Undercover Passion

Fury sizzled all through her system. She’d never before come across anyone who could instantly turn her usual complacency to rage the way this man did. Turning on her heel, she meant to make a dramatic exit. The only problem was, her first target seemed to be a closet. She realized her error immediately, but not soon enough to hide it from Daniel.

He grinned, standing in her way with his arms crossed.

“I’m beginning to understand where you make your mistakes,” he told her, “and how you end up locked in places you shouldn’t go into. You see, this is a door, but it’s not the right door. This is a door to a closet. That is the door to the outside world. Not the same thing.”

She knew her face was bright red, but right now she didn’t care. She only wanted to get out of the room before she did something really stupid. Her hands were already balled into fists. What would he do if she took a swipe at his nose? Oh, was she ever tempted!

“Could you just please get out of my way?”

“Oh. Certainly.” He stepped back, but at the same time, a crew began rolling another bed into the room and they both had to stand against the wall to let them pass and maneuver the bed.

“So what are you doing now?” he asked her softly, his words covered by the commotion in the room. “Trying to go after me through my grandmother?”

“Go after you!” Her jaw dropped and her hands itched to grab something to throw at his head. She had to suffice with glaring daggers at him. “Of all the egos I’ve ever known, yours is the most inflated. It’s practically bouncing off the ceiling.”

The pretty redheaded nurse had come into the room along with the moving crew. Abby noticed her distractedly as she handed Phoebe a cup with pills in it and turned to go, pausing to glance at the other two, deep in their argument.

“Well, I don’t know,” Daniel was saying in what Abby thought was a truly insolent manner. “Evidence isn’t everything, but it sure can point in a direction and—”

“Evidence!” She jabbed her forefinger at his chest. “I’d say the evidence shows you were the one coming after me yesterday. Name one good reason why I would be going after you.”

The nurse shook her head and grinned as she passed them. “Just check out those biceps, sweetie. They’ll give you a clue.”

Abby whirled and glared at the woman, but she was disappearing through the doorway.

Daniel grinned. “See? Why would I be going after you when I’ve got beautiful redheads following me around?”

“Oh!” She tried to leave but the crew was wheeling the bed back out again. Something about a broken control button. So she contented herself with hissing at him out of the side of her mouth. “Just stay away from me, Mr. O’Callahan.”

“Fine. And you stay away from my grandmother.”

She turned her head so fast, her hair whipped around her face. “Your grandmother is a grown woman. She can have visits from any friends she wants.”

He shook his head, looking exasperated. “Why are you always talking back?”

“You can only talk back to an authority figure. And I don’t see one here.”