Special Agent's Seduction
Even her frown was intriguing.
Despite finally being able to leave the scene, Dani felt anything but relief when they exited the stifling bank into the cold air. Vacation was over. Mercier had decided she should follow up on this since she was already familiar with the situation. And, surprisingly, her boss had not discouraged Michaels’s involvement, at least as far as the Cayman bank.
She could feel one of her premonitions coming on and this one felt like a doozy.
Everything had happened so fast. Capable as Ben Michaels had seemed in the crunch today, she did not want to work with a civilian, even if he was a former soldier. She had only the bare bones of his career; Mercier had run a quick check on him, then read her the high points over the phone, assuring her Michaels was qualified to act as an agent of opportunity.
Michaels had been out of the army for almost two years after serving for seven, an officer nearly halfway to retirement, now a bank manager. Medical discharge, Mercier said. Probably high blood pressure, Dani figured.
“Follow me,” Michaels ordered as he reached his vehicle, a fairly new Mercedes SUV sporting snow chains. The boy must make pretty good money, Dani thought.
“We’ll go to your sister’s house to drop your car. Since I have chains, we’ll take mine from there. My dad can drive us to the airport.”
Mercier was arranging for their tickets to Grand Cayman. Even though the account there was closed out now, she’d been ordered to collect any surveillance tapes or paperwork that might be important, conduct some interviews and back up Michaels in his attempts to collect info on where the money went. Back up. Ugh.
He was already trying to take charge, but Dani decided to pick her battles—no point sweating the small stuff. This type of op was new to her, so she would have to follow his lead in some respects. But she was in charge and he needed to understand that. If it had to do with anything other than locating that money, he would damn well have to do what she said.
“Bud could drive us to the airport,” she offered, a little reluctant to offer the services of her brother-in-law when he had a new baby at home to help care for.
“We’ll see. It depends on how my mother reacts to the news that I’m leaving,” he replied.
Dani frowned as she slid into her rented sedan and slammed the door. It sounded very much like she might be dealing with a mama’s boy. One of her few forays into relationship territory had pitted her against a proprietary mother turned tigress. What a disaster that had been. Soon as Mama had found out about Dani’s Gypsy roots, she’d started applying weed killer.
Funny, Dani would never have figured Ben Michaels for a guy who hung on the apron strings. Showed how clueless she still was about men. Too bad her famous premonitions didn’t extend to profiling. Her gust of frustration produced visible vapors in the freezing air. Oh well, it was nothing to her. She wasn’t interested in him that way.
Still, the little frisson of disappointment wouldn’t go away. Maybe she was a bit more interested than she wanted to admit. With more force than necessary, she twisted the key in the ignition, jerked into Reverse and backed out of her parking space.
If Mama said he couldn’t go, Dani would just leave him the hell at home. Not as if she needed to play nursemaid to a damn banker anyway.
Mercier had agreed the banker’s assessment of the terrorist funding deserved checking out. More manpower would be on it shortly, he had assured her. She was to get a jumpstart by going to the Cayman bank and hopefully getting a lead on whoever had been there in person.
Mercier had spoken on the phone with Michaels at some length and decided the former army officer ought to lend his expertise in banking operations and contacts in the field to Dani’s investigation, at least to the preliminary portion of it.
When Dani turned into the driveway at Bud and Carol’s house, Michaels pulled up behind her and got out. He had her door open before she even had her seat belt unlatched. “Mind if I come in with you? I haven’t had a chance to congratulate them on the baby. Bud’s an old friend.”
So he knew Bud. She wished there were time to grill her brother-in-law for the local skinny on Michaels. “Sure,” she said, slipping a little when she stood on the icy cement.
He clamped an arm around her waist. “Careful there.”
Dani didn’t jerk away from him. She knew she should have, would have automatically, as a rule, but there was no point risking a fall. And, to tell the truth, she didn’t mind a bit that Bud saw the embrace through the window where he was watching them approach the porch. He was always teasing her about her badge putting men off, but Dani figured he was just worried that she would influence Carol to be more independent. Men could be so insecure.
Bud met them at the door. “Are you all right, Dani? Ben? I just heard the bank was robbed! Come on in and sit down!”
Now she felt guilty for her sniping thoughts about Bud. He really did love her like a sister, and he had a big brother attitude. “Where’s Carol? We need to talk.”
When her sister appeared, Dani wasted no time relating what had gone on at the bank. Ignoring Carol’s worried frown, Dani laid out her plans to leave while Michaels sat quietly next to her on the sofa. “Ben has agreed to assist with tracking the stolen funds, so he’ll be coming with me.”
“I can not believe this,” Carol said, rolling her eyes. “What is it with you, Dani? Every single time you show up…”
“Not every time!” Dani argued pleadingly. She sensed that she and Carol were about to take up their age-old conflict again and wished she could avoid it. The visit, up until now, had gone so incredibly well.
For two women whose features were so much alike, they were polar opposites otherwise. Carol the peace lover, versus Danielle the daredevil. They had gone through life that way.
“I’ll take you to catch your plane, Ben,” Bud declared. “Your dad’s gonna have his hands full.” He shook his head at the thought.
Michaels declined. “Thanks, but I’ve actually decided to drive us and leave my car at the airport.”
Dani exchanged a look with Carol, who had obviously decided not to fuss anymore. Her sister merely raised her eyebrows and gave Dani a tightlipped grimace.
“Let me say goodbye to our Little Buddy first,” Dani said, heading for the nursery. “I won’t be but a minute.”
“I’d like to see him, too, if it’s okay,” she heard Michaels say. She sensed him follow her down the hall.
The baby slept, his tiny rosebud of a mouth slightly open, the multicolored knit cap slightly askew on his bald head.
Dani couldn’t resist picking him up. Her maternal instincts fired up again as she held the sweet-smelling bundle against her chest, enjoying the waking squirm, the mew of protest at his nap being disturbed.
She laughed softly and whispered, “No rest for the weary, huh? You be a good boy while I’m gone and Aunt Dani will bring you a surprise when I come back.” She swayed gently, soothing him back to sleep. “Bye, sweetie.” She placed him back in the crib, touching the soft blanket with her fingers in a last caress.
Michaels stood beside her, looking down with something that read like yearning. “I always forget how small they are when they’re brand new.”
She smiled up at him. He had not mentioned a wife or children. There had only been a photo of an older couple in his office, probably his parents. “You have any kids of your own?”
“No, no children.” His words were slow, somehow sad.
“This one’s a little miracle, isn’t he?”
Michaels nodded, his gaze fastened on Buddy. “A new life. Always a miracle.”
Dani left him standing there in the nursery, hands clasped behind him and looking at the baby. As she went to pack what she needed for the trip, two questions bugged her. Did he want children all that much? And, why should she care?
Chapter 4
A half hour later they reached his house—a gorgeous Victorian that belonged on a Christmas card. It was especially lovely dressed in its light coat of snow. Carol and Bud’s bungalow looked like a dollhouse by comparison.
“Maybe I should wait in the car,” she said. If he expected a scene with his mother, Dani definitely did not want to be witness to it—she’d seen enough ugliness today.
“Of course not. There’s always coffee on and we can grab a bite to eat before we go.” He got out and hurried around to open her door for her.
She still felt reluctant to go in. Though his words were sincere and hospitable, she caught the undertone of dread in them. What did he expect, a spanking or time-out in his room? At any rate, this little episode might well extinguish any looks-based romantic notions possibly forming in her subconscious.
They navigated the slick stone steps, which someone had dutifully sprinkled with what looked like kitty litter to combat the ice. She admired the front door with its beveled panes and oak frame. “Your house is beautiful.”
He scrubbed his shoes over the rough mat. “It’s my parents’ place, but I live here, too. And you might as well call me Ben. I’ll use Danielle, if you don’t mind. My calling you ‘Sweet’ could get awkward.”
Dani nearly laughed. Yeah, she’d bet Mama wouldn’t cotton to that worth a damn. “It’s Dani for short.”
He walked right in without knocking, which was appropriate, she reminded herself, since he lived here. A grown man who lived with his parents. Déjà vu all over again.
“Benjamin!” a thready voice cried from the room on the right. A wispy woman of around sixty appeared in the doorway, arms outstretched. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she carried a wadded tissue in her hand. “We’ve just heard what happened at the bank. They interrupted programming on television with the news. Are you all right, son?”
“Fine, Mother. Nothing to worry about.” He embraced the woman, who had her eyes squeezed shut, tears running down her cheeks as she hugged him hard.
Her voice rose nearly an octave. “What’s happened to you? I can tell when something’s happened.” The woman grew even shakier, trembling like a frightened bird. She seemed to notice Dani for the first time then. “Who is this?”
Dani froze the smile on her face, determined to keep it there even if things got ugly. If life went true to form, the agent in the house was about to take the heat for involving favorite son in an upcoming op.
Ben stepped back, carefully taking his mother’s hand in his. “This is Danielle Sweet. She’s a government agent and just happened to be at the bank today. Danielle, my mother, Martha Michaels.”
“Nice to meet you,” Dani said with a small nod as she fought the bizarre urge to curtsy. She didn’t figure the woman would go for a handshake at this point. Maybe at any point.
Ben cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. “Let’s go sit down and I’ll tell you everything. Where’s Dad?”
“Here,” answered the tall, silver-haired gentleman striding down the central hall. “I was in the den listening to the latest about the robbery. You’ll have to give us the straight of it, though. Those news people tend to exaggerate.”
Not this time, she’d bet, thought Dani. If Ben Michaels did have the straight of it, things were much worse than the media realized.
After her introduction to his father, they went into the living room. Dani took a seat on the Victorian sofa at Ben’s indication. He waited until his parents were seated in the matching chairs that faced her, then sat beside her.
In a carefully modulated voice, he gave a seriously watered-down version of what had happened at the bank, leaving out any reference to his struggle for the weapon or the fact that he shot the perp. “Danielle very skillfully brought down the man who robbed us,” he said finally, and gave her a beatific smile. “We’re very lucky she was there today.”
“You saved my boy?” Mr. Michaels asked, giving her a quizzical look. His expression said he didn’t buy that scenario for a hot second. The mother was looking at her with something approaching horror, but whether it was on Dani’s account or Ben’s, it was hard to judge.
Dani glanced at Ben for direction. He just looked at her blankly. “Well…it’s all in a day’s work, sir.” There. She gave a little shrug.
Ben looked away and studied the window for a minute, watching it snow. Then he dropped the bomb. “I need to pack a few things. Danielle and I are going to the Caymans to make some inquiries about the stolen funds.”
“No!” His mother shot up out of her chair, exhibiting sudden agility for one who appeared so frail. “You are not getting yourself mixed up in this. It could be dangerous!” Her face crumpled a little and her voice rose and broke. “Benji, you…promised me.”
Benji? Oh, boy, bet you love that nickname, Dani thought, biting her lip and trying not to smile.
Ben was there in a heartbeat, his arms around the woman, one hand patting the head she had nestled on his chest. “The danger’s past, Mother. The man is dead now. No threat at all.”
“There could be others working with him,” his mother argued, her words muffled against his chest.
So Mama wasn’t clueless. Dani wondered if Mrs. Michaels had noticed the few specks of blood on her son’s dress shirt. Dutiful son would have changed that shirt if he had seen them himself. Maybe he was a little more distracted than he appeared.
He set his mother away from him, still holding her shoulders gently. “You shouldn’t worry, Mom. I’ll be perfectly safe and be back home in a few days.”
Dani started to speak up to tell his parents that he wouldn’t encounter any risk. Michaels had said the money was gone from the Cayman bank now. The only purpose for going there was to get information about the person who had shown up to collect part of it and transfer the rest. Interviewing bank employees presented no danger. But she decided to keep her mouth shut and let Ben handle his folks.
His father took over the support role and gestured with a jerk of his head for Ben to go and pack. Hesitantly, Ben did, leaving Dani to witness the older couple’s silent struggle and the mother’s tears.
“I think I’ll just go wait in the car,” Dani muttered, and headed for the door. “Nice to have met you both.”
“Wait, don’t do that,” Mr. Michaels said. “You’ll freeze out there. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and have some coffee?” He pointed the way. “Just make yourself at home.”
Dani gladly left the room, following her nose to the coffee. Adrenaline rushes ate up calories faster than any workout. She was starving and hoped Ben’s offer of a quick meal would hold up, even if she had to watch him placate his mom’s fears while they ate.
She found a mug and helped herself to the brew. Taking Mr. Michaels at his word, she made herself right at home and raided the cookie jar. She munched rather contentedly as she leaned against the counter and waited.
Within ten minutes Ben reappeared with a travel bag. He had changed out of his suit into cords, a brown pullover and boots.
“How L.L. Bean,” she remarked, grinning up at him over her cup. Her hormones revved like a souped-up Harley. Ben Michaels was a hunk, no doubt about it. She raised her mug. “Coffee?”
He wore a steady nonexpression. Great poker face. Great face, period. But unless he wanted you to know what he was thinking, you never would guess.
“Let’s go,” he said.
She was ready, full of the pilfered chocolate-chip cookies and not at all averse to hitting the road. But in spite of his words, Michaels seemed fairly reluctant to travel. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to your parents?”
“I did. It’s snowing harder. If we don’t leave soon, we might not get a flight out.”
Goodness, he sounded almost hopeful. Mommy must have read him the riot act or hit him with another dose of guilt. At least he hadn’t caved completely and told Dani to go on to Grand Cayman by herself, as she had half expected to happen.
She shrugged and set her cup in the sink. Maybe she shouldn’t judge him so harshly. So what if he lived at home and was under Mama’s thumb? Maybe he needed his folks. Maybe his experiences in the service had caused a bad case of posttraumatic stress or something.
Dani doubted that, though. When it came down to performing in a life-or-death situation, he had proved himself more than capable. No hesitation and apparently, no bad aftereffects. She could work with him. And so she promised herself she would not get personally involved with this guy, no matter how he physically cranked her tractor. One trip down that road was quite enough. After that one, she had decided her next boyfriend would be an orphan with no mother around to mess things up. She had held to that decision, but, as it happened, her second relationship had turned out even worse than the first. Her luck with men was awful.
When Ben took her arm going down the steps outside, Dani pulled away. She marched across the icy yard and opened her own car door. Self-sufficiency had become her credo these last few years. She had leaned on her last man and sure as heck didn’t want one leaning on her.
Ben wondered what had set her off. Her sudden pique annoyed him. Maybe she resented his coming along on her mission. Well, that was just too bad. She could just deal with it.
“Messy day all around, isn’t it?” he asked as he got in and buckled up.
“The rest of it certainly was, but I love the snow,” she stated. Her tone was defensive, even argumentative.
“Me, too,” he admitted. He recalled having dreamed about it while traipsing across burning desert sands and crawling through scrubby hills in Afghanistan. He liked drifts of snow four feet deep, covering everything with its pristine whiteness.
He felt a sense of urgency mixed with dread that he had not felt for nearly two years. But that threat had been up close and personal. It had been immediate. This one could have far-reaching effects across the world.
His world had already blown up once, a private disaster, nothing as earth-shaking as a globe vulnerable to terrorists.
Maybe he was wrong about the robbery. He sure hoped so.
He pinched the bridge of his nose then ran a hand over his face. Strange how it still felt as though it belonged to someone else. The nerves and muscles were obviously working. He could smile, frown, whistle, raise his brows. But the nose was wrong, too straight. The cheekbones, a bit high. Whenever he looked in the mirror, he wondered how much of his character had disappeared with his real face.
The surgeons had done a bang-up rebuild and he had nothing to complain about. It was better than having no face at all, which was pretty much where he had been eighteen months ago. They had given him the closest thing to a face transplant possible without actually using someone else’s tissue. A total transformation. A miracle, really.
The only thing that looked remotely like the old Ben Michaels was his eye color and the line of his jaw. He had to deal with the strange new mug and get on with his life. Up to now, he thought he had been adjusting really well.
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