Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Jessica Lauryn

  He was probably going too far with that last one. But the idea gave him quite a thrill just the same. He liked the idea that Abigail might want him, in spite of the potential consequences that would pose. Her innocence was charming, and her sexy little figure was downright irresistible.

  “I didn’t see it before,” Alec said. “You’re hot for this woman, aren’t you?”

  Ryan cracked open his textbook.

  “If you like her, you should go for it. It’s clear enough you want to.”

  “Abigail’s not that kind of girl.”

  Alec turned as the librarian passed their table. Quieting his voice, he said, “Man, you should have told me. I can usually spot the ones who have marriage written across their forehead from a mile away. I would have backed away a lot sooner—women like that scare the hell out of me.”

  “It isn’t just that,” Ryan said. “I mean”—he sighed—“it’s complicated.”

  “Because of Kimberly, and getting fired from the Red Fox? No one at Washington Valley knows anything about that. And on the odd chance that I’m wrong, we can talk to my father. I’ll probably have to promise half a dozen favors of my own, but he’ll protect you. Say the word, man.”

  “I appreciate that. But there’s more to that story than you know.” Ryan took a look around before speaking. “I didn’t get fired from the Red Fox Hotel because I was fooling around with Kimberly. I was, of course, but that isn’t the real reason they let me go. While I was going through some tax forms, I came across these papers. Ledgers—and I have a pretty good feeling they have nothing to do with the cost of bed linens. A few weeks ago, I was working in the front office at Washington Valley and there was some construction work being done outside. One of the filing cabinets fell over. The cabinet was locked but the impact of the fall was so hard that one of the drawers actually opened. Some papers spilled out of it—ledgers with seven-figure balances, just like the ones at the Red Fox.”

  “Seven figures is a lot of money,” Alec agreed. Stroking his chin, he said, “Well, I’m not sure what you found in those cabinets, but I’ll say this much. In my experience, when I haven’t trusted my instincts it’s been a mistake. My thought? You need to go back and get a second look at those papers before someone else takes them.”

  “That isn’t necessary.” Ryan looked at him. “I already took them from the cabinet.”

  Eyes becoming wide and then, narrow, Alec said, “Don’t you think that was a bit extreme?”

  “This from the guy who paid an exchange student to take a medical exam for him because he was partying ’til six a.m. the night before the test? Look, I didn’t have a choice, all right? The two guys running the hotel are holding my record against me. They must have made some sort of arrangement with the Red Fox because they seem to know my entire story. They’re threatening to fire me if I slip up even once in their eyes—I needed to get something on them. Something as good as what they have on me, so that they’ll back off. Alec, I need this job.”

  “Well it doesn’t sound like you’re off to a bad start. Considering the fact that the Washington Valley Hotel appears to be ground zero for murders, I’d say it’s more than possible that there’s a connection here. You just need to figure out what it is.”

  “I’m three steps ahead of you,” Ryan said. After hesitating briefly, he asked, “Do you think it might be time to get your father involved?”

  “If you’re willing to tell him the story, my father would protect you,” Alec said. “But, actually get involved? In spite of the murders, and the bad press, so long as the hotel’s turning a profit he isn’t going to care.”

  “Wonderful.” Ryan sighed. “So then, what the hell am I supposed to do about all of this?”

  Alec tapped his cheek. “Bring the ledgers over to the mansion tomorrow night and we’ll take a look at them. In the meantime, stay away from Abigail MacKenzie. Based on what you’re saying, it sounds to me like she’s nothing but trouble.”

  Abigail was trouble all right. But it was more than likely that Alec still wanted her, in spite of his loud protests. Which meant Ryan would still have to keep an eye on her—for her own good, of course.

  But that didn’t mean he needed to take it any farther than that. Wish as he might that it wasn’t the case, he felt compelled to protect Abigail from whatever was going on. And he sure as hell couldn’t protect her or himself, if they were to become tangled up in each other’s lives. Learning the truth about those ledgers on the other hand, that would be a good start to putting his troubles to bed.

  Cracking open his textbook, Ryan muttered, “Let’s try this one more time.”

  Chapter 12

  Abigail was weary of the circles under her eyes as she opened the door to the lobby. Glad to see that no one was around, she stepped behind the computer and took her time clocking in.

  Though she’d had two days off to compose herself, she wasn’t feeling any better about what had happened at Main Street Café. If anything, she was feeling worse. After having completely embarrassed herself in front of Shane, Ryan, and Kimberly, she wanted nothing more than to go back home, crawl under the covers, and stay in her bed for the rest of her life.

  She wasn’t going home, she assured herself as she hung her jacket on the rack. This job meant more to her than almost anything, and she wasn’t about to screw it up because she was feeling a little embarrassed. She needed the job, and she was going to get a lot of good things out of it if she managed to pull it off. But she was just so angry at herself for wiping that pudding off of Shane’s face. Moreover, she wanted to die after her little tell-all with Kimberly.

  Just why had Kimberly insisted on going on about Ryan the way she had? Could it be that the Britney-Spears wannabe was less secure about her so-called relationship than she pretended? Abigail didn’t imagine there’d be too many guys worse for her to get involved with than Ryan Newberry. But she’d be damned if she was going to let an arrogant witch plant ideas into her mind that weren’t true.

  She was going to put last Thursday behind her. And that started with apologizing to Shane. She’d made a complete idiot of herself, touching his face as if she were his girlfriend, or some bimbo he’d picked up in a bar. She was neither of those things—he was her boss, and what she’d done to him had been completely out of line.

  Approaching the break room, Abigail peered through the glass. Shane was standing at the machine, fixing himself a cup of coffee. Perhaps this conversation would go better after the man had had his caffeine fix, and after they had been working together for say, six months. She turned around, walking back down the hall the way she’d come.

  “Hey, Abigail.” Coming through the door, Shane trailed after her. “Hold up a minute. I want to talk to you.”

  Abigail clasped her hands together. Spinning on her heel, she said, “You do?”

  “Come into the office with me for a minute.” Entering the next room, Shane said, “Shut the door, would you?”

  Abigail clenched her jaw as she pushed the door closed and prepared herself for the worst. Shane was probably going to ream her out for what she’d done. Maybe he’d even fire her. Dread settled over her as she sank into the chair opposite the desk.

  Shane sat down. He folded his hands and leaned forward. Stroking his chin, he said, “Interoffice relationships.”

  “Interoffice…” Abigail was baffled. She wondered what he could possibly be getting at and then it slapped her in the face. Naturally he thought she’d hit on him because she liked him. Now, he was going to call her on it.

  “The thing is,” he said, “I really like someone who works here.”

  Oh God…oh God…“Listen Shane, I think I may have given you the wrong—”

  “It’s your friend, Julia.”

  “I’m so sorry for ever making you think that I…Julia?”

  “I’ve been buzzing around her for weeks, just hoping she’ll get the hint. Mark would kill me if he knew, but hey. You only live once, right?”

  Ab
igail’s head was spinning. She’d thought for sure he wanted to talk about their scene at the café. She’d had no idea it could be about this.

  Had Shane liked Julia all along? Could he be so distracted by his crush on her friend that he hadn’t even noticed her own ever-so-shining moment? Praying that was the case, Abigail said, “Your secret’s safe. But, what exactly does your liking Julia have to do with me?”

  “I thought maybe you had the inside track on your friend. Like, maybe she said something to you about me?”

  Julia had said plenty about what a “pain in the ass” Shane was. Which, in Julia’s case, probably meant she was hot for him, too.

  “Look, Shane. I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other about interoffice relationships. But I do think that if you like Julia you ought to tell her how you feel.”

  “You really think it’s that easy?”

  “Trust me,” Abigail said. “Women appreciate honesty.”

  The door to the room opened and Ryan poked his head inside. He stared at the two of them, and his face burned a familiar red hue, which Abigail had come to realize meant he was about to blow his top. Releasing a visible breath, he said, “Sorry to interrupt. Abigail, can I borrow you for a minute?”

  “Excuse me, Ryan, but we’re kind of in the middle of something. Can’t this wait?” Shane said.

  “No, it can’t.”

  Abigail hadn’t thought that Shane had been especially abrupt. But the way Ryan was looking at him, it seemed as though he were ready to beat him into the wall.

  She stood, walking to the door. Ryan’s eyes remained fixed on Shane as she followed him into the hall. Ryan let the door close behind them, leaving Shane alone in the room.

  Tossing her hands onto her hips, Abigail said, “All right, I’m here. What’s so important that you had to drag me out of a meeting?”

  Ryan didn’t answer. Mouth hanging open as though he was unsure of what he wanted to say, he shook his head. “Sheldon just pulled a bunch of pillowcases from the closets. I need you to count them, so we’ll get an idea of how many more we’ll need to buy.”

  “How many more we’ll need to…” Abigail’s jaw dropped. “You pulled me out of a meeting with the general manager because you want me to count pillowcases? Are you crazy? You just made us both look like idiots!”

  Ryan’s expression grew cold. “Shane Dempsey is the assistant manager, Abigail, not the general manager. You need to get your titles in order if you expect to make it in the hotel business.”

  “Well if you’re through lecturing me, I’m going to go see if the assistant manager needs anything else. Excuse me.”

  “Maybe the pariah wants to take you out to lunch again.” Ryan started down the hall.

  Abigail raised an eyebrow. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “You sound almost jealous, Ryan.”

  Ryan laughed drily. He approached her and leaned over her, making her feel as though she were three feet tall. “I think you’ve got that a little backward, sweetheart. Shane Dempsey’s the assistant manager. You’re a front desk associate. There’s nothing going on between the two of you. There couldn’t be.”

  Tears welled in Abigail’s eyes. The way he referred to her as a front desk associate made it sound as though she was some sort of lower-class citizen. She shouldn’t care, didn’t care. But his words stung. They stung a lot.

  “And just why is that?” Smiling smugly, she said, “It just so happens that Shane and I are getting very well. And I have no intention of changing that.”

  The creases in Ryan’s forehead deepened. “Yea, well. You might want to rethink that because…”

  “Because…”

  “Because you don’t want to get a reputation,” he said at last.

  “A reputation?” Abigail echoed.

  “Yes, that’s right. First me, then Alec, now Dempsey. You’re all over the place, Abigail—”

  “You? What the hell do you mean, you?”

  Ryan hesitated, as though unsure of how he wanted to proceed. He eased into a smile. “Yes, me. The ice cream parlor, the pool. You can’t deny it because every time we’re together I see it. In your eyes, written on every part of you. Deny it all you want, Abigail. You don’t want Shane Dempsey. You want me.”

  Abigail took several short breaths. Ignoring the soft, baiting tone of voice with which Ryan had spoken the words, she looked at him, her eyes burning. “Even if that were remotely true, which it most certainly is not, you clearly have the biggest ego of anyone I’ve ever met. Which, for the record, is a huge turnoff.”

  “Oh, it is, is it? Well if that’s the way you feel, then I guess this little crush of yours won’t continue to be a problem. Will it, Abigail?”

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Newberry. I won’t be bothering you again.”

  Deciding she was in need of some air, Abigail stormed down the hall. Nearing the door to the outside, she stopped when she realized her jacket was still in the office. She should probably go on without it. But, it was awfully chilly outside.

  She walked to the office where she and Shane had been talking earlier. She was about to knock on the door when she realized it wasn’t locked. She opened it.

  Shane wasn’t there.

  But Ryan was. And his hands were in the filing cabinet.

  * * * *

  Ryan flipped frantically through pages of credit card receipts. Not finding what he needed, he moved onto the next file and turned at the sound of shuffling feet. The door was closed, the way he’d left it. There was no one in the doorway, and the hall appeared to be empty as well. Releasing a sigh, he turned his attention back to the filing cabinet.

  Having taken an extensive look at the ledger he’d stolen, he’d realized that some of its pages were missing. He’d intended to look and see if they were still in the cabinet yesterday, but he’d seen someone in the hall and hadn’t wanted to take the risk. It wasn’t worth the consequences of getting caught. That was for damn sure.

  Thankfully he seemed to have managed to scare off Abigail for a couple of minutes. He wasn’t feeling very good about that, but he assured himself it was for the best, as she seemed to have a knack for showing up when he least expected it. That was the last thing he needed to be dealing with right now, because based on the paperwork he’d found, there was a lot more going on at the Washington Valley Hotel than everyone realized.

  This wasn’t about drugs. Illegal drug sales didn’t bring in millions of dollars a year, at least not in their neck of the woods they didn’t. Assuming he was following the ledger correctly, this mysterious product was only being transported a few times a year. That narrowed down the possibilities of what it might be, though not enough to help him figure out what it actually was.

  As he scanned the extensive row of papers, Ryan searched for the black symbol in the corner. Based on what he’d seen so far, he’d come to the conclusion that the symbol didn’t appear on every page. But finding it would definitely narrow down his search. Low and behold, a few minutes later he had what he was looking for. He looked over his shoulder as he took the pages from the cabinet.

  He’d get a better understanding of the contents at home. Folding the papers in four, he slipped them into his pocket. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the door was shut in front of him.

  “Abigail?” Ryan took two hastened steps forward. Resisting the urge to put his hands around her tiny neck, he said, “What the hell are you doing in here?”

  “Me?” Her eyes filled with horror. “I’m not the one with my hands in the filing cabinet. You’re stealing whatever’s recorded on those ledgers. You know who put the ledgers there, and you’re working with them. Aren’t you? I’m going straight to Shane about this.”

  “Abigail!” He snatched her arm. “Just wait a minute, for God’s sake!”

  Voices sounded in the hall. Panic filling him, Ryan shut the filing cabinet drawer as Abigail tugged free of his grasp. She started toward the door.

  Coming up behind her, Ryan snatched her by t
he wrist. As she opened her mouth, he covered it with his hand. With his eyes on the door, he urged Abigail toward the closet. He pulled her along as he got inside, shutting the door behind them.

  A ray of light lit the crack between the door and the ground. But the inside of the closet was dark. Weary that Abigail might scream, Ryan kept her mouth covered, becoming all too aware of the warm feel of her skin. The legs, hips, and buttocks he hadn’t been able to stop staring at for the last month and a half were now pressed firmly against his body. The sweet scent of lavender and plum filled the surrounding space.

  “Is this the cabinet?” a deep male voice asked.

  A second voice answered, “Do you see another one?”

  Silence followed. Ryan wondered whether the men had left the room. He almost took his hand from Abigail’s mouth when he realized that they weren’t yet alone.

  “Take everything,” one of the men said. “I don’t want to be coming back here again.”

  The cabinet door was shut, and the door to the room was opened. A long period of silence followed.

  Ryan waited several minutes before attempting to move. Putting his hand against the doorknob, he released a slow breath.

  As he inched forward, he became all too aware that Abigail was still pressed against him. Keeping perfectly still, he did all he could to keep her from realizing how aroused he’d become. She was facing him now, and his hand was still splayed across her mouth. She hadn’t attempted to remove it.

  Slowly, Ryan drew his hand back. He hoped he hadn’t crushed her, but decided that was the least of his worries as Abigail’s eyes seemed to have found a place of focus—his mouth.

  Ryan’s heart beat against his rib cage. He inched back, but Abigail kept a firm grip on his wrist. Attempting to move away a second time, he found himself pinned in place. Unable to resist a second longer, he leaned in and brought his mouth down hard on hers.

  As their lips met, Abigail gasped but made no effort to pull away. Her soft lips melted into his as Ryan deepened the kiss, pulling her fiercely against his body.