The Midnight Hour (3 page)

had gone.

Now everyone was wondering who was the woman who had slipped past security and paid Drake a visit, imparting upon him the will to live. Within twenty-four hours, Drake had come out of his coma and only remembered bits and pieces of his late-night visitor. He assumed what he'd had was an out-of-body experience with an angel, of all things.

But there had been two people who had actually seen "Drake's angel" to know the woman had been real flesh and blood. Now enough people were wondering who she was and what was her purpose in visiting Drake under the pretense of being a doctor? But most importantly, the big question was how had she pulled him back into the land of the;

living?

The two individuals who had actually spoken to "Dr., Chadwick" had been the marine sentry posted outside'; Drake's room and Marine Colonel Ashton Sinclair. The' sentry's description of Tori was vague, but Colonel Sinclair's description was a whole lot sharper. He was a man trained to be observant, to notice any detail, no matter how minor and indicated he would definitely recognize the woman if he were to see her again.

In Abram Hawk's book that didn't bode well.

Everyone believed that Sandy Carroll had died during that mission in Haiti. Instead she had been left for dead, her body burned almost beyond recognition. Even with extensive injuries, she had managed to roll her critically injured body from the burning building before it exploded, only to be buried under flying debris. Because of the extent of her injuries, as well as the secrecy of the mission, she had been immediately secreted away to a private hospital under another name. And because Cross and his group had immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, and Hawk knew the man would retaliate and try again if word got out that Sandy had lived, a decision was made that, in addition to the reconstructive surgery that she desperately needed, that she would also be given a new identity. In a way to protect both Drake and Sandy, such drastic measures had to be taken. Cross was already something of a crazed lunatic before his wife had gotten killed and her death had only pushed him more over the edge.

Besides Hawk, the only other person who knew CIA Agent Victoria Green was former Marine Captain Sandy Carroll was the highly skilled doctor who had performed the surgery, Stephen Hunt. By the time Sandy had regained consciousness well over three months later, she had awakened with a new face and a new identity with the understanding that Sandy Carroll had died in that explosion in Haiti and was gone forever. That meant establishing a new life and giving up anything and everything that had been connected to her past, including Drake Warren. There was no way they could ever let Drake know that Sandy had not died in that bombing. Cross's hatred for Drake was well-known and he wouldn't hesitate using Tori again to settle an old score.

When Drake began working for the Agency a year after Tori had come on board, it was also decided that their paths could never cross. Since Hawk was the boss of both of them, he had worked hard to assure that their assignments took them to different parts of the world, which hadn't been a hard thing to do since Drake Warren was such a loner. Besides, if they had run into each other, Tori would have recognized Drake, but there was no way Drake would have recognized Tori. Her facial features were totally different from those of Sandy Carroll. And because of the extensive nasal and throat surgery she had undergone due to scarred tissue, even her voice was different. Only her eyes had remained a dark chocolate brown. When Hawk had first seen her after the extensive cosmetic surgery, he had been satisfied that there I was nothing about her features to indicate who she'd once I been. Her mannerisms had been another story and she had undergone an entire year of in-depth training for the once right-handed person to become left-handed. That had taken a lot of hard work on Tori's part and in the end she had I again mastered her skills in martial arts and marksmanship. I

Unfortunately, no matter how successful they had been with Tori's makeover, the one thing they hadn't been able to replace was her heart. Since Hawk at one time had been both her and Drake's marine colonel, he had been one of the first to detect the blossoming romance between them, although Drake had fought it like hell. Tori had been more accepting and Hawk would never forget how, following her rescue, Drake had been the one person she had constantly cried out for during all the pain she'd endured from the trauma of the fire and explosion before lapsing into unconsciousness for those three weeks. "I had to go see him, Hawk."

Tori's soft voice sounded defeated, filled with grief, loss, but held no remorse. He knew if this situation happened again she would risk everything for the man she still loved. "By going to see Drake you outright disobeyed my am orders, Tori. Sandy Carroll doesn't exist anymore. You know that as well as I do. She died in that explosion and for over five years now I've asked you to get on with your life."

Tori sighed deeply and wondered how she could get Hawk or anyone else to understand that she had tried getting on with her life and most of the time she succeeded. But there were those days when she wasn't consumed with work, when she suffered from bouts of depression, and she couldn't help but think about the man she had lost forever.

She fully understood that to let Drake know she was still alive would be a terrible risk, especially if Solomon Cross found out. The man was a cold-blooded killer and would hunt her down and kill her just because he would have felt he'd been cheated out of her death. Cross had eluded the DEA and CIA's clutches for more than eight years and was one of the most wanted men in the war on drugs. He had been in hiding for the past five years and for a while everyone thought he was dead, taken out by his own cartel. But recent reports that had been confirmed through several different governmental agencies indicated the man was still very much alive. But no matter the risk, she could not have stood silently by and watched Drake give up the will to live.

Struggling with a mix of emotions, Tori stood and walked over to the window and looked out at the Atlantic Ocean. To anyone looking in, this particular building, nestled on the ocean in Hilton Head, South Carolina, was a private vacation resort. Very few knew that the people who came to stay under the exclusive roof of the Diamond Bay Resort were CIA agents working on assignments that could take them anywhere in the country. Diamond Bay gave them the cover they needed to be linked as professionals to the outside world while camouflaging the true nature of their work.

The resort's proximity to the ocean made it easy when agents had assignments where exiting the island by boat was the safest and most surreptitious way to do so.

After a few moments, Tori turned and faced Hawk. "I know I disobeyed orders, Hawk, and maybe now is a good time for me to resign. I did something a good agent shouldn't do, which is to let my emotions dictate my actions. All it took was for me to hear Drake had been critically injured to kick me into action; especially when I heard he was dying."

Hawk's mouth tightened momentarily. He agreed that Tori needed time away from the Agency but he wasn't sure quitting was the answer. She had skills the Agency needed and was considered one of the best female agents they had. But still, with his retirement coming up in three months, he wouldn't be around to look out for her as he'd done in the past. In order to keep her alive he would have to tell his successor her history and he wasn't sure he could do that, especially if they brought in Ronald Casey to replace him. Casey had a reputation of being an opportunist, someone with his eye on the brass ring. Bringing in Cross would be at the top of Casey's agenda and if Hawk wasn't certain that Tori could do it, he wouldn't use her to accomplish his goal. So he had made the decision that if Casey was his replacement, he would not share Tori's history with the man, which meant after Hawk retired, there was a chance that, if Drake returned to work, Tori and Drake could be teamed up together on an assignment.

"What about that agent that I heard you were seeing in Chisholm's operations? Didn't things work out?"

Tori shook her head when she thought of Tom Crowley. They had dated a couple of times then wished they hadn't. The man had had an ego a mile long, and when on their second date he had hinted he was ready to move things to another level, namely the bedroom, she had quickly sent him packing.

"No, things didn't work out with me and Tom," she said with no regrets.

"And what about Daniel Horton? He's a nice enough guy and I understand the two of you were seeing each other last year."

Tori glanced away from him, wondering how she could explain that the reason things didn't work out between her and Daniel was because he was a nice guy. Knowing the danger her life would be in, always having to look over her shoulder, she had decided to remove herself from the relationship before it got too serious. "At the time I wasn't ready to get serious with anyone, Hawk."

For a long moment Hawk didn't say anything, then he asked, "Have you given thought to transferring to another operation within the Agency, Tori? Although I agree you should take some time off, I don't think leaving the Agency is the answer. Now that you know that Drake's condition has significantly improved, I want you to take the next six months off before making a decision about anything. Go somewhere on vacation and enjoy yourself."

And since he knew she didn't have any family, he added, "To be quite honest, I wasn't all that impressed when I heard you were seeing Crowley, considering what I've heard regarding his high level of arrogance, but I'm sure there are other men out there somewhere who're much more suited. Maybe now is the time you should seriously try to get out and meet someone and move your life forward."

Tori stared into her superior's cool dark eyes. "And if I refuse to voluntarily take the time off?" she asked, her jaw squared and her tone anything but respectful at the moment.

"You have no choice. I'm ordering you to take a six-month leave of absence from the Agency, and if after that time you feel you still want to resign, then I'm sure the person who'll replace me will have no trouble giving you what you want. However, if you resign now, I'll have no choice but to document your file that your resignation would be due to dishonorable conduct as an agent. I'm sure you don't want to leave the Agency with that on your record."

Tori tightened her fists at her sides. For the past five years the Agency had been her life. In a way it still was. Hawk was right. She needed time away to make decisions. She had purchased a little place in California, right off the bay. Six months was just the amount of time she needed to try and get herself together, rebuild her life, something she'd tried to do for the past five years. But she had only been fooling herself. Drake had been out of sight but not out of mind and definitely not out of her heart.

"All right, Hawk. I'll make arrangements to leave tomorrow." Without saying another word she walked out of his

office.

Hissing a curse Abram Hawk stood and went to stand by the same window Tori had vacated earlier. Moments later, inhaling deeply, he walked back to his desk and picked up the phone. "Lucille, get Dr. Stephen Hunt on the line," he instructed his assistant with displeasure lining his voice. He wasn't sure what damage Tori had done by going to see Drake that night but he had to make sure all bases were covered.

Five months later

Drake Warren stepped into the elegant lobby of the Diamond Bay Resort and removed his aviator-style sunglasses. The chandeliers overhead made him squint against the startling intensity of the lights' brightness. Glancing around he released a deep, ragged sigh.

After being on a six-month medical leave, he was back. The doctors had given him a clean bill of health and he was itching to return to the field. His experience with his "angel" had been his wake-up call and had assured him of one major thing. He still had work to do. After all, Solomon Cross was out there, wasn't he? And Drake intended to find the man and make him pay for all he'd cost him.

While lying in that hospital bed as pain racked his body, it had been so much easier to give up and escape a world that had been so cruel to him and caused him so much pain. But he'd been pulled back from the threshold of the dead, given another lease on life and he planned to take full advantage of it.

He smiled when he thought of Ashton and his friend's thoughts of "Drake's angel." According to Ashton the woman had been real, flesh and blood. That thought didn't bother Drake any, but it had bothered Ashton and Trevor. Drake could only assume that neither of his good friends had taken the time to watch the television show Touched By An Angel. It was one of his favorites and whenever he was in one place long enough he made time to see it.

Everybody knew that an angel could take on many forms and if his angel had decided to be a doctor that night instead of just materializing in his room dressed in white, wearing a halo and showing off her wings, that was her business and he definitely wasn't going to question her mode of arrive He was just glad she had shown up when she had and had talked some sense into him.

For the first time in years he felt like a blessed man. He had his health back, and years ago he had inherited a huge track of land in the Tennessee mountains from his grandparents; land that kept him connected to his roots. Then there were the smart investments that he'd made over the years that had put him in a good financial position.

Checking his watch, he saw he had an entire hour to kill before his meeting with his new boss now that Hawk had retired. An unexpected encrypted message had been left fl his computer that said he needed to report to Diamond Bay immediately for this urgent meeting. At the time he had been in Houston, visiting with Trevor, Ashton, and their families.

He couldn't help but smile. After he had gotten discharged from the hospital, Trevor's wife, Corinthians, and Ashton's wife, Nettie, had decided he would come to Houston to recuperate. While he was there, Nettie had given birth to triplets, all boys, as Ashton had predicted. Babies and mother were doing well. He had attended the christening ceremony for Ashton's sons where he and Trevor had become their godfathers.