Sexy/Dangerous

by Beverly Jenkins

  “Nothing.”

  Max was amazed. Yes, Adam Gary was a cutie, but marriage proposals? She understood his reluctance to get involved with the letters, though. The only way she would marry again was if somebody put a gun to her head.

  “Max, are you mad at Adam about something?”

  “Nope,” she answered nonchalantly. “Why’d you ask?”

  She shrugged. “Because he’s not hanging around anymore.”

  “That’s not unusual, is it?”

  “No, but you two seemed…” Kaitlin shook her head. “Never mind.”

  Max met her eyes for a moment, then picked up one of the books beside her and began reading.

  The pounding on the door woke Max up. “Max! Wake up! I found it!”

  Asleep but moving, she threw back the covers, saw the clock read four A.M., and groaned. “What do you want, dammit!”

  The door was flung open and there he stood, beaming. “I did it! I fixed it. It works!”

  Max gave him a half smile then fell back on the bed. “This is the prototype?”

  He ran to her side. “Yes! It works! It’ll hold heat for as long as I need it to.”

  Still smiling, she said, “Congratulations.”

  “I have to make some calls!” That said, he tore out of the room like a madman and disappeared.

  Max chuckled and got back into bed. Then she jumped up, screaming his name, “Adam!”

  She caught him on the way to the lab.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I know how happy you are,” she said, “but hold off on telling anyone just yet. Let’s keep this on the down low until we see how the DOD wants to handle this. Okay?”

  He looked so disappointed, Max had to force her smile not to show.

  He finally said, “Okay.”

  “Good. Congratulations again.”

  Their eyes met. The lure in him slid straight through to Max’s bones, and she had to remind herself that she and he were not to be. “See you later.”

  In spite of Max’s disappointing directive, Adam was still the happiest scientist on the planet. Finally! He’d found the solution almost by accident. It had just been a matter of tweaking the ratios in the metal’s tensile strength, and when he did that, voilà! The grid was able to hold a constant temperature. He’d been running it at sixty-seven degrees for the last twenty-four hours and it hadn’t varied more than two degrees up or down. He wanted to climb on the roof and shout the news to the world. He’d done it. Adam Gary’s lifelong quest for an energy source that people everywhere could use and afford had been fulfilled!

  When Jan Kruger got the call saying Dr. Gary had perfected the prototype, he smiled. Now they could move. So far, Oskar’s man had not resurfaced, but since the FBI had not come knocking on Jan’s door, he felt free to go ahead with his plan. The first order of business would be to gather his troops and bring Gary on board. Apparently, the kidnap attempt and the e-mail threatening his mother had frightened him enough to want in. According to the contact, Gary had agreed to the price Jan had offered for the prototype and would work with his people to develop more.

  Having Gary on board willingly was infinitely wiser than the earlier plan. Kidnapping him when he’d been just an obscure scientist working on a project that might or might not be successful had been feasible a few weeks ago, but now, with Gary enjoying such overnight prominence, taking that tack had become problematic. The world now knew Gary’s name, and to have him disappear at the height of this media frenzy would only serve to bring the world’s law enforcement agencies down on the kidnappers’ heads. Jan didn’t need that. The media would know his name and the names of his associates soon enough.

  So for the moment things were going well. Back home in South Africa, disgruntled soldiers still loyal to the old Nationalist Party regime were being secretly recruited to their army. Jan hoped to have five thousand troops under his command when it became time to launch the offensive. He knew thousands more soldiers would be needed eventually, especially if the battle was a prolonged one, but he was counting on the ranks to swell every day as White South Africans joined to aid the cause.

  Until then he was content knowing that in a few days he’d have Dr. Gary and the prototype in his possession. Soon, he thought, he and his forces would be ready to take their place in history.

  Eleven

  The house phone began ringing at seven A.M. The global wire services and news organizations had somehow gotten wind of Adam’s accomplishment and were clamoring for interviews and information. Max instructed Kaitlin to tell the callers they’d dialed the wrong number. Kaitlin tried that, but the volume continued to mount, so Max just unplugged the phone. That put a stop to it, and Max went looking for Adam.

  Outside, she picked up the binoculars from the tabletop and scanned the area. She spotted him about a half mile down the beach jogging with the dogs. The trio were in perfect rhythm, the dogs on either side of him. The thin white tank top he was wearing showed off the toned brown muscles in his arms and shoulders, while his red track shorts did the same for the well-formed legs. He was distracting, to say the least, especially to a woman sworn to professionalism. She allowed herself a few more seconds of ogling, then put the binoculars back down on the patio chair to wait.

  When the three came back up to the house, the dogs went for their water while he went through his cooldown routine.

  “Mornin’” he said to her in a winded voice. Hands on his knees, he bent at the waist, took in some deep breaths and checked his watch.

  Max nodded. “Morning.”

  Their eyes met. Neither of them addressed the newest tension between them.

  Max asked instead, “Did you call somebody last night?”

  He wiped his face on the towel in his hands. “Nope. Why?”

  “The newspeople are blowing up the phone.”

  “Wasn’t me. Have you talked to Kaitlin? She’s the only other person I told besides you.”

  Max cursed inwardly. “Okay. Thanks.” She went back inside. Sure enough, Kaitlin was the culprit.

  “I called Daddy right after Adam told me.” At the terse set of Max’s features, she explained, “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to. I know Daddy’s crazy but I thought he’d be happy for Adam.”

  “It’s okay. It’s my fault,” Max said. “I should have said something about keeping this on the low low.”

  Adam entered, and when Max explained the situation to him, he asked Kaitlin, “Do you think he called the media?”

  Kaitlin shrugged.

  “Get him on the phone for me, would you, please. Use the house phone so we can put him on the speaker.”

  A few moments later, Kent’s voice came over the line. “Hello?”

  “Sly. It’s me, Adam.”

  “Adam. Congratulations. I heard the exciting news. Outstanding.”

  “Thanks a lot. Any idea how the media found out? Phone’s been ringing off the hook.”

  Kent laughed. “Ah, they’re calling, are they? Good. I figured you’d be too exhausted to do anything today but sleep, so I’ve taken the liberty of declaring myself your agent.”

  Max stared at Adam in surprise.

  “My agent?” Adam thundered.

  “Yes. I’ve already contacted most of the media and the pertinent journals. All contacts are to go through me. Has Kaitlin been keeping a log of who’s called there so that I—”

  “Listen to me,” Adam said grimly. “You call them and tell them you made a mistake. We don’t have an agreement of any kind.”

  “Adam, there are people lined up to pay you millions for that prototype. All you have to do is let me—”

  “Have access to something that’s not yours to sell. I know.”

  Kent took immediate offense. “Had it not been for me, you’d be stuck in some obscure lab working for peanuts! You owe me, Adam Gary!”

  “Just make the calls!” Adam snapped, then reached over and ended the connection. His angry eyes met Max’s, and she coul
dn’t recall ever seeing him so furious.

  Kaitlin appeared on the verge of tears. “Adam, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m mad at him, not you. Do you know anything about these deals?”

  “Not really. When he was here, he said something about needing you to sign some kind of paper, and that he—Daddy—would get a mil and a half if you did.” Then she confessed, “That’s what I was really doing up in your room that time. I was looking for something with your signature on it. Daddy said he needed it. I didn’t find anything, though.”

  Adam’s lips thinned. “Did he say who this deal was with?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Max wondered what this all meant. Kent sounded furious to be booted out of his so-called position. Had he already been paid? If he had, Max hoped he hadn’t blown his wad on cheap women and toupees because once the unknown partner learned that he didn’t represent anybody but himself, they were going to want that money back.

  Kaitlin said again, “Adam, I’m really sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Max said, “Kaitlin, do me a favor. Bring me all of the mail that’s lying around.”

  Kaitlin looked confused by the request, but agreed. While she went to get it, Max glanced at Adam and saw that his anger hadn’t dissipated.

  He said, “No telling who Kent’s been talking to.”

  “Or what he told them, but it’ll all come out. Don’t worry.”

  “Why do you want the mail?”

  “Just to see what’s in it.”

  Kaitlin returned with a handful of envelopes of all sizes. “This is the most recent stuff.”

  Max took the pile from her. “Thanks.”

  “You still want me to run to the store?” Kaitlin asked.

  “Yes, please. I left the list on the table along with some cash. Make sure you get only that brand of dog food. Ruby and Ossie won’t eat anything else.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll see you later.”

  Once she was gone, Max handed the mail to Adam. “So that I don’t get hit with a felony, you open it.”

  They went out to the patio and Adam spent a few silent moments opening the envelopes and scanning the contents. To protect his privacy he’d been using a post office box forwarding service down in central Ohio. When his mail arrived there, the service sent it on to him in Michigan. This batch held no surprises. Some were journal articles and letters from colleagues. There were also a few more responses to Time magazine letters, one of which included a picture of the Jamaican writer and her four kids. He tossed the pile on the table and sat back.

  Max could tell he was still mad, and she thought he had good reason. Kent had bigger balls than she had initially given him credit for. To actually try and gangster your way into someone else’s life said a lot about who Kent thought himself to be.

  She studied Adam’s face. During the days leading up to his success with the prototype, he hadn’t shaved, bathed, or slept. She also remembered how bad he’d smelled. This morning he was back to being clean and handsome. He’d cut his hair, and the beard surrounding his chin and lips was once again trimmed down to a seductive shadow. The brown eyes still looked tired, though, but that was to be expected. She was sure it had been weeks since he’d had a full night’s sleep.

  Adam decided there was nothing he could do about Kent right now. As Max had said, everything would come out in the end, but as he glanced her way, he wondered how his situation with her would end. For now, it was still unresolved, and in spite of her congratulations on his achievement, she remained distant and professional, so much so that out here under the 65 degree morning, there was an icy breeze between them. He didn’t know how to talk to her about the elephant in the room, and she sure didn’t look like she was going to bring it up. “What were you hoping to find in the mail?” he asked.

  “Maybe something related to Kent’s supposed deal. A letter of inquiry, or one of introduction to you from whoever he’s been talking with.”

  Adam said, “If he’s really been talking to somebody.”

  “We know he talked to the media and the pertinent journals,” she said in a voice that mimicked Kent’s pretentious tones.

  He let a small smile show. It had been a while since they’d spoken more than a few words to each other, and Adam realized how much longer it had been since he’d seen her smile. “Max, about the last time you and I talked—”

  “When you asked me if I really killed people for a living?”

  He winced inwardly. “Yes. I just wanted to say I was wrong to drop that on you out of the blue.”

  “No kidding.”

  Adam pushed down his temper. “Are you going to let me apologize?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  He looked to the sky for strength.

  Max turned her attention to the beach, where the waves were breaking softly against the shore. “How about I accept your apology and we just not talk about it again?” she asked quietly.

  It was not what Adam wanted; he wanted to know, maybe to understand, but he could only take what she offered, so he said, “Deal.”

  “And from now on this is strictly professional. No more kissing, no more—more.”

  He was wearing a soft smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Max didn’t think he was giving the conversation the levity it deserved. “I’m serious.”

  “I can see that,” he replied.

  She turned away from his potent eyes and wondered when she’d lost control of the situation, because it certainly felt like she had. “And no flirting allowed, either.”

  “That’s no fun.”

  “There isn’t going to be any fun.”

  “I understand that. No kisses unless you ask.”

  Max stared at him across the table.

  With a knowing smile on his handsome face, he slowly got to his feet. The yawn and stretch that followed spoke to how exhausted he was. “I need to go to bed, been up all night. That run took the last of my energy. Maybe now I can sleep.”

  Because of all the morning drama, Max had yet to start breakfast. “Do you want to eat first?”

  He shook his head. “No, but definitely later.” He stared down at her and wondered if he’d hold her in his arms again. “Wake me up if something jumps off.”

  “Will do. Go get some rest.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice.

  After he disappeared inside the house, Max softly bounced her forehead against the tabletop. Professional. You have to stay professional. Surely she wasn’t going to lose her mind a second time. Giving in to her desire was as bad an idea as it had been before, but the man was as tempting as a fat piece of her mama’s chocolate cake.

  A short while later, Kaitlin returned bearing groceries and news. “There are TV trucks down by the gate.”

  Max turned from the bacon she was frying. “What?”

  Kaitlin put the bags on the table. “TV trucks. Bunch of cables all over the road. I already called Sheriff Ramos.”

  “Good. How many trucks?”

  “Five.”

  Max stared.

  Kaitlin began to empty the bags. “One from Detroit, two from Grand Rapids, and one each from Kalamazoo and Muskegon.”

  Max didn’t like it at all. This was supposed to be a secret operation. Apparently, she needed to start handing out dictionaries.

  “I hid my face as best I could when I passed them.”

  “Good girl.”

  “So what do we do about them?”

  “For now, nothing. I’m hoping the sheriff will give them the bum’s rush. If not, we’ll have Adam call Washington when he wakes up and find out what they want him to do.”

  In Max’s ideal world they would be packing up and moving out. With all the potential media coverage, the people who’d sent the threatening e-mail and whoever Kent was purportedly dealing with would undoubtedly be able to determine Adam’s location before dinnertime. Add them to the perps who’d tried to ki
dnap him in Madrid, and it became a mix that could be a problem for a one-woman, two-dog operation. DOD had billed this assignment as a simple one because he was supposedly working in secrecy. She’d been hired to keep an eye on things until the prototype was perfected, then hand him and it over to his Washington handlers. No one had taken Kent into account, however. Thanks to him, the world was now sitting outside the gate, and if the people in Washington had any sense they’d move Adam and his operation to a secured government facility as soon as possible.

  But with no clear directive, they had to stay put. Meanwhile, she planned to put in a call to Myk for ideas. “Thanks for going to the store.”

  Kaitlin said, “No problem. Can I eat?”

  Max smiled. “Yep.”

  While Kaitlin grabbed a plate, Max went outside to the patio to check on and feed the dogs.

  While they ate, she again surveyed the surroundings with an eye toward security. Because of where the house sat, a well-equipped group of defenders could hold the line for some time if the bad guys tried an assault from the lake, but she and the dogs didn’t constitute a group. If a team came with more than four or five men, it could get dicey, especially if they had a lot of firepower. Her toys were locked away in the hold of the car and she was armed for bear, but were the choice hers, they’d all be getting the hell out of Dodge because her posse wasn’t big enough to do a remake of Shoot-out at the OK Corral.

  Kaitlin stuck her head around the door and said, “Max, the sheriff’s here.”

  Sheriff Marco Ramos was tall, handsome, and Hispanic.

  “Ms. Blake?”

  Max shook his hand.

  He said, “We moved the press out to the public road. Legally, we can’t make them go away.”

  “I understand,” Max said. The public road was a pretty good piece away, so that news pleased her.

  “A deputy will cruise by periodically to make sure nothing’s going on, so if you need us, just give us a call.” He handed her his business card.

  “Thank you.”

  As Max was walking him back to the front door, he stopped and asked, “So, is Dr. Gary’s invention really going to do all the things the news people are saying?”