by Julia Sykes
He smiled. “Good. Because I’d have to spank your arse if you tried.”
I laughed. “What does a girl have to do to get a spanking, then?”
His brows rose. “Are you asking me to punish you, pet?”
“No. Not punish me. I do want a spanking, though.”
He brushed a kiss across my forehead. “I like spankings too, love. I promise I’ll heat your arse up later. It does turn a very pretty shade of red under my hand.”
“Later?” I pouted.
“It’s getting late in the day. We need to meet with the lads and decide on our next move.” His jaw firmed. “If Abramovich thinks he can hurt you without getting burned, he’s sorely mistaken. I’m going to make him pay for what he’s done to you.”
“I thought we were moving past vendettas,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything in my power to bring him down. We’re going to do it right. It’s time Finlay and I share our intel with our boss. Maybe bring more agents in on this.”
“How does that affect my involvement?”
“I’ll have to keep your involvement off the books. You and Dex can still assist in the final bust.”
“Good. I might be past revenge, but I still don’t want to be cut out.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. You’ve earned a place on this op.”
I nodded my thanks. “I guess we should get dressed and talk to the guys, then. But I still want that spanking later.”
He gave me a sardonic smile. “Yes, Mistress.”
I slapped his bare chest. “Don’t tease.”
“You’d get bored if I didn’t. Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t walk all over me if I gave you half a chance.”
I laughed. “Touché.”
We shared one last, lingering kiss before heading out to meet Finlay and Dex. The Scotsman looked up from his laptop and greeted us with a broad smile.
“Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey.” He winked at me. “You’re a bit late for breakfast.”
I glanced out the apartment window at the setting sun. “Yeah, I guess I slept in.” My stomach rumbled.
“Worked up an appetite, did we?” Finlay smirked.
“Okay, I get it. You heard us. Now, please tell me you saved me some sausage.”
He jerked his chin in the direction of the tiny kitchen. “In the fridge. I know how much you love your sausage.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are you, twelve?”
He just laughed.
“If you’re quite finished, I’d like to talk to you,” Hugh said drily. “We need to bring the boss up to speed.”
Finlay sobered immediately. “I think it’s time, too.”
Hugh kissed the top of my head. “Make some for me, love. I did work up an appetite.”
“Sure,” I said, practically glowing with pleasure. The endearment now meant so much more to me than it had just a few hours before.
He loves me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this happy. Maybe I never had been. All the turmoil and pain of the night before seemed hazy and far off now. Dimitri didn’t have any power over me anymore. He didn’t own me, and he never would. Because I belonged to Hugh.
Dex followed me into the kitchen while the MI5 agents split off to call their boss.
“You look better,” he remarked.
I sighed happily. “I am. Much better.”
He touched my shoulder, calling my full attention to him. “I’m glad. You deserve to be happy.”
He seemed earnest, but something sad swirled in his pale eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, setting aside my task.
He let out a long exhale. “About the other day. When we were all… together.”
“When we fucked,” I clarified. “There’s no need to be shy about it, Dex.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m embarrassed about how I acted. At the end. I know I was a cold bastard. I want you to know it had nothing to do with you. You were really good to me. It meant a lot, what you did for me.”
I reached out and squeezed his hand. “It meant a lot that you did that for me.”
His brows drew together. “When you were taken last night, all I could think about was how I treated you after. I know I pulled away. And I think you know why.”
“It was too emotionally intimate for you,” I concluded softly.
He nodded. “Not in a romantic way,” he clarified. “I care about you, but not in that way. It’s just… I’m still pretty fucked up, Clara. I’m sorry if I hurt you when I left.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” I wrapped my arms around him, and he tentatively returned my hug. Then his arms tightened, holding me close.
“I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you. You’re the only one who understands… Well, anyway. I’m glad we’re bringing MI5 in. I won’t let Dimitri get another shot at you.”
“Thanks, Dex. For everything you’ve done for me. I know you could have ditched me at the very beginning. I was kind of a bitch.”
He pulled back with a shaky laugh. “Kind of?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“I think I needed someone to put me in my place, to be honest. I’ve been a bit of a dick lately.”
“Still, you didn’t deserve it from me. You’re a good friend.”
His ears turned pink. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“How are we coming on those sausages?” Hugh called from the next room.
“In a moment, dear,” I said in a saccharine-sweet tone. His low laugh rolled across the apartment to reach deep inside me, warming me at my core.
“Could you make me some too?” Dex asked.
“Haven’t you already eaten?” I held up a hand, forestalling his answer. “Never mind, caveman. I forget how big you are sometimes. I’m sure you could always do with another meal.”
He grinned and planted a swift kiss on my cheek. “Thanks, Clara.”
I set about cooking, humming as I heated the pan. My blissful mood was interrupted by the flat’s buzzer going off. I immediately turned off the hob and joined Hugh at the door.
“Does anyone know about this place?” I asked.
“Just MI5,” Finlay said from behind me. “And we would know if they were coming.”
Hugh answered the comm. “Yes?” He asked in a clipped tone.
“Um, hi. This is Alicia Camden. I need to talk to Clara Peterson.” A second of stunned silence passed. “I’m alone. Please let me up,” her voice trembled with nervousness.
“I’m coming down to get you.” Hugh turned to speak to me. “Finlay and I will go. You and Dex stay up here.”
I caught his arm. “No. Dimitri might be trying to get a clear shot at you. He said he would use me to get to you.”
“I’ll go with Finlay,” Dex offered.
“Okay,” Hugh agreed.
The two men headed out of the flat to retrieve Alicia.
“Do you really think she came alone?” I asked anxiously.
Hugh’s face was tight with worry. “She came to the club alone to find you. What concerns me is how she knew to find you here.”
“Do you think we were followed this morning after you picked me up?”
“I think they would have come for us sooner if they had followed us. Why wait until now?”
I didn’t have an answer. We waited in grim silence until Dex and Finlay returned, flanking a terrified Alicia. I realized Finlay had a gun pointed at the small of her back. I grabbed her arm and tugged her inside, positioning her body behind mine protectively.
“Put that away,” I ordered. “She’s not a threat. She really did come alone.”
Finlay eyed her critically. “She’s his creature, Clara. Don’t forget that.”
“She’s a woman,” I snapped. I softened and turned to her. “What are you doing here?”
Her hands clasped in front of her belly, her fingers twisting nervously. I reached out and touched her gently
, stilling the sign of her anxiety.
“It’s okay. Why did you want to see me?”
“I…” Her eyes darted to the men behind me. I took a step closer to her, putting my body firmly between her and them. “I want to help you,” she rasped.
“How?” I prompted. “Are you here to warn me to stay away again? Because I’ve already told you I can’t let Dimitri walk free. I can’t let him keep taking women.”
Alicia squared her shoulders. “I know. I can’t, either.”
“I don’t believe you,” Hugh said, his voice hard. “I think you’re here as a spy. If you think we’ll let you go back to him, you’re wrong.”
“I don’t want that,” she said, her tone high with distress. “I don’t want to go back to him.”
“You said you love him.” Hugh didn’t back down.
She looked at her feet. “I do,” she admitted. “But he hurts other women. I can’t bear it any more.”
“Let’s say I do believe you,” Hugh said slowly. “How did you know to find Clara here if Dimitri didn’t send you? How would he even know about this place?”
Her eyes fixed on a bruise on my upper arm. “He put a tracker in you.”
I frowned and rubbed at the bruise. I assumed I had gotten it when his henchmen manhandled me. Now I felt something hard and round move beneath my skin. He must have injected it after I passed out.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I need your knife, Hugh.”
“Wait,” he said. “We’re not cutting it out. Not until I know more about what’s going on.” He fixed Alicia with a stern stare. “If Dimitri didn’t send you here, how did you gain access to the tracker’s location?”
“One of the guards likes me,” Alicia said nervously. “I convinced him to tell me where I can find you. I told him I would… compensate him for the information.”
“You won’t have to worry about that,” I promised her. “You’re not going back there.”
She nodded, not looking me in the eye. “I want you to put a stop to it,” she said. “The human trafficking. I can’t sit by knowing what’s going on.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?” Finlay questioned.
Her cornflower blue eyes snapped to his with surprising heat. “He wants her,” she gestured toward me. “He’s mine, but he wants her. He betrayed me. I thought he loved me, after everything…” A single tear trailed down her cheek. She wiped it away.
“I’m sorry,” Finlay said, suddenly gentle. “I know your feelings for him must be very complicated. You’re brave to come here.”
Her beautiful features tightened. “I’ll tell you where to find him.”
“You’re doing the right thing, lass,” he said with respect. “Give us the address. Hugh and I will sort it out.”
“No! Agent Sullivan can’t go. Dimitri wants him dead. And Clara, you can’t go either. He’ll try to take you again.” Her lips firmed with anger.
“We can handle him,” I assured her. “He won’t see us coming.”
She shook her head wildly, her wide eyes pleading with me. “Please. Stay with me.”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Okay, Alicia. I’ll stay with you.” My stomach ached at the prospect of missing the chance to take down Dimitri personally, but it was no longer essential to my sanity. This damaged woman needed me more than I needed to kill the man who had hurt her. I trusted Hugh to handle it.
“But Hugh can take care of himself,” I continued. “He needs to go.”
I looked back at him. I need you to go, I silently willed him to understand. If I couldn’t be the one to take Dimitri out, I needed him to do it for me. No one would be more determined to get the job done.
“But you and I won’t be safe on our own,” she said desperately. “He knows where you are. He can find you here.”
“And that’s why I’ll stay right here until Hugh takes care of things,” I said rationally. “Dimitri won’t suspect we’re moving in on him if I’m still here.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Finlay announced. He was studying Alicia intently. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“But-” she protested.
“That’s final,” he declared, his voice deepening. Her mouth snapped closed. She was used to obeying orders. What had Dimitri done to her? My heart hurt just thinking about it.
“I’m coming with you,” Dex told Hugh. “I have a few things I want to say to this fucker before we take him in.”
Alicia frowned but didn’t say anything.
“Good,” Hugh said. “Now, what are we going to do about that tracker in Clara’s arm?”
“It might be reading her heat signature, so Dimitri will know if we cut it out,” Dex said. “I’ll call Sam and see what she can tell me about them. She’ll know what the best move is here.”
“All right,” Hugh agreed, turning his attention back to Alicia. “I’ll need that address from you, along with any details you can give me about the layout and the number of men we can expect to be guarding Dimitri.”
She nodded stiffly and began to spill her secrets.
* * * * *
“Everything will be okay, Alicia,” Finlay said in a low, soothing tone. “Come sit down.” He gestured at the chair across the kitchen table from him.
She did as she was told, perching on the edge of the seat. She began to rock back and forth. Her lower lip quivered.
“I know this must be hard for you,” he continued on smoothly. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Her edginess was making my own unease grow. I didn’t like the thought of Hugh out there, confronting Dimitri. What if he was killed? I didn’t think I could bear it. In a twisted way, I understood Alicia’s anxiety. She was also worried for the life of the man she loved.
I reminded myself Hugh had Special Branch and Dex to watch his back. He would be all right. Alicia’s lover wouldn’t fare so well. Frankly, I would be amazed if he made it out alive. Dimitri didn’t seem the type to come quietly if cornered. I didn’t think he was suicidal, but he would try to cause as much damage as possible before he was taken in.
“I’ll keep you safe,” Finlay continued to comfort Alicia.
She clutched her head in both hands, her fingers threading through her hair. “I wish you wouldn’t be so nice to me,” she mumbled.
“You deserve to be treated well,” he told her kindly. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
She glared at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Shut up! Just shut up!”
Apprehension teased at the corners of my mind. “There’s something you’re not telling us. What is it?”
Her face paled with dread. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I knelt beside her, gripping her shoulders and shaking her hard. “What are you sorry for? What have you done?”
“I failed. He’s going to be so mad.” Her entire body trembled. She glanced up at Finlay. “It’s not supposed to be you.”
I stood, hauling Alicia up with me. “We need to get out of here,” I told Finlay. “Something’s wrong. Pass me your knife. I need to cut this tracker out.”
He pulled his switchblade from his pocket and handed it to me.
The door burst open, the wood splintering as it broke around the lock. I flicked out the blade and pulled Alicia’s body in front of mine. I held the knife to her throat and prayed Dimitri actually gave a shit about her.
His large body filled the doorway, his handsome face twisted in a scowl. His dark eyes honed in on the knife at Alicia’s throat. Hope flickered in my chest when something close to fear rippled across his features.
“You are harder than I thought, Clara.” He spoke quietly, but his voice was tight with suppressed rage.
He stepped into the flat, Roman following on his heels. My fist tangled in Alicia’s hair, holding her tightly. My hand on the knife didn’t waver. Finlay was suddenly at my side, his gun drawn and aimed at Roman. The Russian had been reaching for his own weapon, but he stilled with a grimace.
“Don’t m
ove,” I warned. “Or I’ll cut her throat.”
Dimitri took another step forward. “You won’t really hurt an innocent.”
“She’s not innocent,” I countered. “She helped you set this little trap. How much will you hurt her for failing you? It’s supposed to be Hugh here with me, isn’t it?”
“I assure you, she will be punished accordingly. Now give her back to me.”
“I don’t think so,” I said steadily. “The second you have her back, you’ll kill us.”
He calmly reached into his pocket.
“Don’t.” I pressed the blade into Alicia’s skin, my stomach turning as I drew a bead of ruby blood.
A muscle ticked in Dimitri’s jaw, but he finished withdrawing his cell phone.
“If you don’t give her back to me unharmed, I make the call to blow up the warehouse your Agent Sullivan is searching right now.”
“I’ll kill her before you can give the order,” I threatened.
His thumb hovered over a button. It wasn’t a smart phone, which immediately struck me as odd. Then I realized it wasn’t actually meant to be used as a phone at all.
“This is a remote detonator,” he confirmed what I already suspected.
“You’re bluffing,” Finlay asserted.
“Was I bluffing last time?” he asked coolly. “I’m giving you three seconds. Three. Two.”
“Okay!” I shouted, shoving Alicia into his waiting arms.
He held her gently, turning her face in his hands to check for injuries. His eyes flashed when he studied the shallow cut on her neck. He turned the full force of his rage on me, and I took a step back. He raised the cell phone, his thumb hovering over the button.
“No!” My panicked shout mingled with the bang of Finlay’s gun going off.
Dimitri cried out and dropped the phone. He clutched a hand to his shoulder, and crimson instantly oozed through his fingers. Alicia shrieked in fury and reached for Roman’s gun, pulling it free from its holster. Finlay’s eyes widened, and he hesitated, unwilling to shoot her. His hesitation cost him dearly. She screamed out her rage and fired.
Finlay fell. He gasped in a pained breath. Blood darkened his white shirt, seeping out from a neat round hole in his chest.
I knelt down beside him, pressing my hand against the wound. He shouted in pain, and then his eyes fluttered closed.