Garden of Dreams (37 page)

JD hurried Nina through the lobby, even though he suspected she was still sore from last night. He'd make it up to her someday.

“Rooms 302 and 304,” Nina reminded him breathlessly as they reached the elevator.

JD caught her waist, kissed her forehead, and hauled her into the elevator. He had no experience in taking care of anyone. He hated this. He wanted to be back behind his computer where no human being could intrude upon him. But he held Nina closer all the same. A computer didn't smell sweet or feel soft like Nina.

Jimmy answered the first door they beat upon. Breathing a sigh of relief, JD released Nina's waist. “It's me.”

The door swung open, and JD could see Nancy twisting her hands worriedly behind Jimmy. “You look like hell,” JD said ungallantly, pushing past Jimmy into the room, dragging Nina with him. Jimmy slammed the door behind them. “What happened?”

Jimmy shoved his broken eyeglasses back up the bridge of his nose. “They ransacked my room last night while I was over here talking with Nancy. We heard them and called security, but they escaped before anyone saw them.”

Talking with Nancy. JD looked suspiciously from his ex- wife to his partner, saw the flicker of guilt in their eyes, and blocked out all further thought in that direction. It wasn't any of his damned business what the two of them did. He just hoped Jimmy was prepared to face his bloodsucking girlfriend back home.

“ All right, you're all getting out of here right now. This is my fight, and I'll fight it alone. There's no need for any of the rest of you to get hurt. Jimmy, take Nancy home where she belongs. I'll put Nina on the plane. This has gone far enough.”

Like the marine sergeant he once was, JD expected his troops to snap to attention. Instead, Nina wandered over to Nancy and whispered a few things he couldn't hear. Jimmy ambled in the direction of the bathroom and came back with a familiar file folder. He flung it down on the bed since the room lacked anything resembling a desk or table.

“Nancy and I thought we'd follow up on Nina's notes today.”

Nina's eyes widened at the sight of the folder. “Where did you get that?”

Jimmy shrugged. “Picked it up yesterday while the two of you were arguing. Figured we'd get some work done while you worked things out. We've gone through it once. There may be some other connections we've missed. We thought the library might have a computer we could use today.” Jimmy plunked down in the room's only chair.

JD glared at him. “Are you out of your mind? These people killed Harry. They're trying to save a multimillion-dollar company. Do you think they'll let amateurs get in their way?”

Nina looked up from her conversation with Nancy. “What happened to those computers you shipped from Nashville? Where are they?”

“I picked them up in Arizona and stored them in a warehouse there. If they didn't follow me to Arizona, they can't find them. Now come on, we're leaving.” JD waited impatiently for them to jump.

“Maybe Nancy and Jimmy can pick them up and work from there,” Nina suggested.

Jimmy answered before JD could agree to anything. “Hell, no. JD will turn this town on its ear and get himself killed in the process unless someone keeps a rope on him. If we need a computer, I can pick up a laptop.”

JD clenched his fists and glared at the roomful of people ignoring him. “Have you all lost your minds? You have families, responsibilities. You can't risk your necks here. I can. This is my fight. Let me fight it my way.”

Nina looked at Nancy and shrugged. “He hasn't figured out that even cavemen traveled in packs. Check out that lawyer first. I'll ride herd on the cowboy.”

“Nina, dammit, you'll do no such thing. This cowboy rides alone.” JD grabbed the doorknob. “Are you coming with me or not?”

“If you take me to the airport, I'll just catch a cab back. I have lots of money now, remember.” Leaving her suitcase, Nina crossed the room and hooked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Don't you think we'd better agree on a different hotel now that they've found this one?”

Fury and Nina muddled his mind. JD stared down at her as if he'd never seen her before. Maybe he hadn't. The fey creature who talked to plants hadn't struck him as the tenacious type, but he should have known better. She'd clung to her style of life for the sake of her aunt all these years, despite all the hardships it presented. Now her aunt was gone, and she'd been uprooted. She'd attached herself to him for some inane reason or another. And he'd let her. She wasn't any sappy clinging vine either. She was a rampant thistle who planted herself anywhere she damned well pleased. He must be out of his pea- pickin' mind.

“I'm taking you to the airport,” he warned. “You'd better take your suitcase.”

She shrugged and glanced back at Nancy. “I'll call you when I get there, and you can tell me what the two of you've decided. I'll join you later.” She smiled up at him. “Okay, let's have a fun ride to the airport.”

JD heard Jimmy snicker. He scowled, and Nina smiled wider. She'd do it, too; he could see it in her eyes. She should be terrified. She should be ready to go back to the peace and quiet of her little Mayberry town. Even as JD thought that, Nina reminded him of a minor fact he'd forgotten.

“They're back there, too, JD,” she said quietly, no longer smiling. “Do you really think I'm any safer at home?”

“Dammit.” He drove his hand through his hair, frantically looking for some escape, finding none. DiFrancesco would find her anywhere. She didn't have the knowledge to hide well enough. She couldn't stay with him. It wasn't safe. Still, the thought of Nina staying by his side brought a rush of warm air through some crack in his soul. He wrapped his fingers around Nina's and squeezed.

“I'll tie you up and gag you and stuff you in a closet somewhere,” he threatened.

That daunting smile of hers returned. “I hate bullies.”

That did it. He wouldn't have her treating him like one of her damned teenage students. Keeping a tight hold on her hand, JD turned and confronted his friends. His friends. Some friend he made, dragging them into this. Maybe they'd give up and go home on their own. Until then, he couldn't let anything happen to them. “The hotels aren't safe. I've rented a security- protected house in the desert. I've been using the garage apartment.” He dug into his pocket and threw the house keys at Jimmy, then scribbled on the notepad by the phone. “Here's the address and gate code. Open up the house and we'll use it for headquarters.”

“Don't let anyone follow you,” Nina chirruped beside him.

Jimmy grinned and saluted. JD knew damned well it wasn't for his benefit but for hers. Jimmy fell for any female with legs. He jerked Nina's hand and dragged her into the hall.

“I think Nancy likes your friend,” she said as JD hurried her through the maze of corridors. “Do you think Jimmy would make a good stepfather for Jackie?”

Hell, no. Well, maybe. He didn't want to think about it. Nancy and Jimmy? The whole damned world was coming apart at the seams.

“Don't you have some relatives somewhere you can visit?” he asked in despair.

“I wonder how much Astro stock sells for right now?” she murmured aloud, ignoring his plea.

Finding the motorcycle and practically flinging himself on it, JD glared at her. She was making him crazy on purpose. “Why?” he demanded, unable to withhold his curiosity.

“Well, I don't know a great deal about this business, but it seems to me if we could drive the stock price down, we could find some way of acquiring a large share of it. That's the way they do it in books, anyway.” She shrugged diffidently as she swung her leg over the bike seat.

In shorts, that leg looked mighty good, and JD felt a surge of lust so powerful he thought he would drop the bike. What the hell was wrong with him? He never looked at women that way. Hell, he never looked at women. They just slinked in and out of his life all on their own.

It took a moment for her words to catch up with his errant brain. Stupid idea. He'd borrowed money to keep his own company afloat. He was worth quite a bit, but only on paper. He couldn't acquire another company just like that. Or could he?

The idea churned in JD's brain as he roared the motorcycle down back roads. Behind him, Nina remained silent, taking in the sights and sounds of the desert city. The hills and lush greenery she was used to must make this flat brown environment seem entirely foreign. He'd show her the real desert later. Right now, he had to get her somewhere safe.

He'd purchased a laptop the instant he'd hit town, so he didn't need to stop now. He didn't know if DiFrancesco had any means of tracing calls, but JD had to keep up with his business somehow. E-mail had seemed safest. Now, he had other ideas.

When he drove the bike through a security-protected gate with the use of a remote code, Nina gasped, whether at the technology or the garden beyond, he couldn't say. He suspected a little of both. Nina would gasp at a garage door opener, he figured.

He'd never particularly noticed the towering palms or the flowering Joshua trees, but he saw the place through Nina's eyes now. It must look like some kind of tropical jungle. Maybe she wouldn't mind the desert so much in the midst of this oasis. He'd felt guilty keeping her away from the comfort of her familiar surroundings, her greenhouse and her roses, but maybe she wouldn't mind this for a little bit.

“You don't need to water them,” he teased as he stopped the bike and dropped the kickstand. “There's an automatic sprinkler.”

“Really?” She climbed off the bike and gazed around as if she'd walked into wonderland. “How does that work?”

“It has a water gauge that judges when the ground needs more moisture. You'll get wet if you're not careful. Come on, let's get you inside.” JD grabbed her elbow and led her toward the garage steps. He'd have to move her into the house when Jimmy arrived with the key.

“Is that a Rolls in there?” she whispered, glancing through the garage windows as she followed him up.

“The owner collects expensive cars. He has a warehouse full of them.” JD jerked open the door and practically pushed Nina inside. Even if DiFrancesco figured out where he was, he wouldn't dare trespass out here. Only fools messed with the owner of this place, and DiFrancesco didn't strike JD as a fool. An ass, maybe, but not a fool.

“Oh, my, isn't this lovely?” Nina twirled around in the middle of a worn Persian rug, admiring the bare white walls and the bleached wooden timbers of the chauffeur's apartment.

Everything in here was probably cast off from some earlier redecoration of the main house, JD had figured. He'd not thought anything of it. Judging from her delighted expression, Nina thought it enchanting. Of course, anything would look enchanting after that black forest of nightmare furniture she lived with.

“I'll print out the financial statements of Marshall Enterprises and Astrocomputer. You can study them while I check a few other resources.” JD sat down at his computer while Nina roamed the room behind him. He wanted to watch her. He wanted to see what she did when she found the bed. He wondered if she'd considered the consequences of staying here with him. He wanted to test her availability right now. He focused on the computer instead.

“Did Marshall Enterprises belong to your father?” she asked without curiosity as she examined a delicately woven dream- catcher. “If it's not a public company, how will you obtain the financial statements?”

Damn. She'd spent two days investigating Astrocomputer and hadn't once picked up on his company. Any self-respecting gold digger would have found that out first thing. Although, admittedly, as she'd said, a nonpublic company wouldn't have a lot of information out there.

“I'm an officer of the company, remember? I have access to the company files. I just need the right code word.” Hurriedly, JD typed in those words, wondering if he should explain. It didn't seem particularly relevant at the moment. He'd lose the company and his shirt if he didn't stop DiFrancesco.

‘That must be an interesting company,” she observed from near the windows as the automatic sprinkler system shut off. “There aren't too many businesses in Kentucky that would let their CEOs look like you do. Or do you dress up when you go to the office?”

JD chuckled as he punched the button sending the financial statements to the printer. “My secretary expresses the same sentiments. Unfortunately, I'm in charge of dress code, and I don't give a damn how anyone dresses, as long as the work gets done.”

Nina spun around, and JD could sense the admiration in her eyes, even though her expression was shadowed with the light behind her.

“You really are a CEO? That still amazes me. When I first saw you, I thought you were a motorcycle bum. I was afraid to cash your check.”

JD stood up and crossed the room, capturing her in his arms while the printer clicked and whirred behind him. He nuzzled her neck. “I'm really a CEO, and I really can produce a list of corporate donors for your gardens, if we can just pry your mother out of them. Is that what worries you?”