Agent T3: d'Artagnan (Superhero Romance) (The D.I.R.E. Agency) (5 page)

Truth be told, she could probably run for miles yet, she always asked him to help her from the bed. Just having his hand on her arm made gooseflesh pop up on her skin and her mouth turn up at the corners. Watching his biceps and shoulders flex and bunch was more entertaining than television. And, his backside in denims… well, that called for popcorn and a cola. She could watch that all day.

“Where do you want to go?” He held out his hand to help her from the bed. “The visual marvel of the lobby or the breathtaking excitement of the gift shop?”

Did she really need her memories back when she could just make new ones with this man and that smile?

She placed her hand in his large palm. His tanned skin was cool to the touch and so much darker than her own milky complexion.

“The gift shop. I want more of those foil-wrapped chocolates.”

“Why am I not surprised?” He led her from the room, her hand in the crux of his arm. “I’m starting to get a complex, playing second fiddle to chocolate.”

This would be the third visit to the gift shop in four days. She enjoyed looking at all of the sentimental gifts and the variety of candy. However, in all honesty, walking with Dar was the only time she had an excuse to touch him
.

When he’d told her they had to keep things professional, it had made her more determined to take things in the other direction. She didn’t know if she had a history of moving full steam ahead, but with Dar, she couldn’t help herself. If an opportunity to flirt with him presented itself, she took it
.

“I could be persuaded to move you up to first fiddle, with the right incentive.”

They stepped into the elevator. Dar hit the first floor button. Staring down at her, his aqua eyes swirled with interest.

“Is that right?”

Biting her bottom lip, she stared at his mouth. “Mmm, yes...”

He gave an uncomfortable laugh. “You don’t know
subtle
, do you?”

“Mmm, no…” She smiled at him.

His sudden grin disappeared. “You’re making my job really

difficult, you know.”

She pulled away, his statement striking her by surprise. The last thing she wanted to do was make his job difficult.

What if he
left
because she’d become too obnoxious? She had to tone it down and act like a lady.

Losing her smile, Jocelyn dipped her head. “I’m sorry, Dar. I never meant to do that.”

He tugged her to him. “Hey.” Lifting her chin with his hand, he said, “It’s only difficult because you’re becoming harder to resist.” His gaze went to her mouth.

Her
heart pounded in wild abandon. “So, why resist?”

He groaned low. “Joce… I’m trying to do the right thing.”

She placed a palm against his chest. His muscles felt hard, yet warm, their ridges tempting her hands to roam. She curled her fingers into his shirt.

“Sometimes the right thing really isn’t the right thing at all.” Trailing her palm down his torso, she dropped her arm to her side
.

Releasing her chin, he gave a half laugh. “Damn, you’re out to kill me, aren’t you?”

The elevator door opened. The bustle of mid-morning activity intruded on their privacy.

“Aren’t you supposed to be locked up somewhere?”

Jocelyn whipped around. A big, hulking blond man stood just outside the elevator. He glared at Dar with narrowed eyes, his nostrils wide.

Taking her by the hand, Dar led her out of the elevator, keeping her behind him. She peeked around his side.

“How ya doing, Brewster? I see you’ve healed from Jacobs’ ass-kicking.”

He breathed out of his nose. “You asshole. Last I heard, Jacobs set you up as jail bait. What are you doing out?”

Dar’s voice held a heavy dose of derision. “Oh? You didn’t hear? Jacobs is my brother.” Looking both ways, he leaned in close to Brewster. “And guess what? Rachel is my sister. Just think – we were almost in-laws.” Dar backed away with a slow nod.

Dar had a brother, and a sister who’d almost married this man. Thank goodness she’d come to her senses. The man exuded arrogance
.

“How could that be? How could she and Jacobs be engaged?”

Engaged? Dar’s siblings were engaged?

Dar stood silent a moment. “Different parents, Brewster. Think about it.”

Jocelyn smiled at Dar’s sarcasm. This Brewster character had approached him with the intent to cause trouble. However, Dar’s razor-sharp tongue had rendered him powerless.

“And, just so we’re clear, Brewster, if you or your father try to hurt my family again, I
will
come after you.”

He gave a half laugh. “You’re worried about
us
when you’ve got Kate in the family?”

Jocelyn felt Dar stiffen
.

“She’s the one that told the old man about the will. You need to check your own backyard. That biatch will do anything for money.”

Dar’s hand grew moist around hers. She could feel the heat and anger emanate off of him. His shoulders seemed to grow right before her eyes, his back a landscape of tension.

“What are you saying, Brewster?”

He gave Dar a confident grin before lowering his voice. “Let me put it this way - she had her own toothbrush in my daddy’s bathroom.”

Brewster passed them to enter the elevator. Turning to stare at Dar, he lifted his middle finger in the air before the doors shut.

An aura of rage surrounded Dar like gravity. Obviously, this Kate was a member of his family and a horrible person.

She laid her palm against his cheek. His stormy, aqua eyes shot to her face. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” He grabbed her hand and tucked it in his arm. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“You want to talk about it?”

He gave a half laugh. “Yeah, like I want a lobotomy.”

Raising her knuckles to his lips, he kissed her hand. “Come on. Let’s go get that chocolate.”

Two afternoons later, Dar sat in the hospital corridor outside Jocelyn’s room, participating in his first video conference as a D.I.R.E. agent. He’d spent the morning playing chess with her and got his ass handed to him.

Obviously, her mind functioned just fine. Her memory had just decided to take a vacation.

Learning Kate had an affair with Jock Brewster hadn’t surprised him. He’d had her pegged from day one. What he didn’t know was whether he should tell Rachel and Aidan.

Or, whether she was using his father, too.

Then again, if she was, the old man deserved it. They were the two, most self-centered people he’d ever met.

“The agents went through all of the barrels on the ranch, Naylor. They couldn’t find the gold.” Tristan grimaced on the screen of Dar’s phone
.

Rachel sat beside his brother. “That can’t be, Tris. Ben said it was in the barrels.”

“Well hell, he didn’t say which barrels,” Aidan said, from the opposite side of the table. “Maybe there are more barrels somewhere.”

Dar said, “In an area littered with oil rigs, I think that’s a fair bet, Monroe.”

Cassandra leaned back in her chair. “If you had thirty million in gold, you’d keep it close, wouldn’t you? It has to be on the ranch.”

“What if I took Joce to the ranch? I could look for it

myself.”

Wait for it, Naylor. Wait for it…

“Oh, so it’s Joce, is it?” Cass’s voice held a teasing lilt.

He knew they wouldn’t disappoint him.

“Save it, Cass. Brentwood said she can be discharged but he wants to keep her close for a while.”

Rachel nodded. “That works, Dar. Feel free to take her. My house is your house. Make yourself at home.”

Keeping house with Jocelyn, alone, would take mammoth willpower. The last few days, she’d flirted with him like nobody’s business. She’d eaten him under the table and even challenged him to a wheelchair race in the hallway one night, and won.

He couldn’t give in to this attraction. To do so would be grossly unfair to her. She didn’t know her own history, let alone his
.

Damn this freaking honor. Did Robinson install it without him knowing?

“Has anyone run a history on her?” Dar said. “What do we know?”

Aidan cleared his throat. “Now that you’re a part of D.I.R.E., I can tell you. Piecing together official records and information from our interrogations, she was born in nineteen twenty, the daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Chalmers. Elizabeth died of tuberculosis in nineteen twenty-five. Jocelyn was raised by Nathan until-“

“Angela showed up.”

“Yep,” Aidan said. “In nineteen thirty. Because she was a female, Jocelyn wasn’t allowed official entrance into the Institute for Advanced Studies. But, because her father was a member, she was allowed to unofficially study beside him.”

“She worked in a soup kitchen twice a week and supported a women’s rights group. Otherwise, there isn’t much on her at all. It’s like she just falls off the map.”

Dar looked back into Jocelyn’s room. She napped

peacefully.

“I found a set of dog tags in her bag for a John Horner
.

Is there anything in her file on him?”

Aidan sifted through some papers on the table. “Nothing. I’ll see what I can find.”

“Has she remembered anything yet, Naylor?” Tristan said.

He couldn’t contain the humor in his voice. “She remembered watching a jungle man in a movie.”

Rachel barked out a laugh. “How did she remember that?”

“My hair. She said she’s not used to seeing men with long hair.”

“Should we start calling you
Darzan
?” Aidan snickered.

Dar gave a reluctant grin. “Shut it, Monroe. I’m going to kick your ass when I get back up there.”

“Then I’ll have to kick yours,” Cass chimed in.

Aidan waggled his brows. “I love when she talks dirty.”

Tristan chuckled. “Mitchell’s really pushing Robinson to get your system ready. He wants to get you back to nineteen forty-four ASAP.”

“Speaking of…” Cass folded her hands in front of her. “Why would these people think they could come forward with the same defenses and gain different results? Surely, they got the message when we sent back an empty time machine? That had to tell them someone got vaporized.”

Aidan said, “That makes them more dangerous than ever. No telling what they’ll use next time. They have access to Einstein, for cripes sake.”

Would Chalmers arrive himself to collect his daughter? Or, did he give a rat’s ass about her at all?

VonFussenhoffer had taken a great loss due to D.I.R.E. If he was anything like the Furor, he wouldn’t rest until he got what he wanted.

“Ask Mitchell to call Brentwood and have Jocelyn released to me. We’ll set up at the ranch. If I can get her to remember, maybe she can help me find a way to stop them by the time I’m ready to go.”

#####

“Up and at ‘em, Chalmers.”

Jocelyn woke the next morning to a smiling Dar and a single pink rose on her lap. The fragrant scent smelled heavenly, the bright pink color bringing life to the room.

She held it to her nose. “For me?”

A boyish grin blossomed on his face. “No, me. I just thought you’d like to see it.”

Laughing, she slapped at his arm. “Too bad. It’s mine now. My mother used to wear rosewater.”

He gazed at her with raised brows. “Another memory?”

It
was
another memory. Thank God. Maybe she would remember everything soon.

When she did, would he leave her?

He helped her up from the bed. She smiled at him.

“You’re good for me, d’Artagnan.”

“That’s a first.”

The tone behind the words bothered her. Had no one ever told him he was loved? Needed?

“Perhaps, it’s an
only
.”

Why
did she say that? She hadn’t been out of bed two minutes and she had already flirted with him. For some reason, she couldn’t simply talk to Dar without doing so.

“Keep staring at me like that, Chalmers, and you’ll never get rid of me.”

The thought made her heart sing. She closed the distance between them.

“You’re all ready to go, Miss Chalmers.” Dr. Brentwood entered the room
.

She jumped away from Dar. “I’m being discharged?”

Brentwood looked at Dar. “You didn’t tell her?”

“She slept so soundly I didn’t want to wake her until the last minute. My gut tells me she gets grumpy if she doesn’t get her rest.”

This man was just full of mischief. “You haven’t seen grumpy until you tease me too much.”

Brentwood laughed. “Careful, Naylor. You may be visiting our emergency room soon.” He turned to her. “Jocelyn, how are you feeling today?”