Dark And Dangerous (4 page)

 
"Only once, but it's quite a show."
And so it was, as the fishermen began throwing out small leftover fish and fish
guts. The sea lions and the seagulls threw themselves after the easy meals, in
a race of speed and agility. Laughing in delight, Kayley watched the clever
animals compete.

 
She was beautiful, Nathan thought. The way
the Sun made her hair look like the purest flaming gold, and her eyes sparkled
with laughter.
 

 
"That was great, don't you think?"
Kayley asked, and turned to look at him.

 
"Yeah. Are you hungry?"

 
"A bit."

 
"Then let's get something to eat."
He had spotted an intimate little fresh seafood restaurant a bit up ahead.
"Do you like seafood?" he asked.

 
"I love it."

The seafood was great, the
atmosphere cozy, and the company even better. Kayley couldn't remember the last
time she had enjoyed anything so much. After lunch they continued their
exploration of the wharf, before taking a walk along the beach, listening to
the waves crashing softly against the shore.

 
"I love the sound of the water,"
she said looking at the Sea.

 
"I know what you mean. That's why I
bought a house right by it," Nathan said.

 
"I thought you lived at the
resort."

 
"I did for a while. But I like my
privacy. Damian lives there, and I still have an apartment there, just in
case."

 
"Where's your house?" Kayley asked.

 
"It's about a ten minute drive from the
resort, and quite isolated. I fell in love with the ground and the view."

 
"What about the house?"

 
"There was no house. I had it
built."
 

 
"Oh."

 
"I think you'll like it."

 
"I'm sure you're right," Kayley
said. They walked in silence for a while, just enjoying the peace.

 
"As a San Francisco native, I suppose
you've seen all the sights already," Nathan said.

 
"You suppose correctly. How about
you?" she asked.

 
"I've yet to try a cable car."

 
"No. Really?"
 

 
"Yes."

 
"Well, we'll have to change that."

 
By the time the limousine picked them back
up, they had not only ridden a cable car, but also walked what seemed to be
every inch of Chinatown. Tired but happy, they climbed into the helicopter and
just relaxed in the comfortable seats.

 
"That has got to be the best town trip I
have ever had," Kayley exclaimed, as the helicopter took off.

 
"Yeah, for me too," Nathan said.

Once again captivated by
the view, it took her awhile before she realized that they weren't flying back
towards Monterey.

 
"Wait. This isn't the way back."
She looked at Nathan.

 
"No it isn't." He just smiled
relaxed and confident at her.

 
"Where are we going?" she asked
suspiciously.

 
"It's a surprise."

She had never actually
liked surprises. In her experience they rarely led to anything positive.
"What kind of surprise?"
 

Raising an eyebrow, he
looked at her. "You'll find out soon enough," was all he said.

 
That didn't do anything to satisfy her curiosity,
but she could see he wasn't going to budge. Giving up attempting to get it out
of him, Kayley looked out the window trying to see where they were going. It
didn't take too long before the landscape changed and unfolded beneath them.
Vineyards spread out covering the ground.

 
"Napa valley." She breathed out the
words on a sigh.

 
"You like it?" Nathan asked.

 
"I love it. I've only been here once,
but I love it."

 
"So do
I
."
They flew over the fields until they came to a clearing, and landed. Climbing
out of the helicopter, Kayley looked around. They were standing on a lush green
lawn that led up to an expansive elegant building. To the right a man stood
besides
a golf
car
waiting to
greet them. He stepped forward as they walked over.

 
"Nathan, it's good to see
you."
 

 
"This is Kayley Hamilton. Kayley, this
is Keith Jeffries, my good friend and wine supplier," Nathan said.

 
"It's nice to meet you." She shook
his hand, smiling up at him. He was tall, like Nathan, and very attractive,
with thick blond hair and very blue eyes. He turned back to Nathan.

 
"You're in luck. We've just bottled our
latest wines and the harvest has been particularly good."

 
"I'm looking forward to tasting
them." Nathan turned to Kayley. "Keith is giving us the big wine
tour, and then we'll eat dinner in his restaurant."

 
"Okay." She felt a bit overwhelmed.

 
"Let the tour begin." Keith
motioned them into the golf car and took the wheel.
 

Chapter Five

 
About
an hour later Kayley was sure she had seen every inch of the vineyard, and
tasted every wine it had ever produced. Luckily they were only served a
mouthful of each wine, or she would have been very drunk by the time they were
finished.

 
Now, they were sitting in Keith's restaurant.
It was warm and cozy, with big floor-to-ceiling windows spanning along the
whole length of one wall, giving them a lovely view of the garden. On another
wall a big fireplace spread
it's
warmth and light over
the room. They were sitting at a table by the window, enjoying a luxurious meal
and a bottle of wine.
 

 
"How did you find out you wanted to be a
painter?" Nathan asked her.

 
"I don't remember ever wanting to do
anything else," she said, "but I had never really thought about it
until my teacher discovered a painting I had made. She told me I had great
talent. If it wasn't for her I don't think I would ever have thought it
possible for me to paint as a living. But she was set on making me pursue
painting, and she made sure I went to Paris."

 
"Where is she now?" he asked.

 
"She's still in San Francisco, but no
longer teaching."

 
"Do you keep in touch?"

 
"Yes, we talk regularly. She never had
children, and she lives alone in a small apartment with her two cats, but she's
very happy."

 
They talked companionably, as they enjoyed
their meal, and Kayley was once again surprised at how comfortable she felt
with him.

 
The ride back in the helicopter felt like a
dream as they flew over flickering lights of civilization beneath
them, that
sparkled like jewelry. She felt almost
disappointed when the helicopter landed and the flight was over.

Climbing out, Nathan
lifted one of the boxes with her paintings.
 

 
"I'll get them, Kayley. I just want you
to relax," he said when she reached for a box as well.

 
"Oh, okay." Surprised she just
followed him to his car. No one had ever told her to just relax, they would do
what had to be done before.

 
Nathan unlocked the car and placed her
paintings in the trunk. While he went back for the rest of the boxes, Kayley
slid into his car, and leaned comfortably back against the seat. Moments later
she heard him return with the last boxes, and climb in beside her.

 
"All set?" he asked her and started
the engine.

 
"Yes."

They drove smoothly
through the night in an easy silence, until he turned onto her small dirt road.

 
"Thank you for a lovely day,"
Kayley started, suddenly nervous.

 
"You're welcome." Nathan smiled,
amused at her formal tone. Then all of his amusement faded as he spotted a car
parked between two trees to the side of the little road, almost hidden.

 
"Are you expecting company?" he
asked.

 
"No. Why?" Then she noticed the
car. "Who could that be? Maybe someone had car trouble."

Nathan seriously doubted
that, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled the Porsche up behind the
other car and turned off the engine.

 
"I want you to stay here." He
reached for the door handle.

 
"What are you going to do?" Kayley
asked alarmed.

 
"I'm just going to check it out. Stay
here." He opened the door, and was out of the car before she had a chance
to protest. She watched him glide into the shadows surrounding the other car.
Realizing she was holding her breath, she deliberately forced herself to
breathe deeply. Apparently he hadn't found anything in the other car, she
thought, as he crossed the road stealthily, keeping to the shadows.
 

The man moved like a
panther, Kayley thought. And then he was gone, swallowed by the thick trees and
brush surrounding her cottage. Leaning forward, she strained to see him. It
didn't help. Her pulse was speeding and her stomach was in knots as she waited
for Nathan to appear again.

 
Her patience lasted for a whole ten seconds
after she lost sight of him, which she was sure had to be a new record, before
she reached for the door handle.

 
Sliding out of the car, Kayley closed the
door softly. Trying to make as little sound as possible, she kept to the
shadows like she had seen Nathan do.

 
She crossed the narrow road and stepped into
the shadows of windblown trees and overgrown shrubs. She had to narrow her eyes
and strain to see where she was going in the dark. Hoping the wind would cover
the sound of branches and leaves rustling, she tip-toed towards the clearing in
front of her house. Branches scraped against her skin and tugged at her clothes
as she squeezed her way past them.
 

 
Nathan was
no where
in sight.

The beautiful clear sky
she had so enjoyed earlier in the evening, was now more of a curse, as the
light from the moon clearly revealed the ground. There was no way she could
make her way to the house without stepping into the light.

 
It didn't matter, Kayley told herself. It was
probably just someone with car trouble, looking for help.

Even so, her heart raced
as she hurried across the grass towards her cottage. A light flashed through
one of the windows. Panicking, she jumped into the closest shadow, her back
pressed against the wall of the house. It was stupid, she told herself. It was
probably just Nathan in her house. But she had locked the door. Hadn't she?

 
Easing away from the wall, she tried to peer
through a window. Nothing moved. Thinking she might have imagined the light
before, Kayley tip-toed around the house towards the front door

It was wide open.

 
Unsure of what to do next, she thought about
calling out to Nathan. But if it wasn't him, that really wasn't a good idea.
Considering her options, she decided she would have to go inside.

 
Before she had the chance a hand clamped over
her mouth and an arm came around her, yanking her back away from the door. She
struggled and tried to scream, but couldn't get her breath as her attacker
easily countered her every move. Panic clawed desperately at her throat, as he
secured her flailing arms.

 
"Relax. It's me," Nathan's voice
whispered harshly into her ear.

It took a moment before
his words registered through her panic, and her body went suddenly limp with
relief. The second her struggles seized, he yanked her around and kept a firm
grip on her shoulders, as her legs threatened to crumble beneath her.

 
"I told you to stay in the car," he
whispered, his face inches from hers and his eyes dangerous slits of fury.

 
"I don't take orders, from you or anyone
else," Kayley whispered back.

 
"Well, you're going to take them
now," he said. "Stay here."

 
"I'm going with you." Her chin came
up.

 
"No, you're not. I don't know how many
men there's in there. You could get hurt. Stay."

Releasing her, Nathan
headed for the door. Rather than argue, Kayley simply followed him. He heard
her footsteps and spun back around. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her he
had meant it, a sound came from inside the doorway.

 
He whirled back to face the door, making sure
Kayley was behind him. It was too late to argue with her now.

 
A light flashed, and they heard footsteps
approaching them softly from inside the house. Kayley saw it all as if in slow
motion. Nathan bracing himself and striking out as a giant man emerged from the
doorway. Nathan grabbed the giants arm and yanked it so hard to the side and
down, that the man ended up on the ground in a blur of movement. Nathan was
over him the second he landed, pinning him to the ground with a knee in the
back. He caught the other
mans
wrists in a bruising
grip, before he had a chance to defend himself.

 
"Don't get too close, Kayley,"
Nathan warned her. "How many men are you?" he demanded of the other
man. When he kept silent, Nathan grabbed his hair and yanked his head back
sharply.

 
"I repeat, how many men are you?"

The man struggled against
Nathan's hold, but couldn't break it.

 
"Two," he whispered hoarsely,
unable to do anything else. Pain throbbed from his neck as he gasped for air.
They heard a car door slam and an engine spring to life. Then tires bit into
gravel, as a car accelerated.

 
"I think the number has just been
reduced to one," Nathan said bitingly. "What's your name?" He
lowered
the
mans
head a
little, so he could breathe and speak a bit easier.

 
When he didn't answer, Nathan leaned harder
on him. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It doesn't matter to
me."

 
He heard Kayley suck in her breath, and
looked up. Her face was pale and she was staring at him as if she had never
seen him before, and didn't like what she was seeing now.

 
"Kayley, why don't you go into the house
and call the police." When she didn't respond, he cursed silently.

She had the glazed look of
shock in her eyes.

 
"Kayley," he said it gently, and
waited until her eyes focused on his. "I want you to go into the house and
call the police. Tell them you had a break-in, and then stay inside the house.
Okay?"

She managed to nod and
hurried into the cottage. Memories from her childhood interlaced with her
present in a painful chaos that shook her to her core. She had thought she had
buried those memories long ago.

 
Trembling, she fumbled to switch on the
light. When she did, she almost wished she hadn't. It bathed the little cottage
in light, clearly showing the mess that had been made. The few pieces of
furniture she had were all turned over and cut open, leaving the cushioning
spilling out onto the floor.

 
Everything in her kitchen had been ripped out
of drawers and cupboards, and lay in a broken mess on the floor. They had
destroyed everything she owned, Kayley thought.

Then the realization hit
her.

 
Her paintings!

Running into her workroom,
she looked frantically around.

 
Her painting supplies lay scattered on the
floor and three of her paintings lay in a broken heap, their canvases slashed
to pieces.

 
Kayley stood where she was for a moment, just
staring at her paintings in shock. Then anger swept through her, snapping her
back. How dare
they
! No one had any right to do this
to her.
 

 
It seemed they had come at just the right
time, she thought, taking stock. The burglars hadn't had enough time to do any
more damage. The rest of her paintings were still stacked neatly against the
wall, exactly as she had left them.

 
Still riding on her anger, she went into her
bedroom. They had gotten to that before her workroom, she noted. Her clothes
lay scattered on the floor with the rest of her belongings, and her mattress
was slashed open. She stalked into the kitchen and picked up her phone to call
the police.
  

.....

 
Nathan knew he didn't have long before the
police would arrive. And he wanted some answers before they did.

 
"What's your name?" he asked again.
"And you better answer me now. You don't want me to persuade you."

 
"Petr
Nikolin
,"
the man said in a strained voice.

 
"Good. What were you doing here?"
When he didn't answer, Nathan yanked his head back again.

 
"Okay, okay," the man said harshly,
barely able to breathe.

Nathan lowered his head a
fraction.

 
"We were sent to find a package."

 
"What kind of package?" Nathan
asked.

 
"We weren't told."

 
"I think you're lying to me,"
Nathan said, and started to pull his head back again.