Dark Warrior Untamed (20 page)

And how convenient. She was in exactly the mood to do a little provoking.

“So, you had me investigated.” She wished she didn’t sound quite so wounded by that fact.

He nodded. “I wondered if that was what set off this snit fit.”

Okay, so he was in the mood for a little poking and prodding himself. “This is no snit fit, Danby. Watch it, or this will become a full-blown nuclear meltdown!”

She stood her ground, ready to counter his next move. Then the big jerk surprised her.

“I could apologize, Piper, but I won’t. It’s my job to defend Dame Kerry, which includes making damn sure that any employees are exactly who they say they are. The previous report left too many gaps and too many questions unanswered. I ordered the investigation right after I returned from London. At that point, we hadn’t exchanged more than a few dozen words.”

He slowly edged closer to her. “In my opinion, Sandor should never have allowed Kerry to hire you until a thorough search had been done.”

He was right. They both knew it, just like they both knew she was overreacting. He came closer yet, finally reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She let him tuck her in close to his side. Considering his
volatile mood only a few minutes before, his gentle approach surprised her.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “For the record, I haven’t read the report.”

Maybe there was some merit in that old adage about confession being good for the soul. Her mood had improved considerably since he started talking, even if it hadn’t really changed anything.

“Why?”

He stared out toward the mountain, but somehow she doubted he was even aware of what he was seeing.

“Because I’ve learned over the years that most people have something to hide, something they would rather their employer—or even their friends—not know.”

He turned so that they were facing each other. “As the Dame’s Chief Talion, those are exactly the details I’m supposed to dig for. I need to make sure that none of those dark little secrets are a threat.”

He traced the curve of her cheek with his fingers. “But you’re more than just another employee, Piper. I don’t want to know your secrets unless you’re ready to share them.”

“But—” she protested.

He pressed a finger to her lips. “No buts. All I ask is that you promise me nothing in that report could hurt the Dame, her Consort, or any members of their household.”

There was a knock the door. “I’ll be right back.” Grey gave her a quick kiss and went inside to deal with
room service.

Piper was uncomfortably aware that she hadn’t actually answered him. What kind of promise could she make? She meant no harm to any of them. But Kerry might be devastated when the truth came out. That is,
if
the truth came out. She still hadn’t decided what path to take, and time was running out.

All she’d wanted to do was approach the Dame, identify herself as Kyth, and then hang around the fringes to see what kind of person her sister had turned out to be. She hadn’t expected to like Kerry so much. And she’d originally been hired to work as Kerry’s assistant only for the duration of the school year. With graduation looming on the horizon, she’d soon have to do something. The longer she lived the lie, the harder it would be to confess the truth.

Grey spread the food out on the small table. “How much time do you need to study tonight?”

“An hour, two at the most.” The abrupt change of subject was jarring. “I have to read about thirty pages and go over my notes. Why?”

“Because I promised to show you how nice I can be. Part of that is making sure I don’t make you fail your exam.”

“And the other part?” she asked as she sat down across from him.

He looked past her to the wreckage of his bed with a fond smile. “I thought I’d done a thorough job of demonstrating that particular definition of
nice
when we first got here. However, after we’ve eaten, I’ll be glad to review.”

Piper picked up her sandwich. “Normally, I’m a quick study, but in this case, I think you’ll need to go slow and use a lot of visual aids.”

While she talked, she reached out with her foot and ran her toes along the inside of Grey’s leg. “I promise to pay close attention.”

“I see.”

Grey captured her foot briefly with his hand, running his thumb along her arch several times, his eyes smoldering. “Well, rest assured that I’m definitely up for a hands-on demonstration.”

“I bet you are.” Damn, it felt good to laugh. She held up her pop in a toast. “Eat your dinner, big guy. You’re going need all the strength you can get.”

Adele cranked up the radio and sang along as her car’s big engine ate up the miles. Driving on the right side of the road had proven to be more of a challenge than she’d expected. But once she’d left the big city behind and had nothing but highway stretched out in front of her, she’d been able to relax and enjoy the ride. Too bad her old geology professor wasn’t with her. He would have enjoyed cruising up the West Coast and counting off the volcanoes along the way.

Maybe she’d send the old man a postcard. Or not. It had been with great relief and absolutely no regret that she’d walked away from school after exams. Now she could turn her complete attention to her future. Plans that didn’t include any more kowtowing to Kerry Thorsen and her entourage.

Ready to achieve her goal of becoming Dame, Adele planned to enjoy her last days of freedom. Thanks to her father’s ambitious plans, she’d rarely had more than a day or two at a time free of obligations. Looking back, she supposed she should be grateful for his efforts to prepare her for her future, but it hadn’t been much fun.

But now, it was up to her whether to stop in the next town for the night or drive straight through to Seattle, whether to eat a greasy hamburger and fries or a steak, rare and bloody. Truly, sometimes the little decisions were the most fun. Speaking of which, it was time to start looking for a place to stop for the night.

There was plenty of daylight left, so she wasn’t in a great hurry. However, it was time to check in with her talented accomplice. She’d been dating Wes for the past year, enjoying his skills both in bed and out. Hopefully, he had everything on schedule, because she’d ordered another little surprise to stir things up a bit. Playing around with everyone’s e-mail had been fun, but it was more of a sideline.

Maybe she’d even give her darling father a call. He should be frantic by now. He had probably figured out what she was up to. He might be a conservative prig, but he wasn’t a fool. Well, except for trusting Grey Danby. After all, if her father and his cohorts hadn’t treated the Talion as a superior servant instead of as an equal, Grey might not have betrayed them all by taking the Thorsen woman’s side.

Grey was a commoner who had only a nodding acquaintance with true culture. Born and bred on the
streets of the Docklands, being a Talion was the man’s only claim to fame. Poor fellow. It was obvious that he wouldn’t jeopardize that for the likes of her father, who had nothing to offer Grey except his disdain. Her father had been a fool to trust him.

Adele could have put Grey’s talents to good use—all of them. If he hadn’t sided with the great pretender, she would’ve offered him the same job he now held, but with some benefits he definitely wasn’t getting from Kerry. Too late now.

She’d always suspected Grey was spectacular in bed, not that he’d ever looked at her twice—or even once. When she took over the throne of their people, he would see her differently, as a Dame in need of a powerful Consort. But meanwhile he’d thrown the dice and gambled on Kerry remaining ruler of their kind.
Hmmm. Would it be too tacky to take him for a ride or two before having him killed? Probably, but then who would care?

Of course, Kerry had to die, along with her Consort and those trashy brats she’d let Sandor drag out of the gutter. Sandor and his human lover would meet with an unfortunate end as well. Adele tapped the steering wheel in time to the music as she reviewed her potential victims.

It was really quite an impressive lineup, if she did say so herself. Once they got past the necessary bloodshed, she would share her world vision for the Kyth with her new subjects. If they didn’t like it, she’d keep Wes around for a while longer to help reinforce her ideas.

She spotted a sign for a hotel promising clean rooms and free Internet access at the upcoming exit. Perfect. Once she was settled in for the night, she’d call Wes with the throw-away phone she’d purchased in San Francisco. It was time to step up the action again, and she had some wonderfully creative ideas.

When the fireworks went off next time, maybe she’d watch all the fun. Not from too close, though. It wouldn’t do to get caught in the fallout. She hit the turn signal and moved over to the right lane. With luck, she’d soon be settled into a room.

It was a shame Wes wouldn’t be around to share more than a phone call or an e-mail. The man definitely had a talent for more than computer hacking and explosions. Maybe it was the edge of danger he wore as comfortably as his faded jeans while teaching her all he knew about bomb making. Her father hadn’t approved of Wes, but that was part of the attraction.

She pulled up to the motel and sneered as she studied the exterior. For all practical purposes, it was identical to the one she’d stayed in by the airport the night before. The Americans had a lot going for them, but good taste wasn’t part of it.

This was hardly a place a woman of her breeding would frequent, which made it perfect for her purposes. She’d be just another traveler in the anonymous crowd of people streaming up and down the highway. Come morning, she’d be on her way and her presence would be forgotten.

In truth, she was rather proud of herself. So far, her plan was playing out smoothly. Her father was no doubt
panicked by now, but not quite frightened enough to warn the Dame’s Talions. He’d want to rein her in himself first.

And she was only one day away from Seattle. Since Wes had already rented a house, she could remain under the radar until she announced her presence in a loud and spectacular way.

With her suitcase in hand and a satisfied smile on her face, she headed inside to check in.

The guy working behind the desk was about her age, and rather cute. He looked up as she walked through the door, his automatic smile warming up several degrees as their eyes met. Randy—according to his name tag—definitely checked her out, top to bottom and back again.

“Hi, welcome to our hotel. How can I help you?”

She smiled back as she handed him her identification. “I need a room for the night, and I prefer to pay cash. That isn’t a problem, is it?”

“Not at all.” After typing in her information, he studied the computer screen for several seconds. “I’ve put you in our best room, Miss Harcourt. It’s on the second floor and has a king-size bed and a Jacuzzi.

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.” He dropped his voice. “Personally, that is.”

She raised up on her toes to check him out more carefully. Yummy. “You know, I think there is. I’m all by myself, and it gets lonely.”

“I get off at seven,” he whispered. Then, at a more normal volume, he added, “Thank you for choosing our
hotel.”

“I hope to see much more of you while I’m here.” She deliberately trailed her fingers over his hand before accepting her room key.

He grinned and shifted his stance, no doubt in response to the sudden strain on his zipper. An impressive strain, she noted happily.

“Call me if you have any problems. I want to make sure you enjoy your stay, Miss Harcourt.”

“It’s Adele, and I’m sure you will, Randy. I’m looking forward to everything you and your hotel have to offer.”

The poor boy was almost tripping over his tongue, but at least she could count on the evening being far less boring than she’d feared. Slutty of her, yes, but Wes was all the way in Seattle, and the road was a lonely place after all.

“Okay, Grey, wherever you are. We didn’t decide whether to downplay our relationship around the others.”

Piper punched in Grey’s number, hoping to catch him before she reached the office. The call went right to voicemail, so he either hadn’t turned his phone on yet, which seemed unlikely, or he was talking to someone. She’d have to play it by ear. No biggie.

As she turned the corner toward the house, she noticed a young man loitering down the street. Normally, she wouldn’t have given him more than a momentary glance, but something about him was off.

For one thing, he was standing directly across the street from Kerry’s and staring at the house with an intensity she could sense from a block away. For another, he was almost vibrating with energy, making her wonder if he was high on something. The instant he realized she was watching, he closed his notebook and started toward her.

Keeping a wary eye on him as he approached, she let the strap of her backpack slide down off her shoulder to her hand. If the guy made any kind of suspicious move, her textbooks would make a good weapon.

When he stopped a few feet away, she aimed for friendly, but cautious. “Hi, were you looking for someone?”

Up close, he didn’t look high, but he sure had the jitters. “No, I was checking out the architecture in the neighborhood for a project. I’m a new student at the university.”

He held up his spiral notebook as if it were proof. But she wasn’t buying what he was selling.

“Well, I’m late for work, so I’d better get going. Good luck with your project.”

“Thanks.” His eyes kept straying toward Kerry’s house. “I’ll need all the luck I can get to pull this one off.”

“I hear you.”

Piper forced a smile as she walked away. When she looked back, he’d moved down the street, apparently to “study” another house. His excuse might be plausible, but it didn’t ring true. Unless he was a procrastinator of epic proportions, it was far too late in the quarter to be
starting a major project.

She’d mention him to Grey when she got inside. She didn’t want to cause trouble, but it was better to err on the side of caution. As she waited for the gate to open, she looked back one last time.