Dancing with Deception Read Online Free Page A

couldn’t help but notice your friends were waiting at the dock. They followed you into the city.”
    Rebecca jerked her gaze from Gideon’s grim face to look out the window. “There’s no way they could have known I’d be here.”
    “Unless they have people at every dock.”
    Damn. She should have considered there could be more involved. “Well, hell.”
    “From what I saw, it’s the same men who were shooting at you from the dock.” He turned his stormy grey eyes on her. “And they didn’t look very happy.”
    “No, they wouldn’t be,” she agreed absently as she scanned the streets they passed. Any minute now, she expected to see her pursuers pop out from an alleyway and shoot them through the window of the cab. Tremors of unease coursed through her.
    “This is good,” he told the driver moments later and handed him a twenty. “Keep the change.”
    He pulled Rebecca out of the cab and began to walk. She could either be dragged or keep up with him, so she set her pace to match his ground-eating strides.
    “Why did you come back?”
    She thought she heard him swear but his gait never slowed. They rounded a corner and quickly changed directions again. Rebecca’s gaze shot around them, but she didn’t see any scary men in black suits. Gideon pulled her into a phone booth and shut them inside. He craned his neck around, checking the streets. Seeing no one, he turned toward her.
    “Listen—” His cell phone rang inside his pocket. Lynyrd Skynyrd filled the nerve-racking silence that ensued in the booth. Gideon held his hand up to silence Rebecca and, with his eyes never leaving hers, he answered the phone.
    By the way he tensed, Rebecca had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that whoever he was speaking to was looking for her and now knew how to find her.
    Despite her panic, she noticed that he had put a shirt on. It was navy blue and smelled like it had just come out of the laundry. He’d left the top couple of buttons undone, showing off dark, curling hair. She felt heat in her cheeks as she recalled what his entire upper body looked like naked.
    He ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket.
    “Give me your bag.”
    “What?” She clutched it to her chest.
    “Give me the fucking bag.” He didn’t even need to raise his voice. Rebecca reluctantly handed the bag over and watched with confused detachment as he pawed through it. He pulled out her oversized wallet and unzipped it.
    “Rebecca Lynn Channing, age twenty-four, black hair, blue eyes, five-seven, one-hundred and ten pounds of lying, conniving female. Yeah, that matches the description I just got—right down to your goddamned outfit.”
    The fury in his voice had Rebecca involuntarily shrinking back against the wall of the phone booth.
    “What do they want?” Gideon demanded.
    “I don’t—” Her lie ended on a gasp when he grabbed her arm and yanked her against him. Dimly, she registered the hard muscle that held her trapped. He didn’t hurt her, but the threat was there. The massive hand he’d clamped on her could easily snap her bone, she thought—or worse. Ice skittered up her back, but her chin came up on its own accord.
    “Don’t lie to me again. What do they want?”
    “A painting.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. My father gave it to me and asked me to keep it for him and I am.”
    “Where is it?” He swore viciously when she didn’t answer, but released her quivering arm. He pocketed her license, handed her bag to her, and before she could feel relieved, pulled her out of the phone booth. She didn’t ask where they were going; he probably wouldn’t have answered her anyway. She let him lead her several blocks before saying a word.
    “You didn’t have to come after me, you know.”
    “I’ve always had bad judgment when it comes to women.” Gideon stopped and looked around. “I’m pretty sure we’ve lost them. Come on.”
    Not that she had a choice, she thought as he led her into a