“Start talking,” he demanded.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea Jeremy was dirty. As soon as I realized what was happening—”
“I don’t give a damn about Jeremy. He was there to lure you out. Yeah, I get that. We’ll deal with that shit later. Tell me why you staged your death.”
Malika sighed, walked over to a side table, and placed her backpack and helmet onto the flat surface. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, walking farther into the flat and entering a spacious contemporary-styled living room with oak furniture and tropical-themed upholstered chairs. Art pieces of Caribbean scenery adorned the ivory-colored walls.
Sean followed behind her, ignoring the beauty of the room before him. “Duchess, don’t fuck with me, not now, not ever.”
She hissed at his impatient response and turned to face him. “This isn’t easy for me, Sean. I never meant to hurt you.”
He refused to be swayed by her distressed gaze. “What the fuck did you think would happen when I was told you were dead?” he snarled. “Did you think I would just go on with my life and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to me?”
“According to your parents, that was the idea. They felt you weren’t getting married because of me.”
“What? When did you start listening to my fucking parents?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“That’s bullshit! You and I had a relationship. I thought we were close. What the fuck happened?”
“Sean, you need to calm down. I know you’re upset, but I can’t talk to you when you’re so angry.” She spun on the balls of her feet and marched into the nearby kitchen.
He doggedly followed her. “Do you blame me? You’re a fucking MI6 agent and you don’t tell me? You’ve been lying to me for years!”
“I didn’t lie to you. I simply didn’t tell you everything. No one knows who I am. No one knows that I work for the Agency. That’s why I’m alive and so many other agents are now dead. Now you’re the only person in the world who knows who I am.”
He glared at her. “I would never endanger you, so don’t give me that crap.”
Malika sighed and refused to hold his gaze. She reached into the refrigerator and retrieved two bottled waters.
“What the fuck are you not telling me?”
She tried to pass a bottle to him, but he ignored her. “God, Sean, it’s nothing sinister.”
He advanced on her and picked her up by her waist.
She screeched.
He crossed the room and deposited her on the sofa in the living room. Dropping to his knees beside her, he held her thighs securely, ensuring she didn’t move. “Enough of this shit. Talk!”
“I told you it’s nothing.”
He held her gaze, and his heart rate accelerated at her troubled expression. I’ve forgotten how beautiful she is. She has the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. It’s damn hard staying mad at her.
“I felt like I gave you everything, okay?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You’re probably not even aware that my life had begun to revolve around only you and my work.”
“Come on, Duchess. I never asked you to do any of that.”
“You had no clue I existed.”
“What the hell are you talking about? We spoke almost on a daily basis. No other woman got that much communication from me, not even my damn mother.”
Malika grimaced. “Yes, the fact for which I’m paying for now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me what you did for the government? Why didn’t you trust me?”
“This had nothing to do with trust. It gave me a perverse pleasure to keep something so big from you.”
“Why? Was I that demanding? Was I that bad to you?” He felt slightly hurt by her response.
“No.” She looked away and bit her lower lip nervously. “You were great. You were my best friend, but God, Sean, for a long time you were my world. I needed to create something that you were not a part of. You had your SEAL teammates. I had no one else. I just wanted something of my own, you know? Do you understand?”
“No I don’t.”He frowned at her. “Again, you’re fuckin’ lying! So am I to believe that, although you wanted a life separate from me, you still submerged yourself in my business and my missions? Did you think I wouldn’t realize it was you once I knew what you did for a living? If you wanted to be independent of me, why the fuck were you hacking into my life and into my company?”
“Sean, you’re taking this wrong. Yes, I watched over your security because I know your IT people are grossly incompetent. I closed any gaps in security I found and monitored some of your business interests, especially when I felt you were getting in bed with the wrong people.”
“While I appreciated the intel you sent me, I hated the thought of an unidentified person having such access to my shit. Who the hell does that to their best friend?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“That’s how it was for me. I felt fuckin’ violated!”
“Oh God, you’re taking this so wrong. I had no sinister intent! Even you admit that I protected you. How did I violate you?”
“I don’t care what your reasons were. You should have told me. It doesn’t matter what your bloody intent was.”
“I’m sorry. Do you want me to stop?”
“Fuck no! You’re my most valued asset. You’ve earned me millions of dollars, and you’ve saved my ass in some of the most dangerous situations. I especially appreciated the escape route you sent me when I was in Pakistan.”
“So I’m confused. Are you pissed or glad about my intervention?”
“I don’t want you to lie to me! That’s it. Just stop keeping shit from me.”
“I’ll try, Sean, but this is going to be hard for me.”
He glared at her.
“What? You told me to be honest,” she muttered impatiently.
“Why did you fake your death?” Sean asked her.
“Your parents faked my death. I didn’t. I simply didn’t correct the assumption because Malika Hendricks hasn’t existed for a long time in my world. I was never close to my mom or my brother. You were the only person I spoke to, and you call me Duchess, as does everyone else in my professional life. So Malika Hendricks being dead was no big deal.”
“Again, I call bullshit on that. Tell me why you faked your death.”
“I told you why.”
“Bullshit! Tell me again.”
“Sean, if I hadn’t, your parents threatened to have my mother and brother thrown in jail.” Her voice trembled with emotion.
“Something my father would never let happen,” he dismissed. “Stop lying to me.”
“You’re so frustrating. I’m telling you the truth, but you don’t want to believe me.” She pushed him in the middle of his chest, surprising him enough that he toppled to the carpet. She stood and started pacing about the room.
“Do you think I like being dictated to by your mother? She has this crazy idea that you’re not getting married because of me. You and I know that’s not true, but—”
“You all did all this shit to manipulate me?” Sean stood and blocked her path, causing her to stop pacing and look at him.
She sighed with impatience. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate you. I knew she was talking crap, but my mother and brother were in jeopardy.”
Sean grabbed her by her forearms. “You should have come to me.”
“I had no choice.”
He shook her slightly. “You had several choices, and you choose the wrong damn one.”
She tried to pull away from him. “Sean—”
“No, enough!” He pulled her closer to him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, closing the remaining distance between them. He felt her slight shivers against him.
Sean tightened his arms around her, clutching her close. She instantly curled into him and buried her head against his chest, and her smooth curves melded into h
is hard muscle. She felt right, a perfect fit against him. He buried his face into her fragrant hair, breathing her in. He reeled with desire at the familiar feel and scent of her skin, remembering every passionate moment he’d spent in her arms. Fighting hard to maintain control and not give into the need to openly claim her, he instead focused on the fact that she was back in his life again. He would worry about the role she would play in his life later. For now, he simply wanted to hold her. “God, I can’t believe that you’re alive. I’ve missed you so much.” Sean was almost embarrassed by the emotional cracks in his voice. The guys would rag me forever if they heard me now.
“I missed you to,” she whispered.
“When you were there, sending me emails or calling me every day, I had something to come home to. I admit that I took that shit for granted. The past few months without that has been hell.” He squeezed her tighter. “My mother has a point, ya know.”
“What?”
“I do admire you. Any woman I marry will have a high standard to be measured against. You’re the smartest woman I know, damn lethal with knives and a gun, and fuckin’ gorgeous. And today with that machine between your thighs…” He released a long breath. “That shit was hot. I don’t see any reason I should expect less in the future mother of my children.”
“What are you saying?” She looked at him, the questions evident in her gaze.
He stared down into her hazel eyes steadily. “Look, Duchess, would you marry someone who wasn’t like me?” His grip tightened around her, his own words making him recoil in distaste at the thought of her marrying anyone. Calm down, Sean. She thinks I consider her my sister. I shouldn’t be this upset over another man claiming her. What if she has a man in her life now? The thought gave him pause. It felt like his heart had just stopped beating. Come to think of it, she’s never mentioned any boyfriends after that Anthony creep, and I’ve never asked. I’ve always been too damn afraid to.
“The issue of my marrying is not in question here,” she said softly.
“It is now.” He scowled at her. “Are you seeing someone?”
“Sean, seriously, we need to deal with the matter at hand.”
“I’m dealing with the only matter that I care about at the moment. Are you dating anyone?”
“So you don’t care that a maniac is sending mercenaries to try to kidnap me?”
“What?” He frowned at her.
“That’s why Jeremy was trying to get me out in the open.”
“So why the hell did you come out of hiding?” He was truly pissed with her now.
“When I saw how easily Jeremy’s attackers were following you, I knew he had to be wired. I couldn’t let them capture you.”
“I can take care of myself,” Sean growled.
“You were outnumbered.”
“I’ve been outnumbered before.”
“Sean, there was no way I was leaving you at their mercy once I saw what was happening. I couldn’t stand by and let them kill you. They have killed at least six agents trying to get to me. Some of them more seasoned than you.”
“What’s going on? Why do they want you?”
“I took something from their boss and returned it to the rightful owner. Unfortunately, their boss got pissed with my interference and wants me to return his stolen funds.”
“What are we talking about here?”
Sean’s phone started ringing.
“I have to take this.”
“No worries. I need to check the monitors.”Malika walked to the opposite side of the room and stopped in front of a solid wall.
Sean answered his phone and listened as Brian explained a visit from some men with guns a few minutes ago. Sean watched Malika’s every move, only half listening to Brian tell him how someone must have broken into his office without being detected.
“They must have known where our cameras are and averted all of the security measures. I don’t see anything missing. This has really unsettled the staff,” Brain told him.
Sean could hear the confusion and concern in the older man’s voice but was too busy watching Malika. Now that he could see her, touch her, he found it difficult to look away from her. It still felt like a dream that she was finally with him.
Malika touched a spot on the wall, and a keypad appeared. After punching in a series of numbers, Malika walked forward as the panels slid back to reveal a room equipped with ten thirty-inch monitors mounted on the wall, displaying pictures of various parts of the city, different vantage points of the perimeter of her building, and, no surprise there, his office and all of the camera accesses that the security at his building had.
Sean was in awe of the sophistication of her setup. He hung up from Brian a few minutes later after promising to call back and to investigate the issue when he came back into the office. Brian had gotten use to Sean disappearing for long stretches of time so didn’t bother asking when Sean would return.
“They left Jeremy’s body in plain view, next to the Thames,” Malika said in a dispassionate whisper. “Obviously, they are intent on sending me a message.”
“You knew they would kill him.”
“Yes, but how many must die because of me? I can’t keep hiding out here while they pick off agents one by one.”
“Tell me who we’re dealing with and I’ll pick those bastards off one by one.” Sean moved to stand next to her to get a better look at the scene.
Malika snorted.
He turned to face her. “What? You don’t think I can do it?”
“That’s not it. You don’t know what dragon I’m dealing with, and already you’re volunteering to slay it. You’re being typically reckless, and that’s why I had to pull you out of there.”
“I’m never reckless, but yes, I’m willing to deal with the danger that comes my way.”
“Well, I’m not going to be the cause of your injuries or, worse, your death.”
Sean reached out and gently traced her features with the rough pad of his fingertips. He considered all the things he wished he could say to her at the moment and all the things he wished he could do.
“I just found you again and there’s no way in hell I’m letting anyone take you away from me again.”
“Sean—”
“No Duchess, no more secrets.” He bent his head and brushed her lips with his.
She pulled back in surprise.
He swooped down and captured her lips in a probing kiss.
She melted against him.
Sean wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. The feel of her soft, curvy frame against him after so many months enflamed him even more. He had missed this, missed the taste and feel of her. He lifted his head and looked down at her. She fitted against him as perfectly as she always had. “No more secrets, sweetheart,” he murmured.
“You knew?” she asked softly.
“Of course I knew. How could I not know the love of my life?”
Sean gazed down at her wishing that he could trust her enough to do exactly as he had just thought. “I appreciate your concern, Duchess, but I’m a big boy. I can handle whatever those bastards dish out.” Instead of kissing her, as he wanted to do, he simply caressed the soft skin of her face, willing her to come clean and admit coming to his flat in the dead of the night. God, how much I need you right now.
The last night she’d come to him, he had been convinced he had been going out of his mind with grief and had conjured up that experience. He hadn’t dared tell the guys of such a vivid dream. It was a relief that he now knew that it had happened and that she had been alive. He knew he would love her for life and felt as though he had been patiently waiting forever for her to catch up to his way of thinking. The song, “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx had been like a theme song in his head for years and had been his only solace. She once told me that she would never date a white guy, God, I hope that’s not true!
Was she content to make love to me in secret and never acknowledge what we were? Does she think she’
ll get away with that? How can she possibly think I will allow this to continue much longer? The depth of her deception is astounding. I’ve known for weeks that I will probably forgive her anything and don’t really give a damn why she lied to me. I just want her back under me.
Malika sighed. “Still, you need to understand the threat.” She pulled away from his touch and moved to sit in front of her wall of monitors. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she began to speak. “One of the hackers the Russians employ infiltrated the computer systems for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York a month ago,” she told him in a quiet, almost tired voice.
Sean couldn’t believe her amazing talent. He knew she was somewhat of a genius, but watching her in action was awe-inspiring. “How do you know it was the Russians?”
“I accidently intercepted a string of algorithms when I was sweeping the net looking for the terrorists you helped us to bring down. I spent days afterward looking for what it was. I followed the keystrokes of the hacker over a number of days before I realized what he was doing. They siphoned off billions of dollars out of various accounts over a week to avoid detection. The funds were transferred to accounts in the Cayman Islands owned by an IRA arms dealer. Once the deposit was completed, the Syrian and Russian governments were supposed to receive delivery of weapons, including small arms, artillery, missiles, and explosives to fuel the war in Aleppo. I couldn’t let that happen. I intervened by pulling the funds out of the account and placing them back into the Federal Reserve. The IRA arms dealer didn’t get his money, however the weapons were delivered despite my best affects to prevent this. I covered my tracks well, but every hacker in the world knows that there’s only one person who could have done what I did. The arms dealer is seriously pissed with me, and he’s not the kind of man anyone wants to piss off.”
“Who the fuck are we dealing with here? And why didn’t you simply alert the authorities and let them deal with it to avoid becoming a target?” Sean heard the slight quiver in his voice. He was shaking so hard he wondered how he was still standing. Did she realize yet how terrified he was for her safety? The thought of anyone hurting her was sending his emotions into a tailspin.
Waiting For You (The Guardians: Book 3) Page 11