Dark And Dangerous (15 page)

 
Brown walked over to one of the walls and sat
down, doing something with the machines that Kayley had no idea what was.

 
It took less than ten seconds before he had
the pictures up on a giant screen on the wall.

The room hummed with
intensity as Brown and Klein studied the images that flipped across the screen.

 
"Wait," Klein barked. "Go
back." He leaned in closer to study a picture revealing men carrying
boxes. "Zoom in on the faces," he ordered Brown.

 
"They all work for
Schnyder
,"
Brown stated. "It's definitely a shipment. But it's not a shipment we have
registered."

 
"No, it's not," Klein said, rubbing
his beard stubble, "and I don't recognize the place."

 
"Our technicians may be able to
determine the location," Brown said. "I'll send it to them right away."

Kayley watched as Brown
tapped quickly on the computer and then turned back to look through the
pictures again.

 
"That's not the warehouse," Brown
said, studying the images depicting boxes stacked in a dark room.

 
"No." Klein leaned closer to examine
it. "And I can't determine where it might be." Frustrated he drew a
hand through his hair. "We need to find Joe."

 
"And this was all he sent you?"
Klein asked, turning back to look at Kayley.
 

 
"Yes." Kayley wrung her hands
together uncomfortably. "Except a note."

 
"Do you have the note with you?"
Klein asked his eyes sharp on her face.

 
"No. But it just said 'Sorry sis, I
hoped it wouldn't get to this'."

 
"That's it?"

 
"Yes."

 
"I don't like the sound of that,"
Brown said.

 
"I agree." Nathan stepped up beside
Kayley. "Do you have any idea what he's sorry for?"

 
"No." Klein looked at Kayley.
"Why would he apologize to you?"

 
"The only reason I can think of is
because he knew he would send
Schnyder
right to
me."

 
The thought of that made rage burn through
Nathan. What kind of low-life would risk his
sisters
life.

 
"I don't understand why he didn't just
send it to us," Klein wondered. "But if you hear from him or he sends
you anything else, contact us immediately."

 
"We'll do that." Nathan took
Kayley's arm.

 
"I'll do that," Kayley said and
gave Nathan a cold look.

Klein wisely hid a smile.
The boy was in trouble, he thought. And after twenty years of marriage and four
daughters, he knew what he was talking about.

 
"We'll do that," Nathan said again
and looked at her, anger written clearly in his eyes, daring her to disagree
with him.

 
"We'll get one of our men to drive you
to the airport," Klein said, gesturing to Brown.

 
"But we need to be able to reach you at
any time, so don't leave the country."

 
"We won't," Nathan said, and they
followed Klein out of the camper.

A black car with tinted
windows were waiting for them in front of the camper.

Klein opened the back door
for them and held it open as they climbed in. "Thanks for your help,"
he said and closed the door quickly. This was one car ride he could do without,
he thought chuckling to himself. A woman's temper was nothing to joke about. He
would take facing off with a criminal
everyday
, over
being faced with an angry female.

 
As the driver started the car, Kayley turned
away from Nathan to look out the window. Angry at her, Nathan watched her out
of the corner of his eyes, without seeming to. He wasn't sure what to do about
her. He didn't know what she was thinking or feeling, but there was no doubt
she had pulled herself away from him. Distanced herself and closed off.

 
He wanted to reach out to her, to replace
that sad look in her eyes with happiness. But he was still too angry. Couldn't
force himself past it. And he doubted that he could make anything better at the
moment, with the turmoil he was feeling.

 
The car stopped in front of the helicopter,
and the driver opened the door for them. Troy was waiting as they slid out of
the car, and hurried over to meet them.

 
"I'll get the bird fired up in a minute.
I trust your meeting went well?" Troy said casually as if it was something
that happened every day.

 
"It went," Nathan answered.
"How about you?"

 
"I was questioned by a couple of police
officers, and left to wait for you."

 
"Good." Nathan opened the door to
the chopper and held it as Kayley climbed in. "Let's get going."

 
He climbed in after Kayley and within a few
minutes they were in the air.

Chapter 16

 
The
flight back felt like an eternity to Kayley. She wanted it to be over now.
Needed it to be over. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold up her
guard, and most importantly hold back her feelings.

 
She felt tired to her bones and strained to
keep up her cool unaffected facade while they flew in tense silence. The air
was so thick with it, she imagined she could probably cut through it with a
knife.

 
Relief swept through her when she recognized
Monterey beneath them. It was going to be over soon.

 
But her initial relief was quickly replaced
with a dread that settled heavily in her stomach when Troy started to land. A
few more minutes and Nathan would stop giving her the cold shoulder and blow
her off completely. Oh, he would probably try to be nice about it, she thought.

But that didn't change the
facts.

 
As Troy landed the chopper, she felt her
palms grow damp with nerves.

They had barely touched
the ground before Nathan jumped out. He clearly couldn't wait to get away from
her, she thought. And she didn't know why that hurt her. She had predicted it
coming, so it was hardly a surprise.

 
It did however surprise her to find he still
held the door open for her. But then his mother had taught him well, so it
really shouldn't.

 
Kayley climbed out, feeling stiff and clumsy
under his watchful eyes. She had hardly set her feet on the ground, before he
stalked off toward his car.

 
Unsure of what to do, she stayed where she
was. She didn't know if he simply intended to leave her behind without a word,
or if he expected her to follow. She supposed she could walk back to the resort
and call a cab from there, since she didn't have her cell phone with her. Or
maybe she could ask Troy to give her a ride to the resort, or to just call a
cab to pick her up here, she thought quickly.

 
She looked up after Nathan, unable to prevent
herself, and found him standing with the passenger door open, looking at her
and waiting impatiently.

 
Uncertain of his intentions she hurried over
to his car. She hadn't seen the surprise on his face when he turned around to
find she hadn't followed him. Nor did she see the way he watched her closely,
searchingly, his eyes narrowed now. She only saw anger darkening his eyes to
nearly black slits, and looked away quickly.

 
She avoided his eyes, sliding into the car,
and waited uncomfortably as he closed the door softly and walked around to the
other side. She had to admit she had never seen such an impressive display of
self-control from anyone.

 
There was no doubt he was furious, but he
certainly knew how to keep his feelings on a tight leash. She found that oddly
comforting.

But then she had never
known anyone who even practiced the faintest self-control. Quite the opposite,
she thought.

 
Nathan climbed in and started the car,
without a glance at her. He set it into gear and started driving as tension
filled the air so heavily, Kayley thought it was a wonder either of them could
sit up straight under the weight of it.
 

 
She would just get it over with, she thought.
She would simply say it, and then he wouldn't have to reject her. It would be
easier all around, she assured herself.

Fidgeting nervously with her
fingers, she looked at him under her lashes. He was the image of an angry male.
His face was set in hard lines, his mouth grim and his eyes angry slits.

 
She sucked in a deep breath and put on an icy
outward protective shield. It was the shield she had always used against the
world, the shield that never failed to hide her feelings and make her appear
cool, composed and indifferent.

 
"You can just drop me off at the
resort," she said coolly as if it was a business conversation.

 
"Drop you off?" His voice was
glacier cold.

 
"Yes."

 
"And why would I drop you off?"

 
"So you don't have to drive me to my
cottage."

 
"I see." His voice froze several
icy degrees. "And what are you planning to do at your cottage?"

 
"Well I..." Confused at his
reaction, she looked at him frowning. This was not how she had thought he would
react. She had expected him to be relieved. Squaring her shoulders, she turned
to face him straight on. "Look, I don't know why you seem so angry. We
both know that this is what you want as well."

 
"Oh, we both know that, do we?" He
kept his eyes carefully on the road.

 
"Yes," Kayley said frustrated, her
cool shield cracking. "And I really don't see why you're acting like this.
Unless your ego is upset that I said it before you had the chance."

 
"You think that's it?" He could
feel his calm slipping, and strained to keep his temper under control.

 
"Yes. I don't see what else it could
be."

 
"So you think I'm a coward that gives up
at the first sign of trouble? But then my giant ego is crushed when you give up
first?" He took his eyes off the road for a moment to spear her with a
quick furious look, out of eyes blazing with controlled anger. "I sound
like a charmer, in your opinion."

 
She felt his sarcasm roll over her, and felt
her own temper begin to sizzle. "At the moment you certainly are."

 
"Well, I'll tell you something. I don't
appreciate you comparing me with the other men you have known. I'm not them,
and I have no intention of letting you end this."

 
"Letting me." Kayley clung
desperately to her temper. "This is not a one-way street. If I want to end
it, I will."

 
"Oh, no you won't. I'm not going to let
you run away like a coward, just because you don't want to deal with your
emotional baggage."

She gasped at his insult, and
felt red hot rage burn her stomach and fray her vision.

 
"You're calling me a coward? Me?"

 
"Yes."

 
"How dare you? If you think I want to be
with you after that, then you're crazy." Red flags of anger burned high on
her cheeks. "I want you to drop me off right now."

 
"No."

She felt a small pang of
fear in her stomach, and quickly ignored it. "I said, drop me off
now."

 
"I'm not dropping you off in the middle
of the road," he said in a cool, reasonable voice that infuriated her.

 
"No, you're dropping me off at the side
of the road," she said, silently congratulating herself on her great
self-control.

 
"No, I'm not." He turned the car
onto a smaller road, and she realized they were nearly at his house.

 
"Fine, then you can drop me off here and
call a cab from your house," she said in a calm
tone,
that
was far from how she really felt.

 
He didn't answer, simply drove on and parked
in front of his house. The nerve of the man, Kayley thought, jumping out of the
car. She stalked off, intending to walk back to the main road and hitch-hike
from there. She barely made it three steps, before he rounded the car and
caught her. She kicked out as hard as she could when he grabbed her, and in one
easy move slung her over his shoulder. Fury spurted through her, making her
vision blur with red as she struggled against his hold.

 
Her struggles didn't seem to disturb him the
least as he simply carried her easily into his house. She beat furiously
against his back, and felt fear tug at her stomach again, at her futile
efforts. She hadn't felt this helpless since she had been a child, and had
sworn never to feel so again.

 
"Put me down this instant," she
demanded in what she hoped sounded like a dignified voice.

 
He merely locked the front door, before
complying with her demand and set her on her feet. The minute he released her,
she ran for the door, panic squeezing her throat. She barely made it a step
before he caught her again. This time she went wild, panic and her memories
clawing at her, mixing her past and her present in an indistinguishable
turmoil.

 
In an instant Nathan found his arms full of a
wild furious woman. He had to struggle to keep his grip, and to prevent her
from hurting both of them in her desperate attempt to break free. He backed her
against the door, catching her wrists in one hand and pressed against her body,
trying to stop her struggles. Still she fought, trying to twist free and nearly
knocked her head against his chin.

 
"Kayley, relax," he commanded.
"Stop it."

She didn't seem to hear
him, just kept thrashing, trying to break free.

 
"Kayley, stop." He caught her face
with his free hand, forcing her to hold still and look at him. He saw panic
written clearly in her eyes, clouding them. He knew he had to try to get
through it, before he could get her attention and talk to her.
"Kayley," he said intently.

"Kayley, look at me.
I'm not going to hurt you." Her breath came in hard ragged bursts, but her
eyes slowly cleared.

 
"That's right. Look at me." He
watched her closely. "Just look at me."

Her eyes cleared and she
began to shake uncontrollably with the aftermath of adrenaline.

 
"Everything's okay." He stroked her
cheek gently and watched her flinch at his touch. It hurt more than he would
have thought. His mouth tightened, but he kept his hand where it was. "I
would never hurt you, Kayley. You should know that."

 
Nathan shifted and watched her flinch again
as he lifted her into his arms. Ignoring it, he carried her into the living room
and sat on the sofa, settling her on his lap. She might flinch at his every
movement, but he knew that the most important thing for her right now was human
warmth. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around
her, gathering her close.

 
"You're safe, Kayley." She shook
almost violently in his arms. "Everything is fine. You're completely
safe."

 
He murmured comforting words to her as his
warmth slowly seeped through her bones, and the shock began to wear off. Her
shaking began to lessen, until it was barely a tremble. He could feel exactly
when the shock began to subside, leaving room for her awareness to take over,
when she began to stiffen against him.

 
He waited a bit longer until he was
completely sure there was no shock left. He knew very well that she would feel
sad, insecure and shaken up. It was the natural reaction for humans when they
had just had a highly charged emotional reaction.

Then he put his hand under
her chin and lifted her face up to his. She looked sheet white with dark
smudges under her eyes, but her eyes were clear and alert.

 
"I would never hurt you." Anger
made his voice even deeper than it normally was. "I know you have your
demons, but you should know I would never hurt you. I thought you knew that by
now."

 
"I..." She swallowed hard and tried
again. Nerves and embarrassment made her voice raw. "I didn't... I mean I
did think you would, but it's not like that."

 
"What's it like then, Kayley? I saw you
panic and look at me as if I was a monster, just because we had an
argument."

 
"Is that what you call an
argument?" She felt relieved as anger washed over her again, smothering
her nerves. "Do you usually cart women off against their will when you
argue with them?" She tried to shove off his lap in an angry move, and
found herself caught firmly in his arms.

 
"I don't usually have people run away
from me. The other people I know are ready and willing to stand up and fight
when they're angry." His eyes were every bit as angry as hers, and very
close. "But I can tell you this, I'm not going to be compared with anyone
else."

 
Before Kayley had a chance to react, he
crushed his mouth to hers. She wanted to struggle, but only managed to put her
hand against his chest, to try to push him away.

Instead, she found her
hand laying there limply. Her mind went blank and her world spun. Hot arrows of
need raced through her at the touch of Nathan's demanding, caressing hands. He
shifted, laying her beneath him against the pillows. He pulled off her blouse
in a swift move and roamed his hands over her, catapulting her over the first
edge of raw need. She gasped and shook with pleasure, and before she could come
back down and catch her breath, he drove her up again. She moaned and writhed
beneath him, pleasure swamping her. Desperate for more she reached for him,
trying to pull him closer. She struggled with his T-shirt, wanting to feel his
skin under her hands.