“If they wanted the disk it’s probably gone by now.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then it can wait until tomorrow,” he insisted.
“Take me back to pick up my car.”
“You’re not driving anywhere tonight.”
Vanessa gritted her teeth as a wave of pain radiated up her jaw to her temple. The pain hit her at the same time her stomach tightened with a contraction.
“Let me out here,” she mumbled. “I’m going to be sick.”
Joshua stopped the car with a squealing of rubber hitting the roadway. Vanessa was out of the car the moment he put it into Park. Supporting her back against the bumper, she leaned forward until her stomach stopped the violent churning.
Joshua’s hand made soothing motions along her back as she gulped in a lungful of air. “Breathe deep, darling. That’s it.”
She recovered without retching. Turning to him, she curved her arms around his waist. “That was close.” Pulling back, she looked up at him. Light from a nearby streetlamp gave his face a sinister look. “I don’t want to leave my car overnight in the parking garage.”
He shifted an eyebrow. “Are you trying to get over on me, Vanessa?”
“No. I can drive. You can follow me in your car until I get home.”
He stared down at the battered face he loved beyond description. “Okay. We’ll go back and get your car.” Rising on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek. “Roger’s right,” he grumbled under his breath. He found that he couldn’t deny her anything.
They returned to the underground parking garage, discovering that Vanessa’s car wasn’t the only one parked on the first level. The health spa did not close until eleven, and many of the members worked out until closing time.
Joshua pulled alongside her car, got out, and examined the interior before he’d let her get into it.
Opening her handbag, she searched along the bottom for her keys. Her fingers closed around a hard, square object. She pulled out the Kroff disk, holding it out to Joshua.
“I had the disk all along.”
“You know you’re not permitted to take anything off the premises.”
“I didn’t take it deliberately,” she argued. “I was so caught up with going to the doctor that I must have dropped it in my bag by mistake.” She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go upstairs and see what’s on it.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “If you’re lying to me about not knowing you had the disk—”
“Don’t you dare call me a liar,” she interrupted. “I never lie!” Her voice echoed loudly in the near-empty garage.
“Okay, Angel. Calm down.”
Holding her arm firmly between his fingers, he led her toward the elevator, all of his senses on full alert. Vanessa had been attacked once, and he didn’t intend to let anyone attempt it twice in the same night.
Chapter 30
Vanessa moved closer to Joshua after he inserted her key in the elevator panel. Her prior bravado fled quickly when she recalled the smothering darkness sucking the air from her lungs.
“It’s all right, Angel,” he reassured her as he held her hand firmly.
There was a deafening silence awaiting them as they moved silently down the corridor to her office. Joshua stood outside the door, listening for movement, then walked in, Vanessa following.
The office was as if she had just left it. The table lamp burned softly, and there was no evidence of the struggle earlier that evening.
She made a move to turn on the overhead light, but Joshua stopped her. “Don’t. In case someone is watching from the outside,” he warned quietly.
Nodding, she took the keys from his loose grip and walked over and unlocked her file cabinet. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed.
Turning on her computer, she told Joshua about the time she found her reports scattered around her file cabinet after she was certain she had stacked them neatly before locking the drawer.
The light from the computer monitor glowed eerily in the dimly-lit space. She punched in her password, then slipped in the disk.
Joshua pulled over a chair and sat down beside her. “Do you recognize these numbers?”
Blinking, she tried focusing on the screen. Her left eye was almost closed shut. “Can you please get me some ice from the lounge? Having the use of only one eye is going to make this a little difficult.”
“Give me your keys.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to lock the door behind me.”
Her uninjured eye widened. “You’re going to lock me in?”
“You’re safer locked in here than out in the corridor. Whoever attacked you may still be lurking around.”
Nodding slowly, she said, “Okay.” Picking up her keys, she handed him the one to the office door.
Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he moved silently out of the room and locked the door behind him.
Vanessa had lost track of time even though it was only a few minutes when she heard the click of the lock sliding open. “That was fast,” she said, not bothering to turn around.
“And you’re very stupid,” said a familiar male voice behind her.
Turning, she stared at Jenna Grant and Shane Sumners. Both of them were clothed entirely in black. “What are you doing here?”
Shane stalked into the room, his normally pleasant features twisted in an angry scowl. “I told Jenna you’d be back. She didn’t believe me. Now get the disk, Jenna.”
“I want no part of this, Shane,” she sobbed. “When I gave you the keys I never thought it would come to this.”
“Get the damned disk!” Shane shouted at the trembling Jenna.
Vanessa stood up, watching the secretary as she inched closer. Her gaze swung to Shane. “You were the one who hit me.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but you left me no choice.”
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Why don’t you ask yourself why, Vanessa? I gave GEA my life, and when you walked in here and batted your lashes at Warren I knew it was over for me. I was supposed to be Preston’s first assistant and eventually take over after he retired. You took everything I wanted, so I decided to fix you.”
“Fix me how?”
He laughed, sounding deranged. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” He turned his attention to Jenna. “Didn’t I tell you to get that disk?”
Jenna’s eyes were unnaturally large in her pale face as she shook her head. “No, Shane. I—”
Whatever she was going to say was left unsaid as Shane lunged across the room and pushed Jenna to the floor. He reached out for the disk at the same time Vanessa swung her right hand in a curving arc and connected with his left eye. Pain radiated along her arm, and she shook her fingers while Shane howled liked a wounded animal.
He recovered quickly, and for the second time that night Vanessa found her throat caught in a savage grip as Shane pulled her up until her feet dangled above the carpet.
“Get the disk, Jenna, or I’ll break her neck.”
“Let her go.”
Shane swung Vanessa around when he registered the quiet voice. He eased his grip slightly, but then, without warning, she felt the press of cold steel along the side of her neck.
“You move, and she dies,” he threatened. “I swear I’ll cut her throat.”
Joshua’s eyes glowed like a trapped animal’s when he raised his left hand. The muted light glinted off the powerful handgun he pointed at Shane’s head.
Vanessa could smell the acrid scent of fear rising from Shane’s body. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Shane Sumners—a man she’d worked closely with ever since she had come to work for GEA—wanted to kill her. Because he thought she had taken his position and title.
Joshua’s gaze never wavered as he stared at Shane, measuring how much space he had if he was to pull the trigger. He had to be careful, because Sumners was using Vanessa as a shield.
“I’m going to say it just one more time be
fore I drop you like a sack of manure. Let my wife go.”
“Wife?” Jenna questioned, rising slowly from the floor.
Shane raised his arm at the same time Joshua pulled the trigger. The explosion sounded like a bomb in the confined space, and everyone went still.
Joshua shoved Jenna out of the way and she fell back to the carpet, weeping hysterically. He walked over to Shane, who stood staring numbly at his shattered arm. Drawing back his right hand, he slapped Shane across the face. The accountant’s glasses were dislodged from his face from the savage force of the blow.
“That’s for hitting my wife.” Shane swayed, and Joshua caught him by the throat, righting him and keeping him from falling. His fingers tightened around the injured man’s windpipe, cutting off much needed oxygen. “Hit me, you bastard,” he growled against the younger man’s flushed face. “Hit me! What’s the matter, you twisted punk? You like hitting women?”
Vanessa hadn’t realized she was screaming as she tried pulling Joshua’s hand away from Shane’s throat. “Let him go, Joshua! Please, don’t kill him,” she pleaded.
He heard her screams and eased his grip, shoving Shane away as if he feared contamination. His gaze swung to Jenna as she crawled toward the door.
“Where do you want your bullet, Miss Grant?”
She stopped and collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably about how Shane had forced her to help him.
Vanessa made her way to a corner and sat down, while Joshua picked up the telephone on her desk and dialed a number. Her gaze was fixed on the automatic handgun he’d placed beside the phone.
She shivered when she heard him say, “Special Agent Lewis. Tell him Colonel Kirkland needs to speak to him.” There was a pregnant silence before he continued. “Have some of your men come over to the office of GEA. You should also bring medical personnel. Yes, there is an injury.”
Vanessa lay on the love seat in Warren McDonald’s office, eyes closed, while an ice pack lay over the left side of her face.
She listened to the different voices of the men in the office, trying to understand what was being discussed.
“I resent not being told what was going on in my own company,” Warren stated angrily.
“I was not at liberty to inform you,” Joshua countered.
“I wanted to say something to you, Warren,” George Fender said in a quiet tone, “but I couldn’t.”
“You’re a government plant,” Warren said to Joshua accusingly.
“A plant who saved your butt.”
Warren shook his head. “I can understand Shane’s hostility because he felt he was passed over for a promotion, but why Jenna? She’s always been loyal to me.”
“And she is, Colonel,” Joshua confirmed, using Warren’s military rank for the first time. “She had no idea that Shane intended to use her. When she gave him the key to Vanessa’s file cabinet she never knew what she was going to be drawn into. It was the same when she lent him her car. She had no way of knowing that Shane was meeting someone from manufacturing, who in turn was selling the specs for the laser-guided bombs.”
“What about the two million dollars?” Warren asked Joshua.
“Shane was brilliant enough to hide it among Vanessa’s subcontracts. Most of the money was concealed in the Kroff account. He made up a dummy disk, but he panicked when Vanessa took over from Preston. He was certain she would discover that the account had more money than was allocated once she compared her figures with Preston’s master sheet. What he needed to do was to get the actual disk back and undo all of his transactions.”
Warren shook his head. “What did he hope to prove by hiding the money?”
George looked at Joshua, who nodded his approval. “He knew that eventually the auditors would discover the missing monies, and what he wanted was for her to take the blame. With her out of the way he would move into her position.”
Warren covered his face with his hands and shook his head. “How much did he get for passing along the specs?”
“Not a cent,” Joshua confirmed. “He just acted as the go-between.”
“But why?” Warren continued. “Why spy, if not for financial gain?”
“You’ll have to ask Sumners personally. Perhaps he thought computer hacking was enough without adding espionage to the list of charges.” Joshua didn’t say that murder could have been another charge, if he hadn’t shot Sumners.
Warren glanced at Vanessa, then swung his gaze back to Joshua. “Damn man, I was making moves on your wife.”
“If she hadn’t stopped you, I would have. But you don’t have to worry about chasing her ever again, because today was her last day at GEA.”
Vanessa sat up quickly, her mouth gaping. The sudden motion made her lightheaded, and she floated back down to the love seat, cursing him under her breath. Joshua had no right to tender her resignation.
Joshua rose and extended his hand to Warren. “I have a few business investments in the Caribbean that will take up most of her time.”
Warren grasped the proffered hand. “I’m going to miss her, Colonel Kirkland.”
“You’ll probably get to see us around. We plan to stay in Santa Fe until the baby comes. After that, we’ll do some traveling.”
“A baby, too?” Warren mouthed softly. “You just met her.”
“Wrong. We met and married over a year ago.”
Warren and George exchanged puzzled looks as Joshua walked over to where Vanessa lay sprawled on the love seat. Going to his knees, he caressed her bruised face. “Are you ready to go home?”
She glared at him. “I don’t think you want to go home with me, Colonel Kirkland,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You really don’t want to hear what I have to tell you about your double life. I don’t like liars, Joshua.”
“I didn’t lie to you, Angel. I just never told you the complete truth.”
“You handed in my resignation, and I’m going to make a demand of my own. You have exactly twenty-four hours to retire, Colonel. I’m not going to wait around and have you disappear on me every few months. I will not raise this baby alone.”
He smiled at her angry expression. “I beat you to it. My resignation was official the moment I picked up the phone and called the FBI.”
She let him assist her until she stood up. “Tonight has been one big nightmare.” She managed a sensual smile. “But I’m glad it’s over. I was beginning to wonder whether I actually am Mrs. Joshua Kirkland.”
“Oh, but you are. As soon as you’re better I’ll give you a special in-house demonstration.”
Smiling, she rested her head against his chest. “Let’s go home.”
She took several steps, glanced over her shoulder, and smiled at Warren and George. Warren nodded, while George flashed a rare smile and waved.
Arm-in-arm, she and Joshua walked away from GEA to begin to live out their marriage vows.
Epilogue
Six-month-old Emily Teresa Kirkland sensed it was a special occasion. She opened her eyes and smiled at her father at the exact moment the taxi stopped in front of the large house in West Palm Beach. Designed in Spanish and Italian revival styles with barrel-tiled red roofs, it had a stucco facade, balconies shrouded in lush bougainvillea, and sweeping French doors that opened onto broad expanses of terraces with spectacular, panoramic, water views.
Joshua stepped out of the taxi and held his daughter in one arm while extending the other to his wife. Turning, he saw the large group of people standing by the entrance waiting for his daughter’s arrival.
Martin Cole walked forward and held out his arms. “Let me see the princess.” Joshua handed him his niece. Throwing back his head, he laughed. “Her last name may be Kirkland, but this little girl is all Cole.” Turning, he walked back to the house, everyone following him.
Joshua pulled Vanessa gently to his side. “Don’t worry, Angel. They’ll take good care of her. Come, let me introduce you to my family.”
Vanessa walked into an entry way with an African slate flo
or, then followed Joshua to a living room filled with priceless antiques and exquisite reproductions. She looked around for her daughter, and found the man she assumed was Martin cooing softly to Emily.
She stared at an elderly man leaning heavily on a cane with his left hand. She smiled and he returned it, nodding. “I am Sammy, Joshua’s father,” he said slowly.
Moving closer, she kissed his cheek. “Hello, Sammy.”
His eyes misted. “You are very, very pretty. All Cole men love pretty women.”
Joshua steered her over to a tall, white-haired woman who had retained her incredible beauty even though she was in her late sixties. “This is Marguerite Josefina Diaz Cole. She’s the matriarch of this somewhat unruly brood.”
“Everyone calls me M.J.” She extended a hand. “Welcome to the family.”
Vanessa accepted M.J.’s handshake before she was directed to the man holding her daughter. “Martin is my older brother,” Joshua began, “and the beautiful woman standing beside him is his wife, Parris.”
Parris leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Vanessa’s cheek. Her clear, green-flecked brown eyes were friendly. “Welcome. We’ll get together and talk later,” she whispered softly near her ear.
Joshua bent down and picked up a petite, dark-haired, dark-eyed toddler who was a carbon copy of Martin Cole. “This little flower is Arianna. She just turned two, and is the undisputed boss in her house. And this serious little guy is her brother, Tyler.”
“He’s three going on thirty,” Parris volunteered, running her fingers through her son’s curly hair.
Joshua looked around the room. “Where’s Regina?”
On cue, a tall and strikingly beautiful teenager with a curtain of curling black hair falling to her tiny waist floated into the room.
“Uncle Josh,” she squealed. She sprinted across the room and threw her arms around his neck seconds after he’d handed Arianna to her mother.
Lifting Regina off her feet, he swung her around, kissing her cheek. “How’s my favorite girl?” he asked as he set her down.
Regina Cole stepped back and folded her hands on her incredibly slim hips as twin dimples winked attractively in her brown cheeks. “Your third favorite girl, now. Daddy told me that your wife is first and Emily is second.” Her head spun around. “Where are they?”
Vows Page 28