Sean: What kind of Asian?
Malika: Indian.
Sean: Where?
Malika: Downstairs, your building.
Sean: What am I doing with him?
Malika: Keep him safe. He will explain.
Sean: What’s his name?
Malika: Jeremy.
Malika: Sean, he doesn’t know who I am. So don’t mention my name. To him, I’m Duchess.
Sean: My nickname for you? That’s fucked up.
Malika: Be careful, the environment will be hostile.
Sean: It always is. Keep your phone close.
Malika: There’s an earpiece in your desk drawer, left-hand side.
Sean: Should I even ask how you know this?
Malika: Place it in your ear once you enter the elevator to the lobby.
Sean: We’re going to have a long talk after this.
Malika: Don’t forget the earpiece.
Sean removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. He didn’t have to check his guns at his waist in the back and at his ankles. Those were checked and loaded every morning. He took a few long minutes to read the text messages from Malika again, memories of their time together almost paralyzing him. After taking a few deep breaths to regain his equilibrium, he pocketed his wallet and cell phone, knowing that more than likely he would not be returning to the office today. Activating the speakerphone in his office to call his assistant, Brian, his message was the same whenever he left for one of his missions: “I’ll be out for a few. Message me for anything urgent.” He disconnected the line before Brian could voice any questions or objections.
Brian had been working for the company for over twenty years and was inarguably one of the best in the media world, print and television. Ever since Sean had completely taken over the company from his father more than five years ago, Brian had been his trusted second and covered for Sean’s numerous absences without missing a beat. They worked well together. The older man offered Sean unwavering support and sound judgment.
Sean didn’t trust easily, and he trusted Brian.
It also helped that, over the years, whenever there had been a threat to his business or a deal he was negotiating had been in jeopardy, he had received anonymous messages warning him and giving him information to navigate the issue without incident. He had had no idea who was sending the messages to him, but they had always proven to be to his benefit. Neo had been trying to trace the source of the messages, but it had always been a fruitless endeavor. Sean now knew who was behind those messages. While he would admit that his work with the SEALs often distracted him from the company, he wasn’t sure now how he felt about the fact that Duchess had obviously been monitoring his business dealings and probably had access to his network. She and I have always been close, and I trust her, but I have to get to the bottom of why she wasn’t upfront with me from the beginning. Why the secrecy about what she was? She knows I would have kept her confidence.
As he reached into the left side drawer of his desk and saw the micro earpiece, he was again torn between anger and amazement that she had such access to him. The question that’s killing me is why. Why the major deception? Why not be honest with me?
Sean approached the two elevators in his office. One led to the other floors in the offices and the lobby, and the other led to his private penthouse suite and car garage. Only a few people knew where the elevators led, and even fewer knew about his penthouse and private garage.
He certainly never brought women home with him. Hotels and the ladies’ own flats had served his purpose well, in and out before it could be construed for anything other than mutual satisfaction of their baser needs. The women all knew him as Sean Anderson, media mogul. None of them knew that he had once been a US Navy SEAL. There is no need to advertise that shit. I have enough problems keeping the predators at bay as it is. Between the socialites his mother kept throwing at him, the women wanting to climb the corporate ladder, and the number of women drawn to his wealth and power, he was constantly pursued.
Thank God I can often escape this hell to be with the guys. He chuckled softly. Ever since my mysterious lover entered by life, all other women have ceased to exist.
Now he had to wonder when had a tiny MI6 agent been able to breach what he’d thought was his impenetrable security? She had breached his security both physically and electronically. Damn, that kid is amazing!
Just as he exited the elevator to the lobby, Sean slipped the earphone in his ear and easily melded into the crowd of shoppers visiting the various stores and restaurants they rented space to. This building housed numerous other businesses other than his company, which utilized the top ten floors. The remaining thirty floors were rented to law, accounting, advertising, and other consulting firms, and the ground floor was exclusively for a mall that serviced the thousands of people who worked in the building.
Malika: About damn time you showed up.
Sean stopped in his tracks at her familiar voice in his head. He said nothing at first, trying to prevent his body from responding to the bombardment of emotions that consumed him at that moment.
Sean: At least I’m here. You can’t say the same.
Malika: Look to your right. He’s dressed in blue jeans and a grey T-shirt.
He turned his head and saw Jeremy as she described him.
Malika: Move your ass. You have company at two o’clock. Anticipate more to come.
Sean spotted the two men dressed in all black. He grabbed Jeremy by the forearm, startling the Asian initially. With Jeremy held securely, Sean started dragging him to the nearest exit. He felt a sharp pain in his arm. “What the fuck?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to prick you,” Jeremy stammered and started cowering as though Sean would hit him.
“What the hell was that?”
“So…sorry, the…the pen in my backpack must have pricked you,” Jeremy stuttered.
“Let’s go,” Sean muttered, annoyed at the clumsy man. Moving swiftly and palming his gun, Sean weaved his way through the crowd of shoppers. He could see that four men easily pursued them. Just before coming to his private elevator, Sean pushed Jeremy into an alcove and pivoted on the balls of his feet in anticipation of the men attacking him. With his body blocking the attackers from Jeremy, Sean used a combination of Judo and Jujitsu to disarm, incapacitate, and render the men unconscious in seconds.
However before he could retrieve Jeremy, another man shouted at him in Russian. The man dispensed a barrage of gunfire toward Sean. Sean grabbed Jeremy’s arm and simultaneously fired his own weapon, shooting the man in the middle of his forehead. Sean sprinted for the elevator before any more attackers descended on them, dragging a trembling Jeremy behind him.
Malika: Damn, Sean, Leo never taught us that move.
Sean: You were holding out on me. You have a lot of explaining to do.
“Em, hey, thank you for helping me,” Jeremy whispered, the fear in his voice and eyes clearly evident. His skin was pale and coated with a light sheen of sweat. He looked as though he was going to be sick.
Malika: You need to get out of that building. A few more Russians just entered the lobby.
Sean: Do you have eyes on my garage?
Malika: Yes, all clear there. They don’t know who you are yet. You’re not M16 or CIA. They seem to know all of us.
Sean gained access to his office and immediately entered his elevator to his garage. Jeremy tried to look around his office, but Sean pulled him into the elevator and pushed the button to the garage. He gave Jeremy a hard stare.
The other man seemed to wilt under Sean’s steady regard.
As they exited the elevator, Sean unlocked his silver Porsche GT3 with a remote and started the engine. Sean jumped into the driver’s seat while Jeremy ran around and got into the passenger side. He exited the garage in seconds and was immediately engulfed in a barrage of bullets.
“Get down!” Sean pushed Jeremy’s head down as the window of the passenger side shattere
d. He slammed his foot on the gas, and the powerful car quickly accelerated away, escaping the men pursuing them on foot.
“What the hell was that?” Malika yelled from his earpiece.
“That was some additional friends you didn’t tell me about,” Sean teased. “Who the fuck is this guy, anyway?”
“He’s CIA. How the hell did they find you?”
“I’m just the patsy in your little game, Duchess. You tell me. And while you’re at it, tell me, why isn’t the CIA helping their boy out?”
“Look, get on Bridge Street and head west to Parliament Square,” she told him. “I have to check something,”
“Why am I doing that?” Sean looked in his rearview mirror and noted four motorcycles coming up behind them. “You’re going to owe me a fucking car after this!” Again the car came under fire. The high-powered bullets pierced the body of the car as though it was butter.
Jeremy cowered down in his seat, trying his best to be as small a target as possible.
Sean spun the car around in the middle of the street, surprising his attackers and the other motorists, causing horns to blow loudly in protest and other cars to swerve to avoid hitting him. Sean shot out the glass of his windshield and took out three of his pursuers. He spun the car back around, but there were another two motorcycles barreling toward him with guns blazing. He pressed down hard on the accelerator but knew that there was no way for him to outrun three assassins with high-powered weapons. But damn I’m going to fuckin’ try. Hooyah!
Just then another motorcycle entered the fray. It was different from the others, not only a different model but it had sleeker lines and was silver in color. And more importantly, the driver was taking aim at his attackers. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but thank you,” Sean muttered. In seconds, amid speeds of close to100 miles per hour, the loud sounds of brakes, horns and bullet exchanges echoed throughout. Sean and his anonymous savior soon eliminated the attackers. They quickly drove away from the scene with the sound of sirens sounding loud and moving in fast. The carnage of dead bodies and disabled motorcycles was left behind as they made good on their escape.
The driver on the silver motorcycle took a hard turn, and Sean followed. He was determined to uncover who his Good Samaritan was. Their unlikely procession continued for a few miles.
The motorcyclist suddenly made a left turn and stopped along the side of the road. Sean pulled up behind the gleaming machine with a now battered Porsche. The driver pulled the black helmet off and flicked her long hair to dislodge the tangles and let the glossy tresses settle about her shoulders. She jumped off the bike with a gun drawn, moving swiftly toward the passenger side of his car.
“Damn that’s hot,” Sean breathed.
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to tap that for years,” Jeremy piped in.
Sean planted a fist to Jeremy’s face, making sure to dislodge a few teeth and break a few bones.
“Urgh!” Jeremy screamed.
“Fuckin’ A! You’re lucky you didn’t succeed. Otherwise it would have been my knife and not my fist up side your head. Next time you feel the need to speak about her that way, don’t.”
Malika pulled on the handle of the passenger side door until Sean unlocked it. “Get out!” she growled and pointed her gun at Jeremy.
“What? What’re you doing?” Jeremy protested, having obvious difficulty speaking with blood pooling in his mouth and a few bones broken in his jaw.
“Get out of the damn car, Jeremy, before I put a bullet between your eyes!”
“Are you crazy? Those guys are after me. They’ll kill me!”
“You should have thought of that before you betrayed your country with them. Now get out!”
“They’re after you too,” he pleaded. When Jeremy didn’t move fast enough, Malika grabbed him by the hair and pulled Jeremy out of the car, dragging him to the ground.
“You will be sorry you did this!” Jeremy threatened. “At least we got you out in the open.”
“Yeah, now I don’t know who to trust in the agency. That move sealed your fate, Jeremy. I can’t bring you in, but I can make damn sure you can’t run from the Irish. He’s not the forgiving kind.”
“The Irish? Who are you talking about?”
Malika shook her head in disgust. “Jeremy, you’re so pathetic. You don’t even know who you’ve been working for all this time?”
“What do I care? He’s been good to me all these years.”
“Yeah, that’s what I found out when I hacked your systems a few minutes ago. Now I don’t need your ass to tell us shit. I have all I need to know. Once this is sorted out, I’ll make sure the Americans know what you’ve been up to,” Malika said, her voice dripping with scorn.
“Perhaps I can help you with that,” Sean offered.
Malika grinned up at him. “Yes, I almost forgot you have access to people I don’t.” She turned and looked back at where Jeremy was sprawled on the ground. “Good, now we don’t need him anymore.” Malika shot Jeremy in both knees.
Jeremy screamed and writhed around on the ground in agony.
“You wanted me out in the open? Let’s see what good that does for you and your friends,” she muttered.
Sean looked around at the amount of attention their little party had garnered. Most of what had transpired between Malika and Jeremy was hidden by his car blocking the other motorists’ views. However, they had to have seen their guns drawn and heard Jeremy screaming like a man possessed, hoping to gain someone’s attention. Many had slowed their cars to see what was going on and some more bold had even stopped right in the middle of the road. Sean glared at one particular woman who seemed to be furiously tapping into her cell phone. No doubt she was calling the cops.
“Duchess, we need to move,” Sean gritted out, cognizant that the authorities and their pursuers could be on them at any moment.
Malika glared at Jeremy one last time before throwing a wand device at Sean. “Check the car for tracers,” she shouted to be heard above the loud sound of the traffic.
After a few minutes, Sean dug out the device Jeremy had planted on the side of his seat. “It’s clean,” Sean said, his voice laced with anger. He was pissed that he had let a geek plant such a device. If they had had time, he would have liked to kick Jeremy’s ass.
“Follow me,” she shouted as she ran back to her motorcycle.
Sean watched her retreating back. “That ass though,” he hissed and shook his head in awe. He did as she asked but was conflicted with thoughts of all his burning questions and the alarming strength of his attraction to her.
She continued at an urgent speed, but his Porsche had no problem keeping up with her Honda CBR Blackbird motorcycle. After ten minutes of racing along the streets between Bridge Street, the Mall, and Constitution Hill, Malika slowed down. They continued with a slower speed to accommodate the growing traffic and took another fifteen minutes to arrive at Knightsbridge then pulled into a parking area for a Hyde Park flat complex.
She climbed smoothly off the bike.
Again, Sean marveled at how incredibly sexy she looked. Her body was lean with curves any red-blooded man couldn’t help but respond to. The black jeans and fitted black leather jacket delineated her feminine curves to perfection. He watched as she pulled her helmet off and shook out her hair. Damn, she’s beautiful. How the hell can I go back to treating her like my little sister? It was difficult years ago when she was a teenager. Now as this badass motorcycle-riding, gun-toting, alluring woman, it’s impossible to resist her. How long will I have to pretend I haven’t noticed?
Sean climbed slowly out of the Porsche with his gaze glued to her figure. Malika now stood waiting for him near a bank of elevators. He walked toward her and was shocked that his usual cool was shattered. Every nerve in his body pulsed with awareness. He tried to moderate his breathing as his heart rate unexpectedly accelerated. For months he had thought she was dead, and there was no question he had been devastated. It was bad enough that he had thought s
he was dead, but the very violent way in which that had come about had given him nightmares up until he saw her in Springhurst Close two months ago. He had thought the emotional shock he had felt was over, but seeing her now, being this close now, caused the love he felt for her to wash over him, overwhelming his senses.
As they entered the elevator, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. The feel of her, the scent of her fired up his senses, making him reel with stunning desire. What the hell? How can this thing for her grow even more? I’m so fucked. He was shaking so hard that it took him a moment to realize that she was trembling also. Her emotional response lessened some of the anger he had been feeling about her lies to him. He hugged her tighter against him and shuddered even harder. The fact that he was responding to her was both liberating and alarming. He hadn’t felt desire for another woman since his experience with his dream lover months ago. That lack of interest had started to worry him, especially since he wasn’t sure he’d ever see her again. He had thought that encounter had been a vivid dream, something his saddened heart had conjured up to deal with the pain of losing Duchess.
His dream had been so real that he’d looked at surveillance cameras and had cussed up a blue-streak when it appeared that, yes, it had been a dream. Consumed with grief, he had been convinced he was going out of his mind. She’s going to pay for making me question my damn sanity.
“Which floor?” he whispered, realizing that she hadn’t selected a floor and the elevator was stationary.
Malika pulled away from him and selected the tenth floor. She kept her face averted and wiped her face with her fingers impatiently.
Sean didn’t try to hug her again, but he was certain that she wouldn’t be going anywhere until he got some answers.
Chapter Eleven
Once the elevator opened onto the floor, he followed Malika out into the hall and finally through the door of the flat she opened. He only briefly noted the elegance and spaciousness of the flat before turning to confront her.
Waiting For You (The Guardians: Book 3) Page 10