Undercover Fiancee

For some time his subconscious had sensed she was getting too involved. He should have done something about it sooner, but he’d been too driven by the pain of Annabelle’s rejection to act on those instincts.

At that point he confessed that he was in love with someone else and had been for a long time. He was sorry if he’d hurt Caroline. Under the circumstances this separation was for the best. He hoped she would be able to forgive him and get on with her life.

As for Rand, he could no longer deny the truth to himself or anyone else. Annabelle was his heart and soul. If the Fates were kind, he would get her back in his life for good.

On that note he gave his bike more gas, his thoughts flicking to the angry customers out there ready to vent their spleen on the powers that be at Dunbarton’s. After arriving in Salt Lake and talking to his manager, Rand had hired a local telephone engineer to hook up a phone line which could be patched through to the main office where he was working alone.

The service people on duty for Dunbarton’s had no idea he was in town, let alone what was going on. He could imagine their surprise at such a quiet night, especially when there would be no explanation for it.

So far he’d answered fifteen calls, eleven of them complaints about the wretched way they’d been treated on Dunbarton’s software lines within the last week. Naturally he wasn’t about to let any of those patrons know they weren’t alone in their frustration.

The criminal out there doing his best to ruin Rand’s company had already created minor havoc in the Salt Lake region. To Rand’s chagrin he wouldn’t be able to put out any fires, not until he had answers to several questions. Chief among them was whether the hacker worked independently or was part of a ring intent on infiltrating his company which had service centers from coast to coast.

He supposed the person responsible could have picked Dunbarton’s on a whim, but Rand couldn’t help wondering if it wasn’t a troubled former employee who had been let go from the Salt Lake service center at one time or other and was out for revenge.

That kind of retaliation was common enough. Just tonight the headlines in the Salt Lake Tribune had announced Utah Steel’s plan to lay off several hundred employees. Two hours later all the TV channels were covering a warehouse fire on Utah Steel’s property. So far an estimated million dollars in damage had been done by a pipe bomb.

As far as Rand knew, there had been no sign of trouble at any other Dunbarton plants in the country, but he wasn’t ruling out that possibility, and had his top people working on the problem right now.

Much as he hated to admit it, Salt Lake could be the first in a series of problems. That was one of the reasons he was here. To get a handle on what was going on and begin damage control.

But if the truth be known, he’d come for Annabelle. He’d never gotten her out of his system. When word came that the Salt Lake customer service center was having problems, Rand had leaped at the chance to fly here himself.

For the first time in a year he actually exulted over the trouble in his company because it provided him with a legitimate excuse to see her again.

Through a mutual friend on the Phoenix police force, he found out she’d gone to work in Salt Lake as a PI. While on the plane he came up with the plan to hire her to help solve the crisis. He was desperately in love with her and always would be. No matter how long it took, or what he had to go through, one day she would be his wife.

If she needed a dangerous career to make her happy, then so be it. That issue was no longer important as long as they could be together. Asking her to collaborate on his case would prove that he had changed, that he accepted her desire to work at a high-risk job because it made her happy.

But wanting her back and getting her back were two different things. She’d had a year to harden. Softening her up wasn’t going to be easy. Today would set the tone for the way things were going to go until she ran willingly into his arms once more.

He had no idea how long it would take, but he recognized that infinite patience would play the key role in obtaining his heart’s desire. Rand couldn’t afford to make one wrong move. Otherwise he’d lose the only thing that truly mattered to him...

He waited until she was out of sight, then headed toward the main highway. When he reached the turnoff, he opened up. Before long he was passing a lot of semitrucks and the occasional four-wheel drive full of teenagers anxious to get in some late spring skiing.

As his cycle ate up the miles, the cool mountain air cleared his lungs and his head. He experienced a feeling of well-being. Annabelle had the right idea. Nature had a way of putting things into perspective.

Whether. she liked it or not, she was part of that perspective.

At the thought, a sly smile broke out on his face and stayed there all the way to the old mining town of Park City which had been turned into a playground for the rich and famous.

The place seemed crowded, even for a weekday. Two blocks up the main street and he spied her BMW parked between two vans in front of the Dairy Freeze.

Rand rode around the corner and found a spot for his cycle. Wedging his helmet under his arm, he strode across the street. The local hamburger stand appeared to be a favorite retreat for teenagers.

After a cursory glance, he found her in the last booth and took the seat opposite her. “I ordered for both of us when I first came in,” she announced. “Two bacon deluxes, French fries and a chocolate malt. I hope that’s what you wanted.”

“I’m glad to see you still remember.”

Her head was bowed. “Rand? Shall we talk about your case? The only reason we’re together now is to try and figure out who is sabotaging your company and stop them. I know how much your company means to you, because of your dad.”

“You’re right. We were a very tight team. When he suffered that fatal embolism two years ago, I felt like I’d lost my best friend.”

He noticed she wasn’t saying anything. Good. He had her full attention.

“One of the reasons I wanted you to work with me on this case is because you understand things no one else does.” The waitress chose that moment to bring their food. “We connected on a very basic level from the first moment you arrived at the building to find that bomb.”

She took a long sip of the cola she’d ordered, then raised her head. “I think it would better to leave the past alone. By the way, while I was sitting here, I remembered some important business I have to do downtown. Why don’t you stay where you are and finish your lunch in peace.

“Since I assume you know my address, let’s plan to meet back at my house in an hour. We’ll discuss your case there. How does that sound?”

“An hour it is.”

Rand fought to contain his excitement. He’d purposely brought up the past to satisfy a hunch that she still had feelings for him. Judging by her behavior, the past was too painful for her to get into. That was all he needed to know.

As she started to walk away with her hamburger in hand, she paused to say, “When you’ve finished your meal, have a fun ride down the canyon, but a word of warning. Every trucker in America knows Parley’s is a death trap. In case you lose your brakes, there’s a road for runaway vehicles about halfway back on your left.”

He practically fell out of the booth. “Thanks for the inside information, sweetheart.”

“Since I read about the expansion of your company in Today’s Fortune, and found out you’re worth another ten million dollars since the last time I saw you, I realize you’re the wealthiest client I’ve ever worked for. I wouldn’t want to lose you now. I need a good bonus so I can take my trip to Florida next January.”

So that’s where she’d gone.

“By the way. Lunch is on LFK. Enjoy.”

I’m going to enjoy it all right. And then I’m going to enjoy something else even more.

In fact her mouth was about all he could think about as he roared out of Park City a half hour later. Catching the culprit responsible for the mayhem on his support lines might take weeks. Anything could happen while he fought to win Annabelle’s love all over again.

If his cycle had wings, he’d be flying about now because in a little while he’d be alone with her in the house she’d grown up in.

He’d driven past it yesterday, but he’d never been inside. Before he could take the time to visit Salt Lake with her, their engagement had ended in disaster. But that was history.

Rand realized he’d been given a second chance to make things work between them. As far as he was concerned, that meant being with her day and night, for as long as it took. After a year’s deprivation, he found her more beautiful, more desirable than ever.

Being with her made him feel like a much younger man in the throes of first love where anything and everything was possible.

He would never let her go again...

Once back in the city, Annabelle stopped at the police station to finish up some paperwork. With that accomplished she headed home, willing her heart to stop hammering because Rand would be meeting her there shortly. But where he was concerned she discovered she couldn’t dictate the state of her emotions.

As she turned onto her street, she could hear the bleeping of her house siren rending the air. Rand must have beaten her home and had started poking around her property.

She grinned, wishing she could have seen the look on his face when he triggered the alarm.

The siren was set to go off if someone stepped on either her front or back porch, or approached any windows. Roman had rigged her home with a dozen different devices so she’d feel safe. It shut off after thirty seconds, just long enough for everyone to look out their windows and see what was going on.

By now the neighbors were used to it, and her friends had learned to call first before dropping in. But it always gave any delivery people, or even the Girl Scouts selling cookies a good scare. That made her feel bad, but since she lived alone, she didn’t feel she had a choice but to protect herself.

The best part though was the first time Gerard had sneaked around her house at night unannounced, and it had gone off. After he’d recovered, he’d told her she’d better take out another insurance policy. The chances of a person suing her for giving them a heart attack were much greater than if they had slipped and fallen on the ice on her property.

He had a point, but she’d been putting it off.

As she pulled into her driveway she caught sight of Rand leaning against the brick wall at the back of the house, his arms folded.

When she got off her bike, she had to gaze a long way up to see his face. He’d never fit her image of a computer wizard, the nerdy kind of character in school who was painfully thin and wore glasses.

Rand’s big strong body, good looks and black curly hair put him in a class all by himself. He was her idea of male perfection. No other man came close.

CHAPTER THREE

NOW that she had arrived, Rand was trying not to laugh, but it was hard. The siren had caught him off guard and he’d let go with a belly laugh. He couldn’t remember laughing like that since before he and Annabelle had broken up.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.