by Dawn Atkins
“Who?” Zoë asked. But he wasn’t listening to her. He wasn’t even seeing her.
“You’re not going to get away with it. No one will believe you.”
Zoë managed a smile. “I’m willing to put that to the test. Are you?”
“I’m not going to allow my wife’s family’s greed to ruin everything I’ve ever worked for. And I’m certainly not going to let you.”
Zoë felt Digs press the barrel of the gun into her back. She managed to keep her smile in place. “Just give me the money, and I’ll go away.”
“WE’VE GOT ENOUGH,” Ryder said in Jed’s ear. “We can move in.”
They were going to be too late. That was the fear that had his blood drumming in his head, in his heart. He was still twenty feet away. When he got there, he was definitely going to strangle her, Jed decided. Asking for half a million dollars—that wasn’t what she was supposed to say. But then she’d veered from the script from the get-go.
“She’s brilliant.” It was Bailey’s voice he heard in his ear just before all hell broke loose.
Later, Jed would remember everything in a series of freeze-framed flashes. Hadley Richards gripping Zoë’s neck and dragging her up and off the bench.
“You won’t get away with this. I’ll kill you first.”
Gage jumping out of the wheelchair, dropping to one knee and taking out Digs.
Zoë using her knee to put Hadley Richards in considerable pain.
And Bailey Montgomery pulling a gun out of her neat little purse and reading Hadley Richards his rights as he lay writhing on the grass in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
It wasn’t until much later that he remembered all the details because he couldn’t think, couldn’t process anything, until he had Zoë in his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Did we get him? Can we put him away?” she asked.
“Ryder seems to think so,” Jed murmured. Somehow, none of it seemed to matter as long as Zoë was safe. “Who the hell cares if we got him? I’ve got you.”
Then he kissed her.
17
“YOU HAVEN’T TOUCHED YOUR WINE.”
Zoë blinked and then glanced up to see George frowning at her. Her thoughts had been so far away that she’d nearly forgotten that she was sitting at the bar in the Blue Pepper. The Gibbs sisters were chattering away behind her.
“That’s a chardonnay. Maybe you’d like to try a sauvignon blanc. I have a new one, and it’s dry.”
“No, this is fine.” Zoë took a quick sip and found that it was more than fine. The expression on her face must have convinced George of that because his frown disappeared.
The moment George moved down the bar to talk to another customer, she let her thoughts drift back to the same person who’d been stuck in her mind for three days. No. Make that since the day she met him. Jed Calhoun.
Nothing had been right, nothing had been normal in her life since that man had walked into it. In the three days since Hadley Richards had been taken into custody, she hadn’t seen Jed even once. She’d filled a whole notebook with her thoughts and feelings about him. A whole notebook in three days! That was a record even for her. And it hadn’t worked. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
But he had no business intruding on her thoughts right now. Not while she was supposed to be enjoying a girls’ night out. Sierra had come to her office at five o’clock and insisted that she join them at the Blue Pepper.
“Is that wine good?”
Zoë turned to see Bailey Montgomery take the chair next to hers. Gage Sinclair was right behind her.
“It’s excellent,” Zoë said.
Bailey waved a hand at George and signaled to him that she’d like a glass of the same thing. Then she leaned close to Zoë. “Would you mind telling Mr. Sinclair that he has to leave?”
Zoë sent Gage a startled look.
He grinned at her. “She says it’s a girls-only night. No men allowed.”
“That’s right,” Sierra said, leaning around from the stool on the other side of Zoë. She pointed to a table in the corner of the bar where Ryder was seated with the husbands, fiancés, and significant others of her sisters and their friends. “They probably saved a place for you over there.”
Gage looked at Bailey. “I much prefer my present company.”
“Go,” she said.
As Gage walked away, Zoë said, “I think he likes you.”
“He’s besotted with her,” Sierra said.
“It will pass,” Bailey assured them. “It always does. I thought he had a thing for me when he first recruited me for the CIA, but it was all in my imagination.”
Zoë’s heart clutched. Was that what was going to happen to her and Jed? Given her record with men, it was entirely possible that she was feeling more than he was. And despite that it was supposed to be a girls’ night out, all of the women who were now gathered in the Blue Pepper’s bar had a man seated at the table Gage was headed for. Except for her.
Was Jed even coming? The question had her shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn’t seen Jed Calhoun since the scene at the Lincoln Memorial three days ago. He hadn’t called her, and there’d been no way for her to contact him. According to Ryder, who’d kept her updated, there’d been enough red tape to require a machete. Jed had pretty much been in meetings with both the CIA and members of Congress 24/7.
There were all kinds of reasons why he couldn’t call her. Including the possibility that he didn’t want to. After all, he was Lucifer. It was only natural now that his name was cleared that he would return to the life of a superspy.
“Bailey, now that you’re here,” Sierra said, “we can make a toast. Why don’t you do the honors?”
“To Zoë McNamara, one of the best data analysts at the CIA.” Bailey leaned close to Zoë. “The director wants you back. He listened to that tape, and he was very impressed. He thinks you have real potential for fieldwork. I’m supposed to talk you into it.”
“To Zoë. To Zoë,” the other women echoed as they began to clink glasses.
Zoë barely had a chance to absorb what Bailey had said, let alone take a sip of her wine, before Rad nudged his way to her chair and handed her an engraved card.
“For your eyes only,” he murmured in a voice only she could hear.
All that appeared on the card were three initials intertwined: LJE.
LJE. Even as Zoë frowned down at the letters, her heart began to beat a little faster. After turning the card over, she saw that it was blank. That’s all? A card with three initials?
Suddenly, she knew exactly what the initials stood for. Lucifer, Jed and Ethan. Her heart leaped with joy just before the panic bubbled up.
“If you’ll follow me,” Rad said in a soft voice. “The gentleman is waiting in the private dining room.”
“In a minute.” The panic was now threatening to explode through her system. She wasn’t ready for this.
She could leave. No one would stop her. But she didn’t want to leave. Hadn’t she decided that the running away part of her life was over? Hadn’t she decided that if Jed had it in his mind to walk away from her, she’d just follow him and wear him down?
Zoë set down her wineglass with a little snap and looked at the women gathered around her. “I’ll be right back.”
NERVES JITTERING, Jed paced back and forth in the small private dining room on the second floor of the Blue Pepper. He’d never had trouble handling a woman, but he couldn’t for the life of him think of what he was going to do once Zoë walked through that door.
He’d think of something. He always did. Hadn’t he spent his life improvising to get himself out of tight spots?
In the past three days, he’d spoken with the director of the CIA, with more congressmen than he’d ever wanted to meet, and with a crack attorney Gage had hired for him. In the end, it had been the tape of Zoë’s conversation with Hadley Richards that had cleared his name.
And he owed it all to Zoë.
But he still didn’t know what he was going to say to her. He knew what he wanted, but the words simply hadn’t come. He hadn’t even been able to write a message on that card. All he could think of was writing the initials. Would she know what they meant?
Every time he thought about her, he replayed those moments in his mind in front of the Lincoln Memorial when Hadley Richards had been so close to her and he’d been so far away. When he thought about what could have happened—
The sound of the door opening had him whirling, and the moment he saw her, words flew out of his reach.
For a moment the silence stretched between them. All Jed could do was watch as she glanced around the room. Rad and George had decorated it for the occasion. Snow-white linen, flowers and gleaming silver graced the tables. Champagne chilled in a bucket and balloons hung from the ceiling.
Zoë frowned. “What is all this?”
He managed a smile. “I’m hoping it’s a celebration.”
“Oh, yes.” She relaxed a bit. “I heard that you’ve gotten your life back. I’m happy for you.”
Happy for him? Jed’s heart sank. She sounded as though they were nothing more than polite strangers. Was that what she thought? Was that what she wanted?
“Zoë…” He took two steps toward her before she held up a hand. “What?” he asked.
“You didn’t call,” she said.
“I—” He’d lost count of the number of times he’d dialed her number and disconnected his cell.
“It’s been three days and you didn’t call.” He took another step toward her, but she held up her hand again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come in here and accuse you of that. I know you must have been busy.”
“It wasn’t that. There are things I want to say that I couldn’t say over the phone.”
“Fine. Okay.” She drew in a breath and looked as if she were bracing herself. “Go ahead.”
But the words were still eluding him. How many times had this tiny woman robbed him of speech? Temper joined the other feelings that were tumbling through him. “No other woman has ever made me tongue-tied,” he snapped.
She crossed her arms in front of her and began to tap one foot. “Okay, since you seem to need help finding words, how about I say them for you? You want to thank me for helping you get your life back and regain your reputation. And you’re probably having this little celebration to show your gratitude. But it’s not necessary. We both know that I’m not the superhero that everyone is making me out to be. All of us worked on the plan to trap Hadley Richards, and it took each one of us to pull it off. I’d be dead now if it weren’t for all of you.”
“I know.” He also knew that she might have been dead anyway.
A beat of silence followed.
Her chin lifted. “As it is, I’ve got my life back, too. And Bailey just told me that the director would like me to come back to work for the CIA. Gage and Ryder have both offered me jobs if I ever want to leave the academic world. And I think I do. My parents will have a fit, but I think it’s high time I lived my own life. Meeting you and meeting Ethan has helped me make that decision.”
There was another beat of silence while Jed absorbed what she’d just said. They both had their lives back, and she sounded perfectly fine with that. In fact, she sounded grateful. He didn’t want her gratitude.
“And I know what else you’re going to say.” She moved close enough to poke a finger into his chest. “You’re going to say it’s been fun, but now it’s time to go our separate ways. And that’s—”
He cut her off by taking her by the shoulders and giving her a quick, hard shake. “Shut up. Just shut up for a minute. That’s not what I want—”
There was a knock at the door and Rad poked his head in. “They’re asking—”
“Get out,” Jed said, not taking his eyes off of Zoë.
“Right. I’ll just wait outside.” He closed the door behind him.
Jed dropped his hands to his sides. He was tempted, too tempted, to just pull her close and kiss her. He wanted to lose himself in her. If he did, they might never settle this.
“Dammit.” He took a step back. “I’ve never had a problem dealing with a woman before. But with you I’m clueless.” Panic gripped his gut and he ruthlessly fought it. “So I’ll just say it. I know that we had an agreement when all this started, but that’s changed for me. I need to know if it’s changed for you.”
He watched the little line appear on her forehead.
“Changed how?”
He fisted his hands at his sides. He was aching now with the need to touch her. “Changed completely. That’s how. Dammit, I love you, Zoë. I want to be a part of your life. I want you to be a part of mine. I need you to tell me what you want, what you feel.” He grabbed her and gave her another little shake. “There. Is that clear enough?”
“I think I need to sit down,” she said.
“Fine.” He half dragged her to a nearby chair. No sooner had she settled herself than he dug into his pocket and brought out the box. “I got this.”
When he opened the box, she stared at the ring and blinked. “You’re going to have to shut that. I can’t think.”
He snapped the box shut. “Fine.” Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her out of the chair. “I’m not taking that as a no. I am not taking a no from you. I know I’m probably rushing things. We can wait with the ring. We’ll date. We’ll take things slowly. We’ll go fishing together—do you like fishing?”
“Okay.”
He stared at her. “Okay? You like fishing?”
“I’ve never fished in my life.” She smiled at him then, and it took barely a second for her smile to bubble into a laugh. “You should see your face.”
His eyes narrowed instantly. “This is not funny.”
She was laughing in earnest now, deep belly laughs that had his anger and panic melting away. He’d forgotten how much he loved the sound of her laugh. He pulled her closer. “Kiss me, Zoë. I’ve been waiting three days.”
“In a minute,” she said when she managed to get a breath. “First, I want to tell you how I feel. I mean, it’s only fair that I get my turn.”
“Okay…right.”
“I’m…I’m not even sure who you are. Are you Lucifer, or Jed, or Ethan?”
He tightened his grip on her shoulders. “I’m all three.”
“Well, when I was writing those reports for Hadley Richards, you should know that I developed a terrible crush on Lucifer. He’s pretty potent fantasy material. Being a man who’s into fantasies, you ought to appreciate that.”
The green in his eyes intensified. “What kind of fantasies?”
She smiled at him. “I’ll have to show you.”
But when he drew her closer, she placed a hand on his chest. “I’m not done. You see, then I met Jed. At first, I thought the attraction was purely physical, but then at some point I fell in love with him.”
Relief and joy streamed through him. “When did you know?”
“I think just before I punched you in Ryder’s apartment.”
He tried to kiss her again, but she avoided him at the last minute.
“Then there’s Ethan.”
“Forget about him,” Jed said.
“I don’t think I can. But I’m pretty sure that what I felt for him was pure lust.”
“Really?” His eyes narrowed.
“He was an incredible lover, and I can’t seem to get him out of my mind.”
“Well, maybe I’ll bring old Ethan back to life someday.”
She laughed again and this time she didn’t avoid his kiss. In fact, she cooperated fully.
His head was spinning when she finally released him.
She looked a little dazed, too. “Maybe I don’t need Ethan after all.”
It was Jed’s turn to laugh. Holding her close, he rested his forehead against hers.
“One more thing,” Zoë said. “I was never going to let you walk away. I was going to foll
ow you and get in your way until you just gave up.”
“Is that a fact?”
She smiled at him. “Yes. And I want to look at that ring again.”
“That’s two things,” Jed said. “But who’s counting?” Then he kissed her again.
OUTSIDE THE DOOR, Rad took the glass he was holding against the door away from his ear and beamed a smile at the waiting couples. “I think you’ll all have time for another drink in the bar before we join them for the celebration.”
“I’m buying,” Ryder said as they moved away.
CLOSER…
Jo Leigh
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
To Deb and Dotes—couldn’t have done it without ya!
And, as always, to Birgit, for everything.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
1
CHRISTIE SAT IN THE FAR CORNER of her living room with her back jammed against the wall. Milo, her golden Lab, whined softly against her as she stared at the phone on the end table, willing the ringing to stop.