Red Zone (8 page)

Then . . . it was gone . . . his breath, the heat, everything. 

She opened her eyes, not sure what she’d find, and discovered she was alone on the stairs. Closing her eyes once again and taking a deep breath, she tried to center herself. What was this man doing to her? If it had been anyone else, she would have kneed him in the groin and had him flat against the wall in five seconds. Why hadn’t she done that here? He’d cornered her. She had every reason. 

Before she could analyze it further, she raced up to her room. She needed a shower. Not only would it wash the sweat of her run from her body, it would also help to bring her back to her senses. 

Rebecca felt better after she showered and once again dressed in her work clothes. She was a professional here to do a job, and she would do that job and
only
that job. For some reason, Daniels seemed to push her buttons. When he was around, her brain didn’t want to work right. 

There was no logic behind it. He was completely the wrong kind of guy for her. The guys she went for were polished, solid. They all had college degrees and a stable career path. 

Granted, she didn’t do much dating. In fact, it had been over a year since she’d been on a date. Her work kept her busy, and dating wasn’t something she made a priority. 

A husband would be nice, someone to come home to. Hansen had that, and in some ways, she envied him. She wasn’t going to settle, though. She wasn’t going to end up like her mom. Like her little sister. She wasn’t going to let some smooth-talking guy sweep her off her feet and destroy her life. Her career, her job . . . 
that
was what mattered. One day she would find a guy who valued the same things she did and they’d get married. One day. For now, however, she was certain of one thing. Gage Daniels was
not
that guy. 

Chapter 7

Gage was just finishing his breakfast when Rebecca walked back down the stairs. She was back in her dress pants and buttoned-up blouse, complete with suit jacket. Even her hair was pulled back away from her face as it had been the first time he’d seen her. He frowned. Didn’t this woman ever just relax? Ten seconds later, he got his answer. 

“We need to go over a few things, Mr. Daniels,” she declared, taking a seat opposite him. 

Sighing, he pushed his plate away, leaned back, and crossed his arms. “I’m all yours,” he said with a smirk.

She ignored his remark and turned her attention to a note pad she’d laid down on the table in front of her. Holding a pen in her right hand, she asked, “Do you have any idea who might be sending these pictures to you?”

That got his attention and wiped the smile off his face. “What?” he asked, sitting up straight in his chair. 

“In my experience, and statistically speaking, whoever is stalking you is someone you know. It could be someone you’ve only met once, or it could be a person you have regular contact with. From what I’ve seen, this person knows your personal schedule, at least to an extent.”

“That doesn’t mean I know them.”

She nodded, but it was detached, like she was humoring him. “That may well be, Mr. Daniels, but we need to cover all our bases. Shall we start?” she asked, her lips pulled tight. He wanted to reach across the table and smooth them with the pad of his thumb until they relaxed, becoming full and kissable again. At the moment, she looked too much like one of his school principals. It wasn’t a pleasant picture. He sat watching her, not moving, not speaking. She raised her gaze to meet his across the table. “Mr. Daniels?”

That brought him back to the here and now. He hated when she called him that. “First, you are going to stop calling me Mr. Daniels. That’s my father.”

“I don’t think it’s appropriate—”

“I’m not real concerned what you think is appropriate or not, beautiful,” he said, cutting her off. “You’re in my life, my house, for the next however-many days . . . weeks . . . 
months
 . . . and I refuse to have you going around calling me
Mr. Daniels
the entire time. Either you start calling me by my first name, or this conversation is going to be a very short one. Your call.”

She stared back at him, not shrinking from his gaze. Her back was ramrod straight, her posture perfect. He could see the wheels turning in her head as she analyzed the situation. 

There was too much he had to accept, too many times he had to go along with the flow. Maybe it was silly to insist on her calling him by his first name, but it bugged him when she pulled out the
Mr. Daniels
. She was intentionally distancing herself, and he wasn’t going to let her do that. He had plans for her, and her keeping him at arm’s length didn’t fit into those plans. 

“Very well,” she finally replied. 

He smiled, leaning back casually in his chair again. 

“Can we get started then?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Just as soon as I hear you say my name.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, beautiful. Ask me again, but say my name this time.”

Her jaw flexed, and Gage wondered if she were gritting her teeth to keep from leaping over the table at him. That would be something he’d like to see. It would give him an excuse to get his hands on her again. 

With a deep exaggerated breath, and a forced smile, she asked, “Is there anyone who comes to mind . . . Gage?” 

He almost missed the slight pause before she’d said his name. Almost. Knowing how difficult it was for her to force his name from her lips caused him a little thrill of satisfaction. She was stubborn, but so was he. One way or another, he was determined to get through that tough exterior of hers. 

“Not really,” he answered dismissively.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “All that and all you give me is
not really
?”

“You asked a question. I answered. I’m not sure what you’re so irritated about.”

“I can’t help you if you don’t work with me Mr. . . . Gage,” she said, correcting herself. 

“I never asked for your help,” he stated, leaning forward, elbows on the table.

“You like someone stalking you?” she asked incredulously. 

“No,” he said, “but it’s just letters and pictures. I get my picture taken all the time. It’s disturbing, yes, but they haven’t done anything except be annoying.”

Her lip disappeared behind her teeth for a second before she answered. “Although nothing has happened yet, that doesn’t mean it won’t. This person has invested a lot of time following you, taking pictures, sending letters. They obviously aren’t getting what they want. It’s only a matter of time before things escalate.”

It took effort for Rebecca not to tell him about the explosives that were found under his SUV. She didn’t agree with Donovan. Daniels had every right to know someone had tried to cause him bodily harm. Unfortunately, it wasn’t her call. At least not yet. Her experience, however, told her that if a person was willing to go to that sort of trouble once, he or she would likely do it again. It was only a matter of time before this stalker of his upped the ante. 

The next two hours were a test of her patience. Every time she’d try to prod him for a name, he’d dig in his heels. She had to pry every single name out of him. Over the years, she’d dealt with difficult witnesses, but it was rare the person who was being wronged was the one she had to grill for answers. 

She did learn one very important thing during the process. Gage Daniels was about as loyal as they came. Most people would throw out names of anyone who had ever said a crass word to them or looked at them in a less-than-friendly manner. Daniels wasn’t like that. Even when she got him to admit to a teammate being upset with him for hitting on his little sister, Daniels insisted there was nothing there, that Kelly wouldn’t do that. She wrote his name down anyway. 

At the end of the two hours, she had twelve names on her list, and she wasn’t willing to bet on any of them being their guy. And although this man got under her skin, he didn’t appear to have that problem with his teammates. From what she’d observed over the weekend, everyone was friendly or at least professional. 

As the vastness of the situation sank in, her stomach churned. She was hungry. That was it. She’d been so anxious to get started on the list, she’d forgotten all about breakfast. Yes, of course. Food. That’s what she needed. The unsettled feeling in the pit of her belly had nothing to do with realizing this job could last for much longer than she’d originally planned. 

Gage all but ran to the door when the doorbell rang a little before noon. He opened it to find Charlie on the other side, arms full of bags. “Perfect timing.”

“You should know by now that I’m always punctual,” Charlie said cheerfully as he nearly glided into the main room. When his gaze landed on Rebecca, he frowned. “Looks like I’ve come just in time.”

“Yes, you have. We’re going out tonight, and she’s going to need something to wear.”

“Have no fear. Charlie’s on the job.”

Five minutes later, they were up in Rebecca’s bedroom. Charlie was holding up outfits again, this time with everything in her size, and she was shaking her head. “I can’t wear these.”

Charlie was offended. “And why not? These are perfect for you. They fit your body type and will look absolutely stunning.”

“You’re my girlfriend,” Gage reminded her. “You need to have something decent to wear.”

She scowled, first at him, then the clothes. “Fine.” Grabbing the outfit Charlie was currently holding, she marched into her bathroom, closing the door with a little more force than necessary. He also heard the lock click, which caused him to chuckle. 

In less time than he thought possible, she reemerged from the bathroom wearing a dress that did amazing things to her body. It wasn’t over-the-top flashy, nor was it revealing in the extreme. It was dark red with a square neckline that dipped just low enough to tease. He wanted to bury his face right in between her breasts. 

Feeling a little uncomfortable below his waist, he let his gaze drift over the rest of her. That didn’t help. The dress hugged her waist and then floated down to where it ended halfway down her thighs. Below that her legs were bare, leading to a pair of black strappy heels. Thoughts of her wrapping her legs around his waist filled his mind. Automatically, he took a step toward her. 

“I can’t wear this,” she said, stopping him in his tracks. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was getting ridiculous. No woman had ever done this to him before. He wasn’t even sure what it was she was doing exactly. Whatever it was, he was very glad for her interruption or else he may have ended up making a fool out of himself in front of Charlie. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Gage asked. “I think it looks good on you.” That was an understatement.

“Yes, what’s wrong?” Charlie chimed in. “It’s perfect.” Then he walked over to her and hesitantly began adjusting the top, revealing a little more of her breasts. That was the last thing Gage needed. “There,” Charlie said, as if declaring victory. 

Rebecca’s brow furrowed, and her lip disappeared behind her teeth for just a second before reappearing again. It was the second time that day he’d noticed her doing that, and both times, it was clear she was uncomfortable.
Interesting,
he thought. He was learning her tells. That would be helpful. 

Charlie had her try on a few more outfits before saying good-bye. By that point, they were running late, so Gage sent a text to Mel letting him know they would be there in twenty minutes. 

His manager was big on punctuality. It wasn’t something Gage excelled in outside football, but given his star status, they’d come to an agreement of sorts. Mel accepted that he would almost always be late as long as Gage agreed to acknowledge he was going to be tardy by texting him exactly how late he’d be. It was a weird sort of compromise, but it worked. 

“Tell me about your manager.” She prompted him once they were in the car. 

“There’s not much to tell. He took me on right out of college, negotiates my football contracts and any promotional stuff I do.”

“Does he have any dealings in your personal life?”

He frowned. “No. Not really. I mean, he’s met my parents a couple of times when they’ve been in town.”