Elite Ops Complete Series

by Lora Leigh

  Desmond grimaced. “I’m figuring that out, but it’s something her mother isn’t happy over.”

  “And her brother?” Travis asked. “I notice he’s not here to celebrate her return to the family fold.”

  For a second, regret and grief flashed in Desmond’s pale blue eyes. He turned away for a moment before sipping from the drink he held in his hand.

  “Jared is having a hard time coming to grips with this,” he finally stated as he stared down his nose at Travis. “But I have a feeling you’re already aware of that.”

  Aware of that didn’t fully describe it. He knew damned good and well that Jared Harrington had turned his back on his sister at the hospital, proclaiming that the woman lying unconscious before him was not his sister.

  Her face had changed, but her relationship to him hadn’t. Still, Jared had denounced her, just as he still denounced her despite the DNA tests that assured the world she was indeed who she purported to be. She had changed her looks, her name, her life, he had claimed. She had disowned her family first.

  Travis stepped back as the guests began to file into the ballroom, stopping to greet Desmond, then moving to the buffet and drink bar.

  As Senator Stanton greeted Desmond, Travis noticed the other man’s gaze sliding toward him as though curious. Several minutes later Santos and Rhiannon made their appearance as well, their business personas firmly intact. Cool, professional. Just a hint of danger.

  “Mr. Caine, it’s good to see you again,” Rhiannon greeted him, resplendent in a long silver and black strapless ballgown that gave her the appearance of one of the fairies she was named for.

  “Rhiannon, Santos.” Travis nodded as they shook hands, well aware of Desmond’s interest as he watched them.

  “It’s wonderful to see Lilly again,” Rhiannon commented with a cool smile. “Santos and I have been worried about her.”

  “There’s no need to worry,” Desmond growled. “She’s safe with her family, where she’s supposed to be.”

  Rhiannon’s brow arched. “I believe that’s how we came to meet Lilly to begin with,” she stated softly. “The dubious protection of the bosom of her loving family. I hope you take better care of her this time, Lord Harrington.”

  Harrington’s jaw tightened furiously as his pale blue eyes shot enraged flames Rhiannon’s way. Her response was yet another cool smile before she moved at Santos’s urging to join the party inside.

  “I don’t like your friends,” Lilly’s uncle informed him as he turned an angry glare on Travis.

  Travis shrugged. “Friends and acquaintances are two different things, Harrington. But she does have a point.”

  “And that being?” he snapped.

  “Lilly’s family didn’t protect her diligently enough. A mistake I don’t intend to make.”

  Travis turned his gaze back to Lilly then, watching her portray the genteel English lady to perfection as she helped her mother greet the guests as they filed in.

  She was sleek and well-mannered with just the slightest hint of reservation as she spoke to the guests who were once close friends.

  Those friends had married in the past six years, had had children, moved away from the interests they had once shared and accepted the death of the young woman they had called their friend.

  Now, they were facing her again, and sensing the changes within her. Changes that made them wary and uncomfortable.

  As the line began to thin, he snagged a drink from a waiter’s tray and moved closer to her.

  “Thank you.” There was a gleam of desperation in her gaze that he was certain even her mother hadn’t seen as she took the champagne and sipped at it. Very ladylike. But he noticed she consumed more in one sip than most ladies would in the same situation.

  “The band is starting up,” he murmured as he bent to her ear. “Shall we go inside, snag a plate from the buffet, and dance a bit later?”

  “Lilly has duties to attend.” Lady Harrington turned to him with a frosty smile and a gleam of hatred in her eyes. “Do be a nice gentleman and amuse yourself elsewhere.”

  He felt Lilly stiffen beside him. “That’s enough, Mother,” she said gently. “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I will take Travis up on his offer. We can talk later.”

  “Lilly.” Lady Harrington caught her daughter’s arm as she turned to leave. “Don’t consort with him in public. It’s bad enough you do so in private,” she hissed for her daughter’s ears alone.

  “I love you, Mother.” She kissed her mother’s cheek before turning, accepting Travis’s arm, and moving slowly away.

  Travis felt an edge of sorrow for the other woman. She had her daughter back, but it wasn’t the daughter she remembered, and it was one she was having a very hard time accepting.

  “The party will wind down around midnight,” Lilly stated as they entered the ballroom. “Be ready to go to the garage with me, or I’ll go alone.”

  She kept a smile on her face the whole time.

  “I wouldn’t advise that,” he warned her tightly.

  “I’m certain you wouldn’t, but it doesn’t really matter.” She stopped and stared up at him, ice filling her gaze. “Someone has tried to kill me twice now. I’ll find out who it is, Travis, and when I do, they’ll pay.”

  There was more than anger in her voice now, there was pain. The frosty reception she had received from her friends, the condemnation in their gazes, the unsympathetic curiosity, all were taking their toll.

  She may have been one of the Ops’s best female agents, but she was also one of the few that had managed to retain her heart, as well as her dreams.

  “Travis, Senator Stanton wants to meet.” Nik edged close, his voice pitched low as Travis watched Lilly while she listened to one of Desmond’s closest friends brag about a recent business deal he and Desmond had made.

  The stiffness in her body was telling. The observation of moments ago cemented in Travis’s mind as he noticed her discomfort.

  “When?” Travis murmured.

  “It’s set for now. Santos, Rhiannon, Noah, myself, and you. You have five minutes.”

  “Where?”

  “Your limo.”

  Travis gave a quick nod. “Inform me I have a business call and I’ll take it in the limo.” Travis lifted his drink to his lips as he spoke.

  Nik inclined his head before moving to stand behind Travis, taking his stance as bodyguard.

  Travis continued to move about the ballroom with Lilly, listening, watching, as she reconnected with those old friends.

  Their discomfort and guilt nearly matched hers.

  There was no doubt in his mind that Lilly no longer fit in with the society she had been raised in. The fact that she was no longer Lady Victoria was becoming more and more apparent.

  “Mr. Caine, you have a business call,” Nik announced just loudly enough to allow those he was standing close to to hear.

  “Lilly, dear.” Travis bent close to her ear as she turned to him. “Stay in the ballroom. Keep your eyes open. Let’s see who approaches you while I’m gone.”

  She nodded, but her gaze was filled with suspicion as he laid a quick kiss at her brow before heading out of the ballroom and then the house.

  His limo was parked at the far edge of the wide circular drive. Opening the door, Nik stepped aside as Travis slid in, then joined him before closing the door securely.

  “Senator.” Travis nodded at the older man sitting across from him.

  “Good to see you, Travis.” Senator Richard Stanton reached out his hand for a quick shake before sitting back with a smile. “Jordan told me you were surprised when you learned about Elite Command. Did you think he shouldered the entire burden of the Ops on his own shoulders?”

  “They’re broad enough, sir.” Travis grinned. “Though I doubt he’d thank me for saying so.”

  “Hell, no,” Stanton grunted a laugh. “That boy is a hell of a commander, but politics aren’t exactly his forte. He pisses off most of the members of Command every chan
ce he gets.”

  “As do most of us who are unfortunate enough to come in contact with them,” Santos stated ruefully, his aristocratic features mocking.

  “I would guess there are days Travis wishes he didn’t know about us now.” The senator grinned back at Travis.

  “I’m glad to know men such as you are there, if someone has to be, sir,” Travis stated.

  “Suck-up.” Rhiannon rolled her eyes.

  For all her Irish heritage she could be as rude as any American.

  “Is there a problem, sir?” Travis ignored the Elite Two co-commander as he turned back to the senator.

  “Elite Command has received word that Jared Harrington flew to Russia last week in an attempt to meet with one of the other agents Lilly worked with, Nissa Farren.”

  Travis’s brows arched. Nissa had been assigned to America’s embassy in Russia as one of the assistants working in the ambassador’s office.

  “Why Nissa?” Travis asked.

  “We’re not certain, but there’s no doubt it’s in connection to his sister. We’ve sent Shea Tamallen to England to connect with Harrington to learn how he found out about Nissa and exactly what he’s after.”

  “How does that affect our operation here?” Travis asked.

  “As a warning,” the senator informed him. “As well to let you know that should you or Lilly find yourselves in need, then I’ll be in town. You have only to contact me. Elite Command may be forced to make decisions that often seem cold or uncaring of individual agents, but we still try to do all we can to ensure not just your safety, but also your trust in us.”

  “Trusting shadow groups that look at the money line rather than the personal line isn’t always easy, Senator,” Travis stated.

  “We understand that,” the senator sighed. “But that’s what we’re aiming for.”

  “Thank you for the information, sir, as well as the explanations.” Travis nodded. “If we’re finished?”

  “We are indeed.” The senator nodded as well. “I have some things to discuss with Santos and Rhiannon if you don’t mind us using your limo. We’ll vacate the vehicle soon, though.”

  “Take your time,” Travis offered as Nik opened the limo door and stepped out.

  Moving to the house, Travis could feel an edge of wariness tightening his nape now.

  “Get with our contacts in London,” he ordered Nik. “Find out what the fuck Jared Harrington is up to before Shea finds her ass on the line as well.”

  “I’ll take care of it at first opportunity,” Nik’s voice was a growl now. “He’s moving up on my list of suspects, Trav.”

  “Yours and mine both,” Travis all but snarled. “Trust me, Nik, yours and mine both.”

  CHAPTER 12

  IT WAS CLOSER TO one before the party began winding down, as Lilly had predicted. The couples left were those spending the night in the guest rooms, and there were plenty enough of those to go around. The additional wings to the three-story mansion as well as the guesthouses behind it provided sufficient room for the large parties and crowds of guests who often stayed there.

  He watched as Lilly quickly shed her ballgown for the black, snug jeans, T-shirt, and boots. His dick throbbed, hard as hell, as she slid a dagger into the side of her boot. Her hair was quickly released from the pins holding it, then scooped back into a ponytail that fell past her shoulders in a thick, sleek ribbon.

  He was going to fuck her the minute he got her back to the her bedroom, he thought. He was going to put her on her knees, grip that damned ponytail, and ride them both to exhaustion. He should do it now, before she managed to get either of them into a mess tonight.

  “I still highly advise against this,” he commented as he drew his t-shirt over his head before sitting on the bed and pulling the light hiking boots he preferred over his feet and lacing them.

  “I’m certain you do.”

  She kept patting her thigh as though she knew something was missing. The holsters she wore strapped to those sleek thighs were missing. She never went on a mission without going fully armed. The action was telling.

  Santos and Rhiannon had watched her carefully after their meeting with the senator tonight, as had Ian and Kira Richards, and Jordan Malone. All eyes had been on Lilly, and everyone was seeing changes in her.

  For those who had believed she had been dead, they watched her warily now, sensing that dangerous side of her. For those who knew the dangerous woman she was, they sensed the simmering volcano within her.

  “Let’s go then.” Rather than going to the bedroom door, she headed to the wide French doors and the balcony outside.

  And damned if he didn’t follow her. For six years one of the highlights of his life had been watching Lilly move while she was on a mission.

  “I need my weapons.” She swung a leg over the iron railing of the balcony as she stared back at him. “We both know just how illegal they are, don’t we?”

  The two modified automatic Glocks she wore strapped to her thighs were her babies. She was beyond armed and dangerous with those bad boys. Even more, she was beyond hotter than fucking hell. His dick got harder, if possible, just thinking about it.

  A sigh slipped past his lips as he followed her over the railing and dropped to the ground behind her. He let her lead this time, simply because he loved watching her ass. That and the fact that the threat of danger was minimal. No one had ever said he wasn’t an overprotective male chauvinist when it came to a woman and a mission.

  Slipping around the back of the house, he was surprised when she found the concealed window into the underground garage. Opening it smoothly, silently, she shimmied inside and disappeared into the darkness of the garage.

  Travis followed, wedging his shoulders through the narrow opening and grimacing at the snug fit. Even wearing the black slacks and t-shirt, he found the opening was barely wide enough for him to get through.

  Dropping to the cement floor, he landed as silently as she had as he surveyed the area quickly with the night vision glasses he’d slid over his eyes before leaving the room.

  “Unoccupied.” Her voice came through the small earbud receiver at his ear as he located her on the other end of the cavernous parking area.

  The garage wasn’t filled with vehicles, but it was damned close. Guests’ vehicles driven personally had been stored in the underground garage for their convenience and to keep the smaller parking area outside free. Each vehicle was worth a damned fortune, if he wasn’t mistaken. Not that he was surprised, just rather amused as usual.

  His Viper was parked in a far slot, the valet that had parked it obviously enamored of it, as he had made certain that the spaces beside it were empty.

  “How many guests were here last night?” Travis asked, his tone soft as he flipped the night vision glasses to the top of his head and slid out the small flashlight he carried in his back pocket.

  “When I left here this morning and headed to your place, the three guesthouses were already filled, and half the guest wing,” she answered, her voice a breath of sound at his ear. “This garage was three-quarters filled at that time.”

  “Plenty of hands to do the devil’s handiwork then.”

  A light laugh escaped her lips. “That’s funny. I remember someone else who used to say that.”

  “I doubt they said it as well as I,” he grunted, though he hoped he managed to pull off a casual tone.

  He was going to have to start watching himself closer. He had known her before his “death.” Not so much personally as socially. As Lord Xavier Travis Dermont, the heir to the Dermont legacy, he had attended many of the events Lilly had.

  “His name was Travis as well,” Lilly stated, causing him to grimace though he knew there was truly no way for her to make the connection between Travis Dermont, MI6, and the Elite Ops.

  “He was a good man then.”

  “Yes, he was a very good man.”

  Travis paused, his gaze finding her shadow as she set the small motion alarm at the entrance t
o the garage to alert them if anyone entered.

  “You knew him well?” he asked her.

  “He was married to a faithless little whore,” she said, sighing in regret. “The bitch was killed in the explosion that she set to get rid of him. She betrayed his mission and his cover to a particularly nasty set of criminals and actually thought she could survive it.”

  He didn’t have to fight back the rage and pain anymore. He’d buried that part of himself long ago. His wife had destroyed him, there was no way to fight against it. Unlike Lilly, there was no going back for him. There was no rebirth.

  “Was he a good friend of yours?” The hatred in her voice when she spoke of Katy surprised him, though. She’d always been cordial, friendly, despite his dead wife’s ignorance whenever she was around.

  They hadn’t been friends, though, not she and his wife, nor he and Lilly.

  “No, but I thought well of him.” The reservation in her words had his gaze narrowing on her then.

  “You were in love with him?” he asked, barely managing to hide his incredulity. How the fuck had he managed to miss that?

  “‘Love’ is a strong word to use.” She sighed. “I was incredibly drawn to him, though. Remember, it’s been six years since I disappeared, and he died two years before that. So I was very young and he was very married.”

  And she had never displayed her crush, nor attempted to gain his attention at the time. Travis nearly shook his head at the thought.

  “I danced with you once, you know, just before your disappearance.”

  “When?” She was moving along the far edge of the garage then, her own penlight trained on the ground as he moved to do the same.

  “The party you disappeared from. I was there with another agent. We danced the waltz. You were dressed in a soft autumn brown ballgown with tiny silk leaves cascading through your hair.”

  He could almost feel her thinking. “I don’t remember you.” The edge of regret in her voice was stronger than the one she had used to voice her memory of his past identity. “There’s a lot I don’t remember of that night.”

  “You were beautiful that night, Lilly. You danced like a dream, and your smile was as bright as the sun.”