by Jaci Burton
Then it hit him and he grinned. Perfect. Not only would the plan alleviate him of his bodyguard duties, it would give him an opportunity to brainstorm ideas about the cartel and the insider at the agency.
Tyler had a plan. The perfect plan.
Chapter Eight
“Tell me again why we’re going to your parents’ house?” Nevada fidgeted, feeling ridiculous about being nervous. She wasn’t his girlfriend. This was a mission. She was a coworker.
“I need to talk to my dad about what’s going on at the agency.”
“Couldn’t you just call him on the phone?”
“No. I don’t trust the phones.”
They’d left the condo early, after Tyler rousted her from a less-than-restful sleep to inform her they were going to his parents’. She’d barely had time to throw on clothes and make herself presentable before he dragged her out the front door.
Men. They could shower and dress in ten minutes. Didn’t they understand how long it took a woman to look decent? Thankfully she’d showered the night before, so all she had to do was braid her hair and toss on the khaki shorts and marine green tank top she’d set out the night before.
They headed south, out of the city. He kept a watchful eye on the rearview mirror, checking to make sure they weren’t being followed.
A short drive later they’d crossed the Missouri River and Tyler exited the freeway, heading toward the more affluent areas outside the city limits. Nevada was awed by the size of the homes and land. Having lived in an apartment for so many years, these beautiful homes astounded her.
Tyler pulled up to a gated community, greeted the guard and told him he was there to see Edward and Margaret Call. The guard phoned, then pressed a button and told him to drive through.
Giant birch trees lined the wide, winding streets. Each massive-sized house had its own unique architectural style. Nevada peered through the darkened glass of the SUV and imagined living in a place like this with a loving husband and house full of kids.
Where had that come from? She quickly turned to face front, shocked at her own thoughts. Husband, home and family weren’t things she daydreamed about. After losing her parents, the last thing she wanted was to risk loving someone, only to have that love ruthlessly wrenched from her grasp.
Besides, she was happy being single. She had her career and for now that’s all she needed.
Yeah, right. If that was true, why did she suddenly have this vision of a home in the suburbs, a handsome husband with midnight eyes and a scattering of beautiful children at her feet?
Stress. Had to be stress and being forced to share space with a hot, sexy man she’d been fantasizing about for months. And she hadn’t slept well lately, either.
She shook off the images as Tyler pulled into a long driveway. A huge Victorian loomed ahead, its square lines and almost flat roof looking very regimented, yet elegant.
Taking Tyler’s lead, she exited the SUV and followed him to the covered porch. The tall columns on either side of the stairs stood at attention like well-trained military guards.
He knocked, which she found unusual. Wouldn’t he simply walk in? This was, after all, his parents’ house. Wasn’t it his home too?
It didn’t take long for the door to be answered by a petite woman with short blonde hair and warm brown eyes. This must be Tyler’s mother.
“Tyler!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around her son, who easily lifted his mother off the ground in a bear hug.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. Sliding his arm around his mother’s waist, he turned to Nevada. “Mom, this is Nevada James. Nevada, my mother, Margaret Call.”
“I’m so pleased to meet you, Nevada,” she said enthusiastically as she held out her hand.
“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Call,” Nevada replied, trying to quell the ridiculous butterflies running rampant through her already jittery stomach.
“Call me Margaret.” His mother stood aside to let them enter.
Nevada stepped into the large entry and followed Tyler and his mother into the living area.
“Your home is lovely, Margaret.” Nevada settled into a Queen Anne chair. The furnishings matched the home, everything decorated in dark wood and complimentary colors of mauve and brown. A dark stone fireplace centered the living area, flanked on either side by two plush couches and a heavy coffee table.
“Thank you,” Margaret sat next to Tyler. Grasping his hands, she smiled lovingly at him. “What are you doing here today?”
“I need to talk to Dad. Is he here?”
She shook her head. “Playing golf. But he should be back shortly. How about some iced tea?” she asked, looking at them both.
Nevada turned her eyes to Tyler. He smiled and nodded at his mother.
They followed her into the homey kitchen, decorated in bright yellow buttercups, from the eyelet curtains over the back door and kitchen window to the tiny patterns on the white and yellow floor. Nevada fell in love with the charm and comfort of the room.
“Let me help you,” Nevada offered.
“Nonsense, you’re a guest,” Margaret replied with a wave of her hand. “Go. Sit at the table with Tyler.”
The woman was certainly energetic, flitting around the kitchen, preparing iced tea, setting out sugar, lemon and even freshly baked cookies. Nevada suddenly felt very undomesticated.
“What have you been up to, Mom?”
Her brown eyes sparkled as she smiled at her son. “Oh, you know, the same thing all the time. Taking care of your father and the house, doing a little shopping, playing some bridge.”
Tyler leaned back in the chair. “Still whoopin’ Dad’s ass on a regular basis in bridge?”
Margaret tapped his hand. “Mind your language, young man.” Then she laughed, the cutest little-girl giggle Nevada had ever heard. “Well, yes. As a matter of fact, I am.”
Margaret Call had a feisty streak underneath that perfect wife and mother exterior.
“Tell me, Nevada, what brings you along with Tyler today?”
Uh-oh. How was she supposed to answer that one? How much did his mother know about the agency, about her son’s line of work?
She quickly looked to Tyler, who appeared as clueless as her on how to answer Margaret’s question. She started to speak, figuring she’d wing it, but Tyler interrupted.
“Actually, we’ve been dating for a little while.”
Margaret’s mouth opened in surprise. “Dating? You?”
Nevada’s mouth followed, hanging open like a fish waiting for a hook.
Margaret gaped at her son as if she couldn’t believe he would ever bring a date home. And making it even more interesting was Tyler’s look of growing discomfort. He fidgeted and ran his hand through his hair.
“Yeah, dating.”
His mother raised her eyebrows and Nevada did her best to hide her smile behind the glass of tea she sipped.
“What? I date!”
Margaret nodded. “Uh-huh. When was the last time you brought a girl home? Senior prom in high school?”
Tyler choked on his tea. “Mom,” he protested, while trying to clear his throat.
Margaret sat back with a smug look on her face.
Nevada was so glad they came. Here was an insight into Tyler she’d never seen. The sexiest, most arrogantly confident and powerful man she’d ever met, reduced to babbling like a toddler after one comment from his mother. Priceless.
“Come around here more often, Nevada, and you’ll learn all the deep, dark secrets about my son.” She took Nevada’s hand. “It’s nice to see he finally found a girl to bring home.”
If only it were true, instead of the lie Tyler made up to hide his job and her reason for accompanying him. But it could never be. Could never work, for either of them. For so many reasons.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m very happy to be here.” Surprisingly, that part wasn’t a lie. Having lived without a mother for the past ten years, she felt comforted by the warmth of a m
aternal hand. Margaret was extremely likeable.
Tyler cleared his throat and Nevada glanced over to see the frown on his face. Now what had she done?
Margaret caught the look. “Excuse me for a moment. I have something to do upstairs. I’ll be right back.”
“What?” Nevada asked as soon as Margaret was out of earshot.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what else to say and I’d like to keep my mother as uninvolved in my business as possible.”
She shrugged. “I kind of figured you weren’t seriously declaring your undying love for me in front of your mother.”
“Did you want me to?”
Where had that come from? Tyler cringed inwardly as soon as the words fell out of his mouth. From the look of shock on her face, Nevada was just as surprised as he.
“Wh…what?”
Great. She was probably going to run screaming from the house now. He wanted to beat his head against the kitchen table, hoping it would rearrange the obviously jumbled gray matter inside. What had he been thinking? He didn’t love Nevada. He didn’t have time for love.
“I was just kidding. Of course you didn’t want me to. Just trying to lighten things up.” Nice backtracking, Call.
“Oh.”
He heard the hurt in her simple reply. Damn. When he rose and approached her, she leaned back in the chair as if she could slink under the table and avoid him altogether.
“Stand up, Nevada.”
Her eyes were wide pools. She shook her head. “This isn’t a good idea, Tyler.”
“Stand up.”
Again, that negative shake.
Exasperated, he grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet, forcing her to stand in front of him when she would have backed away.
“Look at me.”
She did. Right at his chest. He tilted her chin until those golden eyes met his.
“I’m sorry. I hurt you.”
“Don’t be silly. You didn’t hurt me at all.”
She didn’t lie very well, despite her shrug of indifference. Pain shimmered near the surface of her eyes, the corners crinkling with barely suppressed anguish.
“Yeah, I did. I don’t know how, but I did.”
“Tyler, you didn’t hurt me. I know why we’re here and what we’re not. We’re not a couple, we’re not in love. I think sometimes we don’t even like each other. I mean, it’s not as if we’d been dating or anything. We haven’t. There’s nothing between us. I know it and you know it. We have a job to do and I’m a guest you didn’t want to have to deal with. You had to lie to your mother. I understand that. After all, your job is at stake and—”
“You talk too much,” he interrupted, pulling her into his arms and silencing her litany with a kiss.
His head spun at the touch of her mouth. Her lips parted and she accepted his tongue eagerly, matching his frantic stroking with her own. God, she made him crazy. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, letting her feel how involved he really was. One touch of his lips against hers and he was hard and ready in an instant.
That’s how much he didn’t care. If they were alone he’d already have her half-naked and spread out on the kitchen table. He never craved a woman before, never had one on his mind constantly, never really cared how they felt one way or another.
It was different with Nevada. Her soft moans and the way she pressed herself so intimately against him drove him up the wall. If only they were alone.
“Ahem.”
They weren’t. At the sound of a clearing throat, Nevada pulled away from Tyler like he’d just set her on fire. He had to keep his back turned for a few seconds to settle his composure, among other things.
“Sorry, didn’t know the kitchen was occupied.”
This was horrible. Nevada was mortified. Caught kissing in the kitchen like a couple of kids. And by a stern-looking gentleman in golf attire who had to be Tyler’s father.
“Hey, Dad.” Tyler turned away from her, but not before she caught the quick glimpse of regret in his eyes.
“Son.” His eyes sparkled with an amused glint as he shook Tyler’s hand.
Didn’t they hug each other? Was that a man thing, or something else?
Tyler turned to her. “Nevada James, this is my father, Edward Call.”
She shook his hand, struck by the uncanny resemblance between father and son. If it weren’t for the age difference and the fact Edward Call’s hair was more silver than midnight black, they could have been brothers. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Call.”
“Most people call me either Edward or General.” He smiled. “Old Marines never retire, you know.”
Edward, like Margaret, was trim, fit and looked the picture of health, not at all his age, which, if she remembered what Tyler told her on the drive, was somewhere in his late sixties. He had the same serious look that Tyler always wore. Now she knew where he got it.
“So what brings you our way today?” Edward fixed a glass of tea and sat at the table.
“I need your help.”
Edward showed no emotion. “What kind of help?”
“An agency thing. Something’s come up and I need your opinion.”
“Can’t handle it by yourself?”
Ouch. That sounded like an inference of incompetence. She watched for Tyler’s reaction, but the question didn’t seem to bother him. He must be used to his father’s gruff personality.
“Yes, sir, I can handle it. I just wanted to ask you a couple questions.”
Edward nodded. “Fine, then. Let’s go to my office.” He stood and left the room without another word.
She started to follow, but Tyler pressed a hand to her shoulder and stopped her. “I’ll be right back.”
“If it’s agency business I should go with you.”
“I’ll fill you in later.”
Irritation had her clenching her teeth. “Don’t shut me out of this, Tyler.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this. Just stay put and I’ll be right back.” He turned and walked out and she dropped into a chair and crossed her arms.
How the hell was she supposed to learn anything if he kept her out of the loop? Dammit, if this wasn’t his parents home she’d have stormed right after them, refusing to be put off. But if Tyler didn’t want his mother to know about the agency business, she couldn’t very well cause a scene.
Damn him. He knew that. He knew she wouldn’t put up too much of a fight.
“So the men up and left you, did they?”
Nevada looked up as Margaret entered the kitchen. “Yes, they did.”
She smiled indulgently. “They do that to me, too. All the time. Edward likes to secret himself in his office whenever there’s talk of military business. Tyler’s the same way whenever something comes up with his work at the agency.”
Well, knock her over with a stick! “You know about the agency?”
Margaret’s eyes crinkled at the corners when she grinned. “Honey, there isn’t a whole lot I don’t know.” She inclined her head toward the hallway where Tyler and his father had disappeared. “They just think I don’t know anything.”
Nevada couldn’t be more shocked. “Do they…”
“Do they know that I know?” she said with a laugh. “Truthfully, I have no idea. But it makes them feel better to think they’re protecting me, so I let them. Men are somewhat clueless when it comes to how much internal strength women possess.”
“You are so right about that,” Nevada agreed, completely floored by Tyler’s mother. This tiny woman, who appeared the domestic, mild mannered, straight-out-of-a-fifties-sitcom type, was actually much stronger than she’d ever surmised.
“Just like I know that you are not simply some girl Tyler is dating. Do you work with him at the agency?”
Stunned, all Nevada could do was nod truthfully. “I’m an analyst…err, actually I’m an agent in training.”
“I see. And you’re helping him with a case?”
“You could say that.” Tyler, wher
e are you? Hellllp!
“So, tell me, dear,” Margaret said as she poured them both another glass of tea. “Are you and Tyler having sex, or has your relationship not progressed that far yet?”
If Margaret kept this up Nevada was going to have a heart attack before Tyler returned from his father’s office.
“Are we having…oh no, no, ma’am, not at all!” Her heart pounded with guilt as if she’d just been caught doing the deed in front of his mother. Actually she wasn’t lying. They weren’t having sex. Not yet, anyway. But she’d like to think that someday, maybe…
Margaret leveled her gaze at Nevada. “Oh, come now. This isn’t the dark ages. You and Tyler can’t keep your eyes off each other. I know my son and I can see he has feelings for you.”
Okay, maybe she would have to reassess Margaret’s keen insight. She was clearly way off the mark on this one. “There’s nothing between Tyler and me. We just work together.”
Margaret leveled an honest look at her. “Like I said. I know Tyler. I know how he is, what he likes and doesn’t like. He’s never brought a woman here before, business or otherwise.”
She started to interject but Margaret held up her hand to prevent it.
“I saw the way he looked at you earlier.” Her eyebrow arched in an all-knowing-mother kind of look. “Believe me, I know when a man’s attracted.” She smoothed her short hair and grinned. “I was quite a looker in my day.”
Nevada couldn’t help but grin back. “You still are.”
“Thanks, but I wasn’t fishing for compliments. What I mean is, I know the look on a man’s face when he’s in love. My son is in love with you. Last time I saw that look was in high school, when he fell head over heels for Cynthia Lake, who promptly dumped him for an older college boy.”
How was she supposed to respond to that? “I…don’t think he is.”
“Then you’re blind. Open your eyes and take a gander at the way he looks at you. If you’re as smart as I think you are, you’ll see it too.”
The telephone rang. Saved by the bell never seemed more appropriate than at that moment. Margaret excused herself and took the call.
In love with her? No way. They’d only met a few days ago and since then their relationship had been anything but ordinary. Add the fact they were both running for their lives to the mix and it was easy to see that what they had was a shared goal and nothing more. They both wanted to stay alive.
