Finesse was fine. But brute strength was far superior. His years in the rodeo circuit had been useful in this business in unexpected ways.
Twist. A snap of her arm—he was careful not to break it—and he had her front against the stone wall. She wasn’t giving up easily, though, moving her leg between his to try to break his hold.
He pressed harder, burying his face against her ear. Her scent invaded and he breathed in deeply. “Tell me, what perfume is that?”
That unexpected question stopped her struggling. Her pause gave him the extra second to secure her even more tightly under him. He wrapped his legs around hers, gripping her with his thighs like he would a bucking steer. Her ass felt good where it was.
She sniffed. “You’re drunk!”
“A bit. See, I’m no danger to you. Just wanted to get better acquainted. Want to answer a few questions?”
“Go to hell.”
Somehow he knew she wouldn’t be that cooperative. Her ass wiggled, rubbing in a way that just wasn’t conducive to calm questioning. He had things he needed to ask and all he could think of was turning her around and tasting those fine lips again.
“This isn’t quite the venue I had in mind, though,” he said.
Some things he could do blindfolded. Like securing a trapped calf. He reached for his back pocket. Timing was everything. He made quick work of making her his prisoner. Her strangled sound of outrage was choked off by a gag. Her hands reached up to undo it and he cuffed her easily. When she swung around, he squatted, jerking the chain on the cuff to unbalance her. She toppled over his waiting shoulder and he secured her ankles with ties. Not bad. Almost like old times.
“Sorry about this, but I can’t have you screaming murder while I take you back to my car.” He put her back on her feet and reached inside his jacket. He had a hood in one of the pockets. He slid it over her head, with the eyeholes on the wrong side so she couldn’t see. “Can’t have you recognized either.”
Luke swung her over his shoulder again and strode out of the alley. At this hour, walking in public with an abducted female would hardly lift an eyebrow.
“Don’t wiggle like that, sweetheart. I don’t want to spank you.”
He had a pretty good idea the names she was calling him behind the gag. He was drunk and reckless and he didn’t care. He laid one hand on her cute ass and gave it a warning squeeze. She froze.
* * *
Nina was too angry to be afraid. The hood disoriented her. She couldn’t tell which direction they were heading. No one stopped them—why would they? At this hour, crimes are committed all the time.
Questions raced through her mind. How did he know her name? What did he want? They’d bumped into each other enough times that she’d let down her guard. Was that his plan?
It didn’t matter. He knew her name. How much did he know about her?
The hand lightly gripping her ass was distracting too. It felt hot there. Spank her. She was going to—no, she’d to control her temper and think clearly.
A fixer like him delivered or exchanged things—was she part of a deal? The sound of a car door being opened brought her attention back to her problem at hand. When he shifted his hold on her to get her inside the car, she lifted her tied legs and kicked blindly in his direction, hoping to make contact. Damn. He moved pretty fast for a drunk.
“Really don’t want to stuff you in the trunk—I mean, boot—so don’t tempt me.”
There was a short pause, then she felt her legs being hoisted up, higher than seat level. Something pulled them to one side and wound around her calves several times, locking them to the seat. A familiar click. Just like that, he had her strapped down by a seat belt. She tugged fiercely but it was impossible to move without being able to see.
“Just be patient,” he told her, tugging the belt here and there. She had never felt so helpless. “There, all snug and comfy. You’ll be out of this soon.”
Soon? Soon?
He sounded so damn soothing she wanted to throttle him. After she’d tied him up first and…and…think, Naya, think. This was no joking matter. What was he up to? She tamped down the little niggle of fear starting to grow. No, none of that. She would get out of this jam somehow and get back to finishing what she’d started. He was drunk but very strong. Drunk meant she could get to him in other ways, though. Could she seduce him, maybe?
The car started moving. He began whistling softly, clearly enjoying himself. Nina gritted her teeth. Strike seduction. Instead, she thought of ways to kill him as he drove.
* * *
Luke glanced over at his prisoner, now sitting quietly, all secured by the safety belt and his cuffs. He didn’t think she’d fallen asleep. His plan, hastily formulated, was effective in the sense that he didn’t have to ask around for her and getting her handler’s attention. He could have done that, but he might decide to play the usual cloak and dagger games and he’d lost his patience. Time was running out.
Konstantin’s latest information appeared like a lifeboat to someone stranded at sea. All these months and nothing. She—he glanced at her again—was probably his last chance to find out what happened to Drei. The date on the disk made her probably one of the last persons to have seen him. Was she friend or enemy? He had to know.
The plan was foolhardy.
He grimaced. Too late to let the voice of reason interrupt. He darted a quick look at Nina, half lying there with ominous silence hanging between them. He had no doubt she was thinking murder. His impulsive plan could cost him everything.
Crazy last-minute decisions! Fueled by vodka. Damn Kostya. If he had a little warning and some time, he would have approached this a little differently. Maybe. He wasn’t sure. He kind of enjoyed carrying her off like that. Maybe he could get her tipsy too.
The plan was foolhardy, dude. You think she’s going to cooperate?
He grimaced at his inner voice mocking him. He cussed at his friend again.
Drei owned a small house by Tööstuse, so he didn’t have far to go. Luke had kept an eye on it long enough to know no one was monitoring it. Drei had always had his mail directed elsewhere and the area had enough vacation apartments and homes that no one was suspicious of long absences.
The house was dark and not easy to find. When he’d first visited, Luke had pulled down the shades so he could search the place for clues, but several visits had given none. It was a non-descriptive place, normal and unrevealing.
The Paldiski port area was comparably underdeveloped and probably why Drei had chosen the place. Luke circled the street several times before driving down the small driveway. He pulled into the little garage and closed the entrance. His captive didn’t move at all when he opened the passenger door. He studied her carefully before unbuckling the belt. One never knew. Razor blades could easily be hidden in those tight clothes and he was sure she was plenty angry with him. Angry enough to hurt him. He also needed to be extra careful since he didn’t intend to hurt her.
And how are you going to make an angry operative talk?
He wasn’t Drei. He’d never interrogated anyone with covert methods before. It was much easier during his Ranger days.
Unplugging the seat belt, he unwound the loops that held her. “Not far now,” he murmured, as he scooped her into his arms.
He’d expected more struggling but she didn’t move. Instead, her head cocked at the sounds around her—doors opening, the couple of steps he climbed, the clack of his boots on the wooden floor. The light fixture in the hallway was on automatic timer so he could easily make his way to Drei’s room in the back.
He laid her down and felt her stiffen with realization that it was a bed. Yeah, he’d fantasized doing this part with her once or twice, but not under these circumstances. His lips twisted. Probably wouldn’t have a chance in the near future either.
“I’m removing the hood,” he told her. “The lights are on, so close your eyes.”
She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted, looked cursorily around
, then turned to glare at him as he removed her gag. She coughed.
“Where am I?” she hissed.
“A bedroom.”
“I can see that, Captain Obvious.”
He shrugged. “You asked an obvious question.”
She stared up at him stonily. “So. You want unobvious questions. What’s the speed of scrambled brain? How does a stupid man cross the road? Do you want to die? Oh, wait, strike the third question. It is obvious you do.”
Luke had suspected a smart mouth on her but he hadn’t expected the biting humor. He pulled up a chair, sat down and stretched his legs out. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him from head to toe, no doubt planning pain for his future. He himself was trying to decide which direction to take with her.
“I needed to talk to you quickly. Setting up a formal meeting with your handlers didn’t suit me because that would take time.”
Her short laugh didn’t sound very helpful. “It isn’t the first time you’ve negotiated for favors, right? This?” She jiggled her captive hands. “Is not conducive to friendly negotiation. This makes me very, very unhelpful.”
He hoped being direct and business-like would soothe her. “I just need your help and then you’re free to go. I’ll owe you a future favor.”
Her amusement was palpable now. “That’s it? And here I thought you kidnapped me because you couldn’t not have me any longer. You sure that’s all you want?”
She was a cool one, half-lying on that rumpled bed with her hands cuffed, a knowing gleam in her eye. The picture she made was provocative and very tempting. She knew he had the hots for her and was using it to distract him.
Luke understood seduction. Especially the dangerous kind. To hell with being business-like. He stood up and casually unzipped his leather jacket. The intensity of her gaze seared him.
“We’ve been sending signals for a while now,” he said. “I’ve wanted more, but word is that your agency’s strict about mixing pleasure with business, but I’m perfectly willing to overlook that rule if you are.”
“That rule is about self-preservation.”
Her gaze traveled lower, the heat in her eyes hitting him right between the legs.
“Yours or mine?”
“Both, I suspect.”
Luke dropped back into the chair and leaned forward. “You don’t strike me as one who keeps to the rules.” He ran one finger down the zipper of her jacket. “Besides, bending the rules is what we do best.”
Her voice was a mere whisper. “Are you going to free me before we---negotiate this favor?”
He shook his head. “I’m the one bending the rules here. Answer a few questions and you’re free. That way, you can report to your handlers you weren’t…willing. Unlike you, I have more leeway in my dealings. When you need my help, just call me.”
“What if I kidnap you and tie you up instead?”
He gave her a slow smile. “That would work too.”
Dangerously Hot: Chapter Three
Nina couldn’t take her eyes off him.
His smile had enough heat to melt the bed. What was that question she threw at him about a scrambled brain? She must have meant hers. Because right now, all she could think was of him on top of her, doing a lot more than questioning.
Seduction was obviously on his mind too. This wasn’t going to be easy. He was both charming and infuriating. Sexy and funny too. An irresistible combination.
If she answered his questions, she could find out how he knew her name. It was paramount that her identity remained a secret, especially now, when she was so close to achieving her goals.
“What do you want to know?”
He pulled out folded papers from inside his jacket. He set them in front of her. Photographs of her and—
“Andrei Kamarov,” her captor said. “Or sometimes Drei to his friends. You were with him and not long after he disappeared.”
Nina lowered her gaze, hoping to hide her shock. Drei Kamarov. Who took those photographs? Drei said to trust no one unless—
“Drei,” she drawled, and shrugged. “He was just doing business with me.”
Luke flipped over another piece of paper. This time, the picture was of them kissing. “Try again,” he said, dryly. “Come on, Naya. Cut the crap and give me something here.”
“First, how did you find out my name?” she asked. “Very few people know.”
His eyes revealed nothing. “Natalina Litchenko. Twenty seven years old. Daughter of Alexander Litchenko, better known as Spider, an informant who escaped to England after securing the freedom of his wife and daughter to the United States while he stayed under house arrest as part of the agreement. Student at Ohio U, starting an internship at a chicken farm—“ He paused, eyebrow raised. “Want me to continue? You don’t look well, sweetheart.”
Nina felt sick to her stomach. She’d been so careful. Here she’d thought she was unknown, especially in Estonia. They’d assured her, with her having grown up overseas and dyeing her hair black, no one would connect her with her father. It hadn’t been good enough, apparently.
“It wasn’t a chicken farm internship. It was organic farming.” She slumped back against the headboard. “That’s a pretty good digger you hired. No one knew the truth, only Drei.”
“Were you and he lovers?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that part of what you want to know?”
“No.”
“So this is just to satisfy your curiosity?”
“I’d rather know before kissing you again.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Confident you’ll get a second shot, aren’t you? Very presumptuous that I’d welcome it.”
He leaned forward then, his lips inches from her, his big body covering but not touching hers. “Oh yeah.”
“Kiss me again and I’ll hurt you.”
“Self-preservation not my strongest suit,” he murmured, his breath hot against her lips.
She breathed in his scent. This attraction between them was so potent, if he touched her, she was sure the bed was going to combust into flames. She’d resisted for over half a year, keeping her distance, but here, practically in bed, she could feel her rule of no involvement slowly melting away.
Those masculine lips that had given her more fantasies that she’d care to admit were so temptingly near. She wanted to trace their outline with her tongue. The heated moment hung between them, dangerously hot.
“Drei and I are just friends,” she finally said. “He was very helpful with certain problems of mine.”
“Are those problems connected with your sudden appearance in this part of the world? I mean, you disappeared from a chicken farming internship to—what—play cloak-and-daggers games?”
“Maybe I needed excitement in my life. Maybe chicken farming wasn’t my thing.”
“Or maybe you needed information you couldn’t get unless you’re back in the muck, and I don’t mean chicken shit.”
The man was far too witty for his own good. Who was he to Drei, anyway?
“He’s also a friend of mine,” he continued, “and I’ve been looking for him.”
So had she, actually. “I haven’t seen him since that same meeting in the picture. I suggest you ask the person who gave you those printouts where he or she found the info.”
Luke regarded her for a second. His gaze, intense and intimate, made her shift uncomfortably.
“I will,” he said. “A meeting? That one picture gives the impression it was a date.”
Nina smiled. “It was a date. We had dinner, talked and laughed. Such a nice flirtation.” She gazed at him enquiringly. “Surely I’m allowed to date a friend. You’re being nosy for no reason.”
He frowned. “I do have a reason. You were one of the last people he saw. I’m trying to figure out what he was working on to give me an idea what could have happened to him.”
“He could have just gone dark, you know,” she pointed out. “Our kind just disappears for a while.”
“He’d have lef
t me a message.”
Nina looked at him speculatively. Drei had told her he didn’t have many friends and if he were to go dark, nobody here would notice. But Luke St. James wasn’t from here. Had, in fact, only shown up around these parts after Drei’s disappearance. Could he be telling the truth?
“Why would he? Is he a good friend of yours?” she asked.
“Yes. He’s like a brother to me.”
That good a friendship, huh? But still, Drei couldn’t have told him about her. But perhaps Luke could be an asset. Her father had taught her, one couldn’t sacrifice all one’s rooks in a war. She made an offering.
“Drei and I exchange information sometimes,” she said. “It’s normal for fixers like us to do that.”
“But La Niina has a reputation of being untouchable,” he pointed out, watching her with those incredible eyes.
She shrugged. “It’s a reputation. You have one too. Are you really a walking, talking cowboy?”
His answering smile was downright too damn sexy. “I am. Can you tell me what information you two shared?”
Nina frowned. “You’re kidding me, right? Like I would tell you.”
It was his turn to shrug. “Can’t hurt to ask. Drei was looking for information about some political big wig going down—who, time, place, that sort of thing. I thought I’d help him because I have my own sources too.”
She kept her expression bland, but her heart skipped a little at what the Cowboy had revealed. No wonder they’d been bumping into each other so much. He’d been seeking the same things too. Political parties, soirees, cryptic messages about some head-of-state. That had been why she and Drei had gotten together. He’d needed to put some puzzle pieces together and she was helping him gather the parts. In return, he’d help get that information to her father through his contacts and perhaps, she’d get to hug her father again instead of talking in code via a computer screen.
“Look,” she said. “I can’t help you any more because I have no further information. You asked and I answered your questions. I’m kind of looking for Drei myself. I could work harder and check around with some sources of mine, but you’ll have to free me. My people will be looking for me soon if I don’t make contact.”
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