Fire and Desire (Arabesque) (25 page)

T
he workday should have ended for Corinthians around four o’clock that evening. But time was pushing toward eight and she was still at it. She stared at her desk. There were still a number of reports to go over, some large and complex, others small and simple. Regardless, all of them needed her attention. Having been out of the office for four weeks had set her back big-time.

In the distance, she could hear the fax machine humming as it spit out some document or another. Tossing the papers she was working on aside, she stood, wondering who besides her hadn’t had the good sense to leave at closing time. She knew it wasn’t Darcy, the personal secretary to Adam Flynn, her boss. The older woman had left the building hours ago.

Corinthians was about to walk out of her office when the ringing telephone stopped her. She noticed it was her private line. Suddenly, all the tension of that day seeped out of her as a breathless sigh escaped her lips. Almost immediately, she felt her breasts tighten, her mouth starting to get warm and her fingertips tingling. Her mind, as well as her body, knew who the caller was.

At that moment, every sensuous detail of the two days she had spent with Trevor in Houston came floating back. She had enjoyed every minute of their time together. It had been so hard getting on the plane to fly home to Austin. She’d been back for three days and already she was missing him something fierce.

In all her life, she had never been so acutely aware of how important and meaningful memories were. In just two days, she and Trevor had made love enough to last a lifetime. He had made love to her with an intensity that had been all-consuming. His kisses, his touch and his lovemaking had nearly driven her insane, and had made her wild with desire. The both of them had been desperate, hungry, hot. He had felt her need and her urgency to be a part of him in the most intimate way, and had obliged her.

She picked up the phone. “This is Corinthians.”

“And this, sweetheart, is the man who loves you,” the masculine voice said in a deep, Texas drawl. The sound of it was husky, sexy and seductive.

Corinthians sat down and let her body relax in the cushion of the leather chair. It had been a gift from the president of the company, one of many, after she had helped Remington Oil make history with that oil find a year and half ago.

“And I don’t think anyone can love me better,” she whispered into the phone as she kicked her shoes off and leaned back in the chair. The sound of Trevor’s voice always had a stimulating effect on her. Normally, he would call her at night, timing it just right so she would have gotten home, eaten and showered. His pillow talks had been just that. She looked forward to them each night before going to sleep.

“I’m glad you think so,” he said in a husky whisper. The sound sent a shiver across her heated skin. “I just called to ask you to do me a favor.”

Corinthians smiled. “Anything, I’m easy.”

She heard his soft chuckle. “And I’m hard.”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “Well, if you were here with me I’d be able to do something about that.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. I’m on my way.”

His words surprised Corinthians. She wondered if she had missed part of the conversation along the way. “You’re on your way where?”

“To see you. I managed to work things out here so I wouldn’t have to wait until the weekend.”

Corinthians sat up straight in her chair. Her body became heated, sensitive, ready. “You’re coming here? To Austin?”

“Yes, I’m on my way to the airport now.”

She slipped back into her shoes and quickly began shoving the papers on her desk aside. She stood up and put on her jacket. If Trevor was on his way, she wanted things perfect when he got there. She had so much to do.

“Corinthians?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want you to knock yourself out doing anything. The only thing I want when I get there is you.”

She felt a warm glow flow through her. “I want you, too, Trevor.”

“That’s what I’m counting on, which leads me back to that favor I asked you about earlier.”

“Which is?”

“Show me,” he demanded throatily, in a low, deep, seductive voice. “Tonight, when I get there, I want you to show me just how much you want me.”

Her smile creased into an arresting grin. “Like I said earlier, that’s easy.”

“And like I said earlier, I’m hard. I’ll see you in a little while, baby.”

Before Corinthians could say anything else, the connection between them had ended.

Drake Warren tapped his pen lightly against his knee. It was a nervous habit of his, one he had thought about working on and then had decided why bother. Besides, his superiors at the CIA would think working off nervous energy that way was far less dangerous than other ways he could come up with.

He sighed as he looked at the computer screen in front of him. He’d been sitting in the same spot for the past four hours. And he had consumed at least four pots of coffee. He smiled. A pot an hour wasn’t so bad. At least he was improving his intake. Who knows? His kidneys might thank him one day if the caffeine didn’t do him in first.

He blinked when the lines of data on the computer screen displayed another search. For Pete’s sake! There were more South Americans with the last name of Santini that he had thought. So for good measure, he threw other factors into the mix. Were any of them associated with the oil industry? Had any of their incomes increased lately? Had any of them been in the news recently?

He flipped to another screen and brought up one of the pictures he had scanned in earlier. He had contacted an official at McDonald’s in São Paulo. He had confirmed that because of the increase in crime against tourists, they had installed a hidden camera on the premises. After checking with Ashton, he had pinpointed the date and time someone had tried to hit on Corinthians Avery. Then using his agency connections, he had obtained various copies of the photographs they had.

He smiled as he rubbed his jaw. Not a bad shot of Miss Avery, he thought as he focused on the photo of her entering the eating establishment. No wonder Trevor was interested. The woman was a looker.

Drake then browsed through the photos of others who had entered McDonald’s that day. His smile widened when Trevor’s features came up. The expression he wore indicated he’d been a man with purpose that day. No doubt he’d been in hot pursuit of Miss Avery, since it had been documented he had entered McDonald’s approximately seven minutes after she had.

Scanning backward, Drake’s gaze sharpened on two men who had walked in together a few seconds after Miss Avery had entered. He frowned, wondering why their faces looked familiar. He printed a copy of their likenesses from the computer before going to another screen and pulling up past newspaper clippings on various Santinis.

An hour or so later and
bingo!
He had made a connection. Those two men, the same two that just happened to be in McDonald’s that day, were part of Argentina’s Ambassador Manuel Santini’s entourage. And even more specifically, they were the ambassador’s son, Raul Santini’s, personal security men.

Drake relaxed in his chair as he punched in the name of Raul Santini, and watched as a wealth of information on the screen came to life. Now, he thought, he was getting somewhere.

A cheerful and excited Corinthians entered her condominium less than thirty minutes after her conversation with Trevor. She went immediately into the bathroom and began running water for her shower. She had just turned to go into the kitchen when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react, a hand snaked out and grabbed her, placing another over her mouth to silence any sound she was about to make. The hold on her tightened with each struggle she made.

“Listen up,” a deep, hard voice whispered close to her ear. “It won’t do you any good to fight me. I’ve been paid too much money to deliver you in one piece. But if you don’t stop fighting me, I’ll give you something that’ll knock you out.”

Corinthians immediately stopped struggling when she thought about the baby. She couldn’t let him give her anything that may harm the child.

“Now that’s more like it. Just do what you’re told and you won’t get hurt. We need to make your disappearance look like you wanted to get away for a while and left willingly. So you’re going to leave a note for anyone who cares.”

Ashton Sinclair looked up when the young South American civilian entered his office. The United States government had begun using locals as undercover informants, to keep them abreast of possible terrorists’ activities as part of their antiterrorism policy. After the increase of embassy bombings last year, the government wanted to be aware of any possible threats.

“What is it, Carlos?”

“You told me to inform you of any unusual activity involving Armond Thetas.”

Ashton stood. He was immediately interested. “What do you know?”

“He left the country last night,
senhor.
In his private plane.”

Ashton felt his skin prickle. “Do you have any idea where he’s headed?”

“To your country,
senhor.
To North America.”

Trevor entered Corinthians’s condo using the key she had given to him when they’d been together in Houston. This was the first time he had been to the place she considered home. He glanced around, liking what he saw. The place was huge and roomy. It looked comfortable and was decorated in soft shades of earth-tone colors.

Calling her name, he walked toward the back, wondering where she was since she was expecting him. He didn’t see her. He placed his overnight bag on the floor beside her bed. He headed for the kitchen, thinking that perhaps she’d been detained at work. He was just about to open the refrigerator to see if she had anything cool and refreshing to drink when the note taped to the refrigerator door stopped him. He pulled it off and read it.
I’ve decided that I need to get away for a while. So much has happened lately and I need time to think. Don’t worry, I’m okay. For once I need to think only of myself, no one else. Corinthians.

Trevor felt a knot taking shape in his stomach. His chest felt heavy, constricted. He reread the note then closed his eyes to remember the conversation they’d had earlier that night. He recalled every little detail. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced something wasn’t right. He read the note a third time.

He quickly walked back into her bedroom and opened her closet, wondering where her luggage was kept. He could not tell if any of her clothes were missing. With the eyes of a hawk, he glanced around the room, becoming angry. He felt useless because he could not tell if anything was out of place. But the one thing he did know was that the note he held in his hand was a fake. She may have written it, but he didn’t believe one word of it. There was no way anyone could convince him that Corinthians just up and left, leaving just a note as an explanation of her departure.

He picked up the telephone next to her bed to call the police.

Drake reached for the telephone just seconds before it rang. “Yeah?”

“Drake, it’s Ashton. We might have a problem.”

Drake frowned. “I was just about to call to tell you that very same thing. You go first. What sort of a problem do you think we have?”

“I’ve just been informed that Armond Thetas left for the United States last night.”

Drake forced his attention from the computer screen, shaking his head. “Man, the problem I’ve uncovered may be even bigger. Do you know how to reach Trev?”

“I tried, but he’s not in. I got his answering machine so I called his father. He said Trevor went to Austin to visit Miss Avery for a few days.”

“So he went to Austin, huh?” Drake asked as he reached over to retrieve a blank disc. He needed to make a copy of everything he had uncovered.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because that’s where we’re going. It’s my guess Trevor may need us.”

That was all that needed to be said. If there was a possibility Trevor needed them, then they were going.

“Let’s meet up at the airport in Austin. I’m depending on you to come up with Miss Avery’s address,” Drake was saying. “I’ll fill you in on everything when I see you.”

Dex walked into the room, returning after having put his daughters to bed. Caitlin had just sat down at the computer to begin entering data into it. He appreciated her dedication at keeping his employees’ work records in order, but at the moment his mind was on something else.

He pulled out the chair next to her, turned it around and straddled it before reaching over and turning off the computer.

Caitlin blinked, stunned. “Dex! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting your attention.”

Every fiber in Caitlin’s body reacted to the dark charcoal-gray eyes looking at her. A serious smile touched her lips. “You always have my attention, Dex. Even when you fail to notice that you do. Like earlier today for instance.”

She leaned over and whispered in his ear, revealing to him the exact moment that day when he’d had her full attention. He had been swimming in the pool with the girls and had brought them inside to change for dinner. She had seen him in his swim trunks and had nearly lost it.

“You don’t know how close you came to being seduced in front of your daughters, Dex. Right in the middle of my kitchen.”

Caitlin could feel the sexual magnetism radiating between them and wondered if it would always be this way. Every time he looked at her with those eyes of his, the only thing she could think of was making love. He was so disturbing to her in every way and she loved him tremendously.

“I like being seduced by you, sweetheart,” he whispered, slowly leaning toward her, his mouth aiming dead center for hers.

It was at that precise moment that the phone rang.

“Damn,” Dex muttered, grabbing for it. “Whoever you are, you’re a disturbance, so this had better be good,” he barked into the telephone.

All traces of annoyance and irritation left his face. Instead, Caitlin noticed his features became one of shock, disbelief, then anger. Sharp, steel-edged anger.