When she emerged, she detoured into the kitchen and grabbed one of the many delivery menus from a drawer.
“Are the police going to be all over this?” Annie circled her choice on the menu.
Janey dropped into the chair facing the couch and called in their order before answering. “Oh God, I didn’t even think of that. It took me a week on the phone with the last fire chief to reassure him that Jimmy’s lab wasn’t a threat to the city after he burned a hole through the floor with acid. I had to get the DOD involved in that one. Such a pain in the ass.”
“Were you in the building?”
Janey’s blush bloomed hot and bright. Annie couldn’t miss it.
“Hey, what aren’t you telling me?”
“I was in my office with Mal.”
Annie’s eyebrows lifted. “And what were you doing with Mal?”
“Kissing him.”
Annie’s mouth dropped open. It shouldn’t have been funny, but it was. The whole situation was just one laugh riot after another.
“You kissed him.”
Janey nodded. “And it wasn’t the first time.”
“Oh. My. God.” Annie’s grin bloomed. “I think you’d better start at the beginning, honey. And don’t leave anything out.”
So Janey told Annie about the kisses. By the time she was finished, she needed a drink. She grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge and started pouring and, by then, the food had arrived.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this on Saturday? Or call me Sunday?” Annie demanded.
“Because it didn’t come up.”
“Liar,” Annie scoffed. “You were analyzing it, picking it apart. I know you, Janey. So he kissed you. Now what?”
Janey took a bite out of her egg roll to delay. “Now, I don’t have a clue. An office romance seems so cliché. Especially in our office.”
“But what do you want, Janey?”
Despite all her questions, despite the fact that it wasn’t a good idea, she wanted him. It must have shown on her face, because Annie’s grin turned sharklike.
“Well, then. We’ll just have to go about getting him for you.”
Janey shook her head. “No, there’s too much I don’t know about him.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t you do his background check? What’s the problem? Did you find out some deep, dark secret?”
Janey hesitated and Annie pounced. “All right, what’s going on?”
“I’m really not sure.” Janey set down her fork. “There’s just something about him, something he tries so hard to hide. I can’t figure out what and it’s driving me nuts.”
“Do you think you missed something on his background check?”
“I don’t know. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?”
Annie rolled her eyes. “I notice the man wants you. That’s obvious.”
“No, not that. Don’t you—”
The doorbell rang. Janey checked the view screen by the door and gasped when she saw Mal standing there, holding her coat.
“He’s here,” she whispered.
Annie jumped up and ran to her side. “Oh baby, this could be interesting.”
Before Janey could stop her, Annie pressed the com button and released the doors. “Come on in, Mal.”
He pushed through like a man on a mission. “You forgot your coat. I’m on my way to Reading. My aunt’s been taken to the hospital. She had another stroke.”
Stunned by the suppressed pain in his voice, Janey reached for him without thought, pulling him to her for a hug. “Oh, God, Mal. I’m so sorry. Just let me get my purse. I’ll drive.” He didn’t look steady enough to navigate the Schuylkill Expressway right now.
He hesitated just long enough. “I don’t want to disrupt your—”
“Mal.” She looked right into his eyes, which were swimming with emotion. “Would you rather go alone?”
He swallowed hard and shook his head. “Thanks.”
Janey had almost forgotten Annie was there until she spoke.
“I’ll lock up, Janey.” Annie handed over her keys and her purse. “I’m so sorry about your aunt, Mal.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
Good thing she hadn’t decided to park her car in the garage her parents owned near their house.
Mal was quiet except to give her directions out of the city, north on the Schuylkill Expressway, to King of Prussia and then west to Reading.
After about a half hour, the silence began to get to Janey. She hadn’t turned on the radio but the darkness and his silence was starting to close in.
“How long has your aunt lived in Reading?” She spoke quietly, not wanting to intrude, but unable to keep quiet any longer.
“About two years. She moved in with her sister-in-law Peg when Peg’s Alzheimer’s started to get bad. I kept after them to get live-in help but they wouldn’t agree. Too stubborn. It’s a good thing Peg had a lucid day.”
“You’re very close to your aunt, aren’t you?”
He nodded her way, but his expression had closed down. “My mother didn’t stick around long when I was a kid. Said she couldn’t hack the military life. Aunt Gert was a hard old broad. She was a lot like my dad.”
“They were brother and sister?”
“Yeah. Do you mind if I turn on some music?”
Okay, it seemed he’d had enough personal talk.
“No problem.”
He pushed buttons until he hit a station playing blues. Then he turned to stare out the window again.
Janey forced herself to leave him alone, but it took all her strength. She was so used to bullying her brothers into talking. She didn’t know how to handle Mal.
But she wanted to.
***
When they reached Reading an hour later, Mal’s nerves were rubbed raw.
His aunt could be dying. The nurse who’d called hadn’t been able to give him much information. If he were truthful, he hadn’t called because he didn’t want to know if her condition had worsened.
And he didn’t want to break down in front of Janey.
By the time they found the hospital’s ICU, he felt like he’d been going a hundred miles an hour and he’d just run out of gas.
Janey kept going, though, straight to the nurses’ station.
“Excuse me, can you tell me where to find Gertrude Bramm?”
God, just the sound of her voice soothed.
When she’d asked if he wanted her to come, he’d been torn between keeping his private life private and taking what comfort he could from her presence. Now, he wanted to reach for her, to pull her against him and soak up the warmth of her body.
The nurse at the station checked her computer, murmured something and pointed down the hall. By the time Janey turned toward him, he’d convinced himself Gert was gone. He steeled himself against the pain, shut down as much as he could.
Janey reached for him, her expression transforming with a smile.
“She’s resting comfortably. Apparently it wasn’t as severe as they’d first thought.”
Janey saw tears fill Mal’s eyes and reached for him, putting her arms around his neck and holding on. He didn’t shake, didn’t sob. Just held her.
“She’s in room twelve,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll wait out here if you want.”
He stepped back, his eyes now dry. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her along with him.
The soft beeping of the machines and the antiseptic smell was enough to make her vow to stay out of hospitals for the next month. Two in one day was enough.
When they stepped into the room, Mal released her hand and continued to the bed. She stopped at the doorway.
“Hey, Aunt Gert.” He pitched his voice low and smooth. “I’m getting a little sick of making these hospital visits.”
That raised Janey’s eyebrows but the frail-looking, white-haired woman in the bed simply raised her eyebrows.
“This is the only time I know for sure that I’ll see you. It
takes a landmine under your ass to get you up here.”
Mal laughed, just a slight exhalation of air. “Always complaining about something, aren’t you? Never satisfied.”
“Yes, well, now you know where you get it from.”
Mal sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand with infinite tenderness. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Now, don’t go all sappy on me, boy.” Her gaze shifted toward Janey. “Who’s the babe?”
Janey laughed and Mal motioned her over.
“Aunt Gert, meet Janey DeMarco. Her family owns the firm I’m working for now.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Bramm.” Janey could see the older woman’s eyelids begin to droop. “I’m just going to find a cup of coffee.”
Mal didn’t smile, but his eyes, oh, those eyes. They made her heart race at the emotion brimming in their depths. “Thanks, Janey.”
She nodded and stepped out before she embarrassed herself by crying.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you going to tell me what I’m doing here? Or do I have to stake you in the desert and torture you?”
Merrianne Simmons sat across the table from Mal Tuesday night, looking at him with guileless baby blues. But underneath the corn-fed Iowa farm-girl appearance, there lurked the heart of a small but deadly predator.
Hiding a grin, he leaned back in his chair and contemplated the menu at The Plough and the Stars restaurant. “Sounds kinky. So, what’re you having?”
Merri pursed her lips and huffed before lifting her menu. “Your head on a platter. I have too much work to do to be screwing away time on this. I only agreed to come tonight because I owe you one. After tonight, my debt is paid.”
“I should get at least two for your brother’s wedding,” Mal muttered. “That three-ring circus you call a family is enough to make the Osbournes look normal.”
“Hey, that fire wasn’t Uncle Gene’s fault.” Merri rose to her family’s defense as he knew she would. “And the bridesmaid’s dress falling off was a bonus for you, I figure. What is this food, anyway?”
“Irish, I think.” Mal lowered his menu slightly so he could check out the entryway again.
Damn, she was late. Since they hadn’t gotten home from Reading until early this morning, Mal had gotten into the office at noon. Janey had already been there, looking none the worse for lack of sleep.
She’d asked how he was, how his aunt was. He’d been able to answer “fine” on both counts. She’d given him that sweet smile and said she was glad. And that had been the end of that. They’d both been busy the rest of the day.
Or rather, he’d made himself scarce the rest of the day, knowing what he’d be doing tonight.
He wanted to be pissed at Jimmy for asking him to do this but he knew it wasn’t Jimmy’s fault. Had he known how Mal felt about her? That Mal wouldn’t be able to say no when Jimmy asked him to follow Janey on a double date with Annie?
Jesus, he was an idiot.
He shook his head and his angelic-faced strawberry-blonde date happened to look up at that moment.
“What are you frowning about like a fool?” Irritation rang clear in her voice. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. Don’t I have enough problems back at the lab? I swear, this is the last time I do a favor for one of you hotshots.” She made the word sound like a curse. “Every time—every stinking time—I get the raw end of the deal. At least you’re feeding me. Even if it is… Ugh, do they really serve veal? I think I’ll have a salad.”
Mal laughed despite his black mood. They’d met three years ago when Merri—a twenty-one-year-old genius with a doctorate in advanced physics—had walked into the code lab and brought the house down with one cuttingly funny comment about their idiot former supervisor. It’d been X-rated and completely on target. She’d fit in immediately.
“You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you were twelve.” Mal knew it would rile her, and sure enough, she opened her mouth to blast him, but he pushed on. “I was positive you’d be eaten up by the bureaucracy. But you chewed ’em all up and spit ’em out first, didn’t you?”
The beginnings of a grin twitched at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t try and butter me up, tough guy. You’re just as much of a pain in the ass as I am.”
“Maybe.” He shook his head. “But I’m cuter.”
Her answer was a distinctly unladylike snort after which she raised her menu so that only the top of her blonde head showed. No taller than five-two with waist-length hair she hated but wouldn’t cut, Merri had a tongue that could wound at twenty paces. Her green eyes turned hard as emeralds when you pushed her far enough, and she’d been pushed a lot as one of the only females supervisors in the code lab.
But the men she worked with would die for her. Mal knew he would. The fact that almost everyone who knew her couldn’t help but think of her as a kid sister didn’t hurt.
He wished he could place the DeMarcos’ kid sister in the same category. Lord knew he’d tried. But his resolution was failing fast. Last night, he didn’t know if he’d have made it to Reading in one piece if not for Janey.
She’d keep him from flying apart at the thought of losing his aunt. After Dev’s murder and his father’s death, he wasn’t prepared for another loss. He wasn’t—
The front door opened and Janey stepped through.
And Mal knew, with the fatalism of a pilot whose plane was going to crash, he had to have her or die from wanting.
“Hey, Mal. Are you okay?”
He heard Merri’s quiet question but couldn’t answer because his brain had disconnected from reality.
Janey hadn’t spotted him yet. But why would she, when she had a Norse god attached to her elbow?
Through a red haze, he watched Janey smile up at the muscle-bound buffoon, who probably had a pet name for his favorite Nautilus machine at the gym. Blond and blue-eyed—with teeth that gleamed brighter than his fake tan—the man was a walking L.L. Bean advertisement in his sweater and chinos.
What would that pretty face would look like after he punched it a few times? And he certainly would have to break the man’s fingers if his hand moved an inch higher on her bare elbow.
God, she looked radiant, seductive. Sexy. Her dress was plain black but cut low enough in front to show more cleavage than he’d ever seen her display.
Lust fired through his body, heating his blood.
Mal watched her hand her coat to her date, then laugh at something he had to bend down to say in her ear. Probably looking down her dress. Mal grabbed the edge of the table so hard it shook, causing a startled Merri to gasp softly and murmur, “Hey, Mal. What’s wrong?”
He couldn’t answer. He was expending all his energy trying to stay in his seat, when what he wanted to do was walk over there and put his hands around the man’s steroid-induced, thick-as-a-tree neck.
The foursome walked to the other side of the room to their table, where Mal still had an unobstructed view of her, though he didn’t think she’d seen him. He had no idea how Jimmy managed to arrange this table or even how he knew which table to get.
Oh, son. This is really bad. Worse even than that time you thought you were in love with that general’s daughter when you were seventeen.
That had been bad. This was worse. Mal couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt violent over a woman. She threatened his sanity. He couldn’t believe he’d let Jimmy talk him into this.
How much more of a mess could he make of his life?
“All right, come out of it.” Merri snapped two fingers in front of his eyes, and he focused on her worried face. “I think you’d better explain what the hell’s going on. Right now. You look like you’ve just seen the Ghost of Christmas Past.”
He snorted a bitter laugh. “Just my complete downfall.”
Merri looked at him closely for a full half minute, then discreetly knocked her purse off the arm of her chair. When she bent to pick it up, she scanned the room, knowing exactly when she got to
the right table.
“Newcomers—brunette in the black dress, blonde in a white skirt that looks spray painted on. Two guys who look like walking ads for the Young Republicans on vacation. Which girl? The blonde?”
“No.”
Merri’s brows raised sky-high. “Not your usual type.”
That caught his attention. “What do you mean?”
Her expression said he was a fool to ask. “Oh please. You like them blonde, stacked and brainless. The better to forget when you move on.”
He opened his mouth …and found he didn’t have a damn thing to say in his defense. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a relationship that lasted longer than a month. It was true he’d never given a second thought to a woman he’d dated after they were gone. Though not all of his dates had been blonde. All right, most, but not all.
Maybe if he took Janey to bed, the need would be gone.
“So, what is it about this one?” Merri asked when he didn’t respond.
The waiter’s arrival saved him from answering, but he knew it would be a short reprieve. Merri’s relentlessness was legendary. Sure enough, she wore an impatient look of expectation by the time the waiter left.
Mal tried to formulate a coherent answer. “She’s going to hate me when she finds out who I really am.”
For the first time since he’d met her, Merri Simmons was speechless, her bright eyes wide with shock. Then she started to laugh, and her laugh was no ladylike titter. It was a full-out belly buster that she tried valiantly to hold in and finally fought it down.
Luckily, no one in the laid-back restaurant paid much attention to her outburst.
Mal, on the other hand, couldn’t catch his breath. Was this what it felt like to realize you were sinking into quicksand without a rope?
“Oh, that’s just too pathetic,” she finally managed to say as she gasped for air. “So why do you care what she thinks?”
Already feeling like an idiot, Mal simply shook his head and tried to throw Merri off the scent. “You wanna know more about this case, or what?”
Sex, Lies and Surveillance Page 14
