by Cynthia Eden
He remembered the other woman. Dark hair. Deep-set, golden eyes. Red dress.
“Security first,” he said. “Then we’ll talk to her, together.”
Her sigh was long and frustrated. “Are you still doing that thing where you won’t let me out of your sight?”
He swung into her path. “Yes.”
“Roman, I can take care of myself. I’ve told you that like a dozen times.”
“Kendrick wasn’t too far off.”
Her lips parted.
“My control is thread bare. And something happening to you? Another attack? Some bastard taking you again? It will cut that thread.” She didn’t understand how important she was to him. “I got you into this mess. Someone saw how much I wanted you. Because of that, you’re in danger.”
“We’ve been over this, too.” Her voice had gone breathy. So fucking sexy. “Not your fault. The only people to blame are the ones who committed the crime. Not you.”
His chest burned.
“Stop blaming yourself.” She strode up the stairs. “It’s not like you’re responsible for every bad thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Fuck me. “What if I was?” Shit. No, he hadn’t said that. He—
She whirled to face him. “What?”
He had said the words out loud. Roman swallowed. He tried to figure out what to say.
But Harper took his hands in hers. “You’re good, Roman.”
No, he wasn’t.
“You’ve a very good thing that has happened to me. I don’t know who made you think that you were so bad, but you’re good for me. You make me feel safe. You make me feel like I can count on you. Like if I got kidnapped, you’d rip the world apart looking for me.” A faint smile teased her lips. “Oh, wait, you did that already.”
How could she make a joke? How could she not see what he was? “Harper…”
She rose onto her toes and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. “I see good when I look at you.”
His chest burned. His throat ached.
“Now come on, good guy, let’s go get this job finished.”
***
The security footage had been useless. The guards had already turned copies over to the cops, and Roman made sure that he sent them to Wilde, too. While Roman hadn’t found anything useful on them, he hoped Eric and his team would have more luck.
“A partner?” Charity Hall bounced forward onto her feet. “You mean, like an accomplice? Tomas had someone helping him with the theft?” Her eyes were huge.
Yes, they meant exactly like an accomplice. Roman crossed his arms over his chest. “Know someone like that?” He barely kept the edge of suspicion out of his voice. As far as he was concerned, he was staring at suspect number one. Charity Hall had access, she had the knowledge needed to be in on the heist, and she seemed to be the person who worked the closest with Tomas.
“Why is he looking at me like that?” Charity whispered with a side glance at Harper.
“Um…” Harper began.
“Because I think you’re the accomplice,” Roman told her flatly.
Charity’s eyes went even bigger and became saucers. She took a giant step back.
“Tact.” Harper sighed. “Have some tact, Roman.” She faced Charity. “I have to agree with him that the optics aren’t the best here. I’m sure you get that. You work closely with Tomas. You have access at the museum. You know all about the security schematics.”
“I’m not a thief!” Her hand pressed to her chest. “I love this job! I love working here! I would never do anything to jeopardize my position at the museum.”
“Your position.” Roman nodded. “About that…are you due for a promotion now that Tomas is out of the way?”
“I-I have been offered his position.” Her gaze darted from Roman to Harper. “But I deserve that spot. I’ve worked my ass off for it! And I didn’t try to steal from the place! Tomas wasn’t qualified. He should never have gotten the job to begin with, but he knew the right people, and they slid him into place.”
“Bet those right people are regretting that decision now,” Harper noted.
“They are.” Charity drew in a steadying breath. “That’s why they offered me his position. Look, the attempted theft was a PR nightmare. I have my hands full trying to reassure everyone connected to the museum that things are going to be okay.” Her eyes gleamed. “I am not a thief. I don’t steal what belongs to other people.”
She seemed sincere. But Roman knew how deceptive appearances could be. “You understand that the authorities—and Wilde—are going to dig into your financials. If you’ve been selling off other pieces here at the museum and replacing them with fakes…” Just like Tomas had been attempting to do with the ruby. “Then the truth will come out. They’ll lock you up.”
Her hands had fisted. “No one is locking me up. I haven’t taken anything.”
Harper closed in on the other woman. Her fingers curled comfortingly around Charity’s shoulder. “Tomas admitted that he had a partner, and I suspect that he will be offering up that partner’s name in exchange for a deal.”
Suspect? They knew—
“If you have anything to say, you need to speak before he does.”
Oh, that was a good move by Harper. Applying not-so-subtle timing pressure.
But Charity shook her head. “It’s not me.” A tear leaked down her cheek. “The cops will want to check everything, you know. All the pieces here. Each item will have to be authenticated, and what do you think will happen if they discover more thefts? And there probably are more.” Her shoulders slumped. “Not like it could be Tomas’s first time at this.”
No, Roman doubted it had been the man’s first time. He’d probably started small with little pieces that wouldn’t attract much attention. Then he’d built up to more expensive selections as his confidence grew.
Roman glanced at his watch. “I have a friend coming who will be accessing the museum’s computer system. He should be arriving any moment.”
“But—but the police—” Charity sputtered.
“He’s better than the police. But don’t worry, he’ll have approval for everything that he does.” Antony would come in with any warrants or anything else needed, courtesy of Dex’s magic. Dex would be pulling all the strings needed in order to get them access to every inch of the facility. Roman figured the man must make daily deals with the devil for all the power he possessed.
Or maybe Dex just was the devil. Hard to say for sure.
“Your friend can have full access to my computer. To anything I can give to him.” Charity exhaled slowly. “I don’t have anything to hide. The sooner you prove my innocence, the better.”
Again, she sounded sincere. Looked sincere, too.
Charity swiped away a tear. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Please continue your search. When your friend arrives, just send him to my office.” She rushed past them.
Roman watched her depart in silence. Then he looked over at Harper. “Thoughts?”
“I think it’s hard when you like someone but you also suspect the person may be involved in a crime.” She raked a hand through her hair. “People wear masks, you know? Always pretending to be someone they’re not. It’s hard to see the truth.” She took slow steps toward him.
“What do you see with me?” Shit, no, he hadn’t meant to ask that. What was his deal today? Talking too much was not normally his problem.
Her gaze gently swept over his face. “I see a man who makes me feel safe.” Her hands closed around his shoulders. She pushed up onto her toes. Her lips skimmed his. Too brief. Too light.
His fingers locked around the curve of her hips. He held her close. “Harper, don’t tease.”
“I wouldn’t. Not with you.” Another light kiss. But she eased back. “What do you see when you look at me?”
Everything I always wanted.
He looked at her, and hell, it was stupid but he could see them sitting on a couch together. Watching movies. Laughing.
He could see himself having breakfast with her. Her offering him a cinnamon roll. He could see a magical Christmas because he’d bet a million dollars Harper went crazy for the holiday. She’d want a huge tree, and he’d get it for her just because he wanted to see her—
No. He stopped the thought. Dammit. He was doing it again. Fucking dreams. Dreams had no place in his life. Hadn’t he learned that before? When he’d been younger and he’d yearned for a family—for the mother and sister that hadn’t been in his life? But his father had told him—had shown him—again and again, that foolish dreams only made a man weak. Roman couldn’t afford to be weak.
When the bastards involved are caught, I leave. He had to disappear. There was no happy ending in this for him. No fucking Christmas tree with Harper.
“Is it that bad?” Harper asked, a little catch in her voice.
He let her go. Put a bit of distance between them. “I see a beautiful, smart, talented woman. The same thing everyone else sees.” He turned away. “We should go look—”
“I’d hope you’d see more.”
Roman swallowed. “Being beautiful, smart, and talented isn’t enough?”
“That’s not what I meant. I want you to see—” But she stopped.
Don’t. Don’t you do it. Don’t—Hell. He spun around. “What do you want me to see?”
“More,” she said.
“I don’t follow.” He did. He was such a liar.
Roman thought she realized it. Because Harper nodded. Squared her shoulders. “I’m going to stay with Charity. I don’t want her to be involved, but I also don’t want to be wearing blinders. I’ll ask her more questions and see where that goes.” She shuffled past him.
He caught her wrist. “Harper…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t leave the building. I’ll be perfectly safe.” She didn’t meet his gaze as she pulled away. Then in the next moment, she was gone.
He didn’t call after her to tell Harper that she was more. That she had been, from the first moment he saw her. He stood there, lost in thought. Wishing so much that he could be someone else. Someone she might love.
“Seriously?” Antony filled the doorway. Only he looked different. No glasses. Baseball cap. Scruffy beard. Fake beard? No one would recognize him as the tech giant of the world. “What the hell are you doing?” Antony wanted to know. “I swear, you’re all moony-looking.”
His jaw tightened. “Always a pleasure to see you.”
“I don’t think you mean that.”
Roman waited.
“Just point me at the tech,” Antony muttered.
***
“Were you scared?” Charity’s voice was careful.
Harper raised her brows.
“When you were kidnapped,” Charity rushed to add. “I would have been terrified. I, um, heard some of the Wilde agents talking the day after it happened. They were back here, doing more sweeps. I was so glad when I saw you today. Well, until I realized you thought I was some super criminal.”
They were standing in front of the ruby. It waited behind a giant pane of glass. Two armed guards held positions just a few feet away.
“I’m surprised the ruby is still here,” Harper said as she walked slowly around the exhibit. “Would have thought the owners would yank it right away.”
“Actually, they wanted to,” Charity admitted. “But the head of the museum assured them guards would stay with the piece twenty-four seven.” She waved to the men. “Because of the attempted theft, interest in the piece has sky-rocketed. We’re going to do several promotional projects in the coming weeks, and we think the ruby will draw in more visitors than we’ve ever had before.”
Harper absorbed this news. “So the theft—sorry, attempted theft—turned out to be a good thing for the museum.” She had to add, “And for you.”
“I told you, I’m not a thief.” Charity bit her lip. “I’ll cooperate in every way, all right? I can tell you the names of the women Tomas has dated. I can give you his schedule for the last year. I can give you my schedule. I’m not the bad guy here.”
Harper’s gaze slid back to the ruby. “It really is quite beautiful.”
“Danger and desire.”
Her attention snapped to Charity.
The other woman rolled one shoulder. “Guess the curse was true for you, wasn’t it? You got the danger. And judging by the way you looked at your partner—and the way I saw him look at you—the desire is there, too.”
“I never wore the real ruby,” Harper reminded her. “So the curse didn’t work. Besides, I don’t believe in curses.”
“What do you believe in?”
“People.”
“People can let you down.” Charity’s voice was low. “They can trick you. Look what Tomas did.”
“Not all people are like that.” She heard voices—Roman’s voice. Antony’s. Then the two men headed into the exhibit space. Roman’s gaze immediately locked on Harper.
“There it is again.” Charity stepped closer to her. “Danger and desire.”
That’s just Roman. A mix of both.
“I have something that I think you should see,” Charity added quietly. “While they get to work on the tech, will you come down to storage with me? There are two big items down there—big as in they are worth a great deal of money.”
“And you think they might be forgeries.”
“I think it’s where we should start looking.”
Harper nodded. “Lead the way.”
***
Antony’s fingers flew over the keyboard. He’d brought his own laptop with him, and he’d gone straight to the control room at the museum. He had warrants, lots of official-looking papers, and the man was already hunched over and going to town.
“When you see something suspicious, tell me,” Roman directed as he leaned over Antony’s shoulder.
“Dude, I’ve got something to tell you right now. Stop hovering.” Antony hunched forward a little more. “I can’t do my job with you breathing down my neck. Don’t you have a sexy partner to go and tail or something?”
“I thought you wanted me keeping my hands off her.”
“Yes, we both know that bridge has been burned.” His fingers kept typing. More and more boxes of text popped up on the screen before him. “Well, well. Someone has been tip-toeing around the parts of the web you aren’t supposed to see.”
Roman’s muscles tensed. “Here? Tomas was using one of the computers here to make his deals?”
“Someone was. I said someone. I did not name anyone specifically because I don’t have that intel yet.”
“Eric said the cops had already searched—”
“You are looking at a master. I can find anything. Anyone. I can—”
“Yes, you are the tech shit, now just tell me and stop bragging.”
“You are breathing down my neck even worse now. Like, I feel your breath on my skin, and it is creeping me out. Back up.”
Roman eased back.
“Seriously, you eased back like a whole friggin’ inch. Go find Harper. Do your recon work or whatever with her. I have this, and I don’t exactly like working with a buddy. I’m more of a lone wolf.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re a wolf.”
Antony slanted him a dirty look.
“Your fake beard is coming off a little. Press it back down.” Roman turned away. “Call me the instant you track down our perp.”
“Just go find Harper.”
He took two steps. Halted. “Why are you so focused on Harper?” Roman looked back.
Antony’s fingers had paused over the keyboard.
“And why did you get here so quickly?” Now he was more than suspicious. He was worried.
“Okay. First, don’t be mad.”
He grabbed Antony’s chair and spun him around.
“Shit, you are already mad.”
“Spit it out.”
“So, uh, I picked up a little more chatter today.”
“Chatter about what?”
/> “Someone offered 50K to take out Valentino’s heart.”
Valentino. The mention of Roman’s real last name made his blood ice. “So someone wants to kill me. We already knew that—”
“I don’t think they meant to literally take the heart out of your chest. I think—I think they want to target Harper.”
He couldn’t breathe. “You knew this shit when you walked in and you didn’t tell me immediately?”
“Dex has extra eyes on the museum. The guards here—hell, I think he even has undercover teams working with them. He said he had everything covered, for you to stay cool. Told me the best way for you to be cool was not to tell you but I mean…I thought she’d be with you. Thought you’d have her at your side and since she’s not here, I’m getting worried—”
Roman whirled for the door.
“You didn’t let me tell you the second thing! Harper knows! Dex texted her. She’s aware of the threat, and she’s probably trying to draw out the perp so she can end this for you—”
Roman didn’t hear the rest. He was already racing out of the room.
***
Charity typed in the security code that would allow them to access the ground-floor storage area. “The world is full of people who pretend to be something they aren’t.” Her voice was low. Sad. “I had an old friend who found that out a while back. Now I’m hit with the same news. Tomas was going to destroy everything that mattered to me.” The door opened. “Come on. The pieces I’m most worried about are near the far-right wall.”
Harper’s steps were slow as she followed the other woman inside. Tension snaked through her body, but she wasn’t about to let Charity see how she really felt. She’d gotten the text warning from Dex. He’d told her to be on high alert at the museum. And now Charity was leading her to a dark, deserted area?
The whole thing screamed set-up.
“This room is climate controlled. The video feed runs constantly.” Charity pointed to a camera.
Except there was no little red light glowing on the camera. The little red light had glowed on every other camera at the facility. Every camera that was the exact same type.
“Tomas would be able to get in here.” Charity paused near two large crates. She shoved her hand into one.