Jo Leigh - One-Click Buy - September Harlequin Blaze

“Not for several hours, Charlie. Just finish your dinner, and I’ll let you know when we’re going to leave.”

He nodded, turned back to his plate. But now he was even less hungry. Damn that Mikey. He shoulda helped out his only brother.

FINALLY, JAZZ LEFT. He turned off the light and he locked the door behind him, but they were finally alone.

“I know,” Tate said, shaking the cuff against the bar. “It’s really uncomfortable.”

After dinner, Jazz had cuffed him right next to her. They were lying down with plenty of pillows behind them. He’d even gotten Jazz to cover them with a blanket. But there was no way he was going to be this uncomfortable for the whole night.

“Tell me something, Tate. What is it you like about that Prada store?”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, then she giggled. Tate was not the giggling type. It sounded pretty good on her.

“It’s not that I like the store so much. I know people there and I like the way their clothes look on me. What are you doing?”

He had gotten his comb out of his left back pocket and was now inching his way up the bed to get in the best position. They’d hooked him up with his right hand, unfortunately, but his left would do.

As soon as he could maneuver properly, he pressed the far edge of the comb down on the pawl. It took him a while to disengage the pawl from the ratchet, but once that was done, the cuff popped open.

“Was that what I think it was?”

He followed the same steps with her handcuff. He left both cuffs hanging from the bar as he moved down and closer to Tate.

“How did you do that?”

“My uncle was Houdini.”

“Really?”

“No. I wasn’t always a limo driver.”

“I know. You were a spy.”

“Sort of.”

“Why sort of?”

He moved even closer to her and decided he’d better just go for broke. “Lift up.” He tapped her on the back of her neck.

She did, and he slipped his arm in back of her, cradling her head.

“I was in military intelligence, which is, yeah, the spy division. We broke into places, stole information, coordinated military operations and the CIA presence.”

“Sounds terrifying.”

“It could be. But when I say I was well trained, I’m not kidding.”

“Why in the world aren’t you still there? Doing important things?”

“Taking care of you is important.”

“Oh, please. I’m a spoiled rich girl with psychiatric issues. How important can I be?”

“To me?”

She didn’t respond except for a little shiver. Good. He didn’t want her to be scared. He wanted her to believe that he could get them out of this. If not tonight, then in the near future. He needed her to do whatever he asked of her, no matter what. And for that she needed to be panic-attack-free.

It would all be so much easier if his own brother wasn’t sitting in the next room. What killed him was that he’d let Charlie get the better of him again. The first time had cost him his military career. This time it would cost a hell of a lot more. He couldn’t even blame his brother. Charlie was Charlie. Nope, this was his own damn fault, and before he got fired, quit, whatever, he was going to make damn sure Ed Martini and Jazz would never bother anyone again. He would make sure that none of the Baxter money was taken and he’d do whatever the hell it took to make sure Tate Baxter went home safely.

“Michael?”

“Yes?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. No, I’m just angry at myself. I should never have let you go into that store alone.”

“I wasn’t alone.”

“But Elizabeth-”

“Is amazingly capable. She isn’t at fault. I won’t have her lose her job over this.”

He smiled, glad she couldn’t see him. “Okay. Elizabeth stays.”

“Good.”

“Speaking of good, you’re doing damn well yourself.”

“Not really.” She snuggled in closer, and he was glad to have her warmth. “I passed out. Several times.”

“Understandable.”

“And when I was conscious, I was in full panic mode. I didn’t do any of the stuff I was trained to do.”

“It’s a whole different ball game when it’s for keeps.”

“I’m just sorry, that’s all.”

“For what? None of this is your fault.”

“I don’t know. Maybe all these years of focusing so much energy into my fear of being kidnapped…”

“You did not bring this on.”

She sighed, and he felt a small drop of wet on his shoulder.

“Talk to me, Tate. I’ve heard…”

“That I’d been kidnapped?” she asked. “That we-me and my cousin-were taken from my bedroom?”

He wasn’t sure if he should push or just let it go. Maybe talking about it would help, but he was no psychiatrist. Of course, she’d probably told Dr. Bay about this, but Dr. Bay, he now knew, was an ass.

He nodded, squeezed her shoulder.

“Her name was Lisa. She was my best friend. My only friend. Because her father and mine worked together and we were the same age. We did everything together.”

“Same age, huh?”

“Yep. Her mother-my aunt Sharon-made sure we stuck close because my mother died when I was two.”

“I didn’t know you were that young.”

“I don’t remember much about her. But I remember everything about my childhood with Lisa.”

“Tell me about it.”

“She had really long hair and I used to love to brush it. I would pretend I was a hairdresser and we’d play every day. I was sure that’s what I was going to be when I grew up.”

“You? A hairdresser?”

“Why not?”

“I can’t picture it.”

“Back then, when we were little kids, we weren’t really rich. Not like we are now. My father and his brother had gotten some lucrative government contracts, which is basically what made the company, but we were as nouveau as it gets. We were so happy. We traveled, we explored. Lisa and I did everything together. We were as close as sisters.”

“What happened?”

“We were fifteen. So that’s-”

“Nine years ago.”

She nodded and her hair brushed against his neck.

“Since we traveled so much to places like Italy, England, Spain, we’d been taught to be really careful there because of all the kidnappings. Lisa and I barely thought about it, but there was always someone watching out for us. Damn, it was fun. I never felt lonely. We had the same tutors and the same homework. We wore the same clothes. We actually didn’t look that much alike, but everyone thought we were twins.”

“Sounds great.”

“It was.”

That little shiver he’d felt just a few moments ago was back, but it meant something completely different now. He’d seen her tremble just before a panic attack. Just before her breathing became labored and her skin turned deathly pale. He’d meant for the conversation to relax her, to help her trust him. Not send her into a tailspin.

“I never had anyone I was real close to when I was a kid,” he said. “I was into sports, mostly football, but I kept having to change schools.”

“Why?”

“My old man was a drunk. We had to skip on the rent at least once a year.”

“Oh, my God.”

“Yeah, well. He was the reason I signed up for the Army, so I guess it wasn’t so bad.”

She turned to look at him. It was so dark in the room he couldn’t make out her expression, although he had a good idea what it was. “Wasn’t so bad? I can’t believe you’re so cavalier about it.”

“I’ve lived with it all my life. One adjusts.”

“I don’t think it’s nearly that easy.”

“You’ve adjusted.”

“No, I haven’t. That’s the whole point. I should have adjusted years ago. I should have put my fear in the proper perspective. I mean, come on, what are the odds that-”