Tempting the Heiress

by Martha Kennerson

  Their eyes met and Griffin took Felicia’s hand in his. “Well, that’s about to change.”

  “I most certainly hope so,” she murmured, flickering a gaze to take in their unkempt state.

  “But not tonight.”

  “Oh.” Felicia lowered her eyes.

  Griffin lowered his head to gaze into Felicia’s eyes. “I want you desperately,” Griffin reassured her in the softest tone before pulling Felicia onto his lap, ensuring that she felt the evidence of that fact. “But I also want your first time—our first time together to be special.”

  Felicia could see the sincerity in Griffin’s eyes, making her disappointment a bit more bearable.

  “Please say you understand,” he said.

  Felicia pushed out a long, slow breath. “I understand.”

  Griffin kissed Felicia gently on the lips. “I’ll send a moving company to help pack up your things.” Griffin reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and a card with his security information on it. “Here’s two sets of keys to the house. One for you and one for Ms. Ellen, along with the alarm code.”

  “We don’t need—”

  “We both know that’s not true. I’ve never seen so many toys and devices necessary to raise one small child,” Griffin said, smiling.

  Felicia laughed. “Yes, Alyia does have a lot of stuff. Most of which you can thank my family for.” She looked down at the keys. “You sure you’re okay with this? How’s your mother going to take it?”

  “You’re moving into my house...not hers. You let me worry about my mother.” Griffin stood. “I’d better get out of here so you can get some rest. We both have a busy few days ahead of us, not to mention this weekend’s ball.”

  “What ball?” she asked standing and adjusting her robe.

  Griffin held Felicia’s hand as they walked to the door. “My family’s annual charity ball. It’s Saturday night. It’s a little ostentatious, but it benefits a number of worthy causes.”

  “Me... I... I can’t—”

  Griffin silenced her with a heart-piercing kiss. “Yes, you can. We’re together now, remember.”

  “Roommates,” she corrected.

  “No, a couple. You promised you’d see where this could go,” Griffin reminded Felicia.

  “Yes, but I didn’t think it would be to a charity ball...in five days.”

  Griffin laughed. He kissed her on the corner of her lips and whispered, “Sleep well.”

  “Right...”

  * * *

  Francine sat with her eyes closed, fanning herself. “Wow...”

  “You okay?” Farrah and Felicia asked Francine in unison.

  A slow smile spread across her face. “Don’t you feel that?” Francine asked Farrah.

  Farrah shrugged. “It’s just their heat. I guess my own desire for Robert overrides anything they can come up with.”

  “What?” Felicia asked no one in particular, her eyes wide as saucers.

  “Our triplet connection, remember,” Francine reminded her.

  Felicia giggled. “Sorry, sis.”

  “How long of a cold shower did you have to take?” Farrah smirked.

  Felicia couldn’t contain her laughter. She remembered thinking that she’d never get that damn water cold enough. “A minute...or two.”

  “Then you just let him pack you up and move you into his house.” Farrah examined the room with a quick sweep of her intuitive eye. “Which is magnificent, by the way, although it could use a woman’s touch.”

  While Griffin’s first floor was pure luxury living, the second-floor family room screamed “man cave.” From its dark wood floors covered with warm-colored Oriental rugs and a brown leather sectional sofa with an extra-long day bed attached, to the full entertainment center that housed an eighty-inch television—all acted as a backdrop to the wall of windows with its own balcony overlooking the Olympic-size pool and outside living area with a full outdoor kitchen.

  Felicia nodded. “It is a beautiful house. I still can’t believe you two are here,” she said, smiling at her sisters.

  “It was either us or our parents,” Francine added.

  “Speaking of which, when do you plan to tell them you’ve taken their granddaughter and moved in with a man they barely know?” Farrah asked.

  Felicia raised her shoulders and her face contorted. “I figure I’d let things settle down a bit, then invite them to meet everyone.”

  “Even the mother-in-law from hell?” Farrah asked, frowning. “How did she take the news, anyway?”

  “I don’t know. Griffin hasn’t told her yet. He was waiting for us to determine how we wanted to handle things. I’m sure as soon as she finds out she’ll start trying to figure out how to get me out of the way.”

  “Not going to happen,” Farrah proclaimed with an effortless confidence Felicia had come to rely on.

  “I’m not worried. Besides, Griffin will make his intentions clear when he tells her about me and Alyia.”

  “Well, you better make Dad and Mom meeting everyone a priority,” Francine said, attempting to reaching for a glass of tea but finding such a simple task difficult. “Speaking of meeting the family, when am I going to have the pleasure?”

  “I got it,” Farrah said, handing Francine the glass. “Where is the Boy Wonder, anyway?”

  “Thanks.” Francine accepted the glass and took a sip.

  “He’s working,” Felicia said.

  “Call him. See if he can join us. I didn’t come all this way not to lay eyes on the man himself.” Francine took a sip of her tea.

  Farrah reached in her purse and held out her phone to her sister. “Need my phone?”

  “No, I do not, thank you,” she said, annoyed by Farrah’s sarcastic attitude. Felicia picked up her phone off the coffee table and dialed Griffin.

  “Hey, baby,” Griffin answered.

  “Hi. Look, my sisters are in town—”

  “Both of them?”

  Felicia giggled. “Yes, and they really want to meet you. Francine, anyway. You think you could break away for a while?”

  “I’ll move a few things around. See you in a bit,” he said before ending the call.

  “He’ll be here shortly,” Felicia announced, placing her phone back on the table.

  “Good. Now, where was I? You know how Dad feels about this whole situation, as it is.”

  “Yes, I know. He’s not happy about what Valerie did, but he loves Alyia and as far as he’s concerned, she’s my daughter.” Felicia smiled at the thought of just how much her parents loved them. “‘And no one, including some wet-behind-the-ears heart doctor, better try to take her from me,’” she said, mimicking her father’s voice and words.

  All three sisters laughed. “I swear, Dad still thinks we’re five,” Farrah said, her lips curled into a wide smile.

  “You have to remember that even though our retired Ranger dad trained us to be equal to any man in the boardroom, on a gun range and the gym,” Francine said, stopping to adjust the pillow behind her back. “We’re still his baby girls, the most precious people in his life next to our mother.”

  “I do love it when he tells us that,” Felicia admitted.

  “So how’s it been? Living with Griffin, I mean?” Francine asked sipping her tea.

  “It hasn’t been anything. I’ve been so busy working on this case for the past few days that I haven’t seen him except for at work when we pass each other in the halls.”

  “How’s the case going?” Francine asked.

  “We’re getting close.”

  “Let us know if you need anything. I know you’re CIA, but we’re family,” Francine reiterated.

  “I know, and thanks.” Felicia said.

  “What the hell does ‘getting clos
e’ mean?” Farrah asked, using air quotes to express her point.

  “It means she can’t say more, so drop it,” Francine said, chastising her sister as she tended to do because she was the oldest of the three.

  Farrah folded her arms and stuck out her lip like a wounded child. Francine shot her a curt wave as she knew her next statement would perk her right back up.

  “Do you need our help with anything else?” Francine asked, using a calming, mother-like voice. “Any questions you might want to ask us?”

  Felicia frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  Farrah sighed and rolled her eyes skyward. “Girl, do you need information about...you know?”

  Felicia’s eyebrows flew to attention. “Seriously? I’m not sixteen and I am a doctor.”

  “Sweetheart, we know that, and I have no doubt that you understand the mechanics of things. I’m talking about the emotional aspect of things. What to expect before and after,” Francine clarified.

  “I can help you out on the mechanicals, too, if you like,” Farrah added, swiveling her hips in her chair.

  Felicia pressed her lips together. “No, I’m good...thanks. I’m pretty clear on my feelings for Griffin, too. Speaking of which, I think he’s here. Excuse me a moment,” she said, making her escape downstairs.

  “Thanks for getting here so fast,” Felicia greeted him. They walked up the stairs to the second floor where her sisters were waiting. “You ready for this?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Griffin said as they entered his family room.

  “Griffin, you remember my sister Farrah,” Felicia introduced.

  “How could I forget?”

  “You can’t.” Farrah smirked.

  “Welcome back to the ATL,” Griffin added.

  “Thanks,” Farrah replied.

  “And this is my normal sister, Francine Montgomery.” She gestured in Francine’s direction.

  “Hello, Griffin. I’d get up but...” she rubbed her stomach “...by the time I do—”

  “No worries.” Griffin took the tall, wing-backed leather chair between Francine and Farrah.

  “I really appreciate you accommodating me like this. This is pretty much the last of my travel until the babies are born,” she explained, patting her stomach.

  “Twins, right?” His excitement was surprising.

  “Yes, she’s having a boy and girl,” Felicia supplied, wondering if he’d actually forgotten their discussion that fast.

  “That’s great, congratulations,” he said. “I just find multiple births fascinating.”

  “And congratulations to you, as well. Felicia tells me you’re relishing your new role as father.”

  “It’s been quite the learning experience, but Alyia’s claimed half my heart,” he said, his eyes zeroing in on Felicia’s face.

  Francine watched as Griffin stared at Felicia. “I’m sure she has.”

  The sisters spent the next hour getting to know Griffin. They found it especially fascinating that he’d grown up an only child with no access to the only other biological family he had—uncles and cousins—all because his maternal grandparents couldn’t accept his father. Griffin answered questions and shared childhood stories before he was called back to the hospital.

  “Thanks for that,” Felicia said, walking Griffin to the door. “My sisters can be a little...”

  “Protective?” he offered.

  “That, too, but I was going to say unreasonable in regards to their level of acceptance of people outside our trio,” Felicia said, laughing.

  “I can imagine.” Griffin pulled Felicia into his arms for a not-so-quick goodbye kiss.

  “Now, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Francine asked Felicia when she returned to the family room.

  “Not at all,” Felicia admitted.

  “All right. We only have a few hours before we head back home and you back to work. Do you need any help getting ready for this weekend’s ball?”

  Farrah sat straighter and started clapping like an excited kid. “Yes, she does,” she volunteered on Felicia’s behalf.

  “As a matter of fact, I could use your expertise in that area,” she acknowledged.

  Felicia was not looking forward to attending the ball; she was looking forward to what she hoped would happen after the ball. If the hot and heavy kisses they shared were any indication, Felicia was pretty sure that a mutually satisfying evening was ahead. A night she’d been waiting for and dreamed about for years with this man. Felicia was finding it hard to contain her excitement.

  Chapter 24

  Before Felicia knew it, several hours had passed since she’d said goodbye to her sisters and she was back at work. Felicia was in a chair at the head of the conference table, staring at all the information laid out on the whiteboard. “What am I missing?”

  “There doesn’t seem to be any common denominator between any of these patients,” Samantha observed from her spot next to Felicia. “Except for this disease and all the treatment meds they’re all on now, of course. Thankfully, that new antibiotic seems uniquely compatible with all the infected patients.”

  Before Felicia could respond there was a knock on the office door as it slowly opened. “Excuse me, you two,” Stacy said, entering the room holding a pizza box, plates, silverware and napkins. “I thought you could use a break.”

  Felicia stood and slipped her feet back into her shoes. “That would be great, thanks,” she said, gesturing her forward with her hand.

  “No problem. I know how it is when you’re trying to break down a bacterial problem,” she offered.

  “Care to join us?” Felicia asked.

  “No, thanks. That’s what you’re here for, remember?” Stacy checked her watch. “I still have two meetings and an interview to conduct before I can head home. My husband is going to kill me if I miss another date night. The president will not only be looking for a deputy director, but a new executive director, as well.”

  “Well, you enjoy yourself,” Felicia said with a laugh, opening the pizza box and taking a slice.

  Samantha followed suit.

  “Try not to work too late. I can’t have a couple of great medical minds becoming weak and frail,” she said on her way out.

  Weak and frail. The words echoed in Felicia’s mind as she put her focus back on the board. “Weak and frail...”

  “What do you see?” Samantha asked.

  Felicia gestured to the top portion of the board. “Look. What’s the one thing all these folks have in common? Other than the illness and the meds they’re on.”

  Samantha swallowed another bite and placed the pizza on a plate. “Nothing, we found no common activities.”

  Felicia shook her head. “Look again.”

  Samantha stared at the board for several moments and shrugged. “Sorry, I got nothing.”

  “Each of these groups could be considered weak and frail,” she said, using air quotes.

  “Prisoners? Weak and frail? Hardly,” Samantha declared.

  “Their environment makes them weak.” A deep crease spread across Samantha’s forehead while Felicia’s eyes brightened. “All these locations—” Felicia left her spot and circled all the places listed on the board “—are like a community of bacteria living, working and playing in close proximity to each other.”

  “Yeah, so?” Samantha said, biting into another slice of pizza.

  “So...” Felicia put her left hand on her hip.

  “Legionnaires’ disease isn’t contagious,” Samantha reminded her.

  “I know, but there isn’t just one bacterial species inside of us. Each may relate differently to the ones surrounding it, but they all ultimately work together, except...?” Felicia prompted, raising one eyebrow.

  Samantha’s
eyes widened with understanding. “When dangerous bacteria is introduced to the body.”

  Felicia grinned, impressed that making the connection was just as exciting for Samantha as it was for Felicia.

  “So you think these people were targeted?” she asked. “That the bacteria were placed in the coolant systems on purpose to go after these specific people?”

  “Yes,” Felicia confirmed, smiling. “And all these people are responding to the same meds. It’s as if a particular bacteria was created for this specific set of drugs.”

  “Almost as if they’re some type of test subjects,” Samantha added.

  “Exactly like they are test subjects. We need to review the test results for each patient’s blood, urine and X-rays to confirm my theory.” Felicia reached for her cell phone. “I’ll have the CIA send the samples they’ve collected from all the locations’ water sources to the Grady lab so we can see if the bacteria matches. If it does, then we’ll at least know the how.”

  “Great, but why Grady?”

  “I need another setting, as well as a second set of eyes to check my research,” Felicia stated, dialing her boss. “It’s just one of my personal idiosyncrasies.”

  “I get it,” Samantha said. “So once we confirm you’re right, what’s next?”

  “Today, it’s our job to find out how these folks got sick, so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Felicia listened as her call went to voice mail. “It’s up to the CIA and FBI to find the why and who, although our evidence can go a long way in helping to make that happen.”

  Samantha frowned. “That sucks.”

  Felicia laughed. “I’ll think like a CIA agent for a minute and share this much with you. With the evidence we’ve just uncovered, the first thing I’d do is follow the money.”

  Samantha’s face lit up. “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning that I would be looking for who has profited, or would profit, from this outbreak, and my first stop would be to the pharmaceutical company. If it looks like a pharmacy experiment, it probably is.”

  * * *

  Griffin walked into the brightly lit, narrow lab, an area that Felicia had been given to use at Grady Hospital, to find her wearing a red dress with her white coat and red-soled heels. She was leaning forward, looking into a microscope, one leg bent back. Felicia had on a set of earphones and Griffin stood watching as she swayed her hips, singing. He smiled, admiring Felicia’s nice, round backside as he slowly approached her; she had yet to sense his presence. Griffin held the bag of food and drink he’d brought Felicia with one hand as he tapped her on the shoulder with the other.