Covert Attraction (12 page)

“Good, although their allegations don’t prove anything any more than yours. But the CIU will be able to interview them and check out their claims by also talking to their patients—as long as we can work around patient-physician confidentiality. And to protect those patients, I have a feeling we’ll get everyone’s cooperation.” He paused.

“What?” she prompted.

“There’s another thing you can do while you’re there cleaning and no one’s around. Some of our suspicions involve the possibility that what’s brought into the labs for testing aren’t the same medications that are sold as prescriptions. If the situation arises where you can pick up some samples and get them out easily—and safely—then do it. I’ve been working on that angle myself but a woman who first pushes a cart, then leaves the facility with her purse may be able to succeed more easily than a geek who’s not permitted even to bring his own computer or anything in a bag except maybe his lunch onto the premises.”

“I’ve wondered about that. Sure, I’ll start collecting samples when I can.” Beth smiled. “Sounds like we’re on the right track.”

“We’re on the right track,” Daniel acknowledged. “But we still have a long way to go.”

“I get it. But, oh, Daniel, I can’t tell you how relieved and even happy I am to hear that. Not only because we’ve made some progress but because
I’ve
made some progress. Toward my own vindication. And even more important, to finding a way to protect my family not just in the short run but forever—at least if we get that evidence. And with your help, I really think we will.”

She didn’t plan it, but she was suddenly standing. So was he. And it seemed inevitable and right when they each took a step toward the other.

Into one another’s arms.

His mouth came down on hers as if they had both planned it. His kiss was hot and insistent and somehow even reassuring.

And sexy. Oh, yes, it was sexy, especially with the strength of his well-toned body against hers. She felt his erection pushing against her middle. It was a familiar feeling. The last time, it had led to their tearing off each other’s clothes. Making love with such heat and passion that she knew she would never regret it, would only want it again and again if she let herself.

But that couldn’t be. Not now or later or ever.

He wouldn’t ever really care for her. She couldn’t care for him.

Even so, she was kissing him back, though, taunting his tongue with hers even as she strained against him, holding him tightly with her arms.

But as his hand began inserting itself between them, as her nipples started hardening in anticipation of his touch, she stopped.

And pulled back.

“We can’t do this,” she said against him.

“We can,” he contradicted, but he allowed her to move away. “But you’re right. We’ve already decided how bad an idea it is.”

Despite its rightness, his statement hurt her.

She looked him squarely in his sensual and provocative blue eyes and repeated, “Yes, it’s a bad idea. Let’s just talk now, okay? And really collaborate about gathering evidence.”

* * *

Daniel had been impressed—and turned on—by Beth’s lovely appearance, her sexuality and her determination to achieve her goal.

And angered by her goading him until he wound up mentioning how he had lost Edie. But he’d been able to turn that off. It did him no good to focus on it, now or ever.

So afterward he’d been able to sit calmly on his own living room sofa listening and sharing ideas and watching Beth for more than an hour, until it became quite late.

She had some good thoughts about what to look for in executive Georgine Droman’s company account and collect on a memory stick.

Computer stuff was more up his alley than Beth’s, but he appreciated bouncing ideas off her. For one thing, she might find a way to clean Georgine’s desk sometime, too, and potentially pick up other helpful information.

He also gave Beth some ideas on how to approach various lab areas for cleaning when no one else was around and she could manage some extra time there—and seeing what kind of chemical compounds were stored there, perhaps bottling small samples and hiding them so he, later, could remove them as if he had collected them himself. She told him she had considered doing that previously but had been unsure how to achieve the necessary chain of custody to prove where the samples came from—or where to take them to be tested since the FDA had already ruled all was well at Corcoris.

But the CIU was different—and it could handle those samples.

They hadn’t quite figured out how, but one or both of them also needed to find a way that appeared logical to not only visit the main manufacturing building on the campus but determine what was there that could be useful in their search for evidence. But the place already had its own cleaning staff, and lab geeks who performed quality-control tests did not really have a reason to go there.

Except maybe, Daniel thought, to satisfy a geek’s unending curiosity about technical things that went on around him.

By the time they were finally done with their discussion—or at least ready to break for the night—he’d become even more impressed by Beth’s quickness. She had not only caught on to all he’d said but also helped to turn it into potentially workable ideas.

The differences in their respective undercover personas would allow them to delve into even more aspects of hunting evidence than either of them had originally considered. The similarities in their goals would allow them to work together well—and get what they needed fast.

Now Beth stretched her arms and legs out while still they traded intense conversation.

Daniel wanted to muse over their respective suggestions that night on his own before he went to bed.

Alone, of course. Neither of them would encourage or act upon their apparent mutual attraction. Not again.

“Thanks for all this,” he finally told her, “but I think we’d better call it a night.”

She nodded without even a hint of protest—or interest in going to bed with him. That was a good thing, since he would have had to gently decline.

Wouldn’t he?

Of course, he told himself as he walked Beth outside to her car.

By habit, he found himself scanning their environment, making sure no one else was around. He saw no one, although one car and then a second drove past them down the street.

In one, a man drove with a woman in the passenger seat. They appeared engrossed in a conversation.

The other was driven by a woman he recognized from the neighborhood.

“You’re sure you know your way back to your place okay?” he asked Beth. He didn’t call it her home. Her home was in Seattle now, with the new identity she’d absorbed. That was where she would return after all this was over, at least until the evidence they collected was used to prosecute Corcoris—and he was certain now that they would gather enough good stuff to lead to a successful prosecution—and that would be the end of things between them.

“I’m fine—even though this little car doesn’t have GPS, I’ve got it on my phone. And I’m pretty sure I can find it on my own anyway.”

They were talking like business associates. That was as it should be.

Even though he really wanted to take her again into his arms. To celebrate their camaraderie, that was all. With a nice nonintimate good-night kiss. But that wasn’t to be.

The lock on the door of her little car popped up. She’d taken her key out of her purse and pushed the button. He pulled the door open.

She stood there on the sidewalk for a moment longer. Her slim body, in its jeans and button-down shirt, seemed lithe and carefree and magnetic.

Good thing he’d made up his mind to stay far away.

Only...well, as she got closer to slip into the car, she reached up and cupped his face in one hand and brushed his lips with hers in a nonsuggestive yet oh-so-enticing kiss.

“Good night, Daniel,” she said. “See you tomorrow during the day. We should find a way to each let the other know if we need to get together in the evening to discuss progress—or lack thereof.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “Good night, Beth.” He closed her door.

He had an urge to poke his head through the window and give her another brief good-night kiss. But he stayed still.

“Good night, then, Daniel,” she said. She closed her window. He stepped back as she began to drive off.

As soon as she did, an SUV he hadn’t noticed before, one that was parked across the street, pulled out behind her.

Surely it was just a coincidence.

But when that SUV also made a right turn at the second corner, right behind Beth, it set off alarms throughout Daniel’s head and gut.

Chapter 12

D
aniel grabbed his phone from his pocket. Did Beth have hands-free in her car? Didn’t matter. Talking on cell phones was a ticketable offense in California, but it might be a good thing if a cop was actually around and pulled her over.

But no cops were likely to be there when you needed one. He pushed in Beth’s number and waited.

It rang once. Twice. Damn. Wasn’t she going to answer?

“I’m driving, Daniel,” she finally said into his ear. She sounded peeved. “I’ll call you when—”

“Listen. I may be overreacting but I think someone followed you from here. Are you anywhere near the Ralphs’ shopping center?” That supermarket was along the road she’d turned onto and was open twenty-four hours a day, although other nearby shops were probably closed. Even so, it wasn’t yet ten o’clock. There would probably be people in the parking lot.

“Yes, I’m right beside it, but—”

“Pull into the lot and find an area with lots of cars and as many people as possible. Park there and wait. I’ll be there right away.”

He had been running toward his building and the parking lot beneath his apartment complex as he talked, heading for his car. With the phone still at his ear, he reached into his pocket with the other hand, pulled out his key and pushed the button to unlock his vehicle. Despite its age and condition, it still had automatic locks that worked.

“Daniel...what does it look like? I’ll watch for it.” She sounded scared. That was probably a good thing. Maybe she would be more cautious.

He described the SUV generally, even though once he was behind the wheel of his car he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small pad of paper, where he jotted down the license number he’d seen. Didn’t intend to forget it, but just in case...

“See you in a minute,” he said, exaggerating the time a little. But it would be no more than five minutes. He’d make sure of it.

Then he hung up, turned the key in the ignition and raced off, following the direction where Beth had gone.

* * *

Followed? From Daniel’s? The idea creeped Beth out, but she didn’t buy it.

After all, in an abundance of caution, she’d been checking her surroundings and her rearview mirror as had become her habit over many months and especially since returning here.

And she was already very aware that the guy thought he had to protect her. Maybe he was just being overzealous.

Even so, she put on her turn signal, carefully pulled over and drove into the parking lot. It was well lit, and there were people here and there, mostly hurrying to or from their own cars.

She glanced into her rearview mirror. No indication of anyone zooming over to stay behind her. No SUV there, either—just a couple of cars.

Surely Daniel was mistaken.

She hoped.

She pulled into a parking spot directly under one of the lights on a tall pole and just sat there, feeling the erratic thumping of her heart in her chest.

Of course Daniel was wrong. Who would even have known she was at his place?

Or, in the off chance he was right, was it someone who wanted to convey a message to Daniel, not her?

But if so, how would they know that he and she were together that evening?

Unless they’d also followed them from the restaurant. And that could mean they’d also followed Daniel or her
to
the restaurant.

From Corcoris?

But why?

She prayed that neither of their covers had been blown. She had seen Preston Corcoris before she had left the offices, but there’d been no indication he considered her as anything other than one of his lowly cleaning-staff members.

Even so, she would do even more now to avoid him and not tempt fate into giving her away.

This was more than worrisome. It was scary.

A few minutes later she felt relieved to see Daniel’s clunky old car drive by behind her. He was going slowly, and as she watched she saw him drive up one row of cars and spaces and down the next.

Probably looking for the vehicle he’d thought he had seen chasing her.

Well, she had kept an eye out for the SUV he had described. It had sounded like many others—common type, silver color and all—but she hadn’t noticed any like it around.

Soon Daniel pulled into a nearby parking spot. She watched expectantly, but he didn’t get out of his car. In moments, though, her cell phone rang.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Except for being a nervous wreck, yes. I didn’t see anyone following me.”

“Good. Here’s what we’ll do.”

What he described made sense. She would pull out of her space and continue toward her apartment. He would be her wingman, waiting here for a short while and watching her leave, then taking the same route as she did at some distance behind her.

If anyone was following her, then Daniel would be following him.

Beth didn’t like obeying orders—or at least Andrea hadn’t. She had an urge to tell him fine, but she wanted to go inside the store first and buy...what? She really didn’t need anything.

But he would be able to see if anyone got out of a vehicle and followed her inside. If so, he’d be able to catch the guy. Wouldn’t he?

Daniel had seemed to appreciate her coming up with ways to improve his plan before, so she suggested this one now.

“No!” he practically shouted in her ear.

“But if there is anyone—”

“It could be more dangerous.”

Her chest muscles tightened as she prepared to argue with him. She could do as she wanted, and he could protect her or not, his decision.

But she knew what that decision would be. And why. Which was why she backed down, if only a little. “I’m willing to try it,” she said, “if it’ll help us figure out who it is.” She hated that her tone sounded so pleading.

“It’s a good idea, Beth,” he said—most likely just trying to make her feel better. “It would work fine if we had a team behind us to grab anyone who came after you. Since it’s just me, though, I want to be more cautious.”

“All right,” she said. “But...well, what should I do if you see someone following me as I continue driving?”

“I’ll call you again with a plan.”

“But—”

“It’ll work. You’ll see. If someone’s following, I’ll direct you to the nearest police station and you’ll pull into their lot. I’ll block the guy, and that’ll be that.”

That sounded like a plan—but one that could work? “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly. “And if you don’t see anyone following?”

“You’ll still see someone behind you—me. So...are you ready to go?”

She suddenly felt okay, as if all of this was part of her plan. Maybe that was again because she had someone watching her back.

And not just someone, but Daniel—trained in law enforcement and confident about what he was doing.

“I’m ready,” she told him, and turned her key in the ignition.

* * *

She might feel braver—but as she approached the block where her apartment building was located, Beth slowed down.

And she hadn’t been driving fast in the first place.

She’d looked in her rearview mirror a lot but had not seen any car that appeared to be chasing her—not even Daniel’s.

On the other hand, he was probably savvy enough about pursuit techniques not to be obvious about it, either to her or to anyone who might actually be following her.

Even so, as she pulled into her designated parking spot at the side of her building, she sat for a minute without turning off the engine. She kept the lights off inside her car, although there was a dim glow from the back of the apartment building.

Mostly, she just wanted to watch and make sure she didn’t see anyone’s vehicles pass by—except perhaps Daniel’s.

Her phone rang. She pulled it from where she had rested it on the passenger’s seat, glanced at the number and answered. “So, is all well? Did anyone follow me?”

“Not anyone I saw.” Daniel’s expressionless tone scared her almost as much as if he’d said she’d been followed by a whole caravan of cars. If he’d simply said no, she would have felt a lot better.

But maybe that was the idea. He wanted her to remain wary.

She supposed she should have felt relieved that she was in Daniel’s sights and under his protection. But she’d rather have been the invisible nobody she’d felt like before they met.

“That’s good,” she returned brightly, ready to say good-night to him. “Thanks for checking it out.”

“Wait where you are,” he said. “I’ve just parked and I’m coming to walk you up to your apartment. You’re in your assigned parking space?”

Don’t bother,
she wanted to say to him. Yet what if there really was someone after her? Someone who knew where she lived, who hadn’t followed her home, because he had driven ahead to wait for her.

She despised this direction of her thoughts. But she realized she couldn’t be too careful.

“That’s right.” She also hated how raspy she sounded. “Come ahead. We can laugh about your overcautiousness over some wine, if you’d like.”

But would she like it—having him in her apartment after such an emotional time?

Well, he wouldn’t stay long. She could make sure of that.

She could pretend to try to seduce him. That would scare him off.

“Fine.” There was a hint of an echo and, startled, she looked out the window on her side of the car.

There he was, looking in. Unnerved, she nearly jumped.

What if there really had been someone following her—and he had crept up on her that way?

Okay, she would allow Daniel to walk her to her place and make sure it was safe, and then she would rescind her offer of a glass of wine.

He was frightening her, and she didn’t like it.

* * *

Daniel was on full alert as he walked briskly beside Beth to the front door of her apartment building, holding her close, one arm around her. She was on his left side just in case he had to grab his gun from his pocket with his right hand.

Yes, he had come armed. He always kept a semiautomatic pistol in his car, and he’d grabbed it before hustling over here to be with Beth.

He could have been mistaken about that SUV following her, but he doubted it. He’d been working for the government in law enforcement positions too long to doubt his instincts.

And on this assignment, he’d latched on to the feeling that there was no such thing as being too cautious.

The atmosphere at Corcoris just didn’t feel right, even after today, when he’d felt as if he had made a little bit of progress—both in finding something to hold against the company and its executives and in coming up with a plan to work better with Beth for now.

Work better with her? Yes. And keep her safe without letting himself get so seduced, so involved, that he’d let anything happen to her.

Like Edie.

“Excuse me,” Beth said formally, and pulled her arm away. She dug inside her purse for her key.

That gave him an opportunity to look around, to their side, around the high oleander bushes that grew near the building’s door. Behind them, toward the dimly lit and currently traffic-free street.

Where his car was parked now.

There weren’t a lot of spaces left, and he’d checked the curb for a block either way before joining Beth. None of the parked vehicles was a silver SUV with the license plate number he had memorized.

That didn’t mean the driver wasn’t around here somewhere, although Daniel hoped he wasn’t. Daniel preferred not having a confrontation while he was here undercover.

He would do everything he had to, though, to protect Beth and himself, even give away his good geek cover and take on a physical fight. And he was damned good at fighting when necessary.

But what he really wanted was simply to collect the necessary evidence against Corcoris, then get out of there. Get them
both
out of there.

Beth pushed a code onto the keys of the building’s security system and then opened the door. He followed her inside, then closed the door and made sure it was locked.

“Thanks,” she said. “It was nice of you to make sure everything was okay, but I’m home now. Or at least my home for the moment.” Her smile toward him was both brave and bittersweet.

It made him want to take her into his arms, but he wouldn’t do that. Even so, he wasn’t through with her this evening.

“Let me make sure your apartment’s okay, too, and then I’ll leave,” he told her.

She looked ready to protest.

“Yes, I know your building has good locks and a security system and all that,” he said, “but you might as well not argue and let me check. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Her smile looked frustrated, but that was all right. He followed her up the stairs to the second floor and waited while she again carefully unlocked the door.

“Let me go first.” He slipped by before she had a chance to argue with him.

Holding his firearm out and swinging it from one target point to another, he looked around the tiny unit. It would be hard for anyone to hide here, but he checked everywhere, including even the bathroom and between the narrowly spaced kitchen counters.

“Looks fine,” he said. He hesitated. “Would you like me to come by in the morning and make sure you aren’t followed to work?” Maybe that was overkill, but he knew what he had seen, and he was worried for her.

“No. I’ll be fine.” She smiled up at him, her violet eyes luminous and sparkling and seeming to dare him to contradict her.

“I’m sure you will,” he said huskily, wishing he meant it. Damn, but her stubbornness seemed to make him want to protect her even more.

Her acting so brave and ornery shouldn’t turn him on, but it did.

Hell, he wanted to tease her. Make her feel even a fraction of the sexual need that, now that the danger seemed past, had begun flexing through him.

“I don’t suppose you’d want to give me a good-night kiss to send me on my way.” He made it a statement but caught the sudden heated awareness that seemed to pass across the smooth contours of her beautiful face.

Did she intend for her full lips to edge out in a pout like that? Intentional or not, she was challenging him.

He had an unrestrainable urge to kiss her.