Fair Game Inc (2010) (22 page)

She followed his lead, sliding over to tease the other, then dipping lower with little nibbles, until she met the barrier of his belt.

Definitely beyond her skill. With a sigh of her own, she reached down to undo the silver buckle. But his hands captured hers. She brought her head up sharply, staring suddenly into the dark intensity of his desire.

oAmber....o

oMmm?o

oNot here,o he said quietly. oNot on NicoleAEs desk.o

Suddenly she regained her senses, remembering where they were, what had just happened. And the very real possibility that Barlow could return and find them like this.

But the joy of finding him truly hers, of finding someone in whom she could place her trust would not be contained. Amber kissed him, luring his attention back to her, to their celebration of sorts.

For a moment it seemed he could be persuaded. But then he moved gently, but firmly away. oNo, Amber, not after all the ugliness that happened here tonight.o

She felt the keen loss of him, of his warmth, his comfort and longed to replace it. oThereAEs that nice leather couch in your office.o

oThere is....o He hesitated, considering.

Amber pulled away from him, grasping his hand, ready to lure him in the direction of his office.

oAnd then again....o Grayson said pulling her back. oThereAEs also a nice couch in front of my fireplace at home.o

oThere is that.o

oAnd I have a nice ... wide bed to cuddle up in afterward--o

oDuring--o

Warm breath ruffled her hair as he chuckled. oBefore--o

oItAEs a long drive. I donAEt think I can wait that long.o

oPatience is a virtue, Ms. Shaw.o

With one hand Grayson felt blindly along the wall until he found the light switch and plunged the office into darkness.

oLetAEs go home, then. IAEll deal with the rest of this in the morning. Tonight is for us.o

His eyes searched for her coat, finding instead the empty hook on the wall. oDidnAEt you bring a coat?o

oItAEs on the floor of your closet.o

oWhat?o

He pulled away from her, with teasing little kisses, she urged him back. oTell you about it later.o

Amber waited while Grayson retrieved her coat from his closet floor and with a puzzled look draped it around her shoulders. Sheltered beneath his arm she walked the short distance to his Mercedes.

With her mind on the night ahead and her relief in winning back GraysonAEs love, Amber failed to consider the possibility that implicating Barlow might destroy the peace between them.

Chapter
THIRTEEN

If Amber thought the offices of Barlow & Charles were untidy before, they were a disaster now.

John BarlowAEs obsessively ordered files lay in haphazard piles around the office as government auditors as well as the lawyers hired by Grayson and the law firm of Belaoussoff, Bekar, Karulis and Lacey struggled to determine whether or not a crime had been committed.

The phone rang incessantly with concerned clients calling for reassurance. Everyone wanted to talk to Grayson. A few called for Barlow, but with all his business transactions for the past few years under scrutiny, he was barred from the office.

Still no charges had been filed. Which meant that John Barlow was free to sit in his home office within reach of his telephone and spread rumors about his partner, Grayson Charles.

Which of course led to more phone calls, deeper investigation. More files strewn around the office of Barlow and Charles, more lines of worry etched in GraysonAEs face when he staggered home at night.

Grayson had Amber working full-time on his own investigation of Barlow, delving years into the past. What she suspected would be painful for him to deal with. HeAEd always thought BarlowAEs partnership was a congenial one. But if her hunch proved true, it had been Barlow who profited from the work of Gordon Charles and not the other way around. No wonder Grayson worried about his motherAEs retirement. No wonder heAEd felt pressured to work hard to strengthen his fatherAEs legacy. Amber suspected Barlow had been siphoning off money from Barlow and Charles from the very beginning.

All she needed was proof. Proof that would vindicate Grayson and his late father. Proof to hold John Barlow accountable for his crimes. ****

Amber stole a glance in her rearview mirror and frowned. There it was again, the same battered brown car that had dogged her since she left the city.

Merely another commuter, sheAEd assumed at first. Someone else taking the highway to one of the bedroom communities north of the city. But when sheAEd failed to lose him on the twisting country roads, now made slick by rain rapidly turning to ice, old instincts caused the hair on the back of her neck to prickle with anxiety.

She knew when she was being followed. SheAEd done it enough times herself to know the signs. Keep a few cars back. Change lanes to make it look random, closer now, then further away. And donAEt tail someone in a flashy car with vanity plates or theyAEll be sure to spot you.

Still, sheAEd noted the brown Ford with the chipped fender easily enough. If he turned off in the next five minutes, sheAEd chalk it up to nerves. If not, then she was definitely being followed and she wanted to know by whom.

Amber lifted her foot from the gas pedal, slowing enough to coast back a couple of car lengths, hoping to catch a glimpse of who was driving the Ford. But it pulled in behind an eighteen-wheeler disappeared from view.

Someone working for John Barlow maybe. But Barlow already knew Amber and Grayson were a couple. And being a partner in the firm, he would certainly know where Grayson lived.

A disquieting thought occurred to her. What if it wasnAEt anyone working for Barlow? Her shadow could be someone sheAEd angered. An enemy sheAEd made in Fair GameAEs day to day business of revenge.

In a divorce case the parties were too angry with each other to worry about the private investigator who took the incriminating pictures. But Fair Game brought things down to a personal level.

Had she angered someone enough to plan their own revenge? SheAEd assumed the vivisected mouse, the slashed tire and the angry note were ploys of John BarlowAEs to keep her away from Grayson and the secrets in the filing cabinets at Fair Game.

But what if they werenAEt?

The turnoff to GraysonAEs house wound away in the distance. Should she keep driving to throw the brown Ford off her trail?

The road narrowed to one meandering lane of traffic each way. Tearing her eyes from the slick pavement, Amber checked her mirror again, and caught a glimpse of brown, outlined against the line of bare trees by the side of the road. Still there, two cars back. She looked again at the turnoff, realizing with a sinking feeling that it led only to more secluded country roads before it reached GraysonAEs house. Private Investigator instincts went to work. A woman alone in a car could be easily forced off the road. Was that what the person in the car tailing intended? She had about two seconds to make her decision, or sheAEd be past the turnoff and committed to traveling more country roads alone.

In a splash of gravel and ice, the Ford pulled out from behind, racing against the on-coming traffic to pass her. A wave of dirty water stole her vision as it passed, destroying all chances of catching a glimpse of the driver.

When the wipers had cleared the windshield of muddy water, the battered Ford was no longer in view. Amber sagged against the seat in relief. Not following her after all.

Turning off the highway, she headed for the sanctuary of GraysonAEs house.

****

Hours later, and still Grayson hadnAEt arrived.

Amber lay in his loft bed, watching the play of candlelight across the sloping ceiling. Her laptop beeped, signaling the end of its battery power. Giving up on work, she turned off the computer.

According to the radio, freezing rain snarled traffic for miles. She hated to think what it had done to the hairpin turns that branched off from the highway. Crossing to the window, she gazed out into the darkness. No glow of headlights broke the woven blackness of trees and road. No distant rumble of a car motor could be heard above the staccato beat of ice pellets against the roof.

They should have both stayed at her apartment in town. But during the past few weeks sheAEd practically lived at GraysonAEs, and the arrangement seemed to suit him fine. Why didnAEt she just move in with him? he argued whenever the topic arose.

So why didnAEt she?

With a sigh, she took the ladder downstairs to make hot chocolate. It was obvious she wouldnAEt be getting any sleep until Grayson arrived home safely.

But her doubts followed her down to the kitchen. Shadows danced on the walls, cast by the flames from the fireplace.

Doubts danced in their wake. She couldnAEt dispel the feeling that there was something left uncompleted, some vital clue in the investigation with Barlow that sheAEd overlooked. The answer to who might be following her, who she might have angered, lingered just beyond conscious reach. If she thought about it long enough, it would come to her. But the notion drifted away from her replaced by that other worry.

Commitment Phobia, Sandy had pronounced it. oItAEs your fear of repeating that last devastating relationship,o she insisted. Amber reflected darkly that RogerAEs intended deserved to be granted a doctorate in pop psychology in deference to the number of self-help books sheAEd devoured trying to lure the reluctant Roger to the altar. But maybe Sandy was right. Cold dread settled in her stomach every time she thought of saying aeI doAE.

Still that didnAEt explain the nightmares or the constant feeling of being watched. It didnAEt explain a lot of things, Amber thought taking the kettle off the stove.

The sound of a key in the lock nearly sent a wave of scalding water splashing across the floor.

oWhatAEs wrong?o Grayson asked, taking in the look of panic on her face, the kettle she brandished like a weapon. oYou look spooked.o

All those doubts, the tale of her harrowing trip home lingered on the tip of her tongue. Amber choked them back. Grayson looked exhausted. No sense worrying him until she knew for certain they were in danger. Spoken out loud it all sounded so ... paranoid.

oYou startled me, thatAEs all.o She tried to force some levity into her voice and failed.

Grayson didnAEt seem to notice. From the set of his jaw and the crease between his eyebrows, she could tell his worries about Barlow and Charles had followed him home.

oHot chocolate?o she asked.

He smiled weakly. oThanks, but I think I better just hit the sack.o

Brushing his lips briefly against her temple, he climbed the ladder to the loft and did just that.

Amber heard not a sound from him as she finished her hot chocolate. But when she climbed the ladder and slid back into his wide bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, spoon-like. She could feel the tension in him, his body taut, even though heAEd supposedly been asleep for half an hour.

oIAEve been thinking.-..o

Oh oh. Amber felt her stomach clench, ready to deal with another problem, another worry. Grayson never said heAEd been thinking, unless he had been thinking. About something important. About their future together, about the firm, either way it meant a heavy late-night discussion instead of reflecting on her paranoia in the sobering light of morning after a good nightAEs sleep.

She twisted around so she could see his face, then burrowed into the crook between his neck and shoulder. oGrayson, youAEre exhausted, you should go to sleep.o

He pulled her closer still. She felt every inch of tight muscle pressed against her. If he did that again, sheAEd lose the capacity for intellectual thought. oIAEve been thinking about us,o Grayson finished.

Her warm languid thoughts cooled into a tight knot in her stomach. But Grayson didnAEt seem to notice. Rough stubble brushed her ear as he buried his face in her hair. oI keeping thinking when all of this is over we should make this a permanent kind of arrangement. But then tonight when I was slogging through all the work that needed to be done yesterday, I got to thinking, why wait? YouAEre the one thing that is going right in my life.o

Yes! part of her cried out silently. Marry me, love me, protect me. She almost said the words, but then her breath caught in her chest. Her heart skipped a beat then resumed thudding rapid fire. She dragged in a breath past the constriction in her chest, knowing in some rational part of her mind it was only her body betraying her, acting out its warning she was in danger of being hurt.

Why did GraysonAEs proposal, something she desired more than anything else in the world feel so much like EricAEs rejection? Why when the man she loved had just proposed did she feel exactly as she felt when her fiancT betrayed her days before their wedding?

That old panic triggered new ones, tightening her chest further, stopping her from accepting GraysonAEs offer of a lifelong commitment to her.

Played out in her mind, she watched her father leave, saw his shape receding as he walked out the door. She heard her motherAEs bitter warning, oThatAEs what happens when you combine your destiny with a manAEs. You get hurt.o Amber squeezed her eyes shut, but the images just kept coming.