Viper's Kiss

by Shannon Curtis

  He stared at the phone. He should call Reese, let him know what was going on. But the safe house had been compromised. And if he called Reese, then his boss would have to inform local and federal law enforcement. That was part of their job. The law enforcement enacted any arrests and received the recognition due. That was one of the reasons why McCormack Security Agency had the cooperation of the local authorities, and was given the leeway needed to conduct the job.

  If the authorities were involved, then Luke wouldn’t be able to control the outcome. It could get out of hand. Maggie could be hurt in the crossfire. Or worse.

  But if law enforcement weren’t there, and things went south, then it would all be on his head. Could he handle that?

  It boiled down to one question. Who could he trust?

  He put the call through to his boss. “Reese, we have a situation,” he said, and proceeded to bring his former unit commander up to speed.

  “She gave you the slip again?” asked Reese, surprise evident in his tone. “I’m going to have to meet this woman.” A sigh sounded over the phone. “Do you have a plan?”

  “Yes, we have a plan. We want to go in and remove Maggie before she gets herself killed,” Luke told him. His fingers tightened on the phone. “We want to get her out safely.”

  There was silence from the other end for a moment, then, “Maggie? She’s become your priority on this mission?”

  Luke closed his eyes. Was Maggie more important than the Visi-suit? Thousands, possibly millions of lives were at stake. Did he think she should take precedence?

  “She’s important.”

  “I see.”

  Luke glanced out of the car window as his boss digested his comments. He figured he had about three seconds before he was removed from the mission and Drew was put in charge.

  “Your plan better work, Fletch. I’ll contact our local liaison officers. Shortly.” And with that, Reese disconnected the call.

  Luke’s eyes widened in relief. Reese was giving him time. And he hadn’t taken him off the case. Although it wasn’t a glowing endorsement, Luke realized he had Reese’s trust and support. For now.

  He blinked as Noah drove down a dark ramp into a parking lot. They’d arrived at the hotel. Drew twisted around in the front seat to face him.

  “So, what’s the plan?” he asked.

  Luke smiled grimly. “Let’s work on that.”

  Maggie’s new shoes made a soft slapping sound as she pushed the laundry cart down the concrete tunnel. Bare bulbs hung in measured distances along the way. She ducked her head, letting her hair fall forward to hide her face from any security cameras. Her heart was hammering away in her chest, her knuckles white from her tight grip on the cart.

  The tunnel opened out into a large area, and wheeled bins were lined up, ready to be sorted and dispatched.

  Maggie quickly looked through some of them. Sheets and towels in one. Tablecloths and other linen in the next one. She smiled when she saw the contents of the third one.

  “Bingo,” she said aloud, pulling out several uniforms. She selected one and proceeded down yet another corridor that eventually led to a large area with several other tunnels branching out. There were two service elevators, staff restrooms, and what looked like an employee lunchroom off to one side, blessedly empty. She shook her head. It was like an underground city down here. She could hear beeping noises and caught sight of a forklift rumbling down one tunnel.

  She stepped into the ladies’ restroom and changed into the housekeeping uniform she’d filched from the laundry cart. She shook her head. Lying, sneaking into hotels and stealing uniforms. She now did these things with a disconcerting ease. She placed her clothes in the bin underneath the hand-dryer with some regret. She remembered when Luke had given her the clothes, just after he’d attended to her cuts and grazes. She straightened her shoulders. Yes, the guy was great. Strong, but gentle. Sexy as all hell. Noble to a fault. But he also had trust issues. She frowned. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t the dependent, trusting kind either, but she’d give anything to have him beside her at the moment. After everything he’d said and done, she still thought he was dependable and reliable. When he gave you his trust. She sighed. All this Dr-Phil self-talk was getting her nowhere. It was time to stop procrastinating.

  “Let’s get to it, Kincaid,” she told herself, stepping out of the restroom with a confidence she was far from feeling.

  Two employees were in the lunch room, making coffee. She pasted a smile on her face and nodded to each of them, unobtrusively palming the plastic access card one of them had left on the bench as she walked calmly over to the service elevators. Her heart was thundering, and she tried to control her breathing, ignoring the urge to pant as though she’d just run a three-minute mile.

  Luke placed the earpiece in his ear and glanced at Drew. “Are you sure you know what to do?”

  Drew waved him off. “Yes, Mom. You’ve successfully hacked into their reservations database and the security system. I can handle it from here.” He gestured to the surveillance unit Luke had set up. “You’ve primed it for the master.”

  “Let us know as soon as you spot Maggie. Or Viper. Or—”

  “I know. Any one of the characters in our little drama. Will do.” Drew saluted him.

  Luke shook his head, his lips twitching.

  Noah jerked his chin. “Come on, let’s go catch us some bad guys.”

  They walked over to the elevators, Noah carrying a small duffel bag, and Luke with a briefcase. As he stepped into the elevator, Luke checked his watch. A little after eight. It had taken longer than expected to find the hotel’s communications panel and splice into the surveillance system. He tried to blame the churning feeling in his gut on the swift climb of the elevator to reception. Time was ticking away. They still needed to locate Maggie and get her to safety, and then capture Viper and the spies she was meeting.

  The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. He and Noah stepped out into the reception area. Marble tiles gleamed under tasteful but subdued lighting. They waved away the bellhop and made their way to the reception desk.

  “May I help you?” The woman behind the counter gave them a sunny smile.

  Luke returned her smile. “You have a reservation under the name Steve Trevor. We’re here to check in.” He ignored the Noah’s snort.

  Minutes later they had keys to their room on the twenty-first floor. Two doors down from the rooms Viper had booked.

  “Steve Trevor?” Noah grumbled as they stepped into the elevator.

  Luke shrugged. “It seemed fitting.” The name of Wonder Woman’s hero had just popped into his head when he’d inserted the booking in the database.

  Noah shook his head. “Wonder Woman has a lot to answer for.”

  They took the elevator up and let themselves quickly into their room. Noah placed the duffel bag on one of the double queen beds, glancing about the room’s tasteful appointments as he unzipped the bag.

  “This sure beats last night’s accommodations,” he said.

  “You know, I don’t think it’s fair that you guys get to stay in one of those luxury rooms while I have to stay in the car.” Drew’s voice came loud and clear through the earpieces the men wore.

  Luke merely grunted as opened his briefcase and removed the special-issue gun from inside. He screwed the cartridge into place. Noah pulled his weapons out of the bag and proceeded to arm himself.

  “You ready?” Luke closed the case and slid it under the bed.

  “I was born ready.”

  “Uh, guys, I’ve just found Maggie,” Drew said through the transmitter.

  Luke paused, then lifted his cuff. “Where?”

  “She’s just arrived on your floor. Looks cute too.”

  Luke’s eyes met Noah’s. They nodded in silent agreement.

  Maggie pushed the housekeeping cart along the thickly carpeted hallway. There was one squeaky wheel that sounded like a seagull on a microphone. She went slowly to try to minimize the noise,
and glanced around the corridor, trying to appear as if she had every right to be masquerading in a stolen uniform and pushing a stolen cart along the hall of a hotel she’d sneaked into. Everything is perfectly normal.

  She gripped the handle tightly so that her sweating palms wouldn’t slide off. She swallowed. Level twenty-one. The housekeeping roster in the staff room had shown three rooms on the one level under one booking that distinctly requested no housekeeping. The anomaly had jumped out at her and she had to assume it was Viper. Unfortunately she didn’t have Luke’s skills when it came to computers, and couldn’t hack her way into the hotel’s databases to learn more.

  She took a deep breath. Nearly there.

  The door she was passing whipped open, and a strong hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her inside the room. A hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream and she was pushed back against a wall.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Familiar blue eyes stared into hers. Luke.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Noah pull the housekeeping cart into the room and shut the door.

  She glanced at Luke. He hadn’t shaved, and the beginnings of a beard dusted his cheeks and jaw. If anything, the golden shadow only made him look more rugged and attractive. He stared at her for a moment, and she didn’t move, effectively pinned by his gaze.

  “Don’t scream,” he said.

  She was too stunned to argue. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry for joy at seeing him again, or wail in despair at being recaptured. Luke lifted his hand cautiously, reached out to her, and pulled her to him in a strong embrace.

  “Thank God we found you,” he whispered into her hair.

  What? Maggie felt as though her eyes were bugging out of her skull. It wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. He sounded relieved. Concerned. His arms held her tightly, and he inhaled deeply. She blinked. Was he grateful for recapturing his fugitive, or was there something else, something more?

  Did he want to slap her back in cuffs? Please, not again.

  The thought had her straightening her shoulders. “What are you doing here?” she asked, matching his quiet tone, but not bothering to hide her dismay.

  “We’re here to find Viper.” Maggie stiffened.

  “I’m not Viper,” she stated. She’d wanted to find Viper herself, but Luke had caught her before she could. Her lips tightened, holding back a rough scream of frustration. Now she had no chance to prove her innocence to him, and the others.

  Luke shook his head. “We need to talk, but now isn’t the time. You need to just stay here and keep out of trouble.” He hesitated. “It’s going to be okay, Maggie. Trust me.”

  He’d said that once before, and then ended up handcuffing her to the bed. But at least he wasn’t calling her Viper.

  He looked at Noah, who cocked the door open, glanced up and down the hallway, then nodded.

  He held up a hand. “Okay, just stay put.”

  Maggie frowned. He stopped her from finding the real Viper, was probably ready to send her to prison, and he expected her to just hang around, waiting for him? Luke paused, as though reading her mutinous thoughts. “I mean it, Kincaid. Don’t so much as stick your head outside this door,” he warned.

  Noah stepped forward. “I could shoot her, if you like. No place serious, but it would stop her.”

  Maggie gaped at the big man. He seemed serious. And damn it, Luke looked he was considering it.

  She held up both hands. “I’ll stay.” If they were going to walk out that door and leave her un-cuffed, then she’d agree to anything. She’d stay. For a couple of minutes, anyway. He was holding her freedom in his hands, her very life, damn it. She mourned the loss of her gentle listener, her companion, her lover. Was he still there somewhere?

  Luke nodded, as if he were satisfied with her quick acquiescence. “Good.” He turned to Noah. “Ready?”

  Noah nodded. “I’m not the Chatty Cathy here.”

  Luke rolled his eyes before glancing back at Maggie. He hesitated, his gaze hot as he surveyed her from head to toe. He made a funny growling noise in the back of his throat, pulled her to him and kissed her.

  Maggie’s mouth opened immediately, as much from surprise as from desire, and her eyes closed as he kissed her thoroughly. She heard a faint squawking noise, and a throat clearing in the distance. Luke lifted his head.

  “Shut up, you old woman,” he said.

  Maggie jutted out her chin and pulled back to protest against the insult.

  “No, not you, Maggie.” Luke held up a hand in quick apology before tapping a piece of plastic in his ear. “I meant Drew.” He joined Noah at the door and glanced once more over his shoulder. “You better be here when I get back, Kincaid,” he said, his voice low, “or I will find you.” His eyes glimmered with a determination she couldn’t doubt, and an emotion she was hesitant to name.

  Noah pulled something out of his jacket. “Here, take this. Don’t let anyone in.” He tossed the gun to her.

  Maggie almost dropped the pistol when she felt the weight of it. The door shut behind the men.

  Her eyes still wide, her mouth slightly open, she sagged onto the nearest bed.

  “I’ve missed something, haven’t I?” she said to herself. She couldn’t deny the thrill, the desire that had swept through her body at Luke’s kiss. She swallowed. She knew what he was doing. He was going to confront Viper. Somehow, he’d figured it out. She glanced at the gun in her hand, and clutched it gingerly. If that was the case, he must know that she wasn’t the spy.

  “Just point and shoot,” she told herself, recalling Luke’s advice the last time she’d been given a gun. She remembered the warmth and passion in his expression, in his promise. God, she hoped that wasn’t going to be the last time she saw him. For the first time since this nightmare began, a little ray of hope for her future fluttered to life.

  “Which room, Drew?” Luke whispered into the transmitter attached to his sleeve cuff.

  “I have access cards used on two rooms only. Room 2105 is vacant, but our guests have elected to stay in Room 2106 and 2107. From the security footage last night, Jafari and a friend are in Room 2107.”

  “I wonder if Viper is in the second room, or if it’s Tzin Shu.”

  “The same footage from last night suggests the guest in Room 2106 is definitely of the female persuasion. Bears a striking resemblance to our Maggie,” Drew informed them.

  Luke’s eyebrow rose. “But Maggie was with us last night, so we know that the woman in the room isn’t Maggie.”

  “Correct.”

  Luke nodded. “Okay, let’s take out Jafari, and wait for Viper to come to us.”

  He rapped discreetly on the door of Room 2107. The peephole darkened as someone on the other side peered out. Luke’s lips broke out into a wide smile.

  “What is it?” The voice was heavily accented.

  “Hotel management, sir. I’m afraid there’s a problem with your bill,” Luke said quietly. He didn’t want Viper in the next room to overhear the conversation.

  “Come back later.”

  Luke shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t, sir, we need to sort this out now.”

  There was a hushed conversation on the other side, and the door swung open.

  Luke pushed his way into the room, Noah right behind him. A man in a suit half-rose from the bed, an astonished expression on his face. There were two popping noises in quick succession as Luke and Noah pulled their triggers. Both strangers slumped to the floor, clutching their necks where the tranquilizer darts had hit them.

  Luke closed the door behind him. “We’re in,” he said into his cuff.

  “You guys are having all the fun,” Drew complained through his transmitter.

  “You can have a turn next time.”

  Noah opened the closet door and shoved the unconscious body inside while Luke grasped the hands of the other man and dragged him into the bathroom. He quickly splashed some water over his head to darken the color. It could be difficult to
pass himself off as a blond Iranian.

  “How long will they be out for?” Noah asked.

  “About three hours. By the time they wake up it should all be over, bar the shouting.”

  “Showtime, gents. Viper is on the move,” Drew informed them.

  A knock at the door had Luke poking his head out of the bathroom. Noah leaped over the king-sized bed to the split level lounge and desk area. He closed the dark brown curtains, switched on a lamp and jumped over the back of the cream sofa, giving Luke a thumbs up signal as he landed on the cushions.

  Luke approached the door. “Who is it?” he asked, deepening his voice, and adopting the guttural rolling sounds of an Iranian accent. He peered through the peephole.

  A woman stood on the other side. Her long tawny hair was pulled back into a sleek braid over one shoulder. Luke couldn’t help noticing the slight difference in shade between this woman’s hair and Maggie’s lighter tresses. The woman wore large sunglasses and her face was heavily made up. His lips twisted. Maggie would never wear that much crap on her face.

  Luke took in the high-necked black sweater and slim line skirt. She had a red coat draped over one arm and with the other hand, she held the handle of a wheeled bag. She looked quite the prim and proper lady, and a helluva lot like Maggie. It was freaky.

  “It’s Viper,” a soft spoken voice said, low and close to the door. Luke’s muscles clenched. This woman had wreaked so much havoc, had turned the real Maggie’s life upside down. He controlled the urge to open the door and smash a fist into her face. Instead, he opened the door and stood back to allow the woman access. She eyed him for a moment before breezing past him. A cloying scent tickled his nose. His nostrils flared. She’d gotten the fragrance wrong. Maggie’s scent was vanilla.

  He eyed the woman closely as he followed her into the room. So far nobody had gotten this close to Viper and lived to tell the tale. He was determined to change that.