Derek realized he was letting Sophie control their dynamics, and to a certain extent he was allowing it after his behavior this morning, but their discussion was going nowhere. He had to take over.
“Are you deaf?” Sophie cried. “We’re done.”
“No, we’re not,” Derek shot back evenly. “You’re the one shutting me out now. I messed up. Angel, I will fuck up again. You will fuck up. We do not walk away from each other.” He yanked her back into his arms and said thickly, “Baby, after you gave me all of you last night, I’m not fucking giving it back. I’m not letting you go.”
“And I don’t have a say in this?” Sophie hissed.
Derek grinned. “No, you don’t.”
“I shouldn’t have slept with you.”
His brows furrowed. “Come again?”
“Men are psychologically programmed to be hunters,” Sophie explained. “It’s your natural instinct. I had sex with you too soon.”
Derek fell silent because he was trying hard not to grin. Her eyes squinted at him.
“Are you laughing at me, Derek?”
“First of all, you are right,” he cleared his throat to disguise his chuckle. “Men are hunters. And Angel, I’m letting you know now, I’ll be hunting you down if you try to run away from me.”
“God, you’re impossible,” Sophie muttered in exasperation. She tried to pull away, but Derek only tightened his arms. “You’re not letting me go, are you?”
He shook his head.
“We should have dated first.”
Derek chuckled. “You know, I’d love to take you out on a date, but Viktor advised me and Maia to lay low. Not that Viktor’s advice would stop me, but I’m not risking you.”
“You’re making excuses.”
“What if I cooked dinner for you tonight?”
“Can we invite Beth and Stephen?”
Derek sighed. “You use them to deflect. And I’m not their favorite person right now. I really want to have you all to myself tonight.”
Sophie tried to pull away again and this time he let her go. She sat on the bed, expression contemplative. “I was hurt this morning, Derek. You knew sex was a big deal to me. Can we, can we take it slow? Just hang out maybe, get to know each other, not on a carnal level?”
Derek chuckled, crouching in front of her and hugging her knees together with his. “I can hang out, Sophie. And get to know you. But honestly, I can’t promise not to fuck you. I’ve been inside you, it felt damned amazing, and I’d be wanting more of that pussy.”
“Derek! I wish you wouldn’t be so...so...uncouth,” Sophie groused.
“I’m a dirty talker, baby. Get used to it.”
***
Nash Becker locked up the doors of Silver Fire Research as the last of the workers left. The repair work was almost done and the men would only need one more day to do cosmetic fixes to the walls and ceilings. They would have to rope off the area that needed a fresh application of concrete, as it would take several days to dry.
Becker shook his head as he remembered the initial mess that greeted him on Friday morning after the Forensics team left and the coroners packed up the bodies. There were stains of blood everywhere; it took the crime scene clean-up crew a couple of hours to get all the organic matter out of the lab’s hallway. The situation must have been desperate for Dr. Leroux to use an IED. Becker heard she lost one of her bodyguards. Sad day.
“I’m outta here,” Becker barked into his radio, alerting the night shift security that he was leaving. He couldn’t wait to get home. It was the weekend and he had to work late. As head of building maintenance and construction he had to oversee the repairs. Divergent employed a permanent maintenance crew, but for extensive repairs such as what Silver Fire Research needed, they had a list of approved contractors.
As he pulled into his driveway, he noticed that the living room lights were off. He sighed. His wife must be pissed. They were supposed to go on a date tonight and had already reserved a babysitter. He made a mental note to get her a dozen roses.
He opened and shut the door quietly so as not to wake up their six-month old son. He heard some movement in the kitchen, and made his way there through the living room. Funny, the lights were on, his wife was not a late night binger and she was not one of those women who used baking or cooking as therapy when she was angry.
“Honey,” Becker’s voice died on his lips as he witnessed the scene before him. His wife was tied to a chair, a gag wrapped around her mouth. Three strangers were in his kitchen, one of them holding his son.
The youngest of the three, who looked no older than twenty, addressed him in a tone that chilled his blood. “Mr. Becker, my name is Justin. I believe we need your help on a certain matter.”
“What’s the meaning of this?” Becker spat out harshly.
Justin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Becker’s wife before returning his gaze to Becker. He shrugged. “I thought it was fairly obvious, Mr. Becker. We require you to do something for us. Your wife and son are insurance.”
“How do I know you won’t harm us anyway even if I give you whatever it is you want?” Becker countered. He knew there was little hope of these people leaving them alive. They had not even bothered putting on masks.
“I give you my word,” Justin said seriously. “You give us what we want, we’ll leave your family of three intact.”
Becker snorted incredulously. “You expect me to believe that?”
“I take my word seriously, Mr. Becker,” Justin replied. “Wouldn’t you feel better if you at least tried to save your family?”
Nash Becker stared at his wife and son. Swallowing painfully, he said, “What do you want me to do?”
***
Sophie blinked her eyes open to the drone of the television. Her head was on Derek’s lap; she must have fallen asleep after watching that chick flick she insisted they watch. Derek rolled his eyes at her choice, but let her have her way. Such were the joys of courtship. Women get their way the majority of the time. Derek seemed to be making up for their rocky start.
He had not claimed to be a good cook, but he had several basic recipes in his arsenal. He made an impressive chicken parmesan for dinner and paired it with a nice Chianti. Derek was a great conversationalist when he wasn’t making sexual innuendos. He had traveled extensively when he was in the Army and had an interest in old European architecture and ancient military history.
“It was more about strategy than firepower during medieval times,” Derek said. “I’ve always been fascinated with Alexander the Great; his tactics against the Persian Empire were brilliant. They were outnumbered, yet they sustained minimal losses of their men.”
“Is that why you became a tactical analyst at AGS?” Sophie asked.
Derek grinned and nodded.
“You know, a general is only as good as the men he puts in command of his phalanx,” Sophie said.
“Why, my dear Dr. Leroux, I believe you know a thing or two about ancient military history,” Derek said with amusement.
“I watch movies,” Sophie replied blithely. “Speaking of which, I think that new Kate Harris romantic comedy is out to rent now.”
Derek groaned. “Is this my punishment for this morning? Torture by chick flick?”
Sophie laughed and dragged him out of the chair. “Why don’t you look for it on TV, and I can clean up over here.”
“That’ll take two seconds, let’s clean up together and we can be watching your romcom sooner.”
And so they took care of the dishes like an old married couple, sat down on the couch and watched a chick flick. And now she had her head on his lap. He was only wearing boxers and she was sure if she would shift her head a little, the no-carnal exploration suggestion earlier would be a moot point.
“Sophie,” Derek whispered. “I know you’re awake.”
Pretending to yawn, she pushed up and slumped back beside him. “What time is it?”
“It’s 1:00 a.m.”
“Sorry
, I fell asleep on you, the news always does that to me,” Sophie replied. “I’m heading to bed.”
“What’s the rush? It’s Sunday,” Derek said silkily, his intentions clear. His eyes were almost black from the television’s light, but there was no mistaking the hunger in them.
“You promised.”
“As I recall, I refused to promise.” He pushed her down on the couch, fell on top of her, and wrapped her legs around him. “Because I know I can’t keep it.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea. I need space.”
“Angel, I’ll give you all the space you want,” Derek leaned down and brushed her lips. “As long as I’m in it with you.”
Sophie did not say anymore because her mouth got busy. Derek kissed her gently, a slow sensual kiss meant to tease. She was wearing shorts and a camisole and he wasted no time taking advantage as his hands caressed her bare legs. She could feel his erection nudging between her legs, realizing that she wanted him to fill her completely. Leaving open-mouthed kisses down her neck, his fingers pushed aside her left cami strap to bare her breast. His lips immediately followed, his tongue swirling around the areola, refusing to suck or to draw her nipple between his teeth. She arched her back and gasped, “Derek!”
“Tell me what you want, baby,” he murmured against her breast.
“Suck it, please.”
He captured one nipple, lightly grazing with his teeth as his fingers trailed the sensitive skin of her thighs through her shorts, again refusing to touch her quite at the target. It wasn’t enough, he was torturing her.
She bucked her hips to position his fingers where she wanted them, but he moved them away.
“What else do you want, Angel?”
“You, I want you,” she whispered.
Derek smiled down at her and started undoing her shorts, pulling them down with her panties. Then he resumed kissing her all over her body, her breasts, her shoulders, all the while letting his fingers play lightly on the trim curls of her slit. Finally he parted her.
“Damn Angel, you’re drenched,” he muttered as he slid down her body and inspected her most intimate place.
He swiped his tongue teasingly.
“Derek, please,” Her fingers dug into his hair, coaxing him to get on with it. She heard him chuckle, the vibration almost driving her to the edge.
Just then, her phone jarred her out of her sexual haze.
She shot up from the couch, almost clocking Derek with her knee.
“What the fuck?” Derek muttered.
She grabbed her phone from the coffee table. Who would be calling her at 1:00 a.m.?
“Stephen, are you alright?” Sophie said as she recognized her friend’s number.
“Sophie, we have a big problem,” Stephen replied in a grim tone that made her stomach sink.
“Tell me!”
“Someone broke into your office. They took everything that was in the safe.”
“Oh my god,” Sophie whispered, realizing the implications. The world felt like it was closing in on her.
“Angel, what is it?” Derek demanded, concern etched on his face.
Sophie glanced at Derek in a daze; Stephen’s voice receding in a vacuum. “Someone stole my father’s research. The zefinium bomb. Oh god, what have I done?”
***
Derek drove through the new checkpoint at Divergent Research Zone. He and Sophie had not wasted any time getting down there. He immediately called Viktor to inform him of the latest development. Derek wasn’t surprised to see the head of AGS already waiting for them. How he managed to gain clearance through checkpoint, he had no idea.
Sophie was inconsolable. She did not cry, but she was extremely pale and agitated. It was understandable. A weapon of mass destruction’s blueprint had just been stolen. She was its custodian, but now it was in unknown hands.
“Angel, we’ll get it back,” Derek said gently as he reached over to take her hand, grasping it firmly to give her support. And he would. He’d get that blasted research back because if that device was built and used, Sophie would be permanently broken. She would never come back from that. She was a scientist, not a killer.
“You can’t know that. You can’t promise me that, Derek,” Sophie whispered almost indistinctly.
As they got out of the car, Viktor strolled up to meet them, a couple of Guardians flanking him.
“The night security were doing their log check when they noticed their head of maintenance had returned and left within 45 minutes without notifying them. It is protocol for work done between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. to be double logged. Checkpoint just waved him through.” Viktor made a sound of disgust. “These people never learn.”
“Nash Becker,” Sophie said. “Where is he now?”
“We’ve sent agents to his house.”
Derek walked cautiously beside Sophie. She had pasted a stoic expression on her face when she got out of the car, but he knew how tense she was, her hands were clenched at her sides, fingers digging into her palms. He wanted to take her hand in his, but did not want to undermine her autonomy in the lab.
Her deep intake of air when she saw the open safe renewed his desire to pull her against him. Derek reminded himself yet again that she needed to muddle through this herself.
“An experienced cat burglar,” Sophie told no one in particular. “The locks to the lab and this safe couldn’t be cracked without sophisticated equipment.”
Sophie looked at Viktor grimly. “I need to dispose of the cores.”
“Are they in this building?”
Sophie nodded.
“Are you sure they did not get them?”
“Unless they have my eyes, they couldn’t” Sophie replied. “But just to be sure, I’d better check on them. You can follow me, gentlemen.”
Sophie nodded at Stephen, who was silently observing from the lab. They were about to get into an elevator when Viktor’s phone rang.
“Baran...Fucking Hell...Are they alive?...Good. Take them to AGS. I should be there within the hour.”
Viktor turned to Sophie. “Guardians found Becker and his wife tied up in their house. They have a six-month old son. They’ll be taken into AGS.”
That explained how Nash Becker got coerced, Derek thought.
The group got into the elevator. Sophie looked into a retinal scanner and when her bio-stats were accepted, she punched the floor for the basement.
“I never knew there was a bunker,” Derek said.
“Only me and Stephen,” Sophie replied shortly.
Derek did not say anything. He hated that there were so many things he didn’t know about Sophie. Not that he could complain; they’d been together for less than a week.
They entered a sparse looking room. Sophie made her way to a shelf that held another safe. This one was extremely high-tech and also had a retinal scanner. She opened the compartment and revealed three grapefruit-sized smooth rocks. Weaponized zefinium.
Sophie exhaled deeply and closed it. Her mouth twisted in derision. “End of the line.”
“Who’s your composter?” Viktor asked. Composter was a slang the defense industry used for companies that destroyed extremely dangerous materials. These companies were frequently vetted by the CIA or FBI depending on scope.
Sophie told them.
“I’ll have to cancel my meeting with Christopher,” Sophie told Stephen absently.
Viktor scowled, while Derek couldn’t help laying it into Sophie. “Damn it, Sophie. Are you telling me you’re in negotiations with Blackstone to build the zee bomb?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you meeting him?”
“It’s none of your business,” Sophie retorted.
Before Derek could stop him, Viktor had Sophie pinned to a wall, his forearm across her neck.
Derek detonated. He charged Viktor, yanked him off Sophie and swung at him. Viktor blocked his right hook and the two men ended up in a deadlock. Derek slammed Viktor into the wall and growled,
“Do not fucking lay a hand on her.”
Viktor regarded him coldly. “Get her in line.”
“I do not answer to you, Mr. Baran,” Sophie said acidly.
“Sophie, shut it!” Derek warned.
“Or what? I’m not building the zefinium bomb. Christopher is a family friend. He’s probably going to bug me about the cores but—”
“You told him about the cores?”
“I thought I told you.”
“No, you did not,” Derek replied darkly. Damn woman, what had she gotten herself into now? Viktor was getting ready to lock her down. His friend gave him a meaningful look.
“Are we done here?” Sophie asked, eyeing the two men warily.
Without waiting for their reply, Sophie headed to the elevator. Derek fell into step beside her. “You and I need to talk later.” He ignored her glare as they got on the elevator. She wasn’t in her little lab any more, damn it. She was going to be on everyone’s radar, and there was only so much he could do to protect her.
When they reached the top floor, Viktor turned to her and said, “I will personally handle Becker’s interrogation. Be prepared to come in to AGS in case we need more information from you.”
“Of course,” Sophie acceded.
Viktor Baran’s phone buzzed. He frowned when he saw the number.
“This is a surprise, Marissa,” Viktor drawled into his phone. He walked away from the group. Marissa? Derek thought. Why did that name sound familiar? Derek tensed when Viktor’s eyes narrowed and cut to Sophie. “What do you guys want with her?”
Derek felt Sophie involuntarily move toward him after hearing Viktor’s words. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. He was getting a bad feeling about this and was pissed that everything appeared to be out of his control and unraveling fast.
“What’s going on?” Sophie whispered. Derek shook his head.
“That’s overkill, Marissa,” Viktor said, then he sighed. “All right. I’ll see what I can do, I’m not promising anything.”
Viktor strode back toward them, looking pointedly at Sophie. “That’s the CIA. They want me to bring you in.”
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