched Hope and Cullinan Benedict exit the
hotel. Jacob’s son and daughter. He’d discreetly had their apartments searched
and found no trace of the pendant. He knew that Cullinan would never have surrendered
the pendant to the police. He had a mission to fulfill. Alex had been following
them ever since, waiting for the right opportunity to confront them. He balled
his hands into tight fists as he watched them get into a black SUV and head
down Broadway. “Follow them.”

     His driver pulled
the Mercedes away from the curb.

     For every moment of
suffering he’d endured, he’d put a bullet in each of their brains.

* * *

     Tess practically ran
to the bank of elevators. She jabbed the call button as hot, stinging anger
shimmered through her. How could two grown, intelligent men act like a couple
of baboons? They’d fought over her like two children wanting to play with a
favorite toy. Only she was no toy.

     Tess glanced up at
the floor indicator and saw that the elevator car had stopped two floors above
her. Not wanting to wait another moment, she walked quickly for the nearest
stairwell. She pushed open the door, picked up the hem of her long dress and
sprinted down the stairs.