Living on the Edge

by Susan Mallery

  He didn’t like to see fear in her eyes. “I’ll keep you safe,” he told her.

  “For now. But you can’t take me on as a full-time job. Eventually I have to return to the real world. Then what?”

  “We’ll have caught him by then.”

  “Are you sure? Can you know that?”

  He didn’t answer her because he couldn’t say what she wanted to hear. There were no guarantees in his business—unless it was that death was final. Was that the truth of it? Would Madison never be safe until her ex-husband was dead? If that was the case, was Tanner willing to be the one who pulled the trigger?

  Christopher drove into the multilevel parking structure next to the deserted office building. He followed the up arrows to the second level, then headed for the east side of the garage. After parking, he turned off the engine and waited. Less than ten seconds later, another car came up next to his and Stanislav stepped out.

  Christopher opened his door and grinned. “I have the money. All of it. Every penny.” He’d cashed out his options that morning and collected the proceeds. Sure, it was a lot of money, but it would be worth it. When he announced what his company had created and offered the first demonstration, he would make billions.

  “Good. It is important to pay what you owe,” Stanislav said. “I’ll admit I was worried. When you couldn’t get the money before, I wondered if we could do business. I don’t like it when people let me down.”

  Christopher ignored the implied threat in the words. What did he care about all of that now? He had the cash and in return he would get the final components.

  There were those who regretted the breakup of the Soviet Union, but he wasn’t one of them. Brilliant Russian minds had created the jamming device, and due to his willingness to deal, he was about to reap the reward.

  He walked around to the rear of his car and opened the trunk. A black suitcase lay there.

  “Fifteen million,” he said.

  Stanislav glanced from the bag to him, then called for one of his men. “To count it,” he said.

  “Sure thing.”

  While Stanislav’s associate counted the cash, Christopher examined the two components Stanislav handed him.

  At last, he thought. He would spend the next couple of weeks breaking the parts down and making sure everything worked, then he would announce his “discovery” in a press conference. After that, he would own the world.

  He turned the larger piece over, then froze. On the underside was a connector, but nothing was attached. He knew the equipment he’d already bought, and there wasn’t anything that would connect to this.

  Goddamn son of a bitch. He turned to Stanislav. “It’s not all here.”

  The other man shrugged. “You may be right.”

  Fury built up inside of Christopher. “You said this was the last payment. You said I would get all the equipment and we would be finished.”

  Stanislav glared at him. “You said I would receive my payment nearly a week ago. This is a business transaction. Time is money. You made me wait, now you pay. Think of it as interest.”

  Christopher wanted to pull out a gun and start shooting. Fortunately he hadn’t brought one with him. Not after the first meeting, where he’d been thoroughly searched. Rage bubbled inside of him. How could this be happening? He needed the damn equipment finished.

  “You could, of course, take what you have and figure out the missing piece yourself,” Stanislav said with a slight smile. “There is not much to it. Some circuits, a chip or two.”

  Of course, Christopher thought bitterly. He could have easily figured out the hardware, but microchip design could take months.

  “How much?” he asked flatly.

  “Not so much. Ten million.”

  Christopher swore aloud. He didn’t have that kind of money. He’d used the last of his options to come up with the cash for this payment and he’d used the bit left over to pay off his gambling debts. He couldn’t sell any more shares without making the stock-market watchers nervous and he didn’t want that. Blaine had more money than God, but he wouldn’t give Christopher a loan without asking a lot of questions.

  Ten million dollars. Where could he…

  Madison, he thought. She had stock and options worth that much. Maybe more.

  “How long do I have?” he asked.

  “Another week.” Stanislav said. “A generous amount of time.”

  Perhaps in the world of the Russian Mafia, but it didn’t give him all that long to pull his plan together. Fortunately he’d already planted plenty of seeds. Now he just had to make sure he handled things well enough to draw Madison out into the open. Once he had her, the money was his…as was she.

  “Thanks, Bill,” Tanner said as he leaned back in his chair. “I’ve already e-mailed you as much as I have.”

  “This would be easier if you had actual proof,” his friend said.

  Tanner shifted the phone to his other hand and grinned. “I can’t do all your work for you. It would make you feel too guilty about taking your paycheck.”

  Bill chuckled. “You’d be surprised how much guilt I wouldn’t feel. I look forward to reading over the material. There’s a guy pretty high up in the Russian Mafia working the west coast. I’d love to nail the bastard.”

  “Then I hope this is the one.”

  “Me, too. I’ll be in touch.”

  They hung up. Tanner turned to Madison, who paced the length of the room.

  “It’s done,” he told her. “Bill will talk to his team and they’ll get going on what they can find out about Christopher’s plan to buy the technology. The good news is they’re already chasing some guys in the Russian Mafia. We might have given them the information they need to bring them down.”

  “That would be great. Is Bill in Washington, D.C.?”

  “San Francisco.” He watched her continue to prowl the room. “Madison, relax. We’ll get him.”

  “But will it be in time? I have this horrible feeling of impending doom. I can’t shake it.”

  “Do your horrible feelings usually come true?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t had one before.”

  She stopped in front of the window facing the backyard and stared out. Afternoon sunlight brought out the pale gold in her blond hair. She wore shorts and a T-shirt, no makeup. She’d been eating regularly since arriving at the safe house and her face had lost its gauntness, but worry took its place.

  “Waiting is the hardest part of the job,” he told her.

  “This isn’t a job to me. It’s my life.” She sighed and faced him. “Sorry. I’m snappy because I’m tense. I need to be doing something, but I’m all caught up on e-mail and I have yet to discover the joys of weekday afternoon television. I guess I could go clean the kitchen.”

  “Or we could talk.”

  She smiled. “I must really be getting on your nerves, huh?”

  “I like talking to you.”

  “Okay.” She walked to the chair across from his and flopped into the seat. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “How about your kids? Tell me about Kristen.”

  She frowned. “How do you know about her?”

  “You had a letter from her in your e-mail file. Something about going to a dance.”

  “Oh, right.” Madison smiled. “She was so thrilled. And transformed.” The smile faded. “When I first saw her, she was horribly scarred. She’d been born to teenage parents who decided to keep her and raise her on their own. One night her dad took her on an errand. It was late and he was in a hurry, so he didn’t use a car seat or buckle her in. They were hit by another car and she went flying through the windshield. She was four. Her whole face was lacerated.”

  “That had to be hard,” he said.

  “It was worse—her father was killed instantly. So it was just her and her mom. There was no money. The local doctors did the best they could, but they weren’t plastic surgeons. One of her eyelids folded over and the right corner of her mouth pull
ed down. As she got older, her face grew but the scars didn’t. Every year she was more and more misshapen. When I met her, she was fourteen and looked like something out of a horror movie. But she was a sweet kid. Funny and smart. She and her mom had a great relationship. I wanted to wrap them both up and take them home with me.”

  “Did you?”

  The smile returned. “I did one better. I got her help. Two incredibly gifted surgeons worked on her face. They reduced the scar material, got everything back where it was and made her pretty for the first time in her life. She’ll always have scars, but the new ones are thin lines easily covered with a bit of makeup.”

  Madison continued to talk about Kristen’s dance experience, but he stopped listening. He would rather lose himself in the pleasure of watching her mouth move when she spoke. He liked how she formed words and used her hands to illustrate a point.

  Emotions widened her eyes or brought color to her cheeks. Her mouth curved. Every movement, every action, reminded him how beautiful she was.

  But it wasn’t just that, he thought. Beauty was easy. It was the woman inside who had him mesmerized. The one who cared about kids she’d never met, who worked long hours for no pay because she could make a difference. He liked that she worked hard, that she stayed in touch, that when push came to shove, she would move mountains to get her kids what they needed.

  He admired her and he knew he couldn’t say that about any other woman he’d ever been intimate with. She was special in every sense of the word.

  “You’re not listening,” she said as she folded her arms over her chest. “I could really take offense at that.”

  “But you won’t.”

  She sniffed. “What were you thinking about that was more interesting than what I was saying?”

  “Not more interesting. Just different. And I was thinking about you. How great you are.”

  “Oh, please.”

  “I’m not kidding.”

  “But I’m not all that special.”

  “Want to bet?”

  She ducked her head and flushed. “Well, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He studied her, knowing that she would not be easily forgotten. That when this was over…“I’ll miss you,” he said, without meaning to speak the words aloud.

  She stared at him. “Tanner?”

  “Yeah, yeah, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just you’re not that bad to have around. I didn’t think I’d like you, but I do. You’re a hell of a woman. Beautiful, tough, caring.”

  “I think you’re pretty amazing, too.”

  Which was not a place she should be going, he thought. When this was all over, she would walk away, returning to her regularly scheduled life. He would move on to the next assignment. Neither of them should try to fool themselves into making it something more.

  “I’m just the hired help,” he said. “Nothing more.”

  “Actually you’re not hired. You won’t let me pay you.”

  “That’s because we’re sleeping together. Money makes it all too complicated.”

  She smiled. “A man of principles.”

  “On my good days.”

  “What about on your bad days?”

  He stood and reached for her hand, then pulled her to her feet. “On my bad days, I’m a hell of a lot of fun.”

  Then he kissed her.

  Madison had made love with Tanner enough times in the past few days to anticipate the pleasure before it even began. All it took was his hand on her waist and his mouth on hers for the melting to begin. She yielded, leaning against him so they could touch everywhere, even as she parted for him and circled her tongue around his.

  He tasted of coffee and the oranges they’d had after lunch. Heat began between her thighs and radiated in all directions. Her breasts ached, her muscles tensed and all he’d done was kiss her.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he breathed against her mouth before breaking the kiss and moving to her jaw.

  She echoed the sentiment silently, as she was too caught up in the feel of his lips and tongue on her sensitive skin to do more than gasp her pleasure.

  He nibbled on her earlobe, gently biting down on the flesh before sucking on it. Goose bumps erupted everywhere. Her nipples hardened. She wanted him, all of him, right this second. The bedroom was too far away.

  Even as the thought formed, she reached for his belt and began to unfasten it. He chuckled against her neck.

  “Impatient, are we?”

  “Yes. Very.”

  He grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it off in one easy movement. Her bra quickly followed, then he turned his attention to her breasts.

  He cupped them first, caressing every millimeter of sensitized skin. Then he bent down and licked the very tips of her nipples. Her body clenched in response as she clung to him.

  It wasn’t enough, she thought, barely able to stay conscious. It would never be enough. She raised her arms. She wanted him naked, but right now she could only experience what he was doing to her.

  “More,” she gasped, sliding her fingers through his hair to hold his head in place.

  He responded instantly, opening his mouth and sucking deeply on her breasts. At the same time, he tugged at her shorts. He unfastened the snap and pulled down the zipper. As he licked and sucked and teased her breasts, he slipped his hand inside her panties and between her legs. Then he found that one sensitive spot and began to rub it.

  She was already wet and swollen. His clever fingers applied just the right amount of pressure at just the right speed. She tried to part her legs more, but the fabric of her shorts wouldn’t let her.

  “Tanner!” she gasped as she felt herself getting closer and closer.

  He continued to suck on her breasts as he moved his hand between her legs. Tension grew until release became inevitable. She grabbed his shoulders as her body convulsed in perfect bliss. Her release swept through her.

  When she was still, he raised his head and began to kiss her mouth. Even as satisfaction rolled through her, desire heated again. She reached for his jeans and finished the job of freeing him from his belt.

  “Get naked,” he said as he drew back enough to pull off his shirt and toe out of his shoes.

  “Right here?” she asked with a grin. “In the control room?”

  He pulled a condom out of his jeans pocket, then pushed them and his briefs to the ground. After stepping out of them, he slipped on the protection.

  “Does all the high-tech equipment get you hot?”

  She laughed as she quickly shed her clothes. “Not especially, but you do.”

  When she had done as he requested, he lifted her onto his desk and parted her legs.

  The height was perfect, she thought as he slipped between her thighs and entered her in one smooth movement. The thick hardness of his erection filled her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him deeper. He obliged her with a slow, deep push.

  Nerve endings danced with delight. She reached for him as he reached for her and they met in a kiss that caused their souls to touch. Over and over he filled her, making her stretch and feel and want to scream. Tension grew. He moved faster, the slick friction pushing her closer and closer to the edge until she could only surrender to his will and climax again.

  He continued to thrust in and out of her until the last contraction faded. Only then did he give in to his own pleasure and groan out his release.

  When they were finished, she felt herself fill with emotions. She wasn’t sure what they meant or even what they were. She only knew that she’d never been this close to another person before. She rested her forehead against his and did her best to keep her tone light as she said, “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself.”

  There was more, she thought. More to say, more to experience. Yet something kept her quiet. Maybe it was the realization that nothing about their situation was normal. Danger was supposed to hei
ghten all the senses. Did that explain her attraction to Tanner? And how was she supposed to figure out what was the moment and what was real? It wasn’t as if he was going to stick around after the danger had passed. So this was probably all they were ever going to have.

  She would make it enough, she told herself, even as she realized she wasn’t sure how that was possible.

  Madison woke around midnight. Despite a long day and another session of lovemaking, she didn’t feel tired. Restlessness stirred her, pulling her from the bed she shared with Tanner.

  He slept, unaware of the demons that drove her. She pulled on a robe and walked out of the room.

  Once in the kitchen, she searched the refrigerator, but nothing caught her attention. After nibbling on a cookie she didn’t really want, she headed for her bedroom, where she could play on her computer. Maybe a couple of card games would still her thoughts.

  She’d been cooped up in the house too long, she thought. She needed to get out. There had to be a way she could safely leave. Maybe she and Tanner could discuss it in the morning, she thought as she booted her laptop. The walls were definitely closing in on her.

  She moved the cursor to her games program, then decided to check on e-mail first. Only one letter waited for her. She clicked on the icon to open it.

  Madison stared at the unfamiliar return address. It took her a second to recognize the last name in combination with her father’s company name. His secretary, Alison Harris, had sent the note.

  Why on earth would the woman write her? Sure, Alison had worked for her father for fifteen or twenty years, but the older woman had never had much contact with Madison.

  She clicked on the mail itself and began to read. Horror chilled her to the bone.

  Madison—Please! I’m desperate to get in touch with you. Please call me as soon as you read this. It’s your father. He’s had a heart attack and he’s near death.

  Chapter 17

  Madison stared at the e-mail for several seconds before panic set it. She scrambled for a piece of paper and a pen, then quickly wrote down the phone number. When she had it, she ran into the control room and picked up the phone.