Love & Redemption (2 page)

Trying even harder to disguise her voice, Shelley did her best to sound angry and not nervous. “Then get out of here. This is a private box, and I don’t do group parties. Whoever you’re looking for isn’t here. Don’t make me complain to management.”

Letting her hair cascade around her face to mask it from view, she turned toward the door and climbed onto Fred’s chair, hitching her silk dress upward to straddle his lap. Carefully hidden in her hair and shadows, she chanced a closer look at the men before pressing her mouth against the stranger’s now unresponsive lips.

Just as she feared. Not even Nick would argue if Shelley shot the pair in front of her. She readied her gun on the far side of the chair. If they came any closer, she’d have little choice.

What were Stephen and Terrance doing at an opera house? It was an awfully suspicious coincidence. Had Paul Billings somehow discovered she would be here and decided to take her out? Why would he? Three months had passed since she betrayed him. Shelley didn’t think he would risk his freedom just to kill her.

Chancing another glance, she saw Stephen nudge his darker counterpoint and nod at the doorway with a shake of his head.

“Sorry we bothered you, ma’am. No need to complain to anyone,” he said. “We wandered into the wrong box by accident.”

“Then move it along, we’re busy.” Shelley let out a fake giggle and buried her face into the stranger’s neck. “Oh, Fred, you know just where to tickle me.”

The door closed and the sound of footsteps retreating down the hallway slowly faded. Shelley waited a few more heartbeats before sliding off ‘Fred’s’ lap, ignoring the way his hand skimmed across her hip. She pulled her purple dress straight and ran a hand across her hair to tame it. “This isn’t good.”

“You know them?” he asked.

She returned to her chair and dropped the handgun into her purse. “First things first. What’s your name and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Gavin. Gavin Hart.” He swallowed hard and looked away from her. “It’s a bit harder to explain what I’m doing here.”

“But you aren’t with those men?”

Gavin’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy? They want to kill me.” He shuddered. “They know I saw them murder the singer.”

“Good point.” She had to get out of here and call Nick. He needed to know their old pals were in New York. First, she had to find out what Gavin knew. “I helped you. Now I need you to help me.”

He stood and paced the area in front of their chairs. “So you do know those men?”

Shelley sighed and nodded. “We have a common enemy, Gavin. Guess that makes us friends.”

Chapter Two

Gavin looked into the clear blue eyes of his pretty new ‘friend.’ It was hard to know if he should trust her. Then again, after watching the murder of one woman tonight, if those men were after her too, he’d do what he could to help her.

“Okay, friend,” he said. “What’s your name?”

Hesitating, she looked away before answering softly, “Shelley Daniels.”

“Are you sure?”

She crossed her legs elegantly and sighed. “I haven’t always been, but that doesn’t matter.”

Gavin shrugged, willing to drop the matter. She must have reasons for changing her name, and they weren’t his business. “Okay, Shelley. What’s our plan?”

Her eyes met his and she seemed a bit surprised—probably expecting him to hound her more about her name. Finally, she tucked some hair behind her ear and glanced at the doorway. “Intermission’s about to start,” she said. “The halls will be crowded then, and we can sneak out. It’s important we get away from them. I can’t be sure they aren’t after me in the first place. No matter why they’re really here, if they recognize me, they
will
kill me.”

Shuddering slightly, Gavin wondered what he’d gotten himself into. It was supposed to be an easy job. Grab the diamonds, leave the fakes in their place, deliver the goods, and make enough money to disappear without any fuss.

Now he had witnessed a murder and was sitting with a woman who was involved in it somehow. Gavin didn’t know if the money was worth it.

“Where should we go when we leave here?” he asked. It occurred to him that running around town with millions of dollars worth of diamonds in his pocket wasn’t the smartest idea. Plus, his client would contact him soon, wanting the goods.

Shelley jumped up and paced in front of the half-wall of the balcony. “I think we’ll be safe at my hotel. Well...unless Paul somehow found out where I’m staying.”

“Paul?” That name rang a bell and Gavin finally placed it. “Sierra said she didn’t want Paul to get the diamonds. Who is he?”

Shelley whirled around, her black hair whipping across her face. “Diamonds? He’s after diamonds?” She put her hands on her hips, which strained the low-cut top of her purple dress when her large breasts jutted out further. “Do you know why?”

Gavin forced his gaze up to her big blue eyes. Shelley had an air about her that warned him not to get caught checking out her other assets. “They talked about bracelets and something called say-toe? I didn’t understand it all.”

“S.A.T.O. and bracelets? You’re sure?” At his nod, her hand closed into a fist. “Damn it! He’s actually trying to make the bracelets.”

“Is that bad?”

“Don’t be stupid,” she snapped. “They killed a woman, and I assume stole the diamonds. Of course it’s bad.”

Maybe it was a stupid question, but Gavin wondered if Shelley was always a bitch or if it was just stress. No wonder she was at the opera alone. Her attitude didn’t matter, though. What he really needed to know was what he’d gotten himself into by taking the jewels.

“They didn’t get the diamonds,” he clarified, “but they think they did.”

The look in her eyes shifted from irritated to calculating. “How is it that you happened to be in the right place to see all this, and why do they only
think
they have the diamonds?”

He patted his jacket pocket, drawing her attention to the slight bulge of the jewelry pouch there. “I was hired to steal them. I planned to escape through the ventilation duct, but they came in before I could get away. I’m good, but not that good. It’s way too noisy to go through metal piping with people in a quiet room below me. They’d overhear. I stayed still and hoped they wouldn’t notice me.”

“How good of a look did they get at you?”

“The blond one made eye contact with me before his friend started shooting.”

“Shit, that’s a problem.” She parted the curtain slightly and peeked to the stage area. “Looks like things are finishing up. Intermission will start soon and someone’s bound to notice the dead star. Once the police are involved, they’ll order everyone to stay here until they question us. We’d better leave before that happens. I have a car parked a few blocks over, but we should stick with crowds if we can.”

Gavin brushed away her concerns. “He’s not going to be able to pick me out of a crowd. He can’t have gotten that good of a look. I’ve told you everything I know, and I don’t think you’re of any use to me. We should part ways here.”

“Sorry, Gavin. It doesn’t work that way. You
do
need me.” Shelley crossed the small space and held her hand out to him. “Stephen’s a prick and an asshole, but he has a perfect memory for faces. It’s a good thing you never turned around when they came in the room. There will be a hit out on you soon and since you have the diamonds, they
will
find you. We’ll go to the hotel and call Nick. He’ll know what to do.”

Reluctantly, Gavin accepted her hand and rose to his feet. Though he expected her to release him, she slipped her arm through his and urged him to the doorway.

He tried to pull away from her. “Once I deliver the diamonds, I’ll get a big payoff and disappear. It was my plan anyway. I have nothing to fear from those thugs.”

Laughing loudly, Shelley leaned closer to him and forced him forward. Gavin tried not to notice the smell of her sweet perfume or how extraordinarily pretty she was. Pretty women were bad news, and this one had a bad temperament to go along with the usual problems.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked, not feeling amused in the slightest.

She placed a soft kiss against his cheek. “You’re obviously a petty criminal and not prepared for the mess you stepped in. I’ll try to help you through it, but I wanted to get away from all this myself. Face it, we’re both stuck now. Paul’s crew will kill us if they get the chance, and helping Nick catch them is our only hope.”

Gavin’s heart dropped and he felt sick. Even though he wanted to deny it and write off her words as the raving of a hysterical and frightened woman, Shelley carried a gun and was prepared to use it. She knew all the people who killed that poor singer. To top that off, she knew about the diamonds and the bracelets. No matter how strong and competent she came across, that information scared her.

It seemed that while trying to walk away from a bad situation, he found himself a worse one. He should have expected something like that.

It’s just my luck.

***

Shelley held firmly onto Gavin’s arm as they neared her the parking garage. It took a lot of effort to keep from looking over her shoulder. Every few blocks they had stopped walking on the pretense of kissing so potential watchers from S.A.T.O. would believe they were a regular couple, leaving the show early for a little fun. On the crowded street, it was difficult to tell if anyone actually followed them, but no one tried to stop them.

With a sigh of relief, she tipped the valet worker when he brought out her rental Mustang and then slid into the driver’s seat. Gavin climbed in the passenger’s side and Shelley relocked the doors, daring to breathe a little easier as she pulled away.

“I don’t think we were followed, but maybe we should drive around a bit and make sure.” She checked the mirror, pleased when no car immediately pulled out behind hers. “It’s probably safe, but I’d hate to lead them to my hotel.”

Gavin shifted in his seat and craned his neck backward. “No cars right behind us. Doesn’t seem like they are following.”

Does he think I don’t know how to use mirrors?

Sighing, Shelley didn’t voice her thoughts. She didn’t know if she liked Gavin Hart or should trust him, but until Nick learned everything he knew, she had to play nice. Besides, after almost turning Carlie over to S.A.T.O. to be killed a few months earlier, Shelley couldn’t have Gavin’s death on her conscience if Paul’s men found him.

He settled back in his seat and an uncomfortable silence fell between them. Considering they had pretended to be lovers and kissed several times to escape, Shelley figured she could tolerate a few more hours with him and be friendly. After all, she’d slept with men she cared about less in the past.

But that was Felicia. Shelley was different, more refined. And that thought made her realize she
had
to be nice to Gavin. Felicia would be a total bitch to him once she decided he wasn’t boyfriend material, but Shelley wouldn’t.

“It seems like we got away clean,” she said. “I’m going to drive to my hotel now. Try not to worry about S.A.T.O. Nick will know what to do.”

“Is Nick your boyfriend?”

Shelley laughed. Though she wouldn’t have minded getting with that sexy man once upon a time, he was entirely devoted to Carlie, and Shelley couldn’t be happier for the couple. “He’s my best friend’s fiancé,” she answered. “More important than that, he’s in the business of catching Paul and stopping S.A.T.O.”

She wondered how much information she should give Gavin. He probably didn’t need to know that S.A.T.O. had started out as a top-secret agency, answerable only to the President of the United States and a small board of his advisers. Paul had led S.A.T.O. for nearly twenty years and caught a lot of criminals and terrorists, but something changed.

The man who had been completely devoted to his country and protecting America’s people turned his back on them. He now worked for the criminals himself, and was possibly the most dangerous man in the country.

“I can’t really tell you too much,” she finally continued. “Let’s just say that Nick is the good guy, Paul and his henchmen are the bad guys.”

“And what’s your role in all this?”

Gavin’s voice had a hard edge to it, and Shelley looked at him only to see his eyes narrow and his mouth draw into a frown. So, the little thief was suspicious of her, was he?

“If I had my way, I wouldn’t have a role in this at all,” she replied, stifling her sigh as she turned into a parking garage a few blocks from her hotel. Gavin had a right to be suspicious. Shelley hadn’t always made good choices, and joining S.A.T.O. proved to be one of the worst. “I used to work for Paul, back when I thought he was a good man. Now I’m committed to helping Nick catch him, though all I really want is...”

She shook her head and drove up several levels before finding an open spot and parking the car. Why had she been about to tell this stranger all she really wanted was to find a husband and live in peace? He didn’t need to know that.

“Let’s hurry to the hotel,” she said. “I’ll feel a lot better when we aren’t out in the open.”

He nodded, but reached across the console and took her hand, gripping it before letting go. “Thank you, Shelley. You saved my life tonight. Those thugs would have killed me if you hadn’t pretended we were together.”

She twisted in her seat slightly so she could face him full on. In the darkness, it was hard to tell whether his pale eyes were blue or green. Pressing her lips tightly together, she wondered how honest she should be with him. Then again, he needed to know how serious this was.

“The hard part, now that they’ve seen you, will be keeping you alive.”

Chapter Three

Shelley paced the confines of her hotel room. Though she did her best to ignore how Gavin had flopped onto her king-sized bed, it was tough. The irony of the entire situation was that Carlie and Nick planned this getaway so she could stand on her own, without a man. Sort of to prove to herself she could do it. Yet, somehow, she’d managed to bring a man to her room.

“Are you calling your friend?” Gavin stretched out his legs, folding one ankle over the other, but hanging them off the edge of the bed. “As much as I like being invited to a beautiful woman’s room, I have somewhere else to be.”