Three Weeks Last Spring (19 page)

Walker frowned, his eyes level under drawn brows.
"The only thing the realtor
is
interested in is whether your credit card was good.
Besides, there are such things as false bank accounts.
Sorry, lady, that doesn't stand up.
Any
more suggestions?"

If she could just keep Walker distracted, she might be able
to make a lunge for the phone.

"You stayed here for three days and three nights.
Doesn't that tell you anything about me?
If I'm involved as you suggest, don't you think I would have pump
ed
you for information?"

"Too obvious, although I have to say the innocent act you put on, even in bed, had me fooled for a while.
In future remember that once you let the passion genie out of the bottle, it gets real hard to play the naïve lover.
It's just a pity I left when I did, otherwise I might have got to enjoy your full repertoire."

Skye's breath came out in a rush.
"You bastard!
Do you really think I'm the type of woman who
’
d use her body to get something?"

"It's been my experience that most do
," h
e replied.

"That says a lot for the type of person you are and the company you keep
,
" Skye retorted angrily.
"I've never slept with a man just because I wanted something."
She was through with trading insults, and wished with all he
r soul she were somewhere else.

"So you say."
Deep down, he knew Skye was telling the truth, but wasn't about to
apologis
e
for his crassness.
The look
sh
e gave him would have curdled milk and rather than face
her icy stare, he looked away.

Skye made a grab for the phone.
But the man had the reflexes of a boxer and before her fingers had punched in nine-one-one, a strong hand circled her wrist and remove
d the instrument from her hand.

"That
was a real stupid move, Skye."

"Let go of me."

"What, so you can call your buddies?
No chance.
You and I haven't finished our little
chat
yet."

"I wasn't calling ‘my buddies’ as you put it.
I was calling the polic
e.
Let them sort this out.
L
et me go
,
"
she
pleaded.
"I promise I'll leave as soon as they've been and you'll never have to see me again.
You can even put me on the next plane to London yourself."

"Sorry, no deal.
I'm staying right here, whether you like it or not.
Flashing your big blue eyes isn't going to work.
Either tell me who's behind this, or shut up!"

"How many more times do I have to say it?
I am telling the truth.
I'm working on a project that's due to be presented to the Gov…
to clients in a few weeks’ time."
If only she was in a position to reveal who her client was he might believe her, but she wasn't.
"At lea
st let me shut down my laptop."

Walker's voice was edged with control.
"Okay, but then give it to me."

Skye snorted indignantly.
"Since you're so determined to impose your presence on me, I'll fetch some blankets and a pillow—you can sleep
in
the
spare room
.
"

"No need.
As I said, I'm not letting you out of my sight for one moment until this is over and
means I share
your bed."

Panic welling in her throat.
"Now
wait a minute.
If you think—"

Walker interrupted her.
His face was a mask of stone.
"I've had about as much as I can take, Skye.
My patience is wearing real thin.
The subject is not open for discussion.
If you know what's good for you, you'll—"

"I'll what?
Behave like the whore you obviously think I am?
No way.
You may be able to force me into sharing a bedroom with you, but I'd rather sleep on the floor than sleep in the same bed
as
a bastard like you!"

"Whatever.
It doesn't change a thing.
Now, unless you
want
me
to toss
your laptop in
to
the sea, why don't yo
u shut it down and hand it over
?"

Skye looked away swiftly.
Walker's expression held a note of mockery and she couldn't stand the cold-eyed smile he was giving her any longer.
She went to the table and did as he requested.
It was futile trying to reason with him.
For the time being at least, she had little choice but to accept his presence in the cabin.
She could only hope that either she
coul
d find a way to prove her innocence or someone would come looking for her and she'd be free of this terrible, frightening sham of a relationship.

Skye stared moodily out of the window at the ever-darkening sky and mulled over the events of the evening.
Deep down, she seethed with anger and frustration.
How Walker could believe she was involved in anything as abhorrent as illegal dumping, was beyond her comprehension.
The only plausible explanation she could come up with was the man must be temporarily insane.
And he'd hurt her, too.
She rubbed her wrist, the same one Michael had injured not more than a year ago.

Logic must prevail.
Logic.
It was what she was known for.
She could see how he might assume she was guilty of hacking into his computer.
But
no one in their right mind dumped chemicals in their own backyard.
Not if they had more than two brain cells to rub together.
And besides, the Alaskan wilderness was only a few hundred miles up the coast.
There were ample isolated spots, not to mention a whole ocean to poison, so why pick a populated place at all?
It just didn't add up, unless of course you wanted to
deliberately discredit someone.

But it still didn't explain how Walker concluded that there was a connection between
her,
the illegal accessing of his company's computers and the dumping of chemical waste around the islands.
The man was downright pig-headed and insufferable, not to mention unapproachable and stubborn, mean and
judgmental
.
She wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he'd done more than ruffle a few feathers in his career—he probably had thousands of ruffled feathers to his credit.

If only she could penetrate the deliberate blankness present in his eyes, then she
woul
d
offer
to secure his computer system.
But as it was, he could toast evenly over a spit in hell before she'd lift a finger to help him.
She had better things to do with her time than
agoniz
e
over his problems.
She had to find a way out of this terrible mess.

A wave of apprehension swept through her.
She felt intimidated and wary of Walker.
His physical presence filled every inch of the small cabin.
He was much stronger than she and there was no telling what he might do while he was in this black mood.
I
t was vital she remain calm and avoid riling him.
S
he had to find away to reach him, to make him listen, and then
convince him she was innocent.

Walker sat in the armchair next to the fireplace read
ing
a book.
Skye regarded him with a speculative gaze.
Two deep lines of worry creased her brow.
How could he appear so calm and relaxed?
His emotions didn't just turn on a dime; they turned on pennies, nickels and quarters as well.
One moment he was hot and accusing, the next
j
ust sitting!
He should be out there trying to catch whoever was responsible for this environmental disaster rather than loungin
g around on his backside
.
If it were her business at risk she'd be pushing out all the s
tops to protect her reputation.

Her eyes darted round the room in frustration.
She picked up a magazine and flicked through the pages, only to put it down again when it failed to catch her interest.
She tried reading her book, but the words on the page distorted before her eyes.
She was in no mood to watch TV and listening to music was out of the question as the CD player was on the shelf next to Walker and she was damned if she was
going anywhere near him.

She stood and walked over to the window and stared out.
The scenery hadn't changed
since she'd last looked
.
Walker's continued stony silence was getting to her and cabin fever hit hard.
She felt hemmed in and wasn't sure how much
more
she could take before panic and hysteria set in.
He'd taken her laptop and locked it away in a cupboard, pocketing the key in the process.
She was too restless and frustrated to sit and do nothing; she needed a vent for her nervousness and all her pent up feelings.
It was too early to go to bed and even if it weren't, the last thing she wanted to think about was sharing a bed with him under these circumstances—correction, under any circumstances.

"Skye, sit down
,
" Walker growled.
"You're getting on my nerves wandering
around the room all the time."

"I can't.
I'm too agitated.
You've got me caged up like…like some circus animal."

Walker's eyes darkened dangerously.
"
F
or God's sake!
Do you think I'm enjoyi
ng this any more than you are?"

Skye glared at him, the tension between them increasing with frig
htening intensity.

"
Y
ou're the one keeping me here against my will, so you tell me. I should be working.
There are people relying on me.
But you've already acted as judge and jury and found me guilty of some hideous crime.
Well, let me tell you this,
Mr.
High and Mighty Walker, you're wrong.
So wrong that when the police come looking for me, you're the one who's going to have some explaining to do, not me."

Walker
held her gaze.
He didn't like wha
t he saw there anymore than he
liked the tone
of her voice.

"
I'll be real pleased to see the cops.
I'll even watch while they haul you away.
Computer hacking is a federal crime in this country and we don't look too kindly on people who illegally dump chemical waste either.
You'd better get used to being locked up, lady, because if I have anything to do with it, you'll be spending time in a place a lot smaller and less attractive than this cabin."

"You're impossible!
You're being totally unreasonable.
I don't know why I'm bothering to talk to you since you won't listen to what I have to say.
You know, I give up.
You win.
Arguing is getting us nowhe
re.
I'm going to have a bath."

Walker put his book down and
started to rise from the chair.

"And I don't need a chaperone!"

Walker crossed the room with two quick strides and stood face to face with Skye.
He tipped her chin with a finger, and looked down into her eyes.
He smiled suggestively.
"Oh, darlin', and here's me thinking you were issuing an invitation."

Skye clamped her jaw shut and stared at him with pure raging hatred in her eyes.
She slapped him hard across the face for the second time that day.
Turning on her heels, she opened the bedroom door, slamming it so hard behind her that the windows of the cabin rattled.

Walker rubbed his jaw.
For such a small thing, she had one hell of a temper.
This was turning out to be a day full of surprises.
First the discovery of more fish, and washed up on his
land
too, then finding Skye hammering away at a laptop.
And as if that wasn't enough, he'd s
een reams of computer code on the
screen.
That was pretty damming evidence
by
anyone's
standard
.

But in the back of his mind there lurked a tiny speck of doubt
.
What if she was telling the truth?
She'd maintained her story throughout his aggressive questioning.
If she really did design computer software, then he was going to look damned foolish, but it was a risk he
woul
d have to take.
Better that than having her running around the countryside like a loose cannon.
At least here in the confines of the cabin he could keep an eye on her.
She was right—sooner or later someone would come looking for her and when they did, he'd be ready for them.
In the meantime, he’d
contact
McCabe, bring him up to speed on developments, and let him know he'd be st
aying at the cabin for a while.

Skye slid down in the hot water until she was submerged to her chin and tried to
relax.
It didn't work.
She knew her only chance of escaping from this ridiculous situation lay with John, but could she rely on him to call her again
anytime
soon?
Hopefully he wouldn't wait more than three or four days
to contact her
, as he
would
want to know whether
she had
solve
d
the problem with the software.
When he finally made contact, she'd scream bloody blue murder until Walker listened to him.
If that didn't work, then hopefully John would have the sense to contact the British Consulate in Seattl
e and let them know that one Britain’s
top software designers was being held captive by a crazed American.

When the police or CIA or whoever
knocked
at the door, not only would Walker have no choice but to listen, but with luck, he
woul
d be arrested on kidnapping charges.
When that happened, Skye would
sit back enjoy every minute of his embarrassment as he attempted to worm his way out of that.

She hated him now.

She hated
him
with every inch of her being.
Not only was she bitterly angry with him, she was angry with herself.
How could she have been
so
stupid to relax her guard, when all her instincts told her that she should never trust a man, especially one she
’d only just met
?
What made it worse was that she believed
Walker was
honorable
, that he wasn't the type of man to use a woman.
Although he hadn't said
as
much, she actually thought he cared ab
out her.
How wrong she'd been.

Fury and humiliation choked Skye, but she wasn't about to give in.
One thing was certain—this time she wasn't going to allow a man to bully or blackmail her into doing something against her will.
She fought back the tears, and vowed to fight him every inch of the way until he admitted he was wrong.
Then she'd walk away without a backward glance
and
with
her head held high.

Closing her eyes,
sh
e allowed the warm water to ease away the tension from her shoulders and considered her options once more.
The man couldn't watch her twenty-four hours a day.
He had to sleep at some point and that
would
be
her chance
to use the phone
.
As things stood, there was no way Walker would allow her within spitting distance of
the instrument
, but he might force her to answer, for the sake of appearances.
Maybe she could turn that to her advantage
.

The only other option
was to try and make a run for it.
She still had the keys to her rental car, something Walker seemed to have overlooked.
But he
was bound to hear the engine start
and
as the man had the reflexes of some strange forest animal
, how far could she get before he came after her in his truck?

The question preying on Skye's mind was would he sleep heavily enough?
It certainly wasn't going to be easy, not when he guarded her like the Kohinoor diamond.
He was taller and stronger than her, so hitting him over the head with a heavy object seemed out of the question, although it might knock some sense into him.
What she needed was something to give her an advantage, but what?

Walker heard the water drain from the bath, and returned to his chair by the fire.
He picked up his book, but paid no attention to the words on the page.
A few moments later, Skye entered the room, wrapped in a large
toweling
robe.
Her cheeks were flushed, and
she’d pinned her
damp hair
to the top of her head, expos
ing
the
alabaster expanse of her neck.