The Tycoon Meets His Match (7 page)

She flashed back to the moment he’d held her in the pool. He’d surprised her by pulling her in, then caught her doubly off guard by the strength with which he’d not only yanked her out of the water but kept them both afloat. Gazing into his intense blue eyes, she’d been struck by the uncomfortable possibility that there could be a good deal more to this man than she’d ever suspected.

Staring at him now as he walked up to her, she found herself wondering if the guy might indeed have some potential.

Until he opened his mouth.

“I feel ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath. “Hook me up with a surfboard and a Twinkie, and I, too, can get grounded for a month.”

“Careful, he’ll hear you.” Dimpling at his words, she nodded behind her to where Josh was turning on the charm for a bevy of lovely young ladies. “Want him taking back his clothes?”

He scowled at Lucie’s pink running suit. “You certainly look warm enough. How many outfits do you have stuffed in that backpack?”

Ignoring him, she held up the black plastic trash bag Josh had given her. “Here, put your damp stuff in this.”

He started to put his suit in the bag, then hesitated.

“If you’re reluctant to mix your stuff with mine, it’s too late. I already put your jacket and shoes in first.”

“No, that’s not it,” he said distractedly as he dug through the pockets of his pants. “I wanted to pay your pal for his clothes but I can’t find my wallet.” He dug in the bag, pulling out the jacket and searching it as well. “It’s not in here.”

“It has to be.”
Men.
If she had a nickel for every time her brothers couldn’t find something that was staring them in the face, she could die a rich woman. “Here, let me check,” she said, grabbing the clothes from him.

But after turning every pocket inside out, she had to agree. “It’s not here.”

“Didn’t I just say that?”

“Don’t get smart. Go back upstairs and look around the room where you changed. It must be there. And just in case it’s not, I’ll check the pool.”

“Who died and left
you
boss?”

Hearing him use her own taunt against her, she had a sudden, infantile urge to stick out her tongue. “Fine,
I’ll
go upstairs then.”

“I’m on it, okay?” he snapped, heading back into the house.

How like Paxton, she thought as she watched him head back to the house. Everything always had to be
his
decision.

“Hey, Red, wanna dance?”

Trae forced a smile as Josh ambled over to her. He was a cute kid, but too young, and way too blatantly on the prowl. “I’m busy looking for Rhys’s wallet,” she explained. “He lost it.”

“So? Let
him
look for it.” He hooked an arm around her shoulders. “C’mon, you and me should go have some fun. I don’t get what you see in that guy, anyway.”

“I don’t see anything in him,” she snapped, dodging free of his grasp. “I told you. We’re working together to find my friend and until we do, I’m stuck with him. That’s all there is to it.”

“Yeah? So if I can tell you where she is, you’ll ditch him and hook up with me?”

Trae felt a spurt of excitement. “You know where Lucie went?”

“Me? Nah, I just got home this morning. But my old man has these guys, Rico and Johnny. They look out for the place. They’re cool. Never rat me out about my parties, as long as I slip them a hundred and clean up after. They see everything, if you know what I mean. Bet they’d know where your friend went.”

“Let’s go talk to them then.”

Josh shook his head. “They won’t talk to the guests. Not allowed.”

Following his gaze to the back of the yard, Trae understood his hesitation. Two supersized gentlemen stood at attention, legs akimbo, watching the proceedings with stony expressions. At first glance, you might think they were Secret Service agents, but Trae knew they were a far cry from government issue. You didn’t grow up in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn without recognizing the slick designer suits, the telltale bulges under the silk jacket lining. These guys were muscle, with a capital
M.

All at once, Josh’s last name took on new significance. “By any chance, is your father’s name Lou? Did he move here from Brooklyn?”

“Yeah.” He tilted his head, surprised by the question. “Why?”

She shrugged, half to appear nonchalant, half to shake off her growing uneasiness. “I once knew a guy who worked for him back in New York.”

Ray DeLucca had not been one of her finer moments. In a spurt of independence, she’d tried to prove her family wrong by dating the neighborhood “wiseguy.” Three months was all it had taken to recognize that her parents were right, that she had better ways to ruin her life. Last she heard, Ray was doing serious time up in Attica.

And now here was Lucie, hanging out with the same, dangerous people. How on earth had she ended up getting involved with the mob?

But that was obvious. Bobby, the mooch, who apparently saw only the ultimate cash cow, not the price you’d pay once you milked it.

“Your dad, where did he go?” she asked, silently hoping it wasn’t Las Vegas. Lou had a casino there, she remembered from Ray, a place called the Snake Pit. She didn’t enjoy imagining sweet, innocent Lucie anywhere near it.

“Dunno,” Josh said with a shrug. “S’ppose I could ask Johnny and Rico.”

“Do that. Please.”

As Josh wandered off, she decided she had better look for the wallet before Rhys came back. Walking over to the pool, she peered into the shimmering blue water but could see nothing. She even asked two girls to dive down and double-check, but they merely confirmed her suspicion—the wallet was not in the pool.

She was searching the yard with less and less hope when Rhys stormed out of the house and marched right past her. “Any luck?” she asked as she fell into step beside him.

His dark expression said it all. “It’s not in the house. It’s not anywhere. Someone must have stolen it.”

“Sure, Rhys. Because the people here clearly need the money,” she said sarcastically.

He ignored her, grabbing the plastic bag with their clothing and reaching inside. He whipped out his BlackBerry with a grim expression. “I’m calling the police.”

Conscious of the two thugs watching every movement in the yard, Trae put a hand on his arm. “Don’t. Let’s just get out of here.”

Busy punching buttons, he looked at her, incredulous. “Now, you’re suddenly in a hurry to leave?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Trae saw Josh headed back their way. Once he arrived with the information, they could go. Had to go, before Rhys said or did something to make a scene.

“This is useless,” Rhys said angrily, tossing the cell phone into the bag. “The water must have shorted the circuits. I’m going inside to find a phone that doesn’t leak.”

“No,” she said when he turned to go. “Let’s just find a pay phone on the way.”

He eyed her as if she’d just suggested standing on their heads. “Forget it. I’m not going anywhere without my wallet. I’ve got five major credit cards inside it. Not to mention my identification.”

“You can replace credit cards. Your license, too.”

He tilted his head to study her. “What’s going on, Trae? Why this sudden urgency to leave?”

Uneasily, she looked back at the bodyguards, glaring like a pair of pit bulls from the rear corner of the yard. “I know about Josh’s father from my old neighborhood. Let’s just say he doesn’t act like the polite folks you hang with in Connecticut.”

“If you’re trying to protect that kid so he doesn’t get punished…”

“No, it’s you I’m worried about. Trust me, you don’t want to make a fuss here. Unless you want to replace your fancy wing tips with cement shoes.”

“You can’t be referring to the mob?” At her nod, he looked incredulous. “You’re serious, aren’t you? Jeez, Trae, we’re all adults here. Well, most of us,” he added, looking behind them at the girls still giggling in the pool. “I’m sure if I talk to this guy like a civilized…”

“No.” Trae shuddered at the thought of Rhys pontificating at Lou, or worse, at Rico and Johnny. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. Unless I miss my guess, those two are packing.”

He glanced over at Josh’s bodyguards, his expression going taut.

“Besides,” she went on, “if you bring the police here, Lou Carino won’t be the only one facing public scrutiny. After the debacle at the church, do you really want to leave yourself open to more adverse publicity?”

“Lucie’s more important than…”

“Yes, she is. So think about this. While you’re busy pursuing justice, she’s out there somewhere with Bobby. And given the mob connection, lord knows who else.”

His jaw tightened. “Fine, you made your point. We’ll go, but we stop at the first pay phone we come across.”

Just then, Josh strolled up to join them. “Got it,” he said to Trae, holding up a piece of paper. “Figured I’d forget what they said, so I wrote it all down for you.”

Taking the paper from his hand, Trae stuffed it into her pocket. “Josh, you’re an absolute prince.”

He beamed, looking really pleased with himself. “So, this mean we can go now and have some fun?”

Trae shook her head. She wished she’d made this clear to him earlier. “I’ve got to go find Lucie, remember?”

“But you promised.” Frowning, Josh reached for her arm.

Rhys stepped between them, glaring down at the boy with a menacing expression. “You heard the lady. We have to leave now. If we didn’t, you and I would be sitting down and having a serious conversation about what might have happened to my wallet.”

“I don’t know what…”

“Funny thing, Josh, how it came up missing somewhere between when you pushed me in the pool and I changed in your room.”

Eyeing Rico and Johnny, poised and ready to pounce, Trae sucked in a breath. Wasn’t Rhys paying attention?

Josh looked equally incredulous. “You saying I stole your wallet?”

“He isn’t accusing you of anything, Josh,” Trae intervened. “He’s just upset about not being able to find it.”

“I’m standing right here, Trae. I’m more than capable of explaining my own words, and I bet Josh is equally adept at understanding every single syllable.”

“Uh, yeah. Whatever.”

“If it turns up, call me at this number.” Reaching into the bag, Rhys pulled a damp business card from his jacket pocket. It dangled limply in his hand as he held it out to the boy. “If I don’t hear from you soon, I’ll be calling your father to ask if
he
ever found it.”

Going pale, Josh hastily took the card from his hand. “Hey, no need to drag Dad into this. I’ll tear the house apart, if I have to. Okay?”

“Thank you.” Nodding grimly, Rhys took Trae by the elbow. “Now if you’ll excuse us, Red and I have to go.”

Trae yanked free of his grasp, not at all pleased with the way Rhys was treating the boy.
Bully,
she wanted to shout at him as he marched off without her. And to think she’d been afraid of what these people would do to him.

“Sorry about that, Josh,” she offered, turning back to their host. “It’s no excuse, I know, but things haven’t been going particularly well for Rhys lately.”

“You know, Red, he doesn’t deserve you.”

“He doesn’t have me.”

“You sure about that?” He fixed her with a leveling gaze, surprisingly mature all of a sudden. “The way you guys look at each other, the way you fight…” He shrugged, then shook his head. “I don’t know, you remind me of my parents.”

Trae’s gaze went to Rhys, now disappearing back through the mansion. Were they really behaving as if they were a couple?

Heaven forbid.

Shaking her head, Trae thanked Josh again before hurrying through the house to the waiting Neon. As she slid into her seat, she found Rhys drumming his fingers on the wheel. “I thought you were in a hurry,” he growled as he ground the ignition.

“I thought it only fair to thank Josh for all his help. Especially after you accused him of stealing your wallet.”

Yanking the gearshift, he jerked the convertible out into the street. “If the shoe fits…”

“We live in America, remember? Here a person has to be
proven
guilty. Ever stop to consider that maybe you just misplaced it?”

He glared at her. Glaring back, Trae realized they were doing it again, spatting like an old, married couple. Appalled, she turned to stare out the window.

This was ridiculous. Rhys was ridiculous. How could she expect this partnership to work?

“I’m sorry, okay?” he said suddenly. “I went off on the kid and I probably shouldn’t have. Not without proof. It’s just, well, it’s been quite a week and I’m worried sick about Lucie. Now how the hell are we supposed to find her?”

Taking out the paper Josh had given her, she waved it before his face. “It’s all right here. Thanks to Josh. And, of course, me.”