Julia left the office an hour later, her cell phone turned off. She wasn’t sure where she intended to go, but she knew she couldn’t stay at work any longer. She started walking with no destination in mind and ended up at the Pike Place Market. People were bustling about and, not wanting to be in a crowd, she headed for the waterfront. Not the tourist areas, but much farther down where the large cruise vessels docked.

She walked for hours, trying to sort through her emotions, and eventually gave up. She was in too much pain to think clearly.

She didn’t cry. Not once. She figured this numbness was her body’s protective device.

It was well past dark and she’d wandered into an unsafe area of town. She finally realized she had to make her way home.

When she reached her building, the security man looked surprised to find her arriving so late. He greeted her warmly and held open the heavy glass door for her.

The elevator ride up to her apartment seemed to take forever, but it wasn’t long enough. Soon she’d face her husband.

She’d barely gotten her key into the lock when the door was wrenched open. Alek loomed above her like a bad dream.

Eleven

She saw the same signs in Alek that she’d seen in Roger. The indignation. The hurt, angry look that she could believe such a terrible thing of him. As if she were the betrayer. As if she were the guilty one.

Roger had turned the tables on her with such finesse she didn’t realize what was happening until too late. Julia studied her husband and if she didn’t know better would’ve believed with all her heart that he’d never betray her.

“Where have you been?” Alek demanded. “I’ve been worried sick.”

“I went for a walk.”

“For five hours?”

She moved past him. “I should’ve phoned. I’m sorry, but I needed to think.”

Alek followed her. “Why didn’t you come to me yourself? Instead you sent Jerry.” His voice revealed his pain. “I don’t deny talking to Roger Stanhope, but at least give me the chance to explain why.” “You can’t deny seeing him since we have the evidence,” she responded lifelessly. “You called him, too, from the lab. We know about that, as well.”

If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. “I called him because I wanted him to stay away from you. He wouldn’t listen. Our meeting at Henshaw’s was an accident, he was arriving just as I was leaving. He taunted me, said he could have you back anytime he wanted. He said other things, too, but I don’t care to repeat them. Ask the man you hired to take photographs what happened that day. Stanhope and I nearly got into a fistfight.”

Julia desperately wanted to believe that he was telling the truth about his motives. Her heart yearned to trust him. But this was like an old tape being played back again and the memories it brought to the surface were too compelling to ignore.

“That man Stanhope is slime. I won’t have him anywhere near you,” Alek said heatedly. “If you want to condemn me for protecting you, then you may. But I would rather rip out my own heart than hurt you.”

He was saying everything Julia longed to hear. She pressed her hands to her head, not knowing what to do. “I have to think.”

He nodded, seeming to accept that, but he was hurt and she felt his pain as strongly as her own. Rather than continue a discussion that would cause them both grief, she showered and dressed for bed.

Alek appeared in the doorway to the guest bedroom when she’d finished. “Anna left you some dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re too thin already. Eat.”

“Alek, please, I’m exhausted.”

“Eat,” he insisted.

Julia’s appetite was gone. She’d thrown up her lunch and hadn’t eaten since. Unwilling to argue with him, she went into the kitchen, took the foil-covered dinner plate warming in the oven and sat down at the table.

His sister had cooked veal cutlets, small red potatoes and what looked like a purple cabbage stir-fry. Even after sitting in the oven for hours, the food was delicious. Julia intended to sample only a few bites to appease Alek and then dump the rest in the garbage disposal, but she ended up eating a respectable amount of food. When she’d finished, she rinsed off her plate and retired to the guest room. Alone.

In the morning, Julia woke to the sound of Anna and Alek talking in the kitchen. They were speaking in Russian and it was apparent that Anna was upset.

Donning her robe, Julia wandered in and poured herself a cup of coffee. Anna eyed her with open hostility.

“My brother would not do this thing,” she said forcefully.

“Anna,” Alek barked. “Enough.”

“He loves you. How can you think he would ever hurt you? He is a man of honor.”

“It isn’t as simple as it seems,” Julia said in her own defense. Anna didn’t understand, and she didn’t expect her to.

Alek said something sharp and cold in Russian, but that didn’t stop Anna from turning to Julia once more. “You do not know my brother. Otherwise you wouldn’t believe he could do this terrible thing.”

Alek reprimanded his sister harshly. Julia didn’t need to understand Russian to know what he was saying.

Anna responded by yanking the apron from her waist, throwing it on the kitchen counter and storming out of the apartment.

“I apologize for my sister’s behavior,” Alek said after she’d left. He was so formal, so stiff and proud. He hesitated, as if trying to find the words to express himself. “There is a meeting with the marketing people this afternoon. It is a very important discussion. I need to be there to answer questions. If you’d rather I wasn’t, I’ll see if someone can take my place.”

Julia felt incapable of making any decision, even a straightforward one like this.

“I suggest you attend it, too,” he said. “If you feel I am doing or saying anything that would hurt Conrad Industries, then you can stop me. I suggest Jerry be there, as well.”

“Alek, please try to understand how awkward this is.”

“Come to the meeting,” he urged.

“All right,” Julia agreed reluctantly.

He told her the time and place, and afterward they were silent. Julia thought with a kind of sad whimsy that she could hear the sound of their heartache, like the loud ticking of a clock. She was sure Alek heard it, too. After a few minutes, he left the condo.

Rarely had Julia ever felt more alone. Her thoughts depressed her. She dressed, determined to act as if life was normal until they resolved this problem.

It wasn’t until she was at the office that she made a clear decision, her first sensible one since this whole nightmare began.

She pulled the phonebook out of her desk drawer, swallowed hard, praying she could pull this off, and then, with a bravado she didn’t feel, dialed Roger Stanhope’s number.

“Mr. Stanhope’s office,” came the efficient reply.

“This is Julia Conrad for Mr. Stanhope.”

“One moment, please.”

A short time passed before Roger’s smooth voice came over the wire. “Julia, what a pleasant surprise.”

“I understand you met with my husband.” Preliminary greetings were unnecessary.

“So you heard about that?”

“Alek told me. I’m calling you for your own protection. Alek meant what he said about you staying away from me. If you value your neck, I advise you not to try contacting me again.” Her heart was in her throat, pounding so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it.

“I think there must be some misunderstanding,” Roger said in an incredulous tone. “I did meet with your husband. Actually, he’s the one who contacted me, but your name didn’t enter into the conversation. He wanted to talk to me about Phoenix Paints. He was hoping the two of us could strike some kind of deal. Naturally Ideal Paints is very interested.”

“Good try, Roger, but it won’t work.”

He laughed that slightly demented laugh of his, as though she’d said something hilarious.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” he added sarcastically.

Julia hung up the phone.

She sat there for several minutes with her hand on the receiver. When she found the strength, she stood, walked out of her office and directly past her assistant’s desk.

“Ms. Conrad, are you feeling all right? You’re terribly pale again.”

Julia shrugged. “I’ll be fine,” she said, more brusquely than she’d intended.

“Have you thought about seeing a doctor?”

Julia didn’t know any physician who specialized in treating broken hearts. Virginia frowned at her, waiting for a reply. “No, I don’t…need one.”

“I think you do. I’m going to make an appointment for you and ask for the first available opening. We can’t have you walking around looking as if you’re going to faint at any moment.”

Julia barely heard her. She walked farther into the hallway to the elevator and rode down to her brother’s office.

Jerry stood when she walked in. “Julia! Sit down. You look like you’re about to keel over.”

If her brother was commenting on her appearance, she must resemble yesterday’s oatmeal. “I’m fine,” she lied.

“Do you need a glass of water?”

She shook her head. She hadn’t come to discuss her health.

“I’m getting you one anyway. You look dreadful.”

Julia pinched her lips together to bite back a cutting commentary, and didn’t succeed. “How nice of you to say so.”

Jerry chuckled and left his office, returning with a paper cup of water. He insisted Julia drink it, which she did. To her surprise she felt better afterward. But then, it was probably impossible to feel any worse.…

“I imagine you’re here to find out what Alek said,” Jerry murmured. “He claims he confronted Roger and told him to leave you alone. I wish I’d done it myself.”

“I talked to Roger myself.”

Jerry froze and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You talked to Roger?”

“This morning.”

“What did he say?” Jerry demanded. “Never mind, I can guess.” He started pacing then as if holding still was more than he could manage. “Naturally he wasn’t going to tell you what Alek actually said. What did you expect him to say, anyway? That he was shaking in his boots with fear? How could you do anything so stupid?”

“I…”

“I thought you were smarter than that!”

“Roger claims Alek tried to strike a deal with our strongest competitor,” Julia said, trying hard to control her temper.

“I don’t believe that for a minute.”

Neither did Julia, not really, but she was so desperately afraid. She needed Jerry to confirm her belief in Alek, needed the reassurance that she wasn’t making the same tragic mistake a second time.

“Don’t you realize you’re playing directly into Roger’s hands? This is exactly what he was hoping would happen. He wants you to distrust Alek. You certainly made his day.”