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Chapter Three
Jonas repressed a surge of humiliation as he dialed Dylan Justiss’s private cell phone number, but he managed to hold on until he heard his old friend’s rebuke.
“About time.”
“Figured you’d deleted me from your address book by now,” Jonas replied with equal aplomb. His, however, was mostly bravado.
“You know better than that.”
“Yeah, sure. Listen, I’m sorry for the unanswered calls.”
“What ignored calls?”
That had Jonas’s mouth corners curling downward. He knew that Dylan was both letting him off the hook and making sure Jonas understood that he’d slipped badly with their friendship. At the time, he’d felt there was no recourse, and yet, as days slipped into weeks, and weeks into months, he knew he deserved whatever Dylan wanted to say.
“I’m sure there’s an appropriate quote about pride to mouth right now, but I can’t remember it, and you don’t deserve to suffer through it.”
“Stuff the eloquence, Hunter. You were never good at it.”
That won a choked laugh from Jonas. “That might finally be sinking in. Thanks for sticking in there.”
“Well, you know how we analytical types are, I needed to know the answer to the riddle. What happened and how are you?”
“You haven’t talked to E.D. this afternoon?” Jonas countered.
“Should I have?”
“I thought maybe…never mind.”
“Don’t start that. What’s up?”
Jonas drew a deep breath. He was sure Alyx had run straight home and had called E.D. to vent. Didn’t all women do that? His ex sure had. Claudia would call her mother and then everyone else in the family tree down to second cousins—another reason to avoid getting involved with southern belles. For their part, Alyx and E.D. had grown particularly close during E.D.’s divorce, and Alyx had said that while the svelte, blond DA had a disgusting weakness for Dylan, she was one of the few people she could trust with a secret. He’d still had his doubts.
“I ran into Alyx,” he muttered.
“Is that so? Alyx is out of town, maybe out of state from what I can discern from E.D.’s cryptic comments.”
“Sedona, Arizona, to be exact.”
“Has the divorce rate suddenly skyrocketed there?”
He had to know that she wasn’t yet able to resume her usual work schedule. “I don’t know what’s going on, all I know is that it’s just too suspicious to have both of us decide to take leave from our jobs in separate parts of the country and end up in the same place.”
“What’s your reason?”
“My original flight instructor busted his leg. These days he runs an air-tours business and asked if I could cover for him for a few weeks. He’s ex-FBI, too. Back in my mustang days, his was, more or less, the last push I needed to go with the Bureau.”
“Good grief, are you saying he crashed and you’re now in those hot-air contraptions?”
“Much better. I’m flying his First World War facsimile biplanes.”
Dylan uttered something indistinguishable. “You’re worse than certifiable. I hope you at least know that?”
“They’re the modern Waco rendition. It’s a little eccentric, I’ll admit, but not as bad as you think. No acrobatics involved, just smooth, wide turns and gentle landings. Everything to assist adventurous tourists in procuring the optimum photographs to bring them back for another visit.”
“The question is, can you bring yourself back to earth in one piece? I know a little about the terrain over there. It could get pretty wild trying to find a suitable landing spot on short notice.”
The topography was a challenge; nevertheless, the highways were excellent and certainly not as heavy with traffic as in metropolitan areas. This was an experience Jonas was glad not to have missed out on.
“And you can take that much time from the job?”
“I have plenty of time built up,” Jonas replied evasively. “Look, are you sure E.D. didn’t say something about Alyx?”
“Nothing beyond the concern about her, about both of you.” After a few seconds Dylan added, “You don’t sound like yourself.”
“I guess I’m still somewhat—I’m getting too old to play games.”
“She wasn’t playing games with you,” Dylan ground out. “Good God, what’s the correct way to behave after coming upon a butchering and almost dying yourself?”
Jonas had gone through all of this dialogue already, had witnessed her being wheeled out to the ambulance and had tried to be supportive and patient, giving Alyx all the time she needed to recover physically and get her balance psychologically. They’d been in the early days of a hot and heavy affair when they’d been thrown into that meat chopper of a bad situation. Regardless of all his attempts to be there for her, even when necessity had demanded he return to Washington, D.C., she’d been the one to sever ties, not him.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But better than what she did.”
“What’s really got you all bent out of shape now?” Dylan asked. “Get a bad MRI or CAT-scan report after an assignment?”
“Not quite like that. But I guess I’m still trying to find grace under pressure while I work out what’s increasingly an uncertain professional future.” No one liked to share bad news and this wasn’t the moment to elaborate on his. Who knew—right now it was looking like a relief that things weren’t going to turn out as he’d first hoped. “I’ll let you know the details when I get back to D.C.”
“I’ve still got several minutes before my next appointment.”
“I appreciate that, but…”
After another uncomfortable silence, Dylan said, “Whatever you want to do. Jonas, listen…I’m sorry that I came down a little hard on you—”
“You didn’t.”
“Well, from the little E.D. shared, Alyx deserves support and protection. That’s where I was coming from.”
“Fair enough.”
“Don’t hesitate to call. I mean it. And take care.”
“I will. And I’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
Jonas knew Dylan would keep his word and want an update soon. That did nothing to improve his mood for the rest of the evening. Jonas had survived a divorce, managed to keep a decent relationship with his now fifteen-year-old son, and had been holding his breath for an anticipated promotion. When Alyx Carmel had entered his world like a tsunami, he’d been blindsided. He’d never been attracted to female renditions of himself—professional and driven. In fact, he’d avoided dating anyone inside the Bureau or even within coagencies. Yet five minutes after he’d entered her office last year to support Dylan and E.D. during E.D.’s rough divorce, Alyx had him under a spell he had yet to break free of.
He couldn’t sleep without being pulled into some intoxicating dream about her. Last night’s had been a fuse-buster, a reminder of their first night together.
“Why did you agree to join me for dinner?” Jonas asked as they sat across a candlelit table from one another. “You know I’m only here for a brief stay.”
“You offered me a drink,” Alyx replied. “The invitation to dinner was mine.”
So it was—a thank-you for helping Dylan help E.D. It struck Jonas, as he’d eyed the steak and lobster plate a waiter suddenly placed before him, that he was tangled in his own web. He’d come after Alyx unabashedly only to find himself snared, and yet the time between ordering and drinking a half glass of shiraz had been one of the most provocative yet awkward times he’d spent with a date. He would ask her a question about herself and if she answered, it was with a single word, “yes” or “no,” then asked nothing in return. He’d never felt so inept. Every clever word, his gift for disarming and charming, was a total flop.
It was those smoky gray eyes; they reduced him to ash pudding one minute, then invited a lava-hot heat wave without so much as a blink in the next. He felt as though he was trying to gauge traffic in thick fog. No, it was her scent; he’d fought intoxication for the better part of two hours and had yet to identify it, although he held the office record for guessing what female staffers and agents were wearing. Leave it to this unique woman to refuse to share someone else’s creation.
“Okay, seriously,” he said at last. “Why did you invite me?”
“Perhaps for the same reason you invited me.”
He had to put down his glass. Could she possibly mean it? He’d been fantasizing about a couple of hours of no-strings-attached sex. Someone as cool, confident and professional as her couldn’t possibly—then, for a second, he saw the diamond-bright shimmer of amusement in her eyes before she lowered a romantic sweep of velvety lashes with the elegant shyness of a geisha.
At the risk of knocking over her glass, he reached across the table to gently lift her chin to search her eyes.
“Why the surprise?” she murmured with a slight arch of one eyebrow. “Wait—don’t tell me. You’re one of those males who beat a hasty retreat the second you sense conquest?”
For all of his admitted experimental youth, Jonas hoped he’d never been that much of a jerk. “It’s been a struggle, but I’ve almost managed to evolve a step above the penned farm animal.”
“Then eat up, Agent Hunter. We can’t have you losing your strength.”
Things grew decidedly more amiable after that and, in the end, the night was unforgettable. She drove him to her stunning brick home and immediately asked him if she should open another bottle of wine.
“Would you care for any?” he countered.
“Maybe later.”
“Exactly my thought.”
He took that response as a welcome and initiated a kiss; within seconds Alyx took it—and him—to a different realm. Almost immediately he sensed that he was in deeper waters than he’d expected or intended, but her touch, her taste made her too much of a temptation to resist. When she led him to her bedroom, there was no question about not following. She turned her back to him and murmured, “Unzip me?”
He first touched a kiss to the side of her neck. “I think you’re my fantasy come true,” he murmured.
“You’re off the clock, G-man. Stop thinking so much.”
Surrendering, he’d done just that, dropped back onto her bed and let her take him to a place he’d never been before.
Chapter Four
It took Alyx a few days and considerable humility to accept that therapist Sharleigh had been right to rebuke her for her stubborn lack of cooperation. She had to credit the scene with Jonas for the turnaround, too. How humiliating to have him see her a half year later, still carrying ten pounds she didn’t need—especially when she’d been eight under her usual weight when she’d been discharged from the hospital—and moving with the stiffness of someone a decade older.
“Okay, Grace,” she told Parke’s greyhound on the following Monday. “It’s time to swallow my pride and ask Attila the Hunette over at the rehab place to give me another chance. I’ll be back in two hours…sooner if she refuses to hear what I have to say, which is entirely possible if your response to me is any guide to go by. But whatever, I’ll be back in plenty of time for us to talk to your mommy. Deal?”
The dog just sat like the Sphinx.
“I’ll bet you speak your mind the minute you’re alone,” she told her.
Wondering if she was going to last the full duration of Parke’s trip, Alyx climbed into her cousin’s Toyota. Talking to the dog as though she was human; what was next? Thank goodness E.D. couldn’t see this or she’d never live it down. E.D. had taken to the dog at Dylan’s ranch like an extension to her family. Alyx just hoped Grace’s wailing stopped before the neighbors notified the police.
Once at the spa, she hesitated; going inside was triggering another wave of dread about what she intended to do. Sucking up had never been an option for her, not when she was a self-doubting law student, nor when she’d walked out of an envied position at a prestigious law firm after deciding making partner wasn’t worth sleeping with the man who could vote her in.
By the time she entered the center, her clothes were clinging to her as though she’d already done a thirty-minute workout. But apparently, Shar had been doing some thinking, too, and was grateful to have one less client-patient loss to explain even if Alyx was only a guest. Her lips formed a perfect O when she spotted her, and she actually left another person to greet her.
“Alyx. You’re back.”
“Don’t call security. I’m here to apologize for last week’s behavior as soon as I get the glue off the roof of my mouth.”
The blond trainer’s cheeks bloomed with a delicate peach blush and she began to pant softly with relief. “It’s okay. I should never have pushed you as hard as I did. I let myself get caught up in progress and lost sight of the individual.”
“I appreciate that.” Moistening her lips, Alyx asked, “Is there any room in your schedule to fit me in? I really want to—” she thought of Jonas’s grim inspection of her and just as quickly rejected the appeal of seeing desire in his eyes again “—to be able to get out of Parke’s hair when she returns. She will need to get back to creating her art, and I have cases coming up in court.”
“If you have the time, we can do thirty minutes right now to start getting your body prepared for the real workouts. I’ll also show you some yoga stretches to do at home. Then, if you can come tomorrow, I’ve got an hour open at one.”
“I’ll take it.”
At the end of the half hour, Alyx couldn’t pretend that she was any happier than when she’d arrived; in fact, several times she’d needed to blink away tears as Shar worked her through the warm-ups, and even started her on two machines. But the instant Alyx spoke up to point out that she’d reached her limit, Sharleigh assured her that they were through and assisted her off the machine.
“You were great,” the therapist said, making notes on her clipboard. “So are we good for tomorrow?”
“Yes, thank you. And I’ll make sure to limber up beforehand.”
“Super. How’s Parke enjoying Italy?”
“She’s missing her dog, but she’s soaking up a ton of culture and ambiance.”
“I envy her the trip. The farthest east that I’ve gotten so far is Dallas for a conference.”
While hardly in a chatty mood, Alyx appreciated the younger woman’s attempt at friendliness. “Well, I haven’t done much better than that. What worries me is that she’ll have such a great time, she’ll stay, and I’ll get stuck with her dog.”
“You could find a worse place to end up in than here.”
Afraid to be taken the wrong way again, Alyx quickly amended, “Oh, Sedona’s gorgeous, there’s no doubt about it, but I’m just as inexperienced with animals as I am with kids. Definitely not mommy material.”
The leggy blonde offered a wry chuckle. “I know a dozen men who would ask for your phone number in a heartbeat. Me, I’d love a half-dozen kids, but once a guy hears that, he loses my number, since most of the singles I meet here have already been divorced at least once and are struggling with child support and facing a future of mountainous college loans.”
Alyx couldn’t believe this gorgeous blonde had any problem with dating. “I’d think they’d lie until their tongues fell off to get some of your time.”
“Ha—yeah, well, the problem is what they want during that time.”
Alyx felt ashamed. She knew Shar attracted oodles of attention, but had unkindly assumed the woman enjoyed any and all of it. “I’m sorry about that.” Reaching out her hand, she said, “Thank you again for your help and understanding.”
Shar smiled and shook her hand. “I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
Lesson learned, Alyx mused as she left the building. She was ready for a shower for all of the worry, then exertion, as well as something medicinal to rub on her sore muscles and joints, but she was walking with more lightness in her step. This meeting had gone better than expected, and the door was open to continue that progress. She was content.
By the following Monday, Alyx was able to get legitimate praise from Sharleigh and not have to drag herself home only to crash on a couch for an hour or two before being capable of dealing with Grace or any chore. To reward herself, she took a convoluted route home to explore more of the area and picked up fresh dog biscuits at a pet store for Grace, then a thin, organic vegetable minipizza for herself.
She was turning into the airport road when she saw a red biplane take off. Her gut told her it was Jonas, and with her heart thudding, she pulled over and watched the rendition of the vintage craft climb and glisten in the midday sun. There was definitely a person in each seat, which meant he was giving someone a tour. Jonas obviously enjoyed risking life and limb to pilot over such a challenging terrain. Her palms were growing damp at the mere thought of being up there, and she felt a spasm of regret that she’d been so cool and unapproachable last week after the market incident. It wasn’t likely that he would be so easy to forgive her as Shar had been. Then again, what if something happened to him during one of those flights and she never let him know she never meant to be unkind?
Giving into another impulse, she turned into the airport and drove up to the air-tours building. Parking beside the other three vehicles there, she leaned over to glance into the rearview mirror. The temptation was fierce, but she wasn’t about to primp when anyone inside could see her through the windows and glass door; besides, she was wearing an oversize T-shirt and capri pants—hardly anything to turn heads. She settled for adjusting her white sun visor and brushing away a smear of mascara from under her right eye. What mattered, she reminded herself, was why she was here and what she intended to say.
A little slow getting to the bottom line, Carmel, but at least you made it.
Before she lost her nerve, she went inside. The tan building was modest, a metal corrugated structure; the interior was equally industrial and without much insulation, making Alyx suspect that if you talked loud enough you could hear your voice echoing back to you. How successful this operation was, she had no idea, but the owner didn’t waste money on decor.
“May I help you?” a young woman asked from behind the reception counter across the room.
Barely out of her teens, the petite brunette looked Alyx up and down as Alyx crossed the room, and Alyx could have sworn she saw the girl’s hazel eyes turn green before they narrowed. Great, she thought, her sixth sense about her sex kicking in; Jonas could have that effect on women just by being polite; there was no telling how sweet Jonas had been to this little cutie with her snug T-shirt bearing the much advertised red biplane stretched across her small breasts and the slogan, I Flew…You Can, Too!
“Oh boy, this is bound to be fun,” Alyx murmured to herself.
“Excuse me?”
With a polite smile, Alyx waited until she reached the counter to say, “Hi. I’m looking for Jonas Hunter. I believe he’s subbing for the owner here. Was that him in the plane that just took off?” she added, pointing toward the west windows on her right.
“It’s not our policy to give out personal information.”
Alyx had to compress her lips to keep from enlightening the wren-of-a-girl that she wasn’t asking for measurements or financial data. While she knew almost nothing about what made Jonas Hunter tick, she knew more personal information about him to keep this little girl blushing through sunset. She also knew from advertisements how long these tours lasted.
“Is this a full-hour flight or a shorter one?”
“That’s the customer’s business.”
“True, but what if I wanted to book the next flight?”
“We take all major credit cards.” The girl held out her hand.
Point for Little Miss Sentry, Alyx thought. Seeing that she would just make things worse if she asserted herself, she gave the girl another benign smile and took a step back. “I think I’ll wait and get specifics from Mr. Hunter.”
“Whatever.”
As the girl spun her chair away to return her attention to the computer she’d been working on, Alyx casually walked around the room, pretending an interest in the panel of vacation brochures on the entry wall, no doubt supplied by the local chamber of commerce. There were a few well-worn chairs separated by a vinyl cactus bush and three concession machines offering snacks and soft drinks. A cappuccino dispenser and a free coffee machine were by the restrooms. She suspected a door marked Employees Only led to the hangar. The only hint of a gift shop was the T-shirts piled at one end of the receptionist’s counter. Alyx didn’t bother checking if they all matched what the receptionist was wearing. She might have bought one to help business by wearing it to the spa, but she didn’t have enough cash on her, and she didn’t want the teenage watchdog to have any more information about her than necessary.
Jonas must really be helping a good friend to be taking off from his demanding work to serve time here.
After pretending to browse through a few pamphlets and eavesdropping on a couple of phone calls, she left the building and returned to Parke’s SUV. Keying the ignition and turning on the air conditioner, she backed from the parking lot, then—when away from the window—eased around the building to the back. She saw only one vehicle there—the one Jonas had been driving the other day.
Where was the mechanic, the rest of the staff? Who serviced the planes? If that was Jonas’s responsibility, too, there was yet another skill of his that she hadn’t known about.
She was frowning as she spotted the plane coming in for a landing. One of the shorter tours after all, she thought…unless there was some kind of mechanical problem?
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