The Romance Challenge, Complete Series Box Set: BBW Hot Alpha Billionaire Romance (17 page)

"I wasn't digging for
compliments."

"I understand."

"My life is a mess right now. I can't
have you in it."

"And I told you I would respect that.
But I want you to understand, I'm not just coming on to you, as a onetime
fling. I feel something deep for you, and I'm willing to risk getting hurt
again to find out what it is."

Shit, shit, shit. The raw emotion pouring
from him nearly drowned me. I so wanted to believe him, to go to him, to lose
myself in his warmth. I looked up, not sure I could resist that compelling,
magnetic gaze of his without either bursting into tears or tearing off my
clothes.

"How are you holding out with
ice?"

We both jumped and turned towards the
front of the room. A server from Water's Edge stood in the doorway.

Nathan rose. "We're fine, thank
you."

"I was on my way out, thought I'd
check. Say, you got any more of those tuna sandwiches? Man, that is the best.
We need to get the recipe for here."

"Help yourself." I gestured to
the food, then stood also and walked to greet the man, needing to pull myself
away from the spell Nathan wound around me.

As I chatted with the employee and handed
him food, I watched Nathan pack up the cards and his laptop. He joined us at
the front of the room and turned to the man.

"Please wait a few minutes, and walk
with Amber back to Water's Edge." He took my arm and pulled me aside,
creating flashes of heat where he touched. "There's only one other person
who hasn't been by to meet and greet that's on this shift. I'll go find him,
give him a sandwich and his raffle envelope. You lock up here, put the rest of
this stuff back in the café and wait for me at the restaurant. I'll walk with
you to your suite."

"You don't have to."

"No, I want you to wait at the café.
Someone has made an effort find out where you are. You need to be cautious.
I'll be there shortly to take you to your room."

"Fine." I loaded up the cart and
walked with the server back to the restaurant.

But I didn't wait at Water's Edge. I had
no desire to stand around the place, talking to the late-night staff, watching
the happy people on vacation. I put the food away quickly, then strolled to my
suite, enjoying the cool breeze that played with my hair and made me hug my
jacket around my body tight. I wanted to be alone for a while, to take a walk
and stick my toes in the water, to enjoy this last taste of paradise.

Back in my room, I flung my purse on the
couch, then opened one of my windows, inviting the breeze to blow through. It smelled
so good here! If someone bottled this scent, they'd be rich. I started towards
the closet to grab a heavier shirt for my walk.

A noise from the bathroom stopped me in my
tracks. An ice-cube chill ran along my spine. Probably nothing. Only the pipes
creaking. But my intuition screamed at me.

 
Danger!

I took a quiet step backwards. I'd go to
the main building, call Nathan, have him come back here with me. No doubt I'd
get a safety lecture, but I could deal with that.

My phone. I patted my pants. Not in my
pocket, in my purse. Over there, on the couch.

Get out!

Okay, I'd use the phone at the front desk.
Leave my purse here. Another creaking sound. The hair on the back of my neck
stood up and walking backwards, not taking my eyes off the hallway to the
bathroom, I eased towards the door. Another step, then a clattering noise as I
ran into a chair. Damn. I wheeled around to look behind me and when I turned back
I yelped. A man stood at the edge of the hallway, my angel statue in his hand.

"Hello Amber. Nice to see you again."

My heart pounded. Again? Did I know this
guy? He wore jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket, and looked to be in his
mid-fifties. Maybe older. Grey streaked his beard and hair.

He moved toward me. "You probably
don't remember me. I used to work with your dad. I met you girls once when you
were little. You grew up nice."

He looked me up and down and I tasted bile
in my mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask you about this."
He held up the statue, then put it on the counter separating the kitchen from
the living area. "And this little item that your dad stuck inside of
it." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a flash drive.

Ah-ha, that's what the figurine hid. The
empty base was the perfect size to conceal a small thumb drive.

"I don't know anything, about either
one." I took another step backward. How fast would he move? I could open
the door, get out quick, but in my sandals, he'd likely catch me if I ran. I'd
yell. Someone would hear me.

"I think maybe you do know something.
You obviously wanted this statue since you had it sent to you here on your
vacation. You're not decorating a rental room."

"I'm not on vacation, I'm working. I
had the statue sent here because a friend saw it in that pawn shop and
recognized it as the one thing stolen when Michelle was attacked. Did you do
that? Hit my sister?"

Anger replaced fear, and I stepped towards
him.

"Yeah, I hit her. Not hard. She
surprised me. I saw you leave the house, the lights were down, I thought the
place was empty." The man tapped the drive. "I pulled this out of
that damn statue, tried to open the file. Sean put a password on it. Want to
share?"

"I don't have any idea what password
Dad used." Fists clenched, I tried to slow my heart. As much as I wanted
to tear into this man, I had to stay calm. "What's in the file?"

"That's what
I
need to find
out. If I'm not mistaken, the answer to a puzzle." He advanced, and I
moved another step back.

"What kind of puzzle?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. You're
sure you've never seen this before? Never opened it?"

"No. Never. Why would my dad leave a
password protected flash drive with Michelle? She didn't realize it was in the
statue. None of us did."

He sighed and leaned on the counter,
allowing his jacket to open slightly and reveal a gun holster. I clamped my
teeth to keep them from shaking.

"Sean ripped me off, and I'm pretty damn
sure the information about the money he stole is on this drive."

"What are you talking about? You're
wrong. Dad wasn't a thief. He didn't steal any money."

Did he? I thought I knew him, but then, I
never thought he'd abandon us, his family. He did though, easy enough, with
another woman. And soon after, left us altogether.

"Let me tell you a little
story." The man hitched one butt cheek onto a stool. More relaxed, but
still in position to chase me if I ran.

"Your dad, myself, and two other guys
came across a big wad of cash. Dirty money, obtained illegally. We found it a
lot, working our cases. Most of the time that shit hangs around as evidence for
years, then eventually gets put into a government fund. Maybe we get a little
for our department, buy a few new copy machines. Whoopee." He twirled a
finger in the air.

 "This stash we turned up one day,
huge. Obscenely huge. Made us cry to think about it going to waste. So we grab
wads of bills, hide them away. Going to be smart, and wait a few years before
we have at it, not start spending it like crazy and draw attention to
ourselves."

He shifted position and his fist tightened
around the flash drive. "One night, year or so later, we're playing cards,
Sean gets his mouth running. He's remarried by then, to that blond piece of
fluff. What's her name?"

"Piece of fluff is fine." Yeah,
my stepmom and I didn't get along.

He smiled, a cold smile that didn't come
anywhere near his eyes. "So Fluffy, she's apparently shown him the evil of
his ways. He took the money, he told us, gave it all to charities. Says it's blood
money and if we spend it, we'll be cursed."

"I'm, uh, sorry for your loss. So why
are you here?"

"Because Sean fucking lied!" He
pounded the counter, and I jumped. "He stole that money, I know it. And
wherever your dad hid it, he put it on this drive."

"How can you be so sure? And why are
you just now going after the drive? Dad's been dead for years."

"We did everything but torture Sean
to tell us where he put the stash. He kept saying, he didn't have it. The money
was given away. A week after he lays that crap on us, he drops dead from a
stroke."

Pain licked at my heart as I remembered.

"So we figured we were screwed. We
followed Fluffy for a while, kept an eye on you guys. We searched everywhere we
could think of for some clue. His car, his desk. One of us patted him down at
the funeral home. Nothing. None of you were spending big, no abnormal behavior.
We finally came to the conclusion, maybe he told the truth. Maybe he really did
give all that money to charity."

He shifted again and from the corner of my
eye I caught movement outside the window. Nathan? Oh please, let it be Nathan.

"Then, last year, I'm cleaning out files
on my computer. I see this picture of the four of us. We'd stashed the money
not too long before and were feeling pretty damn good. Someone made a joke how
we looked like a bunch of cocky roosters, said he should take a picture. He did
and sent it to me. I put it in my files, forgot about it. So I find the
picture, look close, and there's this statue thing in the background."

He ran his hand over the figurine, almost lovingly.

"I remember Sean joking that day, how
he got a guardian angel for his daughter. How the angel would protect you guys,
even if he was gone. Didn't seem like a big deal then, but the more I thought about
it, the more I wondered. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to know."

"So you broke into our house and took
it." The chill turned to an arctic wave flooding my body, vying with white
hot anger. "You bastard. Do you know what happened to my sister?"

"She was knocked out for a while, but
not hurt bad. I kept track. Like I said, I didn't hit her hard."

"Not physically hurt, but…" No,
I wouldn't tell this guy any more. Pulling in my temper, I loosened my fists.
"You put the statue in that pawn shop. Just to draw me out?"

"I dicked around, trying to work out
the password. Couldn't ask anybody for help. So yeah, I decided you, or your
sis, or your mom might still be looking for the statue. You might have figured
out what Sean hid inside, if you didn't know before. I put it in a few shops,
told the owners there'd be a reward if they gave me the address of whoever
bought it. You guys had moved, by then."

"And you couldn't look us up with
your police contacts?"

"Couldn't leave any kind of trail.
Besides, I wanted to see who might come sniffing around. Maybe Sean had others
involved. I figured, if someone wanted it bad enough, they'd come after it. Low
and behold, old Max calls me, gives me your name, tells me you have it shipped
next day to Florida. Now that sounds like a woman who wants this doo-dad pretty
bad."

My head whirled, and I fought to
concentrate. How could Dad have done this? "I don't have a clue what the
password is, really, and my mom and sister don't either. Dad didn't tell us
what he was up to. If there was a wad of cash, we sure didn't see it. I can't
help you even if I wanted to, and if you don't leave right now, I'm calling the
cops. The real ones."

He laughed. "You always were a feisty
kid, your dad said. Cops don't make shit for money; maybe you figured that out.
Once in a while, we get a chance to stash a few dollars away for ourselves. Not
stealing. It's illegal bucks, belongs to the bad guys. So we help ourselves to a
little. Everyone does it. Nobody on the force is going to listen to you, but
you listen to me."

He stood now, feet apart, eyes cold and
hard as an iceberg. "I don't believe you. I think old Sean told you how to
open this file. No one's going to get hurt if you tell me, but someone will if
you don't. I know you've moved, but I can find your mom and sister."

 My heart almost jumping out of my throat,
I edged toward the door again when suddenly, the lights went out. I shoved a
stool in his direction and heard the guy curse and stumble. I turned to run,
then, arms wrapped around my waist.

"Trust me."

Nathan's voice, his scent, his body close
to mine, giving me strength.

"I do."

"Run. Down to Tiki Largo. Stay around
people. I'll be there in a few minutes."

CHAPTER TWELVE

I fled, as fast as my sandals let me. I
found a quiet corner at the restaurant and hid, trying to slow my heart rate. I
should call the police. No, Nathan would have done that, before he rushed in, wouldn't
he? I paced for what felt like hours but I'm sure was less than ten minutes
before Nathan came trotting up. Not caring who saw us, I threw myself into his
arms and he held me tight. Finally, I pulled away.

"Are you okay? What happened to that
man?"

"He's gone, and I got the flash
drive."

"He gave it to you?"

"I had to break a couple of his
fingers, but yeah, he eventually came around and realized it belongs to you. I also
suggested, unless he wanted more bones broken, that he forget all about you,
your family and whatever's on this stick."

I looked at him closer and hissed when I saw
a red mark on his face. I touched it lightly, then buried my head against his
chest again. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get involved in my
family's shit. Did you make the lights go out back there?"

"I did, and it's okay. I haven't
kicked anybody's ass for a while. Felt good. What I need now, though, is a pain
killer. Come here."

He took my hand, pulled out his keys, and
led me behind the bar.

"Got some business to take care
of," he told the busy bartender, who merely nodded and waved.

He unlocked a door, and we stepped into a
building that served as a large storage facility. But not large enough that I
wasn't aware of him, and the slight sweat he'd worked up, doing lord-knows-what
to that guy in my room. The scent hit me like a slap, making my knees buckle.
He flipped on a dim light and I glanced around, then sat down abruptly on a
box. He reached out for me, but pulled his hand back before it made contact.

"You okay?"

"Big adrenaline rush wearing off. I'm
okay." Good save. No way would I let him see how strongly he affected me.
"I'll be all right. Give me a minute."

 He opened a cabinet and pulled out a
bottle. Reaching up on a shelf, he took down two glasses and balanced them on
another box.

"I don't like to drown my troubles
with alcohol. Doesn't work. I've seen enough of that in my life."

"We're not drowning them, just taking
them out for a swim." He gave me a smile, trying to calm me. "This is
the high-end stuff, so sip it slowly and savor it."

"Why are we drinking in a storage
room when a thief is getting away?"

Nathan poured two shots, took a sniff of
his and passed one to me. "We'll go after that guy. Later. My priority now
is making sure you and your family are safe. I don't think…" he reached
into his pocket, then held a credit card up to the light. "I don't think
Mr. Turski is going to bother you anymore. Not right away. I heard your
conversation with him. Most of it. Did you tell him the truth? You really don't
know what's on this drive or how to get into it?"

I took a small sip of my drink. Bleh!
Whiskey. It might be high end but it tasted like lighter fluid. "No, I
didn't have a clue that my dad put that drive in the statue. And I have no idea
what he would use as a password."

"Do you want to try opening it?"

Part of me did, part of me wanted to throw
it into the ocean. If my dad had secrets, I didn't want to know. I got the
statue, and the name of the man who attacked Michelle. I could get a PI to
follow up, find the guy, get the bastard put away. Turski. That name sounded slightly
familiar. Dad talked so little about his work at home, especially not in front
of Michelle and me.

"Aren't you going to call the
police?"

"No, not yet. I did just contact the
security agency I hired, based on your recommendation. I'd planned to have them
start next week, but I upped their start date to right now."

I took another sip, and this time, the
liquid sliding down my throat brought a welcome warmth that slowed my heart
rate and made me realize how cold I was. As usual, Nathan seemed to read me,
and picked up on my slight shiver.

"Drink up. We'll go back to your room
and plug this in."

Third sip was the charm. The whiskey tasted
passable, and the warmth reached all the way to my toes. Nathan turned out the
light, locked the door, put our glasses behind the bar, and we headed out. The
minute I set foot into my suite, a fierce shudder ran through my body. I could
have been hurt, or even killed. Nathan must have sensed my dread, or maybe he
picked up the same vibration I did.

"I've got a better idea. You pack a
few things; we're getting out of here. You'll sleep in the extra bedroom in my
condo tonight."

No way did I want to argue with getting
out of the suite. The very air in the room had taken on a malevolent feel. But
damn it, staying with him, not a good idea. I had to keep out of Nathan's bed.
And to keep him out of my heart. How could we spend a night in the same place,
without winding up tangled together? I wanted to believe I was strong enough,
but he drew me like a dog to a steak. A thick, juicy one that tasted
oh-so-good. Impossible to resist.

"I'll be okay here. You scared Turski
away. I'll keep my phone close, just in case."

"No, you won't. Come with me."

That tone made me clench my teeth. I
parked my hands on my hips. "You might be my boss at work but you're not
telling me what to do with my life."

He turned, from where he'd been examining
a window. "Stop being stubborn. You know staying with me is the best plan.
What if Turski wasn't working alone? What if there's someone else with him on
this island?"

"Which is why we should call the
police. Let them handle it."

"You want to get the cops involved?
Give them the flash drive? I have all the respect in the world for the police,
the good ones, but believe me, they can't do any more than my people can as far
as security. And since Turski is ex-law enforcement, they might not look at
your side of the story too favorably. Didn't you hear what he said?"

Damn it. Much as I'd like to believe
Turski lied, that other cops weren't mixed up in questionable activities, a
level of corruption existed on any police force. What if Turski had people down
here, connections, to whatever he was up to? "I don't want to spend the
night with you. Even in another room."

A flash of hurt moved over his face, but
I'd already told him where I stood and he said he would respect my feelings.

"I own two other condos in the
building. They're both furnished. You can stay in one of them if that would
make you feel better."

I lifted my chin. He'd have to get over
his hurt feelings. "It would."

"We'll open the flash drive, see
what's on there. I've got a frozen pizza we can heat up. And I promise to keep
my hands off you."

Heat rose to my face, and I turned away
from him, heading to my bedroom. He could make all the promises in the world. Would
I keep my hands off him? Still spooked, I flicked on every light and kept
Nathan in the corner of my eye, while I threw toiletries and a change of
clothes into a bag. Damn that Turski! Ruining my little slice of paradise with
his evil.

+++

Amber insisted on driving her own car the
short distance to my condo building. We parked, then took the elevator to the
fifth floor. The blinds were open when we walked in, and she immediately headed
across the living area to look out the window that spanned almost the entire
end of the room. I picked this corner unit for my own because of the fantastic
view. It overlooked a small canal that housed an array of boats, whose lights
now shimmered on the water like diamonds on black velvet.

"I'll leave the lights off, if you'd like.
The view at night is something, isn't it?"

"Sure is."

"Since you didn't seem too wild about
that whiskey, would you like a glass of Chardonnay?"

"That would be great. Thanks."

I stopped at the dining room table and
turned on my laptop, and as soon as it booted up, sent a message to all Bay
Paradise Resort department heads, telling them a security company would be on
the grounds starting that night. Then, I went into the galley-style kitchen.
Not a large room, but enough for what I needed, since I didn't cook much.

At first, I planned to only rent a place down
here, but after spending a few days, decided to buy a penthouse condo. Several
more units in the building were for sale, and after finding a competent
management company to handle the leasing and maintenance, I determined they would
be a good investment and bought them too.

Amber prowled the spacious living room,
too wound up to sit still, apparently. For good reason. I watched her while I
turned on the oven, wanting to make sure she was coping.

"You bought this place furnished,
right?" She tossed a pillow out of the way, sat on the couch, stood back
up.

"What, you don't think embroidered
manatee pillows are my style?" That got a ghost of a smile. "Yes, I
bought all the units furnished. I don't have this many knick-knacks in any of
my homes, and the paintings I own are originals. I'll furnish this one more to
my taste. Eventually. Why don't you unlock the sliding door, kick off your
shoes and go outside? I'll get dinner started."

I poured a wine for her and another
whiskey for me. A double. I needed the anesthesia effect and needed to come down.
Turski landed several punches and my jaw throbbed. Fucker. I didn't condone
using violence to solve problems these days, not like in my early years. Usually.
This time, I made an exception.

When I'd arrived at Amber's suite and
heard a male voice, I'd headed for the open window. I caught snatches of the
conversation and since I had no idea if the man inside was armed, I didn't rush
in. Instead, I'd found the electrical disconnect at the main power box and
flipped it, then grabbed her and told her to get out. She did what I said, for
a change.

While smacking Turski around, I wanted to
hurt him, bad. Amber was mine, and nobody messed with mine. I'd settled for
breaking two fingers, then taking his gun and the flash drive and lifting a
credit card from his pocket. He demanded to know who I was, wanted to keep on
fighting, but since I held his weapon, he was out of options to do anything
except what I told him and get the hell off the island. He'd be back for Amber
and that drive. I saw it in his eyes. I'd only scared him away for a time.

Before he moved on her again, I would stop
him for good.

I put the pizza in the oven and pushed down
my anger. No need to upset Amber any further. She stood out on the balcony, the
wind whipping her hair around her face. She'd taken my advice and ditched her
sandals. Good. She needed to unwind, to let go of the stress from this night. 

I joined her and took the flash drive from
my pocket. "Ready to see what's on here?"

She looked into my eyes, curled her
fingers around my hand, took the device and slid it into her pocket.

"No. Not now. I want to look at this
by myself."

"What, you don't trust me? Anything
that's on here, about your father, I won't share. With anyone."

"It's not that, it's just… I need to
do this on my own. My family, my past, they're not your problem. I can't let
you help me. If I do, you'll creep into my life and I don't want you
there."

A drop of rain fell on my hand, the one
she still held. "Why not? We're attracted to each other, that's obvious. I
want you, want to get to know you better. I've shown you that by now. You're
right, what you said earlier. It might be hard to combine our lives, once we
leave here, but I want to at least try it. Aren't you willing to even do
that?"

She dropped my hand, and another splat of
rain hit my face. "No. I need to spend my time taking care of Michelle. Now
that I have a name, I can hire a PI, get him to track down Turski. And I'll
have to work on finding the password to open this drive. I've got too much to
do to get caught up in a relationship."

"That's bullshit and you know
it." Hard as I tried, I couldn't keep the anger at bay any longer.
"I've got people who can crack any type of password code, and they can
find Turski faster than a detective. I can save you time. What's holding you
back? Why won't you let me help?" My voice had risen but I couldn't stop.

"Because this is my problem."
She stepped away from me, her eyes open wide, hands twisting in front of her.

She was frightened and after what she'd
been through tonight, I should back off. But I didn't. "And I'm telling
you, I can help. It makes no sense for you to push me away. So why are you?
Tell me." I grabbed both of her shoulders, just as a crack of thunder blasted.

Rain fell the next second, heavy and cold.
But neither of us moved.

"Because it's my fault!" She
wrenched away from me, snarling, fury blazing in her eyes. "I'm the one
who caused Michelle to be attacked."

"You? You told someone to come in and
hit your sister and steal a statue?"