THE LAWS OF PASSION Page 3

  Her job here was to find a way into Marcus's confidence so that he would turn over any evidence he might have and then testify against the cartel in court. The more she was around him and the better she began to know him, though, the less she wanted to be undercover at all.

  There were some things about the man that intrigued her. Things like a deeply injured look in his eyes that appeared whenever he thought no one was watching.

  So … was he on the take from the mob? After all, the state's attorney thought there was enough evidence against him to charge him with racketeering. But something about him—maybe it was the gentle way he had with his animals, or the rough and hungry looks he'd been throwing in her direction—just didn't seem like most of the criminals she'd known in the past.

  She'd been so sure at first that he was a spoiled rich man's son who'd signed on with the bad guys to get what he wanted. Her training led her to make quick judgments about people and get to their real motives later.

  Sometimes a special agent had to make life and death decisions based only on a cursory observation. And she had been observing Marcus—a lot. Now she just didn't know what to think.

  As the silence began to grow awkward, she opted to tell him the truth. "I was an only child. My parents are both dead now. I'm all the family I've got." She took a moment and made a snap decision to trust him with another small piece of herself. "I like the solitary life. I've never been impressed with the way most families interact."

  Marcus scowled at her. "Not even your own?"

  "Especially my own."

  He stepped closer, lifted a hand and grazed the line of her jaw with a knuckle. "That's a sad commentary, Dana. It can be a wonderful thing to know there are people who care about you no matter what."

  A soft and concerned look moved into his eyes. Up this close, she could smell his tangy, fresh-sage scent and feel the heat emanating from his bare chest.

  He kept on gently stroking her face and gazing into her eyes. Soothing and stirring. She felt her pulse begin to jackhammer and her senses went on hyperalert.

  When he leaned closer and his eyes zeroed in on her mouth, the heat between them exploded. With a shake of her head, she caught herself before she fell into his arms. She had to remember that he was just part of the job.

  Dana took a step back and averted her eyes toward his desk. She'd never before given herself over to a man. And she would definitely not be starting with someone who was a suspect in a case she was working.

  "You'd better check your messages," she said in a raspy voice. "Is it too warm in here for you?"

  The dreamy look disappeared from his eyes, but he smiled and cocked his head toward her. "You're hot? Why don't you take off some of those clothes."

  Okay. She might be a virgin, but she wasn't totally naive. That was a come-on she'd heard often enough before.

  She rolled her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at him. "Just check your messages. I'll be fine."

  He shrugged a shoulder, but the smile stayed put as he turned to punch the Play button on the machine.

  The first couple of messages were from various family members asking him if he needed anything and to please call if he wanted company or a place to stay. The distress and genuine concern in their voices was quite evident.

  Dana wasn't sure how such obvious love amongst family members made her feel. It was an interesting side note to Marcus's character profile. But deeper than that, and on a personal level, it almost made her feel … lonely.

  "Marc? We need to talk." A deep voice boomed out of the machine. "I just got a call from … well, it was about you. And it's important that we discuss this as soon as possible. I'll be at the office until ten or eleven o'clock tonight. I'd rather not talk about it over the phone, so why don't you come over? Give me a call."

  The message clicked off and Marcus touched the button on his machine that erased the previous messages.

  "Who was that?" she asked. If it was one of the cartel members, this might be the break she'd been waiting for.

  "That was my brother, Ian."

  "It was? He sounded worried."

  "Yeah, he did, didn't he?"

  "Is he the one that heads up the family company?"

  Marcus nodded. "I think I'd better go to the office and talk to him. Do you mind?"

  Suddenly, it struck Dana that maybe their entire company was a front for the cartel. Were they all involved in money laundering? Perhaps the family was using Marcus as a scapegoat.

  "I don't mind at all," she said. "In fact, I insist."

  "Great. I'll go throw on a shirt and see you later." He picked up his keys off the desk and started for the door.

  "Hold on." She grabbed his arm and swung him around. "You don't go anywhere without me, remember? Like it or not, from now until your trial we're stuck with each other as if we'd been put together with Crazy Glue. Get used to it."

  * * *

  Three

  « ^ »

  Was he glad that Dana had insisted on coming along to the office? He couldn't quite settle his thoughts when it came to her. But they were both about to leave for his meeting with Ian, just the same.

  He wanted her to trust him and believe in him, though he had no idea why. But would she inhibit his efforts to prove himself innocent? He sighed, resigned to having her company whether he wanted it or not.

  "How about if we take my SUV and I'll drive?" he asked, as they locked the front door and set the alarm system.

  She shook her head and headed for the driver's side of her small, bland sedan. "No thanks. You don't have the training, and the whole world already knows what kind of car you normally drive. In the protection business, the idea is to vary your routine … change cars, times and the routes to your regular haunts."

  Well, Marc had certainly found one thing he was not happy about. He didn't like riding in her car. He wanted to drive himself around like usual, and he liked his normal routine. This whole business was really starting to suck.

  He directed her to the Danforth corporate office building via the back roads and downtown side streets. The parking lot was all but empty at this time of night. A security van patrolled the exterior grounds and Ian's car was parked in his normal spot.

  "Nice office," Dana said as she parked the car where he'd directed. "These brick buildings that are so common in old Savannah are very efficient. And I imagine all the trees and flowers make a nice impression on clients. Do you have many muggings or break-ins in this part of town?"

  He opened his car door and "tsked" at her. "You look at a beautiful historic building and fantastically lush landscaping and think of muggings? You've been in the bodyguard business too long, Ms. Aldrich." He breathed deep and took in the sweet smell of honeysuckle that he'd loved since he was a kid.

  She shrugged her shoulders, climbed out and locked her car. "To be the best at my job, you have to work at it twenty-four hours a day. Everything I see has some significance to the … uh … protection business. I don't pay attention to the superficial things in this world."

  "You never take any time off to just enjoy yourself—to smell the flowers?" He slid his key into the door lock at the employee entrance and opened it. "What's that old saying about all work and no play…?"

  She grimaced and stepped ahead of him into the darkened downstairs hallway. "I don't mind being dull. The job has all the excitement I need."

  While he led her down the hall toward the elevator behind reception, his heels clicked loudly against the polished-pecan floors. Again, Marc began to wonder about the intelligent and strong woman who'd become his bodyguard. Just what kind of person was she?

  There seemed to be so much hidden about her. Did she have any kind social of life? Like, for instance, a husband or a boyfriend somewhere? When she'd talked about not caring much for family, he'd thought she had only meant her parents. Now he was becoming convinced that she was a real loner. With no one in her life who mattered.

  And it was becoming very important to him to figure her out. If she'd let him, he wanted to be the one to show her how to relax and enjoy herself. To appreciate history and learn to see the beauty of the world around her. She was beginning to matter. But for the life of him, he couldn't pin down the reason he cared so much.

  That kind of reflection would have to come after he'd cleared his name. And kept himself out of jail. First things first.

  * * *

  The elevator reached the fifth floor and they stepped out onto the Persian carpet runner and headed in the direction of the CEO's office. Marcus pointed out his own office down the hall the other way.

  Ian was waiting for them at his desk. He stood when they came in and shot Marcus a wary glance.

  "Ian, this is my new bodyguard, Dana Aldrich."

  "Yes, I heard all about her from Adam." Ian turned to her. "How do you do, Ms. Aldrich. Michael Whittaker tells me he doesn't know you personally, but he speaks quite highly of your reputation. Thank you for taking this job on such short notice."

  She shook his hand. "I'm glad to help."

  "Good." Ian turned back to his desk. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a few things to say to my brother in private. You may wait in my reception area. I don't think there'll be any attempts on Marc's life while he's in my office."

  Dana straightened her spine and stood her ground. She turned to Marcus for his word on the matter. Marcus looked hesitant but didn't jump in to ask her to stay.

  "I won't be in your way, Mr. Danforth," she insisted to Ian. "But I believe a good bodyguard should know where all the threats are coming from. If what you have to say to Marcus pertains to his arrest or the charges against him, I'd like to be made aware of it at the same time."

  "Yes, Ian. I want her to stay," Marcus finally urged. "She's going to be with me
as I find the evidence to prove my innocence. She might as well know what we're up against."

  Ian laid a hand on his arm. "All right, baby brother. I guess you need as many people on your side as you can get right now. If that's what you want, she can stay. Both of you have a seat."

  Ian eased into his huge leather chair and drove his fingers through his hair. "You're not going to like what I have to say."

  Marcus leaned his big six-two frame toward the front of the high-backed visitor's chair. "What's wrong? Is it the family? Are they all okay?"

  "Yes," Ian told him. "Everyone is fine at the moment. Everyone but you."

  "It's not Dad then? He can't be happy about my arrest when he's just about to swing this election. He's still running ahead, isn't he?"

  "Dad's not concerned about how your arrest will or will not affect his election chances. He's concerned about you. We all are." Ian hesitated a moment, then bit his lip.

  Dana was astounded. Everything she'd ever read or heard about Ian Danforth said he was the self-assured and competent president of a national firm. But at the moment, he looked stung and unsure of himself. She sat back and waited to hear his story.

  "I had a phone call a little while ago, Marc. From…"

  "Don't tell me. I'll bet it was from our nemesis, Sonny Hernandez. I don't have any doubts that he's in on this frame-up. What did he want?"

  "Excuse me," Dana interrupted. "I know I said I'd just be quiet, but who's this Sonny Hernandez?"

  Marcus turned to her. "He a scum gopher for a drug cartel and a local coffee bean importer. Nasty piece of work he is, too. He's been pressuring us to do business with the importer exclusively."

  "What kind of business?"

  "He doesn't just want to do business with our shipping company," Ian told her. "He wants our help with laundering their dirty drug money."

  "Ah. Drug dealing is nasty stuff. What kind of pressure?" she asked, in as innocent tone of voice as she could manage.

  "The threats started back in February," Marcus replied. "Then in April they got a lot more personal when they blew up one of our warehouse offices."

  "Blew it up? An explosion? Was anyone hurt?" Dana had read about it in the files, but she wanted their take on who had done it.

  Ian shook his head. "No. And so far the police haven't found any clues as to who set it off. But we know who's behind it."

  "You mean you think the importers blew up your building to coerce you into doing what they want?"

  Ian scowled. "Yes and no. Yes, the explosion was meant to scare me into doing what they want. But no, it's not coming from the local coffee bean people. Like Marc was saying, they're just a front for a Colombian drug cartel. The cartel has threatened my life several times, and went so far as kidnapping an innocent woman who they mistook for my mistress. And when those tactics didn't work, they framed my brother."

  Marcus stirred in his chair then addressed Ian. "So what did good old charming Sonny have to say tonight?"

  "It wasn't Sonny this time," Ian told him. "The call was from the kingpin himself. Ernesto Estoban Escalante."

  Dana's jaw dropped opened, but she covertly closed it and swallowed hard. Escalante? The most notorious drug lord in the world? The FBI had been hunting the man for nearly a decade. Every time they thought they had him, he'd drop back into the oblivion of the Colombian rain forests where his cartel ruled supreme.

  And he had personally called Ian Danforth tonight? Suddenly everything changed for Dana. If what Ian and Marcus had told her was true, the Danforths were in big trouble. And she had stepped into something much larger than Marcus and his racketeering charge.

  But she still wasn't positive that the Danforths were innocents. What if Marcus had given in to the cartel to protect his brother? He could still make a good informant.

  Dana kept her mouth shut and listened.

  Ian was speaking to Marcus and shaking his head sadly. "I don't know how to fix this for you, Marc. Escalante plainly told me that if I would help them launder their money through the coffee supplies that he'd get you off the hook. But…"

  "The bastard as much as admitted to you that he framed me?" Marcus snapped.

  "Yeah. I thought I'd lived through the worst they could throw at me. But … I can't sit back and let you go to jail for something you didn't do." Jan grimaced and took a breath. "Besides, they won't stop at that. Next they'll probably start murdering all of us … one at a time."

  "You can't be thinking of giving in to them now?" Marcus sounded stunned. "You can't do that. I'm not going to jail for something I didn't do. Don't worry. I'll find the evidence to prove my innocence. Just give me a little time."

  Dana just had to interrupt again to make a comment. "By any chance did you happen to get tonight's phone call on tape?"

  Ian narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't normally tape my phone conversations, no."

  "Are you going to try getting the police involved with this again?" Marcus asked his brother. "They have to believe you by now."

  "They do believe us. But there's nothing they can do without proof. All the leads we've given them have turned cold. The cartel is too powerful." Ian took a deep breath and ran the back of his hand across his mouth. "And too dangerous. I'm not going to let any more of my family suffer out of some misguided sense of righteousness. I can't. It's not worth it."

  "Ian, please," Marcus begged. "Give me at least a few days to find the proof. I promise you. I'm not going to jail … and we'll find the evidence to stop this once and for all."

  Ian clenched his fists on his desk. Then he turned to Dana. "Can you guarantee me that you'll keep him alive while he investigates this damned murdering drug lord?"

  Dana hesitated for one second then answered him sharply. "I can guarantee you that as long as I am alive, Marcus will be fine. Nothing will happen to him."

  "Yeah? Well, I'd just as soon you didn't die over my stupid pride, either." Ian stood and started to pace. "All right, Marc," he finally agreed. "I can put them off for a couple more weeks. But after that I give up. You are not going to do time for a crime you didn't commit. Not as long as I can stop it."

  Marcus stood and went to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Ian. We'll beat them." He turned and smiled at Dana. "And I'll be all right. I have a guardian angel at my side."

  Dana stood, too. "I've never been called an angel before." She set her jaw and turned to Ian. "But don't worry, Mr. Danforth. I intend to see that all of you come out of this in one piece. You have my word."

  As both men stood speechless after that strange remark, Dana's mind was already leaping into a plan. "Okay. Now. What can you tell me about your phone system? And after we check on that, I want you to tell me everything you remember about that phone call with Escalante."

  * * *

  Marc checked to see that the employee door was locked as they left the office building. Then he followed a very antsy Dana while she cautiously climbed into her car and pressed the door-lock button as soon as he'd closed the door behind him.

  She put her key in the ignition, but didn't turn it. "There's something I have to tell you," she said softly.

  "I had a feeling there might be."

  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and shifted slightly in her seat. "Yeah, you're too smart not to have been guessing about me. And I'd also be willing to bet that Ian is on the phone to Michael Whittaker right this minute, demanding some answers."

  "You're not a bodyguard, are you?"

  She shook her head.

  "Then who…?"

  "I'm an FBI special agent, Marcus. I've been assigned to offer you a deal to turn over any information that could help the federal attorney convict the cartel."

  "FBI agent?" After his initial shock, he knew in his gut that what she'd said was true. "I suppose you can prove that?" he asked anyway.

  "Not at the moment. I've been undercover … you understand. But I want to take you to someone who can prove it for me. He's someone I think you should talk to."

  "Just a minute." Marc's mind was swimming with all the things she'd said. "Why are you telling me this now? What's changed?"

  "I've changed. I don't think you're guilty of racketeering anymore."