One Secret Night (5 page)

“You were already there.”

“He called me after you contacted him at DT Corporation and then called me again after you met. He was freaking out that you knew about him and his connection to me. I had to explain how you did.” He’d left out the part about him going into her hotel room, though.

Her eyes shifted back and forth between his as she considered what he’d said. “You two are good friends.”

“No, not friends. Let me in.”

She stared at him awhile longer before closing the door and releasing the security latch. He stepped inside, not comfortable at all with being in another hotel room with her. Another nice suite.

“Why are you looking for me?” he asked.

In response, she just cocked her head, without words telling him to shove it.

Apparently, she’d changed her mind about talking to him. He went to the kitchenette and found a bottle of water in the fridge. Holding it up at her, he waited for her to shake her head before closing the refrigerator and going over to the sofa. Sitting with a long sigh, he put his foot up on the ottoman and drank a few gulps.

“Get thirsty after you kill people?”

So that’s why she no longer felt like talking. Lowering the bottle of water, he saw her standing to the side of the ottoman. “Only when you’re around.”

“You killed the driver of that car?” she asked, appalled.

“No. He got away.” His frustration over that came out in his tone. He’d made no progress since Reykjavik. To come so close to capturing Creighton’s conspirator rankled him.

She looked at him as though recalling that he’d killed the man in Reykjavik. Judging. She probably regretted coming here. Another man had threatened her life because of him. He must not be painted in a favorable light in her mind.

Putting the bottle of water down, he got up and stood in front of her. “I wasn’t the one who tried to kill you.” No, in fact, this was the second time he’d saved her life. He watched her register that and then grow distracted by his logic. She had trouble thinking of him as a good guy. He felt inclined to prove her wrong.

Falling into a study of her beautiful face, vivid memories of the last time they were together followed.

Autumn caught herself first and blinked a few times. Then she turned away and walked to the windows overlooking Houston.

“Why would anyone try to kill me?” she asked.

“Someone must have found out about you. What did you say to Kai when you called?”

“That I knew about Creighton...and the man who killed him.”

“Well, there you have it. It’s obvious why someone started shooting at you.” The person who’d hired Creighton had likely panicked and decided not to take a chance that Autumn would discover his identity. Either that, or he’d heard what Autumn had said to Kai, which meant Kai was being bugged.

She turned and he caught her unappreciative look in response to his sarcasm. “Tell me the truth about Tabor Creighton.”

He stared at her a moment and then relented. “Kai contacted me after Creighton tried to kill him at his home in Houston. He was in his garage, had just gotten out of his car when Creighton drove by and took a few shots at him. Luckily, he missed, and Kai’s security cameras captured Creighton’s image. That’s how I was able to track him down.”

“In Reykjavik.”

“Yes.”

Autumn walked from one end of the window, turned and walked back to where she’d stood before. “So...whoever hired Creighton is watching Kai.”

“Yes.”

She walked the length of the window again, stopping at the end and facing him. “Do you think whoever shot at me today is the one who hired Creighton?”

“Yes.”

“Then...why not shoot Kai? Why go after me when he could get the job done?”

He joined her at the window. “Kai was in a public place and he has a bodyguard. I’m sure given the chance, he’d try to kill him again.”

“You could expose him. Has he tried to go after you?”

It wasn’t only her that threatened today’s shooter. “He’d try to kill me, too, if he had the chance.”

He watched her process that. The reason the shooter didn’t have a chance was that Raith was good at what he did. The shooter was probably scared and was at the point where he’d do anything to avoid getting caught taking a contract out on Kai’s head.

“Why didn’t Kai go to the police? Why go to you for help?”

“The police were involved. Still are.”

“But he doesn’t think they’ll be able to catch the man who hired Creighton?”

“No. Not in time.” He was already complaining about how long it was taking Raith, as it was. With Creighton dead, there was no one Raith could seek out for information, and he’d been unable to find anyone close to him who might know something.

“He told me you were the only one who could help him.”

He had nothing to say in response to that. He had a lot of experience at what he did. Whether it was rescuing Americans from foreign prisons or kidnappers, or taking down killers. He was a black market cop, one without a badge.

“What did you need to talk to me about?”

She glanced at him before leaving the window and going to stand by the sofa again, putting distance between them. “I was going to ask you why you left without saying goodbye. I guess I have my answer now. You weren’t telling the truth.”

“You weren’t exactly honest, either...
Ivy?
” More angst went into his tone than he intended.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t recognize the name.”

Was she put off that he hadn’t? He followed her over to the seating area, leaving a few feet to separate them. Distance might be prudent. “Should I have recognized one of your boyfriends, too?”

Her eyes narrowed and one of her hands went to her hip. “Now you’re being mean.”

This felt like an argument between lovers, but Raith couldn’t stop himself. “I can see why the actor didn’t last, but what was wrong with the detective?”

She almost blanched as her arm lowered, her eyes no longer narrow with anger. “Why do you care?”

He did sound as if he cared. Did he? Yes, but to what degree? Ever since he’d met her he’d been mystified by her effect on him. When he’d discovered who she was, the disappointment had been crushing. He had no business being disappointed.

“You should have stayed home and away from here,” he said.

“I have a flight home tomorrow. I think you should leave now,” she said. “I won’t bother you anymore.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. Kai is still alive and whoever wants him dead went after you. That means two things. Kai needs to debug himself, and you know too much.”

“I don’t know anything. Least of all about
you
.”

That made her mad. He heard it in her voice and saw it in the fire of her eyes. “You know about Creighton.”

“So do you.”

“Yes, but no one knows who I am.” They had to be well aware that someone was helping Kai, and by now maybe even that he was someone to fear. All the more reason to protect Autumn. She was a witness to an attempted contract killing.

Raith would have liked nothing more than to leave her and finish this investigation alone, but she was defenseless without him.

His phone rang. Seeing his FBI contact’s number, he answered.

“I’ve got something for you,” the agent said. “All this time we’ve been looking for Tabor Creighton and we should have been looking for Leaman Marshall. He was operating under a false name. I discovered that when I found a death certificate on Creighton and checked it out. He’s been using that name for so long we had no reason to suspect it wasn’t his birth name. Marshall lived in Houston. I can’t spend any more time on this than I have, but you should have no trouble locating his family. Creighton had none still living, which made him a perfect cover for Marshall.”

“You have an address on Marshall?”

The agent gave it to him and then said, “The only reason I help you at all is because I think you’re an okay guy. But I’ve got cases.”

“Understood.” Raith thanked the agent and disconnected.

“Be careful.”

In other words, don’t do anything illegal and don’t get caught. “I always am.”

Except with Autumn. And now he had to take her with him to his home, where he had a secure network set up and access to the resources he needed to locate anyone close to Leaman. He never took women there. This was a first.

Chapter 4

K
ai Whittaker pulled into the four-car garage, checking the rearview mirror again. The bodyguard Raith had assigned to him parked right behind him outside. As instructed, he waited for the man to get out and come to him. When all was clear, Kai was free to get out of his own damn car. Having a big, expressionless brute tag along with him day and night had its annoyances, but it was better than being dead.

He’d talked to Raith on the way home for status on his investigation. Not much progress had been made. Kai couldn’t push him the way he could push his employees. He claimed to be having difficulty locating anyone who knew Tabor Creighton, but Kai wondered if the distraction of Autumn Ivy had slowed his progress.

Inside, Thor checked for abnormalities while Kai put down his computer case and keys. Thor wasn’t his real name, just a small source of private entertainment for Kai.

“You’re home at a decent time.”

Seeing his wife approach, his day improved. Ten years younger than his fifty-two, she looked twenty-nine. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, she still had her beautiful shape after two kids. The silky gold pantsuit dipped low enough to show off her ample chest.

He leaned in for a kiss as she put herself against him. “You’re better than a tall, cool drink.”

She smiled at his compliment. “I love you, too.”

Thor returned to the living room, looking like a hulking star of a bad TV crime show, not rode hard enough and not having seen enough terrible things to be a believable character. He’d hover until they went to bed. Maybe he was simply out of place in a suit and in Kai and India’s five-thousand-square-foot home in downtown Houston. They had this house here and a second one outside the city limits that was on a lot more land. He and India usually went there on weekends. It was bigger than this house and much more secluded.

India moved back from him, seeing his gaze go from the guard to her.

“You know we need him,” she said.

“Yes.”

“Have you talked to that man lately? Raith or whatever his name is? He sure doesn’t believe in status reports, does he?”

No. Raith ran by his own rules. “I called him on the way home.” Kai stepped farther into the living room. With high ceilings and a piano beside a huge, gray Italian sectional made with hand-tied coils, it was homey but elegant.

“Something smells good.”

“Beef bourguignon.” She followed him to the kitchen. “You had to call him?”

He opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of sparkling water.

“Is he working on your case at all?” India had two glasses ready on the kitchen island. He poured without answering. She wasn’t all that impressed with Raith.

“Yes.”

“How do you know if he never calls you?”

“He said he’d call after he found the person who hired Tabor.”

India leaned against the kitchen island and angled her head. “He should be here protecting you, Kai.”

“That’s what Thor is for.”

“Thor?”

He grinned. “I made that up.” When she didn’t share his humor, he said, “Raith is good at what he does, India.” He picked up the glasses and went around the island corner to hand her one.

“How can you be so sure?”

He’d gone over all of this with her before. Raith’s secretiveness didn’t reassure her much. “A close colleague of mine recommended him. He was kidnapped and held for ransom by members of the People’s Revolutionary Army in Argentina. Raith rescued him. He does that sort of thing for a living.”

India still didn’t look convinced.

“He’s got a respectable reputation. There are people in the military and law enforcement who know about him and don’t touch him. They know he stands on principle, that he fights on their side even though he works in the shadows. He’s unencumbered by protocols or laws. He can move in and accomplish a job before anyone has time to react.” Kai put his glass down on the counter after taking a sip.

“What about that woman who witnessed Raith kill Tabor?” India asked. “Why was she asking for Raith’s contact information?”

“Maybe she likes him.” He grinned again.

When a smile began to push up the corners of her mouth, Kai stepped forward and slipped his arms around her. She put her glass down and looped her arms over his shoulders.

“Don’t worry, my love.” He planted a kiss on her mouth. “I wouldn’t have hired Raith if I didn’t think he was capable of handling this.”

She brushed her thumb over his cheek. “You trust him?”

Kai didn’t trust anyone. “He’ll do what we need him to do. That’s enough.”

She leaned back. “What if he doesn’t find the man who tried to kill you? What are we going to do then?”

India was still shaken over the shooting. She was afraid to be at home alone now, and afraid to let him go to work. He didn’t like her being that way.

“He’ll find the man.”

India studied him the way she always did when she thought there was more going on than he was saying. They’d been married almost twenty years now. He’d met her when she was just nineteen and he twenty-nine and well on his way to launching a successful career. Falling in love with her had been unplanned and exciting. Their love was real and lasting. He considered himself a lucky man to have found a woman who matched him so well. But some things she could never know.

“You’re worried,” she said.

“Of course I am. Someone is trying to kill me.”

“No.” She shook her head and stepped back, slipping out of his arms. “There’s something else. What is it, Kai?”

He moved a step closer, putting his hands on her arms. “Nothing. Just some business issues.” At least that wasn’t a lie. Not entirely...

Chapter 5

R
aith’s house surprised Autumn. Passing through a towering, impenetrable iron gate, the driveway wound across open land toward the castlelike structure. The stone blocks were light in color, but the turrets and its aged appearance cast a dark shadow.

“Your house looks like it could be in a horror movie,” she quipped. Feeling Raith’s drilling look, she got out of the car and waited for him to get her luggage before walking with him toward the front entry. “It’s beautiful in such a creepy way.”

“Thanks. I like it, too.”

She stopped herself from laughing at his humor. It was a lot like hers.

The entry was long and narrow with white marble floors. Stairs with a strip of white carpet and an ornate, mahogany-topped black iron railing ran along the right side, curving to the landing above. Other than a chandelier hanging in the middle of the entry, there were no other furnishings or lights. The single window next to the front doors provided dim light. To her right and at the base of the stairway, two doors were open to an office. There was a keypad on the wall next to them, so the option to lock them was available.

“Was this a prison before you bought it or did you just turn it into one?” she asked.

Raith rolled her luggage to the bottom of the stairs.

One of the doors in the entry opened and a slim man with short, straight brown hair in a light pink dress shirt and gray slacks appeared. He walked with smooth, graceful strides and his arms swung at his sides.

“This must be your friend from Iceland,” he said, reaching both hands to take one of hers in greeting. “I’m Desi Hildebrandt, Raith’s personal assistant. Anything you need during your stay will be my pleasure to accommodate.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t overdo it, Desi,” Raith said.

He put his hands together in front of him. “I knew you’d bring her home.”

Autumn smiled, finding an instant friend in the man. But how had he known Raith would bring her here? He must know about their night, but Autumn couldn’t picture Raith confiding in him.

“Show her to her room, would you?”

Dismissed. Autumn glared a little at Raith as Desi lifted her single bag. “Right this way.”

She followed him up the stairs, looking back to see Raith go into his office and shut the door, the sound of the automatic lock sliding into place a clear message.
Leave me alone!

“Don’t worry about him,” Desi said, reaching the top of the stairs. “He growls like a bear, but inside, he’s only the stuffed kind.”

Autumn laughed. “How long have you worked for him?”

“Fifteen years. We moved here five years ago after his business took off.”

“What business is that?”

Desi turned to the door and entered a code. “The number to get in is one, two, three, four.” The door unlocked and he looked back as he pushed it open. “I changed it for you to make it easy to remember. It’s the same code downstairs, but there’s another staircase you can use in here.”

The personal assistant was loyal to his boss. She was impressed. Maybe Raith had a soft side, after all.

“Raith will ask me to change it after you leave.” He rolled her luggage through the door, glancing back again. “If you ever do.”

She wasn’t sure how to take that remark. And its importance faded as she followed Desi down a wide hallway with red mosaic carpeting and four white stone arches spaced out evenly down the length of the room. Passing windows on the right, she saw that the back of the home was U-shaped, and below was an outdoor pool surrounded by shrubs and flowers. The Tetons towered in the distance.

Opposite the windows was a library, the doors open and welcoming. She caught a glimpse of arching windows framed in white and floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books before Desi led her onward. Halfway down the hall, a wide, red-carpeted staircase led down to the main level. Next, she passed a large main bathroom and a bedroom with a dark wood canopy bed. The hall ended and turned to the right. Five open doors were spaced far apart. Desi stopped at the first one.

“I chose this room for you. If you’d rather have another, let me know.” Desi stood aside so she could enter the bedroom.

A dainty four-poster bed with a white comforter and yellow, sage and brown pillows had a bench at its foot. A yellow rug spread out from the bed over the off-white carpet. On each side, big windows overlooked the pool. To the right were two chairs with a lamp on a table between, and to the left was a bathroom.

“There is a closet through the bathroom,” Desi said.

There were no dressers in the bedroom, only a television on a table that matched the design of the bed and bench.

She turned back to Desi with a smile. “This is lovely.”

He smiled back and began to leave.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

“How did you know we met in Iceland?” she asked.

“I overheard him talking to an associate,” he said.

“An associate?”

“An ex-CIA operative he asked to watch over you once he realized you looked at his cell phone,” Desi said.

Ex-CIA? How did Raith know someone like that? This must not be information he wasn’t allowed to share. And she wasn’t surprised Raith had known she’d looked at his phone.

“Raith watches over everyone he cares about,” he said.

Having no reply to that, she waited until Desi gave her a bow of his head and left. But his revelation gave her mixed feelings. Kai had hired him because someone had tried to kill him. That suggested Raith had at least a bit of a heroic streak in him. But was that enough to trust him with sharing her news? Autumn wasn’t convinced.

* * *

The next morning, Autumn used the stairs she’d passed on the way to the bedroom last night. On the main level, she found herself in a hallway similar to the one above, except this one opened to the right into a spacious living room. One of the turrets arched the line of windows in front. High above, modern chandeliers hung from a thick beam running the length of the room.

She heard activity in the kitchen and went there. Desi was busy preparing something, some sort of breakfast casserole.

He glanced back at her. “Make yourself at home. Raith will be out in a few minutes.”

“Where is he?”

“In his office.”

Again? “What’s he doing in there?”

Desi resumed whisking an egg mixture in a bowl. “I stopped asking him those questions a long time ago.”

She walked to the kitchen island that divided the living room from the kitchen. “You don’t know what he does for a living?”

“Oh, I have an idea. But I’ve found it’s best not to ask questions.” He glanced at her again. “I’m sure it’s nothing too terrible.”

Too terrible?

“He’s a good man, that’s the important thing.”

Autumn wondered if that was the case all the time. “You cook for him?”

“Clean, cook. Shop. Whatever he needs me to do. He asked me to prepare meals while you’re here.” He stopped whisking and looked back at her again. “He said to make them good.” He winked and resumed his work.

Where did all his romantic ideas come from? “You care about him.”

“As I’ve said, Raith is a good man.”

Beginning to feel awkward, Autumn turned toward the dining area. Through an archway to the right, there was a small entry and a double door—the one that led to the front door. Past the dining room, another archway led to what appeared to be a parlor. Intrigued, she wandered there, feeling Desi eye her.

The parlor was charming, with a piano positioned in a turret, sheer white drapes swooping over four tall windows. A Victorian sofa and two butter-yellow chairs sat before a gas fireplace. Behind the sofa, there was plenty of room to walk along a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

Another archway led to a vestibule with three doorways. The one to the left was glass and revealed a portion of an indoor pool. The one to the right had a keypad next to it. Autumn tested the handle to the one ahead and discovered a huge garage. Going to the third door, she entered the code Desi had given her into the keypad. The door didn’t open. But as she pulled her hand free and was about to return to the kitchen, it opened and Raith stood there.

Beyond him, she caught a glimpse of a large U-shaped desk with several computer monitors and a living area with a kitchenette. He shut the door behind him.

“What’s in there?” she asked.

“Security system and my office.”

“I thought your office was off the front entry.”

“This connects to that.”

A secret office?

“This part is off-limits to everyone but me.”

She found that both peculiar and believable. “Why? Are you hiding dead bodies in there?”

His face didn’t even crack a wrinkle of humor, and humor is what would get her through this. Pregnant. By him, this mysterious, black ops man.

“Your personal assistant won’t even say what it is you do,” she said.

He cocked his head, possibly a little incredulous over her audacity.

“People hire you when their lives are in danger.” She’d seen that much. “How do you drum up business? Advertising must be tough. Are you incorporated?”

“LLC.”

“You pay taxes?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“What do you put down as your professional title?”

“Private investigator.”

Was he really a P.I.? “Can you be a P.I. without some kind of license?”

“I’m legal, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“What kind of cases do you take?”

“The word-of-mouth kind.” He walked past her.

She followed him through the parlor. “But not the kind that involves the cops.” He didn’t respond.

“Are you an assassin?”

In the kitchen, Desi handed a glass of orange juice to Raith, who took it and turned, his eyes hard and on her while he drank. Desi handed her a glass, too, and when she took it, he went back to work on breakfast. He sure was in tune with his boss.

When Raith lowered the orange juice, he didn’t back down from her eyes.

“Are you?” she asked, despite his attempt to intimidate her to stop grilling him.

“If someone shoots at me, I’m going to shoot back.”

“No one’s ever paid you to kill someone?”

His eyes remained unexpressive. Shrewd. Cold, even. A chill prickled her skin. What things had this man seen and experienced to make him this way? What had led him down this path?

Behind him, Desi sneaked a look at them after checking the breakfast casserole he had in the oven. He may not ask about Raith’s profession, but must know something.

Raith’s cell phone began ringing. He removed it from the holder on his belt and checked the caller ID. An instant later, the indifference in his eyes flared into resentment. Putting the phone back into the holder, he looked at Desi.

“You’re going to have to answer it eventually,” Desi said, pausing during the task of rinsing out a bowl.

Raith continued to look at him.

“He’s going to keep calling until you do.”

“Who?” Autumn asked.

When Raith didn’t answer, Desi said, “His father.”

“Why aren’t you talking to your father?” He’d said he hadn’t talked to him in years. Why was he ignoring his father’s attempts to do so now? She couldn’t imagine not talking to hers. Her mother wouldn’t stand for it, first of all. Family meant everything to her.

“What’s the point?” Raith asked.

The bite in his tone told her that somewhere inside of him he did want to talk to his dad. He just hadn’t admitted it to himself yet.

“He’s obviously trying to reach out to you,” Desi said. “Maybe he’s trying to make amends, have a son in his life for real this time.”

“I’m not going to pick up where we left off. He had his chance.”

Autumn sat on one of the stools before the island. “How many times has he tried to call?”

“A lot,” Desi said, and went on despite the glower from Raith. “Almost every day for about a month now.”

“He must need to get a hold of you,” she said to Raith.

Raith looked at her. “Leaman Marshall has a sister in Houston. I need to go meet with her, and I can’t leave you here.”

“What?”

“Be ready to fly back there in the morning,” he said. “I made flight reservations for 10:00 a.m.”

He’d explained that he’d learned Tabor Creighton’s real name. “You’ve been busy in your top-secret office.”

Raith ignored her and turned to Desi. “Would you bring me some of that when it’s ready?” He gestured toward the oven.

“Of course,” Desi said.

With one more hard glance at Autumn, Raith headed back toward the secure door to his hidden office.

When she heard the door latch and lock, she looked at Desi. “What’s the story with him and his father? He told me he hasn’t spoken to him since he was seventeen and that his mother died when he was fourteen.”

“He told you that?”

“Yes.” Why was that so significant?

“He never talks about his mother. Never. Not to anyone.” Desi studied her as though she held some kind of magical power.

“It seemed like a difficult subject for him.”

Desi moved with a slow, knowing blink to the island and put his hands on the edge. “Difficult is an understatement. Raith’s mother got sick with a severe case of pneumonia. That’s how she died. His father was an alcoholic and didn’t take care of Raith very well. He wasn’t there for him at all.”

“He also mentioned that his older brother left a few months after his mother died.”

Desi nodded. “Raith becomes angry when I say it, but he has terrible abandonment issues.”

Autumn could see how grief and the lack of love from his father could drive a wedge between them, but would it be enough to shut his father out for the rest of his life?

“His mother died shortly after she discovered his father was having an affair with one of her close friends,” Desi said. “He blames his father for her death.”

She’d died of pneumonia. Her resistance must have been down, or she’d had other issues going on to lower her immunity.

“Did his mother drink?”

“Raith has never called her an alcoholic, but I suspect she did drink more than he likes to reveal. And I also suspect Raith’s father was having affairs long before the one she finally confronted him with.”