Dangerous Curves (21 page)

D
ominique wasn't
sure if the evening had been a success or a failure. She couldn't tell anything by reading Kevin's profile as he drove her back to her place. She'd been surprised when he'd offered to drive. She'd grown used to taking the wheel, but ceded to him tonight. It would give her a chance to think. To think about what she'd seen in her mother's closet. She'd gone there to borrow a shawl and noticed her extensive handbag collection. Her mother had recently built a new shelf Dominique hadn't seen before. She looked at her mother's collection with affection until she spotted a purse that looked familiar.

A red and gold clutch with tiny green accents. The same purse she'd seen on Berton's coffee table. But it couldn't be. It was just a coincidence. Her mother wouldn't… No, it was a stupid thought. Crazy. She brushed the thought aside and lightly touched Kevin's leg.

He jumped and she yanked her hand back.

“I'm sorry,” she said.

“It's not you,” he said, avoiding her glance. “I just…was thinking.”

“What did my mother say to you in the hall? Did she upset you?”

Kevin silently swore. He had to tell her. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. There was no way she'd believe him. “No.”

“You can be honest with me. My father can be a mean SOB, my sister's a prima donna and my mother—”

He turned sharply to her when she stopped. “Your mother's what?” he pressed.

“Is vain and spoiled.”

Kevin gritted his teeth. Her mother was a lot more than that. “Hmm.”

“And you're going to be pulled over if you don't slow down.”

He looked at the speedometer, he was pushing eighty. He slowed, then pulled over to the side and parked. “I wasn't driving fast that day, in case you were wondering.”

“I know.” She touched his hand. “What's wrong?”

He kissed her, his heart pounding. He didn't want her to be able to read him right now. He was glad for the shield of darkness so she couldn't read his face. He didn't want her to know the sickening proposal her mother had made him. He wanted to protect her. “I've been wanting to do that all evening.”

“I'm glad you did.”

He couldn't see her clearly in the dark car, the headlights intermittingly lighting her face as they passed. “So you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you.”

Kevin drew away, then started the car again, wanting to believe her, but not ready to find out how much.

Dominique tasted the sweetness of his kiss with her tongue, and something about it made her wonder about his true feelings, but she didn't want to press him, so she stared at the road ahead. She glanced up at the night sky and then down at the taillights from the cars, their red hue turning her mind again to the color of the clutch purse in her mother's closet.

K
evin looked
around the crowded bar in fascination. He'd never been in such a place before. He'd had Clay repeat the name of Eugene's twice just to make sure. Now he sat with Clay and a man named Nicolas, whose cool blue eyes chilled him. He'd mistakenly ordered a glass of white wine, until he was met with a look of such disdain that he asked for a martini instead. The bartender just blinked. Clay ordered him a beer.

Kevin shook his head. “I don't like beer. I'll have a whiskey.”

The bartender looked at Clay as if for guidance. Clay nodded. They took their drinks to a free table.

“You don't do this often, do you?” Nicolas said, watching Kevin wipe crumbs from the table.

Kevin wiped his hands on a napkin. “What gave me away?”

“Never mind,” Clay said and flashed a knowing grin. “I'm glad you could join us without your driver.”

“I like keeping her to myself.”

Nicolas leaned forward. “I've always wondered. Why have a driver when you can drive yourself?”

“I can clean my house, but I'd rather somebody else do it.”

Nicolas nodded. “Makes sense, but—”

“We can have a discussion on the privileged class later,” Clay cut in.

“What didn't you want Dominique to know?” Kevin asked.

“Does the name Lyle Huntley mean anything to you?”

Kevin thought for a moment then shook his head. “No.”

“He was found floating in the Potomac with Cartwright Cars' business card in his pocket.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“When the police spoke to his wife, she said that he'd been a witness to the car accident, ‘where that lady and kid were hurt' but that he'd hoped to get some money on the information he had. He didn't call you?”

“No.”

“He spoke to someone who spooked him to run.”

“And they killed him?”

“No, his wife did that,” Nicolas said.

“What?”

Clay nodded. “Yes, they'd been on the run together, but one night he decided to get some side action. Let's just say the little lady didn't approve and tried to hide her crime.”

“Luckily for us, she didn't know how to sink a body,” Nicolas added.

“Where does this leave us?” Kevin asked.

“Right back at Cartwright, but we already knew they were at the center,” Clay said.

Nicolas took a long swallow, then set his glass down. “But now we know something else. Lyle told his wife that he saw another car. It was the other car that caused the accident.”

“Another car?”

“Yes, driving in the opposite direction. Lyle said it clipped you in a way that made your car spin out. It was expert, clean and fast.”

“So the man who threatened Marcus might have been in the second car?”

“Yes. Fortunately, Huntley got a partial license plate and the make of the car.”

“Good, we can—”

“Don't get your hopes up,” Nicolas said. “The accident isn't high priority with police. They have enough to deal with.”

Kevin swallowed his whiskey. “I can change that.”

“No, it's better this way. Let them think no one's looking.”

“Dominique should know about this.”

“Are you sure she's not working for her father?”

“I'm sure.”

Clay tapped the side of his beer glass. “Does she know you plan to marry her?” He smiled at Kevin's shocked expression. “Wait, you hadn't realized you were in love with her yet?”

Kevin opened his mouth, closed it, and hung his head, resigned. “Let's just say I've been trying to resist it.”

“You might as well surrender.”

He shook his head. “Not yet.” He rubbed his chin. “How did you…why would you think…?”

“You're in love?” Clay finished. “Aside from the obvious, you haven't glanced at another woman the moment we came in here.”

Kevin looked up and blinked. Clay was right, he hadn't noticed the wonderful array of woman of all shades and sizes in the room. “I told you it's my first time.”

Nicolas nodded towards Kevin's napkin. “Just wave the white flag. There's no use fighting it.”

Kevin frowned down at his glass. “You think I want to marry her?”

Clay leaned back and folded his arms. “I know you do.”

Kevin stared at his empty whiskey glass. He wasn't going to ask him how he knew. “Maybe.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Nicolas hit Clay in the arm. “What's wrong with you? You never rush a man down the aisle. He's got his freedom to think of.”

Clay studied Kevin. “That's not what's bothering you though, is it?”

“No,” Kevin admitted. “ I have to solve a small problem.”

“Problem?”

“Her mother wants to sleep with me.”

Nicolas spewed out his beer; Clay stared at him and swore.

Kevin nodded gravely. “Yes, couldn't have said it better myself.”

“Are you sure?” Nicolas asked, wiping his chin with a napkin.

“I was pretty sure after she tried to grab my crotch under the table.”

The two men stared at him, then Clay finally said, “Before or after dinner?”

“During.”

Nicolas squeezed his eyes shut and Clay swore again with more feeling.

“Dominique was sitting right in front of us,” Kevin continued. “I've never hurt a woman in my life, but if given the chance I would have broken her mother's fingers.”

“Are you sure it was her mother?” Nicolas asked. “Maybe it was an older sister or something.”

“I can deal with a sister, I've done it before.”

Nicolas's brows shot up. “You've had sisters? I've never had sisters. Did you do them at the same time or one after the other?”

Clay sent him a look. “What is wrong with you?”

“I was just asking.”

Clay ran a hand over his head and sent Kevin a look of sympathy. “Bloody hell, I thought my mum was bad. She tried to get her leg over anything in trousers, but this is beyond me.”

“I know women,” Kevin said, “but I've never met a woman like this before.”

“What does she want?” Clay wondered.

“It's obvious what she wants,” Nicolas said with a laugh.

“Besides that.”

Kevin's jaw tightened. “She thinks I'm using Dominique.”

“So she's protecting her.”

Nicolas leaned forward. “Be honest. Is her mother hot?”

“Very,” Kevin said.

“If you knew you'd never get caught, would you sleep with her?”

“No.”

“You're lying.”

“I'm not lying. She's one of those women you don't want to mess with. If I went there, I'd want to wipe myself off.”

Clay gave a low whistle. “That bad?”

Kevin nodded. “There is something very wrong with that family.”

Clay patted him on the back. “I take it back. Don't even think about marrying her. She's got too much baggage for one man to deal with.”

S
he hated
clothes shopping with her mother, but she wanted to be on neutral territory and shopping always put her mother in a good mood. She'd endured nearly two hours and hoped that it would be worth it. They now sat on the restaurant terrace of the store café. Outside, red ribbons encircled the lampposts, an early hint of the coming holiday season.

“This has been such a wonderful day,” her mother said, sipping her iced latte. “We should do this more often.”

“What were you doing at Berton's place?”

Her mother paused. Dominique waited for one of three reactions. Either a quick denial, a smooth excuse, or a blank expression of innocence. Her mother selected the latter. “I don't know—”

“I saw a purse in your closet that looked exactly like one I saw that night in Berton's house.”

“Are you accusing me of something, dear?”

“Mom—”

“Women carry similar handbags all the time.”

“This one was distinctive. You like one-of-a-kind pieces.”

“Still, it—”

“Plus, I checked.”

Carla shrugged. “Fine, I was there.”

“Why?” Dominique took a deep breath. It wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, even though she'd suspected it.

Carla reached across the table and patted Dominique's hand in pity. “Do you really need specifics?”

Dominique clenched her teeth. “Yes.”

“I did it for you.”

“For me?”

“I test them.”

Them?
She'd asked about Berton, so why was she referring to ‘them'?
“You test them?”

“Yes,” Carla said, pushing her latte to the side, “to see how faithful there are. Some women actually pay for this service, but I do it for free because I love you so much.”

Anger lit Dominique's eyes and sharpened her tone. “You slept with my boyfriend—”

“Boyfriends,” Carla said, stressing the ‘s'. “Yes, both of them. That pathetic one you dated after college and then Berton. Darling, your love life is woefully limited and—”

“Because you love me?” Dominique continued, her voice cracking in disbelief.

“Don't worry, darling, I didn't sleep with Berton until after you'd broken up. That night was just a meeting.”

Dominique remembered the skirt on the ground. “I don't believe you.”

Carla held up her hand in admission. “Okay, caught again.”

Dominique stared at her mother, unable to comprehend her flippant behavior. “I don't understand.”

“You didn't really care about him so don't pretend to be heartbroken.”

“I'm disgusted.”

Carla crossed her legs and flexed her foot to study the new high heels she'd just purchased. “I know. Men can be pigs.”

“With you!”

Carla turned her ankle to study the side of her shoe. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why? Afraid I'll embarrass you?”

Carla met her gaze. “Watch your tone. I'm still your mother.”

“You're a…” Dominique shook her head at a loss for words. “I don't know what to call you.”

Carla smoothed down the back of her hair. “Aren't you curious about Kevin?”

Her chest tightened almost painfully. No she wouldn't. She couldn't. “You went after Kevin?”

Carla grinned. “More like he came after me. I tried to keep him at a distant, but he insisted. His reputation suits him.”

Dominique felt ill. She pictured them in the hallway, and remembered seeing Kevin releasing her hand. The look on his face when she saw them. Was it guilt?
He came after me.
No, that was wrong. That wasn't Kevin's style. She'd seen him, been with him for months. He didn't go after women. Women went after him.
He came after me.
Her sister had said something similar. And that had been a lie. Kevin wasn't like the men they knew. He wasn't a predator.

And even if she were wrong, her stomach constricted at the thought. Kevin wouldn't hurt her like this. He'd find someone else.
Are you sure?
her mind whispered.
Why would your mother lie?

She didn't know. All she knew was that her heart screamed that he wouldn't do this to her. “Do you trust me?” he'd asked her. And her heart screamed yes.

“I told you he wasn't worth it,” Carla said, interpreting her daughter's silence as shocked acceptance.

Her mother didn't want them to be together. Why? Her father had wanted dirt on him. What made Kevin so dangerous to them? She stood up. “You're a liar.”

“I did it because of your father,” Carla said, a note of panic in her voice.

Dominique paused, then slowly sat back down. “What?”

“If I didn't take control of the men in your life, he would. He has. Many times. He wanted Berton to be caught so you'd fly into a rage. That's how he and Gloria were able to manipulate and control you. I was able to find out from Berton what he wanted, so I decided to be ‘the other woman.' Don't you think it's better it was me than someone else?”

Was she really asking her this?
“I still don't understand why.”

“He never plans to let you go. He's made sure to ruin every relationship you've tried to have. He thinks that if you don't trust men, the only man you'll turn to is him. He'll never admit it, but he needs you more than you'll ever need him.”

“And what about you? I know you're lying about Kevin.”

“I'm not lying when I say he's not good for you.”

Dominique grabbed her bags. “You're both crazy and I'm not listening to this anymore.”

“You have to. There's something else you should know.”