She made her way toward the rear of the cafe, uneasy. He was letting her go? That didn’t make sense at all. He had to be suspicious. Surely she wouldn’t be able to walk out the bathroom exit without being intercepted.
Glancing over her shoulder, Heather couldn’t see him anywhere. She extended an arm to palm the exit door open. Her hand landed squarely in the middle of warm, muscular chest.
Kade smiled, arms behind and feet apart like a soldier at ease. Affable. Uncompromising.
‘Going somewhere?’
She recovered and sent him her best duh. ‘The bathroom, of course.’
He jerked a thumb to his left. ‘I think you’ll find that’s the bathroom. This one leads to a back alley.’
Heather laughed but it was a poor attempt. ‘Oops. Well, if you’ll excuse me.’ She shoved open the bathroom door and shot a cheeky smile over her shoulder.
A quick check showed the tiny room and its three cubicles to be empty. Ornate tiles blanketed the floor and walls in eye-aching colours. Led bulbs overhead poured down harsh, white light, making her skin sallow in the unflattering mirrors over the three sinks. A narrow window above the cubicles offered a possible escape route. She was thin enough to slide through. Maybe.
For lack of any other ideas, she went to the toilet and examined the window. Yes, she should be able to get through if she used the next cubicle, which had a steel bar she could use to pull herself up.
When she came out of the cubicle, Kade was there, waiting inside the women’s bathroom, leaning against the door with his arms folded across his chest.
Stunned, Heather could only gape at him. ‘What...?’
Fear flickered. She was trapped here. What if her instincts about him were wrong? What if he did mean her harm. No. She’d never been wrong like that. He wasn’t a bad person. He was angry, confused and holding tightly onto both those and desire, but he wasn’t about to lose control and attack her.
She recovered her poise. If she played the righteous, outraged woman card he could very well overpower and arrest her here. Could he do that? Could a PI arrest someone? She had no idea. It wasn’t worth the risk.
Still, the temptation to make sure she was safe…to incapacitate him…
No! She’d sworn. Never again. There were other ways.
Time for Plan B. She needed to convert his persistence to her advantage. Men were stupid when it came to sex.
‘How nice of you to wait for me,’ she murmured, flashing him a heavy-lidded look. She swayed toward the sink, inwardly cursing his dedication to his job. She had to distract him long enough to get out of this place. He snicked the lock on the door and shifted across to the sink next to her. She washed her hands slowly, studying Kade’s cool, amused expression in the mirror. Reaching past him, she tugged out a paper towel, allowing her breasts to brush his chest.
There. His breathing changed, ever so slightly. Now she had him.
Leaning over further, she threw the screwed-up towel into the wastepaper basket with a deft flick and sent Kade a quirky smile. He didn’t return it, merely continued to stand propped against the sink with his hands placed behind, watching her.
‘So.’ She stood before him, her feet on either side so his thighs were between hers. Slowly and deliberately, she leaned the length of her body against his. By the time her breasts were pressed against his chest, she could feel his heartrate accelerate; feel the first stirrings of arousal below his belt, feel the change in his aura and the red-gold of desire deepen.
‘I hope you’ve followed me in here for a really good reason,’ she purred.
‘Yes.’ His hands came to rest heavily on her shoulders.
Would he shove her away? Resist her? She dialled up the lustful feelings, driving them through his fingers on her skin. Heather looked into his grey eyes. Outright hunger warred with cool intelligence, there. Good. A little more and she’d have him where she wanted him. Determinedly ignoring her own self-loathing at what she did, she unbuttoned the front of her blouse. The back she left tucked into her skirt, and let the cloth fall from her shoulders.
With a shuddering groan, Kade took his hands out from under the bright cloth and placed them gently on her bare waist. Heather bit her lip against the faint surge of power when he drew strength from her again. Her head spun. She stiffened her knees and concentrated on blocking him out; on letting him only see desire. It wasn’t easy. He was so needy and she was scared.
She fumbled at his belt, keeping her attention on his face. He kissed her neck, sending unexpected shivers down her spine. His arms slid around her waist and Kade pulled her closer, burying his face in her neck with a groan and drawing in her scent. His fingertips trailed along the chain that held her locket, following its path between her breasts.
Against her will, Heather felt the first stirrings of her own arousal. Desperately, she worked at his buckle, buttons and zip. She had to get out of here before things went horribly wrong.
The heat of his lips on her skin was unbearably enticing. Oh…what she would give to reciprocate and abandon herself. He kissed his way up her neck. His mouth covered hers, took hers, possessed hers with single-minded intent. Her agenda temporarily forgotten, she glided her arms around him and pressed herself closer to his firm body.
She drowned in him, merging with him; melting into his arms, his mouth, his mind. The gold of desire and lust flared hot in both of them. Heather yanked open Kade’s shirt. Buttons flew across the tiny room, pinging off metal and glass. With a moan of pleasure, she stroked his bare skin.
He tugged the straps to her bra off her shoulders, exposing her breasts. Heather bit back a groan, trying to stay focussed. But her breasts peaked beneath his touch and his strong hands cupped and caressed them with surprising gentleness.
Finally, she managed to get his pants undone. She shoved them down, past his hips, fighting the irrational desire to do exactly what they both obviously wanted. It stunned her to realise how much she wanted to have sex with this man right now, right here. She had never done or felt anything like this in her life. It was liberating to feel so sexually powerful, so thoroughly aroused that nothing else mattered but the feel and taste of his skin, the touch of his hand, the scent of his hair.
Kade slid his palms up her thighs, lifting her skirt and hooking his fingers into her underwear. Heather allowed her head to fall back and he suckled at one taut nipple.
A knock and rattle on the doorhandle startled both of them. She gasped. He swore softly. Yanking her skirt down, Heather pointed to one of the empty cubicles. He hauled his pants up far enough so he could walk.
Heather fixed her clothes and unlocked the door.
Outside, a bitter older woman with a young girl waited. Berating Heather, the woman brushed past and ushered the child into one of the other toilet cubicles. A second woman breezed in and occupied the third. Another pair entered, chattering, complaining at the need to wait for a free cubicle.
Panting and heated, Heather seized the moment and escaped from the bathroom, the restaurant and, hopefully, from Kade Miller.
CHAPTER SIX
KADE
Two hours later, Kade admired the swaying rear view of a classy brunette. He was still furious at her deception and his own stupidity at the cafe. His attraction to this woman had almost cost him the job. He couldn’t believe how easily he’d succumbed to her transparent little seduction routine. He’d never lost control like that before. Ever. She wasn’t even that good at it. At least, he amended fairly, she wasn’t deliberately good at it. There was just something about her; something about the catch in her breath; the scent of her skin; the flush in her cheeks; something that had beaten through his careful walls and laid siege to his very core.
He could still remember the feel of her skin, the tentative eagerness of her full mouth; the taste of her breast. He still wanted her. She lingered in his mind and her scent lingered on his hands.
Damn her!
He’d had to wait until the bathroom emptied, which took a
good fifteen minutes. She was long gone when he emerged. So it had taken a little ingenuity and a lot of luck to find Meagan/Fiona before she left town. Working on a guess, he’d made his way to the nearest, biggest shopping centre, staked out the cheapest chain-store clothes shop and hoped for the best.
Half an hour later, she’d appeared. He’d been unable to resist a soft chortle. This time she’d slipped and he had her.
He hid and waited. Careful to stay out of her line of sight and out of mirrors and windows. Even after she obviously thought him long gone with her little lunch time vanishing act, she still led him a fine dance and checked for tails. Force of long habit, probably. It took every surveillance skill at his disposal to see without being seen; to follow without being spotted while Meagan/Fiona dodged in and out of stores in an apparent orgy of shopping.
When he was beginning to think that shopping really was all she was going to do, she ducked into the busy ladies room and he knew she was about to undergo a transformation.
So he scanned every woman that emerged, comparing the sharp jawline to each face. Ah! There she was. The flirty, colourful outfit and brown curly hair gone, Meagan/Fiona emerged as a cool brunette. Long, straight black hair tied in a low ponytail, ice blue eyes behind small, wire-rimmed glasses, slim body disguised in a conservative dark blue trouser suit and sensible-heeled black shoes.
Even her walk was different—purposeful. She strode to the exit; a woman late for an important business meeting. She’d done something with her makeup; her eyes seemed bigger, more exotic and her nose and cheekbones sharper. If it weren’t for that fantastic mouth and the red fingernails she’d forgotten to change, Kade would have doubted himself. But it was her and now he had the advantage.
He chuckled in admiration and sauntered off in generally the same direction, careful to keep out of sight.
What was it with this woman? No matter how she dressed, she turned him on fast and hard. When she’d had him in the bathroom, he’d thrown sense to the wind. It was so out of character that he was bewildered. Within O’Connor Inc, he was famous for his even temper; his ability to put aside emotion and see through the most confused situations with humour and logic. Where Torin worried and took every relationship failure to heart, Kade had always been able to shrug women off—at least, since Amanda. What the hell was happening to him?
This woman was a murderer; a negligent medic who could walk from the deathbed of a young woman and a baby without a second thought; responsible for the death of Amali Carleton and who knew how many others.
How could he feel anything but utter contempt for her? And yet he did. He felt a powerful sexual attraction, and a reluctant admiration for her intelligence and skills as an illusionist.
When Meagan O’Hara had given him the slip two months before, he’d spent a fruitless month trying to find her before admitting defeat. He’d gone to Torin and Andrew Carleton and given his apologies with polite regret externally and seething resentment internally. Carleton had been scathing and Torin disappointed, but Kade had borne it with stoicism. He’d moved on to the next case, but hadn’t stopped trawling through leads in his spare time, hopeful of catching a thread connected to her, somewhere.
Unfortunately, Meagan O’Hara’s wide eyes and sad, soft pink mouth had shown a tendency to hover at the edges of his consciousness and invade his dreams with astonishing regularity.
Then he had, during a brainstorming session with Tor and Luke, come across a stunning photograph. One of their staff, in Charlotte, had been hired to track and photograph the pregnant wife of a jealous man and had snapped a few shots of her meeting with her midwife, Fiona MacDonald. And there she was. Smiling, drinking coffee with the soon-to-be-mother, living in Charlotte. Unbelievable. Unforgettable.
With minimum explanations and maximum apologies, Kade packed and left town.
Now here he was, watching Meagan O’Hara/Fiona MacDonald transform herself into someone different, yet again.
And wishing they’d had a few minutes more in that damned bathroom.
He shook his head irritably, pushing the persistent thought aside again. He couldn’t risk losing her this time. He might never get another chance.
The question was, how to get her back to meet with Carleton in New York without causing an almighty uproar in this very public place. Short of dart-gunning her—impossible since he didn’t have a dartgun on him—he couldn’t think of any way that wouldn’t lead to a very loud altercation. He wasn’t fond of guns and rarely carried one, ordinary or otherwise. Could he try the old ‘I’ve got a gun in my jacket pocket’ finger routine? No. She was too smart for that.
Snorting at his own stupidity, he followed her at a discreet distance.
#
Twenty-four hours later, following a bus along Highway Eighty-five, he was still at a loss and practically asleep behind the wheel. He had no idea how where she was going and if he stopped to sleep he would lose her. He couldn’t stalk her at the next bus-stop, knock her out and drag her onto a plane. These things were always easy on television. But they had access to the latest gadgets, drugs and a whole host of accomplices to pull off smooth kidnappings. Kade had only himself this time. Torin was too far away to help and too busy with the company.
The thought of his partner triggered a memory. Yes. If he was right and his target was headed north. If she went to ground anywhere in New York state, then he might have a way of digging her out. If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed… He swiped savagely at his cell screen. Right now, he needed help tailing her and help hounding her to the right location for this to work.
Tor answered after the second ring.
Kade confirmed his position on the gps before speaking. ‘I’m tailing her but she’s in a bus and I haven’t slept in two days. Get a team on her ass. Get someone obvious at every bus stop so she has to keep travelling. Send her to Syracuse.’ He paused and listening a moment. ‘She’s too good at staying in public places. I have to separate her somewhere isolated. Yep. That’s the idea. I’ll get her there, you get us out when I call. Thanks.’ He thumbed the End button and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
Grinning, he rubbed at burning eyes and renewed his grasp on the wheel. Only a couple more hours and he could sleep.
HEATHER
‘Where are you?’ Heather listened to the frightened, accented voice and nodded, momentarily forgetting the girl on the other end of the phone couldn’t see her. ‘Si, si. I can help. But you’ll have to give me directions, I’m new to town.’ She listened for a moment, jotting street names onto a notepad. Finally she broke into the agitated spiel and gave soothing reassurances. ‘It’ll be ok, Maria. If your contractions are ten minutes apart then we’ve still got some time. Are you sure there’s no one who can come and stay with you? No, no. That’s fine. I’ll be there quick as I can, just relax.’
Sighing, she ended the call and stared blankly at the white wall of her tiny bedsit for a while. How quickly word got around. She’d only been here a week and that was the third call from a scared, illegal, underage girl wanting help with delivery of her unwanted baby. The underground network was certainly strong in this town.
She wished it wasn’t, and yet she needed it to be. Finding work when she had no other skills proved almost impossible. She’d been obliged to fall back on midwifery in spite her best intentions to take time off.
Heather pursed her lips and packed her medical equipment. At the last minute, she threw a couple of changes of clothes and a few other items into a backpack. The girl, Maria, had given directions to a remote cottage in the hills near Hall Island State Forest. It would take awhile to get there and, if this were a long labour, she’d probably have to stay a day or two.
Finally, she called her boss at the medical centre and told him she’d be gone for a couple of days. He was understandably annoyed. She sat quietly through a verbal rake down and threat to her job. But good midwives were hard to keep. He wouldn’t let her go in a hurry, no matter how many days she took.
#
Two hours later, she was deep in the forested hills and concerned that she’d taken a wrong turn. Her cellphone showed no reception and nothing looked like the final turnoff Maria had described. Ominous clouds gathered, threatening the first big snowfall of winter. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she faltered, studying the lonely, narrow road in trepidation. No, she’d drive on for another two miles before asking for directions. Only the thought of the poor girl, struggling with her first pregnancy, scared and alone, made her keep going at all.
Two minutes later, she spotted the large boulder and gnarled tree that marked a dusty side road. Relieved, she turned the tiny Volkswagen into a rutted driveway. The first flakes of snow drifted from a heavy sky. Switching the headlamps on in the dusk gloom, she slowed to a crawl. The road wound up the side of a hill, beneath a double row of overhanging pines. Snow flurried in front of the car, turning the dirt road white.
Heather shivered. It wouldn’t pay to end up snowed into this lonely place with a young mother and brand new baby. Hopefully there would be no complications.
The snowfall eased and the headlamps picked out a house, but it was hardly the cottage she’d expected. More like the holiday home of someone with a lot of money. The house nestled comfortably into rocky terraces, surrounded by what was obviously an extensive and lush garden in the summer. Now, with trees stripped bare and the lawn a sad brown dusted with white, it seemed bleak and unloved. It overlooked a large lake that, too, would be breathtaking in summer but today seemed threatening, black and wind-ruffled. Off to one side was what must be a helipad—broad, bare, and with a giant circle picked out in the centre.
The house stood two stories and must have at least five bedrooms. It was painted a welcoming honey colour with cheerful red window frames and white shutters. A single light glowed in the bottom storey and one in the upper. Probably the kitchen and a bedroom. What on Earth was an illegal immigrant girl doing alone in a huge place like this? Maybe hired to look after the house during winter when the owners were gone? The owners mustn’t know the poor thing was pregnant and alone here.
Healing Heather Page 4