by Paula Graves
Wade stuck around until the others had left. “You could have let me at least have a moment to say goodbye to Annie,” he said with no preamble.
Jesse’s gaze narrowed slightly. “We needed to move them immediately.”
“So I’m just supposed to accept that? She’s out of reach, off-limits? Would you have accepted that ten years ago if someone had tried to rip you away from Rita Marsh?”
“Someone did,” Jesse snapped, his dark eyebrows arching. “Rita did. And no. I didn’t take it well.”
“I think I love her,” Wade blurted, before he even realized what he was going to say.
Jesse fell silent for a long moment, just staring at his brother as if Wade had spoken a foreign language. “In just a few days?” he asked finally.
Wade shrugged. “I know it sounds crazy.”
“You always were impulsive,” Jesse murmured.
“I need to talk to her, at least. To let her know I didn’t just turn my back on her.”
“Can you keep your head around her?”
Wade wasn’t sure how to answer. “I don’t know if I can keep my head around her, but I’d take a dozen bullets for her. Does that count?”
Jesse’s lips curved in a reluctant smile. “I guess it does.”
“So I can go see her?”
Jesse didn’t answer, watching Wade through narrowed eyes. As the silence stretched to the snapping point, Wade moved restlessly in his chair.
“Yes or no?” he asked aloud.
“Get packed. You’ve got bodyguard duty at the safe house.”
With a grin, Wade jumped up and headed for the exit.
* * *
ANNIE MANAGED TO DOZE, if fitfully, her slumber disturbed by dark and twisted dreams of captivity and pursuit. Sometimes she was racing up an interminable number of stairs, darkness and death snapping at her heels, with nothing but infinity rising above her, no end in sight. At other times, she was back in the dark, dank hovel where her captors had imprisoned her, her legs and arms shackled in place, the future spreading endlessly, bleakly in front of her. And always, always, she was alone.
The sound of voices outside her bedroom woke her for good. She went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, trying not to dwell on the haggard expression staring back at her in the mirror. So much for a refreshing nap, she thought with a grimace.
She should be happy. Her parents were alive and well. They were back together, safe under the watchful eyes of a half dozen trained security agents. She had a lot to be thankful for.
But Wade’s not here, a small voice whispered in her mind.
She felt incomplete without him here. Something vital was missing, a piece of herself that couldn’t be replaced. It was crazy to feel that way, she knew, especially after only a few, short days of forced intimacy.
But just because it was crazy didn’t mean it wasn’t also true.
The voices came closer. A woman’s voice that sounded familiar—one of Wade’s sisters, Annie realized. Not Isabel or the redhead Megan. The youngest one, maybe. What was her name—Shannon?
A deeper voice answered Shannon, just outside Annie’s door. Something about a journal.
General Ross’s journal?
There was a soft knock on a nearby door, and Annie’s father’s gravelly voice greeted the newcomers. The voices drifted away, leaving the hallway silent again.
She sat on her bed again, leaning back against the headboard. Should she try to find out what Shannon Cooper and her deep-voiced friend wanted from her father? Clearly, it had something to do with General Ross’s journal, and as she knew her father’s part of the code as well as he did—
A knock on her bedroom door rattled her nerves. She straightened her clothes and called out, “Come in.”
She’d expected Troy or one of the other bodyguards to walk into the bedroom. Anyone but Wade Cooper.
She stared at him a moment, wondering if she’d fallen asleep and started dreaming again. “Wade?”
He grinned. “I promised to let you know I made it back safely. So, I made it back safely.”
She didn’t know what to say. Before, when she’d thought she’d never see him again, her mind had reeled with the things she’d wanted to say to him, things she thought she’d never get the chance to express.
But now that he was here, she couldn’t seem to find a word to say.
“As it turned out, the bad guys bugged out before we could get back to them,” he said with a faint smile, walking slowly to her bedside. He sat on the edge, close enough to touch. But neither of them made a move toward each other.
“So I heard.”
He cocked his head. “You get any sleep?”
“Not much,” she admitted. Her fingers itched to touch his face, to smooth away the worry lines in his forehead. “You look tired.”
“I could use a nap myself,” he admitted. “By the way, I’m so happy you have your mom and dad back with you. I bet you’re feeling pretty great about now.”
“Of course,” she agreed, forcing a smile.
His brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Just some bad dreams,” she said, frustrated by how he continued keeping his hands to himself. Was he trying to distance himself from her? Was this his way of telling her that the interlude between them was over?
She forced her voice past the lump in her throat. “You came all the way here just to tell me you were okay?”
“I did promise,” he said with a smile.
She forced a smile of her own. “When do you have to leave?”
“Well, that’s the other reason I’m here.” His smile widened. “I’ve been assigned to guard duty here.”
A flutter of excitement raced through her chest. “How long?”
“However long you’re here,” he answered, his smile fading. “If that’s good with you.”
“It’s great with me,” she blurted.
He moved, finally, cradling her face between his hands. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She clutched his hands. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again.” She felt tears burning her eyes and blinked hard, trying to keep them from falling.
He ran his thumb lightly over her bottom lip. “I know this has all happened so quickly. Probably too quickly—”
“I just know I’m not ready to let you walk out of my life,” she said more firmly, the expression in his eyes giving her confidence. “Are you ready to walk out of mine?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. It’s just—it’s so fast. A week ago, we didn’t even know each other.”
“I know it’s fast. And probably crazy.” She slid her hands up his chest. “But I’ve never felt anything like this before. Not with any other man. And I don’t think I can just throw it away because it’s not meeting some sort of arbitrary rule about how long it’s supposed to take to form a lasting attachment.”
“Rebel,” he murmured with a grin.
“I’m not, really, you know.” She pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady cadence of his heartbeat. “I’m usually very cautious about these things.”
“I just don’t want you to regret making a rash decision.”
She looked up at his serious expression. “Who knows how long you’ll be guarding me and my family? It’ll certainly give us time to be sure this is what we really want. How’s that for rational reasoning?”
He threaded his fingers through her hair. “Not bad, actually.”
She pressed her mouth against his, her fingers curling in his T-shirt, pulling him closer. He kissed her back, a slow, maddeningly thorough exploration that made her limbs tremble and her head spin. He snaked his arms around her waist, tugging her flush against his body until she felt as if she were melting into him.
A knock on the door interrupted just as he was pulling her down to the bed beside him. He gave a low, guttural groan. “Damn it.”
“Wade?” It was Troy Cooper.
Wade pushed himself off
the bed and went to the door. “Yeah?”
“Jesse’s on the phone for you.”
Wade looked back at Annie, his expression reluctant. She smiled at him. “Go ahead. We have time.”
He grinned at her and slipped out of the door.
Annie leaned back against the pillows, smiling at the ceiling. Amazing, she thought, how radically her mood had changed since Wade Cooper walked back into her life. She’d told him they had time. But she realized, as she waited impatiently for his return, that she didn’t need any more time.
Wade Cooper was the man for her. And she’d wait as long as it took to convince him she was the woman for him as well.
She just hoped it wouldn’t take him too long to come to that conclusion.
* * *
WADE SLIPPED BACK INTO the bedroom without knocking and found Annie staring up at the ceiling, a faint smile on her face. She turned her head at the sound of his entrance, the smile spreading across her face like sunshine. “Everything okay?”
“So far so good,” he answered, remembering Jesse’s terse message over the phone. “Jesse did a little looking into that group you told us about—the Espera Group.”
“Yeah?” She pushed herself into a sitting position, curiosity tempering her smile. “Did he learn anything new?”
“Maybe. Apparently they’re behind a big lobbying effort going on in Congress right now, to get Congress to sign on to a treaty that limits the ability of oil-producing nations to monopolize the market. The way it’s worded, it sounds pretty tempting—fairness and energy independence and all that—”
“But it’s just trading one controlling force for another,” Annie answered bleakly. “Do the lobbyists have the votes?”
“Not yet. But the Espera Group appears to have someone pulling strings from the inside. We just don’t know who yet.”
“The architect,” she murmured.
He cocked his head. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And that’s not good.”
“No, it’s not. Jesse agrees with you—the Espera Group’s agenda is too murky and dangerous to be good news. And if your father and the other two generals were right about the conspiracy—”
“Yeah.” Annie’s expression went grim. “But we first have to prove it.”
“Well, we have the journal, and apparently Shannon and Gideon have already gotten your father to agree to help them decode the thing. From what your father says, there were things each of them kept secret, so that no one person could spill everything they knew. So we definitely have to get our hands on General Ross’s part of the code.”
“And General Marsh’s,” Annie added.
“Yeah,” Wade agreed, remembering his brother’s final words. “Jesse has a few ideas how to make that happen.”
“We have to stop the Espera Group from getting its way.”
Wade caught her hands in his. “We will.”
She kissed his knuckles, smiling up at him. “I missed you.”
He smiled back. “I was gone maybe five minutes.”
She shrugged. “Long enough.”
He settled on the bed beside her, pulling her into his embrace. She rested her cheek against his chest, her fingers playing in the fabric of his T-shirt. “You’re going to be sick of having me around before this is all over.”
“Don’t think so.” The words came out in a long yawn.
“You need a longer nap,” he suggested.
She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Will you stay here with me?”
“Sure.” He cuddled her closer, stroking her cheek until her eyes drifted shut and her breathing grew slow and even. He kissed her brow. “You’re stuck with me, baby,” he whispered.
In her sleep, her lips curved in a smile.
* * * * *
Don’t miss the heart-stopping conclusion
of award-winning author Paula Graves’s
miniseries COOPER SECURITY. Look for
SECRET INTENTIONS next month
wherever Harlequin Intrigue books are sold!
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Wrangled by B.J. Daniels!
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Intrigue story.
You crave excitement! Harlequin Intrigue stories deal in serious suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat as resourceful, true-to-life women and strong, fearless men fight for survival.
Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
Subscribe to our newsletter for special offers, new releases, and more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Harlequin and Mills & Boon are joining forces in a global search for new authors.
In September 2012 we’re launching our biggest contest yet—with the prize of being published by the world’s leader in romance fiction!
Look for more information on our website, www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com
So you think you can write? Show us!
Chapter One
The knock at the door surprised Zane Chisholm. He’d just spent the warm summer day in the saddle rounding up cattle. All he wanted to do was kick off his boots and hit the hay early. The last thing he wanted was company.
But whoever was knocking didn’t sound as if they were planning to go away anytime soon. Living at the end of a dirt road, he didn’t get uninvited company—other than one of his five brothers. So that narrows it down, he thought as he went to the window and peered out through the curtains.
The car parked outside was a compact, lime-green with Montana State University plates. Definitely not one of his brothers, he thought with a grin. Chisholm men wouldn’t be caught dead driving such a “girlie” car. Especially a lime-green one.
Even more odd was the young, willowy blonde pounding on his door. She must be lost and needing directions. Or she was selling something.
His curiosity piqued, he went to answer her persistent knock. As the door swung open, he saw that her eyes were blue and set wide in a classically gorgeous face. She wore a slinky red dress that fell over her body like water. The woman was a stunner.
She smiled warmly. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He waited, wondering what she wanted, and enjoying the view in the meantime.
Her smile slipped a little as she took in his worn jeans, his even more worn cowboy boots and the dirty Western shirt with a torn sleeve and a missing button.
“I wasn’t expecting company,” he said when he saw her apparent disappointment in his attire.
“Oh?” She looked confused now. “Did I get the night wrong? You’re Zane Chisholm and this is Friday, right?”
“Right.” He frowned. “Did we have a date or something?” He knew he’d never seen this woman before. No red-blooded American male would forget a woman like this.
She reached into her sparkly shoulder bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “Your last email,” she said, handing it to him.
He took the paper, unfolded it and saw his email address. It appeared he had been corresponding with this woman for the past two days.
“If you forgot—”
“No,” he said quickly. “Please, come in and let’s see if we can sort this out.”
She stepped in but looked tentative, as if not so sure about him.
“Why don’t you start with how we met,” he said as he offered her a seat.
She sat on the edge of the couch. “The Evans rural internet dating service.”
“Arlene’s matchmaking business?” he asked in surprise. Arlene Evans, who was now Arlene Monroe, had started the business a few years ago to bring rural couples together.
“We’ve been visiting by email until you…”
“Asked you out,” he finished for her.
“Are you saying someone else has been using your email?”
She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I’m so embarrassed.” She quickly rose to her feet. “I should go.”
“No, wait,” he said, unable to shake the feeling that maybe this had been fate and that he would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he let this woman walk out now.
“You know, it wouldn’t take me long to jump in the shower and change if you’re still up for a date,” he said with a grin.
She hesitated. “Really? I mean, you don’t have to—”
“I want to. But you have the advantage over me. I don’t know your name.”
She smiled shyly. “Courtney Baxter.” She held out her hand. As he shook it, Zane thought, This night could change my life.
He had no idea how true that was going to be.
ISBN: 9781459238497
Copyright © 2012 by Paula Graves
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.