Secret Identity (4 page)

He pulled back and smiled at her as the elevator doors opened. Then he took her hand and they walked towards their rooms. When they got to her door, he leaned down and kissed her again. She fumbled for the door, trying to open it. He pulled back and laughed, and taking her key card from her hand, he smoothly opened her door. But when she moved to pull him inside her room, he frowned and shook his head.

“Better not. We've got time to think about things. Besides, we have an early meeting and it's late. Get some sleep.” He leaned down and kissed her frowning lips. “I'll see you in the morning.” He walked to the door next to hers and looked back at her after he opened it. “Go inside.” He smiled at her.

She had been standing there watching him and realized he wouldn't go into his room until she was safely in her own for the night. Still frowning, she shut her door and leaned against it, closing her eyes. She was in trouble. She knew it. She also knew that there was no way she was going to not kiss Carter again.

The next morning Carter knocked on Eve's hotel door at precisely seven o'clock. He made sure to knock loudly enough, just in case she had overslept. But when she opened the door, fully dressed, with a cup of coffee in her hands, his mood sank a little.

She smiled. “Remember, I never have hangovers.” She motioned for him to enter. “I got an extra plate of toast and there's some coffee left if you want.”

He walked into her room, his head hanging in disappointment. He was at least hoping that she'd had a hard night’s sleep like he had. It had taken him almost two hours to fall asleep; he just couldn’t stop thinking about her. Even in his dreams, she had been there.

He sat his briefcase down and walked over to the small table and sat. Watching her pour him a cup of coffee, he smiled as she added the right amount of cream to his cup. He liked knowing that she remembered how he took his coffee. He admired her slender form and the way her black dress pants fit her. Her sexy high heels gave her a few inches so they almost stood eye to eye. The cream-colored blouse looked almost see-through, but he knew she'd ruin the sexy look by covering up with the blazer that was hanging on the back of her chair. Her long, dark hair was tied in a fancy-looking knot at the base of her neck, with little curly wisps of hair around her face, accenting her exotic features. With her dark skin, she always looked like she'd just walked off the beach. Her large hazel eyes, in Carter's opinion, were her best feature. They seemed to tell her whole story, even when she didn't want them to. He could tell when she was playing him or when she was sad, angry, or hurt. It was one of the main reasons he had grown to feel the way he did about her. Most women he'd trusted had ended up hurting him. With Eve he knew where he stood and he knew that she'd never do anything intentional to damage their relationship.

“So…what is your strategy for today’s meeting?” He leaned back and listened to her talk about her plans to win over another client. He knew without a doubt that she was the best at winning people over.

An hour later, he watched Eve work her magic with Tom Russell. She was smooth in getting him to sign on as K&E's next biggest talent. The large football player was no match for Eve's charm. Carter had never seen such a huge man smile and laugh as hard as Tom had in their hour-long meeting. When Eve pulled out her paperwork, Tom signed without even reading through the stack of documents.

As they walked out of the building, Carter took Eve's hand casually. “Well done, partner. What do you say to some lunch?” He felt Eve's hand tense a little, but then she sighed and her hand relaxed in his.

“Sure, but only if you're buying. And no pizza.” She smiled.

E
ve sat across from Carter feeling a little tired. Negotiations always seemed to suck all the energy out of her. After the waitress poured her coffee, she took a large sip and closed her eyes. She hadn't realized she was rubbing her forehead until Carter said something to her.

“Headache? You look tired all of a sudden.” Carter took a sip of his coffee and watched her from across the table.

“No and yes. No headache, just a little twinge. Yes, to the other part. You would think that after a successful meeting, I'd be pumped, but instead I'm always a little drained. I usually find a corner to collect myself after negotiations, and then when I feel better, I find some way of celebrating.” She tried to paste on her best smile. She hated that Carter could see her weaknesses. He and Mitchell had always seen all her weaknesses. Maybe that's why they were such good friends, because neither of them ever exploited them. After knowing the two of them most of her life, she knew their weaknesses, as well. It was nice having people around you that made you feel like home. Carter and Mitchell were just that to her—home.

But after last night, her feelings and thoughts about Carter had started to change. Well, if she was honest with herself, her feelings and thoughts about him had started to change a while back. She always enjoyed the little tiffs they had. But lately, there were other emotions brewing underneath. She tried to hide them from not only him, but also herself.

She'd had some pretty detailed dreams last night after he'd walked away from her. She'd tried falling straight asleep, but instead, she'd listened, hoping for some sound from the next room, where he was staying.

“Well,” Carter said, interrupting her thoughts, “maybe we can head back to the hotel and you can gather yourself. Then, later, we can head to this great pub I know. They have really great food and live music.”

She thought about it and realized it sounded great. She'd always loved coming to Chicago, but had never really had anyone to show her around before. She'd always stuck close to her hotel and never really ventured out by herself. Having Carter along was perfect.

At seven thirty that evening, Carter knocked on her door. Before opening it, she took one last look at her reflection. The tight burgundy dress was sure to knock his socks off. She imagined his chin hitting the floor and his eyes bulging out like they did in the cartoons. His heart would beat out of his chest and he'd fall at her feet. She'd brought the dress along hoping to wear it during her meeting with Simon Thomas. After all, she wanted to leave an impression, just in case. It never hurt to have another option for business lined up. Now, however, she wasn't thinking of business but pleasure. She smiled, thinking of kissing Carter again, as she slid on some lipstick and walked over to open the door. The look on Carter's face was priceless. Smiling even more, she looked at him from head to toe. He was wearing dark dress pants and a dark gray turtleneck. He carried his leather jacket in one hand and had a single white long-stemmed rose in the other. The rose hung by his side, forgotten.

“
You look…wow.” He smiled at her. “Wonderful.”

She reached down and took the rose from his fingertips. “Thank you. You're not bad yourself.”

Turning slowly, she walked back into the room, grabbed a glass and filled it with water for the rose. When she turned towards Carter, he was standing just inside the doorway, watching her. She could see the heat in his eyes, which caused a strange flutter in her chest.

For a split second, she thought about celebrating here in her hotel room instead of in some noisy, crowded pub. She could just imagine them ripping off each other’s clothes, tearing up the sheets. Then she shook her head clear and grabbed her coat as Carter walked over and helped her. She'd left her hair down, and when she started to pull her hair out from under the coat, he reached up and helped. He stood behind her, his hands in her hair and she could hear him breathing. His hands remained in her hair a little longer and she enjoyed the feeling of him touching her. When she turned around, he was looking at her as if he was trying to decide something.

“Are you sure we can't find some way to celebrate here?” He reached out and gently ran his fingers over her cheek. She tried to level her breathing, but found it harder and harder to steady herself. She shook her head no, not really meaning it, not sure if she could control herself for much longer.

“No, I'm ready for some loud music, and you promised me food.” Her voice hitched.

The taxi ride seemed to take forever. The Friday night traffic was not only slowing them down, but also making things steam up in the back seat. Every turn the cab made caused Carter's knee to rub up against hers. She felt the heat from him radiating up her legs, heading straight to her core. She'd always thought she was in control of her sex drive, but by the time they stopped in front of Brian’s Pub, she wanted nothing more than to rush back to the hotel and jump him.

Then the taxi door opened and the cold air hit her, helping clear her head and hormones. They walked into the pub, which was noisy and crowded. There was a band playing on a small stage in the back corner. She'd always enjoyed the sound of electric violins like the ones that the two women in the band were playing now. She enjoyed the sound as they walked across the room looking for a place to sit. Finally, Carter found a small booth across from the stage and when they sat, she tried to avoid looking at him by looking down at the menu instead.

“Do they really serve green beer?” She looked up from her menu at Carter.

He nodded and smiled, then nodded across the room. Looking across the room, she saw a man taking a drink of green liquid from a large glass mug.

“Yes, you'll have to try some. They have wonderful shepherd's pie here as well.” He waved the waitress down and they both ordered green beer and shepherd's pie, chicken for him, vegan for her.

The music slowed down and the whole room seemed to get quiet. When the violins started playing this time, she was completely consumed with the sadness of the sound.

By the time the song ended, their food was being delivered. While they ate, they talked about the meeting and about several of Eve’s thoughts and plans for K&E's future.

They were interrupted when the song turned fast and the two violinists stood on tables across the room from each other. A violin duel began between the tall blonde woman who was across the room and the short dark-haired woman who was standing on their table. The two women played back and forth, each taking their turn giving everything they had to the fast-paced music. Eve could see a bead of sweat rolling down the dark-haired woman's brow when the song finally finished and Carter helped her off their table. She smiled at him and winked at Eve as she walked back towards the small stage.

By the time Eve ordered her second green beer for the evening, she was feeling light hearted and was dead set on getting Carter on the dance floor.

She loved dancing, but hadn't been to a nightclub in years, not since her friend Dana's bachelorette party last year. She knew both Carter and Mitchell hated dancing, which was one of the main reasons she'd never gone clubbing with either of them. By the time she dragged Carter to the dance floor, they were both laughing and enjoying themselves.

Later that night as they left the bar, she leaned heavily on him, again. Déjà vu played in her head, but this time, she knew how she wanted the evening to end. He didn't have any excuses tonight. No early morning meetings they had to go to. Their flights didn't leave until later tomorrow afternoon, so that wasn't an issue either.

“Damn!” Carter exclaimed when they were a few feet from the door. “I left my cell phone in the booth.” He pulled away. “I'll be right back.” He kissed her quickly and disappeared back into the pub while she leaned against a light pole, smiling at him.

Carter was relieved that his phone was still there, stuck between the booth's cushions. He rushed through the growing crowd and back out the front door, expecting to see Eve leaning against the light pole or a wall, but she was nowhere to be found. Fear hit him full force, causing adrenaline to rush to every pore of his body.

Had she gone back inside? He looked around. There were a few other people coming and going outside the pub, and he asked a few of them as they walked by if they'd seen her, but they all said no. He knew she wouldn't have taken a cab without him. He looked everywhere. Just as he was about to walk back into the building, he heard a scream.

He rushed to the end of the street and turned down an alley that was like one of those alleys you see on all the movies: darker than the streets, lined with huge trash bins that consumed the narrow way. The scream had been like a shot in the night. He wasn't even sure which direction it had come from.

“Hey man? What are you looking for?” There were two young men, dressed in fatigues. Each had a pretty girl on their arm.

“Eve.” He said just her name. “She's about this tall, dark hair, wearing a dark jacket, a dark dress.”

“We haven't seen her. But we both heard a scream.” While the two girls hung back, the three men walked cautiously into the alley. One of the marines pulled out a small flashlight as they all looked around.

“Carrie said the scream came from down here,” the one with the light said, while he searched around the dumpsters.

“Eve?” Carter called out over and over. “I just left her for a second. I forgot my cell phone inside.”

“Here, over here,” the young marine without the light screamed. “Oh man.” Carter watched him step back and cover his mouth with his hand in horror.

Carter rushed over to where the man stood over Eve. Her coat was ripped, her dark hair fanned out over her face, so he couldn't see if she was alive. When he knelt beside her, he slowly moved her wet hair away from her face with shaky fingers. Just let her be alive, he prayed.

“I'm calling 911,” someone said behind him. Carter felt for a pulse and found a weak one. He let out a sigh and pulled Eve up into his lap gently. His hand came away from her head wet, and when he looked, it was covered with blood. The red fluid shined in the light of the flashlight.

“She's bleeding.” This time it was one of the girls that stood behind him. “I'm a nurse. You shouldn't move her.” She bent down on Eve's other side.

“I…I'm sorry.” He looked up into the young woman's face. “I left her for just a second.” He hadn't realized tears had fogged his vision.

“It's okay. Here.” The woman took off her jacket and laid it on the ground. “Rest her back on this. We need to keep her still until the ambulance gets here. My name's Beth. I'm going to need you to hold this over her wound.” She held out a white handkerchief.