Sweet Seduction Secrets (Sweet Seduction, Book 8): A Love At First Sight Romantic Suspense Series

by Claire, Nicola

  "Thanks, boss," Adam murmured, drinking from his own water bottle now.

  "Shower both of you," Nick advised. "And then you've got policies with Amber in Interview Room One." The last was said directly to me.

  I nodded and watched as he rounded up the rest of the people in the room and herded them out. Within minutes I was alone with Adam, wondering what game ASI was playing. Nick clearly thought Adam could handle me. Because of the match? Or because Adam's reactions to me so far had all been pretend?

  And what of Amber as choice for policies and procedures? The tech geek was not military trained.

  Nick Anscombe was proving a talented adversary, indeed.

  "Good fight," Adam said, breaking into my thoughts.

  "You too."

  He watched me, as I slung a towel around my shoulders and prepared to leave. When nothing was said, I took a step toward the bathrooms.

  "Where did you learn those moves?"

  "The Navy," I replied carefully.

  He let a huff of air out. Incredulously, I'd guess.

  "Like Nick said, that was not standard defence force practice."

  "No. It wasn't," I agreed with a shoulder shrug.

  "But you insist you learnt them in the Navy."

  I nodded my head and waited. Our eyes were locked on each other, as if we could read our foe through the colour of their irises alone.

  I could tell he was wired; pumped up with adrenaline and ready to fight again if need be. He didn't trust me. I wasn't surprised. Only resigned to the mountain I had to climb to see this assignment through.

  I wondered, again, if completing this mission was imperative. How could it still be if the Department was testing me? What was it that the Director wanted with these people? Who had seemed to me to just be doing their job.

  Their dossiers hadn't divulged anything that made my hackles rise. The set-up here no more than expected and a necessity if they took themselves seriously. And their behaviour to date had only solidified how good at what they did they all were: They'd picked me up within twenty-four hours. Faster than I'd ever had a cover blown before.

  But was my cover blown? Or was it just dented out of shape? Could it be repaired?

  "So, still going with the Navy?" Adam asked, breaking into my musings.

  I was more distracted on this case than I had ever been. Too many variables. Too many mountains. Too many heads to the snake.

  Where was Caleb right now?

  The Director?

  Mal?

  I ran a hand through my hair, pulling my hair tie out and letting the wet strands fall down around my shoulders. Adam watched my every move, but didn't show any emotion on his face. Here was the soldier, following orders, stealing his heart away.

  "I was one of three females in my basic training group," I said. "By the time I graduated, I was the only female left. Certain moves were needed to stay committed."

  It wasn't a complete lie, and maybe that was why it worked. Adam nodded his head and walked out of the room towards the men's showers.

  Without a word.

  I let a slow breath of air out and made my way to the ladies side of the bathrooms. Checking the room was empty and that Abi had been right when she'd said there were no cameras in the showers, I pulled my cellphone out of my change bag and stepped into a stall. Turning the shower on, I let the steam build up and only then dialled Ava.

  "He's definitely here," she said in way of greeting. "And he knows I am as well."

  Shit.

  "How did that happen, Ava?"

  "The rental car." She didn't say any more, she didn't need to. Her tone of voice said it all. She was fuming. At herself. At Caleb. And probably at me. "What the fuck is going on, Charlie?"

  "My target has made me."

  "Bloody hell!"

  "They haven't shown their hand."

  "OK. Something to work with. Do you suspect them yet?"

  I shook my head and started pacing in the small space of the stall.

  "They're good," I said.

  "They'd better be, making you in under twenty-four hours."

  I let out a slow breath of air.

  "I'm uncertain on where they stand in the scheme of things," I admitted.

  Silence.

  Then, "Your next move?"

  "Flush Caleb out."

  "These could still be two unrelated incidences," Ava pointed out. "Flushing Caleb might have little effect on your assignment."

  "Not flushing him could mean my death."

  I waited for her reprisal. I didn't have to wait long.

  "I can't stay."

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the slick tile of the stall.

  "Ava," I whispered into the phone.

  "Listen to me, Charlie. You've got this, whatever the fuck it is. But if Caleb knows I'm here, and he is working against you at the Director's behest, then I'm going to be tarred with the same brush. No thank you. I like you, but we're not that close in the end."

  Damn it. She was right. I had no hold on her. The fact that she had come at all meant she valued me as a colleague, but anything else was wishful thinking.

  I'd be saying and doing the exact same thing in her position, as well.

  "OK," I said, pulling myself up straight. "What have you uncovered so far?"

  "You're set up here as a suitable fall-back and it hasn't been compromised. I made sure of that after I realised Caleb was onto me. As far as what he wants, I can't say. There's been no more contact through your Department email, and nothing on the mock social media profiles you set up. But there has been interest. I traced what I could and I'm certain it didn't originate at the Department."

  "That doesn't mean any interest isn't theirs," I argued.

  "True. But not overtly."

  "Caleb?" More his style.

  "It's a possibility. But my being here is holding him back."

  "That's not why you're leaving, Ava."

  "No."

  Silence as we both digested that.

  "When will you go?" I finally asked.

  "I already am," she replied and the line went dead.

  I stared at the water running down the drain and slowly lowered the cellphone. She'd probably answered on the jet.

  Calling Ava here had been a long shot, but having her here, despite the potential for another enemy in my bed, had been a safety blanket of sorts. Caleb wasn't an unknown. He was an expert at what he did. He scared me more than Nick Anscombe and his ASI men.

  He scared me more than the Director if I was honest. And the Director was not to be taken lightly, at all.

  I powered down the phone and placed it in my bag, then stripped and slid under the shower. My body ached; Adam had landed a few very decent punches. My head hurt; too many thoughts dancing around inside my brain. My heart wasn't in it, any more.

  When did this become exhausting?

  When my handler let it slip I was persona non grata, that's when.

  The clock was ticking, I knew that much. My time here at ASI was coming to an end. I needed to know what had singled this firm out as the location for my demise in the Director's eyes. I needed to get that from Adam tonight.

  Then I'd deal with Caleb Hart. Followed swiftly by Mal, the Director and the Department.

  What the hell was the link here?

  The water scolded down my back and hissed off the tiles on the floor. I soaped up, scrubbing hard against skin, as if that could rid me of the unwanted feeling of failure. I'd never consciously failed before. Not that any failure here was due to my purposeful actions. Yet. But I couldn't help thinking I was doing something wrong, anyway.

  Why me? Why ASI? Why now?

  None of it made sense, but I was determined to figure it out. Not for the Department. But for me.

  I was invested now. Personally. Whether ASI was just a venue for my downfall or not. I needed to know. Why here? Why these people?

  Why?

  The question was still swirling around inside my head whe
n I walked into Interview Room One and found Amber waiting patiently; a folder open before her, two mugs of coffee steaming to the side.

  I'd been spotted leaving the bathroom, the coffees and Amber here at just the right time.

  Or had I been spotted sooner? In the bathroom where cameras were not meant to be.

  I'd mentioned to Adam, Jason, Brook and Koki at The Claddagh that Abi had told me no cameras were present in the showers. Had they rectified that?

  I was doubting everything. Even those I didn't want to suspect.

  "Hey," Amber said. "Heard you held your own in the ring."

  "You didn't watch?" I asked, taking the seat opposite her.

  She smiled. It was cunning and secretive. Of course she'd watched.

  "Adam is our best hand to hand fighter," Amber said instead.

  I blinked. That was unexpected. I would have thought Captain Cain held that title.

  "Where did he learn to fight like that?" I mused, a question I hadn't intended to say aloud.

  "You'd have to ask him," Amber replied.

  Dutifully chastised, I looked down at the folder.

  "We all have stories, Charlie," Amber said softly. "I should think you do as well."

  "And you haven't found them out yet, Amber?" I asked, genuinely interested to hear what she had to say.

  "I haven't asked," she replied, holding my gaze with an impassive one of her own.

  Oh, she was good. And I knew now why Nick had arranged her as the policies guru. One look at those big baby brown eyes and you believed her.

  One look if you weren't a highly trained spy, that is.

  I smiled. "What's all this about then?" I said, nodding at the folder between us.

  "Boring, boring and even more boring," Amber quipped. "I can download a file to your cellphone of all the key points you need to know, if you like."

  "OK," I said, unsure where she was going with this. I was aware that Amber Shaw was not a rule follower. But then neither were any of those who worked for ASI.

  It didn't make them criminals. Not necessarily. It just painted a bullseye over their heads for those with a less discerning eye.

  And I suddenly knew why ASI had been chosen. Whether they were on the wrong side of the fence of organised crime or not.

  They broke the rules. They fit the profile. They were picked because they fit so damn well.

  And my gut was telling me, they were as innocent as I was. Wrong place, wrong time.

  Fuck.

  But what had we both stumbled into? What the hell was the Director after that linked ASI and an international specialist together?

  I blinked when Amber said, "Wanna go get a coffee? I know a great place."

  "Pardon?"

  "You look like you could use a friend," she said, offering a welcoming smile.

  "Is that what Nick has asked you to do?" I queried softly.

  Amber's turn to blink.

  Then, "You see ghosts behind every door, don't you, Charlie?"

  "Usually packing semi-automatic pistols and a lethal eye."

  She tilted her head to the side in a move that seemed pixie-like. And then she giggled.

  "Oh, they have no idea what they're up against, do they?"

  "Who, Amber?"

  It took her a moment to answer. Not because, I think, she didn't know what to say. But because Amber Shaw had her delivery down pat. This woman was more than meets the eye.

  "Whoever you're running from, Charlie."

  I wanted to ask, but I didn't. Just like I didn't press her when we left the building together in search of this café she swore was the best.

  She hadn't denied Nick had assigned her to me.

  She hadn't confirmed it either, but that would have been a lie.

  Nick Anscombe knew exactly who to use in his arsenal and when. The more I knew them, the more I respected them.

  And eliminating a target you respected was perhaps the hardest assignment a specialist could acquire.

  I wasn't just in unchartered territory, anymore. I was so far gone, I was in danger of getting lost. Black didn't even cover it. There was no colour for where I was heading. No light to reflect on more than shadows and the ghosts of my past.

  With a burgeoning sense of dread I slipped into Amber's SUV; standard ASI issue, of course. And let my current target pretend she was my friend.

  Chapter 14

  Lovesick Fucking Puppy

  Adam

  I'd never felt this kind of anger before. Never. I wasn't sure this level of rage was healthy. My fist connected with the tile of the shower wall. Grout and chips of porcelain rained down, making the water swirling toward the drain go murky. Red tinged the edges as my blood dripped into the mess, as well.

  I couldn't even put into words why I was so mad. This was insanity. I'd known her less than two days. And I was feeling... What? Betrayed? Let down? Fucking disappointed?

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  Why did it have to be her?

  I shook my head and tilted my face up to the shower nozzle, letting the pelting spray smart against my cheeks and lips.

  There was no denying the woman could fight with the best of them. And there was no denying now that she was more than just an ex-Naval Lieutenant. I think that was the hardest to take. Because if she wasn't a Naval Officer, then what the hell was she?

  Why here? What did she want at ASI?

  Whoever she was and whoever she worked for obviously thought they could fool us. They didn't know Nick Anscombe or his team at all.

  And now I had to pretend all was honky-dory. That I didn't suspect her of some sort of competitor espionage. That I trusted her and wanted her at my back.

  And mix into all of that perfectly appropriate professional reaction the entirely non-professional one and you've got a fucked up mess.

  Fucking A.

  But she could fight. Smooth, like a sleek jungle cat. Faster than anyone else at ASI, even Jason. And nasty to boot. Nothing better than a woman who knows how to wear leathers, ride a bike, and fight like a man.

  Arghh! Even as fucking messed up as I was feeling right now, I was getting a fucking hard-on.

  I turned the shower to cold.

  It didn't work, so I hurried up and got done. Scrubbing hard with the soap in the hopes it would scrub some decidedly unprofessional images from my mind.

  I was so screwed.

  How could you want someone and not really know them, trust them? How could one day change so much?

  "I'm scared, all right. Shit scared."

  Had she been playing me, like she was playing ASI?

  I shook my head and turned the shower off. Grabbing a towel, I stepped out of the stall and came face to face with Ben.

  "Motherfucker!" I growled, just stopping myself from jumping backwards like a damn girl. "Like what you see, fucktard?"

  He smiled. It was all teeth and white eyeballs. Creepy. All he needed was a moko on that dial and he'd be set.

  "Good fight," he commented, taking a seat on one of the benches down the middle of the room. "She held her own."

  I nodded.

  "She also held back."

  "What?" I demanded, halting my drying efforts and just staring at the dude.

  "I watched it with Amber. We slowed it down on the playback. Charlie pulled her punches. Placed herself in positions that allowed you to land a blow, but wouldn't allow you to injure her too much."

  "You sure?"

  "Damn positive. She's elite trained, not just to land the hits, but to take 'em."

  I sat down on the opposite end of the bench. Ben didn't say anything else. Just let that little factoid sink in.

  Who the hell was Charlie?

  The door swung open and we both looked up to see Nick step in. He didn't talk until it shut again at his back. His eyes scanned both our faces and then flicked into the shower stall I'd just vacated. A scowl briefly swept over his features.

  "You saw the vid?" Ben asked, leaning back against a locke
r as though we were having a relaxing conversation at The Claddagh.

  "I did," Nick replied steadily. "You tell him?” He nodded towards me.

  "Yep."

  Nick sighed. I threw the towel I'd had slung around my neck down on the bench and stood to get dressed. Fuck them. If they wanted this conversation in the bathroom where I was fucking half naked, they could have at it.

  I was angry enough right now to take them both on, I was sure.

  "She's just stepping in with Amber now," Nick said. "Amber's going to suggest they go get a coffee at Sweet Seduction."

  Nick scheming was when he was always at his best.

  "I want you and Ben to shadow her afterwards," he added. "She'll pick up one of you, but not likely two, if you do it right."

  Fuck me.

  "This woman is here for a reason," he went on. "I want to know what that reason is. Who sent her. Why us. Why now."

  Charlie wouldn't know what had hit her. And somehow this was making me even madder.

  "She's clearly got a thing for you, Savill," Nick was saying, but the room was becoming hazy and a buzzing had started up in my ears. "We can use that, but not if you can't control it."

  Silence as he waited for me to say what he wanted to hear.

  "Are we sure she's the enemy?" was all I could manage. Not exactly reassuring my boss with those words.

  Nick turned to Ben. "I'll get Abi to go with you instead."

  "No, I can do it," I said, a little too quickly.

  "You'll be on tonight. Maybe you're better suited to your normal element of hunting, than shadowing anyway."

  "I can do it, Nick."

  He looked at me. Ice blue staring me down.

  "No," he said with a shake of his head after some deliberation. "Ben and Abi will take the shadow. You need to cool down."

  He looked back at the shower stall purposefully and then walked the fuck out of the room without another word.

  Fuck.

  I looked to Ben. He raised an eyebrow and stood to leave.

  "That's it?" I snapped. "I'm grounded?"

  Ben stopped at the door, not opening it; more like he was guarding it. And turned to face me.

  "I never heard nothin' 'bout you bein' grounded, e hoa." And then he pushed through the door to leave.