She Does Know Jack (26 page)

Matthew stood
up. “I don’t know. I didn’t write it. I swear. You can see by the others I used
a black pen.”

Jack nodded,
then focused on her. “Why am I not surprised you drew that card?”

She rose to her
feet. “I hope you’re not insinuating that I put it there.”

“Of course you
didn’t,” Matthew said, grabbing her hand. “Things were crazy on this show long
before you came on.”

She turned to
look at him and sighed. “I guess it means somebody here doesn’t like me.”

The girls stood
and shook their heads.

“I like you,”
Danni said with a frown. “I don’t understand why things keep happening to you.”

“I like you,
too, Brielle,” Mandy hastened to reassure.

Brielle
transferred her gaze to Jack. “Have you gotten the handwriting results back?”

“Yes. Everyone
was cleared.” He pulled out a hand held radio. “Rodriguez, gather the men and
get up to the lounge, now.”

“Affirmative,”
echoed through the room.

“Gee, thanks for
telling us, Jack.” She scowled, tapping the table. “I think you’ll find this is
the same handwriting as the others.”

“Ah, so, what,
you’re a handwriting expert now?”

Her eyes
narrowed. “No. But I am concerned. You have an intruder on board. Have your men
searched this yacht?”

“An intruder?”

“Oh, no.”

Danni and Mandy
dropped back into their chairs.

Matthew sent
them a smile. “Now, we don’t know that for sure. Let’s allow Jack’s men to do
their job.”

“Yeah, we don’t
need you girls jumping to conclusions.” Jack’s gaze bore into hers, warning her
to watch her mouth.

She lifted her
chin. “Forgive me for not wanting to wake up on the bottom of the Pacific.”

“Aren’t you
being a bit dramatic?”

“Am I?” She
crossed her arms. “You’re the expert…you tell me.”

“So help me,
Brielle, if this is another ploy for attention…” His words trailed off as his
threat went unvoiced.

She threw her
hands in the air and stepped toward him. “Oh for Pete’s sake! Get over it. Use
your brain. Someone is egging me on.”

“Maybe Brielle
is right. Maybe she
is
in danger.” Matthew moved to her side and touched
her arm.

He was sweet,
but it wasn’t
his
concern she wanted. She eyed his silent brother.
Nothing. The deep concern from the amusement park had disappeared. He eyed her
with nothing but suspicion.

That was it. She
was done. All her emotions over the futile case, threats
and Jack
bubbled into an explosion that blasted the last of her control.

She swiveled to
the nearest camera and let loose. “I hope I am in danger! And I hope whoever’s
been causing these threats does try something. In fact. I dare you to!” She
stepped closer to the lens. “Do you hear me? I dare you to!”

“Enough!” Jack
grabbed her arm and yanked her into the corner. “What the hell are you trying
to do? Do you want to get killed?”

“I thought you
said I was being dramatic?” She jerked her arm free.

He opened his
mouth as if to yell, then clenched his jaw until it cracked. “You are the
most…” He growled the rest of his sentence, concern breaking past the annoyance
in his eyes. “Don’t you see, Brielle? That card might not have been intended
for you, but by daring the culprit into action…you just put a big bull’s-eye on
that pretty head of yours.” Gaze blazing, nostrils flaring, he backed her up
against the wall. “What am I going to do with you?”

Several
responses sprang to mind, but she swallowed them past her racing heart. He
was
concerned about her after all.

Reminding
herself he was still on the naughty list, she cleared her throat. “Put a guard
on me. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and someone
will
try something.”

He blinked.
“I…ah hell, Brielle.” He blinked again.

“Look. I’m sorry
if I’ve complicated things for you, Jack. I just wanted to help.” She touched
his arm, and her body awoke when a fizzle of connection snapped between them.
“This has gone on too long.”

“Yes, but next
time, do me a favor.” He lowered his voice and added, “Leave it to the
professionals.”

Son-of-a…

Clamping her
jaw, she whipped her gaze across the room to Matthew. He shook his head, aware
of what she was asking.
Dammit to hell!
She was so sick of that promise.
So honest-to-God sick of
it! She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled. “I
hate this.”

If she didn’t
love her Uncle Franco…

“Welcome to my
world.” Jack’s words snapped her eyes open.

They stared at
each other for several beats. Her heart lurched. Thinned lips, dull eyes,
fatigue tightening the skin across his cheekbones. Yeah.  He seemed just as
troubled.

“We’re here,
boss,” Rodriguez informed, rushing into the room with his men.

Jack
straightened, then turned around and took charge. “Okay, everyone, have a seat
at that corner table until further notice.”

Brielle wanted
to go to her room and listen to her recording of the lounge. Surely, she’d
caught something. But, she wasn’t running the show, so she held her tongue and
did as she was told. It stunk not being able to do her job outright.

Two hours and a
bottle of shared wine later, Jack approached. Brielle shot to her feet, unable
to sit and behave any longer. She had questions.

“Okay. You can
all go back to your rooms now. Sorry it took so long.” He poured himself a
scotch at the nearby bar.

“That’s okay. We
continued our game, but without the cards,” Matthew said good-naturedly.

Brielle reached
for the scotch. A hundred and twenty minutes of playing teenage party games
when she could’ve been working with Jack and his men had taken its toll. She
needed a stiff drink.

“Hey, easy
there, Brielle.” He chuckled when she swiped the glass from his hand. “That’s
not wine.”

She tossed the
drink back, slammed the glass on the bar and stared at him. “I know. Give me
another.”

His brows rose
as he refilled the glass. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

She took a sip,
then handed him the drink. “Believe me, I needed that.” Her head tipped at the
giggling threesome.

Dawning entered
Jack’s eyes, and he smiled—looking almost approvingly at her. Her mouth dried.
Neutral. She needed neutral-Jack.

“Okay, so, can I
go back to my room now?”

“Yes, but not
alone. Rodriguez, come here.” He waved to his men.

She smiled at
the approaching man. “Oh, he gets to be my roomie?”

“No, he doesn’t
get to be your
roomie
.” Jack scowled, mimicking her. “He’s to be posted
outside your door. This way he can keep an eye on the hall, too.”

“Ah, okay.” She
slapped Rodriguez on the back. “Sorry, buddy, I tried. I wouldn’t have made you
sleep on the floor.”

Her smile
broadened at the sound of Jack’s muffled oath. He still had feelings for her.
That revelation lessened her pain. “I noticed a real nice comfy couch in
there.” She watched the mirrored wall until their gazes met. Jack shook his
head, lips twitching. Brielle’s chin lifted. Maybe there was still hope for
them.

T
hree laps into his mid-morning run and
Jack didn’t feel any better. He’d slept fitfully. Between dreams of his brother
getting hurt, interrupted by dreams of Brielle being sucked into a camera, he
had some serious stress to relieve. He’d originally gone to the yacht’s gym,
but the dancer had been there, sparring with Rodriguez. Jack pulled in a breath
and upped his pace.

The image of her
in short shorts and sports bra beating the crap out of his top man did nothing
to relieve his stress. Only added to it and made him regret the things he’d
said to her last Tuesday even more. Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe she wasn’t
really after publicity. But why else would she have spouted that dare to the
camera last night? Cursing, he broke into a sprint. He didn’t need this right
now.

“Jack! Jack,
wait up,” Matthew called, forcing him to slow his strides. “I wanted to go over
today’s activities with you.”

Jack had all he
could do not to groan. Christ. Please don’t let it involve Brielle in a bikini.
He was only human.

“Well, since
it’s half past ten and Brielle’s the only girl awake,” his brother said,
falling into step. “I was thinking after lunch we’ll do some snorkeling and
lazing around on deck all afternoon.”

Jack groaned.

“What? You don’t
like snorkeling?”

“Oh, no,
snorkeling will be just peachy, Matthew.” He upped his pace. Maybe he could
outrun the foolishness that had become his life.

Matthew laughed.
“Peachy? Really, bro? What gives?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Then
I’m sure you’ll be happy with my evening plans.” Matthew slapped his back, but
Jack continued to jog in silence. “After dinner, I thought we could all dance
under the stars.”

Jack stumbled to
a stop. “What?”

“You heard me.”
Matthew grabbed the rail. “I thought since it’s supposed to be a nice night,
and I didn’t get to dance with all the girls at the club, that it’s only fair
to make up for it here.”

“Well, why not
use the more than adequate disco lounge on the second floor?”  Was his brother
nuts? Out in the open? Hell no.

“Because it’s
much more romantic out here.” Matthew stared at him like he was the one who was
crazy. “Where’s your romantic side, Jack?”

“That’d be
buried with my life, which has been put on hold the past two months.” He
regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. “I’m sorry, Matthew. That
wasn’t fair. I know none of this is your fault. But I’m doing the best I can.”

“I know you are,
Jack. That’s why I think it’d be great to see you smiling again. And I know
being in Brielle’s arms is a sure way to make that happen.”

Heart lunging to
his knees, he turned and stared out at the ocean. “Yeah, well, that’s not going
to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Look, Brielle
and I decided ‘us’ was a mistake.”

Saying the words
out loud tightened the invisible band squeezing his chest.
Us
wasn’t the
mistake. They had been good together. What if her refusal to leave had been so
she could stay near him, not his brother?  Not once had she tried to sneak into
Matthew’s room, like the others. Or hang all over his brother, like the others.

Damn
. Realization
hit Jack hard. He slumped against the rail. Mistrusting her had been the
mistake.
Jesus
, how could he have been so stupid? Pain—swift and
intense—stabbed through him. He gripped the railing and dragged in a ragged
breath.

What had he
done? And was it too late to try and fix?

“I’ve seen the
way you two look at each other when you think the other isn’t watching.”

Matthew’s words
grabbed his attention. He glanced sideways at him. “Oh?”

“I don’t know
what’s going on between the two of you, but you’re only fooling yourselves if
you say it’s nothing. The longing, the pain, the joy, it’s all been evident to
my artist eye. Surely your security-trained
eye
has picked up on it,
too?” Matthew pushed away from the rail to place a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “If
it hasn’t, then maybe you’re in the wrong business, bro.”

That
conversation stuck with Jack all day. He obligingly romped in the water and lay
on the deck, keeping an eye on things, including Brielle when she wasn’t
looking. She’d hovered near Matthew at the appropriate moments, but it appeared
less like she’d been coveting him and more like she’d been protecting him.

Weird.

Jack refocused
on the group now dancing on the deck with the moonlit sky as their backdrop.
Sitting near the railing, he held his untouched drink and watched Matthew
release Danni to take Brielle into his arms.

If he hadn’t had
that conversation with his brother earlier, he might’ve been jealous of the way
they laughed and smiled at each other. Hell. Jack set his glass down and sat up
straighter, gut tightening. Who was he kidding? He was jealous.
His
hands should be the ones circling Brielle’s waist, sliding up her back…

It was his own
damn fault.

Jack jumped to
his feet. He needed air. So what if he was already outside.

Turning his back
on the dancing couple, he headed for the other side of the ship. Rodriguez
stood guard by the door leading inside the yacht. He could keep an eye on
things. Besides, they were going to call it a night soon, anyway.

Strolling to the
stern, his heart forced him to confront the words Brielle had seared into his
brain that fateful night.