Chance Encounter

by Christy Reece

  She grinned. “Lesson learned.”

  Brennan’s eyes began to glaze over again, and though she didn’t want to stop talking with him, Kacie knew he needed his rest. There would be plenty of time to talk when they were both a little less traumatized.

  Standing again, she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  She wanted him healthy as soon as possible, because if there was one thing she had learned from all of this, it was that she wanted Brennan Sinclair in her life forever. She just had to work up the courage to tell him.

  “What do you think she meant?” Brennan asked.

  Justin and Riley were sitting in chairs on either side of the bed. Though they hadn’t said so, Brennan got the distinct impression that they’d had an argument. Anger seethed beneath the surface, causing a heaviness in the atmosphere. That, along with the fact that they’d yet to look at each other, even when talking to each other, made him sure of it.

  “What who meant?” Justin asked.

  “Before Molly jumped out the window, she said it wasn’t over, that she was just getting started.”

  “She obviously intended to continue to hurt Kacie,” Riley said.

  “Then why kill herself?”

  “Maybe she thought when it was revealed who Molly really was, Kendra Carson would be exposed, too,” Riley said.

  “Or it could be that you’re trying to apply logic to a woman who had none,” Justin said. “She was delusional on top of being insane.”

  “And you’re certain, other than the kid at the security desk, no one else was in on this with her? Her family? They might all feel they have an ax to grind if they know who Kacie really is.”

  “We’re sure her family knew nothing about this.” Justin finally looked over at Riley. “Wouldn’t you agree, Ingram?”

  As if agreeing with her partner went against her better judgment, she simply said, “Molly’s family doesn’t know about Kacie. They don’t know why she was in the building and have no idea that the office window she jumped from belonged to the Kacie Dane Foundation.”

  “You’re sure?” Brennan said. “Maybe I should talk to the oldest brother.”

  “If you do,” Justin said, “you’ll stir up suspicions he doesn’t have. The police have been extraordinarily cooperative because they don’t want a media frenzy any more than Kacie does.

  “Molly, Sally, or whatever the hell she wanted to call herself, is dead by her own hand. Everyone in the room saw it happen. No one wants to have to explain how a handcuffed woman threw herself out a window and killed herself.”

  He could see where that would cause some problems. And maybe it was his own paranoia at work. He’d been worried for Kacie night and day for weeks. It was hard to let go of the idea that she wasn’t completely safe.

  And it would be a million times harder to let go of Kacie. But let her go, he must.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  It was a scene set for seduction. Her very first. Brennan had left early this morning to meet with the police. Noah had arrived to smooth out the rough edges from last week’s bizarre event. She had offered to meet with them, too, but Brennan had assured her it was more of a diplomacy meeting than anything else.

  So with a day to herself and no appointments, what was a girl to do but get ready to seduce her man? She’d spent a couple of hours at the spa, getting a much-needed facial, all-over body scrub, and a mani-pedi. She was now polished from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  While she had been gone, the apartment was cleaned, thanks to her wonderful cleaning service. And since premade salads, Greek yogurt, or PB&J sandwiches—her repertoire in the kitchen—didn’t say sexy in any language, she’d ordered a delicious meal to be delivered from one of her favorite restaurants.

  Candles were glowing, the wine was opened and breathing, and Kacie was wearing one of her favorite summer dresses. Off-white, with lace shoulder straps, the dress landed about three inches above her knees, showing off her still-glowing tan to perfection. Finishing off the ensemble were delicate-looking sandals that highlighted her perfectly painted toenails.

  She’d washed her hair this morning, blow-drying it till it was poker straight, but before applying her makeup, used a curling iron to create sexy, soft waves. Her makeup was light, her perfume subtle, her jewelry understated and classy.

  Everything was perfect, everything was set. She was missing only one other ingredient for her perfect night, the most important one. Where was her man?

  Brennan sat across from the LCR leader. They’d walked out of the police station with everything tied up as neatly as something like this could be tied up. Outside the station, Justin had slapped him on the back and told him he’d see him soon. Riley had given him one of her grave smiles and said good-bye. They’d walked away, presumably to handle another case.

  McCall had nodded toward a bar in the distance and invited him for a drink. Hard to believe a hard-edged man like Noah McCall could soothe ruffled feathers and indignant feelings, but that’s exactly what he’d done. Brennan was still new enough to LCR to be unfamiliar with its protocol when it came to local authorities, but McCall seemed to have a good relationship with the NYC Police Department. The LCR leader’s diplomacy skills would do a US ambassador proud. After an explanation about the circumstances, including the need for privacy for one of their own, the case was now closed.

  Molly/Sally’s body had been claimed by her older brother and laid to rest. According to McCall, the family had drifted apart, and Sally had suffered the most. In and out of mental hospitals since she was fifteen, she’d tried suicide twice. The last time they’d heard from her, she was working as a veterinarian technician in Jacksonville, Florida. But none of them had made any real attempt to see her in a couple of years. Maybe that was another reason why the young woman was screwed up. No one seemed to really give a damn.

  “So you’ve completed your first LCR operation and did a damn good job.”

  Brennan grimaced. “Not exactly a smooth op. Accused the wrong person, while the real perp almost succeeded in killing the primary. And instead of being able to put the criminal away, I let her commit suicide.

  “And the one guy we can pin something on is so pitiful looking that even my less-than-compassionate heart has issues with putting the kid away.”

  Poor Billy Barton had been a pawn in Molly’s sick game. He swore he hadn’t known what Molly was up to, or even that Kacie was Molly’s intended target. She’d given him extra money, which he’d sorely needed for a band he was trying to put together, and that was that. When he’d learned exactly what was going on, the kid had broken down and blubbered like an infant.

  “I’m just damn lucky it turned out as well as it did,” Brennan said.

  “I’ve never expected perfection from my people. Both Justin and Riley thought the same thing you did, that Tara was Kacie’s stalker. And while Molly’s death is regrettable, she made that decision herself. Something I learned a long time ago is that you can’t force someone to be evil—it’s innate. She showed that, and while a lost life is always regrettable, she made her choice.

  “Protecting Kacie was your primary goal, and you did an admirable job.”

  Brennan gave a nod. While he appreciated McCall letting him off the hook, he wasn’t feeling quite so stellar about his job performance. Not only had Kacie been locked up with a lunatic, Brennan had slept with the woman he was protecting. As first jobs went, he couldn’t say he was all that impressed with himself.

  McCall’s mouth tilted a little, as if he was aware of Brennan’s thoughts. His words confirmed it. “I talked with Kacie a few days ago. Not only did she insist that you were an excellent bodyguard, she wanted me to know the relationship you two developed has had an amazing effect on her self-confidence. She said you’ve helped her heal.”

  Before Brennan could scramble with an appropriate response, McCall leaned forward and added, “You’re human, Sinclair. And Kacie is a vibrant,
beautiful woman. However, I do not want her hurt, so let me ask you this—how do you feel about her?”

  Of all the conversations he thought he might be having with McCall, talking about his feelings for Kacie wasn’t one of them. In his world, a guy didn’t share things like that with another man. Especially one who was his boss.

  But McCall looked upon Kacie as family, so Brennan could understand his concern. Didn’t make talking about his fascination for Kacie any easier to discuss. In fact, it made it harder.

  “I care about her, McCall. Of course I do. I just—”

  Hell, he what? She was a model, heading toward superstardom. He was a hated has-been, a former celebrity with an ax to grind with the press. Brennan had no desire to step back into the limelight. Kacie was in the news constantly, whereas he wanted to smash every reporter’s face into a wall.

  He and Kacie were like oil and vinegar. They blended well for a while, but once things settled, they would have to separate. It was only natural.

  McCall’s eyes revealed an odd sadness, but he nodded. “I understand. So, since the doctor has released you, I have another job for you.”

  The LCR leader stood, threw down several bills for their drinks, and said, “Be at the airport at six in the morning. I’ll send you the details.”

  McCall disappeared, leaving Brennan staring sightlessly into space. A grinding, hollow sensation had settled deep in his gut, a feeling he feared would never go away.

  She sensed something was wrong the moment he walked into the apartment. They’d been living with each other for weeks, and other than sleeping, had been with each other almost every moment.

  Though they hadn’t made love since before his injury, she had slept beside him every night. And in the dark, before falling asleep, he’d held her and they talked…about anything…everything. She knew this man. His expressions, his body language, even the little twitch in his right eye when he wanted to say something but restrained himself. And now, though there was no discernable twitch, his eyes held a sadness she wasn’t used to seeing.

  Standing in the middle of the foyer, she waited for him to tell her what was wrong. They’d come so far, been through so much in such a short time. She trusted him with every secret, every fear. He had to know he could trust her, too.

  Instead, an instant after she sensed his worry, his expression changed to that wickedly sexy grin that made her knees weak and every erogenous place in her body come alive.

  “Hello, beautiful. What did you do today without your giant shadow hounding your every step?”

  Kacie took a breath. Okay, so he wasn’t ready to talk about whatever it was that was bothering him. He’d had a long day. While she’d been pampering herself, getting ready for a big date, he’d been doing some actual work. A good meal, a little wine, some sweet loving, and he’d be in a more talkative frame of mind.

  Instead of telling him the truth, that not seeing him all day had made her feel empty and sad, she gave the smile that had earned her multiple million-dollar contracts. “A little of this, a little of that.” She added some sexiness to her smile. “Are you hungry?”

  There was the heat and need she wanted to see in his eyes. “Famished,” he said softly and held out his hand.

  She went to him. Aware that her feelings were written all over her face. She couldn’t hide them from him any longer. Even if he didn’t feel the same way, this man who had given her so much needed to know how much he meant to her.

  Pulling her into his arms, he held her tight, almost too tight. Then, as if he realized it, he loosened his arms and looked down at her. “You look good enough to eat, but is that chicken Parmesan that I smell?”

  Pleased to see the teasing light in his eyes, she grinned. “It is.”

  “You managed chicken Parm on top of everything else you did today?”

  “I can’t take credit for that, but I did toss the salad.”

  “Amazing woman.” He dropped a tender kiss on her lips. “Is dinner ready, or do I have time to shower?”

  “You have plenty of time to shower.”

  His eyes roamed over her. “If you didn’t look so damn perfect and delectable, I’d invite you to shower with me.”

  Remembering their last shower together, she almost said yes simply because she wanted a good memory to replace the bad one. Of course, what happened after that had been one of the most amazing nights of her life, so maybe it wasn’t too bad of a memory.

  Before she could answer him, he dropped a quick kiss to her nose. “I’ll be back in a flash.”

  Releasing her, he stepped around her and headed up the stairs, his long legs taking the steps two at a time.

  Kacie stared up the stairway long after he had disappeared. The sad but resigned look in his eyes that last second had told her what was bothering him. A heaviness, along with a deep, aching hollow spot in her heart, settled inside her.

  She knew what was coming, knew what was wrong. Now she just needed to figure out how to deal with it.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  She had gone all-out. The whole time he’d been showering and then dressing, he’d been gearing himself up to tell her he was leaving. In fact, he’d been set to leave tonight and grab a hotel room somewhere till morning. But that was before he realized how much she had done. She had wanted tonight to be special, and for the life of him, he couldn’t find the words he should’ve said.

  Instead, he complimented the table setting, the wine, the candles, and music. She’d even bought flowers and placed them in the middle of the table. Sure, he’d had plenty of women do all sorts of things to try to impress him, but none had been so damn sweet or meant so much to him.

  “How’d you know that chicken Parmesan is my favorite Italian meal?”

  She blushed and dropped her eyes. “I looked it up online.” Raising her head, she said, “I know I said I wouldn’t snoop on you like that, but I just wanted you to have your favorite meal.”

  He couldn’t resist teasing her. “I suppose that means we’re having pecan pie for dessert?”

  Eyes wide with panic, she glanced toward the kitchen, where he figured a chocolate cream pie was sitting in the fridge waiting to be sliced.

  “You know you can’t believe everything that’s online, don’t you?”

  “I know that, but this site really seemed to know you. So maybe your second favorite is chocolate cream pie?”

  He had to laugh, unable to keep up the pretense. “Actually, chocolate cream pie is my favorite. I just wanted to see how you would react.”

  “Not nice at all. I was all set to run down to that new Southern restaurant ten blocks away.”

  “So is anybody saying anything good online? I know there’s plenty of garbage.” He grimaced. “You already know all that, plus the truth.”

  “Well, let’s see.” She grinned wickedly. “When you were a kid, you had a stuffed toy turtle named Mean Joe Green. You once walked naked down 5th Avenue in December because your teammates told you the coach makes all new players do this. And, oh…” Her eyes went wide with delight. “In college, a girl tied you up and poured a jar of honey all over your naked body.”

  He grinned, pleased that there were some fun things among all the bad. “Let me set the record straight. First, it was a stuffed rhino, not a turtle. Second, it wasn’t 5th Avenue, it was Times Square, and I was allowed a jockstrap and a pair of shoes.”

  “Oh my.” She exaggeratedly fanned herself. “And the honey?”

  Leaning close, he took her hand and dropped soft little kisses on the back of it. “It was the other way around. I tied her up, poured honey on her naked body, and…” His tongue licked up her hand to her wrist as he said softly, “I licked it all off.”

  “Oh…” She breathed out softly. “Really?”

  He was elated to see the flush of heat in her face and the obvious interest in her eyes. He could almost guarantee that not that long ago she would have been appalled at the thought of something like that.

  However
, he couldn’t take credit for something that never happened. “No. If my parents had heard about me doing something like that, I don’t care how big or old I was, I would’ve had my ass whipped by both of them.”

  “You had great parents, didn’t you?”

  “The very best.”

  There would always be a stab to his heart when he thought about his mom and dad, not just because he missed them so much, but because he hadn’t been the best son when they were alive.

  He took one last bite of his dinner and pushed the plate away slightly. “That’s about the best chicken Parm I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m glad you liked it. Ready for dessert?”

  If he answered the way he wanted, he’d have her spread out on the table before him like a feast. But if that happened, then he wouldn’t be able to say the things he needed to say.

  “Sounds good.” He stood and took both their plates. “I’ll do cleanup while you get that ready.”

  Though they hadn’t eaten many meals at the apartment, other than breakfast, they’d gotten into a routine. When he’d been married, he had hated kitchen duty. Of course, except for the occasional salad, Vanessa hadn’t been one for the kitchen either.

  Since there was very little to clean up, by the time he rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, she had sliced the pie and poured coffee.

  Kacie felt like she was on a seesaw that might go wild any moment and fling her across the room. One moment Brennan was seducing her with a hot look or an erotic gesture, and the next he was acting like she was his friend and nothing more. She’d gone hot and cold so many times over dinner that she feared her body temperature would be permanently out of whack.

  Taking a tray with two slices of pie and the coffee, she headed toward the living room. Before she got two steps out of the kitchen, he was taking the tray from her.

  “Where to?”

  Oh, how she wanted to be confident enough with him to grab the jar of honey out of her pantry, and say, Follow me, and lead him straight up to her bedroom. The conversation earlier had her thinking some delicious and wickedly sticky thoughts.