Do You Trust Me? (8 page)

Tendrils of fear
clutched at her. For a moment, she almost forgot the degree of danger she was
in. “I have a small problem. Without my purse, I have no identification and no
cash. Not even an ATM card.”

“Not to worry. The
team coming to install your security system is bringing the new stuff with
them. Sully took care of it like he said he would.”

“B-but how? I mean...”

McCall gave her a wry
grin. “Sully can do anything.”

Her jaw dropped. “He
can get into my private life just like that?”

McCall nodded. “And
in this case, you should be damn glad he can. Meanwhile, I’ll pay for the
groceries.”

She tucked a strand
of hair behind her ear, a telltale gesture that always betrayed her nerves. She
dropped her hand quickly. “I guess I don’t have a choice. Thank you. Also, I
need to check my messages on my machine. I’m sure there’s a bunch. Let me do that
first.”

He followed her into the
den. The message light on her answering machine was blinking madly, and she
punched the Play button. Two were from her editor, three were from her agent,
both asking for immediate callbacks. Several from Laurel, her best friend,
wondering where the hell she was that she didn’t even answer her cell. And a
few miscellaneous calls that she could ignore.

The last one, though,
made her heart stop.

“Miss Devargas?” The
voice was soft but icy cold. “You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of John’s. I
believe he gave you something that belongs to me. I want it back. I’ll call
again to make arrangements.” Pause. “I wouldn’t mention this call to anyone.”

Rina groped for the
nearest chair, her legs unsteady, her body trembling. She felt as if a block of
ice had dropped into the pit of her stomach and was slowly freezing her blood. With
a tremendous effort of will, she forced herself not to touch the locket.

“Did you recognize
that voice?”

She jumped. McCall
was right beside her.

“No.” She shook her
head, her hands tightly clasped together. “I have no idea who that was. Do you?”

But I’ll bet anything
it isn’t the person John told me to expect.

“What did John give
you?” His voice was hard and flat. “I asked you if you trust me, remember? If
you meant what you said, don’t you think it’s time you came clean with me? It
could be dangerous for you to hold onto anything.”

“Dangerous?” she
squeaked.

“Rina, these people
aren’t playing a game. If you have something, give it to me and I’ll deal with
it.”

I’ve been betrayed.
Trust no one.

John’s words came
back loud and clear. She may be having mind-blowing sex with McCall and Sully
might vouch for him, but she still didn’t know him any better than she knew the
deadly voice on the telephone. After his little ‘talk’ and the way his attitude
blew hot and cold, how could she get an accurate reading on him?

What if he was the
one who betrayed John? Men were very good at hiding things, even in bed. Maybe
especially there. What if...oh, God, what if the whole sex thing and his
attitude were just a ploy?

No. She shook her head
mentally. She didn’t think that was true. But she wasn’t about to hand anything
over to anyone until she was sure they were the right person.

“Well?” he prompted.

“Nothing.” She wet
her lips. “He gave me nothing. I have no idea what they want.”

He threw up his
hands. “Have it your way. But this little game of yours can’t play out much
longer.”

She glared up at him.
“Is that what you think, McCall? That I’m playing a game? Maybe
you’re
the one playing games. In the bedroom.”

Every muscle in his
face tightened. “None of this is a game to me, Rina. None of it.”

She drew in a deep,
calming breath and turned away from him. “I have to return my calls before we
leave. Two of them, anyway. Business.”

“No problem. I have
some calls of my own to make.” He unclipped his cell and headed for her patio.

Rina kept her voice
upbeat and casual during her calls to her editor, Carilyn Moore, and her agent,
Shar Fontaine.

“Thank god you
finally called back,” Carilyn said. “Have you spoken to Shar? I want to make
sure everything’s coordinated for the March second event.” Her voice held a
bright edge of excitement. “This is the first time they’ve included anything
like this. All the publicity from the governor’s office for the past year has
included the release of the book and the signing. It’s been on the governor’s
calendar for the same length of time. We can’t afford to drop the ball here.”

“Relax,” Rina said. “We’ll
have everything under control.”
I hope.

Shar was another problem. “Don’t forget you’ve got some other book signings scheduled. I sent you an email with
all the info. The first one’s tomorrow.”

Damn. She had
forgotten all about them in the topsy turvy world of the last few hours. McCall
would have a cow. Or maybe a whole herd.

“Rina? Are you there?”

“Yes.” She gave
herself a mental shake. “Sorry.”

“
Roses for
Breakfast
is in its third printing and the orders keep pouring in. We’re using these signings
to also promote the new book and the event at the Alamo.” She paused. “There’s
not a problem, is there?”

“No. No problem.”
Only
someone trying to kill me, a very suspicious agent that’s taking me on an
erotic roller coaster, and a sickening feeling that my brother is dead.

“Rina, are you sure
everything’s all right?” Shar’s concern came across the connection. “You sound
a little strange.”

“Yes, everything’s
fine, Shar.” She drew a deep breath, let it out, and waited for the response to
her next words. “I’ll be bringing a guest with me.”

“Oh?” The curiosity
hummed across the phone lines. “Anyone I know?”

“An old friend who
showed up out of the blue. He won’t be a problem.”
I hope.

“He?” Shar’s interest
was sharp. “Sounds interesting. A romance for the romance author? Is there a
story your fans would love to hear? Maybe we can work it into the interviews.”

Oh, they’d love to
hear this one. “No story. I mean it. Just give me the details again, and I’ll
be there.”

She made notes on her
desk calendar as Shar talked and assured her again everything was fine.

“I can’t wait to see
that hunk you’re bringing,” Shar chuckled.

“Oh, please. How do
you know he’s not ugly as a toadstool and completely unappealing?”

“I read your books,
honey, remember? Nobody who writes about alpha males like you do would settle
for that. See you tomorrow. Three o’clock sharp.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. We can go over
the details for March second.”

“The Texas
Independence Day celebration, right? It’s almost here. Carilyn just touched
base with me about it. Again.”

“Honey, this is a
very big deal. You’ll be signing the new book in a tent at the Alamo after the governor’s speech. They’ve had it-”

“I know, I know. On
all the governor’s publicity for the last year. Believe me, it’s engraved on my
brain.”

“And also on everything
coming out of the Alamo. Don’t get antsy, Rina. This could be your biggest
event yet, cookie.”

She’d set the new
book during the time of the Texas Revolution. Shar had worked incredible magic
to get the debut of the book tied into the activities at the Alamo, the biggest
celebration in the state. This year even President Brandon was coming and
everyone was about to wet their pants.

“I’m good, Shar. I
know the drill.”

“Every big shot in
the state will be in attendance and then some. We’ll get mega publicity. Your
new boyfriend won’t screw it up, will he?”

“He may not even
still be here then.” Rina hoped she was right.

When she hung up, she
leaned back in her chair, pushing her hair away from her face and trying to
wish away the beginning of a headache. Time to face McCall with this newest
wrinkle.

****

McCall paced the enormous
back yard, cell phone clapped to his ear, venting his frustration.

“No, I didn’t
recognize the voice. And we can’t trace a call on an answering machine. It
could be any one of them.”

“McCall, what’s your
take on her?” Sully’s voice was heavy with concern.

My take on her? I can’t
keep my dick in my pants, and I’m becoming far too attached to her. Is that
what you want to hear, Sully? And tonight I’m going to take her to her knees
and fuck the shit out of her.

He shook himself.
This was business. No matter how much he craved Rina Devargas, he still had to
keep one thing in mind. His gut told him she knew something she wasn’t telling
him, no matter how many times she denied it. He wasn’t stupid. None of them
were. She didn’t show up at a location she supposedly didn’t even know about to
meet the brother she wasn’t even supposed to be in contact with and not have an
agenda.

How the hell was he
going to get it out of her? Not with sex. He might be a blue ribbon asshole,
but he wasn’t about to play that card. Not with Rina. He’d have to think of
something else.

Do you trust me,
Rina?

Yes, I do.

But obviously not
completely.

“McCall?” Sully’s
voice cut into his mental meanderings. “You still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he
answered. “And I don’t know what to tell you. I haven’t pushed her again on
what she was doing at John’s, but I will. I wanted to give her some time to
realize just how great the danger is.” He kept a watchful eye on the house as
he talked. “You really believe he told her something? Or left something for
her? But what?”

“I don’t know. It’s
just damned strange. He doesn’t see her for three years and suddenly she shows
up there in the middle of the night. We pulled her phone records and know she
got a call from someone, most likely John. What did he tell her? Did he give her
some kind of secret code? I know in my gut he sent her to his place to get
something. We just have to figure out what.”

“If he did, I don’t
know where she’s stashed it. The people who attacked her have her purse. It’s obviously
not there, or she wouldn’t have gotten the threatening message from them on her
machine. She threw away her clothes at the hotel. And she hasn’t had an
opportunity to hide anything since I picked her up in Tampa.”

“If it’s the proof he
had of his suspicions, then you’d better get it soon,” Sully said. “President
Nicholas Brandon’s life and the security of this country could depend on it, if
what he found out is correct.”

“I’ll do what I can,
sir.”
And screw up another woman’s life in the process.
The taste of
bile washed up to his mouth.

“There’s some good
news, anyway. I juggled some schedules and shook Gage and Les loose. They were
in Dallas so they should be there any time now. They’ll be bringing equipment
to tap the phones as well as the security stuff you need. I didn’t think, under
the circumstances, we should wait until tomorrow. If she does get another call,
we’ll be all set and waiting for it.”

“Thanks, Sully. I
appreciate it.”

He spotted Rina stepping
into the yard from the house and there it was again, that intense surge of heat
she generated in him. She had a graceful way of moving that made her seem to flow.
The sun caught the highlights in her auburn hair, picking up sparks of flame
and almost creating a halo around her. Looking at her walking toward him, hips
swaying with her stride, her breasts outlined beneath the soft fabric of the T-shirt,
his erection pressed instantly and painfully against the denim of his jeans.

Tonight, Rina.
Tonight I’ll have my cock in your mouth, filling it with my cum. Then I’m going
to tie you to your bed and fuck that pretty ass of yours after I spank it
bright pink.

He shook himself. What
was happening to him? In the past several years sexier women, more beautiful
women, had stirred nothing in him, done nothing for him but satisfy his
immediate needs, willingly played his games. This one was different. What was
it about her that got under his skin? That made him mentally strip off her
clothes and devour her naked flesh with his eyes?

Ravaging her the way
he had on the plane from Tampa had been stupid and idiotic, especially after he
gave her the speech about how they’d have to behave during the day. He’d had a
raging hard-on from the minute she climbed into the car with him. By the time
they were settled on the plane, he could barely walk without pain. Pretending
to work had hardly been a diversion. When their bodies touched, it had been all
over but the shouting.

Nice, McCall.

That would really
look good in his fitness report. His self-control needed some serious work. His
life depended on it. Not to mention hers.