The Midnight Hour (31 page)

"Tomorrow; and there are a number of other things we need to do to get prepared."

Tori nodded. She knew the waiting would be the hardest part; the waiting as well as not knowing exactly what to expect. Hawk still wasn't happy that Drake would not use the CIA as backup. He didn't want any restrictions and was determined to work on his own.

"I guess you're tired and ready to go back to bed," he said in a soft voice that was laden with huskiness. He extended his hand out to her to help her out of her chair. The moment their hands touched a sizzling current flowed through her. When she stood, their eyes met and she knew he had felt it, too.

"Drake?"

"Yes?"

"We need to keep our minds focused on other things… like staying alive." She watched as he drew in a deep breath.

"All right, but when this business with Cross is over…"

She glanced away, not able to look into his eyes any longer because she knew when the business with Cross was over, she still intended to get on with her life without him. There was no way she could share her and her baby's life with a man who continued to take risks. She refused to sit around waiting for him to get himself killed.

"I think I'll go on to bed now," she said, deciding not to comment on what he'd just said.

He lifted a brow. "It's still early."

"I know, but I have a book Corinthians gave me that I'd like to finish reading."

He nodded. "I'm glad that you got to meet Corinthians and Nettie."

She smiled as she remembered the two women and the warmth that had flowed from them. She was happy for Trevor and Ashton. They had married women who were truly as special as Drake had said they were. "I'm glad I got to meet them, too. Now, I'd better go."

"All right. After breakfast I'll show you around."

"Okay." Without looking back, she quickly climbed the stairs to go to her bedroom.

Drake sat in front of the huge monitor screen with his legs stretched out in front of him, as he watched a family of raccoons sprint about, looking for food. He smiled when he thought of Tender Two. A few minutes earlier, he had zoomed in on him and it seemed his old friend had a mate; it also appeared from the looks of his companion that he would be a father soon.

He smiled as he stood up and checked his watch. It was late, almost midnight, but he wasn't sleepy. He was restless. He remembered one night when Tori had been restless and how they had handled the problem, but he knew there would be no relief for him. She was right, they needed to keep their mind focused on one thing and one thing only.

He wished his body understood that.

He sighed deeply. For his own sanity he needed to concentrate on something. He moved over to the bookcase and decided he might try reading a good book when he saw the photo album. He automatically reached for it and slowly opened it up.

His heart caught. They were pictures he and Sandy had taken together and as he looked at them, the woman in the photos looked nothing like the woman sleeping upstairs in one of his bedrooms. Both women were beautiful. Yet there were differences that couldn't be seen in a photograph, but qualities that he loved.

With Sandy, it had been the little things, like the way she could make him laugh no matter how bad his day had gone, the way she would look at him and give him that 'come-and-get-it' smile, the way she was so positive about life in general, even when they were on a dangerous mission. With Tori… there was everything about her that drew her to him. She was a grown-up, more matured version of Sandy, who had seen and experienced things that no longer were positive, yet it hadn't made her cynical; more cautious, yes, but not cynical. She had gotten rough around the edges in a way that literally turned him on, and her mouth had gotten sassier. Sandy had been his kind of woman then, but Tori was definitely his kind of woman now.

Closing the album he leaned against the bookcase. There was no way he could risk losing the woman he loved again. He would do anything to keep her safe, even if at some point it meant walking away.

The thought nearly pierced his heart and cut into his soul. He sighed, bowed his head and prayed that it never came to that.

Houston, Texas

Ashton Sinclair suddenly awakened, drenched in sweat. He'd had another dream about Sir Drake. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut.

Easing out of bed, being careful not to wake Nettie, he left his bedroom and went into the kitchen to use the phone.

It was late, but he needed to call Trevor and hoped he didn't wake up the entire Grant household in the process.

He sighed when Trevor picked up on the second ring, and amazingly he sounded wide-awake. "Trev, this is Ash-ton. What are you doing up?"

He nodded when Trevor told him he was watching a basketball game on television. "Look, man, I just had a vision. Sir Drake needs us."

"Hello, Mrs. Gillette," Drake greeted the older woman who was putting away the additional groceries he had called and asked her to pick up.

He and Tori had gotten up early and walked his property. Then later they had installed additional sensors as well as checked on a few others to make sure they were angled the way he'd wanted. After returning to the cabin he had taken a bath and when he'd gotten out of the shower, he had run into Tori in the hallway. At first she hadn't seen him but when she'd turned, she had caught his gaze and held it steady while heat had thrummed all through him.

Even from the distance separating them, he could feel her temperature rise and the only thing that had stopped him from crossing the room and taking her into his arms was the alarm that had gone off, alerting them that someone had gained access to his property. It didn't take him long to discover it was Mrs. Gillette delivering more groceries. He had introduced her to Tori before Tori had excused herself to go take her own shower.

"I see you and your houseguest are putting down a lot of milk," Mrs. Gillette said, reclaiming Drake's attention.

He chuckled as he grabbed an apple off the counter.

"Hey, don't blame me, it's all Tori's doing. She seems to just love the stuff."

Mrs. Gillette smiled as she watched him take a big plug out of the fruit. "Well, that's understandable."

Drake lifted a brow. "What is?"

"Her drinking milk."

He gave the older woman a reluctant grin and wondered why she would think that such a thing was understandable. So he decided to ask. "Why is it understandable for her to drink milk?"

Mrs. Gillette walked past him to put a couple of canned goods in his pantry. He was right on her heels. "Because of her condition," she said, placing the items on the shelf.

Drake stilled; momentarily stopped breathing. When he was able to breathe again, he grabbed Mrs. Gillette's hand. She glanced up at him, startled. "Drake? What's wrong?"

Instead of answering her question, he had one of his own. "What condition are you talking about?"

Mrs. Gillette studied him for a few moments. Then she looked behind her to make sure Tori wasn't around. "If you don't know, then I'm not sure it's my place to tell you," she whispered. She then moved across the room to get her purse off the table. She looked at him and a tiny smile touched her lips. "All I have to say, Drake Warren, is that after giving birth to eight kids, I know the signs and consuming a lot of milk is just one of them." She lifted a brow. "Being a man I'm surprised you haven't noticed any of the others."

Without saying anything else, Mrs. Gillette went to the door, opened it and walked out, closing it behind her.

Drake leaned back against the counter as his heart started racing. He took deep breaths to calm himself down but it wasn't working. Why did Mrs. Gillette think Tori was pregnant? What signs was she talking about?

He slowly walked into the living room, pulled the drapes back and watched Mrs. Gillette leave. She was no longer there for him to ask. The only person who could answer that question was Tori.

All I have to say, Drake Warren, is that after giving birth to eight kids, I know the signs…

The older woman's words rang in his ears. Could she be right? He continued to stand at the window, staring out. Had Tori deliberately lied to him about not being pregnant? God help her if she had, he thought as anger consumed him. He thought of what had happened in Houston-the danger she'd been in, her fight with Horton, and his anger escalated. If she was pregnant, she had placed herself and their baby at risk… and with Cross planning to show up any day, they were still at risk.

He balled his hands into fists at his side. He hoped for Tori's sake that Mrs. Gillette had read the signs wrong.

When Tori walked into the bedroom after taking her shower, she stopped short. Drake was sitting in the chair next to the bed holding a cold glass of milk in his hand.

She gently brushed the damp hair back from her face as she studied him. "Drake, what are you doing in here?"

He met her gaze; held it. "I thought you might like a glass of milk," he said, placing the glass on the small table next to the bed.

Tori studied his features and could tell he was upset about something. "Did you hear from Hawk?"

He continued to watch her, silently, intently. "No, I didn't hear from Hawk," he replied quietly, almost in a deadly tone.

Tori pulled her robe together, beginning to feel nervous. What was wrong with him? She clenched her jaw to stop from screaming the question at him. When time ticked on and he didn't say anything, just continued to stare at her, she couldn't take it any longer. "Drake, why are you upset?"

He slowly stood. "Is there any particular reason why I should be upset, Tori?"

She swallowed as she saw the anger that lined his face. "I don't know. Is there?"

He met her gaze and more anger deepened the grooves around his eyes. "Oh, yes, there certainly is." He tossed her bottle of prenatal vitamins on the bed. "Would you like to explain these?"

Tori quickly crossed the room and picked up the bottle. Fire blazed in her eyes when she looked up at him. "You went through my things! My personal belongings!"

Drake lost his composure-the little bit he'd been holding onto. "Damn right! I wouldn't have had to resort to such tactics if you'd been honest with me from the beginning. Are you pregnant?"

She met his gaze, felt his anger. He was going to give her hell. Double hell. She tilted her chin upward. "Yes, I'm pregnant."

"And the child is mine."

It was a statement and not a question but Tori answered anyway. "Yes, it's yours."

Hearing her say it, hearing her admit she carried his child, took some of the punch out of Drake's anger; but not all of it. "Why didn't you tell me the truth when I asked you about it, Tori?" he asked in a somewhat gentler voice. "You'd even told me that you would contact me if you were pregnant. Why didn't you?"

Tori met his gaze and immediately she saw the hurt in his eyes. "Because I knew that we could never have a future together, Drake. You didn't know my true identity and I couldn't tell you who I was. Besides that, you were a CIA operative and I was getting out of the business. I couldn't live my life putting my child in constant danger."

Her quiet answer did little to quell the anger he felt. "What gave you the right to make a decision on my behalf, Tori? For all you knew, I could have been willing to walk away from the Agency."

Tori raised a doubtful brow. "I didn't think there was one thing that could get you to leave the CIA. You live for the risks. It's part of who you are."

Drake's shoulders were ramrod straight, his jaw set and his eyes were dark with emotion. "There isn't one thing that could have pulled me away, but there are two. To keep you and my child from danger, I would have walked away in a heartbeat without looking back."

Tori was stunned. "Are you sure I would have been included in the mix? Even when you had no idea I was Sandy?"

He raised a brow as if surprised at her question. "Of course."

Tori sighed. She had hoped he would be a little bit more forthcoming than that, but she was satisfied. "But I didn't know that, Drake, and maybe you're right that I should have told you, but I didn't. I made a decision based on what I thought was best for our child under the circumstances."

"Your pregnancy was my fault. I didn't use a condom."

Tori shook her head. "It wasn't anyone's fault. We got carried away that night and lost our heads. I knew who you were although you didn't know who I was. More than anything I wanted to be with you that night. I didn't deliberately get pregnant, but when I discovered that I was, more than anything, I wanted our child."

He studied her for a long moment, glad to hear her say those words. Then he asked, "And how have you been feeling?"

She saw concern in his eyes. "I've been fine," she assured him. "So far this pregnancy has been a breeze. I haven't had any morning sickness and feel relatively fit."

He nodded. "How far along are you, actually?"

"Three months as of yesterday."

"You aren't showing," he said, his gaze focusing on her stomach. "Nettie was already showing at three months."

Tori smiled. "Nettie was carrying triplets. I'm having just one baby, Drake."

He lifted a brow. "Boy or girl?"

Tori shook her head and grinned. "I have no idea. It's too early to tell."

Drake shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Either one will be a future marine."

Tori nodded. She could agree on that.

Drake took a step closer to her, closed the distance separating them and, after opening her bathrobe, his hand moved in a shaky path across her flat stomach. "And you're sure there's a baby in here?"

Tori was so mesmerized by the tenderness she heard in Drake's voice that she almost couldn't talk over the lump that formed in her throat. Nor could she hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure there's a baby in there. We communicate all the time and it knows you're its father. It has officially met you already."