Twisted Hunger (20 page)

Once he remembered that Madigan had been seated next to the detective at the banquet, he also recalled seeing them come through the receiving line and walk around together during the reception. It may have been a case of “luck”, as he’d claimed. They may have only met by chance in the receiving line, but Abraham doubted that.

The more he thought about it, he was certain Madigan had lied about something when he saw him today. He was also certain the man had fear in his eyes, not just today, but Saturday night also. He hid it quickly, but not before Abraham had recognized it. What was Madigan afraid of? Why would he lie about knowing Harris? Why was he here today, sniffing around Miss Winters instead of returning to his home in North Carolina?

But most important, why did that man stare into his eyes as though trying to see something deep inside?

Gradually, a theory developed out of the mélange of facts and impressions. Madigan and Miss Winters might only be pretending to have just met. Perhaps they were already lovers, and he was here to help with her quest for the truth about her dearly departed mother.

Abraham had no fear of Miss Winters causing him any difficulties. Keeping an eye on someone who worked in his office was easily accomplished. It wasn’t so simple with an outsider, and something about Madigan warned him that he could become an annoyance.

No definitive answers came to him before he reached the public pay phone he’d used once before. There weren’t many left, but he knew where each one was. He parked, put on latex gloves and got out to make a call that could not be traced back to him. As always happened when he concentrated properly, he encountered no difficulties. Henry Levitt’s phone number was listed in the directory.

“Hello. This is the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. May I speak to Henry Levitt?”

“Speaking.”

“Detective Harris asked me to call you for him. He’s very sorry, but he misplaced your brother’s address and phone number where you’ll be staying. Would you mind giving it to us again?”

With the information needed to launch the solution to his immediate problem, his mood improved. Back in the driver’s seat, he called Vivian from his cell to let her know he was on the way home. As he hung up, he thanked the gods once again for sending him such an understanding mate. Vivian and he were so well matched, each with their own very special needs.

His needs occasionally required some subterfuge and, as long as Vivian’s needs were satisfied, she accepted any necessary fabrications he told her without question. As a result, they had a picture-perfect political marriage.

* * *

“Come on, Elle. Just one drink. It’s too early to call it a night.”

She smiled at Brandon but shook her head. “Midnight may be early for you, but I have to be back at my desk and able to put sentences together in eight hours.” She easily interpreted the look he gave her. He had expected her to spend the night with him. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a great time, but I really have to go home.”

“I’ll call you Thursday night then,” he said, not quite hiding his disappointment. “Promise you’ll try to make it this weekend.”

“I’ll try, but it looks very doubtful. Anyway, you’re going to be way too busy getting ready for that new movie to have time for me.” She gave him a brief kiss then hugged Diane. “I’m so glad you suggested this. I hope we can get together again before you leave town.”

“I’d like that very much,” Diane replied. “Of course, I’ll be in your office every day. Maybe after I work with the senator, we can do something about that terrible problem of yours.”

Ellery chuckled, as much over Diane’s comment as the concerned expression on Brandon’s face. She decided to let him wonder.

After Ellery drove off, Brandon turned his million-dollar smile on Diane. “Now I know
you
don’t have to be anywhere at dawn, nor do you have a long drive home. Please say I don’t have to go into that lounge all by myself.”

She hesitated for a moment then accepted his escort. There could still be something more that she could learn from him, although she doubted it. As they walked to the lounge and ordered drinks, the conversation continued along the lighthearted path it had been on all evening, but her female antennae picked up the change in Brandon’s mood. She couldn’t help but wonder what sort of approach the infamous womanizer would use on her. The answer came with the arrival of their drink orders.

Brandon lifted his glass for a toast. “Here’s to new friendships.”

She was willing to clink glasses to that.

“Do you believe in coincidences?” he asked, leaning toward her with a steady gaze.

“Sometimes. And sometimes I think it’s fate. Don’t most people think that way nowadays?” She met his eyes with an equal intensity. She could see how some sweet, innocent girl could be entranced by this man.

“I don’t believe in coincidences at all,” he replied and shifted his body so that there was less space between them. “I think it was fate that you and I met tonight, through Ellery. Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course,” she said with utter sincerity while she made a second mark on her mental chalkboard. How many lines would he cast before he tried to hook her? She decided to speed things up by running her tongue over her lips, as though she could already taste him there. His eyes told her it worked, but he had to finish delivering the lines he’d rehearsed before he could move on to the next scene.

“I came up here to spend some time with Ellery, to see if any of the old sparks were still there between us.”

“And have you found out yet?”

He frowned slightly and nodded. “I think you could figure that out for yourself. We’re good friends, but she went home to her own bed and left me to go up to my room alone. She obviously doesn’t feel the same way about me that I do about her.” His eyes seemed to mist over a bit and he inched his one hand closer to hers on the table.

Diane realized that this was the moment that a less experienced woman might cover his hand with hers and say something to bolster his bruised ego, so she did. “Brandon, do you want to have sex with me?” Her quantum leap past the preliminaries took him by surprise, but he made a quick recovery.

He stroked her arm. “No. I don’t want sex. I want to make love with you, all night tonight and all day tomorrow. I can’t explain what’s happened this evening, but I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. I know. You’ve probably heard stories about me and thousands of women, but that’s all publicity stuff. The truth is, I hardly ever meet a woman that interests me. You don’t just interest me, Diane. You
fascinate
me.”

She turned so that their faces were barely an inch apart. “What about Ellery?”

He frowned again. “She doesn’t want me. But I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell her about us right away. At least not while you’re in her office almost every day.”

“Hmmm. You’re probably right. After all, you did come up here to spend time with her, and with some women I know, even if they don’t want a man, they don’t want any of their friends to have him either.”

“Exactly,” Brandon said with a self-satisfied grin. “So why are we still sitting here instead of heading to my room?”

“Kiss me first and I’ll tell you.” As he brought his lips to hers, she held his head in place to ravage his mouth. When he was clearly ready to take her right there in the lounge, she ended the kiss. “Do you still want me to go upstairs with you?”

Rather than answer, he tried to pull her back for more but she held him at bay.

“Since you were honest with me, it would only be fair for me to do the same.”

“If it’s another man, you don’t—”

“No, no, it’s not that… exactly. Tell me, Brandon. Have you ever made love with… another man?”

He jerked back a full foot and gaped at her as though she’d lost her mind. “No way. If you’re wondering about the story in that tabloid, I can assure you—”

She hushed him. “It’s not that either. It’s just that you’ve really turned me on and I can’t wait until we’re naked, pressing our bodies against each other.” He moved back into her space. “But there’s something you should know first. I’m not exactly what I appear to be.”

She waited for the confused look to settle in his eyes. “I mean, I
am
going through a series of hormone injections, and I’m scheduled for surgery in four months. A year from now, I’ll be almost as female as Ellery—”

“
What
?” He was too horrified to move.

She touched his arm. “I know this might be a bit of a shock, but I swear you’ve never had a woman fit you as tight as my a—”

“
Aargh!
Don’t say another word.” He bolted up from his seat and swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “You guys should have to wear a sign or something.”

As he stalked off, she called after him, “If you change your mind, just come down to my room. I’m a very light sleeper.” He didn’t turn around, but several other men in the lounge seemed more than willing to take his place. Diane paid the bar tab and left before any of them could act on what they were thinking.

She imagined Brandon would be brushing his teeth for a very long time tonight before he was able to wash away the memory of their purposely wet kiss. It probably was unfair of her to take advantage of his weaknesses, but he deserved more than a simple rejection for being such a dick.

Should she report his attempted seduction to Ellery? If they were truly friends, she probably would. And since her goal was to befriend her, she thought this confidence shared could be most effective. Then again, she didn’t know her well enough to be sure she’d appreciate bad news. What if, like some women, she was completely blinded by love and assumed Brandon was innocent, while she, Diane, was the guilty party?

She decided the best action in this case was no action, until she knew Ellery’s mental processes better, but a heart-to-heart girl chat about
something
was still a good idea.

Rather than go up to her room, she went to the row of pay phones off the lobby to make a credit card call. She surveyed the area to be certain no one was within earshot then dialed the long distance number of her current employer. It took a dozen rings before Sam Erikson answered.

“Yes?”

“Contact has been made with both parties. Maintaining a close proximity will be no problem.”

“Excellent work. I knew we could count on you.”

Diane smiled to herself. “They should all be this easy. Any further instructions?”

“Not right now, but that could change any moment. We’ll contact you in the usual manner when it does.”

“How long do you estimate I need to be here?”

“Could be a few days or a few weeks, but definitely no longer than that. Of course, as we agreed, you’ll be paid the full amount regardless of the time or effort you expend.”

“Those are my favorite arrangements. I’ll look forward to your next call then.”

Rather than go back through the lobby to get to the elevators, she took the stairs up to her floor. As she had told her client, she wished all the jobs she accepted were this easy. The initial call had come in Friday night and by Sunday afternoon, the door had been opened, thanks to the phone tap on Jones’ line and the considerable weight his mother’s suggestions always carried with him.

All that had been needed was for someone of importance to “coincidentally” mention to Mrs. Jones that they knew of a talented image consultant who only worked for very select people. By Monday, Diane had been cleared by the senator’s staff and she was on her way to Sacramento under one of her well-established covers.

Tonight’s entertainment was a fringe benefit she rarely saw with her job. She didn’t know how long it would last, but until she received additional orders, she was going to enjoy her present disguise as a sophisticated, well-dressed woman of the world—a woman who would never dirty her hands with something as unladylike as murder.

* * *

Brandon spit the minty mouthwash into the sink. What he really needed was another drink to get that bitch’s— He wasn’t sure if there was a word for something that was in the process of switching from a son-of-a-bitch to a bitch.

He unlocked the mini-bar and took out all four of the mini-bottles of hard liquor.

This was a perfect example of what can happen when you take on a false role in real life. He had told his agent he didn’t think this would work when he first suggested it, but Nate had made sure he understood he was out of options.

After years of heading up one of the most highly rated shows on the air, he was out of work. When he first called Elle, he was fairly sure she wouldn’t know that they had just taped the final episode of his television series. He had counted on the fact that she didn’t read
Variety
or follow the trade in any other way.

She had no way of knowing that the same producers who had tried every trick in the book to steal him away the first few seasons, suddenly had nothing to show him.

Nate had suggested he leave the series last year, but that had sounded too risky. Now he desperately needed something to put himself in the spotlight again. This time, he listened to Nate’s advice. He had told Brandon that he was fighting a lot of bad publicity because of his messy personal affairs. What he needed was something that would get him some quick visibility in a positive way.