by Alexia Adams
“How do you know?” He glanced over her shoulder and spun her around so he could see more of the suite. Nothing seemed out of place.
“Some of my things were moved.”
“What do you think they were looking for?”
“Probably some proof I’m not Kat Smith.”
Her breasts rubbed against his chest and he forced his desire to the back burner. “Did you know your ex-boyfriend is now head of security?”
“That’s what he told me.”
“You said he was a criminal.”
“He was when I knew him.”
“So what did he want to talk to you about?”
“Getting back together with him.”
His heart lurched and he raised her face so he could see into her eyes. “And?”
“Not in this lifetime. I know what a real man is like now, thanks to you. No way will I go back to an imitation.” Her eyes glowed with the same warmth he’d seen at her sister’s cottage. As if a taut line snapped, she relaxed against him, her body molding itself to his.
He pulled her closer and traced the line of her ear with his tongue. God, this woman intoxicated him. “He knows your real name. Will it be a problem?”
Bloody hell, now Elvis was singing “Love Me Tender.” It was killing him. Why couldn’t they listen to Justin bringing sexy back?
“I don’t think so, but I’d like to leave right after your meeting with the crown prince tomorrow.”
A tremor passed through her body, and he tightened his arms around her. His heart told him to trust; his instinct said there was more to this story. But one thing he’d learned about Kat, when cornered, she put up walls until she all but disappeared.
He shut off the stereo before Elvis could bring any more emotion to the scene. Tomorrow all his dreams could come true.
Or he could be left with nothing.
…
His alarm woke him at seven. Kat rolled over and put the pillow over her head. He couldn’t blame her; he’d kept her up until four. It was as though his body sensed the end of their affair and couldn’t get enough of her. Even their lovemaking had been tinged with desperation, their bodies attempting to communicate what their mouths refused to say.
He dragged himself to the shower and prayed the carafe of coffee he’d ordered would be strong enough to make him look alert and eager at his meeting with the crown prince in an hour. A notorious early riser, the prince was meeting with each of the designers to advise them of his decision. Wolfe was the last scheduled at eight a.m.
About to leave, he gave one last glance at the bed to find Kat sitting up, pushing her hair out of her face, the sheet fallen to her waist. “You off to see His Highness?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He forced his eyes to stay above her neck. He couldn’t be late.
“You’re going to get the commission. Your designs were the best.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed then padded toward him.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. But a lot more goes into this than just designs. There’s also a personal relationship to consider. The prince doesn’t work with people he doesn’t like.”
She straightened his tie then stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips lightly. “Then you’ve definitely got this. You’re adorable.”
That made him laugh. Feeling more lighthearted than when he’d got up, he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her jaw. “I’ll be back soon, but if Nikita comes near you, call me immediately.”
He took several deep breaths as the lift ascended to the penthouse. The culmination of all his dreams lay beyond that door. Or were they back in the suite from which he’d come? He tried to picture the prince’s collection of jewels, but all he saw were Kat’s eyes lit with passion.
His knock was answered immediately by the prince’s right-hand man. Wolfe was shown into a small sitting room. He froze when he saw Kat’s old boyfriend sat on the sofa.
“We weren’t properly introduced last night,” the man said, standing. He was as tall as Wolfe, with the build of someone who used their fists often. A gold rope chain dangled from his wrist when he held out his hand to Wolfe. “I am Nikita Ivanovich, head of security for the hotel.”
“And an acquaintance of Kat Smith.” Reluctantly, Wolfe shook the other man’s hand. There was no need to introduce himself, Nikita obviously knew who he was.
“Yes. Kat Smith. She is an interesting woman, is she not?”
“Fascinating. May I ask what you’re doing here, Mr. Ivanovich?”
“I had some information to pass to His Royal Highness.”
“About Kat?”
Nikita’s shrug somehow seemed to convey menace rather than nonchalance. “You seem to be unaware that your girlfriend is the head of a criminal organization here in Russia.”
Ice invaded Wolfe’s veins, and the coffee he’d drunk threatened to resurface. “She said the same about you.”
Nikita laughed, a harsh, unamused sound. “Come, Mr. Wolfe, can you see the woman you call Kat Smith taking orders from anyone? She has a brilliant mind and is a pathological liar. You are not the first man she’s conned, and you won’t be the last.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then you are a fool. What do you think she was doing yesterday while you were in meetings and having drinks with Russian government ministers? She was checking on her associates, making arrangements to continue her operations here while she lived safely in America. Did she not get into the country by pretending to be your girlfriend? I bet you haven’t even known her a month. That’s the way she works. Seduces men and gets them to do what she wants.”
Kat had been an hour late to the reception and then she’d kept him so distracted he’d forgotten to ask why. “Where is your proof? If what you say is true, why are the police not arresting her?” Maybe they were. Maybe they were in his suite right this second slapping handcuffs on her. He swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat and resisted the urge to run from the room to make sure Kat was safe.
“My job is to protect the hotel and its guests. As long as Miss Smith behaves herself here, I have no interest in what she does elsewhere.”
Nikita went to exit the room, but Wolfe moved to block his path. “Touch Kat or cause her any trouble, and I’ll destroy you,” he said from between clenched teeth.
A smug smile crossed the other man’s face, and it took every ounce of self-control for Wolfe not to wipe if off with his fist.
Nikita’s smile grew. “I hope the rest of your stay in Russia is…uneventful.” Was that a threat? Or a warning?
The security man stepped around Wolfe and left the room. After making sure he was gone, Wolfe turned to find the prince watching from the doorway.
“Remington Wolfe,” Prince Adjmani said, “I trust you had a good night.”
Wolfe forced his mind from Nikita’s allegations against Kat to the matter at hand. “Yes, Your Highness. Very good.”
“Come, we have much to discuss.” The prince waved him into a second sitting room.
If he were going to say “thanks, but I’ve awarded the commission to someone else” there wouldn’t be “much to discuss.” Wolfe faked a smile. He couldn’t screw this up now.
By the time one of the prince’s attendants had poured them both a coffee and placed a glass of water a discreet distance from the prince’s elbow, Wolfe was ready to jump out of his skin.
“Your jewelry designs are exciting. They were admired by everyone with whom I spoke.”
“Thank you. It was a great honor to be chosen to compete.” Get on with it!
“I wish to award the commission to you. However, I understand we have a problem.”
“A problem?” He’d met all the criteria, used replica stones, provided criminal records checks on everyone who would be working on the gemstones as well as financial data showing his company was in good standing…
“What exactly is your relationship with Miss Kat Smith?” The blood drained from the u
pper half of Wolfe’s body, but he kept the polite smile on his face. He should have flattened Nikita when he had the chance.
“We are…” What the hell were they? “Lovers” was the best description, but it seemed somehow lacking. Boyfriend and girlfriend sounded too juvenile. Soul mates? Too deep. “We are colleagues working on a project together.”
The Prince raised an eyebrow. And waited.
“And enjoying an intimate relationship while our paths cross,” Wolfe finished.
“So, you are not in love with this woman?”
He tried to deny it, but the word wouldn’t form. Instead he saw Kat as he’d left her, warm and soft from sleep, faith and…love…in her eyes. She made each day special, made coming home exciting, filled him with joy and peace and hope. God, she made him want to be a better man so he could see the pride reflected in her eyes.
Still, in the back of his mind, Nikita’s allegations niggled. Kat wasn’t the type of woman to take orders meekly. But she’d also rejected her former boyfriend twice; he was clearly out for revenge.
“It’s complicated, Your Highness. We met a couple weeks ago…” Good thing this interview didn’t include a polygraph. The only thing complicated was his refusal to admit he loved her.
“If the relationship is not established, then my condition on awarding you the contract will not be an issue.”
Wolfe took a sip of his coffee, hoping the hot liquid would melt the iceberg currently crushing his chest. “What is your condition?”
“That you end your relationship with Miss Smith if you are to work with my gemstones.”
Royal protocol stated that he not stand until the prince did, or Wolfe was invited to leave. Protocol be damned. He jumped to his feet, unable to sit any longer. “You want a great designer to show your jewels to their best advantage. That’s me. Last night proved it. Who I spend my personal time with has no bearing on my work. If anything, Miss Smith has inspired me to be even better. If it’s security you’re worried about, I can promise you that no unauthorized persons will come near your stones. They will be kept in a secure location within my offices.”
“I have decided that I do not wish my property to leave the Emirate. The chosen designer will complete the pieces at my home. I cannot knowingly allow a criminal in my country, much less my place of residence.”
That hadn’t been part of the deal. But even if he could rearrange his life to work out of the UAE for several weeks, he still didn’t see what this had to do with his relationship with Kat.
“With respect, Your Highness, Miss Smith has never been convicted of any criminal activity. She has not even been charged. I understand allegations have been made against her by Nikita Ivanovich. I believe his testimony to be tainted by her refusal of his advances. If you insist, she would not come to the UAE, but I will not terminate my association with her on the basis of a few weeks’ work.”
“Then that is where we differ in opinion. I believe a man who consorts with criminals is not to be trusted, and I will not work with a man I cannot trust. Furthermore, although the initial commission is to set the stones you were shown, as well as the ones I held in reserve, there is much more work at stake. My brothers and cousins also have gem collections that require the skills of a talented jeweler. We thought that if the same skilled artisan was to work with all our stones, it would provide harmony for the entire royal collection and lessen the competition among our wives. In addition to the jewels which will be put on display, we also want a collection of items for the royal family to wear on special occasions. I have already purchased several large stones for this purpose.”
Wolfe sank back into his chair. Not one, but seven commissions. Not dozens, but hundreds of stones. Not six weeks of work, but months, if not years. His position as world-famous jewelry designer guaranteed. His name forever remembered. All he had to do was give up a woman he’d met less than two weeks ago.
All he had to do was cut out his heart.
…
Kat typed furiously on her keyboard, trying to keep one step ahead of the hackers, blocking their moves and closing firewalls as she went, taking servers offline before they could be infected, installing a patch, then reinitializing them before the client even knew there was a problem. It was the type of work that thrilled her the most—anticipating a hacker’s next move, attempting to get there first. It was rare to “walk” in on a hack in progress, but Liam had alerted her to the breach moments after Wolfe had left for his meeting with the prince.
“Bam, gotcha!” she shouted, pointing her fingers in the shape of a gun at her computer screen. The hackers had retreated, without the client’s financial information. She sent a record of what she’d done, and how they’d gotten in, to Liam for the rest of his team to mop up and inform the client. At least the job had taken her mind off Wolfe and his meeting.
“Are you playing a game?” Wolfe asked.
Her smile of welcome wasn’t returned, and a cold chill swept up her spine. She tried to read his body language. He lounged against the doorway to the bedroom but made no move to enter. Not even when she let her robe slip off her shoulder to show she was still naked.
“Something like that. How’d it go with the prince?”
“He’s offered me the commission, plus several others.”
She’d seen him more excited over a plate of prawns. This was everything he’d dreamed of, wasn’t it? “You don’t look happy.”
“It comes with conditions I was unaware of. I’ll have to give it some consideration.”
“What kind of conditions?” She shut her laptop down and placed it on the bedside table.
“Relocation to the UAE for a year or so and some other stuff.”
She searched his face. He was holding something back.
“Does that other stuff involve me?”
“In a way. I don’t want to talk about it until I’ve given it more thought. I expected you to be dressed and packed by the time I got back. How soon will you be ready to leave?”
“Half an hour or so.”
“Good, I’ll call the pilot and tell him to prep the plane.” Before she could say anything, he had his phone at his ear, his back turned to her. She stared at him a moment more, not sure what to do. Had Nikita gotten to him? Told him a pack of lies?
She trudged off to the shower, part of her hoping, expecting, him to join her.
He didn’t. The three-and-a-half-hour flight back to London was going to be a bitch.
She dressed much more conservatively than when they arrived—black pants, white button-down top, and ankle boots. She threw the last few things in her bag, grabbed her laptop, and was ready in the stated half hour.
When she walked back into the sitting room, Wolfe stared out the window. A boatload of tourists cruised the Moskva River, snapping photos of the impressive buildings that lined its banks. Moscow had once been home to her. The streets and alleys, the metro and trams were all familiar. She had favorite restaurants and parks, but none of it compared to being held in Wolfe’s arms. Now it seemed she was to be exiled from there as well.
“I’m ready,” she said softly. Her hand hovered in the air for a second, about to touch his back, but she dropped it instead.
He turned, his gaze lingering on her face. His eyes were already saying good-bye.
Chapter Fourteen
“We’re clear of Russian airspace now, sir.” The pilot’s voice on the speaker system pulled Kat’s attention from the window.
On the way out of the Moscow hotel, she’d seen Nikita skulking in a corner. Her first instinct was to stride over to him and knee him in the nuts. He was behind Wolfe’s sudden shift in demeanor, she knew it with the surety of Putin winning the next election. But she’d held back, because just then the crown prince’s chief adviser sauntered through the hotel lobby. She couldn’t make things worse for Wolfe.
Miraculously she again hadn’t been pulled aside for an additional security check traveling with Wolfe. Maybe she could hire him as a trav
eling companion for future flights. Kind of like people who will ride in your vehicle so you can take the carpool lane on the highway.
Wolfe leaned over and shut her laptop, his mouth a tight line, his eyes icy. “I got you in and out of the country. Now I want answers.”
Interrogation without waffles this time. Well, she was ready for it. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What kind of answers?”
“What exactly was the nature of your professional relationship with Nikita Ivanovich?”
Her heart stalled then followed her stomach to the floor. “What lies has he told you?”
“I’m asking the questions.”
She hauled in a deep breath past the pain in her chest. “Nikita headed up an operation to steal personal information from wealthy individuals, mostly foreign men but some high-up Russian government ministers. Members of our group would attend parties, much like the one we were at last night, disguised as either waitstaff or easily available women. They’d lift the phones or other electronic devices off the targets and pass them to me. I’d access any valuable data, copy it, and then they’d return the equipment. If possible, the women would get into the men’s hotel rooms and after the mark had gone to sleep, they’d get the laptops. Pantera was my hacker name. I’m not proud of what I did, but it was my only means of survival.”
“And you were never caught?”
“No. We had a close call once when the guy woke up and discovered his computer missing. That’s when Nikita suggested that I sleep with the men and steal the information, saying it would be quicker.”
Wolfe took a long drink of his water. Was he disgusted by her story? “Nikita said you were the head of the gang, and that you’re still active in criminal activities.”
“You believed him?” A searing pain went straight through her heart.
He scrubbed both hands over his face. “You’ve lied to me from the moment I met you.”
“I withheld information, it’s not the same.”
“You get on your computer and I have no idea what you’re doing. And you were an hour late to the reception last night with no excuse.”