by Katie Reus
“I need to use the restroom before we leave,” she murmured, standing.
Nathan stood with her and made a move as if he’d come with her, but the server had arrived with their check. Which was just as well; she didn’t need a freaking escort to the bathroom. And she wanted space from him. Being around him made her feel too many things, some welcome, some not. She hated the way her body simply flared to life around him, hated not being in control when she knew he didn’t return the sentiment. Sure, he was attracted to her, but she needed more than that.
On her way out of the restroom, she was surprised to find Mercado waiting for her. He leaned casually against the sparkly tiled wall that provided an extra enclosure for the restroom doors.
He straightened when he saw her, his expression unreadable. “I’m sorry to ambush you, but I wanted to speak to you in private.”
She didn’t have to feign surprise to see him. “Iker, I didn’t realize this was your place or I never would have come on a date here.”
His lips curved up slightly. “I know. Under other circumstances I would advise you to stay away from Miguel. He’s a dangerous man, Amelia.” Worry crept into his gaze as he continued. “But I know it would sound false coming from me now. So I’ll just say watch your step with him. And I would like to take you out again. Tonight, if you’re free.”
Wow, Nathan had been right about the male ego. She decided to ignore the first part of what he said. “I’m working tonight, but I’m free tomorrow.”
His smile was one of pure male satisfaction. Yep, this was definitely about Nathan/Miguel as much as it was about her. Men were such strange creatures. If she saw a guy she was dating out with someone else, she’d just move on—because she didn’t share. After setting a time for Mercado to pick her up, they stepped out of the enclosure to find Nathan striding their way.
He looked annoyed to see them together and she wasn’t sure if that was real or acting. Iker didn’t say anything, just headed in another direction as Nathan approached.
“You ready?” he murmured, wrapping an arm around her.
“Oh yeah.” Phase one of their mission had been accomplished. She’d managed to snag another date with Mercado. Now she just needed to get inside his house. From there, Nathan’s people would do all the work via her cell phone connection. They’d also be on standby so she didn’t get kidnapped too. That she knew Nathan would be part of the team listening in on her was the only reason she was willing to go through with everything.
Sid drove by his next target’s ranch-style home, a basic copy of the rest of the homes in the quiet neighborhood. No outside lights were on and no visible lights in the front of the house.
All the yards along the street were neatly mowed with garbage and recycle bins set at the curb for tomorrow’s pickup. Including hers. And her car was parked under the carport. Since it was close to midnight, it was a good time to make a move if he was going to take her now. He’d already gotten grief for not snagging her last night.
She was young, barely college-age. He’d followed her home last night and had driven by here a few times today while she was at work to see if there was any movement at her house. She’d seemed friendly with that guy the other night and she could have given him a key if they were fucking. Sid needed to cover all bases. He’d thought about moving on her last night, but there had been another car in the driveway. Maybe that guy had stayed over.
Today there hadn’t been any movement at her home from what he could tell, and just her car under the carport. Since this looked like the kind of neighborhood to have nosy neighbors with too much time on their hands, he’d switched vehicles during his drive-by checks.
According to his file she went to the University of Miami and didn’t have a roommate or parents. They’d died and left her this house. No security system listed. Still, he wanted more intel and his boss was getting not exactly sloppy, but anxious for him to take this girl. That was never a good sign. They had such a good operation going. It wouldn’t be smart to get impatient and start taking too many girls in a row. But she must fit a profile someone wanted. Like the others taken, she had no family. Though she did have friends.
But so had some of the other targets, and that was easily dealt with by shutting down their online accounts. Still, something about this kidnapping felt wrong to him, just too damn impatient. They’d been so smart, flying under the radar, running this operation right under everyone’s noses. It was brilliant. What the hell was he going to do, though? He couldn’t question the boss. Not when he was pulling in such good money. Besides, he knew his life would be worth nothing if he tried to back out. He’d just become a target himself. No way would he allow that to happen.
He rolled his neck once as he pulled up to a stop sign. Girls went missing every day. This bitch would be no different.
Turning left, he headed down a block before he turned around. He’d have to be fast. Hell, he’d done it before. Usually with a longer lead time to watch the girls’ movements, but this would work. If someone got in his way, it was just their bad luck.
When he pulled back down her street, he parked in front of her next-door neighbor’s house. He already had the materials he needed to take her, so after pulling on gloves and taking another quick scan of the street, he slipped from his SUV. The air had a fresh scent to it.
This was a good time of night to take someone, especially in a neighborhood like this, where old people went to bed early.
That familiar urgency hummed through him, an insistent buzz as he made his way to her house. He walked past her driveway, continuing to look for any signs of life. In the distance he heard the rumble of an engine as a car drove past her quiet little street and a dog barking, but nothing else.
Where her and her neighbor’s front yard connected, he turned, moving straight for the privacy fence guarding her backyard. He tested the latch once, smiled when he found there was no lock. If there had been, he’d have just scaled the fence, but this made his life easier. One less step to take.
Heart pounding, he slipped through the fence, letting it quietly close behind him. He moved quickly along the stucco wall, hoping she didn’t have security sensors. When he reached the end of the house, the wide double lights didn’t flick on. He allowed himself a sigh of relief before he peered around the corner. He eyed the small open porch with patio furniture. Nothing out of the ordinary and only one dim light visible through a small square window.
If he had to guess, he’d say it was coming from the kitchen. People often left on a light in their house when they went to bed at night, either in the kitchen or living room. The size of the window indicated a kitchen. Using the shadows as cover, he moved along the back of the house until he reached the patio.
The back door had a pitiful lock, one he picked in less than sixty seconds. All his muscles pulled tight as he slowly opened the back door. It creaked slightly, making him pause.
No movement inside.
He pushed it open farther, just enough so he could slip inside. He found himself in a mudroom that opened right into the kitchen. He’d been right. A pale yellow glow shone over a double sink.
Sid pulled out his Taser, ready to wrap this job up now. All he had to do was subdue her and then he’d restrain her arms and legs and gag her. After that he’d pull his SUV into the driveway and dump her in the back. Simple.
His rubber-soled boots were silent as he moved through the house, checking the living room first to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep on the couch.
When he reached the hallway, two bedroom doors were closed, but the one at the end was cracked open. A very thin stream of light peeked out the crack. Maybe she had a night-light.
Blood rushed in his ears as he bypassed the other rooms and made a beeline for the last one. No sense in checking the other two when his gut told him exactly where she was.
This door didn’t creak when he pushed it open with his boot. He smiled to himself when he saw her lying there on the queen-size bed, dark hair pi
llowed around her beautiful face. She was peacefully sleeping.
Not for long, he thought perversely.
He got a hard-on seeing her like that, hated that he couldn’t do anything about it. He paused a moment, just watching her, savoring this time. In a few seconds he’d see the fear in her eyes as he woke her up. It wouldn’t last long because he couldn’t afford to let her make any noise, but for those precious moments, there would be confusion and then terror in her eyes. He craved seeing it from his victims. It was his one guilty pleasure.
After he dropped her off to his boss, he’d find some action in no time. If he couldn’t find a willing woman at a bar, he’d just hire someone.
Chapter 8
Hooking: to set up a target using a specific lure (bait).
Nathan automatically stood as Amelia stepped into her living room, all the muscles in his body pulling taut. “What the hell are you wearing?” he practically shouted, earning a pissed-off look from her and surprise from Elliott, Cade, and Maria—who was simply there for moral support.
“A little black dress. Pretty standard for a date.” Her words were edgy, stress cracking through her calm facade.
Which made him feel like a dick, even as he suppressed that primal, possessive instinct to keep her safe, to call off phase two of this op. It had been a day and a half since their “lunch date,” since that fucker Mercado had asked Amelia out. The time had passed too quickly from then to now. He’d been working, running down leads, and she’d been working and living her life as normal. Things had to be as normal as possible in case anyone was watching her. So far the NSA hadn’t found that to be so, but they weren’t taking any chances. He’d resisted the urge to call her, to check in. It would have been stupid and weak.
“You look perfect,” Maria said, shooting a quick frown at Nathan before looking at Amelia again. “A perfect blend of sexy and classy.”
The dress was slim-fitting and had a high collar with black lace, but it was short enough to show off a lot of leg. Too much leg, in his opinion. He didn’t want anyone else seeing all that smooth skin. Didn’t matter that he had no claim on her, that he should just get the fuck over her; he couldn’t help imagining peeling the dress slowly off her body—so he knew Mercado would be thinking the same thing.
When she turned toward Elliott, answering something the analyst asked, Nathan saw that the back of the dress had a wide circular cutout in the center, revealing most of her back and dipping low enough that it sloped too close to that luscious ass for his comfort. Annoyance surfaced, but he reined in his own bullshit.
Mercado would be picking her up for their date and she needed to be calm and sure of herself, not questioning anything about tonight. Ever since their date, though, and those light kisses, Nathan had been all twisted up inside. He couldn’t even lie to himself and say he’d been acting or role-playing.
Because those kisses had stirred up too much inside him. He’d made a decision today that he wasn’t letting her push him out of his life again. Not before he got some damn answers, some closure at least. But he wanted more than that; he wanted a place in her life. Didn’t matter that she had no idea who he really worked for or that he had no idea why she’d ended things between them; if they could get past those hurdles, he wanted to see if what they’d once had was still real.
They were virtual strangers after so many years apart, but seeing her again had woken up way too many emotions inside him. He couldn’t just walk away. Hell, three months ago when he thought he might die in that bombed-out Metro Station, he’d vowed to look her up again. Then he’d chickened out and kept putting it on the back burner because he was too afraid to know if she’d settled down with someone. To have her thrown back in his life again, on the job no less, felt like fucking fate. His attraction to her certainly hadn’t changed. If anything, it was even more incendiary.
He’d wait to push until after she got an invite to Mercado’s and the team had the intel they needed. Once her part in this was done, he was taking the gloves off and getting some damn answers.
“You’re sure he or his security guys won’t be able to tell something is different with my phone?” she asked Elliott. Amelia perched on the edge of one of her couches where Elliott was closing down one of his laptops.
“Not even if they take your phone apart or scan you. I’m simply using your phone’s wireless to hack into his system. Because of the security he has in place at his residence, I can’t route in to it any other way.” Elliott’s voice was steady, his words matter-of-fact.
It seemed to have a soothing effect on Amelia. She smoothed a hand down the skirt of her dress and nodded once, as if to herself. “Okay.”
“You can do this.” Nathan crossed over to her, hoping he sounded reassuring. If Mercado was involved in taking these women, Amelia needed to be ready for tonight. He was certain she had been until he’d opened his mouth.
“Thanks.” She stood from the couch and he was aware of Cade, Elliott, and Maria quietly heading to her kitchen.
Nathan was thankful for the little bit of privacy.
She wrapped her arms around herself. “What if I don’t get an invite to his house?”
“If you don’t, then you don’t. We’ll get inside another way. There is always another way.” Mercado had tight security and they’d looked into using a cleaning service or something similar to infiltrate, but as of now that was out. He was very conscious of who was in his home. Smart, but damn annoying.
She pushed out a breath. “Okay. I needed to hear that. And there are worse things than going on a date to a nice restaurant, right?” Her expression grew slightly pinched. She didn’t seem scared, just nervous.
He hated that she’d potentially be in harm’s way, hated it bone deep. He didn’t care about protocol or keeping his distance. He pulled her into his arms, tugging her close. To his relief, she didn’t protest, just slid into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist as she laid her cheek against his chest. He loved the feel of her against him, the perfect way she fit. And he loved the subtle show of trust she was giving him. He set his chin on top of her head. “If you want to back out, you can. There’s still time.” He wished she would.
“No.” She didn’t even pause as she stepped back to look at him. Her response wasn’t exactly a surprise. The Amelia from his teenage years had a stubborn streak a mile wide. When she decided on something, she didn’t often back down. “This is the smart choice. He asked me out before this operation even started and I have no connection to any government agency. He won’t suspect me. And I need to do this. For Danita. If she’s still alive . . .” She trailed off, her jaw going tight for a moment.
Yep, that was the Amelia he knew. Seeing her so determined to take part in this warmed him from the inside out. Not caring that his teammates were in the other room, he leaned down and crushed his mouth to hers. Some primitive part of him needed to leave his mark on her before she went out with another man. Fake date or no, he didn’t care. Even though it made him feel vulnerable, this would show her that this wasn’t part of his cover. His feelings for her were real.
She let out a small squeak of surprise but didn’t pull back for even a second. She melted into him, arching so that her breasts rubbed against his chest while her tongue danced with his.
He wanted to find the nearest flat surface, hike her dress up around her hips, and bury himself inside her. His body practically trembled for her. He started to slide his fingers through her hair but stopped, using control he didn’t know he had. Mercado would be here in an hour; she couldn’t look as if she’d just been with another man. Breathing hard, he stared down at her, pleased that she looked just as affected as he felt. She also looked surprised by the kiss. Her lips were slightly swollen, but Nathan knew it would fade by the time her date got here. Even thinking that she was going out with someone else left a sour taste in his mouth.
“I need to go,” he rasped out. He hated leaving her, but on the off chance Mercado showed up early, the man
couldn’t get a whiff that anything was out of the ordinary. That meant the team had to clear out, including him.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Okay. When . . . when will I see you again?” She whispered the words.
The need in her voice punched through his senses. After their date yesterday he’d dropped her off at one of her restaurants and then hadn’t seen her again until just an hour ago. He was working different angles on the op, and on the off chance Mercado had been watching her at work, Nathan couldn’t just hang around her. Things had to appear normal. “We’ll be tracking you tonight through your phone and I’ll check in once you’ve made it home safely. I’m part of the surveillance team, so I’ll be nearby at all times.” He wasn’t letting anything happen to her.
“I know. I just mean, when will I see you again? Not for this op.” Her words were still low, as if she didn’t want the others to hear.
“I’ll call you.” When her face fell, he continued. “Tomorrow.” Hell, he didn’t know if he could make that happen, not with everything they were doing, but he’d try. “And remember—if you can’t get an invite to his house, don’t push it. Let it come naturally.”
“Okay, I will.” She seemed more at ease now and for that he was grateful. She nodded toward the kitchen. “I’ll walk you out.”
He didn’t want to leave, but it was time. Dax, a new member of this op, was parked in her garage in a white SUV. They’d parked there and entered through her kitchen so her neighbors wouldn’t get a peek at any of them. Sure, someone might ask about the SUV, but Amelia was going to say she’d been test-driving one if it ever came up. An easy lie that she could back up with an alibi his team had created at a local dealership. So far it didn’t appear as if Mercado was following Amelia’s movements, but if for some reason he got nosy and started questioning her neighbors, they were covering all their bases. Because Amelia’s safety came first on this op.