Red Zone (9 page)

She nodded. “You haven’t told him who I am, correct?”

“No one knows who you really are except for Tim, beautiful. I was under the impression you wanted to keep it that way.”

“I do,” she said quickly. “I mean,
we
do. The fewer people who know who I am, the better.”

“So this is going to be the real test of you being my girlfriend.”

“Yes,” she said stiffly.

He smiled. “Just remember that,” he said as he turned into the small parking lot that held Mel’s office. 

Mel’s office wasn’t what Rebecca would call extravagant, but it was nice. The furnishings were newish and modern. It was comfortable. 

She stood in the lobby with Daniels while the receptionist went to get Melvin—Mel—Maxwell. When the young woman saw them walk through the door, she was up and out of her seat long before they’d crossed the small lobby. She offered them something to drink, which he refused. Seconds later, she disappeared behind a set of double doors. 

The doors began to open, and she heard Daniels whisper, “Here we go,” before grabbing her hand and taking a step forward. 

She didn’t have time to respond to his sudden gesture before an older man, maybe in his fifties or sixties, stepped from behind the door. 

“Gage! You made it.” The man smiled, reaching for Daniels’s hand. Then his gaze fell on her. “And who do we have here?”

“Mel, I’d like for you to meet my girlfriend, Rebecca Carson. Rebecca, this is my manager, Mel.”

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. When did this happen?” he asked, clearly looking her over. 

“It’s new.”

“Yes, well . . .” Mel said, ushering them through the double doors and into a nice-size office. “It’s nice to meet you.” He pointed to the two chairs across from his desk while sitting behind his own. 

The man seemed to stare a little longer than was normal. Then again, maybe it was normal. Rebecca wasn’t used to wearing these types of clothes. 

Daniels had insisted she wear something Charlie brought over. She’d selected one of the most conservative outfits—a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue sweater. The jeans were comfortable enough, but they were too tight. They showed off her curves. 

Of course, the sweater didn’t help. It ended right where the jeans began, accenting her waist. Add to that its clinging to her breasts making her want to continually pull it away from her skin, and she was highly uncomfortable. The suits she wore were fashionable for her chosen profession. They fitted her well but were tailored to show her status as a government agent rather than attract a member of the opposite sex. 

Like it or not, this was part of the job, and she refused to feel out of place because of clothing. Straightening her spine, Rebecca sat up in her chair and looked the agent in the eye. 

Maxwell blushed and turned his attention to Daniels. “I had a few things cross my desk this weekend that I wanted you to take a look at.”

He handed over three folders, which Daniels took. She tried not to be nosy but figured it would look strange if she didn’t appear the least bit interested. He was supposed to be her boyfriend after all. 

Gage frowned. “Cookies?”

“What’s wrong with cookies? You like them. I’ve seen you.”

“Liking them and wanting to promote them are two different things.”

“What about the other two?” his manager asked.

“Shoes? Okay. I can see that. But jeans? I don’t know, Mel. That underwear shoot was too much. I’m a quarterback, not a model.”

Maxwell seemed frustrated with Daniels’s response. “Gage, you’ve got to think about your future here. This is the time for you to capitalize on opportunities, make money. You can’t play football forever. You and I both know you have ten more years, tops. You can’t allow . . . distractions to cloud your judgment.” Rebecca didn’t miss that Maxwell’s gaze drifted to her. 

“This isn’t about distractions, Mel. You know that interview you set up for me after the underwear shoot? The woman was all over me. I just don’t think modeling is the direction I want to go.”

Again, Maxwell looked at her. “Okay. Fine. I’ll tell them no on the jeans. What about the cookies, though? You do like cookies.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Maxwell sighed. “Okay. I guess that’s about as good as I’m going to get out of you for now.”

“Anything else?” Daniels asked.

“No. I think we’re good. I’ll send the contract to you for the shoes when it’s ready.” 

Daniels nodded and stood. She followed suit, and so did Maxwell. 

He walked around his desk, straight for her, and held out his hand. “Again, it was very nice to meet you, Rebecca. If you’re Gage’s girl, then I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

“It was nice to meet you as well, Mr. Maxwell.”

“Mel.” 

She nodded once.

There was a soft, warm pressure at her back as Daniels’s hand gently guided her toward the door. “You did well,” he whispered as they walked back out into the lobby. 

“Of course I did,” she said. “I am a professional, after all.”

She said it with complete sincerity. So when Daniels burst out laughing, she was puzzled. Then, as the reality of what she’d said set in, Rebecca blushed, wishing she could bury her head in the sand and hide. Why did she have to say something so embarrassing, and why in front of him? 

Chapter 8

As soon as they arrived back at the house, Rebecca raced up the stairs. All she wanted to do was lock herself in her room and never come out. How was she going to face him again? The entire ride home, he’d continued to chuckle at her verbal slip. What surprised her, however, was that he didn’t goad her. She’d expected he would, given his personality. 

Once safely in her room, Rebecca pulled out her laptop. She needed a distraction, and work was always a good option. Sitting at the small desk in the corner, she logged in and pulled up her e-mail account. Ignoring everything in her inbox, she opened a new window and typed the list of names she and Daniels had put together that morning, and sent it off to Hansen. 

After hitting send, she scanned the rest of her mail. Most of it was the usual spam, but there was one from her sister. There was no subject, but that wasn’t unusual. She clicked on the message to open it, and the screen filled with pictures. In every one of them, her sister was laughing or smiling. She was alone in a few, but in most she was surrounded by a group of people Rebecca had never met. 

Her sister, Megan, was a carefree spirit, much like their mom. She knew how to let her hair down and have fun. Responsibility took a backseat to the latest thrill. Also, just like their mom, Megan had horrible taste in men. She always fell for the deadbeats, and in the end, they broke her heart. So while Rebecca was happy for her sister, she knew it was only a matter of time before the smiles turned into tears. That was just the way things worked. 

Rebecca had no idea how long she sat and stared at the e-mail. She was lost in memories of Megan. It had been over six months since she’d last seen her. Rebecca could only hope her little sister was staying safe. 

Eventually, Rebecca got up and went into her bathroom to splash some water on her face. She needed to go back downstairs and face Daniels. No matter what embarrassing thing she’d said, she still had a job to do. Never in her life had she been a coward, and she wasn’t going to start. 

After adjusting her ponytail and her clothes, she marched to her bedroom door. Unfortunately, her grand plans to sweep down the stairs and act as if nothing had ever happened changed the moment she opened the door and found him standing on the other side, hand poised to knock. 

“Well hello,” he said. His gaze traveled up and down her body slowly. It almost felt as if he could see beneath her clothes. In reaction, she felt herself suddenly becoming very warm. 

“Hi.” Her voice didn’t come out nearly as confident as she’d meant for it to, so she tried again. “I was just coming to find you.”

That cocky smile was back. “You were, were you?”

“Yes,” she said, ignoring any implications he may have been trying to make. “I wanted to go over your schedule for the rest of the week.”

The smile remained on his face as he leaned against the doorframe. “Not much to tell. Tonight we’re going out with Zach and Kenny to blow off a little steam before practice starts again tomorrow.”

“We’re going out tonight? Where?”

“It’s a little club about twenty minutes from here.”

“You go there a lot?”

“I do,” he said, taking a step toward her.

She held her ground and tried to ignore how her heart rate picked up with his closer proximity. “Is this the same club where some of the pictures were taken?”

That got his attention. “Yeah,” he said, shrugging. He also leaned back, putting a little more space between them again. 

“Do you always go there on Monday nights?”

“Only when we have an away game on Sunday. If we’re playing at home, we usually hit the club on Sunday nights to unwind.”

“I see. You know, your predictable schedule is making it easier on whoever this is.”

“What can I say?” The smile was back. “I’m a boring guy.” 

Right, and if she believed that for one second, she was a fool. Gage Daniels was anything but boring.

They stared at each other for a long minute before she finally pulled a decent question out of her head. “When are we meeting your friends?”

Pushing off the doorjamb, he stepped back. “We need to leave in an hour. The club has decent food, so we’ll eat there. Besides, with it being Monday, it will be an early night. We all have practice in the morning.” He turned to walk down the hall away from her. “Oh and . . .” He paused, glancing back at her over his shoulder. “I hope you like to dance.” Then he was gone, leaving her standing there staring after him.

As promised, they were out the door of his house an hour later. Instead of taking his SUV, however, they climbed into his vintage Mustang. She had to admit it was a nice car, complete with leather interior and bucket seats. Watching him, she realized how much this car suited him. He looked as if he fit behind the wheel of the Mustang more than he did his SUV. 

What did that say about him? That he was wild and crazy? Reckless? 

She thought back to her sister’s e-mail, how happy she seemed. For the moment, at least. Daniels reminded her of Megan in a lot of ways, which made sense if she thought about it. After all, he did play a game for a living. 

Even as she thought that, though, she knew that wasn’t all there was to him. She’d seen him on the field and in Maxwell’s office. He didn’t goof off. Not all the time anyway. His plays at the game yesterday had been precise and calculated. It was quite the contrast to the guy who seemed to constantly flirt with her. 

What does it matter?
she thought.
He’s a job. That’s it. He’s just annoyed that you’re in his house, so he’s trying to make you uncomfortable. 

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look out the window. She had to keep her wits about her. Whoever was stalking Daniels had taken pictures of him at the club before, so there was a good chance they would again. Maybe she’d get lucky and spot his stalker on their first night out. That would be good, right? So why did she feel a heaviness in her chest at the thought?

A few minutes later, they pulled into a parking lot adjacent to a building that looked more like an upscale bar than a club. A few people were mingling outside. None of them was overly dressed up, with most wearing jeans and cowboy boots. She was glad she hadn’t changed out of the jeans and sweater she’d put on earlier.

Daniels must have noticed her staring as he walked around to the front of the car to meet her. “This is Nashville. I hope you like country.” Without waiting for her answer, he wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to the front of the club. 

The interior was what she expected from the outside. The bar was front and center with tables around most of the perimeter, and there was a small dance floor carved out in one of the back corners along with a small platform. She assumed there were nights where the bar/club had live music. 

It was still early in the evening, but there were already a few couples taking advantage of the space. Watching them, she felt her skin warm again at the thought of dancing with the man by her side. She had a hard enough time concentrating when he wasn’t touching her. 

“Hey!” The greeting caused her to turn her head toward the sound. Kenny was walking toward them, beer in hand. “We were beginning to think you two weren’t going to show up.”

“You should know better than that,” Daniels said. 

“It’s good to see you again, Rebecca.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. 

Luckily, Kenny saved her from having to come up with anything. “We got a table in the corner,” he said, pointing. Seeing them all looking over, Zach waved. 

“I’m going to order us some drinks, and then we’ll be over,” Daniels said. 

Kenny didn’t respond, other than to tip his beer in their direction, and then walked away. 

Daniels’s fingers pressed into the small of her back as he led them over to the bar. “What would you like?” he asked.