Fallen Angels: Beguiled\Wanton\Uncovered (13 page)

Dane stood. He wanted to get this over with quickly. He'd been at the office for hours now, anxious to get back to Angel. He pictured her lying soft and warm and exhausted in her bed and his groin tightened. He should have been well sated, but he was beginning to believe no amount of time with her would be enough.

He had to tell her everything, to remove all secrets between them. In truth, he should have done so before making love to her, but he hadn't wanted to risk being turned away. Now, he needed her help, both to find the truth behind Derek's death, and the source of the threats against her. In his gut, he knew the two were undeniably tied together, and they needed to share information in order to get to the truth.

Dane now had two agendas, avenging his brother and protecting Angel. He couldn't do either one while playing the role of his twin, with Angel or at the office.

He glanced around the table at the curious expressions of his family. “I have a few announcements to make, then you can all get back to your plans.”

His mother stared ahead stonily, her mouth pinched, her eyes hard. For the first time, Dane noticed the signs of her age, the tiredness, the brittleness that suddenly seemed a part of her. He turned to his sister and saw that she was staring down at her hands.

Only Raymond seemed attentive, almost anxious, and Dane wished there was some way to exclude the bastard, to kick him out on his ear. But as Celia's fiancé and his mother's first pick, the man had a right to sit in on any and all business.

“To say I was pleased to step in for my brother would be a lie. You all know I have my own business to run and cases are piling up with me absent so much.”

His mother shifted, crossing and recrossing her legs.

“I never wanted to be a part of this company, at least, not for many years now. Everything is now in order. I think it's past time I—”

A wild commotion in the outer office drew everyone's attention. Dane frowned, staring at the closed door and the raised voices coming through it. His mother came to her feet. “What in the world?”

Raymond also stood, his eyebrows lowered, his eyes flickering back and forth. “Would you like me to see what's going on?”

The uncles gave a disinterested glance over their shoulders, and everyone started murmuring at once.

The door was thrown open and Angel, looking ragged and harassed and determined, pushed her way in, despite Dane's secretary's hold on her arm. Dane felt his mouth fall open, his heart lurch. Behind Angel, Mick hovered, Grayson in his arms.

Angel ignored everyone but him, her gaze zeroing in on him, and then her face crumbled and she cried out. She'd obviously strained her leg again, given the awkward way she rushed toward him.

Dane skirted the end of the table and met her halfway, gathering her up in his arms, filled with confusion. “Angel?” He stared over her head toward Mick, who looked too grim by half.

She pushed back in his arms, her fingers clutching at his dress shirt. “They said you were dead!” She yelled the words at him, and now she seemed more angry than anything else. Her face was smudged, her hair wild, and she began to babble. “I wanted to talk to you because of the fire, but I was told you were busy and then they came right out and told me you were dead! I had to see for myself. I had to know you were all right. When I got here, they told me Mr. Carter was in a meeting and couldn't be disturbed, but don't you see, I had to have proof.” Her hands went busily over his face, reassuring herself, confirming his safety.

Dane glanced around at the stunned faces watching them, aware of the mounting tension, the delicacy of the situation. Everyone was now standing, expectant. Angel's babbling barely made sense and he hesitated to upset her further. Few people knew Derek was dead, so who the hell had told her? But first things first. “What fire?” he demanded, concentrating on the one thing that wasn't guaranteed to get him in any deeper.

Angel drew a shuddering breath. “Oh, Derek. Someone threw a mess of burning rags through my kitchen window! Everything in the apartment stinks of smoke.”

His mother gasped and went two shades paler, grabbing the conference table for support. “Dane, what's going on here? Who is this person?”

The muscles in his face felt like iron. “Give me a minute, Mother.”

“Oh my God! It's Angel Morris, isn't it?” Celia stepped forward, trying to get a better look at Angel. “What in the world happened to her, and why is she calling you Derek?”

Dane closed his eyes. He heard the conference room door slam and looked up to see Mick standing against it, Grayson held in his arms, his expression so hard he looked more like a man than ever.

Raymond barked out, “I'm calling security!” and reached for the phone. His movements were jerky and frantic.

“No.” Dane stopped him with a word, and everyone seemed to turn to stone, frozen and shocked and confused.

“This is insane,” Raymond argued. “She's upsetting the women!” And again he reached for the receiver.

Dane released Angel as she slowly backed away from him. “No, Raymond, everything is fine.”

“Fine?” Raymond argued, filled with outraged indignation. “The woman is mad, coming in here calling you by your dead brother's name. For God's sake, man, your mother and sister have been through too much already.”

His mother did look shaken, pale and drawn and confused, but Celia looked titillated. Her eyes were bright and wide and didn't budge from Angel's face. “You are Angel Morris, aren't you?”

Angel looked around the room at all the avid expressions and she swayed. Dane grabbed her, but she jerked back from him and her expression was so dark, so accusing, he felt it like a blow. Her bloodless lips moved twice before the words finally whispered out. “You're not Derek?”

Again Dane reached for her, firmly taking hold of her shoulders while she tried to shake him off. “Dammit, Angel, sit down before you fall down.” Then he looked around the room and ordered,
“Everyone out.”

His mother started to protest and he said,
“Now.”

Grayson chose that inauspicious moment to give one short, protesting cry. Dane thought it might have been Mick's tight hold on the baby that prompted the objection.

Again, everyone froze.

Drawing on lost reserve, Dane again tried to take control of the situation. “Mick, I want you to stay. Please sit down so everyone else can leave.”

Obligingly, looking as if he wouldn't have left anyway, Mick went to the leather couch and sat. He whispered nonsense words to Grayson and glared at anyone who tried to get closer to the baby.

Dane took Angel to the same couch, trying to support her weight when he saw how badly she was limping, but she sidled away from his touch as if she found him repulsive. Once she was seated, Dane strode over to the door and held it open. “All of you, wait outside. I'll explain everything in a minute.”

One of his uncles shook his head. “Can't wait to hear it.”

The other agreed. “Always did say that boy knew how to shake things up.” They left together. His cousin gave him an uncertain, wide-eyed look and hurried out.

Raymond stopped, holding Mrs. Carter's arm. “Are you sure you don't require security?” he asked. “I could get them up here, just in case. Or I could stay with you, as a precaution. You can't be too careful with crazy people.”

Dane ground his teeth together, sparing only a very brief glance at his mother's angry, drawn face. “Out, Raymond.”

Mrs. Carter stared up at her son. “Don't trust anything that woman tells you about Derek.”

“Mother…”

“I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, son. Do what's right, for us and yourself.” With that caustic warning, she walked out, Raymond hanging on her arm.

Celia paused in front of Dane. Her lips were trembling, her eyes wet with unshed tears. But she brazenly tried to act in control, unwilling to contribute to the chaos. “I hope you know I'm not budging from this outer office until you give me a full report.”

Dane nodded, appreciating her reserve.

Celia licked her lips nervously, then ventured, “I could hold the baby while you two talk.”

“No!” Angel sat forward on her seat, but Dane ignored her, his attention on his sister.

“Thanks, sweetheart, but Mick can handle things and the baby's already used to him.” Celia looked so crushed, Dane touched her cheek and added softly, “Get Mother something to drink. She looks ready to faint. And be patient, please.”

Celia nodded at him, offering up a shaky smile. “Good luck.”

As he closed the door, Dane muttered, “I'm going to need more than luck now.” He drew a long, calming breath before turning to Angel. His mother's warning rang in his ears. Would Derek have seen his actions as a betrayal? Had he felt justified in his treatment of Angel? Things had seemed so simple when he'd first started this. Now he felt mired in conflicting emotions. But one thing was certain, he couldn't lie to her anymore.

Angel's entire posture showed how wounded she felt, both physically and emotionally. She stared at Dane, her expression fixed, her arms crossed belligerently over her chest. As she'd been doing since Grayson's birth, she held herself together by sheer force of will.

Something inside Dane felt like it was breaking apart. Despite his mother's warning, despite his loyalty to his twin, Dane knew he couldn't ever hurt her again. And that meant he had to give her the full truth. “Derek's dead. He died months ago.”

For about ten seconds she looked shocked, then she jerked to her feet. Comprehension dawned in her face and her eyes widened on him, appalled. “Oh my God.”

Dane nodded slowly. “Yes, I'm the dreaded evil twin, of course.” He took a measured step toward her. “I can explain everything, honey.”

Her eyes went wild. “Don't you come near me. I don't want to hear anything you have to say.”

“Well, you're going to hear it,” he said, tightening himself against her disdain. He was well aware of how she felt about him, and the damn reputation Derek had amplified. But it still hurt as he felt her emotional withdrawal, the separation between them growing. He bit off a curse, knowing if he didn't push now, he'd lose her for good, along with the opportunity to discover what had really happened to Derek.

“Angel…”

All signs of fear were replaced by anger. Her face was flushed, her body practically vibrating with her temper, her scorn. “You miserable lying bastard.”

Dane closed his eyes and tipped his head back. He heard Angel's furious whispering, heard Mick grumble a reply, and quickly faced her again. “You're not going anywhere, babe.”

“The hell I'm not!” She tried to take the baby from Mick, but he resisted her efforts. She turned her cannon on Dane again. “You can't dictate to me, and I'm certainly not going to listen to any more of your lies. There is absolutely no excuse for what you've done!”

Mick glared at Dane, but spoke to Angel. “Nothing's changed. There's still someone trying to hurt you, and your apartment is still a mess. Think of Grayson. At least hear…” He looked at Dane, then shrugged in his direction. “At least hear him out. Whoever the hell he is.”

Dane tightened his jaw. “Dane Carter.” The formality of an introduction was ludicrous.

Angel sneered. “Derek told me all about you. You're the worst of the lot!”

“I was going to explain everything to you today, Angel. In fact, I was just telling my family that I won't work for the company—”

“I don't care what you were telling them.”

“Angel.” He felt hollow inside. “Honey, you have to hear me out. The only reason I came back to the company in the first place is because I think Derek was murdered.”

He shouldn't have blurted it out like that, but he knew he had to make her listen. Angel wrapped her arms around her middle and sank back onto the couch, slowly rocking. “No, no, this can't be happening.”

Dane knelt down in front of her. “I'm so sorry, honey. At first, when you contacted me, I was suspicious of you, thinking you had more reason than most to hate Derek, to want him dead. I thought you might have had something to do with setting him up and then when I came home, you thought you hadn't succeeded. There's been no official announcement of Derek's death and my family has done everything they could to keep the news quiet.” He spoke quickly, hoping to get his explanations out while she was still listening.

She laughed, a harsh, broken sound and rocked that much harder.

“It took me only a short time of knowing you to realize how ridiculous that theory was.”

“No, not at all,” she said, her grin twisted and mean. Provoking. “I did despise him. Almost as much as I despise you.”

“Angel,” he chided. “You don't mean that. Not after last night.”

He caught her right fist just inches from his face and stared at her in incredulous disbelief. “Dammit, Angel, that wouldn't have been a little ladylike tap! Are you trying to—”