Angel: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone Page 13

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d come in the door and found someone waiting for her at the kitchen table.

  “Hi.” She knew her voice sounded breathless but hoped he would attribute it to running in from the truck.

  “Hi yourself.” He smiled. “I guess you found some gainful employment? Either that or you wanted to be alone and were too nice to chase me out of your house.”

  “Gainfully employed at a very nice café just outside of Redding City. Nothing too permanent, but at least enough work until Fancy Pants reopens.”

  “I made a little dinner if you want some.”

  “Oh my gosh, are you kidding? Yes, I want some.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t get too excited. It’s just some salad and pasta. I’m afraid all the culinary skills in my family went to my sister.”

  She grinned at him, then turned to the kitchen. “Nobody’s cooked for me since my mom died, so anything beats the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I was probably going to throw together.” She grabbed the pasta and salad out of the fridge and put the pasta plate in the microwave. When she turned back around, he was staring at her with an odd expression on his face.

  “What?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m just realizing you haven’t had a very easy time of it.”

  She grabbed a fork and began attacking her salad. “It’s not that bad. I’m alone a lot, but I don’t mind being alone. It’s in my nature.”

  “How do you keep from hating the people of Oak Creek and how they treat you?”

  The microwave dinged and she got up to get her pasta. “Did something happen?” she asked, keeping her back turned. Her heart sank when he didn’t answer right away. Finally, she turned back around, forcing a smile.

  He studied her for a second before shaking his head. “No, nothing of consequence. I just meant not being able to get a job in town and stuff like that.”

  She sat down next to him at the table. “I can’t really blame them for not wanting to hire me.” She began to eat the pasta, letting out a sigh of pleasure. “It’s amazing how good something tastes when someone else made it for you. Thank you.”

  The grin he gave her made her forget all about how tired she was.

  “If you’re this impressed with pasta out of a box and sauce out of the jar, I’d like to see how you’d react if I put actual effort into cooking.”

  She wagged her eyebrows at him. “That sounds like a very scientific experiment to me. We might have to try it multiple times to make sure the data is consistent.”

  His smile slipped just the slightest bit. “You’re so smart.”

  She wasn’t sure exactly how to answer that, so she just stuffed another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

  “What did you do today?” she finally asked.

  He sat back in his chair. “A lot of soul-searching. A couple of come-to-Jesus meetings. I went out for a little exercise in the woods. Found some teenagers getting into trouble but straightened them out. Ran into Dorian.”

  She nodded. “Dorian’s around these woods a lot. He’s said hello to me once or twice, and sometimes I just look up from the front porch and find him at the edge of the trees. The man is a little spooky.”

  She’d never feared for her own safety from him, the opposite in fact, but the guy really did prefer being in the wilderness more than being around people.

  “Yes, Dorian is a good man.”

  “You must have tied him up if you got him to talk to you for a long time. He’s not one for talking.”

  Gabe smiled. “No, it was a very short conversation.”

  She finished her last bite, then got up to rinse her dishes in the sink.

  “I also did some work on the computers. I came across the coding you’re working on.”

  Jordan stiffened. She couldn’t help it. Collingwood Technology was at the forefront of certain computer applications and programming. Gabe would certainly know what he was doing in that regard. It would suck for him to tell her that what she was developing wasn’t any good.

  “Oh? What did you think?” she forced herself to ask.

  “I thought it was dangerously brilliant.”

  The word brilliant had her breaking out into a grin. She finished washing her plate, trying to get her juvenile reaction to his praise under control before she turned back around.

  When she did, she was surprised to see a look of tension on his face. “I don’t understand. Brilliant means good, right?”

  He stood up, eyes pinned on hers, but didn’t walk over to her. “It’s nothing short of brilliant. It’s a method of accessing closed systems coming from directions most corporations wouldn’t even think of.”

  “I’ve always loved computers. Even back in high school, I did some coding in my spare time.”

  He leaned up against the counter. “You’ve obviously got a talent for it. I mean that. I would immediately hire someone with your skill at CT.”

  “While I was in prison, there was an education initiative. We were able to take some classes to see if we had any special skill sets. Ended up I was very good at coding and cybersecurity in particular. I’m good at finding holes and back doors.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face. “You know that’s what hackers do, right? Find areas to exploit.”

  She smiled at the pained look on his face. He was trying his best to stay neutral and non-accusatory. She grabbed a towel to dry her hands, then walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Hackers—people who want to cheat the system and others—are who I want to stop. That’s what I’ve been working on, new and different methods of combatting cyber warfare. Theoretically, I’m pretty successful at it.”

  “And you’ve got to think like a criminal to beat a criminal. That’s what it is you’ve been working on.”

  She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I guess thinking like a criminal is part of my genetic makeup. But my plan is to open my own cybersecurity business, or at least sell the programs I develop.”

  His arm wrapped around her.

  She buried herself into his side. “I’m probably naive to think that anyone would want an ex-con anywhere near their security systems.”

  “Actually, you’d be surprised what many forward-thinking companies want when it comes to that. As a matter of fact, CT has its own cybersecurity issue I’ve been dealing with. Maybe I’ll get you to take a look at that.”

  Something warm and tingly went through her at his words. The CEO of a highly regarded technology company wanted her opinion. She didn’t even try to stop the smile that cracked her face wide open. “I would love that.”

  He ran a finger down her cheek. “Look at that smile.”

  “This might be the most excited I’ve ever been in my whole life.”

  Those green eyes narrowed. “If that is the most excited you’ve ever been, I have definitely been derelict in my other duties.”

  She spun around so she was pressed up against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing up against him. “Oooh. I never thought the word derelict could be sexy. You better see to securing your reputation.”

  He reached around her waist with one arm and lifted her with almost no effort. “You know what else I’m going to be seeing to?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Taking you on a date.”

  She stiffened. The way he was holding her, he couldn’t help but notice.

  “It doesn’t have to be in Oak Creek.” He kissed her nose. “We can save that battle for another time.”

  She smiled again. “Okay. I’d like that. Not to sound completely pathetic, but this will actually be my first real date.”

  “First real date?”

  She felt like an idiot, but he was looking at her with such boyish excitement, the feeling faded away.

  “I went out with someone once a few months ago, but it ended up he was just using me to get information to hurt my friends. So that doesn’t count.”

  His forehea
d touched hers. “It very definitely doesn’t count.”

  “I guess you’re the first of a lot of things for me.”

  The possessive grin should’ve scared her, or at least set off her feminine alarms. But his hand slipped into the hair at the base of her neck and gripped tightly. “That pretty much makes me the luckiest guy on the planet. I’ll take it.”

  He began walking them both toward the bedroom.

  “You just leave it to me. I might not be very romantic, but I bet I can come up with a pretty impressive first date.”

  He was pretty impressive in a lot of ways, especially the speed and finesse he used his 200 pounds of muscle to whisk her effortlessly into the bedroom. His lips moved down her jaw to her throat, and when his teeth bit down on that place where her neck met her shoulder, every other thought—past, present, future—disappeared from her mind.

  Chapter 20

  It took two weeks to set up the date the way Gabe wanted it. He certainly could have taken her somewhere else. Somewhere nice, maybe in Reddington City, but that wasn’t what he wanted. After all, you only got one first date. He had no doubt she’d be happy and thrilled with almost anything. That was just her default setting: appreciative.

  She’d known so little for so long that any luxuries or extra niceties in her life were sources of joy. Gabe found he wanted to spoil her. It was easy to feel that way about someone who could have rightfully been angry or bitter over the hand she’d been dealt in life. But she chose to embrace the joy of the little things instead.

  What he had planned was way over the top, Gabe realized that, but he didn’t care. Jordan deserved to have somebody go over the top for her.

  She worked hard, driving every day to Reddington City without complaint to work at the café. He’d thought she was waiting tables and had forced himself to say nothing when he found out she was bussing tables and washing dishes. Jordan seemed to like the woman she was working for and argued that it was only temporary anyway, until Fancy Pants reopened, so he’d left it alone.

  He’d had enough of his own work to do and hadn’t been able to stay with her as much as he wanted because he needed to take care of things at CT. The first couple of days he’d been tempted to pack her up and move her to Idaho Falls with him. He certainly knew enough people to be able to get her a job similar to the one she was working now. But those damn parole restrictions meant she couldn’t come live with him in any other state for at least another fifteen months.

  But she was never going to anyway. The more he saw her around her house, the more he realized that. This house, this land, was her fortitude. She could survive somewhere else—as she obviously had—but this was where she belonged.

  And that fact had him thinking in directions he’d never thought in before. Because every time he spent a night away from her back in Idaho Falls to deal with Collingwood Technology, he liked it less and less.

  He didn’t know what that meant long-term, but he knew better than to ignore instincts when they were screaming at him. Even if it scared the shit out of him a little bit.

  Of all the women he’d thought he might fall for, an ex-con with a smart mouth who lived in a tiny town in Wyoming hadn’t even entered the realm of possibility.

  An ex-con with an excellent eye for coding. He’d watched her work in the evenings and realized how gifted she really was.

  Definitely talented enough that he could offer her a high-paying job at CT. Hers was the type of mind he looked for, the type that had kept his business on the forefront of technology for so long. But he hadn’t made her an offer because he wasn’t sure what direction he was going in with his company. He just knew it was time for a change.

  Plus, even a well-paying job wasn’t going to get her $622,000.

  That damn sticky note was becoming the bane of his existence.

  He’d asked her about it again, but her response stayed the same: it was the amount that would get her the life she wanted. Nothing about that response fit into everything he knew about her. What would $622,000 provide that she didn’t already have? She didn’t want a new house or to live somewhere else. Maybe it was to start the business she’d mentioned—although that was way more than she needed.

  And why wouldn’t she just tell him that? Why keep it a secret?

  But that was a worry for another day. Today it was time to take a special lady out on her first date.

  Planning it had been complicated, but he’d finally gotten everything he’d needed three days ago. Ironically, getting Jordan to agree to ask for the day off work had been one of the hardest parts.

  She was nervous. It wasn’t difficult to see the tension radiating through her body as they drove from her house toward Reddington City. It was just past noon.

  “This is a lunch date, right? We’re not going anywhere fancy, because I’m not really dressed for it. Actually, I feel a little ridiculous.”

  “What you’re wearing is perfect.” He’d already assured her of that more than once, since she’d gotten so upset when he’d asked her if she could wear a dress or skirt. Evidently, her wardrobe was quite limited.

  When she’d walked out wearing the skirt she’d worn to their picnic, Gabe nearly swallowed his tongue. The memories swamped him. Would always swamp him.

  “Are you sure? This is really more of a summer-weight skirt.”

  Even though the weather had been mild, it was still winter in Wyoming. He understood her concern.

  “I promise you it will be absolutely perfect.” He took her hand where it rested on her thigh. “I’m never going to lead you into a situation where you’re not prepared if I can help it. I promise.”

  So many things have been out of her control in her young life. He never wanted to add to her burdens.

  She took a deep breath, then blew it out, relaxing. “Okay. I trust you.”

  His heart clinched at those words. She didn’t say them lightly, and he didn’t take them that way.

  But truly, where they were going, the skirt would be perfect.

  “Since we’re on our way, can’t you at least give me a hint about where we’re going?”

  He smiled. “Well, I have to be honest, a little bit of our date involves a business meeting for me.”

  All her tension was back. “Business?”

  He stroked a finger across the back of her hand. “Nothing big.”

  That wasn’t completely true. His business meeting today was just an initial, informal, get-together with a potential buyer for Collingwood Technology. But it allowed him to justify chartering a private jet. As they took the exit for the Reddington City airport, Jordan realized what was going on.

  Now her tension skyrocketed.

  “Gabriel, I don’t want to ruin anything, but if we’re going on an airplane, I just need to remind you that I have to stay in the state of Wyoming according to my parole limitations. And although I’m sure they probably wouldn’t find out, I can’t take that chance.” He could hear the shakiness in her voice and knew she was close to tears.

  “Hey.” He squeezed her hand. “I would never do anything that might jeopardize your future.”

  Those big gray eyes stared up at him. “I just thought you might have forgotten. Most people take for granted the ability to just go where they want whenever they want. So we’re going to stay within the state lines?”

  She looked puzzled, and he couldn’t blame her. There weren’t a hell of a lot of places to go in Wyoming, especially for business and a date. Particularly in a lightweight skirt in the middle of winter.

  He drove the rest of the way and parked in the airport’s one parking lot. Unlike Idaho Falls, there were no short-term versus long-term parking lots at the Reddington City airport. He reached in the back seat and got his black leather portfolio, which held some of the papers he needed for his meeting today…as well as one paper that would prove most important to Jordan. He handed it to her.

  “Actually, we’ll be going out of state.”

  She read the paper, then
looked up at him. “You got permission from my parole officer for me to leave the state with you?”

  He winked at her. “That’s part of the reason this is both a date and a business meeting. Yes, I did need to meet with someone briefly today.” Although he certainly could’ve met with Ian DeRose at another time or by another means. “But that was a way for me to legitimize getting you on this plane for our first date.”

  “Mr. Patterson really approved this?”

  “Getting Patterson to approve it was much easier than getting you to agree to take the whole day off of work. He wasn’t surprised in the least to find out that a technology company was interested in your skills. As a matter fact, he had nothing but good things to say about you.”

  “Oh.”

  Oh. Of course she was surprised someone spoke nicely about her. She was always so quick to believe the bad things about herself but much slower to believe the good.

  It was time for that to change.

  Her tension began to disappear as her excitement about this new adventure overshadowed her concerns. When she broke out into a big smile, Gabe knew he’d made the right decision. No matter how the rest of this day went, that smile right there was worth every bit of effort he’d put into their date.

  “I’ve never been on a plane before.”

  He reached over, grabbed her hands, and brought her fingers to his lips. “Another first.” He was fast becoming addicted to providing her firsts.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Someplace where that skirt will be absolutely perfect.”

  Chapter 21

  “Don’t get too used to this,” Gabriel said as they walked up the steps into the jet he’d chartered. “Generally speaking, I fly regular airlines like everybody else. But what the hell, I am the CEO of a multimillion-dollar company; I might as well claim some of the perks. Before I met you, I hadn’t even taken vacation days in more than five years.”

  “What’s a vacation day?” Jordan quipped. They were as foreign to her as this luxury jet.