Read Online Scarlet Angel by C. A. Wilke - Free Book Online

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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?
    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!
    “ 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?
    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.
    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.
    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!”
    Scarlett 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