Chances Are(26)

Making herself face him again, she said adamantly, “There’s nothing else to do but go home. “

For several seconds, he maintained a hard, piercing stare. Finally he nodded. “Since we all traveled together on LCR’s plane, I’ll need to make commercial travel plans.”

“Okay.”

“But I’m going to make them for tomorrow.”

“What?”

“You’ve had no downtime since we arrived. You’re running on fumes. Let’s take the day and enjoy London. We’ll go home tomorrow.”

The enticement of being with Jake for one more day was too irresistible to deny. His apology had been a surprise, but he’d given no indication their night of passion was something he wanted to repeat. Despite the feeling that she was delaying inevitable heartache, she couldn’t help but say, “That sounds wonderful.”

“Good. Get dressed and we’ll be tourists for the day.”

She felt his eyes on her until she disappeared into the bedroom. What would he do if she invited him back to bed for just a few hours? Could their connection be reestablished or was it gone for good? He had to be disappointed in her…she sure as hell was.



It was one of the best days of her life. Angela couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such an easygoing, fun-filled day. After Jake booked the train tickets to Paris for the next afternoon, he’d returned to her apartment. She had been dressed and ready for him, eager to put her heartache behind her, at least for a little while.

As if determined to help her accomplish that goal, he set out on a quest for them to see as many sights as possible. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey were some of the ones she’d read about and had always longed to see. They were even more spectacular than what she had imagined.

In the early afternoon, they stopped at a pub for lunch and talked like two people who’d known each other forever. Once again, Jake didn’t talk personal stuff and Angela didn’t push. Easygoing was the word of the day and asking for more than he could give was a surefire way to spoil their fun.

After lunch, they walked down Dover Street and window-shopped, trying to outdo each other in finding the most outlandish and expensive items. Following a sign for a toy store down a side street, Angela found the perfect gift for Micah McCall’s birthday displayed in the window—an electric train set. She had been in his playroom many times and knew he didn’t have one. He was going to love it.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she grabbed Jake’s hand and dragged him into the store. Not that he looked the least bit unwilling…his eyes were as bright as a child’s.

Once inside, they split up. Angela headed to examine the train and Jake couldn’t take his eyes off a toy helicopter. She had a feeling they’d both be making a purchase today.

It didn’t take long to determine that the train set was indeed the perfect gift for Micah. Before she made the purchase, she caught sight of a dollhouse that would put a big smile on Evie McCall’s sweet little face.

Taking out her wallet, she handed the clerk her credit card. “I’d like to have these shipped to my home in Paris.”

The clerk took down her information, promising delivery within the next week. Pleased with her purchases, Angela turned just in time to see Jake buying two helicopters. “Two?” she asked.

Looking younger than she’d ever seen him, he winked mischievously. “Feel like a little friendly competition in the park?”

Delighted at the idea, she accepted the challenge. “You’re on.”

They left the toy store the same way they’d entered, like two carefree children eager to continue their fun, never knowing that a killer watched and waited, just as eager for his chance to destroy.





Chapter Fifteen

Four days later

LCR Headquarters

Paris

In thirty-six years of living, Noah had made his share of mistakes. Most times he took his knocks, cursing and growling the whole time. Being married to Samara had helped temper his responses. She teased him that he was mellowing but he preferred to think he’d grown wiser.

But even Mara couldn’t help him put a better spin on this mistake. Neither of them had seen it coming. He wanted to hit something or someone—mostly himself. He shouldn’t have put Angela on this op. For a new LCR operative, handling a serial killer case would be daunting. Coupled with the grief she was still experiencing, it was no wonder this had been a major bust. He had allowed her enthusiasm to override his usual caution. And now she was paying the price for his screw-up.

He had given her a few days off to think it over before she came in to see him, hoping the downtime would give her the distance she needed. Angela had a tendency toward impulsiveness. If she had simply made a rash decision about quitting, he wanted to give her plenty of time to reconsider. From the look on her face as she sat across from him, her decision was neither impulsive nor ill-considered. She no longer wanted to be an operative.

“Stop looking like that, Noah. You did nothing wrong.”

“Hell yeah, I did something wrong. I shouldn’t have put you on the op. You weren’t ready.”

“You don’t understand. I’ll never be ready. I proved that. At the first whiff of danger, I panicked.”

“You just need more training to deal with that. I’ve seen plenty of operatives overreact.”

She raised a questioning brow. “In the middle of a job?”

“No, and that’s the issue. You need to learn how to stay in control at all times. Fright is a natural occurrence when one is threatened. You can learn to control your response. I can—”

She shook her head. “No, I appreciate the words but if it’s all the same with you, I’d like to go back to my old job. That is, if you still want to keep me as an employee.”

“Dammit, stop talking like that. Of course I want you as an employee. I’m just infuriated that you’ve lost your confidence.”

Her mouth curved with her same jaunty smile but solemn sadness remained in her eyes. “I’m still as cocky and confident as ever. The only difference is I know what I can and can’t do. It was a good lesson learned. I’m just sorry the bastard is still out there and I did nothing but hinder the case.”

“You haven’t hindered anything.”

“How about everyone else? Any news from Eden, Shea, Sabrina or Riley?”

“No bites so far but we’re not even two weeks into the mission. Fishing expeditions like these usually take a lot longer.”

“I just hope something happens before he can take another victim.”

“Jake didn’t tell you? There’s another woman missing.”

“No, I guess he figured since I was out of the op, I didn’t need to know.”

“She’s different from the others, in looks and profession. But she’s been missing for several days and a dozen red roses were found in her apartment.”

“Do they think he’s changing his preferences?”

“Or expanding them. Hard to say until we know more.”

“Or until he takes another one.”

Noah shrugged. “That too.”

“I wish I could have helped.”

“We’ll find him.” Switching gears, he asked, “How did things go with Jake? You two get along okay?”

The flicker in her eyes gave him the answer. Something had happened between them. Question was, did it have anything to do with Angela’s decision? Getting involved in his employees’ personal lives wasn’t the norm for him. Yeah, he’d been guilty of pairing operatives when he saw a unique chemistry between them but not since his debacle with Eden and Jordan years ago had he interfered with a relationship. However, if Angela’s decision had been impacted because of her feelings for Jake, then he wanted to know.

“Jake’s a great operative. I was lucky to have him as a partner for my one and only mission.”

“Yet I can’t help but think you might’ve made a different decision if I had partnered you with someone else.”

“Absolutely not, Noah. My decision had nothing to do with my partner. If anything, Jake did his best to talk me out of quitting.”

That was good to hear but until he talked with Mallory, he wouldn’t be satisfied.

Angela carefully watched Noah’s expression. Reading him was usually impossible but she had no trouble seeing what he was trying to do. He was looking for an out for her–a way to turn her failure around. Blaming himself or maybe even Jake instead of accepting that the mistake was all Angela’s. It was all on her.

Jake would have to give a full report of their ruined mission. She didn’t expect any special favors from him when he described her meltdown. Once Noah heard the detailed account, she was sure Noah would agree that she wasn’t operative material, no matter how much she wished it otherwise.