Protector (10 page)

“I wish you weren’t so sexy.”
Shut up, Tanaka.
That’s not what the colonel meant by spending more time with her.

She assessed him through narrowed eyes. “Thanks for that much at least. My ego could use the boost after our midnight stroll a couple of days ago.”

Since the colonel had ordered him…“Do you want to sit?”

Chuck settled into the idea of a conversation, reassuring himself he only intended to gather information about her father.

So far no luck in figuring out who had tampered with the car. And they couldn’t be sure if that person was after her in particular, or just taking a shot at Taylor’s empire in a vaguer fashion. Without question, the old crook had his fair share of enemies.

I’m only doing this for her safety and the integrity of my case.
Chuck could have sworn he heard the statue’s laugh mingle with the rippling water.

So he wanted her. He wouldn’t do anything about it. His head was on straight now that there had been time to regroup. “Do you want to sit or not?”

A quintet played chamber music standards nearby, the ship half-deserted while they were docked in Sardinia. A ponytailed cruise director gave a lecture on Italian artistic treasures to prep the guests on board for some of the sights to see on a tour of Sicily tomorrow.

“Are you going to throw me in the fountain? Because your scowl sure says as much.”

“Didn’t even cross my mind.”

“Can I trust you?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah…
You seem to be a pretty straightforward, honest guy.” She lowered herself onto the brick wall with a grace that made Chuck long to plunge himself into the icy fountain waters before he did something stupid.

Jolynn tapped the top of his laptop. “Schoolwork?”

And a reminder everything they said could be overheard. “Macro-economics.”

“Pretty heavy stuff for a dim brain like mine.”

So she was still determined to play the pampered wild child. Problem was, he was beginning to get a different picture of her. Chuck hated moments like these. He was going to have to lie, and lies made old scars ache.

Having reviewed her personal file, he knew she was an accountant with grades that made his look like chicken feed. He couldn’t even console himself with the fact that he’d worked his way through college, and Miss Overprivileged Taylor had received a free ride.

He didn’t believe in making excuses. The nuns at the orphanage in Hawaii where he’d grown up weren’t big into self-pity. They were all about a person making the most of God-given talents and taking charge of the future.

Besides, he admired Jolynn’s intelligence. Although why did she go to such lengths to hide her brains? Easier to manipulate the unaware? Or were those hints of vulnerability for real? He wasn’t particularly comfortable with the deepening image as compelling as the way her supple body had moved against him when they kissed.

“Charles?” She waved her hand in front of his face, her knee brushing his as she shifted. “If I’m boring you, I can leave.”

The simple brush of her knee against his lingered. He focused on her face, on the moment. If you gotta lie, keep the story simple. Spy School 101. He tapped the laptop again. “I’m distracted. Online test Monday.”

“Good luck.”

“Well,”
Chuck prompted, reminding himself to do his job, gather information. “How’s your father?”

“Enjoying the sun on his balcony.” She clutched the file tighter.

“What’s that you’ve got there?”

She glanced down at the file as if she’d almost forgotten she held it. “I was at the office this morning after, uhm… My cousin and I were talking to some security folks,” she said evasively, “and I decided I needed something to keep me occupied, so I’m helping out with the
Fortuna
’s scholarship fund.”

“Security issue?”

She clicked her fingernail against the edge of the scholarship file. “No big deal.”

Alarms sounded in his brain. There was something there. “For someone who was willing to sit with me, you’re not all that chatty.”

“Maybe I’m waiting for the apology you owe me.”

Apology? She had kissed him… And he had made the most of the kiss for a damn long time. He was undercover and investigating her father. He’d had no business taking advantage of her that way.

“Jolynn, I am sorry, sorrier than I can say—”

Lucy Taylor rounded the corner, and Chuck wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. Either way, he knew he was in hot water. There was no deluding himself that the kiss had been a freak, one time attraction.

Just sitting next to Jolynn Taylor for a few minutes, catching a whiff of her cologne in the air, aching because of a simple brush of her knee against his, and already his body was burning for her.

*  *  *

Hugging the file folder to her chest like a shield, Jolynn watched her cousin weave through tourists with cameras around their necks, toting overlarge bags. Lucy was headed straight toward the fountain— straight toward her and Charles. Jolynn tamped down disappointment at having her time with him interrupted. It was probably for the best to have a buffer between her and the confusing guy next to her. But he’d made such a welcome distraction after the nerve-wracking start to her morning three hours ago.

“Hey, cuz.” Lucy sat beside Jolynn and peered around at Charles. “Well, hello, Mr. Tomas.”

“Miss Taylor.” Chuck nodded simply.

“Did Jolynn tell you about the peeping Tom that jumped onto her balcony?”

His eyes narrowed, his muscles flexing under his shirt almost imperceptibly. Almost.

“Lucy—” Jolynn elbowed her. “It’s no big deal.”

Charles didn’t let up, those tight, roped muscles still twitching. “That’s why you met with security.”

Lucy hooked an arm around Jolynn’s shoulders. “I would have been a basket case if that happened to me, but no”—she tugged at the file—“my über-efficient cousin just asks for something to keep her occupied so she won’t worry.”

Jolynn kept her hold firm on the file. “I would think you’d be glad for my help with this project.”

The
Fortuna
scholarship fund was set up in honor of Uncle Simon, which seemed ironic. But then what better way for Josiah to divert attention from his own people than to pretend to grieve over his brother’s murder?

Lucy pulled her arm away. “Of course.” She blinked fast. “You’re
right. If you can find more lucrative investments to increase the scholarship, then by all means, have at it.”

“Thanks. Dad’s not up to visitors for very much time each day.” In fact, it seemed as if he didn’t want to see her at all. “I really do need the distraction.” Understatement.

“Gotta run.” Lucy nodded across the lobby to the burly man wearing a linen shirt flapping in the breeze. “Adolpho’s here to pick me up for supper. I’ll call you later.” She tossed a wink over her shoulder, weaving around a picture-snapping tourist in a bright-colored caftan.

Chuck leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re generous to help your father out.”

Jolynn wished she could bottle his voice and sell it on the open market. Except he’d soothed that voice and those hands all over her by the water. In the end it hadn’t meant a thing.

“It’s important to keep my uncle’s memory alive. Maybe you should apply for the scholarship.”

“
Fortuna
employees can’t apply.”

“Oh, right, of course.” She should have remembered that. Her brain was a mess.

She looked away to her cousin smiling up at her fiancé, teasing the top button on his
Fortuna
polo shirt with obvious ease and familiarity. How much did Lucy know about the family “business” and how deep in was Adolpho? She’d wondered about her cousin, about Bear before. How could they be a part of the business and not know?

Another reason to settle this part of her life. The whole notion that a person could “love the sinner but not the sin” mantra was a tough one for her, either way.

“Jolynn?” Charles’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What really happened with that peeping Tom? What has security done about making sure it doesn’t happen again?”

“I’ve
got it under control. Honestly, the contessa down the hall was more freaked out by the noise.” She really didn’t want to talk about it, and it wasn’t like he could do anything to help her on that score. “Isn’t it about time for your shift?”

“Right.” Charles pulled away and picked up his laptop. “Glad you’ve decided to forgive me.”

He rose without another word and walked away. His long strides ate up the lobby at a slow loping pace. For a second she almost thought he had a slight limp, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, it fell away to make way for another…

“Hey wait,” she called after him. “I never said I forgave you.”

Stopping, he smiled back over his shoulder. “You will.”

She watched him stride away and wondered how he’d worn her down by saying basically nothing at all.

She kept him in sight all the way to the elevator, even going so far as to back inside. The door slid closed just as he stopped to talk to…

Livia Cicero?

*  *  *

Chuck charged into the small belowdecks cabin, pissed off, sexually frustrated, and yeah, pissed off all over again. He locked the door behind him before sweeping aside the striped privacy curtain.

“What the hell happened in Jolynn Taylor’s room and why wasn’t I notified?”

His brain had been on fire since the second he’d heard about the break-in at Jolynn’s stateroom. Why hadn’t anyone told him? As soon as he’d been able to cut short the conversation with Jolynn, he’d made tracks here, only half registering what Livia Cicero had said to him in the lobby on his way out.

Berg swung his feet from the top bunk and dropped to the floor smoothly. He had one earbud in, the other dangling. “Way to knock there, pal.”

Too late, Chuck noticed Berg held a Sig Sauer in his hand. Shit. If Berg had been the enemy, Chuck would be a dead man.

So much for having his edge back.

“What happened in Jolynn’s room this morning?” he repeated.

“Park yourself here for a minute and I’ll tell you what I know.” Berg held out a chair, waiting until finally Chuck sat, not even realizing until that moment how he scratched over the spot on his leg where a pin had been inserted.

Behind Berg, security cameras filled with images and readouts scrolled with data collections from
Fortuna
computers. “Apparently someone tried to break into her stateroom, came in over the balcony railing.”

His hands fisted on his knees as he thought of her alone in her suite at the mercy of some faceless bastard. No wonder she’d been pale. “What happened?”

“She shouted her lungs out, pitched everything in sight at the intruder.” Berg laughed low. “Her cousin was next door with her fiancé, and they scared off the guy in time.”

Chuck wasn’t smiling. Thank God, she’d defended herself and bought the time needed for help to arrive. Next time, she might not be as lucky, and it burned his gut to think about what could happen to her.

He rubbed his elbow over a faded scar. “You got anything in those readouts on the
Fortuna
’s scholarship fund?”

“Not right offhand, but I can run some scans, review what’s on file, see if there are any red flags in the finances.”

“It’s a place to start.” And the most important reason for coming to this room gelled in Chuck’s mind now that he’d
calmed down enough to think rationally. “What kind of extra surveillance goodies do you have tucked away there?”

Berg rubbed his mustache thoughtfully. “What did you have in mind?”

“I think it’s time we kept a closer eye on Jolynn Taylor’s stateroom.”

The next morning, Jolynn soaked up some rays on the deck, her strapless wraparound dress baring her shoulders to the sun. Maybe not having an office wasn’t such a bad thing if it meant she could hold all meetings poolside. And she’d chosen the smaller adult swimming pool. It was calmer with an Italian artist on the other side of the deck giving lessons. It was peaceful for the most part, interrupted only by the occasional waiter bringing lunch orders.

Sardinia had been left behind during the night as the cruise ship made its way to the next port of call, Sicily. Business meetings by the pool on a lazy summer day beat a stuffy Dallas office ten-to-one. Her father slept so many hours of the day, and when he was awake, he still insisted on business briefings, which didn’t leave much time for visits with her.

When she saw him, he kept conversations superficial. Where had she gone at port calls? How was the
Fortuna
’s food?

God, didn’t
his brush with mortality make him realize they didn’t have unlimited time to reconcile?

And while sometimes she wanted to confront him, she certainly didn’t want to bring on another heart attack. There had to be a way. She just needed to be patient. The lingering taste of Charles only added to her determination to grab hold of her fate for a change, rather than letting the world drag her along.

She tossed the folder in the file case she’d started on the scholarship project across the iron table. “Bear, you can tell Dad I’m not so sure about the expense of a dozen Venus de Milo ice sculptures at the fund-raiser.” Jolynn rolled her eyes at Lucy. “It’s overkill, don’t you think?”