Obession by Design (12 page)

She
should be deliriously happy. Her life was comfortable, peaceful, and filled
with more sex than she could handle on most days.

So
why was she afraid to give her entire life to this man? What was missing? Was
there something wrong with her that she couldn’t simply accept that he wanted
her, and only her, and be happy about that?

Liane
didn’t know what to do. She only
knew two things. Everything about Emmett was more than she’d ever imagined was
possible, and she was head over heels in love with him. Both of those
realizations should have had her jumping with joy, but instead they absolutely
terrified her, and she had no idea why.

Chapter
Twelve

Emmett
sensed
Liane’s
hesitancy to give
herself
to him completely. Not in bed, but in her day to day life. She still had her
apartment, even though by now, the middle of the third week he’d known her, the
only things in it were her furniture, pots and pans, and her towels and bed
linens. It was ridiculous for her to have it, and he told her so about three
times a day.

He
knew why she wouldn’t take the last step. They hadn’t discussed it, but they
didn’t need to. He was holding back, too, and until he stopped, she wouldn’t be
able to trust him completely. He didn’t fault her for that. This was his demon
to wrestle. She’d conquered hers. He had no idea how or when, but the change in
her was obvious.

Her
work was outstanding. His friends talked about her all the time, to the point
that Emmett actually was jealous of their praise at times. She was off limits
and he’d told them that, but he knew his friends. Until he made an official
commitment to
Liane
, they wouldn’t stop flirting with
her. He’d been the same way once, so he couldn’t be angry at them.

He
took Kim aside as the week drew to a close and asked her for a special dinner
the following Friday night. She made a list of items, and then Emmett went into
his office where
Liane
was still working. He wrapped
his arms around her from behind. “I’m asking my girl out.”

She
turned and smiled up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Next
Friday night. We’re not working at the office or here. We’re having dinner and
then we’re going to talk.”

Her
smile faded slightly, and his stomach clenched.
“About what?”
She tried to keep her voice casual, but he heard the trepidation.

“About
my past,” he said quietly. “It’s time I told you a few things.”

She
gave him a look full of tenderness and love. Yes, it was love. He’d seen that
look in her eyes enough times these past few weeks to know it. Then she rose
and hugged him. Emmett reflected that in any other woman he’d dated, seeing
that look would have ended the relationship. With
Liane
,
he lived for it. He was so in love with her it was ridiculous, and next Friday
she would know that. Who said it first didn’t matter. She needed to know. It
was right to tell her.

Just
the same, he prayed she would say it, too, and would move in here with him. He
hated being away from her for even one second. If he could, he’d move his
entire operation to this apartment so he never had to leave it or her.

****

The
following Wednesday morning, Emmett received two emails that had him nearly
jumping out of his chair. The first one came from a friend of his named Paul
Band who owned a private investigation agency. Emmett’s search for Connor Fargo
had taken him only so far and then the trail had grown cold, but Paul had found
the sleazebag attorney. He was practicing in a dingy office in
NorthCentral
, serving mostly indigent clients and
apparently living off the money he’d collected in helping people like
Liane
.

Emmett
thanked Paul, and then he told Tania to tack on an extra twenty percent to his
pre-negotiated fee when she sent him the funds. The next call he made was to
Blaine Parker.
“Hey there.
How is life in my least
favorite city?”

“Better
than where you are, and it always will be.”

“I
need a huge favor. Actually, this will be doing
Liane
more of a favor than me.”

Blaine’s
face lit up. “Well then, what is it? I’ll do anything for her.”

“I
told you she’s mine.” Emmett outlined what
Liane
had
told him about Connor and the help he’d given her, for a price. As he talked,
Blaine’s face grew angrier until he thought his friend was going to punch
something.

“I
know people here. I’ll take care of it.”

“That’s
what I was hoping you’d say. I’d do it myself, but she’d see right through any
excuse I’d give her for traveling there.”

Blaine
grinned. “It’s that serious with you two?”

“I
sure hope so.”

His
friend shook his head.
“Must be something in the water.
Ace is like a lovesick puppy. You should see him.”

“It’s
not so bad, you know.”

“Right.”
Blaine held up hands. “Don’t say
another word. You’ll infect me with the same bug.”

Emmett
laughed. He knew Blaine was only teasing him and in reality was happy for him
and Ace both.

“But
seriously, consider this taken care of.”

“Thanks.
I owe you one big time.”

About
an hour later, it was Dominic calling him. “Hey, do you happen to know what a
Hochdorf
dagger is?”

Emmett
leaned back. “Yes, I do. It’s a dagger from a burial site by the same name. The
dagger is believed to be Celtic in origin and ceremonial. Judging by the fact
that it’s made of gold, a metal too soft for battle use, it’s believed that
Hochdorf
was important figure in history.”

Dominic
chuckled. “You sound like an encyclopedia site.”

“Why
are you asking about the dagger? That burial site was broken into about fifty
years ago and the items were stolen. Have they been found?”

“The
dagger has. It turned up in the private collection of an ex-Storm Trooper by
the name of George Markus. Do you know him?”

“Yes,
I sure do. He’s a collector like me.”

“Well,
he has it in his bunker in what used to be Tennessee. Not too far from where
you are if you access the surface from a northern viaduct.”

Emmett
grinned. “Sounds like you have this trip all planned out for me.”

“Hey,
I know how much you love that shit.”

“How
did you find out about the dagger?”

“Purely by accident.
I was searching for something
specific in Celtic history for Pete’s
niece .
She’s
doing some paper in school.” Pete Gonzalez was Dominic’s administrative
assistant. “When I saw George’s name listing the dagger for sale, I thought I
recognized it, so I looked through our files and saw he used to be a Storm
Trooper. Explain to me how he can sell it if it’s stolen.”

“That
is a complicated mess. There was no one in the provisional government of
Germany who came forth and demanded the return of the items from that burial
site, so their government eventually declared the items fair game.”

“Well
that sucks.”

Emmett
shrugged. “It happened a lot with sites like that after everyone moved underground.”

“So
he doesn’t technically own it,” said Dominic, “and he may well have stolen it
himself, or someone he knows did.”

Emmett
nodded. “All of that is true. I’ve run into this situation before. Give me his
current contact information.”

Once
Emmett had it and he and Dominic disconnected their call, Emmett stared at the
name and email address for a long time. Liane would kill to have something like
this, but it meant going above ground to retrieve it. Emmett would gladly do
it, but what excuse would he give Liane?

He
knew she was terrified of him doing that again, and he understood why, but he
had to have this dagger for her. If what Dominic found was true, it wouldn’t be
a long trip at all. Then again, any trip up there was dangerous, no matter how
short.

First
though, he had to contact George and make sure this dagger was the real deal,
and that he actually had the object. Then he’d explain to Liane why he needed
to do this.

****

Liane
clinked glasses with Emmett as they sat in his dining room, sipping some mighty
fine white wine. She could smell the lobster and wild rice that Kim was
cooking, and it made her mouth water. “This reminds me of my first night here.”

Emmett
gave her a molten look of lust. “Should I fuck you against the sideboard
again?”

“How about on the table this
time?”

He
laughed and leaned over to kiss her. “I adore you. You know that, right?”

Her
pulse raced. It was the closest he’d come to saying the “L” word. “I know you
do. I can feel it in your touch. I hear it in everything you say, and I see it
in your beautiful eyes. I adore you, too.”

His
gaze grew soft and tender. “I know you do,
Liane
, but
it’s time you had your fears laid to rest with respect to my past. You’ve been
open and honest with me, and I owe you nothing less.”

She
had to wait until Kim and Jeremy brought in the food, and then Emmett wanted
her to taste everything before the two finally left the room. They closed the
doors behind them and Emmett leaned forward. “My earliest memory is of finding
my parents’ wedding album. Want to know where I discovered it?”

She
nodded.

“In the trash.
I took it out and kept it hidden
for five or six years. I believe I was eight or nine when I finally asked them
why they’d thrown it away.”

“Were
they upset that you took it?”

“No.
They were indifferent, just like they were about everything except business.
They told me they got married as a business arrangement, nothing more. I then
made the mistake of asking why I had no siblings like most of my friends did,
and my father got this look on his face like the kind you get when you
accidentally bite into something sour or bitter.”

She
put down her fork and covered his free hand with hers.

“The
only reason I didn’t tell you this is because I was afraid it would trigger bad
memories for you.”

“You
don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Liane repeated what she’d told him the
night he’d paddled her until she cried, and he beamed like she’d just announced
she’d found the hackers responsible for fucking up The Madeline Project.

“Liane,
that’s amazing. I know you said the same thing weeks ago, but I didn’t realize
until right now how much that experience had affected you.”

“I
thought it was weird and no one would understand.”

“Oh, sweetheart.
I do understand.
Completely.”

“Thank
you. But I didn’t mean to stop you mid-story. Please go on.”

“It’s
all right. I needed to hear that again, especially now.
All
right.
So, my father got this nasty look on his face and said … he said,
and I quote, ‘You were an unfortunate mistake and we made sure another one wouldn’t
happen.’”

The
pain on his face was horrible. Her heart ached for him. Liane rose and crawled
into Emmett’s lap, then just held him. There were no words. Her family had been
loud and boisterous, but she’d never had one moment’s doubt during the too few
years she’d had them that they had loved her and each other. Her parents had
been huggers, even her father.

Keith’s
family had been just as warm and welcoming, even when they announced their
quickie marriage. They’d known she was pregnant and had never judged her or
their son. They’d been thrilled, and had done all they could to help her and
Keith get set up in their tiny apartment.

She
couldn’t imagine growing up with the knowledge that your parents had only
married as a business arrangement, and that they had never wanted you. How did
he deal with it? “Do you still have the wedding album?”

He
shook his head. “My mother went into my room one day while I was in school and
took it. I’m pretty sure she burned it because when I got home that day, there
was a pile of ashes in the back yard. She told me she’d burned some underbrush,
but the album was gone and I didn’t bother asking.”

“I’m
so sorry.”

“They
still own the company. Technically I work for them, but I hardly ever see them.
Any business we have to conduct is done via email.”

She
hadn’t realized that his parents were in the same city let alone the same
building. How awkward. “Where do they live?”

“A few streets over.
The company owns this building
and the one where they live. A lot of your fellow employees live in both.”

She
hadn’t realized that either. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re
welcome. I should have done so weeks ago.”

“I’m
not upset that you didn’t.”

He
smiled slightly. “Does that mean you’ll move in here with me now? I know you
weren’t sure what I was hiding, and that’s why you haven’t agreed to do so.”

“Emmett,
I swear. Are you a mind reader?”

He
chuckled, and the sound was like manna to her ears. “No, but you are that
transparent.”

“Oh,
I see. Well maybe I should just stop talking then?”

He
nuzzled her neck. “Don’t you
dare.
I love the sound of
your voice.”