Chapter 9
We traveled through the streets of New York for two hours before we pulled into a parking garage. The Fields brothers unloaded our stuff and left us at the elevator. Was this the equivalent to New York curb service?
“They aren’t coming up?” I asked.
“No, they’re following other leads to track my sister until we need the muscle.”
Harlon used a keypad by the elevator and punched in numbers. Within seconds the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Harlon didn’t even press a button, but the car rose, as if by magic.
“Welcome home, Mr. Simmons,” a voice said.
“Thank you, Ruby. It’s good to be home.”
“How is your computer going to order things for me that you forgot to pack?”
He leaned down to whisper. “Ruby is my assistant. She’s a real live person, who thought it would be fun to insert her voice pattern into my security system.”
Seeing the aggravation on his face made me smile.
“It’s not funny,” he growled as the elevator doors opened on the tenth floor.
“Of course, it is,” I said, stepping out and following him down an expansive high-ceilinged entryway. Gorgeous crown molding ran along the perimeter. I only got a glimpse of the kitchen as we passed, but it was enough to see that it was huge too.
The space opened up to spacious rooms with patterned walls, heavy curtains, area rugs, and expensive paintings, which made me pause. It was the opposite of the log cabin in the woods. The complete opposite.
Expensive-looking dark furniture was neatly situated around the room. A large painting above an ornate fireplace was the focal point of the room. This place was bigger than my entire house. No way had he decorated this. Unless I had sorely miscalculated him.
It was big and airy, unlike the mountain cabin he’d been staying in.
Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on the city that never slept. Lights shined from the monuments and tall buildings nearby. Down below, people, people, and more people walked the streets.
“That’s bulletproof glass in case you’re worried,” he said, walking past and carrying the luggage.
“I’m only here for three days. Should I be worried?”
He mumbled something beneath his breath that I didn’t catch. “Come on, let me show you around.”
He read off each room like a shopping order, starting off with what was special about the security and where panic buttons were hidden. Every room was like that, including mine. The one he had put me in looked out on another portion of the city. Just as beautiful and just as bright.
He dropped my bag on the bed and gestured. “I’m right across the hall.”
I followed him into the hallway, where he opened his room to show me. The largest king-sized bed I’d ever seen sat on a platform connected to the wall. Everything in this room, including the bedding, looked like something that would come from a five-star hotel.
“You had a decorator, didn’t you?” I asked, stepping into his personal space and opening doors until I found the closet with a long line of designer suits. I stepped inside. Everything was pristine, color-coded. “Admit it. You’ve got a split personality, don’t you?” I called out.
I misaligned a hanger and watched with a smile as he stepped in and corrected it.
“I can assure you that I only have one personality.”
I chuckled. “Says the man wearing flannel who has a beard in mid-growth and nothing but a closet of suits. You’re a contradiction.” I tilted my head. “Are you a closet lumberjack? Is that what this is?”
Harlon ran his hand over the stubble growing on his chin. “When I’m not working, I don’t shave, and I don’t wear suits. Jeans and flannel are more comfortable.”
“Judging by the decorations, I’d think your part girly too,” I said, heading for the door.
He grabbed my hand and twirled me back into his chest. “There’s nothing girly about me, Nina. You feel the connection between us, too, don’t you?”
“Well, you’ve seen me naked. I’m sure it brought all kinds of things… to the surface.”
