Branded (11 page)

“Are you sure?  I feel kind of bad.”

“You know I love dogs.  It will give us a chance
to get to know each other, and he’s not
that
big.”  Although he certainly
wasn’t much of a puppy anymore.

“If I’m going to have a dog, I guess I’d better
think about getting a different car.  It’s not going to be much fun if only
Apollo and I can fit.”

Xander called his dog out of the car, and he
immediately responded.

“Looks like he knows who’s in charge,” Nicole said
as she sat in the space he’d currently vacated.

“We’ll see about that.”  Xander bent over and
scooped up Apollo, placing him on her lap.  The dog greeted her with a slobbery
lick across her face.  She groaned and wiped off her mouth as Xander laughed
and shut the door before walking around to the other side.  Before he could get
his door open, Apollo hopped off her lap and claimed the driver’s seat.

Xander opened his door and gave an exasperated huff. 
“What?  Now you think you’re going to drive?”

Apollo responded with a bark.

“I don’t think so.  Get over there.”

Nicole patted her lap.  “Come on, boy.”

He paused for a moment, gazing up at Xander as
though begging to keep his current position.  “Go on.”  Xander pointed to the
passenger seat.  Slowly, Apollo stood and crossed the console to Nicole’s lap.

She laughed.  “You broke his poor, little doggie
heart.”

Xander rolled his eyes as he sat in the car.  “I
see how it’ll be.  He’ll pout, and you’re going to give in to him.”

She giggled and wrapped her arms around Apollo’s
soft body, holding him to her.  “You poor baby.  He shouldn’t be so mean to
you, should he?”

Before she could shield herself, Apollo gave her
face another swipe with his long tongue.  She wiped her cheeks and lips with an
open palm, groaning as she did.

Xander laughed.  “Is that how you get the girls to
kiss you?  You jump right in and don’t give them an option?  I’ll have to give
it a try.”

She shifted a sideways glance at him, giving him a
playful warning.  “Don’t even think about it.”

“No?  What would you do if I did?”

“I…”  She couldn’t very well tell him she didn’t
want him to kiss her because she’d been thinking about it nearly every second
since their encounter last night.  “Just drive.”

A cocky grin appeared on his sexy lips, and Nicole
turned her head to hide her own smile.

“Could I convince you to spend a couple of hours
at my place helping me get the little guy settled?”

“Afraid to be alone with the beast?”

“You’ve seen what that tongue can do.”  Even as
Xander spoke, Apollo had his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as though
it was too much for him to contain.  “I’ll make you lunch.”

“Like you made me dinner?”

“Hey, you enjoyed it.  What difference does it
make how it came to be on your plate?”

She narrowed her eyes, pretending to weigh his
arguments, when all along she knew she couldn’t say no.  “Fine.  But only
because I can’t resist a cute puppy.” 

*        *        *

Several days later, Nicole woke to the ringing of
her cell phone.  She glanced at the bedside clock as she picked up her phone,
mentally reprimanding herself for sleeping in until nine.  With no job, she’d
had a hard time forcing herself to go to bed at a decent time, and then it was
hard not to sleep in.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Camden?  Cecil Barton here.  Do you have a
moment to talk?”

Nicole sat upright in bed, the sound of her
attorney’s voice jerking her into a wide-awake state.  “Of course.  Is
something wrong?”

“I’m not entirely certain.”  He paused long enough
to set her heart racing.  “I received a call today from the police asking if we’d
retained a private investigator.  Apparently, someone has been poking around
and asking questions.  I checked with the person I recommended to you, but he
said you hadn’t called.”

“Uh, no, I didn’t call him.  I do have a friend
who said he might have someone look into things for me.”

Another long pause.  “Do you know the name of this
friend
?”

“I do not.”  Xander hadn’t mentioned him again or
whether or not he’d agreed to help.  “As far as I know, my friend may not have
contacted him yet.”

An extended sigh came across the phone line, and she
knew she’d displeased him.  “So, you don’t know whether or not he’s licensed?”

She frowned.  The way Mr. Barton spoke made her
feel like an idiot.  “I don’t.”

“Ms. Camden, I know you’re hesitant to spend
money, but if you’re going to hire an investigator, I highly suggest you call
the person I recommended.”

“It’s not that I’m hesitant to spend money.  I
just don’t have it to spend.”  And every day that passed without her having a
job, left her in worse financial shape.

“I’m going to have my associate call and discuss
options with you.  He may be able to come up with a viable solution that’s
agreeable to you both.”

“Okay.”  Although Mr. Barton made a ton of sense,
she wasn’t ready to agree with him before she talked to Xander.  “Have the
police finished going through my computer?  I’d really like to have my stuff
back.”

“I’ll call for a progress report today.”

“Thank you, Mr. Barton.”

“You’re welcome.  I’ll be in touch.  In the
meantime,
please
, do yourself a favor and don’t hire an amateur.”

 Nicole hung up feeling like she’d been schooled. 
She stared at her phone for a minute, and then cursed because she’d forgotten
to ask about the surveillance video.  She’d been so busy defending her choices,
it had escaped her mind. 

She’d wait until she’d decided what to do about an
investigator before she called back, and instead, she dialed Xander’s number.

“Good morning, Nicole.”  His deep voice rumbled
across the line.

She paused in her thoughts, as a smile spread
across her lips and a lovely warmth tingled through her body.  “Good morning.” 
She forced her brain back in control over her emotions.  He sounded wide awake,
and more than likely, he’d been at work for several hours.

How did she put this?  “I just got a call from my
attorney.  The police called him, wondering if I’d hired a private
investigator.”

“That’s interesting.”  A hard edge overlaid his
smooth, sexy voice.

“Did you contact your friend? 
Has
he been
poking around?”

“I did, and there’s a good chance he’s been asking
questions, although he’s usually more discreet.”

Uneasiness crept up inside her.  “I don’t want
this to come out wrong.  My attorney thinks I need to hire someone he knows and
not use your friend.”

“Why?”

“He implied he’s an amateur and that he may
somehow make things worse for me?”  She ended her sentence on a question, not
really sure what to believe anymore.

“Who is your attorney?”  Xander sounded pissed.

“Cecil Barton.”

He didn’t respond right away, and she wished she
could see his expression.

“Look Xander, I appreciate your friend trying to
help, but maybe it would be better for the police to handle this.”

“And you think they are?”

She sighed, her frustration coaxing her emotions
to the surface.  “I don’t know.  I really don’t know what to think right now.”

“Listen, I’m going to talk to my friend.  See what’s
gone down.  Are you free tonight?  Maybe Apollo and I could come by, and I’ll
let you know what I’ve found out.”

“Sure.  I can cook dinner for
you
this
time.”  If nothing else, seeing Xander would do wonders to lift her spirits.  Spending
time with him had been the only bright spot in her increasingly dark days, and
she wanted more.

Much more.

*        *        *

As soon as Xander ended his call with Nicole, he took
a moment to close his office door.  Without hesitating, he punched in Sam’s
personal cell number.  His friend answered on the second ring.

“I thought I was the one handling the Camden case.” 
He stood next to the window, glancing down at the winding river.

“You are.”

He turned from the scenic view and sat back in his
chair.  “Then why are you interfering?”

“What are you talking about?  Yes, I’m working it
in an official capacity, but you’re doing all the behind the scenes stuff.”

“Nicole just phoned.  It seems her attorney
received a call from the police department wondering if she’d hired an
investigator.”

“
What
?”  He sounded incredulous.  “I haven’t
called her attorney, although I did receive a note that he’d like me to call
him regarding the personal property that had been removed from her apartment.”

“What about your guys?  Would any of them have
called?”

“I doubt it.  I’m the lead investigator on this
case.  I can’t imagine they would without provocation, and I don’t believe any
of my men are aware of your involvement.  You haven’t been making waves, have
you?”

“Hardly.  My main focus has been cracking Nicole. 
I did briefly talk to a few people in First Freedom’s building, but I didn’t
identify myself as an investigator.  More like a nosey client.”

Sam snorted.  “Did you ever stop to think maybe
this was her way of getting
you
to back down?  Maybe she’s afraid she’ll
draw attention to herself if she flat out refuses your help.  But, hey, blame
it on the lawyer, and she has the perfect excuse.”

“Shit.”  He couldn’t believe it.  He’d been subtly
conned by the con.  Damn, she was good.

His friend laughed.  “Now you understand why we’re
having such a hard time with her.  She’s a master.  She’s got this innocent
routine down pat.  She’s very careful and doesn’t mess up.  Must have learned
it from her papa.”

Xander’s pride stung from her deception.  It only
made it worse that he felt like he needed to defend her to Sam and explain she
hadn’t really had much of a relationship with her father.  But there it was.  “I
guess that means I’m going to have to bust my ass a little more.  Think you can
get me a copy of that video showing her in the building?  I’m supposed to be
working with a friend to help find clues about the real culprit.  Maybe if I
review it with her, it will nudge her, or she’ll say something she shouldn’t.”

“Yeah.  No problem.  Good luck, man.  We’re doing
everything we can to bust her from this side, too.”

“I know.  Thanks.”

Xander ended his call and slowly swiveled in his
chair, letting his gaze roam over downtown Portland and the Willamette River
below as a soft rain left everything in a cloudy mist.  The same kind of mist
that she’d cast over him.  Soft, pleasant, but it distorted his view of the real
world, the real woman.

He’d thought their relationship had made it beyond
the first stage, that they’d progressed into at least some sort of friendship. 
Maybe not the greatest trust, but a version of it.  Yet, she’d called and lied
straight to his face.

Then again, what did he expect?  That she’d
actually fallen for him?  It seemed he wasn’t the only one playing a game.

But he would be the only one winning.

When Nicole opened the door to her apartment, the
mouth-watering scent of roasted beef hit Xander with the force of a strong
easterly ripping through the Gorge.  An engaging smile turned her lips as Stormy
barked and danced at her feet.  “Hello,” she said, her simple greeting sounding
more like a siren’s call.

 Her first assault left him slightly disoriented,
and the loud rumblings emanating from his stomach scattered his plans of attack
for the evening.  He’d meant to come, get an inside look at his prey’s personal
space and conquer, but it was quite obvious to him now things would not be that
easy.

“Hi there.”  Xander released Apollo when his pup
jerked on his leash, trying to get closer to Stormy.  The two dogs sniffed each
other a moment before deciding they could be friends, and then they ran off
into another room.

He rested a forearm against the doorframe, the
whole domestic scene not lost on him.  He still wore his work clothes, only
stopping by his house long enough to load Apollo into the car.  It wasn’t hard
to imagine driving home from a long day of clients and numbers to walk into a
cozy home and be greeted by a sexy woman with heavenly smells tempting his
taste buds.

It was even easier to imagine the sexy woman being
Nicole.  Easier, but not smart.  She was doing her best to draw him into her
web, and he was fine going as long as he remembered why he was there.

“It’s good to see you.”  Nicole launched her second
assault when she leaned in for a hug, her soft and clingy white sweater caressing
his hands as the sexy-sweet scent of her perfume stole his attention.

Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around her,
molding her soft curves against him.  He’d meant it as a friendly gesture, but his
body recognized a tantalizing potential mate and responded.  An unintended
mutter of appreciation escaped him.

She leaned back, capturing him with her bewitching
eyes.

“Good to see you, too.”  He should move out of her
embrace, out of her realm of control, but couldn’t.  That didn’t mean he couldn’t
play the game, too.  He let a natural, yet seductive smile slide over his
lips.  He hugged her tighter, as though they could get closer than they were with
their clothes still on.  As long as she made the first move, he wasn’t going to
feel sorry for leading her on.  She was doing exactly the same thing to him.

No harm.  No foul.

Although she would probably cry foul when they
finally busted her and she realized putting her behind bars had been his
intention all along.

“Does this mean you missed me?”  He shouldn’t ask,
but he wanted to hear her say it, even if she didn’t truly mean it.

Interest flared in her eyes as though he’d
challenged her.  She lifted a hand to his cheek, running her fingertips across
the rough stubble on his chin, keeping her mesmerizing eyes locked on his.  She
dropped her fingers to his throat, and he could feel her gathering his loosened
tie.  She tugged on it, and he moved with it, lowering his face to hers until
their lips were a breath apart.  “This does.”  She pressed her glossy pink lips
to his, coaxing his primal instincts from where they lay shallow beneath the
surface.