by Julie Kenner
He shook his head, smiling to himself as he walked to the car. Lacey may have grown up on a ranch, but she was a city girl through and through. What would she do in a place like this? And why was he even thinking about it? He had no interest in leaving his home state, or his job, either.
His only interest right now, he thought with anticipation as he got into the car, was getting back to the city, and to Lacey.
LACEY STRODE out of the E.R., happy to escape. She asked the cab driver to take her directly back to the Bliss offices, her mind spinning. They’d insisted she be checked for smoke inhalation and other injuries even though she was fine.
The smoke had set off the sprinkler system, and she was rescued about twenty minutes after she discovered she was locked in. She’d been scared, and smelled horrible, but that was about it. She was also a wreck about her missing pictures. Intimate photos in the hands of someone who wanted to hurt her wasn’t good, but who could she tell?
Only Jarod, and he wasn’t here, hadn’t called.
It had been complete chaos. The fire hadn’t had time to do much damage, but the water had soaked things considerably, though only on the basement floor, where the damage had been contained. Still, whoever had set it meant business—the place reeked of gasoline, and if the fire had traveled much farther, catching the floor above, Lacey might not have gotten out alive.
Unfortunately, the bastard had taken all of her other work, too. The calendar shots were gone, along with everything else. How could she have slept through that? Exhausted, she knew, but still….
How could she explain this to the Bliss board? Her stomach bottomed out, and she thought she’d be sick. She was due to start studio shots of Ryan Murphy, FDNY, in two hours.
Taking a deep breath, she resolved to go home, get cleaned up and deal with it when she had to. Right now, she’d save the calendar project from going up in flames, and that meant getting back here and doing what she could with Ryan today, as well as making sure she had enough pictures of Jarod.
The police were investigating motives for the fire. Coupled with what happened at her apartment and the phone calls, it was clear that someone was working out a grudge. She told them, albeit haltingly, about Scott, and they made that their first check, though she hadn’t heard anything confirming or denying her ex’s whereabouts.
While this was hardly her fault, she had a feeling the Bliss project board might not care. They were business-people, and if she cost them too much money, too much time, or brought in negative press, they would can her and bring in another photographer to take over. She had a meeting with them after her session with Ryan, and she needed a plan to approach them confidently, to assure them things would be fine.
If only she believed that herself.
WHEN JAROD FINALLY caught up with Lacey, he was on the edge of his patience. He’d spent his last nerve hours ago when he’d brought the car back to the police garage, and a guy he’d talked with, Lt. Ward, about Hill had told him about the Bliss fire.
He hadn’t been able to get Lacey on the phone and something very close to fear ate at him until he spotted Jackie as he entered the Bliss offices.
“Is Lacey here? Is she all right?” he asked Jackie.
“She’s fine. She’s in a session that she rescheduled over yours.”
“Where?”
Jackie shook her head. “Nope, sorry. You can’t just bust in there in the middle of—”
“Jackie, I need to talk to her. Where is she?”
Jackie looked at him speculatively. “You two have quite a thing going, huh?”
Jarod wasn’t going to talk about his relationship with Lacey, especially not with her assistant. “I really just want to see if she’s okay. That’s all. Let her know I’m back.”
“She’s in 3-b, the same place you had your studio—Hey!”
Jarod took off. He didn’t bolt into the studio, but walked in quietly, and waited, watching Lacey, letting his eyes take in the reality that she was, in fact, all in one piece.
Why hadn’t she called him? Why hadn’t she let him know?
“Satisfied?” Jackie said, hands on hips.
“Not quite. When will she be done?”
“When she decides she’s done,” the assistant said smartly.
Jarod ignored the jibe and studied Lacey, ever the professional, taking pictures of the shirtless fireman who smiled at her as if he meant it—and Jarod found a new reason for his blood to simmer. Lacey was smiling, too, laughing and flirting, like she had done with him, and taking shot after shot.
Impatience and maybe a little bit of the green-eyed monster bit at him. He’d been worried sick, but she really was fine. He was glad for that, of course, but he wanted to touch her, and to make sure she was okay for himself. The cops said she’d gotten lucky, not to have been hurt in that fire.
When she put down the camera, whether she was done or not, he moved in, taking in her surprised expression. She was tired, too, he could see, and clearly under stress for all of her professionalism.
“Jarod—what are you doing here?”
It wasn’t exactly what he expected to hear. “I’ve been trying to call, trying to find out if you were okay after I heard what happened. Why didn’t you call me?”
She glanced from where Jackie was talking to Ryan, back to Jarod. “Why would I call you? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Lacey,” he started, keeping his ire in check.
“No. Don’t come into my studio workplace making demands of me like you have a right to. Who do you think you are?”
Everyone had gone silent, and Jarod pulled back, wondering what was behind the defensiveness of her stance, but seeing the shadows in her eyes, he lowered his voice. “I’m the guy who’s been half out of his mind hoping you were okay, that’s who. I was worried sick, thinking I was gone, and someone tried to hurt you.”
She closed her eyes and nodded, running a hand over her face.
“Jackie, why don’t you take Ryan to get a coffee and a wardrobe change, and leave us alone for a minute?”
Jackie’s gaze went to Jarod, and back to Lacey. “You sure?”
“Yeah, go ahead. See you in about thirty.”
“Okay,” her assistant agreed and led the fireman from the studio.
“I’m sorry, Lacey. I was just imagining every awful thing when I couldn’t get you on the phone. Lt. Ward told me he didn’t know what happened after you went to the hospital, and the hospital wouldn’t tell me anything, of course.”
“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t hear from you, and then there was so much to deal with, and I knew you were in the middle of your own stuff—”
“You could have called me. Should have called me,” he said, pulling her in close, hugging it out, feeling the tension drain from her body as she wrapped her arms around him, too.
She shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you. I knew you were working, and I was okay.”
Her pretty lips turned down as she pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself and crossing the room. When she was hurting, he realized, she pulled in, distanced herself, instead of leaning on anyone.
“Someone tried to kill you, and that’s not okay. I need you to level with me, Lacey. I need to know what’s going on, why someone would be doing this to you. Do you have any idea who it is? Why?”
She looked up at him, and he could see she was struggling with something, as if wondering what she should say and what she shouldn’t. He didn’t press anymore.
“The only person I can think of is in California, an ex of mine, and they’re looking into it. I don’t know who else it could be.”
“Tell me about him,” Jarod said gently.
She shook her head. “Not here, not now. I have to work. This is more of a mess than you know. I could lose the calendar project.”
“Why? You’re the victim here.”
“This calendar shoot hasn’t gone well from the start—people keep canceling or schedules are missing. Then there was the problem wi
th my apartment, that cost me time, and now this fire and—” she took a deep breath, meeting his eyes “—the pictures I was developing last night were the ones of us, from the other night. But the guy took my camera bag, the digital and all of the negatives—all of them. From the shoot and from the hotel. No one knows about the, uh, personal pictures, but I’m going to have to tell Bliss about the rest. And why would someone take our pictures, unless they were going to try to use them somehow?”
It took a minute for her meaning to strike him. “You were developing our pictures last night?”
“Yes.”
“Your ex, in California. Could he have hired someone to harass you here?”
He saw the last question had taken her by surprise, and she seemed to consider it. She faced him, a quiet determination in her eyes that made her even more beautiful to him. He wanted to touch her, protect her, and God knew what else. He wanted all of it, but there wasn’t time to think about that now. Probably a good thing.
“Let me finish this session, and I’ll tell you, okay? But I have to get through this, and I have to talk with the project board. There’s just too much right now, Jarod.”
He understood more than she realized, thinking back to the letter in the trash. He wished she could trust him more, but they’d only known each other a couple days, and he would let her have as much room as she needed.
“Sure. But I’ll stay here all the same. Is there somewhere I can catch a nap? It was a long night.”
She nodded. “Yes, of course, there’s a break room next door. I’m sorry, I didn’t ask—but since you’re back, I guess you didn’t get the man you’re after?”
“No, we didn’t. But I’m glad, or I wouldn’t be here with you.”
She didn’t have time to answer, as Jackie and the fireman returned. Jarod watched Lacey smile, putting her professional face back on.
“I’ll come get you when we’re done, after my meeting, okay?”
Jarod nodded and found his way next door, though he would have rather stayed with Lacey. But soon, he planned to have his answers, and he’d make sure she was safe, one way or the other.
LACEY FACED the four-person project board hoping she appeared more confident than she was. The session with Mr. April had gone great. Ryan was an easy, fun guy who liked being photographed, but she hadn’t been able to get into the groove as well as she usually did.
It was hard to look through the lens of the camera without thinking about Jarod. He was in her thoughts constantly, interfering in everything, even her work. She thought about his face, and the possessive way he’d stood there when she was working with Ryan. She didn’t like jealousy, and she didn’t like anything screwing with her head, but she had more pressing problems at the moment.
How did you talk to your employer about the fact that there could be compromising pictures of you floating around New York City?
She could kick herself for taking them in the first place, she thought as they all settled in, but then, as the images from the photos played in her memory, she realized she didn’t regret it at all. She did, however, regret being careless and having the negatives stolen.
While honesty had always been her best policy, she decided that maybe it was best if she worked with Jarod behind the scenes to try to find out who was behind all the trouble.
However, for all she knew, it could be someone connected to one of the people in front of her—Nina, for instance, head of PR, had seemed to dislike Lacey from the start. Lacey had the distinct feeling that her hiring was not a unanimous vote.
She explained about the harassment she’d been suffering, the break-in at her apartment, and then the fire in the darkroom. Lacey didn’t regret her lie of omission as much when she saw they were more concerned about their timeline and bottom line than her safety.
“If you look at the schedule, you can see we’re still on the mark. We’ve lost some pictures, and the camera—”
“A twelve-thousand-dollar camera, Lacey,” Nina said, as if Lacey had stolen it and she was too tired not to bite back.
“Yes, an expensive camera that was stolen out of a Bliss darkroom that I had left locked. I’m sure you have insurance to cover it,” she said, and thought she saw a glint of admiration in Theo Harris’s eyes. He was the head of the project board; she liked the older man who had thus far sat quietly.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Lacey. We’re glad you weren’t hurt, but we are concerned that someone seems to be harassing you, and it could hurt the project or the magazine.”
“I’m sure it won’t. I won’t allow that to happen, Theo. This project means everything to me, and it’s really coming together well, even with the bumpy start. The police are looking into it, and I’ll be careful. Please, I can finish this without any more problems. I promise. I have it under control,” she assured them, meeting their eyes and hoping they bought it.
She knew she’d made the right decision not to tell them about the photos. If they found out from whoever stole them, fine—there was nothing she could do about that, but she wasn’t about to dig her own grave.
“Okay, Lacey, let’s table this for now. We’ll see what the police say, and you keep up with the project, but I’d like daily progress reports to the board.”
Lacey took a breath. “Absolutely, Theo, no problem.”
She sat for a moment as the board members vacated the conference room, and thought about her close call. If she was booted from this project, word would get around, and she’d find herself taking kids’ pictures with Santa. Whoever was doing this, it had to stop.
She told Jarod she’d tell him the truth. And she’d do it, too, even if it damaged what was growing between them. Lacey dropped her head into her hands, and closed her eyes, feeling trapped. Still, she didn’t realize that she’d started to doze off, she was so tired.
“Hey, taking a nap?”
Lacey almost jumped out of her skin as Jackie walked into the conference room.
“You scared the life out of me,” Lacey said, wiping her eyes.
“Jeez, sorry. I was just kidding,” she said, “I don’t care if you sneak a nap.”
“Not sleeping, not really, only thinking.” She noted the bandage on Jackie’s hand that she must have missed earlier. “What did you do to yourself?”
Jackie smirked. “Got crazy slicing an onion the other night—five stitches, but I’m functional.”
“Ouch. Onion is one mean vegetable.”
Jackie grinned.
“Can I trust you with something personal?”
Jackie nodded. “Sure. Shoot.”
“I need a favor.”
“I’m your girl.”
“Don’t agree too fast and feel free to tell me to stuff it, okay?”
119
“Always.”
“I need a list of names of people who applied for my assignment, the portfolios the board reviewed.”
Jackie’s eyes went wide. She obviously hadn’t anticipated that. She might have thought Lacey needed something more normal, like having Jackie grab her some lunch or pick up her laundry, not corporate theft.
“I need to see the list because someone has been…giving me a hard time, and it hit me that it could be someone who wanted this job, or maybe someone who is trying to discredit me, or sabotage the project. I thought the list might be a place to start.”
She told Jackie about the break-in and the pictures, and watched the shock and surprise cross Jackie’s face. Lacey wrung her hands a bit, embarrassed.
“I know I shouldn’t have let him take pictures like that in the first place, and I certainly shouldn’t have given in to temptation and developed them here, but—”
Jackie waved her off. “Puh-lease. That’s some tame stuff. Is there a couple in America that hasn’t brought out the old camcorder or digital camera at least once? C’mon…this is not your fault. But I can see where you’re worried. Those things could pop up anywhere, anytime, huh?”
Lacey agreed, miserable.
“Pretty much. And while I might deserve to get fired, Jarod doesn’t. He’s really an innocent bystander in all of this.”
“Not so innocent, since it was his idea to take pictures. Lucky you, I might add,” said Jackie, grinning, and Lacey felt the corners of her mouth twitch.
“True, which is why I don’t want him getting screwed over by my mistake. Why I developed those here…dumb move.”
“Stop beating yourself up. Let me see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Jackie. I know it’s asking a lot.”
“Hey, I’m your go-to girl,” Jackie said, though her voice sounded strained. Lacey paused on her way out of the room. “You okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a late night at the emergency room getting those stitches.”
“I hear you. Take the rest of the day off. We’ll start early tomorrow.”
“Sure, thanks.”
Lacey made her way back to her office, where Jarod had closed the window shades and was dozing on the sofa, barely big enough for him. She looked down at him sleeping, and her heart seemed to recognize his. He was gorgeous, and good through to his bones.
Still, she had to deal with the problem at hand, rather than the nasty what-ifs that were haunting her. It was why she had to tell him everything. She wanted it all to just go away, but it was never really going to, was it?
He had the resources and the know-how to track down whoever might have done this, and while it might not be Scott, it could be someone connected to him.
“Hey, Lacey.”
She jumped. He was awake and looking at her.
“I thought you were still sleeping. I didn’t know if I should wake you.”
“C’mere,” he said, holding his arms out, but she stayed back.
“I don’t think it’s such a good idea here.”
“I’m willing to risk it,” he replied with a hint of a chuckle.
She lay down over him, and admitted he was right. She needed this, too, his warmth, his strength. Everything felt better the second his arms wrapped around her. As she nestled against him she also felt a little something extra poking against her hip and wiggled appreciatively.
“There’s time for that later, you vixen,” he said, sounding more awake. “As tempting as you are, I haven’t had a shower since yesterday, and I’m starving.”