The Kid Who Stole Christmas (17 page)

“It’s some kind of special one, made for swimming laps while you stay in one place. But it’s great for playing in, too! We played in it all day.”

“You and Irv?” Shannon asked.

“And Joey, too.”

At this exchange, Joey’s eyes opened wide and he started to reach for the phone. “Jeez, kid!”

Leo was genuinely alarmed, but he realized his mistake and quickly corrected it. “Oh, that’s not their real names.”

“Oh. Well, that explains a lot,” Shannon said. “Leo, honey, I know you’re having fun, and all, but we’re a little worried about you.”

“Why? This was the best day I ever had.” he assured her. “Well, since Mom and Dad...you know.”

“Yes, dear.” Obviously, there was still nothing to worry about. And it was so good to hear his voice. “Tell me about it. What did you do? Besides swim, I mean.”

“Well, first, while Joey slept, Irv made breakfast. We had waffles, with ice cream and hot blueberry syrup. Both of us spilled it on the white rug in the entertainment room, and nobody even yelled at us.”

“No one?”

“Well, Joey did, a little,” he replied. “Anyway, we found a channel on the satellite that played nothing but cartoons, and watched until Joey got up around noon and made us stop because he was afraid we were rotting our brains. But then we found the pool, so it was okay.”

Shannon frowned. This had to be the oddest kidnapping in the history of the crime. And the oddest pair of perpetrators, as well. “Just how old is this Irv, Leo?”

“Irv? I don’t know. He doesn’t have any gray hair yet, like Pop, but he’s older than me. Fifty, I guess.” Leo looked at Joey, who was again signaling him wildly. “Uh, I think I’m going to have to get off the phone now. Joey is waiting for an important call.”

“About the Arnies?” Shannon asked.

“Yeah. Did you see ‘em on TV? Wasn’t that cool?”

“Yes, Leo. It was cool. You tell Joey we don’t have ours yet, but we should soon, okay?”

“But what about the spies?”

“Just tell him what I said, Leo,” Shannon said calmly.

“Okay.”

Leo relayed the information to Joey. Joey just nodded his head. “I know, kid. You tell her I know all about the marketing waves. And then you’d better hang up. Those spies have ways of tracing cellular calls, too.”

“Shannon? He says he knows about the waves. And I have to go now, so they don’t trace the call.”

“All right, Leo. You just continue to do what Joey says and have a good time. I love you.”

“I love you, too. And Pop. See you soon.”

“Yes, Leo,” Shannon assured him. “Very soon.”

Leo pushed the disconnect button. He looked at Joey. “I’m sorry, Joey. I didn’t mean to mess anything up. Did I do okay covering for you?”

Joey seemed deep in thought. “You did just fine, kid. I’m the one who may have messed up.” He shrugged. “Oh, well. No big deal, I suppose.” He looked at Irv, who had the oddest expression on his face. “What’s eating you?”

“I’m only twenty-eight, Joey!” Irv exclaimed. “I don’t really look fifty like Leo said, do I? Huh?”

Both Joey and Leo started laughing. “No, Irv,” Joey said. “I’d say you don’t look a day over thirty-five or forty, tops.”

“What!”

Joey just grinned. “Go get the cards, Leo. It’s time you learned a real game. Maybe I can take some of that play money back from you.”

“You mean poker?” Leo asked. “Pop and I play that all the time, too.”

“Oh, brother,” Joey said with a sigh. “I think I’m in for a bumpy night.”

Chapter Fifteen

S
hannon awoke just before her alarm went off at six in the morning. Rick was in bed beside her, already awake and watching her, his eyes full of a tenderness that made her feel warm all over.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning.” She kissed him sleepily. “I should warn you, I’m not worth a hoot until I’ve had a hot shower.”

“For me it’s coffee,” Rick told her. He kissed her again and got out of bed. “Shall I bring you a cup when it’s ready?”

Shannon yawned. “That would be lovely, thank you.”

She watched him pull on his pants, her eyes opening wider and a big smile spreading across her face as she remembered becoming intimately acquainted with almost every inch of his tanned, well-toned skin last night.

When he left the room, she got out of bed, then grabbed her robe and went to take a shower. The hot, stinging spray felt wonderful against her muscles, a few of which were sore from not having been used in quite some time, and perhaps never so vigorously. Rick was an attentive, gentle lover, but keeping up with his strong body had been a challenge. Each and every little muscle twinge, however, was a joyful reminder of the ecstasy they had shared.

The smell of fresh coffee reached her after she had washed her hair, causing her to hurry through the rest of her ablutions. The lights went out just as she was rinsing off the soap suds.

“Buttons, darn you! Turn those back on.” When they did come back on, she gasped in amazement. “Why, Buttons! That’s quite a trick! Who taught you that?”

But when the shower door opened and Rick stepped into the shower with her, she knew she’d been fooled. He handed her a steaming cup of coffee, careful to keep it out of the spray.

“Actually, Buttons taught it to me,” he said.

While Shannon sipped at the hot, black liquid, Rick drank in her shimmering beauty with every bit as much enjoyment. At last, she put the cup aside, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“My, such talent,” she murmured, running her fingertips over his glistening chest. “Turning lights on and off. Making and fetching coffee. And good coffee, at that.”

“I can do other tricks, as well,” Rick assured her.

Shannon pressed herself against him. “Mmm. Show me.”

Rick proceeded to do just that, his strength again an asset in the small, steamy confines of the shower stall. He grasped her hips and lifted her up, taking his fill of her slippery breasts when they were level with his mouth. Then he slowly lowered her back down. She gasped as he entered her, surprised and wildly thrilled. This was a first for her.

She covered his mouth with her own, communicating her excitement with her tongue. Since it was new to her, she had no idea what to do, then found that there was very little she
could
do. In this position, she was almost totally at his mercy. That thrilled her, too, but only because she now trusted him completely—at least in carnal matters.

Shannon pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I like this trick,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’ve never done it this way before.”

“I thought not,” Rick gasped out.

“Why? Am I doing something wrong?”

He chuckled. “No! It’s just that this is very much ladies first. I’m not
that
strong. And the way you’re squeezing me, I won’t last another minute.”

“Oh!” Shannon made a conscious effort to relax those muscles. The expression on Rick’s face went from imminent explosion to relaxed pleasure. “Better?”

“Much.”

By lifting her with his hands under her buttocks and making small movements with his powerful hips, Rick began to move deep within her. Combined with the motion of his hard, slick belly against hers and the water cascading over them both, it produced a sensation that had Shannon groaning wantonly with but a few thrusts.

She clutched wildly at his back, startled by the sheer swiftness of her own response. Her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned her head back, allowing Rick total possession of her body. And in just a few more moments, she abandoned herself to a powerful climax.

For the first time she could ever remember, she lost total control of herself, even to the point of crying out loudly, something else she had never done before. It was such a pure, liberating experience that she was left weak and limp in Rick’s arms.

Her eyes fluttered open again, and she saw the onset of his own crescendo. It, too, rapidly progressed to a peak and exploded while Shannon wrapped her legs around his back and held on for dear life. She was entirely his, to do with as he pleased, for she lacked the strength for anything else.

At last, Rick’s own prodigious strength gave out and he slipped from her. They stood beneath the restoring spray, holding each other up until they could recover.

When they did, Shannon washed him, luxuriating in the slick feel of his skin beneath her hands. Rick then returned the favor. Finally, they turned off the water and stepped out, and again took turns drying each other off.

Shannon kissed him. “Now, that is what I call fantastic morning coffee,” she exclaimed.

“Why, thank you, ma’am.” Rick winked at her. “We’ll have to try it in a pool sometime.”

“Yes, I’ll bet you’re an expert in pools,” she teased.

Though tempted to fall back into bed, they knew it was time to get moving. As it turned out, they were both morning people, which was good since this would be a busy day. After they dressed, they had a light breakfast of fruit and more coffee and then headed downtown.

Shannon had to check in with her department, and probably sort through a small mountain of paperwork. Rick, meanwhile, would use the time to make sure everything was okay at the warehouse and grab a change of clothes. As they parted company in the Lyon’s employee parking lot, their passionate kiss did not go unnoticed.

“Have a nice night?” Pop’s secretary asked, winking at Shannon suggestively as she walked by.

“Yes, thank you,” Shannon replied. She knew the smile on her glowing face said it all, and didn’t care who saw it. “Is Pop going to be in this morning, Carla?”

She paused and nodded. “I imagine he’s already here, watching the waves on TV. They’re all up and down both coasts now and moving inward.”

“The Arnies, you mean?” Rick asked.

“What else? It is sort of exciting, even if we have to give ours up. Either way, we’d better get them soon, or Pop will bust a gusset,” Carla said. “Any leads on Leo yet?”

“One,” Shannon replied. “We’re going to check it out later today.”

“Good. Oh, Pop wants a full report, by the way,” Carla said, then turned and continued walking toward the building.

“That was going to be my first stop, anyway,” Shannon told Rick. “I think Pop is in closer contact with those two kidnappers than he’s letting on.”

“Oh? What kind of contact?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is that’s the same thing Leo said on the phone last night. The kidnapper he calls Joey told him he knew about the waves. Pop and I are the only ones you told about that strategy, right?” Shannon asked.

“Yes. But like I said then, I could only tell you because it was about to become public knowledge, anyway,” Rick replied. “It’s all over the news. The kidnappers might have picked up the expression from somebody on television.”

“Maybe. But if Pop has talked to them again, it wouldn’t hurt to compare notes.”

He shrugged. “I suppose not.”

Shannon looked at him, a slight frown wrinkling her forehead. She had become so caught up in her own feelings that she had nearly forgotten about Rick’s connection to all this. He had even admitted last night that there were still things he was keeping from her. That bothered her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

“
Are
we going to be getting our Arnies soon?” she asked.

Rick grinned. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”

“Not even after all we’ve shared?” she coaxed.

Rick’s grin melted and he took her into his arms again, gazing seriously into her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Shannon,” he assured her. “It’s more a matter of my not trusting myself, now more than ever, in fact. I have to do what I came here to do, no matter what.”

Unfortunately, Shannon thought she knew exactly what he meant. “What if we don’t find Leo by the time the Arnies arrive, Rick?”

He gave her a reassuring hug, then released her. “We’ll find him,” he said, then turned to go. “But only if we get a move on. See you in a few.”

Shannon scowled at his departing back. “You don’t have any intention of just turning those toys over to the Bayers, do you?” she shouted after him.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, Shannon,” he called back without breaking stride.

She stamped her foot in frustration, then headed into the building. When she was gone, a man emerged from behind the Dumpster he had been hiding behind for the better part of the morning and started following Rick. It wasn’t easy, because his old legs with their alcohol-impaired circulation were no match for the purposeful stride of the younger man, especially in the chill morning air. But he managed. The promise of good pay helped move him along.

Rick continued toward his destination, his mind full of all the things vying for his attention. For someone who had had next to nothing in his life just a few days ago, there was certainly a lot going on. It was impossible to concentrate on them individually, because they were so interdependent. Find Leo. Save the Arnies. Get back into Chelsea’s life. Destroy the Bayers, or, at the very least, Angela.

And then there was Shannon. Sweet, sexy, problematic Shannon. Just the thought of her gave him something he had feared he would never have again. Hope.

He had never really felt about a woman the way he did about Shannon. With Angela, it had been lust, which had quickly dissipated into apathy and, later, outright hatred. While Shannon certainly evoked his lust, it was in a different way. Just as strong, but softer, somehow. And there was more. Her needs and wants were becoming more important to him than his own. That, supposedly, was one element of love. Up until now, the only other human being he had cared about that much was Chelsea. Now it seemed there was room in his heart for two.

Therein lay the problem. Soon, whether they found Leo or not, Shannon was likely to become very unhappy with him. She would ask him to choose. But that choice was so unfair.

Rick wanted to do the right thing. That he was holding out on Shannon was already eating him up inside; getting closer to her had only made things worse. But this was his one best chance to regain some control over his daughter’s life. It was imperative that he hold on to every possible edge until the last moment, or the Bayers might squash him again. And he didn’t think he had it in him to rise above that one more time. This was it, and he had to make it work.