Scarlet Angel Collection

11. Neil's Return

Memories are funny things. When they are lost, they can be hard to find. But sometimes, they come back when you least expect them.

Memories are funny things. When they are lost, they can be hard to find. But sometimes, they come back when you least expect them.* * *

Scarlett"s chest ached. She could not remember ever having such a physical response to an emotion, and she didn"t even know why.

Universal Dynamics proved to be a rather tight-lipped organization. Her attempts to research their activities online turned up little more than positive news stories and press releases. At one point, she found a small, underground website dedicated to some conspiracy theory involving the company. For Scarlett, though, the idea of a secretive technofascist cabal buried deep in the history of the company was more than a little far-fetched.

Finally, she turned her attention to the one person whose name she knew, Derrick Martins. The search on Derrick turned up little more than his employer and title. He was also quite secretive about his personal life.

Scarlett stared at the screen displaying Derrick"s wedding announcement from five years ago and tried to understand why it upset her so much. She wiped at the tear rolling down her cheek and sniffled. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

She shoved herself away from the desk and went to the kitchen. As she filled a glass of ice with water, she watched the liquid pour into the cup. Her eyes focused on the stream.

The edges of her vision faded and darkness clouded around the water. She felt herself falling away until she was somewhere and somewhen else.

Around her, she saw a bedroom, familiar and yet, at the same time, not. A queen-sized bed covered in red satin sheets sat centered against the wall in front of her. The single window to her left was obscured by long, gauzy-white curtains. More than a dozen candles lit the room, creating a romantic glow. Where am I?

Where am I?Scarlett blinked. The stream of liquid slowed to a trickle then stopped. She watched as her own hands set down a small bottle and moved to the tanned form of the man beneath her. His oil-slick skin moved with her fingers as she massaged his tight muscles. With his face turned away, he moaned. That"s Derrick!

That"s Derrick!“I"m glad you decided to come over tonight.” The second voice was her own. “I know the stress of the test next week is getting to you. You snapped at Jonathan today and he really didn"t deserve it.”

Derrick moaned again. “Yeah, I know. I"ll apologize to him tomorrow. You would not believe the flak I"m getting from the director on this. We"re three weeks early on the test and he"s still giving me shit.”

“I know. I"ll tell you what… How about if we don"t talk shop anymore and I"ll do all the work tonight. Deal?” Her hand slid down his hips and slid around to his front. She felt a distant pleasure and a strong revulsion at the same time as her fingers wrapped around his flesh.

“Mmm… Sounds good to me. Deal.”

Scarlett started falling away again and everything faded to black.

The clang of the elevator jarred her back to reality. Her eyes snapped open. She found herself lying on the floor. What the? Crap, again?

What the? Crap, again?She jumped to her feet and saw the water still running into the sink of broken glass. Shutting off the faucet, she heard the metallic sound of the elevator coming down. Neil"s back early.

Neil"s back early.Her heart jumped in her chest at the thought of Neil walking over to her. She pictured him strolling across the floor, them engaging in idle chitchat and her offering to give him a massage to recover from his mission. She smiled at the thought of what that might lead to.

The lift came to a halt with a thump. What the hell am I thinking? I must be crazy. It was that strange flashback. Yeah, that"s what it was.

What the hell am I thinking? I must be crazy. It was that strange flashback. Yeah, that"s what it was.She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and set the computer to sleep. “Welcome back. How"d the job go?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Her head snapped around to see him storming across the room. His right arm shifted and his large black duffle fell onto the couch. He kept his other arm tucked under his jacket.

“What? What do you mean?”

Neil"s movements were stiff but he still reached her faster than she expected. His hand closed around her throat. The impact slammed her against the wall.

“Are you nuts? You just go traipsing around the Net researching your target, allowing anyone and everyone to see my I-P? Are you trying to get us killed? I thought you wanted to live through this!”

nutstryingScarlett struggled to breathe. “Wha? I didn"t know… I… can"t…”

His grip released. She reached up to clutch her neck.

The back of his hand smashed across her cheek. She bounced off the desk and onto the floor.

She looked up just as he pulled a pistol from behind his back. The muzzle centered on her forehead.

“You"ve endangered yourself, me, Cash and his whole family.”

Scarlett was too terrified to move. “What are you talking about? I didn"t find anything. It was just a general search.”

“You think they don"t know? You tripped search alerts all over the damn place. Now they know you"re alive.”

The potential consequences of her search registered. If they knew she was alive, they could trace her killer"s movements right to Ruby"s house.

“Give me one good reason I shouldn"t save them the effort and kill you right now.” The gun wavered.

Then she noticed it, the growing blossom of red on his shirt. Her eyes followed the stain down to the floor and all the way back to the elevator. “Because if you kill me you"ll die.”

Neil looked down at the growing puddle of blood at his feet. “Aw, fu…”

The weapon dipped and his hand went slack. Metal clacked against the concrete floor. Neil"s body followed, landing face first.

“Neil? Neil! s**t!”

Scarlet scrambled to him. A quick check showed he still had a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. She rolled him over onto his back and gasped. His once-white shirt was now bright crimson. The sickly wet cotton material clung to his skin.

“Oh s**t!”

Random, panicked thoughts raced through her mind. Forcing herself to focus, she tore open the shirt. A single dark hole oozed blood from just below his ribs.

Scarlett put one hand over the bullet hole. She shoved her hands into his pockets. “Dammit Neil, where the hell"s your phone?”

Every second that passed pushed him closer to death. She finally found the phone and hit the power button. In his contacts list she found the one set of initials she recognized. “Sorry Neil, but I gotta do it.”

She hit dial. “C"mon, c"mon!” The phone rang too many times. Scarlett started to worry that no one would answer. She sighed when the familiar voice finally replied. “Why are you calling me?”

“Cash, Neil"s in trouble. Get Ruby.”