by Kahlen Aymes
“I’m protected. I have Cole and his monitors, Bancroft and his guys. It’s you—”
“I’ll be fine,” Alex interrupted. “He won’t do anything in public, babe.” One hand brushed the top of her breast as the other pushed her hair back. “Stop trying to distract me.”
“Could I?” Her chin lifted as she sought Alex’s mouth with her own. He kissed her back softly but pulled away when the kiss became more heated. Angel was less willing to break contact, her mouth clinging to his.
“Not today, honey. This thing is burning in my gut, and I need to have it done so we can move on.” He had plans, plans for their future, to take her to Missouri so he could meet her dad, to introduce her to his family, to lay it all on the line and admit his feelings. He couldn’t do that when they were both worried and preoccupied. “I don’t like seeing you so worked up.”
Angel blinked at the burning behind her eyes and tried to lighten the conversation. “That’s not how it seemed last night.” She tried to smile and tease, but her lips trembled as her brow knitted. Alex saw her struggle and rested his forehead on hers, his hand moved back to cradle her head, his thumb stroking the side of her neck, his fingers twined in the soft strands of her hair. She was pensive, and he saw right through her ploy.
“Angel,” he breathed. “I won’t be far away. You know that, don’t you?”
She tried to push down the sob that threatened to erupt from her chest and kept her from speaking. Her forehead fell to his strong shoulder, and she inhaled the spicy scent of expensive cologne, fine soap, and Alex. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into the hair at the back of his head as he gathered her close. Alex loved the possessive feeling of her embrace, and his heart ached with hope that maybe she did love him in return. He held her tightly against him and waited for her response, content to have her nestled in his arms with her heart beating against his.
“It’s not fair. You’ll get to see me, but I can’t see you.” She winced at the whining undertone to her voice.
“The monitors are hardly as satisfying as holding you like this. Is that what you mean?”
“It’s better than nothing.”
“When you’re home, I’ll only hear you.” He turned his face and kissed the side of her neck beneath her ear, his breath washing her skin as he spoke. “Please don’t take chances. Go about your normal routine, but don’t take unnecessary risks. Promise me.”
He felt her body expand with a deeply inhaled breath. He knew her well enough to know her determination would give her undue bravado and make her do things she shouldn’t. “Angel? Promise me.”
“Ugh.” She pulled out of his arms and shook her head. “You just said you want it over with!”
“I do.” Alex got up and finished tying his tie and then shrugged on the jacket to his dark grey Armani suit. “But not if it means taking stupid chances,” he said sternly. “I mean it. It’s bad enough that I’m deliberately going to piss him off. If, or rather when,” he amended, “Swanson comes after you, I want it to be in an environment and situation we are in control of.”
Angel scowled at him. “No shit. We already discussed this.”
“Right, so why do I have the feeling you’re going to try to egg him on without telling me, at a time or place that I’m not prepared for?”
“That’s what you’re doing! So, why can’t I? The longer it takes…” the longer we have to be apart.
“Angel, just stick to the goddamned plan! If you deviate, we won’t be in place to protect you. I’m already against this. I’m not taking my life in my hands, I’m just pushing him a little to get him moving.”
“You don’t know him. He’s a deviant, capable of anything. Just… Please be careful.” Her voice shook with emotion.
The sorrowful look on her face softened Alex’s temper and the corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “Piece of cake.”
She watched him put on the gleaming Rolex watch that was his only piece of jewelry, pick up his wallet and car keys and shove them in the pocket of his pants. He already had his shoes on, and it would be only moments before he walked out the door. “Are you at least taking Cole or the others with you?”
“If I take any of them in with me, it blows their cover and leaves you vulnerable. Bancroft will be nearby, okay? I won’t take undue chances, trust me.” He sat down on the bed again, unable to resist touching her one last time before he left. Alex sighed, his fingers tracing the side of her face and pushing a soft, curling tendril behind her ear. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her.
“The worst part of this whole thing is I won’t be able to touch you. You’re so damn beautiful.” His index finger curled and nudged her chin up as he leaned in and kissed her softly on her mouth. His lips lifted and then brushed over hers again, his tongue coming out to nudge her mouth into play. The soft sigh that was elicited in response as her fingers curled around his forearm and into the hair at his nape made it difficult for him not to deepen the kiss, especially when it was evident that was what Angel wanted.
Alex’s hands held her head, both thumbs brushing her cheekbones as he gave in and kissed her deeply, his tongue finally parting her lips and laving against hers. Angel’s response was explosive, and his body instantly reacted. Alex softened the kiss again, knowing he didn’t have time to make love to her like he wanted. When she pulled his lower lip into her mouth with her teeth, he pulled away with a reluctant groan. “You don’t make leaving easy.”
“Get used to it,” she whispered against his lips as they left hers for the last time. Alex smiled brilliantly at her as her hand dragged down his arm to capture his hand as he rose from the bed.
Alex looked down at her and briefly touched her chin with his fingertips. “This thing between us… It’s real, okay?”
“Okay.” Angel’s hand tightened around Alex’s fingers.
“Mmmm. Honey, I really need to go. Mrs. Dane has it all set up, and Bancroft is waiting for me downstairs.”
“Okay.” Angel flopped back against the pillows and rolled onto her side.
“Make sure to call Cole and give him your itinerary for the day.”
“Already done. I spoke with him last night on my way to the station.”
Alex’s eyebrow raised and he smiled. He’d expected more resistance from her. “Are you going to tell me what you were doing before that?”
“Nope.” Angel smiled slyly and shook her head.
“I’ll just ask Cole.”
“He won’t tell you. He promised.”
“We’ll see.” Alex was pleased that Angel and Cole had become friends though he did worry that Cole might fall in love with her as easily as he did. She was irresistible and brotherly love only went so far.
“Yes, we will,” she retorted smartly, her lips lifting in a grin.
“Okay.” Alex hovered in the doorway of his bedroom, not wanting to leave her. His heart tightened inside his chest as he looked at her. Their eyes met and held.
“I’ll miss you.” I love you, her mind screamed.
“Me, too. I’ll call you tonight, baby.” And with that, he was gone.
*****
As Alex walked into the swanky gentleman’s club, the fine hair on the back of his arms and neck stood on end. His jaw set and determination settled on his features as he made his way toward the table in the back where the other man and his entourage were waiting. It was an expensive, members-only establishment, and the atmosphere reeked of money and unspoken possibilities. Anything could be had between these walls: drugs, kinky sex, and assorted fetishes, all for a price. The air smelled of cigar smoke and the haze it created blurred the low lights that glowed red. The bass from the music boomed, and as almost-nude women danced, others waited tables in various states of undress.
Alex never considered himself an actor, but he was adept at adopting a façade when needed. Bluffing was the name of the game and it was a skill he’d honed to a fine edge during the past few years while at the helm
of Avery Enterprises. He usually loved the cat and mouse games in business as much as he had enjoyed them with the opposite sex, but this was different. The stakes were higher.
He cleared his throat as he approached the table. “When my personal secretary told me this was the venue you chose, I thought she was joking. I should have known better.” His lips thinned and his brow rose. A sleazy setting for a sleazy bastard, he thought with disdain. “It is rather fitting, I suppose.”
Mark Swanson rose and offered Alex his hand, the four men gathered on either side of him rising. Alex inwardly balked but shook it firmly and then sat down. “How do you mean? I like to surround myself with beautiful women.”
“It’s low rent and distasteful,” Alex said without qualms and with barely hidden amusement as he took a seat opposite.
A scowl replaced the swarthy smile on Swanson’s face at the smooth delivery of the slam, but it left Alex nonplussed.
“Do you have an aversion to beautiful women, Mr. Avery? Surely, you are a member here as well?”
Alex laughed shortly. “I admire beautiful women as much as the next man, but I never have to pay for sex, and this is no place for business.” He held up his hand dismissing the waitress without a glance before she barely reached the table. “I had to acquire a membership just for this meeting.”
“You’ve effectively ruined my business, so I assume you have another reason for this meeting. Are you afraid Dr. Hemming wouldn’t approve?” Mark Swanson smoothed his shiny hair back, and Alex’s mouth tightened: the two men on either side of him shifted and one of them crossed his meaty arms across his chest.
“Hardly. In any case, Angel is not up for discussion. I’m well aware of your intentions with respect to her. I thought I’d made that painfully obvious.”
Swanson’s face hardened. “So, it wasn’t just good business,” he stated. “You ruining me, I mean.”
Alex’s expression twisted, his brows drawing together sardonically and he scoffed at the other man. “Dirty laundry is way out of our scope, and we never bother with companies of such small… consequence. No, I think we both know that my interest here had little to do with business.” He ran a hand down the front of his tie, closed his mouth, and watched, his hard gaze never flinching from his adversary’s. “You threatened my girl, invaded my home, and destroyed my property. You needed a lesson in limits.”
Mark Swanson was impeccably dressed, as were the men surrounding him, but he still had that greasy air about him that made Alex’s skin crawl. Knowing what that bastard was capable of, it was all he could do not to fly across the table and rip his head off. His fists clenched at his sides as he struggled to maintain the control he needed to keep focused on the outcome he wanted.
“I could kill you for what you’ve done to me.”
“Likewise,” Alex answered. The cold steel in his voice married with the one word response stunned the other man, his surprise showing clearly on his face.
“I hardly think some cross words at your girlfriend equate to the way you’ve ruined my entire life.”
“You did it to yourself; I just aided and abetted. Let’s not insult each other by pretending we don’t know exactly what the other has done.”
A slow, smug smile spread across Alex’s handsome face as he regarded his enemy with disgust. “I’m a man of honor, and I thought you should know that every move I made was calculated and very deliberate. I take full responsibility for my actions while you hide behind the skirts of your mafia connections. Although now, after what you’ve done to your wife’s daughter, I’m honestly surprised you’re still breathing.”
The other man’s face swelled and flushed as the blood rushed to his head, his features contorting in rage, and the men at his sides shifted uncomfortably. It was apparent that Alex’s words struck a nerve. Satisfaction, mixed with trepidation at what Mark Swanson would do to retaliate, rushed through him. He took a calming breath and reminded himself that this was all a well-staged part of the plan.
“I took you down with no regard to financial loss or gain and, make no mistake, I’d do it again without flinching. There is nothing more important to me than Angel. Touch her again and I may have to sink to your level. There will be no place you can hide from me. Is that clear?” He coolly glanced at his watch and rose from his seat, effectively dismissing the other man without so much as a glance in his direction. “I have a plane to catch, so if you’ll excuse me?”
With a flick of his finger, Swanson motioned for his men to move on Alex.
“Are you really that stupid? As sleazy as this joint is, it’s still a public place.” With that he turned and walked from the club, pulling his sunglasses from his breast pocket in preparation for the bright Chicago day and its stark contrast with the dark confines of the club. The scent of sex, sweat, smoke, and alcohol permeated the air and Alex wrinkled his nose in distaste.
“Hey, baby, wanna private dance? I could make you feel real good.” A buxom blonde leaned down, smiling, from the stage, her overly long, red-nailed hand raking down the sleeve of his fine wool suit as he passed. Alex continued out of the club without a pause or a word to the woman.
Bancroft was waiting in the back of the limousine when he slid inside. “How’d it go?” the he asked.
Alex sighed and shrugged slightly. “We’ll see. I hope it registered that I’m going out of town. That slimy cocksucker! It was all I could do not to rip him apart.”
Bancroft instructed the driver to pull out and then radioed the other car waiting in the parking lot. Alex glanced out the window, his elbow resting on the door while his hand plucked at his lower lip. “Well?”
“We’re definitely being followed.”
“Let’s hope they take the bait. I want this bullshit over with.”
“It looks like they have, sir.” He watched his boss stare out the window, his face somber, a frown knitting his brow. “The boys are with her. They’re taking shifts.”
Alex nodded but didn’t speak.
“I have a driver ready to meet you in Milwaukee.”
He hated that he had to go to this extreme ruse to make sure Swanson believed he left town. Alex’s voice was low. “This is going to be a fucking long three hours.”
“It’s necessary, sir.” Bancroft studied his boss as he looked out the window, noting his jaw muscles flexing.
“I know, but it would be easier to just run through O’Hare—in one terminal and out another.”
“They’ll be watching. We have to solidify the illusion.”
“But flying to Milwaukee and driving back… I don’t want to be out of town that long.”
“Sorry to remind you, sir, but this was your plan.”
“I realize that, but I don’t have to like it.” Alex scowled at having the obvious pointed out, and Bancroft thought better of expounding on the matter. “It might not even work. It’s probable Swanson would realize that I’d never leave Angel vulnerable, no matter what my obligations might be.”
“Forgive me, Mr. Avery, but Dr. Hemming… has become much more than a… pleasant distraction, am I right?”
Alex’s brow raised in introspection. “She’s always been more than that.”
“Cole just texted that she is with your sister at Paddy O’s for lunch.”
“Great. That’s just what I need, two of them to worry about. Christ!”
Alex’s mind raced. What was she doing with Allison? The benefit was in a few weeks, but he thought the details were ironed out. Angel didn’t mention anything, nor, for that matter, had Allison. Alex pulled out his phone and banged out a text message.
Bancroft lifted an eyebrow. “We did tell Dr. Hemming to go about business as usual.”
Alex’s hand raked through his hair. “Yes, I know. Even if I told her to lay low, she wouldn’t respect my wishes.”
Bancroft smiled. “She seems very strong-willed.”
“That’s one way to put it. You’re insanely diplomatic, Bancroft.” Alex chuckled and shook his head.
*****
So Alex was Ally Franklin’s brother. Allison Franklin.
Angel turned on the television and fell onto her sofa with her laptop and an armful of files. She needed to work, but confusion clouded her mind and her heart was heavy. Should she believe that the world really was as fucking small as Ally had insisted, or had Alex deliberately deceived her?
Ally was adamant that neither she nor Alex was even aware that the other knew her. So, why hadn’t he mentioned it when he figured it out? Angel sighed, wondering if either he or his sister would have spilled the beans if Angel hadn’t shared her own desire to surprise Alex with her performance with Archangel at the benefit. In the face of Angel’s giddiness at finally admitting that they were indeed a couple, Ally had sobered and grabbed her hand.
“Angel, I need to tell you something…”
Ugh! she thought as she replayed that part of the conversation in her mind. “He should have told me, Ally. Or is it Allison?” she’d asked angrily.
“Allison is my given name. My husband and some of my friends call me Ally, but to my family, I’ve always been Allison.” She flushed as Angel pulled her hand away. “Please, Angel. Don’t let something so silly come between you. Alex… cares about you very much.”
Angel looked at Allison with wide eyes, over their half-eaten lunch, as her heart began to beat a little too quickly when the hot rush of embarrassment flooded her skin. She was unable to let her heart miss those last words. “Then, he should have told me. He knew I was helping with the benefit.”
“Did he mention his philanthropic sister?”
“Yes, but he didn’t say anything specific.”
Ally threw her hands in the air. “Because he doesn’t care what it is specifically; he just throws money at me whenever I ask for it! Please don’t overreact. Alex and I haven’t talked that much lately. He’s so busy; he rarely shows up at family gatherings. I nagged him about the reason he’s blowing us all off and he told me he was seeing someone. You.”
It sounded reasonable, but it still bothered her that Alex hadn’t mentioned it himself. They’d gotten so close, and doubt dug into her at the prospect of any lies or disillusionment between them. She was already teetering on the edge of insanity.