Crash and Burn

by Maggie Nash

  How does he do that? He can turn the heat on and off like a light switch. She needed a minute to cool down so she screwed up her paper towel into a tight ball and stood to walk over to the bin and throw it in.

  “You ready then?”

  She swallowed, desperately trying to cool her emotions and praying Daniel wouldn’t notice anything amiss. “Yeah, I guess. Where are we going again?”

  “We’ll know when we get there.”

  “That’s comforting to know.”

  “I haven’t decided yet. We’ll work it out when we’re driving. If we don’t know until we get there, at least whoever is following us will have no chance of knowing either.”

  “You know, in a scary sort of way that actually makes sense to me. I must be catching on to this spy business.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable. It’s not the life for someone like you.”

  “What do you mean ‘someone like me’? Didn’t I get myself out of trouble in Canberra? I can hack it if you can’t.”

  “Hey, don’t jump down my throat and get all defensive. I didn’t mean I thought you couldn’t hack it, just that a woman like you deserves a normal life with a family and all that goes with it—not a life in the shadows and having to keep secrets from those you care about.”

  “Don’t you deserve that, too?”

  Daniel shrugged and stood up. “It’s not a priority for me. I have other plans for my life.”

  Beth followed him as he wheeled the trolley toward the car park. “And that includes being by yourself for the rest of your life?”

  “Works for me. Let’s get this gear to the car and take off.”

  Well, that confirmed what she’d originally thought. He was the love ’em and leave ’em type. He did warn her after that spontaneous combustion kiss. Good thing she’d stopped herself from caring too much. Yeah, good thing all round.

  * * * *

  The sleazy hotel they checked into in Kings Cross was a far cry from the five-star luxury of the previous night. The stench of cigarettes and stale beer had Daniel coughing to cover the gag threatening to close over his throat. He didn’t want to think how bad this place was and how Beth didn’t belong here. If he was gagging, what the heck was she feeling? After he handed over the cash to the long-haired, scruffy guy who passed as the receptionist, he turned to find her staring out at the street outside. A couple of kids were passing. They couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen, but they were dressed to kill in short skirts, high heels and tight tank tops. Heavy eye makeup and lipstick marred their adolescent faces. Such was life in Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross, but from the shocked expression on Beth’s face, it was something she’d hadn’t seen much of in her past, which was amazing since she’d grown up in Sydney.

  She turned to face him as he approached. A small tear escaped and trickled down her left cheek before she managed to swipe it with the back of her hand. “They’re so young. They should be giggling in the back row of the movies with their boyfriends or having sleepovers with their girlfriends, not walking the streets soliciting paying customers.”

  Daniel hustled her toward the dingy stairs. “Yeah, well, sometimes life sucks and people are forced to do some crap things to survive. Not our problem at the moment. Let’s get to our room so we can get out of sight.”

  “Don’t you care?”

  Daniel stopped after he turned the lock in the door to their room. “Once, a long time ago, I thought about how it’d be great to right all the wrongs of the world, but guess what, sweetheart? No matter what we do, there’ll always be another street kid turning tricks. It never goes away.”

  “That’s a cynical attitude.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m a realist. Life seldom turns out the way we’d like it to.” He placed his hand in the small of her back and urged her into the room. “Okay, let’s get the door closed. The walls have eyes and ears.”

  * * * *

  “Where the hell are they?” the silver-haired man demanded.

  “Still in Sydney. I’m closing in on them now. It won’t be long and the problem will be eliminated,” the man at the end of the phone replied.

  “It had better be. You owe me this and you’re being paid very well for your trouble. Don’t even think of failing.”

  “Don’t worry. This is one assignment I’m going to enjoy.”

  The silver-haired man grimaced. “You’re one sick bastard, you know that.”

  The other man chuckled. “I’m not the one giving the orders here.”

  “But I get no pleasure out of this business. If there was any other solution…but there isn’t, so get on with it, and don’t tell me any of your sick fantasies.”

  The other man snorted. “Whatever. I’ll be in touch.” He shut off his phone and whistled as he started up his car and headed into the city.

  It won’t be long now, he congratulated himself. It was all coming together. Finally.

  * * * *

  The room was better than Daniel had expected, considering the hygiene level of the lobby. At least the bed appeared to have clean sheets and the small sink on the wall was clean. He couldn’t say the same for the moth-eaten carpet though. Beside the bed, there was a large rusty stain that could only be an old blood. He hoped it was from someone’s sinus condition and not something more ominous. He dumped the bag over it, hoping to cover it before it got Beth’s attention. She was uptight enough just from being in the ‘Cross’. She didn’t need any more reminders of the seedier side of life. He scanned the room for any more surprises but, finding none, he sat down on the bed and began unlacing his shoes.

  “How long do you think we need to stay here, Daniel?”

  The first shoe plunked on the floor and Daniel let out a breath. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to access more files tonight, and if we’re lucky, by tomorrow we might have a better idea who we can trust on this thing. Maybe just one night, two at the most.”

  Daniel watched Beth as she sat down on the only chair in the room. A throwback from the sixties, the seat was a murky mixture of olive green and orange stripes. Well, it might have been those colors once. Years of sweat and dirt now made the colors merge into one. It didn’t seem too sturdy either.

  “You sure you want to sit there? There’s plenty of room over here.”

  Beth flushed to the roots of her magnificent red hair and sat down quickly.

  “It’s okay. I’m sure it’ll take my weight.” She crossed her shapely legs and placed her hands on either side of her on the seat of the chair, gripping the edges. “I suppose I can handle a couple of nights here. If you think this is safe, I’d stay anywhere.”

  Daniel smiled. “Even camping?”

  Beth laughed, her stiff demeanor relaxing a little. “Well, probably not camping again. You know how well that turned out last time. My dad was right. Camping is bad news.”

  Daniel watched as she uncrossed and crossed her legs, bringing instantly to mind a scene out of Basic Instinct. He shook his head to purge the image of those long, gorgeous pins wrapped around his hips. “We should get some rest. We have a busy day ahead of us. I’ll go and get us some takeout then we should try to get some sleep.”

  Beth stiffened in her chair again although she stayed glued to the seat. The idea of being left alone in this room obviously didn’t sit well with her. “Okay, I promise not to open the door for anyone and I won’t make any phone calls either.”

  She looked away as Daniel approached her. He touched the soft skin of her cheek, turning her face to meet his gaze. “Beth, you know it’s for your own safety…these precautions?”

  Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Yes, I know. I just wish it was over. I want my life back, but whining about it won’t help, so you get going and I’ll be here waiting.”

  Shit! He hated to leave her while she was upset, but they had to eat and he would be back in a flash. “You’ll be all right?”

  “Go!” she said, breaking the contact and pushing him away.

  “Okay, I
’ll be back as soon as I can.” Flashing her an encouraging smile, he headed for the door.

  “Daniel…?”

  He turned back. “Yes?”

  “Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable with your shoes on?”

  Daniel stared at his bare feet and laughed. “I suppose I’d better put them back on. Although bare feet are common in these parts, you never know what might be on the ground.”

  Minutes later, he was out of the door and Beth found herself alone. She thought back to the other time she’d been alone in a hotel waiting for Daniel to return. She’d been pretty annoyed with him for keeping her out of the loop, and had decided to take matters into her own hands. Fat lot of good that had done. It’d almost gotten them both killed. No way was she moving out of the room this time. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

  She looked around the dingy surroundings and wrinkled her nose. If only they could have stayed five star again. She was in her hometown but she’d never stayed in this part of town before. Sure, she’d driven down Darlinghurst Road with a group of people to check out the scenery, but she’d never really thought about the people who lived there. It was different when she thought of the place as a tourist trap. What she’d seen in the last hour was enough for her to change her opinion completely.

  Her mind went back a couple of days to when they’d been in Canberra. Maybe if she went through everything that had happened step by step, she could work out how they’d been discovered, and maybe even who was following them. Images of their arrival in the hotel flashed in front of her eyes. The dinner and what had happened after when she fell in the shower came to mind. How embarrassing. Her skin warmed several degrees, her heart pounded and her breathing came in and out in short spurts. Memories of Daniel’s firm, demanding lips on hers came back in a rush and she gasped. His unique scent lingered in the room and teased her nostrils and the path his hands had followed now burned with intense heat. Unable to sit still, she stood and paced restlessly around the room.

  This was stupid. It was getting her nowhere. She spied the jacket Daniel had left strewn over the bed. She picked it up, pressing it to her face and inhaling, groaning as she breathed in his unique masculine scent.

  Oh yeah, she had it bad.

  Back to business, Beth. What happened next? She recalled scrolling through the diary on the laptop. She remembered feeling lonely. Wait, now she remembered. Her father’s friend hadn’t answered when she’d attempted to call him. But he couldn’t be involved, could he?

  A key sounded in the lock and Beth jumped, her heart once again thumping. She moved to the window, not sure what she could do if a stranger accosted her, but there was a small balcony outside where she could escape if she needed to. She grasped the window frame and was poised to force it open if need be when Daniel walked through the door.

  “Everything okay?”

  Relief flowed through her. “Thank God it’s you! You almost gave me a heart attack. How about we come up with a secret knock or something? I almost jumped out the window, you know. I was this close,” she said, with her thumb and forefinger placed an inch apart in front of his face. She couldn’t stay mad at him and broke into a smile.

  Daniel smiled sheepishly as he placed a paper bag down on the small table. “Sorry, I was rushing back to feed you. I know how much you love your food, but you’re right, I should have knocked first.”

  “Well, since you’ve brought food, I’ll forgive you this time.” She recognized the aroma of something spicy. Oh yes, just what she needed to banish the thoughts of the last few minutes.

  “Is that what I think it is?”

  “If you’re thinking sub sandwiches, then you’d be correct. They’re two doors down. I didn’t want to leave you by yourself for too long. I’m glad to see you approve of my choice.”

  Daniel handed her a sub and napkin and seated himself on the bed before opening his own sandwich.

  Beth watched as he took the first bite. He let out a groan of pleasure. Beth’s breath hitched and she turned away. Her internal thermostat rose another twenty degrees just thinking about those incredible lips as he tasted her sensitive body parts. Her nipples tightened when the flush expanded to cover her whole body. Down, girl! Back to business. She should tell Daniel about what she remembered, and now was as good a time as any. She forced herself to breathe deeper and slower.

  “Daniel, I’ve been thinking.”

  Daniel polished off the rest of his sandwich in another two bites. “Hang on a sec…”

  Beth turned back to him in time to see him place his fingers one by one into his mouth to suck the juices from the sandwich off. She grabbed her bottle of cola and took a large swig, taking in the liquid too quickly and coughing desperately.

  Daniel jumped up from the bed and patted her on the back. “You okay?”

  Mortified, Beth sucked in a couple of deep breaths and nodded, not trusting her voice at this stage. Jeepers creepers, how was she going to get through one night in the same room as him, let alone two? Every movement, every gesture, had her hot, thinking of the things he could do to her body and her to his.

  She gradually stopped gagging and she took another sip, carefully this time. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks for the back pat though. I needed that.”

  “You said you’d been thinking about something, Beth. What was that all about?”

  Grateful to move on, Beth took another small sip of her cola before she walked across to the window to stare at the street below.

  “I’ve been trying to piece together everything we’d done and everyone we’ve spoken to since this started. I thought I could figure out where they picked up on our position, and following on from that possibly who.”

  “And what did you come up with?”

  “I remembered something about what happened in the hotel in Canberra.”

  “What else happened?”

  “When you were out, and before I went out on my adventure, I called a friend of my father who lives in Canberra.”

  “You what?” Daniel jumped up and walked over to her, the sparks from his dark eyes almost touching her skin as he came closer to her.

  “I thought it was okay. He worked with my father for years and I hadn’t seen him since my parents’ funeral.”

  “Beth…you know I asked you not to call anyone. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I actually forgot about it.”

  He placed his hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him, the heat from his touch burning through her shirt. “How could you forget something as significant as this?”

  “I’m sorry. I got distracted with running from the bad guys. He wasn’t there anyway. I didn’t even leave a message. But why would he be after me? He was my father’s workmate.”

  Daniel’s hand dropped and he stormed back to the bed, sitting down. “Haven’t you learned anything from this, Beth? We can’t trust anyone.”

  “I’m sorry, Daniel. I know better now. I was feeling lonely and wanted to hear a friendly voice. It won’t ever happen again.” Beth tried hard, but it was difficult to keep the tears out of her voice. She gulped back a sob and started for the bathroom.

  “Hell…”

  She fumbled for the door and Daniel was there in front of her, pulling her into his arms.

  “I’ve been such an idiot. I should have known better. It was just that I was so lonely and I thought that if I spoke to someone who knew my parents…” A small tear slid down her cheek. Damn. She never cried, but in the last two days the tears had been running like a river in flood.

  “It’s okay,” said Daniel as he pulled her even closer and rubbed his hand up and down her back. “Shh…we’re in this together.”

  It felt good. Too good. The heat that was generated was stimulating other parts of her body that had no business being stimulated. From the hardness she felt as she brushed against his jeans, the same thing was happening to him. He tilted her chin and she gazed into his eyes. His face inched closer as his lips descen
ded. With a featherlight touch, he kissed her once, twice, but as he moved in for a closer exploration, Beth placed her hand on his chest, pushing gently, forcing some badly needed distance between them before she found herself melting into him. Daniel dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back, his short, sharp breaths letting her know it was just as difficult for him. She turned her head away from him—his smoldering eyes were too much of a temptation.

  She cleared her throat to mask her raspy voice. “It couldn’t be Uncle Jack. Someone must have been monitoring his phone. He would never try to hurt me.”

  “How good a friend was he? When did you last see him?”

  “When I was younger, my parents socialized with him and his wife. He frequently came to our home.” She took a few steps toward the table, picking up her cola and lifting the bottle up to her mouth, taking a long drink before putting it back down. “The last time I saw him was at my parents’ funeral.”

  “I wish you’d told me about this before, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. At least we have another point of entry to investigate. Tell me, where does your uncle work?”

  “Some government department in Canberra. I don’t think he’s ever told me exactly where, and I probably didn’t think to ask.”

  “That doesn’t give us much to go on.”

  “I’m sorry…”

  “Forget it. I need to think. I’m going to take a walk. I won’t be long. Will you be okay?”

  Panic gripped Beth as she sucked in a breath and felt her heart slam in her chest.

  “You’re not okay…”

  She swayed on her feet as she reached behind her back and steadied herself on the table. “I’ll be fine. I just need some air. If I put on the wig, can I come with you?”