Flashback (8 page)

Instead she had to change his mind.

Athena exhaled, then went back to stand
before him. She spoke softly, not with defiance but with resolve.
“You say you love me. Would you rather force me to stay with you,
or would you rather I chose to stay with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. The end result will be
the same.”

“No, it won’t. Because if you lock those
doors against me, I will hate you with all my heart and soul. You
might be able to do whatever you want to my body, but I’ll
guarantee to you that it will be an empty victory. I will escape,
but I’ll make sure you pay first.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I could love you, but only if you love me
for who I really am. I’m not a little girl anymore. I can’t be
protected from the world, even if that’s what you want to do.”

He glared at her for a long moment, then
walked away from her. “I remember being surprised by your room,” he
said heavily. “It was what convinced me you could truly be mine.
That we were kindred spirits.”

“Why?”

“No posters, no pictures, no teddy bears.” He
pivoted to face her. “You were never innocent, Athena. You always
needed what I could give you.”

“Maybe I need more than what you’ve given me
so far.”

His gaze was hard and she could almost hear
him thinking. He was weighing the possibilities, choosing the path
most likely to give him what he wanted.

Her.

How much would he bend? How much could he
compromise? How much would she love him if he did?

How much would she hate him if he didn’t?

He must have glimpsed her determination,
because his lips tightened and the fight went out of his shoulders.
“You called yourself my Countess once,” he said softly.

It was true. Athena said nothing, just felt
the lump in her throat. She could go without his permission, but
she didn’t want to part that way. “I still might, if we met as
equals.”

“No guarantees on that?”

“We’ve yet to try it.”

He turned his back on her abruptly. “Go
then,” he said heavily. “Go then and do what you want to do.” He
made to leave the room, but stopped right beside her. “Rex might
not be the man you want him to be.”

Athena shrugged. “That wouldn’t be much of a
surprise. The fact is that I’ve never known what to expect from the
men I’ve loved.”

The Count flinched at that and it was almost
enough.

Athena turned away from him and picked up the
cup of chocolate. It had cooled slightly but was still delicious.
Made from scratch, just the way the maids had made it in her
grandmother’s house. Athena closed her eyes and savored it, bracing
herself for what she had to do. In a way, it was a relief to
revisit the past and she found strength in its familiarity.

In another way, it was a false security. The
past was over and her concern should be the future. The Count
hesitated on the threshold, perhaps wanting something more from
her, but Athena didn’t turn around until his footsteps had faded
and he was gone.

For the moment, there was nothing more to
say.

* * *

Mike came home on Monday night,
despondent.

Joanna had called in sick to work that day.
He knew she would call in the next day as well. The knowledge that
Eric was claiming her over and over again made Mike feel sick.

That it was his own fault was just salt in
the wound.

He should have talked to Joanna. He should
have made sure that this was really what she wanted. He should have
given her the chance to decline. Instead, he’d played master and
chosen for her.

And lost her forever.

It was his own fucking fault.

He got a beer, then went to the window. He
could see the tower where Eric had that specially configured
apartment. It was dark at the top and he knew why. The windows were
covered, the walls soundproofed, the entry secured.

What if Joanna really didn’t want what Eric
offered?

It was too late to find out. Mike regretted
that he’d given the key back to Eric. He couldn’t even go there and
ask her, not now. Eric would never let him in, and Joanna wouldn’t
be able to. The keycard lock was one he couldn’t pick.

But maybe he was just imagining that would
make any difference. Maybe he was seeing his desire instead of her
own. Maybe he really had given her exactly what she wanted.

And lost what he wanted.

He threw back half of the beer, then dug out
the business card of a friend on the opposite coast. Darcy had
tried to recruit Mike a dozen times, but Mike had always declined.
He’d chosen being close to Joanna over a better job opportunity.
Darcy had always said that Mike could take him up on the offer
anytime. He stared at the card, then finished his beer.

Maybe it was time to make a change and start
fresh.

He called Darcy, certain that a change of
scene would be the best way to move on.

Not that he’d ever forget Joanna.

* * *

Leya had a house by the sea, a small house
with hedges all around it. She told Rex that it was owned in the
name of her alter-ego, a safe house that she’d never used. The
house smelled like it had been closed up, but they opened the
windows and cleaned away the dust.

She wouldn’t let Rex go shopping for
groceries, but put on a wig and went herself.

He paced.

He was itching to boot up his computer and
find a wifi connection, impatient to know what was happening at the
Plume. Had everyone gotten out? Had the records really been
destroyed? If anyone had been arrested, had they been released?

He debated his choices for a while, then
couldn’t stand it any longer. He took some cash, found a pair of
sunglasses and left the bungalow. He’d seen a convenience store on
the corner and bought a phone card there, then used the public
phone by the gas station to call Julius. It wasn’t nearly as secure
as he wanted to be, but he had to know.

“Hi,” he said when Julius answered the
phone.

The lawyer from the Plume obviously
recognized his voice - and he clearly wasn’t alone. “I’ve told you
a hundred times, Maria, don’t use the cellphone! You might think
you’re entitled to use whatever you find in my house when you’re
cleaning, but I’m not your sugar daddy. Stay away from the phone
and we’ll get along just fine.”

“Done and done,” Rex said. He knew the lawyer
well enough to understand that the other man was giving him
necessary information, so he played along.

“Thank goodness there were no real
repercussions,” Julius continued in a huff.

“Everyone’s okay?”

“I can manage the details, but you need to
understand that it’s your own call that caused all the trouble,”
Julius lectured. Rex was so surprised by this that he had no chance
to be relieved. “If you hadn’t called that number, I wouldn’t even
know what you’d been up to.
No one
would have found out if
you hadn’t been so stupid. If you hadn’t made that call, the police
wouldn’t have gotten involved. I’m sorry, Maria, but they want you
to turn yourself in.”

Rex felt his eyes narrow. They thought
he
had betrayed the Plume? He spoke with force. “I didn’t
call them.”

It was only then that Rex remembered the
warning he’d received before the raid, how the caller had spoken to
him as if they were old friends.

Someone had pretended to be him.

Someone had used his cell phone. Who?

“Somebody made that call on that phone,”
Julius continued, apparently having made the same conclusion. “And
it can only have been you.”

“No,” Rex said. “Not me. I swear it.”

“I never imagined it was something you would
do,” Julius said. “I mean, I thought you were beyond such petty
nonsense. Astrological charts on billable numbers! You can betray
everything
with thoughtless frivolity.”

Like putting down his cell phone.

“I left the phone in the office when I argued
with Athena,” Rex said. “My wallet, my keys, everything was there.
Wait a minute. Tony had the phone at the bar later, said someone
had found it in the parking garage. Like I dropped it, but I
remember now. I didn’t. I had it in the office. Someone must have
taken it from there.”

“I suppose you’ve been sharing this number
with everyone you know,” Julius snapped. “Everyone in the
vicinity.”

Rex understood. “The Count was in the office
when I left, talking to Athena. Ask her if anyone else came into
the office, or if she left it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re so sorry
about your mistake. I can’t call off the police now, but I’ll tell
everyone at the house about your apology. Don’t call me again,
Maria. Thanks to the stupidity of others, I’m a busy man this
week.”

And Julius hung up the phone.

Rex heaved a sigh. Julius believed him. And
he’d talk to Athena.

He drummed his fingers on the side of the
phone booth. Had Athena called the police on his phone? Rafe had
suggested as much, but if the person who had given them away had
used his cell phone and pretended to be him then that was
impossible. No one would have imagined that a woman caller was him.
Whoever had given him the warning would have immediately realized
he was talking to another person, a man instead of a woman.

Besides, Rex really couldn’t believe that
Athena would destroy the Plume. They’d both worked so hard to build
it. It was true that they didn’t always agree, but he wished he
knew where she was. He wanted to talk to her again, not part
badly.

What about the Count? Rex had never been able
to understand that man. He’d introduced Rex to Athena all those
years ago, then disappeared. Rex had always thought the other man
was ditching Athena, finding her a new partner maybe, or at least
handing her off.

Why had he come back?

Rex suddenly recalled that the Count had been
the one to invite Leya to the Plume. Coincidence? An opportunity to
divide Rex and Athena? Rex didn’t think Leya knew anything,
couldn’t imagine that she was part of any scheme, but he had to
ask. She was probably just a pawn in some scheme of the Count’s but
he had to know for sure.

It was time for some answers.

Rex wanted to head back to the quiet bungalow
immediately, but he forced himself to be cautious. Funny how he had
to think about doing what had been second nature to him for so
long. He felt vulnerable, as he never had before, and that threw
his game.

He took a deep breath to compose himself. He
looked around, but there didn’t appear to be anyone following him.
He headed back to the house, taking a longer and more circuitous
route to ensure that he wasn’t followed.

He heard Leya’s voice as soon as he stepped
into the house, and instinctively froze on the threshold. He
couldn’t hear her words, but her voice was low and intimate. She
laughed a little, the kind of laugh that lovers share, and he felt
a trickle of dread.

What was going on? Was she going to turn him
in to the police?

He strode into the main room of the house and
immediately felt like an idiot for his doubts. Her face lit up at
the sight of him and she hung up the phone. “There you are!” She
crossed the room and threw her arms around him, her relief
tangible. She kissed him so sweetly that Rex was relieved himself.
“I was worried,” she scolded, holding his shoulders. “You were
going to stay here. Don’t frighten me like that again.”

“Who were you talking to?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was trying to talk
someone into doing me a favor. I was going to ask him to look for
you around town, or listen in at the copshop.” She framed his face
in her hands and smiled up at him. “I’m so glad you came back when
you did. I hadn’t told him anything yet.”

“Someone?” Rex echoed.

“He doesn’t know my name. I met him in a bar
once and we had vanilla sex. I was bored.” She shrugged. “Maybe
drunk, too.” She smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have
risked anything. I was just worried about you.”

Rex relaxed. He kissed her, then pulled away.
“How do you know the Count?”

Leya looked momentarily confused. “What?”

“He invited you to the Plume, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but I thought he was asking on behalf
of the Plume.”

“Did you know him before that?”

“No, but I’d heard of the Plume.” She smiled
impishly. “I thought it was the proverbial invitation that couldn’t
be refused.” She brushed her lips across his, then slid her tongue
over her mouth. “And look who I found.” Leya’s hand slid down Rex’s
chest and she caressed him, coaxing his erection.

Rex was losing the ability to think straight,
but he had a tough time worrying about it. He was with Leya. He had
nothing to think about except being with Leya.

“We’re safe,” she whispered. “There’s wine
and there’s dinner. Maybe we should celebrate our escape.” She was
pushing down his jeans, peeling off his shirt, her lips on his
throat and her hands around his cock.

“Did you get any condoms?” Rex managed to
ask.

She swept away his reservations as easily as
she fed his desire. “What do we need them for?”

“It’s Plume rules,” Rex began, but Leya put
her hand over his mouth.

“We’re not at the Plume anymore, Rex, and
we’re not going back there.” Her dark gaze held him captive. “It’s
just you and me now.”

“But...”

“But I hate condoms. I don’t like how they
smell and I don’t like how they feel. I don’t like the implication
that I don’t trust you or that you don’t trust me.”

Rex took a step back. “We have to be smart.
We have to be careful...”

Leya laughed. “I think we’re past that, Rex.”
She unfastened his jeans, her gaze locked on his. “This is about
trust.” Her hand closed over his erection and he shivered as the
surety of her touch. “I trust you. Do you trust me?”