by Lori Foster
After turning off the car he used his remote to close the garage door. As he came in through the kitchen by the door that attached to the garage, he heard Angel laughing. Following the sound, the manila envelope still clutched in his hand, he found her sprawled on the family room carpet before the fireplace. Grayson was held over her head, and each time the baby gurgled, she laughed and lowered him for a tickling nip of his pudgy belly.
Without intruding, Dane watched their antics, a small smile on his face. Damn, but he loved her. The feeling was starting to settle in, not so scary now, more like a necessary part of him was finally working as it should. He pictured Angel with a baby girl, as well, his daughter, a child that would look like her mother, have her bright green eyes. He’d missed being a part of her pregnancy with Grayson, but this time, he’d be here. I’m sorry, Derek. But she’ll be my wife.
“When did you come in?”
Dane hadn’t even realized she’d turned to him, he’d been so caught up in the comforting images of baby and home and hearth, images he’d long ago given up on. “Just a minute ago.” He strode over and sat cross-legged beside the two of them, reaching out to take Grayson into his own lap.
“What do you have there?”
Angel looked at the envelope, her expression inquiring. “It’s for you, honey.” He let her know by his tone the seriousness of the envelope. “Derek evidently sent it to you. It’s postmarked some time ago, from before his death. Haven’t you checked your box at all?”
Angel stared at the envelope like it was poison. “There was no reason. I only used it for the information my supervisor wanted me to work on at home. Files he wanted me to prepare before he made a presentation. He didn’t trust very many people, or the regular mail. He figured a locked post office box was the most secure way to go. No one knew the number except the two of us.”
“And Derek.”
She nodded. “I usually kept those files locked up. But I was…anxious to see Derek one day, so I just stuck them in a desk drawer when he called to say he was coming over. I never considered that he might go through my personal things. He must have taken the box number off the envelope.”
Dane hated hearing about her and Derek together. He didn’t regret loving Angel, he couldn’t, but he sometimes felt as if he’d stolen everything good from Derek. Forging his place in the family had never mattered to him, but it had been everything to Derek. Now Dane had taken Derek’s place in the family, and in the office.
He’d gladly give up both those dubious perks, but he’d never give up Angel or Grayson.
He knew the night Derek stole the information from Angel was the same night he’d taken her to bed. For that reason, more than any other, Dane had hesitated to discuss it with her. The thought of Derek with her, how he’d hurt her, was almost too difficult to contemplate.
“I was asleep when Derek went through my desk,” she said, her tone flat. “We were never…intimate after that, and a month later, he dropped me.”
Several silent moments passed, then Dane tried to hand her the envelope. “Go ahead and open it.”
With a shudder, Angel pulled back. “No thanks. I’d rather you did it.”
“Are you sure?” Even as he asked it, Dane was laying Grayson aside on the blanket. The baby turned his head and directed an intent gaze at the bright flames in the fireplace. Dane slid a finger under the flap of the envelope and pulled it open.
There were several printouts inside, and Dane scanned them quickly. “These are details outlining industrial espionage at Aeric.” His blood surged with the ramifications. He lifted one paper after another, finally coming to a personal note addressed to Angel.
“What?” Angel scooted around to peer over Dane’s shoulder. She picked up the discarded printouts and studied them.
Dane laid the last paper aside and stared at Angel. When she felt his gaze, she looked up.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
“What is it, Dane?”
He touched her cheek. “Derek was trying to protect you.” Dane lifted the sheaf of papers, holding them out to her. “He sent you these as an explanation of why he’d gone to so much trouble to alienate you, why he specifically did it so publicly. He wanted everyone to think your relationship was over, that you meant nothing to him. He suspected some level of danger after he’d discovered several discrepancies in various Aeric research files, shortly after stealing that information from you. He wasn’t certain what was happening, but when he investigated further, small accidents started to happen to him. He was afraid you’d be in danger too, by association.” Dane touched her cheek, then forced the words out despite the tightness in his throat. “Derek had no problem doing what needed to be done for the takeover, he saw that only as good business, part of the corporate game. But he hadn’t deliberately planned to hurt you in the bargain. He cared for you, honey.”
Angel squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard, clutching at Dane’s hand. Dane knew, without asking, the regret she felt because he felt it, too.
The sound of a gun cocking seemed obscenely loud in the silence of the room. Both Angel and Dane jerked up their gazes, and there stood Raymond. The forty-five in his hand made an incongruous sight with his three-piece suit and immaculate presence. “Well, I commend your investigative skills, Dane. Of course, your damn brother pretty much spelled it out for you, didn’t he? I knew he was too thorough not to have something written down. And Ms. Morris was the likely person to have the info.”
Dane quickly tried to cover his shock, to act calm and in control. He was very aware of Angel sitting frozen beside him. “So that’s the reason you’ve been harassing her?”
Raymond shrugged. “I lost her for a while there, you know, after she moved. It was tedious finding her phone number again, but I had no idea where she’d gone. Unlike you, I don’t have connections in these matters. It was rather frustrating, never knowing when she might resurface, if she’d try to discredit me with that damn information your brother put together.
“I tried to hedge my bets a bit by telling your mother, regretfully of course, what a bitch Angel was, how she’d used Derek, how she was likely to come sniffing around with blackmail in mind. I had half hoped she’d find Angel for me, but your mother is getting old and has no taste for revenge. She only hoped to avoid a scandal. Luckily for me, you’re not nearly so derelict in your familial duty.” Raymond grinned. “You led me right to her.”
“Bastard.” Dane came smoothly to his feet and deliberately stepped in front of Angel and Grayson, shielding them both with his body. “You killed Derek.”
“Now that,” he said with a shrug, “was an honest accident. I knew he’d been playing detective—funny that the two of you were even more alike than you knew. But he proved to be rather proficient at it. I tried a few minor scare tactics, and for a while there I thought they’d worked. But the bastard was just biding his time, letting months go by, waiting for me to make another move. He was careful not to call in the authorities, not wanting to scare me off.” Raymond held up two fingers, a millimeter apart. “He came that close to nailing my name to his damn discoveries after I thought the coast was clear again.”
“My brother was no idiot. And he would have taken any theft from a company he owned as a personal insult.”
Raymond laughed. “He was a wily bastard, I’ll give him that.”
It almost sounded as though Raymond had respected Derek, had maybe liked him. Dane felt sick with disgust.
“Needless to say I had to up the pressure to get him to back off, but the fool didn’t drive quite as well as Ms. Morris.”
Dane had to fight the urge to lunge at Raymond. Only the fact that doing so would put Angel in more danger kept him still, but he didn’t like it. Every muscle in his body twitched with the almost unbearable need to do physical harm. “How did you get in here?”
“I beat you home. Yes, that was me following you. Of course, as soon as I realized you had sicked your watchdog on me, I veered off. Mr. Sharpe re
ally is a nasty-looking fellow. He gives me the creeps.”
“Alec’s good at what he does.”
“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” Raymond smiled his perfect artificial smile. “As I was saying. It was easy enough to swing around and with a heavy foot on the gas pedal, I was able to get here before you. I hid in the bushes. Not very dignified, but then, you gave me little choice. When you started to close the garage door, I slipped a small wedge underneath it, and rather than closing tight, it reopened on its own. I waited just long enough to see if you’d double-check it. But you were in too big a hurry to see your ladylove. Such a hurry in fact, that I believe the two of you will elope.” He grinned, his expression taunting.
Dane tried to calm his racing heart and his anger. He needed a cool head to deal with Raymond. He only wished he’d trusted in his instincts earlier and not given Raymond the benefit of the doubt. He should have beat the details out of him when he had the chance.
Determined to keep Raymond talking, he asked, “Was that you in the bar with Derek the night he died?”
Raymond looked briefly surprised. “You are good. And yes, that was me. I offered to take Derek out slumming, just because he’d become so maudlin with all his investigations and his regret over Ms. Morris. That’s how I knew it wasn’t over between the two of them. Women threw themselves at your brother, and he turned them all down.”
Angel made a small sound of distress, but Dane ignored her. He didn’t want Raymond’s attention to waver to her.
“I had hoped he’d confide in me, but he was keeping his secrets to himself that night, no matter how much booze I poured down him.”
Dane suppressed a growl. “Alec was the one who discovered Derek had been to a bar that night. He also dislikes you on instinct. If I disappear, he’ll be all over you.”
Raymond looked briefly alarmed by the prospect, then he visually shored up his confidence again. “Once I’m married to Celia, he won’t dare touch me.”
Dane narrowed his gaze, trying to figure ahead. “My sister isn’t an idiot. She’ll never marry you.”
Raymond laughed. “She’s anxious to be married.” His gaze flicked to Angel and quickly back again. “And your mother, now that you’ve defected to the enemy camp, is anxious to turn the company over into my capable hands. In fact, I believe your mother would give me control whether Celia married me or not. But I’ve decided I want Celia. It seems like nice insurance if anyone should ever discover you didn’t elope.”
“I’ll kill you.”
Raymond merely laughed at the threat. “Not that your mother will question it, will she, Dane? After all, this won’t be the first time you’ve walked away from your family without a backward glance—both times over a woman. You know, your mother has been trying valiantly to keep her mouth shut, to avoid just such a situation, hoping to make amends. Ah, you didn’t know that did you? But I’ve become something of a confidant for her, and she’s told me all about how she regrets the past. Too bad you won’t have a chance to forgive her, to put her poor old mind to rest. She’ll have to spend the rest of her days with regrets.”
Angel staggered to her feet beside Dane and when he would have pushed her behind him again, she forced her way forward. “You’ve set yourself up a small problem, Raymond.”
“What’s that?” he asked with a touch of amusement. Obviously he believed he had everything well in control.
“I’d already suspected you. And I told people. The police have it on record that I thought someone was trying to kill me.”
“They didn’t believe you though, did they?” Raymond’s smile was smug. “You didn’t have enough proof. And I was careful, even with the smoke-fire, to keep the threats from being too serious, gaining too much attention.” He laughed at Angel’s comprehension. “Yes, that was a nice touch, wasn’t it? Running you out of your apartment and then intercepting your phone call at the office. You reacted just as I planned, showing up at the company like a wild woman, demanding answers. I had hoped once you knew the truth, that Dane was only using you, you’d have enough pride to walk away from him. That would have made you more vulnerable. But no, you decide to marry the bastard.”
He looked briefly beyond anger, almost enraged. Dane braced himself, but Raymond shook off his anger, his smirk once again in place. “I have everything planned. And unfortunately for you, both Celia and Mrs. Carter will back up the theory that you ran off together. Thanks to the information I sold at Aeric, and your sister’s cut in the family coffers, I should be able to live rather comfortably from here on out.”
Dane took a small step forward. “You’re an idiot, Raymond. Will anyone believe I abandoned my company? Think about it. I walked away from my family, but I never shirked my own responsibilities.”
Raymond shrugged again, totally unconcerned. “So now you’re in love. Who’s to say what you’d do?”
Grayson made a cooing sound and for the briefest moment drew Raymond’s attention. Dane started to move, but the gun was quickly leveled at his head. “Ah, ah. I really don’t want the mess of it here in the family room.”
Angel shifted beside him and Dane grabbed her arm. “You’re not going to hurt my baby,” she said, her voice low and fierce as she pulled away from Dane.
“I really hesitate to. After all, I’m not a monster. And the child seems to have softened Mrs. Carter quite a bit. But I see no way around it.”
Angel stiffened. When she spoke, her tone was so mean even Dane blinked. “You can’t kill us both at the same time,” she taunted. “Try it, and one of us will be on you before you can take a second aim.” She slipped farther away from Dane, spreading out, making it more difficult for Raymond to maintain control.
Pushed past his composure by her goading, Raymond lifted his arm, taking point-blank aim. His eyes narrowed and his mouth drew tight. Dane felt Angel tensing beside him and realized in horror what she intended. She would attack Raymond, giving Dane the upper hand. The little idiot would sacrifice herself. Panicked, Dane prepared to beat her to it, ready to leap on Raymond full force. He could only hope Angel would use the moment to grab the baby and run.
In the next instant, a shrill screech filled the air, loud and outraged. Dane instinctively leaped toward Angel, pushing her behind him as he stiffened for the additional threat. But they weren’t in danger.
Raymond, wide-eyed and frantic, tried to turn. He wasn’t fast enough.
Celia lunged around the corner from the kitchen to the family room, still screaming and viciously swinging a heavy crowbar. Raymond ducked, but the length of iron connected with his elbow with satisfying force. There was a sickening crunch as bone gave way, and the gun fell to the carpet. Raymond screamed in agony, his arm hanging at a grotesque angle by his side.
“You miserable worm!” Celia yelled, the perfect epitome of a woman scorned. She hit Raymond again as he tried to roll away, this time thumping the bar against his thigh and eliciting more screams. Dane had no doubt the man’s arm was broken, and he couldn’t be all too sure of his leg. Celia would have delivered a final blow to his head, ignoring Dane’s curses as he reached for the gun, but Alec came storming in and grabbed her from behind. She struggled, and Alec had a time of it subduing her, but finally she calmed.
Alec still held on, his arms circling her, making soft hushing noises in her ear until the crow bar fell to the carpet by their feet. Celia turned in his arms, weeping.
Dane looked at Angel. He was breathing hard, the adrenaline still rushing. “Are you okay?”
She had Grayson squeezed tight in her arms, gently rocking him, kissing him. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. The baby and Raymond seemed to be vying for the loudest cries, Raymond out of pain, Grayson out of upset. Angel’s watery gaze met Dane’s and she nodded. He could see her body shake as she drew in jerky, uneven breaths. “Yes. We’re fine.”
Dane pulled her close and tried to comfort her as best he could, but he himself was shaking with residual fear. Never in his life had anything ever te
rrorized him like knowing Angel could be shot and even killed. He kissed her full on her trembling lips, verifying her safety, her vitality and warmth. Then he turned to his friend, Angel still tucked safely to his side. He didn’t know if he’d ever let her go again.
“Damn, but I’m glad to see you, Alec.” It didn’t matter that his voice shook, that his eyes felt glazed and moist. All that mattered was the feel of Angel beside him, safe and sound.
Alec smoothed his big hands up and down Celia’s back. “I followed her. I don’t know how she knew what was going on, but I could tell she was upset.”
Celia pushed back from him. “You followed me?”
Alec looked down at her, pushed her head back to his shoulder, and said, “Yeah.”
Dane grinned. In the midst of all the chaos, he found Alec’s actions incredibly humorous. “Well, I’ll be.”
“I already called the cops,” Alec said, ignoring Dane’s laughter. “They should be here any minute. Dammit, will you shut up?” he said to Raymond, while maintaining his tight hold on Celia. “You’re lucky I didn’t let her kill you.”
Again Celia pushed back. “Why didn’t you? He deserves it.”
“It would have complicated things, especially for you.”
“Oh.”
Angel stepped away from Dane, then cautiously around Raymond, who was obediently silent. When she reached Celia, she touched the woman’s shoulder. “Thank you. You saved our lives.”
Celia sniffed and pulled away from Alec’s masculine embrace while still standing very close to him. She wiped away her tears and then frowned at Alec, as if some of the drama was his fault. With an obvious effort she returned her attention to Angel. “I caught Raymond making a phone call today, but he hung up real quick when I came in.”