by Lisa Jackson
“I don’t know,” Kyle replied, his gray eyes searching the crowd for Maren.
“I’ll sue!” Price roared. “Goddamn you, Sterling, I’ll sue you for every cent you’ve got!”
Maren’s knees sagged and she had to lean against the wall for support. What was happening? Dear God, had Kyle been right all along? Was someone really stealing her tapes and duplicating them for the black market?
Angry members of Mirage separated Kyle from Maren, but when his wrathful gray eyes found hers, she felt as if a dull knife had been thrust into her heart and slowly turned, to let her bleed slowly in an agonizing death. Without completely understanding her motives, Maren ran from the room and out onto the deck. She took deep gulps of sea air before she managed to get hold of herself. A nauseous feeling rose in her throat and her hands were shaking, but she was able to make it down the walkway to the dock. She raced to her car and roared out of the parking lot.
She couldn’t remember the drive to the office. She had driven mechanically, her head pounding with questions she couldn’t answer. Who would steal the tapes? Why? How? Her hands were still shaking when she unlocked the door of Festival Productions, raced up the stairs and switched on the lights. All she could think about was the unspoken accusation in Kyle’s dark eyes as he had stared at her across the crowded salon. It was as if he thought she were the culprit.
Tears began to stream down her face as she realized that everything was lost to her. Her business was sold and the love she had basked in was gone. A raw ache took hold of her, tearing her apart from the inside out. Opening the file drawer, she counted the copies of “Yesterday’s Heart.” None of the cassettes was missing. Slowly she placed each cassette in the recorder, watching to see that it hadn’t been mismarked. Everything seemed in order. “Get hold of yourself,” she whispered.
She huddled on a corner of the couch, wrapping hr arms around her legs and resting her forehead on her knees. “There has to be an answer,” she told herself. Something didn’t add up. Ted had just finished editing the Mirage tape yesterday and yet, Holly insisted that she had seen that very tape the same day. How could it happen? Carefully examining the past two weeks, Maren slowly found a possible answer. It occurred to her that on Wednesday, Ted had mentioned that he had an edited version of the Mirage tape but wasn’t happy with it. The tape was too rough and needed the final editing for polish. He had left the tape in the offices overnight and reworked it later in the week. The editing changes had been minor and only a professional would have noticed the slight variations in the scene sequences. That rough version had to be the copy Holly had viewed.
But who? Who would do this to her?
Lost in her confused thoughts, Maren didn’t hear the intruder until the sound of heavy steps racing up the stairs caught her attention. Maren lifted her head, and her heart leapt to her throat as she rose to face whoever was entering her domain. The tears she attempted to keep at bay fell from her eyes as she recognized Kyle. She wanted to run to him, to let her head fall against his chest, but the wariness in his eyes forced her to remain still.
“I figured you’d come here,” he stated. A pain, as raw and naked as the night itself, lingered in the silvery depths of his gaze.
“I had no idea…” she whispered, but the hard jut of his jaw cut off the rest of her plea.
“Let’s go,” he ordered, the strain around his eyes overshadowing his rough command. “One of your employees…I think her name is Jan, is in the hospital.”
“But she was on the yacht,” Maren objected, concern for her friend evidenced in her words.
“I know.” Kyle’s voice was gentler. “She collapsed on the floor just after you left the salon.”
“Dear God,” Maren cried. “The baby.”
Most of the drive was spent in silence. Maren was numb from the agonizing events of the evening. When Kyle finally parked his car in the hospital parking lot, Maren spoke.
“Do you know…did she lose the baby?” she asked.
“I didn’t know there was a baby involved,” Kyle replied. He placed a comforting arm on her shoulder. “But she was hemorrhaging pretty badly.”
Maren closed her eyes and took in a long breath. “Let’s go.”
Kyle’s grip on her arm tightened. “The reporters have already gotten wind of all this,” he warned.
“Great,” Maren replied. “Wouldn’t you know?”
There was pandemonium at the hospital, and when Kyle and Maren entered the lobby, several reporters shoved microphones in Kyle’s face. The questions all had to do with the rumored pirating of several Sterling releases, to which Kyle replied a stern, “No comment.” Flashbulbs popped until a security guard for the hospital hustled the reporters out of the building and Maren and Kyle were led to a waiting room.
“Where’s Holly?” Maren asked, concerned for Kyle’s child. How was the young girl reacting to all the commotion over the tape?
“She’s at Sara’s house. Lydia is going to pick her up in the morning.”
Maren’s pained blue eyes searched his. “God, Kyle, I’m so sorry about all of this…”
“It’s all right,” he whispered, clutching her hand. “You didn’t know.” His gaze was filled with the conviction of the trust he felt for her.
“You’re incredible,” she whispered. “How did you know that I wasn’t involved?”
“Oh, Maren,” he sighed. “Don’t you realize how much I love you, how much I trust you? I’ve known all along that you couldn’t be a part of this.” Relief took hold of Maren.
“Are you Maren McClure?” a young intern asked Maren as he strode purposefully into the waiting room.
“Yes.”
He looked at the chart he was carrying. “Jan Sommers wants to see you.” The young man observed Maren through thick glasses. “I advised her against seeing anyone, but she’s absolutely insistent about talking to you.” His myopic gaze was severe. “Please make it brief.”
Maren asked the question uppermost in her mind. “What about the baby?”
The doctor shook his head and frowned. “We couldn’t save it,” he said wearily. “As for Ms. Sommers, I’ve given her a sedative that will begin to put her to sleep very shortly.”
“I won’t stay long,” Maren whispered, understanding the intern’s concern.
Kyle took Maren’s arm and led her to Jan’s room. The lump forming in Maren’s throat refused to dissolve as she saw Jan’s thin form lying on the hospital bed. “Hello, Jan,” she whispered, reaching for her friend’s hand.
Jan turned her head to face Maren. Black smudges darkened the skin around her eyes. “Maren,” she whispered, her eyes filling with lonely tears, “I lost the baby.”
“I know,” Maren replied in a throaty whisper.
“I wanted that baby,” Jan said, taking her eyes away from Maren’s comforting gaze. “I really wanted him.”
The words of reassurance stuck in Maren’s throat. “You should rest,” Maren stated. “I’ll stay with you.”
“You shouldn’t,” Jan sobbed.
“Of course I should; you’re my friend…” Jan held up her palm to cut off the rest of Maren’s explanation.
“No…no, I’m not. Just listen to me a minute. There’s something I want to tell you, something I’ve tried, but couldn’t.” Maren’s eyes widened with the realization of what was to come. She had to fight to keep the nausea at bay. “I was the one who took the tapes,” Jan admitted with a ragged sigh.
“I don’t think you should be talking about this right now,” Maren interjected, looking down at the wan form on the bed. “You’re tired.”
Jan impaled Maren with her tortured gaze. “No, Maren, this is something I’ve got to say. Right now, while I have the courage. I took those tapes. Last month it was ‘Going for Broke’ and last Wednesday I stole ‘Yesterday’s Heart.’”
“But, Jan, why?” Maren asked, shocked and unaccepting of Jan’s tearful admission.
“For Jake.”
“Oh, Jan
, no.”
“Look, Maren, you know that I would never have done anything of the sort. It was Jake’s idea and I refused. Even though I was pregnant with his child, I wouldn’t stoop to theft. Then…well, then he threatened me. He said that if I didn’t help him he would beat me.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Maren gasped.
“I started to…after one of our fights, but he caught up with me and I ended up with bruised ribs. I…I almost lost the baby.” Jan wept bitterly at the memory. “I didn’t want to lose my child and I was stupid. It was wrong and I should never have done it and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just want to make a full confession and implicate Jake. It doesn’t matter if he tries to hurt me now…there’s no baby to protect.”
Maren fought the sobs threatening to erupt from her throat. Her fingers wrapped over Jan’s thin hand. “There’s nothing to forgive, Jan.” The secretary’s eyes blurred and she turned her head aside. “I’ll call Elise Conrad in the morning, Jan. Maybe she can help you out of this.”
“I really don’t care, Maren. I just want to see Jake get his,” Jan sighed as her lids became heavy.
“Do you know where we can get hold of him?” Kyle asked, against Maren’s better judgment.
“I think you can find him at our old apartment. I moved out yesterday and he’s already got another girlfriend. I guess he’s been seeing her for the past couple of months. Maybe it was because I was pregnant…who knows? I’m…I’m very tired.”
“Are you all right?” Kyle asked Maren, who was visibly pale.
“Fine,” Maren lied. “I just had no idea…poor Jan.”
Kyle called the police while Maren had a cup of coffee in the lounge. When she was certain that Jan would be all right, Maren let Kyle take her home.
Within a few hours the police called Kyle’s apartment and informed him that they had arrested Jacob Green, who, upon hearing the evidence against him, confessed to stealing the tapes. He also admitted that he had coerced Jan into helping him by threatening her with physical and mental abuse.
After resting fitfully in Kyle’s embrace, Maren finally fell asleep in his arms just before dawn. She didn’t wake when he left the apartment, and it was not until several hours later that his loud reentry finally roused her.
“What time is it?” she asked groggily, noticing the sun streaming in the windows of Kyle’s apartment.
“Late.” He watched her as she stretched on the bed. There was still a trace of sleep in her eyes, and it made her seem incredibly soft and vulnerable.
“Where have you been?” she asked, pulling herself to a sitting position against the pillows. The sheet draped away from her body, showing off the lacy slip she had used as a nightgown. The sculpted ivory lace only partially hid the seductive curve of her breasts.
“I’ve been busy, dear lady, and I’ve accomplished a lot,” he said with a smile as he eased himself onto the bed next to her.
“Tell me all about it.”
“Gladly,” he said, gently nuzzling her neck.
“First of all, I think your friend Jan is off the hook. Green’s confession to coercion, coupled with the fact that Jan implicated him, should be enough to save her—or at the very least put her on probation. I’ll see to it that she gets a good lawyer,” Kyle said thoughtfully.
“That’s wonderful.”
“Also, Green admitted to trying to sabotage the Mirage video. He was the one who engineered the explosion. He stole the costumes.”
“And the lighting problem?” Maren asked.
“He didn’t admit to that. It was probably just coincidence.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Maren said. “The important thing is Jan.” Maren looked up at him with eyes filled with love. “You’re incredible,” she whispered. “What about Mirage?”
“Ryan Woods managed to calm down J. D. Price. We offered Mirage a more lucrative contract and it seems that J.D. has reconsidered. He’s not going to sue after all.”
“You have been busy, haven’t you?”
“Well, we’re going to have to see how it all turns out. There’s going to be a lot of adverse publicity.”
“Until Jacob Green is exposed to the press.”
“That might take a few days,” Kyle observed. “Oh, there is something else I wanted to discuss.”
“What more?” Maren inquired.
“It’s good news,” he said silkily as his lips brushed against the top of her shoulder and pushed the strap of her slip down her arm.
“Sounds interesting,” she responded, imitating his seductive tone.
“Lydia has promised to watch Holly for the entire week—while you and I spend our time honeymooning on the yacht…”
A provocative grin spread over Maren’s lips, and a wicked twinkle lit her indigo eyes. “Honeymoon?”
“That’s right. You and I are going to be married as soon as possible—you’ve been putting me off too long.”
“You won’t hear any arguments from me.”
His lips gently touched hers. “Then we’ll be married this afternoon.”
“I can’t wait.”
The pressure on her mouth increased, and she tasted the sweet promise of his words. Surrendering to the happiness welling within her, Maren wrapped her arms possessively around Kyle’s neck. “I love you, Maren,” he groaned, holding her close. “And I’m going to make sure that I never lose you.”
“Promise?” she asked, looking into his clear gray eyes.
“Forever.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0949-1
Copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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PIRATE’S GOLD
Copyright © 1984 by Susan Crose
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