Tainted Hearts (9 page)

Worse, completely unbeknownst to Mr.
Sinclair, she’d been indulging in a bizarre love/hate relationship
with him for years. She’d been using the age-old strategy of
picturing someone who intimidated her in their underwear during a
conference call one afternoon when her fertile imagination went a
step or two further than she’d anticipated.

The unexpected interlude had been so
cathartic it launched an ongoing series of progressively more
graphic fantasies. She’d made love to Mr. Sinclair in so many
places, in so many positions, it would probably make him blush! But
they’d been just that—fantasies. Safe, distant, fantasies.

He rested his forearms on the table and
leaned toward her. “You’ve got mischief sparkling in your eyes,
Tuesday. You’re not thinking about my daughter anymore.”

Banishing her erotic thoughts through sheer
force of will, she tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted her
gaze to his mouth. Big mistake! Her nipples hardened, tingled.
Liquid heat spiraled deep into her core. She raised her hands in
front of her, elbows on the table. It was only slightly less
obvious than crossing her arms. He smiled, his gaze knowing.

She cleared her throat once, then began.
“I’ll tell Vonne you’re someone within Sinclair-Dietrich who
doesn’t want the publicity and doesn’t want your connection to the
pharmaceutical company to be construed as a conflict of interest.
If she pushes for a name, may I tell her who you are?”

“You make a valid point. Protecting Elise’s
identity may be in your best interest until after the performance
of the SP-65 is proven. My company does, after all, have a vested
interest in the continuation of the program.”

“Yep. Each patient only pays for their heart
once, but they pay for their immunosuppressant cocktail for the
rest of their lives.”

His smile quirked familiarly and her stomach
fluttered. Damn, that smile was sexy on any face. She had to stop
thinking about this. He didn’t know all the nights she’d spent
imagining they were lovers, picturing in minute detail all the ways
they’d pleasure each other.

Of course, in her fantasies she was perfect
too.

“I thought knowing who I am would make this
easier for you. Why do you seem even more uncomfortable?”

She laughed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sinclair. I’ve
never been kidnapped before. I’ll work on my deportment.”

Grinning at her, he nodded approvingly.
“That’s better. Except for the Mr. Sinclair part. This isn’t
exactly a boardroom.”

She didn’t comment. No, this wasn’t a
boardroom it was a cage. Did he still intend to keep her here?

Did he still intend to seduce her? Her
traitorous body throbbed in anticipation.

“Can Ms. Lucero start the ball rolling or do
I need to fly you back to the mediplex?”

There it was. Her opportunity. All she had
to do was claim she had to be present for the preparations and he
would have no choice but to end her captivity.
Say it! Say you
need to go back. End this now, before he—

“My shuttle is solar, so we’d really be
pushing it. If you don’t have any major objections, we’ll head back
first thing in the morning.”

“How far from Baltimore are we? I guess the
real question is, where are we?”

“Rocky Mountain Gaming Reserve.”

“Such a clever use for cloning,” she
muttered. “Clone animals just to kill them. What a waste.”

He laughed, apparently not offended by her
opinion. “It’s kept the real thing from extinction, hasn’t it?
Besides, I’m in it for the scenery.”

“I can’t argue with that.” She glanced out
the window. “It’s absolutely beautiful up here.”

“Okay, let’s rewind. Can your boss get
things started for Elise? What do you need from me?”

“Yes, Vonne can schedule the procedure
and…can we get a medical history from Elise’s nurse? Can you trust
her?”

Scooting back from the table, he stood.
“Telling Laura I’ve finally found a way to get Elise a heart may be
the only way of redeeming myself after my galactic faux pas. She’s
been with Elise since her birth. I trust Laura implicitly.” He
proffered his hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To make sure Ms. Lucero is alone when you
call her.” Tuesday wasn’t sure what he meant but she followed him
up the stairs to the loft. Behind a seemingly unimportant door
ascended a second staircase. “Stay here while I open the
booth.”

Booth? What in blazes was a booth? She heard
him speak a muffled sequence of numbers and then he pressed his
thumb to a small scanner. Damn. There must be something important
inside this “booth”.

“All right. Come on up.”

He held the door open while she brushed past
him and into the small room. Numerous electronic components had
been set into the walls and a control console sat adjacent to the
only unadorned wall. Nothing too impressive until the puppet master
pulled the strings.

Marc slipped in behind the console and
activated the video screen. Glancing at Tuesday, he smiled as her
eyes grew progressively wider. The screen divided into three rows
of three, allowing him to monitor nine separate images
simultaneously.

“Okay. Here’s Ms. Lucero’s office, but where
is Ms. Lucero?” He flipped through several feeds before he found
her in one of the smaller conference rooms. “Damn. She’s got
company.”

“Ring that station. Audio only,” Tuesday
suggested. “No one else in the room knows me but Vonne should
recognize my voice. I’ll ask her to take the call in her
office.”

“She won’t go ballistic when she hears
you?”

Leaning her hip against the console very
near his arm, she gave a derisive little snort. “Please. She’s a
professional.”

“Do you know the number for that
extension?”

“I think it’s eight-two-nine.”

Sure enough, the communications station in
the center of the conference table buzzed. Vonne reached forward to
activate the speaker. “Ms. Lucero.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Ms. Lucero, but I
have an emergency call holding for you on your personal line. Shall
I put it through or would you like to take it in your office?”

Marc smiled.
Well done
.

“I’ll take it in my office,” she said
predictably.

They watched as she excused herself from the
meeting. A few seconds later she entered her office and picked up
her phone. “Tuesday, are you still there?”

“Right here, boss. Everything’s fine.”

“Fine? I had Bettencourt in here earlier
claiming you’d been nabbed by PURE. He just about had me convinced.
Oh, Tuesday, you are never going to believe what the ultimatum is
really about.”

Marc looked at Vonne’s earnest face and took
a deep breath. It would all be so much less complicated if he just
dispensed with the subterfuge. “Do you trust her?” he
whispered.

“Implicitly.”

She’d repeated his word for Laura Finn. “Ms.
Lucero, Marc Sinclair here. I sort of borrowed Tuesday this morning
to help me brainstorm a problem near and dear to my heart.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Vonne said.

“His daughter needs a heart and the
bureaucrats won’t let her near one because he…well, his company
developed Methuselah,” Tuesday supplied. “I explained that we’re
about to test the SP-65 and he’s graciously volunteered his
daughter as our first human host.”

Vonne smiled warmly. “That’s wonderful, Mr.
Sinclair. The committee controlling the Priority Matrix has no
jurisdiction in our test cases but I’m sure Ms. Fitzpatrick already
explained this to you.”

“There is one condition, Vonne. To protect
both the integrity of the test case and Mr. Sinclair’s privacy,
I’ve promised that he and his daughter will never be mentioned by
name. Do you foresee any problem with that?”

“Not at all. We’ll need a medical history of
little Subject A. The procedure can be done here at the mediplex.
There would be less chance of any accidental release of information
if only handpicked staff interacts with her. I’ll assemble our top
team. When can I expect her? For that matter, when can I expect
you?”

“We’ll be there about 10:00 tomorrow
morning, so don’t schedule the procedure before then,” Marc
answered.

“Of course, Mr.—Jones. I’m so glad we could
help each other in this.” She paused. “Tuesday, about this
morning.”

“Ms. Lucero,” Marc cut in. “Tuesday has a
recording of the conversation you had with General Bettencourt.
President Rawsen will not be bullying her into doing anything she
doesn’t want to do. If she chooses to help, it will be because she
wants to.”

Vonne’s dark brows knitted together in a
confused frown. “How did she get…do you have my office bugged?”

“We’ll see you tomorrow.”

They stood side by side on the deck of the
hunting lodge and watched the mountains claim the sun. The distant
snowcaps turned pink, signaling the sun’s impending defeat, then
the horizon exploded in colors so vivid the rugged slopes seemed to
glow.

Tuesday shivered, so enthralled by the glory
of the sunset that she didn’t register the corresponding drop in
temperature.

Marc’s arm slipped around her shoulders and
his hand connected with her bare upper arm. He gasped. “You’re ice
cold. Why didn’t you say something?”

Instead of hurrying her back inside as she
feared, he retrieved a blanket from somewhere inside the lodge and
returned to the rail. She expected him to hand it to her or put it
over her shoulders but instead he surprised her again. He shook it
out, draped it around his shoulders and wrapped himself around
her.

She stood directly in front of him, her head
tucked neatly under his chin. His arms encircled her waist and his
body molded to every curvy contour of her backside. Embarrassed,
she squirmed. It only made the hard leanness of his body more
apparent.

“Be still,” he cautioned. “Or I’ll find out
if your legs are cold.”

She stilled against him, accepted his
embrace. Twilight deepened. The air turned chill.

“Listen. The mountains have a music all of
their own, a rhythm you won’t hear anywhere else.” His voice was
hushed, almost reverent.

“That’s true of anywhere. The city has a
rhythm, the ocean has a rhythm.”

“Yeah, they speak, but the mountains
sing.”

She smiled and closed her eyes, listening to
the night wind and distant scurry of small woodland creatures.
Inhaling deeply, she savored the scent of pine and rain-washed
earth until she felt Marc’s face rubbing against her hair. “What
are you doing?”

“Smelling your hair.”

His fingers gradually splayed against her
midriff, easing ever closer to her breast. Well, at least she knew
the answer now. He still intended to seduce her. The new question
was, would she let him?

Just before his hand closed over her breast,
she twisted in his arms and leaned back against the railing.

“Your butt’s going to get cold like that.”
His gaze smoldered. He didn’t offer her the blanket.

“I’ve never slept with a married man and I
never will.”

“I’m not married.”

She sighed.

Keeping hold of the blanket, he put his
hands on the rail on either side of her. “Go ahead. You’re
obviously dying to know. Ask me about Emma. But I lose interest in
this particular subject incredibly fast, so make your questions
count.”

“Emma is Elise’s mother?”

“Isn’t that what you were going to ask me
about?”

He sounded so relieved that she almost lied.
“Were you married or did you just have a child together?”

“We were married.”

“You told me before that she’s not in the
picture any longer. Is that by choice or…what happened?”

“Emma committed suicide, so I guess that
would be by choice. You get one more question then I’m done.”

She should just leave it alone. The subject
was obviously painful for him and they would likely never see each
other again after tonight. “Did you love her?”

He laughed, a harsh scornful sound. “I would
have laid odds that would be your question. Guess you’re not so
unique after all.”

He made it to the door before she stopped
him. Intentionally stepping on the trailing end of the blanket, she
said, “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. Of course you loved
her. Why would you have a child with a woman you didn’t love? I
shouldn’t have brought it up. I didn’t mean—”

He whipped around and smiled when she yelped
and jumped back. “See, now I thought you’d let me storm off, but
you came after me. The longer I’m with you, the more fascinating I
find you.”

“I wish you hadn’t changed your face.”

“What did you say?” he asked. “What’s wrong
with my face?”

“Nothing!” She pushed past him and went into
the lodge, mumbling, “I just liked it better before.”

For some irrational reason that pleased him
immeasurably. “I had no idea you had any opinion about me. You were
all business whenever—”

“Mr. Sinclair, without your company’s
support, I never would have gotten the SP-64 out of the laboratory.
I always tried to be respectful but mostly you intimidated the hell
out of me.”

“Why wouldn’t you dance with me?”

Their gazes collided and pain flared within
her before she could suppress it completely. Who had hurt her? Left
such a passionate woman wary and unsure? He knew she was
passionate, even if Tuesday hadn’t realized it herself. He could
sense desire smoldering in her. Determination surged through his
entire body. She’d dance with him tonight. He’d hold her in his
arms and feel her body sway.

“I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. I
just knew I’d trip over my dress or step on your toes. I’ve always
been a little afraid of you.”

“Until I kidnapped you.” He balled up the
blanket and tossed it aside. “Then I was treated to a glimpse of
the real Tuesday Fitzpatrick.”