Betrayed by Trust

by Frankie Robertson

  She straightened. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  I grimaced. If Dan had really been a person of interest I would have mentioned him before now. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure it was going anywhere until a few days ago.”

  Janna considered that, obviously weighing whether to continue being annoyed or fish for more info, then leaned against the counter again. “Is he cute?”

  I thought of Dan’s quiet confidence. “No. Boys are cute. Dan’s a man.”

  “Ooh yeah. Do tell.”

  “I’ll dish when I get back.” I picked up my suitcase.

  “You’d better.”

  “Will you cover for me? I told my parents I was driving up the coast with you.” I handed her my bag, waited for her to exit, then locked the door behind us.

  Janna headed toward my car. “I can’t imagine they’ll ever ask, but yeah, I’ll tell ’em we had a blast. Are we going to San Francisco? I’ve always wanted to go to Haight-Ashbury.”

  I grinned. “Not this time.”

  “Darn. Take lots of pictures!”

  I drove up I-5 and checked into the Super 8 Motel near the apartment the Trust had rented in Dan Potter’s name. I kept taking a physical inventory, but my body felt no different than it usually did and I almost wondered if I’d imagined the strange heat I’d experienced in Kalisa’s office. Almost. The memory was too vivid to believe it had been anything but real.

  At seven, Dan picked me up for dinner and took me to one of Conrad’s frequent hang-outs near campus: Mighty Mo’s Meaty Meat Burgers. We didn’t expect to see him, but I wanted to check out his favorite haunts. I felt a little like a high-schooler hoping to get a glimpse of my latest crush. The music was loud and most of the clientele were younger than us. Shouting over Chic’s “Le Freak,” we ordered two of Mo’s Colossus burgers and took the plastic number the skinny guy behind the counter gave us. Pointing to a booth, Dan guided me to the last clean table. “Have a seat, kiddo. I’ll get our drinks.”

  Kiddo. Mark used to call me that. I shut my eyes against the memory.

  Dan returned with two colas, a furrow creasing his brow. “You all right?”

  My eyes snapped open. I was way past tired of that question. “I’m fine! I wish you people would stop asking me that.” I wasn’t going to back out. Not now. Not when I had a chance to hurt the people who’d caused my brother to go missing.

  Dan’s brows rose. “You people?”

  “You, Kincaid, Kalisa, Barry. Everyone expects me to run screaming at the last minute. Like I’m the weak link.” I looked him in the eye. “I know it all depends on me. I’m committed to making this happen. Okay?”

  Dan frowned. “No one doubts you. Well, no one except Barry, and he’s a jerk.”

  I couldn’t help snickering at his assessment of my ex-lover. “I sure can pick ’em, can’t I?”

  “Don’t beat yourself up. He picked you.”

  I appreciated him letting me off the hook, but I knew I shared responsibility. It had been my choice to keep sleeping with Barry once the plan had been revealed. “Thanks, big brother.”

  Dan gave me half a smile. “No biggie, sis,” he said, as Gloria Gaynor belted out, “I Will Survive.”

  A tall, skinny kid delivered our meals in paper lined red plastic baskets. We turned our attention to our burgers. Eventually Dan asked, “Giving up?”

  I’d only been able to eat half my Colossus burger. I stared at the remains sadly. “Yeah. You want to take this home for a midnight snack?”

  “No thanks.” He gathered our baskets and tossed the refuse in the nearest can.

  I started to rise, then sat down again as if a rubber band had pulled me back into the seat. I had a strong feeling that I should stay put. I got these feelings sometimes. I didn’t always pay attention to them, and when I didn’t I usually wished I had. “Sit down a minute. I’m not ready to go yet.”

  Dan gave me a searching look, but complied.

  I felt like I needed to say something. I didn’t have an explanation for why I wanted to stay, so I said the first thing that came into my head. “I didn’t know you’d been in the military. What branch of the service were you in?”

  Dan frowned and spoke just loud enough for me to hear over the music. “Dan Potter’s number never came up. He wasn’t in the military.”

  He didn’t want to talk about it. I could understand that. If he wanted to stay in our assigned roles, I could play along. “So, big brother, have you been seeing anyone lately?”

  Dan flashed me a look that was half irritated, half amused. “Well, there is this one girl …”

  I leaned forward so I could hear better.

  “But she thinks of me as a brother.”

  I rolled my eyes at his joke and leaned back, shaking my head.

  Dan’s smile was just a little too smug. I decided he was going to give up at least some of his secrets before we got married.

  I also suddenly knew it was time to go. I stood up abruptly and turned to leave. Dan had little choice but to follow.

  He was two steps behind me when the door swung open and a man stepped through, nearly knocking me off my feet.

  The man reacted swiftly, catching my arm. Another man stepped to my other side, putting a steadying hand on my shoulder. “Sorry! Are you …?”

  A shock ran through my body, like the hot blast from an oven. It was Conrad.

  CHAPTER SIX

  MARIANNE

  As quickly as it came, the heat passed. I smiled up into Conrad’s sharply handsome face. “Thanks.”

  The first man still held my arm. Though dressed casually in jeans and windbreaker, he had the bearing of a career military man. One of Conrad’s bodyguards, no doubt. I pulled out of his grasp, incidentally moving closer to Conrad. “Thanks, I’m okay.”

  Conrad turned up the wattage on an already charming smile. His hand trailed down to my elbow and stayed there.

  I smiled back and met his eyes, then looked away. The heat started to return, but this time it was only a normal blush that warmed my face.

  “Are you going to stand in the middle of the door all night?” Conrad’s other companion asked from behind him.

  Conrad moved just enough to let his friend squeeze by, and in the process stepped even closer to me. Something inside me tingled with recognition. We remained much nearer than strangers normally stood, but I didn’t mind. And from the way he was looking at me, neither did Conrad.

  “Hi, I’m Frank,” the new man said.

  “Hi Frank.” I flicked my gaze to him, then returned it to Conrad.

  “Conrad,” the bodyguard said, “let’s order.”

  My target frowned briefly at the other man and said, “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

  Frank shrugged and moved to the counter, but Military-man stayed put.

  “Mary?” Dan stepped into the group.

  Conrad assessed Dan. So did the bodyguard.

  I pulled my attention away from Conrad. It was harder to do than I would have expected. Dan had assumed his most unthreatening research-nerd demeanor with his shoulders a little slumped.

  “This is my brother,” I said quickly. “Dan, this is—I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name! This is the guy who just saved me from a fall.”

  Conrad shook his head. “A fall we almost caused.” He offered Dan his hand. “Conrad Altesse.” His English was softly accented.

  “Dan Potter,” Dan said, returning Conrad’s clasp. “Thanks for catching her. Mary has a habit of charging forward without looking.”

  “I do not!”

  “Do to.”

  I opened my mouth then snapped it shut with a mock glare. “Brothers!”

  Conrad was grinning. “Do you have more than this one?”

  For half a second Mark flashed through my mind. “No. One is enough.” I cocked my head at him. “You?”

  “One, and two sisters.”

  “Then you know what it’s like.”

  With a hand on my back, Conrad guided me a step
further away from the door to let another patron leave. “Would you like to join us? It seems the least I can do since we almost ran you down.”

  From the corner of my eye I caught Dan rolling his eyes and exchanging a long-suffering look with Military-man. “We just finished.”

  “Yes, of course. You were on your way out.” He smiled in a self-deprecating way and I couldn’t help noticing his dimples. “Coffee, perhaps? Or one of Mo’s caramel fudge nut sundaes?”

  My laugh was genuine. “You know just how to tempt a girl, don’t you?”

  Conrad leaned in close, his eyes gleaming. “Is that a yes?”

  “I’d love to, but … we have plans.”

  “It’s your vacation, Sis,” Dan interrupted. “If you’d rather …”

  “Listen to your brother. Come on, let’s grab that table.”

  I shook my head, still smiling at Conrad. I didn’t want to satisfy his interest too quickly. I needed to get him alone to complete my mission. “I only have one brother, and I came out here to visit him.”

  Conrad’s fingers flexed, still on my back. “What about tomorrow? A real date perhaps?”

  It was easy to return his smile. “I’d like that.”

  We set it up, and Dan escorted me out of Mighty Mo’s. I looked over my shoulder and saw Conrad watching me. So was Military-man.

  I’d arranged to have Conrad pick me up at Dan’s temporary apartment instead of at my hotel. I never let a guy know where I lived on the first date, and Dan agreed that meeting at my fictitious brother’s place made me look more cautious and less like I was targeting Conrad—obviously a concern of his bodyguard. Dan had done a good job of making the apartment look as though a bachelor had lived there quite a while. A couple of empty beer bottles stood over matching rings on the coffee table and a pile of old newspapers lay slumped next to a worn recliner. An empty pizza box was jammed into the trash can in the kitchen. The bathroom looked equally “used.”

  Despite my reservations, Dan had persuaded me to wear a red tie-dyed halter dress that clung to what I thought were my over-generous curves. I felt self-conscious and tried to pretend that I didn’t, until I caught the expression on Dan’s face. “That’s not how a brother is supposed to look at his sister.”

  “I’m practicing for later, when I’m your husband.”

  I snorted but I liked his reaction. I hoped he still felt that way when I was big as a house with Conrad’s baby, but I didn’t want to bring up the fact that I’d soon be doing it with another man. “Don’t let Conrad see you looking at me that way.”

  Which was only marginally better than actually talking about the sex I intended to have with Conrad. Something in Dan’s eyes flickered at the mention of Conrad’s name and I kicked myself.

  “Don’t worry.” His expression became the definition of neutral. “I won’t.”

  I hoped I’d be smarter around Conrad.

  The doorbell chimed, and I jumped. Dan put a hand on my shoulder and whispered, “You’ll do fine.” He slumped a little, assuming his nerdy demeanor, then he opened the door wide.

  Conrad shook Dan’s hand in greeting, but his eyes were widened in frank appreciation, and focused on me. “You look terrific.”

  I blushed, pleased with his compliment. “Thanks.” I grabbed my shawl with the crocheted fringe. Conrad took it and draped it around me, his hands lingering a moment on my shoulders.

  “When should I expect you?” Dan asked.

  I laughed. “I’m a little old for a curfew, don’t you think?”

  Dan shrugged. “I just want to know when I should start worrying.”

  I rolled my eyes, then kissed him on the cheek. “Never. I’m a big girl.”

  “And I’m your big brother.”

  If I hadn’t known it was an act I would have thought him genuinely frustrated with me. I gave him the look I used to give Mark when he started bossing me around. “Okay. You can start worrying at noon tomorrow.” I turned to Conrad. “Ready?”

  He nodded, then spoke to Dan. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

  “Do that.” There was a hint of warning in Dan’s voice but he maintained his office worker posture.

  I sighed, but smiled. “Men!”

  Outside, I observed, “Nice car,” as we approached a brand new ’79 Mercedes 450 SL convertible. He’d parked across the lot where there were fewer cars to ding his doors. “I’m partial to the new Ferrari, though.”

  “That’s a lot of car for a woman.”

  I forced myself to ignore his casual sexism. “I work at a dealership; brand loyalty is a job requirement. I get to drive a new car every year and it’s good advertising for the company.”

  “Nice perk.”

  “It impresses the men I date, but sometimes I feel like I’m competing with the car.”

  “Then you’ve been dating fools.” Conrad shook his head, as if driving an expensive car wasn’t the ego trip for him that it would be for most guys his age. “I’ll take a beautiful woman over Italian engineering any day.”

  “Thank you.” I looked around as we neared his Mercedes. Military-man was nowhere in sight. “No bodyguard?”

  Conrad’s stride hesitated slightly but he recovered with barely a hitch.

  “I see guys like him sometimes with the men who come into the dealership where I work,” I explained. “Military. Competent. Never introduced.”

  Conrad huffed a laugh as he handed me into his car, his touch lingering on my fingers.

  Apparently the feminist revolution hadn’t made it to Europe yet. I couldn’t say I minded. His old-world manners had a certain charm.

  “That was Hatch,” he said. “And no, I didn’t think we’d need his company tonight.”

  I wondered how much of a fight Hatch had put up, and whether he was watching from a discreet distance. “Three’s a crowd?”

  “Exactly.” He gave me a speculative look. “Top up or down?”

  I pulled a scarf out of my purse. “Down,” I said, and he grinned.

  Conrad found a parking spot not far from the wharf. He escorted me into Anthony’s with a light hand on my back. The maître d’ took us to a table near the window. The sun was just setting, glowing orange through the moisture-thickened air near the horizon.

  “Have you ever seen the green flash?” Conrad asked, referring to the relatively rare atmospheric effect associated with the setting sun.

  “No. Have you?”

  “Once. In Tahiti.”

  I knew Conrad had traveled a great deal, both with his father and then later on his own, but I couldn’t let on how much Dan had taught me. “Tahiti! I’d love to travel. What’s it like?”

  “Beautiful. The ocean in the south Pacific is the most amazing turquoise, and it’s warm.” Conrad caressed my hand. He was touching me a lot, but I didn’t mind.

  His fingers sent a hot shiver up my arm. I didn’t usually react so strongly to a mere touch. What had Kalisa done to me?

  “I spent most of my time on the Marquesas Islands. You should see the waterfalls. And the language the natives speak sounds like music.”

  “The Marquesas, that’s where Gauguin lived, isn’t it?”

  His eyes lit up. “Yes!”

  “And he was rather fond of those natives, wasn’t he?” Gauguin had fathered several children in Tahiti and had trysts with more than one prepubescent girl.

  Conrad understood me. “They’re easy to like. But unlike Gauguin, I prefer a woman who’s old enough to know what she wants.”

  I met his gaze, letting him know I understood and liked his interest. I wasn’t pretending, either. His manners and slight accent charmed. “Are you an artist, too?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “I dabble,” he said, clearly pleased with my interest. “Would you like to see my etchings?” He waggled his blond eyebrows making a joke of it, but I could feel the tension in him. His art was more important to him than he wanted to let on.

  I laughed as I was meant to. “I’d love to.�
�

  We ordered and talked art, and ate and talked some more while we drank a second bottle of wine. A couple of hours later I looked out the window at the lights glowing on the shore of Coronado Island across the bay. I hadn’t even noticed the time passing. “We missed the green flash.”

  “You can really only see it on a level horizon just as the sun slips away. Next time I’ll take you to the Del. We can see it from there.”

  The Hotel Del Coronado was a serious date location. I smiled, happy that he wanted to spend more time with me. Then I caught myself.

  This wasn’t real. The only reason I should be happy about another date was so I could increase my chances of getting pregnant—not because Conrad was a nice guy and I enjoyed our time together. “I’d like that. But … can I see those etchings tonight?”

  His cheeks dimpled. “But of course.”

  The cool night air helped to sober me up a little as Conrad drove us to his condo. I couldn’t tell that his driving was impaired even though he’d consumed more than half the wine. That probably meant he was used to drinking more liberally than I was. I’d have to be careful if I wanted to keep my wits about me. Especially since his touch seemed to be as intoxicating as the alcohol. When we stopped at a red light, he lifted my hand and kissed the back of my fingers, sending a thrum of desire to my core.

  Conrad lived in a downtown high-rise near the Gaslight district, and he pulled into his underground parking space with only a slight squeal of the tires. I took off the scarf and shook out my hair as he came around the car. His eyes sharpened with a slightly hungry took as I ran my fingers through my hair, loosening the curls the scarf had compressed. When he opened my door, he took my hand and kept possession of it, tucking it through his arm and capturing it there with his other hand. In the elevator, he pushed the button for the top floor. As soon as the doors closed, Conrad lifted my fingers to his lips. They were warm and soft against my skin and they sent a shiver of desire through me.

  I stepped closer and he circled my waist with one arm, pulling me into a confident embrace. His hand was firm against my back while the other slid into my hair at the nape of my neck. “Lovely,” he whispered.