Under Wraps. Joanne Rock

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ hadn’t intended for the circumstances to be quite so intense.

      But then, he hadn’t considered what an asset she’d be in an investigation at a hyperexclusive resort. She knew the place. And if the real embezzler had set Marnie up to take the fall for the crime, she might be able to finger the enemy faster than he could on his own.

      “You said it yourself.” Sliding the screwdriver from her grip, he set it aside, not needing it to free his surveillance equipment. “You visited dozens of properties all over the globe for Premiere, so you know these resorts well. You’ve been to the Marquis and you’ve dealt with the people who work there. Why let the trail turn even colder while I waste time trying to get the lay of the land when you know the place inside and out?”

      She gaped at him as if he’d just suggested she sign on for a suicide mission. Was the thought of spending a few days with him that bad? He forced his attention to the camera equipment as he extracted a tiny wireless transmitter.

      “Even if I wanted to do that—and I don’t—I can’t just take off at the drop of a hat. I have a business to run.” She held out her hand to take the transmitter from him while he pried out the camera itself.

      “Everyone deserves a getaway,” he parroted back her business’s pitch line, knowing he was onto something. He had to convince her to do this—and not just because he wanted to get to know her better. Her input could be the key. “Besides, maybe you can’t afford not to go.”

      Straightening, he tucked the small camera in his back pocket, then took the transmitter from her and did the same.

      “What do you mean?” Frowning and distracted, she didn’t seem to notice when he put his hands on her shoulders to turn her around so they could converse somewhere besides the narrow space in front of the shelves.

      How easy would it be to slide his hands lower, to graze her chest just above the rise of her breasts? The fragrance of her temptress perfume wafted along his senses as he guided her toward the desk.

      With more than a little regret, he released her.

      For now.

      “Someone went to considerable effort to make it appear as though you were behind a highly lucrative crime. That suggests you’ve got an enemy you don’t know about. What if this enemy raises the stakes next time?”

      Her gray eyes searched his and he could see the moment she wondered if he could be the guilty party.

      “Here.” He took out his cell phone. “Vincent is on speed dial. Call your old boss at Premiere Properties and check out my story. He can tell you how seriously he’s taking this investigation.”

      And although it stung a little to see how fast she reached for the phone and dialed, Jake knew the line separating the criminals from the cops—or P.I.’s—could be razor-thin sometimes. He’d left the force just because there was too much crossover in his opinion. He could hardly blame her if she found it difficult to know who to trust.

      Still, he didn’t care for the lack of color in her face by the time she disconnected her call and handed him the phone in silence.

      “You okay?” He didn’t want to crowd her when she’d had one hell of a night, but she sure looked as if she could use a shoulder.

      “You’re right. He says 2.5 million dollars is missing. That’s a lot of money.” Her bleak tone was a far cry from her normal Friday-after-five voice. Usually she spent a good hour belting out tunes along with her radio.

      And while he regretted bursting her bubble of ignorant bliss, she was better off knowing the truth. He had to consider her safety.

      “Someone’s taking great pains not to get caught. That raises the chances they could resort to violence if they think we’re on his or her trail.”

      This would have been a whole lot simpler if he hadn’t investigated her. Hadn’t lied to her and spied on her. If none of that had happened, he’d be dusting off seduction skills he hadn’t used in too damn long. Instead, he needed to tread carefully to convince Marnie to help him nab Vincent Galway’s embezzler. But it was the least he could do after all the ways Vince had been screwed by the justice system. Jake had always hated that one of the most honorable guys he knew—after his own dad—had had his integrity questioned. His life put under a microscope because he’d tried to do the right thing.

      And yeah, he couldn’t deny an unexpected need to protect Marnie. His case had taken on a new slant after talking to her and he wanted to be sure the embezzler didn’t try something more drastic to point suspicion her way.

      “I agree that it would be in my best interest to figure out who this person is before he targets me all over again.” Marnie stalked toward her work computer and sat down at the screen. At first, she simply squeezed her temples, as if she wanted to rub out all the worries in her head. Then, she peered up at him with new determination in her eyes. “Since I have this bastard to thank for putting me under suspicion and exposing me to a stranger, it would be worth the time off if I could help put him behind bars.”

      Surprise, surprise.

      She was going to agree to this without a fight. But she didn’t look happy about it. Figuring it would be in poor form to break out the victory dance while she was so clearly upset, he concentrated on all the plans he needed to make for this new strategy to work.

      Jake watched her click through some keys to pull up a web page for a genteel-looking inn with wide white columns and a long veranda. Four stone chimneys dotted the roof. It could have been out of Gone with the Wind except for the fact that the place was surrounded by snow and decked with holiday evergreens. A cobalt-colored front door was the only feature of the building that didn’t fit with the classic Georgian architecture.

      “You’ll get us into the Marquis?”

      “Damn straight,” she muttered, clicking a code into the system that activated a reservation form he assumed wasn’t available to the general public. The photo of the Marquis didn’t even have a sign out front, though a caption under the photo gave an address in upstate New York. “I’ve gone through hell the past six months because of this. I had to move out of my house and into a room in the back of the business to protect my credit after I lost my job. My savings. All this time, I thought I’d done something wrong to make Vince question my capabilities, when in fact I just had an enemy I didn’t know about. An enemy who made me look like a criminal.”

      He heard the hurt in her voice. Felt for her situation.

      “Can you be ready to leave tomorrow?”

      “Are you kidding?” She turned frosty eyes on him. “Someone wants me behind bars. And whoever it is, I have that person to thank for losing a great job at the worst possible time. So I can have my car gassed up and ready to head north in an hour.”

      Surprised at her new level of commitment to the plan, he wondered if she had any idea how close they’d have to be throughout this trip.

      “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for a flight out in the morning?”

      “Tomorrow is a Saturday. We’ll be lucky to find an afternoon flight, let alone something in the morning.” She went back to her computer keys and started filling out information for the exclusive resort. “Besides, I won’t be able to get any sleep with this hanging over my head.”

      Twenty-plus СКАЧАТЬ