Dare Me (Take Me Series Book 2)

by Calista Fox

  But they had crucial business to see to.

  So she inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and said, “Guess it’s time to see what my future holds.”

  29

  Those ominous words lingered between them.

  So that Nikki anxiously, nervously asked, “What if these guys don’t stop coming after me?”

  Damen heard the ragged edge to Nikki’s voice. It was a valid concern, certainly. But he knew it was wrapped around more than just her own personal safety. She’d naturally be terrified of the potential threat against the people around her, the people closest to her; the very real possibility of them becoming casualties by association.

  Damen’s team was already keeping an eye on Kate and Jude McMillan—newlyweds, Damen had recently learned. He hadn’t yet mentioned to Nikki that they were well-protected while they were in Mexico City, establishing temporary residency so that they could adopt one of the orphans from the explosion.

  He had already considered that it might prove beneficial to have Nikki in close proximity to her friends, so they were all under the same surveillance from the ops team. But Damen preferred to keep her here with him. His house was safe. The campus was safe. And anyone who dared to come after her would have to go through him, first.

  But what she was also inquiring, without blatantly saying it, was how would she continue her work if her life was in danger?

  Damen really couldn’t quell her fears until he’d ascertained precisely what they were dealing with. He wouldn’t lie to her and tell her there was nothing to stress over. That wasn’t true in any sense. And they both knew it.

  Nor would he feed into her fears.

  So he brushed his fingertips over her cheek, leaned in and kissed her lips. Then he murmured, “Let’s cross one bridge at a time, hmm?”

  Her eyelids squeezed shut for a moment. When they fluttered open, she countered with, “I’m more of a plotter. I like to know my course.”

  “No, you’re not,” he playfully said, helping to cut some of the tension. “You bend and flex so that you end up exactly where you need to be, when you need to be there. Right now… You need to be with me. Finishing this piece of business before we tackle the next.”

  She gazed up at him.

  And sighed. Rather dreamily.

  He grinned.

  “Don’t gloat,” she whispered in a softer voice, one not quite so dark and raw.

  “I can’t help it,” he told her. “You’re practically melting into me.”

  “I can’t help it,” she teased back. “You’re seriously irresistible.”

  With a chuckle, he told her, “I’m okay with that.”

  “But…we should get going.”

  “We should get going,” he concurred.

  Still, they remained rooted where they stood, staring at each other.

  Perhaps it was the prospect of what awaited them on the other side of his bedroom door that made it so damn difficult for them to move in that direction.

  Despite how much Damen wanted to see his mother and his niece, so they knew he was all right after his latest mission—and he wanted them to meet Nikki, of course—he knew their private world would instantly shatter when they left his suite.

  Plus, there was no telling what would happen once they were on the ops campus and they transferred the data that was on her computer.

  Unfortunately, they could only stall for so long. These were pressing matters to tend to.

  So he slipped his hand in hers and led her into the hallway and down the stairs. At the landing, they veered off from the vast foyer and passed into the opened formal living room that overlooked the patio and the courtyard, all covered with a blanket of fresh powder.

  Mads was outside making a snowman when she caught sight of them through the tall windows. She quickly abandoned her effort and raced through the door to get to Damen, not even stopping to shed her boots or her coat. Much to his mother’s dismay.

  As Mads threw her arms around him, Damen’s mother followed close behind, coming from the kitchen. She made a tsking noise.

  “Look at this mess, Mads,” she gently chastised.

  “I’ll clean it, I promise.” Staring up at Damen, she added, “I’m just sooo happy you’re home!”

  “Me, too.” He returned her fierce hug. Then he gestured toward Nikki and said, “I want you to meet a friend of mine, Dr. Nikki Kane.”

  Mads very reluctantly unraveled from him and thrust her hand toward Nikki. “It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Kane. I’m Mads.”

  Nikki smiled sweetly. “I’m Nikki. And I love your hair.”

  Mads beamed. “I just had it done the other day. The color starts to fade after a few weeks and it’s not quite as cool.”

  “It’s perfect,” Nikki commented.

  The rainbow effect was neither stripes nor streaks, but an entire blending of colors that morphed into each other.

  Mads whipped her head back and forth to show off the full extent of the blending. She said, “It takes, like, two hours. But I think it’s groovy.”

  Nikki’s brow shot up.

  Damen laughed. “She’s a bit of a free-spirit. A modern-day flower child.”

  “I can dig it,” Nikki said. And flashed a peace sign with her fingers.

  Damen was pretty certain she’d just made a best friend.

  He introduced Nikki to his mother, who offered to make lunch. But he told her, “We really have to go.”

  “But you’ll both be back, right?” Mads anxiously asked.

  “This evening, yes. For dinner,” he avowed.

  Then they left the house and slid into the back of an awaiting Town Car.

  Damen said, “So that’s the family.”

  “They’re fantastic. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better. I really do love Mads’ hair. It’s gorgeous.”

  “Yeah, I was a little worried the first time she told me she wanted multi-colored hair. Thankfully, we found the right stylist.”

  They chatted amiably about this, both glad to have something to focus on other than the foreboding tension threatening the periphery.

  They attempted to relax on the way to the ops campus. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely possible. Neither of them knew what they would encounter today. How it would all affect Nikki. What sort of new trauma she might be facing. Or what further hazardous situations.

  Damen couldn’t stop himself from grinding over this, and he knew he gave off a razory vibe, because Nikki fidgeted beside him and that was not a common trait of hers.

  He reached over and covered her hands with one of his as she was wringing them in her lap.

  “Just keep trusting in me,” he quietly said.

  She gave a nod. But said nothing.

  Damen knew why.

  They just might have some very disastrous truths headed their way…

  If they even made it to the ops campus.

  Damen’s driver said, “We’re being followed.”

  30

  Nikki gasped.

  “Son of a bitch,” Damen grumbled. And was instantly on the phone to Garcia, reporting the situation.

  “I’ve got your back,” she told him. “Maintain your destination.”

  He turned to Nikki. “We’ll be fine. I’d anticipated this and kept Agent Garcia in the loop as to our travel plans.”

  Nikki shot him a dubious look. “And what, exactly, is she going to do?”

  “Whatever it takes to cut them off.”

  Nikki’s teeth ground for a moment as she contemplated this. Then she felt compelled to ask, “What if they shoot out our tires or something?”

  “Not on this street,” he told her. “Too much traffic.”

  Now, her expression turned incredulous. “Damen, they’re terrorists! Do they really care about innocent bystanders and casualties of war?”

  He shifted in his seat, turning to face her. “Nik. Be calm. Please.”

  She glared at him.

  He bit back a strained laugh. Okay, s
he was too fucking smart not to immediately jump to the assumption that these people would make a last-ditched effort to grab the laptop—and possibly Nikki—before Damen’s Town Car made it through the armed and secured Qtango Ops gates and onto fully protected and shielded grounds.

  “Garcia’s not the only one I have in place,” he informed her. “We have two other vehicles in play. And air surveillance.”

  “Air surveillance?” Her brows jumped.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  She continued to gaze at him, running the gamut of possibilities, scenarios, emotions… He wasn’t sure what.

  Though, if he wasn’t mistaken, a flicker in her emerald eyes told him she was duly impressed.

  No less freaked out or paranoid. But at least she grasped they weren’t on their own. And to be fair to Garcia, Nikki had already been exposed to the level of determinedness that particular agent possessed and demonstrated. Granted, Garcia was still on the shit list because she had not informed Damen she was infiltrating the enemy to gather intel—and had then planted said intel in Nikki’s laptop. That would be dealt with accordingly.

  At the moment, however… Damen truly believed Garcia would not let anything stand in the way of him and Nikki making it to their intended rendezvous location. Or allowing any further interference with the mission.

  He checked the overlaid map on his phone that pinpointed where all of his people were currently stationed. Garcia was closest in proximity. He shared the app screen with his driver’s mounted monitor in the front.

  “Very good, sir,” was the curt reply he received from Colin Dunbar. He was retired FBI and had taken this job so he wouldn’t get bored. Some days were worse than others—meaning, for the most part, Dunbar wasn’t required to pull off any strategic maneuvering—oh, ho-hum. So he was likely doing an internal happy dance that they were potentially in danger today.

  Adrenaline junkies required a periodic shot in the arm.

  Damen, on the other hand, was less enthused, given the woman sitting next to him, whom he’d sworn to protect.

  He buckled up and slid a glance her way. “Tighten your seatbelt, sweetheart.”

  She did as requested, without question.

  “Have you finished your Christmas shopping?” he casually inquired.

  Her head whipped in his direction again. “We’re seriously going to make small-talk right now?”

  “Not much else we can do. Steering wheel’s up front.”

  She glowered.

  In an even more cavalier tone—with hopes of easing her sudden disconcertion—he said, “We could make out, if you prefer.”

  “Damen!” she admonished with a sharp tone. But he didn’t miss the flare of heat in her eyes.

  She swatted at him.

  He chuckled.

  “Behave,” she scolded. “This is serious shit.”

  “Indeed, it is,” he concurred. “And when it’s all over, I’ll introduce you to Colin, my driver. Amazingly talented escape artist. Master of disguises. And he secretly wishes he was a European Formula One race car driver.”

  Colin snickered.

  “At present, however,” Damen continued, “he’s laser-focused on our tail and all the converging agents that are going to get us out of this sticky situation. Were I to introduce you now, he’d be distracted by how striking you are.”

  “Your charm knows no bounds,” she quipped. Apparently trying to buy into his more casual demeanor, his attempt to bring the anxiety and tension down a few notches.

  “Back to Christmas…”

  “Fine,” she said, though her gaze slipped to the side window and the rearview mirror every few seconds. “I had to call my personal shopper at Bergdorf’s to have gifts selected, wrapped and delivered to my father and stepmonster, since we left Manhattan so abruptly.”

  “Ooh, angst. There’s a story here.”

  She let out a harsh laugh. “Please, don’t get me started. You’re trying to get me to chill out. Discussing Babs will only amp me more.”

  “Babs is no longer a topic of conversation,” he swiftly, decisively said. “And your mother is in the Maldives, we’ve established.”

  “So, naturally, I’m wondering why the fuck I didn’t book that flight instead of the one to New York.”

  She instantly grasped her faux pas and winced.

  Glancing his way, she added, “No offense.”

  “Only slightly taken,” he murmured.

  “Damen—”

  “I understand what you’re saying, Nik. It’s not about me or us… It’s about the terrorists that are following us.”

  “And the bug in my computer.”

  “Which,” he delicately reminded her, “would be in your computer no matter where you went. So regardless of your travel plans, I would have been sitting in the seat next to you were you headed to snowy weather or tropical beaches.”

  “Right. Of course. Agent Garcia really did make it impossible for us to avoid seeing each other again.”

  “Disappointed?” he more quietly, privately asked.

  He knew she’d comprehend he wasn’t talking about all the espionage and danger they were caught up in. He was speaking strictly about them. About the fact that, had Garcia not made that particular move with Nikki’s laptop, they would have went their separate ways. And Damen would be too wrapped up in his investigation to have time to track Nikki down—in the Maldives, New York or in Switzerland.

  She gazed at him for several suspended seconds, making his gut clench.

  Then one corner of her glossy mouth twitched. She said, “No. But—”

  “Everybody, hold on!” Colin suddenly interjected in a terse voice. “We’re either making a severe detour into the river or we’re about to have a head-on collision.”

  Nikki and Damen’s gazes tore apart and they both stared out the windshield.

  Damen braced an arm across her chest.

  Nikki screamed.

  And Colin said, “This one’s gonna leave a mark…”

  31

  “Oh, my fucking God!” Nikki cried in horror. “The river or hellacious wreckage?”

  “It’ll be okay,” Damen asserted, pressing her against the back of the seat with his massive arm.

  “The laptop!” she suddenly blurted.

  “No water!” he instantly called out to Colin.

  “Jesus Christ, Damen!” Colin shot back, abandoning all formality, which was only a jest between him and Damen, anyway. “Head-on collision it is, then.”

  Damen continued to brace himself and Nikki. But said to Colin, “Careful.”

  “I know what I’m doing. Fantasy European Formula One race car driver, remember?”

  Damen would have grinned. But the tension gripped him fiercely. Mostly, over Nikki’s safety, but also because Colin was going to take the brunt of this crash.

  Damen had the laptop bag tucked between him and the door, and he twined the strap around his free hand to ensure it wasn’t going anywhere upon impact.

  His gaze homed in on the flashing dots on the monitor mounted to the dash and he said to Colin, “You see that, don’t you?”

  “I most certainly do. Three…two…one…”

  An SUV came out of nowhere and barreled into the side of the vehicle they were on a collision course with, shoving it out of the way and plowing just swiftly enough through the intersection that the Town Car almost cleared the accident ahead of them.

  Almost.

  The driver’s side clipped the end of the SUV and made a god-awful roar of metal on metal and screeching tires and shattering glass as the car did a one-eighty, hopped the curb and slammed into a lamppost on Damen’s side.

  He and Nikki ducked as the window exploded. Then his attention instantly snapped to her.

  “Are you all right?” he demanded.

  “Jarred, but not injured.”

  “Colin?”

  “Mint condition. Apologies for it not being a softer landing.”

  “You were perfect,” Nikki assured
him.

  Damen’s gaze returned to her.

  “I mean, other than taking out the lamppost,” she joked.

  Damen smirked. “Let’s go. We have another car waiting. Come with us, Colin. Agent Garcia will handle the details here.”

  She was already out of the SUV with her weapon drawn. Two other teams had arrived on the scene and they all surrounded the crumpled sedan. Sirens wailed in the distance.

  Nikki sprang free from her seatbelt and scurried across the seat to follow Damen out. He took her hand and was on the move, but she jerked on his arm.

  “Damen.”

  He whirled around, his heart lurching into his throat. “You’re fucking hurt, aren’t you?”

  “No,” she swore. “But others might be.”

  Her gaze scanned the immediate crowd.

  “Right.” Of course that would be her first concern. And as much as time was of the essence to get the hell out of there, he couldn’t fault her for wanting to survey the scene.

  His gaze swept the area, too. There were a lot of startled people and a few had been knocked off their feet, but none appeared wounded.

  When Nikki was satisfied, she turned back to Damen and nodded. “We can go.”

  God, he loved her compassion. So much so, he sort of stalled out for a few seconds as he merely stared down at her.

  She eyed him quizzically. “Damen?”

  “You’re incredible, Dr. Nikki Kane.”

  Now, she gazed up at him with appreciation. “Thank you for that. And for being so concerned about my wellbeing.”

  “That I can’t help,” he said and gave her a suggestive grin.

  “I want to kiss you,” she quietly said. “But bad guys might be watching us, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  As was Colin, who said in his thick Scottish accent, “Come along now, you two. Car’s awaiting.”

  The trio rushed along the walkway, weaving their way through the gathering throng of people and climbing into the back of a black Hummer.

  Damen had no doubt this wasn’t the only team from the terrorists’ side to be in pursuit of him and Nikki. But there was already a barricade set up to slow the traffic in their wake, once they cleared the city limits, and that would give them wide berth to get onto the ops campus and under that umbrella of protection.