There was screwing up and then there was royally screwing things up, and this time he had definitely hit an all-time low. Jarrod holstered his gun as he pulled Mindy close to him. If there was going to be a firefight between the joint task force and the rogue members of the Swedish parliament, he needed to get Mindy out of there.
But as he nudged her to move back toward the kitchen and away from the fight, she refused to budge.
“Jarrod, is Arthur telling the truth? Were my brother and father really doing all that?” she asked, sounding broken.
He stared down the hallway at the joint task force. From what he could see, it looked as though the man at the front of the formation was definitely CIA, as was the man behind him. The next two appeared to be in a different kind of tactical gear, and their weaponry was definitely from UN. Behind them were members of the SAPO.
“From the looks of it, our investigation was only the tip of a much bigger iceberg.” He looked at Arthur. “He was right.”
“But I thought you said that the CIA sent you to investigate me? How did you not know about the rest of the operation?”
The blood drained from his face. The CIA had used him as their pawn and he had been too stupid to see their game for what it really was. And now he had to admit that he once again wasn’t the man she thought he was.
“I think they sent me to keep an eye on you. If they’d really been suspicious, you would have had CIA agents assigned to you. They must have wanted me to keep you out of danger during their raid on your family.”
“But…why?”
He sighed. “Like I told you, I’m a government contractor. STEALTH works for groups all over the world just like the CIA. And, as contractors, sometimes our job isn’t to know everything that is going on with a case. That’s why they call us in, to handle the odds and ends bits that could land them in hot water if they ever fell under investigation. As a contractor, we are held to different standards—especially when working internationally. We don’t have to play by the rules of the Geneva Conventions.”
“You make it sound like you are badasses.”
“And yet, here I stand in front of you looking like a chump.” He hung his head playfully before giving her his most melting smile.
“But what about the man in the city? The man in Anya’s music class? Was he a part of this, too?”
And the next hatchet fell. Crap. He had almost forgotten about the man and the life that was waiting for him when he got back home. “Mindy, you aren’t the only one with enemies. I think that man… Actually, I know that man was a member of a group called the Gray Wolves—a group that is actively targeting my family.”
“What?” She leaned back against the wall behind them.
From down the hall, Arthur called out to his men and they rushed the dining room, guns aimed at the men inside. There were the sounds of bodies being dropped down to the floor and handcuffs being clicked.
Thankfully, and almost surprisingly, there wasn’t the sound of a single round being fired.
Maybe the CIA didn’t want to pick up the tab for a rack of hundred-thousand-dollar bottles of wine.
Arthur’s mission appeared to be a complete success. Especially compared to STEALTH’s handling of the mess.
Though perhaps he was looking at their situation from the wrong angle. Instead of thinking of it as being played by the CIA, he had gotten a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend time with a woman who might be his soul mate.
“Who are the Gray Wolves?” she asked.
“When we were in Turkey on a mission for the CIA, we had a run-in with the Gray Wolves, a Turkish crime syndicate. My sister Trish was killed,” he said, emotion clogging his throat. “Well, we managed to take out a lot of their men…and cost the leader and his organization millions of dollars. As a result, they put out a hit on us.”
She nodded. “So the man in my apartment and the one from the music class—Gray Wolves? How can you be sure Zoey and Anya are safe?”
“The Gray Wolves don’t know about the Montana ranch. We’re very careful to keep it that way.” He gave her a feeble and apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, Mindy. I’m sorry that I have made your life such a disaster.”
“You did do that.” She took a long drink from the wineglass Arthur had handed her. She laughed as she caught Jarrod gawking at her. “Did you seriously think that I would let this good a wine go to waste? You really don’t know me.”
He laughed, thankful that she seemed to finally find some peace with the situation. If nothing else, perhaps they could be friends when they got back to the States.
She leaned in closer to him and he could smell the rich hues of strawberry and oak from the wine on her breath. “Another thing you may not know about me… I have a thing for men who are real.”
“You mean you like chumps?” he asked, looking deep into her green eyes.
“Not chumps,” she said with a little giggle. “But I’ve dated enough men who think they are the world’s greatest catch…men with more money than they even know what to do with…men who have no real drive in life. I love a man who can take his lumps and admit when he is wrong.”
“You mean you could love a man who would take you on a worldwide adventure, only to learn that he had screwed up from the very beginning?”
She leaned even closer to him, her lips on the cusp of his ear. “But wasn’t it one hell of an adventure?”
He couldn’t deny that fact. Looking back at his career, he’d never missed the mark on a case so badly before. However, this was probably the best case he had ever worked on.
She drew his earlobe into her mouth, giving it a light nibble as she kissed him. “And as far as loving you,” she said, letting go of his earlobe. “If you give me half a chance, I could love you until the end of time.”
A wide smile took over his face and he wrapped his arms around her, careful not to spill her glass of wine. “Why, Ms. Kohl, I think you’re declaring your love for me.”
“I know you warned against me calling you sir, and now I see why. If you call me miss one more time I’m going to have to take you upstairs and show you exactly how unladylike I can be.”
“Would you rather I call you Mrs.?”
Mindy smiled as she drew back slightly and looked up at him. “Will you marry me?”
“I don’t have a ring, and unlike The Bachelor I can’t give you the final rose. Well, I would, if I had one…” He stammered. Dammit, this was going all wrong. “What I mean is, yeah, I’d love to marry the hell out of you.”
She laughed, the sound mixing with the footsteps of the task forces and their detainees as they marched down the hall beside them.
As they walked by, Arthur gave them a wink. “I’ll see you guys back in the States. If you need anything, or have any questions, you know where to find me.”
Jarrod flipped the guy the bird as he laughed.
All he cared about now was Mindy. “Ms. Kohl, it appears as though we finally may have a bit of time alone.”
“And for the moment, it appears no one is trying to murder us.”
He laughed. “Are you going to be bored if no one throws nerve agents at us?”
She shook her head, a playful smile on her lips. “Is this what it’s going to be like, married to you?”
He couldn’t believe this was really happening, that in just a matter of moments his entire life had changed for the better. Even so, he couldn’t completely give in to the happiness.
“Are you sure that I’m what you want in your life? I mean, what about Anya?”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I know that you and your family are among the safest places that we could possibly be. But I’m going to need her approval. Oh, and she has to have a spot in our wedding.”
“But aren’t you going back to NYC? You have the company to worry about…and now that you’re down an assistant…”
“I have a feeling that we’re going to start moving in a new direction. But I’m not going to worry about any of that right now. Just like the rest of our lives—you and I are going to have to just figure this thing out as we go.” She ran her hand down his cheek as their gazes met. “Now, sir, take me upstairs and show me what adventure means to you.”