He seemed to choose his words carefully. If they find the guy theyll need you to identify him.
They have to find him first, though, dont they? She wasnt acting now. The words, the situation, was all too real. Excuse me for not being a dutiful citizen. I have no intention of being used as live bait for a killer.
And you were expecting to sneak by the NOPD with suitcase in hand?
Theres a back door, she snapped.
And another car posted there.
His words struck her hard in the chest. Stunned, she could only stare at him.
Theyve got three officers posted around this building. You arent going to be allowed to go anywhere. The department is taking this very seriously, especially while they think the gunman might have been related to a high profile case in Chicago.
Reaction set in, and she began to shake. There had to be a way out of here. Shed been in tighter spots than this and had always found an escape. But rarely had she already been this shaken, this stressed. I wont stay, wondering when hes going to find me again. I cant.
All right.
His words made no sense to her, especially with her mind already whirling with plans. What? What do you mean?
I mean, he said calmly, bending to pick up the suitcase, that if you really want to leave, Ill take you.
Youll take me? Distrust filtered through her panic. Youll take me where?
He regarded her patiently. Ill get you out of the city. Thats what you want, isnt it?
Of course it was. And at the moment Sara was unable to think of a way to accomplish that on her own. A measure of cool reason returned. It would be easy enough to slip away from Nick once hed gotten her out of New Orleans. Her choices right now were depressingly limited.
All right. If her agreement surprised him there was no sign of it on his face. He merely turned and headed toward the door, leaving her to follow. And as she trailed after him, she tried to quiet the inner alarm that warned her she was only exchanging one kind of danger for another.
Chapter 3
Nick sat in a plush armchair in his private jet and studied Sara as she slept on the couch opposite him. To watch the even rise and fall of her chest, the softness that came over features usually kept in an expressionless mask, seemed curiously intimate, even intrusive.
Since he wasnt a man to grow fascinated by a woman, he excused his interest by telling himself there could be quite a bit to learn from the act. A person with no fears and nothing to hide might well sleep spread out, arms flung wide. It was telling that Amber slept curled up in a ball, burrowed into the softness of the couch.
And it was disturbing to him to feel this primal surge of protectiveness just watching her.
Frowning slightly, he considered the unfamiliar emotion. With the exception of his grandmother, people didnt get close enough to him to touch him in any way. The one time hed relaxed his guard had resulted in tragedy. It was a lesson hed never forgotten. He didnt even know this woman, and it was maddening to have to keep reminding himself of that. Maddening to know just how much he wanted to.
He shifted a bit, strangely uncomfortable with the fact. However, he wasnt one to dodge the truth, even when it was pointed straight at him. He didnt make the mistake of thinking it would be easy to gain her trust. Shed accepted his help only because shed had no other options. He realized that. But he was a man who knew womenknew how to strip away the layers of complexities and defenses to bare the essential woman beneath.
Nature had given him one gift toward that end, and birth had determined another. Women were attracted to his looks and intrigued by his money. But if Nick was interested, they gained far more from him than the superficial. He truly enjoyed femalestheir minds, their softness, the little quirks that made each an individual. Despite their differences, all wanted the same thing, and he gave it freelyhis attention, his respect, if not his heart. He enjoyed watching a woman warm under his care. Perhaps it was overcompensation for feeling little or nothing himself. It didnt matter. Because as he watched Amber sleep he thought he had never seen a woman more in need of a mans attention. Nor one more determined to fight it.
She stirred a bit, capturing his gaze again. Her eyelids didnt flutter; awareness didnt return slowly. Her eyes just opened in the next moment, and she appeared instantly alert. He imagined he awakened much the same way, even without the nightmares to rouse him. And when the familiar guarded mask slipped over her features, he was struck, not for the first time, of that similarity between them, as well.
What time is it? She sat up, raked her fingers through her hair. Shed showered once theyd boarded the jet, and changed her clothes. Now she was tilting her head, peering across the aisle.
Raising his wrist, he looked at his watch. About 3:00 a.m. Were nearly there, but you could have slept a bit longer.
She didnt respond, and he wondered if she felt a bit dazed by the rapid series of shocks shed undergone in the last twelve hours. It would be enough to sucker punch most other people. But if Amber was stunned at all it didnt show. Instead, she looked at him steadily. This could get you into trouble with Chatfield and the NOPD, couldnt it?
Her words gave him pause. Was she actually concerned about him? Ill call from the house in the Keys when we get there. I imagine theyll be unhappy, but as long as I agree to bring you back when they catch the suspect, I dont anticipate a problem. At least, not a problem hed concern himself with.
The Keys?
A series of small islands off the coast of Florida. Ive got a place on Key Largo. Have you ever been there?
She merely shook her head, and he felt a flicker of impatience, one he ruthlessly squashed. She was as close-mouthed as any woman hed ever met, determined to reveal nothing personal about herself at all. And because he recognized that her reticence mirrored his own, he also realized it was a wedge she used to prevent him from getting too close.
Approaching the island. Landing in minutes.
At the pilots voice, Nick gestured toward a chair. Well need to put our seat belts back on.
She did as he bade without comment, settling into the seat. Thoughtfully, his gaze lingered on the death grip she exerted on the armrests. Fear of flying? Or just of landings? He didnt know, and already knew better than to ask.
Abruptly, his earlier impatience drained away. Getting to know Amber was a process of fitting miniscule pieces together in an effort to construct a bigger, constantly shifting picture. He fastened his own seat belt, feeling a flicker of anticipation. Before they left the island again, he vowed, hed know everything there was to know about the woman.
There are four bedrooms. Mine is the front one. You may take your pick from the other three.
Rather than demurring politely, Amber took Nick at his word and followed him from one room to the other. She didnt merely peek into the bedrooms, but walked inside and seemed to pay an inordinate amount of attention to the windows.
The scene from her apartment flashed into his mind. Dont shut that! I like it open. And again he found himself wondering whether her desire for the open window was induced by preference or need.