His grin faded into something much hotter. “For that, I’m going to take my time and lick oh so slowly until you’re so frustrated you’ll be begging me to finish.”
His words sent a rush of wetness straight between her legs, and her clit was pulsing in anticipation. But she wasn’t going to surrender that easily. She opened her mouth to reply when someone knocked on the door.
What the hell? Had someone actually found them?
Sabrina’s training kicked into action the same time as Jorge’s. She sat up as he moved to the side of the bed and took out two guns from the nightstand. He placed one on the bed next to her and his voice was low when he said, “Put your shirt on and cover me.”
Sabrina nodded and grabbed her shirt from the floor. Jorge went to the door as she tossed the shirt over her head. She picked up the gun, clicked off the safety, and took position to where she had a clear line of sight to the door but could still dive for cover if she needed it.
She nodded and Jorge turned the lock. She could see the chain still latched across the door, which would give them a few extra seconds to react if things went south.
He placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted it open. He gave her one more look before he inched the door open. Before he could say anything, a woman with accented English said, “Jorge Salazar, it’s bad form to keep a lady waiting on the doorstep. Now, my dear, open this door and invite me in. Despite your ungrateful behavior—of course who could blame you? I’d be cross too if someone interrupted my sexy times—I still might share my bag of pastries with you and Sabrina.”
Sabrina blinked. She wondered who the hell was the woman on the other side of the door and how she know her name.
Jorge had no idea who the woman on the other side of the door was, but her words about “sexy times” made him think that, despite all of his precautions, someone had stashed a camera somewhere in the room. The idea of someone else seeing Sabrina’s naked breasts didn’t sit well with him.
Right now, however, he needed to try to think of the best way to play this since he couldn’t use his shadow-shifting abilities again until tomorrow.
Asking the woman for her identity would be useless. They might have to use the hidden escape door behind the wardrobe—that had been the entire reason he’d chosen this location out of his handful of places to lay low. Even when he’d worked for the Fed League, he had wanted backup escape routes in case something went wrong.
He caught Sabrina’s eye and put up a hand with all five fingers. He nodded his head to the wardrobe and back. Sabrina understood that he had a plan—even if she didn’t know what it was—and nodded back. He lowered one finger and then another before the woman on the other side of the door spoke again. “If you try to escape through the secret passage behind the wardrobe, I most definitely will not share my pastries with you.”
He stopped the countdown. Even if there was a camera in the room, and the woman outside had seen him nod toward the wardrobe, no one knew about his secret passageway. With that comment, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Who are you?”
“I’m surprised Aislinn didn’t mention me. Hmph. I’ll have to talk to her about that.” The woman waved a few fingers through the door. “Hello, my name is Neena Chatterjee. I help run DEFEND, and I highly advise you to let me inside unless you want me to start drawing attention from people down on the street.”
Aislinn was the woman who had organized the rescue for his sister last week. Still, this Neena hadn’t given him specific enough information for him to believe her yet. He needed to know more. “Prove that you work with Aislinn—tell me where they found my sister.”
Neena removed her fingers and her voice was serious when she answered, “Tied-up naked in a freezer, on a sprawling estate about an hour from Merida, off the main road to Celestún.”
Her answer was correct. He still wanted to question her further, but he wanted to do it away from possible prying eyes. “Okay, I’ll open the door, but I want you to have your hands raised when I let you in to make sure you don’t have any weapons.”
Neena answered, “I don’t usually take orders, but just this once, I’ll agree.”
Before the woman started talking again, he unchained the door and slowly opened it until he had a short woman with wild, curly black hair and golden tan skin standing in front of him. Her hands were up, and she had a clear plastic bag of Mexican pastries in her left hand.
He only hoped the pastries didn’t hide something much worse inside of them.
He waved her inside. “Hurry up.”
She walked in, and since he knew Sabrina would watch his back, he locked the door before turning around to find Neena giving Sabrina the once-over.
Despite the fact Sabrina had to be as confused as hell as to what was going on, she was alert and had her gun trained on Neena. Sabrina’s trust in him chipped away even more at his belief she’d turned him in on purpose. But if he were ever to have a discussion with Sabrina and possibly get her naked again, he needed to make sure they survived this encounter.
He gave Neena a wide berth and stopped a few feet away from both Neena and Sabrina. Before he could ask Neena a question, the woman tilted her head and said, “The sooner you lower your guns and talk with me, the sooner you can plan your take-down of Watkins. Once that’s done, I’ll let you have a week off to hump each other like rabbits. Or whatever animal mating rituals you fancy imitating. Horses, perhaps? Or turtles? No one ever says, ‘hump like turtles’.”
Jorge ignored her needling. “How about you start talking some sense? After this job, you have no say in what I do.”
Neena shook her head. “Tsk, tsk. Sometimes I forget not everyone knows what’s going to happen.” She looked at Sabrina. “Like Sabrina here. She has a very big secret, one that should lead to a wonderful partnership in the future. DEFEND could use the help of her employer.”
He wasn’t going to completely just take this Neena at her word, especially since he didn’t know if Sabrina had an actual employer outside the Fed League or not. “Why would your precious organization need her help? Once the Fed League crumbles, she’ll move on to something else.”
Neena glanced to him. “Why don’t you ask her? I’m sure she’s heard of DEFEND and could see why her employer might be of some value to me and my organization.”
He growled at Neena. “Sabrina, tell her you aren’t working for anyone else so I can tell this woman she’s crazy.”
Sabrina remained silent, so he darted a glance to her face and back to Neena. Even in that split second, he could see how pale she’d become. “Sabrina?”
Neena smiled. Her voice was calm and coaxing when she said, “Go on, my dear, tell him. I promise you won’t be ‘relocated’ and banished for the rest of your life. You have no reason to trust me, but surely you’ve heard about the ‘colorful’ DEFEND co-leader and her reach. That’s me, and if you cooperate, I’ll protect you.”
Jorge looked to Sabrina again. “I’m lost. What’s she talking about? Who do you work for?”
Chapter Nine
Sabrina stared at the woman who called herself Neena Chatterjee. Somewhere in Sabrina’s basic training, she’d heard of the eccentric DEFEND leader and her knack for always showing up at a critical time to sway things her way. Sabrina had dismissed most of the rumors as bullshit, but she was starting to reconsider her call.
Then Neena had to mention how Sabrina had a secret to share, and she barely resisted panicking.
So many things had happened in the last few hours with Jorge. She had started to think she’d tell him the full truth, but this was not the way she’d imagined it—half-rumpled and bra-less, pointing a gun at a strange woman clinging to a bag of pastries.
The strange woman in question had assured her she wouldn’t be relocated if worse came to worse, but she didn’t trust her word. Instead, she cleared her throat and chanced a quick glance at Jorge. “Before I say anything, I want to know why you give any credence to her words. Why does mentionin
g this Aislinn person mean anything to you?”
He looked like he wanted to press her to answer, but after he gave a glance to Neena, he looked back at her and said, “Aislinn is the one who orchestrated my sister’s rescue. There is more to the story than that, but if you have any faith in me at all, then let that be enough for now.” He waved his free hand toward Neena. “Please answer her question. The sooner you do, the sooner she’ll leave.”
“Hmph,” Neena said but kept her attention on Sabrina. “Maybe I can help ease your worry. That’ll make this easier for all of us.”
Before Sabrina could open her mouth, she felt a gentle breeze brush against her skin. Normally, she’d jump away and try to figure out what was going on, but a sense of calm and trust came over her like she could tell Neena anything, without fear.
She shook her head to try to break the feeling, but the sense of calmness only increased to the point where Sabrina was as languid as if she’d had three orgasms and an hour-long hot bath. She frowned and said, “What did you do to me?”
Neena smiled. “Don’t worry, my dears, it’ll wear off soon. But I’m on a tight schedule and this is the easiest way to speed things along. You’ll both thank me later.” She lowered her hands and took out a pastry. “Now, tell us about your employer.”
Sabrina didn’t feel compelled to say anything, but the false sense of trust loosened her usual secretive nature and the truth just spilled out. “I’m working undercover for the Feiru Liaison office in Mexico City.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Jorge shake his head, as if to knock away whatever Neena Chatterjee had done to them. “But that means...”
His voice trailed off, and Sabrina decided to bite the bullet and tell him the truth. “I’m human.”
Jorge wasn’t sure how to reply to Sabrina’s confession. He felt a little betrayed and somewhat concerned, but he could barely frown because of what Neena Chatterjee had done to him. Standing up was a chore. Arguing would take too much energy.
But if nothing else, he could make his voice work and ask questions. He needed to hear a hell of lot more from Sabrina to believe what she’d just told him. “You’ve been human this whole time? How is that possible? The Fed League does blood tests to ensure everyone who joins is at least half-Feiru.”
Sabrina squared her shoulders. Considering she was a weak human in a room with a Shadow-Shifter and a who-the-hell-knew-what crazy magic user, she was brave. He nearly whispered, “Good girl,” but then he remembered what she’d just said and waited for her to explain.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“I’m not about to spill all of the Feiru Liaison office’s secrets, but we’ve found a way around the blood tests. I underwent the necessary treatment, and I passed without a hitch.”
His first objection answered, Jorge realized the enormity of her confession. He managed to take a step toward her, but he faltered and barely managed to keep from falling over. “You were already in the Fed League when I joined. Just how long have you been undercover? Has everything been a lie?”
“It’s been about two years. But no, not everything has been a lie.” She darted a glance to Neena—who was chomping on a pastry of all things—and then back to him. Her voice was low when she said, “I hate causing people harm, let alone like participating in assignments that result in deaths. But your friendship was the one thing I never regretted. You helped to keep me sane, Jorge Salazar, and I hope you won’t hate me for keeping this from you.”
He hadn’t expected that confession.
He ran a hand through his hair and said, “I can’t deal with all of this right now.” He pointed a finger at Neena. “Stop eating that damn pastry and tell me why you’re doing all of this. You seem to have more information than me or Sabrina about Watkins, the Fed League, and even the Feiru Liaison officers. So why the hell aren’t you doing all of this yourself? Is this just a game to you? Because let me tell you, this is our fucking lives, and I, for one, don’t like people playing with them.”
Neena chewed the last bit of pastry in her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her hands. “I know you had a rough time of it with the Collector, but you’re going to have to work on those manners of yours. You can be alpha and pushy all you like with anyone else, but you’ll soon learn that I won’t tolerate it.”
He growled. “Manners? What the hell do they matter? Being nice is what ended up getting me fucked up in the first place.”
Neena sniffed and looked toward Sabrina. “I’m not sure how you straight women deal with men. Frankly, they’re too much work.”
Sabrina’s mouth dropped, but Jorge didn’t care about whether Neena preferred men or women. He was tired of the lies and answer dodging.
He stumbled over to Neena and grabbed her arm. Before he knew what was going on, he felt a prick in his side and the room started to spin. “What the hell?”
He fell to his knees and then tumbled to the carpet. Neena’s voice was faint when she replied. “You’re going to take a little nap while I talk with Sabrina here. I’m sure she can have a rational conversation without needing to bang her fists against her chest like a caveman.”
Sabrina’s face came into view. “Jorge?” She put a hand on his cheek and her touch helped to ease his anger. “What did you do to him?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. The nap will actually do him some good.”
He tried to reach a hand to touch Sabrina’s thigh next to him, but he lacked the strength to move. The last thought he had before he blacked out was that Sabrina was going to be left alone with the crazy woman, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her.
Sabrina caressed Jorge’s cheek, but he didn’t respond. He was out cold.
Anger welled up inside her at what Neena had done to Jorge. She’d been too sluggish to stop Neena from injecting him with some type of drug, and now he lay on the floor, helpless. She’d just have to protect him until he woke up. He might be angry at her for keeping secrets, but the look he’d given her right before he’d passed out told her volumes about how much he didn’t hate her.
Despite learning she was human, he still might even want her.
However, she’d never get the chance to talk with him about it if they both ended up dead.
She tried to think of how she could trick the woman behind her. Because of her fear for Jorge’s safety or her anger for Neena attacking him, Sabrina had no idea, but whatever Neena had done to her earlier was starting to wear off. The best she could do was pretend to still be under the effects of the woman’s magic and find a way to restrain her.
She still had the gun gripped in her right hand. If she could just knock the woman unconscious, she could tie her up and get answers that way.
Sabrina shifted her feet and was about to try out her plan when she heard Neena’s voice. “Despite his obvious lack of manners, you feel something for that man and you want to protect him, but fighting me isn’t the way to do it. If you listen long enough, I can give you the information you need to take down Watkins tonight.”
Sabrina nearly fell for it, but she wasn’t going to let the woman sweet-talk her into anything. She rose slowly and faced Neena, keeping her body ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “If you think I’m going to trust you, you’re crazy. Jorge did, and look what happened to him.”
“I helped him. The drug I injected will help his body regain the necessary energy to shift again. He won’t have to wait until tomorrow. By the time he wakes up, he’ll be ready to go.” Neena tilted her head. “You can apologize any time you like, my dear. The sooner you stop planning to attack me, the sooner I can give you the information you need and get out of your hair. Believe me, I have a million other things I’d rather be doing right now than trying to convince people not to kill me. Besides, I’m your best bet at avoiding relocation and isolation for the rest of your life.”
As if she’d take that bait. She didn’t trust Neena, but she did have an idea. “How about you tell me the information you have on Watk
ins and leave? Do it without a fight, and I might consider trusting and using the information you provide.”
Neena shrugged. “If that’s how you want to play it. Just put the safety back on your gun, and I’ll spill the beans.”
Since she could still use the gun to whack Neena upside the head if something happened, she did as she was asked. “Now, tell me what you know.”
Neena moved to the window and sat down on the sill. “Let’s not forget our manners. Say please.”
Sabrina grit her teeth. At this point, she’d do anything to get this woman to leave. “Fine. Please tell me what you know.”
“Better. I’m starting to see why you and Mr. Grouchy-pants over there get along so well.”
She took a deep breath and decided it was best to ignore the comment and press Neena for answers. “I said please; now tell me how I can get Watkins tonight.”
Neena sniffed. “Fine. He’s going to move up the school bombing. He’ll be installing the device himself this evening.”
“What? Why?”
Neena waved a hand. “Some rival nonsense, blah, blah, blah. Basically, Watkins is afraid you’ll share his plans and he’ll have to abort his mission, and this is one he can’t afford to screw up.”
She studied Neena a moment and finally said, “And how do I know you’re telling the truth? Sure, you claim that drugging Jorge will help him, but I have no idea if that’s even possible. The holes in the Feiru Liaison office’s knowledge about the Feiru and their abilities are big enough to drive a train through.”
Neena crossed one leg over another. “I’ll tell you something that might convince you, but I’d suggest that you take a seat first.”
Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) Page 7