Family Jewels (28 page)

“The police?” She groaned. “Oh, shit. He’s such a worrywart. I called him and left a message, I told him I was okay. What did you tell him?”

“Not much. He hung up on me after he threatened me with bodily harm if I let anything happen to you.”

Cynthia gasped. Then she laughed. The image of her much smaller brother having a fistfight with Trevor was comical. Trevor had at least six inches and fifty pounds of hardened muscle over Paul’s slender form.

“What’s so funny?” Trevor asked.

“Nothing.” She grinned. “You’ll have to meet my brother first to understand. Who do you think is coming here?”

Trevor’s blue gaze burned in the morning light. “The people who wanted the diamond to begin with. They’ll be coming. I’m certain of it.”

Again her mouth opened in surprise but this time she found no humor to go with it. “But, but…I thought that was over. Done. I gave you the diamond. Problem solved, right?”

“Not exactly.”

How could he continue looking so calm? He tried to pull the sheet from her. She tugged it back. “You lied to me last night. When I asked if this was over you said it was.”

He gave her a lopsided grin, drawing his fingertip gently up her arm to the curve of her shoulder. “I know and I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to worry you needlessly until I had more information. You’ve had enough trauma. I only wanted to protect you.”

Cynthia squeezed her eyes shut. God, did he have to look and sound so sincere? It would be so much easier to stay mad at him if she thought he was lying again, even if he did it to keep her safe. “All right. Apology accepted. I appreciate your concern, Trevor. The last couple of days have taken me so far outside of my normal realm. I was beginning to doubt my sanity. I’m better now and I want to know everything. Who are they?”

Trevor sat up in one smooth, powerful motion, reminding her of the effortless athleticism of her cat. He lifted his knee and rested his arm across it, perfectly at ease with his nudity and looking maddeningly handsome. Seductive. Confident. Sure of himself as a man.

“I have suspicions.” His eyes grew flat and ice-cold. “Nothing substantial.”

“So, the guys who attacked me in the alley—there really are more of them?”

“The tip of the iceberg. If my suspicions prove correct, those behind this and the attacks on you will come to the surface now. I want them.
All
.”

She swallowed. “You’re sure they’re coming today?”

“Most likely.”

A chill ran down her spine. She shivered and rubbed at the goose bumps on her arms. “But, why?”

“Because they don’t know you gave me the diamond. They still think you have it.” The corners of his lips curled up and then flattened, as if he pretended to find humor and failed.

“That’s really not funny, Trevor.” Cynthia frowned. “How much time do we have?”

“I can’t be certain but I’ll be forewarned. They won’t take us by surprise. I didn’t let anyone know you gave me the diamond or that I’d already given the information to the Steinbrunn family. I have to keep that secret in order to solve this case. Which is why you need to get ready to go.”

Alarmed, eyes growing wide, she pulled the sheet up higher. “Go where?”

“To the cabin next door. Your resort manager, Mr. Snyder, gave me a key to the place.”

“He did? He knows about this?”

“He knows what he needs to. The cabin’s unoccupied. You’ll be safe there. We’ll walk through the woods to the back entrance. Leave your car parked in front here to lure them in. I’ll come back here and wait for them.”

“Alone?” Panic filled her chest. “How many of them are there?”

He grinned, giving her another glimpse of that confident, sexy, indomitable male attitude. “Worried about me?”

She blinked. “Well, yeah. I don’t want you to get hurt, or—”

Trevor put a finger to her lips and halted her words. “Won’t happen, darling. I know it looks that way but I don’t work alone. I’ll have backup.”

“Who? Your spy buddy, O’Rourke? And cranky old Mr. Snyder?”

“Among others.” Mischief gleamed in his eyes. “I do have the advantage of surprise. They’re expecting to find you here alone. It’s sure to knock them off-kilter when they find the big, bad wolf has invaded the cabin in the woods.”

“Oh, great,” she quipped sarcastically. “This isn’t a little freakin’ fairy tale!”

He reached out. She jerked away, not wanting to be soothed from her rightful fear. “I’m okay, really. I can deal with this.”

“No,
I
’
ll
deal with it.”

She snorted and glanced around the room, seeing things that reminded her of a happier, much less complicated time in her life. “Well, thank God my parents are ten thousand miles away. Mom would have a tizzy about this, after she chewed my ears off.”

“I like your mother already. She sounds quite normal.”

Cynthia couldn’t help the smile. A small measure of her initial panic faded, going from total blackness to just foggy gray.

“You should dress. I need to get you settled into the other cabin soon.”

“Crap, I don’t like the sound of this. Maybe we should hightail it out of here? We should leave. Together. Now.”

“I’m staying. You’re leaving.” He flipped his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Then he captured her wrists and pulled her off the mattress too. The sheet she’d tried to use as a shield slithered to the floor.

“But—”

“Shh,” he hushed. “No ‘buts’. Well, except for this fine specimen.” He wrapped his arms around her, his hands dropping down to cup her bare ass. The urgent, hot steel of his penis pressed against the soft mound of her belly.

Warmth flared inside her body but didn’t quell her uneasiness. Her heart pounded in her chest, making her throat feel tight. Despite her determination to show Trevor a brave front, she quaked at the mere thought of facing armed criminals one more time. He was playing it cool for her sake, trying to distract her from worrying. But she knew better.

“I’ll go on one condition.”

Trevor tipped his head sideways and lifted his eyebrow in question. “This isn’t up for discussion. I must know you’re safe to complete this, Cyn. I’d rather not repeat what happened in the alley.”

She firmed her chin, determined not to give in completely. But he’d succeeded in forcing the memories of what happened the last time she’d refused to trust him. Like a vicious slap to the face, they came crushing back into her. She’d had a knife pressed into her throat. Others had died. Her fingers automatically went up to probe the small scab on the side of her neck.

“Okay,” she relented. “I’ll get out of your way so you can finish your job.”

“And you’ll stay there? Promise me. Say it.”

“I promise. I’ll stay there this time.”

Tension melted from his posture. She curled her arms up and cocooned herself inside his protective, warm embrace. It felt good to let him take charge of everything. This was his job, his authority. Trevor was so strong and confident, almost cocky about it, while she grew nauseous at the thought of more violence. Having experienced two attacks on her life in just a few days was enough for a lifetime!

“Promise me you’ll be all right?” she whispered against his shoulder.

“I promise.” He nuzzled the top of her head and placed a tender kiss there.

She molded her body to his hard, muscular contours. Even though she’d promised herself she wouldn’t run away from her problems anymore, it felt like a really good idea right now.

“We could disappear,” she tried one last time. “We could go to Jamaica or someplace like that. Somewhere hidden and warm. They’d never find us.”

“Darling,” he whispered in her ear. His breath felt hot and soft. “Get dressed before I decide to spread you on the bed again and have my way with you.”

“Okay, okay. Do I have time to take a shower? I’m kinda sticky all over.”

Trevor chuckled. “It’s against my better judgment. However, given the sticky situation, I’ll give you five minutes in the bathroom.”

“Thanks. I’ll be quick.”

Cynthia closed her eyes and prayed for his safety. If anything happened to him, what would she do? What
could
she do? For the first time in her life she’d found a man she could trust and love. She didn’t want to lose him. Not now. Not ever! She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight for just one more precious minute.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Trevor dressed quickly in yesterday’s jeans and sweater, shoved his feet into his boots. He slid his weapons into place, not feeling complete without them. The sound of running water in the bathroom across the hall told him Cynthia had started her shower. He grabbed his cell phone, flipped it open and dialed O’Rourke’s number.

“Ya didn’t answer my call,” the cheeky Scotsman chided. “Did ye have a nice night together?”

A lingering smile of remembered, shared ecstasy touched Trevor’s lips. But he didn’t waste time with idle banter. He had business to attend to.

“Where are Sival and Marsh?”

“According to the police clerk, the captain sent them out on another assignment already,” O’Rourke clicked his tongue in a soft
tsking
sound. “Another homicide, this one drug-related. Nothing said about the body swap so far. I’m still investigating.”

Trevor scrubbed his knuckles across the stubble on his chin. “Any word on her brother?”

“Yes. He booked a flight out of Rome to La Guardia yesterday evening. He should land this morning. I’ve asked Detective Sival to have someone there to escort her brother once he lands. Don’t want to risk him, too.”

“Good,” Trevor murmured. “If they know about her brother, they’ll try to use him to get to her. My gut tells me he’ll want police intervention anyway. According to Cynthia he’s very protective of her. She called him a worrywart.”

O’Rourke chuckled. “If she were my sister, I’d be one, too.”

He strode into the kitchen with his cell phone pressed to his ear and eyed his wristwatch to ensure she didn’t take more than her allotted fifteen minutes. He had just enough time to make a pot of coffee and fill a thermos for her to take. A couple of sandwiches would be good, too. He’d already discovered her habit of skipping meals. He wanted her safe and away before the shit hit the fan here. Even if nothing happened until late in the afternoon, she was just going to have to wait it out.

“Okay, stay on it, O’Rourke. I’m taking Cynthia to a safe place nearby to keep her out of the line of fire this time—”

He paused. A car approached. The familiar purr of an engine outside captured his attention, muted by the snow-covered pines and winding road that led toward the cabin.

“St. James?” O’Rourke said. “You still there?”

Silently, Trevor inched over to the living room window, careful to stay in the darker corner. He peeked out through the slit between wall and curtain. Another sunny mid-winter day, the surroundings looked pristine and quiet. Directly in front of the cabin, Cynthia’s snow-topped rental car blazed with cheery red color under the bright sunshine—a certain beacon for these new arrivals. A strange car eased around the final bend in the drive. He identified the new-model black sedan as a Lexus, by the distinctive logo on the hood.

“I’ve got company,” he announced.

“Eh?” O’Rourke queried. “Now? Who?”

“Not certain. I don’t recognize the car.”

“Could it be the resort manager?”

“Not likely. Besides, from what I can see, this car wouldn’t suit the resort manager. He prefers old trucks. Whoever it is, the driver’s taking his time on his approach, checking things out carefully.”

Tiny hairs on Trevor’s neck rose up and his spine itched. On the phone line, O’Rourke jabbered ideas out loud, mixing names and descriptions and scenarios into one another with a rapid and heavy brogue that was difficult to decipher. One by one he negated them all. Trevor imagined the Scotsman frowning with speculation, pulling on fistfuls of his curly, silver-streaked red hair in frustration while he tried to figure out who would be making such an early approach, alone.

“Is it the fat man or the thin man?” O’Rourke finally asked.

The car stopped on the driveway, a hundred yards from the cabin’s front door. The engine idled, a trail of white exhaust floated into the air behind it like a ghostly apparition. Trevor kept to the shadows, his attention focused on identifying driver and passenger.

“Interesting,” he muttered under his breath when he could finally see enough. “Looks like both of them.”

The car inched forward. The driver parked behind a large pine tree, once again completely obscuring his view. Obviously, two men inside didn’t want to be seen by anyone in the cabin. That bore ill will.

“Got to go, O’Rourke. Get down here as soon as you can. It’s show time.”

* * * * *

Cynthia had just finished her fastest shower ever when the bathroom door burst open.

Trevor’s face was dark and grim. A dangerous, almost feral light glowed in his determined gaze. He shoved a towel at her. Then he grabbed her arm to steady her out of the tub.

“Hurry. We’ve got unexpected company.”

She hugged the towel to her chest, still blinking water from her eyes. He dragged her across the hall back into the bedroom. “They’re here? Now? I thought you said we had a little more time?”

Trevor scowled and tossed her clothes from the pile on the floor onto the bed. “Obviously, your sudden disappearance yesterday sped things up. Get dressed.”

Cynthia didn’t bother drying off. She struggled into her jeans, tugging and pulling them up her wet legs and hips. “So, what do we do now? Are we still making a run for the other cabin?”

“No, I don’t doubt they’d break in and eventually find the tracks we left in the snow. I want you to stay inside this bedroom. Don’t come out for any reason until I tell you it’s safe.” He removed the smaller gun from his ankle holster and checked it over. “Do you understand me?”

She twisted her arms and torso into a t-shirt and yanked a sweater over her head and dripping hair. “Yes, I got that part.” Ignoring her socks, she shoved her feet into her boots and jammed a toe in the process. She bit back a cry of pain. “Who are they?”

“Don’t worry about who they are, Cyn.”