Deception (Carrington Hill Investigations Book 1) (12 page)

Shaking her head against the mixed emotions tearing her up inside, Lexi moved silently through the r
oom, grabbed the laptop, and pulled the door closed behind her as she headed for the kitchen. She needed coffee to clear her muddled mind and to help her focus.

She hit the power button and waited for the screen to boot. She moved to pour
herself a mug of coffee, even as her thoughts still lingered on Trip. She pushed the thoughts away and sat to immerse herself in the numbers on the screen. The sooner she found the answers, the quicker he would leave. Spending more time with him just meant the hurt would be far worse. Yes, she had a job to do, and she needed it done yesterday. She wasn’t a forensic accountant but she had to at least try to figure this out. She needed to be done with the entire Hathaway clan.

Jonathan came and went several times and, during one visit, he placed a piece of toast in front of her and refilled her coffee cup. For once she was glad he hadn’t sat down to join her because he would have probably commented that her husband was still in bed. She poured over spreadsheets, trying to acclimate and remember the information she’d learned in college.

Deposits, withdrawals, line items, journal entries
… There were several of each that didn’t make any sense.

Trip’s lips pressed against the column of her neck
, and Lexi found herself tilting her head to give him better access. When he straightened, he cupped her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Good morning, baby.”

“Good
morning,” she replied. His kiss sent all the numbers running together right out the window.

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

Lexi dropped the pencil she’d been chewing on and cupped her mug, sipping the liquid. “You looked tired. I thought you could use the sleep. I didn’t wake you when I left, did I?”

He shook his head. “My phone did. Celia was looking for you. She said she didn’t have your number.”

“Emmitt’s wife? What did she want?”

“She mentioned something about taking you to the spa today.”

****

Trip ran his fingers through his hair to stop himself from throwing Lexi over his shoulder and carrying her back upstairs to bed. He watched as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Memories of her mouth
kissing every inch of his body had him hardening yet again. He was acting like a sex-starved teenager. Just looking at her made erotic images appear in his mind.

He
’d known from the moment he met her that she was a looker, but he never expected for her to be smart, funny, and so damn passionate. All qualities he would have expected from his wife, fake or not. Yeah, he wanted her again. He’d figured out last night that it would take more than great sex to keep her around. He’d almost screwed it all up. Thankfully she wasn’t still mad about him leaking her identity. He’d warned her that it was bound to come out; he just never expected that he’d be the one to divulge the information.

He was slowly learning the way to her heart
, trust meant everything to her and he should have seen that from the beginning. Most women liked diamonds or money, but not his Lexi. No, she was much more complicated, a complete opposite of the women he normally dated. He was going to need a bulldozer to tear down the walls she’d erected around her heart. And he would be tearing them down. She was worth the effort, a one-in-a-million woman, and he had plans to keep her all to himself. He moved to the coffee pot and poured him a cup.

“You’
re supposed to meet Celia at the spa on the corner of Grand and Fifth Street at eleven o’clock.” He glanced down at his watch, gauging whether he had enough time to take her back upstairs and devour her once more.

She raised her brow. “I can’t. I haven’t even scratched the surface of your file
s.”

He sipped his coffee
, hoping that maybe it would kill his libido. No chance. “We have to keep up pretenses, Lexi, until this is all over. Besides, I thought you said that forensics was looking into the memory stick.”

Indecision waged in her eyes.
She finally nodded, and her eyes moved back to the laptop. “I was hoping I could help them.”

Trip cleared his throat
and sat down across from her. “Catherine is safe; the money can wait. I still need you to play the wife card for just a little bit longer. Maybe you can use the time to see if Celia knows anything. You know, she if she mentions anything about Ethan or Catherine.”

He leaned back in his chair and watched the play of emotions cross her face until she
seemed resigned, convincing herself that she would agree. “Fine, but next time I’m busy.”

He gave her a slow nod
and stood to kiss the top of her head. “Thank you. I’ve got to get going. I will be expecting you home tonight.” He’d meant for that to be a question not a demand, but he must have done okay because she nodded, and he knew she wasn’t mad. “Don’t forget about the spa.”

****

Lexi walked to the back
doors in time to see Trip climb up into the helicopter and place a headset over his ears. The blades whirled to life, slicing the air and picking up speed by the second. He blew her a kiss before the helicopter lifted up into the air and flew out of sight.

“
He flies it himself. It’s impressive,” Jonathan said as he glanced out the window above the sink.

She shrugged. “Convenient,
especially when you want to get somewhere in a hurry.”

She grinned
as she walked back toward the door. “I might have to get me one and learn to fly it just for fun.”

Jonathan gasped. “Not you, Lexi. Fun isn’t in your vocabulary.”

She chuckled and picked up her coffee. “I guess being married changes people. I’ve got to go get ready for the spa, or I’m going to be late.”

Jonathan
’s mouth parted in surprise, and she left him standing in the kitchen. It wasn’t often that she left him speechless, and she was going to enjoy it. The small triumph instantly brightened her day as she headed back to her room to take a shower before leaving to meet Celia.

Lexi made it with plenty of time to spare. The staff had ushered her in and away from the camera flashes that threatened to blind her.
Garrett was none too happy and complained about having to accompany her anywhere near such a girlie establishment. He’d been given a comfortable place to wait with sports on a big screen television and refreshments. It’s not like the place was going to kill him.

The warm paste
-like glue landed on her leg, and she winced as the lady—more like demon woman—rubbed the goop, spreading it around. She pressed a long strip similar to cloth into the goop and let it sit as she worked the next area closer to Lexi’s bikini line.

Lexi grabbed the table
, bracing herself for what she knew was coming next. The devil lady pulled hard, ripping hair from the follicles and possibly stripping some skin from Lexi’s body. Lexi let out a low growl, holding back a scream. The torture resumed, and each time, Lexi flinched. Why anyone would want to endure this type of pain was a mystery to her.

The masseuse held back her smile
. “How about a Brazilian?”

Lexi’s
eyes widened. “Not if you want to live.”

Celia chuckled. “Suck it up
, darling. Being beautiful is supposed to hurt.”

All Lexi could think about was her gun. She was go
ing to use it first on the demon, then her sister-in-law, and then possibly on the bottles of the godforsaken wax so that they wouldn’t be able to torture any more poor, unsuspecting souls. With red swollen flesh, Lexi clenched the tie on her cotton robe and left the room to her next stop where a lady smeared a mud like mixture all over her face. Lexi found Celia with white goop on her face and cucumbers covering her eyes. “I hope this is the last of it.”

Celia pulled one of the cucumbers off
, and even though the white stuff on her face had already dried, Lexi knew she was giving her a smirk underneath the mask. “It’s not that bad.”

Lexi ran her pointer finger down her own mud mask and held it out. “Not bad? I can’t believe people pay to have this done.”

Celia removed the other cucumber and said, without any facial expression, “How is it that you are one of the richest women in town, second only to your husband, and this is the first time you’ve ever been to a spa?”

Lexi plopped down on one of the cushioned chairs and let out a sigh. “I chose a different life than this.” She closed her eyes and leaned back. “I wanted to make a difference, not grow up to be a spoiled princess.” She turned toward Celia. “No offense.”

Celia burst into laughter. “Being rich and beautiful doesn’t make you a spoiled princess and neither does pampering yourself, and trust me, I should know. I’ve met my fair share of Trip’s women. Now, if you want to talk about spoiled girls out for only his money, I can introduce you to quite a few.”

If Lexi could have lifted an eyebrow
, she would have. She’d known her husband was a playboy before she married him. Even though their marriage wasn’t true love, a jealous pang clenched her chest. What she hadn’t expected was to have an opinion about his past one way or another, but when her heart started aching from Celia’s comment, Lexi knew she was in trouble.

Two hours later, she’d been scrubbed, waxed,
and treated. Her whole body had been rubbed with stuff she’d never heard of with names she couldn’t pronounce. She’d learned first-hand that what she’d always assumed was a peaceful outing for women was anything but. It was how women tortured themselves to appear more appealing to men. Getting the ageless girl-next-door look took a lot of hard work by trained professionals.

Lexi
unlocked her locker and shoved her gun in her ankle holster and emerged from the dressing room feeling anything but refreshed. Okay, maybe a little refreshed. She had enjoyed the back massage. She wouldn’t lie.

Lexi knocked on the
door of the room where the staff had ushered Garrett. When no answer came from the other side, she pushed the door open to find him in a leather La-Z-Boy recliner, kicked back and fast asleep with two empty beer bottles on the table next to him. She knocked him in the foot.

“Wake up
, sleeping beauty. It’s time to go.”

Garrett
flew out of the chair, grabbing his gun as he blinked his eyes open. His gaze darted around the room.

“Do you always wake up that way?”

He holstered his weapon and wiped the sleep from his eyes. “Always.”

She nudged his shoulder. “I feel sorry for the women you sleep with. I’m surprised you haven’t killed anyone yet.”

Garrett’s glare was deadly. “I haven’t had any complaints. None at all.” He threw his arm around her waist. “Want to take me for a test drive? You know…to make sure I’m not a menace to society.”

Lexi shoved on his chest. “I’m a married woman,
Garrett. Or have you forgotten?”

“
Well, not for long.”

She could only hope. Much longer and she might actually fall in love with her husband
, and that would be a monumental disaster. Lexi stopped at the counter before she left and grabbed the masseuse’s business card.

“
Have a nice day, Mrs. Hathaway,” the little brunette behind the counter called to her as Lexi pushed the door open and shook her head, still not used to her new last name. 

“Thank you. You too
,” Lexi called back. Garrett pushed back reporters, clearing a path to the garage where her car was parked. After she got in the car, he blocked the door from closing. “Where to now, Lexi?”

“I have an errand to run, but I’
ll meet you back at Trip’s.” She grinned. “Can you check with forensics to see if they’ve cracked Catherine’s code?”

He nodded.

“Give me an hour, and I’ll meet you back at my house after I ditch the cameras. We can’t go to HQ.” She tilted her head toward the camera flashes.

Garret
t glanced down at his watch. “One hour.”

She nodded and pulled the door shut
, locking it. A camera flashed in her eyes as she reached for her seat belt at the same time her phone rang just as she was putting the car into drive. Lexi pulled out of the garage, followed by reporters and vans. She was going to have to ditch the magazine and television crews if she was going to have any chance of visiting Catherine without being followed.

“Hello.” She pushed the speaker button on
the Bluetooth and tossed the phone into the passenger seat as she sped up.

“Lexi, where are you?”

“I’m a little busy, Jonathan. I’m trying to out run the paparazzi.”

“The
director has been trying to reach you. It seems they have a situation you need to be aware off.”

She glanced down at the seat but only for a brief second. “
Did he say what he wanted?”

“No, but I thought it may be important.
That’s why I called.” She was thankful the roads weren’t crammed with afternoon traffic. The camera crews were hot on her tail as she took several unexpected turns without stepping on the brakes. She’d made it onto a side road once she reached beyond the outskirts of the city and entered the country. A longer way to get where she was going, but it was going to be worth it in the end if she ditched the cameras. She sped up, making perfect time down the two-lane road, glancing in her mirror every few seconds. Only one van remained in hot pursuit. The thrill of a story, she surmised. She glanced down at her speedometer and let out a curse, realizing that she was going faster than she assumed. “Shit.”

“Language
, Lexi. That’s no way for a lady to talk.”

She pressed on the brakes,
but the car didn’t slow. She pumped them as her gaze darted down the long deserted road. “I can’t slow down.” She screamed into the cab of her car. “My breaks don’t work.”