highlights enhanced the depth of the woman. As she turned to face him once more, he stole yet another moment to admire her effortless beauty. Great personal loss had etched her porcelain skin with fine lines, yet failed to detract from the gentle, sophisticated elegance.
He had been in love with Victoria from the moment he first laid eyes on her thirty years ago. But she had been the fiancé of his best friend and colleague, later to become his wife. As much as Lucas loved her...wanted her...he would, even now, undo the past, resurrect her husband and son in a heartbeat to make her happy, if only he possessed the power. But he could not, of course. He could, however, love her and protect her until the day he took his dying breath.
That he would do.
He produced the expected smile and stuck to his original story that would tie in to his immediate plans. “It’s nothing, really. Casey has gotten it into his head that I need a vacation and, well—” he shrugged, using all the tactics he had learned over the years in the spy business to hide what he didn’t want her to see “—you know how I am about work. I can’t see myself taking off that kind of time. But Casey is the boss and he keeps insisting.” He heaved a sigh. “I have a feeling he isn’t going to take no for an answer. This little trip away from D.C. won’t be enough to appease him.”
Victoria looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ve been getting the same hassle around here,” she said, her brow furrowing. “Everyone but me thinks I need a vacation. I suppose even I realize it’s past time I took some time off.” It was her turn to shrug. The gesture drew his eyes to her slender but proud shoulders and the white silk blouse she wore. The contrast of the delicate, feminine fabric to the strong, tough-as-nails woman beneath only served to widen his smile into the genuine article. “Maybe I should,” she went on as she looked directly at him, a new kind of sparkle in those brown eyes. “Maybe we should.” Her expression turned inquisitive, the barest hint of a smile curled the corners of her lips. “What’re you grinning about?”
He held her gaze for a couple of beats, weighing her words and the emotion that looked very much like desire he’d noticed there. “Is that an invitation, Victoria?” he ventured, ignoring her question for the moment. His heartbeat accelerated, sending a surge of heat through his body. He wanted this. Wanted it very much. But it had to be her choice...her decision.
She unconsciously rubbed her left hand, missing the ring she’d worn for more than half of her life. “Yes,” she said succinctly. “It is.”
Scarcely breathing for fear he would somehow break this spell, Lucas took her hands in his and considered how she’d tucked that precious gold wedding band into the ground next to her husband’s headstone. That act had taken a great deal of courage, and he respected what it surely meant. She was ready to move on. But he would not push the issue. He had waited a lifetime for this woman, a few weeks longer wouldn’t hurt. But her safety was another issue altogether.
He was getting closer.
Lucas had sensed his presence today at the cemetery. During lunch he’d excused himself briefly to meet with his security team leader in the restaurant’s bar. His suspicions had been confirmed.
The man, who they assumed at this point to be a hired assassin, had taken up a position about fifty meters from Victoria. He’d been armed with a special police-style rifle, complete with tactical scope and bipod. At one point, one of the two specialists assigned to Victoria’s secret security detail had almost engaged the target. Lucas had warned his men that the assassin was to be kept alive if at all possible. But he’d gotten damned close today. The only thing that had kept Lucas’s man from taking out the assassin was the fact that he’d visually verified the weapon’s positive three-position thumb safety was still locked. The shooter had had no intention of killing Victoria today.
He’d simply been watching.
Lucas could only assume that he was standing by for final authorization to complete the mission. He’d had at least three opportunities so far and hadn’t acted. But there would come a time when he would, that was a certainty. Lucas had to take countermeasures before that happened. Somehow, while keeping Victoria safe and allowing the assassin to stay on their trail temporarily, he had to get someone close to this guy. It was the only way he could hope to catch the real threat: Leberman.
Victoria would never be safe as long as Leberman was alive. If he had hired this assassin as Lucas suspected, there might be a chance of tracking this hired killer right back to the bastard’s hiding place. Which was the only reason they hadn’t taken out the shooter already. They needed him to get to Leberman.
“Then we have plans to make,” Lucas offered as he dispensed with the other troubling thoughts and focused on her invitation. “Where would you like to go?”
She searched his face, looking for some hint of what was on his mind. Suspicion still nagged at her, he knew. “Shall I have Mildred bring us coffee while we discuss the possibilities?”
The prospect of planning their joint vacation pleased her, and he hated like hell to disappoint her. They were so close. He groaned and glanced at his watch. “I have another meeting in thirty minutes. I could try and reschedule or—” he pretended to mull the idea over
“—why don’t you think about the destination possibilities and then we’ll discuss the options over dinner tonight?”
“That would be lovely.”
He squeezed her hands once more before letting go. “I’ll see you at eight, then.”
She nodded, her hopeful expression wilting just a little.
He would make this up to her.
Victoria watched Lucas leave her office, the ever-present limp only adding to his distinguished demeanor. He looked so handsome today. The gray shirt emphasized his eyes. The elegant charcoal suit fit his lean frame perfectly. Their time at lunch had been more relaxed than any they’d shared since before the incident on St. Gabriel Island. It had felt good to simply be, with no talk of Leberman or the past.
She wanted it that way from now on.
He wanted it, too. She knew he did.
The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why he insisted on lying to her.
Chapter 4
Lucas leaned against the examination table in the small treatment room and waited for the others to arrive.
The door opened, and a nurse with a cheery expression peeked in at him. “Mr. Camp, would you like some water or coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
She shot him a cheeky smile and disappeared, allowing the door to close with a slow whoosh behind her.
He couldn’t risk detection of this meeting. Complete secrecy was crucial. If Leberman or any of his people—and he could only assume that the assassin might be one of several—saw Lucas with Victoria’s most-trusted investigators, they would know he was on to them. He didn’t want that to happen any sooner than necessary. Nor could he risk that any part of the Colby Agency offices were bugged. It was a long shot since the offices were swept for foreign electronics on a regular basis, but one he wasn’t willing to chance. As long as Leberman thought they were one step behind, he wouldn’t get nervous and perhaps do something rash, like giving the final execution order.
The door opened again and Ian Michaels entered the
