Dangerous Curves (13 page)

“Gun it,” Drew yelled. Leila stomped the gas and the Jeep jerked ahead, gaining speed.

Drew said into his ear mic, “Base, we’ve got Mary. Time to go. We’re coming in hot.”

“Mary?” Rio asked.

“Poppins,” Max responded with a smile. “You needed a code name.”

“You’re going to pay for that later.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he said.

“Leila, up ahead,” Drew noted.

“I see him, Captain,” she replied, her voice as calm as if she was taking a Sunday drive. But she kept the course.

Rio jerked her eyes forward to see a black SUV heading right for them, and the crazy woman behind the wheel wasn’t swerving.

“Leila…” Drew said, warning in his voice. “What have I told you about playing chicken?”

“I got it covered,” Leila assured him. At the very last minute, she swerved and went off the road. The Jeep skidded, but the four-wheel drive saved them. Back on the road, Leila let out a shout of laughter.

When they hit the airport gates, Leila cruised through without stopping. The black SUV was right behind
them. She drove right up to the plane and everyone scrambled out.

“Gotta love those Watchdog contacts,” Drew said, grinning at Max. “Move, people,” Drew shouted as they all hotfooted it to the jet.

Rio could hear the jet engines firing up as the black SUV screamed onto the runway and let loose with automatic gunfire.

“Buckle in,” Leila yelled as she slammed into the cockpit and dropped into the copilot’s chair. “I think my visit home has been productive. Let’s get the hell out of Dodge, Frost.”

Frost increased engine speed and the plane started to move as Rio buckled herself into one of the cushy seats. Max settled in beside her and Drew and Jason behind them.

The plane accelerated fast as Frost did some quick talking to the tower. After a tense moment, the tower cleared them and the silver jet shot into the air, leaving the pursuing SUV in its wake.

Frost banked the plane and Rio could see the men below them grow smaller and smaller by the minute. She turned to Max and kissed him again. “Thank you for coming for me.”

“Hey, what about us?” Jason reminded her.

Rio got up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you one and all. I’m very lucky that my bodyguard is so well connected.”

“I brought you clean clothes,” Max said. “Need help changing?”

She smiled and rose, grabbing the bag. “I think I can manage.”

“I can take care of the worst of those cuts and scratches,” Jason offered. “After you’ve had a shower.”

Rio’s eyes lit up. “A shower,” she said with reverence. Rio couldn’t take her eyes off Max, who looked so commando in his black body armor and his ear mic.

“That look suits you, Marine.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“Well, I am pretty sore,” she acknowledged, with a sly wink.

Max rose and followed her to the shower. Before she removed a stitch of clothing, she wrapped her arms around him and held on.

Max said, “I think we have a lot to talk about, Rio.”

“Yes, but not now.”

Her heart skipped a beat. The reckoning was almost at hand. Her brain scrambled to weigh all the pros and cons, but it was in constant flux with the reactions of her body and her heart. Both were in such a huge jumble, there was no way she could make any rational judgments. Not with him looking at her like that, and her wanting all sorts of things that were in direct conflict with one another.

The fallout she could expect from her boss was minor compared with what she wanted to tell Max, do to Max. She was afraid she might have ruined everything with her lies, deceit and her inability to get over her fear.

“No, not now,” he said, his eyes filled with compassion and something she was afraid was everything she wanted. Was she strong enough, smart enough, to finally reach out and grasp it?

Right now, her pressing need was to be clean and to have Max hold her. Just hold her.

“Shower,” he said softly, and he started helping her out of her clothes.

But her mind wouldn’t stop spinning, teasing her with ridiculous possibilities, ones that should certainly seem outrageous at best, terrifying at worst. And yet she couldn’t stop that tiny voice from whispering, tauntingly, teasingly, that perhaps it was possible they could be together. And he’d be the one man with whom maybe, just maybe, she could have it all.

He was so reverent as he removed everything from her aching body. “Let me do this for you, Rio,” he asked, never more sincere, real concern outlined in every inch of his handsome face.

This time her heart didn’t skip; it thundered with anticipation. In that moment, she knew she loved Max more than she’d ever loved a man before or ever would.

The risk of losing her heart was over. She’d already lost it to Max. There was no going back.

But was she going to move forward? She was so exhausted, just the act of lifting her leg out of her filthy shorts was an effort.

He turned on the water and gathered towels, liquid soap and a washcloth while the water heated. Then he stripped down to his bare skin, the black body armor revealing the hard, thick-muscled man beneath.

He helped her into the shower and she sighed as the heated water hit her skin. Clutching the handrail for support, she leaned back against Max. He soaped the cloth and dragged it over her shoulders, down the slopes
of her breasts and stomach, over her legs, gently picking up each foot and massaging it clean while she braced herself on his powerful shoulder.

As the dirt washed away, so did all her barriers against this man and his gentle loving.

When they were finished, she tucked her head on his shoulder and blew out a long, shaky breath. “Thank you.” She smiled against his warm, slippery skin.

Max tipped her chin up and kissed her…a slow, tender kiss. The kind that made her want to curl up with him and fall asleep in his arms.

“Did I mention this plane has a bed?”

“You must have read my mind.”

“I was thinking of sleeping.”

“No, you weren’t, but that’s okay. I love that you’re trying to take care of me.”

He smiled and with one of the white fluffy towels dried her off. Then he helped her into the underwear, soft cotton shorts and roomy T-shirt he brought for her. “I have street clothes in here for you when we land. But I thought you’d want to sleep until we get to L.A.”

“You’re so thoughtful. Where’s the bed?”

“First aid first.”

Max dressed in similar clothing. With her hair up in one of the other towels, he led her from the steamy bathroom back to Jason, who took care of her cuts.

Frost left the pilot’s chair and Drew took his place.

“Max, I found your mole.”

“You already got through all the DEA and FBI security?”

“Nah, didn’t have to. I hacked in to Fuentes’s records
and traced the money. He had some pretty serious firewalls, but they’re no match for me. I wrote the name down for you and as soon as we get to a place where I can print, I’ll give you the evidence I have.”

“Thanks, Frost. That’s a relief,” Rio said. “Where was the mole? In the DEA or FBI?

“DEA, love. Sorry.”

A few minutes later Max led her down the passageway to an accordion door. Opening it, they went inside.

Rio took one look at the bed and headed right for it. She unwound the towel and quickly combed her hair, braiding it loosely. Max pulled down the comforter and sheets and they both slipped inside.

He pulled her into his arms just as she snuggled against him. “I was so scared that I’d be too late,” he whispered against her damp hair.

“But you weren’t, Max. You saved me.” In more ways than one, she thought.

“I had help.”

“That little birdie you told me about? Who?”

“The Ghost.”

She stiffened and stared at Max, pleading with him for the answer she needed.

“I asked him point-blank if he was Shane McMasters.”

“His answer?”

“Rio, he said Shane no longer existed.”

She closed her eyes and settled into Max’s warmth. “Is that right?” And still, that was no answer at all.

As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard Max say, “I love you.”

T
HE FOLLOWING DAY
, dressed in a blue pencil skirt and a white blouse, Rio found herself back in that conference room where she’d first met Max.

He was standing next to her, impeccable in a dark blue suit, starched white shirt and red tie, the quintessential FBI agent.

They had made their report to both her boss and his, Michael Drake. They left nothing out except the exact Watchdog personnel who’d helped them and the personal stuff. She didn’t think either one of them wanted to hear about her and Max having sex.

But, of course, it was so much more than that.

The mole, a veteran agent who had expected to retire off what he had made with Fuentes’s blood money, had been arrested. He was now going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. If he lasted. Even inmates didn’t like a squealer.

There was only one terrible nagging question she had yet to ask the DEA director, Russell Sanford, and her “talk” with Max was still hanging over her.

Sanford said, “Neither Michael nor I can fault you for carrying out your duty, but we should have been con
sulted. It was resourceful of you to launch the rescue of my agent, Mr. Carpenter. But you both could have disrupted a very important undercover operation an agent has given so much for.”

Rio cleared her throat. “Would that agent be my brother, Shane McMasters?”

Her boss gave absolutely nothing away as he stared at her. Rio didn’t move or blink. She faced him squarely. She
had
to know.

Sanford’s features gentled. “Your brother died a hero in the line of duty, Agent Marshall. He has nothing to do with this operation.”

“I find that interesting, Director, as the man I saw in Fuentes’s compound looked very much like my brother.”

“I assure you. Your brother is dead, Rio. Let it go.”

It was almost an order.

“Did you assign me to Agent Carpenter to keep us both busy?” she persisted. “He was obsessed with the Ghost, and I, which is now obvious to me, saw something I shouldn’t have.”

The director pinned her with an irritated glare. “Shane is gone and we can’t bring him back. I know that must be painful for you. I will overlook your questions.”

“So we’re done here?” Max asked.

“Not quite,” Sanford said. “For your continued safety, we are going to be sending you to an undisclosed safe place until this operation is complete.”

“Not another island,” Rio groaned.

“I’m not going to reveal that information. In fact,
I’ve handed this over to the very capable hands of people I trust.”

“Yes, sir,” Rio said.

They were escorted out of the DEA headquarters to a waiting car.

Once inside Rio turned to Max. “Feels like déjà vu, huh?”

“Yeah, but there’s a big difference here.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no hidden agenda.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she said. It was time for her to lay her heart on the line.

“What do you mean?”

“Not now. Wait until we get somewhere more private.”

He nodded.

They were taken back to LAX and another waiting jet. Once aboard, Max relaxed when he found Drew behind the controls and Jason riding as copilot.

“Looks like you both weathered the storm,” Drew said.

“I think it helped that we knew who the mole was and could back it up with evidence. Thanks to you and your team, Drew.”

“You’re welcome, Marine. Strap in and let’s get you to your destination.”

“And that’s where?” Max asked.

“Need-to-know basis, my friend. Sorry.”

Max chuckled as he sat down next to Rio.

The plane took off and Max got up and looked in the fridge. “Hey, there’s champagne in here.”

“Open it up, Max. We have something to celebrate.”

Max did the honors and soon had two sparkling glasses for them to sip from. Before she took her glass, she pulled the privacy curtain.

“Sit down, Max.” She took her glass from him and sat down in a chair facing him.

“I want to explain something to you and it’s going to be difficult enough to say, so please try not to interrupt me until I’m finished.”

“Okay,” he said, his expression serious and intent.

“When I lost my parents, it was devastating to me. Then, a year later, I lost Shane. I had no one left. My family was gone. That makes a person sorta shrink into herself.

“I decided to join the DEA because I thought I could make a difference and, yes, I also thought I could nail Fuentes. It was one of my major goals.

“After mourning my family, I shut down emotionally. I vowed I wouldn’t get involved again because I couldn’t bear to love and lose someone.”

She took comfort from the hand Max placed on her arm and the slow caress.

“Then I came along?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice going teary. “I tried to fight it and think this would all end and we’d go our separate ways.”

“I don’t want to go our separate ways.”

She didn’t argue. He made a good point. He usually did. She’d like to believe she’d be thinking more clearly if he wasn’t around, but the fact was, they did make a good team. They both had sharp minds and strong instincts. And they were so very good in bed.

“That’s good,” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks, “because I love you, Max.”

In the next instant, she found herself spun directly into his arms and being very soundly kissed. By the time she got her senses back, he was already lifting his head.

“I love you, too, Rio. I know we can make this work.”

“Let’s drink to that.” She reached for the two flutes. They clinked their glasses together then drained them. “If one sip is good luck, then the whole glass should make us the luckiest couple on the planet.”

He released her then hauled her right back in and kissed her again, only this time he lingered before lifting his head. Her heart tightened in her chest at the depth of her feeling for this man.

“Can I talk now?”

“Yes, you can.”

“I had my own problems, you know. You were right, I have…had control issues. As the eldest child in the family, it came naturally to me. But being together is about trust and you have mine, and I already know I have yours. So we both learned something on this journey.”

She nodded. “I love you, Max, so much.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”

“What do you want to do while we’re getting to this unknown destination?”

He just grinned.

Okay, he also made her think about that. A lot. And she remembered Max peeling himself out of that black body armor. “You are a bad boy, Special Agent Max Carpenter.”

“I didn’t say a word.”

“You didn’t have to.”

They both laughed as they made their way back to the bedroom, not caring where they were going as long as they were going together.