by Lisa Weaver
She’d gotten under his skin, and that was a very bad thing. There were ghosts in his closet he didn’t want to unleash on anyone, let alone Stephanie. He’d been a selfish bastard, stripping her of her innocence when he couldn’t offer her the kind of committed relationship she deserved. He needed to let her go.
Spinning on his heels, he headed back to the guesthouse. He’d taken half a dozen steps when he heard her call his name.
“Aren’t you going to join me?” she asked, her huskily murmured query annihilating all his good intentions.
“I figured you might want some space,” he told her, turning around and slowly walking over to her. “You have every right to be angry with me. I screwed up.”
With one tender, heart-in-her eyes glance, she snuffed out every last one of the sparking embers of anger he’d been holding onto.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m not upset with you anymore. After I calmed down, I realized the situation was complicated. I understand, now, why you felt you couldn’t tell me what was going on. You can come in. I promise I won’t drown you.”
He set the platter and the bottle of wine down on a low table by the hot tub.
“I saw you with Damon in the gym. I respect that you know what you’re doing, but if he hurts you I swear I’m going to make him regret the day he was born.”
“What you saw was simply Damon lending an ear—as a friend. There’s nothing more to it than that, so you can stand down. But Damon did fill me in on the situation with your father. I’m so sorry, Frank. You should have told me. You didn’t have to bear that burden alone.”
“The fact that the man who sired me is immersed up to his neck in an organization filled with drug dealers, embezzlers, and sex traffickers isn’t something I’m ready to admit to the world at large yet.”
“That’s just it. I’m not the world at large. You can’t tell me you’re going to confide in me and then withhold the most personal details. I know I’ve been guilty of keeping things from you, too, but from now on no more secrets. Okay?”
“Agreed,” he nodded, his gaze serious. “Are you hungry? I brought a peace offering.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Oh, she was hungry all right.
Stephanie’s eyes were already indulging in a feast of their own, devouring every delicious millimeter of his cover-model-worthy body.
Part of her hoped he was wearing a swimsuit under the towel he wore draped around his waist, while the naughty side of her hoped he wasn’t.
Who needed a hot tub when the broad shoulders and muscular chest on display above that towel were hot enough to bring ice water to a boil on their own?
He stripped off the square of terry cloth, revealing a brief, black swimsuit. As she watched him stride over to the tub to join her, her body morphed into a mass of firing neurons. As he stepped into the hot tub, his hard body brushed hers. The flaming neurons erupted into an all-out conflagration.
Pulling her into his arms, he softly brushed his lips against hers. The heat in his gaze seared her to her very soul.
He claimed her mouth then. His kisses quickly grew more ardent, and his tongue slipped between her lips to tangle with hers in a sensual dance. His hands were busy, too, as he made short work of dispensing with their swimsuits. And then, with no barriers between them, those hands and that mouth were everywhere—exploring, invading, and eliciting sensations that threatened to shatter her into a million pieces.
“Please,” she begged.
He paused just long enough to take care of protection before satisfying her entreaty. There was nothing gentle about their coupling this time. Each exquisite thrust took her higher and higher until she could no longer suppress the tremors of desire shuddering through her. Their lovemaking culminated in a sensual explosion that left them both panting for breath.
She drew in a shaky gulp of oxygen. Bliss was too mild a word for what she was feeling, but she was pretty sure a word capable of expressing the exquisiteness of what she’d just experienced hadn’t been coined yet.
He made her bold and brazen and wild. And she loved him with every fiber of her being for it.
As their galloping pulses slowed, he gathered her into his arms. Nestled against the sturdy pillow of his chest, she knew this was where she belonged. Where she always wanted to be.
Now if she could only convince him he belonged with her.
“You should know that I reached out to Liz,” he told her, breaking in on her musings. “I asked her to verify Damon’s story, and her contact confirmed it’s true. The reason I overheard the men who abducted Pamela and I mention Damon’s name at the warehouse is because Damon was negotiating a deal with Henderson as part of his cover. But Damon’s also the one who tipped off the police that we were being held there. He’s the reason the authorities arrived on the scene in time.”
“Not in time for Pamela, though,” she noted sadly.
“According to Damon, she’s alive.”
“She’s alive?” She repeated his phrase in bewilderment. “But how can that be? You saw them shoot her.”
“Damon claims Pamela was a double agent, and her shooting was faked. He says the men holding us put another body in her place before they set the fire.”
“If that’s true, then she’s still out there.”
He nodded. “And apparently she’s Henderson’s mistress. She’s supposed to pick up a painting Henderson purchased from a gallery in Manhattan tomorrow. The DEA is going to place a tracking device in the carton, in hopes she’ll lead them to him.”
“So what now?”
“We help Damon bring Ivan Henderson and his associates down.”
“But your father is one of them. How do you feel about that?”
Frank’s gaze clouded. “It hurts, knowing he’s messed up in such sinister dealings, but I can’t say I’m really surprised. The only person my father has ever cared about is himself. He never wanted to have anything to do with me, and after my mother died his indifference only intensified. He was too busy warming beds to give a damn about me or what was going on in my life. To be honest, I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone. It scares me to think I might be just like him.”
“You aren’t anything like your father,” she refuted passionately.
“Ah, Kitten. You always believe the best of me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. After being with you like this, there’s no way I can go back to being just friends. I want more.”
Wonder and delight surged through her as she absorbed the words, her lips curving in a smile of pure and utter joy. “I want more, too,” she breathed, scarcely able to believe what he’d just told her. And then, without thinking, she uttered the three words she knew he wasn’t ready to hear: “I love you.”
The look on Frank’s face told her instantly she’d gone too far.
What had possessed her to use the L word?
She should have known better than to have jumped to the conclusion that his idea of “more” mirrored hers. He wasn’t talking about forever, he was merely offering an extension of their temporary tryst.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she quickly backtracked. “I know you don’t feel the same way about me. I was just opting for the full-disclosure thing in the interest of our ‘no secrets’ pact. I don’t expect anything more than what we agreed upon. I’m fine with a nostrings-attached relationship.”
And then, intent on keeping him from bolting, she proceeded to distract him by showing him exactly how fine with it she was.
Chapter Sixteen
Frank wasn’t a morning person, but waking up with Stephanie nestled in his arms certainly changed his early a.m. outlook for the better.
“Morning, handsome,” she smiled, stretching sinuously.
His body snapped to attention, completely under her spell. And he was afraid it wasn’t just his body that was enchanted with her—his heart might be, too.
It hit him, then, that what he felt for her ran far deeper than lust. H
e wanted to share more than a just a fling with her.
And yet he couldn’t risk it. Not now. Not knowing what Henderson was capable of.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured before melding their mouths in an evocative kiss, fully intending to show her just how great a day it could be.
The chiming of his cell phone intruded, derailing his plan. A quick glance at the screen told him the summons was from Damon.
“I’m sorry,” he groaned in disappointment. “I have to take this call. It’s Landers.”
Stephanie sat up, pulling the sheet over her breasts as she listened intently to his side of the conversation.
“What did he want?” she queried as he disconnected the call. “It sounds like something’s up.”
“The DEA is closing in on Henderson. Damon wants us to join him at the mansion so he can fill us in on what’s happening.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Fifteen minutes later, they were seated in Damon’s office.
“Thanks for coming,” he greeted them, his expression serious. “Things are going down at a fast-and-furious pace, so I wanted to loop you in as to what’s happening. We’re about to net Henderson and bring him in.”
“Already?” Stephanie blurted in surprise. “Frank filled me in on your plan last night. He said Pamela was due to pick up a painting today, and that you were going to use it to track Henderson. I’m amazed you’ve already got a lock on him in such a short time.”
Damon nodded. “We are, too. Pamela picked up Henderson’s new acquisition sooner than we anticipated. Fortunately my team still had time to plant the tracking device in the painting’s frame. They’ve traced the signal to a high-rise in Manhattan.”
“You’re certain Henderson is there?” Stephanie asked.
“As sure as we can be. If Pamela took the painting there, then in all probability Henderson should be there, too.”
“I want in on the bust,” Frank asserted.
Damon shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Henderson knows you by sight. He’s aware you did a stint with the CIA. If he spots you, it could blow the whole deal. Vanessa and I have to sit this one out as well. We’d love nothing more than to be there to see him brought in, but if he were to spot us, he’d know he’d been compromised and he’d bolt.”
“I’m not used to sitting on the sidelines,” Frank muttered in exasperation.
“You won’t be on the sidelines for long. As soon as he’s in custody, my team will be in touch. Vanessa will fly me out to wherever he’s being held, and then she’ll come back and collect you and Stephanie so you can be there when he’s interrogated.”
“And what about my father?” Frank queried. “Are you bringing him in?”
Damon’s forehead creased in consternation. “We planned to, but he’s in the wind at the moment. We dispatched a team to his house, but he was gone when they got there. They said from the looks of it he left in a hurry.”
Frank breathed a frustrated sigh. “He’s always been crafty. He’s a master when it comes to staying one step ahead of the game.”
Stephanie touched Frank’s arm lightly in commiseration before turning her attention to Damon. “So what’s next?” she asked him.
“Now we sit back and wait.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
The following few hours were tense as they awaited word from Damon’s tactical team. When the call came, it was obvious from the way Damon’s green eyes turned glacial as he listened to the update that something had gone horribly wrong.
Disconnecting the call, he turned to them. The pulse in his jaw leaped as he fought to contain his anger.
“I don’t know how, but Henderson figured out we were on to him. When my men stormed his place, it was empty. All they found was a note outlining his demands. He wants the jump drive with the data from the stolen computers. He’s insisting you have it, Frank. He says if you don’t deliver it to him personally he’s going to bomb a major tourist attraction. He won’t disclose the location of where the bomb has been planted until he has the drive in his hands. He claims he’ll blow the building if you don’t come alone to make the drop.”
Frank swore under his breath. “I don’t have the jump drive. I’ve never had it.”
“Could Henderson be bluffing about the bomb?” Stephanie asked.
Damon shook his head, his expression grim. “I don’t think so. And he’s callous enough not to care about any collateral damage he might leave in his wake.”
“Then let’s give him what he wants,” Frank asserted, his eyes gleaming dangerously. “We know Henderson wants Mendacci’s confidential business records so he can use the info to make a power play against him. All we have to do is load a bunch of fake records onto a travel drive and hand it over in place of the real deal.”
“There’s no way that will work,” Vanessa refuted. “He’s far too shrewd to be fooled by a move like that. Chase’s cipher will give us the location where he’s hidden the jump drive, and I’ve gotten close to cracking it, but I need more time. Time we don’t have. Henderson has slated the drop-off for an hour from now.”
“It’s okay,” Frank told her. “The fake travel drive doesn’t have to pass muster, it only needs to hook him. Henderson will undoubtedly want to vet the data on it, and while he’s distracted verifying it’s the real deal, I can take him down. I’m confident I can get him to disclose the location of the bomb.”
“That’s a suicidal plan!” Stephanie blurted, shaking her head emphatically in opposition. “You’re still recovering from a bullet wound. You can’t take him on. And even if you could bring him down single-handedly, what makes you think he’ll be alone?”
“He may not be alone, but neither will Frank,” Damon asserted. “The meeting place Henderson chose is a lighthouse off the Long Island Sound. While Frank goes in by boat, I’ll scuba dive in ahead of him and wait for the meet to go down. When Henderson is preoccupied with Frank’s arrival, I’ll get the jump on him.”
“I’m going along, too,” Stephanie and Vanessa insisted in unison.
“Absolutely not!” Frank roared.
“No way,” Damon seconded.
Stephanie turned to Frank, pinning him with a look of sheer determination. “If you tell me it’s too dangerous, I will not be responsible for my actions.”
“Ditto what she said,” Vanessa told Damon, her eyes narrowing.
Frank shook his head. “I don’t like it. There are too many variables.”
“Variables always play a part in what we do,” Stephanie argued, “but we’re trained to handle them.”
“Things are far more likely to go bad when it’s two against one, rather than four against one,” Vanessa added. “Letting us back you up is a solid plan, and the best shot we’ve got at nabbing Henderson.”
“They have a point,” Damon told Frank. “Having them along tips the odds in our favor. I’m willing to bet Henderson is running this op alone. He won’t want to risk Mendacci getting wind of what he has planned.”
“Okay …” Frank agreed reluctantly before turning his attention to Stephanie. “I want your word, though, that if at any point it looks like things are about to go bad, you’ll step to the sidelines.”
She shook her head, her eyes flashing her frustration. “I can’t promise you that. I could no sooner walk away from you in a sticky situation than you could from me.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
The boat trip to the lighthouse was tense. Frank still wasn’t excited about Stephanie and Vanessa’s involvement, and he made no secret of his disapproval.
“This is where we part company,” Damon said as Frank piloted his speedboat toward the lighthouse. “We don’t want to risk Henderson catching on that we’ve tagged along.”
“Keep your eyes open out there,” Frank urged Stephanie, as she, Vanessa, and Damon ran a final check on their scuba gear. “Be careful.”
“No worries. ‘Careful’ is my middle name,” she assured him. “You wat
ch yourself, too.”
“We’ll neutralize Henderson as soon as we get a visual on him,” Damon told Frank. “He should be sufficiently distracted watching for your arrival to make getting a jump on him easy.”
With that Damon, Vanessa, and Stephanie dove into the choppy ocean waters to make the swim to the back side of the lighthouse in advance of Frank’s arrival.
At their destination, the trio stripped off their scuba gear and began the climb up the cliff to the lighthouse.
Scaling the wet and rocky terrain was beyond treacherous. They’d almost reached the top, with Damon leading the way, when Vanessa’s foot slipped, sending shards of loose shale raining down on Stephanie. In her haste to avoid the rocky barrage, Stephanie’s ankle twisted under her, sending her tumbling several feet back down the slippery rock face.
“Are you okay?” Vanessa whispered, scrambling to her aid and giving her a hand up.
She nodded, ignoring the shooting pain that lanced up her ankle the moment she set weight on it at the top of the cliff. She had no doubt she’d sprained it, but there was no time to worry about that now.
Resuming the climb, Stephanie caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth to shout out a warning, but before she could utter a word Damon was ambushed by a figure dressed in black.
Henderson! He’d discovered them.
She and Vanessa drew their weapons, but Henderson was faster. Swinging the butt of his gun, he struck Damon in the head, knocking him unconscious and sending him sprawling to the ground. The next second, his weapon was trained on them.
“Drop your guns, ladies, and put your hands in the air. Now,” he snarled menacingly.
When she and Vanessa hesitated rather than complying with his command, he sent a warning shot whizzing over their heads. “I have a meeting to make, and my patience is running thin,” he barked. “It’s in your best interests to do as I say. Turn over your weapons, or the next bullet I fire won’t miss.”