“It doesn’t matter, not now,” he said with a rush of enthusiasm. “We can get married, and I’ll find a way to replace the money.” He strode over to her and captured her wrist. “Don’t you see, no more money will be taken, and all the cash that’s missing since Mitch left the bank will be replaced.”
“Just like that?” she asked incredulously. Her eyes narrowed and she surveyed the hand on her wrist suspiciously. “You really think that I was a part of this, don’t you?”
“Erin,” he sighed disconsolately as he tilted her face with his thumb. “I know that you met Mitch on the day of his arraignment. I also know that the money was taken on that day….”
“You bastard!” Before she could think, her free hand arched upward and slapped Kane’s cheek. The loud smack echoed in the night, and Kane’s eyes grew black with suppressed fury. His jaw clenched, and for a moment Erin wondered if he was going to retaliate and hit her.
His voice, suddenly soft, reached out to her. “Erin…”
“Don’t! I don’t want to hear anything more! Not ever again. I’ll…I’ll hand in my resignation tomorrow…and I think it would be best for all of us if you would move out of the apartment as soon as possible. You…you can…have two weeks….” The sobs that she was quietly withholding began to rack her body, and she felt as if she were about to be torn in half by his betrayal. At the pressure from Kane’s hand on her shoulder, she drew away as if wounded and started stumbling toward the house.
“Erin, wait!” Kane ordered, but she ignored his plea. “You can’t resign. If you’re innocent, you can’t resign. It will appear more incriminating!”
Whirling to face him, nearly tripping on the exposed root from a nearby fir tree, she replied bitingly, “I’m quitting. I…I don’t want anything more to do with you…or your bank!”
“Erin, don’t!” He was beside her in a minute, and his features had softened. “Don’t you understand? I need you, I want you…I love you!”
“Love? You don’t have any idea what the word means. And, as for needing and wanting, I think you’re getting them confused with using. Because that’s what you did to me, wasn’t it? You used me—tried to get close to me so that you could ‘look into my darker, private side.’ Isn’t that how you phrased it? I didn’t know what you meant, not at the time, but I know now, don’t I? You wanted to get inside my head and find a way to incriminate me for a crime that I had no part of….”
“Please try and understand….”
“Just leave me alone!” Her eyes met his, and even though they were filled with tears, he could see that she meant every word she was speaking.
“I don’t want it to end this way.”
“There isn’t any alternative. You took care of that!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not good enough, Kane, not good enough.” Her words were colder than the autumn wind that pushed her black hair away from her face, and highlighted the proud, near-perfect oval with its fine cheekbones and luminous violet eyes.
“All right, Erin. If that’s the way you want it.”
“That’s the way it has to be,” she sighed, and stepped aside to let him pass. She watched him silently as he walked toward the front of the house and disappeared around the corner. When he was finally out of her range of vision, she let herself slump against the tall fir tree near the gazebo. “You are a fool,” she muttered under her breath. “And he is a bastard!” The tears started to flow again. How could he even think that she would stoop so low? How could he have misjudged her so? And how, in God’s name, how could he be so gentle and caring one minute and so ruthless the next?
It was past midnight when Erin found the strength to return to the loft that she had once shared with the man she still loved.
Chapter 12
An insistent, impatient knocking awoke Erin from a night whose fitful sleep had been interrupted by dismal nightmares. The dull ache in her head increased with each knock on her front door. “I’m coming,” she groaned, running her fingers through her tangled hair and hoping that her response would stop whoever it was from making any further racket.
Jerking on her peach-colored terry robe, she cinched the belt tightly around her waist and glanced haphazardly into the mirror over the bureau. The reflection that stared back at her was disheartening—the long, anxious night had taken its toll on her face. Large blue circles under her eyes intensified the pale, washed-out complexion of her face. The large eyes that had always sparkled seemed lifeless, and her black hair hung in tangled curls against her neck.
The pounding started up again. “I’m coming,” Erin repeated loudly, and wondered who would be calling so insistently at seven in the morning. The knocking subsided for a minute. Erin half expected to see Kane when she opened the door and braced herself for whatever confrontation might occur when she came face-to-face with him. “Just a minute,” she called through the wood panels, and tugged the door open.
What she hadn’t expected to see on her doorstep—not in a million years—was Lee. His blond hair was meticulously combed and his blue eyes were as brilliant as ever, perhaps even more so. He was perched atop the polished wood railing of the landing. One arm was bent around a carved banister to aid his balance. His casual slouch, accented by faded jeans and a lightweight sport shirt was a theatrical display of relaxation by design, belied only by the tiny muscle that worked constantly near the back of his jaw.
“Hi, babe.” He greeted her with a wink and gave her a long, suggestive head-to-toe appraisal. “Rough night?” A smile, boyish yet sinister, curved his thin lips.
After the initial shock of seeing him, Erin regained her composure and propped her shoulder against the doorjamb, keeping a careful distance between them. Without conscious thought, she tugged on the belt of her robe and pulled it more tightly around her slim waist.
“I’ll ignore your insinuations for now,” she replied with a plastic copy of his smirk pasted on her face. “What are you doing here?”
Hopping off the railing in a lithe movement, he responded, “I couldn’t seem to get through to you on the phone. So I decided if Mohammed wouldn’t come to the mountain….”
“I get the gist,” she retorted coldly. She could feel an uneasy caution tighten the muscles of her back. “That doesn’t explain why you’re here, banging on my door loudly enough to wake up the entire neighborhood at seven in the morning. What do you want?”
“How about a cup of your coffee, for starters. From there, who knows how far our relationship can progress?” There was another long, suggestive look.
“I’m sorry, Lee, but as you already guessed, I did have a rough night last night. I’m tired and I’m not up to playing word games with you. Why don’t you just tell me what it is you want? Then you can leave.” She crossed her arms over her breasts to shield herself from his gaze. Lee made her uncomfortable, but she did her best to hide her apprehension.
“Why are you always so suspicious of me?” he asked in a low voice that was meant to be hypnotic.
“Because I know you.”
“Erin, baby,” he cooed, coming more closely to her. Involuntarily she shrank back. “What’s happened to you? Let me make you feel better.”
“And just how do you think you could do that?” she asked wryly, a grim smile twisting her lips and her black brows cocking nervously.
“We used to get along just fine,” he suggested smoothly, and his hand reached out to trace the neckline of her robe.
Jerking away from him, Erin glared at his bemused face. “Look, Lee, just say whatever it is you think you have to say to me and then leave.” She paused for a moment, and then continued. “What is it? Do you need money again?”
Sandy-blond eyebrows shot up with undisguised interest. “Ah, well, that’s not the main reason that I came over here, but now that you mention it, I could use a few bucks.” He smiled his most winning smile and shrugged his shoulders. Erin was surprised at her reaction, total disinterest in his most becoming grin. “You know
how it is—I had a run of bad luck.”
“Haven’t we all?” she muttered under her breath, and raked her fingers through her tangled black curls.
“Ah, come on, Erin. Don’t give me that. The way I hear it, you’re loaded.”
“Is that the way you hear it?” She laughed tightly, despite the headache that was pounding relentlessly in her ears. “I guess you’ve got the wrong information.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, a sudden seriousness killing his smile. He looks old, Erin thought to herself. The sunny college-boy looks only survived when he smiled.
“What I mean, Lee, is that I’m out of a job,” she explained, her words a little less caustic than they had been. “I’m sorry. I can’t loan you any money. I just don’t have it.”
“You? You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I’m not!” She shook her head to emphasize her point.
“You must have a savings account—something!”
“Not much,” she admitted. “And anyway, I don’t feel that I owe you any favors. That might sound a little cold-blooded, but it’s the way I feel.”
Lee began to bite his lower lip, and his eyes darted around the landing. “Look, babe, I’m desperate. I need to get my hands on some bread, and fast!”
“Why don’t you get a job?” she asked, and hated herself for the acidic sound of the sarcasm.
A stricken expression covered Lee’s face. “A job? I’ve been looking for a job night and day. It’s…just that the right…opportunity hasn’t presented itself.”
Erin rubbed her hands against her temples and gave Lee a final sorrowful expression. “I’m sorry about that too,” she said honestly, “but if you don’t mind, I’m tired, and I’m going back to bed.” He must have misinterpreted her feelings, because as she reached for the handle of the door, Lee was against her, his body molding tightly to hers. She tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but there was no escape.
“Erin, baby,” he growled. “Why do you enjoy teasing me?”
“What? Lee, let go of me. What are you doing?” She felt the power of his body push against her and force her rigidly against the cold hardwood. His hands reached for the knotted belt of her robe, and she could feel his long, cold fingers probe against the flimsy fabric of her nightgown. A shudder of fear stiffened her spine.
“Let me go,” she hissed, but his lips, dispassionately cool, descended on her open mouth. A sinking sensation of fear swept over her as his tongue pressed ruthlessly against her gums. With all the strength she could gather, she lifted her bare foot and hoisted her knee sharply upward, but Lee had anticipated the move and dodged the misplaced blow.
“So you want to play rough,” he growled, and pulled her hands over her head to pin them cruelly against the door frame.
“Lee! Stop this. You’re acting like a lunatic,” she asserted, but the command in her voice was diminished by the fact that her words were trembling.
“Let her go!” Kane’s voice commanded from the lower landing. At the sound Lee turned.
“What?” Lee studied the source of the noise. The man, tall and dark, was stripped to the waist, wearing only faded jeans as he began to slowly ascend the stairs. “Hey, look, mister,” Lee said guardedly. “Why don’t you mind your own business? This is my wife….” Lee jerked his head in Erin’s direction. “We’re just having a little disagreement….”
“I don’t think so.” Kane mounted the stairs and stood only a few feet from Lee. His gray eyes glinted like steel, and though his voice was outwardly calm and solicitous, his clenched fists and hardened jaw reinforced his words. “Do you have a hearing problem?” he asked. “I told you to let her go!”
Reluctantly Lee stepped away from Erin and glowered menacingly at Kane. “Just who the hell do you think you are?” he snapped, while Erin crumpled in the doorway. The smell of a fight was in the air.
“I was just about to ask you that same question,” Kane’s calm, hard voice rejoined.
“I’m her husband!” Lee snarled, tossing a look of red-hot anger and rage toward Erin.
“Ex-husband,” Kane corrected. “And what sort of power does that title give you? The right to rough up the lady?”
“I wasn’t…”
Kane’s fury snapped and his eyes sparked disgusted fire. “Don’t bother with any of your explanations. Just get out before I throw you over this railing!” Kane’s voice had risen with his anger, and Erin saw Lee gulp and hesitate, casting a final threatening glance in her direction.
“I’d just like to see you try,” Lee warned back to Kane. A light of grim satisfaction warmed Kane’s face. Lee saw the reaction and slowly, carefully backed down the stairs.
“And just one more thing, Sinclair,” Kane cautioned with an evil smile. “If I ever so much as hear that you’ve been bothering Erin again, I won’t wait for you to show up. I’ll come looking for you!”
Lee hastened down the remainder of the stairs, the front door crashed closed, and for a few seconds there was silence. Only the feeling of electricity crackling in the air disturbed the tranquillity of the moment until the noise of a racing engine split the silence as it roared angrily down the hill. Erin sighed as she realized that Lee was finally gone.
“I can’t say much for your taste in husbands,” Kane commented dryly. The grim set of his jaw hadn’t relaxed.
“He’s not so bad,” Erin replied uneasily, as if convincing herself. “Not really, he’s just had a run of bad luck….”
“Bad luck?” Kane threw his hands over his head in exasperation. “That gives him the right to come in here and force himself on you?” He regarded her ruefully, since she looked so small and vulnerable this morning. “Erin, you are incredibly naive! What is it with you anyway?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, feeling herself start to bristle, partially because she knew that he was close to the truth.
“I mean, first, Mitchell Cameron—you defend him to the hilt when he’s an A-1 jackass—”
“Now, wait a minute,” Erin gasped.
“No, you wait a minute! And now your husband, pardon me, your unfortunate ex-husband who’s had ‘a run of bad luck,’ so he takes it out on you by almost…” His pause was effective, and Erin’s face flooded with color. “Erin, don’t you see? Sinclair’s a bastard, a loser. You should know that better than anyone. As far as I can see, so far you’ve had a pretty poor track record of picking male companions!”
“Is that a fact?” she fired back at him, her temper sparking. “Does that include the latest man in my life? You remember him—a wonderful guy. I trusted him completely only to discover that he thinks I’m a crook!” Sarcasm flavored her words with bitterness.
Kane looked as if he’d been slapped. The stunned expression on his face and the sudden dead look in his eyes tore at Erin’s heart, but she proudly held her ground. It would be too easy to forgive him, too easy to let him back into her heart.
His shoulders relaxed, the firm muscles slackening. “So that’s how it stands, does it? You won’t let me help you?”
“I don’t need any help. I’m innocent,” she maintained defiantly.
“Would it make you feel better to know that I believe you?”
“Ha! Then why did you accuse me of thievery last night? Why did you wait all this time? Why didn’t you just ask me what I knew about the embezzlement and the fact that there is supposedly an accomplice? Why did you wait,” she asked, her voice quaking, and her eyes meeting his with accusation, “all the while silently condemning me with your eyes!”
“Oh, God, Erin,” he groaned. “I’m so sorry—I was hoping that maybe you had changed your mind….”
“No!” She shook her head firmly, but her voice softened. “Look.” She reached out to touch his arm, but he jerked away from her. “I want to thank you for helping me with Lee. He…was…getting a little out of hand.”
“Erin,” Kane’s voice was steady and low. He stood half-supported by the railing, his head drooping down and facing the
lobby two stories below him. “I want you to marry me. I need you to be my wife, and Krista needs a mother. Perhaps I judged you too quickly, but it was only because I was afraid of the truth. I wanted to talk to you about it earlier.” His eyes rolled heavenward and his voice became husky. “God, how many times did I try?” He shook his head disconsolately and continued to stare blankly ahead of him. “But I just couldn’t.”
“Because you didn’t trust me. You couldn’t find it in your heart to accept my innocence,” Erin added in a flat, dead voice.
“There are other possibilities. The accomplice has to be in the legal department….”
“But I was the most convenient choice. The easiest target, right?”
His silence was as condemning as the pained droop of his shoulders. “Oh, God, Erin. Just believe that I love you!” he pleaded.
“I guess you and I have a different meaning for the word,” she replied, her voice broken by emotion. “Goodbye, Kane,” she whispered as she slipped through the door and listened to the sound of his footsteps retreating heavily down the stairs. Biting back the tears that were struggling to fill her eyes, she hurried to the bedroom and pulled out her worn leather suitcase. She tossed it recklessly on the bed. “You’re a coward,” she snipped at herself, “running from the truth that you love him, and no matter what he’s done, the one thing that you want most in life is to be his wife.” Her tiny fist balled up and crashed down on the suitcase. Damn! Why am I such a fool? For an instant she thought about running after him and throwing herself into his arms, but her pride forced her to restrain herself. He thinks you’re a thief, she reminded herself, and the feeling of cold betrayal once again settled upon her. Hurriedly she tossed the rest of her things haphazardly into the suitcase and snapped it shut. She looked around the bedroom to see if she needed anything else but found that she had to get out of the room. It was too crowded with memories, gloriously happy memories of making love to Kane in her bed.