Wayward Dreams (25 page)

“Why not? I thought you were in shock and that it might help.”

“I was pissed, not having a case of the vapors.” Bianca dabbed at her lips with the tissue.

“See if I try to help you next time.”

“Water. Next time, just water.” Bianca pressed the tissue to her lips again.

Joi sat on the edge of Akemi's desk and crossed her arms. “What happened out there?”

Twisting the tissue in her fingers didn't help, and no matter how much Bianca wished Joi would go away, it wasn't going to happen. Taking a deep breath, Bianca set the glass on the desk and gave her the only explanation she could. “I just met my evil twin from another life.”

“Your evil…What?”

“Just…Never mind.” The vibration of the phone in her pocket was a welcome interruption. She looked at the caller's name and under Joi's curious gaze, didn't know whether to laugh or stomp the phone into dust. “Hi, Julia.”

“Call me if you need me,” Joi whispered, drifting from the office.

Bianca waited for the door to close behind her. “Julia?”

“I met a man,” Julia blurted. “Actually, I didn't just meet him. I sold him a house four years ago. He was married then, but now he's divorced and on his own. He wants something smaller, so he came back to me.”

“How long ago did this start, and why are you just now telling me?” Bianca closed her eyes and held the phone in both hands, glad that they were no longer trembling. Her sister was calming her.
I tell her that and she'll never let me forget it.

“Six weeks ago, and I am telling you now. It's not like we're planning a wedding or eloping or anything.”

“But if you were, you would tell me, right?”

“I would tell you,” Julia sighed. “How are things with you and Harry?”

“Harry.”
And the crazy woman.
“I need to talk to him.”

“Is that a good thing?

“I'll let you know when I find out.”

Disconnecting the call, Bianca pressed in Harry's number. He answered, his voice warm and intimate, and knowing that if they'd been in the same room, she would have crawled all over him didn't make what she had to say any easier.

“I just met an acquaintance of yours.”

“Mine? At Kin Kura?” He waited a beat, waking from the twilight of near sleep. “Who?”

“Karen Dodge.”

Suddenly fully awake, his voice hardened. “She was there? At Kin Kura? Today?”

“Yes, Harry. She was here, at Kin Kura, today.” Her hand crossed her lips almost as though it was holding back words she didn't want to say and questions she was afraid to ask.

“Bianca, we need to talk.”

Wishing she was anywhere but here, doing anything but this, she nodded. “You're right. I'll be home in about twenty minutes.”

“I'll leave the door open for you.”

“What? You don't have a key to my…”

“You said home. The penthouse door will be open for you, and I'll be waiting.”

CHAPTER 16

The breath-stealing quiver began in her belly and spread through her body as Bianca stepped off the elevator. Most Museum Tower residents were out of the building at this time of day, but she knew that the owner of the penthouse was waiting for her. When she reached his door, it was as he'd promised, open. Eerie quiet made her shiver. Whenever Harry was home, there was music, something deeply soulful. She raised her hand to knock before entering, then dropped it to her side, hesitating.

What am I supposed to say to him? What if he lies to me? Will I recognize it? What if my clothes just fall off?

She brought her fingers to the edge of the door and pressed it open. Stepping through, Bianca tried to ignore the anxious knot tightening in her stomach as she wandered deeper into Harry's home. Passing the kitchen, it occurred to her that the penthouse reeked of money.

Considering Harry's minimalist approach to décor, she could see the money he'd spent. Walls had been moved to extend and open rooms that didn't exist on lower floors, and lighting had been moved to discreet wall and ceiling panels. The view, as she passed through his dining room and into his living room, nearly encompassed the entire city, and she was ashamed to find herself wondering how much money he really had.

I never would have thought that if I hadn't met that woman.

For just a second, Bianca saw herself through the eyes of Karen Dodge.
She said that anyone who looked like me was just made for sin. She saw me as a conniving gold-digger, out for whatever she could get. She saw the woman I used to be.

In the silence around her, she failed to hear Harry walk into the room, but she felt him. Turning abruptly, she saw him standing in the arch of the short hallway leading to his bedroom. Holding what looked like a T-shirt and wearing sweat pants, he stood watching her.

The shifting, unsubtle slanting afternoon light bounced from window to window, dancing over his face. His hair and eyes stood in dark contrast to his other features, but it was the sweet bow of his mouth that distracted her. She'd seen him half-dressed dozens of times, but this was the first time it felt like it could be the last time.

Strong and solid with a long, agile, dream-worthy body, he stood there looking at her. Unnerved, Bianca put out a hand to steady herself. If the chair hadn't been there, she was fairly certain she would have fallen to her knees right there in front of him.
If one of us doesn't say something soon…

“Bianca…”

He made her name sound like music and his voice should have been a relief. She told herself that it was, that now they could talk and figure out where they were. But it didn't work, not even when he pulled the T-shirt on and crossed the room to her. His hand on her wrist only made the unsaid words heavier between them. She followed him, let him guide her to one of the large couches fronting the wall of windows. When he released her wrist, she folded her hands into her lap and waited.

Dropping to the cushions at her side, he gathered her close. His fingers stroking her shoulder, Harry looked into her face and she came up blank. Being this close to him made it hard to get the words past the lump in her throat—as hard as every old heartbreak song said it would be. When he sighed, her heart slammed against her ribs and she felt tears well in her eyes, and swore she'd let them burn her eyes out before she let one fall.

“This isn't going to work.” She pushed away from him. “I can't think with you this close.”

He relaxed his arms and let her go. Dark eyes watching her, he stretched his arm across the back of the couch and drummed his fingers. Bianca felt her heart shiver and took a breath to steady it. The tear count was rising, threatening to burst the dam of her reserve, and she couldn't think of a single thing to do about it.

“Bianca…”

Her neck hurt when she turned her face to him, but the tears didn't fall.

“I knew Karen Dodge a long time ago.”

“That's not what she said. She looked at me like I was a science experiment gone bad and made it sound much more recent.”

Harry found a lock of Bianca's hair and twirled it around his finger. It was only her pride that kept her still; the rest of her wanted to fall into his arms.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” he said, letting the lock uncoil, then twirling it again. “I was on holiday in Portugal; met Karen in Lisbon. I thought it was love, she thought it was a game; sent me on a fool's errand and was gone when I got back.” He blew out a tired breath.

“I spent more than a year trying to contact her and make what I thought we had into something. When she kept turning me away, I pretty much thought the games were over. She was out of my life. Then I got a postcard from her a couple of months ago, nothing big, and I tore it up, went on with life. I met you and forgot all about her.”

“Until she turned up here?” Looking into Harry's eyes, seeing her reflection, she wanted to believe him.
But it's so easy to lie when you want what you want…
Wanting to believe him, wanting him to tell her Karen Dodge meant less than nothing, Bianca felt need rise again.
Please don't lie to me, Harry.

“Karen and I will never have anything for each other. What we had, she threw away.” His hands were strong and firm when they found hers. “I'm not going to try to get you to believe in a fairy-tale, but I think you really are right for me in ways Karen can't begin to imagine. I can see us together for a long time.”

Pulling her hands from his, Bianca shook her head. “That's not good enough, Harry. Maybe if you'd said that before I met her…but you didn't. See, you weren't there when I came close to doing something we'd all regret. And now, you're trying to explain it all away…Saying that you see us together for a long time. What does that mean, anyway?”

“What? You want a ring now?”

“I don't know, Harry. Can I get one?”

“Will it make all of this go away?” His mouth threatened a smile, then sobered.

“See?” Bianca pointed the same finger she'd waved in Karen Dodge's face into Harry's. “That's what I don't trust, how easy it was for you to say that. Is it a man thing? 'Cause you're just not getting it. I don't trust how she just showed up, now she's gone, and you want to make it into a joke.” Wrapping her arms around herself, she twisted away from him. “How long is she going to be gone this time, huh, Harry? Then on top of it, you throw out that line offering me a ring like it was bait or something, and I'm supposed to jump on the line to get it. I don't do that anymore, Harry.”

“What are you talking about?”

All of the sudden heat went out of her. “I don't know. It's just the way I felt when she barged in, lying about her name, claiming you and trying to make me feel like some kind of a cheap interloper.” She slumped against the cushions.

“I don't know what to say to that, but I know this,” Harry said, moving enough to let her slip back into his open arms. “I know that with me, you will always be home, you will always be safe, you will always be wanted.”

“But the past…”

“Let's leave it in the past.”

Twining herself with him, she forced her breathing to slow until her heartbeat found his. His was strong, pounding like a bass drum, letting her softer beat play rhythmic accompaniment. “Are there anymore skeletons or former lovers that I ought to know about?”

The second the question was out, Bianca thought of her own skeletons and former lovers. But if he reciprocated, asked her the same question, she knew that she would answer truthfully, even if it cost her everything she wanted from him.

“Not a single one.”

Relief seeped into her heart when he asked no questions. “Harry, before we leave all of the junk in the past, I need to tell you about something. About me. About Kelvin.”

His arms tightened around her. “I already know.”

“What do you know?” Her arms fell away and her hands pressed against the hardness of his chest.

The look on her face almost made him groan. He saw panic and pain and didn't like either of them. A wise man would never come so close to the bright flame of a woman like this, but Harry couldn't resist. She touched a place he'd kept private, thinking no one would ever find it. In his arms, her body was warm and melting, soft and yielding, and so real that her presence was tattooed onto the cells of his body, making him think of all he wanted.

“Maybe I should show you.” Standing, he drew her from the couch and led her to his office. The computer setup came to life as they entered the room, and she stood openmouthed when she saw her face on his monitor.

“Where did you get that picture?”

He smiled. “The airport. Remember when I said I needed one to dream on?”

“I thought you only had that on your phone.”

“Ever heard the old saying, ‘It's not who you know, it's what you know'? When it comes to computers, I know a lot. And I missed you.” He led her to the desk chair. Sitting on the edge of the desk, he faced her. “Let me show you what I found.”

His fingers were fast on the keyboard, locating and opening encrypted files. “These files are networked internationally and track everything from pickpockets and arsonists to the kind of threats most people want to believe are relegated to television and movies.”

Horror flitted across Bianca's eyes. “And you found Kelvin in there?”

“Not exactly, but I'm still working on it.” Harry's fingers flew over the keys. Kelvin's driver's license appeared on the screen. He hit another series of keys and Kelvin Michael Payne's passport also surfaced.

“How did you know his name?”

“You introduced us at No Mas Café, remember?”

She didn't, but her eyes went back to the computer screen and her hand slipped to his thigh when he pulled up additional documents, including the title to the Jaguar.
So of course he knows what my relationship was. No man gives a woman a car like that unless they're…

“I came up with something else. I knew you wouldn't ask, but I took a look to satisfy my own curiosity.”

Her head had begun to ache, but Bianca looked up at him, anyway. “What?”

“I took a look at your robbery.” She looked confused. “I still have a few friends on the APD burglary squad.” Harry brought up a file with her name on it. Opening it, they viewed a report that included partial serial numbers on dollar bills found in the evidence of her robbery, and several partial hand and fingerprints. APD was currently running evidence through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System and two international systems.

Her name was prominent in the report, her whereabouts and circumstances compared to burglary results for similar shops. Stunned, Bianca looked from the screen to Harry and back again. “Do they still suspect me? How did you get this?”

“The investigation is still active, but you're not a suspect.” Harry passed a hand over his hair and looked at her with conflict all over his face. Not trouble or fear, just a little inner debate over how much to tell her. He finally decided there was no way to make it any better. “I back-doored the system.”

“You
hacked
the APD? Oh, God, Harry. You can't do that!”

He pointed at the screen. “Yes, I can. In the right hands, e-mail can wreak havoc on a computer system.”

“You went into police files using their e-mail? I thought we already agreed neither one of us would do well in jail.”

“Sweet of you to worry, and as much as I might enjoy conjugal visits, I'm not a criminal. NeoTech is one of their security contractors. That covers my access.”

“You've got a super computer?”

“Better you don't know.” One-handed, Harry clicked more keys and a window containing a bank statement appeared on the screen. Keys ticked and the bank statement was joined by what looked like an IRS form and a ledger page. Harry pointed to the bottom lines on the forms. “Mr. Payne's income and expenses don't match.”

“What does that tell you?”

Harry looked at Bianca sitting there in the simple black knit dress she'd worn to work. Wrapped and flowing, the dress followed the lush curves of her body, leaving her looking soft and feminine, and trying to trust. There was nothing to be gained by scaring her with his suspicions—as bad as they were starting to be. “I'm beginning to see why he's been so demanding about your loan.”

The corners of her mouth turned down and her eyes grew wary. One hand went to her throat, the fingers twining themselves into the fine chain of her gold locket. “And the police can't see what you see?”

Harry kept his words casual. “Maybe, maybe not. Depends on their workload. Would you rather wait for them?

Her hand tightened on his thigh and she shook her head, even as her fingers twisted the gold chain. “No, I trust you.”

Closing his fingers over the hand she rested on his thigh, he watched her stand. “You should know that your trust is only one of the things I want from you.”

She pushed between his legs and leaned into him. “Tell me the others.”

His hand went to her neck, holding her close; his other arm encircled her. His tongue swept her lips before he took her mouth in a kiss that stole her breath and nipped at the edges of her consciousness making her wonder how every time with this man felt like a first time. She had the feeling things between them would always feel like this, that when she was ninety, telling their great-grandchildren stories…No man had ever held her in thrall or made her hope for a future the way Harry Jordan did. Bianca leaned closer and let herself rest against him.

“Would you consider using my company to investigate the robbery?”

Bianca nearly choked as she pulled back to stare at him, then she laughed. “Like I could afford that. You do know what your brother is paying me, don't you?”