“And to answer your other question, I won’t go to the police station because surfacing now could put my partners in danger. Or me.”
Or her.
Welcome to Paranoia 101. A pain in the ass to always look over your shoulder maybe, but that same tendency had kept him alive despite his notorious family for too long to set it aside now.
Already, her brow furrowed, his answers not agreeing with her. But he’d had enough personal revelation for one day and their time here was running out.
“I’m sure that doesn’t add up for you, but it’s the truth.” Mostly. He didn’t know how much that pledge would mean to her, but he’d already shared far more than he had planned. “I won’t make any public appearances or go on record, but if you’d lend me a little of that financial expertise for a few hours, I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can.”
“Here?” She glanced around the echoing space, confusion and suspicion in her eyes.
“No.” Speaking of which, they’d better get the hell out of there. Standing, he pitched the basketball back into the bin. “It won’t be safe here for much longer. We could find somewhere else that would be neutral terrain.”
She shook her head, her dark braid swinging behind her. “You’ve been implicated in a crime. Soon you’ll be brought up on extortion charges. And you expect me to just take off with you to act as your financial adviser? You know damn well you need a lawyer, not a cop.”
Shifting to her feet, Vanessa backed up a step.
No doubt about it, she thought he was a lunatic. Frankly, Alec didn’t blame her. But she’d put them both in a precarious situation by finding him. He had to keep her close to protect her from his enemies or, at the very least, prevent her from turning him in and effectively signing his death warrant.
And he was prepared to use any means necessary— including the persistent chemistry that kept him distracted at every turn.
“I don’t need financial help.”
“Then what do you need?” Impatience strained her throaty voice.
Time to offer up the last trick in his bag of unholy bargaining tools.
“I need someone to take a look at the company accounting to help prove my innocence.”
3
“T HAT MAKES NO SENSE at all.” Vanessa cocked her head to one side to see if studying Alec from another angle would help. Nope. He might be a total stud on the outside, but inside, he’d lost his marbles. “You’re asking a city cop to look over your books when you’re two steps away from being charged with stealing money from the company? Do you have a special affinity for being clapped in irons, Alec, or are you simply out of your mind?”
“Maybe I’m not guilty.” He ducked into a small office off to one side of the gym and she saw the track pants he’d been wearing go flying across his desk to land in an empty chair. “Ever thought of that?”
What the hell was he doing? Changing his clothes two feet away on the other side of Sheetrock? He returned a minute later, wearing a pair of jeans. He carried a clean T-shirt in one hand and a leather satchel in the other.
“Actually, no.” She eyed him warily as he dropped the bag to the ground and then reached for the hem of the shirt he had on.
Oh.
In theory, she knew she ought to look away for her own good. In practice, however, her eyes remained glued to the scene as Alec pulled his shirt over his head. Leaving him bare chested and…wow.
“Well, I never touched a nickel that wasn’t mine.” Tossing the old shirt aside, he tugged the clean one on. “And I intend to prove it just as soon as I can compare my personal accounting records to whatever doctored BS files someone is using to incriminate me.”
Tearing her eyes away from the naked torso now imprinted on her memory, Vanessa searched for hidden agendas in his request.
“But I could use that information to build a case against you.”
“Too bad you’re not going to find anything incriminating in there about
Or her.
Welcome to Paranoia 101. A pain in the ass to always look over your shoulder maybe, but that same tendency had kept him alive despite his notorious family for too long to set it aside now.
Already, her brow furrowed, his answers not agreeing with her. But he’d had enough personal revelation for one day and their time here was running out.
“I’m sure that doesn’t add up for you, but it’s the truth.” Mostly. He didn’t know how much that pledge would mean to her, but he’d already shared far more than he had planned. “I won’t make any public appearances or go on record, but if you’d lend me a little of that financial expertise for a few hours, I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can.”
“Here?” She glanced around the echoing space, confusion and suspicion in her eyes.
“No.” Speaking of which, they’d better get the hell out of there. Standing, he pitched the basketball back into the bin. “It won’t be safe here for much longer. We could find somewhere else that would be neutral terrain.”
She shook her head, her dark braid swinging behind her. “You’ve been implicated in a crime. Soon you’ll be brought up on extortion charges. And you expect me to just take off with you to act as your financial adviser? You know damn well you need a lawyer, not a cop.”
Shifting to her feet, Vanessa backed up a step.
No doubt about it, she thought he was a lunatic. Frankly, Alec didn’t blame her. But she’d put them both in a precarious situation by finding him. He had to keep her close to protect her from his enemies or, at the very least, prevent her from turning him in and effectively signing his death warrant.
And he was prepared to use any means necessary— including the persistent chemistry that kept him distracted at every turn.
“I don’t need financial help.”
“Then what do you need?” Impatience strained her throaty voice.
Time to offer up the last trick in his bag of unholy bargaining tools.
“I need someone to take a look at the company accounting to help prove my innocence.”
3
“T HAT MAKES NO SENSE at all.” Vanessa cocked her head to one side to see if studying Alec from another angle would help. Nope. He might be a total stud on the outside, but inside, he’d lost his marbles. “You’re asking a city cop to look over your books when you’re two steps away from being charged with stealing money from the company? Do you have a special affinity for being clapped in irons, Alec, or are you simply out of your mind?”
“Maybe I’m not guilty.” He ducked into a small office off to one side of the gym and she saw the track pants he’d been wearing go flying across his desk to land in an empty chair. “Ever thought of that?”
What the hell was he doing? Changing his clothes two feet away on the other side of Sheetrock? He returned a minute later, wearing a pair of jeans. He carried a clean T-shirt in one hand and a leather satchel in the other.
“Actually, no.” She eyed him warily as he dropped the bag to the ground and then reached for the hem of the shirt he had on.
Oh.
In theory, she knew she ought to look away for her own good. In practice, however, her eyes remained glued to the scene as Alec pulled his shirt over his head. Leaving him bare chested and…wow.
“Well, I never touched a nickel that wasn’t mine.” Tossing the old shirt aside, he tugged the clean one on. “And I intend to prove it just as soon as I can compare my personal accounting records to whatever doctored BS files someone is using to incriminate me.”
Tearing her eyes away from the naked torso now imprinted on her memory, Vanessa searched for hidden agendas in his request.
“But I could use that information to build a case against you.”
“Too bad you’re not going to find anything incriminating in there about
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