by Lea Hart
Raising an eyebrow, he drank his beer and kept his mouth shut. There wasn’t a thing he could say to dispute the unambiguous and accurate description she’d just voiced. The fact that she got him on such a fundamental level was disconcerting because no one ever had, and he didn’t think it was because he was such a mystery. “To be absolutely clear, I don’t think you’re absolutely on the left or the right and as far as your bleeding heart goes…well, it’s better to have one than none at all. I’m pleading the fifth on the rest because I don’t want to get in more trouble with you than I already am.”
Audrey lifted her glass and held it up. “To unlikely alliances.”
He clicked his glass against hers and noticed once again that she was one hundred percent breathtakingly beautiful. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, and her smile was as empty of craftiness as a child’s. There wasn’t an ounce of artifice in her and, for the first time in forever, he wanted to get to know a woman.
And not just in between the sheets.
Though that would be freaking fantastic.
“Now that you’ve surgically examined my life, I have just one question for you, Audrey.”
“And what’s that, Carrick?”
He studied her as she leaned her chin in her hand and smiled at him with more happiness than he was used to seeing in a person’s face. And in that second, he was hit over the head metaphorically, when he realized that’s what was so damn enticing—her happiness. She was exactly where she wanted to be, doing what she wanted to for reasons that mattered only to her. Which was a luxury most people were never able to indulge. “What made you leave the partner fast track at Sullivan & Cromwell?”
Sitting up, she took a sip of her drink and fussed with her napkin. “The reason doesn’t reflect well on me because it shows how stubborn and impetuous I can be when pushed. Considering you don’t have a great opinion of me, I’d rather skip it.”
Letting out a chuckle, he made the “gimme” motion with his hands. “Spill.”
“Fine. I got into a fight with my boyfriend and he basically said that he wouldn’t be interested in me if I weren't headed for a partnership.” Looking up, she scrunched her nose and then drained her drink and signaled for another one. “The conversation afforded me the opportunity to see what was in his heart and all I saw were dollar signs and ambition. Not surprisingly, we broke up and I took a step back and examined my life and wondered what the hell I was doing. I resigned from the firm and went to work for a Catholic charity that was working in Greece on the refugee crisis. I spent a year in Athens and offered my services to people who were stuck in no man's land. When the year was up, I came home and wrote about my experience. It all turned out, but one small argument had me upending a career that I worked hard for and all because I didn’t like being thought of as a commodity.”
The bartender came by and delivered another round and Audrey ordered clams casino and caramelized onion dip with gaufrette potatoes. “Did you just order onion dip and chips?”
“I sure did, because nothing goes better with whiskey than chips and dip.”
Leaning over, he dropped his hand to her shoulder and nodded. “I think the story shows exactly who you are and, as far as I can tell, you’re someone to be admired.”
“Did you just give me your stamp of approval?”
“I sure as hell did.” Not wanting to say more, he looked at the veined glass that sat behind the bar and wondered how long he was going to be able to ignore his growing attraction to the woman sitting beside him. He sure as hell had to find a way because shit was serious where they were headed and they weren’t going to be far from the fighting in Raqqa.
The last thing he needed to be was distracted and the fact that he’d been repeating that mantra since their previous conversation wasn’t something he wanted to spend too much time thinking about. Which meant he had to lock down any inclinations he had and treat her like any other client.
Most people thought of him as a damn machine and now certainly wasn’t the time to let that go. Except he saw her large almond eyes in the mirror and the last thing he wanted to be was a machine. In fact, he wanted to be nothing more than a man free to indulge his curiosity with a desirable woman.
Why did things have to be complicated?
Because that was life, he reminded himself. There were few times when you got to do what you wanted without repercussions. He knew that better than most and the fact that he was questioning the well-worn truth at this particular moment was foolish.
Except he felt all kinds of foolish as he saw Audrey’s oversized sweater slip off her shoulder. Seeing her creamy skin revealed along with her long neck had him gritting his teeth.
Control.
He needed some fucking control.
Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, he recited the current stats of his favorite football team and, since their season was in the shitter, he was able to get his mind off his libidinous thoughts until he saw her long fingers push her sweater back over her shoulder.
“Carrick, are you feeling okay? You looked a little flushed.”
Giving her a wide confident smile, he shrugged. “Never better.” Their appetizers were delivered and he watched her dive in and silently groaned as he watched her mouth move. “Let’s talk about the current conditions in Syria.”
Turning, she gave him a funny look and then nodded. “All right.”
He lifted his glass and congratulated himself because nothing put a damper on wayward sexy thoughts like a discussion of war. And that’s what they were about to walk into—the last stand between the YPG and ISIS.
“I read today that…”
He tuned out as she spoke and realized he was going to have to keep a tight leash on himself as they moved forward because, if he didn’t, they were not going to come home unharmed.
And that would be entirely unacceptable.
CHAPTER SIX
Friday, October 13th
Audrey sat at her tiny kitchen table and looked out the window at the soaring buildings and wondered if the publishers were going to give her the go-ahead on the trip to Syria or if she was going to have to fund it herself.
Looking down at the spreadsheet, she knew she could manage to pay Titan if it came down to it, as long as she took cases through the first half of next year. Letting out a sigh of relief, she recognized it gave her the freedom to pursue the dream with or without the publisher’s check, and it was worth it.
Either way, she was going to Syria within the next two weeks because if things continued progressing as they were, it would be her last chance for a while. With the Turkish government moving in to control the HTS alliance and the last of ISIS holding on in Raqqa, the situation was not going to become more hospitable.
Hearing a knock on the door startled her and she stood immediately, wondering who it could be. The doorman hadn’t buzzed her and she wasn’t expecting a package, so maybe it was building maintenance. She looked through the peephole and saw Carrick with a frown on his face.
Perfect way to start the day, she thought as she opened the door and saw him standing before her dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and no tie. So what if he was handsome enough to make her breath hitch, he sure didn’t have a personality she wanted to be around.
One minute frowning and growling, and the next practically mute as he stared holes into her. “Good morning, sunshine. It’s nice to see your smiling face.”
“Very funny,” he responded as he walked past her and stood in the middle of her small entry with his hands on his hips. “Your building’s security is a hoax. Do you realize any joker could get in this place with little to no effort?”
Closing the door with a firm click, she then walked around his massive frame and stood in front of him and mimicked his pose. Thank God she’d put heels on this morning because she was very close to six feet and didn’t have to strain to see his mulish expression. “Who pissed in your muesli this morning?”
Dropping his hands and his
annoyed expression, he hitched his shoulder. “No one, I actually had a great run through the city and then had a terrific breakfast at the hotel.”
“Then why did you show up growling and snorting?”
Leaning to the right, he looked into her small living room and then walked toward the couch and sat down. “I wouldn’t say no to a cup of coffee if you offered it.”
“Answer my question first, and then I’ll consider making you coffee.”
“The idea of someone being able to breeze through your lobby and come upstairs without anyone batting their eyelashes is unacceptable.”
“That’s what has you in a snit?” she asked with a laugh. “Living in the city doesn’t afford the opportunity to live in a protective bubble of security, so the fact that you got in without a warning is merely an annoyance and nothing more.”
“I don’t like it,” he replied petulantly. “Something could easily happen to you.”
Seeing his annoyed expression didn’t irritate her as much as it had a second ago because she realized he was worried about her safety and nothing more. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Handing him the cup of coffee, she then sat and gave him a smile. “I thought we were meeting at the publishers. What made you come here?”
“I received confirmed intel this morning that President Erdoğan has tanks parked in Antakya ready to roll across the border. It’s possible he’s on the verge of launching yet another significant military operation, and unlike Operation Euphrates Shield, which targeted lands occupied by the Islamic State, the upcoming operation into Idlib will be directed toward the lands occupied by Syrian rebels.”
“Why would my publisher care about something that’s happening three and a half hours away?” Sitting back, she raised an eyebrow. “The women that I want to speak with have nothing to do with the latest coalition of HTS, and are only interested in vanquishing ISIS. The battle in Raqqa is all that matters now.”
“Speaking of Raqqa, they’re in the last days of the battle and where do you think ISIS is heading?” He lifted his hand and pointed up. “North and where will we be? North!”
“Carrick, I get that this trip is dangerous, and I completely understand if you decide you don’t want to act as security.” Seeing his frustrated expression, she put her hand on his arm. “Just tell me now if you’ve changed your mind.”
“What the hell are you going to do then?” he thundered. “Give up the project?”
“No, I have one more option for private military contractors; Kelly has already spoken to Dyna Corp and they said they’d take the job.”
Standing abruptly, Carrick slammed his coffee cup on the coffee table and started to pace. “That’s bullshit.”
Seeing his flash of anger made her wonder why he cared about this particular contract so much. It wasn’t a ton of money for the company and she bet it wasn’t going to net more than forty-thousand dollars, which was peanuts for a business as big as Titan. In the old days, the company had dealt with billion-dollar contracts with the government.
A little one-off watchdog gig couldn’t be all that important. “Tell me what’s making you so angry.”
Carrick stood in the middle of the tiny living room and took a deep breath. “This is one of the most ill-advised trips on record and the idea of taking you into a country that’s not only in the middle of a civil war but also fighting ISIS has every one of my instincts screaming to stay the hell away.”
“You’ve said that at least a half-dozen times, and quite frankly I’m tired of hearing it. Either you’re in or you’re out. Tell me now, so I can cancel the meeting if I have to.”
Raising an eyebrow, he almost growled. “That’s it?”
“I’m going one way or another in the next two weeks because if I wait any longer, I won’t be able to, due to a case I’m taking. I’m going to tell these women’s stories, one way or another.”
“Shit, Audrey, why’d you have to say something like that?”
“Carrick, I think it’s best if I go with another company for security because you have too many reservations about this trip.”
Walking over to the couch, he collapsed and then ran his hand over his face. “You’re not going to get rid of me because there’s no way I’m letting you go to Syria with some bozo from Dyna Corp. Those people will hire anyone with little consideration for ability and experience.”
“They have an excellent reputation and come highly recommended,” Audrey responded as she watched his hands flex several times. Seeing his gaze slide over, she noticed his smirk as he shook his head. “What?”
“You’re just trying to piss me off with talk about Dyna Corp.”
“No, I’m not.” Scooting to the far end of the couch, she gave him a look that had often worked on juries. When he didn’t react, she did it again and waited. “Really, that look didn’t make you the least bit concerned?”
He gave her a nonchalant shrug and turned his body toward her. “I’m going to have to teach you the art of mean-mugging someone. That look you just threw me doesn’t even qualify.”
“Now, you’re trying to piss me off because the last one was awesome.”
“Like I said, I’ll give you a full lesson on the art.”
Standing, she smoothed out her dress. “We should go because the subways have been packed lately and I don’t want to take the chance of being late.”
Carrick stood and took Audrey’s hand. “Before we take off for Syria, you and I are going to have a long discussion about the rules and regs and what I’ll expect of you the moment we step off the plane in Ankara.”
Scrunching up her nose, she nodded. “Fine.” She slid her hand away from his and immediately missed his touch. “I’ll get my jacket and bag, then I’ll be ready to go.” As she walked into the kitchen and put her things in her bag, she thought about the little tiny seed of attraction she had for Carrick and wondered if it was going to become a problem. Lifting her eyes to the window, she saw the clouds covering the top half of the buildings and decided it absolutely wouldn’t.
They were two very different individuals, living on opposite coasts, who had very little in common. A week spent together wasn’t going to change any of those facts, so whatever she was feeling would never matter in the long run.
Add to that his bossy, cranky personality and she was going to be entirely immune to him.
As she walked out of the kitchen, she didn’t see him and wondered if he was in her bedroom. Moving toward the doorway, she saw him standing at the window. “The lights at night are beautiful.”
“I can’t imagine living in the middle of a city for any length of time.”
Walking over, she stood next to him and tried to see the concrete jungle from his point of view and found she couldn’t. She’d been living in a city since she left home for college and she was pretty much immune to the noise and activity. “Where do you live?”
Turning, he looked down at her and grinned. “I have a small house on Coronado Island. Once I retired from the Teams, I realized that I wanted to stay in the area and found a little fixer-upper that’s a block from the beach.”
“Sounds lovely.” Checking her watch, she turned and grabbed her jacket. “We should go.” As she walked out of the room, she felt Carrick’s hand go to the small of her back and wondered why she liked it so much.
Not coming up with an immediate answer, she decided to focus on the upcoming meeting instead.
***
As they stepped off the platform in the Times Square station with a mass of humanity, Carrick couldn’t decide if he felt better or not. Being trapped on the subway for over fifteen minutes with men gawking at Audrey was not his idea of a good time.
The way some of the men’s eyes crawled over her ass pissed him off more than he could say, and it was only through sheer willpower that he was able to control himself from teaching them some manners. Only when he draped his arm around her waist and gave each and every one of them the look he reserved for combatants did
they drop their eyes.
Taking her hand, he led her up the stairs and when they reached the top, he checked the surrounding area and tightened his hold. “East on 42nd St and then North on 6th Ave, right?”
“Yes.” Sliding her hand out of his, she stepped over to a storefront, opened her bag, and pulled out hand sanitizer. Holding it up, she asked, “Do you want some?”
“No, I’m good.” When she wrinkled her nose and shivered, he decided she wasn’t going to hold his hand if he didn’t, so he put it out and watched her smile as she squirted a glob onto his palm. “You know this stuff is just making bacteria more aggressive.”