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Authors: Lee Christine

BOOK: A Dangerous Arrangement
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He stepped back, jaw set in a brutal line. ‘My company's sinking to the bottom of the ocean and you've been dicking me around.'

Marina's stomach muscles contracted and she wrapped her arms around her middle. ‘He's blackmailing me.'

He stared at her, eyes narrowed, lips pressed together in a thin line. ‘How?'

Marina hesitated, glanced behind her. She needed to be straight with Dean Logan, but not with Hektor Rask in the room.

‘Hektor.' Dean tipped his head towards the door and seconds later it closed with a quiet click.

‘Well?'

‘I want to make a deal.'

‘Oh
Jesus
!' Dean threw his hands in the air and turned away. ‘Can you just be straight for once?'

She took a deep breath and tried settling her nerves. ‘I'll tell you everything, but before I do, you have to promise to protect me.'

He swung around. ‘From
what
? Prosecution?'

Shock robbed Marina of breath. ‘You … you really believe I'm involved in this?'

His eyes flicked from her face to her legs and back again. ‘To tell you the truth, Marina, I don't know what to believe.'

‘I can see you're thinking the worst, but
please
have some faith in …'

She paused as a slight vibration ran through her body.

She stepped back, confused. ‘Is that … why have the engines started?'

He didn't answer, just stood statue still, studying her face.

She hurried across to the windows on the starboard side, gasping in horror to find the
Orion
moving away from the dock.

She spun around, fury welling up inside her as the corners of Dean's mouth lifted in a satisfied smile.

‘Welcome aboard, Ms Lane.'

‘You son of a bitch!'

She ran to the door, grabbing the handle and turning it, pushing hard.

A cry of frustration escaped her throat. Rask must have locked it when he left. The damn thing wouldn't budge no matter how hard she shoved and how many times she rattled the handle.

‘You planned this!'

‘Calm. Down.'

She turned, breathing hard, fear making her voice tremble. ‘So—you're kidnapping me now?'

‘Don't be melodramatic. Most people would mortgage their house for a chance to get on this yacht.'

‘I'm not one of them.'

He picked up his glass and waved it towards the window. ‘You want to make a deal? I think our negotiations will go a lot more smoothly out here, away from any … distractions.'

‘Take me back.' Nausea churned her stomach and her head began to spin. ‘I've just got off one ship. I have no desire to be on this floating champagne palace.'

‘Now you're deliberately trying to insult me.'

Marina shook her head, hot tears pricking the backs of her eyes. She should have seen this coming when Rask insisted the chauffeur bring her suitcase. ‘You're holding me against my will.'

She pushed off the door and walked to the window, averting her face from Dean Logan. Above the intense blue of the Mediterranean, the Sorrento shoreline was disappearing fast.

Marina rested her forehead against the cool glass and struggled to fight off her panic.

Never in her life had she felt more alone.

‘So,
Ms Lane
, it seems you're quite the celebrity yourself. Little wonder you looked sick when I mentioned the paparazzi. It seems you have your own reasons for keeping the press at bay. I'd like to know what you're hiding.'

Marina clenched her fists and turned to glare at him. ‘I'm not telling you anything, unless you agree to my terms.'

‘And what would those be?'

She ignored his sarcastic tone. ‘Imagine, if you can, that you had the designs back? Would you still throw all your time and resources into finding Victor Yu?'

His eyes narrowed. ‘I'm not sure where you're going with this.'

‘Just answer me.'

He sighed. ‘I'm a great believer in getting to the truth, no matter how long it takes. You said Victor Yu was blackmailing you. You're going to have to give me more information than this.'

Marina took a deep breath. ‘He phoned me last night.'

She watched his eyes widen.

‘I was so shocked. I never thought I'd hear from him again.'

‘What did he say?'

‘That he'd planted a USB stick in my camera bag, and he was coming to get it. I don't want to get your hopes up, but I looked and there are password-protected files on it. It could be your designs.'

Without saying a word, Dean reached for the phone.

‘What are you doing?'

He kept his eyes on her as he spoke. ‘Rask. Get down to her stateroom. There's a USB in her camera bag.'

‘No … wait.'

He banged down the phone. ‘Keep. Going.'

Marina's throat and mouth was so parched she could barely swallow. ‘When he hacked into my computer, he learned things about me—personal things.'

‘Like your affair with that married conductor?' He raised an eyebrow. ‘That made for interesting reading.'

Marina sucked in a harsh breath. ‘No! That was years ago. He told me he was separated. The moment I learned otherwise, I left him. He lied to me.'

‘Not nice, is it?'

‘I haven't lied to you.'

‘Then get to the truth, because I'm running out of patience.'

‘I told you, he found things on my laptop.' She wrapped her arms around her waist as her stomach began to cramp. ‘Accounts from specialists, appointment times … medical reports.'

She watched the blood drain from his face, watched his expression turn shocked.

‘You're
sick
?' he asked, his voice low.

The door flew open, and Rask walked in. He looked around, then picked up the violin case. ‘There's nothing in the camera bag. I'm guessing if it's anywhere, boss, it's in here.'

‘Put that down!' Marina shouted.

‘Rask.' Dean's voice held a warning.

Rask held up the violin, taunting her with it. ‘Tell me where the USB stick is and I'll give it to you.'

Something snapped inside Marina. Rage dotted her vision and she advanced on Rask, pushing him so hard in the chest he stepped backwards. ‘I said put that down, you
buffoon
!'

‘That's enough,' said Dean.

Without thinking, Marina lunged for the violin case, felt Rask's skin under her nails as she grabbed the handle. He jerked it away, wrenching her wrists.

‘Marina!'

Arms of steel came around her, lifting her backwards and forcing her to break the tug-of-war.

‘Put the violin down, Rask,' Dean roared.

Rask put the instrument on the floor, and Dean's hold on her loosened.

Breathing hard, she elbowed his hands away and advanced on Rask again. ‘How
dare
you!'

This time bands of steel encircled her wrists and Dean pulled her to him. ‘Now listen. You settle down.'

Marina gasped, pain shooting through her wrists from the pressure of his fingers. Her stomach shifted. She froze. ‘Please, let me go. Don't hurt me.'

‘Hurt you?' Dean's brows snapped together. ‘I've never raised a hand to a woman in my life.'

‘You don't understand. I have RSI—in my wrist.'

Chapter Fourteen

Dean watched Marina rotate the icepack on her wrist. ‘That's why I took the job on the ship. To test it out. I need that position with the SSO. My family depends on me.'

He nodded, sick in the guts that he could have caused permanent injury to her wrist. She'd brushed off his concern, saying it was no more than a bruise, and it was the repetitive strain from practise that caused the inflammation.

It didn't help.

He felt like shit.

Now, as he sat opposite her on the circular leather lounge, he couldn't believe how wrong they'd been.

‘Suppose we can't stop him in time,' Rask was saying. He held up his hands when Marina looked up in alarm. ‘Just
suppose
. How likely is it you'd lose your position? You're not the first musician to suffer RSI and you said yourself the wrist is coming good.'

‘The music industry is cutthroat. A lot of people would love to see me fail. Men and women.'

‘Who?' he asked.

Marina slanted him a cool look. ‘Andreas, for one. He'd love a new female violinist to take my place, one he could work his charms on. I found out he was still living in the same house as his wife when he went back to Vienna. He's never forgiven me for publicly dumping him.'

Judging by Marina's body language, she wasn't about to forgive him anytime soon either.

He smiled grimly. ‘Sounds like a serial arsehole. Is he the conductor of the SSO?'

‘For three months of the year. It's an invitation thing.'

‘Who else wants you gone?' asked Rask.

‘Mr Rask.' She fiddled with the icepack. ‘There are a number of men your age, chauvinists, who think I've “sold out” because I was offered a recording contract and subsequently signed it.'

Dean's thoughts shifted to one of the articles he'd read. A ‘marketer's dream' they'd called her. ‘I can see how that would ruffle a few feathers within the establishment.'

She glanced at him—another brief acknowledgement that he'd spoken.

‘Ms Wentworth.' Rask leaned forward. ‘The USB wasn't in your camera bag. So where is it?'

She put the icepack to one side. ‘I have several I always bring with me. Right now, they're in my cosmetics case.'

Dean's blood thundered in his temples, and his mouth turned dry as she lifted the neckline of her dress and he glimpsed the scalloped edge of a purple lace bra.

‘The one you want …'

He held his breath as she slid her fingers across a creamy cleavage and inside the lacy cup. ‘Is here.'

With a knowing look in her eye, she withdrew the stick and held it out to him.

Dean blew out a huge breath.
‘Jesus!'

He took the device with an unsteady hand, the plastic casing warm from her body. ‘Thank you.'

She nodded. ‘I hope it's what you're after.'

He did too, so much he was afraid to get his hopes up.

***

Half an hour later, Dean had uploaded the files onto a laptop he'd purchased that morning. After running malware and anti-virus software, he forwarded them onto a secure email address at Emerald IT. The software company were working closely with the cybercrime squad, and the files were to be opened in a newly purchased version of the CAD program he used.

Now, there was nothing he could do but exercise patience and work with Interpol in the hope of arresting Victor Yu.

He went back to the saloon, noticing how Marina looked at him in an offhanded way, so different to the way she'd looked at him at the amphitheatre.

‘Would you have given the flash drive to Yu, if he'd fronted in Sorrento?' he asked, curious to hear her answer.

‘I'd do anything to save my career, though I wouldn't like it to be at the expense of someone else's.'

He guessed he deserved that. ‘Lucky we got to you first, then.'

‘Depends on how you define lucky.'

Dean almost laughed. He was used to dealing with respectful guests, not reluctant ones, and there was a refreshing honesty about Marina. People often told him what they thought he wanted to hear, and it became tiresome. Only Rask knew him well enough to be entirely frank.

And strangely, in the time he'd been gone, she and Rask had lapsed into a polite wariness following their dust-up—whereas she wouldn't give him the time of day. Impressing him wasn't her priority. He knew she had more important things to worry about.

He leaned forward and tried again. ‘Despite the fact we got off to a rocky start, being on the yacht serves two purposes. One, it keeps us out of sight of the paparazzi, and two, it gives us time to organise things with the cybercrime squad and Interpol. We can have local police in every port from here to Rome.'

He watched her lift her brandy glass and take a sip. ‘If he's watching the cruise ship, he'll be expecting me to get off.'

‘And when you don't, he'll call,' Rask said. ‘That's how we'll set him up.'

Marina put the brandy glass on the coffee table. ‘You'll have to excuse me. Where's the bathroom?'

‘Of course.' Dean reached for the phone on the table. ‘Danika. Could you come up here please?'

He hung up, watching as Marina came out from behind the coffee table. She was a little unsteady on her feet, maybe a combination of tiredness and the brandy he'd given her. ‘Are you sure you're alright?'

She nodded, looking unimpressed by his concern.

‘Is there anything I can get you?' He shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't touch her. ‘Something to eat, perhaps?'

She shook her head as if she couldn't be bothered talking, and moved towards the violin.

‘Here, let me.' He moved in front of her and picked it up, heard her sigh.

Okay, so maybe he was trying too hard.

There was a light tap and Danika walked in.

‘Is the master guest suite made up, Danika?'

‘Yes, Mr Logan.'

‘Take Ms Wentworth downstairs.' He handed Danika the violin. ‘Her suitcase should be outside the door.'

‘Yes, Mr Logan.'

‘Oh, Marina?'

He waited until she turned those big eyes on him. She was noble—she'd called him immediately she knew the USB was in her possession. She might not like him very much at the moment, but he intended doing everything in his power to turn that around.

‘If you need anything, just pick up the phone.'

‘I just need a break.'

He almost winced. She could have added ‘
from you
'.

‘Sure.' He looked at her white face. ‘Rask and I will start work on this.'

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