Tough As Nails. Jackie Manning
Читать онлайн книгу.
received flowers, presents for my birthday. The usual gifts from friends and colleagues. That’s all.”
“I’ll want a list of all gifts you’ve received in the past twelve months.” He frowned at her look of dismay. “It’s important or I wouldn’t ask.”
She brushed her hair from her face. “I’m sorry. I’m not making this any easier for you. I—I guess I’m still in denial.”
“It’s perfectly natural, Brianna.” God help him, but he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss away the worried crease between her eyes.
He forced his attention back to the form. She had checked off that she hadn’t had any recent repairs or redecorating done in either her home or office. He had other questions, but they could wait until she was less tense.
“I’ll start by having security devices installed in the halls and entranceways to your office and home—”
“But my apartment building already has surveillance cameras. The stalker got around them.”
“My devices won’t be detected, and they are tamper-proof.” He glanced at his watch. “Ready to go home for the day? Or would you like to stop off at your office first?”
“Michael, I have clients scheduled until four o’clock. Then I have a mountain of reports to finish. Can’t we wait until tomorrow?”
He stood. “You don’t have to be at home while the equipment is being installed.” He grinned when she shot him another questioning glance. “We’ll go to your office. I’ll wait for you until you’re ready to go home.”
She shot him a look of exasperation. “That’s not necessary. I’ll give you my key, and when you’re through with the apartment, you can drop it off with my secretary at the office.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t mention on the form that your secretary has access to the keys to your apartment.”
She sighed. “Well, my secretary usually doesn’t, but sometimes—”
“She either does or she doesn’t.”
Brianna’s eyes snapped. “I forgot. So shoot me.” He could see her composure slip away. No doubt she felt it had been a mistake to come here. “I don’t need a bodyguard. All I want is to identify the stalker on video so I can press charges against him.”
“Brianna, I’m not trying to scare you, but from what the police said, whoever is stalking you has the expertise—”
“Please, I don’t need to hear how much danger I’m in, okay?”
“It’s okay to be scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
He studied her. Beneath that stubborn pride she was terrified for her life and she hated that he knew it.
Her mouth tilted at the corners. “Okay, I’m scared.” Her eyes snapped green fire. “Satisfied?”
“Nothing wrong with being afraid,” he said gently. “It’s what you do with your fear that’s important.” He tucked the compact computer into his jacket pocket and grabbed an attaché case from the bottom desk drawer. “Let’s get a taxi and start at your office.”
BRIANNA FELT her insides shake when Mike slipped beside her in the back of the taxi. After giving the driver the address of her office building, she leaned back and willed the butterflies in her stomach to go away, to no avail.
Maybe she was entitled to react foolishly where Mike was concerned. She’d known it would be hard to confront all those memories. How silly to have remembered him as that rebellious young daredevil. She glanced at him as he clicked his seat belt into place.
One thing hadn’t changed. He’d always been able to see right through her, long before she was aware of her own true feelings. Her thoughts went back to that time so long ago, in that backwater town in Maine. She’d been a college sophomore, spending the summer with her father in Maine. She’d first seen Mike when he’d caddied at the local country club.
Mike had worked for her father, or sort of. Harrison Kent III had been owner of Kent Paper Industries, and Mike had worked there on a hydro-pulper. He lived with his father on Mill Street, the row of company houses the paper-mill employees rented.
She’d been nervous that warm, late-June afternoon when she found out where Mike lived and went to see him. She had planned to ask him if he’d volunteer as lifeguard for the country club’s annual children’s charity.
She located him in the backyard of one of the typical two-story clapboard houses that were built more than fifty years ago. Mike’s jaw dropped when he saw her, then he quickly recovered when he crawled out from under the body of an old-model, yellow Trans Am.
He was naked except for a pair of faded denim shorts. She took a deep breath, trying not to appear unnerved at the sight of him. Serves you right for not calling him before dropping in, she chided herself.
“I was running errands for my aunt and thought I’d stop by.” Although it was true, the statement sounded lame. The disbelieving look he gave her only increased her nervousness.
He eyed her sideways as he wiped his large, tanned hands on a clean rag. “Don’t tell me. You just happened to be in the neighborhood.”
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. “Why, yes, I was.” Her tone sounded defensive. “I just dropped off some proofs for my aunt at the printer’s, which is only two blocks from here.” She was talking too fast, and she forced herself to be cool.
Her gaze glued to his brilliant blue eyes, although she was aware of his stunning, sun-bronzed torso. She wanted to stare at the fascinating way the black whorls of hair covered his hard muscles and funneled into a dark V past the button of his jeans.
His expression turned cold and flat. “What are you doing here?”
He was obviously upset that she’d come unannounced. If she had a lick of sense, she’d never have come.
“My aunt wanted me to ask you if you’d volunteer at the country club. They need a lifeguard for one weekend a month.” Nora hadn’t exactly asked her to ask Mike, but Brianna had seen his name at the top of the proposed list of candidates. “The summer program for underprivileged children is in high gear, and—”
“I told your aunt that I’d do it when she asked me last Saturday.”
“Oh.” Brianna felt like a fool. “I saw your name on the list and…” She took a deep breath to recover. “Nora didn’t tell me.”
His bottom lip quirked in disbelief. “Your aunt is quite a lady. She and the Judge have done a lot for me, and I owe them, big time.” His blue eyes darkened and he lowered his stare to her breasts. She felt caged by his look, and a delicious weakness coursed through her.
“Why did you really cross the tracks to come all the way down to Mill Street, Brianna?”
She stepped back, not wanting to admit the truth, even to herself. “I—I told you.” His dark look made her feel like a groupie at a rock concert. “Obviously my aunt either forgot or wanted to confirm that you hadn’t changed your mind,” she lied. She turned and almost ran toward her car. When she reached the backyard gate, with his long strides he had caught up with her.
Mike folded his arms across his broad chest, biceps bulging. “Tell me why you’re here.”
“I—I was curious.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Didn’t your country-club friends fill you in on all the details? Did they tell you my old man is a drunken bum? That my mom ran off when I was two? That I’m no good? Didn’t they warn you to leave me alone?”
She met his gaze evenly. “I make up my own mind.”
“And