“Whatever you want. Well at least, ask me anything that you need to know before making our current living arrangement more permanent.”
Ed sat back, waiting for her to ask her first question. The waitress took their coffee orders and delivered a lemon panacotta with raspberry coulis to share. Still, she didn’t know where to begin.
Slowly, she sliced through the panacotta with her teaspoon, filling the spoon before holding it in the air. Silently, with eyes not breaking away, she offered it to Ed. Watching his lips wrap around the creamy dessert was perhaps the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
What else did she need to know?
Respected by her father—and his team who were willing to risk their lives out of loyalty. If not still loved by, at least still cared about by countless ex-girlfriends who seemed to accept her without question.
Kind and gentle—a killer no doubt—but sensitive and caring.
What else did she need to know? Nothing. Nothing at all.
“Would you watch a western movie with me?” Her question came as much as a shock to her, but at least the shock on his face was worth it.
“Why would you even ask me that?”
“Because it is a family tradition. Whenever I move into a new home, I get to watch an old western.”
“Then, babe, you’d better tell me which one you want, because I don’t have the foggiest idea.”
“All I wanted was one perfect date.” His eyes had never left hers as she fed him the dessert. Even though they’d spent one precious night together, it was many fights ago, what if the magic didn’t happen again. What if he couldn’t put his soldier’s instinct aside and remember that for her, he’d always be the masked man sweeping her off the feet on the dancefloor.
“Do you really want to go for that walk?” she asked.
“You wanted a perfect date—what sort of date would it be without a midnight stroll?”
“Or we could dance?”
“Crowded places aren’t exactly our best friend at the moment.”
“Or we could go to your apartment and find something on your playlist?”
His eyes told her everything she needed to know. Quickly finishing their coffees, not even the appearance of the bill tempered their escape into the night air.
“Where to?” Vinn appeared with the car right on cue.
“Back to the apartment,” Ed helped her back in, with a blanket ready to cover her again.
“Everything okay? I mean, we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary …” Vinn started before understanding. “Right, back to the apartment.”
Hiding in the back seat wasn’t the romantic build up that Anastacia wanted, but from the moment Ed helped her out of the car safely in the car park, he was everything she wanted. Waiting for the lift and then apartment to be checked by Vinn and Jax, she’d never felt more protected—or more loved.
“Have fun, you two,” Jax broke character with a twirling lift and hug before leaving them alone.
“How’s this?” Ed’s music filled the apartment.
“Like the song says, perfect!” She waltzed into his arms and to song after song, she allowed him to move around the small, make-shift dancefloor in his living room. Dodging esh bags and computer swags, and bags she knew better than to ask what they held.
“Close your eyes, baby,” Ed half sang. “Pretend we’re back in our masks and you are the belle of the ball.”
“It’s so easy to remember that night—I’d been about to put back on my wedding ring before I saw you,” she said before realizing how it sounded. Ed stopped her mid turn. “No, not what you think—to protect me from would-be-suitors. Did you see the guy who refused to take ‘no’ for an answer before you bumped into me?”
“I didn’t see but I could smell him—hell, half the room could smell him.”
“Then I saw you,” she purred, taking half a step closer until his body was almost hers.
“You kissed me, first.”
“I certainly did, one perfect kiss to remember you by.”
“We should have done a lot more than that,” he crooned, hand rubbing down her back until it played with the folds of her short skirt.
“Like what?”
“Like this.” In one movement, he removed her dress and she was only standing in the same matching black lace bra and panties she’d worn the night of the ball. She hadn’t worn stockings that night and had assumed she didn’t need them tonight. His mouth crushed hers, exploring with all the passion she had only dared to hope while her hands went low to make sure he didn’t suddenly change his mind.
With the changing song, Anastacia ground against Ed, hips to hips, feeling him grow as they followed the beat.
“Not out here.” He moaned, pulling her past her bedroom and towards his. Shutting the door with his foot, Ed ripped off his shirt and joined her on the bed in nothing but his underwear.
“You’re still overdressed.” Her lips found his, while her hands removed his boxer shorts. “Now,” she commanded, guiding him between her ready legs.
“Don’t you want to …?”
“This is the only thing I want … unless,” she teased with a cheeky thought. Quickly spinning around, she licked and sucked until he was putty in her hands. Willing to do anything or agree to anything she could ask for—if only her mouth wasn’t already busy.
“Babe, enough,” he panted, pulling her up until he claimed her as his. Thrusting and playing with her until she couldn’t hold out any longer. Crying his name, she shuddered, feeling her body squeeze him until he joined her.
Perfect.
One perfect date with the most perfect man—ending in his perfect arms.
“So, what are we going to do about the guest room?” Ed asked, opening a bottle of champagne he’d chilled especially for them.
“I thought you didn’t want to have that conversation until after …”
“At least if you sleep in here with me, I know you’re safe.”
“Safe from what!” she laughed, confident that he wasn’t going to send her away, at least not now.
“From being bored!”
The champagne was room temperature by the time they got around to drinking it.
Anastacia knew she’d never sleep in his guest bedroom again. This was now her home, whether he knew it or not.
Nothing could come between them.
Battleground
ANASTACIA
“Wait here until you get a message from your father, okay?” Ed hadn’t wanted her to come out into the living room when the team arrived to grab the last of their gear. Only when he was the last to leave did he come into their bedroom to hug her goodbye.
“So, this is it?” Anastacia couldn’t hide her shaking or nerves. After all they’d already been through, what if something went wrong and last night was the last time they’d ever spend together. “Are you sure it will be over after today?”
“He’s gotten cocky and fallen for the bait, but once they make us, you won’t be safe here until after it’s over. Your father is finalizing arrangements and I need you to trust us, wait for his message and then follow his directions.”
“And you don’t know where I’ll be?”
“None of us will. It’s the best way of keeping you safe—even though I’d trust each of the guys with my life.”
“You don’t trust them with mine?” Anastacia finished his thought.
“I didn’t say that—but this whole operation has been about not taking risks, especially when it comes to you.”
Ed cupped her face in his hands and she wanted nothing more than to fall back into bed and to hell with Hudson and his threats. Surely, if she and Ed were together, nothing else would matter.
“We can’t, I want to, but we can’t.” Ed read her thoughts. “One more kiss?”
As she had the first night, Anastacia reached his lips first, craving the softness and his hunger. The passion from last night still burned fiercely and she couldn’t bring herself to break awa
y.
“Babe, oh, babe,” he cried, hugging her until she winced. “Sorry, I keep forgetting that you are my fragile princess.”
“I challenge you to call me that once I’m totally healed,” she laughed through tears. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I promise, this is almost over. Trust me.”
Ed left a wet kiss on her forehead before picking up his bag. Countless times, she’d watched her father leave for another mission, another tour. This was different—her man was leaving to fight for her.
“Thank you,” she cried, running out to stop him before he reached the front door. “About last night, I know how much work you all had to do to make it happen. Thank you.”
“I intend to hold you to the rain cheque for a midnight stroll along the Harbour’s edge.”
“A soldier’s promise before he goes off to battle?”
“How about a lover’s promise of things to come.”
One final kiss and he left her for the rest of the team. They’d agreed she shouldn’t go out and say any more goodbyes—not only was it bad luck, but they were all in the zone.
Except for Ed, she smiled shyly. After last night, he was in a completely different type of zone.
Vaughan: You still at Alexander’s?
Anastacia: Yes
Where else would she have gone, Anastacia thought before blushing. Perhaps her father knew about the date and assumed Ed had booked them a hotel room somewhere.
Vaughan: A friend is on his way. When the blue car stops, get in backseat, and drop to the floor.
Anastacia: Understood
Grabbing a change of clothes and her phone, Anastacia was about to head downstairs when the final message arrived.
Vaughan: Pulling into street now. Remember, blue car
As she came out of the foyer, Anastacia could see the blue car pulling around the end of the cul-de-sac, slowing with the back door open for her to jump in.
“Welcome back, princess.”
Her heart stopped, she tried to look up, but already the blanket was over her head and her wrists were being cable tied together. As soon as she tried to scream, someone stuffed the corner of the blanket down her throat until the only sound she could make was gagging.
“We missed you,” sneered the voice she remembered as holding a gun on her in the taxi. “It took a lot of work to find you, but now we’re ready to take you home.”
Anastacia tried to remember all the breathing exercises from Breeze and yoga. Focus on one happy thought—except she couldn’t find one. Not even last night. Had her quest for a perfect date meant the team weren’t as prepared as they should have been? As long as she was the only person to pay for her mistake, but did it have to be with her life.
Pinned behind the front seats, Anastacia felt every bump and couldn’t protect her head from jarring against the seat at every turn.
“Pull her up,” again the raspy voice from the front commanded.
“Princess, you need to listen to what I’m saying. I’m being paid to deliver you alive—but that doesn’t mean I can’t do damage that no hospital will be able to fix, if you give me any trouble.”
By now, she’d been pulled onto the backseat with a seatbelt fastened around her.
“No panicked faces out of the windows, I want you looking at the front mirror at all times, understand? Nod if you agree. Shake your head if you want a single gunshot to the stomach.”
There was no humor in his black eyes. He was conducting a business transaction and didn’t care if his produce was battered or bruised.
“I understand.”
Whack
“I didn’t tell you to speak—I asked you to nod. That was your only warning. Nod if you understand.”
With her head ringing, she nodded, wondering why the tears that could be shed over a sad television commercial refused to fall now.
Perhaps this was too sad for tears.
ED
He didn’t need to ask the question; the looks being shared across the faces of his team were enough of an answer.
What the fuck had gone wrong.
The visual at Sydney airport confirmed their suspicions that started when Thielman’s plan refueled in Hong Kong—whoever was travelling on Thielman’s passport was definitely not their suspect. Close enough to pass initial passport checks and Ed could only imagine how much money it cost to pass the retina scan.
The bastard was somewhere in the world laughing at him and probably taking some perverted pride that he could have travelled on a false passport, arriving without a whisper or warning. Instead, Thielman had lulled them into a cocky assurance that they were so much fucking smarter than Thielman.
No. Not “they.” He’d been personally responsible for planning and confirming Thielman’s travel arrangements. He’d been so fucking confident that once he showed himself as a decorated war hero to Thielman’s diplomatic disgrace; that Anastacia’s father would welcome him as a son after the operation and Anastacia had already given him the most precious gift of all—her heart.
No fucking excuses.
Arrogance—his and his alone—had lost Thielman and his team knew it.
“What do we know?” He looked to Spider and Sphinx for answers.
“We don’t …”
“Let’s not start with the long list of what we don’t know—give me what do we know for sure.”
“Thielman did not touch down on the Qantas flight from Europe,” Sphinx looked through the manifests. “The gentleman who arrived on his passport is refusing to provide his real name or any other information. He knows his rights and seems prepared to wait until the lawyer of his choice can find her way to the Border Patrol office, through peak hour traffic.”
“He’s stalling,” Vinn said calmly. “He knows that eventually his fingerprints or real retina scan will give us his real name—if he’s in the system. I’d say he’s being paid extra for every hour he stalls.”
“If it’s only money—how can we match the offer?” Ed knew he was clutching at straws and the embarrassed looks across his team meant they knew it, too. “I mean, we need to make the risk of keeping with his current plan greater than spilling his guts now.”
“You might have something,” Jax spoke quietly from the back of the van. They’d already waited for three hours later than anticipated. Crowded, unable to get out and stretch, Jax was the calming influence they all needed.
“Go on,” Ed shrugged. “Guys, we’ve lost half a day and I’ve lost more than that in self-respect. Whatever ideas you have, spill.”
“If you’re right, he’s on a timetable—stall for as long as possible. We counter the risk for the longer it takes for him to talk. He’s gotta have family or friends—we threaten them with extradition to a third country for interrogation after we find out who he is. Treat them all like terrorists.”
“We can’t do that,” Reith cut in. “We are in Australia and as much as we hate what happened to the Colonel’s daughter, it was a domestic kidnapping.”
“Unless we link it to the video and then it’s sex-trafficking, we can probably use the Embassy to release some of the financial dealings. If we can accuse Hudson Thielman of financing terrorist activities, then anyone connected with him—including our unnamed guest—can be locked up indefinitely.”
Ed finally felt like they had a plan to sell—if anyone was buying.
“First step?” Vinn asked.
“We should at least bring Colonel Vaughan up to speed. Let him know that he might need to keep his daughter stashed a little longer than we thought.” Ed couldn’t think of Vaughan’s daughter as the sensual Anastacia who had danced in his arms before making love to him all night. Right now, her life depended on him thinking of her as a client.
“Is he still using that burner phone?”
“Yeah, he was supposed to check in when they got to the safe house, but I figured they got caught up in family reunion.”
Fuck.
The same thought occurred to all of th
em and the van reverberated with the force of Jax’ fist.
Calmly, Vinn took control, “We now know with almost certainty that the Colonel is in enemy hands. Unless Lieutenant Colonel Alexander has news to the contrary, we can assume that Ms Anastacia Thielman is also with the Colonel. We do not know if they are being held together.”
“It’d take too much organizing and manpower to have them held separately.” Kram started nodding, warming to his thesis. “If it was me, I’d keep them together. They’d know we’d be coming for at least the Colonel—unless they think the girl is personal,” he looked to Ed. “For me, it’d be easier to consolidate my forces and defend a single location.”
“Which brings us back to our guest inside the airport.” Ed repressed a frustrated sigh. “Who’s our best negotiator and can we get into the room?”
“Vinn’s the master,” Sphinx offered. “We’ve also got connections with security here.”
Whatever he decided, it needed to be quick. They couldn’t keep sitting in the loading bay of the airport much longer. Still, it had been his decisions that got them into this mess.
“Ed and I will go,” Vinn decided for him. “I might be the negotiator—but no man is gonna scare the bastard more than the man in love with a hostage. If giving him something to fear is what’s gonna get us information—then let’s give him someone to fear.”
“Can you hold it together, man?” Jax asked Ed. Under any other circumstances, he’d rip Jax a new one for even asking. This day couldn’t get any more fucked up.
Time for some honest humility. “As of now, all promises and commitments are null and void—thank you all for your time and loyalty but this is my fuck up and I’m releasing you all with no hard feelings.”
He expected indignation, before a tempered justification for leaving. What he didn’t expect was the spontaneous laughter.
“Oh, mate, that’s rich,” Spider slapped the steering wheel, accidently setting off the car horn that scared a couple innocently walking in front of the van.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Princess Eddie Alexander—queen of the dramatic exits!” Jax could barely speak through his gawfs.
Defend Her: A military suspense romance (Aussie Military Romance Book 4) Page 14