Extreme Exposure

by Pamela Clare

  Reece watched while the officer questioned Kara about the calls and listened to the recordings, anger brewing in his gut—anger at Kara, at the cops, at the bastard who had threatened her and put the shadows in her green-gold eyes. She refused to discuss the story she was working on and told Irving only that it involved serious environmental crimes and a corporate whistleblower. She also told him that a state government source had contacted her this morning to warn her that both her life and that of the whistleblower might be in danger—a significant bit of information that worried Reece even more.

  The whistleblower was leaving town. Kara was not.

  “Can you give me the name of the company? Or how about the whistleblower’s contact information?”

  She eyed Irving suspiciously and shook her head. “Not without asking permission.”

  “How about the government source?”

  She shook her head again. “Again, I’d have to ask first.”

  Reece gritted his teeth, torn between admiration and anger. His rational mind knew Kara wasn’t withholding the information to be difficult. She had promised to protect people’s identities, and she was trying to keep her word. He couldn’t fault her for that; her strong sense of ethics was one of the things that attracted him to her. But his gut didn’t give a damn about anyone else at the moment. He wanted to know Kara and Connor were safe.

  “Well, Ms. McMillan, I’m afraid there’s not a lot we can do with the information you’ve given us. If I could talk to the others—the whistleblower and the state government source— then we’d have something to work with. I know secrecy is important in your work, but your life is important, too. Whoever this guy is, he’s persistent, and that bugs the shit out of me.”

  “I understand. I’ll talk to my sources and see if they’re willing to speak with you. I’ll talk to my editor, too, and see what he says about divulging the name of the company and nature of the story. If he approves it, I’ll call you.”

  “I suggest you get a new unlisted number.” Irving reached into his briefcase and pulled out a small device that resembled a cell phone. Instead of a number pad it had only a large, red button. “And until this is over, I’d like to set you up with this.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a panic button.” He drew out another device, this one with a long electrical cord. “Set the charger up next to your bed so it’s beside you at night, and carry it with you during the day. If anyone tries to carry out this guy’s threats, you just push the red button. The signal is relayed straight into dispatch, and units will be on their way immediately.”

  Kara frowned, turned the device over in her hands, and for a moment Reece thought she was going to refuse to take it. Then she set it down on the coffee table. “Thanks for coming out so late, Chief Irving. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. I feel like I’ve wasted your time.”

  “Call me with any new information.” Irving pointed at the panic button. “And push that sooner rather than later. I’d rather have a false alarm than a dead body.”

  Reece followed Irving toward the door. “I’ll walk you back to your car.”

  Irving, it turns out, drove an ordinary car of the sort used for plain-clothes work. Reece opened the driver’s side door. “If you come up with anything, could you let me know?”

  “Sure, Senator. But I really wish she’d just tell us what we need to know.”

  So did Reece. “She’s trying to uphold the ethical standards of her profession. She’s made promises to people, and she’s trying to keep them.”

  Irving tossed his briefcase in and squeezed his gut in behind the wheel. “I guess I can respect her for that. I just hope it doesn’t get her killed.”

  Reece watched Irving’s tail lights disappear down the street. “That makes two of us.”

  CHAPTER 12

  * * *

  KARA LIFTED Connor so he could drop a quarter into the saber-toothed tiger’s gaping mouth. The grimacing beast gave a ferocious, mechanical growl, the same growl it had been dispensing to museum visitors for donations of spare change since she’d been a little girl.

  Connor giggled with delight. “Another one, Mommy!”

  His laughter had always felt magical to her, as rare and precious as the tinkling of fairy bells. It made her happy just to see him smile. It was one of many things about being a mother that had completely taken her by surprise.

  Holding him up with one arm, she dug into her purse and felt her fingers brush up against something unfamiliar—the panic button. She batted it aside, scraped along the bottom of her purse, and pulled out a couple of loose dimes and a penny. “Here you go.”

  Three more gratifying growls.

  Kara set Connor back on his feet, took his hand, and led him toward the exit.

  “Can we come back again?” He looked up at her through expectant brown eyes and then yawned. He’d probably fall asleep in the car on their way home.

  “I’d like that.”

  They walked out the big glass doors toward the crowded parking lot, passing Saturday’s skateboarders, stressed-out parents with strollers, and gaggles of geese that lived in nearby City Park and suffocated the museum’s lawn with their fertilizer. Watching the geese waddle, it was hard to imagine that their ancestors might have been the enormous, ferocious creatures whose bones she’d just seen.

  Not that Kara had been paying that much attention to the museum’s educational displays. Like a song playing over and over again in her mind, thoughts of Reece followed her everywhere. His thoughtfulness in making dinner, covering her with the quilt, installing the new lock. His gentle indulgence of Connor. His expertise with his lips and hands.

  Good lord! She got turned on just remembering it.

  He’d brought her over the edge so hard and fast she’d barely had time to breathe. And it had seemed important to him that she really enjoy it—she’d felt it in the heat of his kisses, heard it in his voice, and sensed it in the way he’d focused so intently on her response.

  Goddamn straight you are!

  They barely knew each other, and yet he seemed to understand so much about her, anticipating her needs and respecting her feelings in a way no one ever had. How could that be? And what did he want from her? He was going to an awful lot of effort just to get laid, if that’s all he wanted. Besides, he’d had more than one chance to push sex with her, and he hadn’t. He wanted more than sex, but the question was how much more.

  Had Galen ever treated her with this same consideration? No, he hadn’t. Oh, certainly, he’d done thoughtful things like buy her roses or surprise her with dinner at a fancy restaurant. But every gesture, every word had been predictable, almost mechanical, as if he knew what was expected of a lover and was determined to fulfill those obligations.

  Nothing Reece did was ever predictable.

  If she’d been with Galen last night, he would have expressed his concern for her safety in a few articulate sentences, then hurried her into bed so he could have his orgasm, too. But not once had Reece brought up the fact that she had come and he had not. Nor had he tried to bring them back to the place they’d been before the phone had rung. Instead, bristling with anger she didn’t understand, he had checked every door and window to make certain they were all locked tight and then offered to sleep on the couch. When she’d told him she would be fine, he’d given her a good night kiss, promised to call her, and reminded her to lock the door behind him.

  I guess no man has ever gone out of his way to spoil you before. Well, get used to it.

  She wasn’t sure she could get used to it.

  Of course, it wasn’t just a matter of what Reece wanted, she reminded herself. This was her life. It was what she wanted for herself and for Connor that counted.

  So what did she want?

  A man who grabs your hair in big fistfuls and twists and pulls it when he’s fucking you.

  A bolt of heat shot through her belly.

  Oh, stop it! Just because he’s sexy enough to thaw nuclear winter an
d pretty much frigging perfect doesn’t mean you have to obsess over him!

  She fished her keys out of her purse, unlocked the doors, and lifted a very sleepy Connor into his car seat, determined to put Reece out of her mind for at least the next five minutes. “Let’s buckle you up. There you go, sweetie.”

  A shadow fell across the car from behind her.

  She whirled about and found herself face-to-face with a ragged man in dirty clothes.

  “Spare change, lady?”

  Heart racing, she groped in her purse, grabbed some loose coins, dropped them into his filthy upturned palm.

  Get a grip, McMillan! Since when do homeless people scare you?

  “God bless, ma’am.” He gave a little bow and walked off to work the crowd.

  Only after she’d turned onto Colorado Avenue and her heartbeat had returned to normal did she realize that she’d completely forgotten about the panic button.

  “PUSH IT! Push it! Eleven! One more.”

  Reece ignored the screaming of his pecs and triceps, brought the bar down almost level with his chest, and then pushed with every shred of his remaining upper-body strength. His muscles shook and felt paralyzed under the crushing weight, but he inched the bar upward.

  “Come on! Push it! Push it! Twelve!” Miguel took the barbell’s weight from him and lifted it into its rest. “Three-ten. That’s your new best, amigo. You are cookin’ today.”

  Reece sat up, caught his breath, and toweled the sweat off his face with arms that would barely bend. “Thanks, Miguel.”

  “You haven’t mentioned her name once, but I can tell she’s all you’re thinking about.” Miguel’s voice held a prying tone as he removed two twenty-five-pound weights from the barbell for his own sets.

  “It’s that obvious?” Reece stood, grabbed his water, and shot the cool liquid down his throat.

  “Definitely.”

  The amused look on Miguel’s face only worsened Reece’s already black mood. “Did you come here to lift steel or to chitchat?”

  Miguel settled back onto the bench to start his sets. “Start counting.”

  Reece spotted his friend through three sets of twelve, but his mind was exactly where Miguel had said it was—all over Kara.

  He’d done his damned best to get a good night’s sleep—a stack of boring reading from the Capitol, a cold shower, his right hand. But every time he had closed his eyes, he’d seen the look of shattering bliss on her sweet face as she’d come, caught the delectable scent of her skin and the musk of her arousal, and heard her astonished gasp—that little feminine cry—when she’d come again. The knowledge that he’d been able to do that for her more than made up for the fact he hadn’t even gotten out of his jeans, much less into her.

  While grappling with his ravenous appetite for her all night long had been tough enough, worrying about her safety had been far worse. Time and again he’d heard that harsh, hate-filled voice in his mind. It had made his skin itch, made him want to hit someone.

  Hurt us, and we’ll destroy you.

  The man’s words and his voice had niggled at Reece, had eaten at him, had jabbed at his mind like a splinter.

  “Hey, man, can’t you count?” Miguel glared up at him, his dark face red from exertion and covered in sweat.

  “Whiner.” Reece lifted the barbell into its rest and bent down to retrieve his water.

  Miguel sat up, reached for his towel. “Man, she really has you tied up. I’ve never seen you this bad before.”

  “Yeah.” It was the truth.

  But where was it all going? Reece had no idea. His feelings for her were running hot and thick and fast, but he had no clue where they were leading him and no idea what she felt for him. It was like racing down a winding mountain road at night—without headlights.

  “Are you sure you should be getting involved with her? Maybe she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

  “She hasn’t had very good experiences with men, Miguel. The man who fathered her son dumped her when he found out she was pregnant. She has trouble accepting anything from me. She thinks she has to handle everything on her own.”

  Miguel shook his head. “You deserve someone without so much baggage. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

  Reece tried not to feel irritated with his friend and changed the subject. “Ready for another set?”

  “I need to hit the showers. My niece is celebrating her quinceañera next weekend at our place, and my wife wants me home to fix every damned thing in the house before relatives start arriving. Thanks for the workout.” Miguel was a family man with an enormous extended family, and Reece had always admired the way he put his wife, children, brothers, sisters, and cousins first in his life. Hardly a weekend went by where something wasn’t happening at the de la Peña home.

  “Same to you.”

  Miguel turned to go but then stopped. “You want to come help out? It will be better for you than skulking at the Capitol or living like a hermit up at your cabin. It will take your mind off her, and I bet you can talk Hilaria into making her enchiladas.”

  Reece was about to accept when the idea came to him.

  His cabin.

  He yanked off his gloves and headed straight for his locker and his cell phone. “Miguel, you’re a damned genius.”

  KARA TIGHTENED the screws that held the hook in place on her deck. “Okay, pumpkin. I think it’s ready. Now we get to pour the seed in.”

  After Connor had awoken from his nap, they’d made a trip to the Wild Bird Center and bought a couple bird feeders and seeds so they could watch birds from the kitchen table. Connor seemed just as amazed as Kara to learn that birds might well be the direct descendents of dinosaurs, and Kara had thought it a great opportunity to introduce him to something new. She’d had enough room on her credit card to buy a child’s guide to birding that had bold, colorful photos of common backyard species in Colorado. With any luck, the topic would hold his attention for at least a week.

  She lifted the plastic five-pound bag of mixed seeds and tore a little opening in one corner. “I’ll hold the bag, and you pour.”

  Connor grasped the bag with his small hands and tilted it so seed skittered down the acrylic tube of the feeder. “Is this what birdies like for breakfast, Mommy?”

  “That’s what the man at the store told me. I guess we’ll have to see.”

  They’d just hung the feeder on its hook when the phone rang.

  Kara tried to ignore the way the sound made her heart lurch and her stomach drop to the floor. That bastard had no power over her. None.

  She’d called customer service at the phone company first thing this morning, but her new number wouldn’t be in operation until Monday. Until then, she’d let her answering machine take her calls. She’d be damned if she’d give him another chance to frighten her.

  “Now we wait and see which birds come to feed here. Do you have your book?” She opened the sliding glass door and heard a man’s deep voice leaving a message.

  Reece.

  Connor heard him, too. “When is Reece coming over again?”

  “I don’t know, sweetie.” She forced herself to walk calmly to the phone, lifted the receiver, and turned off the machine. “Hi, Reece.”

  “You’re screening your calls. Good.” The protective tone of his voice wrapped itself around her like a warm blanket.

  “The guy isn’t much of a conversationalist anyway.” She tried to make light of it, but the joke fell flat.

  “How are you and Connor doing?”

  “We’re fine. We went to see the dinosaurs this morning, and Connor was my tour guide.”

  “That sounds like fun for both of you. Does that mean you’ll quit beating yourself up for missing the trip yesterday?”

  How did he always manage to zero in on her sore spots? “Maybe.”

  “You’re a wonderful mother, Kara.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say. Only she knew how often she fell short.

  “I’ve go
t something to ask you, and I’d like you to listen to everything I have to say before you answer me.” Did he sound nervous?

  “Okay.” What in the world was this about?

  “My father and I built a cabin up above Estes Park. It’s surrounded by aspen. There’s a little creek running through the property. There’s no phone, no television, no fax machine, but there’s running water, two fireplaces, and most of the time even electricity.”

  “Sounds wonderful.” It did sound wonderful, but why was he telling her this?

  “It’s my little corner of paradise, and I’d love to take you there. President’s Day is a week from Monday, and I’d love to spend the three-day weekend with you at my cabin. You seem like you could use a little time away from it all, and so could I. But more than that, I need to spend time with you.”

  He wanted her to go away with him for a weekend. He wanted—no, he’d said he needed—to spend time with her. They would be alone in the mountains, no distractions. They would end up having sex. Oh, yes, they would. Given what just being near him did to her, it would be inevitable, unavoidable, like the force of gravity.

  Is that what she wanted? And if she agreed to go with him, what would come of it? Her life was full as it was. What he described sounded suspiciously like getting involved, and with the Northrup story getting hotter she didn’t have time to be involved with anyone right now.

  That was what her brain said.

  But what her mouth said was, “I’d love to.”

  “You’re welcome to bring Connor. Of course, if you want me all to yourself, I’ll understand.”

  KARA MADE the phone call immediately. “Hi, Mom. Please tell me you’re free next weekend. I really need you to watch Connor for a few days.”

  “Well, I had planned to attend a workshop on spirit-centered aging at Naropa. What’s going on? Is everything all right?”

  “I’ve been invited up to a friend’s cabin for the weekend.” She might as well tell her mother the truth. “Actually, it’s not a friend. It’s a man.”