“I can’t stuff him in a locker,” she retorted, jerking the bear protectively away from him. Just because the big galoot had gotten her off the hook with the resort didn’t mean she had to trust him in everything. She wasn’t a female James Bond. She couldn’t imagine why she should be included in this little jaunt to nail Jacobsen.
“It’s a damn good thing I didn’t buy a puppy.” Charlie caught her elbow and steered her after Emile, who was hurrying toward the private jet he’d chartered.
“A damned good thing,” she agreed vehemently.
“What are we fighting about?” he demanded as they hurried down the steps in the direction of the tarmac.
“How am I supposed to know? You never tell me anything.”
Charlie grinned. “I can still send you to Orlando.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m looking forward to that. Semiautomatics in the hands of Mickey Mouse. The possibilities are fascinating.” She hurried faster. “Are you planning to tell me why we’re going back to St. Lucia?”
“Because Jacobsen’s there.”
“Right. How silly of me. One always runs toward danger instead of away. Why can’t I remember that?”
“Because you’re a woman.” Charlie stayed out of the line of fire after that one, turning her over to Emile’s flight attendant while he talked with the pilot.
By the time Charlie climbed on board, Penelope had strapped the bear into the seat beside her. Charlie unstrapped it, deposited the ungainly thing behind the seat, and strapped himself in its place. She glared and returned to watching out the window. Maybe he ought to tell her to open the bear’s valentine box. Nah, she’d only crash harder.
He was up to his ears in hot shit and almost enjoying himself. They could fight like cats and dogs, but that undercurrent between them never went away. It just grew stronger. Lust didn’t have a damned thing to do with knowing she was terrified and taking her fear out on him.
It wasn’t lust that made him want to shake the mighty PC&M partners and throw them out the windows for not recognizing the gem right under their uplifted noses. And he had no idea why he was imagining making babies with this woman, but he’d sure as hell never considered it with any other woman before.
For reassurance, Charlie appropriated Penelope’s hand and squeezed it. Her fingers curled up inside of his. She was probably making a fist to sock him one, but she didn’t pull away.
“It’s gonna be all right, I promise.” He lowered his voice so Emile, in front of them, couldn’t hear. “I have friends there, remember? Once we get Jacobsen locked up, we can take care of your little problem with your bosses. Maybe we could take a little vacation together.”
She shot him a look of disbelief. “My employer’s garage was shot up because of us. Tammy and Raul are running around together, you haven’t looked after your business for a week, you probably have mountains of paperwork and problems waiting for you, and you’re going to take a vacation?”
“Which are you having difficulty believing, that I’m so lazy I’d let my business go on without me, or that I would give it up to spend a week with you?”
She looked hard at him then, and the reflection in those thick-lashed eyes nearly undid him. He thought his heart stopped beating. He damned well knew he’d stopped breathing. He could see the confusion in her eyes and knew it matched his own.
“I’m not letting you go,” Charlie said recklessly, not waiting for her reply. “We’ve got something here, and I’m not giving it up easily.”
She took a deep breath, not that her boxy jacket allowed him to appreciate it. Her jaw muscles relaxed slightly, and her fingers wrapped around his. “Right,” she said dryly. “I have a friend who gives me tickets to the symphony. Shall we make a date?”
“If you’ll go with me to the Garth Brooks concert.”
“I don’t know anything about Garth Brooks.”
“I don’t know anything about symphonies. We’ll learn.” With that matter settled, Charlie leaned back in the seat and prepared to enjoy the rest of the flight. It might be the last chance he had for a while.
* * *
“Tell me again why we’re doing this.” Penelope sighed as she twisted her hair and attempted to pin it up with Tamara’s scattered collection of hairpins.
Charlie caught her hand, untwisted the thick length of hair, and smoothed it over her shoulders. “Wear it down, for me. You’ve got such gorgeous hair, I don’t know why you try to hide it.”
She might as well wear her hair down. Charlie was wearing her down in more ways than one. She couldn’t summon her protective armor when he looked at her as he was doing now. He stood behind her, but she could see his reflection in the mirror. In that tux, he took her breath away. The look in his eyes robbed her of any remaining sense.
Since that first day she’d seen him in a red muscle shirt, she’d thought him an impressive figure of a man. Now, in white coat and black tie, he encompassed every dream she’d ever had, and then some. How could a muscled jock who seldom wore more than T-shirts and jeans look like James Bond preparing for a presentation to the queen? He didn’t even look the slightest bit uncomfortable in the formal silk shirt and tie.
Glancing from the mirror image of Charlie to herself, Penelope tugged uneasily at the heart-shaped red bodice of her gown. “I shouldn’t have bought this,” she muttered.
She wasn’t uncomfortable with the stares of men. She’d known them all her life. She simply didn’t like being stared at as if she were a piece of meat. Once men noticed her cleavage, their minds blanked out and they never said another sensible word. She grimaced as Charlie draped the waterfall of her hair over her shoulder.
“I’m not hiding my hair,” she said defensively. “It’s a nuisance. If I eat or drink, I have to peel it away from my mouth. I can’t keep it neat like this.” Still, she didn’t reach to put it up again. Charlie’s fingers tugging through it held her entranced.
They’d arrived at the St. Philippe mansion late last night, and Charlie had left her alone in the bedroom his mother had assigned her. She suspected Charlie had stayed up late, conniving with his stepfather and the FBI and making telephone calls, but she’d been too worn out to care. Charlie had had a fit when he learned of Tammy and Raul’s escape, but once she’d ascertained that Beth and the kids were all right, Penelope had left the men to their manipulations.
Maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe she and Charlie should have worked out a little more of this sexual tension between them so they could both think straight.
“I’ll buy you some of those pretty combs for it. Doesn’t Tammy have any in there?” Charlie gestured at the drawers of his half sister’s vanity.
“What is the fascination men have with hair?” she asked with an irritation she really didn’t feel as she searched the drawers, producing an enameled pair of combs that worked with the red of her dress.
“We envision tugging you back to the cave with it?” he asked facetiously. “I don’t know. Maybe it makes you more approachable. You look like a real woman and not an automaton.”
She ought to bust his chops for that remark. Instead, Penelope rose and wrapped her fingers in his neatly knotted bow tie. Even though she was wearing heels, Charlie towered over her by several inches. Few men could do that. She’d planned on knocking his eyes out with one of those sexy poses she’d learned as a model. Instead, the heated blue of his gaze practically immobilized her. It scorched right through her, making her feel totally desirable and incredibly feminine, and she hadn’t done a thing except touch him.
“I’m going to enjoy ripping that dress off you in a few hours,” he murmured as he leaned over to brush his lips against hers.
She should complain that he’d mess her lipstick, but she didn’t care. She slid her fingers into his hair and encouraged him to suck what remained of her breath from her lungs. She’d totally lost her mind, and for once, she was enjoying it.
“God,” Charlie whispered worshipfully as he dragged himself away and looked down a
t her in wonderment. “I think I’ll keep you locked in this bedroom all night. You’re a walking powder keg. I’ll have to beat the men off you.”
“You can’t,” she reminded him. “You’re supposed to be scaring the pants off Jacobsen instead.”
“Why don’t I just strangle him and leave him out in the garden for the birds to find?” he asked hopefully.
Penelope grinned, although her insides clenched as she remembered the kind of dangerous game they played. She’d never attended a party with men who hired killers before. “Don’t you think I can handle those little pups out there by myself?” she teased, diverting her thoughts and his from the evening’s purpose.
“I figure you could snatch them bald, turn them inside out, and stuff them up the chimney before they knew what hit them,” he admitted. “But duds like these make me feel real primitive. I want to bash anyone who looks at you twice.”
Penelope rolled her eyes and returned to her seat to repair the damage to her makeup. “Civilized clothing makes you feel primitive? So you’re most civilized when you’re naked?”
“Yeah, will you hurry it up there? I want this over so I can get you into bed. These damned trousers don’t leave much room for imagination. Or anything else.”
Admiring the drape of expensive cloth he tried to adjust, Penelope smiled. There was something particularly satisfying in arousing a man against his will. She’d never bothered exercising her feminine power before. She thought she might enjoy it—only with Charlie, she realized.
Charlie possessed the ability to turn something terrifying and wonderful on inside her. He gave her the confidence to be a woman. She could let her hair down and cry and be afraid, or she could throw a tantrum and scold, or she could turn him into mush with a kiss, and he accepted all of it as part of her and wasn’t in the least bit put off. That much freedom was intimidating.
“You really think Emile can persuade Jacobsen to talk? I thought it was only in murder mysteries that the crook tells all, just before falling off the cliff or something.” She applied her lipstick and wished she had some jewelry. The hasty shopping trip to Castries hadn’t given her time for more than the dress and shoes and some clean underwear. Charlie had sent someone over to the resort to pick up the remainder of her things, but that didn’t include any necklaces suitable for a gown like this.
“If Emile can’t do it, the FBI will send one of their men in. They’re experienced at interrogating. If we can just get enough on tape to justify a court order to open all his records, we should be fine.”
“And you won’t be involved at all?” she asked, searching through Tammy’s drawers for something, anything, to relieve the bare expanse above the gown’s bodice.
“What are you looking for now?” he asked impatiently. “We need to get out there. I want you surrounded by people so Jacobsen doesn’t have a chance at any more of his strong-arm tactics.”
“You don’t think he’ll run as soon as he sees us?” She slammed the drawer. “I should have brought a scarf. I feel like a damned ostrich in this thing.”
“I doubt if he’ll recognize you. If he sees me, it should put his nerves on edge. If he has any brains at all though, he’ll know Emile and I hate each other’s guts. He’ll believe it if Emile tells him he wants to keep me out of St. Lucia.” Charlie picked up the teddy bear and dumped it on her lap. “Did it ever occur to you that the stupid bear is holding that box for a reason?”
Penelope glanced at Charlie in surprise, then cuddled the bear in her arms so she could pry at the heart-shaped box. “I thought it was for looks. If it’s candy, I’ve smushed it into fudge by now.”
“I noticed the Godivas survived,” he said dryly. The candy box sat on the vanity beside her.
“It will be all your fault when I gain ten pounds I can never lose again.” The box finally popped open, and a tumble of velvet and something hard fell out. Penelope’s heart lodged in her throat as she reached for the sparkly shimmer of gold at her feet.
“Ten pounds will just give me more to put my arms around,” Charlie replied complacently, but she noticed his expression wasn’t quite as serene as his words. He watched nervously as she opened her fingers to see what she’d retrieved.
A fragile gold chain interspersed with the soft glow of pearls draped over her palm. Penelope gasped, then stroked the rainbow shimmer of the center pearl. It warmed against her hand. “Charlie!” she murmured. “It’s exquisite. And entirely too expensive.” She’d love to keep it, but she had a healthy awareness of the price of pearls. He could probably pay his employees for a week for the cost of this.
Gingerly, he took the delicate piece from her hand and draped it around her neck, fumbling with the snap until it caught. “I can afford it, and you’re worth every penny. If I’m going to flaunt you, I might as well do it right.”
“Is that what you’re doing, flaunting me?” She leaned over to admire the result in the mirror, but she was watching Charlie’s reflection. A man as handsome as Charlie didn’t need to buy women with jewelry. He could have all he wanted for a whistle. She wondered what was buzzing around in that inscrutable mind of his.
He caught her elbow and dragged her up. “I’m waving you in everyone’s face and saying ‘Nyah-nyah, she’s mine and you can’t have her,’ “ he said, pulling her toward the door. “Isn’t that what every man dreams of? You’re the female version of my GTO. I’ve got one and no one else does.”
“Macho scum,” she said as he threw open the door. “At least this way you can safely say yours is bigger than anyone else’s. I doubt there’s another woman my height in the room.”
Charlie chuckled. “Then we’re well matched, sweetheart. And mine is bigger than anyone else’s. You’ll just have to take my word for it.”
She’d bash him over the head some other time. Right now, she needed him by her side as they strode toward a room full of strangers, one of whom was probably a murderer.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“Charlie will rip my guts out,” Raul muttered as he steered Tammy toward the hotel elevator. “I should never have let you come with me.”
“I’m of age,” Tammy reminded him. “And Charlie hasn’t played my guardian for a decade. You’re just looking for excuses.”
“You don’t know Charlie,” he grumbled. “He thinks women are little kittens to be played with and protected. Until now, he’s thought you protected. He’ll cut my head off.” He unlocked the door to their room and shoved her in. “I have no excuse for taking you with me instead of leaving you at Disney.”
“If Charlie thinks women are kittens, he needs his head rearranged. I’ve a feeling Penelope will take care of that,” Tammy said with satisfaction as she glanced around the inexpensive hotel room, “but first we have to see that they’re safe. I want to help instead of being a burden, for a change.” She’d always stayed in five-star hotels when she traveled, but this room seemed to contain the basic requirements: a bed and clean sheets.
“Penelope isn’t his sister; you are, and he’s expecting me to look after you, not get you in trouble.” Raul stood awkwardly near the door, not touching her, barely even looking at her.
Tammy thought this nonsense had gone on long enough. She reached for the knit of his shirt and tugged it upward. “I want a reward for braving the airport alone and for finding you without anyone’s help.”
He caught her hand and held it away from him. His dark eyes harbored no anger, just serious concern. “You should never have done that. Miami is a dangerous place for someone with no experience in traveling alone. It is even more dangerous in my company. I want you to stay here while I go to the office. I want to see if Charlie’s checked in.”
Tammy let go of his shirt and limped backward. “If you don’t want to be seen with me, just say so. You don’t have to make up excuses.”
Pain etched his wide brow as he finally looked at her, but he still kept his hands firmly at his sides. “Charlie is right. I can only hurt you, and you deserve better than tha
t. I love you enough to want what is best for you, even if it means sending you away.”
Tammy’s heart skipped a beat as she searched his expression for sincerity. She’d never heard the words I love you directed at her before. She wasn’t certain of their meaning even now. She just knew that in these last months this kind and caring man had taught her more about the meaning of life than her parents had in twenty years.
“Don’t you think I’m old enough to know what’s best for me?” she asked quietly.
Raul closed his eyes and leaned against the door. “That’s what I want to believe, but you are young and reckless. You do not know what the world is like.” He opened his eyes again. “Now is not the time for this discussion. I must find out what Charlie is doing and how I can help.”
Tammy nodded wisely. She knew a great deal more of the world than Raul realized. Being crippled and an object of pity and scorn taught lessons he could only imagine. But she wouldn’t press the subject.
“Call the office,” she said. “I think we’d best stay unseen until we know what’s happening.”
“I already know what’s happening,” Raul replied gloomily. “I followed one of Jacobsen’s men on the island after he tried to burn the trailer.”
Tammy raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t tell Charlie?”
Raul narrowed his eyes to slits. “And have him tearing in there and getting shot? Your brother doesn’t know the meaning of caution.”
“Or patience,” Tammy agreed.
“I wanted to get back here first, where we could talk and I could prevent his doing something foolish, but I didn’t dare fly off the damned island. I was afraid they’d catch me at the airport.” Raul gripped his fingers tighter. “I had to sail out. If only I could have reached Charlie sooner...”
“You did everything possible,” Tammy reassured him. “You can’t blame yourself because Charlie jumped off half-cocked.” Sensing his continued tension, she watched him warily. “So, what did you find out?”
“The thief led me to Jacobsen’s office in Castries. I broke in and read through his contract files. Jacobsen has a major contract with a foreign company, to build a resort on St. Lucia with a completion date of next year. Jacobsen has sold shares of the project to several real estate developers, including companies your father owns. He cannot possibly finish a project of that size in time if he doesn’t already own the land and have the permits.”
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