One Secret Night (10 page)

“Why did you think he left?” Savanna asked.

“Because I told him to,” Autumn said. He must have told her mother that when she’d intercepted him.

“Mom also told me about the media swarming you at the airport,” Arizona said.

“So, she’s getting ready to bolt again.” Savanna took a glass of champagne from the lawyer. “Where are you going this time?”

“I was going to stay here.”

Savanna’s brow lifted. “Really?”

“What happened?” Lincoln asked, demanded more like.

When Autumn didn’t answer and instead sent him a questioning look, he pressed.

“You wouldn’t stay here, of all places, if there wasn’t a reason. You would travel somewhere. Now, what is going on?”

“I...went to find him and then someone came after me.”

She watched him add it all up. She’d witnessed Raith kill an assassin. Now whoever had hired the killer had come after her. “What? Why did you find him? I thought you were going to forget him.”

She would have if the life inside of her hadn’t been created. “That’s why I asked him to leave. That’s why I was going to stay here.” She’d be safe here.

Lincoln ran his hand down his face, clearly exasperated.

Autumn put her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be all right.”

He lowered his hand. “Damn right you will. I’m going to see to it.” He started to walk toward Raith.

Autumn curled her fingers around his arm and squeezed, stopping him. “No, Lincoln. I’ll take care of it.”

With all eyes putting weighty speculation on her, Autumn let go of Lincoln and then walked toward Raith.

Away from them, her focus became only Raith in a tuxedo, big and tall, thick black hair combed neatly.

“You clean up nice,” she said as she came to a stop before him.

A waiter came by with a tray of champagne. He lifted two glasses and handed her one.

“No, thanks.” She took the glass and put it back on the tray.

The waiter moved on. Raith watched him go and then scrutinized Autumn.

“I thought you were leaving,” she said before he had a chance to question why she wasn’t drinking.

“I know you did.” He sipped his champagne.

“Why didn’t you?”

“I found it interesting that you tried to throw me out after the media found out we’d be at the airport.”

“You wanted to go.”

“True.” He took a step closer.

The predatory way he moved made her nervous.

“But then I realized what you were doing.”

He was irresistible like this. A manly man going after his girl. “Which was...?”

“Running away. You felt smothered so you ran. And you dumped me like you do with every other man.”

“I can’t dump anyone who is undumpable.”

“It seemed pretty easy for you.”

“That’s not what I meant.” They weren’t even seeing each other. “I doubt you stick around long enough to be dumped.”

Him and his secretive job...

“I didn’t feel like being dumped today.” He stepped closer yet.

She sensed he was deliberately cornering her. And she understood he’d guessed why she’d run. So, this was a game to him? Had he stayed to prove a point? Why did it matter to him?

“I see your ex-boyfriend is here tonight.”

Autumn glanced over at Deangelo and saw him watching her with Raith.

“He must have really liked you.”

Deangelo didn’t appear happy to see her. He hadn’t taken it well when she’d told him she wasn’t going to see him anymore. He barely acknowledged the blonde as she leaned close to say something in his ear.

“Your mother said she was disappointed to see the detective go.”

Autumn turned to him. “You had quite a conversation with her.”

He nodded, a half grin tugging his kissable lips. “After she asked me a lot of questions, she talked me into coming to the party.”

“I thought you decided to stay on your own.”

“I did.”

Just not attend the party. “Did you tell her you were a P.I.?”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell her about Leaman?”

“Yes.”

She had to spend a few seconds grappling with her surprise. “You did?”

“It’s not exactly a secret.”

But a lot of what he did was. Carrying out an investigation on who had hired a gunman to kill Kai Whittaker seemed redeemable. Some of his other work likely would not seem that way. Or maybe that was a matter of interpretation. He may be a mercenary but he didn’t kill unless forced and never the innocent. In fact, one could argue that he protected the innocent. Isn’t that what he’d done with her?

What had made her mother talk him into going to this party? “She was worried about me. I bet she wasn’t so fond of you when you first started talking. What kind of charm did you work on her to make her invite you to this?”

He laughed briefly and from deep in his chest. “She interrogated me thoroughly. It was what I had to say about you that swayed her.”

She searched his handsome face. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

Sliding his hand around her waist, he moved forward, forcing her to step back. In the next instant, she found herself surrounded by other couples dancing to a love song. Wasn’t he a wily one? Going along with it, she danced with him.

“I said the only reason you told me to leave was the media.”

“So? She knows I don’t like the media.”

“You don’t like what they say about you. Which, and your mother agrees, is the truth.”

“The truth is I’m a bimbo rich girl who gets around with the boys?”

“No,” he said with a fond tone. “You run from men the media catch you with because the media makes you feel like a bimbo rich girl who gets around with the boys.”

“That isn’t a news flash.”

“It is when you consider how you’re perfectly willing to throw away the worthy men right along with the unworthy.” He looked over her head to where she’d last seen Deangelo standing.

That carried a peculiar sting. “Most women would think Deangelo was a catch.”

“Just because he’s famous?”

She slid her arms farther around his shoulders, dancing oh-so-close to him now. “Are you suggesting you’re worthy?” He was the antithesis of famous.

“I didn’t like being made to feel like I was
unworthy.
”

She smiled at his clever dodging of what had to be a sensitive topic.

“Do you think I’m unworthy?” he asked.

Now she was the one who had to dodge a sensitive topic. But instead of dodging, she took a chance. “No.”

He moved smoothly with his arms looped comfortably around her waist, she against him and gazing up into his eyes and the mirroring warmth there. Their heated chemistry stirred to higher temperatures, mellowing the tension between them.

“Is that all you and my mother talked about? Because so far it isn’t a major revelation.”

“She was enlightened when I told her you ran because you felt more like yourself when you were traveling. She was especially happy to hear how much I love your adventurous spirit.”

“Really? You
love
it?”

The jingle of his cell phone interrupted the moment. She knew he was expecting a call from Mayo, the ex-CIA operative.

After taking her hand and leading her away from the other dancers, he answered the call just before it went to voice mail, keeping his eyes on her as he listened.

She could tell Mayo had disappointing news by the darkening of his face. Thanking Mayo, he disconnected.

“Nothing?” she asked.

“Nash checks out. He’s clean. No criminal record, not that I expected any.”

But he’d expected something. “How did you find Mayo?”

“When he worked in the field for the CIA, I helped him get out of Lebanon when the government would have left him there. He resigned after that.”

“How did he know to call you?”

“He didn’t, but one of the diplomats who worked for the Lebanese government did. And I can’t tell you anything about him or how I know him. I may need him again in the future.”

She smiled, pleased that he’d told her that much. It showed that he trusted her, at least with most of what he did.

“If Nash is clean, he may not be the one who hired Leaman,” Raith said. “But there’s something going on there.”

He meant with Kai. Both men seemed to have something to hide. What could that be, and could it be related to the contract killer? Neither man was revealing much about their relationship. They were business rivals. But there had been too much emotion involved when Kai had gone to visit Nash. Competing executives may have a legitimate reason to meet, but that visit hadn’t appeared business related. It had seemed personal.

They had to get back to Houston and find out how or if any of that was related to the contract killer. As soon as the thought came, Autumn resigned herself to the decision. She’d go with Raith, but she’d go for him, not for the investigation or for fear of being hurt or killed. Raith was capable of keeping her safe and she wasn’t afraid. No, she’d go with him for a far more personal reason.

She was thinking about telling him about the baby.

Chapter 10

T
he next afternoon, Raith waited with Autumn outside a supermarket in Houston. Nash Ralston’s assistant had gone inside to do some shopping.

His cell rang, breaking the silence that had settled in the car rental. They hadn’t said much on the trip here. Autumn had been waiting for him this morning, baggage packed and dressed for travel—in a fall vest over a silk blouse and skirt with a new pair of light-colored high heels and large costume jewelry that any woman could find in a mall. He was beginning to grow attached to her talent for looking great, always with a touch added to show off her adventurous personality.

Her outfit wasn’t the only thing that had him preoccupied. It was the fact that she was here with him. When he’d found her waiting for him, she hadn’t said anything and he hadn’t questioned her. They’d just left the mansion with a better plan to maneuver into the airport undetected. She’d been standing there waiting for him, and he’d let the surge of satisfaction overtake him. She was here for him and no other reason.

He saw the caller was his dad and hesitated.

Autumn noticed.

“Answer it,” she said.

He’d been softening more and more each time his father called. And something Autumn had said bothered him. What if his father had something important to tell him?

Did he care? It was easier not to.

He started to go for the button that would ignore the call when Savanna reached over and put her hand over his and squeezed.

“Answer it, Raith.”

Easier to ignore, but he discovered he would not be able to. He had to find out why his dad kept calling.

Finally he relented. “Hello?”

Brief seconds of only breathing came across the line before his dad said, “Raith?”

“Yes.”

“It’s your...your father. Before you hang up, I need to talk to you.”

His father had never tried to contact him. Ever since he left—escaped—he’d heard nothing from him. Why was he trying so hard to do so now? Raith didn’t welcome the sense of dread that weighed him down. “What about?”

“It’s not something I want to discuss over the phone.”

Raith’s defenses shot up. This wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. “I can’t meet you.”

“Please, Raith. It’s important.” A moment or two passed. “I know I haven’t been the model father. I know I wasn’t when you were a kid. All I’m asking is to meet and talk in person.”

There had to be more, another reason. Something had happened to make his father reach out. Was he broke? Was he hoping his son would support him? Help him out of a difficult time?

“Call Malcolm, he can help you,” he said.

“I’ve already done that.”

“Then why do you need me?”

“I’ve already spoken with Malcolm, Raith.”

He’d already said that. What did he mean? Why had he spoken to Malcolm and why was that important? Had his older brother accepted some kind of an apology?

“I asked him not to talk to you before I had a chance to myself,” his dad said.

Raith began to get a bad feeling. Whatever his dad needed to talk to him about might be more than reaching out to try to connect. Raith never had a connection with his dad, not a good one.

“Please,” his dad said. “I need to talk to you.”

Raith sighed. “All right. When?”

“I’ll come to you.”

“I’m in Houston.”

“I thought you lived in Wyoming.”

“I do. I’m here on business. I’m staying at the Four Seasons Hotel. We can meet here.” Raith wasn’t going to go out of his way for a father who’d treated his mother like dirt and who’d loved alcohol more than his own children. They discussed the logistics.

“All right,” his father said. ‟I’ll make the arrangements and call you with a schedule. We can set up a time then.”

“All right.”

“And Raith?” his dad said. “Thank you.”

Raith mumbled a yeah, sure and ended the call. Then he sat in the car, looking straight ahead, cell phone still in his hand on his thigh.

“Are you all right?” Autumn asked.

He turned to her briefly and didn’t respond. How could he? He couldn’t sort out his own emotions right now. Part of him was angry that his dad had called and that he’d agreed to meet. Part of him felt a sense of foreboding.

“It will be all right,” she said. “You’d regret not doing this, Raith. In the long run, you would regret it.”

Her family was intact and happy and full of love. She had no idea.

“No, I wouldn’t. I might regret meeting him, though.”

Seeing the sympathy in her eyes, he turned away.

Ralston’s assistant appeared from the entrance of the grocery store and headed toward her car. Good. No more talk about his dad.

He and Autumn got out of the rental and started after her.

The assistant stopped with her grocery cart next to a silver BMW X3. She looked at them as they approached and recognition made her stop and face them with a perplexed look.

“Raith De Matteis and Autumn Ivy,” Raith said. “We met with your boss.”

“Yes. I remember you. I’m Paisley Orman.”

“How long have you worked for Mr. Ralston?” Raith asked.

“Too long.” She raised her eyes in disgust and then caught herself. “Sorry. Are you a business associate of his?”

“No. We’re investigating a shooting and we think maybe Mr. Ralston knows something about it. Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?”

Paisley eyed them uncertainly now. “Who are you?”

Raith only lied when he had to. “We’re with the FBI. There isn’t much we can tell you about the investigation. We’re just hoping you can help.”

“I don’t think I’ll be much help. I’m Nash’s assistant. He doesn’t tell me anything. I’m basically his slave. He asks me to do his personal errands, like picking up his dry cleaning and setting up doctor’s appointments. I have to get him his lunch all the time, too, and sometimes he makes me stay late and bring him dinner.” She rolled her eyes again. “I’m not a maid.”

“You’re not very fond of him,” Autumn said with a smile.

“It would be different if he was nice.”

“He’s not?”

Paisley shook her head. “He orders me around and yells at me when I don’t do things exactly the way he envisions they should be done. As if it matters. Who cares if I schedule meetings in the same email as the conference room reservation? That’s what he got mad at me for today. I didn’t schedule the conference room separately from the attendees.” Another roll of the eyes came with a grunt this time. She opened the back door of her BMW and began to put bags inside. “What do you need to know?”

Although she’d had a bad day at the office and seemed eager to throw her boss in front of a bus, she must be paid pretty well to afford the BMW.

Raith handed her one of the bags. “We saw Kai Whittaker came to see him the day we were there. Do you know what the meeting was about?”

The assistant put the bag into the car and then straightened. “Nash shut the office door when Kai was there. I didn’t hear much. They were arguing, though.”

“What were they arguing about?” Raith handed her two more bags, the last of them, and Paisley put them into the car.

She turned to them then. “I’m not sure, but I did hear Kai say the name of our Singapore office, so it must have had something to do with the components manufactured there.”

“Components for night-vision equipment?” Autumn asked.

The assistant nodded. “NV Advanced has a few subsidiaries. Most of them are foreign. I think there are six altogether.”

To gather technology from all over the world. That kept American night-vision equipment on the cutting edge.

“Why would Kai argue about one of NV Advanced’s subsidiaries with Nash? Wouldn’t that be proprietary?”

Paisley shrugged. “Yeah, I’m sure it is. But Kai is sort of an in-your-face executive. He stops by NV Advanced every so often to butt heads with Nash. Nash thinks he tries to manipulate the industry.”

“What did he hope to do? Stop your company from using the components?”

“I didn’t hear what they were talking about,” the assistant reminded him.

“What kind of components does the Singapore company manufacture?” Autumn asked. She was coming up with some good questions.

“I don’t know that much about it. It’s highly technical. Optical components for night-vision equipment.”

“What kind of components?” Raith asked. When she looked blankly at him, he offered, “Weapon sights? Surveillance systems?”

Paisley breathed a cynical laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

Raith would do some more research into NV Advanced’s business. “How well does Nash know Kai?”

“You mean, are they friends?”

“Or not. What do you know about their relationship?”

“Just what I told you.”

“They’re competitors.”

“Yeah.”

“Would Nash hire someone to kill him?” Raith asked.

Paisley’s eyes widened and then she laughed. “Kill someone? Is that what your investigation is about? Someone is trying to kill Kai?”

Raith didn’t answer.

The assistant thought a moment. “Nash is an asshole, but I don’t think he’d actually try to kill someone, hired or not.”

This was all they’d likely get out of her for now. “If you hear of anything or notice anything, would you mind calling us?” Raith took out one of his fake FBI business cards that only revealed his cell number.

“Sure.” The assistant took the card.

* * *

Autumn sat cross-legged on the black leather ottoman, surfing the internet on her tablet. Raith was at the table working on his computer. Apparently, he brought his technology with him when he traveled. The only difference was he had more computers in Wyoming. Probably some secret networks, too.

She found another entertainment-news page. So far nothing about her and Raith. That was a good sign. There was an article on the party held at the Ivy mansion, and some pictures of Deangelo and other stars. Her parents had been interviewed. She saw Lincoln and Sabrina, and Arizona and Braden in one, but nothing was said about them. The photos of them had been taken outside the mansion, so they must have been willing. She and Raith had been more careful to avoid the press.

Turning off her tablet, Autumn put it on the ottoman. Raith sighed and leaned back against his chair, studying the screen. Talking to his dad had drained him. He hadn’t given up much information after ending the call, only said he was meeting him tomorrow. Something else bothered him. More than reuniting with his estranged father.

Drawn to him, she got up and stood behind him. She put her hands on his shoulders, an instinctive reflex. She almost pulled back when he reached up and covered her hand with one of his, also an automatic reflex. Warmth spread through her.

“What have you got so far?” she asked to distract herself from the sparks.

He lowered his hand as though realizing what he’d just done. She moved hers to the back of the chair.

“NV Advanced Corporation is global. They have offices in Singapore, United Kingdom, France and Luxembourg. Each company does something a little different, but all are doing military-grade optics. The Singapore office manufactures subassemblies for night-vision sights. All together they manufacture eyepiece and observation devices, seeker heads, surveillance systems, warning systems, and spotter and zoom lenses for UAVs.”

“Huh? Speak English, please.”

“They’re into some serious night-vision technology, including some new image intensifier tubes.”

“What’s that?”

“It protects the user from washouts caused by bright light. Nash’s company must have come up with something cutting edge.”

He was like a kid in a cool electronic-toy store. “And that was why Kai paid him a visit?”

“Possibly.”

It still made no sense why Kai would go ranting to Nash about technology that Nash’s company owned.

She moved to the chair beside him and sat.

Raith closed his computer and looked at her with new awareness. Gone was the thrill of cool equipment. Autumn felt peculiarly at ease with him.

Leaning over, he put his hand on the nape of her neck and kissed her softly. When he finished, he drew back a few inches and her whole body melted into a pool of desire.

“Are you hungry?” he murmured.

“Starving.” For him. She’d like nothing more than to spend a few more hours looking at him, kissing him, touching him.

He moved back and then stood, full of energy. “Let’s go out for dinner.”

* * *

Autumn had suggested Italian and Raith had taken her to Tivoli’s Italiano, a casual fine-dining restaurant in downtown Houston. The table was adorned with a white tablecloth and side chairs and was near a black piano, a man swaying as he gently touched the keys to create a soft, romantic tune. Through wood-trimmed glass doors, a solarium held more tables and a view of the tree-lined street. Beautiful murals of citrus trees and seaside villages covered the walls.

“How many times have you been to Italy?” he asked.

“Many.” She told him how beautiful the Sea of Naples was in Italy. “And Mount Vesuvius, in a morbid sort of way. I find it hard to comprehend how so many people would live there today.” While he appreciated what she said, she asked, “Have you been there?”

“Once. Most of my travels are to less civilized places.”

“Rescuing people?”

“Sometimes.”

What did he do most of the time? Kill people? She looked toward the pianist, trying to preserve her enjoyment of this night.

“I help those in need fight for justice,” he said.

She turned back to him. “You fight for justice?” Even though he abided by no laws?

“Always.”

But he was open to doing something different. He’d indicated so before. That and her belief that he fought for justice gave her a wave of soft contentment that she had to struggle to contain.

A waiter stopped by and asked if they’d like some wine. Autumn declined and asked for a sparkling water instead. Raith scrutinized her before asking for the same.

“You drank the night I met you,” he said.

He’d noticed she’d skipped wine before, too. Autumn fought to keep her expression neutral. “I don’t like to drink a lot. It isn’t healthy.”

“You’re a health fanatic?”