Читать книгу Undercover Bride - Kylie Brant - Страница 11

By the time Rachel had been at the compound a week, she’d developed a detailed mental map of the house. While boring Raymond by her seemingly endless fascination with the ornamental woodwork, the fine wallpaperings and furnishings, she observed exits, determined possible escape routes and household schedules. Admiring the bounty of the flower gardens from different windows of the house, she mapped distances, drops and roof pitches. She was finally satisfied that the only potential places of interest in the home itself were the locked areas in Caleb’s bedroom and the office he shared with Sutherland.

It wasn’t difficult to evaluate the risk factor of searching both. Getting in and out of Caleb’s room would be relatively easy to accomplish, especially when she had a firmer grasp on his daily schedule. The office would require more thought. She hadn’t yet observed a time when it was unoccupied. It would clearly be an opportunity that would lend itself better to nighttime reconnoitering.

She’d also learned a great deal about Caleb Carpenter. In the course of their dinner conversations it had emerged that they shared a similar taste in books and movies, with both of them preferring mysteries and thrillers. They liked dogs above cats, and enjoyed basketball over baseball. They differed over their favorite museums, he preferring the Louvre and she professing an enjoyment in exploring the Smithsonians. But both preferred classical music, and enjoyed physical activities that pitted them against the elements.

She thought she’d learned a lot about the man with what he didn’t say, as well. She knew he was tough; he’d have to be. He was obviously smart, well-educated, cultured. His smiles came more frequently than his frowns, and his voice could be serious one moment, filled with amusement the next. Always though, his blue eyes gave nothing away, at times appearing shuttered, deliberately secretive.

And she knew, with an intuition independent of logic, that he was dangerous.

Rachel was about to take a measure of that danger. A man who distrusted her posed a far greater threat than one who did not. It was time to find out, once and for all, whose orders ultimately kept Raymond so closely attached. She eyed the bored-looking young soldier at her side speculatively. She was ready to begin the next stage of her operation, and having one of The Brotherhood’s soldiers tagging along was an obstacle that would have to be eliminated, one way or another.

Turning abruptly away from the window she was standing before, she nearly collided with Raymond. She strode past him down the hallway. She was hoping that the idea for a guard didn’t spring from Carpenter. If he didn’t trust her, at least a little, he’d be doubly wary. It suited her purposes to keep her primary adversary relaxed.

Caleb hadn’t seemed very relaxed, however, for the past several days. Although they still had dinner together every night, he excused himself soon afterward, leaving her to her own devices. She’d welcomed the space his absence created. It gave her time to collect her own composure, to come to terms with her reaction to his kiss. Rachel’s strengths had always been her cool steady calm and her clearheaded logic. She should know better than most that separating the good from the evil in a person was impossible. Rather than two different sides, the qualities were irreversibly entwined. Her father’s good traits hadn’t been enough to save him from the demonic hatred that had eventually destroyed him.

It was deeply troubling to discover desire could even momentarily overcome her loathing for everything Carpenter represented. But after a few days she’d been able to dismiss the emotion as an aberration fueled by long-dormant hormones. There was no denying, however, that the emotional distance Caleb had been displaying made the task easier.

“Miss Grunwald!”

Rachel threw a quizzical look over her shoulder. Raymond’s expression was panicked. “You can’t go in there. The general and the colonel shouldn’t be interrupted.”

She gave a careless smile, her hand on the knob of the office door. “I won’t keep Caleb long.” She knocked once, deliberately pushing the door open almost immediately.

“…no better way to accomplish nationwide recognition and respect than with some carefully planned bombings and assassinations. We’ve certainly got the arsenal for it, thanks to Sim—” Sutherland’s words broke off abruptly as Rachel entered the room.

“Oh.” With a self-conscious air, Rachel stopped in her tracks. She sent an apologetic shrug to Caleb. “I’m interrupting you. Please excuse me.” She began to back out of the room, bumping up against Raymond, who was hovering behind her.

Caleb watched her, his face impassive. “Careful. You’re causing a human pileup there.”

“You are interrupting us, Miss Grunwald.” Sutherland said. “Perhaps your business can wait until this evening.”

“Of course.” She gave an easy smile and began to turn away.

“That won’t be necessary.” There was a hint of command in Caleb’s voice which had her pausing. “I’m not so busy that I can’t spare a few minutes.” His gaze went to Raymond, and his brows rose. “Is there something I can help you with, soldier?”

The young man went a deep dull red. “No, sir, General.”

“Oh, he’s with me.” Rachel waved a dismissive hand. “At least, he’s the soldier who’s been assigned to me. And he warned me about interrupting you, so the fault is mine.”

Caleb’s expression went thoughtful and he continued to stare at Raymond, who began to fidget nervously. “Assigned to you?”

Rachel had her answer. Carpenter knew nothing about the constant posted guard on her, so Sutherland was to blame, as she’d suspected. She was given no time to ponder the reason. Caleb turned his piercing stare on Sutherland. “Colonel, please take the soldier with you and give us five minutes.”

He didn’t wait for them to obey before switching his attention back to Rachel. “You left your hair down.”

His simple observation was oddly disconcerting. So was the flame of heat in his eyes. After his polite reserve of the past several days, she was dismayed at the return of that familiar intensity. It seared her, bathing her with warmth and making her all too aware of the last time he’d looked at her that way. And the way she’d responded.

She reached up to push her hair over her shoulder, the genuine embarrassment in the gesture foreign to her. “It’s usually simpler to just pull it back….”

“I like it.”

The distance between them closed as he stepped toward her and the other, more intangible distance that had existed between them for the last several days, suddenly evaporated. He reached out and combed his fingers through the loose strands curving beneath her jaw and Rachel went completely still.

“It looks good on you.” It softened her face, made her perfect features seem less remote. More touchable. And because he wanted to touch, badly, he clasped both hands behind his back.

Turning abruptly and crossing to the service cart tucked into a corner of the room, he asked, “Can I get you something to drink?” He glanced over his shoulder and saw Rachel shake her head. “I have some of that iced lemonade you like so well.”

Relenting, she accepted the glass he poured for her, wondering how he’d known that she stopped in the kitchen each afternoon for some of this delicious drink. She wondered uneasily what else he might have observed, as well.

She met his blue gaze with her own, and raised her glass. After taking a sip, she said, “I apologize again for barging in on you. I just wanted to ask if it was all right to borrow from your library. You have quite an extensive collection, and I haven’t had the time to read for a while.”

He gave a careless wave of his hand. “You don’t need to ask permission. You’re to make yourself completely at home here. And don’t worry about the interruption. I can always spare a few minutes for a beautiful woman. Especially one that I’ve been neglecting lately.” The reasons for that had never seemed less rational. Certainly limiting his time with her hadn’t erased her from his mind. Not when she still lingered at the edges of his thoughts, a teasing distraction to the very serious matters at hand.

It was exactly the seriousness of those matters that had had him carefully avoiding her for the past several days. He couldn’t afford to lose sight of the goal that was so close to achievement he could almost touch it. A goal that would be the fruition of years of single-minded dedication.

His fingers clenched as he watched Rachel lower her glass. Her lips were moist. He knew exactly how they would taste, with the sweet, tangy drops clinging to them and the succulent sweetness that was all her own. And he recognized just how thoroughly he’d been deluding himself for the past week. He may have kept his physical distance from her, but she’d continued to represent just as much a diversion.

Consideringly, he raised his glass and drank. Women didn’t distract him—ever. They were pleasant companions, and he enjoyed their company, but when it was time to part, they were forgotten. Never had one caused his thoughts to stray and his sleep to fragment. A faint frown crossed his face. It still surprised him that Rachel was managing to accomplish what all the others could not.

“You’re staring again. I’m surprised your mother didn’t extinguish that particular trait of yours.”

He smiled, slow and wide, and never took his gaze from her. “It’s not the only character flaw she failed at erasing from my tender psyche, just perhaps the most annoying one.”

Rachel strolled to a leather sofa and sat, observing the room curiously. She hadn’t been in it since the day of her arrival. Computers sat beside each of the two desks. She wondered briefly how long it would take her to break the security codes on them.

“Are you thinking about trying your hand at it?”

Her hesitation was only slight, before she completed the act of crossing one leg over the other. “Trying my hand…?”

“At correcting those character flaws my mother failed at.” His teeth flashed in a wicked grin. “I’m modest enough to admit to a few, and patient enough to submit to your tutelage.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not planning on being one of those wives intent on improving their husbands.”

“No?” He seemed almost disappointed. “What will you be intent on?”

She shifted away from the sensitive subject. “It’s a little premature to be making any plans. I have three more weeks left in my trial period here.”

His smile faded, and his expression turned reflective. “Yes, you do.” Draining his glass, he set it on a nearby end table. “Maybe we should be making better use of that time. We could begin after dinner tonight. We’ll take a ride, so you can see more of the compound.”

Interest piqued, she agreed readily. “We should plan on dining earlier than usual. Daylight fades more quickly here than it does back east.”

He gave a slight nod. “Please tell Eliza to plan dinner for five-thirty.” He walked by her side to the door of the office. He waited until she was ready to walk through the door before adding, “Oh, and Rachel.” She looked back quizzically.

“Leave you hair down for me.”

Leaning against the doorjamb, he watched her walk away with a gait that was all the more provocative because it was natural. If Rachel Grunwald was going to prove to be a distraction regardless of how much time they spent together, he reasoned, why should he limit that time? He’d never been a man to deny himself the pleasures of life, although admittedly, it would be the first time he’d consciously chosen to allow them to mix with business.

He shifted his gaze to Sutherland and Raymond, who was barely old enough to vote, but ready to sacrifice his life for The Brotherhood and their beliefs. “Soldier.” The young man snapped to attention. “You’ve been reassigned. You may go back to the detail you held prior to Miss Grunwald’s arrival.”

The soldier swallowed nervously, flicked a glance at Sutherland, and then nodded. “Yes, sir, General.” From the pace he set as he strode toward the door, his eagerness to vanish was clear.

Caleb turned and went back to the office, returning to his chair. After a moment, Kevin followed, closing the door behind him. When the other man remained standing, Caleb raised a quizzical brow. “Something on your mind, Kevin?”

Sutherland’s mouth was pressed in a thin flat line. “No, sir.”

It didn’t take much perception to realize the man was livid. “I think there is. Why don’t you spit it out so we can get on with our earlier discussion?”

“All right.” The colonel paced toward the desk, emotion carving deep furrows into his brow. “You countermanded my orders to that soldier, and undermined my position. I can’t command the men’s respect if you’re going to proceed that way.”

“I disagree that I undermined your position, Kevin.” Caleb’s desk chair squeaked as he leaned back in it. “Your place is my second in command, so the men shouldn’t think it strange that my orders take precedence. That’s what we train them for, isn’t it? To follow orders?” When the man remained silent, Caleb’s gaze narrowed. Sotto voce he inquired, “Or maybe it’s you who has forgotten who’s in command here.”

The colonel held his gaze for a long tension-filled moment, before finally looking away. “I haven’t forgotten, sir.”

“Good, because I don’t tolerate disrespect in my ranks. This is not a democracy. I’m in charge and I make the decisions.” A long pause followed, during which neither man spoke. “But, as always, I value your opinions. So I’m going to listen while you explain to me why you assigned a guard to Rachel Grunwald.”

Sutherland faced him squarely, not backing down an inch. “I would think that would be obvious, sir.”

“Indulge me.”

“Very well.” The man took a deep breath. “Because of the problems we had with the first two candidates I thought more proactive measures would be useful this time. We don’t want a reoccurrence of the trouble we experienced with them.”

Mention of the first two prospective candidates was jarring. Caleb hadn’t spared either of them a thought after they’d been dismissed. Somehow he knew that even if Rachel left the compound, memories of her wouldn’t be so easily banished. “Well, I hardly think it likely that we’d be so unlucky as to have attracted another candidate with sticky fingers or wandering eyes.”

Grimly Sutherland surveyed him. “I don’t think you take this situation seriously enough, sir. It’s imperative that you select the perfect mate. She must be worthy of you, and of her position in The Brotherhood. Surveillance of the candidates isn’t out of line.”

Caleb linked his fingers atop his desk, a picture of steady composure. “We caught the other two young women in their peccadilloes easily enough, didn’t we? I’m sufficiently confident of our security here without assigning young soldiers to fool errands. I have more important plans for our troops, and it’s imperative that each soldier learns these particular lessons well.”

Sutherland looked at him, interest clearly battling with ire. In another moment, interest won. Grasping the back of the chair Caleb gestured to, he pulled it closer to Caleb’s desk and sat. “It sounds like you’ve been making some plans. I hope you’ll consider my earlier proposal. Some carefully chosen hits should gain us valuable attention.”

As the other man talked about his suggested targets in the state and surrounding area, Caleb rose and strolled to the one of the front windows. The lawn sprawled in a vivid-green carpet rolling toward the gate securing the front of the property, a mile in the distance. Boundaried on the other sides by mountains and canyon, The Brotherhood had etched out its own little kingdom, in the midst of nature’s majesty. And he’d scratched and fought to build that kingdom; every inch a testament to his dedication and commitment to the only cause that had ever mattered to him.