Unfinished Business (15 page)

He straightened her dress to cover her, then eased her down to sit on the sofa while he rebuttoned his shirt and tucked it neatly back inside his pants.

Christy sat and watched him, her gaze following his every movement. Satiated, her head fell back against the sofa cushions and discovered the heat of him was still surrounding her. “You’re dangerous, Alex.”

He looked over at her. “In what way?”

Without meeting his gaze she whispered, “In every way. What are you doing to me?”

“Convincing you to love me.”

She lifted her head up, met his gaze, held it for the longest time, then let her head fall back against the sofa cushions again.

He sighed, knowing that a war was taking place within her, a vortex of feelings, an overabundance of emotions. And he would continue to ply her with passion, make her see that she was his. With each and every intimate act they shared, he felt he was reaching that goal, laying down the foundation, breaking through her defenses, and destroying the walls of stubbornness that threatened to keep them at odds no matter what progress they made. He wouldn’t be completely satisfied until she told him she loved him and spoke from her heart.

“I should have things finalized so we can fly out by seven in the morning,” he said, breaking into the silence that had encompassed the room.

Christy lifted her head off the back of the sofa and met his gaze. She knew it wouldn’t do any good to ask him not to go, since he was hell-bent on going. “I’ll be ready.”

Walking back over to the sofa, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips and the area beneath her ear. “Think about me tonight.”

After what had happened just moments ago, she knew there was no way she could not think of him. But still, she said, “Only if you think about me.”

He straightened, locked in on her gaze. “I always think of you, Christy.” And then he pulled her to her feet and into his arms, plastering her body against his while he took her mouth in unhurried, sensuous strokes. Moments later when he finally released her, he whispered, “You’re mine.”

When she opened her mouth to deny his words, he placed a finger to her lips. “Even if you don’t agree, how about just humoring me tonight?”

She hesitated a moment, thought about what they had done moments ago, and then relented as a small smile touched her lips. “All right, just for tonight. But tomorrow is another day.”

“And another battle,” he added, chuckling. “But I find that I’m beginning to enjoy the fight. Good night, sweetheart.”

Christy watched as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair before walking out the door.

Alex inhaled deeply when he stepped out on the breezeway of Christy’s apartment. All thoughts fled his mind when he suddenly felt uneasy. This was the second time this had happened. He narrowed his gaze and glanced around. Usually his instincts were sharp, keen . . . and they were seldom wrong. There were several parked cars, but none appeared occupied. But still . . .

A number of possibilities crossed his mind, and he didn’t like any of them. He didn’t want to believe that Kevin what’s-his-name would take to stalking Christy after getting his ass kicked at that nightclub that night. But then, Alex couldn’t discount anything. Then there was the Patterson case she was working on. Also, he couldn’t overlook the off chance that it had nothing to do with Christy but concerned mainly him. When you handled as many cases as he did, sooner or later you were bound to piss someone off.

He scanned the parking lot one more time before walking down the steps to his car. Something wasn’t right. He could sense it and he intended to keep his eyes open. The one thing he didn’t like was surprises.

Although he was dressed in all black, moonlight illuminated the man who slipped from behind one of the apartment buildings. Albert Ford breathed deeply, grateful he had gotten out of his car to walk around and stretch his legs. Otherwise, he would have been seen. He didn’t know what was going on between the man and the woman but was experienced enough to recognize him as someone who possessed some type of background in law enforcement. It was there in his stance, the way his brows had risen at the slightest sound and movement as if either was a personal invasion.

With a muttered curse Ford threw down the cigarette he was smoking, promising himself, like he always did, that it would be his last one.

He would check in tomorrow; curious about the man’s identity. The woman’s snooping around was bad enough. The last thing they needed was someone who could possibly be an ex-cop doing likewise.

Houston, Texas

“Where the hell is Alex?” Dex Madaris asked, glancing around. “It’s not like him to miss a poker game.”

The three Madaris brothers, Justin, Dex, and Clayton, along with their friends Trevor Grant and Trask Maxwell, sat around the table in Dex’s home, getting ready to play cards. Justin and his family had arrived in town earlier that day, and as was the norm whenever the brothers and their friends got together, a game of cards was in order.

It was Trask who answered Dex’s question by saying, “Alex decided he needed a vacation.”

That statement got the attention of the other men. They all knew Alex well enough to know he lived for work and didn’t know the meaning of relaxation.

“Alex is actually taking some time off?” Justin Madaris asked, after throwing out a card. Like everyone else, he was totally surprised.

Trask nodded. “Yes. He said he won’t be back for a couple of weeks or so.”

“Damn, he must have finally gotten burned out. He couldn’t continue working at the pace he’s been going at for the last few years,” Clayton Madaris said, shaking his head. “All work and no play can be the death of a man. No matter how hard I worked, I always made time to play. When I was his age I was—”

“We all know what you were doing when you were his age,” Trevor Grant said, grinning. “That was before your Syneda days. Your notch was probably on every single woman in Houston’s bedpost.”

Clayton grinned, not ashamed of his past. He
had
been a player of the third degree when he was younger. But he’d had no problem turning in his player’s card after falling in love with Syneda. And a few years ago he had passed the case of condoms that he’d kept in his closet to his younger cousins, Blade, Slade, and Lucas. Clayton hoped they were getting as much use out of the condoms as he had.

“Did Alex go to visit your mom in Waco?” Justin asked, pulling another card off the deck.

“No, he deliberately avoided telling me where he was going and said if I needed to reach him to contact him on his mobile phone.”

Clayton lifted a brow. “Umm, sounds like there’s a woman involved. That’s good and it’s about time. I was beginning to worry about him.”

Dex raised a brow as he threw out a card. “Not everybody strives to match your former reputation, Clayton. I didn’t meet Caitlin and fall in love until I was thirty-two. Before I met her, just like Alex, work and not women dominated my time. I went out on occasion, but nothing serious.”

“Well, I’m happy for him if he’s finally met someone,” Justin said, smiling. “Alex is a fine young man and a hard worker. Whatever woman catches his eye will be pretty lucky.”

Everybody at the table nodded, agreeing with Justin’s assessment.

“Well, his being missing in action means he’s not available to let us know how Christy is doing,” Dex said.

Trevor lifted a dark brow. “I thought the three of you promised Christy not to interfere in her life.”

Dex shrugged. “We’re doing it to keep our parents from worrying.”

Trask chuckled as he shook his head. “Yeah, right.” He then glanced over at the brothers. “And what does Alex have to do with the three of you keeping tabs on Christy?”

Clayton was amused when he said, “It seems we had the same idea and contacted Alex after finding out he had a business interest in Cincinnati, and asked him to check on her whenever he was out that way. He was there a few weeks ago and reported she was doing fine. And of course we checked things out for ourselves when she came to town for the twins’ party.”

Trevor shook his head. “She’s not a kid any longer. Isn’t it time for the three of you to let Christy live her own life?”

“No,” the Madaris brothers said simultaneously.

It was Clayton, the one known to enjoy a good argument, who spoke up to elaborate. “Although we agree that Christy’s not a kid any longer, she’s pretty much lived a sheltered life. We’ve tried to prepare her for the players out there—men who will break her heart without a moment’s glance, men like I used to be, who only want one thing. The thought of her getting involved with someone like that bothers us. We want to spare her any unnecessary misery.”

Trask raised his eyes to the ceiling. “So what would happen if she met a really nice guy?”

Justin grinned. “We’ll have Alex investigate him to make sure he’s as nice as he seems. We’ve done it before and have sent several supposedly nice guys packing.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” Trevor asked, shaking his head.

“No,” Dex answered quickly. “I plan to handle Jordan and Ashley the same way. Any man who comes within ten feet of my daughters better have something positive on his mind. Hey, you just wait until Phoenix gets older,” he said to Trevor about his newborn daughter. “I bet you’ll feel the same way.” He then glanced over at Trask. “And so will you when Madaris starts dating.”

“So with Alex’s being missing, what are we going to do about Christy?” Clayton then asked. “Since we saw her last week we know she’s OK and doing fine, but Alex never said whether or not she was seeing anyone.”

Dex rubbed his chin. “Yeah, and come to think of it, he really didn’t say much of anything. In fact, he seemed somewhat evasive. Maybe he’s beginning to feel guilty about checking up on her for us.”

Trevor chuckled. “Or maybe he’s smart enough to know he doesn’t want to deal with Christy’s wrath when she finds out what the three of you are up to. Personally, I wouldn’t want her mad with me.”

Justin shrugged. “We can handle Christy’s anger,” he said softly. “But we couldn’t handle her getting hurt because someone broke her heart.”

“Yeah,” Clayton and Dex agreed concurrently.

“Umm, maybe it’s time for us to check out things in Cincinnati for ourselves,” Dex said, throwing out another card.

“Yes, maybe you’re right,” Clayton said, agreeing. He glanced over at Justin. “What do you think?”

Justin smiled. “I think the Cessna is fueled and ready to fly whenever the two of you are.”

Dex leaned back in his chair grinning. “Then it’s final. Since Alex hasn’t really told us much of anything, let’s make plans to drop in on her unexpectedly next week to see what’s really going on.”

Caitlin Madaris eased away from the doorway without being seen. She had intended to interrupt the game to find out if the guys needed anything like more beer or chips when she overheard their conversation.

Backing away, she quickly walked toward the room where the other women were sitting. “There’s trouble brewing.”

Syneda, Lorren, Corinthians, and Felicia met her gaze. “What kind of trouble?” Syneda asked, coming to her feet. They had been sitting on the floor playing with the babies; her and Clayton’s daughter, Remington; Caitlin and Dex’s son, Gregory; Corinthians and Trevor’s two, Rio and Phoenix; and Trask and Felicia’s daughter, Madaris.

“It seems the brothers are planning a trip to Cincinnati sometime next week to surprise Christy.”

Felicia frowned. “That’s not good news, especially if that’s where Alex has gone.”

The other women nodded.

“That means it’s up to us to ditch whatever plans they are making and do everything within our power to keep them busy. The last thing Christy and Alex need is for the brothers to show up unexpectedly in Cincinnati,” Syneda said, not believing the nerve of those Madaris brothers, although she really wasn’t surprised.

She and Clayton had had this conversation several times, and he knew just how she felt about his overprotectiveness of Christy. And Syneda had told him in no uncertain terms that she would not let him raise their daughter that way. Their difference of opinion on that issue had led to one of their worst arguments. But then, arguing was second nature to them, just like making up afterward—and boy, did she enjoy making up with her husband after an argument. It took a lot to cool her down, but he was so darn good at it.

“So it’s agreed. Our job is to keep our husbands extremely busy over the next week, right?” Lorren asked, reclaiming Syneda’s thoughts.

“Yes,” Syneda said, smiling. “And frankly, I’m looking forward to doing it.”