Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set (47 page)

“Ann, are you still there?” Her father’s voice shook her out of all the questions she’d been tossing around in her head. She blinked and turned her back on Ethan then walked into her bedroom to finish the awkward call with her dad. She needed to tell her dad exactly what she felt towards Ethan so he wouldn’t be shocked. Or worse, try to hit Ethan for taking advantage of her.

When she walked back out of her room, Ethan was standing by the door with his hand on the handle.

“I know your family is on their way here, so I’ll just let myself out.” He turned to go.

“Wait, you don’t have to go. I was just—”

“Listen, Princess, I know what you were just doing. I’m sorry. I thought…” he shook his head. “I have some loose ends to tie up. I’ll see you around. I’m still on the job, remember.” He turned and walked out without another word to her. She felt like crying, but instead, she walked into the kitchen and downed a few aspirin and a glass of water, then waited for her family to get there.

When her father arrived, she’d been hugged and yelled at all at the same time. She tried not to laugh, really. But after what she’d been through, she doubted anything her father could say or do would scare her ever again.

Coleen sat on her couch quietly, checking her cell phone like she was bored. Blake had hugged her and then after their father was almost done yelling at her, had asked so many questions about Ethan.

“Where is he? I thought he was going to be here.”

“You just missed him.” She tried not to sound too depressed that he wasn’t there, but when her father’s eyebrows shot up, she knew that he knew something was up.

Blake proceeded to blast her with question after question as her father watched her very carefully. Finally, just before they were ready to leave, her father pulled her aside into the kitchen to talk alone.

“Okay, sweetie. Spill.”

“What?” She’d tried to hide it from him all evening, but knew she hadn’t done a good job.

When he just crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her, she walked over and gave him a hug. His arms came around her and she lost it. Crying on her father’s shoulder was one of those things she never got too old to do.

It took almost ten minutes for her to cry herself dry. When she had, he leaned back and handed her a tissue from the box on her countertop.

“Tell me what this is all about.”

“I think I screwed up.” He looked at her. “It has nothing to do with what happened in Rio. I think I screwed up with Ethan. Dad, I think I’m in love with him.”

He smiled quickly.

“No, I think, I don’t know. I think I’m just a job to him.” She blew her nose and reached for another tissue.

“Sweetie, if I know anything about that man, it’s that he never mixes business with pleasure. He has a reputation, one of being strictly business. Why do you think I hired him in the first place?”

He used his finger to pull her chin up until she looked at him in the face. “If he mixed pleasure with business, then I can guarantee it had nothing to do with the job. He took you to see his family in Washington right?”

She nodded her head and wiped a tear with the back of her hand.

“A man doesn’t fly you halfway across the continent to visit his family without there being something there. Trust me.”

She smiled at her dad. Maybe he was right.

“Besides, he’s still on the job. At least until I tell him he’s done. That was part of the deal.”

She smiled again. “Thanks, Daddy. I knew you’d have all the answers. What can I do now?”

“Well, if he doesn’t come back on his own… If I know anything about my little girl, you’ll find a way to make him crawl back.”

That night she lay in her bed for a few hours listening to the sounds of the city around her. She missed the sounds of the jungle and of Ethan sleeping beside her. She missed his warmth, his smell, his touch.

She knew she was going to have a hard time falling back into a pattern. How could she ever go back to a normal life after what they’d been through? Did she want to? More importantly, did she want to do it all alone? Even though they’d only known each other a few months, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

The shadows on her ceiling did little to soothe her as the light hit the leaves that were starting to fall from the large tree outside her window. She turned and hit her pillow a few times, trying to get comfortable. She’d had no problem sleeping in the dirt or wet sand last week. Why was her pillow-top mattress that she’d spent a fortune on so uncomfortable now?

Damn him for making her feel like she wasn’t good enough. Damn him for walking out. Her father was right, maybe she needed to make him crawl back to her. She knew he was probably out there, sitting somewhere watching her place. After all, he was still working security detail for her dad.

She’d just have to come up with a plan that would get him back into her life. She knew what she wanted now, and if it meant playing dirty, she’d just have to get dirty again.

* * *

Ethan sat in the rented van, checking all his monitors. There were only a few lit up right now, since he hadn’t had the time to put any cameras in Ann’s condo yet. Okay, he had to admit it, he’d had some time after her family left, he just didn’t have the guts to walk up there and knock on her door.

The cameras he did install he’d waited a few hours after all her lights had gone out to put up.

He had a nice view of her front door and all the windows to her place. He’d tried to angle them so he’d be able to see inside, but she’d shut all her blinds. Good girl. Her safety was supposed to be his goal, but he wished he could be there, lying next to her.

Maybe he’d misjudged her reactions? She’d been quiet on the trip home. Maybe she was just thinking about her work and not their relationship?

Then he remembered how she’d reacted when her father had called. No, she was either embarrassed that they were together, or… he didn’t know. He was trying to fool himself that her reactions were anything but what he’d witnessed. She didn’t want to be with him anymore and it was as plain as the nose on his face.

He’d been a fool not to tell her how he felt about her before they’d left Washington. Thinking about it, maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t told her. Maybe she would have just laughed at him? No, he’d learned a lot of things about Ann over the last few months and she wasn’t a vicious kind of person.

He could imagine her explaining how he wasn’t really in love with her. Maybe she’d even interrogate him as to why he thought he was in love with her? He chuckled at the idea of her holding him under a bright, hot lamp trying to get the truth out of him.

He remembered how she’d been with his parents and smiled. No, she wasn’t just blowing him off. Maybe she just needed some more time to think about her feelings? After all, they’d only known each other for a short period of time. He knew he was jumping into things quickly. But he didn’t need a lot of time to decide she was what he wanted. After all, he’d never felt remotely this close to another woman before.

He had to think of ways to get her to see what she wanted. That he was what she wanted. There had to be some way he could make her see what he’d already discovered. He knew he’d been too chicken to blurt out his feelings. He was a guy after all. He’d been teased by his buddies when he’d been bit on the butt by a spider and had gotten hospitalized. Imagine them finding out that he wanted to tell Ann that he loved her and wanted to spend his whole life with her. He’d probably never hear the end of it.

He knew that when Tom, one of his buddies, had gotten married a few years back, he’d been razzed by the whole group. They’d all attended his wedding and gotten drunk and had a blast. Tom had just smiled and told them that he’d get them back at their weddings. That’s what friends did.

He leaned back in the seat and tried to prop his feet on the small countertop. When his cellphone rang, he was surprised to see the international code.

“Javan?”

“Yeah, man.” Ethan laughed. Javan never really talked in his native tone.

“What are you doing back in Jamaica?”

“Trying to hide from my future wife.”

Ethan coughed and sat up. “What? You’re getting married?”

“Not if you can help a brother out. Please tell me you need some help. I can do all your dirty work. I’ll even run and get you coffee. Just get me the hell away from my parents’ meddling ways.”

He looked at the empty monitors and jumped at the chance. “Javan, why don’t you hop on the next plane to Texas?”

After hanging up the phone, he sat back and smiled. Javan was just what he needed. Someone Ann could relate to. Someone she trusted. Someone he trusted. It helped that Javan had been through heartbreak a few years back. He was still open to the idea of falling in love.

Maybe he had some insights into what he could do, how he could wear her down. Maybe even how he could tell her how he felt.

As he waited for the sun to rise, he thought about how many different ways he could get back with her.

* * *

Finally he had his opportunity. He watched as she crossed the street alone. He was sitting in the car next to his shooter. He knew the man could easily do this next job, but he didn’t want anything to get messed up, so he was sitting in the car with him.

“We may have a problem,” his man said as he pointed to a van on the opposite side of the street.

Then he could see it. The large man who’d been the cameramen in Rio was sitting in a black van watching Ann cross the street.

“I told you he was security.”

“He can’t watch her all the time.” He looked down at his watch and noticed he was running late. “I’m late. Follow her, grab her if you can. If not, text me and we’ll continue with the backup plan.”

They watched Ann drive away in her car, followed closely by the dark van. Then the man got out of his car and sprinted to his vehicle.

* * *

The next morning Ann marched into her office with a plan. There was no way she was going to let Anthony fire her. She walked out of the elevators and past the secretary with her head held high. She avoided talking to anyone; she just wanted to make it into her office. She was so focused on getting there, she didn’t see the man sitting behind her desk until after she’d closed the door, leaned back on it, and released a sigh of relief.

“Was it that bad?” Dave asked from her chair. She couldn’t help it, she squealed. She’d only met Dave Myers once before, on the day she’d been hired almost five years ago. He was an older gentlemen with silver hair. His suits always looked pressed and he never had a hair out of place. He had a reputation for being a hard-ass and she’d done everything she could to avoid dealing with him directly.

“Oh,” she stood up straight and ran her hands over her skirt, trying to make sure she looked perfect.

“Come in, Miss Rhodes. I’d like to hear all about your adventures.”

She walked in and sat in one of the chairs that sat in front of her desk. She felt nervous, like she was being interviewed for a job. This was her office, but she didn’t quite know what was going to happen next.

Less than an hour later, the laughter could be heard down the hall from her office. Ann realized a few things talking to Dave. First, he was a pretty cool guy for a hard-ass. And second, he only wanted what was best for his business and his employees.

He’d told her that he had set up a fund for Mark’s and Joe’s families. Even though the business had nothing officially to do with their deaths, he’d promised to take care of them, something she’d almost broken down crying over. She’d missed their services since she was still hiking through the jungle trying to save her own skin at the time.

Dave had also told her that he was very interested in running her piece on Heitor, especially in light of her father’s new campaign. It would shed some more light on the whole subject of the struggle with the drug lords. Not to mention the effects his new law would have on stopping drugs from coming in through one of the largest states, one that had problems with border patrols. The fact that Texas has the most drug seizures through traffic stops weighed heavily on her father’s campaign. Dave was a huge supporter of her father and had dedicated the network to cover his upcoming speeches.

Ann didn’t know if Dave treated her special because of her connections, but she didn’t think so. She liked to think that Dave was just a really good guy, who’d been judged by the wrong people.

“You understand that the story idea still needs to be run by the board. I’ll let you know when they make a decision. It should be sometime later this week.”

He stood and shook her hand. “Again, I’m really sorry about everything that’s happened to you over the last few weeks. If you need any more time off, please, just let us know.”

She smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you, no. I’m ready to get back to work and keep busy.”

She needed to so she could stop thinking about the one person she still couldn’t get out of her mind.

Later as she made her way to the supermarket, she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was being followed. At first she thought she was hallucinating. Then she’d purposely gone into the frozen food section and opened one of the large glass doors. There he was, looking back at her through the reflection. Heitor stood at the end of the aisle, but when she turned to look, he was gone. She’d rushed to the end of the aisle, but hadn’t seen him or anyone else for that matter.

As she walked out to her car, she was shocked to see Javan leaning against her car. She’d rushed to him and hugged him. When he told her he was working with Ethan to watch her, she’d been a little upset that Ethan wasn’t going to do it himself.

“Don’t look like that, Princess.” The use of Ethan’s nickname jolted her. “Sorry, that’s what he calls you.” He smiled and she realized she couldn’t be mad at him. “He wants me to watch you when you’re out. Plus, I’m supposed to install surveillance in your place. I wanted to wait until you got back.”

“Well, I’m just heading back now. Were you following me earlier? In the store?”

He nodded his head. “Did you happen to see a large Brazilian man, gray hair, a little taller than you?”