License to Love (An Agent Ex Novel)

by Robinson, Gina

  One of the thugs rolled Davo’s body into the pool. Dozens of fish suddenly swarmed out of nowhere, jumping and snapping at the body. Rock hadn’t imagined seeing a fish jump. There were fish in that pool—hungry, pack-hunting fish. Random must have been keeping them penned at the far end.

  Rock averted his gaze and stared directly at Random. Never let a bully see you flinch. “How very Blofeld of you.”

  Random grinned. “Bond fan, are you?”

  Rock shrugged. “I’ve seen most of the movies.”

  “Well then, you know Blofeld only had tiny piranhas. These are tiger fish,” Random said, though Rock hadn’t asked. “They’re five to eight times larger than piranhas. Even more deadly and vicious.” Random was obviously proud of one-upping the fictional villain.

  Random paused again. “Imagine how frightening and painful it would be to be eaten alive. A little boy would be terrified.”

  “You sick bastard! Leave the boy alone. Where is he? Before I agree to anything, I want to see him. In person.”

  Random shook his head. “Not possible. Not now. Cooperate with me and I’ll guarantee his safety for life. Refuse me, and I’ll send his mother the video of him playing with my tiger fish.”

  Rock swallowed hard, defeated. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything you say. Just don’t hurt my boy.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Rock was in a fury. At Random. At Lani. At himself. At the world in general. He’d the same as killed Davo. And now the world’s worst terrorist organization had Rock’s son. How in the hell could Lani keep that from him? How could she be so cold and collected that she’d go on a mission while RIOT had her baby—

  He stopped short. A cold chill washed over him. Unless they were blackmailing her, too. Or she thought her baby was safe and didn’t know he’d been snatched.

  Rock ran a hand through his hair and winced at the movement. His back was bruised and felt like hell. His ego was pierced. And he was sick at heart and stymied.

  What did he do now? Who did he trust?

  Did he confront Lani? Tell Tate, Ty, and Tal? Do Random’s bidding and hope Random kept his word and gave his boy to him unharmed? Betray his country and sign the death warrants of who knew how many innocent people?

  Whatever Random wanted with Area 51, it couldn’t be good. Area 51 was the development site of the Oxcart airplane and the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. Whatever the CIA was trying to protect there was a matter of national security. In the hands of an enemy …

  Whom to turn to? Who could he trust? Could the CIA get his boy back for him? Could Rock take the chance? He needed to think.

  When he was in a temper and needed to clear his head, Rock headed to his studio stage. He stood in the stage wings after heading there on autopilot, hardly aware of making the drive. He turned on a couple of spotlights before walking to the center of the stage.

  Daggers of Death was the perfect trick for his mood. He’d love to shower some real daggers at Random. For now, all Rock could do was perform the act and pretend.

  He stabbed a handful of gleaming, sharp silver daggers into the soft wood of his show table, imagining plunging them into Random’s smug heart. He donned his magician’s vest, turned on his fog machine and the red laser lights, and positioned the target wheel ten paces in front of him.

  Usually one of his beautiful assistants would be strapped to it. Today he wished he could strap Random and his goons on it and see just how good his real aim was. Next to the wheels stood Rock’s cones of tantalizing, awe-inspiring fire. Rock gave the wheel a hard spin and stepped back.

  Lasers lit the fog, casting eerie, devilish wisps of flame. Rock crossed his arms in front of him and dramatically flung them into the air above his head. Fire shot to the ceiling from his cones. The power. If only it were real and not controlled by a pedal at his feet.

  He called up the fire again and grabbed a dagger. “This one’s for you, asshole.” He let it fly at the spinning board.

  Really let it fly.

  He was actually pretty decent and accurate with a knife. In the show, of course, he never actually threw the daggers. No matter how good his aim was, really letting them fly was too dangerous. He pocketed them in his coat while a stagehand used a special device that shot knives through the back of the wheel to make it look like the pocketed knives were hitting the board and outlining his assistant.

  Rock let out a growl like that of a wounded tiger, grabbed one of his stage knives, and tossed it at the board across the room where it landed with a satisfying thud. He tossed another and another and another, watching them slice into the board across the room.

  Lani had dished him the ultimate betrayal. How could she have kept his son from him? And what had Rock done now by looking for Lani’s secret?

  He should have known that secrets revealed always destroyed the magic. Now he wasn’t sure he could ever forgive her. All he knew for certain was that he’d wanted his wife, and eventually a family, and now his boy was in danger. And it was because of his own actions.

  The boy. The question was, did Random really have him? It was a haunting question, a chilling question. But Rock was thinking of illusions and diversions. If Random had the kid, why not show him to Rock? Why not flaunt him right in Rock’s face? Make the kid cry? Have Rock ache to hold him? Threaten him right in front of Rock?

  The fact that Random didn’t made Rock think there was a chance Random was bluffing. That he didn’t have Rock’s son. No doubt he was trying to get his hands on him. But he was probably still searching for him. Lani, being who she was, would have hidden him well. Which would explain why she could be confident on the mission. But was that an acceptable risk to take? Could Rock chance it?

  He’d have to confront Lani and warn her, just in case. Would she panic? Or could they work together to get the child back, even if she was being blackmailed, too? And what about the chief? Was Random impersonating him? Or was he a double-crosser? What game was Random playing?

  Rock tossed another knife, engrossed in his own world.

  “Whoa! Hold your fire.”

  Rock froze. He stabbed the dagger he held back into the table and turned around to find Tate staring at him.

  “And here I always thought there was a trick to this trick, that you didn’t actually throw the knives.” Tate eyed the board and cocked a brow. “Next time I’ll be more impressed. Assuming your aim improves.” Tate held up Rock’s spy ring. “You went off the grid. Keeping secrets, are we?”

  Rock held his breath. Only one spy would have known where to look for him. She was either here, or she’d told Tate where to find him. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Lani stepped from the fog.

  “And remind me not to let myself be strapped there again, not with Rock in a temper.” Her words were light, but her tone was concerned. She watched him closely. “What’s the matter? What happened, Rock?”

  It took Rock a minute to compose himself enough to even think semirationally. Even then, words hardly came. He was suddenly paranoid. He couldn’t trust that they weren’t being spied on even here. Instead, he turned his back to them and held up his shirt to reveal the black-and-blue, fist-shaped bruises.

  Lani gasped and started toward him.

  Tate restrained her. “Rock?”

  Rock let his shirt down and turned back to face them. “The walls have ears,” he mouthed.

  Tate pulled a device out of his pocket and switched it on. “Combination bug, phone, and video jammer. The modern spy’s cone of silence.” Tate still had Lani by the arm. “What happened?”

  Rock glared at Lani, love, hate, and betrayal warring within him. “I went off the grid to meet with my PI. I had the feeling my wife was keeping something from me. Turns out I was right.”

  In the ghostly, foggy light, it was hard to tell whether Lani paled beneath her beautiful caramel skin. Rock imagined she did. Her eyes went wide, at least. Rock cracked and lost control.

  “You underestimate me, baby,” Rock said. “I m
ay not be a spy, but I know how to read people and spot lies and diversions.

  “But back to my story. I was intercepted, by RIOT. Turns out I had an audience with their chief, Archibald Random.”

  Tate dropped Lani’s arm, but she remained frozen in place. Tate’s jaw was set. “He roughed you up? What did he want?”

  Rock gingerly touched his bruised back and ignored the second question for the moment. “This? This is nothing. You should have seen what they did to my PI, Davo. He’s not just swimming with the fish. He’s been eaten by them. Your buddy Random has a Blofeld complex. And a swimming pool full of tiger fish.”

  “What did Random want with your PI?” There was real, genuine fear in Lani’s eyes.

  If Rock hadn’t been in such an angry, hurt mood, he might have felt some sympathy. Instead, his heart was hard. Rock approached the two spies until he stood directly in front of his wife and stared her in the eye. “He handed me an exploding cigar with a blue band and congratulated me on being a daddy.”

  Tate cursed beneath his breath.

  “My baby!” Lani grabbed Tate’s arm. “RIOT has my baby!” She pulled her cell phone out of her purse.

  Tate grabbed it out of her hand before she could dial and held it out of her reach as she lunged for it. “No, Lani! Think clearly. RIOT can’t possibly have him. If they did, we’d know. But if RIOT’s looking for him, you’ll give away Stone’s location.”

  Stone. She named their son Stone. After him?

  “We have to use emergency procedures,” Tate was saying.

  Rock was barely listening. He was too busy watching Lani worry about their kid. She was so distraught and distracted, she hadn’t even paused to consider how Rock might feel about her betrayal. Didn’t she realize that she’d stabbed him in the gut?

  “Rock!”

  Hearing Tate call his name broke Rock out of his stupor. “Does Random have Stone?”

  “I don’t know. He refused to show him to me.” Rock told them everything he knew. He related every detail, including his memory map of the left and right turns and times between them from Davo’s office to the undisclosed RIOT location.

  “We have to move!” Lani glared at Rock. “How could you stop by here to play with your fire and knives when your son’s life is in danger?”

  Rock stared back at her. “Is that what you believe about me?” He shook his head, numb. “I haven’t answered Tate’s other question yet, what Random wants from me. In return for Stone’s safety, Random wants me not to perform the prestige and let the crowd storm the Area 51 perimeters.

  “And there’s a complication I had to think about before I acted. One more thing I haven’t told you—Random looks and sounds like the chief. Either he’s the chief’s twin, or he’s altered himself to look like the chief, or the chief’s a double agent. Take your pick.”

  Rock stared into his wife’s eyes. “I’m going to get my boy back safely. I promise.”

  * * *

  Lani was furious at Tate for restraining her, even though he was in the right. Her motherly instincts interfered with her spy sense and all she could think about was making certain her precious baby Stone was safe.

  Tate took out his phone and called HQ to initiate the safety precautions regarding Stone. For the first time in her life Lani was so scared she couldn’t think. Foreign agents and terrorists could do anything to her, but if they harmed her baby she’d fall apart.

  She’d really screwed up her life and career. First by marrying Rock and then by accidentally getting pregnant. She’d been on birth control. She still wasn’t sure what had happened.

  As Tate talked to HQ, Lani unleashed her fury at Rock. “Damn it, Rock. You couldn’t leave well enough alone. You couldn’t keep your nose out of the secrets of the last two years. You didn’t trust me or that I had good reason to keep those years a blank from you. Look what you’ve done with your prying!” At that moment, she hated him.

  “Don’t look at me like that.” She glared at Rock. “Like I’m unreasonable for protecting my child—”

  He glared back. “Your child? Don’t you mean our child?”

  “My child, Rock. Mine. If you’d left well enough alone that’s all he’d be.” She glared at him, wanting to hurt him. “It had to be that way. It has to be that way. Or maybe it doesn’t matter now that you’ve ruined everything.” She took a deep breath to stave off tears and try to keep her voice from shaking.

  “I’m the bad guy for wanting to know what my wife was up to for two years? Yeah, that’s real nasty of me.” He stared right back at her. “Blame me if you like. I feel shitty enough for stumbling into the discovery and making Random aware of him. But it’s not my job that put him in danger in the first place.”

  “Wasn’t it?” She glared back at him. “You don’t understand, do you?” she said. “Yes, my job makes it dangerous to have children. But as long as Random had his sights set on you as being useful to him, which he has for over ten years, no child of yours would ever be safe.

  “Think about it, Rock. What leverage did he have? Even when you were broke he couldn’t buy you. You’re not close to your family. You loved me, so you say, which put me in RIOT’s crosshairs.

  “I’m used to being a target. I can take care of myself. I removed myself from the situation in part to keep you safe and out of RIOT’s reach.

  “Without me, RIOT still had no bargaining chip. But a child, Rock? That’s a weapon they’re free to wield. As long as RIOT wanted you, you couldn’t have a child.

  “So think about why I couldn’t come back, Rock. Give it a good, long think. I had to protect my baby. As long as you didn’t know about him, he was safe. But once you went digging, you handed RIOT the opportunity they’ve been looking for for the last ten years.”

  Tate got off the phone. He flicked a glance at Lani as her heart pounded in her ears. He shook his head. “Nanny’s not communicating. We’ve sent a team out to investigate. We’ll know the minute they know anything.”

  Lani gasped, all manner of horrific scenarios running through her mind. If RIOT had her baby, she was off the operation. Nothing would stop her from hunting down the RIOT bastards who’d taken him.

  Rock was cursing and making all kinds of threats. Tate had to restrain him to keep him from charging out.

  Rock struggled against Tate’s vise grip on him as Tate spoke. “Calm down, you two. Nanny’s the best. If RIOT has them, Nanny will escape.

  “You know Nanny, Lani. Nanny’s sharp and well-trained as an agent and great with kids. Nanny will protect Stone, no matter what.”

  Rock calmed down and stopped struggling to get free. Tate released him. Lani couldn’t look at him. She’d underestimated Rock. She should have known he’d see through her ruse. It was part of her attraction to him that he seemed to get to the real her no matter what façade she put on. She should have known he’d try to find out where she’d been and what she’d been up to for those two years. She’d made a tactical mistake and now she was paying for it. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

  “There’s only one thing to do now.” Tate’s gaze bounced between Rock and Lani. “Let our rescue team handle it. They’re specialists in rescuing hostages and agents in trouble. We have to go on with the mission and pretend that Rock will do Random’s bidding.

  “We’ll foil Random’s master plan and make sure he has no further use of Rock’s talents. Once Rock isn’t valuable to him anymore, he and Stone will be safe.”

  “Assuming he doesn’t come after us out of revenge,” Rock said.

  Tate shook his head. “I’m not saying Random doesn’t like his revenge served cold. But in this case I believe your celebrity will save you. Your death would generate too much interest.”

  “Not if I simply disappear. If that happens, my fans will be waiting for the ultimate prestige—when I reappear myself after a mysterious, prolonged absence,” Rock argued. “And why shouldn’t they think that? I’ve already done it with my wife.” He flicked a glance towar
d Lani.

  He blamed her, but she didn’t feel guilty for protecting her child in the only way possible.

  Tate shook his head again. “And all those millions would be looking for you. Random’s a psychopath, but he’s not crazy. Not that way. He doesn’t need the scrutiny. RIOT operates in the shadows until Random decides otherwise. When he goes public, it will be with a real sensation and a show of power. We’ve foiled his attempts before. We know what he wants.

  “His goal is to terrify and control. No offense, but he won’t waste his one big splash on you.”

  “None taken,” Rock said.

  Tate stepped away from Rock. “Once you’re of no use to Random, he’ll leave you alone. Our best chance of getting Stone back safely now is to defang and neuter Random. At least as far as magic is concerned.”

  Lani stared at Tate. He was right. She knew he was right. But it didn’t make her feel any better. Her arms ached for her baby boy. And crazily, for her husband’s warm, strong, tattooed arms around her, too.

  Rock frowned. “There’s still the little matter of Emmett Nelson—is he also Archibald Random or not? Who do we trust?”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Random’s not the chief. He can’t be the chief.” Lani’s protests were purely reactionary. A world where the chief was a traitor wasn’t worth living in. And it meant her baby boy was in more danger than anyone could imagine.

  Tate, however, shook his head adamantly as he leaned casually against Rock’s magician’s box, the box where a beautiful assistant was usually sawn in half. He crossed his arms and legs and smiled. “Emmett is not Random.”

  “Do you know how esoteric that sounds?” Rock looked doubtful. “How can you be sure? I saw him in person and I have doubts. I don’t think he is. There’s that tiny scar around his ears that indicates plastic surgery. But even using my highly trained powers of observation, I can’t be one hundred percent certain.”