Dangerous Curves

by Karen Anders

  Then he stepped into the master suite and found Rio stretched out on the bed, fast asleep. He admitted that falling in love was also one of the best feelings in the whole world. The relief was far greater than it probably should have been, but he was human. She’d stayed. And she was okay. In some ways, on some levels, that was all that mattered to him right now.

  His body behaved in a predictable male way upon seeing her all flushed and relaxed, her dark auburn lashes stark against her cheeks. But this swelling sensation was new to his heart and would take him a while to absorb fully.

  He hated to wake her, but he knew she wanted to be clean. She’d said so in the car. He was struck by how little he really knew her. And by how badly he wanted to change that.

  Even now his anger was abating. He could understand why she ran. She was trying to protect him, but if he hadn’t come along when he did, who knew what would have happened?

  He rubbed the towel over his hair, but paid far more attention to her sleeping form than to the new clothes tucked away in the colorful shopping bags she had dropped near the bed. He’d never seen power shopping, but Rio had been a whirlwind of activity in the store while he waited and kept a keen eye out for anyone who looked remotely suspicious.

  He shook his head. Champion field agent, siren and martial arts expert. It seemed she was also quite the champion shopper, too.

  “Are you still mad at me?” she asked, her voice soft and drowsy with sleep.

  He glanced up at her in time to watch her stretch. He was supremely content to have a front-row seat to that beautiful spectacle. The arching alone was well worth the price of admission. Even though his body once again took on the predictable male role, his emotions were far too turbulent to deal with the temptation, so he turned and sat on the bed, rummaging through the bags. “Did they teach you power shopping at Quantico? I must have missed that class.”

  “It was an elective.”

  He glanced over his shoulder.

  Her cheeks were a little rosy with sleep, her hair softly tangled around her face, her eyes a bit unfocused. “Did you guess at my size?” he asked. “I hope this stuff fits. Now that I’m clean, I don’t want to put on those dirty clothes.”

  “I had my reasons, Max.” The serious look on her face was as provocative as her smile. She sorely tested his willpower.

  “What were you thinking? We’re stronger together.”

  “I didn’t want you involved anymore. They were going to kill you on sight.”

  “You were trying to protect me.”

  “Yes, as crazy as that sounds, I was. I couldn’t bear having your being hurt or worse on my conscience, Max.”

  “If they caught you, Rio, they’d kill you as soon as they got the information they wanted.”

  “I didn’t intend to get caught. I was sure that I could make it to Pukalani and a rental car.”

  “Then what?”

  “I would have thought of something. I’m not without skills.”

  Thinking about her skills was not a good use of his time right now. Keep your cool, Carpenter. Time was ticking again.

  He searched through the bag closest to him, but immediately set it aside when his fingers hooked a scrap of black lace. His body had enough to work with without sexy props. In the bag next to it, he found briefs and socks that looked to be his size. Checking out the last bag netted him T-shirts, one green and the other gold. He chanced looking at her again. She’d sat up now, her legs relaxing against the side of the bed. “So, underwear, socks and shirts. I’ll take it, but eventually, I want to leave the room.” It was a joke, but since she didn’t know him that well, he added, “I can make do with the ones I was wearing.”

  She leaned over and snagged the bag with the black thong in it and pulled out two pairs of shorts. “I gave you a choice, khaki or black. They took your boots for cleaning when you were in the shower.”

  He looked at her and sighed. “Are we okay for now?”

  “There’s more.”

  “I’m not going to like this, either, am I?”

  She scooped up two bags and skipped by him on her way to the shower.

  “No. You’re not. You think you’re pissed now.”

  It took almost superhuman control not to reach out and snare her and her bags full of lacy things and throw them all on the bed. Instead, he grabbed a pair of boxers.

  She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door between them.

  He looked down at the briefs and shrugged. He wasn’t going to push her, but it was good to know she was finally going to open up to him. He just wondered what it was she had to tell him.

  He heard the shower go on and tried to block the mental images that came with what would be a provocative sound. “Right.” Disgusted with his inability to get his head back on straight—and leave the other one out of it—he tugged on socks and a T-shirt in record time, then checked out the shorts. It was a necessity, a favor. And yet thinking about her purchasing these items for him felt stupidly personal. Intimate even. “You are so gone,” he muttered.

  He finished dressing, raked fingers through his drying hair and rubbed a hand across his chin, silently thanking her for thinking of purchasing a disposable razor. He tossed his old clothes into one of the empty bags, then after another lingering look at the bathroom door, stalked out into the main room of the suite and used a throwaway phone they’d picked up in the hotel.

  Drew answered on the second ring. “Miller.”

  “Drew, it’s Max. I need your help.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a bind.”

  “We were wondering. You were supposed to have dinner with us last night. We suspected it was FBI stuff, but Allie was worried.”

  “I didn’t mean to worry her. I was going to call a couple of days ago, but things went from bad to worse.”

  “Tell me what you need. We can deploy immediately.”

  “I need a helicopter to get us back to L.A.”

  “Check. Where are you?”

  “Maui.”

  “Come again?”

  “Maui.”

  “In Hawaii?”

  “Yes. It’s a long story.”

  “I can’t wait to hear it. Where in Maui do you want egress?”

  “Kahului Airport. How long before you can get here?”

  “Give me eight hours to get there and get what I need. Is it just you?”

  “No. I have someone with me.”

  “Is this person hot?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, you know her.”

  “Her. Now I really can’t wait to hear. Spill it.”

  “Rio Marshall.”

  “What? Didn’t I just pull her ass out of Colombia two weeks ago…? Hang on. Don’t tell me you have a Colombian drug lord on your tail?”

  “I don’t know if it’s a drug lord, but the Ghost is involved.”

  “That fucking bastard is everywhere.”

  “I know. Get here as fast as you can and, Drew…bring some firepower with you.”

  “Will do. Lie low and I’ll call you when I touch down.”

  “Drew, thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it. I’m marrying your sister and you’re family. If you can’t trust your family, who can you trust?”

  THE HELICOPTER LANDED AND Jammer got out of the bird. He walked over to Eduardo, who was pacing again and swearing a blue streak.

  He turned on Jammer when he saw him. “You. You’re the one who convinced me to take this woman alive.”

  “What? She clocked you?”

  “She got the jump on me.” He held a cloth to his cheekbone and Jammer could see the man was going to have one hell of a shiner. This wasn’t good for that little DEA agent. But he couldn’t abandon her.

  “I still want her alive and if you want all the weapons that I’ve amassed for the Libertad, you had better make sure that’s the way she comes to me.”

  “This is a threat?”

  “No, it’s a r
equest, Eduardo. The Ghost is prepared to supply all the weapons you need. We won’t tolerate a loose cannon out there. So let’s think about their next step.”

  “Obviously, she’ll head to an airport.”

  “We’ve got all of them staked out.”

  “Good, we’ll get her there.”

  Jammer walked back to the waiting helicopter feeling the tension between his shoulder blades. He had to make sure Eduardo forgot about the woman and got his mind back on the matter at hand. The whole deal he’d been working on could blow up in his face if he didn’t play this scenario the right way.

  RIO RINSED THE SHAMPOO from her hair and tried to keep her anxiety down to a minimum. When Max found out about who was really after her and why they were really in Maui, he was going to be so angry.

  That suited her plan, right? He would hopefully want nothing to do with her and get out of the line of fire.

  Max was too smart not to sense there had been something wrong with her. It hurt that he hadn’t trusted her to do the shopping alone. Losing his trust would be something she’d regret probably for the rest of her life.

  She finished rinsing off and stepped out of the shower, only to be assaulted by the heady fragrance of freshly prepared food. Even the smell of coffee had her stomach grumbling. She shoved aside her concerns about the situation with Max and quickly dressed. She ran a fast comb through her hair.

  She stepped out of the bathroom to find the bedroom empty, but she could hear Max talking in the main room of the suite. She wasn’t sure which was more enticing, the sound of his deep voice, murmuring something to someone in the other room, or the delicious smell, but fortunately she didn’t have to choose and followed both.

  There was a room service table set up and Max was standing over by the large picture window, talking on the cell phone they’d purchased. From the sounds of it, he was talking to Drew Miller. She moved over to the table, sure he would fill her in when he got off the phone. She felt another little stab of guilt, knowing she couldn’t be as sure she’d do the same, but suppressed it as she pulled a chair up to the table and sat down.

  “Eat,” Max mouthed, motioning with his hand for her to eat.

  She did have pretty good manners and under normal circumstances, she would have been patient, but the smell of the food made her stomach growl. She selected a piece of bacon and crunched it, sighing at the immediate pleasure it brought to her tongue. Max ended his call and joined her at the table.

  “Is he coming?” she asked, putting the bacon down as her stomach tightened a bit.

  “In eight hours. He’s got to catch a commercial flight then get what he needs to get us off this island safe and sound. You going to be around in eight hours?”

  “I deserved that.”

  “You want to tell me now what is going on?”

  “Can we do it after breakfast? I don’t want to ruin your appetite.”

  He grabbed her arm. “Now, Rio. It’s long past due.”

  “I’d rather not ruin my appetite.”

  Max sighed.

  She immediately rounded the breakfast cart, needing at least that much space separating them so she didn’t feel so overwhelmed by his presence. “Okay.” She looked him straight in the eye. “It’s not the Ghost’s men who are after us.”

  Unfortunately, the barrier didn’t do much good. The man had an uncanny way of invading her personal space even when he was standing a good six feet away…with his beautiful blue eyes that seemed to touch her body like a caress and his warm male scent that filled every breath she inhaled.

  She held his gaze, waiting for his anger to erupt and preparing herself for criticism and accusations. But all he did was stare at her, resentment and animosity mingling in his eyes—and something else she couldn’t fully define. Hurt? Disappointment? Longing?

  Oh, yes, there was definitely a hint of longing in his expression, and it was the brief glimpse of such a tangible emotion that was nearly her undoing. Despite her necessary actions, despite his own outrage over feeling deceived, he still wanted her.

  Even if he didn’t want to want her.

  She thought her heart was going to break into a million pieces.

  “But I thought that’s why the DEA wanted me to be your bodyguard.” His voice was low and rough.

  “It wasn’t, Max. I didn’t really need a bodyguard.”

  She let that sink in. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she resolutely shoved them away. She was going to lose him over this. She knew that a long time ago, but now that it was happening, it was too much to bear.

  His mouth tightened. “But that would mean there was another reason they wanted you out of L.A. Was it another mission?”

  “Yes, I was given another mission.”

  “What is it? What were you supposed to do?”

  “Distract you.”

  She watched as the knowledge seeped slowly into his eyes. He put his hands on the serving cart and leaned forward. “Me? Why the hell…The Ghost. This has something to do with the Ghost.” He stiffened and abruptly straightened. He closed his eyes. “You baited me. Your whole story was fabricated. And I fell for it.”

  His eyes said, I fell for you.

  “No, not the whole story. Everything I said really happened and it’s possible I saw the Ghost. But he wasn’t ever chasing me. I didn’t think Eduardo would come after me and neither did the DEA.”

  When Max opened his eyes, Rio really wanted to run. Mixed in with the hurt and betrayal was anger she’d never seen before.

  10

  THE KNOWLEDGE HIT HIM like a sledgehammer. “You were bait,” he repeated. Cursing himself for a fool. “What is this really about, Rio? And tell me the truth.”

  “You were looking to find and apprehend the Ghost. You wouldn’t stop and you wouldn’t listen. It put the DEA’s whole operation in jeopardy. We have an agent deep undercover.”

  “So this is what you do for the agency…”

  “No! It’s not like that.” She rounded the table and stood in front of him, her chin jutting out mutinously. “What happened with you and me in the forest was what I wanted. Not because of any mission I was given by the DEA. I got involved and I shouldn’t have. I don’t go around sleeping with men to do my job.”

  He glanced away and inhaled a deep breath, and when he looked at her again that harsh edge he was feeling inside hardened. He couldn’t believe he had been so duped by her. The first time in his life when he’d trusted so completely. It served as a lesson. “All those words about trust I spouted to you? They meant nothing.”

  “You didn’t really trust me, Max.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “If you had, you’d have never pretended to go to sleep, and then followed me. I think you want to believe it’s about trust, but it’s about control for you. You should have just let me go.”

  “I couldn’t let you go,” he said, his voice a hard rasp. Grabbing hold of his anger was better than facing the truth. She’d lied to him, kept up the farce even after they’d gotten so close. But not close enough. Better to be angry than afraid. Better to push her away than to cling to her when he knew he’d lose her in the end anyway.

  “You were loyal to the agency. I can’t blame you for that. But I don’t understand why you didn’t trust me. After what happened between us? Don’t you think you could have confided in me?”

  She released a slow breath and said, “I know what’s involved, Max. I understand your motivation. It doesn’t change anything, but I understand it. This is about Allie. He almost got her killed.”

  His features tightened and he snapped, “And now Callie is going to assume her undercover identity, Gina Callahan, and will go after him once she’s well enough. I didn’t want my sister to face the monster.”

  The edge to his voice made her talk fast. “I know that must be eating you up inside.”

  “So the men who are after you…”

  “Work for Eduardo Fuentes. We played up the Ghost stuff for y
our benefit, Max.”

  “Yeah,” he said bitterly. “And I played right into it.”

  “Max—”

  “No. I don’t want your sympathy, Rio. I need some time to think.”

  He stalked away from her and left the room.

  Outside in the hall, he headed blindly for the stairs instead of the elevator, needing the physical exercise to burn off the heat of his anger. She’d breached his trust and he had to live with that. He also had to live with the fact that he still wanted her. There were so many obstacles between the two of them, so many issues still left unresolved…. And did he even want to pursue her after finding out she’d been stringing him along since the very first second they met? Did she have a chance with him after lying to him on so many levels?

  There were no easy answers for those nagging questions, just a voice in his head that told him Rio was worth his time and effort. Whatever was between them had the potential for developing into something stronger and bigger than the both of them. But he had to admit she was right about one thing. If he’d truly trusted her, he’d have really fallen asleep and then trusted her to take care of herself.

  He had to grudgingly give her credit for the way she’d handled him. He had been on a single-minded mission to stop the Ghost before Callie had to get involved in the assignment to apprehend him. He wasn’t sure anything—short of pulling him out of L.A. and giving him something else to occupy his mind—would have stopped him.

  It didn’t mean he was ready to forgive Rio for her part in it. When he hit the lobby, he started to jog. Slipping out the doors he headed for the beach.

  RIO STARED AT THE DOOR, thinking that if she stared long enough, Max would come back and tell her he forgave her. Fat chance of that and she really should be more relieved than she was. Max wouldn’t press her for anything now. As soon as they hit L.A., he’d want nothing more to do with her.

  Damn—why did that hurt so much?

  You’ve known him for how long? Three days?

  Wow, was it only that? It seemed so much longer. The minutes and hours of the past two days had somehow been elongated, magnified and packed densely with need and fear. It seemed like forever, and at the same time, it could never be enough.