“Sounds like a plan,” Lucas finally conceded, knowing it was the right decision for Fortis. “I’ll give Evan an update later today.”
“Good,” his good friend replied. “How’s Cotts making out with the engine? Are we still on schedule?”
“As far as I know, but she’s been pretty tightlipped over the last few days.”
Sam nodded while looking at Lucas intently.
“What about things between you two? Anything for us to be concerned about?” he finally asked.
Lucas scratched the back of his neck with a little discomfort. This was uncharted territory for him, since he usually had a clear line between his personal life and business, as did Sam. But he knew it was only a matter of time before they had this conversation in one form or another. Quite frankly, he was surprised it had taken so long. Though he and Sam shared the bedroom with two beds, Lucas hadn’t slept in there once since Sam and Renee had arrived.
“Everything is cool,” he answered. “She and I are—”
“Hey, don’t feel like you have to explain anything to me,” interrupted Sam, throwing up his hands. “I’m the last person to have an opinion about who you fall for. Shit happens, right?”
Lucas shook his head.
“I haven’t fallen for her,” he insisted. “We’re just—” He couldn’t find the right words to explain exactly what they were doing.
Sam gave him one of those hard stares that said they both knew Lucas was full of shit.
“Let me give you a little advice,” returned the Scotsman with a rich rumble in his accent. “Don’t kid yourself about what you want. By the time you get your head out of your ass, it might be too late.”
Lucas wanted to scoff at the comments, laugh it off as an overreaction, but the earnest seriousness in his friend’s eyes made him pause. For a moment, it looked like Sam was talking from experience. Painful experience. Yet for the seven years that they had been close friends, Lucas had never heard him talk about a woman who could have caused that kind of damage.
“I don’t know what it is, or what I want, to be honest,” Lucas finally admitted, digging his hands into his pants pockets.
“We’ll, don’t take too long to figure it out.”
Then Sam was gone, walking into the house and leaving Lucas with more to think about than he really wanted to. He walked purposefully across the lawn and opened the shed using the security code. The space was brightly lit by overhead lights and the large wall of windows facing the lake. It was also warm and a little muggy, though he could see that all the windows were open. Alex was standing near the back of the space wearing a tank top and yoga pants with her sneakers. Her skin glistened with moisture from the heat. She was standing in front of a large workbench, but looked up when the door closed behind him. Her eyes were bright with girlish excitement.
“You should have told me how hot it is in here. I would have gotten you a fan,” he said walking toward her.
“It’s fine,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand. “You’re just in time.”
“For what exactly?”
“It’s done,” Alex stated, turning back to the bench. “I’ve finished it.”
Lucas stopped beside her and looked down at the collection of machinery on the work surface.
“Here it is, the Magnus Cicada 2.0. I’ve just finished a fourth round of bench testing for everything; the gas engine, generator, charger for the batteries, the power converter, and the electric motor,” she explained, pointing to each component along the drivetrain.
“Wow, Alex! That’s fantastic,” he replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You’re done ahead of schedule.”
“I’m actually behind schedule,” she countered, looking up at him with those sparkling brown eyes. “I had planned to be finished last weekend, just to be safe. But the defective wiring set me back a bit. I was a little panicked over the last few days, to be honest.”
“You have been buried in here since the new supplies arrived. Only stopping to eat and sleep.”
Alex turned to face him, pursing her lips mischievously and placing her hand over the hard slabs of his chest. Lucas couldn’t contain the shiver that tingled down the center of this stomach at the light touch.
“I’ve made time for other things, too,” she noted. “Very laborious, time-consuming things. Maybe you need a reminder?”
Her exuberance at finishing the project was great to see and very infectious. Lucas had been very careful to keep their intimacy confined to her bedroom at night like a clear line between business and personal. But now he found it very hard to resist her teasing, tempting smile and the feel of her hand on his body. It was so easy and natural to wrap his arms around her back and pull her into a deep, arousing kiss. She responded immediately, using her lips and tongue to skillfully pull him deeper into a thick cloud of arousal.
“Hmm, that does ring a bell,” he groaned while pulling her even tighter against his body.
Her abdomen rubbed deliciously against the hard throb of his erection.
“How about this?” she whispered before reaching down to stroke over his fullness with the palm of her hand.
His knees weakened.
Shit, she is dangerous.
Lucas kissed her again with hot intensity, losing himself in the spontaneous moment, forgetting everything around them, including the dangerous threat lurking in the shadow. A threat hell-bent on destroying everything Alex had worked so hard to build.
“Alex,” he muttered, pulling his mouth off hers in a moment of sanity. “We can’t do this. Not here.”
His words didn’t stop her lips from trailing over his chin and down his neck, or still her hands from an effective exploration of his rigid length through his clothes.
“Lex,” he repeated, part groan, part plea.
“Okay, okay,” she finally conceded reluctantly. “I was hoping we could celebrate, that’s all.”
He smiled at how cute her disappointment sounded.
“How about I have Ned pick up some pastries from the café and we’ll crack open a bottle of wine. There’s a few good options in the pantry,” he suggested, tilting her face up by her chin. “And we can have our own private celebration after hours.”
“I suppose that will do,” she accepted with a big, dramatic sigh.
CHAPTER 24
Pemberton, B.C., was located about twenty minutes north of Whistler. It was a quiet, quaint village at the base of Mount Currie that somehow managed to maintain the look and feel of the Old West. Alex, Lucas, Ned, Sam, and Renee arrived late Friday afternoon over one week later, after a quick flight back to Toronto on the seaplane, then a long haul on a private chartered flight right into the local airport. When they landed, there were two big, rented pickup trucks waiting for them in the parking lot, providing transportation to one of the rustic chalet-style hotels.
The Magnus racing car arrived just after noon on Saturday in a fully outfitted race team transport truck. It was a Subaru WRX STI, painted yellow and black. Alex met the delivery at a local auto shop in which Lucas had arranged the use of one of their service bays and equipment to assemble the car. Lucas, Sam, and Renee traveled with her for security while Ned stayed back at their hotel to monitor the area for potential threats. They had checked in under the aliases that Lucas has set up, but the Fortis team remained vigilant just in case.
Adam North arrived at the hotel on Sunday morning. Though they had communicated frequently through the design and build of the lithium-ion batteries, Alex hadn’t seen him for almost a year. It was an awkward reunion under the circumstances.
“Did you really share our design with your wife, Adam?” Alex finally asked several hours later.
They were both standing under the hoisted car, connecting the drivetrain to the control units. Adam was a quiet, intense man who listened more than he spoke. He continued to work on the wiring, until Alex thought he wasn’t going to respond.
“Never mind, it’s none of my business,” she eventually added. “This whole thing must be a nightmare for you. The last thing you need—”
“No, it’s okay,” he finally stated, letting out a deep sigh as he lowered his arms to place them on his hips. “You deserve an answer, Alex. The truth is, I don’t really know. Susie knew I was working on a project for you, and we talked about what we’d do with the fee. We wanted to move out of the city and buy a house, and at one point she questioned whether I had negotiated for enough money. But it’s not like I sat her down and showed her the design specs.”
He looked so confused and despondent.
“I talked about the battery a little, but she’s never shown any real interest in my work,” he continued. “She’s a product manager for a marketing firm. Physics and engineering stuff usually made her fall asleep. It never occurred to me that she would understand the value of the battery design beyond racing. I didn’t even realize that she knew people at the racing club. It always felt like she was going to the events reluctantly.”
“So, she did steal it,” Alex confirmed.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what it boils down to,” Adam finally agreed. “She had a copy of the early concept and figured that if she committed to another buyer, I would have no choice but to build them a prototype also.”
“Wow, Adam. That sucks.”
“Yeah, it does,” he agreed in a quiet voice.
“What are you going to do?”
He let out another deep sigh.
“Beyond this week? I have no idea. We’ve had to pay you guys back the original fee to cover the damages Susie caused. But at least she’s not going to jail over it.”
“Well, the battery you built for us is just the tip of the iceberg, Adam,” Alex assured him. “That’s part of the reason I wanted you to help me prep for the race. Once you see it perform in my hybrid, I have no doubt you’ll be able to come up with other configurations that will drive the market forward.”
“Maybe, but quite honestly, that’s the least of my worries,” he replied.
Alex nodded and decided to leave the man alone with his concerns as they went back to work.
What did you do once your spouse was so driven by greed that they violated your trust so completely? Could a relationship survive something like that? She was the last person to have answers for a question that big. Alex hadn’t even been able to figure out how to let down her guard and be her true self in a relationship.
Lucas knew exactly who she was, almost from the beginning. And he continued to want her, weeks later, now sharing her hotel room in Pemberton. Alex wasn’t certain their situation could be described as a relationship in a meaningful sense. But it wasn’t purely casual anymore, at least not for her. At some point during the stay in the lakefront cottage, their time together became a friendship, somehow enhanced by their intimacy. She was completely honest and genuine with him, in a way she had never been with anyone before, including Shawn. It was an unnerving realization.
Almost as uncomfortable as the thought of what would happen in a week, after the Sea-to-Sky race and the official product launch of the Magnus Cicada electric-drive hybrid. Was there the chance of something more between them, or would they politely go their separate ways? Alex had no idea. She was just starting to accept her own feeling and desires, and had never developed instincts to read what Lucas may want.
Since Niles, Randy, and Bobby were still working on the Magnus gas engine race car, Fortis had arranged for a hired driver to join the Cicada race team. David Ferguson arrived Sunday night. He was a DaCosta Solutions employee with extensive experience providing logistical support in combat zones around the world. From what Lucas explained, this assignment was more vacation than work. Even though he was a little cocky, Alex couldn’t find fault with his knowledge or capabilities.
The road tests started on Monday, right on schedule, and went smoothly through the week. The first few runs were rough, requiring extensive tweaks to the drivetrain and connected mechanics. But, by Wednesday, Adam was recording results similar to their first tests almost eight weeks earlier. Friday afternoon, the Cicada had surpassed Alex’s projections. The reduction in weight along with a new power converter and higher-grade copper wiring provided higher torque and maximum speed capabilities.
Friday morning, the day before the racing event, Adam and David drove to Whistler in the transport truck with the Subaru, while Alex rode with Lucas and Ned in one truck. Sam and Renee followed in the second. They arrived in the town before eight o’clock, joining the dozens of other racing teams that were already parked and ready to register for the event.
“Marco arrived last night,” Alex stated as she watched their racing trailer stop to park a few blocks from race headquarters in the convention center. Sam and Renee pulled their truck up beside it, while Lucas drove her and Ned to a large hotel complex farther into the center of the village.
“Yeah,” Lucas agreed. “They have the Magnus trailer stationed in the north parking lot of the main building. We’re going to meet Marco at the hotel. He has arranged a press conference for three o’clock this afternoon to announce you’re entering the Cicada.”
Alex turned to face him from the passenger seat, looking confused.
“Is that a good idea? What about the people trying to find me, or destroy the motor?” she asked.
“That’s exactly why Marco needs to go public sooner rather than later,” Lucas explained, looking around at the crowded streets. “I guarantee you that the threat is already here. And they have exactly twenty-four hours to either steal the designs or destroy your hybrid again. Now that we have the motor here, and you’ve proven its capabilities, we have a short window to release some details. Then it will be much less profitable for anyone to pass the stolen technology as their own.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Alex agreed reluctantly. “But it won’t stop it from being destroyed.”
Lucas parked the truck in the parking lot at the back of the hotel and the three of them got out.
“Well, that’s where our decoy comes in,” explained Lucas as he and Ned took their overnight bags out of the cab. “As far as anyone knows, the only car registered to Magnus is sitting in their branded trailer, along with the design schematics stored on a virtual private network. Once we get you checked in here, Ned will stay with you, and I’ll be at the Magnus trailer to provide visible protection.”
Alex stopped, grabbing his arm while Ned walked ahead of them into the rear entry of the hotel. He seemed casual but she knew that he was armed and alert, just like Lucas and the other Fortis agents.
“You’ve set a trap,” she gasped. “Lucas, that’s crazy. You’re drawing them right to you!”
“They are here anyway, Alex,” he told her earnestly. “It’s been quiet for the last couple of weeks. Too quiet. I know the way these people think. While they may not have known where we were up to this point, they know exactly where Magnus is now. All we’ve done is point them in the direction that we want.”
She turned away, scrubbing her hands over her eyes, wishing Lucas was wrong but knowing deep down that he was right. Her stomach rumbled with fear of what seemed inevitable. What if Lucas and his team couldn’t stop them? What if someone got hurt or worse? What if it was Lucas?
“Alex, look at me,” he asked, taking her gently by the arm and turning her to face him. “Everything is going to be fine, I promise. This is what we do, and we’ve planned well for this day, and you’ll be safe here at the hotel. You have to trust me.”
“I do trust you,” she whispered, looking up into his face. “But promise me you’ll be careful?”
Lucas smiled.
“Does that mean you’re worried about me?” he teased, brushing his hand along her cheek.
“What can I say, you’ve grown on me,” Alex admitted, swallowing against the tight lump in her throat.
“Have I?”
They stared at each other for a long moment with the weight of unsaid words hanging heavily between them. Finally, Lucas leaned forward to brush his lips along hers in the softest kiss.
“Let’s finish this conversation later tonight, when we have a little more privacy,” he murmured while his mouth hovered a breath away from hers. “Now come. Let’s get you inside. You’ve just returned from an extended European vacation, remember?”
She let out a deep sigh, then walked with him into the hotel. Her mind was filled with everything he had told her about their plan, and her heart raced at the danger they all faced. It also drummed in her chest at the moment that had passed between them. Could Lucas feel the way she did? Like this thing between them was something deeper than they had been seeking? Like something long-lasting? Alex felt dazed by sudden, blinding clarity. She had fallen in love with Lucas Johnson.
In the hotel, they had booked a room for her on the eighth floor with connecting doors to a second room where the Fortis team would be based until after the event. Lucas put both their bags on the bed.
“Why don’t you stay here and relax for a bit. Maybe order up some coffee?” Lucas suggested as he followed Ned into the other room.
“Okay. Are you leaving now?”
“No, not for about thirty minutes or so. Ned and I are going to check in with Fortis headquarters to review the surveillance in the area,” he explained with a reassuring smile. “Don’t forget our security protocols, Alex. They apply here, too. Don’t go anywhere without Ned and keep your phone with you at all times.”
And then he was gone, leaving her alone with her tangled thoughts. She put her purse down on the dresser and turned on the television to a local news station broadcasting the lead-up to the races. After a few minutes, she took out her phone, reading the messages from Shawn, Noelle, and her brothers, all confirming that she was back in Canada. Alex also finally sent that e-mail to Jean Renaud letting him know she would have to turn down his invitation to dinner.
She was then exchanging texts with Marco when Ned returned to her room.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as he looked out the window down the busy center of the village.
“All’s quiet right now,” Ned replied.
“Marco says he and the racing team have rooms on the second floor. Are we going to join them?”
“We will later, before the press conference. It’s happening in one of the meeting rooms on the first floor,” he explained. “But we’ll stay here until then.”
“Did Lucas already leave?” she asked.
“No, he’s on a call,” replied Ned. “I need to get some more equipment from the truck. He’ll stay here with you until I’m back. Lock the door behind me.”
Alex put her cell phone down on the bed, then walked across the room to do as he instructed. She could hear the faint hum of Lucas talking from the other room and walked over to the connecting doors. Maybe if his call ended soon, they would have a few minutes alone before he left on this crazy mission.
She meant to knock on the door between the rooms but it was already open a crack and Lucas’s voice was more clearly audible. Alex paused for a second, uncertain of whether it would be rude to walk in. Just as she turned away, intent on waiting patiently until he was done, his words registered in her brain. She backed up to hover near the doorway.
“It was just supposed to be for the duration of this assignment. I thought I made that clear,” he stated, sounding a little annoyed. “I never agreed to any sort of commitment. Once this assignment is done, I’ll just have to tell her our arrangement is over.”
She leaned closer, pushing the door a little wider until she could see him standing across the room.
“Look, even if I wanted someone long-term, I’m not sure it would be her.”
He listened for a little.
“Maybe someone less difficult, for starters,” he shot back with exasperation.
Alex stepped back several steps, not wanting to hear any more. She turned toward her room without seeing anything except for a way to escape from Lucas and the sound of his voice ringing painfully in her ears.
“. . . if I wanted someone long-term, I’m not sure it would be her.”
With her blood pounding loudly in her head and her heart splintering into pieces, she grabbed her purse off the dresser and rushed out the door of her room. Alex didn’t have a plan but she was smart enough to remember the danger of their situation. She just needed a little space to think things through and figure how she had managed to read something between them that was clearly not there. And the last thing she needed right now was to have to see Lucas and pretend she didn’t know how anxious he was to end things between them.