The Midnight Hour (17 page)

She knew that she wasn't at liberty to find out. Neither did she have a right. No matter what, she had to keep up with her facade and make sure he never discovered her true identity. "Sure, I think when you've lost a person you love deeply, you have a tendency to always compare and to go so far as to look for similarities in others although you don't intend to. But it was easy for me not to compare or look for similarities since my fiance was a tough act to follow."

She glanced over at him. "What about you? Do you compare? Look for similarities?"

"Yes," he said, "I do, actually. I think that's the reason I've been drawn to you. There's a lot about you that reminds me of Sandy."

Tori glanced over at him. A part of her was touched. Then another part, the one who had buried Sandy Carroll five years ago, was crushed.

Her life as Sandy had ended in that explosion. She wa* Tori now and wanted him to accept the new person that she was. Something snapped inside of her, making her feel angry, let down and upset even when she wasn't sure she had a right to feel that way.

For the longest time neither of them spoke again and Tori feigned sleep so he wouldn't ask her any more questions. She needed time to think about everything he had said and to deal with the fact that deep down, he saw her only as Sandy's replacement.

Drake pulled off the Interstate at the next exit when he noticed a variety of restaurants to choose from. They had switched cars in San Jose and were past Fresno. His goal was to reach Phoenix by nightfall. He pulled into the fast-food restaurant and since the drive-through line was long, they decided to eat inside. He had just parked the car when his cell phone rang. He glanced over at Tori who was now awake and hit the talk button. "Yes?" He paused then said, "Hey, Hawk."

For a long moment he didn't say anything, but grimly listened. Then he said, "Yes, that's the best thing to do. And I plan to take every precaution."

Drake ended the call, then sat there staring straight ahead, the seconds stretching out until Tori wanted to scream at him to tell her what was going on.

"Are you going to tell me what Hawk said?" Tori finally asked, barely restraining from clenching her teeth.

He glanced over at her. "With the use of dental records they were able to determine the identification of the person who was driving that car."

When he didn't say anything else she arched a brow, “And?" she asked, wanting to shake him.

"He was Scott Rangel, a DEA agent."

Tori blinked and a knot suddenly caught in her throat. "A DEA agent was after me?" When Drake nodded, she shook her head, stunned. "Why? I don't get it."

Drake sighed raggedly as he checked his rearview mirror. "Neither do I, and I think that even has Hawk stumped. According to Hawk, you were never assigned to any missions having to do with the drug cartels."

Tori shook her head again, still confused. CIA agents on occasion worked alongside a DEA agent, but Hawk was right. She had never been on any of those assignments and was more than certain that her and Rangel's paths had never crossed.

She glanced over at Drake. Something he'd said caught her attention. "Drug cartel?"

"Yes. The last couple of assignments Rangel worked' were related to the drug cartels, specifically ASI." He shook his head gravely. "Whenever I hear anything about that group, it quickly brings one man to my mind. Solomon Cross."

"Solomon Cross?" Tori whispered in a low voice as pain; ripped through her body at the mention of the man responsible for all the trauma that had occurred in her life. He had been the first person she had suspected when Hawk had called and told her about the incident with the CIA database… and now this. It was too much of a coincidence.

"Solomon Cross is a sick individual, a damn psychopath, and one of the biggest drug lords out there," Drake said, his voice tightening in anger. "He's pretty much kept a low profile for the past five years and it wouldn't surprise me that he's finally decided to crawl out from whatever rock he's been hiding under."

Drake's gaze narrowed as he continued. "Seven years; ago he operated a lab in South America to develop this highly potent form of hallucinogens that would make LSD from the sixties seem harmless in comparison. His goal was to have it on every street corner in the United States within a year's time. Fortunately, he had a snitch in his group and the American government got wind of his plans. The marines sent the Recons in to close down his shop and I'm the one who headed that mission. We showed up in the dark of night and caught them unawares. Unfortunately, Cross's wife was killed during the raid and he still holds me responsible. He got away, but not before he promised that he would make me suffer the way he suffered in losing the woman he loved. 'An eye for an eye' is what he said."

Drake inhaled deeply. "Unfortunately, I didn't take him seriously and while on an assignment in Haiti a couple of years later, he made good on his threat. He arranged die kidnapping of a couple of American dignitaries knowing that I would be the one to head the team to go in and rescue them. He'd also found out that I had fallen in love with one of my fellow team members."

"Captain Sandy Carroll?" Tori asked quietly.

Drake nodded. "Yes, Sandy. It was a setup and he intentionally had Sandy killed on that mission and there was nothing I could do to save her."

Tori swallowed deeply; in her mind she suddenly relived that day. Leaning forward, she said, "But you did try to save her, Drake."

She'd said it as a statement, but he took it as a question. He met her gaze and the eyes looking back at her were filled with remembered pain. "Yes, I did try, but there was nothing I could do," he replied with anguish in his voice. "The explosion caused a piece of flying debris to knock me out cold. When I came around, it was too late. There was nothing anyone could do. The building Was gone. There was no way she could have survived."

There were a few moments of silence, and then Drake ^d, "If Rangel was on the take and is connected to Solomon Cross, then there's a chance that you're in this mess because, of me."

"Why would you think that?" Tori asked, startled.

"Like I said, Cross hates my guts and strongly believes in this principle of 'an eye for an eye'. Evidently Cross assumes we're serious about each other," Drake replied.

Tori frowned as she cast him a quizzical look. "Why would he assume that? We've only slept together that one time and we've never dated or anything."

"Yes, but I asked a lot of questions about you when I returned from South America and discovered you had quit the Agency. Due to company policy, no one would tell me anything as to your whereabouts, so I began doing a little digging on my own although it got me nowhere. It's possible my interest in you may have gotten back to Cross and he intends to make good on his threat again." He slammed his fist into the steering wheel. "It never ends!"

Tori shook her head, feeling bad that he was blaming himself when he was probably all wrong in his thinking. "Are you saying that you believe the reason someone is after me is because you asked a couple of questions about me and wanted to find me?"

"Yes."

She studied him for a few moments. "But haven't there been other women in your life since Sandy? Does Cross makes a habit of getting rid of every woman you seem interested in?"

There was a guarded look in the gaze that met hers. She watched as he took a deep breath. "You're the only woman that I've shown any interest in beyond that one night I spend with them. This time was different and somehow he found out about it."

Tori's eyes widened and she wanted to ask how the situation with her was different? They had gone on a three-day mission together and had ended up sleeping together. Until he had shown up last night, they'd had no contact with each other, so how in the world was their situation different from any others he'd had? What they'd shared sounded pretty much like a one-night stand to her, although it had meant more than that to her. Could it have meant more to him as well?

He evidently read the questions, the doubt in her gaze. He reached over and took her hand in his. "It was different, Tori. That one night that we made love, I connected with you in a way I've never connected with another woman."

Drake's words touched her deeply. Her heart pounded in her chest as all the love she had for him rippled through her. But a part of her knew she had to let go and reject what she was feeling. Being with him was hard enough without adding complications. He thought Cross was after her because Drake was interested in her. She wondered what he would say if he knew that there was a even stronger possibility that Cross was after her because he knew she was Sandy and hadn't died in the explosion. Someone deranged and cold-blooded like Cross would go into an absolute rage at the thought that she had cheated death; especially the one he had meticulously planned for her.

Tori knew that no matter what, there could never be a future for her and Drake. More than ever, they needed to go their separate ways. She slowly pulled her hand from his and said, "Since Sandy."

Unknown to him, he had just given her the perfect excuse to put distance between them and she intended to use it. Being so close to him was bad enough, she didn't need either of them thinking there could or would be a repeat performance of what they had shared. His instincts were good and his perception was excellent. Sooner or later he would figure things out and she couldn't let that happen. When she walked away from him the next time, it would be for good. She needed a clean break and an involvement with him wouldn't give her that. All it would give her was pain and misery and she intended to have a happy life… just her and her baby.

"I don't intend to be any woman's substitute, Drake," she said, giving him a measured look.

He looked back at her with darkened eyes. "And you're not."

She narrowed her eyes. "For some reason I don't believe you." Taking the 9mm off the seat beside her, she placed it in the holster underneath her jacket. "Come on, let's get something to eat," she said as she turned to get out of the car.

"Rangel is dead."

The hand not holding the phone clenched at Cross's side. "That's a pity. What about the woman?"

The voice on the other end took a long breath. "She got away. It seems she had help."

Cross frowned. "Help?"

"Yes. Warren may have reached her before we did."

Rage flowed through Solomon Cross's body. Blood pounded in his head. His lips twisted. "You let Warren get to her!"

The man on the other end of the phone heard the demented anger in Cross's voice and it made his insides flinch. "We'll get her," Red Hunter said in a shaken voice. "I'll call in some more men and-"

"Shut up and listen to me! I want both Warren and the woman. It will save me from having to ship her remains to him. I want him to sit and watch everything I do to her. I want him here when I cut her into tiny bite-size pieces.’' Cross chuckled. Of course it would be after he had his fun with her, and he intended for Drake to watch that too, and not be able to do a damn thing about it.

"Do you hear me, Red Hunter? I want them brought to me alive."

"Trying to take them alive would be suicide; damn near impossible."

"You'd better make it happen. I'll send Miguel and a few of my men to your country to help you."

"I don't need your men. I have my own who are just as capable."

"For your sake, I hope so. How you do it is your problem and you'd better not disappoint me. Keep in touch with periodic reports on your progress."

Cross hung up the phone and then slammed his fist onto the table. When he was finished, Drake Warren would regret the day that he was born… and unfortunately, his woman would, too.

Tori glanced around the restaurant as she waited for Drake to return with their food. The place wasn't all that crowded. There were a number of mothers with small children, a couple of men sitting together who appeared to work for some business or another since they were wearing dress pants and ties, and then there were the two women who were about her age who appeared to have just ended a game of tennis.

A twinge of jealousy shot through Tori when she saw how one of the women was trying to get Drake's attention. She frowned. For all the woman knew, she and Drake could have been an item, but that wasn't stopping her from flirting.

Although she didn't appreciate the woman's brazen behavior, she did understand her interest in Drake since everything about him shouted of his masculinity. And the way he looked dressed in his jeans wasn't helping matters. Even with his rough appearance, he would be at the top of the list as a man who belonged in any woman's fantasies.

Not that she was any better. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him either. She loved watching the way his well-defined, incredibly developed biceps flexed when he moved, and his broad shoulders made him seem commanding… the dominant alpha male.

"Here you go and I brought plenty to hold us for a while."

The deep timbre of his voice sent a shiver all the way down her spine to settle between her thighs. "Thanks." She watched as he lowered his body into the seat across from her after setting the hamburgers, fries, and milk shakes in the middle of the table.

He glanced at her. "You all right?"

Other than wanting to scratch that woman's eyes out, I'm fine. Instead she answered, "Yes."

He grabbed one of the hamburgers and began unwrapping it.

"Can we say the grace before we eat?"

He lifted a brow and his gaze fixed on her face. "I knew someone else who used to be adamant about saying grace before eating."

Tori nodded, remembering and knowing who he was referring to. Sandy. "Doesn't surprise me," she said softly, trying to sever any connection that may have popped into his mind. "Traditionally, most people thank God before eating their food. I was raised in a foster home by a minister and his wife so saying the grace is second nature to me. Reverend Parker used to say we shouldn't put anything in our mouths until we gave thanks for it." She shrugged. "Old habits are hard to break."