Retribution Boxed Set (Books One and Two) (6 page)

“Do the police have any other leads?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I’m not convinced of anything. It’s an
election year. Everyone wants arrest and conviction rates up to make them look
good.”

Nicole was about to argue with her politically
savvy aunt and say that busting her wouldn’t help anyone’s campaign, but
suddenly she wasn’t so sure. A conviction of a ten-million dollar thief would
certainly make headlines.

“Have you found a private investigator yet?”

She hadn’t. As she’d left her attorney’s office,
she’d made a quick phone call to the investigator he’d suggested and inquired
about rates. The amount was staggering to her. She supposed if she’d tossed out
Mr. Barton’s name, he might have given her a better rate, but even half the
quoted amount would sink her. She might have to rely solely on her attorney to
protect her, not that he could do much unless her case reached the legal
system.

Still, one glance down the hall told her she
needed some kind of help. Already, she felt like she’d lost her grip and was
slowly drowning in the threats against her. But who would help and how?

An image of Xander Secrist popped into her head. She
wasn’t sure what exactly, if anything, he could do for her, but the idea of
calling him for help seemed better than doing nothing. “I think I’ve found
someone.”

“If not, Martha knows somebody. He’s a little
pricey, but your freedom is the most important thing.”

Her aunt had next to nothing, and she needed
whatever money she did have to take care of herself.

“You’re so good to me, Aunt Claire, but I’ll be
fine. I was just about to call him. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll let you know,
but he came highly recommended.”

Like hell. She knew nothing about him. First
thing, as soon as she could access her damn computer, she needed to do some
investigating of her own to see what she could learn about Xander before she
let him into her life, but at this point, she might be willing to take a
chance.

She ended her conversation with her aunt as the
group of officers started filing out of her apartment. She recognized one of
the men as the detective who’d interrogated her the day she’d been arrested. He
paused outside her doorway, studying her as the rest of the men came out.

When she realized a couple of them carried boxes,
she started forward down the hall. “Wait. What are you doing? You can’t take my
stuff.”

“It’s part of the investigation, ma’am,” the
familiar detective replied, holding up a hand to keep her at a distance.

She widened her eyes as another carried out her
computer. “No. You can’t take my computer. I need that.”

The detective narrowed his eyes. “You’ll have it
back as soon as we check it out.”

She wouldn’t be able to research Xander
or
apply for jobs without it. “How long does that take? She couldn’t believe her
bad luck.

He shrugged. “As long as it takes to do a
thorough investigation.” He handed her a sheet of paper. It listed numerous
items that they’d taken, including her computer.

“This is harassment. I’m innocent. You don’t have
any right to ruin my life like this. I’m going to call my attorney.”

“You do that, ma’am.” He followed the last of the
officers down the hall to the stairs.

She watched them go, despair inching over her
insides like the roots of one of Aunt Claire’s invasive vines. She wanted to
scream at the injustice of it all.

Instead, she slammed the door to her apartment,
and Stormy whined. This had become so unbelievably out of hand.

A scattered stack of bills caught her attention. Then
a tipped over glass on the kitchen counter. With anger pulsing through her
veins, she ran a quick eye over the rest of her apartment finding various
things out of place. The police had obtained a warrant and had searched her
apartment legally, but if you asked her, it was still a violation.

In essence, they’d looked over, touched and
judged all of her possessions. Without cause. Yes, they had their suspicions,
but she was innocent. Truly, they had no right.

Despair pushed at her again, trying to bring her
to her knees. She bit her tongue and pushed back. She would not cry again. Not
today.

She walked to the counter and set the glass upright
before she moved it to the sink instead. An overwhelming urge to wash all of
her dishes, all of her clothes consumed her. She wanted to erase any trace that
anyone had ever been in her personal space.

Xander stared out the tenth floor window of his
office building, his gaze following the Willamette River as it traveled through
his beautiful city. He’d left his father’s estate in Rainier and moved to
Portland when he was a freshman at Portland State University, and he’d never
truly gone back home.

His father had preferred to live close to the
pine-filled mountains, but Xander had always loved the high energy that was the
life-blood of his city. He did like the thought, though, that the river that
flowed near his office connected with the Columbia River that wound past his
dad’s place.

It was a connection, of sorts.

He had to admit he wished he’d made an effort to
visit his dad more often when he was alive. It wasn’t until his father’s tragic
death that he realized how vitally short life could be.

He’d always regret he hadn’t cancelled his date
and rushed home after the strange phone call he’d received from his dad. Instead,
he’d convinced himself everything would be fine, and his dad’s behavior hadn’t
been all that odd for a man who’d just lost a fortune.

He’d been wrong. So wrong.

The ringing of his phone pulled him from painful
memories. He swiveled in his office chair and lifted his cell from the desk,
frowning at the unknown number.

“Xander Secrist,” he answered.

“Hello.” The woman paused a moment. “It’s Nicole
Camden. We met at the coffee shop last week.”

He gripped his phone tighter. “Nicole.” His
nerves twisted into a hard ball. “How are you?”

Another pause. “Not so good.” Her voice sounded
weary, shaken. Sam had given him a cryptic heads-up that the police intended to
put pressure on her today. Apparently, it had been enough to send her in his
direction.

“I’d like to help if you’d let me.” Please God. Let
her say yes.

“Could you? I really don’t know where else to
turn.”

He glanced at the clock. Three-fifteen. There was
no reason he couldn’t leave work early. “I can come to your house right now, if
you’d like.”

“How about the park near the coffee shop
instead?”

She didn’t trust him. Not yet. But he’d win her
over, and then he’d crack her and put her behind bars. “Sounds great. I can be
there in fifteen.”

“Okay. I’ll have Stormy with me.”

Was that a warning? He almost laughed. She must
be pretty desperate if she was willing to meet with a man she didn’t trust. Good.
That would definitely play in his favor. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

*        *        *

Nicole slipped into her favorite brown leather
jacket and hitched Stormy’s leash. She donned her dark sunglasses, worrying
that she might come back to more detectives who would want to steal her things.

They’d taken the most random things. They’d
opened up all of the boxes of stuff she had packed away in her closets, taken
some of her books, some of her journals, not to mention her beloved laptop. She
felt as though she’d been cut off from the world. It was bad enough society had
made it hell to leave her apartment. Now she couldn’t even search her name on
the web to get the latest information and speculation.

She and Stormy descended the staircase, and
thankfully, no angry voices reached out to her from the second floor. She’d
been so caught up with her problems, she’d completely forgotten about poor
Janie.

Clouds had skipped across the sun since she’d
been out earlier in the day and a brisk wind accompanied them. There was a good
chance they’d see rain before nightfall. Maybe that would keep a few more
people off the streets and out of her way.

When she arrived at the park, there were two
mothers playing with a group of children on the playground. Another woman
complete with headphones and wearing jogging shorts headed down the sidewalk
away from her.

Nicole shifted her gaze to the parking lot
noticing a red van, a white sedan, and a sweet-looking silver Corvette. The
moment she looked at the sports car, the driver’s door opened, and Xander
stepped out.

A shiver of attraction burst through her anxiety
like a ray of sun through the clouds as he walked toward her. Oh. My. He looked
good.

She’d forgotten his compelling gaze, the sensual,
yet predatory way he walked. She’d called him because she’d been at her wits
end and was desperate for help, not because she needed a delicious piece of eye
candy.

His black trench coat blowing in the breeze lent
him a sexy, dangerous air. Beneath it, the top button of his shirt was undone
and a beautiful, red tie hung loose around his throat. It was as though he had
one foot outside the corporate world, easing toward freedom.

“Hello,” he said, his deep voice a soothing balm
to her spirit.

She tried to appear unaffected. “Hi.”

He reached down to pet Stormy who affectionately
licked his fingers. She’d always heard dogs were a good judge of character. If
he had any ill intentions toward her, Stormy would surely sense it, wouldn’t
she?

He shifted his gaze to her. “Do you want to sit
or walk?”

“Walk.” It would help her nerves.

They moved in tandem along the sidewalk, Stormy
on one side of her, Xander on the other. The lineup brought her comfort even
though she knew she couldn’t trust Xander yet. “I want to know how you think
you can help me.”

He chuckled. “Nothing like getting right to the
point.”

She stopped, facing him. “I don’t have time for
anything else.”

He sobered. “No, you don’t.” He started walking
again, and she fell in step beside him. “First, I have a strong background in
the financial world. I know how transfers are made and how they can be traced.”

“Even to offshore accounts? She wondered if she
should squash the tiny seed of hope growing inside her. Even now, she could
hear her aunt reminding her to lower her expectations.

“They can be tricky if it’s transferred more than
once. Is that what happened in your case?”

“I guess. Actually, I have no idea if it was only
transferred once or many times. I’m just guessing the thief would have. How
would you be able to check that?”

“I have a friend with police connections. He
could possibly look into it.”

“Is that legal? The last thing she needed was to
be implicated in another illegal activity.

“Does it matter?”

Her suspicion alarm spiked. “Of course it does.” Unless
she needed to play dirty to figure out who’d framed her. “Doesn’t it?”

“That’s your call.” The cool look in his eyes
gave her no indication what he was really thinking.

“I’d prefer to keep things above board. Is there
any way to find out what exactly the police know? I think that would give us a
good direction to go in, and my lawyer doesn’t seem to be making much progress
in that area.”

He shrugged. “It can’t hurt to look.”

She frowned. “I thought when you said you could
help you had some legitimate avenues of recourse.”

He grinned then. “I’m as legitimate as they come.
Feel free to have me checked out. I’m a financial analyst at Neider Financial
Partners. Never been arrested. Never given the cops any reason to look in my
direction.”

Her spirits plummeted at the reminder that they
now had eyes watching her. “Neither have I,” she whispered. “And yet, here I
am.”

He blew out a breath, running his fingers through
his hair, leaving him with a tousled look. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, words clogging in her throat.
She’d thought she had herself under control, but the past few days had been an
unimaginable hell. She turned from him in an effort to regain her ground.

“Nicole.” His apology attached to the syllables
of her name. He touched her shoulder, and she crumbled, dropping her head to
her hand as the wind whipped her hair around her.

Without another word, he pulled her into his
embrace. The rich, earthy scent of his cologne and the warmth of his body drew
her in. He was an unknown, but she sensed he was a safe place to rest her
wounded soul for a few moments.

He held her while she gathered the emotional
pieces of herself. When it seemed as though she was a little more solid, she
pulled back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t even know you.” She
exhaled a weighted breath. “It’s just there hasn’t been anyone else I could
really talk to.” Her voice wavered, and she nearly lost it again.

“It’s okay. I told you I wanted to help.” He removed
her glasses and tipped up her chin, leaving her vulnerable to his gaze. “What
about your family?”

She shook her head. “I only have my aunt, and
she’s struggling with her health. She knows the police have questioned me, but
I can’t let her know how worried I am.”

“Friends?”

“I either worked with them, or they have their
own troubles.” She rolled her eyes. “God, I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”

He pushed an errant strand of hair away from her
face. “You’re in a bad spot, but not pathetic.” He searched her gaze, and she
drank in the sight of him, wishing she could drown herself in his mesmerizing
eyes.

He heaved a sigh and stepped back. “What are we
going to do with you? He took her hand, and Stormy pushed her way between them.
Xander paused to rub the dog’s ears. “No reason to be jealous, girl,” he
whispered to her before he took Nicole’s hand again. “How about dinner?”

“I’m pretty much ostracized from everywhere in
town.” She ran a hand over her windblown hair. “Besides, I’m a wreck.”

He tilted his head, a kind smile gracing his lips.
“If you’ll let me, I’d love to cook for you. Come to my house and escape your
life for a while. It will be good for you to be away from everything that
reminds you of what’s been happening. Consider it a temporary diversion. Then tomorrow,
I’ll call my friend and see what he can find out.”

Her bones nearly liquefied at the thought of
running away from everything. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“It would be my pleasure. I even have some
leftover chicken for Stormy.”

At the sound of her name, she perked up her ears
and wagged her tail as though she agreed it was a good idea.

She should say no. Hadn’t she been the one to say
now was not a good time to start anything new? “Okay. I’ll come.” An impossible
smile claimed her lips, leaving her heart feeling lighter than it had in
forever.

*        *        *

Xander held open the door of his Corvette and
waited while Nicole slid onto his leather passenger seat, glad that he’d
finally convinced her to give him a chance. Stormy had to climb up on her lap.

“Nice car,” she said around her face full of
Stormy’s fur as he claimed the driver’s seat.

“Thanks. I made a decent profit off my accounts
last year, and I love having power beneath me.” He looked over at her and
laughed. “Are you two okay over there?”

She pulled a hair out of her mouth. “Absolutely.”
She seemed to relax into the seat, her tension easing. Good. The more
comfortable she was around him, the more likely she’d say something to give her
away.

“What do you drive?”

She snorted. “Nothing right now. A couple of
months ago, I sold my old Mazda, thinking I’d go green, try to save some money,
and only use public transportation. Ironic that it was my TriMet pass I’d gone
back for that put me in the building at the time that money was stolen.” A
sarcastic laugh escaped her lips. “Seriously, a TriMet pass, and now I’m
looking at prison.”

She was good with her story details, he thought. Good
at creating a sympathetic persona, too, with the whole sick aunt and no friends
she could lean on. The emotion he’d found swimming in her eyes had tugged at
his heartstrings, and
he
knew what she was like beneath the facade. Imagine
what she could do in front of a jury. There was no way they’d convict her.

He’d have to make certain they had an irrefutable
case against her. And he didn’t have much time to pull it all together.

“Try not to stress too much. Things have a way of
working out.” Sam was too good at his job to fail, and with Xander working this
from the inside, they’d find a way to bring her down.

“I’m trying, but it’s hard.” Anxiety shadowed her
emotions, but she didn’t tear up again. He wanted to reach out and give her a
reassuring squeeze, but the less touching, the better.

They were at his house on the other side of the
river in a matter of minutes. A large, wooded yard surrounded his gray rambler
home, leaving a nice amount of room between neighbors.

“Wow,” Nicole said, sliding her bangs out of her
eyes with a finger. “This is really nice. Where did you say you worked?”

Pride swelled inside him. Even without his
father’s money, he’d managed to carve out a nice space for himself. “Neider
Financial Partners.” He watched her face, waiting to see if her expression
changed, waiting to see if the mention of money elicited any kind of response. Maybe
once she trusted him, she might suggest they work together. He would expect
someone looking to steal a lot of money would find a guy like him highly
attractive.

She answered with a wistful look in her eye. “Someday
I hope to have enough money to buy a home, to settle down and have a couple of
kids.”

Not the reaction he’d expected. The look on her
face was so downhearted that he did take her hand this time. “You’re worried
about what might happen if they arrest you.”

“How can I not? They are threatening some serious
charges.”

“I know.” He squeezed her fingers, his thumb
grazing the soft skin on the back of her hand. “But we haven’t given this our
best shot yet. I’ll give my friend a call tomorrow when he’s available. Let’s
see what he can come up with and go from there.”

*        *        *

Xander had done a fairly good job furnishing his
home, Nicole thought as she entered the large, rock structure. Blues and greens
contrasted with dark, walnut wood furnishings and seemed to bring in the
outside colors of the sky, river and trees, leaving the house with a tranquil,
dreamy quality. Her surroundings coaxed a sigh from deep within, and her stress
level dropped another notch.