Rush of Innocence (Rush Series #1) (12 page)

“You
didn’t tell him?” he asked, startled.

She
shook her head. “I made such an issue out of not wanting
protection,
I just didn’t want to hear him say
I told
you so
.”

He
brushed her hair behind her ears in a loving gesture; however, beneath her, his
body tensed. He swallowed hard, and for reasons unclear to her, he seemed…
nervous… unsure even. She struggled to understand him. He was saying all the
right things, but his body language was off somehow, but she couldn’t quite put
her finger on it.

“I
don’t know about you, but I have to get out of his hot tub,” he smiled down at
her.

He
lifted her off his lap and hugged her against his body before helping her out.
He handed her a towel and draped one around his hips.

She
dressed slowly, the stress of everything catching back up with her. She had a
headache and her body was sore. She walked wearily to the living room. She
stopped at the entrance when she saw Rush staring out the window with his hands
on his hips, a dejected slump in his shoulders. He looked… defeated. What
worried him so? She cleared her throat and he turned quickly to her, assuming a
whole new persona. He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I… I
think I’ll just call a taxi and go home, if that’s okay. I’m tired and my head
aches. I really need to take a pain pill and go to bed,” she said.

He
came to her quickly, concern in his eyes – the first true emotion she’d
witnessed in the last thirty minutes. He ran his finger over her brow. “You
really need to eat something… at least a sandwich. Come, you only have to stay
a few minutes, then I’ll drive you home.”

Her
eyes burned at his concern. She cleared her clogged throat. “I really just want
to go home,” she said raggedly, trying to keep her emotions intact.

He
pulled her up against his body and she rubbed her face against the soft fabric
of his T-shirt. “Of course, let me grab my keys and we’ll go,” he murmured
against her head.
“My poor baby.
It’s been quite the
day, hasn’t it?”

She
stared out the window silently as he drove. Her father was totally going to
freak out. She sighed deeply and ignored the quick look Rush gave her. She
didn’t understand him at all. He made her feel so… crazy! He was hot and tender
one minute, then withdrawn and pensive the next. She wondered if bipolar
disorder ran in his family. He’d flown all the way back here when he’d found
out about the break-in to check on her, so he obviously cared about her. But he
seemed to struggle with it. She tilted her face to stare at him as he drove. He
could be strong and aggressive, and then so seemingly broken and defenseless.
She wondered which one was the true Rush Drayton.

While
she tried to dissuade him, he walked her to the door anyway. He stared down
into her face for such a long moment before leaning to brush his lips against
hers. “Get some rest,” he murmured.

She
nodded.

“I’ll
call you later in the week at the gallery.”

Again,
she smiled briefly and nodded.

He
ran his fingers over her jaw. “Everything will be okay. Try not to worry.”

“Goodnight,”
she murmured.

With
one last pat on her cheek, he was gone.

She
waited until Rush pulled out of the drive before opening the door. She heard
the crackle of the fireplace and was surprised. She turned toward the dining
room and saw her father sitting at the table nursing a drink, probably scotch.

He
took a swallow of his drink and indicated with a wave of his hand that she
join
him. She heaved a sigh and sat down at the far end of
the table. He eyed her speculatively for a moment.

“Do
you have any idea how terribly worried I’ve been? My God! You’re my daughter
and I have to hear through the grapevine that you were nearly killed today?
What have I done to cause you to hate me so much?” he asked.

“I
don’t hate you, Dad,” she murmured.

“I
hope now you will see the sense in having protection with you.”

She
slowly shook her head. “No, I don’t. We don’t know that it wasn’t just a
burglary. I don’t want my life invaded.”

He
regarded her over the rim of his glass. “Where have you been?” he asked
quietly.

“Out.
Just
out. Listen, I’m tired and have a headache. I’m going to bed.”

“You
act like I don’t have the right to be concerned. But what you did today was
entirely selfish. I love you, Trinity. You’re all I have, and I’m all you have.
You can’t just cut me out.”

“I know, you’re right.
I was selfish, I should have called. It won’t happen again.”

“Good,”
he said with a small smile.

Chapter 6

Trinity woke groggy the next morning
from the taken pain pills. She dressed slowly as muscles that bothered her
little the day before groaned in protest today. While she was still angry at
her father, she forced herself to act as she always had. He was sitting at the
table eating breakfast when she entered the dining room.

“Good
morning,” she murmured.

“How
are you feeling this morning?” he asked.

“Fine.
I
wasn’t hurt. I only went to the hospital as a precaution,” she said, hedging
the truth.

“Well
that’s a relief! I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

“I
know. When will the doctors release you to go back to work?” she asked, as she
buttered a piece of toast laid out on a silver tray on the table, compliments
of Ms. Gibbons.

“Two
weeks. I’ll be happy when things get back to normal!” he exclaimed.

“Tell
me about the death threats.”

He
sighed heavily. “I don’t want you worrying about that. That’s what Alex and his
crew are for,” he said.

She
contemplated him over her orange juice. “Any idea
who
it is?”

“
There’s the usual suspects
, of course. People that have been
through my court, and
the such
. But we just don’t
know. I’d feel so much more at ease if you’d let someone from Alex’s team go
with you during the day. Please – I’m begging you,” he beseeched her.

She
felt the noose tightening around her. As much as she rationally knew it
probably was the best idea, she just couldn’t do it. He’d had way too much
control over her.

She
slowly shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

He
sighed heavily again. “Trinity, I love you. You have to know that. I only want
to protect you… it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Ever since your mother…”

She
cringed at the blatant manipulation. “I know, and I love you, also. But the
answer is still no.” Tired of the conversation, she rose. “I need to go to
work. I’ll see you tonight.”

“At
least let
Ringo
drive you to and from work.”

“Okay.”
She acquiesced to this one request.

She
was more nervous than she thought she would be walking into work. Gavin’s door
was open when she passed, so she popped her head in.

“Good
morning,” she said.

He
bunched his eyebrows in surprise. “What are you doing here? I think you need to
be home. You were just attacked yesterday.”

“I
wanted to come and try to straighten out my office. What did the
Newberrys
say about their slashed painting?” she asked,
referring to the restoration on the autumn leaves.

“What
could they say? The insurance will try to settle with them.”

“Any
idea
who
broke in? The police find anything?” she
asked.

He
shook his head. “No, there wasn’t even anything on the security footage. The
guy must have known where our cameras were, because he avoided them. How are
you feeling today?” he asked.

“I’m
fine, just a little banged up. I just hate it about the paintings. What a
waste.”

“I
know. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I
will. Thanks, Gavin.”

The
nerves in her stomach nearly got the best of her as she walked towards her
office door. She shuddered to think how long it would take her to clean up the
mess. She began by putting the drawers back into place, slowly and methodically
she shuffled papers together and sat at her desk and sorted them. The two
paintings had been removed, of which she was thankful. It broke her heart to
think of them torn, shredded, and destroyed.

She
righted her bookcase and began replacing all her books back on the shelves. She
tried to determine if they had actually taken anything, but she never could
identify anything that was missing.

Her
office phone rang numerous times and each time, her heart thumped hard at the
thought it would be Rush, but he never called. While it took her all day, by
the end of it, she had everything righted into its place. She tried not to
think about the fact that Rush hadn’t called to check on her. The little girl
in her wanted to stamp her foot. Logically, she knew he was busy and had just
gotten back into town after being gone for a week. But what if he never called?
Just because he’d been all hot and bothered while they were on vacation, didn’t
mean he felt that way now. She remember how almost resistant he’d been about
being with her yesterday. Maybe he never intended what they had to evolve past
Vail. Her shoulders slumped at the thought.

For a
brief second, she thought about calling him at his office, but immediately
dismissed the idea. She’d not chase him. No, she’d let him set the pace. She
imagined every woman he’d ever been with chased him. She didn’t want to be
lumped in with those he ultimately avoided. Besides, it’d only been one day.

She
was placing the last of her books back on the shelves when Elena stepped in
with a huge bouquet of purple roses. Their scent permeated the entire room
almost immediately.

“Someone’s
a lucky girl,” Elena said in a sing-song voice with a smile.
 

Once
Elena set them on the desk and returned to the showroom, Trinity rustled an
oversized card out of their midst. With a smile on her face, she tore open the
envelope and dropped the card to the floor in her haste. She bent to retrieve
it and realized it wasn’t a card, but a photograph. She picked it up and turned
it over and gasped. The photo was of a naked woman with what appeared to be a
noose tied around her neck. As the picture had been cropped at the woman’s
neck, she couldn’t tell who the woman was or what she’d been suspended from.
Written in black marker were the words:
This
could be you!

She
swallowed against the fear and bile in her throat. She sat down heavily in her
chair. With shaky fingers she picked up the phone to dial… who did she call? If
she called her father, he’d demand the added protection. If she called Alex,
he’d tell her father. Was she supposed to call the police? She set the phone
back down on its cradle. She thought for an instant about calling Rush, but
vetoed that immediately. This wasn’t his battle.

Trinity
sat back in her chair and shut her eyes, but was forced to open them as the
image of the photograph seemed burned onto her eyelids. She wondered who would
send a picture like
this?
Who was the woman? Had they
killed her? What did they mean:
This
could be you!
Maybe her father was right and she needed protection. Why
would anyone do this?

As it
was past closing time anyway, she lifted the phone and called
Ringo’s
number and told him to pick her up.

She
was surprised to see Alex waiting at the curb instead of
Ringo
.

“Pulling
double duty?” she asked him.

“Your
father’s at a State dinner and
Ringo’s
with him.”

She
was quiet for a long while before finally speaking. “Something happened today
at work. I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell my father. You know how he is. But
I’m sure it has to do with him.”

Alex
glanced at her as he drove. “I can’t promise that. What happened?”

She
cleared her throat. “I’m going to tell you, but no matter what my father
thinks, I still do not want to be followed. Am I clear?”

Alex’s
jaw tightened, but he nodded.

“Today,
some flowers were delivered to me at the gallery. Inside the flowers was a
photograph of a naked woman’s body hanging by a noose. The words:
This could be you
, were written across
the picture.”

“Did
you know the woman?” he asked.

“No,
her head had been cropped out.”

“Do
you have the picture?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,
I’ll take a look when I get you home.”

When
they entered the front doors of the house, she handed him the manila envelope
the photo was in. He opened it and slowly pulled the picture out. He glanced at
it briefly, and glanced back at her, before sliding the picture back into the
envelope.

“This
was delivered to your work, you say?”

Her
brow bunched in confusion at his words. “Yes.”

“Today?”
he reiterated.

“Yes,”
she said emphatically.

He
eyed her speculatively for a long moment. “Okay. I’ll look into it. Goodnight,
Miss Grace.”

Trinity
didn’t understand his weird reaction.

***

The next morning, Trinity was
surprised to not find her father at the breakfast table. She went to his study
and the door was closed. From inside, she could hear the raised voice of her
father and Alex Masters. While she could hear their voices, the door was so
thick,
she couldn’t make out their words. She wondered if it
had to do with the picture. She knocked softly and the loud voices stopped
immediately. She opened the door slowly. Her father was standing on one side of
the desk and Alex Masters on the other. Both men stood tensely with their jaws
clenched tightly.

“This
isn’t a good time, Trinity,” her father said dismissively.

“Is this
about the picture I got yesterday?” she asked the two men.

Her
father cut his eyes to hers quickly. “We’ll discuss that later. Now if you’ll
excuse us, we’re in the middle of something right now.”

Trinity
hesitated before slowly nodding her head. “Okay, I’ll see you at breakfast.”

Her
father eventually joined her, his jaw set tight.

He
took a deep breath and poured himself a cup a coffee. “Trinity, when things
like that horrible photograph appear, I would think, as your father, I’d be
your first call. You know how dangerous things are right now. I hope you can
finally see the sense in having a security detail with you. There are some
seriously deranged people out there, Trinity. If anything were to happen to
you, I… I just don’t know what I would do.”

“Did
the picture mean anything to you?” she asked.

“No.
I was horrified that you’d seen something so disgusting. I’m so sorry, honey.
I’ve spent my whole life trying to protect you from the horrors of my job. But
like with your mother, it looks like I’ve failed.”

Trinity
studied her father carefully. There was something almost manipulative about his
words, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“What
were you and Alex Masters fighting about?” she asked.

He
took his time buttering his toast before answering. “Alex and I don’t always
see eye to eye on how things should be done. It’s nothing for you to worry
about.”

“Regardless
of the picture, as I’ve already pointed out to Alex, I do not want a detail.”

“Don’t
be so foolhardy. You’re only cutting off your nose to spite your face. This is
your life we’re talking about, Trinity. Don’t be so hardnosed just to defy me,”
he said.

“I
won’t be under your thumb any longer. Someone sending a photograph isn’t going
to change that,” she proclaimed.

***

It was Friday morning before she heard
from Rush. She’d just gotten into work and was in the process of stretching a
canvas when he called.

“Rush
Drayton on line one,” Elena said.

“Hi,”
Trinity said happily.

“Hi yourself.
Sorry it’s taken me so long to call. It’s just been so busy,” he
replied.

“No
problem. I know you must have a mountain of paperwork to get through.”

“I
certainly do. I know its last minute, but how about dinner tonight?”

“I’d
like that,” she said quickly.

“I’ll
pick you up at seven. Is that good?”

She
hesitated. “Uh, maybe it’d be better if I just met you somewhere,” she hedged.

Silence
met her words. “Why can’t I pick you up at your home?” he asked quietly.

She
exhaled deeply. “My father can be… difficult.”

“I
think I can handle your father. Don’t worry about it,” he promised.

She
chewed the inside of her lip before saying, “Okay, seven.”

“Good,
see you tonight,” he said and hung up.

Oh,
he could say
good
, but it probably wasn’t going to be
good.

***

She dressed with care for her date with
Rush. She waited until the last minute to tell her father. He was sitting at
his desk reading over briefs when she entered.

He
looked up and smiled. “Before I forget, Jim and
Marlena
are coming for Sunday brunch. It’s been a while since they’ve been here.”