She decided she’d earned it.
Heedless of the fact that anyone could come trotting up and witness this most public display, Rachel wiggled her tongue between his lips for a deeper taste. His groan mirrored her exact feelings. Warm heat centered in her chest and swooped lower into her body until her core wept with desire. There wasn’t a spot on her skin that wasn’t buzzing with excitement and need.
She wanted Colin and she wanted sex. She deserved a victory dance complete with erotic complications and generous doses of satisfaction. His warm luscious mouth devoured hers. His tongue zinged and darted between her lips tasting and touching every crevice as if he couldn’t get it deep enough or move it fast enough.
Rachel pondered the unholy desire she had to push him to the ground and to hell with public display. Her hips migrated towards his in rebellious longing for the sex she’d have to wait for.
Colin broke the kiss panting and whispered, “Is there any way for you to slip away after the briefing in DC?” The question danced against her lips. Not waiting for a response, he delved inside her mouth to tangle tongues again.
After several moments she disengaged long enough to say, “Perhaps.”
“Please. I’m desperate.”
Rachel felt his desperation rising against her hip and an enormous gush of moisture shot into her panties in response. She pondered briefly the impossibility of getting time alone for some naked aerobics in the immediate future, but a noise behind them followed by a stern voice quelled the thought.
“Get your lips off my agent!”
* * * *
Paul and Ken exchanged a quick shocked stare as Jake marched Salerno into view. There was a long moment of silence as he was escorted to the waiting car to be whisked away for interrogation.
“Do you want in on the questioning?” Ken’s voice sliced through the expectant air hovering in the vehicle.
“Not necessarily. If you’d be kind enough to mention my agency a few hundred times in your official report, I’ll let you have the collar.”
“That’s so very generous of you and completely out of character. What gives?”
“I don’t want Rachel in contact with your agent. Where are they?”
Frankie perked up. She keyed the microphone and said, “Rachel?” After several seconds, Frankie failed to hide her amusement and shook her head indicating Rachel didn’t respond.
Paul sighed and moved to exit the communications van. The unmarked federal car holding Salerno drove away as he descended the three stairs to the pavement. He had no doubt she was with Colin and he vowed to put a stop to it once and for all.
Quietly amazed at the events of tonight, he’d been loath to send Rachel on this short mission with Colin, but together they’d done very well. Salerno’s hideout, in fact, held the best treasure of all. Salerno was alive and now under Ken’s operational jurisdiction.
Rounding the back corner of the house the path opened up to the back yard and a field of knee-high grass. Immediately visible was Rachel in a serious lip-lock with Colin. Damn it.
“Get your lips off my agent!” Paul growled before common sense could intrude. Colin eventually stopped the kiss, but not fast enough. Rachel turned and gave him a narrowed-eyed glare over one shoulder but didn’t release him. Paul knew he wouldn’t win any points by coming across as irritated, even though he was extremely so.
Paul released a deep breath and tried to relax so he could tell her what he’d come out to say. Pasting a smile on his face he nodded once. “Good job, Rachel.”
Her shocked expression in return made him realize he spent too much time criticizing and lecturing after her missions and not enough time praising her efforts.
“You too, Mr. Riley. Both of you did an amazing job tonight.” This earned him an equally puzzled stare from Colin.
Digging his hands into his pockets, Paul scanned her head to toe and noticed the cut on her face. Blood glistened on one cheek and it sent a chill straight to his heart.
“You’re hurt.”
Rachel sighed and removed her arms from around Colin’s neck. “I’ll live.”
Arms locked stiffly at her side, she turned to face him as a belligerent expression registered.
Before she could blister him with her opinion, he rushed to say, “Still, I’ve set you up on an earlier flight out of here ahead of time tonight so you can report to medical.” Paul glanced at Colin once. “The rest of the team can do the clean up.”
Her lips pursed then flattened. “I don’t need to be coddled.”
Paul tilted his head back to stare at the night sky a moment before leveling her with an irate gaze. “Jesus, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“You aren’t my father.”
“No. I’m your superior. And as such, I require you to be fit for duty.” Paul glanced at his watch. “You need to get going to make your flight.”
“So this was set up in advance?”
Paul exhaled deeply. “Yes.”
Rachel’s fiery stare slid to his once more and a devilish smile shaped her lips. Before Paul could stop it, and he would have given the time, Rachel grabbed Colin’s face, pulled his head close and pressed her lips hard over his mouth for another kiss.
Paul tightened his fists, when he saw her tongue slide along Colin’s lower lip, but in the next instant she separated their bodies allowing only a small distance.
“See you in DC, lover.” Rachel smiled at Colin, which he returned. Purposely not looking in Paul’s direction, she turned and walked away from the two men without a backward glance.
Paul released a deep sigh, and muttered, “Not if I can help it.”
Colin snorted. “Are you seriously going to try and keep us apart?”
Paul took a deep breath to keep from shouting. Keep your fucking hands off of my agent! Instead he managed to say calmly, “I’d prefer that your relationship remained on a more professional level.”
A smile shaped Colin’s mouth. “The more you try to keep us apart, the more she’ll fight to see me.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Riley? I assure you I’m immune.”
“No. It’s a fact.” He turned to stare directly into Paul’s surely weary face. “I happen to care for her. I believe she cares for me. Why is it such a big fucking problem for us to be together?”
Paul worded his next response carefully. He wasn’t the type to share any information regarding his group of agents, but at the same time Colin and Rachel needed to remain apart. “Protocol agents have unique constraints that I’m not at liberty to explain. There is a fragile balance in the structure of our training that must be maintained in order for her to succeed. You do not fit into our program.”
“We succeeded just fine tonight.”
“But that isn’t always the case, is it? You prevented her from doing her mission in Las Vegas to the detriment of your own partner.” Paul bored his own angry gaze into Colin. “And because of you, she was nearly late to her rendezvous in the woods of Columbia. Do her career a favor and refrain from any further romantic contact.”
Colin didn’t respond. He simply walked away, his stiff gait an indicator he wasn’t likely to take Paul’s advice.
So be it. There were other ways to ensure they remained apart.
The truth was Rachel had been thrust into his group without regard to her capabilities. Someone had secretly recruited her behind his back and put her through the invasive and rigorous training before he was made aware or able to stop it.
For that he blamed Senator Bremer. Vengeful bastard.
Long ago, Paul had accidentally made a tragic error of judgment with regards to a woman. The result being that he’d earned a lifelong enemy. Poking Senator Bremer in the ass with a branding iron would have resulted in less censure. At the time, Paul hadn’t realized the far-reaching nature of Bremer’s power. A hard lesson he’d learned early in his career and in the end, and Rachel was now the one paying the price.
He didn’t begrudge her a love life, h
owever it wasn’t conducive to this group. Besides the long term effects had never been tested. It was the primary reason he had an ex-agent parading as her aunt to keep her out of trouble and out of relationships when she wasn’t working.
If he didn’t have Senator Bremer up his ass everyday about putting Rachel out on every available mission, Paul knew he’d have her languishing in Alabama living a very quiet life as a part-time librarian.
Pure torture didn’t begin to cover what he endured as he was repeatedly forced to send his only living relative out into a dangerous world as a covert black ops spy.
Chapter 13
Paul gnashed his teeth during the entire return flight of the plane he’d privately chartered. He also ground his molars in the blessedly quiet cab ride all alone headed back to his office in DC. A pounding headache had formed at the back of his skull relentlessly vibrating the pain to the center of his forehead.
Despite the success of the recent mission, he was antsy for the partnership between his Protocol agents and Ken’s black ops group to end. He hoped Senator Bremer would cooperate in this matter. The less time spent in field operations with them the better chance he had to keep Colin and Rachel apart.
It was a relationship that would go nowhere.
He knew first hand what kind of man Colin Riley was, recognizing himself in the younger agent. Once upon a time Paul had also been involved in a tenuous relationship, a relationship that should never have taken place.
Jessica.
He took a moment and remembered his lust-filled attraction to her as if it were yesterday.
The afternoon traffic back from the airport made the journey twice as long as it normally would have been. Glancing at his watch, he realized he was running very late. Back in the secluded ops building, he hurried to his office. No time for anymore memories of sweet Jessica right now.
Paul dropped his jacket and briefcase in the chair next to his desk and noticed that his phone’s message light flashed wildly. The maximum speed of the light fluttering meant he had the maximum number of calls allowed already waiting to be sorted through. Given his luck, half of them were surely from Senator Bremer rabidly demanding a report on the progress of the mission.
Later.
First he’d go to the closing briefing for the St. Louis mission and hopefully be rid of the other group. Forcing himself not to gallop to make it on time ensured that he came across as calm and reserved when he felt anything but that. He strolled leisurely into the meeting five minutes after the start time as if those inside should have waited for him before starting.
Seated alone on one side of the immense black conference table, Frankie sighed deeply and looked very glad to see him arrive. Reassured even. That was unusual. Her relief didn’t last long after the pneumatic door snapped shut behind him.
Frankie looked over his shoulder at the closed entrance. “Where’s Rachel? Isn’t she with you?” The palpable alarm in her tone gave him pause. She stood up. “I haven’t seen her since we got back.”
“Relax. I sent her ahead to medical. She’s probably been there and gone.” Paul thought back to the messages flashing on his office desk and wished he’d taken the time to at least check them.
Colin stood. “She’s not there now and she hasn’t been there since yesterday. I already checked. No one in medical has seen her. I don’t think she made it back from the mission.”
Paul frowned. “I told them to keep you out of medical. Guess it’s time to fire someone.” His flip attitude concealed his own growing concern.
Rachel should have been back here to the facility well before any of the members of the mission team. The Protocol Agency shared this centrally located and completely secret building with other black ops agencies. Security was tight, but she was authorized by her fingerprints and retinas to gain entrance. Any door she passed through would register both and thus she could be located anywhere in the building.
“What have you done with her, Mr. Kelly? I know you don’t want us together, but this seems very extreme.” Colin’s stiffly held frame, fisted hands and snotty demeanor displayed his obvious worry.
“I didn’t do anything with her.” Paul frowned. “I sent her back here on a privately chartered flight.” Sticking a hand in his front pocket, he gripped his cell phone and removed it to check for messages. “Perhaps the departure was delayed or the flight redirected due to bad weather.” He didn’t believe it since the weather report in the newspaper he’d read on his own return flight showed blue skies all across the continental U.S. for the entire week.
“The main facility check point doesn’t show her in residence anywhere in the complex,” Frankie said quietly. “She never showed up here after the mission in St. Louis.”
Colin stepped away from his chair and took two aggressive steps in Paul’s direction. “Where is she?”
Fisting his phone in one hand he barked, “I don’t answer to you.” Paul turned towards Ken. “Tell your agent to stand down or I’ll have him removed.”
Ken stood up from his position at head of the table and a grim frown slid into place. “For the record, Rachel was a part of my team during the last mission. You didn’t have the authority to send her anywhere without at least consulting with me.” Ken smoothed his tie then pegged him with another harsh stare. “Is she really missing or did you send her elsewhere to keep her out of my agent’s reach?”
Paul didn’t like the accusatory atmosphere in the room. His eyebrows crunched in anger. “She’s my agent. Always. And I don’t answer to you either.” He thumbed a number into his phone from memory, put the device to his ear and looked away from Ken’s critical expression.
“Yeah, this is Kelly. I need to check—” The private pilot he’d called started jabbering disjointedly before he could finish his sentence.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, Mr. Kelly! Your agent never showed up for her flight. I’ve left a thousand messages on your office phone. I didn’t have any other number for you. I’m still in St Louis. What do you want me to do?”
“Fuck.” Paul closed his eyes repeating the curse in his mind several more times. “Stay there. Don’t move. I’ll call you back.”
Colin hadn’t taken his eyes off of Paul since he’d entered the room. The concern etched in his eyes was touching. “She was hurt. Maybe it was worse than we thought.” His softer tone didn’t prepare Paul for the next question out of his mouth. “Would she go to Alabama?”
Frankie’s eyes narrowed. “Alabama?” She turned to Paul. “Why would she go there?”
Paul couldn’t stop his eyes from bulging. No wonder Rachel was fucked up, having nosebleeds and now missing.
The blood pounded through his veins as he realized that Colin knew where Rachel’s alter ego lived.
* * * *
The impact of his confession was very satisfying to watch. He knew it was flagrant and he’d wanted to shock Paul into telling the truth about where Rachel was. Unfortunately, he forgot about Frankie being in the room. The confusion was evident in her creased forehead and puzzled expression. Colin didn’t want to see blood flying out of her nose any time soon either.
Paul’s face flashed beet red and a vein in his forehead bulged to the point Colin thought it might implode.
Through clenched teeth, Paul sucked in a noisy breath and said, “Frankie, go check any surveillance we have from any source on Rachel’s departure from the mission site in St. Louis. Hack into whatever cameras you need to. She never made it to the airport. Also find out which government vehicle she used and locate the driver, the vehicle or both.”
“On it. I’ll be in the complex’s communications lab.” Frankie zipped out of the room bewilderment embolden on her features replaced quickly by determination.
Ken nodded to Jake. “Go help her.”
Jake hastened out of the room on Frankie’s heels.
The pneumatic door hissed and snapped shut leaving only Ken, Paul and Colin remaining in the silent room.
Paul l
eaned forward and placed his palms flat on the conference table. “Mr. Riley. You will now explain to me absolutely everything you know about Alabama with regard to my agent.”
Colin crossed his arms as a defiant streak roared through him. “No.”
“No?” Paul’s hands fisted on the table. “This is a serious breach of security. I could have you locked up and tortured until you tell me everything you know. The idea is also very appealing on a personal level. I’d reconsider if I were you.”
“It would be a waste of time and you know it.” Colin tilted his head to one side and stretched his neck. “I found Laurie Peterson by accident months ago.”
Paul’s eyes mashed shut when Colin said her alter ego name. Breathing deeply a couple times, he asked quietly, “Where did you find her?”
“The Millbrook City Police Department Homicide Division. My cousin works there.”
Paul’s face contorted into a puzzled squinty-eyed glare. “Why in the fuck was she there?”
Colin suppressed the urge to shrug his shoulders and pretend ignorance. “She confessed to a murder she thought she’d committed. You know, the embezzler that Rachel killed?”
“How can you possibly know that?” Paul stood and came around to his side of the table. Ken grabbed his shoulder to stop his advancement towards Colin. This earned Ken a malevolent look, but Paul stopped moving.
“By pure providence I assure you.”
Paul’s hands clenched and unclenched at his side. “I’m not assured.”
“Laurie experienced missing time and blackouts. She dreamt about the missions Rachel was on.”
“How do you know?”
Colin’s eyebrows went up and he smiled. “How do you think? She told me.”
Paul’s artic blue eyes locked with his. “How many times have you been to see her?”
“Several.”
“What did you say to cause the nosebleed?”
Colin sighed and broke the staring contest. “Which time?”
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