The Midnight Hour (22 page)

Hawk breathed in deeply. "Thanks for the information, Lucille. You've been most helpful."

After hanging up the phone, Hawk glanced at his watch. It was late and he needed to thoroughly think things over before calling Drake and Tori. He also needed to consider what actions he needed to take to make sure Casey and Chisholm's powers were stripped from them. Men who put their own selfish needs before their men didn't need to be in control.

But one thing was for certain, for Drake and Tori, time had definitely run out.

"You certainly have a hearty appetite this morning."

Drake made the observation as he sat across from her at an IHOP restaurant. They hadn't done much talking while getting their gear together that morning before they left the hotel. But she had asked that they get something to eat before getting on the interstate. Deciding a good breakfast would hold them a while, they decided to get buffet and Tori's plate was loaded.

He remembered how much she had consumed at dinner the night before and wondered where the woman was putting it all. Although he had to admit that her hips appeared a little fuller since the last time he'd seen her, he actually liked the way she looked, especially in her shorts and jeans. He knew he would like her even better wearing nothing at all.

"I was hungry," she said.

"Evidently." He actually liked seeing her eat. A lot of women he had dated over the years ate like birds, for fear of putting on weight. Personally, he much preferred a woman with meat on her bones and the first thing he had noticed about Tori when he had first seen her was that she was well-built, with everything in the right place. In addition to that, she was in good physical shape. That became evident when they had gone on that mission together.

He glanced around the restaurant. It had been crowded when they walked in and was getting even more crowded by the second. He took a sip of his coffee and decided from the remaining food on Tori's plate that it would take her a little longer to finish it all.

They hadn't heard from Hawk and already it was eight in the morning. "I noticed you don't drink coffee anymore," he said when the waitress came to refill her glass of milk and she had taken several huge gulps. When they'd been on that mission together, she had consumed the stuff like it was going out of style.

Tori glanced up at Drake, startled by his question. She hadn't thought he would notice her preference for milk over coffee but it appeared that he had. "Once I left the Agency, I decided to try to live without it."

He took another sip of his coffee and decided it was just the opposite for him, he couldn't try and live without it. In fact he damn needed it this morning. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep due to fantasizing about her. He hadn't been able to close his eyes just knowing she was in a bed just a few feet from his own.

He hadn't been able to stop his mind from remembering the one time their bodies had joined. Her legs had parted so eagerly for him and the womanly essence of her had been drenched with desire. That night he had found heaven and he hadn't been the same since. Her flesh had been tight as if she hadn't mated with a man for a long time and he had gloried in the feel of that tightness holding him, squeezing him, clutching him, and making him lose every ounce of control he'd had, all the way up to the point where he hadn't given thought to using a condom. The only thing he could think about that night was getting his engorged flesh inside of her.

Drake inhaled deeply, trying to get his mind and body under control, something he'd been doing a lot lately. He glanced around the restaurant again. They were sitting at a table near the entrance and his position at the table faced the door. He wanted to be aware of everything, who came in and who went out. He also had a good view of the parking lot through the huge window.

"How long will it take us to reach Houston?" Tori asked, setting down her now-empty glass. Drake smiled and leaned forward in his chair. He surprised her by taking his napkin and wiping the milk ring from around her mouth.

Their eyes met. Drake felt that same awareness of her; the one that would strike him full force in the chest whenever he gazed into the darkness of her eyes. He struggled for breath and for control. From the one time that they'd made love he still knew the signs. It was there in her gaze. The uncertainty. The caution. The desire. Heated desire.

"Drake?"

He blinked, immediately becoming aware of their surroundings again, as well as the fact that he hadn't answered her question. "I want to make it there before nightfall," he said, his voice deep and unruffled. "Trevor and Ashton are setting up this cabin for us to stay in for a day or so until we can decide our next move. I think we should stop hiding and go after the bastards and let them become the hunted for a while. But first we have to identify just who they are. Although everything is pointing his way, we still don't know for certain that Solomon Cross is behind this and we can't assume anything."

Tori forced her gaze from his. There was no assumption about it, Cross was behind it and she knew that she would have to tell Drake just as Hawk had said. Only then could he fully prepare for the fight they had on their hands. For all she knew, Cross had targeted them for death and had dispersed a hit squad to take care of things.

Panicking at the thought of the danger she had placed Drake in, she sighed deeply. There was also the thought that once he saw her, Ashton Sinclair would immediately re member her as the woman who had pretended to be a doc tor that night. Her hands suddenly felt cold thinking about the mess she was in.

And it didn't help matters whenever she looked at Dr and saw the raw, naked look of sexual hunger in his eyes. When she had awakened this morning and had glanced across the room, he was up already, sitting at the computer and staring at her.

"Then I guess we should get going if we want to make that deadline," she said. Rubbing her hands together, she stood.

Drake also stood and reached out and captured her hands in his. "Your hands are cold," he whispered softly, coming around the table and stepping closer to her. "Are you okay?"

She tipped her head back, met his gaze and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

She had lied. She wouldn't be fine until this nightmare was over.

Tori's phone vibrated and while Drake paid for their meal, she told him she needed to go to the ladies' room. Once inside a stall she returned Hawk's call.

"Hawk, this is Tori."

"Time has run out, Tori. I just talked to Lucille last night and she shared information as to what's going on. Casey heard from an informant that Cross has sent someone else to take care of Rangel's screwup and the person has a reputation for getting the job done. Cross wants you and Drake brought to him alive."

Tori arched an eyebrow. "Alive?"

"Yes, alive, so knowing how he feels about Drake, you can imagine what that means."

Tori nodded. She didn't have to imagine.

"And it's my understanding that Chisholm's department has been called in. He and Casey are willing to let you and Drake be used as bait to lead them to Cross."

"What!"

"Yes," he said. He hated to be the one to tell her, but she needed to know that the same agency she had dedicated her life to for the past five years was willing to use her and Drake to bring a wanted man to justice. "So you can't trust Casey to help you."

Hawk sighed deeply, angrily. "Drake has to be told, Tori. There's no longer a reason to keep him in the dark. It's too dangerous for the both of you. Either you tell him everything or I will."

Tori didn't say anything for a long moment as she tried to come to grips with everything Hawk had told her. "All right, but I want to be the one to tell Drake the truth about who I am, Hawk. He deserves to hear it from me. We're on our way to a place near Houston; a cabin owned by Trevor where we'll be hiding out for a couple of days. We should be there by the end of the day. I'll tell him when we get there."

"And will you call me after you do?"

"Yes, either Drake or I will call you."

She heard Hawk's long, hard sigh. "I know this can't be easy for you, Tori."

'No, it's not, and what scares me the most is not knowing how Drake will react when I tell him."

"Once you explain everything to him, he'll understand. He loves you and-"

Tori shook her head. "No, Hawk. Drake loved Sandy. He still does. Drake is a different person than he was five years ago and so am I. Five years ago we were young, in love, full of fire and ready to take on the world."

"And now?"

She didn't say anything for a long moment, and then she said, "And now I'm a woman who beat death only to become a totally different person than I was before. I've lived each day looking over my shoulder, knowing there was a possibility that Cross would find out my secret."

"And I'm still not certain that Cross has found out your secret," Hawk said. "I think if he had, he would have taken more drastic measures by now. He would have come to this country himself to deal with you and Drake, and not send someone to do it. I agree with Drake that the only reason you're involved is because of your association with him."

Tori nodded. "That might be true, but either way, Cross wants me. Just give us time to reach the cabin and then I'll tell Drake everything, including how the Agency is willing to throw us to the wolves." She ended the call and placed the mobile phone back in her purse.

Her hands, the ones Drake had recently warmed, had turned cold again.

"You're shivering."

Tori blinked, surprised at Drake's comment. He must have been watching her pretty hard to have noticed the trembling of her body just now. He needed to keep his eyes on the road and not on her-but the thought that he had been watching her sent an unwanted spark through her; especially when his voice was filled with concern. But would he still be filled with concern once she told him the truth?

"No, I'm fine although I have noticed the change in the weather since leaving California."

Drake nodded his head. "Yes, the days are cooler, aren't they?" he said gazing over at her.

They had been driving for quite some time and had stopped for lunch. Drake suggested that instead of them stopping someplace for dinner that they should continue driving until they reached the cabin. Trevor had indicated that he would make sure it was well-stocked, which meant there would be food for them to eat.

For the past couple of hours she had racked her brain trying to decide how she would tell him the truth and decided that once they reached the cabin and after unloading their stuff she would just do it and get it over with. Then the two of them would have to deal with it. But how they dealt with it was what had her worried. She was more worried about the knowledge that Cross wanted them brought to him alive.

Needing something to take her mind off of what lay ahead, she decided to get Drake talking about something else; something she knew meant a lot to him, his home in the Tennessee Mountains.

"I bet your home in Tennessee is beautiful," she said, knowing that it was. He had taken her there one year for Christmas. That had been the last holiday they had spent together and memories of that time had sustained her through all the cosmetic surgeries, skin grafting, and implants that she'd endured.

"It is beautiful."

She heard the love and pride in his voice. It had been there the first time he had told her about Warren's Mountain. He was proud of his family's history and his great-greatgrandfather's ability to hold on to the huge parcel of land he had been given as compensation for dedicated service as a Buffalo Soldier. Warren's Mountain had been passed through the Warren family for generations and now with Drake being the only Warren left, all land rights had been passed down to him. Because of the beauty of the land, he had been besieged with offers from various land developers ready to make him the deal of a lifetime. But he had turned all of them down, deciding to keep the land his family had worked so hard to hold. It was his haven, a place he could go after returning from missions abroad when he needed to feel in tune with the great country in which he lived. He had shared all those things with her as Sandy Carroll and it was there in his home on Warren's Mountain on Christmas Eve night when he had asked her to marry him.

She listened for the next hour while he told her about his home and just listening to him made her fall in love with it all over again… as well as with him. She would always love him, but the big question was whether or not he could still love her. She was different. She looked different. Could he handle the changes? Would he want to? But more importantly, did she even want him to? Would it be best when this was over for them to go their separate ways?

Something he said about being a loner caught her attention and as she reclined her seat back she knew that was true. Drake Warren was used to doing things alone. She remembered the exact point in time when Sandy had convinced him that he would never be alone again, and that she would always be there to share his life with him. They had been words freely spoken with all the sincerity of her heart. But less than a year after she had spoken them, both of their worlds had come tumbling down and in the end they had been forced to go their separate ways. Alone.

Solomon Cross's hand tightened on the phone. "You have good news for me, Red Hunter?"

"No, not yet, but I wanted to let you know that I'm getting close. I have everything set in place and have an idea just where they're headed. I just wanted to keep you posted. As soon as I have them I will let you know so we can make the exchange. I'm excited about getting that bonus."

Cross's eyes narrowed. "I never said anything about a bonus."

"But I'm sure you'd agree that they would be worth me getting one when I bring them to you."