Chances Are(9)

Now to show them what she was really made of. Focused on her target, Angela went after her opponent with everything she had.

Dylan blocked every punch she threw. Angela hit hard and low, surprising him with a punch to his gut. She barely got the chance to appreciate his huff of air before he grabbed her arm, whirled her around and threw her to the mat.

Back on her feet in an instant, she warily watched Dylan circle her. The man on the sidelines no longer existed. This was a fight for survival. It was she or Dylan. He struck again, this time coming at her with what looked like a knife. She kicked the weapon from his hand, grabbed his forearms to jerk him around and slammed him face-first onto the mat. Jumping on top of him, she grabbed his left arm and twisted it behind his back. “Gotcha.”

Laughter burst from Dylan; the man watching them remained strangely quiet. It wasn’t easy but she resisted looking up to see his reaction.

“Okay, I give,” Dylan said.

Angela jumped to her feet and backed away. Dylan went to stand and then came at her again. Angela had expected the move and swept her left leg out, kicking him in the chest and knocking him on his butt. He sprang to his feet and went for her again. Her concentration total, she was in full fighting mode. Nothing mattered other than surviving and putting the man in front of her on the floor. In her element, confidence sky-high, she was unbeatable. Nothing and no one could stop her now.

She never expected to be attacked from behind.



Jake wrapped his arms around Angela, holding back a groan as her slender, sexy body, covered only in spandex shorts, a sports bra, and a fine sheen of sweat, pressed against him. He’d never had her this close to him before and it was all he could do not to turn her around and taste those lips that had only moments ago been snarling at him. He’d always thought Angela was sexy as hell. Watching her take down a man who outweighed her by a hundred pounds was even sexier. He loved confident women. Angela was that and much more.

Stupid of him. While he was concentrating on what he wanted to do to her luscious body, she was poised to defend herself, determined to take him down. Jake was caught off guard when she stomped his foot and jammed her fist into his groin. The instant he let her go, she whirled around and gave him a good wallop on his jaw. He went down in an instant. She stood over him, her exotically beautiful face gazing down at him. Jake expected to see remorse or concern. He laughed out loud when he only saw triumph. She wasn’t one bit regretful that she’d slammed him almost into unconsciousness. Dammed if he didn’t want to kiss her even more.

“I’d say you got your clocked cleaned,” Dylan said.

Getting to his feet, Jake nodded his approval. “I’d say you’re right.”

Angela glanced over at Dylan. “Did I pass the test or is there more?”

“You passed this one, but yeah, there’s more.”

Rubbing her hands against her hips as if preparing herself, she nodded. “Bring it on.”

“How about giving Jake and me a few minutes to recover?”

She grinned at them both. “You think the killer’s going to wait and let you recover?”

Both men laughed appropriately but Jake’s amusement was greatly diminished by grim reality. In a couple of days, he and Angela could well be facing that killer. The police had no real knowledge of what this man looked like or if he was in any kind of fighting shape. Angela’s skills might well put the man down with one blow but that didn’t take away from the fact that she would be working to trap an evil, violent man whose priority was to abduct, torture, and then kill her. Jake had to keep her safe.

He turned to Dylan. “Why don't you take a breather and let me take this one?”

Dylan eyed him speculatively for a second and then nodded. “I’ll go get some fresh air.”

Jake turned to Angela and asked softly, “Think you’ve got it in you to take me down again?”

The door behind Angela closed with a resounding click. They were alone. Adrenaline flooded her veins like a gushing river. Fully aware that part of that surge had to do with the man she was about to spar with, she was determined to use that extra energy to her advantage.

Accepting his challenge with a slight smile, she waited to see what Jake would do. Mistake.

“You’ve got the most beautiful body.” Blue eyes gleamed with fire as they slowly roamed up and down her body in a hot caress. “I’ve never seen anyone sexier.”

Stunned into immobility, she barely noticed when he swooped. In an instant, she was slammed to the mat. Blocking her legs with his own, Jake pulled her wrists up, held them with one hand, and used his other hand to wrap around her neck.

Pinned and unable to move, Angela glared up at him. “That was a sneaky thing to do.”

Instead of grinning down at her in triumph, he growled, “This isn’t a game. The bastard is going to come at you with whatever he can to distract you. You’ve got to be ready for anything, at anytime. Understand?”

“Yes, of course I understand. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Her body betrayed her before she could control and hide her need. Sinking deeper into the mat, she shifted subtly, letting him settle more onto her. She saw the widening of his eyes just as he realized how their positions had changed. The physical response of his body was more revealing than his face, which remained impassive. The hard bulge pressing into her mound gave her the information she wanted.

He felt so good, more perfect than she ever imagined. Swallowing a moan of arousal, Angela closed her eyes as a wave of longing washed over her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

The harsh anger in his voice had her eyes open in a flash. “What do you mean?”

A grimace of pain passed across his face so quickly she might have missed it if she hadn’t been watching him so closely. Without answering, he sprang to his feet.

If she hadn’t been aching with need, she might have been impressed with the powerful athleticism of the move. Instead, Angela lay on the mat, breathless, aching, and once again feeling like a fool. How many times was she going to throw herself at this man before she got it through her head he wanted nothing like that between them? Just because he’d had an erection meant nothing. He was a man…men had erections all the time.

Feeling much older than she had only a few seconds ago, Angela rose to her feet. Jake was standing across the room, staring out the window. Stupid, but she felt as though she should apologize. She wouldn’t. She had done nothing wrong. An invitation had been made and he had refused, once again.

She blew out a tired sigh. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He whirled around and glared. “Like hell you will. We’re still in the middle of a training session. Or have you forgotten that in a couple of days you’re going to try to trap a killer?”

Outrage sent her spine poker straight. “I’ve forgotten nothing.”

He came at her then, swift and lethal. A weapon, the same dummy knife Dylan had used, in his hand. The dark, fierce expression was back in place. She waited until he was half a foot away, timing it just so, then kicked out, knocking the knife from his hand. He reached for her but before he made contact, she stepped out of his way, whirled and then slammed her foot into his chest. Jake grunted, stumbled back, then came toward her once more. She blocked him again and then again. He wouldn’t let up but neither would she.

The relentless look in his eyes told her he would keep going as long as she could. Angela was determined to prove him wrong. Minutes passed as they jabbed, kicked and swung at each other as if their lives depended upon it. Sweat poured from their overheated bodies, the entire atmosphere was tense and electric, alive with a frenetic, sizzling energy. The only sounds were the noises they made when their breath was knocked from them or gasps when one of them made a particularly good hit.

Breathless and trembling with exhaustion, she was teetering, struggling to stay on her feet when Dylan shouted behind her. “Dammit, that’s enough!”

Jake dropped his hands. Angela had already committed to a punch, tried to pull back and failed. The blow to Jake’s face was quick and fierce. She knew it had to have hurt but he barely flinched.

Breath sawed through her lungs so heavily, she could barely hear Dylan’s furious voice. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

Bent low, her hands on her knees, Angela raised her head and watched as Dylan railed at Jake.

They’d both gotten carried away. It wasn’t all on Jake. In between gulps of breath, she said, “It was…my fault, too.”

Dylan turned his glare on her and it took all of her willpower to not step back. This wasn’t the low key LCR operative she was used to. He was furious with them both.

“I’ll have a word with you in a few minutes. But let me say right now to both of you: You lose control like that again, I’ll have Noah kick your asses off this case before you can blink. Your issues, whatever they are, have to go on the backburner.” He paused a second, then said, “Got that?”