Climbing High (27 page)

She gathered herself to deceive him.
All in a good cause,
she promised herself. Johnny had melted into the crowd. She’d approached from the left, away from the blonde and facing Johnny. With a light laugh, she rushed at Jake and threw her arms around his neck. “Darling, what a surprise.” She took advantage of his frozen state to plant a kiss on his mouth, lingered over it to feed her hunger for him rather than Johnny’s need for a good shot.

Jake grasped her hands, unclasped them from behind his head and levered her backward. “What are you doing here?” His smooth baritone took on a crisp bite.

“Why, celebrating Sam’s birthday, of course.” She looped her arm through his and stared up at him, giving what she hoped was an entranced expression. “Surely, you aren’t angry with me for accepting Sam’s invitation?”

He looked her over. His face relaxed a little. “Bonnie I deduce. And Clyde is…”

“Over at the bar.” She pressed her head against his shoulder, puffed out her bottom lip. “You don’t seem nearly as happy to see me as I am to see you.” She let him hear the genuine ache in her voice.

For a moment, she had him. His eyes heated and travelled over her, taking in every detail. Her nipples tightened, her mouth opened, inviting his kiss. He leaned closer. The blonde shifted, making a muffled sound.

Jake jerked his iron discipline into place. “Where’s Janice?”

“Oh, somewhere being covert.” Siree waved her hand and looked around the room.

“She better be. Gribbs persuaded me to give her another chance, and she better not mess up again.”

“She didn’t mess up.” Siree took full advantage of his anger with Janice to extend her time with him. “She’s entitled to a day off. I messed up when I didn’t find out from Gribbs who was on duty, and ask them to come.” He opened his mouth, then closed it, his lips a tight seam. He turned to include the blonde who stood taking it all in. “Sorry, Celia, I don’t believe you’ve met Siree McConnell. She and Sam climb together. And speaking of Sam, I promised I’d catch up with him. Shall we?” He took Celia’s arm and stepped past Siree.

“Don’t approach me again. There are photographers around.” The muscles of his face tightened. “I suggest you go home and stay out of trouble.” He growled near her ear.

Siree left minutes later. She had what she’d come for and she wouldn’t get another chance at Jake. Insulated by those moments when he’d slipped up and let her see his true feelings, she didn’t allow his rejection to hurt her.

Tomorrow morning the whole world would think they were in bed together again.

****

“Finchley!” Jake’s roar lifted his EA off her chair in the outer office. She stalked into his office, an electronic tablet in hand.

“You called oh lord and master,” she inquired in her usual irreverent way.

“Did you see the crap they’re writing about Siree and me?” He thumped his fist on a pile of tear sheets.

“I did pull them from today’s issues and put them on your desk for review, as per our routine. Any article on you, remember?”

He gave her a killing look. “Why the hell are there any articles on me, when I’ve buried myself in a hole to avoid them?”

Finchley sucked her lips out of sight. “You wouldn’t be saying I’d leaked stuff to the tabloids, sold you out?”

“What?” Jake pulled himself back from skimming yet another piece. “Sold me out? You? Honestly, Finchley, get with the program. You’re more loyal to me than I am to myself. Who removes my chocolate toffees from my desk because they know I get headaches from eating them? The question is who did leak this trash to the tabloids.”

“Well, since you ask.” Finchley stepped closer to his desk and let her lips reappear. “You might consider who would have access to all those photos of you and Siree sitting at a picnic table, climbing a mountain. Look at this one.” She shuffled through the articles. “That was taken back in July. You’re wearing a summer suit.”

“You have a point.” Jake’s eyes narrowed to twin bands of azure flame. “Sam took all the photos on the climb.” He shook his head. “He’s trying to protect Siree as much as I am. He’d never release them. Josh wouldn’t. Gribbs?”

“Never,” they said in unison.

“When you factor in the thirty minute interview Siree had with Patricia Watson on CTV’s Look at Life, seems like your culprit is obvious.”

“She did a television interview? You saw her? What was it about?”

Finchley’s weight settled more comfortably on her plain navy pumps, her face flushed. “About all the time you spend together.”

She leafed through the newsprint and lifted one to the top of the pile, tapping her finger on a half-page photo of Jake and Siree kissing.
Jake Ingles of JDI and Siree McConnell Talking Marriage
.

He stared at it pole-axed. “What the hell? How did this happen?”

“You don’t remember kissing Siree at Sam’s birthday party? How much did you have to drink?” Again Finchley’s finger tapped the paper, indicating the beret on Siree’s head, and Jake’s pinstripe gangster suit.

He slapped his hand over her tapping finger and glared into her eyes. “I certainly didn’t drink enough to forget kissing her. Jesus.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Siree and me together. Doesn’t she realize what that will do to my stalker if she finds out?” He felt his face drain of blood. He hit the speed dial on his phone.

“Oh, I’d say she realizes full well.” Finchley pulled her finger free and pointed it at Jake. “The girl’s no dummy.”

“She played me.”

Finchley patted his shoulder.

“She bloody played me.” His voice climbed in volume. “Gribbs, I need you in here right now.”

“That’s what it looks like,” Gribbs agreed when Jake finished running the theory by him. “The security staff following her all reported a change in pattern. Janice says Siree has thrown away the rule book. She’s shadowing her without her knowledge, since Siree evaded her several times. She urged me to tighten protection and keep the guards working in closer. Siree’s taken up where you left off. She’s turning herself into a media darling, wooing the press wherever she goes. She’s showed up at three high profile events this week alone, ostensibly to represent her mother.”

“If we’re supposed to be an item, how does she explain I’m not with her?”

“‘Heavy travel schedule,’” Finchley quoted from one of the papers, before dropping it back on his desk. “According to
People’s Pleasure
, you’re meeting in Maui next week for a hide-away holiday.” The wink she threw him appeared ludicrous on her basset hound face.

Gribbs straightened, one of the tear sheets in his hand. “
Couples
says you’ve been seen shopping for rings. Have you?”

“I wish.” Jake ran his fingers through his hair, paced from one side of his office back to the other and repeated the process.

“It’s not just the media. The Internet is jammed with Siree and Jake references,” Finchley added to the bad news. “Siree’s virtual coverage on the two of you has gone viral.”

“She’s making herself a target,” Gribbs pointed out needlessly. “Must be tired of letting other people dictate her life.” He gave Jake a hard stare.

“Of waiting to have a life,” Finchley said tartly.

“For Christ’s sake, I just want to keep her safe. Is that so wrong?”

“Admirable.” Gribbs looked to Finchley.

“Safe is good,” Finchley gave back. “Happy is a whole lot better.”

“You two are fired.” Jake bit out. “Right after you put another detail on her, Gribbs, and you, Finchley, get the captain on the phone and see if the police have anything, any damn thing new on this case. And don’t forget to cut your severance checks on the way out.”

“Since I’m fired anyway, I might as well tell you I only take your chocolate toffees because they taste good.” Finchley sniffed, squared her shoulders and turned on her heel. Grinning at each other, they slipped from the room as Jake punched Siree’s number into his phone. He got her voice mail. He texted, emailed. She didn’t respond. He left message after message. Dead air. “Now I know what she felt like when I didn’t answer.” He bracketed his lips, tugged at the bottom one. Fear dueled with weariness. Would this hell never end?

Chapter Thirteen

Siree sank back on to Sharon’s sofa, determined to have a relaxing afternoon. Her plan to saturate the media with stories about her romance with Jake had worked flawlessly. She deserved a rest. She’d flown through the night from Hawaii, where she had worked for a new client. It had taken just over a week to assess the company’s financials and come up with a plan for expansion they could afford. She’d left the young female CEO elated over the opportunity to open a second factory on the mainland for her customized baby furniture.

When the press snapped her looking over baby cribs and change tables in the showroom and issued a whole new barrage of articles around a possible pregnancy, she was thrilled and made sure they got photos of her wearing a waistline concealing dress.

Safely home with satisfactory results, she just wanted to veg in front of the TV. She confessed to herself that she needed a few hours to feel safe. Though she knew security followed her everywhere, and camera toting paparazzi lurked, her mother’s high security condo was the only place she felt inviolate.

She channel surfed till she found the CTV coverage for the Annual Earth Day celebration in the Niagara Peninsula. Patricia had mentioned Jake would be speaking at the event. She’d cover his announcement of an additional JDI initiative to help plant native trees in urban developments. Jake believed in environmental conservation and put a lot of JDI money behind anything that would keep the earth healthy. Described as “Local Boy Made Good and Giving Back,” the people of the Niagara area loved him. It made for excellent press. Diving her hand into a bowl of buttery popcorn, she focused on getting her first look at Jake.

Thousands of people moved across a grassy expanse. One colorful booth after another offered enticing tastes of the locally grown wines and the foods that complemented them. The sun shone. Flags and balloons rippled lightly in the spring air. Good spirits and smiling faces portrayed an air of excitement. Sliding down on the floor in front of the television, she let the anticipation of seeing him, if only through a camera lens, buoy her.
I’m like a teenager with a crush.
God, I wonder if this is how the stalker feels.
Yuck!
But the thought would not let go of her mind.
Maybe she’s there today, wanting to be close to him. Maybe I could spot her.
Popcorn forgotten, she leaned forward, searching the festival with avid eyes.

On the television, the huge crowd became more animated then shifted to one side as a limousine drove up and parked along the grassy verge. Gribbs stepped out, Jake followed. Her heart rate doubled. He looked so good, dressed in jeans and a leather bomber jacket. He lifted his hand, smiled with his eyes, acknowledged the people pressing closer. Cameras zoomed in from all angles. Microphones obstructed her view as journalists lifted them higher to catch what he said. The paparazzi darted around like irritating black flies trying to get a shot of him. Siree saw Patricia with CTV moving toward Jake from the left. He kept walking, the cameramen backing ahead of him, the crowd parting around them as he made his way to the dais set up in the center of the park.

Three security men kept pace with his process. When he reached the dais and stood talking to the mayor of Niagara Falls, they fanned out, facing away from Jake to have eyes on the crowd. Gribbs moved to the side, instructing his men through his wireless two-way radio. Officers from the Niagara Police Department circulated and the bright red tunics of RCMP constables dotted the crowd. Throat dry with anticipation, she took a long drink of her soda, never taking her eyes from the action on the screen.
Surely there are too many law enforcers present to make Crazy Lady show up
.
I couldn’t get that lucky.
However, she studied every woman who moved through the crowd.

The mayor mounted the dais and began a lengthy introduction of Jake. He stood on the grass to the side, his expression calm, watching the mayor. The bright sun caressed his high cheekbones and picked extra glitter out of his aquamarine eyes. She remembered the many times they’d heated when he looked at her, felt again the satin of his fine-grained skin, the rougher texture where his whiskers scraped her fingertips.
Jake, I miss you so much.

Her gaze travelled across the crowd, followed a slim figure, dark hair hanging beneath a navy baseball cap. The large suede purse slung over her shoulder seemed to weigh her down. She approached one of the RCMP constables, stopped to talk, pointed toward Gribbs then moved on. Siree’s attention moved back to Jake. He waited for the mayor to finish his intro. She saw a flurry of movement in the crowd. Several RCMP constables converged on Gribbs. Her alarm bells went off. She searched the crowd for the woman. There she was, moving straight and fast toward the dais. She raised her head to stare at Jake, and Siree’s breath exploded from her lungs.
No. No, no, no
. She grabbed her phone, punched in Jake’s number and got his message. Of course he’d have his phone turned off while he spoke. Gribbs seemed to be arguing with one constable while two others held his arms, no help there. She tracked the woman, saw her dodge around a mother with several children. She reached into her purse. It was all so familiar. Siree’s body shook with fear; the woman coming at her, the knife coming out of the purse, stabbing, stabbing.

She leapt to her feet, ran to the television as if somehow she could reach Jake. She sobbed, desperately seeking a way to save him. The local police would never get to him in time. Crazy Lady pushed past a journalist, who gave her the finger as she got between him and his shot.
Patricia. She could warn Jake.
She brought up Patricia’s number on her phone and punched it in.
Please, God, let it be true that she answers 24/7
.

“Patricia Watson here, CTV news.”

“Patricia, it’s Siree McConnell. Jake’s stalker is in the crowd. She’s coming up behind him and has a knife. Navy cap, big purse, black hoodie. You’ve got to warn him. Scream bloody murder or do something to get everyone’s attention. Now!”