Dark And Dangerous (5 page)

 
"No, it's true," he whispered
harshly. "They didn't know. We were told to look for a microchip or
something like it."

Nathan considered it a
moment. It sounded like the truth.

 
"Why is it so important? What's on
it?" he asked.

 
"I don't know, they don't tell me
nothing."

Nathan knew that was true.
The bottom of an organization never knew what happened on the top.

 
"Who are you working for?" he asked
instead.

Before the man had a
chance to answer several police cars came barreling down the gravel road.

 
"Who are you working for?" Nathan
repeated intently. But the man refused to answer, knowing that he was going to
be saved, in a matter of seconds. He might not like the police, but he would
choose them any day over Nathan.

 
The cars pulled into the driveway, tires
screeching to a halt.

Damn it, Nathan thought.
He didn't have all of his answers yet and now he wasn't going to get them. The
police was bound by rules, but he wasn't.

Chapter Six

 
It was
late before the police was finished taking pictures of the scene, and
questioning them about what had happened. Nathan and Kayley answered their
questions together, sitting beside each other on what was left of her ruined
couch.

 
They explained everything that had happened,
but wisely left out Nathan's interrogation of the burglar.

 
"Do you have any place to stay?"
The officer asked Kayley when he was satisfied with their answers.

 
"Oh, um-"

 
"Yes, she's staying with me,"
Nathan interrupted her.

 
"Good, we'll contact you there,"
the officer said. "Now, why don't you go home and get some rest."

 
"Yeah, we will," Nathan said,
rising. Taking Kayley's arm, he helped her to her feet, and led her out into
the cool night.

 
Kayley breathed in deeply, hoping the fresh
air would clear her head. As the anger had seeped out of her, it had left a
tired and empty feeling in its wake. The air helped her frazzled nerves a bit,
but her head still felt fuzzy. Sliding into Nathan's car, she leaned her head
back against the seat and closed her eyes for a moment while he walked around
the hood. And straightened quickly as he climbed in beside her.

 
But not quick enough. She looked beat, Nathan
thought. Her face was pale and there were dark smudges under her eyes.

 
"Just relax, Kayley. You've had a hell
of a day." Starting the car, he drove away from the little cottage.
"I'm going to take you home, then you can have a nice warm bath and go to
bed."

 
"It's very nice of you, Nathan, it
really is, but you have already done too much. I can't let you do any
more."

 
"You told me you do what you want, well
so do I. So if I want to give you something or do something for you, I
will." He gave her a look to go with his words. "And right now I want
you to be safe, so you're coming home with me."

 
"But-"

 
"And don't bother arguing with me. It's
a waste of time, once I've made up my mind," he interrupted.

 
She felt completely overwhelmed. Her head was
spinning and she couldn't gather her thoughts to argue with him, much less get
her point across.

 
"We'll talk about it tomorrow,"
Kayley said.

Nathan didn't say
anything, he just smiled knowing he had won this round. He had no intentions of
letting her out of his sight, and she would simply have to accept it.

 
The
burglars
words
had made ice gather in the pit of his stomach. Something was very wrong. He
wasn't sure how Kayley fit into it, and he wasn't sure she knew either.

 
Yes, they would certainly have to talk
tomorrow, but right now he just wanted her to relax and rest.

 
They drove in silence to his house, while
Kayley was so exhausted her eyes slid closed.

She shot up in her seat as
Nathan turned off the ignition. She never slept near other people. It didn't
matter how tired she got, she could never relax enough to sleep near anyone
else. Until now.

 
"We're here," Nathan said.

He slid out of the car,
and walked around to open Kayley's door for her. Climbing out, she looked
around. They were in a large well lit garage.

 
"It's this way," Nathan said.

She followed him through
one of the doors, into a big hallway and up a wide staircase.

The house was big, but she
barely realized it as he led her down another large hallway, with doors
flanking both sides, and into a beautifully decorated bedroom.

 
"How does this suit you?" he asked.

 
"It's perfect," Kayley said,
looking around dazed. It was much better than anything she had ever stayed in
before, and she was too spent to admire it.

 
"Good. I'll let you get some sleep. If
you need anything my bedroom is right beside yours, to the left."

 
"Okay."

 
"Good night, Kayley." Nathan turned
around to leave.

 
"Good night, Nathan, and thank
you."

He looked back at her.
"I have my purely selfish reasons." And with that he closed the door.

 
Kayley looked around the room. She was so
tired, she thought. Maybe she could just lie down for a minute, before she took
a shower. Just for a minute, she thought again, and curled up on the bed.

She was asleep the second
her eyes closed.

.....

 
Kayley awoke disoriented. She sat up in a
rush and looked confused around the room. It was decorated in soft earthy and
creamy tones, and for a moment she had no idea where she was.

 
Then last
nights
events dawned on her. She was in Nathan's house, because someone had broken
into hers.

 
Crawling out of bed, Kayley looked around for
her clothes. It took her a moment before she realized she was still wearing
them. So much for just resting a minute before she took a shower, she thought
ironically.

 
Heading for the shower, she glanced at her
watch. Nearly ten. Longer than she usually preferred to sleep, but then she had
had a very eventful day and night.

 
Stripping out of her clothes, she stepped
under the deliciously hot spray of water. And just wallowed in it.

 
The shower took a little longer than she had
intended, but she felt wonderfully fresh and clean by the time she headed out
into the hallway.

 
Her first impression was confirmed. It was
grand, with a high ceiling and doors running along both sides of the walls.

 
Kayley headed down the stairs, through a big
entry, and into a large living room. She couldn't see Nathan anywhere, but the
room was magnificent. Dark gleaming wooden floors highlighted antique carpets,
and walls of glass flanked one side of the room, showing a unobstructed view of
an expansive beautifully landscaped garden leading to the rough and rugged
Californian coastline.

 
It was gorgeous, she thought with a small
pang of envy. She couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect house, with a more
perfect view.

 
"Good morning."

Surprised Kayley turned
around and spotted Nathan. He was standing with his hands in his pockets,
leaning comfortably against the large open doorway. His feet were bare and he
was dressed casually in jeans and a white t-shirt. He looked good enough to
eat.

 
"Good morning," she managed.

 
"Did you sleep well?" he asked,
watching her. She looked better. Her color was back, but she still had dark
smudges under her eyes.

 
"Yes, thank you. I slept like a
dead."

 
"Good. You hungry?"

 
"Starving." She realized.

 
"Thank God. I was afraid you might be
one of those women that never eat breakfast, and then only greenery if they
do."

 
"No need to worry. I will never be one
of them." She followed him through the doorway and into a large kitchen.

 
"What would you like?" He opened
the refrigerator. "I make a mean omelet, but I also make mouthwatering
pancakes, waffles and
french
toast." He looked over his shoulder at her. "What will it be?"

 
"Um
..
I ah... I
don't want to cause you any more trouble," Kayley said, wringing her
hands.

 
Nathan simply lifted his brow in an ironic
curve. "Kayley, you better stop that, otherwise you'll just annoy
me." He turned back to the refrigerator. "My choice then."

He pulled out eggs, milk
and butter. Setting them on the table, he found the rest of his ingredients,
and started mixing them in a big bowl.

 
Kayley watched in fascination. She had never
seen a man cook before. But she liked the way he haphazardly threw everything
together and mixed it.

 
She was always much more structured in her
cooking. But then she had learned to cook in France, where she had taken
lessons. It was one of her small pleasures, something that reminded her of how
far she had come since her childhood, where she never knew when she would get
her next meal.

 
"Do you cook?" Nathan asked,
startling her out of her thoughts.

 
"Yes, but not the way you do."

 
"What way then?" He poured the
batter into a waffle maker.

 
"I took cooking lessons when I was in
Paris, so I follow recipes and measure everything. Otherwise I don't know how
it will turn out," Kayley said. "How did you learn to cook?"

 
"Mom is a great cook, and she made sure
we all learned it as well. We would take turns each day helping her. I can't
say I always appreciated it, but mostly I liked it." Nathan transferred
waffles onto a plate, and poured more batter into the waffle maker.

 
"Why don't you take a seat," he
said, and began setting the table.

 
"Shouldn't I do something?"

 
"No, I've got it covered. What would you
like to drink?"

 
"I usually just have coffee."
Kayley slid into the cozy breakfast nook.

 
"Coffee it is." He poured coffee
into a big mug and set it in front of her.
 

While Kayley doctored it,
he transferred the last batch of waffles onto the plate, then set it on the
table along with a bowl of fresh berries.

 
"Dig in." He slid into the nook
across from her.

They did just that, and
she had to admit he had been right. The waffles were absolutely mouthwatering.

 
Kayley liked watching and listening to him as
he told her about his family and childhood, while they ate. She knew he was
deliberately trying to take her mind off of what had happened the night before.

 
Except for her teacher, Kayley couldn't
remember anyone ever doing that for her. It made her heart clench
uncomfortably.

 
When they finished their meal Nathan knew he
couldn't postpone talking about the other night any longer. He had wanted to
give her a quiet morning, and had hoped he could make her trust him a little
more. He wanted to help her and she would just have to accept that. But there
was no avoiding talking about it.

 
"Kayley, we have to talk about last
night." Nathan watched her intently from across the table.

 
She felt the blood drain from her face, and
told herself not to be disappointed. What had she expected? Of course he wanted
to talk about it, and so would she have if she had been him.

 
"Okay," was all she
said.

 
"Do you have any idea why they broke
into your cottage?" He wanted to find out just how much she knew. His gut
told him she was innocent, but he had to be sure.

 
"No. I think they were just burglars.
They probably hoped I had some valuables," Kayley said.

 
"What kind of valuables?"

 
"Well, I don't know what kind of things
they look for. Probably jewelry and maybe electronics as well. But I know they
chose the wrong place. I have neither." She looked at him with a growing
sense of anger. "Why do you ask me that way? Do you think I had anything
to do with it?"

Frustrated he dragged a
hand through his hair. This was exactly how he had hoped it wouldn't turn out.

 
"No, but I had to be sure."

 
"If you had to be sure, then part of you
did believe I was involved."

Angry, she pushed away
from the table intending to storm out of the room. She had barely taken two
steps before Nathan caught her, and whirled her back around. It happened so
quickly it was all a blur, and then Kayley was crushed against him. His mouth
covered hers desperate and demanding.

 
She lost every sense of time and space, as he
ravaged her. She was so caught up in him that she didn't even notice it when he
backed her against the wall.