Felix hadn’t slept a wink. There were too many unknowns—which were getting cleared up today whether Arabella liked it or not.
He hauled his ass out of his Hummer in the new morning light, the bite to the air fully waking him up. He’d beat Arabella to the office but not Winter. Good. He wanted to ask her a few questions too.
“Good morning.” She was in her office that was positioned straight back off the main entrance on the second floor. She set her pen down, clearly also ready for their overdue conversation. “I did my homework. Your name never came up.”
It wouldn’t have. The work they’d done, both separate and together, was sensitive in nature, and details of team members and missions weren’t readily dispersed. “Since when do we hire people without consulting the team?” Or me.
“You’ve been . . . checked out for a while. I didn’t want to add to your plate.”
“My plate has room for hiring decisions.”
He’d admit he’d been a tad preoccupied dwelling on the fact that his life sucked and nothing felt quite right these days, but, shit, that didn’t make him incapable of doing all parts of his job.
“She came very highly recommended.”
“I’m sure she did. She’s good at what she does. But I doubt you got the full picture of what she’s capable of.” Even he still wasn’t sure what lengths Arabella would go to for what she thought was right or to complete an assignment.
“Enlighten me.” Winter leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other, daring him to make her regret her decision.
He couldn’t do that. Arabella was a fine operator—one he’d depended on countless times. What he questioned was her motivation for seeking out Winter. For showing up at all.
“She has dual citizenship, so she works for the United States and Italy. Spying mostly. But she’s also trained in explosives and combat. Most of her missions, like mine, are classified counterintelligence.”
“Is that how you met?”
“I was in with this warlord, Andre, in South Africa, and she came in and nearly blew my entire operation.”
The first time he’d seen Arabella, she’d been in a creamy ruffle dress—like a country goddess.
He’d been working Andre for two months—three if you counted the research and prep that had gone into setting up the initial meeting. Felix was close to setting up Andre’s take out by his enemies—who, coincidentally, happened to be friendlies to the United States and who’d been deemed less a threat. Then one morning, in walked a golden-skinned beauty with piercing brown eyes he’d never forget.
He’d swear to all things holy there’d been a white light behind her when she’d looked him dead in the eye. A torch had been lit deep in his belly, and there’d been no way that he’d felt such a strong connection and she’d felt nothing. Then she batted her eyes at Andre, and all the fucking guy wanted to do was show her around and tell her anything she wanted to know. Felix couldn’t even remember the lame-ass reason she’d given for being in Andre’s camp, but it hadn’t mattered. Andre was notorious for his womanizing, and he’d taken a quick liking to Arabella’s physical appearance. And she’d been into Andre’s, which made Felix suspicious. He didn’t often compare himself to other men, but hell, he was way better looking and built than the other guy and she hadn’t looked twice at him.
He’d worked back channels to find out if anyone else was running an op in the area—lo and behold, Arabella’s handler hadn’t been informed of Felix’s mission. Andre being a top priority in the area, she’d been sent in. Felix had rolled with the punches, and she’d been in and out with the information it had taken him ninety days to get close to. Talk about a kick in the nuts to his ego.
“And you still became friends?” Winter studied him closely, disbelief clear in her eyes.
They’d worked together for five-plus years already counting their time in the Middle East and she knew he didn’t get off on people crowding his territory. The mission came first—it always had—but he’d been known to put people in their place when they were out of line.
“We became more than that.”
Winter was like a sister. It didn’t feel all that weird telling her more than he told others. Even so, there were still some details he’d keep to himself.
“I see.” Her brow arched. She could fill in the blanks on her own.
“She’s in town for more than this job. She hasn’t been to this side of the country in years.” He took a deep breath. If there really was a powerful man with resources out to kill him, he didn’t want his team to be ambushed. “There’s one more thing.”
“Oh-kay.”
“I haven’t confirmed it yet, but there might be some people after me. To kill me. So be more vigilant in case they decide to go after innocents.”
Winter sat up straight. “Who and why?”
“Darek. A sheikh who lost a lot of money and uranium because of me.”
“When?”
“Four years ago. Remember when I would leave for periods of time and not tell anyone where I was? I was undercover in the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the reason I was in Louis’s unit was for cover and access to the area.” He shook his head. “If that cocky bastard Darek just would’ve listened, he’d have been able to keep most of the money that was confiscated.”
“How do you know he’s after you?”
“Arabella told me last night before I followed her here.”
“How would she know?”
“I’m not sure it’s true yet. But she does have her hands in a lot of pots.”
The woman was good at what she did—her specialty was keeping her contacts intact and bountiful. People loved to love her.
“Can I look into anything for you?”
“I could use help seeing if he’s in town, or his men. I don’t know who he hired.”
She scribbled down a name and location on a notepad. “You guys are meeting with a Mr. Parsa Bahman, who,” she checked her cell phone, “hails from Oman. Be careful. This might not be a coincidence.”
The country of Oman bordered Saudi Arabia, and Darek had many contacts in the vicinity. “Few things are.”
She handed him a folder with the particulars on Mr. Bahman—photo, where he was staying, why he was in town, places he needed to go, and any known threats.
There had been a Bahman on Darek’s payroll in the finance arena, but Felix had never gotten a look at the guy or a first name. Darek liked to keep business segmented as much as possible. Not much intel from the United States or any of its allies had ever been collected on the man who dealt in dirty money, weapons, and uranium, so Felix had submitted his findings, and they’d probably been put in a file somewhere—one he’d never been able to see. After his mission concluded and his debriefing wrapped up, his commanding officer had sent him back to Louis’s unit, and he’d never heard more about it.
He stood to leave just as Arabella came through the front door. Great. He definitely wasn’t waking up from this nightmare any time soon, and she looked fantastic. Hair up in a ponytail, an army green version of the same cargo pants from last night, long-sleeved shirt to match, and boots. She was one stylish she-devil. And those curves—why he hadn’t indulged last night was beyond him. The sex was always mind-blowing. But what he really missed was waking up to her—her long hair covering his arm and shoulder and her naked body curled into him. She’d look up at him with her innocent, brown-orange, sleepy stare and lazy smile . . . It’s hard to hide emotions when you’re waking up from a deep sleep, and in those few seconds, no matter what had happened or what the future held, he’d found a calmness he had never experienced anywhere else. Knowing that someone really and truly was in your corner changed a man. At least it had for him. He’d thought about the future, a family, and growing old. Fate or life or bad fucking luck had had other ideas and royally screwed up everything he’d dared to dream about.
“Good morning.” Arabella’s gaze now was not so innocent. Not so innocent at all.
He didn’t bother stopping to exchange pleasantries—he had none to give. They could do their talking on the road. “Let’s go.”
She pivoted and followed. “Where are we going?”
“Downtown.”
“Any specific place in mind?”
He stopped short and she nearly bumped into him. “Your hotel.”
“And why is that?”
Her brow arched, and a smile tugged at her lips, clearly goading him. He swore under his breath. If he’d wanted to, he’d have taken her last night when she’d been naked and offering in his bed. He was not going to get sucked into her web again. They were done. When whatever the fuck this was was over, she was definitely signing divorce papers. He didn’t need their commitment and strings controlling his future—he needed to let her go once and for all.
“It’s where our new client is.” He kept his expression devoid of emotion. “One that I’m sure you’ll be very interested in.”
They loaded up, grabbing bulletproof vests from the back of his vehicle and extra clips for their weapons. He had a small armory at his disposal like any good operator would—some Wyn Security had provided, but most of the hardware was his own private collection. What wasn’t surprising was that Arabella came prepared with a set of knifes, two handguns, and a taser strapped and hidden around her body. The taser was new to her arsenal since the last time he’d seen her gear up. He hated those fucking things, but they could get the job done in close quarters.
“You drive around with all of this out in the open?” She put on a black windbreaker with block lettering on the back that read: WYN SECURITY.
“It’s hidden, and my windows are tinted.”
“You could take down a small country.”
He re-holstered his favorite Beretta underneath his jacket. “Get in.”
Why the hell did she have to be as beautiful as she was dangerous? He should’ve cut all ties with her a long time ago. They hadn’t had a conventional marriage, not since the first year, but it had been what worked for them. Sort of. If you counted barely seeing each other or not getting along most of the time a success. Which he didn’t. And especially not now. Now was his chance to let her go.
Saying the word divorce out loud last night had been cleansing to his system, the start of moving on. Fuck. They weren’t the same people who’d fallen helplessly in love all those years ago.
He drove over the bridge and headed north on the interstate.
“Tell me the story you concocted so we can start getting to the truth.” He was going to stay calm and collected today. He was not going to yell—he’d promised himself.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Have you decided what you’re going to do about Darek’s men?”
“I haven’t decided if he’s a real threat.”
“You seriously aren’t going to listen to me?”
“Would you?”
“Yes.”
“Then no.” He side glanced her way. She was looking at him like he was a defiant child. “I’m looking into it on my own.”
Silence covered a very long two miles. Nope. There’s more to it. There has to be.
“I know what you said last night. And I know you’re sticking to your story today.” He didn’t bother to look at her—she was going to tell him whatever she had planned. His only hope was that she messed up or gave him more than she wanted to. “What’s not working for me is that you show up warning me of Darek when I’ve heard no other chatter from sources I had set up for that very reason, and then I catch you going behind my back and getting a job where I work, for which you also have no good reason. You’re banking up a lot of ideas and lies, Nox.”
“What? I’m not allowed to care about you?” Her voice was a little muffled because her head was turned toward her window. He couldn’t tell if her tone was sincere or sarcastic.
“I didn’t say that.” He exited the freeway into downtown heading for the Westin.
“Sure sounded like it.”
“You know very well these events are suspicious.” Great. Now he was on the offense. “Answer me this one question: Is it just me who is in trouble, or is it you, too?”
He’d done the math in his head and gone over countless reasons she would’ve knocked on his door—picked the lock rather. There were only two. He didn’t think her entire story was a lie; he just didn’t think it was the whole truth either. Not after she got a job through Winter and not him. Really, the whole job thing was bizarre—what in the hell was her angle with that move?
He stopped at a light and turned in his seat to face her.
“It’s you.” She leveled her gaze dead into his eyes.
Eye twitch. Shit. He kept his stare on her for a few more seconds before nodding once and facing the road again. He gritted his teeth. She was in trouble and not willing to tell him about it.
“Tell me about the client downtown.” She shifted in her seat toward him and crossed her legs. Now he had her full attention.
“He needs extra security for a couple of meetings today and tomorrow, and then he’s heading back home.”
“And why is he interesting to me?”
“He’s from Oman and his name is Parsa Bahman.”
She nodded, her expression steady. He couldn’t tell if the name registered with her. Dammit. He gripped the steering wheel harder and drove into the underground parking lot. Her ordeal could have nothing to do with Darek—that name could’ve been merely to get his attention.
He parked and grabbed the client folder Winter had given him. He leafed through it, handing Arabella a couple of sheets on locations she’d have to check out tonight while he took others. That would also give him time to follow her again. Whatever she did in her off time he needed to know.
The amber and floral scent that followed her everywhere had spread to his vehicle. He’d probably never get rid of the smell now, even when she was long gone. And she would leave, whether she gave him a divorce or not.
He already couldn’t eat vanilla ice cream because it held a faint reminder. Now he was going to have to trade in his Hummer.
“Follow my lead. No going off on your own.” He reached for his door handle.
“Sure thing. Boss.”
She fell in step with him as they made their way to the conference room the client had reserved. Apparently he liked a home base besides his personal room.
“Mr. Bahman?” Felix asked as he opened the door and let Arabella pass through. Her shoulder brushed his chest, and an icy cold spike burned his spine.
Two men stepped between Felix and the man in a suit that probably cost more than Felix made in a month. Bahman spoke in a foreign tongue, and the guards relented.
“We’re here from Wyn Security. I’m Felix, and this is Arabella.” He reached out and shook the boss’s hand.
“This is Erfan and Javed. You’re here to assist them at locations other than the hotel.”
Felix watched closely to see if either Bahman or Arabella hinted that they knew who the other was—there was nothing. She was really going to make this hard on him—not only did they have to work side by side, trusting that if something went wrong, they had each other’s back, but she was also leaving him to put together a jigsaw puzzle of an all-black picture.
He was not only gaining a client today, but also a lying spy partner he had to keep an even closer eye on.
• • •
“Good night.” Arabella smiled at Javed and out of the corner of her eye caught Felix stop mid stride and face them.
She grinned internally. The alpha protection switch had flipped in Felix, and the sour look on his face was death to Javed. She laughed to herself—damn, that man was hot lava in a muscular, six-foot-five body. She loved how his chest puffed out a little when he thought someone was flirting with her. He’d been doing that all day—an action that had repercussions in her mind. Felix couldn’t be serious about a divorce if he was still that jealous of other men around her.
Arabella grabbed out of her pocket the papers that he’d given her that morning. “I’m going to go check out my locations.”
Felix eyed her up and down. The act was normal, but the way he lingered on certain spots heated her skin. Everywhere. She wanted him to do more than just look. If he wrapped her up into his thick body and held on tightly while pressing his lips to hers, she wouldn’t object. Watching him work all day had turned her on. She hadn’t seen his action side in years. Felix had always been the strong, silent type, but when alertness and vigilance were added to the mix, he was nobody she’d ever want to mess with. Outside of the bedroom, that is—that attentiveness was fire between the sheets.
He’d called her out on her story this morning, but her best bet was to stick with what she’d told him—once she started backtracking, he’d know for certain she hadn’t been totally truthful.
“See you in the morning.” She called to Felix and watched his fine ass walk through the rotating doors and, for a moment, thought about yelling after him.
He’d call her crazy and stop her from following through with the new plan she’d worked out while they guarded Parsa during various meetings when the discussions were too low for her to overhear. Unfortunately. But she knew who Parsa was. If Felix stopped her new strategy, Parsa would get away, and Darek’s men would know exactly where she was. And Felix. Which was unacceptable. Felix could keep his Boy Scout ways intact—her lines had never been black and white. Darek wasn’t going to leave Seattle alive.
It’s now or never. She quickly stepped to catch up to the tall guard with bulging muscles for arms who had been sneaking glances at her every chance he’d gotten. She’d scoped out the conference room but had no idea what the room situation upstairs was like, so she had to catch Parsa while he and his guards were downstairs.
“Hey, Javed.” She batted her eyes a couple of times, luring him into a false sense of security. “Wait up.” She jogged to the smiling dope and followed all three men into the small room and pulled the door tight behind her. “What are you doing later to unwind?”
Javed was definitely a leg dude—she knew because he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off hers. She locked her gaze on to his, swung her hips, and ran her palms up the sides of her thighs as she marched straight for him. He was going to be her first takedown in the room—a target didn’t get easier than him.
His goofy smile stayed in place until she was within a few feet of him and didn’t stop. She kneed him in the groin before he could react. As he bent over with a squeal, she used the butt of her gun to hit him on the base of his head to knock him out.
She pivoted to her right as Erfan was closing in on her, gun drawn. The thing about a gun is that it shoots from a distance, so why people felt the need to get closer and closer to their target was beyond her—all that did was allow her to take the gun away.
Parsa had yet to do anything, as he was blocked into the room and she hadn’t clocked a weapon on him all day.
She switched her gun to her left hand then swept her right arm across her front to hit Erfan’s wrist supporting his gun. His grip was tight enough that the gun didn’t go flying, but she used the opportunity to punch him in the face—aiming her cut upward to break his nose. Blood was quick to run down his face. She snatched his gun, tucking it in the back of her waist and ordered him on the ground by his passed-out counterpart. He dove for her legs, but he wasn’t fast enough. She hit him over the head with the butt of her gun and he fell to the floor, unconscious. In another country, she might’ve been able to kill them or leave them for the dogs to find, but the United States wasn’t exactly lenient on murder. Although she’d decide how much laws meant to her once she had Parsa to herself. She was fighting for her life, and anyone associated with Darek was bad news for more than just her. These men killed innocent men, women, and children all the time in the name of greed and power.
“Stay right there, Parsa.” She pointed her gun at his face. “Sit down.”
He sat hard in a plain hotel chair, his face wrinkled with worry, and his hands a little shaky. For a man who’d been running around town all day conducting high-powered, super-secret meetings with equally sketchy looking people in black suits, he didn’t put up a fight.
She used plastic cuffs to tie Erfan and Javed together, taking Javed’s gun and assorted other objects they had on them. Then she tore a tablecloth into a couple of strips and used it to tie gags around the two men’s mouths. The best-case scenario was Felix would find them in the morning. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen. By chance or on purpose, Felix would know what was happening long before daylight broke.
She took their cell phones and slid them into her handy leg pockets. “Let’s go.” She waved her gun toward Parsa to get him up and moving. They had to get out of the room in case someone reported all the commotion.
The end of her gun stuck into his ribs. “Nothing fancy, or I kill you.”
“You must be a crazy lady.” He adjusted his gray tie and buttoned his black suit jacket as he stood.
“You’re about to find out.” She pushed him forward and hung the “do not disturb” sign on the door handle to buy herself some time. “You and I are going to have a little chat about who you work for. It can be as friendly or not as you’d prefer.”
She twisted his arm and shoved him into the elevator, pushing the button for parking with the hand that wasn’t holding a gun trained on his kidney.
“We’ll see about that.”
“Shut up.” Arabella used the butt of her gun to whip Parsa on the neck. He fell forward unconscious on the pavement in the underground garage. One quick sweep of the floor told her no one would be calling 911 on her anytime soon. It was also mighty convenient of him to stay at the same hotel she was in. She’d remember to thank him later.
So glad I switched to a car this morning. Normally, Felix knowing what she drove would be the most boring detail ever—tonight it meant she could lose his tail. There was no question in her mind he was staking out the entrance of the garage waiting to follow her. Learning from mistakes was a strong suit of hers—she wouldn’t be making last night’s rookie one again.
She hefted her prisoner off the ground and, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, managed to stuff him in the backseat. She took plastic cuffs from one of her cargo pockets and cuffed him just in case he didn’t stay asleep for the entire trip.
She’d been mentally testing this plan all day—ever since she’d found out whom they were protecting. It wasn’t by chance he was staying in her hotel. She was sure of it. Parsa wasn’t one of Darek’s hit men, but he was one of the main finance men to the family. As a side to money, he also negotiated deals. Deals like hit men and teams to recover stolen secrets. If she could take care of all of this before Felix returned home, she wouldn’t have to involve him—and he wouldn’t find out the truth after all.
The one possible, and basically inevitable, snag in her plan was where she was going to take her captive. But weak or not, it’s all she had. She drove through Seattle into a small subdivision and turned down the familiar street.
Her new car mate groaned from the backseat, and she stepped on the gas pedal. Answers were in her grasp now. Darek had sent goons to retrieve what she’d stolen from him, and nothing was going to stop her from discovering their location. If she played her cards right, she might even be able to go on the offensive—something she hadn’t been able to do in four months. A smile tugged at the ends of her lips. She preferred to be in control.
• • •
Felix waited for Arabella’s Jeep to appear from the parking garage—there was only one way in and out. He checked his watch again. One hour. What in the hell had she been doing for an hour? She’d told him she was headed out to vet the locations for tomorrow. Her Jeep hadn’t left. No one with her swagger had walked out either.
You lazy sonuvabitch. She’d been caught last night because he’d followed her. There was no way she’d think he was going to leave her alone tonight. Yep. Dammit. She’d switched vehicles or found another ride out to get to wherever she really wanted to go. He wasn’t dealing with a criminal who fell back on easy plans. He was dealing with fucking Arabella, who on a bad day could outsmart him. This whole crazy thing she had going on was probably taking her game to a whole new level. One where he could only pray she’d make some mistakes
He hoofed it to the main hotel entrance. Bahman and his men were probably upstairs in their suite, but something nagged at him to check their downstairs meeting area. If the conference room was empty, he’d call up just to make sure all was clear, then head home. Bahman had scheduled them for an early day tomorrow—that didn’t leave her too much time to do damage tonight.
Arabella had been awfully non-combative today. He’d taken it as introspection about her future in normal-people work, but she could’ve been hatching a new plan. Fuckity fuck. I’ve been out of this game for too long. At the top of his career, he’d noticed shit like that on the spot and known what it meant. He hadn’t had to wait in a fucking, cold vehicle for an hour to finally get the message. Maybe he was getting too damn old to go back under. Thirty-five—when a person was past his prime in most sports and military merk shit.
A white tag hung from the door, but he opened it anyway—hand on his holstered gun. The room was dark; he flipped on the light and was assaulted with the sight of two grown men tied together and thrashing about in a poor attempt to break the little plastic ties that bound them. Naturally, they started yelling at him to untie them He almost turned the light off and closed the door behind him, leaving them to fend for themselves. He had bigger problems.
“What the hell happened?” He pulled his knife from his ankle sheath.
“Your bitch, that’s what.” The pretty boy who’d been checking out that bitch all day wasn’t so enamored anymore.
Felix wanted to deck the asshole, but for now he had to get more answers than it was Arabella. He already fucking knew that.
“Did you get any information?” He easily cut through their cuffs.
“Your boss will hear about this.” Javed’s terse words were redundant as the two hustled out of the room.
Their boss would be hearing about the incident as well. Bahman wasn’t the type of man who was heading up his own operation—that much was clear from interactions today. Whoever was messing with Arabella was in tight with Bahman—or at least she thought so.
He dialed Winter.
“Hey, Felix,” she answered on the first ring.
“Arabella took Parsa Bahman.”
Winter was going to find out sooner or later—better to be sooner for all their sakes. God, he felt like throwing up. He probably should’ve kept the bodyguards locked up for a tad bit longer.
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know where.” The conference room held nothing of value, and Arabella sure as shit wasn’t going to leave a note telling him where she’d gone, so he took the next elevator up to her room. It would be stupid and crazy to keep a hostage in a hotel room—especially one with your name on it—but he was going to check while he was here. Who knew where the fuck her mind was at. This was a new one for her—as far as he was aware, she’d never kidnapped someone before. “She’s not that familiar with Seattle. We only came here once together to introduce her to . . . ” Fuck, he was getting off topic. “But there’s a number of places she could be.”
“Why the hell did she take the guy you two were assigned to protect today?” Alarm was clear in Winter’s voice, and he could hear noises in the background like she was fumbling for something.
“Are you at the office?”
“No. Silly me, I took off early tonight.”
“Go there, see if she came through the gate. It will be a lot of containers to check, but we can do it.” The shipping yard would be a perfect place to interrogate someone who wasn’t going to blink at the thought of pain. Bahman may be a suit kind of guy, but that didn’t mean he was a sissy.
“I’m on it. I’ll have Eddie check the cameras. Was he taken from the hotel?”
“Yah, but don’t bother. She switched vehicles. Call me when you know more.”
There was no noise coming from Arabella’s room, and he conned his way in through a maid delivering towels. Clean. Not even a suitcase.
There was only one other place he knew she’d visited in her short stay in Seattle—his apartment. And wouldn’t it just figure. The woman was making a damn mess of his life. With the way the last day had played out, he’d bet his thumbs she was there.