Break Point (11 page)

“Fine,” she blurted. ”But I’m playing regardless of the circumstances. And that’s final.”

If the other men hadn’t been there, she would have surely gotten an earful from Jake. But instead he just groaned and bit his lip. The men all looked at each other before he responded. “Go pack up while I finish with these guys.
We’ll head back to the house.”

Jake barely acknowledged her the whole ride back to the beach house. No talking, no touching. Not even a comforting hand on her night-chilled knee. It made her wonder if she was being clingy, but by the time they reached Jake’s front door, she was too exhausted to care. Just when she though she was on the verge of collapse, she felt Jake's arms around her. He scooped her up like a child and cradled her in his arms before carrying her over the threshold.

She was dressed in just shorts and a t-shirt with a light jacket thrown over her shoulders. When he brought her to the bedroom he gently removed them, then slipped her under the covers. “Are you mad at me?” he asked when he slid in next to her.

Too tired to form words she rolled away, bringi
ng the covers tight around her.

“Baby, I’m sorry about what happened tonight. Not all of it. I mean the message.” He pulled her close, his lips pressed against the back of her neck. “I promise you everything is going to be all right.”

“I’m playing in the Citrus,” she heard herself say. “You can’t take that away from me too.”

“I’m sorry.” She winced when he touched her, running his finger over her bare arm.
“You were amazing tonight. You know that?” He slid his hand under the sheet and softly stroked the rise of her hip. “Does it still hurt?”

The truth was it was way more painful than she planned on. She had heard a girl always bled the first time. She probably still was by the way it burned. “A little.”

“I know what will make it feel better.”

Before she could protest he scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the edge of the pool. He pulled a few towels from the wardrobe beside it then descended the stairs in to the waiting water.

It was incredibly warm, but her skin pimpled anyway. She rested her head against his shoulder then nestled the rest of her against him. Locking her legs around his waist, she allowed her eyes to close. He was right. She did feel better.

“Just relax baby, I’m right here.”

His hands moved over her. Down her back, through her hair. She loved how his touch was no longer foreign. It was intimate and deliberate, an intuition she figured only lovers shared. “Jake, I have to tell you something.”

He craned his head around to meet her gaze “What is it, Sweetheart?”

His eyes bore into her, holding a connection that hadn’t been there before they’d made love. One by one she could feel her defenses disengage. Her system was overloaded. She no longer had the strength to keep it inside. “I made an agreement with my father to throw that match.”

She buried her head against him, her body deflating after expelling what had burdened her. His reaction was unimportant. She was still caught up in hers. She handed Jake the truth, and it was now up to him to do what he wanted with it.

“Wait a minute,” he said, with a voice slightly higher than usual. “You’re telling me you agreed to be injured and you accepted money on a bribe?”

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

“Then tell me how it was?”

She felt his grip tighten around her. Swallowing hard, she carefully chose her words. “My father came to my hotel room in
Tampa the night after I won my semi-final match in the tournament. I should have known something was up. He never comes to my matches much less to where I’m staying.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He told me he had a great idea and he needed a favor. He had this big business deal in the works and I held the key to a lot of people’s happiness. Of course I wanted to know what he was talking about, so I asked and he told me.”

“And he said?” Jake prompted
.

“He asked me to throw the title match against Nila the next day. He’d never involved me in his business dealings before and I thought it was weird he was asking now. He made it sound like he really needed my help.”

She felt the tears pool in her eyes. She blinked, sending a single drop down her cheek. “I was afraid to say no, so I agreed.”

Jake brought her head to his chest, his fingers kneading back of her neck. “Then what happened?” he asked, his voice not as steady as it had been.

“When I woke up the next morning, I realized I couldn’t go through with it, and I called him and told him so. I was afraid because I’ve seen what he’s done to people who’ve crossed him...”

“Wait a minute!” Jake jerked her away from him, holding her face tightly between his hands. “Are you telling me you said no? You didn’t accept money or anything?”

“No! But don’t you see. It can’t be just an incredible coincidence I was attacked the same day I refused to help my father.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?”

“What would I tell them?” she asked. “I made a deal to take part in a crime and I didn’t like how it worked out? Besides, my father owns about half the cops in this town. It would get back to him if I talked.”

“Okay, but what if you’re wrong? What if your father has nothing to do with it?”

“If that was the case, why have the cops been dragging their feet? If there was someone else responsible, they should have found them by now.” A chill from nowhere grazed her body. She shivered and Jake held her tighter, bringing her lower into the warm water.

“You’re going to tell my father I told you this, aren’t you?”

“Hey, I promised you I would protect you and I meant it.” It sounded more like a demand than a statement. He looked at her and smiled, gently stroking her cheek. “Even if your dad is behind this, it doesn’t mean I am. You believe me, right?”

She nodded and wished she did. Closing her eyes she rested her head back on his shoulder. “So now that I told you all this, what should I do?”

“That’s up to you,” he replied. “If you want to go to the authorities...”

“No!” Terror raced through her. It was enough she told Jake. Confiding in someone else was out of the question. It was like throwing a stone in a pond. The ripples were far reaching. Sooner or later it would get to her father. He would find out she betrayed him.

She lifted her head, locking his gaze with hers. “Please tell me I won’t regret telling you this.”

He stared back at her, his eyes going straight to her heart. Lifting his hand from the water, he ran his finger down the swell of her breast. “You have incredible instincts, Summer. You feel me against you. Do yo
u think I would ever hurt you?”

She answered with a kiss, letting her mouth linger on his before pulling away. It wasn’t a yes or a no, more like a r
equest to suspend her judgment.

The tightness of his lips, made her ease off him. When she did, his eyes were pressed shut, his cheeks taut into rosy swells. “You’re getting a headache, aren’t you?”

He brought his forehead to hers and smiled. “How did you know?”

“You just have that look. Is the water helping?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing. You still hurt?”

She smiled. “I’m okay.”

Again she kissed him, and he responded with more fervor than she had anticipated. His lips trailed over her, awakening the urge to again hold this man inside her.

“I don’t want to hurt you again.” he breathed, his voice strained against her neck.

“I want to.” And she did. So badly it frightened her. The fear she had for her father was something she had never shared with anyone. Giving him her body was nothing like bearing her soul.

He kissed her slow and gentle as he moved her through the water. When they got to the stairs she felt him release her and ease her back against the top step. He rose over her, his dark shadow a ghost in the moonlight. Her eyes traveled over him until her gaze locked on his. “You’re incredible, you know that?” he whispered. “So damn beautiful.”

It seemed he was talking to himself rather than to her. After a moment, he brought his mouth on hers and settled himself on top of her.

Summer was floored by the tenderness. How he trailed kisses down her breasts, over her stomach, inside her thigh. What had been a frenzied act the first time now had a quiet intensity. Each sense more heightened than before. She closed her eyes, loving how he gently moved over her. Teasing and taunting until he brought his mouth right where she felt him the most.

The sensation was powerful and foreign, and she writhed and moaned as she lifted herself to him. It felt blissful, erotic, sinful and her body quivered in response.

“You like that?” He asked, his breath tickling her thigh.

She reached out to touch his face. He caught her hand and kissed the palm before resting it on his heart, then eased himself inside of her. Slowly he rocked back and forth, building a gentle rhythm. “Oh, Jake,” she whimpered. “Oh, God.”

“Slow down baby.” He cautioned. “Just relax.”

But she couldn’t, the heat building within her was too much to contain. As her arms tightened around him and her fingers dug into his dampened skin she was her own woman. If only for a fleeting moment, she didn’t belong to anyone. He belonged to her.

She moaned as she came, feeling him pulse and jerk inside her. When the wave receded, he collapsed on top of her then swept her back with him in the water. “Baby,” he said, bringing a finger to her chin. “I told you tonight I would never hurt you and I’m a man of my word.”

“To a fault.” The words slipped out and she couldn’t help it. It had all clicked into perfect focus. If he understood her so well, maybe it was because he could relate. The accident, her father, it all seemed to be strung together. He was a victim, not a villain.

Just like her.

“Jake, your accident.”

“What about it?”

She inhaled sharply, the feral scent of sex lingering with chlorine. “My father,” she blurted. “He asked you to throw that race, didn’t he?”

His reaction to the question wasn’t important. It was the truth in the answer she was curious about. But at that moment there was no answer at all, just an eerie quiet stealing the glow from his marine blue eyes.

“That’s it, isn’t it? It happened the same way it happened with me.”

“Summer” he stammered. “I can’t. I can’t talk about this with you.”

“Why, because it’s the truth?”

“Because I can’t.” He dropped her in the water, then ascended the stairs. Grabbing a towel from the deck, he wrapped it around his waist. “Look, it’s late and my head is pound
ing. Maybe we should get to bed..”

“He’s got a hold over you too, doesn’t he? You wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.” She could tell by heave of his chest she had struck a cord. He ran a hand through his damp hair then sat down on the bed. “Okay, so maybe I do have a personal interest in your situation.”

She leaned on the edge of the pool, her chin resting of her folded arms. “So am I right? Did you throw the Daytona because of my father?”

“Does it matter?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

He cursed, then stormed to his dresser drawers and pulled out a fresh pair of boxers. Ripping off his towel he pulled them on, then snagged the covers back on the bed. “Look Summer, I don’t want to talk about this now. It’s late, I’m tired and you practice in the morning. We’d both be better off if we got some sleep.”

She jumped out of the pool and threw the extra towel around her. Her wet hair stuck to her like another skin. She peeled it off and wrung it out.

“Can I dry your hair?”

She turned to Jake who was sprawled out on the bed. He grabbed his towel then came over to her, gathering her hair down her back. “Summer, I don’t want you to think I’m keeping anything from you. You know what you need to.” He kissed her softly on the back of her shoulder. “But if there was one thing I absolutely wanted you to believe, it would be what happened between us tonight. Nothing in the whole world is more truthful than that.”

With that, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to his bed.
She had so much more to say and so many questions to ask. But when her mouth opened, the words refused to form. Maybe that was for the best. Enough had been said for one night.

Chapter Eleven

Jake stared out the back window watching the clouds converge over the pewter water. The warm night had turned into a muggy morning, the air too heavy for the waves to lift out of the ocean. Definitely not a day to rush to the beach. Not that he was in a hurry to leave bed anyway.

He looked down at Summer, her steady breath tickling his chest. He stroked her hair loving how her soft curves molded with the harder edges of his own. It was flattering she had trusted him with the truth about her father. The agent in him would have congratulated himself for accomplishing an objective if the glutton in him could keep his hands off her.

When he heard the front door lock disengage, he wasn’t alarmed. In fact, he was expecting a visit. Sliding himself out from underneath Summer, he dragged himself out of bed. He threw on jeans and his shoulder holster befor
e heading out the bedroom door.

The room was empty, but as he made his way toward the kitchen counter, he could see the key to the front door lying conspicuously on the Formica. He examined it then continued on to the coffee machi
ne. “You can come out, Leslie.”

She appeared from behind the kitchen wall with a smile pulling at her lips. “God, was I that loud?” she asked. “I thought I’d be waiting at least a little while.”

“Come on. You know I can hear a pin drop in the next room.” He wiped the sleep from his eyes then reached for the coffee filters from above the fridge. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure you heard from Diggs about the hotel last night.”

“I did,” she said, sitting down at the counter. “Jake, we need to talk.”

“What's up? Did you get anything on the suspect?”

She looked at him a moment before glancing back at the bedroom door. “She’s in your bed, isn’t she?”

He sensed a waver in her voice that had nothing to do with business. “It’s not what you think, Leslie. Really”

She nodded, fumbling with a napkin she pulled from the holder. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve never known
you to pass up a pretty girl.”

“Aw come on, she’s not like that.”

“I almost hate to tell you she’s a criminal.”

Suddenly Jake was wide awake. He’d never known Leslie to let her personal feelings invade business dealings. There must have been a reason other than jealousy for her to make such an accusation. “What do you mean by criminal?” he asked. “What did you find?”

“Look, I just want you to know that it’s not like we are out to get her or anything. Diggs and I have legitimate reasons why we are targeting her.”

“Targeting her? That’s crazy.”

“After what happened last night, we decided it might be helpful get a warrant to go through her house.”

A surge of anger lifted the hairs on the back of his neck. He strode across the kitchen and leaned across the counter.
“A warrant? What the hell for?”

“It’s procedure, Jake”

“It’s bullshit.”

She sighed, the crease in her thin dark eyebrows warning him to cool down.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said, his hands up in resignation. “Go on, I’m listening.”

“We went in her house overnight and collected what we thought was pertinent. Among those things was printer paper left in the tray of her computer. The watermarks match the paper containing the threats.”

He was prepared for something really damning, but Leslie’s words almost brought a laugh. “That’s it?” Jake asked. “Paper is paper. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Not by itself. But we also took a DNA sample of her toothbrush and compared it to the saliva on the envelope seal.”

“And?”

“They matched.”

His heart dropped to his gut. He pushed away from the counter, his bare feet shifting on the cold stone. “So what are you saying? That Summer is sending herself threatening letters? Why would she do something like that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she wanted to throw the authorities off the trail of the investigation.”

He shook his head. “No way.”

“It makes sense, Jake. Say she was in cahoots with her father. If the law gets too clo
se, she created a new suspect.”

He rubbed his hand over his stubbled cheeks. His years of training told him the most logical theories were usually the correct ones, but everything within him believed Summer was innocent. In this situation he had to depend on his i
nstincts. “She not a criminal.”

“By whose definition? If what we suspect is correct, she agreed to take part in a federal crime and attempted to derail a federal investigation.”

“Can we just keep in mind who we are really after here, please?”

“The lipstick on the bathroom mirror is hers,” she told him. “We tested that too.”

“And that’s what prompted you to search her house. You suspect she threatened herself at the hotel.” He shook his head. “No way, Leslie. There was no time for her to do it.”

“
You kept her pretty busy, huh?”

He looked her in the eyes. “Just drop it, okay?

“I can’t drop it if you’re impeding a government investigation. I can’t believe you are losing focus over some blonde.”

“I’m
not
losing focus.”

“We have evidence to bring her in for questioning, at least about the fan mail. That could generate a lead.”

“Where the hell are you going with this? Spit it out.”

Jake recognized her disapproving look. The one she always gave when his temper got too flared for her comfort. Licking his lips, he took a step away from her. “Well?”

“We think Summer planned with her father to throw the match. She is sending herself threatening mail so there appears to be a motive that someone else is responsible for the attack.”

“No way.” He finally said. “It doesn’t fit. Believe me, she’s the victim not the criminal.”

“Jake, you have a job to do. You’re too close to catching Big Al to screw it up now.”

“For what? Conspiracy? So what?” He threw his arms in the air. Truly he thought it would snowball into bigger offenses. He assumed Summer held the key to half the unsolved crimes in this town, but she didn’t. “Maybe this isn’t the best way to get this guy.”

“This is the only way!” Leslie strode around the counter and shoved a finger in his chest. “Jake, this is the best chance we’ve ever had at Big Al thanks to your hard work. We have enough evidence to at least bring Summer in for questioning.”

“I’m not bringing her in.”

She cocked her head as if she hadn’t heard him right. “Tampering with mail is a federal crime, Jake. Of course you have to bring her in. That’s procedure.”

“Look, I’m running the show here. I’ll tell you what procedure is.” His fingers clenched around the coffeepot handle. “I am telling you Leslie, she isn’t the person you think she is.”

“You don’t have feelings for her, do you?”

“Of course not.” Even he noticed the answer came too quickly.

“My God, I don’t believe it.”

“Leslie, don’t.”

“Jake Harrison, you are regarded as the foremost expert on organized crime in the country. Never in a million years did I think you would let some tramp get in the way of your job. Especially not Al Riley’s daughter”

“Look, I promise you there is a method to my madness.”

“You could be harboring a criminal. She lied to you!”

“She’s not lying because she told me she made a deal with her father. She agreed to throw the match but she changed her mind.” He waited a moment for Leslie to react but she didn’t, her eyes still holding the same cold stare. “I know how it sounds Leslie, but I believe her. The whole thing, her whole story. I swear. It went down just like it went down with me.”

He sat down at the counter and buried his face in his hands. “Come on Leslie, cut the girl some slack. Her own father put the squeeze on her. I’m telling you she’s innocent. You just got to trust me on this one.”

“Is that a line you feed all the girls, Jake?”

Startled by the voice, he turned toward the bedroom. Summer leaned on the doorjamb in her white silk robe, her arms folded against her.

“Damn it.” Jake breathed, running his hand through his hair.

“Yes, I agree!” Summer declared as she came across the room. Jake looked her in the eyes but she avoided him, instead turning her attention to Leslie. “So we meet again. I see you still haven’t done anything about that facial hair. But I’m not really surprised given all the time you’ve put in keeping tabs on me.”

“Summer, she’s not who you think she is,” Jake said, staring in his coffee cup.

“You think I’m going to believe anything you say after you just sold me out?”

“I didn’t sell you out.”

“So now I suppose you’ll go to my father.” Summer spat. “Tell me, which one of you is putting the bullet through my head?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Jake said, “We’re here to protect you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not hanging around here waiting for the consequences.” She spun around and headed back to the bedroom. Jake jumped up to follow before Leslie pulled him back.

“You have to bring her in, Jake. You’ve worked too hard to let Al go just because of some girl.”

“The job will get done,” he insisted. “Just give me some time. I’ll take care of it.”

“Jake
.”

“There’s the door, Leslie!” He shrugged off her grip and nodded toward the foyer before following Summer back into the bedroom.

***

Summer threw on a white tennis dress then jammed what she could in her duffle bag. She fumbled with the zipper, her fingers trembling too much to get a good hold. Blaming
Jake for her own stupidity was a cop out. Every word that had passed between her loose lips was a mistake. It probably wouldn’t be an issue much longer, anyway. Big Al never allowed time for regrets.

“Sweetheart, what are you doing?” Jake came up behind her, attempting to take her in his arms.

“Don’t touch me!” She swung at him but he ducked. When he grabbed her wrists she wiggled away.

“Ple
ase, just listen to me Summer!”

“Why? So you can hand me some line about how you are going to protect me. All for a good lay, right?” She breathed hard, her gaze falling on the gun strapped around his chest. He bit his lip then slipped it off. “I can’t believe I trusted you.”

“You can trust me.”

“I bet you’ve slept with Leslie too, right? Just for fun, of course. I bet you made her feel like the only woman in the
world. A real Prince Charming ”

“Sweetheart, don’t go there.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” She grabbed her bag and pushed passed him. She made it all the way to the front door, but he jumped in front of her and held it shut.

“Sum
mer, you need to listen to me!”

“No, you listen to me!”
She dropped the bag to the floor and took a step back to meet his gaze. “I didn’t ask for this. You can’t possibly know what it's like to be Al Riley’s daughter. My whole life I’ve been running from this man. I’m supposed to be his child! But that doesn’t mean anything. He doesn’t care.”

“But he’s not going to hurt you!”

“You want to know why I don’t like guns? Because I’ve seen what they can do. Why do you think he shipped me away so young? Because I could bear witness, Jake. ” The words flew out of her like an eruption. She couldn’t stop. She could barely see now that tears flooded her eyes. “He hurts people Jake. Kills them. He’s a monster!”

“Don’t say anymore!”

“What? You can’t take someone trashing your boss?”

“I don’t work for your father! I work for the federal governme
nt, damn it!”

It was as if all the air was sucked from the room. Panic took over, her legs buckling under her. He was lying. Had to be. Just like h
e’d lied about everything else.

She lunged at the front door and threw it open, but he held her back before slamming it shut. “Let me go!” she cried.

“I can’t, sweetheart.”

She struggled with all her strength against him. Punching, kicking. A few times even landing blows that freed her. But in the end he was too strong. With her arms held behind her, he shoved her face-first against the door frame, his full weight crashing against her with an echoing thud. “Damn it ,Summer, you need to listen to me.”

“You’re hurting me!” she whimpered, barely finding the breath to speak. It occurred to her that in all time she’d spent with Jake, she had never been acutely afraid of him. But at this moment, she was terrified.

He spun her around and she gasped, her eyes closing in fearful protest. A part of her still believed in the passion they shared the night before. She didn’t want to see the coldness now.

“Summer, I told you I’m not here to hurt you and I’m not. I want to show you something. Look.”

The distinct scent of worn leather filled her nose. When she opened her eyes they met his in a picture, next to the official looking font reading “FBI.” Taking it from his hands she slid to the floor bringing her knees to her chest. “Why should I believe you now?” she croaked. “You’ve lied to me the whole time.”