Trust Me (29 page)

“Are you forgetting I was shot at
before
they
ransacked my house?” 
she
asked, thinking she
definitely hadn't forgotten.

“Of course not, but I'd be willing to bet that as long
as the money remains unfound, you'll be safe.”

“For some reason, I don't think that makes me feel any
better.”

A wry smile appeared on Donovan's face. “No, I don't
suppose it would.”

Finishing the last of her pizza, Alaina rose from the
couch and said, “I'm going to get my things together so we can go back to your
place. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Don't worry,” he assured her, a warm smile on his
face, “it won't be a problem.”

Unable to help herself, she threw a smile over her
shoulder as she walked toward her room.  “I noticed, you seem as if you
own the place.”

Alaina quickly grabbed the necessities she would need
for the next couple of days, a couple of suits, blouses, underwear, shoes, and
toiletries.  She fully intended to return to the office tomorrow, there
was no way she could miss any more work, besides she thought, she was sure she
would be safe amongst all the people there.  When she finished packing she
rejoined Donovan in the living room.  He had already cleaned away the
remains of their dinner from the coffee table.

After returning to Donovan's condominium, Alaina was
filled with an overwhelming feeling of anticipation and nervousness.  Why
was she so nervous, she thought, maybe it because of the smoldering look which
had entered his eyes the minute they had reached his apartment. 

Alaina wasn't the only one filled with
anticipation.  Donovan was thrilled to have her back in his condo and back
in his bed.  So many of the times they had been together, they had always
been rushed.  Now they had the opportunity to enjoy each other leisurely,
and he was going to make sure they did.  Their night was spent exactly how
Donovan had planned with slow sensual sex. 
Except, he
could have done without Alaina's unromantic reminders that their relationship
was only physical.
  Hey, wasn't it the guy that was supposed to say
shit like that?

They soon fell into a routine of living
together.  They spent their nights having hot sweaty sex, they shared
breakfast together in the morning and in the evening they would enjoy fabulous
dinners prepared by Donovan.  She would have never admitted it, but she
felt completely content living with Donovan despite the chaos surrounding her
life.  She was absolutely at ease with him, like she could be herself
around him.  However in the back of her mind she couldn't forget his
deception, she felt like she would always be waiting for another
betrayal.  The relationship they had now was just physical she kept
reminding herself.  The time they had together now was just a temporary
interlude she was allowing herself, something to be remembered, not something
she could keep. 

She also couldn't forget why she was here. She was
seeking protection from some unknown assailant, waiting for Donovan and the FBI
to find the people responsible for ransacking her home.  She had continued
to live her life as normally as possible, going to work each day.  However
she never worked late at the office. If she had extra work, she brought it
home.  She could never shake the feeling that someone was watching her,
waiting to attack.  The irony was that she could be of no help to
anyone.  Her father had never confided in her or had never given her
anything they could be looking for, especially over a couple of a million
dollars of embezzled funds.

Donovan was quite pleased with the way events were
unfolding in the last couple of weeks, both with the investigation and with
Alaina.  He had already narrowed the suspects down to a few individuals
and was having them watched.  It was only a matter of time before they
would pinpoint the guilty parties, patience was all he needed.  When he
thought about his situation at home, he smiled.  He and Alaina were
becoming closer every day.  Donovan knew she was still trying to fight it,
but he also knew it wouldn't be much longer until she gave in to her
feelings.  He understood her hesitation, he’d betrayed her trust and that
was something that took time to re-build. He would give her all the time she
needed.

Alaina was grateful to be at the office since it took
her mind off the turmoil she was experiencing in her life.  She was busy
going over changes in the new Family Law Act when her phone rang.  It was
Marlene informing her Elise was in the lobby.

“Send her in, Marlene,” Alaina directed.  Leaning
back in her leather chair, she made herself more comfortable as she waited
patiently for Elise’s arrival.  She anticipated that this was going to be
a long conversation. She hadn't seen Elise since they went to FBI headquarters
together, and she knew Elise was going to want every detail of the past several
weeks.

Elise walked in, looking chic as usual, wearing a very
short pleated skirt with a tiny floral print, a beige blazer, and a camisole
top underneath. The entire outfit was coordinated to perfection.  She sat
herself down in the seat across from Alaina's desk and asked, “Alaina what's
going on?  I haven't heard from you since you moved in with Donovan, I’ve
been worried.”

Alaina grimaced, feeling guilty at not having called
her friend. Of course she would be worried since under normal circumstances
they spoke every day. “I'm sorry, I should’ve called you before, but it’s been
so hectic.”

“Don't worry I understand you've been under a great
deal of stress.  Did they catch the guys who trashed your place?”

Alaina shook her head.
“No, not
yet.”

“I was a little surprised when you told me you were
staying with Donovan.  I mean you told me you hated this guy because he’d
lied to you.”

“Yes, I know I said that,” Alaina admitted, “Don't get
the wrong idea Elise. Nothing’s changed. I still don't trust him and I’ve no
intention of continuing any personal relationship once the investigation is
over.  Right now, it's convenient to stay with him for safety reasons.”

“Safety reasons, huh?” Elise said in a dry tone, “So
you’re telling me he’s acting as some type of bodyguard?”

“Yes, I guess you could say he's a bodyguard of a
sort.”  Alaina smiled with relief, grateful to Elise for supplying a
logical explanation for her living arrangement.

“Are you having sex with this bodyguard?” Elise asked
bluntly. She was never one to hedge around the issue.

“Yes, but it's not what you think,” Alaina said
quickly.

Elise laughed at her response.  “What do you mean
it's not what I think? You just admitted you're sleeping with him again.”

“I mean I have no intention of becoming permanently
involved with Donovan Prentice. It's strictly a physical relationship which
will end when the investigation is completed.”  Alaina explained hoping
she could make her friend understand.  Okay, she had to admit to herself
when she said it out loud it sounded really stupid.

“Uh, huh,” Elise responded choking back her laughter.

“Elise it makes perfect sense, really it does.  I
need his protection and by staying with him I get it.”

“And the sex is just a bonus?”

Alaina nodded.  “Yeah, I guess you could put it
that way.”

“Okay, that is so messed up,” Elise paused before
continuing, “You love the guy.  You want to be with him,
be with him
,
but stop lying to yourself.”

“I might have had strong feelings for him at one time,
but he destroyed everything with his lies.”

“Oh yeah that is so obvious by the way you’re living
with him,” she said derisively. “You’re still in love with him, no matter what
you keep telling yourself.  What does Donovan have to say about it,
anyway?”

Alaina laughed without mirth. “To tell you the truth,
he has been saying almost the same thing you are.”

“I'm not surprised.  I could tell when I met him
that he cares for you a great deal.  It's written all over his face, he
never takes his eyes from you,” Elise insisted.

“He says he cares. He keeps telling me that he had to
lie because of his job and he'll never lie to me again.”

“I have to agree with Donovan, what was in the past
had to do with his job.  You need to move forward and give him another
chance,” Elise suggested, her voice soft and persuasive.

Give him a second chance, Alaina thought. It's what
she wanted to do, but could she afford to take the risk?

“Yeah, but look what happened when I gave my father
another chance.”

Elise look stunned. “This is about your father? Hello,
he was a terrorist and Donovan is an FBI agent.  You know, one of the good
guys?”

“Oh well, why didn’t I think of that?” Alaina
asked,
her voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Look, I think Donovan was caught between a rock and a
hard place,
give
the guy a break. You know you want
to.”

“But I’m scared to,” she admitted.

Elise leaned forward and gave her a hug.  “Look,
I have to get back to the office, but think about what I said.”

Alaina sat in her office pondering Elise's words for
hours after she had departed.  Glancing at her watch she noticed it was a
little after five o'clock, so she began gathering work to take home to do in
the evening since she hadn’t accomplished very much after her friend's
visit.  After placing the necessary files in her brief case, she'd left
the office, saying a brief goodbye to several of the other associate lawyers
who were working late on her way out.  She walked through the reception
area, noting Marlene had already left for the day as she exited.  Her car
was parked close to the entrance of the building, a safety precaution Alaina
had begun after her house had been broken into, which was why she saw Delia as
soon as she came out of the building. Delia her father's not-so-charming second
wife was standing by her car obviously waiting for her.

“Delia, this is a surprise, I haven't seen you since
you sued me over custody of my father's papers.” Alaina was wondering what Delia
could possibly want from her.  Her father's second wife looked the same as
last time Alaina had seen her at the funeral.  She was even wearing black,
obviously her favorite color.

Delia smiled at her, making Alaina immediately
suspicious of her motives. The woman had never made any attempt to be kind to
her before.  “Alaina it's good to see you again, I hope you’re all right.”

“Am I all right? Why do you ask?”  Her suspicions
were growing at Delia's odd question.

Delia looked nervous.  “Could we go somewhere and
talk? I think there are some things we should discuss regarding your father.”

Well, Alaina thought, this should be
interesting.  “Okay, why don't we go to my office? 
Where we can have complete privacy.”

“Okay, that's fine with me.” 

Alaina led Delia into the building and to her office,
anxious to hear what she had to say.  Sitting down in her comfortable
leather chair she inclined her head to the chair opposite her and said,
“Please, have a seat.  So to what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

Delia cleared her throat looking slightly
uncomfortable in her surroundings. “Alaina I know we have never been close...”

Alaina interrupted Delia unable to let her finish such
an absurd statement.  
“Close?
  We’ve never
been anything beyond acquaintances.”

“Fine, have it your way. Granted we’ve not had any
relationship beyond our mutual connection to Tom, which is why I'm here today,
to talk about Tom.”

Alaina wasn't surprised. It was what she expected
Delia to say. “Go on. Exactly what do you want to talk about?”

Delia pushed her long gray streaked hair away from her
face. “I think Tom's activities with the OAS might have been illegal.  He
was always passionately involved with the organization, but I don't think I
realized the depth of his commitment.”

“To tell you the truth, I don't think I did either,
but why are you concerned now? He's been dead for several years.”  Alaina
wondered if Delia knew about the FBI's investigation.

“In the last month, my house had been broken into, the
house I shared with your father. It was completely ransacked, but nothing as
far as I could tell had been stolen.   It was as if someone was
looking for something very specific.  There have been other things too,
threatening notes asking me to turn over “the key.”  The letters said the
key didn't belong to me and I should give it up.  The problem is I don't
know of any key.”

“A key?
What kind of key?”   Alaina asked.

She shrugged, “I’ve no idea. The notes never specified
what they wanted. I guess they assumed I knew.”

“Have you gone to the police about these break-ins?”

Delia shook her head, squirming in her chair. “No, the
police and I have never seen eye to eye, I just don't trust them.”

“Why have you come to me with this information? I
can't help you and as an officer of the court I can only advise you that if you
have been a victim of a crime, you should report it to the appropriate
authorities.”