The Agent's Covert Affair

by Karen Anders

  He leaned down and kissed her temple. Letting go last night, about who he was and where he’d come from, might have been his way of warning her that he had baggage. He wasn’t sure where this relationship was going. After all, they’d been thrown together here and he was still reeling at his feelings for Emma. Even now he’d rather slip back into bed with her and make love to her again instead of facing reality.

  But he’d never shirked his responsibilities, even when it came as a great personal sacrifice for him. She had gotten under his skin, but he was certain it would be better that they kept on their game faces when in public, especially with these agents sent by the Mexican government.

  They needed to remain professional.

  He ordered room service before he went into the bathroom, taking a hot shower. As he came out of the steamy interior into the room with nothing but a towel around his hips, there was a knock at the door. He walked over and opened it, expecting it to be room service.

  Instead two men stood there. He didn’t react, giving nothing away. One of them was older, with gray hair, bushy brows and a wide mouth. His dark eyes were warm and open. The other one was young, handsome, had the kind of looks that would turn women’s heads. He on the other hand had a cocky look about him that Derrick recognized immediately. Macho.

  The older man reached out his hand. “Agent Gunn, I’m Inspector Jorge Reyes and this is my colleague—”

  “Agent Santiago Velasco,” he said with a wide, sharp smile. His grip was harder than it needed to be. Derrick didn’t react to the guy setting up some boundaries.

  “Nice to meet you. Sorry it has to be under these conditions.”

  “Where is Ms. St. John? We did text that we were coming,” Agent Velasco said, his voice full of his interest in Emma. Derrick didn’t like it, but he didn’t react.

  “She’s in her room, and I’ll notify her you’re here.” Derrick lied smoothly. “Let me get dressed and Ms. St. John and I will meet you downstairs for breakfast.”

  “Our flight isn’t for several hours, so that will be fine,” Inspector Reyes said.

  Without waiting for an answer, he closed the door. Turning he found Emma sitting up in bed, the sheet pressed to her breasts, looking mussed and tantalizing.

  “I missed the text,” she said sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right. I covered.”

  She frowned. “Covered?”

  “I think we should be quiet about...us. This.”

  “Oh, why?”

  “It’s more professional, Emma.” He wasn’t ready to fully deal with his relationship with Emma, let alone anyone else who might scrutinize it.

  “Is that it, or is it your need for secrecy taking over here? We don’t have to be overt, but I don’t see a need to cover up anything.”

  That caught him off guard and he was rarely ever blindsided. He took a step toward the bed, frustrated and annoyed and turned on and...a whole lot of complicated things he didn’t want to be. Why was she being so contrary when he was also working to protect her reputation, her privacy? “It’s none of their business.”

  She gave him her best steely-eyed glare, something he realized a PI had likely perfected as a matter of survival. “Is this a problem with NCIS?”

  “No, I’m not crossing any professional lines by getting involved with you.” He wasn’t. It was his own ingrained principles that were in question here. He couldn’t shake it, feeling raw after telling her something so personal. “Morally, it’s iffy.”

  “Morally?”

  At her strident tone, he wondered what kind of nerve he just hit. “You’ve had a serious shock with your sister in the hospital and your nephew taken by a cartel, Emma. That makes you more vulnerable than you would be in normal circumstances.” He was more irritated with himself than with the conversation and her reaction.

  She rose up, her eyes narrowing. “As in you taking advantage of me in my weakened state?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  “Maybe you should just be quiet,” she bit out and threw the sheet aside. “We don’t have time for this conversation. Fine. Mum’s the word.” She brushed past him and went into the bathroom and closed the door. Somehow he’d gotten her back up and he wasn’t exactly sure how he’d done that. Normally, he read people like an open book, but with Emma, the pages seemed to be blurred. He spent the time she was in the shower packing up his suitcase and checking out of the room.

  When she came out of the bathroom, she dressed and packed her bag; her tight shoulders and expression didn’t invite him to continue the conversation. He had to agree. They didn’t have time to go into this now.

  When she was ready, he followed her out of the room. Down in the lobby, she headed toward the dining room. When he spotted the two Mexican officials, he went to steer Emma in that direction, but she shook off his attention. Smiling, she greeted both men. Agent Velasco’s eyes lit up at the sight of her.

  “Ms. St. John. My superior couldn’t say enough wonderful things about you. It’s a distinct pleasure meeting such a beautiful woman.”

  Derrick gritted his teeth, but kept his emotions bottled up and safely under wraps. He was going to act neutral if it killed him. During the breakfast, Velasco flirted with Emma, but she was a master at engaging, but not encouraging.

  A couple of hours later they were in the air heading to Caliche, an almost eight-hour flight. Through the window, he watched the wispy clouds over the dark land below. It was better than watching Velasco talking to Emma, as he’d done almost nonstop since he’d commandeered the seat next to her.

  Derrick couldn’t say anything about it. He’d wordlessly met her eyes and moved to the seat across the aisle. Reyes settled down next to him. He looked over at the animated Velasco and shook his head.

  “Such a ladies’ man,” he murmured, then he turned to Derrick. “Have you been to Mexico before, senor?”

  Derrick had with the company, but he smiled and said, “No, my first time.”

  “You been with NCIS long?”

  “Five years. How about you?” Velasco leaned in and Emma did this subtle block with her shoulder that put a slight smile on Derrick’s face and a frown on the younger man’s. She was something else. He couldn’t quite believe that he had told her anything about himself. It felt...alien, but good. He hadn’t told her everything. He was still getting used to this partner/lover thing.

  “Oh, came up in the ranks. I guess you get to a certain age and survive, they give you a prestigious position.”

  Derrick chuckled, eyeing Emma, who was smiling at something Velasco said. He’d never felt jealousy before. With Afsana it was more about pain, but with Emma, he was confident in her.

  He wanted to shout, to startle the son of a bitch into giving up any hope, to tell him he would never touch Emma.

  Every cell in his body echoed with the need. She ran through his blood, entered with his breath and would not leave him, no matter how much logic or common sense he used trying to bend the need to his will.

  He turned toward the window and decided that it was best to ignore Velasco’s antics and focus on his plan of action when they landed in Caliche. Emma had it under control.

  “Agent Gunn.” Velasco’s subdued voice reached him and he turned to find him standing in the aisle. “The lovely Emma has requested you sit with her. She wants to discuss something with you.”

  Derrick rose, keeping his face neutral. He slid past Reyes and moved away so Velasco could slide into his vacated seat. He sat down next to Emma and she turned to look at him. Her snapping eyes told him she was still in a snit, but all he could do was smile. He’d take facing a pissed off Emma any day over her sitting next to that hormone laden guy.

  “You think this is funny?”

  “No. I think you’re amazing.”

 
For a moment she stared at him as if he’d just caught her off guard. She leaned toward him like she couldn’t help herself, and he knew exactly how that felt. “I can take care of myself, Derrick. You don’t have to worry about that. If I thought you were crossing a line with me, I would make sure you tripped over it hard.”

  “I don’t have any doubt about it.”

  “Then let me decide if you’re taking advantage of me. I’m not weak. I’ve never been weak.”

  He captured her gaze and made sure she heard every word. “I didn’t say you were weak. I said you were vulnerable. It’s not the same. I don’t want to mess up here. I want to be honest with you about how I feel. I’ve kept way too much to myself when it mattered. I’m not going to do that with you. If it pisses you off, too damn bad. We’ll hash it out.” She blinked a couple of times and then looked away as if she was trying to regain her composure. He leaned over. “I really wish I could kiss you right now.”

  She took a quick breath and let it out. “You really are something else, Derrick.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “I’m not sure, but you’re never boring.”

  “And for all your gentleness, you have a surprisingly direct way of dealing with people.”

  “Some respond to gentle. People, at least those in my line of work, tend to respond better to direct and to the point.”

  “Even more important, given the gender inequity in your line of work, I would imagine.” If his sensitivity to her plight surprised her, she didn’t show it. “I’m sorry if I offended you, Emma. I’m not sorry for what I said. I’d like to shout it to the rooftops that we’re together, but it will put us at a disadvantage here. You do see that. Especially with the cartel and the Ortegas.”

  “I still don’t see the need for it, but I will defer to you.”

  She’d said it calmly enough, but he noticed, in his peripheral vision, that she was fidgeting a bit as if unable to get comfortable.

  “You can do anything you want to me in private,” he said huskily and that stopped the fidgeting completely.

  His direct answer, coupled with his very direct gaze, seemed to catch her off guard. He wasn’t flirting now. And she knew it.

  “I don’t know what to do with that or what to do with you.”

  “That’s okay, babe. I have enough ideas for both of us,” he replied, a hint of the teasing smile coming back, but still keeping his gaze focused tightly on her.

  She took a breath and let it go. “Now I want to kiss you.”

  “Keep that thought. We’ve got seven hours before we touch down.”

  “What are your plans for when we get there?”

  “I’m going to see if anyone in the area knows the teen. We may be ahead of him unless he had the same idea and got on a plane. He may have already delivered Matty to the Ortegas. We don’t know for sure, but if we can get a bead on the guy who kidnapped him, we might have a case to question the father and son on not only the murders, but more important on Matty’s abduction. Maybe we can get some negotiations going.”

  “I would certainly prefer to get Matty back without violence.”

  “We’ll do what it takes to get him back.” Within or without the letter of the law. They were dealing with lawless thugs here and Derrick wasn’t about to play by the rules when he was certain Gilberto and Arturo had no intention of doing so.

  When the plane landed it was early evening. They stopped for a bite to eat at a cantina and the two Mexican officials drove them to a compound.

  “This once belonged to the Medianoche Cartel. Los Equis took them out, so the local police took over as a fortified place to have their base of operations,” Reyes said. “This is where you’ll be staying. You can use it as your base of operations. The Ortegas don’t often bother the residents of Caliche. Their beef is with two other cartels in the area and their focus is on them. But we can talk about that in the morning.”

  They drove up to a metal gate, which swung open after Reyes talked to someone. They entered a large yard with a fresh-cut lawn, more palm trees and a circular pool in the middle.

  Derrick liked the idea they were in a fortified area. But he agreed with Reyes that any information would be better absorbed in the morning. He nodded. “Let me show you to your rooms.”

  The house itself was a two-story dwelling, also painted in bright yellow with white accents and double-paned windows with arched tops and a red tile roof.

  In any large American city, this house would be a suburban, upper-middle-class home—but in this city in the area of Michoacán, it seemed much grander, certainly in stark contrast to the adobe houses next door.

  The entrance opened into a decorative foyer and into a hallway that connected to the living area with a large sofa and coffee table, and a fully operating kitchen. “There are four bedrooms upstairs. We brief down here. It’s been a long day. We can meet you down here tomorrow morning at eight. There will be guards at the gate twenty-four/seven. So sleep easy.”

  Derrick never slept easy, except for the two nights in Emma’s arms. But here, they would have to be more careful and much more discreet. He grabbed her bag and carried the suitcases up the stairs. Emma followed. He opened one of the doors to find an opulent bedroom. Going inside, he set her case on the bed.

  “I’ll be right next door if you need me.” She nodded, looking weary. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her against him. “I wish I could stay.”

  “I know. I wish you could, too. But I’ve got to check in on my sister and I’m sure you want to touch base with your team.”

  He tugged her mouth close and kissed her. “We’re both full of crap,” he whispered, catching the door with his foot and nudging it closed.

  She laughed a bit breathlessly as he pinned her against the wall. His grin felt lazy, and he knew his gaze was just a touch more than a little proprietary as he stroked the side of her face, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I’ll be taking a very long, very lonely cold shower one room over.”

  “Brr,” she said with a mock shiver.

  He laughed. “I’ve survived worse.”

  “You are my hero.”

  “Yeah, I am,” he said, his voice gruff.

  She smiled up into his eyes. “I have no business getting sidetracked by you, you know, much less letting you get sidetracked by me.”

  “I know. It’s sidetrack city where you’re concerned.”

  “Are you sure you won’t stay?” She grinned without a hint of remorse.

  “You’re killing me here, Emma.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “I’m getting that.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her snug between his legs. “And I’m enjoying this.”

  She swatted at him, but she wasn’t making any move whatsoever to disengage his tight hold. Which only had him drawing her closer still. “I do want you, Emma.” He moved his hips. “Hard to deny that one. But I’ll want more than just that.”

  “Maybe if you only wanted me for my body, this would be easier.”

  “Ha, not likely. Nothing is easy with you.”

  She smiled. “Wear your heart on your sleeve, do you?”

  “Typically, never. With you? It’s fast becoming something of a struggle.”

  She closed her eyes and pressed her face into his neck. “Geez, you smell good.”

  “Emma—” She moved her head and tugged his face down to hers and kissed him. Then she broke the kiss. When he tried to resume it, she pressed her fingers across his mouth and stopped him. “I want to. That much is obvious but—”

  He moved his mouth a little and nibbled on the end of her fingers.

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Unrepentantly.”

  She slipped from his hold, and reached out her hand. When he took hold of it,
she pulled him over to the door. “I won’t sleep if you stay. We’re both almost giddy with exhaustion. I think maybe we’d best get at least a little rest. We’re in a war zone now.”

  He wanted to argue, but clearly, as she was yawning, she had a point.

  “We are in a war zone,” he said with a sigh.

  She laughed. “Go before I change my mind.”

  He stepped out of the room and paused at her open door. “Good night, babe.”

  “Good night, Derrick.” She paused, looked up at him. “Thank you for what you said about me not being weak. That means a lot to me.”

  He nodded. “I meant it.”

  She smiled. He stood there, long after she’d closed the door. He listened to the creak of the floorboards overhead as she readied herself for bed. Stood there while she checked in with the hospital and until the creaking stopped and the light splintering through the door went out.

  “Good night,” he murmured, and walked to the room next door, opening the door and going inside. Getting involved with this woman had a profound influence in his life. In him.

  He wondered, really wondered, if a leopard could change his spots...wondered if he could really acclimate himself, or was he doomed to be alone forever?

  She was making him think and feel differently about everything. Especially about getting her nephew back, making him think about his own kid, and even though he wasn’t in the boy’s life, he felt protective of him just as much as Emma was feeling protective of her nephew. He’d promised that he would work with her, but he vowed he’d break that promise if he had to—all tied up in knots about his own son. He couldn’t imagine Emma and her sister Lily having to go through what he was going through. His son was also in a war zone and if he could get him out of it, he would in a heartbeat. His hands were tied there, but not with Emma’s nephew. He would never leave that innocent boy to the Ortegas. It was inconceivable.

  He really meant it. He’d get the boy back no matter what it took.

  With or without her.

  Promise or no promise.

  Chapter 11