Trust Me (9 page)

Alaina gave a short laugh hoping to relieve some
tension. “I think we jumped each other if that makes you feel any better.” She
paused taking a deep breath she said, “This has got to stop!”

Donovan gave her that slow sensual smile that did not reveal
his inner turmoil. “For us I think it is only beginning.  I'd better be
going now or I won't be going at all.  I'll see you in San Diego.” 
It was no longer a question; it was a statement.  He squeezed her hand,
not trusting himself with another kiss and left her sitting on the bed, still
shaken with the impact of their encounter.  

It was early evening when Alaina pulled into the
driveway of her home.  She was exhausted: the trip to Washington had been
both emotionally and physically draining.  The irony was that the least of
her problems seemed to be the legal matters concerning her father's documents
and the accusations against him.  She had to be honest with herself; she
was preoccupied with her relationship with Donovan Prentice, if she could even
call it a relationship. When they were together they both seemed to lose
control, any outside matters seemed to fade into the background.  The fact
that they were supposed to be on opposing teams was easily forgotten, pushed
aside into the nether reaches of their minds.  Maybe she was being
presumptuous in assuming that Donovan experienced the same preoccupation with
her as she did with him.  Was his pursuit of her part of a game?  Was
this some kind of ploy to aid in his prosecution of the OAS?  Was it
possible that Donovan's physical attraction to her was just an act, a
performance designed to set her off her guard?  It was not a thought that
Alaina could easily push aside or ignore.  Donovan's motivations had to be
questioned, after all his relationship with her was bordering on
unethical. 

There was no question in her mind that until the
investigation of her father and the OAS was over she could not see Donovan
Prentice outside of the courtroom.  She couldn’t allow her professional
responsibilities to be compromised by a questionable relationship with
him.  Alaina stepped out of her car and pulled her bags from the trunk, as
she turned toward the house she was shocked to discover the object of her
thoughts was sitting calmly on her front stoop obviously waiting for her
arrival.  So much for not seeing him until the case was settled Alaina
thought ruefully to herself.

He was wearing jeans and a light jacket over a black
t-shirt, looking extremely sexy in his casual attire.  The clothes seemed
almost molded to his muscular body outlining his powerful physique in a way
that disturbed Alaina to no end.  How was she going to tell this man to
stay away from her when that's was the last thing she really wanted?

Alaina stopped in front of him and asked without
preamble. “What are you doing here?”  Despite her question, she was
secretly glad to see him although she was still suspicious of his motives.

Donovan hadn't bothered to rise at her approach. 
Instead he continued to sit on her front stoop leaning against her front door
looking completely at ease. 

He raised his brows and tried his best to appear
affronted, “What kind of greeting is that?  I thought you’d be glad to see
me after our last encounter.  Do you always play hot and cold?”

“I'm not playing at anything. Are you?  I've had
some time to think since our last `encounter', as you put it, and I'm beginning
to wonder at your real intentions.  They seem quite suspect, especially
when I consider that you believe my father is guilty of terrorism.  I'd
like to know what you're really interested in.  I find it hard to believe
that your attraction to me is so overwhelming that it makes you forget your
professional and ethical judgment.”  As Alaina put forward this accusation
she was desperately waiting and hoping for his denial.  She was angry with
him and angry with herself for her uncontrollable attraction to him.

Donovan rose, grabbing the sides of her arms and
pulling her to him with strong determination. “Dammit Alaina, I’m not playing
you.” 

“Are you sure about that?  You’ve got to be
breaking your professional conduct rules.  Why would you be pursuing a
relationship with me even if it’s just sex?”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t be doing any of this and
yet I can’t seem to stop.  You’ve got to know this is totally out of
character for me.  Once this case is behind us we can go forward.”

She nodded. “Then maybe you should stay away until
then.”

He rested is chin on top of her head while he held
her. “I know I should.  Sweetheart, you can’t imagine the problems you’re
causing me.”

As he said the words, Donovan knew he was telling the
truth.  He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.  He too had
concerns about his irrational behavior.  Becoming involved with a suspect
would not sit well with the Bureau, yet here he was again, unable to be near
her and not touch her while knowing he was risking his entire career with his
actions.

Alaina felt the heat of his body as he pressed her
against him. Once again she forgot her apprehensions and his questionable
motives. Their lips met with incredible hunger, both wanting what they had been
denying themselves. Their bodies, unlike their minds, could not keep
secrets.  Their mouths opened, their tongues met, each trying to consume
and devour the other.  They couldn't seem to get close enough. 
Unknowingly, Alaina dropped her bags as she pressed closer to Donovan. 
His hands reached underneath her sweater, adeptly unhooked her bra and were
soon cupping her breasts.  Alaina thought that she had never felt anything
better than the touch of his strong hands stroking and teasing her, driving her
to a point where she cared only about the feel of him against her body.

 Donovan lifted his head, reluctantly breaking
their kiss, “I’m going to leave now at least until the case is settled.” 
He realized he was going to have to get another agent assigned to this
case.  He no longer trusted himself to act objectively.

She nodded. “I think that’s the only option for
us.  It shouldn’t be that much longer, should it?”

“Let’s hope not,” he said, knowing he had to have her
completely eliminated as a suspect before they could have a relationship. 
In reality he still wasn’t sure how deep she was involved with the OAS. 
He didn’t want to believe she was guilty, but he needed facts.  The sexual
pull between them was definitely clouding his judgment.

Alaina opened her mouth to say good-bye when a
deafening
roar
erupted by her ear.  She screamed
in response, not knowing or understanding what was happening around her as
Donovan threw himself on top of her, shielding her against the onslaught of the
bullets passing over them causing them to fall to the ground.

“Fuck, stay down!  Where are your keys, we've got
to get inside.  We're sitting ducks on this front porch.  Are they in
your purse?”

Alaina nodded dumbly in response, still experiencing
shock over the turn of events.  Someone was shooting at them and she had
no idea why. Donovan pulled her towards the shelter of the trees by her front
door.  She noticed he had a gun in his hands as he reached for her purse
lying at the base of her front porch.  He quickly grabbed it and handed it
to her as he pressed her closer to the wall of her house. 

Alaina searched frantically for her keys and pulled
them from her purse. “I found them.”

“Good, let's get the hell inside.  I'll cover you
while you open the door.” 

Alaina was shaking as she inserted the key, Donovan
stood behind her using his body to protect hers.  The door opened and as
they dove inside another shot rang out and hit the inside wall opposite
them.  They were both lying on the foyer floor as Donovan managed to kick
the door closed with his foot. 

He pulled out his cell phone.  Raising the phone
to his mouth he began issuing commands, “We need back up immediately. 
We've just been shot at, and from the looks of things they haven't gone
yet.  No, we're both all right and we're in the house, but I think they
may be planning to move in closer and there are too many windows in this damn
place.”  He hung up the phone and turned to Alaina, “You need to stay low
and away from any windows.  I don’t suppose you have a basement?” 
 It was his intent to move them to an area in the house where they would
be the least vulnerable to attack.

Alaina shook her head.  
“Sorry,
no basement… typical California house.
Donovan, what's going on? 
Do you know who’s shooting at us?”  It was difficult for her to grasp
everything that was going on since it was all happening at once, but it
occurred to her that Donovan was acting more like an FBI agent instead of
lawyer.

“I think we're safest in the foyer, it seems to have
the least amount of access, disregarding the front door of course.  At
least here it will be difficult for anyone to sneak up on us.  Lean up
against the side wall and stay sitting on the floor.”

 Alaina did as he asked but not without noting
that he'd ignored her questions which infuriated her. “Donovan, in case you
didn't hear the first time, I asked who's shooting at us and I expect an
answer!”

Donovan had his cell phone next to him on the floor
with the obvious intent of keeping his hands available for his gun.  He
hadn't foreseen the possibility of a direct attack on Alaina and unfortunately
the situation was going to force him to tell her things he wasn't ready to
reveal.

 Now he had to decide how much he was going to
disclose. “I'm not exactly certain who shot at you, but I suspect it was
someone from the OAS.  They probably think that you either know too much
or you have additional information from your father that was not in the donated
records with the historical society.” 

He searched her face for some sign that would indicate
the truth. Something, anything, that would tell him what her role was within
the organization, but all he found was confusion.  She was either a very
good actress or a victim of her father's manipulations; unfortunately Donovan
still couldn't determine which one.

“Wait, why are you assuming that they’re shooting at
me and not you or both of us for that matter?  You know there are a lot of
nuts in California. It could have been anyone!  What aren't you telling
me?  What the hell is going on?”  Alaina was losing patience. 
He was being too vague in his explanations and being shot at was enough to make
anyone lose their temper as far as she was concerned.

“This is hardly the time into go in detail.  I'll
tell you everything later, but for now
try
to
understand that I've been following the activities of the OAS for a long time
and I believe the shooting tonight was an attempt on their part to eliminate
you.”

He'd been telling her for weeks that the OAS was
involved in terrorism, but he had refused to produce any evidence supporting
his accusations.  If he was right about the OAS being responsible for the
shooting then there could be no doubt that the organization's activities had
become criminal. 

“Donovan, if you're right and it is the OAS, why would
they be shooting at me?  I've been trying to keep those papers closed,
that hardly makes me their enemy or a threat.”

“They evidently believe you have information that
could be potentially incriminating.  If they’re willing to kill you over
it, it's obviously important.  Do you have any idea what that may be?”
Donovan waited expectantly for her response.  He noticed how small she
looked leaning up against the wall, her clothes all disheveled, due more to
their interrupted interlude than the recent attempt on her life.  Yet
despite her fragile appearance, she hadn't broken down; she was tough.  He
admired that about her, but was it also a facet of her personality that could
make her capable of duplicity?  His thoughts were interrupted by Alaina's
angry voice.

“Of course not!
  I've never had anything to do with the
OAS.  It was my father's
organization not mine
! I
didn't even know he was involved in it until after his death when his Will
asked that I protect the access restrictions on his papers.  I still can't
imagine what they think I have.  Believe me, if I knew what it was I'd
give it to the FBI and I might add, had you shown me some solid evidence of the
OAS's illegal activities, I probably wouldn’t have fought you on the issue of
access to my father's documents.”

“Are you sure you would have been willing to hand over
documents that would incriminate your father?” 

“Why are you so sure that they would?  Maybe they
would have exonerated him.  Do you mind explaining what other evidence you
haven't told me about?”  Alaina demanded. She was tired of him alluding to
all types of evidence he refused to discuss with her.  If her father was
guilty as he claimed she needed to know all of the facts.

At that moment Donovan's cell phone rang.  He
picked it up immediately. “Prentice.  You didn't find anyone?  Are
you sure the area is clear?  Okay, I'm going to call in a team to collect
the physical evidence.  It will be necessary to place Ms. Simmons in
protective custody. Do we have a safe house available?  Good, I'll take
care of the arrangements, but send us a car would you?  We can't take the
chance of using either of our own cars.  Thanks Adams.”  He turned again
to Alaina as he hung up the phone ready to explain where he was taking her for
safety and noticed her perturbed expression.