The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [88]
Drake quickly eased to one window while Tori covered another. "It's Trev and Ashton," Drake said, lowering his gun and shielding his eyes against the brilliance of the rising sun that was flooding through the window.
"Yeah, but who're the other two men with them?" Tori asked, deciding not to lower her gun just yet.
Drake glanced over at her and grinned. "The younger one is Alexander Maxwell, private investigator extraordinaire, and a friend. The older gentleman is Jacob Madaris."
Tori snapped her head around and looked back out the window. She then glanced back at Drake with disbelief on her face. "Jacob Madaris? The Jacob Madaris? Wealthy rancher, investment genius, husband to movie star Diamond Swain-Madaris?" she asked, lowering her gun.
Drake chuckled. "Oh, I guess you've heard of him?"
Tori rolled her eyes. "Who hasn't? The man is a good friend of the president, although they belong to different political parties."
Drake shrugged. "So what of it? They're both Texans."
Tori shook her head grinning, knowing that Drake might pretend the relationship between Jacob Madaris and the president wasn't such a big deal, but she knew that it was. Over the past five years, she might not have had much of a social life, but she had kept pretty well informed by reading newspapers and magazines. Even before Jacob Madaris's marriage to movie actress Diamond Swain became news, he'd been a man who had influence in high places.
She couldn't help but check out the two men. Both were extremely good-looking. Jacob Madaris was tall, every bit of six-feet-seven or taller. He had dark eyes, chestnut colored skin, hair-a succulent blend of black and gray, and a hard-muscled body. He looked mature and sexy as hell. Everything about him said Texan, from the jeans and western shirt he wore, to the Stetson he had taken off his head.
Alexander Maxwell, she noticed, was also tall, handsome, and sexy, and where Jacob Madaris displayed an innate roughness, Alex appeared more debonair, definitely a business type. He was impeccably dressed in a chambray shirt, blazer, and starched blue jeans.
"Why do you think Trev and Ash brought them here?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Probably as additional security. Alex has former FBI connections and Jake owns the land that surrounds this place, and the men who work for him are good. They would alert him if they noticed anything suspicious and we need all the help we can get; especially if Cross has sent his top gun to bring us in."
Drake put his gun back in the holster. "Also Jake Madaris's contacts are out of this world and those just might come in handy."
Tori put her gun back in her holster as well. "So in other words, we can trust them."
Drake nodded as he crossed the room to the door. "Yes, implicitly."
Trevor Grant was the first to enter the cabin and his gaze immediately went to Tori. Barely giving Drake a nod, he quickly crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.
"Ash told me," he whispered softly, hugging her tight. "I can't believe you're alive. God, how on earth did you manage?"
Tori felt herself getting emotional, but with Trevor she had no choice. He'd had a sister, just a few years younger than her, and had always treated Sandy like a big brother.
"It's okay, Trev, and I did manage," she said in a choked voice. "I learned to survive without you guys, although it wasn't easy."
He released her and smiled down at her and she knew that, as Ashton had done yesterday, he was looking for something that had remained the same, but was finding everything had changed. "Well, we're damn glad to have you back," he said. "So what will it be? Sandy or Tori?"
She glanced across the room at Drake before meeting Trevor's gaze. "Tori. I'm Tori now."
A huge smile touched Trevor's lips. "Good enough, Tori. Now let me introduce you to two men who want to help."
Taking her hand, he led her across the room to the two men Drake had indicated were Jacob Madaris and Alexander