Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers (131 page)

She felt the anger seep out of her, replaced by a cold numbness. Her cover was her life. She'd been Angela Tortina for so long, she didn't know how to be anyone else. Her hands, suddenly weak, released the cushion and it slipped off her lap onto the floor.

Frank had matched her sharp retort in kind, but when he saw her face drain of colour he felt guilty. He went on more softly. "Hal feels we have to wrap this thing up as soon as possible. I'm sorry, Angel, but that means your cover isn't our prime concern."

She was already far too pale. Now her eyes glistened and her lip quivered slightly. That full bottom lip that felt so good against his own. Christ, he wanted to pull her into his arms and whisper soothing words. To stroke her hair and tell her everything would be all right.

What a fool! Nothing would be all right. If Angel was the informant, he'd have her put away.

And what if she isn't?
a nagging voice in the back of his mind queried.
What if she's innocent?

Innocent? He had once thought that—had once believed she was as sweet and vulnerable as she looked—but he had learned better. The hard way. He pushed away his doubts, along with his protective urges.

"Given that you're part of the family, they shouldn't suspect anything. Hal said you've proven yourself to them time and again. We just have to ensure they accept me long enough to get through the con."

"But, I've worked so long… My cover is…" She shook her head as though trying to clear it.

Try as he might, he couldn't remain indifferent to her. No matter what she'd done—what she was—right now she hurt and he couldn't help his response to her pain.

"When's the soonest we can do the wedding, Angel?" Frank asked gently, clutching the arms of his chair to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.

"What?" she asked, then snapped out of her stupor. "Oh. Well, I guess we could pull it off in about a month. But there'll be a lot of questions asked."

Neither spoke for a few moments, then she started speaking rapidly. "You know, the Bureau shouldn't have to pull me out. Once it's over, we could make it look like you duped me and then deserted me or, better yet, we could simulate your death so I'd be a widow. Then I could carry on in my role. I—"

Frank held his hands up to stop her verbal overflow. "Whoa, Angel. Slow down." He leaned forward and took her hand. "It's clear how you feel about your cover, but face it. It's time for you to move on, to get on with your own life."

"No. I can't." Pain quivered in her voice. "I've worked too hard to get in. I've worked for too many years to get where I am."

"Angel." Frank placed a hand on her shoulder and she glared at it, then at him, pure venom in her eyes. He knew she blamed him for this. "You know the department will help you get reoriented. You won't be alone." His voice softened. He couldn't help adding, "If I can do anything…"

She jumped to her feet, tossing his hand aside. "Don't worry, you'll be doing something, all right." Her words came out in a controlled roar. "
You
may accept that my cover will be dead, but
I
don't. I intend to work this so I stay exactly where I am."

His gaze narrowed on her flushed face. Her vehemence told him clearly she would not give up her cover without a fight, yet a trained field agent would accept the end of her undercover stint with grace. In fact, she should be happy to get out. After all, what honest person, especially one dedicated to stamping out crime, would want to live the kind of life she did. Associating with criminals and killers every day. Of course, that was the whole point. No
honest
person would.

She glared at him, clenched fists held tightly at her sides, as though she had to stop herself from punching him. "And once this is all over, you'll be the one paying."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean alimony. Don't you understand how I operate yet, O'Connor? I don't chance anything." She started pacing back and forth in front of him. "Like using a fake priest or filing a false marriage certificate. You'd be surprised where the family has people." She waved one hand at her side. "City hall is small potatoes and there'll be enough interest in our union to have people keeping their eyes open wide for any discrepancies." She stopped pacing and placed her fists on her hips. "If our cover says you and I get married, then we get married. For real." She started pacing again. "And then I'm going to continue in my cover. I'll make sure of that. You and I will get divorced, and when we do, they'll expect me to soak you for everything I can get!" She glared at him. "And believe me, that will be a real pleasure."

A small surge of excitement thrilled him as he watched her, both because of the blaze of angry passion in her words, making her glow with energy, and because of the thought of actually being married to her—and all that implied.

Seeing the glint in his eye, she stomped away. "Don't worry, O'Connor. It'll be a marriage in public only, I assure you!" With that she swung open the door to her entranceway. "Now, I suggest you leave."

* * *

"Yo, Angie."

As Angel descended the stairs from Vendetti's office building, she turned to see Dino Fontaine, one of Vendetti's most trusted men, watching her from the sidewalk.

"Dino. How are you?" She hurried over to greet him.

Dino put his hand on her elbow. "You wanna lift home?"

She sighed inwardly, much preferring to take the bus, but an undercover job went far beyond the nine-to-five office work she did for Vendetti.
A good undercover agent takes advantage of every opportunity to gain information
. Dino knew a lot of interesting things. "I'd love one, Dino. Thanks."

He placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her to his car a half block down. She stopped her spine from stiffening in response. Dino unlocked the door of his black Corvette and helped her inside, then climbed in himself. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. Glancing over his left shoulder, he watched for an opening to pull out into traffic. Soon they were on their way, moving along with the current of cars.

"Angie, I saw you coming out of the FBI office yesterday. What's up?"

He spoke evenly, with no implied threat, but her pulse leaped. She forced her breathing to remain steady and reminded herself of her cover story. She always had a cover story when she went into the FBI office—but this was the first time she'd had to use it.

"The Feds brought me in for routine questioning." She imbued her voice with indignation. "That's what they call it anyway. I call it harassment."

His finger flicked on the left signal and he peered intently in his side mirror, ready to change lanes.

"What was it all about?" His question came out matter-of-fact, but she noticed the tight set of his jaw.

"I don't know," she said, her voice sedate. "They asked a lot of questions about Carlos, but nothing specific, you know? I have no idea what they're on to."

His jaw relaxed. "I'll let Carlos know so he can be on guard."

"Do you think? I don't know what they know and—" She knew that playing the dumb broad around Dino was her best tactic. Dino was one of those macho guys who thought woman were only good for taking to bed. He acknowledged her basic usefulness for menial work around the office, but didn't really believe she owned a brain. She hated to fuel his skewed view of women, but it gave her an edge—and she'd take every advantage she could get.

"Angie, if the Feds suspect something, Carlos needs to be told. He might want to tighten up security on some of his operations, you know?"

"I guess you're right."

Had he seen Frank, too? No, that didn't make sense. She'd left the office alone and, from the looks of Frank in his wrinkled tuxedo pants and shirt, and the growth of beard on his face, she was certain he'd returned to the sanctity of FBI headquarters immediately after seeing her at the hotel—that's what she would have done had their positions been reversed—so Dino wouldn't have seen him enter the building. She stared at the traffic in front of them. Dino would be meeting Frank as her fiancé all too soon and she couldn't afford to have him recognize Frank as an FBI agent.

She glanced at Dino's profile. Thick black brows hovered over amber eyes that could fix on a victim and leave the strongest quaking. His wavy dark hair skimmed his collar and the arrogant set to his jaw added a level of intimidation to his tough-guy attitude.

His gaze flicked in her direction and he smiled when he caught her staring at him, the flash of even white teeth dazzling. He could turn on a powerful charisma when he sought to win a woman. Angel knew—he'd directed it at her far too many times. When he stalked a female, his eyes could dance with warmth and his beguiling charm could mesmerize his prey. The hot-blooded promise in those depths made a woman long to find out what it would be like to be warmed by his strong hands.

Whenever Angel felt the draw of those eyes, she reminded herself they were the eyes of a cold-blooded killer.

Dino turned the conversation to small talk, telling her about the latest movie he'd seen, a very popular film with lots of violence that she mentally noted on her not-to-see list. Soon they drove down her quiet street and pulled over to the curb outside her home.

Angel felt the skin on the back of her neck prickling. Someone was watching her. Scanning the area, she caught a glimpse of Frank leaning against a tree a couple of buildings down, arms crossed. Oh, no. Why was he here?

"So who's the guy?" Dino asked.

"What guy?"

"The guy watching us over by the tree. And what's the matter with you? You're all tied up in knots."

Realizing she'd been wringing her hands together, she dropped them to her lap. She glanced over at Frank then back to Dino.

"Him? He's an old friend. I hadn't seen him since I was a kid, then we ran into each other yesterday. Imagine, after fifteen years."

"So what's he doing here now?" Jealousy tinged his words.

She knew the best way to get away with a lie was to stay as close to the truth as possible.

"I don't know."

"So this guy shows up after fifteen years and now he's hanging around your place? Are you crazy, Angie? He could be anybody. I heard of these guys who find out about a woman's background and work their way into her life. He could be after something."

"Like what? I don't have any money."

His intense stare threatened her outward calm. "There are a lot of things he might want."

"You're being paranoid. Anyway, it's not like he's using some made-up name. And I do remember him."

"Fifteen years is a long time, Angie. What do you really know about him? Why don't I check him out for you?"

"Dino, what's up with you? Do you have a problem with me having friends?"

Dino slid his arms around her and pulled her toward him.

"Friends I don't mind. But I can tell this guy's gotten under your skin. And I don't want any competition."

Before she could act, his lips captured hers and he turned on a warm persuasion that most women would have found difficult to resist. If they were interested in a fling. Which she wasn't. Especially not with a cold-blooded killer. She struggled out of his grasp, painfully aware of Frank standing only a few yards away.

"Dino, please."

"Your old friend didn't like that a bit," he murmured, satisfaction lacing his words. He stroked her cheek with one finger then stared outside with a smug smile.

She followed his gaze and saw the stormy expression on Frank's face. He glared at them as though he'd like to murder someone. Angel—probably. Dino—definitely.

"I'll walk you to the door. In fact," Dino said as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her toward him, "if you invite me in, he might get the idea I'll be hanging around for a while and get lost."

She disengaged herself. Dino constantly tried to push their relationship in a direction she didn't want it to go. Fending him off was becoming a problem. She couldn't afford to alienate him, but she wasn't prepared to go to bed with him, even if it would increase her chances of coaxing information from him that might further her case. She was an undercover agent, not a prostitute. Anyway, she would never be able to give herself to someone she didn't care for—and she could never care for a monster like Dino.

"Dino, you know I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but you know I'd like to take care of you." He ran a finger down her arm. "How 'bout dinner tomorrow night? Just you and me."

"No, Dino."

"Come on, Angie. I'll pick you up about seven. What do you say?"

"Maybe some other time."

"You've been sayin' that for months now," he said as he thumped the steering wheel. "Another time never seems to roll around."

"You know I like you, Dino. It's just that—I consider you a friend."

He clenched his fists tightly. "God! Don't say that. It's the kiss of death."

Anger sparked in his eyes but she knew he'd behave himself. That was one thing about the family. The members knew the rules—and one rule was that the female members were treated with respect.

She climbed out of his car and, as she bade him good-bye, she noticed the look of resolve on his face. Before the door swung closed, she heard him say, "Angie, I'm not taking no for an answer this time. Seven tomorrow night. Dinner." She started to protest but it was too late. He'd gunned the engine and peeled away, leaving a streak of black rubber on the pavement.

At least a scam marriage to Frank would have the benefit of cooling Dino's ardour. She turned around, expecting to confront Frank's piercing blue eyes, but he was gone.

* * *

Frank didn't stay around to watch Angel being pawed at by that arrogant thug. He strode down the block, then turned right, heading toward a deli he'd seen on his way here. He needed to talk to Angel, but it could wait. He needed to cool down.

He swung into the restaurant and plunked down in a booth by the window. A waitress named Jennifer greeted him. After ordering a coffee, he stared out the window at the flow of people passing by.