The Midnight Hour (16 page)

She nodded. "Do you need help packing?"

"No, just keep your eyes and ears open."

She glared at him. "You don't have to tell me that."

"Sorry. My mistake." While stuffing everything back into his overnight bag, Drake watched as Tori paced the room. His gaze followed her movement, appreciating the sexy sway of her hips with every step she took. Her thighs seemed curvier since he'd last seen her. She was wearing a blue tank top and a pair of khaki shorts that showed off her long, shapely legs.

And those perfect, round breasts pressed against her tank top; breasts that he knew would fit right beautifully in the palms of his hands. He could barely take his eyes off of her. Her hair was somewhat longer, the curls framing her face and flowing down her shoulders. He liked the new style and thought it enhanced her features even more.

He knew tonight's experience had probably thrown her for a loop. Going out of the country on a mission was one thing; you expected the unexpected. But right in your backyard where you felt safe and sound, was a different matter. The last thing you would expect was to become someone's target. He knew Hawk was probably working with the local FBI as well as the CIA to determine who was behind what was going on and why.

She stopped pacing, turned to him and caught him staring. He saw the look of wariness in her eyes. "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Yes, I'm positive." He snapped his overnight bag shut and had a deep feeling that something wasn't right. She was hiding something and he could feel it. He didn't like surprises. Crossing the room to her, he closed the distance between them, cocked his head to one side and looked down at her. He could tell his close assessment was making her nervous.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped.

He smiled. He knew she had to feel vulnerable, her stony control shaken somewhat. But this was the Tori he wanted to see: the feisty woman who had been his partner when they had gone into the jungles of Costa Rica; the lady who was full of fire and had one smart-assed mouth on her. A luscious mouth he'd enjoyed kissing.

"I'm looking at you," he finally answered, his tone challenging. "For some reason I think you're holding back, that you're not telling me something. Are you sure you have no idea what's going on, Tori, or why anyone is after you?"

She placed her hand on her hips and glared up at him, holding his gaze boldly. "No, I have no idea what's going on or why anyone is after me." She breathed in deeply. She had her thoughts but she wouldn't share them with him. "All I know," she continued, "is that one evening I received a phone call and the person hung up. A week later, someone tried to break into my home. Then earlier tonight I received a call from Hawk telling me I needed to go into hiding. In the process of following his orders, I encountered that sedan who was dead-set on ending my life and probably would have if you hadn't shown up when you did."

Drake shook his head. "No."

Tori lifted a brow. "No, what?"

"I don't think they wanted you dead."

With an exhausted sigh, Tori tipped her head back and looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Whoever was after you tonight didn't want you dead."

Tori continued to stare at him, confused. "What makes you think that?"

Because you're still alive. The person driving that car had plenty of time to blast you away had they wanted to. I think they intended to run you off the road and take you.”

Tori swallowed deeply. What he was saying didn't make sense but when she thought about it, he was right. Even before Drake had shown up, there had been plenty of time for the other car to take her out if that had been their intent Although she had tried staying way ahead, she would have been defenseless against a high-powered rifle.

He watched the lump form in Ton's throat indicating that what he said had her thinking and she was getting more nervous "And you're sure you've told me everything?

She sighed deeply and met his gaze. "Yes, I've told you everything.”

He stood there, staring down at her. She was so beautiful and all of a sudden he was very much aware that they were in a hotel room with a king-sized bed only a few feet away and his imagination kicked into overdrive.

His mind was suddenly swamped with visions of a naked Tori laid out on that bed, the look in her eyes soft and welcoming as she waited for him to come to her. The thought had his zipper nearly bursting from the force of his; arousal He quickly forced the vision from his mind, deciding that now was not the time to think about anything sexual. His main focus needed to be on keeping them both alive. But damn if he couldn't help but think about the sounds she d made when he was thrusting into her, over and over again, and how…

"Drake? You okay?"

He snapped out of his haze, realizing that he had just been standing there, staring down at her like a hungry lion, j He quickly turned away before she could notice the state of his body. He needed to give his body time to cool down so he turned back to his packing. "I'm fine," he said. "Just trying to figure out who could be after you."

Tori studied him, positive that hadn't been what he'd been thinking about at all. But she decided to let it go for now. "You said you had arrived earlier today to see me. Why?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Feeling more in control of himself, Drake turned toward her. "No one at the Agency gave me your information so you don't have to worry about that. And I wasn't the one who retrieved information off the CIA database if that thought crossed your mind. Like I told you earlier, I hired a private investigator. And as to the reason why I'm here, it's because I needed to see you, Tori."

Blood sizzled through her veins just from the way he said her name. It wasn't the first time tonight, but not quite like that; not with the sound rolling off his tongue in a way that made her think of deep, hot kisses and tangled sheets.

"Why did you need to see me?" she asked, a little breathlessly and almost hated herself for it. The thought that he was actually here sent her off balance again. Even now, after all that had happened tonight, his presence exuded an energy that was slowly zapping her strength. He appeared larger than life, his vitality simply awesome. That's the way Drake had always been.

When he continued looking at her without answering her question, she nervously licked her lips. "Please answer my question, Drake."

"Okay."

She sucked in a deep breath when he slowly crossed the room to her. She was aware of every step he took and when he came to a stop in front of her, she had to force herself to brreathe.

"The last time we were together, we made love and I didn't use protection. You were going to let me know if you had gotten pregnant."

Tori was completely unprepared for the jolt that shot through her and she stared up at him with wide eyes. She had thought that when he didn't hear from her that he would just believe she wasn't pregnant. Most men would have. But then she had to remember she wasn't dealing with most men. She was dealing with Drake Carswell Warren. He was a man who made his own rules and left nothing to chance. There was a directness about him that let her know he expected an answer of either, "Yes, I'm pregnant" or '’No, I'm not pregnant." There would be no assumptions.

She breathed in deeply, knowing she couldn't tell him the truth. After this episode in her life-the reason someone was after her-was resolved, she would go her way and he would go his. He would never know that she carried a life within her womb; a life he had placed there. That was something he must not find out.

Drake wasn't a man who would walk away from his responsibilities. He was a former marine, a man with honor and conservative views. A man who believed in family although he didn't have one of his own. But at one time he had. He had been raised by grandparents, and a father he had loved and who had loved him. Years ago when she had been Sandy Carroll, they had talked about having children 1 and raising them in the Tennessee Mountains. But that was then and this was now. She was not the same person and neither was he. Danger lurked in their pasts. If Solomon Cross had even an idea that Sandy Carroll was still alive, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her, Drake, and their child.

After deciding what her response would be, she met his gaze for a long moment, then said, "I thought it would have been obvious when I didn't contact you, Drake. But if you need to hear it directly from me then so be it. I'm not pregnant."

She quickly got up and said, "Here, let me take your jacket. You have enough to carry out."

Drake stared at her for a long moment. Then he nodded as he picked up the overnight bag he had placed by her feet. "Okay, come on. I paid by credit card so I don't have to check out at the desk. I'll feel a lot better when we're on our way to Tennessee."

He looked at her, his mouth tightening; his features suddenly became serious, deadly, and his gaze held her captive. "In Tennessee I'll be on my own turf and if anyone wants you, they'll have to come through me."

Tori swallowed. In other words, he wouldn't make it easy for them. In fact, he intended to make it damn impossible. His words made her feel safe, secure, and she knew at that moment there was no other person she would rather trust with her or her baby's life.

"Are you hungry?"

With a quiet intake of breath Tori glanced over at Drake. The sight of him warmed her skin and she felt more feminine than she had in a long time. She had been very much aware of each and every time his gaze had touched her body. She had known when his eyes had lingered on her breasts or when he had glanced down at her thighs. Following every movement, every nervous shift; he had been watching, aware.

Heat rushed her cheeks when she met his gaze. "I am a little hungry," she decided to admit. They had stopped for breakfast hours ago and now it was lunchtime.

"No problem. You have a taste for anything special?"

"No. Anything will do as long as it's filling," she said.

Filling. Drake recalled how wonderful it had felt filling her that night and he couldn't stop the fierce arousal seeping through him as he remembered how it felt going deep inside; her body. Frustration suddenly stabbed at him. He needed to concentrate on the business at hand and not on the very sexy woman sitting beside him. But then, he had to admit that she was the business at hand.

They had only heard from Hawk once and that was to let them know the truck had been disposed of and the FBI had pulled the records at the rental agency. The Bureau had also informed the California Highway Patrol as well. There were so many unknowns that they could use every pair of eyes and ears.

The inside of the car had gotten quiet. He wanted to hear Tori talk, liking the sound of her voice. "Tell me about yourself, Tori."

She glanced over at him, wondering just what he wanted to know, and specifically just what she could tell him. "There's not a lot to tell about me, Drake."

"I want to hear what there is. All I know is that you're an 1 agent who once served in the marines in Pendleton, California. I also know you're an ace in martial arts and the use of 1 firearms. And although our paths never crossed, we both I were under Hawk's command, which I find interesting."

"What? That we were both under Hawk's command?" she 1 asked, trying to bring a light teasing to their conversation.

Drake didn't return her smile. "No, the fact that our paths never crossed."

Tori nodded. "I don't think anything is really unusual: about that, Drake. You mainly worked alone and in different countries than I did. There really was no reason for our paths to cross."

He met her gaze. "Not even at Diamond Bay?"

"Especially not at Diamond Bay. Unlike some agents who made DB their home away from home while in-between assignments, I preferred not to do that and rented a little place in Charleston. The only time I went to Hilton Head was when I got a summons from Hawk or to leave on assignment."

He nodded. "You once mentioned you had lost someone you loved; a marine you were going to marry. What happened to him?"

Tori sighed deeply, knowing the story she and Hawk had fabricated for others. "He was killed in a car accident when he went home on leave one Christmas. I was supposed to join him there later."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me, too." She stopped talking and glanced up at him. "Is there a reason for all of these questions, Drake?"

The eyes that met hers were serious, intense. "The night you mentioned losing your marine was the same night you brought up my relationship with Sandy Carroll. You had heard that she and I were engaged to be married at the time she was killed."

Tori swallowed deeply, wondering why Drake was bringing up anything about Sandy. She cleared her throat, knowing he was waiting on a response from her."Yes. I think most people had heard the two of you were an item."

Drake smiled. "Sandy and I were a lot alike. A perfect fit and everyone knew it. I respected her deeply and loved her more than life itself."

Tori glanced over at him and looked into his eyes. She immediately saw the pain still lodged there. It was pain that touched her heart. "In some ways, I think you still love her, Drake," she said softly.

'’Yes, I do," he said honestly. "What about you, Tori? Do you still love your marine?"

She turned away from Drake and glanced out of the window to look out at the stretch of rolling meadows they were passing. Her gaze then returned to his. "Yes, I still love him. It's been five years, but I still love him with all of my heart," she said quietly.

He accepted her response. Understanding it. For the next few minutes neither of them said anything. Then he spoke, "Do you ever compare other men to him? Look for similarities?"

Tori let out a sigh when she realized what must have happened. That night when they had made love, something had triggered a memory of Sandy. Someone once said that a person would know his or her lover no matter what face he or she had, due to something called a soul connection. Had Drake felt such a thing the night they had made love? The night their child had been conceived?