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With a smile, I climbed on top of him, cradled his face in my hands, and kissed him.
He grabbed hold of me and returned the kiss, his lips more demanding, more fervent than ever before. I groaned as he slid his cool hands under my thin T-shirt and stroked my skin.
Footsteps slapped against the floor of the hall, then Gabriel’s weak voice called out, “Babe? Can I have some water?”
“Christ in heaven,” Derek muttered against my hair. “We’re doomed, I tell you.”
I laughed to keep from crying. “Yes, we are.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What do you mean, no?” I asked, as I paced around the living room the next day.
“I mean, you’re not going to be in the room with Gabriel and Mary Grace.” Derek went back to testing the tiny microphone at the end of the wire he would tape to Gabriel’s back. Gabriel had agreed to wear the wire in order to tape Alice—or Mary Grace, whatever her name was—admitting she’d killed both Layla and Mr. Soo.
The previous night, after we were so rudely interrupted by Gabriel, Derek and I had stayed up and talked for hours. We’d laughed over the realization that we’d both tried collecting stamps at a young age but found it unspeakably boring. Derek confessed that he’d wanted to join the Royal Navy ever since he saw the Sharks, the Royal Navy’s elite helicopter team, perform at an air show when he was six years old. Sadly, by the time he was old enough to enlist, the team had been disbanded, but he was determined to fly helicopters anyway.
My heart had melted as I pictured a starstruck little boy staring up in awe at the wildly exciting maneuvers of those daring helicopter pilots.
Finally, I had dozed on the couch while Derek placed a phone call to his people at Scotland Yard to find out what he could about Alice’s adventures in Bahrain. According to his sources, she still had a number of outstanding international warrants for her arrest. Once they realized exactly who we were dealing with, Scotland Yard, through Interpol, took control of the investigation, and Derek was duly authorized to run the sting operation. The local police were to follow his lead.
That hadn’t gone down well with Inspector Lee.
And now, as I continued my pacing, I was feeling a little cranky myself. “It’s not like I’ll be in the same room with them. I just want to be part of the action, back where you all are. There’s a small closet inside that workroom. I could just sit in there and—”
“Absolutely not.”
“You can’t keep me away.”
“I believe I can,” he said mildly, as he tested the earbuds attached to the micro recorder.
“But why?” I winced at the whiny tone of my voice. “I’m part of this.”
“That doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to—”
“Allow me?” I glared at him. “You don’t allow me to do anything. I do whatever I want.”
He looked up. “Of course you do, darling. But you’ll recall that I’ve already seen you at the wrong end of a psychopath’s gun, more than once. It’s not good for my heart.”
He patted his heart for emphasis.
I stomped my foot. “That’s so unfair.”
“I’m glad we agree,” he said. “It would be quite unfair of you to put me through that misery again.”
My shoulders slumped. “That’s not what I meant.”
His smile was affectionate. “I know.”
Gabriel and Derek had already decided that I would be their “front man.” I was not impressed with the job title or the description. My duties would predominantly involve schmoozing with Alice at the gala, keeping a sharp eye on her as I drank expensive champagne, nibbled on blinis and caviar, and partied with the rich and famous of San Francisco.
Talk about unfair.
I sat down next to Derek, scooted my chair closer, and put my hand over his. “Derek, I’m serious about this. Alice used me. She pretended to be my friend and wormed her way into my home and my heart. I feel sick about that and . . . and soiled.”
“Darling, no, you mustn’t.” He turned in his chair and wrapped me tenderly in his arms. “I would do anything to wipe those feelings away.”
I sniffled. “I brought her to Dharma and introduced her to my family. To my mother. They welcomed that negative, destructive force into our lives. I’ll never forget the look on Guru Bob’s face . . .” My lips trembled.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered, as he stroked my hair. “Shush now. I know, I know. It’s very painful.”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Poor darling.” He leaned back and tilted my chin up so I could see him. “But there’s still no way in hell I’m letting you hide in that closet.”
My mouth opened, then closed.
He winked. “Nice try, though.”
Gabriel was still weak but determined to carry on with the sting. I had changed his dressing so that instead of the eight-inch-wide white sterile patch that had covered half his head the day before, he now sported a subtle two-inch-wide tan bandage.
Two hours before departure time, Gabriel had to stretch out on the couch and rest.
I took a good look at him, then glanced at Derek. “I’m concerned his strength will be gone before we ever get to BABA.”
“I’ll rally, babe,” Gabriel protested.
“You’d better,” I said. “I don’t want to give Alice the chance to finish the job she already started on you.”
He groaned. “That cuts to the core.”
“Sorry,” I said, scowling. “But your ex-wife is at the top of her game and you’re weak as a kitten.”
“The weakness might play in his favor,” Derek said.
“What?” I said. “You think you’ll appeal to her maternal side?”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Gabriel said.
“You think she has one?” I asked.
Neither of them answered.
“I just hope the police will be close by,” I muttered. I had a lot less confidence in Alice’s maternal instincts than these two did.
“The less obvious the police presence, the better,” Gabriel said, his voice gruff. “Mary Grace can smell a cop from a mile away.”
Gabriel slept for a half hour, then showered and dressed in his best black-on-black gunslinger’s outfit. I was wiping off the kitchen bar when he walked out to the living room. I stuttered to a halt.
The man looked like something off the cover of an extremely hot romance novel, meaning he looked damned good. It just went to show that Alice wasn’t as smart as she thought she was. If I were her, I never would’ve let him go. Just saying.
Then Derek walked in from my front office wearing an old leather bomber jacket over a navy T-shirt tucked into faded jeans, his muscular thighs hard beneath the denim. I’d never seen him in such casual clothes before, so I guess you could say he caught me off guard.
My feet froze to the floor. I fumbled for the sponge. Time slowed down as he turned, saw me, and smiled. My breath rattled in my throat and my heart tumbled into a place it had never been before.
Something flickered in Derek’s eyes. He walked across the room and slid his hand around my neck, then leaned in and covered my mouth with his. The kiss was openmouthed and heart-stopping. My lower stomach tightened and my knees threatened to give in. His lips inched along my cheek-bone, planting kisses until he reached my ear. There, he whispered, “You dropped your sponge.”
I laughed in surprise and my heart began to beat again. He bent down to retrieve my sponge, smiling wickedly as he handed it back to me. After another quick, hard kiss, he moved to the dining table, where his equipment, and a gri
While I watched, Derek wired Gabriel for sound and they tested the equipment for a few minutes longer.
All systems were go, except my own.
Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, I walked unsteadily into the kitchen and leaned against the cool surface of the refrigerator to regroup.
So much for acting like the sophisticated urban animal I fancied myself to be. Yes, I’d gone in with both eyes wide open, knowing Derek would leave town as soon as Gunther’s stint at BABA was completed. I’d been engaged before and I’d survived the breakups just fine. Truth be told, I’d done most of the breaking up myself because I’d had no business saying yes in the first place.