Untouched

2

DANIEL WATCHED Risa from a discreet distance, following the actions of the two women closely. Even though he’d spent thousands of hours doing surveillance, watching Risa felt different. More intimate. Maybe because each new outfit she tried on distracted him from his purpose, among other things. It wasn’t as if she were trying on anything particularly sexy, no low-cut dresses or skintight bodysuits—like the ones he’d seen her wearing on missions—clinging to every curve. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and his interest wasn’t completely professional.

He swallowed deeply, trying to ignore the way his pulse picked up when she stepped out of the dressing room, looking to her friend for reassurance that the low-rise jeans and raspberry T-shirt fit.

Oh, man, did they ever fit. The woman had an ass like two perfect scoops of ice cream.

The shirt exposed a delicious sliver of her flat, toned belly, and the stylishly faded denim hugged the gentle sway of her backside in a way that had him imagining cupping his hand over the pocket.

Her friend nodded enthusiastically, obviously having good taste. Risa received the approval awkwardly, stuffing her hands in the pockets of the jeans, looking furtively from side to side as if worried about being seen. Was she self-conscious or was she worried?

Daniel turned his attention to her shopping partner. His quick background check identified Risa’s friend as Kristy Louise Kelly, twenty-five, a Boston native, MIT grad and an oceanographic intern at Woods Hole. He’d seen them sitting at Risa’s utilitarian kitchen table that morning, talking over a breakfast that neither one of them touched—but talking about what?

He hadn’t had an opportunity to bug the apartment—Risa was always there. This was the first time he’d seen her leave, and opted for following rather than a search. He’d assumed if she were venturing out, it must have been important—he’d never have guessed clothes shopping.

However, it appeared she was doing some surveillance of her own, and if he could get over there, he might be able to link into her system. He could find out what she was up to, who she was watching and why. Jack was right—something was off.

Was she finally adjusting on her own, a late bloomer? Why now, all of a sudden, after months of isolation? Could this new “friend” be a problem, someone else who knew about Risa’s secrets, or who wanted to know? Daniel intended to find out.

He’d arrived on the Cape a week ago. The small town of Falmouth was as charming as ever. Daniel booked a room at a small motel a few minutes down the street from Risa’s apartment complex, even though the home where he’d grown up was only about an hour up the coast. He needed to be closer to watch her movements, to assess the situation.

Though Jack had mentioned his family, there was no need to stir up those old ghosts. He was here to do a job; he’d do it, and move on, hopefully with no one being the wiser. If Kristy Kelly was a real friend, maybe Risa wouldn’t need him to interfere in her life, so he could report back to Jack and be assigned something more critical than watching Risa shop.

“Daniel? Oh my God…it is you. What are you doing here?”

Daniel turned toward the disbelieving female voice that drew his attention away from Risa and Kristy. Instincts developed after years in the field compelled him to relax, to act naturally so as not to draw attention, even though he simultaneously felt the urge to duck behind the rack of women’s lingerie that he’d been standing beside.

When he turned, he looked into eyes as gray as his, set in a female face that also resembled his own. He took in her softer features, his eyes widening as he sighted his younger sister’s extremely pregnant belly.

“Anna.” He breathed out the name softly, hardly believing she was standing right in front of him. The last time he’d seen her was in New York City just two years ago, where she’d been vacationing and they’d met for dinner. He’d given her a secure e-mail address where she could contact him. He just couldn’t break all contact with his youngest sister.

He’d attended her wedding shortly after, staying in the background, and leaving a gift before anyone else knew he was there. His appearance would have caused too much of a scuffle, and it was her day. He hadn’t wanted to ruin it, though he’d caught her for one moment before he left. She’d been such a tomboy, keeping up with her brothers effortlessly all those years—and now she was a grown woman. He didn’t know she was expecting, though. The discovery threw him. She was his baby sister, and she was having a baby of her own.

“Seven months and counting,” she said as if she’d read his mind, her voice as natural as if she met him in the store every day, as if it weren’t unusual at all. “I guess that’s obvious, though, isn’t it? You’re going to be an uncle, Daniel.”

An uncle. The words rang in his ears like she was speaking to him in a foreign language. He wasn’t sure what to say—he’d been a stranger, living a life so apart from them for so long, he wasn’t sure he had a right to the title of uncle, or brother or son, for that matter. Not anymore. He noticed the tension that creased her brow as she flipped through a few flimsy robes, not really seeing them. The surprise of finding him here, and the many questions about why he was here, must be finally hitting its mark.

“I wish you’d let me know. I’ve been out of the country, but I try to check my e-mail,” he said.

“It’s not the kind of thing you tell someone by e-mail—I would like you to have been here, though.”

“I was out of the country for the last year—I left shortly after the last time we spoke.”

He ignored the disapproval evident in her expression. She didn’t agree with what he did for a living; Anna was a peace-loving creature who shared her family’s liberal political views. Those views wouldn’t allow them to understand many of the things Daniel did for a living.

“So what are you doing here, Daniel? Have you finally decided to come home and make peace with your demons?”

Daniel felt somehow exposed by his sister’s simple inquiry. He also had no idea what was happening with Risa and her friend. He was losing track, was off balance—never a good situation for a field agent.

“I can see I’ve caught you off guard.”

He started to say something—anything—when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Two security guards were moving past them, a sense of purpose in their walk. The hairs on the back of Daniel’s neck stood up as his instincts kicked into gear. The two men made a beeline for the women’s dressing rooms, where Risa and Kristy had been trying on clothes.

“Daniel? What is it?”

“A moment, Anna…”

His focus returned with hawklike clarity as he watched the officers approach the very dressing room where Risa was. They spoke briefly to Kristy, who’d been lounging in a chair by the entryway, blowing bubbles with her gum—she didn’t match the image of a oceanographic scientist at all. Though Daniel couldn’t hear the conversation, he could see something was wrong. Kristy looked visibly annoyed.

“Daniel, please—”

“Anna, play along with me for the time being, okay?”

“Daniel, I don’t know—”

He didn’t give her time to complete her objection, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him as he made his way to the dressing room just in time to see one of the officers gingerly removing Risa from inside by the arm. Her expression was frozen into a mix of surprise, fear and repulsion. He knew he had to get her out of there. The last thing they needed was Risa Remington being taken to the police station.

Risa had been given a fake background documents recording fictional previous addresses, jobs, education and the like. The government had sent her on her way with a credit rating, a bank account and a few credit cards to get her going. She had a Massachusetts driver’s license and a car that she didn’t appear to use.

If the police checked her out, nothing would seem unusual, but Daniel doubted that she would be able to get through a police interview without drawing more attention to herself than she should. Depending on what she was involved in, if anything, drawing police attention could be dangerous. To her, to him, to anyone involved.

“Help? With what?” Anna huffed slightly as she matched his quick pace and he slowed, but only slightly.

“I’ll explain everything later.”

Anna grumbled something unintelligible but fell into step beside him. She would have made a solid agent, if she’d been inclined. She was the sibling he was the closest to; Daniel was one of five, two brothers, two sisters. Anna had always been the earth-mother type; even though she was the youngest, she’d wanted to take care of everyone. He slanted a look at her again, the roses blooming in her cheeks indicating that impending motherhood agreed with her.

The guard was gripping a resistant Risa by the forearm while the other argued with Kristy, who appeared slightly panicked while she tried to reason with the guy. Daniel and Anna cut into the fray.

“Excuse me, is there a problem here?”

All four people spun as he became the center of attention, and he saw the surprise reflected in Risa’s face as her eyes met his—as well as apprehension, and suspicion.

“What are you doing here?” Her tone was far from welcoming, and he ignored the daggers she shot in his direction.

“Officers, is there a problem?”

“Yeah. Who are you?”

He slipped his arm around Anna and sighed, smiling at Risa indulgently. He hoped she would see that he was here to help her and not spit in his face, like it looked as if she were ready to do.

“My name is Daniel MacAlister. This is my sister Anna. Our family lives in Harwich. And this—” he stared at Risa with all the appearance of affection that he could muster “—is my fiancée, Risa Remington. Now, if you would you take your hands off of her, please, and tell me what’s going on?”

“FIANCÉE?” Risa looked on, just as shocked as anyone. Anna and Kristy spoke in unison, shock evident in their voices, as Agent MacAlister’s eyes held hers. Risa’s voice clogged in her throat as she tried to protest, but all that came out was a strangled sound that didn’t even resemble words. MacAlister was putting on quite a show—he looked positively doting. But she read the warning behind his false affection clearly: go along, don’t make a fuss.

She was in a jam, no doubt. But to pretend she was his fiancée? How had he managed to pop up at just this exact moment? How long had he been watching her, and who had sent him? Why was he here? She had more questions, but she knew she wouldn’t get any answers to them in a jail cell. Having Secret Agent Daniel MacAlister pop up in your life was not a good thing, in Risa’s experience.

“Fiancée, huh?” The guard turned to stare at MacAlister. “She doesn’t sound all that pleased to see you.”

“She’s just annoyed, and I can’t say I blame her.”

Risa had been pissed to discover the camera in the dressing room—she didn’t like being watched—and was even angrier now that she saw who sat on the other end of the lens. She was more than capable of voicing her objections about such treatment, but no one was listening to her.

No one would have dared to ignore her if she still had her powers. She knew ordinary women were dismissed and discriminated against in society all the time, but she hadn’t been an ordinary woman. People had always listened to what she had to say. Some had feared her, but at the very least, she’d commanded respect.

She wasn’t commanding anything at the moment. The frustration—the overwhelming feeling of being horribly, helplessly normal—assaulted her as the three men discussed her situation as if she weren’t even there.

“Well, your fiancée crawled up through the ceiling panel and disconnected the surveillance cameras. We had no choice but to suspect she and her friend were trying to make off with stolen purchases.”

“My fiancée has no need to steal. I can provide her with whatever she needs.”

Risa nearly had a stroke on the spot, so furious she couldn’t speak.

“Why else would she shut the cameras off? Either way, she was caught tampering with store property, and—”

“Excuse me.” Risa’s voice was an acid drip into the conversation, and everyone became quiet. MacAlister’s eyes shuttered and she could see the tension that drew his features tight—he didn’t like it that she’d interfered. Well, too bad.

“You—” she glared at the man holding her arm “—have no right to be watching women while they are changing their clothes. You’re lucky I didn’t take that camera and cram it up—”

Daniel interrupted, laughing loudly enough to interrupt the end of her sentence. “Sweetheart, no need to sink to their level.”

She turned her glare on him, disliking intensely how he insinuated himself between her and the guard who held her arm, breaking the connection to replace it with his own as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She almost pulled away, but the pressure of his fingers warned her not to. The store’s manager had joined them, coming down the aisle at a near run, breathless when he arrived.

Daniel spoke loudly enough to make sure the manager heard him clearly amid the din, inserting just the right amount of male outrage into his tone.

“She’s absolutely right. Aren’t there laws about that kind of thing? I think the local papers would be interested in what’s happened here, and I can’t imagine the damage that would be done when the story comes out. Take her down to your offices, and I’ll contact the media about this matter right away.”

Anna, the woman whom MacAlister had identified as his sister, popped in and said, “Yes, absolutely. I shop here all the time, and I don’t want anyone watching me dress in dressing rooms. It’s despicable!”

Risa had no idea why MacAlister was here, why his sister was defending her or why no one seemed to think she could fight her own battles, but she didn’t need super powers to know he wanted her to stay quiet. The manager was turning increasingly pale as Risa felt her own face redden.

“Now, sir, Mr….?”

“MacAlister. Daniel MacAlister.”

“Mr. MacAlister, I can assure you we always have a female employee review those tapes, and the only reason security was called was because your fiancée was last recorded disconnecting the cameras.”

“She’s shy.”

“Yes, well, um, of course, but we are within our legal rights to monitor for shoplifting.”

Daniel’s voice turned cool. “You won’t have to worry about shoplifting after we tell every woman on the Cape that you watch them change their clothes—and tape it.”

The man stuttered, obviously rethinking his decision, and blinked quickly, trying to backpedal. “Now, I don’t think we need to let this little incident get out of hand. I’m sure your fiancée didn’t mean any harm, and we appreciate your business. Would you like me to take your purchases to the counter?”

Daniel looked at Risa, their eyes meeting in a clash of blue and gray. She was easily six inches shorter than his solid five-ten. Standing so close, he could detect the clean scent of soap and shampoo, and found himself staring. She wore no makeup; she didn’t need it. She was flawless, her burnished locks warming porcelain skin, decorated by a playful spray of freckles over her nose. He’d never noticed those before. Why was he noticing now?

And why was he so acutely aware of how close they were standing, and of how curvy she was? His voice was hoarse when he spoke, and he cleared his throat, telling himself his behavior would be exactly what would be expected from a lover. He was just acting convincingly for the benefit of their onlookers.

“I don’t know. What do you think, sweetheart? You’ve been through a terrible embarrassment here. First the indignity of the cameras, and then being manhandled—”

“Twenty-five percent off everything you’re buying,” the manager interjected quickly, looking at them with dire hope the entire matter could be averted. Other customers had started paying attention.

Daniel could see that Risa’s temper hadn’t cooled down, but the sooner he could get her out of here, the better. Kristy, thankfully, spoke up.

“Make it forty and we’re outta here.”

“Forty it is.”

“Dammit, I don’t care about—” Risa was spitting mad, and wasn’t about to be bought off, especially with clothes. But before she could finish her sentence, Daniel loomed in close and kissed her.

She hadn’t seen it coming—she wouldn’t have seen it coming in a million years, not in her wildest imagination. She hadn’t been kissed since her parents died, and never by a man. Certainly never like this.

Shock and curiosity mingled as MacAlister’s mouth touched hers, stopping her words and confusing her thoughts. It was a strange feeling, and it captured her total attention as she forgot where they were and what was going on around them. Nothing else mattered except for the feeling of warmth she experienced, the soft press of his lips to hers. She shuffled closer, seeking more until someone cleared their throat.

Risa was in a daze when MacAlister drew back, looking just as composed as he always did. He hadn’t been affected at all. The corner of the very perfect lips that had just met hers quirked up, and something heated inside her. She felt like hitting him—hard—but she also felt like kissing him again. She couldn’t take her eyes off of his mouth.

When she realized that he no longer held her, and that both of her hands had somehow found their way to his shoulders and lingered there, she stepped back, turning away. Her pin-straight hair fell forward around her face, hiding her from the onlookers as MacAlister settled the situation with the manager. Risa wanted to hide, to process what had happened and to get away from the crowd. The urge to run, to get back to her apartment where she was safe, assailed her.

What were all these people thinking? She dared to look up, finding the manager looking relieved as MacAlister spoke to him quietly. Anna, MacAlister’s sister, was studying Risa curiously, sending Risa back into hiding behind her hair. Kristy was gathering up the clothes she’d tried on, triumphant in wrangling a discount. Risa looked down, her fingers touching the small white tag hanging from the T-shirt she had on.

Kristy touched her hand and Risa drew back reflexively, as she always did. Except with MacAlister. Her fingers moved to her lips as she remembered the kiss—it was a touch, an intimate one, and she hadn’t drawn back. She’d stepped closer. There hadn’t been any painful blankness or sense of disconnection. In fact, MacAlister’s kiss was the first time she’d felt connected to something, to someone, since she’d awakened from her coma. Realizing it made her want to run—and made her want to have more.

She was staring at him, and he pursed his warm lips thoughtfully, staring right back as if he had every right to look at her so possessively.

“C’mon, you two. Enough of the lovey-dovey stuff.” Kristy broke the visual lock between them, handing Risa some purchases to carry as she leaned in close, whispering, “And you have some explaining to do—fiancé, huh?”

MacAlister must have overheard, and when Risa opened her mouth to correct Kristy, she closed it again, thinking better of it. She didn’t know why MacAlister was here.

She smiled at Kristy. “It was a surprise. It’s not what you think.”

“Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that with you.” She winked. “What a hottie. I wouldn’t mind having a surprise like that. Maybe two.”

Risa was thankful that her new friend appeared to be teasing, and Risa dutifully followed her to the counter, where they could pay and get out.

Risa wondered what the agency had deemed so important they’d send one of their top field operatives. Daniel MacAlister was no lightweight—she’d worked with him before and she’d rarely met anyone so focused on his work, so determined to get the job done. He was intelligent, dedicated and lethal. Apparently, this time, his mission involved her.

If he’d come to kill her, she’d be dead already. A man like that wouldn’t bother wasting his time dallying in department stores; he could have picked her off cleanly, no matter where she was. She also knew, while MacAlister had killed in the line of duty, he wasn’t an assassin. So it had to be something else.

Hope sparked suddenly as her mind worked over the scenarios—maybe the agency had changed their position on her employment and had a use for her even if she didn’t have her superpowers. Could he have been sent to retrieve her for service?

“God, he’s incredible! Look at that butt….” Kristy sighed as she shamelessly ogled Daniel, who walked just ahead of them. Risa wondered if he’d heard; if so, he gave no indication. He was handsome, she thought rather experimentally; she wasn’t used to thinking about men in those terms. The only men she’d been around were Dr. Laslow and the operatives she’d worked with—or the terrorists and other subjects she’d had to examine. Needless to say, she’d never noticed any of their backsides. She tried not to notice MacAlister’s, but Kristy was right—it was nicely shaped. Toned, tapered, muscular. She felt her pulse pick up a little, and looked away, focusing on Anna, who walked at his side.

Risa was dying to get out of the store and get some answers. The security guards and manager were gone, crisis averted. As the clerk rang up her purchases while Kristy watched to make sure she received her forty percent discount, Risa moved closer to where MacAlister stood, silent and watchful.

“I’m not your fiancée.”

He shifted cool eyes to meet hers, and arched an eyebrow, shaking his head ever so slightly as if to say not now. How could she read him so clearly, without so much as a word spoken between them? The connection she had with him drew her, in spite of her worries about his presence.

“I don’t believe that’s your sister. Is she another agent—”

“I most certainly am not,” Anna interrupted. “I am his sister, one of two. Apparently, Daniel hasn’t told you much about the family he’s trying to convince you to join.”

Anna had rejoined them after breaking away to pay for her own purchases, and MacAlister’s very nice lips thinned as he realized his sister had overheard Risa.

Anna turned to Daniel. “Is this why you’ve come back to the Cape, Daniel? To tell us you’re getting married?”

MacAlister—Daniel—looked like a cat about to crawl right out of his skin. Risa crossed her arms and gave him the same cool look he’d been sending her. It was his story that they were engaged, let him deal with the fallout.

“Not exactly. That was a small lie, I have to confess.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Anna sounded dismally disappointed.

“Risa and I were in a…relationship. She quit and moved away, and we never had the chance to really share our feelings. Work was always in the way. I came here to remedy that.”

Risa turned, thinking she heard the sales clerk sigh—or was it Kristy? Still, she said nothing, holding his gaze in a dare. The next thing she knew, Anna was at her side, sliding her arm through Risa’s and hugging her close. Risa stiffened at the contact, ready to bolt, but Anna’s hold was firm.

The expectant mother shined at Risa, then at her brother. The reality sank in for Risa—they really were brother and sister. Anna was not an undercover operative working with Daniel, or some woman he’d randomly picked up in the store for cover. Everything took on a surreal blur that Risa couldn’t process.