Chances Are

chapter Five

LCR Training Facility

Paris

Hands on her knees, Angela stayed low as she concentrated on pulling air evenly through her lungs, then exhaling slowly. She had to focus. Jake’s presence wasn’t the least bit helpful. For every assignment Dylan had given her, she had known Jake was on the sidelines, his eyes sharply assessing…judging. She was in excellent shape, but so far, she’d probably given both men serious doubts that she could handle this mission.

“You okay?” Dylan asked.

“I'm fine,” she snapped.

“He's only being tough on you to save your life.”

In an instant, Angela straightened and turned to glare at the non-sweating, gorgeous man a few feet away. Jake’s condescending words were infuriating. Knowing she smelled like a dead skunk certainly didn't help. “I don't expect him to take it easy on me. I don't need easy.”

“Then what's your problem?”

Shouting that he was the problem would get her thrown out of this mission and rightly so. If she couldn’t handle Jake staring at her, how was she going to strip down to almost nothing in front of a crowd of strangers, many of them ogling her and making all sorts of sexually explicit comments? She’d always had the kind of confidence to carry on no matter what was happening around her. The opinions of others had never really fazed her, mostly because she was sure of herself and her abilities. She knew who she was. But this was different. She had to prove to Dylan that she was capable and could do this job. And she had to prove it to her partner, too. It couldn’t matter that her partner was also the man she fantasized about every night. She had waited years for this opportunity. Her libido would not stop her from fulfilling her dream.

“It's just taking me a while to get into the swing of things. I'll be fine.”

“The killer isn't going to wait for you to “get into the swing of things.””

Jake’s sarcasm was not only unappreciated, he used his fingers to make quotations of her words. She hated when people did that.

Whirling around, Angela faced Dylan again, who’d stood watching and waiting silently as she and Jake argued. The gleam in his green eyes told her he knew she was pissed; the slight smile on his face told her he was pleased. Realization came quick. They had played her and she’d fallen for it. She mentally shrugged. It had worked. They were all in this together. This wasn’t some arbitrary test set up to anger her or destroy her confidence. This was a test most operatives had to complete…she was no different.

Now to show them what she was really made of. Focused on her target, Angela went after her opponent with everything she had.

Dylan blocked every punch she threw. Angela hit hard and low, surprising him with a punch to his gut. She barely got the chance to appreciate his huff of air before he grabbed her arm, whirled her around and threw her to the mat.

Back on her feet in an instant, she warily watched Dylan circle her. The man on the sidelines no longer existed. This was a fight for survival. It was she or Dylan. He struck again, this time coming at her with what looked like a knife. She kicked the weapon from his hand, grabbed his forearms to jerk him around and slammed him face-first onto the mat. Jumping on top of him, she grabbed his left arm and twisted it behind his back. “Gotcha.”

Laughter burst from Dylan; the man watching them remained strangely quiet. It wasn’t easy but she resisted looking up to see his reaction.

“Okay, I give,” Dylan said.

Angela jumped to her feet and backed away. Dylan went to stand and then came at her again. Angela had expected the move and swept her left leg out, kicking him in the chest and knocking him on his butt. He sprang to his feet and went for her again. Her concentration total, she was in full fighting mode. Nothing mattered other than surviving and putting the man in front of her on the floor. In her element, confidence sky-high, she was unbeatable. Nothing and no one could stop her now.

She never expected to be attacked from behind.



Jake wrapped his arms around Angela, holding back a groan as her slender, sexy body, covered only in spandex shorts, a sports bra, and a fine sheen of sweat, pressed against him. He’d never had her this close to him before and it was all he could do not to turn her around and taste those lips that had only moments ago been snarling at him. He’d always thought Angela was sexy as hell. Watching her take down a man who outweighed her by a hundred pounds was even sexier. He loved confident women. Angela was that and much more.

Stupid of him. While he was concentrating on what he wanted to do to her luscious body, she was poised to defend herself, determined to take him down. Jake was caught off guard when she stomped his foot and jammed her fist into his groin. The instant he let her go, she whirled around and gave him a good wallop on his jaw. He went down in an instant. She stood over him, her exotically beautiful face gazing down at him. Jake expected to see remorse or concern. He laughed out loud when he only saw triumph. She wasn’t one bit regretful that she’d slammed him almost into unconsciousness. Dammed if he didn’t want to kiss her even more.

“I’d say you got your clocked cleaned,” Dylan said.

Getting to his feet, Jake nodded his approval. “I’d say you’re right.”

Angela glanced over at Dylan. “Did I pass the test or is there more?”

“You passed this one, but yeah, there’s more.”

Rubbing her hands against her hips as if preparing herself, she nodded. “Bring it on.”

“How about giving Jake and me a few minutes to recover?”

She grinned at them both. “You think the killer’s going to wait and let you recover?”

Both men laughed appropriately but Jake’s amusement was greatly diminished by grim reality. In a couple of days, he and Angela could well be facing that killer. The police had no real knowledge of what this man looked like or if he was in any kind of fighting shape. Angela’s skills might well put the man down with one blow but that didn’t take away from the fact that she would be working to trap an evil, violent man whose priority was to abduct, torture, and then kill her. Jake had to keep her safe.

He turned to Dylan. “Why don't you take a breather and let me take this one?”

Dylan eyed him speculatively for a second and then nodded. “I’ll go get some fresh air.”

Jake turned to Angela and asked softly, “Think you’ve got it in you to take me down again?”

The door behind Angela closed with a resounding click. They were alone. Adrenaline flooded her veins like a gushing river. Fully aware that part of that surge had to do with the man she was about to spar with, she was determined to use that extra energy to her advantage.

Accepting his challenge with a slight smile, she waited to see what Jake would do. Mistake.

“You’ve got the most beautiful body.” Blue eyes gleamed with fire as they slowly roamed up and down her body in a hot caress. “I’ve never seen anyone sexier.”

Stunned into immobility, she barely noticed when he swooped. In an instant, she was slammed to the mat. Blocking her legs with his own, Jake pulled her wrists up, held them with one hand, and used his other hand to wrap around her neck.

Pinned and unable to move, Angela glared up at him. “That was a sneaky thing to do.”

Instead of grinning down at her in triumph, he growled, “This isn’t a game. The bastard is going to come at you with whatever he can to distract you. You’ve got to be ready for anything, at anytime. Understand?”

“Yes, of course I understand. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Her body betrayed her before she could control and hide her need. Sinking deeper into the mat, she shifted subtly, letting him settle more onto her. She saw the widening of his eyes just as he realized how their positions had changed. The physical response of his body was more revealing than his face, which remained impassive. The hard bulge pressing into her mound gave her the information she wanted.

He felt so good, more perfect than she ever imagined. Swallowing a moan of arousal, Angela closed her eyes as a wave of longing washed over her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

The harsh anger in his voice had her eyes open in a flash. “What do you mean?”

A grimace of pain passed across his face so quickly she might have missed it if she hadn’t been watching him so closely. Without answering, he sprang to his feet.

If she hadn’t been aching with need, she might have been impressed with the powerful athleticism of the move. Instead, Angela lay on the mat, breathless, aching, and once again feeling like a fool. How many times was she going to throw herself at this man before she got it through her head he wanted nothing like that between them? Just because he’d had an erection meant nothing. He was a man…men had erections all the time.

Feeling much older than she had only a few seconds ago, Angela rose to her feet. Jake was standing across the room, staring out the window. Stupid, but she felt as though she should apologize. She wouldn’t. She had done nothing wrong. An invitation had been made and he had refused, once again.

She blew out a tired sigh. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He whirled around and glared. “Like hell you will. We’re still in the middle of a training session. Or have you forgotten that in a couple of days you’re going to try to trap a killer?”

Outrage sent her spine poker straight. “I’ve forgotten nothing.”

He came at her then, swift and lethal. A weapon, the same dummy knife Dylan had used, in his hand. The dark, fierce expression was back in place. She waited until he was half a foot away, timing it just so, then kicked out, knocking the knife from his hand. He reached for her but before he made contact, she stepped out of his way, whirled and then slammed her foot into his chest. Jake grunted, stumbled back, then came toward her once more. She blocked him again and then again. He wouldn’t let up but neither would she.

The relentless look in his eyes told her he would keep going as long as she could. Angela was determined to prove him wrong. Minutes passed as they jabbed, kicked and swung at each other as if their lives depended upon it. Sweat poured from their overheated bodies, the entire atmosphere was tense and electric, alive with a frenetic, sizzling energy. The only sounds were the noises they made when their breath was knocked from them or gasps when one of them made a particularly good hit.

Breathless and trembling with exhaustion, she was teetering, struggling to stay on her feet when Dylan shouted behind her. “Dammit, that’s enough!”

Jake dropped his hands. Angela had already committed to a punch, tried to pull back and failed. The blow to Jake’s face was quick and fierce. She knew it had to have hurt but he barely flinched.

Breath sawed through her lungs so heavily, she could barely hear Dylan’s furious voice. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

Bent low, her hands on her knees, Angela raised her head and watched as Dylan railed at Jake.

They’d both gotten carried away. It wasn’t all on Jake. In between gulps of breath, she said, “It was…my fault, too.”

Dylan turned his glare on her and it took all of her willpower to not step back. This wasn’t the low key LCR operative she was used to. He was furious with them both.

“I’ll have a word with you in a few minutes. But let me say right now to both of you: You lose control like that again, I’ll have Noah kick your asses off this case before you can blink. Your issues, whatever they are, have to go on the backburner.” He paused a second, then said, “Got that?”



Jake silently blasted curses at himself. How had he allowed the situation to get so out of control? Angela was panting, close to dropping from exhaustion. That last blow she’d made to his face had been well deserved.

“It’s my fault, not hers,” he admitted gruffly.

“I don’t care who’s to blame. Don’t let it happen again.”

Jake gave a short, grim nod of acknowledgment. Being reamed out by Dylan was no big deal. He was a big boy, he could take the heat. However, Angela was taking some of the blame and he couldn’t allow that to happen. This was all on him.

“I’m sorry, Angela.” He hoped his eyes conveyed that his apology was for more than the too intense fighting session. She had offered her beautiful body and he had rejected her callously.

Her mouth trembled and then stretched into a grimace of a smile. “We were both wrong.” Turning to Dylan, she said, “It won’t happen again.”

Dylan nodded. “Get cleaned up. We’ll go to the shooting range this afternoon.”

Jake watched as Angela grabbed a towel from the stack on the shelf and then left the room without another word.

The instant she was gone, Dylan turned to him. “What were you thinking?”

He hadn’t been thinking, at least not with his brain. So turned on he could barely see straight, all of his sexual energy had been focused on fighting. He was damn glad Dylan interrupted them.

“I lost my head.”

“You’re sure you’re going to be able to handle this?”

“Yes.”

“I know how it feels to train someone you’re attracted to. It can get damn uncomfortable. No one will think less of you for pulling out now. Once you’re on the job, it’ll be too late.”

He shook his head. Nothing and no one would keep him from this mission.

Seeing the lingering doubt in the man’s eyes, Jake said, “I might be a mixed-up son of a bitch but believe me, there’s nothing more important to me than keeping Angela safe.”

“I’ve been there,” Dylan said. “Just make sure those feelings you’re suppressing don’t come out at the wrong time.”

Suppressed feelings? Hell, if that were the only thing going on, he’d have no problem. But that was too mild a term for the volcano threatening to erupt inside him.

Jake grabbed a towel and swiped it down his face. “I’ll see you on the shooting range this afternoon.”

“Want to grab some lunch?”

Shaking his head, Jake backed away. “Thanks, but I’ve got some things to take care of.”

He left the gym before Dylan could question him further. He needed a quiet place to detonate and then put himself back together. How had he let their training session get so out of hand? And Angela had been right there with him. If Dylan hadn’t arrived when he did, who knows what might have happened?

He closed his eyes, swallowing a groan. He knew exactly what would have happened. They had been within seconds of ripping their clothes off and having each other on the floor. And he wanted that…more than anything he would have loved to lay her down, taste every inch of her taut, glistening skin and slide inside that beautiful body. But then what? Walk away and break her heart? Stay and break her heart? Either way, Angela got hurt. He’d been a jerk in a lot of areas of his life but risking Angela’s heart went too far. Best thing he could do was get this job done to the best of his ability. He had told Dylan that protecting Angela was his number one priority. But that protection was not only from this freak that was killing women. It also included shielding her from a*sholes like himself.



LCR Headquarters

“He’s driving me crazy.”

Samara McCall sat across from Angela, amusement and affection gleaming in her eyes. “Men have a tendency to do that from time to time. I think it’s part of their DNA.”

Popping up from the chair she’d been sitting in, Angela paced around Samara’s office. She couldn’t seem to sit still. Maybe it was the anxiety and anticipation of working her first op. She had a feeling it had something to do with a certain hardheaded, too-sexy man.

They were supposed to be talking about whether she was mentally ready for her first op. Instead, all she had been able to focus on was Jake and that smoldering moment the day before.

“And it’s not like I’m asking for a relationship with him or anything.” The instant she saw Samara’s eyebrows rise, she amended her statement. “Okay, yes. I want a relationship with him, but how does he know it wouldn’t work out? He won’t even give us a chance.”

“Did he say why?”

Angela snorted softly. “Of course not. That would involve actually talking about himself.”

“So I guess he doesn’t know that you’re aware of his background.”

She dropped back into her chair with a sigh. “I’ve known the background of almost every operative since Noah hired me. Never once have I felt guilty about it.”

“But you feel guilty now?”

“Yes.” She glanced over at her non-judgmental friend. “I should have told him from the beginning. Shouldn’t I?”

“What do you think?”

She jumped back up and resumed her pacing. “Of course I should have told him. But how do you tell a man who’s intent on never telling you his past that you already know all of his secrets?”

A furrow appeared on Samara’s forehead. “You didn’t delve into his past because you were nosey. You did it because it’s your job. That’s definitely not the same thing.”

“I know, it’s just that it’s obvious he doesn’t want me to know.”

“Then yes, at some point, you should tell him so you can get it behind you.”

“But not yet?”

“If you think that would inhibit this mission, then no. If not…” Samara shrugged.

“Do you think Noah put us together to…you know, put us together?”

Samara gave a startled laugh. “I have no idea. He rarely discusses those kinds of things with me. I asked him once if he pairs his operatives with that purpose in mind.”

“What did he say?”

“Just that when he sees two people who have a chemistry together, it makes for a good team. What they choose to do with that chemistry once the op is over is up to them.”

She had a feeling she knew what Jake would want to do with their chemistry, especially since he refused to even acknowledge they had any. He would ruthlessly suppress it until it smothered.

“So, now that we’ve talked about Jake and his hard-headedness, talk to me about how you’re doing in other areas. Sleeping better?”

“Much better.” After her family’s death, she had slept in fits and spurts. Now, though not always sleeping the entire night, she was finally getting some solid shuteye.

“What did you decide to do with your parents’ house?”

That had been hanging over her head for the past six months. Her parents had moved there when she was ten, when her family had first moved to Paris. She loved the house, but it was the people who had lived there that she adored. They might be gone but the wonderful memories remained. She had been unable to make a decision on selling it. “I’m still debating.”

“It’s hard to let go,” Samara said softly.

She doubted if she could ever truly let go. A few days ago, she’d ventured into her sister’s bedroom. In seconds, she was lying on Chloe’s bed and sobbing into her pillow like a baby. The scent of her sister’s shampoo had been there but was fading. How she had loved Chloe’s infectious laugh and optimistic attitude. And Max, who had always been awkward and shy around everyone but his family, had been coming out of his shell.

“You okay?”

Angela jerked her head up and blinked back tears. Convincing Samara she was mentally sound enough to endure the rigors of a mission by breaking down was probably a very bad move. It didn’t matter that she and Noah’s wife had been the closest of friends for over three years. If she didn’t think Angela could handle the op, she’d have no problem advising Noah to pull her off the case.

“I’m fine. Really I am.”

“Tell me what you were just thinking.”

“Chloe and Max. They barely had a chance to live.”

“They adored their big sister.”

Her smile feeling somewhat fractured, she nodded. “The feeling was mutual. I went to the house the other day. Broke down in Chloe’s room.”

“Tears can wash away a ton of grief.”

“If that’s the case, I should be sparkling clean.”

“Bottom line. Can you do this job? No one would think less of you if you chose to wait.”

Doubts were part of being human and Angela wasn’t immune to them. However, when it came to her belief in her abilities, she had no doubts. She had been training for this job all her adult life.

“Without a doubt, I can do the job.”

Samara regarded her for several seconds. Angela withstood the look, knowing her friend would make the assessment regardless of their relationship. Finally, she nodded and said, “I’ll tell Noah you’re ready.”

“I thought it would be tougher to convince you.”

“I’ve watched you deal with a grief that would debilitate many people. Our talk today was more formality than an evaluation.”

Angela breathed out a relieved sigh. Samara had been her last hurdle and though she hadn’t worried she could convince her she was ready, to know that her friend had that kind of faith in her increased her confidence even more. Now she would go home and prepare. Jake had said if things went well with Samara, they would leave tomorrow afternoon for London.

“So I’ll see you when I get back.”

For the first time, Samara’s worry showed. Holding out her arms for a hug, she said, “Don’t take any chances. Okay?”

Reaching down to her petite friend, she returned the embrace. “Don’t worry. Your husband trained me well.”

“I hope you can be home for Micah’s birthday party. He would be so disappointed if he didn’t get to see his favorite aunt on his special day.”

“That’s four weeks away. I’ll be back before then I’m sure.”

She could feel Samara’s eyes on her as she walked out the door. A shiver of apprehension zipped up her spine. For the first time, a ripple of doubt entered her head. Was she being stupid? Should she tell Noah she would sit this one out and take another, less dangerous mission? She instantly knew the answer. She could do this job.

Now having Jake Mallory as a partner? That was a completely different matter.