Trust by Design (Colorado Trust Series--2)

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  At the top of the second set of stairs, her step faltered at the sight of Jackson lounging against the wall next to her door. In his tailored suit and polished exterior, he looked completely out of place amidst the dim light and peeling paint.

  What the heck is he doing here? She hadn’t given him her new address.

  He straightened when he saw her, even smiled as he lowered his hand to slip his phone in his pocket.

  Taking a deep breath, she started forward again. “What do you want?”

  “I stopped by to see how you’re doing.”

  He offered another smile. Probably going for charming, but now that her eyes were wide open where he was concerned, she saw it contained a strange combination of smarmy and condescending. Made her want to knee him in the balls. Even when she knew Dean had ulterior motives, he pulled off the charm ten times better.

  “I’m great. Now you can go.”

  “Wow. You could be a little nicer.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Come on, Gina. We’re both adults here. There’s no reason we can’t be friends. Even you toasted to new beginnings.”

  “So the drink in your face didn’t clue you in to my sarcasm? I thought you were smarter than that.” His features tightened at her continued rudeness, but she didn’t care. “What do you want?” she repeated.

  He shifted his gaze toward her door. “Can we go inside and talk?”

  Like she wanted him to see her luxury apartment. “Here’s just fine.”

  A frown wrinkled his tanned forehead. She eyed his perfectly styled hair and considered that there was a time she thought he was so good-looking. Now she saw past the faces he presented to the world to the spoiled, manipulative man whose sense of entitlement completely overshadowed a conscience she wasn’t even sure existed.

  As she stood her ground without opening the door, something flickered in his blue eyes. His lashes lowered too fast for her to identify the emotion, and when he lifted his gaze back to hers, it was full of regret.

  “I wanted to apologize for the way everything ended between us. I can see it hasn’t been easy for you.”

  Her initial surprise from the first sentence evaporated with his subtly worded jab in the second. She held up the purchases in her hands, even though the only thing that belonged to her was the sub sandwich she’d stuffed in her bag. “I’m doing just fine, thank you.”

  His dark eyebrows rose as he dipped his chin, conveying sympathy for her sorry plight. She didn’t believe his act for a second.

  “Look, Jackson. I don’t want to do this right now.” Not at all, truthfully. “I’m tired and I’m hungry, so just go. Please.”

  His expression softened even more. “Why don’t you put your things away, and I’ll take you out for dinner. We can go to Palace Arms in Denver.”

  He didn’t really think her favorite restaurant was all it would take, did he? Her best efforts couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Now I know you’re joking. After everything you’ve done, you couldn’t pay me to go anywhere with you.”

  “Gina, come on. I just told you I was sorry. You know how hard it is for me to admit when I’m wrong, but if you want the truth, Grace was a mistake. I see that now.”

  “Oh, I agree, but that’s not my problem.”

  The flicker she’d seen earlier returned, only this time he didn’t look away to hide the sharp glint of determination. Uneasiness started a slow increase of her pulse. She tightened her grip on the bags in her hands and wished he’d just leave so she could go inside, bolt her door, and jam the chair under the handle.

  Until then, she’d have to bluster it out.

  “You’ve changed,” he murmured.

  “Not really.” She lifted her chin to emphasize her next words and let him know she wasn’t buying one word of his bullshit. “I just finally remembered who I am.”

  “Doesn’t look like much to me.”

  The comment was more outright belittling than usual, but she was still able to shake it off. He was no longer welcome to mess with her head. “Good thing I don’t care if you’re looking anymore.”

  His eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. “You should.”

  He towered over her, making her heart beat even faster. She forced herself to keep her chin up and stand her ground while meeting his cold gaze. “You should go. Now.”

  “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready. And I won’t be ready until you tell me what you and Dean Daley are up to.”

  She swallowed hard at the cutting edge to his voice. This was a side of him he hadn’t showed before. Fear of the unknown shortened her breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t play stupid,” he sneered. “You made damn sure I saw you at the club last week. Now I hear you’re working for the fucker, and I’ve got some asshole following me around sticking his nose into my business. What’s going on?”

  “How would I know?”

  He reached out and grabbed hold of her upper arms. She let out a surprised gasp, then bit back a cry as he slammed her back against the wall, his fingers digging into her flesh. “I want to know what the fuck you told him.”

  “Nothing. I’m just decorating his house.” She dropped her bags, but when she tried to move, his hold tightened, and his weight pinned her in place. Tears welled in her eyes. “Jackson, please, you’re hurting me.”

  His face moved so close she could feel his hot breath on her skin. Her stomach bottomed out as his gaze bore into hers. “I don’t know if I can believe you. Maybe you were screwing the bastard all along.”

  “No—we only met last week! I was just trying to get back at you at the club because of Grace, that’s all. I didn’t even know who he was.”

  Her choked voice and the moisture blurring her gaze seemed to convince him she was telling the truth. She sucked a shallow breath into her tight lungs.

  “Well, now that you do, you better keep your damn mouth shut. To him or anyone else that comes asking.”

  “Why would I say anything now?” she asked bitterly. “I can’t prove any of those ideas were mine.”

  His hand rose to grip her jaw, holding her head still. His ice-blue gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t you forget that, either. It’ll be your word against mine, and I’ve got a lot more people on my side.”

  “I just want to move on with my life. I don’t care what happened anymore.” She swallowed hard. “Please, Jackson.”

  The ice in his gaze melted somewhat and his grip eased. Relief began to flow as she managed a decent breath, until he slid his hand into her hair and fisted his fingers. She froze in place as he leaned forward and nuzzled his face against her cheek. After a deep inhale, he spoke against her ear.

  “Mmm. Remember when you used to say those words to me in bed?”

  The low taunt froze the blood in her veins. The thought of ever being with him again made her nauseous. “That’s over now,” she whispered.

  “Seeing as how you have no problem giving it to Daley, how about one more time, for old time’s sake?”

  Alarm exploded when a press of his hips revealed the hard ridge of his arousal. Oh, God, he wouldn’t—would he?

  “No.” The word barely reached her own ears, and she forced her voice past the fear clogging her throat. “Jackson, stop.”

  He ignored the denial and slid his mouth across to hers. Panic jerked her hands up between them. She tried to shove him away, but he easily overpowered her.

  “Come on, baby, it’ll be even better than before.”

  His fingers tightened in her hair and his mouth crushed down hers, grinding her lips against her teeth until she tasted blood.

  Gina wrenched her head to the side and screamed as much from the pain in her scalp as the terror of how far he would actually go. She brought her knee up as hard as she could and connected with his groin close enough to make him double over. His guttural moan sounded through the hall.

  “I said no,” she rasped.

  He surged upward with
a hoarse shout and his backhand swing snapped her head to the side. Pain exploded in her face. Stars danced on the edge of her vision as she reached up to cover her throbbing cheek. Blinking through the involuntary tears, her whole body trembling, somewhere she found the strength to not cower before him.

  “I didn’t make a case about the computer stuff, but don’t think I’d keep my mouth shut if you raped me.”

  “You bitch,” he growled.

  Just when he reached for her again, a door opened at the end of the hall. Jackson jerked back, stumbling as he hurried toward the stairs. “Forget it. You’re not worth the trouble.”

  The moment he was out of sight, her knees refused to support her. As a neighbor she’d never met hurried down the hall toward her, she sank down against the wall with a hand fisted in her mouth to stifle her sob.

  Chapter 14

  Dean rubbed his burning eyes before running both hands up to fist them in his hair. He held on until his scalp tingled, then scrubbed back and forth a few times, and dropped his arms to the rests on his chair.

  He hadn’t exaggerated when he’d told his mom about his twenty-hour days, and holy hell was he tired. A glance at the clock made him groan. Two more hours to midnight. Three more hours before he could drag his ass up the stairs to bed. The alarm would go off at four-thirty and he’d start all over again.

  Maybe he would just rest his eyes for a moment.

  No more than he folded his arms on the desk in front of him and lowered his head, the damn doorbell rang. He ignored it. Anyone showing up here at ten at night wasn’t someone he wanted to talk to.

  When it rang a third time in less than a minute and remained buzzing for a full thirty seconds, he shoved to his feet and didn’t stop cussing until he reached the great room. If it was such a frickin’ emergency, why not use the damn phone?

  At the last minute, he noticed the security alarm was set and swore under his breath again. Without even bothering with a glance through the glass panel on the side, he keyed in the code and yanked open the door.

  The last person he expected to see was Gina, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder as she shivered in the night air without a jacket.

  “You thought I was working with Jackson? Well he thinks I’m working with you. I’d rather be on your side.”

  Taking in the furious expression that went with her angry greeting, he wordlessly stood aside for her to enter.

  Whatever had happened to piss her off—

  Dean spotted a fresh bruise on her cheek as she passed beneath the recessed lighting inside the foyer. He gave the door a reactive shove and caught her arm. As he spun her to face him, she gasped loud enough to be heard over the explosive echo of the slamming door. He immediately let go as she pulled away, her shoulder hunched. She lifted her other arm to rub the spot where he’d grabbed her and started to walk away.

  “Hold on.” He grasped the short sleeve of her T-shirt and pushed it up onto her shoulder. The distinct finger marks marring her light skin made his heart constrict in his chest. That gol-damn sonofabitch.

  “What the hell did he do?” His gaze flew to hers. He was almost afraid to ask. “Did he…?”

  “No,” she denied with a shake of her head. Hard to tell if the color that flooded her face was embarrassment or anger. The shadow that darkened her eyes made Dean think the bastard had probably tried.

  “He threatened me about keeping my mouth shut,” she said, her voice as furious as before. “Well, guess what? Suddenly, I don’t feel like being quiet anymore.”

  Her cheek drew his attention again. She’d tried to cover it with make-up, but if it looked that bad with some camouflage, he could just imagine when she washed her face. Fury barreled through him, balling his hands into fists. If Jack was in front of him right now he was pretty sure he’d beat him to death.

  Forcing his hands to unclench, he gently slipped the duffle bag from her shoulder. “You staying?”

  She nodded. The fact that she trusted him enough to come to him struck on a whole other level. The base instinct to protect her resurfaced stronger than ever.

  “Just tonight, though,” she quickly said. “My friends own JBM Ranch not far from here, so tomorrow I’ll talk to Britt about staying with them. I didn’t go there tonight because they’ve got a three month old baby, and I didn’t want to bother them this late at night.”

  “No problem.” He lightly tossed her bag in the direction of the guest bedrooms she’d been working on the past two days. “Tonight, tomorrow, stay as long as you need.”

  “Thank you.”

  He jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Come on. I bet you could use a drink.”

  She hesitated. “That might not be a good idea on an empty stomach.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Not really.”

  His anger surged again at what Jack had put her through. Somehow he’d make Brady pay. “How about some tea? I think Liz keeps some here.”

  He led her into the kitchen and snuck glances while he filled the tea kettle and turned on the burner. Her composure was commendable, though he realized, now that she’d voiced her anger, she looked exhausted.

  Pretty much on cue, she reached up to cover a yawn.

  “Did you report this to the police?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “You should.”

  “I have no proof. Specifically against him,” she amended when he flicked a frown toward her bruised face. “No one saw what happened. A neighbor stepped out into the hall, but he didn’t actually see Jackson’s face.”

  If he’d have been there, he’d have chased the sonofabitch down and given him a taste of his own medicine.

  “You said he thinks we’re working together,” he mused, taking a mug and a glass from the cupboard. “Maybe he’s the one who broke into your office.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it would make sense.”

  After filling the glass with two fingers of brandy, he set it and the mug on the island bar where she’d taken a seat. He turned his back for one moment to get a tea bag, sugar, and honey, then faced her again to find her downing his drink in two long swallows.

  She returned the glass to the marble counter with a bang and saw him watching her. “I changed my mind.”

  “I see that.” He set the tea and sweeteners down and grabbed the brandy bottle again. When the glass was refilled, he swiped it out of her reach. “Nu-uh. Not unless you eat something.”

  After giving a negative shake of her head, she unwrapped the tea and plopped the bag into the empty mug before draping the little tab on the string over the side. Then she dumped in one level teaspoon of sugar and curled her hands around the ceramic to stare inside. As he raised his glass, she looked up.

  “I bet it was him in my office. He probably saw us leave together. And remember when I said my password sheet was still stuck behind the drawer?”

  “Yeah?” He eyed her over the rim of his glass while taking a healthy swallow.

  “Well…it was crooked.” She gave a self-conscious little smile. “I know it’s going to sound like I’m OCD or something, but I always lined it up perfectly with the edge of the wood. The other night, it was off by just the tiniest bit.”

  He recalled the way she’d frowned at the drawer before assuring him the sheet was still there. The uneven line-up could’ve easily have been her, but maybe not.

  The kettle began whistling so he shut off the burner and filled her mug. “Did Jackson know about it?”

  She nodded while dunking the tea bag up and down in the steaming water.

  “You changed your passwords, right?”

  “Yes. Got new credit cards, too.”

  “Want me to take a look at your laptop?”

  “I checked it over pretty good, but didn’t find anything.”

  He leaned his forearms on the counter and tilted his glass back and forth while watching the play of light in the amber liquid. “You said he threatened you to keep your mou
th shut. What exactly do you have on him?”

  “Again, nothing I can prove,” she replied with a resigned sigh. After a sip of her tea, she added, “But about a year ago, he used one of my ideas for a new app, and in the past six months I did some extensive work on a couple of projects his company was developing. The most recent one, he’d asked me a few questions, then asked me to take a look at the code, and before I knew it, I’d fixed the whole damn thing. I didn’t really think much of it until it was released and he didn’t even acknowledge my work. Problem is, everything was done on his computer, at home, so like I said, I’ve got no proof.”

  “Jack is an expert at covering his bases. What was the program?”

  She sipped her tea, then lowered the mug while smothering another yawn. “That new marketing demographic software.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “Consumer Beats?”

  “That’s the one.”

  He’d been shocked at the tweaks Jack had added to his initial idea, taking the end result to a whole other level. Now he knew exactly who was responsible for that impressive piece of work. How ironic was it that she’d unwittingly helped screw him with that one?

  Dean laughed, then downed the remainder of his drink.

  “What?”

  “Mike and I were talking about developing that idea when Jack got a jump on it. Thing was, just like you, we had no way to prove the idea was ours.”

  “And it wasn’t a coincidence?”

  “Based on some of the specific details that went into that software, no.”

  “Then how do you not have proof?”

  “I’d pitched it at a brainstorming session, so nothing was written down other than our notes, and those wouldn’t hold up in court. We’ve since begun to record the sessions, but still, it’s hard to copyright an idea that isn’t coded and time-stamped yet, specifically for the reason of coincidence.”

  “Did you ever find out who leaked it?”

  “We have a suspicion of who it is, but haven’t terminated employment because we were hoping to get some documentable proof for a legal case against him.”