by Melody Anne
“The senator’s interested in you. Of course, we’ve checked you out,” Mallory told him. She wanted him to tell her the truth of who he was before she shared anything with him.
Even though she’d told the senator she didn’t trust the man, she felt the opposite. She knew he wasn’t who he said he was, but she also had a feeling about people, and there was something deep inside that said he could be a confidant. But how far could she take that?
Hendrick lifted his glass and took a long swallow before she saw the switch in his eyes. He was ready to talk. She didn’t say a word as she waited.
“I work for a team that’s trying to break the huge drug cartel that’s slowly taking over the entire western states. They seem to be growing stronger in Seattle, and we need to put an end to it. The senator’s name came up on our radar.” He stopped and waited for her reaction. She let his words process. He’d already said as much, but now they were actually listening to each other.
She knew a lot about him, or what he wanted people to know about him, but not enough. It had been insane when they’d done the checks on him and his profile had popped up. It was too good, but there were no holes. Everything he’d told them had rung true . . . but she still hadn’t bought it. She wasn’t sure if that was from her years in the FBI or if someone a whole lot smarter than she and her team had painted him an identity.
“I knew you weren’t a blubbering idiot,” she finally told him, then her lips turned up in a mocking smile. “But you play one so well I had my doubts.”
Hendrick didn’t take offense at her words. Instead, he laughed hard for several seconds. “My teammates might agree with you on that. It’s the baby face I’ve been both blessed and cursed with from the time I was in high school. It gets people to trust me a hell of a lot faster and makes acting like a stupid kid a bit too easy.”
“Or maybe it’s your lack of wit and charm,” she said, testing what the man was made of. His chest puffed out.
“Baby, I guarantee you there’s nothing kid-friendly about me,” he said. “Want me to prove it to you?”
She felt desire clench in her gut and had to squeeze her thighs together to try to alleviate the ache a few well-spoken words had produced in her body. The man might have a youthful appearance, but his body was delicious and the gleam in his eyes was all male. She could picture the animal he’d be in the bedroom — just the way she needed it. Some people liked soft lovemaking, and some people wanted to break the furniture — she was the latter.
“What’s the team you’re on?” she asked a bit breathlessly.
He gave her a knowing look and she knew he was very aware of every little action he took and how his words affected her. He could think he knew, but she’d stab her own foot before admitting it to him. It was rare when Mallory felt inferior with a person, but she feared she’d judged Hendrick wrong — he might be smarter than she was. That was saying a lot, considering she’d always been at the top of her classes and her career.
“We’re an off-the-books team, but we keep fully legal. We just don’t have to jump through the bureaucratic BS agencies have to go through,” he said.
“Do you have a name?” she pushed, wincing a bit at his words. She was well aware of that red tape and it infuriated her.
“No,” he said. She knew he was lying, but she didn’t push that. If she were on a secret team she’d only divulge what was absolutely necessary as well. They didn’t know each other very well at this point, and it would take time to earn trust. She didn’t need to hide her position from him anymore, though. He’d make a far better asset than enemy.
“I work for the FBI,” she finally told him. He didn’t even blink. She could tell by his expression he was slightly surprised, but he’d also been aware she wasn’t just a senator’s aide. Someone had shared something with him. She suspected it was from the earlier call. He hadn’t been on it long enough for a full rundown, but long enough to allow him to talk to her.
“So, you’re working undercover.” He didn’t say it as a question, but a statement.
“Yes, I’m working undercover. We’ve been following the senator for quite some time as there are financial inequities in the money entering her multiple bank accounts. As a matter of fact, we believe the entire political thing started out as a scheme, but as soon as she had the power of a high-ranking political figure, she ran with it. We think in the beginning of her campaign she was simply trying to justify handfuls of money running through her. Now, we think she’s truly going to run for president. We’re just not sure we can nail her down. I’ve been on this case for three years and she never slips.” Mallory let out a breath of frustration.
“She’s good,” Hendrick said as he leaned back comfortably. “We have a tech god who works for us and he hasn’t cracked her yet. He can see everything coming and going, but she hides her tracks incredibly well.”
Mallory laughed without humor. “Yes, she does, from the government, from her growing fanbase, and from every investigative group who’s been on her trail. She’s unbelievably good.”
“No one’s perfect,” Henrick said. “They always get a little too greedy, and they always make a mistake. This is just one hell of a long stakeout, and as long as we drink plenty of coffee and stay awake twenty-four/seven, we’re going to be there when she trips.”
“That’s the problem with the FBI,” she said. “We have a hell of a lot of red tape and we can’t do anything without approval, so she could’ve easily messed up in the last three years and we could’ve missed it.”
“So, if we work together, we’re bound to get her,” Henrick said reasonably.
“I won’t get permission to work with a special ops team,” she told him.
“We won’t do it officially,” he said with a wink. “You’re the senator’s aide, and I’m her newest piece of candy. There’s nothing wrong with us . . . communicating.”
She had a feeling he wanted to do a lot more than communicate. Her body again clenched, but she locked down that feeling when she remembered he’d been about to have sex with the senator in the wine bar. Of course she was attracted to a man who could easily sleep with two women in one night; it seemed to be her curse to fall for the wrong man. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was a man who had a different woman every night of the week. She might have to remind her body she didn’t like men like him. She wanted a bad boy, but one with a heart of gold who believed in monogamy and midnight dates. She wasn’t what a man expected. She was tough and mushy at the same time.
Mallory might not be the roses, sonnets, and chocolates kind of female, but she did need honesty and love in a relationship, whether it lasted a week, a month, or a year. She stopped that last thought. The longest relationship she’d been in had lasted five months and four days. And she had a pretty good idea it had only lasted that long because they’d both been so busy they’d normally only met up once a week, sometimes three times a month to scratch their itches and then be on their way.
“I guess at this point both of our covers are blown so we really don’t have a choice other than to work together,” Mallory told him.
“Nope, it appears as if we’re stuck together,” he said, looking far too pleased with himself. She shifted on the couch next to him.
“So, what comes next?” she asked, realizing she was far too tipsy to drive anywhere. Knowing that, she lifted her glass and took another drink. She had a feeling she’d need it to get through the rest of their conversation that didn’t seem as if it would end anytime soon.
“We catch the bad guy,” he said with a simplicity that made her laugh.
“If only we could snap our fingers and all the bad men and women of the world would magically appear in handcuffs in a cell,” she told him.
“Why not? If we are determined, we can bring evil into the light,” he said as if solving the world’s problems was truly that simple.
“How can you work in this dark underworld and stay so light?” sh
e asked.
“I work with great people. When we start falling, we lift each other back up. It’s that simple. If you surround yourself with trash, you get thrown out with trash. But if you wrap yourself in truth, nothing can get to you. The people I work and hang with are all suited up. Maybe you just need to be in a different circle.”
His words hit her hard, really hard. Was she in the middle of a dumpster unable to climb out, or was she simply not finished arming herself? She didn’t know.
“I guess it’s time to take out the trash. I have some ideas . . .” she said. And then they began taking notes. They kept on talking until nearly dawn. When exhaustion overtook them, Hendrick convinced Mallory to sleep over . . . in his spare room. She agreed with reluctance.
There was no doubt in Mallory’s mind that she desired Hendrick, but she also knew better than to sleep with him. There was so much sexual tension between the two of them, they could ignite a nuclear power plant, but Hendrick didn’t attempt to push her. It was almost as if he was taking his time before he pounced. Then again, maybe that was wishful thinking on her part. When he talked her into staying, there was zero sexual innuendo to the invitation.
He showed her his spare room and extra unopened and unexplained toiletries, and then he walked away and closed his bedroom door. Did the man have guests at his home so often he kept spare items there? The thought depressed her a bit.
Mallory used the toothbrush, floss, and facewash to ready herself for sleep. When she came out, a navy T-shirt and pair of boxers were on her bed. She ran her fingers over them, wondering if she could wear them or not. They were obviously his clothes, and ones that had been pressed against his bare skin. Would she be able to get any sleep at all wearing his shirt and knowing he was only a room away? She was exhausted, but thought of him naked, sweating, and panting over the top of her was enough to keep her up all night.
Realizing she couldn’t drive determined her final answer. She changed into his clothes, loving the smell of the detergent he used to wash them and practically feeling his arms around her as she lay down on the unbelievably comfortable bed.
She fell asleep rather quickly with more images of the two of them pressed up close and naked flashing in her mind, which she knew would lead to some hot and sweaty dreams . . .
Chapter Six
There was one thing emphatically known about Joseph Anderson, the head of a vast fortune and basically royalty in Seattle, Washington, if not the entire world — he was a family man, through and through. And the most important person in Joseph’s life was his wife, Katherine. She was the sun that rose on a new day, and the moon that gave light in a dark wilderness. She was his reason for staying fit, and the reason he was the man he was today.
After she’d been attacked, Joseph learned she had a cancerous tumor in her head, and his world had spun off of its axis. He couldn’t lose her, couldn’t imagine facing a single day on this planet without her. Everyone who knew Joseph was highly aware of that simple fact.
Because his Katherine had been attacked, he’d formed the Special Ops team that had become just as important to him as his own family. He’d always been of the mindset that family didn’t have to be blood but love bonded people together. He’d believe that even past the day he took in his last earthly breath.
People also knew Joseph Anderson was overprotective and wanted to put a giant bubble around his wife. He wanted to fight off the evils of the world for her, wrap her in his tight embrace, and never allow any harm to come to her. What people knew about Katherine was how much she loved her husband in spite of this fact. She loved how much he loved her, and she loved him just as much — that didn’t mean she didn’t put her foot down quite often when there was something she was determined to do. They were currently at a stalemate as they walked through the giant building in downtown Seattle.
“Joseph Anderson, I’m going to do this my way. If you cannot keep your mouth shut while we’re in there, then stay out. Either support me or don’t. I’m not asking for your permission in this,” Katherine said in a firm voice she rarely used.
Their footsteps, in perfect cadence, were the only sound echoing off the walls as they made their way through the corridors of the courthouse, leading them to a room Joseph never wanted to take his wife into. He knew there was nothing he could do to prevent Katherine from moving forward with her plan.
“You know how I feel about this, darling,” he said, unable to keep completely silent.
She was refusing to press charges against the man who’d attacked her.
Joseph not only wanted to personally wring the man’s neck, but he also wanted the book thrown at him. Joseph had to remind himself he loved Katherine because of her heart, not in spite of it. He couldn’t choose who and when she was kind to someone, even if he disagreed with how she chose to proceed with something. And he certainly wasn’t standing by while she faced this person alone.
Besides that, he had to begrudgingly admit that what she was doing was a kind, honorable, and gentle plan. Nonetheless, he wanted her to show her forgiving heart to anyone other than the man who’d put his wife in the hospital.
It would be easy to count the times there had been a legitimate dispute between Joseph and Katherine over their many decades of marriage. They’d learned very early on how much they cherished one another, and their love allowed them to not just be honest with each other, but to allow the other to grow in their own way and support that growth, even when it meant going against their own natural inclinations.
This time though, it wasn’t about being correct or incorrect, or even growing as a person. Not to Joseph. His anger was still alive and brewing. The idea of forgiving a man who laid his hands on the most important and precious thing in Joseph’s life was beyond comprehension. It was an open wound to his very soul.
Katherine had discussed it with him three times to try to make him understand why she was doing what she was doing. Unlike the angst and vile thoughts consuming Joseph, she was relaxed and showed absolute peace in her decision. The last-minute attempts to change her mind started only moments before reaching the courthouse steps and were futile.
Once she put the ultimatum out, Joseph knew if he chose to say another word about it, the tongue-lashing Katherine would give him in front of everyone would be talked about for years. Heck, the courthouse security might show the closed caption TV recording to their children’s children.
“Good morning, Franklin,” Katherine said as she walked up to her lawyer.
“Good morning, Mrs. Anderson,” the lawyer replied, reaching out his hand as they approached. He’d been told to call her by her first name at least a hundred times, but he always said that when they were working he preferred to be professional. He hadn’t budged from the rule he’d made for himself a long time ago.
Joseph was a full step behind Katherine, receiving the second handshake.
“How are Lisa and the boys?” Katherine questioned her legal counsel, who’d worked with the Anderson family for at least twenty years.
“All are good, thank you,” Franklin stated. “And I don’t even have to ask you as your family is all over the internet in their different pursuits. They truly are beautiful.”
“Yes, we’ve been fortunate with our amazing family,” Joseph said, only a slight pout in his voice at having been shut down by his petite wife.
“Is everything ready to go?” Katherine asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I have all the documents here. Mr. Kotzen’s in the office as well as Sheriff McCormack.” Franklin said.
Katherine looked over at her husband, gave him a look showing how at ease she was, and the rise of her brows told him she expected the same behavior from him. All he could give was a glance down at his shoes and a rumple in his forehead.
“Well then, let’s do this,” Katherine said as she opened the door without hesitation, not allowing Joseph to open it for her, which she knew drove him absolutely crazy. He felt a man should always
open the door for the woman he loved as a sign of respect. He quickly stepped up beside her to walk hand in hand.
Katherine moved with grace as she walked forward with her back straight, her chin held high, and an energy that shouted confidence. Joseph loved this look on her. It wasn’t even close to the first time he’d seen it and he knew when she held her body like this, she could walk into any situation and not have a hint of a stumble.
Mr. Kotzen, also known as that piece of trash to Joseph, shot out of his chair, looking at Katherine, then Joseph and their attorney, then the sheriff, and then back to Katherine. If there was a sorrier looking human than Kotzen looked right then, none of those in the room had ever seen it before.
“Good morning,” Katherine said across the table.
“Mornin’,” replied the attacker, no louder than a whisper.
He was told this meeting was going to happen, that his response would determine if he was going to spend a very long time in jail, and possibly prison, or next to no jail time at all. It was confusing to the drug pusher to be given an opportunity like this. There was no precedence for him to follow, so he didn’t know how to act — that was more than clear in his demeanor.
For a beat Katherine and her attacker locked eyes and her look of comfort and sincerity obviously disarmed the man. Joseph was sure the man hadn’t had someone look at him like that for a very long time, possibly since he was a child. It was possible that he’d never had someone look at him the way Katherine did — with kindness and forgiveness.
Sheriff McCormack broke the silence by asking the attacker, “Kotzen, is there anything you’d like to say to Mrs. Anderson?”
Running a hand through his greasy black hair, the man stopped his hand at the back of his neck, keeping it there, then barely tilted his face up and squeaked out a simple, “I’m sorry.”