“She just gave the driver an address in McLean,” Ben relayed via the earpiece. “I’m running it now.”
“Affirmative,” Adam replied before opening his door and sliding into the back seat.
Little did she know, but after this morning’s episode, an advance team of Uniformed Division officers would be surveilling the place the entire time she and Adam were at the party.
“At least fill me in on what type of party you’re dragging me to. A birthday party? Engagement party? One of those kinky sex toy parties?”
Ben chuckled in Adam’s ear. The woman seated next to him just gave him the side-eye.
“Don’t you wish,” was all she said.
They were quiet for several minutes as the driver navigated through Georgetown.
“The house belongs to one of those crazy rich Asians,” Ben informed him. “New Taiwanese money made during the tech boom at the end of the century.”
Adam sighed heavily. While he would have been uncomfortable watching women drink cosmos and dish about naughty lingerie, he would have preferred that to whatever Josslyn had mixed herself up in this time.
“I don’t know the hosts,” she said out of nowhere. “I’m meeting a friend there.”
“If you’re meeting someone, why make me pretend I’m your date?”
“I told you. I don’t want the world knowing the Secret Service is babysitting me. Besides, my friend will be there with his fiancée. Her cousin lives in the house.”
“Friends from the zoo?” Adam kept fishing for information.
“No.” She glanced out the window, avoiding his eyes. “David and I work for Global Wildlife.”
Adam made a rough sound at the back of his throat. “Ah, more tree-huggers.”
Her head whipped around. “Have you got something against animals, Agent Lockett? Did a dog bite you when you were little or maybe your cat ran away to live with the old lady up the street? Is that why you take your big guns out and shoot them?”
“That’s pretty juvenile, even for you.”
“Oh, and it’s not juvenile to gun down a defenseless animal that never did anything to hurt you?”
“That’s a ridiculous argument, but to set the record straight, I’ve never been into hunting.”
“Oh, that’s right. You use your big gun to kill people instead.”
The air went still in the back of the SUV.
“Harsh,” Ben’s voice spoke in Adam’s ear.
“Clearly you didn’t retain anything from our discussion earlier today,” Adam bit out. “I use my skills for many things. Every single time I do it’s in an effort to save someone else’s life.”
“And every time I protest I do so in an effort to save some animal’s life,” she countered.
The headlights from a passing car illuminated her face. She looked fierce yet vulnerable at the same time. Saving animals was her passion, sure, but there was something else driving her. Something Adam recognized instantly. Her need to justify her survival, her very existence, struck a familiar chord within him. That need was something Adam saw when he looked in the mirror every day.
“For tonight, let’s just agree to disagree,” she suggested. “If anyone asks, you’re my father’s nurse. No one will want to strike up a conversation about an Alzheimer’s patient. Everyone’s afraid they can catch it somehow.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way to McLean. The house sat back behind an iron fence. Lights lined a steep driveway that wound around trees ending at a spectacular antebellum-style mansion. A valet opened Josslyn’s door while Adam made his way round from the opposite side. She surprised him by looping her arm through his and sidling up next to him. But when she went to take a step, her bootie slipped on the slick flagstone drive. Josslyn lurched forward, bending at the waist in an effort to catch herself before she face-planted. Adam quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward him. Her ass was suddenly brushing up against his body. The feel of his gun in its holster obviously surprised her because her eyes were wide and panicked when he steadied her. She glanced at his crotch, before understanding dawned.
“Can you please be less obvious with the tools of your trade?”
Her breathless command had the opposite effect and Adam was glad her gaze was anywhere but on his zipper now. He didn’t bother biting back his teasing grin.
“As you wish.” Adam pulled her along the walkway toward the front door while Ben chuckled in his ear.
The scene that greeted them resembled a frat party Prince Harry might once have thrown. Waiters dressed in white dinner jackets circulated the vast living room, weaving between a vicious game of beer pong and people flipping plastic cups. A live band was set up on a bandstand beside the indoor pool where lanterns shined down on couples engaged in a fierce battle of chicken fighting. A woman in a tiny bikini was about to lose both her perch on a man’s shoulders and her top at the same time.
Marin would be enthralled with the ornate decorations, many of which looked valuable even to Adam’s untrained eye. Josslyn flitted from room to room, smiling and chatting with those who recognized her but clearly on the lookout for her friend, David. They found him in the karaoke room.
“David!” Josslyn wrapped her arms around the other man’s neck. They stayed that way for longer than Adam thought was necessary. He cleared his throat.
She shot him a look when they finally pulled apart. “David, I’d like you to meet Adam Lockett, my daddy’s nurse. Adam, this is my dear friend, David Chen.”
Josslyn was spot-on about the nurse cover. David and his fiancée, Lin, barely gave him a second look. Adam made a mental note to remember that for future assignments.
The four of them strolled through the party once more, making their way back to the pool area where the band played. The trio of friends sipped on champagne while Adam chugged a bottle of water.
“Dance with me, David,” Josslyn insisted a little too eagerly, handing her half-full glass to Adam.
“Sure.” David gave his fiancée a quick peck on the cheek before leading Josslyn out to the pool deck, hand in hand.
If Lin objected, it didn’t show. Adam took the opportunity to fish for more information, any clue he could uncover about what exactly she was up to tonight.
“Your cousin really knows how to throw a party.”
“Yes,” she said, the bit of hero worship in her voice was hard to miss. “He’s been kind to introduce me to his friends while we are in Washington.”
“Have you and David known Josslyn long?”
Lin shook her head. “I believe David has, but I only met her for the first time this evening.”
Before he could press her any further, a group of young Asian women swallowed Lin up in a wave of giggles, carrying her off to the where the others danced, all of them singing and gyrating to an Asian tune Adam didn’t recognize.
“Anything on this David dude?” Adam quietly asked Ben.
“American born. Raised by two professors who fled China in the eighties. Both teach at Cal State. Both shun anything remotely having to do with Chinese culture. David and Josslyn met in grad school where they bonded over saving the whales. He teaches public policy at UC Santa Barbara currently, although, this semester he’s a guest professor at American University. He’s a bit more active than his parents at taking on the policies of China. As such, he’s banned from most of Asia for his various smear campaigns he’s enacted against companies he claims to be whaling.”
“Great.”
The music died down just as Adam uttered the word. A woman next to him eyed him curiously. Josslyn arrived, her checks glowing from the dance. She fanned her face.
“I must look a mess. I’m going to find the powder room and freshen up.”
Adam manacled her wrist with his fingers before she could take a step. Her eyes narrowed to slits.
“That’s not how we are playing this tonight, sister,” Adam reminded her.
“What? I can’t go pee without an escort?”
He didn’t bother responding. Instead, he laced their fingers together, pressing his palm against hers. Ignoring the warm sensation shooting up his arm, he led the way into the house. She huffed but wisely didn’t protest.
“Try that way.” She pointed to a long, dark hallway devoid of any guests.
“I’m sure there’s something back by the bar.”
Josslyn yanked his arm in the direction she’d indicated. “That one probably has a line. I’m in a hurry.”
They made their way down the empty hallway. From the looks of it, this area of the mansion housed mostly guest bedrooms. Josslyn located a bathroom several doors in.
“See, no line,” she said before shutting the door in his face.
Adam leaned up against the wall closing his eyes to give his aching head a break.
“She’s a piece of work,” Ben said.
“And she’s up to something,” Adam whispered. “Any ideas?”
“The host is a thirty-something millionaire who makes more money than he reports. He has ties to several tech companies here in DC, but he doesn’t seem too involved with the day-to-day operations. His major accomplishment seems to be getting kicked out of Oxford for cheating. He mostly spends his days living the spoiled playboy life from what I can tell. The guy has a few arrests for cocaine possession. Mostly while traveling abroad. He keeps his nose clean here in the US.” Ben laughed at his pun.
“Any ties to animal poachers?”
“Not that I can find, but that doesn’t mean anything. If he’s involved in trafficking he’d have multiple layers between him and the boots on the ground.”
“Yeah.” Adam sighed.
Despite the rave going on at the other side of the house, the hallway was blissfully quiet and Adam took a moment to clear his head while he waited for Josslyn to return.
“You got another letter today,” Ben informed him.
Adam’s lids snapped open. So much for clearing his head.
“I told you to pitch them.”
The silence stretched for a long moment.
“You can’t ignore him forever, dude,” Ben said quietly. “He’s getting out.”
Ben’s words had Adam’s temple throbbing again. That explained why his friend kept tossing the letters in Adam’s face. Ben had put the pieces together.
“I don’t have time for this shit, Bennett. I’m working a detail.” Adam glanced at the fitness tracker on his wrist. “Speaking of which, where the hell is she?” He tapped on the door. “Did you fall in?”
The back of his neck tingled again when there was no response.
“Damn it,” Ben swore. “The locator on her phone puts her several rooms away.”
Adam jimmied the lock into the bathroom which had an adjoining door to a bedroom. She’d slipped out past him while Adam was confronting the demons from his past in the damn hallway.
“Point me in the right direction, Ben,” he growled. “And then turn off the mic because I’m going to tan her sweet little ass.”
Chapter Five
Josslyn slipped into the darkened study and tapped on the flashlight in her phone. The GWC had long suspected the money behind the traffickers came from a wealthy Asian businessman. But could she really be so lucky as to stumble upon the man bankrolling them so easily? From what David described to her while they were on the dance floor, maybe so.
Earlier in the day, when he and Lin had toured the house, David was stunned when he spied damning evidence their host was involved in animal trafficking somehow. But Lin’s cousin had been in the study with them and David wasn’t able to snap any photos of his trophies. He’d prepared Josslyn for the sights that would greet her, so the lunging Bengal tiger didn’t startle her as badly as it might have. Still, the animal’s lifeless eyes were eerie enough to send a shiver through her.
The room was a taxidermist’s showroom with a dozen or so rare animals mounted on the walls or posing on the floor. An assortment of lethal-looking weapons were juxtaposed among the stuffed menagerie, including a samurai sword that looked as though it had been used a time or two throughout the centuries. It broke Josslyn’s heart when she nearly tripped over a stuffed white tiger embryo.
So that she wouldn’t be seen from the window, she switched the flash off her camera, hoping the light from the flashlight would be enough to capture the images she needed. Time was of the essence. Agent Lockett wasn’t the type to wait outside a closed door for long. Spying the tusks in the corner of the room, she swore quietly when she saw some belonging to the rare black rhinoceros. Lin’s cousin shouldn’t have been in possession of one much less the four he had on display.
Carefully navigating the dark room, Josslyn moved closer. Aiming her camera to take a picture, she swallowed a scream when a large hand suddenly clapped over her mouth. She felt a moment of panic until she recognized the familiar woodsy scent.
“What are you doing?” he growled against her ear, his muscled body wrapping around her like a blanket. For such a big man, she marveled at the sniper’s stealth. She hadn’t heard a sound before he was on her. Another tremor ran through her body before she found her mettle.
Josslyn peeled his fingers away from her face.
“Nothing.” Her harshly whispered denial made his grip on her body tighter.
“Liar.”
He turned her within the circle of his arms but he didn’t release his hold. Now, their mouths were within inches of one another. They remained that way for a long moment, their eyes locked in some sort of silent battle until voices in the hall startled them both out of their trance.
“Now look what you’ve done,” she accused. “You’ve brought the damn cavalry.”
The voices drew closer. Agent Lockett reached between their bodies for his stupid gun. Josslyn shook her head vigorously.
“My way,” she whispered just as the door handle began to turn.
Sweeping at papers on the desk behind her, she pulled him closer against her body. Seeming to sense her plan, the idiot opened his mouth to protest. Josslyn covered it with her own, thrusting her tongue against his to keep him from talking. She dug her fingers into his rock-hard thighs in an attempt to bring their bodies even closer. Something ignited within her at the contact.
He returned her kiss with a punishing one of his own. Too bad it was having the opposite effect on her senses. The more he dished out, the more her body sang for more. As their tongues parried for dominance, Josslyn gripped his skull in order to fuse their mouths together. She swallowed a groan coming from the back of his throat. Heat pooled in her belly. Time and awareness faded away until all that was left was his mouth torturing hers, her hips grinding into his. They might have stayed like that forever for all she cared.
Unfortunately, they had an audience.
“Who the hell are you two and what are you doing in my office?”
It took a moment for Josslyn to rouse herself from her sensual fog. Lin’s cousin didn’t sound pleased to have his inner sanctum invaded. And Agent Lockett was once again reaching beneath his sports coat, presumably for his weapon. Josslyn stepped in front of him as she slid off the desk.
“My apologies,” she said, her voice hoarse and her lips tender. “We lost track of where we were.”
Someone flipped the light switch. The animals appeared even more grotesque under the soft glow. Lin’s cousin, on the other hand, appeared loaded. Josslyn drew in a quick breath for small favors. With luck, an hour from now, the man wouldn’t even remember he’d caught her in a compromising position.
The two men accompanying him were a different story. One began speaking in rapid-fire Mandarin. Lin’s cousin’s eyes seemed to grow soberer as his friend likely was connecting the dots to her identity.
“There are many bedrooms in this house,” he argued. “And yet I discover you in my office?”
“Because no one would think to look for us here,” she improvised. She was grateful the Tower of Testosterone remained stoic behind her. No doubt it cost him to do
so. Josslyn laced her fingers through his and gave them a squeeze. “As you can probably imagine, we don’t get a lot of privacy. I’m sorry to intrude. We’ll just be going.”
Josslyn went to take a step, but one of the men with Lin’s cousin held up a hand while the other closed the door. Behind her, Agent Lockett tensed in readiness for a fight.
“Not before you and your friend have introduced yourselves.” Lin’s cousin sat in the leather chair beneath the imposing samurai sword, almost as if he was making a statement. One of his companions slipped a tumbler full of something into his hand before his butt had time to settle in the chair.
“I am Kuan-yu Tseng,” Lin’s cousin said, smugly. “But then, you already know that, I’m sure.”
He was openly leering at her now. Josslyn braced herself for what would come once she introduced herself. Tseng would want something. A political favor. They always did.
“Josslyn Benoit,” she managed to get out around the bile that was forming in her throat. “And this is—”
“Adam,” Agent Lockett interjected not bothering to elaborate further with his last name.
“I’m her father’s nurse.” Agent Lockett pulled her behind him. “And they’re expecting us back at the White House shortly. Again, we apologize. We meant no disrespect.”
He moved with authority toward the door, Josslyn in tow. Tseng’s men seemed to size up Agent Lockett, but with the briefest of head shakes from their boss, they both stood down.
“You and I share mutual interests, Dr. Benoit,” Tseng said just before they reached the safety of the door.
Josslyn stiffened slightly at the use of her professional moniker. Most people knew her as nothing more than the First Lady’s radical little sister.
“Perhaps we should have dinner soon to discuss those interests?” Tseng continued, his dark eyes much more focused now.
Agent Lockett’s grip tightened around her fingers.
She hesitated for the briefest of seconds. “That would be nice.”
They were out the door and down the long hallway before Josslyn could take a breath. Agent Lockett was mumbling something about the car.
Shot in the Dark Page 6