Running From Fate (50 page)

“
I would suggest that you g
o and
have a
talk
with
Kimberly Roberts
.”

“For God’s sake,” James muttered as he fell back against the sofa.

“You’re not being very supportive,” Mira chided, “but I forgive you.
”  She turned back to the officers.
 
“
I believe that I’ve
seen the same man with Kimberly three or four times.
In fact, the first time was at a business event that James dragged me to.”

“I didn’t drag you,” James reminded her
.
 
“
You agreed to go with me.
Besides, I don’t remember Kim introducing
us to anyone
.”

“She didn’t actually introduce us.”
The detective looked disappointed.
“But,” Mira continued.  “He was with her when she came up to us
and
he was
in a
n expensive
tux so he must be so
meone
important
.”

“Not necessarily,” James chimed in.
“She never minded what she called ‘slumming’ as long as the man had muscles.
Wait a second,” he said as comprehension dawned.
“Are you talking about the big, blond man that she was glued to?
I’ll kill her
.
”

“That won’t be needed,” the detective said as she stood up and motioned to Officer Hinson.
“We have enough to go on.
You,” she narrowed her eyes and glared at James, “will stay out of the way and let me do my job a
nd you,” she pointed at Mira, “w
ill
call me if you remember anything else.”
With her back held straight, she walked out of the room
, Hinson trailing behind
.

When the front do
or shut
behind
them Mira
stood up, intending to make a quick escape and avoid a loud shouting match with James or, worse, a calm, reasonable lecture from the distant man he had become over the last week.

“I’ll just be going,” she said as she sidled out the door
.
“I have some
things
that I desperately need to get done before work on Monday.”

“You,” James said in a voice that could freeze lava, “will get back over here and sit down and you will listen to what I have to say.”

“Wait a second,” she said as her ire started to rise.
“I’m
under no obligation to listen to anything you have to say
.
I may have agreed to temporarily stay with you, but I’m a fully grown woman and I don’t have to take orders from you or anyone else.”

“If you don’t come over here rig
ht now and sit down,” he warned.
“I’ll drag you, but you won’t be sitting down, you’ll be over my legs getting the spanking that you richly deserve.”

It looked like it would be the fiery James that she had to deal with, Mira thought as she tilted her head up and stalked over to an armchair, daring him to say anything about her choice of seating.
When he remained stonily silent she sat down and slowly crossed her legs as if she were wearing an elegant cocktail dress and not dirty
, ripped
exercise clothes.

“What was it that you wanted to say to me?”
s
he asked coolly.

James almost laughed at her ice princess routine.
When faced with his anger, most people cowered or apologized profusely.
Despite the severity of the situation, he found himself amused and
somehow
pleased by her attitude.
With some difficultly, he suppressed a smile and schooled his face to show only stern
reproach
.

“Why,” he asked disapprovingly, “didn’t you wake me this morning?
I thought y
ou agreed to stay here because of your safety.
What possessed you to do something as stupid as not only
sneaking out this morning
, but putting yourself in a situation where you were alon
e in a relatively secluded area?
If you had only asked I would have gone with you.”

“It was you I needed to get away from,” Mira exploded, her cool composure a thing of the past
as the frustration that had sent her running earlier bubbled to the surface
.
“If I have to put up with one more brotherly pat
on the shoulder
or
one more
snippet of ‘well-meant’ advice from you, I’m going to scream.”

“I hate to tell you this.”
James dramatically rubbed his ears.
“But you’re already screaming.”

“It’s your fault,” she accused.
“And I don’t have to take this.”
With
her head held high, she stood up and
stalked
from the room.

James remained seated as he thought through the conversation.
If she didn’t like his ‘brotherly’ treatment, he decided as a wicked smile spread across his face, he would just have to try something else.

**********************************************
************

For the rest of the day Mira did her best to stay out of James’ way.
She closeted herself in her large room and, after taking a long, hot shower in the adjoining bathroom and putting on her most c
omfortable pair of ratty sweats
,
moved the
delicate cherry wood desk in front of the window
,
and tried to lose herself in work.

Usually, the act of creating functional and beautiful designs on paper that would one day come to life and echo with the noise of humanity absorbed and satisfied her, but today she just couldn’t concentrate.

With a frustrated sound, she balled up her third piece of paper and lobbed it in the direction of a wicker trashcan.
It hit the rim and fell on the floor to reside with her previous two attempts
. 
She
briefly
considered finding James and igniting a confrontation just to blow off some steam, but the idea seemed a little petty and she wasn’t sure that she was up to it just yet.
She could, she supposed, sneak down to the library and grab a book, but reading didn’t
particularly
appeal either.

She growled in frustration, tapped her pen on the table, and considered the possibility of taking a nap.  All of a sudden
she remembered the sketch that she had just started when the break-in occurred.
With everything that had happened she hadn’t gotten back to it, but she vaguely re
called
tossing it in one of her suitcases.
With growing excitement, she jumped out of the chair and went searching.

Fifteen minutes later, with the contents of her suitcases strewn on the floor, Mira was cheerfully humming along to the Celtic punk playing on her iPod and watching an enchanted forest glade coalesce in front of her eyes.
She was so engrossed in her efforts that the day seemed to pass in a blink and she barely even noticed when Winston knocked on the door to inform her that dinner was ready.
It was the loud, insistent grumbling of her stomach that finally
managed to
distract her.

With a
tired, but satisfied
sigh she stood up and stretched, wiggling her fingers to uncramp them as she sur
veyed her almost finished
work.  I
t was a scene straight out of a fairytale. 
A group of woodland fairies held court under the lush branches of a huge oak tree.
In elaborate dress they lounged on its spreading roots while the jeweled king and queen reclined in carved
wooden
thrones.
Up above, half-
seen creatures peeked
out from behind their leafy shelter, watching the gathering
as if envious of the glittering throng
.

As she
left her room and made her way downstairs
in her stocking feet, Mira decided to be amused rather than dismayed by the fact that her royal fairy couple bore a striking resemblance to James and herself.
When she reached the gleaming, modern kitchen she put the matter out of her mind and focused on creating a towering turkey
, lettuce, and tomato sandwich as
dinner had apparently been served hours ago. 
She ate standing at the counter and demolished the monstrosity in
less than
ten minutes. 
Belly finally happy and
her
mind starting to get sleepy, she left the kitchen and dragged herself up the stairs.

Just when she had reached the
landing
a loud crack split the night and the hallway was plunged into darkness.
Far from being scared, she
felt
invigorated.  S
he
had always
loved the chaos of a raging storm.
Navigating by touch alone she made it back to her room and flung open the balcony doors.

As she stepped outside another bright bolt crackled across the night sky,
throwing the world into a false twilight
.
Thunder followed so closely behind it that the force of its bellow almost seemed to shake the house on its foundations.
Suddenly, the sky opened up and sent down a flood.
There was nothing Mira liked better than the beautiful fury of a thunderstorm, but right now she didn’t feel like getting drenched.
Shivering slightly, she stepped back
inside
and pulled the doors shut.

After rushing through her bedtime routine and pulling on an x-large t-shirt, she snuggled under the covers and listened to the
soothing drumming
of
the
rain as she let her mind wander.
Just as she was starting to d
rift off the slight creaking of
the door announced another presence in the room.
As quiet footsteps approached the bed and paused, she kept her eyes closed and forced her body to relax.
Hopefully, if James thought she was asleep, he would go away and leave her in peace.

The soft rustle of cloth sounded
and the blankets lifted, letting in a chill breeze that p
ebbled her nipples and brought
g
oosebumps
to her bare legs.
Before she had time to utter a protest the cold
air
was
cut off as a warm body slipped
in next to hers and hair roughened legs slid against her own smooth ones.
Another involuntary chill shook her body
,
but this time it wasn’t caused by the cold.