Chances Are

chapter Eleven

“Good show tonight, Love. You’ve really hit your stride.”

Angela dressed, smiling her thanks as another compliment came her way. Ten performances in five days and she had definitely hit her stride. She was also beyond exhausted.

Tomorrow, when all the other regulars took off, she would perform again. She had never considered the physical toll of dancing twice a night. She had a feeling her weariness came from a combination of things. It was both mentally and physically exhausting to dance and strip in a roomful of strangers. Though she had been able to separate herself somewhat from the audience, she was still aware of them. Added to that was the knowledge that one of them might well be a serial killer and that should be enough for anyone. But there was more. Jake. Dancing for him gave her an opportunity to show him her feelings but what good did that do, really? He was looking for a killer, not an opportunity to get turned on.

Having Riley and Justin in the club actually added a bit of comfort, lessening the stress. Even though they had no interaction with each other, she saw them every night, going about performing their undercover jobs. Just knowing they were in the club made her feel less alone.

Since that first night, they had established a schedule of sorts. After her last performance, she would leave the club. She never deviated from the routine knowing that if the killer was watching, a different behavior might deter him.

Walking late at night, seemingly alone, on the streets of London, one would think something interesting or odd would happen. So far, the only unusual event had been two nights ago when an owl had swooped out of the sky into her path, startling her. Other than that, her lonely sojourn back to her apartment was done in relative peace.

Since it was suspected that the killer stalked his victims for days before abducting them, she had developed daytime habits as well. A solo breakfast at a nearby restaurant, short shopping jaunts to various stores, another solo restaurant meal for lunch, and then she would return to her apartment. If he were out there watching her, he would see that she had little social life or interaction with others. Hopefully this behavior was to his liking.

An hour before she was to leave for the club, Jake would knock softly and politely on the mutual door they shared between his apartment and hers. She had come to both look forward to and dread the visit. Being with him was a reminder that this was all he wanted from her—a professional relationship. But it was also an opportunity to be with him so she took what she could get.

Pulling the earbud from her purse, she inserted it into her ear. And like clockwork, she heard his voice. “You there?”

“Yes,” she answered softly.

“Thought I saw someone lurking about tonight. Couldn’t get a good look though. Might’ve been nothing but be extra aware, just in case.”

A shiver of unease zipped up her spine. “Okay.”

“It’s almost eleven. I’ll be at my usual place.”

She shrugged into her thick coat, grabbed her purse and headed toward the back entrance. All employees used this entrance, which she and Jake feared put her at a disadvantage of not being seen. It was a hidden door and from the outside one couldn’t even tell it was a door. However, if she used a different exit, that might look suspicious. The last thing they needed was the killer to suspect she was anything other than a typical hard-working woman, just as his other victims had been.

She went through the door and was instantly cold. Mother Nature had the entire city in her frozen grip. For the past week the temperatures had hovered in the mid-twenties in the daytime and mid-teens at night. Weather reports predicted single digits tonight.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she headed out of the alleyway toward the apartment, the even sounds of Jake’s breathing in her ear her only comfort. After she left the busy street, her way home was a lonely, sinister path. An occasional horn from a ship pulling into the harbor or the burst of boisterous laughter from the district she’d just left were sounds that had become familiar.

Exhaustion wrapped around her like a wet, soggy blanket. Fatigue, along with Jake’s warning, made the night seem more ominous than usual. She straightened her drooping shoulders and shook off her disquiet. When she got back to the apartment, she’d take a hot shower and—

The distant click of rapid footsteps rushed adrenaline through her veins. Before tonight, not once had she heard Jake or anyone else following her. That could only mean one thing. Someone, a stranger, was coming up behind her.

“I hear him.” Jake voice was soft and calm in her ear. “You’ve slowed down a little. Just keep walking like normal. Ingram is up ahead of you, to your right. Kelly is behind me to my left. Someone is directly behind you. It’s too damn dark to see where he is but just act natural.”

Act natural? Her heart thudded with dread, her limbs felt weighted and awkward. It was as if she’d never had any kind of training. As if this wasn’t her job. She took deep breaths to try to control the growing panic and whispered soundless reassurances to herself. Jake was with her, ready to pounce if this guy got too close. And Riley and Justin were nearby, too. They could be at her side in seconds. In the back of her mind, Angela acknowledged that Noah had been right. Training in a safe environment was different than being in the field. She couldn’t imagine doing this alone, without a partner to watch her back.

“Sounds like he’s to your left now.”

Her steps sped up to match the rhythm of her heartbeat. She was like any other lone woman who heard a strange noise in the night. The need to escape was almost a compulsion.

“Okay, you’re walking too fast now. Slow down a bit. Let’s see if he’ll catch up with you.”

Breath puffed out in panicked spurts. Terror zipped up her spine. Every survival instinct within her told her to run. Was this it? Was she about to be attacked? Her mind went blank. She forgot every lesson she’d ever learned. What if Jake couldn’t get to her in time? What if she couldn’t see the killer coming?

“I think I see him. In the park, beneath that clump of trees. Don’t look that way.”

No sooner had he spoken when she felt a rush of air and something clipped her arm. Thrown off balance, Angela tried to catch herself and ended up sprawled face first onto the pavement.

She heard Jake’s curses and more running feet. Ignoring the pain in her hand from where she’d tried to catch herself, she sprang to her feet and looked around wildly.

“Excuse me, Miss, are you all right?”

A small shriek escaped her as she turned to see a policeman a few feet away.

“Yes, I think so. I don’t know what happened.”

“I saw it all. Some kid came running toward you, then jumped up on a skateboard and swooped by you. It’s a wonder he didn’t knock you flat.” He came closer and peered down at her. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

Her teeth chattered, making it difficult to speak but she managed the words, “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“If you’re really okay,” Jake growled in her ear, “say the words, ‘Thank you for your help, but I’m all right.’ Otherwise I’m coming over.”

“Thank you for your help but I’m all right.” And she was, really she was. Other than a pounding heart, a throbbing hand, and the terrible, terrible knowledge that something was very wrong.

The policeman tipped his hat. “Best get home then. A cold night to be out and about.”

She managed a whispered “Thank you” and turned to head to her apartment, her steps much quicker than before. Now that the excitement was over, her limbs were shaking with reaction. She dashed inside the building and ran up the stairway as if death itself was on her tail. Stopping in front of her apartment, she cursed as she gripped the keys in her left hand. She was shaking so badly, she was having difficulty inserting the key. Her right hand hung uselessly at her side.

“Angela, listen to me. Take slow, even breaths. You’re fine.”

For the first time, she realized that Jake had been saying those words repeatedly the entire time she’d been running.

Finally, at last, the key went in and she twisted the doorknob. Half a second later, she was inside and slamming the door closed. Leaning back against it, she drew in breaths as she tried to control the panic. As the terror slid away, something equally devastating was taking its place. How had she not seen this coming?

Between bursts of her heavy, sporadic breathing, she heard Jake enter the apartment next door. Seconds later, he came through the attached door and into the living room.

For the life of her she couldn’t make her frozen limbs move. A disdainful voice inside her told her to straighten up, walk toward him, assure him she was fine. Laugh off the incident as a moment of slight panic and nothing more.

When she didn’t move, the voice called her a coward. She couldn’t deny the words. Pangs of disillusionment and disappointment were quickly swamping the fear. The astonishment on Jake’s face confirmed her thoughts. Who would have thought that Angela Delvecchio was actually a paper tiger?



Jake carefully approached the terrified woman slumped against the door. Seeing the strong, confident Angela reduced to a shivering, frightened girl hurt him in ways he’d never expected.

Fearing she was still in the grips of panic, he stopped a foot away and bent his knees to get eye contact. Relieved to see recognition in them, he moved forward and gently drew her into his arms. “You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you. I promise.”

With Angela, he had come to expect the unexpected. Never could he have been prepared for what came next. With a cry that sounded as mournful as a beaten animal, she buried her face against him and burst into tears.

So used to a sassy, in-your-face Angela, Jake began to panic himself. Had she been hurt and he hadn’t seen it? Pulling away from her, he whispered urgently, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”

When she kept her head down and continued to cry, he shook her gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She answered brokenly, “I’m a big wuss.”

Relief flooded through him. The urge to shake her again for scaring him was overwhelmed with the need to hold her and be grateful that she was unharmed. Just as he put his hands on her shoulders to pull her back into his arms, he noticed the hand she held at her side.

“Dammit, you are hurt.”

Gingerly he lifted her right hand and hissed as he assessed the damage. Without a doubt it was sprained, possibly broken.

“Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”

She stared at her hand as if it were a foreign object she’d never seen before. Shock was rapidly taking the place of the adrenaline overload from her scare. Moving carefully to keep from startling her, Jake scooped her into his arms, taking special care not to jar her hand.

In three strides he was at the couch where he placed her gently against the pillows. He turned and headed to the kitchen. Hot, sweet tea for the shock and then they were going to the hospital to get her hand x-rayed.

He glanced over his shoulder. She lay where he left her, the hollow, desolate look in her eyes worrying him more than the damage to her hand. He wanted to hold her and reassure her, but had a feeling doing that would be more for his benefit than hers. She had scared the hell out of him.

With quick efficiency, he poured water into a cup, dropped in a teabag and put it in the microwave. Not the proper British way to make a cup of tea but he was looking more for expediency than taste. The instant the bell dinged, he took the steaming cup, liberally added several spoonfuls of sugar and headed back to the couch where Angela lay, unmoving.

He set the cup on the coffee table and then pulled her to sit up. Propping her against his shoulder, he grabbed the cup and held it in front of her, allowing the steam to coat her face. “Take a sip.”

Her lips parted and Jake held the rim of the cup to her mouth and tilted it slightly. When he heard her swallow, the tension in his muscles loosened. At least she was responding to his verbal commands. Now to get the hot soothing liquid and sugar boost flowing in her veins and hopefully get her talking.

They sat silently for a minute or more. The only sounds came from Angela’s sipping and swallowing the hot beverage. He was glad to see color was returning to her face and the glassy look disappear from her eyes.

Noting the tea was almost gone, Jake lowered the cup. He was about to ask her if she wanted more when she expelled a gargantuan sigh. Her gaze locked on the cup he still held in his hand, she spoke softly, “For most of my adult life, I’ve wanted to be an LCR operative. I used to dream about rescuing people and how wonderful that must feel. The thrill of taking down bad guys, the satisfaction that came from saving victims… It’s been my dream for so long. And now…”

Jake frowned. “And now, what?”

She snorted softly. “And now it’s apparent that I’m not cut out for it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. LCR operatives get scared just like everyone else. It was your first time. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Sad beyond measure, Angela shook her head. She appreciated Jake’s words, especially since he hadn’t wanted her on this job in the first place, but she now knew the truth. The smallest of scares and she’d folded like a defective chair. And that was how she felt—defective. She hadn’t been able to function or think straight. If the skateboarder had been the killer, she would have shrieked like a banshee and probably gotten herself and even Jake killed.

The throbbing pain in her hand was nothing compared to the dull ache in her heart. It had taken only seconds for her dreams to be demolished.

“We need to get you to a hospital and have your hand checked out. Does it hurt?”

“A little…not much.”

“Think you can manage to get to the car on your own?”

“Yes, but where are you going?”

“With you but we can’t be seen together. We can’t blow our cover.”

Angela shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m off the op.”

The man beside her jerked as though he’d been burned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m not an active field operative anymore. I’m going back to my job as a researcher, that is, if Noah isn’t too pissed at me.”

When Jake pulled completely away from her and stood, Angela felt cold and lifeless as if he’d taken all the warmth and vitality with him. For several silent seconds he stood, looking down at her. Ashamed of her cowardice, she didn’t raise her head.

“We’ll discuss this later. Your hand is swelling rapidly. Let’s go.”

She had disappointed him—it was in his voice. She didn’t blame him. There was no one more disappointed in her than she was in herself. Of all the scenarios she had envisioned about her first op, this hadn’t been on her radar. Who would have thought something as innocuous as a kid on a skateboard could destroy her dream?

Feeling like a tired, lifeless creature, Angela grabbed her purse and went out the door, Jake following closely behind her. They had broken their cover—her part in the op was officially over. And now all she felt was empty and sad, much like she had when she lost her family. Jake, the man she loved and admired, walked by her side but never had she felt more bereft and alone.