Under His Cover-nook (15 page)

“Certainly. One moment.”

While Rhys waited to be transferred, he twisted around and caught a glimpse of Jade just as a blade of sunlight slid into the room through the partially open draperies. She was beautiful, even in sleep with one arm bent and tucked up under her head. They had shared a wonderful night together. After they’d made love the first time, they’d ordered dinner, ate, then watched an old movie on television before making love again. He was becoming addicted to this woman.

“Room service.”

Rhys ordered breakfast for two, hung up the receiver, and leaned back against the headboard, smiling. It was just enough time to get a quickie in before breakfast arrived. But just as reached over and began to slide his tongue across the skin of Jade’s nape, someone knocked, reminding him that he’d received a package. “Damn.”

He got out of bed, found a robe hanging in the closet and put it on as he moved through the suite to the door. When he swung it open, a young man in a hotel uniform handed him a white envelope with his name and room number typed in dark, large letters on the front. Only briefly he wondered why the delivery of the package couldn’t have waited until he got back home later that day.

After he took it, he grabbed his wallet off a table and gave the young man a tip before closing the door. He retreated into the living area and dropped the envelope on the table. Ignoring it until later coasted through his mind, but the fact that someone took the trouble to send it to him here meant that on some level, it was important. But before his mind would even begin to wake up and acknowledge whatever it was, he needed coffee. Plus, once the aroma hit the room, it would wake Jade up as well.

He moved to the small kitchen, made the coffee and stood waiting for it to percolate and drizzle into the pot. When it did, he got a cup, opened two packages of sugar and one package of cream and dumped them in the bottom of his cup. The smell began to add a fragrance to the room that immediately woke his mind and got him ready to face the day. Just as he reached for the handle, he heard water running in the bathroom and knew Jade was awake, and it made him smile.

Once he took one fortifying sip, he crossed the room and picked up the package, sliding his finger under the seal.  When he saw what was inside, his heart seized in his chest. It was a picture of Maya, smiling up at him, her high school graduation picture, with a blood red ring drawn around her neck. How the hell had they gotten the photo?

He balled the envelope up so tight in his fist, his hand began to hurt.

The need to throw his cup of coffee across the room swept through him so fast, it made him shudder. Who in the hell was doing this? Why were they threatening Maya? She was innocent. It wasn’t her fault, but for some reason she was unwittingly a part of someone’s sick game. To accomplish what, he still didn’t know. And he hated not knowing.

It took some effort to ease his grip on the envelope, smooth it out and put it back on the table. Once Jade saw it, he knew she’d want it and would want to get it examined, just as she’d done with the others. But it had probably been through so many hands by now it would make finding the originator nearly impossible. However, he knew her well enough to know she’d still go through the process of getting it checked for fingerprints. She never forgot the small details. It was one of the things he admired about her.

Without thinking, he found his cell phone under yesterday’s newspaper and scrolled through the numbers until he found the one he wanted. Before he hit send, he moved to close Jade’s bedroom door.

When the ringing stopped and the other end was answered, he said, “It’s me. I need your expertise.”

In the shower, Jade hummed to herself and couldn’t help but remember her trip to the butterfly garden. No man had ever done something so special for her. Yes, she’d received flowers, cards, and had gone on memorable dates to dinners and movies. But what Rhys had done was unique. It showed her he paid attention to who she was inside. He’d made her feel special. And what she found so amazing was that he’d done it for the sheer purpose of making her happy. It held no intrinsic value to him whatsoever, other than seeing her go all geek over a bunch of butterflies. When he’d sent her on ahead upstairs earlier the previous day, he’d obviously found out about this place and made some type of arrangement to have a special tour set up just for them, just for her.

In the past, all she’d ever seen was what Rhys appeared to be on the outside, what the media said about him and portrayed him to be: a player who went through women like salt out of a shaker. But a player wouldn’t do this. A player thought only about himself. Sure, he probably expected her to fall into his arms with gratefulness afterward, but in truth, it was she who dropped her dress after the luncheon. She was the one who said they should come back to the hotel and put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. She’d made all the overtures this weekend. Not him. If he were truly a player, it wouldn’t have happened that way. It would have been something romantic, but simpler. A player wouldn’t have given her a reason to leave the room. It would have been all about him impressing her, not about her happiness. A player would not have known she adored butterflies. He wouldn’t have paid that much attention.

What she found so amazing was that she had him all wrong. From the moment he took her to that board meeting about the kids who needed the money for the community center, she knew he was different. No, she hadn’t been with him all that long, but certain kinds of good deeds seemed to be an ingrained part of his makeup. It was who he was.

Jade breathed in the scent of the fragrant soap as she thought more about what was happening to Rhys. The letters. She still couldn’t figure out what it was all about. More than anything, she wished it wasn’t happening to him. There were so many unanswered questions in the tons of information she’d already gathered on the case. Of course, there was still the business connection. She was now certain she’d find her suspect there. It had to be someone in or around his office.

She shuddered at the thought that someone he worked with every day was responsible for this, but until each and every person in that building was cleared of suspicion, she would do everything within her power to not only protect Rhys, but make sure nothing happened to his daughter. She contemplated contacting Karyn to see if they could put someone on her to watch her. Considering her age, she was probably somewhere in college. Who would attempt to hurt someone on a campus full of witnesses? College students did party though and some of the good times they had happened off campus.  She’d have to ask Rhys where she was and as soon as she a got a few minutes away from Rhys, she’d call Karyn and make some arrangements. However, she wouldn’t tell Rhys. She didn’t want to worry him more than he already was.

When she turned off the water and flung the shower curtain open, Rhys was standing in the doorway with a bath towel in his hand.

“I thought you were going to use up all the hot water in the state.”

Jade grinned at him, stepped out and took the offered towel. “I had to ease all those aching muscles you contorted last night.”

For a moment, she would have sworn irritation glinted in his charcoal gray eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. His lips, so delectably soft and sensual, however, did thin.

She frowned but began the task of drying herself. “Is everything okay? I heard you got a package. Was it bad news?”

“No,” he said sharply and her gaze swung up to his. “At least not something I can’t handle.”

Before she could ask him what it was, someone knocked on the door.

“That should be breakfast,” he said brusquely and swung away to go and answer it.

A sliver of unease rose within her, but she stamped it back down as she watched him stalk away. He was in a bad mood. Maybe something went wrong with the funding for his community center or one of the other projects he was working on. He probably didn’t want to tell her because he didn’t want to spoil the good time they were having together.

An easy, natural companionship had sprung up between them after she let her guard down and as they’d spent the rest of the weekend together. In fact, he had far surpassed her expectations. She had grudgingly agreed to come with him only because Karyn had insisted she needed to stick by his side. She never thought in a million years she would come to care for him and admire him, to desire the crush of his full mouth on hers at every waking moment.

Their…relationship…had progressed further in their very short time together than she could have ever guessed. He still refused to tell her the story behind his daughter, but they had learned to work together despite that, for a common cause of finding out who was threatening him. They had become lovers first, albeit because of a one-night stand. Now, they had eased into a friendship, a friendship she still refused to believe would grow beyond this case ending. Whether they fell over the edge into a true couple, well, she’d have to wait and see.

Jade hurriedly dressed before the breakfast Rhys ordered got cold. She decided hair and make-up could wait until after she’d eaten. When she walked into the living area, he was standing at the window, gazing out into a clear, beautiful morning. Desire twisted fiercely in her stomach, skated along her skin and throbbed in the part of her already sensitized to his touch. Would it always be like this? Dizzy with the thought, she came up behind him and slid her arms around his waist. He stiffened then relaxed under her embrace. Her gaze swung to the table, and she noticed he hadn’t touched his plate. “You’re letting your food get cold, Rhys.”

But right now, after seeing him standing there, so delectably handsome and sexy, other more interesting hungers roared to the surface. However, when she would have carried her hungry forays for his body, to his chest, his stomach and much lower, he stopped her and moved out of her arms. Disappointment sank inside her heart. Again, she dismissed it and went to the table.

“Our flight leaves at a little after eleven. Are you packed and ready to go?”

Jade dug into her eggs then sipped the orange juice. “Yes, for the most part. I just need to get the stuff I left in the bathroom.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it, especially after the wonderful day and night they’d had. Her gaze slid to the white envelope partially hanging out of his briefcase. “Do you want to tell me what’s in the envelope that’s made you so grumpy?”

His gaze flew up to her face before he said, “No. It’s nothing. Just some…business stuff I need to handle back home. Don’t worry about it.” With considerable effort, she noticed, he smiled at her. It didn’t reach the depths of his eyes. A small crease on the bridge of his nose formed when he was upset about something and it was there right now. 

Something was wrong, and he didn’t want to share it with her. Maybe he didn’t want her to know; maybe he wanted to spare her the last few hours of their trip together. Either way, she didn’t like it, but she’d let it go. For now.

When they were downstairs, preparing to check out, he told her, “Why don’t you go ahead to the car.”

She looked at him questioningly but agreed. “Okay.” She went up on tiptoe about to kiss him when he looked over her head and turned away.

Jade deflated like a balloon. Head low, she walked toward the exit and out the automatic doors, but was momentarily stunned when she saw bright flashes of light. When her head swung up, surprise widened her eyes. Several men with cameras stood by.

So this was it.

“Ms. Conner, did you enjoy your weekend with the lieutenant governor?”

“How do you like being the newest ‘it’ girl?”

“Do you think you can make the lieutenant governor see wedding bells, Ms. Conner?”

The questions ping-ponged from left to right, and she started to give an angry retort but held back, deciding against it. Rhys didn’t want them seen together, didn’t want anyone to take a picture of them together. That was why he was so uptight earlier, the reason he sent her on ahead of him. He knew the press would be here, and he didn’t want them seen together.

Well,
fine
.

Jade put her head down and shoved through the photographers or reporters or whatever the hell they were and scrambled into the limo before she thought twice about not saying anything and gave them all a piece of her mind. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. She would not be a sound bite on the entertainment news. Besides, they were only doing their jobs. Rhys on the other hand…well, that was a different matter altogether. When she got done with him, his ears would bleed.

Rhys moved past the paparazzi at a speed he didn’t know he had. Any other time, he’d stop for a picture or two, maybe even a little conversation, but he was nowhere in the mood to be nice or cordial. Usually, if he gave them a little something, what they said about him in the paper the next day or in the entertainment news would be mild.

Today, he just didn’t have the stomach for it, and he didn’t want to put Jade through it either. He was trying to show her he wasn’t that person anymore. The one who craved the attention of the news media. That he was ready to settle down with one woman. However, it seemed like too much was being heaped on him all at once. The weekend had started out so wonderful with Jade, but he’d been forced to seek protection for Maya, something he hoped he wouldn’t have to do. After receiving this last photo, he really didn’t see a choice.

He slid into the car. “The vultures.”

“If you didn’t want to…”

His cell phone vibrated at his hip, so he held a finger up to Jade. “Hold that thought.” The caller ID told him it was Cade.

“Cunningham.” Rhys listened.

“Rhys, there’s been an accident.”

“What happened?”

“A car tried to run her down, but she’s okay. She may have broken her leg but they don’t know for sure yet. She’s in the ambulance now.”

He leaned back against the seat, relieved. “What hospital are they taking her to?”

“Washington Regional.”