Loe raamatut: «Seductive Secrets»

One

Paul Watts entered the hospital elevator and jabbed the button for the fourth floor with more force than necessary. In two hours he was leaving Charleston to attend a week-long cybersecurity conference. His gut told him this was a mistake. His eighty-five-year-old grandfather’s medical situation wasn’t improving. Grady had been hospitalized six days earlier with cerebral edema, a complication arising from the massive stroke he’d suffered three months earlier that had affected his speech and left one side of his body paralyzed. In the midst of this latest medical crisis, the family worried that Grady wouldn’t last much longer. Which was why Paul was rethinking his trip.

Despite the excellent care he was receiving from the doctors, the Watts family patriarch was failing to rally. At first the doctors and physical therapists had agreed that the likelihood of Grady making a full recovery was better than average given his excellent health before the stroke and his impossibly strong will. But he hadn’t mended. And he hadn’t fought. The stroke had stolen more than his voice and muscle control. It had broken Grady Watts.

Although he’d stepped down as CEO of the family shipping empire a decade earlier and turned over the day-to-day running of the corporation to Paul’s father, Grady had remained as chairman of the board. Not one to slow down, he’d kept busy in “retirement” by sitting on the boards of several organizations and maintained an active social life.

Accustomed to his grandfather’s tireless vigor, stubbornness and unapologetic outspokenness, Paul couldn’t understand why Grady wouldn’t strive to get well, and thanks to the strained relationship between them, Paul was unlikely to get answers. Their estrangement was an ache that never went away. Still, Paul refused to regret his decision to pursue a career in cybersecurity rather than join the family business. Stopping bad guys satisfied his need for justice in a way that running the family shipping company never would.

The elevator doors opened and Paul stepped into the bright, sterile corridor that ran past the nurses’ station. He offered brief nods to the caregivers behind the desk as he strode the far-too-familiar hallways that led to his grandfather’s private room.

His steps slowed as he neared where Grady lay so still and beaten. No one would ever accuse Paul of being fainthearted, but he dreaded what he’d find when he entered the room. Every aspect of his life had been influenced by his grandfather’s robust personality and Grady’s current frailty caused Paul no small amount of dismay. Just as his grandfather had lost the will to go on, Paul’s confidence had turned into desperation. He would do or support anything that would inspire Grady to fight his way back to them.

Reaching his grandfather’s room, Paul gathered a deep breath. As he braced himself to enter, a thread of music drifted through the small gap between the door and frame. A woman was singing something sweet and uplifting. Paul didn’t recognize the pure, clear voice and perfect pitch as belonging to anyone in his family. Perhaps it was one of the nurses. Had one of them discovered that his grandfather loved all kinds of music?

Paul pushed open the door and stepped into his grandfather’s dimly lit room. The sight that greeted him stopped him dead in his tracks. Grady lay perfectly still, his skin gray and waxy. If not for the reassuring beep of the heart monitor, Paul might’ve guessed his grandfather had already passed.

On the far side of the bed, her back to the darkened window, a stranger held Grady’s hand. Despite her fond and gentle expression, Paul went on instant alert. She wasn’t the nurse he’d expected. In fact, she wasn’t any sort of ordinary visitor. More like someone who’d wandered away from an amusement park. Or the sixth-floor psychiatric ward.

Pretty, slender and in her midtwenties, she wore some sort of costume composed of a lavender peasant dress and a blond wig fastened into a thick braid and adorned with fake flowers. Enormous hazel eyes dominated a narrow face with high cheekbones and a pointed chin. She looked like a doll come to life.

Paul was so startled that he forgot to moderate his voice. “Who are you?”

The question reverberated in the small space, causing the woman to break off midsong. Her eyes went wide and she froze like a deer caught in headlights. Her rosy lips parted on a startled breath and her chest rose on an inhalation, but Paul fired off another question before she answered the first.

“What are you doing in my grandfather’s room?”

“I’m...” Her gaze darted past him toward the open door.

“Geez, Paul, calm the hell down,” said a voice from behind him. It was his younger brother, Ethan. His softer tone suited the hospital room far better than Paul’s sharp bluster. “I heard you all the way down the hall. You’re going to upset Grady.”

Now Paul noticed that his grandfather’s eyes were open and his mouth was working as if he had an opinion he wanted to share. The stroke had left him unable to form the words that let him communicate, but there was no question Grady was agitated. His right hand fluttered. The woman’s bright gaze flicked from Paul to Grady and back.

“Sorry, Grady.” Paul advanced to his grandfather’s bedside and lightly squeezed the old man’s cool, dry fingers, noting the tremble in his knobby knuckles. “I came by to check on you. I was surprised to see this stranger in your room.” He glanced toward the oddly dressed woman and spoke in a low growl. “I don’t know who you are, but you shouldn’t be here.”

“Yes, she should.” Ethan came to stand beside Paul, behaving as if introducing his brother to a woman dressed in costume was perfectly ordinary.

This lack of concern made Paul’s blood pressure rise. “You know her?”

“Yes, this is Lia Marsh.”

“Hello,” she said, her bright sweet voice like tinkling crystal.

As soon as Ethan had entered the room her manner had begun to relax. Obviously she viewed Paul’s brother as an ally. Now she offered Paul a winsome smile. If she thought her charm would blunt the keen edge of his suspicion, she had no idea who she was dealing with. Still, he found the anxiety that had plagued him in recent days easing. A confusing and unexpected sense of peace trickled through him as Grady’s faded green eyes focused on Lia Marsh. He seemed happy to have her by his side, weird costume and all.

“I don’t understand what she’s doing here,” Paul complained, grappling to comprehend this out-of-control situation.

“She came to cheer up our grandfather.” Ethan set a comforting hand on their grandfather’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he told the older man. “I’ll explain everything to Paul.”

What was there to explain?

During the brothers’ exchange, the woman squeezed Grady’s hand. “I’ve really enjoyed our time together today,” she said, her musical voice a soothing oasis in the tense room. “I’ll come back and visit more with you later.”

Grady made an unhappy noise, but she was already moving toward the foot of the bed. Paul ignored his grandfather’s protest and shifted to intercept her.

“No, you won’t,” he declared.

“I understand,” she said, but her expression reflected dismay and a trace of disapproval. Her gaze flicked to Ethan. A warm smile curved her lips. “I’ll see you later.”

Embroidered skirt swishing, she moved toward the exit, leaving a ribbon of floral perfume trailing in her wake. Paul caught himself breathing her in and expelled the tantalizing scent from his lungs in a vigorous huff. The energy in the room plummeted as she disappeared through the doorway and, to his profound dismay, Paul was struck by a disconcerting urge to call her back.

Now just to get answers to the most obvious questions: Why was she dressed like that and what was she doing in Grady’s room? But also why had she chosen to tattoo a delicate lily of the valley on the inside of her left wrist? He wondered how his brother could be taken in by such guileless naivete when it was so obviously an act.

This last point snapped Paul out of whatever spell she’d cast over him. Grabbing his brother’s arm, Paul towed Ethan out of the hospital room, eager to get answers without disturbing Grady. Out in the hall, Paul closed the door and glanced around. Lia Marsh had vanished and he noticed that didn’t bring him the satisfaction it should have.

“Who is she?” Paul demanded, his unsettled emotions making his tone sharper than necessary. “And what the hell is going on?”

Ethan sighed. “Lia’s a friend of mine.”

Paul dragged his hand through his hair as he fought to control the emotions cascading through him. He focused on his anxiety over his grandfather’s condition. That feeling made sense. The rest he would just ignore.

“You’ve never mentioned her before,” Paul said. “How well do you know her?”

A muscle jumped in Ethan’s jaw. He looked like he was grappling with something. “Well enough. Look, you’re seeing problems where there aren’t any.”

“Have you forgotten that Watts Shipping as well as various members of our family have been cyberattacked in the last year? So when I show up in Grady’s hospital room and there’s a strange woman alone with him, I get concerned.”

“Trust me—Lia has nothing to do with any of that,” Ethan said. “She’s really sweet and just wants to help. Grady has been so depressed. We thought a visit might cheer him up.”

Paul refused to believe that he’d overreacted. And Ethan was transitioning into the CEO position at Watts Shipping, replacing their father who planned to retire in the next year. Why wouldn’t his brother take these various cyber threats seriously?

“But she was dressed like a...like a...” It wasn’t like him to grapple for words, but the whole encounter had a surreal quality to it.

“Disney princess?” Ethan offered, one corner of his mouth kicking up. “Specifically Rapunzel from Tangled.”

“Okay, but you never answered my question. Where did you meet her?” Paul persisted, making no attempt to rein in his skepticism. Ethan’s persistent caginess was a red flag. “What do you know about her?”

When meeting people for the first time, Paul tended to assess them like it was an investigation and often struggled to give them the benefit of the doubt. Did that mean he was suspicious by nature? Probably. But if that’s what it took to keep his family safe, then so be it.

“Can you stop thinking like a cop for two seconds?” Ethan complained.

Paul bristled. It wasn’t only Grady who hadn’t supported his decision to join the Charleston PD after college and several years later start his cybersecurity business.

“What’s her angle?”

“She doesn’t have one. She’s exactly like she seems.”

Paul snorted. A cosplay fanatic? “What else do you know about her?”

“I don’t know,” Ethan complained, growing impatient. “She’s really nice and a great listener.”

“A great listener,” Paul echoed, guessing that Lia Marsh had taken advantage of Ethan’s distress over their grandfather’s illness. “I suppose you told her all about Grady and our family?”

“It’s not as if any of it is a huge secret.”

“Regardless. You brought a complete stranger, someone you know almost nothing about, to meet our dying grandfather.” Paul made no effort to temper his irritation. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking Grady might enjoy a visit from a sweet, caring person who has a beautiful singing voice.” Ethan gave him such a sad look. “Why do you always go to the worst-case scenario?”

Paul stared at his brother. Ethan behaved as if this explanation made all the sense in the world. Meanwhile, Paul’s relentless, logical convictions prevented him from grasping what sort of eccentricities drove Lia Marsh to parade around as a storybook character.

“She was dressed up. I just don’t understand...”

Ethan shrugged. “It’s what she does.”

“For a living?”

“Of course not,” Ethan countered, showing no defensiveness at all in the face of his brother’s sarcasm. In fact, he looked fairly smug as he said, “She dresses up and visits sick children. They love her.”

Paul cursed. Actually, that was a damned nice thing to do.

“How did you meet her?”

Ethan frowned. “I’m a client.”

“What sort of a client?”

“None of this matters.” Ethan exhaled. “Lia is great and your trust issues are getting old.”

A heavy silence fell between the brothers as Paul brushed aside the criticism and brooded over Ethan’s caginess. He hated being at odds with his brother and wasn’t sure how to fix the disconnect. With less than a year between them in age, he and Ethan had been tight as kids despite their differing interests and passions. Paul was fascinated by technology and could spend hours alone, turning electronic components into useful devices, while Ethan was more social and preferred sports over schoolwork.

Both had excelled through high school and into college. And while they’d never directly competed over anything, once Paul decided against joining the family business, a subtle tension started growing between the siblings.

“You might as well tell me what’s going on because you know I’ll investigate and find out exactly who Lia Marsh is.”

Lia Marsh blew out a sharp breath as she cleared the hospital room and fled down the empty hallway, noting her thudding heart and clammy palms. While Ethan hadn’t glossed over his brother’s suspicious nature, she hadn’t been prepared for Paul’s hostility or the way his annoyance heightened his already imposing charisma. Unaccustomed to letting any man get under her skin, Lia studied the phenomenon like she would a fresh scratch on her beloved camper trailer, Misty. Unexpected and undesirable.

Usually her emotions were like dandelion fluff on the wind, lighter than air and streaked with sunshine. She embraced all the joy life had to offer and vanquished negativity through meditation, crystal work and aromatherapy, often employing these same spiritual healing tools with her massage clients. Not all of them bought into new age practices, but some surprised her with their interest. For instance, she never imagined a businessman like Ethan Watts opening his mind to ancient spiritual practices, but his curiosity demonstrated that it was never wise to prejudge people.

Someone should share that warning with Paul Watts. He’d obviously jumped to several conclusions from the instant he’d spotted her in his grandfather’s hospital room. The unsettling encounter left her emotions swirling in a troubling combination of excitement and dread, brought on by a rush of physical attraction and her aversion to conflict.

Distracted by her inner turmoil, Lia found it impossible to sink back into her role of Rapunzel as she stole along the corridor lit by harsh fluorescent lights. Her gaze skimmed past gray walls and bland landscapes. Recycled air pressed against her skin, smelling of disinfectant. She longed to throw open a window and invite in sunshine and breezes laden with newly cut grass and bird song. Instead, she dressed up and visited sick children, offering a much-needed diversion.

Heading down the stairs to the third-floor pediatric wing, Lia collected her tote bag from the nurses’ station. Since signing up to volunteer at the hospital these last few months, she’d been a frequent visitor and the children’s care staff had grown accustomed to her appearances. They appreciated anything that boosted their patients’ spirits and gave them a break from the endless rounds of tests or treatments.

The elevator doors opened and Lia stepped into the car. She barely noticed the mixed reactions of her fellow passengers to her outfit. Minutes later Lia emerged into the late afternoon sunshine. She sucked in a large breath and let it out, wishing she could shake her lingering preoccupation with her encounter with Paul Watts. Lia picked up her pace as if she could outrun her heightened emotions.

The traffic accident that had totaled her truck and damaged her beloved camper had compelled her to move into a one-bedroom rental on King Street until she could afford to replace her vehicle. Her temporary living arrangement was a twenty-minute walk from the hospital through Charleston’s historic district. She focused on the pleasant ambience of the antebellum homes she passed, the glimpses of private gardens through wrought iron fencing, and savored the sunshine warming her shoulders.

Caught up in her thoughts, Lia barely noticed the man leaning against the SUV parked in front of her apartment until he pushed off and stepped into her path. Finding her way blocked, her pulse jumped. Lia had traveled the country alone since she was eighteen and had good instincts when it came to strangers. Only this was someone she’d already met.

Paul Watts had the sort of green eyes that reminded her of a tranquil pine forest, but the skepticism radiating from him warned Lia to be wary. Despite that, his nearness awakened the same buzz of chemistry that she’d noticed in the hospital room.

He wasn’t at all her type. He was too obstinate. Too grounded. Merciless. Resolute. Maybe that was the attraction.

“You were hard to find,” Paul declared.

Ethan had told her Paul was a former cop who now ran his own cybersecurity business. She suspected his single-minded focus had stopped a high number of cybercriminals. Her skin prickled at the idea that he’d do a deep dive into her background where things lurked that she’d prefer remained buried.

“And yet here you are,” she retorted, dismayed that he’d run her down in the time it had taken her to walk home.

She wasn’t used to being on anyone’s radar. To most of her massage clients she was a pair of hands and a soothing voice. The kids at the hospital saw only their favorite princess character. She relished her anonymity.

“Is everything all right with Grady?”

“He’s fine.” Paul’s lips tightened momentarily as a flash of pain crossed his granite features. “At least he isn’t any worse.”

“I didn’t know him before his stroke, but Ethan said he was strong and resilient. He could still pull through.”

“He could,” Paul agreed, “except it’s as if he’s given up.”

“Ethan mentioned he’d become obsessed with reuniting with his granddaughter these last few years,” Lia said. “Maybe if you found her—”

“Look,” Paul snapped. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but you need to stay away from my grandfather.”

“I’m not up to anything,” Lia insisted, pulling her key out of her bag as she angled toward the building’s front door. “All I want to do is help.”

“He doesn’t need your help.”

“Sure. Okay.” At least he hadn’t barred her from connecting with Ethan. “Is that it?”

She’d unlocked the door and pushed it open, intending to escape through it when Paul spoke again.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious how I found you?” he asked, his vanity showing. Given her minimal electronic footprint, tracking her down left him puffed up with pride. No doubt he wanted to brag about his prowess.

Despite the agitation making her heart thump, Lia paused in the doorway and shot him a sidewise glance. While Paul exuded an overabundance of confidence and power, she wasn’t without strengths of her own. She would just have to combat his relentlessness with freewheeling flirtation.

While teasing Paul was a danger similar to stepping too near a lion’s cage, Lia discovered having his full attention was exhilarating.

“Actually.” Pivoting to face him, Lia summoned her cheekiest smile. Everything she’d heard from Ethan indicated that Paul was ruled by logic rather than his emotions. Challenging the cybersecurity expert to confront his feelings was bound to blow up in her face. “I’m more intrigued that you wanted to.”