11

 

Mia

 

I should be glad Alexei is treating me like an equal in all this and a tiny part of me is. But it’s dwarfed by the part that worries he’s not okay after what those guys did to him. I mean, where’s my possessive alpha, take-charge, throw-me-over-his-shoulder guy? And is he coming back? I want that guy to say, “Mia, you’re a fabulous spy.”

This Alexei is sweet and certainly not stupid, but he’s clearly hurting and I’m worried about him. So the sooner I can get him some trustworthy medical attention, the better. And then maybe I’ll be the one to tie him to a bed somewhere so I can keep him safe and out of trouble. I snort laugh at the thought of bossing Alexei around like that. He raises one aristocratic eyebrow in a way so familiar I choke up. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.

“Something funny?”

“Yes, thinking about how to keep you safe and out of trouble in the future. I guess barefoot and pregnant is out?”

“Not for you.” He says it so matter-of-factly, I almost miss the tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth. I roll my eyes in response.

“So, how are we calling for help? Neither of us have phones and there’s nothing in the room.”

“Front desk, I guess.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. I don’t even know what town we’re in. How am I supposed to explain that to whoever picks up the phone at ACI without sounding like an idiot who’s drunk too much fermented pineapple juice?

“Come here, Mia.” His order is stern but level.

I walk over to him cautiously from where I was pacing by the window. He pulls me down on his lap. He’s still weak. I can feel it in his arms, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he’s looking at me. “Stop worrying.”

I smile a bit sadly. Until yesterday it never occurred to me to worry about him, not really. Because he always seemed so confident and always knew just what to do.

Kissing him softly, I whisper in his ear, “I love you. I’m going to worry. Get used to it.”

When I turn back, his eyes are blazing. His hands clench on my hips. “You’d better get a lot of sleep tonight, Mia, because once I’ve over this crap I’m fucking you until I’m dry.”

“Promise?”

He grins. “Promise. And I love you too. You know that, right?”

“Doesn’t hurt to hear it ever few years.”

“Come on — let’s go make that phone call.”

There’s nothing to pack since we didn’t arrive with any luggage. And we ate all the food I bought last night, or at least as much of it as we were ever going to. Alexei and I walk back towards the lobby, retracing the route from yesterday. Everything looks different now with Alexei being fully mobile and where I’m not so worried about him passing out at my feet. I’m still spinning my head right and left, checking for any lurking bad guys, though.

The lobby is cool and calm. It’s empty of people. When I spy the clock on the wall half hidden by all the tiki warriors, I’m less surprised. It’s already after ten.

An older woman steps out from behind the beaded curtain this time, already armed with a gracious smile. Alexei asks to borrow the phone and I watch as he enters a flurry of digits, reads off our location from the brochure on the counter and then hangs up. Maybe I don’t really have a handle on this whole spy thing because he didn’t say anything else. Just the address. Who was he talking to?

He smiles slightly when he glances over at me, but doesn’t respond to any of the questioning vibes I’m radiating. He hands the woman our room key, saying, “Thank you. We appreciate your hospitality last night.” Then he takes my hand and leads me out through the main doors to wait in front of the building.

“Shouldn’t we wait inside? You know, out of public view?”

That eyebrow goes north again as he turns to look down at me. “Mia? What exactly is public about a private rural driveway completely obscured by vegetation?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. What about drones?”

“That would imply they already know where we are.”

Yeah, I guess that’s true. “So, who is coming for us? You didn’t say anything.”

“And I can’t now either. Someone will be here shortly.”

And he’s right. I’m not sure what I was expecting. More black SUVs or maybe a white panel van if they’re trying to hide in plain sight. I probably do watch too much TV because what arrives is a cranberry red sedan that’s at least twenty years old and looks like something only a grandma would willingly drive. I’m more shocked by that than I was by the nasty Russians (who would have fit right in my favorite TV show without having to even change clothes).

It’s not a grandma that emerges from the car though. It’s a really good-looking man, almost as handsome as Alexei, and I guess my sucked in breath didn’t go over so well in certain circles because Alexei’s muscle tone is much improved. Based on the arm tightening around my waist, anyway.

The man’s face is expressionless, but that just makes his chiseled jaw that much more architectural. He’s tall, an inch or so shorter than Alexei, but that’s nothing to complain about and his dark blond hair is just tousled enough to look natural. I wonder if it is?

“Price?” He asks in a deep baritone, again without inflection.

Alexei responds, “Affirmative.”

And that’s the extent of the conversation. Alexei opens the rear passenger door for me and shuts it once I’m seated. To my surprise, he gets in up front with the strange man instead of coming around to join me. The man hands him a narrow envelope.

Alexei flips through the contents as the car pulls out onto the small country road, sighs heavily and then tucks the envelope into the glove compartment. I’m dying with curiosity back here, but he doesn’t even turn around. I’m not sure what speaking up might do to the current dynamic so I stay silent as I assess. It worked with the bad guys but this is… different.

 

 

 

Alexei

 

This is going to be tricky. My only real option was to call a special hotline for extraction but that’s going to come at a price. Namely, extensive debriefing where Mia is likely to be considered dangerous collateral. That she’s even here with me now is almost certain to result in quite a bit of yelling.

I’m feeling much more myself but still not 100%. The first thing they’re going to try to do is separate us, and I’m not sure how much leverage I have to keep that from happening. Our escort, who I vaguely recognize as one of the Ellis brothers, but which one I couldn’t tell you, is sticking to the standard script. Which is, as anyone might guess, blank. Fuck.

If this were Vegas, I’d make him swing by a wedding chapel so we could get married now. That would at least afford Mia some legal rights. Maybe not enough, but they’d be more careful.

As it is, I’m going to have to use what little leverage I have. Briefly I look back at her from the reflection in the side mirror. She looks anxious and worried. She’s had a helluva few days. A better man would walk away from her. Let her move on to a more normal life without the drama.

I’m not that man. I’m selfish as fuck when it comes to Mia. And I’m willing to walk on broken glass to keep her safe, as long as it doesn’t involve letting her go.

We pull into an underground garage of a hidden luxury bungalow with million dollar views of the bay. You could be forgiven for thinking the government was wasting money. And it does every day but not on this kind of real-estate. I’d be willing to bet this was seized from some organized crime lord, whose arrest was kept quiet so all the locals would continue to stay away. Meanwhile, anyone stationed here gets crap government-issued coffee while lounging in luxury.

The engine shuts off and without a word, we exit the car. I help Mia out, dropping a kiss on her temple. “Relax, sweetness. It’s going to be okay,” I say quietly in her ear.

She swipes a skeptical look my way, but her mouth softens. We walk to the interior stairs and head up.

The kitchen is as you might expect — what qualified as extremely high-end from about ten years ago. Since it was probably only used a handful of times while the kingpin owned it, it looks weirdly brand new. A couple of other government official types are sitting around with open laptops and cellphones. They look up to eye me with interest, and those expressions universally switch to frowns when they spot Mia.

“Gentlemen, this is my fiancée. She’s not a part of any of this beyond what those idiots dragged her into yesterday, so treat her with respect. She’s not to leave these premises without my say so and I’ll be checking up on that every two hours at a minimum.”

“Hold on, Price. You’re not in charge of this…” he glances at Mia, “situation.”

“No, but I am in control of my cooperation and if you want it, Mia stays.”

They all show varying degrees of anger, annoyance, and amusement beneath the mask of stern calm that must be issued with a government badge. I know Mia would accuse me of doing the same, but it’s never felt completely natural. And I can’t wait to have time to scrub it off.

“Fine. Ma’am? Come with me, you can watch TV in the back room.”

“What if I don’t want to watch TV?” Mia sounds annoyed at his condescension.

“Then don’t watch it but the volume has to stay up as you’re not allowed to hear anything that’s discussed here.”

“Oh.” She nods and follows him down the hall, giving me one wide-eyed glance over her shoulder.

“Boys? Let’s get this over with.”

There’s no denying it’s a long day. A doctor shows up to give me a once over and take some blood to analyze. My guess is they won’t find anything, but I’m happy enough to have them look. And I’d prefer the all clear before I fuck Mia again because contaminating her with something would be the proverbial nasty cherry on top.

It’s also not too much longer before they realize they need Mia’s input after all. One of the guys goes back to get her, and she follows him into the spacious living room, looking anxious. She relaxes when she sees me and hurries over to where I’m sitting on the couch. I waste no time pulling her down on my lap.

“Price? Seriously?” One of the agents scowls with disdain.

“Yes. Ask your questions fast so we can get out of here and your heart doesn’t spasm with shock,” I say dryly. “Mia? You know more than I do about what happened yesterday. They need to ask you some questions.”

She nods while trying to edge off my lap, but I lock her down. I’m going to make damn sure everyone here knows that if they mess with her, they’ll be facing my wrath.

Mia tells them everything she remembers and they manage to drag a few more details out of her that she hadn’t thought to mention. They look a little shocked when she blithely tells them how fast she can hot wire a car. I’m tempted to have her show them, but that would just be petty. I do want to know where she learned to do that though, later. When they’re done with all the questions, I lean down to give her a smacking kiss. “Proud of you, Mia.”

She beams so brightly I’m ready to drag her into the nearest bedroom and show her just how proud I am. But not until I get the results of the damn blood test.