of her reaction to his little compact car. What exactly do you do for a living? He could still see the slightly contemptuous expression on her pretty face. Gold digger.
“A friend of mine. I’m house-sitting.”
She scooted back against the door of the car. “I asked you to take me to a hotel. Why did you bring me here?”
“I just told you. I thought you would be more—”
Suddenly she threw open the door and stood. Paul matched her step for step.
“Amber!” he called to her realizing she was now trembling. “Calm down, I should have told you what I—”
“Do you really know Luther?”
“Of course. How else would I have found you?”
“How do you know him?”
“We were in the Navy together. Look, I know you’ve been through a lot tonight but you’re going to have to trust me.”
“I don’t know anything about you! All I asked was that you take me to a hotel and you brought me here. Where are we, anyway?!”
He sighed. “Moreno Valley, about an hour southeast of L.A.”
“We’ve been driving for over an hour?” Her eyes widened, and she glanced at the small gold watch on her wrist for the first time since she’d climbed into the car. It was almost 3:00 a.m. “Oh, my God!” She grabbed her head with both hands. “What was I thinking? Getting in a car with a total stranger?”
“Amber, calm down. You are perfectly safe here.” Realizing she was about to bolt, Paul held up his hand. “Stop and think for a minute. How else would I have known where to find you? Your name? Think about it.”
She did, but she did not draw the conclusions he wanted. “For all I know you could just be some creep who hangs around hotel lobbies trying to pick up women. As for my name, you heard Dashuan call me.”
His mouth twisted in frustration. “You name is Amber Lockhart. You are twenty-one and you grew up in Detroit. From what Luther told me, your family is worried about you right now. So, why don’t we go into the house and give them a call to let them know you’re safe and sound.”
Her heart slowed considerably as he recited information that could’ve only come from someone who knew her. “Okay, I believe Luther sent you.”
“Thank you!” He threw up his hands in relief, believing the battle had been won.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you took me an hour outside of town without my permission when all I asked is that you drop me off at a hotel.”
“Stop obsessing about the damn hotel. You’ll be much more comfortable here, all the same amenities and more. This is for your own good.”
“How would you know what’s good for me?” She shook her head in defeat. “You know what—Never mind. I’ll find a hotel on my own.” She quickly opened the rear door of the car and grabbed her bags and her purse. Slamming the door shut, she turned and headed down the driveway back toward the street.
“Where are you going?” Paul asked, wondering if his friendship with Luther was really worth this headache.
“I told you. I’ll find my own hotel,” she called over her shoulder.
“You don’t even know where you are!” he shouted and instantly regretted it when he noticed the front room curtains moving on the house across the street. Apparently they had an audience.
Amber did not even bother responding. She just kept walking. The plan was simple. She would hail a cab. Cab drivers always knew hotels and restaurants in their areas. In the morning she would find some way back to L.A., and from there on to…wherever. I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Right now all she wanted was a bed, and sweet, sweet sleep.
Paul stood and watched her leave and was determined not to follow. He knew she would be safe enough inside the large subdivision, but what if she did manage to find her way out onto the main street? What if the dizzy broad got herself run down or mugged? Of course, Luther would hold him responsible.
He rested his head on top of the small car, wondering what crazed compulsion told him to bring her back to his home. The girl was nothing but trouble. Look at the situation he had to bail her out of tonight.
She wasn’t the only one with troubles, he thought, remembering that only a few hours ago he’d been forced to fire a man he had considered a friend.
He shook his head and decided to let her go for now. Maybe she would be more reasonable after she cooled off. A couple of hours on the hard concrete in those heels she was wearing, and she would regard his compact car like the finest of limousines.
Paul opened the front door of the house as quietly as possible, not wanting to awaken Rosalie, the sixty-seven-year-old Hispanic woman who took care of his eight-month-old son, Joachim, during the day. But that proved pointless as he entered the large kitchen and found her sitting at the table.
Rosalie often volunteered to spend the night when Paul needed to do late-night surveillance, such as tonight. Being that all of her children were adults, there was only Rosalie and her elderly husband, Enrique, at home. Paul knew that taking care of Joachim was more than just a job for Rosalie, and he was grateful for whatever intuition had led him to hire her.
The older woman was usually never without a smile or kind word for anyone. But now a worried expression marred her light brown face. Her worn, wrinkled hands were closed around a mug and Paul knew instinctively this night was about to get even worse.
“Paul!” Hearing him enter the room she sprung to her feet with the agility of a woman half her age and ran to wrap her robust arms around his lean form. “I was so worried about you. I know you said you would be late tonight, but it’s almost morning, and I was so afraid. And Enrique, my Enrique has to have emergency surgery—”
“Shhh, shhh.” Paul stroked her back, trying to calm her. “Now, slowly, tell me.”
“My Enrique has to have emergency heart bypass surgery in the morning.” She began wringing her hands in agitation. “Oh, Paul, I am so worried. What am I going to do?”
Paul guided her back to the table. “First, you are going to slow down before you have to join Enrique in the hospital,” he said, in a poor attempt to lighten the mood.
Rosalie smiled, grateful for the effort. “You’re right. He’s always been such a strong, healthy man. I don’t understand how this could’ve happened to him.”
“What hospital is he in?”
“Riverside County,” she managed to say before the tears began to flow. “Oh, Paul, I am so scared.” Her eyes widened as she remembered the important conversation she needed to have with him. “I have to go be with him, Paul. But I don’t know what to do about Joachim.”
“Don’t worry about Joachim. I’ll just work from home for the next few days. You go be with your husband.”
She leaned across the table and hugged him again, and Paul knew in some way she needed the affection more than he did. She stood and hurried toward
