Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brewer (5 page)

“Just a silly light, cat, nothing that can’t wait until we can get to Mike the Mechanic
in a couple of days. Absolutely nothing to worry about.”

She turned off the heater to be on the safe side and gritted her teeth hard. There
was a vibration, probably just the road surface, which reminded her that she hadn’t
looked at the tread on her tires lately. She eased off the gas although her instinct
was to put her foot down and get to the vet clinic as quickly as possible, but she
couldn’t risk skidding in this kind of weather. Maybe she had a slow puncture… God,
she hated having to drive anywhere in this heap of scrap metal.

The vehicle was losing speed as the road sloped uphill, but putting her foot down
didn’t make much difference, and the vibrating became intermittent lurching that had
her developing a panic attack. She couldn’t stop; she had to keep going.

“Shit.” The fear in her voice was audible and that made her even more frightened.
Her knuckles tightened around the steering wheel and adrenaline prickled her forehead.
“This is all your fault, Sophie, just wait till I get a hold of you.” And then one
last grinding lurch and the engine spluttered and stalled.

Piper tried the ignition, but after a few whiny attempts it became clear it wasn’t
going to play. So it wasn’t a flat tire. It was a dying, possibly now dead car. Perfect.
Her chest felt like someone was clenching a fist inside of it. “Deep breaths, Piper,
this is going to turn out okay.” She unclipped her seat belt and strained to reach
her purse on the backseat to get her cell phone. The cat started to growl in a deep,
threatening way, and she wondered if anyone had ever been savaged to death and then
eaten by a pregnant domesticated cat.

To her relief, the cell phone showed a healthy signal so she could call Melanie and
ask her to come and rescue her. Her buddy Kira was probably closer, but she didn’t
want to bother her. She’d had such a hard time since her aunt and guardian had died
and, right now, she had her hands full with her old boyfriend, Max. Kira texted earlier
that Max had refused to leave town like he was supposed to, and Piper hadn’t gotten
the feeling that was a bad thing. The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt a
hot reunion between the two.

Her dad was out of the question, too. His car was more of a wreck than the stupid
Dodge she was stranded in right now, so there’d probably be two of them who’d need
rescuing by the end of the night.

The phone felt cold against her ear and she had an awful sense of foreboding about
how this was going to turn out. “Come on, Mel, pick up…” Her call went to voicemail.

Now was the perfect time to regret not investing in some AAA emergency roadside assistance.
The cardboard box was starting to take on a life of its own and it sounded as if the
angry cat was trying to claw and scratch her way to freedom. Once the cat was out
of the box, she’d be in serious trouble. There hadn’t even been a passing vehicle
to flag down in the last few minutes.

“I’m going to have to swallow my pride and do the unthinkable, aren’t I?” She sighed
deeply and slid Matt’s business card out of the credit card slot of her cell phone
cover. “Talk about humiliating.”

He picked up immediately, too quickly for her to change her mind. “DeLeo.” His voice
exuded calm and confidence, and she pictured him lounging on an expensive chair in
a cocoon of warmth with a nicely chilled bottle of beer close at hand.

“It’s me, Piper.”

“I know.”

“Oh yes, silly me, I forgot you know everything about me including my cell phone number.”

“You were added to my VIP contact list within seconds of dropping your card. I had
every intention of seeing you again whatever happened.” He paused as if expecting
a reaction, but Piper’s lips were pressed together. “But anyway, this is a nice surprise.
I didn’t expect to hear from you for a few days. Been shopping yet?”

“This isn’t a social call.”

“Strictly business, you really meant that?”

“This is an emergency call.”

His tone sharpened. “Go on.”

“My car’s broken down halfway up Spring Canyon Road and I can’t get a hold of anyone
else right now.”

“You’re out there in these conditions? Don’t you listen to the radio or TV? What the
hell did you think you were doing?”

“I’m not calling you for a damn lecture, DeLeo. I need rescuing and I figure if there’s
anyone I know with a big, kick-ass four-by-four, off-road type pretentious vehicle,
it’s likely to be you. Am I right?”

“I have a Porsche parked downstairs.”

“Damn, is that a two-seater?”

“Yep. Are you getting picky about how you get rescued?”

“Fine, I guess I’ll have to balance the cat on my lap.”

“The cat? What the—”

“Look, I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. Just hurry up before I freeze
to death. So will you come and get me?” She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “Or
do I have to beg?”

Chapter Five

Matt stared straight ahead as the windshield wipers of his four-by-four thrashed back
and forth, barely clearing the snowfall before it obliterated his view again. You
had to be a certifiable maniac to be out on a night like this. He had an excuse, but
what was Piper Reilly’s? And what was going on with the damn cat?

He had no idea what kind of car he was looking for and hoped she had the sense to
put her lights on. Then he berated himself for not finding out what she was driving
and for not telling her what to do. Not that she’d take kindly to being issued instructions
by him, anyway.

The engine roared as the road began to climb and he was glad of a vehicle that could
cope with terrain. His Porsche was nice and the ladies loved it, but it wasn’t designed
for winters in Colorado—just a toy for around town most of the time.

It was forecasted to get very nasty, very quickly, so he wanted to get this situation
resolved. A bolt of excitement zapped up his spine as he rounded the hill and the
road leveled out, revealing a car, dark blue by the looks of the portions that weren’t
covered by a layer of snow. The headlights were on and blazing through the blizzard.
“Smart woman,” he whispered.

He pulled up close behind the car, killed the engine, and leaped out. The rear window
was completely white, and the driver’s side window was steamed up. He rapped his knuckles
against the glass. “Come on, get out of there!” he called out, and the words seemed
to be carried away on a gust of icy wind.

“Stop shouting and hold the cat,” she yelled back as the door swung violently open.
He jumped back to avoid being slammed backward into a snowdrift.

He grabbed the cardboard box she thrust into his arms and almost dropped it as the
feline thrashed about inside. “Jesus, you sure this is just a cat?”

“She’s deeply unhappy.” Piper lunged back into the car, took the keys out of the ignition,
and grabbed her purse. “And that doesn’t look much like a Porsche.”

“That’s because it isn’t. You got grouchy about that, remember?”

Her eyebrows snapped together accusingly. “I so did not get grouchy.”

“Well, you sound grouchy now.” He turned toward the Land Rover. “Get in quickly, we
shouldn’t be hanging around out here. It’s getting hazardous.”

It was a relief to get back into the muffled warmth of the car after a few moments
out in the biting cold. Even the cardboard box on the backseat seemed a little calmer
strapped neatly against the soft upholstery. “So are you going to tell me what you’re
doing out here with a box of cat in a snowstorm?”

“I was taking her to the drop-in vet clinic a couple of miles farther on, but now
you are.”

“I am?” He looked across at her and was captivated by a tiny snowflake clinging to
the tip of one of her eyelashes. It melted within seconds and dripped onto her cheek.

“You are.” She wiped the snow drip away with the back of her hand and glared at him.
“So can we get moving, please?”

There was no point sitting there arguing about it. Another few miles wasn’t going
to make too much difference, or at least he hoped it wouldn’t. He started the engine
and she seemed to wilt back into the seat with relief. She looked even more shattered
than she had this morning. “I know where it is, we’ll be there pretty soon. What’s
up with your pussy?”

Piper threw him an acidic look. “The
cat
has an injured tail that needs seeing to.”

“What happened to it?”

“Someone shut the bathroom door on it by the looks of things.” She shrugged irritably.
“My clumsy sister, I suspect, but she fled back to our parents before I could interrogate
her.”

“That’s one problem off your hands in that case. Dump the cat and we can go to Antigua
for a week.”

“You seem to have conveniently forgotten about your launch campaign and the fact you
need me to pose for the camera a few times.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m
not dumping anyone or anything. Besides, we may all freeze to death before the airports
reopen, and I fully expect my sister to come rolling back after a few days back in
Mommy’s strict, clean, organized domain.”

“A mom who cleans and cooks? You don’t know how lucky you are.”

“You sound bitter. Or am I imagining it?”

Was he bitter about his mother? Possibly. He felt pretty sour about the fact he’d
only met his musician father once and his mom hadn’t seemed to do anything to keep
him in his life, but she insisted it was for the best in the long run. Perhaps his
mom had been right, but she’d been far from maternal herself; it wouldn’t have hurt
to try and cook a Thanksgiving dinner just once.

“Your sister sounds like a pain,” he said, ignoring her question, and then coughed
awkwardly into a clenched fist.

To his surprise, she laughed. “She is, but you don’t get to choose your family, do
you?”

“Hell no.” A yellow road sign was just visible under a layer of white frosting and
she let out a long breath beside him. “We’re here,” he said. “Everything’s going to
be fine now.”

“I forgot to thank you.” There was a throaty edge to her words. “I was stressed, and
I’m sorry for being rude back there.”

“I was raised on rude, don’t worry.” He turned to see a soft smile on those plump
pink lips and his belly quivered. How badly did he want to kiss them again? So much
it made his teeth ache. “Let’s get inside.”

The lobby of the veterinary clinic was deserted apart from the receptionist and a
harried-looking man carrying a parrot in a cage.

“How can I help you?” the petite blonde said sweetly, a twinkle behind her half-moon
spectacles as she looked from one to the other.

“It’s my cat,” Piper said quickly. “She’s pregnant and somehow all the fur has been
stripped off the end of her tail.”

“Ouch,” said Blondie. “Poor thing, we’ll get her in to see a vet right away. Now what’s
her name?”

Piper’s cheeks flushed as both Matt and the receptionist waited on her reply. “Her
name? Well, we never really got around to giving her one. We just call her cat. Or
kitty.”

“Right…so can I take
your
name?”

“Reilly. Piper Reilly. And she’s not really mine, that’s why she hasn’t got a name.
We found her on our back step, cold, wet, and very bony apart from her big fat tummy.”

“I see. And that will probably mean you have no insurance coverage?”

“Well, no, but—”

Matt saw Piper’s face drop and a look of hopelessness veil it. “We can cover the fees,”
he said firmly. “It’s not a problem.” The look she gave him was all the thanks he
needed.

The receptionist flashed a receptionist’s smile and slid over a set of forms. “Then
Dr. Uvi, our on-duty vet, will see you right away. You can fill these out while you’re
in there. I’m sure you’ll be the last patient he’ll see today. I’m going to head home
before this weather gets any worse.” She flicked off her computer screen. “Good luck
with Cat Reilly.”

“Thanks.” Matt bent to pick up the box. “I’d better come in with you. It could be
a two-man job by the sounds she’s making in there.”

Piper bit her bottom lip as the cat made a sound like the howling wind outside. “I
hope Dr. Uvi has gauntlets.”

“And a chainmail pullover.” He heaved the box up to his chest as the beast within
slid heavily from side to side, the sound of claws scraping ominously. He hoped the
box would hold out. He turned back to the receptionist, who was already pulling on
her coat. “Before you head off, can I buy one of those pet carriers you’ve got behind
there? I think the snow may get the better of this box by the end of the night.”

“Sure,” she said with a more genuine smile this time. “We can just add it to the final
bill. What color do you want?”

Matt turned to Piper questioningly. “Not pink?”

She frowned, but there was a hint of a smile about her mouth. “Not pink.” He watched
her apple green gaze roam over the shelving. “I wouldn’t normally choose anything
beige, but in this case I think the alternatives will freak Miss Cat out.”

The veterinarian, Dr. Uvi, was a thin man in his mid-twenties with more than a few
hours’ beard growth on his face. He smiled and tapped on the records screen next to
the examination table. “So…” His accent sounded Eastern European. “We have a pregnant
cat with an injured tail, correct?”

“That’s right,” Piper said as he tentatively pried apart the cardboard flaps on top
of the box. “I came home and found her like this. She seems to be in pain by the way
she’s licking and fussing over her tail.”

The vet gently lifted the large bundle of fur from the box. The cat was so startled,
or stressed perhaps, that she hunched stiffly on the cold surface and made no attempt
to escape or lash out. “Hi there, kitty, I’m not going to hurt you.” He carefully
eased her tail out from under her back legs. “And her name is?”

Matt heard Piper exhale shortly through her nose. “Cat.”

The doctor looked up at her briefly and appeared to decide it would be best to concentrate
on the animal in front of him.

“You should give the poor thing a name,” Matt whispered as the vet felt around the
cat’s abdomen and peered into her eyes with a slim mini-flashlight.

“I should do a lot of things,” she hissed back. “But maybe you’d like to choose one
as you’re so generously footing the bill.”

Man, she was prickly. “I’ll take you up on that when we’re out of here.”

Her chin jerked upwards. “Good, you do that, Superman.”

Matt leaned over and whispered into her ear. “Can you cut it out? You’re making this
guy feel uncomfortable when we should both be concerned for a distressed animal, not
scoring points on who can be more snarky.”

Piper leaned away and frowned like he had a bad smell around him. “I didn’t want to
give her a name because I was convinced her real owner would show up. She’s such a
pretty thing. I didn’t want to get too emotionally attached in case…” She shrugged
and looked at the floor.

“Ah, I see.” Dr. Uvi clicked his light off and rubbed his chin. “Then maybe we should
see if she has a microchip before we go any further?”

Matt watched Piper’s shoulders tense as she said, “Cats can have microchips?”

The vet nodded. “I’d be surprised to find a nice Bengal like this without one.”

“Is that what she is? I wondered what breed she was with that spotty tummy and those
big markings.” The vet picked up a white plastic paddle-shaped device and Piper’s
hand flew to her chest. “So if there’s a microchip, she goes back to her owner?”

An uncomfortable silence followed. Uvi shrugged and gave Matt a loaded look. Piper’s
eyes suddenly looked over-bright and her chin quivered for a second until Matt reached
out and put his hand on her shoulder. “It would be the right thing to do,” he murmured
as Dr. Uvi waved the microchip wand up and down the length of the cat’s body.

“No chip,” Dr. Uvi said with a smile. “I’ll just check the online missing cat register.
How long have you had her with you?”

“About a month,” Piper murmured and looked at her toes. “I put an ad in the local
newspaper and some posters in store windows around town, but nobody’s come forward.”

“That was exactly the right thing to do. Generally, if an original owner can’t be
traced within a week, you can consider her yours.” He looked at her seriously. “If
that’s what you both want to do. Pets are a huge commitment.”

“Um, we’re not together actually,” Piper said awkwardly.

Matt responded to the vet’s curious look. “Just a friend.”

“But I want to keep her,” Piper added. “And I’ll take good care of her.”

“Okay, that’s the good news out of the way.” Dr. Uvi tickled the fur between the cat’s
ears. “I can’t save the exposed bit of her tail. I’m afraid it needs to be amputated–just
half an inch or so, and it won’t affect her long term.”

Piper looked alarmed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” His voice dropped into a sympathetic tone. “I would never resort to surgery
unless absolutely necessary, but it’s the kindest thing to do. She’s in pain and at
high risk of infection. Cats are very good at hiding pain, it’s a defense mechanism,
but trust me when I say she’s hurting and will be much happier if I operate.”

As if in agreement, the cat snapped her head around and attacked the end of her tail,
her claws skittering on the smooth surface of the examination table as she spun around
twice before being restrained by the vet.

“Poor little thing,” Piper said and sniffed. “Please, just fix her.”

“I’d say her pregnancy is about halfway through, which gives us four or five weeks
to get the op done and for her to recover before she births.” Dr. Uvi made soothing
noises, but held the cat firmly. “So should I book her in for you?”

She nodded and a tear slipped from under her closed eyelids and ran down her cheek.
Matt felt a sick lurch in the pit of his stomach. The silent, raw emotion emanating
from her was almost tangible and his throat ached as he reached out, took her cold
hand in his, and squeezed. She squeezed his hand back and sniffed quietly.

“I’ll put a dressing on the site for now so she doesn’t worry it and make things worse.”
Dr. Uvi clicked away at his keyboard. “She’ll be fine with that for a couple of days.
Just make sure she doesn’t rip it off, and I’ll give you some pain meds to take with
you today. I would book you in first thing in the morning, but looking at the weather
forecast, there’s no guarantee that any of us will make it out here too easily.”