When she was finished, Brady nodded toward the cigarette butt. "Good. Another piece of evidence we might be able to use. From the looks of that Lexus, these scumbags meant business. I'm glad Mr. Burkhart hired you."
She glanced back at the shot up Lexus. When she thought of what could have happened if Shane had been alone returning to his house, Tess shivered.
#
Late that afternoon, Tess entered Shane's mansion. Just the foyer of his house was the size of half her apartment in Dallas. Straight ahead, a grand staircase of rich mahogany swept to the second floor. A matching round mahogany table stood in the center of the marble floor near the entrance. A large bouquet of fresh flowers, various varieties in many colors, drew Tess's gaze. Their sweet fragrance sprinkled the air, making her forget for a few seconds why she was here.
She circled the entry, peering into an elongated living room, decorated in an elegance that complemented the dining room, which lay across the foyer. Twelve people could sit at a massive table and enjoy a meal together.
"My wife decorated this area to entertain business associates. I rarely use these rooms. Come on. I'll show you around before I take you to your bedroom."
Tess looked at the rooms one more time. "Your wife had good taste."
"Yes, Elena did."
She followed him past the staircase, down a long hall, and into the den.
The first thing Tess saw was a beautifully carved dark mantel with a portrait of a stunning woman with auburn hair. Elena. "How did she die?"
He stared at his wife's portrait. "A drug reaction. All my money, and I couldn't do a thing to help her. Her sodium level plummeted, and the doctors couldn't turn it around. I was on a business trip. As soon as I heard she'd been taken to the hospital, I came home as fast as I could." He swallowed hard. "I didn't make it in time. I should have been there for her. The housekeeper found her delirious. If I'd been here, I might have been able to get her help in time." He blinked several times and wrenched his gaze away. "I don't usually share that story, but with all that has happened in the past days ... "
"I guess getting shot at would bring a lot of things to the surface."
"You were in danger today because of me. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
She held up her hand. "It's my job to protect you."
"I know, and I'm alive today because you did, but I can't take another person's life in my hands."
"Is this because I'm a female? Would you have said that if I were a man?"
He studied her for a long moment. "Elena had the same color hair as you do." His attention swiveled to the portrait. "I didn't think about it until now. I—"
Tess stood in front of Shane. "We look nothing alike except for that. There are a lot of people with auburn hair, but if you want to get another bodyguard, I understand. I won't leave, though, until the replacement shows up."
Shane shook his head. "No. I just think what happened this afternoon is finally catching up with me. I learned two things today. First, someone definitely wants me dead. Second, you're certainly capable of protecting me."
Tess nodded her acknowledgement. "Where's your housekeeper? I want to meet her and then finish the tour."
"Probably in the kitchen, fixing dinner. She and her husband have a suite of rooms off the kitchen. C'mon. I'll introduce you, then show you where you'll be staying."
"I want to be in the bedroom next to yours."
"That's fine. I thought you might and had Anna prepare it for you."
"You were that sure I would accept?"
Using his cane, he limped toward the hallway. "No, but I did a lot of praying that you would. I know when I need help. My expertise is in computers, not protection. That's why I promised to do what you say."
Staying where she was, Tess pressed her lips together. When he turned at the entrance and saw her standing there, one of his eyebrows arched.
"This is what it looks like to stay put. Earlier today, you returned fire. That was my job, not yours. I know what I'm doing."
He strode back to her, his arm stiff at his side while his fingers curled then uncurled. "I know how to shoot, and if a gun is available, I'm capable of helping. If you need a demonstration of my abilities with a weapon, I'll be glad to give you one. I often hike in remote places, and I always carry a gun as protection and hope I never have to use it." His bearing gave off waves of self-assurance as though he were in a boardroom issuing orders to his employees.
"Then why do you need me?"
"I'm no expert, just because I can fire a gun. I will do as you say unless I don't see the logic in it. I respect your abilities, but that doesn't mean I can't help defend myself. I won't be a passive client. Do you have a problem with that?"
Her first impulse was to head for the door and return to Uncle Jack's ranch. She scanned the den while trying to calm the anger bubbling to the surface. Her attention landed on a photo of Shane with a teenage girl who had his coloring but looked like Elena. The picture of him with his daughter melted her irritation. She'd dealt with worse clients, people who continually got in her way. She could deal with him. She wouldn't let anything happen to him, because Shane was the only parent Rachel had. That was motivation, if nothing else, but after what happened on the highway earlier, she wouldn't have walked away, even if he were childless.
She returned her focus to him. "Then I suggest we get to know each other, because this won't work if we're second guessing each other."
"Agreed. And you are the expert, but I'm not helpless."
She smiled. "Even when you were in the cabin, I knew you weren't helpless."
A sparkle gleamed in his gray eyes. "If a wounded man stumbled into my cabin with cuts and bruises and torn clothes, that wouldn't be the first thing that would come to mind for me. I bet there was a time you thought I was probably a criminal."
"It was that dark stubble of a beard, a couple of days old, that cautioned me. I certainly didn't think you were the CEO of a big corporation." She winked, then sauntered into the hallway and waited for him to show her where the kitchen was.
Shane passed her in the corridor. "Anna and Kevin think you're a special friend visiting. The only person who knows who you really are is my head of security."
"Don't you think they'll wonder why I roam around the house in the middle of night, checking doors and windows?"
"They'll just have to wonder. I love both of them, and they've been with me for many years, but Anna can't keep a secret, and I'm afraid she'd let something slip, especially when my executive assistant is here tomorrow." He paused near a door, closed the space between them and leaned in to whisper, "If you roam the house in the middle of the night, when are you going to sleep?"
Her pulse rate spiked from his nearness, but she didn't step away. "That depends on your security system, which I need to see in this tour."
"I bring a woman home, and the first thing she looks at is my security system. What do you think Anna and Kevin will think then?"
Tess chuckled. "Tell them anything you want. Tell them I have this thing about staying in a house that doesn't have a good security system, that I feel better after I see how safe a place is."
He tossed back his head and laughed, a deep belly kind. "They'll think you're strange, and I'm just as strange for falling for you."
The sound of his merriment urged her to join in, but she had to focus on business, not pleasure. "I figure they already think you're strange, bringing a woman home right after your daughter leaves, especially one they haven't heard about."
He sobered. "They'll be tickled. Anna has been trying to get me to date again. She's taken me to task for working twenty-four/seven and was the one who was happy when I decided to go for the hike that led to this." He swept his hand toward his injured leg.
Suspicion pricked her. "She was? How long have she and Kevin been working for you?"
"Since I married Elena."
"How about your executive assistant?"
"Ten years."
; "And Nick Compton?"
"Five years. He started right after he left the army."
"Interesting."
"I know that tone. You think one of them could be involved. I think I know the employees who work closely with me better than that. Next, you're going to ask about my daughter."
Her eyes widened at the fierceness in his voice. "I have to suspect everyone. You don't."
The door behind Shane opened, and a petite woman no more than five feet tall with salt and pepper hair pulled in a tight bun at her nape fixed her gaze on them. "What's taking you so long to bring her in to meet me? You two have been out here for five minutes. I thought I raised you better than that, Shane."
"Raised you?" Tess murmured as she came around from behind Shane to greet the housekeeper.
"Yes, she was my nanny years ago, and later, I convinced her to come work for me. Anna, this is ... my lady friend, Tess Miller."
The way he said lady friend as though it were true made her face heat. Tess shook the older woman's hand. "He's been telling me all about you."
"That's good, because until this morning, I didn't know you existed." Anna eyed Tess as though the housekeeper was inspecting the vegetables at the market. "And just so you know, I'm not ancient. He has been responsible for my gray hairs. He was the first and only child I was ever a nanny for." She swung her attention to him. "And what happened to you this week put a few more gray hairs on my head." As she turned and disappeared into the room, she added, "Come in and have some tea with me before I start dinner."
"She rules the house, not me," he whispered.
"Really? I would never have known that. You can run along. I'll probably get your life history by the time I finish my tea."
"You're supposed to be guarding me, so that's best done by my side."
That declaration heightened the heat of her blush. She shouldn't have taken this job. Only a few more days until the merger went through, and then he could have two big burly bodyguards plastered to his sides.
"The tea is getting cold." Anna carried the tray with the cups and the teapot on it to the kitchen table.
Tess entered the kitchen with Shane slightly behind her, almost touching. He could be clear across the room, and she'd be aware of his location—even if she weren't his bodyguard.
"Just so you know, Anna loves to embellish some of my childhood."
"Thanks for the warning. This should be interesting." Tess turned a smile on Anna, intending to discover as much as she could about the man who piqued her interest far beyond the job.
#
Early the next morning, before anyone was up, Tess prowled the ground floor, checking doors and windows, more as something to do than thinking they might be unlocked. Shane's security system was excellent. He had said his head of security was responsible for making sure his house was protected. She would thank Neil Compton when she met him. He and Diane Flood, Shane's executive assistant, were coming out today.
Tess paused at the large window that overlooked the front of his estate. It had a high wall around it and a sturdy gate, requiring visitors to call the main house to be buzzed in. Although no place was totally secure, it would be easier to guard him at his home. If Shane never left until the merger was announced, he should be safe. In two days, though, he had to attend the big party at the VT's president's house. That might present a problem. She'd have to glue herself to Shane's side and pretend for a whole room full of people they were a couple while watching for someone to make a move against him.
"You're up early."
The husky voice of the man who'd haunted her dreams last night cut into her thoughts. She turned toward him, hidden in the shadows by the entrance into the living room. But she felt the intensity pouring off of him and the drill of his gaze. She sucked in a deep breath and held it for seconds longer than usual.
"Is everything okay? Did something disturb your sleep?" Shane moved into the muted glow of the lamplight. Dressed in jeans and a long sleeve navy blue pullover, he looked comfortable and casual in the midst of the elegant room. His hair was tousled, as if he'd finger-combed it, and he was barefooted.
"It's four. I got five hours of sleep. That's all I need."
"That's about all I require, too."
Another thing they had in common. After her conversation with Anna yesterday, she'd learned she and Shane liked a lot of the same things: hiking, roughing it in the wilds, photography, coffee, pecan pie. She'd seen some of his photos as she'd toured the house and was impressed with how he could capture a scene at its essence. She'd recently taken up photography, because she traveled so much and saw some beautiful places. So she often took a couple of days to tour wherever she'd been working after her job was over.
Tess realized she'd been staring at Shane. What had he said? Oh, yeah. Sleep. "When I work, I sometimes sleep less," Tess finally said when she realized she was staring at him and a long silence had fallen between them. "I see your daughter likes to ride horses."
He came to her side. "Likes? Oh, no. Love is a better word. And at my parents' she'll get to ride a lot."
Tess shut the drapes and edged away from the window, so Shane wasn't exposed. "I got that feeling when I saw all the riding trophies in her bedroom."
"Do you like to ride?"
"Love is a better word for me, too. Every time I go to Uncle Jack's, I ride a couple of times a day, often with my uncle. That's one of the things I miss the most when I'm working, so I probably overdo it when I'm back in Phoenix."
"I have a small stable where I keep four horses. We could—"
"As much as I'd love to, I'd rather you not leave this house until we have to." It wasn't just about his security. If they rode together, it would just give them another thing in common.
"You think someone is out there?"
"Could be."
"I'd never thought of my home being anything but a safe haven."
"That's what I thought about the cabin. A retreat for me."
One of his eyebrows arched. "But not now?"
"Nowhere is completely safe. It's hard not to realize that in my line of work, but with the cabin, I put the outside world behind me. It was me, nature and sometimes Uncle Jack."
"And I ruined that for you." He reached out and touched her arm. "I'm sorry."
"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. That's the only cabin around for several miles. You needed ..." She couldn't finish that. This job was more than just bodyguard and client. Lord, what are You doing? I've never had this much trouble separating my professional and personal lives.
"I know I needed you. I'm just lucky I didn't fall over a cliff to the valley below." He stepped closer and took her hand. "No words can express my gratitude to you and your uncle. My daughter has already lost her mother. I couldn't let her lose her dad, too. She took Elena's death so hard."
The sadness in his voice made her think about her mother. She knew how he felt.
His hands framed her face. "You okay? Have you lost someone close to you? You never talk about your parents. Just your uncle."
She needed to back away, but the look of concern in his eyes touched a chord deep inside her, strengthening a bond that had begun forming from the moment he stumbled into the cabin. "My mother killed herself. She drank too much and mixed alcohol with pills. I couldn't do anything to save her."
"Is that why you protect people now?"
Is it? "I was attacked in my home when I was sixteen. I think that's what really made me want to protect others. I couldn't defend myself. It took months to recover. That's when Uncle Jack insisted I come live with him and Patricia in New York. Then he started teaching me to defend myself."
"Where was your father when all this happened?"
She stiffened and pulled away from him. "Drunk."
Chapter Six
That one word. Drunk. It was so full of suppressed anger, it hung in the air between them. Shane realized the physical wounds from Tess's attack had healed, but not the emotional ones, especially the feel
ings concerning her father.
He took her hand. "I need some coffee. Want some?"
She looked away but nodded. The hard line of her jaw attested to her battle for control. He wanted to know much more about her. The pain emanating from her pierced his heart and made him feel what she must have gone through. Since Elena's death, he'd thought his feelings had been suspended, locked away in a block of ice. But not now.
Their hands still clasped, Shane made his way into the foyer, then the hallway that led to the kitchen. He slanted a look toward Tess, and a tic jerked in her cheek. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he was at a loss. The house was so quiet that he heard his heart pounding in his ears.
He flipped the overhead light on as he entered the room.
She disconnected their link and crossed her arms.
He headed for the counter and the pot, giving her time to compose herself while he prepared the coffee.
"Will we wake up Kevin and Anna?" Tess asked as she prowled the perimeter, trying the back door, glancing out the windows. She wouldn't be able to see much because of the bright lights in the kitchen.
He watched her moving restlessly, as if she were struggling with something. "Anna is used to me coming in here early and fixing coffee. After it perks, we can go into the den and drink it. I usually go to my home office and work."
At the bay window in the breakfast nook, Tess spun around. "Listen. About what I said ... I didn't mean to bring my personal life into this."
"I started it by telling you about Elena." He took down some mugs and filled them with hot, fragrant coffee, then handed her one. "Let's sit in the den."
A minute later when he settled on the couch next to her, he continued. "I didn't intend to tell you about Elena, either. It isn't something I share. My life was going along nicely, and then suddenly, everything changed. I felt as though I was put in a blender and the off button was missing. I kept going around and around."
Deadly Hunt Page 6