Nobody's Angel (33 page)

“I don't like this,” Adrian complained.

“You want to go in and ask Sandra if Tony left her any stock accounts or safe deposit numbers?” Faith unbuckled her seat belt and opened the rear door.

“She'd probably tell me if I offered to share the results with her.” With a sigh, Adrian flung open his door and glared at his little sister. “You're sure you know how to drive this thing?”

“Cesar taught me in this ‘thing,’ ”Dolores reminded him. “And it's not even a quarter mile down the road. I may not get any answers out of that weirdo, but I can drive the van.”

Climbing out, Adrian draped his arm over Faith's shoulders and watched as Dolores took his place in the driver's seat and drove off. Faith couldn't decide if she liked his high-handed presumption, but she didn't push him away. The bigger they were, the harder they fell, and she had a feeling Adrian was in for a harsh landing.

“If I buy clean sheets for Cesar's bed, will you sleep with me tonight?”

Well, so much for feeling sorry for the man. Faith headed for the gas station minimart, dodging his encroaching arm. “I thought you had to work.”

“Not all night.” He kept up with her easily. “And you're going with me. I'll not leave you in that apartment alone.”

“I thought the apartment was safe.” Actually, she was barely thinking at all. The idea of sleeping with him filtered every single thought straight through her hormones.

“No place is safe until we figure out who we're dealing with. But I had a locksmith install bolts, and we can't afford a motel every night.” He halted her outside the plate-glass door, pulling her next to a towering stack of Pepsi six-packs. His face held no expression whatsoever as he stared down at her. “I don't expect anything of you, Faith. It's your choice. But the thought has been driving me crazy all day, and I wanted matters clarified so I wouldn't expect too much.”

Oh, heaven help her! He was afraid she'd say no. He would actually respect her decision. He thought far more of her than she did herself.

With that realization, she rested her head against his chest and let him wrap his arms around her. As much as she valued her independence, she couldn't deny him what they both wanted, for now.

Any day now they'd clear Adrian's name and return to their normal selves. Maybe they could remain friends, distant ones, probably. But for one more night, they could be lovers.

The cement curb still held the heat of the sun's rays as they sat and sipped Cokes and watched the old van rattle into the gas station lot again. Adrian stiffened anxiously, and Faith rubbed his thigh as he squeezed her shoulders. She liked his need to touch her, and she was learning to return the favor.

He caught her hand and held it tightly against his leg as the van stopped in front of them. “I'll try not to yell,” he said. “But I can't promise what will happen later tonight if I bottle it up now.” He slanted her a knowing look.

She pressed his leg and stood up, brushing herself off as he rose beside her. “I'm sure Cleopatra allowed Antony his moments of passion,” she answered obliquely.

She thought he chuckled, but he brushed past her to help Dolores down from the van. It was a courtly gesture that obviously pleased and embarrassed the teenager. The man had his moments.

“Coke? Hot dog?” he offered, resisting grilling her before seeing to her welfare.

“Diet Coke.” Dolores nervously twisted her skirt into place, checked the scarf covering her mangled hair, and watched Adrian stride off to buy the drink.

“He's been worrying himself sick over you,” Faith told her quietly. “He really hates dragging us into this.”

Dolores nodded. “My father was like that. He wanted to do everything himself. He worked two jobs while Adrian was in college. They think he probably fell asleep at the wheel and that caused the accident that killed him.”

Faith drew in a deep breath. The girl understood more than
they gave her credit for. “And Adrian still feels guilty about that, as well as everything else. We all have problems we have to learn to deal with.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She shuffled the toe of her platform heel and looked up gratefully as Adrian returned with the can of soft drink. “Thanks.”

“All right, tell us what you've learned. I can't stand the suspense anymore.” Adrian pushed Faith into the front seat first, then helped Dolores in beside her.

Faith didn't dare object. If he needed her support, she could lend it. She just had to remember that's all it was—the support of a friend.

Dolores took a big swig of her drink, then swiped her mouth inelegantly. “The woman's crazy,” she declared. “Do they really let people that ignorant loose?”

Faith laid her head back against the seat and let the laughter simply roll out of her. Adrian and Dolores looked at her as if she were crazed, but she couldn't help it. Dolores had sounded exactly like her big brother. The girl would definitely be all right, given a few years to grow up.

“You could let us in on the joke,” Adrian grumbled, starting the van and pulling back to the road.

“You wouldn't get it, and Dolores wouldn't appreciate it.” Still smiling, she sipped from what remained of her drink. “Some men need women like Sandra to make them feel important,” she told the girl. “I think they have to work at being that stupid.”

Dolores nodded agreement. “Yeah, I know some girls at school like that. Mama says if a boy doesn't like you for who you are, then he's not worth your time.”

“Enough girl talk,” Adrian said. “Let's get on with this. What did Sandra say?”

“She filled out the form as Mrs. Nicholls. She claims the government is deliberately withholding her husband's death certificate so she can't collect benefits, but her brother has hired someone to help her get what rightfully belongs to her. He's promised to sue for the papers Mr. Nicholls's ex-girlfriend
stole.” She glanced questioningly at Faith. “I think that means you.”

Faith made a rude noise. “She can tell it to the court.”

“Anyway, she doesn't know anything about bank accounts or bank boxes or investments. She just knows Tony told her he had money and they would be rich. But then the plane crashed, leaving her to raise three kids while …” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “She used some impolite terms. She thinks Faith has his money and won't share.”

“But she didn't say who was helping her locate the money?” Adrian demanded.

“She said her brother had hired an attorney friend of his. She came up here because they're about to ‘crack the case open.’ She was thinking of buying a Land Rover in place of her Explorer.” Dolores said the last dryly. “But she refused to give me any names, said her brother had forgotten to tell her and she was bad about names anyway.”

“Yeah, right, like she doesn't remember her own.” Adrian gunned the engine onto the highway and turned toward Charlotte. Once in the line of traffic, he glanced at Faith. “Know anything about Sandra's brother?”

“Not a blamed thing, but Tony had a friend from home called Sammy Shaw. That's Sandra's last name.”

“Shit, yes! That almost makes sense.” Adrian gripped the wheel and glared out the windshield. “I want that clown, and I want him now.”

Wearing Adrian's T-shirt, Faith sat cross-legged on the new sheets adorning Cesar's bed, trying not to look nervous as she jotted notes on a legal pad. She still felt like a fallen woman, sitting here waiting for her lover to come out of the shower. The Faith Hope she knew didn't do things like this.

She knew perfectly well that was an antique attitude, but she couldn't change who she was overnight. She had never entirely given up the idea of finding a nice man, maybe one who already had children, marrying again, and having the life she'd always thought she wanted. But it had never occurred to her, not even once, to simply take a lover in the meantime.

She glanced up as Adrian entered the room with a huge bath towel wrapped around him, toga style. Her brain slipped into neutral and all parts south revved into gear. She obviously had never met a man like Adrian before.

He kneeled on the bed and crawled over her, scattering notes across the mattress and to the floor as he steamrolled her into a prone position. “I want to worship at your toes,” he told her solemnly, before backing up the way he'd come, aiming for her feet.

“If I were Antony, I'd watch out for Cleopatra's asp,” she said tartly, trying to release her trapped legs in punishment for his not giving her the kiss she'd wanted.

He nibbled at her thigh, licked behind her knee, then looked up with a gleam in his eye. “I will gladly watch your ass, Your Majesty.” He bent and nudged her shirt up with his nose, planting a kiss on her abdomen. “And then your breasts …” He nibbled higher, tumbling the shirt past her breasts so they stood erect and expectant in the cool air. “And anywhere else you so command.”

By the time his mouth fastened on her nipple, she was beyond even the simplest of commands. With a cry of complete surrender, Faith didn't argue the point but succumbed to waves of pleasure shimmering through every nerve ending. If she had to settle for a lover, then choosing one who'd had four years to imagine what he'd do once he had a woman in bed had been the smartest thing she'd ever done.

By the time they'd exhausted themselves in the wee hours of the morning, Faith was too satiated to do more than roll into Adrian's arms and fall asleep. In another time and place she might have questioned her ability to do this, but not now, not tonight, not after he'd taught her more about her needs than she'd ever known. With her mind asleep, her body trusted his with the security she craved.

She woke to Adrian's lips nuzzling her nape as sunshine poured through the slits in the blinds. “They'll have to send you back to prison to rest if you keep this up,” she murmured sleepily into her pillow.

“I can rest after I'm dead. I have a lot of lost time to make
up.” He caressed her belly, teasingly avoiding the more erogenous zones north and south. “Besides, I'm terrified that once you realize how much I want you, you'll run screaming back to the hills. I intend to take advantage of every minute I can steal.”

It was nice being wanted for something besides her checkbook or secretarial skills. It was even better being wanted by a man who was so gorgeous he wouldn't even have looked at her under other circumstances. She was the one who should take advantage.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She yawned and snuggled her posterior more securely into the curve of his hips, then yelped as he rolled over, taking her with him. She ended up sitting on top of him, facing the wrong direction. “Idiot.” She tried to scramble away, but Adrian caught her waist and stroked a hand down her spine. There was only one thing she could do in retaliation, and she clasped him firmly, stroking until he bucked her off and caught her beneath him.

“Idiota,”
he murmured against her mouth, followed by a jumble of other phrases she couldn't interpret between mind-stealing kisses as his body joined hers and they rocked together.

She didn't know if it was deliberate or subconscious on either of their parts, but they were taking a lot of chances without protection. She couldn't stop to think in the white heat of the moment. She needed this, they both deserved this, and whatever happened, happened. For one small moment out of time, she wouldn't think, plan, organize, or worry.

Later, as they showered together and Adrian lathered her hair, smothering her with kisses before abruptly cursing and retreating, Faith knew he'd remembered what they hadn't earlier and regretted it, but she didn't. As he returned with a condom, Faith didn't complain, but held him close as he released himself into her.

Whether he wanted to or not, Adrian Raphael had gifted her with the one sweet hope she'd lost long ago.

“We have to pry more info out of Sandra.” Faith lay her pen down on top of the legal pad and sipped her coffee while
Adrian took Cesar's faucet apart to stop the constant dripping. “She came to you. She must have wanted something.”

“Yeah, an ex-con who hadn't had sex in four years.” He grunted as the rotten washer loosened and fell down the sink.

“Don't overrate yourself. She has three kids she can't support. I don't think she's looking to make another one. She had money on the mind.”

He shrugged as he scraped decades of goop off the faucet base. “Then she should have known better than to come to me.”

“Look, if she thinks I owe her, she might figure you feel the same. She might think you've found a way to get the money out of me. Maybe you can even talk with her brother. They're the ones with the answers, or at least part of them. We're not accomplishing anything on our own.”

He scattered Ajax over the caked grease and left it to soak as he reached for his coffee mug and finally turned his attention fully on her. “Fine, I'll visit Delilah in her lair, but if I come back with my head shaved, you've no one to blame but yourself.”

“Maybe she'll shrink your ego while she's at it.” Since she had no clue what he was angry about, she couldn't even begin to follow this conversation. She just knew she couldn't live like this much longer. He was messing with her mind, derailing all her goals, and making mush of her emotions. She'd be a quivering idiot all over again if they didn't find a solution soon.