Rendezvous with Danger (Reunited Series) (8 page)

“No, I’m good, but I do want to know what the hell happened tonight.”

She took a bite of her pizza and carried the plate over to a small table in the living room. As slow as she was moving, she was either very tired or the drama they just experienced had totally freaked her out. She dropped down in a tattered chair that had seen better days, and curled her legs up under her. Quinn settled on the nearby floral sofa that creaked under his weight.

“I don’t know where to start.”

“Why don’t we start from the beginning, and Alandra,” he said leaning forward, “I need the truth.” Knowing she was a professional liar will make it hard for him to believe anything she’d say, but he was willing to try.

Alandra squeezed her eyes shut and blew out a ragged breath. “Despite what you might think of me, I have never lied to you.”

She stared him down as if daring him to disagree. He couldn’t. When they were together, he never had reason to believe she would lie to him, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

“Okay. Why don’t you start from when we parted in Vegas, where I was leaving the country on a mission and you were supposed to be heading back to D.C.? No, better yet, let’s start with why I almost got my ass killed a little while ago.”

She took a slow drink of her water, not making eye contact. Her chest rose as she sucked in a deep breath, then she released it slowly. Quinn knew she wasn’t trying to turn him on, but the way her turtleneck hugged her enticing breasts with that simple move, he wanted nothing more than to relieve her of the restrictive shirt, as well as anything else she had underneath it.

He discreetly adjusted his pants, sat back on the sofa and remembered the first time he’d ever seen her. They had both been invited to a black-tie event at the White House and were summoned for a private meeting with the President of the United States. Quinn was the first to arrive and participated in small talk with the President, but then Alandra walked in. She was so breathtakingly stunning in a long black, off the shoulder number that Quinn had to keep himself from releasing a whistle. The conversation with the President was all but forgotten as Quinn took in the most amazing woman he’d ever laid eyes on. And he could still say the same today.

She glanced at him and he wasn’t sure what he saw in her eyes. Fear? Anxiety? Regret? Whatever it was did not reflect the self-assured woman he once knew. Tonight she looked tired and defeated. Dark circles below her beautiful eyes, worry lines etched across her forehead and she kept rubbing the back of her neck, sure signs of exhaustion. He fought the urge to stand behind her and grace her with one of his famous neck massages. No. She had walked away from that luxury when she disappeared. He shook his head, trying to free his mind from those thoughts. Something was going on and the least he could do was hear her out.

“Tell me what happened.”

****

Alandra forced herself to look at Quinn. For the longest time, she said nothing. She had spent the last hour in his presence, and it still felt like a dream being near him again. He would never know how hard it was to sit across from him. He had occupied her nightly dreams and made her long for his touch. The last three years had been difficult. She couldn’t help but wonder how different her life would’ve been had she not run away the day she was accused of selling secrets to North Korea.

“I’ll start at the beginning. A couple of weeks after I returned from Vegas, I was at home and standing at the kitchen sink when I saw a couple of men going through my trash. Not homeless people, neighbors, or kids, but the Feds.”

“At the time, did you know what they were looking for?”

She shook her head and took a swig from her water, anxious to get it all out in the open. She missed being able to talk to him about anything and know it would remain between the two of them.

“I hadn’t checked emails, watched TV or talked to anyone from the agency in days. But everyone knows the Feds going through your trash is not a good sign. I called Vance Anderson. I figured if something was going down he would know. We had worked on several ops together months prior to this, and he always seemed to know something about everything. After getting his voicemail, I called my boss, Harry. That’s when I knew something was up.”

Quinn crossed one ankle over his knee. Alandra didn’t miss the tightening in his jaw. He never liked Harry – said he seemed a little slippery, untrustworthy. He thought Harry was a little “too friendly” toward her, despite the twenty-five year age difference. He was like a father to her and she owed him her life.

“Go on.”

“Harry seemed surprised to hear from me and did everything he could to get me off the telephone. He told me he needed to get to a meeting and that the next time I requested five weeks off, he wasn’t sure he would give it to me because they were short handed.”

 Quinn leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, and his eyes narrowed. “I thought you only had a couple of weeks off.”

“I did,” was all she had to say. She knew Quinn would figure it out. “Within ten minutes I had a bag packed, grabbed my alias passports, and was prepared to sneak out the back.”

“But?”

“But when I opened the back door, Vance Anderson was there with keys to Harry’s cabin and a cell phone.”

Quinn stood and walked around the room in deep thought. “So I guess once you were out of the house, Harry told you about allegations of you being a double agent and selling secrets.”

“You know about that?” She shook her head. “Of course you know. What else do you know?”

Quinn walked back over and stood near her chair. “Not much. That’s why I’m here.”

Alandra rubbed the back of her neck, uncomfortable with the way he stood over her. Heat rippled under her skin and a dizzying current raced through her body as she recognized the pulse of sexual desire she hadn’t felt in years. The sexual magnetism seeping through his pores drew her like a magnet and she had to fight hard to stay focused on the conversation.

She tugged the top of her shirt several times for air and concentrated on her breathing before she continued.

“Harry told me he had hoped I would go to his cabin near Shenandoah National Park. There was a tracker on the phone he had given me, and from what I’ve recently learned, at some point he put an agent on me - Sarah Olson.”

“Sarah Olson?”

“Isabella.”

Quinn’s eyebrows shot up. “The lady at the house?”

Alandra nodded. She absently fingered a loose thread hanging from the arm of the chair, disappointed she didn’t get to talk to Isabella.

“Did Harry ever tell you why he had an agent on you?”

Of all the questions Alandra had asked Harry after the incident, that wasn’t one of them. Part of her wanted to know everything about those dark days, but on the other hand, if she could forget it ever happened, she would. “No, he didn’t.”

“Did you know this Sarah or Isabella woman during your CIA days?”

“No, but that was one reason I came to Chicago – following a lead. She’s the one who got me out of Tzbekystan when I…when you…” Bile seared her throat and her voice hitched. She stood prepared to walk across the room, but he stopped her.

“Alandra, what were you doing there? And how in the hell did you find me?”

Her pulse quickened when he gripped her forearm. The electric charge that swept through her body and his nearness wreaked havoc on her nerves.

“You had to know how dangerous it was to be there.”

“I did, but I wasn’t thinking.” She touched her palm to his strong jaw, and stared into his eyes. “I just had to get to you.” She would love him until the day she died, but knew he would never feel the same about her especially since she hadn’t let him know she was alive. She turned away before he saw the tears, struggling to keep them at bay.

“Why? Why did you have to get to me? In the past you’ve been able to get messages to me and not be in the same country.” Quinn wrapped a long arm around her waist and pulled her close, her back against his chest. “Baby, why was this different?”

“I…I don’t know.” She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let go.

Quinn turned her, his hands on her shoulders forcing her to look at him. “How do you not know why you were in another country? A dangerous country at that? And I want the truth! I can’t help you if you don’t trust me.”

She yanked free of him and backed away. “How can I trust you, when it’s clear you don’t trust me?” He thought because she spent a large part of her life as a spy, that all she did was lie, which was far from the truth, especially when it came to him.

“Dammit, Alandra,” he pounded his fist against the chair she had vacated. “I want to know why you were in Tzbekystan.”

“I don’t know, Quinn, all right!” She stomped her feet. “I don’t know. They said you needed me,” she bit out, “but I never found out why! I was almost killed that night and I don’t know why!”

Despite the confusion she saw on his face, she turned and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She couldn’t do this anymore. Reliving a time in her life that almost got her killed was like reliving a nightmare.

Chapter Six

Alandra stripped out of her clothes, took off the wig and stepped into the shower. Tears she fought back blended with the tepid water and all she wanted to do was wash tonight, and the last three years of her life away. Quinn probably thought she was crazy running out of the room and leaving him standing there, but she couldn’t deal with him right now.

Deep sobs racked her body as defeat and frustration mingled at the thought of all that she’d lost: a job she enjoyed, freedom of not looking over her shoulder at every turn, and most of all, Quinn. She would never love a man the way she loved him and someone took that away from her. Instinctively, she touched the five-inch scar on her chest near her right breast, the result of the gunshot wound she had obtained that night in Tzbekystan. Looking back, there were so many things she should’ve done different, but when she heard Quinn needed her, she reacted before thinking.

Too exhausted to do much else, she closed her eyes and stood under the powerful spray, praying for relief from the pain in her heart. She placed her palms on the wet ceramic tile, her head bowed, and water rolled down the back of her neck and over her spine. Her shoulders shook violently and she gulped hard trying to stop the tears. She couldn’t do this anymore. No more chasing leads, no more looking over her shoulder and no more yearning for a man who may no longer love her. It was time to leave Chicago, and head back to California where she could start new. But would she be able to leave Quinn now that she had found him?

“Lan.”

Alandra jerked around, one hand still on the tile and the other over her pounding heart. So caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard Quinn come in. His height and broad shoulders dominated the small space, but it was the look of concern shadowing his features that immobilized her, keeping her glued to that spot. Despite her nakedness, all she could do was look at him through the warm water pounding down over her head.

He stood outside of the shower, a bath towel held open for her, and love glittering in his eyes. When she didn’t make a move to step out, he reached in and pulled her out. Securing the towel around her, he shut off the water and hugged her close to his body and she cried all over again.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” He kissed the top of her wet hair, then her cheek and then her lips. Pushing curls away from her face and out of her eyes he said, “Everything is going to be all right.”

They stood that way for several minutes, him whispering sweet sentiments and her unable to control her tears. Alandra eventually pulled back and looked at him, her vision blurred. She searched his eyes, then touched his face, and zoned in on his delicious mouth. Those tempting lips. Lips that had brought her more pleasure than she ever thought possible, and lips that had kissed plenty of bad days away. If he said everything would be all right, she believed him.

“
Te extrañe mucho
,” she sobbed. “These years have been the worse years of my life…because…I didn’t have you.”

His large hands cradled each side of her face. “I know, baby.” He wiped her tears and stared into her eyes. “I know.”

Though she tried, she still couldn’t stop crying. It was as if someone had turned on the faucet to her tear ducts and they were stuck in the on position.

“Lan, baby, you’re killing me here. I promise you we’ll get through this. No more tears all right?”

She nodded and then cried more. Without another word, he lowered his head and captured her lips. His arms coiled around her waist and he pulled her closer. The gentle, slow kiss was like no other between them. They had always had a powerful connection, but this, this was different. He tossed out a lifeline to her and she grabbed hold, allowing him to reel her in. He hadn’t spoken the words – I love you – but she felt it through every stroke, every probe of his tongue and through the warmth of his hands on her body.

She pressed against him when his kiss became harder, more demanding, his body melded to hers, and her heart thumping against her chest. Oh how she’d missed him. The way he held her, the taste of his sweet lips, and the power behind every thrust of his tongue made her forget everything else and savor the feel of his well-built body against hers.     

“I want you.” He yanked the towel from around her without warning, and she gasped when his large hands palmed her butt and he lifted her off the floor. All she could think about was how much she needed him at that moment. He pressed her back against the wall and her breath caught when he kissed her with a raw, scorching need, sending electric jolts throughout her body. She swung her legs around his waist and clawed at his shirt, ripping it open, buttons flying across the room, all so that she could feel his muscular chest beneath her hands. She moaned when he ground his stiff erection against her, but this wasn’t enough, she wanted more. Her pulse accelerated and her body shivered from sheer ecstasy. She wanted him like a starving woman wanted food. Horny and wet, she needed him inside her.