The Pleasures of Autumn (28 page)

‘You and he shared this place together?’ Niall asked.

What was his problem? He could hardly expect her to have reached twenty-seven without having a boyfriend. She shrugged. ‘Gabriel and I are friends.’

‘Do you share his bed when you come to Paris?’

Sinead huffed a breath. That question didn’t deserve a response. What had put him in such a strange mood? He had been withdrawn and quiet since they left Hermione’s. ‘I slept on a camp bed. Not that it’s any of your business.’

‘What else haven’t you told me?’

There was a dangerous edge to his voice but they had come here to see Gabriel, not to argue. She picked up the tray and brushed by him. ‘Grab the coffee pot, will you?’

The visit was mercifully short. Gabriel was tired and she didn’t want to impose on him for long. Once she was satisfied that he had enough food and medicines
for the next few days, they left and returned to the apartment.

Niall checked the display on his phone. Four missed calls from the one person in the world he needed to talk to. He headed into his room and closed the door. This was not a conversation to have in company.

He hit redial. ‘Reilly, what have you got?’

Reilly’s voice was clear. ‘Sorry boss, not a lot.’

‘Well, spit it out.’

‘I couldn’t find anything.’

Niall gripped his phone. ‘You mean you couldn’t find her mother?’

Reilly sighed. ‘No, boss, I found her all right. Maggie O’Sullivan. Born in 1968. Died in 1989. The birth of a Sinead O’Sullivan was registered the same year that Maggie died, but her date of birth was given as four years earlier. That was a bit odd, but I didn’t find any other births registered for children of Maggie O’Sullivan for 1985 or any year after.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Give me a break. I know how to read a record.’ Reilly sounded offended. ‘I even searched for an Irish twin.’

‘Irish twin?’

‘You know, when a woman has a second baby within a year of the first, they’re called Irish twins.’

‘Oh, right.’

‘I searched several years forwards and back, just to be sure. Nothing.’

‘Thanks for letting me know, Reilly.’

He ended the call and put down the phone. Sinead had lied to him. He hadn’t realized how much he had trusted her until this moment. She had looked him straight in the eye and lied. And she had done it so convincingly that he had actually believed her stupid story about a missing sister. He had got Reilly to go to the Registry and search for the mythical twin.

How gullible could one man be? He had been bewitched by Sinead’s blue eyes and innocent look.

She had deceived him. Hardened operators had backed down in front of him and told him what he needed to know. He could usually tell if a civilian was lying in about five seconds. And yet somehow, sweet Sinead O’Sullivan had lied to him, so convincingly that he had not only believed her, but believed everything about her.

He sat on the edge of the bed, barely able to support the weight of the disappointment crushing him. It was a painful lump in his insides, sending jagged darts of hurt out to stab him repeatedly. How could she have lied to him? He swore he would never put up with being lied to. He would not accept anything except the truth, and yet look at him.

He had swallowed everything that Sinead had told him. The redhead had managed to get under his defences, and make him ignore the facts and trust her.

The ache in his jaw made him realize how tightly he was clenching his teeth. With an effort, he loosened it. He would not allow her to affect him like this.

‘Damn it!’ He swore more violently than the situation demanded. The aching lump in his stomach got heavier, making it difficult to breathe. He wanted to throw up.

How could she? The deceitful little whore. She was way too good at this. How much practice had she had? How many men had she smiled at while she was lying?

Her performance in the bar came back to haunt him. At the time, he was convinced she was teasing him. Only him. Now he wondered if she had intended to drive the entire place demented.

Well, she wasn’t going to get away with it. Two could play at that game. Now that he knew she was an accomplished little liar, he would be ready for her. He would get the truth out of her, and what’s more, he would enjoy every minute of it.

She had the most sensitive, responsive little body. It was a pleasure to see her writhing around on the bed, begging him to bring her relief.

But suppose he used her own body against her? He could drive her mad, bringing her to the edge again and again, until she would tell him anything he wanted to know, if he would only give her what she needed.

Niall smiled, a hard smile filled with promises. He was going to enjoy this.

He hadn’t finished contemplating what he was going to do to her, when the phone rang again.

‘Niall Moore, what am I paying you for?’ Tim O’Sullivan demanded. ‘You had one job, keep Sinead from messing with the bail, and what did you do?’ He paused. ‘You made a bollocks of it, that’s what you did.’

Niall winced. ‘There were other factors.’ It sounded as lame to him as it did to O’Sullivan.

‘Your job was to keep Sinead in line.’

‘And find the Fire of Autumn,’ he reminded Tim.

‘Yes, well, that’s what I’m ringing about. What’s this I hear about her being out of the country? That had better be a mistake. If she doesn’t turn up for court, my million francs will be gone. So you’d better make damn sure she turns up. Understand?’

O’Sullivan was in fine form, determined to get his own way.

‘Certainly sir. I’ll have her there.’ He paused. Some perverse part of him itched to ask a question he already knew the answer to. ‘What can you tell me about Sinead’s twin?’

There was silence on the other end of the line. ‘Her what?’

‘Her twin. She said she has a twin called Roisin.’

‘Jesus man, it’s too early to be drinking. Sinead doesn’t have a twin. Roisin was her invisible friend. You know what kids are like.’

‘Are you sure?’ Niall knew he was grasping at straws. Sinead had played him for a fool.

Tim snorted. ‘The poor child was traumatized. She was lucky she survived at all, considering the way – Anyway, enough nonsense. Just make sure you get her back to Geneva on Tuesday.’ He hung up.

Andy was out. A scrawled message on the kitchen counter indicated that he was following up a lead. She was about to show it to Niall, when she realized that the colour had leached from his face. From the hard set of his jaw, Sinead could see he was fighting pain.

He poured a glass of water and popped three pills into his mouth. ‘So, when did you meet Gabriel?’

Sinead scrambled for a suitable response. He wasn’t
going to let it go. Was that what was eating him? How could she tell him about Gabriel without mentioning Lottie? She couldn’t say that Gabriel was sweet and funny, with a wicked sense of fun. Or that he was intuitive when they were choreographing new routines, always knowing how best to display and entice. Of all her regular dancers over the years, he was the only one she had taken as a lover.

Yeah, she bet Niall would love hearing that.

That part of their relationship had ended a long time ago and she and Gabriel had settled into a close friendship, with occasional friendly flirting. Sinead sighed. ‘We met in London a few years ago, at the theatre.’

That was technically correct, even if they had been auditioning, rather than watching.

‘Were you lovers?’

There was an edge to Niall’s voice that she didn’t like. He had no right to ask her that question. They had shared amazing sex, but Niall had never pretended that it was anything more than that. He hadn’t offered her any details about his former lovers. For all she knew, he could have a string of women back in London. Except for the niggling voice inside her that told her Niall didn’t get involved.

‘That’s none of your business.’ Damn it, she wasn’t going to stay here. Niall had no right to pry into her past. She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Seconds later, it flew open. ‘What is wrong with you? I asked you a simple question. What do you think it’s going to be like when Interpol get their hands on you?’

‘Interpol?’

‘As soon as you left Geneva, it became an Interpol matter.’

Niall raked his fingers through his hair and she almost felt sympathy for him. He couldn’t disguise the fact that he was bone-tired and that he had been operating on adrenalin and painkillers for far too long. But that still didn’t give him the right to harass her.

‘Tim rang earlier. He knows you’ve left Switzerland, and he wants you back there, keeping his money safe. I told him I would guarantee it.’

Her heart sank. How could she have forgotten Niall wasn’t here to help her? She was a job, nothing more. He was working for her uncle.

‘If there is any hope of getting you out of this mess, you have to co-operate.’

‘I’m trying. Believe me. When I meet with my sister –’

Niall shook his head. ‘Fine. We can play it your way if you want, but listen to me and listen carefully. Until we return to Geneva, you don’t eat, sleep or move without my permission.’

She swallowed. His flinty gaze told her he meant exactly that. She sat down heavily on the bed. ‘You can’t do that. I’m not a prisoner. I have rights. I …’

‘You’ve broken bail by leaving Switzerland. And Hall and his buddies are no doubt still looking for you. So feel free to walk out of here anytime.’

He was right. She had nowhere left to go. Sinead stared at him. The man who had kissed her and made love to her had turned into a cold stranger.

‘The stone goes back to the museum within three days or you do seven years in a Swiss prison – that’s the only deal that Rheinbach is offering.’

Seven years or more in prison if they couldn’t get the
stone back from Roisin. She would be old before they released her. Old and in disgrace.

Logically, she knew that thirty-four was not that old, but she would never get another job. And all for a crime she hadn’t committed. Sinead slid off the bed and walked to the window. Despite the late afternoon sun, she shivered. She had far too many secrets. She wished she had told Niall about Lottie at the beginning, but if she tried to tell him now, he would believe she’d been lying about everything. There had to be a way out of this.

Outside, it was a beautiful evening. Paris was laid out in front of her – the most romantic city in the world. It should be an evening for strolling hand in hand with a lover or having a romantic dinner. She pressed her palm against the glass and focused her attention on a bird that had landed on the window ledge outside. She shrugged. ‘I didn’t take the stone. I can prove it to you when we find my sister.’

A flicker crossed his face but it turned back into a granite mask. ‘Look at me, Sinead. Let me make you a promise. By the time this is over there will be no secrets between us. I will know everything about you and I mean everything.’

‘Why are you acting like this? What’s wrong with you?’

His face had turned paler than before and he swayed on his feet. ‘There is nothing wrong with me.’

‘That’s what you think. Now, lie down before you fall down. I’ll be outside.’

In the sitting room, she threw herself onto the sofa. What had happened since last night? How could Niall
have changed so much in twenty-four hours? It had to be more than the visit to Gabriel.

Their encounters in the Château had been mind-blowing. She had never known that anything could feel so good. But had it been nothing more than a ruse to get her to open up to him?

Was Niall so ruthless that he would make love to her to get the stone back? And what was all that Dom stuff about? What had he been trying to do? Turn her into an obedient little sub who would obey his every word? Get her so hooked on him that she couldn’t think straight? Had it all been lies from the beginning? Get the girl into the sack and get her to talk.

A pity fuck for Plain Jane Sinead.

She remembered the way he had looked at her. The way his grey eyes had turned molten with passion. Could he really have faked that? Sinead punched a cushion and tossed it onto the floor. The only person who stood between her and prison was a man she couldn’t trust and who didn’t trust her. The only thing they had in common was a desire to find the stone and return it to the museum.