"If Harold"s not here and we were both lured to this house ..." Gage allowed the statement to fade into unspoken innuendo.
Scout swore. "You"re right."
Max was already hauling her out of the house when the realization of danger made her spring into action. As soon as they cleared the door, they all ran like h.e.l.l.
As their footsteps slapped against the asphalt street a whoosh sounded behind them and then a blaze of light lit up half the block. The house burst into flames as if the whole thing had been doused with an accelerant.
Braxton and Doug joined them near Max"s SUV.
"What happened?"
"It was a setup," Max answered, his accusing gaze going directly to Gage.
Scout shook her head. "But that"s crazy. Why would they kill me?" Her hand went automatically to her tummy. If they"d killed her they would have killed the baby. Without the baby, what was the point of all this?
"Can we talk now?" Gage demanded. He looked straight at her, pointedly ignoring Max"s murderous glower.
She nodded. "I guess we should."
MAX COULDN"T KEEP HER from talking to Kimble, but he d.a.m.n sure had the final say about what the ground rules would be. They"d left the scene just as the fire department arrived and only seconds before the police had shown up. Victoria would have more smoothing over to do. Chicago PD as well as FD didn"t like witnesses leaving the scene before they were questioned.
Kimble was accompanied to the Colby Agency by Braxton and Cooper. Max and Scout drove over together. She wanted to complain about his domineering tactics, but she"d thought better of it when she took a closer look at him as they climbed into his SUV. He was pretty sure his expression wasn"t pleasant, but he didn"t care. He didn"t want Kimble even looking at her, much less talking to her.
But his more rational side, the one he"d beaten down for the moment, knew that they had to hear him out just in case he had relevant information.
When this was over, Max intended to kick the guy"s a.s.s.
Cooper had prepared a pot of coffee. Braxton took a seat at the long conference table while Max and Kimble blatantly sized each other up.
"Whether you want to believe it or not, your uncle is involved in the threat to you," Kimble said, turning his attention to Scout.
"What makes you think someone is threatening me?"
Good girl, Max cheered silently. Give him h.e.l.l. Something was way off with this guy. Simon was running a check on him. They would soon know.
She folded her arms over her middle and leaned against the conference table. "I didn"t tell you I was being threatened."
Kimble didn"t look the least bit put off. "Donna told me. I called to check on you a few weeks ago and she told me you were missing in action. Then last week she called and told me everything."
Scout narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "She wasn"t supposed to tell anyone."
Kimble sighed. "I admit it-I had to coerce the information out of her." He moved closer to Scout. Max tensed. "But she knows how I feel about you." He reached out and touched her shoulder then. A red mist swam before Max"s eyes. It was all he could do to hold himself back.
"She knows what we"ve shared," Kimble said intimately.
Scout drew away from his touch. "Then she must also know that you left me in the lurch!"
Max wanted to crush him. Kimble had hurt her. He"d gotten her pregnant and then walked away. Death would be too good for the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
Kimble nodded. "Guilty," he agreed woefully. "But I had my reasons."
Scout looked as skeptical as Max felt. "Oh really?" she retorted. "And what were those?"
Kimble shoved his hands into his pockets, and all three Colby agents in the room reacted at once. Though he"d been patted down, there were always new ways to hide a weapon.
He pulled his hands free of his pockets and showed that they were empty. "Satisfied?" He looked from one man to the other before turning his attention back to Scout. "You won"t want to accept this news, but it"s the truth and it"s time you knew."
Max put aside his raging emotions and focused on the man speaking. He refused to consider why the two of them steered clear of the "baby" subject. He was sure Kimble had been referring to the baby when he"d said the a.s.sistant had told him "everything."
"Harold Atkins killed your father."
"What?" Scout"s expression turned to one of utter disbelief. "That"s insane. Harold and my father were like brothers."
"At one time." Kimble shook his head. "After Harold"s retirement from the military he got mixed up with some bad sorts. He started selling military secrets to settle the score. He got away with it for a long time, even while he and your father worked together as P.I."s. It wasn"t until after he"d gone to work at Alexon that your father discovered the truth. Your father confronted him. Threatened to turn him in. Harold killed him to prevent that from happening."
Scout shook her head in denial. "I don"t believe you."
"It"s true. Your father told me of his concerns. By the time I could get back to him with the information he needed to seal Harold"s fate, he was dead." Gage exhaled loudly. "There was nothing I could do. It was too late."
Scout pushed off from the table and rounded on him. "If Harold really killed my father, why didn"t you turn him in? You knew how badly I wanted to find my dad"s killer." She spoke the words calmly enough, but the obvious fury building beneath had Max moving closer in case she physically attacked Kimble.
"Because," the man explained, "he told me he"d kill you if I ever said a word, if I ever came near you again. I couldn"t take that risk."
Silence screamed in the room for three excruciating beats.
"But you did come back," she countered, her voice trembling now.
Max wanted desperately to go to her, but he knew Scout too well. She wouldn"t want to look weak.
"Yes. I wanted to make sure you were all right. Harold was in Chicago. I"d hoped he wouldn"t find out ... but he did. I couldn"t risk him hurting you. So I dropped out of sight again."
If Max had to endure one more second of this guy"s BS, he"d puke. With the way his gut still roiled, that possibility wasn"t far off base.
"So you"ve told me," Scout said tightly. "What now?"
He shrugged. "Considering the phone call we both got, I"m concerned that Harold faked his death. He"s in this with Alexon, I"m sure of it. You have to be very careful, Scout."
"If he"s alive and in cahoots with Alexon, why would he try to kill me?"
She wasn"t buying it. Max was immensely proud of her. The whole incident at the house was completely off. Somehow. What good would she and the baby be to anyone dead? He shuddered at the idea.
"I think that little stunt was meant for me. He knew these guys-" Kimble hitched a thumb toward Max "-would take care of you."
What a neat little package Scout"s ex had tied everything into. Too bad Max didn"t believe him for a second.
"Time"s up, Kimble." Max moved between him and Scout. "We"re calling it a night. Do I have to tell you that we don"t want to hear from you again?" Kimble looked from Max to Scout, who said nothing. Pride welled in Max that she had, with her silence, backed him up.
"Come on, Kimble," Cooper said. "I"ll give you a ride back to your car."
When Cooper and Kimble had exited the conference room, Max focused his full attention on Scout. "You know he"s lying through his teeth, don"t you?"
She looked tired and uncertain. Dammit. He hated for her to suffer any more traumas. d.a.m.n Kimble.
"I wish I could be sure." She shook her head in weary defeat. "His accusations would explain some things I"ve never understood."
Max didn"t want to consider that she was probably rationalizing Kimble"s disappearance with this c.r.a.p. Would that make her want to reconcile with him? Max clenched his jaw. He refused to believe she could be that blind.
"Miss Jackson." Ryan Braxton stood and moved toward her.
Scout had almost forgotten about him, he"d been so quiet. She offered him a pathetic excuse for a smile. He was quieter than the other Colby agents she"d met. But she was certain that still waters ran particularly deep in his case. There was a weariness in his eyes that spoke to her. Somehow he"d been here before ... far too many times. "Yes?"
"Whoever delivered that cellphone to you is managing to keep up with your movements particularly well, and in spite of all our precautions. I"m wondering if perhaps you may unknowingly be carrying a tracking device."
The thought hadn"t occurred to her. She supposed it wasn"t impossible. "I don"t know." The frown she wore deepened. "Anything"s possible, I guess."
There were other questions she"d wanted to ask Gage ... but couldn"t. Not in front of Max.
"Why don"t we leave your personal belongings at the guest house before relocating you this time?" Ryan suggested.
She shrugged. "Okay."
"I"ll call Amy Wells and have her pick up a few things and bring them over." Ryan"s gaze traveled the length of her. "Size 6?"
Amazed at his accuracy, she nodded mutely.
"You"ll need to leave your jewelry, as well." He looked directly at her locket.
"I never take it off," she protested. "My father gave it to me." She"d taken it off only that once, when she"d been in isolation with Max at Alexon.
"For just a little while. once we"ve had it checked thoroughly I"ll see that it"s returned to you immediately."
Reluctantly, she nodded. What else could she do? Someone was d.o.g.g.i.ng her every step. This time she"d barely escaped a deadly fire bomb. She couldn"t take any more chances.
Not when her baby was counting on her.
TWO HOURS HAD Pa.s.sED before they"d left the agency. Max had driven around another hour to make sure he had no tail. Scout had fallen asleep in the pa.s.senger seat. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. He wished he could shield her fully from the rest of this, but that might prove impossible. But he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and to help her outsmart the Biogenisis people or whoever the h.e.l.l was after her. Simon"s check on Kimble had given them nothing. After leaving the military the man had ceased to exist. There was nothing on him. Whatever he was up to, it would not be in Scout"s best interests. Simon wanted to look further, to see if he could tie him to Biogenisis.
Simon had kindly offered his penthouse. With the warning, of course, that Max take better care of it than he had his SUV. For the first time since that night at the cemetery, Max thought of his own home. What kind of damage had been done there? He pushed away the scenarios that came immediately to mind. Right now he was too tired to care.
After parking in the underground garage of the prestigious building Simon called home, Max gently shook Scout"s shoulder.
She roused instantly. Her father had trained her well. The daughter of a colonel wouldn"t be lax even when she slept.
"I"m up." She immediately surveyed her surroundings and climbed out of the vehicle.
Max did the same.
In the elevator, he inserted Simon"s key and they were carried directly to the fourteenth floor. The door opened onto an elegant foyer that led straight into Simon"s penthouse apartment.
"Wow, your friend must be loaded," Scout commented as they moved into the main living area. The view from the wall of windows was nothing short of spectacular.
"He"s like Cooper," Max said without malice, "born to it." It didn"t really bother Max at all that his friends were better off financially than he was. He wouldn"t trade his close-knit family for all the money in the world. Neither Cooper nor Simon had those kinds of ties. Well, Simon was working on making a family with his new wife Jolie.
"I think I"ll just lie down."
"How about I drum up some dinner?" Max offered. "I"m sure Simon"s got anything your heart would desire." He added a smile, hoping to encourage her. He felt fairly certain he could manage to eat now.
She did smile back, just a little. "I"m not very hungry. Thanks, anyway."
Kimble, the son of a b.i.t.c.h, had really done a number on her emotions. Max wanted to strangle the jerk.
Before she could get away, he said, "I meant what I said. I won"t let anyone hurt you. Not even Kimble."
She turned back, her eyes suspiciously bright, but intensely determined. "You know what I have to do, don"t you?"
The hair on the back of Max"s neck p.r.i.c.kled. He didn"t like this. She sounded resigned to some cruel fate.
"The only way we"ll ever know who the real bad guys are is if we lure them into a trap."
"No." He was already shaking his head before she completed the statement.
As if he hadn"t said it, she went on. "To set a trap you need bait. It"s the only way."
He strode across the room and took her by the arms, careful to avoid her wound. "I won"t let you do that. It"s too risky."
She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "Don"t worry, Max. Despite what happened at my uncle"s house, they won"t hurt me. They have to keep me alive until the baby is born."
He glanced at the bandage on her arm. "We can"t be sure, and I"m not taking any chances with you or your baby. I don"t care who the father is. I can"t let you take that risk."
"I"ll never be safe unless we draw them out and bring them down," she said softly, her voice quaking again. "Never. And you know it."
G.o.d, she was right. He didn"t want to admit it, but she was. How could they stop an enemy whose ident.i.ty they didn"t know? They couldn"t. It was that simple and, at the same time, that complex.
If they didn"t make a move, the enemy would. It was only a matter of time before they caught them in a vulnerable position.
Using her and her unborn child as bait was the only way to draw them out on Max"s terms.
He pulled her close to him. He wanted to hold her ... to kiss her, but he held back, not wanting to cross that line, yet needing to so very much. "You remember what I said, Scout. All that matters is that you and the baby are safe. I don"t care about anything else."
He didn"t have to worry about crossing the line.
She took the initiative.
She kissed him.