“Yes, you did.” He stopped to take a pull from a long neck Heineken before holding it out to her. “It doesn’t hurt that I’m hungrier than I think I’ve ever been, though.”
“Whatever. Just admit it, Alex. I’m right and you’re wrong,” she teased, taking the beer from him, her face lighting up in a big smile, her hair in a big mess around her face. “Nana nana boo-boo!” she sing-songed.
Alex burst out laughing, almost choking on his pizza. It was so simple; sitting in his bed, in the middle of the night, with an amazingly sexy, naked woman, eating pizza and laughing with her unabashedly. It was good to let go of the structure and just be. “Don’t get too cocky, Dr. Hemming.” He leaned up against the headboard and watched her munch away.
“Are you gonna let me go home tomorrow? Even sex slaves need a reprieve and fresh clothes,” she said with a grin.
“The jury is still out. I like having you here.” The words were out before he thought about it, but it was the truth. “I’m really enjoying this.”
Her face sobered as she handed him back the beer, which he set on the table by the expensive lamp his mother had brought back from Cairo. “Yeah. It’s been fun, although your methods are unconventional. You could’ve just asked me to come over. Just sayin’.”
“That was the plan, originally.” He threw what was left of his pizza back in the box and moved it to the floor beside the bed.
“The housekeeper is gonna shit herself in the morning. Left over pizza, beer bottles, and used rubbers scattering the floor… classic,” Angel quipped, crawling up next to Alex, and draping over him in a half-assed way. “Unless… she’s used to it,” she probed, looking up into his face, her chin in her clasped hands.
“Uh, I think I’ll pick up the rubbers, and no, she’s not used to it. She doesn’t need to see that side of me.”
“Believe me; every living thing with a vagina sees that side of you.”
Alex let his breath out in a surprise and then chuckled. “Angel, that’s crazy. She’s sixty-something!”
“So?” Her voice was hesitant but a smile danced around her luscious mouth. “Does she have a vagina?”
He laughed again. “I don’t know and it’s not something I want to think about. Besides, she’s like my mother. Only much more accommodating because she’s on my payroll,” he reasoned.
“Go ahead. Bury your head in the sand. Bet her vibrator and fantasies of you are best friends.”
“Okay, that’s gross!” His face contorted in agony. “Thanks for the visual.”
They both laughed out loud, and he wondered if he’d ever be able to look at the woman again without hearing Angel’s words in his head. Ugh.
“What’s your mother like, Alex?” Angel asked and he balked. One of the few things he remembered from Bancroft’s file was that her mother had left. His hand threaded through her hair again and again, which Angel found both erotic and soothing. She ran her fingers over the smooth skin and hard muscles on his stomach, concentrating her gaze on the fine trail that disappeared under the edge of the sheet.
He drew in his breath at her touch. “She’s very elegant and proper, but a very good mother. She played with us a lot, but I think I was the one most like her; she expects more from me. Cole is reckless and carefree, and Allison is silly most of the time. She’s relaxed her standards with them.”
“Because she knows you expect as much from yourself,” she said knowingly, and Alex was stunned by her perception. “I can see that about you—elegant and proper—but so passionate, too. Do you get that from your father?”
“I suppose. He’s very driven; he knows what he wants and he takes it.”
“Touché,” she said softly, her words holding a heavier meaning. “I see that in you.”
“Yes.” His arms slid down to tighten around her, one hand resting on the curve of her hip.
“My father worked like a dog, and still we didn’t have much. My mother left us when I was in second grade. I don’t even know why, because Dad doesn’t speak of it, but I can only assume he couldn’t provide what she wanted.”
Alex’s eyes closed, painfully conjuring up the large brown eyes welling with tears in a younger Angel’s face, beautiful, but very sad. “I’m sorry, Angel. Do you ever see her?”
“No.” Her voice hardened, though she remained where she was, letting him stroke her hair and her body. “I used to cry when she missed birthdays and Christmases, but now, I have no desire to know anything about her. If you could see how my father suffered, you’d understand. She has to be a cold-hearted bitch to do that.”
Alex’s heart tightened at the pain in her voice. It hurt her more than she wanted him to know. “Do you visit your dad?” he asked softly.
“I rarely get down there, and he doesn’t ever come to Chicago. He likes his friends and his life. He’s content. I send him money, but I have to nag him to cash the checks. I just want to make his life easier. I miss him a lot.”
“I’m sure he’s very proud of you. How does he feel about the drama surrounding your job?”
Angel signed. “My job is mundane, boring, and sometimes heartbreaking. He doesn’t know there are risks. I mean, he’s probably thought about it, but we don’t discuss it. He thinks the radio show is cool. He listens to the audio stream online sometimes.”
“He’s probably worried sick, in both cases.”
She pushed back from him so she could look up into his face. “Alex, this is stupid. I’ve been doing this for two years and the current situation is no different, so relax. It’ll blow over.”
“Will it?” he growled. He realized he’d have to tell her. “The reason I brought you here is because I’m… Oh, fuck!” he exclaimed in disgust. “I want you here, Angel, but something happened last night that necessitates it. Someone vandalized my Audi in the garage and left a note. I can’t believe that it’s a coincidence, and this is the only way I can ensure your safety.”
Angel frowned and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. A worried look settled on her face and she stilled. “What happened to the car? What did the note say?” Her voice wavered with apprehension and it only reinforced what Alex knew—that she was as worried as he was.
“If I knew what was good for me, I’d stay away from you.” Alex’s hand smoothed back her hair when her eyes widened and she gasped. “It wasn’t that bad; the windshield was shattered, nothing more. It wasn’t about destroying the car; it was about delivering the message.”
She inhaled deeply and he could see the wheels turning behind her eyes. Alex reached for her and pulled her up to him gently until she rested on the pillow facing him. “So, you see why I worried that you were unprotected at the bar? Why I didn’t want you at your condo tonight? Not until we find out who’s behind this. Angel, tell me about your cases,” he demanded.
She was preoccupied, her thoughts racing in her head until she finally met his gaze. “I can’t tell you anymore than I have. Professional ethics—”
She felt him stiffen in her arms and his voice hardened. “We’re talking about your safety, so, screw professional ethics!”
“No, we’re talking about your safety. Maybe you should stay away from me for now, until this is over.” She started to get up from the bed but he grabbed her arm.
Panic flooded Alex’s body, his skin heated and it showed on his face. “Then what? The next case or the next?”
“This is only the second or third time it’s happened, and the other times were nothing.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” Alex silently fumed, since he knew who it was, per Cole’s intervention, and it pissed him off that she wouldn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth.