by Taylor Lee
Grayson Webb entered Ian Ross’s spacious conference room and nodded to his boss. Taking in the group sitting at the conference table, Gray managed to keep from emitting a surprised whistle. He’d known that Ian wanted to brief him on his new mission, but he sure as hell hadn’t expected to see the group assembled at the table. Or one of them, at least.
“Thanks, Boss Man. Sorry I’m late. Had to grab a Chinook at Edwards Air Force Base and the guys took off late.”
Ian waved a dismissive hand and motioned to the empty seat across from him.
“Not a problem, Gray. I got your message. I’m just glad you could come on short notice.”
Grayson shrugged. “Hell, Col. Ross, tell me the last time any of your grunts refused a ‘request’ from the Master of the Universe, short notice or not.”
Ian’s lip twitched, but he held back an outright smile.
“I’ll accept your description of me only because we both know that the master—make that the mistress—of our respective universes is none other than Lt. Colonel Davis.”
Gray laughed as he circled the table and approached the stunning blond woman who was making an effort not to smile. Ignoring the woman’s formal nod, Gray reached for her hand and planted a noisy kiss on her palm. Refusing to let her pull away, he bowed low over her hand and met her frown with a starstruck gaze.
Calling Lt. Col. Riley Davis by her code name, he said, “Good morning, Diamond. Had I known that you were part of our upcoming gig, I would have flown the damn bird myself—and would have arrived on time.”
Ignoring the impressive woman’s attempt to free her hand, he uttered in an audible stage whisper, “No need to pretend you aren’t happy to see me—Madame Diamond. But we’ll, of course, discuss our mutual attraction later, in private.”
Diamond, the owner of the security organization known as LOTN, an acronym for the intriguing company called Ladies of the Night, laughed and shook her head as she tugged at her hand.
“Honestly, Agent Webb, I swear you get more outrageous every time I see you. Something I doubted was possible.”
Releasing her hand and then landing a quick kiss on her cheek, Gray grinned at her.
“Just as I didn’t know it was possible for you to be more beautiful, Madame.”
Grayson ran his gaze over her face and body, landing on her low-cut neckline. With a salacious wink, he added, “Or more inviting.”
Gratified by the pink that tinged Riley’s pale cheeks and obvious attempt to squelch her smile, Grayson squeezed her hand.
“No worries, my lovely Diamond. We’ll discuss our personal issues later over a glass of scotch. That is—if we can get rid of my boss. On second thought, given that his scotch is even more expensive than yours, perhaps we should include him, if for no other reason to take advantage of his 25-year-old Bowmore.”
Ian shook his head in mock dismay.
“I agree with Diamond, Gray. If you weren’t the crack agent that you are, and without a doubt one of the smartest men I know, I swear you’d never have made it onto my elite squad. But alas, regardless of your less than formal appearance and outrageous flirting, you are one of the three agents I go to when we have a particularly challenging mission.”
Ian glanced at the dark-haired woman sitting next to him and a rare frown darkened his expression.
“I don’t believe you’ve had the opportunity to meet Topaz, the newest agent in Col. Davis’ exclusive coterie of talented women. Women, I should add, who are as stunning as they are formidable.”
Ian put his hand on the shoulder of the woman sitting next to him, who was gazing impassively at Grayson.
“As you can see, Diamond has not lowered her standards.”
Gray chose not to answer. It wasn’t necessary to openly agree with his boss’s assessment. The woman sitting beside Ian was truly exquisite. Gray’d been bowled over when he first saw her at fellow agents Noah and Ruby’s engagement party. But then, how could he not be? The exotic woman could have been Zoe Saldano’s twin sister. If anything her features were even more striking than the famous actress’s. The genetic mastermind who’d created Topaz must have decided that one couldn’t have too many heritages and created a stunning rainbow of beauty that took Gray’s breath. A mix of black, Asian and Hispanic features made her beauty almost impossible to describe. Simply put, the dark-haired woman with the unusual features and elegant bearing was stunning. The cascade of shining black hair that fell in a glistening curtain across her shoulders and down her back begged for a man’s touch. Her full lips, high cheekbones and rosy glow that lit her warm brown skin were the stuff that famous cover girls would have envied. But it was her eyes that had captured Gray from the first time he saw her. They were an intoxicating shade of brown, flecked with green and gold highlights, similar to the bronze eyeshadow that set off her dark brows and lush lashes. Gray realized, with a start, that if he had to declare the color of her eyes, it would be Topaz, the code name that Diamond had christened her with.
“Gray, may I introduce Maya Taveras, aka Topaz.” Smiling at the somber young woman, Ian added, “Maya, this outrageous man, whom we call the ‘surfer dude’ for obvious reasons, is one of my three top agents. While you would never guess from his appearance, his behavior, or anything but his stellar job performance, former Colonel Webb is a storied veteran of the legendary Delta Seal Team Six. Given that that illustrious organization allowed, no, encouraged him to keep that mop of ragged hair, I felt it was the least I could do.”
The dark-haired beauty simply inclined her head slightly, acknowledging Ian’s introduction, but chose not to speak.
Gray sucked in a deep breath, wanting to appear as casual, as detached, as the woman who’d barely acknowledged his presence. The last thing he wanted to do was to give away the fact that not only had he met the stunning woman but that, to this day, he still agonized over the way that she had cut him off. To be specific, how she’d kicked him to the curb without a backward glance. Gray sniffed ruefully at the memory. It wasn’t as though his “charm” always worked. Hell, why should it? A guy couldn’t make it to home plate every time he swung the bat. But he admitted that he still rankled at the memory of her obvious disdain, primarily because he didn’t know when he had seen a more beautiful or a more alluring woman.
Forcing himself to smile, Gray said casually, “As a matter of fact, I did have the pleasure of meeting Ms. Taveras at Noah and Ruby’s engagement celebration. Regrettably, we barely had time to exchange more than names. In our brief encounter, however, I did learn that champagne is not one of the fair lady’s favorite drinks. Although, I suppose it could have been the server, not the libation that she turned her nose up at.”
Gratified at the glow that flushed Maya’s cheeks, Grayson shrugged in response to the quizzical gaze Ian gave him. He didn’t feel like explaining anything to his boss, much less to acknowledge the painful details of his too-brief first meeting with Maya. Instead, he moved to the open chair across from Ian and sat down.
Keeping his voice cool, unwilling to let Maya know exactly how much she had gotten to him, Gray addressed his questions to Ian.
“Okay, Boss Man, lay it on me. What do you and these two lovely women have in store for me?”
Ian hesitated then at Maya’s careful nod, took control of the conversation.
“Interestingly, Grayson, I am one of the instigators of this mission. I was grateful that Diamond, Col. Davis, was willing to let Ms. Taveras work with us. In fact, to step back a bit, it was at my behest, and after thoroughly vetting her, that Diamond agreed to invite Maya to become one of the infamous Ladies of the Night.”
Grayson looked from Diamond to Ian and didn’t hide his surprise. Frowning he addressed his question to Diamond.
“Hmm, that’s an unusual process, isn’t it, Col. Davis? At least from what I’ve heard from the other agents, the invitation to join the fearsome ‘Ladies’ is not a prize that is easily conferred.” He added, with a dry chuckle attempting to inject a modicum of humo
r into his intrusive question, “In fact a number of the LOTN agents have told me it is akin to base jumping at Yosemite without the benefit of a chute.”
Diamond met his gaze and said evenly, “You are correct, Colonel Webb. Maya, or as you will be calling her in the mission, Topaz, is unusual, in many ways. But, suffice to say, unless she met my rigorous standards I would not have invited her to join LOTN.”
Gray gazed at the impassive founder of the LOTN and decided that the infamously cool Diamond had shared all the details she intended to. Rather than pushing against the iron wall of her composure, and knowing that he was riding a thin rail with all three of them, Gray turned to Maya, keeping his tone pleasant, conversational.
“Congratulations. I’m confident you know what an honor it is to be chosen to join Col. Davis’ crack team of agents. There isn’t a more demanding leader than Riley Davis and that includes my boss, Ian Ross.” He paused for a moment and held her gaze to see if his questioning would intimidate her. He needn’t have been concerned. When she didn’t so much as blink, he added with a shrug, “I will admit that I’m curious. You must have quite a resume to get the backing of these two.” Before she could answer, he pressed. “In which branch of the military did you serve, and how do you prefer that I address you?”
To Gray’s disbelief, Ian broke in and answered for the young woman.
“Surprising as it may seem, Gray, Maya didn’t serve in the military. As for her title, unlike the rest of us military grunts, Maya is correctly referred to as Doctor Taveras.”
Before Gray could respond to Ian’s startling disclosure, his boss continued smoothly as if the news he was imparting were ordinary. That it was not a bombshell description for an undercover agent who was about to be Gray’s partner on what was sure to be a dangerous mission.
“Maya comes with unusual credentials; at least as we narrow-minded agents tend to think. She has a law degree from Stanford and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Harvard with a highly developed specialty in criminal profiling. She consults with national and international law enforcement agencies. She is also known for her body of research on what we might consider esoteric subjects but nevertheless put her in high demand with agencies needing to identify or capture elusive criminal masterminds.”
Managing to keep his incredulity at bay and his tone as blasé as Ian’s, Grayson tugged at the raspy beard shadow on his chin and didn’t bother to hide the edge in his voice. “That is interesting indeed. However, given the nature of our work, unless this mission is dramatically different from 100 percent of our former operations, it will be dangerous as hell. While our agents are admittedly smart as hell, they are also warriors.” He caught Maya’s eye and addressed her with a grin that even he admitted was disingenuous. “Tell, me, Doctor Taveras, do you have a Ph.D. in Kung Fu? Or at least a B.A. in karate?”
Once again, before the young woman could answer, Diamond stepped in and glared at Grayson. Her tone was crisp, curt.
“Suffice it to say, Maya was able to pass every qualifying physical test that my agents are required to pass to be considered. The fact that she received a perfect score on all of the rigorous assessment tools I threw at her should relieve you, Col. Webb.”
Ian moved forward and said with a slight smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Col. Webb, before you dig a deeper hole for yourself, you should know that Dr. Taveras will, in fact, be leading the mission. You may assume that I would not let her command a mission as dangerous as the one you and she are about to embark on unless she were qualified to do so.”
Ignoring Grayson’s gasp, Ian turned to the lovely woman who’d risen to her feet and smiled at her.
Handing her the remote, he said with a shrug, “I think we have Colonel Webb’s attention, don’t you? How about it, Commander Taveras? Would you like to lay out the parameters of the operation that you and Agent Webb will be undertaking?”
Maya accepted the remote that Ian handed her and pointed it at the bank of monitors ringing the conference room. Nodding to her boss, she said, “Thank you, Diamond, for your support. I appreciate your confidence, and am honored to be one of your agents.”
Smiling sweetly at Ian, she said, “And, thank you, Ian, for all you have done for me. And yes, as his commander, I’m pleased to bring Agent Webb up to date on the mission we have code-named Renegade.”
Chapter 2
Gray watched in amazement as the gracious woman walked toward the front of the room. He could only hope that he didn’t look as dumbstruck as he felt. It was hard enough not to stare at her long, lithe body. She was at least five feet, eight inches tall. Being an admitted clothes horse himself, Grayson appreciated the elegant lines of her tailored silk shirt and matching trousers that could have come from a high-end fashion boutique. Maya was slender, without being thin. She looked athletic but had enough womanly curves to pique his interest—or at least that of his always-on-the-prowl dick. Within moments, her easy, authoritative presentation made it clear that this wasn’t the first briefing she’d led. Forcing himself to swallow the consternation roiling in his gut, Gray determined to at least hear her out. He owed Diamond, and, certainly Ian, that much. Knowing that there was a 50/50 chance, at best, that he would accept the mission, he put aside his budding anger at the way that Ian had blindsided him, and determined to give Doctor Taveras the courtesy of making her presentation.
At that moment, Maya clicked on the remote and the multiple monitor screens came to life. The stunningly handsome man whose face appeared on the screens looked more like a teenage heartthrob than a criminal. A shock of dark curly hair, dancing green eyes and a thousand-watt smile lit the screen. Gray wouldn’t have been surprised to see his face on a tabloid featuring the 20 Hottest Latinos. Gray shook his head in amazement as Maya began to describe the Hispanic man gracing the screens.
“Meet Dante Torres. In a few short years, Torres took over what was a San José street gang that controlled small pockets of the essj—the East Side of San José. Since he gained control of the Diablos, as they were called ten years ago, the organization has mutated into a major player in the worldwide illegal drug market. Now known as the Torres Cartel, the DEA, FBI and ICE estimate that as much fifty percent of the coke, heroin and now meth that is flowing into this country from South America, is doing so under the direction of this man.”
Flipping through a series of action shots showing Torres doing everything from surfing to skydiving, the Cartel leader with the infectious smile could have been an international playboy more easily than a drug lord. Maya anticipated Gray’s assessment with her analysis.
“It’s hard to intellectually process that someone as frankly wholesome-looking, not to mention handsome, could be the dangerous Cartel leader Torres has become. In truth, he hides his vocation well, taking on the trappings of a movie star or an international athlete. More than a few famous Hollywood types as well as international athletes, have been seen in his presence. His base is in Columbia, but he has homes—make that estates—in five different countries: Thailand, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Brazil, and, of course, the good old U-S-of-A. While Torres rarely appears in this country, he flaunts his presence worldwide. Apparently for good reason, he doesn’t fear the legal authorities and lives an amazingly public life.”
Maya added with a slight frown, “Torres was already causing enough sleepless nights among the authorities working to stop the flood of illegal drugs into this country. Now there are also credible reports that Torres is expanding his market not only geographically but also adding product lines as well. He has been seen in the company of known Arab illegal weapons traffickers and is rumored to be associating with a well-established human trafficking organization based in the Czech Republic.”
Allowing a loop of images to play across the screens portraying Torres with a host of beautiful women and clearly wealthy men partying at hot spots around the globe, Maya turned to her audience. For a moment she met Gray’s questioning gaze, then spoke to the three of them.
&
nbsp; “Obviously, the question before us is what can we do to help capture this elusive man? To date, he’s in the crosshairs of every law enforcement agency in the world, yet no one has been able to infiltrate his organization.”
Gray couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I assume, Doctor, that this is an interactive conversation, correct?”
When Maya nodded, he said, “That is precisely the question I was going to ask. Do we have some miraculous entry point that makes us think that we can get close to this criminal superstar—when every other agency in the world has been unable to do so? And if so, since at least at this point it’s assumed that I am a part of this operation, please enlighten me.”
For the first time in the doctor’s confident presentation, Gray saw the slightest evidence of uncertainty. More than anything he noted the glance that Maya and Ian exchanged. It was telling that her furtive glance was to Ian, not Diamond. Determined he would get to the bottom of that glimpse into their relationship, Gray pressed his advantage.
“Out with it, Doc. In some forgotten episode in my life did I connect with the Wunderkind Latino Bad Ass and I’ve forgotten that auspicious interaction? Or—”
Maya interrupted him before he could continue his sarcastic line of questioning. Her matter of fact response was all the more jarring because of her insouciant detachment.
“No, Agent Webb. At least to my knowledge you do not have a prior relationship with Dante Torres. However, I do.”
Not surprisingly, Diamond’s controlled expression didn’t so much as crease, much less crack, at Maya’s jolting revelation. Ian’s slight shrug in response to Gray’s questioning frown relieved Gray somewhat. At least their bosses were aware that Maya had “known” the international criminal. The question looming largest in Gray’s teeming brain was why the fuck Ian hadn’t given him a heads-up on this crazy venture. Knowing that he and his mentor were in line for an intense discussion helped Gray maintain his equilibrium.