Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
T hey lazed around all morning until Ethan showed up. While Cal was gone, Lana put her sweats on and made use of the workout room. Her usually lithe and flexible muscles were as tight as a guitar string. The sun creeped over the mountains, lighting the sky with its pink and orange glow. She stretched out on a mat. Her hips—as well as other places—ached from sex. A delightful shiver raced through her. Amazing sex, but nonetheless, her body was sore.
Fuzzy warmth spread through her veins at the memory. The scar on his chest had been a harsh reminder of how different they were. But did it matter? Couldn’t they try to make things work? It hadn’t been an issue so far, but when she went back to her old life, it could be a problem. She would always worry about him. He was strong and capable, but he wasn’t invincible. At the same time, she didn’t want to come between him and his career.
Aside from that, there was her family to think about. Her mom had always been supportive, and if she knew Lana was happy, that would be enough for her. Her father, on the other hand… He cared about her happiness, undoubtedly. But to him, security and social standing were also important. Not just for her, but for his own image. As he’d told her a million times before, professionalism came first in order to be successful. That was why he’d always been so strict about her personal life.
She pushed herself up to a downward-facing dog pose, releasing the tension in her shoulders. She wasn’t a child anymore. For God’s sake, her mother had been twenty-two when she’d married Lana’s father and twenty-three when she’d had Lana. Their marriage had lasted twelve years.
Her mother had told her that they’d divorced because her father hadn’t been able or willing to slow down. He’d been too busy growing his empire to spend time on his marriage. Eventually she’d had it, and she’d left.
At twenty-six, Lana didn’t need his permission or approval regarding her personal life. Distaste filler her mouth. She didn’t want to fight with him, but he would have to respect her decisions.
After her workout, she passed Ethan in the kitchen on his phone, talking to Cal. “She’s right here, do you want to talk to her?” he said.
Lana paused, waiting.
Ethan nodded, then, “Sounds good, we’ll see you in a bit.” He hung up the phone.
She balanced her hand on her hip, her eyebrows lowered. “Cal didn’t want to talk to me?”
He gave a slight shrug. The movement was awkward on his enormous frame. “He said he wouldn’t be long.”
That was odd. Why wouldn’t he at least speak with her? She shrugged. Soon he would be home and she could ask him herself.
“All right. Can you tell him to come find me when he gets home? I’m going to shower.”
Ethan’s ears turned pink. He scratched his head, his gaze at the floor. “Ah, sure—”
“I mean…” Oh God. Her cheeks burned. How was she going to clarify that one?
He waved her off. She ducked her head and laughed as she exited the kitchen. In the shower, images of the night before branded her under the hot water. Cal’s mouth on her wet body, her insides quaking as he brought her to climax. God, he knew his way around a woman’s body.
She got dressed and applied her makeup. A glance at the clock showed her it was going on noon. He’d been gone almost two hours. What on earth was he doing that was so secretive?
Woof, woof!
She shoved the mascara wand back in the tube and straightened her shirt. Rufus’s excited barks echoed down the hall. She frowned. It wasn’t like him to carry on like that. Just as she approached the bedroom door, it opened. Cal’s shoulders blocked the doorway.
“Come here, babe.” He held his hand out to her. A wicked smile played over his mouth.
Her frown deepened. She curled her fingers into his palm. “What’s going on?”
He chuckled. “Why so worried? Trust me.”
Soft voices from the kitchen piqued her interest. “I’m not worried. Just nervous.”
“You’ll like this.” He led her down the hall and to the kitchen. She rounded the corner.
Her breath caught. Tears filled her eyes before she could catch them. She covered her mouth with her hand and a small sob escaped her throat.
“Mom!” She threw her arms around her mother.
“My baby,” Her mother’s soft voice eased the tremor in her body. Her arms locked around Lana, her lips pressed into her hair. “Oh, honey. I’ve been so worried.”
“What are you doing here?” She pulled out of her arms far enough to spot Cal. A big, warm smile spread across his face. His eyes danced with pleasure. He shoved his hands in his pockets and winked at her. “How did you—”
“This man”—she gestured to Cal, her eyebrow raised with mock chastising—“cornered me on the street in front of my hotel. He told me that if I wanted to see you, I needed to come with him.” She lifted a hand to her slight hip. Her cool blond hair was pulled back in a clip at the nape of her neck. “Scared the life out of me.”
Cal grinned. “Sorry about that, ma’am. We’re trying to be very careful.”
“Please, call me Sonja.” She waved at him. “‘Ma’am makes me feel old.”
She pulled Lana to her chest again. “Can we talk, sweetie? I want to know everything that’s been going on.”
“Of course.”
“Would you like something to drink, Sonja?” Cal stepped away from the counter. “Water?” he offered.
Sonja accepted, and Cal poured her a glass from the fridge. Cal and her mother…in the same room. She looked from one to the other. Sonja was as gracious as always, but her eyes were sharp beneath her kindness. Her mother wasn’t stupid. She would smell their attraction for each other a mile away. Aside from her daughter’s disappearance, she would want to know every detail about Cal.
Wanting complete privacy from the men’s ears, Lana brought her mother back to the master bedroom. The room she and Cal had had sex in.
Sonja set her glass down on a nearby table and situated herself on the edge of the bed. Lana folded her legs up next to her. Her face warmed at the still-rumpled sheets.
“What the hell is going on, honey?” Sonya’s tone was gentle, yet demanding.
Lana rolled her lips in. Best not to beat around the bush. She breathed a sigh through her lips. “I’ll tackle one topic at a time. First of all, someone hired some people—hired hit men—to kill me.” She would not tell her mother that Cal had been one of those people. Of all the things to be disclosed, that was one that Sonja did not need to know.
Her mother’s hand fluttered to her mouth like the wing of a broken bird. She closed her other hand around Lana’s, and tears filled her eyes. Her brow snapped down, and fire shot from her eyes, which were the same hue of blue as her own.
“Who would do such a thing? How do you know this?”
She shifted on the bed. “We believe it was Tanner. He–he came on to me a few months ago, and it didn’t go over well. I talked to Grace about it and I thought it had blown over.” She toyed with the rumpled duvet cover.
“One of Cal’s friends is a special agent with the FBI. He did some digging on Tanner and found that as a minor he’d been charged with rape.” She wet her lips. Sonja’s eyes never left hers. “Then later, he was a person of interest in the murder of a different young woman. He was never convicted, nor did the suspicion cops had of him make it to the tabloids. That makes it look like he used money to protect his name.”
Sonja pressed her fingers to her mouth. Her eyes clouded with worry. The faint lines that had begun to crease her face in recent years deepened. “Why would he do all of this? Why would he want to kill you over that?”
“If people were to find out about his assault on me—”
Her hand grabbed Lana’s arm, her fingernails piercing the skin. “He hurt you?”
“No, Mom. He just behaved badly, and I had to throw him out with the threat to call the police. He left right after. But if people found out that happened, it could open up interest in the other cases he was a suspect in.”
She released her hold. Her hand pressed against her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged. “I handled it.”
“You don’t think it’s all a misunderstanding? How do you know someone planned to have you killed?”
“Cal found the man who’d been hired.”
Her lips pressed together, and her eyes narrowed. “How did Cal come into the picture? Who is he?”
Lana tucked her hair behind her ear. Shit. Nothing got past her mom. Ever. That was one of the reasons why, as a teenager, she’d chosen to live with her dad.
“He…he works in cases like this.” Sonja’s brow furrowed.
She took a deep breath and continued, “He’s a freelance security contractor.”
If her mom’s eyebrows could have flown off of her face, they would have taken flight. “He’s a what?” she hissed.
“Mom, it’s nothing like what you think.” It was everything, and worse, that she would be thinking. “He was in the military and in recon. From there, he began doing freelance work, and now he’s hired to help take down drug rings or find missing people.”
Sonja’s eyes widened. That was as PG as it was going to get. Her fingers dug into her palms, waiting for the backlash.
Her mom crossed and uncrossed her legs, then smoothed an invisible wrinkle from her dress pants. “I see. Well, you’re a grown woman. You know what you’re doing. I know something is going on between you two, I can see it.”
Lana bit her lip. “Mom, you were around us for two minutes.”
“That’s all it took.” Her hand closed around hers. “Just be careful, honey. It’s easy to get fascinated by men like that.” She waved her hand in the air as if she was shooing away a fly. “It’s not real, though.”
Lana straightened her spine. Certainty filled her veins. “I’m more sure of him than I am of anything in my life.”
Sonja’s eyes grew heavy with worry. She pursed her lips. “I suppose I’d better get to know him, then.”
Gratitude warmed her chest. Years and distance had changed her mom. Lana was a grown woman and maybe her mother saw that now. A weight lifted from her chest, making her breathing easier.
One parent down, one to go.
She hugged her mom tightly. “Thanks, Mom. Can you tell Dad I’m okay?” She patted her back. “Of course, honey. He’s going to have a lot of questions, though. I don’t know how I’m going to keep your location a secret. Your father’s house looks like a beehive filled with men in suits. The phone lines are tapped, and he has private investigators scouring the streets. He’s really bent out of shape.”
Guilt lodged a painful rock in her throat. “Tell him that I love him and will be home soon. Just be sure he doesn’t say anything to anyone.”
She nodded. Together they made their way to the kitchen, where Cal and Ethan patiently waited.
“I hope Lana was able to cover everything you need to know and ease any concerns,” Cal spoke as he led Sonja to the center island, where he’d set some chopped veggies, crackers, and cheese. Amusement rippled through her. He was trying to impress her mother.
Sonja accepted the small plate he handed her and sat. “So, tell me, Cal. What are your intentions with my daughter?”
“Mom—”
Cal scratched his head. Ethan whistled and filled his own plate.
“I don’t suppose you intend to drag her around on all of these wild missions, and I sure hope you don’t plan to leave her behind in a puddle of worry.”
“‘Missions’?” Cal’s eyes found Lana’s. She cringed and shrugged her shoulders.
“Lana told me what you do.”
He cleared his throat. Lana kept her eyes down. Heat swirled up her face. “So, what is your plan?” Sonja stabbed a cherry tomato and nibbled.
“Cal, you don’t have to answer her.” Then, to her mother, under her breath, “Mom, please. This is not the time.”
Her chin lifted. “It’s the perfect time.”
Cal pushed away from the counter to stand behind Lana. He rested his warm, protective hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay, babe. She has every right to ask these questions.” He gently massaged her stiff muscles. Her mom watched them carefully as heat rushed to her face.
Oh God, he was being intimate with her in front of her mother. She wished the floor would swallow her up. Cal must have sensed her unease, because he stepped to her side and drew her body tightly against his. She looked up at him, her heart in her throat.
He turned to Sonja. The lines of his face hardened, and his jaw worked. “You’re absolutely right. I’m looking at other career options and will be ending that chapter of my life.”
Lana’s breath sucked in. Her mouth hung open.
Ethan, who had been engaged in an awkward conversation with Rufus, whirled on him. “Dude?”
Cal silenced him with a glare.
Sonja raised one self-satisfied eyebrow. A beat passed. She smiled at them. “Then I approve.”
Lana’s shoulders relaxed. The warmth from her face spread to her heart.
Cal pressed a kiss to her temple.
Cal had held up under her mom’s scrutiny like a true gentleman. Her mind whirled. He wanted to be with her and was willing to sacrifice his career to do so. A tremor of guilt shook her. Was he giving everything up because he felt he had no choice?
Later, she would question him. As much as she cared about him, she didn’t want him to sacrifice his dream or his passion for her. If he wanted to continue his career, she would support him. Her parents would just have to deal with it.
Her mom approved. God, if only her dad would have the same reaction.