Full Exposure

by Debra Webb

  She closed the door to her baby’s room and slumped against it. Her eyes drifted shut as she attempted without success to rid her mind of those final images of that evil man. Clark’s pilot had shot at her, hitting his target as well as warning his boss that someone had rushed up behind him.

  Lucky for Angel, dumb beginner’s luck at that, she hadn’t let the bullet that passed through her shoulder slow her reactions. She’d done exactly as the guy at the pawnshop had told her. Don’t stop shooting until he stops moving.

  Another lucky break had been John Logan, one of Lucas’s men. Though, admittedly, luck had not actually been involved. Lucas’s men were expert marksmen and had been ordered to move in at the first sign of gunfire. Logan had taken down the pilot, otherwise Angel wouldn’t be standing here right now. Logan’s decision to shoot the pilot rather than Clark had saved her life, and at the same time allowed Clark the split second necessary to fire his own weapon had Angel not fired first. She hadn’t been able to bear the idea of Clark getting away. That’s what had sent her running up those roof-access stairs after him. What had driven her to squeeze that trigger when every instinct had screamed at her not to. It wasn’t in her nature to hurt anyone, not even a ruthless killer.

  But she’d grown weary of not fighting back, of being a victim.

  That was another issue she would have to learn to live with. Lucas had told her over and over that she’d only done what had to be done. That, in fact, it may have very well been a shot from Logan that killed the man. She wasn’t sure if Lucas merely told her that to make her feel better or if it had actually happened that way. She’d fired several times. The noise from the helicopter and gunfire combined with the shock had likely prevented her from taking in a lot of detail. She might never know.

  Some things, she decided, were better left alone.

  Clark was dead. His men had been stopped. That’s all that mattered.

  A knock at her front door jarred her thoughts. Angel tensed instantly, a habit that would surely be hard to break. She heaved a sigh. “Calm down. It isn’t the devil.”

  Determined not to let old fears hang over her like a dark cloud, she pushed off the door and strode into her living room. Surely Keith hadn’t made good on his promise and come to her house. She’d told him she needed time alone with her daughter. Somehow she had to get that through his thick skull.

  No longer afraid to open the door without looking first, she pasted on a smile and pulled it open wide, a part of her foolishly hoping it might be Cole. Her smile drooped just a little.

  “You’re supposed to be glad to see me.” Keith smiled widely, a huge bouquet of red roses in his arms. “I ditched rounds for this.”

  “Doctors aren’t supposed to ditch rounds,” she scolded, helpless not to be flattered by his attention. He truly was adorable and had a terrific professional future ahead of him.

  “I’ll remember that,” he teased. “And, for the record, I’m not actually a doctor yet.”

  “Come in,” she allowed, reaching for the lovely flowers.

  COLE PARKED AT THE CURB across the street from Angel’s house. For an instant he considered what the hell he was doing here. He should be on that plane back to D.C. There was the final report to do. Though he’d been commissioned by the Colby Agency for this assignment, the case against Stephens and Leberman had remained open with at least three government agencies, including NSA.

  That case was now closed.

  He supposed he owed it to Angel Parker to check on her one last time before he returned to D.C. A common courtesy. Nothing more. She had been the one to take Clark down, as it were. Taking her statement would be appropriate for his report.

  The small sports car parked in front of her house gave him pause. Her vehicle was a four-door sedan, certainly not this shiny red two-seater.

  Lucas’s words echoed in his brain sending a twist of fury through him. Her social life was none of his business. He knew that and still, the talons of irrational jealousy dug deep. Further proof of how far out of control he had allowed this assignment to get.

  But he was back on track now.

  There was this one last thing to do and he would be on his way.

  Still curious as to whether she had company or not, he pulled out his thermal scanner and checked for himself. One image, then another appeared nearby on the screen, along with a third in a deeper part of the house. He bit back a curse. The second image moved close to the first, too close. Before his brain fully assimilated what that could only mean he was out of the SUV and striding across the street.

  He would get this over with and go. Let her get on with her life with…what’s his name. The doctor-to-be. He shot a seething look at the sports car as he passed. That sort of vehicle was made for playing the field not settling down. Whatever this man wanted from Angel was not permanent.

  A new rush of fury seared through Cole.

  He knocked on the door, resisting the urge to kick it down and go in with his weapon drawn.

  The door opened and to Cole’s supreme annoyance Keith Anderson stood there looking as cocky as ever, as if the next big score were already within his reach.

  “Yo, pal, you’re looking far better than the last time I saw you.” He thrust out his hand.

  What the hell kind of doctor started a sentence with yo?

  Cole glared at him. “Where is Miss Parker?”

  “Oh, ah…” Keith grinned. “Angel is making some tea.” He dropped his hand and stepped back. “Come in. I’m sure there’ll be enough for three.”

  Tea?

  Right.

  Cole stepped inside, sized up the situation, noting the enormous bouquet of roses dominating the coffee table, then Mr. Anderson’s relaxed visage as he closed the door and said, “Have a seat.”

  As if he were home already.

  The roar of blood blasting toward Cole’s brain blocked all sense of reason. His fingers clenched. He turned his most intimidating gaze on the other man and decided not to make small talk. “Get out,” he told him, in a low, deadly tone.

  Keith’s eyes widened like saucers. “I’ll…ah…just be going then.”

  He was out the door in three seconds flat.

  Angel breezed into the room, a tray laden with a porcelain tea set in her hands. Her startled gaze collided with Cole’s but she quickly hid her surprise.

  “Cole,” she said on a rush of breath before looking around the room. “Where’s Keith?”

  “He had to leave.”

  She looked confused but then seemed to brush it off. “Okay.” She set the tray on the coffee table next to the obscenely mammoth display of roses and took a deep breath.

  “What do you want?” she asked when she’d faced him once more. Her voice had changed…hardened.

  That was, he admitted woefully, the sixty-four thousand dollar question. What did he want?

  Her cheeks flushed with anger and her right foot started to tap against the well-worn hardwood floor. “You disappeared from the warehouse…” She took a moment, visibly composed herself. “Why did you come here?”

  Angel wasn’t sure what she expected him to say, but she intended to have an explanation. She’d told herself for the past twenty-four hours to forget about him. It was over. He’d done what he came to do, end of story. So what if she’d fallen head over heels. So what if they’d had the most intense sex of her life. It was over. Over, she repeated.

  “I wanted to check up on you.” He lifted one broad shoulder in a passable shrug. “Make sure you were all right before I leave for D.C.”

  “You could have waited two minutes in that warehouse to make sure I was all right.” She let him have it with both barrels. She hadn’t meant to, definitely didn’t want to wake Mia. But she just couldn’t help it. How dare he!

  He stared directly at her with those calm, intimidating eyes looking every bit the dark, mysterious pirate she’d pegged him for from the beginning. She wanted to scream!

  “Nice of Mr. Anderson to drop by,” h
e commented dryly.

  Was he jealous? That couldn’t be. Impossible! “Yes,” she fired back. “Very nice. In fact, we have dinner plans this evening so if you don’t mind…” She gestured to the door. “You’ve come, you’ve seen, you can go back to where you came from and forget about me.”

  A line of annoyance, the first she’d seen, appeared between those piercing blue eyes. “Dinner? It’s early yet. Surely it won’t take so long to prepare for an evening out.” A muscle flexed in his lean jaw.

  She blinked, her heart thumped. He was jealous! This didn’t make sense. As if anything in her life had lately. “What do you want?” she demanded, maintaining her firm stance. She wanted to hear him say it.

  He blinked, startled. “I told you. I wanted—”

  “I know what you told me,” she cut him off. “Now I want the truth.” She cocked an eyebrow. “That is if you think I can handle the truth.”

  He narrowed that laserlike gaze.

  “Or maybe you’re the one who can’t handle the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  Enough. “We made love, Cole,” she said bluntly. “I won’t ever forget those moments. I won’t ever forget you. But I need more than a great climax now and then. I need stability…I need to know what to expect when I wake up in the morning.”

  Another first. He looked speechless.

  He glanced away, set his hands on his hips.

  What was the point? He wasn’t ready for this. If he wasn’t man enough to admit it, she was damn sure woman enough.

  “Just go.” She gestured to the door. “Let’s not do this to each other.”

  He started to turn away but stopped. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before opening them once more. And then he asked a question that startled her all over again.

  “Where is Mia?”

  Startled that he even remembered her daughter’s name, she motioned vaguely to the hallway. “She’s sleeping. It’s her naptime.”

  Just when she’d thought nothing else that occurred between them could surprise her, he asked, “May I see her?”

  She threw her hands up. “Sure.” Why not?

  Angel led him to her daughter’s room, quietly opened the door. Her baby slept with all the innocence and sweetness a child deserved. Angel’s thoughts drifted momentarily to Victoria Colby-Camp and her heart wrenched that this had been taken from her. But her son was home now and the devil who’d haunted her was gone for good.

  “She’s beautiful,” Cole murmured. “Just like her mother.”

  Their gazes locked a moment. Damn her silly emotions. Damn him. A tear streaked down her cheek. She swiped it away, then whispered, “She did get my hair and eyes.”

  “And your heart I would venture to say.”

  Angel couldn’t do this, couldn’t bear it. She stepped back and closed the door. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to wake her.” She lifted her gaze to meet his as she spoke. “She has been through an ordeal, as well. I don’t want anything else to hurt her.”

  “Of course.”

  A moment of awkward silence passed. Why didn’t he just go? Didn’t he see what this was doing to her.

  “Cole—”

  He held up a hand to stop her, his expression turning suddenly, stunningly vulnerable. “I…” He hesitated, seemed to search for the right words.

  Angel’s heart reached out to him as she watched the monumental battle taking place in his eyes, on his face, deep inside him. But she couldn’t do this for him. She couldn’t be the one. If he’d come here for more than to simply see how she was doing, as she suspected, he had to follow through. He had to give her something concrete to go on.

  Like her, a long-lasting nightmare had ended for him. He’d finished what he set out to do, avenging the murder of his brother and the devastation of his family. But there was collateral damage—a term she’d learned in the last seventy-two hours. That, too, she understood. She doubted her life would ever be the same after the events of the past three days, or the past two years really. But she had to move on…get on with her life. He needed to do the same.

  “I need you,” he said finally. He exhaled a heavy breath then smiled, the features of his handsome face softening in a way she had never seen before. In that moment her lethal pirate transformed into the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. A man who had needs. A man who wanted more.

  She didn’t know what to say. Now she was the one speechless. Hope bloomed in her chest but she was so afraid to believe…

  “I’ve never done this before, but I want desperately to try.”

  His confession and vulnerability solidified her tremulous emotions. She reached for his hand, squeezed it, ignoring the little jab of pain that accompanied the move.

  “If I’ve ever met a man in my entire life capable of shaping his own destiny,” she assured him, “it’s you.”

  Those deep blue eyes turned agonizingly serious. “Perhaps. There’s just one glitch in my plan.”

  “What’s that?”

  He tugged her closer. “I need someone to show me how to do this. I need you.”

  Well, it wasn’t “I love you,” but Angel knew it was the best he could offer just now.

  He glanced toward the bedroom where her daughter slept then back to her. “And your lovely daughter, as well. I need both of you in my life.”

  “Now that,” she allowed, “is a proposition I can live with.” Nothing could have pleased her more than his including her daughter. This was a wonderful new beginning.

  He cradled her face in those strong hands. “I’d like to properly seal this contract, Miss Parker.”

  He kissed her, long and deep. And Angel knew that, whatever the future held, they would face it together. As a team and a family. Maybe a soon-to-be larger family. After all, they hadn’t used a condom during those wee, frantic hours of the morning. She could hope. With that she planned her own sweet strategy that included a trip a little farther down the hall…in a minute or two. Right now she just wanted to get lost in his kiss.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7176-4

  FULL EXPOSURE

  Copyright © 2004 by Debra Webb

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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