"You ex-military?" Adam finally asked Norm.
"Yep. Twenty years in the marines, then I got out. Went to work for the FBI. "
That explained a lot. "How are you so sure I"m the good guy and these are the bad guys?"
Norm flashed him an expressive glance. "Only crooks wear suits that bad. "
"Norm. "
The older man rocked back on his heels. "You work where I"ve worked, you get a feel for people and a nose for trouble. You stepped on that bus and trouble stepped on with you. I watched you looking over your shoulder, obviously worried about your gal. I wasn"t sure who you were expecting until these turkeys showed up. "
Adam nodded. "Thanks. I"ve been in contact with Special Agent Wilks out of the Las Vegas office. I have to pick up some stuff I mailed to myself, incriminating evidence on my former employer, and deliver it to him. "
Norm nodded. "You want me to come with you and watch your back?"
"No. I want you to make sure my wife gets to the hotel safely. Call Wilks and tell him to have somebody pick up these guys." He handed Norm the card with all of Wilks"s numbers on it.
At the words my wife, Norm sent him an enigmatic glance but didn"t say a word. Which was good. Adam didn"t feel like explaining.
Norm pulled out a cell phone and started punching numbers. In his other hand he held the gun he"d liberated earlier. He looked as though he"d be only too glad to shoot his three charges if they gave him half an excuse.
Satisfied, Adam opened the door to leave and bashed smack into Gretchen coming in. It was the first time he"d touched her since they"d held hands during the wedding ceremony.
Now, he didn"t stop to think or to worry about the dozen or so busybodies watching eagerly, he just gathered her in his arms and kissed her long and hard.
She melted against him and he felt the contours of her body, the soft skin of her bare back, the plump fullness of her unfettered b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressing against his chest. Best of all, he felt her heart beating against him, rea.s.suringly alive.
He imagined he"d have nightmares for the rest of his life about that one dreadful minute when the hit man had advanced on her with a knife and he knew he couldn"t reach her in time.
He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms to take both her hands in a loose clasp.
"Hey, what"s this thing?" Norm"s voice had them turning to where he held a device that looked like a kid"s electronic game. "I found it in this guy"s pocket. "
"Oh, my G.o.d," Gretchen exclaimed, "that"s a hand held GPS monitor. That"s how they found us again and again. They"ve been tracking you, Adam. "
"Tracking me?"
"Sure. It"s easy enough to plant a transmitter. I put one on you myself the first day we met. "
He"d deal with that one later. Was it possible he"d been tracked by his employer? He shook his head slowly. "But no one in Houston even knew who the whistle-blower was until I went AWOL. If they"d known, they wouldn"t have bothered with a transmitter. I"d be dead. "
The three of them, Norm, Gretchen and he stared at one another, the three thugs and the device. "Wait a minute," said Gretchen, snapping her fingers. "Your briefcase. The briefcase with the discreet company logo. Where did you get it?"
"It was a gift from the board of directors. All the executives got them about a year ago. It"s a real status symbol around Houston." He glanced at the monitoring device that Norm still held and then at his briefcase, which had never left his sight since he"d taken off. "You"re saying there"s some kind of tracking device in there?"
Gretchen nodded. "They must track their executives the way some companies track their fleet vehicles, only the targeted employees don"t know anything about it. It"s highly unethical, but I"ll bet every employee of importance is being tracked. Those gizmos can tell where you"ve been and how long you"ve stayed there. That"s why the thugs didn"t bother following the Elvis limo. They knew they could pick you up whenever it was convenient."
Adam rubbed his forehead. "If they knew where I was all the time, then why did they hire you to follow me?"
"Probably for extra insurance. In case you dumped the briefcase."
"Which I should have. d.a.m.n it, I was in such a hurry I wasn"t thinking." He glared at the briefcase which had almost got him and Gretchen killed. "It must be built into the lining somehow. I"ll get some tools and we"ll get that sucker out of there. Destroy it."
"No, son, don"t do that," said Norm, who"d been looking at the device in his hand as though he might want one for Christmas. "Turn it over to your FBI buddy. They may be able to use that briefcase to pull some more insects into the web. "
The old man chuckled, obviously delighted to be back in the game. "Tell you what, take everything you need out of there and I"ll take the briefcase to the bus station and put it in a locker. We don"t want your old work pals knowing you"ve been to the feds. "
Adam shook his head. "I"m not putting you in danger. Or should I say, not again. I"ll do it. "
"Are you kidding? These turkeys won"t be calling in to say they"ve been nabbed." Norm nodded his chin to the trio on the floor. "I"ll drop the case off in the bus station and then swing by the FBI office and meet you there." He rubbed his hands. "I haven"t had this much fun since I retired. "
Adam glanced questioningly at Gretchen who nodded. "Norm"s right, Adam. His plan works. "
"Okay," he said, knowing the faster they got going, the sooner justice would prevail. "You go to the hotel with the others. I"ll meet you there. "
He tried to step around her but she blocked his way. "Oh no, you"re not. "
"Buta""
"I was hired to follow you and I"m not near done yet. "
Chapter Ten.
"It"s good to finally get this in the right hands," Adam said as he presented a thick brown envelope to Special Agent Chet Wilks, an unremarkable-looking man in a department store brown suit, wearing gla.s.ses and a bland expression belied by the hopeful gleam in his eyes.
He dumped out the envelope and Gretchen was able to see what she and Adam had almost been killed for. A sheaf of doc.u.ments, two computer disks, a roll of film, and a small tape, like the kind from a personal video camera, tumbled to the neat desktop.
"You were able to obtain everything I asked for?"
"Pretty much. I mailed myself the originals," Adam said, pointing to the photocopied doc.u.ment. "They should be here tomorrow. "
Wilks nodded, still emotionless, but he was tapping the sheaf of papers against the desktop as though he couldn"t wait to dive in. "I"d like to interview you today, Adam," he said, glancing at his watch. "Say an hour or two to get the basics. We"ll go over everything here." He gestured to the items littering his desktop. "And talk again tomorrow. "
"What about Gretchen?"
"Ms. Wiest, another agent will interview you separately about the events of the last few days. "
She nodded. "All right. "
They were taken to separate interview rooms and she recalled, as best she could, everything that had happened from the moment the man calling himself Mrs. Stone"s lawyer had contacted her.
Of course, she left out anything intimate between herself and Adam, but she didn"t suppose that would remain private for long.
At the end of the interview, she was escorted back to Wilks"s office to wait for Adam. She could have simply left, but she had to arrange with him about the divorce. She smiled to herself. Las Vegas saw its share of quickie weddings and divorces, but this was going to be a record.
Adam emerged sometime later and her heart flip-flopped at the sight of him. He looked tired, and she was conscious of a desire to rub his stiff shoulders and kiss everything better.
Oh man, they"d better get that divorce fast before she got any more silly ideas.
"I understand congratulations are in order, Mrs. Stone," Wilks said, offering his hand.
"Oh, well, I"m nota""
"She"s not taking my name, Wilks. Get with the modern age. "
"Right. Well, I"ll let you two get back toa" He cleared his throat. "I"ll see you tomorrow. Is noon too early?"
"We"ll be here," Adam said, and held out his hand to her. She was so shocked that he hadn"t told Wilks the truth about their fake wedding that she took it.
An agent drove them to the hotela"not the one where the bus tour was staying, but to one of the new, grand hotels on the strip. They entered the lobby, with its slot machines, in-house theater, restaurants, bars, and scantily clad waitresses everywhere. She was so busy looking around that they were at the elevators before she realized they hadn"t pa.s.sed the registration desk.
"Don"t we need to check in?" What was going to happen now they didn"t have to share a room? Now they weren"t on the run for their lives? Would he still want her?
Would she still want him? She sneaked a glance at him under her lashes, and those poetic Irish looks called to her. The deep blue color of his eyes mesmerized her. The answer was obvious. Yes. She wanted him.
"Wilks arranged it. "
She wasn"t going to ask if he"d booked one room or two. She wasn"t going to make a federal case out of it either way. She"d simply relax and go with the flow.
Yep. Relax. She was so relaxed her knees had locked and her shoulder blades felt welded to her spine.
Adam spent the time in the elevator fiddling with one of the b.u.t.tons on that foolish blazer he still wore. It wasn"t a long ride, but it was filled with unspoken thoughts. Soon they exited the elevator and she followed him.
He opened a door and held it for her to enter first. She loved his manners. In fact, there was a lot to love about Adam Stone. Once they were inside, she blinked. It was a huge room, with the biggest four-poster she"d ever seen. A fireplace flickered in a corner and on the balcony outside was a steaming whirlpool spa that gave her ideas involving Adam, herself, and a lot of hot frothing water.
A big basket containing fruit and snacks sat on a low table by the bed, along with champagne cooling in an ice bucket and two champagne flutes.
"This isa this must bea "
"The bridal suite. "
She put a hand to her forehead. "Oh no. Those sweet old people. They even booked us the bridal suite. "
Adam turned and rested his hands on her shoulders. "No. I booked it. It"s not every day a person gets married. I thought we should spend our wedding night in style. "
"You booked it? Buta buta we"re getting divorced, aren"t we?"
His eyes glowed, blue and mysterious. "This is still our wedding night," he said, "and I intend to kiss the bride." He found the tie to her halter dress and pulled, and the soft cotton slid to her feet without so much as a sigh, leaving her in nothing but white panties and plastic jeweled sandals.
"I intend to kiss the bride all over. "
He started with her lips. A deep drugging kiss that had her clinging to him, ship"s captain blazer and all. She dug under it and his shirt to find warm, taut skin, running her hands up and down his back.
He dragged the blazer off and tossed it in the general direction of a chair, then peeled off his T-shirt. Oh, he felt so good. So absolutely right. She snuggled against him, buried her nose in his chest hair and drew in his scent, put her tongue out and tasted his flavor. She felt his heart beating beneath her lips, loved the taste and scent and essence of him. Loved feeling him blessedly alive and safe, anda"for tonight at leasta"hers.
She walked her fingers down the center line of his belly to his jeans and unbuckled his belt. She traced his contours and d.a.m.n near scorched her palm. That boy wanted out of those jeans, and bad.
Only too happy to oblige, she unzipped him carefully and slipped her hand inside to grasp him, warm and hard and wonderful.
"I need you now," she managed to articulate.
"It"s our wedding night, I wanted to go slowly," he managed between panting breaths, "but I don"t think I can. "
"No. "
She pulled her hand back out of his waistband and he had those jeans off so fast it was like he had supernatural powers. Leaving jeans, jockeys, socks, and cotton T-shirt heaped on the floor, he rose, naked, and stepped toward her, an expression on his face of such concentrated l.u.s.t that she almost stepped back in self-preservation.
She didn"t, though. She was more excited than she ever remembered being. He reached for her and she watched his hand, dark and lean, approach the needy, greedy core of her and just skim the front of her panties. Panties that were perfect for playing tennis or grocery shopping but were about as far from her idea of wedding night lingerie asa well, as her wedding was from typical.
"I wish I were wearing white silk and lace," she whispered.
"I like these just fine," he said, and cupped her so she moaned. He dropped to his knees and pulled her panties down her legs so she could step free of them. He remained squatting, gazing up at her. "Like unwrapping a plain brown paper package and finding a fantastic gift." It was the craziest d.a.m.n thing, but she felt her eyes sting. His words might be a little corny, but they were very sweet. She"d never seen this side of him before.
He rose slowly, his eyeb.a.l.l.s about three inches from her body the entire trip, and she felt both nervous and vulnerable.
Something was different tonight. He was different. She was different. Everything was different.
He smiled down at her, taking her face in his hands. "I am so looking forward to making love with you in a normal bed that doesn"t rumble and quake, without the threat of death constantly hanging over our heads. "
"Me, too," she agreed dreamily. There were agents a.s.signed to protect them, probably outside the door even now.
He twitched back the luxurious gold brocade bedspread, tumbled her onto the bed, and followed.
The sheets were cool and smooth at her back, Adam warm and furry against her front. Then she forgot about warm, cold, back, or front, for he was kissing her b.r.e.a.s.t.sa"licking, sucking, teasing until she was squirming.
"I thought you said you were in a hurry," she gasped.
"This is me in a hurry," he said, smiling down in a way that made her want to smack him, except she was feeling so loose right now, she didn"t think she could lift her hand.
Her body writhed shamelessly beneath him, her legs had fallen open of their own accord, and her hips were pumping. What did the man need? A neon sign? "I"m ready," she cried. "I want you inside me, now. "
"I"m busy," he said indistinctly, and moved down, licking the underside of each breast before moving to her heaving diaphragm and then her belly, making long licking strokes that left trails of gooseb.u.mps.
He"d solved the problem of divorce, she realized. He was simply going to kill her on her wedding night instead!
By the time his tongue was tracing the triangle of hair, she was beyond words. Sighs, moans, the odd gurgle, she had plenty of those, but an actual word was beyond her powers.
Then he crawled between her thighs, spread her with his thumbs, and licked her just there and she lost even the moan and gurgle capability. Every nerve, every impulse was centered in that magical spot beneath his tongue.
Thankfully, he didn"t tease her anymore, but built her up until she believed that only his hands, firm on her hips, kept her earthbound. A few more strokes of his tongue and she felt as though she"d burst those fetters, as well. Pleasure gripped her, roared through her, and spasm after spasm, so intense it shocked her, hurtled through her body.