A Collateral Attraction: A Romantic Suspense Novel (Fire and Ice Book 1)

by Liz Durano

  “I’m on medication, aren’t? I?

  Heath nods. Painkillers and anti-inflammatories for your cuts and bruises. Luckily nothing major, no concussions or broken bones.”

  “I’m so sorry about Wally, Heath. He told me to run. Those were his last words-”

  “I know,” Heath’s voice fades before he clears his throat. “He had his tracking device on him; that’s how Fred knew where his general area was. Luckily you emerged from the tree line, he said, and he was able to get to you just in time. I saw the damage to the car.”

  The memory of the flattened slug against the window returns to me and my mouth turns dry. What if that window broke?

  “It’s okay, Billie,” Heath says, gathering me in his arms. “Everything’s okay now.”

  I can feel his heart beating against my cheek, and I allow myself a few minutes to just let him hold me before the memory of Brad and Richard return.

  “And what about Brad and Richard?” I ask, pulling away. “I hope to God they’ve been caught.”

  “They’re in custody, and Richard already wants a deal for full immunity. He says he’ll tell us who is behind the whole thing—from the attempt to frame Blythe and Ethan for fraud all the way to the events of last night. He says he documented everything, from the moment it all began a year ago, right after I took over the board,” Heath says, exhaling.

  “Brad said something last night, something Richard being a bastard. I think he meant that Richard’s a Kheiron. Do you know anything about that?”

  Heath shakes his head, though he turns silent for a few minutes before continuing. “Brad is one of the men in charge of the executives. Tyler, Harris, and the rest of the board members—and myself.”

  “Fred told me that you have your men watching you now,” I say,

  “Fredricksen Security,” Heath says, nodding. “He was my first choice to handle security when I started Ettinger Holdings.”

  “He said Brad wasn’t his.”

  “He’s right,” Heath adds. “But as of last night, none of Kheiron Industries’ security is watching any of us anymore. We have no idea how far the plan went, or who’s involved, but everyone’s accounted for and safe, including my family.”

  “And are you sure that everyone in your security team is trustworthy?”

  “Of course,” Heath says. “After last night, I can’t afford any more mistakes. It means no one gets to sneak out like I did to Saint Lucia, or Blythe leaving the hotel without her detail.”

  “Was it all an act to fire him so he could come up here and spy on me?”

  “I never said I fired him, Billie. You did,” Heath says. “You kept insisting on it, and so I let you believe what you wanted to believe. All he wanted was to vet you personally by coming here, especially after you pulled that stunt by pretending to be Blythe and breaking into their suite. He didn’t take to that stunt too kindly.”

  “Does he do that with all your women?”

  Heath strokes my cheek gently. “Only women I take along with me to Saint Lucia without any security escort. And the ones who manage to sneak out from under his watch pretending to be someone else.”

  “He’s quite fond of you, isn’t he?”

  “I’ve known him since I was a kid. He was assigned to watch my mother, so yes, he’s quite familiar with me and can sometimes be sassy. But he’s the only one who can get away with it because God only knows sometimes someone’s got to do it.”

  “Where is he now?” I ask, trying to remember when I last saw Fred, which had been just before I had the CT scan to rule out a concussion, even though I kept telling him that I didn’t need one. That’s the last thing I remember from last night.

  "He left for New York as soon as I got in.”

  “Why? Is it to watch over your mother?"

  "There are things he needs to take care of before the meeting starts.”

  “So the meeting’s still going on? Even after everything that’s happened?” I ask angrily as I bring my legs to the side of the hospital bed, ignoring the soreness that has now settled in all my joints.

  “Of course, it’s going to go on. They’ve got to vote for a new president,” he says, shrugging. He’s too calm.

  I stare at him, wondering if I heard him right. “And you’ll just let them? What are you doing here with me when you should be over there defending yourself?”

  “Not if I’m dead, Billie.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  Heath flashes me a knowing smile. “Bless awful reception up here, but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, the president of Kheiron Industries was in that car with you.”

  “And?”

  “He didn’t make it.”

  27

  Passed Over

  By the time I finish my shower in the hospital bathroom, I’m ready to find out how Heath and I are supposed to play this game. It’s the same reason Ethan and Blythe remain hidden from the public, having disappeared halfway through a fundraising party at the country club the night before with only a statement released the next morning saying that due to personal circumstances, Ethan would be unable to play in the polo match that afternoon.

  I see the headlines as soon as Heath and I get settled back in his private jet, and they all send a chill right through me. The news is everywhere—New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal—and they all say the same thing.

  Unconfirmed reports state that a car crash on an isolated stretch of Highway 40 is believed to have claimed the life of Heath Kheiron, 28, son of Edgar Kheiron and Rosalie Marie Ettinger, heir to the Ettinger fortune that’s worth billions. Another passenger in the car, Billie Delphine, twin sister of Ethan Kheiron’s fiancee, is missing.

  “How is this possible?” I ask, incredulous at what I’m reading. “Isn’t this news corroborated by reporters, police department, witnesses?”

  “That’s why they’re unconfirmed,” Heath murmurs. “With Wally’s body burned beyond recognition, his identity is yet to be released pending notification of relatives. The identity will be confirmed soon enough, but until then, we can use it to our advantage.”

  “But I was just at the hospital, Heath. They know—”

  “Fred had you registered under a different name,” he says. “You came with no identification, and he paid the bill in full.”

  “He also said I'm his niece and that I stepped outside the house to smoke, only to fall down the embankment behind the house—hence, the way I came in.”

  “And there you go,” Heath says grinning. “Lucky for you, no one recognized you as the owner of Thyme and Lavender just one town away.”

  “Guess I am that hidden away, aren’t I? Stuck behind the wall I built to hide from the rest of the world?”

  “Only you know the answer to that, Billie,” Heath whispers. “But if it’s any consolation to you, this man is crazy for that girl hiding behind that wall and he'd like to ask her to come out.”

  Our flight back to New York is estimated at five hours—five hours where Heath could spend every moment working like he always does, but he doesn't. Instead, when the painkillers start working too well thirty minutes into the flight, he helps me to bed in the rear cabin, shuts the door, and joins me.

  For a few moments, we hold each other, my head resting on his chest as he plays with my hair. It feels like the most natural thing in the world and I can't help but feel good—as if the pieces of the puzzle of my life are finally starting to fit, and I'm where I'm supposed to be. It feels like I've spent a lifetime with him, and I want more.

  "Stay with me in New York, Billie," Heath murmurs as he brings my hand to his lips before resting it on his shoulder. "I know it's so different from what you’re used to, but New York has a lot to offer as far as nature and wildlife. That is if you count the 23,000 trees and 280 bird species in Central Park alone.”

  I chuckle. "Go on. What else?"

  "There's fishing, maybe in Montauk—striped bass, fluke, and porgie. We can even fish with a p
ole if you want. And you won't have to leave Nevada City for good. We can fly back a few times a month if you want—”

  I raise my head from his chest. "Are you trying to sell me on New York?"

  "Is it that obvious?"

  I rest my head back down and tracing circles on his chest, where my fingers have slipped between the V of his Henley. "Keep going."

  "You can go to school," he says. "Blythe told me you dropped out of college to help your parents at the store. There's NYU. That's where Jessica earned her business degree."

  I lift my head up again and peer at him. "She went into business, too, like you?"

  "She did, and she even graduated first in her class," Heath says, stroking my hair, his gaze on the gentle burls of the eucalyptus panels above us.

  "Did she ever work, like, before she got married?"

  "Of course. I was a senior in high school when she started working at Kheiron Industries," Heath replies. "She and Daniel were dating then, and by the time I was a junior in college, they were engaged. Daniel is Harris' son, by the way."

  "Did she ever work?"

  "Of course. She used to work for the VP of Marketing first before taking over that position two years later," he says slowly as if trying to remember. "Then she stepped down."

  "Why?"

  "After she had her first child, Father didn't want hormones interfering with business decisions, so he asked her—no, told her—to step down. I do know it was contentious, and she hasn't worked for the company since even though she is a member of the board."

  "Why hasn't she worked since then?"

  Heath thinks for a few moments, his brow furrowing. "She never applied for her position back, and in the midst of restructuring, I never thought to ask her. I did remove Daniel from his post after I took over and had him assigned to another job that I felt suited his abilities more. Marketing."

  "I'd assume this was when Ethan and Jackson had to step down as well?"

  He nods. "Yes, it was major, and it didn't make me very popular. But why the questions about Jessica?"

  I push myself up and sit cross-legged facing Heath as he props himself up over the pillows. "Did you ever consider Jessica for a position in the company after you took over? Given that she had experience—”

  "Not recent," Heath says though I can see him frown as he watches me.

  "Ethan has no experience, yet he was elected to head the board, which must have pissed her off," I say. "He doesn't have a degree in business, does he?"

  Heath shakes his head. "Ethan's degree is in Marketing, unlike her which was Business and Economics, the same majors I pursued."

  "Yet no one thought to hire her even though she’s worked for the company for two years—”

  "Just because Harris and the rest of the board elected Ethan despite his clear lack of qualifications right after Father died didn't mean I was about to do the same to Jessica," Heath says. "She hasn't worked in eight years—”

  "Yet she's seen every man in her family take a position she's probably qualified—even overqualified for," I say. "Let me play devil's advocate, alright?"

  "Alright."

  "If she's been watching everything along the sidelines, with everyone bypassing her. From her father, because he believes she's a woman who should stay at home raising her kids, to her brothers who are so busy fighting each other to realize that their sister's probably much smarter than they both are—”

  “Billie—“

  I hold up my hand. "Devil's advocate, remember? And yet she's bypassed, too. Is it because she's a woman?"

  "No," Heath replies, annoyed. "She had no experience, not after eight years of not working for any company, and she never told me that she was interested."

  "Yet there's Ethan, who has no experience running anything, as his recent close call to being charged with fraud clearly shows," I say, bringing my hands to my sides. "I'm sorry, but if I were Jessica, I'd be pissed as hell, too."

  Heath sits up across from me, his frown deepening. "So what are you saying, Billie? That my sister is behind all this?"

  "Well, you haven't been able to talk to her since Ethan took the letters, have you? And like you said, she probably already knows that you're not a Kheiron which I'm sure doesn't help matters either, for here you are, the Chairman of the Board—”

  "The Board elected me for my qualifications in my field," Heath says.

  “—as I'm sure Ethan was, too," I say sarcastically, before resting my hand on Heath's arm. "Look, I'm not itching for an argument, Heath. But whether or not she's behind all this, I'm just asking you to see things from her point of view. And whatever you do, don't blame her being a woman like her father did, or her lack of recent expertise, as you and the rest of the board are doing. Just because her experience now involves the PTA or mediating fights between her kids doesn't make her any less qualified to hold a position in a company, especially when she has the qualifications on paper when it comes to her education—even experience—even if was only two years. Eight years being a mother and a wife should not be used as an excuse to leave her out of the company."

  Heath is glaring at me, but I keep going. "She's been bypassed by her family more times than she can probably count—by your father, her brothers, even her mother, who handed you all the shares of the company even if it was only to save it."

  Heath is silent for a few moments before he reaches for the phone on the panel and dials a number.

  "Tyler, who else is going to be at the meeting?" he asks, and I can hear Tyler's voice on the phone, remembering the proud woman who told me she'd been hired to add diversity to the board though she had worked just as hard as everyone else.

  Heath thanks her and hangs up the phone though he doesn't speak to me right away.

  "Jessica is going to be there, as well as Daniel."

  "Has Ethan been able to talk with her since this all began?"

  "No, he hasn't. It's like she's shut him out, too," Heath replies, shaking his head. "But I'm afraid you're right, Billie, though, at the same time, I hope you're wrong."

  "I hope I'm wrong, too, at least, when it comes to the length she's had to go through to get her point across."

  "You are right about one thing," Heath adds, his brow furrowing.

  "What's that?"

  "She’s been bypassed so many times, even by me, when I should have known better," he says, shaking his head as he looks away. "Maybe I am like my Father after all."

  "Oh, come on, Heath, you are so not like your father at all!" I scoff.

  "Family is not only about bloodlines, Billie," Heath says. "Edgar Kheiron still raised me—”

  "Oh, he did?" I ask, looking at him incredulously. Something makes me feel bold enough to keep going, more daring than I've ever felt before, and I take my chance. Even if I'm wrong, if it makes Heath start to think beyond the misogynist that is Edgar Kheiron, I'll take the chance. "Why don't you answer me this, Heath. Who taught you about Orion? The constellations? Was it Edgar?"

  He shakes his head.

  "Who taught you how to fish—and I mean the first time, like, with a fishing pole and worms for bait. Was it Edgar?"

  "He would never—”

  "When Edgar was busy with his mistresses and your mother was committed to the mental institution, who kept an eye on you?" I ask even though I know I'm pushing it for Heath's scowl deepens even more. "Who was there for you when you struck out on your own?"

  Heath raises a finger to stop me from continuing, his gaze turning cold. "If I were you, Billie, I'd quit while you're ahead," he says, and before I can offer an apology for butting into business that's not my own, Heath gets out of bed and slips out of the rear cabin, shutting the door behind him.

  28

  Gate Crashers

  I know better than to go after Heath, not when I see him through the gap in the doors between the cabins sitting in his chair and talking on the phone. I've pushed too far, and I don't blame him for needing his space.

  When he enters the re
ar cabin two hours later, I realize I’ve fallen asleep, my head feeling fuzzy from the medication. But I force myself to wake up. I need to apologize to him for overstepping my boundaries.

  Heath sits on the edge of the divan and strokes my cheek. “Thank you.”

  “What for?”

  “For telling me your thoughts about Jessica," Heath says. "It's difficult to believe, but at the same time, I can't rule it out, not after I recommended Daniel's transfer from finance to marketing, which must have looked like a demotion to Jessica, even though there was no change in salary or benefits. Not that she has to worry about anything. Her net worth is pretty substantial."

  "But you were left out, Heath," I say. "Doesn't it bother you that none of them thought of including you in their share, even split it three ways?"

  "And open it up for all of Father's other illegitimate children? No, and even if they did, I would have refused. The only reason I went to work for a brokerage firm right after college even when I didn't need to work was to prove to my—to Edgar—that I could do it without the family money, not even my mother’s. There was something about living like an ordinary person, someone who paid rent, took the subway or cabs—”

  “Until someone said that was it, and set up your security for you?"

  He chuckles. "It was good while it lasted—all eight months of it." Heath wraps his arms around me and holds me for a few minutes, neither of us talking. All I hear is the drone of the jet engine and the beating of his heart through his shirt. "Thank you, Billie."

  I pull away and peer up at him. "What for? You've thanked me."

  "About Fred and who he is though that's something I'll leave up to him to tell me when he's ready. But it's not like I never suspected it, especially when he's the only 'outsider' who can calm my mother down and he'd been the one assigned to watch her from the very beginning. Though it could also have been his choice, considering he owned the security company to begin with," he says, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "He knows all about the constellations because he sails, and in sailing, you need to know all that to navigate at night, even with all the equipment on board. If anything goes wrong, you navigate like they did in the olden times—by looking at the stars."