Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) (16 page)

Dillon searched her face, looking for any
sign that she might be hiding something. Nothing there except her
exceptional beauty and a hint of that vulnerability. He knew his
news would make her feel even more vulnerable.

He shrugged. "I don't have time to waste on
Pierre. I'll know for sure whether he's innocent or not when the
prints come back from the lab."

"And when will that be?"

"Soon. Today or tomorrow."

She fidgeted with the papers on her desk. "Is
there anything else?"

Dillon jumped up and paced around the office.
He wanted to kick something. Hard. "Hell, yes. I just don't know
where to start." He really needed to get a grip here. "Number
one--you shouldn't have left this morning without waiting for
me."

Her chin lifted and she took a deep breath,
preparing to blast him he was sure. "Listen--" she began.

"No, you listen." He crossed the room, made
his way around the desk and crouched down beside her. He needed to
make her realize the danger she was in. "He's done it again,
Claire. The hacker sabotaged all three companies early this
morning."

"Was it bad?"

Dillon took hold of her hands. To reassure
her--and himself. "Pretty bad. Real bad. He left a message."

Claire gripped his hands. "What kind of
message?"

"Encrypted. Hidden in the system files." Her
hands were small and warm in his. He rubbed his thumbs over the
delicate wrists. He'd nail this guy and keep Claire safe. Then
what? Dillon wouldn't . . . couldn't think about what would happen
afterwards.

"What did the message say?" Her voice was
low, almost a whisper.

"He indicated that he's near the end of his
game. He has something big in mind. And he threatened you again."
She seemed to withdraw into herself, a stricken expression on her
face.

"What have I done to cause such hostility?"
Tears flooded her beautiful eyes. Dillon couldn't stand to see the
sadness and helplessness revealed. Her confidence and independence
were two qualities he admired about Claire. They sometimes
frustrated the hell out him, but he admired them just the same.

"It's not your fault, babe. It's not your
fault."

Dillon stood, pulled her from the chair and
held her in his arms--like he'd been aching to do ever since he'd
left the van. Anger and frustration dive-bombed him all over
again.

Claire trembled in his embrace, a sob escaped
from her throat. She leaned her head against his shoulder. She was
hurting and he could feel her pain.

"We'll get him," Dillon said. "I won't let
anything happen to you."

He felt her nod. Felt the dejected and
defeated slump of her shoulders. Dillon tightened his arms around
her. He vowed the hacker would pay, not only for the destruction
done to the companies, but for what he'd done to this woman. Dillon
wanted the old, spunky Claire back. He enjoyed their bickering,
almost as much as he enjoyed the lovemaking.

"I'm not letting you do the upgrades alone
tonight." He expected her to put up a fight. Before the threats,
Claire wouldn't have allowed that comment to pass without an
argument.

She stepped away and swiped at her tears.
"Okay. You can help, and when we're finished we'll go home." She
tried to smile, but sniffed instead.

Dillon felt like he'd been whacked in the
stomach with a two-by-four. The Claire he knew and admired would
never give in so easily. Her response surprised him. Saddened him.
Stirred up those protective feelings. Dangerous feelings he needed
desperately to ignore.

A
week and a half later, Claire sat at her kitchen table, sipping
juice and waiting for Dillon to finish his shower. Everything was
ready for the anniversary celebration. And today was the day. After
all the preparations, it was finally party time.

There'd been no more disruptions from the
hacker since the computer break-ins ten days ago. No letters, no
emails, no messages. No nothing. The lab results hadn't told them
anything either. There hadn't been fingerprints on the letter.
Dillon and his partner were waiting and watching. So was
Claire.

This feeling of helplessness was tearing her
up. She preferred to be in control. Wondering about the hacker's
next move was driving her crazy. When would he strike? Where? How?
Was she truly in physical danger? Or was he going to do something
sinister to the cafe? And what about her other locations? Were they
in jeopardy, too?

She'd worked hard to make e*Claire's
successful. Worked hard to gain her independence. She hated this
mess and would be thankful when it was over.

But even after it was over, Claire knew her
life would still be a mess. Dillon would return to Dallas, taking
her heart with him. She would have to reconstruct her life. She had
the feeling it would never be the same again.

"Ready to go?" The deep voice slid across
Claire's skin, caressing her as surely as his hands did every night
since he'd moved in. She couldn't help the delicious shiver of
desire rippling inside.

Dillon stood in the doorway, watching her.
His intense gaze warmed her through and through. He stepped the
rest of the way into the kitchen, shrugging on his jacket. "We need
to get a move on. Don't want to be late."

Claire finished her juice and pushed back her
chair. "I have a million things to do today."

"Let's get going then," he said, holding her
coat for her.

Claire slipped it on and grabbed her purse.
Dillon placed his hand on the small of her back and urged her
toward the door. He was being kind and sensitive again, she
thought. Treating her with consideration. Almost like he believed
she was fragile and about to break apart.

He'd done an about face since the night they
upgraded the computers. After they'd come back to the condo, Dillon
had made sweet, gentle love to her. His tenderness destroyed
Claire's last defenses. Her heart crumbled when he held her in his
arms, soothing away her apprehensions and fears about the hacker
and the situation. But not soothing away the apprehensions and
fears about falling in love again.

Yeah, her life was a mess all right.

Claire drove her car, with Dillon following
close behind. His constant presence put a major dent in her
hard-won independence. There'd been an altercation yesterday when
she'd had to check on the cafe in College Station. He'd reluctantly
let her go alone, but he'd called her every hour on her cell
phone.

Ordinarily, she would find Dillon's
solicitude smothering. Under the circumstances, she had to admit it
made her feel more secure. For the past week and more, they'd
constructed their own little world where they worked together,
lived together, made love together. Temporary. Real; yet
unreal.

When they arrived at the cafe, Claire
banished all the perplexing thoughts to the back of her mind and
focused on the party preparations. The million and one things she
needed to do occupied every minute of the short time before
opening.

All the while, she was conscious of Dillon
working at the computers. He allowed her space, for which she was
grateful. But from time to time, she found him watching her.
Watching out for her. The reality of the situation intruded and she
didn't like it.

Natalie buzzed around, hanging streamers,
blowing up balloons, setting up tables along the wall for the free
food. Claire noticed an underlying tension in her friend, apart
from the celebration frenzy. What could be wrong with Nat?

Richard was holed up in a side-pantry working
on his big surprise. He'd made Claire promise to keep everyone out
of the kitchen area. He planned to unveil his masterpiece at
lunchtime. She wondered about it, since she'd only caught a glimpse
of the sketches on Richard's desk. She smiled in anticipation of
finally finding out what was going on and Dillon's reaction to her
chef's creation.

The clock above the espresso machine showed
straight up eight o'clock. Party time.

****

"All right, Nat. Open the doors." Claire
quickly fastened a streamer and balloon on the last computer
monitor, then straightened a vase of flowers on one of the coffee
tables near the over-stuffed chairs.

Natalie hugged Claire. "You've worked hard
for this. It's been a terrific five years. Thanks for letting me be
a part of it."

Claire hugged her back. "Hey, we've both
worked hard." The frantic grip of Natalie's hands on her shoulders
set off alarm signals. "What's the matter, Nat? Is something
wrong?"

Natalie shook her head and eased away. "No.
Yes. I don't want to talk about it right now. I won't let anything
spoil today."

Claire didn't press the issue. "Okay, but if
you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thanks. Maybe later." Natalie headed for the
entrance, where a crowd of customers waited outside in the cold
morning fog. She unlocked the doors and they poured into the cafe
ready to enjoy the festivities--regular patrons, students,
teachers, and people from the other shops along the drag.

Everyone smiled and offered Claire
congratulations and compliments. They warmed the ragged edges of
her heart and thawed the icy grip of fear created by the hacker's
threats. The outpouring of good will and good cheer put to rights
Claire's tilted world and allowed her to forget for the moment that
someone wanted to hurt her.

Claire helped Natalie behind the counter,
pouring coffee, lattes and cappuccinos. She enjoyed trading jokes
and receiving congratulations and good wishes from all the
customers. It had been a long time since she'd worked behind the
counter. She missed it. Expanding the business had been interesting
and profitable, but managing all the cafes left little time for
interaction with people--in her business life, as well as her
personal life.

The morning passed in a blur of happiness and
warm feelings. Before she knew it, lunchtime arrived. Claire walked
to the kitchen to see if Richard needed any help.

Dillon intercepted her in the hall. "You
okay?"

Claire took a deep breath and summoned a
smile.
No, she wasn't okay. Too many things were conspiring
against her for her to be okay.
"Sure, how about you?"

"I'll be better once I know what Pierre's
been up to. Still not going to give me a hint?"

"You've got that right, buster." When Dillon
looked at her like that, she wanted to give him a lot more than a
hint. She took hold of his arm and turned him from the kitchen.
"Just a few more minutes and the suspense will be over. Now
scoot."

"Not before I get a kiss." He grabbed her and
covered her mouth with his, then quickly let her go. "I'll be
waiting with bated breath." He winked and strode down the hall.

Claire stared after him, her lips still hot
from his kiss. Her heart beat a mile a minute. How could she have
been so foolish? She should have guarded her feelings better. Now,
it was too late. When Dillon left town, she was going to be hurt.
Big time.

Just then, Richard opened the kitchen door.
"
Mademoiselle
, all is ready. I hope you will like it." He
squeezed her shoulders, turned her around and pushed her toward the
cafe. "Go, go! We will bring it out for everyone to see."

Claire walked back to the common area. She
searched the crowd for Dillon. He stood near one of the computers
deep in conversation with his partner. Stan Brozek looked like he'd
been up all night. The rumpled clothes, mussed hair and dark
stubble made him appear dangerous--a force to be reckoned with.
From both men's body language, she gathered something had happened
and it was a safe bet it wasn't good.

Before she had the chance to go over and see
what it was all about, Richard made his grand entrance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with immense
pleasure that I present to you my humble offering for this
celebration." He clapped his hands and his assistants rolled out
two large stainless steel carts, each holding something bulky on
top, everything hidden under white linen tablecloths.

With dramatic flourish, Richard whipped away
the coverings.
"Voila!
"

Everyone in the crowd oohed and ahhed. Claire
glanced in Dillon's direction. He shook his head and rolled his
eyes toward the ceiling.

Nothing could have prepared Claire for the
magnificence of Richard's surprise. The chef had surpassed
himself.

One cart held a beautiful ice-sculpture of
the logo for e*Claire's. The carved letters stood over three feet
high, crystal clear and sparkling.

On the other cart, two large cakes held
center stage--one in the shape of a computer and monitor; the
other, a cup of coffee with steam rising above.

Richard moved toward Claire and took her hand
in his. "
Mademoiselle
, this I have done for you and for
e*Claire's." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it with
tenderness, then led her to the sculpture and cakes.

"What do you think of my surprise? You
like?"

"It's wonderful," Claire said. "I had no idea
it would be like this. It must have taken hours, days."

"Yes, yes. But it was worth every minute." He
kissed her hand again, then lifted it toward the crowd.

"To
Mademoiselle
and e*Claire's!"

The cafe erupted in applause and everyone
gathered around Richard, Claire and the carts offering
congratulations, complimenting the chef and admiring his
handiwork.

Claire extracted herself from the press of
people and looked over at the computers for Dillon, but there was
no sign of him or his partner. Disappointment stabbed through her.
She tried to assure herself it was only because she'd wanted to
tease Dillon about his suspicions.

"Looking for me?"

The hand on her shoulder sent rivulets of
heat flowing through Claire's body. But there was something else.
His hand felt like it belonged on her. Like it was part of her.
Good lord, she was in deeper than she'd thought.