Her brow arched and she looked at him like she had heard something in his tone she didn’t appreciate. A droplet of water slipped down from her forehead, dotting the edge of her hairline and sliding its way along her neck until it stopped at the perfect V-shaped hollow at the base of her throat.
Hell, he wanted to kiss that droplet away. He could imagine it now, moving closer to her. Pulling her into his arms. Licking away the drop from her skin. It probably tasted sweet thanks to her shower, maybe even smelled of some exotic flower. His body stirred to life at the thought.
He turned away, wishing that he’d had boxers on after all.
“No. No one like that,” she said, walking behind him and moving to her sleigh-like bed. “Don’t turn around, I’m going to get dressed.”
There was the sound of her towel dropping to the floor behind him. Desire dictated that he turn, but respect stopped him from listening to his baser instincts...no matter how badly he wanted to scoop her into his arms and throw her onto the fur on the bed and make love.
He caught a glimpse of her, from her shoulders up, in the glass of a framed photo. If he moved just a bit he was sure that he could have a full view of her, but he forced himself not to. He didn’t need any more reminders of how sexy she was and how badly he wanted her.
“I called a friend at the DOJ. If you want, I think we have somewhere we can go. Somewhere you will be safe,” he said, forcing himself back to the task at hand.
“What about him?” she asked, motioning in the direction of the body.
“Don’t worry. I told them what happened. For now, you aren’t in any trouble, but they may want to question you. In the meantime, they just want you to get somewhere safe.”
“And they put you in charge of that? Ever since I met you, people have been dropping like flies around me. I think I might be safer just getting away from you.”
He snorted. He couldn’t tell her the truth of who he was or why he was here—he’d be directly out on his ass if he did—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hint. “Don’t start looking over here to find the cause of what has been happening. I’m just a simple civil servant. Who would want to come after me?” he lied.
“When that man came at me, he said that I could ‘thank my boyfriend’ or something,” she said, her voice muffled as he assumed she pulled her shirt on over her face. “I think he was talking about you.”
“It’s not likely. No one in the world would think we were in a relationship.”
“Oh,” she said, and there was a twinge of hurt in her voice. “I guess you’re right, but who else could he have been talking about?” She walked close to him on her way to the bureau, where she grabbed a pair of light socks. She slipped them on—but before her feet disappeared, he made out the white tips of a fresh pedicure. This lady must have lived one hell of a life.
He shrugged. “Who knows what this guy was thinking. Until we get a positive ID on him, it’s going to be hard to know anything. He didn’t give you any other clues, did he?”
“Did you pat him down or whatever?”
“Yeah, there was nothing. Would’ve been nice if the bastard had carried a wallet, huh?” He chuckled.
“With whatever it is that you do, do you deal with this kind of thing a lot? I mean dead guys and stuff?”
He’d seen more death than he would ever care to admit. He’d spent more than one afternoon standing on-site at mass graves in the Fertile Crescent. The most recent had been in Syria after a chemical weapons attack by the local government. He could still recall the stench of the bodies, the clouded, shrunken eyes of the dead and the hum of flies...oh, the flies. They alone could have been the stuff of nightmares.
“Are you okay?” she asked, touching his arm with her shower-warmed fingers.
“Yeah, fine. I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was. Hell of a week, this one.” He located a suitcase in her closet and brought it out to her. “Pack what you are going to need.”
“How long do you think we’re going to be away? Wait... You’re going to stay with me, aren’t you, Chief Security Advisor?”
He smiled, and part of the protective coating on his heart chipped away. “You got it. At least, if that’s what you want.”
Her fingers moved down the hair of his arms, leaving a burning trail behind. “There is nothing that I would want more, though...” She paused.
“What?” he asked, touching his arm where her fingers had just been.
“I need to get in touch with my brother before I go anywhere.” She opened her bag, completely unaware of the turmoil within him. “I tried to call him earlier, but it went to voice mail.”
Now he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to tell her about her brother’s death after all. All of his normal interrogation techniques and practices were quickly plummeting out the window. He had to stop breaking the rules when it came to this woman. Though their circumstances were about as unconventional as they were uncomfortable, he had to try to get them back on track.
However, he had a feeling that she was already scared enough as it was, even without knowing that her brother had been gunned down by an agent.
He couldn’t believe he had gotten himself so compromised with this woman, and so quickly. This wasn’t his way. Normally, he was in, out and done. One day, one interrogation, one paycheck, and then shipped off to the next location. It was the way he liked it. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.
As it was, they had already spent more than their fair share of time together. He’d hate to think the effect she’d have on him in a week if he did decide to take her to Montana.
“Why don’t you try to call him again?” he asked, feeling sheepish in feigning such deplorable ignorance.
She couldn’t find out what he knew or his role in this. She would hate him forever if she did.
She walked over to the head of her bed, picked up the phone and dialed.
“I’m going to go make some phone calls of my own. I’ll come get you when I’m done,” he said, walking out of her bedroom.
She nodded, but she was distant, no doubt worrying about her inability to get in touch with her brother.
He called his sister Zoey, but she didn’t answer and his mind instantly moved to what Mindy must have been feeling. His gut ached. There was no way, absolutely no way he could be the one to break the news to her. Maybe she didn’t need to know right now.
But if he didn’t tell her, she might not agree to seek safety. They’d be back to square one.
And if she found out, she would be an even bigger wreck. He would have to console her. And as much as he desired to bring her into his arms, he had to stick to his guns and try to keep her in the professional zone.
He texted Zoey a message and instructions. Hopefully, she would come through. If not, they would probably be staying in New York—the heart of the target. If they did, he wasn’t sure he could save her from being taken down if their enemy’s aim was true.
Chapter Six
She stared at the receiver. Daniel’s voice mail. Again.
Something was definitely wrong. She hung up and dialed his house. His live-in nanny, Esmerelda, picked up. “Hey, Mindy, how’s it going?”
“I’m okay,” she lied, throwing things in her suitcase in a feeble attempt to pack. “Hey, you haven’t talked to Daniel today, have you?”
“Actually, he hasn’t been home for a few days. As far as I knew, he was supposed to be home last night.” There was the sound of a washing machine in the background, reminding Mindy of all that Daniel’s life entailed—a life that was a far cry from her own.
The flicker of panic she had been feeling grew into a full-blown flame. “And you haven’t heard from him?”
“Nope, I tried calling him this morning. Anya wanted to talk to him, but it went straight to voice mail.”
Mindy glanced in the direction of her closet. What if
he had been jumped, as well?
“I’ll be there in a few. Please pack Anya a bag.” She hung up the phone without waiting for Esmerelda to answer. She could apologize for her gruffness later; for now they had to get the hell out of there.
She walked downstairs with her suitcase and made her way into the living room, where Jarrod was waiting. His foot was tapping as he typed something on his phone. He was frowning as he worked.
Though he was incredibly handsome, he almost edged on a hot mess. Strangely enough, it was endearing, the way his hair matted against the side of his head and how his shirt was tucked in the back. She would’ve hated it if he had been perfect while she was so characteristically out of sync with her normal life.
“Jarrod?” she asked, her voice soft and unassuming. If she was going to have him help her with Anya, she needed to present this to him as gently as possible. If Jarrod was like most guys she’d known, having a child in tow would be the last thing he’d want.
He looked up from his phone. “Perfect.” He hurried over to her, grabbing her suitcase and wheeling toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Making their way outside, they waved down a taxi. As Jarrod put her suitcase in the trunk, she gave the driver directions to her brother’s house in New York. Jarrod sat down next to her in the back seat. Though there was enough room between them to fit another person, she suddenly felt entirely too close to him.
As they drove through the borough, Jarrod seemed glued to his phone.
“Is everything okay?” Mindy asked.
He clicked off his phone and looked over at her. “Yeah, it’ll be fine. Just making sure we have airline tickets and everything is in order when we arrive at LaGuardia.”
“Actually, we’re going to need a third ticket.” She gave him a guilty grin. “I want to take my niece with us, wherever it is we’re going. I still haven’t been able to reach Daniel, and I’m afraid something might’ve happened to him.”
Jarrod’s eyes widened slightly. “Your brother has a daughter?”
“If your friends at the DOJ don’t let us take her, I don’t think I can go. I need to make sure she stays safe. And if my family is under attack, it’s vital she be protected.”
“I see.” He nodded as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. “How old is she?”
“She’s five.” Mindy paused, unsure of exactly how much she should tell him about her niece.
“Okay, I’ll make sure she has a ticket with us.”
Surprisingly, he didn’t sound as upset as she had assumed he would be. Maybe he really wasn’t interested in her as anything more than a job. In a way the realization came as a relief, even as disappointment also swirled through her.
“There’s something else,” she continued. “Anya has special needs.”
“Allergies?”
“Actually, she has Down syndrome. We have to get her. I need to make sure she is safe.”
He looked at her for a moment. “That’s fine, but we’re going to have to move some things around.”
“I think it would be for the best.”
“Do you think she’s going to be worried about her father?” Jarrod asked.
“Well, I’m sure she’s going to notice that her father is missing. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with her, but he’s really been trying ever since he...”
“He what?” Jarrod asked.
“Anya’s mother wasn’t from the United States.” Mindy tensed. “At the time of Anya’s birth, she was living in Russia. When Daniel heard he had a daughter, he tried to convince the woman to bring her to the United States, as the care and resources are better. Instead, the woman tried to extort money from him...to the tune of $1 million.”
“Did he give it to her?”
She nodded. “He wouldn’t refuse her money to take care of their daughter. However, it soon came to light that instead of using the money for their child, she put Anya up for adoption.”
There was a long silence between them and the air was filled with the wailing of ambulances and the constant street noise of the city. She wished he would say something to give her an idea of what he was thinking.
“Does your family have this kind of drama?” She tried to laugh, but the sound came out strangled.
He snickered. “Every family brings their own kind of drama, but there is no family out there that doesn’t have issues.”
She would take that as a yes.
The taxi came to a stop in front of her brother’s building. Jarrod seemed a bit surprised, but helped her out of the cab and grabbed her bag as she made her way toward the building.
The doorman welcomed her with a warm greeting, but she didn’t hear exactly what he said so she just smiled. Jarrod followed behind her as they made their way over to the bank of elevators. She didn’t have to say anything to the man waiting inside. He pushed the button for her brother’s floor.
Again Jarrod seemed surprised, this time probably at the level of service, which once again made her wonder exactly how and where he had grown up. He’d said something about the Bronx, though he hadn’t gone into a lot of detail. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Anya is a sweetheart. You are going to really like her,” she said. “Do you know where we are going to go?”
Jarrod glanced at the bellhop and his features darkened, almost as though he was afraid the man was listening into their conversation—which, undoubtedly, he was.
“I’m so excited about a little vacation,” she said, trying to cover her mistake. “I’m thinking Rio will be nice this time of year.”
He looked bemused at her feeble attempt.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long to get to the tenth floor. Esmerelda was waiting at the door when she knocked. “Hey,” she said, opening the door. “Who’s your friend?” She gave Jarrod an admiring glance.
“I’m just her driver, ma’am,” Jarrod said. “But it is wonderful to meet you.” He sounded prim and proper, matching the almost-fitting suit he was wearing.
Mindy tried to disguise her surprise.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, driver.” Esmerelda gave him a nod.
“Is Anya ready to go?” Mindy asked.
“She should be. I put her in charge of picking a few stuffed animals she would like to take along.” Esmerelda turned and walked toward Anya’s bedroom. “How long are you planning on keeping her?”
“I don’t know, maybe a week. I’ll try and get ahold of Daniel again, but if you talk to him first...just let him know she’s with me.” She was careful not to reveal any unnecessary details.
Anya was sitting on the floor in her room. She was coloring, her wide strokes spreading off the edges of the paper and into the area rug, but, thanks to the brand, they weren’t leaving marks behind.
“Anya, sweetheart,” Mindy said, moving beside the girl and sitting down next to her. “How are you doing, honey?”
Her brunette head popped up and she gave Mindy a look of pure, unfiltered love. “Anta!” she cried, using the name she had recently assigned her. Anya smiled, her round face filled with joy as she jumped up and looped her arms around Mindy’s neck. “Presents?”
Mindy laughed. Of course, that would be the one word the five-year-old would say perfectly.
“Not today, sweetheart.”
Anya let go and went back to her coloring. Sometimes Mindy had to force herself to remember not to feel guilty or hurt. Anya was always going to be a girl who wouldn’t mask her true feelings. And right now, that honesty was to be respected.
“Anya?” she said, trying to draw her attention, but Anya was concentrating on a horse on the paper. “Anya, I was hoping that you would want to go with me on an adventure. Are you all ready to go?” she asked, careful to make it something they both wanted. The last thing she needed was for the girl to have a meltdown. Time was not on their side.
A
nya stood up and, without saying a word, ran to her bed. She grabbed a stuffed unicorn, complete with big sparkly eyes. “Let’s go.” She walked to Mindy and threw her hands up in the air, wanting to be picked up.
Hopefully, Daniel was fine. But in case they were right and Daniel was...compromised...this was the only option she had. And yet, it felt strange to put her trust in Jarrod, a man she had only just met. However, he was a man who had already risked his life for her. He had known what to do with the dead man in her closet.
Her brother would probably have something cynical to say when he found out about her relationship with Jarrod. He would certainly question the man’s motives.
As much as she realized she ought to, she hated to let her mind slip to those thoughts. There were already enough questions roaring through her. Right now, she needed answers.
As she lifted the little one and hugged her to her chest, there was no question in her mind—when it came to this child, the only answer was to do anything to keep her niece safe, even if it meant placing her trust in a man she barely knew.
Chapter Seven
He had planned on the two of them simply boarding a plane and hightailing it out of there, masked by the anonymity of airport crowds. That was no longer an option. As soon as they walked out of Daniel’s apartment pushing Anya in the stroller, all eyes were on them. It was like no one had ever seen a kid with special needs before and it irritated the hell out of him. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Mindy, having to deal with the sideways glances and hateful comments that she probably received when she was with Anya.
As they waited for their Uber, he glanced down the road, looking for anyone or anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Most were consumed by their phones, chatting away as they passed through their day glued to the screen. As much as he hated it, he was no different from anyone else in that regard. His job required he be accessible.
Anya babbled away in her stroller, laughing sporadically at her private jokes. He had so many questions for Mindy about the little girl, but he didn’t want to be anything like those people who treated Anya as some kind of curiosity instead of just a child. Whatever he needed to know, she would inevitably tell him or he would learn himself.
In His Sights (Stealth Series Book 2) Page 5