I Gotta Feeling

by Kress, Alyssa

And she did turn him on, after all.

  He was still waiting for her by the door, so they made a run for it to the car together.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Do you really think you recognized one of those men?" Aletheia asked Felix.

  Wishing he could pace, Felix grunted an affirmative. He'd instructed Aletheia to drive them a good three miles from Pi's house. He wanted no chance of running into the men who'd nearly caught them in Pi's bathroom. Now he and Aletheia were sitting in a greasy spoon diner down La Cienega Boulevard, a suitably anonymous place with dark furnishings and a sign on the wall advocating the "Cholesterol Special of the Day."

  Since pacing was impossible, Felix jabbed his thumb rhythmically at the fake wood tabletop. He felt rocked by a virulent combination of arousal, anger, and a very strange, very uncomfortable concern. The mixture was so potent he couldn't push the emotions down into the dungeon where he normally banished such things. He had to make do with shoving them into an anteroom, a far inferior place, through the walls of which he could still hear them clamoring.

  What Felix could not manage to shove anywhere at all was the stupid moment when he'd nearly kissed Aletheia. While holding her he'd felt heat climb inside him—so much heat, it was nearly an inferno.

  Across the table from him in their booth now, Aletheia waited while a harried waitress in a tight uniform set two thick mugs of coffee in front of them. After the waitress left, Aletheia leaned over the table and asked again. "Who was it you recognized in Pi's house?"

  Felix eyed her narrowly. He hadn't been alone in the heat. Aletheia had wanted to kiss, too. He'd swear it. But here she sat, behaving as though nothing had happened, their bodies practically merged in Pi's closet, their mouths nearly fused. As far as one could tell from her demeanor now, the whole episode had been deleted.

  Of course, Felix was acting the same way—on the outside. On the inside, however, he knew a ravening desire to complete that kiss. He wanted his mouth on hers. He wanted to feel her warm and pressed against him.

  His thumb jabbed harder against the tabletop. The mysterious source of his attraction to her no longer mattered. Far more significant was the realization this was a more powerful force than he'd believed, one that actually threatened his self-control.

  But for now, Felix ruthlessly shoved his primitive desires to one side and answered Aletheia. "I'm very sure I recognized the voice of the older man. U.S. Army Colonel Martin Viceroy. He's the contact for my client's funding. Basically, he's overseeing the military's role in developing the C—the invention."

  "You're saying the U.S. Army is looking for my brother...on U.S. land?" Aletheia's brows curled. "That seems very strange."

  "Maybe. Maybe not. The army understands what a security problem this invention could be if it got into the wrong hands. They'd want to take personal action to get it back under their control, and that would mean getting hold of Benjamin." It even made sense that Viceroy wouldn't care to keep Felix, a mere ancillary civilian, in the loop. Nevertheless, it had thrown Felix badly to hear Viceroy's voice in Pi's house. That voice had told Felix he hadn't been trusted.

  From the anteroom of his emotions, a flash of anger lashed out.

  Glancing up, Felix found Aletheia giving him a very intent look. Deepening the look, she folded her hands together on the tabletop. "Maybe it's time you told me exactly what this invention is."

  Felix held the breath he'd just drawn in. His anger flipped immediately back into that bothersome concern. No. Aletheia was already involved far more than he liked. He'd unwittingly drawn her into danger here. Now he needed to see she came to no harm.

  Aletheia pursed her lips. "You promised to tell me anything you found out at Pi's house."

  Felix let out his indrawn breath. That was true, but disclosing the details of the Cloak had nothing to do with what he'd discovered at Pi's house.

  On the other hand, maybe it was best if she knew the real parameters here. Thoughtfully, Felix regarded Aletheia. Maybe if she had more facts, she would see this was bigger than she could handle. She would let him steer her clear of the whole situation.

  Oh, sure, his overriding objective was to find his client's property, not protect Aletheia. Of course. But one goal did not preclude the other.

  "The invention is a nanotech cloaking device," he told Aletheia, and watched her frown in confusion. To explain, he held up his hands to indicate a cylindrical shape. "Microscopic lenses pick up an image on one side of the device and project it via microscopic projectors on the other side of the device. Whoever's wearing the cloak is effectively invisible."

  Aletheia's frown eased. She stared at Felix. "That's what my brother was working on? An invisibility device?"

  "That's it." Felix lowered his hands.

  The color drained from her face. She didn't question if such a thing were possible. Either she believed in Felix's honesty, or she understood her brother's acumen. "But that's huge. That's immense. I had no idea he was into anything so..."

  "Dangerous?" Felix essayed.

  Sucking in her lips, Aletheia nodded. Her hands went to her coffee mug, as if hanging on to that would steady her.

  "I take it your brother didn't talk much about his work."

  She shook her head. "Sometimes Benjamin would try to explain what he was doing, but I always laughed and said it was impossible for me to understand. I should have—"

  "No." Felix had no use for Aletheia's guilt. "Let's stick to the present. To what we know and what we can do." His use of the word 'we' was not accidental. "Did you see anything in Pi's apartment, anything at all, that could indicate if Benjamin had been there, or where he'd gone?"

  Staring down into her coffee, Aletheia shook her head.

  A lack of clues was unfortunate, but irrelevant. She'd known about Pi's house. So, somehow, had Colonel Viceroy. Felix had a feeling Aletheia had yet more ideas concerning Benjamin's possible locations. He wondered how he could access those ideas...without exposing her to any more danger.

  Acting as casual as he could, he reached for a packet of creamer. He shook it and pulled open one corner. "What are you planning to do now?"

  Her grip tightened on the coffee mug. "I have to drive home. I don't know..." Her gaze stayed suspiciously on her coffee mug.

  She didn't know now, but she was thinking about it. It made Felix's blood run cold to imagine where else she might try looking for Benjamin, and who else she might run into in the process.

  He lowered his lashes halfway. "I have a proposal to make."

  Aletheia's gaze lifted.

  With a long breath, Felix assured himself he wasn't getting seduced here, not by the woman, nor by his pesky concern. He was using Aletheia. "The other night I offered you fifty thousand dollars to help me find Benjamin."

  Aletheia stiffened. "I will never help you find Benjamin."

  "I know." And he felt a grudging respect for her fidelity. "That's why I'm proposing to change the offer."

  The indignation in her gaze wavered. "What kind of a change?"

  Felix set his forearms on the table. "I'm willing to give up getting Benjamin, himself. I'll settle for a working version of the Cloak."

  Suspicion moved into Aletheia's gaze. "How could I get you that?"

  "You can find Benjamin. You don't want to turn him over to me, fine. But I'll be close by. In fact, we'll travel together. So when you do contact him, I can give you the Cloak he destroyed. Bring it to him, have him fix it, and then bring the Cloak back to me. If you can manage that, I'll give you the fifty thousand dollars."

  The suspicion in her eyes deepened, but an alert interest crowded in beside it. She pushed her coffee mug to the side. "I don't get it. If you let Benjamin stay free, he could bring that secret technology to enemies of the country—according to you. Why would that be okay—as far as you're concerned?"

  It wouldn't be ideal. Felix wanted his hands on Benjamin. But he wanted Aletheia working with him now. He could access her inside knowledge of her brother. As a side bene
fit, he could be assured of her safety. "The Cloak is all I ever promised to protect for my client, Goddard Research and Design," Felix explained. "I contracted with them to keep track of possessions, not personnel. A working version of the Cloak is all I owe them." This was even true.

  Aletheia leaned back in her seat. She looked only slightly less suspicious.

  Felix gave her a wry half-smile. "Besides, I have a strong hunch I won't get anything at all if I can't convince you to cooperate with me. Half a loaf is better than none."

  She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Okay... I see what you mean. But even if I thought I knew where Benjamin might be, I can't traipse around the country looking for him." She spread her hands. "I have too many— It's just impossible."

  Felix nodded. "I know what you're thinking." He would never forget the old lady on the roof, but at the same time he was determined to make this work. "Fact is, I know someone who could take your place at home, at least temporarily."

  Aletheia's smile was skeptical.

  "Well, no one could take your place entirely," Felix allowed. "But Meredith Burnett could handle both your family and the café. She's my office manager and is solid as a rock. A real field marshal."

  "You'd lend me your office manager?" Aletheia's skeptical smile sobered. "You're serious?"

  "Absolutely."

  "But—I can't just take off."

  "Why not?"

  "I—" Her gaze shot past Felix and around the diner. Suddenly flustered.

  He moved in for the kill. "I'll take care of travel expenses, whatever they may be. Meredith can give you daily reports of what's going on at home—hourly, if you think that's necessary."

  "But—But—" Her voice trailed off and her gaze came back to Felix.

  The vulnerable uncertainty in her eyes made his skin feel tight. Was this fluster of hers only about leaving home, or was it—finally—a visible reaction to that almost-kiss? Was she attracted to him? Every muscle in his body tightened.

  "But..." Aletheia said again.

  What would push her to agree to his plan? "We can drive up to Deer Creek right now, pack what you need, and then continue up the mountain to fly out of Big Bear," Felix suggested. "By the time we're on a plane, Meredith will be halfway to Deer Creek."

  But Aletheia reached for another argument. "This Meredith would just drop everything to do what you ask? She'd hole herself up in a small mountain town with my family?"

  "She would."

  Aletheia looked nonplussed. "Why?"

  Felix almost laughed. "That's what she gets paid for."

  "To do whatever you ask?"

  "Pretty much."

  Regarding Felix as if he were a devil tempter, Aletheia bit down on her lower lip. Meanwhile, the waitress rushed up, splashed more coffee into their cups and moved on. Felix didn't take his eyes off Aletheia. She regarded him just as steadily. A sticky tension settled between them.

  Okay, that tension was affecting his decisions. He wanted to take the lip that was between Aletheia's teeth and fit it between his own.

  But his desire wasn't edging him off the path of the straight and narrow. He still intended to retrieve his client's damaged property. He was going to follow through on the promises he'd made. Keeping Aletheia close was not going to push him into the dark side.

  "This is crazy," Aletheia muttered.

  He pretended they were still talking about travel plans. "You can get the fifty thousand dollars you need to save your house without betraying your brother. Don't know what's crazy about that."

  She sucked both lips between her teeth now. Her regard of Felix went nervous.

  He knew of no way to calm her nerves, at least none that would be honest. He wanted her brother, even if she didn't choose to deliver him Benjamin on purpose. He wanted her, too, and judging by the tension clogging the air, she knew it.

  All he could do was sit there and will her to agree to go along with his proposal anyway. It was fifty thousand dollars, after all. Her house. Her family. Hopefully, concern for her family would outweigh any reservations she had about Felix.

  Abruptly, she closed her eyes. "Okay, it's a deal."

  Triumph surged through him. With it, a ribbon of the dark side curled around Felix, gave a vigorous tug, and then disappeared. Oh, she definitely aroused him—all of him, it seemed.

  Felix drew in and released a long, careful breath. "The sooner we hit the road, the better."

  Aletheia nodded.

  His main goal was to restore the Cloak, Felix reminded himself as they got up to leave. But it appeared he was going to achieve his secondary goal as well: keeping Aletheia safe.

  Though safety was certainly not the only thing on his mind as he watched the sway of her body leading the way out of the coffee shop.

  It would be a mistake, Felix knew, to deny this could become a problem.

  ~~~

  "What a coup for you, my dear, getting this chance to go on the road." Aletheia's Aunt Rosa eyed with envy the suitcase Aletheia had just struggled out of the back of her closet. "The exposure you'll get, the accolades you'll collect, the opportunities for bigger and better venues."

  Aletheia threw the suitcase onto her bed and hoped there weren't too many spiders residing inside. She hadn't used the thing since college. "I have no idea what to pack."

  "Only the best," Aunt Rosa advised. "You'll be on display every minute. Agents, production assistants, theater promoters—they'll be watching you from dawn to dusk."

  "I'll guess a week," Aletheia muttered. Felix was downstairs, still on his cell phone. From the time they'd gotten into Aletheia's car outside the coffee shop on La Cienega until they'd pulled up in the driveway outside her house in Deer Creek, he'd been talking nonstop.

  First it had been a call to his office manager, the supposed field marshal who could handle taking over Aletheia's responsibilities. Just as Felix had predicted, Meredith Burnett had agreed to come and was already en route to L.A. Next, a few calls to the airport at Big Bear had garnered them a chartered plane for this evening. After that it had been one business call after another.

  They'd barely spoken a word to each other since Aletheia had agreed to Felix's deal. Even when he'd been on the phone with the charter plane company, Felix hadn't asked Aletheia where she suggested they fly.

  It was as if he understood asking for that information would tip her off the edge of trust where she balanced.

  "Now one thing I must warn you about," Aunt Rosa said, leaning toward Aletheia and dropping her voice. "You'll be meeting a lot of men, onstage and off. Don't believe a word any of them tells you. Not a word."

  Aletheia, who'd turned to open her top dresser drawer, halted to shoot her Aunt Rosa a sharp look. Did Rosa, in the midst of her delusions, realize how deeply Aletheia had already allowed herself to trust Felix—at first for no good reason except that she was afraid to handle things on her own? And now for an even worse reason: she was attracted to him!

  "Not believing a word a man says," Aletheia repeated. "I'll keep that in mind."

  Parker breezed through Aletheia's open bedroom door. "What's that you say, Aunt Rosa? Are you going on again about the evils of mankind?"

  Rosa drew herself up. "Male kind, I would say."

  "But Aunt Rosa." Parker feigned umbrage. "I'm a male."

  "And one of the worst of the lot!" Rosa shot back. "If there's a female who's crossed your path with whom you've not had your wicked way—"

  When Parker started laughing, Rosa shut her mouth in a prim line. She turned to Aletheia. "Pay no attention to that baboon, but mark my words." She gave a pointed glance toward Aletheia's open suitcase. "Or you'll be sorry."

  With a last withering glance toward Parker, who was now holding his stomach he was laughing so hard, Aunt Rosa sailed out of the room.

  Dumping a number of jewel-toned shirts into the suitcase, Aletheia gave Parker a look she doubted was much different from her Aunt Rosa's. "I don't think she's so funny."

  "What?" With an effort
, Parker reduced his guffaws to dying whimpers. "You think I'm an alley cat, too?"

  Aletheia rolled her eyes and opened her second dresser drawer. She pulled forth a pile of her standard black pants. "Would you deny it?" Somehow, despite the same lack of choices that faced Aletheia, Parker managed to enjoy an active love life.

  Parker hoisted a hand. "With my dying breath. I'm a Casanova. That's a completely different animal."

  Aletheia sighed and went back to her dresser.

  "What? You're not saying Felix Roman is giving you that kind of trouble, are you?" But Parker didn't appear bothered by the idea. In fact, he was grinning.

  Aletheia concentrated on her choices in socks. She wasn't about to discuss that almost-kiss—with anybody. "I'm not sure why I'm doing this," she said instead. "Felix's goal is almost the opposite of mine."

  "Not any more." Parker sank comfortably onto Aletheia's bed. "I thought you said he wasn't after Benjamin now."

  "He's not requiring me to turn him over," Aletheia corrected. She scooped up a handful of socks. "That doesn't mean he isn't still after him. And I'll be leading him more than halfway there."

  "Assuming you know where Benjamin might be, yourself," Parker pointed out.

  Aletheia inclined her head in agreement. She had a few ideas, but who knew where Benjamin had run? If only he would call...

  Parker clasped his hands around one knee. "Do you really think Felix would shaft you?"

  "He hasn't promised not to." Aletheia smiled wryly as she threw her socks into the suitcase. "He's been very careful not to make that claim."

  "Hmmm." Parker kept his gaze on Aletheia.

  She pushed the socks into the corners of the suitcase, making room. "At the same time, I don't know what choice I have." Or didn't she? This was the story of her life: thinking she had no choice, then wondering if she'd after all made the right one. Nine years ago she'd quit school upon her mother's sudden and unexpected death. She'd thought there was no choice but to take on her mother's role in caring for the far-flung members of the family. Who else was going to do it? To leave the role empty was unthinkable.