by Gennita Low
“Come on in,” a voice called out from the room with the music. “I’m just getting your room ready.”
Kirk walked into “his” room, flowers in one hand, pulling the briefcase on top of his carry-on with the other. The rollers hardly made a sound over the thick, soft cream carpet.
“I’ve set up a private link and checked to see if the wireless—” The woman turned to face him. “Oh!”
“You!”
Kirk dropped the flowers and luggage and lunged at his “girlfriend.”
* * * *
Surya stood frozen for exactly one second. That one second cost her. Instead of running to the right and locking herself in the bathroom, she found that path cut off as a tall and muscular male body blocked her escape.
She should’ve guessed. Jade asking the favor had thrown her off from guessing it might be somebody she knew.
This vacation was so not. So, so not. It had started out great, until that phone call.
She should have booked a cruise.
She could have gone on that stupid camping trip with Marlena and Steve and played third wheel. On second thought, no. Anything but playing third wheel to Marlena and Steve.
“I really don’t want to hurt you,” she warned the angry, stalking male coming at her.
“I really want to hurt you. Maybe even kill you—after,” he told her, “a spanking.”
Sheesh. Men were so unforgiving when it came to their pride. She shrieked when he started to undo his belt.
“Oh, come on!” she said, backing a few steps. “My belt was much, much thinner than yours. And it was all done in fun.”
“Uh-huh. You can explain to me later. Right now—”
He dove.
Surya ducked to the right.
While on the carpeted floor, he swung out a hand and caught hold of her leg. She twisted, trying to pull free and losing her balance. She fell onto the side of the bed. He came up on his knees and attempted to pull her around onto her front. She resisted, scooting further back on the bed. He followed, his hands grasping her thighs firmly.
Surya turned, picked up the nearest weapon, and bashed a pillow down onto his head. Sure, she was going to beat the man to death with a pretty silk pillow. A karate chop would do the job but that would mean hurting the man she’d told her friend she would protect. Also, she really, really liked this man a lot, even though the last time, they’d met under false pretenses. Okay, more than really, really liked. She clobbered his head with the pillow with renewed gusto.
Her unexpected visitor reached up and held onto the underside of her weapon. She tugged at it.
“Seriously? A pillow?” That familiar deep male voice that had whispered sweet nothings in her ear growled in disbelief. “If that’s your weapon of choice, you aren’t trying very hard to escape.”
Surya peered over the silk pillow. “You’re always overreacting. I’m trying to calm you down.”
“Overre—I’m the calmest person I know!”
“You’re shouting,” she pointed out calmly.
He pushed the pillow up against her chest and effectively tackled her onto her back. She looked up at him. Rumpled dirty blond hair, angry blue eyes, lips she still dreamed about—she sighed loudly.
“Now you’re manhandling your assistant,” she said and watched those blue eyes get all fired up. She really did enjoy riling the man. He exuded this strange combination of nerdy and sexy strength that she found irresistible. “Is your name really Kirk? I prefer the other one. Anthony is so much more you.”
“That’s my middle name. Is Surya your real name?” he countered. He cocked his head. “It’s got to be real, since Jade said you’re a good friend. She wouldn’t just make up a name…would she?”
Surya considered lying. She had lied the last time because she was on assignment. She’d regretted doing it, although she wasn’t sure why. She lied to targets all the time. But he really wasn’t a target; he was just someone who got in the way.
“I’m really Surya,” she admitted.
“You left me tied up. You took something that belonged to me.”
Surya bit down on her lip to keep from smiling. Actually, she’d left him tied up, naked. She’d also spanked his cute bottom a couple of times before she left, which was the reason he was still so pissed off, but it was better she left those details out for now.
“I took two things, actually, Kirk.” She savored his name, testing. Okay, maybe he was all right as a Kirk. Kirk Anthony. How sexy was that?
He frowned and leaned closer. “You took the papers. What. Else?”
She winked. “Not going to tell you.”
He was so close now she could lift her head and bite his chin. He smelled just the way she remembered, a masculine, woodsy scent, with a hint of vanilla, which went straight to her senses. Damn, why did the man smell so good? She sniffed appreciatively.
His frown deepened. “I don’t stink that bad,” he said, “so you can quit pretending. I can’t think of what you could have stolen besides my papers.” He paused, his eyes searching hers, then he said her name softly and slowly. “Surya.”
The tone in his voice made her shiver. She’d always liked his voice, a deep, velvety timbre. She could sit enthralled, listening to him read the phone book. And that was one of the reasons she’d hightailed out of there six months ago. This man was dangerous to her.
“Surya,” he repeated.
“That is my name…Kirk,” she said. “I did try to find you, you know, but your fake identity made it difficult to discern which address to send the papers back to.”
That jerked him back up. “Send the papers… You mean you were going to mail them back? Are you fucking insane? Those papers were worth a fortune!”
“You don’t have to go all postal on me,” she said, remembering now she’d wanted to see the look on his face when he received the item in the mail. She added in her best bored voice, “I’d have made sure the package was properly insured.”
“Properly…” He groaned, then shook his head. “I need to go somewhere and think this through.”
“You need to let me go so we can get to work,” she pointed out.
“I need to put a hole in my head to work with you again,” he gritted back.
She grinned up at the exasperated expression inches from her own. “How about a kiss first? I really, really prefer you giving me a kiss than putting a hole in your head and messing up those pretty lips.”
His blue eyes became laser intense and she felt that tingly feeling again. Her heartbeat, which had slowed down during their conversation, sped back up.
“A kiss?” he rumbled. “I’ve been looking for you for six months and you expect a kiss?”
He’d been looking for her? Her toes curled.
“It’s not like you didn’t know where to look,” she told him. “You knew I was with GEM.”
“Since I couldn’t give them your real ID, your handlers were clearly a bit more protective. But never mind. I got you now.”
And he kissed her.
* * * *
Kirk knew he shouldn’t have kissed her. The woman was bad news. One night with her six months ago had cost him major headaches with an assignment. Worse, he was angry for weeks because he’d thought—
No. The trouble had been he hadn’t been thinking. His dick was. Every time “Salome” was nearby, all he’d wanted to do was spend time with her. She’d been upfront and told him she was a GEM agent, translating the documents to make sure they were the real thing. Her story had checked out. He hadn’t known the real Salome Winger was tall, blonde, and forty-five years old.
Kissing her. He wanted to do more than that.
She tasted so damn familiar. A hint of mint. The sweet taste of warm woman. The promise of slow sex. He’d looked for her and promised himself that the next vacation he took, he would go after her and make her sorry she’d handcuffed him to the bed and left him. The memory of that made him lean down and kiss her harder. Her response was just as f
ierce and he felt her hands in his hair, pulling his head down even more.
He broke off the kiss and lay his forehead on hers. His breathing was ragged.
“Minx. I have no time for this. I have to freshen up and we need to get to work.”
“Am I forgiven then?”
He lifted his head and glared down at that gorgeous, passionate face. “Of course not. Retribution will come later,” he promised.
Her answering smile was wicked, and he wanted to kiss her some more. Giving her another dark look, he shifted his weight, freeing her. He sat up on the bed, regretting that work must come first. His cock was feeling more than regretful. She looked absolutely sinful, lying there on “his” bed, bare arms and legs, her skirt pulled up to show a hint of hot pink panties. Her dark hair, which had been knotted up, had come undone, the thick waves fanning out against the white sheets. Her dark eyes were slumberous and inviting, daring him. He shook his head. She was driving him crazy and it’d only been fifteen minutes since he’d laid eyes on her again.
He stood up. “Do I have to lock you out of my room so you won’t steal any more of my stuff?” he asked, looking down at her.
She sniffed. “A girl borrows something and gets this horrible reputation.” She stretched. “This bed is more comfy than mine.”
Oh, she was good. Always trying to distract him. “Nope, not falling for that again,” he said, and went to his dropped luggage.
“What are you doing?” she asked, propping her head up, watching him with narrowed eyes.
“Taking my stuff with me to the bathroom,” he told her. “I believe you got us some food. Why don’t I meet you there, across the other end of the table, just to be safe?”
“Ha ha, very funny. I’m going to short sheet your bed.”
He closed the bathroom door. Only then would he allow a small smile. Minx. Her mischievous streak was going to make his orderly life hell. Again.
He’d been out of sorts since she’d disappeared, feeling adrift when he stopped working. He’d chalked it up to some kind of strange infatuation with a mysterious woman that he’d forget about soon enough. So he’d kept busy. And with recent news and the funeral this week, life had been more serious than usual.
Surya’s sudden reappearance brought back a splash of color. This. He’d missed her vibrancy. It seemed to hold him by the neck and demand his attention. He wanted to explore why she affected him this way, why he was feeling so much lighter since walking into the suite, why knowing she was nearby made his heart clench.
He exhaled, shaking away the thoughts, then gave a low whistle at the sight of his surroundings. He was sure the bathroom was bigger than his small bedroom at home. The sink and counter stretched a mile long. The tub was a matching grey marble, tinted with gold. The shower area next to it could fit three or four people.
He looked at it longingly. Perhaps later tonight. Surya was sniffing at him like he’d been on a stuffy plane for over half a day. Which he had. He reached down and unzipped the side pocket of his carry-on, pulling out his bag of amenities. A cowboy wash and shave and a change of clothes would have to do for now. He needed to get his mind back on course to talk to Surya. He was sure she was an experienced translator between hostile negotiating parties, but he also needed to gauge her experience in locating and extracting prisoners. How good was she with weapons? He looked around again. Could she hike in a jungle? In those hot pink panties? No fucking way.
His body reacted to the image of Surya in those panties out in the Asian jungle. Mental groan. One ice-cold cowboy bath ahead.
* * * *
Dec clicked on the link. Jed McNeil’s image popped up.
“Uncle JD. Really? A private video chat from a social media server?” he asked, incredulous.
Jed looked back at him solemnly. “Right now, other than face to face, it’s more secure to talk to you via social media than on your phone.”
That made Dec sit up. “Explain.” He flicked some keys on the keyboard and critically surveyed the huge screen on the wall. “My end is secure. I would know if there’s a bridge.”
“Yes, but one of your agents communicating with you has a trojan in his. One that doesn’t spread, but just collects data. The moles are piecing information by checking and comparing the location of each communication between your operatives. One call from where I am right now and they know you’re on to them.”
“I’ll get my IT team on this,” Dec said grimly. “Meanwhile, what do you have?”
“We’ve managed to get intel about a single missile sale exchanging hands on international waters by the Philippines. Abu Sayyef pirates run the piracy cartel there, so we’re going to trace any sailing activity heading toward Bali from that area.”
“Keep me posted. My guy just arrived in Bali. He checked in with me at the airport. Since he is not in my operations, his devices should be clean.”
He watched Jed’s light eyes glance off-screen, as if he was looking for confirmation from someone. He nodded and returned his attention to Dec. “Surya’s chief says she will make sure of it.”
“Is the interpreter just a front for other espionage duties, then?” Dec asked, a tad cynically. His file on GEM contract work showed mostly third-party interpreters and observers, such as contractors for the World Health Organization in third-world countries, concentrating mainly in areas where women and children were victims. Not that these areas were any less dangerous, since many of them were in some of the main hotspots of unrest. “I heard about a merger with your commando unit. That raised a few eyebrows, I’m sure, seeing that they’re just interpreters.”
Jed looked off-screen again, then back to him. “GEM operatives go where the commandos and SEAL teams can’t go,” he said simply. “Interpret that as you will.”
“Who’s that you’re making eye contact with over there? Got a name for me?” Dec asked. He wanted to know more.
“T is the chief of operations for GEM. She wants you to know Surya and Kirk have worked together before, so they should be getting along in their hunt.”
Dec frowned. “Kirk hasn’t mentioned it.”
“That’s because he doesn’t know her by that name. I’m sure he’s recognized her by now.” The corner of Jed’s smile was faint. “GEM operatives are full of surprises that way.”
Dec glanced at his watch. “I’ll give Kirk a few hours to get his links and contacts set up before he calls. Should be interesting to hear the plans he and his partner have come up with. I’ll let them know what you told me. It’s unlikely he’ll make any calls to any of my operatives.”
“His cousin is your in-law,” Jed pointed out quietly. “I’d check out all devices, Dec. No exceptions.”
Dec nodded. There was a hacking technology which just needed a simple mobile call to be frequency-paired and the latest top-secret program released by DARPA was even more accurate and invasive. Because of his special contacts, his own securities agency was mostly protected with secured links. But DARPA—Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—frequently worked with Jed’s operatives who tended to move in and out of enemy as well as grey organizations. Jed’s people thus had the ability to drop in on, and record, mobile conversations, such as missile sales between unsavory entities.
“Will do. Uncle JD it is then, if any of us has to contact you. You’ll be hearing from my brother, Shane, regarding the SEALs waiting on hold. He might not be part of the operation, but these fellas are his friends and they’ll help Shane. This is personal.”
“I’m familiar with Hawk’s team,” Jed said. “I won’t get in their way. Or Shane’s. Unless necessary.”
“Jed, you can take out the missile buyers. You can cancel any Russian assholes who have infiltrated the system, but you let the SEAL team handle the rogue SEALs. I want them back alive for myself. Shane and my brothers only allowed you to handle this because of the arrangement.”
“Only if letting them live doesn’t jeopardize the lives of others,” Jed said, his voice remote. “You ca
nnot make me guarantee giving them priority when they have hostages.”
“Of course,” Dec agreed, “but you know what I mean.”
Jed nodded. “For your mother. I understand. I’ll get those who have betrayed your trust. You’ll keep your end of the agreement and share any information they have on their handlers. And all exchanges will be just between us, not with the departments. You let your Uncle JD do his job.”
“Affirmative. Thank you for the call, Uncle JD.”
Revenge. He had his and Jed had his own demons, except the latter played a long game in order to get the one he was after. Dec had no patience for that kind of game, had no desire for the big picture. He wanted to avenge his mother’s death; with all his heart, he wished he could have foreseen the danger of enemies within. He wanted to crush those right now. The international scene—the big picture—could go to hell. The snakes in his yard first. For Mom. For his grieving dad. Everything else was secondary.
CHAPTER THREE
Kirk tried all the dishes, eating fast and efficiently. He couldn’t take anything too spicy-hot, so he concentrated on the aromatic rice dishes. He was aware Surya was watching him with some amusement from across the table.
“Give me the names of these dishes,” he said, pointing to the few he liked.
“That’s nasi goreng. And lawar. The grilled skewered chicken is satay.”
“Mmmm, I had that in a Malaysian restaurant in DC.”
“The two countries have similar food,” Surya told him. “They also both use Bahasa Melayu, although the local dialects are quite different.”
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Because of the way you eat. You cut the meat in half, pop it in your mouth, chew, swallow. Next. Did you even taste anything?”
Kirk paused in the middle of chewing. “Of course I did. I left all the spicy stuff for you.”
She laughed, a soft, delightful sound. “Put in mouth. Chew. Spicy. Next. Put in mouth. Chew. Not spicy. Swallow. Put in mouth. Chew. Meat. Next. There is no pause in between to savor the dishes.”