Risk It Read online

  “Why not?” Rand was leaning against the table once more, his arms crossed, his manner mildly curious, while Dani was now somehow over by one of his display cases, her feet apparently knowing to create a distance that her brain was still grappling with. There were dozens more crystal trinkets here, and she wondered about them. Rand didn’t seem like a collector. At least not of this kind of thing.

  “Who decorates for you?” she asked, gesturing toward all of the expensive junk. “Your mom?”

  “You don’t like it?” The bored drawl in his voice bolstered her, giving her a strength she was irritated to realize she needed. “I’ve been told it makes me seem more human.”

  “Good luck with that.” She ran her fingers over the little figurines, each of them perfect and precise, just like the man himself. And completely whimsical, which was not at all like the man himself. Dani turned to see Rand watching her with his challenging eyes, assessing her position. They both knew that she was ready to bolt. They also both knew that Rand wasn’t going to tackle her to the ground, no matter how intense the attraction was between them. As she watched him, his eyebrows slowly drifted up. Okay, maybe she didn’t know whether or not Rand would tackle her to the ground. And maybe she didn’t want to think too much about how that made her feel. “It’s been a true pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Winston.”

  “I think, under the circumstances, you should call me Rand.”

  “Rand, then.” Dani nodded. “But I can see myself out.”

  He tilted his head, but if he was surprised or disappointed at her abruptness, he didn’t show it. It wasn’t until she slid the letter opener out of her purse and waved it at him that a flicker of interest slid across his face. He’d expected her to take it. And why wouldn’t he? He’d read her file. And against her better judgment, she nearly had taken the damned thing, too. A crack of far-off thunder drew her attention to the drenched cityscape outside and she allowed herself a smile. Must be the altitude up here; not enough oxygen for her. “Almost forgot that I had this,” she said, setting the platinum-and-diamond-studded blade down on the table next to her, deliberately at an awkward angle to the perfectly positioned crystal bowl and lamp. It must look jarringly out of place to someone with a IV after his name. The thought cheered her.

  Rand didn’t try to stop her as she exited his office, the door to which was fortunately only locked from the inside. He didn’t say anything at all, in fact, and she felt the familiar rush of satisfaction, also spiced by the familiar taste of danger. This man was bad for her. He made her want to do foolish things.

  But if they were foolish things that he couldn’t catch, well…

  She’d made it all the way to the outer office when she glanced over to the lights on Pearson’s desk. They were flashing red now, but she didn’t think too much about that, given that the woman was gone and there was no one manning the phones. Then she punched the elevator button, and that flashed red as well.

  Flashing red elevator buttons were never good.

  Shit.

  Dani turned to see Rand silhouetted in the doorway of his office, the rain still pounding the glass of the windows behind him. It looked really cold out there, cold and wet. Which wasn’t going to be any fun at all, she had a feeling.

  “Miss Michaels, it appears you have removed something from my office.” He held up the letter opener. “I’d thought I’d been quite clever, watching you as closely as I was. But once again, you have proven me wrong.”

  Dani shrugged. “Score one for the con.” By his own admission, Rand hadn’t been the one to catch her. The flashing lights on Pearson’s desk console must be some sort of tech, quite a few levels up from the jobs she usually ran. And who microchipped crystal bunnies anyway, for the love of God?

  Still, that didn’t mean she had to give in gracefully. He wanted to find the silly thing, that was on him.

  Dani lifted her chin as Rand approached, his gaze drifting over her. She felt its scorching heat as he lingered on her neck, her breasts, her legs. “Now where could you have hidden something of mine?” he murmured. “Not your purse, I think. Too simple.”

  That did make her smile. “Simple is sometimes smart.”

  “And nobody would accuse you of not being smart—usually. And yet, you could have just walked away from my office without any memento at all, and guaranteed that you’d never see me again. Why didn’t you do that, I wonder?” Rand was close enough now to touch her, and he lifted his left hand to Dani’s temple, sliding it down until his fingers rested lightly on her neck, just over the point where her pulse was thumping quickly. Rand’s smile was all the acknowledgment he gave of her reaction, but it was his other hand she focused on as he traced the collar of her zip-fronted dress down, down, until his fingers caressed the small chrome pull between her breasts.

  “I seem to recall this was zipped down just slightly farther,” he said. “You’ll forgive me if I notice such things.” And with a quick, efficient move, he dipped his fingers into the vee of her neckline and drew out the tiny crystal rabbit, holding it up to the light. His gaze never left hers, however. If he’d tracked the spike in her pulse when his soft fingers had grazed her breasts, he gave no indication.

  Dani smiled coolly, also not breaking eye contact. “Well, you got me. Losers walk, so I’m outtie.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple as that.”

  Rand’s voice was deliberately slow, lazy. As if he knew with each passing word her tension level would ratchet up a notch. “The system is alarmed to notify security automatically in the event of any breach, and given the nature of the work we do here, a uniformed police officer is on duty at all times. Those individuals are even now on their way up to arrest you, as a matter of standard procedure. I can call them off, of course. And I’m more than happy to do so.” His smile grew a little more certain, and Dani felt her back go up. “In exchange for dinner.”

  She blinked at him, startled. “You’re going to have me arrested if I don’t go out with you?”

  “Not at all.” Rand bent closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’m going to have you arrested for attempting to steal an item of extreme sentimental value from me. You will spend the night in jail as I decide what charges I’m willing to press for such a violation of my trust and my personal sense of security.” His lips twisted cynically, but the interest in his eyes was very real. He weighed the small crystal rabbit in his hand as if it were gold bullion. “Or, if you agree to have dinner with me, I’ll call off the police. It’s your choice.”

  Dani sighed and shook her head, then leaned up on her toes to caress Rand’s lips with hers and cup his chin with her hand. He really did have the most unbelievably beautiful mouth, she thought. It fit the rest of his criminally gorgeous face to a tee. She sighed as she eased back down on her platform heels, her fingers dropping to trace his lapel, smoothing his perfect suit against his perfect body. Then she smiled and met his gaze again, noting the hard, intense shot of victory in his eyes.

  “I’ll take my chances in jail.”

  Chapter 3

  Dani had always suspected that getting arrested would be a classier experience if you were rich. She was right. Even the metal handcuffs had seemed a little less intrusive when the officer slid them around her wrists, almost apologetically, while his buddy had taken down Rand’s statement as someone with a IV after his name tried to explain his outrage and dismay over the attempted theft of a crystal bunny rabbit.

  It almost made it worth it—hell, what was she thinking? Listening to Rand describe her theft of the tiny trinket had totally been worth a night in jail.

  As she’d been read her rights, she’d felt his gaze on her. Still, she hadn’t given him the satisfaction of looking back. She’d kept her glance averted, her manner cool and assured. Part of that was to show how little she cared about getting arrested; which, in fact, she didn’t. Lou would be pissed, because she’d be missing her shift. But Lou was always pissed. Jimmy would probably call her at least six or seven more times, but he’d get over it. And she hadn’t been kidding: taking her chances in jail had seemed a hell of a lot safer than spending even another five minutes with Rand Sterling Winston IV.

  There was just something so disturbing about the man, something that had snuck up on her when she wasn’t looking and planted itself in her brain. In the space of only a few minutes, she’d gotten to the point where she couldn’t even look at him without fearing she’d betray how much she wanted him, how much she yearned to feel his hands hard and sure over her body, her legs wrapped around his hips.

  Easy girl. Even now, sitting in the middle of the Boston PD’s holding area, she could feel sweat beading between her shoulder blades, and she knew her breathing had gone a little ragged. She forced herself to focus on the fact that her hands were cuffed not by Golden Boy, but by the boys in blue, and her night held nothing more exciting than a long and tedious paperwork shuffle in and out of cells.

  Still, there was no denying it: She’d won.

  She was the one in jail, yes. But she’d still won.

  Because Rand hadn’t gotten what he wanted, and she hadn’t given in. She hadn’t really wanted to—the idea of dinner with the man had zero appeal. Sex? Again, that was an entirely different prospect, and had kept her sufficiently warm throughout this cold-ass night. She had a feeling it was going to keep her warm for quite a few more nights, too, and she looked forward to that as much as she looked forward to getting the hell out of jail.

  She might as well get comfortable, though. She sure as shit wasn’t going to call Erin and ruin her evening. Besides, as long as she kept her focus, no one would try anything here. Even in the designer dress, which probably cost more than two months’ worth of tips at the bar, she looked like what she was. A st
reet rat crawling just above her station, happy for the blast of fresh air—even if it meant she had to take the hit of the oncoming car to get it.

  “Michaels.”

  Dani looked up at the uniformed officer, who was unlocking the cage. “Charges dropped,” he said, ignoring the outcries, questions, and demands from the other cell occupants as he led her out of the room and down the hall. “The arrest will stay on your record, but you’re free to go. You can pick up your things at that window.” He pointed down the hallway and Dani nodded, glancing back at him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped just in time. What was she thinking? That Rand would give the man additional instructions, like “have her look for the limo out front?” Regaining control over herself, she offered the cop a tired smile, then moved to gather her personal effects.

  Rand might have been entertained by her this evening—certainly he’d been somewhat entertained, or he wouldn’t have sprung her so quickly—but being entertained was a far cry from continuing to dog her heels. He’d be on to the next girl quickly enough, or return to the Ice Princess who’d accompanied him the night of the gallery show. Dani’s mind lingered a little too long on the woman, an unexpected pang of jealousy spearing through her. She was everything Dani wasn’t—rich, for one, but also totally above it all, chillingly perfect. Is that what Rand was attracted to? A frigid flawlessness that matched his own?

  Well, perhaps frigid wasn’t quite the right word.

  Dani pushed that thought away as she stepped out of the front of the precinct building with a wary glance, instantly regretting her lack of a coat. The rain had finally stopped, thank God, but the overnight temperatures were plummeting, and it was well past midnight.

  There was no limo in sight, as she’d fancifully imagined, so she hailed a cab. Since this was the precinct house, there was one waiting at the front, and the guy knew enough not to look at her with too much curiosity. Smart man. She wasn’t far from the club, but she felt grimy, out of sorts. And cold. As it was, she’d be late for her shift, but late might still count for something with Lou. She hoped.

  She pulled out her phone as the cab moved through the frozen, slick landscape, and it jangled in her hand. For once, it wasn’t Jimmy. Almost as bad, but at least she’d get to test her theory.

  She fit the phone to her ear as she connected the call. “Sorry I’m late. Just got out of jail,” she said, smiling at the abrupt, shocked silence on the other end of the line. Once again: so worth it.

  “Who posted your bail?” Lou’s voice was curious, not even a trace of anger in his gruff question, and Dani unwound a little more.

  “Charges dropped. You got coverage tonight or do you still need me?” For just a second, Dani considered the possibility that she could take her fake Choos and go home. “Sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

  “Yeah, the cops don’t usually let you check in to work when they’re busy hauling your ass downtown. But to answer your question: I got no coverage, I got nothing. And for whatever reason, we’ve got people hanging from the rafters here tonight. I could use the help, if you didn’t get shivved in the big house or anything.”

  Dani frowned at her phone. Lou wasn’t the biggest asshole she’d worked for in Boston, but that didn’t make him a saint, either. And he was being awfully polite for a boss whose number one bartender had been AWOL throughout a busy night. “Ummm…Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Just get here.” The phone went dead, and Dani sighed, pocketing it as a new concern shifted through her. Rand, staring at her across the room, his eyes predatory. Not the kind of man used to being denied, even when he was asking for something inane. Was he following her even now?

  Instinctively, she turned around in her seat, but there was no way to tell if the lights of the cars behind them had been there all along, and the cabdriver looked half-asleep himself. Still, what if Rand had been waiting for her outside the precinct lockup, just to see where she would go? How much did he really know about her? Or she about him, for that matter?

  Oh, give it a break. Dani rubbed her hand over her face. No way would he be at the club tonight, either way. Lou would have warned her off if someone strange had come in sniffing around for her. He’d just sounded peeved at the crowd, not worried. Either way, Dani wasn’t used to feeling like she was second-guessing her every move. Rand had gotten under her skin, and the man wasn’t even around to gloat.

  They swung onto a familiar street, and the taxi angled to the side, the driver half-turning as Dani pulled out a twenty. “Keep it,” she said as the man’s eyes widened at his unexpected tip. “Shitty night.”

  She prayed it wouldn’t get any worse.

  Walking through Club Noir was like descending through the nine circles of hell. The deeper you got into the place, the darker and more twisted it became. Dani’s station was at the last bar in the public section, before the club devolved into a VIP no-alcohol zone, with private rooms for private parties to party, privately. Patrons could be served, but only if they brought their own liquor in ahead of time, and they typically tipped well, so it worked out all around. All that aside, the main attraction of the club was its public dance floor and multistage bar areas, and that’s where the crowds tended to be. Well before she even got to her station, Dani could see why Lou had been so insistent that she come in tonight. The place was crawling with clubbers writhing to the house beat, their frantic pulsing almost desperate and the club stifling hot after the sharp chill of the weather outside.

  “What’s the deal?” she shouted to her backup, a beautiful goth girl whose piercings teetered just on the edge of pain freak.

  “No clue.” The girl shook her head. She poked a thumb to the corner. “You got company, though.”

  Dani turned to where she was pointing, a wild flare of excitement punching her hard. When she saw who was waiting for her in the darkness at the end of the bar, however, her stomach knotted up. Jimmy. No wonder Lou was on her ass to come in. She nodded her thanks to Shae and pulled a beer, setting it on the counter in front of her baby brother before responding to a string of demands.

  Finally, she worked her way back over to him, dropping her elbows onto the bar top. She leaned down until he looked up at her. Jimmy was so good-looking he almost took your breath away, if not for the wild-ass crazy look in his eye, the product of one too many beatings delivered by one too many assholes. They’d come up together in the system, thrown together as brother and sister, and through some miracle they’d been able to stick together through two horrific households before the last one happened to them. The one that had changed everything, in some ways…but still not nearly enough.

  Nevertheless, Jimmy had almost made it out, and now that he finally had a reason to go for it—a real shot at a family—Dani couldn’t let him backslide.

  “Hey, little bro,” she said, giving him a smile she actually meant. “What can I get you?”

  “Not you—me.” Lou had come up during a break in the action. He pounded Jimmy on the back, and Dani didn’t miss Jimmy’s wince, though to his credit, he didn’t say anything. “I’m giving your friend here a job. Barback, starting tonight. You train him, and maybe I won’t throw you out for trying to get out of your shift tonight by way of the police.”

  “Barback!” Dani frowned down at Jimmy. “What the hell? What happened to your corporate gig—”

  “Need a second job,” Jimmy said, his eyes rounding in the way that Dani knew from long experience was her cue to shut up. “Family, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She turned and smiled at Lou, hiding her concern behind a wide and easy grin. “I’ll get him up to speed.”

  “You do that,” Lou said. “And come talk to me before you leave this morning. There’s work coming out of my ears, doll, and I need your help.”

  She nodded, then watched the round man amble off. He clapped a few regulars on the shoulders even as he stayed clear of the younger crowd practically vibrating off the walls. When she swung her gaze back to Jimmy however, she knew she wasn’t going to get any answers out of him. His face had completely shut down, his gaze now sullen, withdrawn. Back on his beer.

  Fine by her. He’d talk when he was ready. And as soon as she figured out what was happening that was so bad that he was willing to work night and day instead of spending every second with his wife and his new, beautiful baby girl, she’d find a way to fix it.