Intend To Seduce(41)

Sweat, cold and clammy, broke out on her skin. Mac couldn't move. For a moment, she couldn't even think. Clinging to the rope, she lifted her gaze from the ground, tried to focus on something else. Her vision grayed, the edges blurring with fear, but a movement at the edge of the vineyard registered. She made herself blink hard and saw Lucas at the edge of one of the rows of vines, if she could just stall Gil… Slowly, she lowered her eyes to his. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because your research is going to make you rich one day, and part of that money belongs to me. The school promised me time and money for my research. Then they hired you and decided to pour their money into your project. They even installed you in the lab they'd promised me."

Mac let out the breath she was holding and drew another in. She couldn't let herself look to see where Lucas was. She had to keep Gil's attention focused on her. "If you'd let me know, I would have done something."

"What?" Gil's laugh was bitter. "What would you have done? Would you have told me you were sorry? Or given up your work, moved somewhere else?"

She stared at him. The hatred she saw in his eyes was hot and lethal. Then he moved to the second anchor rope and began to twist it free. Mac fought against a fresh wave of dizziness as the ladder swung out and in.

"Lansing Biotech was going to pay me a half-million dollars for getting your signature on a contract. But you couldn't even do that."

"If you let Sophie go, I'll sign anything you want."

Gil twisted the freed anchor rope around his wrist, then grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder. Closing her eyes, Mac held on for dear life.

"No, I have a much better plan. I think that Lucas Wainright might pay handsomely for the safety of his sister, don't you?"

"No, I won't. Drop the gun."

Gil whirled around, one hand on the rope ladder, a gun in the other. He aimed it at Lucas. "Drop yours or I'll free the balloon, and your sister and Dr. Lloyd will go for a little ride all by themselves."

Lucas stopped dead in his tracks. "All right. I'm putting it down." Bending over, he placed his weapon on the ground. "We should talk about this. You're not going to accomplish anything by letting that balloon go."

Mac felt the balloon already struggling to rise, saw the anchor rope slipping free of Gil's wrist. Frozen with fear, she watched Gil place one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. He was going to climb up. The moment his other foot left the ground, they would be airborne.

"No," Lucas said as he moved forward.

A shot rang out.

The sound had the fear streaming through her, but Lucas didn't fall. Instead, he took another step forward.

"This time, I won't miss," Gil said as he steadied his aim.

Mac let go of the rope and jumped. She felt her body slam into Gil's, heard another shot ring out as they both tumbled to the ground. Then the blackness enveloped her.

*

Sophie sat on a crowded counter in Mac's kitchen, swinging her feet back and forth. "It's nice to see that everything's back to normal."

Mac looked up from the carrot she was shredding for Wilbur, then glanced around the room. It was perfectly back in order. When she'd thanked her landlord, he'd told her that someone from Wainright Enterprises had arranged to have it cleaned. Lucas.

Quickly, she pushed the name and all the images that came with it away and focused her gaze on Sophie. "Yes, everything's fine."

It was such a lie Mac wondered that her nose didn't grow three inches. Or that Sophie didn't hoot right out loud.

But all Sophie did was nod as she grabbed one of the carrots Mac was shredding. "Absolutely. Wilbur's happy you're back, you have that extra space in your lab you've always wanted, your hair's back in that unattractive bun, and you're wearing your old drab clothes. And, as a bonus, you're going to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for shredding five pounds of carrots in ten minutes flat."

Mac's gaze sharpened. She had a good idea where the conversation was leading, and she was going to head it off. "We agreed that we're not going to discuss your brother."

Sophie raised both hands, palms out. "I never mentioned him. Did I say his name or refer to him in anyway?"

"You said I was back in my drab clothes. The before—" She caught herself before she said his name. It hurt too much to say it out bond. The before Lucas clothes.

It was bad enough to think his name. She hadn't seen him since she'd taken that flying leap onto Gil Stafford. When she'd woken up in one of the guest rooms at the Falcone villa, she'd been sure that Lucas had been shot Sophie had assured her that he was fine and dandy. And later, when Sophie had left, Tracker had stopped by to fill her in on everything that had happened. Gil Stafford had been arrested along with the two men who'd kidnapped Sophie. Even Sonny Falcone and his father had dropped in to apologize and to tell her that Lansing Biotech wouldn't pressure her anymore.

But Lucas hadn't stopped by even once. He had some loose ends to tie up, Tracker had said. That had been a week ago – seven whole days. Sophie had spent the first five badgering her to call Lucas.

But she hadn't. She couldn't. They'd agreed that when her research was over, they'd go back to their own lives. No strings.

Her whole body ached from missing him. She couldn't fall asleep without dreaming about him, without reliving every moment that they'd spent together.

"So now I can't even mention your clothes." Whipping a notebook from her purse, Sophie plucked a pen out of a nearby cup and began to scribble. "Don't mention her dreary, drab clothes even if they make you wretch. There." She glanced up at Mac. "Anything else that's off-limits?"

Mac frowned. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm sorry. I … you can talk to me about my clothes. You always have. This…" She raised her hands and dropped them. "I wish I'd never gone to that island. It's ruined everything."

"The person whose name we're not mentioning has a way of doing that. I'm annoyed with him myself." Sophie bit into a carrot and chewed. When Mac continued to shred in silence, she said, "I still don't know what was really going on down there in California. Why wasn't Sonny Falcone arrested?"

"He didn't have anything to do with the kidnapping. As I understand it, Sonny was trying desperately to prove to his father that he has the wherewithal to run both Lansing Biotech and the vineyard."

"Sonny? He didn't impress me as having a lot going for him upstairs. Well, maybe at first he did," Sophie said. "But I was in a rebellious mood. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to go out there to California – except that it would be a good way to defy Lucas. Whoops!" She slapped a hand over her mouth, then mumbled, "Sorry. It just slipped out." Dropping her hand, she shot an apologetic glance at Mac. "Anyway, to get back to Sonny. I can see him being duped by someone else. But I still don't understand what Gil Stafford hoped to gain by kidnapping me. I mean you. Your signature on a Lansing Biotech contract wouldn't have been worth anything once you explained how you were forced to sign the contract."

"The way I understand it – and I was sworn to secrecy on this – Gil knew that the Falcone family has … I guess you'd have to say connections to organized crime, and he was assuming that once Sonny had my name on the contract, I would be strongly encouraged to cooperate."

Sophie stared at her. "Encouraged as in broken kneecaps?"

Mac shrugged. "Something like that."

Sophie let out a low whistle. "I never would have figured that a man with his education and intelligence would get himself involved in something like that."

"At first, I think his plan was just to cash in on my research. He approached Sonny and convinced him to offer me a contract on behalf of Lansing Biotech. Gil was the one who introduced me to Vincent Smith, a.k.a. Sonny, and he did everything he could to get me to sign. When his plan didn't work, Gil got desperate."

"So he hired those two goons who kidnapped me to break into the safe at the lab?"

Mac nodded. "He thought the formulas were in the safe. Of course, he had the combination, but he had to make it look as if someone else had done it. But the formula wasn't in the safe."

"Why not?" Sophie asked.

"It's the first place a thief would look, so I've always kept it at the bottom of Wilbur's cage. I can't think of anybody who'd want to look there."

"And they searched your house too."

"Yes. And when they came up empty there, they got desperate. That's when Gil decided to hire someone to kidnap me. He figured that was the way that the Falcones would handle things. Only he figured wrong. Whatever shady connections the Falcones have had in the past, Lansing Biotech and the vineyard are 100-percent legitimate businesses and Sonny's going to testify against Gil."

Sophie narrowed her eyes as she studied Mac for a moment. "You are a lot more well informed about this whole thing than I am. It sounds to me like you have been talking to my brother."

"No." Mac set down a nub of carrot and chose another from the plate. "Tracker told me."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Tracker McGuire? You mean you've actually been in contact with the Shadow?"

"Several times. I think he's been told to keep an eye on me. He's stopped by here and the lab almost every day." Mac felt a little band of pain tighten around her heart even as she said the words.