Fallen Angels: Beguiled\Wanton\Uncovered (14 page)

A split second later, her left fist connected with his temple, almost knocking him off balance and making his brain ring. “Goddammit!” Dane caught both her hands and pulled her to her feet, struggling to subdue her. “If you can refrain from inflicting your vicious temper on my head, I think we can get this all straightened out!”

Angel tugged her hands, obviously accepted that he had no intention of releasing her, and went still. “Let me go.”

“Not on your life. We have a hell of a lot of talking to do and I think we'll accomplish it more easily if my brain is left intact.” He lowered his voice to a mild scold, somewhat amused by her despite his still ringing ears. “I had no idea you were such a fury. Why don't you just settle down and behave yourself.”

She growled, anger flushing her face crimson. “Behave myself?
Behave myself!
Do you mean I should try conniving and manipulating and lying!” She jerked against him again, but he held tight. “You and your brother are two of a kind.”

Dane grew somber. “No, actually we're not.” He let her go and paced two steps away, out of harm's reach. “Angel, this is the first I've seen my family in years. We hadn't been on the best of terms, precisely because I'm not like them. I don't approve of what Derek did to you—”

“What you did was worse,” she growled, then grudgingly dropped back into her seat.

She looked defeated and he hated it. “I suppose it was, regardless of what my excuses are. But I want to make things right. That's what I've been trying to do this morning. I want to take care of you and Grayson, and don't shake your beautiful head at me! The threat to you is very real, dammit. Derek is dead, and somehow you're tied to it!”

She gave him a look of contempt. “You think I don't know how serious it is? Someone tried to run me off the road. That's the accident, you know, that started my labor and injured my leg. I almost died. Obviously whoever did that isn't very happy that I survived.”

Every muscle in his body jerked at the ramification of her words. His heart pounded, his knees locked.
She could have been killed.
And he'd been thinking the threats against her weren't physical? “Goddammit, why didn't you tell me this sooner?”

Her brow lifted. “Trust goes both ways.”

He let loose with a string of curses that had Mick chuckling and Angel frowning.

“At first I thought the accident was just that—an accident. I was disoriented for a long time and in a lot of pain after the wreck, not to mention I had a brand-new baby to take care of. There wasn't a lot of room in my thoughts for suspicions. But then, the phone calls started and I got spooked. Then I had to wonder.”

“And finally,” he said, his voice low and barely controlled, “you realized you had to have some help. That's when you came back to Derek. Not because you wanted to, but because you truly had nowhere else to turn.”

She nodded. “I thought if nothing else, he might be willing to check into things for me.”

They stared at each other, and Dane read her thoughts. She'd been willing to try seducing Derek to gain the help she needed, to get protection for her baby.

She had truly despised Derek, and now she felt the same about him. Angel was still very pale, but more collected. Her eyes glinted with raw determination and he knew it was only her concern for Grayson that was keeping her in the same room with him. He had his work cut out for him. “Derek was run off the road. Unlike you, luck wasn't on his side that day.”

Angel closed her eyes on a sigh. “You should probably know, someone followed us here today. From the time we rushed out of the apartment until we pulled in the lot, we were followed.”

Dane hesitated only a second, then stalked to his desk phone and quickly punched out a series of numbers. He waited, but then the office door opened and Alec strolled in, holding up his blinking cell phone. “No need to call me. I'm right here.” Raymond tried to follow him in, but Alec slammed the door in his face.

Angel sank back against her seat with his entrance, but Mick perked up. “It's Alec!”

The dark visage merely nodded in their direction. “I got there too late to find out what was going on until they'd already left the building.” His look was reproachful when he added to Dane, “You left earlier than I thought you would.”

Again Angel surged to her feet. “What is he talking about, Der…Dane?”

Satisfaction settled into his bones. Finally, finally she was calling him by his rightful name. “Alec works for me, honey. I'm the one who hired Mick, not a friend. And I've had Alec watching you for several reasons. At first, because I thought you might take off before I could figure out what's going on, whether or not you could give any insight into Derek's death. But then for your safety when I couldn't be there.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So you told him you were spending the night with me last night?”

Mick made a choking sound and got up to stroll to the other end of the room, pretending to keep all his attention on Grayson.

Feeling as if a trap were closing around him, Dane tried for a show of bravado. “I didn't have to tell him. Alec's good at what he does or I wouldn't have him working with me. He knew I had gone in your apartment, and he was able to figure things out quickly enough, given I didn't leave right away.”

Alec nodded. “That's about it. Only I didn't figure on you rushing off so early today or I'd have been there to cover her.”

“That's my fault. I made up my mind on what I wanted to do and saw no reason to wait. I should have contacted you.”

Angel threw up her hands. “
Someone
should have contacted me!”

The conference room door crept open and Celia tried peeking in. Her eyes were huge and went immediately to Alec. “Why is he allowed in and I'm not?”

Dane groaned. The last thing he needed added to the mix was his sister's curiosity. Alec merely turned away and headed for the door, while Celia quickly started backing out. “Dane?” she called, but Alec kept going until they were both on the other side of the closed door. Dane could hear his sister's loud and nervous protests.

“I can always count on Alec to know what needs to be done.” Dane's smile had no seeming effect on Angel. She glared at him.

“Honey, there's a lot we have to settle.” He sat close to her on the couch and pretended not to notice her efforts to move away. “First off, I want you to know that last night was genuine.”

“Spare me your diatribe on last night, Der—Dane. I won't believe anything you have to say about that.”

Dane had to trust she'd eventually change her mind, but now wasn't a good time to push her. Instead, he concentrated on what had to be done. “Tell me about the fire.”

She did, in totally detached tones that made Dane want to shake her. Didn't she care about last night? Hadn't it affected her at all? The way she was behaving now, last night might as well have not happened. The timing was unfortunate, but he'd been counting on it to soften her some when presented with his truths.

Mick filled in some of the details on the fire, apparently more concerned with it than Angel was at the moment.

Dane decided he'd make a quick trip by there to check out the apartment himself. Maybe there was a clue that the others had missed. “I'll pay for the damages and the cleaning, Mick, so that the apartment will be as good as new.”

“You don't need to do that. It's my mother's building. We'll handle it.”

Dane's respect for the youth doubled. “It's the least I can do, given all you've done to keep her safe.” Seeing that Mick's pride would force him to argue further, he added, “Angel, you and Grayson can come to stay with me.”

She snorted. “Not on your life.”

Inconspicuously drawing a fortifying breath, Dane took his last shot, and prayed she wouldn't fight him too hard. He knew things were happening too fast, for him as well as her. Without hesitation, he'd gladly taken over his brother's life, his role in the company. He'd consoled himself with the fact he was trying to find his brother's killer. Even as he'd walked through his brother's office and gone through his desk and personal notes, he'd been empowered by the fact that he had a mission, a purpose. But now he was taking Derek's woman and son, too, for no other reason than he wanted them. Despite all the very real motives he had justifying his actions, he knew the truth, and it was tough to swallow.

Regret that he hadn't taken the time to make his peace with Derek squeezed his heart. Still, he had to think Derek would approve of what he was about to do. Regardless of how he'd treated Angel, Dane refused to believe he'd want Angel terrorized, or his son abandoned. Grayson deserved the family name, and the power and protection that came with it.

With renewed resolution, Dane said, “It seems like the best solution, honey.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because as soon as I can manage it, we'll be married.”

A
NGEL STARED AT DEREK
…no,
Dane.
She had to remember that. This man—a man she'd slept with—was a total stranger. He'd betrayed her, used her, and as far as she could tell, despite all his assurances to the contrary, he was no different from his family.
But everything about him had seemed different.

No, she didn't trust him, and she'd been right to fear him all along.

“We could make it a Thanksgiving wedding,” he said, sounding absurdly enthusiastic. “Not very romantic, I know, but there you have it. I really do think the sooner the better.”

Angel could only shake her head. “I'm not marrying you.”

“Have you forgotten my family, honey?”

What a joke. As if she could ever forget such a thing. “It's not likely, not when I've suspected them most from the start.”

“Suspected them?” Dane sounded confused, his eyebrows slowly drawing down.

“They, more than anyone, have reason to want me gone. After all, I know firsthand just how unscrupulous Derek could be, when they're bound and determined to make him out a saint. If I chose to go to the papers…”

“Being snide isn't going to help anything.”

“It's making me feel a damn sight better!”

“Angel, my family wouldn't try to physically harm you.”

“Ha!”

He sighed. “Okay, look at it this way. It's obvious whoever tried to run you off the road, succeeded with Derek. Now surely you're not going to suggest my family could be responsible for that? The two incidents are too closely related to not be done by the same person or people.”

He was right, and that made the peril even worse. When she'd thought she knew who was after her, it was bad enough. But not knowing…

“I just found out about Derek today. Before now, my reasoning seemed sound.”

“Possibly. I had my own suspicions about why my mother has been so accepting of Derek's death. Normally, she'd be looking for a person to blame, and you could have been a target. But I think you may have hit the nail on the head. She knew he was unscrupulous, knew the way he'd treated you lacked any sense of professional honor. Could be she just didn't want any reporters getting wind of the story and embellishing on it.”

Angel's brain felt stuffed to overflowing with problems, and she needed to get away from him so she could think. She looked toward Mick, but Dane quickly regained her attention.

“You still need my protection from the family, honey, just not in the way you thought. Look at yourself. You haven't made the best first impression on any of them, and believe me, they'll use your little show today to their advantage. They'll call you a crazy woman running in here all mussed and smelling of smoke. Just the fact of the danger involved is enough to give them an edge. They'll gladly use anything they can to cow you. My mother would love to claim you unfit, taking into consideration your financial predicament, your insecure life, compared to everything their money and influence can provide—”

“All right!” Angel stood and began pacing. It seemed her options were sorely limited, and by her own design, she'd put herself in his family's righteous path. She couldn't, wouldn't lose Grayson, not to anyone, not for any reason.

Dane slipped up behind her, not touching her, but his warmth did and her stomach gave an excited little flip.
Fool,
she thought, disgusted with herself and her feminine responses to him.

Well, she'd wondered many times why things were different now, why she would be more attracted to Derek now after the way he'd used her. She had her answer of sorts, the mere fact that it wasn't Derek, but his brother instead. Again, she shuddered with the humiliation of it. Everything Derek had told her of Dane had scared her spitless. He'd been like a dark, silent enemy, someone she'd wanted to avoid at all costs. But now, she didn't really fear him at all. On the contrary, she was madder than hell.

“As my wife, they couldn't touch you, Angel. Grayson would be safe, and you would be safe, from them and the threats.”

“Why?” Angel whirled around to face him, his motivations very suspect given everything she now knew. It had seemed strange enough that Derek would be interested in her, but then she'd found out he only wanted to use her. What could possibly be driving Dane? “Why would you want to marry me, damn you?”

Dane's eyes lifted briefly to where Mick hovered in the corner. Then he leaned down until their foreheads nearly touched. He didn't look at her face, choosing instead to stare at her mouth. “Grayson is my nephew, but I care about him as if he were my own. I'd gladly kill, or die, for him. And we're good together, babe. Last night proved that.” His fingers touched gently on her cheek, then dropped away. “I think we could make a go of things. It's the only logical solution.”

Weary defeat dragged her down and she rubbed her forehead. He hadn't said anything about caring for her. His reasoning was so far from love as to be laughable. But then, she didn't love him either.
She didn't.
How could she possibly love a man she didn't even really know? She felt boxed in and almost desperate, as much by the circumstances as her own emotional needs. “I'd want a marriage of convenience.”

Dane straightened with a short, curt laugh. “Hell no.”

“Dane—”

“I love how you say that, Angel. You have no idea how damn difficult it was being called by another man's name.”

He was impossible and she couldn't deal with him. She felt caught between a good cry and a hysterical laugh.

Dane took her shoulders and gently shook her. “Let me take you home. To my house. You look exhausted and we need to talk without the threat of my family bursting in any minute. You need to tell me everything this time; no more secrets. And Grayson needs to get settled down. We have a lot to take care of today.”

Since she didn't know what else to do, she finally nodded. Dane let out a long breath of relief and smiled at her. “Don't look so glum. Marrying me won't be nearly the hardship you're imagining. I promise.”

Her look of intense dislike was rudely ignored.

The outer door opened then and Dane's sister marched in, looking militant for all of three steps—until Alec's long arm appeared, grabbed her by the shoulder, and tugged her back out again. The door closed quietly on her outraged complaints.

Dane chuckled. “I think my sister is anxious to meet the baby.”

It was almost impossible to beat down her panic. “Dane…”

“Shh. I won't let anything happen to him, honey. You're going to have to trust me on this.”

Before she could tell him she had no intention of trusting him ever again, he continued. “Let me do the talking, okay? I don't want my family to know everything yet. My mother might want to start her own campaign to find Derek's killer, and that could put you at risk.”

“Then what will you tell them?”

He shrugged. “As little as possible.”

He went to the door and opened it. Angel could see Dane's sister standing on her tiptoes, one manicured finger poking at Alec. Angel marveled at how the woman stood up to him, as scary as he appeared, so cold and hard. But Alec seemed to ignore her, arms crossed over his chest, his black gaze pinning Raymond across the room. Dane's mother sat quietly beside Raymond, her hands clasped in her lap.

“Celia, would you like to meet your nephew?”

Halting in midcomplaint, Celia squealed, loudly, which caused Alec to wince. “Then he really is Derek's son? I wasn't wrong in that?”

She looked so anxious, so excited, Angel felt her heart twist. Dane laughed. “Yes, he really is.”

Casting only a quick triumphant glare at Alec, Celia rushed in. Alec shook his head and chuckled behind her.

As Celia cooed over the baby, Mick willingly giving him up to her. Seeing her baby in Celia's arms made Angel begin to shake. This was exactly what she hadn't wanted to happen, what she had always feared the most.

There was more chaos as Dane's family started their interrogation. He gave an edited version of how they'd met and when. He managed to make it sound romantic while excluding any suggestion of suspicions, and explained about Grayson in the process. He told them of the fire and why Angel had appeared looking so harried. They waited to hear why she'd called him Derek, but Dane ignored that and Angel realized he had no intention of explaining. It seemed he didn't care what his family thought, and given his closed expression, they were just as reluctant to question him.

“How do you know the baby is Derek's?”

Silence fell as every face turned to Mrs. Carter. Feeling stiff from the roots of her hair all the way to her toes, Angel met the older woman's glare and refused to look away or give any sign of defense. Mrs. Carter could think whatever she wanted; Angel had no reason to be ashamed.

But Dane laughed. “Excellent, Mother. If you don't believe the baby is his, then I don't have to concern myself with your interference.”

Raymond looked at Grayson over Celia's shoulder. “I don't remember Ms. Morris ever dating anyone else. In fact, it caused a buzz in the company that she was dating at all, especially that Derek had shown an interest. But the baby is…what? A couple months old? That's cutting it close.”

Dane narrowed his eyes, and he suddenly looked near violence. “He was born six weeks early.”

“Ah. Then the timing fits, doesn't it?”

Celia beamed. “Of course it does. He looks just like Derek and Dane. Mother, I don't have a single doubt.”

Angel had always heard what a formidable dragon lady Mrs. Carter was, but now, she looked so vulnerable it pained even Angel. As she approached the baby, she breathed hard, her nostrils quivering as she tried, and failed, to find some measure of control. Her hand came up to touch the baby's head. “He does have a family resemblance.”

Celia smiled and rocked the baby.

Dane's tone was very gentle, but firm, and only Angel seemed to notice the way he watched his mother. “I don't mean to rush off, but we have a lot to do today and we'd better get to it.”

Stepping forward, Raymond looked at each family member in turn. He wasn't a scary-looking man, like Alec, but he did appear rather cold and calculating.

“I'd be glad to help you out around here, Dane. It does seem you have your hands full at the moment, and as you'd been saying before the…ah, interruption, you have your own business to run.”

Angel wanted to deny her familiarity to Dane, but the truth was, she could already read him, and what she saw in his complacent gaze was a sort of evil anticipation. He didn't smile, but she could see the satisfaction in his gaze as he faced the other man. “Thank you, Raymond, but I was going to suggest Celia take over. The board will, of course, have to approve her, but with my mother's backing—” he glanced toward his mother, who gave an imperial nod of her head, but withheld any verbal comment “—and of course my own, I don't think it should be a problem. Anyone who wants to fight it, would have to fight me. And I assure you that's not a pleasant prospect.”

Angel noticed that Dane had just made his sister a very happy woman. Like her mother, she kept still, but as she kissed the baby again, Angel could see a small exuberant smile on her face.

With that apparently settled to his satisfaction, Dane glanced at his watch. “We have to get going. I need to get Angel and Grayson settled down in my house.”

“In your house?”

“Yes, Mother. I've asked Angel to marry me as soon as I can arrange it, and she's agreed.”

Dane's announcement started a new flurry of comments and Angel wished there was some way to remove herself and Grayson. They all deserved to fight among themselves; she just didn't want to take part in it. Mick sidled up beside her, and she had the feeling he was as disoriented by the Carter family as she.

“I can keep the baby while you go on a honeymoon.”

Angel's heart skipped a beat at Celia's anxious offer, but Dane easily covered her reaction. His arm slipped around her shoulders and gently squeezed, offering her reassurance, she knew. But with him so close, she felt far from comforted.

“Thanks, but we're not going to even think about anything like that for a while. And Grayson is too young to be left. If you want to visit him, you can come to the house and sit with Angel sometime.” His arm squeezed again, and he added, “Call first, though, and clear it with Angel. I know you wouldn't want to wake Grayson from a nap or interrupt his feeding.”

Celia looked at Angel, and there didn't appear to be any animosity in her expression. “You'll join us for Thanksgiving? Please? I realize it's short notice, but then all of this is, and we're very anxious to get to know the baby better.” Tears welled in her eyes and she snuggled Grayson closer. “He's all that's left to us of Derek, now.”

Angel licked her lips, feeling cornered. Celia's sincerity smote her, made her feel petty and mean. But she was still afraid, and she refused to trust any of them. “I…Dane and I will discuss it.”