Fallen Angels: Beguiled\Wanton\Uncovered (6 page)

Closing her eyes didn't help, only made her more aware of the shifting of muscle, the hardness of his body, his incredible heat and enticing scent. The man even
smelled
different, more welcoming, more comforting. More exciting.

Her bedroom door had been shut until now and when Derek stepped inside he paused to look around. She pulled away from him, her hands shaking, and he took her elbow to assist her to the bed. Her hobbling gait embarrassed her.

“Really, Derek. How do you think I ever managed when you weren't around?”

Her sarcasm was wasted, judging by his frown. “I've been wondering about that myself.” He lifted her legs onto the bed and pulled the sheet and blankets over her. “Are you comfortable?”

With him looming over her while she rested in a bed? His shoulders looked hard, his chest broad. When she'd glimpsed him with his shirt off earlier, she'd noticed the remains of a tan. He'd been in warm weather recently, sunning himself.

His hair hung over his forehead, soft and silky dark and a tracing of beard shadow was showing on his face. No, she was far from comfortable. “I'm fine.”

“This is a pretty room. It…suits you.”

The things he said seemed so strange, as if another man had taken over his body. Derek had never before commented on furniture or even noticed it as far as she could tell. Her belongings were nice, but they weren't picked by an interior decorator as his had been.

Still, they were hers, and she loved them. She'd hated to spend so much of her dwindled savings on movers when she'd left her old place, but she'd been unable to do the work herself, had no friends to call on, and she refused to live on someone else's furniture.

Besides, the familiar objects gave her comfort, as if her entire life hadn't been reorganized by the vengeful hand of fate.

Unable to help herself, she said, “The bed is new.”

“Oh?” He looked it over, but she could tell he hadn't realized it.

“I thought about burning the other one, sort of as an exorcism given the hideous memories attached to it, but that seemed wasteful in my financial predicament, regardless of the sentiments attached.” She propped a pillow behind her head and smiled at him, enjoying his scowl and the two spots of hot color high on his lean cheekbones. “I sold it instead. Cheap.”

Like an animal of prey moving in, Derek slowly approached the bed and leaned over her, his eyes never leaving hers. He braced an arm on either side of her head and lowered his face until only inches separated them. Angel pressed back into her pillow and held her breath.

His voice was low and rough, compelling. “You keep pushing me, honey, practically daring me with those big green eyes of yours.”

He looked away from her eyes to her mouth, and she bit her lip. “Derek…”

“Shh.” His lips brushed hers, light, teasing. “I told you I'd never hurt you again. You can believe it. Besides, it's too soon for much, but not for this.”

That was all the warning she got before his mouth settled warmly over her own, devouring. Angel gasped, clasping the soft blanket next to her hips, tightening her fists to keep from kissing him back. But it was impossible. Nothing like this had ever happened to her. Surely it hadn't been like this before or she'd have remembered.

Heat exploded, radiating out to her arms and legs in tingling waves; behind her closed eyes, tiny sparks ignited. She squirmed—then felt his tongue at the same time he groaned, giving her the sound, letting her feel it deep inside herself. Wet, warm, he shifted for a better angle and she leaned up to him, anxious for more.

It seemed an eternity before the kiss ended, before Derek was slowly pulling away, taking small, nibbling, apologetic kisses along the way. He breathed hard, but when he lifted his head, there was a gentle smile on his mouth.

Angel didn't trust herself to speak.

“Don't look like that,” he chided.

“Like…like what?”

“Like you're afraid, and sorry.” His thumb rubbed the corner of her mouth. “One way or another, everything really is going to be okay.”

Reality intruded. “Derek, swear to me you won't tell anyone about Grayson.”

“You'll believe me?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Do I have a choice? I don't want to run again. I don't—”

“Again?”

He had her rattled, that was the only reason she'd made such a slipup. Shaking her head, she said, “If you tell your family about Grayson, I'll go.”

His large warm hand cupped her cheek. “I won't let them bother you, and I won't let you go.”

She was afraid they were already bothering her, because she couldn't think of another single enemy she could have. Why they would want to hurt her, she couldn't guess. Unless they knew of Grayson and were afraid she'd come to Derek for marriage. She just didn't know what lengths they might go to in order to protect their son from a woman they'd consider beneath him.

Her hands shook, as did her voice. “How could you stop them if they knew? Especially your brother.” She shivered, knowing her fear of the brother was out of proportion, based on Derek's dramatized bragging and her own wild imagination. But in her mind, he'd become her nightmare, and she was very afraid. “Out of all of them, I fear him the most.”

He leaned back, watching her carefully. “Angel…”

“No! They can't know. Ever. If that seems selfish of me, I don't care.” Her hands trembled, despite her tight grip, because she knew if he decided to take her baby away, he could. And she was already proving how weak she was against him. “I'm a good mother, Derek, I swear it.”

He sighed. “I never doubted it, honey.” He shoved himself reluctantly from the bed and pulled a pen from his pocket. Using a notepad on the bedside table, he scribbled down some numbers. “I'm going to give you my number.”

“I already have it.”

He stalled, looking harassed for a moment, then shook his head. “It's hard to reach me at home these days. Here are the numbers to my cellular and my pager. You can always reach me with them. If you ever need me, for anything, call either one of these numbers.”

Angel nodded, feeling foolish for her outburst. She was just so weary, so tired of being afraid. He cupped her cheek again.

“I'll be back tomorrow.” His gaze probed hers, demanding. “You'll be here?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He leaned down and kissed her once more, a light kiss that still made her shiver. “Pretty soon, you'll stop looking so afraid, Angel. And you'll start to trust me. I promise.”

As he walked out of the room, Angel looked at the paper with his numbers. Somehow, just having someone to call made her feel safer.

She heard the front door close, the lock turn, and she dropped her head back on the pillow, closing her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, the paper was still in her hand.

“I
WAS TAILED
last night,” Dane said the minute Alec had taken his seat. He looked at his closest friend, waiting for his reaction.

“From the woman's place?”

“No, thank God. Later, from my house. It was dark, and I have no idea who it was, but I don't like it. I want you to set up a watch at her apartment. Something is definitely going on and I don't want her hurt.”

“The man who was with her yesterday?”

Dane shook his head, again remembering how protective Mick had been. “No, he's a kid and a blessing as far as I can tell. If it hadn't been for him, she'd probably never have made it.”

Alec said nothing. It was one of the things Dane liked most about him. He didn't pry. In fact, he was one of the most closemouthed bastards he'd ever met.

“Something about her just doesn't add up. It's like she wants Derek around, but she's forced to it.” Then he shook his head again. “No, that's not entirely true. There's something there—but it sure as hell isn't trust or friendship. She initiated things, but now that I'm, or rather Derek's, interested, she's trying to back off. I think she got more than she bargained for.”

“You want me to check into her background, the time she spent with your brother?” Alec's eyes were almost black, the same as his hair, and piercingly direct. Dane knew he could find out anything he wanted.
How
he found things out sometimes left him curious.

“No.” He didn't want anyone snooping into Angel's past but himself. He had no idea what clues he might uncover, but they were his business and no one else's. He didn't question his protective attitude. He'd find out what happened to his brother, but he'd find it out his way, and isolate Angel's involvement as much as possible. After all, she was his nephew's mother; for now, that was all the excuse he needed. “I'll take care of it. In fact, I have Raymond coming in today.”

Alec snorted, shifting his big body uneasily in the chair. He was in his usual jeans and a flannel shirt, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked like a mugger, or the typical bad guy. Dane grinned.

“You don't like him either? Why?”

Alec shrugged, indifferent. “I don't really know him.”

“Dammit Alec…”

“Something about him just doesn't sit right. You know it yourself.”

“Yes. I know you're also suspicious of just about everyone.” Dane assumed his own dislike of Raymond was personal. He was engaged to Dane's sister, Celia, and Raymond reminded him too much of his own family—ruthless, business-oriented. He probably suited Celia to a tee.

“I do have some info for you.”

Dane straightened, his thoughts once again in perspective. “Let's have it.”

“Where your brother's car went off the road, there's an extra set of skid marks. Two cars were going fast that day, and two cars braked. Unfortunately, your brother's was the one that went off the berm.” Alec handed him a file folder. “I checked with the police on duty that day. They say that's a dangerous curve and people are always squealing their tires there, that the extra marks don't mean anything and could have been from long ago. I don't think so.”

Dane took the folder, his temper heating as he pondered his brother trying to escape another car. He would find out what had happened.

“There's another thing.”

Dane looked up.

“Your brother had been in a local bar, not the classiest of joints, which is what drew my attention, and he'd been drinking it up right before the accident. The bartender said he'd met someone there, but that nothing seemed unusual about it. He didn't have a description, only that it was a male.”

“Dammit!” Dane exploded from his seat and paced around his desk. Playing the role of his brother was wearing on his nerves. Using Derek's office, his name, made him edgy. He'd left this life behind long ago and though he hadn't moved far away, he'd still managed to keep an emotional distance from it all; now he was back under the worst possible circumstances. “Why are the cops blowing this off?”

“You know as well as I do, everyone claims your brother was acting goofy for a month. They just summed this up to stress.”

“Bullshit. My brother could run two companies and not be stressed. He was primed for it, raised to do it. And he thrived on it.” Unlike Dane, who hated every minute of the corporate business agenda. He wondered why his mother didn't know any of this, why she hadn't pursued the truth.

“I'm not arguing with you.”

Pressing a fist against his forehead, Dane muttered, “So what does Angel have to do with all this? I don't believe she was directly connected to Derek's death, but it is possible she helped pave the way for the killer, maybe unknowingly. She could be our only lead to what really happened since she was the last person to be close with him. But why would Derek have treated her so poorly?”

Alec shrugged, not forthcoming with a verbal response.

A knock on the door had both men swinging their heads around. “Come in.”

Raymond Stern sauntered in, his three-piece suit immaculate, his hair styled. Dane winced at the sight of him. The man, though pleasant enough, represented everything Dane disliked about the corporate world and his family. “Thank you for stopping by, Raymond.”

Raymond looked at Alec, a suspicious frown in place. “No problem. You said you wanted to talk?”

Dane nodded and reseated himself behind his desk. Alec stood. “I'll be going now, unless you need something else?”

Dane shoved the file folder into a drawer before answering. “No. I'll be in touch with you later.”

As Alec left, his eyes briefly skimming over everything and everyone in the room, Raymond asked, “A crony of yours?”

“One of my top men.”

A look of disbelief, or maybe scorn, passed over Raymond's features. “Is he working on something right now?” Before Dane could answer, Raymond continued. “I think this P.I. business is fascinating, regardless of how your sister feels about it.”

“Oh?” Dane cocked one eyebrow, wishing he could plant a fist in Raymond's face. “And how does Celia feel?”

He chuckled. “That you'll outgrow it. She seems to think now that you're enmeshed back in the office, you'll want to stay.”

There was an unasked question in his tone. Dane started to reassure the man that once he married Celia, the business would be his, with Dane's blessing. In truth Dane wanted no part of it. He was already bored with the endless paperwork and the tedium of board meetings. But he decided against it. Let Raymond stew. Let him wonder if the company was part of the marriage bargain.

“Celia has never liked it that I stepped out of the family's affairs.”

“I think it's incredible that you've always been located so close, yet I never met you.”

“My own offices aren't that far away, true, but I've traveled a lot, especially in recent years. Some cases require constant surveillance, and that means you follow all leads, regardless of where they take you.” He didn't add that he deliberately hadn't kept in touch with his family, hadn't clued them in to where he would be or for how long.

And now his brother was dead and he hadn't even made it to the funeral.

Quickly closing that particular subject in his mind, Dane went on to another. “I asked you here because I know you transferred over from the Aeric Corporation.”

Raymond straightened with pride. “That's right. Derek was there often once his intent was known, and he and I met. I agreed it was a natural acquisition, combining your family's interests in health products manufacturing with Aeric's research capabilities. When Derek finalized everything, he asked me to join him here.”

“You were at the funeral?”

Shaking his head, his eyes downcast in a regretful way, Raymond said, “No, unfortunately I missed it, also.” He looked back up, his expression resigned. “I hadn't realized what happened until I reported here a week later. Derek had given me time to tie up my own loose ends and I spent two final weeks at Aeric, then took a break to sell my house and move closer. When I reported to work here is when I was told. That's also the day I really got to know your sister.” A small smile now curved his mouth.

“I see.”

“When I asked to see Derek, I was referred to Celia. Things were still in an uproar, your mother most upset and Celia constantly on the verge of tears. They couldn't locate you and they needed everything to be kept quiet, contained. Derek's death hit them all very hard…” Raymond stuttered to a halt. “I'm sorry. I wasn't making accusations. I realize it was very difficult for you as well.”

“Yes.” Dane knew that Raymond had shown up when the company needed him most, his past experience and lack of emotional involvement, along with Derek's written blessing, making him the ideal man to take temporary control. Every effort was made to keep the stockholders from panicking. If nothing else, he owed Raymond his gratitude for that.

But Dane deliberately kept his own dialogue brief in the hopes Raymond would say more. Trying to get information from his sister or mother had proved most provoking. Anytime he mentioned Derek's name, they would turn solemn, overwhelmed with the loss. The entire episode of the takeover of Aeric seemed very hush-hush.

“Anyway, I guess you could say your sister and I hit it right off. I care deeply for her.”

And deeply for the Company, but Dane kept those thoughts to himself. His sister was old enough, and certainly wise enough, to choose her own husband.

“Did Derek associate on a regular basis with anyone else at Aeric?”

Raymond shrugged. “Most everyone on the board, the managers, the—”

“No, I mean in a social way.”

“Well, there was the woman, secretary to the R&D department.”

Research and Development. Dane already knew what Angel's position had been. Somehow, Derek had gotten information from her that had enabled him to take over the company.

And then he'd dropped Angel cold.

“Were they close?”

Raymond shrugged, looking thoughtful. “Everyone thought so. She'd never dated much, and then suddenly she had a steady date. At that time, no one realized Derek was after the company. But I suppose it should have been more obvious that he was using her. She was a mousy sort of person, not real talkative, withdrawn, but apparently good at her job. Good enough that the head of R&D often sent her top-secret information through a P.O. box to work on at home.”

“A post office box? That's unusual.” Derek remembered the address Angel had given him, not a home address, but the anonymity of a post office.

Raymond shrugged. “Her supervisor was from the old school and didn't trust the company computers, swearing too many secrets had been stolen. But he trusted the wrong person. Angel got the last of the information, a huge breakthrough worth top dollar that would have offset the takeover attempt, and she gave it to Derek. Of course, we found all this out after Derek dropped her.” He laughed. “She got fired real quick. Most everyone else was able to keep their jobs.”

“I see.”

“Why do you ask?” Raymond straightened. “She's not here asking for a job, is she?”

Raymond looked appalled by the possibility. “No, of course not. I just wondered if I could get in touch with her, to talk to her about Derek.”

“Why?” Raymond's eyes narrowed and he shifted forward. “What's going on?”

Keeping his tone smooth and nearly bored, Dane said, “Not a thing. It's just that I hadn't seen my brother for some time. I'd like to talk to the people who knew him.” Raymond relaxed and Dane asked, “What happened to her, do you know?”

Dane had to keep his hands beneath the desk. His fingers had curled into fists as Raymond spoke and he imagined Angel's humiliation, her hurt. He didn't like feeling so much anger toward a dead man, especially when that man was his twin. The conflicting emotions ate away at his control.

“I have no idea. I haven't seen her since I left Aeric. And Derek broke things off with her during a board meeting, for everyone to see. He asked her to sit in on the meeting, then deliberately told everyone where he'd gotten his information. That pretty much proved she couldn't be trusted in the company.”

“Good God.” Sick dread churned in the bottom of his stomach.

Raymond laughed. “Yeah, she was stunned to say the least. But maybe it taught her a lesson about keeping business dealings private. As I'm sure you already know, even though you haven't been involved in some time, there's no room for deceit in the corporate world. You absolutely have to be able to trust your employees. Especially when they're in the position she was in.”

Dane could barely see, he was so angry. The rage ran through him, red-hot, and he wanted only to get to Angel, to apologize, to…He stood abruptly, coming around his desk with stalking steps. He went to the coat tree and grabbed up his coat. Raymond quickly stood to face him.