Never Tempt Danger

by Denise Robbins

  “Usually I can and do block the ability knowing it will scare people off.”

  Damn! From her pointed look, he knew she was referring to him. She still did not get the fact that he did not leave her because of her sensory perception, he left because she lied by omission. Argh! They could not get into this here, but he had to ask. “Did you have that connection with Jimmy?”

  Mutely she shook her head. The wayward red hair settled back into place. “I…” She paused and bit that lip again. He reached up and rubbed it with his thumb. “I only sensed the killer seconds before he was shot. An instant later the car whizzed by and the bullet struck Jimmy.”

  “Fuck!” He plowed his fingers through his hair. “You knew it? Saw it?” She must have been scared shitless. He pulled her to him and encircled her waist, kissed her cheek. A thought struck him, but he was not about to voice it inside his head. If she hadn’t questioned it, he would not bring it up now. He would hold onto it until an opportune time where he could turn it over in his mind without fear of her invasion. “Let’s go visit this Spybot store and get the heck out of Dodge.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Forty-five minutes later, she and Lucas had paid for her supplies. With his hands full, Gilly swung the door open to leave the store when Jennifer Carroll walked in.

  “Maureen! What a surprise to see you?” Jennifer hugged her and when she yelped in pain, she let loose and Maureen stepped back and away from blocking the entrance to the store. “I’m so sorry. What happened? Are you okay? What are you doing here?”

  She stared in amazement at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman who usually spoke very little and at a tone that required people to listen. Now, Jennifer stood here and practically bubbled over with words at a pitch that bordered on hysterical. “Hi, Jennifer.”

  “How are you? What happened to your arm?” She reached out to touch her again, but Lucas stepped in putting an arm around her and prevented Jennifer from causing her more pain. “Oh. I’m sorry.” Her blue gaze went to Lucas and back.

  “This is a friend of mine. Jennifer this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Jennifer Carroll, a robotics engineer.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Lucas set the shopping bag down and extended her a hand. “How do you know Gilly?”

  After a pause, Jennifer took Lucas’s offered hand. “We worked together on a project.”

  Lucas raised one brow in her direction and she answered with a slight nod letting him know without words that yes, the Morpheus project. “Lucas is a friend of mine from home.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, our relationship is a lot like yours and Jimmy’s.”

  Jennifer pulled her hand back. “I, uh, was unaware you knew about my and Jimmy’s past.”

  “Jimmy and I had no secrets.” Lucas’s eyebrow shot upward and then settled again. Good, let him wonder what she meant.

  “I see. Is Lucas here to help you with all the arrangements around Jimmy’s death?” Her voice lowered an octave. “I’m so sorry about Jimmy. I know you two were tight. Has the date been set for the funeral yet? I would like to make certain I’m there. With the project killed an…” Jennifer paled then continued. “Sorry, poor choice of words. With all of us gone in the wind and no longer working for Jimmy, I still want to show my support. He was a decent guy.”

  “That’s very kind of you.” She smiled at Jennifer. “I don’t know the date of the funeral.” Truth be told, she hadn’t even thought of his funeral, but she should have. What kind of girlfriend didn’t think about her dead boyfriend’s resting place. Gilly swallowed the bitter taste of guilt. “I’ll make certain you are apprised.”

  “Have you heard about Daniel?” Her eyes widened with alarm as she looked to Lucas who now stood facing her and Jennifer taking in their entire conversation. With a barely detectable shake of his head, he told her she didn’t know anything. Of course, that was not true. She knew exactly where Daniel was, or at least where he had been.

  “What about Daniel?”

  “He’s missing,” she murmured. Why was the girl whispering?

  “How do you know?” The question came from Lucas.

  “What?” Jennifer appeared startled by his question, her eyes shooting down as if guilty. “Uh, well, Daniel didn’t show up for work yesterday.”

  “Work where?” Gilly asked with the raising of one eyebrow. Again, Jennifer looked guilty for a moment, maybe even remorseful as she opened her mouth but no words came out. She glanced back and forth between her and Lucas and then Jennifer finally answered.

  “Um, at Robotics FX.” She continued in a hurry. “I’m sorry Maureen, but we needed jobs and they were the easiest and most willing to take us in.”

  NanoRobotics’ lead competitor. Jimmy’s competitor. “I see.” Actually, she did not see! How could they betray Jimmy that way?

  Lucas stepped in. “We really should be going.” He placed an arm around her waist. “Nice to meet you Jennifer.” He started to steer Gilly toward the door, but she stopped, cleared her throat and turned back to the robotics engineer.

  “Jennifer, you know you signed a non-compete agreement.”

  The woman stiffened and her shoulders snapped back. “Of course I do. But I have the right to work.”

  Gilly nodded and pivoted toward Lucas.

  “Besides, NanoRobotics is defunct and Jimmy kept all the documentation close to the vest,” Jennifer said with a bite of venom. If it had not been for Lucas, Gilly would have spun back and given the little twit a piece of her mind. Maybe even slugged her one despite the pain it would cause. It would be worth it. The idea alone made her grin and feel better.

  “What was that about?” he whispered close to her ear as soon as they cleared the door.

  Cocking one brow, she looked at Lucas as if he were an idiot. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “Apparently not. Explain, please.” He maneuvered his body to her other side. Always the protector.

  She sighed and waited until they safely crossed the street to the parking lot before she started in. “Jennifer should not be working for a competitor and Robotics FX is a definite competitor to NanoRobotics. They are the competitor.” She let Lucas hustle her into the car and then continued once they had paid the booth attendant. “I’ll have to verify the non-compete to see if the death of the company president defuncts the agreement or not.”

  “So you think she is going to sell secrets she doesn’t have?”

  Gilly glowered at his profile. “How do you know she doesn’t have any secrets? Who knows what she could have stolen before everything hit the fan.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “I don’t know.” She blew out a breath and sank deeper into the leather seat. “I just didn’t get a good vibe from her. Jennifer has never been so talkative. It was a little unnerving.”

  “What else?”

  She regarded him out of the corner of her eye. He read her too well. “And she asked about Jimmy’s funeral. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. What does that say about me?”

  “It says you’ve been running.” Lucas laid a warm hand on her knee. “Gilly, you are the least selfish person I know. If you had not been focused on the events of the last couple of days and staying safe, you would have made the arrangements yourself. You have no reason to feel guilty.” He gave her knee a comforting squeeze and returned his hand to the steering wheel. Why did the loss make her feel so bereft?

  “Can you please call Mickey and ask him if Jimmy’s body has been released for burial and if anyone has made arrangements?”

  Lucas nodded. “You could, make that should, call him yourself.”

  Gilly shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to deal with her boss, their boss. Talking with Ruby, Mickey’s fiancée would be fine, but the boss himself. No way. The unflappable Mickey would go off on her for running away, for not heeding his many voicemails, for not following his orders. Holy shit! He could even fire her. She gave herself a mental headshake. He would not do that.

  “Where are
we headed?”

  “My place.”

  Her head twisted around in shock. “Your place? You mean the lake?”

  “No.”

  Shit! She did not want to go to Lucas’s home. Too many memories. Too much pain. Too much everything. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

  “Why the hell not?” he asked a little too harshly for her liking.

  “Because I said so,” she huffed back slamming one fist against her hip. In the small confines of the car, she hit her elbow and yelped. Lucas rolled his eyes and she could tell he bit his tongue. “It’s just not a smart idea that’s all.”

  “Yeah. That’s an excuse.” He turned his gaze on her and for a second his lavender eyes pierced her resolve. “It’s either that or you go to a safehouse until you finish with your gadget and win the government contract.”

  Ooo! Who did he think he was? The overbearing, bossy, jackass.

  “Don’t even go there,” he told her as if he knew her thoughts and grinned like a jerk.

  “I do not have to listen to you or obey what you say. I can do as I darn well please.”

  “And look how well that has turned out so far.”

  “Ooo!”

  Lucas chuckled, looking straight ahead. “I am bigger than you and I’m not injured.” He leered over the steering wheel. “I dare you to take me on.”

  He would really like that. Fortunately for her, she had grown up, gotten smarter, and learned never to tempt Danger. For now, she would follow his lead. But when the new Morpheus was complete…all bets were off.

  “Okay, have it your way.”

  He smiled. “Thank you.”

  “You’re not welcome. In the meantime, can we please get something to eat?” At that moment her stomach rumbled.

  Lucas chuckled. “I think we better. Any recommendations?”

  She smiled. “Brick Oven Pizza.”

  “In Fells Point?” he asked, his voice elevated with incredulity.

  “Yeah. You asked. That’s what I want.”

  He grinned then wrinkled his nose. “If it will keep the peace, you got it.”

  “Thank you.” She meant it. The thought of Baltimore’s best brick oven pizza warmed her up. The fact that the best pizza place was on the waterfront made it even better. Top that off with handmade cannoli for dessert, and Maureen would be sweeter than pie.

  “We’ve got a tail.”

  “What?” She sat up straighter in her seat. “Are you sure?” She turned her head only slightly and peered at the side mirror.

  “The yellow sports car, three vehicles back.”

  “Yellow?” Gilly leaned forward in her seat to try for a better look. “Who would be stupid enough to tail a car in a yellow vehicle unless they wanted to be seen?” Sure enough, there it was. “Slow down.” She motioned with her good hand pressing the air like a cop in the street at a construction zone gesturing to motorists.

  “What for?”

  “So I can get a glimpse of the plate or the driver,” she answered without taking her gaze off the mirror. The car shifted slower. With her face pressed to the glass, she waited for the other vehicle to move.

  “Damn! The car took the exit.” She flopped back in her seat and gasped as pain stabbed her from front to back. She hissed out air in an attempt to push prickling points of heat aside.

  “Would you be careful, please?”

  “Yes.” Maureen peered over at him. “Are you positive it was a tail?”

  Looking at her, he glowered then turned his attention back to the highway. Yeah, of course he was certain. An ex covert operative for the DIA, Lucas would know when someone was on his six. Tight-lipped, she always wondered about his DIA days. Even the handful of times she had seen him drunker than a skunk, he had never let his guard down and shared anything about his job, what he had seen, heard, or done. Nothing. Nada.

  The man could be a freakin’ stone wall when he wanted to be. He could be stubborn, pushy, protective, caring, overbearing, sweet, sexy… Cutting off her wayward musings, she scowled at the passing traffic. Why was she thinking about him? Because Lucas had a way of crawling inside her mind and then inside her heart. She never even knew it was happening until it was done and too late. That was what happened before, the last time. Well, been there, done that, do not need to go down that road again. Then stop thinking about it, him!

  EIGHTEEN

  Lucas parked the car on the fourth level of the Caroline Street parking garage. Stepping out of the Mustang, he walked around and helped Maureen out.

  “Do you think you parked far enough away from the other cars?” She was laughing at him.

  “Yeah, smartass.” He took her hand in his, locked the vehicle and escorted her to the stairwell. “Be nice or you get no dessert.”

  “Ha! If you had your way we would start with dessert and end with pizza.”

  True. He was a dessert fiend. Pretty much anything chocolate and peanut butter. “You remember the day you made me homemade peanut butter cups? Mmm.” He rubbed his stomach. “I thought I had died and gone to confectionary heaven. Those things were almost as sweet as you.”

  Lucas held the door for her and linked fingers with her while they waited for a hostess. Once seated in a booth, he ordered two sodas and garlic sticks from their server. After she delivered their drinks, he turned to Maureen. “You remember what we did when all the peanut butter cups were gone?” He waggled his brows at her and watched her cheeks flush pink.

  “Lucas…”

  “Don’t you remember? I remember very clearly. We took the leftover chocolate and…”

  She slapped her free hand over his mouth. “Behave.”

  The tip of his tongue slid out and tickled her palm. Gilly pulled her hand away and rubbed it against her jeans. He grinned. He had gotten to her. “What kind of pizza do you want?”

  “Hmm.” She held the menu up in front of her.

  She did not even have to look at the menu and he knew it. She always got the same thing. Gilly’s favorite pizza was double pepperoni, green olives, prosciutto, feta cheese, and Gyro meat. He wondered if she really believed she would try something new or if she just pretended to give it some thought. Either way, the habit was cute and predictable.

  Setting the menu on the table, she shut it, and then looked up at him. “How about double pepperoni, green olives, prosciutto, feta cheese, and Gyro meat?”

  Lucas coughed to cover up the laugh, and just then, the server returned with the garlic bread and took their order.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You.” He chuckled and her sea green eyes narrowed to slits. “It’s just that there are some things you do that are predictable.” Then there were things she did that were not so predictable. Like not telling him all of who she was, or getting engaged with a guy who lives and breathes robots, or going after a killer by herself.

  Gilly leaned back in her seat, her lips thinned.

  “Your pizza,” he explained. “You always get the same thing.”

  “I know what I like.”

  Really? “Like Jimmy?” Damn. He recognized his mistake in the tightening of her shoulders. Her hand slid into her lap and she looked away from him. “Don’t poker up on me.”

  “You want to talk about pokering up? Tell me why you left the DIA.”

  That backfired.

  “Thinking of some way to change the subject?”

  Lucas peered straight into her green gaze, inhaled deeply, and decided if he ever wanted to get her back, was ever going to get a real shot at her, then it was time he opened up. “You don’t exactly leave the DIA.” He paused.

  “That’s clear as mud.”

  “Shut up,” he told her and smiled. Gilly made a zipping motion of her finger across her lips. Damn, she was beautiful. “It’s actually very simple. While on a covert assignment, some politician blew my cover.”

  “What? How?” Her eyes flashed with excitement and she leaned forward.

  Before he could answer, the server broug
ht their pizza and plates. “I can serve it. Thanks.” He gave the waiter a reassuring grin, took the spatula thing from him, and slid a slice onto a plate for Gilly and then one for him. “Take a bite.”

  They both bit into the pizza.

  “Mmm,” Gilly sighed. “Worth the wait and the drive.”

  He had to agree. He took another bite and caught Gilly giving him the evil eye. Okay. “I was at a dinner when a reporter came up to me and asked me if I was Luke Danger, DIA special operative.”

  “Whoa.”

  Lucas took a bite of his pizza.

  “You must have wanted to crawl under the table.”

  “I would have, except my target was sitting across the table from me at the time.”

  “Holy—” She coughed, choking on her bite and he reached across and patted against her back careful of her wound.

  When she was able to breathe again, he continued. “Not only could I not crawl under the table or deny his allegations, I had to protect the idiot reporter from my terrorist target and his sawed off shotgun.”

  “Wait. You were involved with terrorists? Weren’t you scared?”

  Lucas laughed. “Shitless, babe. Every single day I was overseas, I wondered when I would take a bullet, hit a landmine, or get a pipe bomb up my ass.”

  “How did you get out of the jam?”

  Lucas regarded Gilly with one eyebrow raised. “It wasn’t like I could talk my way out if it. Once an accusation like that is made in front of a bunch of people with guns, it’s put up or shut up time.”

  “Well?” She rested her chin on her hand, riveted on his every word.

  “I kicked the terrorist’s shin with a steel-toed boot to stun him. When he reached with the one hand to grab at the pain, I clamped a hand on his arm and did not let go. I stood up, walked around the table with my hand grasping his wrist, and removed his weapon. Then I held it to his temple.” He took a sip of his soda.

  “And?” Gilly asked with impatience, kicking his shin under the table.

  “Nice.”

  “Come on!”

  “Women!” he exclaimed, smiling. “Anyway, I used him as a shield. I swung the idiot reporter over my shoulder and marched the terrorist out the door of the restaurant and to my Jeep. I dumped them both inside, secured them with cuffs to the Jeep’s rollover bar and drove like a mad man to the nearest military camp.” Lucas took a deep breath and went on. “Unfortunately, I should have shot the SOB reporter. The next day, he spilled the entire incident with my name and credentials all over every API newspaper.”