“Then what do you expect?” She asked, knowing she should just walk out, but afraid to do so.
Kane stood up and came a single step closer to her. “Think about my proposition. A few days in the Caymans with me. I promise there will be no demands made of you, other than you spend some time with me eating wonderful food, laying on the beach, swimming in crystal clear water. Most people pay quite a lot of money for a vacation like that.”
“And if I agree, you’ll make sure that this information about Red never becomes a problem. You won’t ever release it to anybody?”
He looked her straight in the eye. “I swear I won’t ever put it out there. And it could be very bad for him if anything ever did get out. Homeland Security in particular would be very interested.”
“Would they?” she said. “Why would Homeland Security care about what Red was doing?”
“He was helping undocumented workers from Middle Eastern countries gain access to the U.S. through employment with his company.”
“Why would he do that?” Nicole asked. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“You’d have to ask him why he did it,” Kane told her, turning and walking toward the window that overlooked the dance floor. “Maybe Red Jameson isn’t the man you believe him to be.”
Nicole was spinning from everything Kane had just told her. His threats and promises buzzed around in her head like a swarm of bees. “I think I should go home now,” she said.
He nodded. “Let me get Jeffrey to drive you.”
“You’ve got to be joking.”
Suddenly Kane broke into a boyish grin. “Of course I’m joking, Nicole. Besides, Jeffrey’s having some problems with his driver’s license right about now. I’ll have my personal driver take you home instead.”
Kane took his cell phone out and texted something rapid fire. Then he looked up at Nicole. “Think about my offer,” he said.
She chewed a little on her lower lip, thinking about what two or three days alone with Kane would be like. There was no way she could ever be attracted to him. In fact, she could hardly stand to be in his physical presence.
On the other hand, if he kept to his word about this trip, all she would have to do is grit her teeth and bear it. Make conversation, go swimming, eat a few meals with him. She’d of course stay in her own room—that was a deal breaker.
And when it was over, Red would be safe again. Except that she had no idea if Kane Wright would honor the agreement.
“I’m just not sure I can trust you,” she said.
“What have you got to lose?” Kane asked.
“A lot,” she said, her eyes locking on his. “Just because I’m not rich like you, doesn’t mean I have nothing to lose.”
“Here’s my cell number,” he said, handing her a business card. “Don’t answer now. Sleep on it tonight.”
Nicole didn’t even look at his card—she just thrust it into her purse.
Kane walked her out of the room and down the hallway, into the stairwell. As they descended, he gently put a hand on the small of her back. Nicole almost told him not to touch her, but decided it wasn’t worth it.
His gesture made her miss Red all the more. If Red were here, he’d be cracking jokes. She’d welcome his strong firm hand on her back or around her waist.
Kane Wright might be conventionally handsome, but he was all wrong for her. And the worst part was, he didn’t much care. He was one of those men so used to getting what he wanted that it never occurred to him whether or not someone else felt the way he did. It was enough that he was “taken” with her, now he would find a way to force her to feel the same about him.
When they reached the street level, she turned and looked at him. “You know, there’s consequences to how you treat people, Kane. I think you’re going to find that out the hard way.”
Before he could reply, she opened the door and quickly made her way to the limousine waiting curbside.
And then she was taken home.
***
She’d been having a dream about Red—she knew that much. And then she was suddenly awake, heart pounding, feeling he was right next to her. She could remember every single sensation of his body next to hers in bed, how it was to wake up next to him in the mornings. The way he smelled, the way his curly black hair fell onto the pillow, his body sprawling out across the sheets.
Nicole half expected to see him turning over onto his back and grinning at her with sleepy eyes. Pulling her across the gap and into his arms.
She sat up in bed and tried to calm down, as if she were recovering from a nightmare. Only she realized the nightmare was her reality. In the dream, she and Red had been together again, happy again, ready to spend their lives with one another.