Trust Me (13 page)

“Don't worry, in a few days you'll start to get cagey,
and that vacation feeling will disappear.”

“Hey, that sounds great, I can hardly wait,” she
returned a bit sarcastically. “So where should I put my things?  I take it
the bedrooms are upstairs?”

“Yeah there are three bedrooms.  Why don't you
take the master bedroom since you are the guest of
honor.
”

“Really, I feel special, thanks for your generosity.”
She bent down to pick up her bag, but was stopped by Donovan.

He moved toward the entryway where Alaina stood, “I'll
take that upstairs for you.”  He picked up her bag as well as his own and
proceeded up the stairs.  Alaina shrugged, thinking, if he wants to play
the gentleman, she certainly wasn’t going to complain.  She followed him,
and when she reached the top was glad to discover that it was not decorated in
all white. Each of the bedrooms appeared to have a different color
scheme.  Donovan went directly to the room on his left and flicked on the
lights, Alaina followed directly behind him.

He put down the bags. “This is the master bedroom,
hope you like it,” he said politely, as if he were a bellboy at a hotel
assuring the comfort of a guest.

“Thanks Donovan, I'm sure it’ll be just fine.” She
looked around and noticed that the room was decorated in a leafy green
color.  The furniture, including a double bed, dresser and night table
were stained a dark brown.  She sat on the bed, exhausted at the thought
of what lay ahead.  There was no doubt in her mind the waiting was going
to be difficult.

Donovan, as is if sensing her trepidation, tried to
relieve some of her anxiety. “I want to be very honest with you about this
situation. I'm not going to try to say this isn't going to be stressful for
you, it will.  Just try and keep in mind as you begin to go stir crazy
that you're safer here than you would be anywhere else, and you have the best
law enforcement agency in the country protecting you.  Take my word for
it, for a safe house this is a pretty nice place,” he placed his hand on her
shoulder in a comforting gesture.  It was a mistake, as a sexual jolt went
through him the moment he touched her.  Donovan was shocked at the
immediacy of his reaction to such a simple gesture, but what was even more
shocking was he knew she felt it too.

Alaina's heart began to beat faster at the look of
desire flaring in Donovan's eyes, a look she was sure was mirrored in her
own.  Mesmerized by the intensity of those piercing blue eyes, she could
almost believe anything he told her. In an effort to ignore her reaction to him
she tried to make conversation, “Yeah, I know, it's just that this
cloak-and-dagger routine isn't really my style.”

Donovan gratefully accepted her attempt to divert
attention from their physical awareness.  He removed his hand from her
shoulder before saying, “Don't worry, I don't think there’ll be any more
daggers.  The OAS will be hard-pressed to find you.  We'll also put
some decoy measures into place that will convince them you're in Washington.”

“How are you going to accomplish that?”  She
asked amazed at even the prospect of it.

“It's actually fairly simple.  A woman sharing
similar physical characteristics to you will check into a hotel under your
name, using your credit card.  She'll place your clothes in the closet
there and it will appear for all intents and purposes that you are residing in
the hotel.  During this time, you will continue to contact your office,
friends and family as you normally would when you are on a business trip. 
We will have her send emails using your email address.”

Alaina just stared at him as she listened to the
elaborate scheme. “Wait a second, if they are monitoring those calls won't they
be able to tell I'm not in Washington?”

“No, because we’ll route any calls you make from here
through the hotel in Washington.  It's really not that difficult. 
All you need to do is come up with an explanation for your office as to why
you've returned to Washington.”

“I guess that shouldn't be a problem, I'll just tell
them that I'm doing research for the appeal since I suspect that the judge is
going to rule in favor of the FBI.”

“Do you really believe you're going to lose the case?”

“I just think the FBI is a pretty difficult opponent
to beat in the federal court system, I have to question the judge's
impartiality.”

“Don't let the judge hear you say that or he might
cite you for contempt,” he teased her, a little surprised at her willingness to
admit he'd defeated her in court before the ruling had been made.  It
really wasn't like her. “Besides, you don't know what the judge will decide.”

“Good point, but to tell you the truth knowing what I
know now, I want to lose. Those papers have to be released and I want the
people responsible for those bombings caught.”

Donovan wished he had something concrete to prove her
innocence.  He needed something solid he could bring to the bureau. 
Her reaction to the Tom Simmons file had convinced him that his initial
suspicions about her had been wrong.  The evidence they had collected
against her was purely circumstantial, but still it was very incriminating and
he had nothing solid to overturn it.  There was also the added problem of
his constant hard-on.  He was always aroused when he was around her. 
How was he supposed to suppress his growing desires in these close
quarters?  He had never had a problem with his ethics before, and this
certainly wasn't the first time he had guarded an attractive woman in
protective custody.  When he had gone to see Alaina today he had been all
set to withdraw from the case, but then the gunshots had started flying. 
He couldn’t back off now.  He was going to see this to the end.  The
opening of the front door interrupted his thoughts.  Alaina jumped at the
noise, startled and afraid of what was going to happen next.

A woman's voice shouted from downstairs. “Prentice,
are you in here?  It's me, McAllister.”

Donovan was grateful to hear McAllister’s voice. Her
presence should keep him from following his baser instincts.  He reassured
Alaina immediately, noticing the strained look on her face. “It's the other
agent the Bureau was sending.”  He left the room and went to the top to
the stairs.  “We're upstairs McAllister, we'll be right down.”

Alaina, perceiving that as her cue to follow Donovan,
joined him at the top of the steps.  As they went down together, she
realized she was becoming quite adept at following him like a little puppy.
This has got to stop she thought to
herself
.  She
was feeling so unsettled, consumed with an overwhelming need to cling to
something strong and secure, and Donovan seemed to be that thing.  Even as
the thought arose in her mind, she squashed it, refusing to believe that she
would allow herself to become that dependent on Donovan or anyone for that matter. 
Her conscious mind knew he was not to be trusted, but her subconscious kept
leaning towards his strength.  As they trotted down the stairs, Agent
McAllister came into view.  She was a tall woman, about 5 feet 9 with
straight dark blond hair cut just below her shoulder. She had it pulled back
neatly with a hair clip that revealed her eyes were brown.  Her features
were kind if unremarkable. 

McAllister addressed Donovan when he reached the
bottom of the steps. “Sorry I'm late but I got stuck in traffic.  I
thought I was never going to get here.”  Without waiting for a reply she
introduced herself to Alaina. “Hi, you must be Alaina Simmons, I'm Lynn
McAllister.  You can call me Lynn if you want. The Bureau told me that
this should be a fairly uneventful assignment. They're not expecting any
problems.  Besides you're safe with Prentice and me,” she walked away as
she spoke, exploring the downstairs of the townhouse. “Hey this place is pretty
nice, you should have seen the last protective custody assignment I was at, it
was a real dump.”

Alaina had the distinct impression Lynn McAllister was
trying to put her at ease. She was thankful for her arrival, being alone with
Donovan had been playing havoc with her nerves.  Alaina felt inexplicably
drawn to him as if he were a magnet forcing her to him against her will. 
No matter what she did she couldn't seem to break the attraction. 

Alaina and Donovan followed Lynn into the living room
where she quickly made herself comfortable on the couch.  Alaina settled
in next to her, and Donovan took a place on the adjacent love seat.

Alaina looked at Lynn and Donovan questioningly, “So
what does one do in protective custody?”

Donovan noticing the wry tone in her voice was the
first to answer. “Essentially you are free to do anything you want, just don't
leave the confines of the condo.”

Lynn interrupted, “Basically Alaina, you're stuck with
watching television or reading for an indefinite amount of time.”

“Had I been thinking more clearly I would have brought
some work from the office to keep me busy.” There was no doubt in her mind the
days were going to be very long.  As she ran a hand through her dark brown
hair, irritation was evident in her green eyes.

Lynn gave her a look of sympathy, but her tone was cool.
“No one likes protective custody, but it's better than being dead, don't you
think?”

So okay it was becoming apparent that for some reason
Agent McAllister really didn’t like her.  Alaina hadn't meant to be
difficult.  Donovan had already explained to her what the next few days
were going to be like and Lynn was right, no matter how uncomfortable the
situation was, it was better than being dead. 

She was just going to have to accept what had happened
and try to make the best of it. “Hey, I'm sorry, I really don't want to cause
either of you grief.  I realize that you’re both in the same boat as I
am.”

Donovan sent her a reassuring glance, his blue eyes
sending her an almost intimate message. “Don't worry about it, we've had
practice at this, you haven't.”

Alaina laughed at his off-hand remark, once again
thankful for his unerring ability to put her at ease.  No matter how hard
she tried, her instincts leaned towards trusting him, even though she suspected
that might be one of the worst mistakes of her life.

Later that evening Alaina lay in bed finding sleep
elusive.  She wasn't surprised she couldn't sleep; the day had been a bit
of a nightmare.  The three of them had retired to their separate rooms
around midnight after spending the evening watching television, but she had
been unable to close her eyes.  She had been tossing and turning for
several hours, her adrenaline still running high from the day's disturbing
events.  She needed to do something to make herself unwind. The question
was what could that possibly be?  It was then that she remembered the pool
in the backyard. A swim would probably help her relax.  She hadn't brought
a swimsuit so she would have to swim nude, but everyone was asleep so she
wasn't concerned about being interrupted.  Her mind made up she quickly
threw off the t-shirt she had worn to bed and put on her robe.  She found
a towel in the master bath, and quietly padded down the stairs making her way
to the sliding glass door.  She tried the light switch next to the door
and was pleased to see lights illuminating the pool area.  She carefully
opened the sliding door trying to avoid making any disturbing noises, and went
outside.  The deck was covered with large potted tropical plants, similar
to the ones she had seen in the front yard, plus several lounge chairs. 
She took off her robe, placing it on one of the chairs and walked over to the
pool.  Gradually easing herself into the water, she welcomed the feeling
of coolness as it touched her skin. Taking a deep breath she dove underwater,
relishing the opportunity to work her tense muscles.  This was just what
she needed. Already she was beginning to feel better, she thought, as she began
to do laps back and forth across the pool.

Donovan had not easily found sleep; he had spent a
considerable amount of time wondering about his uncontrollable attraction to
Alaina.  It didn't matter how many times he told himself she was still a
suspect or that any relationship he had with her that was not strictly
professional was unethical, he still wanted her.  Maybe it was the
forbidden fruit syndrome that made her so appealing, yet he had never had this
problem before.  Who was he kidding he thought, as he slammed his fist
into his pillow in an attempt to make himself more comfortable in the
unfamiliar bed.  He wanted her like he had never wanted another woman, and
it had nothing to do with anything but her.  He wanted her, regardless of
who she was or what she was involved in, and he found that scarier than the
bullets that had flown by his ear earlier that day.  Inside him, there was
a growing awareness that for Alaina he'd risk anything, now what he had to do
was to keep that dangerous knowledge from her.  Strangely enough, when
Donovan had grudgingly accepted his vulnerability, he was finally able to relax
and find his much sought-after rest.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he was
instantly awake when he heard the house alarm beep signaling someone had opened
a door.  Within seconds he heard the sound of splashing water. 
 He rose quickly from the bed not even bothering to put on his clothes,
dashing from the bed only wearing his boxers. Grabbing his gun, which he had
previously placed under his pillow, he rushed towards Alaina's room to ensure
that she was still safe.  Instead he found her bed empty. A horrifying
thought occurred to him that someone might have taken her to the pool to drown
her.  After rushing down the steps, he stealthily approached the back
door, cursing himself for not having the forethought to wake McAllister for
back-up. But now it was too late to turn back without possibly alerting a
potential attacker.  Reaching the sliding glass door, he pressed himself
up against the wall to ensure he could not be seen from the outside. He then
discreetly looked through the glass to gauge the situation.