Shadows in the Limelight Read online

  ‘He is, because he’s the one who’d fry if what happened ever came out. He and me were lyin’ about Casey bein’ on drugs.’

  She stared at him, then shook her head in an unconscious gesture of denial. ‘What do you mean, you were lying?’

  ‘It wasn’t true what we told you ‘bout Casey. We didn’t want you runnin’ to the police and that was the only way we could think of to stop you.’ Brian moved forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes on her face. ‘I’m sorry, Cat. I let Rick talk me into backin’ him up. I don’t think he knew you would quit, but I was pretty sure you would. If you hadn’t of, I would have told you the truth then.’

  ‘I don’t think I understand,’ Kent interposed. Brian looked at him and asked, ‘What do you know about Casey’s death?’

  Kent shrugged. ‘That he died of an overdose. That Rick and Cat covered it up by making it look like a car accident.’

  ‘I was there, too. I wish Cat hadn’t of been. When we found him...’ Brian rubbed his chin with one massive hand in a rueful gesture. ‘We had to tell her sump’n, so we told her that Casey had been taking drugs for months. That way she wouldn’t ask too many questions and would help us cover up how he really died. That was the lie we told, Cat.’ Brian’s tone compelled her to look at him. ‘Casey was clean: he wasn’t no junkie.’

  ‘But...’ she ran her hand through her hair distractedly, ‘I don’t understand. He was dead. There was a needle there, all that other stuff. How...?’

  ‘He was murdered, Cat.’

  Long seconds ticked by in silence as Cat stared in blank disbelief at Brian, her face drained of all colour. Kent stood up and went to the liquor cabinet, returning a moment later with a glass of brandy. Pushing it into Catherine’s hand, he enjoined her to drink it, then lifted his eyebrows in question to Brian. The other man nodded, so he returned to the cupboard and fixed them both a drink. Silently he handed one of the glasses to Brian, then settled on to the sofa next to Catherine, his arm going around her shoulders.

  The brandy helped, warming her blood and dispelling the cold shock Brian’s words had evoked. At last she was able to say, ‘I want you to explain, Brian.’ Her eyes were riveted on the other man’s face.

  Taking a sip of his drink, he nodded. ‘It’s a long story. I met Rick in New York ‘bout fifteen years ago, though he was using a different name then. I worked for him. He was a loan shark and I was his collection agent, if you know what I mean. After a few months, I quit. I’m afraid I don’t have the stomach for goin’ around breakin’ people’s legs.’ He frowned ruefully, lifting his glass to take another swallow of his drink. Presently he continued, ‘I lost touch over the next few years until we met up again in Vegas. Only then he was Rick Moss, big-shot talent promoter and manager of the Devlins. When he asked me if I wanted the job as Casey’s bodyguard, I was gonna turn it down. After New York, I spent a couple of years in prison, and I wanted to stay out of that place. I didn’t want to get mixed up in sump’n crooked, but I met your brother and liked him and since Rick seemed to be stayin’ clean, I took the job.’

  He paused for a moment, swirling the ice cubes in his glass. ‘By the time I found out what Rick was into, I had grown pretty attached to both you kids and didn’t want to quit. I thought maybe I could keep you both out of trouble, protect you from Rick—but I guess I couldn’t.’ His blunt features hardened in anger and self-disgust.

  ‘What was Moss doing?’ asked Kent when Brian remained silent.

  ‘On those trips Rick used to take, he brought back the occasional souvenir.' He looked up at them. ‘He was a mule, smuggling coke and heroin. I found out what he was doin’, but I knew enough to keep my mouth shut. Somehow, though, Casey found out,’ he said flatly. 'For a kid who grew up on the streets, your brother was pretty damn stupid, Cat. He went to Rick and threatened to blow the whistle on him.’

  ‘Are you saying that Rick—?’

  ‘No, Cat. Rick ain’t no murderer. Rick went to the dudes he was workin’ for and told them Casey was causin’ trouble. All he wanted was for them to scare him off. That was all, only...’ Brian paused, draining his glass. ‘Rick had been skimmin’, holdin’ back just a little of every delivery. He didn’t think they knew, but they did. So they took out Casey. It shut him up and got back at Rick for cheatin’ ’em.’

  Brian set his empty glass on the table at his side, and shifted as though to rise. Kent said suddenly. ‘What about you? Why did you keep quiet, help Rick cover up Casey’s death?’

  Brian sighed, running one large hand around the back of his neck. ‘You don’t understand the sort of people Rick was dealin’ with. My life or Cat’s wouldn’t have been worth two cents if we’d gone to the police with what really happened.’ He paused, his face grim as he looked at Cat. ‘Don’t worry, though, little one. They didn’t get away with it. You and Casey were the closest thing I ever had to a family. They were taken care of.’

  Kent stared at the big black man in shock. ‘You mean you...?’

  Brian shrugged, then grinned. ‘Heck, no ... not that! After that stretch in the pen, I found out there are some things worse in life than death, and being locked up in that place is one of ‘em. The guys that hurt my Casey are findin’ that out. It wasn’t that hard to find sump’n else on them, but I wanted Cat out of it first.’

  He stood up abruptly. ‘I’d better be goin’. Don’t worry about Rick. I’ll have a little talk with him. He won’t be botherin’ you again.’ He stuck out his hand when Kent got to his feet and they shook hands firmly. ‘I’m glad I met you. I’ve thought about Cat a lot in the past few years. It’s good to know she’s got somebody lookin’ after her.’ He turned to Cat, his big, homely face gentle, his eyes sad. ‘I’m sorry, little girl, ‘bout havin’ to lie to you before, but it was the only thing I could think to do. You forgive me.?’

  Catherine smiled at him, her eyes misting. ‘Of course I do. I understand,’ she whispered. It wasn’t easy to hug someone as big as Brian, but she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. For a moment, he clasped her in his big, hamlike fists, then released her.

  As he stepped back, Catherine detected a faint sheen of moisture in his dark eyes. Looking sternly at Kent, he said in a rough voice, ‘You look after her.’ He turned and walked towards the door.

  The silence that filled the room now that Brian had departed had a brooding quality to it. Catherine walked back to the sofa, picking up a cushion and plumping it idly. After a moment she clutched it to her stomach. Emotions tumbled around inside her, refusing to sort themselves out. Her joy in Casey’s exoneration was blighted by guilt at her own misjudgment of him. He had not betrayed her, but she had betrayed him by believing he had done such a terrible thing.

  Without her being aware of it, slow tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Five years! For five years of her life she had condemned him unjustly. If only she hadn’t believed them!

  An arm came around her shoulder and the pillow she had been clutching was pulled away. Kent gathered her to his chest, holding her against him with hard, protective arms. Catherine buried her face in his shoulder, her weeping intensifying as though a dam had burst inside her. Sobs raked through her and the arms holding her tightened. Kent murmured gently against her hair, his hand sliding beneath her hair to stroke the nape of her neck, attempting to soothe her. ‘Come now, Cat, that’s enough,’ he said huskily.

  She shook her head in a negative gesture. ‘I shouldn’t have believed them,’ she said in a choked voice. ‘I loved Casey, I should have known they were lying.’

  ‘Cat.’ He put his hands on her shoulders, easing her away from him. Seeing the tears still streaking down her cheeks, he gave her a little shake. Catherine bit her lip, forcing herself to control her tears. ‘Listen to me, Cat,’ Kent said sternly. ‘You had to believe them. You heard what Brian said. Casey wouldn’t have wanted you put in danger. He would have wanted you to be safe, even if it meant believing something like that. You’ve tortured yourself for fi
ve years because you thought he was an addict. I’m not going to let you torture yourself for the next five because he wasn’t.’

  She swallowed back a fresh wave of tears. ‘I guess you’re right.’ She rested against him for several minutes and he stroked her hair comfortingly. Presently she said in a low voice, ‘I’m sorry I put you through all this. I know how much your career means to you. I ... I thought it would remain a secret, that—that if I never told anyone about Casey then—well, no one would know. And then it was too late. Will you forgive me?’

  His hand stilled, then moved to her shoulder and carefully detached her from him. Holding her away from him, he peered into her face. ‘Forgive you? If anyone needs to ask for forgiveness, it’s me. My career...’ Self-disgust flickered across his features. ‘The pain I put you through in the name of my damned career! That night ... when you cried in my arms, I felt something I’d never felt before. That’s why I went to China. I was scared. And then, after making love to you for the first time, I was glad, Cat, glad you might be pregnant. It gave me an excuse to keep you with me for ever. And then when my father came here and told us about Rick ... I had to face then what I’d been trying to do to you: to use you to advance my career, to throw you at my father to demonstrate my independence. Forcing you to marry me, go out with me. That night I had to face what it was costing you ... and Cat...’ he paused, swallowing with difficulty as his eyes darkened with contrition, ‘when I left, went out for a time, it was because I was too ashamed to face you just then,’ he admitted huskily. ‘When I came back, all I wanted was to make it up to you, to protect you from that scum Rick, but—’

  ‘I’d already agreed to work for him again,’ Cat finished for him quietly.

  He held her eyes in a steady gaze. ‘I wouldn’t let you go back to him knowing how you felt about him. No, even if Brian hadn’t shown up when he did, that would never have happened.’

  ‘But if Rick had released those pictures, told those lies.’ A shudder passed through her. ‘It would have been all over the papers. All your plans, your ambitions—’

  ‘It wouldn’t have mattered,’ he cut her off. ‘Don’t you understand? I love you ... it took me a long time to admit it, but I do. Cat, the night my father came here, I realised that by forcing you back into the limelight I was as responsible for making you as unhappy as Rick or your brother or anyone else. And that isn’t love. I wanted to protect you from the scandal ... not my career. When I told you I was worrying about a baby, it was only because I had to say something so that you would let me help you.’

  ‘And I was trying to protect you! I love you so much and I didn’t want you mixed up in that sordid mess. And then you and your father—’

  ‘Stop worrying about my father,’ Kent interrupted her severely. He slipped his finger under her chin and lifted it upwards. His mouth covered hers for a moment, then he said, ‘That’s the first time you’ve told me that ... that you love me. Do you?’

  Catherine smiled up at him, her eyes shining. Slowly she nodded.

  A warm flame burned in the depths of his blue eyes as he returned her smile. ‘In that case, we don’t need to worry about anything. As long as we love each other.’ For several minutes the room was silent as they expressed their feelings more convincingly than words ever could. When at last he released her, her lips were gently swollen and her cheeks faintly flushed. Slipping his arm around her, he led her towards the bedroom and opened the door.

  They both stopped in astonishment at the sight that greeted them. Peter Castle was lying in the centre of the bed, his stockinged feet crossed and arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling with a silly grin on his face. More startling, however, were the hundreds of loose bills piled over him and the bed.

  Pointedly, Kent coughed. Instantly, Peter jack-knifed off the bed, scattering dollar bills in his wake, and flushing bright crimson. ‘Oh, damn!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’d forgotten all about you two!’ He gestured helplessly. Several more bills fluttered off the edge of the bed and he hastily made a grab at them as they fell to the floor.

  ‘What in the world do you think you’re doing?’ Kent asked.

  Peter straightened, his expression sheepish. ‘Well, you see ... you were in the other room for a long time and—well, I mean ... I got bored and then—well, I’ve always had this fantasy...’ He trailed off, his eyes moving wistfully to the mound of bills. ‘I thought I’d have it all cleaned up again before you came in here.’

  Catherine heard Kent make a choking sound in his throat and his expression remained stern as he looked at his friend. ‘Do you realise that that is one hundred thousand dollars?’ he demanded.

  ‘I know, I guess that was what made it such a temptation! I never saw that kind of money all in pieces before.’ Catherine saw Kent’s lips twitch. ‘Look,’ Peter said quickly, ‘I’m going to pick it all up. I’ll count it and make sure I haven’t lost any.’

  Kent cleared his throat, then said, ‘Don’t bother. Cat and I will take care of it.’ He paused. ‘I have an errand for you. I want you to get over to Moss’s before he skips town and pick up Cat’s jewellery.’ Peter’s eyebrows shot up, but Kent only added, ‘You shouldn’t have any problem with him giving it to you. Just tell him you’re a friend of Brian Collins.’ He jerked his head towards the door. ‘Now, how about getting out of here?’

  Peter looked as though he would have liked to ask a few questions, but saw Kent’s closed face and held them back. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Catherine released the giggle that had been threatening to choke her for the last few minutes. Kent’s low chuckle joined in, then grew to a full-throated laugh as soon as the exterior door of the suite slammed.

  Both their sides were aching when they finally got control of their mirth. Suddenly Kent eyed Catherine, then the money strewn over the bed. There was a wicked gleam in his eye. ‘Have you ever had a fantasy, Cat?’ he asked in a voice like silk. Without giving her a chance to answer, he lifted her off her feet and started towards the bed.