Outside the main area were additional tents used for temporary housing and food distribution. The volunteers and employees all were assigned individual sleeping areas in larger shared tents. The sound of the shots and the resulting chaos came from that area. Children crying. Men yelling. Women acting as shields as they gathered their families close. Members of his team just standing there, looking lost.
Memories flooded him. That night eight years ago. Different screams. Different people. Different panic.
Finn stepped in front of him. His hand slipped up Justin’s arm as he spoke. “Justin, we need to calm everyone down until we can figure out what’s happening.”
Right, of course. Justin shook off the nightmare and focused. He didn’t wait or think it through. He reached for the closest person and pushed them toward a tent. “Everyone inside and get down.”
“In here.” Finn directed a few people to tents. Two went into Justin’s then slipped out again to find another place to hide.
Crack, crack.
The banging of gunfire sounded muffled, making it likely it came from outside the camp. Justin was accustomed to being shot at, so he knew they had some time, but not much. Morocco limited the organization’s possession of weapons to bodyguards and security personnel. Justin had a waiver, but his gun sat in his safe, which didn’t do a damn thing for him now.
He scanned the distance, watching for signs that the fence surrounding the camp had been breached. His gaze kept returning to the darkened section. The only thing kept there was the food supply for the camp. That could mean desperate people were searching out food…or it could mean that was the easiest place to breach because there were no living quarters right there.
He turned, looking for Finn, and found him kneeling in the dirt, talking to a young boy who couldn’t be more than six or seven. Justin couldn’t really make out the words, but whatever Finn said made the kid stop crying.
Glass shattered in the distance. That closing-in sensation hit Justin. He needed to get to the command tent. He had a responsibility to the people here and to Finn. “We need to—”
A woman stepped out of the shadowed side of his tent. “Why are you out here?” she demanded.
Justin had seen her following Finn around earlier. Part of his brain registered that she belonged by Finn’s side, but his instincts took over. A danger sign flashed in his brain and he lunged for her. More specifically, for the gun she carried.
A hundred things entered his consciousness at the same time. She lifted the weapon. A man tugged the little boy back and into a nearby tent. And at the last second, Finn stepped into his direct path.
Justin crashed into Finn, nearly taking them both down.
Finn grabbed onto Justin’s arms and his fingers dug in. “Stop.”
The word slammed into him but the energy inside him kept revving, adrenaline surging. It took all of his control not to shake off Finn’s hold and continue barreling toward the possible threat.
Finn shook him. “Justin, no!”
The scene didn’t faze the woman one bit. Her gaze traveled over the camp, hesitating only when it landed on someone still roaming around. Every time it did, all it took was one stare to get the person scurrying in the opposite direction.
She might be short but she was fierce. The gun she held was no joke either. A Russian assault rifle capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute. And from the way she handled it, Justin knew she’d been trained and wouldn’t hesitate to use it, if needed.
She motioned toward his tent. “Back inside.”
“Rania, this is Justin.” Finn kept his voice low as he followed her instructions and opened the tent door. “One of my bodyguards.”
Justin followed because it seemed easier to get answers while inside the tent, but he had no intention of staying there. He had obligations. “What’s going on out there?”
“Fighting.”
He liked her style. “Could you be more specific?”
She looked around the inside of the tent. Her gaze stopped on the safe then continued until she looked at the men again. “It’s not coming from near the camp, not inside.”
Finn glanced at Justin. “Is this kind of thing a frequent occurrence?”
“It’s getting more so, unfortunately.” Tempers got heated. Fear and desperation caused people to take chances, and the security forces stationed here did not tolerate much. “I need to head back to the—”
“You’ll stay in here. Both of you.”
The sharp sound of her order stopped Justin from moving. He understood her position. She had a duty to Finn, but that didn’t mean her orders extended to him. “You do realize I’m in charge of this camp? I need to make sure my people and those we help are safe.”
She pointed at Finn. “He is my responsibility, and since I sense he’ll go wherever you do—”
“With my luck, yeah.” Justin might like her, but she was still getting in his way, which he did not appreciate. “Look—”
She continued her staring contest with Justin. “Then you stay.”
He could push it, but he wasn’t in the mood to battle Finn and Rania at the same time. She had a job to do. And he could get to his, as soon as she had some reassurance that Finn was safe.
“Fine.” Justin lifted his hands, surrendering to the inevitable…at least for now.
“Where’s Karim?” Finn asked.
“He wanted a closer look.” She glared at both of them a little longer before speaking again. “Stay here.”
She stepped outside the tent. Justin could hear her walking around in front of the door, so he knew she didn’t go far. Didn’t intend to. That made dashing out of there harder, but he planned to do that as soon as possible.
He picked up his two-way radio and talked first with Oliver, who was calm and practical as always. Next came his staff in the command tent, and then the people out working with the volunteers around the camp.
He sent out an emergency signal and insisted they all check in. As each person responded with their name and emergency code the tension across his shoulders eased. One by one the voices came on the line until everyone was accounted for. He hoped those they were trying to serve were faring as well in whatever was happening out there.
He stalked over to the safe and opened the door, threw the remaining contents on the bed and reached for his gun. He had it loaded and in his hand in two seconds. That’s when it registered he was being stared at. Finn had been watching every move without saying a word. If he intended to give a lecture about guns, Justin was fully prepared to argue right back.
Finn exhaled. “Not your usual night, I guess.”
Not what Justin expected, but okay. “Is it yours?”
“People don’t tend to shoot at me in my office in Germany.” Finn sat on the edge of the bed again.
“Must be nice.” Justin had no idea what that felt like. Some days it seemed as if he’d spent his entire adult life being shot at.
“You’re back to being prickly.”
“That’s not a word I hear that often. You know, from adults.” Oliver tended to be much more graphic, even if he sometimes used bullshit British terms Justin didn’t recognize. He’d long ago stopped having to look them up to figure out when Oliver thought he was acting like an ass.
“You were fine with me a second ago, now you’re back to being a dick. To be fair, you’re on the borderline, but I sense you’re about to get worse.”
“Fair enough.” Justin sat down in the chair across from the bed. Being close to Finn a few minutes ago had almost led to a really piss-poor decision. Hell, he’d been two seconds away from wrapping his hand around the back of the guy’s neck and kissing him, before the gunfire started.
Bisexual. Shit, he had never even considered that before, which made him a jackass. He’d assumed Finn was straight and off-limit
s. Alec had basically said exactly that back then and Justin ran with it. He was still processing the new information and what it meant, if anything. Being interested in men didn’t automatically make Finn interested in him.
Even if he were, it wasn’t a smart decision. Hot quick sex with the boss struck Justin as a surefire way to loop back into his fantasies and get stuck there. No, it was better to assume Finn sucked at sex and never cross that line.
“You okay?” Finn asked.
When Justin glanced up he saw Finn staring at him with a concerned look. “I don’t like it when I’m not in control.”
“Who does?”
Good fucking question. Justin was about to point that out when the door opened again. No warning. He had his gun up and ready when Rania walked back into the tent.
She pointed at the weapon in a silent command that said lower that now. “It looks like a few of the Royal Army guys thought they saw movement in the neutral zone. They started firing and managed to kill two goats.”
“It sounded like there was return gunfire.”
Finn wasn’t wrong, but Justin couldn’t help but wonder how he knew that. “Is that possible?”
Rania didn’t show any sign of agreeing or disagreeing. “Kamir thinks one group of soldiers fired and another fired in defense, not knowing they were all shooting at grazing animals.”
“That’s not exactly inspiring,” Finn pointed out.
“No one wants an incident. It’s better to be careful than sloppy.” Rania glanced at Justin’s weapon again. “Still, we want you to wait here for a few minutes, until Kamir is sure it’s not a diversion.”
She focused on Justin. “Do you know how to use that?”
He decided not to be offended, since there was no way she could know about his sharpshooter status or what he’d done in the army—until he couldn’t stomach doing it anymore. “I do.”
“Fine, I’ll hold up here.” Finn looked at Justin. “Wait, is that fine?”
Fuck no. Between the unspent adrenaline and the new information about Finn’s sexuality, Justin felt anything but fine. Off-balance and more than a little confused, yes. Over-the-top attracted, definitely. More convinced than ever that Finn needed to leave the country right now—hell, yes.
But Justin agreed, because not agreeing would be a pretty clear sign he’d lost control of the situation. “Sure.”
Rania nodded then left the tent again. She moved without any sound, didn’t blink at ordering men around who weighed at least fifty pounds more than she did. Damn, he was impressed.
Finn reached for the forgotten paperwork. “I can burn through some time by reviewing those.”
“Oh, right.” Justin really wanted Finn off his bed. He wouldn’t imagine what was going to happen during his dream sleep tonight as a result of seeing Finn in his private quarters. But he didn’t mention that. He shouldn’t say anything else. Just relax and enjoy the quiet, but…“One question.”
“Ask.” Finn didn’t bother looking up from his reading.
“Why did Alec really send you?”
It was as if Finn’s body froze. For a second it seemed like he even was holding his breath. Then he dropped the papers on his lap and glanced up. “I asked to come. It’s my intention to take over Drummond’s charitable division. Expand it where possible. Streamline it where needed.”
Justin hated every part of that. “So, you’re assessing me and the operation here.”
“I don’t have any problem with you, Justin. I have questions and there are things we need to talk about—”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“—and the missing shipments are a concern, but your actions and leadership are not under review.”
Justin sat there for a second, trying to read between the words. Come up with a different meaning. “Feels like it.”
“Because you’re a paranoid son of a bitch.”
Justin couldn’t really deny that part. “So?”
“The real question is why you have such a big problem with me.”
Alarm bells starting ringing in Justin’s head. There was no way Finn knew about the attraction or what happened after they first met. How he’d tried in vain to use Alec as a substitute after he figured out he couldn’t have Finn…or thought he couldn’t. Alec and Finn were close, but Justin doubted Alec told Finn about the sex.
Finn’s face, the body and that mouth would have most people looking twice. He was striking by any measure. A strange sort of charm pulsed off him. But this was more than simple attraction.
Justin had seen a healthy share of good-looking men. He’d had sex with some of them. Others he admired from afar. What he felt for Finn—this need to know more, to want to study him, the inability to stop thinking about him—bordered on unhealthy obsession. Like some sick trick played on him by the universe.
He didn’t want to date. He shouldn’t want Finn at all. Period.
To regain control, he did what he always did. Took the truth about Finn and the attraction and surge of need that spun through him whenever he saw or even thought about Finn and pushed it down deep. Buried it under a heap of bubbling, but likely unfair, hostility. “I told you. The entitlement thing.”
“I don’t think so.”
Son of a bitch. Justin shifted in his chair. The damn thing suddenly felt too small and very uncomfortable. He could have sworn the metal bar for the armrest was digging into his side. “No offense, but you don’t know everything.”
“No offense to you, Justin, but you’re not as hard to read as you think.”
This was not good. Justin could feel the ground drop out from under him. He tried to find the right words to say to stop this barreling train but couldn’t come up with anything. “Meaning?”
Finn stared at him. Didn’t say a word for what felt like forever, then visibly swallowed. “It’s best I remember I’m your boss.”
“I don’t think of you that way.”
Well, damn. How had that slipped out? Justin wanted to kick his own ass.
Finn shrugged. “You’ve made that clear.”
“No, I mean…” He should stop. Turn back. Justin tried to put the brakes on, tried to call up all that unreasonable hate he’d convinced himself he had for Finn…but it crumbled away before he could grab onto it. “When I think about you it’s not in a work context.”
Finn didn’t blink. “What context is it in?”
Justin didn’t hear the door or the footsteps. He didn’t even notice they weren’t alone until Rania stopped between them. “We’re clear but I can come back later.”
He wanted to shout for her to go away. Well, part of him did. The smarter part wanted to get up and leave. No matter that they were in his private tent.
Silence choked the small space. No one moved. The only sound came from Rania tapping her fingers against her gun.
Finally, Finn stood up. “No. It’s fine. I need to get settled.”
“Where?” Justin tried to act casual. Of course he needed to know where his boss was staying. He wasn’t even sure he had Finn’s phone number to easily reach him. The question was logical, expected even.
“A riad in Fnideq. Sort of a villa, actually.”
That sounded more permanent than hotel of some sort. And Fnideq was a town in northern Morocco on the Mediterranean coast, very close to the camp and to Ceuta. “Does that mean you’re planning on staying in country?”
Finn stared him down. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Well, shit.
Chapter 6
They managed to avoid each other for an entire day. Finn decided that was the smart move. He toured the camp with Oliver. Met some of the volunteers and reported back to Alec. On his path from here to there he saw Justin several times. Somewhere along the line they’d silently agreed to be civil, if not friendly. Definitely not fli
rty. They nodded hello but little else.
That reprieve lasted exactly thirty hours. This morning his schedule was a Justin-filled nightmare.
Finn had thought about the information contained in Justin’s report. On his own, using intel gathered by a team back at the office, he also studied the transportation routes and reread all of Justin’s emails to Alec.
They had a big fucking problem. Finn couldn’t directly tie the missing supplies—important items like food and medicine—to the appearance of weapons nearby, but it was impossible to ignore the hint of a connection. Alec had been furious during their video call but his anger was nothing compared to Finn’s. The idea of arming rebels, or anyone, at the expense of innocent people who needed help filled him with a killing rage.
Their father had knowingly played games like this. Bargained with other people’s lives by always putting his needs and the business first. Drummond senior and his brother had skirted the rules when they ran the business, used the company accounts like a wallet. They could be bought and sold to the highest bidder.
Alec stopped all of that bullshit, almost getting himself killed by their uncle in the process. None of the brothers forgot how close the company had come to complete destruction—both financially and legally. But Alec didn’t risk jobs and lives the way the last generation did. He invested in people and new technologies. He made a commitment to charity.
Finn admired and supported all of it, and the idea of someone or a group of people threatening that progress made him want to hunt them down. He couldn’t really do that, but he could investigate. Quietly and carefully.
That was the plan for today. There were so many points where the supply chain could break down—in transit, at the checkpoints, with volunteers, even with people back at headquarters. Someone was playing games and Finn vowed to find out who. And that meant spending hours with Justin.
Finn watched Justin now. Today he wore black jeans and an untucked blue chambray shirt. He managed to make the outfit look far sexier than it should have been.
Dirty Games Page 5