She Does Know Jack (10 page)

“You didn’t get
bitten, did you?” Matthew’s gaze raked her up and down.

Bill appeared,
hugging his clipboard. “Oh, dear. Please tell me you weren't bitten.”

She swallowed
and managed to shake her head. “I’m fine. Honestly.” Her voice sounded a little
throaty. The others probably thought it was from fear, but Brielle knew better.
Her eyes never left Jack’s. His concern warmed the chill from her bones. She
didn’t know if it was real, but at that moment, she didn’t care. God, she could
get lost in those blue depths.

“You’re sure?” He
dropped his hand and his gaze. Now both were on her hips.

Shoot. Her skin
shot from warm to burning as a fevered shiver wracked her body. In all the
excitement, she’d forgotten about her skimpy, damn bathing suit.

“For goodness
sakes, take pity on the poor girl. Here, Brielle.” Shoving the men aside, Danni
handed her a towel.

The teacher just
earned a spot on Brielle’s Christmas card list, even if she turned out to be
the culprit. Prisoners were entitled to mail.

“Thank you.”
Wrapped in the terrycloth barrier, she fought to keep the waves of shock at
bay. “I heard of swimming with dolphins, but that was ridiculous.” Forcing a
smile, she ordered her feet to walk toward the chair she’d vacated earlier.

“I don’t understand
what all the fuss is about.” Mandy shrugged from her perch on a lounge chair, a
slight downturn to her crimson lips. “It’s just Carla’s pet.”

Matthew shook
his head. “Yeah, a pet capable of eating another pet.”

“
That
is
not merely an escaped pet.” Jack stalked toward the women, gaze narrowed, mouth
grim. “I want to know how the snake got in the pool, ladies, and I want to
know, now.”

“Don’t look at
me!” Mandy slapped a hand to her enhanced chest “He’s way too heavy for me to
carry.”

“No he’s not,”
Danni piped up. “I saw you with him the other day.”

The blonde’s
eyes widened as she shrugged. “I was just helping Carla out.”

“Yeah, by
holding him while she cleaned his cage.”

“Exactly.” Mandy
nodded.

“Hah!” Danni
clapped her hands, triumph coating her tone.

Brielle sat
back, watching everyone quietly. She noted Matthew scratching his temple, his
brown eyes looking a little bewildered, then her attention shifted to Jack. No
bewilderment there. Nope. Muscles rippled as he folded his arms across that
great divide he called a chest, stance stiff, alert, expression intense, he
studied the women carefully. Wheels were turning behind those gorgeous blue
eyes of his. The man missed nothing.

“What about you,
Carla? Did you put your python in the pool?” he asked.

“Me? Hell, no.”
The black-haired beauty winced, then turned on the outdoor spigot. “Chlorine
isn’t good for him.” 

“Then why aren’t
you getting that
thing
out of the pool?” Danni asked, thrusting a finger
toward the swimming snake.

Carla held up
her wet hands. “Because sunscreen isn’t good for him either, and I need to wash
it off first.”

Well, maybe if
the model hadn’t been smearing the stuff all over Jack’s incredible muscles…

Brielle stifled
that line of thought. Not going there. Besides, it was mute. Carla no doubt
would’ve argued she’d had the sunscreen on her hands from coating her curves
before Jack had shown up to take over.

Yeah, definitely
mute, and stupid.

Towel bunched in
her grip, she considered her facts. All three women had the capability
and
the opportunity to drop the reptile in the drink when she’d changed into her
bathing suit. So did the crew, and even Bill.

Her focus turned
to the producer’s lean arms. Bill may be thin, but he was certainly strong
enough, and this snake stunt would make for great TV. Brielle’s stomach
twisted.
TV
. Damn. The whole incident had been caught on tape. Now the
world would see…

She sat up
straight. “That’s it!”

“What is?”
Matthew frowned, pouring amber liquid into a glass at the outdoor bar.

“The cameras.” She
pointed to the devices secured to the tan brick. “Surely they would’ve captured
the snake-handler.”

Jack unfolded
his arms, but instead of looking pleased, he just shook his head. “Not
necessarily. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this investigation, it’s that
those damn cameras never catch anything useful.”

“But it’s worth
a look.”

Their gazes
clashed. Unwavering blue eyes narrowed and strong jaw flexed as he stared
silently at her.

Why was he
opposed? Was he afraid she might discover something?

“Yes, of course,
Ms. Bennett,” he finally said, grabbing his shirt off a chair. “I fully intend
to check out the footage. I was merely stating it’s not prudent to get your
hopes up.”

“I see.”

What else could
she say? Except, maybe…
no, don’t put your shirt on
. It wasn’t fair. He’d
seen plenty of her. Turnabout was fair play.

Jeez Louise
, what was she
thinking? This was no time to play. She needed to get her priorities back on
track.

“Here, Brielle.”
Matthew suddenly appeared, concern darkening his eyes as he stood over her,
shoving a glass in her hand. “Drink this.”

She stared at
the amber liquid and frowned. “I don’t—”

“Yes, you do
need it,” he cut her off. “Your hands are trembling.”

She glanced at
her hands and blinked. What the hell? They were trembling.

“It’s just
shock. The brandy will calm your nerves.” He motioned to the glass.

She nodded.
“Thanks.” Warm liquid burned her throat as she sipped under his mother-hen
gaze.

“It’s okay,
Butterscotch, they didn’t mean to scare you.”

Everyone turned
to watch Carla carrying the reptile from the pool like it was nothing but a
garden hose.

“Now we have to
give you a bath and get these nasty chemicals off of you.” The woman hoisted
the snake around her shoulders and kissed his flat head. “Don’t worry, we’ll
find out who tried to hurt you.”

“Hurt him?”
Danni’s brows rose. “What about Brielle and me? We were the ones in the pool
with that beast.”

Carla hissed not
unlike her pet. “Beast?” She placed a hand over the snake's head as if it had
ears. “Don’t listen to her, Butterscotch. She just doesn’t know you like I do.”

“Enough.” Jack’s
thundering voice silenced the patio. “Carla, you and Butterscotch come with me.
Let’s see if we can figure out how the hell he got down here.”

“And Brielle and
I will check out the footage from these cameras.” Matthew turned to her and
winked.

Her lips
twitched
Good boy, Matthew
. She could’ve kissed him. “Okay.” She stood,
dropped her towel, then donned her robe. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Jack
held up his hand. “My men can handle that.”

“Your men have
already left,” Matthew said, slipping his shirt on. “There’s no reason why
Brielle and I can’t do this, is there?”

Jack hesitated,
his jaw working several times before he finally nodded. “Go on. I’ll meet up
with you both when I’m done.”

“What about us? 
You aren’t going to just leave us here, are you?” Mandy whined.

“Don’t worry.
We’ll be fine,” Danni said, walking toward the blonde. “We get to relax while
they work.”

The blonde's
furrowed brow smoothed. “Oh…right.” She smiled. “Have fun working.” Then she
settled onto a chaise, closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh.

“Well, I have to
get to the studio. We got some great footage today,” Bill exclaimed.

Yeah, at her
expense.

The camera had
been both friend and foe. Brielle knew going into this job her privacy would
suffer, so there was no sense worrying about the world seeing her bopping
around nearly naked. But, those same cameras might’ve also caught the perpetrator
releasing the snake, and that would blow the case wide open. If so, her
over-exposure
would be well worth it.

“Come on. I’ll
show you were the security room is,” Matthew said.

She already
knew, but kept her mouth shut. Eager to look at the feed, she allowed Matthew
to take her hand and pull her into the house straight passed Jack and the
snake-toting brunette.

Carla cast a
stern look their way. “Remember, you two, this isn’t a date. Matthew’s supposed
to take one of us out tomorrow night, so stick to the rules. Keep it strictly
business. Understand?” She stroked the snake draped over her shoulders like a
feathered boa. “Don’t make me come in there after you.”

Brielle stilled.
Should she question the brunette? Her gaze shot to Jack. His blue eyes were narrowed,
but he just stared. At her. Not Carla. If he wasn’t going to respond to the
woman’s words, she would.

“Is that a
threat?” Brielle asked her quietly.

All eyes turned
to the brunette.

Carla smiled
sweetly. “No, it’s a warning. Since you’re new around here, I’ll cut you some
slack.”

“Gee, thanks. I
do appreciate it, but there’s no law against getting better acquainted, is
there? You all have had a few weeks on me.” Playing up her roll, Brielle
untangled her fingers from Matthew, slipped her arm through his and moved
closer.

Carla’s eyes
narrowed to match Jack’s.

“There’s no need
to look at me like that. I promise I won’t do anything
you
wouldn’t do.”
She turned to Matthew and smiled. “Shall we?”

“Do you think
that was wise?” He asked when the security room door closed behind them and his
cameraman.

“Yes. We don’t
want anyone else to waltz in here,” she said, turning her attention to the wall
of monitors.

“I’m talking
about egging Carla on.”

She glanced up.
“Oh, that. Yes, I think it was the right thing to do.”

“But if she’s
the perpetrator, then more than your wardrobe and swim might get tampered
with.” Matthew dropped into a chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t
like the direction things are going.”

The concern on
his face and slope of his shoulders, as if a heavy weight pressed down, was
enough to spur Brielle into action.

“Now you listen
to me, Matthew Anderson. You have no control over what this psycho is doing.”
She squeezed his shoulder and took a chance on talking openly in front of the
cameraman. “I’m not here as a contestant, remember? I’m here to find out who’s
making the threats. I have no problem using myself as bait. It’s my job. Okay?”

Matthew exhaled,
and placed his hand over hers. “I know my parents hired you, but I still don’t
want to see you get hurt.”

Her reply went
unvoiced because the doorknob began to turn. Matthew’s gaze followed hers and
before she could blink, he yanked her onto his lap and covered her opened mouth
with his over-friendly lips.

“Sorry to
interrupt,” Jack’s cold voice swept through the room, disrupting her pulse.

Dammit! Brielle
jumped to her feet and eyed him wearily. “We were just…aah…”

“Save it. You
don’t have to explain yourself.” He approached, mouth drawn into a thin line.
“I just thought you two were in here to help with the investigation. Maybe you
should get a room.”

Matthew laughed.
“We
are
here to help.”

“Super. Then
perhaps, Brielle, you could fix your robe? You may not mind being an
exhibitionist, but I’ve seen enough.”

She glanced
down. Great. Her parted robe gave the impression Matthew had been exploring.
Heat flushed her face as she adjusted her cover-up and retied the belt. Her
fingers stilled. Wait a minute. What did it matter what they’d been doing? She
was
supposed
to act like a contestant trying to win Matthew’s heart.

“Exhibitionist?”
She yanked the sash tighter and raised her chin to hit Jack with a level gaze.
If he thought she was being an exhibitionist here, what the hell would he think
of her role at The Limelight? “I supposed from where you stood, it could’ve appeared
that way. But from where I was sitting...” She smiled sweetly at Matthew. “I
was just getting to know your brother better.”

Jack grunted.
“Good thing I came in when I did or you might have discovered Matthew’s…”

“Jack!” His
brother frowned.

“…shoe size.”

“Twelve and a
half,” Brielle shot back.

The artist’s
brows shot up. “Hey, you’re right.” He glanced at his bare feet and wiggled his
toes. “How’d you guess?”

She shrugged.
“It’s a gift.”

Matthew and his
cameraman laughed. Jack, however, just scowled and looked like he wanted to be
anywhere but there.

“As enjoyable as
this conversation isn’t, can we get down to business?” Cold blue eyes stared
directly at her.