He turned to her. She was beautiful when she was angry, and looking at her didn"t do a d.a.m.n thing for his resolve to walk away. Her cheeks were flushed with color. Her mouth was wet and chafed with whisker burns. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume, and at that moment, he"d never wanted anyone more in his entire life.
Reaching out, he touched the side of her face and brushed his knuckles across her cheek, then lowered his hand to his side. "We seem destined to keep making the same mistake all over again."
"Neither of us meant for that to happen," she said.
"That doesn"t make it all right."
"We"re going to have to talk about this at some point."
He smiled, but it felt wooden on his face. He was frustrated and deeply disturbed about the entire situation. Worse, he was consumed with guilt because he knew how close he"d come to taking her up against the wall as if he were some l.u.s.t-crazed teenager.
Take care...Alison and Kevin...
Rick"s final words rang hollowly in Drew"s ears. He stared at Alison, need pulling him in one direction, guilt in another. He knew he was going to have to let her go. As much as he hated the thought, there was no other way to deal with the situation. The reality of that cut him like a tight band of concertina wire wrapped around his chest.
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
Alison was too busy to think about Drew. At least that was what she told herself. With her new job at Evans Yachts and Kevin"s doctor appointments-not to mention their impending move across the country-she didn"t have time for a relationship, especially a complicated one. She sure as h.e.l.l didn"t have time to spend her days pining for a man who was too d.a.m.n honorable for his own good. Drew Evans might know how to kiss a woman to distraction, but Alison was much too sensible to let that affect the decisions she made.
Frowning at the direction her thoughts had taken, she glanced down at her watch and realized with a start it was almost six o"clock. She hadn"t meant to stay at work so late, but time had gotten away from her. If she didn"t hurry, she was going to be late picking up Kevin at the day-care center.
Promising herself this would be her last late day, she decided to take some of her filing home with her to alphabetize. She dialed the number for the Happy Hippo Day-care Center to let them know she would be there in twenty minutes. The manager a.s.sured her that would give Kevin just enough time to finish up his current game of Candy Land.
Thunder rattled the windows as Alison shoved away from her desk. An area of low pressure had formed in the Caribbean and the weatherman was expecting it to strengthen and head north to Florida in the next day or so. Being a weather buff, she was actually looking forward to her first tropical storm-as long as it didn"t turn into anything too serious. She could already imagine she and Kevin snuggled on the sofa, listening to the wind and rain lash their cozy little house as they drank hot chocolate and lit candles just in case the electricity went out.
Unfortunately, the thought of candlelight only made her think of Drew. "Enough already," she muttered.
Rising, she tucked a handful of manila folders into her briefcase. Skimming her desk to make sure everything was in order, she slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. She was halfway there when several loud thumps sounded from the side door near the storage room. Alison paused and for a few long seconds she listened, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. It sounded as if someone had been pounding on the door. But in the midst of a downpour? she wondered. Not likely. Maybe a branch from the palm tree outside had fallen against it.
As she stood there listening to the rain and wind lash the building, Evans Yachts seemed utterly deserted, though she knew there was at least one security officer a.s.signed to the building and marina after hours. Seth had made it clear on her first day of work that security had been stepped up after the explosion.
"Oh, for Pete"s sake, stop being such a ninny," she said, but there was a note of uneasiness in her voice.
In the storage room, she engaged the security system, which gave her ninety seconds to get out the front door and lock it. Lingering just long enough to make sure the red light was blinking, she walked quickly to the front door, shoved it open and stepped out into the rain. Berating herself for having left her umbrella in her car this morning, she resigned herself to getting wet and engaged both locks.
Her car was parked at the side of the building. Holding her briefcase over her head to keep her hair from getting wet, she hightailed down the sidewalk. Just as she turned the corner, she caught a glimpse of a dark form moving toward her through the rain. She saw dark hair. Scruffy clothes. A dockworker, she thought, and relaxed marginally.
Still, she veered off the sidewalk to avoid getting too close. She was in the process of digging her keys from her purse when sudden movement caught her gaze. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the man lunge at her. She yelped, tried to run, but he grabbed her shirt and spun her around.
"Get away from me!" she screamed.
She caught a glimpse of something long and dark in his hand. Then sudden pain exploded on the right side of her head. She felt the impact of it snap her head back. The scream died in her throat. Dizziness a.s.sailed her. Vaguely she was aware of her knees buckling, the wet ground rushing up to meet her.
Abruptly, the world went still. Alison found herself lying on her back, looking up at the palm fronds against a slate-gray sky. Rain fell onto her face. Pain pounded in her head. Shock and confusion swirled in her brain. She felt the jittery stab of fear.
Slowly, the world came back into focus. She saw the man who"d hit her bend and scoop up her briefcase. She tried to get a look at him, but the rain was in her eyes, blurring her vision, pouring all around. All she could make out was his dark silhouette and a white flash of teeth when he smiled. Then with her briefcase in hand, he turned and sprinted across the parking lot.
Heart pounding, she struggled to a sitting position. Another spike of fear pierced her when she glanced over to see a man in a dark suit running toward her. Looking around wildly for her purse so she could grab her cell phone and dial 911, she scrambled to her feet.
"Don"t come any closer!" she screamed. "Get away from me!"
"Ms. Evans!" He worked a badge from his jacket pocket. "I"m with Net World Security. Just take it easy, okay?"
The man was middle-aged with black hair, and looked vaguely familiar. Relief skittered through her when she realized he was, indeed, one of the security officers she"d been introduced to earlier in the week.
"Are you all right?" He reached her, knelt at her side. "Are you hurt?"
She raised her hand to her head, winced at the size of the b.u.mp just behind her temple. "He hit me." She looked around, spotted her purse. "He took my briefcase."
The man was already on his cell phone, his eyes skimming the deserted parking lot. A shiver went through her when she spotted the gun in his other hand.
"Just stay down for a moment, okay?" he said to her.
But Alison felt too vulnerable on the ground and struggled to her feet, shaking her head against the quick swirl of dizziness. She couldn"t believe she"d just been mugged. She knew better than to put herself in situations like that. d.a.m.n it, why hadn"t she called security to escort her out?
But when she looked down and spotted her purse, she couldn"t help but wonder why a mugger had left it behind.
The security officer called Seth while Alison called the Happy Hippo Day-care Center. Her hands were shaking so badly, it took her two tries to dial the number to let them know she was going to be late picking up Kevin. By the time the police showed up, she was shaking so violently, her teeth were chattering. The first patrol officer on the scene draped a blanket around her shoulders while he took her statement, but it wasn"t enough to warm her or keep her from shaking.
The officer was just finishing up when Seth arrived. Alison thought she"d never seen him look quite so fierce. After a barrage of questions about the incident, he offered to drive her to the hospital, but Alison refused. All she wanted to do was pick up Kevin and go home.
"You could have a concussion," Seth said.
"I wasn"t knocked unconscious," she pointed out.
"You"ve got a b.u.mp the size of a goose egg."
In the end, the paramedic decided she would be fine-as long as someone kept an eye on her through the night.
"I"m taking you home," Seth said.
"I need my car."
"You"re not driving, Alison. Don"t be stubborn about this. I can have your car sent over to you."
"Seth, for goodness" sake, I need to pick up Kevin." She glanced at her watch and suddenly wanted very badly to hold her son.
"Where is he?" he asked, pulling his cell phone from a clip on his belt.
"The Happy Hippo Day-care Center over on Palm Avenue. But I don"t-"
"I"ll have Drew pick him up and meet us at your house."
Alison didn"t have the energy to argue. "I"ll need to call the day-care center to let them know it"s all right."
Seth handed her the phone, and she made the call. By the time she was finished a headache was beginning to pound. She"d skinned her knees in the fall and they were smarting like the d.i.c.kens. She felt cold and achy and just wanted her son and her home. She knew Drew wouldn"t appreciate his cousin putting him in such an untenable position, but she didn"t see a graceful way out of it.
Seth shoved his cell phone onto its clip. "All settled?"
"Everything is fine." But even though her nerves had begun to smooth out, a new kind of tension crept over her. As much as she didn"t want to admit it, she wasn"t sure how she felt about seeing Drew when she was so shaken. The part of her that wanted the comfort she knew only he could give her warred with the knowledge that her feelings weren"t necessarily reciprocated.
Drew"s truck was parked across the street from her house when Seth pulled into her driveway. Taking a deep breath, she got out of his BMW to see Drew and Kevin crossing the street toward her.
"Mommy!" Kevin cried.
"Hi, sweetheart," she said, hoping her voice sounded normal.
"Mrs. Duffy didn"t know why you were late, so we played three games of Candy Land and I won!"
"I"m sorry, kiddo. I just got...tied up with some things at the office." She hoped he wouldn"t notice her torn hose and skinned knees, but there was no hiding them.
"How come your knees are bleeding?" he asked, bending to stare at the sc.r.a.pes.
"Oh, well, I fell down at work."
"Boy, that musta hurt." He touched her knee with his finger. "Do you want me to put some medicine on them?"
She choked out a laugh, reached for him and dragged him close, squeezing him tightly. "I"d like that very much."
"Drew"s here, Mommy! He came to pick me up at Happy Hippo! Isn"t that cool?"
"Um, well." She looked over her son"s shoulder to see Seth and Drew talking at the end of the driveway. Drew looked over at her, then back to Seth. She couldn"t hear what they were saying, but she could tell Drew was angry. He had raised his voice and was gesturing vigorously.
"Why is Drew yelling?" Kevin asked.
Alison glanced over at them. Drew was a sight to behold when he was angry, and she thought it was a d.a.m.n good thing Seth could hold his own. "I don"t know, honey. Um, he and Seth are probably discussing business."
"He looks mad."
"Seth is his cousin. Sometimes family members have heated discussions."
But Kevin had already moved on to the next topic. "Can Drew stay for dinner, Mommy? If your knees hurt we could have pizza so you don"t have to cook."
"He might already have plans, honey," she said, easing her son to arm"s length.
"Well, we can ask him, though, can"t we?"
"Ask me what, sprout?"
Alison"s knees went weak at the sound of Drew"s voice. Kevin looked up at her, grinning from ear to ear, his innocent eyes beseeching. He mouthed the word "please" and her heart melted a little.
Clearing her throat, she mustered the courage to look at Drew. He was smiling, but she knew immediately it was only for her son"s benefit because there was fury in his eyes. "Kevin was just wondering if you"d like to stay for dinner. I was explaining to him that you"re probably busy-"
"I"d love to." His hand was gentle when he reached down and mussed Kevin"s hair.
"Yay!" Kevin shot out of her arms like a bottle rocket and threw his arms around Drew"s hips.
She watched Drew with her son and felt the tug of something warm and uncomfortable deep inside her. It was obvious Kevin cared deeply for Drew. She did, too, if she wanted to be truthful about it. But those two things were apparently more of a problem than a solution. Drew had demons to slay. Alison had a little boy to raise. The way things stood, those two things were irreconcilable.
Turning away from them, she fumbled her key into the lock and opened the door. Kevin shot past her and ran directly to his room. She heard Drew behind her and asked, "Where"s Seth?"
"He"s heading over to Evans Yachts to make sure the office is secure." Drew walked into the foyer. "He told me what happened. Are you all right?"
"I"m okay, just a little shaken up."
"I told him it wasn"t safe for you to be at Evans Yachts, d.a.m.n it. He had no right to offer you that job. You shouldn"t have been there alone."
Alison locked the front door then turned to face him, keenly aware that her heart was pounding. "I don"t want Kevin to know about this. I don"t want him upset."
His eyes swept down to her knees and she saw his jaw clench.
"It"s just a couple of sc.r.a.pes," she said.
"You should have gotten yourself checked out at the hospital."
"Now you sound like Seth."
"You could have been seriously hurt."
"I wasn"t."
He crossed to her, his expression set and angry. "I don"t want you working there anymore."
"I hate to point this out to you, Drew, but you"re not in charge of my life. I am."
"It"s not safe, d.a.m.n it."
"Life isn"t safe sometimes. For G.o.d"s sake, it was a random mugging. Get over it."
"It wasn"t random."
She stared at him, a ripple of uneasiness moving through her. "What are you talking about?"
"It"s...complicated. I need to fill you in on a couple of things."
She glanced toward Kevin"s room. "I don"t want him scared, so it"s going to have to wait until he goes to bed."