Secret Passions (2 page)

“I will.” Sandi finished locking her door and swung her bag over her left shoulder as the older woman looked down the hall with a worried look and then closed her door. Sandi could hear the multiple locks engage as the woman shut herself back into the apartment that was her entire world.

In all the time Sandi had lived there, she’d never seen Mrs. Bernstein step foot outside her doorway. She doubted the woman had even walked to the elevators in the last three years. Carrying her heavy bag, she headed out to her meeting.

Half an hour later she walked up to the small cafe and smiled when she noticed Eve sitting outside at a table under a large green umbrella. Eve waived to her as she approached. Eve Taylor was easily the prettiest woman Sandi had ever seen. Her olive skin and large hazel eyes were things Sandi had always dreamed of having. Not to mention her rich chestnut hair and long curvy figure. Sandi knew there was some Italian in Eve’s family, she just didn’t know how far back it went.

“There you are. I was ready to send out a search party,” Eve joked.

Setting down her heavy portfolio bag, she gave Eve a light hug and sat down. “I should have taken a taxi, but it is such a nice day I decided to walk.”

“First, let me have a look at these.” Sandi waited as Eve took out her paintings and looked at them one by one. The waiter came and took Sandi’s order as Eve studied the canvases.

“These are beautiful. I don’t know how you do it, but every new piece is something I fully desire. I want to keep them all to myself.” Eve smiled over the table at her, and finally Sandi felt the tension leave her shoulders. Why did she still find it hard to accept that her art was good? Not until she heard it from someone else did she fully believe in herself. It was the small doubt that played in the back of her mind that always drove her to perfection. Maybe it was a good thing that she was so driven to please others. It probably helped her art to be the finest. Her art, Eve and Carter often told her was selling like hot cakes in art galleries around the world
.
Of course she sold everything under the pseudonym Samantha Rain. She couldn’t afford to be found.

“Now, tell me about this new project and what kind of art you’ll need for it.”

As Sandi sat back and listened to Eve talk about a charity auction for terminally ill children, she couldn’t help but thinking about her own future. Would she ever have children of her own? She knew she would have to find a husband first. A frown formed on her face, and she quickly wiped it away before Eve could ask about it. She didn’t think too highly of men. She just didn’t trust them. But she did want a family and children. She had always wanted that as much as she had wanted to paint.

“You’re not really listening to me are you?” Eve leaned her chin in her hands and smiled at her.

Sandi laughed. “I’m sorry. You were talking about children which got me thinking about having a few myself. I’d be happy to provide several pieces for the auction. When do you need them by?”

Less than an hour later Sandi was walking back to her apartment, her empty portfolio bag slung over her shoulder. She was once again caught up in daydreaming about children and her future. She wondered what kind of man could ever draw her in so much that she could drop the shield she had built over the last five years. Then a face popped into her mind. Sea-green eyes full of concern, sandy blond hair that looked soft and inviting, a chin chiseled out of stone with a cute little cleft in it.

With her mind on the man of her dreams, she would have walked right up to her building if it hadn’t been for the kid on a skateboard. She wasn’t focusing on her surroundings until the young boy zipped by, almost knocking her down. Then her eyes focused, and one of the first things she noticed was the dark sedan parked across from her building in the loading zone. Her steps faltered and she quickly rushed to the corner and peeked out from behind the newsstand that sat there.

She watched as two men got out of the car and her heart sank. She knew the penalty for what she’d done five years ago was death. Her mind raced. How had they found her? What was she going to do now? She knew one thing for sure; there was no way she could ever go home again. Her life would have to start over, again.

Mitchell Kovich took another breath and pulled himself up for the last time. Slowly releasing his breath, he swung back down. Once his feet were back on the ground, he let his arms fall and felt himself sway with fatigue. He was getting too old for this shit. Okay, maybe not too old; he was only a few months shy of his thirty-second birthday. But he started thinking of cutting back to one-hundred pull-ups a day instead of one-fifty.

His arms screamed, his back screamed, and the rest of him, well.... He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. Having a home gym had always been a blessing. This way no one could tell if you cut back a little. But he hadn’t counted on the guilty feeling he got when he didn’t do his full sets. Besides, he always felt better after he showered and rested.

Draping his towel over his shoulders, he made his way upstairs to shower. The place felt empty since Suzanne had moved out three months ago. He didn’t mind it, though, considering she was now snuggled up with some other woman. Yeah, it had been a blow, walking in and seeing the two women locked together. His first thought had been excitement; after all, he was a man. But when the two of them had jumped apart and quickly covered themselves, he had known it wasn’t an early birthday present as he’d first thought.

Later that evening, she had mumbled through an apology and tried to explain how she felt before packing her things and leaving for good. It was just so hard to be mad at the other person when you felt inadequate yourself. He’d spent the first month wondering what he’d done wrong. Then he’d graduated to anger. How had he not seen this coming? Suzanne was always more comfortable around women, she was always very hands on with them and had, in the last year of their relationship, pulled farther away from him. Hell, he and Suzanne hadn’t even had sex for almost three months before he’d walked in on the two women. Which got him thinking about how horny he was now. He wanted a woman. No, he needed a woman. But he didn’t want to put himself out there again. Not like he’d done with Suzanne. He’d spent almost two years building their friendship and relationship to what it was before she’d cheated. When he first met her, they’d had to work on the physical part, which should have been the first clue to him to stop then. It had seemed like she’d kept putting on the brakes when they’d dated. Then, when they’d finally had sex, it had been ... well, awkward was the best word. He’d never had issues like that before. But he’d fallen for her, and he’d tried very hard to make their relationship work. And it had seemed to work for a while.

He was at a point in his life now when even his buddies were trying to hook him up. Carter, his business partner of seven years and best friend since grade school, was always pointing out women to him. They had started the Kovich & Edward Agency together and the agency had grown to new heights. They now held accounts ranging from high-paid artists and actors, and even some very predominate sports figures.

Another friend had told him that he should get right back on the horse, but after the first couple of weeks, they got his hint that he just wanted to be left alone. In Mitchell’s mind, it was too soon to try and trust someone in a relationship again.

He was half-way through a cold shower when his doorbell went off. It didn’t just go off, someone had their damned finger holding it down. Jumping from the shower, he grabbed a towel off the counter, quickly wrapped it around his hips, and set off to berate whoever didn’t know how to ring a damned doorbell. Thinking it would be Carter, he swung open the door without looking through the peep hole.

“What the hell...” he was shocked to see the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on standing there still holding the bell. Her dark hair hung in a braid that was a little frazzled. Her top was falling off of her frail looking shoulder. Her dark skin shined. Her eyes caught his attention. Their deepness spoke so much more than any he’d ever seen.

His mouth was still open, ready to yell and cuss out whoever had interrupted his “me time”.

“Oh, good. You
are
home,” the woman said with a sexy accent. Then she walked right past him into his living room.

S
andi walked into the large living room, tossed down her empty portfolio bag, and tried not to show her emotions. To say that she was shocked when Mitchell opened the door wearing nothing but a small white towel would have been an understatement. She didn’t have any experience with men. She hadn’t even seen a man’s chest before, let alone seeing one half-naked, dripping wet, and absolutely yummy. His sandy blond hair was curled and dripping water down his tan neck. She saw with delight that he had a slight dusting of sandy colored hair on his chest and arms. His legs had it, too, and she noticed his bare feet as he dripped water on the tile floor.

Turning, she walked across the room and stopped just short of the large bay windows in his place. Looking out at the darkness that surrounded his street, she strained her eyes, looking for a dark sedan. Pulling the curtains closed quickly, she turned when she realized the room was quiet.

He stood across the room, leaning against the back of the door, his arms casually draped over his chest, watching her. He had a small frown on his lips, and she could see a small crease between his eyebrows.

“Well?” she looked at him and started walking towards him. “Don’t just stand there. Lock that door.”

His eye brows shot up in question. “Although I do appreciate a good surprise, I’d like to know who sent you over here first.”

She stopped halfway across the room. “What? You don’t remember me?”

“Should I? Wait, don’t tell me. This is some sort of payback from Carter, isn’t it?” He uncrossed his arms and started walking towards her. “Listen, I only mentioned Eve the other night because... well... It’s none of your damn business.” He waved his arms about, then stopped and turned back towards her, a shocked look on his face. “Oh, God! He didn’t pay you anything did he?”

“What
are
you talking about?” Since he hadn’t done it himself, she walked over and flipped his deadbolt. Then she turned and walked back to his couch and sat down on the soft cushions. She leaned over and pulled off her heels and started rubbing her feet. Walking over fifty blocks in those heels had been hell, and she was relieved to be out of her stylish shoes.

She stopped rubbing her feet and looked up at him when the room got really quiet. She waited for him to respond. He was watching her like he was trying to figure out what to do next.

“Well?” She asked again as she leaned back against the couch. It had taken most of the day to figure out what she was going to do after spotting the men outside her apartment. She’d wandered around for the first few hours. Then, with a plan firmly planted in her mind, she’d headed the fifty-odd blocks to Mitchell’s place. She could have used a cab, but she was low on cash and didn’t think she use her credit cards. At this point, she needed to be very safe.

“If Carter didn’t send you it must have been Trent. I’ve told these guys to leave me alone...” He started walking around the room waving his hands as he talked. She closed her eyes and released a sigh. How could a man be so confusing? Maybe her head was a little dull from everything that had happened to her in the last four hours. Maybe she needed some food. After all, she hadn’t eaten anything since her meeting with Eve. Plus she’d walked half way across Manhattan. In heels no less! Her mind refused to focus, and she found the sound of Mitchell’s voice soothing.

Then she jumped at the sound of his telephone ringing. She was up, standing at the edge of the couch, fear in her eyes as he watched her.

“
Easy.” He said, holding his hands out. “It’s just my phone.” He walked over, noticed the name on his phone, and answered it.

“Hello, Carter.”

“Yo? Did you get the gift I sent over?” Carter answered. Mitchell looked across the room at the woman. She had walked back to the window and was looking out through the closed blinds.

“It was you!” he whispered into the phone. “What were you thinking, man? I can’t believe you’d do something like this.” Mitch walked into the other room, keeping his eyes on the girl.

“Yeah,” his friend chuckled. “I thought you’d get a laugh out of it. Have you used it yet?”

Mitchell’s mind instantly jumped to an image of the woman underneath him. “What? Are you insane? I can’t believe you’d do something like this,” he repeated.

“Easy, bro. It’s just a stupid indoor basketball hoop. Nobody’s twisting your arm to use it. I thought you’d hang it on the edge of your balcony and get some use out of it. Besides, you could always return it. They should have given you the receipt when they delivered it.”

Just then, Mitchell’s doorbell rang. He watched as the young woman jumped away from the windows. He started back into the room, still holding the phone to his ear. “I’ll call you right back.”

When Mitch reached his front door, he watched the woman frantically look around. When he started opening the door, she yelled at him in a hushed tone. “Don’t open that!”

He stopped and looked at her. She
was
running from someone. The fear was written all over her face. He actually saw her shoulders shaking.

He stopped and looked out the peep hole. “Easy, it’s just a delivery. I was expecting it.” He swung open his door and sure enough, two young men stood there with a large box.

Five minutes later, Mitch closed his door and turned back to the room. She’d sat back down on the couch, but this time looked more alert.

“Listen, let me go put some clothes on, then you can tell me what kind of trouble you’re in.” He started walking towards his stairs. “You aren’t going to steal anything while I’m up there, are you?”

She looked shocked and offended, which answered his question. “Good. I’ll be right back.” He jogged up the stairs without waiting for a reply.

Ten minutes later, he walked out onto his balcony and looked down. She was on his couch, her head slightly tilted back and her eyes closed. Her feet were tucked up under her, and he was pretty sure she was fast asleep. He quietly went down the stairs and walked closer to get a good look at her. His mind sharpened. She’d looked tired when she’d walked in, he just hadn’t noticed. Instead, his hormones had been thrust into overdrive. He’d been around pretty women before—Suzanne had been one of them—but when this woman had walked in, his brain had felt like it had just gone on vacation.

Of course he’d jumped to conclusions. But there just wasn’t any easy explanation for why a very attractive woman would barge into his home and lock herself in. How did she know that he wasn’t some sort of rapist or serial killer? Had she picked his place on accident? Was someone chasing her? She had asked him to lock his door. No doubt someone was following her and she was in trouble, which would account for her being jumpy.

Standing over her, looking down at her dark head, he noticed several things about her. Her hair had red streaks running through it, and in spots it had lightened, like the sun had bleached it. Her skin was darker, probably due  to some Indian or middle-eastern heritage. He guessed that she had some European lineage in her, too, due to the lighter skin and some of her features. She’d spoken with an English accent as well. She was dressed in a simple yet stylish long skirt with a classy, colorful top. Her shoes, which were lying on the floor, looked very expensive. Long gold earrings hung in her ears, and she had on a simple gold necklace that matched. She didn’t wear any rings, and he didn’t see a purse anywhere. He thought about shaking her awake, but when he moved to get closer, her eyes opened and he realized how dark they were. Like his coffee in the morning, rich and dark.

“I think we need to talk,” he said, and she nodded her head and sat up, placing her hands in her lap. He walked over and sat in the chair across from his couch. “Just who is it you’re running from?”

“My father and my cousin.” She had a funny look on her face, and he was sure she was trying to figure something out in her head.

“What’s your name?” He leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees.

“Sandi.” She watched his face for a response.

“Sandi, what?”

“You don’t remember me?” she asked, twisting her skirt in her fingers.

“No? Should I?”

She watched him, quietly. Finally, after a minute had passed, she got up from the couch and started pacing his living room. Her arms were crossed in front of her.

“I guess it was a mistake coming here. It’s been five years. I should have known you wouldn’t remember me. You probably haven’t even thought about me once since that night.”

His mind quickly spun to what he was doing five years ago. To whom he was doing it with. Surely he would have remembered a night with this beautiful woman.

“I just didn’t know who else to turn to.” She turned back to him and he could see she was holding back tears. “I tried to find Ethan, but I didn’t know where to start. I thought maybe you’d know where he was, and what I should do now that they’ve found me.” She started rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

“Take it easy.” He stood and walked over to her. He could see by the look on her face that she was slowly working herself into a state of hysterics. “Sandi?” He took her slim shoulders into his hands and waited for her to look back into his eyes. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get you a glass of water and you can start from the beginning.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Taking another, she opened them and nodded her agreement.

He walked into the kitchen and poured her a cold glass of water. While he was there, he picked up the phone and punched in Ethan Knight’s new cell number. When it went to voice mail, he left a short message.

“Hey, Ethan. Mitch here. I’ve got a young girl, Sandi, in my apartment. She’s in bad trouble and apparently you helped her out before. Give me a call when you get this message. It looks like I’ll need your help again on this one.”

He walked back into the room and sat as she took a deep drink of the water.

“I guess I was thirsty. I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since my meeting with Eve.”

“Eve Taylor?” he asked and she nodded her head.

“Yes.” She took another deep breath. “Five years ago, last spring, you and Ethan helped me escape my family in Puri. I’m Sannidhi Rangan.” She waited and watched him for a response.

He vaguely remembered helping a young Indian artist. It was during his drinking days, so most of what had transpired in those three years was a blur. “Okay, and now you say that your father and cousin have found you?’