He wasn’t sure he wanted her to win this test of wills. This was Holly—who knew what the penalty might be. Probably something he’d like, he realized.
I can live with that.
He forced himself to wait for her to come to him. Not touch. Not kiss. Just. Wait. Then she was on top of him. Thigh against thigh. Chest against chest. Skin against skin. She stared into his eyes, and the energy between them shifted. Time slowed.
“Tell me how you feel,” she whispered.
Under the circumstances, he knew what she expected. Something erotic. Sexy. But how he felt about her encompassed more than the physical. She hadn’t just aroused his body, she’d brought his heart back to life.
And now, he was going to give her the chance to break it.
He stroked her cheek. “I don’t want this to be a one-night-stand. I want you now. Tomorrow. Next week and the week after.”
“Can’t we just have this and not worry about the future?” She leaned into his touch, her blue eyes staring into him, pleading with him to understand.
Not what he wanted, but he couldn’t walk away if he tried, not from Holly Milano. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Worth it,” he said, planting tiny kisses along her cheeks, her nose, and the line of her jaw until he found her mouth.
He brushed his lips against hers, savoring their softness. She groaned against him and he kissed her again.
She hesitated as the energy shifted back to erotic, and she returned the kiss, eager and ready.
He wasn’t going to wait any longer. “I want you,” he said, hands on her hips as he pressed against her.
“Condoms are in the side table,” she said. “Top drawer.”
Still kissing her, he reached for the table, pulled the drawer open and felt around until the found a square packet. He tore it open. He’d waited long enough.
“Let me,” Holly said, taking the plastic packet from him, she removed the condom and slid it over him. Her touch made him shudder. Shiver.
So close.
He gritted his teeth and clenched the sheets in his fists, desperate to maintain control.
She shifted, and he was inside her. She was as warm and wet as he remembered, and it took all of his willpower to not lose himself. She rocked against him, and he knew he had to slow her down.
Holding her against him and careful to not crush her ribs, he sat up so she was in his lap. “Wrap your legs around me.”
She did, surprising him with the easy compliance.
“Make me yours,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck as she ground her pelvis against him. “Just for today.”
There was no stopping. No hesitation. Kane held her as he pulled out then thrust into her. She followed his lead, and the world around them fell away as he lost himself in the touch of her hands and the scent of her hair.
She buried her head in his neck and whimpered, her nails digging into his shoulder. She tightened around him. So close. He gritted his teeth.
Her nails dug deeper, and she arched backward, crying out and shaking in his arms.
He wanted to wait. To freeze the moment.
Even as the desire crossed his thoughts, he let himself join her.
…
“Are you going to tell me what this team you get to pick is going to do?” Holly traced the jagged skin that ran from his thigh to his hip. After the love, the morning had been relaxed and lingering, but thirty minutes ago, she’d made coffee, and the caffeine was taking hold.
“Not much to tell,” Kane said, his voice muffled by the pillow.
He didn’t drink coffee. A defect in character as far as she was concerned, but one she could overlook.
She bit his left butt cheek to wake him up. He flinched but remained face down. “We can talk later. I’ll get a briefing together and everything, if you let me take a nap.”
“Nope. Now,” she insisted, pushing his shoulder in an attempt to force him onto his back. Most people slept after sex. She wanted to run a marathon or clean the house. Anything to burn her excess energy.
He didn’t budge. “You weigh a ton.”
“Liar.”
With a sigh of resignation, he turned over, hands under his head. “You win. What do you want to know?”
“What’s the plan?”
He closed his eyes. “Fairly straightforward. We talk to Mira again, and she’s thinks that Tammi Lynn has the stone.”
“What makes her so sure?”
“She had the necklace, and according to Mira, she isn’t as dumb as she looks.” Holly knew all too well that things, and people, weren’t always as they seemed.
“How do we make her hand it over?” She ran a nail down his sternum down to his bellybutton and back up again.
“Tempe called her, told her we had the laser, and offered to partner up. She hopped on the first plane to L.A. Once she arrives, we force her to hand it over. Assuming this isn’t all a giant scam.” He grabbed her hand. “Stop that. It tickles.”
“What happens when we get the chip?” she asked, yanking her hand away and not stopping.
“Give it back to the government.”
“If she refuses?”
“Turn everyone involved into the authorities. Either scenario seems to work for Tempe.”
Easy enough. She snuggled against his side and drew expanding circles on his skin, starting at his hip and stopping when she got to the point where the massive scar began.
“How did you get this?” she asked.
“The field. You know how that can be.”
She didn’t but wasn’t going to correct him. Being a thief involved its share of taking chances, but it was more controlled than being in the field and retrieving kidnapped victims. Being in “the field” was exotic. Dangerous. And paid a hell of a lot more than breaking into buildings and vaults.
There was also a larger chance of getting killed. Plus, she’d be out of contact with her family for months at a time, and as much as she loved adventure, she loved her family more, and her mother would have a conniption if she couldn’t reach her daughter for more than a week.
“Where were you?” she asked, raking a nail down his thighs. “South America? The Middle East?”
He caught her hand and kissed it. “Chicago.”
She gave a nod and tweaked a nipple, making his breath hiss between his teeth. “Sensitive?” she asked, feigning innocence.
His right brow shot up, seeing through the weak subterfuge.
She returned to the scar. “Sounds exciting. You know, windy city and what not.”
He hesitated, and she snuck a glance. His mouth wasn’t turned up in laughter. Instead, his lips were pressed tight.
She’d struck a nerve. Unintentional, but a nerve all the same. Whatever had happened in Chicago wasn’t something he wanted to discuss. She reached up and touched his mouth, trying to smooth the tension. “I’m sorry. Just ignore me.”
Instead, he pulled her into his arms and held her. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said.
She didn’t meet his gaze again. There wasn’t any need. The pain in his voice told her everything she needed to know. “Did you lose the client?”
“No.” He stroked her hair. “Not the client.”
An agent then. She squeezed him. “Sorry.”
“Me too,” he kissed the top of her head. “She saved my life. Saved my leg. And was killed for her trouble.” He swallowed hard, and she knew there was more, and whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it.
Kane continued, “She was also my lover.”
The confession didn’t take her breath away—it opened a Pandora’s box of questions. She centered on the one that seemed to matter most. “Did you love her?”
He nodded, his gray eyes dark with the memories of a love gone wrong. “I did. And I thought she loved me, but I found out she slept with another agent.”
“Like me and Bravo,”
Holly whispered, dreading where the conversation was headed.
“No. Not like that.” He stroked her hair. “Who you slept with, who you loved before me is just that—before me. It doesn’t matter.”
She believed him. His eyes were still angry, but his mouth smiled at her, and it wasn’t superficial. She let herself relax in his arms. He didn’t care. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“There isn’t much to say. We were both angry and not thinking straight. She accepted a job she had no business taking and got caught. I found out and tried to save her and failed.”
She kissed his bare skin. “I’m sorry for that, but I’m not sorry you’re here. Not at all. And I wish I could thank her for saving you.”
“Me, too.”
She couldn’t imagine the guilt that came with losing a friend and teammate. And lover.
Worse, there was nothing she could do about it. No way to fix the scars he carried on his skin or in his thoughts. “Kane? I—”
The theme song to Mission Impossible emerged from his pocket.
“That’s Tempe,” Kane said, reaching for his pants in a heap on the floor. Digging out his phone, he held up a finger for silence.
She reached out to tickle him, but he waved her away. One didn’t need to be a psychic to know something was wrong.
She waited, listening to the one sided-monosyllabic conversation.
After what felt like hours, he rose. “On my way,” he said. Grabbing Holly’s jeans, he handed them to her.
“The Pascuas have kidnapped Mira Burke.”
She grabbed a shirt and slipped it on. “How? Wasn’t someone watching her?”
“Only from the street. It’s a big damned house, and apparently, she wouldn’t let our people in.”
There was no fixing stupid, Holly thought with a sigh. “What is wrong with her? Doesn’t she realize her life is in danger?”
Kane’s phone buzzed, and he turned it on. He frowned and handed it to Holly. The text was open. Tempe had sent them a photo. It was grainy but legible. It showed two men had Mira by the arms, leading her to a car.
The man on the left was unknown. The one on the right was Enzo.
“I think she does now,” Kane replied.
…
“Do they really think that kidnapping is the way to go?” Holly asked, taking a seat in Tempe’s office.
Kane had briefed her on what little Tempe had told him on the drive over. Instead of handing over the chip to Tempe, Tammi Lynn had sold it to the Corsicans, but they needed the laser and were willing to trade Mira for it.
“They’re the mob,” Tempe said. “I’m fairly sure they think they can do whatever they want.”
“Do you think she’s still alive?” Holly asked.
Tempe’s grip tightened on the key fob. “She better be if they want to make the exchange.”
Holly hoped the V.P. was right. She was rarely wrong, but she’d never seen her this agitated.
“There was no way you could have prevented this,” Kane said. “If Mira had the laser, the Corsicans would have both items, and we’d all be screwed. You saved lives by taking it.”
Tempe didn’t stop moving. “I know. I don’t like being caught unawares.” She stopped long enough to glare at the pen in her hand then restarted her stride across the room and back again. “What the hell is on that chip?”
“Whatever it is, we can’t let them have it,” Kane said. He was all business now, and Holly appreciated the distinct line between his modes. Granted, working Kane was a bit of a bore, but he knew his job—and that kept her alive and out of jail.
“Agreed,” Tempe said, taking a seat at her desk.
“So, what’s next?” Holly asked.
Tempe continued. “The good news is that I was able to talk them into meeting in a public space.”
Better than in a dark alley, Holly supposed.
Tempe leaned back. “The bad news is we’re dealing with the mob. I think we’re all aware of how serious they can be.”
Kidnapping Mira. Trying to kill her and Kane.
Oh yeah, they knew how serious the Corsicans were, as long as by serious Tempe meant lethal and psychopathic. “When does the exchange happen?” Holly asked, hoping they’d at least have time to come up with some kind of plan.
“Three hours.”
Kane straightened at the news. “Three hours? You can’t be serious.”
That gave them little to no time to make a plan, free Mira, and steal back the chip. It seemed that the Corsicans weren’t idiots—contrary to what the movies would have one believe.
“Not much choice.”
Kane shook his head. “That’s not enough time. Can we stall? Tell them we don’t have the laser but that we can get it?”
Tempe gave him a sympathetic look. “We can wait, but they threatened to start cutting off her fingers, and I don’t think that’s something we can live with.”
“Dammit.” Kane groaned and rubbed his chin. “At least tell me you picked a place we can control.”
“Control?” Her mouth thinned as exasperation replaced sympathy. “There is no control. Just be glad I refused to meet them at the mall.”
“Understood,” Kane replied.
“Small favors,” Holly said. The mall was a maze of stores and places to hide. She didn’t want to have to check racks of clothes for a sniper while they bargained for Mira. “So, where is the exchange being made?”
Tempe tapped a remote, activating the overhead projector connected to her computer. Holly swiveled the chair around. A satellite view of L.A. shone on the wall.
She followed Tempe’s pointer as it made its way across the screen. Over the reservoir. Past the infamous Hollywood sign and Griffith Park.
It stopped on Griffith Observatory.
Her stomach dropped. It was more than public. It was a historic landmark that brought in millions of people a year to use the public telescopes, stargaze, and even take sunset nature walks.
People that would be put in danger if the Corsicans didn’t behave.
“You can’t be serious,” Kane said.
From the incredulous look on his face, his thoughts were on the same track as hers.
“I am,” Tempe said. Coming around the desk, she walked to the screen and tapped an icon on the bottom. The picture flipped sideways, giving them a 3D view of the structure and surrounding landscape.
Holly’s worry deepened. Set on top of a mountain, the observatory dominated the site. The sheer walls were scalable, but unless it was dark, there was no way she could blend with the white stucco sides.
“It’s a weekday, so it will have fewer people—”
“Still, civilians,” Kane said.” Lots of them.”
“—and I have a diversion planned.” Tempe finished. “They’re not stupid. They’re not going to shoot me when there’s hundreds of tourists around.”
“Let’s say this works,” Kane countered. “That we get Mira, and they take the laser. Can we afford to let them have access to that kind of information?”
“No,” Tempe tapped her pencil on the desk. “That’s why Holly is going to go to their hotel and rob them while I make the exchange. Once we recover the crystal and give it back to the government, their laser won’t matter anymore.”
Holly straightened. B&E was exciting, she’d been looking forward to giving Lucien and Enzo a little payback. “What makes you think they’ll have the chip in the room? Why not bring it with them to verify that it works?”
“I don’t think that they will,” Tempe said. “But if they are foolish enough to put both together in my presence, I’ll take them down. Still, we have to cover both scenarios. If this chip contains what Mira said it does, we can’t let them have it.” She faced Holly, hands clasped in front of her on the desk. “Which is why I need you to do what you do best—breaking and entering.”
There was no arguing that it was her primary skillset. It was a pity she wouldn’t get to see Lucien’s expression when he retur
ned to an empty safe, but it would be almost as good to know she’d thwarted him and his son. Almost. “Do we know where they’re staying?”
“The L.A. Live, Marriott side. Chairman Suite. Plus the rooms next door.”
“How about above or below?” Holly asked.
Tempe raised a brow. “Nothing useful below. The only thing above them is the roof.”
“Not as prepared as they thought, are they?” Holly said with a snicker. No one ever thought that someone might be crazy enough to try and break into a penthouse from the outside.
“This is the mob,” Kane cautioned her. “Not some mark that has no clue we’re going to break in. It doesn’t matter that it’s in a hotel. It’s going to be guarded, and they will be waiting for you. For us. And while it might be sunset, it will still be light enough for anyone to see you. Including anyone waiting in the room.”
He was the best kind of Boy Scout—the kind that could do anything from make a fire to prepare and execute the robbery of a guarded penthouse suite.
But she had diversion plans of her own. “They won’t see me,” Holly said. “No one will. They’ll be too busy.”
“Doing what?”
She smiled. “Watching their very own circus, of course.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Kane drove while Holly talked to her mother on her cell, multitasking, since time was running out. With L.A. traffic, it could take them over an hour to get to the downtown hotel. Kane could cut that down by half.
“I appreciate it. Nothing fancy. I need people to be watching you,” she said into the phone, her free hand tracing absentminded circles on his thigh as she spoke.
She hesitated. “You don’t want to know. Trust me,” and hung up. “They’ll be poolside in an hour.”
“Can they get there that fast?”
“You’ve never seen my mom drive. Or the rest of the family. Santos is a maniac on wheels, and the Boreckyis drive their minivan like it’s a Porsche.”
“What do they all do?”
“Acrobats. Fire-eaters. Contortionists. A little bit of everything. Dog tricks. They don’t even need equipment.” She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, her fingers splayed wide on his leg.
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