Freaky by Nature Page 5

  Making one last sweep through the men’s locker room, Holly bent to scoop up a wayward towel. As soon as the terry cloth rubbed her skin, lightening hot heat burnt her fingertips. She gasped and threw the towel back to the floor. She backed against a wall for support when bolts of bright yellow light and segmented, multi-colored mosaic pictures attacked her brain.

  Holly muddled through the pain and struggled to merge the colorful pieces into a recognizable image. Polka dots danced in her vision, her skin crawled, and the veins in her forehead threatened to pop as she concentrated. Still, the pictures refused to clear. Please. Just this once.

  She closed her eyes, took several deep breaths and forced her brain to focus. When she opened them, she zeroed in on the color first. Bright, blinding-sunlight yellow. Power. Control. Jagged pieces of murky pink, orange-red and muddy gray. Dishonesty. Confidence. Fear. She watched the colors swirl until dizziness churned her stomach.

  Frustrated but not ready to give up, she returned her attention to the mosaics. Much like working a jigsaw puzzle, Holly attempted to assemble the fragmented pieces into some sort of order. This time, she caught a momentary glimpse of several images. A red heart. A black arrow. Orange flames. Holly whimpered. What did they mean? She cleared her mind and concentrated again. After several seconds, shards of pain overwhelmed her and she knew her attempts were fruitless. There was simply no way to join them when they so quickly faded into the atmosphere.

  With no other choice, Holly relinquished control of her mind. Her knees buckled and her head hammered as she slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor. Desperate for relief from the unrelenting pain, she welcomed the cool tile against her warm cheek.

  Energy seeped from her body and left her limp. She floated. Her mind became a blank slate. No color. No pictures. No pain. She slept, free of the earlier mental hold. Content.

  And then, a sudden peacefulness surged through her veins and caused blue splotches to dance behind her eyelids. A smile pulled the corners of her lips.

  “Holly.”

  Holly balked at the deep voice at the other end of the dense fog in her brain. Leave me alone.

  A warm hand lifted her shoulder. “Holly, wake up.”

  She stirred and opened her eyes to see Brett squatted beside her.

  “What happened?”

  She raised her hand to shield her eyes from his bluish-green rays and forced her mind back to her research. Pure compassion. Thankful the colors were present, she sighed and sat up. “Nothing. I had a headache so I sat to rest for a minute.”

  He paused for a brief moment, as if he processed her explanation. God, she hoped she could convince him to believe her half-baked excuse. She attempted to enter his mind, hoping his curiosity distracted him. No such luck. The doors were locked and a do not disturb sign hung in plain sight.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Must’ve been a hell of a headache.”

  She managed a half smile in response and waited for his demand that she elaborate. Instead, his eyes softened and reflected his concern.

  “Do you feel better?”

  She regarded him for a moment and watched his blue and green combination fade to a lighter shade of solitary blue. Calm. Acceptance. Relieved by his change of mood, she searched for the pain she felt earlier. Not a trace. Odd.

  She sent him a full genuine smile. “Much.”

  He extended a hand and nodded at the sign on the door. “Do you always hang out in the men’s locker room?”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “I wanted to make one last check before I closed.” She slipped her hand in his and he pulled her from the floor to stand. She allowed herself to wallow in the heat of his touch for a moment before releasing his hold. “I guess everyone’s out. Why did you come?”

  “Cameron insisted. Sterling sent me.”

  “How did you get inside?”

  “I picked the lock.”

  A surge of satisfaction quickened her pulse. “My drill sergeant insists I close at eight.”

  She watched in amusement as several emotions played on his face. Surprise. Contentment. Arousal. Holly frowned. Why did she see them now? And why, all of a sudden, did he allow her to observe his mood?

  Lost in thought, she jumped when Brett finally broke the silence. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Still baffled, she pushed her curiosity aside. “Yes, thanks.”

  “Are you ready to call it a night?”

  Her heart warmed at the soft, pink blob that formed a circle around him. “Yes.” She turned toward the doorway and glanced at the towel on the floor. “Could you do me a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Grab that towel and toss it in the laundry chute.”

  Brett balled the towel in one hand, threw it into the air, and made a perfect two-point basket. “Have you eaten?”

  Extremely relieved the towel didn’t float back out of the chute or throw lightning bolts at either of them, Holly exhaled a long breath. She was being ridiculous. “No.”

  Brett offered his hand again. “C’mon, I know a place.”

  She lifted her hand to accept and then paused. She glanced at his offering and then back into his eyes. “Wait, is this a date?”

  “Do you want it to be?”

  Did she? Truth be told, she wanted it to be more than a date. Her wet panties proved it. But that would allow him more time to question her. To attempt to get closer. “No.”

  Another disarming smile. “Then it’s not.”

  Holly waited to see if a darker shade of pink, almost magenta, might surround him. Not that she thought him deceitful, just mischievous. And, he made no secret of his interest in her. One more millisecond passed and the pink escaped him. Worry left her mind when instead, soft baby blue beams radiated from his body. Honesty. Truth.

  She stepped close to him and grasped his hand. “I’m starved.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Spicy, bitter scents of cumin and chili powder assaulted his senses as Brett held open the door of Guardia de Serpiente for Holly.

  She tipped her head toward the pink neon sign in the window. “The Serpent’s Den. Your regular stomping ground?”

  He chuckled. “No. In fact, I don’t come here often.” Often? He avoided it like the plague.

  Brett winked at the young, caramel-skinned hostess who stood just inside the door. “Two, Bianca.”

  With a bat of her eyelashes, Bianca led them through the restaurant toward a secluded table in the back. Confidence overtook Brett as they walked through the dining area; Sterling’s suggestion might have merit after all. Encouraged, he managed to relax until they passed a large tank nestled against the far wall. The hair stood on the back of his neck when he saw the contents. Oh. Hell.

  Inside, coiled in several layers of black rubbery skin, a boa constrictor peered out through red, glowing eyes. Brett took several steps back as the creature’s long, forked tongue shot from its mouth to taste the caged air. Brett snuck a glance at Holly. Unlike most women, she appeared to be intrigued by the animal.

  “This is Beau.” Bianca gestured at the tank. “We’ve had him since he was just a foot long.”

  Holly continued to stare. “How long is he now?”

  “Six feet.”

  “He’s beautiful,” Holly murmured.

  Brett shifted, desperate to escape the area without being obvious. Beautiful did not fit his description of the beast.

  Holly flattened her palm against the front of the creature’s habitat. “Does he ever leave the tank?”

  Much like a heat-seeking missile, the snake slithered closer and tapped the glass with its snout.

  “Oh yes.” Bianca gave a small giggle. “Once in a while, Mr. Roberto, the owner, drapes Beau around his neck and allows him to visit the guests. Beau is very partial to our female customers.”

  Holly laughed. “A lady killer, huh?”

  Brett bit his tongue. Killer, anyway.

  Bianca nodded. “Come. I’ll show you to your table now.”

  O
nce seated safely away from Beau, Brett released a long breath and forced himself to relax.

  “You have quite a fascination with snakes,” he said while glancing at the menu.

  Holly smiled. “Not really. They just intrigue me.”

  “How so?”

  She shrugged. “They’re secretive. I can’t help but think they can tune in to feelings just by sensing the heat in the atmosphere.”

  Stunned by her answer, Brett closed his menu and pushed it to the edge of the table, careful not to reveal his surprise. Secretive. Interesting.

  “Most women would run screaming out of here,” he said casually.

  She twisted her lips and stacked her menu on top of his. “He is behind glass.”

  Interrupted by a waiter, Brett turned his attention to ordering dinner. After Holly gave her order, there was another familiar lull in the conversation. Brett glanced at Holly, who stared at the snake again. Determined to crack her armor, he attempted to continue easy conversation.

  “Are you making sure he’s still in there?”

  She turned and gave a soft laugh. “I was just thinking how confined he is in that tank, closed off from the rest of the world.”

  “Was that some kind of psychological analysis?”

  Something close to panic glittered in her eyes before she blinked it away and answered. “Probably.”

  “How’s business at the gym?”

  “Good. No one seemed to be bothered by the incident.”

  “Most people probably wrote it off as vandalism.”

  “Thank goodness. I didn’t want to alarm anyone.”

  “I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone.”

  “Usually, I’m not. I just happened to be the last one out tonight.”

  “You should really have an escort until Sterling and I get to the bottom of this.”

  Her face paled. “You really think I’m in that much danger?”

  Guilt persuaded him to back off. “Just as a precaution.”

  The arrival of sizzling fajita meat with fragrant green peppers and onions gave her a momentary time-out. He gave her time to fill a tortilla with the combination before he resumed his attack.

  “There’s a lot I don’t know about you.”

  She speared a pepper with her fork. “There’s not much to know.”

  “Tell me about Albert.”

  She didn’t answer immediately, and he wondered if she would. “Albert?”

  He nodded. “Albert London, your ex-husband.”

  She lifted her chin. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Curiosity.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  Determined to break her cool reserve, he went straight for the jugular. “He was murdered.”

  Her fork fell from her grasp and banged the side of her plate. Mission accomplished.

  “You’ve done your homework.” Holly laid the fork back on the edge of her plate.

  Brett leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for her to elaborate. Instead, she fidgeted with her napkin.

  “What happened?” he prompted.

  Her eyes flashed and he braced himself for her barbed tongue.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  He hesitated, choosing his words very carefully. His gut told him she had information. Maybe about Albert, maybe not. Seconds ticked by and still she said nothing. Whatever her secret, he wouldn’t figure it out if he pushed her. He had a plan and he’d stick to it.

  “Your vandalism may be related to his death.”

  “I don’t think anyone was murdered in my pool.”

  Brett swallowed another wave of surprise. The woman was too observant for her own good.

  “The blood in your pool wasn’t blood. Someone dumped paint in the water.”

  “That explains the lack of a body,” she murmured.

  “So, who murdered Albert?”

  “How are you so sure I didn’t?”

  His response rolled off his tongue before he could stop it. “So sure, I’d bet you a roll in the sack.”

  The color left her face and he felt another pinch of guilt for teasing her. “You’re sitting across the table from me,” he explained. “Most murderers go to prison.”

  “I could be covering it up.”

  Surely she could do better than that. “You’re not.”

  Holly met his persistence with a determined glare. “No one’s ever been charged.”

  “Do you think there’s any connection between Albert’s murder and your secret admirer?”

  “Some secret admirer,” she mumbled. “No.”

  “Why not? What makes you think whoever wanted him dead doesn’t want the same for you?”

  Her hands trembled as she lifted them and pushed her hair off her forehead. “Your technique sucks.”

  Despite himself, he grinned. “I’m not always this charming.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “I’d hate to see you on an off day.”

  He ran a hand across his jaw. He was being an ass. And as much as he hated to admit it, sexual frustration had a chokehold on him.

  “Look, Holly, before I can help you, we’ve got to clear the air between us.”

  She sighed and folded her hands in front of her. “I wondered when you’d get around to that.”

  “What have I done to make you dislike me so much?”

  “I don’t dislike you, Brett.”

  “Coulda fooled me.”

  “I don’t.”

  Searching the depths of her eyes, he felt her honesty seep into his soul. The mysterious clear pools brimmed with intelligence. Her independence beckoned him and pleaded for friendship. Despite her closed expression, he sensed her vulnerability. You’re just scared. He could fix that.

  Brett slid a hand across the table. “Truce?”

  Holly glanced from his hand into his face and a timid smile softened her lips. She slipped her hand inside his and her shoulders dropped as if she were reassured by his touch. “Truce.”

  “Did Albert have any enemies?”

  “I wouldn’t say enemies. Competitors, maybe.”

  “For what?”

  Holly gave his hand one last slight squeeze before she pulled hers back across the table. “Albert developed a miracle weight loss supplement. PermaSlim cornered the market and made him a billionaire.”

  Although disappointed at the loss of physical contact, Brett forced himself to keep his attention focused on the investigation. “PermaSlim? Never heard of it.”

  She lowered her eyes from his face and moved them down the front of his body. Her perusal made him want to beat his chest and yodel like Tarzan. Instead, he cleared his throat.

  She snapped her gaze back to his eyes and her cheeks pinked. “You don’t need to lose weight.”

  Holly’s blatant desire sucker-punched his libido. Brett fought the primal urge to pin her to the table and take her right there in the middle of the fajitas. Patience, he reminded himself. Help her first.

  “Albert developed the drug alone? No partners?”

  She shook her head. “No partners. Albert was a chemical genius. And an expert at keeping secrets.”

  Brett intercepted the bitter tone in her voice. Did she expect more money after Albert’s death? Or did she discover something else?

  “Secrets?”

  Holly tossed her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Never mind.”

  “What happened to the business after his murder?”

  “Nothing, really. He’d already marketed the pill. The royalties transferred to me. I’m sure the scientists at the drug company are attempting to analyze the components as we speak.”

  “And then they’ll manufacture the pill themselves?”

  “Not until the patent expires.”

  “Who holds the formula now?”

  There was a long, brittle silence before she finally answered. “Me.”

  Bingo. “That’s what they’re after.”

/>   “What does messing up the swimming pool have to do with the PermaSlim?”

  “A smoke screen. If your concentration is focused on vandalism, someone hopes you won’t notice their search for the formula.”

  “The formula’s not at the gym.”

  “Nobody knows that but you,” he argued.

  “And you.”

  Brett tilted his head. “And me.” He watched her purse her lips and twist her hands. “You won’t tell me where it is, will you?”

  “No,” she said softly.

  “Because you don’t trust me.” And she shouldn’t. Every scrap of information he pulled from her, he already knew. He tested her and she passed.

  Holly’s hand shook as she lifted her glass to drink. He sat, mesmerized by the creamy skin of her neck as her throat worked the liquid.

  “I can’t,” she answered as she set the glass back on the table.

  He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “You can.”

  Brett felt the heat from his touch warm the cool surface of her skin as she processed his admission. Just when he felt she would relax, electricity sparked between them and she slid from his grip.

  “No, I can’t. You’re lethal.”

  Encouragement flooded his veins. Either hell had just frozen or he’d managed to convince her of his sincerity.

  He couldn’t stop his grin. “Lethal?”

  “Don’t get too excited. I just mean you’re not easy to ignore.”

  “So, don’t ignore me.”

  “I don’t intend to, but I still don’t trust you.”

  With a cocky smirk, he decided to back off. A little time and space would change her mind.

  “You did the right thing by calling Sterling. We’ll figure out this mess.”

  She gave him a mischievous smile. “I didn’t have your phone number.”

  Barely restraining himself from jumping across the table, he reached into his back pocket, fished a business card out of his wallet and pushed it toward her. “Now you do.”

  “I don’t have a reason to call now.”

  He gave her his best but you will smile. “Just in case.”

  Holly twirled the card between her fingers. “Do you really want to know what happened to Albert?”