One Secret Night, page 3
part #3 of Ivy Avengers Series
* * *
Stepping up to the checkout counter at a Lander, Wyoming, hardware store, Raith De Matteis set down the new router he’d found. While he waited for someone to help him, his mind wandered to a beautiful redhead with sensual eyes. Ever since leaving Iceland, he couldn’t stop thinking about Autumn. He wished he could have done more than leave her flowers. At least the initial he’d signed on the card hadn’t been a lie.
He looked around for George and saw him wave as he approached.
“Got another project?” George started the register. He and his wife ran the hardware store and kept a couple of teenagers busy stocking inventory a few times a week.
“Shelves.” He needed a project. Nothing had turned up from Tabor Creighton’s cell phone, and the bodyguard he’d assigned to protect Kai had reported nothing unusual. There was little he could do with Creighton dead and no other leads to follow. He’d searched every database he could find to dig up information on Creighton. There wasn’t much. He hadn’t expected much. An assassin of Creighton’s caliber was no amateur when it came to anonymity.
“Didn’t you just make those last year?”
“That was for my bedroom. This is for the living room.”
George smiled fondly. “Between jobs?”
“It appears that way.”
George never questioned him about his job. He must have caught on that Raith couldn’t talk about it.
“Brew Festival is this weekend,” George said. “You should stop by.”
Usually, it was George’s wife who tried to get him out of the house. Most knew Raith, but didn’t really know him. He kept to himself whenever he was home, and that wasn’t often or for long periods of time.
“I might.” He paid for the router. “Thanks, George.”
“We’ll save you a seat in the main tent. They’re serving ribs at five tomorrow.”
That meant he’d better show up. “All right. See you then.”
He left to George’s pleased chuckle.
George and Frieda invited him to their house for dinner a lot. He accepted most of the time, but only because they never asked him about his business. They had at first but must have gotten the hint that it wasn’t something he could openly discuss. He appreciated that they accepted him despite his secrets. Frieda thought he should find himself a nice woman and start a family. George just liked to talk shop with him and watch an occasional game. He spent Christmas and Thanksgiving with them. Sometimes he thought they felt sorry for him. He was such a loner. But what they didn’t understand was that he preferred to live that way.
George and Frieda were special, though. He could never say no to them. They’d lost their only son to leukemia when the boy was just fifteen. Raith wasn’t comfortable with filling that void in their lives, but he knew that in some ways, he did. Their son would be about the same age.
“Good afternoon, Mr. De Matteis.”
Raith turned to see the owner of a gift shop stop sweeping in front of the door to greet him.
“Dory.”
“Will we see you at the festival tomorrow?”
“George is saving me a seat for the barbecue.” Why had he chosen a small town to live in? He’d blend in more in a big city.
He drove home and it was long enough to bring his thoughts back to Autumn. That night with her had been burned into his mind. And not only the phenomenal sex. Her. He’d never, ever met any woman like her.
He’d almost called her when he returned home. She didn’t know it but he’d looked on her phone and gotten her number. She’d still been asleep that morning. Taking her number was the only thing that had stopped him from climbing back in bed with her.
What harm would there be in seeing her for a while? He hadn’t told her the truth about himself. Not all of it. That was one giant reason. She hadn’t completely trusted him or his story. If she had, she wouldn’t have been compelled to look at his phone. The text message from Kai had already been opened. Autumn had read it. He’d discovered that after looking up her cell number. Both of them had checked each other’s phone. He suspected her motive was more out of suspicion, however. That he’d slept through her checking his so revealed a lot about the state of his head that night. He’d been so taken into the seduction that he’d been complacent. She didn’t have his real name, but if she tried to get it from the number, she’d learn he wasn’t an FBI agent. And worse, she’d expose herself to Raith’s investigation. Tabor Creighton might be dead, but whoever had hired him was still an unknown and a danger.
But what had really doused his temptation was the internet search he’d done. It hadn’t been difficult to learn more about her. Autumn Ivy was Jackson Ivy’s daughter. He’d laughed when he’d first read that. Of all the things that would keep them apart, he hadn’t imagined that one. Seeing Autumn was impossible. No way in hell could he risk that kind of publicity. Especially since she generated a fair amount of it all on her own...breaking all those men’s hearts. Raith had read all about the actor, Deangelo Cassa-something, and the detective, Knox.
Funny, the woman he’d spent a night with was nothing like the one who’s face was plastered all over the Hollywood tabloids. He hadn’t laughed when he’d read about her dating escapades. Her relationship with the detective should have been normal. Why had she broken it off with him? Clearly, the woman was not one to commit or settle down. While that bothered him, he could hardly fault her. He was no different.
As he drove off the long, winding dirt road and onto his driveway, he saw a car parked in front of the closed gate. The gate was the most visible security feature he’d installed. That was enough to get the town talking, and every Halloween, some kids came by to throw toilet paper on it. He knew who they were—the cameras recorded every toss. But he let them have their fun.
Recognizing the car and the man sitting in the driver’s seat, Raith pressed the remote clipped to his sun visor. The fact that he was here didn’t bode well, because it meant Autumn had gotten curious. Too curious.
Mayo Chambers drove ahead of him to the gravel parking area in front of Raith’s six-thousand-square-foot snecked ashlar, gray-stone house. Three spires stood like sentinels. White-trimmed windows and the porch added a fresh touch, but didn’t diminish the old, isolated feel of the place. The same kids who’d T.P.’d his gate had probably started the rumor that his house was haunted. It did have a bit of gothic revival flare.
He got out of his Dodge Ram truck and his boots crunched over the dry gravel.
“Raith.” Mayo extended his hand.
Raith shook it, not looking forward to what news he’d bring.
It had been a little over a week since he’d left Iceland, and Autumn lying partially covered in bed, hair fanned out over the pillow, most of one breast exposed, so beautiful he’d nearly stayed a few more days.
“Just as you asked, I’ve been tailing the Ivy woman,” Mayo said.
An ex-CIA operative, he’d gone private and did a lot of this type of surveillance for Raith. Although, it had never been this personal before.
“I take it she got interested in me,” Raith said.
Mayo didn’t crack a smile at Raith’s humor. “She left Reykjavik when you said she would, but she contacted her brother, Lincoln Ivy, and asked him to run a cell number.” He showed Raith a piece of paper with a familiar number on it. “He’s a bounty hunter.”
Raith didn’t take the paper. “Did he find anything yet?”
“No, but you should expect him to trace the number, and the Ivy woman will know who this number belongs to.”
Wonderful. “All right. I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll pay you what I owe.”
“You don’t want me to find out whose cell number this is?”
“I already know whose it is.” He walked toward the front entrance.
Inside the entry, Raith hung his light jacket on an old-fashioned coatrack beside the door. A short, wide hallway ran along the stairway wall. At the end of the hallway, double doors made of thick wood beneath arched trim required a code to unlock them. Flanked by two dark blue wingback chairs, a dainty table along the stairway wall held a vase of fresh flowers, his personal assistant’s touch. The stairs had a cheery strip of white carpet running up the middle and a black metal railing. They curved up to another pair of double doors with a coded entry.
Raith led Mayo to his office, strategically located to the right of the entry at the foot of the stairs. His assistant had done the decorating in here, too. He’d painted the walls a pale yellow and stained the trim a medium brown. The bulky wooden desk had a Tuscan chestnut finish with burnished edges and antique brass cup pulls. Raith went around the desk and unlocked the top right desk drawer to retrieve a cash box. Flipping through the money, he counted out what he owed Mayo.
“Do you mind me asking why you had me tail that woman?” Mayo asked.
Putting the box back into the drawer, Raith looked up. “She got in the way of a job.”
“How so?”
He closed and locked the drawer and then straightened. “In a way that wasn’t planned.”
Mayo nodded and then grinned. “She’s very attractive.”
Raith avoided reacting to that. Mayo had obviously drawn his own conclusion about Autumn and him.
“What are you going to do?” Mayo asked.
“Stop her from getting any more curious than she is right now.”
“Are you going to...”
Kill her? Raith laughed briefly. “No. Does she look like someone I could kill?”
Mayo laughed in return, but it was more of a relieved one. “No.”
Raith had a deadly reputation that included fierce protectiveness over his identity. But Autumn was different. His jobs didn’t involve women he took a romantic interest in. She was a first in that regard.
“How did she get that cell number?” Mayo asked.
“She looked at my phone while I was sleeping.” Raith moved around his desk and handed Mayo a wad of cash.
Mayo took it, meeting Raith’s eyes, getting his meaning. “You slept through that?”
“Hard to fathom, isn’t it?”
“For you? Yeah.” Mayo chuckled. “Must have been some night.”
No, just some woman. An incredible woman. And now he had to stop her from getting herself killed.
“I’ll call you if I need you for anything else.” Raith went to the office door and saw his personal assistant standing just outside the office, under the guise of awaiting a request, no doubt. Desi Hildebrandt frequently put himself nearby so he could overhear discussions. He especially liked the ones that resembled what he’d heard just now.
“Good luck with Autumn,” Mayo said, and then left through the front door.
Raith turned to Desi, who stood straight and tall in perfectly pressed black slacks and a light blue dress shirt. He always dressed up for the job, even though Raith had told him a couple dozen times he didn’t have to.
Desi lifted his hand, palm up, as he often did when he was about to broach a touchy subject with Raith. “Your trip to Iceland wasn’t all business.”
His soft, almost-lilting tone grated on Raith’s patience, but only because he’d broached such a personal subject. Desi’s homosexuality had taken some adjustment, but he respected his assistant’s dedication and, most of all, his trustworthiness.
He started toward the stairs. “I need you to arrange a flight to Denver.”
“Your friend said the woman is attractive.” Desi followed him up the stairs.
Raith didn’t engage.
“Are you going to see her again?” Desi asked.
“My flight?”
“Right away, sir. We can talk about this later.”
“Stop calling me sir.” Raith stopped at the top of the stairs and faced Desi. “Will you also call George and tell him I can’t make it to the barbecue tomorrow night?”
“It would be nice if you gave him a reason.”
Raith turned toward the locked doors. “I have to work.”
“It’s not work if you’re going for the woman you met. What’s her name?”
Raith entered the security code into the keypad next to the doors. “Then tell him whatever you like.” He would, anyway. It had taken him a while to figure out that it was his personal assistant who’d sparked George and Frieda’s interest in him. They’d started by asking questions whenever Desi had to go into town for Raith. As with many here, they’d wondered who the new guy was who’d moved into the gothic mansion. Raith didn’t consider it a mansion, but it was big and, he supposed, imposing. Desi had struck up a friendship with George and Frieda and that had developed into regular status reports about Raith. Sometimes the way they all cared about him drove him nuts. Like now.
Desi trailed him into the main living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows toward the front offered a view of Lander. Toward the back, a sliding door and wall of windows overlooked a balcony and the Tetons in the distance.
“I’ll prepare a room for the woman,” Desi said. And when Raith turned to him, he added, “Just in case.”
How had his personal assistant drawn such a conclusion? Why did he think Raith would bring Autumn here? Never mind. He didn’t need to know. Desi had great insight into people. He was afraid of the insight he had over his night with Autumn.
His cell phone rang. Taking it out of his front shirt pocket, he saw the number and ignored the call. As he stuffed the phone back in his pocket, he noticed Desi watching.
“Your father again?” he asked.
“I like you, Desi. Which is why I’d really hate to have to let you go.” He hadn’t spoken with his father since he left home when he was seventeen, and he wasn’t going to start now.
With a disappointed look, Desi headed for one of the four guest rooms in the house. He knew Raith would never fire him. And Raith would never admit that Desi was like family to him. So were George and Frieda.
Raith left the living room and passed the dining area and parlor to reach the secure doors leading to his office—his real office. Inside the long and spacious room, he went to the large L-shaped desk where all of his computers hummed and blinked. Opening his secure email, he saw there were none from a contact he had in the FBI.
That meant more waiting. Just as well. He’d be delayed dealing with Autumn, anyway.
* * *
A week after she gave Lincoln the number associated with the text she’d read on Raith’s phone, Autumn sat with her sister Savanna on Lincoln’s sofa. His living room had a lot more feminine touches since Arizona had moved in. Much more decorative and colorful. She was away on one of her adventure outings, and Savanna had stopped by for a brief visit with Lincoln. Slightly taller than Autumn, Savanna had darker hair, with only a hint of red, and the most stunning blue eyes. Caribbean-blue and just as clear.
Lincoln was still on the phone with their mother, who’d recently had a run-in with the paparazzi and now it was all over the news how she’d taken one of the photographer’s cameras and bashed it on the pavement in front of a conference center where she was holding a charity event. Lincoln was trying to calm her down.
“What do you mean he held a knife to your throat?” Savanna asked, appalled.
Autumn was in the process of explaining why Lincoln had asked her to come here to talk. “I almost didn’t get on the elevator. But Russ saved me from him.”
“The man who was after him? Russ—is that what you said his name was?”
“Yes.”
“How did he save you?”
“Well...first he shot the man in the leg, and then they fought and Russ ended up...killing him.”
Savanna’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“He’s an FBI agent and was going to arrest him, but he was forced to kill him instead”
“You sound like you’re defending him.”
Autumn stopped herself from fidgeting in her discomfort. Was it that obvious how much her night with Russ had affected her?
“Why was he going to arrest the man?” Savanna asked.
“He’s a hit man or something. Wanted by the FBI.” She tried to sound nonchalant but suspected she failed.
Savanna angled her head, eyeing her closely. “What happened after he killed the man?”
“We...” How could she explain that? We went to my room and had sex seemed so...right out of a movie. “Well...he refused to talk to the police and so we talked awhile and then...”
“Why did he refuse to talk to the police?”
“He was working undercover.” That explained why he hadn’t called the police...sort of.
“And then what?” Savanna pressed.
“We...well...we...went to my room for a while.”
“To hide?”
Autumn hesitated. “No...yes...maybe.” Had that been his intention?
Savanna’s head angled more. “Did you sleep with him?”
Autumn tried not to appear sheepish, but Savanna’s head snapped straighter and her mouth dropped open.
“You slept with him?” Savanna made a disgusted sound. “Autumn, you have to stop doing that! You’re getting to be a real floozy.”
Autumn never flushed but she began to now. “No. This was different than with Knox.” Knox had been exciting up until he’d taken too much of an interest in her dad, and she hadn’t been interested in him as a person. Not beyond his profession as a detective.
As Savanna continued to observe her, her mouth closed and her face softened. “You like him.”
Autumn couldn’t deny it.
“You really like him.”
“I wouldn’t—”
“I’ve never seen you this way before.”
