Fifth Victim (16 page)

Eisenberg chuckled. In a flash I knew that Gleason’s duties towards guarding his body went a little further than they should. I stood up again.

‘Sit down, Miss Fox, I’m not done talking with you,’ Eisenberg said, his voice still pleasant even if his eyes had turned cold. ‘I’d heard you were … otherwise attached, shall we say, to Armstrong’s partner, but he got himself shot a few months back and word is his condition may be permanent. That reaction just told me my information is correct, and you haven’t transferred your affections.’

I felt my facial muscles lock in an effort not to scream, or cry, or punch his nasal bone straight up through his frontal lobe. So, he’d had us checked out long before we’d climbed into his limo earlier tonight. No surprises there.

I kept my voice lethally calm. ‘And why would my relationships – imagined or otherwise – be of the slightest interest to you?’

He sat back looking vaguely satisfied, as if he took my trying to find a reason not to deck him as some kind of piqued interest.

‘Because I want to offer you a job.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I stared at Eisenberg for a moment with nothing in my eyes. After ten seconds, even someone with his monstrously thick skin began to realise he might have made a mistake. A flicker of unease appeared in his face.

I stood up again, remembering my manners, though it grieved me to waste them on someone without any of his own. ‘Thanks for the charmingly worded offer, but – no thanks.’

Eisenberg sighed loud enough to be heard over the music, as if I were being deliberately difficult. ‘Don’t you even want to hear what the job is?’

I twisted, gripping the back of a chair to give my hands something to choke. ‘Considering you apparently assume the only way I acquired my present job was by sleeping with Sean, and the only way I’ve kept it since is by sleeping with Parker,’ I said with icy precision, ‘I think I’d rather remain blissfully ignorant of the details, thanks.’

‘Clearly you’re a woman of loyalty and principle, Miss Fox,’ he said. ‘I find those qualities admirable. Foolish, but admirable.’ He smiled, revealing a lot of expensive dental work that I had a sudden urge to ruin. ‘I’m not a man who apologises often, but I see I’ve offended you and for that I do most humbly apologise.’

I doubted his sincerity, but it would have been churlish to call him on it. ‘I’m in a job that demands absolute loyalty to principals of a different kind,’ I said instead. ‘Without it, I’d be no use to anyone.’

He raised his glass slightly, conceding the point. ‘I like to find out what makes people tick,’ he said, eyes roaming the dance floor briefly before returning to me. ‘In your case, I believe it’s loyalty to Mr Meyer. The medical facility where he’s presently undergoing treatment is one of the finest in the country, as I understand, but not the finest in the world.’ He paused. ‘I could arrange his transfer to the one that is.’

I let my eyebrow rise. ‘For someone you’ve heard may not recover anyway?’ I said coolly. ‘Why?’

‘Because I’m prepared to offer certain of my employees benefits tailored to their … specific needs, shall we say.’

Despite myself, and blunt in my reluctance, a question forced its way out. ‘What’s the job?’

He smiled more fully then, just for a moment before his face grew serious. He looked towards the dance floor again.

‘My son,’ he said. ‘I want you to take over guarding my son.’

Later, Caroline Willner moved to take her daughter’s vacant chair while Dina danced with Parker, looking very self-conscious about it. Torquil had persuaded Manda onto the floor with him, while Benedict still sat in sulky silence at his family’s table. Orlando and Hunt danced together nearby. Orlando seemed to be doing her best to climb into her boyfriend’s lap, even though he wasn’t sitting down.

‘So,’ Caroline Willner said, settling herself next to me and leaning close enough not to be overheard, ‘I assume the ever charming Mr Eisenberg took the opportunity to offer you some kind of employment earlier.’

I glanced at her. ‘And why would you assume that?’

‘Because, in coming to Dina’s rescue, you reacted with instinct and initiative. That’s sure to have been reported to him. From what I know of his business dealings, he has a knack for spotting talent and snapping it up,’ she said with candour. ‘Although I gather from your reaction that he misjudged your response.’

‘You could say that,’ I agreed. ‘I told him no.’

‘Well, I’m glad, my dear,’ she said, patting my hand. ‘He’s a louse and a lecher. Never an appealing combination.’

‘I thought he danced only with his wife,’ I said, smiling.

‘In public, yes. What they get up to in private is quite another matter. Mrs Eisenberg is currently cruising the Bahamas on the family yacht, surrounded by an attractive, young, all-male crew, I believe.’

I managed to swallow my laughter along with a mouthful of sparkling water. ‘I’m beginning to think the boy Torquil actually turned out remarkably well balanced, considering his home life.’

‘He records his parents’ infidelities,’ Caroline Willner said, as if reporting on a mildly inferior play. ‘Dreadful habit. One can’t be seen to disapprove of him, of course, but it might be wise if you were to warn Dina that if she really must sleep with the boy, then to do it at a place of her choosing, otherwise she might find herself somewhat exposed on YouTube.’

I nearly choked at that and had to put my glass down quickly, reaching for a napkin to blot my mouth. When I could speak again, I grinned at her, wondering if my mother had ever remotely considered handing out such practical and down-to-earth advice. ‘You wouldn’t care to adopt me, by any chance?’

She gave me a slight smile. ‘You’re very good for Dina,’ she said. ‘You’ve given her focus, confidence, shown her what’s important.’

My eyebrows went up again. ‘I’ve known her a matter of days.’

‘Nevertheless. You took her to see your young man – Sean, is it?’

‘Ah, yes,’ I admitted. ‘Yes I did.’ Parker had not approved, citing a variety of reasons from scaring my principal to involving her in my private life, neither of which he recommended. These people, he’d reminded me, were not my friends. I should not take them into my confidence and expect them to care. ‘I’m sorry if you disapprove—’

‘Quite the contrary,’ she said briskly. ‘It demonstrated beyond all doubt that the matter of her personal safety is not a game, and should not be treated as such, however lightly her friends seem to take their own experiences.’

‘I would have thought that Benedict’s missing finger would be a permanent reminder,’ I said.

Over to my left, the Korean guitarist was engrossed in the piece she was playing, head down and eyes closed as her fingers caressed the strings of her instrument. I wondered if she was the cause of Benedict’s enduring bad mood this evening. Or part of it, at least.

Caroline Willner followed my gaze and passed me a shrewd look. ‘Benedict Benelli was never as keen on becoming a classical musician as his family were on pushing him in that direction,’ she said. ‘And he could still pursue that path, if he so chose.’

‘With a missing finger?’ I queried. ‘Wouldn’t that be a little difficult?’

‘He lost the little finger of his right hand,’ Caroline Willner said, dismissive. ‘Unless he was planning to take up flamenco, that’s the one finger a classical guitarist does not use.’ She gestured towards the stage. ‘If you watch the girl’s hands carefully, you’ll see for yourself.’

For a few moments I did, and although it was sometimes hard to tell, with the angle the Korean girl held her wrist, and the incredible dexterity of her fingers, I realised that Caroline Willner was entirely correct. I’d watched classical guitarists play before and it had always seemed like they had about ten extra fingers on each hand, never mind failing to utilise all the ones they had. It was the kind of snippet Sean would find interesting. I suppressed the instant twinge of associated thoughts and simply made a mental note to tell him about it, the next time I visited.

Out on the dance floor, Hunt had managed to disentangle himself from Orlando and cut in on Parker, although with great courtesy. If Dina showed a faint flicker of disappointment to have her dance with my boss cut short, Hunt soon proved adequate compensation. Parker headed back to the table and gave me a slight bow.

‘I’ve been rejected,’ he said gravely. ‘Can I rely on you to bolster my flagging ego, Charlie?’

I knew he was only asking in order for us to be nearer to Dina, but it was a nice way of asking. I glanced at Caroline, feeling rude to abandon her in mid conversation, but she waved me up. As we walked back towards the other dancers, though, I could feel her watching the pair of us with that astute gaze.

I had learnt the basics of not treading on my partner’s toes to music while I was still at school, at the urging of my mother. I think she had more or less despaired of me turning into a young lady by then, but that didn’t mean I had to entirely lack the social graces.

Ironically, I’d brushed up my rusty skills more since going into close protection than I ever had before. Nothing allows you to stick close to a principal at a formal party than being able to dance right next to them, I’d found. Particularly if you can do it without looking like an elephant in evening dress. I caught sight of Torquil’s bodyguard blundering around the floor with a long-suffering Gleason in tow, and was suddenly thankful for my mother’s stubborn insistence.

Parker caught the direction of my gaze and smiled. ‘Yeah, it’s not hard to see why Eisenberg offered you a job.’

I stared. There hadn’t yet been an opportunity to give my boss the gist of that conversation when I hadn’t been able to feel Brandon Eisenberg’s eyes boring into the back of my neck. ‘Did he hire a skywriter?’ I demanded sourly. ‘How the hell did you know that?’

‘Because when I came back to the table after that dance with Mrs Willner, you looked like you wanted to rip off his head and spit down his neck,’ Parker said wryly. ‘And it’s what I would have done.’

And I thought I’d hidden it so well
. ‘What – ripped his head off?’

Another smile, one that crinkled his eyes. ‘No, offered you a job.’

‘You wouldn’t have been quite so crass about it.’

‘Thank you – I guess,’ he said. He paused. ‘Mrs Willner thinks you’re a positive influence on her daughter, by the way.’

‘I’m doing my best,’ I said. ‘According to Dina, her mother’s the one trying to hustle her over to Europe.’

Parker nodded. ‘Uh-huh, and did she say why she’s refusing?’

‘Pig-headedness, mainly. Disguised as not wanting to give in and run away from danger.’

He sighed. ‘It’s never the cowards who get us killed,’ he said, then seemed to realise the implications of that. I felt his back stiffen under my resting hand.

‘Don’t say it,’ I said lightly. ‘You’ll lose concentration and trample on me.’

His muscles eased a fraction. ‘Just be careful. In a lot of ways, Dina’s younger than she looks. Don’t let her put you on a pedestal.’

‘Don’t worry, I keep putting my foot in it too frequently for that.’

‘I don’t know – you seem pretty light on your feet to me.’ He smiled again. ‘You dance well. Another of your talents.’

‘Thank you,’ I said, and recalled his earlier compliment, and my reaction to it. ‘Look, Parker, back at the Willners’ place, you said—’

‘That I was sorry?’ he said. ‘I … embarrassed you, in front of a client. That was out of line.’

‘Embarrassed me?’ I shrugged, eyes over his shoulder to keep a watch on Dina, but her body language was perfectly relaxed. ‘All you did was tell me I looked nice.’

‘No, I said you looked wonderful. There’s a difference.’

My gaze snapped back to his. ‘Yes, you did,’ I murmured, feeling my skin heat, my mouth dry. Almost with shock, I recognised the signs of my own arousal. ‘Parker, I’m—’

‘I know,’ he said softly. ‘I know. Just dance, Charlie.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It was a while before either of us spoke after that. Why Parker kept his own counsel, I can only guess. Me, because I couldn’t think of a damn thing to say that wouldn’t make things ten times worse – for both of us.

Parker was my boss, Sean’s partner, our friend. He’d been a shoulder to lean on. More than that, he’d been a rock in a storm-lashed sea, and I’d clung to the support he’d offered since Sean’s injury. But I’d never expected for a moment that I’d start to fall for him, with all the emotional turmoil that entailed.

The music eventually segued into another number and Hunt, with gallant reluctance, led Dina back to her table. Parker and I followed suit. Torquil, laughing, declined to release Manda and swept her into another dance. He’d lost his miserable air, but I think that had more to do with making Gleason stay on the floor with Lurch. Torquil’s bodyguard had long since exhausted his repertoire of dance steps and the pair of them were looking increasingly uncomfortable.

If Torquil wasn’t careful, I thought, his own team would knock him off just to be rid of him.

He only tortured them for a few minutes longer, however, then handed Manda back to Benedict and swaggered off towards the restrooms. I saw Lurch move to follow him, leaving Gleason to finally hurry back to our table and plonk herself down next to Eisenberg like she was determined not to get up again.

Torquil, however, had no intention of being followed everywhere by his bodyguard. I saw him whirl and plant a determined finger in the guy’s chest. He was close enough for me to hear the exchange, which basically ran along the lines that Torquil felt he was old enough to take a leak unaided.

Lurch glanced over at Torquil’s father for guidance, which only served to infuriate the son even more. He gave the bodyguard’s face a light slap to bring it back to face him. I sucked in an involuntary breath, but Lurch had heroic self-control and didn’t punch the little brat’s lights out.

‘Don’t you look to him for orders!’ Torquil growled. ‘You work for
me
, OK?’

Surreptitiously, I leant closer to Parker and, with minimal movement of my lips, murmured, ‘When you said Eisenberg had all kinds of influence I did not want to tangle with, did you mean he was connected to the Mob?’