by Maya Banks
P.J. was starting to get a very bad feeling about this.
“Rumor is he’s delivering girls to a buyer in Europe. American girls. The specific order is for blondes. Eight to ten years old. Blue eyes. Long hair. The buyer was very exacting.”
“Jesus,” Cole said in disgust.
“So how do we stop him?” P.J. asked evenly.
Donovan took a deep breath. “We know where he’s going to be in three nights’ time. There’s a party he’s attending in Vienna. Arthur Stromberg, one of Europe’s biggest arms dealers, is hosting a soiree, and he and Brumley are good friends. And where Brumley goes, Gregory Nelson goes. That’s where you come in, P.J.”
Cole sat straight forward, a dark scowl savaging his face. “What do you mean that’s where she comes in? What exactly are we talking here?”
Steele frowned and Donovan held up his hand. “Let me finish.”
Cole didn’t sit back and P.J. glared holes through him. The last thing she needed was him embarrassing her in front of her team.
“We want you to get close to Gregory Nelson at the party. Be friendly. Smile a lot. Wait for the invitation. Once you get him alone, try to get as much information out of him as possible.”
P.J. blinked and stared back at Donovan, not at all sure what to say.
Cole didn’t suffer any such problem, however. He was on his feet, his fists down at his sides clenched into balls.
“What the fuck, Van? You want her to prostitute herself for information?”
The other guys didn’t look thrilled with the idea either.
“Why don’t we just go into the party, take down Carter Brumley and rid the world of his filth?” Cole demanded.
“I don’t like the idea any more than you do,” Steele said in a terse voice. “But we can’t just go in and take him down. For one, he’s guarded to the teeth. We’d need a hell of a lot more manpower than one team or even Rio’s team with us. Two, us taking him out doesn’t help us free those girls. This mission requires finesse and patience.”
“And where the fuck are we going to be while P.J.’s working Nelson over?” Cole demanded.
“We’ll be close,” Donovan said. “We aren’t leaving her on her own and we’ll provide the hotel room for their rendezvous. We’ll take the room next door so if anything goes wrong, we’ll be there in five seconds.”
“I don’t like it,” Cole said stubbornly.
P.J. shot to her feet, determined to shut Cole up. “Hey, can everyone shut up a minute and let the person this actually involves ask a few questions?”
Cole reluctantly snapped his lips shut and then retook his seat, but he continued to stare belligerently at Donovan.
“This all sounds good on paper,” P.J. said balefully. “But there are a damn lot of holes in this scheme. I’m not a party girl. I’m not some temptress or seductress. I can’t walk three steps in heels and I damn sure don’t have killer legs.”
Cole’s lips tightened further, and she could positively see the denial in his eyes. She shot daggers at him, a promise that if he so much as opened his mouth she’d remove his testicles. He seemed to get the hint because he remained silent.
“You clean up good, P.J.,” Donovan said.
“And how the hell would you know this?”
He smiled. “I can see past all the camo and the bullshit. You’ll look stunning in the right dress and the right shoes and with the right hair and makeup. I bet your own team won’t recognize you when I’m done.”
“Uh, Van? You’re going to be my wardrobe advisor?”
He lifted a brow. “Why not? I know what looks good on a woman. I won’t be much help with hair and makeup, but I’ll make sure we have someone who can help with that. The important part is that you believe you can carry it off. You have the attitude and confidence. No doubt about that.”
“And I’m going into this party alone?”
“I can procure invitations for you and myself. We’ll go in together, but you’ll need to drop me once we get inside so you can make contact with Nelson. Once the flirting is done and you have him on the hook, you tell him where you’re staying and that you wouldn’t be opposed to company. If everything works out the way we hope, he’ll be putty in your hand.”
She looked at Steele, her team leader, the man she put all her trust in.
“What do you think?” she asked softly.
She didn’t care if it offended Donovan that she’d seek the opinion of Steele when in actuality Donovan signed all their paychecks. Donovan wasn’t her team leader. Steele was. Donovan had been on plenty of missions with them. He had her respect. But Steele was the one she took orders from and no one else.
Steele was silent for a long time as if grappling with his thoughts. Then he glanced her way, meeting her gaze.
“I think it’s probably our best option. I don’t like it, but I think we can make it happen and make sure you’re safe.”
“This is fucking insane!” Cole exploded. “Since when do we pimp out our teammates for a mission? Do you even understand what could happen to her if the slightest thing goes wrong? She’ll be helpless.”
“That’s enough, Cole,” she said through her teeth. “You need to shut the fuck up and stand down. I’m not fucking helpless. I can defend myself and my team won’t let me down.”
Not like her last one had. It was left unspoken but she knew Cole got the meaning. She trusted her teammates. They weren’t Derek, Jimmy and Mike.
“No, we won’t,” Baker said, his voice strained with utter seriousness.
Renshaw nodded his agreement.
“She has to go in wired,” Dolphin said. “We have to know what’s going on every step of the way so if things get out of hand, we can pull the plug damn fast.”
Donovan made a sound of exasperation. “We aren’t hanging her out to dry. This is a mission just like any other mission. We work as a team. We plan for any eventuality.”
Then he turned to P.J.
“This mission isn’t mandatory. It’s completely your choice and it won’t be held against you if you opt out. I’ll understand entirely if you don’t want to assume this kind of risk.”
“Don’t do it, P.J.,” Cole bit out. “We’ll find another way to save those girls.”
But they wouldn’t. Not these girls. It would be too late for them. Just babies. Taken from their mothers and their homes. Forced to endure nightmares no child should ever experience.
How could she say no when she had a chance to help them?
Her gaze swept the room. Her teammates were quiet, their expressions pensive. They all stared back at her, unwavering support reflected in their eyes.
Cole was furious. And worried. She could see the concern in those blue eyes a mile away and it pissed her off that he didn’t have more confidence in her abilities. They had sex one time and he was already acting like an overprotective ninny. The next thing he’d want would be for her to stand behind him on their missions so she never got caught in the cross fire.
Then she glanced back at Steele and Donovan. She searched Steele’s expression for some sign of what he was thinking. Finally she gave up and voiced her question aloud.
“Steele? Do you think this is what we need to do?”
“I can’t make this decision for you, P.J. I’m not going to bring my opinions to the table on this. It’s a righteous cause or I wouldn’t have bothered to call you guys up when you just came off a mission where you got no sleep and you’re badly in need of some downtime. But all I can do is call you up.”
Steele surveyed the others and then looked back at P.J.
“Let’s put it to a vote.”
P.J. took a deep breath and swallowed some of the anxiety building in her chest. Give her a sniper rifle and tell her what target to take out and she could do it in her sleep. But this . . . This was so far outside her comfort zone that her mind was screaming what the fuck at her.
“I’m in,” she said in a firm voice.
Steele looked to the other
s.
Dolphin blew out his breath. “Hell, I’m in. She’s not going without her team.”
“Ditto,” Baker muttered.
“I’m there,” Renshaw spoke up.
Which left Cole, who was still looking pissed. He glanced at P.J. then looked around at all the others.
“Goddamn it. I’m in but I don’t like it and I’m going on record as saying so.”
“Okay then, we’re a go,” Donovan said softly.
CHAPTER 7
COLE sat with the others while they waited for P.J. to make her appearance. She and Donovan and the woman he’d hired to make her over had been holed up in that damn hotel room for two hours and he was growing more irritable by the minute.
Every one of his gut instincts told him this was all wrong. He couldn’t believe that Donovan and Steele had signed on to put P.J. in such a vulnerable position and he couldn’t believe P.J. had agreed.
Well, maybe he wouldn’t go that far. P.J. was hard-core. It was one of the things he admired about her. She did her job and she never complained. She kept up with the guys on their team, and if he were honest, he’d admit oftentimes she went above and beyond.
She was a damn good shot, and as much as it bruised his ego, he’d never engage her in an outright shoot-off. She’d probably smoke his ass and he’d never live it down.
He rubbed his hands down his jeans and drummed his thumb over his knee.
“How the fuck long does this take anyway?” he grumbled.
The door to the adjoining room opened, and Donovan stepped out adorned in a swanky tux and shiny, expensive-ass shoes, and his hair looked like it had some sort of gel in it.
Whistles went up and Donovan rolled his eyes.
“Damn man, you look good,” Dolphin crowed.
“Where’s P.J.?” Steele asked. “We need to move out in a few minutes if we’re going to stay on schedule.”
Donovan turned and reached behind him. A moment later, he pulled P.J. out to stand beside him. The entire room went dead silent.
Cole damn near swallowed his tongue. Ho-ly fuck.
P.J. looked like a goddamn million dollars. She was wearing a dress that gave a whole new definition to little black dress. And hell but it was little. Tiny!
It fit snugly at her hips and clung to her thighs, stopping several inches above her knees. The top had a scooped neck that gave an impressive glimpse of her cleavage. The soft mounds rose temptingly just at the neckline but gave enough mystery to make a man really want to tug just a little at that top.
Her hair was upswept and tendrils escaped down her cheeks and at her nape, giving her a soft, feminine look that had Cole groaning. Diamonds hung from her ears. Hell, he hadn’t even known her ears were pierced. Around her neck was a simple diamond pendant that said expensive but elegant and not overstated.
Around her wrist she wore a dazzling bracelet that grabbed the light and bounced it back. Her nails. She even had fingernails for the occasion. Perfectly manicured and painted shiny red to match the splash of color on her lips.
Her eyelashes were long, accentuating startling green eyes, and he was gratified to see that other than lipstick and mascara, they hadn’t done much else. She didn’t need a lot of makeup. She was just fine the way she was.
But the pièce de résistance was her . . . legs.
Holy hell in a bucket. Donovan had said this Nelson guy went for killer legs, and Cole knew from personal experience that P.J. had a very nice set, but seeing her in heels and that short dress?
He wiped at his mouth to make sure there was no drool or that he wasn’t gaping.
She was stacked. Toned from a strict exercise regimen. Her legs were a thing of beauty, and he didn’t have to think hard to remember how they’d felt wrapped around him while he was sliding into her over and over.
Sweat beaded his brow just as the room erupted in reaction to seeing P.J.
“Dayum!” Baker exclaimed. “Holy shit, P.J., you’re hot!”
She grimaced and Cole could see the nervousness in her eyes. Her discomfort was obvious. She didn’t like being in the limelight.
Dolphin whistled and grinned. “Van was totally right. You clean up good, girl!”
Renshaw added a catcall of his own.
“You look beautiful, P.J.,” Steele said in his calm, unruffled tone.
Beautiful? Hell, she was fucking gorgeous. But Cole liked her just fine in camo with face paint on. He’d fantasized more than a few times about taking her to bed, stripping off her fatigues and getting her face paint all over both of them.
“You got nothing to say, Cole?” Dolphin asked incredulously. “She looks sa-weet!”
Cole cleared his throat and then saw the desperate look in P.J.’s eyes. It annoyed him. She should know him better than to think he’d let on what had happened between them. Not that he gave a damn. Right about now, he’d like to have a stamp that said “Mine, stay the hell away” to put right on her forehead.
“You look killer, P.J.”
“Thanks, guys,” she said in a low voice.
“Okay, here’s how it goes down,” Steele said, snapping everyone’s attention back to him. “Donovan and P.J. will arrive together. We’ll be monitoring P.J.’s every move as soon as she breaks away.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Where the hell is her wire and how on earth is it going to hide in that getup? It doesn’t even cover her, much less anything else.”
P.J. scowled at him.
“Don’t mess up that lipstick, darlin’,” he drawled. “It looks too pretty on you.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Cut it out you two,” Steele barked.
“P.J. is wearing the latest of my tech toys,” Donovan said with a grin he reserved for any time he was talking about his high-tech playthings.
He lifted her arm and turned it slightly so the inside of her upper arm was visible.
“What you can’t see is the flesh-colored patch. It’s actually made from human skin and blends seamlessly with her own skin. Underneath is the chip that enables us to hear everything she hears.”
“For real?” Dolphin asked.
He got up and moved closer. He reached out to touch her arm, running his finger up and down from her elbow to underneath her armpit. Cole wanted to tell him to keep his hands to himself, but that wouldn’t go over well with P.J.
“I’ll be damned,” Dolphin said. “I can’t tell it’s there.”
“That’s the point,” Steele said dryly.
Donovan continued. “I have flesh patches with GPS locators as well, but her bracelet has a minicam that displays images in real time in high definition. With a simple touch of her cheek or a casual brushing of a piece of her hair behind her ear, she can give us a good view of everything around her. And it has a GPS locator in case we need to find her fast, so it kills two birds with one stone.”
Cole’s gut tightened. He didn’t want to think of worst-case scenarios.
“So let me get this straight,” Cole cut in. “You and P.J. go to this highbrow party. She splits off from you, hones in on this Nelson guy and comes on to him, tells him where she’s staying and then leaves and waits for him to come to her?”
The others looked at him oddly.
“We’ve been over this,” Steele said impatiently.
“Yeah, well, I just want to make sure.”
P.J. shrugged. “He may want to leave with me. Either way the result is the same. No one can predict what he’ll want or if he’ll even rise to the bait. But adapting to a changing situation is what we do and we’re damn good at it.”
“Hooyah,” Dolphin crowed. “I say we make her an honorary SEAL.”
Yeah, Cole knew he was being a total wuss about the whole thing. He just couldn’t get rid of the knot in his gut. He just wanted the night to be over with and for P.J. to be back where she belonged. Safe. With her team. Preferably where he could see her at all times.
“And that’s precisely why we have to stay on our
guard,” Steele said. “We don’t know how it’s going to go down.”
He turned to P.J. “If you need out at any time, you know the word. Don’t hesitate to use it. At the party, Cole, Dolphin, Baker, Renshaw and I will be outside spread out over the perimeter. Once you leave, we’ll tag you and follow you back to the hotel. If anything changes, just make sure you’re talking about it so we know what’s going on.”
Donovan touched her arm. “I’ll be inside the entire time until you leave. Any problems, I’ll be watching.”
Then he turned to the others. “There’s a lot riding on this. Aside from the obvious need to rid the world of this scumbag and get those girls back to their homes, there are three governments offering a huge bounty if we deliver this asshole. Dead or alive, they don’t care. Resnick wants him alive because he wants information on his network. As much as our resident CIA contact has annoyed the shit out of me in recent times, I’m inclined to agree with him on this one. Brumley is just the supplier. There are a lot of sick sons of bitches who are buying these girls out there, and I want their asses too.”
Everyone nodded their agreement, their expressions grim.
“Then let’s go nail his ass to the wall,” P.J. said. “I can flirt with the devil himself if it helps us save those babies.”
Cole blew out his breath because she was right. If it were any other woman except P.J. he wouldn’t be so pissed over her going into this kind of situation. This is what they did. Whatever it took to accomplish the mission.
He had to stop thinking of her as the woman he’d slept with, the woman he’d laid claim to, even if she had no idea that in his mind she was his.
She was just a teammate tonight. One he had to back up and make sure they got out safe and unhurt. It was nothing they hadn’t done a hundred times before.
“Okay then, if there are no questions or concerns, let’s move out,” Steele said.
CHAPTER 8
THE residence wasn’t what P.J. had been expecting. It was right in the heart of the city with off-street parking. Four men were performing valet duties and quickly moving along the line of cars waiting.