Page 20 of Seductive Secrets

She snorted and started rinsing the dishes, handing them to Marco who loaded them into the dishwasher.

Within minutes, the kitchen was clean and everyone was heading back to their rooms to prepare for a day of walking around the city. Dash had already printed out maps and images of the key. The maps had dots where there might be a lock, but he’d also laid a four quadrant grid on top of the maps so no one wasted time by asking a business twice.

Angela was wiping her hands, preparing to follow the crowd upstairs so that she could change clothes, but Callum pulled her aside. He didn’t say anything for a moment, waiting for everyone else to head upstairs before he said, “Dash is pairing you with James.” His eyes were intense and Angela felt her cheeks heat up. “I noticed tension between you two last fall, but you never mentioned him, so I didn’t bring him up. But seeing both of you together now…it seems like something big is going on between you.”

Angela opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

“If I’m wrong, then say so and I’ll work with you today, and James can go with Dash. Otherwise…” he left the sentence hanging.

Angela shuffled her feet, wishing she could say something funny to distract him. But there were two issues. First, she wasn’t funny. She was a killer at the negotiating table, but she wasn’t someone who could come up with an amusing tale. And secondly, she really did want to spend the day with James.

“I get it,” Callum replied, grinning down at her with those rugged, good looks and the very slight Scottish accent that always made the ladies swoon. “I’m with Dash today.”

He walked away, whistling and acting as if she’d just made some monumental admission. When in reality, she hadn’t been able to say anything at all.

Forcing herself upstairs to grab her purse and get ready with the others, she wondered about what she’d just silently admitted. Not just to Callum, but to herself as well. She could have easily told him that she didn’t want to spend the day with James. It would have been safer. But…she didn’t want to spend the day with Dash. Shewantedto spend the day with James!

James appeared at the top of the stairs, her purse in his hand. As soon as he stopped right in front of her, his eyes searching hers, she knew that she was in trouble.

“Are you my partner for the day? Or did you ask Dash to pair you with someone else?”

Angela leaned her head back, trying to read his thoughts. But the man was good, not revealing anything. Finally, she nodded. “Yes. We are working together today.”

His response was so fast, she’d barely finished the sentence before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. It was just a brief kiss, since they could hear the others coming down the stairs. But it was enough to tell her that he’d understood her admission as well.

Unfortunately, the others, knew her too well. They obviously saw her flushed cheeks, and perhaps her swollen lips, and correctly interpreted the signs. Kasim glared at James, Callum smirked because he’d called it, and Dash blinked, startled for some reason, before looking quickly away with a satisfied smile.

She understood Kasim’s reaction and wanted to kick Callum for his smugness. But what was going through Dash’s mind? Had he figured out something was going on between herself and James? Is that why he’d ensured that James didn’t have the room next to hers?

Oh, she was going to have to have a long, very pointed conversation with each of her guys! They were playing with fire when they started trying to manipulate her!

Not that Callum or Kasim were doing that. Nope, just Dash.

Rosalee broke the tension by asking questions about the map. Everyone listened as Dash started to discuss his plan, but then he stopped and scanned the room.

“Damn it!” He walked over to the bottom of the stairs. “Marco! Chloe! Get your asses down here!”

There were a few chuckles when they heard a feminine squeak before Chloe rushed down the stairs followed more slowly by Marco who glared evilly at Dash. “Payback is hell!” he replied in a soft, menacing voice.

Dash merely chuckled, slapping his friend on the back amicably. Even Angela thought the couple was pretty cute, but she wisely kept her mouth shut about Chloe’s mussed appearance. Chloe even tried to move to the opposite side of the group, but Marco wasn’t having it. He grabbed her wrist when she tried to flee and pulled her against his side, anchoring her there with a gentle kiss.

Then Marco glanced at Dash, eyebrows raised. “You were saying?” he prompted.

Everyone laughed, then Dash explained his plan and handed out the maps and pictures. After explaining the routes and the best way to ask questions so as not to alarm anyone, he walked over to a box. “Here are the phones I mentioned earlier. I know that you will also be carrying your own phones, other than Angela and James, but keep these on you just in case you get into trouble. The phone numbers to each of us are already programmed in the memory. But if you are in a crisis and can’t find a particular number, dial one, which will connect to me.”

Everyone pocketed their phone, map, and picture, and headed out the door. All except for Kasim and Rosalee who headed for the kitchen where they would research Mark DuBreck and Melissa Abernathy. They would text out any significant fact they discovered. Everyone also agreed to send their information to Kasim and Rosalee, so that the information could be tracked on a larger map that was tacked up on the wall.

Then they all got into their respective vehicles and drove off.

Chapter 4

Angela sat stiffly in the passenger seat of James’ sedan, her mind whirling with what she’d just realized about herself. Shewantedto be with James. Okay, she’d realized that yesterday, but this morning’s revelation was more significant. She had been offered the opportunity to separate from James and had turned it down. To someone else, that might be minor, but for her, because of her background, it was huge!

“What are you thinking so hard about?” he asked as soon as they were on the highway heading into the city.

She jumped, pulled out of her silent contemplation of where she might be, emotionally, with this relationship with James.

Was there even a relationship? He was only here in Baltimore to find his friend. She was in Baltimore to discover if there was something going on with Hazelton’s shipping process and protect the company if need be.

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