There was a major pause on the other end. “No… not… not yet,” she stuttered.
Uh oh. I’d probably put my foot in it now. I thought by this point, the whole world knew she was pregnant again. Every time I called Cindy that’s practically all she could talk about. Of course, it was pretty amazing news. “I thought you couldn’t wait to tell him, honey. Cat’s prediction is coming true.”
“Yes… yes I know… but… but I don’t think David ever really believed it. He … he always got upset anytime anyone ever talked about us having six babies.”
“Oh. I thought when you had the nursery redone last winter you said he was okay with it.”
“Yes. But—but I think he was just placating me.”
“Placating you?” Okay. Time to bail out of this conversation. I had enough problems of my own. “Well, everyone knows Cat’s predictions always come true. Especially David. Hell—heck—they grew up in the same house together. He’s got to have seen it more than anyone. So don’t worry about it, honey. Anyway—is Cindy there?” Thank God she went to get her.
Then I heard Cin in the background. “Freddy is such a good boy today.” That lilting voice always meant she was holding her godson. Cindy had wanted a baby of her own, for as long as I can remember. In the meanwhile, she showered Debbie and her triplets with constant attention.
“Glori. We were just talking about you. How are you? How was the concert?”
“The concert was fine, Cin. Is everything okay there?”
“Everything is fine, honey.” Cindy sounded hesitant. “The guys got back safe and sound yesterday. So everyone’s relieved and happy. What’s going on with you? Isn’t it awfully early there?”
I heaved a heavy sigh. I couldn’t help it. I broke down into sobs. “Alain never even called me, Cin. He never even called. I found out they got back when Jimmy called Aubrey. She told me they were back in Salzburg, and they’re okay.”
“Oh honey.” She babbled into the phone. I don’t know what she said, but she couldn’t console me. My mascara started to run—I hate when that happens.
Finally, I managed to speak. My voice rose higher, all squeaky. I really hate when that happens. “What should I do, Cin? What should I do?”
“Well… well, it’s got to be some sort of misunderstanding.”
***
Yeah, it was a misunderstanding all right. That was the word that described my relationship with Alain. Agent Alain Dusseault, the one man I ever met worthy of the “L” word. Love and misunderstanding. Welcome to my world.
I sat there on that plane, dwelling on him, alternately crying and touching up my makeup. Thankfully there was no one in the seat beside me. The stewardesses gave me curious sympathetic smiles, but mostly left me alone after I refused food and drinks about eight hundred times.
Yeah, I knew a lot of it was my fault. He was a great guy, but I had a career to think of. I was on the brink of superstardom. No screwing it up now.
I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headrest. I needed to get my mind on something positive. The concert, the fans, the applause, the thrill. Then Dad and Shiny Red. So much for positive.
Back to Alain. A guy that preferred a life lived in the shadows. A guy who worked for some agency that didn’t even exist. A guy that had proposed to me two months ago, and who didn’t bother to call me after surviving whatever so-called mission they did this time.
Yeah, Alain was a guy that was probably just as messed up as I was.
How could I live with a secret agent and become a famous actress? How could I live with a secret agent and not know anything about his work?
And now, my friend Tamara knew more about what Alain and his cohorts were up to than I did. When was he going to tell me we didn’t need to worry about getting shot or blown up any more? When was he going to tell me that jerk Colonel Johnson was responsible for all that misery, and now he was dead? Wow. It boggled my mind.
I looked out the window at the tops of clouds that looked like cotton candy. That was one weird organization. They had American military guys at the top—that much I knew. I was pretty sure they also had foreign military guys in charge too. Then there was Alain and his friends—an odd group of recruits. Alain was French, Jimmy was American, Eduardo was Spanish, and David was Austrian. The four of them had obviously been to hell and back numerous times. Now they were in charge of training. Of course, they still went off to save the world from time to time.
Alain would only say they were in international law enforcement. From what I could see, they sure had a lot more clout than Interpol. I mean, who could get away with shooting a colonel? I figured they answered to the little old men who ran the world.
***
I pulled my shiny black sport sedan up to the gate. It took every minute on the plane to whip myself into shape to confront Alain. But I was ready.
Then I noticed the guard. I couldn’t help but groan as I realized my misfortune. It was the very same guard I had encountered before. The rifle slung stiffly over his shoulder, the sneering lips, the firm jaw, and the steely eyes. It was that very guard I loathed.
My resolve began to crumble. I put my head down against the steering wheel, and my brain returned to the day last fall when I’d first tried to cajole the guy into letting me through. Unfortunately, Debbie was hysterical in the seat beside me, and when I got out of the car to confront the guard, she drove off through the gate and into the side of a truck. Meanwhile, I’d tried to wrestle the guy to prevent him and his cohorts from shooting us.
Yeah, that was a fun day. As if that episode wasn’t bad enough, that was the day Debbie managed to learn about David’s secret agent girlfriend. Not one of our brighter moments. I took a deep breath.
I hadn’t come all the way from L.A. for nothing. I formed a determined smile, tossed my hair back, and confidently opened the door.
Yeah, this guy was doomed. I know I sound smug, but I pictured how my legs would look to the guy as I got out of the car. I always made sure my pedicure was impeccable. Kind of a quirk of mine, I guess. My legs are one of my best features, so I wore strappy black heels and a short black form-fitting dress topped with a fashionable jacket.
All those acting classes paid off—I learned early in life how to work it. I could see him checking out my legs. Yeah, this was going to be easy. He was doomed. I strutted toward him.
He gasped as he recognized me, and I didn’t give him time to speak. I was a little nervous—after all, he had a gun—so my voice was high-pitched again, and I couldn’t stop my hands from motioning with my words. “I hope you learned some English since last fall. Believe me, I’m in no mood for more aggravation. Verstehen sie? See? I learned some German, so I hope you learned some English. Now I need to see Alain Dusseault. Agent—Alain—Dusseault.”
He went to the phone while his colleagues stood by. They were all watching me—appreciatively, I would say.
Not that I’m stuck up or anything, but I’m well aware of the impact I have on men. As a former swimsuit model, I know that more than a few men fantasize over my photos. And women envy me. Okay, so I do brag from time to time—but I’m kind of a rarity in Beverly Hills. My curves are all my own.
Plus I have long sandy hair that sparkles with natural blonde highlights. And I don’t need contact lenses to have that shade of green eyes everyone wants these days. But I admit I take a lot of time to apply my makeup to accentuate them.
Anyway, it’s not just looks that matter—it’s attitude. And when I make up my mind, there’s no stopping me.
So, momentarily, I was escorted to General Pearson’s office.
“Glori, so nice to see you again.” Pearson clasped both my hands in his. “How was California? I really miss it, you know.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, General. The weather sure is a heck of a lot nicer. I don’t know why you guys don’t just build a place there.”
The General chuckled and smoothed short white hair that stood at attention on the top of his hea
d. I thought he was still a very handsome man, even though he was pretty old—probably late fifties. He was kind of like a father figure.
“General, I need to see Alain.”
Pearson looked at his watch. “Well, of course, Glori. He’s probably done for the day. I’ll take you to his office.” Pearson led me down the hall and left me to meander through the small space. There was an open door that led into Jimmy’s empty office.
As I went to close that door, I noticed a photo of Aubrey Rose on top of a pile of files on the mess that was Jimmy’s desk. Alain’s desk was practically sterile. The framed photo I’d given him was nowhere in sight. My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t help it. I looked out the window. Damn mascara.
“Glori.” His voice brought me back to the day over a year ago when Alain first uttered my name. I remembered his tone, his sexy French accent. I turned to see the man I loved with all my heart. Tall and muscular, handsome as ever, he seemed unscathed by his latest mission. I froze in place. He strode into the room and took me in his arms.
“Alain, you never called.” My voice betrayed me again. I was a friggin’ actress. Why couldn’t I be cool when I needed to be?
“I’m sorry, Glori.”
That was it? Sorry. Well, I do have a temper, and it got the best of me. I couldn’t modulate my voice, and I didn’t think before I spoke. “Sorry? Sorry? I’ve been on so many planes for so long—I don’t even know what day of the week it is. I thought something happened to you. And that’s all you can say? Sorry?”
As I stepped back, my heel slipped on the tile, and I started to lose my balance. I noticed Eduardo and Jimmy outside the open door, grinning at each other.
Alain righted me as he exhaled a heavy sigh. “Glori—I—I just did not know what to think when I found you went back to L.A. I don’t want to stop you from your career. But you’ve been recording here with Paulo. And we were just there for the music awards. I didn’t see a need for you to go back to California.”
I could hear Eduardo. “Whoa. This is gonna be good.”
I didn’t care who was listening—I went ballistic. “You didn’t see a need? What are you talkin’ about?”
Alain’s silence made me even madder. I extracted myself from his arms, and my voice rose higher. “And I have never seen a need for you to disappear for weeks at a time to go save the world! So what? Did that ever stop you? Or even slow you down? You can’t get enough of that shit. And did I ever say no, Alain, you can’t go save the world? You’d have thought I was crazy. And I must be. To think you never even called me to tell me you survived. Again! And I’m thinking I have a real future with you?”
I backed into the side of his desk. Maybe it was that little jolt that turned on the light bulb. “And I just realized when you changed your mind about me. It was that night I told you about Christina.”
Eduardo’s voice echoed in the hall. “Who’s Christina?”
Jimmy answered, “I dunno. You think she’s…”
Alain slammed the office door shut, never taking his eyes off me.
Yeah, I was seeing red, alright. My insides felt all squished, like I couldn’t even breathe. I was so damned worried over him, and he had the gall to tell me what I should do. While he was free as a bird to do whatever he wanted. The bastard. I’d given him my heart. I’d even confided in him about Christina.
He stepped toward me. “Glori, I’ll never forget that night. I’ve never loved you more. And I still love you. I’ll always love you. I don’t want to stop you from your career. I know it’s important to you. But I know I’m selfish. I need to have you there for me. I need you now.” His steamy voice lowered to a faint plaintive whisper. He started with the kisses.
That was it. There was no resisting the urge. Yeah, I was hooked. I didn’t even mind the laughter from the hallway when Alain whisked me onto the desk and stuff went crashing to the floor. Agent Alain Dusseault had my heart, and I couldn’t seem to do a thing about it. That was a new experience for me.
Chapter Two
Alain fished under his desk to retrieve Glori’s bright pink thong. Gallantly, he slid it over dangerously spiked heels and up the sexiest legs he’d ever seen. Carefully, he tugged her dress back down over her hips and ground her into his body. He kissed her again, but he knew this episode was a mistake, an embarrassment in front of his colleagues. Screwing a woman in his office. That was something Lambrecht would do. Not him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Her eyelashes fluttered at him. “Okay.”
He guided her to his chair and quickly restored his desk to its pre-Glori condition as she primped in front of a compact mirror. Neither one commented on the uproar in the hallway, but it made him increasingly angry. He grabbed his jacket.
Glori winked. “It’s not like Eduardo and Jimmy don’t know what we do.” She took his outstretched hand and propelled herself into his arms.
He opened the door with some trepidation. Pearson had an uncanny ability to show up at the least convenient times. And this was one of them.
But Pearson was focused on the open doorway of the office across the hall. Hollinger stood stone-faced inside the room, and Lambrecht slumped behind his desk. His demeanor brought Alain back to the first day Pearson showed up with The Weekly World Gossip.
Lambrecht’s picture was on the front page, along with his girlfriend, the stripper, dead of a heroin overdose. The headlines disclosed a number of titillating revelations. Not an easy explanation for his new wife and in-laws, not to mention his own family. The ensuing scandal and media frenzy had changed all their lives.
Instinctively, Alain stepped in front of Glori, blocking her view.
Clemente fetched a wet towel. “Here, put this on your forehead.” He sat on the edge of the desk, and watched Lambrecht with concern. “So what happened? You were out cold on the floor. Your eyes are all red.”
Lambrecht shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the towel. “Debbie. I got a call from Dr. Schechter. She’s pregnant again. I suppose you’ve known about it since we got home.”
“Yeah.”
Lambrecht sniffed. “I suppose the whole family knows.”
“Yeah.”
He slouched back in his seat. “This is unbelievable. How can she survive more triplets? How did this happen?” His voice sounded strange.
Clemente smirked. “Well, I think we have some idea how it happened. And you know she’s gonna be okay. Cat’s always right. She said you’re gonna have six babies and live a happy life together. Ya know, you got all worked up the last time, and she was fine, and the babies are healthy and beautiful. And Debbie’s fine now, and she’ll be fine with these babies. She lives for you and those babies. So what’s the big problem? It’s just that you happened to marry a rabbit.”
Pearson shook his head, turned on his heel and muttered to himself as he returned to his office. Alain encircled Glori with his arm and guided her in the opposite direction, grateful Lambrecht’s predicament overshadowed his indiscretion.
***
I really didn’t care that every secret agent in the world would soon hear about Alain and me having wild sex in his office. It was worth it.
What’s funny to me is these guys gossip just as much as me and my girlfriends. Eduardo never shut up, and with Jimmy to egg him on, well, it’s a wonder these governments keep any secrets at all.
Yeah, I did look a bit disheveled as we left the building. But I did have my bag in the car. As Alain drove to the Monchsberg Hotel, I touched up my makeup. One of these days, I swore, I’d invent mascara that doesn’t smudge or run. I know, they always claim they won’t, but they do.
We figured we’d have dinner at the Monchsberg and then head home. Of course, that didn’t go quite according to plan.
By the time we arrived at the hotel, Alain had to book a room. We were hardly through the door before he tore the sleeve of my dress off. That turned me on even more. That guy’s muscles have muscles. Anyway, it turned out we had a really late dinner.
The good thing—we pretty much didn’t say anything coherent to each other the rest of the night. The bad thing—we didn’t solve any of our problems, either. But the really good thing—we both went to sleep with a smile.
Saturday morning, I dropped Alain back at the base. He had to work all weekend. Blah.
I took a quick peek in one of my favorite shops. Believe it or not, Frau Rosengarten always has the latest European fashions, right here in Salzburg. Sure enough, I found some really great clothes.
As I headed home, I figured I’d check in with Cin.
“Glori. I heard you’re back home.”
Yeah, word travels fast in our tiny family village. “I got back yesterday, and I went right to the base to find Alain.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s been a real roller-coaster, Cin. First, I was so worried he was hurt, or he got hit in the head and had amnesia. Then I realized he was just pissed at me, cuz I went back to L.A. to do the concerts with Aubrey. I wasn’t waiting here at home, pining away for him. So he was pissed. So when I finally saw him, and he was fine, I was pissed.”
Cindy sounded concerned. “Did you two make up?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t anything a night of sex from the chandeliers wouldn’t take care of.”
“Well, I’m glad things are back to normal now. Are you guys doing something fun today?”
I groaned. “Nah. He told me he has to work today. The four of them have to work all weekend. He says they’re two and a half days behind. So anal retentive, these guys are. All those poor little secret agent wannabes’ll be lost without them, if they don’t get that two and a half days of training. God knows they could run amuck and blow up the world, cuz they missed two and a half days of Bombs 101.”
Cindy laughed out loud. She had a great laugh.
I yawned. “Anyway, Cin, I know you and Raphael always do something on Saturdays.”
In the Name of Glori (The Redemption Series: Book 3) Page 2
