Chapter Twenty-Nine
Six hundred people sat at linen draped tables in the elegant Grand Ballroom. White and silver floral centerpieces rested on mirrored bases in the middle of each table.
Linc guided Carly through the crowd, not surprised by the number of heads she turned. He’d known she was more than pretty. He hadn’t realized she could hold her own with some of the most beautiful women in Dallas.
Oddly enough, it was the Carly she was out at the ranch who appealed to him most, the strong, spirited woman determined to make it in a man’s world.
The social hour hadn’t ended. Lifting a glass of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray, he handed it to Carly, then took one for himself.
“I see Beau over by our table. I want you to meet him.”
“I’d love to,” Carly said. A faint blush still colored her cheeks from their interlude in the linen closet. He felt a sweep of possessiveness that was highly unusual for him and mildly unsettling.
He spotted Beau standing next to the table he had purchased, ten seats for a mere thirty-two thousand dollars. He reminded himself it was for charity, and urged Carly toward Beau.
His best friend was outrageously handsome, tall and lean, with thick black hair and blue eyes. If it weren’t for the thin scar running along his jaw from a fistfight with the school bully when they were in junior high, he might have looked a little too pretty. As it was, women loved him, always had.
He’d come from a wealthy family that was completely dysfunctional, a society mother who totally ignored him, a dad whose biggest concern was making more money and was never around. Beau had rebelled, and to spite them, become friends with the local bad boys, which included Linc.
After the robbery, Beau had reformed. He’d just graduated college when his grandfather died, leaving him a minor fortune but not the foggiest idea what to do with it.
He’d come to Linc because he felt guilty, felt he owed Linc for taking the fall for the robbery. Linc, being no fool, had accepted Beau’s offer to work for him. Their boss-employee relationship had become a partnership. Together they had built the company into the vastly successful corporation it was today.
“Carly, this is my partner, Beau Reese. Beau, this is Carly Drake.”
“Nice to meet you,” Carly said with a smile.
“Linc’s told me a lot about you,” Beau said.
Linc didn’t miss the surprise on her face. What? She didn’t think he’d mention the woman he was living with to his best friend? Irritation trickled through him.
Beau flashed one of his signature smiles. “Don’t worry, it was all good. He says you’ve been having some problems with the company but you’re getting things worked out.”
“I have some great employees. We’re going to make it work.” She looked up at Linc and her features softened. “Linc’s been really great.”
His irritation faded. She thought he was great? She’d sure never said anything like that to him.
Beau’s gaze went over Carly’s head and Linc realized the moment he’d been dreading had arrived as Sophia Aiello walked up to Beau. She gave Linc a disdainful look down the length of her nose, which tilted even higher when she spotted Carly.
“Sophia, this is Carly Drake,” Beau said. “Carly, Sophia Aiello.”
A perfect black eyebrow arched up. “So you are the one. You were working in his office. What are you, some kind of secretary? If you think you can sleep your way to the top, you are a fool.”
Carly’s mouth thinned.
“Ms. Drake is a businesswoman,” Linc said, hoping to defuse the situation before the vicious little witch sank her fangs any further into Carly. “She owns Drake Trucking. We’ve been friends for some years.” More or less.
“I see.”
Beau cast Linc a long-suffering glance and took Sophia’s arm. “Why don’t we take a walk around, see what auction items will be up for bid?”
Sophia sniffed petulantly. “Perhaps you will buy something for Sophia, yes?”
“Maybe I will.” Beau cast Linc a look that said and Lincoln Cain is going to pay for it.
Linc just smiled.
Carly seemed to relax as they walked away. “There’s some wonderful art up for sale,” she said, glancing at the artwork on display around the room.
“The theme this year is Latin Legends. Some of the art that’s going to be auctioned was donated by collectors. There’s a Diego Rivera, a piece by a Chilean artist named Roberto Matta, a number of other important South American artists.” There was also pottery, sculpture, and handmade jewelry.
“According to the catalog,” Linc said, “the prize of the evening is a Botero, a gift from the Weldsburg Foundation. It’s valued at over a million dollars.”
“Will you be bidding?”
“Not on that. This is a charity auction, so I’ll buy something.” He smiled down at her. “Maybe you can help me choose.”
Carly smiled back. “That sounds like fun.”
The two of them wandered, greeting people he knew, sipping champagne. Linc introduced her to Randall Conners and his wife, Andrea, two of the people seated at his table.
Carly said something about traveling, Andrea mentioned Paris, and the next thing he knew they were chatting away in French, rolling their eyes and laughing.
Linc never would have guessed she spoke French and he had to admit he was impressed.
“I flew New York to Paris, remember?” she explained when he asked. “Being able to speak the language was one of the reasons I was assigned the route.”
Andrea, a slender brunette, said something else in the elegant language, then turned to the men. “If you gentlemen will excuse us, we need to powder our noses. We’ll be right back.”
Linc smiled. Seemed like Carly had just been to the ladies’ room, but typical women, they had to go together. He was glad Carly was fitting in so well. He hadn’t really expected it and the truth was he really didn’t care. It was nice just the same.
He wandered a little, but stayed close to the table so she could find her way back to him. Since it was almost time to sit down, he made sure their place cards were on the opposite side of the table from Beau and Sophia Aiello.
Linc thought of the turn of fortune that had allowed him to come here with Carly instead of the spoiled Italian model, and said a silent thank you to his best friend.
* * *
It was only a few minutes later that Carly and Andrea walked out of the ladies’ room, heading back toward their table. Andrea Conners was a few years older than she but didn’t look it, and her gold satin, off-the-shoulder gown showed off a terrific figure. She was fun and the two of them just seemed to click.
They were almost back to their men when Andy—as Andrea preferred to be called—spotted someone she knew.
“Go say hello,” Carly said. “I’ll see you back at the table.”
Continuing her journey, she wove her way through the glittering throng, paused for a moment to get her bearings and locate Linc’s table, then heard a familiar voice. She paused, trying to place it, deep, slightly rough, tinged with a Spanish accent.
She glanced toward the speaker, trying to recall the person the voice belonged to, caught the profile of a tall, black-haired man she didn’t know. Then her brain started working and her heart slammed hard, set up a terrified clatter against her ribs.
She knew that voice. The threats that voice had made were burned into her brain. Careful to stay out of sight behind a cluster of guests, she looked down at the man’s shiny black patent leather shoes. Big shoes. And the toes turned slightly inward.
Fighting not to panic, Carly swallowed back her fear and started walking, trying not to run. She needed to get a better look at him, but if he spotted her, he would know she had recognized him and the knowledge might get her killed.
People were beginning to take their seats. Carly spotted Linc, taller than the other men standing next to the table. Scanning the crowd in search of her, he must have read her distress because his features went tense. He strode toward her, caught her hands just as she reached the table.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
Her legs were shaking. “He’s here. El Jefe.”
His broad shoulders stiffened. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Linc walked her to her chair, pulled it out, and eased her down into it, which was good since she was afraid her legs were going to buckle. He took the chair beside her, reached for her hand beneath the cloth. With ten people at the table, they were seated close together. The noise in the room drowned out their conversation.
“Did he see you?” Linc asked.
“No. I don’t think so. I was careful.” She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. “I need to get a better look at him so we can figure out who he is.”
Linc shook his head. “Too dangerous. Don’t worry, we’ll get a better look. There are cameras all over the ballroom. We’ll run the video back, see where you were when you spotted him, figure out who he is.”
Relief trickled through her. “Great.”
“We can’t leave right now. If we do, he might get suspicious.”
“I know.” She sighed. “This is going to be the longest dinner of my life.”
Beneath the table, Linc squeezed her hand. “We’ll leave as soon as we can do it without being noticed. Maybe at the end of dinner before the auction starts. In the meantime, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guests.”
Carly just nodded. Pasting a smile on her face, she turned toward the other people seated at the table and hoped she’d be able to remember their names.
* * *
After supper, during the break before the auction started, Linc made their excuses and was able to slip away. As soon as they were seated in the limo and heading back to his apartment, he pulled out his cell, brought up his contacts, and called Ross Townsend.
While the phone began to ring, he flicked a glance at Carly, who still looked a little pale.
“What’s up?” Ross answered, probably still working since it was before midnight.
“Carly spotted El Jefe at the Dallas Art Gala tonight. We need to look at what’s on the video cameras, figure out who the hell he is.”
“Great, we’re finally catching a break. I’ll talk to the hotel security people first thing in the morning, make up some story they might actually believe, see if I can get you in to take a look sometime tomorrow.”
“That’ll work. We’re staying in Dallas. We’ll wait to hear from you.” Linc ended the call and turned to Carly. “Ross is going to make arrangements for us to view the video recordings. We’ll find you in the images, locate El Jefe, see which chair was his, and find out his name.”
Carly sighed. She let her head fall back against the deep leather seat. “God, I’m sick of all the intrigue. One night without it wouldn’t have been too much to ask.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” He slid an arm around her waist and drew her closer. “On the other hand, if you hadn’t gone with me to the gala, you would have missed out on the linen closet.”
Carly laughed, the sound rolling over him, easing some of the adrenaline still running through his blood. When she’d told him El Jefe was there, it had been all he could do not to confront him, grab the man by his satin lapels, and beat him into submission. Without the proof they needed, it could have gotten Linc thrown back in jail or even worse—gotten Carly killed.
The limo drove into the underground garage and pulled to a stop in front of the elevator. After a brief ride up to his condo, they walked into the entry. Linc couldn’t miss the fatigue in Carly’s posture or the worry in her face.
“Come here,” he said softly, and she went into his arms. “We’re gonna find this guy and we’re going to stop him. We’re getting closer all the time.”
Her head moved against his chest. “I know.” She looked up at him, her eyes bluer than he had ever seen them. “Take me to bed, Linc. I want to think about something besides El Jefe.”
Linc softly kissed her. “That would be my pleasure, sweetheart.” Sweeping her up in his arms, he strode down the hall toward the bedroom, Carly’s head on his shoulder, her gown flowing over his arm, golden hair a whisper of silk against his cheek. He inhaled the soft fragrance of the perfume he had bought her, the only gift she would accept from him.
His heart beat oddly, telling him something he wasn’t ready to hear.
He forced himself to focus on the present, on what they had learned and what lay ahead. Tomorrow they would start again, renew their efforts. He had the drug lord in his sights.
Linc was about to pull the trigger.