Slow Hands (15 page)

When she opened them again, her eyes were resolute. Distant. "Ian and I both worked for Jack Carson back then. Everyone knew Ian drank on the job, but he had a nasty temper and no one wanted to cross him. We were on a site in Hot Springs. Ian improperly wired a box. Another man was electrocuted because of it. I found Ian's lunch thermos full of moonshine and gave it to the owner. Jack fired him."

Keira shivered, remembering. "A few days later, Ian showed up at the office, drunk. I was there alone, pulling supplies in back, and didn't hear him come in. He caught me off guard. I fought, but the alcohol seemed to increase his strength. He'd started with his fists, then picked up an iron pipe. Said he wanted to hear me scream his name."

Alec squeezed her hand. He knew from the reports he'd read that she hadn't screamed. Even when Griggs told her she'd still be conscious when he raped her.

"Jack Carson arrived before he could carry out his worst threat," she continued. "Ian ran. The sheriff issued warrants, but he disappeared. A month later he and his brothers knocked off that armored truck. You know the rest of the story."

He nodded. In an uncanny twist, Franny and Keira had been shopping in Little Rock and spotted Ian Griggs at a liquor store. They called police to have him arrested on the assault warrant, unaware of his connection to the robbery.

Until that day, the Griggses had almost pulled off a perfect robbery. They'd left a baffling trail of leads that pointed to the armored truck's driver and guards. They weren't even suspects.

In the end, Ian's brothers died in a fire following a shoot-out with police. The three men had barricaded themselves in the store, swearing they wouldn't be captured alive. But at the last moment, Ian leapt through a window to escape the flames.

There hadn't been a trial. Griggs pleaded guilty to robbery and went to prison.

Alec also knew that Griggs had never been tried for assaulting Keira. The local district attorney had opted to let those charges drop since Ian had been convicted on federal ones.

"They assured me Griggs would serve his full sentence. Life in prison. That a second trial was a waste of money and would save me from having to recount my ordeal in court." She stared at Alec, her voice stronger in her anger. "Do you understand why I have so little faith in the judicial system? It failed me once. I won't give it a second chance."

Alec skimmed his fingers down her cheek. He wanted to erase her distress, soothe every hurt Ian Griggs had caused. His regret over not being there five years ago was profound.

And while he couldn't go back and change the past, he could do something in the present. He would stay in Freedom until Griggs was behind bars.

"Would you believe me if I told you I won't let him harm you again?"

Believe him? The irony stung. Alec had failed her once, too. She'd learned over the years to depend first and foremost on herself.

She avoided answering, instead asked a question of her own. "In the beginning, Ostman said he expected Griggs to get the money and run. Was he telling the truth?"

Alec couldn't attest to Ostman's honesty. "If I were Griggs, I'd get the money and head for the border. Once word spreads that he's free, people will be watching him. It will be tougher to make his move. With or without help."

Keira recalled the treasure seekers who had swarmed into Freedom after Griggs's arrest five years ago. Everyone looking for the two million. She also recalled the influx of journalists, each one out for a unique angle.

"You think there are many people still following this?"

Alec shrugged. "A few. There's still a reward for the recovery of the money." "Great," she muttered.

"Actually, the more people around watching Griggs, the safer you'll be."

Keira mulled over his words. Of course, she hoped Griggs would leave soon. Which would mean Alec would leave soon, too. She felt a dull edge of pain. That wasn't good.

All the more reason she needed to get through this on her own. Because in the end that's where she would be: On her own.

She looked at Alec, saw his proffered strength.
Dammit, right now I don't feel like playing superwoman.
Her knee still stung, and her cheek ached with a dull throb. The fear left her feeling hollow.

"Can we talk about something else?" she asked.

Alec nodded and stood. He disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned, he had two beers and a bag of pretzels. He held out a beer, then pointed to her video collection. "Feel like a movie?"

She nodded. "You pick."

Alec loaded
Dances with Wolves
because it was a three-hour movie.

Snagging the remote, he moved back beside her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her close.

Keira started to say something, but it felt too blasted good. Instead, she grabbed more pretzels. Just for one night she wouldn't question, she wouldn't debate.

She fell asleep about an hour before the movie ended. Alec shifted her head onto his lap and lowered the volume, letting the video play out as he watched her sleep.

The burning need to even the score with Ian Griggs had passed. Actually, it had only been postponed, allowing him to think more clearly.

That was where things would start to get tricky.

The fact Griggs had a ready alibi for the afternoon proved he had people willing to help him. And he had a big ace in the hole: Two million could buy a lot of loyalty. A lot of favors. Which would make Alec's job all the more difficult.

The movie finished.

Alec punched the power button on the remote and looked down at the sleeping beauty. Keira had her head on his thigh, her knees drawn up close to her chest. His heart slowed as he watched her dream.

So, what's it going to be, Dempsey?
The couch? Or the bed?

He'd already decided to spend the night. Plan A had been Keira in her bed, him on the sofa. Plan B had included her on the sofa, stretched out beside him.

At the moment however, he was formulating Plan C.

Both of them in her bed.

After all, the couch wasn't big enough for two. And the thought of her in one room, him in another didn't sit right.

Mind made up, he carefully tucked her in his arms and stood. She didn't move. In the bedroom, he held her in one arm and tugged back covers with the other. Then he deposited her in the center of the bed.

"Don't leave," she murmured, groggy.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep, babe. I'm not going anywhere."

She calmed. Alec padded through her apartment, checking doors and windows and turning off lights.

Back in her bedroom, he peeled off his shirt. His hand paused on the button of his jeans.
Underwear.
He'd leave on his underwear.

He climbed in her bed, scooting close, drawing her near. They were both on their sides, her back spooned against his belly. The terry bathrobe she still wore was warm and smelled faintly of honeysuckle.

She was restless, her feet kicking, arms twitching.
Bad dreams,
he thought, soothing her with low sounds.

She quieted but soon grew restless again. She tugged at the robe, clearly not used to sleeping in something that bulky.

With a tight sigh, Alec rolled her over, lifting first one arm, then the other free of the robe. Beneath it, she wore a pair of cotton bikinis with a matching camisole that hugged her figure like a second skin.

He tossed the robe to the foot of the bed and picked her up, sprawling her across his chest. Immediately she quieted.

Alec had been fighting an erection since first climbing into bed with her. With the press of her thinly covered breasts against his chest, he lost the battle. His flesh swelled. Her nipples had contracted in the cool night air, felt like little buttons against his chest. Twin taunts.

His rock-hard cock pressed against her abdomen, separated from her flesh by their underwear.

Unbidden, memories swirled back. Their first kiss. The first time he saw her bare breasts. The first time she'd touched his penis. The first time they'd made love...

There was a time when they wouldn't have tolerated any clothing between them—like this—in a bed. When the press of flesh on flesh was something sacred, something precious.

But he'd violated that bond by leaving. Now he could only look at her and wonder who else had loved her.

Reggie Reeves?

He frowned.

The thought of any man loving Keira sent a knife through his gut. And yet, Alec had no claim on her. No right to challenge anyone.

His home, his life, were fifteen hundred miles away, in Seattle. He'd left them for this job, would leave them again for the next one. Their lives had separate paths.

Keira wriggled, snuggling farther up on his chest. Her leg drew up between his, nudging his already painfully tight testicles.

He shook his head.

Maybe he should have stayed with Plan A.

Chapter Eight

Keira
awoke
to
the sound of pans clattering in the kitchen. The delicious aroma of coffee. Familiar, warm feelings.

Alarms sounded in her head.
Familiar
wasn't good. Neither was
warm.
Alec.

Sometime during the night, she'd become aware she was lying on top
of
him. That he'd stripped down to his briefs.

It hadn't bothered her at the time. In fact, she'd relished the moment.

Through drowsy eyes, she had watched him, felt his abdomen rise steadily against hers. Even in sleep he had his arms wrapped tightly about her, making her feel secure.

She'd also felt his hard-on, wondered
if
it was simply a nocturnal body function ... or an honest-to-God reaction. Did he desire her?

She had been tempted to touch him.
There.

It had been ten years since she'd made love to Alec, yet her body remembered as if no time had passed. Heat pooled. Moist, hot, and low.

Tears collected in her eyes at the bittersweet memories.

She hadn't wept in years, but since Alec's return, it seemed she wanted to every day.
Enough.

She had learned the hard way that in spite of the love in her heart, in spite of desire, she and Alec weren't destined to be together. Nothing had changed. History was merely repeating itself.

The heat and passion were still there, the physical attraction stronger than ever. But just as in the past, there'd be no happy ending.

She threw back the covers and climbed free of the bed.

Alec heard the bathroom door shut and poured coffee.

He'd been awake since four, unable to fall back to sleep. Actually, he'd lain there for a while, content to hold Keira as she slept.

She'd stayed on top of him all night. Belly to belly. Then his erection demanded an unfair amount of attention.
Do or die.
He had to get up. Or forever forfeit his right to be called a gentleman. Which at the moment felt tike a vastly overrated title.

When Keira came out moments later, she was fully dressed and ready for work. He noted that the redness on her cheek had virtually disappeared.

He handed her coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She gulped the hot liquid.

He had obviously showered recently. His T-shirt clung to his shoulders, his abs. She looked at his still-damp hair. She'd noticed last night it had been cut, knew who had cut it. Franny had left it a little longer in the back, but tapered the sides and front. As if he needed to look hunkier.

"I can't stay," Alec said. "What are your plans for the day?"

Keira's relief was tangible. "I'm going by my attorney's to see about a restraining order, not that I believe it will do much good. Then I've got an appointment in Little Rock to pick up blueprints for a new job I want to bid."

While the news she was seeing an attorney relieved him, the idea of her going to Little Rock bothered him. "If you'll wait I'll—"

She held up a hand, cutting him off. "I'll get Jake to ride with me."

"Jake?"

"My senior crew chief. He was in an auto accident and was just released for light duty." She'd reconciled herself to the fact it probably was smart to keep someone with her, at least until she had a restraining order issued.

"One last thing." Alec placed a gun on the table beside her coffee cup, a small thirty-eight snub nose in a brown leather holster.

He removed the gun, showed her the cylinder with five shots. "When was the last time you fired a gun?"

"Years ago." Probably squirrel hunting with Willis when she was twelve.

"We'll go out this weekend to do some target practice.”In the meantime, keep this in your car. Just in case."

He didn't stop to consider the pros and cons of his advice. His only concern was keeping her safe. God only knew what Griggs could have done yesterday if Alec hadn't shown up at the cemetery.

He finished his coffee. He needed to make a few phone calls before starting surveillance.

"You'll be okay?"

She nodded, then looked up at him. "Thanks for being here last night."

Unable to stop himself, Alec brushed a kiss across her cheek. "See you tonight."

Keira went by her attorney's office and spoke with his secretary. Since it was Friday, the secretary couldn't promise they'd get a judge to hear the request, but she promised to try.

She met Franny for coffee, to assure her friend she was unharmed, then spent the morning in Little Rock, with Jake. It was early afternoon by the time she returned to her office to help Martha process billing and sign payroll.

Martha held up two pink phone message slips. "These are for the new guy. Alec Dempsey. Any idea if he'll be back in later?"

Keira glanced at the messages—noticed both were from Scarlet. The woman was determined. Or had a lot of ceiling fans to be installed.

"If he doesn't call by five, stick them on his locker."

All her employees carried cell phones and called in for messages during the day. Of course, Alec was the exception since he wasn't really working a job site.

Franny called midafternoon, excited.

"You'll never guess what just happened!"

"What?"

"I won front-row tickets to wrestling in Hot Springs! Plus autographed T-shirts." "How'd you do that?"

"I was the twenty-fifth caller on ROCK-FM. They've been giving away tickets all week."

Keira laughed. "Congratulations. I know how much you wanted tickets."

"Actually, I was hoping you wanted to go. On such short notice, Darryl can't get off in time."

"You mean it's tonight?" Keira glanced at her watch. It was nearly three o'clock.

She thought about Alec, wondered what he'd say, then grew vexed for thinking that.

Alec's main concern had been that she didn't go off
alone.
And she wouldn't. She'd be with Franny. And a crowd of nearly twenty thousand rabid wrestling fans. The event was televised to millions of home viewers.

"Sounds like fun. Count me in."

Franny squealed with delight. "Come by the shop, and we'll get ready here."

Alec talked with Miles Ostman twice during the day.

As suspected, Griggs's roommate, Beau Watson, had served time with Griggs. Watson had a rap sheet a mile long, starting with grand theft auto at age thirteen.

Watson worked at Big Cheney's grocery store, a half block from the gas station where Griggs was employed. Griggs didn't own a vehicle, and, according to parole files, didn't have the money to buy one. But Watson had a car to lend.

Alec bet it rankled Griggs to be penniless, with his movements restricted, when he had access to two million. Hopefully, those same restrictions would fuel the need to make a break.

Alec slipped by the grocery store, picked up a few items, and planted a tracking device on Watson's vehicle.

Then he went and watched Griggs pump gas.

When Griggs clocked out, Alec followed him back to the halfway house. Even though he didn't need to, Alec slipped into the abandoned building and watched the house for another hour.

As part of his parole conditions, Griggs had a strict curfew. During the first few weeks, he was only allowed to leave the house to work. Even his court-mandated counseling sessions were held on the halfway house premises.

Alec doubted Griggs would stay around long enough to make the first session.

By six, Alec was home. He knocked on Keira's door, then let himself in, having kept the key from the plant stand. The apartment was quiet.

The light on her answering machine flickered, showing two new calls. He played them back.

One call was a business client, the other was from her attorney confirming a restraining order had been issued. The news, while far from perfect, pleased Alec.

He went next door and checked his own answering machine. The first three messages were from Scarlet. Then he had a call from Keira, informing him she'd gone to Hot Springs to watch wrestling with Franny. Darryl had left a message inviting Alec to watch the match with him later, at the bowling alley.

Frowning, Alec replayed Keira's message. The fact that she was with Franny didn't make him feel better. Actually, the only time he felt secure was when Keira was with him.

After changing clothes, Alec headed downtown. He grabbed a sandwich from a drive-through and ate it while watching the halfway house. A little after seven, Griggs returned to his room, turned on television, and closed the blinds. There was nothing more to see.

Alec left the warehouse and headed to the bowling alley, knowing Griggs was locked up for the night.

The bar at the Pin Palace was jammed.

Sally and Mabel had spread the news around town, telling everyone Franny and Keira would be at wrestling that night. The manager had even put a message on the front marquee: "Franny and Keira take on Pro Wrestling—Live at 8:00."

The bar had twelve television sets, half of them big screens. Usually there were at least six different sporting events on the televisions. But for once all twelve were tuned to wrestling.

The place erupted into screams when the show opened with a live shot of Franny and Keira waving to the camera.

Alec grinned in spite of himself. Two gorgeous, buxom redheads. The cameraman was no fool.

Keira wore a short, tight, T-shirt that showed her midriff; Franny a black leather bustier that barely contained her.

As the opening theme music roared, Franny leaned forward and brushed her hair back, behind her shoulder, revealing a wrestling-logo body tattoo on the swell of her breast. The camera zoomed in tight, filling the screen with nothing but the tattoo and cleavage.

The crowd in the bar cheered as fireworks flashed on the TV screen. The announcer claimed to be having heart palpitations after the opening shot.

"Big hooters always do that to you," the other announcer quipped.

Clearly used to Franny's antics, Darryl smiled good-naturedly as people slapped him on the back.

Even Alec was laughing before the night was over, as Franny manipulated the cameramen. The wrestlers, following the crowd's cue, fell over the ropes and proceeded to fight it out right in front of Franny and Keira. Headlocks and cleavage shots.

Keira got her fair share of camera time. The tight T-shirt didn't hide her curves, and her firm, flat stomach was sleek and sexy as hell. Alec noticed her nipples stabbing through the T-shirt, knew he wasn't the only admirer.

By the time the program went off the air, the bar was standing-room-only. Franny called Darryl as the program wrapped up and promised to come directly to the bowling alley.

"They'll be here within an hour," Darryl said.

"In that case, we challenge you to a bowl-off," Mabel said. "Losers pay."

Sally and Mabel scurried off to reserve a couple of bowling lanes.

Alec pulled out his wallet. "Guess I better bit the ATM."

Even though the telecast ended promptly at ten, the action went on another fifteen minutes as a free-for-all broke out center stage.

To everyone's delight, all the wrestlers from backstage poured back into the ring for one last, heart-stopping bit of drama. The crowd went wild.

The referees finally broke the wrestlers apart, but not before they split into two factions, with threats tossed back and forth from one set of gleaming muscles to the other.

'Tune in next week," the announcer said. "To see if the Doom Brothers pick up the gauntlet."