T is for Temptation (14 page)

Jake brushed his lips against hers, and butterfly-kissed her eyes closed, trailing kisses across her forehead. “How about that day at the beach now? I need to relax.”

“The private beach is about half a mile away.”

“Why don’t we pack a cooler and a few sandwiches and head on down to it?”

He studied her expression. She seemed wary, hesitant. The way Tee worried her lower lip with those pearl teeth made him want to drown in her mouth, kiss her for hours until his tongue slurred with exhaustion. Settling for a quick nip, he reached across and pulled the door handle.

“I’ll change into my bathing suit. If you don’t mind, I can conjure drinks and snacks when we get to the beach?”

This was a test, Jake realized. “Fine by me. Do you do it often?”

In the process of easing out of the passenger seat, she turned to look at him and answered, “All my life I’ve avoided using my powers because I don’t have much control over them. Food is relatively easy, but other things aren’t.”

Hopping out of the vehicle, he shot her another query. “Like the Vikings?”

“No, I’ve done that too often. I usually end up in the same place and time, some castle in northern
Scotland
around 1501. The thing that’s weird is they don’t seem fazed when I appear out of nowhere.”

“You speak to them?”

“No,
Douglas
instructed me not to. And they don’t really acknowledge me, but they glance in my direction.’”

Jake digested the two tidbits and more puzzle pieces fell into place.”

“Douglas Graham, the man who answered the door at
Dee
’s house?” At her lifted eyebrows, he added. “I went to the house before coming here. He answered the door and told me where to find you.” Halting at the entrance to the cottage, he frowned. “Douglas Graham knows about you?”

“I’m about to stretch your reality further.” She crinkled her nose and gave a little half-a-shoulder apologetic shrug. Her eyebrows lifted in query.

“Go for it,” he said, taking a deep breath.

“
Douglas
is a warlock and my mentor. I told you about
Dee
. Her power is healing. There are nine of us altogether, and
Douglas
is our guide.”

His brain whirred like a helicopter spiraling into a crash. They strolled through the doorway, and he set his cell on the kitchen counter. The minute his hand lifted off it, the phone buzzed and rang at the same time. He jumped, grabbed it, and flipped open the phone.

“I’m waiting for word on a deal,” he threw out and then spoke into the receiver. “Mathews.”

He cupped a hand over the receiver and said, “It’s my lawyer.”

“Alex, how’s the situation?”

“Worsening, are you alone?”

“No, should I be?”

“Definitely.”

“Hang then, I’ll be a few seconds.”

Pressing the mute button, he said, “I need to take this. I saw a study last night. Is it okay if I use it?”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll putter around until you’re finished.”

“Thanks for understanding.” He gave her a hard smack on the lips, fished his Bluetooth headphone out of his shirt pocket, and strolled to the study.

He sat in the plush leather chair, curled the Bluetooth around his ear, and hit the hold button. Snatching a slip of paper from the printer stand, he began making notes as Alex summarized the current state of the
IRS
investigation.

When he ended his unplanned conference call with his friend and a slew of
Middle East
and
London
lawyers, Jake immediately pressed Alex’s speed-dial button. “What the hell was that about, buddy?”

“I suspect it’s related to the missing funds. There’s more bad news. Someone deposited cash into the suspended
Antigua
account, over 20K.”

“Cash, as in dollars? And if it’s suspended, how’d that happen?”

“US greenbacks. Must have filled a backpack, an amount like that. The bank’s tracing the transaction.”

Jake groaned.

“Homeland Security wants to ask you a few questions. They’re becoming impatient. I’d head back pronto. You know what tight-assed pricks they are.”

“I planned to stay on a few days.”

“I’m receiving hourly calls, Jake. They’re making threatening noises about having you taken into custody. Jump on a plane. Hire one if you need to. You don’t want to get on an alert list.”

“Blast.”

“Word of advice—fly through
Puerto Rico
, and come into
Florida
domestically. If they’re watching the airports, there’s not much I can do to protect you.”

“Good idea. I’ll come straight to your office.”

“Call me as soon as you know when you’ll arrive.”

“Done. Thanks for watching my back.”

“A given. See you.”

Pressing the end button, he muttered an expletive and lurched to his feet. Jake found Tee in the bedroom, clad in a peach swimsuit, which topped all his fantasies. He hardened and battled the impulse to strip the little triangles off her breasts with his teeth.

“Jesus, you look delicious.” He halted in the doorway and splayed his fingers. “Don’t come near me. Tee, I have to leave. Right away. There’s more trouble about Tony. Homeland Security’s insisting on meeting with me. You have no idea how much I hate to go.”

“I’m so sorry, Jake. Can I do anything to help? Do you want me to search the
Trinidad
office?”

“I’ve already done that, but it won’t hurt to take another look. Thanks. I want to kiss you goodbye, but if I do, I’ll never leave. I’m going to grab my carry-on from the other bedroom. I’ll call you from the airport. Plan on
London
, babe. I’ll send the details via e-mail.”

He raked her figure one last time and spun around, determined to resist temptation.

Before leaving
Barbados
, Jake booked a first class electronic ticket to
London
and e-mailed it to Tee. That afternoon, Interpol and US authorities raised a worldwide terrorist red flag, triggering overflowing airports and domino delays. It proved an exhausting and trying trip back to
Florida
.

While he traveled, Jake swung from one end of the pendulum to the other whenever he thought about Tee. Tired, nerves taut, he’d fallen into a dream-filled, disturbed sleep with convoluted images, which merged and morphed, leaving him with no clear visions, but a deep, seething foreboding. Somewhere between his third plane ride and his fourth, he decided to pamper Tee and shower her with romance while their affair lasted.

Arriving at
Ft.
Lauderdale
almost two days later, his irritation mounted as he realized he wouldn’t make it to
London
in time to meet her. The minute he cleared the plane, Jake whipped out his phone and pressed the speed-dial button for Tee’s cell. The country operator for
Trinidad
came on the line with a message stating all lines to the island were busy.

He waited until the elevator doors opened onto the parking garage level and hit Tee’s button, same message. He reached his black Porsche Carrera GT and tried her number again. As he drove onto the I-95 ramp, he hit the redial key once more. The phone rang, and Jake let out an audible sigh of relief. Once, twice, three times. He hit the steering wheel with his palm when Tee’s recorded message kicked in. The beep sounded, and he left a voice mail explaining his delay.

By the time he reached Alex’s office in
Boca Raton
, Jake managed to sort through all his office voice mails and return most calls. Flopping into an oversized leather armchair, he loosened his tie and dragged the fingers of one hand through his hair.

“What’s the situation?” Jake methodically worked the tie loose as he spoke.

“Fraud charges are pending.”

“Hell they are. That’s pure crap, and you know it.”

In silent response, Alexander Mayfield quirked an eyebrow at him and curled his lips at the corners.

“Tony?” Jake stared out the glass window, never noticing the magnificent view of the navy
Atlantic Ocean
and an azure sky streaked with cotton batting wisps. Dislike akin to hatred churned in his gut. Tony Trent had bulldozed into his life, and the results proved catastrophic business-wise. But it’d brought him Tee. And nothing, nothing that happened could make him regret that. Ever.

“Unfortunately. The authorities have tracked the missing money to a bank in the
Far East
, get this, in
Afghanistan
.”

“He wired it there?”

“I’m not talking about Tony’s two mil. Turns out that’s the least of our worries. There are a series of money transfers from an Afghan bank to the
Antigua
account, and the amounts involved are mind-boggling. Over 400 mil went through the account during the three months of your partnership with
Trent
.”

“Not possible, buddy, and I have the bank statements to prove it. The only transactions on the account were the monthly interest on the two million.”

“Did the bank send the statements directly to you?”

“Electronic statements e-mailed on the first of the month. In the confusion after Tony’s death, I didn’t notice I hadn’t received one for around three weeks. I e-mailed the bank, the e-mail bounced back, and it was only when I called that I found out it had been cleared a week after he died.”

“The same week the
SEC
started their investigation.” Alex shook his head. “I should’ve been suspicious then. At any rate, I pulled some strings while you were in
Trinidad
and discovered what initiated their interest—an anonymous tip on an Internal Revenue hotline.”

“Jesus, it was a setup. Someone’s targeting either the company or Tony. If he was into both drugs and money laundering, he could’ve pissed off somebody seriously. Maybe the boating accident wasn’t one after all.”

“One of his colleagues ordered a hit? Maybe. It still doesn’t explain the disparity between your bank statements and what Interpol’s uncovered.”

“Interpol? Jesus,” Jake said. “You mentioned Homeland Security. Where the hell did Interpol come from?”

“The 20K deposit.”

“Blast.”

“You can say that again. The more I analyze this situation, the more I’m convinced someone’s playing us.” Alex grimaced, picked up a fountain pen, and tapped it on the ink blotter. “Any good news from your trip? Uncovered anything helpful?”

“Did you know
Trinidad
is only nine miles off the coast of
Venezuela
? And I suspect it’s impossible to patrol all the ocean mileage between the two coastlines. I learned something new this trip. Tee’s family has a vacation home on an island between the two countries, and Tony used it frequently. He kept his boat docked there.”

“She has to be involved then.”

His jaw clenched. Even though it’d been his initial reaction, the notion Alex suspected Tee of nefarious intent raised every hackle, and he snapped, “No, she’s not. I’m positive.”

Alex frowned. “I don’t buy that, not for a second. Let me have her investigated.”

His gut clenched. “Don’t even think about it. I have proof she’s not involved.”