“Let me see.” With careful fingers, he opened her robe to look at her raw skin.
She began to relax, then he slid the robe off her shoulder and looked at her back. Too late, she made a grab for her sleeve. Shit. Double shit.
“How did you hurt your chest and your back?”
Her mind went blank. She felt the cool air on her chest, and pulled her robe closed as she searched for an excuse.
“Umm, I think I bounced.”
“Bounced? On concrete steps?”
“My body must have known you were nearby. My feet don’t work right when you’re around.” She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “Want something to eat? I’m starved.”
“Sure. After I get you fixed up.”
“First aid supplies are in the bathroom.” Hoping to distract him from more questions, she dropped the robe to the floor, and with a saucy step, led the way to the bathroom stark naked. She jabbered about work, airplanes—anything she could think of while he treated her injuries.
“How’s that?” he asked after he’d put way too many bandages on.
“Better, but you missed a spot. Right here.” She pointed to her left breast, then started unbuttoning his Levi’s.
Jordan’s eyes darkened. “When’s your flight?”
“In three hours, but I’m supposed to check in two hours early.”
“Do you think you can fit everything into a small suitcase?”
“Why?”
“You’d only have a carry-on.” He nibbled her ear.
“I don’t mind waiting for my luggage.”
“If you don’t check anything, we still have an hour. It would be unethical to let you leave before I complete my examination.” He kissed her neck.
She arrived at the airport forty-five minutes before her flight. Jordan carried her single bag to the security checkpoint and gave her a long, heated kiss. She made it through security and hurried to her gate. It felt odd to be leaving. She finally knew she belonged in Cedar Valley. She wasn’t sure how she’d talk Steven into letting her stay permanently, but she’d find a way.
****
Melanie worked twelve-hour days, helping the three auditors who were set up in the conference room. Steven looked like he’d aged ten years, and he smelled even worse. The new technician, in his zeal to help out, inadvertently deleted the last two system backups, leaving them with old data and creating days of extra work.
With her head bent over a custom report she’d created and a half-empty box of Pad Thai, Mel scanned the numbers listed in fourteen columns. She’d been working for hours, but she couldn’t stop. She turned the page, and her gaze locked on a figure buried among a series of large numbers. There was a negative sign. That’s how he did it, she realized with a prickle of excitement. He reversed the deduction, which turned it into income, then found a way to pocket the money before it got to the employee’s check. She flagged the number and paged the auditors. Now that she knew what she was looking for, the rest would be easy.
The door opened and Bill Harris, the primary auditor, walked in. Eight years Mel’s senior, he looked like he was heading to a ballgame in jeans and a Broncos T-shirt. With his brown hair pulled into a tail, he looked like anything but a paper-pusher. He was one of the best. “What’d you find?”
After she explained, they called a meeting with the auditors and managers. An hour later, she walked into the crowded conference room with a lengthy report in her hand.
“What is it?” Steven asked.
“From last month’s payroll, over four thousand dollars was stolen.” She waited for the murmurs to die down before handing out copies of the report, with employee’s names and account numbers blacked-out.
“Why can’t I see the names?” Steven asked.
“There are twelve copies of the report,” she said patiently. Steven tended to lose his perspective when stress was high. “While everyone in this room is cleared to deal with confidential data, other people will see these reports, like the authorities who arrested Curt. By blacking out the names, we don’t need to worry where they go.”
Steven grunted.
“This report was created from a backup of the payroll data,” she explained. “The deductions were manipulated between the trial run and the final. Look at the first employee. This person has a deduction of fifty dollars each payroll. If you remove the deduction, their take-home pay increases by fifty dollars. Now, if we turn the regular deduction into a negative deduction, their take-home pay would increase by another fifty, for a total of a hundred dollars. Rather than give that employee the hundred dollars, the money was taken out before the final run. Curt used a dummy deduction code, similar to the one for the retirement plan, so employees weren’t likely to see the difference.”
The meeting adjourned a half hour later, and she walked out next to Steven. “The auditors should be able to handle it now. I need to get back to Washington to finish the interviews.”
“You stay,” Steven hedged. “In case they need something.”
“I can get whatever they might need from the branch office. I don’t want to get too far behind on the hiring, or we won’t have sufficient staff for the projects we’re already committed to. We have five signed contracts, which is nearly unheard of in a town the size of Cedar Valley.”
“Send Kristy,” he said, referring to one of the entry-level analysts. “She can do the interviews.”
“It wouldn’t work,” Mel said quickly. “She’s a recruiter. She isn’t familiar with compliance issues, and that’s where we’re getting the most business. The smaller companies in the Valley don’t have the time, or energy, to stay on top of legal changes. That’s our biggest selling point.”
Steven hesitated, and she knew he was looking for a way to make her stay. With no other option, she followed him to his office and spent the next half-hour overwhelming him with details. When he finally gave in, more to get her out of his office than because she swayed him to her point of view, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
“Quinn,” Steven said.
For a split second, she actually thought of pretending she hadn’t heard him, but she turned.
“One week,” he said in his steely, I’m-the-boss voice. “After the branch opens, you have one week to get it running. Then I want you here.”
Tuesday morning, four days before Carley was due back from camp, Mel flew home. Steven, and his order to return to Denver, would have to wait. Carley needed her. Jordan wanted her. If she could find a way to stay and keep her job, and make Mick leave the country, life would be perfect.
The taxi ride to her office, where she’d left her car, took forever. The drizzle slowed traffic on I-90 to a crawl, and all she could think about was seeing Jordan. That would have to wait, at least until five, since he was at work.
The driver parked in Schuster’s lot, next to her car and put her suitcase in the back seat. After she paid him a generous tip, she went inside the building and stopped. Cassandra Calloway, the first woman she’d interviewed, smiled from behind the classy receptionist desk. Instead of the oversized glasses and ill-fitting clothes, she sported a sassy bob, pink lipstick, and a quick grin.
“Cassandra, you look wonderful.”
Cassandra blushed. “Thank you. Nicholas is in his office. He wants to see you right away.” Her eyes glowed when she said his name.
Mel debated warning her that he had a girlfriend, but Cassandra probably knew. Besides, looking like she did now, she wouldn’t be hurting for dates.
In the large office, Nicholas sat behind a sleek desk with a computer and phone. “It’s about time you showed up. Honestly, I didn’t know how much you were doing until you left. I couldn’t keep up, couldn’t even find time to hire a secretary, so I asked Cassandra to help out. I want to show you something.” He rose and she followed him out the door. “Check out your office.”
Melanie peered inside and couldn’t help the wistful smile. It was like standing inside a warm, fluffy biscuit. The walls
were somewhere between beige and soft yellow, the ceiling a few shades darker. The wood trim matched the knotty pine desk, already topped with a flat screen monitor. All the room needed was a few pictures and a plant.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, but I’ve been ordered to return to Denver a week after we open. I’ll have to quit if I want to stay in the Valley.” It sounded tempting, but jobs that paid enough to cover the mortgage were few and far between in Cedar Valley. Especially for a retired thief.
“Quit, and I’ll rehire you. Now, get to work. You have three interviews this afternoon and five on Monday.” She raised her brows, but he only smiled. “I asked Cassandra to schedule them after you called with the good news. Your first one will be here at two.”
“Gee, thanks,” she said to his retreating back.
With a feeling of despair, she sat behind the new desk. The desire to belong tugged at her heart. She couldn’t leave, but she couldn’t stay without a job. The solution sounded simple. Quit, and Nicholas would hire her, but he didn’t know all of Schuster’s policies on hiring. If she quit, he wouldn’t be able to rehire her for a year.
After the crisis in Denver, Steven wasn’t about to let her relocate. She’d been naïve to think she could talk him into it. Leaning her head against the back of the chair, she closed her eyes. Should she threaten to quit? No, Steven didn’t like threats. The last guy to try that got fired before he left Steven’s office. Getting fired would ruin her career.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jordan’s big Ford sat in the parking lot of the fire station. Hoping he wasn’t out on a call, Mel went in the open back door and ran up the steps. Two seconds after she hit the landing, Jordan gathered her in his arms for a welcome home kiss. Standish and the other firefighters catcalled.
Jordan ignored them. “You’re home early.”
“Yep. My boss wanted me to stay, but I left anyway.” She didn’t mention it might be temporary, not when his arms still held her. “I brought dinner, in case you haven’t eaten yet.”
“She brought food?” Standish sent her a cocky grin. “You know, Stone here is a real loser. Now I appreciate food and a woman who cooks. I knew I should have sweet-talked you away from him.”
“You don’t have to.” She laughed and held up two paper bags. “I brought extra. Fried chicken and potato salad might not be the healthiest dinner, but it’s from—”
“The Hungry Belly?” Standish asked with wide eyes.
“Yep.”
“Hold it.” Jordan intercepted the bags. “Ladies and boyfriends first. They,” he jerked his head toward Standish and the others, “can pick through the leftovers.”
A warm glow spread over her. Boyfriend. He’d said it casually, like a normal everyday occurrence. She struggled to keep her infatuation in control. This so wasn’t the time to rip his clothes off, no matter how much she wanted to.
“Let’s dish up first and go downstairs.”
They settled into a couple of lawn chairs by the back door.
“How are those scrapes and bruises?” Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before she could identify it.
“Mostly healed. I promise to be very careful going down stairs when you’re around.”
They ate and talked until the tones went off. She gave him a quick kiss, then watched as the engine pulled out of the truck bay.
****
Jordan turned left on Swanson and checked addresses. They’d been called in for a girl experiencing dizziness and fainting. It shouldn’t take long, but he figured Mel would be gone by the time they got back.
“When are you buying a ring?” Middleton leered.
Jordan ignored him.
“She’s hot,” Middleton continued.
“If you change your mind,” Standish called from the back seat, “I’ll take her.”
When Jordan saw the address they needed on an old Victorian house, he slammed on the brakes. Middleton jerked against his seat belt. Standish, who was riding backwards, started swearing.
Jordan grinned and got out. They unloaded their gear and headed for the front door. Flowerbeds in full bloom edged the small lawn, and Jordan thought Mel would like the mix of sweet scents, the pretty colors.
Standish, as third man on the rig, got the patient interview, and Jordan took the paperwork. They completed the call, not much work since the girl should be fine when she started eating again. Her parents thanked them and promised to get the girl to eat.
On the way back to the station, Jordan made sure to take turns just a hair too fast, to stop suddenly, and start like they were at the Indy 500.
“You better be careful,” Middleton said, after another round of cursing from the back. “If you irritate Standish, he won’t take your turn cooking.”
Jordan slowed, even though cooking didn’t matter tonight since Mel had brought enough to feed a double shift. He could get used to that. And the sex. Definitely the sex. In fact, he could get used to a lot of things when it came to Mel. For some reason, that didn’t scare him as much as it had only a couple weeks ago.
Listening half-heartedly to the conversation bouncing around in the rig, he wondered when he could get his hands on her again.
****
The warm glow stayed with Mel as she picked up Charm at Jordan’s house and drove home. As soon as she opened the cabin door, the puppy growled. Cigarette smoke and the stink of rotted food wafted out. She could hear angry voices on the TV. A chill crept up Mel’s spine at the sight of Mick sprawled on the couch.
Mick didn’t twitch, despite Charm’s growling. He’d probably passed out. How much money did he need this time?
At least Carley was safely away at camp for a few more days. Mel put Charm in the bedroom, then went back and knocked Mick’s boots off her couch. He bolted into a sitting position, his eyes wild. In his right hand, a long, ugly knife glittered in the reflection from the TV. With a calm she didn’t know she possessed, she stood her ground.
“Shit.” Mick hurled the knife. It hit the coffee table with a thwack and stuck straight up. The black handle quivered. “What the hell did you do that for?” He sank back on the couch, rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I thought you’d split.”
“I’m back.” She pried the knife loose and tossed it out the front door. It hit the porch with a clatter. Mick glared at her, but she ignored him and studied the gouge in the coffee table.
“You’re going to pay for that.”
“It’s a piece of crap,” he growled. “Go get my knife.”
“You can pick it up on your way out.”
“You can pick it up on our way out.” He glanced at his watch. “Hell, we might as well get started.”
“No.”
“Do we have to go through this again? You know what will happen.”
“Carley’s gone. You lost your bait, old man, and you have a lot to answer for.”
“Cut the crap. You’ll do what I tell you.”
She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “Only if you die and come back to haunt me. Until then, you can go straight to hell.”
Mick looked away, but she’d seen the signs too many times. He was planning a new strategy. His jaw relaxed, he rolled his shoulders and sighed. “It’s time for us to go. We can leave tomorrow. After we take care of business.”
His fatherly tone sent shivers up her spine, and Mel’s newfound confidence threatened to dissipate like smoke. “What are you talking about?”
“Things are getting hot, kiddo. We need to get out of this town, start over somewhere new.”
Her stomach clenched. What had he done? Visions raced through her head, each worse than the one before. “What did you do?” Her words came out between clenched teeth.
“Pittsburgh. Maybe Florida. I have friends there. We can bunk with them until we find a place.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Yes, you are. Everyone knows you don’t belong here, but you. When are you going to wake up?”
The wo
rds pierced her heart. The threat of losing her home again brought back too many memories. Dark rooms, the cash she took, and the suspicious looks from everyone she cared about. He was wrong. Mick knew where to strike, how to make the most of the game. Still, panic licked at her spine, filled her head until she could barely think.
Then it exploded. “Damn you, Mick! I belong here. Right here in Cedar Valley. I even have a dog!” The last words were jumbled with tears of anger and frustration.
Charm began to howl in the bedroom.
“Honey,” he said, with the saddest expression she’d ever seen, “thieves don’t belong anywhere. You know that.”
“You’re wrong!” she screamed. “I’m not a thief. Not anymore. I belong here, and I’ll prove it.”
“Hell, you can’t even prove it to yourself.” He got to his feet. “It ain’t easy to see you beating yourself up like this. Face the truth, and start over. We’ll do it. Together. We’ll find a place where no one knows us. You and me. If we step up the operation, we can retire in a year or two.”
When he looked ready to put an arm around her shoulders, she jumped away.
“It’ll be so easy. Just like before. Remember the night we hit four houses? We scored almost five grand. A few hits like that, and we’ll be made. We’re a team. A damn good one. We’ll split everything sixty-forty. It’s a hell of a lot more than you’ll get sittin’ at a desk. And we’ll leave Carley out of it. With you back in the game, I don’t need her.”
“No.” She stepped back and cursed the quiver in her voice. With a bone-deep certainty, she knew Mick wouldn’t leave Carley alone. He’d keep her in reserve.
“Get out.” She pointed to the door. “Get out of my life.”
With something like a growl, his calm paternal look dropped away. “Make me.”
Well, hell. If she forced him out, he’d come right back in. So she’d leave. The situation couldn’t be more perfect, she realized as she went to get Charm. The puppy bed and toys, a supply of dog food, her laptop and luggage were all still in her car. She needed only one more thing. Then, if Mick did clean out the cabin, he wouldn’t get anything that mattered.
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