Dangerous Secrets (6 page)

Shoving his hands through his hair, messing up the
normally impeccably groomed strands he cursed again. “We need that drive. We
can’t let the cops, or worse, the Feds find it first. If they do...”

The others in the room nodded. They all knew the
consequences if the drive was found by anyone but one of them. Prison, if they
were lucky.

A knock at the door had him holding up a hand.
“Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but we need to leave now
if we’re going to get to the event on time,” his assistant called out.

“I’ll be right there,” he said, checking his watch.

“All right, find out more about the boyfriend. And,
for the love of God, find that damn drive,” he snapped out. “I’m going to be
appointed any day now, boys. I can’t have that lurking out there like a fucking
time bomb just waiting to explode in all our faces.”

The three men all snapped him a salute as he left
the room. While he wasn’t in the service any longer, them either, he trusted
them more than the sycophants who sucked up to him daily. They would find the
drive and, if the woman got in the way again, they would terminate her.

“Debra,” he smiled at his wife. “You are looking
stunning as always, my dear.”

“Oh you,” she laughed.

Smiling, he took her arm as they walked out the
door of their home.

Chapter Six

Jerking awake, Trent rubbed a hand over his face
and squinted around the room.
Mallory’s guest bedroom.
Right.
Grabbing his phone, he flinched at the bright
screen as he checked the time.

Then he heard it again.
The sound
of a choked sob.

Mallory, he realized, throwing back the blankets.
Grabbing up his jeans he tugged them on and buttoned them as he went from his
room to hers. Easing the door open, he slipped inside and went straight to the
bed.

“Mallory,” he called her name as he sat down on the
bed at her side. Reaching out he flicked on the lamp next to her bed.

“Come on, honey, wake up. It’s just a nightmare,”
he said, grabbing her hands as she flailed.

She came awake with a scream and fought him.

“Mallory, it’s Trent, easy,” he said louder.

She stilled instantly and blinked at him. Letting
her hands go, he eased back a bit so he wasn’t crowding her.

“Trent?” she whispered.

At his nod, she let out a sob and threw herself
into his arms.

“
Shh
, I have you,” he
whispered. Wrapping her up in his arms, Trent rubbed her back gently. “
Shh
,” he said again as he began to rock her gently back and
forth.

She wiggled around until she was in his lap, her
arms tight around his neck and her tears hot on his skin. He didn’t know what
to say to soothe her so he just held her and let her cry. Trent had
a bad feeling that making her talk
about the attack twice in
one day, first with Robyn and then with him again, had been too much.

He didn’t know how long it was before she finally
relaxed her hold on him and no more tears slid down his skin, but he didn’t
care. He’d sit there the entire night with her if that was what she needed.

Eventually, she loosened her hold and sat back a
little. Her eyes were red and a bit puffy which didn’t detract from the fact she
was still gorgeous. Not that he mentioned any of that. He had a feeling she
wouldn’t appreciated it much.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked as she slid back
to sit on the bed.

“No, not really,” she muttered.

“Let me get you some water and a cloth.” Getting up,
he went out to the bathroom and wet a face cloth with some cold water before
filling up the glass she had sitting there. Carrying both items back, he handed
her the cloth first as he settled back on the edge of the bed.

She pressed the cloth to her face for several long
minutes before wiping it over her skin. When she set it on the bedside table,
he handed her the glass.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to thank me. I have a feeling I’m
the reason you had that nightmare,” he said.

She looked at him as she sipped the water. Lowering
it to her lap, she shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I usually have one
version or another each night. The doctors said I should expect to have them
for quite a while.”

“Doesn’t help that I made you talk
about it again, though.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said.

Blinking at her, he grinned. “Did you just tell me
to shut up?”

“Yes,” she said as her face went very pink. “You
are not to blame for the nightmares. The asshole
who
attacked me gets all the blame for those.”

“Oh, well, all right then,” he said. Chuckling as
she got even redder, he leaned back on his hands and looked around her room.

It was a little more feminine than the rest of the
apartment, but not overly. The bed was heavy wood, king-size, he noted, and she
had matching bedside tables and a large armoire. A good-sized closet was across
the room, an armchair near it with a little table holding a lamp and a book.
Another romance from what he could see.

The floors were hardwood, same as the rest of the
place but she had a large area rug that tucked under the bed and covered most
of the floor.
A good idea for the middle of the night or
first thing in the morning when the boards would be chilly.

When he looked back to her, he found she was
watching him. Lifting a brow, he smiled. “What?” he asked.

She shook her head and shrugged. “Just watching you
scope out my bedroom.”

“It’s a very nice bedroom,” he said.

“It is,” she nodded. Finishing off the water, she
held the glass out to him.

Taking it, he got to his feet. “See you in the
morning, Mallory,” he said. He knew a hint when he got one.

But even he could be surprised. She grabbed his
wrist and shook her head when he looked to her. “Come back?” she whispered.

“Mal,” he frowned.

“Please? I—” She looked around and nibbled on her
lip. “I can’t be alone, not right now.
Just until I fall
asleep, please?”

He was a sucker where she was concerned and was man
enough to admit it. “All right, I’ll come back.”

At his agreement, she let his wrist go, though he
was happy to note there was some hesitation there. Grabbing the damp cloth, he left.

Returning to her room a couple of minutes later—he’d
stopped to change into a pair of sweatpants—he padded to her bed. “Get back
under the blankets,” he said, waving her over.

She slid under and made room for him at the same
time.

Once she was tucked in, Trent settled on top of the
blankets and stuffed a pillow under his head. It was going to be a long, long
night. Reaching out, he turned the lamp off, plunging the room into near
darkness except for the bit of light off the street coming around her drapes.

“I know this is likely outside your usual
parameters,” she whispered. “Thank you, though. I hate trying to fall back
asleep after a nightmare, not knowing if I’m really alone in the apartment.”

“I get it.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders,
he pulled her in closer. “Go to sleep, Mal. No one’s getting to you without
going through me.”

He could feel her laugh before she poked him in a
couple of spots on his chest. “There
is
an awful lot
of you to get through.”

Shooting her a look, he narrowed his eyes. She was
messing with him. Her eyes gave her away. “Listen here, lady,” he said,
grinning slowly.

“Yes?” she asked, batting her lashes.

“Go to sleep, Mal.” He liked the playful side of
Mallory he was seeing.
A lot.
Too
much, maybe.

“Mm-hm.”
She was silent for a
time before she gently rested her hand on his chest.

Pressing his hand over the top of hers, he held her
hand to his skin. Turning his head, Trent pressed a kiss to her hair.
“Sleep, baby.
Close your eyes and just sleep. I’m right here.”

It took a few more soft encouragements from him
before she finally relaxed. Then it took a couple more to get her to go to
sleep.

Once her breathing had evened out, he loosened his
hold on her a little. He really didn’t want to move. She felt damn good pressed
against him. Honestly, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d slept with a woman
in his arms.

Normally, that wasn’t his thing. He preferred a
little dinner, a lot of sex and then he went home. He wasn’t one to cuddle or
snuggle or do any of that after-sex glow bullshit. Not that he raced off right
after the deed was done. He just didn’t like having to chit-chat.

But with Mallory, he didn’t find the idea of
cuddling, snuggling or anything else like that uncomfortable. Oddly enough, he
found it was actually a very pleasant thought.

Holy
shit,
was he in
trouble.

Chapter Seven

She was so warm and relaxed and weighted down.
Mallory frowned. Why was she feeling weighed down?

Prying
open
an eyelid, she
squinted, then her eyes sprung open at the tanned, heavily muscled arm thrown
over her waist. Blinking, she followed the arm up to the shoulder and to the
rest of the very large, very warm body.

Holy hell! Trent was still in her bed.

Okay, technically he was on her bed since he was
still on top of the blankets. But, really, who was she to get all nitty-gritty
with the technicalities?

Trent McDonald was in her bed, in her bedroom, and
holding her close. He was practically wrapped around her.
Which
seemed damn nice, to her way of thinking.

It took her a minute, though, to remember why he
was there. The fact that he hadn’t gone running as soon as she’d burst into
tears was a huge point in his favor. That he’d been the perfect gentleman the
entire time to boot?
Another point in his favor.

He’d stayed with her. Smiling, she put her head
back down on his arm. She could get used to this, having a sexy man holding her
close, keeping her warm, and still there in the morning. Oh yeah, she could
totally see herself getting used to that.

Probably not a good idea since he was just doing
his job. Well, sort of. He had gone above and beyond last night.

Seriously, there had to be something wrong with the
guy. No one, man or woman, could be as perfect as he seemed to be. Could they?

“Why are you thinking so hard so early in the
morning?”

His deep, rough voice vibrated through her body and
startled the hell out of her.

“Geez,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest.
“You scared me.”

His chuckle jostled her around. “Sorry,” he said,
not sounding sorry in the least.

“You don’t sound it,” she said. Wiggling, she
flipped back so she could see him.
Which very well could have
been a big mistake.
She was now face-to-face with him and his arm was
holding her pressed up against him.

Thankfully, the blankets were still between them.
Not that they were a great barrier. “And you definitely don’t look sorry,” she
said. Damn, her voice sounded really odd.

“What if I said I wasn’t sorry?” he asked, a grin
curling his lips.

Snorting, Mallory smacked his chest lightly. “You
are a bad, bad man,” she said. Adjusting her head on his arm, she shut her eyes
and relaxed into him. “What time is it?”

She felt him turn slightly before settling back
into position. “Not quite eight.
If you want to sleep some
more, go for it.”

As tempting as that sounded, she knew she
shouldn’t. “No,” she said with a sigh. “I should get up and make some
breakfast.”

“That sounds really good,” he said.
“What’s for breakfast, little chef?”

“Lots of coffee and whatever I feel like making.
Maybe just some cereal,” she said, because she could. She knew she’d thrown him
when he didn’t move to even breathe.

“Cereal?” he squeaked.

“Yup, cereal,” she nodded, wiggling in closer to
him. Pressing her forehead to his chest, she breathed him in. He smelled like
warm, sexy and slightly spicy male.
Delicious.

“What kind of cook says cereal?” he asked. His hand
slid up her back and pressed her even closer to him.
“Especially
to a very hungry man.”

“This one.”
Mallory didn’t sound all that convinced, even to her own ears. It
really sounded more like a question than a statement. Wrinkling up her nose,
she peeked up at him. Yup, he wasn’t buying it either. “Fine,” she said rolling
her eyes. “I’ll make you something really good for breakfast.
Pancakes or something.”