Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] (21 page)

Charlie leaned over her shoulder and looked. “As I said, I only gave these things a cursory look. But…” He hesitated and flipped through the papers on the table. “I do have the file that notation refers to here.”

She took the new file and flipped it open. As she read the record, her eyes widened. “After Henry was cleared, another spy was arrested for the theft.” Her heart was pounding so loudly she could hardly hear her own voice. “But before he could come to trial, he was found dead.
Bludgeoned
to death in his prison cell.”

Charlie took a stumbling step back and the two locked gazes. “That bodes poorly.”

“Yes.” She set the file down. “Oh, Charlie. Why in the world would a man like this turn to the darkness of being a traitor? He has rank, he has money…”

“Well, he had money.” Charlie sorted through the pages until he came upon what he was looking for. “These financial records indicate his estate has had a few problems in the past two years. Some poor investments. Perhaps money was part of the motive after all.”

She nodded, but the idea didn’t fully fit. “It seems like such a sacrifice, such a risk, for something so small.”

“Perhaps.” Charlie’s face twisted and Ana saw the pain, the wear of years around his eyes in a way she hadn’t before. “But men have done worse for far less.”

“May I take these papers with me?” she asked, gathering the piles. “Perhaps I’ll find more clues if I review them more closely.”

He nodded. “Of course.” He handed her a large satchel, which she put the papers into, her mind buzzing with possibility. As he walked her to the door, he smiled. “And I hope you plan to take Lucas Tyler to task for leaving you out of the investigation.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Oh don’t worry, Charlie. My new husband will definitely hear from me on that score.” She gave him a wave as she moved into the foyer. “Good afternoon. I’ll send word the moment I’ve decoded this or if I find anything else that helps us sort out this madness.”

With Charlie’s good-byes ringing in her ears, Ana headed down the walkway to her waiting carriage on the street. She was still a few feet away when from around the opposite side strode Lucas. Judging from the fire in his eyes and the harsh set to his jaw, he was as displeased with her as she was with him.

“Where have you been?” he snapped as he opened Charlie’s gate and walked toward her.

Her mouth dropped open. He had the gall to question
her
whereabouts when she knew full well that he’d hidden his own location just hours before?

“I might ask you the same thing,” she said, folding
her arms. The big satchel full of evidence bounced against her hip and she shifted under its weight.

Lucas’s eyes narrowed as he reached out and slipped the bag from her arm, opened the carriage door and put it inside. But when he motioned for her to follow, she shook her head.

“I know where you were, Lucas. I know about Sansbury.”

His gaze darted around, but there was no indication anyone else was around, let alone paying attention to their argument.

“Mind your voice.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Mind my voice? You actually have the gall to tell me what to do when you hid a suspect’s murder from me?”

He reached for her, but she pulled her arm from his grasp. “I planned to tell you this evening,” he explained, his harsh whisper grating across her already frazzled nerves. “I needed to see myself.”

“Why?” she snapped. “Why did you leave me out of this crucial element?”

“Because I—” he began, his frustration clear in both his expression and his tone.

Before he could finish, though, there was an explosion of gunpowder behind them and the fence in front of Ana splintered as a bullet struck it from above.

Lucas didn’t think, he didn’t stop, he simply lunged forward, covering Ana with his body and rolling toward
a row of nearby bushes. When they were under enough cover, he looked at where the bullet had stuck.

Just inches from where she had been standing. His heart doubled its time with the horror of that fact.

She shifted beneath him. “Let me up,” she whispered.

“No. Not yet. That shot was no accident.”

She met his eyes and one eyebrow arched. “I never said it was, but I can’t breathe.”

He shifted and she moved, leaning up to join him in looking above. Suddenly, she tugged his shirtsleeve.

“There!”

High above, on top of Charlie’s town home was a man. The dark scarf wrapped around his face whipped in the breeze as he turned to run along the roof away from them.

Immediately Lucas was on his feet, running along the perimeter of the house until he saw a ladder that had been propped up in the alleyway. Probably by the person who intended to shoot Ana. He was halfway up the rungs, going two at a time when he felt the ladder shift below him.

He continued to climb as he shouted down, “No! Stay there. Let me follow!”

The shaking below didn’t stop. If anything it increased. Of course she wouldn’t listen.

“You cannot keep me from this, Lucas. I’m coming with you,” she shouted.

He clenched his teeth and kept climbing, vaulting
onto the rooftop in a smooth motion. If there were more time, he would gladly stop and argue with her, but the man who had shot at her was already at the edge of Charles Isley’s roof. He made a leap and landed like a cat on the next building. He didn’t miss a step before he was running again.

Lucas swore, tossing a glance behind him to see if Ana was struggling to get on the roof. He was surprised to find she was right behind him.

“What are you waiting for?” she said as she started to run. “Come on!”

Lucas pursed his lips and followed, but he was faster and soon passed her. He watched as the man they were chasing vaulted over the next rooftop. Damn it, they might not catch him now.

The edge of the roof was fast approaching. Lucas knew he could clear it, but with Ana in tow…With another curse, he stopped at the edge.

But to his shock, Ana kept running. Her face twisted and with a grunt, she leapt.

His heart nearly stopped as he watched her fly through the air, hovering over the empty space between the buildings. He tensed as she started her descent, expecting to watch her plummet to the cobblestones below. But instead, she landed on the next roof, dropping down with bent knees to reduce the jarring effects of the landing.

For a moment, she remained that way, her back to him and he jolted. Was she hurt? But then she turned
and she had the widest, brightest smile he’d ever seen.

“I cleared it,” she said, her voice registering shock. Then she shook it off and was all business again. “Can’t you?”

His eyes narrowed. Cocky little minx. He took a few steps back and ran, jumping right at the edge of the roof. But the moment he started to fly through the air, he realized he wouldn’t clear the gap. And judging from Ana’s horrified expression, she knew it, too.

L
ucas hit the edge of the building with enough force that the wind was knocked out of his lungs. He clawed at the rooftop for purchase as he slid backward toward the alleyway below. If he couldn’t get a grip, he was going to fall two floors. He would probably break his legs, if not worse. Horror gripped Ana, but she couldn’t stand by and just watch him struggle. Instead, she lunged and caught his arm as her heart rocketed to her throat.

“Pull yourself up,” she said, straining to talk as she fell back on her backside and braced her feet on the roof’s edge. Lucas was so much heavier than she was and her arms tensed to bear his weight. “Come on, Lucas. You aren’t going to fall. I won’t let you.”

He looked up at her, his eyes wide with surprise at her statement, but he didn’t argue. At least not yet. She felt his muscles contract as he pulled, then his leg lifted over the roof edge and he was up. She fell back now that his weight wasn’t pulling her toward the edge and he landed half on top of her.

She laid there for a moment as the entire scenario played through her mind. The facts were slowly sinking in.
She
had jumped across the building.
She
had cleared the gap.

And Lucas, who had proven himself to be a talented spy again and again,
hadn’t
.

She stifled a little giggle. Lucas lifted his head and stared at her.

“Are you hysterical?” he asked, getting to his feet and brushing off his dusty trousers.

She couldn’t help it, another laugh escaped her throat. She smacked her hand over her lips at the dark look he shot her. Clearly, he didn’t find the situation all that amazing.

He offered her a hand, yanking her to her feet. He looked over her shoulder and let out a long string of curses, each saltier than the last. The last one actually made her blush.

“He’s gone,” he spat, then turned away and kicked at a few pebbles on the rooftop viciously, sending them flying into the alley below.

Her high emotion fled. “If he’s growing bolder, we’ll
catch him.” She reached out and touched his arm. “We almost did today.”

He spun around and caught her arms, pulling her against his chest. His eyes were stormy, but he seemed unable to speak. Finally, he let her go and looked around for a way down from the roof they were on.

She stared at him. “Lucas?”

He glared at her over his shoulder. “Just come with me.”

He motioned to a drainage pipe along the side of the house they stood on. She watched as he swung around onto the pipe and motioned for her to get on his back. She opened her mouth to protest, but his sharp glare stopped her.

With a ginger step, she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and clung tight while he eased his way down inch by inch. She could feel his tension in every muscle until they had their feet on solid ground.

“Lucas?” she repeated, trying to catch his gaze.

“Not now,” he growled as he snatched her hand and marched out of the alleyway. As they reached the street and started heading back to the carriage, she saw Charlie standing on the walkway in front of his house.

He stared at the hole in his fence and their disheveled appearance. “What the hell happened?” he asked as he moved toward them.

Lucas spun on him and his gaze hesitated on the bullet hole. His face twisted into a look as fierce as any Ana had ever seen. Her stomach flipped. He looked like a warrior. Her protector.

“She was
shot
at, Isley, what do you think?”

Charlie’s eyes widened, but before he could reply, Lucas threw open the carriage door and placed a hand on the small of her back. She stepped in at his insistence, and he followed, slamming the door behind them and pounding on the wall.

The carriage rocked into motion and Ana watched him. This was definitely not the man she was used to. No smile. Not even a hint of one. And his eyes were so intense, so expressive in their fierce emotion that she couldn’t help but stare.

Her pulse was raging, and not from leftover adrenaline or excitement of the chase. Not from lingering pride that she had vaulted over the gap in the buildings when Lucas could not.

This excitement was housed lower in her belly. An ache she recognized and was shocked could happen with just one glance from Lucas. She
wanted
him. Despite his clear upset and anger and frustration.

“Lucas,” she began, fighting the want and trying to maintain some distance.

He held up a hand. “He almost killed you, Ana. If his bullet had hit a few inches to the left, he would have found his mark.”

She shivered. “Of course I realize that, but—”

“But nothing.” He moved over to her side of the carriage and suddenly his hands were on her. His fingers smoothed across her arms, her back. “Do you know what that felt like, Ana? Do you know the thoughts that ran through my head when that bullet rushed past you?”

His face was so close to hers, his eyes just inches from her own. In them she saw everything. His fear. His desire. His anger…but at himself for feeling what he felt. All those things were hers and hers alone. Her heart melted.

“Lucas,” she whispered, cupping his cheeks. “I wasn’t hit. I wasn’t harmed.”

“By the grace of God, that is true.” He put his arms around her and pulled her closer, into his lap. “But I need to feel that you’re whole.”

She realized his hands were shaking as he cupped her neck and drew her lips down on his. His whole body was shaking, though his kiss was as strong and powerful as ever. She clenched her fists against his shoulders, holding him against her with all her might, letting him feel that she was unharmed. Letting him feel how powerfully his fear touched her. It made apparent the fact that he cared for her in some way and that knowledge rocked her to her very core.

Lucas sucked in a breath as he broke the kiss and looked up into Ana’s beautiful face. She smiled, soft. Not like the magnificent blaze that lit her face when she cleared the rooftop and finally realized just how
strong she really was. This was something else. Something comforting.

And it was just for him. Just as the way she leaned down and gently brushed her lips back and forth against his was just for him. It was comfort. It was pleasure.

It touched him to his very soul and a powerful realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He loved her.

There it was. The truth revealed to him by fear. No. Not fear. Terror. Watching that bullet tear a hole in the fence, a hole that was meant to be ripped through his wife, was terrifying. He wanted to hold her like this forever. Keep her safe.

Instead he pushed away all his reactions and the internal arguments against the fact that he loved her and surrendered to the comfort she offered. The peace that flowed over him as she threaded her fingers through his hair. And the desire that pumped into his system when she shifted on his lap to straddle him.

He pulled her mouth down and kissed her again, this time without gentleness. He just wanted to feel her and taste her…
own
her. Love her. Every time he allowed that thought to enter his mind, it seemed more right. More true.

He embraced that feeling. Let it fill him up in places he hadn’t realized were empty.

Ana’s hands were moving now, her breath harsh as she placed a hand between their bodies and rubbed his erection to full hardness. He groaned at how easily she could unman him, make him forget everything
except how much he wanted to bury himself inside her warm and welcoming heat.

He shoved at her dress, pulling at layers of fabric while she fumbled with the buttons that kept her from touching him. His erection sprung free, and she stroked him from base to head, once, twice.

His head lolled back, his hands loosening their hold on her as blinding pleasure rushed through him. His hips lifted, filling her hand as he sucked in his breath. She smiled, this time sly and with full knowledge of the power she had over him.

“I am whole, Lucas,” she whispered, her warm breath brushing against his ear. She pressed a hot kiss against his neck. “And I’m yours.”

He caught that promise with his mouth and kissed her so hard and hot that his head spun. His fingers found her gown again and he lifted it, finally removing the barrier between his bare skin and her waiting body. She lifted up, positioning herself above him and then began a slow descent, wrapping her wet heat around him with painful slowness.

He couldn’t wait for her torture, lifting his hips until he surged into her fully in one hard stroke. Ana wailed out pleasure, her body contracting as it welcomed him, gushed heated desire over him. She clung to his shoulders, riding him with jerky movements.

Lucas dug his fingers into her hips, controlling the rolling movements, guiding her to move slower, to
smooth her strokes. Her eyes fluttered shut and he looked up into her face. Her pleasure was reflected in every twitch of her muscles, every sigh that escaped her parted lips.

“Let go,” he whispered through clenched teeth. “Let go, Ana. Give yourself to me.”

Her eyes opened, revealing the warm depths of brown heaven. In them he saw emotions. Tangled. Hopeful. But not fully surrendered yet.

“Yes,” she moaned just before her spine stiffened and she arched against him with a few hard thrusts. Her body clenched at his, stroking him with the tremors of her pleasure. Whatever control he had been exercising spun out of his reach. His blood moved, his body shivered, and he clutched her against him, growling out her name as he poured everything he was deep into her womb.

Ana’s breath came short as she gently dropped her forehead to rest against his. They sat like that for a long moment until their ragged breathing finally slowed, matched. Then she pressed a soft kiss against his temple and lifted away from him. When their bodies separated, Lucas stifled a groan of displeasure. He felt so empty when she wasn’t near.

That niggling reminder that he loved her buzzed in his ear, but he pushed it aside. Nothing had changed between them just because he realized his heart. As he watched Ana slip to the opposite side of the carriage and fix herself, he knew that to be true.
Today’s events proved that they were still battling for position in this case. She still suspected Henry of wrongdoing.

And beyond that, he had seen her at her late husband’s grave. Even now, during this powerful and emotionally charged encounter, she hadn’t been ready to give her heart completely. She was much more open with her body since their marriage, yes, and that gave him wild and powerful hope that one day she could offer more.

But until they solved this case, Lucas couldn’t take the time to woo her properly. To win that heart that she kept buried. He could only please her body and hope it was enough to keep her bound to him until he could do more.

But when this was over, he would have her as his wife in every way. He
would
win her love.

As the coach slowed, he quickly refastened his trousers and smoothed his wrinkled clothes. Their eyes met, and Ana smiled, but the ever-constant wariness was there in her stare.

“We have much to talk about,” he said, forcing himself back in investigative mode. “I think we each have a lot to say about what happened today.”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, we do.”

The carriage stopped and in less than a minute, the footman opened the door. Lucas sighed. “Then we will go inside, have some tea, and do just that.”

Something had changed. Ana looked at Lucas across the room, sitting by the fire, a cup of tea in his hand. There was something different between them now.

On their wedding night, she had given her body to him fully. But today, in that intense, emotional coupling in the carriage, she felt him give himself. Something much deeper than merely his body.

Something that terrified her. Thrilled her. And the thrill was starting to outweigh the fear.

“We can look at each other all afternoon,” Lucas said before he took a sip of tea. “Which I am not opposed to. Or we can discuss the subject that is hanging in the air between us. This case. And our differences of opinion regarding it.”

She shoved her emotional response aside. There would be time to analyze that later. At least, she hoped there would be. She, of all people, knew how fragile life could be, and even more so when so much danger surrounded her and Lucas at every turn.

With a shiver at that thought, she struggled to find her anger again. The disappointment and hurt she’d felt when she heard he went to the scene of Sansbury’s murder without her.

It returned without any difficulty.

“Why didn’t you wake me before you left this morning?” she asked, folding her arms. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out that Sansbury was dead or that you had gone to the scene of the crime without me?”

His face changed, twisted with guilt, but also memory. “I had to go alone, Ana.”

“But why? Did you think I couldn’t handle the horror? Did you think I wasn’t strong enough?” She held her breath as she awaited his reply.

He set his cup away. “Your strength had nothing to do with it. It had to do with mine. I had to go alone, I had to see—”

He broke off and his mouth twisted with anguish. She’d never seen his pain reflected so clearly before.

“See what?” she whispered as she crossed the room to him.

He got to his feet and paced away. “I had to see if there was evidence implicated Henry.”

“And was there?”

He shook his head. “No. But I doubted him. By searching for evidence there, I proved that I have lost faith in him.”

She winced. God, what he would feel when he heard what she had found out. She loathed telling him, breaking his trust in Henry further. Instead, she put it off a bit longer.

“Lucas, we are partners. Whether you like it or not, Sansbury’s murder was as much my business as it was yours. You should have taken me.”

He stared at her for a moment, his gaze unreadable. Then he nodded. “You are right, of course. I apologize, Ana. It was wrong of me.”

She staggered back a step. He was admitting his wrongdoing? He was telling her he wouldn’t shut her out again? Had the world shifted on its axis in the night and she didn’t know?