Angle of Attack by Leo. J. Maloney

Author:Leo. J. Maloney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2020-10-06T20:21:51+00:00

Chapter 19

After a long, hot shower, Alex felt better. Once she got dressed, she felt better still. She made a point of overdressing a bit, certainly for what she had planned. She’d gotten that trick from her mother, who always made a point of dressing up when she was sick and encouraged Alex to do the same. Of course, Alex wasn’t sick, but it had been a long day and she felt wiped. When she got to her room, she had been shocked to find it was only 8:00 in the evening. It felt like the middle of the night.

Lily called, asking if Alex wanted to join her and Renard at the paddock. Alex was only mildly surprised that Lily sounded normal—almost casual, actually—as if she hadn’t spent most of the day waiting to be vaporized by a nuclear bomb.

But that was Lily Randall. Part of it, Alex knew, was the British stiff upper lip, but most was just Lily herself. Alex said she might stop by later. Lily paused. “Alex, are you all right?” she said. “Do you want me to come over? Scott has to show his face, but we could do something.”

Alex was touched by the concern in her partner’s voice. “I’m fine,” she said. “I was just planning a low-key evening. I’ll get some rest and see you tomorrow. Have fun at the paddock.”

Alex gave herself one last check in the mirror, grabbed the bottle of champagne she had chilling in the ice bucket on her dresser, and headed for the door. The room she was going to was just three floors up. She was there in no time. The hallway was empty, which wasn’t a surprise, since everyone was at the paddock or some other pre-race event.

Almost everyone.

Terry opened the door in a T-shirt and sweatpants. He was surprised and clearly pleased to see Alex.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi, Terry. I just wanted to say good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” he said. “You going out?” He scanned her dress. “You look great, but I really can’t go out the night before a race. I was planning to stay in…” He gestured to his clothes.

“Actually, it’s been a bit of a day,” said Alex. “Would you mind some company?” She raised the bottle of champagne.

“Not at all,” he said. “If you don’t think it would be too boring.”

Alex leaned in and put her hand on his chest. “No, I don’t think so,” she said, reaching up to kiss him. He kissed her back enthusiastically.

As they continued to kiss, Alex pushed him back into the room, the door swinging shut behind them.

No, Alex thought, this won’t be boring at all.

* * * *

When Bloch headed downstairs, she was playing a hunch, a hunch that turned out to be correct. The lights were off in the basement, except for the glow that came from the monitors in Shepard and O’Neal’s workstation.

The couple appeared to be dressed for bed, in T-shirts and sweatpants. Bloch felt like she was intruding. Despite the fact that this was a workplace, she knew that she was.

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