Caught (15 page)

God, she was an idiot. There was a reason she didn’t do casual sex. She’d had a single one-night stand in her entire life, and it had left her feeling exactly like this—disappointed and empty.

Scratch that. This felt worse. She’d opened up to him, told him things she didn’t share with anyone. And the sex had been…Mind-blowing didn’t even begin to describe it. Like something inside her had finally ventured out to make a tentative connection with another person.

She suspected that Ethan found a similar connection with anyone in possession of a vagina. She scrubbed hard at her skin, trying to get the smell of sex, the smell of him, off her. But it did no good. While he could apparently dismiss her as easily as a passing acquaintance, it was as if the scent of him, the feel of him, had been permanently branded into the reptilian part of Toni’s brain.

She lathered her hair and closed her eyes. No doubt Ethan was bracing himself for her to hit him with a bunch of expectations, to read too much into their one night of sex. She would show him he had nothing to worry about. She was as capable as he was of putting the sex behind them and working beside him until they found Kara and got her back home.

Ethan hung up the phone as Toni walked out of the bathroom. “The plane will be ready to fly in an hour,” he said, hoping his voice revealed none of the tension and frustration roiling right below the surface. Her eyes met his in an unblinking stare, slightly puffy from behind the lenses of her glasses. Exhaustion gave her fine features a sort of blurred look, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to slide the glasses down her nose and kiss her into oblivion.

She was dressed once again in her jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, the silver Bond Girl dress a long-forgotten memory. Her hair was brushed straight, angling to the clean line of her jaw. His fingers twitched with the need to rake his hands through the black, silky strands the way he had last night.

In an effort to distract himself, he grabbed the carafe of coffee and poured her a cup. She took it with a polite nod, and he felt a shot of heat straight to his groin as he imagined pulling her down on the couch and stroking her until the tension that tightened every line of her body disappeared beneath his fingers.

She was having none of his usual morning-after routine. His gee-that-was-great-maybe-we-can-fuck-again-sometime routine that had done just fine for him in the past. Trust Toni to see right through it. Then again, he wasn’t exactly at the top of his game.

He was restless, jumpy, and, frankly, hornier than he had a right to be after last night. Usually so confident, so sure of his next move, now he didn’t know what to do, wasn’t sure if he wanted to shove her back into the bedroom and damn the consequences or get as far away from her as possible.

Last night, in the dark, buried inside her, it had all gotten a little too real for him to handle. And he didn’t know what to do except act the way he always did the morning after. But he supposed that only worked when he actually
felt
the way he usually did.

He should be feeling the relaxed satiation he normally experienced after a night of sex, but what he’d shared with Toni wasn’t ordinary sex, and she wasn’t an ordinary woman. She made him feel things too much, too intensely. And the way she looked at him, staring at him with that implacable hazel stare, like she could see straight through the wall of bullshit he’d built so thick it had become like a second skin.

As if she could see straight down to the core of him, to the parts he didn’t even want to see himself. She could see his wounds because she was wounded, too.

Let’s cool it right there, Dr. Phil.
What kind of asinine shit was that? Toni didn’t know him. She was different, but not that different. Just because he felt sorry for her and what happened to her family, it didn’t make her any different from all the other women who had come before and who would come after. No more beautiful, no sexier. Her skin wasn’t really smoother and her pussy wasn’t any wetter or tighter. No reason for him to be acting like such an idiot.

His phone buzzed, indicating an incoming text message. He flipped it open to read a message from Danny.

Ubud a waste of time. Dad f/up on lead in Australia. Total f’ing PITA.

No surprise there.

Another message came in as he finished reading, this one also from Danny.

WTF R U doing in Vegas?

Ethan laughed.

Tell U when U get back. Keep ur watch on.

Toni had taken her cup of coffee and retreated to the desk, busily tapping away at her keyboard. Each keystroke needled at him, pulling the muscles of his shoulders tighter and tighter as she continued to ignore him.

“Anything new?” he asked.

“Nope.”

Another five minutes of dead silence passed as he sipped his coffee, searching for something to say.

Finally, her fingers stilled over the keyboard and she took a deep breath as though bracing herself. “Look, we might as well get this out in the open. What happened last night was a really, really bad idea.”

The vehemence grated on his already raw nerves. “You didn’t seem to think it was such a bad idea when I had my tongue between your legs.”

Her face went beet-red as she glared at him over the screen of her laptop. “Be that as it may, it was still a huge mistake, and we can’t let it happen again.”

She was making this easy, letting him know that she had no expectations, exactly what he liked to hear the morning after. Because when it came to his love life, Ethan Taggart didn’t do expectations.

But that didn’t stop him from wanting her again, more than he’d ever wanted a woman, and she’d just made it damn clear she had no intention of letting him back in her bed.

Now, if that wasn’t waving a red cape in front of a bull, he didn’t know what was.

She turned her attention back to her computer, studiously ignoring him as he sauntered up to the desk and rested one palm on the flat surface as he leaned in close. “What’s the matter, Toni? Did I not make you come hard enough? Is that what’s got you so determined not to give me another go?” He leaned close enough for his bare chest to brush her shoulder, and he caught the slight change in her breathing pattern. Mistake or not, she couldn’t hide her reaction, any more than he could keep his cock from hardening from even this slight contact with her. “I mean, maybe three orgasms isn’t enough for you. If that’s the case—”

His phone rang, interrupting him. He looked at the display and saw Jerry’s number. Duty called.

“This is Ethan.”

“Ethan, I have great news. Kara sent me a text message. She’s absolutely fine.”

“I
STILL CAN’T BELIEVE that after two days of nothing, she’d just up and text Jerry out of the blue,” Toni said. They were on their way back to the Bay Area, streaking over the harsh, desolate landscape of the Mojave Desert.

According to Ethan, Jerry had received a text message from Kara earlier that morning. Jerry hadn’t forwarded it to Ethan yet, but the gist of it was that she had gone with a friend to a beach house, and that she’d be back in another couple of days.

“Why didn’t she text me back? What friend is she with, anyway?”

Ethan shot her an impatient look. “I didn’t know the first hundred times you asked, and I still don’t.”

Toni stared out the window, watching as parched rocky canyons gave way to the evergreen forest of the mountains. “It doesn’t make sense,” she said again for the dozenth time since Jerry’s phone call. Toni had immediately called Kara, but her call had gone directly into voice mail. A follow-up text had fallen into the same abyss. Marcy hadn’t answered her phone, either.

“What doesn’t make sense about it? She took off for a few days, finally realized someone might be worried, and decided to get in touch.”

“It all seems too easy,” Toni said, unable to get away from the gut feeling that all was not right yet. “It’s not like Kara to let everyone worry. I’ve said from the beginning, she wouldn’t disappear and let everyone freak out.”

“She did update her FacePlace page,” Ethan said. “And I think that if we discovered anything in the past couple of days, it’s that there’s a lot about your friend Kara that you don’t know.”

He had her there. Still. “I can’t helping thinking there’s something more going on.”

“You know, Toni, sometimes things aren’t nearly as complicated as you’d like to make them.”

She didn’t need her genius IQ to tell her he was talking about more than the situation with Kara. The remembered feel of Ethan’s hands on her skin, his tongue between her legs, his long, thick cock sinking into her as he whispered sexy, dirty things in her ear hit her in a hot rush.

Uncomplicated? Maybe for him.

She stayed quiet for the rest of the trip, leaving him to fly in silence while she considered Kara’s actions from every angle. Toni was a rational, logical person, sometimes to a fault, but she couldn’t get away from the niggling doubt that something was off here. All the evidence pointed to the simplest explanation: Kara took off for a few days and finally deigned to call.

So why couldn’t she let it go?

When they landed, Ethan offered to drop her off before he headed to Jerry’s.

“Hell, no, I’m going with you.”

“Toni—”

She cut him off. “I know Jerry doesn’t like me, but I want to talk to him face-to-face.”

“Fine.” He flipped open his phone and made a call to his brother, telling him to meet them at Jerry’s house.

“What’s she doing here?” Jerry asked sharply when Toni followed Ethan into his office. Another man was already there, a man who could only be Ethan’s twin brother, Derek. While they weren’t identical, the resemblance was strong enough to inspire a twitter of interest. Nothing compared to the raging torrent of hormones unleashed when she got within touching distance of Ethan, but a woman would have to be dead not to find Derek Taggart attractive. He was as big and muscular as his brother, his shoulders nearly spanning the back of the armchair he occupied. His short-cropped hair was lighter than Ethan’s, more gold than brown, and his eyes were deep, dark, intent.

Like Ethan, Derek’s skin was darkly tanned from time spent outdoors, and his features had that same sculpted-in-granite look. He and Ethan had the same sharp cheekbones, blunt chins, and wide, sensual mouths. But while their looks were similar, their demeanors couldn’t have been more different. Where Ethan was all flirty warmth and easy smiles, Derek radiated quiet reserve.

Ethan introduced them, and Derek took her hand in his powerful grip. His smile was nothing more than a slight quirk of his lips, and he studied her with an intensity that made her shift from one sneakered foot to the other.

Toni realized with a sinking feeling that Derek knew exactly what had gone on between her and his brother.

But now was not the moment to wallow in humiliation over what she’d allowed to happen with Ethan.

She turned her attention to Jerry, who glared at her, not bothering to disguise his dislike. “I made Ethan bring me,” she said, not backing down from his hooded look. “Since I hauled my ass all the way to Vegas on Kara’s behalf, I thought I deserve to see her message myself.”

“Fine.” Jerry fiddled with the keypad and passed over his phone.

Toni read the message on the display while Ethan read it out loud over her shoulder.

“Dad, sorry I didn’t call went to a friend’s house at the beach be back in a couple days. Don’t worry. Love you.”

Toni checked the caller ID, verifying it was sent from Kara’s phone. Jerry had probably done that himself, but she wanted to be sure. “What friends of hers have beach houses?” Toni asked.

“I don’t know,” Jerry said. “In any case, you don’t need to worry about it. You saw for yourself, she’s fine. There’s really no more reason for you to be here.”

“But there are things we should discuss,” she said, “Kara’s recent behavior, the people she’s been hanging out with.” She couldn’t believe a man like Jerry, one who expected such perfect behavior from his children, would let things like the FacePlace profile and photos on Toby Frankel’s Web site slide. “We should talk to her, consider installing software that will monitor her online activity.”

“How I address Kara’s behavior is a private matter,” Jerry said. “And if I need help keeping track of her, I’m confident Gemini can assist me.”

“But Ethan and I have been working together on this—”

“But I didn’t hire you,” Jerry said. “My ex-wife did. And if you don’t mind, I have some things I need to discuss with Ethan and his brother that are confidential.”

“I got a ride with Ethan,” Toni said, grasping at straws, but not ready to be shunted off so quickly. Not when she was even more sure than ever that Jerry had something to hide.

“I’ll have Manuela give you a ride,” Jerry said, already pushing the intercom button.

Toni looked to Ethan for support, only to find him nodding to Jerry.

“Derek and I need to discuss some modifications to the security system,” Ethan said. “It’s not appropriate for you to listen in.”

“But Kara’s not even home yet.”

“You no longer need to concern yourself with my daughter,” Jerry said sharply. “Consider this case closed.”

“As you said, you didn’t hire me, your wife did. And until she tells me otherwise, I’ll consider myself on the clock. I’m sure Ethan feels the same way.”

Ethan sank down in a wingback chair next to the one Derek sat in. “Toni, Kara contacted her father saying she’s fine. As far as I’m concerned, the investigative part of my job is finished.” He turned to say something to Derek, his tone too low for her to overhear.

Just like that, he was blowing her off. Ignoring her as if what she said didn’t matter, as if what happened didn’t matter.

Derek looked up, locking eyes with Toni. Beneath the intense focus of his gaze, Toni caught a glimpse of something else. Her hand clenched convulsively at her side as she recognized what it was. Pity. Derek felt sorry for her. He knew she’d slept with Ethan and thought she was hung up on his brother, like the legions of women who had come before.

She bit her tongue, resisting the urge to set Derek straight. She might have given in to temptation, but she was too smart to fall for a guy like Ethan.

“Fine,” she said and turned to walk out of Jerry’s office. Heavy footsteps followed her down the hall.

“Toni, wait.”

“Ride’s waiting,” she said, as she rounded the corner and saw Manuela waiting with her keys and purse. “I need to get my stuff from your car.”

He followed her out and unlocked the car. “Toni—”

“Don’t worry Ethan, I get it,” she said as she removed her laptop case and her overnight bag from the trunk of his BMW. “Case closed, see you later. But I still think Jerry’s hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is, whether you like it or not.”

His hand on her arm stopped her as she turned to walk away. Even that slight contact was enough to send blistering heat through her as she fought back memories of the previous night. He was so close, his woodsy, earthy scent teased her nostrils and she could see the pulse pounding under the skin of his throat. The same skin she’d tasted last night. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Ethan,” Derek called from inside the house, “Jerry wants to get started.

“I’ll call you,” Ethan said, not letting go of her arm.

Toni pulled away from his grip and made a scoffing sound in her throat. “Don’t bother.”

Toni seethed the entire ride home, where she picked up her car, and all the way to Marcy’s. She didn’t know what pissed her off the most. That Ethan accepted Kara’s text message as the end of the story, or that he dismissed her with a “don’t let the door hit you in the ass” after she’d been the one to discover Kara’s secret online life and track down Toby Frankel.

Or it could be because last night he’d given her several of the most intense orgasms of her entire life, and now he was treating her as if they’d gone out for pizza.

She pulled into the parking lot of Marcy’s townhouse complex, hoping Marcy had heard from Kara, too. If so, Toni would be willing to dismiss her suspicions as a result of being too close to Kara and letting memories of her past make her paranoid. In any case, she needed to talk to Marcy about keeping better tabs on her daughter.

So far, Marcy hadn’t returned any of Toni’s calls. Not entirely unexpected, since Marcy regularly liked to sleep in, depending on how hard she’d hit the chardonnay the night before. Toni banged on the door for five straight minutes until it finally opened to reveal Marcy’s thin face dominated by huge, bloodshot eyes.

“Did you find her? Is she ’kay?”

Toni stepped back and concealed a grimace. Marcy smelled like she’d been swimming in a wine barrel. “She texted Jerry this morning and said she was with a friend. She didn’t call you?”

Marcy shook her head and blinked hard, trying to clear away the cobwebs. “I didn’t hear the phone.” She turned and hurried up the stairs, her wraith-thin form listing to the right.

Marcy muddled around her living room until she found her phone. She scrolled through the caller ID, squinting and studying each number so closely Toni had to fight to keep from snatching the phone out of her hand. When Marcy shook her head, Toni took the phone from her and checked the call log herself, to be sure.

Toni pulled her own phone out, compulsively checking her messages, confirming that Kara hadn’t contacted her either. The niggling feeling that all was not yet right strengthened in force.

“No e-mails, nothing?” Toni asked, grasping at straws, and she knew it. Still, she had Marcy check her messages, just in case.

“I don’t understand,” Marcy said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Kara told Jerry she was fine. Why are you still so worried?”

Toni motioned for Marcy to sit down at the kitchen table before taking the seat across from her. “In the past few days, I found out some stuff about Kara, things she’s involved in that none of us had any idea about.” She told Marcy about the partying, the photos, her involvement with Toby.

Marcy’s already pale skin leached to gray and she raised weary hands to her face. “I should have seen this. So much has happened. The divorce. And we put so much pressure on the kids.” Her voice trailed off as she stared off into the space past Toni’s shoulder. “I jus’ don’t know what to do anymore.” Her words were still a little soft around the edges. “But do you think she’s in trouble, still?”

Even if Kara was partying on the beach somewhere, she was still in trouble as far as Toni was concerned, but she knew what Marcy meant. “Do I think she’s in danger, right this second? I don’t know,” Toni said. “But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something.” Toni got up and poured herself a cup of coffee, trying to figure out how to explain it to Marcy when she couldn’t get her own head wrapped around it. “Do you think it’s weird that she contacted Jerry and no one else? Not you, not any of her friends, not Manuela, when she usually checks in with her?”

Marcy took another long swallow and visibly tried to focus. “I don’t know. I guess. They’ve had their issues lately, but then, so have she and I,” she said with a watery laugh. “Why does it matter?”

Toni shrugged. She didn’t really have any idea either, other than the fact that she didn’t like the way Jerry didn’t meet her eyes the whole time she was at his house. Then again, she’d been the one to confirm his adultery and find that offshore bank account. Toni didn’t really blame him for not wanting to be best mates.

Still, it bugged her how this all conveniently wrapped itself up with a neat little bow, and Jerry the only one holding the proof.

But if Kara was still missing, why would Jerry try to cover it up, especially after hiring Ethan?

Maybe Ethan was right. Some things weren’t that complicated.

“I wouldn’t have any idea what’s going on with Jerry and Kara,” Marcy continued. “I barely had a clue what was going on when we were married.” She gave Toni a sheepish look. “I know what you’re thinking. But I didn’t drink this much before…” her voice trailed off. “But Jerry was always keeping secrets, even before the affair.”

The tiny hairs prickled on the back of Toni’s neck. “Secrets?”

“He was always having meetings, secret phone calls. At first I thought it was another woman, but that didn’t happen till later. And you know that account you found?”

Toni nodded.

Marcy leaned close and spoke in a whisper, even though there was no one around to overhear. “I have no idea where that money came from.”

Toni pulled her eyebrows into a frown. “I don’t follow.”

“I had an accountant go over everything. All of his paychecks, bonuses, stock options, you name it. That money didn’t come from GeneCor.”

“Then where do you think it came from?”