Читать книгу The Helen Bianchin Collection - HELEN BIANCHIN, Helen Bianchin - Страница 24

HANNAH was in the middle of eating breakfast when the ’phone rang, and she answered it on the third ring.

‘Buenos días.’ Miguel’s faintly accented voice curled round her nerve-ends and tugged at something she was loath to analyse. ‘You slept well?’

No, and I missed you like hell. ‘Thank you.’

‘That’s not an answer,’ he reproved. Would it help her to know he’d lain awake until almost dawn?

‘It’s all I’m prepared to give.’

‘Be as angry as hell, querida,’ he warned silkily. ‘It won’t make any difference.’

‘That’s an ambiguous statement. I imagine there’s a purpose for your call?’

He didn’t know whether to laugh or repress the need to wring her neck. ‘Remind me to beat you.’

‘Lay one hand on me, and I’ll…’

‘Lost for words?’

‘Too many choices,’ Hannah reiterated with crushing cynicism.

At the risk of having her hang up on him, he relayed pertinent details of the man he’d hired to take care of her.

‘Rodney Spears is thirty-two, ex-police, average height, bulky frame, fair hair, blue eyes. He’s driving a late model dark blue Holden sedan.’ He gave the registration number. ‘He’ll be at the house in ten minutes to introduce himself.’

The bodyguard. Hannah clenched the receiver, and threw the cat stretched out on the tiles nearby such a dark look the poor animal leapt to its feet and ran from the room.

‘Next you’ll tell me he’s an expert in unarmed combat and a sharp marksman.’

Miguel didn’t answer, which in her mind was an admission by avoidance. ‘Apart from the initial introduction this morning, he’ll remain unobtrusively in the background. You won’t notice him. Nor will anyone else.’

‘This is beginning to sound like a scene from a cheap detective movie,’ she alluded cynically.

‘Indulge me.’

‘How long is this subterfuge to continue?’

‘For as long as it takes.’

‘Do I entertain him for breakfast and dinner?’

Miguel’s faint laughter sent goose bumps scudding down her spine. ‘He has the days, querida. I get to take care of you at night.’

‘My guardian angel,’ Hannah remarked in droll tones.

‘You could thank me.’

‘I’m more likely to hit you,’ she retaliated fiercely.

‘Do you have any plans for tonight?’

‘Dinner with my parents.’

‘Why don’t you stay with them overnight?’

This was too much. He was too much! ‘I’m way past the age of requiring a babysitter.’ She took in a deep breath in an effort to control her anger. ‘Aren’t you taking this protection thing just a bit too far?’

‘No,’ Miguel declared with hard inflexibility. ‘Do as I ask. Please.’

‘I’ll think about it.’

He wanted to reach down the line and shake her. Stubborn independence didn’t come close! Yet it was those very qualities he admired in her. But not when he was several thousand miles away.

‘I don’t want to see you upset or hurt.’ His voice deepened slightly. ‘Comprende?’

‘Okay, you’ve made your point,’ she conceded, and heard him expel a faint sigh.

‘Gracias.’

Sofia escorted a man fitting the bodyguard’s description into the breakfast room, and Hannah lowered her voice.

‘The cavalry has arrived.’

‘I’ll call you later.’

He did, and she was able to report Luc hadn’t telephoned or shown up at the café.

The day had gone well, with new stock snapped up by various clients. Renee called to say there would be a change of plan and they’d eat at a restaurant.

‘I’ll go home and change first, then meet you there. Six-thirty?’

Should she alert Rodney Spears? Just as she thought about dialling his mobile, he rang through to confirm her evening plans, and carefully noted the changes.

Hannah checked her rear-vision mirror as she pulled out from the car park, and glimpsed a dark blue sedan follow at a discreet distance.

Then she lost him in the flow of traffic, and she didn’t catch sight of the sedan until an hour later when she left the house en route to the restaurant.

It was, she reflected silently, totally unnecessary for him to shadow her every move. When did the man eat, for heaven’s sake? Hamburgers and fries at a drive-through? And he had to sleep some time, surely?

Miguel was probably paying him a small fortune, but that didn’t stop her from offering Rodney a one-hundred-dollar bill to eat in the restaurant.

‘Look on it as a bonus,’ she advised when he offered a protest. ‘I’ll go ahead and ensure you get a table.’

She did, and she’d only been seated a few minutes when Renee and Carlo entered the foyer.

‘Darling, have you been waiting long?’ Renee greeted anxiously. ‘We got held up in traffic.’

It was a pleasant evening. The food was superb, each course presented with flair and artistry. Hannah sipped a half-glass of wine throughout the meal, and together they caught up on each other’s news.

‘How is Cindy?’ Renee broached as she forked a few morsels of salad, then speared a sliver of chicken.

‘She was discharged this morning.’

Renee looked at her daughter carefully. ‘One imagines Luc’s appearance at the Leukaemia Charity Ball was deliberate, rather than a chance circumstance?’

‘I have no idea,’ Hannah indicated with a slight shrug. ‘Nor do I care.’

‘It doesn’t bother you that he’s in town?’

‘Why should it? He’s a bad memory I’d prefer to forget.’

‘He hasn’t attempted to contact you?’

‘What is this?’ she queried lightly. ‘The third degree?’

‘You would tell us if he proves to be a nuisance?’ her father countered insistently.

‘He won’t get the opportunity.’ Her omnipotent husband was taking care of it. She spared a glance towards the bodyguard’s table, and saw that he was just finishing up.

She could confide in her parents, but what was the point in worrying them unnecessarily? She opted not to suggest she follow them home and stay overnight. She hadn’t done so before on any of the other occasions Miguel had been away. If she suggested it now, their suspicions would be aroused. And what was the point? In her opinion, Miguel’s precautions were way over the top. Besides, the house and grounds were secure with a state-of-the-art security system.

When the waiter cleared their plates Hannah declined dessert, the cheeseboard, and settled for coffee. It had been a leisurely meal, and nice to catch up with her parents away from the social scene.

‘We should discuss Christmas, darling,’ Renee ventured. ‘I thought I’d do lunch this year, and invite Esteban.’

Christmas? Why, that was—

‘Nine weeks away, darling,’ her mother reminded. ‘The first of the pre-Christmas social festivities begins next week.’

Heavens, it was that close? ‘I’ll check with Miguel, but I’m sure lunch will be fine.’

‘Well, this is a nice surprise.’

Hannah heard her father’s words an instant before she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

‘What will you check with me, querida?’

She turned her head at the sound of that deep, faintly accented drawl, and felt the floor drop away.

Miguel?

‘I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow night,’ she managed an instant before his mouth closed over hers in a brief, tantalising kiss. The quick sweep of his tongue wreaked havoc with her senses, and it took a few seconds to regain her scattered thoughts.

Why was he here at this restaurant?

‘I caught a taxi from the airport.’

‘Have you eaten?’ Renee queried warmly as he took the chair next to Hannah.

‘On the plane,’ Miguel confirmed. ‘However, I’ll join you for coffee.’ He caught hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips, then he linked his fingers through her own and rested them on his thigh.

His smile left her breathless, the faint teasing quality stirring her emotions to fever pitch within seconds.

‘What will you check with me?’ he repeated, giving Hannah his total attention.

It wasn’t fair that one man should possess such devastating sensuality, or that she could be rendered so intensely vulnerable by his look, his touch.

From somewhere she restored order to her scattered thoughts. ‘Christmas. Renee mentioned lunch, if it suits your father to join us for dinner.’

How did Miguel know she’d be dining at this restaurant?

Rodney Spears, Hannah concluded. The bodyguard had obviously reported the change in venue to Miguel. But what had occurred to influence Miguel to drop everything and fly home at a moment’s notice?

Whatever it was, it had to wait until they were alone, and she toyed with her coffee, stirring it unnecessarily, then she sipped the contents without registering the excellent espresso blend.

The next hour seemed to be one of the longest in her life, and she breathed an inward sigh of relief when Miguel indicated they would leave.

Hannah burst into speech the instant they were inside the car, and Miguel effectively silenced her by placing a hand over her mouth.

‘It’ll keep until we get home.’ He put the car in gear and reversed out before heading towards the exit.

‘The hell it will,’ she said fiercely as he joined the flow of traffic and headed towards Toorak.

Miguel slanted her a long glance as he drew to a temporary halt at a set of lights. ‘The thought that I might have cut my trip short just to be here with you does not please you?’

‘I’m still mad at you over the bodyguard bit.’ She met his gaze and held it, then the lights changed and he gave the road his attention. ‘I take it I have Rodney to thank for reporting to you my every move?’

‘That’s what I pay him to do.’

‘A case of total overkill.’

‘You may change your mind when you see what I have to show you.’

Something in his tone stilled the retort she was about to utter. A cold hand closed round her heart, and she searched his features, noting the hard set of his jaw, the serious expression which didn’t bode well.

‘It’s Camille, isn’t it?’ Hannah queried quietly. ‘What has she done?’

Miguel turned the car into their driveway, paused while the electronically controlled gates swung open, then he headed towards the house. Within minutes he entered the garage and cut the engine.

He popped the boot and removed a bag and his briefcase. ‘Let’s go indoors, shall we?’

He led her into the study, dropped his bag to the floor, then he placed the briefcase on the desk, unlocked it, and extracted a large manila envelope.

‘A scanned copy of these was sent to me by e-mail today.’ He withdrew six colour prints and spread them out on the desk. ‘Look at them carefully.’

There was no mistaking the first three prints. They featured herself and Luc sharing lunch. The second three prints were something else entirely.

Miguel and Camille seated at a table together. Worse, they were looking into each other’s eyes with an expression only lovers shared.

Hannah felt sick, and it was all she could do to regulate her breathing. Dear heaven. Miguel and Camille?

‘Look at them very carefully, querida,’ Miguel prompted gently. He was almost afraid to touch her for fear she might shatter. A silent rage reasserted itself, and he consciously held it in check. ‘They are not quite what they seem.’

‘They look real enough to me.’

‘As they are meant to.’ He picked up one print and pointed to Camille. ‘If you look very carefully, you will see there is a slight difference in the reflection of light.’ He picked up a pen and pointed its tip to the print. ‘Here. Do you see?’

The texture wasn’t quite the same, the shade of light reflecting from one set of features compared to the other was fractionally different.

‘The original photograph has been digitally enhanced on a computer. In this particular print your image has been removed, and Camille’s image superimposed. I had it checked out.’ He picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to her. ‘This report confirms it.’

Hannah was silent as she examined the prints again, then she read the in-depth report noting the technical irregularities.

‘What do you think Camille’s next step will be?’ she queried slowly, trying to dispel the ache that had settled round her heart.

‘At a guess, Camille will ensure you receive the second set of prints some time tomorrow.’

‘Delivered personally, with verbal embellishment.’ Hannah predicted. ‘Will she take it further, do you think?’

Miguel arched one eyebrow. ‘The media? She may try. However, these prints will never be used.’ He had influence, and a copy of the technician’s report had already been faxed to various sources.

‘I owe you an apology.’

He took the prints and the report from her hand and locked them in his briefcase.

‘For what, precisely?’

‘Accusing you of overreacting,’ Hannah said simply. ‘And I want to thank you for ensuring I saw those—’ she indicated his briefcase ‘—before Camille dredged every ounce of shock value from them tomorrow.’

She died a thousand deaths just thinking about it.

Miguel lifted a hand and trailed his fingers down her cheek. ‘Camille is about to learn I will not tolerate any form of invasion.’

She looked at him, taking in his strength, the power he exuded, and felt infinitely relieved she wasn’t his enemy. ‘I see.’

His mouth curved slightly. ‘Do you?’

‘Yes.’ It was all about preserving the image, professionally and personally. She told herself she understood. Hadn’t she been reared to be aware of image? The private-school education, extra-curricular activities, the social niceties? Luc had been her only transgression…if believing the false words of a cad could be termed a transgression.

‘I doubt that you do,’ Miguel denied silkily. ‘Verbal abuse is difficult to prove without an independent witness. So is slander.’ His expression hardened. ‘However, these prints and the report prove Camille’s intent to defame.’

‘You intend to confront her?’

‘Not personally.’ His voice was clipped, he was watching her expressive features. ‘In the only way she will understand.’

‘Legal action?’

‘Yes.’

There was a ruthlessness apparent that boded ill for anyone daring to cross him, and Hannah shivered, caught up in a mix of complex emotions.

He wanted it done. Camille and her obsessive behaviour out of their lives. As to Luc… It would be as well if he never caught sight of him again. To do so would incite the possibility of physical assault, he decided grimly.

Hannah took in a deep breath, then released it. ‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing, do you understand? We must wait for her next move.’ His gaze speared hers, dark and incredibly formidable. ‘No heroics, Hannah. Rodney Spears will be close at all times.’

Miguel reached forward and caught hold of her shoulders, sliding his hands down her back as he pressed her body close in against his own. He angled his head and nuzzled her earlobe, then feathered a trail of kisses down the edge of her neck. ‘Miss me?’

Dear heaven, yes. She didn’t like sleeping alone in their bed. She’d turn over in her sleep, subconsciously searching for the warmth of his body, seeking the touch of his hands, the reassuring brush of his lips…only to discover a cool empty space.

‘Uh-huh.’ His mouth was playing havoc with her senses. The blood sang in her veins, heating all the pleasure pulses and creating a fast-pacing tempo that demanded more, much more than the touch of his lips.

Hannah gave a faint gasp as an arm skimmed beneath her knees and Miguel lifted her against his chest. Her eyes were almost on a level with his own as he carried her into the foyer and began ascending the stairs.

She saw the passion smouldering in those dark depths and felt the thrill of anticipated pleasure as he gained the gallery and strode towards their bedroom.

When he lowered her down to her feet she simply wound her arms round his neck and brought his mouth down to her own.

She was hardly aware of him divesting her of her clothes, or that her fingers dispensed with shirt buttons, took care of his belt and the zip on his trousers.

There was only the need to feel skin on skin, the ecstasy of their joined bodies moving in perfect harmony as they created the ultimate pleasure.

Something they sought and achieved again in the early dawn hours before sleep claimed them for a brief hour.

The need to rise and face the new day saw them shower, dress, share breakfast and depart the house in separate cars en route to their respective places of business.