21 |

Park Hyatt Beijing
Beijing, China
Present Day

 

CIA Special Agent Dylan Kane moaned as the gorgeous Zhi Ruo moved her magical mouth from one part of his body to the next. His eyes closed, he imagined it was the love of his life making him feel so good, and not a target he had been pumping for information, literally and figuratively, for years within the Chinese government.

It was part of the job, a part he had always found pleasurable, but now found uncomfortable, despite his girlfriend’s blessing. Lee Fang had been in the business as well, though less on the clandestine and more on the Special Forces side than him. They had met when he had rescued her from her own government, and their professional relationship had transitioned to friendship then much more.

He wanted to marry that woman.

He hissed with pleasure, Zhi Ruo knowing everything he liked after all these years, and he felt a touch of guilt that Fang had yet to discover all his sensitive spots.

Though no matter how expert the sexual partner, he’d sacrifice it all for just one night with Fang.

His CIA issued watch, a perfect Tag Hauer replica, sent a coded electronic pulse into his wrist, something only he could sense, and something that would only work when activated on his wrist—take it off, and the signal would never be sent.

He looked down at Zhi Ruo, his choice something most men would never face.

Continue making love to a beautiful woman, or take a call that could mean life or death for someone.

The choice should be obvious, though making it wasn’t. How does one interrupt what was happening to take a call that by its very nature no one knew about?

He smiled.

“Ow!” he cried, reaching down to grab his calf. “Cramp!”

Zhi Ruo stared up at him. “Now?”

He shrugged, rolling out of bed and stretching out the calf, wincing in fake pain. “Just give me a minute, and I’ll be right with you. I think I’m just dehydrated from all that partying we did.”

She grinned. “Drink up, baby, I have plans for you that go way past breakfast.”

He limped to the bathroom. “Be back in a few.”

He closed the door, entering a coded sequence in the watch by pressing the buttons in a specific pattern, and the message scrolled across the display, indicating a secure communication from Interpol Agent Hugh Reading.

What are the professors up to now?

Reading never contacted him unless it related to his former teacher, and James Acton, along with his new wife Laura Palmer, had a knack for getting themselves into trouble. Quite often they bailed themselves out, but too often needed an assist.

They were just lucky they had good friends in better places, otherwise they’d have been dead years ago.

But they gave as good as they got, and on more than one occasion had returned the favor, using their tremendous wealth to help others, including his former comrades on Bravo Team when they had been disavowed.

He brought up the message from Reading through his secure phone, his eyebrows shooting up as he reread it several times.

What is it with these Saudis? Do they believe their own press?

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could personally do from his current location to help Acton. He was on a mission, and no matter how pleasurable and guilt-ridden it was, he couldn’t abort.

But luckily, he had friends too.