Murphy's Law (10 page)

Hanan must have misread her fears. “I’m sorry. You must be tired. Let me show you to a room so you can get some rest. Jack will be fine.”

Lilly nodded and handed Mohammed back to his mother. Hanan led her through the dining room to a large bedroom, leaving her for a moment to put the baby back in his crib.

When Hanan returned, she took Lilly’s hand and smiled. “If you’re going to pretend to be his wife, wear this.”

Lilly looked down at the gold wedding band and groaned. “It wasn’t my idea to lie.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t. My husband is a good man, but he never would have let Jack stay in the same room if you weren’t married. He’s deeply religious.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“I understand. He’s protecting you. But I think maybe he is a little more emotionally involved than he wants to admit.”

Lilly frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“Only strong feelings would enable him to lie to his friends. He’s not that kind of man.

“If it offends you, then I can sleep on the sofa at night.”

Hanan shook her head. “It doesn’t offend me. It is not a moral issue, but one of necessity. Mustafa doesn’t always see the difference, so we don’t have to let him in on our little secret.”

Lilly agreed gratefully. She nodded her thanks and lay down to take a short nap. The sounds of the city mocked her attempt to shut out reality.

Jack wasn’t anything like she painted him in her mind. He inspired trust and dedication from his friends. Chantal and Hanan were poles apart, but they shared the same latitude of unquestioning devotion. Perhaps because, unlike her, he didn’t pass judgment on people.

And what right did she have to judge anyone? She, a little coward who ran away.
To stay alive
, she told herself. What kind of life had she saved? In the past two months, she hadn’t even held an honest conversation with anyone. She was alive, but she wasn’t living.

Chapter Seven

Jack waited in the alley for close to an hour. He checked his watch again. His contact should have met him at four o’clock. Yousef must have heard about the explosion in Nice and given him up for dead. But who would have told him? Only Stucky knew Jack’s contact.

He slipped his hands into the slash pockets of his long white robe and walked back to the marketplace. He couldn’t go looking for Yousef without putting him in danger. Jack strolled past the many vendors hoping to sell their wares in the outdoor bazaars so common in the Middle East.

Normally, Jack enjoyed watching customer and merchant square off in a friendly round of bartering, but today his troubled thoughts distracted him. Jack figured Santana had orchestrated the explosion to get Lilly out of the way. He’d been under a microscope for the last six months, and his clients were getting nervous. Without concrete proof, the
 
investigation had stagnated, and the Customs Service had decided to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. At least until Jack returned Lilly.

Taking a route so out of the way that no one could have followed him without being spotted, he headed back to Mustafa’s house. His native costume and fluency in the language allowed him to walk through the streets unnoticed. When he reached the building, he pulled off the caftan.

He greeted Hanan and her new arrival, apologizing for the inconvenience of his timing. “You should have said something. I shouldn’t be making all this trouble for you with a new baby.”

Hanan handed him a cup of tea and sat down. “Old friends are never trouble, Jack.”

“Where is Mustafa?”

She sent him a look like he should know better. “Where do you think? Down at the coffee shops bragging about his new son. He’ll be back in an hour.”

He tapped his palm against his forehead and laughed. “Of course. And my wife?”

Hanan laughed too. She waved a finger under his nose and took him to task. “Next time you want to fool me, buy her a wedding ring. She’s very scared, Jack, and if she were really your wife, she would know that there was no reason to be.”

He wished he shared her conviction. Too many things had gone wrong for coincidence. “Does Mustafa know?”

“Know what?” Hanan returned innocently.

“I thought not. Where is she?”

“Lying down. I was going to call her for tea, but I think she was crying and I didn’t want to intrude. Is she in a lot of trouble?”

“She didn’t do anything, if that’s what you mean. But her life’s in danger.”

Hanan glanced in the direction of the bedroom. “Maybe you should go see if you can cheer her up. You do know how to do that, don’t you?”

“She doesn’t appreciate my sense of humor.”

“There’s an English dictionary on the shelf over there. Look up the word c
ompassion
and try to grasp the meaning first.” He scowled at her, but she only giggled. “I told my friend next door that I would bring Mohammed by for a visit. I shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

“It won’t take her an hour to hit me over the head,” he joked, rubbing a tentative hand across the scab on his cheek.

He’d never taken the time, nor felt the inclination, to understand the crazy, hormonal whims of women, but Lilly was different from any other women. She never hid her emotions. When he upset her, she cried. If he cornered her, she fought. “You didn’t happen to leave any knives in that room with her, did you?”

She grinned and stood up. “I don’t think she has much fight in her right now.”

“You’d be amazed at what Lilly is capable of.”

“More than you are?” she asked.

“When did you get so smart, Hanan?”

“Maybe now you’ll stop laughing at that mystery of life known as women’s intuition.”

Jack waited for Hanan to leave before seeking out Lilly. He paused outside the bedroom to listen. He heard her sniffing and soft hiccups through the closed door. Her cries struck a nerve in the center of the heart he swore he didn’t possess. He tapped once, then turned the handle and entered.

She pretended to be asleep, and she might have even thought she had pulled it off until she hiccupped again. Knowing the game was up, she grunted and buried her head under the pillow. “Go away.”

“I missed you too, baby,” he teased and pulled the pillow off her head. She flipped onto her stomach and covered her face with her hands. “Come on. Look at me.”

“No. I look horrible.”

“I’ve seen you looking worse.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

That didn’t come out how he’d intended. Perhaps he should have taken a look in the dictionary before trying to cheer her up.
Pay her a compliment. Women eat that kind of thing up.
“That’s a mighty fine looking rear end you’ve got there. Mr. Levi must have designed those jeans with you in mind.”

After a long, silent pause she raised her head. “If Mr. Levi saw what it took to get into these jeans he’d laugh his own rear end off.”

“I don’t suppose it occurred to you to buy a bigger size?”

“You bought them, genius,” she reminded him.

“Oh, right.” He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand over her bottom. “And a good job I did at that. It fits you like a chastity belt.”

She rolled onto her back and groaned. “You’re an insensitive louse.”

“And damn proud of it.” He stretched out on the bed next to her and brushed the last remaining tear from her face. “Do you want to tell me what this was all about?”

“I want to call my family, Jack.”

He wished he could grant her that small favor. “No. It’s too dangerous.” All the hope mirrored in her china blue eyes faded in a blink, making him feel like a heel.

“What if they think I’m dead?”

“I know it seems cruel, but it’s better for the time being to let them think that you are. Do you want Santana to use them to get to you? He will.”

“Oh, God no.” Mumbled words mixed with whimpering cries. He touched her arm, and she turned into him, clutching desperately at the fabric of his pullover.

She needed reassurances, but lending moral support had never been his strongest suit. He specialized in scaring the life out of an active participant until the suspect begged to turn state’s evidence in return for freedom. Lilly wasn’t a fugitive. She’d committed no crime, so he could only manipulate her emotionally. He didn’t take great pride in frightening a young woman into obedience.

“Nothing is going to happen to your family.” He rolled his eyes. That’s certainly profound. After all the deceit, he could hardly expect her to find comfort in his words. And yet, slowly, he felt her grip relaxing. The stiffness in her limbs seemed to melt away.

Lilly snuggled closer, sliding one leg in between his. She inched closer, pressing against him. Chest to chest, hips to hips, thighs touching thighs. Her fearful trembles changed perceptively to excited tremors.

Damn, he wanted her. He consciously slowed his breathing to keep control of the situation. To react would be taking advantage of her high-strung, emotional state.

“This isn’t a good idea, Lilly.”

“What?” She lifted her head and shook it. Her confusion gave way to hurt, and she moved away from him.

“Lilly.”

She jumped off the bed and walked to the window. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“I only meant that it wasn’t wise to get involved at this time. It’s too….”

 
“Dangerous. I know. That’s become your standard line. You can’t do this. You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous. Maybe you’d like me to stop breathing too. It might be too dangerous.”

* * * *

Jack stood up and crossed the room. “I guess that was a poor excuse. I didn’t think you knew what you were doing.”

Lilly twisted her hands together and let out a heavy sigh. “Well, join the club, Mr. Murphy. My father didn’t think I knew what I was doing with my life. My boss didn’t think I knew what I was doing with my job. And you don’t think I know what I’m doing with my body. I must seem like a half-wit to the male population.”

“I wasn’t speaking in general. Only in this instance. You weren’t thinking clearly.”

“Don’t you ever do anything without thinking first and calculating the risk?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” Somehow, that didn’t surprise her. He had just given her another reminder that she was a job to him.

“Can you honestly say you knew what you were doing?” “

“I thought I did, but I guess I was wrong.”

The corner of him mouth turned up in a lazy half-smile, either suggestive or innocent. With Jack, she wasn’t sure. He gave nothing away unless he wanted to.

Like a shot, his arms were around her, catching her off balance. “Let’s check to be sure.”

Her first instinct was to push him away, but she couldn’t. Like a moth drawn to the flame, even the chance of being singed didn’t stop her. He issued a direct challenge, and her pride wouldn’t allow her to back down. How else could she prove to him that she knew exactly what she was doing?

He slid his hand along the curve of her back and into the back pocket of her jeans. With no resistance from her, he eased her closer until his warm body pressed against her own.

His soft kisses demanded a response. He wanted submission, but even if she gave in to him, she still won. She parted her lips and invited him to continue.

He plunged his tongue deep inside, exploring her mouth. She reacted to the hot currents surging through her body. As if they had a will of their own, her hands burrowed under his shirt and around to his back. Her fingers grasped his skin, tightening as a wave of excitement washed over her.

The thoughts racing through her mind warned her to call a halt to the game before it got out of hand. The feelings running through her body were telling her to play on. Jack continued his gentle assault on her senses. Each kiss took her deeper into a state of purely sensual bliss.

Just when she was ready to completely surrender, Jack pulled back with a heartfelt groan. Disappointment mingled with triumph.

She dropped her hands and slowly raised her head. “What was that you were saying, earlier?”

“I guess you did know what you were doing,” he muttered. “Should we continue?”

Lilly pushed a handful of her tousled hair away from her face. Her pulse raced, and her body shuddered. She won the point, but lost her self-control. She consoled herself that Jack looked no better. “I thought you said it wasn’t a good idea.”

He cleared his throat. “I never said I was always right.”

“You never admit to being wrong either. But in this case, you’re probably right. It’s lousy timing.”

Loneliness and anxiety certainly led people to do foolish things. However, foolishness exacted a price, and she wanted to be damn sure no one else paid it. Since she hadn’t been involved with anyone romantically recently, she hadn’t found the need to practice any form of birth control.

He arched his eyebrow thoughtfully as if he’d received some great revelation. “It’s that time of month? That explains your nasty behavior of the past few days.”