A Kiss in the Dark (35 page)

18

“W
ELL
, I
GUESS
that does it.” Sedona closed the top of the cardboard box that held the last of her personal items, and ran a strip of packing tape along the seam, pressing it into place with her fingers. She looked up at Agent Denton. “Would you mind walking out to the parking lot with me? Since The Incident, I’m pretty much persona non grata around here.”

Agent Denton scooped up the larger of the two boxes. “It couldn’t have gone any better,” he commented. “We got everything on tape, and Mike Sullivan gave us the names of the members on the Promotion Selection Board. I think it’s fair to say none of them will ever get another job with the Department of Defense.”

It had been three days since Sedona had confronted the members. Immediately following their “meeting,” federal agents had converged on the conference room and arrested each of the men on illegal labor practices and sexual-harassment charges.

Sedona was just glad it was finally over. She didn’t even regret leaving the agency. She hefted the remaining box into her arms and followed Agent Denton out of the office.

Nope, not a single regret.

She’d been given a second chance and she wasn’t about to screw it up. This time, she’d find a job doing what she loved. She’d already emailed samples of her drawings to a magazine that specialized in military art. The executive editor had expressed interest in her drawings of the Coyote jets, and had indicated they were in the market for a senior illustrator.

Beyond that, the only thing she wanted was to be with the man she loved. She’d spent the past five years committed to her career, but now she’d been given a second chance and there was no way she was going to blow it.

Angel was due to fly in from Lemoore that evening. It felt like forever since she’d seen him. She’d tried calling him numerous times, but hadn’t been able to get through. She told herself it was the time difference. That, and he was still providing information to the Coyote investigation team.

But there was a part of her that was hurt that he hadn’t returned any of her calls, or bothered to let her know exactly when his flight was due in. With his broken ankle, he’d need somebody to pick him up at the airport and drive him home.

If not her, then who?

As she followed Agent Denton out of the office, she became aware of those who came to stand in the doorways of their offices and cubicles to watch her leave. She hadn’t made any true friends during her five years with the agency, and now couldn’t bring herself to look at her former coworkers. As she passed Linda, however, she thought she heard the other woman whisper, “Good job.”

In the parking lot, she opened her trunk and waited while Agent Denton deposited his box inside, before sliding her own in beside it. She slammed the trunk closed, and turned to face him, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around,” she said, squinting at him in the bright sunlight.

“You did the right thing, Sedona.”

She scuffed the ground with her toe and then shrugged. “I know. I mean, what they were doing was wrong. Still…”

“What?”

“Once the press gets wind of what happened, their careers will be over. They’ll never get another job, either in government or private industry. Not to mention what it will do to their marriages.”

Agent Denton didn’t smile. “They brought it on themselves.” He glanced at his watch. “I have to get going. One of our people will be in touch with you. Maybe I’ll see you in court, okay?”

“Okay.” She took his proffered hand. “Thank you for everything, Agent Denton.”

“Good luck, Sedona.”

She watched as he climbed into his car and drove away before glancing at her watch. It was only midmorning. Had Angel already left for the airport, or was he still at the Lemoore hotel? She pulled her cell phone out and punched in his number, frustrated when there was no answer.

She stood, undecided for a moment, unable to deny the growing sense that she was being ignored.

Or dumped.

But why? When she had left Angel at the hospital, he’d been so determined to get released, to wrap up the loose ends of the investigation and get on the next flight east to be with her. He’d kissed her thoroughly, had told her he loved her. Not once, but several times. And when she’d finally had to leave, she could tell he didn’t want her to go.

She tapped her keys against the palm of her hand. If Angel wasn’t going to let her know what was going on, she would have to find out on her own. She stared across the parking lot to the building where the navy test pilots maintained their own offices. She debated with herself for maybe a second before she set off in the direction of the building.

She found two of the pilots in the office, preparing their flight plans for the afternoon. One of them looked up, surprised, when she entered.

“Miss Stewart.” He rose to his feet. “Can I help you?”

“Yes—” she glanced at his name badge “—Lieutenant Brodie. I’m here about Lieutenant Torres.”

She paused, and he looked at her expectantly. “What about him?”

“Well, it’s just that he’s due to fly into Logan this afternoon, and I was supposed to meet his flight, only I lost his flight number and I can’t seem to reach him. I was wondering if perhaps he contacted either you or one of the other guys with his travel plans. I’d hate to miss his flight and have him waiting at the airport for me.”

The pilot looked dismayed. “Miss Stewart, I thought you knew…I mean…”

“What? Thought I knew what?”

The man made a helpless gesture. “Diablo is gone.”

“What?”
Fear gripped her, making her knees go weak. “What do you mean,
gone?
” She refused to believe it. Aside from his injured ankle, Angel had been fine the last time she’d seen him. The doctors had assured her he would make a full recovery.

The lieutenant glanced around desperately, clearly wishing he was anywhere else. “I mean he’s been reassigned. He came back two days ago, but didn’t stay. He just packed up his gear and said he was going back to the West Coast.”

Sedona stared at the man, unable to believe what he was saying. “No, you must be mistaken, Angel wasn’t even due to come back until today.”

Lieutenant Brodie looked down at the paperwork on his desk and shuffled it, avoiding her eyes. “He came back two days ago. I thought you knew…he said he was going over to your office. He wasn’t gone long, and he came back pretty pissed off.” He shrugged and looked chagrined. “I figured you two had words.”

“Words?”
Sedona stared, bemused. “I never even
saw
him—are you sure it was two days ago? I mean, what time was it? How could I have missed him? Why didn’t he wait, or try to find me?”

“I don’t know, except he was pretty psyched to be back early. I think he wanted to surprise you.”

And then it hit her.

If he had come back two days ago, the only possible reason he could have for leaving without contacting her and for refusing to either accept or return any of her calls, was that he’d somehow discovered her confrontation with the Membership, or how she’d used the photos of him to entrap them.

“Oh, God,” she breathed. “I need to find him. Did he leave a forwarding address? Anything?”

The pilot shrugged. “Maybe, but not with me. You might want to check with his XO.”

“Okay. Where do I find the XO?”

“He’s located down in Newport. We only ever see him when it’s time for our evaluations, or when we’re due to transfer to a new assignment.” The lieutenant opened a desk drawer and took out a small planner. He flipped it open and scribbled a number on a sheet of paper, tearing it off and handing it to her. “Here’s his phone number. If anyone knows where Diablo is, it’s him.”

Sedona took the paper, feeling dazed. She walked to the parking lot, then sat in her car and stared blindly at the phone number, unable to accept that he’d come and gone without even giving her the opportunity to explain what had happened. He’d said he loved her, but apparently not enough to trust her.

Before she could chicken out and change her mind, she pulled her cell phone from her bag and punched in the XO’s number.

“Commander Schiffer.” The voice was deep and slightly distracted, as if the commander had other, more important things to do.

“Sir, I was told you could tell me how to reach Lieutenant Commander Angel Torres.”

There was a brief silence. “I’m sorry…who is this?”

“My name is Sedona Stewart. I worked on the recent Coyote investigation with Lieutenant Commander Torres.” She swallowed against the small white lie she was about to utter. “He…still owes me several flight-test reports, but I can’t seem to reach him. I understand he’s been reassigned to Lemoore Naval Air Station.”

“Yes, actually, he has. Sedona Stewart, you said?” There was a brief pause, as if he was looking through some paperwork. “Ah, yes. I see you were the lead engineer for the engine-calibration tests during the investigation. You say he owes you several reports? I was told he had completed his reports.”

“These are just some small, er, calculations that we somehow overlooked during our initial inspections.”

“I understand.” There was doubt in the commander’s voice. “Lieutenant Torres requested reassignment to Lemoore, and considering he is currently unable to perform his duties as a flight-test pilot, the navy has agreed to assign him as an instructor at the Top Gun school.”

“Oh.” Sedona couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice. “The decision was…very sudden, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was. But it made sense to send Lieutenant Torres where he could do the most good. I don’t yet have a duty number for him, but I do have his cell phone, which I can give you.”

Damn. She didn’t need his cell phone number; she already had that. She also knew he wouldn’t answer if he thought it was her calling.

“Actually, Commander Schiffer, I’m going back out to Lemoore to, uh, meet with the investigation team one last time. I could always meet Lieutenant Torres there and pick up the reports I need. That is, if I knew where at Lemoore he was located.”

There was a brief silence. “To the best of my knowledge, Miss Stewart, he’s residing at the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters until he can locate appropriate housing. He’ll be working out of the Top Gun training facilities at Lemoore. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can tell you.”

“Of course. Thank you very much, Commander.”

“Would you like me to contact Lieutenant Torres and let him know you’re coming?”

“Oh. No, thank you. I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be leaving, so I’ll just contact him when I get there. Thank you again for your help.”

She closed her cell phone, tilted her head back against the seat and blew out her breath in frustration. It seemed there was no other option; she would be on the next available flight to Lemoore.

* * *

S
EDONA
STOOD
BEFORE
the closed door of the small apartment where Angel was staying. It was part of a complex of apartments built to quarter unmarried or unaccompanied naval officers.

She had arrived in California just hours earlier and had driven straight to Lemoore. All she’d brought with her was a change of clothes, stuffed into an oversize shoulder bag.

Was he home? What would she do if he wasn’t? And what would his reaction be if he found her waiting on his doorstep like some forlorn kitten? She drew in a fortifying breath. If he didn’t answer the door, she would simply go and check into a nearby hotel and return when he was home. But there was no way she was leaving without confronting him. He owed her the courtesy of telling her to her face that he was no longer interested.

Before she could change her mind, she raised her fist and knocked on the door. For one long, agonizing minute she thought he might not be in, and then the door swung open and he was standing there.

He looked disheveled and tired, with dark stubble on his jaw and lines of fatigue etched around his eyes and mouth. He wore a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, and except for the white cast on his foot, his hard-muscled, bronzed legs were bare.

In the brief instant before his expression changed, Sedona swore she saw pleasure in his dark eyes, and it gave her hope. Then his expression changed and his brows drew together. He raked her with one brief, contemptuous look before he swung away and turned back into the apartment, leaving the door open.

She followed him in.

“What are you doing here?” he growled, using one crutch to shove a duffel bag out of the way.

“I—I came because I had to,” she said, glancing around the tiny room. It was bare of anything warm or personal, containing only military-issue furniture and a small television that sat on the counter separating the living area from the tiny galley kitchen. “I think you may have gotten the wrong impression about what happened in that conference room the other day.” She paused, but he refused to turn and look at her. “Angel, why didn’t you tell me you were coming in early? And, for God’s sake, why did you leave without letting me explain?”

He swung to face her then and Sedona recoiled at the raw fury she saw on his face. “Explain what, Sedona? How you manipulated me? How you—what were the words you used—spent the entire time screwing some guy’s brains out?” His hands fisted on the crutches. “If all you wanted was some stud to help you get your promotion, why’d you have to pick me? We were on a naval base, sweetheart, with squadrons of horny guys, I’m sure any one of them would have loved to play the porn star for you. In fact, Larson seemed like a prime candidate.”

Sedona gasped. “Is that what you think?”

“What else am I supposed to think?” He took a step toward her, his expression harsh. “From the first night at Lemoore, you made it perfectly clear you wanted to have sex with me. I actually thought— Christ!” He scrubbed a hand over his face and turned away again. “Just get the hell out of here. I’m not interested in any more of your lies. Go on.” He turned his face partially toward her, and his voice was little more than a snarl. “Get out.”

Sedona flung her arms out. “So that’s it? You tell me to just get out, and I do it, and that’s the end?”