“Ms. Johnson,” Spencer said, shaking her hand politely as well.
With the pleasantries done, I gestured for Spencer to take a seat in a third chair we’d brought in from reception in anticipation of his arrival. He sat back and crossed an ankle over his knee, curiosity clear in his eyes as he studied me behind my massive desk.
“So…”
I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to put my boss face on. It was time to get down to business.
“We think we can help each other. But, in order to do that, we each have to put all our cards out on the table.”
Spencer inclined his head. “What makes you think we need your help?”
“Because your asset is compromised. He was supposed to kill my operative here, but you can clearly see he failed to do so. If Rahul Rush figures out that he didn’t—”
“You’re threatening us?”
“We’re suggesting you tell us what the hell you’re up to and we’ll tell you what we can do to help.”
Spencer laughed. “You really do have big balls, Mrs. Matthews.”
I tilted my head slightly. “And you’re sitting on something big that you don’t want to screw up. You need our help.”
“We have it under control.”
“Maybe.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my desk. “But Gray Wolf got Jack Mahoney in cuffs when dozens of law enforcement agencies couldn’t do it. We can work the line between legal and that gray bit you Feds avoid like the plague. We can help you.”
Spencer seemed intrigued by that. But he had a good poker face.
And then he stood up. I thought for sure he was going to take Xavier and walk out, but then he smiled politely at me.
“Can we talk in private for a moment?”
We went out into the hall, closing the door firmly behind us.
“Xavier is the one with a lot to lose here, Mrs. Matthews.”
“Will you please call me Joss?”
His eyebrows rose, but he nodded. “Joss.” He glanced toward my office door. “To be honest, I think you and your team would be an asset on this case. In fact, there are multiple cases I’ve been assigned to work that I believe you would be a valuable asset on. But my superiors are reluctant to involve a security agency that has a reputation for going rogue when working with our agency.”
“The FBI agents in Wyoming were compromised. We had no choice.”
“That might be, but it created a reputation for you among my superiors. And that’s hard to get past.”
“Then what do you suggest we do? Put our operative in hiding until your case is resolved?” I gestured back at the door behind me. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but those two have something going on between them. Keeping them apart is going to be like trying to keep a teenager from sneaking out of her bedroom window the night of the big party.”
Spencer’s expression showed a little concern as he followed my gesture toward the door. He sighed, frustration clear in the drawn out sound.
“Like I said, Xavier has a lot to lose in this deal. I gave my word that I’d do all I could to protect him and his family, but I can’t do that if we deviate from the plan.”
“What is the plan?”
He opened his mouth and then smiled, touching my shoulder like we were siblings teasing one another. “You almost had me there.”
“I’m sure you realize I have a personal stake in making sure Jack Mahoney remains behind bars, Mike. I only want to help.”
“I do realize that. And that’s what makes me lean toward hearing you out.” He glanced toward the closed door again. “Can I assume Ms. Johnson was your source on the bust the other night?”
“She was.”
“It wasn’t your husband?”
I stiffened, alarm bells ringing in my head. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because we are well aware that his company ships out of that port. And the shipping container in question was one that his company had just placed on the docks that morning.”
“It’s a coincidence. There are only a handful of companies that ship out of that port.”
“I’m aware of that, too. But you have to realize how it looks, especially with the role he played in Mahoney’s games last year.”
I nodded slowly. “That’s why you came to me this morning. It wasn’t because of the raid, but because of Carrington.”
“I was just checking out a potential lead.”
“You were making sure I wasn’t trying to cover my husband’s ass.”
He shrugged. “It’s been known to happen. And I couldn’t have you interfering with the bigger plan.”
I nodded slowly, humiliated, but realizing I would have done exactly the same thing. “And now? Do you still think I’m covering for Carrington?”
His eyes moved slowly over my body, lingering again on the spaces of the dress that revealed inches of bare skin. When his eyes returned to mine, there was a slight, but genuine, smile on his lips.
“I think you are the kind of woman who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. And you are still fighting to get this job done.”
“I am.”
He hesitated a moment, his eyes moving to the door again. “Let me talk to Xavier. Alone. And then we’ll decide what to do.”
“Feel free to take the conference room. Third door on the right.”
He moved past me, stepping closer to me than was required in the empty reception area. Our hands, our hips, brushed. If he’d looked at me in that moment, I don’t know what might have happened. But then he was gone and I was looking down at my bare ring finger, wondering what the hell was the matter with me.
Audra was curled up in her chair when I went back into my office after watching the men walk down the hall and disappear in the conference room, her chin resting on the top of her knees. I sat beside her, occupying the same chair Xavier had just reluctantly left, brushing my fingers over the bandage on her wrist.
“Want to tell me what happened?”
She blushed. “He was supposed to kill me. Instead, he handcuffed me to an abandoned piece of machinery in an old warehouse.”
“He let you go.”
She tilted her head to look at me. “What’s going to happen if they won’t let us help them?”
“I don’t know.”
She nodded, her eyes falling to the floor. “I feel like I failed this assignment.”
“You didn’t fail. We rescued those girls on the docks last night.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t get Rahul Rush. And, if you had, he wouldn’t have spent much time behind bars.”
“No. But there’s still a chance someone will take him down.”
She snorted. “Not before he hurts countless other girls. Girls like Mercedes.”
I hadn’t told her that Mercedes was unaccounted for. I didn’t want to distract her from the current goal. But she was bound to find out eventually and then… I knew that kind of guilt. I didn’t wish it on anyone.
“You trust Xavier?”
She was quiet for a minute, thinking it over. She finally sighed, her eyes moving to mine almost reluctantly. “He seems like he wants to be a good man. He didn’t kill me when it would have been easier to do so. And he didn’t let Rahul hurt me. He could have.”
“But was that because he’s trustworthy, or was there some other motivation?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“It’s hard to trust a man you barely know.”
“Yes, well, it’s hard to trust any man after most of the men in your life let you down one way or another.” She sighed. “I thought I’d gotten past my trust issues in the Army. You have to trust your teammates out there in the desert, you know? But maybe I haven’t.”
“This isn’t a war zone and Xavier isn’t a soldier.”
“I want to trust him. I think I already might.”
“Then that’s good enough for me.”
I stood and moved around the desk, tapping my fingertips on the top of the desk. I picked
up my phone to call Ash, but I set it back down. I’d been leaning on him a lot since he first gave me control over this office. He kept insisting that he wouldn’t have given it to me if he didn’t think I could handle it. I knew I could. Tonight I was going to prove it.
“We’re going to do this, Audra. And you’re going to be right here next to me while we do.”
She smiled, but there was exhaustion in her smile. It was time to call it a night.
I arranged a car for her, promising to let Xavier know exactly where she was when he was ready.
***
I wandered home a little after dawn the following morning, my own exhaustion lying heavily on my shoulders. I’d taken a taxi, deciding I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes open long enough to drive myself home. I didn’t think anyone would have noticed my absence, but realized one person had when the door was yanked out of my hand as I went to open it.
“Where have you been all night?”
McKelty, dressed in pajamas with cats all over them, stared me down like she was the parent and I was the child. I reached out to touch her and she jerked away, reminding me of her father.
“I was working.”
“You work in that?”
Again, she reminded me of her father.
“McKelty—”
“I needed help with my homework last night. And Aidan woke up in the middle of the night with a stomachache. You weren’t here to do anything about it, so I had to.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You should have been here.”
I nodded, unable to fight that logic. She stared at me a long moment with one of those withering glances she had perfected over the past year. Then she stormed off, marching up the stairs like a diva making a good exit.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered under my breath as I wandered into the living room and collapsed on the couch. In the final seconds before sleep overcame me, I was aware of the scent of Mike Spencer’s cologne on my skin. It was expensive, but different from anything Carrington had ever worn. Spicy. I liked it.
I liked him.
Chapter 20
Audra
I was disoriented when I woke late in the morning. The walls weren’t quite right, the artwork hanging on the far wall too expensive for a cheap walkup. And the sound of the surf just outside my window was all wrong. But then I realized I wasn’t Audra Moreno anymore, wasn’t that girl living in the walkup, wasn’t the stripper with the golden skin. I was just Audra Johnson now, an honorably discharged Army captain with nothing but time on my hands.
I climbed out of bed slowly, stretching my sore limbs, my hand moving over the bandage that still covered my wrist. I wondered where Xavier was, wondered if Joss had managed to convince him to make a deal with Gray Wolf. I wondered what his real story was, why he’d fought so hard to protect me when it clearly put a price on his head. I wondered if he asked after me, if he’d wanted to know where to find me. Most of all, I wondered if I’d ever see him again.
I padded my way down the hall to the kitchen of my little house, moving through the motions of making coffee. As it brewed I looked out the window, remembering how I’d loved this view when I first looked at the house. I’d lived near the levy when I was a kid, the same levy that broke so spectacularly during Hurricane Katrina when I was fifteen, but never anything like this gorgeous view. It was a dream come true.
As I stood there, I realized someone was sitting on one of the deck chairs in my yard. I tilted my head as though that would improve my vision. I knew that dark head, the curve of those shoulders. I rushed to the sliding glass doors, my heart pounding.
“Xavier?”
He sat up, brushing his hands over his face as he slowly turned toward me. “Hey,” he said a little sheepishly. “I knocked, but I guess you were still sleeping.”
“How long have you been out here?”
He glanced up at the sky, at the sun where it was nearly at the midpoint. “A while.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house behind me, shoving the door closed as I did. It reminded me for an instant the sliding doors of his warehouse. But then I turned and he pulled me into his arms, his hands slipping over my back and the fiasco of the warehouse was forgotten.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me again,” I sighed against his lips.
“Are you crazy? You’re all I can think about.”
He brushed the hair away from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek. Then he lifted my chin and stole my lips, nibbling on my bottom lip as he tugged me closer to him, his hand pushing its way under my tee shirt. He turned, pressed me back against the glass doors, the cold of the glass an intense contrast to the heat of his body. I arched up against him, pulling one leg up over his as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me, resting my hips against his, his erection a demand against my inner thigh.
I broke the kiss, shaking my head as I looked into his eyes.
“No.”
“No, what?”
I rubbed my thumb against his bottom lip. “No, we’re not going to do this here. We’re going to go into the bedroom and take our time.”
“Yeah? Now you’re dictating how we fuck?”
“Make love. And, yes, I am.”
He studied my face for a long minute, then he chuckled. “I guess I better get used to taking orders, huh, Captain?”
“She told you?”
“She told me quite a bit about you. All very interesting.”
“Like what?”
He moved his hips against me. “Can’t we talk about this later?”
I groaned, unable to hide the ache that was beginning to build deep in my belly. “I suppose.”
He turned, carrying me up the hall to my bedroom, making the right guess as to which door it was behind. We fell onto the bed together, his lips on mine again. His touch lingered even as his hands slipped under the back of my shorts, sliding under the top of my panties. He held my hip hard against his for a moment, a groan slipping from between his lips as he moved slowly over my chin, his teeth nibbling at my neck again, working their way down over my collarbone. I sighed, running my fingers through his hair as I held him against me.
He was gentle as he moved down the length of my body, sliding off the edge of the bed as he tugged at my shorts, pulling them free from my hips. I closed my eyes, the sight of his beautiful face buried between my thighs almost too much for my senses to handle. He knew what he was doing, this man, his fingers and his tongue working in tandem to do incredible things to my mind. My clit swelled, standing on end as it begged for more of what he was offering. I moved my hips, trying to get his fingers in the right places, moans slipping from between my lips in quick succession. I murmured his name more than once, holding him tight against me until I couldn’t sit still anymore.
“Get your ass up here,” I said roughly, tugging at his hair.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He executed a little salute as he stood, tearing his shirt over his head, the blood red linen hitting the floor in a puddle. He dropped his slacks, those joining the shirt unceremoniously. I held out my hand and tugged him onto the mattress beside me. He began to roll over me, but I pushed him down flat on his back, climbing over his hips as I stole his lips for a moment. He tasted of my juices, an aphrodisiac that might have pushed me over the edge if his touch hadn’t already started me in that direction. I moved slowly down his torso, kissing every inch of his chest as I marked each freckle and scar, my tongue tracing the lines of the only tattoo he sported, the initials KD just below the left side of his chest.
He had a perfect line of silky hair leading down beneath his boxer briefs. I ran my tongue over it, teasing the hair until it was a mass of damp curls, groans coming from deep in his throat as he read my mind and figured out exactly where I was going. But I had to play with him, had to give a little of what he’d done the day before back on him. I skipped over that delicious bulge in his shorts and nibbled at the thick muscles of his thighs.
> “Audra,” he groaned.
I looked up at him. “You want something?”
There was fire in his eyes. I chuckled as I continued to work my way down his legs as he threw his head back against the pillows, clearly beyond frustration. I decided to have mercy on him, moving back up the length of him to steal another kiss before sitting up and tugging my tee shirt over my head. He immediately reached for my breasts, holding one in each hand, weighing them like they were fruit rather than physical parts of my being.
His shorts slipped over his hips easily, his legs moving to help ease them off. Once we were both naked, it was easy to maneuver one another. But I wasn’t done with his tongue, his fingers. It was deliciously delightful. I’d simply wanted to give as good as I got.
He figured out my intention quickly, tugging my hips over his face without much encouraging. I held him in my hands, teasing him with the tip of my tongue. He moved his hips, showing me what he wanted with the talents of his own mouth, his fingers, but I made him wait. He was groaning again, the vibration of the noise doing things to my clit that no artificial machine could replicate. I closed my eyes, fighting the orgasm that wanted to visit itself upon me, wanting to wait as long as possible. But it was growing more and more difficult to keep it at bay.
I took him into my mouth and… Lord, the sounds coming from his throat! This big, powerful man, this man who’d held my life in his hands just the day before, was turning into a pleasure wracked child in my hands, his movements begging for more, begging for everything I had to offer. I made him beg, held back my touch until I couldn’t take it anymore. And then I took as much as I could, wanting to feel his pleasure burst through his body, wanting to give in to the pleasure that was knocking on my door.
We moved together like a couple of teenagers trying to skirt the dangers of intimacy. It was probably the most intense experience I’ve ever had, though I couldn’t say that for sure. There was still so much waiting to be experienced. I could feel the promise of future pleasure in his touch, could feel the tip of an iceberg that we were just beginning expose.
I thought for sure we’d lose control together, but he was stronger than I’d imagined. The moment I lost it, he lifted me like I weighed nothing, flipping me onto the mattress beside him. He buried himself inside of me as the contractions of pleasure rushed through me, my body not only welcoming him, but pulling him inside, dragging him as deep into me as he could go. I cried out as one orgasm turned into two, my screams equal only to the scream I’d let loose the day before in that Godforsaken warehouse. I dug my fingernails into his flesh, pulling him as close to me as was physically possible, still wanting more.
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