Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set (175 page)

Kate’s chest tightened at the very mention of that man. She stood up and lowered her camera. “I’m in the middle of a photo shoot, Claire.”

“It’s the third time he’s called today.”

Kate looked down at the phone and assumed Vance could hear her response. “Tell him I’m working and can’t talk.”

Working or not, she didn’t want to talk to him. Kate glanced over at the models, who she was sure were glaring at her for the delay. Then, pushing her long blonde hair over one shoulder, she turned back to her assistant. “Please, just take a message.”

By the time the photo shoot was over, it was late, as evidenced by the table strewn with empty take-out boxes and coffee cups. They had worked through dinner, and the sun had long ago set over the Los Angeles area.

“I’m headed home,” Claire said, tugging her jacket on as she walked across the spacious loft studio toward Kate, who was seated in front of her thirty-two-inch computer monitor, scanning through the day’s shots. “You should call it a day too—you look beat.”

Kate swiveled around in her chair and covered her yawn with her hand. “I’m not quite done, but I am tired.” She’d arrived at the studio before eight a.m. and had been on her feet most of the day.

“I didn’t tell you, but Vance called again about an hour ago.”

“Thanks for taking care of him for me. He just won’t take no for an answer.” Kate leaned back in her chair and gathered her hair up into a ponytail.

She had been engaged to Vance Kerrigan, a handsome and successful Hollywood talent agent, until she discovered he had been cheating on her several months ago. She had called off the wedding and returned the ring, against his protests, and he continued to pursue her.

“I don’t understand why you don’t get a restraining order against him.”

“Perhaps I should. I think he’s been following me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You know that weird feeling you get when you think you’re being watched?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I keep getting that eerie sensation that someone’s watching me, following me.”

“That would creep me out,” Claire said.

“I did tell a cop friend of mine who patrols my neighborhood. He’s been driving past my condo now and then, keeping an eye out.”

“That’s not enough. You need to get a restraining order.” Claire cocked her head and raised an eyebrow as if to say,
you need to listen to me.
“Why don’t you get your things, and we can walk down to our cars together.”

* * *

“Forget it, Vance! It’s been a very long day, and I don’t have the energy to argue with you. Please, stop calling me.” Kate McAllister clicked off her cell phone and set it on the bathroom vanity. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was her two-timing ex-fiancé asking her to take him back.

The warm water in the claw-foot tub beckoned. She had been anticipating being enveloped by its warmth, letting it soothe away the stress of the day. Sticking one painted toe in the water, she checked the temperature before getting in.
Perfect
, she sighed softly.

As she was about to drop her fluffy white robe to the floor, the cell phone shrilled. “Shoot,” she muttered under her breath. “If that’s Vance again, I’m going to kill him.”

A slight frown creased her brow as she turned and glanced at the Caller ID. She recognized the area code for Seattle, where her baby sister Whitney lived, but if it were her sister, the phone would have shown her name and not
Unknown Caller
.

Peering up at the wall clock, she saw the time was ten-forty-five pm.
Why would someone I don’t know be calling me this late?
Tension crept up the back of her neck
. No one calls this late just to chat.
Reluctantly, she picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Kate, this is Suki. I’m sorry to call you so late.” The woman on the other end of the line rattled on, “But, I, well, I need to—”

“Whoa. Slow down. You said your name is Suki?” Kate questioned.

“Yes, you know, Whitney’s roommate.”

“Oh, yes, sorry. I didn’t recognize your name. Now, slow down and tell me – what’s wrong, Suki?”

“Whitney’s gone missing.”

“What? When?” Panic began to set in. Kate’s thoughts flew like a flock of spooked sparrows. Gathering herself, she tried to focus. Ordinarily, she connected with Whitney every day or two, but she had been so busy with work lately that Kate was ashamed to admit she did not notice when she hadn’t heard from her sister recently.

“She’s been missing since last night. Well, no, today. I mean, well, I didn’t realize until this morning that she hadn’t come home last night.”

“Maybe she just stayed overnight at a friend’s house.” Whitney was twenty-four years old. She could stay out all night if she wanted to. Kate hoped that was all it was. The idea her sister could really be missing made her feel sick in the pit of her stomach.

“No, no, I don’t think so, really. I think she would have told me so. We try to keep each other safe that way, you know. I have such a bad feeling about this, Kate. I think you should come to Seattle right away.”

“You mean, like right now?” This news was all so unexpected. Frantic thoughts swirling in Kate’s mind made it hard to process.

“Well, yeah. I mean, as soon as you can, of course.”

“So, what do the police say?” Kate asked, searching for a voice of reason.

“Police?”

“Yes, Suki. You did call them, didn’t you?” Kate was incredulous that her sister might be in danger and the police had not yet been informed.
Are you kidding me?
Her heart beat hard against her chest, sending pulsing blood painfully racing to her head.

“I’m sorry, Kate, don’t get mad. I think you have to wait twenty-four hours before you can report someone missing, don’t you?”

“How should I know, Suki? I would have called them to find out, not just assumed.” A muscle twitched in Kate’s jaw.

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll call them for myself as soon as we get off the phone. I want to talk to the police before I come running up there.” Suki had all day to call me, why did she wait until now? Was she hoping Whitney would eventually show up? Something doesn’t feel right.

Perhaps Whitney was just staying over with a new boyfriend that Suki didn’t know about. Or maybe she went with some girlfriends for a long weekend.
Suki is probably just overreacting.
Kate clung to that thought to give her a sense of security.

On the other hand, if her sister really were missing, of course she’d drop everything and hop on the first flight to Seattle. She felt uneasy just cancelling work and reorganizing her life on the whim of this woman she barely knew. Kate had photo shoots in the Los Angeles area lined up all week. People depended on her, so she wanted to be sure it was warranted.

“Kate. Your sister is missing! You really need to come as soon as possible,” Suki pressed. “Surely, you don’t have anything to do that’s more important than this, do you?”

Kate recognized the guilt card being played. Her late mother had been a master at it.

“No, of course not. Nothing’s more important than finding my sister, if she really
is
missing. However, I am going to call the police first and see what they say. You may be correct about the twenty-four hour thing, but I want to know for sure.”

“Then you’ll come?”

As much as Kate hated the thought of upending her whole world overnight, she had to seriously consider the possibility that Suki might be right. If Whitney needed her, she had no choice but to go to Seattle on the first flight she could get.

“Yes, yes, I’ll come, but I am going to talk to the police as soon as we hang up. After that, I’ll check for flights out of L.A. tomorrow.” Kate would have to wait until the morning to change her work schedule, too. “I appreciate you letting me know, Suki. I’ll be in touch.”

* * *

Suki hung up from her conversation with Kate and immediately made another call.

“Hullo,” a young man answered.

“It’s done.”

Chapter Two

“Hey, lady! You’re up,” a young male’s voice came from behind her.

“What?” Startled, Kate looked around.

“You’re up, over there at the counter.” The impatient teenager pointed to the airline ticket counter.

His voice had jerked her out of a daze. She’d been standing in the long, slow-moving passenger line, replaying her situation and the unproductive conversation with the Seattle Police. She hadn’t been able to get beyond talking to the officer at the front desk because Whitney had not been missing long enough. He hadn’t told her anything of value one way or the other, except that if she was really concerned, she should come as soon as possible. Of course she was concerned. She loved her sister. How dare he suggest otherwise.

It was because of that bond, that if there was any chance Whitney actually
was
missing, Kate would drop everything and go. She had arranged to fly to Seattle on the next available flight.

Unfortunately, getting to Seattle was not so easy. Engine trouble on her connecting flight from Salt Lake City had forced the plane down in Boise, where she had to spend the night.

“Sorry,” Kate muttered to the people in line behind her. Her face reddened and she rushed to the counter, slapping her driver’s license down on the counter a little harder than she’d intended.

The ticket agent glared at her, then moved like a snail. Kate was sure she must have offended the woman. Glancing up at the monitor on the wall, it showed that her Horizon flight to Seattle was departing in twenty minutes.

Kate checked her watch for the umpteenth time, feeling her heart thumping in her chest.
Come on, come on, come on, lady!
I have a plane to catch!
She tapped a staccato beat with the heel of her shoe.

Finally, the ticket agent offered up her pass. Kate grabbed it, tossed her long tresses over her shoulder and spun around to run for the security gate.

Splat!

Kate normally considered herself a controlled, refined, twenty-eight-year-old woman. But here she was, sprawled out face first on the hard floor, having tripped over a child’s rolling backpack that she neglected to see in her haste. A manly, well-groomed hand reached down and helped her up. Mortified, her cheeks flushed a bright red.

The helpful hand belonged to an attractive man who looked to be in his early thirties. Kate could not help noticing his deep green eyes, thick brown hair and the broad shoulders filling out his fleece pullover.

“Are you okay?” His voice was warm and deep.

“Yes,” she replied, her face flashing hot. “All, except my pride. Thanks for the help.”

She scrambled to gather up her purse and coat and made a beeline for the security gate. Under any other circumstances, she might have been happy to linger and talk to the helpful stranger, but not today.

Finally, reaching the security gate, Kate flashed her boarding pass and driver’s license at the beefy TSA official and took her place in line for the scanners. While waiting her turn, she noticed a young man in the next line over, putting his dull green backpack on the conveyor and stepping up to the scanner. He was about her age and wearing a navy blue baseball cap that covered his mop of curly brown hair. In the next moment, he and his backpack were pulled out of line and given the extra wand treatment.

“Oh, come on! Are you kidding me? I’m gonna miss my flight!” he complained, holding his arms straight out from his sides, while another TSA agent rummaged through his pack.

I can’t afford to be singled out and delayed like that
, she thought, trying not to stare. Efficiently loading her purse, shoes, and jacket in a gray plastic bin, she set it on the conveyor belt.

Checking her watch again, she was acutely aware that time was ticking down. If she could get through this security check without incident, she would have a good chance of making her flight. Kate handed her boarding pass to the female TSA worker on the other side of the full-body scanner, stood against the scanner as instructed, trying her best not to think of what the male TSA worker was looking at on the screen.

Thankful she was not detained, Kate scooped up her things, hurriedly stepped into her shoes and set off for Gate A-10. Following the overhead directional signs, she dashed down the wide corridor and found her gate.

The last few passengers in the boarding line were entering the door to the jet-way. Kate made it just in time.

Once on the plane, she found her assigned seat, on the aisle, and stowed her purse and coat. She leaned her head back against the headrest, closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

“I see you made your flight.” A deep and familiar voice came from the aisle next to her.

Kate opened her eyes and turned to see who was talking to her. It was the man who had helped her off the floor at the ticket counter. He was storing his carry-on bag in the upper compartment over his seat.

“Yes, yes, I did.” She was a little surprised to see him. He must have rushed for the plane, too. Then she realized he must have been right on her heels the whole mad dash to their gate.

“Are you okay? That was a nasty spill you took back at the ticket counter. Anything bruised?”

“Just my ego. I’m fine, really.” A twinge of embarrassment heated her cheeks once more.

“My name’s Ryan, by the way,” he offered with a friendly smile, as he took his seat.

Kate smiled back and was about to respond with her name when the young man with the baseball cap and the dull green backpack walked down the aisle between them. She was glad the extra security had not made him miss his flight. Then she turned her attention back to her dashing rescuer.

“I’m Kate. I—” She was cut off in mid-sentence by the commanding voice of the captain, booming over the loudspeaker, welcoming all the passengers and thanking them for flying with Horizon.

“Kate, what do—” Now he was cut off by the flight attendant asking everyone to fasten their seatbelts and turn off their cell phones, after which she proceeded to give the safety measure instructions. Ryan and Kate glanced at each other and grinned.

She looked forward to talking with her new acquaintance a bit more on the flight, once the announcements were over. It would be a pleasant distraction from the crisis at hand, at least for a little while.