by J. S. Scott
Bastard! Maybe it had happened a long time ago, but I would think indoctrinating me to the pleasures of sex would at least be somewhat memorable.
It doesn’t matter, Harper.
I had to keep my cool. What had happened between myself and Marcus twelve years ago wasn’t important right now. The only reason I’d even mentioned it was to try to make him remember our connection so he’d be motivated enough to save my youngest sibling.
All I wanted was my sister back. I wanted her safely back with me. I worried about Dani every damn time she left the country, and after several years of fretting over her safety, my worst nightmare had become reality.
Dani was taken, kidnapped. Held hostage somewhere in Syria by an unknown rebel group. A rescue in that hostile climate had recently been completed by Special Forces, but Dani wasn’t part of the group of hostages recovered.
That made the military all the more certain she wasn’t really a prisoner.
My brother, Jett, had gotten some ransom demands, and we were more than willing to pay her captors to get her back. We didn’t care if it was another group of rebels in another location, a small group of guerilla fighters the US government wasn’t even aware existed. My sister was in danger, and it hadn’t mattered what lunatics were holding her. But when it had come time for the meeting to exchange Dani for the money, the rebels hadn’t shown up. And no Dani.
Had they already killed her?
Had they not been able to get across the border to meet my brother?
Had they thought it was some kind of trap and decided to ditch the meeting?
Had they misunderstood?
We had never gotten the chance to find out.
Communication had ceased, and I feared my sister might be lost to us forever.
That’s when my brother Jett had suggested trying Marcus and PRO. Having once been a member of the private, elite recovery team that Marcus Colter had led, my sibling knew better than anyone just how good they’d been. During their several years of existence, they’d never failed to find a hostage…unless the captive was already dead.
Unfortunately, the group’s existence had been exposed, and so had all of the guys on the team. With their identities and private work compromised, they disbanded, and my brother had been one of the injured on their last and only failed mission that had brought them to the attention of the world.
“I didn’t exactly say I wouldn’t help,” Marcus finally answered.
“Don’t play games with me, Marcus. You’ll either rescue Dani or you won’t,” I told him angrily. This man had toyed with my emotions in the past, and I wasn’t about to let it happen again.
I was older, and a hell of a lot wiser.
“Like I said, it’s not that simple. Your brother can’t go into a rescue situation, and neither can one other guy, our pilot, who used to be a pretty damn important member of our team. Both of them were critical specialists of the group. But I may be able to replace them to attempt this rescue.”
I watched him, holding my breath as I saw the contemplative look on his face.
Damn! He was still gorgeous, even if he was an asshole. Not that I felt any of the chemistry that we’d had years ago, but in a custom suit and tie, his cropped hair perfectly in place, and a five-o’clock shadow forming on his strong jawline, Marcus Colter was aesthetically handsome.
Too bad his gray Colter eyes looked deadly cold.
“Please,” I finally begged. “I have to get Dani back alive.”
“If I do retrieve her, she needs to keep her ass in the United States,” he grumbled. “I see her in just about every damn hot spot I’m in myself. She’s a pain in my ass.”
“You two have met up?” I asked, interested in how they’d interacted.
Marcus had a pained look on his face as he answered, “Way too many times. If it’s an area of the world where there are problems, your little sister is always there.”
I knew that Marcus was an international traveler, but I didn’t realize he’d ever run into Dani. “That’s her job. She’s a fantastic reporter,” I defended.
Marcus let out a masculine sigh. “She has a goddamn death wish.”
I smiled because he sounded so much like my older brothers. They all hated Danica’s chosen profession, but nobody had ever been able to hold her back. I didn’t like it, either, but I understood that I couldn’t stop her from pursuing her passion. It would suck the life right out of her.
“So you’ll go?” I asked anxiously.
“As soon as I can get a team together,” he agreed, stroking his jaw like he was already thinking about how to organize the group.
“Thank you,” I said breathlessly. “I’ll owe you for this.”
“I think giving me your virginity was quite enough,” he answered stiffly.
“I thought you didn’t remember,” I accused, meeting his steely-eyed gaze as he leaned against the desk in his home office.
“It might be coming back to me,” he said absently.
“I’m sorry it wasn’t important enough for you to recall immediately,” I replied sarcastically. In reality, it hurt that he didn’t remember something that had been so significant to me. But he obviously hadn’t cared enough to even recall the encounter.
He looked me up and down with a slightly mischievous grin. “Oh, I’m pretty sure it was memorable.”
I wasn’t quite certain what he meant, but as I continued to lock eyes with him, I was relieved that I still felt absolutely nothing.
My memories were all that was left of what happened between us. This Marcus was not the same young man I’d met up with years ago.
Oh, he was still handsome, but he had a rough, brutal edge to him that made me slightly uncomfortable. I couldn’t imagine him as the same guy who’d grinned at me like a mischievous boy, and made me smile at a time when I’d been so unhappy.
For a brief moment, I grieved for the young man he used to be. But then, I realized I’d changed over the years myself.
He was a product of the adult life he’d led, and so was I. Obviously, we were much different people now. In many ways, the disconnection from him made me feel…free.
“How did you ever end up forming a rescue group, anyway?” I asked curiously.
Before my parents had died in an auto accident seven years ago, my mother had kept me up on all that was happening with the Colters.
Not that I’d really cared. I wasn’t close to any of them.
Okay…maybe I did listen, but she spoke very little about Marcus because he was usually gone. I’d heard more about Tate, Chloe, or Zane. Once in a while she’d mention Blake, but he hadn’t become a member of the Senate before my mom and dad had died. He’d served a term in the House, but gave up his seat afterward to run for senator when he hit the minimum age requirement.
Blake Colter was probably one of the most politically ambitious men I’d ever seen, and he was a damn good senator, from what I’d heard. I hadn’t seen him since we were kids, but I still felt bad about how terrible I’d treated him when I was a child. I hadn’t been kind, but then, I’d been a bitch to almost everyone.
Marcus finally answered, “Are you asking why a bunch of billionaires actually got together to do something decent?” he asked drily.
“No. I’m not surprised at all. After all, Jett was involved. I’m just curious how it even happened. I mean, you travel for your business because you have so many interests internationally. But what prompted you to actually think about doing dangerous things in foreign countries?”
“What caused you to become an architect and give out your services for free to build homeless shelters?” he countered. “It’s not exactly something a rich woman would do.”
Nice! He’d actually turned my question into a question. It was an excellent evasion tactic, but I wasn’t about to tell him so.
“I do othe
r jobs,” I answered defensively. “And I think you know why I do it.”
Marcus lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t ask anything more about my occupation. “I did it because I understand a lot of the politics and cultures in other countries. Believe it or not, I do have a heart.”
Judging by his edgy tone, I wasn’t quite sure if there actually was an organ beating in this guy’s chest, but I replied, “But it’s covert operations. And you were actually the organizer. How does that happen when you’re just a businessman checking on his foreign operations?”
Marcus shrugged. “I had all the help I needed from my team. It wasn’t that difficult.”
His deliberately vague answer irritated me, but if he didn’t want to talk about his private life, I wasn’t going to push it. I needed him for one thing: to rescue my sister.
It had been twelve years since he’d taken my virginity, and we didn’t exactly need to get to know each other again. We just needed to get along.
I fidgeted in my spot several feet away from him, shifting my weight from one leg to another. “So do you have an idea when you can leave?”
“We need some intel first,” he explained. “I’ll talk to Jett and see what his instincts are about where she might be and who is holding her while I get things together. It won’t be long. A day or two at most.”
Right now, even twenty-four hours seemed like a lifetime, but I nodded my agreement. Really, what choice did I have? Besides, his answer made sense. There was no way a small team could go bursting into a dangerous country without gathering knowledge and making a plan. The last thing they’d probably want was to draw attention to themselves.
“Please bring her back alive,” I pleaded, tears starting to form in my eyes.
He nodded sharply. “I’ll do my best.”
I turned to walk out of his office, and I’d reached the door when he called, “Harper?”
I turned for a moment to look at him. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry about what happened. I mean, I’m not sorry it happened, but I never meant to hurt you.”
It was all water under the bridge for me now, so I answered, “It’s no big deal. I just wished you would have told me you had a girlfriend. You did hurt me back then, but I’ve been over it for years.”
That wasn’t exactly the truth, but I’d definitely mellowed out about it since I’d walked through his door only minutes ago. Surprisingly, I didn’t even feel a twinge of the same attraction I’d felt for him back then.
“I’m still apologizing for what happened. I was young and stupid,” he said gruffly.
“No need. I really am over it,” I answered nonchalantly as I opened the door and sped through it, closing his office door behind me.
I made it outside before I smiled broadly. I’d done it, and I was finally over Marcus Colter.
No more wondering.
No more shadows hanging over my head.
No more wondering if I’d hold a torch for him forever.
I was free.
If I wasn’t so worried about my little sister, I’d be ecstatic.
I sprinted to my rented BMW SUV, a stupid smile lingering on my lips as I hopped inside and started the engine. Late winter was dragging its feet on moving out of Colorado, and the temperatures were still brisk.
As I rubbed my hands together to warm them, I spoke aloud, “It’s over. Marcus is in my past.”
Maybe the oldest Colter had been every young woman’s dream, but he wasn’t my dream anymore, and I was happy as hell about that.
How long had I hated myself because I still thought about him, even though he was a complete jerk, a womanizer who had barely remembered a night I had never been able to forget?
Oh yeah, I’d tried to despise him, but occasionally, I couldn’t help but remember his irresistible grin, his patience, and his kindness that night. Before I’d learned that everything I’d thought was real as an idealistic teenager had been nothing more than a very good act to get himself laid.
I waited for the vehicle to get warm, shivering just a little until I started feeling the heated seats warm up and the vents pumping warm air.
Seeing Marcus now that we were older, I didn’t feel a single bit of that old warmth. Apparently, he’d given up hiding behind false charm.
I’d never again have to wonder if I’d feel the same way I did twelve years ago.
I didn’t.
The only thing I’d experienced was impatience to get my sister out of danger.
A day or two.
I could wait that long.
“Please stay alive,” I whispered to myself. There was no way I could live through something happening to my best friend and little sister. Dani and I had clung to each other most of our lives, and just gotten even closer since my parents had died. She was only a year younger than me, so there was very little difference in our ages, but I’d never stopped thinking of her as my little sister. I was still protective of her, and she still watched out for me.
For some reason, I felt slightly better knowing Marcus was going to be attempting her rescue. I might not like him, but I knew just how good he and his team were once my brother, Jett, had come clean about his involvement with the operation. I just hoped they could find out Dani’s location and bring her back quickly.
I sighed, put the vehicle into gear and headed back to the Colter resort lodge where I had gotten myself a room so I could go have my talk with Marcus Colter.
Strangely, I didn’t even hate him anymore.
I felt absolutely nothing except hope that he could help me find Dani.
It was a complete relief that Marcus Colter couldn’t move me emotionally anymore.
The guy who had taken my virginity was like a stranger to me now, and I was oddly quite okay with that.
Marcus
It hadn’t exactly taken a rocket scientist to figure out the supposed connection between myself and Harper. Or rather…some other guy and Harper, because I sure as hell hadn’t slept with her. I hadn’t wanted to ask too many questions, but I was fairly certain that the taker of Harper’s virginity had actually been my twin brother, Blake. Who else could it be?
Perhaps I should have set Harper straight immediately, but I wasn’t the type of man to make a hasty decision. Blake had obviously had his reasons for doing what he’d done.
Obviously, years ago, my squeaky clean senator sibling had masqueraded as me. The question was…why?
My brother hated being me. Hell, I couldn’t blame him. Sometimes I hated being myself, too. Blake had always been the nice guy, the one who would go out of his way to help anybody. Me? I was a selfish prick, and I knew it. I’d accepted it. But I didn’t always like it.
In many ways, traveling the world had hardened me, made me less empathetic. If I let every sad situation I saw get to me personally, I’d never survive. If I was like Blake, I would have died of a bleeding heart years ago. So I stopped caring about the things I couldn’t control, and I started working on projects where I could make a difference. If that made me an asshole…so be it. If that made me cold, then I could deal with that. What I couldn’t do was let the horrific things I’d seen destroy me.
I left my office and jogged up the stairs, more than ready to get out of my work attire. I’d barely just gotten back from business in Tokyo when Harper Lawson had showed up, obviously upset and frantic.
As I changed into a pair of jeans and a heavy sweater, I went over our conversation again. I’d learned to store and file information in my memory, so I remembered every word. Maybe I’d given her the impression that I was hesitant to rescue Dani, but in truth, I would have gone after the crazy female correspondent anyway.
I hadn’t been exaggerating when I’d told Harper that I saw her sister in almost every hot spot I visited.
No wonder Danica had always hated me. She thinks I took her sister’s vi
rginity and then hopped into bed with another woman.
Not that I was ever all that pleasant with anyone, but I’d never been exceptionally rude to Harper’s sister…until she’d gotten in a few unwarranted insults the first few times I saw her. After that, it had been open season on pissing each other off as often as possible. I had to admit that seeing Danica Lawson speechless or furious had become a guilty pleasure for me. Fighting with her was almost as good as getting laid. Well, maybe not as good, but it was pretty damn entertaining, and very few things actually amused me anymore.
She called me an uptight asshole—an insult which might actually contain a grain of truth.
I told her she was dangerous and brainless because I knew it got her riled up.
Honestly, she was probably one of the craftiest females I’d ever met, but she irritated the hell out of me by being in every place she should be running away from like her ass was on fire.
I could hardly share with Harper that I was a special operative for the CIA. Nobody knew except my family. I’d never considered myself a spy…not exactly. I preferred to think of myself as an intelligence gatherer who just happened to be in a lot of foreign locations and had a ton of informants and contacts in said destinations.
I was no fucking James Bond. I actually did have business almost everywhere I went. But I did what I did for the CIA because I was pretty damn tired of watching my friends overseas die in war-torn countries simply because they lived or had business in those places.
My now disbanded group of rescuers, PRO, had been put together because I’d once had friends in need of rescue, several wealthy businessmen who’d been snagged by a group of rebels. I pulled together a mismatched but perfect group of ex-CIA, SEAL, and FBI agents with every specialty I needed to pull off a mission to get my friends out of captivity. They’d survived, and then we’d been asked to pull out others by several different countries.
We’d operated as long as we could before our covers were blown on a shitty mission that never should have happened.
Harper’s brother, Jett, had been badly injured. Another member had nearly lost his life, too. Our only option had been to shut down operations. With our identities known, and PRO no longer covert, it was too dangerous for the guys on the team. Besides, I knew if we couldn’t operate quietly, we wouldn’t be nearly as affective.