Runaway Lies

by Shannon Curtis

  She stripped out of her clothes, mulling the attack over in her mind as she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Why would Mark go after her father? She’d been careful. She’d dropped all contact with her family, even though it had nearly killed her. She hadn’t called them or spoken to them since long before that night. They didn’t know where she was, and there was nothing – no email trail, no phone records. She’d been very careful.

  She had sent her niece and nephew Christmas presents, but she’d organised a convoluted system. During her time on the road she’d met some interesting people, mostly travelling backpackers who were happy to post a parcel from some obscure location for a couple of dollars. Other than the Christmas presents, there had been no other form of communication. She’d been confident that even when the New South Wales police got hold of the parcels – and she knew they would – there were simply so many tangents for the trip that it would be impossible to trace. They’d only just issued a warrant for her, but they’d been looking for her for much longer. Everything she did, she considered the ability to trace back to her – both from Mark Shein’s position, and with having all of the resources of the New South Wales Police Force. She had good reason to be very, very careful.

  She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair with one hand. Mark was smart enough to be dangerous, and careful enough not to get caught. What had he hoped to accomplish by torching her father’s home? It would only make her run harder, make her even more determined to show up at the court house. The man had to be stopped, damn it. Did he think she would crumble, after enduring so much? She ignored the voice that told her she practically had crumbled last night. No, after this, she was more determined than ever to carry out her plan, determined to stay off radar for as long as possible.

  She turned the taps off, dipping her head. That was it. He wanted her to run. For some reason, he was trying to draw her out. She grabbed the fluffy mint-green towel from the railing and dried herself. And now there was a warrant out for her arrest. God, could things get any worse? Sure, she hadn’t reported to any officer since her escape, she wasn’t stupid. Now her details would be at the fingertips of every cop in New South Wales. Keeping a low profile just got a hell of a lot harder.

  They expected her to run, which meant either they didn’t know where she was and were hoping to provoke her into making a mistake and revealing herself, or else they did know where she was, but couldn’t get to her.

  She sat down on the bed, huddling into the towel. Either way, her safest bet was to stay exactly where she was. Her shoulders sagged. Which meant she had to use Dom some more. The thought saddened her, despite the glorious night she’d spent in the man’s arms. He deserved better.

  For the sake of her father, though, she couldn’t afford to give him better. For the sake of her father, and many others, she had to keep lying.

  Lips pursed beneath binoculars as the woman on the front verandah sat in a wicker chair, sipping her tea – she gave new meaning to the word routine. Unfortunately, she was still too far away to do anything to, as were the kids. The binoculars lowered to rest on the steering wheel.

  They never went into town, a fact that was so frustrating it was almost enraging. How could the kids be disposed of, as well as the woman, if they constantly hid behind the impenetrable walls of the country property? And the Murphys – God, what a frustrating couple. Interfering old fools, they seemed to enjoy giving the woman every opportunity to play with the children. They were the help, damn it, but Dominic treated them like family. Perhaps they needed to go, too?

  One day – one day soon – it would all come to a head, and Dominic St James would be alone. No blasted interfering seductress, no children, no family. Alone and lonely.

  That would be a day for triumph, for celebration.

  CHAPTER

  18

  It had been three days since she’d made love to Dom – the first time. Since then they’d shared heated glances when they hoped nobody was looking, secret caresses as they passed each other, sat next to each other and took any other opportunity to be close during the day. And then there were the nights. The nights were hot. But they were careful. Julia still had the occasional nightmare, although Darcy had noticed they’d tapered off with the return of her father. Dom played as hard in bed as he worked in his office. He made love to her well into the night, bringing her to the brink of pleasure over and over again until she begged him for release, and then he delivered – repeatedly. Then it was her turn to wring the passion from his magnificent body. They each delighted in exhausting the other. And each morning, she crept back to her room, feeling more disappointed in herself, more ashamed at the truths she kept hidden from the man she welcomed into her body, into her heart, but not into her confidence.

  Yet when he looked at her with that sexy glint in his eye, all her good intentions evaporated at the promise of ecstasy only he could give her. What would he say, what would he think when she eventually told him? And she had to. The alternative was just to slink away in the dead of night, abandoning him in the most cowardly way possible. She couldn’t do that. She ducked her head. She had to tell him. But how? Her face was splashed across the news. She marvelled that still nobody here had recognised her. Surely it had to be only a matter of time before Gertrude or Dominic noticed the face of the woman in their home matched that of Australia’s most wanted. She’d been putting it off, but she realised now it was better if she came clean, and told Dominic before he learned it through another channel.

  She walked down the hall, swinging her arm. Alannah had just left, and she was feeling quite limber and relaxed after a massage treatment. She was passing the door to Dominic’s office when it swung open and an arm slid around her waist, tugging her into the room. She laughed as Dom pulled her up against his hard body.

  ‘Hey, there you are.’ He ducked his head and kissed her.

  She smiled when he lifted his lips. ‘Here I am,’ she admitted. Maybe she should tell him now.

  ‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ he told her, kissing her on her neck. Oh, God, he felt fantastic.

  She angled her head, wanting more, and he gave it, sliding his lips down her neck to her collarbone, gently pulling the collar of her shirt aside.

  ‘Well, I’m right here,’ she said softly as he backed her against the door. She slid her arms around his neck, then stopped. ‘Wait, what about the kids?’

  ‘Roland’s taken them down to the stables to check out the new foal, and if I know my kids, they’ll want a tractor ride. They’ll be gone for a while.’

  She shivered as he trailed lazy fingers across her breasts. ‘And Gertrude?’

  ‘Gone to town. You know what that means, right?’

  That it was the perfect opportunity to tell him the truth?

  He moulded his hands against her breasts, lifting them. She shuddered, her nipples tightening, liquid desire flooding her core. His lips were doing unbelievable things to her neck. She really should tell him… Oh, wow.

  ‘What does it mean?’

  ‘It means we can be as noisy as we like, there’s nobody here to hear us.’ He straightened, bringing his lips to her mouth as he grasped her butt, lifting her in his arms. She laughed against his lips as he walked her towards his desk. Maybe another time… No, she really had to make the effort. She was stressing out so much that he’d find out before she had told him. But what would happen when she did? Memories of the safe house, of what had happened there, gave her pause. Giving him this information put him in danger. But not telling him could also put him in danger…

  ‘Wait,’ she breathed, pulling back to look him in the eye. ‘I need to tell you something. Something important.’

  ‘Oh, do you just?’ He started kissing her neck, and she trembled. Darn, it was so hard to concentrate when he was melting all her good intentions.

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  He lifted his head, and eyed her wickedly. ‘Kiss me first, then we’ll talk.’ He lowered his head to her lips,
and for a brief moment, she surrendered to his seduction.

  ‘Dominic?’

  The masculine voice shouted from the foyer. She pulled her lips from Dominic’s, her eyes wide.

  Dominic closed his eyes, tilting his head until his forehead met hers. ‘Seriously?’ he breathed.

  ‘Who is it?’ she whispered as footsteps echoed down the hall.

  ‘Alex.’ He slowly lowered her to the floor, and she quivered as her body slid against the length of his frame.

  ‘Dominic!’

  He grimaced. ‘He’d only come if it was important,’ he told her. She nodded, trying to be understanding beyond her own tight frustration. She needed to talk to him. She’d finally worked up the courage to tell him the truth, and she didn’t know how long she could hold on to it. She sighed. Dominic had been calling work from his home office, but she understood that at some point he would have to return to Sydney.

  As would she.

  ‘I’m in the office,’ he called.

  She stepped away from him, wanting to put an appropriate distance between them. The look in Dominic’s eye suggested he wanted to pull her back in again, and she shook her head as Alex stepped into the room.

  ‘Ah, great. I need to talk with you,’ the tall man said. Despite the heat outside, he was wearing a lightweight jacket, the hem hitting him at mid-thigh. Darcy smiled at him, but was disconcerted when his own smile didn’t reach his grey eyes.

  ‘Darcy,’ he said.

  ‘Hi, Alex.’ She glanced between the two men for a moment. ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ she said to nobody in particular. She paused at the door and turned to look back at the two handsome men. Too much testosterone. ‘Can I get you guys a coffee?’

  Dominic shook his head, but Alex’s eyebrows rose. ‘Actually, I’d kill for some caffeine. Thanks.’ Again, there was something in the man’s eyes that didn’t quite match the smile of gratitude.

  She nodded and left the room hurriedly, wondering what had brought Alex to Jirralee, hoping everything was okay.

  Dominic leaned a hip against the edge of his desk. ‘What brings you all the way down here that you couldn’t talk about over the phone? And what’s with the jacket? It’s twenty-eight degrees outside.’

  Alex sauntered further into the room, the long drape of the jacket swishing with each step. He wandered over to the window that looked out onto the impressive gardens. ‘The air-conditioning in the car is playing up, and I haven’t seen you for a while, thought we could catch up.’

  Dominic raised an eyebrow. He didn’t buy his friend’s need to ‘connect’ for a New York minute. There had to be a development, something that Alex felt he had to handle personally. The muscles clenched in his thighs, and he folded his arms over his chest. Had they found Ava’s body? ‘What’s happened?’

  Alex glanced over to him, then lifted his chin towards the door. ‘How is Darcy doing?’

  Dominic’s eyes narrowed. ‘She’s…fine.’ She was more than fine. She was dynamite in his arms, and had made him feel so good on so many different levels. The way she responded to his touch – and he to hers – the way she cared for his children, the way she talked with Gertrude and Roland, like they were more than just employees, which they were – something that Ava had struggled to accept. But this wasn’t the topic of conversation he’d expected from Alex.

  He knew Darcy was getting better, that there wouldn’t be any excuse for her to stay for much longer – she’d even talked about leaving that other night. The prospect of her leaving, walking out that door, after she’d made a place for herself within his family, terrified him. Darcy made him think and feel things he’d thought he’d never consider again, not after Ava. He’d been very careful since the divorce. He’d never invited another woman into his home, hadn’t wanted to confuse the kids, to get them involved with another woman, only to have it disintegrate, like his marriage had. He wasn’t a monk, but he’d made sure his sleepover guests never shared the same roof as his children. Until Darcy – she’d pushed past his boundaries, past his defences. He didn’t want to think about it, but at some point they’d have to discuss the future, and he hoped she’d consider staying – at least to see if whatever this thing was that had flared between them had legs.

  Alex’s eyes narrowed, then widened. ‘You’re sleeping with her,’ he exclaimed softly.

  Dominic frowned. ‘Haven’t we had this discussion before?’ He wasn’t ready to really think about the situation, or talk it over with Darcy, yet. He was content to just let the situation be, see how it played out. He certainly didn’t want to discuss it with his security advisor, who seemed to have an uncanny read on the current goings-on at Jirralee. Hell, if Alex could guess within five minutes of walking in the front door, had Gertrude and Roland figured it out? Had the kids?

  ‘Yes, but the situation has changed now, hasn’t it?’ Alex scratched his temple, shaking his head.

  ‘Darcy and I are – becoming closer.’

  Alex rolled his eyes. ‘You mean you’re shagging like bunnies. Do you have feelings for that woman?’

  Dominic frowned. ‘It’s too soon to tell,’ he admitted. ‘And don’t call her “that woman”. She has a name, use it.’

  Alex ran his hand through his hair. ‘That’s actually why I’m here. I’m not sure Darcy McKenzie is her real name.’

  Dominic frowned. ‘What?’

  ‘She gave me a fake address.’ Alex sighed.

  Anger flared inside him, and Dominic’s hands fisted. ‘You had her checked out?’

  ‘Of course I had her checked out. That’s my job,’ Alex said.

  Dominic straightened from his desk. ‘No, running a background check on the woman who saved my kids is not part of your job.’

  Alex approached, holding up a finger. ‘My job is to protect and secure you, your family and your interests. Your kids – I love your kids, and someone tried to kill them. Now, I know how much family means to you. I will investigate every avenue until I find out who is responsible,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Darcy was on the scene, so as a normal follow-up, I had her checked out.’ He pointed the finger at the door. ‘And that woman is not who she says she is. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m hitting a blank wall at the moment, and that concerns me. I need something to go on, something that can point me in a direction.’

  Dominic’s hands fell to his hips, and he glared at his friend. ‘You had no right. She’s not a threat – to me, or the kids.’ The mere thought of her doing something dangerous to his family was ludicrous. ‘So she gave you a fake address. She was probably freaked out at the time. She wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t insisted.’

  ‘Darcy McKenzie only exists in the Roads and Maritime Services database and the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.’ Alex rested his hand on the backrest of the chair facing Dom’s desk. ‘That’s just enough information to pass a one-hundred-point ID test.’

  ‘You’re saying she’s using a fake identity?’ Something cold bloomed inside Dom’s chest. He didn’t want to hear this.

  Alex shrugged. ‘I don’t know for sure, but I suspect so. Either that, or she’s lived her entire life off-record. She doesn’t really have a digital footprint, anywhere. We have to consider the possibility that woman is hiding something from you.’

  Dominic turned to the window, gazing sightlessly out over the manicured lawns. He wanted to refute Alex’s words, but couldn’t. He remembered the conversation they’d had the other night, while watching the Alfred Hitchcock movie. She’d tried to tell him that there was something more, something other, than what he believed. He realised it wasn’t the first time she’d hinted at the fact, either.

  ‘She’s no hero,’ he murmured. That’s what she kept saying, with that haunted, guilt-plagued look in her eye. She was full of regret over something.

  ‘What?’ Alex asked.

  ‘Nothing.’ He turned to face Alex. ‘I don’t believe she’s a threat to me or the kids,’ he repeated. She knew what had happened to h
im, to his family. She’d never put his kids at risk, he strongly believed that. Whatever she was hiding from, it had nothing to do with him or his family, or her relationship with them.

  Alex held up both hands, palms facing him. ‘I’m not saying she’s a threat,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m saying that she’s hidden some information from you. I’m just the messenger.’ Alex dropped his hands and sighed. ‘But you needed to know. What do you want me to do?’

  There was a tentative knock at the door, and Darcy poked her head in. Dom looked at her. Her golden-brown hair was beginning to curl. It had grown longer since that first night he’d seen her in the hospital, dressed in scrubs with a protective hand on his children. She smiled, her gaze flicking uncertainly between him and Alex, and he beckoned her in.

  ‘Here’s your coffee, Alex,’ she murmured, holding the mug.

  His security advisor gestured casually to the desk. ‘Thanks for that, Darcy,’ he said, and Dom didn’t miss his friend’s hesitant use of her name.

  Darcy placed the mug on the surface of the desk, then smiled, despite her confusion. Dom nodded, pasting a smile on his face as she excused herself and left the room. She’d lied to him. She’d rescued his kids. She’d lied to him. She’d cared for his kids, reading them stories, drawing with them. And she’d lied to him. She’d kissed him, made love to him.

  So she’d lied to him. But could he trust her? After everything he’d seen from her – everything she’d done was with a generous spirit. She’d already shown she’d lay down her life for his kids. He didn’t believe she was manipulating him, trying to get money or things – she hadn’t even taken him up on the offer of a new wardrobe, despite the threadbare condition of her current one.

  The fact that she wasn’t being strictly honest – well, it hurt. It hurt that she couldn’t trust him, despite what they’d shared. So he needed to work on that.