Instructing an Heiress (22 page)

"But do we have a deal, Mr. Jensen?" she asked, her face showing nothing but complete sincerity.

Alex slouched against the frame of the door, more than willing to play for a while, anyway. "You mentioned some PI work. Don't forget to throw that in."

She leaned forward. "So, you'll do it?"

"What would I be investigating?"

"My sister's convinced that someone's vandalizing my car to threaten me, but the security system hasn't caught anyone. If you could find out what's going on and stop it before anything worse happens, that would be excellent."
 

She gave him an expectant half smile with just the right touch of seduction behind it. He had to admit that Ted had done his usual insightful job when he'd hired her. With those legs, it was just a matter of time before Piper Roseland was invincible.

"I'll need at least fifty grand for a job like that," he said, keeping his tone steady. "To cover expenses."

Her smile died. "Really?" She made a visible effort to recover her composure. "Um...of course. There's always expenses, right?"
 

She cleared her throat. "In old detective movies, there are, so I guess this wouldn't be any different. I can go as high as forty. After that, the expense bumps over and shows up on Danni's monthly report. She'll have a fit."

Detective movies? And who the hell was Danny? Looked like he'd overestimated her, legs and all. Pitiful. He couldn't keep up the ruse.

Alex huffed out an ironic chuckle. He wanted her to know that he was onto her, and at the same time put her at ease. New agent egos could be delicate things.
 

"What are you in training for, Ms. Roseland?"

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

He ambled across the room and braced his hands on the armrests of her chair, boxing her in. "Is Ted your immediate supervisor or did he put you under me?"
 

"Supervisor?" She stared up at him, concern and a healthy dose of confusion clearly reflected in her eyes. "Um,...I'm not sure what you
 
mean. I don't do anything under anyone."

 
"Are you sure?" He leaned toward her, his gaze boring into hers. Her scent, like sun-filled meadows, drifted over him as her cheeks turned bright pink—the one physical reaction that couldn't be faked.

Alarm splashed across her features and she hastily scooted away, pressing up against the back of the chair. Had he ever been that inexperienced, he wondered?
 

Of course he had. They all had. That's why they'd picked her. Probably told her how much he loved a good joke and how this would help her get in good with him. Poor kid.

"You had me going for a moment, I admit it. Cards on the table, now, okay?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Neil's behind this, isn't he. He's always pulling stunts on the new recruits."
 

Her lips parted on a quick intake of breath, catching his attention. A low vibration of heat purred to life deep in his gut as his gaze slid over her mouth.
 

Alex reflexively pushed the impulse to kiss her down. He had a hard and fast policy never to mess with coworkers. No quicker way to compromise the integrity of an assignment than sex with another agent.

Leveraging off of the chair, he took a couple steps back. "Tell him to lower the price next time. It was a dead giveaway." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Feel lucky all he did was send you here. The last new guy found himself in Juarez, Mexico without his pants."

Gripping her car keys like a lifeline, she watched him warily, eyes as big as saucers. "I'm...very confused, Mr. Jensen. I really do need a detective and bodyguard."

"Alex. Call me Alex."

She pulled in a shaky breath. "Who is Neil?"
 

A cold, sinking feeling spread through his chest. He made an effort to calm his thoughts while the genuine worry in her eyes shifted toward apprehension.
 

"You don't work for Ted?" he finally asked.
 

"I don't work, Mr....uh, Alex. Not in the conventional sense."

"Ted. I mean your Uncle Theo sent you, right?"

She nodded, a hint of fear tightening around her eyes.

He inwardly winced. "And he's really your uncle?"

"He was Dad's roommate in college. He's my—"

"Your godfather. Right. You said that." Well, hell. He didn't even know Ted had any family. Looked like the code she'd given was legitimate.
 

"Maybe we'd better start over," he said.
 

"I'd like to go now, please."

Guilt pricked at his conscience. "I thought you were someone else."

"Perfectly understandable." She scooted carefully to the front of the chair and then stood up slowly as if afraid any sudden movement might set him off. "I must have gotten mixed up about the address."

She gave him a brittle smile and edged toward the door. "I had a friend once whose GPS told her to turn right off a cliff. She didn't of course, but it just goes to show."

He'd heard that tone before. That false, bubbly cheer one reserved for other people's difficult children and crazy people.
 

"I think we got off on the wrong foot." He took a step toward her with his hand out, but stopped when she skittered toward the door even faster.

"No problem. Really. A mistake anyone could make." Her slender fingers clutched the doorknob. "I'm so sorry to have bothered you. Good luck with your, um, dogs." With a quick tug, she pulled the door wide and darted out of the house. He heard her order Nipper to back off, followed by the sound of her shoes clattering down the wooden steps.

Irrationally, the urge to stop her pulled at him. Some long-buried part of him wanted to explain that he wasn't a homicidal maniac, then take her to lunch and get her to laugh about the whole thing over coffee.
 

Instead he stood stock still, pulling in slow, steady breaths as her car door slammed, then the smooth purr of the Audi's engine started up. Tires crunched on gravel, quickly fading into the distance as she hot-footed it back to civilization like the devil was on her tail.

Annoyance simmered up under his ribcage. He hadn't felt this stupid since the day he'd asked Carol Marshwood out in the seventh grade and she'd laughed in his face. Alex gritted his teeth and pulled his cellphone out of his front pocket.
 

Ted better have a damn good explanation for what had just happened here.

"I'm on vacation," he said, when Ted answered. "Don't you have another agent you can call in?"

"Cry me a river," his Director said in his usual, curmudgeonly tone. "When she asked for help with some punk stalker problem, I saw a golden opportunity and took it."

"I thought she was a recruit."

"Piper? Hell, I'm not even convinced she's involved. I don't think any of them are, but the CIA feels differently."

A spark of interest fired up along Alex's nerves. There was only one on-going assignment from the CIA that would warrant a call-in. "You think she's connected to the Azevedos?"

"I just said I didn't. Pay attention."

Normally Ted's abrasive ways with his agents amused Alex, but after what he'd just gone through it was all he could do not to snap out a sharp reply. "Talk to me," he said, instead.

"Yesterday, the Feds intercepted a cellphone call from one of the Azevedo lieutenants to the Roseland house, but it was too short to get any significant data. They want us to investigate. Find out who got that call and why."

"And since policy forbids agents working cases involving family members, you can't be directly involved. I assume the Roselands don't know anything about what you really do?"

"Now you're catching on. When she called, I grabbed the chance at a good cover story for my top agent."

"Except she didn't hire me."

"What?" Ted shouted.

Alex moved the phone away to save his hearing.
 

"Tell me you didn't make a pass at her and scare her off, Jensen. This girl's like a daughter to me. Guess how I'd feel about it if you tried to sleep with my daughter?"
 

In his time, Ted had been a force to be reckoned with. There were still rumors about the dent he'd made in the KGB back in the day.

"I'd rather not think about it, sir," Alex said.

"Glad we understand each other. Now explain to me how you plan to handle damage control."

* * *

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