The old man was too proud to back down from a challenge, especially from a woman. He’d be there.
“Talk to him,” Andrew urged. Brandon was good at handling his father. “This could be a trap set up by the FBI. It would be a lot smarter to regroup and watch from a distance. Try and pick her up when she’s alone.”
“I’ll talk to him, but he won’t change his mind. See you in a few hours.”
Andrew hung up and once again did his best to ignore the fact that Yu Chang wanted to have sex with his sister. The idea was abhorrent. Maybe the old man had just been scaring her all those years ago, trying to get her to toe the line the only way he knew how.
Except, he’d seen how the man had looked at her during those few months. He’d seen the way Yu Chang had pressed her against the wall after he’d killed the German boy. With heat, with lust.
Lily was still in his bedchamber. He swallowed the knot of tension. He’d been too busy to go to her, too ashamed.
He should have made it clear to his uncle that she was important to him, not some whore they could take turns with. In many ways, what had happened was Andrew’s fault, and he’d make sure it never happened again. Not that it would be an issue. The old man was so obsessed with Jenny, he’d probably already forgotten Lily.
That would change if Andrew didn’t bring his sister back into the family fold.
He rubbed his hand over his face. He needed to make travel plans. But for the first time since coming to stay with Yu Chang, he knew he didn’t want to live this way anymore. But what was the alternative? Running away and hiding, the way Jenny had? Look at how well that was turning out for her.
He went back to his computer and tried to remember who they knew in Thailand, and who they could buy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lucas knew that getting into bed with Ashley was a mistake, yet he could no more have refused her plea than stop breathing. He’d fucked up. The least he could do was hold her.
He hadn’t expected to fall asleep.
He hadn’t expected to wake up with the woman in question pressing a soft kiss against his cheek, as if quietly saying goodbye. He reached out, cupped her jaw, and turned his head, capturing her lips with his.
She moaned but, for a moment, he thought she was going to pull away. He took the kiss deeper, tasting the real her for the very first time. There were no lies between them now. No barriers. He started working the buttons on her shirt.
“We can’t,” she said, but pressed closer to his raging hard-on.
“We are.” He had her shirt open and bra pulled down, diving in for a taste of one cherry tip, making her groan again.
“What about Parker?” she whispered breathily.
“Parker’s got his own woman.” He sucked hard, and her heels pressed against the bed, thrusting her breast against his mouth. He pulled back to admire his glistening handiwork—she was so beautiful. Then he went back for more.
Frantically he undressed her, and she pulled at his clothing until they were naked, limbs entangled, mouths exploring, fingers touching. He rested his palm over her heart and felt the fierce thud of her life force, reminding him how strong she was, how strong she’d had to be. A fine shudder ran through her bones and matched the trembling in his. Everything slowed down into a sensuous dance.
“You kill me, Ash.” He brushed the hair off her forehead and stared deep into her pretty eyes. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her bruise, wishing he could take the injury back. “Would you rather be called Jenny now?” he asked.
Her pupils flared, and she shook her head. “Jenny died that day on the beach.”
He nibbled her bottom lip. “I think there’s still a lot of Jenny Britton buried deep inside where she can’t get hurt again.”
Her expression turned sad, so he concentrated on making this woman feel so good she couldn’t remember the bad times, or consider the uncertain future. By the time he was done, her eyes were unfocused, and her skin was damp. Last time had been all passion and fire. This time…he wasn’t ready to put a name on it. Not yet. Maybe never.
He found a condom in his wallet and moved on top of her, loving the way she parted her thighs to welcome him. He slid inside, and they both held their breath in wonder.
He started moving, holding her hands above her head and staring deep into her eyes, thrusting slow and deep, then harder, faster until she bit her lip and wrapped those long strong legs of hers tight around his hips.
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, tension rife in the lines of her neck. He wanted to run his tongue over her and taste the salt on her skin, but she was too close to coming, and he didn’t want to deny her, not when she’d been denied so much. She cried out even though she tried not to, and he didn’t care if Alex heard, or the crew, or the entire goddamned country. He pushed her harder, prolonging the orgasm that throbbed and pulsed around him until it finally tipped him over the edge, his own climax tearing through him.
After a few dangerous heartbeats, his mind came back to the room. It was his first time making love in an aircraft. And, judging by the clamor of emotions clanging in his head, the first time making love.
She lay there quietly contemplating him, and he avoided her gaze because the last thing they needed was him getting carried away. There was too much going on to deal with that right now. Too much at stake to get distracted.
He pulled away and got rid of the condom, then leaned down to kiss her temple. She flinched when he caught her bruise.
“I really am sorry,” he said, climbing back in beside her.
She touched his jaw. “It was an accident. I’m the one who head butted the side of the van.”
“And me.” He rubbed his nose. “Where’d you learn that move?”
“One of the instructors at the academy. He told me I’d never pass training. One day he had me pinned against a wall with all the other NATs looking on. He started laughing, saying I fought like a girl, and he was sure all the bad guys would go easy on me. I was so angry. My head was the only part of my body I could move, so I used it. He wasn’t expecting anything and got a busted nose for his troubles. I thought he was a total prick until he came up to me at graduation and personally congratulated me. Told me I’d done a good job, and he was proud of me.” From her expression that had meant a lot to her.
“Are you saying he was actually a nice guy under the bullish bravado?”
She laughed as she traced her thumb over his bottom lip. “I suppose you breezed through that part of the training.”
“I loved sparring in defensive tactics. I especially loved going up against the instructors.” They’d driven everyone hard, and he knew what the guy had been trying to do with Ashley—make her forget social conventions and use as much force as necessary to get the job done and stay alive. “It was trying to memorize all the federal laws that kicked my ass.”
She laughed, a sparkle entering her gaze, but then it extinguished as she frowned. “I fought you so hard because I thought you might be working for my uncle.”
Fuck. “I really am sorry.”
“I know.” She ran her thumb over his lip, and the touch was like fire igniting his blood, stirring his desire.
She pushed him onto his back and eyed his growing erection. “Looks like you can make it up to me in the very near future, especially if you have another condom.”
He gave a jerk of his head because she’d taken hold of him and was stroking him with those slender fingers, stoking his need. They needed to work. They needed to rest. They needed to figure out a plan. But there were endless hours before they reached their destination, and this might be the last time they were ever together like this.
Her tongue trailed down his body, and suddenly he didn’t think he was going to survive Ashley Chen. But if anything happened to her, he wouldn’t want to.
* * *
Ashley showered, dressed and slipped out of the cabin. Alex Parker sat in a soft white leather armchair working at a table. She tried to calm
the blush in her cheeks. Apparently stripping her lies away had also torn away some of her armor.
“Any word on Sloan?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Still in surgery.”
She looked at the window. They were still flying over land.
“You better not hurt him,” he said unexpectedly.
She paused. “You seem like an unlikely protector.”
He eyed her under his brows as she slumped into the seat opposite. “Do I?”
“Yeah, you do.”
“I’ve never seen him smitten before.”
“Smitten?” The old-fashioned word both thrilled and depressed her. She was going up against one of the biggest criminal godfathers in Asia, if not the world. The only thing that would stop his vengeance was death. Now was not the time to be thinking about having a man in her life.
“How long have you two known each other, anyway?” She was curious about Lucas Randall.
“We served together in the Army.”
“Huh. I thought you met through Mallory.”
“Other way around. Lucas introduced us.” The look in his eyes told her exactly what that meant to him.
It was humbling to see how much the guy loved her fellow agent. She wanted that. She wanted it with the man sleeping in the next room. Chances of getting it were infinitesimal.
“I’m sorry I dragged everyone into this mess.” She worried at the skin on her cuticles. “Considering all the people who’ve been hurt, I guess it would have been better if I’d never joined the FBI.”
She met his gaze and was surprised by the empathy she saw there.
“They would just be hurting someone else.” His lips pulled back in a wry smile. “I understand the need to fight evil, just as I get that justice isn’t always about following the rules.” Those silver eyes looked straight into her soul. “But not everyone thinks the way we do. Most people play by the rules.”
She looked away at the reminder. “What did Frazer say?”
Alex grinned. “It was more colorful than I’d expected, but could have been worse. He didn’t send the military after us.”
Crap. She crossed her arms over her chest and braced herself. “Is he going to keep it to himself or am I going to be arrested the moment I go home?”
“I don’t think he’s decided yet.”
She processed that. “What are you doing?”
“Searching for any activity I can trace to the Devils.”
“Can we bring our weapons into Thailand?” she asked.
“I doubt it. Frazer’s reaching out to people to try to get some assistance on the ground. And I’m trying to figure out alternatives.” He leaned back in his chair. “Greg Trainer has been calling for Lucas’s head. He’s made noises about Lucas’s dereliction of duty being the reason Sloan and the girl were taken.”
Anger and guilt warred inside her. Her actions had badly affected Lucas’s career. “How do I fix that?”
He grimaced. “Might be hard without coming clean.”
“Then I’ll come clean.”
“Frazer said to leave it with him for now.”
Nothing could jeopardize Lucas’s job. She wouldn’t allow it.
“We found the source of the leak at the hotel—someone hacked their system the night before.”
Ashley grimaced. Her brother. “How’d they find Becca?”
“They followed Sloan from her office.”
“She didn’t notice them?”
“They put a tracker on her car.”
Damn. “How did they know she’d lead them to the girl?” Ashley wondered.
“Good question.” Alex frowned then raised his brow at her. “Wanna help me search through a few phone records and see if we can’t figure out if someone on the inside was feeding them information?”
She looked at her watch. Only another ten hours to Bangkok. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Andrew stood over the cowering form of the young blonde girl. One of Brandon’s henchmen, Cho, went to kick the girl, but Andrew held up his hand.
“Leave her,” he said sharply in Cantonese. Cho looked to Brandon before bowing to him and walking away.
“I promised she’d be unharmed.” He shot his cousin a look.
Brandon shrugged.
Andrew cleared his throat. “How old is she?”
“Thirteen. She worked for us for a couple of years. She says she didn’t tell them anything, and I believe her.” His smile told Andrew he hadn’t just asked her. Torture was one of Brandon’s specialties. “But we aren’t in the States anymore so it doesn’t matter what they know.”
There was a good chance the feds knew their identities now. His uncle had sacrificed their anonymity in order to get Jenny back. They’d have to burrow so deep they’d barely see daylight. The only advantages they had were lots of money, a fiercely loyal crew, and they owned land all over Southeast Asia under various guises.
Lily entered the room and placed a tray of food on the coffee table. He watched his cousin’s eyes slide over her, and the light bulb went off. Brandon had known he’d had a thing for the young woman. Had Brandon told his father Andrew had managed to get her into bed?
He hadn’t wanted Lily to accompany them on this journey. He’d wanted her sent home. But his uncle had insisted.
“Where did we get the girl from?” He spoke in Cantonese, and the words rasped in his throat. Being confronted by the grim human reality of their criminal enterprise was different than posting pictures of smiling nubile young women on the internet and funneling the money into safe hiding places. Suddenly his heart pounded, and his skin burned. If his parents were alive, they’d be so ashamed of him.
“We didn’t steal the brat if that’s what you’re thinking.” Brandon spoke with his mouth full of apple. “Her mother gave her to us to pay off a gambling debt.”
Andrew tried not to be aware of Lily leaving the room, but he was. He could feel her presence like a ghost in his mind. Or maybe that was his conscience.
He looked out the porthole. They were on a large boat in the middle of the Andaman Sea. Jenny was winging her way to them as they spoke.
The door opened, and his uncle appeared. He and Brandon both bowed low. The old man hobbled into the room using a cane, clasped his son to his chest, and closed his eyes. Andrew had never seen him more grateful.
Yu Chang looked toward Andrew. “You have done well, Nephew.” Then he stepped away from Brandon and pulled out his knife. Andrew stood frozen as Yu Chang grabbed the terrified girl by the hair and pulled her head back, exposing her throat. Andrew watched the old man’s hand tighten on the hilt.
“Stop!” Andrew cried out.
The old man turned as if startled.
“Jenny said that if the girl wasn’t released safely she’d disappear forever. I gave her my word the girl would be unharmed, Uncle.” He bowed low, knowing the man could easily turn the knife on him instead.
Yu Chang paused and breathed deeply in and out through his nose. Then his expression calmed.
Andrew hoped it was safe to go on. “Jenny wants us to release the girl as soon as she gets to the villa.”
His uncle’s gaze drifted to the shoreline. They’d all almost died here. Yu Chang’s manservant had drowned, and Yu Chang had been gravely injured.
I wish he’d died…
Andrew banished the thought and glanced away. He’d never imagined he’d want to betray the only family he had left.
What about Jenny?
She’d abandoned him to this life. What the hell had she expected?
“I will honor your promise, Andrew.” Yu Chang’s lips curved, but there was no smile in his eyes. “But if she escapes or Jenny doesn’t come, I will take payment from your pretty little whore.”
Andrew froze. That’s why he’d brought Lily with them. His uncle didn’t trust him—not when it came to choosing between Yu Chang and his sister. Andrew wanted to scream that Lily wasn’t a whore and to leave her the hel
l alone, but if he did that, they were both dead. Instead he did what he always did. He bowed. “Yes, Uncle.”
* * *
“This can’t be good.” Lucas stared out the window as a group of Army vehicles surrounded the private jet on the small airfield just outside Phuket. “They friends of yours?”
Alex shook his head. “Nope. Give me your weapons.”
Lucas and Ashley both handed over their government issued pistols and watched Alex place them in the safe along with his own firearm, a M1911. He placed his and Ashley’s personal laptop inside too.
“Combination is clockwise seven, three, two, counterclockwise six, four, clockwise one. Let’s not make it easy for anyone to find a reason to arrest us.”
“What can I do?” Ashley asked.
She’d dressed in tactical gear and looked sexy and capable. Considering her life and her career were on the line, he didn’t know how she did it. “Put your vest on. Make sure your creds are visible.” His were on his belt, the gold shield gleaming in the hot Thai sun.
Lucas called Frazer, but carried on talking while waiting for the other man to pick up.
“Grab your work laptop, put on your sternest FBI face. Any government official getting paid off by a criminal gang might think twice before taking us on in our official capacities.”
“Do we? Have official clearance?” she asked.
But he didn’t answer. Frazer was on the line. The man had called in favors from just about everyone he knew, and he knew a lot of people. He repeated the facts to the others. “Frazer says the FBI Director authorized this mission just before we entered Thai airspace, but they’re waiting for the Thai government to green light our stay.”
The Thai army was pushing steps toward the aircraft door. Thirty seconds later they were hammering on it, demanding entry.
“I have to let them in before they start battering down the door and destroy our exit strategy.” Alex eyed them both critically. “Stay calm. Say nothing except we are here on official business, following a viable lead looking for a kidnapped US citizen. It might take time for the green light to filter down the ranks. Don’t mention anything else. Either they let us go immediately or we’ll wait for someone from the embassy to turn up. We’ll regroup here as soon as we’re released.”
Cold Secrets (Cold Justice Book 7) Page 29