The computer beeped. He reluctantly pulled his mind back to the flash drive. “The program’s finished loading. We’d better get busy.”
Elle turned her face away from him. “Everything comes to an end.”
“Not everything. This thing happening between us, whatever it is… I’m not just killing time.”
“Thank you for being honest.” She turned and looked him straight in the eyes. “Something is happening, and I’d like to find out what it is.”
A heavy weight lifted from Logan’s shoulders. “Good.”
“Now, can we get some work done?” This time her sparkling eyes laughed for her.
Logan opened the folder where Elle had saved Ethridge’s files and scrolled down the list. With a few keystrokes, he directed the ghostwriter program to the smallest file. “This might take a while.”
“You seem to know a lot about this kind of technology.”
“Oh, hell no,” he admitted, hating to have her think he wasn’t up on the latest. “I know people who are technology wizards. First, I ask if my particular task can be done. Most of the time the answer is yes. Then I wait for it to happen.”
“Legitimate hackers—sounds like an oxymoron.”
Elle’s sense of humor had always been attractive to him. Brains combined with beauty made her hot as hell, which was why her brother had hovered over her like an armed drone back when they were kids.
“They’re called white hats. Law enforcement keeps highly skilled technicians on the payroll. If we didn’t, the whole country would be screwed.”
Elle pushed her hair off her face and stared at the screen. “This has to work.”
“Just remember that what we find can’t be used in a court of law.”
“But the more we know about Ethridge Investments, the easier it will be to use his own scam against him.”
“I hope you’re right,” Logan said. “This step can take a long time. Let’s order something off the room service menu.”
“I forgot that you’re hungry.” She moved the room phone in front of him. “You choose.”
Logan opened the room service menu, sharing it with her. “I’m having the Angus burger with cheese and bacon and a cold beer. How about you?”
“The beer sounds pretty good, but I’m going with a strawberry shake and the BLT with avocado.” She scrunched up her face. “I should stick to water. Ice cream is so damn fattening.”
“Order what you want.” He kissed her forehead. “We’ll figure out a way to work off those extra calories.”
“I may have two,” she said.
Logan placed their order. “ETA thirty minutes.”
The program opened a file containing account information.
“You did it,” she squealed like a kid at Christmas and threw her arms around him.
Logan’s eyes scanned the page. “Cayman Island Bank. We may have found where he hides his money, but getting any of it back is a challenge, even for the FBI.” Logan clicked on the balance tab. “Son of a bitch. There’s over twelve million in this one stash. I’m betting he’s smart enough to spread his money out in varying countries and banks.”
“I don’t recognize the name on the account.” Elle pointed at the account information.
“Who is Cheyenne Forrester?” Logan clicked on account information.
“That’s Brandon Ethridge’s home address.”
Logan growled. He retrieved his laptop and booted it up. “Let’s see what we can learn about her.” He entered the information in his system and started a background check.
The Internet slowed to a crawl. “Oh, my God,” Elle complained. “This is as bad as dial-up.”
Logan went to the curtains and drew them back. The snow was falling at a blinding pace. The landscape was covered in white. “I’ll call Eric and ask him to look into Cheyenne Forrester.”
“Really?” Elle’s arms slid around his waist. Her cheek rested between his shoulder blades. “He’ll ask about me.”
“That you can be sure of.”
“What will you tell him?” A touch of nerves had shadowed her words.
Logan turned in her arms. “That you are being very helpful, not taking chances, and that we’ve come up with a plan to make me Brandon’s new target.”
“That’s all?”
“I’m not going to tell your brother about us over the phone. Eric deserves better.” Logan leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “So do you.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“You sure? I seem to remember telling you how beautiful you looked in your pink prom dress.”
“You remember that?” Her cheeks flushed pink.
“Like it was last night. Every head turned when you and Carl Winston walked in together.” The memory of Elle being manhandled by that prick, flashed in Logan’s mind and sent his blood boiling. “The bastard should’ve had his neck broken.”
Elle rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known Eric had confided in you. Carl expected more than a just a dance. I handled the situation myself. There was no need for Eric to break Carl’s nose.”
Logan held back a chuckle. “That came from me. The thought that he’d put his hands on you drove me nuts.”
“You?” Elle stiffened in his arms. “How did I not know this?”
“You were my best friend’s sister. Eric got bent out of shape anytime I so much as looked at you.”
“He had no right.”
“Sure he did. We were wild as renegade wolves back then. He was only protecting you.”
“Then why didn’t he break Carl’s nose?”
“I got to him first. In reality, I probably kept him from really getting hurt.”
The knock on the door meant food had arrived. Logan signed the bill while Elle spread their feast across the coffee table.
“I didn’t realize I was hungry.” Elle picked up her sandwich and took a bite.
Logan grabbed his burger, and for the next few minutes, except for the occasional moan—one he decided had a different sound than the one she made during sex—silence ruled.
His cell buzzed just as he popped a french fry into his mouth. One glance at the caller ID and he shook his head. “Eric. The guy must be psychic.”
Logan put the call on speaker. “I was about to contact you. Got something to write with?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“The Internet service up here is for shit. It’s slow as you on the basketball court.”
“If that’s a challenge, I accept. What do you need?” Eric asked.
“A background check on Cheyenne Forrester.” Logan spelled the name as he walked to Elle’s laptop and read off the rest of the pertinent information. “There are two addresses listed, one in Fort Worth and the other in the Grand Caymans. I need everything you can dig up on her.”
“And why do you need this intel?” Eric’s voice lowered an octave.
Logan glanced at Elle. She rolled her eyes. Both of them recognized Eric’s suspicious tone. Logan held a finger to his lips. She joined him at the bar but didn’t speak.
“Brandon Ethridge has a woman with him,” Logan explained. “He’s presenting her as his daughter, but that’s crap. I think Nicki Ethridge and Cheyenne Forrester may be the same person. So while you’re at it, check out Nicki too.”
“Damn it. Elle sucked you in—” Eric’s voice roared through the speaker.
“That’s enough,” Logan snapped. Defending Elle felt right. The smile on her face confirmed it. “I think she’s onto something, and I’m going to follow it through.”
“I only wanted you to keep her out of trouble.” The anger had faded from Eric’s tone, replaced by concern. “Now I’m asking you to keep her safe.”
“I’ll do my best.” Logan seized on a thought. “You’d have other things to worry about if you’d get off your ass and marry that girlfriend of yours.”
Eric coughed. “That may be a thing of the past.”
“Sorry to hear that.
I thought this one had you. Email me everything you can find on both women.” Logan ended the call before Eric could respond.
Elle’s smile had spread wide. “Thank you.”
“Not necessary.” Logan turned his attention back to her laptop. “I hope we have enough download speed to operate the ghostwriter when I target one of the bigger files.”
“Please, God.”
“Let’s try this one.” Logan selected the file identified as Projects and clicked. “This will take a while.”
Elle moved their dishes to the counter behind the bar. She disappeared into the bedroom and returned a minute later with her book. “I might as well get comfortable. If I don’t give my brain something to do, I’ll go crazy.”
She tucked her feet under her and snuggled down on the couch. Logan smiled as she settled back on the pillows. The book seemed to hold her attention, but he couldn’t sit still. He paced the floor, stared out the window at the snow-covered landscape, and then walked back to check on the program’s progress. Elle lifted her gaze to meet his on one of his trips by the couch but quickly returned to the story, leaving him time to think.
His friendship with Eric was important. They’d been through a lot together not only as kids but also as adults. Hell, they were closer than some brothers were. How upset was he going to get when he learned his best friend was in love with his sister?
Logan stopped midstride. No, not love. Lust. Granted, this thing with Elle was different from his experiences with other women. He’d tried and failed to sustain a long-term relationship more than once. None of them had made him want permanence in his life, not like Elle did.
He checked the program’s progress. He sat, drained his beer, and waited as the screen filled with color. Suddenly, everything went black except for a box in the middle of the page. It read, Deleting.
“Fuck.” He was watching Elle’s hopes vanish. He slammed his hand on the bar.
Elle jumped off the couch and ran to him. “What is it?”
* * * *
“We have to go.” Brandon jumped to his feet and left Nicki sitting at the bar.
She caught up with him in the lobby and grabbed his arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Not here.” He dragged his hands through his hair.
He wasn’t sure which scared him the most, telling her someone might have gained access to the files or that the files had been hacked. He avoided her glare until they were safely inside their suite.
“What have you fucked up now?” she demanded.
Her blue eyes had iced over, and her cheeks were flaming red. She’d already hit her trigger. The past few days had been too good to last. “A hacker got into my computer.”
“And? You notified the protection service.” She poked a long red nail into his chest. “Right?”
“I did. But they haven’t given me the name or IP address of the hacker yet.”
“I warned you about leaving it out.” She opened the mini bar and removed a scotch. “When did this happen?” She poured three fingers and tossed it down as if it were water.
“My notice came while we were skiing.” He hastened to add, “I called right away. Demanded information.”
“Demanded? You?”
Her laugh sent waves of nausea over him. At the same time, sexual excitement stirred low in his dick. “That’s not all.”
“There’s more?” The smile she gave him warned of what was to come. “Do tell.”
“I just received a new notice. Someone is trying to open my business records.”
“Your records? Don’t you mean our records?”
“Yes. That’s what I meant.”
“How can you be so smart at business and have no fucking common sense at the same time?” She poured another scotch and stalked across the room. “Give me your cell.”
Brandon handed over his phone, careful not to look into her eyes.
“You know what to do.” She grabbed his shoulders, turned him, and shoved him toward the bedroom.
Brandon heard Nicki’s rant as she demanded to know exactly who was trying to violate the private files of Ethridge Investments. His worries fell off his shoulders. She would take care of things. He stripped off his clothes, opened a drawer, and removed the silk scarves he’d neatly folded and put away. He placed them and his belt at the foot of the mattress, making sure they were lined up perfectly. Then he lay face down.
Anticipation had his breath coming in rapid bursts. His cock pressed into the mattress. Had he been careless intentionally? He’d do almost anything for one session with her. His body craved the beatings. Craved the unbridled sex. Craved the discipline.
Movement above him heightened his senses, but he didn’t lift his head. All his nerve endings were primed and ready. His hands and legs were secured, leaving him spread eagle, face down on the bed. The sting of the leather belt against his bare ass sent pleasure and pain rushing through him. He pressed his face deeper into the mattress to muffle his moans.
“Why must I do everything myself?” she hissed as the belt contacted his back.
Seven
“No, no, no.” Elle’s stomach dropped to the tops of her feet. Panic swept over her as Brandon’s file disappeared. She turned to Logan. “We were afraid of this.” Tears swam behind her eyes.
“Son of a bitch.” Logan wrapped his arm around her. “I’m sorry.”
Anger and desperation flooded Elle. She blinked hard, shoving the tears to the background. “There’s information on those other files. Information we need.”
He pulled her into his arms and gently rocked. “I’m sorry. This one is a total loss.” She buried her face in his chest. “But don’t give up on me yet.”
Elle rested against him for a few seconds, drawing strength. Through the open drapes, a blanket of white weighted down the tree limbs. The branches had bowed under the pressure but hadn’t broken. Neither would she. “I’ll never give up.”
“I still have one more method to try.” He placed a call to his tech friend, explaining what had happened. Then he emailed the files to her. “If anyone can disarm the self-destruct, she can.”
“That would be great. So now we wait?” Elle tried to sound as if she weren’t worried. Inside, fear that she would let her grandmother down flourished.
“We do ground work.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Go downstairs, hit the gift shop. Pretend you don’t have a care in the world.”
“Why? What are you going to be doing?”
“Nicki had something on her mind when she asked me to call. I’m inviting her for a drink.” He leaned down for a kiss. “Maybe I can use her to get to Brandon.”
“It might work. She’s certainly interested in you.”
“Nicki and Brandon don’t know about the contest. Maybe it’s time I share that tidbit with her.”
Elle ignored the pang of jealousy circling around her heart. She returned to the couch and her book, covertly listening while Logan spoke with Nicki over the phone.
“She’s going to meet me in the bar.” Logan walked to her. He waited until she lifted her gaze and met his. “You understand this is strictly business?” His eyebrows lifted in question.
“Sure, I do.” Elle returned to her reading, refusing to fall for the bait.
She watched over the top of her book while he logged off both laptops and took his to his bedroom. Elle’s curiosity stirred or maybe it was jealousy. Either way, she didn’t like him meeting Nicki in the bar or anywhere else. Logan didn’t help matters by strolling out of his bedroom looking as if he’d stepped off the cover of GQ.
“Come on,” he said. “It would help if you’re seen out alone. Shop. Try to forget about the lost file for a couple of hours.”
Elle stood and straightened his shirt collar. She dusted imaginary lint off his shirt. She didn’t want him to go. After all these years of him holding her at arm’s length, she wanted to take advantage of this time together.
“Do I pass inspection?”
>
“Stop fishing for a compliment,” she joked. “You’re fully aware of the effect you have on the opposite sex.”
“I only care about the reaction of one individual of the opposite sex.” Logan threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her deeply. When he released her, she struggled to wipe the smile off her face.
“I gotta go.”
She took his hand and walked him to the door. “Careful she doesn’t wind up using you.”
His laugh echoed in the hall. Quick and hearty. She loved the sound. It made his eyes dance and her knees weak as hell.
Reluctantly, she slipped on one of her new outfits, piled her hair on top of her head, and went shopping. Her first stop was the gift shop, where she purchased a pair of crescent-shaped earrings. Tiny faux diamond chips surrounded the curved blue stones. They sparkled when she moved her head and made her feel more cheerful.
Next stop was the ski shop. She spent time chatting with the ski instructor, Ryan. Tall and twenty, he had a free hour, so he suited her up and they went outside. Bundled up with nothing more than her face exposed, the cold still sent tiny prickles across her cheeks. Ryan took her through the basics and over the small manmade terrain for students.
“You don’t need a lesson,” Ryan said. “Too many skiers think they can hang with the more advanced, and they wind up hurt. I suggest you try the beginner slope first. If you’re comfortable at the bottom, then try the more demanding slope tomorrow.”
“Good advice.”
After they’d gone inside, she thanked Ryan and then returned to her room, having fulfilled Logan’s request. She hadn’t spoken with Nan since arriving, and now would be a good time to call.
Elle kicked off her shoes, removed her bra, and piled the pillows high on her bed. With her cell in hand and her book back on the nightstand, she made herself comfortable. A call to her grandmother always made her feel better. They chatted about everything including why Elle was at Castle Alainn. She finally confided that Logan had been sent to keep her out of trouble.
Flirting with Fate Page 6