Not-So-Secret Baby

He came close, his scent assaulting her, making it hard to keep her smile steady. “Thank you, my love.” He stood in front of her, lifted her chin with the back of his hand until their eyes met. She gasped when she saw the malice in his gaze. He was enjoying every second of this, her knowing he was going to hurt her. Hurt her badly.

He leaned down, touched her lips with his.

She let him kiss her, forced herself to kiss him back. The moment she increased the pressure, he pulled back, keeping the contact light, almost tender. And then he nipped her.

She gasped, stepped back.

Todd laughed. Turned away. “Nick, my man. Go on, get the hell out of here. Find that pretty dancer you like so much.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of bills, tossed them to Nick. “Take her somewhere nice. I won’t need you till tomorrow.”

Nick grinned, put the money in his pocket. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be here first thing.”

“Make it about nine. I have a feeling we’ll be sleeping in.”

“You got it. I’ll have the cell with me if you need me tonight.”

But Todd wasn’t listening. He’d turned his attention back to Jenny, dismissing Nick as effectively as if he’d shown him the door.

Jenny watched Nick out of the corner of her eye. He never looked back. The door closed with a click and Todd’s hand landed on her shoulder. He squeezed her there, squeezed hard enough to make her moan.

“You know where I want you,” he said, his voice low, soft, almost purring.

She swallowed. “Yes, sir.” Then she turned, headed toward the bedroom. She kept her head high, willed herself to stop trembling. But each step was more difficult than the last.

NICK WENT RIGHT to his room, to his bathroom, and started the shower. When he’d locked the door, he stripped, but before he got under the water, he pulled a small black pouch from under the sink. It looked like an iPod. He put the earphones on, pressed Play. But instead of the sounds of music, he heard a guttural laugh. Todd’s laugh.

The bug was in Todd’s living room. It was an extraordinary piece of equipment, built specifically to get by the sweeps of one of the world’s most efficient and sophisticated counter-surveillance experts. It, and three others, were the only microphones like it in the world.

Nick listened for all he was worth. He hoped they wouldn’t go to the bedroom. There were no bugs there. He’d put one inside Todd’s limo. The other was in Todd’s outer office. Nick had one more, but that bug hadn’t been successfully planted. It was to have been in Todd’s private office. The inner sanctum. But every time Nick had tried to put it there, something had stopped him. Something in the form of Henry Sweet.

He didn’t care at the moment. Not when he had to listen to Todd’s footsteps. Todd’s laughter.

Damn. Was that whimpering? Crying? Damn it, whatever he’d heard was gone. Todd had taken her out of range.

Nick couldn’t do a thing. Not at this stage of the game. But when it was over, the bastard would pay. Nick would kill him with his own two hands if he so much as raised a hand to Jenny.

Chapter Five

Jenny shifted on her seat, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt, but that wasn’t possible, even on the overstuffed chairs at Samarkand, Xanadu’s most exclusive restaurant, where Todd had taken her on their first date.

The waitresses, none of whom she recognized, still wore what they used to call Jeannie costumes: gold-brocade bras, white-silk harem pants, pointy-toed shoes. None of the women were more than a size six, and they were all stunning. The competition to work here was fierce because unlike most of the gourmet restaurants on the Strip, this place hired primarily women and the tips were astronomical. Only the cocktail waitresses in the high-roller suites made more.

Jenny had been right to wear her own horrifying outfit. The admiring glances from the mostly older men in the room gratified Todd, which mitigated his temper. Still, she felt naked, vulnerable in a way that would have brought tears to her eyes if she let it. But she had to be strong. For Patrick.

As the evening progressed and she adjusted to the truth of her captivity, she realized that what hurt the most was Nick’s complete turnabout. It just didn’t make sense. She couldn’t have been that wrong.

Somehow she had to get him somewhere they could talk. Somewhere outside of Todd’s reach. It wouldn’t be easy. God, it had taken so long for them to find all the cameras and microphones! And even when Nick was sure they’d found them all, it was still such a huge risk. To both of them.

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