by S. K. Lessly
“You know who I am?”
She looked down at her ruined shirt and started pulling it out of her navy-blue slacks. Unaware of his eyes on her as she surveyed the damage.
“Yeah, I saw a picture and read your service jacket.”
“Humph,” was his only reply, but it caused Izabella to look up at him.
“Isn’t that how you knew who I was? You read my file?”
“Touché. You have a point. Let me officially introduce myself since I was coming over here to do exactly that.” Malcolm reached out his hand to her. “Major Malcolm Cooper, U.S. Army.”
Izabella reached out and placed her hand in Malcolm’s, temporarily forgetting about her shirt. “I’m Izabella Fuentes. It’s nice to officially meet you.”
The moment his fingers clasped around hers, a zig of electricity ran up her arm. Her breath hitched in her throat and she quickly released his hand and stepped back even further.
What the ever-loving fuck was that?
“I, uh, would escort you upstairs, but I assume you would want to uh…” He ran his hand through his dark locks before resting it on the back of his neck.
Izabella met his gaze and smiled. “Oh, yeah right. No, that’s okay. I’ll just pop into the ladies’ room to get myself together first.”
“Do you want me to wait for you?”
Hell no!
“Ah, no, that’s okay, really. I know what floor to take. And who knows how long this will take anyway. Could you umm… let everyone know I’m here but I’ll be indisposed for a spell?”
With the last words she spoke, Malcolm’s eyes traveled to her breasts. He looked at her chest as if he could see right through her shirt. As she looked down, her worst nightmare came true. He could see straight through to her lace black bra.
She cleared her throat and Malcolm looked back up into her eyes.
“Uhhh… yes, no problem. I’ll do just that.” He stepped back and smiled at her. “I guess I’ll see you upstairs.” Before he left her standing there, he turned back around and said to her. “The ladies’ room is behind me to the left and the elevators are behind me to the right, around the corner.”
“Right. Okay, thank you.”
“Oh wait.”
Izabella looked into his eyes, desperately needing to escape from this man. “Do you have the temporary code needed for the elevator?”
“Oh, yes. I do,” she replied, but deep down she wasn’t sure. She was supposed to have memorized it. Yes, that hadn’t happened. Instead, she had it on her phone. Some spook she was.
“Great. I’ll see you up there then.” Malcolm smiled her way and she damn near melted.
“Okay,” was her soft reply before she gathered up her things and headed for the ladies’ room. The moment she was clear, she breathed out a sigh and laughed at herself.
She walked up to the mirrors at that sink and dropped her bags next to her. She then pulled off the T-shirt and studied it. There was definitely no way she could hide this fiasco, even if she put her jacket back on and buttoned it. The stain peeked out over the flaps of her jacket. She couldn’t go shirtless either. That wouldn’t go over very well.
She suddenly had an idea and put the shirt on backwards, ripping the tags off; thankful the shirt wasn't tag less. It felt awkward, the collar rubbing against her neck, but she’d make do. Anything was better than the alternatives. She made a mental note to put spare clothes in her car for just these occasions.
Tucking the shirt back into her slacks, she put her jacket back on and hissed from the cold, wet stain on her back.
Small price to pay, Izabella. Suck it up.
She buttoned her jacket up and took in her reflection. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do.
Izabella left the restroom and made her way to the elevators. She stepped to the next opened door and was surprised to see Jacks inside the otherwise empty car.
He looked at her up and down then grinned at her. “Hey, there you are. Did you have any trouble getting here and past security?”
She started to laugh, but stifled it and gave him a smile in return. “Nope, everything went smoothly.”
“Good, hop on. Let’s get upstairs and get started. Everyone is anxious to see you and drill you. I hope you’re ready.”
Izabella stepped inside the elevator getting in to professional mode, steeling herself for what she came here to do. She had to forget all about what had just transpired between her and the eldest Cooper brother and concentrate on her job.
Izabella gave him a tight nod before turning around and facing the front of the elevator. “No problem, Jacks. I’m ready.”
7
Josh
I kept staring at my wife as she troubled over her laptop, typing away feverishly. I was waiting for her to look my way, but she continued to stare at her screen as if I wasn’t here.
I had gotten out of the shower this morning to a note telling me that she and Jay had left early for daycare and work. The note she’d left claimed she had shit to do at work, and based on the call from Shane this morning, she wanted to be prepared for the meeting. That was bullshit. She was running from me and it was high time I found out why.
This morning’s meeting was being held in the large conference room located outside of our secured area. The room was filled with most of the team, all of us antsy and on edge. We typically used this particular conference room for meetings with agencies outside of the need-to-know circle.
Our unit was top secret. What we did for our country wasn’t common knowledge. Most times we used Military Intelligence as our cover when working cases. It helped our cause being in this office building as well. When we had to conduct any meetings with other agencies not in the know such as the one we’re hosting today, we’d use this conference room. The location of the room only allowed our visitors access to the reception area and the bathrooms, which were swept by our security team multiple times a day. However, if anyone gained access to our floor that wasn’t in the need to know, our cover would be blown to shit.
It was a good thing my brother was a suspicious bastard. He had designed this floor, as well as the two above us, with some serious advanced security measures that would rival the NSA. At first, I had thought Shane was a bit extreme with security, but for meetings such as the one we were having today, I was thankful for the measures. The CIA couldn’t be trusted even if they were escorted with blindfolds on and hands tied behind their backs. They'd figure out some way to screw you. It was who they were.
I took in the silhouette of my troubled wife. I knew she felt me looking at her. She didn’t acknowledge me or my presence next to her. She decided to keep her eyes on the laptop in front of her. That shit wasn’t going to fly. I guess we were going to have it out right here and now.
“Baby, for fuck’s sake. This shit is getting old. There’s something going on with you and I want to know what it is,” I said to my wife, leaning close to her so only she could hear me. When she didn’t respond, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She jerked slightly from my touch and looked around the conference room as if looking for someone to save her from me. I could feel my pressure rising. A part of me wanted to drag her out of this room and into my office, so I could get to the bottom of her silence.
“Sweets,” I called out, waiting for her expressive green eyes to meet mine, but she kept her eyes glued to her laptop.
“I’m fine, Josh. I’m just tired. That’s all,” she finally replied.
“Baby…” I touched the side of her face with a lone finger and turned her head to face me. Her eyes were all over the place, looking at me and then glancing behind me. She was everywhere but where she was supposed to be, which was with me. “Sweets, you’re not fine.” I pushed my chair back and turned to face her. I pushed her chair back as well and turned it to where she had no choice but to look at me.
“Joshua,” she whined, rolling her eyes. “I said I’m okay.”
“And you’re lying to me, Kenya. I don’t know who you’re trying to fo
ol. You know I can tell when you’re lying to me. I know something is up and I know you're keeping something from me. What is it?”
Her eyes grew larger, but her lips remained closed.
We stayed facing each other, both looking deeply into each other’s eyes. Finally, she shifted her eyes from mine and looked down.
I waited.
“It’s just this case. Okay?”
“Yes, you’ve said that before. What about this case?”
Her eyes sharply fell on me and she narrowed them. “What do you mean what about this case? It’s everything about this case that has me scared as hell. We don’t know enough about what’s coming. We’re fumbling in the dark here.” She unconsciously grabbed at her neck and then dropped her hand. I looked at her neck quizzically.
Seriously, what was up with these scarves? She had told me she’d had an allergic reaction to something, but why did I think that wasn’t the full story?
“Believe me, baby, I understand,” I replied absently, still staring at her neck. “But you have to know that we have everything under control.”
“How can you say that? That psycho bitch, Diane, has put a hit out on you and hired one of the most deadly and craziest assassins to do the job. We don’t know who he’s sent to kill you. We don’t know where he is.” Her words died in her throat and she shuttered.
I reached for her hands, which were shaking a bit. I laced my fingers with hers, brought her hands to my lips and kissed her knuckles gently all the while keeping my eyes on her. I moved as close to her as I could to provide comfort for us both.
When she opened her eyes, they were red-rimmed and glossy.
The need to soothe my wife and to assure her that I had her came over me hard. I let go of one of her hands and cupped her cheek gently. “Baby, I know you’re scared. Believe me, I understand. But you have to trust me. I’m not taking this situation lightly. I’m not taking our safety lightly either. I will protect my family, baby.”
She was quiet for a spell, but then said softly, “Yeah, but who will protect you?”
I brought my lips to hers and kissed her, wanting to eliminate the fear in her eyes that was beginning to break me. I was failing her. I had been blinded by the fucking need for revenge that I didn’t see what was happening before my eyes. I pulled back from her with the intent of giving her the words she needed when the doors to the conference room opened and in walked Jacks; however, he wasn’t alone. A beautiful woman with flawless caramel skin and very short curly hair followed him inside the room.
She was dressed in a navy-blue tailored pantsuit that hugged some pretty impressive curves. She looked around the room, meeting each of our eyes with intensity that was probably meant to be intimidating, but was coming off as… cute.
“Everyone, I want you to meet Ms. Izabella Fuentes.”
He didn’t need to announce the fact that she was CIA. The way she carried herself, that wanna-be aloof and entitled bullshit way she acted, told us exactly who and what she was or was trying to be. Let’s just say she wasn't pulling off the act very convincingly.
Ms. Fuentes gave us a stiff nod as her greeting and continued to give us her best nonchalant look.
I fought a grin and looked over at Malcolm to share with him my clever observation and found him staring at the newcomer as if he was eye fuck…
I narrowed my eyes at him. No fucking way?
I looked back at the woman who had just realized she had my brother’s undivided attention and for a minute, I could have sworn she was eye fucking my brother too. What in the –
“Izabella, this is the team,” Jacks started the introductions as we all moved closer to the woman.
One by one, my team gave the newcomer either a quick nod of the head or a hesitant smile. No one was afraid to show just how we felt about the agency. They couldn’t be trusted. It’s a known fact and from my standpoint, it had been proven time and time again.
However, I could see Izabella Fuentes was different. It was the look in her eyes and the way she carried herself in our presence that gave it away. I knew she could feel the cold welcome she received from everyone in the room and even though she didn’t shy away from anyone, she didn’t seem as confident either. She also didn’t give off an air that she was better than us. Shane and Jacks were right about her. There wasn’t that cutthroat, untrustworthy look etched in her eyes. I wasn’t going to put that shit past her. After all, anyone was capable of being deceitful. Looking at Ms. Fuentes, though, I highly doubted she was one of those people.
I turned to catch my brother’s attention, but found he was still staring at Izabella. I kept my eyes glued to my brother, stunned.
This dude was sweating buckets, nervous energy coming off him in waves. Oh, he was trying to play it off, and if you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t see how completely uncomfortable he was right now. But I knew my brother. Something was off with him and I knew what it was but couldn’t bring myself to accept it.
I looked at the woman to see if she noticed the attention she was getting from my brother and, yup, she noticed. Her cheeks were flushed, and she couldn’t stand still for anything. I floated my gaze back to Malcolm, hoping to get his attention so I could tell him to get his shit together, but he must have realized what he was doing and ended up moving his eyes from her.
“Where are Misty and Shane?” Jacks asked, glancing down at his watch.
“I’m not sure about Shane, but Misty’s around here somewhere. You want me to text her?” Stan offered.
Jacks shook his head. “No, that’s fine. I’m sure they’re on their way. We’re waiting for Ms. Fuentes’ boss to get here and once he’s here we’ll get started.”
Stan nodded and Jacks regarded our guest. “Ms. Fuentes, you can take a seat anywhere.”
“Oh, um yes. Okay, thank you.” She gave Jacks a tight smile before she moved further into the room. She gave Malcolm a quick tentative glance before she placed her laptop bag on the table in front of an empty chair and pulled it away from the table.
“So, Ms. Fuentes,” Curtis piped up, not giving Izabella time to sit down. “I hope you have some information on this case that will help us find this piece of shit, Perchenko.”
Ms. Fuentes brought a pair of intelligent light brown eyes to Curtis. “That’s the plan.”
“And what about his known assassins? And Dennis Simon? We’ve been trying to get some information for a while now and for some reason we keep hitting a brick wall. Would you know something about that?” Jesse asked.
The analyst shifted to Jesse's direction seemingly thrown off by the barrage of questions being thrown her way. Her eyes darted from Jesse to Curtis and even Jacks before her eyes settled back on Jesse.
“I’m not sure about a Dennis Simon.” She frowned and gripped the back of the chair in front of her. “But I’m hoping I have some information for you. My boss Luther Santini may have more information about these assassins.”
“What information?” I asked, getting into this conversation.
Her brown eyes came to me. She looked at my wife first, then her protruding belly before her eyes landed back on me. Recognition seemed to register in her eyes and I cataloged that look for another time. “I’m not sure,” She replied. “He didn’t tell me that much. He just said he was bringing someone with him to this meeting, someone who could help.”
I was ready to ask another question when my brother, ever the protector, stepped around the table toward the CIA analyst with his hands raised.
“Hey, why don’t we hold all of the questions until the meeting gets started. I’m sure Ms. Fuentes will be able to provide some answers to our questions or Shane wouldn’t have invited her. Also, her boss,” he looked at her no doubt for assistance with her boss’ name and I swear he stumbled slightly when their eyes met. Malcolm then gripped a chair next to him for support before he spoke again. I couldn’t believe what was happening. “Uhhh, what’s your boss’ name again?”
“Um… Santini,�
� she offered with a smile that seemed to light up her face.
Malcolm smiled down at her as he moved closer to her. “Right. This Santini guy is who we need to be questioning. Am I right?”
Malcolm’s eyes stayed on Fuentes for a moment longer before he surveyed the room. When his eyes came to me, I gave him a knowing look that had so many questions hidden in my gaze. My brother didn’t react to the look I gave him, which only made shit worse for him. He was showing off for the pretty spook. Well, she wasn’t a spook really. Still she worked for the enemy, which made her an enemy. My brother never did shit like this unless he…
My eyes grew wide as hell as the revelation hit me. I looked from my brother to the analyst and then back at my brother and noticed the difference in his body language, his posture, and the dumb-ass smile on his face.
“Holy shit,” I mumbled, more to myself, but Sweets heard me.
“What?” She leaned into me and asked. I shook my head signaling I'd tell her later.
Malcolm did a slow gaze around the room again, avoiding me this time, before he looked back at Fuentes. He gave her one of these mega-watts smiles that seemed to brighten the entire room. I met my wife’s eyes, which were now just as wide as mine. It seemed she caught on to what was happening and gave me the same knowing look I had given my brother. I unfortunately couldn’t stop myself from responding. I shrugged my shoulders indicating that I didn’t have a clue what in the hell was happening to my brother.
“Ms. Fuentes, why don’t you have a seat?” Malcolm pulled out a seat closest to him. “Would you like some water or coffee?”
They both chuckled as if they had a private joke before the Latina agent gave him a genuine smile. “Water would be fine. Thank you, Malcolm.”
My brother fucking beamed when she said his name. What the fuck?
“No problem.”
Holy shit! Someone, please get me the hell out of this room. If this fucker doesn’t quit this shit, I swear I’m…
My thoughts were instantly cut off by the sound of glass shattering and a loud thud coming from the reception area, followed by a man yelling then yelping.