Kat Attalla Special Edition (15 page)

He folded his arms across her chest. “You should have worn a heavier coat.”

Her body tensed. “What is that hard thing digging into my back?”

“What?” he choked out. Then he remembered the .38 snuggled in his shoulder holster.

She turned in the circle of his arms and ran her hand over his jacket. Her eyes rounded. “You’re carrying a gun?” she whispered. Her voice quavered. She tried to twist away.

He held her tighter and whispered against her ear. “Can we discuss this later, Tori?”

Inhaling deeply, she composed herself. “Let me go, please.”

“Why?”

“I need space, Erik.”

“That’s not a good idea. It’s the same reason I brought my friend along today.”

“Friend,” she repeated with a questioning arch of her eyebrow. She shook her head. “I’m just going to go get hot chocolate.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll lose my space on the fence.”

Since she’d grown up with a brother who spent his entire adult career in the NSB, Erik figured
Victoria
would be used to guns, or at the very least not seem so visibly agitated by them. Perhaps the weapon reminded her of a situation she’d managed to forget for a few enjoyable hours.

* * * *

Victoria
maneuvered her way through the crowd to the counter and placed an order for two cups of cocoa. She wanted coffee, but the jolt of caffeine would exacerbate her already hyperkinetic nervous system. The man was a federal agent on assignment. Of course he carried a gun. Evidently, she played her part a little too well, even managing to delude herself that this was a happy holiday outing with her fiancé.

Her lack of sleep last night affected her common sense. A heated debate between her head and her heart kept her turning restlessly until the early hours of the morning. She might have limited experience in the dating field, but she understood human physiology and she did not suffer from sense deprivation. Erik responded to her the same way she responded to him, at least on a physical level. He claimed that what happened between them wasn’t part of his job. Based on available data, she could deduce that he found her attractive.

Spoken like a true scientist, she chided herself. Despite numerous theories in the field, no one really knew what attracted two people to each other. Perhaps she should stop trying to look for answers in that which defied logic. The situation had a funny side. Not every boring physics professor was mistaken for a corporate spy. Not every woman had her idea of male perfection living under her roof.

She paid for her drinks and started back for the fence. A roar of cheers swept though the bleachers as the home team returned to the field. The jostling of the fans returning to their seats left her struggling to hold onto the two Styrofoam cups. The hard pressure of steel pressed into her back. She straightened in anger.

“That’s not funny,” she grunted.

“Becker isn’t very amused with you either.” She recognized the cold voice despite efforts to forget. She scanned the area until she saw Erik, still standing by the fence. Her heart raced. She started to glance over her shoulder, but the pressure of the gun barrel increased. “Don’t turn around.”

Terror in its purest form ripped through her. The yelling and applause that followed the second half kick-off couldn’t drown out the quiet but distinctly threatening words of the man.

“You’re becoming a liability, lady.”

Do something. Run. Scream.
The orders played in her mind, but her body wouldn’t respond.

“You have until the weekend to hand over the property. Shacking up with your lover won’t keep you safe. We can get to you anytime we want.”

Her assailant turned and disappeared into the crowd. For several seconds she remained rooted in place. By the time she found the courage to look, she couldn’t distinguish anyone in particular among the gathering of fans scurrying in all directions.
We can get to you anytime we want.
The words played over in her mind. If he could find her here, he would find her anywhere.

When she turned back, Erik stood in front of her. Frown lines framed the corners of his mouth. “Who was that man talking to you?”

The two cups slipped from her hands, splattering on the ground. She grabbed at the scarf around her neck as if the wool accessory, rather than panic, caused her shortness of breath.

“Tori. Look at me.” He cupped his hand along the side of her face. “Who was he?”

“I don’t know.” Her parched throat left her voice sounding strained and unnatural.

“What did he say to you?”

She swallowed hard. “He said I’m becoming a liability.”

Erik let out a muttered oath. “Same guy from the other day?”

She nodded.

He slipped his arm around her shoulder and held her close. “Did he hurt you? Are you all right?”

Despite the cold, she began to sweat. Her heart pounded. She consciously slowed her breathing. If she didn’t calm down, she would hyperventilate and pass out. Wouldn’t that look lovely in the local paper right next to her engagement announcement? After all, she reasoned, if the man intended to kill her she would be dead. He wanted to frighten her, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of succeeding. “No.”

“To which question?”

“No, he didn’t hurt me, but I think we should go.”

* * * *

Erik laced his fingers through hers and ran his thumb over her wrist. Her pulse raced. Although she hadn’t uttered a single word of blame, he felt responsible. He should have remembered he was on assignment, not on vacation with his lover. It didn’t matter that Becker’s flunkey only wanted to scare her. To a woman who spent her life envisioning complicated mathematical abstracts, raw reality could inflict deep psychological damage. He held her until her breathing returned to normal.

Erik touched her cheek. “All right. Let’s go.”

They drove back to the house in silence. Despite her altercation, she seemed surprisingly calm. No doubt the shock would wear off soon and the fear would set in.

When they arrived back at the house, Daniels jumped to his feet in surprise. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“Slight problem,” Erik grumbled.

Victoria
rolled her eyes at his deliberate understatement. “I’m going to get changed.”

Once she disappeared down the hall, he gave his partner the details. “The guy’s got balls, I’ll grant him that.”

“How the hell did he know she’d be there?” Daniels asked.

“You got me. We swept the house for bugs. It’s clean. I’d better check her car again.”

“How’s the professor?”

“The ‘professor’ is fine. At least for the moment. I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. She’s a time bomb.”

“Does this mean she’s not gonna cook dinner?” Daniels asked.

“Don’t you think about anything besides your stomach?”

He shrugged. “You said she was fine.”

Erik groaned. His partner could show a little more sympathy. He dropped into a chair. “I don’t look forward to reporting this incident to DeMarco. He’ll probably have me transferred to
Alaska
.”

“Then don’t.”

“Oh, you don’t think she’s going to tell him?”

Victoria
returned to the living room. “As a matter of fact, I’m not. Believe it or not, I don’t call my brother every time I break a fingernail either.”

She’d changed into sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt. Pink fuzzy slippers completed the look. If she hoped to discourage him with her outfit, she hadn’t succeeded. She could cover herself in a paper sack and she’d still arouse him.

“That’s not what I meant,” Erik said.

“No, but you probably thought it. I would prefer you didn’t mention anything.”

“It’s procedure. I have to….”

“Screw the procedures, Erik. It’s not like you’ve stuck to the rules since the beginning of this case.” She pivoted around and stormed into the kitchen.

Erik’s jaw dropped.

Daniels didn’t bother to contain his laughter.

“Looks like your little time bomb just exploded.”

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

“Nowhere I can think of.”

“I think it’s time for another sweep on the area. And you can check the car while you’re at it.”

Daniels grunted and grabbed his coat from the back of the sofa. “I’m leaving, but I’ll be back for dinner. I’m not gonna eat a cold burger in a van while you pig out on a feast.”

After his partner left, Erik walked to the kitchen. As if the morning episode never happened, she began the food preparation. She transferred several bowls from the refrigerator to the kitchen counter. It appeared she planned to make the full, traditional Thanksgiving meal, from soup to nuts. He stood off to the side and watched.

She pushed a bowl and the large turkey toward him. “If you’re going to hover, make yourself useful. Stuff your brother.”

He chuckled despite his less than amused mood. “In a second. I want to talk to you first.” “About what?”

“This morning.”

“Forget it.”

A blast of guilt ripped through him. He’d failed to keep her safe. “I can’t.”

“Then go wallow somewhere else. I assure you, I’m not about to curl up into a fetal position and regress into a pre-adolescent state. Despite the popular stereotype, most geniuses aren’t walking a thin line between sanity and madness.”

“That’s not what I meant. I never should have let you—”

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. A hand holding a very threatening looking knife. “Oh, bite me. You didn’t let me do anything. I walked away from you.”

“Bite me?” He shook his head. What happened to the soft-spoken, ladylike professor? “Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“From my students. And you know what? It feels liberating to let it out. Not to mention it’s a very versatile phrase that fits a multitude of situations. It gets right to the point.”

“I’ll say.” She’d probably wanted to say it to him from the moment she’d discovered the truth.

“If this experience has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short. I’ve wasted too much time guarding my words and actions. I’ll say whatever I want, and if someone doesn’t like it, then they can just … well … bite me.” She punctuated her words with stubborn determination.

She put up a brave front. Could she maintain it? He doubted it. But if she needed to act in control for now, he’d go along. When reality set in, he’d be there for her. In a purely professional manner, of course.

He took on the challenge of stuffing the turkey, a thankless job. That wasn’t the kind of flesh he wanted to have his hands on. His mind wandered to a more silky kind of skin, preferably attached to a warm, brown-eyed woman who stood a few feet away from him. Damn, the kitchen was getting hot. Purely professional? Yeah, right.

* * * *

Once Erik finished stuffing the turkey,
Victoria
quickly ushered him out of the room. “Go watch the Macy’s Parade.”

“Are you sure? I’m pretty good in the kitchen.”

She’d bet he was good in any room in the house. If he stayed, she would spend more time wondering just how good, instead of cooking.

She opened the back door. Cool air filtered in, giving her a small measure of relief. She couldn’t blame the oven for the sudden raise in temperature. Only Erik could cause a heat wave in November.

She didn’t need a man on a guilt trip. If he felt duty bound to inform Steven about the threats, her brother would send out the National Guard. Then he would proceed to lecture her about the foolishness of her actions. Despite her Ph.D., men treated her like an idiot. And maybe today, she deserved it.

She never stopped to consider that her little excursion put her life, or Erik’s career, in jeopardy. He obviously didn’t carry a gun for Freudian reasons. He calculated the danger and prepared accordingly. Why hadn’t he stopped her from going? She exhaled slowly. No matter how many hypotheses she came up with, only one made sense. He took a huge risk because he knew it would make her happy.

Chapter Ten

Victoria
glanced at the long dining table loaded with enough food to feed a small third world nation and the three place settings dwarfed by the other platters. Granted, she could have cooked less food, but each one of the dishes had a family history attached and she couldn’t decide which ones to forgo. She debated changing into an elegant outfit. She didn’t want Erik to get the wrong impression. However, if she made Grandma Jansen’s candied yams because of tradition, then she should respect her grandmother’s other tradition of dressing in her Sunday best for the holidays. Had she gone overboard by choosing a silky, red, form fitting dress with a sequin bolero jacket?

All right, I do want to impress him. Her heart was already involved. She might as well let her body go along for the ride.