Читать книгу Undercover Fiancee - Rebecca Winters - Страница 6
ОглавлениеCHAPTER ONE
“ANNABELLE? Don’t leave yet. Roman wants to see you.”
Annabelle Forrester had been headed for the back door of the LFK Associates International, Roman Lufka’s detective agency when she heard Diana call her back.
“Do you know what it’s about? I need to get down to the police station.” Today was a black day. The busier she stayed, the better.
Diana Rawlins, the receptionist who was one of Annabelle’s good friends, was finishing up a telephone call. She shook her head, then covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “All I know is that it sounded important.”
Annabelle loved her boss, Roman Lufka. If it were anyone but him asking her to stick around, she would have said she was sorry and left anyway because she didn’t want to inflict her pain on other people. But she admired him too much and owed him too much to ignore his request.
Needing something physical to do, she went in the kitchen and brought Diana a fresh cup of coffee. Not only was Roman’s receptionist the nicest person Annabelle had ever met, she was a real beauty with golden blond hair to die for.
As a little girl, Annabelle had always wanted to look like the princesses in the fairy tales her dad read to her.
He had chuckled, patted her head and told her to be thankful for the lovely brown hair with which God had blessed her.
Not satisfied with that answer, she’d asked him what kind of brown. He’d responded that the color reminded him of the smooth horse chestnuts that fell from the tree outside their house.
At that comment she’d run out the door to examine one closely. They looked kind of reddish brown in the sunlight. There was nothing she disliked more than red hair. From that point on she had worn it short.
Now that she was older, she’d come to accept what she considered her crowning flaw, and had allowed a stylist to make the most of it. But she could be forgiven for wishing she’d been endowed like her friend.
“Finally,” Diana sighed after hanging up the receiver. “Any news yet on Mr. Vanderhoof’s missing Honda?”
“Yes. I found it yesterday morning, but the paperwork hasn’t caught up with it yet. Last night the police got a positive ID on the gang member who had stolen it for a drive-by shooting.”
“You’re kidding! That was fast work. Roman’s going to be impressed.”
“I hope so. Sometimes things fall into place like that.”
“Where did you find the car?”
“At D and G Body and Paint.”
“How did you know to go there?”
“I didn’t. I just started with A and A Paint, and worked my way down the list. The boy who stole it knew it was hot. I figured he would go in for a paint job. I was right. He had it done in fire engine red.”
“But how did you know it was the right car?”
“For one thing, red is that gang’s favorite color. For another, Mr. Vanderhoof lost the cap to his oil a long time ago. All I had to do was look under the hoods until I found one covered in tinfoil and held in place with an elastic band.”
Diana shook her head. “You’re amazing. Have you told Mr. Vanderhoof his car has been found?”
“Yes. He’s pretty happy it got stolen. He always did want to buy a red car but never had the courage. When the police told him he could pick it up this morning, I hear he called in for a substitute teacher. No doubt he’s out cruising around in it right now. Before the day is over, the police will probably have to bring him in on a speeding charge.”
Diana laughed. “By the way, I have a message from Gerard.”
“Really.”
There was only one man who had ever broken Annabelle’s heart and he lived in Phoenix, Arizona, which might as well be on another planet. Since that awful night a year ago when everything had fallen apart, Annabelle hadn’t been able to get emotionally involved with another man. But she had to admit Roman’s top PI, Eric-Gerard, whom she always called Gerard rather than Eric, had come closest to breaking down a few barriers.
“He says he wants to start over again and wonders if you would have dinner with him tonight.”
“I have other plans this evening.”
“That’s what he was afraid you would say. I’m supposed to give him your answer when he calls in later because Roman assigned him to work with Chief Gregory on that Utah Steel bombing case this morning and he had to leave here over an hour ago.”
“Gerard’s not serious about us, Diana. You and I both know he’s never gotten over his wife’s death.”
“The same way you’ve never stopped thinking about your ex-fiancé?”
Diana was too perceptive for her own good.
“Annie? I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”
The constricting band around her chest tightened. “You didn’t. I’m just being extra sensitive because it was a year ago today I broke off my engagement to him.”
Diana’s eyes filled with compassion. She reached out and patted her arm. “I didn’t realize.”
“It’s okay. It should be okay. I should have gotten over him a long time ago.”
“You mean the way Gerard should have gotten over Simone.”
Annabelle nodded.
“Apparently you both fell in love with people who were unforgettable.”
“I wish to heaven I’d never met him.”
“Annie? If you’re this broken up after twelve months’ separation, maybe you ought to contact him and find out if he feels the same way.”
Annabelle’s head flew back. “I know for a fact he’s involved with someone else. But even if he weren’t, I would never try to call or see him again. When we said goodbye, it was final.”
Diana’s brows lifted. “It doesn’t sound final to me.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She didn’t want to think about what it felt like to be entwined in his arms, but certain memories continued to flash through her mind without her permission. Memories that sent a wave of suffocating heat through her body.
“Annie?”
Annabelle’s face felt hot.
“Roman just buzzed me. You can go in. Since you found the Honda, maybe he’s already heard about it and is assigning you a new case.”
“Maybe.” But I’m working on one for Trina Martin right now. “Thanks, Diana.”
She headed for Roman’s inner sanctum. As she approached the doorway, she could hear another male voice talking. Her boss wasn’t alone.
“Roman?” She tapped on the door which was ajar. Through the opening she glimpsed the back of a tall, dark-haired man in a conservative blue suit who looked like the number one lineman for the Green Bay Packers.
Her eyelids fluttered closed because there was only one man in the universe who looked like that, who had broad shoulders and powerful thighs like that.
But it couldn’t be. He didn’t know where she worked, and he had no reason to be in Salt Lake.
“Come on in.”
She opened her eyes again, but she couldn’t do Roman’s bidding because the other man had turned around, freezing her in place with his brilliant blue gaze which was as familiar to her as her own face.
“Hello, Annabelle,” came the deep, vibrant voice she’d loved so well. “It’s been a long time.”
Dear God. It was Rand.
Her eyes darted back to Roman in absolute panic. He knew she’d once been engaged to Rand Dunbarton and how shattered she’d felt after the breakup. So how could her boss, how could Diana, be so cruel as to spring him on her like this without warning? She’d never known either of them to hurt anyone.
The shock was so great, Annabelle felt her body go from burning heat to icy cold. There was a strange buzzing in her ears. She wondered if she was going to faint even though she’d never passed out before in her entire life.
Rand must have seen the blood drain from her face because she heard an unintelligible epithet escape his lips before he was at her side, helping her into the nearest chair. His large hand slid to the back of her neck with the ease of long accustomed habit.
“Put your head down for a moment and keep it there till the dizziness passes.”
The voice of command. Rand had no idea how he came across to other people. He took charge without even thinking about it. For once she followed his suggestion because she was too weak and lethargic to do anything else.
With his fingers brushing intimately against her skin, his body so close she could feel his warmth, there was an air of unreality about the whole situation.
It didn’t seem possible that Rand was really here, or that he was touching her in an old familiar way, as if he had every right and was truly concerned.
The last time they’d been together, they’d said unforgivable things to each other and she’d given him back her engagement ring.
Rand had been so forbidding in his anger, she hadn’t known he could get like that. It had been a devastating experience, one she’d never been able to erase from her mind. Since then there’d been no contact Nothing.
Roman handed her a glass of water and told her to drink. “If you’re still feeling light-headed, you need to lie down. We can put this meeting off until another time.”
What meeting?
She drank thirstily and handed him back the glass. Rand’s palm was still molded to her neck.
“I’m all right.” She sat straight up so he would break the contact. “I—I went off without breakfast this morning and should have known better.”
For an infinitesimal moment her eyes met Rand’s. His said he knew why she’d almost fainted, but if it made her feel better to pretend otherwise in front of Roman, so be it.
Nothing got past him. He made a formidable adversary. That’s why he was the owner of Dunbarton Electronics, one of the top computer companies in the nation. Even more impressive, he’d been the cover man on the March issue of Today’s Fortune, the computer industry’s vaunted magazine.
It had taken Annabelle a week before she’d broken down enough to read the accompanying article. To her consternation she’d devoured every word, every photograph, hungry for any news of him after such a long time. The bio on him made mention of a special woman in his life who was destined to be his wife in the near future, but it didn’t give a name. The news couldn’t have wounded her more if she’d been stabbed in the heart.
“Annabelle?” Roman interjected. “Since no introduction is necessary, I’ll get straight to the point. Rand has come to us for help with a problem that is right up your alley.”
She sucked in her breath. “I moved back to Salt Lake from Phoenix a year ago...I can’t imagine what any of this has to do with me.”
Annabelle had never been rude to her boss. He was the greatest guy on earth, but he couldn’t possibly know what this unexpected meeting with Rand was costing her.
She didn’t honestly think Roman had engineered it. Which meant it was Rand’s doing. Why?
When they’d parted company a year ago, enough pain had been inflicted to last a lifetime. She’d had to pick up the pieces and start over again. When she returned home to Salt Lake and Roman took her on as one of his PI’s, a certain amount of healing had begun to take place. She’d been making progress.
How dare Rand trespass on her territory after all this time and destroy the world she’d been creating for herself without him!
“The Salt Lake customer service department of my company is in serious trouble.”
She folded her arms in the hope of looking more confident than she felt. “I’m sorry to hear it, but I still don’t know what your problems have to do with me.”
Rand’s jaw hardened perceptibly. For a fleeting moment she derived pleasure because he wasn’t as in control as she’d first assumed.
“It appears a hacker has broken in on the lines and is wreaking havoc with the clientele by giving them false information and causing their hard drives to crash.”
A hacker?
Just last week Trina Martin had called the agency because her eighteen-year-old boyfriend, Bryan Ludlow, a computer genius who didn’t get along with his family, had disappeared from his home and had been missing a week. The police assumed it was a kidnapping case and they were looking for him.
Trina believed he’d vanished on purpose. She wanted Annabelle to find him before he did something bad to embarrass his father, millionaire Daniel Ludlow, a prominent businessman who was going to run in Utah’s next race for the governor of the state. Bryan’s disappearance had made national headlines and now the FBI was involved.
When Annabelle asked what Trina meant about him embarrassing his father, the younger girl said that Bryan bragged a lot about being a hacker. Apparently he’d obtained the password to a major computer company in the Salt Lake area and had already done some things that would make his dad mad with rage if he were ever found out. He sounded too happy about it. That’s what worried Trina.
Since Trina’s call, Annabelle had run an investigation and she’d turned up some interesting evidence. After listening to Rand, she wondered if there might just be a connection between the two cases.
“The patrons are justifiably angry at what’s been going on.” Rand’s explanation mingled with her own hectic thoughts. “Several dozen people have returned equipment, demanding their money back.
“I’ve put some of my best people to work on the problem, but so far we don’t have any leads. It could be the work of an amateur. But there’s the possibility it might be a group of professional saboteurs out to ruin my company and they’ve picked Salt Lake as their first target.
“I don’t know if my enemy is an employee or not. I intend to find out because as of now, I’m going to be personally involved in solving this case. What I need is an expert to work as a partner with me. It has to be someone no employee of mine knows anything about.”
Annabelle could see where this conversation was headed, and another pain splintered what was left of her heart. If ever she needed proof that the love he’d once felt for her was dead in the water, his appearance in Roman’s office said it all.
They’d broken up because he couldn’t handle her career in law enforcement. Being a PI was tantamount to the same thing. Yet here he was at the Lufka agency for the express purpose of availing himself of the very services he’d once asked her to give up for the sake of her safety and their love!
Obviously it hadn’t been love that he’d felt for her, otherwise he couldn’t do anything this callous and cold-blooded. Crushed by the revelation, Annabelle rubbed her palms against the charcoal fabric of the slim-fit pants covering her hips.
Dear God, what a fool she’d been. All this time she’d secretly nursed the hope that he still cared. Nothing could be further from the truth!
He’d flown to Salt Lake to find out what was going on in his company. For expedience sake he’d sought her out because she was the nearest person available who knew how to deal with this kind of computer fraud.
After graduating from college with a degree in computer engineering, she’d gone into law enforcement work like her dad. After he died, a friend of his on the force had talked her into moving to Phoenix for a time and working for the police department there.
It would provide a change of scene, give her a little more time to get over her father’s death, and she would learn a lot under the leadership of Chief Rivera who was renowned throughout the western states for his success in lowering the crime rate.
Not long after she’d been working there, a bomb threat at the Dunbarton plant in Phoenix had catapulted her into Rand’s world and she’d fallen hard. So hard she hadn’t seen any problems during their whirlwind courtship and premature engagement until it was too late.
When she’d broken off with him, her life seemed to lose meaning. Heartbroken and bitter, she resigned from the Phoenix police force and returned to Salt Lake and the little family home she’d rented out during her absence.
In a perpetual abyss, Annabelle couldn’t seem to pull herself out of it. Though she joined the Salt Lake police department, her heart wasn’t in her work and she simply went through the motions.
That’s when her best friend, Janet, suggested she try something different to get a new perspective in life. Why not become a PI, a job which would allow Annabelle to still work in law enforcement, yet allow her more creativity and the freedom to choose her own hours.
At that point in time, Janet was the one voice of reason in Annabelle’s shattered world. Taking her friend’s advice turned out to be the best thing she’d ever done.
Roman hired her to join his prestigious staff, not only because of her background in police work, but because he needed someone with her level of expertise to handle the electronic fraud cases that came in to the office from time to time. Until now, everything had been going just fine...
Unable to stand it any longer, she jumped out of the chair. “Roman? Could I see you in private? It will only take a moment.” The one thing she could count on with Roman—he would always be loyal to his own.
“Will you excuse us a minute, Rand?”
“Certainly.”
She didn’t trust Rand’s pleasant smile. It was about as benign as a quiet summer morning before an earthquake.
As soon as she and Roman had moved out into the hall, he put a steadying hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at him. “He walked in here this morning out of the blue. For the record, I’ve never met or spoken to him until a half hour ago. No one, not even Diana, knew he was that Dunbarton.”
Roman was an honorable man. His explanations relieved her more than he would ever know. “Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“You’re welcome. Now that we have that out of the way, you must realize Rand has a serious problem on his hands. He obviously came to us because he needs the best person to help him crack this case and he knows you work for me.”
Roman was a legend with the police force, both locally and nationally. He didn’t hire people for his agency who weren’t the top in their field. She knew he didn’t pay compliments he didn’t mean.
His unstinting praise of her was humbling to say the least. But this was Rand they were talking about, the man who had turned her world inside out.
“You’re a natural for this assignment, Annabelle. I don’t have to point out the reasons why. What he’s hoping is that you’ll put all personal feelings aside. I realize that’s pretty well asking the impossible. I understand if you can’t deal with it, but it might be the best therapy in the world if you did.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been hurt by your relationship with him. Perhaps if you faced him head-on, you would exorcise the ghosts haunting you. I speak from personal experience. Because I waited so long to realize what was most important to me, I almost lost Brittany.” His voice rasped.
She nodded. Roman’s wife had told Annabelle their story in confidence. When they’d first met, Roman had been working as a CIA agent, a dangerous job which prevented him from getting married and putting down roots. The struggle between duty and his growing love for her complicated their relationship and took its toll on both of them. But in the end he gave up his job because he loved her too much to lose her. That was their destiny.
Rand’s and Annabelle’s case was different. He’d never really loved her. All he’d done was make demands. They had no destiny.
“You know what they say about the truth. It will make you free. Maybe you ought to think about that in terms of your own future. But whatever you decide, I’ll stand behind you.”
Annabelle closed her eyes for a moment. She was thinking. If Rand could treat her like this, then maybe it was time for her to take action and show him the same indifference back. Maybe it was the only way to get over him.
Slowly she expelled a sigh. “All right. I’ll take his case.” If my hunch is right and Bryan Ludlow is involved in some way, I’ll solve it so fast Rand will be back in Phoenix and out of my life before he knows what hit him.
Roman’s compassionate smile actually hurt. He saw too much. “You’re stronger than you know, Annabelle. I’ll be behind you all the way.”
Having Roman on her side meant everything. “Before I go back in there, I need to discuss something with you first. It’s about the disappearance of the Ludlow boy.”
“His parents have already asked me to look into it.”
Annabelle blinked in surprise.
“What do you know about it?” he asked in a wry tone of voice.
In a matter of seconds she related the crux of her meeting with Trina, and the possible link to Rand’s problem.
He grinned. “This is one for the books. Technically speaking, our hands are tied because of FBI involvement. Unofficially however, you can stay her confidante and continue to probe, in case you should find a connection to Rand’s crisis which would be a real coup.
“We’ll both keep the lines of communication open with Trina and the Ludlows and see where things lead. If you can prove a tie-in, you’ll actually be helping two people without getting your hands slapped by the authorities for withholding evidence.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Triple kudos for tracking down that Honda. Someone downtown called me on my cellular this morning. Apparently Mr. Vanderhoof has been singing your praises. You’ve made quite a conquest there. Better be careful. He’s a widower, and thinks you’re the most adorable creature to come along since Marilyn Monroe.”
Annabelle groaned.
“As I’ve said before, it’s good to have you on the team. Rand knew where to come to get results, Annabelle. Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
“Any time you want to talk, I’m available.”
“I know that.”
“Good. So I’ll leave you to deal with him.” There was a slight pause. “It isn’t often that a PI and her client have already made a connection which is so vital in our business. Because the ice has already been broken, so to speak, let it work for you, Annabelle.”
She nodded. In Rand’s case it was more like an iceberg that had been split apart by nature’s force. What you saw jutting above the surface of the water was pure camouflage for the huge mass of indecipherables below.
Praying she could carry this off so he would never know what his unexpected entry into her life had done to her, she walked back to Roman’s office where Rand lounged indolently in a chair, waiting...
She refused to look him in the eye. “Roman has asked me to take your case and I’ve agreed. Leave a number with the receptionist where you can be reached. Before the day is out, I’ll make contact with you. Goodbye.”
On that succinct note she hurried to the back room, pulled her cropped jacket from the rack and slipped it on over the fluid jersey top, both in a claret color. It was a good thing she didn’t pause for a bagel from the kitchen on her way out. Even if she had wanted one, three of the PI’s had already shown up for work and the food was fast disappearing.
The guys tried to get her to hang around and talk to them, but she told them she was working on a new case. Her best strategies for cracking one usually came when she went for a long ride on the old BMW. She had inherited the motorcycle from her dad. He’d died of a heart attack four years ago last January.
Annabelle had never known her mother, she had passed away following complications in childbirth. Her dad had chosen not to remarry. It had been the two of them all the way. Many was the time they’d ridden in tandem. She felt close to him whenever she got on it, like they were still a team, like he was whispering ideas to her, watching out for her.
It was Spring now. She always started to feel a little better by then. But come September and the blues attacked. By December she was in a dark funk. She couldn’t tolerate the blackness of January.
That’s when she went on vacation. She saved up all the time coming to her, then flew to Florida with Janet who was a bankruptcy attorney. The two of them lay out on a beach while they took turns reading books to each other.
This last January had been different. The loss of Rand had made it the bleakest, loneliest period of her life. She hadn’t been able to get interested in anything, least of all reading. Being on a trip only reminded her of things she wanted to forget. Even Janet proclaimed it a miserable failure and they’d gone home early.
Now, unbelievably, he was back in her life.
She headed into the towering Wasatch mountains east of Salt Lake. Snow still covered their peaks. Halfway up Parley’s canyon she happened to look in her sideview mirrors and saw that a motorcyclist was gaining on her. All in black, he looked big and dangerous.
Lots of cyclists tended to ride in packs, enjoying the camaraderie. But without her dad around, Annabelle preferred to be left alone. She couldn’t believe it when he sped up and pulled alongside her on the inside lane, adjusting his speed to match hers.
The Lamb’s canyon turnoff was coming up. She looked through her mirrors once more to make sure the light traffic was far enough away, then she headed for the side road.
Ten seconds later she saw that the dark stranger was still following her. Surprised at his aggression, she slowed down to negotiate a turn, then came to a stop and steadied her cycle with her shoe.
Still he rode closer.
When he was a yard away from her, he stopped and lifted his goggles. Only one man she knew had eyes that blue. She had to be hallucinating again. Since when did he ride a motorcycle?
“Rand—None of your stockholders would recognize you in that gear. I told you I would call you later.”
His mouth quirked. “I know that, but I felt like a breath of fresh air myself. When I saw you head for the mountains, I couldn’t resist joining you. Do you mind?”
He sat back on his bike and folded his arms. While he spoke, his eyes darkened with an intensity that she’d once come to recognize as desire.
Annabelle trembled. “That’s rather a moot point since you’re already here.”
She felt his gaze studying her features. “I’ve hired myself a crack PI and think the time could be more profitably spent by discussing the case over a late lunch.”
Actually, he was right. There was little point in running away from the inevitable. “Do you feel like a hamburger? I was planning to buy one when I reached Park City.”
His smile melted her bones. “Anything would taste better than falafel.”
“Isn’t that vegetarian?”
He nodded. “A woman I used to date was a vegan.”
Her body quickened. “Since you used the past tense, I assume she’s not the one mentioned in the Today’s Fortune article.”
He eyed her intently. “So you did read it. What did you think of the write-up?”
“The reporter did an excellent job of covering the facts.”
“Except for the part about there being a Mrs. Dunbarton in my near future.”
“Really.” Her heart was pounding so hard she feared he could hear it.
“That’s right. As for the vegetarian, her eating habits were not the reason we stopped seeing each other.”
“I see.”
She didn’t see at all. In fact the mention of any other women pierced her to the quick.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”
“It’s not something I need to know to help solve your case.”
“But you’re dying of curiosity.”
“What makes you say that?”
His eyes held a dangerous gleam. “Because you’ve been sending out vibes so strong, I could feel them through the walls of Roman Lufka’s office. Admit you’re glad to see me again.”
Her mouth had gone too dry to say anything else and he knew it.
“At this juncture I think it’s important we start off with a clear understanding of certain fundamentals since we’re going to be working closely together from here on our.”
Her hands gripped the handlebars tightly. “Your love life is not relevant to our business.”
“I disagree. Since we’re going to have to come up with a strategy to catch this hacker, I wanted you to know that I’m available on a twenty-four-hour basis. My sources tell me that you’re not seriously involved with another man at the moment, either, which means you can devote your full time to my case. As I see it, with both of us unattached, it makes things less complicated all the way around.”
Annabelle couldn’t take much more of this. “I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. If by any chance we get separated on the mountain pass, I’ll meet you at Madson’s Dairy Freeze at the south end of Park City.”
“Have no worry. I’ll find you.”
Her eyes closed tightly as those words resonated in her heart.
