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26
F-Stop
the minute I saw you again I knew I wanted to try. Can we at least test the waters? I
promise not to leave you hanging again. To tell you what I m doing if I can. His mouth
turned up in a rueful grin. And not to be an asshole. I hope.
She felt something inside her that had been wound so tight begin to loosen.
It bothered her that she was ready to give in so easily. Especially with everything
going on in her life.
Oh no. I can t do this again.
But he looked so appealing, so earnest. And this time there was something in his
eyes that hadn t been there before. The distant look was gone, replaced by heat and
desire. And need. Strange, because Mike D Antoni had never needed anyone or
anything.
Maybe& She let her voice trail off. No, no maybes. Tell him, Katherine. Tell him you
can t do this again.
But then his words overrode her thoughts.
Maybe s a good start. A very good start. Let s order, okay? The food here is
excellent.
As relaxed as Mike seemed while they ate, Kat was equally as tense, on edge,
waiting for the next verbal axe to fall. She had to make him understand that they
couldn t just go back and start over.
Mike, listen, she began, but her words seemed to fly over his head.
He just winked at her then glanced at his watch. Look. I have a meeting this
afternoon with two of my partners and a potential new client.
Go ahead, Kat said. I have something I have to do today too. Thanks again for
lunch.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, just a minute here. You aren t getting away that easily. How
about dinner tonight? There s a great new restaurant on the Riverwalk. Tell me where
you re staying and I ll pick you up at seven. If that s all right, he added.
This great new restaurant wouldn t happen to be at your hotel, would it? She said
it only half-jokingly but she wouldn t put anything past him. And she definitely wasn t
ready for that yet.
Mike grinned at her. That would be just a little too obvious, even for me. No, I m
going to be on my best behavior. Scout s honor.
Kat sighed. Okay. I m probably making the biggest mistake of my life but I ll have
dinner with you. She pulled a small notepad from her purse, wrote Mari s address on
it and her cell number. Do you need directions?
Mike folded the paper and stuck it into his pocket. Nope. I know the area.
Call me on my cell if anything happens to change your plans.
Trust me, he told her, signaling for the waiter. Nothing s going to happen.
27
Desiree Holt
Chapter Three
Eli Wright s head throbbed and his throat burned but he forced himself to lie
quietly as he tried to assess the situation. His hands and feet were bound with what
appeared to be duct tape and he was folded up in a cramped position. Sydney, Lissa
and Mari were lying next to him, still out cold and in equally uncomfortable positions.
And no one had taken note of the fact that he was actually awake. As long as he could
fool them he could try to make some sense out of what was happening. Try to
remember landmarks or anything else that would be helpful.
They were in the same van riding along yet another bumpy road. He ran his gaze
over the women as best he could from his twisted position, satisfying himself that they
had no visible bruises or wounds and they were at least still breathing. The next
thought that slammed into him was the two dead security guards and poor Len, an
earnest young man, dumped out like so much garbage. He had to swallow hard to keep
from vomiting.
He couldn t see where they were because there were no windows in the back. The
men in the front seats were speaking low, in Spanish. He strained to hear their words,
adept enough in the language to understand, if only he could make out the words.
What the hell was going on here? And who were these men who had grabbed them
so easily? Who knew just where to do this?
Getting the information to plan this wouldn t necessarily have been hard for these
men. He flew to San Diego a lot and it was common knowledge Il Maggiore was a
favorite restaurant. Everyone from the mailroom clerk to his executive vice president
had that information. The question was, who would pass the specifics of this trip along
to these people and why.
A man of his enormous wealth was a hot target. But Eli had come from nothing,
building Wright International from a tiny one-man operation to the vast global empire
it was one step at a time. A combination of brains and luck had helped him reach where
he was today but despite the upscale home he lived in and the lifestyle he and his
family led, he still couldn t see himself as anyone but plain old Eli Wright.
That was obviously a major error in judgment.
As he was trying to make sense of it all, the van came to a stop. Seconds later the
side door slid open and two men appeared.
Time to change transportation, señor, the taller one said, hauling Eli roughly out
of the van and setting him on his feet.
My family, he started to say.
28
F-Stop
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