SECRET IDENTITY (18 page)

Lee gave a little whoop of joy. “Hot damn! That’s fantastic!
So that’s why I had to go get those candles and shit, right? Oh, wow, Lo! I’m
psyched for you!”

The brothers hugged briefly and pounded each other on the
back.

“Oh, wow,” Lee repeated a bit more softly, shaking his head.
“Okay, so I guess tonight’s the night, eh?”

“It might be,” Lorne admitted. “That’s why I need you to
watch our backs.”

“Hey, I’m adding it to your tab,” Lee promised, and
playfully punched his brother on the biceps with a fist. Holding his hands out
away from his body, he took a couple of steps back from the car and posed. “Well?
Think I’ll pass?”

The men were nearly identical in height and build, although
Lee had a sleeker physique. The only big difference was that Lee liked to wear
his hair in a buzz cut, while Lorne liked his to be on the long side. But in
the dark, with Lee wearing The Defender outfit, and by remaining at a discreet
distance from the cabin where he could still be seen but without revealing any
details, the switch would be impossible for Brenda to detect.

“Oh, yeah. You’ll pass.” Giving his younger sibling a pat on
the shoulder, Lorne got into the car. “Thanks again, Lee.”

Lee waved it off. “Hey, we all knew that sooner or later one
of us would have to take the plunge to keep the Palmer dynasty going, right? I’m
as grateful as hell we can finally bring Brenda into the family for keeps. Uhh,
think you’re gonna tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth tonight?”

“I dunno,” Lorne said, mulling over it. “Maybe I’ll wait
until after the wedding.”

Both men laughed, and after exchanging thumbs-up signs,
Lorne drove off toward the cabin with a renewed sense of hope.

Chapter 23

Candles

Brenda sat in the chair with her knees drawn up to her
chest, her arms wrapped around her legs as she waited for The Defender to
return and either take her away to some other safe house, or to tell her things
were okay. She hoped it would be the latter.

She didn’t like the way recent events were playing out. She
hated the fact that she was now considered a criminal, blamed for something she
had nothing to do with, and had no control over.

“Whoever is behind this chose me to be the whipping boy,”
she mumbled. “Why? What did I have or offer that made them target me?”

She knew she could cry about her current lot in life, but
she had enough common sense to realize the tears would be a wasted effort.
Somewhere in her past lay the answer as to why she was being set up to take the
fall. The key component had to be the person who had switched out the contents
of her makeup kit for the stolen chemical.

Closing her eyes, she tried to clear her mind. Maybe after
she had a chance to catch her breath, she might think of that one clue that
could be the key to the answer she was seeking. A clue that would seem
inconsequential now, but end up being what she needed to unlock this mystery.

At least there was one good thing to come out of this
ordeal. It was realizing that the love she felt for Lorne was the real thing,
and not some pseudo brotherly-sisterly love. Accepting it had been an
eye-opening revelation. Somehow she needed to tell Lorne. She needed to hear
his voice, now more than ever. He would help her cope with this mess. He would
be able to make her laugh, and then feel as if redemption lay just around the
corner.

But The Defender had the cell phone Luke had given them. “Damn.
I wonder how far he is from the cabin?”

She unfurled her legs and started to get to her feet when
there was a sharp rap on the door. Brenda froze, waiting to see if The Defender
would announce himself again.

Or not, because it isn’t him.

Icy dread began to creep up her spine. It could be them. The
people who were out to ruin her life. They may be out there now, ready to
attack. Ready to haul her back to jail. Or maybe to take her to some remote
place where they could take their time destroying her.

What remote spot? This place isn’t remote enough for you?

She started to back away from the door as her brain tried to
wrench itself out the paralyzing fear that was overtaking her. Where was The
Defender? Had they managed somehow to overcome him? Where could she hide? Where
could she escape? Wasn’t there a stairway or some kind of ladder she could go
down to reach the beach, or would she have to jump? She couldn’t remember for
certain. Surely the Palmers had given some thought to what might happen if
there was a fire.

“Brenda?”

Although the voice was muffled, it was unmistakable.

“Brenda, open up!”

Almost light-headed with relief, she threw the door open to
see the one man she had been praying to see.

“Lorne!”

He stood there with one of his goofy grins on his face,
looking exactly as he had that morning, right down to the black Fender t-shirt.
But instead of holding empty cardboard boxes, he had an ice chest.

“Hurry up and open the door! This thing is heavy!” He
laughed.

She held the door open and stood aside to let him in.
Glancing back outside, she could see the car below, parked next to the beams
holding the cabin above ground level. Looking out into the distance, she
finally spotted a lone black figure standing sentinel with his arms crossed
over his chest on a remote sand dune. She gave a wave, and The Defender waved
back.

After dropping the ice chest under the table, he brushed
past her and hurried down the stairs, back to the car.

“Need help?” she called out.

“Nope. Got it,” he answered, kicking the car door shut with
his foot. He brought the rest of the supplies upstairs and into the cabin,
dumping the bags on top of the table. “Close the door.”

Quickly, she obeyed, standing with her back to the door to
stare at him. It was still difficult to believe he was here with her.

“How—”

“Heads up.”

Lorne tossed her a can of corn, which she deftly caught.

“Right behind you is the pantry, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Obediently, Brenda opened the doors and began to stack the
food he threw her way.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked, and immediately
corrected herself. “I mean, how did you know I was in trouble? Did Luke tell
you?”

“Hell, with all the police scanners and such that he owns,
Luke knows about stuff going down before the police even know.” He juggled
three oranges momentarily before setting them on the counter next to him. “Actually,
he got a phone call from the station. As soon as he heard you’d been taken into
custody, he contacted me. Said he was going to post your bail. A short while
later he called and asked if I thought taking you to the beach house would be a
good idea.” Giving her a quick smile, Lorne added, “Our original plan was for
Luke to pick you up at the police station, and then come pick me up at the grocery
store, and the three of us would come up here together. We never figured The
Defender would step in to help.”

He threw a bag of navy beans at her underhanded. Brenda
caught them and added them to the nearly full pantry.

“The Defender flew me here. He said he would protect me. Of
course, I have no idea how long we’re planning on staying. Did you bring any
milk?”

“In the ice chest,” Lorne replied, stuffing the empty
grocery sacks in a bin under the sink.

Crouching down, Brenda lifted the lid to begin unpacking it,
when she caught sight of a clear plastic container resting on top. Gasping in
surprise, she looked up to see Lorne standing with his arms crossed against his
chest, one eyebrow raised as he waited for her reaction.

“What’s this? Are these chocolate-covered strawberries?”

“If I remember correctly…” He glanced at his wristwatch with
exaggerated movements. “We had a date for nine o’clock.” Tapping the watch with
a forefinger, he added, “It’s that time.”

“But—”

He pointed to the ice chest. “Keep digging. There’s supposed
to be a bottle of champagne at the bottom somewhere.”

Sure enough, after shoving aside some of the crushed ice,
she found it. Pulling it out, she brushed off the loose ice chips. When she
glanced back up at him, he was holding two plastic champagne glasses. The
thought of all he had gone through warmed her, and Brenda laughed lightly. “All
right, Don Juan. Now all that’s missing are the candles.”

“Ah! Got those covered, too.”

Lorne reached over the table to grab a small brown box she
hadn’t noticed him unpacking. He lifted the lid to show her a dozen small white
votives.

“Anything else, madam?”

To answer him, she got to her feet and walked over to where
he was leaning against the counter. Getting up on her tiptoes, she slid her
arms around his neck and lifted her face to kiss him. “Not at the moment,” she
murmured as he bent his head to meet her. “But I’m sure I’ll think of
something. And when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Chapter 24

Fun

She never knew there could be fun in lovemaking. Or laughter
when making love. Or anything other than the grunting, the momentary relief,
and the sweaty, sticky results left over once all was said and done.

The moment she kissed Lorne, every preconceived notion and
every past experience vanished like water down a drain. When his hands drew her
tightly against him, the only anticipation she felt was waiting for this man to
claim her in the most primal, physical way two people could bond.
Provocatively, she rubbed her mound over the hardening bulge in his jeans, and
felt the hard edge of the zipper rising between her thighs.

Lorne pulled back slightly from their kiss to breathe across
her lips, “I thought you might be hungry.”

Ah, the double entendre!
She smiled, but instead of
answering him, she slid her hand between them and grasped his hard erection,
drawing his already tight jeans in a more constricting grip around it. She
heard him gasp, and she could feel his heart speed up.

“Are you trying to be the death of me?” he softly asked.

Brenda stared up into his gray eyes. She could see her
reflection in them. She could also see the desire clouding their depths, like a
thundercloud gathering on the horizon.

“Come on. Show me what you got.” She winked, adding, “Show
me yours and I’ll show you mine.”

Lorne was instantly all play. “Show me yours first,” he
demanded and reached for the front of her pants.

Brenda giggled and jumped backwards, out of range. They both
paused, trying to anticipate each other’s next move, when Lorne lunged forward
to grab her. Shrieking with mock fear, Brenda sprinted around the table and ran
straight for the bedroom with Lorne right on her heels.

She managed to stave him off from the other side of the bed.
Like two opponents raring to have go at each other, they swayed from one side
to the other with the bed, their no man’s land, separating them. She never saw
his next move. In less than a heartbeat, she was tossed on top of the blanket,
and Lorne was looming over her.

“Like I said, you first!”

He grabbed the bottom of her sweater and pulled it upward.
It was nearly over her head, releasing her arms, when he stopped. Brenda
laughed, imagining what she must look like.

“I can’t see!”

“That’s okay,” he replied. She couldn’t see him with the
sweater engulfing her from the neck up. Neither could she extricate her arms
from it. She was literally trapped.

“Now I know how groceries feel inside the bag.” She giggled.

“Umm, but a nice-looking bag of groceries,” Lorne commented.

The tone of his voice warned her that he was planning
something.

“For instance,” he continued, “I really like these apples.
Are they fresh?”

His hands cupped her breasts, filling her with pleasure. His
warm palms massaged and manipulated them, teasing the tips with playful pinches
through the lacy material.

“Hmm, what have we here? Maybe they’re not apples. Maybe
they’re grapes.”

Brenda let the laughter bubble out of her. All thought of
danger and the reason why she was here evaporated under Lorne’s loving hands.
There was a tug on her body, and she felt him pulling the cups down under her
breasts, exposing her skin to the cool night air. She was about to tell him it
was cold when a hot, wet mouth closed over one nipple. His tongue twirled
around the stiff nub, and he gently chewed on it. The need for him escalated,
and she writhed beneath him.

“Lorne! I want to watch you do that!”

The mouth went away. “You want to watch?”

She barely had time to nod when he sat her up on the bed.
The sweater lifted away, and her hair tumbled around her shoulders. Lorne’s
expression softened as he dipped a hand into the mass, carefully brushing it
behind her shoulders.

“You have the sexiest hair.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. Of all her features, her hair was
the only thing she didn’t find fault with.

“You mentioned you wanted to watch?” he asked.

Without waiting for her answer, he bent her back onto the
bed and proceeded to lavish his attention on her bared breasts. She watched
with half-closed lids at the way his hands manipulated her, massaged her, and
cupped her in his palms to where her taut nipples stood up at stiff attention.

But it was his lips and his tongue that kept her desire
peaked. His knee between her legs pressed into the juncture of her jeans, until
she could feel a second heartbeat pounding in her lower abdomen. Pounding
relentlessly and insistently as her body readied itself for him. She squirmed
slightly, and the knee wedged itself harder. The jeans’ inner seam rubbed along
her clit, and fresh fire plumed through her blood. Brenda moaned softly and
gasped for air.