by Arianna Hart
In fact, she was the one who needed some breathing room and wanted some alone time to figure out what was going on between them. As much as the memories of last night’s hormone fest urged her to wrap her arms around Lex’s muscled torso and rub up against him like a cat in heat, her brain was backpedaling like mad.
She knew she thought too much and analyzed things to death, but she couldn’t stop the frantic spinning of her brain. Was last night just a one-time thing? Did she want it to be a one-shot deal?
And the sly voice in the back of her brain asked perhaps the scariest question of all. When could they do it again?
“You ready, Janey?” Lex’s voice right behind her snapped her out of her thoughts.
Her face flushed as she remembered that same voice whispering hot, sexy words against her neck and breasts. And thighs.
How was she ever going to hike down the hill when her legs had the musculature of over-cooked spaghetti?
“Y—yes. I’m ready. I just wanted to make sure my blisters were covered before I put my sneakers on again.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle this?”
“I have two pairs of socks on over the bandages so I should be fine.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you going to be able to go into that building alone?”
The doubt in his eyes brought her back up straight. He might no longer think she was a prude, but he still thought she was some hothouse flower.
“I might not be a super spy, but I think I can go into a building with several elderly women and housewives and come out unscathed. Like you said, all I’m doing is getting the floor plan, not trying to sneak into someone’s office.”
“You damn well better not try to sneak into anyone’s office. I’m serious, no Nancy Drew crap. Just get in, take a tour or whatever they offer and get the hell out. I’ll be watching you the best I can from a distance. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I assure you, I may be many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.”
Lex swore under his breath and spun on his heel. Jane’s heart beat furiously as he bent over to retrieve his gun and tuck it into the waistband at the small of his back. She abhorred violence, always had, but something about the danger surrounding Lex absolutely turned her on. It was probably a primitive response of her subconscious to a protector. Whatever it was, it was incredibly powerful.
Had she changed so much in such a short period of time? How had she gone from a respected therapist who was a card-carrying pacifist to an amateur spy who got turned on by a man with a gun?
If Lex hadn’t climbed into the back of her car, would she have ever thought about going after the man who stole Aunt Betty’s money herself instead of depending on the police to apprehend him? Not a chance.
And she’d never have faced her fears of intimacy and slept with Lex either. Which would have been a crying shame.
Another wave of heat made her tremble.
Focus, Jane. She was about to go on a semi-dangerous mission and all she could think about was the fabulous way Lex filled out his jeans.
“C’mon. I scoped out the nearest shuttle stop. I want to get you there a little early so you can mingle with some of the other women. Don’t be obvious, but try to find out what goes on at the mission. See if you can find out why they have guards and barbed wire surrounding the compound.”
“I’m a trained therapist. I’m pretty sure I can get information without browbeating the little old ladies.” She pulled her sweatshirt over her head and held out her hand for Lex to lead the way. The sooner they got started, the sooner they could come back.
***
Lex watched Jane climb on the bus with his heart in his throat. There was no turning back now and it scared the hell out of him.
What had he been thinking of to let her go into that viper’s pit by herself? If she got hurt it would be on his head. She was a freaking civilian and he’d allowed her to go into a potentially life threatening situation.
His father must be rolling over in his grave. Men took care of women. They didn’t put them in danger.
The bus put-putted away, sealing Jane to her fate. All he could do now was watch and pray he hadn’t mistaken the amount of danger involved.
Lex slipped the strap to the binoculars over his head and headed to the compound. By cutting through the woods, he could beat the bus to the mission and be in place when Jane arrived.
His thoughts wandered as he dodged the trees in his path. He still couldn’t believe he’d had sex with his uptight neighbor last night. Good sex. Hell, great sex, even.
When he’d landed on top of her, all he could think about was exploring the soft curves pressing into him. Who’d of thought one touch and she’d go off like a rocket? Under that prim and proper exterior, Jane Farmer was a firecracker. And wouldn’t that observation throw her for a loop?
Or maybe not. She’d held up a lot better than he’d expected. Now that he’d gotten to know her, he was willing to admit he might have been wrong about her. She wasn’t as much uptight as she was shy.
At least at first. His groin tightened as he remembered her shyness melting away in the wee hours of the morning. She’d seemed so damn…surprised by that first orgasm. Could she have been married all those years and never had one? Lex couldn’t suppress a smug smile. Jane might be the marriage counselor, but he’d shown her a thing or two about male/female relationships.
Maybe that’s why she’d been so dazed this morning? He was used to women clinging to him the morning after. If not clinging, at least trying to find out when they could see him again.
Even though he’d caught Jane blushing—a sure sign she was thinking about last night—she hadn’t said a word about it. She didn’t seem to want to talk about last night either. That alone was a freaking miracle.
Or maybe a warning signal?
Did she just want to forget about it? He knew the sex had been good for her. He had the scratch marks to prove it. But then why had she chosen to go on the mission instead of spending the day seeing how many positions they could try?
Not that he’d have agreed to that anyway. He needed the intel so he could figure out what Sarah had gotten him into, but still. What kind of woman wanted to spend the day snooping when she could be having screaming orgasms?
One that had gotten all she needed last night?
Could Jane have been using him? For sex? The idea was so preposterous it was almost funny. Isn’t that what she accused him of doing? Using women then discarding them? It would be way too hypocritical of her to turn around and do the same thing.
Except, it’d be just like her to justify it because she thought he was a playboy.
A tight knot clenched in his gut. If she thought she could just screw him and then throw him away, she was in for a big freaking surprise.
Breathing heavily from more than just the run, Lex crested the last rise and secured a position just as the shuttle pulled into the circular driveway. A few housewives got out first and hurried to a doorway off to the side. Several elderly women shuffled out next, chattering amongst themselves as they headed to the main doorway.
Where the hell was Jane? His heart beat against his ribs like a snare drum. Could the guys who were after them at the hotel have recognized her and dumped her before they reached the compound?
No way. With her brown curly hair and sunburned face she looked nothing like herself. The jeans and baggy sweatshirt were so different from her normal, tailored attire it was a better disguise than a fat suit. She looked like a slightly frumpy housewife who’d never heard of makeup, forget high fashion.
Still, his nerves wound tighter and tighter until he saw her helping an older woman off the bus. She smiled and chatted with a couple of the old biddies as they strolled into the building. If he hadn’t recognized her sweatshirt he might not have picked her out from among the other women in the group.
It looked like she’d actually listened to him when he’d coached her about changing her
stride and the way she held herself. Instead of her stick-up-her-ass march, she shuffled along with slumped shoulders and loosely swinging arms.
If she could remember to slouch when she sat instead of looking like she had a steel bar for a spine, she’d be totally unrecognizable.
He hoped.
When she reached the door, she held it open for the others, smiling and nodding as they passed by. Briefly, her eyes scanned the tree line. Lex swore, afraid she’d point out his location to anyone watching her. His fears were for nothing because she slipped onto the tail end of the estrogen parade without a hitch.
As the door shut behind her a cold fist closed around his heart. She was on her own now and there was nothing he could do to save her. Giving up control was never easy for him, but right now it about killed him.
He just hoped his lack of control wouldn’t kill her.
Chapter Eleven
“Margret, have you brought us a new member for our flock?”
Jane tried not to pull away as the skinny man grabbed her hand and held onto it. Charisma oozed from him and every eye in the hallway was glued to his face. Nausea churned in Jane’s stomach as she feigned a smile.
“Oh yes, James Robert. This is Barbara and she came all the way from New York to hear your message.” The elderly woman Jane had befriended practically gushed. “She’s looking for the true path.”
“Then you’ve come to the right place, my dear. Welcome to the Great Hope Ministry.”
“Thank you. I’ve watched you on TV and I just had to come see you in person.” She thought about fluttering her lashes but didn’t want to push it so she just smiled shyly.
“God has indeed brought you here. I’d love to talk with you further, but I must prepare for the service. I hope you’ll sit with me afterward and we can discuss your spiritual journey?”
“I’d love to.”
About as much as she’d love to grow hair on her teeth.
An audible sigh went through the gathering as James Robert strode down the hall.
“Isn’t he marvelous?” Margret asked, her eyes shining brightly.
“Oh yes. An angel sent down to Earth.” Jane hoped no one caught her sarcasm.
“Indeed. Do you know, before James Robert put me on the true path I spent my days watching television and waiting for the phone to ring? After my husband died, I didn’t know what to do with myself. The Great Hope Ministry changed all of that. Now I have a purpose in life. Helping others to find the light.”
Margret’s eyes shone with a fanatical gleam. Jane’s queasy stomach roiled as the woman continued to sing his praises.
“James Robert saved me from the inside out. Before he laid hands on me, I had to take six different pills every morning and night.”
“Really? What for?” Jane tried to hide the sudden lurch of fear that slammed into her.
“Oh, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, you name it. I was on so many medications I couldn’t keep them straight. But not any more.”
“No?”
“Nope, not a one. James Robert said that the doctors only prescribed them to make more money. He told me I should donate the money I save from buying my medications to the starving in Africa, so that’s what I did. And I’ve never felt so good. I don’t get sick to my stomach or light headed any more. It’s a miracle.”
Luckily, Jane was saved from forming a response by their arrival at the meeting room. She didn’t think she’d be able to gush about what an angel James Robert was without vomiting. That bastard was stealing their medication money.
And apparently, they loved him for it.
The enormous meeting room was already filled with people. There were decidedly more women then men, and many of them were far into their eighth decade. They appeared well off. Jane recognized wealth when she saw it. The cut and quality of their clothes screamed “old money.” Even though there were several other women dressed in jeans, Jane felt positively gauche.
Margret led her to a row of seats right up in front and Jane wanted to hide from all the eyes burning holes into her back. She clutched her hands together, more scared than she was willing to admit.
Before long, the lights dimmed and the murmured conversations around her quieted. A single glowing light shone down on a pulpit and James Robert stepped up to the microphone. He wore a white robe over his clothes and his white hair gleamed like a halo in the light.
The room vibrated with energy as he gazed out on them. Logically Jane knew he couldn’t see her because she was in the darkened audience and he was in the light, but she still felt like he stared right at her. By the sighs coming from the women behind her, they felt the same way.
“Brothers and sisters, let us pray.” He raised his hands high and closed his eyes.
Jane pretended to close her eyes as well, but she peeked through slit lids to gauge the effect he had on the crowd.
It was downright scary.
In the dim light she could see expressions of rapture and devotion on the faces of the women nearest to her. They had their eyes closed and they swayed with his intonations.
A tremor of fear snaked through her and goose bumps chased over her arms. This wasn’t a congregation. It was a cult.
As he continued to preach from the pulpit, she sensed the audience hanging on his every word. The charisma she’d noticed earlier seemed to intensify the longer he spoke.
“You must cast out that which offends the Lord! Isn’t it written that there is no place in heaven for a rich man?” He waved his arms wildly and the crowd murmured their agreement.
Anger began to replace the fear that had taken root. He was no better than a con artist. She could see where his prayer service was leading. Praise the Lord and pass the collection plate.
A smooth talking “preacher” had conned her aunt out of her entire retirement fund. Aunt Betty had thought she was helping the missions in Haiti, and had almost gone into bankruptcy before Jane stopped it.
The snake had gotten away with thousands of dollars from gullible old women. The police had told her he’d disappeared without a trace. The money was probably in offshore accounts and would never be seen again.
Red-hot rage filled her as black-clad ushers walked to the front of the room and passed baskets around. The light was too dim for her to get a good look, but she was pretty sure she saw a handful of fifties in the basket that went past her.
A quick glance around showed other baskets filled to overflowing. There were easily fifty people in the room. If each of them tossed in a fifty, that was over two-thousand dollars in one shot. If he did this every day, not to mention what he got from his other services and his TV appearances, he must be pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars a week.
There’s no place in heaven for a rich man, unless he happens to be a preacher. Jane was so caught up in her anger, she didn’t notice the service had ended until the crowd surged to their feet and clapped wildly as the lights came up.
Beringed hands reached for the preacher as he walked through the masses on his way out the door. One woman burst into tears when he shook her hand in passing.
Jane wanted to throw up. This wasn’t religion. This was showbiz.
The lights came up and everyone filed out of the meeting room. Margret had tears in her eyes and she dabbed at them with a tissue she pulled from her sleeve.
“What did you think, dear? Isn’t he amazing?”
“I’m speechless.” She smiled the best she could through stiff lips. “What do we do now? Where is everyone going?”
“Well, some folks are going to the phones. Their mission is to spread the word to those who may not have seen James Robert’s television show.”
Good God, he was more evil than she’d thought. He was a telemarketer.
“Others will go to the assembly room where they’ll package up the materials people have ordered on line. The Great Hope Ministry offers a whole series of motivational videos and inspirational CDs as well as printed materials.
”
“Amazing.”
“Isn’t it though? My job is to help with the cooking and cleaning. I prepare lunches for the other workers and supervise the kitchen staff. It’s not so different from what I did at home for forty years, but for a much better cause.”
One of the guards stepped away from the wall and approached Jane and Margret. Jane’s heart lurched and her hands trembled with nerves.
“James Robert desires the pleasure of your company in his sitting room.”
“Oh, what an honor, dear. Have fun and maybe I’ll see you on the ride back.” Margret patted her hand.
“That would be lovely. Thank you for showing me around.”
“It’s part of my job as a traveler on the true path.”
Jane smiled weakly and followed the guard down an empty hallway. She tried to memorize the route so she could report back to Lex. It wasn’t easy to examine everything and maintain a vapid air.
The guard held the door open for her and then shut it as soon as she stepped through. The click sounded far more ominous than it should have.
The lavish room had a plush leather couch and two matching armchairs. A door, presumably to an office, was at the far end of the room across a stark white rug. The walls were blindingly white as well and the only decoration was a portrait of James Robert. The heavily framed picture made him resemble a martyred saint.
Anger and nausea roiled in her stomach as she looked at the picture. The artist had added a slight glow around his head to enhance the halo effect. Couldn’t people see through his act? Did they really believe by giving him their hard-earned money they could buy their way into heaven?
Jane wasn’t a religious person, but she was pretty sure God didn’t have a checking account and a billing service.
She was too nervous to sit, so she paced the confines of the room. On the third lap the door burst open and James Robert strode in like he could walk on water.
“Did you enjoy the service? I could feel the love in the room. I hope you felt it too.” He sat on the edge of one of the armchairs and focused his laser beam-blue gaze on her.