Ultimate Heroes Collection

by Various Authors

  But his more rational side, the one he’d beaten down for the moment, knew that they had to hear him out just in case he had relevant information.

  When this was over, Max intended to kick the guy’s ass.

  Cooper had prepared a pot of coffee. Braxton took a seat at the long conference table while Max and Kimble blatantly sized each other up.

  “Whether you want to believe it or not, your uncle is involved in the threat to you,” Kimble said, turning his attention to Scout.

  “What makes you think someone is threatening me?”

  Good girl, Max cheered silently. Give him hell. Something was way off with this guy. Simon was running a check on him. They would soon know.

  She folded her arms over her middle and leaned against the conference table. “I didn’t tell you I was being threatened.”

  Kimble didn’t look the least bit put off. “Donna told me. I called to check on you a few weeks ago and she told me you were missing in action. Then last week she called and told me everything.”

  Scout narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

  Kimble sighed. “I admit it—I had to coerce the information out of her.” He moved closer to Scout. Max tensed. “But she knows how I feel about you.” He reached out and touched her shoulder then. A red mist swam before Max’s eyes. It was all he could do to hold himself back.

  “She knows what we’ve shared,” Kimble said intimately.

  Scout drew away from his touch. “Then she must also know that you left me in the lurch!”

  Max wanted to crush him. Kimble had hurt her. He’d gotten her pregnant and then walked away. Death would be too good for the bastard.

  Kimble nodded. “Guilty,” he agreed woefully. “But I had my reasons.”

  Scout looked as skeptical as Max felt. ‘Oh really?” she retorted. “And what were those?”

  Kimble shoved his hands into his pockets, and all three Colby agents in the room reacted at once. Though he’d been patted down, there were always new ways to hide a weapon.

  He pulled his hands free of his pockets and showed that they were empty. “Satisfied?” He looked from one man to the other before turning his attention back to Scout. “You won’t want to accept this news, but it’s the truth and it’s time you knew.”

  Max put aside his raging emotions and focused on the man speaking. He refused to consider why the two of them steered clear of the “baby” subject. He was sure Kimble had been referring to the baby when he’d said the assistant had told him “everything.”

  “Harold Atkins killed your father.”

  “What?” Scout’s expression turned to one of utter disbelief. “That’s insane. Harold and my father were like brothers.”

  “At one time.” Kimble shook his head. “After Harold’s retirement from the military he got mixed up with some bad sorts. He started selling military secrets to settle the score. He got away with it for a long time, even while he and your father worked together as P.I.’s. It wasn’t until after he’d gone to work at Alexon that your father discovered the truth. Your father confronted him. Threatened to turn him in. Harold killed him to prevent that from happening.”

  Scout shook her head in denial. “I don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true. Your father told me of his concerns. By the time I could get back to him with the information he needed to seal Harold’s fate, he was dead.” Gage exhaled loudly. “There was nothing I could do. It was too late.”

  Scout pushed off from the table and rounded on him. “If Harold really killed my father, why didn’t you turn him in? You knew how badly I wanted to find my dad’s killer.” She spoke the words calmly enough, but the obvious fury building beneath had Max moving closer in case she physically attacked Kimble.

  “Because,” the man explained, “he told me he’d kill you if I ever said a word, if I ever came near you again. I couldn’t take that risk.”

  Silence screamed in the room for three excruciating beats.

  “But you did come back,” she countered, her voice trembling now.

  Max wanted desperately to go to her, but he knew Scout too well. She wouldn’t want to look weak.

  “Yes. I wanted to make sure you were all right. Harold was in Chicago. I’d hoped he wouldn’t find out … but he did. I couldn’t risk him hurting you. So I dropped out of sight again.”

  If Max had to endure one more second of this guy’s BS, he’d puke. With the way his gut still roiled, that possibility wasn’t far off base.

  “So you’ve told me,” Scout said tightly. “What now?”

  He shrugged. “Considering the phone call we both got, I’m concerned that Harold faked his death. He’s in this with Alexon, I’m sure of it. You have to be very careful, Scout.”

  “If he’s alive and in cahoots with Alexon, why would he try to kill me?”

  She wasn’t buying it. Max was immensely proud of her. The whole incident at the house was completely off. Somehow. What good would she and the baby be to anyone dead? He shuddered at the idea.

  “I think that little stunt was meant for me. He knew these guys—” Kimble hitched a thumb toward Max “—would take care of you.”

  What a neat little package Scout’s ex had tied everything into. Too bad Max didn’t believe him for a second.

  “Time’s up, Kimble.” Max moved between him and Scout. “We’re calling it a night. Do I have to tell you that we don’t want to hear from you again?” Kimble looked from Max to Scout, who said nothing. Pride welled in Max that she had, with her silence, backed him up.

  “Come on, Kimble,” Cooper said. “I’ll give you a ride back to your car.”

  When Cooper and Kimble had exited the conference room, Max focused his full attention on Scout. “You know he’s lying through his teeth, don’t you?”

  She looked tired and uncertain. Dammit. He hated for her to suffer any more traumas. Damn Kimble.

  “I wish I could be sure.” She shook her head in weary defeat. “His accusations would explain some things I’ve never understood.”

  Max didn’t want to consider that she was probably rationalizing Kimble’s disappearance with this crap. Would that make her want to reconcile with him? Max clenched his jaw. He refused to believe she could be that blind.

  “Miss Jackson.” Ryan Braxton stood and moved toward her.

  Scout had almost forgotten about him, he’d been so quiet. She offered him a pathetic excuse for a smile. He was quieter than the other Colby agents she’d met. But she was certain that still waters ran particularly deep in his case. There was a weariness in his eyes that spoke to her. Somehow he’d been here before … far too many times. “Yes?”

  “Whoever delivered that cellphone to you is managing to keep up with your movements particularly well, and in spite of all our precautions. I’m wondering if perhaps you may unknowingly be carrying a tracking device.”

  The thought hadn’t occurred to her. She supposed it wasn’t impossible. “I don’t know.” The frown she wore deepened. “Anything’s possible, I guess.”

  There were other questions she’d wanted to ask Gage … but couldn’t. Not in front of Max.

  “Why don’t we leave your personal belongings at the guest house before relocating you this time?” Ryan suggested.

  She shrugged. ‘Okay.”

  “I’ll call Amy Wells and have her pick up a few things and bring them over.” Ryan’s gaze traveled the length of her. “Size 6?”

  Amazed at his accuracy, she nodded mutely.

  “You’ll need to leave your jewelry, as well.” He looked directly at her locket.

  “I never take it off,” she protested. “My father gave it to me.” She’d taken it off only that once, when she’d been in isolation with Max at Alexon.

  “For just a little while. once we’ve had it checked thoroughly I’ll see that it’s returned to you immediately.”

  Reluctantly, she nodded. What else could she do? Someone was dogging her every step. This tim
e she’d barely escaped a deadly fire bomb. She couldn’t take any more chances.

  Not when her baby was counting on her.

  TWO HOURS HAD PASSED before they’d left the agency. Max had driven around another hour to make sure he had no tail. Scout had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. He wished he could shield her fully from the rest of this, but that might prove impossible. But he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and to help her outsmart the Biogenisis people or whoever the hell was after her. Simon’s check on Kimble had given them nothing. After leaving the military the man had ceased to exist. There was nothing on him. Whatever he was up to, it would not be in Scout’s best interests. Simon wanted to look further, to see if he could tie him to Biogenisis.

  Simon had kindly offered his penthouse. With the warning, of course, that Max take better care of it than he had his SUV. For the first time since that night at the cemetery, Max thought of his own home. What kind of damage had been done there? He pushed away the scenarios that came immediately to mind. Right now he was too tired to care.

  After parking in the underground garage of the prestigious building Simon called home, Max gently shook Scout’s shoulder.

  She roused instantly. Her father had trained her well. The daughter of a colonel wouldn’t be lax even when she slept.

  “I’m up.” She immediately surveyed her surroundings and climbed out of the vehicle.

  Max did the same.

  In the elevator, he inserted Simon’s key and they were carried directly to the fourteenth floor. The door opened onto an elegant foyer that led straight into Simon’s penthouse apartment.

  “Wow, your friend must be loaded,” Scout commented as they moved into the main living area. The view from the wall of windows was nothing short of spectacular.

  “He’s like Cooper,” Max said without malice, “born to it.” It didn’t really bother Max at all that his friends were better off financially than he was. He wouldn’t trade his close-knit family for all the money in the world. Neither Cooper nor Simon had those kinds of ties. Well, Simon was working on making a family with his new wife Jolie.

  “I think I’ll just lie down.”

  “How about I drum up some dinner?” Max offered. “I’m sure Simon’s got anything your heart would desire.” He added a smile, hoping to encourage her. He felt fairly certain he could manage to eat now.

  She did smile back, just a little. “I’m not very hungry. Thanks, anyway.”

  Kimble, the son of a bitch, had really done a number on her emotions. Max wanted to strangle the jerk.

  Before she could get away, he said, “I meant what I said. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even Kimble.”

  She turned back, her eyes suspiciously bright, but intensely determined. “You know what I have to do, don’t you?”

  The hair on the back of Max’s neck prickled. He didn’t like this. She sounded resigned to some cruel fate.

  “The only way we’ll ever know who the real bad guys are is if we lure them into a trap.”

  “No.” He was already shaking his head before she completed the statement.

  As if he hadn’t said it, she went on. “To set a trap you need bait. It’s the only way.”

  He strode across the room and took her by the arms, careful to avoid her wound. “I won’t let you do that. It’s too risky.”

  She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Don’t worry, Max. Despite what happened at my uncle’s house, they won’t hurt me. They have to keep me alive until the baby is born.”

  He glanced at the bandage on her arm. “We can’t be sure, and I’m not taking any chances with you or your baby. I don’t care who the father is. I can’t let you take that risk.”

  “I’ll never be safe unless we draw them out and bring them down,” she said softly, her voice quaking again. “Never. And you know it.”

  God, she was right. He didn’t want to admit it, but she was. How could they stop an enemy whose identity they didn’t know? They couldn’t. It was that simple and, at the same time, that complex.

  If they didn’t make a move, the enemy would. It was only a matter of time before they caught them in a vulnerable position.

  Using her and her unborn child as bait was the only way to draw them out on Max’s terms.

  He pulled her close to him. He wanted to hold her … to kiss her, but he held back, not wanting to cross that line, yet needing to so very much. “You remember what I said, Scout. All that matters is that you and the baby are safe. I don’t care about anything else.”

  He didn’t have to worry about crossing the line.

  She took the initiative.

  She kissed him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Scout drew back and stared into his eyes. In that moment she wondered whether, if her baby was a boy, he would look like his father. Would he have that thick, sandy-colored hair and those sky-blue eyes that could make her shiver with just a glance? A little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl would be equally wonderful.

  A twinge of fear abruptly replaced her foolish musings. Would this man ever forgive her for lying to him? For keeping the truth from him even at a moment like this? She’d wanted desperately to demand that Gage explain why he’d told Max he was the baby’s father, or even how he knew about her pregnancy. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to allow Max to learn the truth that way. And the truth would certainly have come out in the course of the conversation. If Scout had her guess, Donna had probably spilled the beans to Gage about that along with the rest. He had said she’d told him everything. Still, he had to know the baby wasn’t his. Maybe he hoped to reconcile with her and had told Max that lie to make him back off. But she didn’t want to think about that right now.

  She moistened her lips, and Max’s hungry gaze followed the movement. She could tell him now … . She could. There was no doubt in her mind that she could trust Max completely. That he cared deeply. But she had to know more. If there was any possibility they might have a future together she had to be certain it was about more than just the baby.

  Maybe she was being selfish … but she still had to know.

  “Scout, we should—”

  “Shh.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Don’t say anything. Don’t even think.” She lifted her mouth to his once more and whispered, “Just feel.”

  He kissed her more deeply this time. She could feel him letting go, putting the rules and all the other stuff out of his mind. She wanted this moment to eclipse all else. It belonged to them … .

  He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, stopping in the middle of the room and settling her onto her feet. As in the room they’d just left, the view was magnificent. An unveiled wall of windows overlooked the city with its twinkling lights and soaring skyscrapers.

  The bedroom was lavish. A wide, inviting king-size bed served as a regal focal point. Thick carpeting and handsome wood furnishings completed the picture. She sighed.

  Max was watching her, she suddenly realized. He stood perfectly still, those analyzing eyes taking in her captivation with the lovely surroundings. She knew what he must be thinking. She turned to him and moved in close. Her arms went up and around his neck, and her breasts tingled as she leaned against his chest. His arms went instantly around her.

  “This is a great apartment,” she said, then nipped his lower lip with her teeth. His breath caught. “But I like your place a lot better.”

  He swallowed tightly. She watched the movement with utter fascination. This would be their first time together alone.

  “No one’s watching, you know,” she murmured. Her heart thundered savagely. She wanted him to make love to her. The yearning was so fierce she could scarcely draw a breath. But still he hesitated. He wanted to kiss her; she knew he did. She could feel the tension in his strong body … could feel the hardness of his own desire pressing against her belly. All she had to do was crank up the persuasion.

  Ma
x was certain he had never wanted anything as much as he wanted the woman in his arms. But was she thinking clearly? or was it the overwhelming stress, the betrayal she still felt where Kimble was concerned? Every muscle in his body jerked at the thought of Kimble. He despised the bastard.

  “What about Kimble?” he managed to say tightly.

  She sighed, those gray eyes glittering with desire. Just the way he remembered from their time together four months ago. She’d looked at him this way then, as well … only there was more this time. Something indefinable. Did she want to make love with him just to have revenge against her lover?

  Max closed his eyes and forced the probable answer from his mind. He couldn’t bear the thought. Couldn’t bear the idea of her being with him.

  “I don’t know what Gage has to do with any of this,” she said firmly, her words forcing his eyes open so he could read hers as she spoke. “I haven’t seen him in months. Wouldn’t care if I never saw him again. Whatever I once felt for him is long gone.”

  Max wanted to believe her, saw the truth of her statement in her eyes. But when the child was born, would she still feel the same way? When Kimble demanded his rights as a father, what would she do then? Would her relationship with Max be strong enough to withstand her need to keep her child safe and happy?

  “You may feel differently when—”

  She cut off his words, rising on tiptoe and closing her mouth over his. “No more talk,” she murmured between kisses.

  He let it go then; he couldn’t help himself. He wanted her too much. Needed her too desperately. He surrendered completely to the kiss, relishing the sweet taste of her and the excitement he could feel thrumming through her slender body. She wanted him and nothing else mattered.

  Undressing her slowly, he rained kisses over her newly bared shoulders, across the lush swells of her breasts. Her fingers dived into his hair and she held him more firmly against her, silently urging him on. She toed off her sneakers as he dropped to his knees before her. He lowered the zipper of her jeans and unhurriedly eased them down. She braced her hands on his shoulders as she stepped out of the confining fabric. While peeling off her socks, he measured each small foot in his hands. She was so beautifully made, all the way down to her sexy little toes.