‘I’ll arrange for someone to pick up your car for you tomorrow,’ he said as he helped her into his car.
‘Thanks.’
He cupped her face in his warm hand and looked deep into her eyes. ‘You were very brave, Becky.’
‘No, I wasn’t, I nearly wet my pants, twice.’
He laughed and leaned forward to kiss her softly.
Ben met them at Jack’s house a few minutes later, throwing a casual arm around his sister’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze. ‘What in the world were you thinking, barging into the room like that?’
‘I didn’t want you to be killed.’
He ruffled her hair. ‘You were one hell of a worry for me, Becky, right up until the very end. I had the devil’s own job getting you out of your flat.’
Becky eased herself out of his embrace to look up at him. ‘What are you talking about?’
Ben flicked his gaze towards Jack. ‘Haven’t you filled her in yet?’
Jack shook his head. ‘She’s tired. I thought it could wait till morning.’
‘What’s going on?’ Becky looked at them both before turning to focus on Jack. ‘Jack?’
‘Ben called me a few days ago to warn me to get you out of your flat. He said you were in danger.’
Becky looked at her brother for verification. ‘Is that true?’
‘Yes. I was working undercover. I heard that someone suspected the company had been infiltrated and that various buttons were going to be pushed to see who jumped. It wasn’t a problem for Matt, his family are overseas, like our parents. It was just you I had to protect.’ He let out a deep breath of relief. ‘It was touch and go there for a while. You weren’t taking any of my hints.’
‘Hints?’ Becky looked at him blankly. ‘What hints?’
Ben grinned. ‘It took all my specialist training not to laugh out loud at you pointing that shoe at me.’
‘You were the intruder?’ She gaped at him in shock.
‘Yes. I had to do what I could to scare you out of there. Carl had instructed me to rough you up a bit. He wanted to see if I was Ben Baxter, the mole. It was a test. Of course I couldn’t hurt you so I just told him you pulled a gun on me.’
‘What about the break-in?’ she asked.
‘That was David. He went after your car keys. I tried to put your car out of action but you kept getting it fixed.’ He sent Jack a quick glance before turning back to her. ‘Matt began to suspect something when he covered the break and enter. He was trying to work out who the police informant was. For a while he thought it was me but then Dubrovnik slipped up and the truth finally came out.’
‘Matt told me he thought there were two people after me,’ she said, recalling her conversation with him.
‘Yeah, he wanted to check what you knew about my movements. We were playing cat and mouse there for a bit but I wanted to make sure I could trust him. He’s a good cop, sharp as a tack. He eventually put two and two together over the messages.’ Ben grinned again.
‘Messages?’ Becky asked, frowning.
‘That message in lipstick I scrawled across your mirror. I came in after David had been.’
“‘Get out or die bitch face”?’ She gave his arm a hard slap. ‘Bitch face?’
Ben chuckled as he moved out of her reach. ‘It worked, didn’t it?’
‘But I don’t understand,’ she said, trying to get her head around it all. ‘What about the sunscreen?’
‘Me again,’ Ben confessed. ‘I was tailing David Barker at the time. I wasn’t sure what he was capable of so I thought I’d send another warning to keep you and Jack on your toes.’
‘You knew about all this?’ Becky stared at Jack.
‘Not all of it,’ Jack said.
‘I didn’t tell Jack much. I couldn’t,’ Ben said. ‘I just told him to get you out of the flat and into his house. Of course, I know how stubborn you can be, it was a nightmare to make sure he convinced you to move in. Hey, mate, did you pretend to be in love with her like I said?’
Becky froze at Ben’s words, her breath locking in her chest. She turned to look up at Jack, her fingertips turning icy cold as the slow crawl of sick realisation dawned.
‘Is that true, Jack?’ she asked, her voice catching on her growing anger. ‘Did my brother ask you to pretend to be in love with me?’
Jack’s throat moved up and down. ‘Yes, but it’s not quite how it—’
She raised her hand and slapped the side of his face, the sound of her palm connecting with his jaw like a gunshot.
‘Whoa there, Becky.’ Ben pulled her away before she took another swipe. ‘What’s the matter with you? Jack helped to save your life!’
She pushed Ben’s hand off her arm and glared at him furiously. ‘He didn’t have to sleep with me, though—or were those your orders as well?’
‘He slept with you?’ Ben’s eyes widened.
‘Not only did he sleep with me…’ she sent Jack a cutting look ‘…he also took the play-acting to a whole new level of farce by asking me to marry him.’
Ben’s mouth opened and closed.
‘Becky, you don’t understand.’ Jack stepped towards her. ‘I was going to explain but—’
‘Explain?’ she choked. ‘How could you possibly explain what you did? You made a complete fool out of me, talking of happy-ever-afters. You make me sick, do you hear me? I hate you. I never want to see you again.’
‘Listen to me, Becky,’ Jack said raggedly. ‘None of this is how it seems.’
Becky stomped out of the room without another word, slamming the door behind her.
Jack stepped forward to follow her but Ben put out an arm to stop him. ‘Leave her, mate. Let her sleep her anger off. She’s been through a lot. She’ll have a good cry and it’ll all start to make sense in the morning.’
‘Ben…’ Jack raked a hand through his hair and faced him, his expression a little sheepish. ‘About that marriage proposal…’
Becky waited until she was sure Ben and Jack were asleep before leaving the house. She caught a taxi to the hospital, asking the driver to wait while she collected her bag out of her locker and then directing him to take her to the city.
She didn’t think it wise to book into The Principal On The Park again, and because she was feeling so low she headed for the more upmarket harbour end of town and checked into the Harbour Edge Hotel.
She left a message at the hospital switchboard that she was taking a few days’ sick leave, turned off her phone, ran a deep hot bath and soaked for an hour, trying not to give in to the tears that were banking up behind her stinging eyes.
Jack’s betrayal was so hard to believe. How could he have sunk so low as to pretend?
Of course it was all so obvious now. She kicked at the bubbles around her in frustration and anger. All those mixed messages she’d thought he was sending were not the work of her imagination after all. He’d been trying to act like a man in love while gritting his teeth at having to play babysitter until Ben could give him the all-clear.
She wished she hadn’t been so gullible as to fall for it. Why hadn’t she realised what was going on? Then she could have played along with it and had the last laugh, instead of having her heart smashed to pieces.
She got out of the bath and dialled for room service. She hadn’t eaten in hours and diets had no place when it came to healing a broken heart.
Once she placed her order she called St Patrick’s to ask how Matt Daniels was doing. Robert took the call and filled her in. ‘He’s awake and doing really well. I’m standing right next to his bed. Do you want to talk to him?’
‘Sure,’ Becky said.
‘Becky?’ Matt’s voice sounded a bit thin around the edges. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yes, thanks to you.’
‘No, thanks to Jack,’ he said. ‘And you, of course. I heard you two did a good job on me before the ambulance arrived.’
‘Just doing my job,’ she said.
‘Your brother saved my life and you
rs by getting you out of the line of fire,’ he said. ‘Carlos Mandolos is a ruthless killer. He wanted to kill you from the first day and would have done so if Ben hadn’t involved Jack. He stuck to you like glue. Mandolos knew that if he took you out he’d have to take Jack out too, but shooting one of Sydney’s best surgeons was going to attract too much attention. He couldn’t risk it. That’s why David Barker was sent in to see if he could get you alone.’
‘He seemed like such a normal guy,’ Becky said with a little shudder.
‘Most criminals seem normal people on the surface,’ Matt said. ‘It’s part of the whole profile of a criminal mind. They think and act normally when they need to but when it’s time to party they slip into criminal mode with ease.’ He gave a muffled yawn. ‘Hell, what did that registrar put in this IV line?’
‘I’d better let you get some sleep,’ she said. ‘You’re dosed up on morphine for the pain. I’m glad you’re doing OK.’
Becky put the phone back down and sighed. Matt was right. She did owe Jack her life, and not just for the way he’d stepped in tonight, distracting Mandolos. Jack had only done exactly what her brother had asked him to. She knew how strict the code was on contact with family members during an undercover operation. Ben would have called Jack in desperation to make sure she was kept safe, not wanting to compromise himself or his colleagues by revealing his true identity.
There was a discreet knock on the door and a male voice called out, ‘Room service.’
Becky gathered her robe around her and padded across to open the door, her eyes growing wide with shock to see Jack standing there, dressed in the hotel servicemen’s uniform, a food trolley in front of him.
‘Did someone call for a large fries, a double cheeseburger, a Coke and a chocolate and blueberry cheesecake?’ he asked.
She pursed her lips at him and opened the door a little wider for him to bring in the trolley. ‘I suppose there’s no point asking how you found me.’
‘Your brother gave me a few hints,’ Jack said. ‘I think I could make it as an undercover cop if ever I fancied a career change.’
‘You’d totally suck at it. You’re a terrible actor.’
‘You think so?’
‘I know so.’ She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a cold hard glare. ‘I hope you’re not expecting a tip. I’m short of cash right now.’
‘I’m not here for a tip.’ His eyes locked with hers.
‘Why are you here?’
‘Can’t you guess?’
She searched his face but she was at a loss to know what was going on behind his green gaze.
‘Did Ben tell you to come here?’ she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
‘No.’
He stepped towards her and took one of her hands and gently unpeeled her locked fingers, one by one.
‘W-what are you doing?’
He pressed a soft kiss into the middle of her palm and closed her fingers back over it, his eyes still holding hers.
‘I’m telling you that I love you,’ he said.
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Then I’ll have to find another way to convince you,’ he said, and took her other hand and did the same to it. ‘Convinced yet?’
She shook her head, the line of her mouth still tight.
‘Hmm.’ He gave the side of his head a little scratch as if in deep thought. ‘How about this?’ he asked, and kissed her on the lips, his own gentle but firm, his tongue sweeping just once over the tight seam of her mouth.
Becky’s lips tingled with the sensation and a wave of desire hit her from below, making her sway towards him, her eyes starting to shine as she looked up at him.
Jack smiled and kissed her again, this time a little more thoroughly, his tongue curling around hers until she was breathless and clinging to him.
He lifted his head and asked, ‘Am I making any headway here or am I going to have to call in the big guns?’
‘What sort of guns are we talking about?’ she said, pressing herself to the hardness of his body, her arms going up around his neck.
‘Shotguns,’ he said. ‘You know, the ones that make people get married in a hurry.’
‘But I’m not pregnant,’ she said, a little smile starting to kick up the edges of her mouth as she saw the leaping glint in his eyes. ‘Or at least I don’t think so.’
‘Then let’s get started on it,’ he said, ‘Right here and right now.’ He backed her towards the bed, untying her bathrobe as he went, his burning gaze feasting on her already quivering flesh before his weight pinned her to the mattress.
‘Jack!’ She wriggled out from under him, torn between wanting to laugh and cry all at the same time. ‘Are you really telling me the truth?’
‘I told you the truth yesterday but you wouldn’t believe me,’ he said, reaching for her again. ‘I know it seemed out of character and I did a lousy job of my proposal but I was desperate. I suddenly realised I loved you. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you. I made a promise to Ben to look after you but I had no need to pretend to be in love with you. I guess that’s why I’ve been pushing you away all these years—you threatened my neat plan of no emotional entanglements. When I kissed you twelve years ago it made me realise you were the one person who, if I allowed you to, could slip under my guard and disrupt my carefully planned life.’ He gave her rueful little smile as his finger traced a soft pathway over the curve of her mouth. ‘Do you have any idea of how totally irresistible you are?’
‘Irresistible, huh?’ Becky’s eyes began to dance as she wriggled back under him, her arms going around him to hold him close. ‘I thought you said I was the most annoying person you’d ever met?’
‘Did I say that?’ He pressed a soft kiss to the edge of her mouth.
‘You sure did.’
‘And you believed me?’
‘Why wouldn’t I believe you?’ she said. ‘All the evidence at hand seemed to suggest you couldn’t bear to even look at me.’
‘Then maybe you should re-examine the evidence at hand,’ he suggested, capturing her hand and placing it where his body most ached and throbbed for her touch.
‘Mmm,’ Becky mused as her fingers moved over him. ‘It seems the evidence at hand might be telling me the truth after all.’
‘You’d better believe it, baby,’ Jack growled as he pressed her backwards. ‘This is one body that never lies.’
‘Jack…’ Becky said a few breathless minutes later. ‘I could be wrong but I’m getting the distinct impression your body is seriously in love with mine.’
Jack eased himself up on one elbow, his passion-glazed eyes holding hers. ‘So I’ve finally managed to convince you?’
She gave him a teasing little smile. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as saying that.’
‘You mean I have to do it all over again?’ he asked in mock-affront.
She grinned at him as she worked her way down his body with a pathway of hot breathy little kisses that threatened to boil his blood.
‘Hey! What are you doing?’ he asked, sucking in a breath as she finally found what she was looking for.
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ she asked, her eyes glinting up at him with mischief.
‘I think you’re making it absolutely impossible for me to resist you,’ he said.
‘Touché,’ she said, and pressed him back down on the bed. ‘Just for the record, this is one mouth that never lies.’
‘I thought you said I wasn’t your type?’ Jack dragged some air into his lungs.
‘Did I say that?’ She lifted her head momentarily to give him a totally guileless look.
‘You did.’
‘And you believed me?’
‘I guess I should have examined the evidence a little more closely.’
Becky gave him a twinkling little smile. ‘You should definitely always examine the evidence, but right now I have other plans for you.’
‘You do?’ He sucked in another sharp little brea
th as she moved a little lower.
‘Damn right I do,’ she said, and with one last glinting look she bent her head and took his breath completely away.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5844-3
© Melanie Milburne 2005
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
First published in Great Britain 2005
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A Surgeon Worth Waiting For Page 18